Diogenes Laërtius was a biographer of the Greek philosophers. Nothing is definitively known about his life, but his surviving Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers is a principal source for the history of ancient Greek philosophy....

Marcus Julius Philippus also known commonly by his nickname Philip the Arab, also known as Philip, was Roman Emperor from 244 to 249. He was born in present-day Syria to a Syrian father, and went on to become a major figure in the Roman Emp...

Plotinus was a major philosopher in the ancient world and is widely considered the father of Neoplatonism. Much of our biographical information about him comes from Porphyry's preface to his edition of Plotinus' Enneads. His metaphysical wr...

Aurelian was the 44th Emperor of the Roman Empire from 270 to 275. Born in humble circumstances, he rose through the military ranks to become emperor. During his reign, he defeated the Alamanni after a devastating war. He also defeated the...

Mani was the prophet and the founder of Manichaeism, a gnostic religion of Late Antiquity which was once widespread but is now extinct. Mani was born in or near Seleucia-Ctesiphon in Parthian Babylonia, at the time still part of the Parthia...

Shapur I the Great was the second shahanshah (king of kings) of the Sasanian Empire. The dates of his reign are commonly given as 240/42 – 270/72, but it is likely that he also reigned as co-regent (together with his father) prior to his fa...

Zenobia was a 3rd-century Queen of the Palmyrene Empire in Syria, who led a famous revolt against the Roman Empire. The second wife of King Septimius Odaenathus, Zenobia became queen of the Palmyrene Empire following Odaenathus' death in 26...

Constantius I, commonly known as Constantius Chlorus, was Caesar, a form of Roman co-emperor, from 293 to 306. He was the father of Constantine the Great and founder of the Constantinian dynasty. As Caesar, he defeated the usurper Allect...

Saint Sebastian was an early Christian saint and martyr. According to Christian belief, he was killed during the Roman emperor Diocletian's persecution of Christians. He is commonly depicted in art and literature tied to a post or tree and...

Arius was an ascetic Christian presbyter of Libyan origins, and priest in Alexandria, Egypt, of the church of Baucalis. His teachings about the nature of the Godhead, which emphasized the Father's divinity over the Son, and his opposition t...

Eusebius of Caesarea was a historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian polemicist. He became the bishop of Caesarea Maritima about 314 AD. Together with Pamphilus, he was a scholar of the Biblical canon and is regarded as one of the m...

Saint Nicholas of Myra (traditionally 15 March 270 – 6 December 343), also known as Nicholas of Bari, was an early Christian bishop of Greek descent from the maritime city of Myra in Asia Minor (modern-day Demre, Turkey) during the time of...

Constantine, The Great was the 57th Emperor of the Roman Empire from 306, and the sole holder of that office from 324 until his death in 337. Best known for being the first Christian Roman emperor, Constantine reversed the persecutions of h...

Saint George, according to legend, was a Roman soldier of Greek origin and officer in the Guard of Roman emperor Diocletian, who was sentenced to death for failing to recant his Christian faith. As a Christian martyr, he later became one of...

Saint Lucy, also known as Saint Lucia, was a wealthy young Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint by Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, and Orthodox Christians. Her feast day in the West is 13 December; with a name derived from lux,...