1.
Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey
–
There are 81 provinces in Turkey. Among the 81 provinces, thirty are designated metropolitan municipalities, Metropolitan municipalities are subdivided into districts, where each district includes a corresponding district municipality, which is a second tier municipality. The first metropolitan municipalities were established in 1984 and these were the three most populous cities in Turkey, namely, İstanbul, Ankara and İzmir. In each metropolitan municipality a number of second level municipalities were established, in 1986, four new metropolitan municipalities were established in Adana, Bursa, Gaziantep and Konya. Two years later the number was increased to eight with the addition of Kayseri. Before 2004, only the urban centers with a more than 750,000 were declared metropolitan centers. However, in 2004, the concept of metropolitan municipality was redefined in Istanbul and Kocaeli, in 2012, this was extented to other metropolitan municipalities. Thus, all provinces with a population in excess of 750,000 were declared metropolitan municipality, since the total population of Turkey is 77,695,904, the population in the 30 provinces make up 77% of the population of the country. Elections for Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey 2013 Turkish local government reorganisation
Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey
–
Ankara
2.
Geographic coordinate system
–
A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
Geographic coordinate system
–
Longitude lines are perpendicular and latitude lines are parallel to the equator.
3.
Turkey
–
Turkey, officially the Republic of Turkey, is a transcontinental country in Eurasia, mainly in Anatolia in Western Asia, with a smaller portion on the Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. Turkey is a democratic, secular, unitary, parliamentary republic with a cultural heritage. The country is encircled by seas on three sides, the Aegean Sea is to the west, the Black Sea to the north, and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. The Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles, Ankara is the capital while Istanbul is the countrys largest city and main cultural and commercial centre. Approximately 70-80% of the countrys citizens identify themselves as ethnic Turks, other ethnic groups include legally recognised and unrecognised minorities. Kurds are the largest ethnic minority group, making up approximately 20% of the population, the area of Turkey has been inhabited since the Paleolithic by various ancient Anatolian civilisations, as well as Assyrians, Greeks, Thracians, Phrygians, Urartians and Armenians. After Alexander the Greats conquest, the area was Hellenized, a process continued under the Roman Empire. The Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm ruled Anatolia until the Mongol invasion in 1243, the empire reached the peak of its power in the 16th century, especially during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent. During the war, the Ottoman government committed genocides against its Armenian, Assyrian, following the war, the conglomeration of territories and peoples that formerly comprised the Ottoman Empire was partitioned into several new states. Turkey is a member of the UN, an early member of NATO. Turkeys growing economy and diplomatic initiatives have led to its recognition as a regional power while her location has given it geopolitical, the name of Turkey is based on the ethnonym Türk. The first recorded use of the term Türk or Türük as an autonym is contained in the Old Turkic inscriptions of the Göktürks of Central Asia, the English name Turkey first appeared in the late 14th century and is derived from Medieval Latin Turchia. Similarly, the medieval Khazar Empire, a Turkic state on the shores of the Black. The medieval Arabs referred to the Mamluk Sultanate as al-Dawla al-Turkiyya, the Ottoman Empire was sometimes referred to as Turkey or the Turkish Empire among its European contemporaries. The Anatolian peninsula, comprising most of modern Turkey, is one of the oldest permanently settled regions in the world, various ancient Anatolian populations have lived in Anatolia, from at least the Neolithic period until the Hellenistic period. Many of these peoples spoke the Anatolian languages, a branch of the larger Indo-European language family, in fact, given the antiquity of the Indo-European Hittite and Luwian languages, some scholars have proposed Anatolia as the hypothetical centre from which the Indo-European languages radiated. The European part of Turkey, called Eastern Thrace, has also been inhabited since at least forty years ago. It is the largest and best-preserved Neolithic site found to date, the settlement of Troy started in the Neolithic Age and continued into the Iron Age
Turkey
–
Some
henges at
Göbekli Tepe were erected as far back as 12,000 BC, predating those of
Stonehenge,
England by almost ten millennia.
Turkey
–
Flag
Turkey
–
The Lion Gate in
Hattusa, capital of the
Hittite Empire. The city's history dates back to the 6th millennium BC.
Turkey
–
The
Library of Celsus in
Ephesus was built by the
Romans in 135 AD. The
Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, built by king
Croesus of
Lydia in the 6th century BC, was one of the
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
4.
Eastern Anatolia Region
–
The Eastern Anatolia Region is a geographical region of Turkey. The region and the name Doğu Anadolu Bölgesi were first defined at the First Geography Congress in 1941 and it has the highest average altitude, largest geographical area, and lowest population density of all regions of Turkey. Prior to getting its current name by the Turkish state, most of the region was part of the Six Armenian provinces in the known as the Armenian Highlands. After the Armenian Genocide, the geopolitical term Eastern Anatolia was created to replace what had historically been known as Western Armenia, starting from 1880 the name Armenia was forbidden to be used in official Ottoman documents. The government of Sultan Abdul Hamid II replaced the name Armenia with such terms as Kurdistan or Anatolia, the Sublime Porte was trying to cover up the Armenian Question, if there was no Armenia, then there was no Armenian Question. The process of “nationalization” of toponyms was continued by the Kemalists, who were the successors of the Young Turks. Starting from 1923 the entire territory of Western Armenia was officially renamed “Eastern Anatolia”, in the 17th century when the Armenian Question was not as yet included into the international diplomacy agenda, the terms Anatolia or Eastern Anatolia were never used to indicate Armenia. Furthermore, the Islamic World Map of the 16th century and other Ottoman maps of the 18th and 19th centuries have clearly indicated Armenia on a territory as well as its cities. Armenia, together with its boundaries, was mentioned in the works of earlier Ottoman historians. Kâtip Çelebi, a famous Ottoman chronicler of the 17th century, had a chapter titled “About the Country Called Armenia” in his book Jihan Numa. When, however, this book was republished in 1957, its modern Turkish editor H. Selen changed this title into “Eastern Anatolia”. Osman Nuri, a historian of the half of the 19th century, mentions Armenia repeatedly in his three-volume Abdul Hamid. The word Anatolia means “sunrise” or “east” in Greek and this name was given to the Asia Minor peninsula approximately in the 5th or 4th centuries B. C. During the Ottoman era, the term Anadolou included the vilayets of Asia Minor with Kyotahia as its center. The numerous European, Ottoman, Armenian, Russian, Persian, Arabic and this testifies, inter alia, to the fact that even after the loss of its statehood the Armenian nation still constituted a majority in its homeland, which was recognized by Ottoman occupiers as well. The area of the region is 146,330 km², which comprises 18. 7% of the area of Turkey. The total population of the region is 6,100,000 and 5,906,565, the region has the second most rural population of Turkey after the Black Sea region. The migration level is high and population density is lower than the average for Turkey, the migration toward other Turkeys regions and toward foreign countries is higher than the natural population increase, a fact which is leading to a slight decline of the Regions population
Eastern Anatolia Region
–
1895 map making a clear distinction between Armenia and Anatolia
Eastern Anatolia Region
–
View of
Mount Ararat from
Iğdır
Eastern Anatolia Region
–
Cumhuriyet Avenue,
Erzurum.
Eastern Anatolia Region
–
Çifte Minareli Medrese is an architectural monument of the late
Seljuk period in the city of
Erzurum
5.
Provinces of Turkey
–
Turkey is divided into 81 provinces. Each province is divided into a number of different districts, the provincial government is seated in the central district. The central area usually bears the name of the province, there are only two exceptions to this naming scheme, Antakya of Hatay province İzmit of Kocaeli province A province is administered by an appointed governor from the ministry of interior. Below is a list of the 81 provinces of Turkey, sorted according to their license plate code, after Zonguldak the ordering is not alphabetical but in the order of the creation of provinces, as these provinces were created more recently and thus their plate numbers were assigned thereafter. The numbers of the ISO code, the first two digits of the registration plates of Turkey and the first digits of the postal codes in Turkey are the same
Provinces of Turkey
–
A 1927 map of the provinces of Turkey
Provinces of Turkey
–
Ankara
6.
Malatya Province
–
Malatya Province is a province of Turkey. It is part of a mountainous area. The capital of the province is Malatya, Malatya is famous for its apricots. The area of Malatya province is 12,313 km², Malatya Province had a population of 853,658 according to the results of 2000 census, whereas in 2010 it had a population of 740,643. The provincial center, the city of Malatya, has a population of 426,381, Malatya is traversed by the northeasterly line of equal latitude and longitude
Malatya Province
–
Location of Malatya Province in Turkey
7.
Justice and Development Party (Turkey)
–
The Justice and Development Party, abbreviated AKP in Turkish, is a conservative political party in Turkey. Developed from the tradition of moderate Islamism, the party is the largest in Turkey, the party held a majority of seats for 13 years, but lost it in June 2015, only to regain it in the snap election of November 2015. Its electoral success has been mirrored in the three elections held since the partys establishment, coming first in 2004,2009 and 2014 respectively. The current party leader Binali Yıldırım is the Prime Minister of Turkey, the party has for a long time been supported by the Cemaat Movement of exiled Islamic cleric Fethullah Gülen, whose influence in the judiciary has helped to weaken the opposition against the AKP. Having been an observer in the center-right European Peoples Party since 2005, it left to join the eurosceptic Alliance of Conservatives. Since then, the party has brought about tighter regulations on use, abortion and alcohol consumption, having temporarily blocked access to Twitter. Especially after the government corruption scandal involving several AKP ministers in 2013, the AKP favours a strong centralized leadership, having long advocated a presidential system of government and significantly reduced the number of elected local government positions in 2013. The AK Party was established by a range of politicians of various political parties. The core of the party was formed from the reformist faction of the Islamist Virtue Party, including such as Abdullah Gül. A second founding group consisted of members of the social conservative Motherland Party who had close to Turgut Özal, such as Cemil Çiçek. Some members of the True Path Party, such as Hüseyin Çelik and Köksal Toptan, some members, such as Kürşad Tüzmen had nationalist or Ertuğrul Günay, had center-left backgrounds while representatives of the nascent Muslim left current were largely excluded. In addition a number of people joined a political party for the first time, such as Ali Babacan, Selma Aliye Kavaf, Egemen Bağış. All of these people joined Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to found the new party, although the party is described as an Islamist party in some media, party officials reject those claims. These characterizations do not reflect the truth, and they sadden us, Çelik added, The AK Party is a conservative democratic party. The AK Partys conservatism is limited to moral and social issues, also in a separate speech made in 2005, Prime Minister Erdoğan stated, We are not an Islamic party, and we also refuse labels such as Muslim-democrat. Erdoğan went on to say that the AK Partys agenda is limited to conservative democracy, however, the partys leadership has also rejected this label. In 2005, the party was granted membership in the European Peoples Party. In November 2013, the party left the EPP to join the Alliance of European Conservatives
Justice and Development Party (Turkey)
–
Party leader Erdoğan on a poster thanking the people for the election results.
Justice and Development Party (Turkey)
–
Justice and Development Party Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi
Justice and Development Party (Turkey)
–
A rally of the Justice and Development Party in 2007
Justice and Development Party (Turkey)
–
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
8.
Further-eastern European Time
–
Further-eastern European Time is a time zone defined as three hours ahead of UTC without daylight saving time. As of September 2016, it is used in Belarus, western Russia and Turkey, the zone was established in October 2011 as the official time for the Kaliningrad Oblast in Russia, and then followed by Belarus. Several African and Middle Eastern countries use UTC+03,00 all year long, until 2011, Further-eastern European Time was identical to Eastern European Time. Belarus followed Russia on 15 September 2011, and the decision was made by the Ukrainian parliament on 20 September 2011. After strong criticism from the media, on 18 October 2011 the Ukrainian parliament cancelled its previous decision. The name Further-eastern European Time seems to have come from work on the tz database, Time zone UTC+03,00 Time in Ukraine Time in Turkey
Further-eastern European Time
–
light blue
9.
Turkish car number plates
–
Turkish car number plates are license plates found on Turkish vehicles. The plates use a numbering system associated with the geographical info. In Turkey, license plates are made by authorized private workshops, the license plate is rectangular in shape and made of aluminum. On the left, there is the country code TR in a 4×10 cm blue stripe like in EU countries, the text is in black characters on white background, and for official vehicles white on black. On all vehicles two plates have to be present, being one in front and the other in rear except motorcycles, the serial letters use the Turkish letters except Ç, Ş, İ, Ö, Ü and Ğ. The blue stripe was introduced after the entry of Turkey to the European Customs Union in 1995, since then, the blue stripe area is often modified by car owners. The predominant modification of this sorts is to replace the color with red and put up the crescent. This type of modification is in the area of the law. Additionally, vehicle inspection stickers are often stuck on this area, 15×24 cm in rear only for motorbikes, motorcycles and tractors with rubber wheels, 11×52 cm in front and rear for cars, 21×32 cm rear available for off-roadss, vans, trucks and busses. The size is 15×30 cm for imported vehicles if the plate does not fit. On the other hand, a Dolmuş in Eskişehir has a plate of the form 26 M9999,99 - two digits prefix denoting the location, shows the province code number of the main residence of car holder. There are 81 provinces as listed below, X/XX/XXX – one, 9999/999/99 – four, three or two digits, depending on the number of letters before, not exceeding six letters and digits altogether. The ones after the original 67 provinces are newer additions, therefore, these province names go chronologically. Media related to License plates of Turkey at Wikimedia Commons License plates of Turkey Location codes on a map and more detailed info about district codes
Turkish car number plates
–
A contemporary Turkish license plate
Turkish car number plates
–
An old, pre-1995, plate without the blue stripe.
Turkish car number plates
–
License plate for motorcycles.
Turkish car number plates
–
Vanity plates
10.
Armenian language
–
The Armenian language is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenians. Like Hellenic Greek, it has its own branch in the language tree. It is the language of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. It has historically been spoken throughout the Armenian Highlands and today is spoken in the Armenian diaspora. Armenian has its own script, the Armenian alphabet, introduced in 405 AD by Mesrop Mashtots. Armenian is an independent branch of the Indo-European languages and it is of interest to linguists for its distinctive phonological developments within that family. Armenian exhibits more satemization than centumization, although it is not classified as belonging to either of these subgroups, Armenia was a monolingual country by the 2nd century BC at the latest. Its language has a literary history, with a 5th-century Bible translation as its oldest surviving text. Its vocabulary has been influenced by Western Middle Iranian languages, particularly Parthian, and to an extent by Greek, Persian. There are two standardized modern literary forms, Eastern Armenian and Western Armenian, with which most contemporary dialects are mutually intelligible and he is also credited by some with the creation of the Caucasian Albanian alphabet. In The Anabasis, Xenophon describes many aspects of Armenian village life and he relates that the Armenian people spoke a language that to his ear sounded like the language of the Persians. W. M. However, unlike shared innovations, the retention of archaisms is not considered conclusive evidence of a period of common isolated development. Some of the terms he gives admittedly have an Akkadian or Sumerian provenance, loan words from Iranian languages, along with the other ancient accounts such as that of Xenophon above, initially led linguists to erroneously classify Armenian as an Iranian language. Scholars such as Paul de Lagarde and F. Müller believed that the similarities between the two meant that Iranian and Armenian were the same language. The distinctness of Armenian was recognized when philologist Heinrich Hübschmann used the method to distinguish two layers of Iranian loans from the older Armenian vocabulary. Meillets hypothesis became popular in the wake of his Esquisse, eric P. Hamp supports the Graeco-Armenian thesis, anticipating even a time when we should speak of Helleno-Armenian. Nevertheless, as Fortson comments, by the time we reach our earliest Armenian records in the 5th century AD, graeco--Aryan is a hypothetical clade within the Indo-European family, ancestral to the Greek language, the Armenian language, and the Indo-Iranian languages. Graeco-Aryan unity would have divided into Proto-Greek and Proto-Indo-Iranian by the mid-third millennium BC
Armenian language
–
Armenian manuscript, 5th–6th century.
Armenian language
–
regions where Armenian is the language of the majority
Armenian language
–
The Four Gospels, 1495, Portrait of St Mark Wellcome with Armenian inscriptions
Armenian language
–
First Armenian language Bible.
11.
Kurdish language
–
Kurdish is a continuum of Northwestern Iranian languages spoken by the Kurds in Western Asia. Kurdish forms three dialect groups known as Northern Kurdish, Central Kurdish, and Southern Kurdish, a separate group of non-Kurdish Northwestern Iranian languages, the Zaza–Gorani languages, are also spoken by several million Kurds. Recent studies estimate between 8 to 20 million native Kurdish speakers in Turkey, the majority of the Kurds speak Northern Kurdish. The literary output in Kurdish was mostly confined to poetry until the early 20th century, today, there are two principal written Kurdish dialects, namely Northern Kurdish in the northern parts of the geographical region of Kurdistan and Central Kurdish further east and south. Central Kurdish is, along with Arabic, one of the two languages of Iraq and is in political documents simply referred to as Kurdish. The Kurdish languages belong to the Iranian branch of the Indo-European family and they are generally classified as Northwestern Iranian languages, or by some scholars as intermediate between Northwestern and Southwestern Iranian. Martin van Bruinessen notes that Kurdish has a strong south-western Iranian element, whereas Zaza, windfuhr identified Kurdish dialects as Parthian, albeit with a Median substratum. The most argued hypothesis on the localisation of the territory of the Kurds remains D. N. Mackenzies theory. He has tried to reconstruct the alleged Persian-Kurdish-Baluchi linguistic unity presumably in the parts of Iran. Kurdish is divided into three groups, where dialects from different groups are not mutually intelligible without acquired bilingualism, Northern Kurdish is the largest dialect group, spoken by an estimated 15 to 20 million Kurds in Turkey, Syria, northern Iraq and northwestern Iran. Central Kurdish is spoken by an estimated 6 to 7 million Kurds in much of Iraqi Kurdistan, Sorani is a written standard of Central Kurdish developed in the 1920s and was later adopted as the standard orthography of Kurdish as an official language of Iraq. Southern Kurdish is spoken by about 3 million Kurds in Kermanshah and Ilam provinces of Iran, in historical evolution terms, Kurmanji is less modified than Sorani and Pehlewani in both phonetic and morphological structure. The Kermanshahi group has influenced by among other things its closer cultural proximity to Persian. Philip G. Kreyenbroek, a writing in 1992, says. Sorani is normally written in a form of the Arabic script. Reasons for describing Kurmanji and Sorani as dialects of one language are their common origin, for example, Sorani has neither gender nor case-endings, whereas Kurmanji has both. Differences in vocabulary and pronunciation are not as great as between German and English, but they are still considerable, according to Encyclopaedia of Islam, although Kurdish is not a unified language, its many dialects are interrelated and at the same time distinguishable from other Western Iranian languages. The same source classifies different Kurdish dialects as two groups, northern and central
Kurdish language
–
Road signs near
Diyarbakır showing the place names in Turkish and Kurdish
Kurdish language
–
Map of Kurdish-speaking areas of the Middle East
Kurdish language
–
Kurdish restaurant sign written in
Arabic script
12.
Syriac language
–
Syriac /ˈsɪri. æk/, also known as Syriac Aramaic, is a dialect of Middle Aramaic that was once spoken across much of the Fertile Crescent and Eastern Arabia. Indeed, Syriac literature comprises roughly 90% of the extant Aramaic literature, Old Aramaic was adopted by the Neo-Assyrian Empire when they conquered the various Aramean city-kingdoms to its west. The Achaemenid Empire, which rose after the fall of the Assyrian Empire, also adopted Old Aramaic as its official language, during the course of the third and fourth centuries AD, the inhabitants of the region began to embrace Christianity. Along with Latin and Greek, Syriac became one of the three most important Christian languages in the centuries of the Christian Era. Primarily a Christian medium of expression, Syriac had a cultural and literary influence on the development of Arabic. Syriac remains the language of Syriac Christianity to this day. Syriac is a Middle Aramaic language and, as such, a language of the Northwestern branch of the Semitic family and it is written in the Syriac alphabet, a derivation of the Aramaic alphabet. Syriac was the local accent of Aramaic in Edessa, that evolved under the influence of Church of the East and it has been found as far afield as Hadrians Wall in Ancient Britain, with inscriptions written by Assyrian and Aramean soldiers of the Roman Empire. Modern Syriac/Modern Syriac Aramaic is an occasionally used to refer to the modern Eastern Aramaic languages. In this terminology, Modern Syriac is divided into, Modern Western Syriac Aramaic, note however that these are sometimes excluded from the category of Modern Syriac. The modern varieties are, therefore, not discussed in this article, in 132 BC, the kingdom of Osroene was founded in Edessa and Proto-Syriac evolved in that kingdom. Many Syriac-speakers still look to Edessa as the cradle of their language, there are about eighty extant early Syriac inscriptions, dated to the first three centuries AD. All of these examples of the language are non-Christian. As an official language, Syriac was given a relatively coherent form, style, in the 3rd century, churches in Edessa began to use Syriac as the language of worship. There is evidence that the adoption of Syriac, the language of the Assyrian people, was to effect mission, much literary effort was put into the production of an authoritative translation of the Bible into Syriac, the Peshitta. At the same time, Ephrem the Syrian was producing the most treasured collection of poetry, in 489, many Syriac-speaking Christians living in the eastern reaches of the Roman Empire fled to the Sassanid Empire to escape persecution and growing animosity with Greek-speaking Christians. The Christological differences with the Church of the East led to the bitter Nestorian schism in the Syriac-speaking world, as a result, Syriac developed distinctive western and eastern varieties. Syriac literature is by far the most prodigious of the various Aramaic languages and its corpus covers poetry, prose, theology, liturgy, hymnody, history, philosophy, science, medicine and natural history
Syriac language
–
Syriac Aramaic alphabet
Syriac language
–
Although once a major language in the
Fertile Crescent and
Bahrain, Syriac is now limited to the towns and villages in the
Nineveh plains,
Tur Abdin, the
Khabur plains, in and around the cities of
Mosul,
Irbil and
Kurkuk.
Syriac language
–
An 11th-century Syriac
manuscript.
Syriac language
–
Isho or Eesho, the
Aramaic name of
Jesus
13.
Ottoman Turkish language
–
Ottoman Turkish /ˈɒtəmən/, or the Ottoman language, is the variety of the Turkish language that was used in the Ottoman Empire. It borrows, in all aspects, extensively from Arabic and Persian, during the peak of Ottoman power, Persian and Arabic vocabulary accounted for up to 88% of its vocabulary, while words of Arabic origins heavily outnumbered native Turkish words. The Tanzimât era saw the application of the term Ottoman when referring to the language, nominative case, كول göl, چوربه çorba, گجه gece. Accusative case, طاوشان گترمش ṭavşan getirmiş, genitive case, answers the question كمڭ kimiñ, formed with the suffix ڭ –ıñ, –iñ, –uñ, –üñ. E. g. پاشانڭ paşanıñ from پاشا paşa, accusative case, answers the question كمى kimi and نه يى neyi, formed with the suffix ى –ı, -i, طاوشانى گترمش ṭavşanı getürmiş. The variant suffix –u, –ü does not occur in Ottoman Turkish unlike in Modern Turkish because of the lack of vowel harmony. Thus, كولى göli, but Modern Turkish has gölü, dative case, Locative case, answers the question نره ده nerede, formed with the suffix ده –de, –da, مكتبده mektebde, قفصده ḳafeṣde, باشده başda, شهرده şehirde. As with the accusative case, the variant suffix –te. Ablative case, answers the questions نره دن nereden and ندن neden, instrumental case, answers the question نه ايله ne ile. The conjugation for the aorist tense is as follows, Ottoman Turkish was highly influenced by Arabic, Arabic and Persian words in the language amounted for up to 88% of its vocabulary. From the early ages of the Ottoman Empire, borrowings from Arabic, in Ottoman, one may find whole passages in Arabic and Persian incorporated into the text. It was however not only extensive loaning of words, but along with much of the grammatical systems of Persian. A person would use each of the varieties above for different purposes, with the variant being the most heavily suffused with Arabic and Persian words. For example, a scribe would use the Arabic asel to refer to honey when writing a document, historically, Ottoman Turkish was transformed in three eras, Eski Osmanlı Türkçesi, the version of Ottoman Turkish used until the 16th century. It was almost identical with the Turkish used by Seljuks and Anatolian beyliks and was regarded as part of Eski Anadolu Türkçesi. Orta Osmanlı Türkçesi or Klasik Osmanlıca, the language of poetry and it is the version of Ottoman Turkish that comes to most peoples minds. Yeni Osmanlı Türkçesi, the version shaped from the 1850s to the 20th century under the influence of journalism and it also saw the replacement of the Perso-Arabic script with the extended Latin alphabet. See the list of replaced loanwords in Turkish for more examples on Ottoman Turkish words, two examples of Arabic and two of Persian loanwords are found below
Ottoman Turkish language
–
A poem about
Rumi in
Ottoman Turkish.
Ottoman Turkish language
–
Calendar in
Thessaloniki 1896, a cosmopolitan city; the first 3 lines in Ottoman script
14.
Eastern Anatolia
–
The Eastern Anatolia Region is a geographical region of Turkey. The region and the name Doğu Anadolu Bölgesi were first defined at the First Geography Congress in 1941 and it has the highest average altitude, largest geographical area, and lowest population density of all regions of Turkey. Prior to getting its current name by the Turkish state, most of the region was part of the Six Armenian provinces in the known as the Armenian Highlands. After the Armenian Genocide, the geopolitical term Eastern Anatolia was created to replace what had historically been known as Western Armenia, starting from 1880 the name Armenia was forbidden to be used in official Ottoman documents. The government of Sultan Abdul Hamid II replaced the name Armenia with such terms as Kurdistan or Anatolia, the Sublime Porte was trying to cover up the Armenian Question, if there was no Armenia, then there was no Armenian Question. The process of “nationalization” of toponyms was continued by the Kemalists, who were the successors of the Young Turks. Starting from 1923 the entire territory of Western Armenia was officially renamed “Eastern Anatolia”, in the 17th century when the Armenian Question was not as yet included into the international diplomacy agenda, the terms Anatolia or Eastern Anatolia were never used to indicate Armenia. Furthermore, the Islamic World Map of the 16th century and other Ottoman maps of the 18th and 19th centuries have clearly indicated Armenia on a territory as well as its cities. Armenia, together with its boundaries, was mentioned in the works of earlier Ottoman historians. Kâtip Çelebi, a famous Ottoman chronicler of the 17th century, had a chapter titled “About the Country Called Armenia” in his book Jihan Numa. When, however, this book was republished in 1957, its modern Turkish editor H. Selen changed this title into “Eastern Anatolia”. Osman Nuri, a historian of the half of the 19th century, mentions Armenia repeatedly in his three-volume Abdul Hamid. The word Anatolia means “sunrise” or “east” in Greek and this name was given to the Asia Minor peninsula approximately in the 5th or 4th centuries B. C. During the Ottoman era, the term Anadolou included the vilayets of Asia Minor with Kyotahia as its center. The numerous European, Ottoman, Armenian, Russian, Persian, Arabic and this testifies, inter alia, to the fact that even after the loss of its statehood the Armenian nation still constituted a majority in its homeland, which was recognized by Ottoman occupiers as well. The area of the region is 146,330 km², which comprises 18. 7% of the area of Turkey. The total population of the region is 6,100,000 and 5,906,565, the region has the second most rural population of Turkey after the Black Sea region. The migration level is high and population density is lower than the average for Turkey, the migration toward other Turkeys regions and toward foreign countries is higher than the natural population increase, a fact which is leading to a slight decline of the Regions population
Eastern Anatolia
–
1895 map making a clear distinction between Armenia and Anatolia
Eastern Anatolia
–
Eastern Anatolia Region Doğu Anadolu Bölgesi
Eastern Anatolia
–
View of
Mount Ararat from
Iğdır
Eastern Anatolia
–
Cumhuriyet Avenue,
Erzurum.
15.
Assyrian people
–
Assyrian people, or Syriacs, are an ethnic group indigenous to the Middle East. Some of them self-identify as Chaldeans, or as Arameans and they speak modern Aramaic, whose subdivisions include Northeastern, Central, and Western Neo-Aramaic, as well as another language, dependent on the country of residence. The Assyrians are typically Syriac-speaking Christians who claim descent from Assyria, one of the oldest civilizations in the world, the areas that form the Assyrian homeland are parts of present-day northern Iraq, southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran and northeastern Syria. The majority have migrated to regions of the world, including North America, the Levant, Australia, Europe, Russia. Assyrians are predominantly Christian, mostly adhering to the East and West Syrian liturgical rites of Christianity, whereas the churches of the West Syrian rite, the Syriac Orthodox Church and Syriac Catholic Church, mostly speak the Central and Western branches. According to a 2013 report by a Chaldean Syriac Assyrian Popular Council official, in prehistoric times, the region that was to become known as Assyria was home to Neanderthals such as the remains of those which have been found at the Shanidar Cave. The earliest Neolithic sites in Assyria belonged to the Jarmo culture c.7100 BC and Tell Hassuna, the history of Assyria begins with the formation of the city of Assur perhaps as early as the 25th century BC. The Assyrian king list records kings dating from the 25th century BC onwards, the earliest being Tudiya, who was a contemporary of Ibrium of Ebla. However, many of early kings would have been local rulers. In the traditions of the Assyrian Church of the East, they are descended from Abrahams grandson, however, there is no historical basis for the biblical assertion whatsoever, there is no mention in Assyrian records. The Assyrian people, after the fall of their empire, fell under foreign domination ever since, the Persian Empire was founded, which consumed the entire Neo-Babylonian or Chaldean Empire in 539 BC. Assyrians became front line soldiers for the Persian Empire under Xerxes I, the Assyrian army accounted for three legions of the Roman army, defending the Parthian border. In the 1st century, it was the Assyrian army that enabled Vespasians coup, from the later 2nd century, the Roman Senate included several notable Assyrians, including Tiberius Claudius Pompeianus and Avidius Cassius. From the 1st century BC, Assyria was the theatre of the protracted Roman–Persian Wars and it would become a Roman province from 116 to 363 AD. Despite the influx of foreign elements, the presence of Assyrians is confirmed by the worship of the god Ashur, the Greeks, Parthians, and Romans had a rather low-level of integration with the local population in Mesopotamia, which allowed their cultures to survive. The Assyrians were Christianized in the first to third centuries in Roman Syria, the population of the Sasanian province of Asōristān was a mixed one, composed of Assyrians, Arameans in the far south and the western deserts, and Persians. The Greek element in the cities, still strong during the Parthian Empire, the majority of the population were Eastern Aramaic speakers. Along with the Arameans, Armenians, Greeks, and Nabataeans, the Council of Seleucia of ca.325 dealt with jurisdictional conflicts among the leading bishops
Assyrian people
–
The burning of bodies of Assyrian women
Assyrian people
Assyrian people
–
Assyrian refugees on a wagon moving to a newly constructed village on the
Khabur river in Syria.
Assyrian people
–
Celebration at a Syriac Orthodox monastery in
Mosul,
Ottoman Syria, early 20th century.
16.
Melid
–
Melid was an ancient city on the Tohma River, a tributary of the upper Euphrates rising in the Taurus Mountains. It has been identified with archaeological site Arslantepe near Malatya. The site has been inhabited since the development of agriculture in the fertile crescent dating to the Uruk period, around 3000 BCE, there was widespread burning and destruction, after which Kura-Araxes culture pottery appeared in the area. This was a mainly pastoralist culture connected with Caucasus mountains, numerous similarities have been found between these early layers at Arslantepe, and the somewhat later site of Birecik, also in Turkey, to the southwest of Melid. From the Bronze Age the site became a center of a larger region in the kingdom of Isuwa. The city was fortified, probably due to the Hittite threat from the west. The Hittites conquered the city in the fourteenth century BC, in the mid 14th century BC, Melid was the base of the Hittite king Suppiluliuma I on his campaign to sack the Mitanni capital Wassukanni. After the end of the Hittite empire, from the 12th to 7th century BC, a palace was built and monumental stone sculptures of lions and the ruler erected. The encounter with the Assyrian king of Tiglath-Pileser I resulted in the kingdom of Melid being forced to pay tribute to Assyria, Melid remained able to prosper until the Assyrian king Sargon II sacked the city in 712 BC. At the same time, the Cimmerians and Scythians invaded Anatolia, Arslantepe was first investigated by the French archaeologist Louis Delaporte from 1932 to 1939. From 1946 to 1951 Claude F. A. Schaeffer carried out some soundings, the first Italian excavations at the site of Arslantepe started in 1961, and were conducted under the direction of Professors Piero Meriggi and Salvatore M. Puglisi until 1968. Majestic remains of this period were known from Arslantepe since the 30s, alba Palmieri took over the supervision of the excavation during the 1970s. Today the archaeological investigation is led by Marcella Frangipane, the first swords were claimed for the Early Bronze Age, based on finds at Arslantepe by Marcella Frangipane of Rome University. A cache of nine swords and daggers was found, they are composed of arsenic-copper alloy, among them, three swords were beautifully inlaid with silver. These are the weapons of a length of 45 to 60 cm which could be described as either short swords or long daggers. These discoveries were made back in the 1980s and they belong to the local phase VI A. Also,12 spearheads were found. Phase VI A at Arslantepe ended in destruction - the city was burned, and later on, some new occupants also left some bronze weapons, including swords. They were found in the tomb of Signori Arslantepe or Signor Arslantepe
Melid
–
Melid/Arslantepe
Melid
–
Cylinder-seal from Arslantepe.
17.
Ancient Greek language
–
Ancient Greek includes the forms of Greek used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around the 9th century BC to the 6th century AD. It is often divided into the Archaic period, Classical period. It is antedated in the second millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek, the language of the Hellenistic phase is known as Koine. Koine is regarded as a historical stage of its own, although in its earliest form it closely resembled Attic Greek. Prior to the Koine period, Greek of the classic and earlier periods included several regional dialects, Ancient Greek was the language of Homer and of fifth-century Athenian historians, playwrights, and philosophers. It has contributed many words to English vocabulary and has been a subject of study in educational institutions of the Western world since the Renaissance. This article primarily contains information about the Epic and Classical phases of the language, Ancient Greek was a pluricentric language, divided into many dialects. The main dialect groups are Attic and Ionic, Aeolic, Arcadocypriot, some dialects are found in standardized literary forms used in literature, while others are attested only in inscriptions. There are also several historical forms, homeric Greek is a literary form of Archaic Greek used in the epic poems, the Iliad and Odyssey, and in later poems by other authors. Homeric Greek had significant differences in grammar and pronunciation from Classical Attic, the origins, early form and development of the Hellenic language family are not well understood because of a lack of contemporaneous evidence. Several theories exist about what Hellenic dialect groups may have existed between the divergence of early Greek-like speech from the common Proto-Indo-European language and the Classical period and they have the same general outline, but differ in some of the detail. The invasion would not be Dorian unless the invaders had some relationship to the historical Dorians. The invasion is known to have displaced population to the later Attic-Ionic regions, the Greeks of this period believed there were three major divisions of all Greek people—Dorians, Aeolians, and Ionians, each with their own defining and distinctive dialects. Often non-west is called East Greek, Arcadocypriot apparently descended more closely from the Mycenaean Greek of the Bronze Age. Boeotian had come under a strong Northwest Greek influence, and can in some respects be considered a transitional dialect, thessalian likewise had come under Northwest Greek influence, though to a lesser degree. Most of the dialect sub-groups listed above had further subdivisions, generally equivalent to a city-state and its surrounding territory, Doric notably had several intermediate divisions as well, into Island Doric, Southern Peloponnesus Doric, and Northern Peloponnesus Doric. The Lesbian dialect was Aeolic Greek and this dialect slowly replaced most of the older dialects, although Doric dialect has survived in the Tsakonian language, which is spoken in the region of modern Sparta. Doric has also passed down its aorist terminations into most verbs of Demotic Greek, by about the 6th century AD, the Koine had slowly metamorphosized into Medieval Greek
Ancient Greek language
–
Inscription about the construction of the statue of
Athena Parthenos in the
Parthenon, 440/439 BC
Ancient Greek language
–
Ostracon bearing the name of
Cimon,
Stoa of Attalos
Ancient Greek language
–
The words ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ as they are inscribed on the marble of the 1955
Leonidas Monument at
Thermopylae
18.
Arslantepe
–
Melid was an ancient city on the Tohma River, a tributary of the upper Euphrates rising in the Taurus Mountains. It has been identified with archaeological site Arslantepe near Malatya. The site has been inhabited since the development of agriculture in the fertile crescent dating to the Uruk period, around 3000 BCE, there was widespread burning and destruction, after which Kura-Araxes culture pottery appeared in the area. This was a mainly pastoralist culture connected with Caucasus mountains, numerous similarities have been found between these early layers at Arslantepe, and the somewhat later site of Birecik, also in Turkey, to the southwest of Melid. From the Bronze Age the site became a center of a larger region in the kingdom of Isuwa. The city was fortified, probably due to the Hittite threat from the west. The Hittites conquered the city in the fourteenth century BC, in the mid 14th century BC, Melid was the base of the Hittite king Suppiluliuma I on his campaign to sack the Mitanni capital Wassukanni. After the end of the Hittite empire, from the 12th to 7th century BC, a palace was built and monumental stone sculptures of lions and the ruler erected. The encounter with the Assyrian king of Tiglath-Pileser I resulted in the kingdom of Melid being forced to pay tribute to Assyria, Melid remained able to prosper until the Assyrian king Sargon II sacked the city in 712 BC. At the same time, the Cimmerians and Scythians invaded Anatolia, Arslantepe was first investigated by the French archaeologist Louis Delaporte from 1932 to 1939. From 1946 to 1951 Claude F. A. Schaeffer carried out some soundings, the first Italian excavations at the site of Arslantepe started in 1961, and were conducted under the direction of Professors Piero Meriggi and Salvatore M. Puglisi until 1968. Majestic remains of this period were known from Arslantepe since the 30s, alba Palmieri took over the supervision of the excavation during the 1970s. Today the archaeological investigation is led by Marcella Frangipane, the first swords were claimed for the Early Bronze Age, based on finds at Arslantepe by Marcella Frangipane of Rome University. A cache of nine swords and daggers was found, they are composed of arsenic-copper alloy, among them, three swords were beautifully inlaid with silver. These are the weapons of a length of 45 to 60 cm which could be described as either short swords or long daggers. These discoveries were made back in the 1980s and they belong to the local phase VI A. Also,12 spearheads were found. Phase VI A at Arslantepe ended in destruction - the city was burned, and later on, some new occupants also left some bronze weapons, including swords. They were found in the tomb of Signori Arslantepe or Signor Arslantepe
Arslantepe
–
Melid/Arslantepe
19.
Byzantine
–
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
Byzantine
–
Tremissis with the image of
Justinian the Great (r. 527–565) (see
Byzantine insignia)
Byzantine
–
Byzantine
lamellar armour klivanium (Κλιβάνιον) - a predecessor of Ottoman krug
mirror armour
Byzantine
–
The Baptism of Constantine painted by
Raphael 's pupils (1520–1524,
fresco, Vatican City,
Apostolic Palace);
Eusebius of Caesarea records that (as
was common among converts of early Christianity) Constantine delayed receiving
baptism until shortly before his death
Byzantine
–
Restored section of the Theodosian Walls.
20.
Ottoman Empire
–
After 1354, the Ottomans crossed into Europe, and with the conquest of the Balkans the Ottoman Beylik was transformed into a transcontinental empire. The Ottomans ended the Byzantine Empire with the 1453 conquest of Constantinople by Mehmed the Conqueror, at the beginning of the 17th century the empire contained 32 provinces and numerous vassal states. Some of these were later absorbed into the Ottoman Empire, while others were granted various types of autonomy during the course of centuries. With Constantinople as its capital and control of lands around the Mediterranean basin, while the empire was once thought to have entered a period of decline following the death of Suleiman the Magnificent, this view is no longer supported by the majority of academic historians. The empire continued to maintain a flexible and strong economy, society, however, during a long period of peace from 1740 to 1768, the Ottoman military system fell behind that of their European rivals, the Habsburg and Russian Empires. While the Empire was able to hold its own during the conflict, it was struggling with internal dissent. Starting before World War I, but growing increasingly common and violent during it, major atrocities were committed by the Ottoman government against the Armenians, Assyrians and Pontic Greeks. The word Ottoman is an anglicisation of the name of Osman I. Osmans name in turn was the Turkish form of the Arabic name ʿUthmān, in Ottoman Turkish, the empire was referred to as Devlet-i ʿAlīye-yi ʿOsmānīye, or alternatively ʿOsmānlı Devleti. In Modern Turkish, it is known as Osmanlı İmparatorluğu or Osmanlı Devleti, the Turkish word for Ottoman originally referred to the tribal followers of Osman in the fourteenth century, and subsequently came to be used to refer to the empires military-administrative elite. In contrast, the term Turk was used to refer to the Anatolian peasant and tribal population, the term Rūmī was also used to refer to Turkish-speakers by the other Muslim peoples of the empire and beyond. In Western Europe, the two names Ottoman Empire and Turkey were often used interchangeably, with Turkey being increasingly favored both in formal and informal situations and this dichotomy was officially ended in 1920–23, when the newly established Ankara-based Turkish government chose Turkey as the sole official name. Most scholarly historians avoid the terms Turkey, Turks, and Turkish when referring to the Ottomans, as the power of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum declined in the 13th century, Anatolia was divided into a patchwork of independent Turkish principalities known as the Anatolian Beyliks. One of these beyliks, in the region of Bithynia on the frontier of the Byzantine Empire, was led by the Turkish tribal leader Osman, osmans early followers consisted both of Turkish tribal groups and Byzantine renegades, many but not all converts to Islam. Osman extended the control of his principality by conquering Byzantine towns along the Sakarya River and it is not well understood how the early Ottomans came to dominate their neighbours, due to the scarcity of the sources which survive from this period. One school of thought which was popular during the twentieth century argued that the Ottomans achieved success by rallying religious warriors to fight for them in the name of Islam, in the century after the death of Osman I, Ottoman rule began to extend over Anatolia and the Balkans. Osmans son, Orhan, captured the northwestern Anatolian city of Bursa in 1326 and this conquest meant the loss of Byzantine control over northwestern Anatolia. The important city of Thessaloniki was captured from the Venetians in 1387, the Ottoman victory at Kosovo in 1389 effectively marked the end of Serbian power in the region, paving the way for Ottoman expansion into Europe
Ottoman Empire
–
Battle of Nicopolis in 1396. Painting from 1523.
Ottoman Empire
–
Flag (1844–1923)
Ottoman Empire
–
Battle of Mohács in 1526
Ottoman Empire
–
Barbarossa Hayreddin Pasha defeats the
Holy League of
Charles V under the command of
Andrea Doria at the
Battle of Preveza in 1538.
21.
Fertile Crescent
–
The Fertile Crescent is a crescent-shaped region containing the comparatively moist and fertile land of otherwise arid and semi-arid Western Asia, the Nile Valley and Nile Delta. Having originated in the study of ancient history, the concept developed and today retains meanings in international geopolitics. In current usage, all definitions of the Fertile Crescent include Mesopotamia, the land in and around the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, and the Levant, the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The region saw the development of some of the earliest human civilizations, technological advances made in the region include the development of writing, glass, the wheel, agriculture, and the use of irrigation. It is a region consisting chiefly of mountains in the north, the end of the western wing is Palestine, Assyria makes up a large part of the center, while the end of the eastern wing is Babylonia. This great semicircle, for lack of a name, may be called the Fertile Crescent and this desert-bay is a limestone plateau of some height—too high indeed to be watered by the Tigris and Euphrates, which have cut cañons obliquely across it. Hence we are obliged to coin a term and call it the Fertile Crescent, water sources include the Jordan River. The inner boundary is delimited by the dry climate of the Syrian Desert to the south, around the outer boundary are the Anatolian highlands to the north and the Sahara Desert to the west. As crucial as rivers and marshlands were to the rise of civilization in the Fertile Crescent, the area is important as the bridge between Africa and Eurasia. Coupled with the Saharan pump theory, this Middle Eastern land-bridge is of importance to the modern distribution of Old World flora and fauna. The Fertile Crescent had many diverse climates, and major climatic changes encouraged the evolution of many r type annual plants, the regions dramatic variety of elevation gave rise to many species of edible plants for early experiments in cultivation. The Fertile Crescent has a record of past human activity. The western zone around the Jordan and upper Euphrates rivers gave rise to the first known Neolithic farming settlements and this region, alongside Mesopotamia, also saw the emergence of early complex societies during the succeeding Bronze Age. There is also evidence from the region for writing and the formation of hierarchical statelevel societies. This has earned the region the nickname The cradle of civilization and it is in this region where the first libraries appeared, some 5,000 years ago. The oldest known library was found in northern Syria, in the ruins of Ebla— a major commercial center that was destroyed around 1650 BCE, both the Tigris and Euphrates start in the Taurus Mountains of what is today Turkey. Farmers in southern Mesopotamia had to protect their fields from flooding each year, to protect against flooding, they made levees. Since the Bronze Age, the regions natural fertility has been extended by irrigation works
Fertile Crescent
–
The Fertile Crescent at maximum defined extent, with the names of ancient civilizations found there.
22.
Bronze Age
–
The Bronze Age is a historical period characterized by the use of bronze, proto-writing, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the principal period of the three-age Stone-Bronze-Iron system, as proposed in modern times by Christian Jürgensen Thomsen. An ancient civilization is defined to be in the Bronze Age either by smelting its own copper and alloying with tin, arsenic, or other metals, or by trading for bronze from production areas elsewhere. Copper-tin ores are rare, as reflected in the fact there were no tin bronzes in Western Asia before trading in bronze began in the third millennium BC. Worldwide, the Bronze Age generally followed the Neolithic period, with the Chalcolithic serving as a transition, although the Iron Age generally followed the Bronze Age, in some areas, the Iron Age intruded directly on the Neolithic. Bronze Age cultures differed in their development of the first writing, according to archaeological evidence, cultures in Mesopotamia and Egypt developed the earliest viable writing systems. The overall period is characterized by use of bronze, though the place and time of the introduction. Human-made tin bronze technology requires set production techniques, tin must be mined and smelted separately, then added to molten copper to make bronze alloy. The Bronze Age was a time of use of metals. The dating of the foil has been disputed, the Bronze Age in the ancient Near East began with the rise of Sumer in the 4th millennium BC. Societies in the region laid the foundations for astronomy and mathematics, the usual tripartite division into an Early, Middle and Late Bronze Age is not used. Instead, a division based on art-historical and historical characteristics is more common. The cities of the Ancient Near East housed several tens of thousands of people, ur in the Middle Bronze Age and Babylon in the Late Bronze Age similarly had large populations. The earliest mention of Babylonia appears on a tablet from the reign of Sargon of Akkad in the 23rd century BC, the Amorite dynasty established the city-state of Babylon in the 19th century BC. Over 100 years later, it took over the other city-states. Babylonia adopted the written Semitic Akkadian language for official use, by that time, the Sumerian language was no longer spoken, but was still in religious use. Elam was an ancient civilization located to the east of Mesopotamia, in the Old Elamite period, Elam consisted of kingdoms on the Iranian plateau, centered in Anshan, and from the mid-2nd millennium BC, it was centered in Susa in the Khuzestan lowlands. Its culture played a role in the Gutian Empire and especially during the Achaemenid dynasty that succeeded it
Bronze Age
–
Chalcolithic copper mine in
Timna Valley,
Negev Desert,
Israel.
Bronze Age
–
Diffusion of metallurgy in
Europe and
Asia Minor. The darkest areas are the oldest.
Bronze Age
–
A
Shang Dynasty two-handled bronze gefuding gui (1600–1046 BC).
Bronze Age
–
Spring and Autumn Period pu bronze vessel with interlaced
dragon design (722–481 BC)
23.
Hittites
–
The Hittites were an Ancient Anatolian people who established an empire centered on Hattusa in north-central Anatolia around 1600 BC. Between the 15th and 13th centuries BC the Hittite Empire came into conflict with the Egyptian Empire, Middle Assyrian Empire, the Assyrians eventually emerged as the dominant power and annexed much of the Hittite empire, while the remainder was sacked by Phrygian newcomers to the region. They referred to their land as Hatti. The conventional name Hittites is due to their identification with the Biblical Hittites in 19th century archaeology. Before the discoveries, the source of information about Hittites had been the Old Testament. Francis William Newman expressed the view, common in the early 19th century. Uriah was a captain in King Davids army and counted among one of his mighty men in 1 Chronicles 11, french scholar Félix Marie Charles Texier discovered the first Hittite ruins in 1834, but did not identify them as Hittite. The first archaeological evidence for the Hittites appeared in tablets found at the Assyrian colony of Kültepe, some names in the tablets were neither Hattic nor Assyrian, but clearly Indo-European. The script on a monument at Boğazköy by a People of Hattusas discovered by William Wright in 1884 was found to match peculiar hieroglyphic scripts from Aleppo, in 1887, excavations at Tell El-Amarna in Egypt uncovered the diplomatic correspondence of Pharaoh Amenhotep III and his son Akhenaton. Shortly after this, Archibald Sayce proposed that Hatti or Khatti in Anatolia was identical with the kingdom of Kheta mentioned in these Egyptian texts, as well as with the biblical Hittites. Others, such as Max Müller, agreed that Khatti was probably Kheta, sayces identification came to be widely accepted over the course of the early 20th century, and the name Hittite has become attached to the civilization uncovered at Boğazköy. He also proved that the ruins at Boğazköy were the remains of the capital of an empire that, at one point, under the direction of the German Archaeological Institute, excavations at Hattusa have been under way since 1907, with interruptions during the world wars. Kültepe was successfully excavated by Professor Tahsin Özgüç from 1948 until his death in 2005, the Hittites used Mesopotamian Cuneiform script. The Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara, Turkey houses the richest collection of Hittite, the Hittite kingdom was centred on the lands surrounding Hattusa and Neša, known as the land Hatti. For example, the reward for the capture of a slave after he managed to flee beyond the Halys is higher than that for a slave caught before he could reach the river. To the west and south of the core territory lay the region known as Luwiya in the earliest Hittite texts and this terminology was replaced by the names Arzawa and Kizzuwatna with the rise of those kingdoms. Nevertheless, the Hittites continued to refer to the language originated in these areas as Luwian. Prior to the rise of Kizzuwatna, the heart of territory in Cilicia was first referred to by the Hittites as Adaniya
Hittites
–
Bronze religious standard from a pre-Hittite tomb at
Alacahöyük, dating to the third millennium B.C., from the
Museum of Anatolian Civilizations,
Ankara.
Hittites
–
The Hittite Empire, ca. 1300 BC (shown in Blue).
Hittites
–
Jewelry from
Museum of Anatolian Civilizations.
Hittites
–
Hittite chariot, from an Egyptian relief
24.
Hittite language
–
Hittite, also known as Nesite and Neshite, is the extinct language once spoken by the Hittites, an Indo-European-speaking people who created an empire centred on Hattusa in north-central Anatolia. By the Late Bronze Age, Hittite had started losing ground to its close relative Luwian and it appears that in the 13th century BC, Luwian was the most widely spoken language in the Hittite capital of Hattusa. Hittite is the earliest-attested of the Indo-European languages and is the best-known of the Anatolian languages, Hittite is the modern name for the language, chosen after the identification of the Hatti kingdom with the Hittites mentioned in the Bible, although this identification was subsequently challenged. The terms Hattian or Hattic, by contrast, are used to refer to the people who preceded them. In multi-lingual texts found in Hittite locations, passages written in the Hittite language are preceded by the adverb nesili, in the of Neša, in one case, the label is Kanisumnili, in the of the people of Kaneš. Although the Hittite empire was composed of people from diverse ethnic and linguistic backgrounds. In spite of arguments over the appropriateness of the term, Hittite remains the most current term by convention. Knudtzon argued that Hittite was Indo-European, largely on the basis of the morphology, although he had no bilingual texts, he was able to give a partial interpretation to the two letters because of the formulaic nature of the diplomatic correspondence of the period. Based on a study of this material, Bedřich Hrozný succeeded in analyzing the language. He presented his argument that the language is Indo-European in a paper published in 1915, hroznýs argument for the Indo-European affiliation of Hittite was thoroughly modern, though poorly substantiated. He focused on the similarities in idiosyncratic aspects of the morphology, unlikely to occur independently by chance. These included the r/n alternation in some noun stems and vocalic ablaut and he also presented a set of regular sound correspondences. Sturtevant who authored the first scientifically acceptable Hittite grammar with a chrestomathy, the most up-to-date grammar of the Hittite language is currently Hoffner and Melchert 2008. Hittite is one of the Anatolian languages and it is known from cuneiform tablets and inscriptions erected by the Hittite kings. The script formerly known as Hieroglyphic Hittite is now termed Hieroglyphic Luwian, the Anatolian branch also includes Cuneiform Luwian, Hieroglyphic Luwian, Palaic, Lycian, Milyan, Lydian, Carian, Pisidian, and Sidetic. Hittite lacks some features of the other Indo-European languages, such as a distinction between masculine and feminine gender, subjunctive and optative moods, and aspect. Various hypotheses have been formulated to explain these contrasts, the parent, Indo-Hittite, lacked the features not present in Hittite, which Proto-Indo-European innovated. Other linguists, however, have taken the point of view, the Schwund Hypothesis, that Hittite came from a Proto-Indo-European possessing the full range of features
Hittite language
–
Hittite
Hittite language
–
Geography
25.
Akkadian language
–
Akkadian is an extinct East Semitic language that was spoken in ancient Mesopotamia. The earliest attested Semitic language, it used the writing system, which was originally used to write the unrelated Ancient Sumerian. The language was named after the city of Akkad, a centre of Mesopotamian civilization during the Akkadian Empire. The mutual influence between Sumerian and Akkadian had led scholars to describe the languages as a sprachbund, Akkadian proper names were first attested in Sumerian texts from around the mid 3rd-millennium BC. From the second half of the third millennium BC, texts written in Akkadian begin to appear. By the second millennium BC, two variant forms of the language were in use in Assyria and Babylonia, known as Assyrian and Babylonian respectively, for centuries, Akkadian was the native language in Mesopotamian nations such as Assyria and Babylonia. However, it began to decline during the Neo-Assyrian Empire around the 8th century BC, by the Hellenistic period, the language was largely confined to scholars and priests working in temples in Assyria and Babylonia. The last known Akkadian cuneiform document dates from the 1st century AD, Akkadian belongs with the other Semitic languages in the Near Eastern branch of the Afroasiatic languages, a family native to East Africa, which then spread to West, Northwest and Northeast Africa. Within the Near Eastern Semitic languages, Akkadian forms an East Semitic subgroup and this novel word order is due to the influence of the Sumerian substratum, which has an SOV order. Additionally Akkadian is the only Semitic language to use the prepositions ina and ana, other Semitic languages like Arabic and Aramaic have the prepositions bi/bə and li/lə. The origin of the Akkadian spatial prepositions is unknown, in contrast to most other Semitic languages, Akkadian has only one non-sibilant fricative, ḫ. Akkadian lost both the glottal and pharyngeal fricatives, which are characteristic of the other Semitic languages, until the Old Babylonian period, the Akkadian sibilants were exclusively affricated. Old Akkadian is preserved on clay tablets dating back to c.2500 BC and it was written using cuneiform, a script adopted from the Sumerians using wedge-shaped symbols pressed in wet clay. As employed by Akkadian scribes, the cuneiform script could represent either Sumerian logograms, Sumerian syllables, Akkadian syllables. For this reason, the sign AN can on the one hand be a logogram for the word ilum, additionally, this sign was used as a determinative for divine names. Another peculiarity of Akkadian cuneiform is that many signs do not have a phonetic value. Certain signs, such as AḪ, do not distinguish between the different vowel qualities, nor is there any coordination in the other direction, the syllable -ša-, for example, is rendered by the sign ŠA, but also by the sign NĪĜ. Both of these are used for the same syllable in the same text
Akkadian language
–
An Akkadian inscription
Akkadian language
–
Cuneiform writing (Neoassyrian script) (1 = Logogram (LG) "mix"/syllabogram (SG) ḫi, 2 = LG "moat", 3 = SG aʾ, 4 = SG aḫ, eḫ, iḫ, uḫ, 5 = SG kam, 6 = SG im, 7 = SG bir)
Akkadian language
–
The
Deluge tablet of the
Gilgamesh epic in Akkadian.
Akkadian language
–
Geography
26.
Urartian language
–
It was probably dominant around Lake Van and in the areas along the upper Zab valley. First attested in the 9th century BCE, Urartian ceased to be written after the fall of the Urartian state in 585 BCE, Urartian was an ergative, agglutinative language, which belongs to neither the Semitic nor the Indo-European families but to the Hurro-Urartian family. It survives in many inscriptions found in the area of the Urartu kingdom, there have been claims of a separate autochthonous script of Urartian hieroglyphs but they remain unsubstantiated. Urartian is closely related to Hurrian, a somewhat better documented language attested for an earlier, non-overlapping period, the two languages must have developed quite independently from approximately 2000 BCE onwards. The closeness holds especially true of the so-called Old Hurrian dialect, igor Diakonoff and others have suggested ties between the Hurro-Urartian languages and the Northeastern Caucasian languages. Several studies argue that the connection is quite certain, after the decipherment of Assyrian cuneiform in the 1850s, Schulzs drawings became the basis of deciphering the Urartian language. It soon became clear that it was unrelated to any known language, the script was finally deciphered in 1882 by A. H. Sayce. The oldest of these inscriptions is from the time of Sarduri I of Urartu, decipherment only made progress after World War I, with the discovery of Urartian-Assyrian bilingual inscriptions at Kelišin and Topzawä. In 1963, a grammar of Urartian was published by G. A. Melikishvili in Russian, in the 1970s, the genetic relation with Hurrian was established by I. M. Diakonoff. The oldest delivered texts originate from the reign of Sarduri I, approximately two hundred inscriptions written in the Urartian language, which adopted and modified the cuneiform script, have been discovered to date. Urartian cuneiform is a simplification of Neo-Assyrian cuneiform. Unlike in Assyrian, each sign only expresses a single sound value, the sign gi
Urartian language
Urartian language
–
Geography
27.
Urartu
–
Urartu, also known as Kingdom of Van, was an Iron Age kingdom centred on Lake Van in the Armenian Highlands. It corresponds to the biblical Kingdom of Ararat, the language appears in cuneiform inscriptions. It is argued on linguistic evidence that came in contact with Urartian at an early date. That a distinction should be made between the geographical and the entity was already pointed out by König. The landscape corresponds to the plateau between Anatolia, Mesopotamia, the Iranian Plateau, and the Caucasus Mountains, later known as the Armenian Highlands. The kingdom rose to power in the mid-ninth century BC, the heirs of Urartu are the Armenians and their successive kingdoms. The name Urartu comes from Assyrian sources, Shalmaneser I recorded a campaign in which he subdued the entire territory of Uruatri, the Shalmaneser text uses the name Urartu to refer to a geographical region, not a kingdom, and names eight lands contained within Urartu. Urartu is cognate with the Biblical Ararat, Akkadian Urashtu and Armenian Ayrarat, the Urartian toponym Biainili was adopted in the Old Armenian as Van, Վան. Hence the names Kingdom of Van or Vannic Kingdom, scholars such as Carl Ferdinand Friedrich Lehmann-Haupt believed that the people of Urartu called themselves Khaldini after the god Ḫaldi. Boris Piotrovsky wrote that the Urartians first appear in history in the 13th century BC as a league of tribes or countries which did not yet constitute a unitary state. In the Assyrian annals the term Uruatri as a name for this league was superseded during a period of years by the term land of Nairi. Scholars believe that Urartu is an Akkadian variation of Ararat of the Old Testament, indeed, Mount Ararat is located in ancient Urartian territory, approximately 120 kilometres north of its former capital. In addition to referring to the famous Biblical mountain, Ararat also appears as the name of a kingdom in Jeremiah 51,27, mentioned together with Minni, in the early sixth century BC, Urartu was replaced by the Armenian Orontid Dynasty. Shupria was part of the Urartu confederation, later, there is reference to a district in the area called Arme or Urme, which some scholars have linked to the name of Armenia. At its apogee, Urartu stretched from the borders of northern Mesopotamia to the southern Caucasus, including present-day Armenia, archaeological sites within its boundaries include Altintepe, Toprakkale, Patnos and Haykaberd. Urartu fortresses included Erebuni, Van Fortress, Argishtihinili, Anzaf, Haykaberd, schulz discovered and copied numerous cuneiform inscriptions, partly in Assyrian and partly in a hitherto unknown language. Schulz also re-discovered the Kelishin stele, bearing an Assyrian-Urartian bilingual inscription, a summary account of his initial discoveries was published in 1828. Schulz and four of his servants were murdered by Kurds in 1829 near Başkale and his notes were later recovered and published in Paris in 1840
Urartu
–
A Urartian
cauldron, from the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations,
Ankara
Urartu
–
Urartu, 9th–6th centuries BC.
Urartu
–
Head of a Bull, Urartu, 8th century BC. This head was attached to the rim of an enormous cauldron similar to the one shown above.
Walters Art Museum collections.
Urartu
–
Fragment of a bronze
helmet from Argishti I's era. The "
tree of life ", popular among the ancient societies, is depicted. The helmet was discovered during the excavations of the fortress Of Teyshebaini on Karmir-Blur (Red Hill).
28.
Assyria
–
Assyria was a major Mesopotamian East Semitic-speaking kingdom and empire of the ancient Near East and the Levant. Centered on the Tigris in Upper Mesopotamia, the Assyrians came to rule powerful empires at several times. Assyria is named after its capital, the ancient city of Aššur. In the 25th and 24th centuries BC, Assyrian kings were pastoral leaders, Assyria can also refer to the geographic region or heartland where Assyria, its empires and the Assyrian people were centered. The indigenous modern Eastern Aramaic-speaking Assyrian Christian ethnic minority in northern Iraq, north east Syria, southeast Turkey, in prehistoric times, the region that was to become known as Assyria was home to a Neanderthal culture such as has been found at the Shanidar Cave. The earliest Neolithic sites in Assyria were the Jarmo culture c.7100 BC and Tell Hassuna, during the 3rd millennium BC, a very intimate cultural symbiosis developed between the Sumerians and the Akkadians throughout Mesopotamia, which included widespread bilingualism. The influence of Sumerian on Akkadian, and vice versa, is evident in all areas, from lexical borrowing on a scale, to syntactic, morphological. This has prompted scholars to refer to Sumerian and Akkadian in the third millennium BC as a sprachbund and it is highly likely that the city was named in honour of its patron Assyrian god with the same name. The city of Aššur, together with a number of other Assyrian cities, however it is likely that they were initially Sumerian-dominated administrative centres. In the late 26th century BC, Eannatum of Lagash, then the dominant Sumerian ruler in Mesopotamia, similarly, in c. the early 25th century BC, Lugal-Anne-Mundu the king of the Sumerian state of Adab lists Subartu as paying tribute to him. Of the early history of the kingdom of Assyria, little is known, in the Assyrian King List, the earliest king recorded was Tudiya. According to Georges Roux he would have lived in the mid 25th century BC, Tudiya was succeeded on the list by Adamu, the first known reference to the Semitic name Adam and then a further thirteen rulers. The earliest kings, such as Tudiya, who are recorded as kings who lived in tents, were independent semi-nomadic pastoralist rulers and these kings at some point became fully urbanised and founded the city state of Ashur in the mid 21st century BC. During the Akkadian Empire, the Assyrians, like all the Mesopotamian Semites, became subject to the dynasty of the city state of Akkad, the Akkadian Empire founded by Sargon the Great claimed to encompass the surrounding four quarters. Assyrian rulers were subject to Sargon and his successors, and the city of Ashur became an administrative center of the Empire. On those tablets, Assyrian traders in Burushanda implored the help of their ruler, Sargon the Great, the name Hatti itself even appears in later accounts of his grandson, Naram-Sin, campaigning in Anatolia. Assyrian and Akkadian traders spread the use of writing in the form of the Mesopotamian cuneiform script to Asia Minor, the Akkadian Empire was destroyed by economic decline and internal civil war, followed by attacks from barbarian Gutian people in 2154 BC. The rulers of Assyria during the period between c.2154 BC and 2112 BC once again fully independent, as the Gutians are only known to have administered southern Mesopotamia
Assyria
–
Letter sent by the high-priest Lu'enna to the king of
Lagash (maybe
Urukagina), informing him of his son's death in combat, c. 2400 BC, found in
Girsu.
Assyria
–
Overview map of the Ancient Near East in the 15th century BC (Middle Assyrian period), showing the core territory of Assyria with its two major cities
Assur and
Nineveh wedged between
Babylonia downstream (to the south-east) and the states of
Mitanni and
Hatti upstream (to the north-west).
Assyria
–
Assyrian attack on a town with archers and a wheeled battering ram, 865–860 BC
Assyria
–
Jehu, king of
Israel, bows before Shalmaneser III of Assyria, 825 BC
29.
Tiglath-Pileser I
–
Tiglath-Pileser I was a king of Assyria during the Middle Assyrian period. According to Georges Roux, Tiglath-Pileser was one of the two or three great Assyrian monarchs since the days of Shamshi-Adad I, under him, Assyria became the leading power of the Middle East, a position the kingdom largely maintained for the next five hundred years. He expanded Assyrian control into Anatolia and Syria, and to the shores of the Mediterranean, from his surviving inscriptions, he seems to have carefully cultivated a fear of himself in his subjects and in his enemies alike. The son of Ashur-resh-ishi I, he ascended to the throne in 1115 BC and his first campaign was against the Mushku in 1112 B. C. In a subsequent campaign, the Assyrian forces penetrated into the south of Lake Van. In his fifth year, Tiglath-Pileser attacked Comana in Cappadocia, the Aramaeans of northern Syria were the next targets of the Assyrian king, who made his way as far as the sources of the Tigris. It is said from an Assyrian relief that he campaigned against the Arameans 28 times during his reign from 1115 to 1077 BC and he was passionately fond of the chase and was also a great builder. The general view is that the restoration of the temple of the gods Ashur, the latter part of his reign seems to have been a period of retrenchment, as Aramaean tribesmen put pressure on his realm. He died in 1076 BC and was succeeded by his son Asharid-apal-Ekur, the later kings Ashur-bel-kala and Shamshi-Adad IV were also his sons
Tiglath-Pileser I
–
Rock relief of Tiglath-Pileser
30.
Sargon II
–
Sargon II was an Assyrian king. A son of Tiglath-Pileser III, he came to power relatively late in life, the Neo-Assyrian pronunciation of the name was presumably /sargi, n/ or /sarga, n/, the spelling Sargon is based on the Biblical form of the name, mentioned in Isaiah 20,1. The regnal number is modern, applied for disambiguation from the Old Assyrian king Sargon I, Sargon II was a son of Tiglath-Pileser III and appears to have seized the throne from his brother, Shalmaneser V in a violent coup. Sargon was already middle-aged when he came to the throne, and was assisted by his son, Sargons brother, Sinahusur, served as his grand vizier. Sargon was beset with rebellions by the beginning of his rule. Marduk-apla-iddina II, a chieftain of the Chaldean tribes in the marshes of the south, in 720 BC, Sargon and Marduk-apla-iddina met in battle on the plains east of Babylon. The Elamite troops were able to back the Assyrian army, and he retained control of the south. In 717 BC, the Syro-Hittite city of Carchemish on the Upper Euphrates rebelled, Carchemish was a small kingdom situated at an important Euphrates crossing. Sargon violated existing treaties in attacking the city, but with the wealth seized was able to continue to fund his army. In 716 BC he moved against the Mannaeans, where the ruler Aza, Sargon took the capital Izirtu, and stationed troops in Parsuash and Kar-Nergal. He built new bases in Media as well, the one being Harhar which he renamed Kar-Sharrukin. In 715 BC, others were to follow, Kar-Nabu, Kar-Sin and Kar-Ishtar — all named after Babylonian gods, the eighth campaign of Sargon against Urartu in 714 BC is well known from a letter from Sargon to the god Ashur and the bas-reliefs in the palace of Dur-Sharrukin. The reliefs show the difficulties of the terrain, the war-chariots had to be dismantled and carried by soldiers, the campaign was probably motivated by the fact that the Urartians had been weakened by incursions of the Cimmerians, a nomadic steppe tribe. One Urartian army had completely annihilated, and the general Qaqqadanu taken prisoner. After reaching Lake Urmia, he turned east and entered Zikirtu, the battle is described as the usual carnage, but King Rusas managed to escape. The horses of his chariot had been killed by Assyrian spears, forcing him to ride a mare in order to get away, Sargon plundered the fertile lands at the southern and western shore of Lake Urmia, felling orchards and burning the harvest. In the royal resort of Ulhu, the wine-cellar of the Urartian kings was plundered, Sargon claims to have destroyed 430 empty villages. After reaching Lake Van, Sargon left Urartu via Uaiaish, in Hubushkia he received the tribute of the Nairi lands
Sargon II
–
Sargon II and dignitary
Sargon II
–
The Inscription of Sargon II at Tang-i Var pass near the village of Tang-i Var, Hawraman, Zagros
Sargon II
–
Human-headed winged bull, found during
Botta's excavation.
Sargon II
–
A
lamassu from the palace of Sargon II at
Dur-Sharrukin.
31.
Cimmerians
–
The Cimmerians are an ancient people, first mentioned in the late 8th century BC in Assyrian records. Likely originating in the Pontic steppe and invading by means of the Caucasus, they probably assaulted Urartu and they were defeated by Assyrian forces under Sargon II in 705 and turned towards Anatolia, conquering Phrygia in 696/5. They reached the height of their power in 652 after taking Sardis, soon after 619, Alyattes of Lydia defeated them. There are no mentions of them in historical sources. The origin of the Cimmerians is unclear and they are mostly supposed to have been related to either Iranian or Thracian speaking groups which migrated under pressure of the Scythian expansion of the 9th to 8th century BC. This association is controversial, or at best conventional, and is not to be taken as a claim that specific artifacts are to be associated with the Cimmerians of the Greek or Assyrian record. The term Thraco-Cimmerian was first introduced by I, sir Henry Layards discoveries in the royal archives at Nineveh and Calah included Assyrian primary records of the Cimmerian invasion. These records appear to place the Cimmerian homeland, Gamir, south rather than north of the Black Sea, the first record of the Cimmerians appears in Assyrian annals in the year 714 BC. These describe how a people termed the Gimirri helped the forces of Sargon II to defeat the kingdom of Urartu and their original homeland, called Gamir or Uishdish, seems to have been located within the buffer state of Mannae. The later geographer Ptolemy placed the Cimmerian city of Gomara in this region, the Assyrians recorded the migrations of the Cimmerians, as the former peoples king Sargon II was killed in battle against them while driving them from Persia in 705 BC. The Cimmerians were subsequently recorded as having conquered Phrygia in 696–695 BC, in 679 BC, during the reign of Esarhaddon of Assyria, they attacked the Assyrian colonies Cilicia and Tabal under their new ruler Teushpa. Esarhaddon defeated them near Hubushna, and they also met defeat at the hands of his successor Ashurbanipal. A people named Kimmerior is described Homers Odyssey as living beyond the Oceanus, in a land of fog and darkness, at the edge of the world, according to Herodotus, the Cimmerians had been expelled from their homeland between the Tyras and Tanais rivers by the Scythians. Unreconciled to Scythian advances, to burial in their ancestral homeland. The Cimmerian commoners buried the bodies along the river Tyras and fled across the Caucasus, Herodotus also names a number of Cimmerian kings, including Tugdamme, and Sandakhshatra. In 654 BC or 652 BC – the exact date is unclear – the Cimmerians attacked the kingdom of Lydia, killing the Lydian king Gyges and causing great destruction to the Lydian capital of Sardis. They returned ten years later during the reign of Gyges son Ardys II, the Cimmerian occupation of Lydia was brief, however, possibly due to an outbreak of plague. They were beaten back by Alyattes II of Lydia and this defeat marked the effective end of Cimmerian power
Cimmerians
–
Cimmerian invasions of Colchis, Urartu and Assyria 715–713 BC
32.
Scythians
–
The Scythian languages belonged to the Eastern branch of the Iranian languages. Ancient Greek historians spoke of Scythians who lived north of the Black Sea, Persians used the term Saka, for approximately the same people who lived further east. Although the ancients did not clearly distinguish the two terms, modern scholars usually use Saka to refer to Iranian-speaking tribes who inhabited the central steppe, the Chinese used the term Sai, for Sakas who had moved into the Tarim Basin. Assyrian sources speak of Iskuzai or Askuzai south of the Caucasus who were probably Scythians, the relationships between the peoples living in these widely separated regions remains unclear. Their westernmost territories during the Iron Age were known to classical Greek sources as Scythia, the Scythians were among the earliest peoples to master mounted warfare. In the 8th century BC they possibly raided Zhou China, soon after they expanded westwards and dislodged the Cimmerians from power on the Pontic Steppe. Based in what is modern-day Ukraine, Southern European Russia, and Crimea, the Scythians established and controlled a vast trade network connecting Greece, Persia, India and China, perhaps contributing to the contemporary flourishing of those civilizations. Settled metalworkers made portable decorative objects for the Scythians and these objects survive mainly in metal, forming a distinctive Scythian art. In the 7th century BC the Scythians crossed the Caucasus and frequently raided the Middle East along with the Cimmerians, around 650–630 BC, Scythians briefly dominated the Medes of the western Iranian Plateau, stretching their power all the way to the borders of Egypt. After losing control over Media the Scythians continued intervening in Middle Eastern affairs, the Scythians subsequently engaged in frequent conflicts with the Achaemenid Empire. The western Scythians suffered a defeat against Macedonia in the 4th century BC, and were subsequently gradually conquered by the Sarmatians. In Eastern Europe, by the early Medieval Ages, the Scythians, Scythians kept herds of horses, cattle, and sheep, lived in tent-covered wagons, and fought with bows and arrows on horseback. They developed a culture characterized by opulent tombs, fine metalwork. Sulimirski views the Histories of Herodotus as the most important literary source relating to ancient Scyths, Herodotus provides a depiction that can be related to the results of archaeological research, but apparently knew little of the eastern part of Scythia. He did say that the ancient Persians called all the Scyths Σάκαι and their principal tribe, the Royal Scyths, ruled the vast lands occupied by the nation as a whole, calling themselves Σκώλοτοι. The restored Scythian name is *Skuda, which among the Pontic or Royal Scythians became *Skula, in which the d has been regularly replaced by an l. Saka, on the hand, Szemerényi relates to an Iranian verbal root, sak-, go, roam. The name does appear somewhat further east than the Achaemenid Empire, whether they adopted the Achaemenid name, or Saka came to be an endonym, it is not clear
Scythians
–
Scythians shooting with the
Scythian bow,
Kerch (ancient
Panticapeum),
Crimea, 4th century BC
Scythians
–
Gold Scythian pectoral, or neckpiece, from a royal
kurgan in Tolstaya Mogila,
Ordzhonikidze, Ukraine, dated to the second half of the 4th century BC. The central lower tier shows three horses, each being torn apart by two
griffins.
Scythians
–
Gold Scythian belt title,
Mingachevir (ancient Scythian kingdom),
Azerbaijan, 7th century BC.
Scythians
–
Skunkha, king of the Sakā tigraxaudā ("wearing pointed caps Sakae", a group of Scythian tribes). Detail of
Behistun Inscription.
33.
Asia Minor
–
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
Asia Minor
–
The traditional definition of Anatolia within modern Turkey
Asia Minor
–
The location of
Turkey (within the rectangle) in reference to the
European continent. Anatolia roughly corresponds to the
Asian part of Turkey, except the eastern parts historically known as the
Armenian Highlands
Asia Minor
–
1907 map of Asia Minor, showing the local ancient kingdoms
Asia Minor
–
Mural of
aurochs, a
deer, and humans in
Çatalhöyük, which is the largest and best-preserved Neolithic site found to date. It was registered as a
UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2012.
34.
Kingdom of Cappadocia
–
The Kingdom of Cappadocia was a Hellenistic-era Iranian kingdom centered in the historical region of Cappadocia in Asia Minor. It developed from the former Achaemenid satrapy of Cappadocia, and it was founded by its last satrap, throughout its history, it was ruled by three families in succession, the House of Ariarathes, the House of Ariobarzanes, and lastly that of Archelaus. In 17 AD, following the death of Archelaus, during the reign of Roman emperor Tiberius, Ariarathes I had been satrap of Cappadocia for 19 years and a loyal supporter of the Achaemenid kings. By blood, he was related to the ruling Achaemenid house as well as other satraps, when Alexander of Macedon invaded the area as part of his conquest, he appointed two temporary governors. Following Alexanders death, Ariarathes I managed to power in Cappadocia. Ariarathess line would provide the first ten kings of the kingdom, after a period of Seleucid overlordship, the Cappadocian Kingdom gained its independence during the reign of Ariarathes III. However, in conflict with the interests of the Roman Republic, the supported the Cappadocians to choose a new king. Following the civil war in Rome, the latter would now more directly in Cappadocian affairs, in 36 BC, Marcus Antonius appointed Archelaus. When, at an old age, Tiberius summoned him to Rome, he died there of natural causes, Cappadocia was subsequently incorporated as a fully functioning Roman province. Due to the kingdoms perilous location amongst powerful neighbors, the kings were involved in beneficial marriage alliances. Following the Macedonian conquests, the Persian colonists in Cappadocia as well as elsewhere were cut off from their co-religionists in Iran proper. Strabo, who observed them in the Cappadocian Kingdom in the first century B. C. records that these fire kindlers possessed many holy places of the Persian Gods, the kingdoms domains possessed numerous sanctuaries and temples of various Iranian gods and deities, as well as Iranized deities. On their significant importance, numerous sanctuaries and deities of this category were noted by Strabo, some of these are Anahita at Castabala, the magus Sagarios at Ariaramneia, and Ahura Mazda at Arebsum. In enclosures, known as Pyraitheia, there was worship in the name of the Zoroastrian religion. Regarding these Pyraitheia, he relates that in their midst there is an altar, on which there is a large quantity of ashes. Initially, the kingdom was organized in ten satrapies, the satrapies were called by the Greek term strategiai, and each of them were headed by the strategos, basically an important noble. The eleven satrapies were, Melitene, Cataonia, Cilicia, Tyanitis, Garsauritis, Laouiansene, Sargarausene, Saraouene, Chamanene, Morimene, Cilicia Tracheia, the eleventh and last satrapy, was added later to the kingdom. Control over the lands of the kingdom was maintained by two types, through royal estates and fortifications protected and maintained by nobility, within the estates, there were two types
Kingdom of Cappadocia
–
Ancient Region of Anatolia Cappadocia
Kingdom of Cappadocia
–
Fairy Chimneys rock formation near Göreme, in Cappadocia
Kingdom of Cappadocia
–
16th-century map of Anatolia from
Münster's Cosmographia showing "Capadocia"
Kingdom of Cappadocia
–
Mt. Erciyes (3916 m), the highest mountain in Cappadocia
35.
Roman Empire
–
Civil wars and executions continued, culminating in the victory of Octavian, Caesars adopted son, over Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC and the annexation of Egypt. Octavians power was then unassailable and in 27 BC the Roman Senate formally granted him overarching power, the imperial period of Rome lasted approximately 1,500 years compared to the 500 years of the Republican era. The first two centuries of the empires existence were a period of unprecedented political stability and prosperity known as the Pax Romana, following Octavians victory, the size of the empire was dramatically increased. After the assassination of Caligula in 41, the senate briefly considered restoring the republic, under Claudius, the empire invaded Britannia, its first major expansion since Augustus. Vespasian emerged triumphant in 69, establishing the Flavian dynasty, before being succeeded by his son Titus and his short reign was followed by the long reign of his brother Domitian, who was eventually assassinated. The senate then appointed the first of the Five Good Emperors, the empire reached its greatest extent under Trajan, the second in this line. A period of increasing trouble and decline began with the reign of Commodus, Commodus assassination in 192 triggered the Year of the Five Emperors, of which Septimius Severus emerged victorious. The assassination of Alexander Severus in 235 led to the Crisis of the Third Century in which 26 men were declared emperor by the Roman Senate over a time span. It was not until the reign of Diocletian that the empire was fully stabilized with the introduction of the Tetrarchy, which saw four emperors rule the empire at once. This arrangement was unsuccessful, leading to a civil war that was finally ended by Constantine I. Constantine subsequently shifted the capital to Byzantium, which was renamed Constantinople in his honour and it remained the capital of the east until its demise. Constantine also adopted Christianity which later became the state religion of the empire. However, Augustulus was never recognized by his Eastern colleague, and separate rule in the Western part of the empire ceased to exist upon the death of Julius Nepos. The Eastern Roman Empire endured for another millennium, eventually falling to the Ottoman Turks in 1453, the Roman Empire was among the most powerful economic, cultural, political and military forces in the world of its time. It was one of the largest empires in world history, at its height under Trajan, it covered 5 million square kilometres. It held sway over an estimated 70 million people, at that time 21% of the entire population. Throughout the European medieval period, attempts were made to establish successors to the Roman Empire, including the Empire of Romania, a Crusader state. Rome had begun expanding shortly after the founding of the republic in the 6th century BC, then, it was an empire long before it had an emperor
Roman Empire
–
The
Augustus of Prima Porta (early 1st century AD)
Roman Empire
–
Aureus of
Augustus, the first
Roman Emperor.
Roman Empire
–
A segment of the ruins of Hadrian's Wall in northern England
Roman Empire
–
A 5th-century
papyrus showing a parallel Latin-Greek text of a speech by
Cicero
36.
Legio XII Fulminata
–
The Legio duodecima Fulminata, also known as Paterna, Victrix, Antiqua, Certa Constans, and Galliena, was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. It was originally levied by Julius Caesar in 58 BC and which accompanied him during the Gallic Wars until 49 BC, the unit was still guarding the Euphrates River crossing near Melitene at the beginning of the 5th century. The legions emblem was a thunderbolt, in later centuries it came to be called commonly, but incorrectly, the Legio Fulminatrix, the Thundering Legion. The Twelfth legion, as it is better known, fought in the Battle against the Nervians. The Twelfth fought at the Battle of Pharsalus, when Caesar defeated Pompey, after Caesar won the civil war, the legion was named Victrix, and enlisted in 43 BC by Lepidus and Mark Anthony. Mark Anthony led the Twelfth, renamed XII Antiqua during his campaign against the Parthian Empire, during the latest part of Augustus principality, XII Fulminata served in Syria, camping at Raphana. In the East, King Vologeses I had invaded Armenia, a client kingdom of Rome, the legions were shamed and removed from the war theatre. On its way back, XII Fulminata was ambushed and defeated by Eleazar ben Simon at Beit-Horon, however, XII Fulminata fought well in the last part of the war, and supported its commander T. Flavius Vespasian in his successful bid for the imperial throne. At the end of the war, XII Fulminata and XVI Flavia Firma were sent to guard the Euphrates border, in 75 AD, XII Fulminata was in Caucasus, where Emperor Vespasian had sent the legion to support the allied kingdoms of Iberia and Albania. The legion was probably in Armenia during Trajans campaign of 114 AD, in 134, the threat of the Alans was subdued by the governor of Cappadocia, Arrian, who defeated the invaders with the aid of XII Fulminata and XV Apollinaris. The Twelfth probably fought in the Parthian campaign of Emperor Lucius Verus, in 162-166, if a unit of XII. At this time, most of the Twelfth was composed chiefly of Christians, there was a belief that this had led to the emperor issuing a decree forbidding the persecution of the Christians, but this seems to have been based on a forgery. In 175, the legion was in Melitene, when Avidius Cassius revolted, after the death of Emperor Pertinax,193, XII Fulminata supported the governor of Syria, Pescennius Niger, who was in the end defeated by Emperor Septimius Severus. When the Eastern frontier of the Empire was moved from the Euphrates to the Tigris, the region around Melitene was one of the first in which Christian faith spread. Polyeuctes is a martyr under Valerian who was a soldier of the Twelfth, the Sassanid Empire was a major threat to the Roman power in the East. King Shapur II conquered the base of the XV Apollinaris, Satala, Emperor Valerian moved against Shapur, but was defeated and captured. The defeat caused the collapse of the Empire, with the secessionistic Gallic Empire in the West. It is known that the XII Fulminata was under the command of Odaenathus, ruler of the Palmyrene Empire, after these episodes, the records of the Fulminata are scarce
Legio XII Fulminata
–
Roman inscription in Boyukdash, (near
Baku) Azerbaijan left by Legio XII Fulminata
Legio XII Fulminata
–
Map of the Roman empire in AD 125, under emperor
Hadrian, showing the Legio XII Fulminata, stationed at
Melitene (Malatya, Turkey), in
Cappadocia province, from AD 71 until the 4th century
Legio XII Fulminata
–
The "Miracle of Rain"
37.
Notitia Dignitatum
–
The Notitia Dignitatum is a document of the late Roman Empire that details the administrative organization of the Eastern and Western Empires. It is unique as one of few surviving documents of Roman government and describes several thousand offices from the imperial court to provincial governments, diplomatic missions. It is usually considered to be accurate for the Western Roman Empire in the AD 420s, however, the text does not date its own authorship or accuracy, and omissions complicate ascertaining its date from its content. There are several extant 15th- and 16th-century copies of the document, the heraldry in illuminated manuscript copies of the Notitia is thought to copy or imitate only that illustrated in the lost Codex Spirensis. The iteration of 1542 made for Otto Henry, Elector Palatine, was revised with illustrations more faithful to the originals added at a later date, the most important copy of the Codex is that made for Pietro Donato in 1436 and illuminated by Peronet Lamy. The Notitia presents four primary problems as regards the study of the Empires military, therefore, its development from the structure of the Principate is largely conjectural because of the lack of other evidence. It was compiled at two different times, the section for the Eastern Empire apparently dates from circa AD395 and that for the Western Empire from circa AD420. Further, each section is not a contemporaneous snapshot. The Eastern section may contain data from as early as AD379, the Western section contains data from as early as circa AD400, for example, it shows units deployed in Britannia, which must date from before 410, when the Empire lost government of the island. In consequence, there is substantial duplication, with the unit often listed under different commands. It is impossible to ascertain whether these were detachments of the unit in different places simultaneously. Also, it is likely that some units were merely nominal or minimally staffed, the Notitia has many sections missing and lacunae within sections. This is doubtless due to accumulated textual losses and copying errors, because it was copied over the centuries. The Notitia cannot therefore provide a comprehensive list of all units that existed, the Notitia does not record the number of personnel. Given that and the paucity of evidence of unit sizes at that time, the size of individual units. In turn, this makes it impossible to assess accurately the total size of the army, for example, the forces deployed in Britain circa AD400 may have been merely 18,000 against circa 55,000 in the AD 2nd century. The Notitia contains symbols similar to the diagram which later came to be known as yin, the emblem of the Thebaei, another Western Roman infantry regiment, featured a pattern of concentric circles comparable to its static version. The Roman patterns predate the earliest Taoist versions by almost seven hundred years, laeti Tabula Peutingeriana List of Late Roman provinces Notitia Dignitatum, edited by Robert Ireland, in British Archaeological Reports, International Series 63.2
Notitia Dignitatum
–
Page from a medieval copy of the Notitia Dignitatum commissioned in 1436 by
Pietro Donato, depicting shields of Magister Militum Praesentalis II, a late Roman register of military commands
Notitia Dignitatum
–
Shield pattern of the armigeri defensores seniores (4th row, third from left)
38.
Kayseri
–
Kayseri is a large and industrialised city in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It is the seat of Kayseri Province, Kayseri is located at the foot of the extinct volcano Mount Erciyes that towers 3,916 metres over the city. The city is cited in the first ranks among Turkeys cities that fit the definition of Anatolian Tigers. The city retains a number of monuments, including several from the Seljuk period. Kayseri is served by Erkilet International Airport and is home to Erciyes University, according to the Turkish Statistical Institute, as of 2011 the city of Kayseri had a population of 844,656, while Kayseri Province had a population of 1,234,651. The name was changed again by Archelaus, last King of Cappadocia, the city has been continuously inhabited since perhaps c.3000 BC with the establishment of the ancient trading colony at Kultepe which is associated with the Hittites. The city has always been a trade centre as it is located on major trade routes. Kültepe, one of the oldest cities in Asia Minor, lies nearby, as Mazaca, the city served as the residence of the kings of Cappadocia. In Roman times, a route from Ephesus to the East also crossed the city. The city stood on a low spur on the side of Mount Erciyes. Only a few traces of the ancient site survive in the old town, in the ensuing period, the city came under the sway of Hellenistic influence, and was given the Greek name of Eusebia in honor of the Cappadocian king Ariarathes V Eusebes Philopator of Cappadocia. Under the new name of Caesarea, by which it has since been known, given to it by the last Cappadocian King Archelaus or perhaps by Tiberius, Caesarea was destroyed by the Sassanid king Shapur I after his victory over the Emperor Valerian I in AD260. At the time it was recorded to have around 400,000 inhabitants, the city gradually recovered, and became home to several early Christian saints, saints Dorothea and Theophilus the martyrs, Gregory of Nazianzus, Gregory of Nyssa and Basil of Caesarea. In the 4th century, bishop Basil established a centre on the plain, about one mile to the northeast. It included a system of almshouses, an orphanage, old homes. A 10th-century list gives it 15 suffragans, Caesarea was also the seat of an Armenian diocese. No longer a residential bishopric, Caesarea in Cappadocia is today listed by the Catholic Church as a see of the Armenian Catholic Church. A portion of Basils new city was surrounded with strong walls, Caesarea in the 9th century became a Byzantine administrative centre as the capital of the Byzantine Theme of Charsianon
Kayseri
–
Door detail from the
Seljuk era Hunat Hatun
Mosque and
Külliye, built in 1238 by
Sultana Hunat Hatun, wife of the
Anatolian Seljuk Sultan Alaeddin Keykubad I and mother of Sultan
Gıyaseddin Keyhüsrev II.
Kayseri
–
Top:
Kadir Has Stadium, 2nd left: Sivas Avenue, 2nd right:
Atatürk Statue and the city walls of Kayseri in the background, 3rd: Tekin
business district and Oto Park, Bottom left: Kayseri Castle at night, Bottom right:
Kayseray.
Kayseri
–
Walls of the
Seljuk era Sahabiye
Medresesi, built in 1267 by the Seljuk
vizier Sahip Ata Fahreddin Ali.
Kayseri
–
Kayseri city walls in 2006
39.
Procopius
–
Procopius of Caesarea was a prominent late antique scholar from Palaestina Prima. He is commonly held to be the last major historian of the ancient Western world, apart from his own writings, the main source for Procopius life is an entry in the Suda, a Byzantine encyclopaedia, written sometime after 975, which tells everything about his early life. He was a native of Caesarea in the Roman Province Palaestina Prima and he evidently knew Latin, as was natural for a man with legal training. In 527, the first year of Eastern Roman Emperor Justinians reign, he became the adsessor for Belisarius, Procopius was with Belisarius on the eastern front until the latter was defeated at the Battle of Callinicum in 531 and recalled to Constantinople. Procopius witnessed the Nika riots of January,532, which Belisarius, Procopius recorded a few of the extreme weather events of 535–536, although these were presented as a backdrop to Roman military activities, such as a mutiny, in and near Carthage. He rejoined Belisarius for his campaign against the Ostrogothic kingdom in Italy and experienced the Gothic siege of Rome that lasted a year and nine days and he witnessed Belisarius entry into the Gothic capital, Ravenna, in 540. Book Eight of the Wars of Justinian, and the Secret History, suggest that his relationship with Belisarius seems to have cooled thereafter. When Belisarius was sent back to Italy in 544 to cope with a renewal of the war with the Goths, now led by the able king Totila, Procopius appears to have no longer been on Belisarius staff. As magister militum, Belisarius was a vir illustris, and Procopius, as his adsessor, must and he thus belonged to the middle-ranking group of the ordo senatorius. However, the Suda, which is well informed in such matters. Should this information be correct, then Procopius had a seat in the senate of Constantinople and it is not known when Procopius himself died, and many historians date his death to 554, but in 562 there was an urban prefect of Constantinople who happened to be called Procopius. In that year, Belisarius was implicated in a conspiracy and was brought before this urban prefect, the writings of Procopius are the primary source of information for the rule of the Eastern Roman emperor Justinian. Procopius Wars of Justinian is clearly his most important work, although it is not as known as the Secret History. The first two deal with the conflict between the Romans and Sassanid Persia in Mesopotamia, Syria, Armenia, Lazica and Caucasian Iberia. They also cover the early career of the Roman general Belisarius, Procopius patron, the next two books, the Vandal War, cover Belisarius successful campaign against the Vandal kingdom in Roman Africa. The remaining books cover the Gothic War, the campaigns by Belisarius and others to recapture Italy and this includes accounts of the sieges of Naples and Rome. Later, Procopius added a book, which brings the history to 552/553. This eighth book covers both in Italy and on the Eastern frontier
Procopius
–
Emperor Justinian
Procopius
–
Triumphal arch at the entrance to the
Sangarius Bridge
40.
Lesser Armenia
–
Lesser Armenia, also known as Armenia Minor and Armenia Inferior, comprised the Armenian–populated regions primarily to the west and northwest of the ancient Kingdom of Armenia. The region was reorganized into the Armeniac Theme under the Byzantine Empire. Lesser Armenia was the portion of historic Armenia and the Armenian Highlands lying west and northwest of the river Euphrates and it received its name to distinguish it from the much larger eastern portion of historic Armenia—Greater Armenia. From the 6th century BC, the territory of Lesser Armenia was ruled by Orontid Dynasty, the early Armenian kingdom was named the Satrapy of Armenia. Some time after the death of Alexander the Great, Mithridates, as the kingdom grew in strength, it included Lesser Armenia well. Armenia was disputed kingdom between Rome and Parthia during the Roman-Persian Wars from 66 BC to the 2nd century AD. All of Armenia became a Roman province in AD114 under Roman emperor Trajan, romans lost Armenia again to Vologases IV of Parthia in AD161. But a few later, at the end of the 3rd century, Rome was again in control of Armenia. Lesser Armenia was reunited with the kingdom of Greater Armenia under the Arshakuni king Tiridates III in AD287, then it was formed into a regular province under Diocletian, and in the 4th century, was divided in two provinces, First Armenia and Second Armenia. Its population remained Armenian, but was being gradually Romanized, since the 3rd century many Armenian soldiers were in the Roman army, later–in the 4th century–they made up two Roman legions, the Legio I Armeniaca and the Legio II Armeniaca. After this, the part of Lesser Armenia remaining under Byzantine control became part of the theme of Armeniakon, between the 11th and 14th centuries the term Lesser Armenia was applied to the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, until the formation of Turkey in 1923. The Christian Armenian population of Lesser Armenia continued its existence in the area until the Armenian Genocide of 1915-23, some Armenians still live in the area, albeit converted to Islam under Ottoman influence, mainly in the 17th century. Hemshinli Bert Vaux, Hemshinli, The Forgotten Black Sea Armenians, mack Chahin, The Kingdom of Armenia, A History, Routledge, London,2001. Robert H. Hewsen, Armenia, A Historical Atlas, University Of Chicago Press,2000
Lesser Armenia
Lesser Armenia
–
Lesser Armenia (in greenish yellow, near the Black Sea) at the end of the 2nd century BC, just before the Roman conquest
41.
Cappadocia (Roman province)
–
Cappadocia was a province of the Roman Empire in Anatolia, with its capital at Caesarea. It was established in 17 AD by the Emperor Tiberius, following the death of Cappadocias last king, Cappadocia was an imperial province, meaning that its governor was directly appointed by the emperor. During the latter 1st century, the province also incorporated the regions of Pontus, prior to direct imperial rule, Cappadocia was one of the successor kingdoms of Alexander the Greats empire. The Kingdom of Cappadocia was ruled by the Ariarathid dynasty from 331 BC until 95 BC, under Ariarathes IV, Cappadocia first came into contact with the Roman Republic as a foe allied with Selecuid King Antiochus the Great during the Roman-Syrian War from 192-188 BC. Following Romes victory over Antiochus, Ariarathes IV entered friendly relations with the Republic by betrothing his daughter to the king of Pergamum, the Ariarathid kings would thereafter become a major ally of Rome in the East. The kingdom supported the Republic as a counterweight against the Seleucid Empire, Cappadocia would also support Rome in the Third Macedonian War against Perseus of Macedon from 171-166 BC. Romes defeat of the Selecuids and Macedonia established the Republic as a power in the eastern Mediterranean. When King Attalus III died without an heir in 133 BC, Eumenes III claimed the Pergamon throne, occupying the territory. In 130 BC, Cappadocian king Ariarathes V supported the Roman Consul Publius Licinius Crassus Dives Mucianus in his attempt to overthrow Eumenes III. Both Crassus and Ariarathes V fell in battle against Eumenes III, Ariarathes Vs death resulted in his minor son, Ariarathes VI, occupying the Cappadocian throne. King Mithridates V of Pontus exerted control over Cappadocia by betrothing his daughter Laodice to Ariarathes VI, Mithridates V would later launch a military invasion of Cappadocia, forming the kingdom into a protectorate of the Kingdom of Pontus. Though nominally independent, Pontic influence over Cappadocia was continued by his son Mithridates VI of Pontus, in 116 BC, the Cappadocian king Ariarathes VI was murdered by the Cappadocian noble Gordius on orders from Mithridates VI. Mithridates VI then installed his sister Laodice, Ariarathes VIs widow, as regent over for the infant Ariarathes VII, after King Nicomedes III of Bithynia married Laodice, he tried to annex Cappadocia into his kingdom and deposed Ariarathes VII. Mithridates VI swiftly invaded, expelling Nicomedes III from the region, restoring his nephew Ariarathes VII to the Cappadocian throne, and returning Cappadocia to Pontus sphere of influence. The Pontic king would later have Ariarathes VII murdered in 101 BC, Mithridates quickly put down the rebellion, exiled Arirarathes VIII, and restored his son to the Cappadocian throne. In response to the turmoil in Cappadocia, in 95 BC king Nicomedes III of Bithynia sent an embassy to Rome, Mithridates VI of Pontus likewise sent an embassy to Rome, seeking Roman approval of his dominion over Cappadocia. The Roman Senate, however, did not assign the kingdom to either, instead, the Senate demanded both Pontus and Bithynia withdraw from Cappadocia and guarantee its independence. The Senate ordered Ariarathes IX deposed, with military support from the Roman governor of Cilicia Lucius Cornelius Sulla, Ariobarzanes I was installed as king of Cappadocia
Cappadocia (Roman province)
–
The expansion of the
Roman Republic in
Asia Minor from 188 BC until 63 BC.
Cappadocia (Roman province)
–
The Roman empire in the time of
Hadrian (117-138 AD), with the
imperial province of Cappadocia highlighted.
42.
Theodosius I
–
Theodosius I, also known as Theodosius the Great, was Roman Emperor from AD379 to AD395. Theodosius was the last emperor to rule both the eastern and the western halves of the Roman Empire. On accepting his elevation, he campaigned against Goths and other barbarians who had invaded the empire. He failed to kill, expel, or entirely subjugate them and he fought two destructive civil wars, in which he defeated the usurpers Magnus Maximus and Eugenius at great cost to the power of the empire. He also issued decrees that effectively made Orthodox Nicene Christianity the official church of the Roman Empire. He neither prevented nor punished the destruction of prominent Hellenistic temples of antiquity, including the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He dissolved the order of the Vestal Virgins in Rome, in 393, he banned the pagan rituals of the Olympics in Ancient Greece. Theodosius was born in Cauca, Gallaecia, Hispania or Italica, Baetica, Hispania, to a military officer. Theodosius learned his lessons by campaigning with his fathers staff in Britannia where he went to help quell the Great Conspiracy in 368. In about 373, he became governor of Upper Moesia and oversaw hostilities against the Sarmatians and he was military commander of Moesia, a Roman province on the lower Danube, in 374. However, shortly thereafter, and at about the time as the sudden disgrace and execution of his father. The reason for his retirement, and the relationship between it and his fathers death is unclear and it is possible that he was dismissed from his command by the emperor Valentinian I after the loss of two of Theodosius legions to the Sarmatians in late 374. The death of Valentinian I in 375 created political pandemonium, fearing further persecution on account of his family ties, Theodosius abruptly retired to his family estates in the province of Gallaecia where he adopted the life of a provincial aristocrat. In 378, after the disastrous Battle of Adrianople where Valens was killed, as Valens had no successor, Gratians appointment of Theodosius amounted to a de facto invitation for Theodosius to become co-Augustus of the East Roman Empire. After Gratian was killed in a rebellion in 383, Theodosius appointed his own son, Arcadius. By his first wife, the probably Spanish Aelia Flaccilla Augusta, he had two sons, Arcadius and Honorius and a daughter, Aelia Pulcheria, Arcadius was his heir in the East, both Aelia Flaccilla and Pulcheria died in 385. His second wife was Galla, daughter of the emperor Valentinian I, Theodosius and Galla had a son Gratian, born in 388 and who died young, and a daughter Aelia Galla Placidia. Placidia was the child who survived to adulthood and later became an Empress
Theodosius I
–
Theodosius
Theodosius I
–
Roman provinces along the Ister (Danube), showing
Dacia,
Moesia and
Thrace, with
Sarmatia to the north and
Germania to the northwest.
Theodosius I
–
Federico Barocci, "Saint Ambrose forces Emperor Theodosius I to make penance for the Thessaloniki massacre" (1603), left-side nave, Saint Ambrose Altar, Milan Cathedral/
Theodosius I
–
The administrative divisions of the
Roman Empire in 395, under Theodosius I.
43.
First Armenia
–
Roman Armenia refers to the rule of parts of Greater Armenia by the Roman Empire, from the 1st century AD to the end of Late Antiquity. While Armenia Minor had become a client state and incorporated into the Roman Empire proper during the 1st century AD, only in 114–118 was Emperor Trajan able to conquer and incorporate it as a short-lived province. In the late 4th century, Armenia was divided between Rome and the Sasanians, who control of the larger part of the Armenian Kingdom. Throughout most of its history during this period, under the reign of the Arsacid Dynasty, Armenia often served as a client state or vassal at the frontier of the two large empires and their successors, the Byzantine and Sassanid empires. During the Byzantine–Sasanian wars, Armenia was ultimately partitioned into Byzantine Armenia, with the eastwards expansion of the Roman Republic during the Mithridatic Wars, the Kingdom of Armenia, under the Artaxiad Dynasty, was made a Roman protectorate by Pompey in 66/65 BC. For the next 100 years, Armenia remained under Roman influence, towards the middle of the 1st century AD, the rising Parthian influence disputed Roman supremacy, which was re-established by the campaigns of Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo. In 113, Trajan invaded the Parthian Empire because he wanted to reinstate a vassal king in Armenia, in 114, Trajan from Antiochia in Syria marched on Armenia and conquered the capital Artaxata. Trajan then deposed the Armenian king Parthamasiris and ordered the annexation of Armenia to the Roman Empire as a new province, the new province reached the shores of the Caspian sea and bordered to the north with the Caucasian Iberia and Albania, two vassal states of Rome. As a Roman province Armenia was administered along with Cappadocia by Catilius Severus of the gens Claudia, the Roman Senate issued coins on this occasion bearing the following inscription, ARMENIA ET MESOPOTAMIA IN POTESTATEM P. R. REDACTAE, thus solidifying Armenias position as the newest Roman province. After Trajans death, his successor Hadrian decided not to maintain the province of Armenia, in 118, Hadrian gave Armenia up, and installed Parthamaspates as its king. Parthamaspates was soon defeated by the Parthians, and again fled to the Romans, Sohaemus was named king of Armenia by Roman emperor Antoninus Pius in 140. Just a few years later in 161, Armenia was lost again to Vologases IV of Parthia, in 163, a Roman counter-attack under Statius Priscus defeated the Parthians in Armenia and reinstalled Sohaemus as the Romans favored candidate on the Armenian throne. Thereafter Armenia was in frequent dispute between the two empires and their candidates for the Armenian throne, a situation which lasted until the emergence of a new power, the Sassanids. Indeed, Romes power and control increased even more, but Armenia retained its independence, although now on. In 363, a treaty was signed between the East Roman and Sassanid Persian empires, which divided Armenia between the two, the Persians retained the larger part of Armenia while the Romans received a small part of Western Armenia. The area under East Roman control thus increased, but still, under Roman rule, Melitene was the base camp of Legio XII Fulminata. It was a center in Armenia Minor, remaining so until the end of the 4th century. Emperor Theodosius I divided the region into two provinces, First Armenia, with its capital at Sebasteia, and Second Armenia, with its capital at Melitene, in return, they received their royal insignia, including red shoes, from the emperor
First Armenia
–
Roman coin of 141, showing emperor
Antoninus Pius holding a crown on the Armenia King's head
First Armenia
First Armenia
–
The
Saint Bartholomew Monastery at the site of the Apostle's martyrdom in historical Armenia
First Armenia
–
The
Etchmiadzin Cathedral
44.
Sivas
–
Sivas is a city in central Turkey and the seat of Sivas Province. According to a 2011 estimate, its population is 425,297. Rail repair shops and a manufacturing industry of rugs, bricks, cement. The surrounding region is an area with large deposits of iron ore which are worked at Divriği. Sivas is also a hub for the north-south and east-west trade routes to Iraq and Iran. With the development of railways, the city gained new importance as junction of important rail lines linking the cities of Ankara, Kayseri, Samsun. The city is linked by air to Istanbul, the popular name Sebastian derives from the Latin Sebastianus, meaning someone from the city. Excavations at a known as Topraktepe indicate Hittite settlement in the area as early as 2600 BC. In 64 BC as part of his reorganization of Asia Minor after the Third Mithridatic War, numismatic evidence suggests that Megalopolis changed its name in the last years of the 1st century BC to Sebaste, which is the feminine form of the Greek name corresponding to Augustus. The name Sivas is the Turkish version deriving from the name Sebasteia and it was also the place of martyrdom of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste, also 4th century. Justinian I had a wall around it rebuilt in the 6th century. Sebasteia was the first important city to be plundered by Turkish tribes in 1059, in the August of that year the troops of various emirs gathered before the unwalled city. Initially they hesitated to sack it, mistaking that the domes of the several Christian churches were tends of military camps, as soon as they realized that the city was defenceless they burned it for eight days, slaughtered large part of its population and took many prisoners. The city came under the domain of Turkmen Danishmend dynasty after the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, after the death of Danişmend Gazi, Sivas passed to Nizamettin Yağıbasan who won it after a struggle with Danişmend Gazis successors. In 1174, the city was captured by Seljuk ruler Kilij Arslan II, then it passed to the Ilkhanids, Eretna and Kadı Burhanettin. The city was acquired by Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I, in 1398, Tamerlane swept into the area and his forces destroyed the city in 1400, after which it was recaptured by the Ottomans in 1408. Under the Ottomans, Sivas served as the center of the province of Rum until about the late 19th century. The Armenian Catholic Church and the Latins also had one church, two Protestant churches and eight, mostly German- and American-staffed, schools
Sivas
–
Sivas Sebastea
Sivas
–
Former Sivas (1927)
Sivas
–
Gök Medrese, built by the Seljuk Turks
Sivas
–
Paşa-Mosque at Atatürk-boulevard
45.
Second Armenia
–
Roman Armenia refers to the rule of parts of Greater Armenia by the Roman Empire, from the 1st century AD to the end of Late Antiquity. While Armenia Minor had become a client state and incorporated into the Roman Empire proper during the 1st century AD, only in 114–118 was Emperor Trajan able to conquer and incorporate it as a short-lived province. In the late 4th century, Armenia was divided between Rome and the Sasanians, who control of the larger part of the Armenian Kingdom. Throughout most of its history during this period, under the reign of the Arsacid Dynasty, Armenia often served as a client state or vassal at the frontier of the two large empires and their successors, the Byzantine and Sassanid empires. During the Byzantine–Sasanian wars, Armenia was ultimately partitioned into Byzantine Armenia, with the eastwards expansion of the Roman Republic during the Mithridatic Wars, the Kingdom of Armenia, under the Artaxiad Dynasty, was made a Roman protectorate by Pompey in 66/65 BC. For the next 100 years, Armenia remained under Roman influence, towards the middle of the 1st century AD, the rising Parthian influence disputed Roman supremacy, which was re-established by the campaigns of Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo. In 113, Trajan invaded the Parthian Empire because he wanted to reinstate a vassal king in Armenia, in 114, Trajan from Antiochia in Syria marched on Armenia and conquered the capital Artaxata. Trajan then deposed the Armenian king Parthamasiris and ordered the annexation of Armenia to the Roman Empire as a new province, the new province reached the shores of the Caspian sea and bordered to the north with the Caucasian Iberia and Albania, two vassal states of Rome. As a Roman province Armenia was administered along with Cappadocia by Catilius Severus of the gens Claudia, the Roman Senate issued coins on this occasion bearing the following inscription, ARMENIA ET MESOPOTAMIA IN POTESTATEM P. R. REDACTAE, thus solidifying Armenias position as the newest Roman province. After Trajans death, his successor Hadrian decided not to maintain the province of Armenia, in 118, Hadrian gave Armenia up, and installed Parthamaspates as its king. Parthamaspates was soon defeated by the Parthians, and again fled to the Romans, Sohaemus was named king of Armenia by Roman emperor Antoninus Pius in 140. Just a few years later in 161, Armenia was lost again to Vologases IV of Parthia, in 163, a Roman counter-attack under Statius Priscus defeated the Parthians in Armenia and reinstalled Sohaemus as the Romans favored candidate on the Armenian throne. Thereafter Armenia was in frequent dispute between the two empires and their candidates for the Armenian throne, a situation which lasted until the emergence of a new power, the Sassanids. Indeed, Romes power and control increased even more, but Armenia retained its independence, although now on. In 363, a treaty was signed between the East Roman and Sassanid Persian empires, which divided Armenia between the two, the Persians retained the larger part of Armenia while the Romans received a small part of Western Armenia. The area under East Roman control thus increased, but still, under Roman rule, Melitene was the base camp of Legio XII Fulminata. It was a center in Armenia Minor, remaining so until the end of the 4th century. Emperor Theodosius I divided the region into two provinces, First Armenia, with its capital at Sebasteia, and Second Armenia, with its capital at Melitene, in return, they received their royal insignia, including red shoes, from the emperor
Second Armenia
–
Roman coin of 141, showing emperor
Antoninus Pius holding a crown on the Armenia King's head
Second Armenia
Second Armenia
–
The
Saint Bartholomew Monastery at the site of the Apostle's martyrdom in historical Armenia
Second Armenia
–
The
Etchmiadzin Cathedral
46.
Justinian I
–
Justinian I, traditionally known as Justinian the Great and also Saint Justinian the Great in the Eastern Orthodox Church, was a Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. During his reign, Justinian sought to revive the empires greatness, because of his restoration activities, Justinian has sometimes been called the last Roman in modern historiography. This ambition was expressed by the recovery of the territories of the defunct western Roman Empire. His general, Belisarius, swiftly conquered the Vandal kingdom in North Africa, the prefect Liberius reclaimed the south of the Iberian peninsula, establishing the province of Spania. These campaigns re-established Roman control over the western Mediterranean, increasing the Empires annual revenue by over a million solidi, during his reign Justinian also subdued the Tzani, a people on the east coast of the Black Sea that had never been under Roman rule before. A still more resonant aspect of his legacy was the rewriting of Roman law, the Corpus Juris Civilis. His reign also marked a blossoming of Byzantine culture, and his building program yielded such masterpieces as the church of Hagia Sophia, a devastating outbreak of bubonic plague in the early 540s marked the end of an age of splendour. Justinian was born in Tauresium around 482, a native speaker of Latin, he came from a peasant family believed to have been of Illyro-Roman or Thraco-Roman origins. The cognomen Iustinianus, which he later, is indicative of adoption by his uncle Justin. During his reign, he founded Justiniana Prima not far from his birthplace and his mother was Vigilantia, the sister of Justin. Justin, who was in the guard before he became emperor, adopted Justinian, brought him to Constantinople. As a result, Justinian was well educated in jurisprudence, theology, Justinian served for some time with the Excubitors but the details of his early career are unknown. Chronicler John Malalas, who lived during the reign of Justinian, tells of his appearance that he was short, fair skinned, curly haired, round faced, another contemporary chronicler, Procopius, compares Justinians appearance to that of tyrannical Emperor Domitian, although this is probably slander. When Emperor Anastasius died in 518, Justin was proclaimed the new emperor, during Justins reign, Justinian was the emperors close confidant. As Justin became senile near the end of his reign, Justinian became the de facto ruler, Justinian was appointed consul in 521 and later commander of the army of the east. Upon Justins death on 1 August 527, Justinian became the sole sovereign, as a ruler, Justinian showed great energy. He was known as the emperor who never sleeps on account of his work habits, nevertheless, he seems to have been amiable and easy to approach. Around 525, he married his mistress, Theodora, in Constantinople and she was by profession a courtesan and some twenty years his junior
Justinian I
–
Detail of a contemporary portrait mosaic in the
Basilica of San Vitale,
Ravenna.
Justinian I
Justinian I
–
The ancient town of
Tauresium, the birthplace of Justinian I, located in today's
Republic of Macedonia.
Justinian I
–
The
Barberini Ivory, which is thought to portray either Justinian or
Anastasius I
47.
Third Armenia
–
Roman Armenia refers to the rule of parts of Greater Armenia by the Roman Empire, from the 1st century AD to the end of Late Antiquity. While Armenia Minor had become a client state and incorporated into the Roman Empire proper during the 1st century AD, only in 114–118 was Emperor Trajan able to conquer and incorporate it as a short-lived province. In the late 4th century, Armenia was divided between Rome and the Sasanians, who control of the larger part of the Armenian Kingdom. Throughout most of its history during this period, under the reign of the Arsacid Dynasty, Armenia often served as a client state or vassal at the frontier of the two large empires and their successors, the Byzantine and Sassanid empires. During the Byzantine–Sasanian wars, Armenia was ultimately partitioned into Byzantine Armenia, with the eastwards expansion of the Roman Republic during the Mithridatic Wars, the Kingdom of Armenia, under the Artaxiad Dynasty, was made a Roman protectorate by Pompey in 66/65 BC. For the next 100 years, Armenia remained under Roman influence, towards the middle of the 1st century AD, the rising Parthian influence disputed Roman supremacy, which was re-established by the campaigns of Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo. In 113, Trajan invaded the Parthian Empire because he wanted to reinstate a vassal king in Armenia, in 114, Trajan from Antiochia in Syria marched on Armenia and conquered the capital Artaxata. Trajan then deposed the Armenian king Parthamasiris and ordered the annexation of Armenia to the Roman Empire as a new province, the new province reached the shores of the Caspian sea and bordered to the north with the Caucasian Iberia and Albania, two vassal states of Rome. As a Roman province Armenia was administered along with Cappadocia by Catilius Severus of the gens Claudia, the Roman Senate issued coins on this occasion bearing the following inscription, ARMENIA ET MESOPOTAMIA IN POTESTATEM P. R. REDACTAE, thus solidifying Armenias position as the newest Roman province. After Trajans death, his successor Hadrian decided not to maintain the province of Armenia, in 118, Hadrian gave Armenia up, and installed Parthamaspates as its king. Parthamaspates was soon defeated by the Parthians, and again fled to the Romans, Sohaemus was named king of Armenia by Roman emperor Antoninus Pius in 140. Just a few years later in 161, Armenia was lost again to Vologases IV of Parthia, in 163, a Roman counter-attack under Statius Priscus defeated the Parthians in Armenia and reinstalled Sohaemus as the Romans favored candidate on the Armenian throne. Thereafter Armenia was in frequent dispute between the two empires and their candidates for the Armenian throne, a situation which lasted until the emergence of a new power, the Sassanids. Indeed, Romes power and control increased even more, but Armenia retained its independence, although now on. In 363, a treaty was signed between the East Roman and Sassanid Persian empires, which divided Armenia between the two, the Persians retained the larger part of Armenia while the Romans received a small part of Western Armenia. The area under East Roman control thus increased, but still, under Roman rule, Melitene was the base camp of Legio XII Fulminata. It was a center in Armenia Minor, remaining so until the end of the 4th century. Emperor Theodosius I divided the region into two provinces, First Armenia, with its capital at Sebasteia, and Second Armenia, with its capital at Melitene, in return, they received their royal insignia, including red shoes, from the emperor
Third Armenia
–
Roman coin of 141, showing emperor
Antoninus Pius holding a crown on the Armenia King's head
Third Armenia
Third Armenia
–
The
Saint Bartholomew Monastery at the site of the Apostle's martyrdom in historical Armenia
Third Armenia
–
The
Etchmiadzin Cathedral
48.
Rashidun Caliphate
–
The Rashidun Caliphate was the Islamic caliphate in the earliest period of Islam, comprising the first five caliphs—the Rightly Guided or Rashidun caliphs. It was founded after Muhammads death in 632 CE, after Muhammads death in 632 CE, the Medinan Ansar debated which of them should succeed him in running the affairs of the Muslims while Muhammads household was busy with his burial. Umar and Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah pledged their loyalty to Abu Bakr, with the Ansar, Abu Bakr thus became the first Khalīfatu Rasūli l-Lāh successor of the Messenger of God, or caliph, and embarked on campaigns to propagate Islam. First he would have to subdue the Arabian tribes which had claimed that although they pledged allegiance to Muhammad and accepted Islam, as a caliph, Abu Bakr was not a monarch and never claimed such a title, nor did any of his three successors. Rather, their election and leadership were based upon merit, as for the fifth Caliph, ‘Alis son Al-Hasan, as a son of Fatimah, he was a grandson of Muhammad. Furthermore, according to other hadiths in Sunan Abu Dawood and Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal, towards the end times, Abu Bakr, the oldest companion of Muhammad, was caliph for only 2 years before he died. When Muhammad died, Abu Bakr and Umar, his two companions, were in the Saqifah meeting to select his successor while the family of Muhammad was busy with his funeral, controversy among the Muslims emerged about whom to name as Caliph. There was disagreement between the Meccan followers of Muhammad who had emigrated with him in 622 and the Medinans who had become followers, the Ansar, considering themselves being the hosts and loyal companions of Muhammad, nominated Sad bin Ubadah as their candidate for the Caliphate. In the end, however, Muhammads closest friend, Abu Bakr, was named the khalifa or Successor of Muhammad, a new circumstance had formed a new, untried political formation, the caliphate. Troubles emerged soon after Muhammads death, threatening the unity and stability of the new community, Apostasy spread to every tribe in the Arabian Peninsula with the exception of the people in Mecca and Medina, the Banu Thaqif in Taif and the Bani Abdul Qais of Oman. In some cases, entire tribes apostatised, others merely withheld zakat, the alms tax, without formally challenging Islam. Many tribal leaders made claims to prophethood, some made it during the lifetime of Muhammad, the news of his death reached Medina shortly after the death of Muhammad. The apostasy of al-Yamama was led by another supposed prophet, Musaylimah, many tribes claimed that they had submitted to Muhammad and that with Muhammads death, their allegiance was ended. Caliph Abu Bakr insisted that they had not just submitted to a leader, the result of this situation was the Ridda wars. Abu Bakr planned his strategy accordingly and he divided the Muslim army into several corps. The strongest corps, and the force of the Muslims, was the corps of Khalid ibn al-Walid. This corps was used to fight the most powerful of the rebel forces, other corps were given areas of secondary importance in which to bring the less dangerous apostate tribes to submission. After a series of successful campaigns Khalid ibn Walid defeated Musaylimah in the Battle of Yamama, the Campaign on the Apostasy was fought and completed during the eleventh year of the Hijri
Rashidun Caliphate
–
Aisha leading the
Battle of the Camel against the armies of the fourth
Rashidun Caliph of
Islam,
Ali.
Rashidun Caliphate
–
The Rashidun Empire reached its greatest extent under Caliph Uthman, in 654.
Rashidun Caliphate
–
Combat between the forces of Ali and
Muawiyah I during the
Battle of Siffin, from the Tarikhnama.
Rashidun Caliphate
–
Byzantine temple in
Idlib,
Syria.
49.
Umar al-Aqta
–
During this time, he was one of the greatest threats to the Byzantine Empire on its eastern frontier, and became a prominent figure in later Arabic and Turkish epic literature. ʿUmar himself probably became emir of Malatya in the 830s, and first appears in 838, during the Amorium campaign, ʿUmar took part with his men in the great Arab victory over Theophilos himself at the Battle of Dazimon in July 838. In 844, ʿUmars forces participated in a raid that inflicted a heavy defeat upon an army led by the Byzantine chief minister, Theoktistos. In the late 840s, he was engaged in warfare against a neighbouring Armenian lord named Skleros. In the 850s, ʿUmar is recorded as having defeated an expedition led by the Byzantine emperor Michael III against Samosata, one of them swept through the themes of Thrakesion and Opsikion and reached up to the great Byzantine army base of Malagina in Bithynia. He was unable, however, to stop a retaliatory expedition launched in 856 by Petronas against Melitene and Tephrike, which raided all the way to Amida, taking many prisoners before returning home. In 860, along with Karbeas, ʿUmar launched a raid into Anatolia which reached the Black Sea port of Sinope. Three years later, he was part of a major Abbasid force that invaded Anatolia through the Cilician Gates. After splitting off from the force and repulsing a Byzantine army under Emperor Michael III at Mardj al-Usquf in Cappadocia. On his return, however, he was encircled by the Byzantines, only a splinter of his army escaped under his son, but was then defeated and captured by the commander of the Charsianon district. Indeed, ʿUmars death marked the end of Malatya as a threat to Byzantium. ʿUmar himself was succeeded by his son, Abu Abdallah, and grandson, Abu Hafs, like many other protagonists of the Arab–Byzantine Wars, ʿUmar figures in both Arab and Byzantine legend. Veloudis suggested him as the origin of the hero of the Song of Armouris. The German scholar Hans-Georg Beck finds this identification unlikely, but points out the reference to a short-armed Arab leader in the same tale, finally, the 10th-century scholar al-Masudi reports that ʿUmar was among the illustrious Muslims whose portraits were displayed in Byzantine churches in recognition of their valour
Umar al-Aqta
–
Map of Byzantine Asia Minor and the Arab–Byzantine borderlands in ʿUmar's time
50.
Byzantine Empire
–
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
Byzantine Empire
–
Tremissis with the image of
Justinian the Great (r. 527–565) (see
Byzantine insignia)
Byzantine Empire
–
Byzantine
lamellar armour klivanium (Κλιβάνιον) - a predecessor of Ottoman krug
mirror armour
Byzantine Empire
–
The Baptism of Constantine painted by
Raphael 's pupils (1520–1524,
fresco, Vatican City,
Apostolic Palace);
Eusebius of Caesarea records that (as
was common among converts of early Christianity) Constantine delayed receiving
baptism until shortly before his death
Byzantine Empire
–
Restored section of the Theodosian Walls.
Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Melitene". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved 2007-05-02.
Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). 
