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Perso-Roman Wars Of 337–361
The Perso-Roman wars of 337–361 were a series of military conflicts fought between the Roman Empire and the Sasanian Empire between 337 and 361. They were a result of long-standing competition between the rival powers over influence in the border kingdoms of Armenia and Iberia, as well as the desire of Shapur II, after his Arab campaign, to revoke the unfavorable terms of the Treaty of Nisibis, which had concluded the previous war between the empires. Though the Romans under Constantius II were defeated in several sanguinary encounters, Shapur was unable to secure a decisive victory. Events First war: 337–350 In 335, Emperor Constantine sent his son Constantius in preparation for a campaign against the Sasanid Empire. Constantius recruited and drafted new soldiers, implemented training and drills, expanded the cavalry, and stockpiled supplies. These preparations did not go unnoticed by the Sasanids. In 336, Shapur II sent his general Narses to invade Armenia. Narses, how ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mygdonius
The Jaghjagh River ( ''Nahr Jaqjaq'', ''Nahr al-Jaghjagh'', or ''Nahr al-Hirmas'', , ''Nahro dJaqjaq'', ) is a tributary of the Khabur River in Turkey and Syria. The river was known to the ancient Greeks as the ''Mygdonius'' (), and lent its name to the city of Antioch in Mygdonia.NISIBIS'' Encyclopaedia Iranica Sources The river has two sources. The longer branch, known as Siyahsu (meaning ''dark water'', Kurdish ''Av-e Resh''), rises near the village of Toptepe in Mardin Province, Turkey, and flows 10 km to the confluence with the shorter branch, known as Beyazsu (meaning ''white water'', Kurdish ''Av-e Spi''). Course The river crosses into Syria near the cities of Nusaybin and Qamishli. The water is heavily used for irrigation, in both Turkey and Syria. The river flows into the Khabur River at Al-Hasakah. Wildlife Freshwater mussels and turtles live in the river. Trout Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous fre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zeugma (Commagene)
Zeugma (; ) was an ancient Hellenistic era Greek and then Roman city of Commagene; located in modern Gaziantep Province, Turkey. It was named for the bridge of boats, or , that crossed the Euphrates at that location. Zeugma Mosaic Museum contains mosaics from the site, and is one of the largest mosaic museums in the world. History Zeugma was founded soon after 300 BC as the city of Seleucia by Seleucus I Nicator, a Diadochus (successor) to Alexander the Great and Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedonian founder of the Seleucid Kingdom, on the site where he had the first bridge over the Euphrates built. In 64 BC, the Roman Republic gained control of the city. Zeugma was of great importance to the Roman Empire as it was located at a strategically important place. Up to 70,000 people lived in the city, and it became a center for the military and commerce for the ancient Romans. In 253 AD, it was destroyed by the Sassanids, but was later rebuilt. In late antiquity, Zeugma was a dio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nineveh
Nineveh ( ; , ''URUNI.NU.A, Ninua''; , ''Nīnəwē''; , ''Nīnawā''; , ''Nīnwē''), was an ancient Assyrian city of Upper Mesopotamia, located in the modern-day city of Mosul (itself built out of the Assyrian town of Mepsila) in northern Iraq. It is located on the eastern bank of the Tigris River and was the capital and largest city of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, as well as the largest city in the world for several decades. Today, it is a common name for the half of Mosul that lies on the eastern bank of the Tigris, and the country's Nineveh Governorate takes its name from it. It was the largest city in the world for approximately fifty years until the year 612 BC when, after a bitter period of civil war in Assyria, it was sacked by a coalition of its former subject peoples including the Babylonians, Medes, and Scythians. The city was never again a political or administrative centre, but by Late Antiquity it was the seat of an Assyrian Christian bishop of the Assyrian Ch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tigris
The Tigris ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the eastern of the two great rivers that define Mesopotamia, the other being the Euphrates. The river flows south from the mountains of the Armenian Highlands through the Syrian Desert, Syrian and Arabian Deserts, before merging with the Euphrates and reaching to the Persian Gulf. The Tigris passes through historical cities like Mosul, Tikrit, Samarra, and Baghdad. It is also home to archaeological sites and ancient religious communities, including the Mandaeans, who use it for Masbuta, baptism. In ancient times, the Tigris nurtured the Assyria, Assyrian Empire, with remnants like the relief of Tiglath-Pileser I, King Tiglath-Pileser. Today, the Tigris faces modern threats from geopolitical instability, dam projects, poor water management, and climate change, leading to concerns about its sustainability. Efforts to protect and preserve the river's legacy are ongoing, with local archaeologists and activists working to safeguard its future ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chionites
Xionites, Chionites, or Chionitae (Middle Persian: ''Xiyōn'' or ''Hiyōn''; Avestan: ''X́iiaona-''; Sogdian language, Sogdian ''xwn''; Zoroastrian Middle Persian, Pahlavi ''Xyōn'') were a nomadic people in the Central Asian regions of Transoxiana and Bactria. The Xionites appear to be synonymous with the Huna peoples of the South Asian regions of Middle kingdoms of India, classical/medieval India, and possibly also the Huns of late antiquity, European late antiquity, who were in turn connected Onomastics, onomastically to the Xiongnu in Chinese history. They were first described by the Roman historian, Ammianus Marcellinus, who was in Bactria during 356–357 CE; he described the ''Chionitæ'' as living with the Kushans. Ammianus indicates that the Xionites had previously lived in Transoxiana and, after entering Bactria, became vassals of the Kushans, were influenced culturally by them and had adopted the Bactrian language. They had attacked the Sassanid Empire, but later (l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antoninus (turncoat)
Antoninus () was a member of the Household Cavalry under Emperor Constantius II, and later an advisor to the Sasanian king (shah) Shapur II. He played a key role in providing intelligence to the shah, culminating in the sack of Amida in 359 AD. Life Ammianus Marcellinus is the only source on Antoninus: :"There was a certain Antoninus, at first a rich merchant, then an accountant in the service of the governor of Mesopotamia, and finally one of his body-guard, a man of experience and sagacity." Ammianus then goes on to describe how Antoninus had been mistreated by the imperial authorities of Constantius II. Having grown tired of losing property and wealth to corruption, Antoninus decided to become turncoat. After contacting the Sasanian authorities, he crossed the Tigris river and joined the Sasanians. Antoninus later met Ursicinus in the turn of events leading to the siege of Amida. Ammianus (who was present) noted how Antoninus had come to adopt the dress and customs of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roman Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia was the name of a Roman province, initially a short-lived creation of the Roman emperor Trajan in 116–117 and then re-established by Emperor Septimius Severus in c. 198. Control of the province was subsequently fought over between the Roman and the Sassanian empires until the Muslim conquests of the 7th century. Trajan's province In 113, the Roman emperor Trajan (r. 98–117) launched a war against Rome's long-time eastern rival, the Parthian Empire. In 114, he conquered Armenia, which was made into a province, and by the end of 115, he had conquered northern Mesopotamia. This too was organized as a province in early 116, when coins were minted to celebrate the fact. Later in the same year, Trajan marched into central and southern Mesopotamia (enlarging and completing the province of Mesopotamia) and across the river Tigris to Adiabene, which he annexed into another Roman province, Assyria. But he did not stop there. In the last months of 116, he captured the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ctesiphon
Ctesiphon ( ; , ''Tyspwn'' or ''Tysfwn''; ; , ; Thomas A. Carlson et al., “Ctesiphon — ܩܛܝܣܦܘܢ ” in The Syriac Gazetteer last modified July 28, 2014, http://syriaca.org/place/58.) was an ancient city in modern Iraq, on the eastern bank of the Tigris, about 35 kilometres (22 mi) southeast of Baghdad. Ctesiphon served as a royal capital of the Iranian peoples, Iranian empires for over eight hundred years, in the Parthian Empire, Parthian and Sasanian periods. Ctesiphon was the capital of the Sasanian Empire from 226–637 until the Muslim conquest of Persia in 651 AD. Ctesiphon developed into a rich commercial metropolis, merging with the surrounding cities along both shores of the river, including the Hellenistic city of Seleucia. Ctesiphon and its environs were therefore sometimes referred to as "The Cities" (, ). In the late sixth and early seventh century, it was listed as the List of largest cities throughout history, largest city in the world by some accounts ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sophist
A sophist () was a teacher in ancient Greece in the fifth and fourth centuries BCE. Sophists specialized in one or more subject areas, such as philosophy, rhetoric, music, athletics and mathematics. They taught ''arete'', "virtue" or "excellence", predominantly to young statesmen and nobility. The arts of the sophists were known as sophistry and gained a negative reputation as tools of arbitrary reasoning. "Sophistry" is today used as a pejorative for a superficially sound but intellectually dishonest argument in support of a foregone conclusion. Etymology The Greek word is related to the noun . Since the times of Homer, it commonly referred to an expert in his profession or craft. Charioteers, sculptors, or military experts could be referred to as in their occupations. The word has gradually come to connote general wisdom and especially wisdom in human affairs such as politics, ethics, and household management. This was the meaning ascribed to the Greek Seven Sages of 7 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Narseh
Narseh (also spelled Narses or Narseus; ) was the seventh King of Kings of Sasanian Iran from 293 to 303. The youngest son of Shapur I (), Narseh served as the governor of Sakastan, Hind and Turan under his father. Shapur I was eventually succeeded by his son Hormizd I (), who died after a reign of one year. Shapur I's eldest son Bahram I, who had never been considered as a candidate for succession to the throne by his father, ascended the throne with the aid of the powerful Zoroastrian priest Kartir. He then made a settlement with Narseh to give up his entitlement to the throne in return for the governorship of the important frontier province of Armenia, which was a persistent cause for war between the Roman and Sasanian Empires. Narseh held the title of ''Vazurg Šāh Arminān'' ("Great King of Armenia"), which was used by the heir to the throne in the early Sasanian times. Nevertheless, Narseh most likely still viewed Bahram I as a usurper. The succession of Bahram I's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Armenia
Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to the east, and Iran and the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, Nakhchivan to the south. Yerevan is the Capital city, capital, largest city and Economy of Armenia, financial center. The Armenian Highlands has been home to the Hayasa-Azzi, Shupria and Nairi. By at least 600 BC, an archaic form of Proto-Armenian language, Proto-Armenian, an Indo-European languages, Indo-European language, had diffused into the Armenian Highlands.Robert Drews (2017). ''Militarism and the Indo-Europeanizing of Europe''. Routledge. . p. 228: "The vernacular of the Great Kingdom of Biainili was quite certainly Armenian. The Armenian language was obviously the region's vernacular in the fifth century BC, when Persian commanders and Greek writers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
