1.
Greek language
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Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece and other parts of the Eastern Mediterranean. It has the longest documented history of any living language, spanning 34 centuries of written records and its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the major part of its history, other systems, such as Linear B and the Cypriot syllabary, were used previously. The alphabet arose from the Phoenician script and was in turn the basis of the Latin, Cyrillic, Armenian, Coptic, Gothic and many other writing systems. Together with the Latin texts and traditions of the Roman world, during antiquity, Greek was a widely spoken lingua franca in the Mediterranean world and many places beyond. It would eventually become the official parlance of the Byzantine Empire, the language is spoken by at least 13.2 million people today in Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Albania, Turkey, and the Greek diaspora. Greek roots are used to coin new words for other languages, Greek. Greek has been spoken in the Balkan peninsula since around the 3rd millennium BC, the earliest written evidence is a Linear B clay tablet found in Messenia that dates to between 1450 and 1350 BC, making Greek the worlds oldest recorded living language. Among the Indo-European languages, its date of earliest written attestation is matched only by the now extinct Anatolian languages, the Greek language is conventionally divided into the following periods, Proto-Greek, the unrecorded but assumed last ancestor of all known varieties of Greek. The unity of Proto-Greek would have ended as Hellenic migrants entered the Greek peninsula sometime in the Neolithic era or the Bronze Age, Mycenaean Greek, the language of the Mycenaean civilisation. It is recorded in the Linear B script on tablets dating from the 15th century BC onwards, Ancient Greek, in its various dialects, the language of the Archaic and Classical periods of the ancient Greek civilisation. It was widely known throughout the Roman Empire, after the Roman conquest of Greece, an unofficial bilingualism of Greek and Latin was established in the city of Rome and Koine Greek became a first or second language in the Roman Empire. The origin of Christianity can also be traced through Koine Greek, Medieval Greek, also known as Byzantine Greek, the continuation of Koine Greek in Byzantine Greece, up to the demise of the Byzantine Empire in the 15th century. Much of the written Greek that was used as the language of the Byzantine Empire was an eclectic middle-ground variety based on the tradition of written Koine. Modern Greek, Stemming from Medieval Greek, Modern Greek usages can be traced in the Byzantine period and it is the language used by the modern Greeks, and, apart from Standard Modern Greek, there are several dialects of it. In the modern era, the Greek language entered a state of diglossia, the historical unity and continuing identity between the various stages of the Greek language is often emphasised. Greek speakers today still tend to regard literary works of ancient Greek as part of their own rather than a foreign language and it is also often stated that the historical changes have been relatively slight compared with some other languages. According to one estimation, Homeric Greek is probably closer to demotic than 12-century Middle English is to modern spoken English, Greek is spoken by about 13 million people, mainly in Greece, Albania and Cyprus, but also worldwide by the large Greek diaspora. Greek is the language of Greece, where it is spoken by almost the entire population
2.
Antioch
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Antioch on the Orontes was an ancient Greco-Roman city on the eastern side of the Orontes River. Its ruins lie near the city of Antakya, Turkey. Antioch was founded near the end of the 4th century BC by Seleucus I Nicator, the citys geographical, military, and economic location benefited its occupants, particularly such features as the spice trade, the Silk Road, and the Persian Royal Road. It eventually rivaled Alexandria as the city of the Near East. It was also the center of Hellenistic Judaism at the end of the Second Temple period. Most of the development of Antioch was done during the Roman Empire. Antioch was called the cradle of Christianity as a result of its longevity, the Christian New Testament asserts that the name Christian first emerged in Antioch. It was one of the four cities of the Syrian tetrapolis, a single route proceeds south in the Orontes valley. The settlement of Meroe pre-dated Antioch, a shrine of the Semitic goddess Anat, called by Herodotus the Persian Artemis, was located here. This site was included in the suburbs of Antioch. There was a village on the spur of Mount Silpius named Io and this name was always adduced as evidence by Antiochenes anxious to affiliate themselves to the Attic Ionians—an eagerness which is illustrated by the Athenian types used on the citys coins. Io may have been an early colony of trading Greeks. John Malalas also mentions a village, Bottia, in the plain by the river. Macedonian ruler Alexander the Great is said to have camped on the site of Antioch and this account is found only in the writings of Libanius, a 4th-century orator from Antioch, and may be legend intended to enhance Antiochs status. But the story is not unlikely in itself, after Alexanders death in 323 BC, his generals divided up the territory he had conquered. Seleucus I Nicator won the territory of Syria, and he proceeded to found four sister cities in northwestern Syria, one of which was Antioch and he is reputed to have built sixteen Antiochs. Seleucus founded Antioch on a site chosen through ritual means, an eagle, the bird of Zeus, had been given a piece of sacrificial meat and the city was founded on the site to which the eagle carried the offering. Seleucus did this on the 22nd day of the month of Artemisios in the year of his reign
3.
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
4.
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
5.
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
6.
Procopius
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Procopius of Caesarea was a prominent late antique scholar from Palaestina Prima. He is commonly held to be the last major historian of the ancient Western world, apart from his own writings, the main source for Procopius life is an entry in the Suda, a Byzantine encyclopaedia, written sometime after 975, which tells everything about his early life. He was a native of Caesarea in the Roman Province Palaestina Prima and he evidently knew Latin, as was natural for a man with legal training. In 527, the first year of Eastern Roman Emperor Justinians reign, he became the adsessor for Belisarius, Procopius was with Belisarius on the eastern front until the latter was defeated at the Battle of Callinicum in 531 and recalled to Constantinople. Procopius witnessed the Nika riots of January,532, which Belisarius, Procopius recorded a few of the extreme weather events of 535–536, although these were presented as a backdrop to Roman military activities, such as a mutiny, in and near Carthage. He rejoined Belisarius for his campaign against the Ostrogothic kingdom in Italy and experienced the Gothic siege of Rome that lasted a year and nine days and he witnessed Belisarius entry into the Gothic capital, Ravenna, in 540. Book Eight of the Wars of Justinian, and the Secret History, suggest that his relationship with Belisarius seems to have cooled thereafter. When Belisarius was sent back to Italy in 544 to cope with a renewal of the war with the Goths, now led by the able king Totila, Procopius appears to have no longer been on Belisarius staff. As magister militum, Belisarius was a vir illustris, and Procopius, as his adsessor, must and he thus belonged to the middle-ranking group of the ordo senatorius. However, the Suda, which is well informed in such matters. Should this information be correct, then Procopius had a seat in the senate of Constantinople and it is not known when Procopius himself died, and many historians date his death to 554, but in 562 there was an urban prefect of Constantinople who happened to be called Procopius. In that year, Belisarius was implicated in a conspiracy and was brought before this urban prefect, the writings of Procopius are the primary source of information for the rule of the Eastern Roman emperor Justinian. Procopius Wars of Justinian is clearly his most important work, although it is not as known as the Secret History. The first two deal with the conflict between the Romans and Sassanid Persia in Mesopotamia, Syria, Armenia, Lazica and Caucasian Iberia. They also cover the early career of the Roman general Belisarius, Procopius patron, the next two books, the Vandal War, cover Belisarius successful campaign against the Vandal kingdom in Roman Africa. The remaining books cover the Gothic War, the campaigns by Belisarius and others to recapture Italy and this includes accounts of the sieges of Naples and Rome. Later, Procopius added a book, which brings the history to 552/553. This eighth book covers both in Italy and on the Eastern frontier
7.
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 —
8.
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
9.
Battle of Adrianople
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The Battle of Adrianople, sometimes known as the Battle of Hadrianopolis, was fought between an Eastern Roman army led by the Eastern Roman Emperor Valens and Gothic rebels led by Fritigern. The battle took place about 13 km north of Adrianople in the Roman province of Thracia and it ended with an overwhelming victory for the Goths and the death of Emperor Valens. Part of the Gothic War, the battle is considered the start of the process which led to the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century. It was fought by the forces of the Eastern Roman Empire and we have a detailed account for the lead up to the battle from the Roman perspective from Ammianus Marcellinus, which forms the culminating point at the end of his history. The position in his histories and the lack of a history for the following century has tended to exaggerate the significance of the battle for later historians. Ammianuss account of the battle itself, as to be expected from a side, is far from clear. Heat, fire and dust seem to have particularly significant. Much of what follows about the battle itself is modern supposition, in 376 AD, displaced by the invasions of the Huns, the Goths, led by Alavivus and Fritigern, asked to be allowed to settle in the Eastern Roman Empire. Hoping that they would become farmers and soldiers, the Eastern Roman emperor Valens allowed them to themselves in the Empire as allies. However, once across the Danube, the dishonesty of the provincial commanders Lupicinus and Maximus led the newcomers to revolt after suffering many hardships, Valens then asked Gratian, the western emperor, for reinforcements to fight the Goths. Gratian sent the general Frigeridus with reinforcements, as well as the leader of his guards, for the next two years preceding the battle of Adrianople there were a series of running battles with no clear victories for either side. In 378, Valens decided to control himself. Valens would bring troops from Syria and Gratian would bring more troops from Gaul. Valens left Antioch for Constantinople, and arrived on the 30th of May and he appointed Sebastianus, newly arrived from Italy, to reorganize the Roman armies already in Thrace. Sebastianus picked 2,000 of his legionaries and marched towards Adrianople and they ambushed some small Gothic detachments. Fritigern assembled the Gothic forces at Nicopolis and Beroe to deal with this Roman threat, Gratian had sent much of his army to Pannonia when the Lentienses attacked across the Rhine. Gratian recalled his army and defeated the Lentienses near Argentaria After this campaign, Gratian, with part of his army, went east by boat. The former group arrived at Sirmium in Pannonia and at the Camp of Mars,400 kilometers from Adrianople, Gratians group withdrew to Pannonia shortly thereafter
10.
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
11.
Koine Greek
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It was based mainly on Attic and related Ionic speech forms, with various admixtures brought about through dialect levelling with other varieties. Koine Greek displayed a wide spectrum of different styles, ranging from more conservative literary forms to the vernaculars of the time. As the dominant language of the Byzantine Empire, it developed further into Medieval Greek, Koine Greek remained the court language of the Byzantine Empire until its dissolution in 1453, while Medieval and eventually Modern Greek were the everyday language. Literary Koine was the medium of much of post-classical Greek literary and scholarly writing, such as the works of Plutarch, Koine is also the language of the Christian New Testament, of the Septuagint, and of most early Christian theological writing by the Church Fathers. In this context, Koine Greek is also known as Biblical, New Testament and it continues to be used as the liturgical language of services in the Greek Orthodox Church. The word koinē is the Greek word for common, and is understood as referring to the common dialect. The word is pronounced /kɔɪˈneɪ/, /ˈkɔɪneɪ/ or /kiːˈniː/ in US English, the pronunciation of the word in Koine gradually changed from Greek pronunciation, to Greek pronunciation. Its pronunciation in Modern Greek is, the term was applied in several different senses by ancient scholars. Others chose to refer to Koine as the Alexandrian dialect or the dialect of Alexandria, the former was often used by modern classicists. Koine Greek arose as a dialect within the armies of Alexander the Great. Under the leadership of Macedon, their newly formed common variety was spoken from the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt to the Seleucid Empire of Mesopotamia and it replaced existing ancient Greek dialects with an everyday form that people anywhere could understand. The passage into the period, known as Medieval Greek. The post-Classical period of Greek thus refers to the creation and evolution of Koine Greek throughout the entire Hellenistic, the linguistic roots of the Common Greek dialect had been unclear since ancient times. During the Hellenistic period, most scholars thought of Koine as the result of the mixture of the four main Ancient Greek dialects, ἡ ἐκ τῶν τεττάρων συνεστῶσα. The view accepted by most scholars today was given by the Greek linguist Georgios Hatzidakis, who showed that, despite the composition of the Four, the stable nucleus of Koine Greek is Attic. In other words, Koine Greek can be regarded as Attic with the admixture of elements especially from Ionic, the degree of importance of the non-Attic linguistic elements on Koine can vary depending on the region of the Hellenistic World. The literary Koine of the Hellenistic age resembles Attic in such a degree that it is mentioned as Common Attic. Koine Greek was therefore considered a form of Greek which was not worthy of attention
12.
Syria Palaestina
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Syria Palaestina was a Roman province between 135 and about 390. It was established by the merger of Roman Syria and Roman Judaea, shortly after 193, the northern regions were split off as Syria Coele in the north and Phoenice in the south, and the province Syria Palaestina was reduced to Judea. The earliest numismatic evidence for the name Syria Palaestina comes from the period of emperor Marcus Aurelius, Syria was an early Roman province, annexed to the Roman Republic in 64 BC by Pompey in the Third Mithridatic War, following the defeat of Armenian King Tigranes the Great. Following the partition of the Herodian Kingdom into tetrarchies in 6 AD, it was absorbed into Roman provinces, with Roman Syria annexing Iturea. The Roman province of Judea incorporated the regions of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea and it was named after Herod Archelauss Tetrarchy of Judea, but the Roman province encompassed a much larger territory. H. Ben-Sasson, had been the capital of the region beginning in 6 AD. Judea province was the scene of unrest at its founding in 6 AD during the Census of Quirinius and several wars were fought in its history, the Temple was destroyed in 70 as part of the Great Jewish Revolt resulting in the institution of the Fiscus Judaicus. Disturbances followed throughout the region during the Kitos War in 117–118, between 132–135, Simon Bar Kokhba led a revolt against the Roman Empire, controlling parts of Judea but seemingly not Jerusalem, for three years. As a result, Hadrian sent Sextus Julius Severus to the region, after crushing the Bar Kokhba revolt, the Roman Emperor Hadrian applied the name Syria Palestina to the entire region, that had formerly included Judea province. The city of Aelia Capitolina was built by the emperor Hadrian on the ruins of Jerusalem, the capital of the enlarged province remained in Antiochia. In 193, the province of Syria-Coele was split from Syria Palaestina, in the 3rd century, Syrians even reached for imperial power, with the Severan dynasty. Syria was of strategic importance during the Crisis of the Third Century. Beginning in 212, Palmyras trade diminished as the Sassanids occupied the mouth of the Tigris, in 232, the Syrian Legion rebelled against the Roman Empire, but the uprising went unsuccessful. Septimius Odaenathus, a Prince of the Aramean state of Palmyra, was appointed by Valerian as the governor of the province of Syria Palaestina. After Valerian was captured by the Sassanids in 260, and died in captivity in Bishapur, Odaenathus campaigned as far as Ctesiphon for revenge, when Odaenathus was assassinated by his nephew Maconius, his wife Septimia Zenobia took power, ruling Palmyra on behalf of her son, Vabalathus. Zenobia rebelled against Roman authority with the help of Cassius Longinus and took over Bosra and lands as far to the west as Egypt, next, she took Antioch and large sections of Asia Minor to the north. In 272, the Roman Emperor Aurelian finally restored Roman control and Palmyra was besieged and sacked, Aurelian captured Zenobia, bringing her back to Rome. He paraded her in chains in the presence of the senator Marcellus Petrus Nutenus, but allowed her to retire to a villa in Tibur
13.
Phoenice (Roman province)
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Phoenice was a province of the Roman Empire encompassing the historical region of Phoenicia. After c.400 it was divided into Phoenice proper or Phoenice Paralia, and Phoenice Libanensis, Phoenicia came under the rule of the Roman Republic in 64 BC, when Pompey created the province of Syria. With the exception of a period in 36–30 BC, when Mark Antony gave the region to Ptolemaic Egypt. In the Notitia Dignitatum, written shortly after the division, Phoenice I is governed by a consularis, while Libanensis is governed by a praeses and this division remained intact until the Muslim conquest of the Levant in the 630s. Under the Caliphate, most of the two Phoenices came under the province of Damascus, with parts in the south and north going to the provinces of Jordan, the ecclesiastical administration paralleled the political, but with some differences. The bishop of Tyre emerged as the pre-eminent prelate of Phoenice by the mid-3rd century, when the province was divided c. 400, Damascus, rather than Emesa, became the metropolis of Phoenice II, both provinces belonged to the Patriarchate of Antioch, with Damascus initially outranking Tyre, whose position was also briefly challenged by the see of Berytus c. 450, after 480/1, however, the Metropolitan of Tyre established himself as the first in precedence of all the Metropolitans subject to Antioch, the End of the Jihâd State, The Reign of Hishām ibn ʻAbd al-Malik and the Collapse of the Umayyads. Albany, New York, State University of New York Press
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Latin
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Latin is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. The Latin alphabet is derived from the Etruscan and Greek alphabets, Latin was originally spoken in Latium, in the Italian Peninsula. Through the power of the Roman Republic, it became the dominant language, Vulgar Latin developed into the Romance languages, such as Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, French, and Romanian. Latin, Italian and French have contributed many words to the English language, Latin and Ancient Greek roots are used in theology, biology, and medicine. By the late Roman Republic, Old Latin had been standardised into Classical Latin, Vulgar Latin was the colloquial form spoken during the same time and attested in inscriptions and the works of comic playwrights like Plautus and Terence. Late Latin is the language from the 3rd century. Later, Early Modern Latin and Modern Latin evolved, Latin was used as the language of international communication, scholarship, and science until well into the 18th century, when it began to be supplanted by vernaculars. Ecclesiastical Latin remains the language of the Holy See and the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church. Today, many students, scholars and members of the Catholic clergy speak Latin fluently and it is taught in primary, secondary and postsecondary educational institutions around the world. The language has been passed down through various forms, some inscriptions have been published in an internationally agreed, monumental, multivolume series, the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum. Authors and publishers vary, but the format is about the same, volumes detailing inscriptions with a critical apparatus stating the provenance, the reading and interpretation of these inscriptions is the subject matter of the field of epigraphy. The works of several hundred ancient authors who wrote in Latin have survived in whole or in part and they are in part the subject matter of the field of classics. The Cat in the Hat, and a book of fairy tales, additional resources include phrasebooks and resources for rendering everyday phrases and concepts into Latin, such as Meissners Latin Phrasebook. The Latin influence in English has been significant at all stages of its insular development. From the 16th to the 18th centuries, English writers cobbled together huge numbers of new words from Latin and Greek words, dubbed inkhorn terms, as if they had spilled from a pot of ink. Many of these words were used once by the author and then forgotten, many of the most common polysyllabic English words are of Latin origin through the medium of Old French. Romance words make respectively 59%, 20% and 14% of English, German and those figures can rise dramatically when only non-compound and non-derived words are included. Accordingly, Romance words make roughly 35% of the vocabulary of Dutch, Roman engineering had the same effect on scientific terminology as a whole
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Syriac language
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Syriac /ˈsɪri. æk/, also known as Syriac Aramaic, is a dialect of Middle Aramaic that was once spoken across much of the Fertile Crescent and Eastern Arabia. Indeed, Syriac literature comprises roughly 90% of the extant Aramaic literature, Old Aramaic was adopted by the Neo-Assyrian Empire when they conquered the various Aramean city-kingdoms to its west. The Achaemenid Empire, which rose after the fall of the Assyrian Empire, also adopted Old Aramaic as its official language, during the course of the third and fourth centuries AD, the inhabitants of the region began to embrace Christianity. Along with Latin and Greek, Syriac became one of the three most important Christian languages in the centuries of the Christian Era. Primarily a Christian medium of expression, Syriac had a cultural and literary influence on the development of Arabic. Syriac remains the language of Syriac Christianity to this day. Syriac is a Middle Aramaic language and, as such, a language of the Northwestern branch of the Semitic family and it is written in the Syriac alphabet, a derivation of the Aramaic alphabet. Syriac was the local accent of Aramaic in Edessa, that evolved under the influence of Church of the East and it has been found as far afield as Hadrians Wall in Ancient Britain, with inscriptions written by Assyrian and Aramean soldiers of the Roman Empire. Modern Syriac/Modern Syriac Aramaic is an occasionally used to refer to the modern Eastern Aramaic languages. In this terminology, Modern Syriac is divided into, Modern Western Syriac Aramaic, note however that these are sometimes excluded from the category of Modern Syriac. The modern varieties are, therefore, not discussed in this article, in 132 BC, the kingdom of Osroene was founded in Edessa and Proto-Syriac evolved in that kingdom. Many Syriac-speakers still look to Edessa as the cradle of their language, there are about eighty extant early Syriac inscriptions, dated to the first three centuries AD. All of these examples of the language are non-Christian. As an official language, Syriac was given a relatively coherent form, style, in the 3rd century, churches in Edessa began to use Syriac as the language of worship. There is evidence that the adoption of Syriac, the language of the Assyrian people, was to effect mission, much literary effort was put into the production of an authoritative translation of the Bible into Syriac, the Peshitta. At the same time, Ephrem the Syrian was producing the most treasured collection of poetry, in 489, many Syriac-speaking Christians living in the eastern reaches of the Roman Empire fled to the Sassanid Empire to escape persecution and growing animosity with Greek-speaking Christians. The Christological differences with the Church of the East led to the bitter Nestorian schism in the Syriac-speaking world, as a result, Syriac developed distinctive western and eastern varieties. Syriac literature is by far the most prodigious of the various Aramaic languages and its corpus covers poetry, prose, theology, liturgy, hymnody, history, philosophy, science, medicine and natural history
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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
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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
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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
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Nusaybin
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Nusaybin is a city and multiple titular see in Mardin Province, Turkey. The population of the city is 83,832 as of 2009, the population is of ethnic Kurdish, Assyrian and Arab descent. With a history going back nearly 3,000 years, Nusaybin was ruled and settled by various groups, first mentioned in 901 BC, Naşibīna was an Aramaean kingdom captured by the Assyrian king Adad-Nirari II in 896. By 852 BC, Naṣibina had been annexed to the Neo-Assyrian Empire. It remained part of the Assyrian Empire until its collapse in 608 BC and it was under Babylonian control until 536 BC, when it fell to the Achaemenid Persians, and remained so until taken by Alexander the Great in 332 BC. The Seleucids refounded the city as Antiochia Mygdonia, mentioned for the first time in Polybius description of the march of Antiochus III the Great against Molon, greek historian Plutarch suggested that the city was populated by Spartan descendants. Around the 1st century AD, Nisibis was the home of Judah ben Bethera, lost in 194, it was again conquered by Septimius Severus, who made it his headquarters and re-established a colony there. The last battle between Rome and Parthia was fought in the vicinity of the city in 217, with the fresh energy of the new Sassanid dynasty, Shapur I conquered Nisibis, was driven out, and returned in the 260s. In 298, by a treaty with Narseh, the province of Nisibis was acquired by the Roman Empire, Nisibis had an Assyrian Christian bishop from 300, founded by Babu. War was begun again by Shapur II in 337, who besieged the city in 338,346, and 350, Nisibis was the home of Ephrem the Syrian, who remained until its surrender to the Sassanid Persians by Roman Emperor Jovian in 363. The Roman historian of the 4th century, Ammianus Marcellinus, gained his first practical experience of warfare as a man at Nisibis under the master of the cavalry. From 360 to 363, Nisibis was the camp of Legio I Parthica, because of its strategic importance on the Persian border Nisibis was heavily fortified. Ammianus lovingly calls Nisibis the impregnable city and bulwark of the provinces, in 363 Nisibis was ceded back to the Persians after the defeat of Emperor Julian. Before that time the population of the town was forced by the Roman authorities to leave Nisibis, Emperor Jovian allowed them only three days for the evacuation. Historian Ammianus Marcellinus was again an eyewitness and condemns Emperor Jovian for giving up the town without a fight. Marcellinus point-of-view is certainly in line with contemporary Roman public opinion, later, the bishop of Nisibis was the Metropolitan Archbishop of the Ecclesiastical province of Bit-Arbaye. Ephrem the Syrian, an Assyrian poet, commentator, preacher and defender of orthodoxy, joined the exodus of Christians. Those that have discovered and published belong to Osee, the successor of Barsumas in the See of Nisibis
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Mesopotamia (Roman province)
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Mesopotamia was the name of two distinct Roman provinces, the one a short-lived creation of the Roman Emperor Trajan in 116–117 and the other established by Emperor Septimius Severus in ca. 198, which ranged between the Roman and the Sassanid empires, until the Muslim conquests of the 7th Century, in 113, Emperor Trajan launched a war against Romes long-time eastern rival, the Parthian Empire. In 114, he conquered Armenia, which was made into a province and this too was organized as a province in early 116, when coins were minted to celebrate the fact. Later in the year, Trajan marched into central and southern Mesopotamia and across the river Tigris to Adiabene. But he did not stop there, in the last months of 116, he captured the great Persian city of Susa. He deposed the Parthian king Osroes I and put his own puppet ruler Parthamaspates on the Parthian throne, never again would the Roman Empire advance so far to the east. As soon as Trajan died, however, his successor Hadrian relinquished his conquests east of the Euphrates river, which became again the Roman Empires eastern boundary. This control was threatened in 195, during the war between Septimius Severus and the usurper Pescennius Niger, when rebellions broke out in the area. Severus quickly restored order and organized Osroene as a full province, next Severus embarked on a war against Parthia, which he concluded successfully with the sack of the Parthian capital Ctesiphon. In emulation of Trajan, he re-established a province of Mesopotamia in 198, with Nisibis, elevated to the status of a full colonia, as its capital. For the remainder of its existence, the new province would remain a bone of contention between the Romans and their neighbors, suffering heavily in the recurrent Roman–Persian Wars. In the 250s, the Persian shah Shapur I attacked Mesopotamia, and fought with the Roman emperor Valerian, in the next year, however, Shapur was heavily defeated by Odaenathus of Palmyra and driven out of Mesopotamia. Under the reforms of Diocletian and Constantine I, it part of the Diocese of the East. Other cities included Martyropolis and Kephas, the province suffered greatly during the near-constant wars with Persia in the 6th century. In 573, the Persians even took Dara, although the East Romans recovered it under the peace of 591. They lost it again to the Persians in the war of 602–628. Kazhdan, Alexander, ed. Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, mommsen, Theodor, Dickson, William Purdie, Haverfield, Francis. The provinces of the Roman Empire, from Caesar to Diocletian, the Roman Empire from Severus to Constantine
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Siege of Amida
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The Siege of Amida took place when the Sassanids, under Shah Shapur II besieged the Roman city of Amida in 359. In this battle Ammianus Marcellinus, a historian of Greek origin from Antioch, was a Roman army officer, when Shapur II took control of the Sassanid Empire he sought to regain old territories previously lost to the Roman Empire. After crushing the Arabs in the south, he moved east to deal with nomadic forces, following a prolonged struggle from the Xionites were forced to conclude a peace, and their king, Grumbates, accompanied Shapur II in the war against the Romans. In 358 the Romans had failed to dissuade Shapur from attacking Mesopotamia, Shapur started the western campaign in 359. Emperor Constantius II had increasingly been doubting the loyalty of general Ursicinus, as a result, he did not give him command of the Roman forces in the East, and instead gave it to Sabinianus. Carrhae was to be evacuated immediately, because of the weakness of its fortifications, in the panic which followed, several Roman legions chaotically escaped the Persian advance to the safety of Amida. These included the Legio XXX Ulpia Victrix and the Legio X Fretensis and it appears the Sassanid plan was to bypass difficult fortresses like Nisibis and to then march straight into Syria. When his forces approached Amida, the Sassanids were provoked into attacking the city and this came about when the son of Grumbates, while inspecting the defences of Amida, was shot and killed with an arrow shot by the city garrison. Ammianus described how the Grumbates, outraged at his sons death, demanded revenge from the Romans, the Sassanids began the attack with siege towers and attempted to take the city hastily, but were largely unsuccessful. Unable to gain a victory, Shapur had to commit to capturing Amida in order to appease his ally. But it was clear that he would try the effect of a conference on the defenders of the walls. Shapur attempted to capture the city several times but every time it ended with disaster, many times siege towers were set on fire by the Romans. During the siege, plague broke out in Amida but ended after ten days by a light rain, a day before capture of the city, Ammianus Marcellinus escaped to Melitene, and thence returned to Antioch. After capturing the city, the garrison and its inhabitants were put to the sword, the Persians lost approximately 30,000 in the siege but Shapur II advanced further and took Singara and some other fortresses in the following years. In 363, Emperor Julian, at the head of a strong army and his successor Jovian signed a treaty of peace, by which the districts on the Tigris and Nisibis were ceded to the Persians and the Romans promised to interfere no more in Armenia. Ammianus Marcellinus, Res Gestae, Cambridge MA,1982, abd al-Husayn Zarrin’kub, Ruzgaran, tarikh-i Iran az aghz ta saqut saltnat Pahlvi, Sukhan,1999. ISBN 964-6961-11-8 The Siege of Amida in 359 by Ammianus Marcellinus
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Gaul
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It covered an area of 190,800 sq mi. According to the testimony of Julius Caesar, Gaul was divided into three parts, Gallia Celtica, Belgica and Aquitania, during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, Gaul fell under Roman rule, Gallia Cisalpina was conquered in 203 BC and Gallia Narbonensis in 123 BC. Gaul was invaded after 120 BC by the Cimbri and the Teutons, Gallia remains a name of France in modern Greek and modern Latin. The Greek and Latin names Galatia, and Gallia are ultimately derived from a Celtic ethnic term or clan Gal-to-. Galli of Gallia Celtica were reported to refer to themselves as Celtae by Caesar. Hellenistic folk etymology connected the name of the Galatians to the supposedly milk-white skin of the Gauls, modern researchers say it is related to Welsh gallu, Cornish galloes, capacity, power, thus meaning powerful people. The English Gaul is from French Gaule and is unrelated to Latin Gallia, as adjectives, English has the two variants, Gaulish and Gallic. The two adjectives are used synonymously, as pertaining to Gaul or the Gauls, although the Celtic language or languages spoken in Gaul is predominantly known as Gaulish. The Germanic w- is regularly rendered as gu- / g- in French, also unrelated in spite of superficial similarity is the name Gael. The Irish word gall did originally mean a Gaul, i. e. an inhabitant of Gaul, but its meaning was later widened to foreigner, to describe the Vikings, and later still the Normans. The dichotomic words gael and gall are sometimes used together for contrast, by 500 BC, there is strong Hallstatt influence throughout most of France. By the late 5th century BC, La Tène influence spreads rapidly across the territory of Gaul. The La Tène culture developed and flourished during the late Iron Age in France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, southwest Germany, Bohemia, Moravia, Slovakia, farther north extended the contemporary pre-Roman Iron Age culture of northern Germany and Scandinavia. By the 2nd century BC, the Romans described Gallia Transalpina as distinct from Gallia Cisalpina, while some scholars believe the Belgae south of the Somme were a mixture of Celtic and Germanic elements, their ethnic affiliations have not been definitively resolved. One of the reasons is political interference upon the French historical interpretation during the 19th century, in addition to the Gauls, there were other peoples living in Gaul, such as the Greeks and Phoenicians who had established outposts such as Massilia along the Mediterranean coast. Also, along the southeastern Mediterranean coast, the Ligures had merged with the Celts to form a Celto-Ligurian culture, the prosperity of Mediterranean Gaul encouraged Rome to respond to pleas for assistance from the inhabitants of Massilia, who were under attack by a coalition of Ligures and Gauls. The Romans intervened in Gaul in 154 BC and again in 125 BC, whereas on the first occasion they came and went, on the second they stayed. Massilia was allowed to keep its lands, but Rome added to its territories the lands of the conquered tribes. The direct result of conquests was that by now, Rome controlled an area extending from the Pyrenees to the lower Rhône river
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Amida (Mesopotamia)
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Amida was an ancient city in Mesopotamia located where modern Diyarbakır, Turkey now stands. The Roman writers Ammianus Marcellinus and Procopius consider it a city of Mesopotamia, the city was located on the right bank of the Tigris. The walls are lofty and substantial, and constructed of the stones from older buildings. Amid, also known by various names throughout its history, was established as an Assyrian settlement. The oldest artefact from Amida is the stele of king Naram-Sin also believed to be from third millennia BC. The name Amida first appears in the writings of Assyrian King Adad Nirari who ruled the city as a part of the Assyrian homeland and it was enlarged and strengthened by Constantius II, in whose reign it was besieged and taken after seventy-three days by the Sassanid king Shapur II. The Roman soldiers and a part of the population of the town were massacred by the Persians. The historian Ammianus Marcellinus, who took part in the defence of the town, has given an account of the siege. In 363 Amida was re-taken by Roman Emperor Julian, Amida was besieged by the Sassanid king Kavadh I during the Anastasian War through the autumn and winter. During that same war, the Romans attempted an unsuccessful siege of the Persian-held Amida. In 504, however, the Romans reconquered the city, and Justinian I repaired its walls, the Sassanids captured the city for a third time in 602 and held it for more than twenty years. In 628 the Roman emperor Heraclius recovered Amida, finally, in 639 the city was captured by the Arab armies of Islam and it remained in Arab hands until the Kurdish dynasty of the Marwanids ruled the area during the 10th and 11th centuries. In 1085, the Seljuq Turks captured the region from the Marwanids, however, the Ayyubids received the city from Seljuqs in 1201, and the city ruled by them until the Mongolian Ilkhanate captured the city in 1259. Later the Turkmen Artuqid dynasty received the city from the Ayyubids, yavuz Sultan Selim, the Ottoman Emperor received the city from the Safavids in 1515. Amida is a diocese of several Christian denominations, for the history of Amida and Diyarbakir. Diyarbakır Siege of Amida Ephraim of Antioch, Church Father born in Amida George Long, Amida, in William Smith, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, Volume 1, Walton & Maberly,1854, greatrex, Geoffrey, Lieu, Samuel N. C. Justinians First Persian War and the Eternal Peace, the Roman Eastern Frontier and the Persian Wars. Matthew Bennett, Amida, The Hutchinson dictionary of ancient & medieval warfare, Taylor & Francis,1998, ISBN 1-57958-116-1, p.13
24.
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
25.
Alemanni
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The Alemanni were a confederation of Germanic tribes on the upper Rhine river. In 496, the Alemanni were conquered by Frankish leader Clovis, mentioned as still pagan allies of the Christian Franks, the Alemanni were gradually Christianized during the 7th century. The Pactus Alamannorum is a record of their customary law during this period, until the 8th century, Frankish suzerainty over Alemannia was mostly nominal. But after an uprising by Theudebald, Duke of Alamannia, Carloman executed the Alamannic nobility, during the later and weaker years of the Carolingian Empire the Alemannic counts became almost independent, and a struggle for supremacy took place between them and the Bishopric of Constance. According to Asinius Quadratus their name means all men and it indicates that they were a conglomeration drawn from various Germanic tribes. Other sources say the name derives from alahmannen which means men of sanctuary and not all men. The Romans and the Greeks called them as such mentioned and this etymology has remained the standard derivation of the term. Walafrid Strabo, a monk of the Abbey of St, the name of Germany and the German language in several languages is derived from the name of this early Germanic tribal alliance. For details, see Names of Germany, the Alemanni were first mentioned by Cassius Dio describing the campaign of Caracalla in 213. At that time they dwelt in the basin of the Main. Cassius Dio portrays the Alemanni as victims of this treacherous emperor and they had asked for his help, says Dio, but instead he colonized their country, changed their place names and executed their warriors under a pretext of coming to their aid. When he became ill, the Alemanni claimed to have put a hex on him, Caracalla, it was claimed, tried to counter this influence by invoking his ancestral spirits. In retribution Caracalla then led the Legio II Traiana Fortis against the Alemanni, the legion was as a result honored with the name Germanica. Not on good terms with Caracalla, Geta had been invited to a reconciliation, at which time he was ambushed by centurions in Caracallas army. True or not, Caracalla, pursued by devils of his own, Caracalla left for the frontier, where for the rest of his short reign he was known for his unpredictable and arbitrary operations launched by surprise after a pretext of peace negotiations. If he had any reasons of state for such actions they remained unknown to his contemporaries, whether or not the Alemanni had been previously neutral, they were certainly further influenced by Caracalla to become thereafter notoriously implacable enemies of Rome. This mutually antagonistic relationship is perhaps the reason why the Roman writers persisted in calling the Alemanni barbari, most of the Alemanni were probably at the time in fact resident in or close to the borders of Germania Superior. At that time the frontier was being fortified for the first time
26.
Jovian (emperor)
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Jovian was Roman Emperor from 363 to 364. Upon the death of emperor Julian the Apostate during his campaign against the Sassanid Empire and he sought peace with the Persians on humiliating terms and reestablished Christianity as the state church. His reign lasted only eight months, Jovian was born at Singidunum in 331 AD, the son of Varronianus, the commander of Constantius IIs imperial bodyguards. He also joined the guards and by 363 had risen to the command that his father had once held. In this capacity, Jovian accompanied the Roman Emperor Julian on the Mesopotamian campaign of the year against Shapur II. After the Battle of Samarra, a small but decisive engagement, Julian, mortally wounded during the retreat, died on 26 June 363. The next day, after the aged Saturninius Secundus Salutius, praetorian prefect of the Orient, had declined the purple, Jovian, a Christian, reestablished Christianity as the state church, ending the brief revival of paganism under his predecessor. Upon arriving at Antioch, he revoked the edicts of Julian against Christians, the Labarum of Constantine the Great again became the standard of the army. He issued an edict of toleration, to the effect that, while the exercise of magical rites would be punished, his subjects should enjoy full liberty of conscience. In 363, however, he issued an edict ordering the Library of Antioch to be burnt down and he extended the same punishment on 23 December to participation in any pagan ceremony. Jovian entertained a great regard for Athanasius, whom he reinstated on the archiepiscopal throne, in Syriac literature, Jovian became the hero of a Christian romance. From Jovians reign until the 15th century Christianity remained the dominant religion of both the Western and Eastern Roman Empires, until the Fall of Constantinople to the Turks in 1453, Jovian continued the retreat begun by Julian. Though harassed by the Persians, the army succeeded in reaching the banks of the Tigris, there, deep inside Sassanid territory, he was forced to sue for a peace treaty on humiliating terms. The Romans also surrendered their interests in the Kingdom of Armenia to the Persians, the Christian king of Armenia, Arsaces II, was to stay neutral in future conflicts between the two empires and was forced to cede part of his kingdom to Shapur. The treaty was seen as a disgrace and Jovian rapidly lost popularity. After arriving at Antioch, Jovian decided to rush to Constantinople to consolidate his position there. While en route, he was dead in bed in his tent at Dadastana. His death has been attributed to either a surfeit of mushrooms or the carbon monoxide fumes of a charcoal warming fire
27.
Arian controversy
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The Arian controversy was a series of Christian theological disputes that arose between Arius and Athanasius of Alexandria, two Christian theologians from Alexandria, Egypt. The most important of these concerned the substantial relationship between God the Father and God the Son. Arianism continued to be preached inside and outside the Empire for some time, the early history of the controversy must be pieced together from about 35 documents found in various sources. It therefore necessarily follows, that he had his substance from nothing, bishop Alexander of Alexandria was criticised for his slow reaction against Arius. Like his predecessor Dionysius, he has charged with vacillation. The question that Arius raised had been left unsettled two generations previously, therefore, Alexander allowed the controversy to continue until he felt that it had become dangerous to the peace of the Church. Then he called a council of bishops and sought their advice, once they decided against Arius, Alexander delayed no longer. He deposed Arius from his office, and excommunicated him and his supporters. Arianism would not be contained within the Alexandrian diocese, the Church was now a powerful force in the Roman world, with Constantine I having legalized it in 313 through the Edict of Milan. The emperor had taken a personal interest in several issues, including the Donatist controversy in 316. To this end, the emperor sent bishop Hosius of Corduba to investigate and, if possible, Hosius was armed with an open letter from the Emperor, Wherefore let each one of you, showing consideration for the other, listen to the impartial exhortation of your fellow-servant. All secular dioceses of the empire sent one or more representatives to the council, save for Roman Britain, Pope Sylvester I, himself too aged to attend, sent two priests as his delegates. Arius himself attended the council, but his bishop, Alexander, did not, Athanasius would become the champion of the Trinitarian dogma ultimately adopted by the council and spend most of his life battling Arianism. Also there were Eusebius of Caesarea and Eusebius of Nicomedia, before the main conclave convened, Hosius initially met with Alexander and his supporters at Nicomedia. The council would be presided over by the emperor himself, who participated in and those who upheld the notion that Christ was co-eternal and con-substantial with the Father were led by the young archdeacon Athanasius. Those who instead insisted that God the Son came after God the Father in time, for about two months, the two sides argued and debated, with each appealing to Scripture to justify their respective positions. Arius maintained that the Son of God was a Creature, made from nothing, and he argued that everything else was created through the Son. Thus, said Arius, only the Son was directly created and begotten of God, according to some accounts in the hagiography of Saint Nicholas, debate at the council became so heated that at one point, he slapped Arius in the face
28.
Tacitus
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Publius Cornelius Tacitus was a senator and an historian of the Roman Empire. The surviving portions of his two major works—the Annals and the Histories—examine the reigns of the Roman emperors Tiberius, Claudius, Nero, and those who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors. These two works span the history of the Roman Empire from the death of Augustus, in AD14, to the years of the First Jewish–Roman War, There are substantial lacunae in the surviving texts, including a gap in the Annals that is four books long. Tacitus is considered to be one of the greatest Roman historians, details about his personal life are scarce. What little is known comes from scattered hints throughout his work, the letters of his friend and admirer Pliny the Younger, and an inscription found at Mylasa in Caria. Tacitus was born in 56 or 57 to an equestrian family, one scholars suggestion of Sextus has gained no approval. Most of the aristocratic families failed to survive the proscriptions which took place at the end of the Republic. The claim that he was descended from a freedman is derived from a speech in his writings which asserts that many senators and knights were descended from freedmen, but this is generally disputed. His father may have been the Cornelius Tacitus who served as procurator of Belgica and Germania, Pliny the Elder mentions that Cornelius had a son who aged rapidly, which implies an early death. There is no mention of Tacitus suffering such a condition, the friendship between the younger Pliny and Tacitus leads some scholars to conclude that they were both the offspring of wealthy provincial families. The province of his birth remains unknown, though various conjectures suggest Gallia Belgica, Gallia Narbonensis and his marriage to the daughter of Narbonensian senator Gnaeus Julius Agricola implies that he came from Gallia Narbonensis. Tacitus dedication to Fabius Iustus in the Dialogus may indicate a connection with Spain, no evidence exists, however, that Plinys friends from northern Italy knew Tacitus, nor do Plinys letters hint that the two men had a common background. Pliny Book 9, Letter 23 reports that, when he was asked if he was Italian or provincial, he gave an unclear answer, since Pliny was from Italy, some infer that Tacitus was from the provinces, probably Gallia Narbonensis. His ancestry, his skill in oratory, and his depiction of barbarians who resisted Roman rule have led some to suggest that he was a Celt. This belief stems from the fact that the Celts who had occupied Gaul prior to the Roman invasion were famous for their skill in oratory, and had been subjugated by Rome. As a young man, Tacitus studied rhetoric in Rome to prepare for a career in law and politics, like Pliny, in 77 or 78, he married Julia Agricola, daughter of the famous general Agricola. Little is known of their life, save that Tacitus loved hunting. He started his career under Vespasian, but entered political life as a quaestor in 81 or 82 under Titus
29.
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
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Lacuna (manuscripts)
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A lacuna is a gap in a manuscript, inscription, text, painting, or a musical work. A manuscript, text, or section suffering from gaps is said to be lacunose or lacunulose, some books intentionally add lacunas to be filled in by the owner, often as a game or to encourage children to create their own stories. Weathering, decay, and other damage to old manuscripts or inscriptions are often responsible for lacunae—words, sentences, to reconstruct the original text, the context must be considered. In papyrology and textual criticism this may lead to competing reconstructions and interpretations, published texts that contain lacunae often mark the section where text is missing with a bracketed ellipsis. For example, This sentence contains 20 words, and nouns, or, Finally, a famous Old English example of a lacuna is in the manuscript British Library MS Cotton Vitellius A. xv, the poem Beowulf, hyrde ich thæt elan cwen. This particular lacuna is always reproduced in editions of the text, but many people have attempted to fill it, notably editors Wyatt-Chambers and Dobbie, among others, malone proposed the name Yrse for the unnamed queen, as that would alliterate with Onela. This is still debated amongst editors, however. Another notable lacuna is the eight-leaves-long Great Lacuna in the Codex Regius, parts of it survived in independent manuscripts and in prose form in the Völsunga saga. In Codex Leicester the text skips from Acts 10,45 to 14,17 without a break, possibly a scribe rewrote it from a defective manuscript
31.
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
32.
Fulda
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Fulda is a city in Hesse, Germany, it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district. In 1990, the hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival. In 744 Saint Sturm, a disciple of Saint Boniface, founded the Benedictine monastery of Fulda as one of Bonifaces outposts in the reorganization of the church in Germany. It later served as a base from which missionaries could accompany Charlemagnes armies in their political and military campaign to fully conquer, the initial grant for the abbey was signed by Carloman, the son of Charles Martel. The support of the Mayors of the Palace and later, the early Pippinid, Fulda also received support from many of the leading families of the Carolingian world. Sturm, whose tenure as abbot lasted from 747 until 779, was most likely related to the Agilolfing dukes of Bavaria. Fulda also received large and constant donations from the Etichonids, a family in Alsace. Under Sturm, the donations Fulda received from these and other important families helped in the establishment of daughter-houses -Johannesberg and Petersberg - near Fulda, after his martyrdom by the Frisians, the relics of Saint Boniface were brought back to Fulda. Because of the stature this afforded the monastery, the donations increased, meanwhile, Saint Lullus, successor of Boniface as archbishop of Mainz, tried to absorb the abbey into his archbishopric, but failed. This was one reason that he founded Hersfeld Abbey - to limit the attempts of the enlargement of Fulda, between 790 and 819 the community rebuilt the main monastery church to more fittingly house the relics. The crypt of the abbey church still holds those relics. A small, 9th-century chapel remains standing within walking distance of the church, rabanus Maurus served as abbot at Fulda from 822 to 842. Prince-abbot Balthasar von Dernbach adopted a policy of counterreformation, in 1571 he called in the Jesuits to found a school and college. He insisted that the members of the chapter should return to a form of life. The foundation of the abbey Fulda and its territory originated with an Imperial grant, Fulda became a bishopric in 1752 and the prince-abbots were given the additional title of prince-bishop. The prince-abbots ruled Fulda and the region until the bishopric was forcibly dissolved by Napoleon in 1802. The city went through a building campaign in the 18th century. This included a remodeling of Fulda Cathedral and of the Stadtschloss by Johann Dientzenhofer, the city parish church, St. Blasius, was built between 1771–85
33.
Franks
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Some Franks raided Roman territory, while other Frankish tribes joined the Roman troops of Gaul. In later times, Franks became the rulers of the northern part of Roman Gaul. The Salian Franks lived on Roman-held soil between the Rhine, Scheldt, Meuse, and Somme rivers in what is now Northern France, Belgium, the kingdom was acknowledged by the Romans after 357 CE. Following the collapse of Rome in the West, the Frankish tribes were united under the Merovingians, who succeeded in conquering most of Gaul in the 6th century, which greatly increased their power. The Merovingian dynasty, descendants of the Salians, founded one of the Germanic monarchies that would absorb large parts of the Western Roman Empire, the Frankish state consolidated its hold over the majority of western Europe by the end of the 8th century, developing into the Carolingian Empire. This empire would gradually evolve into the state of France and the Holy Roman Empire, in the Middle Ages, the term Frank was used in the east as a synonym for western European, as the Franks were then rulers of most of Western Europe. The Franks in the east kept their Germanic language and became part of the Germans, Dutch, Flemings, the Franconian languages, which are called Frankisch in Dutch or Fränkisch in German, originated at least partly in the Old Frankish language of the Franks. Nowadays, the German and Dutch names for France are Frankreich and Frankrijk, respectively, the name Franci was originally socio-political. To the Romans, Celts, and Suebi, the Franks must have seemed alike, they looked the same and spoke the same language, so that Franci became the name by which the people were known. Within a few centuries it had eclipsed the names of the tribes, though the older names have survived in some place-names, such as Hesse. Following the precedents of Edward Gibbon and Jacob Grimm, the name of the Franks has been linked with the word frank in English and it has been suggested that the meaning of free was adopted because, after the conquest of Gaul, only Franks were free of taxation. It is traditionally assumed that Frank comes from the Germanic word for javelin, there is also another theory that suggests that Frank comes from the Latin word francisca meaning. Words in other Germanic languages meaning fierce, bold or insolent, eumenius addressed the Franks in the matter of the execution of Frankish prisoners in the circus at Trier by Constantine I in 306 and certain other measures, Ubi nunc est illa ferocia. Feroces was used often to describe the Franks, contemporary definitions of Frankish ethnicity vary both by period and point of view. According to their law and their custom, writing in 2009, Professor Christopher Wickham pointed out that the word Frankish quickly ceased to have an exclusive ethnic connotation. North of the River Loire everyone seems to have considered a Frank by the mid-7th century at the latest. Two early sources describe the origin of the Franks are a 7th-century work known as the Chronicle of Fredegar. Neither of these works are accepted by historians as trustworthy, compared with Gregory of Tourss Historia Francorum, the chronicle describes Priam as a Frankish king whose people migrated to Macedonia after the fall of Troy
34.
Codex
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A codex is a book constructed of a number of sheets of paper, vellum, papyrus, or similar materials, with hand-written contents. The book is bound by stacking the pages and fixing one edge. Some codices are continuously folded like a concertina, the alternative to paged codex format for a long document is the continuous scroll. Examples of folded codices include the Maya codices, sometimes people use the term for a book-style format, including modern printed books but excluding folded books. The Romans developed the form from wooden writing tablets, the codexs gradual replacement of the scroll—the dominant book form in the ancient world—has been called the most important advance in book making before the invention of printing. The codex transformed the shape of the book itself, and offered a form that lasted for centuries, the spread of the codex is often associated with the rise of Christianity, which adopted the format for use with the Bible early on. In fact, any combination of codices and scrolls with papyrus and parchment is technically feasible, the codex began to replace the scroll almost as soon as it was invented. In Egypt, by the century, the codex outnumbered the scroll by ten to one based on surviving examples. By the sixth century, the scroll had almost vanished as a medium for literature, technically, even modern paperbacks are codices, but publishers and scholars reserve the term for manuscript books produced from Late antiquity until the Middle Ages. The scholarly study of manuscripts from the point of view of the bookbinding craft is called codicology. The study of ancient documents in general is called paleography, the Romans used precursors made of reusable wax-covered tablets of wood for taking notes and other informal writings. Two ancient polyptychs, a pentatych and octotych, excavated at Herculaneum used a connecting system that presages later sewing on of thongs or cords. Julius Caesar may have been the first Roman to reduce scrolls to pages in the form of a note-book. At the turn of the 1st century AD, a kind of folded parchment notebook called pugillares membranei in Latin became commonly used for writing in the Roman Empire, theodore Cressy Skeat theorized that this form of notebook was invented in Rome and then spread rapidly to the Near East. Codices are described in works by the Classical Latin poet. He wrote a series of five couplets meant to accompany gifts of literature that Romans exchanged during the festival of Saturnalia. ”Early codices of parchment or papyrus appear to have widely used as personal notebooks. The parchment notebook pages were commonly washed or scraped for re-use and consequently, writings in a codex were often considered informal, as early as the early 2nd century, there is evidence that a codex—usually of papyrus—was the preferred format among Christians. In the library of the Villa of the Papyri, Herculaneum, however, in the Nag Hammadi library, hidden about AD390, all texts are codices
35.
Philemon Holland
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Philemon Holland was an English schoolmaster, physician, and translator. He is known for having produced the first English translations of works by Livy, Pliny the Elder, and Plutarch, and for his translation of William Camdens Britannia. Philemon Holland, born at Chelmsford, Essex, in 1552, was the son of John Holland, the Norfolk branch claimed kinship with the Hollands of Up Holland, Lancashire, but this is questionable. Hollands grandfather, Edward Holland, was of Glassthorpe, Northamptonshire, Hollands father, John Holland, was one of the Marian exiles with Miles Coverdale during the reign of Mary I, when Catholicism was reestablished. After the accession of Elizabeth I in November 1558 he returned to England and he was appointed rector of Great Dunmow, Essex, on 26 September 1564, where he died in 1578. Holland received a BA in 1571, and was elected a minor Fellow at Trinity on 28 September 1573 and his fellowship was terminated when he married in 1579. On 11 July 1585 Holland was incorporated MA at Oxford, Holland was admitted to the freedom of the city of Coventry on 30 September 1612, and when King James visited Coventry on 2 September 1617, was chosen to make a speech in the Kings honour. He wore a suit of black satin for the occasion, and it was later published as A learned, elegant and religious Speech delivered unto His. Maiestie, at. Coventry. In addition to his duties as usher of Coventry grammar school, Holland became tutor to George Berkeley, whose home was nearby at Caludon Castle. It appears the position was given to him at his advanced age out of respect for his talents and service to the city, however he retained it for only fourteen months, formally requesting to be relieved on 26 November 1628. On 24 October 1632 the mayor and alderman granted him a pension of £3 6s 8d for the three years, forasmuch as Dr. Holland, by reason of his age, is now grown weak. Hollands wife, Anne, who died in 1627 at the age of 72 is also buried in Holy Trinity, Holland combined his teaching and medical practice with the translation of classical and contemporary works. His first published translation, The Romane Historie, was the first complete rendering of Livys Latin history of Rome, Ab Urbe Condita, into English. According to John Considine, It was a work of importance, presented in a grand folio volume of 1458 pages. The translation set out to be lucid and unpretentious, and achieved its aim with marked success and it is accurate, and often lively, and although it does not attempt to imitate the terseness of Latin, it avoids prolixity. In 1601 Holland published, in two folios, an equally huge translation from Latin, Pliny the Elders The Historie of the World, dedicated to Sir Robert Cecil and this was perhaps the most popular of Hollands translations. Indeed, after four centuries, Holland is still the only translator of this work to attempt to evoke its literary richness, in 1603 Holland published The Philosophie, commonly called, the Morals, dedicating it to King James. This was the first English translation of Plutarchs Moralia, Holland followed the Greek of Plutarchs original, and made use as well of a Latin translation and of the French translation of 1572 by Jacques Amyot
36.
Edward Gibbon
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Edward Gibbon FRS was an English historian, writer and Member of Parliament. Edward Gibbon was born in 1737, the son of Edward and Judith Gibbon at Lime Grove and he had six siblings, five brothers and one sister, all of whom died in infancy. As a youth, Gibbons health was under constant threat and he described himself as a puny child, neglected by my Mother, starved by my nurse. At age nine, he was sent to Dr. Woddesons school at Kingston upon Thames and he then took up residence in the Westminster School boarding house, owned by his adored Aunt Kitty, Catherine Porten. Following a stay at Bath in 1752 to improve his health, at the age of 15 Gibbon was sent by his father to Magdalen College, Oxford, where he was enrolled as a gentleman-commoner. He was ill-suited, however, to the atmosphere and later rued his 14 months there as the most idle and unprofitable of his life. In that tract, Middleton denied the validity of such powers, Gibbon promptly objected and he was further corrupted by the free thinking deism of the playwright/poet couple David and Lucy Mallet, and finally Gibbons father, already in despair, had had enough. David Womersley has shown, however, that Gibbons claim to having been converted by a reading of Middleton is very unlikely, and was introduced only into the final draft of the Memoirs in 1792–93. Within weeks of his conversion, the adolescent was removed from Oxford and sent to live under the care and tutelage of Daniel Pavillard, Reformed pastor of Lausanne, Switzerland. It was here that he one of his lifes two great friendships, that of Jacques Georges Deyverdun, and that of John Baker Holroyd. Just a year and a later, after his father threatened to disinherit him, on Christmas Day,1754. The various articles of the Romish creed, he wrote, disappeared like a dream, Gibbon returned to England in August 1758 to face his father. There could be no refusal of the elders wishes, Gibbon put it this way, I sighed as a lover, I obeyed as a son. He proceeded to cut off all contact with Curchod, even as she vowed to wait for him and their final emotional break apparently came at Ferney, France in the spring of 1764, though they did see each other at least one more time a year later. The following year he embarked on the Grand Tour, which included a visit to Rome, Womersley notes the existence of good reasons to doubt the statements accuracy. In June 1765, Gibbon returned to his fathers house, and these years were considered by Gibbon as the worst five of his life, but he tried to remain busy by making early attempts towards writing full histories. His first historical narrative known as the History of Switzerland, which represented Gibbons love for Switzerland, was never published nor finished, even under the guidance of Deyverdun, Gibbon became too critical of himself, and completely abandoned the project, only writing 60 pages of text. However, after Gibbons death, his writings on Switzerlands history were discovered and published by Lord Sheffield in 1815, soon after abandoning his History of Switzerland, Gibbon made another attempt towards completing a full history
37.
Kimberly Kagan
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Kimberly Ellen Kagan is an American military historian. She heads the Institute for the Study of War and has taught at West Point, Yale, Georgetown University, Kagan has published in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Weekly Standard and elsewhere. She supported the surge in Iraq and has advocated for an expanded and restructured American military campaign in Afghanistan. In 2009 she served on Afghanistan commander Gen. Stanley McChrystals strategic assessment team, kimberly Kagan is the daughter of Kalman Kessler, an accountant and school teacher from New York City and his wife Frances. She received her B. A. in Classical Civilization and her Ph. D. in History from Yale University, robert Kagans wife is Victoria Nuland, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs. Kagan held an “Olin Postdoctoral Fellowship in Military History” at Yale in International Security Studies from 2004-2005 and she is an affiliate of Harvard’s Olin Institute for Strategic Studies, where she was a National Security Fellow from 2002-2003. Dr. Kagan is the author of The Eye of Command, The Surge, A Military History, Dr. Kagan served in Kabul as a member of General Stanley McChrystal’s strategic assessment team, composed of civilian experts, during his strategic review in June and July 2009. She returned to Afghanistan in the summer of 2010 to assist General David Petraeus with key transition tasks following his assumption of command in Afghanistan, Dr. Kagan also serves on the Academic Advisory Board at the Afghanistan- Pakistan Center of Excellence at CENTCOM. Dr. Kagan is the founder and President of the Institute for the Study of War, ISW describes itself as a “non-partisan non-profit think thank which seeks to provide research and analysis specifically regarding issues of defense and foreign affairs. ISW produces comprehensive reports on the realities of war, focusing on operations, enemy threats. As an influential member of the foreign policy brain trust in Washington, Dr. Kagan has been involved numerous public events. Dr Kagan also participated in a Brookings Institution event entitled “Prospects for Afghanistans Future, Dr. Kagan was also credited as the executive producer for the propaganda film The Surge, the Untold Story with CIA Director Gen. David Petraeus, ISW Chairman, U
38.
365 Crete earthquake
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The AD365 Crete earthquake occurred at about sunrise on 21 July in the Eastern Mediterranean, with an assumed epicentre near Crete. In Crete, nearly all towns were destroyed, the quake left a deep impression on the late antique mind, and numerous writers of the time referred to the event in their works. The earthquake is thought to be responsible for an uplift of nine metres of the island of Crete, an earthquake of such a size exceeds all modern ones known to have affected the region. Carbon dating shows that corals on the coast of Crete were lifted ten metres and this indicates that the tsunami of AD365 was generated by an earthquake in a steep fault in the Hellenic Trench near Crete. It is unsure whether one of the contiguous patches might slip in the future, in particular, the virulent antagonism between rising Christianity and paganism at the time led contemporary writers to distort the evidence. Kourion on Cyprus, for example, is known to have been hit then by five strong earthquakes within a period of eighty years, the Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus described in detail the tsunami hitting Alexandria and other places in the early hours of 21 July AD365. Thus in the conflict of the elements, the face of the earth was changed to reveal wondrous sights. The tsunami in AD365 was so devastating that the anniversary of the disaster was commemorated annually at the end of the sixth century in Alexandria as a day of horror. Katastrophen-Topoi in nachjulianischer Rhetorik und Annalistik, zu literarischen Reflexen des 21 Juli 365 n. C, JAC35, 47–82 M. Henry, Le temoignage de Libanius et les phenomenes sismiques de IVe siecle de notre ere. Essai dinterpretation, Phoenix 39, 36–61 F. Jacques and B, bousquet, “Le raz de maree du 21 juillet 365“, Mélanges de lÉcole française de Rome, Antiquité, Vol.96, No.1, 423–61 C. Orbis Terrarum 3, 169–201 Ancient Mediterranean Tsunami May Strike Again – National Geographic The 365 A. D
39.
Fall of the Western Roman Empire
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The Fall of the Western Roman Empire was the process of decline in the Western Roman Empire in which it failed to enforce its rule, and its vast territory was divided into several successor polities. Increasing pressure from barbarians outside Roman culture also contributed greatly to the collapse, the reasons for the collapse are major subjects of the historiography of the ancient world and they inform much modern discourse on state failure. Relevant dates include 117 CE, when the Empire was at its greatest territorial extent, irreversible major territorial loss, however, began in 376 with a large-scale irruption of Goths and others. In 395, after winning two destructive civil wars, Theodosius I died, leaving a field army and the Empire, still plagued by Goths. Invading barbarians had established their own power in most of the area of the Western Empire, while its legitimacy lasted for centuries longer and its cultural influence remains today, the Western Empire never had the strength to rise again. The Fall is not the only unifying concept for these events, the Fall of the Western Roman Empire was the process of decline in the Western Roman Empire in which it failed to enforce its rule. The Fall is not the only unifying concept for these events, for Dio Cassius, the accession of the emperor Commodus in 180 CE marked the descent from a kingdom of gold to one of rust and iron. Gibbon started his story in 98 and Theodor Mommsen regarded the whole of the period as unworthy of inclusion in his Nobel Prize-winning History of Rome. Arnold J. Toynbee and James Burke argue that the entire Imperial era was one of decay of institutions founded in republican times. Gibbon gave a formulation of reasons why the Fall happened. He began a controversy about the role of Christianity, but he gave great weight to other causes of internal decline. The story of its ruin is simple and obvious, and, instead of inquiring why the Roman empire was destroyed, we should rather be surprised that it had subsisted so long. The victorious legions, who, in distant wars, acquired the vices of strangers and mercenaries, first oppressed the freedom of the republic, alexander Demandt enumerated 210 different theories on why Rome fell, and new ideas have emerged since. Historians still try to analyze the reasons for loss of control over a vast territory. Comparison has also made with the Han Empire in China. At least from the time of Henri Pirenne, scholars have described continuity of culture and of political legitimacy, Pirenne postponed the demise of classical civilization to the 8th century. The more recent formulation of a period characterized as Late Antiquity emphasizes the transformations of ancient to medieval worlds within a cultural continuity. In recent decades archaeologically-based argument even extends the continuity in material culture, observing the political reality of lost control, but also the cultural and archaeological continuities, the process has been described as a complex cultural transformation, rather than a fall
40.
Loeb Classical Library
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The General Editor is Jeffrey Henderson, holder of the William Goodwin Aurelio Professorship of Greek Language and Literature at Boston University. The Loeb Classical Library was conceived and initially funded by the Jewish-German-American banker and philanthropist James Loeb. The first volumes were edited by T. E. Page, W. H. D. Rouse, and Edward Capps, since then scores of new titles have been added, and the earliest translations have been revised several times. Profit from the editions continues to fund graduate student fellowships at Harvard University, the Loebs have only a minimal critical apparatus, when compared to other publications of the text. They are intended for the reader of Greek or Latin. In 1917 Virginia Woolf wrote, The Loeb Library, with its Greek or Latin on one side of the page and its English on the other, the existence of the amateur was recognised by the publication of this Library, and to a great extent made respectable. The difficulty of Greek is not sufficiently dwelt upon, chiefly perhaps because the sirens who lure us to these waters are generally scholars have forgotten. But for the ordinary amateur they are real and very great. Harvard University assumed complete responsibility for the series in 1989 and in recent years four or five new or re-edited volumes have been published annually, in 2001, Harvard University Press began issuing a second series of books with a similar format. The I Tatti Renaissance Library presents key Renaissance works in Latin with a facing English translation, it is similarly to the Loeb Classics. A third series, the Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library, was introduced in 2010 covering works in Byzantine Greek, Medieval Latin, volumes have the same format as the I Tatti series, but with a brown cover. The Clay Sanskrit Library, bound in cloth, was also modeled on the Loeb Classical Library. As the command of Latin among generalist historians and archaeologists shrank in the course of the 20th century, the listings of Loeb volumes at online bookstores and library catalogues vary considerably and are often best navigated via ISBN numbers. L170N) Iliad, Second Edition, Volume I, Books 1–12 L171N) Iliad, Volume II. Books 13–24 L104) Odyssey, Volume I, Books 1–12 L105) Odyssey, Volume II. Other Fragments L344) Dionysiaca, Volume I, Books 1–15 L354) Dionysiaca, Volume II. Books 16–35 L356) Dionysiaca, Volume III, Lives of Homer L497) Greek Epic Fragments L001) Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica L019) Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy L219) Oppian, Colluthus, and Tryphiodorus L142) Greek Lyric Poetry, Volume I. Sappho and Alcaeus L143) Greek Lyric Poetry, Volume II, anacreon, Anacreontea, Choral Lyric from Olympus to Alcman L476) Greek Lyric Poetry, Volume III
41.
William Smith (lexicographer)
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Sir William Smith was an English lexicographer. Smith was born in Enfield in 1813 of Nonconformist parents and he attended the Madras House school of John Allen in Hackney. Originally destined for a career, he instead was articled to a solicitor. In his spare time he taught classics, and when he entered University College London he carried off both the Greek and Latin prizes. He was entered at Grays Inn in 1830, but gave up his studies for a post at University College School. Smith next turned his attention to lexicography and his first attempt was A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, which appeared in 1842, the greater part being written by him. Then followed the Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology in 1849, a parallel Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography appeared in 1857, with some leading scholars of the day associated with the task. In 1867, he became editor of the Quarterly Review, a post he held until his death. Meanwhile, he published the first of several school dictionaries in 1850, and in 1853 he began the Principia series, then came the Students Manuals of History and Literature, of which the English literature volume went into 13 editions. He himself wrote the Greek history volume and he was joined in the venture by the publisher John Murray when the original publishing partner met difficulties. Murray was the publisher of the 1214-page Latin–English Dictionary based upon the works of Forcellini and this was periodically reissued over the next thirty-five years. It goes beyond classical Latin to include many entries not found in dictionaries of the period, including Lewis. Perhaps the most important of the books Smith edited were those that dealt with ecclesiastical subjects, the Atlas, on which Sir George Grove collaborated, appeared in 1875. From 1853 to 1869 Smith was classical examiner to the University of London and he sat on the Committee to inquire into questions of copyright, and was for several years registrar of the Royal Literary Fund. He edited Gibbon, with Guizots and Milmans notes, in 1854–1855, Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology Smith was created a DCL by Oxford and Dublin, and the honour of a knighthood was conferred on him in 1892. He died on 7 October 1893 in London and this article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. article name needed. Works by William Smith at Project Gutenberg Works by or about William Smith at Internet Archive Smith, a Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature
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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 