Characene

Characene, (Χαρακηνή in Ancient greek) also known as Mesene (Μεσσήνη) and Meshan, was a kingdom within the Parthian Empire at the head of the Persian Gulf in southern Iraq. Characene's capital was Charax Spasinou (Χάραξ Σπασινού). The city was an important port in the trade from Mesopotamia to India and provided port facilities for the great city of Susa, further up the present day Karun River.

Location

The kingdom of Characene was primarily based in southern Iraq. Characene was alternatively known as Mesene and Meshan and the kingdom was part of the Sassanid Empire. At one point, Characene included Tylos, the present day country of Bahrain.

History

Characene was founded around 127 BC under Aspasine, known in Classical writings as Hyspaosines, formerly a satrap installed by Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Characene existed through the break-up of the Seleucid Empire and continued as an essentially independent kingdom under the Parthians, until it was conquered by the Sassanians in the beginning of the 3rd century AD.

Mesene (butterfly)

Mesene is a genus in the butterfly family Riodinidae present in the Neotropical ecozone.

Except the totally unicolorously scarlet species of this genus the species exhibit many local forms.The males have triangular, pointed, brightly coloured forewings and small ellipsoidal hindwings. In the wing veins the species exhibit great conformity, the second subcostal vein, the upper median vein in the forewing as well as in the hindwing rise before the cell-end. They rest well hidden on the under surface of leaves but fly when disturbed somewhat like Geometrids for about 10 to 20 metres always keeping in the middle of the forest-roads, in order to drop again into another bush. The larvae are lycaenid-like, somewhat like wood-lice, fluffily haired; that of M. phareus lives on the extremely poisonous Paullinia pinnata to the leaf of which also the small greenish-yellow pupa is spun.

Species