Oriental studies

There are 625 items in Oriental studies:

Aristotle on Persian court life

Alexander's teacher Aristotle of Stagira wrote a short treatise On the cosmos, to Alexander. It was a brief treatise on several sciences, such as physics, meteorology, geography, theology. For more than a century, scholars have considered On the cosmos as…

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Arrian on the Chaldaeans

In April 323, Alexander the Great entered Babylon. The Chaldaeans, i.e., the famous astrologers working in the Esagila temple complex, came with warnings that he would die if he entered the city without due precautions. Arrian of Nicomedia describes this his…

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Arrian on the substitute king

In May 323, shortly before Alexander the Great left Babylon to conquer Arabia, a strange incident happened: a man of very humble origins sat down on Alexander's throne. The Greeks and Macedonians regarded this as a very evil omen. However, the…

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Arsaces I

Arsaces I: Parnian king (r.247-211), founder of the Arsacid Dynasty and the Parthian Empire. Arsaces I After the fall of the Achaemenid Empire,…

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Arsaces II

Arsaces II: Arsacid king of the Parni in Parthia (r.211-185), second king of the Parthian Empire. Portrait of a Parthian After Arsaces and his brother…

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Arsaces IV

Arsaces IV: Arsacid king of the Parni in Parthia (r.170-168), fourth king of the Parthian Empire.Arsaces IV appears to have been the son of Arsaces II, who became king of the Parni in Parthia after Arsaces III Phriapatius: In these years, the…

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Arsaces

Arsaces: king of Armenia (r. 34-36 CE), first ruler from the Arsacid dynasty.After the reign of Artaxias III Zeno, a Pontic prince who had been made king of Armenia in 18 CE by the Roman prince Germanicus, the Parthian king…

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