Search
Search Results
Definition
Tigranocerta
Tigranocerta (Tigranakert) was a city in the southwest of ancient Armenia founded and made capital by Tigranes the Great in 83 BCE. Famous for its riches and fine buildings, as well as its mix of Hellenistic and Persian culture, the city...
Definition
Caesarea (North Africa)
Caesarea was actually the name of three separate cities: one in Palestine, one in Cappadocia (Asia Minor), and one in Mauretania, present-day Algeria. The first city, Caesarea Maritima, was built by Herod around 25 BCE and, like the other...
Article
Hadrian's Travels
No other Roman emperor travelled as much as Hadrian (r. 117-138 CE). The 'restless' emperor spent more time travelling than in Rome, devoting half of his 21-year reign to the inspection of the provinces. His travels provided him with the...
Article
The Early Christianization of Armenia
The Christianization of Armenia began with the work of Syrian apostles from the 1st century CE and was boosted in the early 4th century CE by such figures as Saint Gregory the Illuminator, who converted the Armenian king and spread the gospel...
Article
Legions of Noricum, Raetia & Dacia
The provinces Noricum, Raetia, and Dacia served as a buffer protecting Roman Empire against any possible outside threat. However, the region posed several internal problems for Rome: Pannonia and its ally Dalmatia rebelled against Roman occupancy...
Image
Roman Empire in 117 CE
Map of the Roman Empire at its maximum extent in 117 CE, under the rule of Trajan.
Image
The Regions of Ancient Anatolia
A map of the regions of ancient Anatolia, circa 500 BC. Greek settlement areas are noted in italics.
Definition
Achaemenid Empire
East of the Zagros Mountains, a high plateau stretches off towards India. While Egypt was rising up against the Hyksos, a wave of pastoral tribes from north of the Caspian Sea was drifting down into this area and across into India. By the...
Definition
Assyria
Assyria was the region located in the ancient Near East which, under the Neo-Assyrian Empire, reached from Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq) through Asia Minor (modern Turkey) and down through Egypt. The empire began modestly at the city of Ashur...
Definition
Ancient Persian Government
The government of ancient Persia was based on an efficient bureaucracy which combined the centralization of power with the decentralization of administration. The Achaemenid Empire (c. 550-330 BCE) founded by Cyrus the Great (r. c. 550-530...