Alexander III of Macedon in the Alexander Mosaic at the National Archaeological Museum, Naples, Italy
-600
Cyrus II of Persia
(Old Persian: Kūruš) , was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, the first Persian empire. Under his rule, the empire embraced all of the previous civilized states of the ancient Near East, expanded vastly and eventually conquered most of Western Asia and much of Central Asia. Spanning from the Mediterranean Sea and Hellespont in the west to the Indus River in the east, the empire created by Cyrus was the largest the world had yet seen.At its maximum extent under his successors, the Achaemenid Empire stretched from parts of the Balkans (Eastern Bulgaria–Paeonia and Thrace–Macedonia) and Southeast Europe proper in the west to the Indus Valley in the east.
The Cyrus cylinder, a contemporary cuneiform script proclaiming Cyrus as legitimate king of Babylon
Cyrus with a Hemhem crown, from a relief in the residence of Cyrus in Pasargadae
!["I am Cyrus the King, an Achaemenian" in Old Persian, Elamite and Akkadian languages. It is known as the "CMa inscription", carved in a column of Palace P in Pasargadae.[47] These inscriptions on behalf of Cyrus were probably made later by Darius I in order to affirm his lineage, using the Old Persian script he had designed.](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/ff06607a-f0aa-488c-b0b8-f85c8af97220/cd15ec3a-b3d7-47e5-a769-5faa394d5407_rw_1920.JPG?h=289fa33b13f9ba06741a30e54597f6e1)
"I am Cyrus the King, an Achaemenian" in Old Persian, Elamite and Akkadian languages. It is known as the "CMa inscription", carved in a column of Palace P in Pasargadae.[47] These inscriptions on behalf of Cyrus were probably made later by Darius I in order to affirm his lineage, using the Old Persian script he had designed.
Tomb of Cyrus in Pasargadae, Iran
The standard is described by Xenophon of Athens in Cyropaedia (Book VII, C.1) as: "...and the word went down the lines, "Eyes on the standard and steady marching!". The standard was a golden eagle, with outspread wings, borne aloft on a long spear-shaft, and to this day such is the standard of the Persian king." (however here he is describing Artaxerxes II's standard at Cunaxa).
Painting of king Astyages sending Harpagus to kill young Cyrus
Croesus on the pyre, Attic red-figure amphora
Claude Vignon 1630, Claude Vignon - Croesus and Solon
Croesus showing his treasures to Solon. Frans Francken the Younger, 17th century
Gold coin of Croesus, Lydian, around 550 BC, found in what is now modern Turkey
-564
Astyage
Latin: Astyages, Astyigas, Aspadas; reigned 585–550 BC) was the last king of the Median Empire. The son of Cyaxares, he was dethroned in 550 BC by his grandson Cyrus
King Astyages commands Harpagos to take the infant Cyrus and slay him, tapestry by Jan Moy (1535-1550).
King Astyages in chains submitting to Cyrus
The Defeat of Astyages (standing left in chains) to Cyrus (center), 18th century tapestry.
Tomb of Cambyses I
Tomb of Cyrus
Pasargad audience hall
Toll-e Takht hill (Pasargad)
-6th
Pasargadae
Was founded in the 6th century BCE as the first capital of the Achaemenid Empire by Cyrus , near the site of his victory over the Median king Astyages in 550 BCE. The city remained the Achaemenid capital until Darius moved it to Persepolis
-547
The Battle of Thymbrara
Was the decisive battle in the war between Croesus of the Lydian Kingdom and Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid Empire. Cyrus, after he had pursued Croesus into Lydia after the drawn Battle of Pteria, met the remains of Croesus' partially-disbanded army in battle on the plain north of Sardis in December 547 BC. Croesus' army was about twice as large and had been reinforced with many new men, but Cyrus still utterly defeated it. That proved to be decisive, and after the 14-day Siege of Sardis, the city and possibly its king fell, and Lydia was conquered by the Persians.
-539
Fall of Babylon
Denotes the end of the Neo-Babylonian Empire after it was conquered by the Achaemenid Empire in 539 BCE.
Nabonidus (Nabû-na'id, 556–539 BCE), son of the Assyrian priestess Adda-Guppi, came to the throne in 556 BCE, after overthrowing the young king Labashi-Marduk. For long periods he entrusted rule to his son, prince and coregent Belshazzar, who was a capable soldier, but a poor politician. As a result, he was somewhat unpopular with many of his subjects, particularly the priesthood and the military class. To the east, the Achaemenid Empire had been growing in strength. In October 539 BCE, after the Battle of Opis, Cyrus the Great entered Babylon, and Babylonia was incorporated into the Persian Achaemenid realm as a satrapy. As recorded in the Cyrus Cylinder, Cyrus vowed to respect the people of Babylon and allowed incarcerated peoples to return to their homeland
-530
Cambyses II
The second King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire from 530 to 522 BC (conquest of Egypt-525)
Evolution of the Achaemenid Empire.
-509
Foundation of the
Roman Republic
-5th
GO!(game)
The earliest written reference to the game is generally recognized as the historical annal Zuo Zhuan(c. 4th century BCE),referring to a historical event of 548 BCE. It is also mentioned in Book XVII of the Analects of Confucius and in two books written by Mencius(c. 3rd century BCE).
-5th
Siddhartha Gautama
Most commonly referred to as the Buddha , was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism
Seated Buddha, Gupta period.
The "Great Departure" of Siddhartha Gautama, surrounded by a halo, he is accompanied by numerous guards and devata who have come to pay homage; Gandhara, Kushan period
Dhamek Stupa in Sarnath, India, site of the first teaching of the Buddha in which he taught the Four Noble Truths to his first five disciples
Chinese Stele with Sakyamuni and Bodhisattvas, Wei period, 536 CE.
Sarnath Museum (India)
One of the earliest anthropomorphic representations of the Buddha, here surrounded by Brahma (left) and Śakra (right). Bimaran Casket, mid-1st century CE, British Museum.
The intercept theorem, also known as Thales's theorem
The Pythagorean theorem: The sum of the areas of the two squares on the legs (a and b) equals the area of the square on the hypotenuse (c).
Before 520 BC
On one of his visits to Egypt or Greece, Pythagoras might have met Thales of Miletus
-499
The Greco-Persian Wars
Were a series of conflicts between the Achaemenid Empire and Greek city-states that started in 499 BC
Greek troops rushing forward at the Battle of Marathon, Georges Rochegrosse, 1859.
-490
The Battle of Marathon
Took place in 490 BC during the first Persian invasion of Greece. It was fought between the citizens of Athens, aided by Plataea, and a Persian force commanded by Datis and Artaphernes. The battle was the culmination of the first attempt by Persia, under King Darius I, to subjugate Greece. The Greek army inflicted a crushing defeat on the more numerous Persians, marking a turning point in the Greco-Persian Wars.
-480
The Battle of Thermopylae
Was fought in 480 BC between the Achaemenid Persian Empire under Xerxes I and an alliance of Greek city-states led by Sparta under Leonidas I.
Persian victory
Immortals or Persian Immortals was the name given by Herodotus to an elite heavy infantry unit of 10,000 soldiers in the army of the Achaemenid Empire
Herm bust of Herodotos, from Athribis, Lower Egypt. Roman period, 2nd century AD, probably a copy of a Greek statue of the 4th cenutry BC. Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, US.
-425
Herodotus
( c. 484 – c. 425 BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey). He is known for having written the Histories – a detailed account of the Greco-Persian Wars. Herodotus was the first writer to perform systematic investigation of historical events. He is referred to as "The Father of History", a title conferred on him by the ancient Roman orator Cicero.
-387
Platonic Academy
Was founded by Plato in c. 387 BC in Athens. Aristotle studied there for twenty years (367–347 BC) before founding his own school, the Lyceum. The Academy persisted throughout the Hellenistic period as a skeptical school, until coming to an end after the death of Philo of Larissa in 83 BC. The Platonic Academy was destroyed by the Roman dictator Sulla in 86 BC
The School of Athens by Raphael (1509–1510), fresco at the Apostolic Palace, Vatican City.
Plato's Academy mosaic – from the Villa of T. Siminius Stephanus in Pompeii.
The Battle of Gaugamela, Jan Brueghel the Elder, 1602
-331
The Battle of Gaugamela
Also called the Battle of Arbela , took place in 331 BC between the forces of the Army of Macedon under Alexander and the Persian Army under King Darius III. It was the second and final battle between the two kings, and is considered to be the final blow to the Achaemenid Empire, resulting in its complete conquest by Alexander.
-305
The Ptolemaic dynasty
Sometimes referred to as the Lagid dynasty , was a Macedonian Greek royal dynasty which ruled the Ptolemaic Kingdom in Ancient Egypt during the Hellenistic period. Their rule lasted for 275 years, from 305 to 30 BC.
Sardonyx cameo of a Ptolemaic prince as the Greek god Hermes, Cabinet des médailles, Paris.
Ptolemy XV, commonly called Caesarion.
Cleopatra VII
Ptolemy XII
Ptolemy VI
The Cup of the Ptolemies
Cameo of Ptolemaic rulers (Kunsthistorisches Museum)
The Cup of the Ptolemies
The Gonzaga Cameo of Ptolemy II Philadelphus and Arsinoe II from Alexandria (Hermitage Museum)
Posthumous portrait of Cleopatra VII, from Roman Herculaneum, mid-1st century AD.
A seated woman in a fresco from the Roman Villa Boscoreale, dated mid-1st century BC. It likely represents Berenice II of Ptolemaic Egypt wearing a stephane (i.e. royal diadem) on her head.
Ptolemy I Soter was the founder of the Ptolemaic dynasty, and the first ruler of the Ptolemaic Kingdom.
-300
Seleucus I Nicator
Seleucus I Nicator c. 358 – 281 BC , lit. 'the Victorious') was a Macedonian Greek general, officer and successor of Alexander the Great. While serving under Alexander, Seleucus was commander of the Hypaspistia, or Silver-Shields, an elite Macedonian infantry unit, and eventually went on to become the founder and king of the eponymous Seleucid Empire. In the power struggles that followed Alexander's death, Seleucus rose from being a secondary player to becoming total ruler of Asia Minor, Syria, Mesopotamia, and the Iranian Plateau, eventually assuming the title of basileus (king). This Seleucid Empire was one of the major powers of the Hellenistic world, until being overcome by the Roman Republic and Parthian Empire in the late second and early first centuries BC.
After the death of Alexander in June 323 BC, Seleucus initially supported Perdiccas, the regent of Alexander's empire, and was appointed Commander of the Companions and chiliarch at the Partition of Babylon in 323 BC. However, after the outbreak of the Wars of the Diadochi in 322, Perdiccas' military failures against Ptolemy in Egypt led to the mutiny of his troops in Pelusium. Perdiccas was betrayed and assassinated in a conspiracy by Seleucus, Peithon and Antigenes in Pelusium sometime in either 321 or 320 BC. At the Partition of Triparadisus in 321 BC, Seleucus was appointed Satrap of Babylon under the new regent Antipater. But almost immediately, the wars between the Diadochi resumed and one of the most powerful of the Diadochi, Antigonus, forced Seleucus to flee Babylon. Seleucus was only able to return to Babylon in 312 BC with the support of Ptolemy. From 312 BC, Seleucus ruthlessly expanded his dominions and eventually conquered the Persian and Median lands. Seleucus ruled not only Babylonia, but the entire eastern part of Alexander's empire.
Seleucus further made claim to the former satraps in Gandhara and in eastern India. However these ambitions were contested by Chandragupta Maurya, resulting in the Seleucid–Mauryan War (305–303 BC). The conflict was ultimately resolved by a treaty resulting in the Maurya Empire annexing the eastern satraps. Additionally, a marriage alliance was formed, with Chandragupta marrying a daughter of Seleucus, according to Strabo and Appian. Furthermore, the Seleucid Empire received a considerable military force of 500 war elephants with mahouts, which would play a decisive role against Antigonus at the Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC. In 281 BC, he also defeated Lysimachus at the Battle of Corupedium, adding Asia Minor to his empire.
Seleucus' victories against Antigonus and Lysimachus left the Seleucid dynasty virtually unopposed amongst the Diadochi. However, Seleucus also hoped to take control of Lysimachus' European territories, primarily Thrace and Macedon itself. But upon arriving in Thrace in 281 BC, Seleucus was assassinated by Ptolemy Ceraunus, who had taken refuge at the Seleucid court with his sister Lysandra. The assassination of Seleucus destroyed Seleucid prospects in Thrace and Macedon, and paved the way for Ptolemy Ceraunus to absorb much of Lysimachus' former power in Macedon. Seleucus was succeeded by his son Antiochus I as ruler of the Seleucid Empire.
Seleucus founded a number of new cities during his reign, including Antioch (300 BC), Edessa and Seleucia on the Tigris (c. 305 BC), a foundation that eventually depopulated Babylon.
Roman copy of a bronze statue of Seleucus found in Herculaneum (now located at the Naples National Archaeological Museum)
Tetradrachm of Seleucus I, minted at Susa. Obv: Portrait of male figure (probably Seleucus, but possibly Alexander or Dionysus), wearing a leopard-skin helmet, with a bull's ear and horns. Rev: Nike, holding a wreath over a trophy, probably referring to the Battle of Ipsus. Legend "King Seleucus".
Upper Mesopotamia and surrounding regions during the Early Christian period, with Edessa in the upper left quadrant
The kingdoms of Antigonus, Seleucus I, Ptolemy I, Cassander and Lysimachus
The Hellenistic world view after Seleucus: ancient world map of Eratosthenes (276–194 BC), incorporating information from the campaigns of Alexander and his successors
Seleucus I coin depicting Alexander horse Bucephalus
-3th
Teotihuacan
Is an ancient Mesoamerican city located in a sub-valley of the Valley of Mexico, which is located in the State of Mexico, 40 kilometers (25 mi) northeast of modern-day Mexico City. Teotihuacan is known today as the site of many of the most architecturally significant Mesoamerican pyramids built in the pre-Columbian Americas, namely Pyramid of the Sun and Pyramid of the Moon. At its zenith, perhaps in the first half of the first millennium (1 CE to 500 CE), Teotihuacan was the largest city in the Americas, with a population estimated at 125,000 or more, making it at least the sixth-largest city in the world during its epoch.
Pyramid of the Moon
Pyramid of the Sun
-287
Archimedes of Syracuse
( c. 287 – c. 212 BC) Greek Mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and inventor from the ancient city of Syracuse in Sicily
The Death of Archimedes (1815) by Thomas Degeorge
Archimedes allegedly used mirrors collectively as a parabolic reflector against ships attacking Syracuse.
Archimedes before being killed by the Roman soldier – copy of a Roman mosaic from the 2nd century
-268
Ashoka
The third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during c. 268 to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, stretching from present-day Afghanistan in the west to present-day Bangladesh in the east, with its capital at Pataliputra. A patron of Buddhism, he is credited with playing an important role in the spread of Buddhism across ancient Asia.Much of the information about Ashoka comes from his Brahmi edicts,
Ashoka's pillar capital of Sarnath. This sculpture has been adopted as the National Emblem of India.
Engraving of the Battle of Zama by Cornelis Cort, 1567. Note that Asian elephants are illustrated rather than the very small North African elephants used by Carthage.
-247
Hannibal Barca
(between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Punic War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest military commanders in history.
Hannibal's monumental tomb in Kocaeli, Turkey
Hannibal's celebrated feat in crossing the Alps with war elephants passed into European legend: detail of a fresco by Jacopo Ripanda, c. 1510, Capitoline Museums, Rome.
-247
Arsaces I
Was the first king of Parthia, ruling from 247 BC to 217 BC, as well as the founder and eponym of the Arsacid dynasty of Parthia.
-227
Cartagena (Spain)
Founded around 227 BC by the Carthaginian Hasdrubal the Fair as Qart Hadasht (Phoenician: 𐤒𐤓𐤕𐤟𐤇𐤃𐤔𐤕 QRT𐤟ḤDŠT; meaning "New Town"), the same name as the original city of Carthage. The city had its heyday during the Roman Empire, when it was known as Carthago Nova (the New Carthage) and Carthago Spartaria, capital of the province of Carthaginensis.
the main army of more than 6,000 figures
Terracotta warriors, Xi'an, China
Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor, Hall 1
Detail of the front rank of the Terracotta Army in Pit 1 at the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor near Xi'an, PRC.
Qin Shi Huang in a 19th century portrait, with Korean colophons, in an album portraying famous historical figures. It's a copy of an 1609 Chinese portrait.
The Qin bronze chariot is a two-piece Qin dynasty bronze artifact. The first piece "bronze chariot one" consists of a driver with two seats in the chariot with a bronze umbrella. The second piece "bronze chariot two" is a separate carriage. Both are about 50% the size of a real horse. The chariot was unearthed in 1980 at the Qin Shi Huang mausoleum.
Syphax of Numidia receives Scipio Africanus (fresco in the room of Leo X painted by Alessandro Allori)
-215
"Syphax, King of Numidia"
-206
the magnetic compass
Was first invented as a device for divination as early as the Chinese Han Dynasty (since c. 206 BC),and later adopted for navigation by the Song Dynasty Chinese during the 11th century. The first usage of a compass recorded in Western Europe and the Islamic world occurred around 1190
Model of a lodestone compass from Han dynasty
-202
The Han dynasty
An imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu.
A Han pottery female servant in silk robes
a Chinese ceramic statue of a seated woman holding a bronze mirror, Eastern Han period (25–220 CE)
Han in Chinese characters
A pair of Han period stone-carved que (闕) located at Babaoshan, Beijing.
Gold coins of the Eastern Han dynasty
Preserved arrow, Western Han
A Chinese crossbow mechanism with a buttplate from either the late Warring States Period or the early Han dynasty; made of bronze and inlaid with silver
rammed earth ruins of a granary in Hecang Fortress , built during the Western Han (202 BC – 9 AD) and was significantly rebuilt during the Western Jin (280–316 AD).
Han period inscribed bamboo-slips of Sun Bin's Art of War, unearthed in Yinque Mountain, Linyi, Shandong.
Western-Han painted ceramic jar garnished with raised reliefs of dragons, phoenixes, and taotie
Reverse side of a Western-Han bronze mirror with painted designs of a flower motif
-196
Rosetta Stone
The Rosetta Stone is a stele composed of granodiorite inscribed with three versions of a decree issued in Memphis, Egypt, in 196 BC during the Ptolemaic dynasty on behalf of King Ptolemy V Epiphanes. The top and middle texts are in Ancient Egyptian using hieroglyphic and Demotic scripts respectively, while the bottom is in Ancient Greek. The decree has only minor differences between the three versions, making the Rosetta Stone key to deciphering the Egyptian scripts.
The stone was carved during the Hellenistic period and is believed to have originally been displayed within a temple, possibly at Sais. It was probably moved in late antiquity or during the Mamluk period, and was eventually used as building material in the construction of Fort Julien near the town of Rashid (Rosetta) in the Nile Delta. It was found there in July 1799 by French officer Pierre-François Bouchard during the Napoleonic campaign in Egypt. It was the first Ancient Egyptian bilingual text recovered in modern times, and it aroused widespread public interest with its potential to decipher this previously untranslated hieroglyphic script. Lithographic copies and plaster casts soon began circulating among European museums and scholars. When the British defeated the French they took the stone to London under the Capitulation of Alexandria in 1801. Since 1802, it has been on public display at the British Museum almost continuously and is its most visited object.
-185
The Shunga Empire
Was an ancient Indian dynasty from Magadha that controlled areas of the most of the northern Indian subcontinent from around 185 to 73 BCE. The dynasty was established by Pushyamitra, after taking the throne of the Maurya Empire.
Great Stupa (Stupa expansion and balustrades only are Shunga). Undecorated ground railings dated to approximately 150 BCE
Vedika pillar with "Yavana" Greek warrior. Bharhut, Madhya Pradesh, Shunga Period, c. 100-80 BC. Reddish brown sandstone.[
Shunga balustrade and staircase.
Shunga horseman, Bharhut.
Man on a relief, Bharhut, Shunga period.
East Gateway and Railings, Red Sandstone, Bharhut Stupa, 2nd century BCE. Indian Museum, Kolkata.
Shunga stonework.
Shunga period stupa at Sanchi.
Jugurtha's capture. Drawing from : [D.n Gabriel de Borbon, Infante de España], La conjuracion de Catilina y la Guerra de Jugurta por Cayo Salustio Crispo, Madrid, Joachin Ibarra, impresor de Camara del Rei Nuestro Señor, M.DCC.LXXII.
-146
Siege of Carthage
(Third Punic War)
Ruins of Carthage
SVG representation of a Carthaginian Standard, based on Richard Hook's illustrations for Terence Wise's "Armies of the Carthaginian Wars, 265 - 146 BC" 1982 Osprey Publishing, Oxford.
Ruins of Carthage
Bronze statue of Dhamarʿalīy Yuhbabirr "King of Saba, Dhu Raydan, Hadhramawt and Yamnat" (Himyarite Kingdom) 170-180 AD.
Inscribed bronze hand with dedication in Himyaritic
Namara inscription Arabic epitaph of “Imru-l-Qays, son of 'Amr, king of all the Arabs”, inscribed in Nabataean script. 328 AD. Found at Nemara in the Hauran (Southern Syria).
-109
Sima Qian
( c. 145 – c. 86 BC) was a Chinese historian of the early Han dynasty (206 BC – AD 220). He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for his Records of the Grand Historian, a general history of China covering more than two thousand years beginning from the rise of the legendary Yellow Emperor and the formation of the first Chinese polity to the reigning sovereign of Sima Qian's time, Emperor Wu of Han.
Detail of the gilded incense burner given by Emperor Wu to Wei Qing as an imperial gift; Shaanxi History Museum
Ceramic figurines of soldiers, both infantry and cavalry, Western Han period, Shaanxi History Museum, Xi'an
One of the two turtle-based steles at Shou Qiu, Qufu, Shandong, the legendary birthplace of the Yellow Emperor
Chi You, the mythical opponent of the Yellow Emperor at the Battle of Zhuolu, here depicted in a Han-dynasty tomb relief
Xuanyuan Temple , named after the Yellow Emperor's personal name "Xuanyuan" recorded in the Shiji, is a temple dedicated to the religion of Huangdi in Huangling
The Gladiator Mosaic at the Galleria Borghese
-73
Spartacus
A Thracian gladiator who, along with Crixus, Gannicus, Castus, and Oenomaus, was one of the escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major slave uprising against the Roman Republic.
-63
Marcus Tullius Cicero
3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) Was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the establishment of the Roman Empire.His extensive writings include treatises on rhetoric, philosophy and politics, and he is considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He came from a wealthy municipal family of the Roman equestrian order, and served as consul in 63 BC.
The Vengeance of Fulvia by Francisco Maura y Montaner, 1888 depicting Fulvia inspecting the severed head of Cicero
Cicero Denounces Catiline, fresco by Cesare Maccari, 1882–88
Vercingetorix Throws Down his Arms at the Feet of Julius Caesar, painted by Lionel Royer in 1899, now in the Crozatier Museum at Le Puy-en-Velay
Gold stater of Vercingetorix, 53–52 BC.
Modern recreation of the Alesia fortifications, featuring rows of stakes in front of a moat, a high banked approach, and regular towers for Roman sentries
-52
The battle of Alesia
Was a military engagement in the Gallic Wars around the Gallic oppidum (fortified settlement) of Alesia in modern France, a major centre of the Mandubii tribe. It was fought by the Roman army of Julius Caesar against a confederation of Gallic tribes united under the leadership of Vercingetorix of the Arverni. It was the last major engagement between Gauls and Romans, and is considered one of Caesar's greatest military achievements and a classic example of siege warfare and investment
-51
Cleopatra VII Philopator
( 69 BC – 10 August 30 BC) Was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler.A member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, she was a descendant of its founder Ptolemy I Soter, a Macedonian Greek general and companion of Alexander . After the death of Cleopatra, Egypt became a province of the Roman Empire, marking the end of the last Hellenistic state in the Mediterranean and of the age that had lasted since the reign of Alexander (336–323 BC). Her native language was Koine Greek, and she was the only Ptolemaic ruler to learn the Egyptian language.
Marble bust of Cleopatra VII of Egypt from ca. 40-30 BC. An ancient Roman bust of Ptolemaic ruler Cleopatra VII of Egypt wearing a royal diadem band over her hair; dated to the mid-1st century BC (i.e. around the time of her visit to Rome), it was discovered in a villa along the Via Appia. It is now located in the Altes Museum, Berlin
Most likely a posthumously painted portrait of Cleopatra with red hair and her distinct facial features, wearing a royal diadem and pearl-studded hairpins, from Roman Herculaneum, Italy, 1st century AD
A Roman head of either Cleopatra or her daughter Cleopatra Selene II, Queen of Mauretania, from the late 1st century BC, located in the Archaeological Museum of Cherchell, Algeria
The Death of Julius Caesar by Vincenzo Camuccini.
-44
Assassinated by a group of senators on the Ides of March (15 March) of 44 BC during a meeting of the Senate at the Curia of Pompey of the Theatre of Pompey in Rome where the senators stabbed Caesar 23 times. -44
-31
The Battle of Actium
was a naval battle fought between a maritime fleet of Octavian led by Marcus Agrippa and the combined fleets of both Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII Philopator.
reliefs of Cleopatra and Caesarion at the Temple of Dendera
Plan of the battle by Jean Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville, Paris, 1734
Anachronistic baroque painting of the battle of Actium by Laureys a Castro, 1672
Caesar Augustus
(born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Principate, which is the first phase of the Roman Empire, and is considered one of the greatest leaders in human history
Virgil reading the Aeneid to Augustus and Octavia, by Jean-Joseph Taillasson, 1787
Augustus as Roman pharaoh in an Egyptian-style depiction, a stone carving of the Kalabsha Temple in Nubia
The Blacas Cameo showing Augustus wearing a gorgoneion on a three layered sardonyx cameo, AD 20–50
Fragment of a bronze equestrian statue of Augustus, 1st century AD, National Archaeological Museum of Athens
The Arch of Augustus in Rimini (Ariminum), dedicated to Augustus by the Roman Senate in 27 BC, one of the oldest surviving Roman triumphal arches
Augustus of Prima Porta
