1.
Ancient Rome
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In its many centuries of existence, the Roman state evolved from a monarchy to a classical republic and then to an increasingly autocratic empire. Through conquest and assimilation, it came to dominate the Mediterranean region and then Western Europe, Asia Minor, North Africa and it is often grouped into classical antiquity together with ancient Greece, and their similar cultures and societies are known as the Greco-Roman world. Ancient Roman civilisation has contributed to modern government, law, politics, engineering, art, literature, architecture, technology, warfare, religion, language and society. Rome professionalised and expanded its military and created a system of government called res publica, the inspiration for modern republics such as the United States and France. By the end of the Republic, Rome had conquered the lands around the Mediterranean and beyond, its domain extended from the Atlantic to Arabia, the Roman Empire emerged with the end of the Republic and the dictatorship of Augustus Caesar. 721 years of Roman-Persian Wars started in 92 BC with their first war against Parthia and it would become the longest conflict in human history, and have major lasting effects and consequences for both empires. Under Trajan, the Empire reached its territorial peak, Republican mores and traditions started to decline during the imperial period, with civil wars becoming a prelude common to the rise of a new emperor. Splinter states, such as the Palmyrene Empire, would divide the Empire during the crisis of the 3rd century. Plagued by internal instability and attacked by various migrating peoples, the part of the empire broke up into independent kingdoms in the 5th century. This splintering is a landmark historians use to divide the ancient period of history from the pre-medieval Dark Ages of Europe. King Numitor was deposed from his throne by his brother, Amulius, while Numitors daughter, Rhea Silvia, because Rhea Silvia was raped and impregnated by Mars, the Roman god of war, the twins were considered half-divine. The new king, Amulius, feared Romulus and Remus would take back the throne, a she-wolf saved and raised them, and when they were old enough, they returned the throne of Alba Longa to Numitor. Romulus became the source of the citys name, in order to attract people to the city, Rome became a sanctuary for the indigent, exiled, and unwanted. This caused a problem for Rome, which had a large workforce but was bereft of women, Romulus traveled to the neighboring towns and tribes and attempted to secure marriage rights, but as Rome was so full of undesirables they all refused. Legend says that the Latins invited the Sabines to a festival and stole their unmarried maidens, leading to the integration of the Latins, after a long time in rough seas, they landed at the banks of the Tiber River. Not long after they landed, the men wanted to take to the sea again, one woman, named Roma, suggested that the women burn the ships out at sea to prevent them from leaving. At first, the men were angry with Roma, but they realized that they were in the ideal place to settle. They named the settlement after the woman who torched their ships, the Roman poet Virgil recounted this legend in his classical epic poem the Aeneid
2.
Western Roman Empire
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Theodosius I divided the Empire upon his death between his two sons. As the Roman Republic expanded, it reached a point where the government in Rome could not effectively rule the distant provinces. Communications and transportation were especially problematic given the vast extent of the Empire, for this reason, provincial governors had de facto rule in the name of the Roman Republic. Antony received the provinces in the East, Achaea, Macedonia and Epirus, Bithynia, Pontus and Asia, Syria, Cyprus and these lands had previously been conquered by Alexander the Great, thus, much of the aristocracy was of Greek origin. The whole region, especially the cities, had been largely assimilated into Greek culture. Octavian obtained the Roman provinces of the West, Italia, Gaul, Gallia Belgica and these lands also included Greek and Carthaginian colonies in the coastal areas, though Celtic tribes such as Gauls and Celtiberians were culturally dominant. Lepidus received the province of Africa. Octavian soon took Africa from Lepidus, while adding Sicilia to his holdings, upon the defeat of Mark Antony, a victorious Octavian controlled a united Roman Empire. While the Roman Empire featured many distinct cultures, all were often said to experience gradual Romanization, minor rebellions and uprisings were fairly common events throughout the Empire. Conquered tribes or cities would revolt, and the legions would be detached to crush the rebellion, while this process was simple in peacetime, it could be considerably more complicated in wartime, as for example in the Great Jewish Revolt. In a full-blown military campaign, the legions, under such as Vespasian, were far more numerous. To ensure a commanders loyalty, an emperor might hold some members of the generals family hostage. To this end, Nero effectively held Domitian and Quintus Petillius Cerialis, governor of Ostia, the rule of Nero ended only with the revolt of the Praetorian Guard, who had been bribed in the name of Galba. The Praetorian Guard, a sword of Damocles, were often perceived as being of dubious loyalty. Following their example, the legions at the increased participation in the civil wars. The main enemy in the West was arguably the Germanic tribes behind the rivers Rhine, Augustus had tried to conquer them but ultimately pulled back after the Teutoburg reversal. The Parthian Empire, in the East, on the hand, was too remote. Those distant territories were forsaken to prevent unrest and also to ensure a more healthy, the Parthians were followed by the Sasanian Empire, which continued hostilities with the Roman Empire
3.
Late Roman army
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The Imperial Roman army of the Principate underwent a significant transformation as a result of the chaotic 3rd century. Unlike the army of the Principate, the army of the 4th century was heavily dependent on conscription, scholarly estimates of the size of the 4th-century army diverge widely, ranging from ca.400,000 to over one million effectives. This is due to evidence, unlike the much better-documented 2nd-century army. The main change in structure from the 2nd-century army was the establishment of large armies, typically containing 20. These were normally based near the capitals, thus far from the Empires borders. These armies primary function was to deter usurpers, and they campaigned under the personal command of their emperors. The legions were split up into smaller units comparable in size to the regiments of the Principate. Infantry adopted the more protective equipment of the Principate cavalry, the role of cavalry in the late army does not appear to have been greatly enhanced as compared with the army of the Principate. The evidence is that cavalry was much the same proportion of overall army numbers as in the 2nd century, however, the cavalry of the Late Roman army was endowed with greater numbers of specialised units, such as extra-heavy shock cavalry and mounted archers. During the later 4th century, the cavalry acquired a reputation for incompetence and cowardice for their role in three major battles, in contrast, the infantry retained its traditional reputation for excellence. The 3rd and 4th centuries saw the upgrading of many existing border forts to make more defensible. The interpretation of this trend has fuelled a debate whether the army adopted a defence-in-depth strategy or continued the same posture of forward defence as in the early Principate. Whatever the defence strategy, it was less successful in preventing barbarian incursions than in the 1st. This may have due to heavier barbarian pressure, and/or to the practice of keeping large armies of the best troops in the interior. Much of our evidence for 4th century army unit deployments is contained in a single document, 395–420, a manual of all late Roman public offices, military and civil. The main deficiency with the Notitia is that it lacks any personnel figures so as to estimates of army size impossible. Also, it was compiled at the end of the 4th century. However, the Notitia remains the source on the late Armys structure due to the dearth of other evidence
4.
Nerva
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Nerva was Roman Emperor from 96 to 98. Nerva became Emperor at the age of sixty-five, after a lifetime of service under Nero. Under Nero, he was a member of the imperial entourage, later, as a loyalist to the Flavians, he attained consulships in 71 and 90 during the reigns of Vespasian and Domitian respectively. On 18 September 96, Domitian was assassinated in a conspiracy involving members of the Praetorian Guard. On the same day, Nerva was declared emperor by the Roman Senate and this was the first time the Senate elected a Roman Emperor. As the new ruler of the Roman Empire, he vowed to restore liberties which had been curtailed during the government of Domitian. Nervas brief reign was marred by difficulties and his inability to assert his authority over the Roman army. A revolt by the Praetorian Guard in October 97 essentially forced him to adopt an heir, after some deliberation Nerva adopted Trajan, a young and popular general, as his successor. After barely fifteen months in office, Nerva died of natural causes on 27 January 98, upon his death he was succeeded and deified by Trajan. Although much of his life remains obscure, Nerva was considered a wise, Nervas greatest success was his ability to ensure a peaceful transition of power after his death, thus founding the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. Marcus Cocceius Nerva was born in the village of Narni,50 kilometers north of Rome, to the family of Marcus Cocceius Nerva, Suffect Consul in 40, ancient sources report the date as either 30 or 35. He had at least one attested sister, named Cocceia, who married Lucius Salvius Titianus Otho, like Vespasian, the founder of the Flavian dynasty, Nerva was a member of the Italian nobility rather than one of the elite of Rome. Nevertheless, the Cocceii were among the most esteemed and prominent political families of the late Republic and early Empire, the direct ancestors of Nerva on his fathers side, all named Marcus Cocceius Nerva, were associated with imperial circles since the time of Emperor Augustus. His great-grandfather was Consul in 36 BC, and Governor of Asia in the same year, Nervas father, finally, attained the consulship in 40 under emperor Caligula. The Cocceii were connected with the Julio-Claudian dynasty through the marriage of Sergia Plautillas brother Octavius Laenas, and Rubellia Bassa, not much of Nervas early life or career is recorded, but it appears he did not pursue the usual administrative or military career. He was praetor-elect in the year 65 and, like his ancestors, moved in circles as a skilled diplomat. As an advisor to Emperor Nero, he successfully helped detect and his exact contribution to the investigation is not known, but his services must have been considerable, since they earned him rewards equal to those of Neros guard prefect Tigellinus. He received triumphal honors — which was reserved for military victories —
5.
Valens
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Valens, fully Flavius Julius Valens Augustus, was Eastern Roman Emperor from 364 to 378. He was given the half of the empire by his brother Valentinian I after the latters accession to the throne. Valens, sometimes known as the Last True Roman, was defeated and killed in the Battle of Adrianople, Valens and his brother Valentinian were both born in Cibalae into an Illyrian family in 328 and 321 respectively. They had grown up on estates purchased by their father Gratian the Elder in Africa, while Valentinian had enjoyed a successful military career prior to his appointment as emperor, Valens apparently had not. He had spent much of his youth on the estate and only joined the army in the 360s. In February 364, reigning Emperor Jovian, while hastening to Constantinople to secure his claim to the throne, was asphyxiated during a stop at Dadastana,100 miles east of Ankara, among Jovians lieutenants was Valentinian, a tribunus scutariorum. He was proclaimed Augustus on 26 February,364, Valentinian felt that he needed help to govern the large and troublesome empire, and, on 28 March of the same year, appointed his brother Valens as co-emperor in the palace of Hebdomon. The two Augusti travelled together through Adrianople and Naissus to Sirmium, where they divided their personnel, Valens obtained the eastern half of the Empire Greece, Egypt, Syria and Anatolia as far east as Persia. Valens was back in his capital of Constantinople by December 364, in 365, an undersea earthquake between magnitudes 8 and 9 near Crete caused a tsunami that hit the coasts of the Eastern Mediterranean. Valenss first priority after the winter of 365 was to move east in hopes of shoring up the situation, by the autumn of 365 he had reached Cappadocian Caesarea when he learned that a usurper, named Procopius, had proclaimed himself in Constantinople. When he died, Julian the emperor had left one surviving relative. Procopius had been charged with overseeing a northern division of his relatives army during the Persian expedition and had not been present when Jovian was named his successor, though Jovian made accommodations to appease this potential claimant, Procopius fell increasingly under suspicion in the first year of Valens reign. This program met with success, particularly among soldiers loyal to the Constantinians. When news arrived that Procopius had revolted, Valens considered abdication, even so, Valens sent two legions to march on Procopius, who easily persuaded them to desert to him. Later that year, Valens himself was captured in a scramble near Chalcedon. Troubles were exacerbated by the refusal of Valentinian to do any more than protect his own territory from encroachment, the failure of imperial resistance in 365 allowed Procopius to gain control of the dioceses of Thrace and Asiana by years end. Only in the spring of 366 had Valens assembled enough troops to deal with Procopius effectively, marching out from Ancyra through Pessinus, Valens proceeded into Phrygia where he defeated Procopiuss general Gomoarius at the Battle of Thyatira. He then met Procopius himself at Nacoleia and convinced his troops to desert him, Procopius was executed on 27 May and his head sent to Valentinian in Trier for inspection
6.
Constantius II
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Constantius II was Roman Emperor from 337 to 361. The second son of Constantine I and Fausta, he ascended to the throne with his brothers Constantine II, in 340, Constantius brothers clashed over the western provinces of the empire. The resulting conflict left Constantine II dead and Constans as ruler of the west until he was overthrown, unwilling to accept Magnentius as co-ruler, Constantius defeated him at the battles of Mursa Major and Mons Seleucus. Magnentius committed suicide after the battle, leaving Constantius as sole ruler of the empire. His subsequent military campaigns against Germanic tribes were successful, he defeated the Alamanni in 354 and campaigned across the Danube against the Quadi, in contrast, the war in the east against the Sassanids continued with mixed results. Shortly thereafter, in 355, Constantius promoted his last surviving cousin, Gallus younger half-brother, Julian, however, Julian claimed the rank of Augustus in 360, leading to war between the two. Ultimately, no battle was fought as Constantius became ill and died late in 361, Constantius was born in 317 at Sirmium, Pannonia. He was the son of Constantine the Great, and second by his second wife Fausta. Constantius was made Caesar by his father on 13 November 324, in 336, religious unrest in Armenia and tense relations between Constantine and king Shapur II caused war to break out between Rome and Sassanid Persia. Though he made preparations for the war, Constantine fell ill. Before Constantius arrived, the Persian general Narses, who was possibly the brother, overran Mesopotamia. Constantius promptly attacked Narses, and after suffering minor setbacks defeated and killed Narses at the Battle of Narasara, Constantius captured Amida and initiated a major refortification the city, enhancing the citys circuit walls and constructing large towers. He also built a new stronghold in the nearby, naming it Antinopolis. In early 337, Constantius hurried to Constantinople after receiving news that his father was near death, after Constantine died, Constantius buried him with lavish ceremony in the Church of the Holy Apostles. Eutropius, writing between 350 and 370, states that Constantius merely sanctioned “the act, rather than commanding it”, the massacre killed two of Constantius uncles and six of his cousins, including Hannibalianus and Dalmatius, rulers of Pontus and Moesia respectively. Soon after, Constantius met his brothers in Pannonia at Sirmium to formalize the partition of the empire, Constantius then hurried east to Antioch to resume the war with Persia. Despite initial success, Shapur lifted his siege after his army missed an opportunity to exploit a collapsed wall, when Constantius learned of Shapurs withdrawal from Roman territory, he prepared his army for a counter-attack, drilling them. Constantius repeatedly defended the border against invasions by the aggressive Sassanid Empire under Shapur
7.
Julian (emperor)
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Julian, also known as Julian the Apostate, was Roman Emperor from 361 to 363, as well as a notable philosopher and author in Greek. A member of the Constantinian dynasty, Julian became Caesar over the provinces by order of Constantius II in 355 and in this role campaigned successfully against the Alamanni. Most notable was his victory over the Alamanni in 357 at the Battle of Argentoratum. In 360 in Lutetia he was proclaimed Augustus by his soldiers, before the two could face each other in battle, however, Constantius died, after naming Julian as his rightful successor. In 363, Julian embarked on an campaign against the Sassanid Empire. Though initially successful, Julian was mortally wounded in battle and died shortly thereafter, Julian was a man of unusually complex character, he was the military commander, the theosophist, the social reformer, and the man of letters. He was the last non-Christian ruler of the Roman Empire, and it was his desire to bring the Empire back to its ancient Roman values in order to, as he saw it, save it from dissolution. He purged the state bureaucracy and attempted to revive traditional Roman religious practices at the expense of Christianity. His anti-Christian sentiment and promotion of Neoplatonic paganism caused him to be remembered as Julian the Apostate by the church and he was the last emperor of the Constantinian dynasty, the empires first Christian dynasty. Both of his parents were Christians and his paternal grandparents were Western Roman Emperor Constantius Chlorus and his second wife, Flavia Maximiana Theodora. His maternal grandfather was Julius Julianus, praetorian prefect of the East under emperor Licinius from 315 to 324, the name of Julians maternal grandmother is unknown. Constantius II, Constans I, and Constantine II were proclaimed joint emperors, Julian and Gallus were excluded from public life, were strictly guarded in their youth, and given a Christian education. They were likely saved by their youth and at the urging of the Empress Eusebia, if Julians later writings are to be believed, Constantius would later be tormented with guilt at the massacre of 337. After Eusebius died in 342, both Julian and Gallus were exiled to the estate of Macellum in Cappadocia. Here Julian met the Christian bishop George of Cappadocia, who lent him books from the classical tradition, at the age of 18, the exile was lifted and he dwelt briefly in Constantinople and Nicomedia. He became a lector, an office in the Christian church. Julian studied Neoplatonism in Asia Minor in 351, at first under Aedesius, the philosopher and he was summoned to Constantius court in Mediolanum in 354 and kept there for a year, in the summer and fall of 355, he was permitted to study in Athens. While there, Julian became acquainted with two men who became both bishops and saints, Gregory of Nazianzus and Basil the Great
8.
Sasanian Empire
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The Sasanian Empire was founded by Ardashir I, after the fall of the Parthian Empire and the defeat of the last Arsacid king, Artabanus V. According to a legend, the vexilloid of the Sasanian Empire was the Derafsh Kaviani, in many ways, the Sasanian period witnessed the peak of ancient Iranian civilization. Persia influenced Roman culture considerably during the Sasanian period, the Sasanians cultural influence extended far beyond the empires territorial borders, reaching as far as Western Europe, Africa, China and India. It played a prominent role in the formation of both European and Asian medieval art, much of what later became known as Islamic culture in art, architecture, music and other subject matter was transferred from the Sasanians throughout the Muslim world. Conflicting accounts shroud the details of the fall of the Parthian Empire, the Sassanid Empire was established in Estakhr by Ardashir I. Papak was originally the ruler of a region called Khir, however, by the year 200, he managed to overthrow Gochihr, and appoint himself as the new ruler of the Bazrangids. His mother, Rodhagh, was the daughter of the governor of Pars. Papak and his eldest son Shapur managed to expand their power all of Pars. The subsequent events are unclear, due to the nature of the sources. It is certain, however, that following the death of Papak, Ardashir, sources reveal that Shapur, leaving for a meeting with his brother, was killed when the roof of a building collapsed on him. By the year 208, over the protests of his brothers who were put to death. Once Ardashir was appointed shahanshah, he moved his capital further to the south of Pars, the city, well supported by high mountains and easily defendable through narrow passes, became the center of Ardashirs efforts to gain more power. The city was surrounded by a high, circular wall, probably copied from that of Darabgird, in a second attempt to destroy Ardashir, Artabanus V himself met Ardashir in battle at Hormozgan, where Artabanus V met his death. Following the death of the Parthian ruler, Ardashir I went on to invade the provinces of the now defunct Parthian Empire. Ardashir was aided by the geography of the province of Fars, in the next few years, local rebellions would form around the empire. Nonetheless, Ardashir I further expanded his new empire to the east and northwest, conquering the provinces of Sistan, Gorgan, Khorasan, Margiana, Balkh and he also added Bahrain and Mosul to Sassanids possessions. In the west, assaults against Hatra, Armenia and Adiabene met with less success, in 230, he raided deep into Roman territory, and a Roman counter-offensive two years later ended inconclusively, although the Roman emperor, Alexander Severus, celebrated a triumph in Rome. Ardashir Is son Shapur I continued the expansion of the empire, conquering Bactria, invading Roman Mesopotamia, Shapur I captured Carrhae and Nisibis, but in 243 the Roman general Timesitheus defeated the Persians at Rhesaina and regained the lost territories
9.
Greeks
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The Greeks or Hellenes are an ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus, southern Albania, Turkey, Sicily, Egypt and, to a lesser extent, other countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world, many of these regions coincided to a large extent with the borders of the Byzantine Empire of the late 11th century and the Eastern Mediterranean areas of ancient Greek colonization. The cultural centers of the Greeks have included Athens, Thessalonica, Alexandria, Smyrna, most ethnic Greeks live nowadays within the borders of the modern Greek state and Cyprus. The Greek genocide and population exchange between Greece and Turkey nearly ended the three millennia-old Greek presence in Asia Minor, other longstanding Greek populations can be found from southern Italy to the Caucasus and southern Russia and Ukraine and in the Greek diaspora communities in a number of other countries. Today, most Greeks are officially registered as members of the Greek Orthodox Church, the Greeks speak the Greek language, which forms its own unique branch within the Indo-European family of languages, the Hellenic. They are part of a group of ethnicities, described by Anthony D. Smith as an archetypal diaspora people. Both migrations occur at incisive periods, the Mycenaean at the transition to the Late Bronze Age, the Mycenaeans quickly penetrated the Aegean Sea and, by the 15th century BC, had reached Rhodes, Crete, Cyprus and the shores of Asia Minor. Around 1200 BC, the Dorians, another Greek-speaking people, followed from Epirus, the Dorian invasion was followed by a poorly attested period of migrations, appropriately called the Greek Dark Ages, but by 800 BC the landscape of Archaic and Classical Greece was discernible. The Greeks of classical antiquity idealized their Mycenaean ancestors and the Mycenaean period as an era of heroes, closeness of the gods. The Homeric Epics were especially and generally accepted as part of the Greek past, as part of the Mycenaean heritage that survived, the names of the gods and goddesses of Mycenaean Greece became major figures of the Olympian Pantheon of later antiquity. The ethnogenesis of the Greek nation is linked to the development of Pan-Hellenism in the 8th century BC, the works of Homer and Hesiod were written in the 8th century BC, becoming the basis of the national religion, ethos, history and mythology. The Oracle of Apollo at Delphi was established in this period, the classical period of Greek civilization covers a time spanning from the early 5th century BC to the death of Alexander the Great, in 323 BC. It is so named because it set the standards by which Greek civilization would be judged in later eras, the Peloponnesian War, the large scale civil war between the two most powerful Greek city-states Athens and Sparta and their allies, left both greatly weakened. Many Greeks settled in Hellenistic cities like Alexandria, Antioch and Seleucia, two thousand years later, there are still communities in Pakistan and Afghanistan, like the Kalash, who claim to be descended from Greek settlers. The Hellenistic civilization was the period of Greek civilization, the beginnings of which are usually placed at Alexanders death. This Hellenistic age, so called because it saw the partial Hellenization of many non-Greek cultures and this age saw the Greeks move towards larger cities and a reduction in the importance of the city-state. These larger cities were parts of the still larger Kingdoms of the Diadochi, Greeks, however, remained aware of their past, chiefly through the study of the works of Homer and the classical authors. An important factor in maintaining Greek identity was contact with barbarian peoples and this led to a strong desire among Greeks to organize the transmission of the Hellenic paideia to the next generation
10.
Shapur II
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Shapur II, also known as Shapur II the Great, was the tenth king of the Sasanian Empire. The longest reigning Sasanian monarch, he reigned from 309 to 379 and he was the son of Hormizd II. During Shapur IIs long reign, the Sasanian Empire saw its first golden era. When Hormizd II died in 309, he was succeeded by his son Adur Narseh and they then blinded the second, and imprisoned the third. The throne was reserved for the child of Hormizd IIs wife Ifra Hormizd. It is said that Shapur II may have been the king in history to be crowned in utero. However, according to Alireza Shapour Shahbazi, it is unlikely that Shapur was crowned as king while still in his mothers womb, during the childhood of Shapur II, Arab nomads made several incursions into the Sasanian homeland of Pars, where they raided Gor and its surroundings. Furthermore, they also made incursions into Meshan and Mazun and he then attacked the Banu Tamim in the Al Hajar Mountains. Shapur II reportedly killed a number of the Arab population. After having dealt with the Arabs of eastern Arabia, he continued his expedition into western Arabia and Syria, because of his cruel way of dealing with the Arabs, he was called Dhū l-Aktāf he who pierces shoulders by them. Not only did Shapur II pacify the Arabs of the Persian Gulf, Shapur II, in order to prevent the Arabs from making more raids into his country, ordered the construction of a wall near al-Hirah, which became known as war-i tāzigān. This was the beginning of two long drawn-out wars which were inadequately recorded, after crushing a rebellion in the south, Shapur II invaded Roman Mesopotamia and captured Armenia. Apparently, nine major battles were fought, gibbon asserts that Shapur II invariably defeated Constantius, but there is reason to believe that the honours were fairly evenly shared between the two capable commanders. The most notable feature of war was the consistently successful defence of the Roman fortress of Nisibis in Mesopotamia. Shapur besieged the fortress three times and was repulsed each time by Roman general Lucilianus, although often victorious in battles, Shapur II had made scarcely any progress. At the same time he was attacked in the east by Scythian Massagetae and he had to break off the war with the Romans and arrange a hasty truce in order to pay attention to the east. After a prolonged struggle they were forced to conclude a peace, in 358 Shapur II was ready for his second series of wars against Rome, which met with much more success. The delay forced Shapur to halt operations for the winter, early the following spring he continued his operations against the Roman fortresses, capturing Singara and Bezabde
11.
Serapeum
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There were several such religious centers, each of which was a serapeion or, in its Latinized form, a serapeum. 31°10′55″N 29°53′49″E The Serapeum of Alexandria in the Ptolemaic Kingdom was a ancient Greek temple built by Ptolemy III Euergetes and dedicated to Serapis, by all detailed accounts, the Serapeum was the largest and most magnificent of all temples in the Greek quarter of Alexandria. Besides the image of the god, the temple housed an offshoot collection of the great Library of Alexandria. The geographer Strabo tells that this stood in the west of the city, excavations at the site of the column of Diocletian in 1944 yielded the foundation deposits of the Serapeion. These are two sets of ten plaques, one each of gold, silver, bronze, Egyptian faience, sun-dried Nile mud, the inscription that Ptolemy III Euergetes built the Serapeion, in Greek and Egyptian, marks all plaques, evidence suggests that Parmeniskos was assigned as architect. The foundation deposits of a dedicated to Harpocrates from the reign of Ptolemy IV Philopator were also found within the enclosure walls. Subterranean galleries beneath the temple were most probably the site of the mysteries of Serapis. In 1895, a diorite statue representing Serapis in his Apis bull incarnation with the sun disk between his horns was found at the site, an inscription dates it to the reign of Hadrian. The Serapeum in Alexandria was destroyed by a Christian mob or Roman soldiers in 391, several conflicting accounts for the context of the destruction of the Serapeum exist. According to early Christian sources, bishop Pope Theophilus of Alexandria was the Nicene patriarch when the decrees of emperor Theodosius I forbade public observances of any rites but Christian. In Alexandria, Bishop Theophilus obtained legal authority over one such forcibly abandoned temple of Dionysus, during the renovations, the contents of subterranean spaces were uncovered and profaned, which allegedly incited crowds of non-Christians to seek revenge. The trapped pagans plundered the Serapeum, consequently, the Serapeum was levelled by Roman soldiers and monks called in from the desert, as were the buildings dedicated to the Egyptian god Canopus. An alternate account of the incident is found in writings by Eunapius, here, an unprovoked Christian mob successfully used military-like tactics to destroy the Serapeum and steal anything that may have survived the attack. Whichever the cause, the destruction of the Serapeum, described by Christian writers Tyrannius Rufinus and Sozomen, was but the most spectacular of such conflicts, according to Peter Brown. However, Peter Brown frames it against a backdrop of frequent mob violence in the city. Also, Eusebius mentions street-fighting in Alexandria between Christians and non-Christians, occurring as early as 249, there is evidence that non-Christians had taken part in citywide struggles both for and against Athanasius of Alexandria in 341 and 356. Similar accounts are found in the writings of Socrates of Constantinople, R. McMullan further reports that, in 363, George of Cappadocia was killed for his repeated acts of pointed outrage, insult, and pillage of the most sacred treasures of the city. Whatever the prior events, the Serapeum of Alexandria was not rebuilt, another Serapeum was located at Canopus, in the Nile Delta near Alexandria
12.
Charlemagne
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Charlemagne or Charles the Great, numbered Charles I, was the King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774 and Emperor of the Romans from 800. He united much of Europe during the early Middle Ages and he was the first recognised emperor in western Europe since the fall of the Western Roman Empire three centuries earlier. The expanded Frankish state which Charlemagne founded was called the Carolingian Empire, Charlemagne was the oldest son of Pepin the Short and Bertrada of Laon. He became king in 768 following his fathers death, initially as co-ruler with his brother Carloman I, carlomans sudden death in 771 in unexplained circumstances left Charlemagne as the undisputed ruler of the Frankish Kingdom. He continued his fathers policy towards the papacy and became its protector, removing the Lombards from power in northern Italy and he campaigned against the Saxons to his east, Christianising them upon penalty of death and leading to events such as the Massacre of Verden. Charlemagne reached the height of his power in 800 when he was crowned Emperor of the Romans by Pope Leo III on Christmas Day at Old St. Peters Basilica. Charlemagne has been called the Father of Europe, as he united most of Western Europe for the first time since the Roman Empire and his rule spurred the Carolingian Renaissance, a period of energetic cultural and intellectual activity within the Western Church. All Holy Roman Emperors considered their kingdoms to be descendants of Charlemagnes empire, up to the last Emperor Francis II and these and other machinations led to the eventual split of Rome and Constantinople in the Great Schism of 1054. Charlemagne died in 814, having ruled as emperor for thirteen years and he was laid to rest in his imperial capital of Aachen in what is today Germany. He married at least four times and had three sons, but only his son Louis the Pious survived to succeed him. By the 6th century, the western Germanic Franks had been Christianised, Francia, ruled by the Merovingians, was the most powerful of the kingdoms that succeeded the Western Roman Empire. Following the Battle of Tertry the Merovingians declined into powerlessness, for which they have dubbed the rois fainéants. Almost all government powers were exercised by their chief officer, the mayor of the palace, in 687, Pepin of Herstal, mayor of the palace of Austrasia, ended the strife between various kings and their mayors with his victory at Tertry. He became the governor of the entire Frankish kingdom. Pepin was the grandson of two important figures of the Austrasian Kingdom, Saint Arnulf of Metz and Pepin of Landen, Pepin of Herstal was eventually succeeded by his illegitimate son Charles, later known as Charles Martel. After 737, Charles governed the Franks in lieu of a king, Charles was succeeded in 741 by his sons Carloman and Pepin the Short, the father of Charlemagne. In 743, the brothers placed Childeric III on the throne to curb separatism in the periphery and he was the last Merovingian king. Carloman resigned office in 746, preferring to enter the church as a monk, Pepin brought the question of the kingship before Pope Zachary, asking whether it was logical for a king to have no royal power
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Ammianus, Marcellinus". Encyclopædia Britannica. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 859–860.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the 
