Αρυολογία☀️ (The Indo-Europeans)

2021-07-24 21:30:04 Asawira: The Caliphate's Horsemen

The Asawira (Arabic: أساورة‎) were cavalry units who operated as part of the Rashidun and Umayyad Caliphates. However, the units were not Arabs, but Iranians of the Sassanid Empire who had defected to the Caliphate – the asa- stem is not a native Arabic word, but an Indo-European word cognate with the Indo-Aryan Aśvins (divine Horse Twins) found in Sanskrit literature. It is believed they converted to Islam during the 7th century Islamic Conquest of Persia, though some sources claim they settled in Basra (modern Iraq) and continued to practise their native Zoroastrianism, which was tolerated by the Caliphate. Open / Comment

2021-07-23 21:45:05 The Sassanian Empire, officially known as Ērānshahr (Empire of Iran/Aryans), was the final dynasty of Iran prior to the Islamic Conquest. The most popular religious traditions were Zoroastrianism and, to a lesser extent, Manichaeism. Open / Comment

2021-07-23 21:30:06 Coinage of Ardashir I, founder of the Sassanian Empire (Iran)
Early third century Open / Comment

2021-07-20 22:17:06 Robert Wilhelm Ekman (1808 – 1873) — Väinämöinen playing the Kantele (1866)

Ekman began working on the painting in 1857, but due to financial difficulties et cetera, he didn't finish it until 1866. Its initial reception was poor — it was too Finnish for the Swedes, and Ekman himself too Swedish for the Finns — but the painting is now considered to be his magnum opus. He also made a sketch of the composition.

Väinämöinen is surrounded by a host of Gods and entities. Pellervoinen, the God of vegetation, is seen planting a sapling on the left. Behind him are the God & Goddess of the forest, Tapio & Mielikki. Behind them, accompanied by a bear, is a hiisi, a tricksterlike entity. On the right are Ahti & Vellamo, the God & Goddess of the sea. The girls in the front, accompanied by a swan, are known as Sotkotars (singular: Sotkotar, i.e. 'Scaupess'). Sitting on the rainbow are the airmaids Päivätär & Kuutar, along with Tähdetär ('Starress'), Otavatar (from Otava, the Big Dipper), and a fifth one. Open / Comment

2021-07-20 21:30:06 An Aureus weighed around 8 grams and had a value equivalent to 25 silver denarii. Interestingly, the early Romans shared the Spartan suspicion of luxury and ostentatious displays of material wealth and, as such, gold coins were seen as un-Roman decadence until at least Caesarian times. Open / Comment

2021-07-19 21:30:03 Roman Aureus (gold coin) bearing the likeness of Emperor Septimius Severus.
201 CE Open / Comment

2021-07-18 15:30:02 "Samarra Bowl" with #Swastika Design
c. 4000 BCE, Samarra (Mesopotamia) Open / Comment

2021-07-14 21:45:05 Finished in 126 CE, The Pantheon is the oldest Roman building still in use and, in fact, represents the oldest building anywhere in the world still used today. Initially a temple, it was consecrated as the Church of St Mary and the Martyrs in 609 CE, and has been used by the Roman Catholic Church ever since. There is a Latin inscription across the front of the building which reads as follows:

M.AGRIPPA.L.F.COS.TERTIUM.FECIT

Marcus Agrippa, son of Lucius, thrice consul, built this.

This is somewhat confusing, given that the extant temple was built by the Emperor Hadrian. But it was built on the site of a previous temple, built by Agrippa during the reign of Augustus (27 BCE – 14 CE). Open / Comment