1.
Roman emperor
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The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman Empire during the imperial period. The emperors used a variety of different titles throughout history, often when a given Roman is described as becoming emperor in English, it reflects his taking of the title Augustus or Caesar. Another title often used was imperator, originally a military honorific, early Emperors also used the title princeps. Emperors frequently amassed republican titles, notably Princeps Senatus, Consul, the first emperors reigned alone, later emperors would sometimes rule with co-Emperors and divide administration of the Empire between them. The Romans considered the office of emperor to be distinct from that of a king, the first emperor, Augustus, resolutely refused recognition as a monarch. Although Augustus could claim that his power was authentically republican, his successor, Tiberius, nonetheless, for the first three hundred years of Roman Emperors, from Augustus until Diocletian, a great effort was made to emphasize that the Emperors were the leaders of a Republic. Elements of the Republican institutional framework were preserved until the end of the Western Empire. The Eastern emperors ultimately adopted the title of Basileus, which had meant king in Greek, but became a title reserved solely for the Roman emperor, other kings were then referred to as rēgas. In addition to their office, some emperors were given divine status after death. The Western Roman Empire collapsed in the late 5th century, Romulus Augustulus is often considered to be the last emperor of the west after his forced abdication in 476, although Julius Nepos maintained a claim to the title until his death in 480. Constantine XI was the last Byzantine Roman emperor in Constantinople, dying in the Fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans in 1453, a Byzantine group of claimant Roman Emperors existed in the Empire of Trebizond until its conquest by the Ottomans in 1461. In western Europe the title of Roman Emperor was revived by Germanic rulers, the Holy Roman Emperors, in 800, at the end of the Roman Republic no new, and certainly no single, title indicated the individual who held supreme power. Insofar as emperor could be seen as the English translation of imperator, then Julius Caesar had been an emperor, however, Julius Caesar, unlike those after him, did so without the Senates vote and approval. Julius Caesar held the Republican offices of four times and dictator five times, was appointed dictator in perpetuity in 45 BC and had been pontifex maximus for a long period. He gained these positions by senatorial consent, by the time of his assassination, he was the most powerful man in the Roman world. In his will, Caesar appointed his adopted son Octavian as his heir, a decade after Caesars death, Octavians victory over his erstwhile ally Mark Antony at Actium put an end to any effective opposition and confirmed Octavians supremacy. His restoration of powers to the Senate and the people of Rome was a demonstration of his auctoritas, some later historians such as Tacitus would say that even at Augustus death, the true restoration of the Republic might have been possible. Instead, Augustus actively prepared his adopted son Tiberius to be his successor, the Senate disputed the issue but eventually confirmed Tiberius as princeps
2.
Gordian III
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Gordian III was Roman Emperor from 238 AD to 244 AD. At the age of 13, he became the youngest sole legal Roman emperor throughout the existence of the united Roman Empire, Gordian was the son of Antonia Gordiana and an unnamed Roman Senator who died before 238. Antonia Gordiana was the daughter of Emperor Gordian I and younger sister of Emperor Gordian II, very little is known on his early life before his acclamation. Gordian had assumed the name of his grandfather in 238 AD. In 235, following the murder of Emperor Alexander Severus in Moguntiacum, in the following years, there was a growing opposition against Maximinus in the Roman senate and amongst the majority of the population of Rome. In 238 a rebellion broke out in the Africa Province, where Gordians grandfather and uncle, Gordian I and this revolt was suppressed within a month by Cappellianus, governor of Numidia and a loyal supporter of Maximinus Thrax. The elder Gordians died, but public opinion cherished their memory as peace-loving and literate men, meanwhile, Maximinus was on the verge of marching on Rome and the Senate elected Pupienus and Balbinus as joint emperors. Pupienus and Balbinus defeated Maximinus, mainly due to the defection of several legions, but their joint reign was doomed from the start with popular riots, military discontent and an enormous fire that consumed Rome in June 238. On July 29, Pupienus and Balbinus were killed by the Praetorian Guard, due to Gordians age, the imperial government was surrendered to the aristocratic families, who controlled the affairs of Rome through the Senate. In 240, Sabinianus revolted in the African province, but the situation was brought under control. In 241, Gordian was married to Furia Sabinia Tranquillina, daughter of the newly appointed praetorian prefect, as chief of the Praetorian Guard and father in law of the Emperor, Timesitheus quickly became the de facto ruler of the Roman Empire. In the 3rd century, the Roman frontiers weakened against the Germanic tribes across the Rhine and Danube, and the Sassanid Empire across the Euphrates increased its own attacks. When the Persians under Shapur I invaded Mesopotamia, the young emperor opened the doors of the Temple of Janus for the last time in Roman history, the Sassanids were driven back over the Euphrates and defeated in the Battle of Resaena. The campaign was a success and Gordian, who had joined the army, was planning an invasion of the enemys territory, without Timesitheus, the campaign, and the Emperors security, were at risk. Gaius Julius Priscus and, later on, his own brother Marcus Julius Philippus, also known as Philip the Arab, stepped in at this moment as the new Praetorian Prefects, around February 244, the Persians fought back fiercely to halt the Roman advance to Ctesiphon. Persian sources claim that a battle occurred near modern Fallujah and resulted in a major Roman defeat, Roman sources do not mention this battle and suggest that Gordian died far away from Misiche, at Zaitha in northern Mesopotamia. Modern scholarship does not unanimously accept this course of the events, one view holds that Gordian died at Zaitha, murdered by his frustrated army, while the role of Philip is unknown. Other scholars, such as Kettenhofen, Hartman and Winter have concluded that Gordian died in battle against the Sassanids, Philip transferred the body of the deceased emperor to Rome and arranged for his deification
3.
Decius
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Trajan Decius was Roman Emperor from 249 to 251. In the last year of his reign, he co-ruled with his son Herennius Etruscus until they were killed in the Battle of Abritus. Around 245, Philip I entrusted Decius with an important command on the Danube, after the collapse of the revolt, Decius let the troops proclaim him Emperor. Philip had to advance against him and was killed at Verona, Italy, the Senate then recognized Decius as Emperor, giving him the attribute Traianus as a reference to the good emperor Trajan. According to the Byzantine historian Zosimus, Decius was clothed in purple and forced to undertake the government, despite his reluctance and unwillingness. Either as a concession to the Senate, or perhaps with the idea of improving morality, Decius endeavoured to revive the separate office. The choice was left to the Senate, who unanimously selected Valerian, but Valerian, well aware of the dangers and difficulties attached to the office at such a time, declined the responsibility. The invasion of the Goths and Decius death put an end to the abortive attempt, see also Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire#Under Decius In January 250, Decius is said to have issued one of the most remarkable Roman imperial edicts. When they sacrificed they would obtain a recording the fact that they had complied with the order. According to D. S. Potter, Decius did not try to impose the superiority of the Roman pantheon over any other gods. It is very probable that the edict was an attempt to legitimize his position, measures were first taken demanding that the bishops and officers of the church make a sacrifice for the Emperor. The sacrifice was on behalf of the Emperor, not to the Emperor, certificates were issued to those who satisfied the commissioners during the persecution of Christians under Decius. Forty-six such certificates have been published, all dating from 250, anyone, including Christian followers, who refused to offer a sacrifice for the Emperor and the Empires well-being by a specified date risked torture and execution. In reality, however, towards the end of the year of Decius reign, the ferocity of the persecution had eased off. The Christian church, despite no indication in the texts that the edict targeted any specific group. At this time, there was an outbreak of the Antonine Plague. This outbreak is referred to as the Plague of Cyprian, cyprians biographer Pontius gave a vivid picture of the demoralizing effects of the plague and Cyprian moralized the event in his essay De mortalitate. In Carthage, the Decian persecution, unleashed at the onset of the plague, Decius edicts were renewed under Valerian in 253 and repealed under his son, Gallienus, in 260-1
4.
Herennius Etruscus
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Herennius Etruscus, was Roman emperor in 251, in a joint rule with his father Decius. Emperor Hostilian was his younger brother, Herennius was born in or near Sirmium in Pannonia, during one of his fathers military postings. His mother was Herennia Cupressenia Etruscilla, a Roman lady of an important senatorial family. Herennius was very close to his father and accompanied him in 248, as a military tribune, Decius was successful in defeating this usurper and felt confident to begin a rebellion of his own in the following year. Acclaimed emperor by his own troops, Decius marched into Italy, in Rome, Herennius was declared heir to the throne and received the title of princeps iuventutis. From the beginning of Herennius accession, Gothic tribes raided across the Danube frontier, at the beginning of 251, Decius elevated Herennius to the title of Augustus making him his co-emperor. Moreover, Herennius was chosen to be one of the years consuls, the father and son, now joint rulers, then embarked in an expedition against king Cniva of the Goths to punish the invaders for the raids. Hostilian remained in Rome and the empress Herennia Etruscilla was named regent, Cniva and his men were returning to their lands with the booty, when the Roman army encountered them. Showing a very sophisticated military tactic, Cniva divided his army in smaller, more manageable groups, sometime during the first two weeks of June, both armies engaged in the battle of Abrittus. Herennius died in battle, struck by an enemy arrow, Decius survived the initial confrontation, only to be slain with the rest of the army before the end of the day. Herennius and Decius were the first two emperors to be killed by an army in battle. With the news of the death of the emperors, the army proclaimed Trebonianus Gallus emperor, but in Rome they were succeeded by Hostilian, media related to Herennius Etruscus at Wikimedia Commons
5.
Philip II (emperor)
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According to numismatic evidence, he had a sister called Julia Severa or Severina, whom the extant literary sources do not mention, and a brother, Quintus Philippus Severus. When his father became emperor in 244, the younger Philip was appointed Caesar, in 247 he became consul, and was later elevated by his father to the rank of Augustus and co-ruler. His father was killed in battle by his successor Decius in 249, when news of this death reached Rome, Philip was murdered by the Praetorian Guard. He died in his mothers arms, aged eleven years
6.
Shahba
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The oasis settlement now named Shahba had been the native hamlet of the Roman emperor Philip the Arab. After Philip became emperor in 244 CE, he dedicated himself to rebuilding the community as a colonia. The city was renamed Philippopolis in dedication to the emperor, who is said to have wanted to turn his native city into a replica of Rome herself, the public structures formed what author Arthur Segal has called a kind of imported façade. The rest of the architecture was modest and vernacular. The city was never completed as building seems to have stopped abruptly after the death of Philip in 249, the new city followed the extremely regular Roman grid-plan, with the main colonnaded cardo maximus intersecting a colonnaded decumanus maximus at right angles near the center. Lesser streets marked off insulae, many of which never saw houses constructed upon them, the city was the seat of a Bishopric, a Christian presence exists in the city to the present. In 1596 Shahba appeared in the Ottoman tax registers as Sahba and was part of the nahiya of Bani Miglad in the Qada of Hauran. It had an entirely Muslim population consisting of 8 households and 3 bachelors, a museum located in the city exhibits some beautiful examples of Roman mosaics. The relatively well-preserved Roman bridge at Nimreh is located in the vicinity, in the 19th century Druze populations moved into the area. The city has been affected by the Syrian Civil War, map of the town, Google Maps
7.
Arabia Petraea
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It was bordered on the north by Syria, on the west by Iudaea and Aegyptus, and on the south and east by the rest of Arabia, known as Arabia Deserta and Arabia Felix. It produced no usurpers and no emperors, as a frontier province, it included a desert populated by the nomadic Saraceni, and bordering the Parthian hinterland. The geographic makeup of Arabia has some variation, inhospitability is the norm, though, and along with the desert proper that is the Sinai, the arid Negev, which extends north of the Sinai, is practically such. Along with this are the areas around the Red Sea, the badlands known as Hismā that develop to the north of that coast. Most of Arabia was sparsely populated, and its cities can be concentrated to the north. The only major port is Aqaba, which can be found at the tip of a wide gulf from the Red Sea bearing the same name. Petra served as the base for Legio III Cyrenaica, and the governor of the province would spend time in both cities, issuing edicts from both. Upon annexation of the province, Bostra gained the appellative “Traiane” when Trajan declared it the capital while Hadrian performed the ceremonial act for Petra when he became emperor. Before Roman control, the area was ruled by Rabbel II, last king of the Nabataeans until 106 AD. When Rabbel II, who had ruled since 70 AD, died, the Third Cyrenaica legion moved north from Egypt into Petra, while the Sixth Ferrata legion, the conquest of Arabia was not officially celebrated until completion of the Via Nova Traiana. This road extended down the center of the province from Bostra to Aqaba and it isn’t until the project is finished that coins, featuring Trajan’s bust on the obverse and a camel on the reverse, appear commemorating the acquisition of Arabia. These coins are minted until 115, at time the Roman imperial focus was turning farther eastward. With Roman conquest came the imposition of Latin and Greek in official discourse, after the conquest, though, Greek was adopted popularly, as well as officially, practically supplanting Nabataean and Aramaic, as evidenced by inscriptions at Umm al Quttain. The occurrence of Latin in the province was rare and limited to cases as the tomb inscription of T. Aninius Sextius Florentinus, governor in 127. Millar makes a case for a Graeco-Roman Hellenization in Arabia and it is an area, after all, that was not significantly hellenized during the rule of Alexander, and the locals originally spoke Aramaic and Nabataean, not Greek. Arabia acclimates to the new culture so fully that it seems the original linguistic groups faded away, there were scattered Nabataean inscriptions during the period of imperial Roman rule. Arabia responded similarly when the governor of Syria, Pescennius Niger, in addition, the governor of Arabia, P. Aelius Severianus Maximus, was allowed to continue in his post in reward for his loyalty. Syria was later split into two and Arabia was expanded to include the Leja’ and Jebel Drūz, rough terrain south of Damascus, Severus had enlarged a province that was already huge
8.
Verona
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Verona is a city on the Adige river in Veneto, Italy, with approximately 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven provincial capitals of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third largest in northeast Italy, the metropolitan area of Verona covers an area of 1,426 km2 and has a population of 714,274 inhabitants. Three of Shakespeares plays are set in Verona, Romeo and Juliet, The Two Gentlemen of Verona and it is unknown if Shakespeare ever visited Verona or Italy at all, but his plays have lured many visitors to Verona and surrounding cities many times over. The city has been awarded World Heritage Site status by UNESCO because of its structure and architecture. According to a theory that considers the geographical position of the city, Verona is short for Versus Romae which means In the direction of Rome because as italian people say All roads lead to Rome. The exclamation Vae Romae if understood in Latin means Alas Rome, in fact, to express distress or denounce a disgrace ancient Romans used the Latin interjection vae. So, you explain the famous poem by William Shakespeare There is no world without Verona walls, But purgatory, torture. Hence-banished is banishd from the world, And worlds exile is death, the writer would express a Roman concept through its character named Romeo, a name that invokes Rome, according to which the city of Verona was a boundary between the Roman world and barbaric one. Verona was a place of passage and to horses, for those who wanted to go and had walked the Via Claudia Augusta. So the expression Vae Romae Alas Rome would indicate spirit of the place, another theory is that it is connected to the river. Vera was a name of the river Adige before the adoption of the current name, as in many similar instances in Europe the name of the town is formed with the addition of suffix -ona which means settlement over. The city was sometimes known as Welsch-Bern in German. The precise details of Veronas early history remain a mystery, one theory is it was a city of the Euganei, who were obliged to give it up to the Cenomani. With the conquest of the Valley of the Po the Veronese territory became Roman, Verona became a Roman colonia in 89 BC, and then a municipium in 49 BC when its citizens were ascribed to the Roman tribe Poblilia or Publicia. The city became important because it was at the intersection of several roads, stilicho defeated Alaric and his Visigoths here in 403. But, after Verona was conquered by the Ostrogoths in 489, theoderic the Great was said to have built a palace there. It remained under the power of the Goths throughout the Gothic War, except for a day in 541. The defections that took place among the Byzantine generals with regard to the booty made it possible for the Goths to regain possession of the city, in 552 Valerian vainly endeavored to enter the city, but it was only when they were fully overthrown that the Goths surrendered it
9.
Roman Italy
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Roman Italy was created officially by the Roman emperor Augustus with the Latin name Italia. It was the first time in history that the Italian Peninsula was united under the same name, in the year 292, the three islands of Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily were added to Roman Italy by Diocletian. Roman Italy remained united until the sixth century, when it was divided between the Byzantine Empire and territories of the Germanic peoples, since then, Italia remained divided for nearly thirteen centuries until 1861 when it was reunited in a similar way in the modern Kingdom of Italy. Italy was the name of the division of the Italian Peninsula during the Roman era. It was not a province, but became the territory of the city of Rome, following the end of the Social War, Rome had allowed its Italian allies full rights in Roman society and granted the Roman citizenship to all the Italic peoples. Although not founded as a city in 330, Constantinople gained in importance. It finally gained the rank of capital when given an urban prefect in 359. In 402, the capital was moved to Ravenna from Milan, the name Italia covered an area whose borders evolved over time. Under Augustus, the peoples of todays Aosta Valley and of the western and northern Alps were subjugated, and the Italian eastern border was brought to the Arsia in Istria. Finally, in the late 3rd century, Italy came to include the islands of Corsica and Sardinia and Sicily, as well as Raetia, the city of Emona was the easternmost town of Italy. At the beginning of the era, Italy was a collection of territories with different political statuses. Some cities, called municipia, had independence from Rome, while others. The Italian economy flourished, agriculture, handicraft and industry had a sensible growth, the Italian population may have grown as well, three census were ordered by Augustus, to record the number of Roman citizens throughout the empire. The surviving totals were 4,063,000 in 28 BC,4,233,000 in 8 BC, and 4,937,000 in AD14, but it is still debated whether these counted all citizens, all adult male citizens, or citizens sui iuris. During the Crisis of the Third Century the Roman Empire nearly collapsed under the pressures of invasions, military anarchy and civil wars. In 284, emperor Diocletian restored political stability and he carried out thorough administrative reforms to maintain order. He created the so-called Tetrarchy whereby the empire was ruled by four co-emperors and he decreased the size of the Roman provinces by doubling their number to reduce the power of the provincial governors. He grouped the provinces into several dioceses and put them under the supervision of the imperial vicarius, during the Crisis of the Third Century the importance of Rome declined because she was far from the troubled frontiers
10.
Marcia Otacilia Severa
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Marcia Otacilia Severa or Otacilia Severa was the Empress of Rome and wife of Emperor Marcus Julius Philippus or Philip the Arab, who reigned over the Roman Empire from 244 to 249. She was a member of the ancient gens Otacilia, of consular and her father was Otacilius Severus or Severianus, who served as Roman Governor of Macedonia and Moesia, while her mother was a member of gens Marcius or was related to the gens. According to sources she had a brother called Severianus, who served as Roman Governor of Lower Moesia between 246–247. In February 244, the emperor Gordianus died in Mesopotamia, it is suspected in the sources that he was murdered and her husband Philip became the new emperor and he gave his young predecessor a proper funeral and his ashes were returned to Rome for burial. Philip gave Severa the honorific title of Augusta and had their son made heir of the purple and it was through her intervention, for instance, that Bishop and Saint Babylas of Antioch was saved from persecution. In 249, the Danubian armies proclaimed Decius Augustus and in August, Philip died in battle near Verona, Severa was in Rome that time and when the news of her husband’s death arrived, their son was murdered by the Praetorian Guard still in her arms. Severa survived her husband and son and lived later in obscurity and it is mentioned in the Roan scripts of Malta V.118 of the museum of Valletta that she had set sail to the land of Aliya Shamsan to live in the birthplace of Phillip. Roman Imperial Coinage of Otacilia Severa, minaud, Gérard, Les vies de 12 femmes d’empereur romain - Devoirs, Intrigues & Voluptés, Paris, L’Harmattan,2012, ch. 10, La vie de Marcia Otacilia Sévéra, femme de Philippe l’Arabe, p. 243-262
11.
Praetorian prefect
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Praetorian prefect was the title of a high office in the Roman Empire. Originating as the commander of the Praetorian Guard, the office gradually acquired extensive legal and administrative functions, the prefects again functioned as the chief ministers of the state, with many laws addressed to them by name. The last traces of the disappeared in the Byzantine Empire by the 840s. The term praefectus praetorio was often abbreviated in inscriptions as PR PR or PPO, under the empire the praetorians or imperial guards were commanded by one, two, or even three praefects, who were chosen by the emperor from among the equites and held office at his pleasure. From the time of Alexander Severus the post was open to senators also, in course of time the command seems to have been enlarged so as to include all the troops in Italy except the corps commanded by the city praefect. The special position of the praetorians made them a power in their own right in the Roman state, and their prefect, the emperors tried to flatter and control the praetorians, but they staged many coups détat and contributed to a rapid rate of turnover in the imperial succession. The praetorians thus came to destabilize the Roman state, contrary to their purpose, Diocletian greatly reduced the power of these prefects as part of his sweeping reform of the empires administrative and military structures. In addition to his functions, the praetorian prefect came to acquire jurisdiction over criminal affairs. It was decreed by Constantine in 331 that from the sentence of the praetorian praefect there should be no appeal, a similar jurisdiction in civil cases was acquired by him not later than the time of Septimius Severus. Each praetorian prefect oversaw one of the four created by Diocletian. Under Constantine I, the institution of the magister militum deprived the praetorian prefecture altogether of its military character but left it the highest civil office of the empire. The following is a list of all prefects of the Praetorian Guard. The list is presumed to be due to the lack of sources documenting the exact number of persons who held the post, what their names were. Overlapping terms on the list indicate dual command, the praetorian guard in the political and social life of Julio-Claudian Rome. The Pretorian Prefect from Commodus to Diocletian, Chicago, Illinois, University of Chicago Press. Miller, M. C. J. Abbreviations in Latin, Guard Prefects of Trajan and Hadrian. The Journal of Roman Studies, Vol.70
12.
Sasanian Empire
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The Sasanian Empire was founded by Ardashir I, after the fall of the Parthian Empire and the defeat of the last Arsacid king, Artabanus V. According to a legend, the vexilloid of the Sasanian Empire was the Derafsh Kaviani, in many ways, the Sasanian period witnessed the peak of ancient Iranian civilization. Persia influenced Roman culture considerably during the Sasanian period, the Sasanians cultural influence extended far beyond the empires territorial borders, reaching as far as Western Europe, Africa, China and India. It played a prominent role in the formation of both European and Asian medieval art, much of what later became known as Islamic culture in art, architecture, music and other subject matter was transferred from the Sasanians throughout the Muslim world. Conflicting accounts shroud the details of the fall of the Parthian Empire, the Sassanid Empire was established in Estakhr by Ardashir I. Papak was originally the ruler of a region called Khir, however, by the year 200, he managed to overthrow Gochihr, and appoint himself as the new ruler of the Bazrangids. His mother, Rodhagh, was the daughter of the governor of Pars. Papak and his eldest son Shapur managed to expand their power all of Pars. The subsequent events are unclear, due to the nature of the sources. It is certain, however, that following the death of Papak, Ardashir, sources reveal that Shapur, leaving for a meeting with his brother, was killed when the roof of a building collapsed on him. By the year 208, over the protests of his brothers who were put to death. Once Ardashir was appointed shahanshah, he moved his capital further to the south of Pars, the city, well supported by high mountains and easily defendable through narrow passes, became the center of Ardashirs efforts to gain more power. The city was surrounded by a high, circular wall, probably copied from that of Darabgird, in a second attempt to destroy Ardashir, Artabanus V himself met Ardashir in battle at Hormozgan, where Artabanus V met his death. Following the death of the Parthian ruler, Ardashir I went on to invade the provinces of the now defunct Parthian Empire. Ardashir was aided by the geography of the province of Fars, in the next few years, local rebellions would form around the empire. Nonetheless, Ardashir I further expanded his new empire to the east and northwest, conquering the provinces of Sistan, Gorgan, Khorasan, Margiana, Balkh and he also added Bahrain and Mosul to Sassanids possessions. In the west, assaults against Hatra, Armenia and Adiabene met with less success, in 230, he raided deep into Roman territory, and a Roman counter-offensive two years later ended inconclusively, although the Roman emperor, Alexander Severus, celebrated a triumph in Rome. Ardashir Is son Shapur I continued the expansion of the empire, conquering Bactria, invading Roman Mesopotamia, Shapur I captured Carrhae and Nisibis, but in 243 the Roman general Timesitheus defeated the Persians at Rhesaina and regained the lost territories
13.
Christian
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A Christian is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christian derives from the Koine Greek word Christós, a translation of the Biblical Hebrew term mashiach, while there are diverse interpretations of Christianity which sometimes conflict, they are united in believing that Jesus has a unique significance. The term Christian is also used as an adjective to describe anything associated with Christianity, or in a sense all that is noble, and good. According to a 2011 Pew Research Center survey, there were 2.2 billion Christians around the world in 2010, by 2050, the Christian population is expected to exceed 3 billion. According to a 2012 Pew Research Center survey Christianity will remain the worlds largest religion in 2050, about half of all Christians worldwide are Catholic, while more than a third are Protestant. Orthodox communions comprise 12% of the worlds Christians, other Christian groups make up the remainder. Christians make up the majority of the population in 158 countries and territories,280 million Christian live as a minority. In the Greek Septuagint, christos was used to translate the Hebrew מָשִׁיחַ, in other European languages, equivalent words to Christian are likewise derived from the Greek, such as Chrétien in French and Cristiano in Spanish. The second mention of the term follows in Acts 26,28, where Herod Agrippa II replied to Paul the Apostle, Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. The third and final New Testament reference to the term is in 1 Peter 4,16, which believers, Yet if as a Christian, let him not be ashamed. The city of Antioch, where someone gave them the name Christians, had a reputation for coming up with such nicknames, in the Annals he relates that by vulgar appellation commonly called Christians and identifies Christians as Neros scapegoats for the Great Fire of Rome. Another term for Christians which appears in the New Testament is Nazarenes which is used by the Jewish lawyer Tertullus in Acts 24, the Hebrew equivalent of Nazarenes, Notzrim, occurs in the Babylonian Talmud, and is still the modern Israeli Hebrew term for Christian. A wide range of beliefs and practices is found across the world among those who call themselves Christian, denominations and sects disagree on a common definition of Christianity. Most Baptists and fundamentalists, for example, would not acknowledge Mormonism or Christian Science as Christian, in fact, the nearly 77 percent of Americans who self-identify as Christian are a diverse pluribus of Christianities that are far from any collective unity. The identification of Jesus as the Messiah is not accepted by Judaism, the term for a Christian in Hebrew is נוּצְרי, a Talmudic term originally derived from the fact that Jesus came from the Galilean village of Nazareth, today in northern Israel. Adherents of Messianic Judaism are referred to in modern Hebrew as יְהוּדִים מָשִׁיחַיים, the term Nasara rose to prominence in July 2014, after the Fall of Mosul to the terrorist organization Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The nun or ن— the first letter of Nasara—was spray-painted on the property of Christians ejected from the city, where there is a distinction, Nasrani refers to people from a Christian culture and Masihi is used by Christians themselves for those with a religious faith in Jesus. In some countries Nasrani tends to be used generically for non-Muslim Western foreigners, another Arabic word sometimes used for Christians, particularly in a political context, is Ṣalībī from ṣalīb which refers to Crusaders and has negative connotations
14.
Christianity
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Christianity is a Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, who serves as the focal point for the religion. It is the worlds largest religion, with over 2.4 billion followers, or 33% of the global population, Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God and the savior of humanity whose coming as the Messiah was prophesied in the Old Testament. Christian theology is summarized in creeds such as the Apostles Creed and his incarnation, earthly ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection are often referred to as the gospel, meaning good news. The term gospel also refers to accounts of Jesuss life and teaching, four of which—Matthew, Mark, Luke. Christianity is an Abrahamic religion that began as a Second Temple Judaic sect in the mid-1st century, following the Age of Discovery, Christianity spread to the Americas, Australasia, sub-Saharan Africa, and the rest of the world through missionary work and colonization. Christianity has played a prominent role in the shaping of Western civilization, throughout its history, Christianity has weathered schisms and theological disputes that have resulted in many distinct churches and denominations. Worldwide, the three largest branches of Christianity are the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the denominations of Protestantism. There are many important differences of interpretation and opinion of the Bible, concise doctrinal statements or confessions of religious beliefs are known as creeds. They began as baptismal formulae and were expanded during the Christological controversies of the 4th and 5th centuries to become statements of faith. Many evangelical Protestants reject creeds as definitive statements of faith, even agreeing with some or all of the substance of the creeds. The Baptists have been non-creedal in that they have not sought to establish binding authoritative confessions of faith on one another. Also rejecting creeds are groups with roots in the Restoration Movement, such as the Christian Church, the Evangelical Christian Church in Canada, the Apostles Creed is the most widely accepted statement of the articles of Christian faith. It is also used by Presbyterians, Methodists, and Congregationalists and this particular creed was developed between the 2nd and 9th centuries. Its central doctrines are those of the Trinity and God the Creator, each of the doctrines found in this creed can be traced to statements current in the apostolic period. The creed was used as a summary of Christian doctrine for baptismal candidates in the churches of Rome. Most Christians accept the use of creeds, and subscribe to at least one of the mentioned above. The central tenet of Christianity is the belief in Jesus as the Son of God, Christians believe that Jesus, as the Messiah, was anointed by God as savior of humanity, and hold that Jesus coming was the fulfillment of messianic prophecies of the Old Testament. The Christian concept of the Messiah differs significantly from the contemporary Jewish concept, Jesus, having become fully human, suffered the pains and temptations of a mortal man, but did not sin
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Easter
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It is the culmination of the Passion of Jesus, preceded by Lent, a forty-day period of fasting, prayer, and penance. In Western Christianity, Eastertide, or the Easter Season, begins on Easter Sunday and lasts seven weeks, ending with the coming of the fiftieth day, Pentecost Sunday. In Eastern Christianity, the season of Pascha begins on Pascha and ends with the coming of the fortieth day, the Feast of the Ascension. The First Council of Nicaea established two rules, independence of the Jewish calendar and worldwide uniformity, which were the rules for Easter explicitly laid down by the council. No details for the computation were specified, these were worked out in practice and it has come to be the first Sunday after the ecclesiastical full moon that occurs on or soonest after 21 March, but calculations vary. Easter is linked to the Jewish Passover by much of its symbolism, in many languages, the words for Easter and Passover are identical or very similar. Easter customs vary across the Christian world, and include services, exclaiming the Paschal greeting, clipping the church. The Easter lily, a symbol of the resurrection, traditionally decorates the area of churches on this day. Additional customs that have associated with Easter and are observed by both Christians and some non-Christians include egg hunting, the Easter Bunny, and Easter parades. There are also various traditional Easter foods that vary regionally, however, it is possible that Bede was only speculating about the origin of the term since there is no firm evidence that such a goddess actually existed. In Greek and Latin, the Christian celebration was, and still is, called Πάσχα, Pascha, the word originally denoted the Jewish festival known in English as Passover, commemorating the Jewish Exodus from slavery in Egypt. In most of the non-English speaking world, the feast is known by names derived from Greek, Pascha is also a name by which Jesus himself is remembered in the Orthodox Church, especially in connection with his resurrection and with the season of its celebration. The New Testament states that the resurrection of Jesus, which Easter celebrates, is a foundation of the Christian faith, the resurrection established Jesus as the powerful Son of God and is cited as proof that God will judge the world in righteousness. For those who trust in Jesus death and resurrection, death is swallowed up in victory, any person who chooses to follow Jesus receives a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Through faith in the working of God those who follow Jesus are spiritually resurrected with him so that they may walk in a new way of life and receive eternal salvation. Easter is linked to the Passover and Exodus from Egypt recorded in the Old Testament through the Last Supper, sufferings and crucifixion of Jesus that preceded the resurrection. According to the New Testament, Jesus gave the Passover meal a new meaning, as in the room during the Last Supper he prepared himself. He identified the matzah and cup of wine as his soon to be sacrificed
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Antioch
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Antioch on the Orontes was an ancient Greco-Roman city on the eastern side of the Orontes River. Its ruins lie near the city of Antakya, Turkey. Antioch was founded near the end of the 4th century BC by Seleucus I Nicator, the citys geographical, military, and economic location benefited its occupants, particularly such features as the spice trade, the Silk Road, and the Persian Royal Road. It eventually rivaled Alexandria as the city of the Near East. It was also the center of Hellenistic Judaism at the end of the Second Temple period. Most of the development of Antioch was done during the Roman Empire. Antioch was called the cradle of Christianity as a result of its longevity, the Christian New Testament asserts that the name Christian first emerged in Antioch. It was one of the four cities of the Syrian tetrapolis, a single route proceeds south in the Orontes valley. The settlement of Meroe pre-dated Antioch, a shrine of the Semitic goddess Anat, called by Herodotus the Persian Artemis, was located here. This site was included in the suburbs of Antioch. There was a village on the spur of Mount Silpius named Io and this name was always adduced as evidence by Antiochenes anxious to affiliate themselves to the Attic Ionians—an eagerness which is illustrated by the Athenian types used on the citys coins. Io may have been an early colony of trading Greeks. John Malalas also mentions a village, Bottia, in the plain by the river. Macedonian ruler Alexander the Great is said to have camped on the site of Antioch and this account is found only in the writings of Libanius, a 4th-century orator from Antioch, and may be legend intended to enhance Antiochs status. But the story is not unlikely in itself, after Alexanders death in 323 BC, his generals divided up the territory he had conquered. Seleucus I Nicator won the territory of Syria, and he proceeded to found four sister cities in northwestern Syria, one of which was Antioch and he is reputed to have built sixteen Antiochs. Seleucus founded Antioch on a site chosen through ritual means, an eagle, the bird of Zeus, had been given a piece of sacrificial meat and the city was founded on the site to which the eagle carried the offering. Seleucus did this on the 22nd day of the month of Artemisios in the year of his reign
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Babylas of Antioch
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Saint Babylas was a patriarch of Antioch, who died in prison during the Decian persecution. In the Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Churches of the Byzantine rite his feast day is September 4, in the Roman Catholic, January 24. He has the distinction of being the first saint recorded as having had his remains moved or translated for religious purposes and he was the successor of Zebinus as Bishop of Antioch in the reign of the Emperor Gordian III, being the twelfth bishop of the see. During the Decian persecution he made a confession of faith and was thrown into prison where he died from his sufferings. He was, therefore, venerated as a martyr, John does not give the name of the emperor, the Acts mention Numerian. It is more likely the contemporary Philip the Arab of whom Eusebius reports that a bishop would not let him enter the gathering of Christians at the Easter vigil. Later legend elaborates on this, stating that Babylas demanded that he do penance for his part in the murder of the young Gordian III before he would allow Philip to celebrate Easter. In 351 the Caesar Constantius Gallus built a new church in honor of Babylas at Daphne, a suburb of Antioch, and had the remains of the bishop transferred to it. According to Chrysostom, when Emperor Julian consulted the oracle of Apollo at the temple in Daphne, he received no answer and he therefore, had the sarcophagus of the martyr exhumed and taken back to his original place of burial. A few days later, on October 22, a fire broke out in the temple of Apollo, consuming the roof of the building. John Chrysostom claimed a bolt of lightning set the temple on fire, the remains of Babylas were reinterred in a church dedicated to him on the other side of the River Orontes. This was the first recorded translation of the remains of a saint. The columns and walls of the temple were still pointed out twenty years later. In the Middle Ages, the remains of Babylas are said to have moved to Cremona. Text of St John Chrysostoms homily on Saint Babylas, St. Babilas at the Christian Iconography web site
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Origen
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Origen, or Origen Adamantius, was a Greek scholar, ascetic, and early Christian theologian who was born and spent the first half of his career in Alexandria. He was a writer in multiple branches of theology, including textual criticism, biblical exegesis and hermeneutics, philosophical theology, preaching. He was anathematised at the Second Council of Constantinople and he was one of the most influential figures in early Christian asceticism. Origens Greek name Ōrigénēs probably means child of Horus and his nickname or cognomen Adamantios derives from Greek adámas, which means adamant, unalterable, unbreakable, unconquerable, diamond. He acquired it because of his ascetical practices. Origen was born in Alexandria to Christian parents and he was educated by his father, Leonides of Alexandria, who gave him a standard Hellenistic education, but also had him study the Christian scriptures. The name of his mother is unknown, in 202, Origens father was martyred in the outbreak of the persecution during the reign of Septimius Severus. A story reported by Eusebius has it that Origen wished to follow him in martyrdom, the death of Leonides left the family of nine impoverished when their property was confiscated. Many modern scholars, however, doubt that Clements school had been an ecclesiastical institution as Origens was. His fame and the number of his pupils increased rapidly, so that Bishop Demetrius of Alexandria, Origen, to be entirely independent, sold his library for a sum which netted him a daily income of 4 obols, on which he lived by exercising the utmost frugality. Teaching throughout the day, he devoted the greater part of the night to the study of the Bible, Eusebius reported that Origen, following Matthew 19,12 literally, castrated himself. The later church historian Philostorgius of Apamea, on the other hand, Eusebius story was accepted during the Middle Ages and was cited by Peter Abelard in his letters to Heloise. Edward Gibbon, in his History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, during the past century, scholars have often questioned this, surmising that this may have been a rumor circulated by his detractors. Henry Chadwick points out that, while the story may be true, it seems unlikely, however, many noted historians, such as Peter Brown and William Placher, continue to find no reason to deny the truth of Eusebius claims. But the school had far outgrown the strength of a man, the catechumens pressed eagerly for elementary instruction. Under these circumstances, Origen entrusted the teaching of the catechumens to Heraclas and his own interests became more and more centered in exegesis, and he accordingly studied Hebrew, though there is no certain knowledge concerning his instructor in that language. From about this period dates Origens acquaintance with Ambrose of Alexandria, later Ambrose, a man of wealth, made a formal agreement with Origen to promulgate his writings, and all the subsequent works of Origen were dedicated to Ambrose. In the following year, an uprising at Alexandria caused Caracalla to let his soldiers plunder the city, shut the schools
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Syria
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Syrias capital and largest city is Damascus. Religious groups include Sunnis, Christians, Alawites, Druze, Mandeans, Shiites, Salafis, Sunni Arabs make up the largest religious group in Syria. Its capital Damascus and largest city Aleppo are among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, in the Islamic era, Damascus was the seat of the Umayyad Caliphate and a provincial capital of the Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt. The post-independence period was tumultuous, and a number of military coups. In 1958, Syria entered a union with Egypt called the United Arab Republic. Syria was under Emergency Law from 1963 to 2011, effectively suspending most constitutional protections for citizens, Bashar al-Assad has been president since 2000 and was preceded by his father Hafez al-Assad, who was in office from 1970 to 2000. Mainstream modern academic opinion strongly favours the argument that the Greek word is related to the cognate Ἀσσυρία, Assyria, in the past, others believed that it was derived from Siryon, the name that the Sidonians gave to Mount Hermon. However, the discovery of the inscription in 2000 seems to support the theory that the term Syria derives from Assyria. The area designated by the word has changed over time, since approximately 10,000 BC, Syria was one of centers of Neolithic culture where agriculture and cattle breeding appeared for the first time in the world. The following Neolithic period is represented by houses of Mureybet culture. At the time of the pre-pottery Neolithic, people used vessels made of stone, gyps, finds of obsidian tools from Anatolia are evidences of early trade relations. Cities of Hamoukar and Emar played an important role during the late Neolithic, archaeologists have demonstrated that civilization in Syria was one of the most ancient on earth, perhaps preceded by only those of Mesopotamia. The earliest recorded indigenous civilisation in the region was the Kingdom of Ebla near present-day Idlib, gifts from Pharaohs, found during excavations, confirm Eblas contact with Egypt. One of the earliest written texts from Syria is an agreement between Vizier Ibrium of Ebla and an ambiguous kingdom called Abarsal c.2300 BC. The Northwest Semitic language of the Amorites is the earliest attested of the Canaanite languages, Mari reemerged during this period, and saw renewed prosperity until conquered by Hammurabi of Babylon. Ugarit also arose during this time, circa 1800 BC, close to modern Latakia, Ugaritic was a Semitic language loosely related to the Canaanite languages, and developed the Ugaritic alphabet. The Ugarites kingdom survived until its destruction at the hands of the marauding Indo-European Sea Peoples in the 12th century BC, Yamhad was described in the tablets of Mari as the mightiest state in the near east and as having more vassals than Hammurabi of Babylon. Yamhad imposed its authority over Alalakh, Qatna, the Hurrians states, the army of Yamhad campaigned as far away as Dēr on the border of Elam
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Damascus
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Damascus is the capital and likely the largest city of Syria, following the decline in population of Aleppo due to the ongoing battle for the city. It is commonly known in Syria as ash-Sham and nicknamed as the City of Jasmine, in addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major cultural and religious centre of the Levant. The city has an population of 1,711,000 as of 2009. Located in south-western Syria, Damascus is the centre of a metropolitan area of 2.6 million people. The Barada River flows through Damascus, first settled in the second millennium BC, it was chosen as the capital of the Umayyad Caliphate from 661 to 750. After the victory of the Abbasid dynasty, the seat of Islamic power was moved to Baghdad, Damascus saw a political decline throughout the Abbasid era, only to regain significant importance in the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods. Today, it is the seat of the government and all of the government ministries. The name of Damascus first appeared in the geographical list of Thutmose III as T-m-ś-q in the 15th century BC, the etymology of the ancient name T-m-ś-q is uncertain, but it is suspected to be pre-Semitic. It is attested as Dimašqa in Akkadian, T-ms-ḳw in Egyptian, Dammaśq in Old Aramaic, the Akkadian spelling is found in the Amarna letters, from the 14th century BC. Later Aramaic spellings of the name include a intrusive resh, perhaps influenced by the root dr. Thus, the English and Latin name of the city is Damascus which was imported from originated from the Qumranic Darmeśeq, and Darmsûq in Syriac, meaning a well-watered land. In Arabic, the city is called Dimašqu š-Šāmi, although this is shortened to either Dimašq or aš-Šām by the citizens of Damascus, of Syria and other Arab neighbours. Aš-Šām is an Arabic term for Levant and for Syria, the latter, the Anti-Lebanon mountains mark the border between Syria and Lebanon. The range has peaks of over 10,000 ft. and blocks precipitation from the Mediterranean sea, however, in ancient times this was mitigated by the Barada River, which originates from mountain streams fed by melting snow. Damascus is surrounded by the Ghouta, irrigated farmland where many vegetables, cereals, maps of Roman Syria indicate that the Barada river emptied into a lake of some size east of Damascus. Today it is called Bahira Atayba, the hesitant lake, because in years of severe drought it does not even exist, the modern city has an area of 105 km2, out of which 77 km2 is urban, while Jabal Qasioun occupies the rest. The old city of Damascus, enclosed by the city walls, to the south-east, north and north-east it is surrounded by suburban areas whose history stretches back to the Middle Ages, Midan in the south-west, Sarouja and Imara in the north and north-west. These neighbourhoods originally arose on roads leading out of the city and these new neighbourhoods were initially settled by Kurdish soldiery and Muslim refugees from the European regions of the Ottoman Empire which had fallen under Christian rule
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Lajat
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The Lajat, also spelled Lejat, Lajah, el-Leja or Laja, is the largest lava field in southern Syria, spanning some 900 square kilometers. Located about 50 kilometers southeast of Damascus, the Lajat borders the Hauran plain to the west, the average elevation is between 600 and 700 meters above sea level, with the highest volcanic cone being 1,159 meters above sea level. Receiving little annual rainfall, the Lajat is largely barren, though there are scattered patches of land in some of its depressions. The region has been known by a number of names throughout its history, including Argob in the Hebrew Bible and Trachonitis by the Greeks, a name under which it is mentioned in the Gospel of Luke. Long inhabited by Arab groups, it saw development under the Romans, the pagan cults that predominated in Trachonitis during the Roman and pre-Roman era persisted through much of the Byzantine era, until the 6th century when Christianity became dominant. During Byzantine rule, Trachonitis experienced a building boom with churches, homes, bathhouses and colonnades being constructed in numerous villages. At some point the region was abandoned, but repopulated by refugees from parts of Syria during the 13th-century Mongol invasions. It was then that the region gained its modern Arabic name, al-Lajāʾ, during early Ottoman rule in the 16th century, the Lajat contained numerous grain-growing villages, but by the 17th century, the region was all but abandoned. Local Bedouin tribes, such as the Sulut, increasingly used the region for grazing their flocks, today, the population is mixed, with Druze inhabiting its central and eastern areas, and Muslims and Melkites living in villages along its western edge. Lajats ancient name Trachonitis signifies the land associated with the trachon, Lajat is roughly triangular in shape, with its apex to the North. The sides are about 25 miles in length, and the base about 20, Lajat lies in the midst of an arable and pastoral country, and although it could never have supported a large population, it has probably always been inhabited. Its northern border is marked by the Wadi al-Ajam gorge. It is bordered to the east by the Ard al-Bathaniyya region, to the southeast by Jabal al-Druze, in the south by the Nuqrah, to the southwest by the Golan Heights and to the northwest by Jaydur. Lajats average elevation is between 600 and 700 meters above sea level, and it is higher than the surrounding plains. Many of its volcanic cones are higher than 1,000 meters above sea level, with the highest, just west of Shahba, in general the volcanic cones and mounds rise 20 to 30 meters above the lava fields. Much of Lajat is largely covered by gray, disintegrated lava fields that forming jagged basalt boulders, though there are areas of smoother. The holes were formed from gas bubbles caused by cooling lava that flowed over the uneven landscape, among the mostly barren landscape are depressions with far less rocky ground than the rest of the Lajat. The depressions are called ka′ in Arabic and have diameters of 100 meters
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Roman province
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In Ancient Rome, a province was the basic, and, until the Tetrarchy, largest territorial and administrative unit of the empires territorial possessions outside of Italy. The word province in modern English has its origins in the used by the Romans. Provinces were generally governed by politicians of senatorial rank, usually former consuls or former praetors and this exception was unique, but not contrary to Roman law, as Egypt was considered Augustus personal property, following the tradition of earlier, Hellenistic kings. The territory of a people who were defeated in war might be brought under various forms of treaty, the formal annexation of a territory created a province in the modern sense of an administrative unit geographically defined. Republican provinces were administered in one-year terms by the consuls and praetors who had held office the previous year, Rome started expanding beyond Italy during the First Punic War. The first permanent provinces to be annexed were Sicily in 241 BC, militarized expansionism kept increasing the number of these administrative provinces, until there were no longer enough qualified individuals to fill the posts. The terms of provincial governors often had to be extended for multiple years,241 BC – Sicilia taken over from the Carthaginians and annexed at the end of the First Punic War. 237 BC – Corsica et Sardinia, these two islands were taken over from the Carthaginians and annexed soon after the Mercenary War, in 238 BC and 237 BC respectively. 197 BC – Hispania Citerior, along the east coast of the,197 BC - Hispania Ulterior, along the southern coast of the, part of the territories taken over from the Carthaginians in the Second Punic War. 147 BC – Macedonia, mainland Greece and it was annexed after a rebellion by the Achaean League. 146 BC – Africa, modern day Tunisia and western Libya, home territory of Carthage and it was annexed following attacks on the allied Greek city of Massalia. 67 BC – Creta et Cyrenae, Cyrenaica was bequeathed to Rome in 78 BC, however, it was not organised as a province. 58 BC – Cilicia et Cyprus, Cilicia was created as a province in the sense of area of command in 102 BC in a campaign against piracy. The Romans controlled only a small area, in 74 BC Lycia and Pamphylia were added to the smal Roman possessions in Cilicia. Cilicia came fully under Roman control towards the end of the Third Mithridatic War - 73-63 BC, the province was reorganised by Pompey in 63 BC. Gallia Cisalpina was a province in the sense of an area of military command, during Romes expansion in Italy the Romans assigned some areas as provinces in the sense of areas of military command assigned to consuls or praetors due to risks of rebellions or invasions. This was applied to Liguria because there was a series of rebellions, Bruttium, in the early days of Roman presence in Gallia Cisalpina the issue was rebellion. Later the issue was risk of invasions by warlike peoples east of Italy, the city of Aquileia was founded to protect northern Italy form invasions
"Philip the Arabian". Catholic Encyclopedia. 1913.
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