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Wellsprings

Samosata

Commagene (Asia Minor)

Capital of the small kingdom of Commagene on the upper Euphrates, remembered above all as the hometown of Lucian, the brilliant satirist who wrote in dazzling Greek though he came from this far eastern frontier.

12 most-discussed ideas

Samosata through the eras

Roman Era

Once the seat of the kings of Commagene, Samosata was absorbed directly into the Roman Empire under Vespasian in 72 CE and became a frontier garrison town and legionary base on the Euphrates, guarding the eastern edge of Roman power. Its lasting fame rests on a single native son: Lucian of Samosata (c. 125–after 180 CE). Though raised in this provincial border city and a non-native speaker of Greek, he mastered Attic prose so completely that he became the age's wittiest satirist, mocking philosophers, charlatans, and the gods themselves in dialogues like the 'True History' and 'Dialogues of the Dead.'

Teachers who lived here

Works composed here

Ideas shaped here

Concepts most frequently discussed in the works composed at Samosata. Click any to trace the idea across time and place.

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