jejune:

without interest or significance; dull; insipid: juvenile; immature; childish: lacking knowledge or experience; uninformed

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rectilinear:

forming a straight line; characterized by straight lines; moving in a straight line.

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empire of Axum:

ancient kingdom 100 to 940 AD. (located in present-day Eritrea & the Tigray Region, Ethiopia); ruled by the Aksumites, capital at the city of Axum; achieved prominence by the 1st century AD, became a major player on the commercial route between the Roman Empire and Ancient India; minted their own coinage & dominated the declining Kingdom of Kush & was a player in the politics of the kingdoms on the Arabian Peninsula.

 

Sassanids:

the last period of the Persian Empire (Iran) before the rise of Islam, named after the House of Sasan (ruled from 224 to 651 AD); the successors to the Parthians, a recognized world power alongside neighboring Byzantine Empire.  Founded by Ardashir I after the fall of the Parthian Empire; at its greatest extent, it encompassed all of today's Iran, Iraq, Eastern Arabia, the Levant, Armenia, the Caucasus, Egypt, Turkey, much of Central Asia, Yemen and Pakistan.  Considered the peak of ancient Iranian civilization, influenced Roman culture, Western Europe, Asian medieval art & Islamic culture.