Ancient Near East Subsequently, the Medes controlled much of the ancient Near East from their base in Ecbatana (modern-day Hamadan, Iran), most notably most of what is now Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and the South Caucasus. Following the fall of the Medes, the Achaemenid Empire was the first of the Persian Empires to rule over most of the Near East and far beyond, and the second great Iranian empire (after the Median Empire). At the height of its power, encompassing approximately 7.5 million square kilometers, the Achaemenid Empire was territorially the largest empire of classical antiquity, and the first world empire. It spanned three
Barca (ancient city) there have been 11 bishops of the Catholic titular See. The most recent has been Andraos Salama prior to his appointment as bishop of the Coptic Catholic Eparchy of Giza. Barca (ancient city) Barca (, "Barqa"; Berber: "Berqa"), also called Barce (, "Bárkē"), was an ancient city and former bishopric, which survives as both a Latin Catholic and an Orthodox titular see. Barca was an ancient Greek colony and later a Roman and a Byzantine city in North Africa. It was in the coastal area of what is today Libya. As a Greek city, it was part of the Cyrenaican