- published: 06 Nov 2010
- views: 13832
- author: vaggelisfear
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- Achilleus (emperor)
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Alexandria
Alexandria (Arabic: الإسكندرية Al Iskandariyya, Coptic: Ⲣⲁⲕⲟⲧⲉ Rakotə, Greek: Αλεξάνδρεια Alexándria, Koine Greek: Ἀλεξάνδρεια ἡ κατ' Αἴγυπτον IPA: [ɑlɛˈksɑndɾiɑ e kɑt ˈɛʝypton] "Alexandria in Egypt", Egyptian Arabic: اسكندريه [eskendeˈrejːæ]) is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about 32 km (20 mi) along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving approximately 80% of Egypt's imports and exports. Alexandria is also an important tourist resort. It is home to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (the new Library of Alexandria). It is an important industrial centre because of its natural gas and oil pipelines from Suez.
Alexandria was founded around a small pharaonic town c. 331 BC by Alexander the Great. It remained Egypt's capital for nearly a thousand years, until the Muslim conquest of Egypt in AD 641, when a new capital was founded at Fustat (Fustat was later absorbed into Cairo). Alexandria was known because of its Lighthouse of Alexandria (Pharos), one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World; its library (the largest library in the ancient world); and the Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa, one of the Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages. Ongoing maritime archaeology in the harbor of Alexandria, which began in 1994, is revealing details of Alexandria both before the arrival of Alexander, when a city named Rhacotis existed there, and during the Ptolemaic dynasty.
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Antioch
Antioch on the Orontes (Greek: Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Δάφνῃ, "Antioch on Daphne"; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ Μεγάλη, "Antioch the Great"; Syriac: ܐܢܛܝܘܟܝܐ Anṭiokia; Hebrew: אנטיוכיה, antiyokhya; Georgian: ანტიოქია; Armenian: Անտիոք Antiok; Latin: Antiochia ad Orontem; Arabic:انطاکیه, Anṭākiya; also Syrian Antioch) was an ancient city on the eastern side of the Orontes River. It is near the modern city of Antakya, Turkey.
Founded near the end of the 4th century BC by Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander the Great's generals, Antioch eventually rivaled Alexandria as the chief city of the Near East and was a cradle of Christianity. It was one of the four cities of the Syrian tetrapolis. Its residents are known as Antiochenes. Once a great metropolis of half a million people, it declined to insignificance during the Middle Ages because of repeated earthquakes, the Crusaders' invasions, and a change in trade routes following the Mongol conquests, which then no longer passed through Antioch from the far east.
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Aphrodisias
Aphrodisias (Greek: Ἀφροδισιάς, Aphrodisiás) was a small city in Caria, on the southwest coast of Asia Minor. Its site is located near the modern village of Geyre, Turkey, about 230 km (140 mi) south-east of İzmir and about 100 km (62 mi) inland from the coast.
Aphrodisias was named after Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, who had here her unique cult image, the Aphrodite of Aphrodisias. According to the Byzantine encyclopedic compilation called the Suda, before being known as Aphrodisias, the city had held three previous names: Lelégōn Pólis (Λελέγων πόλις, "City of the Leleges"),Megálē Pólis (Μεγάλη Πόλις, "Great City"), and Ninóē (Νινόη),
Sometime before 640, in the Late Antique period, the city was renamed Stauroúpolis (Σταυρούπολις, "City of the Cross").
The city was built near a marble quarry that was extensively exploited in the Hellenistic and Roman periods, and sculpture in marble from Aphrodisias became famous in the Roman world. Many examples of statuary have been unearthed in Aphrodisias, and some representations of the Aphrodite of Aphrodisias also survive from other parts of the Roman world, as far afield as Pax Julia in Lusitania.
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Aquincum
The ancient city of Aquincum was situated on the North-Eastern borders of the Pannonia province within the Roman Empire. The ruins of the city can be found today in Budapest, the capital city of Hungary. It is believed that Marcus Aurelius may have written at least part of his book Meditations at Aquincum.
Originally settled by the Eravisci, a Celtic tribe, Aquincum served as a military base (castrum), having been part of the Roman border protection system called "limes". Around AD 41-54, a 500-strong cavalry unit arrived, and a Roman legion of 6,000 men was stationed here by AD 89. The city gradually grew around the fortress, and after Pannonia was reorganised by the Romans in AD 106, Aquincum became the capital city of Pannonia Inferior. The city had around 30,000 to 40,000 inhabitants by the end of the 2nd century, and covered a significant part of the area today known as the Óbuda district within Budapest. Ruins from the old Roman settlement can be seen in other parts of Budapest as well, notably Contra-Aquincum and the Amphitheatre.
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Arles
Coordinates: 43°40′36″N 4°37′40″E / 43.67670°N 4.6278°E / 43.67670; 4.6278
Arles (French pronunciation: [aʁl]; Occitan: Arle [ˈaʀle] in both classical and Mistralian norms; Arelate in ancient Latin) is a city and commune in the south of France, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, of which it is a subprefecture, in the former province of Provence.
A large part of the Camargue is located on the territory of the commune, making it the largest commune in Metropolitan France in terms of territory (though Maripasoula, French Guiana is much larger). The city has a long history, and was of considerable importance in the Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis. The Roman and Romanesque Monuments of Arles were listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 1981. The Dutch post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh lived in Arles in 1888-1889 and produced over 300 paintings and drawings during his time there. An international photography festival has been held in the city since 1970.
The Rhône river forks into two branches just upstream of Arles, forming the Camargue delta. Because the Camargue is for a large part administratively part of Arles, the commune as a whole is the largest commune in Metropolitan France in terms of territory, although its population is only slightly more than 50,000. Its area is 758.93 km2 (293.02 sq mi), which is more than seven times the area of Paris.
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Armenia
Armenia
i/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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Austria
Austria (i/ˈɒstriə/ or /ˈɔːstriə/; German: Österreich [ˈøːstɐˌʁaɪç] (
listen)), officially the Republic of Austria (German: 
Republik Österreich (help·info)), is a landlocked country of roughly 8.47 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Hungary and Slovakia to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. The territory of Austria covers 83,855 square kilometres (32,377 sq mi) and has a temperate and alpine climate. Austria's terrain is highly mountainous due to the presence of the Alps; only 32% of the country is below 500 metres (1,640 ft), and its highest point is 3,798 metres (12,461 ft). The majority of the population speak local Austro-Bavarian dialects of German as their native language, and German in its standard form is the country's official language. Other local official languages are Burgenland Croatian, Hungarian and Slovene.
The origins of modern-day Austria date back to the time of the Habsburg dynasty when the vast majority of the country was a part of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. During the 17th and 18th centuries, Austria became one of the great powers of Europe and, in response to the coronation of Napoleon I as the Emperor of the French, the Austrian Empire was officially proclaimed in 1804. In 1867, the Austrian Empire was reformed into Austria-Hungary.
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Begeč
Begeč (Cyrillic: Бегеч) is a village in Serbian province of Vojvodina. It is located in Novi Sad municipality, in South Bačka District. Begeč is situated on the river Danube, approximately 15 km west from Novi Sad, on Bačka Palanka-Novi Sad road. According to 2002 census, the village has a Serb ethnic majority and its population numbering 3,360 people.
In Serbian Cyrillic, the village is known as Бегеч, in Serbian Latin and Croatian as Begeč, and in Hungarian as Begecs.
In the Roman times (3rd-4th century), the fort named Castellum Onagrinum existed at this location, as well as pontoon bridge that was used by Romans during the war with the Sarmatians.
Begeč was first mentioned in the 16th century and its name derived from the Ottoman ruling title "beg" (or "bey") and word "eč" (meaning "village"), hence the full meaning of the name would be "the village of the beg". There is a Serb Orthodox church from 1838 in the village.
Village is connected to Novi Sad by a public bus line 56, which operates daily and connect Begeč with Futog, Veternik and Novi Sad. Village is also on bus route from Bač and Bačka Palanka to Novi Sad.
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Belgrade
Belgrade ( /ˈbɛlɡreɪd/; Serbian: Београд; [beǒɡrad] ( listen); names in other languages) is the capital and largest city of Serbia. The city is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. Its name in English translates to White city. The city proper has a population of over 1.1 million, while its metropolitan area has over 1.6 million people, making it one of the largest cities in Southeast Europe.
One of the largest prehistoric cultures of Europe, the Vinča culture, evolved around the area Belgrade in the 6th millennium BC. In antiquity, Thraco-Dacians inhabited the region, and after 279 BC Celts conquered the city, naming it Singidūn. It was conquered by the Romans during the reign of Augustus, and awarded city rights in the mid 2nd century. It was settled by the Slavs in the 520s, and changed hands several times before it became the capital of King Stephen Dragutin (1282–1316). In 1521 Belgrade was conquered by the Ottoman Empire and became the seat of a the Sanjak of Smederevo. It frequently passed from Ottoman to Habsburg rule, which saw the destruction of most of the city during the Austro-Ottoman wars. Belgrade was again named the capital of Serbia in 1841. The north of Belgrade remained a Habsburg outpost until 1918, when it was merged into the capital city. As a strategic location, the city was battled over in 115 wars and razed to the ground 44 times. Belgrade was the capital of Yugoslavia (in various forms of governments) from its creation in 1918, to its final dissolution in 2006.
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Berlin
Berlin ( /bɜrˈlɪn/; German pronunciation: [bɛɐ̯ˈliːn] ( listen)) is the capital city of Germany and one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.5 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city and is the second most populous city proper and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union. Located in northeastern Germany, it is the center of the Berlin-Brandenburg Metropolitan Region, which has 5.9 million residents from over 190 nations. Located in the European Plains, Berlin is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. Around one third of the city's area is composed of forests, parks, gardens, rivers and lakes.
First documented in the 13th century, Berlin was the capital of the Kingdom of Prussia (1701–1918), the German Empire (1871–1918), the Weimar Republic (1919–1933) and the Third Reich (1933–1945).Berlin in the 1920s was the third largest municipality in the world. After World War II, the city became divided into East Berlin—the capital of East Germany—and West Berlin, a West German exclave surrounded by the Berlin Wall (1961–1989). Following German reunification in 1990, the city regained its status as the capital of Germany, hosting 147 foreign embassies.
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Budapest
Budapest ( /ˈbuːdəpɛst/, /ˈbuːdəpɛʃt/ or /ˈbʊdəpɛst/; Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈbudɒpɛʃt] ( listen); names in other languages) is the capital and the largest city of Hungary, the largest in East-Central Europe and the seventh largest in the European Union. It is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre, sometimes described as the primate city of Hungary. According to 2011 Census, Budapest had 1.74 million inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2.1 million due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter Area is home to 3.3 million people. The city covers an area of 525 square kilometres (202.7 sq mi) within the city limits. Budapest became a single city occupying both banks of the river Danube with a unification on 17 November 1873 of west-bank Buda and Óbuda with east-bank Pest.
The history of Budapest began with Aquincum, originally a Celtic settlement that became the Roman capital of Lower Pannonia.Hungarians arrived in the territory in the 9th century. Their first settlement was pillaged by the Mongols in 1241-42. The re-established town became one of the centres of Renaissance humanist culture in the 15th century. Following the Battle of Mohács and nearly 150 years of Ottoman rule, development of the region entered a new age of prosperity in the 18th and 19th centuries, and Budapest became a global city after the 1873 unification. It also became the second capital of Austria-Hungary, a great power that dissolved in 1918. After the Treaty of Trianon in 1920, when Hungary lost 72% of its former territory, culturally and economically the country became wholly Budapest-dominated. The capital dominates the country both by the size of its population—which dwarfs those of Hungary's other cities Budapest was the focal point of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, the Hungarian Soviet Republic of 1919, Operation Panzerfaust in 1944, the Battle of Budapest of 1945, and the Revolution of 1956.
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Bulgaria
Coordinates: 42°45′N 25°30′E / 42.75°N 25.5°E / 42.75; 25.5
Bulgariai/bʌlˈɡɛəriə/ (Bulgarian: България, IPA: [bɤ̞ɫˈɡarijɐ]), is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and the Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south and the Black Sea to the east. With a territory of 110,994 square kilometres (42,855 sq mi), Bulgaria is Europe's 14th-largest country. Its location has made it a historical crossroad for various civilisations and as such it is the home of some of the earliest metalworking, religious and other cultural artifacts in the world.
Prehistoric cultures began developing on Bulgarian lands during the Neolithic period. Its ancient history was marked by the presence of the Thracians, and later by the Greeks and Romans. The emergence of a unified Bulgarian ethnicity and state dates back to the First Bulgarian Empire, which dominated most of the Balkans and functioned as a cultural hub for Slavic peoples during the Middle Ages. With the downfall of the Second Bulgarian Empire in 1396, its territories came under Ottoman rule for nearly five hundred years. The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 resulted in the Third Bulgarian State, recognised in 1908. The following years saw several conflicts with its neighbours, which prompted Bulgaria to align with Germany in both World Wars. In 1946 it became a Communist republic with a single-party system until 1989, when the Communist Party allowed multi-party elections. After 1990 Bulgaria transitioned to democracy and a market-based economy.
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Carnuntum
Carnuntum (Καρνους in Ptolemy) was a Roman army camp on the Danube in the Noricum province and after the 1st century the capital of the Upper Pannonia province. Its remains are situated in Lower Austria halfway between Vienna and Bratislava on the "Archaeological Park Carnuntum", extending over the area of 10 km2 near today's villages Petronell-Carnuntum and Bad Deutsch-Altenburg.
Carnuntum originated as a Roman army camp. Its name is nearly always found with "K" on monuments, and is derived from Celtic karn- ("cairn"). Its name first occurs in history during the reign of Augustus (6 AD), when Tiberius made it his base of operations in the campaigns against Maroboduus (Marbod). Significant Romanization occurred when the town was selected as the garrison of the Legio XV Apollinaris. A few years later it became the centre of the Roman fortifications along the Danube from Vindobona (now Vienna) to Brigetio (Ó-Szőny). Under Trajan or Hadrian, Carnuntum became the permanent quarters of Legio XIV Gemina and the capital of Upper Pannonia.
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Caucasian Iberia
Iberia (Georgian — იბერია, Latin: Iberia and Greek: Ἰβηρία), also known as Iveria (Georgian: ივერია), was a name given by the ancient Greeks and Romans to the ancient Georgian kingdom of Kartli (4th century BC – 5th century AD), corresponding roughly to the eastern and southern parts of the present day Georgia. The term Caucasian Iberia (or Eastern Iberia) is used to distinguish it from the Iberian Peninsula, where the present day countries of Spain, Portugal and Andorra are located.
The Caucasian Iberians provided a basis for later Georgian statehood and along with Colchis (early western Georgian state) formed a core of the present day Georgian people (or Kartvelians).
One theory on the etymology of the name Iberia, proposed by Giorgi Melikishvili, was that it was derived from the contemporary Armenian designation for Georgia, Virkʿ (Armenian: Վիրք, and Ivirkʿ [Իվիրք] and Iverkʿ [Իվերք]), which itself was connected to the word Sver (or Svir), the Kartvelian designation for Georgians. The letter "s" in this instance served as a prefix for the root word "Ver" (or "Vir"). Accordingly, in following Ivane Javakhishvili's theory, the ethnic designation of "Sber", a variant of Sver, was derived the word "Hber" ("Hver") (and thus Iberia) and the Armenian variants, Ver and Vir.
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Circesium
Coordinates: 35°09′24″N 40°25′33″E / 35.156758°N 40.425739°E / 35.156758; 40.425739 Circesium (Classical Syriac: ܩܪܩܣܝܢ qerqesīn) was an ancient city in Osrhoene, corresponding to the modern city of Buseira, in the region of Deir ez-Zor in Syria, at the confluence of the Khabur River with the Euphrates.
Circesium was founded under the Roman Emperor Diocletian at the confluence of the Khabur River with the Euphrates, where the river was commonly crossed. Circesium replaced a still older city, called Sirhi in Assyrian texts.
Circesium passed temporarily into the hands of the Persians by the treaty made by the Emperor Jovian (363).
According to the Notitia Dignitatum, at the beginning of the 5th century it was the see of the Praefect of the Legio IIII Parthica.
The city was restored by Justinian I.
Benjamin of Tudela and many after him identified it wrongly with Kharkamis (Carchamish) (known to the Greeks as Europos or Oropos), one of the capitals of the Hittites, located at Jirbas or Jerablus.
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Croatia
Croatia (i/kroʊˈeɪʃə/ kroh-AY-shə; Croatian: Hrvatska pronounced [xř̩ʋaːtskaː]), officially the Republic of Croatia (Croatian: Republika Hrvatska listen (help·info)), is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of Central Europe, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers 56,594 square kilometres (21,851 square miles) and has diverse, mostly continental and Mediterranean climates. Croatia's Adriatic Sea coast contains more than a thousand islands. The country's population is 4.29 million, most of whom are Croats, with the most common religious denomination being Roman Catholicism.
In the early 7th century the Croats arrived in area of present-day Croatia. They organised the state into two dukedoms by the 9th century. Tomislav became the first king by 925 AD, elevating Croatia to the status of a kingdom. The Kingdom of Croatia retained its sovereignty for nearly two centuries, reaching its peak during the rule of Kings Peter Krešimir IV and Dmitar Zvonimir. Croatia entered a personal union with Hungary in 1102. In 1527, faced with Ottoman conquest the Croatian Parliament elected Ferdinand I of the House of Habsburg to the Croatian throne. In 1918, after World War I, Croatia was included in the short-lived State of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs that declared independence from Austria–Hungary and co-founded the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. A Croatian state briefly existed during World War II as a fascist puppet state. After the war, Croatia became a founding member and a federal constituent of the Second Yugoslavia, a socialist state. In June 1991, Croatia declared independence, which came into effect on 8 October of the same year. The Croatian War of Independence was fought successfully during the four years following the declaration.
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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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Cyzicus
Cyzicus (Greek: Κύζικος, Kyzikos; Ottoman Turkish: آیدینجق, Aydıncıḳ) was an ancient town of Mysia in Anatolia in the current Balıkesir Province of Turkey. It was located on the shoreward side of the present Kapıdağ Peninsula (the classical Arctonnesus), a tombolo which is said to have originally been an island in the Sea of Marmara only to be connected to the mainland in historic times either by artificial means or an earthquake.
The site of Cyzicus, located on the Erdek and Bandırma roads, is protected by Turkey's Ministry of Culture.
The city was said to have been founded by Pelasgians from Thessaly, according to tradition at the coming of the Argonauts; later it received many colonies from Miletus, allegedly in 756 BC, but its importance began only after the Peloponnesian War, when the decay of Athens and Miletus set in. Alcibiades defeated the Lacedaemonians there (410 BC). The era of its Olympiads was reckoned from 135 or 139.
Owing to its advantageous position it speedily acquired commercial importance, and the gold staters of Cyzicus were a staple currency in the ancient world till they were superseded by those of Philip of Macedon. Its unique and characteristic coin, the cyzicenus, was worth 28 drachmae.
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Dalmatia
Dalmatia (Croatian: Dalmacija, Croatian pronunciation: [dǎlmaːt͡sija]; see names in other languages) is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea, in Croatia. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south. The Dalmatian dog received its name from Dalmatia, as does the dalmatic, a Roman Catholic liturgical vestment worn by deacons and bishops.
The name Dalmatia derives from the name of the tribe of the Dalmatae, which is connected with the Illyrian word delme, dele in modern Albanian, meaning "sheep" in English.
In antiquity the Roman province of Dalmatia was much larger than the present-day Dalmatia County of Croatia, stretching from Istria in the north to historical Albania in the south. Dalmatia signified not only a geographical unit, but was an entity based on common culture and settlement types, a common narrow eastern Adriatic coastal belt, Mediterranean climate, sclerophyllous vegetation of the Illyrian province, Adriatic carbonate platform, and karst geomorphology.
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Didyma
Didyma (Greek: Δίδυμα) was an ancient Ionian sanctuary, the modern Didim, Turkey, containing a temple and oracle of Apollo, the Didymaion. In Greek didyma means "twin", but the Greeks who sought a "twin" at Didyma ignored the Carian origin of the name. Next to Delphi, Didyma was the most renowned oracle of the Hellenic world, first mentioned among the Greeks in the Homeric Hymn to Apollo, but an establishment preceding literacy and even the Hellenic colonization of Ionia. Mythic genealogies of the origins of the Branchidae line of priests, designed to capture the origins of Didyma as a Hellenic tradition, date to the Hellenistic period.
Didyma was the largest and most significant sanctuary on the territory of the great classical city Miletus. To approach it, visitors would follow the Sacred Way to Didyma, about 17 km long. Along the way, were ritual waystations, and statues of members of the Branchidae family, male and female, as well as animal figures. Some of these statues, dating to the 6th century BC are now in the British Museum, taken by Charles Newton in the 19th century.
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Diyarbakır
Diyarbakır (Ottoman Turkish دیاربکر, Diyâr-ı Bekr; Armenian: Դիարբեքիր, Diarbeqir; Kurdish ئامهد, Amed; anc. Amida; Syriac: ܐܡܝܕ, Amid ) is one of the largest cities in southeastern Turkey. Situated on the banks of the River Tigris, it is the administrative capital of the Diyarbakır Province and with a population of about 843,460 it is the second largest city in Turkey's South-eastern Anatolia region, after Gaziantep. Within Turkey.
The name of the city is inscribed as Amid on the sheath of a sword from the Assyrian period, and the same name was used in other contemporary Syriac and Arabic works. The Romans and Byzantines called the city Amida. Among the Artukid and Akkoyunlu it was known as "Black Amid" (Kara Amid) for the dark color of its walls, while in the Zafername, or eulogies in praise of military victories, it is called "Black Fortress" (Kara Kale). In the Book of Dede Korkut and some other Turkish works it appears as Kara Hamid.
Following the Arab conquests in the 7th century, the Arab Bekr tribe occupied this region, which became known as became known as the Diyar-ı Bekir (landholdings of the Bekr tribe). In 1937, Atatürk had the city renamed Diyarbakır, which remains its current name.
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Dunaújváros
Dunaújváros, known as Sztálinváros from its construction in 1951 to 1961, is an industrial city in Hungary's Central Transdanubia region lying along the Danube river. It is in Fejér county. The city was built around the village of Dunapentele.
Dunaújváros is one of the newest cities of the country. It was built in the 1950s during the industrialization of the country under Socialist rule, as a new city next to an already existing village, Dunapentele.
Dunapentele was not built on until the 1950s. The construction started on the Danube's right side. The area has been inhabited since ancient times. When Western Hungary was a Roman province under the name Pannonia, a military camp and a town called Intercisa stood in this place, at the border of the province. The Hungarians conquered the area in the early 10th century. The village Pentele, named after the medieval Greek saint, Pantaleon, was founded shortly after.
Between 1541 and 1688 the village was under Ottoman rule, and during the 15-year war it was completely destroyed. During the freedom fight led by Prince Francis II Rákóczi the place was deserted again. In the 18th century the village began to prosper. In 1830 the village got the right to hold two market days every week. In 1831 there was a cholera epidemic and the peasants revolted. In 1833 Pentele was granted town status (oppidum) by Ferdinand V. The citizens took part in the freedom fight in 1848-49.
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Elephantine
Elephantine (Arabic: جزيرة الفنتين) is an island in the Nile River in northern Nubia. It is a part of the modern city of Aswan, in southern Egypt. There are archaeological sites on the island.
Elephantine Island is 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) from north to south, and is 400 metres (1,300 ft) across at its widest point. The layout of this and other nearby islands in Aswan can be seen from west bank hillsides along the Nile. The island is located just downstream of the First Cataract at the southern border of Lower Egypt with Upper Egypt and Lower Nubia. This region above is referred to as Upper Egypt due land and river elevations being higher than downstream, and than the Nile Delta region to the Mediterranean Sea.
The island may have received its name after its shape, which in aerial views is similar to that of an elephant tusk. This is the meaning of the Greek word elephas (ελέφας). Other theories consider that the island is named because it was a trading center in the ivory trade.[citation needed]
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Geyre
Geyre is the village in the province of Aydın, Turkey. It is a settlement which was developed among the ruins of the ancient city Aphrodisias.
Previously called Caria (before it changed to Geyre) the village emerged around the 17th century when settlers were attracted to the area due to fertile soil and plentiful water. The village was relocated when excavations began on the ruins.
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Great Morava
The Great Morava (Serbian: Велика Морава, pronounced [v̞ê̞likaː mɔ̌rav̞a]) is the final section of the Morava (Cyrillic: Морава), a major river system in Serbia.
The Velika (Great) Morava is created by the confluence of the South Morava and the West Morava, located near the small town of Stalać, a major railway junction in central Serbia. From there to its confluence with the Danube northeast of the city of Smederevo, the Velika Morava is 185 km long. With its longer branch, the West Morava, it is 493 km long. The South Morava, which represent the natural headwaters of the Morava, used to be longer than the West Morava, but due to the regulations of river bed and melioration, today it is shorter. Regulations were made on all three branches, and they all used to be much longer, so the Morava was over 600 km long. Today, the most distant water source in the Morava watershed is the source of the river Ibar, right and longest tributary of the Zapadna Morava, originating in Montenegro, which gives the Ibar-West Morava-Great Morava river system a length of 550 km, which still makes it the longest waterway in the Balkan Peninsula.
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Greece
Greecei/ˈɡriːs/ (Greek: Ελλάδα, Ellada, IPA: [eˈlaða] ( listen) historically in Katharevousa and Ancient Greek: Ἑλλάς, Hellas, IPA: [eˈlas] and [helːás] respectively), officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία, Elliniki Dimokratia, IPA: [eliniˈci ðimokraˈtia]), is a country in Southern Europe, politically considered part of Western Europe.Athens is the capital and the largest city in the country (its urban area also including Piraeus). The population of the country is around 11 million.
Greece has land borders with Albania, the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the east. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of mainland Greece, the Ionian Sea to the west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Greece has the 11th longest coastline in the world at 13,676 km (8,498 mi) in length, featuring a vast number of islands (approximately 1,400, of which 227 are inhabited), including Crete, the Dodecanese, the Cyclades, and the Ionian Islands among others. Eighty percent of Greece consists of mountains, of which Mount Olympus is the highest at 2,917 m (9,570 ft).
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Hakkâri
Hakkâri (Kurdish: Colemêrg, Syriac: ܗܟܐܪܝ), is a city and the capital of the Hakkâri Province of Turkey. The name Hakkâri is derived from the Syriac word, Akkare, meaning farmers. The population of the city at the 2010 census was 57,844.
Thirteen stelae, never before seen in Anatolia or the Near East, were found in 1998 in their original location at the centre of Hakkari, a city in the southeastern corner of Turkey. The stelae were carved on upright flagstone-like slabs measuring between 0.7 m to 3.10 m in height. The stones contain only one cut surface, upon which human figures are chiseled. The theme of each stele reveals the foreview of an upper human body. The legs are not represented. Eleven of the stelae depict naked warriors with daggers, spears, and axes—masculine symbols of war. They always hold a drinking vessel made of skin in both hands. Two stelae contain female figures without arms. The stelae may have been carved by different craftsmen using different techniques. Stylistic differences shift from bas relief to a more systematic linearity. The earliest stelae are in the style of bas relief while the latest ones are in a linear style. They were made during a period from the fifteenth century BC to the eleventh century BC in Hakkari. Stelae with this type of relief are not common in the ancient Near East however there are many close parallels between these and those produced by a variety of peoples from the Eurasian steppes between the third millennium BC and the eleventh century AD.
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Harran
Harran was a major ancient city in Upper Mesopotamia whose site is near the modern village of Altınbaşak, Turkey, 24 miles (44 kilometers) southeast of Şanlıurfa. The location is in a district of Şanlıurfa Province that is also named "Harran".
A few kilometers from the village of Altınbaşak are the archaeological remains of ancient Harran, a major commercial, cultural, and religious center first inhabited in the Early Bronze Age III (3rd millennium BCE) period. It was known as Ḫarrānu in the Assyrian period; possibly Ḫaran (חָרָן) in the Hebrew Bible; Κάῤῥαι or Carrhae under the Roman Empire; Hellenopolis (῾Ελληνὀπολις 'Greek city') in the Early Christian period; and Ḥarrān (حرّان) in the Islamic period.
The earliest records of Harran come from the Ebla tablets (c. 2300 BCE). From these, it is known that an early king or mayor of Harran had married an Eblaite princess, Zugalum, who then became "queen of Harran", and whose name appears in a number of documents. It appears that Harran remained a part of the regional Eblaite kingdom for some time thereafter.
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Homs
Homs (Arabic: حمص Ḥimṣ), previously known as Emesa (Greek: Ἔμεσα, Emesa), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is 501 metres (1,644 ft) above sea level and is located 162 kilometres (101 mi) north of Damascus. Located on the Orontes River, Homs is also the central link between the interior cities and the Mediterranean coast.
Homs is a major industrial center, and with a population of at least 652,609 people (2004 census), it is the third largest city in Syria after Aleppo to the north and the capital Damascus to the south. Its population reflects Syria's general religious diversity, composed mostly of Arabic-speaking Sunni Muslims and Alawite and Christian minorities. The city boasts a number of historic mosques and churches and is close to the Krak des Chevaliers, a world heritage site.
Homs did not emerge into the historical record until the 1st-century BCE at the time of the Seleucids. It later became the capital of a kingdom ruled by the Emesani dynasty who gave the city its name. Originally a center of worship for the sun god El-Gabal, it later gained importance in Christianity under the Byzantines. Homs was conquered by the Muslims in the 7th-century and made capital of a district that bore its current name. Throughout the Islamic era, Muslim dynasties contending for control of Syria sought after Homs due to the city's strategic position in the area. Homs began to decline under the Ottomans and only in the 19th century did the city regain its economic importance when its cotton industry boomed. During French Mandate rule, the city became a center of insurrection and, after independence in 1946, a center of Baathist resistance to the first Syrian governments. Homs has played a central role in the ongoing Syrian uprising against the Baathist government and since May 2011 has been under siege by the Syrian Army.
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Hungary
Hungaryi/ˈhʌŋɡəri/ (Hungarian: Magyarország [ˈmɒɟɒrorsaːɡ] ( listen)) is a country, which is located in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The country's capital, and largest city, is Budapest. Hungary is a member of the European Union, NATO, the OECD, the Visegrád Group, and is a Schengen state. The official language is Hungarian, also known as Magyar, which is part of the Finno-Ugric group and is the most widely spoken non-Indo-European language in Europe.
Following a Celt (after c. 450 BC) and a Roman (AD 9 - c. 430) period, the foundation of Hungary was laid in the late 9th century by the Hungarian prince Árpád, whose great-grandson Saint Stephen I was crowned with a crown sent by the pope from Rome in 1000 AD. The Kingdom of Hungary lasted for 946 years, and at various points was regarded as one of the cultural centres of the Western world. After about 150 years of partial Ottoman occupation (1541–1699), Hungary was integrated into the Habsburg Monarchy, and later constituted half of the Austro-Hungarian dual monarchy (1867–1918).
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Istanbul
Istanbul (Turkish: İstanbul) is the largest city in Turkey, forming the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With a population of 13.4 million, the city is at the center of the second-largest urban area in Europe after Moscow, and among the world's largest cities by population within city limits. Istanbul's vast area of 5,343 square kilometers (2,063 sq mi) is coterminous with Istanbul Province, of which the city is considered capital. Straddling the Bosphorus—one of the world's busiest waterways—in northwestern Turkey, between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea, Istanbul is a transcontinental city, with one third of its population living in Asia but its commercial and historical center in Europe.
Founded around 660 BC as Byzantium on the Seraglio Point, the city now known as Istanbul developed to become one of the most significant cities in history. For nearly sixteen centuries following its reestablishment as Constantinople in 330 AD, it served as the capital of four empires — the late classical Roman Empire (330–395), the Eastern Roman ("Byzantine") Empire (395–1204 and 1261–1453), the Latin Empire (1204–1261), and the Ottoman Empire (1453–1922). It was instrumental in the advancement of Christianity during Roman and Byzantine times, before the Ottomans conquered the city in 1453 and transformed it into an Islamic stronghold from which the last caliphate ruled. Although the Republic of Turkey established its capital elsewhere, in Ankara, remnants of Istanbul's previous central role still remain highly visible across the city, with palaces and imperial mosques lining its hills.
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Italy
Italyi/ˈɪtəli/ (Italian: Italia [iˈtaːlja]), officially the Italian Republic or the Republic of Italy (Italian: Repubblica italiana), is a unitary parliamentary republic in south-central Europe. To the north, it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia along the Alps. To the south, it consists of the entirety of the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Sardinia–the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea–and many other smaller islands. The independent states of San Marino and the Vatican City are enclaves within Italy, while Campione d'Italia is an Italian exclave in Switzerland. The territory of Italy covers some 301,338 km2 (116,347 sq mi) and is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. With 60.6 million inhabitants, it is the fifth most populous country in Europe, and the 23rd most populous in the world.
Rome, the capital of Italy, was for centuries a political and religious centre of Western civilisation as the capital of the Roman Empire and site of the Holy See. After the decline of the Roman Empire, Italy endured numerous invasions by foreign peoples, from Germanic tribes such as the Lombards and Ostrogoths, to the Byzantines and later, the Normans, among others. Centuries later, Italy became the birthplace of Maritime republics and the Renaissance, an immensely fruitful intellectual movement that would prove to be integral in shaping the subsequent course of European thought.
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İzmit
İzmit (Greek: Νικομήδεια, Nicomedia) is a city in Turkey, administrative center of Kocaeli Province as well as the Kocaeli Metropolitan Municipality. It is located at the Gulf of İzmit (the ancient Gulf of Astacus) in the Sea of Marmara, about 100 km (62 mi) east of Istanbul, on the northwestern part of Anatolia. The city center has a population of 293,339 (2010 census). The population of the province (including rural areas) is 1,459,772 (Unlike other provinces in Turkey apart from Istanbul, the whole province is now included within the municipality of the metropolitan center.)
Nicomedia was the eastern and most senior capital city of the Roman Empire between 286 and 324, during the Tetrarchy introduced by Diocletian. Following Constantine's victory over co-emperor Licinius at the Battle of Chrysopolis (Üsküdar) in 324, Nicomedia served as an interim capital city for Constantine the Great between 324 and 330, until the nearby Byzantium was officially declared Nova Roma (later known as Constantinople, present-day Istanbul).
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Lake Constance
Lake Constance (German: Bodensee) is a lake on the Rhine at the northern foot of the Alps, and consists of three bodies of water: the Obersee ("upper lake"), the Untersee ("lower lake"), and a connecting stretch of the Rhine, called the Seerhein.
The lake is situated in Germany, Switzerland and Austria near the Alps. Specifically, its shorelines lie in the German federal-states of Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, the Austrian federal-state of Vorarlberg, and the Swiss cantons of Thurgau and St. Gallen. The Rhine flows into it from the south following the Austro-Swiss frontier.
Lake Constance was first mentioned by the Roman geographer Pomponius Mela about 43AD. He noted that the Rhine flows through two lakes, and gave them the Latin names Lacus Venetus (Obersee) and Lacus Acronius (Untersee). Pliny the Elder used the name Lacus Brigantinus, after the Roman city of Brigantium (today Bregenz). The lake is also colloquially known as the Swabian Sea (das schwäbische Meer).
The freshwater lake sits at 395 m (1,296 ft) above sea level and is Central Europe's third largest, after Lake Balaton and Lake Geneva. It is 63 km (39 mi) long, and at its widest point, nearly 14 km (8.7 mi). It covers approximately 571 km2 (220 sq mi) of total area. The greatest depth is 252 metres (827 ft) in the middle of the eastern part (Obersee). Its volume is approximately 1e10 m3 (1.3×1010 cu yd). The lake has four parts: the main section, called Obersee, 476 km (0.184 sq mi); the north section, Überlinger See, 61 km2 (24 sq mi); the west section, Untersee, 63 km2 (24 sq mi); and the northwest section, the Zeller See and Gnadensee. The regulated Rhine flows into the lake in the southeast, through the Obersee, the city of Konstanz and the Untersee and flows out near Stein am Rhein. Lake Constance provides fresh water to many cities in south Germany.
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Marmara Island
Marmara is a Turkish island in the Sea of Marmara. It is the largest island in the Sea of Marmara that is the center of Marmara district in Balıkesir Province. Transportation is possible from Istanbul by ship and ferry, and by motorboat from Tekirdağ and Erdek.
Historical evidence of the first Hellenic presence on the island of Marmara (ancient Prokonnessos) came with the early colonization of Ionian Greeks in the 3rd Millennium B.C. Stories and legends identify the island as a visiting place of Jason and The Argonauts and with the Hellenic expedition against Troy. In ancient times, the island was called Proconnesus or Prokonnesos (Προκόννησος). In 493 BC it was burned by a Phœnician fleet fighting for Darius. In 410 Alcibiades conquered it for Athens.
During the reign of Constantine the Great in the 4th century notable aristocracy from Constantinople first settled on the island. By 569, many Byzantine aristocrats had built palaces on the island that they had accepted as their home. The greatest palace of this period was built by the Emperor Justinian I. With the Emperor came a large entourage of nobility, palace guards, tradesmen, and servants. Justinian also built a large convent on Marmara that is one of the earliest in recorded history. The Byzantine royal presence on the island was strongly felt through strong ties to the Patriarchate of Constantinople. During most of its history, the island was called "Proikonnesos" (island of the royal dowry), and "Prinkipo", (island of the aristocracy).
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Milan
Milan (Italian: Milano [miˈlaːno] ( listen); Lombard: [miˈlan]; Latin: Mediolanum) is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital of Lombardy as well as of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area is the 5th largest in EU and the largest in Italy with an estimated population of approximately 5 million. The growth of many suburbs and satellite settlements around the city proper, following the Italian economic miracle of 1950s–60s and massive commuting flows, suggest that socioeconomic linkages have expanded well beyond the boundaries of its administrative limits and its agglomeration, creating a region of approximately 9,3 million people. It has been suggested that the Milan metropolitan area is part of the so-called Blue Banana, the area of Europe with the highest population and industrial density. Its health care and education system is considered one of the best of Europe.
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Nicomedia
Nicomedia ([pronunciation?]; Greek: Νικομήδεια, Nikomedeia; modern İzmit) was an ancient city in what is now Turkey, founded in 712/11 BC as a Megarian colony and was originally known as Astacus (Ancient Greek: Αστακός, "lobster"). After being destroyed by Lysimachus, it was rebuilt by Nicomedes I of Bithynia in 264 BC under the name of Nicomedia, and has ever since been one of the most important cities in northwestern Asia Minor. Hannibal came to Nicomedia in his final years and committed suicide in nearby Libyssa (Diliskelesi, Gebze). The historian Arrian was born there.
Nicomedia was the metropolis of Bithynia under the Roman Empire, and Diocletian made it the eastern capital city of the Roman Empire in 286 when he introduced the Tetrarchy system. Nicomedia remained as the eastern (and most senior) capital of the Roman Empire until co-emperor Licinius was defeated by Constantine the Great at the Battle of Chrysopolis (Üsküdar) in 324. Constantine mainly resided in Nicomedia as his interim capital city for the next six years, until in 330 he declared the nearby Byzantium (which was renamed Constantinople) the new capital. Constantine died in a royal villa in the vicinity of Nicomedia in 337. Owing to its position at the convergence of the Asiatic roads leading to the new capital, Nicomedia retained its importance even after the foundation of Constantinople.
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Oxyrhynchus
Oxyrhynchus (Greek: Ὀξύρρυγχος; "sharp-nosed"; ancient Egyptian Pr-Medjed; Coptic Pemdje; modern Egyptian Arabic el-Bahnasa) is a city in Upper Egypt, located about 160 km south-southwest of Cairo, in the governorate of Al Minya. It is also an archaeological site, considered one of the most important ever discovered. For the past century, the area around Oxyrhynchus has been continually excavated, yielding an enormous collection of papyrus texts dating from the time of the Ptolemaic and Roman periods of Egyptian history. Among the texts discovered at Oxyrhynchus are plays of Menander and fragments of the Gospel of Thomas.
The town was named after a species of fish of the Nile River which was important in Egyptian mythology as the fish that ate the penis of Osiris, though it is not known exactly which species of fish this is. One possibility is a species of mormyrid, medium-sized freshwater fish that figure in various Egyptian and other artworks. Some species of mormyrid have distinctive downturned snouts or barbels, lending them the common name of elephantnoses among aquarists and ichthyologists. A figurine from Oxyrhynchus of one of these sacred fish has many attributes typical of mormyrids: a long anal fin, a small caudal fin, widely spaced pelvic and pectoral fins, and of course the downturned snout.
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Palmyra
Palmyra (Aramaic: ܬܕܡܘܪܬܐ;Hebrew: תדמור; tiḏmor, Greek: Παλμύρα, Arabic: تدمر; Tadmur, English pronunciation: /ˌpælˈmaɪrə/) was an ancient city in central Syria. In antiquity, it was an important city located in an oasis 215 km northeast of Damascus and 180 km southwest of the Euphrates at Deir ez-Zor. It had long been a vital caravan stop for travellers crossing the Syrian desert and was known as the Bride of the Desert. The earliest documented reference to the city by its Semitic name Tadmor, Tadmur or Tudmur (which means "the town that repels" in Amorite and "the indomitable town" in Aramaic) is recorded in Babylonian tablets found in Mari.
Though the ancient site fell into disuse after the 16th century, it is still known as Tadmor in Arabic (aka Tedmor), and there is a newer town of the same name next to the ruins. The Palmyrenes constructed a series of large-scale monuments containing funerary art such as limestone slabs with human busts representing the deceased.
Palmyrans bore Aramaic names, and worshipped a variety of deities from Mesopotamia (Marduk and Ruda), Syria (Hadad, Baʿal, Astarte), Arabia (Allāt) and Greece (Athena). Palmyrans were originally speakers of Aramaic but later shifted to the Greek language. At the time of the Islamic conquests Palmyra was inhabited by several Arab tribes, primarily the Qada'ah and Kalb.
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Palmyrene Empire
The Palmyrene Empire (260–273) was a splinter empire, that broke away from the Roman Empire during the Crisis of the Third Century. It encompassed the Roman provinces of Syria Palaestina, Egypt and large parts of Asia Minor.
The Palmyrene Empire was ruled by Queen Zenobia for her infant son Vaballathus. The capital of the short-lived empire was the city of Palmyra.
Despite a number of crises, the Roman Empire had stood firm since its inception under Augustus. But after Emperor Alexander Severus was murdered by soldiers in 235, Roman legions were defeated in a campaign against Sassanid Persia, and the Empire fell apart. General after general squabbled over control of the Empire, the frontiers were neglected and subjected to frequent raids by Carpians, Goths, Vandals and Alamanni, and outright attacks from aggressive Sassanids in the east.
Finally, by 258, the attacks were coming from within, when the Empire broke up in to three separate competing states. The Roman provinces of Gaul, Britain and Hispania broke off to form the Gallic Empire.
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Philae
Philae (Greek: Φιλαί, Philai; Ancient Egyptian: Pilak, P'aaleq; Arabic: فيله, [fiːlɐ]) is an island in Lake Nasser, Nubia. It was formerly an island in the First Cataract of the Nile River and the previous site of an Ancient Egyptian temple complex in southern Egypt. The complex was dismantled and relocated to nearby Agilkia Island during a UNESCO project started because of the construction of the Aswan Dam, after the site was partly flooded by the earlier Aswan Low Dam for half a century.
Philae is mentioned by numerous ancient writers, including Strabo,Diodorus,Ptolemy,Seneca,Pliny the Elder. It was, as the plural name indicates, the appellation of two small islands situated in latitude 24° north, just above the First Cataract near Aswan (Ancient Egyptian: Swenet, "Trade;" Ancient Greek: Syene). Groskurd computes the distance between these islands and Aswan at about 61.5 miles (99 km).
Philae proper, although the smaller island, is, from the numerous and picturesque ruins formerly there, the more interesting of the two. Prior to the inundation, it was not more than 1,250 feet (380 m) long and about 400 feet (120 m) broad. It is composed of Syenite stone: its sides are steep and on their summits a lofty wall was built encompassing the island.
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Plovdiv
Plovdiv (Bulgarian: Пловдив) is the second-largest city in Bulgaria after the capital Sofia with a population of 338,153 inhabitants as of February, 2011. It is administrative center of Plovdiv Province and the municipalities of City of Plovdiv, Maritsa municipality and Rodopi municipality, which municipal body has a population of 403,153 inhabitants as of February, 2011. It is an important economic, transport, cultural and educational center, as well as the second-largest city in the historical international region of Thrace after Istanbul. It is the tenth-largest city in the Balkans after Istanbul, Athens, Bucharest, Sofia, Thessaloniki, Zagreb, Skopje and Tirana.
Plovdiv's history spans 6,000 years, with traces of a Neolithic settlement dating to roughly 4000 BC and some rank it as Europe's oldest city. Plovdiv is known in the West for most of its history by the Greek name Philippopolis, which was created in 340 BC. Plovdiv was originally a Thracian city before later becoming a Greek and a major Roman one. In the Middle Ages, it retained its strategic regional importance, changing hands between the Byzantine and Bulgarian Empires. It came under Ottoman rule in the 14th century. In 4 January, 1878, Plovdiv was liberated from Ottoman rule by the Russian army and was within the borders of Bulgaria until July, the same year, when it became the capital of an autonomous Ottoman region of Eastern Rumelia. In 1885, it and Eastern Rumelia itself became part of Bulgaria.
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Ptuj
Ptuj ( pronunciation (help·info)) (German: Pettau; Latin: Poetovio) is a city and one of 11 urban municipalities in Slovenia. Traditionally the area was part of the Lower Styria region. The municipality is now included in the Podravje statistical region. It has about 23,000 inhabitants.
The nearest airports are Ptuj Sport Airfield (Moškanjci), which is seven kilometers away, and Maribor Edvard Rusjan Airport, which is eighteen kilometers away.
Ptuj is the oldest city in Slovenia. There is evidence that the area was settled in the Stone Age. In the Late Iron Age it was settled by Celts. By the 1st century BC, the settlement was controlled by Ancient Rome. In 69 AD, Vespasian was elected Roman Emperor by the Danubian legions in Ptuj, and the first written mention of the city of Ptuj is from the same year. The city of Poetovio was the base-camp of Legio XIII Gemina in Pannonia. The name originated in the times of Emperor Trajan, who granted the settlement city status and named it Colonia Ulpia Traiana Poetovio in 103. The city had 40,000 inhabitants until it was plundered by the Huns in 450.
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Ravenna
Ravenna [raˈvenna] ( listen) (Romagnol: Ravêna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 402 until that empire collapsed in 476. Afterwards, it served as the capital of the Kingdom of the Ostrogoths. The city formed the centre of the Byzantine Exarchate of Ravenna until the invasion of the Franks in 751, after which it became the seat of the Kingdom of the Lombards.
Although an inland city, Ravenna is connected to the Adriatic Sea by the Candiano Canal. It is the location of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The origin of the name Ravenna is unclear, although it is believed the name is Etruscan. Some have speculated that "ravenna" is related to "Rasenna" (later "Rasna"), the term that the Etruscans used for themselves, but there is no agreement on this point.[citation needed]
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Salona
Coordinates: 43°32′18″N 16°28′28″E / 43.538438°N 16.474342°E / 43.538438; 16.474342
Salona was an ancient Illyrian Delmati city in the first millennium BC. The Greeks had set up an emporion (marketplace) there. After the conquest by the Romans, Salona became the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia. When the Roman Emperor Diocletian retired, he erected a monumental palace nearby; this massive structure, known as Diocletian's Palace, became the core of the modern city of Split. In present times Salona (or Salon) is situated near today's town of Solin (near Split).
Salona was largely destroyed in the invasions of the Avars and Slavs first in 614. The Romans re-occupied Diocletian's Palace in the year 639 AD.
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Satala
Located in Turkey, the city of Satala (Old Armenian: Սատաղ Satał), according to the ancient geographers, was situated in a valley surrounded by mountains, a little north of the Euphrates, where the road from Trapezus to Samosata crossed the boundary of the Roman Empire. Later it was connected with Nicopolis by two highways.
This site must have been occupied as early as the annexation of Lesser Armenia under Vespasian. Trajan visited it in 115 and received the homage of the princes of the Caucasus and the Euxine. It was he doubtless who established there the Legio XV Apollinaris and began the construction of the great castra stativa (permanent camp) which it was to occupy till the 5th century. The town must have sprung up around this camp; in the time of Ptolemy it was already important. In 530 the Persians were defeated under its walls. Justinian I constructed more powerful fortifications there, but these did not prevent Satala from being captured in 607-8 by the Persians.
Satala is now Sadak, a village of 500 inhabitants, in the vilayet of Gümüşhane (see Gümüşhane Province) as part of Kelkit district. The remains of the camp still exist strewn with fragments of brick bearing the stamp of the legion; there are also the ruins of an aqueduct, of an amphitheatre and of Justinian's citadel; some Latin and Greek inscriptions, the latter Christian, have been discovered.
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Sbeitla
Sbeitla (Arabic: سبيطلة) is a small town in north-central Tunisia. Nearby are the Roman ruins of Sufetula, containing the best preserved Forum temples in Tunisia. The ancient town, then held by the Byzantine Prefect Gregory was captured by Rashidun Caliphate's Governor of Egypt, Abdullah ibn Saad and his General Abd-Allah ibn al-Zubayr in 647AD and briefly served as capital of Ifriqiya.
The oldest traces of civilization in the zone are Punic megaliths and funereal stela.
The region was inhabited by nomadic tribes until the Legio III Augusta established a camp at Ammaedara. Through the surrender of the Berber leader Tacfarinas the region was pacified and populated under the Emperor Vespasian and his sons between 67 and 69.
Some inscriptions found in the city suggest that the settlement had success along the lines of others in North Africa during the 2nd century, reaching great prosperity through the olive industry, whose cultivation benefited from excellent climatic conditions in the region. The olive presses found in the ruins of the city further bolster this conclusion. The resulting prosperity made possible the construction of a splendid forum and other important buildings.
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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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Sisak
Sisak (pronounced [sǐːsak]) is a city in central Croatia. The city's population in 2011 was 33,049, with a total of 49,699 in the administrative region and it is also the administrative centre of the Sisak-Moslavina county. Sisak is located at the confluence of the Kupa, Sava, and Odra rivers, 57 km (35 mi) southeast of the Croatian capital Zagreb.
Prior to the invasion by the Roman Empire, the region was Celtic and the city there was named Segestica.
In German the town is known as Sissek, in Hungarian as Sziszek, Latin as Siscia, in Serbian Cyrillic as Сисак, and in Slovene as Sisek
Sisak is usually considered to be where the Posavina (Sava basin) begins, with an elevation of 99 m.
Sisak is Croatia's biggest river port and a centre of river shipping industry (Dunavski Lloyd). Sisak lies on the main road Zagreb-Sisak-Petrinja (M12.2) and the railroad Zagreb-Sisak-Sunja.
The long history of urban life here (around 2,500 years) as well the extremely favourable position on the confluence of three rivers, (the Sava, the Kupa and the Odra), have made Sisak an important town in the history of Croatia.
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Slovenia
Slovenia (i/sloʊˈviːniə/ sloh-VEE-nee-ə, Slovene: Slovenija), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Republika Slovenija, [reˈpublika sloˈveːnija]) is a Slavic nation state, situated in South-Central Europe, at the crossroad of main European cultural and trade routes. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Croatia to the south and southeast, and Hungary to the northeast. It covers 20,273 square kilometres (7,827 sq mi) and has a population of 2.05 million. It is a parliamentary republic, member of the European Union and NATO. Relative to its geography, history, economy, culture, and language, it is a very diverse country distinguished by a transitional character. It is characterised by a high economic and social level. Its capital and largest city is Ljubljana.
The territory of Slovenia is mainly hilly or mountainous and has an exceptionally high landscape and biological diversity and a mosaic structure, which are a result of natural attributes and the long-lasting presence of humans. Four major European geographic units interweave here: the Alps, the Dinaric Alps, the Mediterranean, with a small portion of coastline along the Adriatic Sea, and the Pannonian Plain. The climate is temperate and significantly influenced by the variety of territory, with a strong interaction of the continental climate, the sub-Mediterranean climate and Alpine climate across most of the country. The country is one of the water-richest in Europe, with a dense river network, a rich aquifer system, and significant karstic underground watercourses. Over half of the territory is covered by forest.
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Smederevo
Smederevo (Serbian Cyrillic: Смедерево, pronounced [smêderevo]) is a city and municipality in Serbia, on the right bank of the Danube, about 40 km downstream of the capital Belgrade. According to official results of the 2011 census, the city has a population of 107,528. It is the administrative center of the Podunavlje District.
Its history starts in the 1st century BC, with the conquerings of the Roman Empire, when there existed a town called Vinceia. The modern city traces its roots back to the late Middle Ages when it was the capital (1430–1439 and 1444–1459) of the last independent Serbian state before the Ottoman conquest.
In Serbian, the city is known as Smederevo (Смедерево), in Latin, Romanian and Greek as Semendria, in Hungarian as Szendrő or Vég-Szendrő, in Turkish as Semendire.
In the 7th millennium BC, the Starčevo culture existed for a millennia, succeeded by the 6th millennium BC Vinča culture that prospered in the region.
The Paleo-Balkan tribes of Dacians and Thracians emerged in the area in the 2nd millennia BC, with the Celtic Scordisci raiding the Balkans in the 3rd century BC.
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Sremska Mitrovica
Coordinates: 44°59′N 19°37′E / 44.983°N 19.617°E / 44.983; 19.617
Sremska Mitrovica (Serbian Cyrillic: Сремска Митровица, pronounced [srêːmskaː mîtroʋitsa]) is a city and municipality located in the Vojvodina province of Serbia, on the left bank of the Sava river. As of 2011 the town had a total population of 37,586, while Sremska Mitrovica municipality had a population of 79,773. It is the administrative centre of the Srem District of Serbia.
Once a capital of the Roman Empire during the Tetrarchy, the city was referred to as the glorious mother of cities. Likewise, ten Roman Emperors were born in or near this city, Emperors Herennius Etruscus (251), Hostilian (251), Decius Traian (249-251), Claudius II (268-270), Quintillus (270), Aurelian (270-275), Probus (276-282), Maximianus Herculius (285-310), Constantius II (337-361) and Gratian (367-383).
In Serbian, the town is known as Сремска Митровица or Sremska Mitrovica, in Rusyn as Сримска Митровица, in Croatian as Srijemska Mitrovica, in Hungarian as Szávaszentdemeter or Mitrovica, in German as Syrmisch Mitrowitz, in Latin as Sirmium, and in Turkish as Dimitrofça.
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Syria
Syria (/ˈsɪriə/ ( listen) SIRR-ee-ə; Arabic: سورية Sūriyya or سوريا Sūryā; Syriac: ܣܘܪܝܐ; Kurdish: Sûrî), officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic: الجمهورية العربية السورية al-Jumhūriyyah al-‘Arabīyah as-Sūriyyah Arabic pronunciation (help·info)), is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest.
In English, the name Syria was formerly synonymous with the Levant, known in Arabic as Sham, while the modern state encompasses the sites of several ancient kingdoms and empires, including the Eblan civilization of the third millennium BC. In the Islamic era, its capital city, Damascus, the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world, was the seat of the Umayyad Caliphate, and a provincial capital of the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt.
The population of Syria is 74% Sunni, 12% Alawi, 10% Christian, and 3% Druze. Combined, 87% of the Syrian population is Muslim, while the other 10% is Christian, which includes mainly Arab Christians but also Assyrians and Armenians. Major ethnic minorities in Syria include Kurds (9%), Assyrians, Armenians, Turkmens and Circassians. The majority of the population is Arab (90%).
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Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki (Greek: Θεσσαλονίκη [θesaloˈnici] ( listen)), also known as Thessalonica ( /ˌθɛsəlɵˈnaɪkə/) and historically known as Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace. Its honorific title is Συμπρωτεύουσα (Symprotévusa), literally "co-capital", and stands as a reference to its historical status as the Συμβασιλεύουσα (Symvasilévousa), "co-reigning" city of the Byzantine Empire, alongside Constantinople.
According to the 2011 census the municipality of Thessaloniki today has a population of 322,240, while the Thessaloniki Urban Area (the contiguous built up area forming the "City of Thessaloniki") has a population of 790,824; making it the fifth largest and most populated city in the Balkans and the second most populated city that is not a capital. Furthermore, the Thessaloniki Metropolitan Area extends over an area of 1,455.62 km2 (562.02 sq mi) and its population in 2011 reached a total of 1,006,730 inhabitants.
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Tunisia
Tunisia (USi/tuːˈniːʒə/ two-NEE-zhə or UK /tjuːˈnɪziə/ tew-NIZ-iə; Arabic: تونس Tūnis pronounced [ˈtuːnɪs]), officially the Republic of Tunisia (Arabic: الجمهورية التونسية al-Jumhūriyyah at-Tūnisiyyah), is the northernmost country in Africa. It is an Arab Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area is almost 165,000 square kilometres (64,000 sq mi), with an estimated population of just under 10.7 million. Its name is derived from the capital Tunis located in the northeast.
Tunisia is the smallest country in North Africa. The south of the country is composed of the Sahara desert, with much of the remainder consisting of particularly fertile soil and 1,300 kilometres (810 mi) of coastline.
Tunisia has relations with both the European Union—with whom it has an association agreement—and the Arab world. Tunisia is also a member of the Arab Maghreb Union, the Arab League, and the African Union. Tunisia has established close relations with France in particular, through economic cooperation, industrial modernization, and privatisation programs.
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Tur Abdin
Tur Abdin (Syriac: ܛܘܼܪ ܥܒ݂ܕܝܼܢ) is a hilly region of south east Turkey incorporating the eastern half of Mardin Province, and Şırnak Province west of the Tigris, on the border with Syria. The name 'Tur Abdin' is from the Syriac language meaning 'mountain of the servants (of God)'. Tur Abdin is of great importance to Syriac Orthodox Christians, for whom the region used to be a monastic and cultural heartland. The Assyrian/Syriac people of Tur Abdin call themselves Suroye and Suryoye and traditionally speak an Aramaic dialect called Turoyo.
The most important Syriac Orthodox centre in Tur Abdin is the monastery of Dayro d-Mor Hananyo, 6 km south east of Mardin, in the west of the region. Built from yellow rock, the monastery is affectionately known as Dayro d Kurkmo in Syriac, Dayr al-Zafaran in Arabic, or Deyrülzafarân in Turkish: the Safron Monastery. Founded in AD 493, the monastery was the residence of the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch from 1160 to 1932. Although the patriarch now lives in Damascus the monastery still contains the patriarchal throne and tombs of seven patriarchs and metropolitans. Today the monastery is led by a bishop and a monk and some lay assistants, and is a school for orphans. The bishop of Mor Hananyo is also the patriarchal vicar of Mardin. His goal is to rebuild the monastery and to preserve the history of the Syriac Orthodox church. The Dayro d-Mor Hananyo is part of the UNESCO wold cultural heritage and was visited by numerous celebrities e.g. like Prince Charles.
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Turkey
Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye), known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( Türkiye Cumhuriyeti (help·info)), is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia (mostly in the Anatolian peninsula) and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe. Turkey is bordered by eight countries: Bulgaria to the northwest; Greece to the west; Georgia to the northeast; Armenia, Azerbaijan (the exclave of Nakhchivan) and Iran to the east; and Iraq and Syria to the southeast. The Mediterranean Sea and Cyprus are to the south; the Aegean Sea is to the west; and the Black Sea is to the north. The Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles (which together form the Turkish Straits) demarcate the boundary between East Thrace and Anatolia; they also separate Europe and Asia.
Turkey is one of the six independent Turkic states. The vast majority of the population are Muslims. The country's official language is Turkish, whereas Kurdish and Zazaki languages are spoken by Kurds and Zazas, who constitute 18% of the population.
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Vidin
Vidin (Bulgarian: Видин, archaically spelled as Widdin in English) is a port town on the southern bank of the Danube in northwestern Bulgaria. It is close to the borders with Serbia and Romania, and is also the administrative centre of Vidin Province, as well as of the Metropolitan of Vidin (since 870). As of February 2011, the town has a population of 47,138 inhabitants.
An agricultural and trade centre, Vidin has a fertile hinterland renowned for its wines.
Vidin is the westernmost important Bulgarian Danube port and is situated on one of the southernmost sections of the river. A ferryboat complex, linking Vidin with Calafat on the opposite side of the river, is located 2 km from the town. The complex is to be replaced by the Vidin-Calafat Bridge probably in the year 2012.
Vidin is the 19th town by population in Bulgaria, but serious demographic problems have been experienced in the area during the last two decades. The number of the residents of the city reached its peak in the period 1988-1991 when exceeded 65,000. The following table presents the change of the population after the liberation of the country in 1878.
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Viminacium
Viminacium (VIMINACIVM) was a major city (provincial capital) and military camp of the Roman province of Moesia (today's Serbia), and the capital of Moesia Superior. The site is located 12 km from the modern town of Kostolac in Eastern Serbia. The city dates back to the 1st century AD, and at its peak it is believed to have 40.000 habitants, and was one of the biggest cities of that time. It lies on the Roman road Via Militaris. Viminacium was devastated by Huns in the 5th century, but rebuilt by Justinian. It was completely destroyed with the arrival of Slavs in the 6th century. The archeological site occupies a total of 450 hectares, and contains remains of temples, streets, squares, amphitheatres, palaces, hippodromes and Roman baths.
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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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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 IV Angelos
Alexios IV Angelos (or Alexius IV Angelus) (Greek: Αλέξιος Δ' Άγγελος) (c. 1182 – February 8, 1204) was Byzantine Emperor from August 1203 to January 1204. He was the son of Emperor Isaac II Angelus and his first wife Irene. His paternal uncle was Emperor Alexius III Angelus.
The young Alexios was imprisoned in 1195 when Alexios III overthrew Isaac II in a coup. In 1201, two Pisan merchants were employed to smuggle Alexius out of Constantinople to the Holy Roman Empire, where he took refuge with his brother-in-law Philip of Swabia,King of Germany.
While there he met with Marquis Boniface of Montferrat, Philip's cousin, who had been chosen to lead the Fourth Crusade, but had temporarily left the Crusade during the siege of Zara to visit Philip. Boniface and Alexios discussed diverting the Crusade to Constantinople so that Alexios could be restored to his father's throne; in return, Alexios would give them 10,000 Byzantine soldiers to help fight in the Crusade, maintain 500 knights in the Holy Land, the service of the Byzantine navy (20 ships) in transporting the Crusader army to Egypt, as well as money to pay off the Crusaders' debt to the Republic of Venice with 200,000 silver marks. Additionally, he promised to bring the Greek Orthodox Church under the authority of the pope. Alexios accompanied Boniface back to the Crusader fleet, which had moved on to Corcyra, and the Venetians were in favour of the plan when they learned of it. In 1202 the fleet arrived at Constantinople. Alexios was paraded outside the walls, but the citizens were apathetic, as Alexios III, though a usurper and illegitimate in the eyes of the westerners, was an acceptable emperor for the Byzantine citizens.
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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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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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Ardashir I
Ardashir I (died 242 AD) was the founder of the Sassanid Empire, was ruler of Istakhr (since 206?), subsequently Fars Province (since 208?), and finally "King of Kings of Sassanid Empire" (after 226) with the overthrow of the Parthian Empire. The dynasty founded by Ardashir would rule for four centuries, until it was overthrown by the Rashidun Caliphate in 651.
Ardashir (Arđaxšēr from Middle Persian and Parthian Artaxšaθra, Pahlavi ʼrthštr, "Who has the Divine Order as his Kingdom") is also known as Ardeshīr-i Pāpagān "Ardashir, son of Pāpağ", and other variants of his name include Latinized Artaxares and Artaxerxes.
Ardeshir was born in the late 2nd century in Istakhr, what is present-day Fars in Iran, He was the son of Babak (Papak or Pabag) and Princess Rodak, descendant of the Shabankara tribe. According to a letter from Ardavan V, Ardashir was of Kurdish descent. Ardashir is said to have ruled the town of Darabgerd and received the title of "argbadh". Upon Pāpağ's death, Ardashir's elder brother Šāpūr ascended to the throne. However, Ardashir rebelled against his brother and took the kingship for himself in 208.
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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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Aurelius Victor
Sextus Aurelius Victor (ca. 320 – ca. 390) was a historian and politician of the Roman Empire.
Aurelius Victor was the author of a short history of imperial Rome, entitled De Caesaribus and covering the period from Augustus to Constantius II. The work was published in 361. Under the emperor Julian (361-363), Victor served as governor of Pannonia Secunda, in 389 he became urban prefect, senior imperial official in Rome.
Four small historical works have been ascribed to him. But only his authorship of De Caesaribus is securely established:
The four have generally been published together under the name Historia Romana, but the fourth piece is a reworking of the third. The second was first printed at Naples about 1472, in four volumes, under the name of Pliny the Younger, and the fourth in Strasbourg in 1505.
The first edition of all four books was that of Andreas Schottus (8 volumes, Antwerp, 1579). A recent edition of the De Caesaribus is by Pierre Dufraigne (Collection Budé, 1975).
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Austria
Austria (i/ˈɒstriə/ or /ˈɔːstriə/; German: Österreich [ˈøːstɐˌʁaɪç] ( listen)), officially the Republic of Austria (German: Republik Österreich (help·info)), is a landlocked country of roughly 8.47 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Hungary and Slovakia to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. The territory of Austria covers 83,855 square kilometres (32,377 sq mi) and has a temperate and alpine climate. Austria's terrain is highly mountainous due to the presence of the Alps; only 32% of the country is below 500 metres (1,640 ft), and its highest point is 3,798 metres (12,461 ft). The majority of the population speak local Austro-Bavarian dialects of German as their native language, and German in its standard form is the country's official language. Other local official languages are Burgenland Croatian, Hungarian and Slovene.
The origins of modern-day Austria date back to the time of the Habsburg dynasty when the vast majority of the country was a part of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. During the 17th and 18th centuries, Austria became one of the great powers of Europe and, in response to the coronation of Napoleon I as the Emperor of the French, the Austrian Empire was officially proclaimed in 1804. In 1867, the Austrian Empire was reformed into Austria-Hungary.
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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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Bagaudae
In the time of the later Roman Empire bagaudae (also spelled bacaudae) were groups of peasant insurgents who emerged during the "Crisis of the Third Century", and persisted particularly in the less-Romanised areas of Gallia and Hispania, where they were "exposed to the depredations of the late Roman state, and the great landowners and clerics who were its servants".
The invasions, military anarchy and disorders of the third century crisis, are seen not as causative, but providing a chaotic and ongoing degradation of the regional power structure within a declining Empire into which the bagaudae achieved some temporary and scattered successes, under the leadership of members of the underclass as well as former members of local ruling elites.
The name probably means "fighters". C.E.V. Nixon assesses the bagaudae, from the official Imperial viewpoint, as "bands of brigands who roamed the countryside looting and pillaging". J.C.S. Léon interprets the most completely assembled documentation and identifies the bagaudae as impoverished local free peasants, reinforced by brigands, runaway slaves and deserters from the legions, who were resisting the abuses of proto-feudal manorial privilege and punitive taxation in the marginal areas of the Empire.
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Bahram II
Bahram II (Persian: بهرام Bahrām) was the fifth Sassanid King of Persia in 276–293. He was the son of Bahram I (273–276).
Bahram II is said to have ruled at first tyrannically, and to have greatly disgusted all his principal nobles, who went so far as to form a conspiracy against him, and intended to put him to death. The chief of the Magi, however, interposed, and, having effectually alarmed the king, brought him to acknowledge his wrong and to promise an entire change of conduct. The nobles upon this returned to their allegiance; and Bahram, during the remainder of his reign, is said to have been distinguished for wisdom and moderation, and to have rendered himself popular with every class of his subjects.
Bahram is believed to have been involved in a campaign in Sakasthan (the modern-day Sistan) and Afghanistan against his brother Hormizd. The hostilities ended in 283 with his victory in Sakasthan. He later had rock reliefs cut at Bishapur and Naqsh-e Rustam to commemorate his victory.
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Bahram III
Bahram III (died 293) was the sixth Sassanid King of Persia and son of Bahram II. He was appointed viceroy to the region of Sakasthan after Bahram II's conquest of it sometime in the 280's CE.
Bahram III ascended to the throne vacated by his father following his death in 293 CE. Following his father's loss of Armenia, Bahram III was considered too weak to rule the kingdom by much of the nobility and many nobles challenged his succession, instead pledging allegiance too his grand-uncle Narseh of Persia. After reigning for a period of only four months, Bahram III was either captured or more likely killed during a campaign by Narseh who then ascended to the throne in Bahram's place.
In Sassanid Persia, it was customary for kings after conquering a land or people, to give their sons titles showing domination over them. Bahram III gained his title of "sākān shāh" presumably after his father's victory over the Sakasthan (present day Sistan) region. Also following early Sassanid practices of giving appanage of provinces to princes, Bahram III was appointed to Sakasthan due to the regions importance as being a defence against influential peoples on the eastern extremes of the kingdom.
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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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Carausius
Marcus Aurelius Mausaeus Valerius Carausius (died 293) was a military commander of the Roman Empire in the 3rd century. He was a Menapian from Belgic Gaul, who usurped power in 286, declaring himself emperor in Britain and northern Gaul. He did this only 13 years after the Gallic Empire of the Batavian Postumus was ended in 273. He held power for seven years, before being assassinated by his finance minister Allectus (see Carausian Revolt).
Carausius was of humble origin, a Menapian who distinguished himself during Maximian's campaign against the Bagaudae rebels in northern Gaul in 286. This success, and his former occupation as a pilot, led to his appointment to command the Classis Britannica, a fleet based in the English Channel, with the responsibility of eliminating Frankish and Saxon pirates who had been raiding the coasts of Armorica and Belgica. He was suspected of keeping captured treasure for himself, and of allowing pirates to carry out raids and enrich themselves before taking action against them, and Maximian ordered his execution. In late 286 or early 287 Carausius learned of this sentence and responded by declaring himself Emperor in Britain and northern Gaul. His forces comprised not only his fleet, augmented by new ships he had built, and the three legions stationed in Britain, but a legion he had seized in Gaul, a number of foreign auxiliary units, a levy of Gaulish merchant ships, and barbarian mercenaries attracted by the prospect of booty.
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Caria
Caria ([pronunciation?]; or Karia) (from Luwian Karuwa meaning "steep country", Ancient Greek, Καρία) was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid-Ionia (Mycale) south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Ionian and Dorian Greeks colonized the west of it and joined the Carian population in forming Greek-dominated states there. The eponymous inhabitants of Caria were known as Carians, and they had arrived in Caria before the Greeks. They were described by Herodotos as being of Minoan descent, while the Carians themselves maintained that they were Anatolian mainlanders intensely engaged in seafaring and were akin to the Mysians and the Lydians. The Carians did speak an Anatolian language, which does not necessarily reflect their geographic origin, as Anatolian once may have been widespread. Also closely associated with the Carians were the Leleges, which could be an earlier name for Carians or for a people who had preceded them in the region and continued to exist as part of their society in a reputedly second-class status.
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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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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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Constantine X Doukas
Constantine X Doukas (or Ducas) (Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Ι΄ Δούκας, Kōnstantinos X Doukas) (1006 – May 1067) was emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 1059 to 1067.
Constantine Doukas was the son of Andronikos Doukas, a Paphlagonian nobleman who may have served as governor of the theme of Moesia. Addicted to endless debates about philosophy and theology, Constantine gained influence after he married, as his second wife, Eudokia Makrembolitissa, the niece of Patriarch Michael Keroularios. In 1057, Constantine supported the usurpation of Isaac I Komnenos, but gradually sided with the court bureaucracy against the new emperor's reforms. In spite of this tacit opposition, Constantine was chosen as successor by the ailing Isaac in November, 1059, under the influence of Michael Psellos. Isaac abdicated and on November 24, 1059, Constantine X Doukas was crowned emperor.
The new emperor quickly associated two of his young sons in power, Michael VII Doukas and Konstantios Doukas, appointed his brother John Doukas as kaisar (Caesar) and embarked on a policy favorable to the interests of the court bureaucracy and the church. Severely undercutting the training and financial support for the armed forces, Constantine X fatally weakened Byzantine defences (by disbanding the Armenian local militia of 50,000 men) at a crucial point of time, coinciding with the westward advance of the Seljuk Turks and their Turcoman allies. Undoing many of the necessary reforms of Isaac I, he bloated the military bureaucracy with highly paid court officials and crowded the Senate with his supporters.
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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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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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Domitius Domitianus
Lucius Domitius Domitianus was a Roman usurper against Diocletian, who seized power for a short time in Aegyptus.
Domitianus revolted against Diocletian in 297 AD, but died in December of the same year, when Diocletian went to Aegyptus to quell with the revolt. Numismatic and papyrological evidence support Domitianus' claim for the purple. It is possible that the rebellion was sparked by a new tax edict, but this uncertain.
It is possible that Domitianus' corrector, Aurelius Achilleus, who was responsible for the defence of Alexandria, succeeded Domitianus' claim for the purple; in fact, only in March 298 Diocletian re-conquered the city.
Media related to Domitius Domitianus at Wikimedia Commons
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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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Faustus of Byzantium
Faustus of Byzantium (also Faustus the Byzantine, Armenian: Փավստոս Բուզանդ, P’avstos Buzand) was an Armenian historian of the 5th century. He wrote a six volume history, of which the first two volumes are lost. He described in details the reign of Arshak II and his son Pap of Armenia. The foundation of knowledge concerning Christian Armenia from 317 to 387 which was written in Greek, was attributed to Faustus.
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Fergus Millar
Sir Fergus Graham Burtholme Millar FBA (born 5 July 1935) is a British historian and Camden Professor of Ancient History Emeritus, Oxford University. He received the Kenyon Medal for Classics from the British Academy in 2005. Millar numbers among the most influential ancient historians of the twentieth century.
Millar was educated at Trinity College (B.A.) and All Souls College, Oxford. At Oxford he studied Philosophy and Ancient History, and received his D. Phil. degree there in 1962.
He has held positions in University College, London and Oxford University, where, from 1984 until his retirement in 2002, he was Camden Professor of Ancient History.
Millar has served as editor of the Journal of Roman Studies (1975–1979) and as President of the British Classical Association (1992–1993), and holding various offices in the British Academy, to which he was elected a Fellow in 1976.
Millar is an authority in the field of ancient Roman and Greek history. His accolades include honorary doctorates from Oxford and Helsinki, and elected memberships in foreign academies. His first book, A Study of Cassius Dio (1964), set the tone for his prolific scholarly production. He has continued to produce important works, including The Roman Near East (31 BC – AD 337) (1993), a path breaking, non-Romano-centric treatment of this area. His further work includes The Crowd in the Late Republic (1998) and The Roman Republic in Political Thought (2002).
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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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Franks
The Franks (Latin: Franci or gens Francorum) were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as populating a broad strip of land on the right bank of the Lower and Middle Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a kingdom on Roman-held soil that was acknowledged by the Romans after 357. In the climate of the collapse of imperial authority in the West, the Frankish tribes were united under the Merovingians and conquered all of Gaul except Septimania in the 6th century. The Salian political elite was one of the most active forces in spreading Christianity over western Europe. The Franks had created one of the most strong and stable barbaric kingdoms.
The Merovingian dynasty, descended from the Salians, founded one of the Germanic monarchies which replaced the Western Roman Empire from the fifth century. The Frankish state consolidated its hold over large parts of western Europe by the end of the eighth century, developing into the Carolingian Empire which dominated most of Western Europe. This empire would gradually evolve into France and the Holy Roman Empire.
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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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Galeria Valeria
Galeria Valeria (died 315) was the daughter of Roman Emperor Diocletian and wife of his co-emperor Galerius.
Born as Valeria to Diocletian and Prisca, she married Galerius in 293, when her father elevated him to the position of Caesar. This marriage was clearly organized to strengthen the bonds between the two emperors.
Galeria was sympathetic towards Christians, while Galerius persecuted them.
Galeria was raised to the title of Augusta and Mater Castrorum in November 308. Since Galerius fathered no child with her, Galeria adopted her husband's illegittimate son, Candidianus, as her own.
When Galerius died, in 311, Licinius was entrusted with the care of Valeria and her mother Prisca. The two women, however, fled from Licinius to Maximinus Daia, whose daughter was betrothed to Candidianus. After a short time, Valeria refused the marriage proposal of Maximinus, who arrested and confined her in Syria and confiscated her properties. At the death of Maximinus, Licinius ordered the death of both women. Valeria fled, hiding for a year, until she was found in Thessaloniki. She was captured by the mob, beheaded in the central square of the city, and her body thrown in the sea. She was canonized as a Christian saint with her mother (see Saint Alexandra).
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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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Gorgonius
Saint Gorgonius of Nicomedia was a Christian martyr, part of the group Gorgonius, Peter Cubicularius and Dorotheus, who died in 304 AD at Nicomedia during the persecution of Emperor Diocletian.
According to Lactantius and Eusebius, Gorgonius held a high position in the household of the emperor. When the persecution began he was consequently among the first to be charged, and with his companions, Peter, Dorotheus and several others, was subjected to the most frightful torments and finally strangled.
According to one version of the legend, Diocletian, wishing to expose Christians in his household, ordered everyone to pay honor to the Roman gods; if they refused, they would be exposed as Christians. The first to be exposed was Diocletian's butler, Peter, surnamed Cubicularius ("valet, chamberlain"), who was strung up, his flesh torn from his bones. Two Christians, Dorotheus, an imperial chamberlain, and Gorgonius, an army officer, protested this treatment, and were also martyred, together with another official, named Migdonius. In the meantime, Peter was boiled or burned alive, or “roasted on a gridiron.”
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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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Hakkâri
Hakkâri (Kurdish: Colemêrg, Syriac: ܗܟܐܪܝ), is a city and the capital of the Hakkâri Province of Turkey. The name Hakkâri is derived from the Syriac word, Akkare, meaning farmers. The population of the city at the 2010 census was 57,844.
Thirteen stelae, never before seen in Anatolia or the Near East, were found in 1998 in their original location at the centre of Hakkari, a city in the southeastern corner of Turkey. The stelae were carved on upright flagstone-like slabs measuring between 0.7 m to 3.10 m in height. The stones contain only one cut surface, upon which human figures are chiseled. The theme of each stele reveals the foreview of an upper human body. The legs are not represented. Eleven of the stelae depict naked warriors with daggers, spears, and axes—masculine symbols of war. They always hold a drinking vessel made of skin in both hands. Two stelae contain female figures without arms. The stelae may have been carved by different craftsmen using different techniques. Stylistic differences shift from bas relief to a more systematic linearity. The earliest stelae are in the style of bas relief while the latest ones are in a linear style. They were made during a period from the fifteenth century BC to the eleventh century BC in Hakkari. Stelae with this type of relief are not common in the ancient Near East however there are many close parallels between these and those produced by a variety of peoples from the Eurasian steppes between the third millennium BC and the eleventh century AD.
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Henry Purcell
Henry Purcell (
/ˈpɜrsəl/; 10 September 1659 (?)– 21 November 1695), was an English composer. Although incorporating Italian and French stylistic elements into his compositions, Purcell's legacy was a uniquely English form of Baroque music. He is generally considered to be one of the greatest English composers; no other native-born English composer approached his fame until Edward Elgar.
Purcell was born in St Ann's Lane Old Pye Street, Westminster. Henry Purcell Senior, whose older brother Thomas Purcell (d. 1682) was also a musician, was a gentleman of the Chapel Royal and sang at the coronation of King Charles II of England. Henry the elder had three sons: Edward, Henry and Daniel. Daniel Purcell (d. 1717), the youngest of the brothers, was also a prolific composer who wrote the music for much of the final act of The Indian Queen after Henry Purcell's death. Henry Purcell's family lived just a few hundred yards west of Westminster Abbey from the year 1659 and onward.
After his father's death in 1664, Purcell was placed under the guardianship of his uncle who showed him great affection and kindness. Thomas was himself a gentleman of His Majesty's chapel, and arranged for Henry to be admitted as a chorister. Henry studied first under Captain Henry Cooke (d. 1672),Master of the Children, and afterwards under Pelham Humfrey (d. 1674), Cooke's successor. Henry was a chorister in the Chapel Royal until his voice broke in 1673, when he became assistant to the organ-builder John Hingston, who held the post of keeper of wind instruments to the King.
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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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Herodian
Herodian or Herodianus of Syria (ca. 170–240) was a minor Roman civil servant who wrote a colourful history in Greek titled History of the Empire from the Death of Marcus in eight books covering the years 180 to 238. His work is not entirely reliable although his relatively unbiased account of Elagabalus is more useful than that of Cassius Dio. He was a Greek (perhaps from Antioch) who appears to have lived for a considerable period of time in Rome, but possibly without holding any public office. From his extant work, we gather that he was still living at an advanced age during the reign of Gordianus III, who ascended the throne in 238. Beyond this, nothing is known of his life.
Herodian writes (i.1.§ 3, ii.15.§ 7) that the events described in his history occurred during his lifetime. Photius (Codex 99) gives an outline of the contents of this work and passes a flattering encomium on the style of Herodian, which he describes as clear, vigorous, agreeable, and preserving a happy medium between an utter disregard of art and elegance and a profuse employment of the artifices and prettinesses which were known under the name of Atticism, as well as between boldness and bombast. He appears to have used Thucydides as a model to some extent, both for style and for the general composition of his work, often introducing speeches wholly or in part imaginary. In spite of occasional inaccuracies in chronology and geography, his narrative is in the main truthful and impartial[citation needed]. However, some charge him with showing too great a partiality for Pertinax.
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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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Joannes
Ioannes, known in English as Joannes, was a Roman usurper (423–425) against Valentinian III.
On the death of the Emperor Honorius (August 15, 423), Theodosius II, the remaining ruler of the House of Theodosius hesitated in announcing his uncle's death. In the interregnum, Honorius's patrician at the time of his death, Castinus, elevated Joannes as emperor.
Joannes was a primicerius notariorum or senior civil servant at the time of his elevation. Procopius praised him as "both gentle and well-endowed with sagacity and thoroughly capable of valorous deeds." Unlike the Theodosian emperors, he tolerated all Christian sects. His control over Gaul was insecure: his pretorian prefect of that region was slain at Arles in an uprising of the soldiery there. And Comes Bonifacius, in control of the African provinces, held back the grain fleet from Rome.
"The events of Johannes' reign are as shadowy as its origins," writes John Matthews, who then provides a list of the ruler's known actions in a paragraph. Joannes was proclaimed at Rome and praetorian games were provided at the expense of a member of the gens Anicia. Johannes then moved his base of operations to Ravenna, knowing full well that the Eastern Empire would strike from that direction. There is a mention of an expedition against Africa, but its fate, presumed unsuccessful, is unrecorded. In Gaul, he appears to have caused offense by submitting clerics to secular courts. And that is all.
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John I Tzimiskes
John I Tzimiskes or Tzimisces, (Greek: Ιωάννης Α΄ Τζιμισκής, Iōannēs I Tzimiskēs; Armenian: Հովհաննես Ա Չմշկիկ Hovhannes A Čmškik, Armenian pronunciation: [hovɑˈnɛs tʃʰəməʃˈkik]; circa 925 – January 10, 976) was Byzantine Emperor from December 11, 969 to January 10, 976. A brilliant and intuitive general, John's short reign saw the expansion of the Empire's borders and the strengthening of Byzantium itself.
John was born into the Kourkouas clan, a family of Armenian origin. Scholars have speculated that his nickname "Tzimiskes" was derived either from the Armenian Chmushkik, meaning "red boot", or from an Armenian word for "short stature." A more favorable explanation is offered by the medieval Armenian historian Matthew of Edessa, who states that "Tzimiskes was from the region of Khozan, from the area which is now called Chmushkatzag." Khozan was located in the region of Paghnatun, in the Byzantine province of Fourth Armenia (Sophene).
Tzimiskes was born sometime in 925 to an unnamed member of the Kourkouas family by the sister of the future Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas. Both the Kourkouai and the Phokadai were distinguished Cappadocian families, and among the most prominent of the emerging military aristocracy of Asia Minor. Several of their members had served as prominent army generals, most notably the great John Kourkouas, who conquered Melitene and much of Armenia.
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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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John VII Palaiologos
John VII Palaiologos (or Palaeologus) (Greek: Ιωάννης Ζ' Παλαιολόγος, Iōannēs VII Palaiologos) (1370 – 22 September 1408) was Byzantine Emperor for five months in 1390.
John VII Palaiologos was the son of Emperor Andronikos IV Palaiologos and Keratsa of Bulgaria, a daughter of Emperor Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria and Theodora of Wallachia. He should not be confused with his cousin John VIII Palaiologos, the son of his uncle Manuel II, who succeeded his father.
When his father Andronikos IV usurped the throne from his father John V Palaiologos in 1376, John VII was associated as co-emperor. Both father and son were overthrown and partly blinded in 1379, but Andronikos IV kept his imperial status and was granted Selymbria (Silivri) as his domain by John V. When Andronikos IV died in 1385, John VII perhaps succeeded to his father's position.
On April 14, 1390 John VII Palaiologos ousted to his grandfather John V and maintained himself on the throne for five months, until John V was restored by his son Manuel with the help of the Republic of Venice
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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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Lactantius
Lucius Caecilius Firmianus Lactantius was an early Christian author (ca. 240 – ca. 320) who became an advisor to the first Christian Roman emperor, Constantine I, guiding his religious policy as it developed, and tutor to his son.
Lactantius, a Latin-speaking native of North Africa, was a pupil of Arnobius and taught rhetoric in various cities of the Eastern Roman Empire, ending in Constantinople. He wrote apologetic works explaining Christianity in terms that would be palatable to educated people who still practiced the traditional religions of the Empire, while defending Christian beliefs against the criticisms of Hellene philosophers. His Divinae Institutiones ("Divine Institutes") is an early example of a systematic presentation of Christian thought. He was considered somewhat heretical after his death, but Renaissance humanists took a renewed interest in him, more for his elaborately rhetorical Latin style than for his theology.
A translator of the Divine Institutes starts his introduction as follows:
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Lars Brownworth
Lars Brownworth, an author and former United States history and political science teacher at The Stony Brook School, is the creator of the top 50 podcast, 12 Byzantine Rulers: The History of the Byzantine Empire. This podcast was created on a whim by Lars and his brother, Anders Brownworth. Often mistaken for a college professor, Lars was, in fact, a high school history teacher at the time the podcast was produced.
On August 15, 2007 Mr. Brownworth announced that he had resigned from teaching in order to work on a book with Crown Publishing titled Lost to the West: The Forgotten Byzantine Empire that Rescued Western Civilization, which was published on September 15, 2009. He is currently working on a new podcast about the history of the Normans as well as a book on the Macedonian Emperors of Byzantium. He maintains a blog called Finding History where he responds to reader and listener submitted questions.
In August 2011 Mr. Brownworth returned to the classroom at La Lumiere School, a coeducational boarding school in La Porte Indiana
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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 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 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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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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Manichaeism
Manichaeism ( /ˈmænɨkiːɪzəm/; in Modern Persian آیین مانی Āyin e Māni; Chinese: 摩尼教; pinyin: Móní Jiào) was a major gnostic religion, originating in Sassanid era Babylonia. Although most of the original writings of the founding prophet Mani (in Persian: مانی, Syriac: ܡܐܢܝ, Latin: Manichaeus or Manes) (c. 216–276 CE) have been lost, numerous translations and fragmentary texts have survived.
Manichaeism taught an elaborate cosmology describing the struggle between a good, spiritual world of light, and an evil, material world of darkness. Through an ongoing process which takes place in human history, light is gradually removed from the world of matter and returned to the world of light from which it came. Its beliefs, based on local Mesopotamian gnostic and religious movements, contained elements of Christianity, Zoroastrianism and Buddhism.
Manichaeism thrived between the third and seventh centuries, and at its height was one of the most widespread religions in the world. Manichaean churches and scriptures existed as far east as China and as far west as the Roman Empire. It was widespread among the legions of the Roman Empire, who considered it a soldier's religion, and it was briefly the main rival to Christianity in the competition to replace classical paganism. Manichaeism survived longer in the East than in the West, and it appears to have finally faded away after the 14th century in southern China, contemporary to the decline in China of the Church of the East – see Ming Dynasty.
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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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Marcomanni
The Marcomanni were a Germanic tribe, probably related to the Buri, Suebi or Suevi.
Scholars believe their name derives possibly from Proto-Germanic forms of "march" ("frontier, border") and "men".
The Marcomanni settled in the Main River valley soon after 100 BC. To escape Roman aggression in 9 BC they migrated east to Bohemia, where their king Maroboduus established a powerful kingdom that Augustus perceived as a threat to Rome. Before he could act, however, the war in Illyria intervened. Eventually Maroboduus was deposed and exiled by Catualda (AD 19).
Tacitus, in the late 1st century mentions (Germania I.42) the Marcommani as being under kings appointed by Rome. [1]
In the 2nd century AD, the Marcomanni entered into a confederation with other peoples including the Quadi, Vandals, and Sarmatians, against the Roman Empire. This was probably driven by movements of larger tribes, like the Goths. According to the historian Eutropius, the forces of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius battled against the Marcomannic confederation for three years at the fortress of Carnuntum in Pannonia. Eutropius compared the war, and Marcus Aurelius' success against the Marcomanni and their allies, to the Punic Wars. The comparison was apt in that this war marked a turning point and had significant Roman defeats; it caused the death of two Praetorian Guard commanders. The war began in 166, when the Marcomanni overwhelmed the defences between Vindobona and Carnuntum, penetrated along the border between the provinces of Pannonia and Noricum, laid waste to Flavia Solva, and could be stopped only shortly before reaching Aquileia on the Adriatic sea. The war lasted until Marcus Aurelius' death in 180. It would prove to be only a limited success for Rome; the Danube river remained as the frontier of the Empire until the final fall of the West.
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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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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 Thrax
Maximinus Thrax (Latin: Gaius Julius Verus Maximinus Augustus; c. 173 – 238), also known as Maximinus I, was Roman Emperor from 235 to 238.
Maximinus is described by several ancient sources, though none are contemporary except Herodian's Roman History. Maximinus was the first emperor never to set foot in Rome. He was the first of the so-called barracks emperors of the 3rd century; his rule is often considered to mark the beginning of the Crisis of the Third Century. He died at Aquileia whilst attempting to put down a Senatorial revolt.
Most likely Maximinus was of Thraco-Roman origin (believed so by Herodian in his writings). According to the notoriously unreliable Augustan History (Historia Augusta), he was born in Thrace or Moesia to a Gothic father and an Alanic mother, an Iranian people of the Scythian-Sarmatian branch; however, the supposed parentage is highly unlikely, as the presence of the Goths in the Danubian area is first attested after the beginning of the Crisis of the Third Century. British historian Ronald Syme, writing that "the word 'Gothia' should have sufficed for condemnation" of the passage in the Augustan History, felt that the burden of evidence from Herodian, Syncellus and elsewhere pointed to Maximinus having been born in Moesia. The references to his "Gothic" ancestry might refer to a Thracian Getae origin (the two populations were often confused by later writers, most notably by Jordanes in his Getica), as suggested by the paragraphs describing how "he was singularly beloved by the Getae, moreover, as if he were one of themselves" and how he spoke "almost pure Thracian".
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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 Rostovtzeff
Mikhail Ivanovich Rostovtzeff, or Rostovtsev (Russian: Михаи́л Ива́нович Росто́вцев) (10 November [O.S. October 29] 1870, Zhitomir, Ukraine – October 20, 1952, New Haven, USA) was one of the 20th century's foremost authorities on ancient Greek, Iranian, and Roman history.
Rostovtsev is remembered as the first historian to examine the ancient economies in terms of capitalism and revolutions. Social and Economic History of the Roman Empire (1926) and A Social and Economic History of the Hellenistic World (1941) were his pioneering works that transferred the attention of historians from military or political events to global economic or social problems that had been formerly hidden behind their surface.
Upon completing his studies at the universities of Kiev and St. Petersburg, Rostovtsev served as an assistant and then as a full professor at the University of St. Petersburg. In 1918, he emigrated to the United States, where he accepted a chair at the University of Wisconsin–Madison before moving to Yale University in 1925. He oversaw all archaeological activities of the latter institution in general and the excavations of Dura-Europos in particular.
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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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Narseh
Narseh (whose name is also sometimes written as Narses or Narseus) was the seventh Sassanid King of Persia (293–302), and son of Shapur I (241–272).
During the rule of his father Shapur I, Narseh had served as the Viceroy of Sistan, Baluchistan and Sindh. Prior to becoming King of Persia, he held the title Great King of Armenia.
Narseh overthrew the increasingly unpopular Bahram III in 293 with the support of most of the nobility. The circumstances of Narseh's rise to power are detailed in the Paikuli inscription.
During Narses' time, Rome was ruled by Diocletian and it was with Diocletian and his son-in-law Galerius that Narses was engaged in eight years of constant warfare.
In 296, fed up with incursions made by the Armenian monarch Tiridates III, Narses invaded Armenia. Surprised by the sudden attack, Tiridates fled his kingdom. The Roman Emperor Diocletian dispatched his son-in-law Galerius with a large army to Tiridates's aid.
Galerius invaded Mesopotamia, which Narses had occupied hoping to check his advance. Three battles were fought subsequently, the first two of which were indecisive. In the third fought at Callinicum, Galerius suffered a complete defeat and was forced to retreat. Galerius crossed the Euphrates into Syria to join his father-in-law Diocletian at Antioch. On his arrival at Antioch, Galerius was rebuked by Diocletian who disgraced him for his shameful defeat at the hands of Narses. Vowing to take revenge, Galerius made preparations throughout the winter of 297 and invaded Armenia with 25,000 men.
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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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Nummius Tuscus
Nummius Tuscus (fl. late 3rd to early 4th century) was a Roman senator who was appointed consul in AD 295.
A member of the Gens Nummii, Nummius Tuscus was probably the son of Marcus Nummius Tuscus, the consul of AD 258. He himself was appointed consul prior alongside Gaius Annius Anullinus in AD 295. Sometime between 295 and 302, Nummius Tuscus served as the proconsular curator of Aquarum et Miniciae; this was followed by his appointment as Praefectus Urbi of Rome, a position he held from 19 February 302 until 12 September 303.
Sometime during the reign of the emperor Maxentius (AD 306–312), Nummius Tuscus and 12 other senators each contributed 400,000 sesterces, probably for the construction of a building in Rome.
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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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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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Quadi
The Quadi were a smaller Germanic tribe, about which little is definitively known. We only know the Germanic tribe the Romans called the 'Quadi' through reports of the Romans themselves. No pottery style or other remains of material culture serve to distinguish Quadi encampments from those of closely related groups.
In the 1st century BC, according to Roman written sources, the Quadi were migrating alongside the more numerous Marcomanni, whose name simply means the "men of the borderlands" living on the frontiers of Germany, where it was bordered by the River Danube, south of which lay Roman territory.
Perhaps originating north of the River Main, the Quadi and Marcomanni migrated into what is now Moravia, western Slovakia and Lower Austria where they displaced Celtic cultures and were first noticed by Romans in 8–6 BC, briefly documented by Tacitus in his Germania. A further Marcomannic confederation that included the Quadi fought the future emperor Tiberius in 6 AD.
There may be an earlier reference to the Quadi in the Geography of Strabo (7.1.3). In a parenthetical expression, often removed from the main text, he mentions a branch of the Suevi called the Koldouoi, transliterated to Latin Coldui (Strabo wrote in Greek). Part of their range is Bohemia, the domain of Maroboduus. The emendment of Coldui to Coadui (Quadi) is generally considered correct.
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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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Romanus of Caesarea
Saint Romanus of Caesarea (also known as Romanus of Antioch) is venerated as a martyr. In 303 or 304, at the beginning of the Diocletian persecution, a deacon called Romanus of Caesarea in Palestine suffered martyrdom at Antioch. He was taken prisoner, was condemned to death by fire, and was bound to the stake; however, as Emperor Galerius was then in Antioch, Romanus was brought before him. At the emperor's command Romanus' tongue was cut out. Tortured in various ways in prison he was finally strangled.
Eusebius speaks of his martyrdom in De martyribus Palaestinae. Prudentius relates other details and gives Romanus a companion in martyrdom, a Christian by name Barulas. On this account several historians, among them Baronius, consider that there were two martyrs named Romanus at Antioch, though more likely there was but the one whom Eusebius mentions. Prudentius has introduced legendary features into his account, and his connection of the martyrdom of Barulas with that of Romanus is probably arbitrary.
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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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Sabinus Iulianus
Marcus Aurelius Sabinus Iulianus (also known as Julian of Pannonia; d. 285-286) was a Roman usurper (283-285 or 286) against Emperor Carinus or Maximian. It is possible that up to four usurpers with a similar name rebelled in a time-frame of a decade, but at least one of them is known by numismatic evidence.
Iulianus was a corrector in northern Italy, in 283/284, (and not a praetorian prefect as stated by some sources). Soon after the news of the death of Emperor Carus (in 283) or Numerian (in November 284) arrived in the western provinces, Iulianus revolted in Pannonia. He issued coins from Siscia, some of them bearing a legend celebrating Pannonia. Emperor Carinus, brother of Numerian, who had marched from Roman Britain to deal with the usurpation, met, defeated, and killed Iulianus early in 285, in Italy (possibly in Verona), or in Illyricum.
According to some scholars, it is possible that two usurpers actually existed: a M. Aur. Iulianus, corrector in Italy, rebelled after Carus' death, with the control of Pannonia, and defeated in Illyricum; a Sabinus Iulianus, praetorian prefect, usurper in Italy after Numerian's death, defeated near Verona.
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Saint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader and one of the twelve apostles of Jesus who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles and who is venerated as a saint. The son of John or of Jonah, he was from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee or Gaulanitis. His brother Andrew was also an apostle. Peter is venerated in multiple churches and is regarded as the first Pope by the Catholic Church. After working to establish the church of Antioch, presiding for seven years as the leader of the city's Christian community, he preached to scattered communities of believers, Jews, Hebrew Christians and the gentiles, in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia Minor and Bithynia.[citation needed] He then went to Rome, where in the second year of Claudius, it is claimed, he overthrew Simon Magus and held the Sacerdotal Chair for 25 years.[citation needed] He is said to have been put to death at the hand of Emperor Nero.
Peter wrote two General epistles. The Gospel of Mark is also ascribed to him (as Mark was his disciple and interpreter). On the other hand, several books bearing his name—the Acts of Peter, Gospel of Peter, Preaching of Peter, Revelation of Peter, and Judgement of Peter—are rejected by the Catholic Church as Apocryphal.
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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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Sarmatians
The Iron Age Sarmatians (Latin Sarmatæ or Sauromatæ, Sanskrit Sakas Greek Σαρμάται, Σαυρομάται) were an Iranian people in Classical Antiquity, flourishing from about the 5th century BC to the 4th century AD.
Their territory was known as Sarmatia to Greco-Roman ethnographers, corresponding to the western part of greater Scythia (modern Southern Russia, Ukraine, and the eastern Balkans). At their greatest reported extent, around 100 BC, these tribes ranged from the Vistula River to the mouth of the Danube and eastward to the Volga, bordering the shores of the Black and Caspian seas as well as the Caucasus to the south.
The Sarmatians declined in the 4th century with the incursions connected to the Migration period (Huns, Goths). The descendants of the Sarmatians became known as the Alans during the Early Middle Ages, and ultimately gave rise to the modern Ossetic ethnic group.
Sarmatae is in origin probably just one of several tribal names of the Sarmatians which came to be applied to the entire group as an exonym in Greco-Roman ethnography. Strabo in the 1st century names as the main tribes of the Sarmatians the Iazyges, the Roxolani, the Aorsi and the Siraces.
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Saxons
The Saxons (Latin: Saxones, Old English: Seaxe, Old Saxon: Sahson, Low German: Sassen) were a confederation of Germanic tribes on the North German plain, who during the Middle Ages migrated to the British Isles and formed part of the Anglo-Saxons.
The Saxons were originally Ingvaeonic tribes, whose earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area approximately that of modern Holstein. This area overlapped the area of the Angles, a tribe with which they were frequently closely linked. Saxons participated in the Germanic settlement of Britain during and after the fifth century. It is unknown how many migrated from the continent to Britain, though estimates for the total number of Anglo-Saxon settlers are around two hundred thousand. During the Middle ages, because of international Hanseatic trading routes and contingent migration during the Middle Ages, Saxons mixed with and had strong influences upon the languages and cultures of the North Germanic and Baltic and Finnic peoples, and also upon the Polabian Slavs and Pomeranian West Slavic people.
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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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Simon Corcoran
Simon Corcoran is an ancient historian and senior research fellow at University College, London. He received his D.Phil from St John's College, Oxford in 1992. He was awarded the Henryk Kupiszewski Prize for his book The Empire of the Tetrarchs in 1998.
He is working on Projet Volterra, an extensive on-line public database of law (Roman, Germanic or ‘barbarian’, and ecclesiastical) for the period AD193–900.
Corcoran is a Consulting Editor for the Journal of Late Antiquity and has served on the Council of the Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies.
In 2010 the Volterra database was used by Corcoran and Salway to identify previously unknown fragments of the Gregorian Code. The "Fragmenta Londiniensia" are seventeen pieces of parchment estimated to date from AD400, the document having been cut up and re-used as book-binding material. This is the first direct evidence yet discovered of the Gregorian Codex.
Greed is a motive everyone can understand. Lactantius includes greed and avarice as a notable part of the tetrarchic maladministration practised by Diocletian, Maximian, Galerius, and Maximinus, and indeed the cause of the inflation the edict seeks to curb. Thus it is Diocletian's greed that gives rise to the Prices Edict itself.
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Staurakios
Staurakios or Stauracius (Greek: Σταυράκιος; died January 11, 812) was Byzantine Emperor from July 26 to October 2, 811 in succession to his father, Nikephoros I, who had fallen at the Battle of Pliska. His rule was cut short by a severe wound suffered in the same battle, and he was forced into retirement in a monastery by his brother-in-law, Michael I Rangabe, where he died soon after.
The son of Emperor Nikephoros I, Staurakios had been crowned as co-emperor by his father in December 803. The chronicler Theophanes the Confessor, on top of stating that he was completely unfit to become co-emperor also claimed that Staurakios was guilty of rape, a claim perhaps colored by his hostility to Nikephoros I. On 20 December 807, the Athenian Theophano, a relative of the deposed Empress Irene, was selected by Nikephoros as Staurakios' wife from a company of young ladies, assembled from around the Empire in a bride show. The two were married that same day. During his father’s reign, he had been given command of the elite tagma of the Hikanatoi.
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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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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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Timothy Barnes
Timothy David Barnes (born 1942) is a British classicist.
Barnes was born in Yorkshire in 1942. He was educated at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield until 1960, going up to Balliol College, Oxford, where he read Literae Humaniores, taking his BA in 1964 and MA in 1967. He was Harmsworth Senior Scholar of Merton College, Oxford 1964–66 and Junior Research Fellow of The Queen's College, Oxford 1966–70. He was awarded his DPhil in 1970. In 1974 the University of Oxford conferred upon him the Conington prize.
On receiving his doctorate he was immediately appointed Assistant Professor of Classics at University College, University of Toronto and in 1972 he was appointed Associate Professor. In 1976 he became Professor of Classics, a post he held for thirty-one years until his retirement in 2007. He was three times Associate Chairman of Classics (1979–83, 1986–89, 1995–96). In the year 1976/7 he was a visiting member of the Institute for Advanced Study. 1983/4 he was Visiting Fellow of Wolfson College, Oxford and 1984/5 he was Connaught Senior Fellow in the Humanities. In 1989 he was elected a Fellow of the University of Trinity College. He delivered the Townsend Lectures at Cornell University in 1994.
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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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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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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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Valerius Romulus
Valerius Romulus, also Marcus Aurelius Romulus (c. 292/295 – 309) was the son of the Caesar and later usurper Maxentius and of Valeria Maximilla, daughter of Emperor Galerius.
Valerius bore the title clarissimus puer in his youth, and later nobilissimus vir. He was consul with his father in 308 and 309; the fact that Maxentius was the only consul for year 310 suggests that Valerius died in 309. He was buried in a tomb along the Via Appia. After death, his status was raised to Divus and his father dedicated him the Temple of Divus Romulus in the Forum.
Media related to Valerius Romulus at Wikimedia Commons
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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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Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro (October 15, 70 BC – September 21, 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil /ˈvɜrdʒəl/ in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He is known for three major works of Latin literature, the Eclogues (or Bucolics), the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid. A number of minor poems, collected in the Appendix Vergiliana, are sometimes attributed to him.
Virgil is traditionally ranked as one of Rome's greatest poets. His Aeneid has been considered the national epic of ancient Rome from the time of its composition to the present day. Modeled after Homer's Iliad and Odyssey, the Aeneid follows the Trojan refugee Aeneas as he struggles to fulfill his destiny and arrive on the shores of Italy—in Roman mythology the founding act of Rome. Virgil's work has had wide and deep influence on Western literature, most notably the Divine Comedy of Dante, in which Virgil appears as Dante's guide through hell and purgatory.
Virgil's biographical tradition is thought to depend on a lost biography by Varius, Virgil's editor, which was incorporated into the biography by Suetonius and the commentaries of Servius and Donatus, the two great commentators on Virgil's poetry. Although the commentaries no doubt record much factual information about Virgil, some of their evidence can be shown to rely on inferences made from his poetry and allegorizing; thus, Virgil's biographical tradition remains problematic.
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Virius Gallus
Virius Gallus (died 4th century) was a Roman senator who was appointed consul in AD 298.
A member of the aristocratic Virii, Gallus’ early senatorial career is unknown. He was appointed consul posterior alongside Sextus Anicius Faustus Paulinus in AD 298. After his term as consul, Gallus was appointed the Corrector of the region of Campania.
A pagan, he reportedly had a statue of Dionysus which he worshiped and made sacrifices to.
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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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Wikipedia Persondata
wn.com/Wikipedia_Persondata -
Zenobia
Zenobia (240 – c. 274) was a 3rd-century Queen of the Palmyrene Empire in Roman Syria. She led a famous revolt against the Roman Empire. The second wife of King Septimius Odaenathus, Zenobia became queen of the Palmyrene Empire following Odaenathus' death in 267. By 269, Zenobia had expanded the empire, conquering Egypt and expelling the Roman prefect, Tenagino Probus, who was beheaded after he led an attempt to recapture the territory. She ruled over Egypt until 274, when she was defeated and taken as a hostage to Rome by Emperor Aurelian.
Zenobia was born and raised in Palmyra, Syria. Latin and Greek writers referred to her as Zenobia. Her Roman name was Julia Aurelia Zenobia and in Greek, she is known as Zēnobía (ἡ Ζηνοβία) or Septimia Zenobia, having added Septimia after marrying Septimius Odaenathus. The Aramaic form of her name was Bat-Zabbai (בת זבי), and this is how she signed her name. To Arabic writers she is known as al-Zabbā’ (الزباء).
She belonged to a family with Aramaic names. She herself claimed to be of the Seleucid line of the Cleopatras and the Ptolemies.Athanasius of Alexandria reported her being "a Jewess follower of Paul of Samosata", which explains her strained relationship with the rabbis. Later doubtful Arabic sources provide indications of her Arab descent.Al-Tabari, for example, writes that she belonged to the same tribe as her future husband, the 'Amlaqi, which was probably one of the four original tribes of Palmyra. According to him, Zenobia's father, ‘Amr ibn al-Ẓarib, was the sheikh of the 'Amlaqi. After he was killed by members of the rival Tanukh tribal confederation, Zenobia became the head of the 'Amlaqis, leading them in their nomadic lifestyle to summer and winter pastures.
wn.com/Zenobia -
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.
wn.com/Zoe_Porphyrogenita -
Zosimus
Zosimus (Greek: Ζώσιμος; fl. 490s–510s) was a Byzantine historian, who lived in Constantinople during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Anastasius I (491–518). According to Photius, he was a comes, and held the office of "advocate" of the imperial treasury.
Zosimus' Historia Nova, "New History", is written in Greek in six books. For the period from 238 to 270, he apparently uses Dexippus; for the period from 270 to 404, Eunapius; and after 407, Olympiodorus. His slavish dependence upon his sources is made clear by the change in tone and style between the Eunapian and Olympiodoran sections, and by the muddled gap left in between them. In the Eunapian section, for example, he is pessimistic, vague, and critical of Stilicho; in the Olympiodoran section, he offers precise figures and transliterations from the Latin, and favors Stilicho.
The first book sketches briefly the history of the early Roman emperors from Augustus to Diocletian (305); the second, third and fourth deal more fully with the period from the accession of Constantius Chlorus and Galerius to the death of Theodosius I; the fifth and sixth, the most useful for historians, cover the period between 395 and 410, when Priscus Attalus was deposed; for this period, he is the most important surviving non-ecclesiastical source. The work, which breaks off abruptly in the summer of 410 at the beginning of the sixth book, is believed to have been written in 498–518.
wn.com/Zosimus
RELEASE
ALBUMS
- Black Dominion
- Desolate Earth
- All Against All
- Might Is Right
- Kingdom of Rats
- Death Tyrant
- Nuclear Vomited
- Blood Aeon
- Infernos
- Fortress of the Unconquerable
- Doom Cult
- The Iron Fist
- Oath to Ruin
- Deathstrike Overkill
- Werewolf Directive
- Antichrist Hammerfist
- Bullet Vomited
- Baphocletian
- Heretics
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Diocletian - All Against All
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:59
- Updated: 07 Jan 2013
Diocletian - War of All Against All album
http://wn.com/Diocletian_All_Against_All
Diocletian - Doom Cult
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:07
- Updated: 04 Jan 2013
Diocletian - Doom Cult album
http://wn.com/Diocletian_Doom_Cult
Emperors of Rome: Diocletian
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:02
- Updated: 23 Dec 2012
Emperors of Rome continues with Diocletian who ended the crisis of the third century and brought military and economic stability to an empire that was on its knees.
http://wn.com/Emperors_of_Rome_Diocletian
Emperors of Rome continues with Diocletian who ended the crisis of the third century and brought military and economic stability to an empire that was on its knees.
- published: 08 Nov 2011
- views: 3007
- author: Adrian Murdoch
A Quick Overview of Diocletian's Tetrarchy - The Roman "Rule by Four"
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:31
- Updated: 17 Nov 2012
The term Tetrarchy describes any system of government where power is divided among four individuals, but usually refers to the tetrarchy instituted by Roman Emperor Diocletian in 293, marking the end of the Crisis of the Third Century and the recovery of the Roman Empire. This Tetrarchy lasted until c.313, when internecine conflict eliminated most of the claimants to power, leaving Constantine in the West and Licinius in the East.
http://wn.com/A_Quick_Overview_of_Diocletian's_Tetrarchy_The_Roman_Rule_by_Four
The term Tetrarchy describes any system of government where power is divided among four individuals, but usually refers to the tetrarchy instituted by Roman Emperor Diocletian in 293, marking the end of the Crisis of the Third Century and the recovery of the Roman Empire. This Tetrarchy lasted until c.313, when internecine conflict eliminated most of the claimants to power, leaving Constantine in the West and Licinius in the East.
- published: 09 Jun 2010
- views: 5190
- author: TitusLabienus
Diocletian - Order of the Iron Fist
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:43
- Updated: 26 Dec 2012
Diocletian - Order of the Iron Fist Decimator [EP, 2007] Black/Death Metal
http://wn.com/Diocletian_Order_of_the_Iron_Fist
Diocletian - Order of the Iron Fist Decimator [EP, 2007] Black/Death Metal
- published: 19 Jan 2010
- views: 16420
- author: DesolationESP
Cam Sinclair - Diocletian - Recording Session (04-March-2012) - Deathstrike Overkill
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:33
- Updated: 07 Jan 2013
Recording "Deathstrike Overkill" for the European Annihilation tour 7" EP. To be released by Iron Bonehead Productions.
http://wn.com/Cam_Sinclair_Diocletian_Recording_Session_04-March-2012_Deathstrike_Overkill
Recording "Deathstrike Overkill" for the European Annihilation tour 7" EP. To be released by Iron Bonehead Productions.
- published: 09 Mar 2012
- views: 2691
- author: snearbasket
Diocletian - The Reformer
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:23
- Updated: 16 Aug 2012
Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus was the last of the Roman Barracks Emperors. He ended the crisis of the 3rd century and reformed the empire. But he also brutally persecuted religious minoreties like Christians and Manichaeians. In spite of that he was the last important Roman Emperor before Constantine the Great. With the reign of Diocletian started late antiquity.
http://wn.com/Diocletian_The_Reformer
Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus was the last of the Roman Barracks Emperors. He ended the crisis of the 3rd century and reformed the empire. But he also brutally persecuted religious minoreties like Christians and Manichaeians. In spite of that he was the last important Roman Emperor before Constantine the Great. With the reign of Diocletian started late antiquity.
- published: 28 Jun 2009
- views: 2374
- author: DrGull1888
Diocletian - Heretics
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:54
- Updated: 28 Nov 2012
Diocletian at Rosies Live, Brisbane, April 23rd 2010CE
http://wn.com/Diocletian_Heretics
Diocletian at Rosies Live, Brisbane, April 23rd 2010CE
- published: 14 Jun 2010
- views: 11781
- author: doomcult
Diocletian and the Borders
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 14:44
- Updated: 06 Jan 2013
It took a master strategist to run the Roman Empire. Diocletian was exactly that.
http://wn.com/Diocletian_and_the_Borders
It took a master strategist to run the Roman Empire. Diocletian was exactly that.
- published: 31 Dec 2011
- views: 223
- author: historyscientist
Diocletian - Decimator
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:13
- Updated: 07 Dec 2012
Artist / Interpret : Diocletian Song / Title / Titel : Decimator Album : Decimator ( EP ) Genre / Stil : Black Metal / Death Metal ( New Zealand )
http://wn.com/Diocletian_Decimator
Artist / Interpret : Diocletian Song / Title / Titel : Decimator Album : Decimator ( EP ) Genre / Stil : Black Metal / Death Metal ( New Zealand )
- published: 04 Apr 2010
- views: 2849
- author: soulflytribe94
The Character of Diocletian
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 14:45
- Updated: 16 Nov 2012
A straight forward and able man, Diocletian had a huge influence on the development of the empire.
http://wn.com/The_Character_of_Diocletian
A straight forward and able man, Diocletian had a huge influence on the development of the empire.
- published: 31 Dec 2011
- views: 155
- author: historyscientist
Diocletian and the Tetrarchy
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 10:30
- Updated: 16 Nov 2012
There are just over a hundred recorded Roman emperors but few of them had as much impact as Diocletian. It is a very human failing to imagine that we are immortal and to take little thought for the consequences for the world when we are no longer in it. Despite their important position, the emperors were no different. Few thought beyond the immediate question of who would succeed them. Some didn't even do that.
http://wn.com/Diocletian_and_the_Tetrarchy
There are just over a hundred recorded Roman emperors but few of them had as much impact as Diocletian. It is a very human failing to imagine that we are immortal and to take little thought for the consequences for the world when we are no longer in it. Despite their important position, the emperors were no different. Few thought beyond the immediate question of who would succeed them. Some didn't even do that.
- published: 30 Dec 2011
- views: 353
- author: historyscientist
Diocletian - Might is Right
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:32
- Updated: 02 Jan 2013
Diocletian - War of All Against All album
http://wn.com/Diocletian_Might_is_Right
Diocletian - Live in Deathkult Open Air II 2012.mp4
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 7:06
- Updated: 02 Jan 2013
Diocletian - Live in Deathkult Open Air II , Gollnitz, Germany 18.05.2012 Filmed and Edited : Urgehal urgehal666@gmail.com Thanks: Organizers and Musicians
http://wn.com/Diocletian_Live_in_Deathkult_Open_Air_II_2012mp4
Diocletian - Live in Deathkult Open Air II , Gollnitz, Germany 18.05.2012 Filmed and Edited : Urgehal urgehal666@gmail.com Thanks: Organizers and Musicians
- published: 24 May 2012
- views: 2322
- author: 13urgehal666
Split In Your Pocket - Diocletian's Palace (Dioklecijanova palača)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:54
- Updated: 16 Nov 2012
split.inyourpocket.com Split In Your Pocket editor Kristina Kovač explores the palace of Roman emperor Diocletian, Split's most important landmark. Construction began in 293 and was completed in ten years and utilized a variety of materials from all around the region, including white stone shipped from the island of Brač to sphinxes transported all the way from Egypt. Diocletian's palace has become the quintessential 'living museum,' as modern shops and citizens live and work inside the walls of the ancient palace complex. The part of the palace known as "the basement" was built during the reign of Diocletian to support the apartments placed above it and, until 1956, was unexplored and cluttered up with the detritus of thousands of years of history. Now, it's been cleaned and opened for visitors. Because it mirrors the floor plan of the original imperial living quarters, a visit to the basement can help visitors envision the layout of the palace. And, because exploring the depths of ancient palaces is difficult work, the steps leading up and out of the northern end of the basement to the Peristyle can be a perfect escape. For more information on sightseeing in Split check out Split In Your Pocket split.inyourpocket.com
http://wn.com/Split_In_Your_Pocket_Diocletian's_Palace_Dioklecijanova_palača
split.inyourpocket.com Split In Your Pocket editor Kristina Kovač explores the palace of Roman emperor Diocletian, Split's most important landmark. Construction began in 293 and was completed in ten years and utilized a variety of materials from all around the region, including white stone shipped from the island of Brač to sphinxes transported all the way from Egypt. Diocletian's palace has become the quintessential 'living museum,' as modern shops and citizens live and work inside the walls of the ancient palace complex. The part of the palace known as "the basement" was built during the reign of Diocletian to support the apartments placed above it and, until 1956, was unexplored and cluttered up with the detritus of thousands of years of history. Now, it's been cleaned and opened for visitors. Because it mirrors the floor plan of the original imperial living quarters, a visit to the basement can help visitors envision the layout of the palace. And, because exploring the depths of ancient palaces is difficult work, the steps leading up and out of the northern end of the basement to the Peristyle can be a perfect escape. For more information on sightseeing in Split check out Split In Your Pocket split.inyourpocket.com
- published: 15 Aug 2009
- views: 7405
- author: InYourPocketGuides
Diocletian - Werewolf Directive
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:19
- Updated: 02 Jan 2013
Progeny of Europa Raised by a father most dire Fashion tomorrow in the forge of sacrifice So that we may live beyond today A brotherhood intimate with death That only battle can assuage Men among the ruins shackled to a corpse The old world is one foot in the grave Encircled by torment morbid sustenance The new world by mammon enslaved Progeny of Europa Successors of struggle and pride The rider of blood from the past now bleeds White are the wolves that conquer the ages And white are the bleached bones of our foes Whirlwind descent into the maelstrom Long is the journey that leads Today this day Is created the Werewolf and cast off the man In an era where downfall is sacrosanct We shall not fall prey to this decline Witness the throes of an epoch at its zenith Uphold triumphant the standards of truth Streaming eternal back in time Arise Progeny of Europa The rider of blood from the past now bleeds Progeny of Europa Long is the journey that leads
http://wn.com/Diocletian_Werewolf_Directive
Progeny of Europa Raised by a father most dire Fashion tomorrow in the forge of sacrifice So that we may live beyond today A brotherhood intimate with death That only battle can assuage Men among the ruins shackled to a corpse The old world is one foot in the grave Encircled by torment morbid sustenance The new world by mammon enslaved Progeny of Europa Successors of struggle and pride The rider of blood from the past now bleeds White are the wolves that conquer the ages And white are the bleached bones of our foes Whirlwind descent into the maelstrom Long is the journey that leads Today this day Is created the Werewolf and cast off the man In an era where downfall is sacrosanct We shall not fall prey to this decline Witness the throes of an epoch at its zenith Uphold triumphant the standards of truth Streaming eternal back in time Arise Progeny of Europa The rider of blood from the past now bleeds Progeny of Europa Long is the journey that leads
- published: 06 Nov 2010
- views: 4080
- author: vaggelisfear
Diocletian's Prices Edict (Geraki)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:50
- Updated: 26 Sep 2012
http://wn.com/Diocletian's_Prices_Edict_Geraki
Emperor Diocletian's Palace and Peristyle, Split, Croatia
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:11
- Updated: 16 Nov 2012
www.TravelsWithSheila.com Using the walking map, we made our way into the Peristil a colonnaded courtyard whose original purpose was to allow access to the Emperor's apartment, mausoleum and temples. Look for the Tourist "I"nformation Office along the perimeter inside the 13th century Church of St. Roche. Luxor Cafe still has the base of Tempe of Venus visible. Walk in, look down at the round marble floor. Keep on walking. There's a lot more to see...
http://wn.com/Emperor_Diocletian's_Palace_and_Peristyle,_Split,_Croatia
www.TravelsWithSheila.com Using the walking map, we made our way into the Peristil a colonnaded courtyard whose original purpose was to allow access to the Emperor's apartment, mausoleum and temples. Look for the Tourist "I"nformation Office along the perimeter inside the 13th century Church of St. Roche. Luxor Cafe still has the base of Tempe of Venus visible. Walk in, look down at the round marble floor. Keep on walking. There's a lot more to see...
- published: 28 Sep 2011
- views: 647
- author: travelswithsheila
diocletian - sect of swords
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:15
- Updated: 17 Dec 2012
http://wn.com/diocletian_sect_of_swords
Croatia Travel: Split, Marjan Hill and Diocletian's Palace
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:17
- Updated: 14 Dec 2012
On May 1, 2012 we embarked on an excursion from Zadar to Split, Croatia's second largest city. Split is a beautiful coastal city with a long history. Archeological research indicates that the area was inhabited as early as the 6th century BC. After a brief stroll along the beautiful waterfront and the old downtown, we embarked on a walk up Marjan Hill which is covered in a dense pine forest and provides sweeping views over the city and the coastal areas and islands that are located off the coast. Once arrived at the top, we realized that there was a huge festival on top of the hill with thousands of people attending. Food was being prepared and children could enjoy rides and different types of entertainment. On the way back to the city, incredible panoramic vistas opened up of the downtown and the harbour of Split. After my walk to Marjan Hill, my discoveries of Split, Croatia, continued. The centre if the city is dominated by Diocletian's Palace, a palace built by the Roman Emperor Diocletian around the turn of the 4th century AD. A designated UNESCO World Heritage Site, the palace is one of the best preserved Roman-era structures anywhere, and during the Middle Ages, locals built Gothic and Renaissance houses inside the palace walls. The palace is home to the Peristyle, a monumental courtyard, and the Cathedral of St. Domnius whose main part is the mausoleum of Emperor Diocletian and dates from the 3rd century. The cathedral's Romanesque bell tower was constructed ...
http://wn.com/Croatia_Travel_Split,_Marjan_Hill_and_Diocletian's_Palace
On May 1, 2012 we embarked on an excursion from Zadar to Split, Croatia's second largest city. Split is a beautiful coastal city with a long history. Archeological research indicates that the area was inhabited as early as the 6th century BC. After a brief stroll along the beautiful waterfront and the old downtown, we embarked on a walk up Marjan Hill which is covered in a dense pine forest and provides sweeping views over the city and the coastal areas and islands that are located off the coast. Once arrived at the top, we realized that there was a huge festival on top of the hill with thousands of people attending. Food was being prepared and children could enjoy rides and different types of entertainment. On the way back to the city, incredible panoramic vistas opened up of the downtown and the harbour of Split. After my walk to Marjan Hill, my discoveries of Split, Croatia, continued. The centre if the city is dominated by Diocletian's Palace, a palace built by the Roman Emperor Diocletian around the turn of the 4th century AD. A designated UNESCO World Heritage Site, the palace is one of the best preserved Roman-era structures anywhere, and during the Middle Ages, locals built Gothic and Renaissance houses inside the palace walls. The palace is home to the Peristyle, a monumental courtyard, and the Cathedral of St. Domnius whose main part is the mausoleum of Emperor Diocletian and dates from the 3rd century. The cathedral's Romanesque bell tower was constructed ...
- published: 09 Aug 2012
- views: 196
- author: travelandtransitions
Diocletian's Palace in Split, Croatia
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:43
- Updated: 08 Jan 2013
Diocletian's Palace in Split, Croatia was built by the Roman emperor Diocletian at the turn of the fourth century AD. Video shot inside the Peristyle
http://wn.com/Diocletian's_Palace_in_Split,_Croatia
Diocletian's Palace in Split, Croatia was built by the Roman emperor Diocletian at the turn of the fourth century AD. Video shot inside the Peristyle
- published: 18 Aug 2012
- views: 66
- author: ruge75
Diocletian - Black Dominion
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:01
- Updated: 24 Nov 2012
Diocletian - War of All Against All album
http://wn.com/Diocletian_Black_Dominion
Diocletian - The Iron Fist
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:55
- Updated: 11 Dec 2012
Diocletian - Doom Cult album
http://wn.com/Diocletian_The_Iron_Fist
photo: AP / Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
08 Jan 2013
MOSCOW, January 8 (RIA Novosti) – At least 17 billion Earth-size planets may inhabit the Milky Way galaxy, SPACE.com reported citing a new study by US astronomers ... That translates to a minimum of 17 billion planets as there are about 100 billion stars in the Milky Way ... Over a hundred of candidates have been confirmed as planets so far, NASA said....(size: 1.7Kb)
photo: US Army / Sgt. Christopher Bonebrake
07 Jan 2013
Article by WN.com Correspondent Dallas Darling. When Congress granted President Lyndon B. Johnson absolute powers to "take all necessary measures to repel any armed attack against the forces of the United States and to prevent further aggression," Congress could have also included "all necessary vanities." The 1964 Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, which greatly escalated a foreign imperial war in Vietnam, added fuel to the bonfires of vanity....(size: 5.2Kb)
photo: AP / New South Wales Rural Fire Service
08 Jan 2013
SYDNEY - Firefighters battled scores of wildfires raging across southeast Australia on Tuesday with officials evacuating national parks and warning that blistering temperatures and high winds had led to "catastrophic" fire conditions in some areas. Enlarge. A charred vehicle sits near the remains of a destroyed home following a wildfire near Dunalley, east of the Tasmanian capital of Hobart, Australia, Saturday, Jan. 5, 2013 ... Editorial ... ....(size: 6.3Kb)
photo: AP / Menahem Kahana
08 Jan 2013
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - It's Bibi against the world on a campaign trail that took the combative Israeli prime minister to a Jewish settlement on Tuesday. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem December 9, 2012. REUTERS/Ammar Awad ... Tweaking his message to match the locality, Netanyahu said ... The danger comes from Iran, which is building nuclear weapons." ... CHEMICAL WEAPONS ... ....(size: 3.8Kb)
photo: WN / Imran Nissar
07 Jan 2013
The father of Indian woman who died after being gang raped and tortured has said he had not allowed his daughter to be identified after the British Daily Mirror Sunday paper edition revealed her name, Indian newspaper the Hindustan Times reported on Monday ... Legal experts say the court in the Saket district of the capital would likely transfer the case to a more senior court during Monday's hearing ... 614 Source.....(size: 19.4Kb)
The Examiner
01 Jan 2013
As the old year ends, and a new one begins, it is time to look forward and backward once more. The new year provides many anniversaries to commemorate. Interestingly, many of them involve Islam. The following are some anniversaries worth noting in 2013 ... At the beginning of the fourth century, Diocletian launched the Great Persecution against Christians ... In 313, Constantine issued the Edict of Milan, which ended Diocletian’s persecution ... ....(size: 3.4Kb)
The Daily Telegraph Australia
08 Dec 2012
FROM a city of liquid roads to the walled citadel guarding Europe's southernmost fjord, the Adriatic Sea had its surprises but it was the Land of the Giants that literally threw me ... Its facilities take a few days to explore ... Within an easy walk of the walls of Diocletian's Palace are the cobblestone and flagstone paths of old alleyways opening into large squares, and heritage churches showing their proud Croatian history ... Go2 ... -- ... ....(size: 7.4Kb)
The Examiner
05 Dec 2012
Nicholas was very pious from an early age, and was ordained quite young He performed most of his activities as a priest under the reign and persecutions of Diocletian, Maximian, and Galerius He was raised to the episcopacy of Myra and was renowned for his charity Under Constantine, he attended the first Council of ......(size: 1.6Kb)
noodls
05 Dec 2012
All news REMINDER.Ottawa Police celebrates St. Nicholas Day through a Christmas Tree Lighting on Thursday December 6th,2012. 05/12/2012. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE. Wednesday, December 5, 2012 12.59 pm. (Ottawa) - On the occasion of St ... WHERE. Ottawa Police station at 474 Elgin Street. WHEN. Thursday, December 6, 2012. TIME ... Nicholas, a popular and kindly bishop, was imprisoned during the Roman persecutions of Diocletian in the Fourth century....(size: 4.7Kb)
The Examiner
28 Nov 2012
Former Wright State University professor, Dr. Janice J. Gabbert wrote of the classical world in “A Compendium of Ancient and Medieval History.”. She began the tale following “the death of the last of the Five Good Emperors,” Marcus Arelius, a name best known in our era as a character in the film Gladiator ... This had a predictable result ... Lastly, Gabbert wrote that Emperors Diocletian and Constantine preserved the empire but at great cost ... ....(size: 4.0Kb)
Newstrack India
22 Nov 2012
Tweet. London, Nov 22 (ANI). Jesus was born several years earlier than commonly believed as the entire Christian calendar is based on a miscalculation, the Pope has declared ... The Infancy Narratives', published on Wednesday, the Telegraph reported ... He drew up the new system in part to distance it from the calendar in use at the time, which was based on the years since the reign of the Roman emperor Diocletian ... (ANI). Post comments.. ) .. ). ... ....(size: 3.1Kb)
Zeenews
22 Nov 2012
London. Jesus was born several years earlier than commonly believed as the entire Christian calendar is based on a miscalculation, the Pope has declared ... The Infancy Narratives’, published on Wednesday, the Telegraph reported ... He drew up the new system in part to distance it from the calendar in use at the time, which was based on the years since the reign of the Roman emperor Diocletian ... ANI ... First Published ... ....(size: 2.5Kb)
Business Insider
21 Nov 2012
The entire Christian calendar is based on a miscalculation, the Pope has declared, as he claims in a new book that Jesus was born several years earlier than commonly believed ... The Infancy Narratives', published on Wednesday ... He drew up the new system in part to distance it from the calendar in use at the time, which was based on the years since the reign of the Roman emperor Diocletian ... "We don't even know which season he was born in ... ....(size: 4.4Kb)
noodls
21 Nov 2012
All news Ottawa Police celebrates St. Nicholas Day through a Christmas Tree Lighting on Thursday December 6, 2012. 20/11/2012. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE. Tuesday, November 20, 2012 5.24 pm . (Ottawa) - On the occasion of St ... WHERE. Ottawa Police station at 474 Elgin Street. WHEN. Thursday, December 6, 2012. TIME ... St. Nicholas, a popular and kindly bishop, was imprisoned during the Roman persecutions of Diocletian in the Fourth century....(size: 4.7Kb)
The Other Site
21 Nov 2012
Â. Illustration by Mr. Fish. Gaza is a window on our coming dystopia. The growing divide between the worldâs elite and its miserable masses of humanity is maintained through spiraling violence ... These nightmarish dystopias extend from sub-Saharan Africa to Pakistan to China ... Resistance is called a provocation, terrorism or a crime against humanity ... Coetzee writes, is âthe black flower of civilization.â It is Rome under Diocletian ... ....(size: 11.1Kb)
The Examiner
01 Nov 2012
Related topics. Halloween. Advertisement. A little history on a candy coated subject. Halloween had its beginnings in an ancient pre-Christian Celtic festival of the dead called Samhain Honor of the dead(or their ghosts/spirits) were allowed to rise from the otherworld and mingle with the living ... In the persecution of Diocletian the number of martyrs became so great that a separate day could not be assigned to each ... 1, p. 315). Today ... Deut ... ....(size: 8.2Kb)
American Spectator
31 Oct 2012
By Matthew Taylor on 10.31.12 @ 6.07AM. The second movie in the Atlas Shrugged trilogy fails precisely because it succeeds. Atlas Shrugged Part II ... The basic plot points will be familiar to anyone who has ever read the book (or known a 16-year-old libertarian obsessed with it). As the film opens, the U.S. economy is shot ... Desperate government agents have given the economic theories of Diocletian another chance ... Further, Mr....(size: 3.1Kb)
WorldNetDaily
20 Oct 2012
Here Phaethon lies who in the sun-gods chariot led. And though greatly he dared, more greatly he failed. ~ my paraphrase of Edith Hamilton’s “Mythology” (1942). Some men aren’t looking for anything logical, like money ... ~ Alfred, “Batman ... I, Obama, like my tyrannical predecessors Tiberius, Caligula, Nero, Domitian, Diocletian and Commodus, am narcissistic, ill-bred, ignorant and anti-Christian to my core ... ....(size: 6.3Kb)
| Diocletian | |
|---|---|
| 51st Emperor of the Roman Empire | |
_-_Foto_G._Dall%27Orto_28-5-2006.jpg) Laureate bust of Diocletian |
|
| Reign | 20 November 284 – 1 April 286 (alone) 1 April 286 – 1 May 305 (as Augustus of the east, with Maximian as Augustus of the west)[1] |
| Full name | Diocles (full name unknown) (from birth to accession); Caesar Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus Augustus (as emperor)[2] |
| Born | c. 22 December 244[3] |
| Birthplace | Salona (now Solin, Croatia) |
| Died | 3 December 311 (aged 66)[4] |
| Place of death | Aspalathos (now Split, Croatia) |
| Buried | Diocletian's Palace in Aspalathos. His tomb was later turned into a Christian church, the Cathedral of St. Domnius, which is still standing within the palace at Split. |
| Predecessor | Numerian |
| Successor | Constantius Chlorus and Galerius |
| Consort to | Prisca |
| Offspring | Valeria |
Diocletian (Latin: Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus Augustus;[5][notes 1] c. 22 December 244[3] – 3 December 311[4]), 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.
Diocletian delegated further on 1 March 293, appointing Galerius and Constantius as Caesars, junior co-emperors. Under this "Tetrarchy", or "rule of four", each emperor would rule over a quarter-division of the Empire. Diocletian secured the Empire's borders and purged it of all threats to his power. He defeated the Sarmatians and Carpi during several campaigns between 285 and 299, the Alamanni in 288, and usurpers in Egypt between 297 and 298. Galerius, aided by Diocletian, campaigned successfully against Sassanid Persia, the Empire's traditional enemy. In 299 he sacked their capital, Ctesiphon. Diocletian led the subsequent negotiations and achieved a lasting and favorable peace. Diocletian separated and enlarged the Empire's civil and military services and reorganized the Empire's provincial divisions, establishing the largest and most bureaucratic government in the history of the Empire. He established new administrative centers in Nicomedia, Mediolanum, Antioch, and Trier, closer to the Empire's frontiers than the traditional capital at Rome had been. Building on third-century trends towards absolutism, he styled himself an autocrat, elevating himself above the Empire's masses with imposing forms of court ceremonies and architecture. Bureaucratic and military growth, constant campaigning, and construction projects increased the state's expenditures and necessitated a comprehensive tax reform. From at least 297 on, imperial taxation was standardized, made more equitable, and levied at generally higher rates.
Not all of Diocletian's plans were successful: the Edict on Maximum Prices (301), his attempt to curb inflation via price controls, was counterproductive and quickly ignored. Although effective while he ruled, Diocletian's Tetrarchic system collapsed after his abdication under the competing dynastic claims of Maxentius and Constantine, sons of Maximian and Constantius respectively. The Diocletianic Persecution (303–11), the Empire's last, largest, and bloodiest official persecution of Christianity, did not destroy the Empire's Christian community; indeed, after 324 Christianity became the empire's preferred religion under its first Christian emperor, Constantine.
In spite of his failures, Diocletian's reforms fundamentally changed the structure of Roman imperial government and helped stabilize the Empire economically and militarily, enabling the Empire to remain essentially intact for another hundred years despite having seemed near the brink of collapse in Diocletian's youth. Weakened by illness, Diocletian left the imperial office on 1 May 305, and became the only Roman emperor to voluntarily abdicate the position. He lived out his retirement in his palace on the Dalmatian coast, tending to his vegetable gardens. His palace eventually became the core of the modern-day city of Split.
Contents |
Early life[link]
Diocletian was probably born near Salona in Dalmatia (Solin in modern Croatia), some time around 244.[3] His parents named him Diocles, or possibly Diocles Valerius.[6] The modern historian Timothy Barnes takes his official birthday, 22 December, as his actual birthdate. Other historians are not so certain.[7] Diocles' parents were of low status, and writers critical of him claimed that his father was a scribe or a freedman of the senator Anullinus, or even that Diocles was a freedman himself. The first forty years of his life are mostly obscure.[8] The Byzantine chronicler Joannes Zonaras states that he was Dux Moesiae,[9] a commander of forces on the lower Danube.[10] The often-unreliable Historia Augusta states that he served in Gaul, but this account is not corroborated by other sources and is ignored by modern historians of the period.[11]
Death of Numerian[link]
Emperor Carus' death left his unpopular sons Numerian and Carinus as the new Augusti. Carinus quickly made his way to Rome from Gaul and arrived by January 284. Numerian lingered in the east.[12] The Romans left the country unopposed.[13] The Roman withdrawal from Persia was orderly. The Sassanid king Bahram II could not field any armies against them, as he was still struggling to establish his authority. By March 284, Numerian had only reached Emesa (Homs) in Syria; by November, only Asia Minor.[14] In Emesa he was apparently still alive and in good health: he issued the only extant rescript in his name there,[15][notes 2] but after he left the city, his staff, including the prefect Aper, reported that he suffered from an inflammation of the eyes. He traveled in a closed coach from then on.[17] When the army reached Bithynia,[12] some of the soldiers smelled an odor emanating from the coach.[13] They opened its curtains and inside they found Numerian dead.[18]
Aper officially broke the news in Nicomedia (İzmit) in November.[19] Numerianus' generals and tribunes called a council for the succession, and chose Diocles as Emperor,[20] in spite of Aper's attempts to garner support.[19] On 20 November 284, the army of the east gathered on a hill 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) outside Nicomedia. The army unanimously saluted Diocles as their new Augustus, and he accepted the purple imperial vestments. He raised his sword to the light of the sun and swore an oath disclaiming responsibility for Numerian's death. He asserted that Aper had killed Numerian and concealed it.[21] In full view of the army, Diocles drew his sword and killed Aper.[22] According to the Historia Augusta, he quoted from Virgil while doing so.[23] Soon after Aper's death, Diocles changed his name to the more Latinate "Diocletianus",[24] in full Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus.[25]
Conflict with Carinus[link]
After his accession, Diocletian and Lucius Caesonius Bassus[26] were named as consuls.[27] They assumed the fasces in place of Carinus and Numerianus. Bassus was a member of a Campanian senatorial family, a former consul and a proconsul of Africa. He had been chosen by Probus for signal distinction.[28] He was a man skilled in areas of government where Diocletian, presumably, had no experience.[19] Diocletian's elevation of Bassus as consul symbolized his rejection of Carinus' government in Rome, his refusal to accept second-tier status to any other emperor,[28] and his willingness to continue the long-standing collaboration between the Empire's senatorial and military aristocracies.[19] It also tied his success to that of the Senate, whose support he would need in an advance on Rome.[28]
Diocletian was not the only challenger to Carinus' rule: the usurper M. Aurelius Julianus, Carinus' corrector Venetiae, took control of northern Italy and Pannonia after Diocletian's accession.[29] Julianus minted coins from the mint at Siscia (Sisak, Croatia) declaring himself as Emperor and promising freedom. It was all good publicity for Diocletian, and it aided in his portrayal of Carinus as a cruel and oppressive tyrant.[30] Julianus' forces were weak, however, and were handily dispersed when Carinus' armies moved from Britain to northern Italy. As leader of the united East, Diocletian was clearly the greater threat.[31] Over the winter of 284–85, Diocletian advanced west across the Balkans. In the spring, some time before the end of May,[32] his armies met Carinus' across the river Margus (Great Morava) in Moesia. In modern accounts, the site has been located between the Mons Aureus (Seone, west of Smederevo) and Viminacium,[28] near modern Belgrade, Serbia.[33]
Despite having the stronger army, Carinus held the weaker position. His rule was unpopular, and it was later alleged that he had mistreated the Senate and seduced his officers' wives.[34] It is possible that Flavius Constantius, the governor of Dalmatia and Diocletian's associate in the household guard, had already defected to Diocletian in the early spring.[35] When the Battle of the Margus began, Carinus' prefect Aristobulus also defected.[19] In the course of the battle, Carinus was killed by his own men. Following Diocletian's victory, both the western and the eastern armies acclaimed him Augustus.[36] Diocletian exacted an oath of allegiance from the defeated army and departed for Italy.[37]
Early rule[link]
Diocletian may have become involved in battles against the Quadi and Marcomanni immediately after the Battle of the Margus. He eventually made his way to northern Italy and made an imperial government, but it is not known whether he visited the city of Rome at this time.[38] There is a contemporary issue of coins suggestive of an imperial adventus (arrival) for the city,[39] but some modern historians state that Diocletian avoided the city, and that he did so on principle, as the city and its Senate were no longer politically relevant to the affairs of the Empire and needed to be taught as much. Diocletian dated his reign from his elevation by the army, not the date of his ratification by the Senate,[40] following the practice established by Carus, who had declared the Senate's ratification a useless formality.[41] If Diocletian ever did enter Rome shortly after his accession, he did not stay long;[42] he is attested back in the Balkans by 2 November 285, on campaign against the Sarmatians.[43]
Diocletian replaced the prefect of Rome with his consular colleague Bassus. Most officials who had served under Carinus, however, retained their offices under Diocletian.[44] In an act the epitomator Aurelius Victor denotes as unusual act of clementia,[45] Diocletian did not kill or depose Carinus' traitorous praetorian prefect and consul Ti. Claudius Aurelius Aristobulus, but confirmed him in both roles,[46] and later gave him the proconsulate of Africa and the rank of urban prefect.[47] The other figures who retained their offices might have also betrayed Carinus.[48]
Maximian made co-emperor[link]
Recent history had demonstrated that sole rulership was dangerous to the stability of the empire. The assassinations of Aurelian (r. 270–75) and Probus testified to that truth.[19] Conflict boiled in every province of the Empire, from Gaul to Syria, from Egypt to the lower Danube. It was too much for a single person to control, and Diocletian needed a lieutenant.[50] At some time in 285 at Mediolanum (Milan, Italy),[notes 3] Diocletian raised his fellow-officer Maximian to the office of Caesar, making him co-emperor.[53]
The concept of dual rulership was nothing new to the Roman Empire. Augustus, the first Emperor (r. 27 BC–AD 14), had shared power with his colleagues, and more formal offices of co-Emperor had existed from Marcus Aurelius (r. 161–80) on.[54] Most recently, the emperor Carus and his sons had ruled together, albeit unsuccessfully. Diocletian was in a less comfortable position than most of his predecessors, as he had a daughter, Valeria, but no sons. His co-ruler had to be from outside his family. He could not, therefore, be easily trusted.[55] Some historians state that Diocletian, like some emperors before him, adopted Maximian as his filius Augusti, his "Augustan son", upon his appointment to the throne.[56] This argument has not been universally accepted.[57]
The relationship between Diocletian and Maximian was quickly couched in religious terms. Circa 287 Diocletian assumed the title Iovius, and Maximian assumed the title Herculius.[58] The titles were probably meant to convey certain characteristics of their associated leaders; Diocletian, in Jovian style, would take on the dominating roles of planning and commanding; Maximian, in Herculian mode, would act as Jupiter's heroic subordinate.[59] For all their religious connotations, the emperors were not "gods" in the tradition of the Imperial cult—although they may have been hailed as such in Imperial panegyrics. Instead, they were seen as the gods' representatives, effecting their will on earth.[60] The shift to divine sanctification from military acclamation took the power to appoint emperors away from the army. Religious legitimization elevated Diocletian and Maximian above potential rivals in a way military power and dynastic claims could not.[61] After his acclamation, Maximian was dispatched to fight the rebel Bagaudae in Gaul. Diocletian returned to the East.[62]
Conflict with Sarmatia and Persia[link]
Diocletian progressed slowly. By 2 November, he had only reached Citivas Iovia (Botivo, near Ptuj, Slovenia).[63] In the Balkans during the autumn of 285, he encountered a tribe of Sarmatians who demanded assistance from the Emperor. The Sarmatians requested that Diocletian either help them recover their lost lands or grant them pasturage rights within the empire. Diocletian refused and fought a battle with them, but was unable to secure a complete victory. The nomadic pressures of the European Plain remained, and could not be solved by a single war; soon the Sarmatians would have to be fought again.[64] He wintered in Nicomedia.[notes 4] There may have been a revolt in the eastern provinces at this time, because Diocletian brought settlers from Asia to populate emptied farmlands in Thrace.[66] He visited Judea the following spring.[notes 5] He probably returned to Nicomedia for the winter. Diocletian's stay in the East saw diplomatic success in the conflict with Persia: in 287, Bahram II granted him precious gifts, declared open friendship with the Empire, and invited Diocletian to visit him.[69] Roman sources insist that the act was entirely voluntary.[70]
Around the same time, perhaps in 287,[71] Persia relinquished claims on Armenia and recognized Roman authority over territory to the west and south of the Tigris. The western portion of Armenia was incorporated into the Empire and made a province. Tiridates III, Arsacid claimant to the Armenian throne and Roman client, had been disinherited and forced to take refuge in the Empire after the Persian conquest of 252/3. In 287, he returned to lay claim to the eastern half of his ancestral domain. He encountered no opposition.[72] Bahram II's gifts were widely recognized as symbolic of a victory in the ongoing conflict with Persia; Diocletian was hailed as the "founder of eternal peace". The events might have represented a formal end to Carus' eastern campaign, which probably ended without an acknowledged peace.[73] At the conclusion of discussions with the Persians, Diocletian re-organized the Mesopotamian frontier and fortified the city of Circesium (Buseire, Syria) on the Euphrates.[74]
Maximian made Augustus[link]
Maximian's campaigns were not proceeding as smoothly. The Bagaudae had been easily suppressed, but Carausius, the man he had put in charge of operations against Saxon and Frankish pirates on the Saxon Shore, had begun keeping the goods seized from the pirates for himself. Maximian issued a death-warrant for his larcenous subordinate. Carausius fled the Continent, proclaimed himself Augustus, and spurred Britain and northwestern Gaul into open revolt against Maximian and Diocletian.[75] Spurred by the crisis, on 1 April 286,[76][notes 6] Maximian took up the title of Augustus.[80] Maximian's appointment is unusual in that it was impossible for Diocletian to have been present to witness the event. It has even been suggested that Maximian usurped the title, and was only later recognized by Diocletian in hopes of avoiding civil war.[81] This suggestion is unpopular, as it is clear that Diocletian meant for Maximian to act with a certain amount of independence.[82]
Maximian realized that he could not immediately suppress the rogue commander, and so, for the whole campaigning season of 287, campaigned against tribes beyond the Rhine instead.[84] The following spring, as Maximian prepared a fleet for an expedition against Carausius, Diocletian returned from the East to meet Maximian. The two emperors agreed on a joint campaign against the Alamanni. Diocletian invaded Germania through Raetia while Maximian progressed from Mainz. Each emperor burned crops and food supplies as he went, destroying the Germans' means of sustenance.[85] The two men added territory to the Empire and allowed Maximian to continue preparations against Carausius without further disturbance.[86] On his return to the East, Diocletian managed what was probably another rapid campaign against the resurgent Sarmatians. No details survive, but surviving inscriptions indicate that Diocletian took the title Sarmaticus Maximus after 289.[87]
In the East, Diocletian engaged in diplomacy with desert tribes in the regions between Rome and Persia. He might have been attempting to persuade them to ally themselves with Rome, thus reviving the old, Rome-friendly, Palmyrene sphere of influence,[88] or simply attempting to reduce the frequency of their incursions.[89] No details survive for these events.[90] Some of the princes of these states were Persian client kings; a disturbing fact in light of increasing tensions with that kingdom.[91] In the West, Maximian lost the fleet built in 288 and 289, probably in the early spring of 290. The panegyrist who refers to the loss suggests that its cause was a storm,[92] but this might simply be the panegyrist's attempt to conceal an embarrassing military defeat.[93] Diocletian broke off his tour of the Eastern provinces soon thereafter. He returned with haste to the West, reaching Emesa by 10 May 290,[94] and Sirmium on the Danube by 1 July 290.[95]
Diocletian met Maximian in Milan in the winter of 290–91, either in late December 290 or January 291.[96] The meeting was undertaken with a sense of solemn pageantry. The Emperors spent most of their time in public appearances. It has been surmised that the ceremonies were arranged to demonstrate Diocletian's continuing support for his faltering colleague.[88] A deputation from the Roman Senate met with the Emperors, renewing that body's infrequent contact with the Imperial office.[97] The choice of Milan over Rome further snubbed the capital's pride. But then it was already a long established practice that Rome itself was only a ceremonial capital, as the actual seat of the Imperial administration was determined by the needs of defense. Long before Diocletian, Gallienus (r. 253–68) had already chosen Milan as the seat of his headquarters.[98] If the panegyric detailing the ceremony implied that the true center of the Empire was not Rome, but where the Emperor sat ("...the capital of the Empire appeared to be there, where the two emperors met"),[99] it simply echoed what had already been stated by the historian Herodian in the early third century: "Rome is where the emperor is".[98] During the meeting, decisions on matters of politics and war were probably made, but they were made in secret.[100] The Augusti would not meet again until 303.[88]
Tetrarchy[link]
See also: Tetrarchy
Foundation of the Tetrarchy[link]
Some time after his return, and before 293, Diocletian transferred command of the war against Carausius from Maximian to Flavius Constantius. Constantius was a former governor of Dalmatia and a man of military experience stretching back to Aurelian's campaigns against Zenobia (272–73). He was Maximian's praetorian prefect in Gaul, and the husband to Maximian's daughter, Theodora. On 1 March 293 at Milan, Maximian gave Constantius the office of Caesar.[101] In the spring of 293, in either Philippopolis (Plovdiv, Bulgaria) or Sirmium, Diocletian would do the same for Galerius, husband to Diocletian's daughter Valeria, and perhaps Diocletian's praetorian prefect.[notes 7] Constantius was assigned Gaul and Britain. Galerius was assigned Syria, Palestine, Egypt, and responsibility for the eastern borderlands.[103]
This arrangement is called the Tetrarchy, from a Greek term meaning "rulership by four".[104] The Tetrarchic Emperors were more or less sovereign in their own lands, and they travelled with their own imperial courts, administrators, secretaries, and armies.[105] They were joined by blood and marriage; Diocletian and Maximian now styled themselves as brothers. The senior co-Emperors formally adopted Galerius and Constantius as sons in 293. These relationships implied a line of succession. Galerius and Constantius would become Augusti after Diocletian and Maximian's departure. Maximian's son Maxentius, and Constantius' son Constantine would then become Caesars. In preparation for their future roles, Constantine and Maxentius were taken to Diocletian's court in Nicomedia.[106]
Conflict in the Balkans and Egypt[link]
Diocletian spent the spring of 293 traveling with Galerius from Sirmium (Sremska Mitrovica, Serbia) to Byzantium (Istanbul, Turkey). Diocletian then returned to Sirmium, where he would remain for the following winter and spring. He campaigned against the Sarmatians again in 294, probably in the autumn,[108] and won a victory against them. The Sarmatians' defeat kept them from the Danube provinces for a long time. Meanwhile, Diocletian built forts north of the Danube,[109] at Aquincum (Budapest, Hungary), Bononia (Vidin, Bulgaria), Ulcisia Vetera, Castra Florentium, Intercisa (Dunaújváros, Hungary), and Onagrinum (Begeč, Serbia). The new forts became part of a new defensive line called the Ripa Sarmatica.[110] In 295 and 296 Diocletian campaigned in the region again, and won a victory over the Carpi in the summer of 296.[111] Afterwards, during 299 and 302, as Diocletian was then residing in the East, it was Galerius' turn to campaign victoriously on the Danube.[112] By the end of his reign, Diocletian had secured the entire length of the Danube, provided it with forts, bridgeheads, highways, and walled towns, and sent fifteen or more legions to patrol the region; an inscription at Sexaginta Prista on the Lower Danube extolled restored tranquilitas at the region.[113] The defense came at a heavy cost, but was a significant achievement in an area difficult to defend.[114]
Galerius, meanwhile, was engaged during 291–293 in disputes in Upper Egypt, where he suppressed a regional uprising.[115] He would return to Syria in 295 to fight the revanchist Persian Empire.[116] Diocletian's attempts to bring the Egyptian tax system in line with Imperial standards stirred discontent, and a revolt swept the region after Galerius' departure.[117] The usurper L. Domitius Domitianus declared himself Augustus in July or August 297. Much of Egypt, including Alexandria, recognized his rule.[116] Diocletian moved into Egypt to suppress him, first putting down rebels in the Thebaid in the autumn of 297,[108] then moving on to besiege Alexandria. Domitianus died in December 297,[118] by which time Diocletian had secured control of the Egyptian countryside. Alexandria, whose defense was organized under Diocletian's former corrector Aurelius Achilleus, held out until a later date, probably March 298.[119]
Bureaucratic affairs were completed during Diocletian's stay:[120] a census took place, and Alexandria, in punishment for its rebellion, lost the ability to mint independently.[121] Diocletian's reforms in the region, combined with those of Septimus Severus, brought Egyptian administrative practices much closer to Roman standards.[122] Diocletian travelled south along the Nile the following summer, where he visited Oxyrhynchus and Elephantine.[121] In Nubia, he made peace with the Nobatae and Blemmyes tribes. Under the terms of the peace treaty Rome's borders moved north to Philae and the two tribes received an annual gold stipend. Diocletian left Africa quickly after the treaty, moving from Upper Egypt in September 298 to Syria in February 299. He met up with Galerius in Mesopotamia.[107]
War with Persia[link]
Invasion, counterinvasion[link]
In 294, Narseh, a son of Shapur who had been passed over for the Sassanid succession, came to power in Persia. Narseh eliminated Bahram III, a young man installed in the wake of Bahram II's death in 293.[123] In early 294, Narseh sent Diocletian the customary package of gifts between the empires, and Diocletian responded with an exchange of ambassadors. Within Persia, however, Narseh was destroying every trace of his immediate predecessors from public monuments. He sought to identify himself with the warlike kings Ardashir (r. 226–41) and Shapur (r. 241–72), the same Shapur who had sacked Roman Antioch and skinned the Emperor Valerian (r. 253–260) to decorate his war temple.[124]
Narseh declared war on Rome in 295 or 296. He appears to have first invaded western Armenia, where he seized the lands delivered to Tiridates in the peace of 287.[125] Narseh moved south into Roman Mesopotamia in 297, where he inflicted a severe defeat on Galerius in the region between Carrhae (Harran, Turkey) and Callinicum (Ar-Raqqah, Syria)[126] (and thus, the historian Fergus Millar notes, probably somewhere on the Balikh River).[127] Diocletian may or may not have been present at the battle,[128] but he quickly divested himself of all responsibility. In a public ceremony at Antioch, the official version of events was clear: Galerius was responsible for the defeat; Diocletian was not. Diocletian publicly humiliated Galerius, forcing him to walk for a mile at the head of the Imperial caravan, still clad in the purple robes of the Emperor.[129][notes 8]
Galerius was reinforced, probably in the spring of 298, by a new contingent collected from the Empire's Danubian holdings.[132] Narseh did not advance from Armenia and Mesopotamia, leaving Galerius to lead the offensive in 298 with an attack on northern Mesopotamia via Armenia.[133][notes 9] It is unclear if Diocletian was present to assist the campaign; he might have returned to Egypt or Syria.[notes 10] Narseh retreated to Armenia to fight Galerius' force, to Narseh's disadvantage; the rugged Armenian terrain was favorable to Roman infantry, but unfavorable to Sassanid cavalry. In two battles, Galerius won major victories over Narseh. During the second encounter, Roman forces seized Narseh's camp, his treasury, his harem, and his wife.[137] Galerius continued moving down the Tigris, and took the Persian capital Ctesiphon before returning to Roman territory along the Euphrates.[138]
Peace negotiations[link]
Narseh sent an ambassador to Galerius to plead for the return of his wives and children in the course of the war, but Galerius had dismissed him.[139] Serious peace negotiations began in the spring of 299. Diocletian and Galerius' magister memoriae (secretary) Sicorius Probus were sent to Narseh to present terms.[139] The conditions of the resulting Peace of Nisibis were heavy;[140] Armenia returned to Roman domination, with the fort of Ziatha as its border; Caucasian Iberia would pay allegiance to Rome under a Roman appointee; Nisibis, now under Roman rule, would become the sole conduit for trade between Persia and Rome; and Rome would exercise control over the five satrapies between the Tigris and Armenia: Ingilene, Sophanene (Sophene), Arzanene (Aghdznik), Corduene (Carduene), and Zabdicene (near modern Hakkâri, Turkey). These regions included the passage of the Tigris through the Anti-Taurus range; the Bitlis pass, the quickest southerly route into Persian Armenia; and access to the Tur Abdin plateau.[141]
A stretch of land containing the later strategic strongholds of Amida (Diyarbakır, Turkey) and Bezabde came under firm Roman military occupation.[142] With these territories, Rome would have an advance station north of Ctesiphon, and would be able to slow any future advance of Persian forces through the region.[140] Many cities east of the Tigris came under Roman control, including Tigranokert, Saird, Martyropolis, Balalesa, Moxos, Daudia, and Arzan – though under what status is unclear.[142] At the conclusion of the peace, Tiridates regained both his throne and the entirety of his ancestral claim.[139] Rome secured a wide zone of cultural influence, which led to a wide diffusion of Syriac Christianity from a center at Nisibis in later decades, and the eventual Christianization of Armenia.[140]
Religious persecutions[link]
Further information: Diocletianic Persecution
Early persecutions[link]
At the conclusion of the peace, Diocletian and Galerius returned to Syrian Antioch.[143] At some time in 299, the Emperors took part in a ceremony of sacrifice and divination in an attempt to predict the future. The haruspices were unable to read the entrails of the sacrificed animals, and blamed Christians in the Imperial household. The Emperors ordered all members of the court to perform a sacrifice to purify the palace. The Emperors sent letters to the military command, demanding the entire army perform the required sacrifices or face discharge.[144] Diocletian was conservative in matters of religion, a man faithful to the traditional Roman pantheon and understanding of demands for religious purification,[145] but Eusebius, Lactantius and Constantine state that it was Galerius, not Diocletian, who was the prime supporter of the purge, and its greatest beneficiary.[146] Galerius, even more devoted and passionate than Diocletian, saw political advantage in the politics of persecution. He was willing to break with a government policy of inaction on the issue.[147]
Antioch was Diocletian's primary residence from 299 to 302, while Galerius swapped places with his Augustus on the Middle and Lower Danube.[148] He visited Egypt once, over the winter of 301–2, and issued a grain dole in Alexandria.[147] Following some public disputes with Manicheans, Diocletian ordered that the leading followers of Mani be burnt alive along with their scriptures. In a 31 March 302 rescript from Alexandria, he declared that low-status Manicheans must be executed by the blade, and high-status Manicheans must be sent to work in the quarries of Proconnesus (Marmara Island, Turkey) or the mines of Phaeno in southern Palestine. All Manichean property was to be seized and deposited in the imperial treasury.[149] Diocletian found much to be offended by in Manichean religion: its novelty, its alien origins, the way it corrupted the morals of the Roman race, and its inherent opposition to long-standing religious traditions.[150] Manichaeanism was also supported by Persia at the time, compounding religious dissent with international politics.[151] Excepting Persian support, the reasons why he disliked Manichaenism were equally applicable, if not more so, to Christianity, his next target.[152]
Great Persecution[link]
Diocletian returned to Antioch in the autumn of 302. He ordered that the deacon Romanus of Caesarea have his tongue removed for defying the order of the courts and interrupting official sacrifices. Romanus was then sent to prison, where he was executed on 17 November 303. Diocletian believed that Romanus of Caesarea was arrogant, and he left the city for Nicomedia in the winter, accompanied by Galerius.[153] According to Lactantius, Diocletian and Galerius entered into an argument over imperial policy towards Christians while wintering at Nicomedia in 302. Diocletian argued that forbidding Christians from the bureaucracy and military would be sufficient to appease the gods, but Galerius pushed for extermination. The two men sought the advice of the oracle of Apollo at Didyma.[154] The oracle responded that the impious on Earth hindered Apollo's ability to provide advice. Rhetorically Eusebius records the Oracle as saying "The just on Earth..." [155] These impious, Diocletian was informed by members of the court, could only refer to the Christians of the Empire. At the behest of his court, Diocletian acceded to demands for universal persecution.[156]
On 23 February 303, Diocletian ordered that the newly built church at Nicomedia be razed. He demanded that its scriptures be burned, and seized its precious stores for the treasury.[157] The next day, Diocletian's first "Edict against the Christians" was published.[158] The edict ordered the destruction of Christian scriptures and places of worship across the Empire, and prohibited Christians from assembling for worship.[159] Before the end of February, a fire destroyed part of the Imperial palace.[160] Galerius convinced Diocletian that the culprits were Christians, conspirators who had plotted with the eunuchs of the palace. An investigation was commissioned, but no responsible party was found. Executions followed anyway, and the palace eunuchs Dorotheus and Gorgonius were executed. One individual, Peter Cubicularius, was stripped, raised high, and scourged. Salt and vinegar were poured in his wounds, and he was slowly boiled over an open flame. The executions continued until at least 24 April 303, when six individuals, including the bishop Anthimus, were decapitated.[161] A second fire occurred sixteen days after the first. Galerius left the city for Rome, declaring Nicomedia unsafe.[160] Diocletian would soon follow.[161]
Although further persecutionary edicts followed, compelling the arrest of the Christian clergy and universal acts of sacrifice,[162] the persecutionary edicts were ultimately unsuccessful; most Christians escaped punishment, and pagans too were generally unsympathetic to the persecution. The martyrs' sufferings strengthened the resolve of their fellow Christians.[163] Constantius and Maximian did not apply the later persecutionary edicts, and left the Christians of the West unharmed.[164] Galerius rescinded the edict in 311, announcing that the persecution had failed to bring Christians back to traditional religion.[165] The temporary apostasy of some Christians, and the surrendering of scriptures, during the persecution played a major role in the subsequent Donatist controversy.[166] Within twenty-five years of the persecution's inauguration, the Christian Emperor Constantine would rule the empire alone. He would reverse the consequences of the edicts, and return all confiscated property to Christians.[167] Under Constantine's rule, Christianity would become the Empire's preferred religion.[168] Diocletian was demonized by his Christian successors: Lactantius intimated that Diocletian's ascendancy heralded the apocalypse,[169] and in Serbian mythology, Diocletian is remembered as Dukljan, the adversary of God.[170]
Later life[link]
Illness and abdication[link]
Diocletian entered the city of Rome in the early winter of 303. On 20 November, he celebrated, with Maximian, the twentieth anniversary of his reign (vicennalia), the tenth anniversary of the Tetrarchy (decennalia), and a triumph for the war with Persia. Diocletian soon grew impatient with the city, as the Romans acted towards him with what Edward Gibbon, following Lactantius, calls "licentious familiarity".[171] The Roman people did not give enough deference to his supreme authority; it expected him to act the part of an aristocratic ruler, not a monarchic one. On 20 December 303,[172] Diocletian cut short his stay in Rome and left for the north. He did not even perform the ceremonies investing him with his ninth consulate; he did them in Ravenna on 1 January 304 instead.[173] There are suggestions in the Panegyrici Latini and Lactantius' account that Diocletian arranged plans for his and Maximian's future retirement of power in Rome. Maximian, according to these accounts, swore to uphold Diocletian's plan in a ceremony in the Temple of Jupiter.[174]
From Ravenna, Diocletian left for the Danube. There, possibly in Galerius' company, he took part in a campaign against the Carpi.[172] He contracted a minor illness while on campaign, but his condition quickly worsened and he chose to travel in a litter. In the late summer he left for Nicomedia. On 20 November, he appeared in public to dedicate the opening of the circus beside his palace. He collapsed soon after the ceremonies. Over the winter of 304–5 he kept within his palace at all times. Rumors alleging that Diocletian's death was merely being kept secret until Galerius could come to assume power spread through the city. On 13 December, he seemed to have finally died. The city was sent into a mourning from which it was only retrieved by public declarations of his survival. When Diocletian reappeared in public on 1 March 305, he was emaciated and barely recognizable.[175]
Galerius arrived in the city later in March. According to Lactantius, he came armed with plans to reconstitute the Tetrarchy, force Diocletian to step down, and fill the Imperial office with men compliant to his will. Through coercion and threats, he eventually convinced Diocletian to comply with his plan. Lactantius also claims that he had done the same to Maximian at Sirmium.[176] On 1 May 305, Diocletian called an assembly of his generals, traditional companion troops, and representatives from distant legions. They met at the same hill, 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) out of Nicomedia, where Diocletian had been proclaimed emperor. In front of a statue of Jupiter, his patron deity, Diocletian addressed the crowd. With tears in his eyes, he told them of his weakness, his need for rest, and his will to resign. He declared that he needed to pass the duty of Empire on to someone stronger. He thus became the first Roman Emperor to voluntarily abdicate his title.[177]
Most in the crowd believed they knew what would follow; Constantine and Maxentius, the only adult sons of a reigning Emperor, men who had long been preparing to succeed their fathers, would be granted the title of Caesar. Constantine had traveled through Palestine at the right hand of Diocletian, and was present at the palace in Nicomedia in 303 and 305. It is likely that Maxentius received the same treatment.[178] In Lactantius' account, when Diocletian announced that he was to resign, the entire crowd turned to face Constantine.[179] It was not to be: Severus and Maximin were declared Caesars. Maximin appeared and took Diocletian's robes. On the same day, Severus received his robes from Maximian in Milan. Constantius succeeded Maximian as Augustus of the West, but Constantine and Maxentius were entirely ignored in the transition of power. This did not bode well for the future security of the Tetrarchic system.[180]
Retirement and death[link]
Diocletian retired to his homeland, Dalmatia. He moved into the expansive Diocletian's Palace, a heavily fortified compound located by the small town of Spalatum on the shores of the Adriatic Sea, and near the large provincial administrative center of Salona. The palace is preserved in great part to this day and forms the historic core of the largest city of modern Dalmatia, Split.
Maximian retired to villas in Campania or Lucania.[181] Their homes were distant from political life, but Diocletian and Maximian were close enough to remain in regular contact with each other.[182] Galerius assumed the consular fasces in 308 with Diocletian as his colleague. In the autumn of 308, Galerius again conferred with Diocletian at Carnuntum (Petronell-Carnuntum, Austria). Diocletian and Maximian were both present on 11 November 308, to see Galerius appoint Licinius to be Augustus in place of Severus, who had died at the hands of Maxentius. He ordered Maximian, who had attempted to return to power after his retirement, to step down permanently. At Carnuntum people begged Diocletian to return to the throne, to resolve the conflicts that had arisen through Constantine's rise to power and Maxentius' usurpation.[183] Diocletian's reply: "If you could show the cabbage that I planted with my own hands to your emperor, he definitely wouldn't dare suggest that I replace the peace and happiness of this place with the storms of a never-satisfied greed."[184]
He lived on for three more years, spending his days in his palace gardens. He saw his Tetrarchic system fail, torn by the selfish ambitions of his successors. He heard of Maximian's third claim to the throne, his forced suicide, his damnatio memoriae. In his own palace, statues and portraits of his former companion emperor were torn down and destroyed. Deep in despair and illness, Diocletian may have committed suicide. He died on 3 December 311.[4][185]
Reforms[link]
Tetrarchic and ideological[link]
Diocletian saw his work as that of a restorer, a figure of authority whose duty it was to return the empire to peace, to recreate stability and justice where barbarian hordes had destroyed it.[186] He arrogated, regimented and centralized political authority on a massive scale. In his policies, he enforced an Imperial system of values on diverse and often unreceptive provincial audiences.[187] In the Imperial propaganda from the period, recent history is perverted and minimized in the service of the theme of the Tetrarchs as "restorers". Aurelian's achievements are ignored, the revolt of Carausius is backdated to the reign of Gallienus, and it is implied that the Tetrarchs engineered Aurelian's defeat of the Palmyrenes; the period between Gallienus and Diocletian is effectively erased. The history of the empire before the Tetrarchy is portrayed as a time of civil war, savage despotism, and imperial collapse.[188] In those inscriptions that bear their names, Diocletian and his companions are referred to as "restorers of the whole world",[189] men who succeeded in "defeating the nations of the barbarians, and confirming the tranquility of their world".[190] Diocletian was written up as the "founder of eternal peace".[191] The theme of restoration was conjoined to an emphasis on the uniqueness and accomplishments of the Tetrarchs themselves.[188]
The cities where Emperors lived frequently in this period—Milan, Trier, Arles, Sirmium, Serdica, Thessaloniki, Nicomedia, and Antioch—were treated as alternate imperial seats, to the exclusion of Rome and its senatorial elite.[192] A new style of ceremony was developed, emphasizing the distinction of the Emperor from all other persons. The quasi-republican ideals of Augustus' primus inter pares were abandoned for all but the Tetrarchs themselves. Diocletian took to wearing a gold crown and jewels, and forbade the use of purple cloth to all but the Emperors.[193] His subjects were required to prostrate themselves in his presence (adoratio); the most fortunate were allowed the privilege of kissing the hem of his robe (proskynesis, προσκύνησις).[194] Circuses and basilicas were designed to keep the face of the Emperor perpetually in view, and always in a seat of authority. The emperor became a figure of transcendent authority, a man beyond the grip of the masses.[195] His every appearance was stage-managed.[196] This style of presentation was not new—many of its elements were first seen in the reigns of Aurelian and Severus—but it was only under the Tetrarchs that it was refined into an explicit system.[197]
Administrative[link]
In keeping with his move from an ideology of republicanism to one of autocracy, Diocletian's council of advisers, his consilium, differed from those of earlier Emperors. He destroyed the Augustan illusion of imperial government as a cooperative affair between Emperor, Army, and Senate.[198] In its place he established an effectively autocratic structure, a shift later epitomized in the institution's name: it would be called a consistorium ("consistory"), not a council.[199][notes 11] Diocletian regulated his court by distinguishing separate departments (scrina) for different tasks.[201] From this structure came the offices of different magistri, like the Magister officiorum ("Master of offices"), and associated secretariats. These were men suited to dealing with petitions, requests, correspondence, legal affairs, and foreign embassies. Within his court Diocletian maintained a permanent body of legal advisers, men with significant influence on his re-ordering of juridical affairs. There were also two finance ministers, dealing with the separate bodies of the public treasury and the private domains of the Emperor, and the praetorian prefect, the most significant person of the whole. Diocletian's reduction of the Praetorian Guards to the level of a simple city garrison for Rome lessened the military powers of the prefect, but the office retained much civil authority. The prefect kept a staff of hundreds and managed affairs in all segments of government: in taxation, administration, jurisprudence, and minor military commands, the praetorian prefect was often second only to the emperor himself.[202]
Altogether, Diocletian effected a large increase in the number of bureaucrats at the government's command; Lactantius was to claim that there were now more men using tax money than there were paying it.[203] The historian Warren Treadgold estimates that under Diocletian the number of men in the civil service doubled from 15,000 to 30,000.[204] The classicist Roger Bagnall estimated that there was one bureaucrat for every 5–10,000 people in Egypt based on 400 or 800 bureaucrats for 4 million inhabitants(no one knows the population of the province in 300 AD; Strabo 300 years earlier put it at 7.5 million, excluding Alexandria).(By comparison, the ratio in twelfth-century China was one bureaucrat for every 15,000 people.) Jones estimated 30,000 bureaucrats for an empire of 50–65 million inhabitants, which works out to approximately 1,667 or 2,167 inhabitants per imperial official as averages empire-wide. The actual numbers of officials and ratios per inhabitant varied, of course, per diocese depending on the number of provinces and population within a diocese. Provincial and diocesan paid officials (there were unpaid supernumeraries) numbered about 13–15,000 based on their staff establishments as set by law. The other 50% were with the emperor(s)in his or their Comitatus, with the praetorian prefects, with the grain supply officials in the capital (later, the capitals, Rome and Constantinople), Alexandria, and Carthage and officials from the central offices located in the provinces.[205]
To avoid the possibility of local usurpations,[206] to facilitate a more efficient collection of taxes and supplies, and to ease the enforcement of the law, Diocletian doubled the number of provinces from fifty to almost one hundred.[207] The provinces were grouped into twelve dioceses, each governed by an appointed official called a vicarius, or "deputy of the praetorian prefects".[208] Some of the provincial divisions required revision, and were modified either soon after 293 or early in the fourth century.[209] Rome herself (including her environs, as defined by a 100 miles (160 km)-radius perimeter around the City itself) was not under the authority of the praetorian prefect, as she was to be administered by a City Prefect of senatorial rank – the sole prestigious post with actual power reserved exclusively for senators, except for some governors in Italy with the titles of corrector and the proconsuls of Asia and Africa.[210] The dissemination of imperial law to the provinces was facilitated under Diocletian's reign, because Diocletian's reform of the Empire's provincial structure meant that there were now a greater number of governors (praesides) ruling over smaller regions and smaller populations.[211] Diocletian's reforms shifted the governors' main function to that of the presiding official in the lower courts:[212] whereas in the early Empire military and judicial functions were the function of governor, and procurators had supervised taxation; under the new system vicarii and governors were responsible for justice and taxation, and a new class of duces ("dukes"), acting independently of the civil service, had military command. These dukes sometimes administered two or three of the new provinces created by Diocletian, and had forces ranging from two thousand to more than twenty thousand men.[213] In addition to their roles as judges and tax collectors, governors were expected to maintain the postal service (cursus publicus) and ensure that town councils fulfilled their duties.[214]
This curtailment of governors' powers as the Emperors' representatives may have lessened the political dangers of an all-too-powerful class of Imperial delegates, but it also severely limited governors' ability to oppose local landed elites. On one occasion, Diocletian had to exhort a proconsul of Africa not to fear the consequences of treading on the toes of the local magnates of senatorial rank.[215] If a governor of senatorial rank himself felt these pressures, one can imagine the difficulties faced by a mere praeses.[216]
Legal[link]
As with most Emperors, much of Diocletian's daily routine rotated around legal affairs—responding to appeals and petitions, and delivering decisions on disputed matters. Rescripts, authoritative interpretations issued by the Emperor in response to demands from disputants in both public and private cases, were a common duty of second- and third-century Emperors. Diocletian was awash in paperwork, and was nearly incapable of delegating his duties. It would have been seen as a dereliction of duty to ignore them. Diocletian's praetorian prefects—Afranius Hannibalianus, Julius Asclepiodotus, and Aurelius Hermogenianus—aided in regulating the flow and presentation of such paperwork, but the deep legalism of Roman culture kept the workload heavy.[217] Emperors in the forty years preceding Diocletian's reign had not managed these duties so effectively, and their output in attested rescripts is low. Diocletian, by contrast, was prodigious in his affairs: there are around 1,200 rescripts in his name still surviving, and these probably represent only a small portion of the total issue.[218] The sharp increase in the number of edicts and rescripts produced under Diocletian's rule has been read as evidence of an ongoing effort to realign the whole Empire on terms dictated by the imperial center.[219]
Under the governance of the jurists Gregorius, Aurelius Arcadius Charisius, and Hermogenianus, the imperial government began issuing official books of precedent, collecting and listing all the rescripts that had been issued from the reign of Hadrian (r. 117–38) to the reign of Diocletian.[220] The Codex Gregorianus includes rescripts up to 292, which the Codex Hermogenianus updated with a comprehensive collection of rescripts issued by Diocletian in 293 and 294.[209] Although the very act of codification was a radical innovation, given the precedent-based design of the Roman legal system,[221] the jurists themselves were generally conservative, and constantly looked to past Roman practice and theory for guidance.[222] They were probably given more free rein over their codes than the later compilers of the Codex Theodosianus (438) and Codex Justinianus (529) would have. Gregorius and Hermogenianus' codices lack the rigid structuring of later codes,[223] and were not published in the name of the emperor, but in the names of their compilers.[224]
After Diocletian's reform of the provinces, governors were called iudex, or judge. The governor became responsible for his decisions first to his immediate superiors, as well as to the more distant office of the Emperor.[225] It was most likely at this time that judicial records became verbatim accounts of what was said in trial, making it easier to determine bias or improper conduct on the part of the governor. With these records and the Empire's universal right of appeal, Imperial authorities probably had a great deal of power to enforce behavior standards for their judges.[226] In spite of Diocletian's attempts at reform, the provincial restructuring was far from clear, especially when citizens appealed the decisions of their governors. Proconsuls, for example, were often both judges of first instance and appeal, and the governors of some provinces took appellant cases from their neighbors. It soon became impossible to avoid taking some cases to the Emperor for arbitration and judgment.[227] Diocletian's reign marks the end of the classical period of Roman law. Where Diocletian's system of rescripts shows an adherence to classical tradition, Constantine's law is full of Greek and eastern influences.[228]
Military[link]
See also: Late Roman army: Diocletian
It is archaeologically difficult to distinguish Diocletian's fortifications from those of his successors and predecessors. The Devil's Dyke, for example, the Danubian earthworks traditionally attributed to Diocletian, cannot even be securely dated to a particular century. The most that can be said about built structures under Diocletian's reign is that he rebuilt and strengthened forts at the Upper Rhine frontier (where he followed the works made under Probus's reign, both along the Lake Constance-Basel as well as along the Rhine–Iller–Danube line),[229] in Egypt, and on the frontier with Persia. Beyond that, much discussion is speculative, and reliant on the broad generalizations of written sources. Diocletian and the Tetrarchs had no consistent plan for frontier advancement, and records of raids and forts built across the frontier are likely to indicate only temporary claims. The Strata Diocletiana, which ran from the Euphrates to Palmyra and northeast Arabia, is the classic Diocletianic frontier system, consisting of an outer road followed by tightly spaced forts followed by further fortifications in the rear.[230] In an attempt to resolve the difficulty and slowness of transmitting orders to the frontier, the new capitals of the Tetrarchic era were all much closer to the Empire's frontiers than Rome had been:[231] Trier sat on the Rhine, Sirmium and Serdica were close to the Danube, Thessaloniki was on the route leading eastward, and Nicomedia and Antioch were important points in dealings with Persia.[232]
Lactantius criticized Diocletian for an excessive increase in troop sizes, declaring that "each of the four [Tetrarchs] strove to have a far larger number of troops than previous emperors had when they were governing the state alone".[233] The fifth-century pagan Zosimus, by contrast, praised Diocletian for keeping troops on the borders, rather than keeping them in the cities, as Constantine was held to have done.[234] Both these views had some truth to them, despite the biases of their authors: Diocletian and the Tetrarchs did greatly expand the army, and the growth was mostly in frontier regions, although it is difficult to establish the precise details of these shifts given the weakness of the sources.[235] The army expanded to about 580,000 men from a 285 strength of 390,000, of which 310,000 men were stationed in the East, most of whom manned the Persian frontier. The navy's forces increased from approximately 45,000 men to approximately 65,000 men.[236][notes 12]
Diocletian's expansion of the army and civil service meant that the Empire's tax burden grew. Since military upkeep took the largest portion of the imperial budget, any reforms here would be especially costly.[239] The proportion of the adult male population, excluding slaves, serving in the army increased from roughly 1 in 25 to 1 in 15, an increase judged excessive by some modern commentators. Official troop allowances were kept to low levels, and the mass of troops often resorted to extortion or the taking of civilian jobs.[240] Arrears became the norm for most troops. Many were even given payment in kind in place of their salaries.[241] Were he unable to pay for his enlarged army, there would likely be civil conflict, potentially open revolt. Diocletian was led to devise a new system of taxation.[240]
Economic[link]
Taxation[link]
In the early Empire (30 BC- AD 235) the Roman government paid for what it needed in gold and silver. The coinage was stable. Requisition, forced purchase, was used to supply armies on the march. During the third century crisis (235–285), the government resorted to requisition rather than payment in debased coinage, since it could never be sure of the value of money. Requisition was nothing more or less than seizure. Diocletian made requisition into tax. He introduced an extensive new tax system based on heads (capita) and land (iuga) and tied to a new, regular census of the Empire's population and wealth. Census officials traveled throughout the Empire, assessed the value of labor and land for each landowner, and joined the landowners' totals together to make city-wide totals of capita and iuga.[242] The iugum was not a consistent measure of land, but varied according to the type of land and crop, and the amount of labor necessary for sustenance. The caput was not consistent either: women, for instance, were often valued at half a caput, and sometimes at other values.[241] Cities provided animals, money, and manpower in proportion to its capita, and grain in proportion to its iuga.[242][notes 13]
Most taxes were due on each year on 1 September, and levied from individual landowners by decuriones (decurions). These decurions, analogous to city councilors, were responsible for paying from their own pocket what they failed to collect.[244] Diocletian's reforms also increased the number of financial officials in the provinces: more rationales and magistri privatae are attested under Diocletian's reign than before. These officials managed represented the interests of the fisc, which collected taxes in gold, and the Imperial properties.[209] Fluctuations in the value of the currency made collection of taxes in kind the norm, although these could be converted into coin. Rates shifted to take inflation into account.[242] In 296, Diocletian issued an edict reforming census procedures. This edict introduced a general five-year census for the whole Empire, replacing prior censuses that had operated at different speeds throughout the Empire. The new censuses would keep up with changes in the values of capita and iuga.[245]
Italy, which had long been exempt from taxes, was included in the tax system from 290/291 as other provinces.[246] The city of Rome itself and the surrounding Suburbicarian diocese (where Roman senators held the bulk of their landed property), however, remained exempt.[247]
Diocletian's edicts emphasize the common liability of all taxpayers. Public records of all taxes were made public.[248] The position of decurion, member of the city council, had been an honor sought by wealthy aristocrats and the middle classes who displayed their wealth by paying for city amenities and public works. Decurions were made liable for any shortfall in the amount of tax collected. Many tried to find ways to escape the obligation.[244]
Currency and inflation[link]
Aurelian's attempt to reform the currency had failed; the denarius was dead.[249] Diocletian restored the three-metal coinage and issued better quality pieces.[250] The new system consisted of five coins: the aureus/solidus, a gold coin weighing, like its predecessors, one-sixtieth of a pound; the argenteus, a coin weighing one ninety-sixth of a pound and containing ninety-five percent pure silver; the follis, sometimes referred to as the laureatus A, which is a copper coin with added silver struck at the rate of thirty-two to the pound; the radiatus, a small copper coin struck at the rate of 108 to the pound, with no added silver; and a coin known today as the laureatus B, a smaller copper coin struck at the rate of 192 to the pound.[251][notes 14] Since the nominal values of these new issues were lower than their intrinsic worth as metals, the state was minting these coins at a loss. This practice could be sustained only by requisitioning precious metals from private citizens in exchange for state-minted coin (of a far lower value than the price of the precious metals requisitioned).[252]
By 301, however, the system was in trouble, strained by a new bout of inflation. Diocletian therefore issued his Edict on Coinage, an act re-tariffing all debts so that the nummi, the most common coin in circulation, would be worth half as much.[253] In the edict, preserved in an inscription from the city of Aphrodisias in Caria (near Geyre, Turkey), it was declared that all debts contracted before 1 September 301 must be repaid at the old standards, while all debts contracted after that date would be repaid at the new standards.[254] It appears that the edict was made in an attempt to preserve the current price of gold and to keep the Empire's coinage on silver, Rome's traditional metal currency.[255] This edict risked giving further momentum to inflationary trends, as had happened after Aurelian's currency reforms. The government's response was to issue a price freeze.[256]
The Edict on Maximum Prices (Edictum De Pretiis Rerum Venalium) was issued two to three months after the coinage edict,[249] somewhere between 20 November and 10 December 301.[254] The best-preserved Latin inscription surviving from the Greek East,[257] the edict survives in many versions, on materials as varied as wood, papyrus, and stone.[258] In the edict, Diocletian declared that the current pricing crisis resulted from the unchecked greed of merchants, and had resulted in turmoil for the mass of common citizens. The language of the edict calls on the people's memory of their benevolent leaders, and exhorts them to enforce the provisions of the edict, and thereby restore perfection to the world. The edict goes on to list in detail over one thousand goods and accompanying retail prices not to be exceeded. Penalties are laid out for various pricing transgressions.[259]
In the most basic terms, the edict was ignorant of the law of supply and demand: it ignored the fact that prices might vary from region to region according to product availability, and it ignored the impact of transportation costs in the retail price of goods. In the judgment of the historian David Potter, the edict was "an act of economic lunacy".[260] Inflation, speculation, and monetary instability continued, and a black market arose to trade in goods forced out of official markets.[261] The edict's penalties were applied unevenly across the empire (some scholars believe they were applied only in Diocletian's domains),[262] widely resisted, and eventually dropped, perhaps within a year of the edict's issue.[263] Lactantius has written of the perverse accompaniments to the edict; of goods withdrawn from the market, of brawls over minute variations in price, of the deaths that came when its provisions were enforced. His account may be true, but it seems to modern historians exaggerated and hyperbolic,[264] and the impact of the law is recorded in no other ancient source.[265]
Legacy[link]
The historian A.H.M. Jones observed that "It is perhaps Diocletian's greatest achievement that he reigned twenty-one years and then abdicated voluntarily, and spent the remaining years of his life in peaceful retirement."[266] Diocletian was one of the few Emperors of the third and fourth centuries to die naturally, and the first in the history of the Empire to retire voluntarily.[267] Once he retired, however, his Tetrarchic system collapsed. Without the guiding hand of Diocletian, the Empire fell into civil wars. Stability emerged after the defeat of Licinius by Constantine in 324.[268] Under the Christian Constantine, Diocletian was maligned. Constantine's rule, however, validated Diocletian's achievements and the autocratic principle he represented:[269] the borders remained secure, in spite of Constantine's large expenditure of forces during his civil wars; the bureaucratic transformation of Roman government was completed; and Constantine took Diocletian's court ceremonies and made them even more extravagant.[270]
Constantine ignored those parts of Diocletian's rule that did not suit him. Diocletian's policy of preserving a stable silver coinage was abandoned, and the gold solidus became the Empire's primary currency instead.[271] Diocletian's persecution of Christians was repudiated and changed to a policy of toleration and then favoritism. Christianity eventually became the official religion in 381. Constantine would claim to have the same close relationship with the Christian God as Diocletian claimed to have with Jupiter.[272] Most importantly, Diocletian's tax system and administrative reforms lasted, with some modifications, until the advent of the Muslims in the 630s.[273] The combination of state autocracy and state religion was instilled in much of Europe, particularly in the lands which adopted Orthodox Christianity.[274]
In addition to his administrative and legal impact on history, the Emperor Diocletian is considered to be the founder of the city of Split in modern-day Croatia. The city itself grew around the heavily fortified Diocletian's Palace the Emperor had built in anticipation of his retirement.
See also[link]
- 20,000 Martyrs of Nicomedia
- Civil Wars of the Tetrarchy (306–324)
- Dioclesian, Henry Purcell's 1690 tragicomic semi-opera, loosely based on the life of the historical Diocletian
- Diocletianopolis (disambiguation)
- Diocletian's Palace
- Diocletian window
- Era of Martyrs Diocletian era
Notes[link]
- ^ Born Diocles (Greek: Διοκλῆς) and latinized upon his accession to Diocletian ( /ˌdaɪ.əˈkliːʃən/).
- ^ Coins are issued in his name in Cyzicus at some time before the end of 284, but it is impossible to know whether he was still in the public eye by that point.[16]
- ^ Barnes and Bowman argue for 21 July,[51] Potter for 25 July.[52]
- ^ He is placed there by a rescript dated 3 March 286.[65]
- ^ He is attested there in a rescript dated 31 May 287.[67] The Jewish Midrash suggests that Diocletian resided at Panias (present-day Banias) in the northern Golan Heights.[68]
- ^ The chronology of Maximian's appointment as Augustus is somewhat uncertain.[77] Some suggest that Maximian was appointed Augustus from the beginning of his imperial career, without ever holding the office of Caesar;[78] others date the assumption of the Augustan title to 1 March 286.[79] 1 April 286 is the most common date used in modern histories of the period.[76]
- ^ The suggested dates for Galerius' appointment are 1 March and 21 May. There is no consensus on which is correct.[102]
- ^ It is possible that Galerius' position at the head of the caravan was merely the conventional organization of an Imperial progression, designed to show a Caesar's deference to his Augustus, and not an attempt to humiliate him.[130]
- ^ Faustus of Byzantium's history refers to a battle that took place after Galerius set up base at Satala (Sadak, Turkey) in Armenia Minor, when Narseh advanced from his base at Oskha to attack him.[134] Other histories of the period do not note these events.
- ^ Lactantius criticizes Diocletian for his absence from the front,[135] but Southern, dating Diocletian's African campaigns one year earlier than Barnes, places Diocletian on Galerius' southern flank.[136]
- ^ The term consistorium was already in use for the room where council meetings took place.[200]
- ^ The Byzantine author John Lydus provides the extraordinarily precise troop numbers for Diocletian's armed forces: 389,704 for the army and 45,562 for the navy.[237] His precision has polarized modern historians. Some believe the figures are taken from official documents, and are largely accurate; others believe Lydus fabricated them.[238]
- ^ The army recruitment tax was called the praebitio tironum, and conscripted a part of each landowner's tenant farmers (coloni). When a capitulum extended across many farms, farmers provided the funds to compensate the neighbor who had supplied the recruit. Landowners of senatorial were able to commute the tax with a payment in gold (the aurum tironicum).[243]
- ^ The denarius was dropped from the Imperial mints,[249] but the values of new coins continued to be measured in reference to it.[250]
Citations[link]
Chapters from The Cambridge Ancient History, Volume XII: The Crisis of Empire are marked with a "(CAH)".
- ^ Barnes, New Empire, 4.
- ^ Barnes, New Empire, 4. For full imperial titulature, see: Barnes, New Empire, 17–29.
- ^ a b c Barnes, New Empire, 30, 46; Bowman, "Diocletian and the First Tetrarchy" (CAH), 68.
- ^ a b c Barnes, "Lactantius and Constantine", 32–35; Barnes, New Empire, 31–32.
- ^ In Classical Latin, Diocletian's name would be inscribed as gaivs avrelivs valerivs diocletianvs avgvstvs.
- ^ Aurelius Victor 39.1; Potter, 648.
- ^ Barnes, New Empire, 30; Williams, 237–38; cf. Rees, Diocletian and the Tetrarchy, 86: "We do not even know when he was born..."
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 4; Bowman, "Diocletian and the First Tetrarchy" (CAH), 68; Potter, 280; Williams, 22–23.
- ^ Zonaras, 12.31; Southern, 331; Williams, 26.
- ^ Mathisen, "Diocletian"; Williams, 26.
- ^ SHA, Vita Carini 14–15; Williams, 26.
- ^ a b Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 4.
- ^ a b Southern, 133.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 4; Leadbetter, "Numerianus."
- ^ Codex Justinianus 5.52.2; Leadbetter, "Numerianus"; Potter, 279.
- ^ Roman Imperial Coinage 5.2 Numerian no. 462; Potter, 279–80.
- ^ Leadbetter, "Numerianus."
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 4; Leadbetter, "Numerianus"; Odahl, 39; Williams, 35.
- ^ a b c d e f Potter, 280.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 4; Bowman, "Diocletian and the First Tetrarchy" (CAH), 68; Williams, 35–36.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 4–5; Odahl, 39–40; Williams, 36–37.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 4–5; Leadbetter, "Numerian"; Odahl, 39–40; Williams, 37.
- ^ SHA, Vita Cari 13, cited in Averil Cameron, The Later Roman Empire (Glasgow: Fontana, 1993), 31.
- ^ Corcoran, "Before Constantine", 39.
- ^ Barnes, New Empire, 31; Bowman, "Diocletian and the First Tetrarchy" (CAH), 68–69; Potter, 280; Southern, 134; Williams, 37.
- ^ Fully, L. Caesonius Ovinius Manlius Rufinianus Bassus.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 5; Bowman, "Diocletian and the First Tetrarchy" (CAH), 69; Potter, 280; Southern, 134.
- ^ a b c d Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 5.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 5; Bowman, "Diocletian and the First Tetrarchy" (CAH), 69; Leadbetter, "Carinus"; Southern, 134–35; Williams, 38. See also Banchich.
- ^ Southern, 134–5; Williams, 38.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 5; Bowman, "Diocletian and the First Tetrarchy" (CAH), 69; Leadbetter, "Carinus."
- ^ Bowman, "Diocletian and the First Tetrarchy" (CAH), 69; Potter, 280.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 5; Odahl, 40; Southern, 135.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 5; Williams, 37–38.
- ^ Potter, 280; Williams, 37.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 5; Bowman, "Diocletian and the First Tetrarchy" (CAH), 69; Odahl, 40; Williams, 38.
- ^ Southern, 135; Williams, 38.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 5; Bowman, "Diocletian and the First Tetrarchy" (CAH), 69.
- ^ Roman Imperial Coinage 5.2.241 no. 203–04; Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 5, 287; Barnes, New Empire, 50.
- ^ Williams, 41.
- ^ Aurelius Victor, De Cesaribus, 37.5, quoted in Carrié & Rousselle, L'Empire Romain, 654
- ^ Southern, 135, 331.
- ^ Potter, 281.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 5–6; Bowman, "Diocletian and the First Tetrarchy" (CAH), 69; Barnes, New Empire, 113; Williams, 41–42.
- ^ Aurelius Victor, 39.15, qtd. in Leadbetter, "Carinus."
- ^ Barnes, "Two Senators," 46; Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 5–6; Leadbetter, "Carinus"; Southern, 135; Williams, 41
- ^ Leadbetter, "Carinus."
- ^ Barnes, "Two Senators," 46; Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 5–6; Leadbetter, "Carinus."
- ^ Corcoran, "Before Constantine", 40.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 6; Southern, 136.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 6; New Empire, 4; Bowman, "Diocletian and the First Tetrarchy" (CAH), 69.
- ^ The Roman Empire at Bay, 280–81.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 6; Barnes, New Empire, 4; Bowman, "Diocletian and the First Tetrarchy" (CAH), 69; Bleckmann; Corcoran, "Before Constantine", 40; Potter, 280–81; Williams, 43–45.
- ^ Corcoran, "Before Constantine", 40. See also: Williams, 48–49.
- ^ Potter, 280; Southern, 136; Williams, 43.
- ^ Bowman, "Diocletian and the First Tetrarchy" (CAH), 69; Odahl, 42–43; Southern, 136; Williams, 45.
- ^ Bowman, "Diocletian and the First Tetrarchy" (CAH), 69; Southern, 136.
- ^ Bowman, "Diocletian and the First Tetrarchy" (CAH), 70–71; Corcoran, "Before Constantine", 40; Liebeschuetz, 235–52, 240–43; Odahl, 43–44; Williams, 58–59.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 11–12; Bowman, "Diocletian and the First Tetrarchy" (CAH), 70–71; Corcoran, "Before Constantine", 40; Odahl, 43; Southern, 136–37; Williams, 58.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 11; Cascio, "The New State of Diocletian and Constantine" (CAH), 172.
- ^ Williams, 58–59. See also: Cascio, "The New State of Diocletian and Constantine" (CAH), 171.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 6; Southern, 137.
- ^ Codex Justinianus 4.48.5; Fragmenta Vaticana 297; Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 6; Barnes, New Empire, 50; Potter, 281.
- ^ Southern, 143; Williams, 52.
- ^ Fragmenta Vaticana 275; Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 6; Potter, 281, 649.
- ^ Panegyrici Latini 8(5)21.1; Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 6.
- ^ Codex Justinianus 4.10.3; 1.51.1; 5.17.3; Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 6; Barnes, New Empire, 50–51; Potter, 281, 649.
- ^ Bereishis Rabbah, Ed. Vilna, Parashas Toledos 63:8.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 6; Millar, 177.
- ^ Southern, 242.
- ^ Barnes, New Empire, 51; Bowman, "Diocletian and the First Tetrarchy" (CAH), 73.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 6; Bowman, "Diocletian and the First Tetrarchy" (CAH), 73; Potter, 292, 651; Southern, 143; Williams, 52.
- ^ Southern, 242, 360–61.
- ^ Bowman, "Diocletian and the First Tetrarchy" (CAH), 73; Millar, 180–81; Southern, 143; Williams, 52.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 6–7; Bowman, "Diocletian and the First Tetrarchy" (CAH), 70–71; Potter, 283–84; Southern, 137–41; Williams, 45–47.
- ^ a b Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 6–7; Bowman, "Diocletian and the First Tetrarchy" (CAH), 69; Potter, 282; Southern, 141–42; Williams, 47–48.
- ^ Corcoran, "Before Constantine", 40; Southern, 142.
- ^ Potter, 281; Southern, 142; following De Caesaribus 39.17.
- ^ Bowman, "Diocletian and the First Tetrarchy" (CAH), 69; following BGU 4.1090.34.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 7; Bleckmann; Corcoran, "Before Constantine", 40; Potter, 282; Southern, 141–42; Williams, 48.
- ^ Potter, 649.
- ^ Potter, 282; Williams, 49.
- ^ Southern, 140.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 7; Bowman, "Diocletian and the First Tetrarchy" (CAH), 71; Corcoran, "Before Constantine", 40.
- ^ Rees, Layers of Loyalty, 31; Southern, 142–43; Williams, 50.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 7; Corcoran, "Before Constantine", 40; Southern, 143.
- ^ Barnes, New Empire, 255; Southern, 144.
- ^ a b c Potter, 285.
- ^ Williams, 63.
- ^ Southern, 144.
- ^ Williams, 78.
- ^ Panegyrici Latini 8(5)12.2; Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 7, 288; Potter, 284–85, 650; Southern, 143; Williams, 55.
- ^ Southern, 143; Williams, 55.
- ^ Codex Justinianus 9.41.9; Barnes, New Empire, 51; Potter, 285, 650.
- ^ Codex Justinianus 6.30.6; Barnes, New Empire, 52; Potter, 285, 650.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 8; Barnes, New Empire, 52; Potter, 285.
- ^ Panegyrici Latini 11(3)2.4, 8.1, 11.3–4, 12.2; Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 8, 288; Potter, 285, 650; Williams, 56.
- ^ a b Elsner, Imperial Rome, 73.
- ^ Panegyrici Latini 11(3)12, qtd. in Williams, 57.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 8; Potter, 285, 288.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 8–9; Barnes, New Empire, 4, 36–37; Potter, 288; Southern, 146; Williams, 64–65.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 8–9; Barnes, New Empire, 4, 38; Potter, 288; Southern, 146; Williams, 64–65.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 8–9; Williams, 67.
- ^ Southern, 145.
- ^ Corcoran, "Before Constantine", 45–46; Williams, 67.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 8–9.
- ^ a b Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 17–18.
- ^ a b Odahl, 59.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 17; Williams, 76–77.
- ^ Williams, 76.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 17; Odahl, 59; Southern, 149–50.
- ^ Carrie & Rousselle, LEmpire Romain, 163–164
- ^ Carrié & Rousselle, L'Empire Romain, 164
- ^ Williams, 77.
- ^ Carrié & Rousselle, L'Empire Romain, 163
- ^ a b Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 17.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 17. See also Southern, 160, 338.
- ^ DiMaio, "Domitius".
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 17; DiMaio, "Domitius".
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 17–18; Southern, 150.
- ^ a b Southern, 150.
- ^ Harries, 173.
- ^ Potter, 292; Williams, 69.
- ^ Williams, 69–70.
- ^ Ammianus Marcellinus 23.5.11; Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 17; Bowman, "Diocletian and the First Tetrarchy" (CAH), 81; " Potter, 292; Southern, 149.
- ^ Eutropius 9.24–25; Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 17; Bowman, "Diocletian and the First Tetrarchy" (CAH), 81; Millar, 177–78.
- ^ Millar, 177–78.
- ^ Potter, 652.
- ^ Eutropius 9.24–25; Theophanes, anno 5793; Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 17; Bowman, "Diocletian and the First Tetrarchy" (CAH), 81; Potter, 292–93.
- ^ Rees, Diocletian and the Tetrarchy, 14.
- ^ Rees, Diocletian and the Tetrarchy, 14; Southern, 151.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 18; Bowman, "Diocletian and the First Tetrarchy" (CAH), 81; Millar, 178.
- ^ Millar, 178; Potter, Roman Empire at Bay, 293.
- ^ Bowman, "Diocletian and the First Tetrarchy" (CAH), 81.
- ^ Lactantius, De Mortibus Persecutorum 9.6.
- ^ Severus to Constantine, 151, 335–36.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 18; Potter, 293.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 18; Millar, 178.
- ^ a b c Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 18.
- ^ a b c Potter, 293.
- ^ Millar, 178–79; Potter, Roman Empire at Bay, 293.
- ^ a b Millar, 178.
- ^ Southern, 151.
- ^ Lactantius, De Mortibus Persecutorum 10.1–5; Barnes, "Sossianus Hierocles", 245; Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 18–19; Burgess, "Date of the Persecution", 157–58; Helgeland, "Christians and the Roman Army", 159; Liebeschuetz, 246–8; Odahl, 65.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 20; Corcoran, "Before Constantine", 51; Odahl, 54–56, 62.
- ^ Lactantius, De Mortibus Persecutorum 10.6, 31.1; Eusebius, Historia Ecclesiastica 8, a1, 3; Constantine, Oratio ad Coetum Sanctum 22; Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 19, 294.
- ^ a b Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 19.
- ^ Barnes, New Empire, 49; Carrié & Roussele, L'Empire Romain, 163–164
- ^ Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae 660; Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 20.
- ^ Lactantius, De Mortibus Persecutorum 33.1; Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 20; Williams, 83–84.
- ^ Williams, 78–79, 83–84.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 20.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 20–21.
- ^ Lactantius, De Mortibus Persecutorum 10.6–11; Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 21; Odahl, 67.
- ^ Eusebius, Vita Constantini 2.50.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 21; Odahl, 67; Potter, 338.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 22; Odahl, 67–69; Potter, 337; Southern, 168.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 22; Williams, 176.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 22; Liebeschuetz, 249–50.
- ^ a b Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 24; Southern, 168.
- ^ a b Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 24.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 23–24.
- ^ Treadgold, 25.
- ^ Southern, 168.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 39.
- ^ Tilley, xi.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 48–49, 208–213.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 208–213.
- ^ Lactantius, Divinae Institutiones 7.16–17; cf. Daniel 7:23–25; Digeser, 149–50.
- ^ Š. Kulišić, P. Ž. Petrović, and N. Pantelić, Српски митолошки речник (Belgrade: Nolit, 1970), 111–12.
- ^ Gibbon, Decline and Fall, I, 153 and 712, note 92
- ^ a b Potter, 341.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 24–25.
- ^ Panegyrici Latini 7(6)15.16; Lactantius, De Mortibus Persecutorum 20.4; Southern, 152, 336.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 25; Southern, 152.
- ^ Lactantius, De Mortibus Persecutorum 18.1–7; Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 25; Southern, 152.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 25–27; Lenski, "Reign of Constantine," 60; Odahl, 69–72; Potter, 341–42.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 25–26.
- ^ Lactantius, De Mortibus Persecutorum 19.2–6; Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 26; Potter, 342.
- ^ Lenski, "Reign of Constantine," 60–61; Odahl, 72–74; Southern, 152–53.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 27; Southern, 152.
- ^ Southern, 152.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 31–32; Lenski, 65; Odahl, 90.
- ^ Aurelius Victor, Liber de Caesaribus 39.6.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 41.
- ^ Potter, 294–95.
- ^ Potter, 298.
- ^ a b Potter, 296–98.
- ^ Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae 617, qtd. in Potter, 296.
- ^ Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae 641, qtd. in Potter, 296.
- ^ Inscriptiones Latinae Selectae 618, qtd. in Potter, 296. See also Millar, 182, on Tetrarchic triumphalism in the Near East.
- ^ Corcoran, "Before Constantine", 44–45.
- ^ Corcoran, "Before Constantine", 43; Potter, 290.
- ^ Cascio, "The New State of Diocletian and Constantine" (CAH), 171–72; Corcoran, "Before Constantine", 43; Liebeschuetz, 235–52, 240–43.
- ^ Potter, 290.
- ^ Southern, 163.
- ^ Southern, 153–54, 163.
- ^ Southern, 162–63.
- ^ Cascio, "The New State of Diocletian and Constantine" (CAH), 171–72; Southern, 162–63; Williams, 110.
- ^ Cascio, "The New State of Diocletian and Constantine" (CAH), 172, citing the Codex Justinianus 9.47.12.
- ^ Southern, 162–63; Williams, 110.
- ^ Williams, 110.
- ^ Lactantius, De Mortibus Persecutorum 7.3, cited in Cascio, "The New State of Diocletian and Constantine" (CAH), 173.
- ^ Treadgold, A History of the Byzantine State and Society, 19.
- ^ Roger S. Bagnall, Egypt in Late Antiquity (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993), 66, and A.H.M. Jones, The Later Roman Empire, 284–602: A Social, Economic and Administrative Survey (Oxford: Blackwell, 1964), 594, cited in Cascio, "The New State of Diocletian and Constantine" (CAH), 173.
- ^ Carrié & Rouselle, L'Empire Romain, 678
- ^ As taken from the Laterculus Veronensis or Verona List, reproduced in Barnes, New Empire, chs. 12–13 (with corrections in T.D. Barnes, "Emperors, panegyrics, prefects, provinces and palaces (284–317)", Journal of Roman Archaeology 9 (1996): 539–42). See also: Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 9; Cascio, "The New State of Diocletian and Constantine" (CAH), 179; Rees, Diocletian and the Tetrarchy, 24–27.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 9; Rees, Diocletian and the Tetrarchy, 25–26.
- ^ a b c Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 10.
- ^ Carrié & Rousselle, L'Empire Romain, 655/666
- ^ Potter, 296.
- ^ Harries, 53–54; Potter, 296.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 9–10; Treadgold, 18–20.
- ^ Rees, Diocletian and the Tetrarchy, 25, citing Simon Corcoran, The Empire of the Tetrarchs: Imperial Pronouncements and Government A.D. 284–324 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996), 234–53.
- ^ Codex Justinianus 2.13.1, qtd. by Carrié & Rousselle, l"Empire Romain, 678.
- ^ Carrié & Roussele, L'Empire Romain, 678
- ^ Williams, 53–54, 142–43.
- ^ Johnston, "Epiclassical Law" (CAH), 201; Williams, Diocletian. 143.
- ^ Potter, 296, 652.
- ^ Harries, 14–15; Potter, 295–96.
- ^ Potter, 295–96.
- ^ Harries, 21, 29–30; Potter, 295–96.
- ^ Harries, 21–22.
- ^ Harries, 63–64.
- ^ Harries, 162.
- ^ Harries, 167.
- ^ Harries, 55.
- ^ Johnston, "Epiclassical Law" (CAH), 207.
- ^ Carrié & Rousselle, L'Empire Romain, 166
- ^ Campbell, "The Army" (CAH), 124–26; Southern, 154–55. See also: Rees, Diocletian and the Tetrarchy, 19–20; Williams, 91–101.
- ^ Cascio, "The New State of Diocletian and Constantine" (CAH), 171; Rees, Diocletian and the Tetrarchy, 27.
- ^ Rees, Diocletian and the Tetrarchy, 27.
- ^ Lactantius, De Mortibus Persecutorum 7.2, qtd. in Corcoran, "Before Constantine", 46.
- ^ Zosimus, 2.34 qtd. in Corcoran, "Before Constantine", 46.
- ^ Southern, 157; Treadgold, 19.
- ^ Treadgold, 19.
- ^ De Mensibus 1.27.
- ^ Rees, Diocletian and the Tetrarchy, 17.
- ^ Southern, 158; Treadgold, 112–13.
- ^ a b Southern, 159; Treadgold, 112–13.
- ^ a b Southern, 159.
- ^ a b c Treadgold, 20.
- ^ Cascio, "The New State of Diocletian and Constantine" (CAH), 173. See also: Rees, Diocletian and the Tetrarchy, 18.
- ^ a b Southern, 160; Treadgold, 20.
- ^ Potter, 333.
- ^ Barnes, Constantine and Eusebius, 9, 288; Rees, Diocletian and the Tetrarchy, 28–29; Southern, 159.
- ^ Carrié & Rousselle, l"Empire Romain, 187–188.
- ^ Williams, 125.
- ^ a b c Southern, 160.
- ^ a b Potter, 392.
- ^ Potter, 392–93.
- ^ Cascio, "The New State of Diocletian and Constantine" (CAH), 176.
- ^ Potter, 334, 393; Southern, 160.
- ^ a b Potter, 334–35.
- ^ Potter, 393.
- ^ Cascio, "The New State of Diocletian and Constantine" (CAH), 176–77.
- ^ Potter, 336.
- ^ Southern, 160, 339.
- ^ Cascio, "The New State of Diocletian and Constantine" (CAH), 177–78; Potter, 335; Southern, 161.
- ^ Potter, 335.
- ^ Cascio, "The New State of Diocletian and Constantine" (CAH), 178.
- ^ Cascio, "The New State of Diocletian and Constantine" (CAH), 177.
- ^ Potter, 336; Southern, 161.
- ^ Lactantius, De Mortibus Persecutorum 7.6–7, cited in Cascio, "The New State of Diocletian and Constantine" (CAH), 178, and Southern, 161.
- ^ Potter, 336; Williams, 131–32.
- ^ Jones, Later Roman Empire, 40.
- ^ Williams, 228–29.
- ^ Williams, 196–98.
- ^ Williams, 204.
- ^ Williams, 205–6.
- ^ Williams, 207–8.
- ^ Williams, 206.
- ^ Williams, 208.
- ^ Williams, 218–19.
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- Carrié, Jean-Michel & Rousselle, Aline. L'Empire Romain en mutation- des Sévères à Constantin, 192–337. Paris: Seuil, 1999. ISBN 2-02-025819-6
- Corcoran, Simon. The Empire of the Tetrarchs, Imperial Pronouncements and Government AD 284–324. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996. ISBN 0-19-814984-0
- Corcoran, Simon. "Before Constantine." In The Cambridge Companion to the Age of Constantine, edited by Noel Lenski, 35–58. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Hardcover ISBN 0-521-81838-9 Paperback ISBN 0-521-52157-2
- Digeser, Elizabeth DePalma. Lactantius and Rome: The Making of a Christian Empire. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1999. ISBN 978-0-8014-3594-2
- DiMaio, Jr., Michael. "L. Domitius Domitianus and Aurelius Achilleus (ca. 296/297–ca. 297/298)." De Imperatoribus Romanis (1996c). Accessed 8 March 2008.
- Elliott, T. G. The Christianity of Constantine the Great. Scranton, PA: University of Scranton Press, 1996. ISBN 0-940866-59-5
- Elsner, Jas. Imperial Rome and Christian Triumph. Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press, 1998. ISBN 0-19-284201-3
- Gibbon, Edward. Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Chicago, London & Toronto: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 1952 (Great Books of the Western World coll.). In two volumes.
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- Helgeland, John. "Christians and the Roman Army A.D. 173–337." Church History 43:2 (1974): 149–163, 200.
- Jones, A.H.M. The Later Roman Empire, 284–602: A Social, Economic and Administrative Survey. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1964.
- Leadbetter, William. "Carus (282–283 A.D.)." De Imperatoribus Romanis (2001a). Accessed 16 February 2008.
- Leadbetter, William. "Numerianus (283–284 A.D.)." De Imperatoribus Romanis (2001b). Accessed 16 February 2008.
- Leadbetter, William. "Carinus (283–285 A.D.)." De Imperatoribus Romanis (2001c). Accessed 16 February 2008.
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Further reading[link]
- Arnheim, M. T. W. (1972). The senatorial aristocracy in the later Roman empire. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0-19-814299-4.
- Brauer, George C. (1975). The age of the soldier emperors : Imperial Rome, A.D. 244–284. Park Ridge, N.J.: Noyes Press. ISBN 0-8155-5036-7.
- Cameron, Averil (1993). The later Roman empire : AD 284–430. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-51193-X.
- Sutherland, C. H. V. (1935). "The State of the Imperial Treasury at the Death of Diocletian". Journal of Roman Studies 25: 150–162.
- Sutherland, C. H. V. (1955). "Diocletian's Reform of the Coinage". Journal of Roman Studies 45: 116–118.
- Sutherland, C. H. V. (1961). "The Denarius and Sestertius in Diocletian's Coinage Reform". Journal of Roman Studies 51: 94–97.
External links[link]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Diocletian |
- Diocletian from the Catholic Encyclopedia.
- 12 Byzantine Rulers, by Lars Brownworth. 15 minute audio lecture on Diocletian.
- Ruins of the Palace of the Emperor Diocletian at Spalatro in Dalmatia By Robert Adam, 1764. Plates made available by the University of Wisconsin Digital Collections Center. (N.B. "Spalatro" was a less used alternative form of "Spalato", the Italian name for Croatian "Split").
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Diocletian |
| Alternative names | Diocles; Caesar Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus Augustus |
| Short description | Roman emperor |
| Date of birth | 244 |
| Place of birth | Salona, present day Solin, Croatia |
| Date of death | 311 |
| Place of death | Aspalathos (now Split, Croatia) |
http://wn.com/Diocletian
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This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diocletian
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.
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Cameron Sinclair |
| Nickname(s) | Sincs |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Born | (1984-04-12) 12 April 1984 (age 28) Pearcedale, Victoria, Australia |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Motocross, Supercross, Freestyle Motocross |
| Event(s) | X Games, Dew Tour, Metal Mulisha, X Fighters |
Cameron "Cam" Sinclair is an Australian freestyle motocross rider associated with the Metal Mulisha group.
Contents |
Motocross career[link]
He competed for the LG World Championship in 2008. He was injured while practicing for a double backflip in June 2008 and he was unable to compete until September 2008.[1]
First double backflip in a Freestyle Run[link]
Sinclair landed the first double backflip in a freestyle motorcross run at the third event of the Red Bull X-Fighters World Tour 2009. It was a June 2009 event in Fort Worth, Texas.[2] He landed two double backflips in the competition and finished third at the event.[3] The double backflips were in the qualifier and quarterfinals.[4]
2009 Madrid Crash[link]
Sinclair was seriously injured in Madrid in July 2009 when he under rotated a double back flip. Cam was fighting for his life in a critical condition in Madrid. He suffered a broken shoulder, broken cheek bone, a ruptured liver and was knocked unconscious. Due to the rupture in his liver he had emergency surgery for internal bleeding, which was stopped by the surgeons. After retraining himself using therapy to walk and ride again, Sinclair is back competing, and he did one of the greatest comebacks in action sports history by successfully completing the double back flip again at X Games 2010, winning his first X Games gold medal in Moto X Best Trick.
Personal life[link]
Sinclair lives in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, and married longtime girlfriend, Brooke, on 7 January 2011.[5]
References[link]
- ^ "Cam Sinclair to take on the world this weekend!". ESPN. 28 September 2008. http://espn.go.com/action/news/story?id=3607410. Retrieved 2009-07-03.
- ^ "Cam Sinclair Lands First Double Backflip in Freestyle Motocross Competition". Yahoo! Sports/Grind TV. 1 July 2009. http://www.grindtv.com/moto/blog/4052/cam-sinclair-lands-first-double-backflip-in-freestyle-motocross-competition/. Retrieved 2009-07-03.
- ^ "Aussie makes FMX history with double backflips in Texas!". Fullnoise. 28 June 2009. http://www.fullnoise.com.au/news/index.cfm?fuseaction=display_full&News_id=5634. Retrieved 2009-07-03.
- ^ Leyba, Ryan (28 June 2009). "And the Winner is...". ESPN. http://espn.go.com/action/fmx/blog?post=4292489. Retrieved 2009-07-03.
- ^ "Cam Sinclair Makes History with First X-Fighters Podium". Racer X Online. 29 June 2009. http://www.racerxonline.com/article/cam-sinclair-makes-history-with-first-x-fighters-podium.aspx. Retrieved 2009-07-22.
External links[link]
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Sinclair, Cam |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | |
| Date of birth | 1984-04-12 |
| Place of birth | Pearcedale, Victoria, Australia |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
http://wn.com/Cam_Sinclair
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cam_Sinclair
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.
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Wiki Summary
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.
