Definitions

Cuneiform is a system of writing first developed by the ancient Sumerians of Mesopotamia circa 3600/3500 BCE. It is considered the most significant among the many cultural contributions of the Sumerians and the greatest among those of the...

The Secession of the Plebs (secessio plebis) refers to a series of general strikes in the early history of the Roman Republic, when the plebeians – or commoners – left the city en masse and set up camp on the nearby Sacred Mountain, to protest...

The Year of the Four Emperors (69 CE) was a brief period of political upheaval and civil war in the Roman Empire. In the aftermath of the death of Emperor Nero, four men – Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian – were recognized as emperor...

Babylon is the most famous city from ancient Mesopotamia, whose ruins lie in modern-day Hillah, Iraq, 59 miles (94 km) southwest of Baghdad. The name is derived from bav-il or bav-ilim, which in Akkadian meant "Gate of God" (or "Gate of the...

Tiberius (42 BCE to 37 CE) was the second Roman emperor, who reigned from 14 to 37 CE. The adopted son of Augustus, he led a long and tormented life of service to the Roman Empire before becoming princeps (emperor) in 14 CE. Though he was...

The city of Akkad was the seat of the Akkadian Empire (2350/2334-2154 BCE), the first multinational political entity in the world, founded by Sargon the Great, who unified Mesopotamia under his rule and set the model for later Mesopotamian...

Vespasian (9-79 CE) was Roman emperor from 69 to 79 CE. Despite his low birth, he worked hard to rise through the ranks of Roman politics and eventually achieved prominence as a military commander. He came to power at the end of the brief...

Nero (37-68 CE) was the fifth Roman emperor, who reigned from 54 to 68 CE. The last emperor of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty, he came to power at the age of 16 with the help of his mother, Agrippina the Younger. Initially a popular ruler, his...

Ashur (also known as Assur) was an Assyrian city located on a plateau above the Tigris River in Mesopotamia (today known as Qal'at Sherqat, al-Shirqat District, northern Iraq). The city was an important center of trade, as it lay squarely...

Claudius (10 BCE to 54 CE) was the fourth Roman emperor, who reigned from 41 to 54 CE. Though a member of the imperial Julio-Claudian Dynasty, his rise to power had always seemed unlikely. Indeed, for much of his life, he had been ostracized...