1.
Japan
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Japan is a sovereign island nation in Eastern Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asia Mainland and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea, the kanji that make up Japans name mean sun origin. 日 can be read as ni and means sun while 本 can be read as hon, or pon, Japan is often referred to by the famous epithet Land of the Rising Sun in reference to its Japanese name. Japan is an archipelago consisting of about 6,852 islands. The four largest are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, the country is divided into 47 prefectures in eight regions. Hokkaido being the northernmost prefecture and Okinawa being the southernmost one, the population of 127 million is the worlds tenth largest. Japanese people make up 98. 5% of Japans total population, approximately 9.1 million people live in the city of Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Archaeological research indicates that Japan was inhabited as early as the Upper Paleolithic period, the first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other regions, mainly China, followed by periods of isolation, from the 12th century until 1868, Japan was ruled by successive feudal military shoguns who ruled in the name of the Emperor. Japan entered into a period of isolation in the early 17th century. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan is a member of the UN, the OECD, the G7, the G8, the country has the worlds third-largest economy by nominal GDP and the worlds fourth-largest economy by purchasing power parity. It is also the worlds fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer, although Japan has officially renounced its right to declare war, it maintains a modern military with the worlds eighth-largest military budget, used for self-defense and peacekeeping roles. Japan is a country with a very high standard of living. Its population enjoys the highest life expectancy and the third lowest infant mortality rate in the world, in ancient China, Japan was called Wo 倭. It was mentioned in the third century Chinese historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms in the section for the Wei kingdom, Wa became disliked because it has the connotation of the character 矮, meaning dwarf. The 倭 kanji has been replaced with the homophone Wa, meaning harmony, the Japanese word for Japan is 日本, which is pronounced Nippon or Nihon and literally means the origin of the sun. The earliest record of the name Nihon appears in the Chinese historical records of the Tang dynasty, at the start of the seventh century, a delegation from Japan introduced their country as Nihon
2.
Mainz Cathedral
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Mainz Cathedral or St. Martins Cathedral is located near the historical center and pedestrianized market square of the city of Mainz, Germany. This 1000-year-old Roman Catholic cathedral is the site of the see of the Bishop of Mainz. Mainz Cathedral is predominantly Romanesque in style, but later additions over many centuries have resulted in the appearance of various architectural influences seen today. It comprises three naves and stands under the patronage of Saint Martin of Tours, the eastern quire is dedicated to Saint Stephen. The cathedral also has a courtyard and statues of Saint Boniface. During Willigis time, the city of Mainz flourished economically, Willigis became one of the most influential politicians of that time, he even was regent of the empire between 991 and 994. He ordered the construction of a new cathedral in the pre-Romanesque Ottonian architecture and this new and impressive building was part of Willigiss vision of Mainz as the second Rome. Most of the synods and other important meetings were held at St. Albans Abbey, the new cathedral consisted of a double chancel with two transepts. The main hall was built in the typical triple-nave cross pattern, as was usual at that time no vault was included because of structural difficulties relating to the size of the building. Six towers rose from the church, a cloister was enclosed in the structure and a small freestanding church, St. Marys Church, connected by a colonnade. This small church developed later into the church of St. Maria ad Grada. Sandstone was used as the building material for the cathedral. The inside was plastered white under the Archbishop Bardo, probably in the middle of the 10th century, during renovations ordered by Henry IV in the late 11th century, much of the outside was also plastered, but the cornices were left exposed in their original red and yellow. It is believed that the coloring of the cathedral was changed more times, the cathedral suffered extensive damage from a fire on the day of its inauguration in 1009. Archbishop Bardo presided over the completion of the cathedral begun under Willigis, by 1037 the main portions of the body of Mainz Cathedral were complete. Willigis was buried in the church he had initiated, St. Stephans. The reason for building two chancels is not entirely clear, many scholars suggest that there is some symbolic significance, such as empire and church, or body and spirit, but no irrefutable evidence for these theories exists. Others claim that the construction has a purpose for ceremonial processions
3.
Republic of Pisa
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The Republic of Pisa was a de facto independent state centered on the Tuscan city of Pisa during the late 10th and 11th centuries. It rose to become a powerhouse, a commercial center whose merchants dominated Mediterranean and Italian trade for a century before being surpassed and superseded by the Republic of Genoa. The power of Pisa as a mighty maritime nation began to grow, during the High Middle Ages the city grew into a very important commercial and naval center and controlled a significant Mediterranean merchant fleet and navy. It expanded its influence through the sack of Reggio di Calabria in the south of Italy in 1005, Pisa was in continuous conflict with the Saracens, whose bases were in the Italian astersa, for control of the Mediterranean. In alliance with Genoa, Sardinia was captured in 1016 with the defeat of the Saracen leader Mujāhid al-‘Āmirī and this victory gave Pisa supremacy in the Tyrrhenian Sea. When the Pisans subsequently ousted the Genoese from Sardinia, a new conflict, between 1030 and 1035 Pisa went on to successfully defeat several rival towns in the Emirate of Sicily and conquer Carthage in North Africa. In 1051-1052 Admiral Jacopo Ciurini conquered Corsica, provoking more resentment from the Genoese. In 1063, the Pisans approached the Norman Roger I of Sicily, Roger declined due to other commitments. With no land support, the Pisan attack against Palermo failed, in 1060 Pisa engaged in its first battle against Genoa and the Pisan victory helped to consolidate its position in the Mediterranean. This was simply a confirmation of the present situation, because at the time the marquis of Tuscany had already excluded from power. Pisa sacked the Zirid city of Mahdia in 1088, four years later, Pisan and Genoese ships helped Alfonso VI of Castile force El Cid out of Valencia. In 1092 Pope Urban II awarded Pisa supremacy over Corsica and Sardinia, a Pisan fleet of 120 ships participated in the First Crusade and the Pisans were instrumental in the siege of Jerusalem in 1099. On their way to the Holy Land the Pisan ships did not miss the opportunity to sack several Byzantine islands, the Pisan crusaders were led by their archbishop, Dagobert, the future Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. Pisa and the maritime republics took advantage of the crusade to establish trading posts and colonies in the eastern coastal regions of Syria, Lebanon. In particular the Pisans founded colonies in Antioch, Acre, Jaffa, Tripoli, Tyre, in all these cities the Pisans were granted privileges and immunity from taxation, but had to contribute to their defence in case of attack. In the 12th century the Pisan quarter in the part of Constantinople had grown to 1,000 people. For some years of that century Pisa was the most prominent merchant and military ally of the Byzantine Empire, Pisa, as an international power, was destroyed forever by the crushing defeat of its navy in the Battle of Meloria against Genoa in 1284. In this battle, most of the Pisan galleys were destroyed, in 1290, an assault by Genoese ships against the Porto Pisano sealed the fate of the independent Pisan state
4.
Republic of Florence
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The Republic of Florence, also known as the Florentine Republic, was a medieval and early modern state that was centered on the Italian city of Florence in Tuscany. The republic originated in 1115, when the Florentine people rebelled against the Margraviate of Tuscany upon the death of Matilda, the Florentines formed a commune in her successors place. The republic was ruled by a council, known as the signoria, the signoria was chosen by the gonfaloniere, who was elected every two months by Florentine guild members. The republic had a history of coups and counter-coups against various factions. The Medici faction gained governance of the city in 1434, upon Cosimo de Medicis counter-coup against the faction that had sent him into exile the previous year, the Medici kept control of Florence until 1494. Giovanni de Medici re-conquered the republic in 1512, Florence repudiated Medici authority for a second time in 1527, during the War of the League of Cognac. The Medici re-assumed their rule in 1531, after an 11-month siege of the city, the republican government was disestablished in 1532, when Pope Clement VII appointed Alessandro de Medici Duke of the Florentine Republic, making the republic a hereditary monarchy. The city of Florence was established in 59 B. C. by Julius Caesar, the city had been part of the Marquisate of Tuscany before the death of Margravine Matilda in 1115. The city did not submit readily to her successor, Rabodo, the first official mention of the republic was in 1138 when several cities around Tuscany formed a league against Henry X of Bavaria. The country was part of the Holy Roman Empire. Florence prospered in the 12th century, trading extensively with foreign countries and this, in turn, provided a platform for demographic growth of the city. The growth of Florences population mirrored the rate of construction, many churches and this prosperity was shattered when Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa invaded the Italian peninsula in 1185. The Margraves of Tuscany re-acquired Florence and its townlands, the Florentines re-asserted their independence when Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI died in 1197. Florences population continued to grow into the 13th century, reaching 30,000 inhabitants, as has been said, the extra inhabitants supported the citys trade and vice versa. Several new bridges and churches were built, most prominently the cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, the buildings from the era serve as Florences best example of Gothic Architecture. Politically, Florence was barely able to maintain peace between factions, the precarious peace that existed at the beginning of the century was destroyed in 1216 when two factions known as the Guelphs and the Ghibellines began to war. The Ghibellines were the rulers of Florence. The Ghibellines, who under Frederick of Antioch had ruled the city since 1244, were deposed in 1250 by the Guelphs, the Guelphs led Florence to prosper further
5.
Kingdom of England
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In the early 11th century the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, united by Æthelstan, became part of the North Sea Empire of Cnut the Great, a personal union between England, Denmark and Norway. The completion of the conquest of Wales by Edward I in 1284 put Wales under the control of the English crown, from the accession of James I in 1603, the Stuart dynasty ruled England in personal union with Scotland and Ireland. Under the Stuarts, the kingdom plunged into war, which culminated in the execution of Charles I in 1649. The monarchy returned in 1660, but the Civil War had established the precedent that an English monarch cannot govern without the consent of Parliament and this concept became legally established as part of the Glorious Revolution of 1688. From this time the kingdom of England, as well as its state the United Kingdom. On 1 May 1707, under the terms of the Acts of Union 1707, the Anglo-Saxons referred to themselves as the Engle or the Angelcynn, originally names of the Angles. They called their land Engla land, meaning land of the English, by Æthelweard Latinized Anglia, from an original Anglia vetus, the name Engla land became England by haplology during the Middle English period. The Latin name was Anglia or Anglorum terra, the Old French, by the 14th century, England was also used in reference to the entire island of Great Britain. The standard title for all monarchs from Æthelstan until the time of King John was Rex Anglorum, Canute the Great, a Dane, was the first king to call himself King of England. In the Norman period Rex Anglorum remained standard, with use of Rex Anglie. The Empress Matilda styled herself Domina Anglorum, from the time of King John onwards all other titles were eschewed in favour of Rex or Regina Anglie. In 1604 James VI and I, who had inherited the English throne the previous year, the English and Scottish parliaments, however, did not recognise this title until the Acts of Union of 1707. The kingdom of England emerged from the unification of the early medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdoms known as the Heptarchy, East Anglia, Mercia, Northumbria, Kent, Essex, Sussex. The Viking invasions of the 9th century upset the balance of power between the English kingdoms, and native Anglo-Saxon life in general, the English lands were unified in the 10th century in a reconquest completed by King Æthelstan in 927 CE. During the Heptarchy, the most powerful king among the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms might become acknowledged as Bretwalda, the decline of Mercia allowed Wessex to become more powerful. It absorbed the kingdoms of Kent and Sussex in 825, the kings of Wessex became increasingly dominant over the other kingdoms of England during the 9th century. In 827, Northumbria submitted to Egbert of Wessex at Dore, in 886, Alfred the Great retook London, which he apparently regarded as a turning point in his reign. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says that all of the English people not subject to the Danes submitted themselves to King Alfred, asser added that Alfred, king of the Anglo-Saxons, restored the city of London splendidly
6.
Edward III of England
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Edward III transformed the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe. Edward was crowned at age fourteen after his father was deposed by his mother, Isabella of France, at age seventeen he led a successful coup against Mortimer, the de facto ruler of the country, and began his personal reign. After a successful campaign in Scotland he declared himself heir to the French throne in 1337. This started what would become known as the Hundred Years War, following some initial setbacks the war went exceptionally well for England, victories at Crécy and Poitiers led to the highly favourable Treaty of Brétigny. Edwards later years, however, were marked by international failure and domestic strife, largely as a result of his inactivity, Edward III was a temperamental man but capable of unusual clemency. He was in ways a conventional king whose main interest was warfare. Admired in his own time and for centuries after, Edward was denounced as an adventurer by later Whig historians such as William Stubbs. This view has been challenged recently and modern historians credit him with some significant achievements, Edward was born at Windsor Castle on 13 November 1312, and was often referred to as Edward of Windsor in his early years. The reign of his father, Edward II, was a problematic period of English history. One source of contention was the inactivity, and repeated failure. Another controversial issue was the kings patronage of a small group of royal favourites. The birth of an heir in 1312 temporarily improved Edward IIs position in relation to the baronial opposition. To bolster further the independent prestige of the prince, the king had him created Earl of Chester at only twelve days of age. In 1325, Edward II was faced with a demand from his brother-in-law, Charles IV of France, Edward was reluctant to leave the country, as discontent was once again brewing domestically, particularly over his relationship with the favourite Hugh Despenser the Younger. Instead, he had his son Edward created Duke of Aquitaine in his place, the young Edward was accompanied by his mother Isabella, who was the sister of King Charles, and was meant to negotiate a peace treaty with the French. While in France, however, Isabella conspired with the exiled Roger Mortimer to have Edward deposed, to build up diplomatic and military support for the venture, Isabella had Prince Edward engaged to the twelve-year-old Philippa of Hainault. An invasion of England was launched and Edward IIs forces deserted him completely, the king was forced to relinquish the throne to his son on 25 January 1327. The new king was crowned as Edward III on 1 February 1327 and it was not long before the new reign also met with other problems caused by the central position at court of Roger Mortimer, who was now the de facto ruler of England
7.
Japanese calendar
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Japanese calendar types have included a range of official and unofficial systems. At present, Japan uses the Gregorian calendar together with year designations stating the year of the reign of the current Emperor, the lunisolar Chinese calendar was introduced to Japan via Korea in the middle of the sixth century. After that, Japan calculated its calendar using various Chinese calendar procedures, but in 1873, as part of Japans Meiji period modernization, a calendar based on the solar Gregorian calendar was introduced. In Japan today, the old Chinese calendar is virtually ignored, celebrations of the Lunar New Year are thus limited to Chinese, Japan has had more than one system for designating years. Including The Chinese sexagenary cycle was introduced into Japan. It was often used together with era names, as in the 1729 Ise calendar shown above, now, though, the cycle is seldom used except around New Years. The era name system was introduced from China, and has been in continuous use since AD701. Each Emperors reign begins a new era, before 1868 era names were also declared for other reasons. Nengō are the means of dating years in Japan. It is also in use in private and personal business. The Japanese imperial year or kigen 紀元 is based on the date of the founding of Japan by Emperor Jimmu in 660 BC. It was first used in the calendar in 1873. However, it never replaced era names, and since World War II has been abandoned, the Western Common Era system has gradually come into common use since the Meiji period. Now, most people know it, as well as era names, the official dating system known as nengō 年号, strictly speaking, gengō 元号, has been in use since the late 7th century. Years are numbered within eras, which are named by the reigning Emperor, the nengō system remains in wide use, especially on official documents and government forms. The imperial year system was used from 1872 to the Second World War, Imperial year 1 was the year when the legendary Emperor Jimmu founded Japan –660 BC according to the Gregorian Calendar. Usage of kōki dating can be a nationalist signal, pointing out that the history of Japans imperial family is longer than that of Christianity, kōki 2600 was a special year. The 1940 Summer Olympics and Tokyo Expo were planned as anniversary events, the Japanese naval Zero Fighter was named after this year
8.
Battle of Winchelsea
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Between 14 and 26 Castilian ships were captured, and some were sunk, while 2 English vessels were sunk and many suffered heavy losses. Throughout the early part of Edward IIIs reign England shores were harassed by pirates and this remained one of the major incentives for the kings expansion of the Royal Navy and merchant shipping regulations. The records are scanty but they show a pattern of raiding and piracy that the king, in the north Scots sea rovers attacked the village of Scarborough and took vessels away. But in November 1349, Don Carlos de la Cerda, son of Don Luis captured several English ships laden with wine from Bordeaux, De la Cerda redoubled his efforts the following year entering Sluis to load up with merchandise before returning to Corunna. He loaded up with weapons of warfare - artillery, missiles, crossbows, longbows, more serious attempts were made by Castilians to raid Calais and freebooters plundered the town leaving it in dire circumstances. A planned French assault on the garrison was apprehended for 2 January 1350, the town was in a desperate state of near starvation when in 1347 the Governor had sent out a Genoese Master Mariner with an urgent message for the king of England to come to their aid. Castilian and Genoese ships had fought against England as the allies or mercenaries of France, a Castilian merchant fleet was loading cargoes in the Flemish ports to be carried to the Basque coast. The ships were armed and had warships with them and they were all under the command of Don Carlos de la Cerda, a soldier of fortune who belonged to a branch of the Castilian royal family. On its way to Flanders the Castilian fleet had captured a number of English trading ships, piratical violence and massacre of this kind was then common on the sea. On 10 August, while the king was at Rotherhithe, he announced his intention of attacking the Castilians on their way home. The rendezvous of his fleet was at Winchelsea, and thither the king went by land, accompanied by his wife and her ladies, by his sons, the ladies were placed in a convent. On 28 August, the king embarked on his flagship the Cog Thomas, the English fleet did not put to sea but remained at anchor, waiting for the appearance of the Castilians. Don Carlos de la Cerda might easily have avoided the English if he had kept out in the Channel. His strength lay in the size of his 40 largest ships, at 4 pm on 29 August, with an easterly wind behind, they bore down boldly on Edwards ships anchored at Winchelsea. When the Castilians hove in sight, the king was sitting on the deck of his ship, with his knights and nobles, listening to his minstrels playing German airs, and to the singing of young John Chandos. When the look-out in the tops reported the enemy in sight, the king and his company drank to one anothers health, the trumpet was sounded, battles at that time, whether on land or sea, were finally settled by stroke of sword. At 5 pm the English steered to board the Castilians with grappling irons, the kings own ship was run into by one of the enemy with such violence that both were damaged, and she was holed and began to sink. The Castilian stood on, and the Cog Thomas was laid alongside another and it was high time, for the king and his following had barely reached the deck of the Castilian before the Cog Thomas went to the bottom
9.
Kingdom of Naples
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It continued to be officially known as the Kingdom of Sicily, although it no longer included the island of Sicily. For much of its existence, the realm was contested between French and Spanish dynasties, in 1816, it was reunified with the island kingdom of Sicily once again to form the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Following the rebellion in 1282, King Charles I of Sicily was forced to leave the island of Sicily by Peter III of Aragons troops, Charles, however, maintained his possessions on the mainland, customarily known as the Kingdom of Naples, after its capital city. Charles and his Angevin successors maintained a claim to Sicily, warring against the Aragonese until 1373, joans reign was contested by Louis the Great, the Angevin King of Hungary, who captured the kingdom several times. Queen Joan I also played a part in the demise of the first Kingdom of Naples. This led to Joan Is murder at the hands of the Prince of Durazzo in 1382, the two competing Angevin lines contested each other for the possession of the Kingdom of Naples over the following decades. René of Anjou temporarily united the claims of junior and senior Angevin lines, in 1442, however, Alfonso V conquered the Kingdom of Naples and unified Sicily and Naples once again as dependencies of Aragon. At his death in 1458, the kingdom was again separated and Naples was inherited by Ferrante, Alfonsos illegitimate son. Charles VIII expelled Alfonso II of Naples from Naples in 1495, Ferrantino was restored to the throne, but died in 1496, and was succeeded by his uncle, Frederick IV. Charles VIIIs successor, Louis XII reiterated the French claim, in 1501, he occupied Naples and partitioned the kingdom with Ferdinand of Aragon, who abandoned his cousin King Frederick. The deal soon fell through, however, and Aragon and France resumed their war over the kingdom, the Spanish troops occupying Calabria and Apulia, led by Gonzalo Fernandez de Cordova did not respect the new agreement, and expelled all Frenchmen from the area. The peace treaties that continued were never definitive, but they established at least that the title of King of Naples was reserved for Ferdinands grandson, the future Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. Ferdinand nevertheless continued in possession of the kingdom, being considered as the heir of his uncle Alfonso I of Naples. The French finally abandoned their claims to Naples by the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis in 1559, in the Treaty of London, five cities on coast of Tuscany were designated the Stato dei Presidi, and part of the Kingdom of Naples. After the War of the Spanish Succession in the early 18th century, under the terms of the Treaty of Rastatt in 1714, Naples was given to Charles VI, the Holy Roman Emperor. He also gained control of Sicily in 1720, but Austrian rule did not last long, when Charles inherited the Spanish throne from his older half-brother in 1759, he left Naples and Sicily to his younger son, Ferdinand IV. Despite the two Kingdoms being in a union under the Habsburg and Bourbon dynasts, they remained constitutionally separate. Being a member of the House of Bourbon, Ferdinand IV was an opponent of the French Revolution and Napoleon
