The Ancient World, GöB-ITA

The modern world may look very different from the world that existed in the time of ancient civilizations, but our modern-day life continues to show the influence of cultures, traditions, ideas, and innovations from hundreds of years ago. Learn more about important historical civilizations, sites, people, and events.
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The Ancient World Encyclopedia Articles By Title

Göbekli Tepe
Göbekli Tepe, Neolithic site near Şanlıurfa in southeastern Turkey. The site, believed to have been a sanctuary......
Hadad
Hadad, the Old Testament Rimmon, West Semitic god of storms, thunder, and rain, the consort of the goddess Atargatis.......
Hadar
Hadar, site of paleoanthropological excavations in the lower Awash River valley in the Afar region of Ethiopia.......
Hadrian
Hadrian was a Roman emperor (117–138 ce), the emperor Trajan’s cousin and successor, who was a cultivated admirer......
Hadrian’s Wall
Hadrian’s Wall, continuous Roman defensive barrier that guarded the northwestern frontier of the province of Britain......
Hadrumetum
Hadrumetum, ancient Phoenician colony some 100 miles (160 km) south of Carthage, on the east coast of the Al-Hammāmāt......
Haldi
Haldi, the national god of the ancient kingdom of Urartu, which ruled the plateau around Lake Van, now eastern......
Hallstatt
Hallstatt, site in the Upper Austrian Salzkammergut region where objects characteristic of the late Bronze Age......
Hamilcar Barca
Hamilcar Barca was a general who assumed command of the Carthaginian forces in Sicily during the last years of......
Hamilton, Edith
Edith Hamilton was an American educator and author who was a notable popularizer of classical literature. Born......
Hammurabi
Hammurabi was the sixth and best-known ruler of the 1st (Amorite) dynasty of Babylon (reigning c. 1792–1750 bce),......
Han dynasty
Han dynasty, the second great imperial dynasty of China (206 bce–220 ce), after the Zhou dynasty (1046–256 bce).......
Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Hanging Gardens of Babylon, ancient gardens considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World and thought to have......
Hannibal
Hannibal was a Carthaginian general, one of the great military leaders of antiquity, who commanded the Carthaginian......
Hanno
Hanno was a leader of the aristocratic pro-Roman faction at Carthage during the Second Punic War (218–201) between......
Hanno
Hanno was a Carthaginian who conducted a voyage of exploration and colonization to the west coast of Africa sometime......
Harappa
Harappa, village in eastern Punjab province, eastern Pakistan. It lies on the left bank of a now dry course of......
Harpagus
Harpagus was a Median general who first served Astyages, the last king of the Median Empire, but later deserted......
Harran
Harran, ancient city of strategic importance, now a village, in southeastern Turkey. It lies along the Balīkh River,......
Hasanlu
Hasanlu, ancient Iranian site located in the Solduz Valley of Azerbaijan. Excavations there have been important......
Hasdrubal
Hasdrubal was a Carthaginian general customarily identified as the son of Gisco. Hasdrubal and two brothers of......
Hasdrubal
Hasdrubal was a Carthaginian general who unsuccessfully attempted to sustain military ascendancy on the Spanish......
Hasdrubal
Hasdrubal was a Carthaginian general, the son-in-law of Hamilcar Barca. Hasdrubal is known for his political opposition......
Hasidean
Hasidean, member of a pre-Christian Jewish sect of uncertain origin, noted for uncompromising observance of Judaic......
Hassuna
Hassuna, ancient Mesopotamian town located south of modern Mosul in northern Iraq. Excavated in 1943–44 by the......
Hatra
Hatra, ruined city located in the Al-Jazīrah region of present-day northern Iraq, 180 miles (290 km) northwest......
Hattusilis I
Hattusilis I, (reigned c. 1650–c. 1620 bc), early king of the Hittite Old Kingdom in Anatolia. The son of the preceding......
Hattusilis III
Hattusilis III was a Hittite king during the New Kingdom (reigned c. 1286–c. 1265 bc); he came to power by overthrowing......
Haury, Emil W.
Emil W. Haury was an American anthropologist and archaeologist who investigated the ancient Indian civilizations......
Hawass, Zahi
Zahi Hawass is an Egyptian archaeologist and public official, whose magnetic personality and forceful advocacy......
Hawes, Harriet Ann Boyd
Harriet Ann Boyd Hawes was an American archaeologist who gained renown for her discoveries of ancient remains in......
Hebat
Hebat, in the religions of Asia Minor, a Hurrian goddess, the consort of the weather god Teshub. She was called......
Helena, St.
St. Helena ; Western feast day August 18; Eastern feast day [with Constantine] May 21) was a Roman empress who......
Helvidius Priscus
Helvidius Priscus was a Roman Stoic who forcefully upheld the principle that the emperor should act only with the......
Herculaneum
Herculaneum, ancient city of 4,000–5,000 inhabitants in Campania, Italy. It lay 5 miles (8 km) southeast of Naples,......
Hercules, Tower of
Tower of Hercules, probably the only ancient Roman lighthouse still in use, named for one of the most famous heroes......
Herihor
Herihor was an ancient Egyptian army officer and high priest of Amon at Karnak (Thebes), who founded a dynasty......
Hermocrates
Hermocrates was a leader of the moderate democrats of Syracuse, Sicily; he played an important role in saving the......
Hermopolis Magna
Hermopolis Magna, ancient town of Upper Egypt, located on the Nile River south of Al-Minyā in Al-Minyā muḥāfaẓah......
Herod Antipas
Herod Antipas was the son of Herod I the Great who became tetrarch (ruler of a minor principality in the Roman......
Herodes Atticus
Herodes Atticus was the most celebrated of the orators and writers of the Second Sophistic, a movement that revitalized......
Hesperus
Hesperus, in Greco-Roman mythology, the evening star; although initially considered to be the son of Eos (the Dawn)......
hieratic script
hieratic script, ancient Egyptian cursive writing, used from the 1st dynasty (c. 2925–c. 2775 bce) until about......
hieroglyphic writing
hieroglyphic writing, system that employs characters in the form of pictures. Those individual signs, called hieroglyphs,......
Himilco
Himilco was a Carthaginian general who twice made conquests of the Greeks in Sicily that brought him to the gates......
Hirtius, Aulus
Aulus Hirtius was a Roman soldier and writer. Beginning about 54 bc Hirtius served under Julius Caesar in Gaul......
Hisarlık
Hisarlık, archaeological mound lying on the Küçük Menderes River near the mouth of the Dardanelles in Turkey. Long......
Hittite
Hittite, member of an ancient Indo-European people who appeared in Anatolia at the beginning of the 2nd millennium......
Hogarth, David George
David George Hogarth was an English archaeologist, director of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford (1909–27), and diplomat......
Hohokam culture
Hohokam culture, prehistoric North American Indians who lived approximately from 200 to 1400 ce in the semiarid......
Holmes, William Henry
William Henry Holmes was an American archaeologist, artist, and museum director who helped to establish professional......
Hongshan culture
Hongshan culture, (c. 4000–3000 bce) prehistoric culture of far northern China. It appears to have had a three-tiered......
Honorius
Honorius was a Roman emperor in the West from 393 to 423, a period when much of the Western Empire was overrun......
Hopewell culture
Hopewell culture, notable ancient Indian culture of the east-central area of North America. It flourished from......
hoplite
hoplite, heavily armed ancient Greek foot soldier whose function was to fight in close formation. Until his appearance,......
Horatius Cocles
Horatius Cocles, Roman hero traditionally of the late 6th century bc but perhaps legendary, who first with two......
Horemheb
Horemheb was the last king (reigned c. 1319–c. 1292 bce) of the 18th dynasty of ancient Egypt; he continued the......
Hormizd I
Hormizd I was the king of the Sāsānian empire (reigned ad 272–273); he was the son and successor of Shāpūr I. Known......
Hormizd II
Hormizd II was the king of the Sāsānian empire (reigned ad 302–309); he was the son and successor of Narses. Little......
Hormizd IV
Hormizd IV was the king of the Sāsānian empire (reigned 578/579–590); he was the son and successor of Khosrow I.......
Hortensia
Hortensia was the daughter of the Roman orator Quintus Hortensius, known for her speech against the taxation of......
Hortensius Hortalus, Quintus
Quintus Hortensius Hortalus was a Roman orator and politician, Cicero’s opponent in the Verres trial. Delivering......
Hortensius, Quintus
Quintus Hortensius was a dictator of Rome in 287 who ended two centuries of “struggle between the orders” (the......
Hostilian
Hostilian was a Roman emperor in 251. He was the younger son of the emperor Decius, who made him caesar in 250.......
Hovenweep National Monument
Hovenweep National Monument, several scattered archaeological sites in southwestern Colorado and southeastern Utah,......
Hrozný, Bedřich
Bedřich Hrozný was a Czech archaeologist and language scholar who deciphered cuneiform Hittite, opening a major......
Huaca Prieta
Huaca Prieta, pre-Columbian site of the Late Preceramic Period (c. 3500–1800 bc) in northern Peru, located at the......
Huari
Huari, archaeological site located in the central highland region of present-day Peru that gives its name to an......
Huascar
Huascar was an Inca chieftain, legitimate heir to the Inca empire, who lost his inheritance and his life in rivalry......
Huastec
Huastec, Mayan Indians of Veracruz and San Luís Potosí states in east-central Mexico. The Huastec are independent......
Humann, Karl
Karl Humann was a German engineer and archaeologist, whose excavation of the ancient Greek city of Pergamum (now......
Hyksos
Hyksos, dynasty of Palestinian origin that ruled northern Egypt as the 15th dynasty (c. 1630–c. 1530 bce; see ancient......
Ibero-Maurusian industry
Ibero-Maurusian industry, North African stone-tool industry dating from the late Würm (last) Glacial Period, about......
Ibn Muqlah
Ibn Muqlah was one of the foremost calligraphers of the ʿAbbāsid Age (750–1258), reputed inventor of the first......
Ilipa, Battle of
Battle of Ilipa, (206 bce), victory of the Roman general Publius Cornelius Scipio (later called Scipio Africanus)......
illicit antiquities
illicit antiquities, archaeological objects that have been illegally excavated or exported from their country of......
Impresso complex
Impresso complex, early Neolithic culture that flourished along the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. The culture,......
Inca
Inca, South American Indians who, at the time of the Spanish conquest in 1532, ruled an empire that extended along......
India
India, country that occupies the greater part of South Asia. It is made up of 28 states and eight union territories,......
Indus civilization
Indus civilization, the earliest known urban culture of the Indian subcontinent. The nuclear dates of the civilization......
Intef II
Intef II, was the third king of the 11th dynasty (2081–1938 bce) in ancient Egypt, who during his long reign successfully......
interrex
interrex, in ancient Rome, a provisional ruler specially appointed for a period during which the normal constituted......
Inugsuk culture
Inugsuk culture, Eskimo culture that developed from the Thule culture (q.v.) in northern Greenland during the 12th......
Iol
Iol, ancient seaport of Mauretania, located west of what is now Algiers in Algeria. Iol was originally founded......
Ipiutak culture
Ipiutak culture, Eskimo culture of northwestern Alaska, probably dating from the 2nd to the 6th century ad. A Siberian......
Iran in 2006: A Country at a Crossroads
One spring afternoon in 1997, the telephone at the New York Times bureau in Istanbul rang. I was then serving as......
Iran, ancient
ancient Iran, historic region of southwestern Asia that is only roughly coterminous with modern Iran. The term......
irrigation
irrigation, in agriculture. the artificial application of water to land. Some land requires irrigation before it......
Isauria
Isauria, ancient inland district of south-central Anatolia. Its inhabitants, a mountain people described by Greco-Roman......
Ishkur
Ishkur, in Mesopotamian religion, Sumerian god of the rain and thunderstorms of spring. He was the city god of......
Ishtar
Ishtar, in Mesopotamian religion, goddess of war and sexual love. Ishtar is considered a member of the special......
Isin
Isin, ancient Mesopotamian city, probably the origin of a large mound near Ad-Dīwānīyah, in southern Iraq. An independent......
Ismāʿīl I ibn Aḥmad
Ismāʿīl I ibn Aḥmad, (reigned 892–907), one of the Persian Sāmānid dynasty’s most famous sovereigns, who was generous,......
Isthmian Games
Isthmian Games, in ancient Greece, a festival of athletic and musical competitions in honour of the sea god Poseidon,......
Italy
Italy, country of south-central Europe, occupying a peninsula that juts deep into the Mediterranean Sea. Italy......

The Ancient World Encyclopedia Articles By Title