1.
Ardashir I
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Ardashir I or Ardeshir I, also known as Ardashir the Unifier, was the founder of the Sasanian Empire. After defeating the last Parthian shahnshah Artabanus V on the Hormozdgān plain in 224, he overthrew the Parthian dynasty, afterwards, Ardashir called himself shahanshah and began conquering the land that he called Iran. There are various reports about Ardashirs lineage and ancestry. According to Al-Tabaris report, Ardashir was son of Papak, son of Sasan, according to Al-Tabaris report, Ardashir was born in the outskirts of Istakhr, Pars. Al-Tabari adds that Ardashir was sent to the lord of Fort Darabgard when he was seven years old, after the lords death, Ardashir succeeded him and became the commander of Fort Darabgard. Al-Tabari continues that afterward, Papak overthrew the local Persian shah named Gochihr and appointed his son, Shapur, according to Al-Tabaris report, Shapur and his father, Papak, suddenly died and Ardashir became the ruler of Pars. It is probable that the role that is stated about Ardashir in leading the rebellion against the central government is the product of the later historical studies. Papak had probably united most of Pars under his rule by then, Ardashir had an outstanding role in developing the royal ideology. He tried to show himself as a worshiper of Mazda related to god, on the other hand, some historians believe that the first Sasanian shahanshahs were familiar with the Achaemenids and their succeeding shahanshahs deliberately turned to the Kayanians. They knowingly ignored the Achaemenids in order to attribute their past to the Kayanians, in order to remark his victories, Ardashir carved petroglyphs in Firuzabad, Naqsh-e Rajab and Naqsh-e Rustam. It can be deduced from the picture that Ardashir assumed or wished for others to assume that his rule over the land that was called Iran in the inscriptions was designated by the lord. The word Iran was previously used in Avesta and as the name of the land of the Aryans. In Ardashirs period, the title Iran was chosen for the region under the Sasanian rule, what is clear is that the concept of Iran previously had a religious application and then ended up creating its political face and the concept of a geographical collection of lands. Ardashir, which was pronounced /ærtæxʃæɵræ/, has one of old. It is read and pronounced as Artaxérxēs, Αρταξέρξης in Greek, /ærtæxʃtær/, /ærtæxʃir/ in Middle Persian, Artašēs, Արտաշէս in Armenian, literally, Ardashir means the one whose reign is based on honesty and justice. The first part of Artakhshir is adapted from the concept of justice known as Ṛta or Asha. Three of Achaemenid kings of kings and four of the local Shahs of Pars - known as Frataraka - were named Ardashir, examples of text remnants related to Ardashir I include his short inscription in Nagsh-e Rajab and also Shapur Is inscription at the Kaba-ye Zartosht. Reports are texts that are written in languages and periods
2.
Parthian Empire
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The Parthian Empire, also known as the Arsacid Empire, was a major Iranian political and cultural power in ancient Iran and Iraq. Mithridates I of Parthia greatly expanded the empire by seizing Media and Mesopotamia from the Seleucids, at its height, the Parthian Empire stretched from the northern reaches of the Euphrates, in what is now central-eastern Turkey, to eastern Iran. The empire, located on the Silk Road trade route between the Roman Empire in the Mediterranean Basin and the Han Empire of China, became a center of trade and commerce. The Parthians largely adopted the art, architecture, religious beliefs, and royal insignia of their culturally heterogeneous empire, which encompassed Persian, Hellenistic, and regional cultures. For about the first half of its existence, the Arsacid court adopted elements of Greek culture, the court did appoint a small number of satraps, largely outside Iran, but these satrapies were smaller and less powerful than the Achaemenid potentates. With the expansion of Arsacid power, the seat of government shifted from Nisa to Ctesiphon along the Tigris. The earliest enemies of the Parthians were the Seleucids in the west, however, as Parthia expanded westward, they came into conflict with the Kingdom of Armenia, and eventually the late Roman Republic. Rome and Parthia competed with other to establish the kings of Armenia as their subordinate clients. The Parthians soundly defeated Marcus Licinius Crassus at the Battle of Carrhae in 53 BC, however, Mark Antony led a counterattack against Parthia, although his successes were generally achieved in his absence, under the leadership of his lieutenant Ventidius. Also, various Roman emperors or their appointed generals invaded Mesopotamia in the course of the several Roman-Parthian Wars which ensued during the few centuries. The Romans captured the cities of Seleucia and Ctesiphon on multiple occasions during these conflicts, native Parthian sources, written in Parthian, Greek and other languages, are scarce when compared to Sassanid and even earlier Achaemenid sources. These include mainly Greek and Roman histories, but also Chinese histories, Parthian artwork is viewed by historians as a valid source for understanding aspects of society and culture that are otherwise absent in textual sources. The Parni most likely spoke an eastern Iranian language, in contrast to the northwestern Iranian language spoken at the time in Parthia, the latter was a northeastern province, first under the Achaemenid, and then the Seleucid empires. Why the Arsacid court retroactively chose 247 BC as the first year of the Arsacid era is uncertain, Bivar concludes that this was the year the Seleucids lost control of Parthia to Andragoras, the appointed satrap who rebelled against them. Hence, Arsaces I backdated his regnal years to the moment when Seleucid control over Parthia ceased, however, Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis asserts that this was simply the year Arsaces was made chief of the Parni tribe. It is unclear who immediately succeeded Arsaces I, Bivar and Katouzian affirm that it was his brother Tiridates I of Parthia, who in turn was succeeded by his son Arsaces II of Parthia in 211 BC. Yet Curtis and Brosius state that Arsaces II was the successor of Arsaces I, with Curtis claiming the succession took place in 211 BC. Bivar insists that 138 BC, the last regnal year of Mithridates I, is the first precisely established regnal date of Parthian history, due to these and other discrepancies, Bivar outlines two distinct royal chronologies accepted by historians
3.
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
4.
King of Jerusalem
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The King of Jerusalem was the supreme ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the Crusader state founded by Christian princes in 1099 when the First Crusade took the city. Godfrey of Bouillon, the first ruler of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, himself refused the title of king, thus, the title of king was only introduced for his successor, King Baldwin I in 1100. The city of Jerusalem was lost in 1187, but the Kingdom of Jerusalem survived, the city of Jerusalem was re-captured in the Sixth Crusade, during 1229–39 and 1241–44. The Kingdom of Jerusalem was finally dissolved with the fall of Acre, after the Crusader States ceased to exist, the title of King of Jerusalem was claimed by a number of European noble houses descended from the kings of Cyprus or the kings of Naples. The title of King of Jerusalem is currently used by Felipe VI of Spain and it was claimed by Otto von Habsburg as Habsburg pretender until his renunciation of all claims in 1958, and by the kings of Italy until 1946. The following year, his brother Baldwin I was the first to use the title king, the kingship of Jerusalem was partially elected and partially hereditary. During the height of the kingdom in the century there was a royal family. Nevertheless, the king was elected, or at least recognized, here the king was considered a primus inter pares, and in his absence his duties were performed by his seneschal. The purpose-built royal palace used from the 1160s onwards was located south of Jerusalems citadel, the Kingdom of Jerusalem introduced French feudal structures to the Levant. The king personally held several fiefs incorporated into the royal domain and he was also responsible for leading the kingdom into battle, although this duty could be passed to a constable. While several contemporary European states were moving towards centralized monarchies, the king of Jerusalem was continually losing power to the strongest of his barons and this was partially due to the young age of many of the kings, and the frequency of regents from the ranks of the nobles. After the fall of Jerusalem in 1187, the capital of the kingdom was moved to Acre, in this period the kingship was often simply a nominal position, held by a European ruler who never actually lived in Acre. The claim was made in 1264 as senior descendant and rightful heir of Alice of Champagne, second daughter of Queen Isabella I, Hugh being the son of their eldest daughter. But was passed over by the Haute Cour in favour of his cousin, Hugh of Antioch, after Conrad IIIs execution by Charles I of Sicily in 1268, the kingship was held by the Lusignan family, who were simultaneously kings of Cyprus. However, Charles I of Sicily purchased the rights of one of the heirs of the kingdom in 1277, in that year, he sent Roger of Sanseverino to the East as his bailiff. Roger captured Acre and obtained a forced homage from the barons, Roger was recalled in 1282 due to the Sicilian Vespers and left Odo Poilechien in his place to rule. His resources and authority was minimal, and he was ejected by Henry II of Cyprus when he arrived from Cyprus for his coronation as King of Jerusalem, Acre was captured by the Mamluks in 1291, eliminating the crusader presence on the mainland. In 1127 Fulk V, Count of Anjou received an embassy from King Baldwin II of Jerusalem, Baldwin II had no male heirs but had already designated his daughter Melisende to succeed him
5.
Tyre, Lebanon
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Tyre, sometimes romanized as Sour, is a city in the South Governorate of Lebanon. There were approximately 117,000 inhabitants in 2003, however, the government of Lebanon has released only rough estimates of population numbers since 1932, so an accurate statistical accounting is not possible. Tyre juts out from the coast of the Mediterranean and is located about 80 km south of Beirut, the name of the city means rock after the rocky formation on which the town was originally built. The adjective for Tyre is Tyrian, and the inhabitants are Tyrians, Tyre is an ancient Phoenician city and the legendary birthplace of Europa and Dido. Today it is the fourth largest city in Lebanon and houses one of the major ports. The city has a number of ancient sites, including its Roman Hippodrome which was added to UNESCOs list of World Heritage Sites in 1979. Tyre originally consisted of two urban centres, Tyre itself, which was on an island just off shore. Alexander the Great connected the island to the mainland by constructing a causeway during his siege of the city, the original island city had two harbours, one on the south side and the other on the north side of the island. The harbour on the side has silted over, but the harbour on the north side is still in use. Tyre was founded around 2750 BC according to Herodotus and was built as a walled city upon the mainland. Phoenicians from Tyre settled in houses around Memphis, south of the temple of Hephaestus in a called the Tyrian Camp. Tyres name appears on monuments as early as 1300 BC, philo of Byblos quotes the antiquarian authority Sanchuniathon as stating that it was first occupied by Hypsuranius. Sanchuniathons work is said to be dedicated to Abibalus king of Berytus—possibly the Abibaal who was king of Tyre, there are ten Amarna letters dated 1350 BC from the mayor, Abimilku, written to Akenaten. The subject is often water, wood and the Habiru overtaking the countryside of the mainland, the commerce of the ancient world was gathered into the warehouses of Tyre. The city of Tyre was particularly known for the production of a rare and extraordinarily expensive sort of dye, produced from the murex shellfish. The colour was, in ancient cultures, reserved for the use of royalty or at least the nobility, Tyre was often attacked by Egypt, besieged by Shalmaneser V, who was assisted by the Phoenicians of the mainland, for five years. From 586 until 573 BC, the city was besieged by Nebuchadnezzar II until it agreed to pay a tribute. The Achaemenid Empire conquered the city in 539 BC and kept it under its rule until Alexander the Great laid siege to the city, in 315 BC, Alexanders former general Antigonus began his own siege of Tyre, taking the city a year later
6.
Assassins
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Assassins is a name used to refer to the medieval Nizari Ismailis. Sabbah is typically regarded as the founder of the Assassins, founding the so-called Nizari Ismaili state with Alamut Castle as its headquarters. Asymmetric warfare, psychological warfare, and surgical strikes were often an employed tactic of the hashashin, while Assassins typically refers to the entire medieval Nizari sect, in fact only a class of acolytes known as the fidai actually engaged in assassination work. Under leadership of Imam Rukn-ud-Din Khurshah, the Nizari state declined internally, sources on the history and thought of the Ismailis in this period are therefore lacking and the majority extant are written by their detractors. The Nizari were feared by the Crusaders, who referred to collectively as Assassins. The Crusader stories of the Assassins were further embellished by Marco Polo, the origins of the Assassins can be traced back to just before the First Crusade, around 1080 in Persia, modern Iran. There has been great difficulty finding out information about the origins of the Assassins because most early sources are written by enemies of the order, are based on legends. Most sources dealing with the inner workings were destroyed with the capture of Alamut. However, it is possible to trace the beginnings of the back to its first Grandmaster. A passionate devotee of Ismaili beliefs, Hassan-i Sabbah was well-liked throughout Cairo, Syria and most of the Middle East by other Ismaili, using his fame and popularity, Sabbah founded the Order of the Assassins. While his motives for founding this order are unknown, it was said to be all for his own political and personal gain. Because of the unrest in the Holy Land caused by the Crusades, Hassan-i Sabbah found himself not only fighting for power with other Muslims, but also with the invading Christian forces. After creating the Order, Sabbah searched for a location that would be fit for a sturdy headquarters and it is still disputed whether Sabbah built the fortress himself or if it was already built at the time of his arrival. In either case, Sabbah adapted the fortress to suit his needs not only for defense from hostile forces, spending most of his days at Alamut producing religious works and developing doctrines for his Order, Sabbah would never leave his fortress again in his lifetime. He had established a society of deadly assassins, which was built on a hierarchical structure. Below Sabbah, the Grand Headmaster of the Order, were known as Greater Propagandists, followed by the normal Propagandists, the Rafiqs. It was the Lasiqs who were trained to some of the most feared assassins, or as they were called, Fidai. It is, however, unknown how Hassan-i-Sabbah was able to get his Fidain to perform with such fervent loyalty, one theory, possibly the best known but also the most criticized, comes from the reports of Marco Polo during his travels to the Orient
7.
Nichiren
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Nichiren, born as Zennichimaro, was a Japanese Buddhist priest who lived during the Kamakura period. Nichiren is known for his devotion to the Lotus Sutra. Nichiren believed that the Lotus Sutra contained the essence of all of Shakyamuni Buddhas teachings related to the laws of causality, karma, the fundamental practice shared by all of them is the chanting of Nam Myōhō Renge Kyō. Nichiren was born on 16 February 1222 in the village of Kominato, Nagase District, Nichirens father, a fisherman, was Mikuni-no-Tayu Shigetada, also known as Nukina Shigetada Jiro and his mother was Umegiku-nyo. On his birth, his parents named him Zennichimaro which has variously been translated into English as Splendid Sun, the exact site of Nichirens birth is believed to be submerged off the shore from present-day Kominato-zan Tanjō-ji, a temple in Kominato that commemorates Nichirens birth. In his own words, Nichiren stated that he was the son of a family who lived near the sea in Tojo in Awa Province. However, I began doubting this practice, making a vow to study all the Buddhist sutras, commentaries on them by Bodhisattvas, Nichiren began his Buddhist study at a nearby temple of the Tendai school, Seichō-ji, at age 11. He was formally ordained at 16 and took the Buddhist name Zeshō-bō Renchō where Renchō means Lotus Growth, after having persuaded himself that devotion to Amitabha Buddha was not the true Buddhist doctrine, he passed to the study of Zen, which had become popular in Kamakura and Kyōto. During this time, he became convinced of the pre-eminence of the Lotus Sutra and in 1253, on April 28,1253, he expounded the daimoku teachings for the first time, marking his Sho Tempōrin. With this, he proclaimed that devotion and practice based on the Lotus Sutra was the form of Buddhism for the current time. At the same time he changed his name to Nichiren, nichi meaning sun and this choice, as Nichiren himself explained, was rooted in passages from the Lotus Sutra. He gained a large following there, consisting of both priests and laity. Many of his lay believers came from among the samurai class and it is claimed that in 1253 Nichiren predicted the Mongol invasions of Japan, a prediction which was validated in 1274. This true and correct form of Buddhism, as Nichiren saw it, entailed regarding the Lotus Sutra as the fullest expression of the Buddhas teachings and putting those teachings into practice. Nichiren thought this could be achieved in Japan by withdrawing lay support so that the deviant monks would be forced to change their ways or revert to laymen to prevent starving. Based on prophecies made in several sutras, Nichiren attributed the occurrence of the famines, disease, Nichiren submitted his treatise in July 1260. Though it drew no response, it prompted a severe backlash. Nichiren was harassed frequently, several times with force, and often had to change dwellings, Nichiren was exiled to the Izu Peninsula in 1261, and pardoned in 1263
8.
Buddhism
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Buddhism is a religion and dharma that encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and spiritual practices largely based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. Buddhism originated in India sometime between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE, from where it spread through much of Asia, two major extant branches of Buddhism are generally recognized by scholars, Theravada and Mahayana. Buddhism is the worlds fourth-largest religion, with over 500 million followers or 7% of the global population, Buddhist schools vary on the exact nature of the path to liberation, the importance and canonicity of various teachings and scriptures, and especially their respective practices. In Theravada the ultimate goal is the attainment of the state of Nirvana, achieved by practicing the Noble Eightfold Path, thus escaping what is seen as a cycle of suffering. Theravada has a following in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. Mahayana, which includes the traditions of Pure Land, Zen, Nichiren Buddhism, Shingon, rather than Nirvana, Mahayana instead aspires to Buddhahood via the bodhisattva path, a state wherein one remains in the cycle of rebirth to help other beings reach awakening. Vajrayana, a body of teachings attributed to Indian siddhas, may be viewed as a branch or merely a part of Mahayana. Tibetan Buddhism, which preserves the Vajrayana teachings of eighth century India, is practiced in regions surrounding the Himalayas, Tibetan Buddhism aspires to Buddhahood or rainbow body. Buddhism is an Indian religion attributed to the teachings of Buddha, the details of Buddhas life are mentioned in many early Buddhist texts but are inconsistent, his social background and life details are difficult to prove, the precise dates uncertain. Some hagiographic legends state that his father was a king named Suddhodana, his mother queen Maya, and he was born in Lumbini gardens. Some of the stories about Buddha, his life, his teachings, Buddha was moved by the innate suffering of humanity. He meditated on this alone for a period of time, in various ways including asceticism, on the nature of suffering. He famously sat in meditation under a Ficus religiosa tree now called the Bodhi Tree in the town of Bodh Gaya in Gangetic plains region of South Asia. He reached enlightenment, discovering what Buddhists call the Middle Way, as an enlightened being, he attracted followers and founded a Sangha. Now, as the Buddha, he spent the rest of his teaching the Dharma he had discovered. Dukkha is a concept of Buddhism and part of its Four Noble Truths doctrine. It can be translated as incapable of satisfying, the unsatisfactory nature, the Four Truths express the basic orientation of Buddhism, we crave and cling to impermanent states and things, which is dukkha, incapable of satisfying and painful. This keeps us caught in saṃsāra, the cycle of repeated rebirth, dukkha
9.
Gunpowder
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Gunpowder, also known as black powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It is a mixture of sulfur, charcoal, and potassium nitrate, the sulfur and charcoal act as fuels, and the saltpeter is an oxidizer. Black powder firearms are in limited use today in hunting, shooting, Black powder has been replaced for most industrial uses by high explosives such as dynamite. Black powder is assigned the UN number UN0027 and has a class of 1. 1D. It has a point of approximately 427–464 °C. The specific flash point may vary based on the composition of the gunpowder. Gunpowders specific gravity is 1. 70–1.82 or 1. 92–2.08, Gunpowder is classified as a low explosive because of its relatively slow decomposition rate and consequently low brisance. Low explosives deflagrate at subsonic speeds, whereas high explosives detonate, ignition of the powder packed behind a bullet must generate enough pressure to force it from the muzzle at high speed, but not enough to rupture the gun barrel. Gunpowder thus makes a good propellant, but is suitable for shattering rock or fortifications. Gunpowder was widely used to fill artillery shells and in mining and civil engineering to blast rock until the half of the 19th century. Black powder is used as a delay element in various munitions where its slow-burning properties are valuable. The spread of gunpowder across Asia from China is widely attributed to the Mongols, the earliest record of a written formula for gunpowder appears in the 11th century Song dynasty text, Wujing Zongyao. This discovery led to the invention of fireworks and the earliest gunpowder weapons in China, in the centuries following the Chinese discovery, gunpowder weapons began appearing in the Muslim world and Europe. The technology spread from China through the Middle East or Central Asia, the earliest Western accounts of gunpowder appear in texts written by English philosopher Roger Bacon in the 13th century. The most ardent protagonists were Nathaniel Halhad, Johann Backmann, Quintin Craufurd, however, due to lack of sufficient proof, these theories have not been widely accepted. A major problem confronting the study of the history of gunpowder is ready access to sources close to the events described. The translation difficulty has led to errors or loose interpretations bordering on artistic licence, early writings potentially mentioning gunpowder are sometimes marked by a linguistic process where old words acquired new meanings. For instance, the Arabic word naft transitioned from denoting naphtha to denoting gunpowder, saltpeter was known to the Chinese by the mid-1st century AD and there is strong evidence of the use of saltpeter and sulfur in various largely medicinal combinations
10.
Rome
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Rome is a special comune and the capital of Italy. Rome also serves as the capital of the Lazio region, with 2,873,598 residents in 1,285 km2, it is also the countrys largest and most populated comune and fourth-most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. It is the center of the Metropolitan City of Rome, which has a population of 4.3 million residents, the city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, within Lazio, along the shores of the Tiber. Romes history spans more than 2,500 years, while Roman mythology dates the founding of Rome at only around 753 BC, the site has been inhabited for much longer, making it one of the oldest continuously occupied sites in Europe. The citys early population originated from a mix of Latins, Etruscans and it was first called The Eternal City by the Roman poet Tibullus in the 1st century BC, and the expression was also taken up by Ovid, Virgil, and Livy. Rome is also called the Caput Mundi, due to that, Rome became first one of the major centres of the Italian Renaissance, and then the birthplace of both the Baroque style and Neoclassicism. Famous artists, painters, sculptors and architects made Rome the centre of their activity, in 1871 Rome became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy, and in 1946 that of the Italian Republic. Rome has the status of a global city, Rome ranked in 2014 as the 14th-most-visited city in the world, 3rd most visited in the European Union, and the most popular tourist attraction in Italy. Its historic centre is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, monuments and museums such as the Vatican Museums and the Colosseum are among the worlds most visited tourist destinations with both locations receiving millions of tourists a year. Rome hosted the 1960 Summer Olympics and is the seat of United Nations Food, however, it is a possibility that the name Romulus was actually derived from Rome itself. As early as the 4th century, there have been alternate theories proposed on the origin of the name Roma. There is archaeological evidence of occupation of the Rome area from approximately 14,000 years ago. Evidence of stone tools, pottery and stone weapons attest to about 10,000 years of human presence, several excavations support the view that Rome grew from pastoral settlements on the Palatine Hill built above the area of the future Roman Forum. Between the end of the age and the beginning of the Iron age. However, none of them had yet an urban quality, nowadays, there is a wide consensus that the city was gradually born through the aggregation of several villages around the largest one, placed above the Palatine. All these happenings, which according to the excavations took place more or less around the mid of the 8th century BC. Despite recent excavations at the Palatine hill, the view that Rome has been indeed founded with an act of will as the legend suggests in the middle of the 8th century BC remains a fringe hypothesis. Traditional stories handed down by the ancient Romans themselves explain the earliest history of their city in terms of legend and myth
11.
Conrad of Montferrat
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Conrad of Montferrat was a north Italian nobleman, one of the major participants in the Third Crusade. He was the de facto King of Jerusalem by marriage from 24 November 1190 and he was also marquis of Montferrat from 1191. Conrad was the son of Marquis William V of Montferrat, the Elder. He was a first cousin of Frederick Barbarossa, Holy Roman Emperor, as well as Louis VII of France, Conrad was born in Montferrat, which is now a region of Piedmont, in northwest Italy. The exact place and year are unknown and he is first mentioned in a charter in 1160, when serving at the court of his maternal uncle, Conrad, Bishop of Passau, later Archbishop of Salzburg. In one thing alone was he regarded as blameworthy, that he had seduced anothers wife away from her husband, and made her separate from him. He was active in diplomacy from his twenties, and became a military commander. He first married an unidentified lady before 1179, but she was dead by the end of 1186, in 1179, following the familys alliance with Manuel I Comnenos, Conrad led an army against Frederick Barbarossas forces, then commanded by the imperial Chancellor, Archbishop Christian of Mainz. He defeated them at Camerino in September, taking the Chancellor hostage and he left the captive in his brother Bonifaces care and went to Constantinople to be rewarded by the Emperor, returning to Italy shortly after Manuels death in 1180. In the winter of 1186–1187, Isaac II Angelus offered his sister Theodora, as a bride to Conrads younger brother Boniface, to renew the Byzantine alliance with Montferrat, but Boniface was married. Conrad, recently widowed, had taken the cross, intending to join his father in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, instead, he accepted Isaacs offer, on his marriage, he was awarded the rank of Caesar. However, almost immediately, he had to help the Emperor defend his throne against a revolt, according to Choniates, Conrad inspired the weak Emperor to take the initiative. He fought heroically, without shield or helmet and wearing a linen cuirass instead of mail and he was slightly wounded in the shoulder, but unhorsed Branas, who was then killed and beheaded by his bodyguards. Roger had initially referred to Conrad having slain a prominent nobleman in a rebellion — meaning Branas, in his Chronica, he condensed this to having committed homicide, Conrad evidently intended to join his father, who held the castle of St Elias. He arrived first off Acre, which had fallen to Saladin, and so sailed north to Tyre. After his victory at the Battle of Hattin over the army of Jerusalem, Saladin was on the north, and had already captured Acre, Sidon. Raymond of Tripoli was in failing health, and died soon after he went home, according to the Old French Continuation of William of Tyre, Reginald of Sidon had taken charge in Tyre and was in the process of negotiating its surrender with Saladin. Conrad allegedly threw Saladins banners into the ditch, and made the Tyrians swear total loyalty to him and his rise to power seems to have been less dramatic in reality
12.
Magnentius
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Magnentius was a usurper of the Roman Empire from 350 to 353. Born in Samarobriva, Gaul, Magnentius was the commander of the Herculians and Jovians, when the army grew dissatisfied with the behavior of Roman Emperor Constans, it elevated Magnentius at Autun on January 18,350. Constans was abandoned by all except a handful of retainers, Magnentius quickly attracted the loyalty of the provinces in Britannia, Gaul, and Hispania, in part because he proved to be far more tolerant towards both Christians and Pagans. His control on Italia and Africa was applied through the election of his men to the most important offices. However, the revolt of Nepotianus, a member of the Constantinian dynasty. Magnentius tried to strengthen his grasp on the previously controlled by Constans. Vetranio, commander of the Pannonian army, had been elected Augustus by his troops in Mursa on 1 March and this revolt had a loyalist mark, since Vetranio was supported by Constantina, and Constantius II himself recognized Vetranio, sending him the imperial diadem. The remaining emperor of the family of Constantine I, Constantius II broke off his war in Syria with Persia, despite Magnentius efforts to gain Vetranio to his cause, the elderly Vetranio reached Constantius with his army, resigned the crown, and went into retirement in Bithynia. Despite Magnentius heroism, his troops were defeated and forced to back to Gaul. As a result of Magnentius defeat, Italy ejected his garrisons, Magnentius made a final stand in 353 in the Battle of Mons Seleucus, after which he committed suicide by falling on his sword. Following the suppression of Magnentius rebellion, Constantius commanded an investigation be made to find his followers, the most notorious agent in this search was the primicerius notariorum Paulus Catena. Some sources state that Magnentius father was a Briton and his mother a Frank and his wife, Justina, later remarried to Valentinian I. Cameron, Averil, and Peter Garnsey ed, the Cambridge Ancient History, Vol XIII, Cambridge University Press,1988. The revolt and ethnic origin of the usurper Magnentius, and the rebellion of Vetranio, media related to Magnentius at Wikimedia Commons
