Kushan Empire: Did you mean...?

Artaxerxes I (r. 465-424 BCE) was the sixth monarch of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. He was the son of Xerxes I (r. 486-465 BCE) and his principal wife Amestris (d. 424 BCE) and grandson of Darius I (the Great, r. 522-486 BCE...

The Great Game describes the rivalry between the British and Russian empires through the 19th century. The game was primarily concerned with the control of certain regions in Central Asia and the...

Joséphine de Beauharnais (1763-1814) was a French noblewoman who was the first wife of Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821). She was therefore Empress of the French from 18 May 1804 until the annulment of her marriage on 10 January...

Constantine V, also known as Constantine the Dung-named by his enemies, was emperor of the Byzantine empire from 741 to 775 CE. He enjoyed military successes in the Middle East and Balkans but his reign is chiefly remembered for...

Nikephoros II Phokas was Byzantine emperor from 963 to 969 CE. Known as “White Death of the Saracens,” Nikephoros was a fearsome commander who conquered Crete, Cilicia, and much of Syria. While he is known as a great military...

The ancient city of Byzantium was founded by Greek colonists from Megara around 657 BCE. According to the historian Tacitus, it was built on the European side of the Strait of Bosporus on the order of the “god of Delphi” who said to...

Derbent (sometimes "Derbend" or "Darbend") is an ancient city located along the Caspian Sea in what is present-day Russia. Although the area in and around Derbent has been continuously inhabited since at least the 8th century BCE, Shah...

Constantine I (Flavius Valerius Constantinus) was Roman emperor from 306-337 CE and is known to history as Constantine the Great for his conversion to Christianity in 312 CE and his subsequent Christianization...

Publius Cornelius Tacitus (l. c. 56 - c. 118 CE) was a Roman historian, active throughout the reign of Trajan (r. 98-117 CE) and the early years of Hadrian (r. 117-138 CE). His best-known works are Histories and Annals, which cover the...

Valerian ruled as emperor of the Roman Empire from 253 CE until his capture in 260 CE. In 253 CE an elderly Roman military commander and experienced former senator was proclaimed emperor by his troops - a very common occurrence at the...