One of two sons of a wealthy, politically ambitious, olive-farming family, Septimius Severus grew up in Leptis Magna, along what is now the coast of Libya, in the second century ce. At first not the most promising of teenage scions, he matured to take high command posts on the Danube frontier and, at 48, became the Roman Empire’s first emperor born on the African continent. Over his 18-year reign, he rarely sat on a throne in Rome, preferring travel with the legions to frontiers and far reaches where his efforts expanded the empire to its greatest extent and left legacies in law and architecture that endure today.

In 1919 American journalist and filmmaker Lowell Thomas glamorized British Army officer Thomas Edward Lawrence first in war propaganda and then in commercial cinema. His show traveled the world and gave birth to one of the most popular modern legends of Western involvement in the Middle East.

“I’ve tried to listen and understand,” said the late Anthony Shadid, the first Arab American correspondent to win a Pulitzer Prize in international reporting. How he did it was no secret formula: time; attention; sincerity—and lots of notes.

Can robots cook? Yes, says Michael Farid, mit grad and cofounder of the new eatery Spyce in downtown Boston. But does it taste good? Yes, says Daniel Boulud, Michelin-star chef and the culinary brains behind the Spyce menu.

Arriving penniless in Boston from Lebanon, Gibran Khalil Gibran—whose name a schoolteacher misspelled “Kahlil”—grew up to become one of the early 20th century’s most inspiring writers. The story of his against-the-odds rise is one of not only pluck and talent, but also luck and mentors, whose little-known stories are shedding new light on the complex biography of a man whose poetry and prose speak today as richly as nearly a century ago.

Working patiently in his family-run lab, Krym Altynbekov has restored and re-created chariots, saddles, weapons, tools and clothing unearthed over the past four decades, including the unnamed warrior dubbed “the Golden Man,” who has become a national symbol of the Central Asian nation’s nomad history. But “gold isn’t the treasure for us,” says Altynbekov’s daughter Elina. “It’s the information we obtain about our past.”

Mohammed Mrabet ran away from school and never learned to read or write. But he told spellbinding stories. A friendship with writers Jane and Paul Bowles got him published in more than a dozen languages. Today he is known also for his painting and drawing.

Some took portraits of women or worked in the labs of family studios. Some worked across the region with employers or family members. A few struck out on their own. None received much notice—until recently. Three historians introduce leading women photographers of the early 20th century in the Middle East.