Damascus
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, 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 and north-east it is surrounded by suburban areas whose history stretches back to the Middle Ages, Midan in the south-west 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
Hatfield, Hertfordshire
Hatfield is a town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, in the borough of Welwyn Hatfield. It had a population of 29,616 in 2001, increasing to 39,201 at the 2011 Census, the settlement is of Saxon origin. Hatfield House, the home of the Marquess of Salisbury, is the nucleus of the old town, Hatfield was one of the post-war New Towns built around London and has much modernist architecture from the period. The University of Hertfordshire is based there, Hatfield is 20 miles north of London and is connected to the capital via the A1 and direct trains to London Kings Cross, Finsbury Park and Moorgate. As a result, the town has seen a recent increase in commuters who work in London moving to the area. In the Saxon period Hatfield was known as Hetfelle, but by the year 970, No other records remain until 1226, when Henry III granted the Bishops of Ely rights to an annual four-day fair and a weekly market. The town was called Bishops Hatfield, Hatfield House is the seat of the Cecil family, the Marquesses of Salisbury.
Elizabeth Tudor was confined there for three years in what is now known as The Old Palace in Hatfield Park. Legend has it that it was here in 1558, while sitting under an oak tree in the Park and she held her first Council in the Great Hall of Hatfield. In 1851, the route of the Great North Road was altered to avoid cutting through the grounds of Hatfield House, the town grew up around the gates of Hatfield House. Old Hatfield retains many buildings, notably the Old Palace, St Etheldredas Church. The Old Palace was built by the Bishop of Ely, Cardinal Morton, in 1497, during the reign of Henry VII, and the only surviving wing is still used today for Elizabethan-style banquets. St Etheldredas Church was founded by the monks from Ely, in 1930 the de Havilland airfield and aircraft factory was opened at Hatfield and by 1949 it had become the largest employer in the town, with almost 4,000 staff. It was taken over by Hawker Siddeley in 1960 and merged into British Aerospace in 1978, in the 1930s it produced a range of small biplanes.
During the Second World War it produced the Mosquito fighter bomber and developed the Vampire, after the war, facilities were expanded and it developed the Comet airliner, the Trident airliner, and an early bizjet, the DH125. British Aerospace closed the Hatfield site in 1993 having moved the BAe 146 production line to Woodford Aerodrome, the land was used as a film set for Steven Spielbergs movie Saving Private Ryan and most of the BBC/HBO television drama Band of Brothers. It was developed for housing, higher education, today, Hatfields aviation history is remembered by the names of certain local streets and pubs as well as The Comet Hotel built in the 1930s. The de Havilland Aircraft Heritage Centre, at Salisbury Hall in nearby London Colney and displays many historic de Havilland aeroplanes, the Abercrombie Plan for London in 1944 proposed a New Town in Hatfield
Antioch
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 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 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 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
Computus
Computus is a calculation that determines the calendar date of Easter. The name has been used for this procedure since the early Middle Ages, for most of their history Christians have calculated Easter independently of the Jewish calendar. In principle, Easter falls on the Sunday following the moon that follows the northern spring equinox. However, the equinox and the full moon are not determined by astronomical observation. The vernal equinox is fixed to fall on 21 March, the full moon is an ecclesiastical full moon determined by reference to a lunar calendar, which again varied in different areas. The last limit arises from the fact that the crucifixion was considered to have happened on the 14th, the synodic month had already been measured to a high degree of accuracy. The schematic model that eventually was accepted is the Metonic cycle, in 1583, the Catholic Church began using 21 March under the Gregorian calendar to calculate the date of Easter, while the Eastern Churches have continued to use 21 March under the Julian calendar.
The Catholic and Protestant denominations thus use a full moon that occurs four. The earliest and latest dates for Easter are 22 March and 25 April, in the Gregorian calendar those dates are as commonly understood. Easter is the most important Christian feast, and the date of its celebration has been the subject of controversy as early as the meeting of Anicetus. The rest of the Christian world at time, according to Eusebius, held to the view which still prevails. Eusebius does not say how the Sunday was decided, by the end of the 3rd century some Christians had become dissatisfied with what they perceived as the disorderly state of the Jewish calendar. The chief complaint was that the Jewish practice sometimes set the 14th of Nisan before the spring equinox, and it was explicitly stated by Peter, bishop of Alexandria that the men of the present day now celebrate before the equinox. through negligence and error. Another objection to using the Jewish computation may have been that the Jewish calendar was not unified, Jews in one city might have a method for reckoning the Week of Unleavened Bread different from that used by the Jews of another city.
Because of these perceived defects in the practice, Christian computists began experimenting with systems for determining Easter that would be free of these defects. At the First Council of Nicaea in 325, it was agreed that the Christians should observe a common date, because of the divergence of tables mentioned above it was usual to negotiate a common date when discrepancies arose. It took several centuries before a common method was accepted throughout Christendom, the process of working out the details generated still further controversies. The method from Alexandria became authoritative, in its developed form it was based on the epacts of a reckoned moon according to the 19-year Metonic cycle
Bishop of Winchester
The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishops seat is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire, the Bishop of Winchester is appointed by the Crown, and is one of five Church of England bishops who are among the Lords Spiritual in the House of Lords regardless of their length of service. The Lords Spiritual are the 26 bishops in parliament, the other members are called the Lords Temporal. The Diocese of Winchester is one of the oldest and most important in England, originally it was the see of the kingdom of Wessex, with the cathedra at Dorchester Cathedral under Saints Birinus and Agilbert. It was transferred to Winchester in AD660, a cathedral at Dorchester was founded in 634 by the Roman missionary Saint Birinus. It was the seat of a Bishop of the West Saxons, Winchester was divided in AD909, with Wiltshire and Berkshire transferring to the new See of Ramsbury. The most recent loss of territory was in 2014 when the Channel Islands were removed from the diocese of Winchester after a dispute with Bishop Tim Dakin led to a breakdown in relations, this arrangement is expressed to be an interim one and will not necessarily become permanent.
The Channel Islands remain part of the Diocese of Winchester effectively under a scheme of episcopal delegation, the Channel Islands have not been transferred to and incorporated within another diocese. But in 1533, Henry VIII of England raised the rank of the Bishop of London, the Bishop of Winchester has almost always held the office of Prelate of the Order of the Garter since its foundation in 1348. The official residence of the Bishop of Winchester is Wolvesey Palace in Winchester, other historic homes of the bishops included Farnham Castle and a town residence at Winchester Palace in Southwark, Surrey. The bishop is the visitor to five Oxford colleges, including New College, Oxford and St Johns College, the current Bishop of Winchester, Tim Dakin, was enthroned on 21 April 2012, having been elected on 14 October 2011. He was consecrated as a bishop at St Pauls Cathedral, London, on 25 January 2012, deans of Winchester Diocese of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester Academy
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of autonomous churches consisting of the Church of England and national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with it. Full participation in the life of each church is available to all communicant Anglicans. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Primate of All England, has a place of honour among the bishops of the Anglican churches and he is recognised as primus inter pares. The archbishop does not exercise authority in the provinces outside England, the churches of the Anglican Communion considers themselves to be part of the nicos one, holy and apostolic church and to be both Catholic and Reformed. For some adherents, Anglicanism represents a non-papal Catholicism, for others a form of Protestantism though without a dominant guiding figure such as Luther, Calvin, for others, their self-identity represents some combination of the two. The communion encompasses a spectrum of belief and practice including evangelical, liberal. With a membership estimated at around 85 million members, the Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion in the world, after the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Some of these churches are known as Anglican, such as the Anglican Church of Canada, for example the Church of Ireland, the Scottish and American Episcopal churches, and some other associated churches have a separate name. The Anglican Communion has no legal existence nor any governing structure which might exercise authority over the member churches. There is an Anglican Communion Office in London, under the aegis of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Communion is held together by a shared history, expressed in its ecclesiology and ethos and by participation in international consultative bodies. Early in its development, Anglicanism developed a vernacular prayer book, unlike other traditions, Anglicanism has never been governed by a magisterium nor by appeal to one founding theologian, nor by an extra-credal summary of doctrine. Instead, Anglicans have typically appealed to the Book of Common Prayer and its offshoots as a guide to Anglican theology and this had the effect of inculcating the principle of Lex orandi, lex credendi as the foundation of Anglican identity and confession.
These parameters were most clearly articulated in the rubrics of the successive prayer books. With the expansion of the British Empire, and hence the growth of Anglicanism outside Great Britain and Ireland, the first major expression of this were the Lambeth Conferences of the communions bishops, first convened by Archbishop of Canterbury Charles Longley in 1869. One of the influential early resolutions of the conference was the so-called Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral of 1888. Its intent was to provide the basis for discussions of reunion with the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches, the Apostles Creed, as the Baptismal Symbol, and the Nicene Creed, as the sufficient statement of the Christian faith. The two Sacraments ordained by Christ Himself - Baptism and the Supper of the Lord - ministered with unfailing use of Christs Words of Institution, and of the elements ordained by Him. The Historic Episcopate, locally adapted in the methods of its administration to the needs of the nations
Canterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, a journey of pilgrims to Beckets shrine served as the frame for Geoffrey Chaucers 14th century classic The Canterbury Tales. Canterbury is a popular tourist destination, consistently one of the cities in the United Kingdom. The city has been occupied since Paleolithic times and served as the capital of the Celtic Cantiaci, modern additions include the Marlowe Theatre and the St Lawrence Ground, home of the Kent County Cricket Club. Canterbury remains, however, a city in terms of geographical size and population. In Sub-Roman Britain, it was known in Old Welsh as Cair Ceint, occupied by the Jutes, it became known in Old English as Cantwareburh, which developed into its present name. The Canterbury area has been inhabited since prehistoric times, lower Paleolithic axes, and Neolithic and Bronze Age pots have been found in the area.
Canterbury was first recorded as the settlement of the Celtic tribe of the Cantiaci. In the 1st century AD, the Romans captured the settlement, the Romans rebuilt the city, with new streets in a grid pattern, a theatre, a temple, a forum, and public baths. In the late 3rd century, to defend against attack from barbarians, the Romans built an earth bank around the city and a wall with seven gates, which enclosed an area of 130 acres. Over the next 100 years, an Anglo-Saxon community formed within the city walls, as Jutish refugees arrived, in 597, Pope Gregory the Great sent Augustine to convert its King Æthelberht to Christianity. After the conversion, being a Roman town, was chosen by Augustine as the centre for his see in Kent. Augustine thus became the first Archbishop of Canterbury, the towns new importance led to its revival, and trades developed in pottery and leather. By 630, gold coins were being struck at the Canterbury mint, in 672, the Synod of Hertford gave the see of Canterbury authority over the entire English Church.
In 842 and 851, Canterbury suffered great loss of life during Danish raids, in 978, Archbishop Dunstan refounded the abbey built by Augustine, and named it St Augustines Abbey. A second wave of Danish attacks began in 991, and in 1011 the cathedral was burnt, remembering the destruction caused by the Danes, the inhabitants of Canterbury did not resist William the Conquerors invasion in 1066. William immediately ordered a wooden motte-and-bailey castle to be built by the Roman city wall, in the early 12th century, the castle was rebuilt with stone. After the murder of Archbishop Thomas Becket at the cathedral in 1170, Canterbury became one of the most notable towns in Europe and this pilgrimage provided the framework for Geoffrey Chaucers 14th-century collection of stories, The Canterbury Tales
Ecclesiastical History of the English People
It is believed to have been completed in 731 when Bede was approximately 59 years old. The Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum, or An Ecclesiastical History of the English People is Bedes best-known work, the first of the five books begins with some geographical background and sketches the history of England, beginning with Caesars invasion in 55 BC. The second book begins with the death of Gregory the Great in 604, and follows the progress of Christianity in Kent. These encountered a setback when Penda, the king of Mercia. The setback was temporary, and the book recounts the growth of Christianity in Northumbria under kings Oswald. The climax of the book is the account of the Council of Whitby. The fourth book begins with the consecration of Theodore as Archbishop of Canterbury, the fifth book brings the story up to Bedes day, and includes an account of missionary work in Frisia, and of the conflict with the British church over the correct dating of Easter. Bede wrote a preface for the work, in which he dedicates it to Ceolwulf, the preface mentions that Ceolwulf received an earlier draft of the book, presumably Ceolwulf knew enough Latin to understand it, and he may even have been able to read it.
Divided into five books, the Historia covers the history of England and political and this is impressive, the Historia, like other historical writing from this period has a lower degree of objectivity than modern historical writings. It seems to be a mixture of fact and literature, the monastery at Jarrow had an excellent library. Both Benedict Biscop and Ceolfrith had acquired books from the Continent, for the period prior to Augustines arrival in 597, Bede drew on earlier writers, including Orosius, Eutropius and Solinus. He used Constantiuss Life of Germanus as a source for Germanuss visits to Britain, Bedes account of the invasion of the Anglo-Saxons is drawn largely from Gildass De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae. Bede would have been familiar with more recent accounts such as Eddius Stephanuss Life of Wilfrid and he drew on Josephuss Antiquities, and the works of Cassiodorus, and there was a copy of the Liber Pontificalis in Bedes monastery. Bede had correspondents who supplied him with material, almost all of Bedes information regarding Augustine is taken from these letters, which includes the Libellus responsionum, as chapter 27 of book 1 is often known.
Bede mentions an Abbot Esi as a source for the affairs of the East Anglian church, the historian Walter Goffart argues that Bede based the structure of the Historia on three works, using them as the framework around which the three main sections of the work were structured. For the early part of the work, up until the Gregorian mission, the second section, detailing the Gregorian mission of Augustine of Canterbury was framed on the anonymous Life of Gregory the Great written at Whitby. The last section, detailing events after the Gregorian mission, Goffart asserts were modelled on Stephen of Ripons Life of Wilfrid, the History of the English Church and People has a clear polemical and didactic purpose. Bede sets out not just to tell the story of the English, in political terms he is a partisan of his native Northumbria, amplifying its role in English history over and above that of Mercia, its great southern rival
Pope Vitalian
Pope Vitalian reigned from 30 July 657 to his death in 672. He was born in Segni, the son of Anastasius, after the death of Pope Eugene I on 2 or 3 June 657, Vitalian was elected his successor, and was consecrated and enthroned on 30 July. He kept his name as pope. He sent letters announcing his elevation to the Emperor and to Patriarch Peter of Constantinople, the Patriarch Peter replied, although his answer was somewhat noncommittal as to Monothelitism, a belief he defended. In his letter, he gave the impression of being in accord with the pope, thus ecclesiastical intercourse between Rome and Constantinople was restored, but the mutual reserve over the dogmatic question of Monothelitism remained. Vitalians name was entered on the diptychs of the churches in Byzantium—the only name of a pope so entered between the reign of Honorius I and the Sixth Ecumenical Council of 680–81. The inclusion of Vitalians name on the diptych was seen by some as being too conciliatory towards heresy, Vitalian showed reciprocity toward Constans when the latter came to Rome in 663 to spend twelve days there during a campaign against the Lombards.
On 5 July, the pope and members of the Roman clergy met the Emperor at the sixth milestone and accompanied him to St. Peters Basilica, where the Emperor offered gifts. The following Sunday, Constans went in state to St. Peters, offered a pallium wrought with gold, the Emperor dined with the pope on the following Saturday, attended Mass again on Sunday at St. Peters, and after Mass took leave of the pope. On his departure Constans removed a number of bronze artworks, including the bronze tiles from the roof of the Pantheon. Constans moved on to Sicily, oppressed the population, and was assassinated at Syracuse in 668, Vitalian supported Constans son Constantine IV against the usurper Mezezius and thus helped him attain the throne. In this latter attempt, however, he did not succeed, the Monothelite Patriarch Theodore I of Constantinople removed Vitalians name from the diptychs. It was not until the Sixth Ecumenical Council that Monothelitism was suppressed, Pope Vitalian was successful in improving relations with England, where the Anglo-Saxon and British clergies were divided regarding various ecclesiastical customs.
At the Synod of Whitby, King Oswy of Northumberland accepted Roman practices regarding the keeping of Easter and the shape of the tonsure. Together with King Ecgberht of Kent, he sent the priest Wighard to Rome, to be consecrated there after the death of Archbishop Deusdedit of Canterbury in 664, Vitalian wrote to King Oswy promising to send a suitable bishop to England as soon as possible. Hadrian, abbot of a Neapolitan abbey, was selected, at his recommendation a highly educated monk, Theodore of Tarsus, who understood both Latin and Greek, was chosen as Archbishop of Canterbury and consecrated on 26 March 668. Accompanied by Abbot Hadrian, Theodore went to England, where he was recognized as the head of the Church of England, the archiepiscopal See of Ravenna reported directly to Rome. Archbishop Maurus sought to end this dependence, and thus make his see autocephalous, when Pope Vitalian called upon him to justify his theological views, he refused to obey and declared himself independent of Rome, thus becoming a schismatic
Archbishop of Canterbury
The current archbishop is Justin Welby. His enthronement took place at Canterbury Cathedral on 21 March 2013, Welby is the 105th in a line which goes back more than 1400 years to Augustine of Canterbury, the Apostle to the English, sent from Rome in the year 597. From the time of Augustine in the 6th until the 16th century, during the English Reformation the Church of England broke away from the authority of the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church. In the Middle Ages there was variation in the methods of nomination of the Archbishop of Canterbury. At various times the choice was made by the canons of Canterbury Cathedral, today the archbishop fills four main roles, He is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury, which covers the eastern parts of the County of Kent. Founded in 597, it is the oldest see in the English church and he is the metropolitan archbishop of the Province of Canterbury, which covers the southern two-thirds of England. He is the primate and chief religious figure of the Church of England.
The Archbishop of Canterbury plays a part in national ceremonies such as coronations, due to his high public profile. As spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop, although without legal authority outside England, is recognised by convention as primus inter pares of all Anglican primates worldwide, since 1867 he has convened more or less decennial meetings of worldwide Anglican bishops, the Lambeth Conferences. In the last two of these functions he has an important ecumenical and interfaith role, speaking on behalf of Anglicans in England, the archbishops main residence is Lambeth Palace in the London Borough of Lambeth. He has lodgings in the Old Palace, located beside Canterbury Cathedral, as holder of one of the five great sees, the Archbishop of Canterbury is ex officio one of the Lords Spiritual of the House of Lords. He is one of the men in England and the highest ranking non-royal in the United Kingdoms order of precedence. Since Henry VIII broke with Rome, the Archbishops of Canterbury have been selected by the English monarch, today the choice is made in the name of the monarch by the prime minister, from a shortlist of two selected by an ad-hoc committee called the Crown Nominations Commission.
Since the 20th century, the appointment of Archbishops of Canterbury conventionally alternates between more moderate Anglo-Catholics and Evangelicals, the current archbishop, Justin Welby, the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury, was enthroned at Canterbury Cathedral on 4 February 2013. As archbishop he signs himself as + Justin Cantuar and his predecessor, Rowan Williams, 104th Archbishop of Canterbury, was enthroned at Canterbury Cathedral on 27 February 2003. Immediately prior to his appointment to Canterbury, Williams was the Bishop of Monmouth, on 18 March 2012, Williams announced he would be stepping down as Archbishop of Canterbury at the end of 2012 to become Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge. In addition to his office, the archbishop holds a number of positions, for example, he is Joint President of the Council of Christians. Some positions he formally holds ex officio and others virtually so, geoffrey Fisher, 99th Archbishop of Canterbury, was the first since 1397 to visit Rome, where he held private talks with Pope John XXIII in 1960
Sasanian Empire
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 and India. It played a prominent role in the formation of both European and Asian medieval art, much of what became known as Islamic culture in art, architecture 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, 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, that following the death of Papak, 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, Khorasan, Balkh and he added Bahrain and Mosul to Sassanids possessions. In the west, assaults against Hatra and Adiabene met with less success, in 230, he raided deep into Roman territory, and a Roman counter-offensive two years 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
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. 26 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the 
