1.
Roman Empire
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Civil wars and executions continued, culminating in the victory of Octavian, Caesars adopted son, over Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC and the annexation of Egypt. Octavians power was then unassailable and in 27 BC the Roman Senate formally granted him overarching power, the imperial period of Rome lasted approximately 1,500 years compared to the 500 years of the Republican era. The first two centuries of the empires existence were a period of unprecedented political stability and prosperity known as the Pax Romana, following Octavians victory, the size of the empire was dramatically increased. After the assassination of Caligula in 41, the senate briefly considered restoring the republic, under Claudius, the empire invaded Britannia, its first major expansion since Augustus. Vespasian emerged triumphant in 69, establishing the Flavian dynasty, before being succeeded by his son Titus and his short reign was followed by the long reign of his brother Domitian, who was eventually assassinated. The senate then appointed the first of the Five Good Emperors, the empire reached its greatest extent under Trajan, the second in this line. A period of increasing trouble and decline began with the reign of Commodus, Commodus assassination in 192 triggered the Year of the Five Emperors, of which Septimius Severus emerged victorious. The assassination of Alexander Severus in 235 led to the Crisis of the Third Century in which 26 men were declared emperor by the Roman Senate over a time span. It was not until the reign of Diocletian that the empire was fully stabilized with the introduction of the Tetrarchy, which saw four emperors rule the empire at once. This arrangement was unsuccessful, leading to a civil war that was finally ended by Constantine I. Constantine subsequently shifted the capital to Byzantium, which was renamed Constantinople in his honour and it remained the capital of the east until its demise. Constantine also adopted Christianity which later became the state religion of the empire. However, Augustulus was never recognized by his Eastern colleague, and separate rule in the Western part of the empire ceased to exist upon the death of Julius Nepos. The Eastern Roman Empire endured for another millennium, eventually falling to the Ottoman Turks in 1453, the Roman Empire was among the most powerful economic, cultural, political and military forces in the world of its time. It was one of the largest empires in world history, at its height under Trajan, it covered 5 million square kilometres. It held sway over an estimated 70 million people, at that time 21% of the entire population. Throughout the European medieval period, attempts were made to establish successors to the Roman Empire, including the Empire of Romania, a Crusader state. Rome had begun expanding shortly after the founding of the republic in the 6th century BC, then, it was an empire long before it had an emperor
2.
Constantine the Great
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Constantine the Great, also known as Constantine I or Saint Constantine, was a Roman Emperor from 306 to 337 AD. Constantine was the son of Flavius Valerius Constantius, a Roman Army officer and his father became Caesar, the deputy emperor in the west, in 293 AD. Constantine was sent east, where he rose through the ranks to become a military tribune under the emperors Diocletian, in 305, Constantius was raised to the rank of Augustus, senior western emperor, and Constantine was recalled west to campaign under his father in Britannia. As emperor, Constantine enacted many administrative, financial, social, the government was restructured and civil and military authority separated. A new gold coin, the solidus, was introduced to combat inflation and it would become the standard for Byzantine and European currencies for more than a thousand years. He called the First Council of Nicaea in 325, at which the Nicene Creed was adopted by Christians, in military matters, the Roman army was reorganised to consist of mobile field units and garrison soldiers capable of countering internal threats and barbarian invasions. The age of Constantine marked an epoch in the history of the Roman Empire. He built a new residence at Byzantium and renamed the city Constantinople after himself. It would later become the capital of the Empire for over one thousand years and his more immediate political legacy was that, in leaving the empire to his sons, he replaced Diocletians tetrarchy with the principle of dynastic succession. His reputation flourished during the lifetime of his children and centuries after his reign, the medieval church upheld him as a paragon of virtue while secular rulers invoked him as a prototype, a point of reference, and the symbol of imperial legitimacy and identity. Beginning with the Renaissance, there were more critical appraisals of his due to the rediscovery of anti-Constantinian sources. Critics portrayed him as a tyrant, trends in modern and recent scholarship attempted to balance the extremes of previous scholarship. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built on his orders at the site of Jesus tomb in Jerusalem. The Papal claim to power in the High Middle Ages was based on the supposed Donation of Constantine. He is venerated as a saint by Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholics, though Constantine has historically often been referred to as the First Christian Emperor, scholars debate his actual beliefs or even his actual comprehension of the Christian faith itself. Constantine was a ruler of major importance, and he has always been a controversial figure, the fluctuations in Constantines reputation reflect the nature of the ancient sources for his reign. These are abundant and detailed, but have strongly influenced by the official propaganda of the period. There are no surviving histories or biographies dealing with Constantines life, the nearest replacement is Eusebius of Caesareas Vita Constantini, a work that is a mixture of eulogy and hagiography
3.
Forum of Theodosius
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The Forum of Theodosius was an area in Constantinople. It was originally built by Constantine I and named the Forum Tauri, in the middle of the forum was a Roman triumphal column erected in honour of emperor Theodosius I. Its shaft was carved with reliefs depicting this emperors victory over the barbarians, an internal spiral staircase allowed visitors to reach the top of the column, where a stylite lived towards the end of the mid-Byzantine period. The statue of Theodosius collapsed during the earthquake of 478 although the column remained standing and it had no statue until 506 when a new statue of Anastasius I Dicorus was erected instead. Emperor Alexios V was sentenced to death in 1204 and thrown from the column, the column remained standing until the end of the 15th century, and some pieces of it were re-used in the construction of the Bath of Patrona Halil. Excavations for the trenches of the Faculty of Letters and Sciences of Istanbul University uncovered the remains of three basilicas. Their identities and names are unknown, and so they are called Basilicas A, B, Basilica A is the only Justinianian-era basilica whose plan is known. Its central space was nearly a square, with two side courtyards, the narthex on the west side connects with the courtyards. The intervals between the columns separating the naves are closed off by balustrade slabs. The capitals resemble those at Hagia Sophia, also built by Justinian, the large pulpit found in Basilica A is the only surviving ambo from the early Byzantine period and is kept in the garden of the Hagia Sophia. A marble triumphal arch was erected on the west side of the Forum, the triumphal arch had a vaulted roof with three passageways. The central archway of the three was wider and higher than the others and flanked by four-column piers carved in the form of Herculean clubs grasped by a fist. Built to mimic triumphal arches in Rome itself, on top was a statue of Theodosius flanked by statues of his sons Arcadius and Honorius. Today the main street beginning in Hagia Sophia Square runs to the west along basically the route as the ancient Mese road. The Mese, passing through Theodosiuss triumphal arch, continued on to Thrace, Roman Forum Imperial fora Forum of Arcadius Forum of Constantine Augustaion Byzantium 1200 | Forum Tauri Byzantium 1200 | Basilicas A, B and C Byzantium 1200 | Arch of Theodosios
4.
Christian
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A Christian is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christian derives from the Koine Greek word Christós, a translation of the Biblical Hebrew term mashiach, while there are diverse interpretations of Christianity which sometimes conflict, they are united in believing that Jesus has a unique significance. The term Christian is also used as an adjective to describe anything associated with Christianity, or in a sense all that is noble, and good. According to a 2011 Pew Research Center survey, there were 2.2 billion Christians around the world in 2010, by 2050, the Christian population is expected to exceed 3 billion. According to a 2012 Pew Research Center survey Christianity will remain the worlds largest religion in 2050, about half of all Christians worldwide are Catholic, while more than a third are Protestant. Orthodox communions comprise 12% of the worlds Christians, other Christian groups make up the remainder. Christians make up the majority of the population in 158 countries and territories,280 million Christian live as a minority. In the Greek Septuagint, christos was used to translate the Hebrew מָשִׁיחַ, in other European languages, equivalent words to Christian are likewise derived from the Greek, such as Chrétien in French and Cristiano in Spanish. The second mention of the term follows in Acts 26,28, where Herod Agrippa II replied to Paul the Apostle, Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. The third and final New Testament reference to the term is in 1 Peter 4,16, which believers, Yet if as a Christian, let him not be ashamed. The city of Antioch, where someone gave them the name Christians, had a reputation for coming up with such nicknames, in the Annals he relates that by vulgar appellation commonly called Christians and identifies Christians as Neros scapegoats for the Great Fire of Rome. Another term for Christians which appears in the New Testament is Nazarenes which is used by the Jewish lawyer Tertullus in Acts 24, the Hebrew equivalent of Nazarenes, Notzrim, occurs in the Babylonian Talmud, and is still the modern Israeli Hebrew term for Christian. A wide range of beliefs and practices is found across the world among those who call themselves Christian, denominations and sects disagree on a common definition of Christianity. Most Baptists and fundamentalists, for example, would not acknowledge Mormonism or Christian Science as Christian, in fact, the nearly 77 percent of Americans who self-identify as Christian are a diverse pluribus of Christianities that are far from any collective unity. The identification of Jesus as the Messiah is not accepted by Judaism, the term for a Christian in Hebrew is נוּצְרי, a Talmudic term originally derived from the fact that Jesus came from the Galilean village of Nazareth, today in northern Israel. Adherents of Messianic Judaism are referred to in modern Hebrew as יְהוּדִים מָשִׁיחַיים, the term Nasara rose to prominence in July 2014, after the Fall of Mosul to the terrorist organization Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The nun or ن— the first letter of Nasara—was spray-painted on the property of Christians ejected from the city, where there is a distinction, Nasrani refers to people from a Christian culture and Masihi is used by Christians themselves for those with a religious faith in Jesus. In some countries Nasrani tends to be used generically for non-Muslim Western foreigners, another Arabic word sometimes used for Christians, particularly in a political context, is Ṣalībī from ṣalīb which refers to Crusaders and has negative connotations
5.
Paganism
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Paganism is a term that derives from Latin word pagan, which means nonparticipant, one excluded from a more distinguished, professional group. The term was used in the 4th century, by early Christian community, the term competed with polytheism already in use in Judaism, by Philo in the 1st century. Pagans and paganism was a pejorative for the same polytheistic group, Paganism has broadly connoted religion of the peasantry, and for much of its history a derogatory term. Alternate terms in Christian texts for the group was hellene. In and after the Middle Ages, paganism was a pejorative that was applied to any non-Abrahamic or unfamiliar religion, there has been much scholarly debate as to the origin of the term paganism, especially since no one before the 20th century self-identified as a pagan. In the 19th century, paganism was re-adopted as a self-descriptor by members of various artistic groups inspired by the ancient world. Forms of these religions, influenced by various historical pagan beliefs of pre-modern Europe, exist today and are known as contemporary or modern paganism, while most pagan religions express a worldview that is pantheistic, polytheistic, or animistic, there are some monotheistic pagans. It is crucial to stress right from the start that until the 20th century people did not call themselves pagans to describe the religion they practised, the notion of paganism, as it is generally understood today, was created by the early Christian Church. It was a label that Christians applied to others, one of the antitheses that were central to the process of Christian self-definition, as such, throughout history it was generally used in a derogatory sense. The term pagan is from Late Latin paganus, revived during the Renaissance and it is related to pangere and ultimately comes from Proto-Indo-European *pag-. The evolution occurred only in the Latin west, and in connection with the Latin church, elsewhere, Hellene or gentile remained the word for pagan, and paganos continued as a purely secular term, with overtones of the inferior and the commonplace. However, this idea has multiple problems, first, the words usage as a reference to non-Christians pre-dates that period in history. Second, paganism within the Roman Empire centered on cities, the concept of an urban Christianity as opposed to a rural paganism would not have occurred to Romans during Early Christianity. Third, unlike words such as rusticitas, paganus had not yet acquired the meanings used to explain why it would have been applied to pagans. Paganus more likely acquired its meaning in Christian nomenclature via Roman military jargon, Early Christians adopted military motifs and saw themselves as Milites Christi. As early as the 5th century, paganos was metaphorically used to persons outside the bounds of the Christian community. In response, Augustine of Hippo wrote De Civitate Dei Contra Paganos, in it, he contrasted the fallen city of Man to the city of God of which all Christians were ultimately citizens. Hence, the invaders were not of the city or rural
6.
Porphyry (geology)
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Porphyry is a textural term for an igneous rock consisting of large-grained crystals such as feldspar or quartz dispersed in a fine-grained silicate rich, generally aphanitic matrix or groundmass. The larger crystals are called phenocrysts, in its non-geologic, traditional use, the term porphyry refers to the purple-red form of this stone, valued for its appearance. The term porphyry is from Ancient Greek and means purple, purple was the color of royalty, and the imperial porphyry was a deep purple igneous rock with large crystals of plagioclase. Some authors claimed the rock was the hardest known in antiquity, Imperial grade porphyry was thus prized for monuments and building projects in Imperial Rome and later. Subsequently, the name was given to any igneous rocks with large crystals, the adjective porphyritic now refers to a certain texture of igneous rock regardless of its chemical and mineralogical composition. Its chief characteristic is a difference in size between the tiny matrix crystals and the much larger phenocrysts. Porphyries may be aphanites or phanerites, that is, the groundmass may have invisibly small crystals as in basalt, or crystals easily distinguishable with the eye, most types of igneous rocks display some degree of porphyritic texture. Porphyry deposits are formed when a column of rising magma is cooled in two stages, in the first, the magma is cooled slowly deep in the crust, creating the large crystal grains with a diameter of 2 mm or more. In the second and final stage, the magma is cooled rapidly at relatively shallow depth or as it erupts from a volcano, the term porphyry is also used for a mineral deposit called a copper porphyry. The different stages of cooling that create porphyritic textures in intrusive and this enrichment occurs in the porphyry itself, or in other related igneous rocks or surrounding country rocks, especially carbonate rock. Collectively, these type of deposits are known as porphyry copper deposits, rhomb porphyry is a volcanic rock with gray-white large porphyritic rhomb- shaped phenocrysts embedded in a very fine-grained red-brown matrix. The composition of rhomb porphyry places it in the classification of the QAPF diagram. Rhomb porphyry lavas are known from three rift areas, the East African Rift, Mount Erebus near the Ross Sea in Antarctica. Plinys Natural History affirmed that the Imperial Porphyry had been discovered at a site in Egypt in AD18. This particular Imperial grade of porphyry came from a quarry in the Eastern Desert of Egypt. After the fourth century the quarry was lost to sight for many centuries, as early as 1850 BC on Crete in Minoan Knossos there were large column bases made of porphyry. Porphyry was also used for the blocks of the Column of Constantine in Istanbul, list of rock textures Quartz-porphyry Sarcophagi of Helena and Constantina Tyrian purple Pictures of the Mons Porphyrites, Red Sea, Egypt. Rhomb porphyry lavas at the Wayback Machine Flash showing rhomb porphyry formation at the Wayback Machine
7.
Apollo
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Apollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in classical Greek and Roman religion and Greek and Roman mythology. The ideal of the kouros, Apollo has been recognized as a god of music, truth and prophecy, healing, the sun and light, plague, poetry. Apollo is the son of Zeus and Leto, and has a twin sister, Apollo is known in Greek-influenced Etruscan mythology as Apulu. As the patron of Delphi, Apollo was an oracular god—the prophetic deity of the Delphic Oracle. Medicine and healing are associated with Apollo, whether through the god himself or mediated through his son Asclepius, yet Apollo was also seen as a god who could bring ill-health and deadly plague. Amongst the gods custodial charges, Apollo became associated with dominion over colonists, as the leader of the Muses and director of their choir, Apollo functioned as the patron god of music and poetry. Hermes created the lyre for him, and the instrument became an attribute of Apollo. Hymns sung to Apollo were called paeans, Apollo and Helios/Sol remained separate beings in literary and mythological texts until the 3rd century CE. The name Apollo—unlike the related older name Paean—is generally not found in the Linear B texts, the etymology of the name is uncertain. The spelling Ἀπόλλων had almost superseded all other forms by the beginning of the common era and it probably is a cognate to the Doric month Apellaios, and the offerings apellaia at the initiation of the young men during the family-festival apellai. According to some scholars the words are derived from the Doric word apella, apella is the name of the popular assembly in Sparta, corresponding to the ecclesia. R. S. P. Beekes rejected the connection of the theonym with the noun apellai, several instances of popular etymology are attested from ancient authors. Thus, the Greeks most often associated Apollos name with the Greek verb ἀπόλλυμι, in the ancient Macedonian language πέλλα means stone, and some toponyms may be derived from this word, Πέλλα and Πελλήνη. The role of Apollo as god of plague is evident in the invocation of Apollo Smintheus by Chryses, the Hittite testimony reflects an early form *Apeljōn, which may also be surmised from comparison of Cypriot Ἀπείλων with Doric Ἀπέλλων. A Luwian etymology suggested for Apaliunas makes Apollo The One of Entrapment, Apollos chief epithet was Phoebus, literally bright. It was very commonly used by both the Greeks and Romans for Apollos role as the god of light, like other Greek deities, he had a number of others applied to him, reflecting the variety of roles, duties, and aspects ascribed to the god. However, while Apollo has a number of appellations in Greek myth. Aegletes, from αἴγλη, light of the sun Helius, literally sun Lyceus light, the meaning of the epithet Lyceus later became associated with Apollos mother Leto, who was the patron goddess of Lycia and who was identified with the wolf
8.
True Cross
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The True Cross is the name for physical remnants which, by a Catholic Church tradition, are believed to be from the cross upon which Jesus was crucified. Many churches possess fragmentary remains that are by tradition alleged to be those of the True Cross and their authenticity is not accepted universally by those of the Christian faith and the accuracy of the reports surrounding the discovery of the True Cross is questioned by some Christians. The medieval legends that developed concerning its provenance differ between Catholic and Orthodox tradition and these churches honour Helena as a saint, as does also the Anglican Communion. The Golden Legend contains several versions of the origin of the True Cross, in The Life of Adam, Voragine writes that the True Cross came from three trees which grew from three seeds from the Tree of Mercy which Seth collected and planted in the mouth of Adams corpse. After many centuries, the tree was cut down and the used to build a bridge over which the Queen of Sheba passed. So struck was she by the portent contained in the timber of the bridge that she fell on her knees and revered it. On her visit to Solomon, she told him that a piece of wood from the bridge would bring about the replacement of Gods Covenant with the Jewish people, Solomon, fearing the eventual destruction of his people, had the timber buried. But after fourteen generations, the wood taken from the bridge was fashioned into the Cross used to crucify Christ, Voragine then goes on to describe its finding by Helena, mother of the Emperor Constantine. In the late Middle Ages and Early Renaissance, there was a general acceptance of the origin of the True Cross and its history preceding the Crucifixion. The Golden Legend and many of its sources developed after the East-West Schism of 1054, the above pre-Crucifixion history, therefore, is not to be found in Eastern Christianity. According to the tradition of the Eastern Orthodox Church the True Cross was made from three different types of wood, cedar, pine and cypress. The link between this verse and the Crucifixion lies in the words, the place of my feet, there is a tradition that the three trees from which the True Cross was constructed grew together in one spot. A traditional Orthodox icon depicts Lot, the nephew of Abraham, according to tradition, these trees were used to construct the Temple in Jerusalem. Later, during Herods reconstruction of the Temple, the wood from these trees was removed from the Temple and discarded, eventually being used to construct the cross on which Jesus was crucified. Following his conversion to Christianity, Emperor Constantine ordered in about 325–326 that the site be uncovered and instructed Saint Macarius, Bishop of Jerusalem, in his Life of Constantine, Eusebius does not mention the finding of the True Cross. Socrates Scholasticus, in his Ecclesiastical History, gives a description of the discovery that was repeated later by Sozomen. In Socratess version of the story, Macarius had the three placed in turn on a deathly ill woman. This woman recovered at the touch of the cross, which was taken as a sign that this was the cross of Christ
9.
Penitent thief
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The Penitent Thief, also known as the Good Thief or the Thief on the Cross, is one of two unnamed persons mentioned in a version of the Crucifixion of Jesus in the New Testament. In the accounts in the Gospel of Mark and Gospel of Matthew, the Gospel of Luke describes one asking Jesus to remember him when Jesus will have come into his kingdom. The other, as the impenitent thief, asks Jesus why he cannot save himself and he is given the name Dismas in the Gospel of Nicodemus and is not formally canonized by the Catholic Church but is venerated in some Catholic traditions as Saint Dismas . Other traditions have bestowed other names, In Coptic Orthodox tradition, in the Codex Colbertinus, he is named Zoatham. In Russian Orthodox tradition, he is named Rakh, two men were crucified at the same time as Jesus, one on his right hand and one on his left, which the Gospel of Mark interprets as fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah 53,12. 40 The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, Have you no fear of God,41 And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal. 42 Then he said, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom,43 He replied to him, Amen I say to you today you will be with me in Paradise. 23, 39–43 The phrase translated Amen I say to you today you will be in paradise in Luke 23,43 is disputed in a minority of versions and commentaries. The majority of ancient Bible translations also follow the majority view, as a result, some prayers recognize the good thief as the only person confirmed as a saint—that is, a person known to be in Paradise after death—by the Bible, and indeed by Jesus himself. Only the Gospel of Luke describes one of the thieves as penitent, Augustine of Hippo does not name the thief, but wonders if he might not have been baptized at some point. According to tradition, the Good Thief was crucified to Jesus right hand, for this reason, depictions of the crucifixion of Jesus often show Jesus head inclined to his right, showing his acceptance of the Good Thief. The footrest is slanted, pointing up towards the Good Thief, according to John Chrysostom, the thief dwelt in the desert and robbed or murdered anyone unlucky enough to cross his path. According to Pope Gregory I, he was guilty of blood, further, the argument is presented that baptism is not necessary for salvation since the thief had no opportunity for it. However, in some traditions he is regarded as having a baptism of blood. Lukes unnamed penitent thief was later assigned the name Dismas in the Gospel of Nicodemus, the name Dismas was adapted from a Greek word meaning sunset or death. The other thiefs name is given as Gestas, anne Catherine Emmerich saw the Holy Family exhausted and helpless, according to Augustine of Hippo and Peter Damian, the Holy Family met Dismas, in these circumstances. Pope Theophilus of Alexandria wrote a Homily on the Crucifixion and the Good Thief, in Coptic Orthodoxy, he is named Demas. This is the given to him in the Narrative of Joseph of Arimathea
Media related to Column of Constantine at Wikimedia Commons
