Palmyra: Did you mean...?

The rich lands of Egypt became the property of Rome after the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BCE, which spelled the end of the Ptolemaic dynasty that had ruled Egypt since the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE. After the murder...

In Greek mythology, Tyche is the goddess and personification of good luck, chance, and fortune. Tyche's popularity grew after the Classical period when many cities and officials across the Greek world and the Mediterranean adopted her...

Plotinus (c. 204-270) was a Platonic philosopher born in Lycopolis, Egypt. Although the story of his life was written down by his student Porphyry, few biographical details are included because Plotinus rejected the physical world of...

Mavia (r. c. 375-c. 425 CE) was a warrior-queen of the semi-nomadic Tanukhid Arab tribe of Syria and Jordan who led a successful insurrection against Rome in 378 CE. She is also known as Maowiva, Mu`awiya, Mauia, Mania, and Mawiyya. Her...

Shapur I (r. 240-270 CE) is considered one of the greatest kings of the Sassanian Empire for expanding his realm, his policy of religious tolerance, building projects, and committing the Zoroastrian scriptures (Avesta) to writing. He...

Shapur II (r. 309-379 CE, also Sapur II) was the tenth monarch of the Sassanian Empire (224-651 CE) and among the most successful. Under his reign – which lasted his entire life – the Avesta (Zoroastrian scripture) was committed to...

Gallienus was Roman emperor from 253 to 268 CE. Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus, the eldest son of Emperor Valerian, was named co-emperor by his father in 253 CE. He was one of many who would claim the throne over the next two...

Desert kites are mega-constructions that consist of two long walls converging upon an enclosed space that has on its periphery small stone constructions called cells. Seen from the sky, their shape suggests that of a windborne kite...

Once the largest library in the ancient world, and containing works by the greatest thinkers and writers of antiquity, including Homer, Plato, Socrates and many more, the Library of Alexandria, northern...

The Sassanian Empire (224-651) was the greatest expression of Persian culture in the ancient world. It was consciously modeled on the earlier Achaemenid Empire (c. 550-330 BCE) which established Persian supremacy...