"The Lion Gate at Mycenae and the towering fortification wall circuit of which it formed a part were constructed a few generations before the presumed date of the Trojan War. At that time, wealthy Mycenaeans were laid to rest outside the...
"The original building dates to the second century B.C., but it was renovated and enlarged many times, gradually transforming from a farmhouse into a true suburban villa. The period of its greatest splendor, however, began with the founding of...
"The son and successor of Artaxerxes, Shapur I (r. 241-272), succeeded in further extending Sasanian territory. He also erected a great palace at Ctesiphon, the capital his father had established near modern Baghdad in Iraq. The central...
