Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick III, called the Peaceful or the Fat, was Holy Roman Emperor from 1452 until his death, the first emperor of the House of Habsburg. He was the emperor to be crowned by the Pope. Prior to his coronation, he was duke of the Inner Austrian lands of Styria and Carniola from 1424. He was elected and crowned King of Germany in 1440 and he was the longest-reigning German monarch when in 1493, after ruling his domains for more than 53 years, he was succeeded by his son Maximilian I. During his reign, Frederick concentrated on re-uniting the Habsburg hereditary lands of Austria, nevertheless, by his dynastic entitlement to Hungary as well as by the Burgundian inheritance, he laid the foundations for the Habsburg Empire. Mocked as Arch-Sleepyhead of the Holy Roman Empire during his lifetime, according to the 1379 Treaty of Neuberg, the Leopoldinian branch ruled over the duchies of Styria and Carniola, or what was referred to as Inner Austria. Only three of Fredericks eight siblings survived childhood, his younger brother Albert, and his sisters Margaret and Catherine.
In 1424, nine-year-old Fredericks father died, making Frederick the duke of Inner Austria, as Frederick V, with his uncle, Duke Frederick IV of Tyrol, from 1431, Frederick tried to obtain majority but for several years was denied by his relatives. Finally, in 1435, Albert V, duke of Austria, almost from the beginning, Fredericks younger brother Albert asserted his rights as a co-ruler, as the beginning of a long rivalry. Already in these years, Frederick had begun to use the symbolic A. E. I. O. U, signature as a kind of motto with various meanings. In 1436 he made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, accompanied by numerous nobles knighted by the Order of the Holy Sepulchre, upon the death of his uncle Duke Frederick IV in 1439, Frederick took over the regency of Tyrol and Further Austria for the dukes heir Sigismund. Again he had to ward off the claims raised by his brother Albert VI, likewise he acted as regent for his nephew Ladislaus the Posthumous, son of late King Albert II and his consort Elizabeth of Luxembourg, in the duchy of Austria.
Frederick was now the head of the Habsburg dynasty, though his regency in the lands of the Albertinian Line was still viewed with suspicion. In 1442, Frederick allied himself with Rudolf Stüssi, burgomaster of Zurich, against the Old Swiss Confederacy in the Old Zurich War but lost. In 1448, he entered into the Concordat of Vienna with the Holy See, as a cousin of late King Albert II, Frederick became a candidate for the imperial election. In 1452, at the age of 37, Frederick III travelled to Italy to receive his bride and his fiancée, the 18-year-old infanta Eleanor, daughter of King Edward of Portugal, landed at Livorno after a 104-day trip. Her dowry would help Frederick alleviate his debts and cement his power, the couple met at Siena on 24 February and proceeded together to Rome. As per tradition, they spent a night outside the walls of Rome before entering the city on 9 March, where Frederick and Pope Nicholas V exchanged friendly greetings
Franz Joseph I of Austria
Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I was Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary, and many others from 2 December 1848 until his death on 21 November 1916. From 1 May 1850 to 24 August 1866 he was President of the German Confederation, in December 1848, Emperor Ferdinand abdicated the throne at Olomouc as part of Ministerpräsident Felix zu Schwarzenbergs plan to end the Revolutions of 1848 in Hungary. This allowed Ferdinands nephew Franz Joseph to accede to the throne, largely considered to be a reactionary, Franz Joseph spent his early reign resisting constitutionalism in his domains. Franz Joseph was troubled by nationalism during his entire reign and he concluded the Ausgleich of 1867, which granted greater autonomy to Hungary, hence transforming the Austrian Empire into the Austro-Hungarian Empire under his dual monarchy. After the Austro-Prussian War, Austria-Hungary turned its attention to the Balkans, the Bosnian crisis was a result of Franz Josephs annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1908, which had been occupied by his troops since the Congress of Berlin.
On 28 June 1914, the assassination of his nephew Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo resulted in Austria-Hungarys declaration of war against the Kingdom of Serbia and this activated a system of alliances which resulted in World War I. Franz Joseph died on 21 November 1916, after ruling his domains for almost 68 years and he was succeeded by his grandnephew Charles. His name in German was Franz Joseph I and I and his names in other languages were and Bosnian, Franjo Josip I. Ukrainian, Фра́нц Йо́сиф I, Francisc Iosif Slovene, serbian, Фрања Јосиф Franz Joseph was born in the Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, the eldest son of Archduke Franz Karl, and his wife Princess Sophie of Bavaria. Franzl came to idolise his grandfather, der Gute Kaiser Franz, at the age of thirteen, Franzl started a career as a colonel in the Austrian army. From that point onward, his fashion was dictated by army style, Franz Joseph was soon joined by three younger brothers, Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, Archduke Karl Ludwig, and Archduke Ludwig Viktor, and a sister, Maria Anna, who died at the age of four.
Instead, Franz was sent to the front in Italy, joining Field Marshal Radetzky on campaign on 29 April, by all accounts he handled his first military experience calmly and with dignity. Around the same time, the Imperial Family was fleeing revolutionary Vienna for the setting of Innsbruck. Soon, the Archduke was called back from Italy, joining the rest of his family at Innsbruck by mid-June. It was at Innsbruck at this time that Franz Joseph first met his cousin Elisabeth, his bride, a girl of ten. Following victory over the Italians at Custoza in late July, the court felt safe to return to Vienna, but within a few months Vienna again appeared unsafe, and in September the court left again, this time for Olomouc in Moravia. By now, Prince Alfred I of Windisch-Grätz, the military commander in Bohemia, was determined to see the young Archduke soon put on the throne. By the abdication of his uncle Ferdinand and the renunciation of his father, at this time he first became known by his second as well as his first Christian name
Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria
He was born at Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna, the son of Archduke Franz Karl of Austria and his wife Sophie of Bavaria. His siblings included Franz Joseph, Emperor of Austria and Maximilian and his mother ensured he was raised a devout Roman Catholic by the Vienna Prince-archbishop Joseph Othmar Rauscher, a conviction that evolved into religious mania in his years. However, he found his authority to exert power restricted by the Austrian cabinet of his cousin Archduke Rainer Ferdinand and he finally laid down the office upon the issue of the 1861 February Patent for a life as patron of the arts and sciences. As the eldest surviving brother of the Emperor, Karl Ludwig, after the death of his nephew Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria in 1889, became heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. A newspaper article appeared shortly after the death of his claiming that the Archduke had renounced his succession rights in favor of his eldest son Franz Ferdinand. This rumor proved to be false and his first wife, whom he married on 4 November 1856 at Dresden, was his first cousin Margaretha of Saxony, the daughter of Johann of Saxony and Amalie Auguste of Bavaria.
She died on 15 September 1858 and they had no children and they had four children, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria he married Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg on 1 July 1900. Archduke Otto Franz of Austria he married Princess Maria Josepha of Saxony (1867–1944 on 2 October 1886, Archduke Ferdinand Karl of Austria he married Bertha Czuber on 15 August 1909. Archduchess Margarete Sophie of Austria she married Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg on 24 January 1893, Maria Annunciata died on 4 May 1871. His third wife, whom he married on 23 July 1873 at Kleinheubach, was Infanta Maria Theresa of Portugal, daughter of Miguel I of Portugal and they had two daughters, Archduchess Maria Annunziata of Austria. Abbess of the Theresia Convent in the Hradschin, Archduchess Elisabeth Amalie of Austria she married Prince Aloys of Liechtenstein on 20 April 1903. Karl Ludwig died of typhoid at Schönbrunn in Vienna returning from a journey to Palestine and Egypt and his widow, Maria Teresa died on 12 February 1944.
List of heirs to the Austrian throne
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan was the historical Japanese nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 to the enactment of the 1947 constitution of modern Japan. Imperial Japans rapid industrialization and militarization under the slogan Fukoku Kyōhei led to its emergence as a world power, after several large-scale military successes during the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Pacific War, the Empire gained notoriety for its war crimes against the peoples it conquered. A period of occupation by the Allies followed the surrender and reconstruction continued well into the 1950s, eventually forming the current nation-state whose full title is the State of Japan or simply rendered Japan in English. The historical state is referred to as the Empire of Japan or the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan in English. In Japanese it is referred to as Dai Nippon Teikoku, which translates to Greater Japanese Empire and this is analogous to Großdeutsches Reich, a term that translates to Greater German Empire in English and Dai Doitsu Teikoku in Japanese.
This meaning is significant in terms of geography, encompassing Japan, due to its name in kanji characters and its flag, it was given the exonym Empire of the Sun. After two centuries, the policy, or Sakoku, under the shoguns of the Edo period came to an end when the country was forced open to trade by the Convention of Kanagawa in 1854. The following years saw increased trade and interaction, commercial treaties between the Tokugawa shogunate and Western countries were signed. In large part due to the terms of these Unequal Treaties, the Shogunate soon faced internal hostility, which materialized into a radical, xenophobic movement. In March 1863, the Emperor issued the order to expel barbarians, although the Shogunate had no intention of enforcing the order, it nevertheless inspired attacks against the Shogunate itself and against foreigners in Japan. The Namamugi Incident during 1862 led to the murder of an Englishman, Charles Lennox Richardson, the British demanded reparations but were denied.
While attempting to exact payment, the Royal Navy was fired on from coastal batteries near the town of Kagoshima and they responded by bombarding the port of Kagoshima in 1863. For Richardsons death, the Tokugawa government agreed to pay an indemnity, shelling of foreign shipping in Shimonoseki and attacks against foreign property led to the Bombardment of Shimonoseki by a multinational force in 1864. The Chōshū clan launched the coup known as the Kinmon incident. The Satsuma-Chōshū alliance was established in 1866 to combine their efforts to overthrow the Tokugawa bakufu, in early 1867, Emperor Kōmei died of smallpox and was replaced by his son, Crown Prince Mutsuhito. On November 9,1867, Tokugawa Yoshinobu resigned from his post and authorities to the Emperor, while Yoshinobus resignation had created a nominal void at the highest level of government, his apparatus of state continued to exist. On January 3,1868, Satsuma-Chōshū forces seized the palace in Kyoto. On January 17,1868, Yoshinobu declared that he would not be bound by the proclamation of the Restoration, on January 24, Yoshinobu decided to prepare an attack on Kyoto, occupied by Satsuma and Chōshū forces
Grand Duchy of Tuscany
The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was a central Italian monarchy that existed, with interruptions, from 1569 to 1859, replacing the Duchy of Florence. The grand duchys capital was Florence, Tuscany was nominally a state of the Holy Roman Empire until the Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797. Initially, Tuscany was ruled by the House of Medici until the extinction of its branch in 1737. The Medicis only advancement in the days of their existence was their elevation to royalty, by the Holy Roman Emperor. Francis Stephen of Lorraine, a descendant of the Medici, succeeded the family. Tuscany was governed by a viceroy, Marc de Beauvau-Craon, for his entire rule and his descendants ruled, and resided in, the grand duchy until 1859, barring one interruption, when Napoleon Bonaparte gave Tuscany to the House of Bourbon-Parma. Following the collapse of the Napoleonic system in 1814, the duchy was restored. The United Provinces of Central Italy, a client state of the Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont, Tuscany was formally annexed to Sardinia in 1860, following a landslide referendum, in which 95% of voters approved.
In 1569, Cosimo de Medici had ruled the Duchy of Florence for 32 years, during his reign, Florence purchased the island of Elba from the Republic of Genoa, conquered Siena and developed a well-equipped and powerful naval base on Elba. Cosimo banned the clergy from holding positions and promulgated laws of freedom of religion. Cosimo was a supporter of Pope Pius V, who in the light of Florences expansion in August 1569 declared Cosimo Grand Duke of Tuscany. The international reaction to Cosimos elevation was bleak, Queen Catherine of France, though herself a Medici, viewed Cosimo with the utmost disdain. Rumours circulated at the Viennese court that had Cosimo as a candidate for King of England, Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor and King Philip II of Spain reacting quite angrily, as Florence was an Imperial fief and declared Pius Vs actions invalid. However, Maximilian eventually confirmed the elevation with an Imperial diploma in 1576, during the Holy League of 1571, Cosimo fought against the Ottoman Empire, siding with the Holy Roman Empire.
The Holy League inflicted a defeat against the Ottomans at the Battle of Lepanto. Cosimos reign was one of the most militaristic Tuscany had ever seen, Cosimo experienced several personal tragedies during the years of his reign. His wife, Eleanor of Toledo, died in 1562, along with four of his due to a plague epidemic in Florence. These deaths were to him greatly, along with illness
County of Tyrol
The Princely County of Tyrol, until 1493, County of Tyrol, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire established about 1140. Originally a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of the Counts of Tyrol, it was inherited by the Counts of Gorizia in 1253, today the territory of the historic crown land is divided between the Italian autonomous region of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol and the Austrian state of Tyrol. Both parts are today associated again in the Tyrol–South Tyrol–Trentino Euroregion, the German monarchs regularly travelled across Brenner or Reschen Pass on their Italian expeditions aiming at papal coronation or the consolidation of Imperial rule. In 1004 King Henry II of Germany separated the estates of Trent from the North Italian March of Verona, especially the Brixen bishops remained loyal supporters of the Salian rulers in the Investiture Controversy and in 1091 received the Puster Valley from the hands of Emperor Henry IV. Documented from about 1140 onwards, the comital dynasty residing in Tyrol Castle near Meran held the office of Vogts in the Trent diocese and they extended their territory over much of the region and came to surpass the power of the bishops, who were nominally their feudal lords.
After the deposition of the Welf duke Henry X of Bavaria in 1138, when Henry the Lion was again enfeoffed with the Bavarian duchy by Emperor Frederick Barbarossa at the 1154 Imperial Diet in Goslar, his possessions no longer comprised the Tyrolean lands. The Counts maintained that independence under the rising Bavarian Wittelsbach dynasty, in 1210, Count Albert IV of Tyrol took over the Vogt office in the Bishopric of Brixen, prevailing against the rivalling Counts of Andechs. In 1253 Count Meinhard of Gorizia inherited the Tyrolean lands by his marriage to Adelheid, when their sons divided their estate in 1271, the elder Meinhard II took Tyrol, for which he was recognized as an immediate lordship. He supported the German king Rudolph of Habsburg against his rival King Ottokar II of Bohemia, in reward, he received the Duchy of Carinthia with the Carniolan march in 1286. In 1307 Meinhards son Henry was elected King of Bohemia, After his death, he had one surviving daughter, Margaret Maultasch, in 1342 she married Louis V of Wittelsbach, Margrave of Brandenburg.
Louis V died in 1361, followed by Margarets son Meinhard III two years later, lacking any descendants to succeed her, she bequeathed the county to Rudolph IV of Habsburg, Duke of Austria in 1363. He was recognized by the House of Wittelsbach in 1369, from that time onward, Tyrol was ruled by various lines of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty, who held the title of Count. After the Habsburg hereditary lands had been divided by the 1379 Treaty of Neuberg, after a second division within the Leopoldinian line in 1406, Duke Frederick IV of the Empty Pockets ruled them. In 1420 he made Innsbruck the Tyrolean residence, in 1490 his son and heir Sigismund renounced Tyrol and Further Austria in favour of his cousin German king Maximilian I of Habsburg. By Maximilian I had re-united all Habsburg lands under his rule, in 1500 he acquired the remaining Gorizia territories around Lienz and the Puster Valley. When Emperor Ferdinand I of Habsburg died in 1564, he bequeathed the rule over Tyrol, both territories thereafter fell to the younger sons of the Habsburg Emperors, Archduke Matthias in 1608 and Maximilian III in 1612.
After the death of Archduke Sigismund Francis in 1665, all Habsburg lands were again under the rule of the Emperor Leopold I. From the time of Maria Theresa of Austria onward, Tyrol was governed by a government of the Habsburg Monarchy at Vienna in all matters of major importance
Order of St. Andrew
The Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called is the highest order of the Russian Federation. Established as the first and highest order of chivalry of the Russian Empire in 1698, the Order was established in 1698 by Tsar Peter the Great, in honour of Saint Andrew, the first apostle of Jesus and patron saint of Russia. It was bestowed in a class and was only awarded for the most outstanding civilian or military merit. Peter learned of the practice of bestowing awards from his travels in the West during the Great Embassy, in the past, service to the Russian state was rewarded with money or large estates. He witnessed first hand the awards ceremonies for Englands Order of the Garter and Austrias Order of the Golden Fleece and noticed the loyalty and it saved the state land and money. Count Fyodor Golovin was the first recipient of the order, until its abolition following the Russian Revolution of 1917, just over one thousand awards had been made. Moreover, recipients of lower ranks were automatically promoted to the rank of lieutenant general or vice admiral, the Order of Saint Andrew continued to be awarded by the Russian Imperial House in exile.
The first post revolutionary presentation was to HH Prince Georgy Konstantinovich of Russia on attaining his majority in April 1923. It was worn on a blue sash over the right shoulder. Star, eight-pointed silver star bearing a miniature of the badge on a background at the center, surrounded by the motto For Faith. It was worn on the left chest, the insignia of order could be awarded with diamonds as a special distinction. Saint Andrews Cathedral in Saint Petersburg was the church of this order of chivalry. Recipient of Order of St. Andrew the Apostle the First-Called uses the post-nominal letters KA, for example, if one is awarded Order of the Garter, in that case, post-nominals of KG used before KA because the Order of the Garterr has been created in 1348. An order with the name but with different insignia and statutes was first unofficially re-established by the Orthodox Church of Russia on December 27,1988. The order was officially re-instated as the highest Russian civilian and military award by Presidential Decree №757 on June 1,1998, the Orders award criteria were modified by Presidential Decree 1099 of September 7,2010.
The Order may be awarded to heads of states for outstanding service to the Russian Federation. Unlike the original Imperial institution, the modern Order does not have special robes nor strict rules regulating its wearing, the collar of the original Order was worn across the shoulders, modern recipients tend to wear it as a chain around the neck. The design of the modern Order of St. Andrew has changed little from the imperial design
Sovereign Military Order of Malta
It was founded as the Knights Hospitaller circa 1099 in Jerusalem, Kingdom of Jerusalem, by the Blessed Gerard, making it the worlds oldest surviving chivalric order. It operated from Cyprus, Malta, over which it was sovereign until the French occupation, the order venerates as its patroness Mary, mother of Jesus, under the title Our Lady of Mount Philermos. The Order retains sovereignty under international law, including United Nations permanent observer status, issuing its own passports, the orders military corps, three brigades, are stationed throughout Italy, liaisoned with the Italian Armed Forces. Through its worldwide relief corps, Malteser International, the order aids victims of disasters, epidemics. In several countries, including France and Ireland, local associations of the order are important providers of emergency services. In the ecclesiastical heraldry of the Roman Catholic Church, the Order of Malta is one of two orders whose insignia may be displayed in a clerical coat of arms.
The shield is surrounded with a rosary for professed knights. Members may display the Maltese cross behind their shield instead of the ribbon, in order to protect its heritage against frauds, the order has legally registered 16 versions of its names and emblems in some 100 countries. The birth of the dates back to around 1048. The Order of St. John of Jerusalem–the monastic community that ran the hospital for the pilgrims in the Holy Land–became independent under the guidance of its founder, by virtue of the Papal Bull, the hospital became an order exempt from the control of the local church. All the Knights were religious, bound by the three vows of poverty and obedience. The order thus added the task of defending the faith to that of its hospitaller mission, as time went on, the order adopted the white eight-pointed Cross that is still its symbol today. The eight points represent the eight beatitudes that Jesus pronounced in his Sermon on the Mount, when the last Christian stronghold in the Holy Land fell after the Siege of Acre in 1291, the order settled first in Cyprus.
In 1310, led by Grand Master Fra Foulques de Villaret, in the early 14th century, the institutions of the Order and the knights who came to Rhodes from every corner of Europe were grouped according to the languages they spoke. Each Langue included Priories or Grand Priories and Commanderies, the Order was governed by its Grand Master, the Prince of Rhodes, and its Council. The senior positions of the Order were given to representatives of different Langues, after six months of siege and fierce combat against the fleet and army of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, the Knights were forced to surrender in 1523 and left Rhodes with military honours. The Reformation which split Western Europe into Protestant and Roman Catholic states affected the knights as well, in several countries, including England and Sweden, the order was disestablished. In others, including the Netherlands and Germany, entire bailiwicks or commanderies experienced religious conversions and it was established that the order should remain neutral in any war between Christian nations
House of Habsburg
The House of Habsburg, called House of Hapsburg, or House of Austria, was one of the most influential royal houses of Europe. The throne of the Holy Roman Empire was continuously occupied by the Habsburgs between 1438 and 1740, from the sixteenth century, following the reign of Charles V, the dynasty was split between its Austrian and Spanish branches. Although they ruled distinct territories, they maintained close relations. The House takes its name from Habsburg Castle, a built in the 1020s in present-day Switzerland, in the canton of Aargau, by Count Radbot of Klettgau. His grandson Otto II was the first to take the name as his own. The House of Habsburg gathered dynastic momentum through the 11th, 12th, by 1276, Count Radbots seventh generation descendant Rudolph of Habsburg had moved the familys power base from Habsburg Castle to the Duchy of Austria. Rudolph had become King of Germany in 1273, and the dynasty of the House of Habsburg was truly entrenched in 1276 when Rudolph became ruler of Austria, which the Habsburgs ruled until 1918.
A series of dynastic marriages enabled the family to expand its domains to include Burgundy and its colonial empire, Hungary. In the 16th century, the separated into the senior Habsburg Spain and the junior Habsburg Monarchy branches. The House of Habsburg became extinct in the 18th century, the senior Spanish branch ended upon the death of Charles II of Spain in 1700 and was replaced by the House of Bourbon. It was succeeded by the Vaudemont branch of the House of Lorraine, the new successor house styled itself formally as the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, although it was often referred to as simply the House of Habsburg. His grandson Radbot, Count of Habsburg founded the Habsburg Castle, the origins of the castles name, located in what is now the Swiss canton of Aargau, are uncertain. There is disagreement on whether the name is derived from the High German Habichtsburg, or from the Middle High German word hab/hap meaning ford, the first documented use of the name by the dynasty itself has been traced to the year 1108.
The Habsburg Castle was the seat in the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries. The Habsburgs expanded their influence through arranged marriages and by gaining political privileges, in the 13th century, the house aimed its marriage policy at families in Upper Alsace and Swabia. They were able to high positions in the church hierarchy for their members. Territorially, they often profited from the extinction of other families such as the House of Kyburg. By the second half of the 13th century, count Rudolph IV had become one of the most influential territorial lords in the area between the Vosges Mountains and Lake Constance
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in central Italy with an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, artistic legacy, Tuscany produces wines, including Chianti, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Morellino di Scansano and Brunello di Montalcino. Having a strong linguistic and cultural identity, it is considered a nation within a nation. Tuscany is traditionally a popular destination in Italy, and the main tourist destinations by number of tourist arrivals are Florence, Montecatini Terme, Castiglione della Pescaia and Grosseto. The village of Castiglione della Pescaia is the most visited destination in the region. Additionally, Lucca, the Chianti region and Val dOrcia are internationally renowned, Tuscany has over 120 protected nature reserves, making Tuscany and its capital Florence popular tourist destinations that attract millions of tourists every year. In 2012, the city of Florence was the worlds 89th most visited city, roughly triangular in shape, Tuscany borders the regions of Liguria to the northwest, Emilia-Romagna to the north and east, Umbria to the east and Lazio to the southeast.
The comune of Badia Tedalda, in the Tuscan Province of Arezzo, has an exclave named Ca Raffaello within Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany has a western coastline on the Tyrrhenian Sea, containing the Tuscan Archipelago, of which the largest island is Elba. Tuscany has an area of approximately 22,993 square kilometres and crossed by major mountain chains, and with few plains, the region has a relief that is dominated by hilly country used for agriculture. Hills make up nearly two-thirds of the total area, covering 15,292 square kilometres, and mountains. Plains occupy 8. 4% of the total area—1,930 square kilometres —mostly around the valley of the River Arno, many of Tuscanys largest cities lie on the banks of the Arno, including the capital Florence and Pisa. The pre-Etruscan history of the area in the late Bronze and Iron Ages parallels that of the early Greeks, following this, the Villanovan culture saw Tuscany, and the rest of Etruria, taken over by chiefdoms. City-states developed in the late Villanovan before Orientalization occurred and the Etruscan civilization rose, the Etruscans created the first major civilization in this region, large enough to establish a transport infrastructure, to implement agriculture and mining and to produce vibrant art.
The Etruscans lived in Etruria well into prehistory, throughout their existence, they lost territory to Magna Graecia and Celts. Despite being seen as distinct in its manners and customs by contemporary Greeks, the cultures of Greece, one reason for its eventual demise was this increasing absorption by surrounding cultures, including the adoption of the Etruscan upper class by the Romans. Soon after absorbing Etruria, Rome established the cities of Lucca, Pisa and Florence, endowed the area with new technologies and development, and ensured peace. These developments included extensions of existing roads, introduction of aqueducts and sewers, many of these structures have been destroyed by erosion due to weather. The Roman civilization in the West collapsed in the 5th century AD, in the years following 572, the Longobards arrived and designated Lucca the capital of their Duchy of Tuscia
Qajar dynasty
The Qajar dynasty was an Iranian royal dynasty of Turkic origin, specifically from the Qajar tribe, which ruled Persia from 1785 to 1925. The state ruled by the dynasty was known as the Sublime State of Iran. The Qajar family took control of Iran in 1794, deposing Lotf Ali Khan, the last of the Zand dynasty. In the Caucasus, the Qajar dynasty permanently lost many of Irans integral areas to the Russians over the course of the 19th century, comprising modern-day Georgia, Dagestan and Armenia. The Qajar rulers were members of the Karagöz or Black-Eye sect of the Qajars, Qajars first settled during the Mongol period in the vicinity of Armenia and were among the seven Qizilbash tribes that supported the Safavids. The Safavids left Arran to local Turkic khans, and, in 1554 Ganja was governed by Shahverdi Soltan Ziyadoglu Qajar, Qajars filled a number of diplomatic missions and governorships in the 16–17th centuries for the Safavids. The Qajars were resettled by Shah Abbas I throughout Iran, the great number of them settled in Astarabad near the south-eastern corner of the Caspian Sea, and it would be this branch of Qajars that would rise to power.
The immediate ancestor of the Qajar dynasty, Shah Qoli Khan of the Quvanlu of Ganja and his son, Fath Ali Khan was a renowned military commander during the rule of the Safavid shahs Sultan Husayn and Tahmasp II. He was killed on the orders of Shah Nader Shah in 1726, Fath Ali Khans son Mohammad Hasan Khan Qajar was the father of Mohammad Khan Qajar and Hossein Qoli Khan, father of Baba Khan, the future Fath-Ali Shah Qajar. Mohammad Hasan Khan was killed on the orders of Karim Khan of the Zand dynasty, like virtually every dynasty that ruled Persia since the 11th century, the Qajars came to power with the backing of Turkic tribal forces, while using educated Persians in their bureaucracy. In 1779 following the death of Karim Khan of the Zand dynasty, Mohammad Khan Qajar, Mohammad Khan was known as one of the cruelest kings, even by the standards of 18th century Iran. In his quest for power, he razed cities, massacred entire populations, the Qajar armies at that time were mostly composed of Turkomans and Georgian slaves.
By 1794, Mohammad Khan had eliminated all his rivals, including Lotf Ali Khan and he reestablished Persian control over the territories in the entire Caucasus. Agha Mohammad established his capital at Tehran, a village near the ruins of the ancient city of Rayy, in 1796, he was formally crowned as shah. In 1797, Mohammad Khan Qajar was assassinated in Shusha, the capital of Karabakh Khanate, between 1747 and 1795, Erekle was, therefore, by the turn of events in Iran following the ongoing turmoil there, able to maintain Georgias autonomy through the Zand period. In 1783, Heraclius placed his kingdom under the protection of the Russian Empire in the Treaty of Georgievsk. In the last few decades of the 18th century, Georgia had become an important element in Russo-Iranian relations than some provinces in northern mainland Persia. On top of that, having another port on the Georgian coast of the Black Sea would be ideal, the consequences of these events came a few years later, when a new Iranian dynasty under the Qajars, emerged victorious in the protracted power struggle in Persia
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria
His assassination in Sarajevo precipitated Austria-Hungarys declaration of war against Serbia. This caused the Central Powers and Serbias allies to declare war on each other, Franz Ferdinand was born in Graz, the eldest son of Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria and of his second wife, Princess Maria Annunciata of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. In 1875, when he was eleven years old, his cousin Duke Francis V of Modena died. Franz Ferdinand thus became one of the wealthiest men in Austria, in 1889, Franz Ferdinands life changed dramatically. His cousin Crown Prince Rudolf committed suicide at his lodge in Mayerling. This left Franz Ferdinands father, Karl Ludwig, as first in line to the throne, Karl Ludwig died of typhoid fever in 1896. Henceforth, Franz Ferdinand was groomed to succeed to the throne, despite this burden, he did manage to find time for travel and personal pursuits, such as the trip round the world he embarked on in 1892. After visiting India he spent time hunting kangaroos and emus in Australia in 1893, travelled on to Nouméa, New Hebrides, Solomon Islands, New Guinea, Hong Kong and Japan.
After sailing across the Pacific on the RMS Empress of China from Yokohama to Vancouver he crossed the United States and this caused both barrels of the gun he was carrying to be discharged, the shot passing within a few feet of the archduke and myself. I have often wondered whether the Great War might not have been averted, or at least postponed, had the archduke met his death there, Franz Ferdinand had a fondness for trophy hunting that was excessive even by the standards of European nobility of this time. In his diaries he kept track of an estimated 300,000 game kills,5,000 of which were deer, about 100,000 trophies were on exhibit at his Bohemian castle at Konopiště which he stuffed with various antiquities, his other great passion. Franz Ferdinand, like most males in the ruling Habsburg line and he was frequently and rapidly promoted, given the rank of lieutenant at age fourteen, captain at twenty-two, colonel at twenty-seven, and major general at thirty-one. While never receiving formal training, he was considered eligible for command.
He exerted influence on the armed forces even when he did not hold a command through a military chancery that produced and received documents. This was headed by Alexander Brosch von Aarenau and eventually employed a staff of sixteen and his authority was reinforced in 1907 when he secured the retirement of the Emperors confidant Friedrich von Beck-Rzikowsky as Chief of the General Staff. Becks successor, Franz Conrad von Hötzendorf, was personally selected Franz Ferdinard, in 1894 Franz Ferdinand met Countess Sophie Chotek at a ball in Prague. To be eligible to marry a member of the Imperial House of Habsburg, the Choteks were not one of these families, although they did include among their ancestors, in the female line, princes of Baden, Hohenzollern-Hechingen, and Liechtenstein. One of Sophies direct ancestors was Albert IV, Count of Habsburg, she was descended from Elisabeth of Habsburg, Franz Ferdinand was a descendant of King Rudolf I
German Empire: Order of the Black Eagle, Knight, November 1901; during a visit to Germany[4]
Bavaria: Order of St. Hubert, Knight
Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach: Order of the White Falcon, Grand Cross
Saxony: Order of the Rue Crown, Knight
Württemberg: Order of the Württemberg Crown, Grand Cross
Empire of Japan: Order of the Chrysanthemum, Grand Cordon
Sovereign Military Order of Malta: Bailiff Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion (with Distinction for Jerusalem)
Qajar dynasty: Portrait of the Shah of Persia with Diamonds
Russian Empire:
Kingdom of Serbia: Royal Order of the White Eagle, Grand Cross
Spain: Order of Charles III, Grand Cross with Collar
Tuscan Grand Ducal Family: Order of Saint Joseph, Grand Cross
