This article deals with the general history of the Levant, which is an antiquated geographical term that refers to a large area in Southwest Asia, south of the Taurus Mountains, bounded by the Mediterranean Sea in the west, the Arabian Desert in the north, and Mesopotamia to the east. Occasionally, the term is employed to refer to modern events or states in the region immediately bordering the eastern Mediterranean Sea: Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. ... The Levant or Sham (Arabic root word related to the term Semite) is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in Southwest Asia south of the Taurus Mountains, bounded by the Mediterranean Sea in the west, and the north Arabian Desert and Mesopotamia to the east. ... A map showing Southwest Asia - The term Middle East is more often used to refer to both Southwest Asia and some North African countries Southwest Asia (similar to the Middle East) is the southwestern part of Asia. ... The Taurus Mountains or simply the Taurus, (Turkish Toros, also known as Ala-Dagh or Bulghar-Dagh) are a mountain range, forming the rugged southeastern rim of the Anatolian plateau, from which the Euphrates River descends into Syria. ... Satellite image The Mediterranean Sea is a part of the Atlantic Ocean almost completely enclosed by land, on the north by Europe, on the south by Africa, and on the east by Asia. ... The template of this page is being worked at Wikipedia:WikiProject Ecoregions/Template. ... Mesopotamia (Greek: Μεσοποταμία, translated from Old Persian Miyanrudan the Land between the Rivers; Aramaic name being Beth-Nahrain House of Two Rivers) is a region of Southwest Asia. ...

The Levant does not include Anatolia (although at times Cilicia may be included), the Caucasus Mountains, or any part of the Arabian Peninsula proper. The Sinai Peninsula is sometimes included, though more considered an intermediate, peripheral or marginal area forming a land bridge between the Levant and northern Egypt. Anatolia (Greek: ανατολή anatolē or anatolí; see also List of traditional Greek place names), rising of the sun or East; compare Orient and Levant, by popular etymology Turkish falsely associated with Anadolu to ana mother and dolu filled), also called by the Latin name of Asia Minor, is a region of... In ancient geography, Cilicia (Ki-LIK-ya) formed a district on the southeastern coast of Asia Minor (modern Turkey), north of Cyprus. ... The Caucasus , a region bordering Asia Minor, is located between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea which includes the Caucasus mountains and surrounding lowlands. ... The Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula is a mainly desert peninsula in Southwest Asia at the junction of Africa and Asia and an important part of the greater Middle East. ... Sinai Peninsula, Gulf of Suez (west), Gulf of Aqaba (east) from Space Shuttle STS-40 The Sinai Peninsula (in Arabic, Shibh Jazirat Sina) is a triangle-shaped peninsula lying between the Mediterranean Sea (to the north) and Red Sea (to the south). ...

For what the area is called by natives and others, see Names of the Levant. See also History of the Middle East. Over recorded history, there have been many names of the Levant. ... This article is a general overview of the history of the Middle East. ...

The Stone age

The earliest known permanent settlements in the Levant were established by the hunters and gatherers of the Natufian culture. The following Neolithic period is divided into the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A and B and the pottery neolithic. Agriculture became the dominant life-style during the PPNB, but there are traces of nomadic hunters, especially in the Southern Levant and the Sinai. Stone Age fishing hook. ... The Levant or Sham (Arabic root word related to the term Semite) is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in Southwest Asia south of the Taurus Mountains, bounded by the Mediterranean Sea in the west, and the north Arabian Desert and Mesopotamia to the east. ... The Natufian culture existed in the Mediterranean region of the Levant. ... The Neolithic, (Greek neos=new, lithos=stone, or New Stone Age) was a period in the development of human technology that is traditionally the last part of the Stone Age. ... The Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (short PPNA) represents the early neolithic in the Levantine and upper Mesopotamian region of the Fertile Crescent. ... Sinai Peninsula, Gulf of Suez (west), Gulf of Aqaba (east) from Space Shuttle STS-40 The Sinai Peninsula (in Arabic, Shibh Jazirat Sina) is a triangle-shaped peninsula lying between the Mediterranean Sea (to the north) and Red Sea (to the south). ...

The Bronze age

The first cities started developing in southern Mesopotamia during the 4th millennium BC. With these ties of religion began to replace ties of kinship as the basis for society. Each city had a patron god, worshipped in a massive central temple called a ziggurat, and was ruled by a priest-king (ishakku). Society became more segmented and specialized and capable of coordinated projects like irrigation and warfare. The Bronze Age is a period in a civilizations development when the most advanced metalworking has developed the techniques of smelting copper from natural outcroppings and alloys it to cast bronze. ... Mesopotamia (Greek: Μεσοποταμία, translated from Old Persian Miyanrudan the Land between the Rivers; Aramaic name being Beth-Nahrain House of Two Rivers) is a region of Southwest Asia. ... (5th millennium BC – 4th millennium BC – 3rd millennium BC - other millennia) // Events City of Ur in Mesopotamia (40th century BC). ... A zig·gu·rat (zĭg`ə-răt) is a temple tower of the ancient Mesopotamian valley and Persia, having the form of a terraced pyramid of successively receding storeys. ...

Along with cities came a number of advances in technology. By around the 31st century BC, writing, the wheel, and other such innovations had been introduced. By now the Sumerian Peoples of south Mesopotamia were all organized into a variety of independent City-states, such as Ur and Uruk, which by around 26th century BC had begun to coalesce into larger political units. By accommodating the conquered people's gods, religion became more polytheistic and government became somewhat more secular; the title of lugal, big man, appears along side the earlier religious titles, although his primary duty is still the worship of the state gods. (32nd century BC – 31st century BC – 30th century BC – other centuries) (5th millennium BC – 4th millennium BC – 3rd millennium BC) Events ca. ... A city-state is a region controlled exclusively by a city. ... (27th century BC - 26th century BC - 25th century BC - other centuries) (4th millennium BC - 3rd millennium BC - 2nd millennium BC) Events 2900 - 2334 BC – Mesopotamian wars of the Early Dynastic period. ... Coalescence is the process by which two or more droplets (or bubbles) merge during contact to form a single daughter droplet (or bubble). ...

This process came to its natural conclusion with the development of the first empires around the 24th century BC. A people called the Akkadians invaded the valley under Sargon I and established their supremacy over the Sumerians. They were followed by the empires of Ur during the 21st and 2nd centuries BC and the Old Kingdom of Babylonia during the 17th and 18th centuries BC. (25th century BC - 24th century BC - 23rd century BC - other centuries) (4th millennium BC - 3rd millennium BC - 2nd millennium BC) Events 2900 - 2334 BC -- Mesopotamian wars of the Early Dynastic period 2350 BC --- End of the Early Dynastic IIIb Period in Mesopotamia 2350 BC -- First destruction of the city of... Akkad (or Agade) was a city and its region of northern Iraq) between Assyria to the northwest and Sumer to the south. ... Sumer (or Shumer, Sumeria, Shinar, native ki-en-gir) formed the southern part of Mesopotamia from the time of settlement by the Sumerians until the time of Babylonia. ... UR, Ur, or ur can refer to several things: The City of Ur Ur, the first known continent Royal Game of Ur Ur is the name of a minor Gnostic deity. ... (22nd century BC - 21st century BC - 20th century BC - other centuries) (4th millennium BC - 3rd millennium BC - 2nd millennium BC) Events 2130 - 2080 BC -- Ninth Dynasty wars in Egypt 2112 - 2095 BC -- Sumerian campaigns of Ur-Nammu 2091 -- beginning of the Patriarchal Age is traditionally set in this year 2064... (23rd century BC - 22nd century BC - 21st century BC - other centuries) (4th millennium BC - 3rd millennium BC - 2nd millennium BC) Events 2217 - 2193 BC -- Nomadic invasions of Akkad 2181 BC -- Egypt: End of Egypt: End of Seventh Dynasty, start of Eighth Dynasty 2160 BC -- Egypt: End of Eighth Dynasty, start... (18th century BC - 17th century BC - 16th century BC - other centuries) (1690s BC - 1680s BC - 1670s BC - 1660s BC - 1650s BC - 1640s BC - 1630s BC - 1620s BC - 1610s BC - 1600s BC - 1590s BC - other decades) (3rd millennium BC - 2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC) Events 1700 - 1500 BC -- Hurrian conquests... (19th century BC - 18th century BC - 17th century BC - other centuries) (3rd millennium BC - 2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC) // Events 1787 - 1784 BC -- Amorite conquests of Uruk and Isin 1786 BC -- Egypt: End of Twelfth Dynasty, start of Thirteenth Dynasty, start of Fourteenth Dynasty 1766 BC -- Shang conquest of...

Parallel developments were meanwhile occurring in Egypt, which by the 32nd century BC had been unified to form the Old Kingdom of Egypt, and amongst the peoples of the Indus Valley in north-western India. All of these civilizations lie in fertile river valleys where agriculture is relatively easy once dams and irrigation are constructed to control the flood waters. (33rd century BC - 32nd century BC - 31st century BC - other centuries) (5th millennium BC - 4th millennium BC - 3rd millennium BC) Events Ancient Egypt: Earliest known Egyptian hieroglyphs, beginning of the Early Dynastic Period. ... The Old Kingdom is the name commonly given to that period in the 3rd millennium BC when Egypt attained its first continuous peak of civilization complexity and achievement - this was the first of three so-called Kingdom periods which mark the high points of civilisation in the Nile Valley (the... The Indus (Daria-e-Sindh) (known as Sindhu to Indians and in Sanskrit, as Sinthos in Greek, and Sindus in Latin) is the principal river of Pakistan. ...

This started to change around the end of the third millennium as cities started to spread to the nearby hilly country: among the Assyrians in north Mesopotamia, the Canaanites in Syria-Palestine, to the Minoans in Crete, and to the Hittites in eastern Anatolia. Around this same time various immigrants, such as the Hittites and Achaeans, started appearing around the peripheries of civilization. Assyrians (ܐܫܘܪܝܶܐ) is the name of a people from Northern Mesopotamia in Middle East, today split in three parts; Turkey, Syria and Iraq. ... This article is about the land called Canaan. ... The Minoans were an ancient pre-Hellenic civilization on what is now Crete (in the Mediterranean), during the Bronze Age, prior to classical Greek culture. ... Greece and Crete Crete, sometimes spelled Krete (Greek Κρήτη / Kriti; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is the largest of the Greek islands and the fifth largest in the Mediterranean Sea. ... Relief of Suppiluliuma II, last known king of the Hittite Empire Hittites is the conventional English-language term for an ancient people who spoke an Indo-European language and established a kingdom centered in Hattusa (the modern village of BoÄŸazköy in north-central Turkey), through most of the... Anatolia (Greek: ανατολή anatolÄ“ or anatolí; see also List of traditional Greek place names), rising of the sun or East; compare Orient and Levant, by popular etymology Turkish falsely associated with Anadolu to ana mother and dolu filled), also called by the Latin name of Asia Minor, is a region of... The Achaeans (also Akhaians, Greek Αχαιοί) is the collective name given to the Greek forces in Homers Iliad. ...

These groups are associated with the appearance of the light two-wheeled war chariot and typically with Indo-European languages. Horses and chariots require a lot of time and upkeep, so their use was mainly confined to a small nobility. These are the "heroic" societies familiar to us from epics like the Iliad and the Ramayana. Proto-Indo-European Indo-European studies Indo-European is originally a linguistic term, referring to the Indo-European language family. ... The Iliad (Greek Ιλιάς, Ilias) tells part of the story of the siege of the city of Ilium, i. ... Lord Ram, Laxman, Sita and Hanuman(crouching) The Ramayana (Sanskrit: march (ayana) of Rama) is part of the Hindu smriti, written by Valmiki. ...

Around the 17th and 16th centuries BC most of the older centres had been overrun. Babylonia was conquered by the Kassites, and the civilization of the Indus Valley was annihilated by the Indo-Aryans. Their kin, the Mitanni, subjugated Assyria and for a time menaced the Hittite kingdom, but were defeated by the two around the middle of the 14th. Various Achaean kingdoms developed in Greece, most notably that of Mycenae, and by the 15th century BC were dominant over the older Minoan cities. And the Semitic Hyksos used the new technologies to occupy Egypt, but were expelled, leaving the empire of the New Kingdom to develop in their wake. (18th century BC - 17th century BC - 16th century BC - other centuries) (1690s BC - 1680s BC - 1670s BC - 1660s BC - 1650s BC - 1640s BC - 1630s BC - 1620s BC - 1610s BC - 1600s BC - 1590s BC - other decades) (3rd millennium BC - 2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC) Events 1700 - 1500 BC -- Hurrian conquests... (17th century BC - 16th century BC - 15th century BC - other centuries) (1600s BC - 1590s BC - 1580s BC - 1570s BC - 1560s BC - 1550s BC - 1540s BC - 1530s BC - 1520s BC - 1510s BC - 1500s BC - other decades) (3rd millennium BC - 2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC) Events 1700 - 1500 BC -- Hurrian conquests... Roma family in Smyrne, Turkey, photographed in 1904. ... Mitanni or Mittani (in Assyrian sources Hanilgalbat, Khanigalbat) was a kingdom in northern Syria. ... (15th century BC - 14th century BC - 13th century BC - other centuries) (1400s BC - 1390s BC - 1380s BC - 1370s BC - 1360s BC - 1350s BC - 1340s BC - 1330s BC - 1320s BC - 1310s BC - 1300s BC - other decades) (3rd millennium BC - 2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC) Events 1344 - 1322 BC -- Beginning of... The Lion Gate at Mycenae The Lion Gate (detail) Mycenae (ancient Greek: , IPA , in modern Greek: Μυκήνες ), is an archaeological site in Greece, located about 90km south-west of Athens, in the north-eastern Peloponnese. ... (16th century BC - 15th century BC - 14th century BC - other centuries) (1500s BC - 1490s BC - 1480s BC - 1470s BC - 1460s BC - 1450s BC - 1440s BC - 1430s BC - 1420s BC - 1410s BC - 1400s BC - other decades) (3rd millennium BC - 2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC) Events 1504 BC - 1492 BC -- Egypt... The Hyksos (Egyptian heka khasewet) were an ethnically mixed group of Western Asiatic people who appeared in the eastern Nile Delta during the Second Intermediate Period. ... The New Kingdom period of Egyptian history is the period between the 16th century BC and the 11th century BC, covering the Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth dynasty of Egypt. ...

In the 13th century BC all of these powers suddenly collapsed. Cities all around the eastern Mediterranean were sacked within a span of a few decades by assorted raiders. The Achaean kingdoms disappeared, and the Hittite empire was destroyed. Egypt repelled its attackers with only a major effort, and over the next century shrank to its territorial core, its central authority permanently weakened. Only Assyria escaped significant damage. This bronze ritual wine vessel, dating from the Shang Dynasty in the 13th century BC, is housed at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution. ...

The Iron age

The destruction at the end of the bronze age left a number of tiny kingdoms and City-states behind. A few Hittite centres remained in northern Syria, along with some Phoenician ports in Canaan that escaped destruction and now developed into great commercial powers. Southern Palestine initially fell to the Philistines, but by the 11th century BC had been conquered by the Hebrews. And most of the interior, as well as Babylonia, was overrun by Arameans. Relief of Suppiluliuma II, last known king of the Hittite Empire Hittites is the conventional English-language term for an ancient people who spoke an Indo-European language and established a kingdom centered in Hattusa (the modern village of Boğazköy in north-central Turkey), through most of the... Phoenicia was an ancient civilization in the north of ancient Canaan, with its heartland along the coastal plain of what is now Lebanon and Syria. ... Canaan or Knáan (Arabic کنعان, Kanʻān, Hebrew כְּנַעַן / כְּנָעַן, Kənáʻan / Kənāʻan; Septuagint Greek Χανααν, Khanaan) is an ancient term for a region roughly corresponding to present-day Israel, the West Bank, western Jordan, southern and coastal Syria and Lebanon continuing up until the border of modern Turkey. ... Palestine (Latin: Syria Palæstina; Hebrew: פלשתינה Palestina, ארץ־ישראל Eretz Yisrael; Arabic: فلسطين Filasṭīn) is the region between the Mediterranean Sea and the banks of the Jordan River, plus various adjoining lands to the east. ... The historic Philistines (see note Philistines below) were a people that inhabited the southern coast of Canaan around the time of the arrival of the Israelites, their territory being named Philistia in later contexts. ... (12th century BC - 11th century BC - 10th century BC - other centuries) (1100s BC - 1090s BC - 1080s BC - 1070s BC - 1060s BC - 1050s BC - 1040s BC - 1030s BC - 1020s BC - 1010s BC - 1000s BC - other decades) (3rd millennium BC - 2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC) Events Zhou Dynasty (1122 BC - 256... Hebrews (syns. ... Babylonia was an ancient state in Mesopotamia (in modern Iraq), combining the territories of Sumer and Akkad. ... The Arameans or Aramaeans (also called Syriacs) were a Semitic, nomadic people who dwelt in Aram-Naharaim or Aram of the two rivers, also known as Mesopotamia a region including modern Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Iran that is mentioned six times in the Hebrew Bible. ...

In this dark period a number of technological innovations spread, most notably iron working and the Phoenician alphabet, developed by the Phoenicians or the Canaanites around the 16th century BC. Also around this time, the Hebrew religion developed into the first major Monotheism, Judaism, which is still practiced today. The Phoenician alphabet dates from around 1000 BC and is derived from the Proto-Canaanite alphabet. ... (17th century BC - 16th century BC - 15th century BC - other centuries) (1600s BC - 1590s BC - 1580s BC - 1570s BC - 1560s BC - 1550s BC - 1540s BC - 1530s BC - 1520s BC - 1510s BC - 1500s BC - other decades) (3rd millennium BC - 2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC) Events 1700 - 1500 BC -- Hurrian conquests... Monotheism (in Greek monon = single and Theos = God) is the belief in a single, universal, all-encompassing deity. ... Judaism is the religious culture of the Jewish people. ...

During the 9th century BC the Assyrians began to reassert themselves against the incursions of the Aramaeans, and over the next few centuries developed into a powerful and well-organised empire. Their armies were among the first to employ cavalry, which took the place of chariots, and had a reputation for both prowess and brutality. At their height, the Assyrians dominated all of Syria-Israel, Egypt, and Babylonia. However, the empire began to collapse toward the end of the 7th century BC, and was obliterated by an alliance between a resurgent New Kingdom of Babylonia and the Iranian Medes. (10th century BC - 9th century BC - 8th century BC - other centuries) (900s BC - 890s BC - 880s BC - 870s BC - 860s BC - 850s BC - 840s BC - 830s BC - 820s BC - 810s BC - 800s BC - other decades) (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium AD) Events Kingdom of Kush (900 BC... Assyrians (ܐܫܘܪܝܶܐ) is the name of a people from Northern Mesopotamia in Middle East, today split in three parts; Turkey, Syria and Iraq. ... (8th century BC - 7th century BC - 6th century BC - other centuries) (700s BC - 690s BC - 680s BC - 670s BC - 660s BC - 650s BC - 640s BC - 630s BC - 620s BC - 610s BC - 600s BC - other decades) (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium AD) Events Scythians arrived in Asia Collapse... The Medes were an Iranian people of Indo-Iranian origin who lived in the western and north-western portion of present-day Iran. ...

The subsequent balance of power was short-lived, though. In the 550s BC the Persians revolted against the Medes and gained control of their empire, and over the next few decades annexed to it the realms of Lydia in Anatolia, Babylonia, and Egypt, as well as consolidating their control over the Iranian plateau nearly as far as India. This vast kingdom was divided up into various satrapies and governed roughly according to the Assyrian model, but with a far lighter hand. Around this time Zoroastrianism became the predominant religion in Persia. Centuries: 7th century BC - 6th century BC - 5th century BC Decades: 600s BC - 590s BC - 580s BC - 570s BC - 560s BC - 550s BC - 540s BC - 530s BC - 520s BC - 510s BC - 500s BC Events and Trends Carthage conquers Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica 559 BC - King Cambyses I of Anshan dies... The Persians of Iran (which was named Persia until 1935) are an Iranian people who speak the Farsi dialect of Persian and often refer to themselves as ethnic Iranians as well. ... Lydia was an ancient kingdom of Asia Minor, known to Homer as Mæonia. ... Anatolia (Greek: ανατολή anatolÄ“ or anatolí; see also List of traditional Greek place names), rising of the sun or East; compare Orient and Levant, by popular etymology Turkish falsely associated with Anadolu to ana mother and dolu filled), also called by the Latin name of Asia Minor, is a region of... Babylonia was an ancient state in Mesopotamia (in modern Iraq), combining the territories of Sumer and Akkad. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Faravahar, the depiction of the human soul before birth and after death. ... ...

The Classical empires

From 492-449 BC the Persians made a series of unsuccessful attempts to conquer Greece. The civilisation that had developed there since the end of the bronze age was organised along entirely different lines than those of the Middle East, consisting of numerous small City-States fielding citizen militias. Nonetheless they banded together and proved quite capable of dealing with the massive armies of their foe. Centuries: 6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC Decades: 540s BC 530s BC 520s BC 510s BC 500s BC - 490s BC - 480s BC 470s BC 460s BC 450s BC 440s BC Years: 497 BC 496 BC 495 BC 494 BC 493 BC - 492 BC - 491 BC 490 BC... Centuries: 6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC Decades: 490s BC 480s BC 470s BC 460s BC 450s BC - 440s BC - 430s BC 420s BC 410s BC 400s BC 390s BC 454 BC 453 BC 452 BC 451 BC 450 BC 449 BC 448 BC 447 BC 446... The Persians of Iran (which was named Persia until 1935) are an Iranian people who speak the Farsi dialect of Persian and often refer to themselves as ethnic Iranians as well. ... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ... A militia is a group of citizens organized to provide paramilitary service. ...

By the fourth century BC Persia had fallen into decline. The campaigns of Xenophon illustrated how very vulnerable it had become to attack by an army organised along Greek lines, but the Greek city-states had weakened each other irreparably through in-fighting. However, in 338 BC the rising power of Macedonia overcame Greece, and under Alexander the Great turned its attention eastward. Alexander conquered Persia in little more than a decade. ... Xenophon (In Greek , c. ... Centuries: 5th century BC - 4th century BC - 3rd century BC Decades: 380s BC 370s BC 360s BC 350s BC 340s BC - 330s BC - 320s BC 310s BC 300s BC 290s BC 280s BC 343 BC 342 BC 341 BC 340 BC 339 BC - 338 BC - 337 BC 336 BC 335... Alexander the Great fighting the Persian king Darius (Pompeii mosaic, from a 3rd century BC original Greek painting, now lost). ...

Alexander did not live long enough to consolidate his realm, and in the half-century following his death (323 BC) it was carved up by his feuding generals. The Antigonids established themselves in Macedonia, the Ptolemies in Egypt, and various small principalities appeared in northern Anatolia. The greater share of the east went to the descendants of Seleucus I Nicator. This period saw great innovations in mathematics, science, architecture, and the like, and Greeks founded cities throughout the east, some of which grew to be the world's first major metropolises. Their culture did not, however, reach very far into the countryside. Centuries: 5th century BC - 4th century BC - 3rd century BC Decades: 370s BC 360s BC 350s BC 340s BC 330s BC - 320s BC - 310s BC 300s BC 290s BC 280s BC 270s BC 328 BC 327 BC 326 BC 325 BC 324 BC - 323 BC - 322 BC 321 BC 320... The Antigonid dynasty was a dynasty of Macedonian kings descended from Alexander the Greats general Antigonus I Monophthalmus (the One-eyed). Antigonus himself ruled mostly over Asia Minor and northern Syria. ... Ptolemy, one of Alexander the Greats generals, was appointed satrap of Egypt after Alexanders death in 323 BC. In 305 BC he declared himself King Ptolemy I, later known as Soter (saviour). ... Silver coin of Seleucus. ...

The Seleucids adopted a pro-western stance that alienated both the powerful eastern satraps and the Greeks who had migrated to the east. During the 2nd century BC Greek culture lost ground there, and the empire began to break apart. The province of Bactria revolted, and Parthia was conquered by the semi-nomadic Parni. By 141 BC the Parthians had established themselves as an empire, after the Seleucid model, and had conquered all of Iran and Mesopotamia. The Seleucid kingdom continued to decline and its remaining provinces were annexed by the Roman Republic in 64 BC. After the death of Alexander the Great in the afternoon of 11 June 323 BC, his empire was divided by his generals, the Diadochi(successors). ... (3rd century BC - 2nd century BC - 1st century BC - other centuries) (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium AD) Events BC 168 Battle of Pydna -- Macedonian phalanx defeated by Romans BC 148 Rome conquers Macedonia BC 146 Rome destroys Carthage in the Third Punic War BC 146 Rome conquers... Bactria (Bactriana) was the ancient Greek name of the country between the range of the Hindu Kush (Caucasus Indicus) and the Amu Darya (Oxus), with the capital Bactra (now Balkh) in Afghanistan. ... Parthian Empire at its greatest extent, c60 BC. The Parthian Empire was the dominating force on the Iranian plateau beginning in the late 3rd century BCE, and intermittently controlled Mesopotamia between ca 190 BCE and 224 CE. Parthia was the arch-enemy of the Roman Empire in the East and... The Central Asian steppe has been the home of Iranian nomadic tribes for centuries. ... Centuries: 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC - 1st century BC Decades: 190s BC 180s BC 170s BC 160s BC 150s BC - 140s BC - 130s BC 120s BC 110s BC 100s BC 90s BC Years: 146 BC 145 BC 144 BC 143 BC 142 BC - 141 BC - 140 BC 139 BC... See also Roman Republic (18th century) and Roman Republic (19th century) The Roman Republic (Latin: Res Publica Romanorum) was the republican government of the city of Rome and its territories from 510 BC until the establishment of the Roman Empire, which sometimes placed at 44 BC the year of Caesar... Centuries: 2nd century BC - 1st century BC - 1st century Decades: 110s BC 100s BC 90s BC 80s BC 70s BC - 60s BC - 50s BC 40s BC 30s BC 20s BC 10s BC Years: 69 BC 68 BC 67 BC 66 BC 65 BC 64 BC 63 BC 62 BC 61...

The Parthian nobility reacted against growing Roman influences around the turn of the millennium. Throughout the next century there was a strong expansion of national culture and a dissolution in central authority. In AD 114 Trajan temporarily occupied Mesopotamia, and with the end of Hadrian's 40-year peace the two powers were at almost constant hostilities. Mesopotamia was occupied again, but the Parthians recovered and pillaged the Roman provinces. Shortly thereafter, though, the province of Persia rose up in revolt, and defeated the last Parthian emperor in 224. Reproduction of a Parthian warrior as depicted on Trajans Column The Parthian Empire was the dominating force on the Iranian plateau beginning in the late 3rd century BCE, and intermittently controlled Mesopotamia between ca 190 BCE and 224 CE. Origins Bust of Parthian soldier, Esgh-abad Museum, Turkmenia. ... Events First year of Yuanchu era of the Chinese Eastern Han Dynasty. ... Emperor Trajan Marcus Ulpius Nerva Traianus (September 18, 53-August 9, 117), Roman Emperor (98-117), commonly called Trajan, was the second of the so-called Five Good Emperors of the Roman Empire. ... Mesopotamia (Greek: Μεσοποταμία, translated from Old Persian Miyanrudan the Land between the Rivers; Aramaic name being Beth-Nahrain House of Two Rivers) is a region of Southwest Asia. ... Emperor Hadrian Publius Aelius Traianus Hadrianus (January 24, 76-July 10, 138), known as Hadrian in English, was Roman emperor from 117-138, and a member of the gens Aelia. ... Events Shah Artashir I wins Persian independence from Parthia and establishes the Sassanid dynasty. ...

The new Persian dynasty, the Sassanids, restored central authority. In this period Zoroastrianism developed into an organised religion with close ties to the new state. Various sects of Christianity also spread throughout Iran, and Manichaeism developed from the two religions; these were initially tolerated but later persecuted as the Romans followed the opposite route. Conflicts with Rome, and later with the Byzantine Empire, continued intermittently. The Sassanid Empire at its greatest extent Official language Pahlavi (Middle Persian) State Religion Zoroastrianism Capital Ctesiphon Sovereigns Shahanshah of the Iran (Eranshahr) First Ruler Ardashir I Last Ruler Yazdegerd III Establishment 224 AD Dissolution 651 AD Part of the History of Iran The Sassanid dynasty (also Sassanian) was the... Faravahar, the depiction of the human soul before birth and after death. ... Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament writings of his early followers. ... Manichean priests, writing at their desk, with panel inscription in Sogdian. ... The Roman Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Ancient Roman polity in the centuries following its reorganization under the leadership of Octavian (better known as Caesar Augustus). ... The Byzantine Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Greek-speaking Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centred at its capital in Constantinople. ...

The Byzantines reached their lowest point under Phocas, with the Sassanids occupying the whole of the eastern Mediterranean. In 610, though, Heraclius took the throne of Constantinople and began a successful counter-attack, expelling the Persians and invading Media and Assyria. Unable to stop his advance, Khosrau II of Persia was assassinated and the Sassanid empire fell into anarchy. Weakened by their quarrels, neither empire was prepared to deal with the onslaught of the Arabs, newly unified under the banners of Islam and anxious to expand their faith. By 650 Arab forces had conquered all of Persia, Syria, and Egypt. Byzantium was an ancient Greek city-state, founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas. ... Phocas on a contemporary coin Flavius Phocas Augustus, Eastern Roman Emperor (reigned 602-610), is perhaps one of the most maligned figures to have held the Imperial title in the long history of Rome and Byzantium. ... Events October 4 - Heraclius arrives by ship from Africa at Constantinople, overthrows Byzantine Emperor Phocas and becomes Emperor. ... Flavius Heraclius Augustus (c. ... The Persians of Iran (which was named Persia until 1935) are an Iranian people who speak the Farsi dialect of Persian and often refer to themselves as ethnic Iranians as well. ... Assyria in earliest historical times referred to a region on the Upper Tigris river, named for its original capital, the city of Ashur. ... Parvez, the Victorious (Khosau II), king of Persia, son of Hormizd IV, grandson of Khosrau I, 590 - 628. ... For other uses, see Arab (disambiguation). ...   Islam? (Arabic: الإسلام al-islām) the submission to God is a monotheistic faith, one of the Abrahamic religions, and the worlds second largest religion. ... Events Arab conquest of Persia, establishment of Islam as state religion Hindu empire in Sumatra Croats and Serbs occupy Bosnia Khazars conquer Great Bulgarian Empire in southern Russia building of St. ... ...

For subsequent history see History of Islam. The History of Islam involves the history of the Islamic faith as a religion and as a social institution. ...

See also

• History
• Israel
• History of Israel
• Palestine
• History of Palestine
• Jordan
• History of Jordan
• Egypt
• History of Egypt
• Syria
• History of Syria
• Lebanon
• History of Lebanon,
• History of present-day nations and states.

... Main article: Israel. ... Palestine (Latin: Syria Palæstina; Hebrew: פלשתינה Palestina, ארץ־ישראל Eretz Yisrael; Arabic: فلسطين Filasṭīn) is the region between the Mediterranean Sea and the banks of the Jordan River, plus various adjoining lands to the east. ... Я ВАМ ДАМ ФИЛИСТИНУ, СУКИ ЁБАНЫЕ!!! ФАШИСТСКИЕ ТВАРИ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11 ХИЗб ут ТАХриР ... History of Jordan. ... Hathor The history of Egypt is the longest continuous history, as a unified state, of any country in the world. ... This article deals with the History of Syria, and the nations previously occupying its territory. ... This article discusses the modern-day history of Lebanon. ... This is a list of articles on the history of the countries that still exist today. ...

External links

• The History of the Ancient Near East