- published: 13 Dec 2007
- views: 563561
- author: kirby1
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- Adiabene
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Afghanistan
Afghanistan
i/æfˈɡænɨstæn/ (Persian/Pashto: افغانستان, Afġānistān), officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming part of South Asia, Central Asia, and Greater Middle East, it is also considered to be part of a broader West Asia. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of 647,500 km2 (250,001 sq mi), making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world. It is bordered by Pakistan in the south and the east, Iran in the west, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan in the north, and China in the far northeast.
Afghanistan has been an ancient focal point of the Silk Road and human migration. Archaeologists have found evidence of human habitation from as far back as 50,000 BC. Urban civilization may have begun in the area as early as 3,000 to 2,000 BC. Sitting at an important geostrategic location that connects the Middle East with Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent, the land has been home to various peoples through the ages and witnessed many military campaigns, notably by Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, and in modern era Western forces. The land also served as a source from which the Greco-Bactrians, Kushans, Saffarids, Ghaznavids, Ghorids, Timurids, Mughals and many others have risen to form major empires.
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Ahin Posh
Ahan Posh or Ahan Posh Tape (Persian: Iron covered place) is an ancient archaeological site in Orakzai in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. It is near the Afghanistan city of Jellalabad. The ruins of a Buddhist monastery are located there, in which coins of the Kushan king Kanishka were found together with a golden amulet, and a gold coin of the Roman emperor Trajan and empress Sabina coined between 128-137 CE. These form part of the collections of the British Museum.
A coin of the Roman Emperor Trajan, found together with coins of Kanishka, at Ahin Posh.
Coin of Kanishka found at Ahin Posh.
Golden amulet which contained coins of Kanishka, especially the Buddha coin. Ahin Posh.
Coin of Kanishka, with depiction of the Buddha. Ahin Posh.
Coordinates: 33°45′46″N 70°58′56″E / 33.76278°N 70.98222°E / 33.76278; 70.98222
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Andalusia
Andalusia (English /ˌændəˈluːʒə/, /ˌændəˈluːziə/; Spanish: Andalucía [andaluˈθi.a] or [andaluˈsi.a]) is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities in Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Almería, Cádiz, Córdoba, Granada, Huelva, Jaén, Málaga and Seville. Its capital is the city of Seville (Spanish: Sevilla).
Andalusia is in the south of the Iberian peninsula, immediately south of the autonomous communities of Extremadura and Castile–La Mancha; west of the autonomous community of Murcia and the Mediterranean Sea; east of Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean; and north of the Mediterranean Sea and the Strait of Gibraltar, which separates Spain from Morocco, and the Atlantic Ocean. The small British overseas territory of Gibraltar shares a three-quarter-mile land border with the Andalusian province of Cádiz at the eastern end of the Strait of Gibraltar.
Andalusia has three major geographic subregions. In the north, the mountainous Sierra Morena separates Andalusia from the plains of Extremadura and Castile–La Mancha on Spain's Meseta Central. South of that, one can distinguish Upper Andalusia, generally the Baetic System, from Lower Andalusia with its Baetic Depression of the valley of the Guadalquivir.
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Armenia
Armeniai/ɑrˈmiːniə/ (Armenian: Հայաստան Hayastan [hɑjɑsˈtɑn]), officially the Republic of Armenia (Հայաստանի Հանրապետություն, Hayastani Hanrapetut’yun, [hɑjɑstɑˈni hɑnɾɑpɛtuˈtʰjun]), is a landlocked, mountainous country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia to the north, the de facto independent Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and Azerbaijan to the east, and Iran and the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan to the south.
A former republic of the Soviet Union, Armenia is a unitary, multiparty, democratic nation-state with an ancient and historic cultural heritage. The Kingdom of Armenia became the first state in the world to adopt Christianity as its religion, in the early years of the 4th century (the traditional date is 301 AD). The modern Republic of Armenia recognizes the Armenian Apostolic Church, the world's oldest national church, as the country's primary religious establishment. Armenians have their own unique alphabet invented by Mesrob Mashtots in 406 AD.
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Batnae
Suruç is a rural district of Şanlıurfa Province of Turkey, on a plain near the Syrian border 46 km south-west of the city of Şanlıurfa.
The modern Turkish name “Suruç” is derived from Serugh (Syriac: ܣܪܘܓ, Sĕrûḡ, pronounced as if Sıruğ in Modern Turkish orthography, but present pronunciation influenced by Arabic: سروج, sarūj), the pre-Islamic name for the area. The name literally means “woven” or “latticed,” and either refers to weaving or saddle making, both of which are traditional in the district. Alternatively, the name is associated with Serug (Hebrew: שרוג, śərûḡ) the great-grandfather of the prophet Abraham (Genesis 11.20–23; I Chronicles 1.26; Luke 3.35).
In antiquity the Sumerians built a settlement in the area. The city was a centre of silk-making. They were succeeded by a number of other Mesopotamian civilisations. The Roman Emperor Constantine I brought the town under the control of the city of Edessa (modern day Şanlıurfa). One of the most famous residents of the district is its 6th century Syriac bishop and poet-theologian Jacob of Serugh. The town was surrendered to the Abbasid Arabs in 639. It was later controlled by Crusaders (in 1098), and Moslems again (in 1127). The city was then destroyed in the Mongol invasions, and in 1517 the area was brought into the Ottoman Empire by Selim I. Suruç was occupied in 1918 by British and in 1919 by French troops, but was freed by a local resistance struggle.
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Capitoline Hill
Coordinates: 41°53′36″N 12°28′59″E / 41.89333°N 12.48306°E / 41.89333; 12.48306
The Capitoline Hill (
/ˈkæpɨtəlaɪn/ or /kəˈpɪtɵlaɪn/; Latin: Collis Capitōlīnus), between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the seven hills of Rome. It was the citadel (equivalent of the ancient Greek acropolis) of the earliest Romans. By the 16th century, Capitolinus had become Capitolino in Italian, with the alternative Campidoglio stemming from Capitolium. The English word capitol derives from Capitoline. The Capitoline contains few ancient ground-level ruins, as they are almost entirely covered up by Medieval and Renaissance palaces (now housing the Capitoline Museums) that surround a piazza, a significant urban plan designed by Michelangelo.
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Charax Spasinou
Spasinu Charax, (English pronunciation: /spæsɨnuː tʃæræks/) or Charax Spasinu, Charax Pasinu, Charax Spasinou (Ancient Greek: Σπασίνου Χάραξ), Alexandria (Greek: Ἀλεξάνδρεια), and Antiochia in Susiana (Greek: Ἀντιόχεια τῆς Σουσιανῆς) was an ancient port at the head of the Persian Gulf, and the capital of the ancient kingdom of Characene.
The exact location of Charax is unknown. The name Charax, probably from Greek Χάραξ,[citation needed]) literally means "palisaded fort", and was applied to several fortified Seleucid towns. One possible site is a large mound known as Jabal Khuyabir or Naisan near the confluence of the Eulaios/Karkheh and the Tigris Rivers. Another possibility is that the town was lost when its dike collapsed and/or one of the rivers in the delta changed course. According to Pliny the Elder:
Charax was originally named Alexandria, after Alexander the Great, and was perhaps even personally founded by him. After destruction by floods, it was rebuilt by Antiochus IV (175-164 BCE) and renamed Antiochia. It was provided with a massive antiflood embankment almost 4½ km long by Antiochus's governor, Hyspaosines, and renamed "Charax of Hyspaosines."
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Colosseum
The Colosseum, or the Coliseum, originally the Flavian Amphitheatre (Latin: Amphitheatrum Flavium, Italian Anfiteatro Flavio or Colosseo), is an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire. It is considered one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and Roman engineering.
Occupying a site just east of the Roman Forum, its construction started in 72 AD under the emperor Vespasian and was completed in 80 AD under Titus, with further modifications being made during Domitian's reign (81–96). The name "Amphitheatrum Flavium" derives from both Vespasian's and Titus's family name (Flavius, from the gens Flavia).
Capable of seating 50,000 spectators, the Colosseum was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on Classical mythology. The building ceased to be used for entertainment in the early medieval era. It was later reused for such purposes as housing, workshops, quarters for a religious order, a fortress, a quarry, and a Christian shrine.
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Ctesiphon
Coordinates: 33°05′37″N 44°34′50″E / 33.09361°N 44.58056°E / 33.09361; 44.58056 Ctesiphon /tɛsɨfɒn/, the imperial capital of the Parthian Arsacids and of the Persian Sassanids, was one of the great cities of ancient Mesopotamia.
The ruins of the city are located on the east bank of the Tigris, across the river from the Hellenistic city of Seleucia. Today, the remains of the city lies in Baghdad Governorate, Iraq, approximately 35 km south of the city of Baghdad.
The Latin name Ctesiphon or Ctesifon derives from Greek Ktēsiphōn (Κτησιφῶν), a Hellenized form of a local name that has been reconstructed as Tosfōn or Tosbōn. In Iranian sources of the Sassanid period it is attested in Manichean Parthian, in Sassanid Middle Persian and in Christian Sogdian as Pahlavi tyspwn, continuing in New Persian as Tisfun (تيسفون). Syriac sources mention it as ܩܛܝܣܦܘܢ Qṭēsfōn, and in medieval Arabic texts the name is usually Ṭaysafūn (طيسفون) or Qaṭaysfūn (قطيسفون), in Modern Arabic al-Mada'in (المدائن). "According to Yāqūt [...], quoting Ḥamza, the original form was Ṭūsfūn or Tūsfūn, which was arabicized as Ṭaysafūn." The Armenian name of the city was Tizbon (Տիզբոն). Ctesiphon is first mentioned in the Book of Ezra of the Old Testament as Kasfia/Casphia (a derivative of the ethnic name, Cas, and a cognate of Caspian and Qazvin).
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Edessa, Mesopotamia
Edessa (Ancient Greek: Ἔδεσσα; Classical Syriac: ܐܘܪܗܝ Urhay; Armenian: Եդեսիա) is the historical name of an ancient town in upper Mesopotamia, refounded on an ancient site by Seleucus I Nicator. For the modern history of the city, see Şanlıurfa.
The earliest name of the city was Adma (Aramaic: אדמא also written Adme, Admi, Admum) which first appeared in Assyrian cuneiforms in the 7th century BCE. A Hellenistic settlement was found on the location of the Assyrian town by Seleucus I Nicator in 304 B.C. The new settlment was named "Edessa" after the ancient capital of Macedonia, perhaps due to its abundant water, just like its Macedonian homonym. The native Syriac name of the city "Orhay" (Classical Syriac: ܐܘܪܗܝ) appears to correspond with the toponym Antiochia Kallirhoe "Antioch by the Kallirhoe" (Αντιόχεια η επί Καλλιρρόης), which is found on Edessan coins struck by Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175 - 164 B.C.). The same name appears also in Armenian as Ուռհա, transliterated Urha or Ourha, in Arabic it is الرُّهَا transliterated as Er Ruha or Ar-Ruha, commonly Urfa, and Riha in Kurdish, and in Turkish Urfa, Ourfa, Sanli Urfa, or Şanlıurfa ("Glorious Urfa"), its present name. During Byzantine rule it was named Justinopolis.
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Hatra
Coordinates: 35°35′17″N 42°43′06″E / 35.58806°N 42.71833°E / 35.58806; 42.71833
Hatra (Arabic: الحضر al-Ḥaḍr) is an ancient city in the Ninawa Governorate and al-Jazira region of Iraq. It is currently known as al-Hadr, a name which appears once in ancient inscriptions, and it was in the ancient Iranian province of Khvarvaran. The city lies 290 km (180 mi) northwest of Baghdad and 110 km (68 mi) southwest of Mosul.
Hatra was founded by Ancient Arab tribes some time in the 3rd century BCE. A religious and trading centre under the Parthian empire of Iran, it flourished during the 1st and 2nd centuries BCE. Later on, the city became the capital of possibly the first Arab Kingdom in the chain of Arab cities running from Hatra, in the northeast, via Palmyra, Baalbek and Petra, in the southwest. The region controlled from Hatra was the Kingdom of Araba, a semi-autonomous buffer kingdom on the western limits of the Parthian Empire of Iran, governed by Arabian princes.
Hatra became an important fortified frontier city and withstood repeated attacks by the Roman Empire, and played an important role in the Second Parthian War. It repulsed the sieges of both Trajan (116/117) and Septimius Severus (198/199). Hatra defeated the Iranians at the battle of Shahrazoor in 238, but fell to the Iranian Sassanid Empire of Shapur I in 241 and was destroyed. The traditional stories of the fall of Hatra tell of an-Nadira, daughter of the King of Araba, who betrayed the city into the hands of Shapur. The story tells of how Shapur killed the king and married an-Nadira, but later had her killed also.
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Iron Gates
The Iron Gates (Romanian: Porţile de Fier pronounced [ˈport͡sile de ˈfjer]; (Serbian: Ђердапска клисура, Đerdapska klisura [d͡ʑě̞rdaːp] or [d͡ʑě̞rdaːpskaː klǐsura]; Hungarian: Vaskapu; Slovak: Železné vráta; Turkish: Demirkapı; German: Eisernes Tor; Bulgarian: Железни врата, transliterated: Zhelezni vrata) is a gorge on the Danube River. It forms part of the boundary between Romania and Serbia. In the broad sense it encompasses a route of 134 km (83 mi); in the narrow sense it only encompasses the last barrier on this route, just beyond the Romanian city of Orşova, that contains two hydroelectric dams, with two power stations, Iron Gate I Hydroelectric Power Station and Iron Gate II Hydroelectric Power Station.
The gorge lies between Romania in the north and Serbia in the south. At this point, the river separates the southern Carpathian Mountains from the northwestern foothills of the Balkan Mountains. The Romanian, Hungarian, Slovakian, Turkish, German and Bulgarian names literally mean "Iron Gates" and are used to name the entire range of gorges. An alternative Romanian name for the last part of the route is Defileul Dunării, "Danube Gorge". In Serbia, the gorge is known as Đerdap (Ђердап), with the last part named Đerdapska klisura. The Romanian side of the gorge constitutes the Iron Gates natural park, whereas the Serbian part constitutes the Đerdap national park.
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Italica
The city of Italica (Spanish: Itálica; north of modern day Santiponce, 9 km NW of Seville, Spain) was founded in 206 BC by the Roman general Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus in order to settle Roman soldiers wounded in the Battle of Ilipa, where the Carthaginian army was defeated during the Second Punic War. The name Italica bound the colonia to their Italian origins.
Italica was the birthplace of the Roman emperor Trajan. Hadrian was generous to his settled town, which he made a colonia; he added temples, including a Trajaneum venerating Trajan, and rebuilt public buildings. Italica’s amphitheater seated 25,000 spectators—half as many as the Flavian Amphitheatre in Rome— and was the third largest in the Roman Empire. The city's Roman population at the time is estimated to have been only 8000. The games and theatrical performances funded by the local aristocracy, who filled the positions of magistrate, were a means of establishing status: the size of the amphitheater shows that the local elite was maintaining status that extended far beyond Italica itself.
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Jordan
Jordan ( /ˈdʒɔr.dən/;Arabic: اَلأُرْدُنّ, Al-'Urdunn), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (Arabic: اَلمَمْلَكَة اَلأُرْدُنِيَّة اَلهَاشِمِيَّة), Al-Mamlakah Al-Urdaniyyah Al-Hashimiyyah) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing control of the Dead Sea with the latter. Jordan's only port is at its south-western tip, at the Gulf of Aqaba, which is shared with Israel, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia. Over half of Jordan is covered by the Arabian Desert. However, the western part of Jordan is arable land and forests. Jordan is part of the Fertile Crescent. The capital city is Amman. According to the CIA World Factbook, Jordan has the second highest life expectancy in the Middle East, after Israel. The average life expectancy is one position behind the United Kingdom, although the age remains exactly the same (80.05 years).
The precursor to modern Jordan was founded in 1921 as the Hashemite Emirate, and it was recognized by the League of Nations as a state under the British mandate in 1922 known as The Emirate of Transjordan. In 1946, Jordan became an independent sovereign state officially known as the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan. After capturing the West Bank area of Cisjordan during the 1948–49 war with Israel, Abdullah I took the title King of Jordan and Palestine, and he officially changed the country's name to the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in April 1949.
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London
Londoni/ˈlʌndən/ is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its founding by the Romans, who named it Londinium. London's ancient core, the City of London, largely retains its square-mile mediaeval boundaries. Since at least the 19th century, the name London has also referred to the metropolis developed around this core. The bulk of this conurbation forms the London region and the Greater London administrative area, governed by the elected Mayor of London and the London Assembly.
London is a leading global city, with strengths in the arts, commerce, education, entertainment, fashion, finance, healthcare, media, professional services, research and development, tourism and transport all contributing to its prominence. It is the world's leading financial centre alongside New York City and has the fifth-largest city GDP in the world (and the largest in Europe). London has been described as a world cultural capital. It was the world's most visited city during 2011 and London Heathrow is the world's busiest airport by number of international passengers. London's 43 universities form the largest concentration of higher education in Europe. In 2012 London will become the first city to host the modern Summer Olympic Games three times.
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Mada'in Saleh
Mada'in Saleh (Arabic: مدائن صالح, madāʼin Ṣāliḥ), also called Al-Hijr or Hegra (so in Greek and Latin, e.g. by Pliny ), is a pre-Islamic archaeological site located in the Al-Ula sector, within the Al Madinah Region of Saudi Arabia. A majority of the vestiges date from the Nabatean kingdom (1st century CE). The site constitutes the kingdom's southernmost and largest settlement after Petra, its capital. Traces of Lihyanite and Roman occupation before and after the Nabatean rule, respectively, can also be found in situ, while accounts from the Qur’an tell of an earlier settlement of the area by the tribe of Thamud in the 3rd millennium BC.
According to the Islamic text, the Thamudis, who would carve out homes in the mountains, were punished by Allah for their persistent practice of idol worship and for conspiring to kill Saleh (an Arab prophet mentioned in the Qu'ran), the non-believers being struck by an earthquake and lightning blasts. Thus, the site has earned a reputation down to contemporary times as a cursed place— an image which the national government is attempting to overcome as it seeks to develop Mada'in Saleh, officially protected as an archaeological site since 1972, for its tourism potential.
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Nisibis
Nusaybin (pronounced [nuˈsajbin]; Akkadian: Naṣibina; classical Nisibis; Syriac: ܢܨܝܒܝܢ, Niṣībīn; Armenian: Մծբին, Mtsbin; Kurdish: Nisêbîn) is a city in Mardin Province, Turkey, populated mainly by Kurds. Earlier Arameans, Arabs, Mhallamis, Assyrians and Armenians lived in the city. The population of the city is 83,832 as of 2009.
First mentioned in 901 BC, Naşibīna was an Aramaean kingdom captured by the Assyrian king Adad-Nirari II in 896. By 852 BC, Naṣibina had been fully annexed to the Neo Assyrian Empire and appeared in the Assyrian Eponym List as the seat of an Assyrian provincial governor named Shamash-Abua. It remained part of the Assyrian Empire until its collapse in 608 BC.[citation needed]
It was under Babylonian control until 536 BC, when it fell to the Achamaenid Persians, and remained so until taken by Alexander the Great in 332 BC. The Seleucids refounded the city as Antiochia Mygdonia (Greek: Αντιόχεια της Μυγδονίας), mentioned for the first time in Polybius' description of the march of Antiochus III the Great against the Molon (Polybius, V, 51). Greek historian Plutarch suggested that the city was populated by Spartan descendants. Around the 1st century AD, Nisibis (נציבין, Netzivin) was the home of Judah ben Bethera, who founded a famous yeshiva there.
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Parthian Empire
The Parthian (pronounced /ˈpɑrθiən/) Empire (247 BC – 224 AD), also known as the Arsacid (/ˈɑrsəsɪd/) Empire (Modern Persian: اشکانیان Ashkāniān), was a major Iranian political and cultural power in ancient Persia. Its latter name comes from Arsaces I of Parthia who, as leader of the Parni tribe, founded it in the mid-3rd century BC when he conquered the Parthia region in Iran's northeast, then a satrapy (province) in rebellion against the Seleucid Empire. Mithridates I of Parthia (r. c. 171–138 BC) greatly expanded the empire by seizing Media and Mesopotamia from the Seleucids. At its height, the Parthian Empire stretched from the northern reaches of the Euphrates, in what is now south-eastern Turkey, to eastern Iran. The empire, located on the Silk Road trade route between the Roman Empire in the Mediterranean Basin and Han Empire of China, became a center of trade and commerce.
The Parthians largely adopted the art, architecture, religious beliefs, and royal insignia of their culturally heterogeneous empire, which encompassed Persian, Hellenistic, and regional cultures. For about the first half of its existence, the Arsacid court adopted elements of Greek culture, though it eventually saw a gradual revival of Iranian traditions. The Arsacid rulers were titled the "King of Kings", as a claim to be the heirs to the Achaemenid Empire; indeed, they accepted many local kings as vassals where the Achaemenids would have had centrally appointed, albeit largely autonomous, satraps. The court did appoint a small number of satraps, largely outside Iran, but these satrapies were smaller and less powerful than the Achaemenid potentates. With the expansion of Arsacid power, the seat of central government shifted from Nisa, Turkmenistan to Ctesiphon along the Tigris (south of modern Baghdad, Iraq), although several other sites also served as capitals.
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Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf is located in Western Asia between Iran (Persia) and the Arabian Peninsula. It is an extension of the Indian Ocean.
The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers. In 1991, the Persian Gulf again was the background for what was called the "Persian Gulf War" or the "Gulf War" when Iraq invaded Kuwait and was subsequently pushed back, despite the fact that this conflict was primarily a land conflict.
The Persian Gulf has many good fishing grounds, extensive coral reefs, and abundant pearl oysters, but its ecology has come under pressure from industrialization, and in particular, oil and petroleum spillages during wars in the region.
Historically and internationally known as the Persian Gulf, this body of water is sometimes controversially referred to as the Arabian Gulf or simply The Gulf by most Arab states, although neither of the latter two terms are recognized internationally. The name Gulf of Iran (Persian Gulf) is used by the International Hydrographic Organization.
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River Tigris
The Tigris River (/ˈtaɪɡrɪs/; Arabic: دجله) is the eastern member of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of southeastern Turkey through Iraq.
The Tigris is 1,850 km long, rising in the Taurus Mountains of eastern Turkey about 25 km southeast of the city of Elazig and about 30 km from the headwaters of the Euphrates. The river then flows for 400 km through Turkish territory before becoming the border between Syria and Turkey. This stretch of 44 km is the only part of the river that is located in Syria. The remaining 1,418 km are entirely within the Iraqi borders.
The Tigris unites with the Euphrates near Basra, and from this junction to the Persian Gulf the mass of moving water is known as the Shatt-al-Arab. According to Pliny and other ancient historians, the Euphrates originally had its outlet into the sea separate from that of the Tigris.
Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, stands on the banks of the Tigris. The port city of Basra straddles the Shatt al-Arab. In ancient times, many of the great cities of Mesopotamia stood on or near the Tigris, drawing water from it to irrigate the civilization of the Sumerians. Notable Tigris-side cities included Nineveh, Ctesiphon, and Seleucia, while the city of Lagash was irrigated by the Tigris via a canal dug around 2400 BC.
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Roman Armenia
From the end of the 1st century BC onwards, Armenia was, in part or whole, subject to the Roman Empire and its successor, the East Roman or Byzantine Empire. Emperor Trajan created even a short-lived Province of Armenia between 114 and 118 AD.
Armenia was under direct Roman control as a province only for a few years under Trajan, but it had a far longer history as a vassal and client state of the Roman Empire for most of the first three centuries after Pompey's campaign in Armenia in 66 BC.
With the eastwards expansion of the Roman Republic during the Mithridatic Wars, the Kingdom of Armenia, under the Artaxiad Dynasty, was made a Roman protectorate by Pompey in 66/65 BC. For the next 100 years, Armenia remained under Roman influence. Towards the middle of the 1st century AD, the rising Parthian influence disputed Roman supremacy, which was re-established by the campaigns of Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo.
This conflict ended after the Battle of Rhandeia, in an effective stalemate and a formal compromise: a Parthian prince of the Arsacid line would henceforth sit on the Armenian throne, but his nomination had to be approved by the Roman emperor.
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Romania
Romania (i/roʊˈmeɪniə/ roh-MAY-nee-ə; dated: Roumania; or Rumania;Romanian: România [romɨˈni.a] (
listen)) is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. Romania shares a border with Hungary and Serbia to the west, Ukraine and Moldova to the northeast and east, and Bulgaria to the south.
At 238,400 square kilometers (92,000 sq mi), Romania is the ninth largest country of the European Union by area, and has the seventh largest population of the European Union with over 19 million people. Its capital and largest city is Bucharest, the tenth largest city in the EU with about two million people.
The Kingdom of Romania emerged when the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia were united under Prince Alexander Ioan Cuza in 1859. Independence from the Ottoman Empire was declared on 9 May 1877, and was internationally recognized the following year. At the end of World War I, Transylvania, Bukovina and Bessarabia united with the Kingdom of Romania. Greater Romania emerged into an era of progression and prosperity that would continue until World War II. By the end of the War, many north-eastern areas of Romania's territories were occupied by the Soviet Union, and Romania forcibly became a socialist republic and a member of the Warsaw Pact.
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Rome
Rome (/ˈroʊm/; Italian: Roma pronounced [ˈroːma] ( listen); Latin: Rōma) is a city and special comune ("Roma Capitale") in Italy. Rome is the capital of Italy and the capital of Lazio (Latin: Latium). With 2.8 million residents in 1,285.3 km2 (496.3 sq mi), it is also the country's largest and most populated comune and fourth-most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. Between 3.2 and 3.7 million people live in the Rome metropolitan area. The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.
Rome's history spans two and a half thousand years. It was the capital city of the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, which was the dominant power in Western Europe and the lands bordering the Mediterranean for over seven hundred years from the 1st century BC until the 7th century AD and the city is regarded as one of the birthplaces of western civilization. Since the 1st century AD Rome has been the seat of the Papacy and, after the end of Byzantine domination, in the 8th century it became the capital of the Papal States, which lasted until 1870. In 1871 Rome became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy, and in 1946 that of the Italian Republic.
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Sarmizegetusa Regia
Sarmizegetusa Regia (also Sarmisegetusa, Sarmisegethusa, Sarmisegethuza, Ζαρμιζεγεθούσα (Zarmizegethousa), Ζερμιζεγεθούση (Zermizegethouse)) was the capital and the most important military, religious and political center of the Dacians. Erected on top of a 1,200 meter high mountain, the fortress was the core of the strategic defensive system in the Orăştie Mountains (in present-day Romania), comprising six citadels. Sarmizegetusa Regia was the capital of Dacia prior to the wars with the Roman Empire.
It should not be confused with Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa, the Roman capital of Dacia built by Roman Emperor Trajan, which was not the Dacian capital, located some 40 km away. Sarmizegetusa Ulpia was discovered earlier, was known already in the early 1900s, and initially confused with the Dacian capital. This inevitably led to inaccuracies regarding Dacian wars and Dacians military system based solely on insufficient information.
Several hypotheses have been advanced to explain the origin of the name Sarmizegetusa. The most important are the following:
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Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia (i/ˌsaʊdi əˈreɪbi.ə/ or i/ˌsɔːdiː əˈreɪbi.ə/; Arabic: السعودية as-Su‘ūdīyah[citation needed] or incorrectly as-Sa‘ūdīyah, officially known as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (Arabic: المملكة العربية السعودية al-Mamlakah al-‘Arabīyah as-Su‘ūdīyah Arabic pronunciation (help·info)), is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab world, after Algeria. It is bordered by Jordan, and Iraq on the north and northeast, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates on the east, Oman on the southeast, and Yemen on the south. The Red Sea lies to its west, and the Persian Gulf lies to the east. Saudi Arabia has an area of approximately 2,250,000 km2 (870,000 sq mi), and it has an estimated population of 27 million, of which 9 million are registered foreign expatriates and an estimated 2 million are illegal immigrants. Saudi nationals comprise an estimated 16 million people.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was founded by Abdul-Aziz bin Saud (known for most of his career as Ibn Saud) in 1932, although the conquests which eventually led to the creation of the Kingdom began in 1902 when he captured Riyadh, the ancestral home of his family, the House of Saud, referred to in Arabic as the Al Saud. The Saudi Arabian government, which has been an absolute monarchy since its inception, refers to its system of government as being Islamic, though this is contested by many due to its strong basis in Salafism, a minority school of thought in Islam. The kingdom is sometimes called "The Land of the Two Holy Mosques" in reference to Al-Masjid al-Haram (in Mecca), and Al-Masjid al-Nabawi (in Medina), the two holiest places in Islam.
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Serbia
Serbiai/ˈsɜrbiə/, officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: Република Србија / Republika Srbija, pronounced [rɛpǔblika sř̩bija]), is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans. Serbia borders Hungary to the north; Romania and Bulgaria to the east; the Republic of Macedonia to the south; and Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro to the west; additionally, it borders Albania through Kosovo, whose status as part of Serbia is disputed. Serbia covers an area of 88,361 km2 and has a population of just over 7.1 million, while the capital and largest city is Belgrade.
The arrival of the Serbs to the Balkans in the 7th century, established several states, eventually forming the Serbian Empire in the 14th century. By the 16th century, Serbia was conquered and occupied by the Ottoman Empire, at times interrupted by the Habsburgs. In the early 19th century the Serbian revolution re-established the country as the region's first constitutional monarchy, which subsequently expanded its territory and pioneered the abolition of feudalism in the Balkans. The former Habsburg crownland of Vojvodina united with Serbia in 1918. Following World War I, Serbia formed Yugoslavia with other South Slavic peoples which existed in several forms up until 2006, when the National Assembly of Serbia declared independence and the legal succession to the former State Union. In February 2008 the parliament of UNMIK-governed Kosovo, Serbia's southern province, declared independence, with mixed responses from international governments.
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Seville
Seville ( /səˈvɪl/; Spanish: Sevilla, IPA: [seˈβiʎa], locally: [seˈβiʝa]; see also different names) is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville, Spain. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of 7 metres (23 ft) above sea level. The inhabitants of the city are known as sevillanos (feminine form: sevillanas) or hispalenses, following the Roman name of the city, Hispalis.
Seville is the fourth largest city of Spain with a municipal population of about 703 thousand as of 2011, and a metropolitan population (including satellite towns) of about 1.5 million, making it the 31st most populous municipality in the European Union. Its old town is the largest in Spain (covering almost four square kilometers), and is one of the three largest in Europe along with Venice and Genoa. The Seville harbor, located about 80 km from the Atlantic Ocean, is the only river port in Spain.
The University of Seville was founded in 1505. Recently ranked the third university in Spain (and 190th in the world), it currently has over 50,000 students.[citation needed]
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Spain
Spain (i/ˈspeɪn/ SPAYN; Spanish: España, pronounced: [esˈpaɲa] ( listen)), officially the Kingdom of Spain (Spanish: Reino de España), is a sovereign state and a member of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Its mainland is bordered to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea except for a small land boundary with the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar; to the north and north east by France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay; and to the northwest and west by the Atlantic Ocean and Portugal.
Spanish territory also includes the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the African coast, and two autonomous cities in North Africa, Ceuta and Melilla, that border Morocco. Furthermore, the town of Llívia is a Spanish exclave situated inside French territory. With an area of 504,030 square kilometres (194,610 sq mi), it is the second largest country in Western Europe and the European Union after France, and the fourth largest country in Europe after Russia, Ukraine and France.
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Tapae
Tapae was a Dacian outpost, guarding Sarmisegetuza, their main political centre. Its location was on the Iron Gates of Transylvania, a natural passage breaking between Țarcului and Poiana Ruscă Mountains and connecting Banat to Țara Hațegului. This made it one of the very few point through which Southern invaders could enter Transylvania. Moreover, 8 kilometres down the passage into Țara Hațegului, there is Sarmizegetusa Regia.
Cassius Dio notes the existence of a camp there during Dacian Wars. The site is the place of two battles between Dacians and Romans. The position is approximative, as no physical remains from antiquity have been found.
Nowadays, on the site there is a small village, Zeicani, part of Sarmisegetuza commune. Coordinates: 45°30′20″N 22°43′29″E / 45.5056°N 22.7247°E / 45.5056; 22.7247
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Tigris
The Tigris River (/ˈtaɪɡrɪs/; Arabic: دجله) is the eastern member of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of southeastern Turkey through Iraq.
The Tigris is 1,850 km long, rising in the Taurus Mountains of eastern Turkey about 25 km southeast of the city of Elazig and about 30 km from the headwaters of the Euphrates. The river then flows for 400 km through Turkish territory before becoming the border between Syria and Turkey. This stretch of 44 km is the only part of the river that is located in Syria. The remaining 1,418 km are entirely within the Iraqi borders.
The Tigris unites with the Euphrates near Basra, and from this junction to the Persian Gulf the mass of moving water is known as the Shatt-al-Arab. According to Pliny and other ancient historians, the Euphrates originally had its outlet into the sea separate from that of the Tigris.
Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, stands on the banks of the Tigris. The port city of Basra straddles the Shatt al-Arab. In ancient times, many of the great cities of Mesopotamia stood on or near the Tigris, drawing water from it to irrigate the civilization of the Sumerians. Notable Tigris-side cities included Nineveh, Ctesiphon, and Seleucia, while the city of Lagash was irrigated by the Tigris via a canal dug around 2400 BC.
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Tower Hill
Coordinates: 51°30′31″N 0°04′42″W / 51.5085°N 0.0782°W / 51.5085; -0.0782
Tower Hill is an elevated spot northwest of the Tower of London, just outside the limits of the City of London, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Formerly it was part of the Tower Liberty under the direct administrative control of Tower. Part of one of the oldest parts of London, archeological evidence shows that there was a settlement on the hill in the Bronze Age and much later a Roman village that was burnt down during the Boudica uprising.
A nearby church, All Hallows-by-the-Tower, is known for fragments of Romanesque architecture dating back to AD 680.
It is the site of the Tower Hill Memorial, Tower Gateway DLR station, and Tower Hill tube station. The street named Tower Hill is a short stretch of the A3211 between Byward Street and a junction with Minories and Tower Hill Terrace.
Public executions of high-profile criminals were often carried out on Tower Hill, including:
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Trajan's Bridge
Trajan's Bridge (Romanian: Podul lui Traian; Serbian: Трајанов мост, Trajanov Most) or Bridge of Apollodorus over the Danube was a Roman segmental arch bridge, the first to be built over the lower Danube. Though it lasted less than 200 years before being destroyed, for more than 1,000 years, it was the longest arch bridge in both total and span length.
The bridge was constructed by the Greek architect Apollodorus of Damascus for the deployment of Roman troops in the war against Dacia, in 105 AD.
The bridge was situated East of the Iron Gates, near the cities of Drobeta-Turnu Severin (Romania) and Kladovo (Serbia). Its construction was ordered by Emperor Trajan as a supply route for the Roman legions fighting in Dacia.
The structure was 1,135 m (3,724 ft) in length (the Danube is 800 m (2,600 ft) wide in that area), 15 m (49 ft) in width, and 19 m (62 ft) in height (measured from the river's surface). At each end was a Roman castrum, each built around an entrance (crossing was possible only by walking through the camp).
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Trajan's bridge
Trajan's Bridge (Romanian: Podul lui Traian; Serbian: Трајанов мост, Trajanov Most) or Bridge of Apollodorus over the Danube was a Roman segmental arch bridge, the first to be built over the lower Danube. Though it lasted less than 200 years before being destroyed, for more than 1,000 years, it was the longest arch bridge in both total and span length.
The bridge was constructed by the Greek architect Apollodorus of Damascus for the deployment of Roman troops in the war against Dacia, in 105 AD.
The bridge was situated East of the Iron Gates, near the cities of Drobeta-Turnu Severin (Romania) and Kladovo (Serbia). Its construction was ordered by Emperor Trajan as a supply route for the Roman legions fighting in Dacia.
The structure was 1,135 m (3,724 ft) in length (the Danube is 800 m (2,600 ft) wide in that area), 15 m (49 ft) in width, and 19 m (62 ft) in height (measured from the river's surface). At each end was a Roman castrum, each built around an entrance (crossing was possible only by walking through the camp).
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Trajan's Column
Trajan's Column (Italian: Colonna Traiana) is a Roman triumphal column in Rome, Italy, which commemorates Roman emperor Trajan's victory in the Dacian Wars. It was probably constructed under the supervision of the architect Apollodorus of Damascus at the order of the Roman Senate. It is located in Trajan's Forum, built near the Quirinal Hill, north of the Roman Forum. Completed in AD 113, the freestanding column is most famous for its spiral bas relief, that artistically describes the epic wars between the Romans and Dacians (101–102 and 105–106). Its design has inspired numerous victory columns, both ancient and modern.
The structure is about 30 metres (98 ft) in height, 35 metres (125 ft) including its large pedestal. The shaft is made from a series of 20 colossal Carrara marble drums, each weighing about 32 tons, with a diameter of 3.7 metres (11 ft). The 190-metre (625 ft) frieze winds around the shaft 23 times. Inside the shaft, a spiral staircase of 185 stairs provides access to a viewing platform at the top. The capital block of Trajan's Column weighs 53.3 tons, which had to be lifted to a height of c. 34 m.
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Trajan's Forum
Trajan's Forum (Latin: Forum Traiani) is an ancient structure in Rome, Italy, chronologically the last of the Imperial fora. The forum was constructed by the architect Apollodorus of Damascus.
This forum was constructed on the order of Emperor Trajan with the spoils of war from the conquest of Dacia, which ended in 106. The Fasti Ostienses states that the Forum was inaugurated in 112, while Trajan's Column was erected and then inaugurated in 113.
To build this monumental complex, extensive excavations were required: workers eliminated the sides of the Quirinal and Capitoline (Campidoglio) Hills, which closed the valley occupied by the Imperial forums toward the Campus Martius.
It is possible that the excavations were initiated under Emperor Domitian, while the project of the Forum was completely attributed to the architect Apollodorus of Damascus, who also accompanied Emperor Trajan in the Dacian campaign.
During the time of the construction, several other projects took place: the construction of the Markets of Trajan, and the renovation of the Caesar's Forum (where the Basilica Argentaria was built) and the Temple of Venus Genetrix.
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Trajan's Market
Trajan's Market (Latin: Mercatus Traiani, Italian: Mercati di Traiano) is a large complex of ruins in the city of Rome, Italy, located on the Via dei Fori Imperiali, at the opposite end to the Colosseum. The surviving buildings and structures, built as an integral part of Trajan's Forum and nestled against the excavated flank of the Quirinal Hill, present a living model of life in the Roman capital and a glimpse at the continuing restoration in the city, which reveals new treasures and insights about Ancient Roman architecture.
Thought to be the world's oldest shopping mall, the arcades in Trajan's Market are now believed by many to be administrative offices for Emperor Trajan. The shops and apartments were built in a multi-level structure, and it is still possible to visit several of the levels. Highlights include delicate marble floors and the remains of a library.
Trajan's Market was probably built in 100-110 AD by Apollodorus of Damascus, an architect who always followed Trajan in his adventures and to whom Trajan entrusted the planning of his Forum, and inaugurated in 113 AD. During the Middle Ages the complex was transformed by adding floor levels, still visible today, and defensive elements such as the Torre delle Milizie, the "militia tower" built in 1200. A convent, which was later built in this area, was demolished at the beginning of the twentieth century to restore Trajan's Markets to the city of Rome.
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Tropaeum Traiani
The Tropaeum Traiani is a monument in Roman Civitas Tropaensium (site of modern Adamclisi, Romania), built in 109 in then Moesia Inferior, to commemorate Roman Emperor Trajan's victory over the Dacians, in 102, in the Battle of Tapae. The monument was erected on the place where legio XXI Rapax had previously been defeated in 92. Before Trajan's construction, an altar existed there, on the walls of which were inscribed the names of the 3,000 legionaries and auxilia (servicemen) who had died "fighting for the Republic". (Latin: Tropaeum from Greek: Tropaion, source of English: "trophy").
Trajan's monument was inspired by the Augustus mausoleum, and was dedicated to the god Mars Ultor in 107/108 AD. On the monument there were 54 metopes depicting Roman legions fighting against enemies; most of these metopes are preserved in the museum nearby. The monument was supposed to be a warning to the tribes outside this newly conquered province.
The original monument has long since disintegrated. The present edifice is a reconstruction dating from 1977. The nearby museum contains many archaeological objects, including parts of the original Roman monument. Of the original 54 metopes, 48 are in the museum and 1 is in Istanbul.
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Veleia (Italy)
Veleia, an ancient town of Aemilia, Italy, situated about 20 miles south of Placentia. It is mentioned by Pliny among the towns of the eighth region, though the Veleiates were Ligurians by race. Its inhabitants were, in the census of Vespasian, found to be remarkable for their longevity. Nothing further was known of it until 1747, when some ploughmen found the famous Tabula alimentaria, now in the museum at Parma. This, the largest inscribed bronze tablet of antiquity (4 ft. 6 in. by 9 ft. 6 in.) contains the list of estates in the territories of Veleia, Libarna, Placentia, Parma and Luca, in which Trajan had assigned before AD 102 72,000 sesterces and then 1,044,000 sesterces on a mortgage bond to forty-six estates. The total value of which was reckoned at over 13,000,000 sesterces (~I3o,ooo), the interest on which at 5% was to serve for the support of 266 boys and 6 girls, the former receiving 16, the latter 12 sesterces a month.
Excavations begun on the site in 1760, and were at first successful; the forum and basilica, the thermae and the amphitheatre and private houses with many statues (twelve of marble from the basilica, and a fine bronze head of Hadrian) and inscriptions were discovered. Pre-Roman cremation tombs have also been found, with objects of bronze and iron of no great value. But later excavations which were carried on at intervals up to 1876 have given less fruitful results. The oldest dated monument is a bronze tablet with a portion of the text of the Lex Rubria of 49 BC which dealt with the administration of justice in Cisalpine Gaul in connezion with the extension to it of the privileges of the Roman franchise, the latest an inscription of AD 276. How and when it was abandoned is uncertain: the previously prevalent view that it was destroyed by a landslip was proved to be mistaken by the excavations of 1876. Most of the objects found are in the museum at Parma.
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Aemilianus
Aemilianus (Latin: Marcus Aemilius Aemilianus Augustus; c. 207/213 – 253), also known as Aemilian, was Roman Emperor for three months in 253.
Commander of the Moesian troops, he obtained an important victory against the invading Goths and was, for this reason, acclaimed Emperor by his army. He then moved quickly to Italy, where he defeated Emperor Trebonianus Gallus, only to be killed by his own men when another general, Valerian, proclaimed himself Emperor and moved against Aemilian with a larger army.
Aemilian was born in the Roman province of Africa. According to the 4th century source Epitome de Caesaribus, he was born at Girba (modern Djerba, an island off the coast of Tunisia) and was a Moor; a reference in the same source hints that he was born around 207. The 12th century historian Joannes Zonaras, who calls him a Libyan (that is, coming from western Egypt-eastern Libya) rather than a Moor, and another chronicle of the 13th century hold that he was forty at the time of his death in 253.
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Alexander Severus
Severus Alexander (Latin: Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander Augustus; 1 October 208 – 18 or 19 March 235) was Roman Emperor from 222 to 235. Alexander was the last emperor of the Severan dynasty. He succeeded his cousin Elagabalus upon the latter's assassination in 222, and was ultimately assassinated himself, marking the epoch event for the Crisis of the Third Century — nearly fifty years of civil wars, foreign invasion, and collapse of the monetary economy.
Alexander was the heir apparent to his cousin, the eighteen-year-old Emperor who had been murdered along with his mother by his own guards, who, as a mark of contempt, had their remains cast into the Tiber river. He and his cousin were both grandsons of the influential and powerful Julia Maesa, who had arranged for Elagabalus' acclamation as emperor by the famed Third Gallic Legion. It was the rumor of Alexander's death that triggered the assassination of Elagabalus and his mother .
As emperor, Alexander's peace time reign was prosperous. In military conflict against the rising Sassanid Empire, there are mixed accounts, though the Sassanid threat was checked; however, when campaigning against Germanic tribes of Germania, Alexander apparently alienated his legions by engaging in diplomacy and bribery, and they assassinated him.
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Alexander the Great
Alexander III of Macedon (20/21 July 356 – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great (Greek: Ἀλέξανδρος ὁ Μέγας, Aléxandros ho Mégas from the Greek αλέξω alexo "to defend, help" + ανήρ aner "man"), was a king of Macedon, a state in northern ancient Greece. Born in Pella in 356 BC, Alexander was tutored by Aristotle until the age of 16. By the age of thirty, he had created one of the largest empires of the ancient world, stretching from the Ionian Sea to the Himalayas. He was undefeated in battle and is considered one of history's most successful commanders.
Alexander succeeded his father, Philip II of Macedon, to the throne in 336 BC after Philip was assassinated. Upon Philip's death, Alexander inherited a strong kingdom and an experienced army. He was awarded the generalship of Greece and used this authority to launch his father's military expansion plans. In 334 BC, he invaded Persian-ruled Asia Minor and began a series of campaigns that lasted ten years. Alexander broke the power of Persia in a series of decisive battles, most notably the battles of Issus and Gaugamela. He subsequently overthrew the Persian King Darius III and conquered the entirety of the Persian Empire. At that point, his empire stretched from the Adriatic Sea to the Indus River.
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Alexios I Komnenos
Alexios I Komnenos, Latinized as Alexius I Comnenus (Greek: Ἀλέξιος Α' Κομνηνός, 1056 – 15 August 1118—note that some sources list his date of birth as 1048), was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118, and although he was not the founder of the Komnenian dynasty, it was during his reign that the Komnenos family came to full power. The title 'Nobilissimus' was given to senior army commanders, the future emperor Alexios I Komnenos being the first to be thus honoured. Inheriting a collapsing empire and faced with constant warfare during his reign against both the Seljuq Turks in Asia Minor and the Normans in the western Balkans, Alexios was able to halt the Byzantine decline and begin the military, financial, and territorial recovery known as the Komnenian restoration. His appeals to Western Europe for help against the Turks were also the catalyst that triggered the Crusades.
Alexios was the son of Ioannis Komnenos and Anna Dalassena, and the nephew of Isaac I Komnenos (emperor 1057–1059). Alexios' father declined the throne on the abdication of Isaac, who was accordingly succeeded by four emperors of other families between 1059 and 1081. Under one of these emperors, Romanos IV Diogenes (1067–1071), Alexios served with distinction against the Seljuq Turks. Under Michael VII Doukas Parapinakes (1071–1078) and Nikephoros III Botaneiates (1078–1081), he was also employed, along with his elder brother Isaac, against rebels in Asia Minor, Thrace, and in Epirus.
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Alexios II Komnenos
Alexios II Komnenos or Alexius II Comnenus (Greek: Αλέξιος Β’ Κομνηνός, Alexios II Komnēnos) (10 September 1169 – 24 September 1183, Constantinople), Byzantine emperor (1180–1183), was the son of Emperor Manuel I Komnenos and Maria, daughter of Raymond, prince of Antioch. He was the long-awaited male heir, and was named Alexius as a fulfilment of the AIMA prophecy.
On Manuel's death in 1180, Maria, who became a nun under the name Xene, took the position of regent (according to some historians). She excluded her young son from power, entrusting it instead to Alexios the prōtosebastos (a cousin of Alexios II), who was popularly believed to be her lover. Friends of the young Alexios II now tried to form a party against the empress mother and the prōtosebastos; Alexios II's half-sister Maria, wife of Caesar John (Renier of Montferrat), stirred up riots in the streets of the capital.
Their party was defeated (May 2, 1182), but Andronikos Komnenos, a first cousin of Emperor Manuel, took advantage of these disorders to aim at the crown, entered Constantinople, where he was received with almost divine honours, and overthrew the government. His arrival was celebrated by a massacre of 80,000 Latins in Constantinople, especially the Venetian merchants, which he made no attempt to stop. He allowed Alexios II to be crowned, but was responsible for the death of most of the young emperor's actual or potential defenders, including his mother, his half-sister and the Caesar, and refused to allow him the smallest voice in public affairs.
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Alexios III Angelos
Alexios III Angelos (Greek: Αλέξιος Γ' Άγγελος) (c. 1153–1211) was Byzantine Emperor from 1195 to 1203.
Alexios III Angelos was the second son of Andronikos Angelos and Euphrosyne Kastamonitissa. Andronicus was himself a son of Theodora Komnene Angelina, the youngest daughter of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos and Irene Doukaina. Thus Alexios Angelos was a member of the extended imperial family. Together with his father and brothers, Alexios had conspired against Emperor Andronikos I Komnenos (c. 1183), and thus he spent several years in exile in Muslim courts, including that of Saladin.
His younger brother Isaac was threatened with execution under orders of their first-cousin once-removed Andronikos I Komnenos on September 11, 1185. Isaac made a desperate attack on the imperial agents and killed their leader Stephen Hagiochristophorites. He then took refuge in the church of Hagia Sophia and from there appealed to the populace. His actions provoked a riot, which resulted in the deposition of Andronikos I and the proclamation of Isaac as Emperor. Alexios was now closer to the imperial throne than ever before.
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Alexios V Doukas
Alexios V Doukas, surnamed Mourtzouphlos (Greek: Ἀλέξιος Δούκας Μούρτζουφλος, d. December 1205, Constantinople) was Byzantine Emperor (5 February – 12 April 1204) during the second and final siege of Constantinople by the participants of the Fourth Crusade. He was related to the imperial Doukas family.
His nickname "Mourtzouphlos" referred to either his bushy, overhanging eyebrows or his sullen character. The term has the meaning of one being crestfallen, depressed, despondent, downcast, gloomy, sullen and evidently frowning, scowling.
A Byzantine nobleman, he had risen to the court position of protovestiarios by the time of the Fourth Crusade. He had been married twice but was now allegedly the lover of Eudokia Angelina, a daughter of Emperor Alexios III Angelos. His participation in the attempted usurpation of John Komnenos the Fat in 1200 had caused him to be imprisoned until the accession of Isaac II Angelos, who was restored to the throne after having been deposed and imprisoned by his brother Alexios III, and his son Alexios IV Angelos, who were placed on the throne by the intervention of the Fourth Crusade in July 1203.
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Anastasios II
Artemius Anastasius (Greek: Ἀρτέμιος Ἀναστάσιος Β΄), known in English as Anastasios II or Anastasius II, (died 719), was the Byzantine Emperor from 713 to 715.
Anastasios was originally named Artemios (Ἀρτέμιος), and had served as a bureaucrat and Imperial secretary for his predecessors. After the Opsikian army in Thrace had overthrown Emperor Philippicus, they acclaimed Artemius as Emperor. He chose Anastasius as his regnal name. Soon after his accession, Anastasius II imposed discipline on the army and executed those officers who had been directly involved in the conspiracy against Philippicus.
Anastasios upheld the decisions of the Sixth Ecumenical Council and deposed the Monothelete Patriarch John VI of Constantinople, replacing him with the orthodox Patriarch Germanus in 715. This also put an end to the short-lived local schism with the Catholic Church.
The Empire was threatened by the Arabs both by land and sea (they penetrated as far as Galatia in 714), and Anastasios attempted to restore peace by diplomatic means. His emissaries having failed in Damascus, he undertook the restoration of Constantinople's walls and the construction of a new fleet. However, the death of the Caliph al-Walid I in 715 gave Anastasius an opportunity to turn the tables on the enemy. He had his fleet concentrate on Rhodes with orders not only to resist the approach of the enemy, but to destroy their naval stores, and dispatched an army under Leo the Isaurian, afterwards emperor, to invade Syria.
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Anthemius
Procopius Anthemius (c. 420 – 11 July 472) was Western Roman Emperor from 467 to 472.
Perhaps the last capable Western Roman Emperor, Anthemius attempted to solve the two primary military challenges facing the remains of the Western Roman Empire: the resurgent Visigoths, under Euric, whose domain straddled the Pyrenees; and the unvanquished Vandals, under Geiseric, in undisputed control of North Africa. He was killed by Ricimer, his own general of German descent, who contested power with him.
Anthemius belonged to a noble family, the gens Procopia, which gave several high officers, both civil and military, to the Eastern Roman Empire. His mother Lucina,[citation needed] born c. 400,[citation needed] descended from Flavius Philippus, Praetorian prefect of the East in 346, and was the daughter of the influential Flavius Anthemius, Praetorian prefect of the East (404–415) and Consul in 405. His father was Procopius, magister militum per Orientem from 422 to 424, who was descended from the Procopius who had been a nephew of Emperor Constantine I and a usurper against the Eastern Emperor Valens (365–366).
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Antinous
Antinous (Ancient Greek: Ἀντίνοος, Antinoös) (27 November, c. 111 – before 30 October 130 ) was a Bithynian youth and a favourite of the Roman emperor Hadrian. He was deified after his death, although his exact status in the Roman pantheon was uncertain.
Antinoüs, or Antinoös, with a diaeresis, is the hypercorrect spelling of his name.
Thorsten Opper in Hadrian: Empire and Conflict notes: "Hardly anything is known of Antinous' life, and the fact that our sources get more detailed the later they are does not inspire confidence." At an irreducible minimum he was born to a Greek family in Bithynion-Claudiopolis, in the Roman province of Bithynia in what is now north-west Turkey, and joined the entourage of the emperor Hadrian at a young age, although nothing certain is known of how, when, or where he and Hadrian met. He is constantly described and depicted as a beautiful boy and youth. The relationship is believed to have been sexual.
Antinous drowned in the Nile in October 130. The death was presented as an accident, "but it was believed at the time that Antinous had been sacrificed or had sacrificed himself," and Hadrian "wept for him like a woman." Hadrian went through the process of deifying him soon afterwards, a process previously exclusively reserved for imperial family members rather than friends or lovers of non-Roman origin.
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Anton Raphael Mengs
Anton Raphael Mengs (March 22, 1728 – June 29, 1779) was a German painter, active in Rome, Madrid and Saxony, who became one of the precursors to Neoclassical painting.
Mengs was born in 1728 at Ústí nad Labem (German: Aussig) in Bohemia. His father, Ismael Mengs, a Danish painter, established himself finally at Dresden, whence in 1741 he took his son to Rome.
In Rome, his fresco painting of Parnassus at Villa Albani gained him a reputation as a master painter. The appointment of Mengs in 1749 as first painter to Frederick Augustus, elector of Saxony, did not prevent his spending much time in Rome, where he had married Margarita Guazzi who had sat for him as a model in 1748, and abjured the Protestant faith, and where he became in 1754 director of the Vatican school of painting, nor did this hinder him on two occasions from obeying the call of Charles III of Spain to Madrid. There Mengs produced some of his best work, and specially the ceiling of the banqueting-hall of the Royal Palace of Madrid, the subject of which was the Triumph of Trajan and the Temple of Glory. Among his pupils there was Agustín Esteve. After the completion of this work in 1777, Mengs returned to Rome, and there he died, two years later, in poor circumstances, leaving twenty children, seven of whom were pensioned by the king of Spain. His portraits and self-portraits recall an attention to detail and insight, often lost from the grand manner paintings.
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Antoninus Pius
Antoninus Pius (Latin: Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Augustus Pius; 19 September 86 – 7 March 161), also known as Antoninus, was Roman Emperor from 138 to 161. He was a member of the Nerva-Antonine dynasty and the Aurelii. He did not possess the sobriquet "Pius" until after his accession to the throne. Almost certainly, he earned the name "Pius" because he compelled the Senate to deify his adoptive father Hadrian; the Historia Augusta, however, suggests that he may have earned the name by saving senators sentenced to death by Hadrian in his later years.
He was born as the only child of Titus Aurelius Fulvus, consul in 89 whose family came from Nemausus (modern Nîmes). He was born near Lanuvium and his mother was Arria Fadilla. Antoninus’ father and paternal grandfather died when he was young and he was raised by Gnaeus Arrius Antoninus, his maternal grandfather, reputed by contemporaries to be a man of integrity and culture and a friend of Pliny the Younger. His mother married Publius Julius Lupus (a man of consular rank) suffect consul in 98, and two daughters, Arria Lupula and Julia Fadilla, were born from that union.
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Arcadius
Arcadius (Latin: Flavius Arcadius Augustus; Greek: Ἀρκάδιος; 377/378 – 1 May 408) was the Byzantine Emperor from 395 until his death in 408. He was the eldest son of Theodosius I and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla, and brother of the Western Emperor Honorius. A weak ruler, his reign was dominated by a series of powerful ministers and by his wife, Aelia Eudoxia.
Arcadius was born in Hispania, the elder son of Theodosius I and Aelia Flaccilla, and brother of Honorius, who would become a Western Roman Emperor. His father declared him an Augustus and co-ruler for the Eastern half of the Empire in January, 383. His younger brother was also declared Augustus in 393, for the Western half.
As emperors, Honorius was under the control of the Romanized Vandal magister militum Flavius Stilicho while Arcadius was dominated by one of his ministers, Rufinus. Stilicho is alleged by some to have wanted control of both Emperors, and is supposed to have had Rufinus assassinated by Gothic mercenaries in 395; though definite proof of Stilicho's involvement in the assassination is lacking, the intense competition and political jealousies engendered by the two figures compose the main thread of the first part of Arcadius' reign. Arcadius' new advisor, the eunuch Eutropius, simply took Rufinus' place as the power behind the Eastern imperial throne.
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Artabasdos
Artavasdos, Latinized as Artabasdos or Artabasdus (Greek: Ἀρταύασδος or Ἀρτάβασδος, from Armenian: Արտավազդ, Artavazd, Ardavazt), was Byzantine Emperor of Armenian descent from June 741 or 742 until November 743. His reign constitutes an usurpation against Constantine V, who had retained control of several themes in Asia Minor.
The Armenian Artabasdus was appointed governor (stratēgos) of the Armeniac theme (Θέμα Άρμενιάκων, Thema Armeniakōn, was the successor of the Army of Armenia. It occupied the old areas of the Pontus, Armenia Minor and northern Cappadocia, with its capital at Amasea) by Emperor Anastasius II in c. 713. After Anastasius' fall, Artabasdus made an agreement with his colleague Leo, the governor of the Anatolic theme, to overthrow the new Emperor Theodosius III. This agreement was sealed with the engagement of Leo's daughter Anna to Artabasdos, and the marriage took place after Leo III ascended the throne in March 717.
Artabasdos was awarded the rank of kouropalates ("master of the palace") and became commander (count, komēs) of the Opsikion theme, while retaining control of his original command. In June 741 or 742, after the accession of Leo's son Constantine V on the throne, Artabasdus resolved to seize the throne and attacked his brother-in-law while the latter was traversing Asia Minor to fight the Arabs on the eastern frontier. While Constantine fled to Amorion, Artabasdus seized Constantinople amid popular support and was crowned emperor.
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Augustus
Augustus ( /ɔːˈɡʌstəs/;Classical Latin: [awˈɡʊstʊs]; Latin: Imperator Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD. Born Gaius Octavius Thurinus, he was adopted posthumously by his great-uncle Gaius Julius Caesar in 44 BC via his last will and testament, and between then and 27 BC was officially named Gaius Julius Caesar. In 27 BC the Senate awarded him the honorific Augustus ("the revered one"), and thus consequently he was Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus.
The young Octavius came into his inheritance after Caesar's assassination in 44 BC. In 43 BC, Octavian joined forces with Mark Antony and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus in a military dictatorship known as the Second Triumvirate. As a triumvir, Octavian ruled Rome and many of its provinces. The triumvirate was eventually torn apart under the competing ambitions of its rulers: Lepidus was driven into exile, and Antony committed suicide following his defeat at the Battle of Actium by Octavian's fleet under the command of Agrippa in 31 BC.
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Aurelian
Aurelian (Latin: Lucius Domitius Aurelianus Augustus; 9 September 214 or 215 – September or October 275), was Roman Emperor from 270 to 275. During his reign, he defeated the Alamanni after a devastating war. He also defeated the Goths, Vandals, Juthungi, Sarmatians, and Carpi. Aurelian restored the Empire's eastern provinces after his conquest of the Palmyrene Empire in 273. The following year he conquered the Gallic Empire in the west, reuniting the Empire in its entirety. He was also responsible for the construction of the Aurelian Walls in Rome, and the abandonment of the province of Dacia. His successes effectively ended the Roman Empire's Crisis of the Third Century, earning him the title Restorer of the World. Although Domitian was the first Emperor who had demanded to be officially hailed as dominus et deus (master and god), these titles never occurred in written form on official documents until the reign of Aurelian.
Aurelian was born in Serdica (today Sofia in Bulgaria) in Moesia or what was later called Dacia Ripensis to an obscure provincial family; his father was tenant to a senator named Aurelius, who gave his name to the family. Aurelian probably joined the army in 235 at around age twenty. He distinguished himself in several wars during the tumultuous mid-century; his successes as a cavalry commander ultimately made him a member of emperor Gallienus' entourage. In 268, Aurelian and his cavalry participated in general Claudius' victory over the Goths at the Battle of Naissus. Later that year Gallienus traveled to Italy and fought Aureolus, his former general and now usurper for the throne. Driving Aureolus back into Mediolanum, Gallienus promptly besieged his adversary in the city. However, while the siege was ongoing the Emperor was assassinated. One source says Aurelian, who was present at the siege, participated and supported general Claudius for the purple – which is plausible.
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Avitus
Eparchius Avitus (c. 385 – after 17 October 456 or in 457) was Western Roman Emperor from 8 or 9 July 455 to 17 October 456. A Gallic-Roman aristocrat, he was a senator and a high-ranking officer both in the civil and military administration, as well as Bishop of Piacenza.
A representative of the Gallic-Roman aristocracy, he opposed the reduction of the Western Roman Empire to Italy alone, both politically and from the administrative point of view. For this reason, as Emperor he introduced several Gallic senators in the Imperial administration; this policy, however, was opposed by both the Senatorial aristocracy and by the people of Rome, which had suffered because of the Vandalic sack of the city in 455.
Avitus had a good relationship with the Visigoths, in particular with their king Theodoric II, who was a friend of his and who acclaimed Avitus Emperor, but the possibility of a strong and useful alliance between Visigoths and Romans ended when Theodoric invaded Roman Hispania and then refused to help Avitus against the rebel Roman generals who deposed him.
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Balbinus
Balbinus (Latin: Decimus Caelius Calvinus Balbinus Pius Augustus; c. 165 – 29 July 238), was Roman Emperor with Pupienus for three months in 238, the Year of the Six Emperors.
Not much is known about Balbinus before his elevation to emperor. It has been conjectured that he descended from Publius Coelius Balbinus Vibullius Pius, the consul ordinarius of 136 or 137, and wife Aquilia. If this were true, he was also related to the family of Q. Pompeius Falco, which supplied many politicians of consular rank throughout the 3rd century, and to the 1st-century politician, engineer and author Julius Frontinus, as well as a descendant of a first cousin of Trajan. He was a patrician from birth, and was the son (either by birth or adoption) of ... Caelius Calvinus, who was legate of Cappadocia in 184. He was one of the Salii priests of Mars. According to Herodian he had governed provinces, but the list of seven provinces given in the Historia Augusta, as well as the statement that Balbinus had been both Proconsul of Asia and of Africa, are likely to be mere invention. He had certainly been twice consul; his first consulate is not certainly known but is believed to have been about 203 or in July 211; he was consul for the second time in 213 as colleague of Caracalla, which suggests he enjoyed that emperor's favour.
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Basil I
Basil I, called the Macedonian (Greek: Βασίλειος ὁ Μακεδών, Basíleios hō Makedṓn; Armenian: Բարսեղ Ա Մակեդոնացի, Barsegh A Makedonatsi; 830/835 – August 29, 886) was a Byzantine Emperor of probable Armenian descent who reigned from 867 to 886. Born a simple peasant in the Byzantine theme of Macedonia, he rose in the Imperial court, and usurped the Imperial throne from Emperor Michael III (r. 842–867). Despite his humble origins, he showed great ability in running the affairs of state, leading a revival of Imperial power and to a renaissance of Byzantine art. He was perceived by the Byzantines as one of their greatest emperors, and the dynasty he founded, the Macedonian (Greek: Μακεδονική δυναστεία), ruled over what is regarded as the most glorious and prosperous era of the Byzantine Empire.
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Basil II
Basil II (Greek: Βασίλειος Β΄, Basileios II; 958 – December 15, 1025) was a Byzantine Emperor from the Macedonian dynasty who reigned from January 10, 976 to December 15, 1025. He was known in his time as Basil the Porphyrogenitus and Basil the Young to distinguish him from his ancestor Basil I the Macedonian,
The first part of his long reign was dominated by civil war against powerful generals from the Anatolian aristocracy. Following their submission, Basil oversaw the stabilization and expansion of the Byzantine Empire's eastern frontier, and above all, the final and complete subjugation of Bulgaria, the Empire's foremost European foe, after a prolonged struggle. For this he was nicknamed by later authors as "the Bulgar-slayer" (Greek: Βουλγαροκτόνος, Boulgaroktonos), by which he is popularly known. At his death, the Empire stretched from Southern Italy to the Caucasus and from the Danube to the borders of Palestine, its greatest territorial extent since the Muslim conquests, four centuries earlier.
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Basiliscus
Basiliscus (Latin: Flavius Basiliscus Augustus; Greek: Βασιλίσκος) (d. 476/477) was Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Emperor from 475 to 476. A member of the House of Leo, he came to power when Emperor Zeno had been forced out of Constantinople by a revolt.
Basiliscus was the brother of Empress Aelia Verina, the wife of Emperor Leo I (457–474). His relationship with the Emperor allowed him to pursue a military career that, after minor initial successes, ended in 468, when he led the disastrous Roman invasion of Vandal Africa, in one of the largest military operations of Late Antiquity.
Basiliscus succeeded in seizing power in 475, exploiting the unpopularity of Emperor Zeno, the "barbarian" successor to Leo, and a plot organised by Verina that had caused Zeno to flee Constantinople. However, during his short rule, Basiliscus alienated the fundamental support of the Church and the people of Constantinople, promoting the Miaphysite christological position in opposition to the Chalcedonian faith. Also, his policy of securing his power through the appointment of loyal men to key roles antagonised many important figures in the imperial court, including his sister Verina. So, when Zeno tried to regain his empire, he found virtually no opposition, triumphantly entering Constantinople, and capturing and killing Basiliscus and his family.
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Caligula
Caligula (Latin: Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus; 31 August AD 12 – 24 January AD 41), also known as Gaius, was Roman Emperor from 37 AD to 41 AD. Caligula was a member of the house of rulers conventionally known as the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Caligula's father Germanicus, the nephew and adopted son of Emperor Tiberius, was a very successful general and one of Rome's most beloved public figures. The young Gaius earned the nickname Caligula (meaning "little soldier's boot", the diminutive form of caliga, n. hob-nailed military boot) from his father's soldiers while accompanying him during his campaigns in Germania.
When Germanicus died at Antioch in 19 AD, his wife Agrippina the Elder returned to Rome with her six children where she became entangled in an increasingly bitter feud with Tiberius. This conflict eventually led to the destruction of her family, with Caligula as the sole male survivor. Unscathed by the deadly intrigues, Caligula accepted the invitation to join the emperor on the island of Capri in 31, where Tiberius himself had withdrawn five years earlier. At the death of Tiberius in 37, Caligula succeeded his great-uncle and adoptive grandfather.
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Caracalla
Caracalla (Latin: Marcus Aurelius Severus Antoninus Augustus; 4 April 188 – 8 April 217) was Roman emperor from 198 to 217. The eldest son of Septimius Severus, for a short time he ruled jointly with his younger brother Geta until he had him murdered in 211. Caracalla is remembered as one of the most notorious and unpleasant of emperors because of the massacres and persecutions he authorized and instigated throughout the Empire.
Caracalla's reign was also notable for the Constitutio Antoniniana (also called the Edict of Caracalla), granting Roman citizenship to all freemen throughout the Roman Empire for the purpose of increasing tax revenue, according to historian Cassius Dio. He is also one of the emperors who commissioned a large public bath-house (thermae) in Rome. The remains of the Baths of Caracalla are still one of the major attractions of the Italian capital.
Caracalla, of mixed Punic–Roman–Berber and Syrian descent, was born Lucius Septimius Bassianus in Lugdunum, Gaul (now Lyon, France), the son of the later Emperor Septimius Severus and Julia Domna. At the age of seven, his name was changed to Marcus Aurelius Septimius Bassianus Antoninus to create a connection to the family of the philosopher emperor Marcus Aurelius. He was later given the nickname Caracalla, which referred to the Gallic hooded tunic he habitually wore and which he made fashionable.
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Carinus
Carinus (Latin: Marcus Aurelius Carinus Augustus; died 285), was Roman Emperor 282 to 285. The elder son of emperor Carus, he was appointed Caesar and co-emperor of the western portion of the empire upon his father's accession. Official accounts of his character and career have been filtered through the propaganda of his successful opponent, Diocletian.
He fought with success against the Germanic Quadi tribes, but soon left the defence of the Upper Rhine to his legates and returned to Rome, where the surviving accounts, which demonize him, assert that he abandoned himself to all kinds of debauchery and excess. More certainly, he also celebrated the annual ludi Romani on a scale of unexampled magnificence.
After the death of Carus, the army in the East demanded to be led back to Europe, and Numerian, the younger son of Carus, was forced to comply. During a halt at Chalcedon, Numerian was found dead, and Diocletian, commander of the body-guards, claimed that Numerian had been assassinated and was proclaimed emperor by the soldiers.
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Carus
Carus (Latin: Marcus Aurelius Carus Augustus; c. 224 – July or August 283), was Roman Emperor from 282 to 283. During his short reign, Carus fought the Germanic tribes and Sarmatians along the Danube frontier with success. During his campaign against the Sassanid Empire he sacked their capital Ctesiphon, but died shortly thereafter. He was succeeded by his sons Carinus and Numerian; creating a dynasty which, though short-lived, granted further stability to a resurgent empire.
Carus, whose name before the accession may have been Marcus Numerius Carus, was born, probably, at Narbo (modern Narbonne) in Gaul, but was educated at Rome. He was a senator, and had filled various civil and military posts before he was appointed prefect of the Praetorian Guard by the emperor Probus in 282. After the murder of Probus at Sirmium, Carus was proclaimed emperor by the soldiers. Although Carus severely avenged the death of Probus, he was himself suspected of having been an accessory to the deed. He does not seem to have returned to Rome after his accession, but contented himself with an announcement of the fact to the Senate.
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Charles III of Spain
Charles III (Spanish: Carlos III; Italian: Carlo III; 20 January 1716 – 14 December 1788) was the King of Spain and the Spanish Indies from 1759 to 1788. He was the eldest son of Philip V of Spain and his second wife, the Princess Elisabeth Farnese. In 1731, the fifteen-year-old Charles became the Duke of Parma and Piacenza, as Charles I, at the death of his childless great uncle Antonio Farnese, Duke of Parma.
In 1734, as the Duke of Parma, he conquered the kingdoms of Naples and of Sicily, and was crowned as the King of Naples and Sicily on 3 July 1735, reigning as Charles VII of Naples and Charles V of Sicily. In 1738 he married the Princess Maria Amalia of Saxony, an educated, cultured woman who gave birth to thirteen children, eight of whom reached adulthood. Charles and Maria Amalia resided in Naples for nineteen years; she died in 1760.
Upon succeeding to the Spanish throne on 10 August 1759, Charles, a proponent of enlightened absolutism, on 6 October 1759 abdicated the Neapolitan and Sicilian thrones in favour of Ferdinand, his third surviving son, who became Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies, or Ferdinand IV of Naples and III of Sicily. Charles III's descendants ruled the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies until 1861.
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Claudius
Claudius (Latin: Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was Roman Emperor from 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, he was the son of Drusus and Antonia Minor. He was born at Lugdunum in Gaul and was the first Roman Emperor to be born outside Italy. Because he was afflicted with a limp and slight deafness due to sickness at a young age, his family ostracized him and excluded him from public office until his consulship, shared with his nephew Caligula in 37. Claudius' infirmity probably saved him from the fate of many other nobles during the purges of Tiberius and Caligula's reigns; potential enemies did not see him as a serious threat. His survival led to his being declared Emperor by the Praetorian Guard after Caligula's assassination, at which point he was the last adult male of his family.
Despite his lack of experience, Claudius proved to be an able and efficient administrator. He was also an ambitious builder, constructing many new roads, aqueducts, and canals across the Empire. During his reign the Empire conquered Thrace, Noricum, Pamphylia, Lycia and Judaea, and began the conquest of Britain. Having a personal interest in law, he presided at public trials, and issued up to twenty edicts a day. However, he was seen as vulnerable throughout his reign, particularly by the nobility. Claudius was constantly forced to shore up his position; this resulted in the deaths of many senators. These events damaged his reputation among the ancient writers, though more recent historians have revised this opinion. After his death in 54, his grand-nephew and adopted son Nero succeeded him as Emperor.
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Claudius Gothicus
Claudius II (Latin: Marcus Aurelius Valerius Claudius Augustus; May 10, 213 – January 270), commonly known as Claudius Gothicus, was Roman Emperor from 268 to 270. During his reign he fought successfully against the Alamanni and scored a crushing victory against the Goths at the Battle of Naissus. He died after succumbing to a smallpox plague that ravaged the provinces of the Empire.
Claudius' origin is uncertain. Born on May 10, 213, he was either from Sirmium in Pannonia Inferior or from Naissus Dardania (in Moesia Superior).
Claudius had served with the Roman army for all his adult life, making his way up the military hierarchy until the Emperor Gallienus made him the commander of his elite cavalry force. In September 268 he found himself assigned as a military tribune with the Emperor, besieging the usurper Aureolus in Milan. There, the troops proclaimed him Emperor, amid charges, never proven, that he murdered his predecessor Gallienus. However, he soon proved to be less than bloodthirsty, as he asked the Roman Senate to spare the lives of Gallienus' family and supporters. He was less magnanimous toward Rome's enemies, however, and it was to this that he owed his popularity.
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Commodus
Commodus (Latin: Marcus Aurelius Commodus Antoninus Augustus; 31 August 161 – 31 December 192), was Roman Emperor from 180 to 192. He also ruled as co-emperor with his father Marcus Aurelius from 177 until his father's death in 180. His name changed throughout his reign; see changes of name for earlier and later forms. His accession as emperor was the first time a son had succeeded his father since Titus succeeded Vespasian in 79. Commodus was the first (and up until 337 the only) emperor "born in the purple"; i.e., born during his father's reign.
Commodus was born on 31 August AD 161, as Commodus, in Lanuvium, near Rome. He was the son of the reigning emperor, Marcus Aurelius, and Aurelius' first cousin, Faustina the Younger. Commodus had an elder twin brother, Titus Aurelius Fulvus Antoninus, who died in 165. On 12 October 166, Commodus was made Caesar together with his younger brother, Marcus Annius Verus. The latter died in 169, having failed to recover from an operation, which left Commodus as Marcus Aurelius' sole surviving son. He was looked after by his father's physician, Galen, in order to keep Commodus healthy and alive. Galen treated many of Commodus' common illnesses. Commodus received extensive tuition at the hands of what Marcus Aurelius called "an abundance of good masters." The focus of Commodus' education appears to have been intellectual, possibly at the expense of military training.
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Constans
Constans (Latin: Flavius Julius Constans Augustus) (c.323–350), was Roman Emperor from 337 to 350. He defeated his brother Constantine II in 340, but anger in the army over his personal life and preference for his barbarian bodyguards saw the general Magnentius rebel, resulting in Constans’ assassination in 350.
Constans was the third and youngest son of Constantine the Great and Fausta, his father's second wife. He was educated at the court of his father at Constantinople under the tutelage of the poet Aemilius Magnus Arborius.
On 25 December 333, Constantine I elevated Constans to the rank of Caesar at Constantinople. Prior to 337, Constans became engaged to Olympias, the daughter of the Praetorian Prefect Ablabius, although the marriage never came to pass. With Constantine’s death in 337, Constans and his two brothers, Constantine II and Constantius II divided the Roman world between themselves, after first disposing of virtually all of the relatives of their father who could possibly have a claim on the throne. The army proclaimed them Augusti on September 9, 337. Almost immediately, Constans was required to deal with a Sarmatian invasion in late 337, over whom he won a resounding victory.
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Constantine IV
Constantine IV (Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Δ', Kōnstantinos IV, Latin: Constantinus IV), (c. 652 – September 685), sometimes incorrectly called Pogonatos, "the Bearded", by confusion with his father; was Byzantine Emperor from 668 to 685. His reign saw the first serious check to nearly 50 years of uninterrupted Islamic expansion, while his calling of the Sixth Ecumenical Council saw the end of the monothelitism controversy in the Byzantine Empire.
The eldest son of Constans II, Constantine IV had been named a co-emperor with his father in 654. He had been given the responsibility of managing the affairs at Constantinople during his father’s extended absence in Italy and became senior Emperor when Constans was assassinated in 668. His mother was Fausta, daughter of patrician Valentinus.
The first task before the new Emperor was the suppression of the military revolt in Sicily under Mezezius which had led to his father's death. Within 7 months of his accession, Constantine IV had dealt with the insurgency with the support of Pope Vitalian. But this success was overshadowed by troubles in the east.
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Constantine Laskaris
Constantine Laskaris (Greek Κωνσταντίνος Λάσκαρης) was Byzantine Emperor for a few months from 1204 to early 1205.
Constantine Laskaris was born of a noble but not particularly renowned Byzantine family. Virtually nothing is known of him prior to the events of the Fourth Crusade. He found favour after his brother Theodore married into the imperial family, becoming the son-in-law of Emperor Alexius III.
During the first siege of Constantinople in 1203 he was given command of the best body of troops available and led the Greek defenders on sorties against the entrenched Crusaders. None were successful in their goal of lifting the siege, and finally Constantine was ordered to attack the Burgundians who were on guard at the time.
The Greeks issued forth from the city, but were soon driven back to the gates, notwithstanding the stones that the defenders on the walls threw down onto the advancing Crusaders. Constantine himself was captured whilst mounted on his horse by William of Neuilly and probably kept for ransom, which was the usual practice of the times. At some point he was released, as he was soon swept up in the events of the second siege of Constantinople in 1204.
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Constantine V
Constantine V (718 – September 14, 775) was Byzantine Emperor from 741 to 775; Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Ε΄, Kōnstantinos V); (he was denigrated by his enemies as Kopronymos or Copronymus meaning the dung-named).
Constantine was born in Constantinople, the son and successor of Emperor Leo III and Maria. In August 720 he was associated on the throne by his father, who had him marry Tzitzak, daughter of the Khazar khagan Bihar. His new bride was baptized as Irene (Eirēnē, "peace") in 732. Constantine V succeeded his father as sole emperor on April 19, 741.
Constantine was crossing Asia Minor to campaign against the Umayyad Caliphate under Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik on the eastern frontier in June 741 or 742. But during this course Constantine was attacked by the forces of his brother-in-law Artabasdos, the stratēgos of the Armeniac theme. Artabasdos was the husband of Anna, an older sister of Constantine.
Defeated, Constantine sought refuge in Amorion, while the victor advanced on Constantinople and was accepted as Emperor. While Constantine now received the support of the Anatolic and Thracesian themes, Artabasdos secured that of the themes of Thrace and Opsikion, in addition to his own Armeniac soldiers.
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Constantine VI
Constantine VI (Ancient Greek: Κωνσταντῖνος Ϛ΄, Kōnstantinos VI) (771–802) was Byzantine Emperor from 780 to 797.
Constantine VI was the only child of Emperor Leo IV and Irene. Constantine was crowned co-emperor by his father in 776, and succeeded as sole emperor at the age of nine under the regency of Irene in 780.
In 782 he was betrothed to Rotrude, a daughter of the Frankish King Charlemagne by his third wife Hildegard. Irene herself broke off the engagement in 788. In 787 Constantine had signed the decrees of the Second Council of Nicaea, but he appears to have had iconoclast sympathies. By then Constantine had turned 16 years old, but his mother did not relinquish executive authority to him.
After a conspiracy against Irene was suppressed in the spring of 790 she attempted to get official recognition as empress. This backfired and with military support Constantine finally came to actual power in 790, after the Armeniacs rebelled against Irene. Nevertheless, she was allowed to keep the title of Empress, which was confirmed in 792.
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Constantine VII
Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos or Porphyrogenitus, "the Purple-born" (Greek: Κωνσταντῖνος Ζ΄ Πορφυρογέννητος, Kōnstantinos VII Porphyrogennētos; September 2, 905 – November 9, 959) was the fourth Emperor of the Macedonian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, reigning from 913 to 959. He was the son of the emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife Zoe Karbonopsina, and the nephew of his predecessor, the emperor Alexander.
Most of his reign was dominated by other co-regents: from 913 until 919, he was under the regency of his mother, while from 920 until 945, he shared his throne with Romanos Lekapenos, whose daughter Helena he married, and his sons. Constantine VII is best known for his four books, De Administrando Imperio, De Ceremoniis, De Thematibus and Vita Basilii.
His nickname alludes to the Purple Room of the Imperial palace, decorated with porphyry, where legitimate children of reigning emperors were normally born. Constantine was also born in this room, although his mother Zoe had not been married to Leo at that time. Nevertheless, the epithet allowed him to underline his position as the legitimized son, as opposed to all others who claimed the throne during his lifetime. Sons born to a reigning Emperor held precedence in the Eastern Roman line of succession over elder sons not born "in the purple".
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Constantine VIII
Constantine VIII (Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Η΄, Kōnstantinos VIII) (960 – 11 November 1028) was reigning Byzantine Emperor from 15 December 1025 until his death. He was the son of the Emperor Romanos II and Theophano, and the younger brother of the eminent Basil II, who died childless and thus left the rule of the Byzantine Empire in his hands.
As a youth, Constantine VIII had been engaged to a daughter of Emperor Boris II of Bulgaria, but in the end he married a Byzantine aristocrat named Helena. By her he had three daughters: Eudokia, who became a nun, Zoe, future empress, and Theodora.
Constantine VIII had been crowned with his brother by their father from 962; he was then only an infant. However, for some 63 out of the 68 years of his life he was eclipsed by other emperors, including Nikephoros II Phokas, John I Tzimiskes, and Basil II. Even when his elder brother became senior emperor, Constantine was perfectly content to enjoy all the privileges of Imperial status without concerning himself with state affairs. On occasion Constantine participated in his brother's campaigns against rebel nobles. In 989, he acted as mediator between Basil II and Bardas Skleros. Otherwise he spent his life in the search of pleasure and entertainment, including spectator sports at the Hippodrome of Constantinople, or amusing himself with riding and hunting.
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Constantius Chlorus
Constantius I (Latin: Marcus Flavius Valerius Constantius Herculius Augustus; c. 31 March 250 – 25 July 306), commonly known as Constantius Chlorus, was Roman Emperor from 293 to 306. He was the father of Constantine the Great and founder of the Constantinian dynasty. As Caesar he defeated the usurper Allectus in Britain and campaigned extensively along the Rhine frontier, defeating the Alamanni and Franks. Upon becoming Augustus in 305, Constantius launched a successful punitive campaign against the Picts beyond the Antonine Wall. However, Constantius died suddenly in Eburacum (York) the following year. His death sparked the collapse of the tetrarchic system of government inaugurated by the Emperor Diocletian.
Born in Dardania, the Historia Augusta claimed Constantius was the son of Eutropius, a noble from northern Dardania, in the province of Moesia Superior, and Claudia, a niece of the emperors Claudius II and Quintillus. Modern historians suspect this maternal connection to be a genealogical fabrication created by his son Constantine I, and that his family were of humble origins. His father, however, might have been the brother of Eutropia, wife of Maximian.
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Constantius II
Constantius II (Latin: Flavius Julius Constantius Augustus; 7 August 317 – 3 November 361), was Roman Emperor from 337 to 361. The second son of Constantine I and Fausta, he ascended to the throne with his brothers Constantine II and Constans upon their father's death.
In 340, Constantius' brothers clashed over the western provinces of the empire. The resulting conflict left Constantine II dead and Constans as ruler of the west until he was overthrown and assassinated in 350 by the usurper Magnentius. Unwilling to accept Magnentius as co-ruler, Constantius marched against him. Magnentius was defeated at the battles of Mursa Major and Mons Seleucus, committing suicide after the latter. This left Constantius as sole ruler of the empire.
His subsequent military campaigns against Germanic tribes were successful: he defeated the Alamanni in 354, and campaigned across the Danube against the Quadi and Sarmatians in 357. Contrastingly, in the east, the two decade old war against the Sassanids continued with mixed results.
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Constantius III
Flavius Constantius (died 2 September 421), commonly known as Constantius III, was Western Roman Emperor for seven months in 421. A prominent general and politician, he was the power behind the throne for much of the 410s, and in 421 briefly became co-emperor of the Western Empire with Honorius.
Constantius was born in Naissus (modern-day Niš, Serbia) and was probably a career soldier, who reached the rank of magister militum under Honorius.
In 411 he defeated Gerontius, the general of usurper Maximus, and Constantine III, another usurper, in Arles. Constantine had revolted against Honorius (407), but then he had broken his relationship with general Gerontius, who had proclaimed Maximus Emperor in opposition to both Honorius and Constantine (409). Gerontius had then besieged Constantine in the city of Arles (411), but the arrival of the troops of Constantius from Italy had put him in serious trouble, being at the same time a besieger and a besieged. Gerontius was abandoned by his troops and then killed in Hispania.
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Decius
Trajan Decius (Latin: Gaius Messius Quintus Decius Augustus; ca. 201 – June 251), 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 both killed in the Battle of Abrittus.
Decius, who was born at Budalia, now Martinci, Serbia near Sirmium (Sremska Mitrovica), in Lower Pannonia was one of the first among a long succession of future Roman Emperors to originate from the province of Illyricum in the Danube. Unlike some of his immediate imperial predecessors such as Philip the Arab or Maximinus, Decius was a distinguished senator who had served as consul in 232, had been governor of Moesia and Germania Inferior soon afterwards, served as governor of Hispania Tarraconensis between 235–238, and was urban prefect of Rome during the early reign of Emperor Philip the Arab (Marcus Iulius Phillipus).
Around 245, Emperor Philip entrusted Decius with an important command on the Danube. By the end of 248 or 249, Decius was sent to quell the revolt of Pacatianus and his troops in Moesia and Pannonia; the soldiers were enraged because of the peace treaty signed between Philip and the Sassanids. Once arrived, the troops forced Decius to assume the imperial dignity himself instead. Decius still protested his loyalty to Philip, but the latter advanced against him and was killed near Verona, Italy. The Senate then recognized Decius as Emperor, giving him the attribute Traianus as a reference to the good emperor Trajan. As the Byzantine historian Zosimus later noted:
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Diadumenian
Diadumenian (Latin: Marcvs Opellivs Antoninvs Diadvmenianvs Avgvstvs) (14/19 September 208 – 218), was the son of the Roman Emperor Macrinus, and served his father briefly as Caesar (May 217–218) and as Augustus (in 218).
Diadumenian was born on the 14th of September 208 or, according to Historia Augusta, on the 19th of September because he shared the same birthday with the Emperor Antoninus Pius. His mother was Empress Nonia Celsa, although little is known of her: she is only mentioned by the Historia Augusta. He was born Marcus Opellius Diadumenianus, but his name was changed and added Antoninus to solidify connection to the family of Marcus Aurelius as done by Caracalla.
Diadumenian had little time to enjoy his position or to learn anything from its opportunities because the legions of Syria revolted and declared Elagabalus ruler of the Roman Empire. When Macrinus was defeated on 8 June 218, at Antioch, Diadumenian's death followed his father's.
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Didius Julianus
Didius Julianus (Latin: Marcus Didius Severus Julianus Augustus; 30 January 133 or 2 February 137 – 1 June 193), was Roman Emperor for three months during the year 193. He ascended the throne after buying it from the Praetorian Guard, who had assassinated his predecessor Pertinax. This led to the Roman Civil War of 193–197. Julianus was ousted and sentenced to death by his successor, Septimius Severus.
Julianus was born to Quintus Petronius Didius Severus and Aemilia Clara. Julianus's father came from a prominent family in Mediolanum (Milan) and his mother was an African woman, of Roman descent. Clara came from a family of consular rank. His brothers were Didius Proculus and Didius Nummius Albinus. His date of birth is given as 30 January 133 by Cassius Dio and 2 February 137 by the Historia Augusta. Didius Julianus was raised by Domitia Lucilla, mother of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. With Domitia's help, he was appointed at a very early age to the vigintivirate, the first step towards public distinction. He married a Roman woman called Manlia Scantilla and about 153, Scantilla bore him a daughter and only child Didia Clara.
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Diocletian
Diocletian (Latin: Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus Augustus; c. 22 December 244 – 3 December 311), was a Roman Emperor from 284 to 305. Born to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia, Diocletian rose through the ranks of the military to become cavalry commander to the Emperor Carus. After the deaths of Carus and his son Numerian on campaign in Persia, Diocletian was proclaimed Emperor. The title was also claimed by Carus' other surviving son, Carinus, but Diocletian defeated him in the Battle of the Margus. With his accession to power, Diocletian ended the Crisis of the Third Century. He appointed fellow officer Maximian Augustus his senior co-emperor in 285.
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Domitia Lucilla
Domitia Lucilla Minor (Minor, Latin for the younger) sometimes known as Domitia Calvilla or Lucilla (died 155-161), was a noble Roman woman who lived in the 2nd century.
Lucilla was the daughter of Domitia Lucilla Major (Major Latin for the elder) and the patrician Publius Domitius Calvisius Tullus Ruso and was a niece to Lucanus Domitius. The maternal grandfather of the younger Lucilla, Lucius Catilius Severus served as twice consul and became city Prefect. Lucilla’s father served as consul in 109 and the date of his second consulship is unknown.
Lucilla through her mother had inherited a great fortune and had acquired her mother’s wealth. Her inheritance included a tile and brick factory near Rome and was close to the river Tiber. The factory provided bricks to Rome’s most famous monuments including the Colosseum, Pantheon and the Market of Trajan. The factory sold bricks to France, Spain, North Africa and all over the Mediterranean.
Lucilla married Marcus Annius Verus, a praetor, who came from a wealthy senatorial family. Verus’ sister Faustina the Elder was a Roman Empress and married the Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius. Verus was a nephew to Roman Empress Vibia Sabina and his maternal grandmother was Salonina Matidia (niece of Roman Emperor Trajan).
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Domitian
Domitian (Latin: Titus Flavius Caesar Domitianus Augustus; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was Roman Emperor from 81 to 96. Domitian was the third and last emperor of the Flavian dynasty.
Domitian's youth and early career were largely spent in the shadow of his brother Titus, who gained military renown during the First Jewish-Roman War. This situation continued under the rule of his father Vespasian, who became emperor in 69 following the civil war known as the Year of the Four Emperors. While Titus effectually reigned as co-emperor with his father, Domitian was left with honours but no responsibilities. Vespasian died in 79 and was succeeded by Titus, whose own reign came to an unexpected end when he was struck by a fatal illness in 81. The following day Domitian was declared Emperor by the Praetorian Guard, commencing a reign which lasted fifteen years – longer than any man who had ruled since Tiberius.
As Emperor, Domitian strengthened the economy by revaluing the Roman coinage, expanded the border defenses of the Empire, and initiated a massive building program to restore the damaged city of Rome. Significant wars were fought in Britain, where his general Agricola attempted to conquer Caledonia (Scotland), and in Dacia, where Domitian was unable to procure a decisive victory against king Decebalus. Domitian's government exhibited totalitarian characteristics; he saw himself as the new Augustus, an enlightened despot destined to guide the Roman Empire into a new era of brilliance. Religious, military, and cultural propaganda fostered a cult of personality, and by nominating himself perpetual censor, he sought to control public and private morals. As a consequence, Domitian was popular with the people and army but considered a tyrant by members of the Roman Senate. According to Suetonius, he was the first Roman Emperor who had demanded to be addressed as dominus et deus (master and god).
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Edward Gibbon
Edward Gibbon (27 April 1737 – 16 January 1794) was an English historian and Member of Parliament. His most important work, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, was published in six volumes between 1776 and 1788. The Decline and Fall is known for the quality and irony of its prose, its use of primary sources, and its open criticism of organized religion.
Edward Gibbon was born in 1737, the son of Edward and Judith Gibbon at Lime Grove, in the town of Putney, Surrey. He had six siblings: five brothers and one sister, all of whom died in infancy. His grandfather, also named Edward, had lost all of his assets as a result of the South Sea Bubble stock market collapse in 1720, but eventually regained much of his wealth, so that Gibbon's father was able to inherit a substantial estate.
As a youth, his health was under constant threat. He described himself as "a puny child, neglected by my Mother, starved by my nurse." At age nine, Gibbon was sent to Dr. Woddeson's school at Kingston upon Thames (now Kingston Grammar School), shortly after which his mother died. He then took up residence in the Westminster School boarding house, owned by his adored "Aunt Kitty," Catherine Porten. Soon after she died in 1786, he remembered her as rescuing him from his mother's disdain, and imparting "the first rudiments of knowledge, the first exercise of reason, and a taste for books which is still the pleasure and glory of my life." By 1751, Gibbon's reading was already extensive and certainly pointed toward his future pursuits: Laurence Echard's Roman History (1713), William Howel(l)'s An Institution of General History (1680–85), and several of the 65 volumes of the acclaimed Universal History from the Earliest Account of Time (1747–1768).
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Elagabalus
Elagabalus (Latin: Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus; ca. 203 – 11 March 222), also known as Heliogabalus, was Roman Emperor from 218 to 222. A member of the Severan Dynasty, he was Syrian on his mother's side, the son of Julia Soaemias and Sextus Varius Marcellus. Early in his youth he served as a priest of the god El-Gabal in his hometown, Emesa. Upon becoming emperor he took the name Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus and was called Elagabalus only after his death.
In 217, the emperor Caracalla was assassinated and replaced by his Praetorian prefect, Marcus Opellius Macrinus. Caracalla's maternal aunt, Julia Maesa, successfully instigated a revolt among the Third Legion to have her eldest grandson, Elagabalus, declared emperor in his place. Macrinus was defeated on 8 June 218, at the Battle of Antioch. Elagabalus, barely fourteen years old, became emperor, initiating a reign known mainly for sexual scandal and religious controversy.
During his rule, Elagabalus showed a disregard for Roman religious traditions and sexual taboos. He replaced the traditional head of the Roman pantheon, Jupiter, with a god held in comparable esteem in Syria, Deus Sol Invictus (in Greek: Helios, hence the name Heliogabulus). He forced leading members of Rome's government to participate in religious rites celebrating this deity, rites over which he personally presided. Elagabalus was married as many as five times, lavished favours on courtiers popularly thought to have been his homosexual lovers, employed a prototype of whoopee cushions at dinner parties, and was reported to have prostituted himself in the imperial palace. Reports of his behaviour estranged the Praetorian Guard, the Senate, and the common people alike.
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Faustina the Younger
Annia Galeria Faustina Minor (Minor Latin for the Younger), Faustina Minor or Faustina the Younger (16 February between 125 and 130 – 175) was a daughter of Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius and Roman Empress Faustina the Elder. She was a Roman Empress and wife to her maternal cousin Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Though Roman sources give a generally negative view of her character, she was held in high esteem by soldiers and her own husband and was given divine honours after her death.
Faustina, named after her mother, was her parents' fourth and youngest child and their second daughter; she was also their only child to survive to adulthood. She was born and raised in Rome.
Her great uncle, the Emperor Hadrian, had arranged with her father for Faustina to marry Lucius Verus. On February 25, 138, she and Verus were betrothed. Verus’ father was Hadrian’s first adopted son and his intended heir; however, when Verus’ father died, Hadrian chose Faustina’s father to be his second adopted son, and eventually, he became Hadrian’s successor. Faustina’s father ended the engagement between his daughter and Verus and arranged for Faustina's betrothal to her maternal cousin, Marcus Aurelius; Aurelius was also adopted by her father. On 13 May 13 145, Faustina and Marcus Aurelius were married. When her father died on 7 March 161, her husband and Lucius Verus succeeded to her father’s throne and became co-rulers. Faustina was given the title of Augusta and became Empress.
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Florianus
Florianus (Latin: Marcus Annius Florianus Augustus; died 276), also known as Florian, was Roman Emperor for a few months in 276.
Florian was reportedly a maternal half-brother to the Emperor Marcus Claudius Tacitus. Appointed Praetorian Prefect in Tacitus's army in his campaign against the Goths, according to the available sources, he was chosen by the army in the West to succeed Tacitus in 276, without the Roman Senate consensus. However he minted coins bearing the "SC" legend, thus showing some bonds to the Senate.
He was fighting against the Heruli when the army in the East elected Probus. He had the support of Italia, Gaul, Hispania, Britain, Africa, and Mauretania. The two rival emperors met in battle in Cilicia. Florianus had the larger army, but Probus was a more experienced general, and avoided a direct clash. Florian's western army was unused to the dry and hot eastern climate and Probus likely secured a small victory, and Florian was assassinated by his own troops near Tarsus once their confidence was lost. Florianus died in September 276, having been emperor for only eighty-eight days.
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Galba
Galba (Latin: Servius Sulpicius Galba Caesar Augustus; 24 December 3 BC – 15 January 69), was Roman Emperor for seven months from 68 to 69. Galba was the governor of Hispania Tarraconensis, and made a bid for the throne during the rebellion of Julius Vindex. He was the first emperor of the Year of the Four Emperors.
He was born as Servius Sulpicius Galba near Terracina, "on the left as you go towards Fundi" in the words of Suetonius.
Through his paternal grandfather ("more eminent for his learning than for his rank — for he did not advance beyond the grade of praetor" and who "published a voluminous and painstaking history", according to Suetonius), who predicted his rise to power (Suetonius, 4), he was descended from Servius Sulpicius Galba. Galba's father attained the consulship, and although he was short, hunchbacked and only an indifferent speaker, was an industrious pleader at the bar.
His mother was Mummia Achaica, the granddaughter of Catulus and great-granddaughter of Lucius Mummius Achaicus. They only had one other child, an elder son called Gaius who left Rome after squandering the greater part of his estate, and committed suicide because Tiberius would not allow him to take part in the allotment of the provinces in his year. On his father's remarriage to Livia Ocellina, Galba was adopted by her and took her names, remaining Lucius Livius Ocella Sulpicius Galba until becoming emperor.
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Galerius
Galerius (Latin: Gaius Galerius Valerius Maximianus Augustus; c. 260 – April or May 311), was Roman Emperor from 305 to 311. During his reign he campaigned, aided by Diocletian, against the Sassanid Empire, sacking their capital Ctesiphon in 299. He also campaigned across the Danube against the Carpi, defeating them in 297 and 300. Although he was a staunch opponent of Christianity, Galerius ended the Diocletianic Persecution when he issued an edict of toleration in 311.
Galerius was born in Serdica, though some modern scholars consider the strategic site where he later built his palace named after his mother – Felix Romuliana (Gamzigrad) – his birth and funeral place. His father was a Thracian and his mother Romula was a Dacian woman, who left Dacia because of the Carpians' attacks. He originally followed his father's occupation, that of a herdsman, where he got his surname of Armentarius (Latin: armentum, herd).
He served with distinction as a soldier under Emperors Aurelian and Probus, and in 293 at the establishment of the Tetrarchy, was designated Caesar along with Constantius Chlorus, receiving in marriage Diocletian's daughter Valeria (later known as Galeria Valeria), and at the same time being entrusted with the care of the Illyrian provinces. After a few years Danube campaign against Sarmatians and Goths he receive a command of the legions on the eastern Imperial limits. Soon after his appointment, Galerius would be dispatched to Egypt to fight the rebellious cities Busiris and Coptos.
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Gallienus
Gallienus (Latin: Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus Augustus; c. 218 – 268) was Roman Emperor with his father Valerian from 253 to 260, and alone from 260 to 268. He took control of the Empire at a time when it was undergoing great crisis. His record in dealing with those crises is mixed, as he won a number of military victories but was unable to keep much of his realm from seceding.
Based on the testimony of John Malalas and the Epitome de Caesaribus that Gallienus was about 50 years old at the time of his death, it is generally considered he was born around 218, son of Valerian and Mariniana, a woman possibly of senatorial rank and possibly a daughter of Egnatius Victor Marinianus, and brother of Valerianus Minor. Inscriptions on coins connect him with Falerii in Etruria and this may well have been his birthplace; it has yielded many inscriptions relating to his mother's family, the Egnatii.
He married to Cornelia Salonina about ten years before his accession to the throne. She was the mother of three princes, Valerian II (who died in 258), Saloninus (who, after becoming co-emperor, died in 260 by the hand of his general Postumus), and Marinianus (killed in 268, shortly after his father was assassinated).
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Glycerius
Glycerius (c. 420 – after 480) was a Western Roman Emperor from 473 to 474. Elevated by his Magister militum, Gundobad, Glycerius’ elevation was rejected by the court at Constantinople, and he was ousted by Julius Nepos. He later served as the bishop of Salona in the early Catholic Church.
Sources on Glycerius are scarce and scanty. It is known that, at the time of his elevation to the throne, he was the comes domesticorum, the commander of the Imperial guard of the court at Ravenna. Previous to this posting, he had been the military commander in Dalmatia.
In 472, the Western Roman Empire was plagued by a civil war between Emperor Anthemius and his Magister militum (commander in chief of the army), Ricimer. Ricimer killed the Emperor and put Olybrius on the throne, but in a short time both Ricimer and Olybrius were dead. The Eastern Roman Emperor, Leo I the Thracian, tarried in choosing his successor, so the Germanic elements of the army, represented by the new Magister militum and Patrician, Gundobad (a nephew of Ricimer's), elected Glycerius Emperor on March 3 or 5, 473 in Ravenna.
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Gordian I
Gordian I (Latin: Marcus Antonius Gordianus Sempronianus Romanus Africanus Augustus; c. 159 – 12 April 238) was Roman Emperor for one month with his son Gordian II in 238, the Year of the Six Emperors. Caught up in a rebellion against the Emperor Maximinus Thrax, he was defeated by forces loyal to Maximinus before committing suicide.
Little is known on the early life and family background of Gordian. There is no reliable evidence on his family origins. His family were of Equestrian rank, who were modest and very wealthy. Gordian was said to be related to prominent senators. His praenomen and nomen Marcus Antonius suggest that his paternal ancestors received Roman citizenship under the Triumvir Mark Antony, or one of his daughters, during the late Roman Republic. Gordian’s cognomen ‘Gordianus’ suggests that his family origins were from Anatolia, especially Galatia and Cappadocia.
According to the Augustan History, his mother was a Roman woman called Ulpia Gordiana and his father Roman Senator Maecius Marullus. While modern historians have dismissed his father's name as false, there may be some truth behind the identity of his mother. Gordian's family history can be guessed through inscriptions. The name Sempronianus in his name may indicate a connection to his mother or grandmother. In Ankara Turkey, a funeral inscription has been found that names a Sempronia Romana, daughter of a named Sempronius Aquila (an imperial secretary). Romana erected this undated funeral inscription to her husband (whose name is lost) who died as a praetor-designate. Gordian might have been related to the gens Sempronia.
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Gordian II
Gordian II (Latin: Marcus Antonius Gordianus Sempronianus Romanus Africanus Augustus; c. 192 – April 12, 238), was Roman Emperor for one month with his father Gordian I in 238, the Year of the Six Emperors. Seeking to overthrow the Emperor Maximinus Thrax, he died in battle outside of Carthage.
Born c. 192, Gordian II was the only known son of Marcus Antonius Gordianus Sempronianus the Elder. His family were of Equestrian rank, who were modest and very wealthy. Gordian was said to be related to prominent senators. His praenomen and nomen Marcus Antonius suggest that his paternal ancestors received Roman citizenship under the Triumvir Mark Antony, or one of his daughters, during the late Roman Republic. Gordian’s cognomen ‘Gordianus’ suggests that his family origins were from Anatolia, especially Galatia and Cappadocia.
According to the notoriously unreliable Historia Augusta, his mother was a Roman woman called Fabia Orestilla, born circa 165, who the Augustan History claims was a descendant of Roman Emperors Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius through her father Fulvus Antoninus. Modern historians have dismissed this name and her information as false. There is some evidence to suggest that Gordian's mother may have been the granddaughter of Greek Sophist, consul and tutor Herodes Atticus. His younger sister was Antonia Gordiana, who was the mother of Emperor Gordian III.
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Gordian III
Gordian III (Latin: Marcus Antonius Gordianus Pius Augustus; 20 January 225 – 11 February 244), was Roman Emperor from 238 to 244. 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 maternal grandfather in 238.
Following the murder of Emperor Alexander Severus in Moguntiacum (modern Mainz), the capital of the Roman province Germania Inferior, Maximinus Thrax was acclaimed Emperor, despite strong opposition of the Roman senate and the majority of the population. In response to what was considered in Rome as a rebellion, Gordian's grandfather and uncle, Gordian I and II, were proclaimed joint emperors in the Africa Province. Their 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, victims of Maximinus' oppression.
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Gratian
Gratian ([pronunciation?]; Latin: Flavius Gratianus Augustus; 18 April/23 May 359 – 25 August 383) was Roman Emperor from 375 to 383. The eldest son of Valentinian I, during his youth Gratian accompanied his father on several campaigns along the Rhine and Danube frontiers. Upon the death of Valentinian in 375, Gratian's brother Valentinian II was declared emperor by his father's soldiers. In 378, Gratian's generals won a decisive victory over the Lentienses, a branch of the Alamanni, at the Battle of Argentovaria. Gratian subsequently led a campaign across the Rhine, the last emperor to do so, and attacked the Lentienses, forcing the tribe to surrender. That same year, his uncle Valens was killed in the Battle of Adrianople against the Goths – making Gratian essentially ruler of the entire Roman Empire. He favoured Christianity over traditional Roman religion, refusing the divine attributes of the Emperors and removing the Altar of Victory from the Roman Senate.
Gratian was the son of Emperor Valentinian I by Marina Severa, and was born at Sirmium (now Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia) in Pannonia. He was named after his grandfather Gratian the Elder. Gratian was first married to Flavia Maxima Constantia, daughter of Constantius II. His second wife was Laeta. Both marriages remained childless. His stepmother was Empress Justina and his paternal half siblings were Emperor Valentinian II, Galla and Justa.
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Hadrian
Hadrian (Latin: Publius Aelius Traianus Hadrianus Augustus 24 January 76 – 10 July 138), was a Roman Emperor from 117 to 138. He is best known for building Hadrian's Wall, which marked the northern limit of Roman Britain. In Rome, he re-built the Pantheon and constructed the Temple of Venus and Roma. In addition to being emperor, Hadrian was a humanist and was philhellene in all his tastes. He was the third of the so-called Five Good Emperors.
Hadrian was born Publius Aelius Hadrianus to an ethnically Italian family in Italica near Seville. His predecessor Trajan was a maternal cousin of Hadrian's father. Trajan never officially designated an heir, but according to his wife Pompeia Plotina, Trajan named Hadrian emperor immediately before his death. Trajan's wife and his friend Licinius Sura were well-disposed towards Hadrian, and he may well have owed his succession to them.
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Heraclius
Heraclius (Latin: Flavius Heraclius Augustus, Greek: Φλάβιος Ἡράκλειος, c. 575 – February 11, 641) was Byzantine Emperor from 610 to 641.
He was responsible for introducing Greek as the Eastern Empire's official language. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the exarch of Africa, successfully led a revolt against the unpopular usurper Phocas.
Heraclius' reign was marked by several military campaigns. The year Heraclius came to power, the empire was threatened on multiple frontiers. Heraclius immediately took charge of the ongoing war against the Sassanids. The first battles of the campaign ended in defeat for the Byzantines; the Persian army fought their way to the Bosphorus. However, because Constantinople was protected by impenetrable walls and a strong navy, Heraclius was able to avoid total defeat. Soon after, he initiated reforms to rebuild and strengthen the military. Heraclius drove the Persians out of Asia Minor and pushed deep into their territory, defeating them decisively in 627 at the Battle of Nineveh. The Persian king Khosrau II was assassinated soon after and peace was restored to the two deeply strained empires.
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Heraklonas
Constantinus Heraclius (Greek: Κωνσταντῖνος Ἡράκλειος), known in English as Heraklonas, Heraclonas, or Heracleonas (626–641), was the son of Heraclius and his niece Martina, and was Byzantine Emperor briefly between February and September 641.
He was baptised and officially reigned as Constantinus Heraclius, but the diminutive nickname Heraklonas (Ἡρακλωνᾶς), little Heraclius, became established in Byzantine texts and has become standard in historiography.
Heraklonas was probably born at Lazica while his father was on campaign against Khosrau II of the Sassanid Empire. He was probably the fourth son of Martina and Herakleios, but the first one born free of physical deformity and eligible for the throne.
Towards the end of Heraclius' reign he obtained through his mother’s influence the title of Augustus on July 4, 638, and after his father’s death was proclaimed joint emperor with his older half-brother Constantine III (Herakleios Constantine).
The premature death of Constantine III, in May 641, left Heraklonas sole ruler. But a suspicion that he and Martina had murdered Constantine led soon after to a revolt under the general Valentinus, who forced Heraklonas to accept his young nephew Constans II as co-ruler. Martina intended to balance this setback with the coronation of her younger son the Caesar David (Tiberios) as emperor.
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Herennius Etruscus
Herennius Etruscus (Latin: Quintus Herennius Etruscus Messius Decius Augustus; ca. 227 – June 251), was Roman emperor in 251, in a joint rule with his father Decius. Emperor Hostilian was his younger brother.
Herennius was born in near Sirmium in Pannonia (now Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia), during one of his father's 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, when Decius was appointed by Philip the Arab to deal with the revolt of Pacatianus in the Danube frontier. Decius was successful on 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 and defeated Philip near modern Verona. In Rome, Herennius was declared heir to the throne and received the title of princeps iuventutis (prince of youth).
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Honorius (emperor)
Honorius (Latin: Flavius Honorius Augustus; 9 September 384 – 15 August 423), was Western Roman Emperor from 395 to 423. He was the younger son of emperor Theodosius I and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla, and brother of the eastern emperor Arcadius.
Even by the standards of the rapidly declining Western Empire, Honorius' reign was precarious and chaotic. His reign was supported by his principal general, Flavius Stilicho, who was successively Honorius's guardian (during his childhood) and his father-in-law (after the emperor became an adult). Stilicho's generalship helped preserve some level of stability, but with his execution, the Western Roman Empire moved closer to collapse.
After holding the consulate at the age of two, Honorius was declared Augustus by his father Theodosius I, and thus co-ruler, on 23 January 393 after the death of Valentinian II and the usurpation of Eugenius. When Theodosius died, in January 395, Honorius and Arcadius divided the Empire, so that Honorius became Western Roman Emperor at the age of ten.
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Hostilian
Hostilian (Latin: Gaius Valens Hostilianus Messius Quintus Augustus; 230? – 251) was Roman emperor in 251. Hostilian was born in Sirmium (now Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia) in Illyricum sometime after 230, as the son of the future emperor Decius by his wife Herennia Cupressenia Etruscilla. He was the younger brother of emperor Herennius Etruscus.
Following his father's accession to the throne, Hostilian received the treatment of an imperial prince, but was always kept in the shade of his brother Herennius, who enjoyed the privileges of being older and heir. In the beginning of 251, Decius elevated his son Herennius to co-emperor and Hostilian succeeded him in the title of princeps iuventutis (prince of youth). Decius and Herennius then set out on campaign against king Cniva of the Goths, to punish him for raids on the Danubian frontier. Hostilian remained in Rome due to his inexperience, and empress Herennia was named regent.
The campaign proved to be a disaster: both Herennius and Decius died in the Battle of Abrittus and became the first two emperors to be killed by a foreign army in battle. The armies in the Danube acclaimed Trebonianus Gallus emperor, but Rome acknowledged Hostilian's rights. Since Trebonianus was a respected general, there was fear of another civil war of succession, despite the fact that he chose to respect the will of Rome and adopted Hostilian. But later in 251, the Plague of Cyprian broke out in the Empire and Hostilian died in the epidemic. He was the first emperor in 40 years to die of natural causes, one of only 13. His death opened the way for the rule of Trebonianus with his natural son Volusianus.
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Irene of Athens
Irene Sarantapechaina (Greek: Ειρήνη Σαρανταπήχαινα), known as Irene of Athens or Irene the Athenian (Greek: Ειρήνη η Αθηναία) (c. 752 – 9 August 803) was a Byzantine empress regnant from 797 to 802, having previously been empress consort from 775 to 780, and empress dowager and regent from 780 to 797. It is often claimed she called herself "basileus" (βασιλεύς), 'emperor'. In fact, she normally referred to herself as "basilissa" (βασίλισσα), 'empress', although there are three instances of the title "basileus" being used by her.
Irene was born to a noble Greek family of Athens, the Sarantapechos family. Although she was an orphan, her uncle, Constantine Sarantapechos, was a patrician and possibly strategos of the theme of Hellas. She was brought to Constantinople by Emperor Constantine V on 1 November 769, and was married to his son Leo IV on 17 December. Although she appears to have come from a noble family, there is no clear reason as to why she would have been chosen as Leo's bride, leading some scholars to speculate that she was selected in a bride-show, in which eligible women were paraded before the bridegroom, until one was finally selected.
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Isaac I Komnenos
Isaac I Komnenos (or Comnenus) (Greek: Ισαάκιος A' Κομνηνός, Isaakios I Komnēnos) (c. 1007 – 1061) was Byzantine Emperor from 1057 to 1059, and the first reigning member of the Komnenos dynasty. His brief reign saw an attempt to restore the Byzantine Empire’s military capability and reputation.
He was the son of Manuel Erotikos Komnenos, the strategos autokrator of the East under Emperor Basil II who in 978 defended Nicaea against Bardas Skleros, and one of his two wives, whose names are unknown, and who on his deathbed in 1020 commended his two surviving sons Isaakios and Ioannes to the emperor's care. Basil had them carefully educated at the monastery of Stoudion, and afterwards advanced them to high official positions. He also had an older son, Nikephoros, who died in 1026, and a daughter, born in 1012 and married around 1031 to Michael Dokeianos, Catepan of Italy, deceased in 1050. It is said that their name was derived from the city of Komne, near Philippopolis, where they were landowners, and that they were of Armenian ancestry from Paphlagonia, which is supported by the use of the name Manuel instead of Emmanouel.
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Isaac II Angelos
Isaac II Angelos (or Angelus) (Greek: Ισαάκιος Β’ Άγγελος, Isaakios II Angelos) (September 1156 – January 1204) was Byzantine Emperor from 1185 to 1195, and again from 1203 to 1204.
His father Andronikos Dukas Angelos, a military leader in Asia Minor (c. 1122 – aft. 1185), married bef. 1155 Euphrosyne Kastamonitissa (c. 1125 – aft. 1195). Andronikos Dukas Angelos was the son of Konstantinos Angelos, Admiral of Sicily (c. 1085 – aft. July 1166, son of Manolis Angelos from Philadelphia) and Theodora Komnene (b. 15 January 1096/1097) who was the youngest daughter of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos and Eirene Doukaina. Thus, Isaac was a member of the extended imperial clan.
During the brief reign of Andronikos I Komnenos, Isaac was involved (alongside his father and brothers) in the revolt of Nicaea and Prousa. Atypically, the Emperor did not punish him for this disloyalty, and Isaac remained at Constantinople.
On September 11, 1185, during Andronikos' absence from the capital, the latter's lieutenant Stephanos Hagiochristophorites moved to arrest Isaac. Isaac killed Hagiochristophorites and took refuge in the church of Hagia Sophia. Andronikos, in some ways a capable ruler, was hated for his cruelty and his efforts to keep the aristocracy obedient. Isaac appealed to the populace, and a tumult arose which spread rapidly over the whole city. When Andronikos arrived he found that during his absence he had lost popular support, and that Isaac had been proclaimed emperor. Andronikos attempted to flee by boat but was apprehended. Isaac handed him over to the people of the City, and he was killed on 12 September 1185.
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Jew
The Jews (Hebrew: יְהוּדִים ISO 259-3 Yhudim Israeli pronunciation [jehuˈdim]), also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and an ethnoreligious group, originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation.Converts to Judaism, whose status as Jews within the Jewish ethnos is equal to those born into it, have been absorbed into the Jewish people throughout the millennia.
In Jewish tradition, Jewish ancestry is traced to the Biblical patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the second millennium BCE. The modern State of Israel defines itself as a Jewish state in its Basic Laws, and Israel's Law of Return states: "Every Jew has the right to come to this country as an oleh." Israel is the only country where Jews are a majority of the population. Jews achieved political autonomy twice before in ancient history. The first of these periods lasted from 1350 to 586 BCE, and encompassed the periods of the Judges, the United Monarchy, and the Divided Monarchy of the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah, ending with the destruction of the First Temple. The second was the period of the Hasmonean Kingdom spanning from 140 to 37 BCE. Since the destruction of the First Temple, most Jews have lived in diaspora. A minority in every country in which they live (except Israel), they have frequently experienced persecution throughout history, resulting in a population that has fluctuated both in numbers and distribution over the centuries.
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John II Komnenos
John II Komnenos (or Comnenus) (Greek: Ίωάννης Β΄ Κομνηνός, Iōannēs II Komnēnos) (September 13, 1087 – April 8, 1143) was Byzantine Emperor from 1118 to 1143. Also known as Kaloïōannēs ("John the Good" or "John the Beautiful"), he was the eldest son of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos and Irene Doukaina. The second Emperor of the Komnenian restoration of the Byzantine Empire, John was a pious and dedicated man who was determined to undo the damage his Empire had suffered at the battle of Manzikert, half a century earlier.
John has been assessed as the greatest of the Komnenian emperors. In the course of his twenty-five year reign, John made alliances with the Holy Roman Empire in the west, decisively defeated the Pechenegs in the Balkans, and personally led numerous campaigns against the Turks in Asia Minor. John's campaigns fundamentally changed the balance of power in the east, forcing the Turks onto the defensive and restoring to the Byzantines many towns, fortresses and cities right across the peninsula. In the southeast, John extended Byzantine control from the Maeander in the west all the way to Cilicia and Tarsus in the east. In an effort to demonstrate the Byzantine emperor's role as the leader of the Christian world, John marched into Muslim Syria at the head of the combined forces of Byzantium and the Crusader states; yet despite the great vigour with which he pressed the campaign, John's hopes were disappointed by the treachery of his Crusader allies, who deliberately failed to fight against the Muslim enemy at the crucial moment. Also under John, the empire's population recovered to about 10 million people.
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John IV Laskaris
John IV Doukas Laskaris (or Ducas Lascaris) (Greek: Ιωάννης Δ΄ Δούκας Λάσκαρις, Iōannēs IV Doukas Laskaris) (December 25, 1250 – c. 1305) was emperor of Nicaea from August 18, 1258 to December 25, 1261. This small empire was one of the Greek states formed from the remaining fragments of the Byzantine Empire, after the capture of Constantinople by Western European Christians during the Fourth Crusade in 1204.
John was a son of Theodore II Doukas Laskaris and Elena of Bulgaria. His maternal grandparents were Emperor Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria and his second wife Anna Maria of Hungary. Anna was originally named Mária and was the eldest daughter of Andrew II of Hungary and Gertrude of Merania.
John IV was only seven years old when he inherited the throne on the death of his father. The young monarch was the last member of the Laskarid dynasty, which had done much to restore the Byzantine Empire. His regent was originally the bureaucrat George Mouzalon, but that position was usurped by the aristocrat Michael Palaiologos, who later made himself co-emperor as Michael VIII on January 1, 1259. (Michael was, in fact, John's second cousin once removed, since they were both descended from Euphrosyne Doukaina Kamatera.)
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John V Palaiologos
John V Palaiologos (or Palaeologus) (Greek: Ίωάννης Ε' Παλαιολόγος, Iōannēs V Palaiologos) (18 June 1332 – 16 February 1391) was a Byzantine emperor, who succeeded his father in 1341, at age nine.
John V was the son of Emperor Andronikos III and his wife Anna, the daughter of Count Amadeus V of Savoy by his second wife Maria of Brabant. His long reign was marked by the gradual dissolution of imperial power amid numerous civil wars and the continuing ascendancy of the Ottoman Turks.
Coming to the throne at age nine, his reign began with immediate civil war between his designated regent, his father's friend John Kantakouzenos, and a self-proclaimed council of regency composed of his mother Anna, the patriarch John XIV Kalekas, and the megas doux Alexios Apokaukos. It was during this civil war in 1343 that Anna pawned the Byzantine crown jewels for 30,000 Venetian ducats. From 1346 to 1349, the Black Plague devastated Constantinople.
Victorious in 1347, John Kantakouzenos ruled as co-emperor until John V's attack on his son Matthew in 1352 led to a second civil war. It was this conflict that saw the Ottoman Empire acquire its first European territory at Çimpe and Gallipoli. Able to retake Constantinople in 1354, John V was able to remove and tonsure John VI; by 1357, he had deposed Matthew as well.
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Jovian (emperor)
Jovian (Latin: Flavius Jovianus Augustus; 331 – 17 February 364), was Roman Emperor from 363 to 364. Upon the death of emperor Julian during his campaign against the Sassanid Persians, Jovian was hastily declared emperor by his soldiers. Jovian sought peace with the Persians on humiliating terms, and reestablished Christianity as the favored religion of the Empire.
Jovian was born at Singidunum (today Belgrade, Serbia) in 331 AD, son of (Flavius?) Varronianus, the commander of Constantius II's imperial bodyguards (comes domesticorum). He also joined the guards, and by 363 had risen to the same command that his father had once held. In this capacity, Jovian accompanied the Roman Emperor Julian on the Mesopotamian campaign of the same year against Shapur II, the Sassanid king. After a small but decisive engagement the Roman army was forced to retreat from the numerically superior Persian force. Julian was mortally wounded during the retreat and died on 26 June 363. The next day, after the aged Saturninius Secundus Salutius, praetorian prefect of the Orient, declined the purple, the choice of the army fell upon Jovian. His election caused considerable surprise, and it is suggested by Ammianus Marcellinus that he was wrongly identified with another Jovianus, chief notary (primicerius notariorum), whose name also had been put forward, or that during the acclamations the soldiers mistook the name Jovianus for Julianus, and imagined that the latter had recovered from his illness.
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Julian the Apostate
Julian (Latin: Flavius Claudius Julianus Augustus, Greek: Φλάβιος Κλαύδιος Ἰουλιανός Αὔγουστος; 331/332 – 26 June 363), commonly known as Julian the Apostate, or also Julian the Philosopher, was Roman Emperor from 361 to 363 and a noted philosopher and Greek writer.
A member of the Constantinian dynasty, he was made Caesar over the western provinces, by Constantius II in 355, where he campaigned successfully against the Alamanni and Franks. Most notable was his crushing victory over the Alamanni in 357 at the Battle of Argentoratum - despite being outnumbered. In 360 he was acclaimed Augustus by his soldiers, sparking a civil war between Julian and Constantius. However, Constantius died before the two could face each other in battle, naming Julian as his rightful successor. In 363, Julian embarked on an ambitious campaign against the Sassanid Empire. Though initially successful, Julian was mortally wounded in battle and died shortly after.
Julian was a man of unusually complex character: he was "the military commander, the theosophist, the social reformer, and the man of letters". He was the last non-Christian ruler of the Roman Empire and it was his desire to bring the Empire back to its ancient Roman values in order to save it from dissolution. He purged the top-heavy state bureaucracy and attempted to revive traditional Roman religious practices at the cost of Christianity. His rejection of Christianity in favour of Neoplatonic paganism caused him to be called Julian the Apostate (Ἀποστάτης or Παραβάτης "Transgressor") by the church. He was the last emperor of the Constantinian dynasty, the empire's first Christian dynasty.
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Julius Nepos
Julius Nepos (c. 430 – 480) was Western Roman Emperor de facto from 474 to 475 and de jure until 480. Some historians consider him to be the last Western Roman Emperor, while others consider the western line to have ended with Romulus Augustulus in 476.
In contrast, the Eastern Roman Empire, and its line of Emperors, survived this historical period relatively intact.
Nepos, already the ruler of Roman Dalmatia, was nominated by the Eastern Roman Emperor Leo I in early 474, to replace the Western Emperor Glycerius, who was regarded as a usurper. It was probably Nepos' marriage to the emperor Leo's wife's niece which earned him the agnomen of "Nepos" (nephew).
Glycerius surrendered in June 474, shortly after Nepos' arrival in Italy. Nepos spared Glycerius' life, and appointed him bishop of Salona. After this Nepos ruled, briefly, over the whole of the remaining Western Roman Empire; still centered on Italy, the Empire's heartland, and including his native Dalmatia, and the remaining parts of Roman Gaul. Nepos' rule in Italy ended in 475, when he was deposed by his magister militum, Orestes. After fleeing from Italy and Orestes without opposition, Nepos returned to Dalmatia, over which he retained control.
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Justin I
Justin I (Latin: Flavius Iustinus Augustus, Ancient Greek: Ἰουστίνος; c. 450 – 1 August 527) was Byzantine Emperor from 518 to 527. He rose through the ranks of the army and ultimately became its Emperor, in spite of the fact he was illiterate and almost 70 years old at the time of accession. His reign is significant for the founding of the Justinian Dynasty that included his eminent nephew Justinian I and for the enactment of laws that de-emphasized the influence of the old Roman nobility. His consort was Empress Euphemia.
Justin was a peasant and a swineherd by occupation from the Latinophone region of Dardania, which is part of the Diocese of Illyricum. He was born in a hamlet near Bederiana in Naissus (modern Niš, South Serbia). He was of Thraco-Roman stock, and bore, like his companions and members of his family (Zimarchus, Dityvistus, Boraides, Bigleniza, Sabatius, etc.) a Thracian name, and who never learned to speak more than rudimentary Greek. His sister Vigilantia (b. ca 455) married Sabbatius and had two children:Petrus Sabbatius Justinian I (b. 483) and Vigilantia (b. ca 490), married to Dulcissimus and had Praejecta (b. ca 520), married to the senator Areobindus and Justin II (b. ca 520).
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Justin II
Justin II (Latin: Flavius Iustinus Iunior Augustus;Ancient Greek: Φλάβιος Ἰουστίνος ὁ νεότερος; c. 520 – 5 October 578) was Byzantine Emperor from 565 to 578. He was the husband of Sophia, nephew of Justinian I and the late Empress Theodora, and was therefore a member of the Justinian Dynasty. His reign is marked by war with Persia and the loss of the greater part of Italy. He presented the Cross of Justin II to Saint Peter's, Rome.
He was a son of Vigilantia and Dulcidio (or Dulcissimus), respectively the sister and brother-in-law of Justinian. His siblings included Marcellus and Praejecta.
Justinian I died on the night of 14 to 15 November 565. Callinicus, the praepositus sacri cubiculi, seems to have been the only witness to his dying moments, and later claimed that Justinian had designated "Justin, Vigilantia's son" as his heir in a deathbed decision. The disambiguation was needed because there was another nephew and candidate for the throne, Justin, son of Germanus. Modern historians suspect Callinicus may have fabricated the last words of Justinian to secure the succession for his political ally. As Robert Browning observed: "Did Justinian really bring himself in the end to make a choice, or did Callinicus make it for him? Only Callinicus knew."
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Justinian I
Justinian I ( /dʒʌˈstɪniən/) (Latin: Flavius Petrus Sabbatius Iustinianus Augustus, Ancient Greek: Φλάβιος Πέτρος Σαββάτιος Ἰουστινιανός) (c. 482 – 14 November 565), commonly known as Justinian the Great, was Byzantine Emperor from 527 to 565. During his reign, Justinian sought to revive the Empire's greatness and reconquer the lost western half of the classical Roman Empire.
One of the most important figures of Late Antiquity and the last Roman Emperor to speak Latin as a first language, Justinian's rule constitutes a distinct epoch in the history of the Eastern Roman Empire. The impact of his administration extended far beyond the boundaries of his time and domain. Justinian's reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized renovatio imperii, or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was expressed by the partial recovery of the territories of the defunct Western Roman Empire. His general Belisarius swiftly conquered the Vandal Kingdom in North Africa, extending Roman control to the Atlantic Ocean. Subsequently Belisarius, Narses, and other generals conquered the Ostrogothic Kingdom, restoring Dalmatia, Sicily, Italy, and Rome to the Empire after more than half a century of barbarian control.
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Justinian II
Justinian II (Greek: Ιουστινιανός Β΄, Ioustinianos II, Latin: Justinianus II) (669 – 11 December 711), surnamed the Rhinotmetos or Rhinotmetus (ὁ Ῥινότμητος, "the slit-nosed"), was the last Byzantine Emperor of the Heraclian Dynasty, reigning from 685 to 695 and again from 705 to 711. Justinian II was an ambitious and passionate ruler who was keen to restore the Empire to its former glories, but he responded poorly to any opposition to his will and lacked the finesse of his father, Constantine IV. Consequently, he generated enormous opposition to his reign, and it resulted in his deposition in 695 in a popular uprising, and he only returned to the throne in 705 with the help of a Bulgar and Slav army. His second reign was even more despotic than the first, and it too saw his eventual overthrow in 711, abandoned by his army who turned on him before killing him.
Justinian II was the eldest son of Emperor Constantine IV and Anastasia. His father raised him to the throne as joint emperor in 681 on the fall of his uncles Heraclius and Tiberius. In 685, at the age of sixteen, Justinian II succeeded his father as sole emperor.
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Kanishka
Kanishka (Kanishka the Great), (Sanskrit: कनिष्क, Bactrian language: Κανηϸκι, Middle Chinese: 迦腻色伽 (Jianisejia)) was an emperor of the Kushan Empire, ruling an empire extending from Bactria to large parts of northern India in the 2nd century of the common era, and famous for his military, political, and spiritual achievements. His main capital was at Purushpura (Peshawar in present day northwestern Pakistan) with regional capitals at the location of the modern city of Taxila in Pakistan, Begram in Afghanistan and Mathura in India.
Kanishka was a Kushan of probable Yuezhi ethnicity. He used an Eastern Iranian, Indo-European language known as Bactrian (called "αρια," i. e. "Aryan" in the Rabatak inscription), which appears in Greek script in his inscriptions, though it is not certain what language the Kushans originally spoke; possibly some form of Tocharian - a "centum" Indo-European language. The "Aryan" language of the inscription was a "satem" Middle Iranian language, possibly the one spoken in "Arya" or "Ariana" (the region around modern Herat) and was, therefore, quite possibly unrelated to the original language of the Kushans (or the Yuezhi), but adopted by them to facilitate communication with local people.
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Leo I the Thracian
Leo I (Latin: Flavius Valerius Leo Augustus) (401 – 18 January 474) was Byzantine Emperor from 457 to 474. A native of Dacia Aureliana near historic Thrace, he was known as Leo the Thracian (Greek: Λέων ο Θράξ).
Ruling the Eastern Empire for nearly 20 years from 457 to 474, Leo proved to be a capable ruler, overseeing many ambitious political and military plans, aimed mostly for the aid of the faltering Western Roman Empire and recovering its former territories. He is notable for being the first Eastern Emperor to legislate in Greek rather than Latin.
Born as Leo Marcellus in the year 401 to a Thraco-Roman family (of the Daci or Bessi tribe), he served in the Roman army, rising to the rank of comes. He was the last of a series of emperors placed on the throne by Aspar, the Alan serving as commander-in-chief of the army, who thought Leo would be an easy puppet ruler. Instead, Leo became more and more independent from Aspar, causing a tension that would have culminated in the assassination of the barbarian.
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Leo II (emperor)
Leo II (Latin: Flavius Leo Iunior Augustus; 467 – 17 November 474) was Byzantine Emperor for less than a year in 474. He was the son of Zeno and Ariadne, and maternal grandson of Leo I and Verina. As Leo's closest male relative, he was named successor upon his grandfather's death. After taking his father as colleague, he died of an unknown disease about 10 months into his reign in November, 474. It was widely rumored that he might have been poisoned by his mother Ariadne in order to bring her husband Zeno to the throne. He was indeed succeeded by his father, although his grandmother Verina took advantage of his death to conspire against Zeno.
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Leo III the Isaurian
Leo III the Isaurian also known as the Syrian or the Iconoclast (Greek: Λέων Γ΄, Leōn III), (c. 685 – 18 June 741) was Byzantine Emperor from 717 until his death in 741. He put an end to a period of instability, successfully defended the Empire against the invading Umayyads, and forbade the veneration of icons (see Iconoclasm).
Leo, whose original name was Konon, was born in Germanikeia (Maraş/Turkey) in the Syrian province of Commagene. Some, including the Byzantine chronicler Theophanes, have claimed that Konon's family had been resettled in Thrace, where he entered the service of Emperor Justinian II, when the latter was advancing on Constantinople with an army of 15,000 horsemen provided by Tervel of Bulgaria in 705.
After the victory of Justinian II, Leo was dispatched on a diplomatic mission to Alania and Lazica to organize an alliance against the Umayyad Caliphate under Al-Walid I. Leo was appointed commander (stratēgos) of the Anatolic theme by Emperor Anastasius II. On his deposition Leo joined with his colleague Artabasdus, the stratēgos of the Armeniac theme, in conspiring to overthrow the new Emperor Theodosius III. Artabasdus was betrothed to Anna, daughter of Leo as part of the agreement.
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Leo IV the Khazar
Leo IV the Khazar (Greek: Λέων Δ΄, Leōn IV) (25 January 750 – 8 September 780) was Byzantine Emperor from 775 to 780 CE.
Leo was the son of Emperor Constantine V by his first wife, Irene of Khazaria (Tzitzak), the daughter of a Khagan of the Khazars (thought to be Bihar). Crowned co-emperor by his father in 751 Leo then married Irene, an Athenian from a noble family, in December 769. In 775 Constantine V died, leaving Leo as sole emperor.
On 24 April 776 Leo, following the precedent set by his father and grandfather, appointed his son, Constantine VI, co-emperor. This led to an uprising of Leo’s five half-brothers, including Caesar Nikephoros, who had hoped to gain the throne themselves. The uprising was put down quickly, with the conspirators being beaten, tonsured, and exiled to Cherson under guard.
Leo IV was raised as an iconoclast under his father but was married to Irene, an iconodule. Realizing the division in his realm he pursued a path of conciliation towards the iconodules, previously declared heretical under imperial policy. Leo allowed monks, persecuted and deported under his father, to return to their monasteries, and he was anointed by some among the orthodox as “Friend to the Mother of God” for allowing monks to retain images of the Theotokos. In addition to the concessionary actions Leo also appointed an iconophile sympathizer, Paul of Cyprus, to the position of patriarch of Constantinople upon the death of the predecessor. At the end of his reign, Leo reversed his stance of toleration.
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Leo V the Armenian
Leo V the Armenian (Greek: Λέων Ε΄ ὁ Ἀρμένιος, Leōn V ho Armenios; Armenian: Լևոն Ե Հայ; 775 – 25 December 820) was Emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 813 to 820. A senior general, he forced his predecessor, Michael I Rangabe, to abdicate and assumed the throne. He ended the decade-long war with the Bulgars, and initiated the second period of Byzantine Iconoclasm. He was assassinated by supporters of Michael the Amorian, one of his most trusted generals, who succeeded him on the throne.
Leo was the son of the patrician Bardas, who was of Armenian descent (according to a later source, Leo was also of Assyrian descent). Leo served in 803 under the rebel general Bardanes Tourkos, whom he deserted in favor of Emperor Nikephoros I. The Emperor rewarded Leo with two palaces, but later exiled him for marrying the daughter of another rebel, the patrician Arsaber. On the other hand, a contemporary source says that one general Leo of the Armeniakon theme was punished for his humiliating defeat by the Arabs during which he also lost the salaries of his thematic units (a modern scholar suggests that this Leo is not the same with the emperor). Punishment also included depriving of his military rank, beating and hair cutting.
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Leo VI the Wise
Leo VI, surnamed the Wise or the Philosopher (Greek: Λέων ΣΤ΄ ὁ Σοφός, Leōn VI ho Sophos, 19 September 866 – 11 May 912), was Byzantine Emperor from 886 to 912. The second ruler of the Macedonian dynasty (although his parentage is unclear), he was very well-read, leading to his surname. During his reign, the renaissance of letters begun by his predecessor Basil I continued, but the Empire also saw several military defeats in the Balkans against Bulgaria and against the Arabs in Sicily and the Aegean.
Born to the empress Eudokia Ingerina, Leo was either the illegitimate son of Emperor Michael III or the second son of his successor, Basil I the Macedonian. Eudokia was both Michael III's mistress and Basil’s wife. In 867, Michael was assassinated by Basil, who succeeded him as Emperor. As the second eldest son of the Emperor, Leo was associated on the throne in 870 and became the direct heir on the death of his older half-brother Constantine in 879. However, Leo and Basil did not like each other; a relationship that only deteriorated after Eudokia's death, when Leo, unhappy with his marriage to Theophano Martiniake, took up a mistress in the person of Zoe Zaoutzaina. Basil married Zoe off to an insignificant official, and later almost had Leo blinded when he was accused of conspiring against him. On August 29, 886, Basil died in a hunting accident, though he claimed on his deathbed that there was an assassination attempt in which Leo was possibly involved.
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Leontios
Leontios (or Leontius) (Greek: Λεόντιος, Latin: LEONTIVS) (died 15 February 706) was Byzantine emperor from 695 to 698. He came to power by overthrowing the Emperor Justinian II, but was overthrown in his turn by Tiberios III. His actual and official name was Leo (Λέων, Leōn), but he is known by the name used for him in Byzantine chronicles.
Leontios was born in Isauria. A professional soldier from an early age, he rose swiftly through the ranks and was appointed strategos (military governor) of the Anatolic theme during the reign of Emperor Constantine IV.
In 686 Leontios was chosen by Justinian II to lead the Byzantine army against the Arabs in Georgia and Armenia. Ruthless even by the standards of the day, Leontios carried the war further into Azerbaijan and Caucasian Albania. His successes eventually forced the negotiation of a treaty between Byzantium and the Arabic Caliph Abd al-Malik with substantial Arabic concessions and tributes to the Byzantine Emperor.
Leontios was less successful when war against the Arabs was renewed in 692. Leading a substantial Byzantine army, he was defeated at the Battle of Sebastopolis when a large Slavic contingent deserted and left his remaining forces exposed. Furious at the loss of the army, the Emperor Justinian imprisoned Leontius for two years.
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Libius Severus
Flavius Libius Severus Serpentius (Lucania, c. 420 – 15 August 465) was Western Roman Emperor from November 19, 461 to his death.
A Roman senator from Lucania Severus was one of the last Western Emperors, emptied of any effective power (the real power was in the hands of the powerful magister militum Ricimer), and unable to solve the many problems affecting the Empire; the sources describe him as a pious and religious man.
On August 7, 461, the magister militum (Commander in Chief) of the Western Roman army, Ricimer, had Emperor Majorian killed, thus leaving the western throne empty. A struggle for the succession thus ensured, with the Eastern Emperor, Leo I the Thracian, the King of the Vandals, Gaiseric, and Ricimer himself involved. The Eastern Emperor traditionally had the right to accept his "colleague," for the Empire was nominally still united.
Ricimer needed a weak Emperor on the throne, in order to control him: his barbaric descent barred him from taking the throne for himself. Gaiseric had captured the wife and the two daughters of the Western Roman Emperor Valentinian III – Licinia Eudoxia, Placidia and Eudocia – during the sack of Rome (455), and, through the marriage of one of them, Eudocia, with his son Huneric, he had entered the imperial family. Gaiseric's candidate to the Western throne was Olybrius, who had married Placidia and was thus a member of his family.
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Licinius
Licinius I (Latin: Gaius Valerius Licinianus Licinius Augustus c. 263 – 325), was Roman Emperor from 308 to 324. For the majority of his reign he was the colleague and rival of Constantine I, with whom he co-authored the Edict of Milan that granted official toleration to Christians in the Roman Empire. He was finally defeated at the Battle of Adrianople, before being executed on the orders of Constantine I.
Born to a Dacian peasant family in Moesia Superior, Licinius accompanied his close childhood friend, the future emperor Galerius, on the Persian expedition in 298. He was trusted enough by Galerius that in 307 he was sent as an envoy to Maxentius in Italy to attempt to reach some agreement about his illegitimate status. Galerius then trusted the eastern provinces to him when he went to deal with Maxentius personally after the death of Flavius Valerius Severus.
Upon his return to the east, Galerius elevated Licinius to the rank of Augustus in the West on November 11, 308. He received as his immediate command the provinces of Illyricum, Thrace and Pannonia.
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Lucius Aelius
Lucius Aelius Caesar (January 13, 101 – January 1, 138) became the adopted son and intended successor, of Roman Emperor Hadrian (January 24, 76 – July 10, 138), but never attained the throne.
Aelius was born with the name Lucius Ceionius Commodus, and later called Lucius Aelius Caesar. He was of the gens Ceionia. His father Lucius Ceionius Commodus (the author of the Augustan History adds the cognomen Verus) was consul in 106 and his paternal grandfather of the same name was consul in 78. His paternal ancestors were from Etruria and were of consular rank. His mother was a Roman woman called Aelia or Fundania Plautia. Augustan History states that his maternal grandfather and his maternal ancestors were of consular rank. He is often mistakenly referred to as Lucius Aelius Verus, though this name is not attested outside the Augustan History and probably arose as a manuscript error.
Before 130, Aelius married Avidia Plautia, a well-connected Roman Noblewoman who was the daughter of the Roman Senator Gaius Avidius Nigrinus. Plautia bore Aelius, two sons and two daughters, who were:
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Lucius Licinius Sura
Lucius Licinius Sura was an influential Roman Senator from Tarraco, a close friend of the Emperor Trajan and three times consul - in a period when three consulates were very rare for non-members of the Imperial family - in AD 93 (or perhaps 97), 102 and 107. Pliny the Younger wrote to L. Licinius Sura, asking his opinion on the existence of ghosts. [Letters of Pliny, Vol. VII, 27]
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Lucius Verus
Lucius Verus (Latin: Lucius Aurelius Verus Augustus; 15 December 130 – 169), was Roman co-emperor with Marcus Aurelius, from 161 until his death.
Lucius Verus was the first born son to Avidia Plautia and Lucius Aelius Verus Caesar, the first adopted son and heir of Roman Emperor Hadrian (76–138). He was born and raised in Rome. Verus had another brother Gaius Avidius Ceionius Commodus and two sisters Ceionia Fabia and Ceionia Plautia. His maternal grandparents were the Roman Senator Gaius Avidius Nigrinus and the unattested noblewoman Ignota Plautia. Although his adoptive paternal grandparents were the Roman Emperor Hadrian and Roman Empress Vibia Sabina, his biological paternal grandparents were the consul Lucius Ceionius Commodus and noblewoman Aelia or Fundania Plautia.
When his father died in early 138, Hadrian chose Antoninus Pius (86–161) as his successor. Antoninus was adopted by Hadrian on the condition that Verus and Hadrian’s great-nephew Marcus Aurelius was to be adopted by Antoninus as his sons and heirs.
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Lusius Quietus
Lusius Quietus was a Roman general and governor of Iudaea in 117.
Originally a Berberprince, Lusius Quietus was the son of a tribal lord from unconquered Mauretania (modern-day Morocco). Lusius' father and his warriors had supported the Roman legions in their attempt to subdue Mauretania Tingitana (northern modern-day Morocco) during Aedemon's revolt in 40.
His father's service to Rome, on a notoriously difficult frontier, was honoured with the gift of Roman citizenship for him and his family. His son Lusius later joined the Roman army and served as an auxiliary officer in the Roman cavalry. For outstanding service, emperor Domitian rewarded him with equestrian rank but later had him dismissed from service for insubordination.
Quietus fortunes were revived once again when a new emperor, Trajan, came to power. Quietus was brought back into army and served as one of the emperor's auxiliary cavalry commanders during the Dacian wars (his bareheaded Berber cavalry can be seen on Trajan's column in Rome). After the successful conquest of Dacia, Quietus was elevated to the position of senator. He next served with the emperor during his campaign in Parthia during which he led a brilliant rearguard action, which allowed the tactical withdrawal of troops and saving them from destruction. This action brought Quietus acclaim and ensured he was well known to the army.
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Macrinus
Macrinus (Latin: Marcus Opellius Severus Macrinus Augustus; ca. 165 – June 218), was Roman Emperor from 217 to 218. Macrinus was of Berber (Indigenous people of North Africa) descent and the first emperor to become so without membership in the senatorial class.
Born in Caesarea (modern Cherchell, Algeria) in the Roman province of Mauretania to an equestrian family, Macrinus received an education which allowed him to ascend to the Roman political class. Over the years he earned a reputation as a skilled lawyer. Under the emperor Septimius Severus he became an important bureaucrat. Severus' successor Caracalla appointed him prefect of the Praetorian guard.
While Macrinus likely enjoyed the trust of Caracalla, this may have changed when, according to tradition, he was prophesied to depose and succeed the Emperor. Rumors spread regarding Macrinus' alleged desire to take the throne for himself. Given Caracalla's tendency towards murdering political opponents, Macrinus probably feared for his own safety should the Emperor become aware of this prophecy. According to Dio, Caracalla had already taken the step of re-assigning members of Macrinus' staff.
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Majorian
Majorian (Latin: Flavius Julius Valerius Majorianus Augustus; ca. 420 – August 7, 461), was the Western Roman Emperor from 457 to 461.
A prominent general of the Late Roman army, Majorian deposed Emperor Avitus in 457 and succeeded him. Majorian was one of the last emperors to make a concerted effort to restore the Western Roman Empire. Possessing little more than Italy, Dalmatia, and some territory in northern Gaul, Majorian campaigned rigorously for three years against the Empire's enemies.
After defeating a Vandal attack on Italy, Majorian launched a campaign against the Visigothic Kingdom in southern Gaul. Defeating king Theodoric II at the Battle of Arelate, Majorian forced the Goths to abandon their possessions in Septimania and Hispania and return to federate status immediately. Majorian then attacked the Burgundian Kingdom, defeating them at the Siege of Lugdunum, expelling them from the Rhone valley and reducing them to federate status.
In 460, Majorian left Gaul to consolidate his hold on Hispania. His generals launched a campaign against the Suebic Kingdom in northwest Hispania, defeating them at the battles of Lucus Augusti and Scallabis and reducing them to federate status as well. His fleet for his campaign to restore Africa to the empire from the Vandals was destroyed due to treachery.
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Manuel I Komnenos
Manuel I Komnenos (or Comnenus) (Greek: Μανουήλ Α' Κομνηνός, Manouēl I Komnēnos) (28 November 1118 – 24 September 1180) was a Byzantine Emperor of the 12th century who reigned over a crucial turning point in the history of Byzantium and the Mediterranean.
Eager to restore his empire to its past glories as the superpower of the Mediterranean world, Manuel pursued an energetic and ambitious foreign policy. In the process he made alliances with the Pope and the resurgent west, invaded Italy, successfully handled the passage of the dangerous Second Crusade through his empire, and established a Byzantine protectorate over the Crusader states of Outremer.
Facing Muslim advances in the Holy Land, he made common cause with the Kingdom of Jerusalem and participated in a combined invasion of Fatimid Egypt.
Manuel reshaped the political maps of the Balkans and the east Mediterranean, placing the kingdoms of Hungary and Outremer under Byzantine hegemony and campaigning aggressively against his neighbours both in the west and in the east. However, towards the end of his reign Manuel's achievements in the east were compromised by a serious defeat at Myriokephalon, which in large part resulted from his arrogance in attacking a well-defended Seljuk position.
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Marcian
Marcian (Latin: Flavius Marcianus Augustus; 392 – 27 January 457) was Byzantine Emperor from 450 to 457. Marcian's rule marked a recovery of the Eastern Empire, which the Emperor protected from external menaces and reformed economically and financially. On the other side, the isolationistic policies of Marcian left the Western Roman Empire without help against barbarian attacks, which materialized in the Italian campaigns of Attila and in the Vandal sack of Rome (455).
Marcian was born in 392 in Illyricum or Thracia. The son of a soldier, he spent his early life as an obscure soldier, member of a military unit located at Philippopolis. Marcian was dispatched with his unit for a war against the Sassanids (probably the Roman-Sassanid war of 421–422), but along the road East he fell ill in Lycia; at this time he might have already been tribunus and commander of his unit.
After recovering from his illness, he went to Constantinople, where he served for fifteen years as domesticus under the generals Ardaburius and Aspar. In 431/434, while fighting in Africa under Aspar, Marcian was taken prisoner by the Vandals; according to a later legend, he was brought before King Geiseric (428–477), who knew by an omen that Marcian was to be Emperor and was released on his oath never to take up arms against the Vandals.
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Marcus Annius Libo
Marcus Annius Libo (Greek: Μαρκου Αννιου Λιβωνος, died 162) was a Roman who lived in the 2nd century. He was the son of Roman consul Marcus Annius Verus and Rupilia Faustina. He was consul in 128 and suffect consul in 161.
Libo’s father was Spanish, but was of Roman descent and came from a senatorial family. His mother was a daughter to suffect consul Lucius Scribonius Libo Rupilius Frugi Bonus and Salonina Matidia (niece of the Roman Emperor Trajan). Libo’s elder sister was Empress Faustina the Elder (mother of Empress Faustina the Younger) and his younger brother Marcus Annius Verus, was the father of Emperor Marcus Aurelius and paternal grandfather to Emperor Commodus. His cognomen Libo, he inherited from his maternal grandfather.
Libo was consul in 128. In this year, his name is mentioned on a marriage contract was written in Greek and Aramaic on papyrus. This papyrus was dated 4 April 128 and was found in 1961 Naham Hever in the Desert of Judea. During the reign of his brother-in-law, Emperor Antoninus Pius (reigned 138-161), named Libo in a Senatus Consultum (see, Senatus consultum ultimum) and became a senator.
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Marcus Aurelius
Marcus Aurelius (Latin: Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180 AD), was Roman Emperor from 161 to 180 AD. He ruled with Lucius Verus as co-emperor from 161 until Verus' death in 169. He was the last of the "Five Good Emperors", and is also considered one of the most important Stoic philosophers. During his reign, the Empire defeated a revitalized Parthian Empire; Aurelius' general Avidius Cassius sacked the capital Ctesiphon in 164. Aurelius fought the Marcomanni, Quadi, and Sarmatians with success during the Marcomannic Wars, but the threat of the Germanic tribes began to represent a troubling reality for the Empire. A revolt in the East led by Avidius Cassius failed to gain momentum and was suppressed immediately.
Marcus Aurelius' Stoic tome Meditations, written in Greek while on campaign between 170 and 180, is still revered as a literary monument to a philosophy of service and duty, describing how to find and preserve equanimity in the midst of conflict by following nature as a source of guidance and inspiration.
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Maurice (emperor)
Maurice (Latin: Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus; Ancient Greek: Φλάβιος Μαυρίκιος Τιβέριος Αὔγουστος) (539 – 27 November 602) was Byzantine Emperor from 582 to 602.
A prominent general in his youth, Maurice fought with success against the Sassanid Persians. Once he became Emperor, he brought the war with Persia to a victorious conclusion: expanding the eastern frontier dramatically and marrying his daughter to Khosrau II, the Persian king.
Maurice also campaigned extensively in the Balkans against the Avars – pushing them back across the Danube by 599. He also conducted campaigns across the Danube, the first Emperor to do so in over two hundred years. In the West, Maurice established two large semi-autonomous provinces called exarchates, ruled by exarchs, viceroys, of the emperor.
In Italy, Maurice established the Exarchate of Ravenna in 584, the first real effort by the Empire to halt the advance of the Lombards. With the creation of the Exarchate of Africa in 590, Maurice further solidified the empire's hold on the western Mediterranean.
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Maxentius
Maxentius (Latin: Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maxentius Augustus; c. 278 – 28 October 312) was Roman Emperor from 306 to 312. He was the son of former Emperor Maximian, and the son-in-law of Emperor Galerius.
Maxentius' exact date of birth is unknown; it was probably around 278. He was the son of the Emperor Maximian and his wife Eutropia.
As his father became emperor in 285, he was regarded as crown prince who would eventually follow his father on the throne. He seems not to have served in any important military or administrative position during Diocletian's and his father's reign, though. Early (the exact date is unknown) he married Valeria Maximilla, the daughter of Galerius. He had two sons, Valerius Romulus (ca. 295 – 309) and an unknown one.
In 305, Diocletian and Maximian resigned, and the former caesares Constantius and Galerius became Augusti. Although with Constantine and Maxentius two sons of emperors were available, they were left out from the new tetrarchy, and Severus and Maximinus Daia were appointed Caesars. Some sources (Lactantius, Epitome) state that Galerius hated Maxentius and used his influence on Diocletian that Maxentius be ignored in the succession; maybe Diocletianus also thought that he was not qualified for the military duties of the imperial office. Maxentius retired to an estate some miles from Rome.
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Maximian
Maximian (Latin: Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus Herculius Augustus; c. 250 – c. July 310) was Roman Emperor from 286 to 305. He was Caesar from 285 to 286, then Augustus from 286 to 305. He shared the latter title with his co-emperor and superior, Diocletian, whose political brain complemented Maximian's military brawn. Maximian established his residence at Trier but spent most of his time on campaign. In the late summer of 285, he suppressed rebels in Gaul known as the Bagaudae. From 285 to 288, he fought against Germanic tribes along the Rhine frontier. Together with Diocletian, he launched a scorched earth campaign deep into Alamannic territory in 288, temporarily relieving the Rhine provinces from the threat of Germanic invasion.
The man he appointed to police the Channel shores, Carausius, rebelled in 286, causing the secession of Britain and northwestern Gaul. Maximian failed to oust Carausius, and his invasion fleet was destroyed by storms in 289 or 290. Maximian's subordinate, Constantius, campaigned against Carausius' successor, Allectus, while Maximian held the Rhine frontier. The rebel leader was ousted in 296, and Maximian moved south to combat piracy near Hispania and Berber incursions in Mauretania. When these campaigns concluded in 298, he departed for Italy, where he lived in comfort until 305. At Diocletian's behest, Maximian abdicated on May 1, 305, gave the Augustan office to Constantius, and retired to southern Italy.
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Maximinus II (Daia)
Maximinus II (Latin: Gaius Valerius Galerius Maximinus Daia Augustus; c. 20 November 270 – July or August 313), also known as Maximinus Daia or Maximinus Daza, was Roman Emperor from 308 to 313. He was born of Dacian peasant stock to the half sister of the emperor Galerius near their family lands around Felix Romuliana; a rural area then in the Danubian region of Moesia, now Eastern Serbia.
He rose to high distinction after he had joined the army.
In 305, his maternal uncle Galerius became the eastern Augustus and adopted Maximinus, raising him to the rank of caesar (in effect, the junior eastern Emperor), with the government of Syria and Egypt.
In 308, after the elevation of Licinius to Augustus, Maximinus and Constantine were declared filii Augustorum ("sons of the Augusti"), but Maximinus probably started styling himself after Augustus during a campaign against the Sassanids in 310. On the death of Galerius, in 311, Maximinus divided the Eastern Empire between Licinius and himself. When Licinius and Constantine began to make common cause with one another, Maximinus entered into a secret alliance with the usurper Caesar Maxentius, who controlled Italy. He came to an open rupture with Licinius in 313, he summoned an army of 70,000 men, but still sustained a crushing defeat at the Battle of Tzirallum, in the neighbourhood of Heraclea Perinthus, on the April 30, and fled, first to Nicomedia and afterwards to Tarsus, where he died the following August. His death was variously ascribed "to despair, to poison, and to the divine justice".
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Michael I Rangabe
Michael I Rhangabe (Greek: Μιχαῆλ A' Ῥαγγαβέ, Mikhaēl I Rhangabe; died 11 January 844) was Byzantine Emperor from 811 to 813.
Michael was the son of the patrician Theophylact Rhangabe, the admiral of the Aegean fleet. He married Prokopia, the daughter of the future Emperor Nikephoros I, and received the high court dignity of kouropalatēs after his father-in-law's accession in 802.
Michael survived Nikephoros' disastrous campaign against Krum of Bulgaria, and was considered a more appropriate candidate for the throne than his severely injured brother-in-law Staurakios. When Michael's wife Prokopia failed to persuade her brother to name Michael as his successor, Michael's supporters forced Staurakios to abdicate in his favor on 2 October 811.
Michael I attempted to carry out a policy of reconciliation, abandoning the exacting taxation instituted by Nikephoros I. While reducing imperial income, Michael generously distributed money to the army, the bureaucracy, and the Church. Elected with the support of the Orthodox party in the Church, Michael diligently persecuted the iconoclasts and forced the Patriarch Nikephoros to back down in his dispute with Theodore of Stoudios, the influential abbot of the monastery of Stoudios. Michael's piety won him a very positive estimation in the work of the chronicler Theophanes the Confessor.
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Michael II
Michael II (Greek: Μιχαήλ Β', Mikhaēl II), surnamed the Amorian (ὁ ἐξ Ἀμορίου) or the Stammerer (ὁ Τραυλός or ὁ Ψελλός), reigned as Byzantine Emperor from December 820 to his death on 2 October 829, and the first ruler of the Phrygian or Amorian dynasty.
Born in Amorium, Michael began his career as a soldier, rising to high ranks due to the favour of his old colleague, Leo V the Armenian (r. 813–820). Nevertheless, Michael masterminded a conspiracy which overthrew and murdered Leo in Christmas 820. Immediately Michael faced the long revolt of Thomas the Slav, which almost cost him his throne and which was not completely suppressed until spring 824. The later years of Michael's reign were marked by two major military disasters with long-term effects, the beginning of the Muslim conquest of Sicily, and the fall of Crete to the Saracens. Domestically, Michael supported and strengthened the resumption of official iconoclasm, which had begun under Leo V.
Michael was born in 770 in Amorium in Phrygia, into a family of professional peasant-soldiers who received for their military service land from government. His family belonged to the Judeo-Christian sect of the Athinganoi, whose members were Cappadocians who adopted Jewish rituals. The Athinganoi were numerous in Anatolia and together with the Greeks and Armenians formed the backbone of the Byzantine army of that era.
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Michael III
Michael III (Greek: Μιχαήλ Γ΄, Mikhaēl III ), (January 19, 840 – September 23/24, 867), Byzantine Emperor from 842 to 867. Michael III was the third and traditionally last member of the Amorian Dynasty, also known as the Phrygian Dynasty. He was given the disparaging epithet the Drunkard (ὀ Μέθυσος) by the hostile historians of the succeeding Macedonian dynasty, but modern historical research has rehabilitated his reputation to some extent, demonstrating the vital role his reign played in the resurgence of Byzantine power in the 9th century.
Michael was the youngest child of Emperor Theophilos and Theodora. Already crowned co-ruler by his father in 840, Michael III had just turned two years old when he succeeded as sole emperor on January 20, 842.
During his minority, the empire was governed by a regency headed by his mother Theodora, her uncle Sergios, and the minister Theoktistos. The empress had iconodule sympathies and deposed Patriarch John VII of Constantinople and replaced him with the iconodule Methodios in 843. This put an end to the second spell of Iconoclasm. As the emperor was growing up, the courtiers around him fought for influence. Increasingly fond of his uncle Bardas, Michael invested him with the title kaisar (Caesar – at the time a title second only to emperor) and allowed him to murder Theoktistos in November 855. With Bardas' support, and that of another uncle the successful general Petronas, Michael III overthrew the regency on March 15, 856, and relegated his mother and sisters to a monastery in 857.
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Michael V
Michael V "the Caulker" or Kalaphates (Greek: Μιχαήλ Ε΄ Καλαφάτης, Mikhaēl V Kalaphatēs), (1015 – 24 August 1042), was Byzantine emperor for 4 months in 1041–1042, as the nephew and successor of Michael IV and the adoptive son of his wife, the Empress Zoe.
Michael V was the son of Stephen by Maria, a sister of Emperor Michael IV. His father had been a caulker (hence the son's nickname), before becoming an admiral under Michael IV and botching an expedition to Sicily. Although the emperor preferred another of his nephews, the future Michael V was advanced as heir to the throne by his other uncle John the Eunuch and the Empress Zoe. Shortly before his death, Michael IV granted Michael V the title of Kaisar (Caesar), and, together with Zoe, adopted his nephew as son. On 10 December 1041, Michael V succeeded to the throne.
Determined to rule on his own, Michael V came into conflict with his uncle John the Eunuch, whom he almost immediately banished to a monastery. Michael now reversed his uncle's decisions, and recalled the nobles and courtiers who had been exiled during the previous reign, including the future patriarch Michael Keroularios and the general George Maniakes. Maniakes was promptly sent back to Southern Italy in order to contain the advance of the Normans.
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Michael VII Doukas
Michael VII Doukas or Ducas (Greek: Μιχαήλ Ζ΄ Δούκας, Mikhaēl VII Doukas), nicknamed Parapinakēs (Παραπινάκης), was Byzantine emperor from 1071 to 1078.
Michael VII was the eldest son of Constantine X Doukas and Eudokia Makrembolitissa, and was born c. 1050, in Constantinople. He had been associated with his father on the throne late in 1059, together with or shortly before his newly born brother Konstantios Doukas. When Constantine X died in 1067, Michael VII was 17 years old and should have been able to rule by himself. He exhibited little interest in politics, and his mother Eudokia and uncle John Doukas governed the empire as effective regents.
On January 1, 1068, Eudokia married the general Romanos Diogenes, who now became senior co-emperor alongside Michael VII, Konstantios, and another brother, Andronikos. When Romanos IV was defeated and captured by Alp Arslan of the Seljuk Turks at the Battle of Manzikert in August 1071, Michael VII remained in the background, while the initiative was taken by his uncle John Doukas and his tutor Michael Psellos. They conspired to keep Romanos from regaining power after his release from captivity, while he himself felt under no obligation to honor the agreement that Romanus struck with the Sultan. After the dispatch of Eudokia to a monastery, Michael VII was crowned again on October 24, 1071 as senior emperor.
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Moses I. Finley
Sir Moses I. Finley CBE, FBA (May 20, 1912–June 23, 1986) was an American and English classical scholar. His most notable work is The Ancient Economy (1973), where he argued that status and civic ideology governed the economy in antiquity rather than rational economic motivations.
He was born in 1912 in New York City as Moses Israel Finkelstein to Nathan Finkelstein and Anna Katzenellenbogen; died in 1986 as a British subject. He was educated at Syracuse University and Columbia University. Although his M.A. was in public law, most of his published work was in the field of ancient history, especially the social and economic aspects of the classical world.
The Dictionary of National Biography says: "About 1936 he took the surname Finley. He had no second forename, but used the initial ‘I’."
He taught at Columbia University and City College of New York, where he was influenced by members of the Frankfurt School who were working in exile in America. In 1952, during the Red Scare, Finley was fired from his teaching job at Rutgers University; in 1954, he was summoned by the United States Senate Internal Security Subcommittee (SISS) and asked whether he had ever been a member of the Communist Party USA. He invoked the Fifth Amendment and refused to answer.
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Nero
Nero (Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus); 15 December 37 – 9 June 68) was Roman Emperor from 54 to 68, and the last in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Nero was adopted by his great-uncle Claudius to become his heir and successor, and succeeded to the throne in 54 following Claudius' death. During his reign, Nero focused much of his attention on diplomacy, trade, and enhancing the cultural life of the Empire. He ordered theaters built and promoted athletic games. During his reign, the redoubtable general Corbulo conducted a successful war and negotiated peace with the Parthian Empire. His general Suetonius Paulinus crushed a revolt in Britain and also annexed the Bosporan Kingdom to the Empire, beginning the First Roman–Jewish War.
In 64, most of Rome was destroyed in the Great Fire of Rome, which many Romans believed Nero himself had started in order to clear land for his planned palatial complex, the Domus Aurea. In 68, the rebellion of Vindex in Gaul and later the acclamation of Galba in Hispania drove Nero from the throne. Facing assassination, he committed suicide on 9 June 68. His death ended the Julio-Claudian Dynasty, sparking a brief period of civil wars known as the Year of the Four Emperors. Nero's rule is often associated with tyranny and extravagance. He is known for many executions, including those of his mother and the probable murder by poison of his stepbrother, Britannicus.
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Nerva
Nerva (Latin: Marcus Cocceius Nerva Caesar Augustus; 8 November 30 – 27 January 98), was Roman Emperor from 96 to 98. Nerva became Emperor at the age of sixty-five, after a lifetime of imperial service under Nero and the rulers of the Flavian dynasty. Under Nero, he was a member of the imperial entourage and played a vital part in exposing the Pisonian conspiracy of 65. Later, as a loyalist to the Flavians, he attained consulships in 71 and 90 during the reigns of Vespasian and Domitian respectively.
On 18 September 96, Domitian was assassinated in a palace conspiracy involving members of the Praetorian Guard and several of his freedmen. On the same day, Nerva was declared emperor by the Roman Senate. This was the first time the Senate elected a Roman Emperor. As the new ruler of the Roman Empire, he vowed to restore liberties which had been curtailed during the autocratic government of Domitian.
Nerva's brief reign was marred by financial difficulties and his inability to assert his authority over the Roman army. A revolt by the Praetorian Guard in October 97 essentially forced him to adopt an heir. After some deliberation Nerva adopted Trajan, a young and popular general, as his successor. After barely fifteen months in office, Nerva died of natural causes on 27 January 98. Upon his death he was succeeded and deified by Trajan.
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Nikephoros I
Nikephoros I or Nicephorus I, Logothetes or Genikos (Greek: Νικηφόρος Α΄, Nikēphoros I, "Bringer of Victory"; died July 26, 811) was Byzantine Emperor from 802 to 811, when he was killed in the Battle of Pliska.
A patrician from Seleucia Sidera, Nikephoros was appointed finance minister (logothetēs tou genikou) by the Empress Irene. With the help of the patricians and eunuchs he contrived to dethrone and exile Irene, and to be chosen as Emperor in her stead on October 31, 802. He crowned his son Staurakios co-emperor in 803.
His rule was endangered by Bardanes Tourkos, one of his ablest generals, who revolted and received support from other commanders, notably the later emperors Leo V the Armenian and Michael II the Amorian in 803.
But Nikephoros gained over the latter two, and by inducing the rebel army to disperse achieved the submission of Bardanes, who was blinded and relegated to a monastery. A conspiracy headed by the patrician Arsaber had a similar issue.
Nikephoros embarked on a general reorganization of the Empire, creating new themes in the Balkans (where he initiated the re-Hellenization by resettling Greeks from Anatolia) and strengthening the frontiers. Needing large sums to increase his military forces, he set himself with great energy to increase the Empire's revenue. By his rigorous tax imposts he alienated the favour of his subjects, and especially of the clergy, whom he otherwise sought to control firmly. Although he appointed an iconodule, Nikephoros as patriarch, Emperor Nikephoros was portrayed as a villain by ecclesiastical historians like Theophanes the Confessor.
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Nikephoros II Phokas
Nikephoros II Phokas (Latinized: Nicephorus II Phocas) (Νικηφόρος Β΄ Φωκᾶς, Nikēphoros II Phōkas) (c. 912 – 10–11 December 969) was a Byzantine Emperor (963–969) whose brilliant military exploits contributed to the resurgence of Byzantine Empire in the tenth century.
Nikephoros Phokas was born in about 912 and belonged to a Cappadocian family which had produced several distinguished generals, including Nikephoros' father (Bardas Phokas), brother (Leo Phokas), and grandfather (Nikephoros Phokas the Elder), who had all served as commanders of the field army (domestikos tōn scholōn). His mother, whose name is unknown, was a member of another powerful Anatolian clan, the Maleinoi.
Nikephoros joined the army at an early age. He was appointed the military governor of the Anatolikon Theme in 945 under Emperor Constantine VII. When his father, Bardas was wounded in battle in 953, Nikephoros was promoted to supreme commander on the eastern frontier. In the war with the Abbasid Caliphate under Al-Muti, Nikephoros began with a severe defeat in 954, from which he recovered in the following years by victories in Syria, starting in 957.
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Numerian
Numerian (Latin: Marcus Aurelius Numerius Numerianus Augustus; died November 284), was a Roman Emperor from 282 to 284 with his older brother Carinus. They were sons of Carus, a general raised to the office of praetorian prefect under Emperor Probus in 282.
In 282, the legions of the upper Danube in Raetia and Noricum proclaimed Numerian's father, the praetorian prefect Marcus Aurelius Carus, emperor, beginning a rebellion against the emperor Probus. Probus' army, stationed in Sirmium (Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia), decided they did not wish to fight Carus, and assassinated Probus instead. Carus, already sixty, wished to establish a dynasty; and immediately elevated Carinus and Numerian to the rank of Caesar.
In 283, Carus raised Carinus to the title Caesar, left him in charge of the West, and moved with Numerian and his praetorian prefect Arrius Aper to the East, to wage war against the Sassanid Empire. (The Sassanids had been embroiled in a succession dispute since the death of Shapur, and were in no position to oppose Carus' advance.) According to Zonaras, Eutropius, and Festus, Carus won a major victory against the Persians, taking Seleucia and the Sassanid capital of Ctesiphon (near modern Al-Mada'in, Iraq), cities on opposite banks of the Tigris. In celebration, Numerian, Carus, and Carinus all took the title Persici maximi. Carus died in July or early August, reportedly due to a strike of lightning.
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Olybrius
Anicius Olybrius (died October 22 or November 2, 472) was Western Roman Emperor from April or May 472 to his death. He was in reality a puppet ruler, put on the throne by the Roman general of Germanic descent Ricimer, and was mainly interested in religion, while the actual power was held by Ricimer and his nephew Gundobad.
Olybrius was born in Rome, in the ancient and powerful gens Anicia, of Italian descent.
According to an hypothesis, which gathers the consensus of the historians, he was related to the Consul Anicius Hermogenianus Olybrius, whose wife and cousin, Anicia Juliana, had the same name Olybrius gave to his own daughter. Other historians consider this a weak clue, as "Juliana" was a common name in the gens Anicia, and because Hermogenianus seems to have begotten only one daughter, who took chastity vows; other possible fathers have therefore been proposed: either Flavius Anicius Probus (suggested by Settipani) or, according to some clues, Petronius Maximus.
Olybrius married Placidia, younger daughter of Western Emperor Valentinian III and of his wife Licinia Eudoxia, thus creating a bond between a member of the senatorial aristocracy and the House of Theodosius. The year of their wedding is not recorded, although the historian Priscus implies it took place before the Vandal sack of Rome (June 2–16, 455). Oost has pointed out that in his chronicle Hydatius wrote Placidia was unmarried as of 455.
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Otho
Otho (Latin: Marcus Salvius Otho Caesar Augustus; 28 April 32 – 16 April 69), was Roman Emperor for three months, from 15 January to 16 April 69. He was the second emperor of the Year of the Four Emperors.
Otho belonged to an ancient and noble Etruscan family, descended from the princes of Etruria and settled at Ferentinum (modern Ferento, near Viterbo) in Etruria. His paternal grandfather, Marcus Salvius Otho, whose father was a Roman knight but whose mother was of lowly origin and perhaps not even free-born, was raised in Livia's household and rose to senatorial rank through her influence, although he did not advance beyond the rank of praetor. His father was Lucius Otho.
The future Emperor appears first as one of the most reckless and extravagant of the young nobles who surrounded Nero. This friendship was brought to an end in 58 because of his wife, the noblewoman Poppaea Sabina. Otho introduced his beautiful wife to the Emperor upon Poppaea's insistence, who then began an affair that would eventually lead to her premature death. After securely establishing this position as his mistress, she divorced Otho and had the Emperor send him away to the remote province of Lusitania (which is now parts of both modern Portugal and Extremadura).
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Pertinax
Pertinax (Latin: Publius Helvius Pertinax Augustus; 1 August 126 – 28 March 193) was Roman Emperor for three months in 193. He is known as the first emperor of the tumultuous Year of the Five Emperors. A high-ranking military and Senatorial figure, he tried to restore discipline in the Praetorian Guards, whereupon they rebelled and killed him. Upon his death he was succeeded by Didius Julianus, whose reign was similarly short.
His career before becoming emperor is documented in the Historia Augusta and confirmed in many places by existing inscriptions. Born in Alba Pompeia in Italy, the son of freedman Helvius Successus, originally Pertinax made his way as a grammaticus (teacher of grammar), but he eventually decided to find a more rewarding line of work and through the help of patronage he was commissioned an officer in a cohort.
In the Parthian war that followed, he was able to distinguish himself, which resulted in a string of promotions, and after postings in Britain (as military tribune of the Legio VI Victrix) and along the Danube, he served as a procurator in Dacia. He suffered a setback as a victim of court intrigues during the reign of Marcus Aurelius, but shortly afterwards he was recalled to assist Claudius Pompeianus in the Marcomannic Wars. In 175 he received the honor of a suffect consulship and until 185, Pertinax was governor of the provinces of Upper and Lower Moesia, Dacia, Syria and finally governor of Britain.
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Petronius Maximus
Flavius Petronius Maximus (possibly Flavius Anicius Petronius Maximus) (c. 396 – 31 May 455) was Western Roman Emperor for two and one-half months in 455. A wealthy senator and a prominent aristocrat, he was instrumental in the murders of the Western Roman magister militum, Flavius Aëtius, and the Western Roman Emperor Valentinian III. Maximus was killed during the events that culminated in the Vandal sack of Rome in 455.
Petronius Maximus was born in about 396. Although he was of obscure origin, it is now believed that he belonged to the Anicii family. Related to later Emperor Olybrius, Maximus was the son of Anicius Probinus, the son of Anicia Faltonia Proba and Sextus Claudius Petronius Probus, who was Prefect of Illyricum in 364, Prefect of Gaul in 366, Prefect of Italy in 368–375 and again in 383 and consul in 371.
Maximus achieved a remarkable career early on in his life. His earliest known office was praetor, held about 411; around 415 he served as a tribunus et notarius, which was an entry position to the imperial bureaucracy, and led to his serving as Comes sacrarum largitionum (Count of the Sacred Largess) between 416 and 419.
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Philip the Arab
Philip the Arab (Latin: Marcus Julius Philippus Augustus; c. 204 – 249), also known as Philip or Philippus Arabs, was Roman Emperor from 244 to 249. He came from Syria, and rose to become a major figure in the Roman Empire. He achieved power after the death of Gordian III, quickly negotiating peace with the Sassanid Empire. During his reign, Rome celebrated its millennium.
Among early Christian writers Philip had the reputation of being sympathetic to the Christian faith. It was even claimed that he converted to Christianity, becoming the first Christian emperor, but this is disputed. He supposedly tried to celebrate Easter with Christians in Antioch, but the bishop Babylas made him stand with the penitents. Philip and his wife received letters from Origen.
Philip was overthrown and killed following a rebellion led by his successor Decius.
Little is known about Philip's early life and political career. He was born in what is today Shahba, about 55 miles (89 km) southeast of Damascus, in the Trachonitis district, then in the Roman province of Arabia. Philip, who received the nickname "the Arab" because his family hailed from the Roman province of Arabia, was the son of a Julius Marinus, a local Roman citizen, possibly of some importance.
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Philippikos Bardanes
Philippikos or Philippicus (Greek: Φιλιππικός), was Emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 711 to 713.
Philippicus was originally named Bardanes (Greek: Βαρδάνης, Vardanis; Armenian: Վարդան, Vardan), and was the son of the patrician Nikephorus, who was of Armenian extraction from an Armenian colony in Pergamum.
Relying on the support of the Monothelite party, he made some pretensions to the throne on the outbreak of the first great rebellion against Emperor Justinian II; these led to his relegation to Cephalonia by Tiberius Apsimarus, and subsequently to his banishment, by order of Justinian, to Cherson. Here Bardanes, taking the name of Philippicus, successfully incited the inhabitants to revolt with the help of the Khazars. The successful rebels seized Constantinople and Justinian fled (to be assassinated soon afterward, unable to rally substantial support in the provinces); Philippikos took the throne.
Among his first acts were the deposition of the orthodox patriarch Cyrus of Constantinople, in favour of John VI, a member of his own sect, and the summoning of a conciliabulum of Eastern bishops, which abolished the canons of the Sixth Ecumenical Council. In response the Roman Church refused to recognize the new Emperor and his patriarch. Meanwhile Tervel of Bulgaria plundered up to the walls of Constantinople in 712. When Philippicus transferred an army from the Opsikion theme to police the Balkans, the Umayyad Caliphate under Al-Walid I made inroads across the weakened defenses of Asia Minor.
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Phocas
Phocas (Latin: Flavius Phocas Augustus; Greek: Φωκᾶς, Phokas) was Byzantine Emperor from 602 to 610. He usurped the throne from the Emperor Maurice, and was himself overthrown by Heraclius after losing a civil war.
Almost nothing is known of Phocas's early life, although he may have been a native of Thrace. The name of his father is unknown. His mother was named Domentia (or Domentzia). He had at least two brothers, Comentiolus and Domentziolus.
By 600, he was a subaltern officer in the Byzantine army that served during Maurice's Balkan campaigns, and apparently was viewed as a leader by his fellow soldiers. He was a member of a delegation sent by the army in that year to Constantinople to submit grievances to the government. The Avars had defeated the Byzantines in 598, had taken a large number of prisoners, and demanded a ransom. Maurice refused to pay and all the prisoners were killed, causing consternation among the army. The delegation's complaints were rejected, and, according to several sources, Phocas himself was slapped and humiliated by prominent court officials at this time.
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Pliny the Younger
Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, born Gaius Caecilius or Gaius Caecilius Cilo (61 AD – ca. 112 AD), better known as Pliny the Younger, was a lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome. Pliny's uncle, Pliny the Elder, helped raise and educate him. They were both witnesses to the eruption of Vesuvius on 24 August 79 AD.
Pliny is known for his hundreds of surviving letters, which are an invaluable historical source for the time period. Many are addressed to reigning emperors or to notables such as the historian, Tacitus. Pliny himself was a notable figure, serving as an imperial magistrate under Trajan (reigned AD 98–117). Pliny was considered an honest and moderate man, consistent in his pursuit of suspected Christian members according to Roman law, and rose through a series of Imperial civil and military offices, the cursus honorum (see below). He was a friend of the historian Tacitus and employed the biographer Suetonius in his staff. Pliny also came into contact with many other well-known men of the period, including the philosophers Artemidorus and Euphrates during his time in Syria.[citation needed]
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Pompeia Plotina
'Pompeia Plotina Claudia Phoebe Piso or Potius piolet (d. 121/122) was a Roman Empress and wife of Roman Emperor Trajan. She was renowned for her interest in philosophy, and her virtue, dignity and simplicity. She was particularly devoted to the Epicurean philosophical school in Athens, Greece. Through her influence, she provided Romans with fairer taxation, improved education, assisted the poor and created tolerance in Roman society.
Plotina was born and was raised in Tejada la Vieja (Escacena del Campo), Spain, during the reign of Roman Emperor Nero (reigned 54–68). She was the daughter of Lucius Pompeius and Plotia, who had extensive political, family and friendship connections. Trajan married her before his accession. Although they had a happy marriage, they had no known children. In 100 Trajan awarded her with title of Augusta, but she did not accept the title until 105. Plotina did not appear on the coinage until 112.
Trajan and Plotina became the guardians of the future Roman Emperor Hadrian. Hadrian was about age 10 or 11 when he lost his father, who was a first cousin to Trajan (Trajan’s father and Hadrian’s paternal grandmother were brother and sister). Plotina was fond of Hadrian and strongly encouraged his adoption by the dying Trajan. The adoption occurred at Selinunte in Cilicia, in August 117. When Plotina died she was deified. Hadrian built a temple in her honor at Nîmes, in Provence.
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Pope Gregory I
Pope Gregory I (Latin: Gregorius I) (c. 540 – 12 March 604), better known in English as Gregory the Great, was pope from 3 September 590 until his death. Gregory is well known for his writings, which were more prolific than those of any of his predecessors as pope.
Throughout the Middle Ages he was known as “the Father of Christian Worship” because of his exceptional efforts in revising the Roman worship of his day.
He is also known as St. Gregory the Dialogist in Eastern Orthodoxy because of his Dialogues. For this reason, English translations of Orthodox texts will sometimes list him as "Gregory Dialogus". He was the first of the popes to come from a monastic background. Gregory is a Doctor of the Church and one of the Latin Fathers. He is considered a saint in the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, and some Lutheran churches. Immediately after his death, Gregory was canonized by popular acclaim. The Protestant reformer, John Calvin, admired Gregory and declared in his Institutes that Gregory was the last good pope. He is the patron saint of musicians, singers, students, and teachers.
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Pupienus
Pupienus (Latin: Marcus Clodius Pupienus Maximus Augustus; born c. 165/170 – 29 July 238), also known as Pupienus Maximus, was Roman Emperor with Balbinus for three months in 238, during the Year of the Six Emperors. The sources for this period are scant, and thus knowledge of the emperor is limited. In most contemporary texts Pupienus is referred by his agnomen "Maximus" rather than by his cognomen (family name) Pupienus.
The Historia Augusta, whose testimony is not to be trusted unreservedly, paints Pupienus as an example of advancement through the cursus honorum due to military success. It claims he was the son of a blacksmith, was adopted by one Pescennia Marcellina (otherwise unknown), and who started his career as a Centurio primus pilus before becoming a Tribunus Militum, and then a Praetor. He was in fact part of the aristocracy, albeit a minor one, and possibly quite recently. Hailing from the Etruscan city of Volterra, it has been speculated that Pupienus was the son of Marcus Pupienus Maximus, a Senator who was the first member of his family to enter the Senate, and wife Clodia Pulchra.
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Quintillus
Quintillus (Latin: Marcus Aurelius Claudius Quintillus Augustus; c. 220 – April 270), commonly known as Quintillus, was Roman Emperor for less than a year in 270.
Quintillus was born at Sirmium in Illyricum. Originally coming from a low born family, Quintillus came to prominence with the accession of his brother Claudius II Gothicus to the imperial throne in 268. He had possibly been made Procurator of Sardinia during his brother’s reign, and upon the death of his brother in 270, Quintillus was declared emperor either by the Senate or by his brother’s soldiers.
Eutropius reports Quintillus to have been elected by soldiers of the Roman army immediately following the death of his brother. The choice was reportedly approved by the Roman Senate. Joannes Zonaras reports him elected by the Senate itself. Records however agree that the legions which had followed Claudius in campaigning along the Danube were either unaware or disapproving of Quintillus' elevation. They instead elevated their current leader Aurelian as emperor.
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Roman Emperor
The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period (starting at about 27 BC). The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor. If a man was "proclaimed emperor" this normally meant he was proclaimed augustus, or (for generals) imperator (from which English emperor ultimately derives). Several other titles and offices were regularly accumulated by emperors, such as caesar, princeps senatus, consul and Pontifex Maximus. The power of emperors was generally based on the accumulation of powers from republican offices and the support of the army.
Roman emperors refused to be considered "kings", instead claiming to be leaders of a republic, however nominal. The first emperor, Augustus, resolutely refused recognition as a monarch. Although Augustus could claim that his power was authentically Republican, his successor, Tiberius, could not convincingly make the same claim. Nonetheless, the Republican institutional framework (senate, consuls, magistracies etc.) was preserved until the very end of the Western Empire.
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Roman emperor
The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period (starting at about 27 BC). The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor. If a man was "proclaimed emperor" this normally meant he was proclaimed augustus, or (for generals) imperator (from which English emperor ultimately derives). Several other titles and offices were regularly accumulated by emperors, such as caesar, princeps senatus, consul and Pontifex Maximus. The power of emperors was generally based on the accumulation of powers from republican offices and the support of the army.
Roman emperors refused to be considered "kings", instead claiming to be leaders of a republic, however nominal. The first emperor, Augustus, resolutely refused recognition as a monarch. Although Augustus could claim that his power was authentically Republican, his successor, Tiberius, could not convincingly make the same claim. Nonetheless, the Republican institutional framework (senate, consuls, magistracies etc.) was preserved until the very end of the Western Empire.
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Romanos I Lekapenos
Romanos I Lekapenos (or Romanus I Lecapenus) (Greek: Ρωμανός Α΄ Λακαπήνος, Rōmanos I Lakapēnos; Armenian: Ռոմանոս Ա Լակապենոս, Romanos I Lakapenos) (circa 870 – June 15, 948) was Byzantine Emperor from 920 until his deposition on December 16, 944.
Romanos Lekapenos, the son of an Armenian peasant Although he did not receive any refined education (for which he was later abused by his son-in-law Constantine VII), Romanos advanced through the ranks of the army during the reign of Emperor Leo VI the Wise. In 911 he was general of the naval theme of Samos and later served as admiral of the fleet (droungarios tou ploimou). In this capacity he was supposed to participate in the Byzantine operations against Bulgaria on the Danube in 917, but he was unable to carry out his mission. In the aftermath of the disastrous Byzantine defeat at the Battle of Acheloos in 917 by the Bulgarians, Romanos sailed to Constantinople, where he gradually overcame the discredited regency of Empress Zoe Karvounopsina and her supporter Leo Phokas.
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Romanos II
Romanos (or Romanus) II (Greek: Ρωμανός Β΄, Rōmanos II) (938 – 15 March 963) was a Byzantine Emperor. He succeeded his father Constantine VII in 959 at the age of twenty-one, and died suddenly in 963.
Romanos II was a son of Emperor Constantine VII and Helena Lekapene, the daughter of Emperor Romanos I and his wife Theodora. Named after his maternal grandfather, Romanos was married, as a child, to Bertha, the illegitimate daughter of Hugh of Arles, King of Italy, who changed her name to Eudokia after her marriage. On April 6, 945, after the fall of the Lekapenoi, Constantine VII crowned his son Romanos co-emperor.[citation needed][clarification needed] With Hugh out of power in Italy and dead by 947, and Bertha herself dying in 949, Romanos secured the promise from his father that he would be allowed to select his own bride. Romanos' choice fell on an innkeeper's daughter named Anastaso, whom he married in 956 and renamed Theophano.
In November 959 Romanos II succeeded his father on the throne, among rumors that he or his wife had contributed to the death of Constantine VII by poisoning him. Romanos purged his father's courtiers of his enemies and replaced them with his friends and those of his wife. Among the persons removed from court were the Empress Mother, Helena, and her daughters, all of them being sent to a nunnery. Nevertheless, many of Romanos' appointees were able men, including his chief adviser, the eunuch Joseph Bringas.
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Romanos III Argyros
Romanos III Argyros (or Romanus III Argyrus) (Greek: Ρωμανός Γ΄ Αργυρός, Rōmanos III Argyros) (968 – 11 April 1034) was Byzantine emperor from 15 November 1028 until his death.
Romanos Argyros was the son of an unnamed member of the Argyros family and a great-grandson of Emperor Romanos I. His sister Maria had married Giovanni Orseolo, a Venetian lord in Dalmatia. He also had a brother, Basil Argyros. Under Basil II Romanos served as judge, and under Constantine VIII he became urban prefect of Constantinople. Romanos attracted the attention of Constantine VIII, who forced him to divorce his wife (sending her into a monastery) and to marry the emperor's daughter Zoe. The marriage took place on November 12, 1028, and three days later Constantine VIII died, leaving Romanos III as emperor.
The new emperor showed great eagerness to make his mark as a ruler, but was mostly unfortunate in his enterprises. He spent large sums upon new buildings and in endowing the monks, and in his endeavour to relieve the pressure of taxation disorganized the finances of the state. Idealizing Marcus Aurelius, Romanos aspired to be a new "philosopher king", and similarly desired to imitate the military prowess of Trajan.
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Romanos IV Diogenes
Romanos (or Romanus) IV Diogenes (Greek: Ρωμανός Δ΄ Διογένης, Rōmanos IV Diogenēs) was a member of the Byzantine military aristocracy who, after his marriage to the widowed empress Eudokia Makrembolitissa was crowned Byzantine emperor and reigned from 1068 to 1071. During his reign he was determined to halt the decline of the Byzantine military and stop Turkish incursions into the Byzantine Empire, but in 1071 he was captured and his army routed at the Battle of Manzikert. While still captive he was overthrown in a palace coup, and when released he was quickly defeated and detained by members of the Doukas family. In 1072, he was blinded and sent to a monastery where he died of his wounds.
Romanos Diogenes was the son of Constantine Diogenes and a member of a prominent and powerful Cappadocian family, connected by birth to most of the great aristocratic nobles in Asia Minor. His mother was an anonymous daughter of Basil Argyros, brother of the emperor Romanos III. Courageous and generous, but also quite impetuous, Romanos's military talents had seen him rise with distinction in the army, including serving on the Danubian frontier but he was eventually convicted of attempting to usurp the throne of the sons of Constantine X Doukas in 1067. While waiting to receive his sentence from the regent Eudokia Makrembolitissa, he was summoned into her presence and advised that she had pardoned him and that furthermore she had chosen him to be her husband and the guardian of her sons as emperor. She took this course of action firstly due to her concern that unless she managed to find a powerful husband, she could easily lose the regency to any unscrupulous noble, and secondly because she was infatuated with the popular Romanus. Her decision was met with little protest as the Seljuk Turks had overrun much of Cappadocia and had even taken the important city of Caesarea, meaning that the army needed to be placed under the command of an able and energetic general.
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Romulus Augustulus
Romulus Augustus (born perhaps around 460 – died after 476, possibly alive around 500), is sometimes considered the last Western Roman Emperor (although by other accounts the last Western Roman Emperor was Julius Nepos), reigning from 31 October 475 until 4 September 476. His deposition by Odoacer traditionally marks the end of the Western Roman Empire, the fall of ancient Rome, and the beginning of the Middle Ages in Western Europe.
He is also known by his nickname "Romulus Augustulus", though he ruled officially as Romulus Augustus. The Latin suffix -ulus is a diminutive; hence, Augustulus effectively means "Little Augustus".
The historical record contains few details of Romulus' life. He was installed as emperor by his father Orestes, the Magister militum (master of soldiers) of the Roman army after deposing the previous emperor Julius Nepos. Romulus, little more than a child, acted as a figurehead for his father's rule. Reigning for only ten months, Romulus was then deposed by the Germanic chieftain Odoacer and sent to live in the Castellum Lucullanum in Campania; afterwards he disappears from the historical record.
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Rupilia
Rupilia Faustina (about 87 – before 138) was an influential Roman noble woman. She was the daughter of Salonina Matidia and suffect consul Lucius Scribonius Libo Rupilius Frugi Bonus. She possibly had another sister called Rupilia Annia.
Her mother’s maternal uncle was the Roman Emperor Trajan. Her elder half-sisters were Roman Empress Vibia Sabina and Matidia Minor. The sisters lived and were raised as a part of the household of Trajan, his wife Pompeia Plotina and her father. Roman Emperor Hadrian was her brother-in-law and third cousin.
Faustina married Marcus Annius Verus, who was a prefect in Rome and served as consul three times. Their children were:
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Salonina Matidia
Salonina Matidia (4 July 68 – 23 December 119) was the daughter and only child of Ulpia Marciana and wealthy praetor Gaius Salonius Matidius Patruinus. Her maternal uncle was the Roman Emperor Trajan. Trajan had no children and treated her like his daughter. Her father died in 78 and Matidia went with her mother to live with Trajan and his wife, Pompeia Plotina.
Between 81 and 82, Matidia married a suffect consul and former proconsul Lucius Vibius Sabinus. Sabinus died in 83 or 84. Matidia bore Sabinus a daughter called Vibia Sabina, who would marry the future Roman Emperor Hadrian. Matidia was very fond of her second cousin Hadrian and allowed him to marry Vibia Sabina.
In 84, Matidia married for a second time to an otherwise unattested Roman aristocrat called Lucius Mindius. Matidia bore Mindius a daughter called Mindia Matidia, commonly known as Matidia Minor. Mindius died in 85.
It is possible that Matidia also married a suffect consul of 88, Lucius Scribonius Libo Rupilius Frugi Bonus. Frugi had a daughter called Rupilia Faustina. Faustina would go on to marry the Roman senator Marcus Annius Verus, to whom she bore one daughter and two sons. Through her children, she would become the grandmother of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius and his wife Faustina the Younger.
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Saloninus
Publius Licinius Cornelius Saloninus Valerianus (c. 242 – 260) was Roman Emperor in 259 or 260.
Saloninus was born around the year 242. His father was the later emperor Gallienus, his mother Cornelia Salonina, a Greek from Bithynia. In 258 Saloninus was appointed Caesar by his father (just like his older brother Valerian II, who had died around 258) and sent to Gaul to make sure his father's authority was respected there. (The title Caesar in Imperial nomenclature indicated that the holder was the Crown Prince and first in line of succession after the Augustus, the title reserved for the ruling Emperor). Like Valerian II, who was made the ward of Ingenuus, governor of the Illyrian provinces, Saloninus was put under the protection of the praetorian prefect Silvanus (otherwise named as Albanus) As Caesar in Gaul Saloninus had his main seat in Cologne.
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Septimius Severus
Septimius Severus (Latin: Lucius Septimius Severus Augustus; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211), also known as Severus, was Roman Emperor from 193 to 211. Severus was born in Leptis Magna in the province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through the customary succession of offices under the reigns of Marcus Aurelius and Commodus. Severus seized power after the death of Emperor Pertinax in 193 during the Year of the Five Emperors. After deposing and killing the incumbent emperor Didius Julianus, Severus fought his rival claimants, the generals Pescennius Niger and Clodius Albinus. Niger was defeated in 194 at the Battle of Issus in Cilicia. Later that year Severus waged a short punitive campaign beyond the eastern frontier, annexing the Kingdom of Osroene as a new province. Severus defeated Albinus three years later at the Battle of Lugdunum in Gaul.
After solidifying his rule over the western provinces, Severus waged another brief, more successful war in the east against the Parthian Empire, sacking their capital Ctesiphon in 197 and expanding the eastern frontier to the Tigris. Furthermore, he enlarged and fortified the Limes Arabicus in Arabia Petraea. In 202, he campaigned in Africa and Mauretania against the Garamantes; capturing their capital Garama and expanding the Limes Tripolitanus along the southern frontier of the empire. Late in his reign he traveled to Britain, strengthening Hadrian's Wall and reoccupying the Antonine Wall. In 208 he invaded Caledonia modern Scotland, but his ambitions were cut short when he fell fatally ill in late 210. Severus died in early 211 at Eboracum, succeeded by his sons Caracalla and Geta. With the succession of his sons, Severus founded the Severan dynasty, the last dynasty of the empire before the Crisis of the Third Century.
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Sextus Martinianus
Sextus Marcius Martinianus (usually rendered in English as Martinian; died 325) was Roman Emperor from July to September 18, 324. He had been appointed co-emperor by Licinius.
In 324, as the second civil war between Licinius and Constantine I was at its height, the situation for Licinius was not promising. Following his defeat at the Battle of Adrianople, he decided to replace Constantine (in name only) as western Augustus. As his replacement he named Martinian co-emperor, as he had previously appointed Valens during his earlier war with Constantine. Prior to his elevation, which took place some time after the Battle of Adrianople (July 3, 324), Martinian was serving as magister officiorum at Licinius' court.
In the wake of Licinius's defeat at Adrianople Licinius sent Martinian, with an army including Visigothic auxiliaries, to Lampsacus (on the Asiatic shore of the Hellespont or Dardanelles) to prevent Constantine from crossing from Thrace into Mysia and Bithynia in Asia Minor. A naval battle in the Hellespont resulted in the destruction of Licinius' navy by Constantine's eldest son Crispus. Following this defeat Licinius withdrew his forces from Byzantium, which was being besieged by Constantine, to Chalcedon on the Asiatic shore of the Bosphoros. Constantine then crossed over to Asia Minor, using a flotilla of light transports in order to evade the forces of Martinian. Licinius recalled Martinian from Lampsacus to reinforce his main army. On September 18 Licinius was defeated for the last time at the Battle of Chrysopolis.
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Theodore I Laskaris
Theodoros I Komnenos Laskaris (Greek: Θεόδωρος Α' Λάσκαρις, Theodōros I Laskaris) (c. 1174/1175–1221/August, 1222) was Emperor of Nicaea (1204–1221 or 1205–1222).
Theodore Laskaris was born to the Laskaris, a noble but not particularly renowned Byzantine family of Constantinople. He was the son of Manuel Laskaris (b. c. 1140) and wife Ioanna Karatzaina (b. c. 1148). He had four older brothers: Manuel Laskaris (d. aft. 1256), Michael Laskaris (d. 1261/1271), Georgios Laskaris and Constantine Laskaris (d. aft. March 19, 1205), Emperor of Byzantium (1204–1205); and two younger brothers: Alexios Laskaris, Latin military leader against the Bulgars who fought with the French against John III Doukas Vatatzes and was imprisoned and blinded, and Isaakios Laskaris.
According to "The Latins in the Levant. A History of Frankish Greece (1204–1566)" (1908) by William Miller, the seven brothers may also have had a sister. Miller identified said sister with the wife of Marco I Sanudo and mother of Angelo Sanudo. He based this theory on his own interpretation of Italian chronicles. The "Dictionnaire historique et Généalogique des grandes familles de Grèce, d'Albanie et de Constantinople" (1983) by Mihail-Dimitri Sturdza rejected the theory based on the silence of Byzantine primary sources.
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Theodore II Laskaris
Theodore II Doukas Laskaris or Ducas Lascaris (Greek: Θεόδωρος Β΄ Δούκας Λάσκαρις, Theodōros II Doukas Laskaris) (1221/1222 – August 18, 1258) was emperor of Nicaea, 1254–1258.
Theodore II Doukas Laskaris was the only son of Emperor John III Doukas Vatatzes and Eirene Laskarina, the daughter of Emperor Theodore I Laskaris and Anna Angelina, a daughter of Emperor Alexios III Angelos and Euphrosyne Doukaina Kamaterina. Theodore was born in late 1221 or early 1222, reportedly on the very day his father ascended the throne.
Theodore II received a scholarly education by Nicephorus Blemmydes and remained devoted to science and art throughout his life. In contrast with earlier practice, Theodore II was not crowned co-emperor with his father, though he assisted in the government since c. 1241. On the death of John III on November 4, 1254, Theodore II was acclaimed emperor by the army and the court, but was crowned only after the appointment of a new patriarch, Arsenios Autoreianos, in 1255.
The succession of Theodore II was exploited by the Bulgarians, who invaded Thrace under the leadership of the young and inexperienced Michael Asen I of Bulgaria in 1255. In spite of his own scholarly predisposition, Theodore II immediately marched against the Bulgarians and inflicted a crushing defeat on them. During his second expedition in 1256, he managed to conclude a favorable peace with Bulgaria, which may have plunged the latter into a crisis of leadership. Theodore II followed up his victory against Bulgaria by expanding his control in the west, where he annexed Durazzo and Servia, effectively outflanking his rivals in Epirus.
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Theodosios III
Theodosios III or Theodosius III (Greek: Θεοδόσιος Γ΄), was Byzantine Emperor from 715 to 25 March 717.
Theodosius was a financial officer and tax collector in the southern portion of the theme of Opsikion. According to one theory he was the son of the former Emperor Tiberius III. When the thematic troops rebelled against Emperor Anastasius II, he was chosen as emperor. Theodosius did not readily accept this choice and according to the chronicler Theophanes the Confessor even attempted to hide in the forests near Adramyttium. Eventually he was found and was acclaimed emperor in May 715.
Theodosius and his troops immediately laid siege to Constantinople. Six months later, in November, they gained entry the city. Theodosius showed himself remarkably moderate in his treatment of his predecessor and his supporters. Through the intercession of Patriarch Germanus I of Constantinople Anastasius II was convinced to abdicate and become a monk in Thessalonica.
Little is known of Theodosius' short reign. He immediately faced an Arab invasion deep into Anatolia and the advance of the Arab fleet. In 716 he concluded a treaty with Tervel of Bulgaria favorable to the Bulgarians in effort to secure support against the Arab invasion. This policy paid off in 719, when they helped relieve the Second Arab siege of Constantinople.
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Theodosius I
Theodosius I (Latin: Flavius Theodosius Augustus; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also known as Theodosius the Great, was Roman Emperor from 379 to 395. Theodosius was the last emperor to rule over both the eastern and the western halves of the Roman Empire. During his reign, the Goths secured control of Illyricum after the Gothic War, establishing their homeland south of the Danube within the empire's borders. He also issued decrees that effectively made Christianity the official state religion of the Roman Empire.
He is recognized by the Eastern Orthodox Church as Saint Theodosius. He defeated the usurpers Magnus Maximus and Eugenius and fostered the destruction of some prominent pagan temples: the Serapeum in Alexandria, the Temple of Apollo in Delphi, and the Vestal Virgins in Rome. After his death, Theodosius' sons Arcadius and Honorius inherited the East and West halves respectively, and the Roman Empire was never again re-united.
Theodosius was born in Cauca or Italica, Hispania, to senior military officer Theodosius the Elder. He accompanied his father to Britannia to help quell the Great Conspiracy in 368. He was military commander (dux) of Moesia, a Roman province on the lower Danube, in 374. However, shortly thereafter, and at about the same time as the sudden disgrace and execution of his father, Theodosius retired to Spain. The reason for his retirement, and the relationship (if any) between it and his father's death is unclear. It is possible that he was dismissed from his command by the emperor Valentinian I after the loss of two of Theodosius' legions to the Sarmatians in late 374.
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Theodosius II
Theodosius II (Latin: Flavius Theodosius Junior Augustus; 10 April 401 – 28 July 450), commonly surnamed Theodosius the Younger, or Theodosius the Calligrapher, was Byzantine Emperor from 408 to 450. He is mostly known for promulgating the Theodosian law code, and for the construction of the Theodosian Walls of Constantinople. He also presided over the outbreak of two great christological controversies, Nestorianism and Eutychianism.
Theodosius was born in 401 as the only son of Emperor Arcadius and his Frankish-born wife Aelia Eudoxia. In 408, his father died and the seven-year-old boy became Emperor of the Eastern half of the Roman Empire.
Government was at first by the Praetorian Prefect Anthemius, under whose supervision the Theodosian land walls of Constantinople were constructed.
In 414, Theodosius' older sister Pulcheria was proclaimed Augusta and assumed the regency. By 416 Theodosius was capable of ruling himself, but his sister remained a strong influence on him. In June 421, Theodosius married Aelia Eudocia, a woman of Greek origin. The two had a daughter named Licinia Eudoxia.
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Theophilos (emperor)
Theophilos (Greek: Θεόφιλος; 813 – 20 January 842) was the Byzantine Emperor from 829 until his death in 842. He was the second emperor of the Phrygian dynasty, and the last emperor supporting iconoclasm. Theophilos personally led the armies in his life-long war against the Arabs beginning in 831.
Theophilos was the son of the Byzantine Emperor Michael II and his wife Thekla, and the godson of Emperor Leo V the Armenian. Michael II crowned Theophilos co-emperor in 822, shortly after his own accession. Unlike his father, Theophilos received an extensive education, and showed interest in the arts. On 2 October 829, Theophilos succeeded his father as sole emperor.
Theophilos continued in his predecessors' iconoclasm, though without his father's more conciliatory tone, issuing an edict in 832 forbidding the veneration of icons. He also saw himself as the champion of justice, which he served most ostentatiously by executing his father's co-conspirators against Leo V immediately after his accession. His reputation as a judge endured, and in the literary composition Timarion Theophilos is featured as one of the judges in the Netherworld.
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Tiberios III
Tiberios III (or Tiberius III) (Greek: Τιβέριος Γ') (died 15 February 706) was Byzantine emperor from 698 to 21 August 705. Although his rule was considered generally successful, especially in containing the Arab threat to the east, he was overthrown by the former emperor Justinian II and subsequently executed.
Tiberius was a Germanic naval officer from the region of Pamphylia and originally named Apsimaros (Αψίμαρος), who rose to the position of droungarios of the Cibyrrhaeotic Theme. He participated in the failed campaign to regain Carthage in 698. As admiral John the Patrician retreated from Carthage to Crete, the fleet rebelled, deposed and murdered their commander, and chose Apsimaros as his replacement. Changing his name to Tiberios, Apsimaros sailed on Constantinople which was suffering from a plague and proceeded to besiege it.
His revolution attracted the support of the Green faction, as well as detachments from the field army and the imperial guard, and officers loyal to him opened the gates of the city and proclaimed him emperor, after which his troops the proceeded to pillage the city. When he was firmly established on the throne, he commanded that the nose of deposed Emperor Leontius be cut off, and ordered him to enter the monastery of Psamathion. Leontios had also mutilated his predecessor Justinian II in the same fashion three years earlier.
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Tiberius
Tiberius (Latin: Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March 37 AD), was Roman Emperor from 14 AD to 37 AD. Tiberius was by birth a Claudian, son of Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla. His mother divorced Nero and married Augustus in 39 BC, making him a step-son of Octavian. Tiberius would later marry Augustus' daughter Julia the Elder (from his marriage to Scribonia) and even later be adopted by Augustus, by which act he officially became a Julian, bearing the name Tiberius Julius Caesar. The subsequent emperors after Tiberius would continue this blended dynasty of both families for the next forty years; historians have named it the Julio-Claudian dynasty. In relations to the other emperors of this dynasty, Tiberius was the stepson of Augustus, great-uncle of Caligula, paternal uncle of Claudius, and great-great uncle of Nero.
Tiberius was one of Rome's greatest generals, conquering Pannonia, Dalmatia, Raetia, and temporarily Germania; laying the foundations for the northern frontier. But he came to be remembered as a dark, reclusive, and sombre ruler who never really desired to be emperor; Pliny the Elder called him tristissimus hominum, "the gloomiest of men." After the death of Tiberius’ son Drusus Julius Caesar in 23 he became more reclusive and aloof. In 26, against better judgement, Tiberius exiled himself from Rome and left administration largely in the hands of his unscrupulous Praetorian Prefects Lucius Aelius Sejanus and Quintus Naevius Sutorius Macro. Caligula, Tiberius' grand-nephew and adopted grandson, succeeded the emperor upon his death.
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Titus
Titus (Latin: Titus Flavius Caesar Vespasianus Augustus; 30 December 39 – 13 September 81), was Roman Emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death, thus becoming the first Roman Emperor to come to the throne after his own father.
Prior to becoming Emperor, Titus gained renown as a military commander, serving under his father in Judaea during the First Jewish-Roman War. The campaign came to a brief halt with the death of emperor Nero in 68, launching Vespasian's bid for the imperial power during the Year of the Four Emperors. When Vespasian was declared Emperor on 1 July 69, Titus was left in charge of ending the Jewish rebellion. In 70, he successfully laid siege to and destroyed the city and Temple of Jerusalem. For this achievement Titus was awarded a triumph; the Arch of Titus commemorates his victory to this day.
Under the rule of his father, Titus gained notoriety in Rome serving as prefect of the Praetorian Guard, and for carrying on a controversial relationship with the Jewish queen Berenice. Despite concerns over his character, Titus ruled to great acclaim following the death of Vespasian in 79, and was considered a good emperor by Suetonius and other contemporary historians. As emperor, he is best known for completing the Colosseum and for his generosity in relieving the suffering caused by two disasters, the Mount Vesuvius eruption of 79 and a fire in Rome in 80. After barely two years in office, Titus died of a fever on 13 September 81. He was deified by the Roman Senate and succeeded by his younger brother Domitian.
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Traian Băsescu
Traian Băsescu (born November 4th, 1951 in Basarabi, Romania) is the current president of Romania, serving since 2004. Mayor of Bucharest from 2000 to 2004, he was elected president in 2004, suspended from office in 2007 but reconfirmed a month later in a plebiscite. He was re-elected president for a second 5-year term in 2009, amidst allegations of electoral fraud that were ultimately dismissed by the Constitutional Court of Romania.
Băsescu was born in Basarabi (renamed Murfatlar in 2007), near the port city of Constanţa, the largest Romanian port on the Black Sea. Băsescu's father, Dumitru (d. 2002), was an army officer; his mother's first name is Elena (d. 2010). He has a brother, Mircea (b. 1953). Traian Băsescu and his wife Maria have two daughters.
Băsescu graduated from the Naval Institute of Constanţa in 1976 and became a merchant marine deck officer at Navrom, the Romanian state-owned shipping company. Between 1981 and 1987 he served as Captain on Romanian commercial ships. Throughout his career, questions have been raised about Basescu's links to the Securitate, the security services of the communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. But Basescu has said his links with the former Securitate were minimal, though some contact was obligatory at the time for somebody working abroad in a senior position. In 1984 he was promoted to Captain of the oil tanker Biruinţa, the largest ship of the then Romanian commercial fleet. In 1989, Băsescu moved to Belgium to head the Navrom Agency in Antwerp.
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Trajan
Trajan ( /ˈtreɪdʒən/; Latin: Marcus Ulpius Nerva Traianus Augustus; 18 September 53 – 9 August 117), was Roman Emperor from 98 to 117 AD. Born into a non-patrician family in the province of Hispania Baetica, Trajan rose to prominence during the reign of emperor Domitian. Serving as a legatus legionis in Hispania Tarraconensis, in 89 Trajan supported the emperor against a revolt on the Rhine led by Antonius Saturninus.
In September 96, Domitian was succeeded by Marcus Cocceius Nerva, an old and childless senator who proved to be unpopular with the army. After a brief and tumultuous year in power, a revolt by members of the Praetorian Guard compelled him to adopt the more popular Trajan as his heir and successor. Nerva died on 27 January 98, and was succeeded by his adopted son without incident.
As a civilian administrator, Trajan is best known for his extensive public building program which reshaped the city of Rome and left multiple enduring landmarks such as Trajan's Forum, Trajan's Market and Trajan's Column. Early in his reign, he annexed the Nabataean kingdom, creating the province of Arabia Petraea. His conquest of Dacia enriched the empire greatly — the new province possessed many valuable gold mines.
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Trebonianus Gallus
Trebonianus Gallus (Latin: Gaius Vibius Afinius Trebonianus Gallus Augustus; 206 – August 253), also known as Gallus, was Roman Emperor from 251 to 253, in a joint rule with his son Volusianus.
Gallus was born in Italy, in a family with respected ancestry of Etruscan senatorial background. He had two children in his marriage with Afinia Gemina Baebiana: Gaius Vibius Volusianus, later Emperor, and a daughter, Vibia Galla. His early career was a typical cursus honorum, with several appointments, both political and military. He was suffect consul and in 250 was nominated governor of the Roman province of Moesia Superior, an appointment that showed the confidence of Emperor Trajan Decius in him. In Moesia, Gallus was a key figure in repelling the frequent invasion attacks by the Gothic tribes of the Danube and became popular with the army, catered to during his brief Imperial rule by his official image: military haircut, gladiatorial physique, intimidating stance (illustration, left).
In June 251, Decius and his co-emperor and son Herennius Etruscus died in the Battle of Abrittus, at the hands of the Goths they were supposed to punish for raids into the empire. According to rumours supported by Dexippus (a contemporary Greek historian) and the Thirteenth Sibylline Oracle, Decius' failure was largely owing to Gallus who had conspired with the invaders. In any case, when the army heard the news, the soldiers proclaimed Gallus emperor, despite Hostilian, Decius' surviving son, ascending the imperial throne in Rome. This action of the army, and the fact that Gallus seems to have been on good terms with Decius' family, makes Dexippus' allegation improbable. Gallus did not back down from his intention to become emperor, but accepted Hostilian as co-emperor, perhaps to avoid the damage of another civil war.
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Ulpia Marciana
Ulpia Marciana (August 15 and 30 48 – 112/114) was the beloved elder sister of Roman Emperor Trajan. She was the eldest child born to Roman woman Marcia and the Spanish Roman senator Marcus Ulpius Traianus. Her second name Marciana she inherited from her mother’s paternal ancestors. Her birthplace is unknown.
Marciana married Gaius Salonius Matidius Patruinus. Patruinus was a wealthy man, who served as a praetor and later became a senator. He originally came from Vicetia (modern Vicenza in northern Italy). She bore Patruinus a daughter and only child Salonina Matidia, who was born on July 4, 68. Patruinus died in 78 and Marciana never remarried. After Patruinus’ death, Marciana and Matidia went to live with Trajan and his wife.
After 105, her brother awarded her with the title of Augusta. She was the first sister of a Roman Emperor to receive this title. Marciana did not accept this at first, but her sister-in-law, the Empress Pompeia Plotina, insisted that she take the title. She thus became part of the official imperial iconography and her statue was placed together with Trajan's and Plotina's over the Arches of Trajan in Ancona. Marciana was very close to Trajan and Plotina.
wn.com/Ulpia_Marciana -
Valens
Valens ([pronunciation?]; Latin: Flavius Julius Valens Augustus; 328 – 9 August 378) was the Eastern Roman Emperor from 364 to 378. He was given the eastern half of the empire by his brother Valentinian I after the latter's accession to the throne. Valens, sometimes known as the Last True Roman, was defeated and killed in the Battle of Adrianople, which marked the beginning of the collapse of the decaying Western Roman Empire.
Valens and his brother Valentinian were both born in Cibalae (in present-day Croatia) into an Illyrian family in 328 and 321 respectively. They had grown up on estates purchased by their father Gratian the Elder in Africa and Britain. While Valentinian had enjoyed a successful military career prior to his appointment as emperor, Valens apparently had not. He had spent much of his youth on the family's estate and only joined the army in the 360s, participating with his brother in the Persian campaign of Emperor Julian.
In February 364, reigning Emperor Jovian, while hastening to Constantinople to secure his claim to the throne, was asphyxiated during a stop at Dadastana, 100 miles east of Ankara. Among Jovian's agents was Valentinian, a tribunus scutariorum. He was proclaimed Augustus on 26 February, 364. Valentinian felt that he needed help to govern the large and troublesome empire, and, on 28 March of the same year, appointed his brother Valens as co-emperor in the palace of Hebdomon. The two Augusti travelled together through Adrianople and Naissus to Sirmium, where they divided their personnel, and Valentinian went on to the West.
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Valentinian I
Valentinian I (Latin: Flavius Valentinianus Augustus; 321 – 17 November 375), also known as Valentinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 364 to 375. Upon becoming emperor he made his brother Valens his co-emperor, giving him rule of the eastern provinces while Valentinian retained the west.
During his reign, Valentinian fought successfully against the Alamanni, Quadi, and Sarmatians. Most notable was his victory over the Alamanni in 367 at the Battle of Solicinium. His brilliant general Count Theodosius defeated a revolt in Africa and the Great Conspiracy, a coordinated assault on Britain by Picts, Scots, and Saxons. Valentinian was also the last emperor to conduct campaigns across both the Rhine and Danube rivers. Valentinian rebuilt and improved the fortifications along the frontiers – even building fortresses in enemy territory.
Due to the successful nature of his reign and almost immediate decline of the empire after his death, he is often considered the "last great western emperor". He founded the Valentinian Dynasty, with his sons Gratian and Valentinian II succeeding him in the western half of the empire.
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Valentinian II
Flavius Valentinianus (371 – 15 May 392), commonly known as Valentinian II, was Roman Emperor from 375 to 392 A.D.
Flavius Valentinianus was born to Emperor Valentinian I and his second wife, Justina. He was the half-brother of Valentinian’s other son, Gratian, who had shared the imperial title with his father since 367. He had three sisters Galla, Grata and Justa. The elder Valentinian died on campaign in Pannonia in 375. Neither Gratian (then in Trier) nor his uncle Valens (emperor for the East) were consulted by the army commanders on the scene. Instead of merely acknowledging Gratian as his father’s successor, Valentinian I’s generals acclaimed the four-year old Valentinian augustus on 22 November 375. The army, and its Frankish general Merobaudes, may have been uneasy about Gratian's lack of military ability, and so raised a boy who would not immediately aspire to military command.
Gratian, forced to accommodate the generals who supported his half-brother, governed the trans-alpine provinces (including Gaul, Hispania, and Britain), while Italy, part of Illyricum, and Africa were under the rule of Valentinian. In 378, their uncle, the Emperor Valens, was killed in battle with the Goths at Adrianople, and Gratian invited the general Theodosius to be emperor in the East. As a child, Valentinian II was under the influence of his Arian mother, the Empress Justina, and the imperial court at Milan, an influence contested by the Catholic bishop of Milan, Ambrose.
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Valentinian III
Valentinian III (Latin: Flavius Placidius Valentinianus Augustus; 2 July 419 – 16 March 455), was Western Roman Emperor from 425 to 455. His reign is marked by the ongoing dismemberment of the Western Empire.
Valentinian was born in the western capital of Ravenna, the only son of Galla Placidia and Flavius Constantius. His mother was the younger half-sister of the western emperor Honorius, while his father was at the time a Patrician and the power behind the throne.
Through his mother, Valentinian was a descendent both of Theodosius I, who was his maternal grandfather, and of Valentinian I, who was the father of his maternal grandmother. It was also through his mother's side of the family that he was the nephew of Honorius and first cousin to Theodosius II (the son of Honorius' brother Arcadius), who was eastern emperor for most of Valentianian's life. Valentinian had a full sister, Justa Grata Honoria, who was probably born in 417 or 418 (the history of Paul the Deacon mentions her first when mentioning the children of the marriage, suggesting she was the eldest). His mother had previously been married to Ataulf of the Visigoths, and had borne a son, Theodosius, in Barcelona in 414; but the child had died early in the following year, thus eliminating an opportunity for a Romano-Visigothic line.
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Valerian (emperor)
Valerian (Latin: Publius Licinius Valerianus Augustus; 193/195/200 – 260 or 264), also known as Valerian the Elder, was Roman Emperor from 253 to 260. He was taken captive by Persian king Shapur I after the Battle of Edessa, becoming the only Roman Emperor who was captured as a prisoner of war, resulting in wide-ranging instability across the Empire.
Unlike the majority of the pretenders during the Crisis of the Third Century, Valerian was of a noble and traditional senatorial family. Details of his early life are elusive, but for his marriage to Egnatia Mariniana, who gave him two sons: later emperor Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus and Valerianus Minor.[citation needed]
He was Consul for the first time either before 238 as a Suffectus or in 238 as an Ordinarius. In 238 he was princeps senatus, and Gordian I negotiated through him for Senatorial acknowledgement for his claim as emperor. In 251, when Decius revived the censorship with legislative and executive powers so extensive that it practically embraced the civil authority of the emperor, Valerian was chosen censor by the Senate, though he declined to accept the post. Under Decius he was nominated governor of the Rhine provinces of Noricum and Raetia and retained the confidence of his predecessor, Trebonianus Gallus, who asked him for reinforcements to quell the rebellion of Aemilianus in 253. Valerian headed south, but was too late: Gallus's own troops had killed him and joined Aemilianus before his arrival. The Raetian soldiers then proclaimed Valerian emperor and continued their march towards Rome. At the time of his arrival in September or October, Aemilianus' legions defected, killing him and proclaiming Valerian emperor. In Rome, the Senate quickly acknowledged him, not only for fear of reprisals, but also because he was one of their own.
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Valerius Valens
Aurelius Valerius Valens (died 317) was Roman Emperor from late 316 to March 1, 317. Valens had previously been dux limitis (duke of the frontier) in Dacia.
In the first civil war between Licinius and Constantine I, the latter won an overwhelming victory at the battle of Cibalae on October 8, 316. (some historians date it in 314), Licinius fled to Adrianople where, with the help of Valens, gathered a second army. There, early in December 316, he elevated Valens to the rank of Augustus, presumably in order to secure his loyalty. Much later, Licinius would use the same trick (with just as little success) in the second civil war with Constantine, by appointing Martinianus co-emperor.
Despite the literary sources referring to Valens as a junior emperor (Caesar), the numismatic evidence indicates his Augustan rank.
After Licinius's indecisive defeat at Campus Ardiensis in later 316 / early 317, Constantine was still in the dominant position from which he was able to force Licinius to recognize him as the senior emperor, depose Valens and appoint their sons as Caesars. According to Petrus Patricius, he explicitly expressed his anger from the elevation of Valens by saying the following to the envoy of Mestrianus:
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Vespasian
Vespasian (Latin: Titus Flavius Caesar Vespasianus Augustus; 17 November 9 – 23 June 79) was Roman Emperor from AD 69 to AD 79. Vespasian was the founder of the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for a quarter century. Vespasian was descended from a family of equestrians, who rose into the senatorial rank under the Emperors of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Although he attained the standard succession of public offices, holding the consulship in AD 51, Vespasian became more reputed as a successful military commander, participating in the Roman invasion of Britain in 43, and subjugating Judaea during the Jewish rebellion of AD 66.
While Vespasian was preparing to besiege the city of Jerusalem during the latter campaign, emperor Nero committed suicide, plunging the empire into a year of civil war known as the Year of the Four Emperors. After the emperors Galba and Otho perished in quick succession, Vitellius became Emperor in April AD 69. In response, the armies in Egypt and Judaea declared Vespasian emperor on 1 July. In his bid for imperial power, Vespasian joined forces with Mucianus, the governor of Syria, and Primus, a general in Pannonia. Primus and Mucianus led the Flavian forces against Vitellius, while Vespasian gained control of Egypt. On 20 December, Vitellius was defeated, and the following day Vespasian was declared Emperor by the Roman Senate.
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Vetranio
Vetranio (d. c. 360), born in the province of Moesia in a part of the region located in modern Serbia, is sometimes but incorrectly referred to as Vetriano. He was an experienced soldier and officer when he was asked by Constantina, the sister of Roman Emperor Constantius II, to proclaim himself Caesar (March 1, 350). Her brother Constans had been killed by Magnentius earlier that year and she probably thought Vetranio could protect her family and herself against the usurper. Vetranio accepted and coins were minted in his name, showing the title of Augustus (full emperor), rather than Caesar. Constantius first seemed to accept the new Emperor and sent him money to raise an army, as well as his regalia.
Constantius, who was on a campaign against the Persians when Magnentius came to power, returned to the West and met with Vetranio. Vetranio subsequently abdicated on December 25, 350. He was allowed to live the remainder of his years as a private citizen on a state pension in Prusa ad Olympium, Bithynia.
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Vibia Sabina
Vibia Sabina (83–136/137) was a Roman Empress, wife and second cousin, once removed, to Roman Emperor Hadrian. She was the daughter to Salonina Matidia (niece of Roman Emperor Trajan), and suffect consul Lucius Vibius Sabinus. After her father’s death in 84, Sabina along with her half-sisters lived with their grandmother, mother and were raised in the household of Trajan, his wife Pompeia Plotina and her stepfather.
She married Hadrian in 100, at the Roman Empress Pompeia Plotina's request, for Hadrian to succeed her great uncle, in 117. Sabina's mother Matidia (Hadrian's second cousin) was also fond of Hadrian and allowed him to marry her daughter.
They had no children and had an unhappy marriage. Sabina was said to have remarked that she had taken steps to see she never had children by Hadrian because they would "harm the human race". It seems that she once aborted a child of theirs. Sabina was strong and independent and her beliefs in marriage didn't sit well with the Emperor. Sabina had an affair with Suetonius, a historian (and Hadrian's secretary), in the year 119. In 128, she was awarded the title of Augusta. Vibia Sabina died before her husband, some time in 136 or early 137. Hadrian's stone elegy for his wife "depicts the apotheosis, or divine ascent of Sabina in accordance with her posthumous deification on the order of Hadrian."
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Vitellius
Vitellius (Latin: Aulus Vitellius Germanicus Augustus; 24 September 15 – 22 December 69), was Roman Emperor for eight months, from 16 April to 22 December 69. Vitellius was acclaimed Emperor following the quick succession of the previous emperors Galba and Otho, in a year of civil war known as the Year of the Four Emperors.
Vitellius was the first to add the honorific cognomen Germanicus to his name instead of Caesar upon his accession; the latter name had fallen into disrepute in many quarters because of the actions of Nero.
His claim to the throne was soon challenged by legions stationed in the eastern provinces, who proclaimed their commander Vespasian emperor instead. War ensued, leading to a crushing defeat for Vitellius at the Second Battle of Bedriacum in northern Italy. Once he realised his support was wavering, Vitellius prepared to abdicate in favour of Vespasian, but was executed in Rome by Vespasian's soldiers on 22 December 69.
He was the son of Lucius Vitellius Veteris and his wife Sextilia, and had one brother, Lucius Vitellius the Younger. Suetonius recorded two different accounts of the origins of the Vitellius (gens), one making them descendants of past rulers of Latium, the other describing them as of lowly origins.
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Volusianus
Volusianus (Latin: Gaius Vibius Volusianus Augustus; died August 253), also known as Volusian, was a Roman Emperor from 251 to 253.
He was son to Gaius Vibius Trebonianus Gallus by his wife Afinia Gemina Baebiana. He is known to have had a sister, Vibia Galla.
The death of Decius in early June 251 led to Trebonianus Gallus' elevation to the throne. Gallus adopted Decius' son Hostilian and made him co-ruler. Volusianus was named Caesar and Princeps Juventutis. Later in 251 Hostilian died of the plague and Volusianus replaced him as Augustus and co-ruler.
Father and son were both killed in 253 by mutinous troops in Interamna.
Media related to Volusianus at Wikimedia Commons
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Zeno (emperor)
Zeno ([pronunciation?]; Latin: Flavius Zeno Augustus; Greek: Ζήνων) (c. 425 – 9 April 491), originally named Tarasis, was Byzantine Emperor from 474 to 475 and again from 476 to 491. Domestic revolts and religious dissension plagued his reign, which nevertheless succeeded to some extent in foreign issues. His reign saw the end of the Western Roman Empire under Julius Nepos, but he contributed much to stabilizing the eastern Empire.
In ecclesiastical history, Zeno is associated with the Henotikon or "instrument of union", promulgated by him and signed by all the Eastern bishops, with the design of solving the monophysite controversy.
Zeno's original name was Tarasis. Tarasis was born in Isauria, at Rusumblada, later renamed Zenonopolis in Zeno's honour. His father was called Kodisa (as attested by his patronimic "Tarasicodissa"), his mother Lallis, his brother Longinus. Tarasis had a wife, Arcadia, whose name indicates a relationship with the Constantinopolitan aristocracy, and whose statue was erected near the Baths of Arcadius, along the steps that led to Topoi. According to a Near Eastern Christian legend, Zeno had two daughters, Hilaria and Thaopesta, who followed a religious life, but historical sources attest the existence of only one son by Arcadia, called Zenon. Tarasis was probably related to the Isaurian general Zeno, who had fought against Attila in 447 to defend Constantinople and had been consul the following year.
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Zoe Porphyrogenita
Zoe (in Greek: Ζωή, Zōē, meaning "Life") (c. 978 – June 1050) reigned as Byzantine Empress alongside her sister Theodora from April 19 to June 11, 1042. In addition, she was also enthroned as the Empress Consort to a series of co-rulers beginning with Romanos III in 1028 until her death in 1050 whilst married to Constantine IX.
Zoe was one of the few Byzantine empresses who was Porphyrogenita, or "born into the purple" (that is, she was born to a reigning emperor). She was the second daughter of Constantine VIII and Helena, daughter of Alypius. Her father had become co-emperor in 962, and sole emperor in 1025. His reign as sole emperor lasted for only three years, from December 15, 1025 to November 15, 1028.
Her position as an eligible imperial princess saw her considered as a possible bride for the Holy Roman Emperor in the west, Otto III in 996. A second embassy sent in 1001, headed by Arnulf, Archbishop of Milan was tasked with selecting Otto’s bride from among Constantine’s three daughters. The eldest, Eudocia, was disfigured by smallpox, while the youngest, Theodora, was a very plain girl. Arnulf therefore selected the attractive 23-year-old Zoe, to which her uncle, Basil II agreed. in January 1002 she accompanied Arnulf back to Italy, only to discover when the ship reached Bari that Otto III had died, forcing her to return home. Another opportunity arose in 1028, when an embassy from the Holy Roman Empire arrived in Constantinople with a proposal for an imperial marriage. Constantine VIII and the fifty-year-old Zoe rejected the idea out of hand when it was revealed that the intended groom Henry, the son of Conrad II was only ten years old.
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Trajan is the Movie Font
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:57
- Updated: 08 Dec 2012
Anybody else sick of all this Trajan? What is Trajan? Trajan is the movie font. The FontBook giveaway is over. You can purchase FontBook here: www.fontshop.com More videos at www.goodiebag.tv You can follow me on Twitter at twitter.com
http://wn.com/Trajan_is_the_Movie_Font
Anybody else sick of all this Trajan? What is Trajan? Trajan is the movie font. The FontBook giveaway is over. You can purchase FontBook here: www.fontshop.com More videos at www.goodiebag.tv You can follow me on Twitter at twitter.com
Trajan Review - with Ryan Metzler
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 12:18
- Updated: 30 Nov 2012
Ryan examines this heavy Eurogame Get it at www.funagain.com Find more reviews and videos at www.dicetower.com
http://wn.com/Trajan_Review_with_Ryan_Metzler
Ryan examines this heavy Eurogame Get it at www.funagain.com Find more reviews and videos at www.dicetower.com
- published: 19 May 2012
- views: 6262
- author: thedicetower
14. The Mother of All Forums: Civic Architecture in Rome under Trajan
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 71:33
- Updated: 17 Sep 2012
Roman Architecture (HSAR 252) Professor Kleiner analyzes the major public architectural commissions of the emperor Trajan in Rome. Distinguished by their remarkably ambitious scale, these buildings mimic Trajan's expansion of the Roman Empire to its furthest reaches. Professor Kleiner begins with Trajan's restoration of the Forum of Julius Caesar and proceeds to the Baths of Trajan. Situated on the Oppian and Esquiline Hills, these Trajanic baths follow the basic model of the earlier imperial Baths of Titus but increase the size of the complex several times. Most of the lecture focuses on the famous Forum and Markets of Trajan, built on land that the engineer and architect Apollodorus of Damascus created by cutting away part of the Quirinal Hill. The Forum of Trajan consists of a large open rectangular area, a basilica, Greek and Latin libraries, and a temple dedicated to Trajan after his death. Between the libraries stands the celebrated Column of Trajan with a spiral frieze commemorating the emperor's military victories in Dacia (modern Romania) and reaching a height of 125 feet. The brick-faced concrete Markets of Trajan climb up the hill and form a dramatic contrast to the marble forum. The lecture concludes with a brief discussion of the Arch of Trajan at Benevento, which depicts scenes of the emperor's greatest accomplishments and the first representations of his successor, Hadrian. 00:00 - Chapter 1. Trajan Expands the Empire and Initiates Public Architecture in ...
http://wn.com/14_The_Mother_of_All_Forums_Civic_Architecture_in_Rome_under_Trajan
Roman Architecture (HSAR 252) Professor Kleiner analyzes the major public architectural commissions of the emperor Trajan in Rome. Distinguished by their remarkably ambitious scale, these buildings mimic Trajan's expansion of the Roman Empire to its furthest reaches. Professor Kleiner begins with Trajan's restoration of the Forum of Julius Caesar and proceeds to the Baths of Trajan. Situated on the Oppian and Esquiline Hills, these Trajanic baths follow the basic model of the earlier imperial Baths of Titus but increase the size of the complex several times. Most of the lecture focuses on the famous Forum and Markets of Trajan, built on land that the engineer and architect Apollodorus of Damascus created by cutting away part of the Quirinal Hill. The Forum of Trajan consists of a large open rectangular area, a basilica, Greek and Latin libraries, and a temple dedicated to Trajan after his death. Between the libraries stands the celebrated Column of Trajan with a spiral frieze commemorating the emperor's military victories in Dacia (modern Romania) and reaching a height of 125 feet. The brick-faced concrete Markets of Trajan climb up the hill and form a dramatic contrast to the marble forum. The lecture concludes with a brief discussion of the Arch of Trajan at Benevento, which depicts scenes of the emperor's greatest accomplishments and the first representations of his successor, Hadrian. 00:00 - Chapter 1. Trajan Expands the Empire and Initiates Public Architecture in ...
- published: 14 Sep 2009
- views: 12775
- author: YaleCourses
Roman Empire - Trajan invades Dacia
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 22:27
- Updated: 26 Jul 2012
I created this video with the YouTube Video Editor (www.youtube.com
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I created this video with the YouTube Video Editor (www.youtube.com
- published: 16 Dec 2011
- views: 589
- author: 38starman
Emperors of Rome: Trajan
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:57
- Updated: 04 Dec 2012
The Emperors of Rome podcast looks at the achievements of Rome's emperors.
http://wn.com/Emperors_of_Rome_Trajan
The Emperors of Rome podcast looks at the achievements of Rome's emperors.
- published: 11 Mar 2011
- views: 3324
- author: adrianmurdoch
Nerva and Trajan: Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire Chapter 3 Part 2
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 7:31
- Updated: 16 Nov 2012
This is a bit better than the first part, but I am still struggling with the technology so hopefully there will be more improvement to come. Nerva and Trajan were the first two of the five good emperors. Trajan was both popular and successful and it was under him that the empire reached its greatest extent. This is part of a video series following Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. More details at historybooksreview.co.uk
http://wn.com/Nerva_and_Trajan_Gibbon's_Decline_and_Fall_of_the_Roman_Empire_Chapter_3_Part_2
This is a bit better than the first part, but I am still struggling with the technology so hopefully there will be more improvement to come. Nerva and Trajan were the first two of the five good emperors. Trajan was both popular and successful and it was under him that the empire reached its greatest extent. This is part of a video series following Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. More details at historybooksreview.co.uk
- published: 31 Jan 2010
- views: 2527
- author: historyscientist
Trajan (Ammonit): Eine Rezension von Spiele-Podcast.de
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 21:25
- Updated: 16 Nov 2012
5 Jahr Spiele-Podcast.de und in dieser Jubiläumsfolge geht es um das komplexe Spiel Trajan aus dem Verlag Ammonit. Autor dieses Brettspiels ist Stefan Feld. Ein gutes Spiel, das jedoch Einarbeitungszeit bedarf.
http://wn.com/Trajan_Ammonit_Eine_Rezension_von_Spiele-Podcastde
5 Jahr Spiele-Podcast.de und in dieser Jubiläumsfolge geht es um das komplexe Spiel Trajan aus dem Verlag Ammonit. Autor dieses Brettspiels ist Stefan Feld. Ein gutes Spiel, das jedoch Einarbeitungszeit bedarf.
- published: 20 Mar 2012
- views: 642
- author: Henry Krasemann
Tribute to Trajan Langdon
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:01
- Updated: 16 Nov 2012
The champion has retired from basketball
http://wn.com/Tribute_to_Trajan_Langdon
The champion has retired from basketball
- published: 23 Jun 2011
- views: 3249
- author: Euroleague
Real True History: Trajan's Wall
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:19
- Updated: 11 Oct 2012
The little known history of Trajan's Wall is explored in this send-up of Ken Burns style documentaries. We spend zero on a research staff and pass the savings onto you.
http://wn.com/Real_True_History_Trajan's_Wall
The little known history of Trajan's Wall is explored in this send-up of Ken Burns style documentaries. We spend zero on a research staff and pass the savings onto you.
- published: 23 Mar 2008
- views: 6628
- author: TwistedMojo
Trajan Langdon Induction: 2008 Alaska Sports Hall of Fame
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:30
- Updated: 22 Sep 2011
2008 Alaska Sports Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
http://wn.com/Trajan_Langdon_Induction_2008_Alaska_Sports_Hall_of_Fame
2008 Alaska Sports Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
- published: 05 Feb 2009
- views: 2486
- author: brookkintz
Trajan's Column / Dacian Wars Romanian History Dacians
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:30
- Updated: 01 Dec 2012
Trajan's Column is a Roman triumphal column in Rome which commemorates Roman emperor Trajan's victory in the Dacian Wars. It is located in Trajan's Forum, built near the Quirinal Hill, north of the Roman Forum. Completed in 113 CE, the freestanding column is most famous for its spiral bas relief, that artistically describes the epic wars between the Romans and Dacians (101--102 and 105--106). Its design has inspired numerous victory columns, both ancient and modern. Inhabited by the ancient Dacians, today's territory of Romania was conquered by the Roman Empire in 106, when Trajan's army defeated the army of Dacia's ruler Decebalus ( Dacian Wars). The Roman administration withdrew two centuries later, under the pressure of the Goths and Carpi. The Romanian people was formed by the Romanization of the Roman Province of Dacia. The Romanians are descended from local populations: Dacians (Getae, Thracians) and Roman legionnaires and colonists. In the course of the two wars with the Roman legions, between 101 - 102 AD and. 105 - 106 AD respectively, the emperor Trajan succeeded after in defeating the Dacians and the greatest part of Dacia became a Roman province. The colonization with Roman or Romanized elements, the use of the Latin language and the assimilation of Roman civilization as well as the intense development of urban centres led to the Romanization of the autochthonous population. The intermarriage of Dacians with Roman colonists, formed the Daco-Roman population ...
http://wn.com/Trajan's_Column_Dacian_Wars_Romanian_History_Dacians
Trajan's Column is a Roman triumphal column in Rome which commemorates Roman emperor Trajan's victory in the Dacian Wars. It is located in Trajan's Forum, built near the Quirinal Hill, north of the Roman Forum. Completed in 113 CE, the freestanding column is most famous for its spiral bas relief, that artistically describes the epic wars between the Romans and Dacians (101--102 and 105--106). Its design has inspired numerous victory columns, both ancient and modern. Inhabited by the ancient Dacians, today's territory of Romania was conquered by the Roman Empire in 106, when Trajan's army defeated the army of Dacia's ruler Decebalus ( Dacian Wars). The Roman administration withdrew two centuries later, under the pressure of the Goths and Carpi. The Romanian people was formed by the Romanization of the Roman Province of Dacia. The Romanians are descended from local populations: Dacians (Getae, Thracians) and Roman legionnaires and colonists. In the course of the two wars with the Roman legions, between 101 - 102 AD and. 105 - 106 AD respectively, the emperor Trajan succeeded after in defeating the Dacians and the greatest part of Dacia became a Roman province. The colonization with Roman or Romanized elements, the use of the Latin language and the assimilation of Roman civilization as well as the intense development of urban centres led to the Romanization of the autochthonous population. The intermarriage of Dacians with Roman colonists, formed the Daco-Roman population ...
- published: 16 Jul 2010
- views: 9261
- author: DacoGetia
Video Face-off: Trajan Langdon
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 0:26
- Updated: 16 Nov 2012
Vote for the best videos of the season going on Euroleague.net
http://wn.com/Video_Face-off_Trajan_Langdon
Vote for the best videos of the season going on Euroleague.net
- published: 01 Jul 2008
- views: 6553
- author: Euroleague
Trajan's Column (The Urban Simulation Team at UCLA)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 11:11
- Updated: 21 Nov 2012
An early reconstruction model of Trajan's Forum was developed in 1996-1997 in conjunction with the J. Paul Getty Trust for an exhibition entitled 'Beyond Beauty: Antiquities as Evidence.' This clip illustrates the power of computer modeling by allowing the viewer to spiral around Trajan's Column and examine the sculpted scenes illustrating Trajan's campaigns in the Dacian Wars. The Urban Simulation Team at UCLA is a research group exploring applications for real-time visual simulation in architectural design, urban planning, emergency response, and education. Visit the team's website at www.ust.ucla.edu.
http://wn.com/Trajan's_Column_The_Urban_Simulation_Team_at_UCLA
An early reconstruction model of Trajan's Forum was developed in 1996-1997 in conjunction with the J. Paul Getty Trust for an exhibition entitled 'Beyond Beauty: Antiquities as Evidence.' This clip illustrates the power of computer modeling by allowing the viewer to spiral around Trajan's Column and examine the sculpted scenes illustrating Trajan's campaigns in the Dacian Wars. The Urban Simulation Team at UCLA is a research group exploring applications for real-time visual simulation in architectural design, urban planning, emergency response, and education. Visit the team's website at www.ust.ucla.edu.
- published: 10 Sep 2008
- views: 5031
- author: UCLA
Trajan Review
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 25:35
- Updated: 30 Nov 2012
Trajan Review
http://wn.com/Trajan_Review
Trajan Review
- published: 27 Jan 2012
- views: 3563
- author: Joel Eddy
The Mamertine Prison and Trajan's Forum-Rome Commentaries Part III
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 12:25
- Updated: 16 Nov 2012
Visiting the Mamertine Prison (Carcere Mamertino) where St. Peter was imprisoned for inciting the Christians to burn down Rome in the reign of Nero. Also Trajan's Forum.
http://wn.com/The_Mamertine_Prison_and_Trajan's_Forum-Rome_Commentaries_Part_III
Visiting the Mamertine Prison (Carcere Mamertino) where St. Peter was imprisoned for inciting the Christians to burn down Rome in the reign of Nero. Also Trajan's Forum.
- published: 09 Apr 2011
- views: 859
- author: Folkart Films
Shipwreck of the Trajan
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:49
- Updated: 06 Apr 2012
The Trajan was a Bark rigged sailing vessel which took her name from the Roman Emperor Trajan. She was built in 1856 at the yard of H. Merrian in Rockland Maine, had a length of 125, a beam of 29 6 and a draft of 13. From 1856 to 1864 she made several passages between New York, Cuba, and England. By 1867 she was engaged in the Rockland Lime Trade under the command of Captain W. Sleeper. At the time of the Trajans loss, August 17, 1867, in Newport Rhode Island she was on a voyage from Rockland Maine to New Orleans carrying a cargo of lime. Lime was a dangerous cargo: if it got wet, a chemical reaction created heat and sometimes caused the schooner to catch fire. This was to be Trajans undoing. For more information please visit www.soundunderwatersurvey.com
http://wn.com/Shipwreck_of_the_Trajan
The Trajan was a Bark rigged sailing vessel which took her name from the Roman Emperor Trajan. She was built in 1856 at the yard of H. Merrian in Rockland Maine, had a length of 125, a beam of 29 6 and a draft of 13. From 1856 to 1864 she made several passages between New York, Cuba, and England. By 1867 she was engaged in the Rockland Lime Trade under the command of Captain W. Sleeper. At the time of the Trajans loss, August 17, 1867, in Newport Rhode Island she was on a voyage from Rockland Maine to New Orleans carrying a cargo of lime. Lime was a dangerous cargo: if it got wet, a chemical reaction created heat and sometimes caused the schooner to catch fire. This was to be Trajans undoing. For more information please visit www.soundunderwatersurvey.com
- published: 19 Dec 2008
- views: 2696
- author: Mark Munro
Trajan Todorovic 1
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:50
- Updated: 27 Sep 2012
www.bnselo.rs.sr
http://wn.com/Trajan_Todorovic_1
www.bnselo.rs.sr
- published: 27 Feb 2009
- views: 4787
- author: Jonel Cebzan
Trajan Todorovic 2
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 8:30
- Updated: 15 Nov 2012
www.bnselo.rs.sr
http://wn.com/Trajan_Todorovic_2
www.bnselo.rs.sr
- published: 27 Feb 2009
- views: 5463
- author: Jonel Cebzan
Column of Trajan, completed 113 CE
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:56
- Updated: 21 Nov 2012
Column of Trajan, Carrara marble, completed 113 CE, Rome Dedicated to Emperor Trajan (Marcus Ulpius Nerva Traianus b. 53 , d. 117 CE) in honor of his victory over Dacia (now Romania) 101-02 and 105-06 CE
http://wn.com/Column_of_Trajan,_completed_113_CE
Column of Trajan, Carrara marble, completed 113 CE, Rome Dedicated to Emperor Trajan (Marcus Ulpius Nerva Traianus b. 53 , d. 117 CE) in honor of his victory over Dacia (now Romania) 101-02 and 105-06 CE
- published: 18 Mar 2012
- views: 7226
- author: smarthistoryvideos
Trajan Todorovic 3
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 7:50
- Updated: 23 Dec 2011
www.bnselo.rs.sr
http://wn.com/Trajan_Todorovic_3
www.bnselo.rs.sr
- published: 27 Feb 2009
- views: 3737
- author: Jonel Cebzan
Trajan Todorovic
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:01
- Updated: 15 Nov 2012
www.bnselo.rs.sr
http://wn.com/Trajan_Todorovic
www.bnselo.rs.sr
- published: 25 Feb 2009
- views: 2221
- author: Jonel Cebzan
AC: Brotherhood - Trajan Market HD
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 8:04
- Updated: 19 Nov 2012
One of the two bonus missions that came with the Codex Edition. The other one is Aqueduct, and can be watched here: www.youtube.com This video is spoiler-free. Things to notice: 00:56 - Smooth talking there. 01:56 - I was looking forward to enjoy the scenery on a slow pace, but clearly I am out of luck. 02:51 - I didn't even notice the lamp here. I thought I'd fall down a level and have to retrace my steps. Usually I'm not too good at these chase parts, and I swear this is the first time I played this part, so I'm making things up as I go. 04:14 - Grrrrr get back here! 06:46 - Noticed the treasure here, but couldn't be bothered to spend more than 5 seconds to figure out how to get to it. 07:21 - Treasure time! OvO 07:35 - Idk why Ezio isn't a greed and only takes a handful. I wouldn't have left a single coin behind wtf.
http://wn.com/AC_Brotherhood_Trajan_Market_HD
One of the two bonus missions that came with the Codex Edition. The other one is Aqueduct, and can be watched here: www.youtube.com This video is spoiler-free. Things to notice: 00:56 - Smooth talking there. 01:56 - I was looking forward to enjoy the scenery on a slow pace, but clearly I am out of luck. 02:51 - I didn't even notice the lamp here. I thought I'd fall down a level and have to retrace my steps. Usually I'm not too good at these chase parts, and I swear this is the first time I played this part, so I'm making things up as I go. 04:14 - Grrrrr get back here! 06:46 - Noticed the treasure here, but couldn't be bothered to spend more than 5 seconds to figure out how to get to it. 07:21 - Treasure time! OvO 07:35 - Idk why Ezio isn't a greed and only takes a handful. I wouldn't have left a single coin behind wtf.
- published: 21 Nov 2010
- views: 60616
- author: Yumiya89
Trajan Todorovic 4
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 7:30
- Updated: 02 Oct 2012
www.bnselo.rs.sr
http://wn.com/Trajan_Todorovic_4
www.bnselo.rs.sr
- published: 27 Feb 2009
- views: 2720
- author: Jonel Cebzan
photo: AP / Vahid Salemi
07 Dec 2012
Article by WN.com Correspondent Dallas Darling. The in- and out-fighting between present-day Saudi Arabia and Iran is a mirror image of what occurred to Prophet Muhammad's Islamic Movement right after his death ... Still, and due to prosperity and wealth, an influx of trade goods, religious toleration, an emphasis on learning, and increased food supplies, Islam was becoming a vast empire ... Recent U.S ... Dallas Darling (darling@wn.com)....(size: 7.5Kb)
photo: NASA
06 Dec 2012
NASA, the national space agency of the US, on Thursday released a black and white satellite imagery of India Diwali night 2012, cautioning people against the fake image in circulation on the social media ... “The image is based on data collected by the VIIRS ‘day- night band’, which detects light in a range of wavelengths from green to near-infrared ... Keywords....(size: 1.9Kb)
photo: AP / Osama Faisal
08 Dec 2012
There has been a historic shift in the UN climate talks in Qatar, with the prospect of rich nations having to compensate poor nations for losses due to climate change. The US has fiercely opposed the measure - it says the cost could be unlimited. But after angry tussles throughout the night the principle of Loss and Damage is now in the final negotiating text ... The political stakes are high ... "I will block this ... "I will block this ... ....(size: 3.1Kb)
photo: AP / Hassan Ammar
08 Dec 2012
Mohamed Morsi, the Egyptian president, is expected to press ahead with talks on ways to end Egypt's worst crisis since he took office even though the country's main opposition leaders have vowed to boycott negotiations. The capital Cairo and other cities have been rocked by violent protests since November 22, when Morsi issued a decree awarding himself sweeping powers that put him above the law ... 575 Source.. Al Jazeera and agencies ... ....(size: 19.5Kb)
The New York Times
04 Dec 2012
The Dallas Museum of Art voluntarily returned an ancient marble mosaic in its collection to Turkey on Monday, after determining that the work — which dates from A.D. 194 and shows — was probably stolen years ago from a Turkish archaeological site ... Other museums have accused Turkey of undue intimidation ... Edessa developed alliances with Rome from the time of Pompey and was sacked under the rule of the emperor Trajan. Maxwell L ... Museums ... Ms ... ....(size: 10.8Kb)
The Guardian
30 Nov 2012
The Guardian Northerner's intrepid ramblero Alan Sykes is slogging 1000km to reach Santiago de Compostela on Christmas Eve. In Episode Two he meets, and eats, some of the local pigs. Wheels? That's easy. Alan is marching along in the way the pilgrims used to do ... Eat now ... Other Roman remains in the town include a still functioning theatre, an amphitheatre, a circus, a lovely temple of Diana and a triumphal arch of Trajan. Way to go ... ....(size: 6.9Kb)
The New York Times
28 Nov 2012
In The Score, American composers on creating “classical” music in the 21st century. Tags.. americans abroad, Classical Music, composing, Rome, the 1970s. I ... Elliott Carter, one of my heroes, had led the jury, and my String Quartet, a half-hour escapade in kinetic complexity, had apparently impressed them enough to send me there ... No octaves. Ever ... The way things were back then seemed so immovable — like the Trajan’s Column ... II ... 44....(size: 26.1Kb)
The Guardian
27 Nov 2012
The Guardian Northerner's champion pedestrian Alan Sykes, whose march along St Cuthbert's Way in August was a big hit with readers, steps out on the pilgrim camino to Santiago. With a difference. He's not taking the usual route from the Pyrenees, but starting in Andalucia, the land of light ... This was the birthplace of the Emperor Trajan – the first emperor not to be born in Rome, and possibly also of his cousin and successor Hadrian ... ....(size: 7.1Kb)
IMC
23 Nov 2012
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The Dallas Morning News
21 Nov 2012
The four members of Dallas rock band Drayter sure are young. Bassist Trajan Aquista is 14; he attends Highland Park High School. Lead singer Mira Fountain is 13; she goes to St. Thomas Aquinas. Drummer Matthew West is 15, as is lead guitarist Cole Schwartz. Both hit the books at. Get Subscriber Content access to read this story ... Subscribe Now . Link Your Subscriber Account. Subscribe ... ....(size: 2.3Kb)
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New York Daily News
18 Nov 2012
Rome wasn’t built in a day. And trying to take in all of the Eternal City’s famed sites in a short period of time is simply impossible. During a recent two-day visit, I preferred instead just to wander, taking in Rome’s marble and muscularity, and targeting a few key spots in different appealing neighborhoods ... This truth inspired me to check out one of the world’s original shopping malls, Trajan’s Market at the Forum ... ....(size: 3.2Kb)
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"Traian" redirects here. For other uses, see Traian (disambiguation).
| Trajan | |
|---|---|
| 13th Emperor of the Roman Empire | |
 Marble bust of Trajan |
|
| Reign | 28 January 98 – 9 August 117 |
| Full name | Marcus Ulpius Traianus (from birth to adoption); Caesar Marcus Ulpius Nerva Traianus (from adoption to accession); Imperator Caesar Divi Nervae filius Nerva Traianus Optimus Augustus Germanicus Dacicus Parthicus (as emperor) |
| Born | A.D. (53-09-18)18 September 53 |
| Birthplace | Italica, ancient Hispania |
| Died | A.D. 9 August 117(117-08-09) (aged 63) |
| Place of death | Selinus, Cilicia |
| Buried | Rome (ashes in foot of Trajan's Column, now lost.) |
| Predecessor | Nerva |
| Successor | Hadrian |
| Wife | Pompeia Plotina |
| Offspring | Hadrian (adoptive) |
| Dynasty | Nervan-Antonine |
| Father | Marcus Ulpius Traianus |
| Mother | Marcia |
|
||||||||||||||
Trajan ( /ˈtreɪdʒən/; Latin: Marcus Ulpius Nerva Traianus Augustus;[1] 18 September 53 – 9 August 117), was Roman Emperor from 98 to 117 AD. Born into a non-patrician family in the province of Hispania Baetica,[2] Trajan rose to prominence during the reign of emperor Domitian. Serving as a legatus legionis in Hispania Tarraconensis, in 89 Trajan supported the emperor against a revolt on the Rhine led by Antonius Saturninus.[3]
In September 96, Domitian was succeeded by Marcus Cocceius Nerva, an old and childless senator who proved to be unpopular with the army. After a brief and tumultuous year in power, a revolt by members of the Praetorian Guard compelled him to adopt the more popular Trajan as his heir and successor. Nerva died on 27 January 98, and was succeeded by his adopted son without incident.
As a civilian administrator, Trajan is best known for his extensive public building program which reshaped the city of Rome and left multiple enduring landmarks such as Trajan's Forum, Trajan's Market and Trajan's Column. Early in his reign, he annexed the Nabataean kingdom, creating the province of Arabia Petraea. His conquest of Dacia enriched the empire greatly — the new province possessed many valuable gold mines.
His war against the Parthian Empire ended with the attack of the capital Ctesiphon and the annexation of Armenia and Mesopotamia. His campaigns expanded the Roman Empire to its greatest territorial extent. In late 117, while sailing back to Rome, Trajan fell ill and died of a stroke in the city of Selinus. He was deified by the Senate and his ashes were laid to rest under Trajan's Column. He was succeeded by his adopted son Hadrian.
As an emperor, Trajan's reputation has endured — he is one of the few rulers whose reputation has survived nineteen centuries. Every new emperor after him was honored by the Senate with the wish felicior Augusto, melior Traiano ("[be] luckier than Augustus and better than Trajan"). Among medieval Christian theologians, Trajan was considered a virtuous pagan, while the 18th century historian Edward Gibbon popularized the notion of the Five Good Emperors, of which Trajan was the second.[4]
Contents |
Early life and rise to power[link]
Marcus Ulpius Traianus was born on 18 September 53 in the Roman province of Hispania Baetica[5] (in what is now Andalusia in modern Spain), a province that was thoroughly Romanized and called southern Hispania, in the city of Italica (now in the outskirts of Seville), where the Italian families were paramount. Of Italian stock himself, Trajan is frequently but misleadingly designated the first provincial emperor.[6]
Trajan was the son of Marcia and Marcus Ulpius Traianus, a prominent senator and general from the gens Ulpia. Trajan himself was just one of many well-known Ulpii in a line that continued long after his own death. His elder sister was Ulpia Marciana and his niece was Salonina Matidia. The patria of the Ulpii was Italica, in Spanish Baetica,[5] where their ancestors had settled late in the 3rd century BC.
As a young man, he rose through the ranks of the Roman army, serving in some of the most contentious parts of the Empire's frontier. In 76–77, Trajan's father was Governor of Syria (Legatus pro praetore Syriae), where Trajan himself remained as Tribunus legionis. Trajan was nominated as Consul and brought Apollodorus of Damascus with him to Rome around 91.[7]
Along the Rhine River, he took part in the Emperor Domitian's wars while under Domitian's successor, Nerva, who was unpopular with the army and needed to do something to gain their support. He accomplished this by naming Trajan as his adoptive son and successor in the summer of 97. According to the Augustan History, it was the future Emperor Hadrian who brought word to Trajan of his adoption.[8] When Nerva died on 27 January 98, the highly respected Trajan succeeded without incident.
His reign[link]
The new Roman emperor was greeted by the people of Rome with great enthusiasm, which he justified by governing well and without the bloodiness that had marked Domitian's reign. He freed many people who had been unjustly imprisoned by Domitian and returned a great deal of private property that Domitian had confiscated; a process begun by Nerva before his death. His popularity was such that the Roman Senate eventually bestowed upon Trajan the honorific of optimus, meaning "the best".[9][10]
Conquest of Dacia[link]
Main article: Trajan's Dacian Wars
It was as a military commander that Trajan is best known to history, particularly for his conquests in the Near East, but initially for the two wars against Dacia — the reduction to client kingdom (101–102), followed by actual incorporation into the Empire of the trans-Danube border kingdom of Dacia — an area that had troubled Roman thought for over a decade with the unfavourable (and to some, shameful) peace negotiated by Domitian's ministers.[11]
In the first military campaign c. March–May 101, Trajan launched a victorious attack into the Dacian Kingdom[12] crossing to the northern bank of the Danube River and defeating the Dacian army at Tapae (see Second Battle of Tapae) near the Iron Gates of Transylvania. Trajan's troops were mauled in the encounter, however and he put off further campaigning for the year to let the troops heal, reinforce, and regroup.[13]
During the following winter, King Decebalus launched a counter-attack across the Danube further downstream, but this was repulsed. Trajan's army advanced further into Dacian territory and forced King Decebalus to submit to him a year later.
Trajan returned to Rome in triumph and was granted the title Dacicus Maximus. The victory was celebrated by the Tropaeum Traiani. Decebalus, though, after being left to his own devices, in 105 undertook an invasion against Roman territory by attempting to stir up some of the tribes north of the river against the empire.[14]
Trajan took to the field again and after building, with the design of Apollodorus of Damascus, his massive bridge over the Danube, he conquered part of Dacia in 106. After a fierce campaign (see also Second Dacian War), the Dacian capital, Sarmizegetusa Regia, was destroyed. Decebalus fled but, rather than being captured by the Roman cavalry, committed suicide, and his severed head was exhibited in Rome on the steps leading up to the Capitol. Trajan built a new city, Colonia Ulpia Traiana Augusta Dacica Sarmizegetusa, on another site than the previous Dacian Capital, although bearing the same full name, Sarmizegetusa.
Trajan also reformed the infrastructure of the Iron Gates region of Danube. Built around 103 to 105, Trajan's Bridge, or Pontes, is considered an architectural marvel, at 3,500 feet across. He either commissioned the creation or enlargement of the road along the Iron Gates carved into the side of the gorge.[15] Additionally, Trajan commissioned a canal to be built around the rapids of the Iron Gates. Evidence of this comes from a marble slab discovered near Caput Bovis, the site of a Roman fort. It can be dated to the year 101 and commemorates the building of at least one canal that went from the Kasajna tributary to at least Ducis Pratum, whose embankments were still visible until recently.
However, the placement of the slab at Caput Bovis suggests that the canal extended to this point or that there was a second canal downriver of the Kasajna-Ducis Pratum one.[16] Trajan resettled Dacia with Romans and annexed it as a province of the Roman Empire. Trajan's Dacian campaigns benefited the Empire's finances through the acquisition of Dacia's gold mines. The victory has been commemorated by the construction of Trajan's Column, which depicts in stone carved basreliefs the Dacian Wars' most important moments.
Annexation of Nabataea[link]
At about the same time Rabbel II Soter, one of Rome's client kings, died. This event might have prompted the annexation of the Nabataean kingdom, although the manner and the formal reasons for the annexation are unclear. Some epigraphic evidence suggests a military operation, with forces from Syria and Egypt. What is known is that by 107, Roman legions were stationed in the area around Petra and Bostra, as is shown by a papyrus found in Egypt. The furthest south the Romans occupied was Hegra, over 300 km south-west of Petra.[17] The empire gained what became the province of Arabia Petraea (modern southern Jordan and north west Saudi Arabia).[18]
Period of peace[link]
The next seven years, Trajan ruled as a civilian emperor, to the same acclaim as before. It was during this time that he corresponded with Pliny the Younger on the subject of how to deal with the Christians of Pontus, telling Pliny to leave them alone unless they were openly practicing the religion. He built several new buildings, monuments and roads in Italia and his native Hispania. His magnificent complex in Rome raised to commemorate his victories in Dacia (and largely financed from that campaign's loot)—consisting of a forum, Trajan's Column, and Trajan's Market still stands in Rome today. He was also a prolific builder of triumphal arches, many of which survive, and rebuilder of roads (Via Traiana and Via Traiana Nova).
In 107 he devalued the Roman currency. He decreased the silver purity of the denarius from 93.5% to 89% — the actual silver weight dropping from 3.04 grams to 2.88 grams.[19] This devaluation, coupled with the massive amount of gold and silver carried off after Trajan's Dacian Wars, allowed the emperor to mint a larger quantity of denarii than his predecessors.
One notable act of Trajan during this period was the hosting of a three-month gladiatorial festival in the great Colosseum in Rome (the precise date of this festival is unknown). Combining chariot racing, beast fights and close-quarters gladiatorial bloodshed, this gory spectacle reputedly left 11,000 dead (mostly slaves and criminals, not to mention the thousands of ferocious beasts killed alongside them) and attracted a total of five million spectators over the course of the festival.
Another important act was his formalisation of the Alimenta, a welfare program that helped orphans and poor children throughout Italy. It provided general funds, as well as food and subsidized education. The program was supported initially by funds from the Dacian War, and then later by a combination of estate taxes and philanthropy.[20]
Although the system is well documented in literary sources and contemporary epigraphy, its precise aims are controversial and have generated considerable dispute between modern scholars. Usually, it's assumed that the program was intended to bolster citizen numbers in Italy. However, the fact that it was subsidized by means of interest payments on loans made by landowners restricted it to a small percentage of potential welfare recipients (Paul Veyne has assumed that, in the city of Veleia, only one child out of ten was an actual beneficiary) – therefore, the idea, advanced by Moses I. Finley, that the whole scheme was at most a form of random charity, a mere imperial benevolence.[21]
War against Parthia[link]
In 113, he embarked on his last campaign, provoked by Parthia's decision to put an unacceptable king on the throne of Armenia, a kingdom over which the two great empires had shared hegemony since the time of Nero some fifty years earlier. Some modern historians also attribute Trajan's decision to wage war on Parthia to economic motives: to control, after the annexation of Arabia, Mesopotamia and the coast of the Persian Gulf, and with it the sole remaining receiving-end of the Indian trade outside Roman control.[23]
Other historians reject this motive, seeing the campaign as triggered by the lure of territorial annexation and prestige,[24] the motive ascribed by Cassius Dio.[25] Other modern historians, however, think that Trajan's original aim was quite modest: to assure a more defensible Eastern frontier for the Roman Empire, crossing across Northern Mesopotamia along the course of the Khabur River in order to offer cover to a Roman Armenia.[26]
Trajan marched first on Armenia, deposed the Parthian-appointed king (who was afterwards murdered while kept in the custody of Roman troops in an unclear incident) and annexed it to the Roman Empire as a province, receiving in passing the acknowledgement of Roman hegemony by various tribes in the Caucasus and on the Eastern coast of the Black Sea — a process that kept him busy until the end of 114.[27] The chronology of subsequent events is uncertain, but it's generally believed that early in 115 Trajan turned south into the core Parthian hegemony, taking the Northern Mesopotamian cities of Nisibis and Batnae and organizing a province of Mesopotamia in the beginning of 116, when coins were issued announcing that Armenia and Mesopotamia had been put under the authority of the Roman people.[28]
In early 116, however, Trajan began to toy with the conquest of the whole of Mesopotamia, an overambitious goal that eventually backfired on the results of his entire campaign: One Roman division crossed the Tigris into Adiabene, sweeping South and capturing Adenystrae; a second followed the river South, capturing Babylon; while Trajan himself sailed down the Euphrates, then dragged his fleet overland into the Tigris, capturing Seleucia and finally the Parthian capital of Ctesiphon.[29]
He continued southward to the Persian Gulf, receiving the submission of Athambelus, the ruler of Charax, whence he declared Babylon a new province of the Empire, sent the Senate a laurelled letter declaring the war to be at a close and bemoaning that he was too old to go on any further and repeat the conquests of Alexander the Great[30] A province of Assyria was also proclaimed, apparently covering the territory of Adiabene, as well as some measures seem to have been considered about the fiscal administration of the Indian trade.[31]
However, as Trajan left the Persian Gulf for Babylon — where he intended to offer sacrifice to Alexander in the house where he had died in 323 BC.[30] — a sudden outburst of Parthian resistance, led by a nephew of the Parthian king, Sanatrukes, imperilled Roman positions in Mesopotamia and Armenia, something Trajan sought to deal with by forsaking direct Roman rule in Parthia proper, at least partially.[32]
Later in 116, after defeating a Parthian army in a battle where Sanatrukes was killed and re-taking Seleucia, he formally deposed the Parthian king Osroes I and put his own puppet ruler Parthamaspates on the throne. That done, he retreated North in order to retain what he could of the new provinces of Armenia and Mesopotamia.[32]
It was at this point that Trajan's health started to fail him. The fortress city of Hatra, on the Tigris in his rear, continued to hold out against repeated Roman assaults. He was personally present at the siege and it is possible that he suffered a heat stroke while in the blazing heat.[32]
Shortly afterwards, the Jews inside the Eastern Roman Empire rose up in rebellion once more, as did the people of Mesopotamia. Trajan was forced to withdraw his army in order to put down the revolts. Trajan saw it as simply a temporary setback, but he was destined never to command an army in the field again, turning his Eastern armies over to the high ranking legate and governor of Judaea, Lusius Quietus, who in early 116 had been in charge of the Roman division who had recovered Nisibis and Edessa from the rebels.[32]
Quietus was promised a consulate in the following year (118 AD) for his victories but he was murdered before this could occur. It has been theorized that Quietus was executed on the orders of the new emperor, Hadrian, for fear of Quietus' popular standing with the army and his close connections to Trajan.[33][34]
Death and succession[link]
Early in 117, Trajan grew ill and set out to sail back to Italy. His health declined throughout the spring and summer of 117, something publicly acknowledged by the fact that a bronze bust displayed at the time in the public baths of Ancyra showed him clearly aged and emaciated.[35] By the time he had reached Selinus in Cilicia which was afterwards called Trajanopolis, he suddenly died from edema on 9 August. Some say that he had adopted Hadrian as his successor, but others that it was his wife Pompeia Plotina who hired someone to impersonate him after he had died.
Hadrian's first act as emperor was to abandon the distant and indefensible Mesopotamia and restore Armenia — as well as Osroene – to the Parthian hegemony under Roman suzerainty.[31] However, all the other territories conquered by Trajan were retained. Trajan's ashes were laid to rest underneath Trajan's column, the monument commemorating his success.
Building activities[link]
Trajan was a prolific builder in Rome and the provinces, and many of his buildings were erected by the gifted architect Apollodorus of Damascus. Notable structures include Trajan's Column, Trajan's Forum, Trajan's Bridge, Alcántara Bridge, the road and canal around the Iron Gates (see conquest of Dacia), and possibly the Alconétar Bridge. In order to build his forum and the adjacent brick market that also held his name Trajan had vast areas of the surrounding hillsides leveled.
Trajan's legacy[link]
Unlike many lauded rulers in history, Trajan's reputation has survived undiminished for nearly nineteen centuries.
Ancient sources on Trajan's personality and accomplishments are unanimously positive. Pliny the Younger, for example, celebrates Trajan in his panegyric as a wise and just emperor and a moral man. Dio Cassius added that he always remained dignified and fair.[36] The Christianisation of Rome resulted in further embellishment of his legend: it was commonly said in medieval times that Pope Gregory I, through divine intercession, resurrected Trajan from the dead and baptized him into the Christian faith. An account of this features in the Golden Legend.
Theologians, such as Thomas Aquinas, discussed Trajan as an example of a virtuous pagan. In the Divine Comedy, Dante, following this legend, sees the spirit of Trajan in the Heaven of Jupiter with other historical and mythological persons noted for their justice. Also a mural of Trajan stopping to provide justice for a poor widow is present in the first terrace of Purgatory as a lesson to those who are purged for being proud.
He also features in Piers Plowman. An episode, referred to as the justice of Trajan was reflected in several art works.
In the 18th century King Charles III of Spain commissioned Anton Raphael Mengs to paint The Triumph of Trajan on the ceiling of the banqueting-hall of the Royal Palace of Madrid – considered among the best work of this artist.
"Traian" is used as a male first name in present-day Romania – among others, that of the country's president, Traian Băsescu.
[edit] Nerva–Antonine family tree
- (1) = 1st spouse
- (2) = 2nd spouse (not shown)
- (3) = 3rd spouse
- SMALL CAPS = posthumously deified (Augusti, Augustae, or other)
- dotted lines indicate adoption or (in the case of Hadrian and Antinous) alleged lovers
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Marcia |
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TRAJANUS PATER |
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NERVA (r. 96–98) |
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Ulpia |
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G. Salonius Matidius Patruinus |
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MARCIANA |
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TRAJAN, adoptive son (r. 98–117) |
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PLOTINA |
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Aelius Afer |
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Libo Rupilius Frugi (3) |
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MATIDIA |
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L. Vibius Sabinus (1) |
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SABINA |
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HADRIAN, adoptive son (r. 117–138) |
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ANTINOUS |
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FAUSTINA |
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ANTONINUS PIUS, adoptive son (r. 138–161) |
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MARCUS AURELIUS, adoptive son (r. 161–180) |
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FAUSTINA Minor |
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Aurelia Fadilla |
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two infant sons |
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nine other children |
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Notes[link]
- ^ In Classical Latin, Trajan's name would be inscribed as MARCVS VLPIVS NERVA TRAIANVS AVGVSTVS.
- ^ Julian Bennett, Trajan: Optimus Princeps, 2nd Edition, Routledge 2000, 12.
- ^ Benett, Julian (1997). Trajan. Optimus Princeps. Routledge, pp. 30–31
- ^ Nelson, Eric (2002). Idiots guide to the Roman Empire.. Alpha Books. pp. 207–209. ISBN 0-02-864151-5.
- ^ a b Syme, Tacitus, 30–44; PIR Vlpivs 575
- ^ Arnold Blumberg, "Great Leaders, Great Tyrants? Contemporary Views of World Rulers who Made History", 1995, Greenwood Publishing Group, p.315: "Trajan is frequently but misleadingly designated the first provincial emperor, because the Ulpii were from Baetica (southern Spain). The family, resident in Spain for some time, originated in Italian Tuder, not far from the Flavian home of Reate. The emperor's father, M. Ulpius Traianus, was an early adherent of Vespasian and perhaps the old family friend. This Trajan evidently married a Marcia (her name is inferred from that of their daughter Marciana) whose family owned brickyards in the vicinity of Ameria, near both Reate and Tuder. She was possibly an older sister of Marcia Furnilla, second wife of Vespasian's son Titus. Further, Ulpia, sister of the senior Trajan, was a grandmother of Hadrian. In other words, the emperor Trajan was succeeded in 117 by his cousin, member of another Italian family resident in Baetica."
- ^ Augustan History, Life of Hadrian 2.5–6.
- ^ Augustan History, Life of Hadrian 2.5–6.
- ^ Bernard W. Henderson, "Five Roman Emperors" (1927).
- ^ F. A. Lepper, "Trajan's Parthian War" (1948).
- ^ "De Imperatoribus Romanis". An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors. http://www.roman-emperors.org/assobd.htm#t-inx. Retrieved 2007-07-21. "Battle of Sarmizegetusa (Sarmizegetuza), A.D. 105. During Trajan's reign one of the most important Roman successes was the victory over the Dacians. The first important confrontation between the Romans and the Dacians had taken place in the year 87 and was initiated by Domitian. The praetorian prefect Cornelius Fuscus led five or six legions across the Danube on a bridge of ships and advanced towards Banat (in Romania). The Romans were surprised by a Dacian attack at Tapae (near the village of Bucova, in Romania). Legion V Alaude was crushed and Cornelius Fuscus was killed. The victorious Dacian general was originally known as Diurpaneus (see Manea, p.109), but after this victory he was called Decebalus (the brave one)."
- ^ "De Imperatoribus Romanis". An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors. http://www.roman-emperors.org/assobd.htm#t-inx. Retrieved 2007-11-08. "Because the Dacians represented an obstacle against Roman expansion in the east, in the year 101 the emperor Trajan decided to begin a new campaign against them. The first war began on 25 March 101 and the Roman troops, consisting of four principal legions (X Gemina , XI Claudia , II Traiana Fortis, and XXX Ulpia Victrix), defeated the Dacians."
- ^ "De Imperatoribus Romanis". An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors. http://www.roman-emperors.org/assobd.htm#t-inx. Retrieved 2007-11-08. "Although the Dacians had been defeated, the emperor postponed the final siege for the conquering of Sarmizegetuza because his armies needed reorganization. Trajan imposed on the Dacians very hard peace conditions: Decebalus had to renounce claim to some regions of his kingdom, including Banat, Tara Hategului, Oltenia, and Muntenia in the area south-west of Transylvania. He had also to surrender all the Roman deserters and all his war machines. At Rome, Trajan was received as a winner and he took the name of Dacicus, a title that appears on his coinage of this period. At the beginning of the year 103 A.D., there were minted coins with the inscription: IMP NERVA TRAIANVS AVG GER DACICVS."
- ^ "De Imperatoribus Romanis". An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors. http://www.roman-emperors.org/assobd.htm#t-inx. Retrieved 2007-11-08. "However, during the years 103–105, Decebalus did not respect the peace conditions imposed by Trajan and the emperor then decided to destroy completely the Dacian kingdom and to conquer Sarmizegetuza.he died"
- ^ Wiseman, James 1997 "Beyond the Danube's Iron Gates." Archaeology 50(2): 24–9.
- ^ Šašel, Jaroslav. 1973 "Trajan's Canal at the Iron Gate." The Journal of Roman Studies. 63:80–85.
- ^ Bennett, Trajan, 177
- ^ Bennett, Trajan, 172–182
- ^ "Tulane University "Roman Currency of the Principate"". Tulane.edu. http://www.tulane.edu/~august/handouts/601cprin.htm. Retrieved 2011-12-05.
- ^ [1]
- ^ M.I. Finley, Ancient Economy, 201/203
- ^ Bennett, J. Trajan: Optimus Princeps. 1997. Fig. 1
- ^ Christol & Nony, Rome, 171
- ^ Finley, Ancient Economy, 158
- ^ Quoted by Bennett, Trajan, 188
- ^ Luttvak, Grand Strategy, 108
- ^ Bennett, Trajan, 194–195
- ^ Bennett, Trajan, 196; Christol & Nony, Rome,171
- ^ Bennett, Trajan, 197/199
- ^ a b Bennett, Trajan, 199
- ^ a b Luttvak, Grand Strategy, 110
- ^ a b c d Bennett, Trajan, 200
- ^ Histoire des Juifs, Troisième période, I – Chapitre III – Soulèvement des Judéens sous Trajan et Adrien
- ^ Bennett, Trajan, 203
- ^ Bennett, Trajan, 201
- ^ Dio Cassius, Epitome of Book 6; 21.2–3
References and further reading[link]
- Ancel, R. Manning. "Soldiers." Military Heritage. December 2001. Volume 3, No. 3: 12, 14, 16, 20 (Trajan, Emperor of Rome).
- Bennett, J. Trajan: Optimus Princeps, 2nd Edition, Bloomington: Indiana University Press 2001, ISBN 0-253-21435-1
- Bowersock, G.W. Roman Arabia, Harvard University Press, 1983
- Christol, M. & Nony, N. Rome et son Empire, Paris: Hachette, 2003, ISBN 2-01-145542-1
- Finley, M.I. The Ancient Economy, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1999, ISBN 0-520-21946-5
- Fuller, J.F.C. A Military History of the Western World. Three Volumes. New York: Da Capo Press, Inc., 1987 and 1988.
- v. 1. From the late times to the Battle of Lepanto; ISBN 0-306-80304-6: 255, 266, 269, 270, 273 (Trajan, Roman Emperor).
- Isaac, B. The Limits of Empire, The Roman Army in the East, Revised Edition, Oxford University Press, 1990
- Kennedy, D. The Roman Army in Jordan, Revised Edition, Council for British Research in the Levant, 2004
- Lepper, F.A. Trajan's Parthian War. London: Oxford University Press, 1948.
- Luttvak, Edward N. The Grand Strategy of the Roman Empire: From the First Century A.D. to the Third, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1979, ISBN 0-8018-2158-4
- Wildfeuer, C.R.H. Trajan — Lion of Rome, Aquifer Publishing, 2009
Primary sources[link]
- Cassius Dio, Roman History Book 68, English translation
- Aurelius Victor (attrib.), Epitome de Caesaribus Chapter 13, English translation
- Pliny the Younger, Letters, Book 10, English translation
Secondary material[link]
- Benario, Herbert W. (2000). "Trajan (A.D. 98–117)". De Imperatoribus Romanis. http://www.roman-emperors.org/trajan.htm. Retrieved 2007-09-24.
External links[link]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Trajan |
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Trajan |
| Alternative names | Marcus Ulpius Nerva Traianus |
| Short description | Roman emperor |
| Date of birth | 18 September 53 A.D. |
| Place of birth | Italica |
| Date of death | 9 August 117 A.D. |
| Place of death | Selinus |
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http://ru.wn.com/Траян
http://nl.wn.com/Trajanus
http://pl.wn.com/Trajan
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http://de.wn.com/Trajan
http://hi.wn.com/त्राजान
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This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trajan
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This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
Revisions and sourced additions are welcome; please only include historical figures.
The following is a list of significant men and women known for being the father, mother, or considered the founders mostly in Western socities in a field, listed by category. In most non-science fields, the title of being the "father" is debatable.
|
Church[link]
Main article: Church Fathers
Games[link]
| Subject | Father/Mother | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Miniature wargaming | H.G. Wells[1] | |
| The modern video game industry | Nolan Bushnell | Creator of Pong and founder of Atari and Chuck E. Cheese's |
| Modern video game | Shigeru Miyamoto[2] | Creator of many successful Nintendo franchises |
| Role-playing game | Gary Gygax[3] | Creator of Dungeons & Dragons |
| Stealth game | Hideo Kojima[4] | Creator of the Metal Gear stealth-action games |
| Video game | Thomas T. Goldsmith, Jr. | Inventor of the First video game |
| Wargaming | Charles S. Roberts[5] |
Humanities[link]
Military[link]
| Subject | Father/Mother | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Aerial warfare | Oswald Boelcke[6] | The first to formalize rules of air fighting, which he presented as the Dicta Boelcke, also credited as being the first pilot to shoot down an aircraft. |
| Atomic bomb | Robert Oppenheimer[7] Leó Szilárd[8] Enrico Fermi[9] |
|
| Blitzkrieg | Heinz Guderian[10][11] | |
| The West's Hydrogen bomb | Edward Teller[12] | |
| Atomic submarine and "nuclear navy" | Hyman G. Rickover[13][14][15] | |
| Fourth Generation Warfare | William S. Lind[citation needed] | |
| French sailing navy | Jean-Baptiste Colbert[16] | Built on the fleet of France inherited from Cardinal Richelieu. |
| Naval Special Warfare | Phil H. Bucklew[17] | US Naval Officer and First Commanding Officer of Navy SEAL Team One |
| Naval tactical studies | Paul Hoste[18] | Jesuit Professor of Mathematics at the Royal College of the Marine in Toulon; wrote L'Art des Armées Navales (1697) |
| Luftwaffe and Luftstreitkräfte | Oswald Boelcke[19] | |
| The Soviet Union's Hydrogen Bomb | Andrei Sakharov[20] | |
| United States Airborne | William C. Lee[21] | First commander of the parachute school at Fort Benning, Georgia. |
| United States Cavalry | Kazimierz Pułaski[22] | Brigadier-general and commander of the cavalry of the Continental Army (1770s). |
| United States Navy | Commodore John Barry[23] Captain John Paul Jones[24] |
Nations[link]
Natural and social sciences[link]
Sports[link]
| Subject | Father/Mother | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| American football | Walter Camp[25] | |
| American motocross | Edison Dye[26] | Introduced motorcross to American riders. |
| American road racing | Cameron Argetsinger[27] | Introduced the first US auto race that was dedicated to road courses at Watkins Glen. |
| American soccer | Steve Ross[28] | Godfather, created the New York Cosmos soccer team and imported a number of well known international footballers to the team in an attempt to bring interest to soccer in the US. |
| Angling | Izaak Walton[29] | Author of The Compleat Angler. |
| Argentine football | Alexander Watson Hutton[30] | |
| Argentine professional golf | José Jurado[31] | |
| Argentine winter sports | Otto Meiling[32] | |
| Association football | Ebenezer Cobb Morley[33] | |
| Baseball | Henry Chadwick[34][35][36][37] | |
| Basketball | James Naismith | Left many diaries and interviews that explain how and when he created basketball. |
| BMX | Scot Breithaupt[38] | |
| Brazilian football | Charles William Miller[39] | |
| Camel Lights | Jim Downing | Built a racecar a season before it became the basis of a new lightweight prototype class in |
| Canadian rodeo | O. Raymond Knight[41] | Coined the rodeo term "stampede" and was world's first rodeo producer, rodeo stock contractor, and rodeo champion in 1902. |
| Drag racing | Wally Parks[42] | Founder of the NHRA and organized the first legitimate drag race. |
| Don Garlits[43] | Considered to be one of the innovators of drag racing safety. | |
| Eddie Hill[44] | Regarded as the forefather of drag racing. | |
| Drifting | Kunimitsu Takahashi[45] | Introduced an aggressive high speed cornering technique that became widely used for illicit purposes which eventually became a sport. |
| East Coast skateboarding | Vinny Raffa (godfather)[46] | |
| Florida skateboarding | Bruce Walker (godfather)[47] | |
| Modern football | Ebenezer Cobb Morley[48] | |
| Freestyle BMX | Bob Haro[49][50] | |
| Freestyle Motocross | Mike Metzger[51] | Godfather. |
| Funny Car | Dick Landy[52] | |
| Ice Hockey | James Creighton (ice hockey) | Captained of one of the two teams that participated in the first indoor hockey game on March 3, 1875 in Montreal. |
| Import drag racing | Frank Choi[53] | Hosted one of the first events specifially for import cars in the mid-1990s to keep drivers out of street racing that progressed into a professional category. |
| Italian football | James Richardson Spensley[54] | Given due to his association with Genoa CFC and his contribution to the modern day variation of the game in Italy. |
| William Garbutt[55] | Laying the foundations of skilled coaching in Italian football. | |
| Japanese baseball | Horace Wilson[56] | Credited for introducing baseball in Japan. |
| Hiroshi Hiraoka[57] | Credited for establishing the first baseball team. | |
| Jogging | Jim Fixx[58] | Founding father. |
| Kart racing | Art Ingels[59] | Developed the world's first kart (1956). |
| Lacrosse | William George Beers[60][61][62][63] | Codified the sport. |
| Mixed martial arts | Bruce Lee[64] | Called so by Dana White, president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. For his experimentation into other styles and invention of Jeet Kune Do. |
| Modern bodybuilding | Eugen Sandow[65] | |
| Harold Zinkin[66] | Called so by Arnold Schwarzenegger during a press statement on his passing in 2004. Inventor of the modern exercise machines. | |
| Modern boxing | James Figg[67] | |
| James J. Corbett[citation needed] | ||
| Modern figure skating | Jackson Haines[68] | "Jackson Haines - The Father of Figure Skating," according to Roy Blakey |
| Modern football in Japan | Dettmar Cramer[69] | |
| Modern rodeo | Earl W. Bascom[70] | Bascom's many equipment innovations pioneered the sport starting in 1916. |
| Modern sabre fencing | Italo Santelli[71] | |
| Modern surfing | Duke Kahanamoku[72] | |
| Rodeo bareback bronc riding | Earl W. Bascom[70] | Bascom designed and made the first one-hand rigging in 1924. |
| Rugby union | A. G. Guillemard[73] | |
| William Webb Ellis[74] | "Who with a fine disregard for the rules of football as played in his time first took the ball in his arms and ran with it thus originating the distinctive feature of the rugby game". | |
| Scuba diving | Jacques Cousteau[75] | Developed the aqua-lung jointly with Émile Gagnan; popularized scuba diving as a research diver, writer, and film and television producer and personality. |
| Skateboarding | Skip Engblom (godfather)[76] | |
| Tony Hawk (godfather)[77] | ||
| Snowboarding | Jake Burton Carpenter[78] | |
| Stock car racing | Bill France, Sr.[79][80] | Foundation of the sanctioning body for stock car racing |
| Supercross | Mike Goodwin[81] | Organized the first supercross race. |
| Televised golf | Frank Chirkinian[82][83] | Personally responsible for much of the production conventions of modern golf broadcasting. |
Technology[link]
Fields[link]
| Subject | Father/Mother | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Aerodynamics (modern) | Sir George Cayley [84][85] | Founding father of modern Aerodynamics. The first to identify the four aerodynamic forces of flight—weight, lift, drag, and thrust. Modern airplane design is based on those discoveries. |
| Architecture | Imhotep[86] | Built the first pyramid |
| Astronautics | Konstantin Tsiolkovsky[87] |
|
| Aviation | Father Francesco Lana-Terzi[90] | Book: Prodromo alla Arte Maestra (1670). First to describe the geometry and physics of a flying vessel. |
| British watchmaking | Thomas Tompion[91] | |
| Clinical trials | James Lind[92] | Conducted the first controlled clinical trial in the modern era of medicine, an investigation on using citrus food as a treatment for scurvy aboard HMS Salisbury in 1747 |
| Computing | Charles Babbage[93] | Inventor of the Analytical Engine which was never constructed in his lifetime. |
| Cybernetics | Norbert Wiener[94][95] | |
| Genetics | Gregor Mendel | Founder of the Genetics[96] |
| Modern Bladesmithing | William F. Moran | Founder of the American Bladesmith Society |
| Modern Kinematics | Ferdinand Freudenstein | Applied digital computation to the kinematic synthesis of mechanisms.[97] |
| Modern Knifemaking | Bob Loveless | Founder of the Knifemakers' Guild |
| Photography | Louis Daguerre[98] Nicéphore Niépce[99] William Henry Fox Talbot[100] Thomas Wedgwood[101] |
Inventions[link]
| Subject | Father/Mother | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Air conditioning | Willis Carrier | [102] |
| C (programming language) | Dennis Ritchie | |
| Chronograph | George Graham[91][103] | Referred so by Bernard Humbert of the Horology School of Bienne on his 1990 book he Chronograph as Graham was the first to construct a horological mechanism |
| Compact Disc | Kees Immink[104] | |
| Compiler | Grace Hopper | |
| Computer | Konrad Zuse[105] | Invented world's first functional program-controlled computer. |
| Alan Turing[106][107] | Was a secret code breaker during WWII and invented the Turing machine (1936). | |
| John von Neumann[108] | Became "intrigued" with Turing's universal machine and later emphasised the importance of the stored-program concept for electronic computing (1945), including the possibility of allowing the machine to modify its own program in useful ways while running. | |
| John V. Atanasoff[109] | Invented the digital computer in the 1930s | |
| John W. Mauchly [110] J.Presper Eckert[111] |
Invented the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator And Computer) in 1946. ENIAC was the first general-purpose electronic computer capable of being reprogrammed to solve a full range of computing problems. | |
| Computer Program | Ada Lovelace[112] | Recognized by historians as the writer of the world's first computer program which was for the Charles Babbage Analytical Engine, but was never complete within either her or his lifetime. |
| Ekranoplan | Rostislav Alexeev | |
| Helicopter | Igor Sikorsky [113] | Invented the first successful helicopter, upon which further designs were based. |
| Internet | Vint Cerf[114][115] Bob Kahn[116] [117] |
Co-invented Internet protocol (IP) and Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) in 1973, the two original protocols of the Internet protocol suite.[118] |
| Instant noodle | Momofuku Ando[119] | Inventor of the instant noodle, also founder of Nissin Foods to produce and market them. |
| Japanese television | Kenjiro Takayanagi[120][121] | |
| Jet engine | Frank Whittle[122][123] | |
| Karaoke | Daisuke Inoue[124] | Inventor of the machine as a means of allowing people to sing without the need of a live back-up. |
| Laser | Charles Hard Townes | |
| Lightning prediction system | Alexander Stepanovich Popov | The first lightning prediction system, the Lightning detector, was invented in 1894 by Alexander Stepanovich Popov. |
| Marine chronometer | John Harrison[125] | |
| Microprocessor | Marcian Hoff[126] Masatoshi Shima[127] |
|
| Mobile phone | Martin Cooper[128] | He is the main brainchild of hand-held phone and with the help of Motorola team he developed the first handset in 1973 weighing in at two kilos. |
| Pentium microprocessor | Vinod Dham[129][130] | The original Pentium (P5) was developed by a team of engineers, including John H. Crawford, chief architect of the original 386,[131] and Donald Alpert, who managed the architectural team. Dror Avnon managed the design of the FPU.[132] Dham was general manager of the P5 group.[133] Some media sources have called him the "father of the Pentium". |
| Personal computer | Chuck Peddle[134] | Developed the 6502 microprocessor, the KIM-1 and the Commodore PET |
| Henry Edward "Ed" Roberts[135] André Truong Trong Thi[136] |
||
| Programmable logic controller | Dick Morley[citation needed] | |
| Radio | Alexander Stepanovich Popov [137] Lee De Forest[138][139][140] Guglielmo Marconi[141] Jagdish Chandra Bose[142] Nikola Tesla[143] |
The research of these pioneers led to the development of the radio |
| Radio (Radio broadcasting) | Reginald Fessenden[citation needed] David Sarnoff[citation needed] |
Fessenden is credited as the first to broadcast radio signals on Christmas Eve, 1906. Sarnoff proposed a chain of radio stations to Marconi's associates in 1915. |
| Radio (FM radio) | Edwin H. Armstrong[citation needed] | Obtained the first Federal Communications Commission (FCC) license to operate an FM station in Alpine, New Jersey at approximately 50 megahertz (1939) |
| Radiotelephony | Reginald Fessenden[144][145] | |
| Search Engine | Alan Emtage[146][147][148] | Created Archie, a pre-Web search engine which pioneered many of the techniques used by subsequent search engines |
| SGML | Charles Goldfarb[149] | |
| Telephone | Alexander Graham Bell[150] | See Invention of the telephone |
| Television | Philo T. Farnsworth[151] | Co-Inventors of the Electronic Television. Farnsworth invented the Image dissector while Zworykin created the Iconoscope, both fully electronic forms of television. Logie Baird invented the world's first working television system, also the first electronic color television system. |
| Tokamak | Lev Artsimovich | |
| Tube structure | Fazlur Khan[156] | Invented the tube structural system and first employed it in his designs for the DeWitt-Chestnut Apartments, John Hancock Center and Sears Tower. |
| World Wide Web | Tim Berners-Lee[157] | |
| Visual Basic | Alan Cooper[158] | |
| XML | Jon Bosak[159] |
Towns, cities and regions[link]
| Subject | Father/Mother | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| British Columbia | James Douglas[160] | Fur trader and manager for the North West Company and Hudson's Bay Company, Governor of the Colony of Vancouver Island and first Governor of the Colony of British Columbia. |
| Lan Kwai Fong | Allan Zeman[161] | Noted for turning a small square of streets in Central, into a thriving bar and night life districts in Hong Kong. |
Transport[link]
| Subject | Father/Mother | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| 20th century American car industry | Henry Ford[162] | Noted for introducing a simple and affordable car for the ordinary American masses. |
| American Interstate Highway System | Dwight D. Eisenhower[163] | |
| High-performance VW industry | Gene Berg[164] | |
| Hot rod | Ed Winfield[165] | |
| Import Car Culture | RJ DeVera[166] | Influential for popularising the import car scene in the mid-1990s. |
| Kustom Kulture | Von Dutch[167] | |
| Monster truck | Bob Chandler[168] | Famed for building Bigfoot, which was the first to be capable of driving over cars and subsequently became one of the most famous monster truck in history |
| Mountain bike | Gary Fisher[169] | |
| Rotary engine | Felix Wankel[170][171] | |
| Route 66 | Cyrus Avery[172] | |
| Tailfin | Harley Earl[173][174][175] | |
| Traffic safety | William Phelps Eno[176] | |
| Yellow school bus | Frank W. Cyr[177] |
See also[link]
References[link]
- ^ The Miniatures Page. The World of Miniatures - An Overview.
- ^ "Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto, 'The Father of Modern Video Games,' Receives The Jim". Reuters. 2009-01-15. http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS218035+15-Jan-2009+PRN20090115.
- ^ Rausch, Allen (August 15, 2004). "Gary Gygax Interview - Part I". GameSpy. http://pc.gamespy.com/articles/538/538817p1.html. Retrieved 2005-01-03.
- ^ "Hideo Kojima 'GDC 2009 Keynote' video Part 2 of 4". 1UP.com. March 26, 2009. http://gamevideos.1up.com/video/id/24175. Retrieved 2010-04-01.
- ^ "Charles S. Roberts: The Founding Father"
- ^ http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=8194
- ^ J Robert Oppenheimer
- ^ Bernstein, Barton J: "Introduction" to The Voice of the Dolphins and Other Stories (expanded edition), by Leo Szilard. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1992, p.5: "Its author, Leo Szilard, now dead nearly three decades, was a Hungarian émigré scientist and one of many putative fathers of the A-bomb."
- ^ Lichello, R. (1971). Enrico Fermi: Father of the Atomic Bomb. SamHar Press. ISBN 978-0-87157-011-6. http://books.google.com/?id=Xh8eKgAACAAJ&dq=Lichello.
- ^ Chris Trueman. "Heinz Guderian". http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/heinz_guderian.htm. Retrieved 2009-05-26.
- ^ Chris Shimp (March 1, 2001). "General Heinz Guderian: The Father of Blitzkrieg". http://history.sandiego.edu/GEN/st/~cshimp/guderian.htm. Retrieved 2009-05-26.
- ^ "'Father of H-Bomb' Agrees to Rally Scientific Talent." The New York Times, December 31, 1965, p.19. Story opens: "Albany, December 30—Governor Rockefeller will make an intensified attack on air pollution with the help of Dr. Edward Teller, the 'father of the hydrogen bomb.'"
- ^ Jeffries, John (2001). Justice Lewis F. Powell, Jr. Fordham Univ Press. ISBN 0-8232-2110-5. , p.162: "'Admiral Rickover', said Powell, '"father of the atomic submarine", is a great naval officer... It is not equally clear that he is a careful and thorough student of American education.'"
- ^ "Submarine Range Called Unlimited; Rickover Says Atomic Craft Can Cruise Under Ice To North Pole and Beyond," The New York Times, December 6, 1957, p.33: "The admiral, who is often called the 'Father of the Atomic Submarine'..."
- ^ Galantin, I. J. (1997). Submarine Admiral: From Battlewagons to Ballistic Missiles. University of Illinois Press. ISBN 0-252-06675-8. , p. 217: "Chet Holifield... member of the JCAE... said 'Of all the men I dealt with in public service, at least one will go down in history: Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, the father of the nuclear Navy.'"
- ^ Warner, Oliver (1973). Great Battle Fleets. Hamlyn. p. 98. ISBN 0-600-33913-0 ISBN 978-0-600-33913-7.
- ^ Lanning, Col. Michael Lee (October 29, 2002). Blood Warriors: American Military Elites. New York: Ballantine. pp. 368. ISBN 978-0-345-44891-0.
- ^ Warner, Oliver (1973). Great Battle Fleets. Hamlyn. p. 96. ISBN 0-600-33913-0 ISBN 978-0-600-33913-7.
- ^ http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/FWWboelcke.htm
- ^ "Andrei Sakharov: Soviet Physics, Nuclear Weapons, and Human Rights". Center for the History of Physics. American Institute of Physics. http://www.aip.org/history/sakharov/. Retrieved 2007-03-03.
- ^ "General William C. Lee: Father of the Airborne". Archived from the original on 2008-06-12. http://web.archive.org/web/20080612100930/http://www.screamingeagle.org/WilliamLeeChapter/williamclee.htm. Retrieved 2008-07-12.
- ^ Yale Richmond (1995). From Da to Yes: understanding the East Europeans. Intercultural Press. p. 72. ISBN 1-877864-30-7, ISBN 978-1-877864-30-8. http://books.google.com/?id=2Y8GNIp42ysC&printsec=frontcover.
- ^ John Barry Kelly. "Commodore Barry". http://www.ushistory.org/people/commodorebarry.htm. Retrieved 2007-06-16.
- ^ Hoover Library, "Revolutionary America! Where Did We Go From There? The Continental Navy -- John Paul Jones"
- ^ http://www.collegefootball.org/famersearch.php?id=88004
- ^ http://www.motorcyclemuseum.org/halloffame/hofbiopage.asp?id=163
- ^ http://www.wheels.ca/newsFeatures/article/485678
- ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=cosmos
- ^ New International Encyclopedia. New York City: Dodd, Mead and Company. 1914. pp. Fathers.
- ^ "32". International Federation of Football History & Statistics. http://www.iffhs.de/?29dad5a85ad4a91b972b9815e85fdcdc3bfcdc0aec28d6eda0a70c. Retrieved November 9, 2011. "Arnoldo Pencliffe Watson Hutton (20.8.1886-29.7.1951), popularly known as "El Fantástico", was the son of Scotsman Alexander (Alejandro) Watson Hutton, who was a football pioneer and is considered the father of Argentine football."
- ^ "Pro Shop & Clubhouse". Algodon Wine Estates. InvestProperty Group, LLC. http://www.algodonwineestates.com/en_US/tourism/golf/proshop/_view/lang=en_US. Retrieved November 9, 2011. "Only at our pro shop can you find unique AWE merchandise, as well as memorabilia of the legends who inspire us; José Jurado, "The Father of Argentine Professional Golf", and José Luis Clerc ("Batata"), one of the most important Argentine tennis players in history."
- ^ Mirodan, Seamus (February 14, 2004). "Nazis' Argentine village hide-out pulls in tourists". The Sunday Telegraph (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/argentina/1454352/Nazis-Argentine-village-hide-out-pulls-in-tourists.html. Retrieved November 9, 2011. "Across the road from Priebke's delicatessen is the Club Andino Bariloche, a mountaineering association set up in 1931 by Otto Meiling, the father of Argentine winter sports and a former member of the Hitler Youth."
- ^ http://www.sportsbooks.net/soccer/history.html
- ^ "Henry Chadwick, Chad, The Father of Base Ball [sic]"; National Baseball Hall of Fame bio,[1]. Not a player, but a journalist and organizer, the Hall of Fame credits him as "inventor of the box score" and "author of the first rule-book."
- ^
- 'Spalding's Baseball Guide and Official League Book for 1889, ed. Henry Chadwick at Project Gutenberg: "Henry Chadwick, the veteran journalist, upon whom the honored sobriquet of 'Father of Base Ball[sic]' rests so happily and well, appears in portraiture, and so well preserved in his physical manhood that his sixty-three years rest lightly upon his well timed life."
- ^ "Matty" at Harvard; The New York Times, February 16, 1909, p. 7: "Charles H. Ebbets, Chairman of the Chadwick Monument Committee, has announced that the contract has been awarded for a suitable monument to be placed on the plot in Greenwood[sic] Cemetery where the remains of the late Henry Chadwick, 'the Father of Baseball,' repose."
- ^ Collins, Glen (2004): "Ground as Hallowed as Cooperstown," The New York Times, April 1, 2004. (Article on baseball notables interred in the Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn) "Among the nearly 600,000 people buried there are no less than four pioneers who were accorded the title 'Father of Baseball' in the popular press: Henry Chadwick, Duncan Curry, William Tucker and William Wheaton....The memorial for Henry Chadwick bears a 'Father of Base Ball' inscription.... [Duncan] Curry, first president of the Knickerbocker Baseball Club, is immortalized with a monument that proudly dubs him 'Father of Baseball' because he headed the club that scholars say first codified many of the game's rules...."
- ^ http://citracycling.multiply.com/journal/item/27
- ^ Hamilton, Aidan (1998). An Entirely Different Game, The British Influence on Brazilian Football. Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 1-84018-041-2.
- ^ Goudinoff, Connie (1992). Mazda Motorsports: 20 Victorious Years in America. Motorbooks International. p. 96. ISBN 0-87938-582-0.
- ^ Hicken, J.O. Ed. "Raymond Roundup 1902–1967". Lethbridge, Alberta Canada: The Lethbridge Herald Company, Ltd., 1967. pp. 243, 519.
- ^ http://www.mshf.com/hof/parks_wally.htm
- ^ http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091003/A_SPORTS/910030344#STS=g0jw5l2c.1e6j
- ^ http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=30337&FS=NHRA
- ^ http://ezinearticles.com/?The-History-of-Drifting&id=875478
- ^ http://boarding.com/skate/video/totalvid/2/7.html
- ^ http://www.skaterlegends.com/skaters/bruce_walker.htm
- ^ http://www.hull.co.uk/websitefiles/Did%20You%20Know.pdf
- ^ http://www.pinkbike.com/news/article1273.html
- ^ http://www.23mag.com/com/haro/haro.htm
- ^ http://www.freestyle-motocross.co.uk/top3-freestyle-motocross-riders
- ^ http://www.mopar.com/life/legends/dicklandy.html
- ^ "Frank Choi, the father of import drag racing, has done it again..." http://turbohightechperformance.automotive.com/65970/turp-0311-battle-in-virginia-drag-race/index.html
- ^ "English Players in Italy". RSSSF.com. http://www.rsssf.com/players/eng-players-in-it.html. Retrieved August 2007.
- ^ http://www.target.com/William-Garbutt-Father-Italian-Football/dp/1899807829
- ^ http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/16820/the_social_impact_of_japanese_baseball_pg2_pg2.html?cat=9
- ^ Klein, Christopher (2006-10-01). "A passion for the Sox in Kyoto's Fenway Park". The Boston Globe. http://www.boston.com/travel/articles/2006/10/01/a_passion_for_the_sox_in_kyotos_fenway_park/?page=2.
- ^ "Fathers (and mothers) of invention: ultimate victims of their own success". The Independent (London). 2004-02-12. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/fathers-and-mothers-of-invention-ultimate-victims-of-their-own-success-569681.html. Retrieved 2010-05-08.
- ^ http://www.vintagekarts.com/ingels.htm - vintagekarts.com
- ^ STX Lacrosse
- ^ HickokSports.com - History - Lacrosse
- ^ Lacrosse History. Historical Facts About Lacrosse
- ^ http://www.schoolnet.ca/aboriginal/handbook/arts_lacrosse.html
- ^ Wickert, Marc. 2004. Dana White and the future of UFC. kucklepit.com. See Wikiquotes for the text.
- ^ http://www.musclepowershop.com/2009/04/eugene-sandow-father-of-bodybuilding.html
- ^ http://gov.ca.gov/press-release/2761/
- ^ http://www.eastsideboxing.com/news.php?p=4864&more=1
- ^ Roy Blakey's Icestage Archive, accessed December 15, 2011.
- ^ http://www.worldsoccer.com/blogs/the-football-professor-a-profile-of-dettmar-cramer
- ^ a b Elgin, Fran, et al. Editors. "Mohahve VI, A Collection of Histories", Hesperia, California, USA: Mohahve Historical Society, 2011. pp.77.
- ^ Santelli bio including several references backing up the statement, including a quote from Dr. William Gaugler December 1997: "I am, in fact, only two generations removed from the 'father of modern sabre' [referring to Santelli]".
- ^ http://www.surfingmuseum.org/collection/duke/duke.html
- ^ http://www.basicbloganomics.com/2009/03/first-fa-cup-final-on-march-16-1872.html
- ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:WWEplaque_700.jpg
- ^ Diving Almanac article.
- ^ http://www.kontinent.se/slideshow.php?story=70
- ^ http://www.danshamptons.com/content/hamptonstyle/2008/july_11/11.html
- ^ http://www.nestle.bg/news.details.asp?lang=1&nid=48&page=1
- ^ "The Hall dinner and ceremony that also would include induction of William H.G. France, the father of stock car racing" http://books.simonandschuster.com/Wildest-Ride/Joe-Menzer/9780743226257/excerpt_with_id/14145
- ^ http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1842&dat=19920609&id=KFAeAAAAIBAJ&sjid=YscEAAAAIBAJ&pg=1892,1191270
- ^ http://www.drivingtoday.com/wcco/features/archive/thompson/index.html
- ^ Dolch, Craig (March 4, 2011). "Chirkinian's impact on televised golf can't be overstated". PGATOUR.com. http://www.pgatour.com/2011/r/03/04/dolch-column-chirkinian/index.html. Retrieved July 15, 2011. "Bringing sounds to golf is just part of the reason why Chirkinian — who is considered "the father of televised golf" — was elected February 9 into the World Golf Hall of Fame on an emergency vote."
- ^ Goldstein, Richard (March 5, 2011). "Frank Chirkinian, the Father of Televised Golf, Dies at 84". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/06/sports/golf/06chirkinian.html. Retrieved July 15, 2011. "Frank is universally regarded as the father of golf television,” Jim Nantz, CBS’s longtime lead golf announcer, told the PGA Tour Web site this year. “He invented it. He took a sport that no one knew how to televise and made it interesting. He brought the Masters tournament to life."
- ^ "Sir George Carley (British Inventor and Scientist)". Britannica. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/100795/Sir-George-Cayley-6th-Baronet. Retrieved 2009-07-26. "English pioneer of aerial navigation and aeronautical engineering and designer of the first successful glider to carry a human being aloft."
- ^ "The Pioneers: Aviation and Airmodelling". http://www.ctie.monash.edu.au/hargrave/cayley.html. Retrieved 2009-07-26. "Sir George Cayley, is sometimes called the 'Father of Aviation'. A pioneer in his field, he is credited with the first major breakthrough in heavier-than-air flight. He was the first to identify the four aerodynamic forces of flight—weight, lift, drag, and thrust—and their relationship and also the first to build a successful human carrying glider."
- ^ Albert Gallatin Mackey, The Builder Magazine, December 1922, Volume VIII, Number 12, Part XVI.
- ^ Tsiolkovskiy
- ^ Goddard
- ^ Oberth
- ^ Woods, Thomas. How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization, p 36. (Washington, DC: Regenery, 2005); ISBN 0-89526-038-7.
- ^ a b . http://www.watchtime.com/2010/03/the-man-behind-the-brand-george-graham/.
- ^ Twyman, Richard (22 September 2004). "A brief history of clinical trials". The Human Genome. Wellcome Trust. http://genome.wellcome.ac.uk/doc_WTD020948.html. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
- ^ Lee, J.A.N. (1995). International Biographical Dictionary of Computer Pioneers. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn. ISBN 1-884964-47-8.
- ^ Belzer, Belzer (1977). Encyclopedia of Computer Science and Technology: Volume 7 - Curve Fitting to Early Development.... Marcel Dekker. ISBN 0-262-73009-X. , p. 55: "It is probably not an accident that the 'father of cybernetics,' Norbert Wiener, ..."
- ^ Wiener, Norbert (1965) [1948]. Cybernetics, Second Edition: or the Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine. MIT Press. ISBN 0-8247-2257-4. (Wiener is credited with coining the term in its common modern usage)
- ^ Bowler, Peter J. (2003). Evolution: the history of an idea. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-23693-9.
- ^ http://www.springerlink.com/content/p68g683357756307/fulltext.pdf?page=1 Life and career of Ferdinand Freudenstein
- ^ Barger, M. Susan; William B. White (2000). The Daguerreotype: Nineteenth-Century Technology and Modern Science. Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-6458-5. p. 20, "Louis Jacques Monde Daguerre: The second father of photography is Daguerre..."
- ^ Barger, M. Susan; William B. White (2000). The Daguerreotype: Nineteenth-Century Technology and Modern Science. Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0-8018-6458-5. p. 17, "The first father of photography was Nicéphore Niépce...."
- ^ Ellis, Roger (2001). Who's Who in Victorian Britain. Stackpole Books. ISBN 0-8117-1640-6. , p. 116: cites book title: "A. H. Booth: William Henry Fox Talbot: father of photography, 1965".
- ^ Booth, Martin (1999). Opium: A History. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-20667-4. p. 30 "Robert Hall, the divine, was addicted [to opium], as was Thomas Wedgwood, the father of photography."
- ^ The Father of Cool - Willis Haviland Carrier and Air Conditioning
- ^ http://www.thetimetv.com/news-brawn-announces-new-team-partnership-with-graham-london-859-133
- ^ Untitled Document
- ^ Konrad Zuse's versus John von Neumann's Computer Concepts
- ^ Gray, Paul (1999-03-29). "Alan Turing - Time 100 People of the Century". Time. http://www.time.com/time/time100/scientist/profile/turing.html. Retrieved 2009-06-13. "The fact remains that everyone who taps at a keyboard, opening a spreadsheet or a word-processing program, is working on an incarnation of a Turing machine"
- ^ 'Father of the computer' honoured - BBC News, Monday, 7 June 2004
- ^ The Modern History of Computing - Standford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
- ^ Bruner, Jeffrey. "Atanasoff, father of the computer, dies at 91". Rebuilding the ABC. Ames Laboratory. http://www.scl.ameslab.gov/ABC/Articles/Register6-95.html. Retrieved 2006-07-28.
- ^ "Inventor Profile: John Mauchly". Invent Now - Hall of Fame. North Canton, OH, USA: National Inventors Hall of Fame. March 29, 2004. http://www.invent.org/hall_of_fame/182.html. Retrieved December 12, 2011.
- ^ "Inventor Profile: J. Presper Eckert". Invent Now - Hall of Fame. North Canton, OH, USA: National Inventors Hall of Fame. March 29, 2004. http://www.invent.org/hall_of_fame/181.html. Retrieved December 12, 2011.
- ^ Ada Lovelace
- ^ Igor Sikorsky is considered to be the "father" of helicopters not because he invented the first. He is called that because he invented the first successful helicopter, upon which further designs were based, an article from inventors.About.com by Mary Bellis
- ^ Making Televised Emergency Information Accessible from the Gallaudet University website
- ^ Although it's a title he objects to (see Interview with Vinton Cerf, from a January 2006 article in Government Computer News), Cerf is willing to call himself one of the Internet's fathers, citing Bob Kahn in particularly as being someone with whom he should share that title.
- ^ Kahn do, No (2007). " Father of internet warns against Net Neutrality", The Register, Thursday 18 January
- ^ Louis Pouzin
- ^ "Fascinating facts about the invention of the Internet by Vinton Cerf in 1973". The Great Idea Finder. http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/internet.htm.
- ^ http://www.wakin-web.com/Wakin/NewsVault/InstantNoodles.html
- ^ "Kenjiro Takayanagi: The Father of Japanese Television". NHK Science & Technical Research Laboratories. http://www.nhk.or.jp/strl/aboutstrl/evolution-of-tv-en/p05/. Retrieved 2006-12-09.
- ^ "Kenjiro Takayanagi, Electrical Engineer, 91 (obituary)". New York Times. 1990-07-25. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE6D61231F936A15754C0A966958260. Retrieved 2006-12-09.
- ^ "Sculpture to jet engine inventor". BBC News. 2005-10-20. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/coventry_warwickshire/4362374.stm. Retrieved 2010-05-08.
- ^ Aircraft Engine
- ^ http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-234142.html
- ^ . http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/clocks-n-watches/watch/watches/harrison/index.htm.
- ^ http://www.rpi.edu/about/hof/hoff.html
- ^ "Kosaku Inagaki’s Home Page". Kyoto University. http://inagaki.ist.i.kyoto-u.ac.jp. Retrieved 2010-04-01.
- ^ "Meet the man who invented the mobile phone". BBC News. 2010-04-23. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/8639590.stm. Retrieved 2010-05-08.
- ^ The Technology Trailblazer: Vinod Dham. University of Cincinnati.
- ^ Priya Ganapati at Techfest 99, IIT Bombay. Rediff.com.
- ^ p. 54, "Intel Turns 35: Now What?", David L. Margulius, InfoWorld, July 21, 2003, ISSN 0199-6649.
- ^ p. 21, "Architecture of the Pentium microprocessor", D. Alpert and D. Avnon, IEEE Micro, 13, #3 (June 1993), pp. 11–21, doi:10.1109/40.216745.
- ^ p. 90, "Inside Intel", Business Week, #3268, June 1, 1992.
- ^ Commodore History: Chuck Peddle
- ^ "Microsoft founders lead tributes to 'father of the PC'". BBC News. April 2, 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8600493.stm. Retrieved April 2, 2010.
- ^ A Talk with the Father of Computing, Wired Magazine
- ^ The "The First Electronic Church of America" website poses the question: "Russia's Popov: Did he 'invent' radio?" According to this account, Alexander Popov is the "radio man." Among other things, it notes that Popov reported sending and receiving a wireless signal across a 600 yards distance in 1895. Two years later, it says, he set up a shore station at Kronstadt and equipped the Russian navy cruiser Africa with his wireless communications apparatus to provide ship-to-shore communication., an article by Stan Horzepa wondering who is the father of the radio
- ^ De Forest, Lee (1950). Father of Radio: The Autobiography of Lee de Forest. Chicago: Wilcox & Follett. (This book sold fewer than a thousand copies and is accordingly rare and expensive today).
- ^ Dennis, Everette E..; Edward Pease (1994). Radio—The Forgotten Medium. Transaction Publishers. ISBN 1-56593-873-9. , p. 198: "the egotistical Lee De Forest who discovered, however unwittingly, the audion tube that allowed him to proclaim himself 'the father of radio'"
- ^ Shurkin, Joseph (1996). Engines of the Mind: The Evolution of the Computer from the Mainframes to Microprocessors. W. W. Norton and Company. ISBN 0-393-31471-5. , p. 132: "De Forest, who was not a modest man, called himself the 'Father of Radio,' an epithet whose accuracy is debatable."
- ^ Guglielmo Marconi - the "father of radio"
- ^ A. K. Sen (1997). "Sir J.C. Bose and radio science", Microwave Symposium Digest 2 (8-13), pp. 557-560.
- ^ Ask the average person "Who invented radio?" and the average answer will be "Marconi." Ask the same question on the Internet, and the average answer will not likely be "Marconi." Instead, try one of the following on for size: Nikola Tesla, Alexander Popov, Oliver Lodge, Reginald Fessenden, Heinrich Hertz, Mahlon Loomis, Nathan Stubblefield, James Clerk Maxwell and even Thomas Edison, among others, an article by Stan Horzepa wondering who is the father of the radio
- ^ McLuhan, Marshall; Barrington Nevitt (1972). Take Today; the Executive as Dropout. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. ISBN 0-15-187830-7. "Fessenden, the Forgotten Father of 'Wireless' Telephony" (section heading)[2]
- ^ Zuill, William S. (2001): The Forgotten Father of Radio", American Heritage of Science and Technology, 17(1)40–47, as cited in Silverman, Steve (2003). Lindbergh's Artificial Heart: More Fascinating True Stories From Einstein's Refrigerator. Andrews McMeel Publishing. ISBN 0-7407-3340-0. p. 160
- ^ [3] from the Eweek website
- ^ [4] History of the Internet
- ^ [5] History of the Search Engine - What Came Before Google?
- ^ XML for Newcomers and Managers - Part I
- ^ Van Meggelen, Jim; Jared Smith, Leif Madsen (2005). Asterisk: The Future of Telephony. O'Reilly. ISBN 0-596-00962-3. , p.190: "Although Alexander Graham Bell is most famously remembered as the father of the telephone, the reality is that during the latter half of the 1800s dozens of minds were at work on the project of carrying voice over telegraph lines."
- ^ http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/F/htmlF/farnsworthp/farnsworthp.htm
. Society of Television Engineers. URL accessed January 20, 2008. "Isn't it about time that Philo Farnsworth gets some credit??? - ^ "Zworykin at IEEE Global History Network". http://www.ieeeghn.org/wiki/index.php/Vladimir_Zworykin. Retrieved 2008-03-03. ""the oft-called Father of Television Vladimir Zworykin""
- ^ "Zworykin at Museum.TV". http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/Z/htmlZ/zworykinvla/zworykinvla.htm. Retrieved 2008-03-03. ""inventor Vladimir Zworykin is often described as "the father of television". ""
- ^ "John Logie Baird: TV Inventor". http://www.sydenham.org.uk/john_logie_baird.html. Retrieved 2009-07-26. "John Logie Baird invented Television in 1926. His initial TV system was electro-mechanical. He (later) embraced electronic TV and developed the world's first color television system."
- ^ "The World's First High Definition Color Television System". http://www.bairdtelevision.com/colour.html. Retrieved 2009-07-26.
- ^ Weingardt, Richard (2005). Engineering Legends. ASCE Publications. p. 75. ISBN 0-7844-0801-7.
- ^ Three loud cheers for the father of the web, 28 January 2005, Telegraph.co.uk
- ^ Cooper, Alan, Why I am called "the Father of Visual Basic" "Mitchell Waite called me the "father of Visual Basic" in the foreword to what I believe was the first book ever published for VB, called the Visual Basic How-To (now in its second edition, published by The Waite Group Press). I thought the appellation was an appropriate one, and frequently use the quoted phrase as my one-line biography."
- ^ XML.com: "XML Father" leaves W3C for OASIS
- ^ BC Archives: Sir James Douglas
- ^ http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Asia/Story/STIStory_429594.html
- ^ http://trendsupdates.com/henry-ford-father-of-20th-century-american-industry/
- ^ Federal Highway Administration [6]. URL accessed July 21, 2006.
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- ^ http://www.bvv.cz/i2000/Akce/b-slife.nsf/WWWAllPDocsID/BEXP-7L6PQ9?OpenDocument&LANG=GB&NAV=1&ID=0
- ^ http://irishcar.com/wankelge.htm
- ^ http://www.rotorhead.ca/articles/2002/12/22/felix-wankel-bio/
- ^ Steil, Tim (2000). Route 66. MBI Publishing Company. p. 18. ISBN 0-7603-0747-4. "Avery, though dubbed the 'Father of Route 66' by some, was a political appointee who also left office the next year."
- ^ http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=X91l3wqJnikC&pg=PA179&lpg=PA179&dq=%22father+of+the+tail+fin%22&source=bl&ots=0R7qHrSvev&sig=NllowJaW5UQa_SJB7MZgZOoVbWA&hl=en&ei=xTYaTZ2WKIa4hAeOj_W3Dg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=%22father%20of%20the%20tail%20fin%22&f=false
- ^ McCosh, Dan (2003-03-07). "DRIVING; Most Cars Are Born As Models of Clay". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/07/travel/driving-most-cars-are-born-as-models-of-clay.html?src=pm.
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- ^ Watson, Rollin J. (2002). The School As a Safe Haven. Bergen Garvey/Greenwood. p. 30. ISBN 0-89789-900-8. http://books.google.com/?id=uNbd6oIXm0MC&pg=PA30&lpg=PA30. "The modern school bus began in a conference in 1939 called by Frank W. Cyr, the 'Father of the Yellow School' bus, who was a professor at Teachers College, Columbia University. At that meeting, Cyr urged the standardization of the school bus. Participants came up with the standard yellow color and some basic construction standards. Cyr had... found that children were riding in all sorts of vehicles—one district, he found, was painting their buses red, white, and blue to instill patriotism."
http://wn.com/List_of_people_considered_father_or_mother_of_a_field
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_considered_father_or_mother_of_a_field
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This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
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| Shooting guard | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1976-05-13) May 13, 1976 (age 36) Palo Alto, California |
| Nationality | American |
| High school | East Anchorage |
| Listed height | 6 ft 3.75 in (1.92 m) |
| Listed weight | 205 lb (93 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College | Duke |
| NBA Draft | 1999 / 11th overall |
| Selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers | |
| Pro career | 1999–2011 |
| Career history | |
| Cleveland Cavaliers (1999-02) Benetton Treviso (Italy) (2002-03) Efes Pilsen (Turkey) (2003-04) Dynamo Moscow (Russia) (2004-05) CSKA Moscow (2005-11) |
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| Career highlights and awards | |
| Euroleague Final Four MVP 2008 2x All-Euroleague First Team 2007, 2008 All-Euroleague Second Team 2006 Euroleague 2001-10 All-Decade Team |
|
Trajan Shaka Langdon (born May 13, 1976) is a retired American professional basketball player. A 6 ft 3 3⁄4 in (1.92 m)[1][2] 210 lb. (95 kg)[3] shooting guard, he gained fame in the U.S. while playing college basketball at Duke University with the Duke Blue Devils.
Contents |
Biography[link]
Trajan is the son of Dr. Steve Langdon, a professor of anthropology at the University of Alaska Anchorage.[4] Trajan has traveled with his father on many anthropological trips within southeastern Alaska. His father studied the Tlingit of Alaska.
Amateur career[link]
Born in Palo Alto, California, Langdon moved to Anchorage, Alaska soon after. During his high school career, Langdon attended Steller Secondary School and played for East Anchorage High School. He set the Alaska 4A Record of 2,200 career points and was a 3-Time Alaskan Player of the Year.
He led East Anchorage to the 1994 Alaskan State Championship and he played in the prestigious McDonald's All American Game, where he won the 3-point shooting contest. He was also the recipient of the Dial Award, given to the nation's top male and female student-athlete. Langdon's win marked the second consecutive year a basketball player was so honored, as Jacque Vaughn had won the previous year.[5]
After high school, Langdon moved on to play for the highly regarded Duke University basketball team, where he set the school record for most career 3-point field goals made (which was later broken by J.J Redick in 2006) earning him the nickname "The Alaskan Assassin".[6] After his Freshman year at Duke he twice appeared on the popular Anchorage, AK TV sports talk show, Sports Talk Alaska. Langdon was the only guest to ever appear on the show twice.
Professional career[link]
Langdon was selected by the San Diego Padres in the 6th round of the 1994 Major League Baseball draft,[5] and was also drafted by the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1999 NBA Draft. Langdon made his professional debut with the Cavaliers on November 2, 1999, when he became the first Alaskan to play in the NBA. Following a three-year career with the Cavaliers, Langdon moved to Europe to play for the Italian League club Benetton Treviso for the 2002-03 season.
The following season, he moved to the Turkish League powerhouse Efes Pilsen. For the 2004-05 season, he moved on to the Russian League club Dynamo Moscow, before moving across town to CSKA Moscow for the 2005-06 season. Langdon was named to the All-Euroleague Second Team for the Euroleague 2005-06 season. CSKA Moscow won the Euroleague Championship that same season.
The following season, he helped CSKA Moscow return to the Euroleague championship game, where they lost to Greek power Panathinaikos on the Greek team's home court.[7] In the process, he was named to the All-Euroleague First Team for the Euroleague 2006-07 season, a feat that he repeated in the Euroleague 2007-08 season. On May 4, 2008, he was named the Euroleague Final Four MVP, after again winning the Euroleague title with CSKA Moscow.[8]
On October 7, 2006, Langdon led his CSKA Moscow team to a 94-75 win over the Los Angeles Clippers in an exhibition game. Coincidentally, he played against his former Duke University teammate Elton Brand, who was playing for the Clippers at that time. He led all scorers in the game with 17 points.[9]
In June 2011 he announced his retirement from basketball. He made his announcement two days after helping CSKA to its ninth consecutive Russian League crown.[10]
United States national team[link]
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men’s basketball | ||
Competitor for  United States |
||
| FIBA World Championship | ||
| Bronze | 1998 Greece | National team |
| FIBA Americas U18 Championship | ||
| Gold | 1994 Santa Rosa | National team |
After graduating from Duke with degrees in mathematics and history, Langdon played for the USA national basketball team in the 1998 FIBA World Championship, winning the bronze medal.[11]
NBA career statistics[link]
| Legend | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
Regular season[link]
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999–00 | Cleveland | 10 | 0 | 14.5 | .375 | .421 | 1.000 | 1.5 | 1.1 | .5 | .0 | 4.9 |
| 2000–01 | Cleveland | 65 | 5 | 17.2 | .431 | .411 | .895 | 1.4 | 1.2 | .6 | .1 | 6.0 |
| 2001–02 | Cleveland | 44 | 0 | 10.8 | .398 | .365 | .913 | 1.3 | 1.4 | .3 | .1 | 4.8 |
| Career | 119 | 5 | 14.6 | .416 | .396 | .910 | 1.3 | 1.3 | .5 | .1 | 5.4 |
References[link]
- ^ CSKA Moscow official website player profile. 6 ft 3 3⁄4 in (1.92 m)
- ^ Euroleague.net official player profile. 6 ft 3 3⁄4 in (1.92 m)
- ^ Italian League profile.
- ^ Lieber, Jill (March 26, 1999). "Following his father's vision, Alaska's Trajan Langdon made it to Duke by . . .". USA Today. http://enquirer.com/editions/1999/03/26/spt_following_his.html. Retrieved May 26, 2011.
- ^ a b EUROBASKET - Euroleague Men basketball.
- ^ Trajan Langdon.
- ^ The Euroleague determines the site for each year's Final Four shortly before the previous year's Final Four, before it can possibly be known who will advance. The 2008 event was held in Madrid.
- ^ Euroleague feature: King of the Final Four on YouTube
- ^ ESPN - Langdon leads CSKA Moscow past Clippers - NBA.
- ^ CSKA icon Langdon announces retirement
- ^ 1998 USA Basketball.
External links[link]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Trajan Langdon |
- NBA.com Profile - Trajan Langdon
- Trajan Langdon at Basketball-Reference.com
- Euroleague.net Profile - Trajan Langdon
- Russian League Profile
- Trajan Langdon Named Finals MVP
- TBLStat.net Profile - Trajan Langdon
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Langdon, Trajan |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | American basketball player |
| Date of birth | May 13, 1976 |
| Place of birth | Palo Alto, California |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
http://wn.com/Trajan_Langdon
Related pages:
http://ru.wn.com/Лэнгдон, Траджан
http://fr.wn.com/Trajan Langdon
http://de.wn.com/Trajan Langdon
http://it.wn.com/Trajan Langdon
http://pl.wn.com/Trajan Langdon
http://es.wn.com/Trajan Langdon
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trajan_Langdon
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
