GaleriusGalerius Valerius Maximianus (ɡəˈlɛəriəs; Greek: Γαλέριος; 258 – May 311) was Roman emperor from 305 to 311. During his reign he campaigned, aided by Diocletian, against the Sasanian Empire, sacking their capital Ctesiphon in 299. He also campaigned across the Danube against the Carpi, defeating them in 297 and 300. Although he was a staunch opponent of Christianity, Galerius ended the Diocletianic Persecution when he issued an Edict of Toleration in Serdica in 311.
Parthian EmpireThe Parthian Empire (ˈpɑrθiən), also known as the Arsacid Empire (ˈɑrsəsɪd), was a major Iranian political and cultural power in ancient Iran from 247 BC to 224 AD. Its latter name comes from its founder, Arsaces I, who led the Parni tribe in conquering the region of Parthia in Iran's northeast, then a satrapy (province) under Andragoras, who was rebelling against the Seleucid Empire. Mithridates I (171-132 BC) greatly expanded the empire by seizing Media and Mesopotamia from the Seleucids.
HarranHarran (Sumerian: Ḫarrānu; Ḥaran; Ḥaran) is a rural town and district of Urfa in southeastern Turkey. It is approximately southeast of Urfa and from the Syrian border crossing at Akçakale. Harran was founded at some point between the 25th and 20th centuries BC, possibly as a merchant colony by Sumerian traders from Ur. Over the course of its early history, Harran rapidly grew into a major Mesopotamian cultural, commercial and religious center.
Eastern Catholic ChurchesThe Eastern Catholic Churches or Oriental Catholic Churches, also called the Eastern-Rite Catholic Churches, Eastern Rite Catholicism, or simply the Eastern Churches, are 23 Eastern Christian autonomous (sui iuris) particular churches of the Catholic Church, in full communion with the Pope in Rome. Although they are distinct theologically, liturgically, and historically from the Latin Church, they are all in full communion with it and with each other. Eastern Catholics are a distinct minority within the Catholic Church; of the 1.
PalmyraPalmyra (pæl'maɪrə ; Palmyrene: (), romanized: Tadmor; Tadmur) is an ancient city in the eastern part of the Levant, now in the center of modern Syria. Archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first mention the city in the early second millennium BC. Palmyra changed hands on a number of occasions between different empires before becoming a subject of the Roman Empire in the first century AD. The city grew wealthy from trade caravans; the Palmyrenes became renowned as merchants who established colonies along the Silk Road and operated throughout the Roman Empire.
CordueneCorduene (Կորճայք; Κορδυηνή; Kartigini) was an ancient historical region, located south of Lake Van, present-day eastern Turkey. Many believe that the Kardouchoi—mentioned in Xenophon’s Anabasis as having given his 10,000 troops a mauling as they retreated from Persia in 401 BCE—were the ancestors of the Kurds. According to the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, Gordyene is the ancient name of the region of Bohtan (now Şırnak Province).
East Syriac RiteThe East Syriac Rite or East Syrian Rite, also called the Edessan Rite, Assyrian Rite, Persian Rite, Chaldean Rite, Nestorian Rite, Babylonian Rite or Syro-Oriental Rite, is an Eastern Christian liturgical rite that employs the Divine Liturgy of Saints Addai and Mari and the East Syriac dialect as its liturgical language. It is one of two main liturgical rites of Syriac Christianity, the other being the West Syriac Rite (Syro-Antiochene Rite).
Hakkari (historical region)Hakkari (Kurdish: هەکاری، ܚܟܐܪܝ , or ܗܟܐܪܝ ), was a historical mountainous region lying to the south of Lake Van, encompassing parts of the modern provinces of Hakkâri, Şırnak, Van in Turkey and Dohuk in Iraq. During the late Ottoman Empire it was a sanjak within the old Vilayet of Van. The region stretching from Tur Abdin to Hakkari formed the Nairi lands which served as the northern Assyrian frontier and border with their Urartian rivals.
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.
PanegyricA panegyric (USˌpænɪˈdʒɪrɪk or UKˌpænɪˈdʒaɪrɪk) is a formal public speech or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing. The original panegyrics were speeches delivered at public events in ancient Athens. The word originated as a compound of παν- 'all' (the form taken by the word πᾶν, neuter of πᾶς 'all', when that is used as a prefix) and the word ágyris 'assembly' (an Aeolic dialect form, corresponding to the Attic or Ionic form agorá).
