Late Bronze Age collapseThe Late Bronze Age collapse was a time of widespread societal collapse during the 12th century BC, between 1200 and 1150. The collapse affected a large area of the Eastern Mediterranean (North Africa and Southeast Europe) and the Near East, in particular Egypt, eastern Libya, the Balkans, the Aegean, Anatolia, and the Caucasus. It was sudden, violent, and culturally disruptive for many Bronze Age civilizations, and it brought a sharp economic decline to regional powers, notably ushering in the Greek Dark Ages.
Orontes RiverThe Orontes (ɔːˈrɒntiːz; from Ancient Greek Ὀρόντης, ) or Asi (العاصي, alˈʕaːsʕiː; Asi) is a river with a length of in Western Asia that begins in Lebanon, flowing northwards through Syria before entering the Mediterranean Sea near Samandağ in Turkey. As the chief river of the northern Levant, the Orontes was the site of several major battles. Among the most important cities on the river are Homs, Hama, Jisr al-Shughur, and Antakya (the ancient Antioch, which was also known as "Antioch on the Orontes").
BaalbekBaalbek (ˈbɑːlbɛk,_ˈbeɪəlbɛk; Baʿlabakk; Syriac-Aramaic: ܒܥܠܒܟ) is a city located east of the Litani River in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley, about northeast of Beirut. It is the capital of Baalbek-Hermel Governorate. In Greek and Roman times, Baalbek was also known as Heliopolis (Ἡλιούπολις, Greek for "Sun City"). In 1998, Baalbek had a population of 82,608, mostly Shia Muslims, followed by Sunni Muslims and Christians. It is home to the Baalbek temple complex which includes two of the largest and grandest Roman temple ruins: the Temple of Bacchus and the Temple of Jupiter.
Patriarch of AntiochThe Patriarch of Antioch is a traditional title held by the bishop of Antioch (modern-day Antakya, Turkey). As the traditional "overseer" (ἐπίσκοπος, episkopos, from which the word bishop is derived) of the first gentile Christian community, the position has been of prime importance in Pauline Christianity from its earliest period. This diocese is one of the few for which the names of its bishops from the apostolic beginnings have been preserved.
MadrasaMadrasa (məˈdræsə, also US-rɑːs-, UKˈmædrɑːsə; Arabic: مدرسة mædˈræ.sæ, ˈmad.ra.sa, pl. مدارس, ALA) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary education or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated Madrasah arifah, medresa, madrassa, madraza, medrese, etc. In countries outside the Arab world, the word usually refers to a specific type of religious school or college for the study of the religion of Islam, though this may not be the only subject studied.
BaybarsAl-Malik al-Zahir Rukn al-Din Baybars al-Bunduqdari (الملك الظاهر ركن الدين بيبرس البندقداري, al-Malik al-Ẓāhir Rukn al-Dīn Baybars al-Bunduqdārī) (1223/1228 – 1 July 1277), commonly known as Baibars or Baybars and nicknamed Abu al-Futuh (أبو الفتوح, 'Father of Conquests'), was the fourth Mamluk sultan of Egypt and Syria, of Turkic Kipchak origin, in the Bahri dynasty, succeeding Qutuz. He was one of the commanders of the Egyptian forces that inflicted a defeat on the Seventh Crusade of King Louis IX of France.
Ba'ath PartyThe Arab Socialist Baʿth Party (also anglicized as Baath in loose transcription; حزب البعث العربي الاشتراكي Ḥizb al-Baʿth al-ʿArabī al-Ishtirākī ˈħɪzb alˈbaʕθ alˈʕarabiː alʔɪʃtɪˈraːkiː) was a political party founded in Syria by Mishel ʿAflaq, Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn al-Bīṭār, and associates of Zakī al-ʾArsūzī. The party espoused Baʿthism (from Arabic بعث baʿth meaning 'resurrection'), which is an ideology mixing Arab nationalist, pan-Arab, Arab socialist, and anti-imperialist interests.
SamʾalSamal, also Yadiya or Zincirli Höyük, is an archaeological site located in the Anti-Taurus Mountains of modern Turkey's Gaziantep Province. It was founded at least as far back as the Early Bronze Age and thrived between 3000 and 2000 BC, and on the highest part of the upper mound was found a walled citadel of the Middle Bronze Age (ca. 2000–1600 BC). New excavations revealed a monumental complex in the Middle Bronze Age II (ca. 1800–1700 BC), and another structure (Complex DD) that was destroyed in the mid to late 17th century BC, maybe by Hititte king Hattusili I.
