Sassanid ruler Ardashir I, a king of kings, in a complete reversal of the Parthian form of governance, has centralized power in his hands.

Ardashir is an energetic king, responsible for the resurgence not just of Persia but of Iranian-speaking peoples as a unified nation (ethnous as it appears in the Greek version of his successor's inscription on the Ka'ba-ye Zartosht), the strengthening of Zoroastrianism, and the establishment of a dynasty that will endure for four centuries.

Ardashir has constructed massive building projects in Fars province as a proclamation of imperial grandeur.

While his campaigns against Rome have met with only limited success, he has achieved more against them than the Parthians had done in many decades and has prepared the way for the substantial successes his son and successor Shapur I, who accedes to the throne first as co-ruler and then sole ruler following his father’s death in 242, will enjoy against the same enemy.

Persian cavalry and infantry forces, having invaded and seized most of Syria, now threaten the Roman provincial capital of Antioch.

Roman emperor Gordianus III arrives in Syria in 242 with his father-in-law, the capable general Gaius Furius Sabinus Aquila Timesithesus, at the head of a large army.

Gordian III, setting out in 242 with a huge army bolstered by Goths and Germans, accompanies his new father-in-law, the prefect Timesitheus, on a campaign against the Persians.

Timesitheus defeats the Persians at the Battle of Resaena in 243 and expels them from Roman territory, …

…regaining Nisibis and …

…Carrhae.

Timesitheus, while is planning more campaigns, suddenly becomes ill and dies, preventing Gordian from further exploiting his success.

Gordian, his mother and Tranquillina are saddened by his death.

Little is known about the early life and political career of Philip the Arab, who had been born in what is today Shahba, about fifty-five miles (eighty-nine kilometers) southeast of Damascus, in the Trachonitis district, then in the Roman province of Arabia.

Having received the nickname "the Arab" because his family hails from the Roman province of Arabia, Philip is the son of a Julius Marinus, a local Roman citizen, possibly of some importance.

The name of Philip's mother is unknown, but sources refer to a brother, Gaius Julius Priscus, a member of the Praetorian guard under Gordian III.

In 234, Philip had married Marcia Otacilia Severa, daughter of a Roman Governor.

They have at least one child, a son named Marcus Julius Philippus Severus (Philippus II), born in 238.

Philip’s rise to prominence had begun through the intervention of his brother Priscus, an important official under Gordian.

At the suggestion of Priscus, Philip becomes the new Praetorian prefect, with the intention that the two brothers will control the young Emperor and rule the Roman world as unofficial regents.

Late Antiquity is a narrative of notable events from 244 to 676. (3974 records)

We begin in the easternmost subregions and move westwardly around the globe, crossing the equator as many as six times to explore ever shorter time periods as we continue to circle the planet. The maps of the regions and subregions change to reflect the appropriate time period.

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Okvik Culture (244–387 CE)

St. Lawrence Island’s Distinctive Style and the Dialogues of OBS

The Okvik culture, named for the northern Punuk Islands southeast of St. Lawrence Island, flourished in the mid-3rd to 4th centuries CE. Archaeologists see it as a contemporary counterpart to the developed Old Bering Sea traditionaround 300 CE — its communities inhabiting the same Bering Strait world, but expressing it with distinctive material and social emphases.

Okvik sites are especially renowned for their ivory carving style, marked by bold incisions, spirals, and figurative forms that set them apart from the more geometric OBS patterns. Harpoon heads, snow goggles, and ornaments recovered at Okvik display both artistry and practical refinement. Some depict stylized human or animal faces, perhaps embodying spiritual guardianship.

Subsistence paralleled that of OBS communities: marine hunting of walrus, seals, and whales, complemented by fishing and foraging. Okvik groups also engaged in long-distance exchange — their materials show ties to Siberia, Alaska, and neighboring island groups.

What distinguishes Okvik in the archaeological record is less subsistence and more identity of style. Many specialists treat Okvik as a regional expression of OBS, while others view it as a separate but allied tradition that coexisted and interacted with OBS communities. Either way, the Okvik horizon reveals a world of dialogue between island and mainland, where artistry was as much about signaling belonging and prestige as about decorating tools.

By the later 4th century, the Okvik tradition began to fade, merging into the broader Punuk trajectory that would reshape Bering Strait societies by the early medieval period.

 

A time of turbulence in China follows the demise of the Han dynasty, with six different dynasties in succession coming to power from the third to the sixth century.

The periods between dynasties or the periods when dynasties are weak in China are usually the most peaceful in Vietnam.

When dynasties are strong and interfere with local rule, the Vietnamese aristocracy engages in a series of violent revolts that weaken China's control over its southern territory.

A rebellion led by the noblewoman Trieu Au (Lady Trieu) in 248 is suppressed after about six months, but its leader earns a place in the hearts and history of the Vietnamese people.

Despite pressure to accept Chinese patriarchal values, Vietnamese women continue to play an important role and to enjoy considerably more freedom than their northern counterparts.