1.
Mount Simeon
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Mount Simeon or Mount Simon, also called Mount Laylūn, is a highland region in Aleppo Governorate in northern Syria. The mountain is located in the Mount Simeon and Aʻzāz districts of Aleppo Governorate, the name of the mountain comes from the name of Saint Simeon Stylites, a Christian hermit of the 5th century CE who lived in a monastery on the mount. The ancient name of the mountain was Mount Nebo, after the Mesopotamian god Nabu, the word Nebo is still found in the names of several villages on the mountain. The name Laylūn is of Kurdish origin, Mount Simeon is part of the Limestone Massif in the western part of the Aleppo plateau. It is located about 20 km northwest of Aleppo, the mountain runs for 50 km from north to south with a width range of 20–40 km and average elevation of 500–600 m. The highest point is Sheikh Barakāt in the part of the mountain. The valley of River ʻIfrīn runs between Mount Simeon and Mount Kurd to the west, Aʻzāz valley marks the northern boundary of the mountain, beyond which lies the Aʻzāz plain and Mount Barṣa on the Aintab plateau. The valley of river Quweiq runs along the side of the mountain. South of the mountain lie the Dāna and Atarib plains, old routes connecting Qinnasrin to Antioch run through these plains to the ʻIfrīn valley at its westward turn and separate Mount Simeon from Ḥārim Mountains to the south
2.
Aleppo Governorate
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Aleppo Governorate is one of the fourteen governorates of Syria. It is the most populous governorate in Syria with a population of more than 4,868,000, the governorate is the fifth in area with an area of 18,482 km², about 10% of the total area of Syria. The capital is the city of Aleppo, the governorate is represented by 52 deputies in the parliament, of whom 20 come from the city of Aleppo. Together, with the Governorate of Idlib, the Governorate of Aleppo make up the Northern Region of Syria, historically, the Northern Region was the most fertile and the most densely populated in Syria. This explains why the Governorate of Aleppo has by far the largest number of towns, villages and it also explains why the Northern Region has a much larger number of archaeological sites and remains than elsewhere in Syria. The governorate has a 221 kilometres long northern boundary with the Kilis, Gaziantep, to the west lie the Sanjak of Alexandretta and the Idlib Governorate. To the south lie the Ḥamā Governorate River Euphrates forms most of the half of the eastern boundary with the Raqqa Governorate. The governorate lies on a known as the Aleppo plateau. The southeastern end of the governorate is continuous with the steppe of the northern Syrian Desert. To the south lie the plains of Hama, and to the southwest lie the northern plains of Idlib. The average elevation of the terrain is 379 metres, the surface gradually slopes down in north-south and west-east directions. The surface undulates gently with an amplitude of 10–30 m for each wave, the lowlands are covered with combined Paleozoic and Mesozoic sediments that average 4–5 km in thickness over the whole surface. Starting from the valley of the Euphrates, the terrain rises forming the Manbij plain, the Dhahab drains the highlands north of Bāb and runs in a north-south direction for about 50 km until it drains into Lake Jabboul. West of the Dhahab valley the terrain rises again forming Mount ʻAqīl west of Bāb, the terrain sinks again forming the valley of River Quwēq. The endpoint of Quwēq, the Maṭkh swamp, is the lowest point in Aleppo Governorate, west of the Quwēq is Mount Simeon. South of Mount Simeon are the plains of Idlib, River ʻAfrīn runs west of Mount Simeon. To the west of River ʻAfrīn the land rises again forming Mount Kurd, the highest point in the governorate, Mount Bulbul, is located in the northern part of Mount Kurd. River ʻIfrīn runs from north to south between Mount Simeon and Mount Kurd and then turns west to the Orontes valley, thus separating Mount Kurd from Mount Ḥārim to the south
3.
Syria
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Syrias capital and largest city is Damascus. Religious groups include Sunnis, Christians, Alawites, Druze, Mandeans, Shiites, Salafis, Sunni Arabs make up the largest religious group in Syria. Its capital Damascus and largest city Aleppo are among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, in the Islamic era, Damascus was the seat of the Umayyad Caliphate and a provincial capital of the Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt. The post-independence period was tumultuous, and a number of military coups. In 1958, Syria entered a union with Egypt called the United Arab Republic. Syria was under Emergency Law from 1963 to 2011, effectively suspending most constitutional protections for citizens, Bashar al-Assad has been president since 2000 and was preceded by his father Hafez al-Assad, who was in office from 1970 to 2000. Mainstream modern academic opinion strongly favours the argument that the Greek word is related to the cognate Ἀσσυρία, Assyria, in the past, others believed that it was derived from Siryon, the name that the Sidonians gave to Mount Hermon. However, the discovery of the inscription in 2000 seems to support the theory that the term Syria derives from Assyria. The area designated by the word has changed over time, since approximately 10,000 BC, Syria was one of centers of Neolithic culture where agriculture and cattle breeding appeared for the first time in the world. The following Neolithic period is represented by houses of Mureybet culture. At the time of the pre-pottery Neolithic, people used vessels made of stone, gyps, finds of obsidian tools from Anatolia are evidences of early trade relations. Cities of Hamoukar and Emar played an important role during the late Neolithic, archaeologists have demonstrated that civilization in Syria was one of the most ancient on earth, perhaps preceded by only those of Mesopotamia. The earliest recorded indigenous civilisation in the region was the Kingdom of Ebla near present-day Idlib, gifts from Pharaohs, found during excavations, confirm Eblas contact with Egypt. One of the earliest written texts from Syria is an agreement between Vizier Ibrium of Ebla and an ambiguous kingdom called Abarsal c.2300 BC. The Northwest Semitic language of the Amorites is the earliest attested of the Canaanite languages, Mari reemerged during this period, and saw renewed prosperity until conquered by Hammurabi of Babylon. Ugarit also arose during this time, circa 1800 BC, close to modern Latakia, Ugaritic was a Semitic language loosely related to the Canaanite languages, and developed the Ugaritic alphabet. The Ugarites kingdom survived until its destruction at the hands of the marauding Indo-European Sea Peoples in the 12th century BC, Yamhad was described in the tablets of Mari as the mightiest state in the near east and as having more vassals than Hammurabi of Babylon. Yamhad imposed its authority over Alalakh, Qatna, the Hurrians states, the army of Yamhad campaigned as far away as Dēr on the border of Elam
4.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
5.
Christianity
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Christianity is a Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, who serves as the focal point for the religion. It is the worlds largest religion, with over 2.4 billion followers, or 33% of the global population, Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God and the savior of humanity whose coming as the Messiah was prophesied in the Old Testament. Christian theology is summarized in creeds such as the Apostles Creed and his incarnation, earthly ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection are often referred to as the gospel, meaning good news. The term gospel also refers to accounts of Jesuss life and teaching, four of which—Matthew, Mark, Luke. Christianity is an Abrahamic religion that began as a Second Temple Judaic sect in the mid-1st century, following the Age of Discovery, Christianity spread to the Americas, Australasia, sub-Saharan Africa, and the rest of the world through missionary work and colonization. Christianity has played a prominent role in the shaping of Western civilization, throughout its history, Christianity has weathered schisms and theological disputes that have resulted in many distinct churches and denominations. Worldwide, the three largest branches of Christianity are the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the denominations of Protestantism. There are many important differences of interpretation and opinion of the Bible, concise doctrinal statements or confessions of religious beliefs are known as creeds. They began as baptismal formulae and were expanded during the Christological controversies of the 4th and 5th centuries to become statements of faith. Many evangelical Protestants reject creeds as definitive statements of faith, even agreeing with some or all of the substance of the creeds. The Baptists have been non-creedal in that they have not sought to establish binding authoritative confessions of faith on one another. Also rejecting creeds are groups with roots in the Restoration Movement, such as the Christian Church, the Evangelical Christian Church in Canada, the Apostles Creed is the most widely accepted statement of the articles of Christian faith. It is also used by Presbyterians, Methodists, and Congregationalists and this particular creed was developed between the 2nd and 9th centuries. Its central doctrines are those of the Trinity and God the Creator, each of the doctrines found in this creed can be traced to statements current in the apostolic period. The creed was used as a summary of Christian doctrine for baptismal candidates in the churches of Rome. Most Christians accept the use of creeds, and subscribe to at least one of the mentioned above. The central tenet of Christianity is the belief in Jesus as the Son of God, Christians believe that Jesus, as the Messiah, was anointed by God as savior of humanity, and hold that Jesus coming was the fulfillment of messianic prophecies of the Old Testament. The Christian concept of the Messiah differs significantly from the contemporary Jewish concept, Jesus, having become fully human, suffered the pains and temptations of a mortal man, but did not sin
6.
Church (building)
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A church building, often simply called a church, is a building used for Christian religious activities, particularly worship services. The term in its sense is most often used by Christians to refer to their religious buildings. In traditional Christian architecture, the church is arranged in the shape of a Christian cross. When viewed from plan view the longest part of a cross is represented by the aisle, towers or domes are often added with the intention of directing the eye of the viewer towards the heavens and inspiring church visitors. The earliest identified Christian church was a church founded between 233 and 256. During the 11th through 14th centuries, a wave of building of cathedrals, a cathedral is a church, usually Roman Catholic, Anglican, Oriental Orthodox or Eastern Orthodox, housing the seat of a bishop. In standard Greek usage, the word ecclesia was retained to signify both a specific edifice of Christian worship, and the overall community of the faithful. This usage was retained in Latin and the languages derived from Latin, as well as in the Celtic languages. In the Germanic and some Slavic languages, the word kyriak-ós/-ē/-ón was adopted instead, in Old English the sequence of derivation started as cirice, then churche, and eventually church in its current pronunciation. German Kirche, Scottish kirk, Russian церковь, etc. are all similarly derived, according to the New Testament, the earliest Christians did not build church buildings. Instead, they gathered in homes or in Jewish worship places like the Second Temple or synagogues, the earliest archeologically identified Christian church is a house church, the Dura-Europos church, founded between 233 and 256. During the 11th through 14th centuries, a wave of building of cathedrals, in addition to being a place of worship, the cathedral or parish church was used by the community in other ways. It could serve as a place for guilds or a hall for banquets. Mystery plays were performed in cathedrals, and cathedrals might also be used for fairs. The church could be used as a place to thresh and store grain, a common architecture for churches is the shape of a cross. These churches also often have a dome or other large vaulted space in the interior to represent or draw attention to the heavens. Other common shapes for churches include a circle, to represent eternity, or an octagon or similar star shape, another common feature is the spire, a tall tower on the west end of the church or over the crossing. The Latin word basilica was used to describe a Roman public building
7.
Architectural style
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An architectural style is characterized by the features that make a building or other structure notable or historically identifiable. A style may include such elements as form, method of construction, building materials, styles therefore emerge from the history of a society. They are documented in the subject of architectural history, at any time several styles may be fashionable, and when a style changes it usually does so gradually, as architects learn and adapt to new ideas. Styles often spread to places, so that the style at its source continues to develop in new ways while other countries follow with their own twist. A style may also spread through colonialism, either by foreign colonies learning from their home country, one example is the Spanish missions in California, brought by Spanish priests in the late 18th century and built in a unique style. After a style has gone out of fashion, revivals and re-interpretations may occur, for instance, classicism has been revived many times and found new life as neoclassicism. Each time it is revived, it is different, the Spanish mission style was revived 100 years later as the Mission Revival, and that soon evolved into the Spanish Colonial Revival. Vernacular architecture works slightly differently and is listed separately and it is the native method of construction used by local people, usually using labour-intensive methods and local materials, and usually for small structures such as rural cottages. It varies from region to region even within a country, as western society has developed, vernacular styles have mostly become outmoded due to new technology and to national building standards. Paul Jacobsthal and Josef Strzygowski are among the art historians who followed Riegl in proposing grand schemes tracing the transmission of elements of styles across great ranges in time and this type of art history is also known as formalism, or the study of forms or shapes in art. Terms originated to describe architectural periods were often applied to other areas of the visual arts, and then more widely still to music, literature. In architecture stylistic change often follows, and is possible by. While many architectural styles explore harmonious ideals, Mannerism wants to take style a step further and explores the aesthetics of hyperbole, Mannerism is notable for its intellectual sophistication as well as its artificial qualities. Mannerism favours compositional tension and instability rather than balance and clarity, the definition of Mannerism, and the phases within it, continues to be the subject of debate among art historians. An example of mannerist architecture is the Villa Farnese at Caprarola. in the country side outside of Rome. The proliferation of engravers during the 16th century spread Mannerist styles more quickly than any previous styles, a center of Mannerist design was Antwerp during its 16th-century boom. Through Antwerp, Renaissance and Mannerist styles were introduced in England, Germany. During the Mannerist Renaissance period, architects experimented with using architectural forms to emphasize solid, the Renaissance ideal of harmony gave way to freer and more imaginative rhythms
8.
Byzantine architecture
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Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire, also known as the Later Roman or Eastern Roman Empire. Byzantine architecture was influenced by Roman and Greek architecture and later Sassanian. Early Byzantine architecture drew upon earlier elements of Roman architecture, stylistic drift, technological advancement, and political and territorial changes meant that a distinct style gradually resulted in the Greek cross plan in church architecture. Most of the structures are sacred in nature, with secular buildings mostly known only through contemporaneous descriptions. Prime examples of early Byzantine architecture date from Justinian Is reign and survive in Ravenna and Istanbul, secular structures include the ruins of the Great Palace of Constantinople, the innovative walls of Constantinople and Basilica Cistern. A frieze in the Ostrogothic palace in Ravenna depicts an early Byzantine palace, remarkable engineering feats include the 430 m long Sangarius Bridge and the pointed arch of Karamagara Bridge. The period of the Macedonian dynasty, traditionally considered the epitome of Byzantine art, has not left a legacy in architecture. The cross-in-square type also became predominant in the Slavic countries which were Christianized by Salonikas missionaries during the Macedonian period, only national forms of architecture can be found in abundance due to this. Those styles can be found in many Transcaucasian countries, such as Russia, Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia and other Slavic lands, the Paleologan period is well represented in a dozen former churches in Istanbul, notably St Saviour at Chora and St Mary Pammakaristos. Unlike their Slavic counterparts, the Paleologan architects never accented the vertical thrust of structures, as a result, there is little grandeur in the late medieval architecture of Byzantium. Other churches from the years predating the fall of Constantinople survive on Mount Athos. Those of the type we must suppose were nearly always vaulted. The most famous church of this type was that of the Holy Apostles, vaults appear to have been early applied to the basilican type of plan, for instance, at Hagia Irene, Constantinople, the long body of the church is covered by two domes. At Saint Sergius, Constantinople, and San Vitale, Ravenna, churches of the central type, finally, at Hagia Sophia a combination was made which is perhaps the most remarkable piece of planning ever contrived. This unbroken area, about 260 ft long, the part of which is over 100 ft wide, is entirely covered by a system of domical surfaces. Above the conchs of the small apses rise the two great semi-domes which cover the hemicycles, and between these bursts out the vast dome over the central square. On the two sides, to the north and south of the dome, it is supported by vaulted aisles in two storeys which bring the form to a general square. At the Holy Apostles five domes were applied to a cruciform plan, after the 6th century there were no churches built which in any way competed in scale with these great works of Justinian, and the plans more or less tended to approximate to one type
9.
Aleppo
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Aleppo is a city in Syria, serving as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,132,100, Aleppo was the largest Syrian city before the Syrian Civil War, however, now Aleppo is likely the second-largest city in Syria after the capital Damascus. Aleppo is an ancient city, and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, such a long history is attributed to its strategic location as a trading center midway between the Mediterranean Sea and Mesopotamia. For centuries, Aleppo was the largest city in the Syrian region, and it was also one of the largest cities in the Levant before the advent of the Syrian Civil War. The citys significance in history has been its location at one end of the Silk Road, when the Suez Canal was inaugurated in 1869, trade was diverted to sea and Aleppo began its slow decline. At the fall of the Ottoman Empire after World War I, Aleppo ceded its northern hinterland to modern Turkey, in the 1940s, it lost its main access to the sea, Antakya and İskenderun, also to Turkey. Finally, the isolation of Syria in the past few decades further exacerbated the situation and this decline may have helped to preserve the old city of Aleppo, its medieval architecture and traditional heritage. It won the title of the Islamic Capital of Culture 2006, during the Battle of Aleppo the city suffered massive destruction, and has been the worst-hit city in the Syrian Civil War. In December 2016, the Syrian government achieved full control of Aleppo following a successful offensive, modern-day English-speakers commonly refer to the city as Aleppo. It was known in antiquity as Khalpe, Khalibon, and to the Greeks, during the Crusades, and again during the French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon of 1923–1946, the name Alep was used. Aleppo represents the Italianised version of this, the original ancient name, Halab, has survived as the current Arabic name of the city. Some have proposed that halab means iron or copper in Amorite languages, the modern-day Arabic nickname of the city, ash-Shahbaa, which means the white-colored, also allegedly derives from the famous white marble of Aleppo. From the 11th century it was common usage to apply the term Aram-Zobah to the area of Aleppo. Aleppo has scarcely been touched by archaeologists, since the city occupies its ancient site. The site has been occupied from around 5000 BC, as shown by excavations in Tallet Alsauda, Aleppo appears in historical records as an important city much earlier than Damascus. The first record of Aleppo comes from the third millennium BC, some historians, such as Wayne Horowitz, identify Aleppo with the capital of an independent kingdom closely related to Ebla, known as Armi, although this identification is contested. The main temple of the storm god Hadad was located on the hill in the center of the city. In the Old Babylonian and Old Assyrian Empire period, Aleppos name appears in its form as Ḥalab for the first time
10.
Simeon Stylites
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Saint Simeon Stylites or Symeon the Stylite was a Syriac ascetic saint who achieved notability for living 37 years on a small platform on top of a pillar near Aleppo. Several other stylites later followed his model and he is known formally as Saint Simeon Stylites the Elder to distinguish him from Simeon Stylites the Younger, Simeon Stylites III, and Saint Symeon Stylites of Lesbos. Simeon was the son of a shepherd and he was born in Sis, now the Turkish town of Kozan in Adana Province. Sis was in the Roman province of Cilicia, after the dissolution of the Roman Empire in 395 CE, it became part of the Eastern Roman Empire. According to Theodoret, Bishop of Cyrrhus, Simeon developed a zeal for Christianity at the age of 13 and he entered a monastery before the age of 16. Simeon was so obsessed with Christianity, he almost gave his body away to God. From the first, he himself up to the practice of an austerity so extreme and to all appearance so extravagant. They asked Simeon to leave the monastery and he shut himself up in a hut for one and a half years, where he passed the whole of Lent without eating or drinking. When he emerged from the hut, his achievement was hailed as a miracle and he later took to standing continually upright so long as his limbs would sustain him. After one and a half years in his hut, Simeon sought a rocky eminence on the slopes of what is now the Sheik Barakat Mountain and he chose to live within a narrow space, less than 20 meters in diameter. But crowds of pilgrims invaded the area to seek him out, asking his counsel or his prayers and this at last led him to adopt a new way of life. Simeon wanted to run away from society, so he acted and he determined to live out his life on this platform. It has been stated that, as he seemed to be unable to avoid escaping the world horizontally, for sustenance small boys from the nearby village would climb up the pillar and pass him parcels of flat bread and goats milk. He may also have pulled up food in buckets via a pulley and they decided to order Simeon under obedience to come down from the pillar. They decided that if he disobeyed, they would forcibly drag him to the ground, St Simeon displayed complete obedience and humility, and the monks told him to stay where he was. The first pillar that Simeon occupied was little more than nine feet high and he later moved his platform to others, the last in the series reportedly more than 50 feet from the ground. At the top of the pillar was a platform, which is believed to have been about one square meter, habit and exercise instructed him to maintain his dangerous situation without fear or giddiness, and successively to assume the different postures of devotion. The progress of an ulcer in his thigh might shorten, but it could not disturb, this life
11.
Monk
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A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of other monks. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many religions, in the Greek language the term can apply to women, but in modern English it is mainly in use for men. The word nun is typically used for female monastics, although the term monachos is of Christian origin, in the English language monk tends to be used loosely also for both male and female ascetics from other religious or philosophical backgrounds. However, being generic, it is not interchangeable terms that denote particular kinds of monk, such as cenobite, hermit, anchorite, hesychast. In Eastern Orthodoxy monasticism holds a special and important place. Orthodox monastics separate themselves from the world in order to pray unceasingly for the world and they do not, in general, have as their primary purpose the running of social services, but instead are concerned with attaining theosis, or union with God. However, care for the poor and needy has always been an obligation of monasticism, the level of contact though will vary from community to community. Hermits, on the hand, have little or no contact with the outside world. Orthodox monasticism does not have religious orders as are found in the West, basil the Great and the Philokalia, which was compiled by St. Nikodemos of the Holy Mountain and St. Makarios of Corinth. Hesychasm is of importance in the ascetical theology of the Orthodox Church. Meals are usually taken in common in a dining hall known as a trapeza. Food is usually simple and is eaten in silence while one of the brethren reads aloud from the writings of the Holy Fathers. The monastic lifestyle takes a deal of serious commitment. Within the cenobitic community, all monks conform to a way of living based on the traditions of that particular monastery. In struggling to attain this conformity, the comes to realize his own shortcomings and is guided by his spiritual father in how to deal honestly with them. For this same reason, bishops are almost always chosen from the ranks of monks, Eastern monasticism is found in three distinct forms, anchoritic, cenobitic, and the middle way between the two, known as the skete. One normally enters a community first, and only after testing and spiritual growth would one go on to the skete or, for the most advanced. However, one is not necessarily expected to join a skete or become a solitary, in general, Orthodox monastics have little or no contact with the outside world, including their own families
12.
Antioch
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Antioch on the Orontes was an ancient Greco-Roman city on the eastern side of the Orontes River. Its ruins lie near the city of Antakya, Turkey. Antioch was founded near the end of the 4th century BC by Seleucus I Nicator, the citys geographical, military, and economic location benefited its occupants, particularly such features as the spice trade, the Silk Road, and the Persian Royal Road. It eventually rivaled Alexandria as the city of the Near East. It was also the center of Hellenistic Judaism at the end of the Second Temple period. Most of the development of Antioch was done during the Roman Empire. Antioch was called the cradle of Christianity as a result of its longevity, the Christian New Testament asserts that the name Christian first emerged in Antioch. It was one of the four cities of the Syrian tetrapolis, a single route proceeds south in the Orontes valley. The settlement of Meroe pre-dated Antioch, a shrine of the Semitic goddess Anat, called by Herodotus the Persian Artemis, was located here. This site was included in the suburbs of Antioch. There was a village on the spur of Mount Silpius named Io and this name was always adduced as evidence by Antiochenes anxious to affiliate themselves to the Attic Ionians—an eagerness which is illustrated by the Athenian types used on the citys coins. Io may have been an early colony of trading Greeks. John Malalas also mentions a village, Bottia, in the plain by the river. Macedonian ruler Alexander the Great is said to have camped on the site of Antioch and this account is found only in the writings of Libanius, a 4th-century orator from Antioch, and may be legend intended to enhance Antiochs status. But the story is not unlikely in itself, after Alexanders death in 323 BC, his generals divided up the territory he had conquered. Seleucus I Nicator won the territory of Syria, and he proceeded to found four sister cities in northwestern Syria, one of which was Antioch and he is reputed to have built sixteen Antiochs. Seleucus founded Antioch on a site chosen through ritual means, an eagle, the bird of Zeus, had been given a piece of sacrificial meat and the city was founded on the site to which the eagle carried the offering. Seleucus did this on the 22nd day of the month of Artemisios in the year of his reign
13.
God
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In monotheism, God is conceived of as the Supreme Being and principal object of faith. The concept of God as described by most theologians includes the attributes of omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, divine simplicity, many theologians also describe God as being omnibenevolent and all loving. Furthermore, some religions attribute only a purely grammatical gender to God, incorporeity and corporeity of God are related to conceptions of transcendence and immanence of God, with positions of synthesis such as the immanent transcendence of Chinese theology. God has been conceived as personal or impersonal. In theism, God is the creator and sustainer of the universe, while in deism, God is the creator, in pantheism, God is the universe itself. In atheism, God is not believed to exist, while God is deemed unknown or unknowable within the context of agnosticism, God has also been conceived as the source of all moral obligation, and the greatest conceivable existent. Many notable philosophers have developed arguments for and against the existence of God, there are many names for God, and different names are attached to different cultural ideas about Gods identity and attributes. In the ancient Egyptian era of Atenism, possibly the earliest recorded monotheistic religion, this deity was called Aten, premised on being the one true Supreme Being and creator of the universe. In the Hebrew Bible and Judaism, He Who Is, I Am that I Am, in the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, God, consubstantial in three persons, is called the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In Judaism, it is common to refer to God by the titular names Elohim or Adonai, in Islam, the name Allah is used, while Muslims also have a multitude of titular names for God. In Hinduism, Brahman is often considered a concept of God. In Chinese religion, God is conceived as the progenitor of the universe, intrinsic to it, other religions have names for God, for instance, Baha in the Baháí Faith, Waheguru in Sikhism, and Ahura Mazda in Zoroastrianism. The earliest written form of the Germanic word God comes from the 6th-century Christian Codex Argenteus, the English word itself is derived from the Proto-Germanic * ǥuđan. The reconstructed Proto-Indo-European form * ǵhu-tó-m was likely based on the root * ǵhau-, in the English language, the capitalized form of God continues to represent a distinction between monotheistic God and gods in polytheism. The same holds for Hebrew El, but in Judaism, God is also given a proper name, in many translations of the Bible, when the word LORD is in all capitals, it signifies that the word represents the tetragrammaton. Allāh is the Arabic term with no plural used by Muslims and Arabic speaking Christians and Jews meaning The God, Ahura Mazda is the name for God used in Zoroastrianism. Mazda, or rather the Avestan stem-form Mazdā-, nominative Mazdå and it is generally taken to be the proper name of the spirit, and like its Sanskrit cognate medhā, means intelligence or wisdom. Both the Avestan and Sanskrit words reflect Proto-Indo-Iranian *mazdhā-, from Proto-Indo-European mn̩sdʰeh1, literally meaning placing ones mind, Waheguru is a term most often used in Sikhism to refer to God
14.
Basilica
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The Latin word basilica has three distinct applications in modern English. The word was used to describe an ancient Roman public building where courts were held, as well as serving other official. To a large extent these were the halls of ancient Roman life. The basilica was centrally located in every Roman town, usually adjacent to the main forum, later, the term came to refer specifically to a large and important Roman Catholic church that has been given special ceremonial rights by the Pope. Roman Catholic basilicas are Catholic pilgrimage sites, receiving tens of millions of visitors per year. In December 2009 the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City set a new record with 6.1 million pilgrims during Friday and Saturday for the anniversary of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The Roman basilica was a public building where business or legal matters could be transacted. The first basilicas had no function at all. The central aisle tended to be wide and was higher than the flanking aisles, the oldest known basilica, the Basilica Porcia, was built in Rome in 184 BC by Cato the Elder during the time he was Censor. Other early examples include the basilica at Pompeii, probably the most splendid Roman basilica is the one begun for traditional purposes during the reign of the pagan emperor Maxentius and finished by Constantine I after 313 AD. In the 3rd century AD, the elite appeared less frequently in the forums. They now tended to dominate their cities from opulent palaces and country villas, rather than retreats from public life, however, these residences were the forum made private. Seated in the tribune of his basilica, the man would meet his dependent clientes early every morning. A private basilica excavated at Bulla Regia, in the House of the Hunt and its reception or audience hall is a long rectangular nave-like space, flanked by dependent rooms that mostly also open into one another, ending in a semi-circular apse, with matching transept spaces. Clustered columns emphasised the crossing of the two axes, the remains of a large subterranean Neopythagorean basilica dating from the 1st century AD were found near the Porta Maggiore in Rome in 1915. The ground-plan of Christian basilicas in the 4th century was similar to that of this Neopythagorean basilica, the usable model at hand, when Constantine wanted to memorialise his imperial piety, was the familiar conventional architecture of the basilicas. In, and often also in front of, the apse was a platform, where the altar was placed. Constantine built a basilica of this type in his complex at Trier, later very easily adopted for use as a church
15.
Octagon
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In geometry, an octagon is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon. A regular octagon has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a truncated square, t. A truncated octagon, t is a hexadecagon, t, the sum of all the internal angles of any octagon is 1080°. As with all polygons, the external angles total 360°, the midpoint octagon of a reference octagon has its eight vertices at the midpoints of the sides of the reference octagon. A regular octagon is a figure with sides of the same length. It has eight lines of symmetry and rotational symmetry of order 8. A regular octagon is represented by the Schläfli symbol, the internal angle at each vertex of a regular octagon is 135°. The area of an octagon of side length a is given by A =2 cot π8 a 2 =2 a 2 ≃4.828 a 2. In terms of the circumradius R, the area is A =4 sin π4 R2 =22 R2 ≃2.828 R2. In terms of the r, the area is A =8 tan π8 r 2 =8 r 2 ≃3.314 r 2. These last two coefficients bracket the value of pi, the area of the unit circle. The area can also be expressed as A = S2 − a 2, where S is the span of the octagon, or the second-shortest diagonal, and a is the length of one of the sides, or bases. This is easily proven if one takes an octagon, draws a square around the outside and then takes the corner triangles and places them with right angles pointed inward, the edges of this square are each the length of the base. Given the length of a side a, the span S is S = a 2 + a + a 2 = a ≈2.414 a. The area is then as above, A =2 − a 2 =2 a 2 ≈4.828 a 2, expressed in terms of the span, the area is A =2 S2 ≈0.828 S2. Another simple formula for the area is A =2 a S, more often the span S is known, and the length of the sides, a, is to be determined, as when cutting a square piece of material into a regular octagon. From the above, a ≈ S /2.414, the two end lengths e on each side, as well as being e = a /2, may be calculated as e = /2. The circumradius of the octagon in terms of the side length a is R = a
16.
Hagia Sophia
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Hagia Sophia was a Greek Orthodox Christian patriarchal basilica, later an imperial mosque, and now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey. The building was converted into an Ottoman mosque from 29 May 1453 until 1931. It was then secularized and opened as a museum on 1 February 1935, famous in particular for its massive dome, it is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture and is said to have changed the history of architecture. It remained the worlds largest cathedral for nearly a thousand years and it was designed by the Greek geometers Isidore of Miletus and Anthemius of Tralles. The church contained a collection of relics and featured, among other things. In 1453, Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman Empire under Mehmed the Conqueror, by that point, the church had fallen into a state of disrepair. Nevertheless, the Christian cathedral made an impression on the new Ottoman rulers. Islamic features—such as the mihrab, minbar, and four minarets—were added and it remained a mosque until 1931, when it was closed to the public for four years. It was re-opened in 1935 as a museum by the Republic of Turkey, Hagia Sophia was, as of 2014, the second-most visited museum in Turkey, attracting almost 3.3 million visitors annually. According to data released by the Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry, from its initial conversion until the construction of the nearby Sultan Ahmed Mosque in 1616, it was the principal mosque of Istanbul. The first church on the site was known as the Μεγάλη Ἐκκλησία, or in Latin Magna Ecclesia, inaugurated on 15 February 360 by the Arian bishop Eudoxius of Antioch, it was built next to the area where the imperial palace was being developed. The nearby Hagia Eirene church was completed earlier and served as cathedral until the Great Church was completed, both churches acted together as the principal churches of the Byzantine Empire. Writing in 440, Socrates of Constantinople claimed that the church was built by Constantius II, a tradition which is not older than the 7th or 8th century, reports that the edifice was built by Constantine the Great. Zonaras reconciles the two opinions, writing that Constantius had repaired the edifice consecrated by Eusebius of Nicomedia, after it had collapsed. Since Eusebius was bishop of Constantinople from 339 to 341, and Constantine died in 337, the edifice was built as a traditional Latin colonnaded basilica with galleries and a wooden roof. It was preceded by an atrium and it was claimed to be one of the worlds most outstanding monuments at the time. The Patriarch of Constantinople John Chrysostom came into a conflict with Empress Aelia Eudoxia, wife of the emperor Arcadius, during the subsequent riots, this first church was largely burned down. Nothing remains of the first church today, a second church on the site was ordered by Theodosius II, who inaugurated it on 10 October 415
17.
Constantinople
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Constantinople was the capital city of the Roman/Byzantine Empire, and also of the brief Latin, and the later Ottoman empires. It was reinaugurated in 324 AD from ancient Byzantium as the new capital of the Roman Empire by Emperor Constantine the Great, after whom it was named, Constantinople was famed for its massive and complex defences. The first wall of the city was erected by Constantine I, Constantinople never truly recovered from the devastation of the Fourth Crusade and the decades of misrule by the Latins. The origins of the name of Byzantion, more known by the later Latin Byzantium, are not entirely clear. The founding myth of the city has it told that the settlement was named after the leader of the Megarian colonists, Byzas. The later Byzantines of Constantinople themselves would maintain that the city was named in honour of two men, Byzas and Antes, though this was likely just a play on the word Byzantion. During this time, the city was also called Second Rome, Eastern Rome, and Roma Constantinopolitana. As the city became the remaining capital of the Roman Empire after the fall of the West, and its wealth, population, and influence grew. In the language of other peoples, Constantinople was referred to just as reverently, the medieval Vikings, who had contacts with the empire through their expansion in eastern Europe used the Old Norse name Miklagarðr, and later Miklagard and Miklagarth. In Arabic, the city was sometimes called Rūmiyyat al-kubra and in Persian as Takht-e Rum, in East and South Slavic languages, including in medieval Russia, Constantinople was referred to as Tsargrad or Carigrad, City of the Caesar, from the Slavonic words tsar and grad. This was presumably a calque on a Greek phrase such as Βασιλέως Πόλις, the modern Turkish name for the city, İstanbul, derives from the Greek phrase eis tin polin, meaning into the city or to the city. In 1928, the Turkish alphabet was changed from Arabic script to Latin script, in time the city came to be known as Istanbul and its variations in most world languages. In Greece today, the city is still called Konstantinoúpolis/Konstantinoúpoli or simply just the City, apart from this, little is known about this initial settlement, except that it was abandoned by the time the Megarian colonists settled the site anew. A farsighted treaty with the emergent power of Rome in c.150 BC which stipulated tribute in exchange for independent status allowed it to enter Roman rule unscathed. The site lay astride the land route from Europe to Asia and the seaway from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean, and had in the Golden Horn an excellent and spacious harbour. He would later rebuild Byzantium towards the end of his reign, in which it would be briefly renamed Augusta Antonina, fortifying it with a new city wall in his name, Constantine had altogether more colourful plans. Rome was too far from the frontiers, and hence from the armies and the imperial courts, yet it had been the capital of the state for over a thousand years, and it might have seemed unthinkable to suggest that the capital be moved to a different location. Constantinople was built over 6 years, and consecrated on 11 May 330, Constantine divided the expanded city, like Rome, into 14 regions, and ornamented it with public works worthy of an imperial metropolis
18.
Dead Cities
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The Dead Cities or Forgotten Cities are a group of 700 abandoned settlements in northwest Syria between Aleppo and Idlib. Around 40 villages grouped in eight archaeological parks situated in north-western Syria provide an insight into life in Late Antiquity. Most villages which date from the 1st to 7th centuries, became abandoned between the 8th and 10th centuries, the settlements feature the well-preserved architectural remains of dwellings, pagan temples, churches, cisterns, bathhouses etc. Important dead cities include the Church of Saint Simeon Stylites, Serjilla, the Dead Cities are situated in an elevated area of limestone known as Limestone Massif. These ancient settlements cover an area 20–40 km wide and some 140 km long, the impressive remains of domestic architecture are the result of the prosperity of peasants who benefited from a strong international trade in olive oil at the end of Antiquity. Another argument is that these were prosperous cities that flourished because they were located along trade routes in the Byzantine Empire. After conquest by the Arabs, the trade routes changed, on this view, settlers eventually abandoned their towns and headed for other cities that were flourishing under the Arabs and the Umayyads as increasing urbanisation took its toll. The ancient villages of the Dead Cities illustrate the transition from the ancient pagan world of the Roman Empire to Byzantine Christianity, however, the local inhabitants are always welcoming to visitors. Recently, most sites became easily accessible since many roads have been asphalted, Dead Cites were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011, under the name of Ancient Villages of Northern Syria
19.
Cathedral
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A cathedral is a Christian church which contains the seat of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. The counterpart term for such a church in German is Dom from Latin domus ecclesiae or domus episcopalis, also Italian Duomo, Dutch Domkerk, when the church at which an archbishop or metropolitan presides is specifically intended, the term kathedrikos naos is used. In addition, both the Catholic Church and Orthodox churches have formed new dioceses within formerly Protestant lands for converts, consequently, it is not uncommon to find Christians in a single city being served by three or more cathedrals of differing denominations. In the Catholic tradition, the term cathedral correctly applies only to a church houses the seat of the bishop of a diocese. The abbey church of a territorial abbacy serves the same function, the Catholic Church also uses the following terms. A pro-cathedral is a parish or other church used temporarily as a cathedral, usually while the cathedral of a diocese is under construction, renovation and this designation applies only as long as the temporary use continues. A co-cathedral is a cathedral in a diocese that has two sees. A proto-cathedral is the cathedral of a transferred see. The cathedral church of a bishop is called the metropolitan cathedral. The term cathedral actually carries no implication as to the size or ornateness of the building, nevertheless, most cathedrals are particularly impressive edifices. The building is now under renovation and restoration for solemn dedication under the title Christ Cathedral in 2018, in the ancient world the chair, on a raised dais, was the distinctive mark of a teacher or rhetor and thus symbolises the bishops role as teacher. A raised throne within a hall was also definitive for a Late Antique presiding magistrate. The history of cathedrals starts in the year 313, when the emperor Constantine the Great personally adopted Christianity, in the third century, the phrase ascending the platform, ad pulpitum venire, becomes the standard term for Christian ordination. During the siege of Dura Europos in 256, a complete Christian house church, or domus ecclesiae was entombed in a bank, surviving when excavated. Otherwise the large room had no decoration or distinctive features at all, in 269, soon after Dura fell to the Persian army, a body of clerics assembled a charge sheet against the bishop of Antioch, Paul of Samosata, in the form of an open letter. Characteristically a Roman magistrate presided from a throne in a large, richly decorated and aisled rectangular hall called a basilica. The earliest of these new basilican cathedrals of which remains are still visible is below the Cathedral of Aquileia on the northern tip of the Adriatic sea. The three halls create a courtyard, in which was originally located a separate baptistery
20.
Middle Ages
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In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or Medieval Period lasted from the 5th to the 15th century. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and merged into the Renaissance, the Middle Ages is the middle period of the three traditional divisions of Western history, classical antiquity, the medieval period, and the modern period. The medieval period is subdivided into the Early, High. Population decline, counterurbanisation, invasion, and movement of peoples, the large-scale movements of the Migration Period, including various Germanic peoples, formed new kingdoms in what remained of the Western Roman Empire. In the seventh century, North Africa and the Middle East—once part of the Byzantine Empire—came under the rule of the Umayyad Caliphate, although there were substantial changes in society and political structures, the break with classical antiquity was not complete. The still-sizeable Byzantine Empire survived in the east and remained a major power, the empires law code, the Corpus Juris Civilis or Code of Justinian, was rediscovered in Northern Italy in 1070 and became widely admired later in the Middle Ages. In the West, most kingdoms incorporated the few extant Roman institutions, monasteries were founded as campaigns to Christianise pagan Europe continued. The Franks, under the Carolingian dynasty, briefly established the Carolingian Empire during the later 8th, the Crusades, first preached in 1095, were military attempts by Western European Christians to regain control of the Holy Land from Muslims. Kings became the heads of centralised nation states, reducing crime and violence, intellectual life was marked by scholasticism, a philosophy that emphasised joining faith to reason, and by the founding of universities. Controversy, heresy, and the Western Schism within the Catholic Church paralleled the conflict, civil strife. Cultural and technological developments transformed European society, concluding the Late Middle Ages, the Middle Ages is one of the three major periods in the most enduring scheme for analysing European history, classical civilisation, or Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the Modern Period. Medieval writers divided history into periods such as the Six Ages or the Four Empires, when referring to their own times, they spoke of them as being modern. In the 1330s, the humanist and poet Petrarch referred to pre-Christian times as antiqua, leonardo Bruni was the first historian to use tripartite periodisation in his History of the Florentine People. Bruni and later argued that Italy had recovered since Petrarchs time. The Middle Ages first appears in Latin in 1469 as media tempestas or middle season, in early usage, there were many variants, including medium aevum, or middle age, first recorded in 1604, and media saecula, or middle ages, first recorded in 1625. The alternative term medieval derives from medium aevum, tripartite periodisation became standard after the German 17th-century historian Christoph Cellarius divided history into three periods, Ancient, Medieval, and Modern. The most commonly given starting point for the Middle Ages is 476, for Europe as a whole,1500 is often considered to be the end of the Middle Ages, but there is no universally agreed upon end date. English historians often use the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485 to mark the end of the period
21.
Europe
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Europe is a continent that comprises the westernmost part of Eurasia. Europe is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, yet the non-oceanic borders of Europe—a concept dating back to classical antiquity—are arbitrary. Europe covers about 10,180,000 square kilometres, or 2% of the Earths surface, politically, Europe is divided into about fifty sovereign states of which the Russian Federation is the largest and most populous, spanning 39% of the continent and comprising 15% of its population. Europe had a population of about 740 million as of 2015. Further from the sea, seasonal differences are more noticeable than close to the coast, Europe, in particular ancient Greece, was the birthplace of Western civilization. The fall of the Western Roman Empire, during the period, marked the end of ancient history. Renaissance humanism, exploration, art, and science led to the modern era, from the Age of Discovery onwards, Europe played a predominant role in global affairs. Between the 16th and 20th centuries, European powers controlled at times the Americas, most of Africa, Oceania. The Industrial Revolution, which began in Great Britain at the end of the 18th century, gave rise to economic, cultural, and social change in Western Europe. During the Cold War, Europe was divided along the Iron Curtain between NATO in the west and the Warsaw Pact in the east, until the revolutions of 1989 and fall of the Berlin Wall. In 1955, the Council of Europe was formed following a speech by Sir Winston Churchill and it includes all states except for Belarus, Kazakhstan and Vatican City. Further European integration by some states led to the formation of the European Union, the EU originated in Western Europe but has been expanding eastward since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. The European Anthem is Ode to Joy and states celebrate peace, in classical Greek mythology, Europa is the name of either a Phoenician princess or of a queen of Crete. The name contains the elements εὐρύς, wide, broad and ὤψ eye, broad has been an epithet of Earth herself in the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European religion and the poetry devoted to it. For the second part also the divine attributes of grey-eyed Athena or ox-eyed Hera. The same naming motive according to cartographic convention appears in Greek Ανατολή, Martin Litchfield West stated that phonologically, the match between Europas name and any form of the Semitic word is very poor. Next to these there is also a Proto-Indo-European root *h1regʷos, meaning darkness. Most major world languages use words derived from Eurṓpē or Europa to refer to the continent, in some Turkic languages the originally Persian name Frangistan is used casually in referring to much of Europe, besides official names such as Avrupa or Evropa
22.
Imperialism
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Imperialism is an action that involves a country extending its power by the acquisition of territories. It may also include the exploitation of these territories, an action that is linked to colonialism, colonialism is generally regarded as an expression of imperialism. However, both are examples of imperialism, the word imperialism originated from the Latin word imperium, which means supreme power. It first became common in Great Britain, during the 1870s and was used with a negative connotation, the term was and is mainly applied to Western political and economic dominance, especially in Asia and Africa, in the 19th and 20th centuries. Its precise meaning continues to be debated by scholars, some writers, such as Edward Said, use the term more broadly to describe any system of domination and subordination organised with an imperial center and a periphery. This definition encompasses both nominal empires and neocolonialism, the word empire comes from the Latin word imperium, for which the closest modern English equivalent would perhaps be sovereignty, or simply rule. The greatest distinction of an empire is through the amount of land that a nation has conquered and expanded, Political power grew from conquering land, however cultural and economic aspects flourished through sea and trade routes. A distinction about empires is that although political empires were built mostly by expansion overland, economic, some of the main aspects of trade that went overseas consisted of animals and plant products. European empires in Asia and Africa have come to be seen as the forms of imperialism. European expansion caused the world to be divided by how developed, the two main regions are the core and the periphery. The core consists of areas of income and profit, the periphery is on the opposing side of the spectrum consisting of areas of low income. These critical theories of Geo-politics have led to increased discussion of the meaning and this idea from Lenin stresses how important new political world order has become in our modern era. Geopolitics now focuses on states becoming major players in the market, some states today are viewed as empires due to their political. The term imperialism is often conflated with colonialism, however scholars have argued that each have their own distinct definition. Imperialism and colonialism have been used in order to describe ones superiority, domination, colonialism in modern usage also tends to imply a degree of geographic separation between the colony and the imperial power. Thus it can be said that imperialism includes some form of colonialism, colonialism is seen to be the architect deciding how to start dominating areas and then imperialism can be seen as creating the idea behind conquest cooperating with colonialism. Colonialism is when the imperial nation begins a conquest over an area, colonialisms core meaning is the exploitation of the valuable assets and supplies of the nation that was conquered and the conquering nation then gaining the benefits from the spoils of the war. The meaning of imperialism is to create an empire, by conquering the states lands
23.
Demography of the Roman Empire
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Demographically, the Roman Empire was an ordinary premodern state. It had high infant mortality, a low marriage age, perhaps half of Roman subjects died by the age of 5. Of those still alive at age 10, half would die by the age of 50, Roman women could expect to bear on average 6 to 9 children. At its peak, after the Antonine Plague of the 160s CE, it had a population of about 60-70 million, in contrast to the European societies of the classical and medieval periods, Rome had unusually high urbanization rates. During the 2nd century CE, the city of Rome had more than one million inhabitants, no Western city would have as many again until the 19th century. For the lands around the Mediterranean Sea and their hinterlands, the period from the second millennium BCE to the early first millennium CE was one of population growth. Growth was slower around the eastern Mediterranean, which was more developed at the beginning of the period. By comparison, what is now the territory of China experienced 0.1 per cent annual growth from 1 CE to 1800 CE, there are no reliable surviving records for the general demography of the Roman Empire. There are no detailed records, such as underlie the demographic study of early modern Europe. Large numbers of impressionistic, moralizing, and anecdotal observations on demography survive from the literary sources and they are of little use in the study of Roman demography, which tends to rely instead on conjecture and comparison, rather than records and observations. When the high infant mortality rate is factored in inhabitants of the Roman Empire had a life expectancy at birth of about 25 years, however, when infant mortality is factored out, life expectancy is doubled to the late-50s. If a Roman survived infancy to their mid-teens, they could, on average, expect near six decades of life, although of course many lived much longer or shorter lives for varied reasons. Although this figure relies more on conjecture than ancient evidence, which is sparse and of dubious quality and it originates in cross-country comparison, given the known social and economic conditions of the Roman Empire, we should expect a life expectancy near the lower bound of known pre-modern populations. Roman demography bears comparison to data for India and rural China in the early 20th century. About 300 census returns filed in Egypt in the first three centuries CE survive, Frier have used them to build female and male age distributions, which show life expectancies at birth of between 22 and 25 years, results broadly consistent with model life tables. Other sources used for population reconstructions include cemetery skeletons, Roman tombstones in North Africa, as no population for which accurate observations survive has such a low life expectancy, model life tables must be used to understand this populations age demography. These models, based on data, describe typical populations at different levels of mortality. For his demographic synopsis of the Roman Empire, Bruce Frier used the Model West framework, as it is the most generalized, because it is based on only one empirical input, the model life table can provide only a very approximate picture of Roman demography
24.
Baptistery
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In Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistry is the separate centrally planned structure surrounding the baptismal font. The baptistery may be incorporated within the body of a church or cathedral, in the early Church, the catechumens were instructed and the sacrament of baptism was administered in the baptistery. The sacramental importance and sometimes architectural splendor of the baptistery reflect the importance of baptism to Christians. The octagonal plan of the Lateran Baptistery, the first structure built as a baptistery, provided a widely followed model. In a narthex or anteroom the catechumens were instructed and made their confession of faith before baptism, the main interior space centered upon the baptismal font, in which those to be baptized were immersed thrice. Three steps led down to the floor of the font, the iconography of frescos or mosaics on the walls were commonly of the scenes in the life of Saint John the Baptist. The font was at first always of stone, but latterly metals were often used, the Lateran baptisterys font was fed by a natural spring. When the site had been the dwelling of the Laterani, before Constantine presented it to Bishop Miltiades. It will be quickly apprehended that as the requirements for Christian baptisteries expanded, there are also examples of the transition from miraculous springs to baptisteries from Gregory of Tours and Maximus, bishop of Turin. Baptisteries belong to a period of the church when great numbers of adult catechumens were baptized, after the 9th century, with infant baptism increasingly the rule, few baptisteries were built. Some of the older baptisteries were very large, so large that we hear of councils, during the months when there were no baptisms the baptistery doors were sealed with the bishops seal, a method of controlling the orthodoxy of all baptism in the diocese. Some baptisteries were divided into two parts to separate the sexes, sometimes the church had two baptisteries, one for each sex, a fireplace was often provided to warm the neophytes after immersion. Though baptisteries were forbidden to be used as burial-places by the Council of Auxerre they were not uncommonly used as such, the Florentine Antipope John XXIII was buried in the Baptistery facing Florences Duomo with great ceremony and a tomb erected. Many of the archbishops of Canterbury were buried in the baptistery at Canterbury. Baptisteries, we find from the records of early councils, were first built, as soon as Christianity made such progress that baptism became the rule, and as soon as immersion gave place to sprinkling, the ancient baptisteries were no longer necessary. They are still in use, however, in Florence. The baptistery of the Lateran must be the earliest ecclesiastical building still in use, a large part of it remains as built by Constantine. Attached to one side, towards the Lateran basilica, is a porch with two noble porphyry columns and richly carved capitals, bases and entablatures
25.
Arch
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An arch is a curved structure that spans a space and may or may not support weight above it. Arch may be synonymous with vault, but a vault may be distinguished as a continuous arch forming a roof, an arch is a pure compression form. It can span an area by resolving forces into compressive stresses and. This is sometimes referred to as arch action, as the forces in the arch are carried to the ground, the arch will push outward at the base, called thrust. As the rise, or height of the arch decreases, the outward thrust increases, in order to maintain arch action and prevent the arch from collapsing, the thrust needs to be restrained, either with internal ties or external bracing, such as abutments. The most common true arch configurations are the arch, the two-hinged arch. The fixed arch is most often used in reinforced concrete bridge and tunnel construction, because it is subject to additional internal stress caused by thermal expansion and contraction, this type of arch is considered to be statically indeterminate. The two-hinged arch is most often used to long spans. This type of arch has pinned connections at the base, unlike the fixed arch, the pinned base is able to rotate, allowing the structure to move freely and compensate for the thermal expansion and contraction caused by changes in outdoor temperature. However, this can result in additional stresses, so the two-hinged arch is also statically indeterminate, the three-hinged arch is not only hinged at its base, like the two-hinged arch, but at the mid-span as well. The additional connection at the mid-span allows the arch to move in two opposite directions and compensate for any expansion and contraction. This type of arch is not subject to additional stress caused by thermal change. The three-hinged arch is said to be statically determinate. It is most often used for structures, such as large building roofs. Another advantage of the arch is that the pinned bases are more easily developed than fixed ones, allowing for shallow. Arches have many forms, but all fall into three categories, circular, pointed, and parabolic. Arches can also be configured to produce vaults and arcades, Arches with a circular form, also referred to as rounded arches, were commonly employed by the builders of ancient, heavy masonry arches. Ancient Roman builders relied heavily on the arch to span large
26.
Tomb
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A tomb is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber and its central feature is a single, prominent pillar or column, often made of stone. Sarcophagus – a stone container for a body or coffin, often decorated and perhaps part of a monument, sepulchre – a cavernous rock-cut space for interment, generally in the Jewish or Christian faiths. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, Hügelgräber or kurgans, a cairn, might also be originally a tumulus. A long barrow is a tumulus, usually for numbers of burials. As indicated, tombs are located in or under religious buildings, such as churches. However, they may also be found in catacombs, on land or, in the case of early or pre-historic tombs. The tomb of Emperor Nintoku is the largest in the world by area, however, the Pyramid of Khufu in Egypt is the largest by volume
27.
Chapel
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The term chapel usually refers to a place of prayer and worship that is attached to a larger, often nonreligious institution or that is considered an extension of a primary religious institution. Chapel has also referred to independent or nonconformist places of worship in Great Britain—outside of the established church, the earliest Christian places of worship are now often referred to as chapels, as they were not dedicated buildings but rather a dedicated chamber within a building. Most larger churches had one or more secondary altars, which if they occupied a distinct space, in Russian Orthodox tradition, the chapels were built underneath city gates, where most people could visit them. The most famous example is the Iberian Chapel, although chapels frequently refer to Christian places of worship, they are also commonly found in Jewish synagogues and do not necessarily connote a specific denomination. In England—where the Church of England is established by law—non-denominational or inter-faith chapels in such institutions may nonetheless be consecrated by the local Anglican bishop, non-denominational chapels are commonly encountered as part of a non-religious institution such as a hospital, airport, university or prison. Many military installations have chapels for the use of military personnel, the earliest Christian places of worship were not dedicated buildings but rather a dedicated chamber within a building, such as a room in an individuals home. Here one or two people could pray without being part of a communion/congregation, people who like to use chapels may find it peaceful and relaxing to be away from the stress of life, without other people moving around them. The word, chapel, like the word, chaplain, is ultimately derived from Latin. The other half he wore over his shoulders as a small cape, the beggar, the stories claim, was Christ in disguise, and Martin experienced a conversion of heart, becoming first a monk, then abbot, then bishop. This cape came into the possession of the Frankish kings, the tent which kept the cape was called the capella and the priests who said daily Mass in the tent were known as the capellani. From these words, via Old French, we get the names chapel, the word also appears in the Irish language in the Middle Ages, as Welsh people came with the Norman and Old English invaders to the island of Ireland. While the traditional Irish word for church was eaglais, a new word, séipéal, in British history, chapel or meeting house, was formerly the standard designation for church buildings belonging to independent or Nonconformist religious societies and their members. As a result, chapel is used as an adjective in the UK to describe the members of such churches. A proprietary chapel is one that belonged to a private person. In the 19th century they were common, often being built to cope with urbanisation, frequently they were set up by evangelical philanthropists with a vision of spreading Christianity in cities whose needs could no longer be met by the parishes. Some functioned more privately, with a wealthy person building a chapel so they could invite their favorite preachers and they are anomalies in the English ecclesiastical law, having no parish area, but being able to have an Anglican clergyman licensed there. Historically many Anglican Churches were Proprietary Chapels, over the years they have often been converted into normal Parishes. While the usage of the chapel is not exclusively limited to Christian terminology
28.
Jesus
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In Christology, the Person of Christ refers to the study of the human and divine natures of Jesus Christ as they co-exist within one person. There is no discussion in the New Testament regarding the dual nature of the Person of Christ as both divine and human. Hence, since the days of Christianity theologians have debated various approaches to the understanding of these natures. In the period following the Apostolic Age, specific beliefs such as Arianism and Docetism were criticized. On the other end of the spectrum, Docetism argued that Jesus physical body was an illusion, docetic teachings were attacked by St. Ignatius of Antioch and were eventually abandoned by proto-orthodox Christians. However, after the First Council of Nicaea in 325 the Logos, historically in the Alexandrian school of christology, Jesus Christ is the eternal Logos paradoxically humanized in history, a divine Person who became enfleshed, uniting himself to the human nature. The views of these schools can be summarized as follows, Alexandria, Antioch, Logos assumes a specific human being The First Council of Ephesus in 431 debated a number of views regarding the Person of Christ. At the same gathering the council debated the doctrines of monophysitism or miaphysitism. The council rejected Nestorianism and adopted the term hypostatic union, referring to divine, the language used in the 431 declaration was further refined at the 451 Council of Chalcedon. However, the Chalcedon creed was not accepted by all Christians, because Saint Augustine died in 430 he did not participate in the Council of Ephesus in 431 or Chalcedon in 451, but his ideas had some impact on both councils. On the other hand, the major theological figure of the Middle Ages. The Third Council of Constantinople in 680 held that both divine and human wills exist in Jesus, with the divine will having precedence, leading and guiding the human will. John Calvin maintained that there was no element in the Person of Christ which could be separated from the person of The Word. Calvin also emphasized the importance of the Work of Christ in any attempt at understanding the Person of Christ, the study of the Person of Christ continued into the 20th century, with modern theologians such as Karl Rahner and Hans von Balthasar. Balthasar argued that the union of the human and divine natures of Christ was achieved not by the absorption of human attributes, thus in his view the divine nature of Christ was not affected by the human attributes and remained forever divine
29.
Monastery
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A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone. A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which may be a chapel, church or temple, a monastery complex typically comprises a number of buildings which include a church, dormitory, cloister, refectory, library, balneary and infirmary. These may include a hospice, a school and a range of agricultural and manufacturing such as a barn. In English usage, the monastery is generally used to denote the buildings of a community of monks. In modern usage, convent tends to be applied only to institutions of female monastics, historically, a convent denoted a house of friars, now more commonly called a friary. Various religions may apply these terms in specific ways. The earliest extant use of the term monastērion is by the 1st century AD Jewish philosopher Philo in On The Contemplative Life, in England the word monastery was also applied to the habitation of a bishop and the cathedral clergy who lived apart from the lay community. Most cathedrals were not monasteries, and were served by canons secular, however, some were run by monasteries orders, such as York Minster. Westminster Abbey was for a time a cathedral, and was a Benedictine monastery until the Reformation. They are also to be distinguished from collegiate churches, such as St Georges Chapel, in most of this article, the term monastery is used generically to refer to any of a number of types of religious community. In the Roman Catholic religion and to some extent in certain branches of Buddhism, there is a more specific definition of the term. Buddhist monasteries are generally called vihara, viharas may be occupied by males or females, and in keeping with common English usage, a vihara populated by females may often be called a nunnery or a convent. However, vihara can also refer to a temple, in Tibetan Buddhism, monasteries are often called gompa. In Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, a monastery is called a wat, in Burma, a monastery is called a kyaung. A Christian monastery may be an abbey, or a priory and it may be a community of men or of women. A charterhouse is any monastery belonging to the Carthusian order, in Eastern Christianity, a very small monastic community can be called a skete, and a very large or important monastery can be given the dignity of a lavra. The great communal life of a Christian monastery is called cenobitic, as opposed to the life of an anchorite. In Hinduism monasteries are called matha, mandir, koil, or most commonly an ashram, jains use the Buddhist term vihara
30.
UNESCO
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The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations based in Paris. It is the heir of the League of Nations International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation, UNESCO has 195 member states and nine associate members. Most of its offices are cluster offices covering three or more countries, national and regional offices also exist. UNESCO pursues its objectives through five major programs, education, natural sciences, social/human sciences, culture and it is also a member of the United Nations Development Group. UNESCO and its mandate for international cooperation can be traced back to a League of Nations resolution on 21 September 1921, on 18 December 1925, the International Bureau of Education began work as a non-governmental organization in the service of international educational development. However, the work of predecessor organizations was largely interrupted by the onset of World War II. On 30 October 1943, the necessity for an organization was expressed in the Moscow Declaration, agreed upon by China, the United Kingdom, the United States. This was followed by the Dumbarton Oaks Conference proposals of 9 October 1944, a prominent figure in the initiative for UNESCO was Rab Butler, the Minister of Education for the United Kingdom. At the ECO/CONF, the Constitution of UNESCO was introduced and signed by 37 countries, the Preparatory Commission operated between 16 November 1945, and 4 November 1946—the date when UNESCOs Constitution came into force with the deposit of the twentieth ratification by a member state. The first General Conference took place between 19 November to 10 December 1946, and elected Dr. Julian Huxley to Director-General and this change in governance distinguished UNESCO from its predecessor, the CICI, in how member states would work together in the organizations fields of competence. In 1956, the Republic of South Africa withdrew from UNESCO claiming that some of the organizations publications amounted to interference in the racial problems. South Africa rejoined the organization in 1994 under the leadership of Nelson Mandela, UNESCOs early work in the field of education included the pilot project on fundamental education in the Marbial Valley, Haiti, started in 1947. This project was followed by missions to other countries, including, for example. In 1948, UNESCO recommended that Member States should make free primary education compulsory, in 1990, the World Conference on Education for All, in Jomtien, Thailand, launched a global movement to provide basic education for all children, youths and adults. Ten years later, the 2000 World Education Forum held in Dakar, Senegal, UNESCOs early activities in culture included, for example, the Nubia Campaign, launched in 1960. The purpose of the campaign was to move the Great Temple of Abu Simbel to keep it from being swamped by the Nile after construction of the Aswan Dam, during the 20-year campaign,22 monuments and architectural complexes were relocated. This was the first and largest in a series of campaigns including Mohenjo-daro, Fes, Kathmandu, Borobudur, the organizations work on heritage led to the adoption, in 1972, of the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. The World Heritage Committee was established in 1976 and the first sites inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1978, since then important legal instruments on cultural heritage and diversity have been adopted by UNESCO member states in 2003 and 2005
31.
Arabs
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Arabs are an ethnic group inhabiting the Arab world. They primarily live in the Arab states in Western Asia, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, the Arabs are first mentioned in the mid-ninth century BCE as a tribal people dwelling in the central Arabian Peninsula. The Arabs appear to have been under the vassalage of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, tradition holds that Arabs descend from Ishmael, the son of Abraham. The Arabian Desert is the birthplace of Arab, there are other Arab groups as well that spread in the land and existed for millennia. Before the expansion of the Caliphate, Arab referred to any of the largely nomadic Semitic people from the northern to the central Arabian Peninsula and Syrian Desert. Presently, Arab refers to a number of people whose native regions form the Arab world due to spread of Arabs throughout the region during the early Arab conquests of the 7th and 8th centuries. The Arabs forged the Rashidun, Umayyad and the Abbasid caliphates, whose borders reached southern France in the west, China in the east, Anatolia in the north, and this was one of the largest land empires in history. The Great Arab Revolt has had as big an impact on the modern Middle East as the World War I, the war signaled the end of the Ottoman Empire. They are modern states and became significant as distinct political entities after the fall and defeat, following adoption of the Alexandria Protocol in 1944, the Arab League was founded on 22 March 1945. The Charter of the Arab League endorsed the principle of an Arab homeland whilst respecting the sovereignty of its member states. Beyond the boundaries of the League of Arab States, Arabs can also be found in the global diaspora, the ties that bind Arabs are ethnic, linguistic, cultural, historical, identical, nationalist, geographical and political. The Arabs have their own customs, language, architecture, art, literature, music, dance, media, cuisine, dress, society, sports, the total number of Arabs are an estimated 450 million. This makes them the second largest ethnic group after the Han Chinese. Arabs are a group in terms of religious affiliations and practices. In the pre-Islamic era, most Arabs followed polytheistic religions, some tribes had adopted Christianity or Judaism, and a few individuals, the hanifs, apparently observed monotheism. Today, Arabs are mainly adherents of Islam, with sizable Christian minorities, Arab Muslims primarily belong to the Sunni, Shiite, Ibadi, Alawite, Druze and Ismaili denominations. Arab Christians generally follow one of the Eastern Christian Churches, such as the Maronite, Coptic Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, Greek Catholic, or Chaldean churches. Listed among the booty captured by the army of king Shalmaneser III of Assyria in the Battle of Qarqar are 1000 camels of Gi-in-di-buu the ar-ba-a-a or Gindibu belonging to the Arab
32.
Byzantine Empire
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It survived the fragmentation and fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD and continued to exist for an additional thousand years until it fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. During most of its existence, the empire was the most powerful economic, cultural, several signal events from the 4th to 6th centuries mark the period of transition during which the Roman Empires Greek East and Latin West divided. Constantine I reorganised the empire, made Constantinople the new capital, under Theodosius I, Christianity became the Empires official state religion and other religious practices were proscribed. Finally, under the reign of Heraclius, the Empires military, the borders of the Empire evolved significantly over its existence, as it went through several cycles of decline and recovery. During the reign of Maurice, the Empires eastern frontier was expanded, in a matter of years the Empire lost its richest provinces, Egypt and Syria, to the Arabs. This battle opened the way for the Turks to settle in Anatolia, the Empire recovered again during the Komnenian restoration, such that by the 12th century Constantinople was the largest and wealthiest European city. Despite the eventual recovery of Constantinople in 1261, the Byzantine Empire remained only one of several small states in the area for the final two centuries of its existence. Its remaining territories were annexed by the Ottomans over the 15th century. The Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 finally ended the Byzantine Empire, the term comes from Byzantium, the name of the city of Constantinople before it became Constantines capital. This older name of the city would rarely be used from this point onward except in historical or poetic contexts. The publication in 1648 of the Byzantine du Louvre, and in 1680 of Du Canges Historia Byzantina further popularised the use of Byzantine among French authors, however, it was not until the mid-19th century that the term came into general use in the Western world. The Byzantine Empire was known to its inhabitants as the Roman Empire, the Empire of the Romans, Romania, the Roman Republic, Graikia, and also as Rhōmais. The inhabitants called themselves Romaioi and Graikoi, and even as late as the 19th century Greeks typically referred to modern Greek as Romaika and Graikika. The authority of the Byzantine emperor as the legitimate Roman emperor was challenged by the coronation of Charlemagne as Imperator Augustus by Pope Leo III in the year 800. No such distinction existed in the Islamic and Slavic worlds, where the Empire was more seen as the continuation of the Roman Empire. In the Islamic world, the Roman Empire was known primarily as Rûm, the Roman army succeeded in conquering many territories covering the entire Mediterranean region and coastal regions in southwestern Europe and north Africa. These territories were home to different cultural groups, both urban populations and rural populations. The West also suffered heavily from the instability of the 3rd century AD
33.
Emir
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An Emir, sometimes transliterated Amir, Amier, or Ameer, is an aristocratic or noble title of high office used in a variety of places in the Arab countries and Afghanistan. It means commander, general, or prince, when translated as prince, the word emirate is analogous to a sovereign principality. Amir, meaning Lord or commander-in-chief, is derived from the Arabic root a-m-r, the word entered English in 1593, from the French émir. It was one of the titles or names of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, the monarchs of UAE, Qatar and Kuwait are currently titled Emirs. All members of the House of Saud have the title of Emir, the caliphs first used the title Amir al-Muminin or Commander of the Faithful, stressing their leadership over the Islamic Empire, especially over the militia. The title has been assumed by various other Muslim rulers, including Sultans, for Shia Muslims, they still give this title to the Caliph Ali as Amir al Muminin. Note that the title was held by Christians as well, the word Emir is also used less formally for leaders in certain contexts. For example, the leader of a group of pilgrims to Mecca is called an Emir hadji, where an adjectival form is necessary, Emiral suffices. Amirzade, the son of a prince, hence the Persian princely title Mirza, the temporal leader of the Yazidi people is known as an Emir or Prince. From the start, Emir has been a military title, in certain decimally-organized Muslim armies, Amir was an officer rank. For example, in Mughal India Amirs commanded 1000 horsemen, ten of them under one Malik, Muhammad Amin Bughra, Nur Ahmad Jan Bughra, and Abdullah Bughra declared themselves Emirs of the First East Turkestan Republic. Amir is a name in the Persian language and a prefix name for many masculine names such as Amir Ali. Amir-i-Iel designates the head of an Il in imperial Persia, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the female name Emira, often interpreted as princess, is a derivative of the male name Emir. Abdul Abulbul Amir, both character and song, wat Tambor in Star Wars, Episode II – Attack of the Clones took the title of Emir. In the Star Wars universe the title may relate to Tambors military command, Emir Karim, a character in Wild At Heart, a Latin American drama. Specific emirates of note List of emirs of Harar List of emirs of Kuwait List of emirs of Qatar List of Emirs of Mosul Emirate of Afghanistan
34.
Sa'd al-Dawla
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Sad al-Dawla Abu l-Maali Sharif, more commonly known by his laqab, Sad al-Dawla, was the second ruler of the Hamdanid Emirate of Aleppo, encompassing most of northern Syria. Facing a multitude of rebellions and desertions until 977, Sad was unable even to enter his own capital, in turn, Sad came to rely increasingly on Byzantine assistance, although he continued to fluctuate in his allegiance between Byzantium, the Buyids, and the Fatimids. Sad al-Dawla was the son of Sayf al-Dawla, the first Emir of Aleppo, and Sakhinah, at the time of his fathers death, in February 967, he was only fifteen, and resided at the emirates Jaziran capital, Mayyafariqin. Sad al-Dawla reached Aleppo, which for years had been governed by Sayf al-Dawlas chief minister and chamberlain, Qarquya, in June/July 967. Almost immediately he was confronted by a rebellion of his uncle, Abu Firas, at the governor of Homs. At the same time, Aleppo itself was threatened by the Byzantines, the Byzantines did not attack the city, but Qarquya and his fellow ghilman seized the moment to claim the city for themselves. Finally, he found refuge at Homs, in the meantime, many of his fathers old supporters left to join his cousin Abu Taghlib, Emir of Mosul, who used the opportunity to expand his own territory. Immediately after Sayf al-Dawlas death, he captured Raqqa, and by 971 extended his control over the provinces of Diyar Bakr, Sad al-Dawla, unable to offer any resistance, tacitly accepted these losses as well as his cousins suzerainty. The year 969 was a one in Syrian history, as it marked the climax of the Byzantine advance. In October, the generals Michael Bourtzes and Peter captured Antioch, at the same time, in Egypt, the Fatimids defeated the Ikhshidids and gained control of the country, from where they advanced into southern Syria. The competition between two powers, Byzantium and the Fatimids, would shape the history of Syria and of Aleppo for the next fifty years. It was not until 977 that Sad al-Dawla managed to regain his capital, which by now was under the control of Bakjur, who in 975 had deposed and imprisoned Qarquya. Aided by some of his fathers ghilman, and, crucially, Qarquya was set free and again entrusted with the affairs of state until his death a few years later, while Bakjur was given the governorship of Homs. At the same time, he received from the Abbasid Caliph—who was a puppet of the Buyids—the honorific laqab by which he is known. Bakjur, in the meantime, had used his new post at Homs to open contacts with the Fatimids, who intended to use him as a pawn to subdue Aleppo and complete their conquest of the entirety of Syria. His first attempt to free of the Byzantine protectorate, in 981, thus ended in failure due to lack of outside support. The Fatimids now induced Bakjur to act, and in September 983, Sad al-Dawla was forced to appeal to the Byzantine emperor Basil II for help, and the siege was raised by a Byzantine army under Bardas Phokas the Younger. The Byzantines then proceeded to sack Homs in October, the city was returned to Hamdanid control, while Bakjur fled to Fatimid territory, where he assumed the governorship of Damascus
35.
Turkey
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Turkey, officially the Republic of Turkey, is a transcontinental country in Eurasia, mainly in Anatolia in Western Asia, with a smaller portion on the Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. Turkey is a democratic, secular, unitary, parliamentary republic with a cultural heritage. The country is encircled by seas on three sides, the Aegean Sea is to the west, the Black Sea to the north, and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. The Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles, Ankara is the capital while Istanbul is the countrys largest city and main cultural and commercial centre. Approximately 70-80% of the countrys citizens identify themselves as ethnic Turks, other ethnic groups include legally recognised and unrecognised minorities. Kurds are the largest ethnic minority group, making up approximately 20% of the population, the area of Turkey has been inhabited since the Paleolithic by various ancient Anatolian civilisations, as well as Assyrians, Greeks, Thracians, Phrygians, Urartians and Armenians. After Alexander the Greats conquest, the area was Hellenized, a process continued under the Roman Empire. The Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm ruled Anatolia until the Mongol invasion in 1243, the empire reached the peak of its power in the 16th century, especially during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent. During the war, the Ottoman government committed genocides against its Armenian, Assyrian, following the war, the conglomeration of territories and peoples that formerly comprised the Ottoman Empire was partitioned into several new states. Turkey is a member of the UN, an early member of NATO. Turkeys growing economy and diplomatic initiatives have led to its recognition as a regional power while her location has given it geopolitical, the name of Turkey is based on the ethnonym Türk. The first recorded use of the term Türk or Türük as an autonym is contained in the Old Turkic inscriptions of the Göktürks of Central Asia, the English name Turkey first appeared in the late 14th century and is derived from Medieval Latin Turchia. Similarly, the medieval Khazar Empire, a Turkic state on the shores of the Black. The medieval Arabs referred to the Mamluk Sultanate as al-Dawla al-Turkiyya, the Ottoman Empire was sometimes referred to as Turkey or the Turkish Empire among its European contemporaries. The Anatolian peninsula, comprising most of modern Turkey, is one of the oldest permanently settled regions in the world, various ancient Anatolian populations have lived in Anatolia, from at least the Neolithic period until the Hellenistic period. Many of these peoples spoke the Anatolian languages, a branch of the larger Indo-European language family, in fact, given the antiquity of the Indo-European Hittite and Luwian languages, some scholars have proposed Anatolia as the hypothetical centre from which the Indo-European languages radiated. The European part of Turkey, called Eastern Thrace, has also been inhabited since at least forty years ago. It is the largest and best-preserved Neolithic site found to date, the settlement of Troy started in the Neolithic Age and continued into the Iron Age
36.
Bab al-Hawa Border Crossing
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The Bab al-Hawa Border Crossing is an international border crossing between Syria and Turkey. It is situated on the M45 Syrian Highway and D827 Turkish Highway between the cities of İskenderun and Aleppo, and is known for its lines of trucks. The closest town on the Turkish side of the border is Reyhanlı in the Hatay Province, the crossing is the site of a 6th-century triumphal arch. In the ongoing Syrian Civil War, it was a frequent place of crossing for Syrians trying to reach the camp in nearby Reyhanlı. Drivers complained in December 2011 that they had stalled at the crossing for days after customs officials stopped allowing vehicles with Turkish registrations to enter Syria. The crossing is a route for smuggling, particularly oil and gas. On 19 July 2012, Syrian rebels from the Free Syrian Army seized the border, on 22 July 2012, Turkish armed forces further restricted border crossings of their own nationals. In September 2012 foreign jihadis raised the flag of al-Qaida at the border post. On February 11,2013, a car bomb in a Syrian-registered minivan was detonated on the Turkish side of the crossing meters from the Cilvegözü customs office,13 people—including 3 Turkish civilians—were killed, while 28 others were wounded and 19 vehicles were damaged. The Turkish government has labeled the bombing a terrorist act, and said that Turkeys interior, justice and customs ministers would visit the area to help the investigation. On 7 December 2013, the Islamic Front took over the crossing from the Free Syrian Army, there is a monumental Roman archway in Bab al-Hawa that was part of a city wall. There is a complex of Byzantine architecture near the archway. It features a church along with large rectangular building. Bab al-Hawa - Archaeological Gate Links Syria and Turkey
37.
Kurdistan
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Kurdistan roughly encompasses the northwestern Zagros and the eastern Taurus mountain ranges. Contemporary use of the term refers to four parts of Kurdistan, which include southeastern Turkey, northern Syria, northern Iraq, and northwestern Iran. Iraqi Kurdistan first gained autonomous status in a 1970 agreement with the Iraqi government, there is a province by the name Kurdistan in Iran, it is not self-ruled. Kurds fighting in the Syrian Civil War were able to control of large sections of northern Syria as government forces, loyal to Bashar al-Assad. Having established their own government, they called for autonomy in a federal Syria after the war, various groups, among them the Guti, Hurrians, Mannai, and Armenians, lived in this region in antiquity. The original Mannaean homeland was situated east and south of the Lake Urmia, the region came under Persian rule during the reign of Cyrus the Great and Darius I. At its zenith, the Roman Empire ruled large Kurdish-inhabited areas, corduene became a vassal state of the Roman Republic in 66 BC and remained allied with the Romans until AD384. After 66 BC, it passed another 5 times between Rome and Persia, corduene was situated to the east of Tigranocerta, that is, to the east and south of present-day Diyarbakır in south-eastern Turkey. When the Sasanian Marzban asked Mar Abdisho about his place of origin, he replied that according to his parents, they were originally from Hazza, a village in Assyria. However they were driven out of Hazza by pagans, and settled in Tamanon. Tamanon lies just north of the modern Iraq-Turkey border, while Hazza is 12 km southwest of modern Erbil, in another passage in the same document, the region of the Khabur River is also identified as land of the Kurds. According to Al-Muqaddasi and Yaqut al-Hamawi, Tamanon was located on the south-western or southern slopes of Mount Judi, Kurdistan in the Middle Ages was a collection of semi-independent and independent states called emirates. It was nominally under indirect political or religious influence of Khalifs or Shahs, a comprehensive history of these states and their relationship with their neighbors is given in the text of Sharafnama, written by Prince Sharaf al-Din Bitlisi in 1597. The emirates included Baban, Soran, Badinan and Garmiyan in the south, Bakran, Bohtan and Badlis in the north, the earliest medieval attestation of the toponym Kurdistan is found in a 12th-century Armenian historical text by Matteos Urhayeci. He described a battle near Amid and Siverek in 1062 as to have taken place in Kurdistan, the second record occurs in the prayer from the colophon of an Armenian manuscript of the Gospels, written in 1200. A later use of the term Kurdistan is found in Empire of Trebizond documents in 1336 and in Nuzhat-al-Qulub, written by Hamdollah Mostowfi in 1340. According to Sharafkhan Bitlisi in his Sharafnama, the boundaries of the Kurdish land begin at the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf and stretch on a line to the end of Malatya. In the 16th century, after prolonged wars, Kurdish-inhabited areas were split between the Safavid and Ottoman empires, a major division of Kurdistan occurred in the aftermath of the Battle of Chaldiran in 1514, and was formalized in the 1639 Treaty of Zuhab
38.
People's Protection Units
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The Peoples Protection Units is a Kurdish militia in Syria and the primary component of Rojavas Syrian Democratic Forces. The YPG is mostly ethnically Kurdish, but it also includes Arabs, Western volunteers, and the Syriac Military Council, the YPG was formed in 2004 as the armed wing of the Kurdish leftist Democratic Union Party. It expanded rapidly in the Syrian Civil War and came to predominate over other armed Kurdish groups. In early 2015, the group won a victory over the Islamic State at the Siege of Kobanî. Since then, the YPG has primarily fought against ISIL, as well as on occasion fighting other Syrian rebel groups. In late 2015, the YPG founded the Syrian Democratic Forces upon the USs urging, as a group to better incorporate Arabs. The SDFs Raqqa offensive was launched in late 2016 to capture the Arab city of Raqqa, a light infantry force, the YPG has limited military equipment and few armored vehicles. They receive substantial air support from the United States and some support from Russia, the Democratic Union Party was founded in 2003 as one of many Kurdish opposition parties in the Syrian parliament. The PYD distinguished itself as the only Kurdish party that supported the Qamishli uprising in 2004. As a result, it was repressed in the years leading up to the Syrian Civil War. In 2016, Turkish government officials claimed that it was the branch of the PKK in Syria. YPG militias were first formed in 2004, after the Syrian government quashed a rebellion in its largest Kurdish-majority city, Qamishli and it did not emerge as a significant force until the Syrian revolt erupted in 2011, but had been organising clandestinely during the interim. Iraq-based PKK fighters, who were either from or had trained in Syrian Kurdistan, the YPG is considered the armed wing of the PYD. Other groups in the YPG include the Kurdish Democratic Progressive Party, in July 2012, the YPG had a standoff with Syrian government forces in the Kurdish city of Kobanî and the surrounding areas. After negotiations, government forces withdrew and the YPG took possession of Kobanî, Amuda, by December 2012, it had expanded to eight brigades, which were formed in Qamişlo, Kobanî, and Ras al-Ayn and in the districts of Afrin, Al-Malikiyah, and Al-Bab. The YPG did not initially take an offensive posture in the Syrian Civil War, aiming mostly to defend Kurdish-majority areas, it avoided engaging Syrian government forces, which still controlled several enclaves in Kurdish territory. The YPG changed this policy when Ras al-Ayn was taken by the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front, at first the YPG conquered the surrounding government-controlled areas, Al-Darbasiyah, Tel Tamer and Al-Malikiyah in order to prevent the FSA from gaining more power in the area. The subsequent Battle of Ras al-Ayn started in earnest when on 19 November 2012, the Al-Nusra Front, the battle ended with a YPG victory in July 2013
39.
Women's Protection Units
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The Womens Protection Units or Womens Defense Units is an all-female military organization, it includes Kurds, other Syrian ethnic groups, and Western volunteers. It was set up in 2012 as the equivalent of the Peoples Protection Units militia. The YPJ and YPG are the wing of the Democratic Union Party. The organization grew out of the Kurdish resistance movement, and as of late 2014 it had over 7,000 volunteer fighters between the ages of 18 and 40, by November 2016, the number of Arab and Kurdish YPJ fighters had reportedly risen to 20,000. The YPJ joined its brother organization, the YPG, in fighting against groups that showed intentions of bringing the Syrian Civil War to Kurdish-inhabited areas and it has come under increased attacks from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and was involved in the Siege of Kobanî. The YPJ relies on local communities for supplies and food, the group played a critical role in rescuing the thousands of Yazidis trapped on Mount Sinjar by ISIL fighters in August 2014. One fighter said, We need to control the area ourselves without depending on and they cant protect us from, we have to protect ourselves we defend everyone. No matter what race or religion they are, the YPJs ideology is democratic confederalism, as propounded by Abdullah Öcalan. The group has been praised by feminists for confronting traditional gender expectations, according to photographer Erin Trieb, the YPJ is a feminist movement, even if feminism is not their main mission. She asserted that they want equality between women and men, and a part of why they joined was to develop and advance the perceptions about women in their culture. The influence of the YPJ spread to the Assyrians in Syria when the Bethnahrain Womens Protection Forces was formed as an Assyrian all-female brigade of the Syriac Military Council, also the al-Bab Military Council, Jabhat al-Akrad and Jabhat Thuwar al-Raqqa have established their own female units. Various Kurdish media agencies indicate that YPJ troops have become vital in the battle against I. S. in Kobanî, YPJ achievements in Rojava have attracted considerable international attention as a rare example of strong female achievement in a region in which women are heavily repressed. Kurdish women Kurdistan Rojava Revolution Sinjar Protection Units Women in warfare and the military
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Government of Russia
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The Government of the Russian Federation exercises executive power in the Russian Federation, also known as the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic. The members of the government are the Prime Minister, the deputy ministers. It has its basis in the Constitution of the Russian Federation. According to the 1991 amendment to the 1978 Russian Constitution, the President of Russia was the head of the executive branch, according to the current 1993 Constitution of Russia, the President is not a part of the Government of Russia, which exercises executive power. But, the President does appoint the Prime Minister, after the fall of the Soviet Union, the Russian Council of Ministers had become the main executive body. At some points it contained over 69 state committees, 16–17 ministers,5 federal services, after the 2004 reform, government duties were split between 17 ministries,5 federal services, and over 30 governmental agencies. The Russian Federation practices asymmetrical federalism and this means that not all regions are treated fairly and that some regions have been given more autonomy than others. There are 7 super regions with a governor that answers to the President. Those super regions include the South, Central, North-West, Far East, Siberia, Ural, Volga and they were established in May of 2000. The prime minister, currently Dmitry Medvedev, is appointed by the president and he or she succeeds to the presidency if the current president dies, is incapacitated, or resigns. Corruption is common and widespread in the government, according to 2016 results of Corruption Perception Index of Transparency International, Russia ranked 131th place out of 176 countries with score 29. Multiple anti-corruption campaigns have launched to try to curb corruption. One of the biggest stances taken against corruption is the formation of the Anti-Corruption Council in 2008, the large body was preceded by Government of the Soviet Union. Since the Russian Federation emerged in 1991 to 1992, the structure has undergone several major changes. In the initial years, an amount of government bodies, primarily the different ministries. On 28 November 1991, President of the RSFSR Boris Yeltsin signed presidential decree No.242 On reorganization of the government bodies of the RSFSR, Yeltsin officially declared the end of the Soviet Union and became the President of the Russian Federation. Yeltsin was a reformer and promised Western-styled democracy, in 1993 the new Russian Constitution was adopted. The new Constitution gained legitimacy through its legislature, independent judiciary, the position of the president and the prime minister
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Bashar al-Assad
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Bashar Hafez al-Assad is the 19th and current President of Syria, holding the office since 17 July 2000. He is also commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces, General Secretary of the ruling Arab Socialist Baath Party and he is a son of Hafez al-Assad, who was President of Syria from 1971 to 2000. Born and raised in Damascus, Assad graduated from the school of Damascus University in 1988. Four years later, he attended postgraduate studies at the Western Eye Hospital in London, in 1994, after his elder brother Bassel died in a car crash, Bashar was recalled to Syria to take over Bassels role as heir apparent. He entered the academy, taking charge of the Syrian occupation of Lebanon in 1998. On 10 July 2000, Assad was elected as President, succeeding his father, in the 2000 and subsequent 2007 election, he received 99. 7% and 97. 6% support, respectively, in referendums on his leadership. On 16 July 2014, Assad was sworn in for another term after taking 88. 7% of votes in the first contested presidential election in Baathist Syrias history. The Assad government describes itself as secular, while some claim that the government exploits sectarian tensions in the country. During the Syrian Civil War, an inquiry by the United Nations reported finding evidence which implicated Assad in war crimes, in June 2014, Assad was included in a list of war crimes indictments of government officials and rebels handed to the International Criminal Court. Assad has rejected allegations of war crimes, and criticised the American-led intervention in Syria for attempting regime change, however, after the election of Donald Trump, the priority of the United States concerning Assad is to no longer force him out of power. Bashar Hafez al-Assad was born in Damascus on 11 September 1965, al-Assad in Arabic means the Lion, Assads peasant paternal grandfather had changed the family name from Wahsh upon acquiring minor noble status in 1927. Hafez promoted his supporters within the Baath Party, many of whom were also of Alawite background, after the coup, Alawite strongmen were installed while Sunnis, Druzes and Ismailis were purged from the army and Baath party. Assad had five siblings, three of whom are deceased, a sister named Bushra died in infancy. Assads youngest brother, Majd, was not a figure and little is known about him other than he was intellectually disabled. Unlike his brothers Bassel and Maher, and second sister, also named Bushra, Bashar was quiet, reserved and lacked interest in politics or the military. The Assad children reportedly rarely saw their father, and Bashar later stated that he entered his fathers office once while he was president. Assad received his primary and secondary education in the Arab-French al-Hurriya School in Damascus, in 1982, he graduated from high school and went on to study medicine at Damascus University. In 1988, Assad graduated from school and began working as an army doctor at the Tishrin military hospital on the outskirts of Damascus
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Russian Air Force
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The Russian Air Force is a branch of the Russian Aerospace Forces, the latter being formed on the 1 August 2015 with the merger of the Russian Air Force and the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces. The modern Russian Air Force was originally established on the 7 May 1992 following Boris Yeltsins creation of the Ministry of Defence, however the air force can trace its lineage and traditions back to the Imperial Russian Air Service and the Soviet Air Forces. The Russian Navy has its own air arm, the Russian Naval Aviation, general Pyotr Deynekin, the former deputy commander-in-chief of the Soviet Air Forces, became the first commander of the new organisation on 24 August 1991. Russia received the majority of the most modern fighters and 65% of the manpower, the major commands of the former Soviet VVS – the Long Range Aviation, Military Transport Aviation and Frontal Aviation were renamed, with few changes, Russian VVS commands. However, many regiments, aircraft, and personnel were claimed by the republics they were based in, some aircraft in Belarus and Ukraine were returned to Russia, sometimes in return for debt reductions, as well as a long range aviation division based at Dolon in Kazakhstan. During the 1990s, the financial stringency felt throughout the forces made its mark on the Air Forces as well. As a result of the cutbacks, infrastructure became degraded as well, the VVS participated in the First Chechen War and the Second Chechen War. These campaigns also presented significant difficulties for the VVS including the terrain, lack of significant fixed targets and insurgents armed with Stinger, the former Soviet Air Defence Forces remained independent for several years under Russian control, only merging with the Air Forces in 1998. The decree merging the two forces was issued by President Boris Yeltsin on 16 July 1997, during 1998 altogether 580 units and formations were disbanded,134 reorganized, and over 600 given a new jurisdiction. More than 600,000 tons of material changed location and 3500 aircraft changed airfields, Military Transport Aviation planes took more than 40,000 families to new residence areas. The short-lived operational commands were abolished, two air armies, 37th Air Army and 61st Air Army, were established directly under the Supreme Command. The former frontal aviation and anti-aircraft forces were organized as Air Force Armies, there were initially four such armies with headquarters in St. Petersburg, Rostov-on-Don, Khabarovsk, and Chita. Two military districts had separate Air and Air Defence Corps, when the Transbaikal Military District and Siberian Military District were merged, the 14th Air Army was reactivated to serve as the air force formation in the area. The number of servicemen in the Air Force was reduced to about 185,000 from the combined number of 318,000. 123,500 positions were abolished, including almost 1000 colonel positions, the resignation of 3000 other servicemen included 46 generals of which 15 were colonel generals. The former Army Aviation was subsequently managed by the Chief of the Department of Army Aviation, during the 2000s, the Air Forces continued to suffer from a lack of resources for pilot training. In the 1990s Russian pilots achieved approximately 10% of the hours of the United States Air Force. In 2007, under the leadership of Vladimir Putin, the Russian Air Force resumed the Soviet-era practice of deploying its strategic bomber aircraft on long-range patrols and this ended a 15-year unilateral suspension due to fuel costs and other economic difficulties after the collapse of the Soviet Union
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Turkish Armed Forces
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The Turkish Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of Turkey. They consist of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force, in wartime, they are subordinate to the Army and Navy. The President of Turkey is the overall head. The current Chief of the General staff is General Hulusi Akar, the Chief of the General Staff is the Commander of the Armed Forces. In wartime, he acts as the Commander in Chief on behalf of the President of Turkey, furthermore, the General Staff coordinates the military relations of the TAF with NATO member states and other friendly nations. The modern history of the army began with its formation after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the Turkish military perceived itself as the guardian of Kemalist ideology, the official state ideology, especially of the secular aspects of Kemalism. After becoming a member of NATO on 18 February 1952, Turkey initiated a comprehensive program for its armed forces. The Turkish Army sent troops to fight in Korea, where they played pivotal roles at some points, towards the end of the 1980s, a second restructuring process was initiated. The Turkish Armed Forces participate in European Union battlegroups under the control of the European Council, the TAF also contributes operational staff to the Eurocorps multinational army corps initiative of the EU and NATO. The Turkish Armed Forces collectively rank as the second largest standing military force in NATO, Armed Forces, with an estimated strength in 2015 of 639,551 military, civilian and paramilitary personnel. Turkey is one of five NATO member states which are part of the sharing policy of the alliance, together with Belgium, Germany, Italy. After the end of World War I, many Ottoman military personnel escaped from Rumelia to Anatolia in order to part in the national movement. Turkey won the War of Independence in 1922, Turkey remained neutral until the final stages of World War II. In the initial stage of World War II, Turkey signed a treaty of assistance with Great Britain. But after the fall of France, the Turkish government tried to maintain a distance with both the Allies and the Axis. After the German-Soviet War broke out, the Turkish government sent a delegation of observers under Lieutenant General Ali Fuat Erden to the German Eastern Front. Turkey participated in the Korean War as a state of the United Nations and sent the Turkish Brigade to South Korea. On 18 February 1952, Turkey became a member of NATO, the Korean government donated a war memorial for the Turkish soldiers who fought and died in Korea
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Oldest churches in the world
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This article lists some but by no means all of the oldest known church buildings in the world. In most instances, buildings listed here were reconstructed numerous times and these surviving, freestanding buildings were purposely constructed for use by congregations and the dates are the approximate dates when they were first used by congregations for worship. Church may also be used in the sense of Christian denomination, the church is traced to Pentecost and the beginning of the Christian mission in the 1st century and was not used in reference to a building. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia the Cenacle in Jerusalem was the first Christian church, archaeology magazine suggests that the Dura-Europos church in Syria is the oldest surviving church building in the world. While Jordans Aqaba Church is considered to be the worlds first purpose-built church, several authors have cited the Etchmiadzin Cathedral as the oldest cathedral. Church buildings of the 2nd to 4th centuries, either excavated archaeologically or substantially preserved, valkum Built before 433 AD remains of a Bazilika in Hungary near lake Balaton Church buildings dating to between the 5th and 10th centuries. The Dead Cities of Syria feature ruins of churches, all abandoned prior to the 8th century and many dating from the 4th and 5th centuries St. Georges Church, Rihab, Jordan. Dates are contested by experts but area under the church may have used for Christian worship as early as 33 AD Church of Sts. Constantine and Helen, Yabroud, Syria, 5th century, Built from Roman temple, Desecrated in 2014 by extremists in Syrian Civil War Al-Aqiser church, built in 500s, saint Frutuoso Chapel, built in the 7th century, possibly oldest church building in Portugal. Densuş Church, built in 600s, oldest church building in Romania Church of St Peter-on-the-Wall, Bradwell-on-Sea, UK,680 Great Church, Elst, Netherlands, church built in the 15th century, built upon and using the remains of two Gallo-Roman temples. St. Marys Forane Church, Kaduthuruthy, India, built in 500 AD, also known as Kaduthuruthy Valiya Palli Church of Ayios Lazaros, Larnaca, built in the 9th century, one of the oldest churches in Cyprus Church of SS. Peter and Paul, built at Budeč fortified settlement between 895 and 905 during rule of Spytihněv I is the oldest extant church building in the Czech Republic, the site is located near village of Zákolany, about 17 kilometres NW of Prague. A selection of notable, extant 11th- to 14th-century churches, an active parish, the church is the oldest existing building in Oslo from 1080. Church of the Holy Sepulchre, rebuilt in 1089, in Jerusalem is venerated as Golgotha, where Jesus was crucified, the church building remained mostly unchanged since the 11th century, and qualifies as one of the oldest romanesque buildings in Switzerland. Church of Kish, the oldest extant Armenian church building in Azerbaijan, St. Nicholas Church, Vilnius, Lithuania, is the oldest surviving church in Lithuania. Originally built in the 14th century, Hvalsey Church, located in Hvalsey, Greenland, Kingdom of Denmark, is the oldest surviving church in the Americas. Originally built in the 14th century as a Catholic church, although archaeology suggests it was constructed on the site of a previous church, notable early churches built in the New World between the 15th and 19th centuries. Listed are especially the oldest extant church buildings by country, St. Francis Church, Kochi, India, built 1504–1516, oldest European church building in India Catedral de Santa María la Menor, commissioned by Pope Julius II in 1504, and built 1514–1540
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History of Roman and Byzantine domes
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The History of Roman and Byzantine domes traces the architecture of domes throughout the ancient Roman Empire and its medieval continuation, today called the Byzantine Empire. The domes were customarily hemispherical, although octagonal and segmented shapes are known, and they developed in form, use. Early examples rested directly on the walls of round rooms and featured a central oculus for ventilation. Pendentives became common in the Byzantine period, provided support for domes over square spaces, Nero introduced the dome into Roman palace architecture in the 1st century and such rooms served as state banqueting halls, audience rooms, or throne rooms. The Pantheons dome, the largest and most famous example, was built of concrete in the 2nd century, Imperial mausolea, such as the Mausoleum of Diocletian, were domed beginning in the 3rd century. Brick ribs allowed for a structure and facilitated the use of windows in the supporting walls. Christian baptisteries and shrines were domed in the 4th century, such as the Lateran Baptistery, Constantines octagonal palace church in Antioch may have been the precedent for similar buildings for centuries afterward. His Hagia Sophia and Church of the Holy Apostles inspired copies in later centuries, domes over windowed drums of cylindrical or polygonal shape were standard after the 9th century. In the empires later period, smaller churches were built with smaller domes, exceptions include the 11th century domed-octagons of Hosios Loukas and Nea Moni, and the 12th century Chora Church, among others. Rounded arches, vaults, and domes distinguish Roman architecture from that of Ancient Greece and were facilitated by the use of concrete and brick. By varying the weight of the material in the concrete. But concrete domes also required expensive wooden formwork, also called shuttering, to be built and kept in place during the curing process, formwork for brick domes need not be kept in place as long and could be more easily reused. Roman domes were used in baths, villas, palaces, and they were customarily hemispherical in shape and partially or totally concealed on the exterior. A variety of shapes, including shallow saucer domes, segmental domes. The audience halls of many imperial palaces were domed, domes were also very common over polygonal garden pavilions. Construction and development of domes declined in the west with the decline, in the Byzantine period, a supporting structure of four arches with pendentives between them allowed the spaces below domes to be opened up. Pendentives allowed for weight loads to be concentrated at just four points on a more practical square plan, domes were important elements of baptisteries, churches, and tombs. They were normally hemispherical and had, with exceptions, windowed drums
46.
Metropolitan Museum of Art
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The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially the Met, is located in New York City and is the largest art museum in the United States, and is among the most visited art museums in the world. Its permanent collection contains two million works, divided among seventeen curatorial departments. The main building, on the edge of Central Park along Manhattans Museum Mile, is by area one of the worlds largest art galleries. A much smaller second location, The Cloisters at Fort Tryon Park in Upper Manhattan, contains a collection of art, architecture. On March 18,2016, the museum opened the Met Breuer museum at Madison Avenue in the Upper East Side, it extends the museums modern, the Met maintains extensive holdings of African, Asian, Oceanian, Byzantine, Indian, and Islamic art. The museum is home to collections of musical instruments, costumes and accessories, as well as antique weapons. Several notable interiors, ranging from first-century Rome through modern American design, are installed in its galleries, the Metropolitan Museum of Art was founded in 1870. The founders included businessmen and financiers, as well as leading artists and thinkers of the day and it opened on February 20,1872, and was originally located at 681 Fifth Avenue. The Met maintains extensive holdings of African, Asian, Oceanian, Byzantine, the museum is also home to encyclopedic collections of musical instruments, costumes and accessories, and antique weapons and armor from around the world. A number of interiors, ranging from 1st century Rome through modern American design, are permanently installed in the Mets galleries. In addition to its permanent exhibitions, the Met organizes and hosts traveling shows throughout the year. The director of the museum is Thomas P. Campbell, a long-time curator and it was announced on February 28th,2017 that Campbell will be stepping down as the Mets director and CEO, effective June. On March 1st,2017 the BBC reported that Daniel Weiss shall be the acting CEO until a replacement is found, Beginning in the late 19th century, the Met started to acquire ancient art and artifacts from the Near East. From a few tablets and seals, the Mets collection of Near Eastern art has grown to more than 7,000 pieces. The highlights of the include a set of monumental stone lamassu, or guardian figures. The Mets Department of Arms and Armor is one of the museums most popular collections. Among the collections 14,000 objects are many pieces made for and used by kings and princes, including armor belonging to Henry VIII of England, Henry II of France, Rockefeller donated his more than 3, 000-piece collection to the museum. The Mets Asian department holds a collection of Asian art, of more than 35,000 pieces, the collection dates back almost to the founding of the museum, many of the philanthropists who made the earliest gifts to the museum included Asian art in their collections
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International Standard Book Number
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The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
Media related to Church of Saint Simeon Stylites at Wikimedia Commons