People
Historical Figures and Influential People in History
Explore rulers, generals, thinkers, scientists and reformers who shaped world history. Search for a specific person, or browse by era, region, country and A–Z.
Historical Figures from Middle East
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8 results
Cleopatra VII
-69–-30Classical WorldEgypt
She was the last of a dynasty three centuries old, and she came closer than anyone expected to saving it — allying with Rome's two most powerful men in succession.
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Jesus of Nazareth
-4–30Classical WorldIsrael
He was executed by Rome as a minor regional troublemaker — and the movement that followed his death became the largest religion in the history of the world.
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Khufu
-2600–-2566Ancient CivilisationsEgypt
He ordered the construction of the Great Pyramid of Giza — one of the most ambitious building projects in human history — and almost nothing else about him is known with any certainty.
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Mithridates VI
-135–-63Classical WorldTurkey
He survived multiple poisoning attempts by making himself immune through small doses, held Rome at bay for decades, and died by his own hand when nothing else would kill him.
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Narmer
-3150–-3100Ancient CivilisationsEgypt
He may have unified Egypt at the dawn of recorded history — or the famous palette that shows him doing so may be ceremonial art — and we still can't quite be sure which.
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Paul the Apostle
5–67Classical WorldIsrael
He never met Jesus and spent years persecuting his followers — then had a conversion experience on a road to Damascus that changed the direction of world history.
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Saul
-1050–-1010Ancient CivilisationsIsrael
He was everything the Israelites asked for in a king — tall, strong, from the right tribe — and fell apart under the pressure of a role he couldn't quite figure out how to play.
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Solomon
-990–-931Ancient CivilisationsIsrael
He was famed for wisdom, built the Temple, accumulated vast wealth — and left a kingdom so strained by the cost of his ambitions that it split apart after his death.
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