Curated category
Former monarchies of West Asia
- Fatimid CaliphateIn the year 902, a missionary named Abu Abdallah al-Shi'i stood among the Kutama Berbers of Little Kabylia. He preached to them about an awaited messiah who…
- Seleucid EmpireIn 312 BC, Seleucus I Nicator established his base in Babylon after receiving the Mesopotamian regions of Babylonia and Assyria from a regent named Perdiccas.
- AssyriaIn 2600 BC, the settlement of Assur emerged in northern Mesopotamia as a small agricultural village. Archaeological evidence dates the earliest occupation to…
- Abbasid CaliphateIn the year 747, a man named Abu Muslim stood in the city of Merv and raised a black flag. This banner signaled the start of an armed uprising that would…
- Timurid EmpireIn 1370, a warlord named Timur established an empire that would dominate Greater Iran and Central Asia for over a century.
- Palmyrene EmpireThe murder of Roman emperor Alexander Severus in 235 triggered a chain reaction that shattered the empire. Generals squabbled for control while frontiers…
- ColchisThe eastern coast of the Black Sea held a land known to Greek writers as Colchis. This region stretched from the river Corax in the west to the Greater…
- Empire of TrebizondIn April 1204, Alexios Komnenos and his brother David marched from Georgia to seize the city of Trebizond. They arrived with troops provided by their aunt…
- IranThe earliest known presence of hominins in Iran dates to around 800,000 BP. Middle Paleolithic sites have been discovered mainly in the Zagros Mountains.
- Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)The year 321 BC marks the moment when Orontes III and Mithridates of Lesser Armenia declared their independence, transforming a satrapy into two distinct…