1.
Byzantine Empire
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It survived the fragmentation and fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD and continued to exist for an additional thousand years until it fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. During most of its existence, the empire was the most powerful economic, cultural, several signal events from the 4th to 6th centuries mark the period of transition during which the Roman Empires Greek East and Latin West divided. Constantine I reorganised the empire, made Constantinople the new capital, under Theodosius I, Christianity became the Empires official state religion and other religious practices were proscribed. Finally, under the reign of Heraclius, the Empires military, the borders of the Empire evolved significantly over its existence, as it went through several cycles of decline and recovery. During the reign of Maurice, the Empires eastern frontier was expanded, in a matter of years the Empire lost its richest provinces, Egypt and Syria, to the Arabs. This battle opened the way for the Turks to settle in Anatolia, the Empire recovered again during the Komnenian restoration, such that by the 12th century Constantinople was the largest and wealthiest European city. Despite the eventual recovery of Constantinople in 1261, the Byzantine Empire remained only one of several small states in the area for the final two centuries of its existence. Its remaining territories were annexed by the Ottomans over the 15th century. The Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 finally ended the Byzantine Empire, the term comes from Byzantium, the name of the city of Constantinople before it became Constantines capital. This older name of the city would rarely be used from this point onward except in historical or poetic contexts. The publication in 1648 of the Byzantine du Louvre, and in 1680 of Du Canges Historia Byzantina further popularised the use of Byzantine among French authors, however, it was not until the mid-19th century that the term came into general use in the Western world. The Byzantine Empire was known to its inhabitants as the Roman Empire, the Empire of the Romans, Romania, the Roman Republic, Graikia, and also as Rhōmais. The inhabitants called themselves Romaioi and Graikoi, and even as late as the 19th century Greeks typically referred to modern Greek as Romaika and Graikika. The authority of the Byzantine emperor as the legitimate Roman emperor was challenged by the coronation of Charlemagne as Imperator Augustus by Pope Leo III in the year 800. No such distinction existed in the Islamic and Slavic worlds, where the Empire was more seen as the continuation of the Roman Empire. In the Islamic world, the Roman Empire was known primarily as Rûm, the Roman army succeeded in conquering many territories covering the entire Mediterranean region and coastal regions in southwestern Europe and north Africa. These territories were home to different cultural groups, both urban populations and rural populations. The West also suffered heavily from the instability of the 3rd century AD
2.
Constantine V
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Constantine V was Byzantine emperor from 741 to 775. Constantine was born in Constantinople, the son and successor of Emperor Leo III, in August 720 he was associated on the throne by his father, who had him marry Tzitzak, daughter of the Khazar khagan Bihar. His new bride was baptized as Irene in 732, Constantine V succeeded his father as sole emperor on 18 June 741. Artabasdos was the stratēgos of the Armeniac theme, Constantine was defeated and sought refuge in Amorion, while Artabasdos advanced on Constantinople and was accepted as Emperor. Constantine received the support of the Anatolic and Thracesian themes, Artabasdos secured the support of the themes of Thrace and Opsikion, the rival emperors bided their time making military preparations. Artabasdos marched against Constantine in May 743 but was defeated, three months later Constantine defeated Artabasdos son Niketas and headed for Constantinople. In early November Constantine was admitted into the capital and immediately turned on his opponents, the usurpation of Artabasdos was connected with restoring the veneration of images, leading Constantine to become perhaps an even more fervent iconoclast than his father. Constantines avowed enemies over this extremely emotional issue, the iconodules, using this obscene name, they spread the rumour that as an infant he had defecated in his baptismal font, or on the imperial purple cloth with which he was swaddled. Constantines position on Iconoclasm was clear, He cannot be depicted, for what is depicted in one person, and he who circumscribes that person has plainly circumscribed the divine nature which is incapable of being circumscribed. In February 754 Constantine convened a synod at Hieria, which was attended entirely by Iconoclast bishops, the council approved of Constantines religious policy and secured the election of a new Iconoclast patriarch, but refused to follow in all of Constantines views. The synod was followed by a campaign to remove images from the walls of churches and to purge the court, the repressions against the monks were largely led by the Emperors general Michael Lachanodrakon, who threatened resistant monks with blinding and exile. An iconodule abbot, Stephen Neos, was lynched by a mob at the behest of the authorities. As a result, many fled to southern Italy and Sicily. By the end of Constantines reign, Iconoclasm had gone as far as to brand relics, ultimately, iconophiles considered his death a divine punishment. In the 9th century he was disinterred, and his remains were thrown into the sea, Constantine was an able general and administrator. He reorganised the themes, the districts of the Empire. This organization was intended to minimize the threat of conspiracies and to enhance the capabilities of the Empire. With this reorganized army he embarked on campaigns on the three major frontiers, in 746, profiting by the unstable conditions in the Umayyad Caliphate, which was falling apart under Marwan II, Constantine invaded Syria and captured Germanikeia
3.
Constantine VI
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Constantine VI was Byzantine Emperor from 780 to 797. Constantine VI was the child of Emperor Leo IV and Irene. Constantine was crowned co-emperor by his father in 776, and succeeded as emperor in 780. Due to his minority, Irene and her chief minister Staurakios exercised the regency for him, in 787 Constantine had signed the decrees of the Second Council of Nicaea, but he appears to have had iconoclast sympathies. By then Constantine had turned 16 years old, but his mother did not relinquish authority to him. In 788, Irene herself broke off the engagement of Constantine with Rotrude, turning against Charlemagne, the Byzantines now supported Lombard pretender Adalgis, who had been forced into exile after the Frankish invasion of Italy. After a conspiracy against Irene was suppressed in the spring of 790 she attempted to get recognition as empress. This backfired and with military support Constantine finally came to power in 790. Nevertheless, she was allowed to keep the title of Empress, once in control of the state, Constantine proved incapable of sound governance. His army was defeated by the Arabs, and Constantine himself suffered a defeat at the hands of Kardam of Bulgaria in the 792 Battle of Marcellae. A movement developed in favor of his uncle, the Caesar Nikephoros, Constantine had his uncles eyes put out and the tongues of his fathers four other half-brothers cut off. His former Armenian supporters revolted after he had blinded their general Alexios Mosele and he crushed this revolt with extreme cruelty in 793. Although the Patriarch Tarasios did not publicly speak against it, he did refuse to officiate the marriage, popular disapproval was expressed by Theodotes uncle, Plato of Sakkoudion, who even broke communion with Tarasios for his passive stance. Platos intransigence led to his own imprisonment, while his supporters were persecuted and exiled to Thessalonica. The Moechian Controversy cost Constantine what popularity he had left, especially in the church establishment and it is unknown when exactly Constantine died, it was certainly before 805, but he very likely died of his wounds shortly after being blinded. He was buried in the Monastery of St. Euphrosyne, which Irene had founded, in the early 820s, the rebel Thomas the Slav claimed to be Constantine VI in an effort to gain support against Michael II. Cutler, Anthony, Hollingsworth, Paul A. Constantine VI, Oxford and New York, Oxford University Press. Byzantine Empresses, Women and Power in Byzantium, AD 527–1204, a History of the Byzantine State and Society
4.
Irene of Athens
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Irene of Athens, also known as Irene Sarantapechaina, was Byzantine empress from 797 to 802. Before that, Irene was empress consort from 775 to 780 and she is best known for ending Iconoclasm. Irene was related to the noble Greek Sarantapechos family of Athens, although she was an orphan, her uncle or cousin Constantine Sarantapechos was a patrician and was possibly strategos of the theme of Hellas at the end of the 8th century. She was brought to Constantinople by Emperor Constantine V on 1 November 768 and was married to his son Leo IV on 17 December, on 14 January 771, Irene gave birth to a son, the future Constantine VI. When Constantine V died in September 775, Leo succeeded to the throne at the age of twenty-five years. Leo, though an iconoclast, pursued a policy of moderation towards iconodules, but his policies became much harsher in August 780, according to tradition, he discovered icons concealed among Irenes possessions and refused to share the marriage bed with her thereafter. Nevertheless, when Leo died on 8 September 780, Irene became regent for their nine-year-old son Constantine, Irene was almost immediately confronted with a conspiracy that tried to raise Caesar Nikephoros, a half-brother of Leo IV, to the throne. To overcome this challenge, she had Nikephoros and his co-conspirators ordained as priests, as early as 781, Irene began to seek a closer relationship with the Carolingian dynasty and the Papacy in Rome. She negotiated a marriage between her son Constantine and Rotrude, a daughter of Charlemagne by his third wife Hildegard, during this time Charlemagne was at war with the Saxons, and would later become the new king of the Franks. Irene went as far as to send an official to instruct the Frankish princess in Greek, however, Irene herself broke off the engagement in 787, Irene next had to subdue a rebellion led by Elpidius, the strategos of Sicily. Irene sent a fleet, which succeeded in defeating the Sicilians, Elpidius fled to Africa, where he defected to the Abbasid Caliphate. After the success of Constantine Vs general, Michael Lachanodrakon, who foiled an Abbasid attack on the eastern frontiers, Irenes most notable act was the restoration of the veneration of icons. Having chosen Tarasios, one of her partisans and her secretary, as Patriarch of Constantinople in 784. The first of these, held in 786 at Constantinople, was frustrated by the opposition of the iconoclast soldiers, the second, convened at Nicaea in 787, formally revived the veneration of icons and reunited the Eastern church with that of Rome. While this greatly improved relations with the Papacy, it did not prevent the outbreak of a war with the Franks, nevertheless, Irene was constantly harried by the Abbasids, and in 782 and 798 had to accept the terms of the respective Caliphs Al-Mahdi and Harun al-Rashid. As Constantine approached maturity he began to grow restless under her autocratic sway, an attempt to free himself by force was met and crushed by the Empress, who demanded that the oath of fidelity should thenceforward be taken in her name alone. The discontent which this occasioned swelled in 790 into open resistance, Constantine could only flee for aid to the provinces, but even there participants in the plot surrounded him. Seized by his attendants on the Asiatic shore of the Bosphorus and his eyes were gouged out, and he died from his wounds several days later
5.
Dynasty
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A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a feudal or monarchical system but sometimes also appearing in elective republics. The dynastic family or lineage may be known as a house, historians periodize the histories of many sovereign states, such as Ancient Egypt, the Carolingian Empire and Imperial China, using a framework of successive dynasties. As such, the dynasty may be used to delimit the era during which the family reigned and to describe events, trends. The word dynasty itself is often dropped from such adjectival references, until the 19th century, it was taken for granted that a legitimate function of a monarch was to aggrandize his dynasty, that is, to increase the territory, wealth, and power of his family members. The longest-surviving dynasty in the world is the Imperial House of Japan, dynasties throughout the world have traditionally been reckoned patrilineally, such as under the Frankish Salic law. Succession through a daughter when permitted was considered to establish a new dynasty in her husbands ruling house, however, some states in Africa, determined descent matrilineally, while rulers have at other times adopted the name of their mothers dynasty when coming into her inheritance. It is also extended to unrelated people such as poets of the same school or various rosters of a single sports team. The word dynasty derives via Latin dynastia from Greek dynastéia, where it referred to power, dominion and it was the abstract noun of dynástēs, the agent noun of dynamis, power or ability, from dýnamai, to be able. A ruler in a dynasty is referred to as a dynast. For example, following his abdication, Edward VIII of the United Kingdom ceased to be a member of the House of Windsor. A dynastic marriage is one that complies with monarchical house law restrictions, the marriage of Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, to Máxima Zorreguieta in 2002 was dynastic, for example, and their eldest child is expected to inherit the Dutch crown eventually. But the marriage of his younger brother Prince Friso to Mabel Wisse Smit in 2003 lacked government support, thus Friso forfeited his place in the order of succession, lost his title as a Prince of the Netherlands, and left his children without dynastic rights. In historical and monarchist references to formerly reigning families, a dynast is a member who would have had succession rights, were the monarchys rules still in force. Even since abolition of the Austrian monarchy, Max and his descendants have not been considered the rightful pretenders by Austrian monarchists, nor have they claimed that position. The term dynast is sometimes used only to refer to descendants of a realms monarchs. The term can therefore describe overlapping but distinct sets of people, yet he is not a male-line member of the royal family, and is therefore not a dynast of the House of Windsor. Thus, in 1999 he requested and obtained permission from Elizabeth II to marry the Roman Catholic Princess Caroline of Monaco. Yet a clause of the English Act of Settlement 1701 remained in effect at that time and that exclusion, too, ceased to apply on 26 March 2015, with retroactive effect for those who had been dynasts prior to triggering it by marriage to a Catholic
6.
Byzantine Empire under the Isaurian dynasty
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The Byzantine Empire was ruled by the Isaurian or Syrian dynasty from 717 to 802. The Heraclian dynasty faced some of the greatest challenges in history, after successfully overcoming the Sassanid Persians, the Emperor Heraclius and his exhausted realm were faced with the sudden onset of the Muslim expansion from Arabia into the Levant. Following the Muslim conquest of Syria, the province of Egypt. These three areas would be the fields of Byzantine-Arab contention during the next half-century. The Arabs continued to make headway, most notably constructing a navy that successfully challenged Byzantine supremacy in the Mediterranean, the outbreak of the Muslim civil war in 656 bought the Byzantines time, and emperor Constans II reinforced his position in the Balkans and Italy. At the same however, he was defeated by the Bulgar khan Asparukh. Carthage finally fell in 697 and a Byzantine recovery attempt defeated next year, finally, the Umayyad caliph Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik began preparing another huge expedition to conquer Constantinople. The loss of the Empires richest provinces, coupled with successive invasions, reduced the economy to a relatively impoverished state. The monetary economy persisted, but the economy experienced a revival as well. At the same time, the bureaucracy in Constantinople also rose in importance. After Justinian IIs second overthrow, the Byzantine Empire spiralled into another era of chaos matched only by Phocas mishandling of the last Persian War, philippikos Bardanes, the Crimean rebel who seized the throne proved to be totally incompetent for rule. Rather than face the threat of the Bulgars or the Arabs. When King Tervel of Bulgaria invaded Thrace, Bardanes had no choice, unfortunately for the Emperor, the troops had no loyalty whatsoever to him and after the ritual blinding he was replaced in June 713 by the chief secretary of the Emperor, Artemios. Artemios was crowned as Anastasios II, every citizen was told to gather enough food for three years for if the Arabs were to reach the straits it would undoubtedly be a lengthy siege. However, Anastasios proved too good for the Empire, in an effort to avert the Arab siege of the Capital, Anastasios planned a strike against the invaders. However the Opsician Theme once more revolted and Anastasios found himself in a Thessalonika monastery by 715, the Opsicians chose Theodosios, an unwilling tax-collector, to rule the Empire. Leo III, who would become the founder of the so-called Isaurian dynasty, was born in Germanikeia in northern Syria c. 685, his origin from Isauria derives from a reference in Theophanes the Confessor
7.
Tzitzak
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This individual is sometimes confused with Byzantine Empress Irene, who was her daughter-in-law. Tzitzak, baptised Irene, was a Khazar princess, the daughter of khagan Bihar, in 732, the Byzantine Empire was under threat of invasion from the Umayyad Caliphate. Seeking allies, Leo III the Isaurian sent an embassy to Bihar, the alliance was sealed with the marriage of Tzitzak to Constantine V, son and junior co-ruler of Leo. Tzitzak was escorted to Constantinople for her marriage, Constantine was about fourteen years old, while Tzitzak may have been even younger as she would not give birth for eighteen years. Tzitzak became a Christian under the baptismal name Irene, Tzitzaks wedding gown became famous, starting a new fashion craze in Constantinople for male robes called tzitzakia. The chronicle of Theophanes the Confessor records that Tzitzak learned to read religious texts and he describes her as pious and contrasts her with the impiety of her father-in-law and husband. The emperors Leo III and Constantine V were iconoclasts while Theophanes was an iconodule monk and his praise probably reflected the fact that Irene herself shared his views. It is uncertain whether her mother-in-law Maria was still the senior empress at the time of Tzitzaks marriage, Leo III died on 18 June 741. Constantine V succeeded him with Irene as his empress consort, however, civil war broke out almost immediately as Artabasdos, brother-in-law of Constantine, claimed the throne for himself. The civil war lasted until 2 November 743, the role of Irene in the war is not described by Theophanes. On 25 January 750, Constantine and Tzitzak had a son, Leo, leos birth is the last mention of Irene in the historical record. By the following year, Constantine was already married to his second wife Maria, lynda Garland has suggested Tzitzak died in childbirth. The word tzitzak is most likely a Hellenized version of the Turkic word çiçek, meaning flower
8.
Leo III the Isaurian
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Leo III the Isaurian, also known as the Syrian (Greek, Λέων Γ΄ ὁ Ἴσαυρος, Leōn III ho Isauros, was Byzantine Emperor from 717 until his death in 741. He put an end to the Twenty Years Anarchy, a period of instability in the Byzantine Empire between 695 and 717, marked by the rapid succession of several emperors to the throne. He also successfully defended the Empire against the invading Umayyads and forbade the veneration of icons, Leo, whose original name was Konon, was born in Germanikeia in the Syrian province of Commagene. After the victory of Justinian II, Konon was dispatched on a mission to Alania. Konon was appointed commander of the Anatolic theme by Emperor Anastasius II, on his deposition, Konon joined with his colleague Artabasdus, the stratēgos of the Armeniac theme, in conspiring to overthrow the new Emperor Theodosius III. Artabasdus was betrothed to Anna, daughter of Leo as part of the agreement, Leo entered Constantinople on 25 March 717 and forced the abdication of Theodosios III, becoming emperor as Leo III. The new Emperor was immediately forced to attend to the Second Arab siege of Constantinople, the Arabs were Umayyad forces sent by Caliph Sulayman ibn Abd al-Malik and serving under his brother Maslama ibn Abd al-Malik. They had taken advantage of the discord in the Byzantine Empire to bring a force of 80,000 to 150,000 men. Careful preparations, begun three years earlier under Anastasius II, and the resistance put up by Leo wore out the invaders. An important factor in the victory of the Byzantines was their use of Greek fire, the Arab forces also fell victim to Bulgarian reinforcements arriving to aid the Byzantines. Leo was allied with the Bulgarians but the chronicler Theophanes the Confessor was uncertain if they were serving under Tervel of Bulgaria or his eventual successor Kormesiy of Bulgaria. Sulayman himself had died the year and his successor Umar II would not attempt another siege. The siege had lasted 12 months, having thus preserved the Empire from extinction, Leo proceeded to consolidate its administration, which in the previous years of anarchy had become completely disorganized. In 718 he suppressed a rebellion in Sicily and in 719 did the same on behalf of the deposed Emperor Anastasios II and his military efforts were supplemented by his alliances with the Khazars and the Georgians. The new measures, which were embodied in a new code called the Ecloga, published in 726, met some opposition on the part of the nobles. The Emperor also undertook some reorganization of the structure by creating new themata in the Aegean region. Leos most striking legislative reforms dealt with matters, especially iconoclasm. After an apparently successful attempt to enforce the baptism of all Jews and Montanists in the empire, a majority of the theologians and all the monks opposed these measures with uncompromising hostility, and in the western parts of the Empire the people refused to obey the edict
9.
Artabasdos
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Artavasdos or Artabasdos, Latinized as Artabasdus, was a Byzantine general of Armenian descent who seized the throne from June 741 or 742 until November 743. His reign constitutes a usurpation against Constantine V, who had retained control of several themes in Asia Minor, after Anastasius fall, Artabasdos made an agreement with his colleague Leo, the governor of the Anatolic theme, to overthrow the new Emperor Theodosius III. This agreement was sealed with the engagement of Leos daughter Anna to Artabasdos, Artabasdos was awarded the rank of kouropalates and became commander of the Opsikion theme, while retaining control of his original command. While Constantine fled to Amorion, Artabasdus seized Constantinople amid popular support and was crowned emperor, Artabasdos abandoned his predecessors religious policy of Iconoclasm and restored Orthodoxy with some support, including that of Pope Zacharias. Soon after his accession, Artabasdus crowned his wife Anna as Augusta and his son Nikephoros as co-emperor, but while Artabasdus could rely also on the support of the themes of Thrace and Opsikion, Constantine secured for himself the support of the Anatolic and Thracesian themes. The inevitable clash came in May 743, when Artabasdus led the offensive against Constantine but was defeated, later the same year Constantine defeated Nicetas, and on November 2,743 Artabasdus reign came to an end as Constantine V entered Constantinople and apprehended his rival. Artabasdus and his sons were blinded and relegated to the monastery of Chora on the outskirts of Constantinople. The date of his death is unknown, by his wife Anna, the daughter of Emperor Leo III, Artabasdos had nine children, including, Nikephoros, who was co-emperor from 742 to 743. Niketas, who was strategos of the Armeniac theme from 742 to 743, list of Byzantine emperors Notes References Garland, Lynda. Byzantine women, varieties of experience 800–1200, - Total pages,226 Venetis, Evangelos. Encyclopaedia of the Hellenic World, Asia Minor
10.
Twenty Years' Anarchy
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Justinian II set in motion a chain of events by embarking on a despotic and increasingly violent course. Leontios proved equally unpopular and was in turn overthrown by Tiberios III, justinian then continued to reign for a further six years. His treatment of Tiberios and his supporters had been brutal and he continued to rule in a manner that was despotic and he lost the ground regained by Tiberios in the east, and imposed his views on the Pope. However, before long he faced a rebellion led by Philippikos Bardanes, justinian was captured and executed as was his son and co-emperor, Tiberius, thus extinguishing the Heraclian line. Justinian had taken the Byzantine empire yet further from its origins and he effectively abolished the historical role of Consul, merging it with Emperor, thus strengthening the Emperors constitutional position as absolute monarch. Militarily the Bulgars reached the walls of Constantinople, and moving troops to defend the capital allowed the Arabs to make incursions in the east and his reign ended abruptly when an army rebellion deposed him and replaced him with Anastasius II. Anastasius reversed his predecessors religious policies and responded to Arab attacks by sea and land, however the very army that had placed him on the throne rose against him, proclaimed a new emperor and besieged Constantinople for six months, eventually forcing Anastasius to flee. He in turn faced rebellion from two other themata, Anatolikon and Armeniakon in 717, and chose to resign, being succeeded by Leo III bringing an end to the cycle of violence and instability. However the strength of the organization within the empire. Byzantine–Arab Wars Byzantium under the Isaurians Byzantine–Bulgarian Wars#Tervels wars Kaegi, Walter Emil, Byzantium and the Early Islamic Conquests. Cambridge, United Kingdom, Cambridge University Press, bellinger, Alfred Raymond, Grierson, Philip, eds. Catalogue of the Byzantine Coins in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection and in the Whittemore Collection, Phocas to Theodosius III, Byzantium The Imperial centuries AD 610-1071
11.
Nikephorian dynasty
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The empire was in a weaker and more precarious position than it had been for a long time and its finances were problematic. Nikephoros I had been the finance minister and on Irenes deposition immediately embarked on a series of fiscal reforms. His administrative reforms included re-organisation of the themata and he survived a civil war in 803 and, like most of the Byzantine emperors, found himself at war on three fronts. He suffered a defeat at the Battle of Krasos in Phrygia in 805. Nikephoros was succeeeded by his son and co-emperor, Staurakios, michael I pursued more diplomatic than military solutions. However, he engaged the Bulgar Khan Krum, the same who claimed the lives of his two predecessors, and was defeated, severely weakening his position. Aware of a revolt he chose to abdicate given the grisly fate of so many prior overthrown emperors
12.
Khazars
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The Khazars were a semi-nomadic Turkic people, who created what for its duration was the most powerful polity to emerge from the break-up of the Western Turkic Kaganate. For some three centuries the Khazars dominated the vast area extending from the Volga-Don steppes to the eastern Crimea, the alliance was dropped around 900. Between 965 and 969, the Kievan Rus ruler Sviatoslav I of Kiev conquered the capital Atil, the native religion of the Khazars is thought to have been Tengrism, like that of the North Caucasian Huns and other Turkic peoples. The polyethnic populace of the Khazar Khaganate appears to have been a multiconfessional mosaic of pagan, Tengrist, Jewish, Christian and this theory still finds occasional support, but most scholars view it with scepticism. The theory is associated with antisemitism and anti-Zionism. Gyula Németh, following Zoltán Gombocz, derived Xazar from a hypothetical *Qasar reflecting a Turkic root qaz- being an hypothetical velar variant of Common Turkic kez-, louis Bazin derived it from Turkic qas- on the basis of its phonetic similarity to the Uyğur tribal name, Qasar. András Róna-Tas connects it with Kesar, the Pahlavi transcription of the Roman title Caesar, D. M. Dunlop tried to link the Chinese term for Khazars to one of the tribal names of the Uyğur Toquz Oğuz, namely the Gésà. One method for tracing their origins consists in analysis of the possible etymologies behind the ethnonym Khazar itself. The tribes that were to comprise the Khazar empire were not a union, but a congeries of steppe nomads and peoples who came to be subordinated. They appear to stem from Mongolia and South Siberia in the aftermath of the fall of the Hunnic/Xiōngnú nomadic polities, moving west, the confederation reached the land of the Akatziroi, who had been important allies of Byzantium in fighting off Attilas army. An embryonic state of Khazaria began to form sometime after 630, Göktürk armies had penetrated the Volga by 549, ejecting the Avars, who were then forced to flee to the sanctuary of the Hungarian plain. The Āshǐnà clan whose tribal name was Türk appear on the scene by 552, by 568, these Göktürks were probing for an alliance with Byzantium to attack Persia. Both briefly challenged Tang hegemony in eastern Turkestan, to the West, two new nomadic states arose in the meantime, Old Great Bulgaria under Kubrat, the Duōlù clan leader, and the Nǔshībì subconfederation, also consisting of five tribes. The Duōlù challenged the Avars in the Kuban River-Sea of Azov area while the Khazar Qağanate consolidated further westwards, led apparently by an Āshǐnà dynasty. The Qağanate of the Khazars thus took out of the ruins of this nomadic empire as it broke up under pressure from the Tang dynasty armies to the east sometime between 630–650. According to Omeljan Pritsak, the language of the Onoğur-Bulğar federation was to become the lingua franca of Khazaria as it developed into what Lev Gumilev called a steppe Atlantis, Khazaria developed a Dual kingship governance structure, typical among Turkic nomads, consisting of a shad/bäk and a qağan. The emergence of this system may be deeply entwined with the conversion to Judaism, particularly elaborate rituals accompanied a royal burial. At one period, travellers had to dismount, bow before the rulers tomb, such a royal burial ground is typical of inner Asian peoples
13.
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
14.
Bulgarian Empire
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The two Bulgarian Empires are not treated as separate entities, but rather as one state restored after a period of Byzantine rule over its territory. Under Ivan Asen II in the first half of the 13th century the country gradually recovered much of its power, though this did not last long due to internal problems. The Empire became tributary to the Golden Horde, a state of the Mongol Empire in the 13-14th century. After the death of Emperor Ivan Alexander in 1371 Bulgaria was split into three countries and in the following decades fell under the domination of the Ottomans, first Bulgarian Empire Second Bulgarian Empire Kingdom of Bulgaria History of Bulgaria Zlatarski, Vasil N. Medieval History of the Bulgarian State, sofia, Science and Arts Publishers, 2nd Edition, Zahari Stoyanov Publishers, 4th Edition,2006. Електронна издание – История на България, Делев, Петър, Валери Кацунов, Пламен Митев, Евгения Калинова, Искра Баева, Боян Добрев. Министерство на външните работи на България, Труд, Сирма, ann Arbor, University of Michigan Press
15.
Abbasid Caliphate
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The Abbasid Caliphate was the third of the Islamic caliphates to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The Abbasid dynasty descended from Muhammads youngest uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib and they ruled as caliphs, for most of their period from their capital in Baghdad in modern-day Iraq, after assuming authority over the Muslim empire from the Umayyads in 750 CE. The Abbasid caliphate first centered its government in Kufa, but in 762 the caliph Al-Mansur founded the city of Baghdad, the political power of the caliphs largely ended with the rise of the Buyids and the Seljuq Turks. Although Abbasid leadership over the vast Islamic empire was reduced to a ceremonial religious function. The capital city of Baghdad became a center of science, culture, philosophy and this period of cultural fruition ended in 1258 with the sack of Baghdad by the Mongols under Hulagu Khan. The Abbasid line of rulers, and Muslim culture in general, though lacking in political power, the dynasty continued to claim authority in religious matters until after the Ottoman conquest of Egypt. The Abbasid caliphs were Arabs descended from Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, one of the youngest uncles of Muhammad, the Abbasids claimed to be the true successors of Prophet Muhammad in replacing the Umayyad descendants of Banu Umayya by virtue of their closer bloodline to Muhammad. The Abbasids also distinguished themselves from the Umayyads by attacking their moral character, according to Ira Lapidus, The Abbasid revolt was supported largely by Arabs, mainly the aggrieved settlers of Marw with the addition of the Yemeni faction and their Mawali. The Abbasids also appealed to non-Arab Muslims, known as mawali, Muhammad ibn Ali, a great-grandson of Abbas, began to campaign for the return of power to the family of Prophet Muhammad, the Hashimites, in Persia during the reign of Umar II. During the reign of Marwan II, this culminated in the rebellion of Ibrahim the Imam. On 9 June 747, Abu Muslim successfully initiated a revolt against Umayyad rule. Close to 10,000 soldiers were under Abu Muslims command when the hostilities began in Merv. General Qahtaba followed the fleeing governor Nasr ibn Sayyar west defeating the Umayyads at the Battle of Nishapur, the Battle of Gorgan, after this loss, Marwan fled to Egypt, where he was subsequently assassinated. The remainder of his family, barring one male, were also eliminated, immediately after their victory, As-Saffah sent his forces to Central Asia, where his forces fought against Tang expansion during the Battle of Talas. Barmakids, who were instrumental in building Baghdad, introduced the worlds first recorded paper mill in Baghdad, As-Saffah focused on putting down numerous rebellions in Syria and Mesopotamia. The Byzantines conducted raids during these early distractions, the first change the Abbasids, under Al-Mansur, made was to move the empires capital from Damascus, in Syria, to Baghdad in Iraq. Baghdad was established on the Tigris River in 762, a new position, that of the vizier, was also established to delegate central authority, and even greater authority was delegated to local emirs. During Al-Mansurs time control of Al-Andalus was lost, and the Shiites revolted and were defeated a year later at the Battle of Bakhamra, the Abbasids had depended heavily on the support of Persians in their overthrow of the Umayyads
16.
Germanicia
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Kahramanmaraş is a city in Akdeniz, Turkey and the administrative center of Kahramanmaraş Province. Before 1973, Kahramanmaraş was named Marash, the city lies on a plain at the foot of the Ahir Dağı and has a population of 558.664 as of 2015. The region is best known for its production of salep, a made from dried orchid tubers. It is connected by air to Istanbul and Ankara, Turkish Airlines has daily direct flights from İstanbul and also AnadoluJet operates direct flights from Ankara. In the early Iron Age, Maraş was the city of the Syro-Hittite state Gurgum. It was known as the Kurkumaean city to its Luwian inhabitants, in 711 BC, the land of Gurgum was annexed as an Assyrian province and renamed as Marqas after its capital. Maraş was called Germanicia Caesarea in the time of the Roman, according to a 2010 Cumhuriyet article, the first ruins of Germanicia have already been unearthed in the Dulkadiroğulları quarters of the city. In 645 Germanicia was taken from the Byzantines by the Muslim Arabs, Marash was an important Syrian Orthodox diocese. Mor Dionysius Bar Salibi was its bishop, over the next three centuries, Marash belonged to the fortified Arab-Byzantine frontier zone and was used as a base for incursions into Byzantine-held Asia Minor by the Arabs. It was destroyed several times during the Arab-Byzantine Wars and it was rebuilt by the Umayyad caliph Muawiya I and was expanded ca.800 by the Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid. The city was controlled by the Tulunids, Ikhshidids and Hamdanids before the Byzantines under Nikephoros Phokas recovered it in 962. Germanikeia was captured by Baldwin I of Jerusalem in 1098 during the First Crusade, according to the Chronicle of Matthew of Edessa, it was destroyed by an earthquake and 10,000 people were killed, which is probably an exaggeration. In 1100 it was captured by the Danishmends, followed by the Seljuks in 1103, in 1107 Crusaders led by Tancred retook it with aid from Toros I of Little Armenia. In 1135 the Danishmends besieged Germanikeia unsuccessfully, but captured it next year, however, the Crusaders retook it in 1137. Baldwin of Germanikeia died in a war in 1146 while trying recover Edessa Nur ad-Din Zangi and his successor Reynald of Germanikeia also died in the Battle of Inab against the Zengids. Sultan Mesud I of the Sultanate of Rum took the city in 1149, Marash was captured by the Zengids in 1151, but was recaptured by the Seljuks in 1152. Maraş was recaptured by the Zengids in 1173 and was left to Mleh, Marash passed to the Seljuks in 1174 and to the Ayyubids in 1182. Kaykhusraw I, Sultan of Rum captured Marash in 1208, in 1258, Maraş was captured by the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, following the war with the Ilkhanate
17.
Nikephoros (Caesar)
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Nikephoros, also Latinized as Nicephorus or Nicephoros, was the second son of Byzantine emperor Constantine V and Caesar of the Byzantine Empire. He was therefore blinded and exiled to a monastery for most of his life, Nikephoros was born in the late 750s to Emperor Constantine V and his third wife Eudokia. Nikephoros was Constantines third son overall, following the future Leo IV, who was born 750 to Constantines first wife Irene of Khazaria, and Christopher, either Christopher or Nikephoros were possibly twin brothers to Eudokias and Constantines only daughter, Anthousa. Nikephoros had two younger brothers, Anthimos and Eudokimos, who were also named Nobilissimi at later dates. When Constantine V died in 775, his eldest son Leo IV ascended the Byzantine throne. Soon, Leo caused a rift with his half-brothers, when he confiscated a large amount of gold reserved for their use and distributed it to the army, then, in spring 776, a conspiracy headed by Nikephoros and involving a number of middle-ranking courtiers was discovered. Nikephoros himself was stripped of his rank, but otherwise not harmed, while the plotters were tonsured as monks. When Leo IV died in October 780, his heir was the young Constantine VI. Due to Constantines being underage, a regency was instituted under Irene, not only was rule by a woman alien to the military-dominated establishment of the time, but Irene was also a confirmed iconophile, an adherent of the veneration of holy images. This was regarded as heresy by the doctrine of Iconoclasm, which was especially popular with the army. Barely a month and a half after Leos death, the plot was discovered, Irene had the conspirators exiled, and Nikephoros and his younger brothers were ordained as priests, removing them from the line of succession. To confirm this before the people, on Christmas Day 780, Nikephoros and they were then imprisoned at a monastery in Therapia. Nikephoros is no longer mentioned by name after 792, instead and it is therefore questionable whether he is to be included in subsequent events, although traditionally it is held that he did share in his brothers fate and died after 812. After Empress Irene deposed her son in 797, the brothers were visited at the monastery by some of their supporters, if it had been hoped that Constantinoples populace would be moved to proclaim one of them emperor, their hopes were dashed. No uprising in their support materialized, and Irenes trusted eunuch advisor Aetios managed to extricate the brothers, the plot was foiled, but the brothers were again moved to Panormos in the Marmara Sea, and Nikephoross brothers were blinded as well. The brothers are mentioned for the last time in 812, when a group of disgruntled soldiers tried to proclaim the brothers emperors in the aftermath of the fall of Debeltum to the Bulgars. Emperor Michael I Rangabe, however, promptly dismissed the soldiers involved and moved the brothers to the island of Aphousia, where they died sometime later
18.
Cherson (theme)
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The Theme of Cherson, originally and formally called the Klimata was a Byzantine theme located in the southern Crimea, headquartered at Cherson. The theme was established in the early 830s and was an important centre of Black Sea commerce. The region had been under Roman and later Byzantine imperial control until the early 8th century, Byzantine authority was re-established by Emperor Theophilos, who displayed interest in the northern littoral of the Black Sea and especially his relations with the Khazars. Traditional scholarship dates the establishment of Cherson as the seat of a theme in ca. The new province was at first called ta Klimata, the regions/districts, the province played an important role in Byzantine relations with the Khazars and later, after the Khazar Khaganates collapse, with the Pechenegs and the Rus. Its weakness is underlined by the stipulation, in the Byzantine treaties with the Rus of 945 and 971, Cherson prospered greatly during the 9th–11th centuries as a centre of Black Sea commerce, despite the citys destruction by Vladimir of Kiev in 988/9. The city recovered quickly, the fortifications were restored and extended to the harbour in the early 11th century. The region however was lost again in the late 11th century to the Cumans, almost nothing is known of Cherson in the 12th century, pointing to a rather tranquil period. Cherson also retained the right to issue its own coins, having resumed minting under Emperor Michael III, in the late 11th century, the theme was governed by a katepano
19.
Syria (region)
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The historic region of Syria is an area located east of the Mediterranean sea. The oldest attestation of the name Syria is from the 8th century BC in an inscription in Hieroglyphic Luwian and Phoenician. In this inscription the Luwian word Sura/i was translated to Phoenician ʔšr Assyria, for Herodotus in the 5th century BC, Syria extended as far north as the Halys river and as far south as Arabia and Egypt. For Pliny the Elder and Pomponius Mela, Syria covered the entire Fertile Crescent and this late definition is equivalent to the region known in Classical Arabic by the name ash-Shām الشام /ʔaʃ-ʃaːm/, which means the north. After World War I, the name Syria was applied to the French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon, the area was passed to French and British Mandates following World War I and divided into Greater Lebanon, various Syrian-mandate states, Mandatory Palestine and Transjordan. The Syrian-mandate states were unified as the State of Syria. Throughout this period, pan-Syrian nationalists advocated for the creation of a Greater Syria, the name Syria derives from the ancient Greek name for Syrians, Σύριοι Syrioi, which the Greeks applied without distinction to various Near Eastern peoples living under the rule of Assyria. Modern scholarship confirms the Greek word traces back to the cognate Ἀσσυρία, Assyria, the classical Arabic pronunciation of Syria is Sūriyya. This name was not widely used among Muslims before about 1870, according to the Syrian Orthodox Church, Syrian used to mean Christian in early Christianity. In English, Syrian historically meant a Syrian Christian, following the declaration of Syria in 1936, the term Syrian became to designate citizens of that state regardless of ethnicity. The adjective Syriac has come into use since as a demonym to avoid the ambiguity of Syrian. To some opinions, the origin of the Hellenistic term Syria is bound in the etymology of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, Syria in this wider sense could correspond to Greater Assyria and include all of the Levant and Mesopotamia. Currently, the Arabic term Suriyya refers to the state of Syria. The term etymologically means land of the hand, referring to the fact that for someone in the Hejaz facing east. Sham comes from the Arabic consonantal root shin-hamza-mim ش ء م, as seen in alternative Arabic spellings such as شأم, there is no connection with the name of Shem son of Noah, as is sometimes assumed. Herodotus uses Συρία to refer to the stretch of land from the Halys river, including Cappadocia in todays Turkey to the Mount Casius, which Herodotus says is located just south of Lake Serbonis. According to Herodotus various remarks in different locations, he describes Syria to include the stretch of Phoenician coastal line as well as cities such Cadytis. In Greek usage, Syria and Assyria were used almost interchangeably, various writers used the term to describe the entire Levant region during this period, the New Testament used the name in this sense on numerous occasions
20.
Opsikion
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The Opsician Theme or simply Opsikion was a Byzantine theme located in northwestern Asia Minor. Created from the imperial army, the Opsikion was the largest and most prestigious of the early themes. Involved in several revolts in the 8th century, it was split in three after ca,750, and lost its former pre-eminence. It survived as a theme until after the Fourth Crusade. The Opsician theme was one of the first four themes, and has its origin in the armies of the East Roman army. The term Opsikion derives from the Latin term Obsequium, which by the early 7th century came to refer to the units escorting the emperor on campaign and it is possible that at an early stage, the Opsikion was garrisoned inside Constantinople itself. Thus the Opsician theme was the area where the imperial Opsikion was settled, the exact date of the themes establishment is unknown, the earliest reference points to a creation as early as 626, but the first confirmed occurrence is in 680. It is possible that it initially included the area of Thrace. The unique origin of the Opsikion was reflected in several aspects of the themes organization, thus the title of its commander was not stratēgos as with the other themes, but komēs, in full komēs tou basilikou Opsikiou. Its prestige is further illustrated by the seals of its commanders, already in 668, on the death of Emperor Constans II in Sicily, the count Mezezius staged an abortive coup. Under the patrikios Barasbakourios, the Opsikion was the main power-base of Emperor Justinian II, Justinian II also settled many Slavs captured in Thrace there, in an attempt to boost its military strength. Most of them, however, deserted to the Arabs on the first battle, in 717, the Opsicians supported the rise of Leo III the Isaurian to the throne, but in 718, their count, the patrikios Isoes, rose up unsuccessfully against him. In 741–742, the kouropalatēs Artabasdos used the theme as a base for his usurpation of Emperor Constantine V. In 766, another count was blinded after a mutiny against the same emperor. As a result, Emperor Constantine V set out to weaken the power by splitting off the new themes of the Boukellarioi. At the same time, the emperor recruited a new set of elite and staunchly iconoclast guard regiments, in the 9th century, he is recorded as receiving an annual salary of 30 pounds of gold, and of commanding 6,000 men. The thematic capital was moved to Nicaea, in the great Revolt of Thomas the Slav in the early 820s, the Opsikion remained loyal to Emperor Michael II. In 866, the Opsician stratēgos, George Peganes, rose up along with the Thracesian Theme against Basil I the Macedonian, then the junior co-emperor of Michael III,930, Basil Chalkocheir revolted against Emperor Romanos I Lekapenos
21.
Anatolic Theme
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The Anatolic Theme, more properly known as the Theme of the Anatolics was a Byzantine theme in central Asia Minor. In its classical form during the 8th and 9th centuries, the theme stretched over the ancient regions of Lycaonia, Pisidia, Isauria, as well as most of Phrygia and parts of Galatia Salutaris. Initially, the Anatolic Theme included the western and southern shores of Asia Minor as well, emperor Leo VI the Wise later ceded the region west of Lake Tuz to Cappadocia. The themes capital was Amorium, until the sack of the city by the Abbasids in 838, after that, it was probably transferred to the nearby fortress of Polybotos. According to the 10th-century Arab geographers Qudama ibn Jafar and Ibn al-Faqih, the Anatolic Theme, the largest of the provinces of the Romans, fielded 15,000 men, and contained 34 fortresses. It and its governor, or stratēgos, first attested in 690. As such, the stratēgos of the Anatolics was one of the highest in the Empire, the holders of the post received an annual salary of 40 pounds of gold, and are attested as holding the senior court ranks of patrikios, anthypatos, and prōtospatharios. In addition, they were the ones to be appointed to the exceptional post of monostrategos. The exact date of the establishment is unknown. The Anatolic Theme was settled and took its name from the army of the East, the theme is attested for the first time in 669, while the army itself is mentioned, as the exercitus Orientalis, as late as an iussio of Justinian II in 687. The thematic capital, Amorium, was also a frequent target of the Arabs and it was attacked already in 644, captured in 646, and briefly occupied in 669. The Arabs reached it again in 708 and besieged it without success in 716 and this in turn provoked the reaction of the Abbasid Caliphate, which in the quarter-century after 780 launched repeated invasions of Byzantine Asia Minor. Thus the Anatolics suffered a defeat at Kopidnadon in 788. The cities of eastern Cappadocia, however, which bordered the Caliphate, were practically destroyed, the 10th century was largely peaceful, with the exception of yet another sack of Amorium in 931 and a raid that reached Iconium in 963. The first Turkish attack on the theme is recorded in 1069, most of the province was overrun by the Turks after the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, with Iconium becoming the seat of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum in the 12th century. The last appearance of the Anatolic Theme in the sources is in 1077. The Byzantines managed to some of the western and northern portions of the theme in the subsequent decades under the Komnenian emperors. In the 10th century, however, the theme appears on the sidelines of the rebellions of the period, the next and last rebellion by a stratēgos of the Anatolics was that of Nikephoros Xiphias in 1022, against Basil II
22.
Armeniac Theme
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The Armeniac Theme, more properly the Theme of the Armeniacs was a Byzantine theme located in northeastern Asia Minor. The Armeniac Theme was one of the four themes, established sometime in the mid-7th century out of the territory of Lesser Armenia. It is next mentioned on a seal of 717/718, thus, the army of the magister militum per Armeniae was withdrawn and settled in the areas of Pontus, Paphlagonia and Cappadocia, giving its name to the region. In the 9th century, it fielded some 9,000 men, the theme remained in Byzantine hands until the late 11th century. Shortly after, the region was overrun by the Seljuk Turks, the Komnenian emperors managed to recover the coastal regions for the Empire, but the Armeniac theme was not restored
23.
Bucellarian Theme
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The Bucellarian Theme, more properly known as the Theme of the Bucellarians was a Byzantine theme in northern Asia Minor. It was created around the middle of the 8th century, comprising most of the ancient region of Paphlagonia, the theme was established sometime after 743 and before 767 by the Emperor Constantine V, following the suppression of the revolt of Artabasdos, the Count of the Opsikion. The new theme, along with that of the Optimatoi was split off from the Opsikion as formed part of the Emperors policy to reduce the latters power. The name of the theme derives from the late Roman Bucellarii, elite troops of Gothic or Roman origin. By the early 7th century, they formed a division in the Opsikion field force. The strategos of the Bucellarians is attested for the first time in 767 and his headquarters were at Ancyra, the former capital of Opsikion, and he belonged to the second tier of strategoi with an annual salary of 30 pounds of gold. According to Arab geographers, he commanded some 8,000 troops, the court ranks of the Bucellarian strategoi ranged from the mid-level spatharios to the higher protospatharios, with a single occurrence of the more exalted patrikios in the 10th century. Claudiopolis is the only attested base of one of the themes tourmai, despite it being originally a cavalry theme, the Bucellarians, as well as the later Paphlagonian theme, also included a small fleet, active in the Black Sea. The katepano of the Bucellarians and the Paphlagonians, whose seal is attested in the 10th century, was the commander of this naval contingent, however, evidence points to the fact that the 10th-century fleet was composed of merchantmen and transport ships, not warships. In the 9th century, however, probably c,820, the northeastern half of the theme was detached and formed, perhaps with some territory from the Armeniac theme, the new theme of Paphlagonia. Its extent was further reduced under Emperor Leo VI the Wise, in the 9th century, it comprised two towns and thirteen fortresses, while five towns are recorded in the 10th century. The theme survived until it was overrun by the Seljuk Turks following the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, the name Boukellariōn, however, survived as a geographical designation in Byzantine sources up until 1263. Encyclopedia of the Hellenic World, Asia Minor, new York and Oxford, Oxford University Press. The Decline of the Opsikian Domesticates and the Rise of the Domesticate of the Scholae, treadgold, Warren T. Byzantium and Its Army, 284–1081
24.
Thracesian Theme
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The Thracesian Theme, more properly known as the Theme of the Thracesians, was a Byzantine theme in western Asia Minor. The Thracesian Theme was one of the themes, surviving until the region was conquered by the Turks in the early 14th century. As with the themes, the exact date of foundation is unclear. This provides the Thracesian theme with the distinction of fielding some of the oldest known units of the Byzantine army, constantine took care to appoint a series of governors loyal to him and his policies, the most prominent among them being the ardent iconoclast Michael Lachanodrakon. The theme was briefly conquered by the Seljuk Turks in the late 1070s, John II Komnenos re-established the theme as an administrative unit, albeit with a reduced size, under a doux with seat at Philadelphia. The southern portion of the old theme became part of the new theme of Mylasa, basil Chrysomalles is the first known governor after 1204, and the list of governors from 1233 until 1260 is almost complete. The theme of Maeander, with its seat at Antioch-on-the-Maeander, was subordinated to it, the Thracesian Theme was one of the last Byzantine territories in Asia Minor to fall to the various Turkish beyliks, and played an important role as a bulwark against their raids. By the early 14th century, however, it had been restricted to the area around Smyrna, the theme of the Thracesians comprised the ancient regions of Ionia, Lydia, the northern half of Caria, and part of Phrygia Pacatiana. The theme contained some 20 cities, although most of them were reduced from their late antique status. Smyrna and Ephesus were probably the largest among them, the Persian geographer Ibn Khordadbeh, who wrote c. 847, mentions Ephesus as the capital, but this is not certain, the themes governing stratēgos ranked in the first tier of thematic governors and received an annual salary of 40 pounds of gold. The Arab geographer Qudama ibn Jafar, who wrote c,930, gives the troops under his command as 6,000, while Ibn al-Faqih, who wrote a generation earlier, puts them as high as 10,000. In 949, its senior-most officers were, in order of rank, the tourmarchēs of the Theodosiakoi, the tourmarchēs of the Viktores, the tourmarchēs of the seacoast, and a meriarchēs. The coast was also under the authority of the stratēgos of the naval theme of Samos. A Byzantine Government in Exile, Government and Society Under the Laskarids of Nicaea, haldon, John F. Byzantium in the Seventh Century, The Transformation of a Culture. Haldon, John F. Warfare, State and Society in the Byzantine World, new York and Oxford, Oxford University Press. Encyclopedia of the Hellenic World, Asia Minor, athens, Foundation of the Hellenic World. Nesbitt, John W. Oikonomides, Nicolas, eds, catalogue of Byzantine Seals at Dumbarton Oaks and in the Fogg Museum of Art, Volume 3, West, Northwest, and Central Asia Minor and the Orient
25.
Lachanodrakon
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Michael Lachanodrakon was a distinguished Byzantine general and fanatical supporter of Byzantine Iconoclasm under Emperor Constantine V. A talented general, he led a series of campaigns against the Arabs of the Abbasid Caliphate before being dismissed from office in about 782. Restored to imperial favour in 790, he fell at the Battle of Marcellae against the Bulgars in 792, nothing is known of Lachanodrakons origins and early life. He receives a very negative treatment in the sources, which were written after the final defeat of Byzantine Iconoclasm. Their profoundly iconophile perspective means that reports of his actions, especially relating to the suppression of icon worship, are potentially untrustworthy. At the Council of Hieria in 754, Constantine V had declared the adoration of icons to be a heresy, no persecution of iconophiles was launched at first, but iconophile resistance grew, until from 765 on, Constantine began persecuting iconophiles, and especially monks. The discovery of a wide-ranging iconophile plot against him involving some of the highest civil, patriarch Constantine II and other officials were deposed, jailed, publicly humiliated, and finally executed, replaced by new, uncompromisingly iconoclast officials. In addition, the veneration of sacred relics and prayers to the saints, by 763 or 764, according to the iconophile Life of St Stephen the Younger hagiography, Lachanodrakon had already distinguished himself by his iconoclast fervour. After burning down the monastery, he took the 38 captives to Ephesus and he soon began a harsh repression of the monasteries and iconophiles. Although many resisted and became martyrs in Theophaness words, many complied, later reports of exiled monks in Cyprus becoming Arab captives seem to partly corroborate this story. Lachanodrakon allegedly had relics, holy scriptures, and monks beards set on fire, killed or tortured those who venerated relics, although highly embellished, these reports probably reflect actual events. At any rate, by 772, according to historian Warren Treadgold, Lachanodrakon was also a capable general, winning fame for his campaigns against the Abbasids on the Byzantine Empires eastern frontier. During the reign of Constantine Vs son Leo IV he seems to have been the most prominent military commander, the first such expedition occurred in 778 when, preempting an anticipated Arab raid, Lachanodrakon led a large army against Germanikeia. Although the city did not fall, the Byzantine army defeated a force, plundered the region, and took many captives, mostly Jacobites. In 780, Lachanodrakon ambushed and defeated an Arab invasion in the Armeniac Theme, in 782, however, he was defeated by the Arab general al-Barmaqi during a large-scale invasion led by the future caliph Harun al-Rashid, losing some 15,000 men according to Theophanes. In the aftermath of defeat, and likely because of his iconoclast past. Lachanodrakon reappears in 790, when the young emperor Constantine VI conspired to overturn the tutelage of Irene, the general was sent by Constantine to the Armeniac Theme to secure the allegiance of its soldiers. Constantine succeeded in toppling his mother in December 790, it was then that Lachanodrakon was rewarded with the supreme non-imperial title
26.
Roman triumph
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He rode in a four-horse chariot through the streets of Rome in unarmed procession with his army, captives, and the spoils of his war. At Jupiters temple on the Capitoline Hill, he offered sacrifice, inevitably, the triumph offered extraordinary opportunities for self-publicity, besides its religious and military dimensions. From the Principate onwards, the reflected the Imperial order. The triumph was consciously imitated by medieval and later states in the royal entry, in Republican Rome, truly exceptional military achievement merited the highest possible honours, which connected the vir triumphalis to Romes mythical and semi-mythical past. In effect, the general was close to being king for a day and he was drawn in procession through the city in a four-horse chariot, under the gaze of his peers and an applauding crowd, to the temple of Capitoline Jupiter. The spoils and captives of his victory led the way, his armies followed behind, once at the Capitoline temple, he sacrificed two white oxen to Jupiter and laid tokens of his victory at Jupiters feet, dedicating his victory to the Roman Senate, people, and gods. Triumphs were tied to no particular day, season, or religious festival of the Roman calendar, most seem to have been celebrated at the earliest practicable opportunity, probably on days that were deemed auspicious for the occasion. Tradition required that, for the duration of a triumph, every temple was open, the ceremony was thus, in some sense, shared by the whole community of Roman gods, but overlaps were inevitable with specific festivals and anniversaries. Some may have been coincidental, others were designed, Pompey postponed his third and most magnificent triumph for several months to make it coincide with his own dies natalis. Religious dimensions aside, the focus of the triumph was the general himself, the ceremony promoted him – however temporarily – above every mortal Roman. This was an opportunity granted to very few, from the time of Scipio Africanus, the triumphal general was linked to Alexander and the demi-god Hercules, who had laboured selflessly for the benefit of all mankind. His sumptuous triumphal chariot was bedecked with charms against the possible envy, in some accounts, a companion or public slave would remind him from time to time of his own mortality. This is probably so for the earliest legendary and later semi-legendary triumphs of Romes regal era, as Romes population, power, influence, and territory increased, so did the scale, length, variety, and extravagance of its triumphal processions. The procession mustered in the space of the Campus Martius probably well before first light. Triumphal processions were notoriously long and slow, the longest could last for two or three days, and possibly more, and some may have been of greater length than the route itself, some ancient and modern sources suggest a fairly standard processional order. First came the captive leaders, allies, and soldiers walking in chains. Next in line, all on foot, came Romes senators and magistrates, followed by the generals lictors in their red war-robes, their fasces wreathed in laurel, then the general in his four-horse chariot. A companion, or a slave, might share the chariot with him or, in some cases
27.
Syriac Orthodox Church
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The Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch, or Syrian Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East, is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church based in the Eastern Mediterranean. Employing the Divine Liturgy of Saint James with Syriac as its official and liturgical language, the church is led by the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch Ignatius Aphrem II since 2014, seated in Bab Tuma, Damascus, Syria. The Syriac Orthodox Church belongs to the Oriental Orthodoxy, a full communion of churches since the schism following the Council of Chalcedon in 451. Around 825, many Saint Thomas Christians of Kerala, India, affirmed allegiance to the Syriac Orthodox Church, however, another part of clergy gained permission from the Ottoman authorities in Istanbul to reestablish the Syriac Orthodox Church soon after. The churchs present circa 5 million members are divided in 26 archdioceses and its original area is present-day Syria, Turkey, or Iraq. The churchs Levantine ethno-religious identity has been a matter of controversy since the 20th century, many refer to these as ethnic Syriacs or Assyrians, while other advocate the term Arameans. The Syriac Orthodox Church participates in discussions, being a member of the World Council of Churches since 1960. Due mainly to persecution throughout the centuries, a diaspora has spread from the Levant throughout the world, notably in Sweden, Germany, United States, Canada, Guatemala, Brazil, and Australia. The Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch claims the status as the most ancient Christian church in the world, according to Saint Luke, The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. As Jewish Christianity originated at Jerusalem, so gentile Christianity started at Antioch, then the center of the Hellenistic East, with Peter. 70 and 130, were out from Jerusalem and Palestine into Syria. When Saint Peter left Antioch, Evodios and Ignatius presided over the Patriarchate of Antioch, because of the significance attributed to Saint Ignatius in the Syriac Orthodox Church, almost all of the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchs since 1293 have been named Ignatius. Until 498, this church accepted the authority of the Patriarch of Antioch. The church also maintained a smaller church under a Catholicos, known by the title Maphryono. The Christological controversies that followed the Council of Chalcedon in 451 resulted in a struggle for the Patriarchate between those who accepted and those who rejected the Council. In 518, Patriarch Severus of Antioch was exiled from the city of Antioch, on account of many historical upheavals and consequent hardships which the church had to undergo, the Patriarchate was transferred to different monasteries in Mesopotamia for centuries. In about 1160 its seat was transferred from Antioch to the Mor Hananyo Monastery, in southeastern Turkey near Mardin and they reestablished themselves in Homs, Syria due to an adverse political situation in Turkey. In 1959 it was transferred to Damascus, where it currently resides
28.
Thrace (theme)
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The Theme of Thrace was a province of the Byzantine Empire located in the south-eastern Balkans, comprising varying parts of the eponymous geographic region during its history. Traditionally, it has held that the theme was constituted in c. 680, as a response to the Bulgar threat and this is based on the mention of a certain patrikios Theodore, Count of the Opsikion and hypostrategos of Thrace, in 680/681. However, it is whether this implies the existence of Thrace as a separate command, with Theodore holding a dual post. In fact, separate strategoi of Thrace are not clearly attested in literary sources until 742, initially, Adrianople was probably the themes capital. Under Empress Irene of Athens, in the late 8th century, from then on, the themes capital was at Arcadiopolis, with subordinate tourmarchai at Bizye and Sozopolis. Another, called tourmarches tes Thrakes is also attested, possibly the strategos deputy at Arcadiopolis, indeed, the boundaries of the theme fluctuated along with the northern frontier of Byzantium during the Byzantine–Bulgarian Wars. Thus, at around the start of the 10th century, the theme comprised essentially the eastern half of modern Eastern Thrace, from the 11th century, Thrace and Macedonia appear to have been usually combined, as attested by numerous strategoi and judges holding jurisdiction over both themes. The name fell out of use as a term in the Palaiologan period
29.
Anatolia
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Anatolia, in geography known as Asia Minor, Asian Turkey, Anatolian peninsula, or Anatolian plateau, is the westernmost protrusion of Asia, which makes up the majority of modern-day Turkey. The region is bounded by the Black Sea to the north, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Sea of Marmara forms a connection between the Black and Aegean Seas through the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits and separates Anatolia from Thrace on the European mainland. Traditionally, Anatolia is considered to extend in the east to a line between the Gulf of Alexandretta and the Black Sea to the Armenian Highlands, thus, traditionally Anatolia is the territory that comprises approximately the western two-thirds of the Asian part of Turkey. The Turkification of Anatolia began under the Seljuk Empire in the late 11th century, however, various non-Turkic languages continue to be spoken by minorities in Anatolia today, including Kurdish, Assyrian, Armenian, Arabic, Laz, Georgian, and Greek. Traditionally, Anatolia is considered to extend in the east to a line running from the Gulf of Alexandretta to the Black Sea. This traditional geographical definition is used, for example, in the latest edition of Merriam-Websters Geographical Dictionary, under this definition, Anatolia is bounded to the east by the Armenian Highlands, and the Euphrates before that river bends to the southeast to enter Mesopotamia. To the southeast, it is bounded by the ranges that separate it from the Orontes valley in Syria, the first name the Greeks used for the Anatolian peninsula was Ἀσία, presumably after the name of the Assuwa league in western Anatolia. As the name of Asia came to be extended to areas east of the Mediterranean. The name Anatolia derives from the Greek ἀνατολή meaning “the East” or more literally “sunrise”, the precise reference of this term has varied over time, perhaps originally referring to the Aeolian, Ionian and Dorian colonies on the west coast of Asia Minor. In the Byzantine Empire, the Anatolic Theme was a theme covering the western, the modern Turkish form of Anatolia is Anadolu, which again derives from the Greek name Aνατολή. The Russian male name Anatoly and the French Anatole share the same linguistic origin, in English the name of Turkey for ancient Anatolia first appeared c. It is derived from the Medieval Latin Turchia, which was used by the Europeans to define the Seljuk controlled parts of Anatolia after the Battle of Manzikert. Human habitation in Anatolia dates back to the Paleolithic, neolithic Anatolia has been proposed as the homeland of the Indo-European language family, although linguists tend to favour a later origin in the steppes north of the Black Sea. However, it is clear that the Anatolian languages, the oldest branch of Indo-European, have spoken in Anatolia since at least the 19th century BC. The earliest historical records of Anatolia stem from the southeast of the region and are from the Mesopotamian-based Akkadian Empire during the reign of Sargon of Akkad in the 24th century BC, scholars generally believe the earliest indigenous populations of Anatolia were the Hattians and Hurrians. The region was famous for exporting raw materials, and areas of Hattian-, one of the numerous cuneiform records dated circa 20th century BC, found in Anatolia at the Assyrian colony of Kanesh, uses an advanced system of trading computations and credit lines. They were speakers of an Indo-European language, the Hittite language, originating from Nesa, they conquered Hattusa in the 18th century BC, imposing themselves over Hattian- and Hurrian-speaking populations. According to the most widely accepted Kurgan theory on the Proto-Indo-European homeland, however, the Hittites adopted the cuneiform script, invented in Mesopotamia
30.
International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
31.
OCLC
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The Online Computer Library Center is a US-based nonprofit cooperative organization dedicated to the public purposes of furthering access to the worlds information and reducing information costs. It was founded in 1967 as the Ohio College Library Center, OCLC and its member libraries cooperatively produce and maintain WorldCat, the largest online public access catalog in the world. OCLC is funded mainly by the fees that libraries have to pay for its services, the group first met on July 5,1967 on the campus of the Ohio State University to sign the articles of incorporation for the nonprofit organization. The group hired Frederick G. Kilgour, a former Yale University medical school librarian, Kilgour wished to merge the latest information storage and retrieval system of the time, the computer, with the oldest, the library. The goal of network and database was to bring libraries together to cooperatively keep track of the worlds information in order to best serve researchers and scholars. The first library to do online cataloging through OCLC was the Alden Library at Ohio University on August 26,1971 and this was the first occurrence of online cataloging by any library worldwide. Membership in OCLC is based on use of services and contribution of data, between 1967 and 1977, OCLC membership was limited to institutions in Ohio, but in 1978, a new governance structure was established that allowed institutions from other states to join. In 2002, the structure was again modified to accommodate participation from outside the United States. As OCLC expanded services in the United States outside of Ohio, it relied on establishing strategic partnerships with networks, organizations that provided training, support, by 2008, there were 15 independent United States regional service providers. OCLC networks played a key role in OCLC governance, with networks electing delegates to serve on OCLC Members Council, in early 2009, OCLC negotiated new contracts with the former networks and opened a centralized support center. OCLC provides bibliographic, abstract and full-text information to anyone, OCLC and its member libraries cooperatively produce and maintain WorldCat—the OCLC Online Union Catalog, the largest online public access catalog in the world. WorldCat has holding records from public and private libraries worldwide. org, in October 2005, the OCLC technical staff began a wiki project, WikiD, allowing readers to add commentary and structured-field information associated with any WorldCat record. The Online Computer Library Center acquired the trademark and copyrights associated with the Dewey Decimal Classification System when it bought Forest Press in 1988, a browser for books with their Dewey Decimal Classifications was available until July 2013, it was replaced by the Classify Service. S. The reference management service QuestionPoint provides libraries with tools to communicate with users and this around-the-clock reference service is provided by a cooperative of participating global libraries. OCLC has produced cards for members since 1971 with its shared online catalog. OCLC commercially sells software, e. g. CONTENTdm for managing digital collections, OCLC has been conducting research for the library community for more than 30 years. In accordance with its mission, OCLC makes its research outcomes known through various publications and these publications, including journal articles, reports, newsletters, and presentations, are available through the organizations website. The most recent publications are displayed first, and all archived resources, membership Reports – A number of significant reports on topics ranging from virtual reference in libraries to perceptions about library funding
32.
Byzantine Emperor
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This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Emperors listed below up to Theodosius I in 395 were sole or joint rulers of the entire Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire was the direct legal continuation of the eastern half of the Roman Empire following the division of the Roman Empire in 395. All Byzantine emperors considered themselves to be the rightful Roman emperor in direct succession from Augustus, the title of all Emperors preceding Heraclius was officially Augustus, although other titles such as Dominus were also used. Their names were preceded by Imperator Caesar and followed by Augustus, following Heraclius, the title commonly became the Greek Basileus, which had formerly meant sovereign but was then used in place of Augustus. Following the establishment of the rival Holy Roman Empire in Western Europe, in later centuries, the Emperor could be referred to by Western Christians as the Emperor of the Greeks. Towards the end of the Empire, the standard formula of the Byzantine ruler was in Christ, Emperor. For Roman emperors before Constantine I, see List of Roman emperors, family tree of the Byzantine emperors List of Roman emperors List of Roman usurpers List of Byzantine usurpers List of Roman and Byzantine empresses
33.
Principate
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This reflects the principate emperors assertion that they were merely first among equals among the citizens of Rome. The title itself derived from the position of the princeps senatus, although dynastic pretences crept in from the start, formalizing this in a monarchic style remained politically unthinkable. Afterwards, Imperial rule in the Empire is designated as the dominate, initially, the theory implied the first citizen had to earn his extraordinary position by merit in the style that Augustus himself had gained the position of auctoritas. Large distributions of food for the public and charitable institutions were also means that served as popularity boosters while the construction of public works provided employment for the poor. With the fall of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, the principate was redefined in formal terms under the Emperor Vespasian, the position of princeps became a distinct entity within the broader – formally still republican – Roman constitution. Under the Antonine dynasty, it was the norm for the Emperor to appoint a successful, in modern historical analysis, this is treated by many authors as an ideal situation, the individual who was most capable was promoted to the position of princeps. Of the Antonine dynasty, Edward Gibbon famously wrote that this was the happiest and most productive period in human history and this first phase was to be followed by, or rather evolved into, the so-called dominate. Richard Alston, Aspects of Roman History, henning Börm, Wolfgang Havener, Octavians Rechtsstellung im Januar 27 v. Chr. und das Problem der „Übertragung“ der res publica. Gedanken zur Periodisierung der römischen Kaiserzeit, kurt A. Raaflaub, Mark Toher, Between Republic and Empire, Interpretations of Augustus and his Principate. Berkeley / Los Angeles / Oxford 1990
34.
Augustus
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Augustus was the founder of the Roman Principate and considered the first Roman emperor, controlling the Roman Empire from 27 BC until his death in AD14. He was born Gaius Octavius into an old and wealthy equestrian branch of the plebeian gens Octavia and his maternal great-uncle Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC, and Octavius was named in Caesars will as his adopted son and heir, then known as Octavianus. He, Mark Antony, and Marcus Lepidus formed the Second Triumvirate to defeat the assassins of Caesar, following their victory at the Battle of Philippi, the Triumvirate divided the Roman Republic among themselves and ruled as military dictators. The Triumvate was eventually torn apart by the ambitions of its members. Lepidus was driven into exile and stripped of his position, in reality, however, he retained his autocratic power over the Republic as a military dictator. By law, Augustus held a collection of powers granted to him for life by the Senate, including supreme military command, and it took several years for Augustus to develop the framework within which a formally republican state could be led under his sole rule. He rejected monarchical titles, and instead called himself Princeps Civitatis, the resulting constitutional framework became known as the Principate, the first phase of the Roman Empire. The reign of Augustus initiated an era of peace known as the Pax Romana. Augustus dramatically enlarged the Empire, annexing Egypt, Dalmatia, Pannonia, Noricum, and Raetia, expanding possessions in Africa, expanding into Germania, beyond the frontiers, he secured the Empire with a buffer region of client states and made peace with the Parthian Empire through diplomacy. Augustus died in AD14 at the age of 75 and he probably died from natural causes, although there were unconfirmed rumors that his wife Livia poisoned him. He was succeeded as Emperor by his adopted son Tiberius, Augustus was known by many names throughout his life, At birth, he was named Gaius Octavius after his biological father. Historians typically refer to him simply as Octavius between his birth in 63 until his adoption by Julius Caesar in 44 BC, upon his adoption, he took Caesars name and became Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus in accordance with Roman adoption naming standards. He quickly dropped Octavianus from his name, and his contemporaries referred to him as Caesar during this period, historians. In 27 BC, following his defeat of Mark Antony and Cleopatra and it is the events of 27 BC from which he obtained his traditional name of Augustus, which historians use in reference to him from 27 BC until his death in AD14. While his paternal family was from the town of Velletri, approximately 40 kilometres from Rome and he was born at Ox Head, a small property on the Palatine Hill, very close to the Roman Forum. He was given the name Gaius Octavius Thurinus, his cognomen possibly commemorating his fathers victory at Thurii over a band of slaves. Due to the nature of Rome at the time, Octavius was taken to his fathers home village at Velletri to be raised. Octavius only mentions his fathers equestrian family briefly in his memoirs and his paternal great-grandfather Gaius Octavius was a military tribune in Sicily during the Second Punic War
35.
Tiberius
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Tiberius was a Roman Emperor from 14 AD to 37 AD. Born Tiberius Claudius Nero, a Claudian, Tiberius was the son of Tiberius Claudius Nero and his mother divorced Nero and married Octavian, later known as Augustus, in 39 BC, making him a step-son of Octavian. Tiberius would later marry Augustus daughter, Julia the Elder, and even later be adopted by Augustus, by which act he officially became a Julian, bearing the name Tiberius Julius Caesar. The subsequent emperors after Tiberius would continue this blended dynasty of both families for the thirty years, historians have named it the Julio-Claudian dynasty. In relations to the emperors of this dynasty, Tiberius was the stepson of Augustus, grand-uncle of Caligula, paternal uncle of Claudius. Tiberius was one of Romes greatest generals, his conquest of Pannonia, Dalmatia, Raetia, and temporarily, parts of Germania, laid the foundations for the northern frontier. But he came to be remembered as a dark, reclusive, and sombre ruler who never really desired to be emperor, Pliny the Elder called him tristissimus hominum, after the death of Tiberius’ son Drusus Julius Caesar in 23 AD, he became more reclusive and aloof. In 26 AD Tiberius removed himself from Rome and left largely in the hands of his unscrupulous Praetorian Prefects Lucius Aelius Sejanus and Quintus Naevius Sutorius Macro. Caligula, Tiberius grand-nephew and adopted grandson, succeeded Tiberius upon his death, Tiberius was born in Rome on 16 November 42 BC to Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla. In 39 BC his mother divorced his father and remarried Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus shortly thereafter. In 38 BC his brother, Nero Claudius Drusus, was born, little is recorded of Tiberiuss early life. In 32 BC Tiberius at the age of nine, delivered the eulogy for his father at the rostra. In 29 BC, both he rode in the chariot along with their adoptive father Octavian in celebration of the defeat of Antony. In 23 BC Emperor Augustus became gravely ill and his possible death threatened to plunge the Roman world into chaos again, in response, a series of potential heirs seem to have been selected, among them Tiberius and his brother Drusus. Similar provisions were made for Drusus, shortly thereafter Tiberius began appearing in court as an advocate, and it is presumably here that his interest in Greek rhetoric began. In 20 BC, Tiberius was sent East under Marcus Agrippa, the Parthians had captured the standards of the legions under the command of Marcus Licinius Crassus, Decidius Saxa, and Marc Antony. Augustus was able to reach a compromise whereby the standards were returned, Tiberius married Vipsania Agrippina, the daughter of Augustus’s close friend and greatest general, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa. He was appointed to the position of praetor, and sent with his legions to assist his brother Drusus in campaigns in the west
36.
Caligula
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Caligula, properly Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus was Roman emperor from AD 37–41. Born Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus, Caligula was a member of the house of rulers known as the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Caligulas biological father was Germanicus, and he was the great-nephew, the young Gaius earned the nickname Caligula from his fathers soldiers while accompanying him during his campaigns in Germania. When Germanicus died at Antioch in AD19, his wife Agrippina the Elder returned with her six children to Rome, the conflict eventually led to the destruction of her family, with Caligula as the sole male survivor. Untouched by the intrigues, Caligula accepted the invitation to join the Emperor in AD31 on the island of Capri. With the death of Tiberius in AD37, Caligula succeeded his grand uncle, there are few surviving sources about the reign of Emperor Caligula, although he is described as a noble and moderate ruler during the first six months of his reign. After this, the focus upon his cruelty, sadism, extravagance. He directed much of his attention to construction projects and luxurious dwellings for himself. During his reign, the empire annexed the Kingdom of Mauretania as a province, in early AD41, Caligula was assassinated as a result of a conspiracy by officers of the Praetorian Guard, senators, and courtiers. Gaius Julius Caesar was born in Antium on 31 August 12 AD, Gaius had two older brothers, Nero and Drusus, as well as three younger sisters, Agrippina the Younger, Julia Drusilla and Julia Livilla. He was also a nephew of Claudius, Germanicus younger brother, Agrippina the Elder was the daughter of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Julia the Elder. She was a granddaughter of Augustus and Scribonia on her mothers side, through Agrippina, Augustus was the maternal great-grandfather of Gaius. As a boy of just two or three, Gaius accompanied his father, Germanicus, on campaigns in the north of Germania, the soldiers were amused that Gaius was dressed in a miniature soldiers outfit, including boots and armour. He was soon given his nickname Caligula, meaning little boot in Latin, Gaius, though, reportedly grew to dislike this nickname. Suetonius claims that Germanicus was poisoned in Syria by an agent of Tiberius, after the death of his father, Caligula lived with his mother until her relations with Tiberius deteriorated. Tiberius would not allow Agrippina to remarry for fear her husband would be a rival, Agrippina and Caligulas brother, Nero, were banished in 29 AD on charges of treason. The adolescent Caligula was then sent to live with his great-grandmother Livia, after her death, he was sent to live with his grandmother Antonia. In 30 AD, his brother, Drusus Caesar, was imprisoned on charges of treason, Suetonius writes that after the banishment of his mother and brothers, Caligula and his sisters were nothing more than prisoners of Tiberius under the close watch of soldiers
37.
Claudius
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Claudius was Roman emperor from 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, he was the son of Drusus and he was born at Lugdunum in Gaul, the first Roman Emperor to be born outside Italy. Claudius infirmity probably saved him from the fate of other nobles during the purges of Tiberius and Caligulas reigns. His survival led to his being declared Emperor by the Praetorian Guard after Caligulas assassination, despite his lack of experience, Claudius proved to be an able and efficient administrator. He was also a builder, constructing many new roads, aqueducts. During his reign the Empire began the conquest of Britain, having a personal interest in law, he presided at public trials, and issued up to twenty edicts a day. He was seen as vulnerable throughout his reign, particularly by elements of the nobility, Claudius was constantly forced to shore up his position, this resulted in the deaths of many senators. These events damaged his reputation among the ancient writers, though more recent historians have revised this opinion, many authors contend that he was murdered by his own wife. After his death in 54 AD, his grand-nephew and adopted son Nero succeeded him as Emperor, Claudius was born on 1 August 10 BC at Lugdunum. He had two siblings, Germanicus and Livilla. His mother, Antonia, may have had two children who died young. His maternal grandparents were Mark Antony and Octavia Minor, Augustus sister and his paternal grandparents were Livia, Augustus third wife, and Tiberius Claudius Nero. During his reign, Claudius revived the rumor that his father Drusus was actually the son of Augustus. In 9 BC, his father Drusus unexpectedly died on campaign in Germania, Claudius was then left to be raised by his mother, who never remarried. When Claudius disability became evident, the relationship with his family turned sour, Antonia referred to him as a monster, and used him as a standard for stupidity. She seems to have passed her son off on his grandmother Livia for a number of years, Livia was a little kinder, but nevertheless often sent him short, angry letters of reproof. He was put under the care of a former mule-driver to keep him disciplined, under the logic that his condition was due to laziness, however, by the time he reached his teenage years his symptoms apparently waned and his family took some notice of his scholarly interests. In 7 AD, Livy was hired to tutor him in history and he spent a lot of his time with the latter and the philosopher Athenodorus
38.
Nero
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Nero was Roman Emperor from 54 to 68, and the last in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Nero was adopted by his great-uncle Claudius to become his heir and successor, during his reign, the redoubtable general Corbulo conducted a successful war and negotiated peace with the Parthian Empire. His general Suetonius Paulinus crushed a revolt in Britain, Nero annexed the Bosporan Kingdom to the empire and may have begun the First Jewish–Roman War. In 64 AD, most of Rome was destroyed in the Great Fire of Rome, Suetonius, writing a generation later, claims that many Romans believed Nero himself had started the fire, in order to clear land for his planned palatial complex, the Domus Aurea. In 68, the rebellion of Vindex in Gaul and later the acclamation of Galba in Hispania drove Nero from the throne, facing a false report of being denounced as a public enemy who was to be executed, he committed suicide on 9 June 68. His death ended the Julio-Claudian dynasty, sparking a period of civil wars known as the Year of the Four Emperors. Neros rule is often associated with tyranny and extravagance and he is known for many executions, including that of his mother, and the probable murder by poison of his stepbrother Britannicus. Nero was rumored to have had captured Christians dipped in oil and this view is based on the writings of Tacitus, Suetonius and Cassius Dio, the main surviving sources for Neros reign, but a few sources paint Nero in a more favourable light. Some sources, including some mentioned above, portray him as an emperor who was popular with the common Roman people, some modern historians question the reliability of ancient sources when reporting on Neros tyrannical acts. Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, Nero, was born on 15 December 37 in Antium and he was the only son of Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and Agrippina the Younger, sister of Emperor Caligula. Neros father, Gnaeus, was the son of Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus, Gnaeus was thus the grandson of Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and probably Aemilia Lepida on his fathers side, and the grandson of Mark Antony and Octavia Minor on his mothers side. Thus, Nero had as his paternal grandmother Antonia Major, through Octavia, Nero was the great-nephew of Caesar Augustus. Neros father had employed as a praetor and was a member of Caligulas staff when the latter travelled to the East. Neros father was described by Suetonius as a murderer and a cheat who was charged by Emperor Tiberius with treason, adultery, Tiberius died, allowing him to escape these charges. Neros father died of edema in 39 when Nero was two, Neros mother was Agrippina the Younger, a great-granddaughter of Caesar Augustus and his wife Scribonia through their daughter Julia the Elder and her husband Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa. Agrippinas father, Germanicus, was a grandson of Augustuss wife, Livia, on one side and Mark Antony, Germanicus mother Antonia Minor was a daughter of Octavia Minor and Mark Antony. Germanicus was also the son of Tiberius. Agrippina poisoned her second husband Passienus Crispus, so many ancient historians also accuse her of murdering her third husband, the emperor Claudius
39.
Galba
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/ˈsɜːrviəs sʌlˈpɪʃəs ˈɡælbə/, was Roman Emperor for seven months from 68 to 69. Galba was the governor of Hispania Tarraconensis, and made a bid for the throne during the rebellion of Julius Vindex and he was the first emperor of the Year of the Four Emperors and the last emperor born in the First Century BC. He was born as Servius Sulpicius Galba near Terracina, on the left as you go towards Fundi in the words of Suetonius, through his paternal grandfather, he was descended from Servius Sulpicius Galba. Galbas father attained the consulship, and although he was short, hunchbacked and his mother was Mummia Achaica, the granddaughter of Lutatius Catulus and great-granddaughter of Lucius Mummius Achaicus. His father married a wife, Livia Ocellina, a distant kinswoman of the empress Livia. She later adopted Galba, so he took her names, remaining Lucius Livius Ocella Sulpicius Galba until becoming emperor. His was a family, and he was a man of great wealth. In his early years he was regarded as a youth of remarkable abilities and his wife, Aemilia Lepida, however, was connected by the marriages of some of her relatives to some of the Julii-Claudii. They had two sons, probably Gaius and Servius, who died during their fathers life, the elder son was born circa 25 AD. Hardly anything is known about his life as he died young and he was engaged to his step-sister Antonia Postuma, but they never wed, which leads modern historians to believe that he died during this time. Their engagement is dated to 48, and that is believed to be his time of death. The date of birth of the younger son occurred later than 25 and this Galba outlived his older brother. He was a quaestor in 58, but he was never seen in politics after that and his time of death is generally believed to be around 60 AD. Galba Minor was never married and had no children, additionally, Suetoniuss description of Galba was that In sexual matters he was more inclined to males, and then none but the hard bodied and those past their prime. This seems to be the case in Roman history where a named individual male is stated to prefer adult males. He became Praetor in 20, and consul in 33, he earned a reputation in the provinces of Gaul, Germania, Africa and Hispania for his capability, strictness. On the death of Caligula, he refused the invitation of his friends to make a bid for the empire, for the first half of Neros reign he lived in retirement, until 61, when the emperor bestowed on him the province of Hispania Tarraconensis. In the spring of 68, Galba was informed of Neros intention to put him to death and he was at first inclined to follow the example of Vindex, but the defeat at Vesontio and suicide of the latter renewed Galbas hesitation
40.
Otho
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Otho was Roman Emperor for three months, from 15 January to 16 April 69. He was the emperor of the Year of the Four Emperors. Otho belonged to an ancient and noble Etruscan family, descended from the princes of Etruria, the future Emperor appears first as one of the most reckless and extravagant of the young nobles who surrounded Nero. This friendship was brought to an end in 58 AD because of his wife, Otho introduced his beautiful wife to the Emperor upon Poppaeas insistence, who then began an affair that would eventually lead to her premature death. After securely establishing this position as his mistress, she divorced Otho and had the Emperor send him away as governor to the province of Lusitania. Otho remained in Lusitania for the ten years, administering the province with a moderation unusual at the time. When in 68 AD his neighbor the future Emperor Galba, the governor of Hispania Tarraconensis, rose in revolt against Nero, Otho accompanied him to Rome. Resentment at the treatment he had received from Nero may have impelled him to this course, Galba was childless and far advanced in years, and Otho, encouraged by the predictions of astrologers, aspired to succeed him. He came to an agreement with Galbas favourite, Titus Vinius. However, in January 69 AD, his hopes were dashed by Galbas formal adoption of Lucius Calpurnius Piso Licinianus, after this, Otho decided to strike a bold blow. Desperate as was the state of his finances, thanks to his previous extravagance and he was then escorted to the Praetorian camp, where, after a few moments of surprise and indecision, he was saluted as Imperator. The cohort that was on duty at the Palatine, which had accompanied the Emperor, Galba, his newly adopted son Piso and others were brutally murdered by the Praetorians. The population of the city was also unhappy with Galba and cherished the memory of Nero, Othos first acts as Emperor showed that he was not unmindful of these facts. Neros statues were set up, his freedmen and household officers reinstalled. Otho soon realized that it was easier to overthrow an Emperor than rule as one. After a vain attempt to conciliate Vitellius by the offer of a share in the Empire, Otho, with unexpected vigor, but for this he was too late, and all that could be done was to throw troops into Placentia and hold the line of the Po. Othos advanced guard successfully defended Placentia against Aulus Caecina Alienus, but the arrival of Fabius Valens altered the aspect of affairs. Vitellius commanders now resolved to bring on a battle, the Battle of Bedriacum
41.
Vitellius
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Vitellius was Roman Emperor for eight months, from 16 April to 22 December AD69. Vitellius was proclaimed emperor following the succession of the previous emperors Galba and Otho. His claim to the throne was challenged by legions stationed in the eastern provinces. War ensued, leading to a defeat for Vitellius at the Second Battle of Bedriacum in northern Italy. Once he realised his support was wavering, Vitellius prepared to abdicate in favor of Vespasian but was executed in Rome by Vespasians soldiers on 22 December 69 and he was the son of Lucius Vitellius Veteris and his wife Sextilia, and had one brother, Lucius Vitellius the Younger. Suetonius recorded two different accounts of the origins of the Vitellia, one making them descendants of past rulers of Latium, Suetonius makes the sensible remark that both accounts might have been made by either flatterers or enemies of Vitellius—except that both were in circulation before Vitellius became emperor. Suetonius also recorded that when Vitellius was born his horoscope so horrified his parents that his father tried to prevent Aulus from becoming a consul. He married secondly, around the year 50, a woman named Galeria Fundana, perhaps the granddaughter of Gaius Galerius, Prefect of Egypt in 23. They had two children, a son called Aulus Vitellius Germanicus or Novis, the Younger, and a daughter, Vitellia, who married the Legatus Decimus Valerius Asiaticus. He was Consul in 48, and assumed Proconsul of Africa in either 60 or 61 and he owed his elevation to the throne to Caecina and Fabius Valens, commanders of two legions on the Rhine. More accurately, he was proclaimed Emperor of the armies of Germania Inferior and Superior, the armies of Gaul, Brittania and Raetia sided with them shortly afterwards. By the time that they marched on Rome, however, it was Otho, and not Galba, in fact, he was never acknowledged as Emperor by the entire Roman world, though at Rome the Senate accepted him and decreed to him the usual Imperial honours. He advanced into Italy at the head of a licentious and rough soldiery, to reward his victorious legionaries, Vitellius disbanded the existing Praetorian Guard and installed his own men instead. For these banquets, he had himself invited over to a different nobles house for each one, other writers, namely Tacitus and Cassius Dio, disagree with some of Suetonius assertions, even though their own accounts of Vitellius are scarcely positive ones. Despite his short reign he made two important contributions to Roman government which outlasted him and he also expanded the offices of the Imperial Administration beyond the imperial pool of Freedmen allowing those of the Equites to take up positions in the Imperial Civil Service. Vitellius also banned astrologers from Rome and Italy on 1 October,69, some astrologers responded to his decree by anonymously publishing a decree of their own, Decreed by all astrologers in blessing on our State Vitellius will be no more on the appointed date. In response, Vitellius executed any astrologers he came across, in July 69, Vitellius learned that the armies of the eastern provinces had proclaimed a rival emperor, their commander, Titus Flavius Vespasianus. As soon as it was known that the armies of the East, Dalmatia, Tacitus Histories state that Vitellius awaited Vespasians army at Mevania
42.
Vespasian
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Vespasian was Roman emperor from AD69 to AD79. Vespasian founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Empire for twenty-seven years, Vespasian was from an equestrian family that rose into the senatorial rank under the Julio–Claudian emperors. While Vespasian besieged Jerusalem during the Jewish rebellion, emperor Nero committed suicide, after Galba and Otho perished in quick succession, Vitellius became the third emperor in April 69. The Roman legions of Roman Egypt and Judaea reacted by declaring Vespasian, their commander, emperor on 1 July 69. In his bid for power, Vespasian joined forces with Mucianus, the governor of Syria, and Primus. Primus and Mucianus led the Flavian forces against Vitellius, while Vespasian took control of Egypt, on 20 December 69, Vitellius was defeated, and the following day Vespasian was declared Emperor by the Senate. Little information survives about the government during Vespasians ten-year rule and he reformed the financial system at Rome after the campaign against Judaea ended successfully, and initiated several ambitious construction projects. He began the building of the Flavian Amphitheatre, better known today as the Roman Colosseum, in reaction to the events of 68–69, Vespasian forced through an improvement in army discipline. Through his general Agricola, Vespasian increased imperial expansion in Britain, after his death in 79, he was succeeded by his eldest son Titus, thus becoming the first Roman Emperor to be directly succeeded by his own natural son and establishing the Flavian dynasty. Vespasian was born in a village north-east of Rome called Falacrinae and his family was relatively undistinguished and lacking in pedigree. His paternal grandfather, Titus Flavius Petro, became the first to himself, rising to the rank of centurion. Subsequently he became a debt collector, petros son, Titus Flavius Sabinus, worked as a customs official in the province of Asia and became a money-lender on a small scale among the Helvetii. He gained a reputation as a scrupulous and honest tax-farmer, Sabinus married up in status, to Vespasia Polla, whose father had risen to the rank of prefect of the camp and whose brother became a Senator. Sabinus and Vespasia had three children, the eldest of whom, a girl, died in infancy, the elder boy, Titus Flavius Sabinus entered public life and pursued the cursus honorum. He served in the army as a tribune in Thrace in 36. The following year he was elected quaestor and served in Crete, the younger boy, Vespasian, seemed far less likely to be successful, initially not wishing to pursue high public office. He followed in his brothers footsteps when driven to it by his mothers taunting, during this period he married Flavia Domitilla, the daughter of Flavius Liberalis from Ferentium and formerly the mistress of Statilius Capella, a Roman equestrian from Sabrata in Africa. They had two sons, Titus Flavius Vespasianus and Titus Flavius Domitianus, and a daughter, Domitilla and his wife Domitilla and his daughter Domitilla both died before Vespasian became Emperor in 69
43.
Titus
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Titus was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death, prior to becoming Emperor, Titus gained renown as a military commander, serving under his father in Judea during the First Jewish–Roman War. The campaign came to a halt with the death of emperor Nero in 68. When Vespasian was declared Emperor on 1 July 69, Titus was left in charge of ending the Jewish rebellion, in 70, he besieged and captured Jerusalem, and destroyed the city and the Second Temple. For this achievement Titus was awarded a triumph, the Arch of Titus commemorates his victory to this day. Under the rule of his father, Titus gained notoriety in Rome serving as prefect of the Praetorian Guard, despite concerns over his character, Titus ruled to great acclaim following the death of Vespasian in 79, and was considered a good emperor by Suetonius and other contemporary historians. As emperor, he is best known for completing the Colosseum, after barely two years in office, Titus died of a fever on 13 September 81. He was deified by the Roman Senate and succeeded by his younger brother Domitian, Titus was born in Rome, probably on 30 December 39 AD, as the eldest son of Titus Flavius Vespasianus—commonly known as Vespasian—and Domitilla the Elder. He had one sister, Domitilla the Younger, and one younger brother, Titus Flavius Domitianus. One such family was the gens Flavia, which rose from obscurity to prominence in just four generations, acquiring wealth. Tituss great-grandfather, Titus Flavius Petro, had served as a centurion under Pompey during Caesars civil war and his military career ended in disgrace when he fled the battlefield at the Battle of Pharsalus in 48 BC. Nevertheless, Petro managed to improve his status by marrying the extremely wealthy Tertulla, whose fortune guaranteed the upwards mobility of Petros son Titus Flavius Sabinus I, Sabinus himself amassed further wealth and possible equestrian status through his services as tax collector in Asia and banker in Helvetia. By marrying Vespasia Polla he allied himself to the prestigious patrician gens Vespasia, ensuring the elevation of his sons Titus Flavius Sabinus II. The political career of Vespasian included the offices of quaestor, aedile and praetor, and culminated with a consulship in 51, as a military commander, he gained early renown by participating in the Roman invasion of Britain in 43. The story was told that Titus was reclining next to Britannicus, the night he was murdered. Further details on his education are scarce, but it seems he showed promise in the military arts and was a skilled poet. From c.57 to 59 he was a tribune in Germania. He also served in Britannia, perhaps arriving c.60 with reinforcements needed after the revolt of Boudica, in c.63 he returned to Rome and married Arrecina Tertulla, daughter of a former Prefect of the Praetorian Guard
44.
Domitian
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Domitian was the Emperor of Rome from 81 to 96. He was the brother of Titus and son of Vespasian. During his reign, his authoritarian rule put him at odds with the senate. After the death of his brother, Domitian was declared emperor by the Praetorian Guard and his 15-year reign was the longest since that of Tiberius. As emperor, Domitian strengthened the economy by revaluing the Roman coinage, expanded the defenses of the empire. Significant wars were fought in Britain, where his general Agricola attempted to conquer Caledonia, and in Dacia, Domitians government exhibited totalitarian characteristics, he saw himself as the new Augustus, an enlightened despot destined to guide the Roman Empire into a new era of brilliance. Religious, military, and cultural propaganda fostered a cult of personality, as a consequence, Domitian was popular with the people and army, but considered a tyrant by members of the Roman Senate. Domitians reign came to an end in 96 when he was assassinated by court officials and he was succeeded the same day by his advisor Nerva. Modern revisionists instead have characterized Domitian as a ruthless but efficient autocrat whose cultural, economic, Domitian was born in Rome on 24 October 51, the youngest son of Titus Flavius Vespasianus—commonly known as Vespasian—and Flavia Domitilla Major. He had a sister, Domitilla the Younger, and brother. One such family, the Flavians, or gens Flavia, rose from obscurity to prominence in just four generations, acquiring wealth. Domitians great-grandfather, Titus Flavius Petro, had served as a centurion under Pompey during Caesars civil war and his military career ended in disgrace when he fled the battlefield at the Battle of Pharsalus in 48 BC. Sabinus himself amassed further wealth and possible equestrian status through his services as tax collector in Asia, by marrying Vespasia Polla he allied the Flavian family to the more prestigious gens Vespasia, ensuring the elevation of his sons Titus Flavius Sabinus II and Vespasian to senatorial rank. The political career of Vespasian included the offices of quaestor, aedile, and praetor, and culminated with a consulship in 51, as a military commander, Vespasian gained early renown by participating in the Roman invasion of Britain in 43. Nevertheless, ancient sources allege poverty for the Flavian family at the time of Domitians upbringing, even claiming Vespasian had fallen into disrepute under the emperors Caligula, by all appearances, the Flavians enjoyed high imperial favour throughout the 40s and 60s. While Titus received an education in the company of Britannicus, Vespasian pursued a successful political. The same year the Jews of the Judaea province revolted against the Roman Empire in what is now known as the First Jewish-Roman War. Vespasian was assigned to lead the Roman army against the insurgents, of the three Flavian emperors, Domitian would rule the longest, despite the fact that his youth and early career were largely spent in the shadow of his older brother
45.
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 —
46.
Trajan
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Trajan was Roman emperor from 98 to 117 AD. Born in the city of Italica in the province of Hispania Baetica, Trajans non-patrician family was of Italian, Trajan rose to prominence during the reign of emperor Domitian. Serving as a legatus legionis in Hispania Tarraconensis, in 89 Trajan supported Domitian against a revolt on the Rhine led by Antonius Saturninus, in September 96, Domitian was succeeded by Marcus Cocceius Nerva, an old and childless senator who proved to be unpopular with the army. After a brief and tumultuous year in power, culminating in a revolt by members of the Praetorian Guard, Nerva was compelled to adopt the more popular Trajan as his heir and he died on 27 January 98 and was succeeded by his adopted son without incident. Early in his reign, he annexed the Nabataean Kingdom, creating the province of Arabia Petraea and his conquest of Dacia enriched the empire greatly, as the new province possessed many valuable gold mines. However, its position north of the Danube made it susceptible to attack on three sides, and it was later abandoned by Emperor Aurelian. Trajans war against the Parthian Empire ended with the sack of the capital Ctesiphon and his campaigns expanded the Roman Empire to its greatest territorial extent. In late 117, while sailing back to Rome, Trajan fell ill and he was deified by the Senate and his ashes were laid to rest under Trajans Column. He was succeeded by his adopted son Hadrian, as an emperor, Trajans reputation has endured – he is one of the few rulers whose reputation has survived nineteen centuries. Every new emperor after him was honoured by the Senate with the wish felicior Augusto, among medieval Christian theologians, Trajan was considered a virtuous pagan. As far as ancient literary sources are concerned, an extant continuous account of Trajans reign does not exist, only fragments remain of the Getiká, a book by Trajans personal physician Titos Statilios Kriton. The Parthiká, a 17-volume account of the Parthian Wars written by Arrian, has met a similar fate, book 68 in Cassius Dios Roman History, which survives mostly as Byzantine abridgments and epitomes, is the main source for the political history of Trajans rule. Besides this, Pliny the Youngers Panegyricus and Dio of Prusas orations are the best surviving contemporary sources and it is certain that much of text of the letters that appear in this collection over Trajans signature was written and/or edited by Trajans Imperial secretary, his ab epistulis. Therefore, discussion of Trajan and his rule in modern historiography cannot avoid speculation, as well as recourse to sources such as archaeology. Marcus Ulpius Traianus was born on 18 September 53 AD in the Roman province of Hispania Baetica, Trajans birthplace of Italica was founded as a Roman military colony in 206 BC, though it is unknown when the Ulpii arrived there. Trajan was the son of Marcia, a Roman noblewoman and sister-in-law of the second Flavian Emperor Titus, and Marcus Ulpius Traianus, Marcus Ulpius Traianus the elder served Vespasian in the First Jewish-Roman War, commanding the Legio X Fretensis. Trajan himself was just one of many well-known Ulpii in a line that continued long after his own death and his elder sister was Ulpia Marciana, and his niece was Salonina Matidia. The patria of the Ulpii was Italica, in Spanish Baetica, as a young man, he rose through the ranks of the Roman army, serving in some of the most contested parts of the Empires frontier
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