Simon ben Kosiba, surnamed Simon bar Kochba ("son of the star") was a Jewish Messiah. Between 132 and 135, he was the leader of the last resistance against the Romans. After the end of the disastrous rebellion, the rabbis called…
The rise of Islam: the events between 632 and c.700 CE, when the Arabs conquered the Near East and exported on the one hand their Arabian identity and on the other hand their new monotheistic faith.Summary
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Messiah (mâšîah, "the anointed one"): Jewish religious concept, a future savior who will, in some sense, come to restore Israel. The nature of both the Messiah and the restoration was a matter of debate, and there were several claimants.The Samaritan prophet (36 CE)
Source: Flavius Josephus,…
In 326, Alexander invaded Gandara, where he discovered, near the river Kunar, a town called Nysa that was dedicated to the god of excess, Dionysus.note[There is more on this subject here; perhaps, this Dionysus was the Indian god Shiva, the…
Darius I (Old Persian Dârayavauš): king of ancient Persia, whose reign lasted from 522 to 486. He seized power after killing king Gaumâta, fought a civil war (described in the Behistun inscription), and was finally able to refound the Achaemenid…
After the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE, his brother Arridaeus and his posthumous son Alexander were made kings; but because Philip was considered mentally deficient and Alexander was still a baby, Perdiccas was made their regent. The…
On the courtyard of the museum of Apamea, there is a special collection of tombstones of Roman legionaries, almost all of them belonging to II Parthica. Many of these stones are of about equal size, and it looks as if…
The treaties between Persia and Sparta: series of three treaties between Sparta and the Achaemenid Empire, concluded in 412 and 411. Sparta needed Persian support in the Decelean War but had little to offer, received nothing, and lost its reputation…
Troezen Decree: the higly controversial text of a decision by the Athenian popular assembly to evacuate Athens in 480 BCE. In its present form, the text cannot be authentic.
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