Sura (city)Sura (ܫܘܪܐ) was a city in the southern part of the area called by ancient Jewish sources Babylonia, located east of the Euphrates. It was well-known for its agricultural produce, which included grapes, wheat, and barley. It was also a major center of Torah scholarship and home of an important yeshiva—the Sura Academy—which, together with the yeshivas in Pumbedita and Nehardea, gave rise to the Babylonian Talmud.
JahromJahrom (جهرم, also known as Jahrūm) is a city and capital of Jahrom County, Fars Province, Iran. At the 2016 census, its population was 141,634. Jahrom is the largest city in south of Fars Province and the second one in whole province. Jahrom is one of the historical cities of Iran. The founder of the city of Jahrom, Artaxerxes I of Persia, the son of Xerxes I, the fifth Achaemenid king. Ferdosi has mentioned Jahrom many times in Shahnameh, especially in the stories related to Ardashir I.
King of KingsKing of Kings was a ruling title employed primarily by monarchs based in the Middle East. Although most commonly associated with Iran (historically known as Persia in the West), especially the Achaemenid and Sasanian Empires, the title was originally introduced during the Middle Assyrian Empire by king Tukulti-Ninurta I (reigned 1233–1197 BC) and was subsequently used in a number of different kingdoms and empires, including the aforementioned Persia, various Hellenic kingdoms, Armenia, Georgia, and Ethiopia.
BalashBalash (Middle Persian: 𐭥𐭥𐭣𐭠𐭧𐭱𐭩, ) was the Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from 484 to 488. He was the brother and successor of Peroz I (459-484), who had been defeated and killed by a Hephthalite army. Balāsh (بلاش) is the New Persian form of the Middle Persian Wardākhsh/Walākhsh (Inscriptional Pahlavi: 𐭥𐭥𐭣𐭠𐭧𐭱𐭩 wrdʾḥšy; late Book Pahlavi forms gwlḥš- Gulakhsh- and Gulāsh-). The etymology of the name is unclear, although Ferdinand Justi proposes that Walagaš, the first form of the name, is a compound of words "strength" (varəda), and "handsome" (gaš or geš in Modern Persian).
NarsehNarseh (also spelled Narses or Narseus; 𐭭𐭥𐭮𐭧𐭩, New Persian: نرسه, Narsē) was the seventh Sasanian King of Kings of Iran from 293 to 303. The youngest son of Shapur I (240-270), Narseh served as the governor of Sakastan, Hind and Turan under his father. Shapur I was eventually succeeded by his son Hormizd I (270-271), 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.
HeratHerāt (hɛˈrɑːt; Pashto ; هرات) is an oasis city and the third-largest city in Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (Selseleh-ye Safēd Kōh) in the fertile valley of the Hari River in the western part of the country. An ancient civilization on the Silk Road between West, Central and South Asia, it serves as a regional hub in the country's west. Herat dates back to Avestan times and was traditionally known for its wine.
GilaksGilaks (Gileki: گيلکؤن, Gilek'ha) are an Iranian ethnic group native to the south of Caspian sea. They form one of the main ethnic groups residing in the northern parts of Iran. Gilak people, along with the closely related Mazandarani people, comprise part of the Caspian people, who inhabit the southern and southwestern coastal regions of the Caspian Sea. They speak the Gilaki language, an Iranian language that is closely related to Mazandarani. Gilaki people live both alongside the Alborz mountains, and in the surrounding plains.
AbrahaAbraha (Ge’ez: አብርሃ) (also spelled Abreha, died after 570 CE), also known as Abrahah al-Ashram (أَبْرَهَة ٱلْأَشْرَم), was an Aksumite general, then the viceroy of South Arabia for the Kingdom of Aksum, and later declared himself an independent King of Himyar, even though he ruled much as a viceroy, relied heavily upon Axumite backing, and ran his kingdom with Axumite customs and religion. Abraha ruled parts of southern Arabia including much of what is now Yemen from around 531–547 CE to around 555–570 CE.
History of the Jews in ArmeniaThe history of the Jews in Armenia is one of the Jewish communities in the Caucasus region. There is evidence of Jewish settlement in the Armenian Highlands dating as early 1st century BC. There are historical records that attest to the presence of Jews in pagan Armenia, before the spread of Christianity in the region by St. Gregory the Illuminator in 301 AD.
VishtaspaVishtaspa (𐬬𐬌𐬱𐬙𐬁𐬯𐬞𐬀 ; 𐎻𐏁𐎫𐎠𐎿𐎱 ; گشتاسپ ; Ὑστάσπης ) is the Avestan-language name of a figure of Zoroastrian scripture and tradition, portrayed as an early follower of Zoroaster, and his patron, and instrumental in the diffusion of the prophet's message. Although Vishtaspa is not epigraphically attested, he is – like Zoroaster – traditionally assumed to have been a historical figure, although obscured by accretions from legend and myth. In Zoroastrian tradition, which builds on allusions found in the Avesta, Vishtaspa is a righteous king who helped propagate and defend the faith.