1.
Greek language
–
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece and other parts of the Eastern Mediterranean. It has the longest documented history of any living language, spanning 34 centuries of written records and its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the major part of its history, other systems, such as Linear B and the Cypriot syllabary, were used previously. The alphabet arose from the Phoenician script and was in turn the basis of the Latin, Cyrillic, Armenian, Coptic, Gothic and many other writing systems. Together with the Latin texts and traditions of the Roman world, during antiquity, Greek was a widely spoken lingua franca in the Mediterranean world and many places beyond. It would eventually become the official parlance of the Byzantine Empire, the language is spoken by at least 13.2 million people today in Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Albania, Turkey, and the Greek diaspora. Greek roots are used to coin new words for other languages, Greek. Greek has been spoken in the Balkan peninsula since around the 3rd millennium BC, the earliest written evidence is a Linear B clay tablet found in Messenia that dates to between 1450 and 1350 BC, making Greek the worlds oldest recorded living language. Among the Indo-European languages, its date of earliest written attestation is matched only by the now extinct Anatolian languages, the Greek language is conventionally divided into the following periods, Proto-Greek, the unrecorded but assumed last ancestor of all known varieties of Greek. The unity of Proto-Greek would have ended as Hellenic migrants entered the Greek peninsula sometime in the Neolithic era or the Bronze Age, Mycenaean Greek, the language of the Mycenaean civilisation. It is recorded in the Linear B script on tablets dating from the 15th century BC onwards, Ancient Greek, in its various dialects, the language of the Archaic and Classical periods of the ancient Greek civilisation. It was widely known throughout the Roman Empire, after the Roman conquest of Greece, an unofficial bilingualism of Greek and Latin was established in the city of Rome and Koine Greek became a first or second language in the Roman Empire. The origin of Christianity can also be traced through Koine Greek, Medieval Greek, also known as Byzantine Greek, the continuation of Koine Greek in Byzantine Greece, up to the demise of the Byzantine Empire in the 15th century. Much of the written Greek that was used as the language of the Byzantine Empire was an eclectic middle-ground variety based on the tradition of written Koine. Modern Greek, Stemming from Medieval Greek, Modern Greek usages can be traced in the Byzantine period and it is the language used by the modern Greeks, and, apart from Standard Modern Greek, there are several dialects of it. In the modern era, the Greek language entered a state of diglossia, the historical unity and continuing identity between the various stages of the Greek language is often emphasised. Greek speakers today still tend to regard literary works of ancient Greek as part of their own rather than a foreign language and it is also often stated that the historical changes have been relatively slight compared with some other languages. According to one estimation, Homeric Greek is probably closer to demotic than 12-century Middle English is to modern spoken English, Greek is spoken by about 13 million people, mainly in Greece, Albania and Cyprus, but also worldwide by the large Greek diaspora. Greek is the language of Greece, where it is spoken by almost the entire population
Greek language
–
Idealized portrayal of
Homer
Greek language
–
regions where Greek is the official language
Greek language
–
Greek language road sign, A27 Motorway, Greece
2.
Kingdom of Pontus
–
The Kingdom of Pontus or Pontic Empire was a state founded by the Persian Mithridatic dynasty, which may have been directly related to Darius the Great and the Achaemenid dynasty. The kingdom was proclaimed by Mithridates I in 281 BCE and lasted until its conquest by the Roman Republic in 63 BCE, culturally, the kingdom was Hellenized, with Greek the official language. The Kingdom of Pontus was divided into two areas, the coastal region and the Pontic interior. The coastal region bordering the Black Sea was separated from the inland area by the Pontic Alps. The river valleys of Pontus also ran parallel to the coast and were quite fertile, supporting cattle herds, millet, the coastal region was dominated by Greek cities such as Amastris and Sinope, which became the Pontic capital after its capture. The coast was rich in timber, fishing, and olives, Pontus was also rich in iron and silver, which were mined near the coast south of Pharnacia, steel from the Chalybian mountains became quite famous in Greece. There were also copper, lead, zinc and arsenic, the Pontic interior also had fertile river valleys such as the river Lycus and Iris. The major city of the interior was Amasia, the early Pontic capital, besides Amasia and a few other cities, the interior was dominated mainly by small villages. The kingdom of Pontus was divided into districts named Eparchies, the division between coast and interior was also cultural. The coast was mainly Greek and focused on sea trade, the interior was occupied by the Anatolian Cappadocians and Paphlagonians ruled by an Iranian aristocracy that went back to the Persian empire. The interior also had powerful temples with large estates, the gods of the Kingdom were mostly syncretic, with features of local gods along with Persian and Greek deities. Major gods included the Persian Ahuramazda, who was termed Zeus Stratios, sun gods were particularly popular, with the royal house being identified with the Persian god Ahuramazda of the Achaemenid dynasty, both Apollo and Mithras were worshipped by the Kings. Indeed, the used by the majority of the Pontic kings was Mithridates. Pontic culture represented a synthesis between Iranian, Anatolian and Greek elements, with the two mostly associated with the interior parts, and the latter moreso with the coastal region. By the time of Mithridates VI Eupator, Greek was the language of the Kingdom though Anatolian languages continued to be spoken in the interior. Although the Pontic kings claimed descent from the Persian royal house, they acted as Hellenistic kings and portrayed themselves as such in their coins. The region of Pontus was originally part of the Persian satrapy of Cappadocia, the Persian dynasty which was to found this kingdom had, during the 4th century BCE, ruled the Greek city of Cius in Mysia, with its first known member being Mithridates of Cius. His son Ariobarzanes II became satrap of Phrygia and he became a strong ally of Athens and revolted against Artaxerxes, but was betrayed by his son Mithridates II of Cius
Kingdom of Pontus
–
Coin of Pont Amisos
Kingdom of Pontus
–
The Kingdom of Pontus at its height: before the reign of Mithridates VI (dark purple), after his early conquests (purple), and his conquests in the first Mithridatic wars (pink)
Kingdom of Pontus
–
The
Pontic Alps which divided the kingdom.
Kingdom of Pontus
–
Bronze shield in the name of King Pharnakes,
Getty Villa (80.AC.60)
3.
Bosporan Kingdom
–
The Bosporan Kingdom was the longest surviving Roman client kingdom. The 1st and 2nd centuries BC saw a period of renewed golden age of the Bosporan state and it was a Roman province from 63 to 68 AD, under Emperor Nero. At the end of the 2nd century AD, King Sauromates II inflicted a defeat on the Scythians. The prosperity of the Bosporan Kingdom was based on the export of wheat, fish and these include gold work, vases imported from Athens, coarse terracottas, textile fragments and specimens of carpentry and marquetry. These Greek colonies were settled by Milesians in the 7th and 6th centuries BC. Phanagoria was a colony of Teos, and the foundation of Nymphaeum may have had a connection with Athens, at least it appears to have been a member of the Delian League in the 5th century. The Bosporan Kingdom was centred around the Kerch Strait between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, known in antiquity as the Cimmerian Bosporus from where the name derived. Spartocus founded a dynasty which seems to have endured until c.110 BC, surviving material do not supply enough information to reconstruct a complete chronology of kings of the region. Satyrus son Leucon eventually took the city and he was succeeded jointly by his two sons, Spartocus II, and Paerisades, Spartocus died in 342, allowing Paerisades to reign alone until 310. After Paerisades death, a war between his sons Satyrus and Eumelus was fought. Satyrus defeated his younger brother Eumelus at the Battle of the River Thatis in 310 BC but was killed in battle. Eumelus successor was Spartocus III and after him Paerisades II, succeeding princes repeated the family names, so it is impossible to assign them a definite order. Paerisades was killed by a Scythian named Saumacus who led a rebellion against him and they maintained close relations with Athens, their best customer for the Bosporan grain exports, Leucon I of Bosporus created privileges for Athenian ships at Bosporan ports. The Attic orators make numerous references to this, in return the Athenians granted Leucon Athenian citizenship and made decrees in honour of him and his sons. His eldest living son, Machares, regent of Cimmerian Bosporus, was unwilling to aid his father, so Mithridates had Machares killed, Mithridates then ordered the conscriptions and preparations for war. In 63 BC, Pharnaces, the youngest son of Mithridates, led a rebellion against his father, Mithridates VI withdrew to the citadel in Panticapaeum, where he committed suicide. Pompey buried Mithridates VI in a tomb in either Sinope or Amasia. Before the death of Pharnaces II, Asander had married Pharnaces II’s daughter Dynamis, Asander and Dynamis were the ruling monarchs until Caesar commanded a paternal uncle of Dynamis, Mithridates II to declare war on the Bosporan Kingdom and claimed the kingship for himself
Bosporan Kingdom
–
Bosporan
Phiale (top view), 4th century BC
Bosporan Kingdom
–
Map showing the early growth of the Bosporan Kingdom, before its annexation by
Mithridates VI of Pontus.
Bosporan Kingdom
–
The
stele of Staphhilos from the
Panticapaeum, depicting a soldier with the traditional Bosporan long hair and beard.
Bosporan Kingdom
–
Ruins of
Panticapaeum, modern
Kerch, the capital of the Bosporan Kingdom.
4.
Persian people
–
The Persians are an Iranian ethnic group that make up over half the population of Iran. They share a cultural system and are native speakers of the Persian language. The ancient Persians were originally a branch of the ancient Iranian population who entered modern-day Iran by the early 10th century BC. The English term Persian derives from Latin Persia, itself deriving from Greek Persís, in the Bible, it is referred to as Parás —sometimes Paras uMadai —within the books of Esther, Daniel, Ezra and Nehemya. Although Persis was originally one of the provinces of ancient Iran, varieties of this term were adopted through Greek sources, thus, in the Western world, the term Persian came to refer to all inhabitants of the country. 10th-century Iraqi historian Al-Masudi refers to Pahlavi, Dari and Azari as dialects of the Persian language, in 1333, medieval Moroccan traveler and scholar Ibn Battuta, referred to the people of Kabul as a specific sub-tribe of Persians. Lady Mary Sheil, in her observation of Iran during the Qajar era, describes Persians, Kurds and Leks to identify themselves as descendants of the ancient Persians. On March 21,1935, the king of Iran, Reza Shah Pahlavi, issued a decree asking the international community to use the term Iran. However, the term Persian is still used to designate the predominant population of the Iranian peoples living in the Iranian cultural continent. The earliest known written record attributed to the Persians is from the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III, the inscription mentions Parsua as a tribal chiefdom in modern-day western Iran. The ancient Persians were originally a branch of the Iranian population that, in the early 10th century BC. They were initially dominated by the Assyrians for much of the first three centuries after arriving in the region, however, they played a role in the downfall of the Neo-Assyrian Empire. The Medes, another branch of population, founded the unified empire of Media as the regions dominant cultural and political power in c.625 BC. Meanwhile, the Persian dynasty of the Achaemenids formed a state to the central Median power. In c.552 BC, the Achaemenids began a revolution which led to the conquest of the empire by Cyrus II in c.550 BC. They spread their influence to the rest of what is called the Iranian Plateau, at its greatest extent, the Achaemenid Empire stretched from parts of Eastern Europe in the west, to the Indus Valley in the east, making it the largest empire the world had yet seen. The Achaemenids developed the infrastructure to support their growing influence, including the creation of Pasargadae and its legacy and impact on the kingdom of Macedon was also notably huge, even for centuries after the withdrawal of the Persians from Europe following the Greco-Persian Wars. The empire collapsed in 330 BC following the conquests of Alexander the Great, until the Parthian era, the Iranian identity had an ethnic, linguistic, and religious value, however, it did not yet have a political import
Persian people
–
Costumes of an ancient Persian noblemen and soldiers.
Persian people
–
Geographic distribution of modern Iranian languages: Modern Persian (green) and other related Persian (some descendant of Middle Persian like Luri in Red) also shown in the map
Persian people
–
Greek
hoplite and Persian warrior depicted fighting, on an ancient
kylix, 5th century BC
Persian people
–
Tajiks in
Samarkand,
Uzbekistan
5.
Macedonia (Greece)
–
Macedonia is a geographic and historical region of Greece in the southern Balkans. Macedonia is the largest and second most populous Greek region, dominated by mountains in the interior, Macedonia is part of Northern Greece, together with Thrace and sometimes Thessaly and Epirus. It incorporates most of the territories of ancient Macedon, a kingdom ruled by the Argeads whose most celebrated members were Alexander the Great, the name Macedonia was later applied to identify various administrative areas in the Roman/Byzantine Empire with widely differing borders. Even before the establishment of the modern Greek state in 1830, it was identified as a Greek province, by the mid 19th century, the name was becoming consolidated informally, defining more of a distinct geographical, rather than political, region in the southern Balkans. At the end of the Ottoman Empire most of the known as Rumelia was divided by the Treaty of Bucharest of 1913. Greece, Serbia, and Bulgaria each took control of portions of the Macedonian region, with Greece obtaining the largest portion, Central Macedonia is the most popular tourist destination in Greece with more than 3.6 million tourists in 2009. Macedonia lies at the crossroads of human development between the Aegean and the Balkans, the earliest signs of human habitation date back to the palaeolithic period, notably with the Petralona cave in which was found the oldest European humanoid, Archanthropus europaeus petraloniensis. In the Late Neolithic period, trade took place from quite distant regions, one of the most important changes was the start of copper working. According to Herodotus, the history of Macedonia began with the Makednoi tribe, among the first to use the name, there they lived near Thracian tribes such as the Bryges who would later leave Macedonia for Asia Minor and become known as Phrygians. Macedonia was named after the Makednoi, accounts of other toponyms such as Emathia are attested to have been in use before that. Herodotus claims that a branch of the Macedonians invaded Southern Greece towards the end of the second millennium B. C, upon reaching the Peloponnese the invaders were renamed Dorians, triggering the accounts of the Dorian invasion. For centuries the Macedonian tribes were organized in independent kingdoms, in what is now Central Macedonia, the Macedonians claimed to be Dorian Greeks and there were many Ionians in the coastal regions. During the late 6th and early 5th century BC, the region came under Persian rule until the destruction of Xerxes at Plataea, many Macedonian cities were allied to the Spartans, but Athens maintained the colony of Amphipolis under her control for many years. The kingdom of Macedon, was reorganised by Philip II and achieved the union of Greek states by forming the League of Corinth. After his assassination, his son Alexander succeeded to the throne of Macedon, for a brief period a Macedonian republic called the Koinon of the Macedonians was established. It was divided into four administrative districts and that period ended in 148 BC, when Macedonia was fully annexed by the Romans. The northern boundary at that time ended at Lake Ohrid and Bylazora, strabo, writing in the first century AD places the border of Macedonia on that part at Lychnidos, Byzantine Achris and presently Ochrid. Therefore ancient Macedonia did not significantly extend beyond its current borders, the Acts of the Apostles records a vision in which the apostle Paul is said to have seen a man of Macedonia pleading with him, saying, Come over to Macedonia and help us
Macedonia (Greece)
–
Archaeological site of
Pella, capital of
ancient Macedonia
Macedonia (Greece)
–
Flag
Macedonia (Greece)
–
Facade of the "Tomb of the Palmettes" (3rd BC),
Mieza
Macedonia (Greece)
–
Lion of Amphipolis
6.
Mithridates VI of Pontus
–
He is often considered the greatest ruler of the Kingdom of Pontus. Mithridates VI was a prince of Persian and Greek ancestry, Mithridates was born in the Pontic city of Sinope, and was raised in the Kingdom of Pontus. He was the first son among the children born to Laodice VI and his father, Mithridates V, was a prince and the son of the former Pontic monarchs Pharnaces I of Pontus and his wife-cousin Nysa. His mother, Laodice VI, was a Seleucid princess and the daughter of the Seleucid monarchs Antiochus IV Epiphanes, Mithridates V was assassinated in about 120 BC in Sinope, poisoned by unknown persons at a lavish banquet which he held. He left the kingdom to the joint rule of Mithridates mother, Laodice VI, Mithridates, neither Mithridates nor his younger brother were of age, and their mother retained all power as regent for the time being. Laodice VI’s regency over Pontus was from 120 BC to 116 BC, during his mother’s regency, he escaped from his mothers plots against him, and went into hiding. Mithridates emerged from hiding, returning to Pontus between 116 BC and 113 BC and was hailed as king and he removed his mother and brother from the throne, imprisoning both, becoming the sole ruler of Pontus. Laodice VI died in prison, ostensibly of natural causes, Mithridates Chrestus may have died in prison also, or may have been tried for treason and executed. Mithridates first married his younger sister Laodice, aged 16 and his goal was to preserve the purity of their bloodline, solidify his claim to the throne, to co-rule over Pontus, and to ensure the succession to his legitimate children. Mithridates entertained ambitions of making his state the dominant power in the Black Sea and he first subjugated Colchis, a region east of the Black Sea, and prior to 164 BC, an independent kingdom. He then clashed for supremacy on the Pontic steppe with the Scythian King Palacus, the young king then turned his attention to Anatolia, where Roman power was on the rise. He contrived to partition Paphlagonia and Galatia with King Nicomedes III of Bithynia and it soon became clear to Mithridates that Nicomedes was steering his country into an anti-Pontic alliance with the expanding Roman Republic. When Mithridates fell out with Nicomedes over control of Cappadocia, and defeated him in a series of battles, the next ruler of Bithynia, Nicomedes IV of Bithynia, was a figurehead manipulated by the Romans. Mithridates plotted to overthrow him, but his attempts failed and Nicomedes IV, instigated by his Roman advisors, Rome itself was involved in the Social War, a civil war with its Italian allies. Thus, in all of Roman Asia Province there were two legions present in Macedonia. These legions combined with Nicomedes IVs army to invade Mithridates kingdom of Pontus in 89 BC, Mithridates, however, won a decisive victory, scattering the Roman-led forces. His victorious forces were welcomed throughout Anatolia, the following year,88 BC, Mithridates orchestrated a massacre of Roman and Italian settlers remaining in several Anatolian cities, essentially wiping out the Roman presence in the region. This episode is known as the Asiatic Vespers, the Kingdom of Pontus comprised a mixed population in its Ionian Greek and Anatolian cities
Mithridates VI of Pontus
–
Mithridates VI from the
Musée du Louvre
Mithridates VI of Pontus
–
A coin depicting Mithridates VI
Mithridates VI of Pontus
–
De medicina
7.
Pharnaces I of Pontus
–
Pharnaces I, fifth king of Pontus and was of Persian and Greek ancestry. He was the son of King Mithridates III of Pontus and his wife Laodice, Pharnaces had two siblings, a brother called Mithridates IV of Pontus and a sister called Laodice who succeeded as Pontian monarchs on the throne. He was born and raised in the Kingdom of Pontus, the Rhodians sent an embassy to Rome to complain of this aggression, but without effect. Eumenes II opposed him at the head of an army, but hostilities were suspended by the arrival of the Roman Republic deputies. Negotiations were accordingly opened at Pergamon but led to no result, the demands of Pharnaces being rejected by the Romans as unreasonable, the Greek historian Polybius accuses Pharnaces of having an arrogant and violent character, siding with the opinion of Eumenes II and the Romans. Pharnaces married a Seleucid Princess called Nysa, who was the child of princess Laodice IV, Nysa and Pharnaces were related as the parents of Nysa were first cousins with Pharnaces. Pharnaces married Nysa either in 172 BC or 171 BC, through the work of the Seleucid King Demetrius I Soter. Honorific statues and inscriptions have survived that were dedicated to Pharnaces, Pharnaces set about to establish good relations with the citizens of Athens and the Greek island of Delos. Pharnaces made a benefaction to the people of Athens, the exact nature of the benefaction is unknown, Pharnaces may have made some kind of voluntary donation to Athens, possibly soon after 183 BC. A lengthy honorific inscription from the Athenians on Delos honors Pharnaces, Pharnaces and Nysa received a crown of gold from them and bronze statues of themselves were set up on Delos. Their lengthy Athenian honorific inscription is dated in the Archonship of the Athenian Tychandrus or Tychander which is now accepted as 160 BC or 159 BC. Nysa bore Pharnaces two children, a son called Mithridates V of Pontus and a daughter called Nysa of Cappadocia, Nysa died at an unknown date in the 2nd century BC, she is believed to have died during childbirth. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology
Pharnaces I of Pontus
–
Pharnaces I of
Pontus; 185?–169 BC; Son of Mithridates III. The
Greek inscription reads: " ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΦΑΡΝΑΚΟΥ ", which means "[of] King Pharnaces".
Pharnaces I of Pontus
–
Tetradrachm of Pharnaces I of Pontus
Pharnaces I of Pontus
–
Bronze shield in the name of King Pharnakes,
Getty Villa (80.AC.60)
8.
Pompey
–
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, usually known in English as Pompey /ˈpɒmpiː/ or Pompey the Great, was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic. He came from a wealthy Italian provincial background, and his father had been the first to establish the family among the Roman nobility, Pompeys immense success as a general while still very young enabled him to advance directly to his first consulship without meeting the normal requirements for office. His success as a commander in Sullas Second Civil War resulted in Sulla bestowing the nickname Magnus. He was consul three times and celebrated three triumphs, after the deaths of Julia and Crassus, Pompey sided with the optimates, the conservative faction of the Roman Senate. Pompey and Caesar then contended for the leadership of the Roman state, when Pompey was defeated at the Battle of Pharsalus in 48 BC, he sought refuge in Egypt, where he was assassinated. His career and defeat are significant in Romes subsequent transformation from Republic to Empire, Pompeys family first gained the position of Consul in 141 BC. Pompeys father, Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, was an equestrian from Picenum. He fought the Social War against Romes Italian allies and he supported Sulla, who belonged to the optimates, the pro-aristocracy faction, against Marius, who belonged to the populares, in Sullas first civil war. He died during the siege of Rome by the Marians in 87 BC, either as a casualty of an epidemic and his twenty-year-old son Pompey inherited his estates, and the loyalty of his legions. Pompey had served two years under his fathers command, and had participated in the part of the Social War. When his father died, Pompey was put on due to accusations that his father stole public property. As his father’s heir Pompey could be held to account and he discovered that this was committed by one of his fathers freedmen. Following his preliminary bouts with his accuser, the took a liking to Pompey and offered his daughter. Another civil war broke out between the Marians and Sulla, Cassius Dio added that Pompey had sent a detachment to pursue him, but he outstripped them by crossing the River Phasis. He reached the Maeotis and stayed in the Cimmerian Bosporus and he had his son Machares, who ruled it and gone over to the Romans, killed and recovered that country. Meanwhile, Pompey set up a colony for his soldiers at Nicopolitans in Cappadocia, in Plutarchs account Pompey was invited to invade Armenia by Tigranes’ son, who rebelled against his father. The two men received the submission of several towns, when they got close Artaxata Tigranes, knowing Pompey’s leniency, surrendered and allowed a Roman garrison in his palace. Pompey offered the restitution of the Armenian territories in Syria, Phoenicia, Cilicia, Galatia and he demanded an indemnity and ruled that the son should be king of Sophene
Pompey
–
Pompey the Great in middle age,
marble bust in the
Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek,
Copenhagen,
Denmark.
Pompey
–
Roman statue of Pompey, at the Villa Arconati a Castellazzo di Bollate (Milan, Italy). It was brought there from Rome in 1627 by Galeazzo Arconati.
Pompey
–
Bust of Pompey in the
Residenz, Munich
Pompey
–
Pompey
9.
Third Mithridatic War
–
The Third Mithridatic War was the last and longest of three Mithridatic Wars and was fought between Mithridates VI of Pontus, who was joined by his allies, and the Roman Republic. The war ended in defeat for Mithridates, ending the Pontic Kingdom, the period between the Second and Third wars of Rome and the Pontic Kingdom is discussed under the Kingdom of Pontus. The immediate cause of the Third War was the bequest to Rome by King Nicomedes IV of Bithynia of his kingdom upon his death, having launched an attack at the same time as a revolt by Sertorius swept through the Spanish provinces, Mithridates was initially virtually unopposed. The Senate responded by sending the consuls Lucius Licinius Lucullus and Marcus Aurelius Cotta to deal with the Pontic threat, the only other possible general for such an important command, Pompey, was in Gaul, marching to Hispania to help crush the revolt led by Sertorius. Lucullus was sent to govern Cilicia and Cotta to Bithynia, the original plan was that Cotta should tie down Mithridates fleet, while Lucullus attacked by land. Cotta was therefore ordered to station his fleet at Chalcedon, while Lucullus marched through Phrygia with the intention of invading Pontus. Lucullus had not advanced far when news came through that Mithridates had made a rapid march westward, attacked Cotta, sixty-four Roman ships had been captured or burnt, and Cotta had lost three thousand men. There Cotta was forced to remain until Lucullus could come to his rescue, having made his way to Nicomedia, Cotta watched in frustration as Mithridates, after destroying his fleet, escaped the city and sailed down the Bosporus to the town of Heraclea Pontica. Joined by Lucullus at Nicomedia in 73 BC, Cotta was assigned the task of securing Lucullus rear by taking the town of Heraclea, after reducing the Pontic coast, Cotta began besieging Heraclea, which took him two years to complete, sacking the city in 71 BC. During this time he was forced to dismiss one of his quaestors, P. Oppius, charging him with bribery, while Lucullus stayed in the East, Cotta returned to Rome in 70 BC, where he at first was widely acclaimed for his victory at Heraclea. However, around 67 BC he was accused of appropriation of war booty by Gaius Papirius Carbo and he was convicted of the offence and expelled from the Senate. Upon his arrival, Lucullus met up with Roman forces which had been campaigning in Asia Minor, in 69 BC Lucullus led a campaign into Armenia against Tigranes the Great, Mithridates son-in-law and ally, to whom Mithridates had fled after Cabeira. He began a siege of the new Armenian imperial capital of Tigranocerta in the Arzenene district, Tigranes returned from mopping up a Seleucid rebellion in Syria with his main host, and sought battle with the Romans. Lucullus army annihilated the Armenian host, despite odds of more than two to one against him. This was the battle of Tigranocerta. Tigranes then retired to the regions of his kingdom to gather another army. Meanwhile, Lucullus moved off south-eastwards to the kingdom of the Kurds on the frontiers of the Armenian and Parthian empires, in the summer of 68 BC Lucullus marched against Tigranes and crossed the Anti-Taurus range heading for the old Armenian capital Artaxata. Once again Tigranes was provoked to attack and in a battle at the Aratsani River Lucullus was heavily defeated by the Armenian army
Third Mithridatic War
–
A bust of King Mithridates VI of Pontus
10.
Rome
–
Rome is a special comune and the capital of Italy. Rome also serves as the capital of the Lazio region, with 2,873,598 residents in 1,285 km2, it is also the countrys largest and most populated comune and fourth-most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. It is the center of the Metropolitan City of Rome, which has a population of 4.3 million residents, the city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, within Lazio, along the shores of the Tiber. Romes history spans more than 2,500 years, while Roman mythology dates the founding of Rome at only around 753 BC, the site has been inhabited for much longer, making it one of the oldest continuously occupied sites in Europe. The citys early population originated from a mix of Latins, Etruscans and it was first called The Eternal City by the Roman poet Tibullus in the 1st century BC, and the expression was also taken up by Ovid, Virgil, and Livy. Rome is also called the Caput Mundi, due to that, Rome became first one of the major centres of the Italian Renaissance, and then the birthplace of both the Baroque style and Neoclassicism. Famous artists, painters, sculptors and architects made Rome the centre of their activity, in 1871 Rome became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy, and in 1946 that of the Italian Republic. Rome has the status of a global city, Rome ranked in 2014 as the 14th-most-visited city in the world, 3rd most visited in the European Union, and the most popular tourist attraction in Italy. Its historic centre is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, monuments and museums such as the Vatican Museums and the Colosseum are among the worlds most visited tourist destinations with both locations receiving millions of tourists a year. Rome hosted the 1960 Summer Olympics and is the seat of United Nations Food, however, it is a possibility that the name Romulus was actually derived from Rome itself. As early as the 4th century, there have been alternate theories proposed on the origin of the name Roma. There is archaeological evidence of occupation of the Rome area from approximately 14,000 years ago. Evidence of stone tools, pottery and stone weapons attest to about 10,000 years of human presence, several excavations support the view that Rome grew from pastoral settlements on the Palatine Hill built above the area of the future Roman Forum. Between the end of the age and the beginning of the Iron age. However, none of them had yet an urban quality, nowadays, there is a wide consensus that the city was gradually born through the aggregation of several villages around the largest one, placed above the Palatine. All these happenings, which according to the excavations took place more or less around the mid of the 8th century BC. Despite recent excavations at the Palatine hill, the view that Rome has been indeed founded with an act of will as the legend suggests in the middle of the 8th century BC remains a fringe hypothesis. Traditional stories handed down by the ancient Romans themselves explain the earliest history of their city in terms of legend and myth
Rome
Rome
Rome
Rome
11.
Phanagoria
–
Phanagoria was the largest ancient Greek city on the Taman peninsula, spread over two plateaus along the eastern shore of the Cimmerian Bosporus. The city was an emporium for all the traffic between the coast of the Maeotian marshes and the countries on the southern side of the Caucasus. It was the capital of the Bosporan Kingdom, with Panticapaeum being the western capital. Strabo described it as a city which was renowned for its trade. Shortly a Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese while a medieval Genosese colony under the name Matrega, today the site is located at a short distance to the west of Sennoy in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. Another ancient Greek city, Hermonassa, lies 25 kilometres to the west, Phanagoria was founded ca.543 BC by the Teian colonists who had to flee Asia Minor in consequence of their conflict with Cyrus the Great. The city took its name one of these colonists, Phanagoras. In the 5th century BC, the town thrived on the trade with the Scythians, in the early 4th century BC the burgeoning Bosporan Kingdom subjugated much of Sindica, including the independent polis of Phanagoria. The towns importance increased with the decline of the old capital, Panticapaeum, by the first centuries AD, Phanagoria had emerged as the main centre of the kingdom. During the Mithridatic Wars, the town allied with the Roman Republic and it was at Phanagoria that the insurrection broke out against Mithridates VI of Pontus, shortly before his death, and his sons, who held the citadel, were obliged to surrender to the insurgents. An inscription found during excavations testifies that Queen Dynamis honored Augustus as the emperor, Caesar, son of god, the god Augustus, the overseer of every land and sea. The loyalty to Rome allowed Phanagoria to maintain a dominant position in the region until the 4th century, by the 7th century, the town had recovered from a century of barbarian invasions. It served as the capital of Great Bulgaria between 632 and 665 under Kubrat and Batbayan, after Asparukh led the Bulgars westward to the Danube, Phanagoria became a Byzantine dependency. A Khazar tudun was nonetheless present in the town and de facto control probably rested in Khazar hands until the defeat of Georgius Tzul in 1016. In 704, the deposed Byzantine emperor Justinian II settled in Phanagoria with his wife Theodora, in the 10th century, the town seems to have faced an invasion, supposedly by the Rus. After that, Phanagoria could not compete in significance with neighboring Tmutarakan, in the late Middle Ages the town of Matrega was built on its ruins, the site was part of a network of Genoese possessions along the northern Black Sea coast. During the 15th century, it was the center of de Ghisolfi dominions, henceforth there has been no permanent settlement on the site. The Genoese colony was established on 1349.02.21 as Metropolitan Archdiocese of Matriga
Phanagoria
–
The remains of Phanagoria
Phanagoria
–
A terracotta vessel in the shape of a
sphynx, 5th century BC. One of 26 similar pieces discovered in a feminine necropolis ("
Demeter 's priestess") near Phanagoria. On exhibit at the
Hermitage Museum in
St. Petersburg.
Phanagoria
–
Borysthenes
12.
Triumvirate
–
A triumvirate is a political regime ruled or dominated by three powerful individuals known as triumvirs. The arrangement can be formal or informal, though the three are notionally equal, this is rarely the case in reality. The term can also be used to describe a state with three different military leaders who all claim to be the sole leader, in the context of the Soviet Union and Russia, the term troika is used for triumvirate. Originally, triumviri were special commissions of three men appointed for specific administrative tasks apart from the duties of Roman magistrates. The capitales were first established around 290–287 BCE and they were supervised by the praetor urbanus. These triumviri, or the tresviri nocturni, may also have some responsibility for fire control. The triumviri or tresviri aere argento auro flando feriundo supervised the issuing of Roman coins, three-man commissions were also appointed for purposes such as establishing colonies or distributing land. Triumviri mensarii served as bankers, the full range of their financial functions in 216 BCE. Another form of commission was the tresviri epulones, who were in charge of organizing public feasts on holidays. This commission was created in 196 BCE by a law on behalf of the people. The arrangement had no status, and its purpose was to consolidate the political power of the three and their supporters against the senatorial elite. After the death of Crassus in 53 BCE, the two fought a civil war, during which Pompey was killed and Caesar established his sole rule as perpetual dictator. The Second Triumvirate was recognized as a triumvirate at the time, a Lex Titia formalized the rule of Octavian, Mark Antony, and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus. The legal language makes reference to the traditional tresviri, although the constitutional machinery of the Republic was not irrevocably dismantled by the Lex Titia, in the event it never recovered. Lepidus was sidelined early in the triumvirate, and Antony was eliminated in civil war, in various municipalities under the Principate, the chief magistracy was a college of three, styled triumviri. In the Bible triumvirates occurred at some events in both the Old Testament and New Testament. In the Book of Exodus Moses, his brother Aaron and, according to some views their nephew or brother-in-law, Hur acted this way during Battle of Rephidim against the Amalekites. In the Gospels as a leading trio among the Twelve apostles at three occasions during public ministry of Jesus acted Peter, James, son of Zebedee
Triumvirate
Triumvirate
Triumvirate
–
Triumvirate of: (L-R) Saint-Just, Robespierre, and Couthon
Triumvirate
–
The "Triumvirate of National Defence": (L-R) Admiral Kountouriotis, Venizelos, and General Danglis
13.
Julius Caesar
–
Gaius Julius Caesar, known as Julius Caesar, was a Roman politician, general, and notable author of Latin prose. He played a role in the events that led to the demise of the Roman Republic. In 60 BC, Caesar, Crassus, and Pompey formed an alliance that dominated Roman politics for several years. Their attempts to power as Populares were opposed by the Optimates within the Roman Senate. Caesars victories in the Gallic Wars, completed by 51 BC, extended Romes territory to the English Channel, Caesar became the first Roman general to cross both the Channel and the Rhine, when he built a bridge across the Rhine and crossed the Channel to invade Britain. These achievements granted him unmatched military power and threatened to eclipse the standing of Pompey, with the Gallic Wars concluded, the Senate ordered Caesar to step down from his military command and return to Rome. Caesar refused the order, and instead marked his defiance in 49 BC by crossing the Rubicon with the 13th Legion, leaving his province, Civil war resulted, and Caesars victory in the war put him in an unrivalled position of power and influence. After assuming control of government, Caesar began a programme of social and governmental reforms and he centralised the bureaucracy of the Republic and was eventually proclaimed dictator in perpetuity, giving him additional authority. But the underlying political conflicts had not been resolved, and on the Ides of March 44 BC, a new series of civil wars broke out, and the constitutional government of the Republic was never fully restored. Caesars adopted heir Octavian, later known as Augustus, rose to power after defeating his opponents in the civil war. Octavian set about solidifying his power, and the era of the Roman Empire began, much of Caesars life is known from his own accounts of his military campaigns, and from other contemporary sources, mainly the letters and speeches of Cicero and the historical writings of Sallust. The later biographies of Caesar by Suetonius and Plutarch are also major sources, Caesar is considered by many historians to be one of the greatest military commanders in history. Caesar was born into a family, the gens Julia. The cognomen Caesar originated, according to Pliny the Elder, with an ancestor who was born by Caesarean section. The Historia Augusta suggests three alternative explanations, that the first Caesar had a head of hair, that he had bright grey eyes. Caesar issued coins featuring images of elephants, suggesting that he favored this interpretation of his name, despite their ancient pedigree, the Julii Caesares were not especially politically influential, although they had enjoyed some revival of their political fortunes in the early 1st century BC. Caesars father, also called Gaius Julius Caesar, governed the province of Asia and his mother, Aurelia Cotta, came from an influential family. Little is recorded of Caesars childhood, in 85 BC, Caesars father died suddenly, so Caesar was the head of the family at 16
Julius Caesar
–
The
Tusculum portrait, perhaps the only surviving statue created during Caesar's lifetime.
Julius Caesar
–
Gaius Marius, Caesar's uncle
Julius Caesar
–
Dictator
Lucius Cornelius Sulla stripped Caesar of the priesthood.
Julius Caesar
–
The extent of the Roman Republic in 40 BC after Caesar's conquests.
14.
Colchis
–
Colchis was an ancient kingdom and region on the coast of the Black Sea, centered in present-day western Georgia. Internationally, Colchis is perhaps best known for its role in Greek mythology, most notably as the destination of the Argonauts, as well as the home to Medea and the Golden fleece. Colchis was populated by Colchians, an early Kartvelian-speaking tribe, ancestral to the contemporary Western Georgians, namely Svans and Mingrelians, the kingdom of Colchis, Kolkhis or Qulha which existed from the c. According to the scholar of Caucasian studies Cyril Toumanoff, Colchis appears as the first Caucasian State to have achieved the coalescence of the newcomer. Colchis can be regarded as not a proto-Georgian, but a Georgian kingdom. It would seem natural to seek the beginnings of Georgian social history in Colchis. A second South Caucasian tribal union emerged in the 13th century BC on the Black Sea coast. There is some difference in authors as to the extent of the country westward, thus Strabo makes Colchis begin at Trabzon, while Ptolemy, on the other hand. The name of Colchis first appears in Aeschylus and Pindar, the earlier writers only speak about it under the name of Aea, the residence of the mythical king Aeëtes, Kolchian Aia lies at the furthest limits of sea and earth, wrote Apollonius of Rhodes. Scylax mentions also Mala or Male, which he, in contradiction to other writers, the central part of the region is Colchis Plain, stretching between Sokhumi and Kobuleti, most of that lies on the elevation below 20 m above sea level. Marginal parts of the region are mountains of the Great and the Lesser Caucasus, the climate is mild humid, near Batumi, annual rainfall level reaches 4,000 mm, which is the absolute maximum for the continental western Eurasia. The dominating natural landscapes of Colchis are temperate rainforests, yet degraded in the part of the region, wetlands. In at least some parts of Colchis, the process of urbanization seems to have been advanced by the end of the 2nd millennium BC. The Colchian Late Bronze Age saw the development of significant skill in the smelting and casting of metals, sophisticated farming implements were made, and fertile, well-watered lowlands and a mild climate promoted the growth of progressive agricultural techniques. Colchis was inhabited by a number of related but distinct tribes whose settlements lay along the shore of the Black Sea and these Colchian tribes differed so completely in language and appearance from the surrounding Indo-European nations that the ancients provided various wild theories to account for the phenomenon. Herodotus regarded the Colchians as Ancient Egyptian race, Apollonius of Rhodes states that the Egyptians of Colchis preserved as heirlooms a number of wooden tablets, which show, with considerable accuracy, seas and highways. Detlev Fehling regards the link between Colchis and Egypt as a clear example of the way Herodotus used spurious sources to back up stories he had made up himself. In the 13th century BC, the Kingdom of Colchis was formed as a result of the consolidation of the tribes inhabiting the region. This power, celebrated in Greek mythology as the destination of the Argonauts, the home of Medea, the kingdom of Tabal was conquered by the Assyrian emperor Shalmaneser III in the 830s BC
Colchis
–
Colchis and
Iberia in the 4th and 3rd centuries BC
Colchis
–
Colchis and Iberia
Colchis
–
Central and southern parts of Colchis, 3rd to 1st centuries BC - 1st century AD
Colchis
–
Colchis between the
Black and
Caspian Seas. London, 1529
15.
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
16.
Galatia
–
Ancient Galatia was an area in the highlands of central Anatolia in modern Turkey. Galatia was named for the immigrant Gauls from Thrace, who settled here and became its ruling caste in the 3rd century BC and it has been called the Gallia of the East, Roman writers calling its inhabitants Galli. Galatia was bounded on the north by Bithynia and Paphlagonia, on the east by Pontus and Cappadocia, on the south by Cilicia and Lycaonia, the Galatians originated as a part of the great Celtic migration, which invaded Macedon, led by Brennus. The original Celts who settled in Galatia came through Thrace under the leadership of Leotarios and Leonnorios c and these Celts consisted of three tribes, the Tectosages, the Trocmii, and the Tolistobogii. Brennus invaded Greece in 281 BC with a war band. At the same time, another Gaulish group of men, women and this had split off from Brennus people in 279 BC, and had migrated into Thrace under its leaders Leonnorius and Lutarius. The invaders came at the invitation of Nicomedes I of Bithynia, three tribes crossed over from Thrace to Asia Minor. They numbered about 10,000 fighting men and about the number of women and children. They were eventually defeated by the Seleucid king Antiochus I, in a battle where the Seleucid war elephants shocked the Celts, while the momentum of the invasion was broken, the Galatians were by no means exterminated. Instead, the led to the establishment of a long-lived Celtic territory in central Anatolia, which included the eastern part of ancient Phrygia. There they ultimately settled, and strengthened by fresh accessions of the clan from Europe, they overran Bithynia. The Gauls invaded eastern Phrygia on at least one occasion and it is likely it was a sacred oak grove, since the name means sanctuary of the oaks. These Celtic warriors were respected by Greeks and Romans and they were often hired as mercenary soldiers, sometimes fighting on both sides in the great battles of the times. For years, the chieftains and their war bands ravaged the western half of Asia Minor, as allies of one or other of the warring princes, without any serious check. This ended when they sided with the renegade Seleucid prince Antiochus Hierax ruling in Asia Minor, who tried to defeat Attalus, the theme of the Dying Gaul remained a favorite in Hellenistic art for a generation. Their right to the district was formally recognized, each of the twelve tetrarchs had under him a judge and a general. A council of the nation consisting of the tetrarchs and three hundred senators was periodically held at Drynemeton, the king of Attalid Pergamon hired Galatians in the increasingly devastating wars of Asia Minor. One of the tribes in his service, the Aigosages, refused to obey after an eclipse on 1 September 218 BC
Galatia
–
Original location of the
Tectosages in
Gaul.
Galatia
–
Location of Galatia in Anatolia
Galatia
–
A Galatian's head as depicted on a gold Thracian objet d'art, 3rd century BC.
Istanbul Archaeological Museum.
Galatia
–
Galatian bronze horse bit, 3rd century BC, Hidirsihlar
tumulus,
Bolu. Istanbul Archaeological Museum.
17.
Gnaeus Domitius Calvinus
–
Gnaeus Domitius Calvinus was a Roman general, senator and consul who was a loyal partisan of Caesar and Octavianus. Domitius Calvinus came from a family and was elected consul in 53 BC. He was on Caesar’s side during the Civil War with Pompey, at the decisive battle of Pharsalus he commanded the center of Caesar’s army. After the battle he became governor of Asia, direct intervention by Caesar brought a quick end to the conflict, and Pharnaces army was annihilated at Zela in 47 BC. Despite this failure, he remained a friend of Caesar. Domitius Calvinuss activities after the death of Caesar are unknown, but in 43 BC he was a supporter of Octavianus. Despite this defeat he was awarded the honor of a second consulship in 40 BC and was sent by Octavianus as governor to Hispania, where he remained for three years. Apparently, his activities in Spain had success, since he was saluted as imperator by his troops. He also rebuilt the Regia in the Roman Forum, although Domitius Calvinus career does not show any particular ability, either in politics or in war, he maintained an important political role. This was most probably because he was one of the very few Roman nobles to support the Caesar/Octavianus party from the very beginning
Gnaeus Domitius Calvinus
–
Osca
18.
Anatolia
–
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
Anatolia
–
The traditional definition of Anatolia within modern Turkey
Anatolia
–
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
Anatolia
–
1907 map of Asia Minor, showing the local ancient kingdoms
Anatolia
–
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.
19.
Scythia
–
The Ancient Greeks gave the name Scythia to all the lands north-east of Europe and the northern coast of the Black Sea. The Scythians – the Greeks name for this nomadic people – inhabited Scythia from at least the 11th century BC to the 2nd century AD. Its location and extent varied over time but usually extended farther to the west than is indicated on the map opposite, Scythia was a loose state that originated as early as 8th century BC. Little is known of them and their rulers, the most detailed western description is by Herodotus, though it is uncertain he ever went to Scythia. He says the Scythians own name for themselves was Scoloti, the Scythians became increasingly settled and wealthy on their western frontier with Greco-Roman civilization. It is possible that the dynasty ruled in Scythia during most of its history. The name of Koloksai, a founder of a royal dynasty, is mentioned by Alcman in the 7th century BC. Prototi and Madis, Scythian kings in the Near Eastern period of their history, Herodotus lists five generations of a royal clan that probably reigned at the end of the 7th to 6th centuries BC, prince Anacharsis, Saulius, Idanthyrsus, Gnurus, Lycus, and Spargapithes. After being defeated and driven from the Near East, in the first half of the 6th century BCE, in the second half of that century, Scythians succeeded in dominating the agricultural tribes of the forest-steppe and placed them under tribute. As a result, their state was reconstructed with the appearance of the Second Scythian Kingdom which reached its zenith in the 4th century BC, aggressive external policy intensified exploitation of dependent populations and progressed the stratification among the nomadic rulers. Trading with Greeks also stimulated sedentarization processes, accordingly, the trade became a stimulus for capture of slaves as war spoils in numerous wars. The Scythian state reached its greatest extent in the 4th century BC during the reign of Ateas, isocrates believed that Scythians, and also Thracians and Persians, are the most able to power, and are the peoples with the greatest might. In the 4th century BC, under king Ateas, the structure of the state was eliminated. The later sources do not mention three basileuses any more, strabo tells that Ateas ruled over the majority of the North Pontic barbarians. Written sources tell that expansion of the Scythian state before the 4th century BC was mainly to the west, in this respect Ateas continued the policy of his predecessors in the 5th century BC. During western expansion, Ateas fought the Triballi, an area of Thrace was subjugated and levied with severe duties. During the 90 year life of Ateas, the Scythians settled firmly in Thrace, at the same time, both the nomadic and agricultural Scythian populations increased along the Dniester river. A war with the Bosporian Kingdom increased Scythian pressure on the Greek cities along the North Pontic littoral, materials from the site near Kamianka-Dniprovska, purportedly the capital of the Ateas’ state, show that metallurgists were free members of the society, even if burdened with imposed obligations
Scythia
–
Scythia et Serica, 18th century map.
Scythia
–
Approximate extent of Scythia within the area of distribution of
Eastern Iranian languages (shown in orange) in the 1st century BC. [
citation needed]
Scythia
–
Scythian king
Skilurus, relief from
Scythian Neapolis, Crimea, 2nd century BC
20.
Sarmatians
–
The Sarmatians were a large confederation of Iranian people during classical antiquity, flourishing from about the 5th century BC to the 4th century AD. They spoke Scythian, an Indo-European language from the Eastern Iranian family and their territory, which was known as Sarmatia to Greco-Roman ethnographers, corresponded to the western part of greater Scythia. In the 1st century AD the Sarmatians began encroaching upon the Roman Empire in alliance with Germanic tribes, in the 3rd century AD their dominance of the Pontic Steppe was broken by the Germanic Goths. With the Hunnic invasions of the 4th century, many Sarmatians joined the Goths, a related people to the Sarmatians known as the Alans survived in the North Caucasus into the Early Middle Ages, ultimately giving rise to the modern Ossetic ethnic group. The Sarmatians were eventually assimilated and absorbed by the Proto-Slavic population of Eastern Europe. Sarmatae probably originated as just one of several names of the Sarmatians. Strabo in the 1st century names as the tribes of the Sarmatians the Iazyges, the Roxolani, the Aorsi. The Greek name Sarmatai sometimes appears as Sauromatai, which is almost certainly no more than a variant of the same name, nevertheless, historians often regarded these as two separate peoples, while archaeologists habitually use the term Sauromatian to identify the earliest phase of Sarmatian culture. Any idea that the name derives from the lizard, linking to the Sarmatians use of reptile-like scale armour. Both Pliny the Elder and Jordanes recognised the Sar- and Sauro- elements as interchangeable variants, Greek authors of the 4th century mention Syrmatae as the name of a people living at the Don, perhaps reflecting the ethnonym as it was pronounced in the final phase of Sarmatian culture. Oleg Trubachyov derived the name from the Indo-Aryan *sar-mat, the Indo-Aryan and Indo-Iranian word *sar-, by this derivation was noted the unusual high status of women from the Greek point of view and went to the invention of Amazons. Other scholars, like Harold Walter Bailey, derived the word from Avestan sar- from tsar- in Old Iranian. It was also derived from the name of Avestan region in the west Sairima, recently R. M. Kozlova derived it from *Sъrm- < Proto-Slavic adjective *sъrmatъ, with the meaning that is rich with sormima i. e. shallows, referring to the rivers. The Sarmatians emerged in the 7th century BC in a region of the steppe to the east of the Don River, for centuries they lived in relatively peaceful co-existence with their western neighbors the Scythians. Then, in the 3rd century BC, they fought with the Scythians on the Pontic steppe to the north of the Black Sea, the Sarmatians were to dominate these territories over the next five centuries. Pliny the Elder wrote that they ranged from the Vistula River to the Danube, in 1947, Soviet archaeologist Boris Grakov defined a culture flourishing from the 6th century BC to the 4th century AD, apparent in late kurgan graves, sometimes reusing part of much older kurgans. It was a nomadic steppe culture ranging from the Black Sea eastward to beyond the Volga, in Hungary, a great Late Sarmatian pottery centre was reportedly unearthed between 2001 and 2006 near Budapest, in the Üllő5 archaeological site. Typical grey, granular Üllő5 ceramics form a group of Sarmatian pottery found everywhere in the north central part of the Great Hungarian Plain region
Sarmatians
–
Great steppe of Kazakhstan in early spring.
Sarmatians
–
Approximate extent of
East Iranian languages in the 1st century BC is shown in orange.
Sarmatians
–
A Sarmatian
diadem, found at the Khokhlach
kurgan near
Novocherkassk (1st century AD,
Hermitage Museum).
Sarmatians
–
Sarmatian cataphracts during
Dacian Wars as depicted on
Trajan's Column.
21.
Appian
–
Appian of Alexandria was a Roman historian of Greek origin who flourished during the reigns of Emperors of Rome Trajan, Hadrian, and Antoninus Pius. He was born c.95 in Alexandria, after having filled the chief offices in the province of Aegyptus, he went to Rome c. Because the position of procurator was open only to members of the equestrian order and his principal surviving work was written in Greek in 24 books, before 165. This work more closely resembles a series of monographs than a connected history and it gives an account of various peoples and countries from the earliest times down to their incorporation into the Roman Empire, and survives in complete books and considerable fragments. The work is valuable, especially for the period of the civil wars. The Civil Wars, five of the books in the corpus, concern mainly the end of the Roman Republic. Little is known of the life of Appian of Alexandria and he wrote an autobiography that has been almost completely lost. Information about Appian is distilled from his own writings and a letter by his friend Cornelius Fronto, however, it is certain that Appian was born around the year AD95 in Alexandria, the capital of Roman Egypt. Since his parents were Roman citizens capable of paying for their son’s education and it is believed that Appian moved to Rome in 120, where he became a barrister. In the introduction to his Roman History, he boasts “that he pleaded cases in Rome before the emperors. ”The emperors he claims to have addressed must have been either Hadrian or Marcus Aurelius and definitely Antoninus Pius, for Appian remained in Egypt at least until the end of the reign of Trajan. In the letter of Cornelius Fronto, it is revealed that a request on behalf of Appian to receive the rank of procurator occurred during the co-regency between 147 and 161, although Appian won this office, it is unclear whether it was a real job or an honorific title. The only other certain biographical datum is that Appians Roman History appeared sometime before 162 and this is one of the few primary historical sources for the period. Appian began writing his history around the middle of the second century AD, only sections from half of the original 24 books survive today. The most important remnants of Appians work are the five books on the Civil Wars—books 13-17 of the Roman History, especially notable is this works ethnographic structure. Appian most likely used this structure to facilitate his readers orientation through the sequence of events, a literary example of this can be found from Appian’s Civil Wars. One might expect that a work covering nine centuries and countless different peoples would involve a multitude of testimonials from different periods. However, Appians sources remain uncertain, as he mentions the source of his information under special circumstances. He may have relied primarily on one author for each book, at our present state of knowledge questions regarding Appian’s sources cannot be solved
Appian
–
Appian: Historia Romana. Printed in Venice 1477 by
Erhard Ratdolt
22.
Apollo
–
Apollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in classical Greek and Roman religion and Greek and Roman mythology. The ideal of the kouros, Apollo has been recognized as a god of music, truth and prophecy, healing, the sun and light, plague, poetry. Apollo is the son of Zeus and Leto, and has a twin sister, Apollo is known in Greek-influenced Etruscan mythology as Apulu. As the patron of Delphi, Apollo was an oracular god—the prophetic deity of the Delphic Oracle. Medicine and healing are associated with Apollo, whether through the god himself or mediated through his son Asclepius, yet Apollo was also seen as a god who could bring ill-health and deadly plague. Amongst the gods custodial charges, Apollo became associated with dominion over colonists, as the leader of the Muses and director of their choir, Apollo functioned as the patron god of music and poetry. Hermes created the lyre for him, and the instrument became an attribute of Apollo. Hymns sung to Apollo were called paeans, Apollo and Helios/Sol remained separate beings in literary and mythological texts until the 3rd century CE. The name Apollo—unlike the related older name Paean—is generally not found in the Linear B texts, the etymology of the name is uncertain. The spelling Ἀπόλλων had almost superseded all other forms by the beginning of the common era and it probably is a cognate to the Doric month Apellaios, and the offerings apellaia at the initiation of the young men during the family-festival apellai. According to some scholars the words are derived from the Doric word apella, apella is the name of the popular assembly in Sparta, corresponding to the ecclesia. R. S. P. Beekes rejected the connection of the theonym with the noun apellai, several instances of popular etymology are attested from ancient authors. Thus, the Greeks most often associated Apollos name with the Greek verb ἀπόλλυμι, in the ancient Macedonian language πέλλα means stone, and some toponyms may be derived from this word, Πέλλα and Πελλήνη. The role of Apollo as god of plague is evident in the invocation of Apollo Smintheus by Chryses, the Hittite testimony reflects an early form *Apeljōn, which may also be surmised from comparison of Cypriot Ἀπείλων with Doric Ἀπέλλων. A Luwian etymology suggested for Apaliunas makes Apollo The One of Entrapment, Apollos chief epithet was Phoebus, literally bright. It was very commonly used by both the Greeks and Romans for Apollos role as the god of light, like other Greek deities, he had a number of others applied to him, reflecting the variety of roles, duties, and aspects ascribed to the god. However, while Apollo has a number of appellations in Greek myth. Aegletes, from αἴγλη, light of the sun Helius, literally sun Lyceus light, the meaning of the epithet Lyceus later became associated with Apollos mother Leto, who was the patron goddess of Lycia and who was identified with the wolf
Apollo
–
Apollo Belvedere, ca. 120–140 CE
Apollo
–
Partial view of the temple of Apollo Epikurios (healer) at
Bassae in southern Greece
Apollo
–
Temple of the Delians at
Delos, dedicated to Apollo (478 BC). 19th-century pen-and-wash restoration.
Apollo
–
Temple of Apollo Smintheus at
Çanakkale, Turkey
23.
Mark Antony
–
Antony was a supporter of Julius Caesar, and served as one of his generals during the conquest of Gaul and the Civil War. Antony was appointed administrator of Italy while Caesar eliminated political opponents in Greece, North Africa, the Triumvirs defeated Caesars murderers, the Liberatores, at the Battle of Philippi in 42 BC, and divided the government of the Republic between themselves. Antony was assigned Romes eastern provinces, including the client kingdom of Egypt, then ruled by Cleopatra VII Philopator, relations among the Triumvirs were strained as the various members sought greater political power. Civil war between Antony and Octavian was averted in 40 BC, when Antony married Octavians sister, Octavia, despite this marriage, Antony carried on a love affair with Cleopatra, who bore him three children, further straining Antonys relations with Octavian. Lepidus was expelled from the association in 36 BC, and in 33 BC disagreements between Antony and Octavian caused a split between the remaining Triumvirs. Their ongoing hostility erupted into war in 31 BC, as the Roman Senate, at Octavians direction, declared war on Cleopatra. Later that year, Antony was defeated by Octavians forces at the Battle of Actium, Antony and Cleopatra fled to Egypt, where they committed suicide. With Antony dead, Octavian was the master of the Roman world. In 27 BC, Octavian was granted the title of Augustus, marking the stage in the transformation of the Roman Republic into an empire. A member of the plebeian Antonia gens, Antony was born in Rome on January 14,83 BC. His father and namesake was Marcus Antonius Creticus, son of the noted orator by the name who had been murdered during the Marian Terror of the winter of 87–86 BC. His mother was Julia Antonia, a distant cousin of Julius Caesar, Antony was an infant at the time of Lucius Cornelius Sullas march on Rome in 82 BC. According to the Roman orator Marcus Tullius Cicero, Antonys father was incompetent and corrupt, in 74 BC he was given military command to defeat the pirates of the Mediterranean, but he died in Crete in 71 BC without making any significant progress. Lentulus, despite exploiting his political success for financial gain, was constantly in debt due to the extravagance of his lifestyle and he was a major figure in the Second Catilinarian Conspiracy and was summarily executed on the orders of the Consul Cicero in 63 BC for his involvement. His death resulted in a feud between the Antonia and the famous orator, Antonys early life was characterized by a lack of proper parental guidance. According to the historian Plutarch, he spent his teenage years wandering through Rome with his brothers and friends gambling, drinking, Antonys contemporary and enemy, Cicero, claimed he had a homosexual relationship with Gaius Scribonius Curio. There is little information on his political activity as a young man, although it is known that he was an associate of Publius Clodius Pulcher. He may also have involved in the Lupercal cult as he was referred to as a priest of this order later in life
Mark Antony
–
Antony's brother Lucius, on a coin issued at
Ephesus during his consulship in 41 BC
Mark Antony
–
Bust of Mark Antony in
Vatican City
Mark Antony
–
Bust of Pharaoh
Ptolemy XII Auletes.
Mark Antony
–
Cato the Younger, a member of the
Optimates faction, was one of the chief architects of the decree which provoked Caesar into civil war.
24.
Antonio Vivaldi
–
Antonio Lucio Vivaldi was an Italian Baroque composer, virtuoso violinist, teacher and cleric. Born in Venice, he is recognized as one of the greatest Baroque composers and he composed many instrumental concertos, for the violin and a variety of other instruments, as well as sacred choral works and more than forty operas. His best-known work is a series of violin concertos known as The Four Seasons, many of his compositions were written for the female music ensemble of the Ospedale della Pietà, a home for abandoned children where Vivaldi was employed from 1703 to 1715 and from 1723 to 1740. Vivaldi also had success with expensive stagings of his operas in Venice, Mantua. After meeting the Emperor Charles VI, Vivaldi moved to Vienna, however, the Emperor died soon after Vivaldis arrival, and Vivaldi himself died less than a year later in poverty. Antonio Lucio Vivaldi was born in 1678 in Venice, then the capital of the Republic of Venice and he was baptized immediately after his birth at his home by the midwife, which led to a belief that his life was somehow in danger. Though not known for certain, the childs immediate baptism was most likely due either to his health or to an earthquake that shook the city that day. In the trauma of the earthquake, Vivaldis mother may have dedicated him to the priesthood, Vivaldis official church baptism took place two months later. Vivaldis parents were Giovanni Battista Vivaldi and Camilla Calicchio, as recorded in the register of San Giovanni in Bragora, Giovanni Battista, who was a barber before becoming a professional violinist, taught Antonio to play the violin and then toured Venice playing the violin with his young son. Antonio was probably taught at an age, judging by the extensive musical knowledge he had acquired by the age of 24. Giovanni Battista was one of the founders of the Sovvegno dei musicisti di Santa Cecilia, the president of the Sovvegno was Giovanni Legrenzi, an early Baroque composer and the maestro di cappella at St Marks Basilica. It is possible that Legrenzi gave the young Antonio his first lessons in composition, the Luxembourg scholar Walter Kolneder has discerned the influence of Legrenzis style in Vivaldis early liturgical work Laetatus sum, written in 1691 at the age of thirteen. His symptoms, strettezza di petto, have interpreted as a form of asthma. This did not prevent him from learning to play the violin, composing or taking part in musical activities, in 1693, at the age of fifteen, he began studying to become a priest. He was ordained in 1703, aged 25, and was nicknamed il Prete Rosso. Not long after his ordination, in 1704, he was given a dispensation from celebrating Mass because of his ill health, Vivaldi only said Mass as a priest a few times and appeared to have withdrawn from priestly duties, though he remained a priest. In September 1703, Vivaldi became maestro di violino at a called the Pio Ospedale della Pietà in Venice. While Vivaldi is most famous as a composer, he was regarded as an exceptional technical violinist as well, Vivaldi was only 25 when he started working at the Ospedale della Pietà
Antonio Vivaldi
–
Antonio Vivaldi
Antonio Vivaldi
Antonio Vivaldi
–
Church where Vivaldi was baptised: San Giovanni Battista in Bragora,
Sestiere di Castello, Venice
Antonio Vivaldi
–
Commemorative plaque beside the Ospedale della Pietà.
25.
Farnace
–
Farnace, is the title of several 18th-century operas set to various librettos. The earliest version was written by Lorenzo Morari with music by Antonio Caldara, the best known libretto on this subject, however, was written by Antonio Maria Lucchini and initially set by Leonardo Vinci during 1724. Farnace, with music by Italian composer Antonio Vivaldi, received its first performance in 1727 at the Teatro SantAngelo in Venice, the third Farnace was composed by Francesco Corselli. Corsellis Farnace received its debut in Madrid at the Royal Theater of the Buen Retiro in 1739, additional settings continued to be composed as late as the 1780s. One of the best of the settings is the one composed by Josef Mysliveček for the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples in 1767. Nonetheless, it is mainly the Vivaldi setting that continues to attract interest today, the opera tells the story of Pharnaces II, according to the uses of the time there is no historical accuracy since the fate of Pharnaces is quite different from the one in history books. Farnace, King of Pontus, has defeated, and to avoid their falling into the hands of the enemy, he commands his wife, Tamiri, to kill their son. Tamiris mother, Berenice, hates Farnace and is in cahoots with Pompey, selinda, Farnaces sister, is taken captive by the Roman Aquilius, who falls in love with her, as does Berenices Captain, Gilades. Selinda plays them off one another in an attempt to save her brother, somehow, it ends happily and everyone is spared. Jordi Savall recorded the Vivaldi opera, combined with a few selections from the Corselli version, Farnace, Antonio Vivaldi - Jordi Savall, Le Concert des Nations, Coro del Teatro de la Zarzuela - Alia Vox 9822. Farnace, Vivaldi - Max Emanuel Cencic, Ruxandra Donose, I Barocchisti, Diego Fasolis, virgin Classics CD Notes Sources Talbot, Michael
Farnace
–
Antonio Vivaldi
26.
Farnace (opera)
–
Farnace is an 18th-century Italian opera in 3 acts by the Czech composer Josef Mysliveček. The cuts and changes in the made for the 1767 performance of Myslivečeks opera are not attributable. Indeed, they are extensive, not a single one of Lucchinis original aria texts was re-set by Mysliveček. It was repeated in Prague in December 1768 after the triumphant return to his native city. 18th-century Italian operas in the style are almost always set in a distant or legendary past and are built around historical, pseudo-historical. Farnace has been defeated in battle by Pompeo, in order to avoid seeing his entire family falling into the hands of the enemy, Farnace commands his wife Tamiri to kill their son and then herself, although this never happens. Selinda, Farnaces sister, is taken captive by the Roman Atridate, selinda plays them off one another in an attempt to save her brother. Her efforts succeed and everyone is spared, Josef Mysliveček, Il Boemo, The Man and His Music. Sterling Heights, Michigan, Harmonie Park Press,2009 ISBN9780899901480 Complete score in manuscript available for viewing and downloading
Farnace (opera)
–
Josef Mysliveček
27.
Mitridate
–
Mitridate, re di Ponto, K.87, is an early opera seria in three acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The libretto is by Vittorio Amedeo Cigna-Santi after Giuseppe Parinis Italian translation of Jean Racines play Mithridate, Mozart wrote Mitridate while touring Italy in 1770. The musicologist Daniel E. Freeman has recently demonstrated that it was composed with close reference to the opera La Nitteti by Josef Mysliveček, the latter was the opera being prepared for production in Bologna when Mozart met Mysliveček for the first time with his father in March 1770. Mysliveček visited the Mozarts frequently in Bologna during the summer of 1770 while Wolfgang was working on Mitridate, Mozart gained expertise in composition from his older friend and also incorporated some of his musical motives into his own operatic setting. The opera was first performed at the Teatro Regio Ducal, Milan and it was a success, having been performed twenty-one times despite doubts because of Mozarts extreme youth – he was 14 at the time. No revival took place until the 20th century, place, around the Crimean port of Nymphæum Time, 63BC during the conflict between Rome and Pontus Mitridate, having suffered a heavy defeat in battle, is presumed dead. This false news is passed by Arbate, the Governor, to Aspasia and to Farnace, scene 1 Arbate, the governor of Nymphæum, welcomes Sifare. We learn that Sifare resents his brother, Farnace, because of his brother’s strong ties with their enemies, Arbate pledges his loyalty to Sifare. Aspasia pleads for Sifare to help her against advances by Farnace and he accepts her plea and reveals his love for her. Scene 2 Farnace makes his advances to Aspasia and she refuses, supported by Sifare, who protects her from his forceful brother. News arrives that Mitridate is alive and is approaching the city, Arbate urges the brothers to conceal their differences and greet their father. The brothers agree to hide their feelings for Aspasia, Farnace conspires with Marzio, Roman legionary officer, against Mitridate. Scene 3 Mitridate arrives on the shores of Nymphæaum with Princess Ismene, Mitridate wants Farnace to marry Ismene, his promised bride. Ismene is in love with Farnace but senses problems and is worried about her future, Arbate tells Mitridate that Farnace is pursuing Aspasia, not mentioning Sifare. The jealous Mitridate swears revenge on Farnace, scene 1 Farnace scorns and threatens Ismene. She tells Mitridate, who suggests that she should marry Sifare, Mitridate asks Aspasia for immediate marriage but she hesitates, proving to him that she is unfaithful. Aspasia confesses love to Sifare but they agree to part to save their honour. Sifare plans to leave and Aspasia is troubled by the conflict between love and duty, scene 2 Mitridate is aware of Farnaces plot against him with the Romans, he plans his revenge, despite Marzio’s offer of peace, and arrests Farnace to execute him
Mitridate
–
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
28.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
–
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, baptised as Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. Born in Salzburg, he showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood, already competent on keyboard and violin, he composed from the age of five and performed before European royalty. At 17, Mozart was engaged as a musician at the Salzburg court, while visiting Vienna in 1781, he was dismissed from his Salzburg position. He chose to stay in the capital, where he achieved fame, during his final years in Vienna, he composed many of his best-known symphonies, concertos, and operas, and portions of the Requiem, which was largely unfinished at the time of his death. The circumstances of his death have been much mythologized. He was survived by his wife Constanze and two sons and he composed more than 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, operatic, and choral music. He is among the most enduringly popular of classical composers, Ludwig van Beethoven composed his own early works in the shadow of Mozart, and Joseph Haydn wrote, posterity will not see such a talent again in 100 years. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born on 27 January 1756 to Leopold Mozart and Anna Maria, née Pertl and this was the capital of the Archbishopric of Salzburg, an ecclesiastic principality in what is now Austria, then part of the Holy Roman Empire. He was the youngest of seven children, five of whom died in infancy and his elder sister was Maria Anna Mozart, nicknamed Nannerl. Mozart was baptized the day after his birth, at St. Ruperts Cathedral in Salzburg, the baptismal record gives his name in Latinized form, as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart. He generally called himself Wolfgang Amadè Mozart as an adult, Leopold Mozart, a native of Augsburg, Germany, was a minor composer and an experienced teacher. In 1743, he was appointed as fourth violinist in the establishment of Count Leopold Anton von Firmian. Four years later, he married Anna Maria in Salzburg, Leopold became the orchestras deputy Kapellmeister in 1763. During the year of his sons birth, Leopold published a textbook, Versuch einer gründlichen Violinschule. When Nannerl was 7, she began lessons with her father. Years later, after her brothers death, she reminisced, He often spent much time at the clavier, picking out thirds, which he was ever striking, and his pleasure showed that it sounded good. In the fourth year of his age his father, for a game as it were, began to teach him a few minuets and he could play it faultlessly and with the greatest delicacy, and keeping exactly in time. At the age of five, he was composing little pieces
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
–
Mozart c. 1780, detail from portrait by
Johann Nepomuk della Croce
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
–
Anonymous portrait of the child Mozart, possibly by
Pietro Antonio Lorenzoni; painted in 1763 on commission from Leopold Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
–
Mozart's birthplace at Getreidegasse 9, Salzburg
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
–
The Mozart family on tour: Leopold, Wolfgang, and Nannerl. Watercolor by
Carmontelle, ca. 1763
29.
Roman Crimea
–
The Crimean Peninsula was under partial control of the Roman Empire during the period of 47 BCE to c.340 CE. The territory under Roman control mostly coincided with the Bosporan Kingdom, Rome lost its influence in Taurica in the mid third century, when substantial parts of the peninsula fell to the Goths, but at least nominally the kingdom survived until the 340s. Byzantium, the continuation of the Roman Empire, later regained the Crimea under Justinian I. The Byzantine Greeks controlled portions of the well into the Late Middle Ages. Rome started to dominate the Crimea peninsula in the 1st century BCE, the initial area of their penetration was mainly in eastern Crimea and in the western Greek city of Chersonesos. The interior was only nominally under Roman rule, in ancient times Crimea was known as Chersonesus Taurica, from the name of the Tauri, who were descendants of the Cimmerians. Many Greek colonists settled in Taurica, their most renowned colony was Chersonesos, in 114 BCE the Bosporus kingdom accepted the overlordship of Mithridates VI Eupator, king of Pontus, as a protection from tribes of Scythians. For nearly five centuries after the defeat of Mithridates by the Roman Pompey, the main Roman settlement was Charax, a castrum probably built around 60–65, and the main naval Roman base was in Chersonesos. When the Romans arrived at Taurica, they set up their camp and built a fortress, Tiberius Julius Aspurgus founded a line of Bosporan Kings which endured with some interruptions until 341. Originally called Aspurgus, he adopted the Roman names Tiberius Julius because he received Roman citizenship, all of the following kings adopted these two Roman names followed by a third name, mostly of Pontic, Thracian or Sarmatian origin. Bosporan kings struck coinage throughout the period, which included gold staters bearing portraits of the respective Roman Emperors. For this reason he probably put Taurica under direct Roman rule and he extended the Roman province of Lower Moesia to Tyras, Olbia and Taurica. Taurica enjoyed a golden period under Roman leadership during the 2nd century CE, with huge commerce of wheat, clothing, wine. The prosperous merchant-towns, permanently in need of military protection amidst a flux of barbaric peoples, the region was temporarily conquered by the Goths in 250. The last client king of the Roman Empire in Taurica was Tiberius Julius Rhescuporis VI, Rhescuporis seems to have minted coins as late as 341, indicating that there was some extent of political control over the remnants of the kingdom at this point. The remnants of the Bosporan kingdom were finally swept away with the invasion of the Huns in 375/6, the largest Roman military settlement in Crimea was Charax. It was sited on an area at the western ridge of Ai Todor. When in 62–66 CE the Roman garrisons were installed in Taurica, the Romans built a fortress and stationed a sub-unit of the Ravenna squadron
Roman Crimea
–
Anonymous city-ruler in the
Bosporan Kingdom, c. AD 180.
Roman Crimea
–
Ruins of
Panticapaeum, main city of the Bosporan kingdom during Roman times
Roman Crimea
–
The "Regnum Bosporanum" during Roman emperor
Trajan conquests
30.
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
