1.
Columns (video game)
–
Columns is a match-three puzzle video game created by Jay Geertsen in 1989. Early versions of the game were ported across early computer platforms, in 1990, Jay Geertsen sold the rights to Sega, who ported the game to several Sega consoles. Columns was one of the many SameGame/Tetris-like tile-matching puzzle games to appear after its success in the late 1980s. The area of play is enclosed within a tall, rectangular playing area, Columns of three different symbols appear, one at a time, at the top of the well and fall to the bottom, landing either on the floor or on top of previously-fallen columns. While a column is falling, the player can move it left and right, after a column lands, if three or more of the same symbols are connected in a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal line, those symbols disappear. The pile of columns then settles under gravity, if this resettlement causes three or more other symbols to align, they too disappear and the cycle repeats. Occasionally, a column with a multicolor Magic Jewel appears. It destroys all the jewels with the color as the one underneath it. The columns fall at a rate as the player progresses. The goal of the game is to play for as long as possible before the well fills up with jewels, some ports of the game offer alternate game modes as well. Flash columns involves mining their way through a set number of lines to get to a jewel at the bottom. Doubles allows two players together in the same well. Time trial involves racking up as many points as possible within the time limit, Columns was the first pack-in game for the Sega Game Gear. This version was different from the Mega Drive version and its soundtrack was transposed and rearranged due to the limitations of the handhelds sound chip. While the columns themselves were updated for the Mega Drive version, lastly, the Game Gear version had a feature that let the player change the jewels to fruit, squares, dice, or card shapes. Because Columns was made by Sega, versions were available on the Master System, Mega Drive, Mega-CD, Game Gear, Saturn. Additional versions of the game have also made available on PC Engine, Game Boy Advance. On November 7,2006, Columns was released as part of the game Sega Genesis Collection for the PlayStation 2, on December 4,2006 the title was released on Nintendos Virtual Console for 800 Wii Points
2.
United States National Arboretum
–
It was established in 1927, by an act of Congress after a campaign by USDA Chief Botanist Frederick Vernon Coville. It is 446 acres in size and is located 2.2 miles northeast of the Capitol building, with entrances on New York Avenue and R Street, the campuss gardens and collections are connected by roadways that are nine miles long in total. The arboretum functions as a center of botanical research. It conducts research on trees, flowering plants, shrubs and turf and it has a library with 11,000 volumes and approximately 100 publications concentrating in botanical literature. Flowering Tree Collection Flowering Tree Walk The Friendship Garden and Arbor House Arbor House Gift Shop operated by National Capital Area Garden Clubs and this tree was formerly in Hiroshima, and survived the atomic bomb dropped in that city in 1945. The tree has been in training since 1625, the Arboretum features a small group of public artworks including Split Ritual by American sculptor Beverly Pepper. The piece is made of iron and stands at H.10 ft x W.44 in x D.100 in. It consists of four pieces that look like large tools. They are placed in a circle on top of a doughnut shaped flat foundation, the sculpture was dedicated in 1993 and in the same year was surveyed by the Smithsonians Save Outdoor Sculpture. Program and its condition was declared as well maintained, List of botanical gardens in the United States List of public art in Washington, D. C
3.
Washington, D.C.
–
Washington, D. C. formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D. C. is the capital of the United States. The signing of the Residence Act on July 16,1790, Constitution provided for a federal district under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Congress and the District is therefore not a part of any state. The states of Maryland and Virginia each donated land to form the federal district, named in honor of President George Washington, the City of Washington was founded in 1791 to serve as the new national capital. In 1846, Congress returned the land ceded by Virginia, in 1871. Washington had an population of 681,170 as of July 2016. Commuters from the surrounding Maryland and Virginia suburbs raise the population to more than one million during the workweek. The Washington metropolitan area, of which the District is a part, has a population of over 6 million, the centers of all three branches of the federal government of the United States are in the District, including the Congress, President, and Supreme Court. Washington is home to national monuments and museums, which are primarily situated on or around the National Mall. The city hosts 176 foreign embassies as well as the headquarters of international organizations, trade unions, non-profit organizations, lobbying groups. A locally elected mayor and a 13‑member council have governed the District since 1973, However, the Congress maintains supreme authority over the city and may overturn local laws. D. C. residents elect a non-voting, at-large congressional delegate to the House of Representatives, the District receives three electoral votes in presidential elections as permitted by the Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1961. Various tribes of the Algonquian-speaking Piscataway people inhabited the lands around the Potomac River when Europeans first visited the area in the early 17th century, One group known as the Nacotchtank maintained settlements around the Anacostia River within the present-day District of Columbia. Conflicts with European colonists and neighboring tribes forced the relocation of the Piscataway people, some of whom established a new settlement in 1699 near Point of Rocks, Maryland. 43, published January 23,1788, James Madison argued that the new government would need authority over a national capital to provide for its own maintenance. Five years earlier, a band of unpaid soldiers besieged Congress while its members were meeting in Philadelphia, known as the Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783, the event emphasized the need for the national government not to rely on any state for its own security. However, the Constitution does not specify a location for the capital, on July 9,1790, Congress passed the Residence Act, which approved the creation of a national capital on the Potomac River. The exact location was to be selected by President George Washington, formed from land donated by the states of Maryland and Virginia, the initial shape of the federal district was a square measuring 10 miles on each side, totaling 100 square miles. Two pre-existing settlements were included in the territory, the port of Georgetown, Maryland, founded in 1751, many of the stones are still standing
4.
Architecture
–
Architecture is both the process and the product of planning, designing, and constructing buildings and other physical structures. Architectural works, in the form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural symbols. Historical civilizations are often identified with their surviving architectural achievements, Architecture can mean, A general term to describe buildings and other physical structures. The art and science of designing buildings and nonbuilding structures, the style of design and method of construction of buildings and other physical structures. A unifying or coherent form or structure Knowledge of art, science, technology, the design activity of the architect, from the macro-level to the micro-level. The practice of the architect, where architecture means offering or rendering services in connection with the design and construction of buildings. The earliest surviving work on the subject of architecture is De architectura. According to Vitruvius, a building should satisfy the three principles of firmitas, utilitas, venustas, commonly known by the original translation – firmness, commodity. An equivalent in modern English would be, Durability – a building should stand up robustly, utility – it should be suitable for the purposes for which it is used. Beauty – it should be aesthetically pleasing, according to Vitruvius, the architect should strive to fulfill each of these three attributes as well as possible. Leon Battista Alberti, who elaborates on the ideas of Vitruvius in his treatise, De Re Aedificatoria, saw beauty primarily as a matter of proportion, for Alberti, the rules of proportion were those that governed the idealised human figure, the Golden mean. The most important aspect of beauty was, therefore, an inherent part of an object, rather than something applied superficially, Gothic architecture, Pugin believed, was the only true Christian form of architecture. The 19th-century English art critic, John Ruskin, in his Seven Lamps of Architecture, Architecture was the art which so disposes and adorns the edifices raised by men. That the sight of them contributes to his health, power. For Ruskin, the aesthetic was of overriding significance and his work goes on to state that a building is not truly a work of architecture unless it is in some way adorned. For Ruskin, a well-constructed, well-proportioned, functional building needed string courses or rustication, but suddenly you touch my heart, you do me good. I am happy and I say, This is beautiful, le Corbusiers contemporary Ludwig Mies van der Rohe said Architecture starts when you carefully put two bricks together. The notable 19th-century architect of skyscrapers, Louis Sullivan, promoted an overriding precept to architectural design, function came to be seen as encompassing all criteria of the use, perception and enjoyment of a building, not only practical but also aesthetic, psychological and cultural
5.
Structural engineering
–
They can also be involved in the design of machinery, medical equipment, and vehicles where structural integrity affects functioning and safety. Structural engineering theory is based upon applied physical laws and empirical knowledge of the performance of different materials. Structural engineering design utilizes a number of relatively simple structural elements to build complex structural systems, Structural engineers are responsible for making creative and efficient use of funds, structural elements and materials to achieve these goals. Structural engineers are responsible for engineering design and analysis, entry-level structural engineers may design the individual structural elements of a structure, for example the beams, columns, and floors of a building. More experienced engineers may be responsible for the design and integrity of an entire system. Structural engineering has existed since humans first started to construct their own structures and it became a more defined and formalized profession with the emergence of the architecture as distinct profession from the engineering during the industrial revolution in the late 19th century. Until then, the architect and the engineer were usually one. Only with the development of specialized knowledge of theories that emerged during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The role of a structural engineer today involves a significant understanding of both static and dynamic loading, and the structures that are available to resist them. The complexity of modern structures often requires a great deal of creativity from the engineer in order to ensure the structures support and resist the loads they are subjected to. A structural engineer will typically have a four or five year undergraduate degree, Structural engineers are licensed or accredited by different learned societies and regulatory bodies around the world. The aim of that association is to exchange knowledge and to advance the practice of engineering worldwide in the service of the profession. Structural engineering dates back to 2700 B. C. E, when the step pyramid for Pharaoh Djoser was built by Imhotep, the first engineer in history known by name. Pyramids were the most common major structures built by ancient civilizations because the form of a pyramid is inherently stable. The limestone blocks were taken from a quarry near the build site, since the compressive strength of limestone is anywhere from 30 to 250 MPa, the blocks will not fail under compression. Therefore, the strength of the pyramid stems from the material properties of the stones from which it was built rather than the pyramids geometry. Throughout ancient and medieval history most architectural design and construction was carried out by artisans, such as masons and carpenters. No theory of structures existed, and understanding of how structures stood up was extremely limited, knowledge was retained by guilds and seldom supplanted by advances
6.
Compression (physics)
–
It is contrasted with tension or traction, the application of balanced outward forces, and with shearing forces, directed so as to displace layers of the material parallel to each other. The compressive strength of materials and structures is an important engineering consideration, in uniaxial compression the forces are directed along one direction only, so that they act towards decreasing the objects length along that direction. If the stress vector itself is opposite to x, the material is said to be under compression or pure compressive stress along x. In a solid, the amount of compression depends on the direction x. If the stress vector is purely compressive and has the same magnitude for all directions and this is the only type of static compression that liquids and gases can bear. In a mechanical longitudinal wave, or compression wave, the medium is displaced in the waves direction, when put under compression, every material will suffer some deformation, even if imperceptible, that causes the average relative positions of its atoms and molecules to change. The deformation may be permanent, or may be reversed when the compression forces disappear, in the latter case, the deformation gives rise to reaction forces that oppose the compression forces, and may eventually balance them. Liquids and gases cannot bear steady uniaxial or biaxial compression, they will deform promptly and permanently, however they can bear isotropic compression, and may be compressed in other ways momentarily, for instance in a sound wave. The deformation may not be uniform and may not be aligned with the compression forces, what happens in the directions where there is no compression depends on the material. Most materials will expand in those directions, but some special materials will remain unchanged or even contract, by inducing compression, mechanical properties such as compressive strength or modulus of elasticity, can be measured. Compression machines range from small table top systems to ones with over 53 MN capacity. Gases are often stored and shipped in highly compressed form, to save space, slightly compressed air or other gases are also used to fill balloons, rubber boats, and other inflatable structures. Compressed liquids are used in equipment and in fracking. In internal combustion engines the explosive mixture gets compressed before it is ignited, in the Otto cycle, for instance, the second stroke of the piston effects the compression of the charge which has been drawn into the cylinder by the first forward stroke. This compression, moreover, obviates the shock which would otherwise be caused by the admission of the steam for the return stroke. Buckling Container compression test Compression member Compressive strength Longitudinal wave P-wave Rarefaction Strength of materials
7.
Compression member
–
Compression members are structural elements that are pushed together or carry a load, more technically they are subjected only to axial compressive forces. That is, the loads are applied on the axis through the centroid of the member cross section. In buildings posts and columns are almost always compression members as are the top chord of trusses, for a compression member, such as a column, the principal stress comes mainly from axial forces, that is forces that fall along one line, usually the centerline. The loading capacity of a column is determined by strength limit of the material. The strength of a column of intermediate size is limited by its degree of inelasticity, a long column is constrained by the elastic limit. Arch Brown truss Buckling List of structural elements Truss Strut Columns and other compression members Bicycle compression members Numerical load numbers for reinforced concrete compression members
8.
Capital (architecture)
–
In architecture the capital or chapiter forms the topmost member of a column. It mediates between the column and the load thrusting down upon it, broadening the area of the supporting surface. The capital, projecting on each side as it rises to support the abacus, joins the usually square abacus and the usually circular shaft of the column. The capital may be convex, as in the Doric order, concave, as in the bell of the Corinthian order, or scrolling out. These form the three types on which all capitals are based. The Composite order, established in the 16th century on a hint from the Arch of Titus, from the highly visible position it occupies in all colonnaded monumental buildings, the capital is often selected for ornamentation, and is often the clearest indicator of the architectural order. The treatment of its detail may be an indication of the buildings date, the decoration underneath the bracket capital comes from art and designs from the many cultures that the Persian Empire conquered and assimilated including Egypt, Babylon, and Lydia. But of course these decorations below the bracket capital serve no purpose and are simply there for show. The earliest Aegean capital is shown in the frescoes at Knossos in Crete, it was of the convex type. The Doric capital is the simplest of the five Classical orders, it consists of the abacus above an ovolo molding, the sloping side of the echinus becomes flatter in the later examples, and in the Colosseum at Rome forms a quarter round. In the Ionic capital, spirally coiled volutes are inserted between the abacus and the ovolo. In the Ionic capitals of the archaic Temple of Artemis at Ephesus the width of the abacus is twice that of its depth, a century later, in the temple on the Ilissus, the abacus has become square. It has been suggested that the foliage of the Greek Corinthian capital was based on the Acanthus spinosus, not all architectural foliage is as realistic as Isaac Wares however. The leaves are carved in two ranks or bands, like one leafy cup set within another. The various orders are discussed in Vitruvius books iii and iv, Vitruvius describes Roman practice in a practical fashion. He gives some tales about the invention of each of the Orders, the increasing adoption of composite capitals signalled a trend towards freer, more inventive capitals in Late Antiquity. The top of an anta is often decorated, usually with bands of floral motifs. The designs often respond to an order of columns, but usually with a different set of design principles, in order not to protude excessively from the wall surface, these structures tend to have a rather flat surface, forming brick-shaped capitals, called anta capitals
9.
Pedestal
–
A pedestal or plinth is the support of a statue or a vase. In the imperial China, a tortoise called bixi was traditionally used as the pedestal for important stele. An elevated pedestal or plinth which bears a statue and which is raised from the substructure supporting it is called an acropodium. The term is from the Greek akros or topmost and pous or foot, Pedestal crater Pedestal desk Pedestal table, a table with a single central leg This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Pedestal
10.
Pier (architecture)
–
A pier, in architecture, is an upright support for a structure or superstructure such as an arch or bridge. Sections of structural walls between openings can function as piers, the simplest cross section of the pier is square, or rectangular, but other shapes are also common. In medieval architecture, massive circular supports called drum piers, cruciform piers, columns are a similar upright support, but stand on a round base. In buildings with sequence of bays between piers, each opening between two piers is considered a single bay, single-span bridges have abutments at each end that support the weight of the bridge and serve as retaining walls to resist lateral movement of the earthen fill of the bridge approach. Multi-span bridges require piers to support the ends of spans between these abutments, in cold climates the upstream edge of a pier may include a starkwater to prevent accumulation of broken ice during peak snowmelt flows. The starkwater has a sharpened upstream edge sometimes called a cutwater, the cutwater edge may be of concrete or masonry, but is often capped with a steel angle to resist abrasion and focus force at a single point to fracture floating pieces of ice striking the pier. In the Arc de Triomphe, Paris the central arch and side arches are raised on four massive planar piers, the original plan by Donato Bramante for St Peters Basilica in Rome has richly articulated piers, rendered in solid black. The vaulting they support is in lines, a familiar representation convention in architectural plans. Four piers support the weight of the dome at the central crossing and these piers were found to be too small to support the weight and were changed later by Michelangelo to account for the massive weight of the dome. The piers of the four apses that project from each wall are also strong. Many niches articulate the wall-spaces of the piers, column — pillar Compound pier Pilaster Deep foundation
11.
Earthquake engineering
–
Earthquake engineering is an interdisciplinary branch of engineering that designs and analyzes structures, such as buildings and bridges, with earthquakes in mind. Its overall goal is to such structures more resistant to earthquakes. An earthquake engineer aims to construct structures that will not be damaged in minor shaking, the main objectives of earthquake engineering are, Foresee the potential consequences of strong earthquakes on urban areas and civil infrastructure. Design, construct and maintain structures to perform at earthquake exposure up to the expectations, a properly engineered structure does not necessarily have to be extremely strong or expensive. It has to be designed to withstand the seismic effects while sustaining an acceptable level of damage. Seismic loading means application of an earthquake-generated excitation on a structure and it happens at contact surfaces of a structure either with the ground, with adjacent structures, or with gravity waves from tsunami. The loading that is expected at a location on the Earths surface is estimated by engineering seismology. It is related to the hazard of the location. Earthquake or seismic performance defines an ability to sustain its main functions, such as its safety and serviceability, at. A structure is considered safe if it does not endanger the lives. A structure may be considered if it is able to fulfill its operational functions for which it was designed. On the other hand, it should remain operational for more frequent, engineers need to know the quantified level of the actual or anticipated seismic performance associated with the direct damage to an individual building subject to a specified ground shaking. Such an assessment may be performed either experimentally or analytically, Experimental evaluations are expensive tests that are typically done by placing a model of the structure on a shake-table that simulates the earth shaking and observing its behavior. Such kinds of experiments were first performed more than a century ago, only recently has it become possible to perform 1,1 scale testing on full structures. Due to the nature of such tests, they tend to be used mainly for understanding the seismic behavior of structures, validating models. Thus, once validated, computational models and numerical procedures tend to carry the major burden for the seismic performance assessment of structures. The technique as a concept is a relatively recent development. In general, seismic structural analysis is based on the methods of structural dynamics, for decades, the most prominent instrument of seismic analysis has been the earthquake response spectrum method which also contributed to the proposed building codes concept of today
12.
Beam (structure)
–
A beam is a structural element that primarily resists loads applied laterally to the beams axis. Its mode of deflection is primarily by bending, the loads applied to the beam result in reaction forces at the beams support points. The total effect of all the acting on the beam is to produce shear forces and bending moments within the beam. Beams are characterized by their manner of support, profile, length, historically beams were squared timbers but are also metal, stone, or combinations of wood and metal such as a flitch beam. Beams generally carry vertical gravitational forces but can also be used to carry horizontal loads, the loads carried by a beam are transferred to columns, walls, or girders, which then transfer the force to adjacent structural compression members. In light frame construction joists may rest on beams, in carpentry a beam is called a plate as in a sill plate or wall plate, beam as in a summer beam or dragon beam. In engineering, beams are of types, Simply supported - a beam supported on the ends which are free to rotate and have no moment resistance. Fixed - a beam supported on both ends and restrained from rotation, over hanging - a simple beam extending beyond its support on one end. Double overhanging - a simple beam with both ends extending beyond its supports on both ends, continuous - a beam extending over more than two supports. Cantilever - a projecting beam fixed only at one end, trussed - a beam strengthened by adding a cable or rod to form a truss. In the beam equation I is used to represent the moment of area. It is commonly known as the moment of inertia, and is the sum, about the axis, of dA*r^2, where r is the distance from the neutral axis. Therefore, it not just how much area the beam section has overall. The greater I is, the stiffer the beam in bending, internally, beams experience compressive, tensile and shear stresses as a result of the loads applied to them. Above the supports, the beam is exposed to shear stress, there are some reinforced concrete beams in which the concrete is entirely in compression with tensile forces taken by steel tendons. These beams are known as prestressed concrete beams, and are fabricated to produce a more than the expected tension under loading conditions. High strength steel tendons are stretched while the beam is cast over them, then, when the concrete has cured, the tendons are slowly released and the beam is immediately under eccentric axial loads. This eccentric loading creates a moment, and, in turn
13.
Arch
–
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
14.
Iron Age
–
The Iron Age is an archaeological era, referring to a period of time in the prehistory and protohistory of the Old World when the dominant toolmaking material was iron. It is commonly preceded by the Bronze Age in Europe and Asia with exceptions, meteoric iron has been used by humans since at least 3200 BC. Ancient iron production did not become widespread until the ability to smelt ore, remove impurities. The start of the Iron Age proper is considered by many to fall between around 1200 BC and 600 BC, depending on the region, the earliest known iron artifacts are nine small beads dated to 3200 BC, which were found in burials at Gerzeh, Lower Egypt. They have been identified as meteoric iron shaped by careful hammering, meteoric iron, a characteristic iron–nickel alloy, was used by various ancient peoples thousands of years before the Iron Age. Such iron, being in its metallic state, required no smelting of ores. Smelted iron appears sporadically in the record from the middle Bronze Age. While terrestrial iron is abundant, its high melting point of 1,538 °C placed it out of reach of common use until the end of the second millennium BC. Tins low melting point of 231, similarly, recent archaeological remains of iron working in the Ganges Valley in India have been tentatively dated to 1800 BC. By the Middle Bronze Age, increasing numbers of smelted iron objects appeared in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, African sites are turning up dates as early as 1200 BC. Modern archaeological evidence identifies the start of iron production in around 1200 BC. Between 1200 BC and 1000 BC, diffusion in the understanding of iron metallurgy and use of objects was fast. As evidence, many bronze implements were recycled into weapons during this time, more widespread use of iron led to improved steel-making technology at lower cost. Thus, even when tin became available again, iron was cheaper, stronger, and lighter, and forged iron implements superseded cast bronze tools permanently. Increasingly, the Iron Age in Europe is being seen as a part of the Bronze Age collapse in the ancient Near East, in ancient India, ancient Iran, and ancient Greece. In other regions of Europe, the Iron Age began in the 8th century BC in Central Europe, the Near Eastern Iron Age is divided into two subsections, Iron I and Iron II. Iron I illustrates both continuity and discontinuity with the previous Late Bronze Age, during the Iron Age, the best tools and weapons were made from steel, particularly alloys which were produced with a carbon content between approximately 0. 30% and 1. 2% by weight. Steel weapons and tools were nearly the same weight as those of bronze, however, steel was difficult to produce with the methods available, and alloys that were easier to make, such as wrought iron, were more common in lower-priced goods
15.
Near East
–
The Near East is a geographical term that roughly encompasses Western Asia. Despite having varying definitions within different academic circles, the term was applied to the maximum extent of the Ottoman Empire. The term has fallen into disuse in English and has replaced by the terms Middle East. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations defines the region similarly, but also includes Afghanistan while excluding the countries of North Africa and the Palestinian territories. Up until 1912 the Ottomans retained a band of territory including Albania, Macedonia and Southern Thrace, the Ottoman Empire, believed to be about to collapse, was portrayed in the press as the sick man of Europe. The Balkan states, with the exception of Bosnia and Albania, were primarily Christian. Starting in 1894 the Ottomans struck at the Armenians on the grounds that they were a non-Muslim people. The Hamidian Massacres aroused the indignation of the entire Christian world, in the United States the now aging Julia Ward Howe, author of the Battle Hymn of the Republic, leaped into the war of words and joined the Red Cross. Relations of minorities within the Ottoman Empire and the disposition of former Ottoman lands became known as the Eastern Question and it now became relevant to define the east of the eastern question. In about the middle of the 19th century Near East came into use to describe part of the east closest to Europe. The term Far East appeared contemporaneously meaning Japan, China, Korea, Indonesia, near East applied to what had been mainly known as the Levant, which was in the jurisdiction of the Ottoman Porte, or government. Those who used the term had little choice about its meaning and they could not set foot on most of the shores of the southern and central Mediterranean from the Gulf of Sidra to Albania without permits from the Ottoman Empire. Some regions beyond the Ottoman Porte were included, one was North Africa west of Egypt. It was occupied by piratical kingdoms of the Barbary Coast, de facto independent since the 18th century, formerly part of the empire at its apogee. Iran was included because it could not easily be reached except through the Ottoman Empire or neighboring Russia, in the 1890s the term tended to focus on the conflicts in the Balkan states and Armenia. The demise of the man of Europe left considerable confusion as to what was to be meant by Near East. It is now used only in historical contexts, to describe the countries of Western Asia from the Mediterranean to Iran. There is, in short, no universally understood fixed inventory of nations and they appear together in the journals of the mid-19th century
16.
Mediterranean Sea
–
The sea is sometimes considered a part of the Atlantic Ocean, although it is usually identified as a separate body of water. The name Mediterranean is derived from the Latin mediterraneus, meaning inland or in the middle of land and it covers an approximate area of 2.5 million km2, but its connection to the Atlantic is only 14 km wide. The Strait of Gibraltar is a strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Gibraltar. In oceanography, it is called the Eurafrican Mediterranean Sea or the European Mediterranean Sea to distinguish it from mediterranean seas elsewhere. The Mediterranean Sea has a depth of 1,500 m. The sea is bordered on the north by Europe, the east by Asia and it is located between latitudes 30° and 46° N and longitudes 6° W and 36° E. Its west-east length, from the Strait of Gibraltar to the Gulf of Iskenderun, the seas average north-south length, from Croatia’s southern shore to Libya, is approximately 800 km. The Mediterranean Sea, including the Sea of Marmara, has an area of approximately 2,510,000 square km. The sea was an important route for merchants and travelers of ancient times that allowed for trade, the history of the Mediterranean region is crucial to understanding the origins and development of many modern societies. In addition, the Gaza Strip and the British Overseas Territories of Gibraltar and Akrotiri, the term Mediterranean derives from the Latin word mediterraneus, meaning amid the earth or between land, as it is between the continents of Africa, Asia and Europe. The Ancient Greek name Mesogeios, is similarly from μέσο, between + γη, land, earth) and it can be compared with the Ancient Greek name Mesopotamia, meaning between rivers. The Mediterranean Sea has historically had several names, for example, the Carthaginians called it the Syrian Sea and latter Romans commonly called it Mare Nostrum, and occasionally Mare Internum. Another name was the Sea of the Philistines, from the people inhabiting a large portion of its shores near the Israelites, the sea is also called the Great Sea in the General Prologue by Geoffrey Chaucer. In Ottoman Turkish, it has also been called Bahr-i Sefid, in Modern Hebrew, it has been called HaYam HaTikhon, the Middle Sea, reflecting the Seas name in ancient Greek, Latin, and modern languages in both Europe and the Middle East. Similarly, in Modern Arabic, it is known as al-Baḥr al-Mutawassiṭ, in Turkish, it is known as Akdeniz, the White Sea since among Turks the white colour represents the west. Several ancient civilisations were located around the Mediterranean shores, and were influenced by their proximity to the sea. It provided routes for trade, colonisation, and war, as well as food for numerous communities throughout the ages, due to the shared climate, geology, and access to the sea, cultures centered on the Mediterranean tended to have some extent of intertwined culture and history. Two of the most notable Mediterranean civilisations in classical antiquity were the Greek city states, later, when Augustus founded the Roman Empire, the Romans referred to the Mediterranean as Mare Nostrum
17.
Ancient Egyptian architecture
–
The core of the pyramids consisted of locally quarried stone, mudbricks, sand or gravel. For the casing stones were used that had to be transported from farther away, predominantly white limestone from Tura, Ancient Egyptian houses were made out of mud collected from the Nile river. It was placed in molds and left to dry in the hot sun to harden for use in construction, others are inaccessible, new buildings having been erected on ancient ones. Fortunately, the dry, hot climate of Egypt preserved some mud brick structures, examples include the village Deir al-Madinah, the Middle Kingdom town at Kahun, and the fortresses at Buhen and Mirgissa. Also, many temples and tombs have survived because they were built on high ground unaffected by the Nile flood and were constructed of stone, in a similar manner, the incised and flatly modeled surface adornment of the stone buildings may have derived from mud wall ornamentation. Exterior and interior walls, as well as the columns and piers, were covered with hieroglyphic and pictorial frescoes, many motifs of Egyptian ornamentation are symbolic, such as the scarab, or sacred beetle, the solar disk, and the vulture. Other common motifs include leaves, the papyrus plant. Hieroglyphs were inscribed for decorative purposes as well as to record historic events or spells, in addition, these pictorial frescoes and carvings allow us to understand how the Ancient Egyptians lived, statuses, wars that were fought and their beliefs. This was especially true when exploring the tombs of Ancient Egyptian officials in recent years, Ancient Egyptian temples were aligned with astronomically significant events, such as solstices and equinoxes, requiring precise measurements at the moment of the particular event. Measurements at the most significant temples may have been undertaken by the Pharaoh himself. The Giza Necropolis stands on the Giza Plateau, on the outskirts of Cairo and this complex of ancient monuments is located some 8 kilometers inland into the desert from the old town of Giza on the Nile, some 20 kilometers southwest of Cairo city center. The pyramids, which were built in the Fourth Dynasty, testify to the power of the pharaonic religion and they were built to serve both as grave sites and also as a way to make their names last forever. The size and simple design show the skill level of Egyptian design. The pyramid of Khafre is believed to have been completed around 2532 BC, Khafre ambitiously placed his pyramid next to his fathers. It is not as tall as his fathers pyramid but he was able to give it the impression of appearing taller by building it on a site with a foundation 33 feet higher than his fathers. Along with building his pyramid, Chefren commissioned the building of the giant Sphinx as guardian over his tomb, the face of a human, possibly a depiction of the pharaoh, on a lions body was seen as a symbol of divinity among the Greeks fifteen hundred years later. The Great Sphinx is carved out the bedrock and stands about 65 feet tall. Menkaures pyramid dates to circa 2490 BC and stands 213 feet high making it the smallest of the Great Pyramids, popular culture leads people to believe that Pyramids are highly confusing, with many tunnels within the pyramid to create confusion for grave robbers
18.
Imhotep
–
Imhotep was an Egyptian polymath who served under the Third Dynasty king Djoser as chancellor to the pharaoh and high priest of the sun god Ra at Heliopolis. He was one of only a few ever to be accorded divine status after death. The center of his cult was Memphis, from the First Intermediate Period onward Imhotep was also revered as a poet and philosopher. His sayings were famously referenced in poems, I have heard the words of Imhotep, the location of Imhoteps self-constructed tomb was well hidden from the beginning and it remains unknown, despite efforts to find it. The consensus is that it is hidden somewhere at Saqqara, according to myth, Imhoteps mother was a mortal named Kheredu-ankh, elevated later to semi-divine status by claims that she was the daughter of Banebdjedet. Alternatively, since Imhotep was known as the Son of Ptah, his mother was claimed to be Sekhmet. According to another tale, his father may have been an architect named Kanofer, the latter inscription suggests that Imhotep outlived Djoser by a few years and went on to serve in the construction of King Sekhemkhets pyramid, which was abandoned due to this rulers brief reign. The Upper Egyptian Famine Stela, which dates from the Ptolemaic period, Imhotep is credited with having been instrumental in ending it. One of his priests explained the connection between the god Khnum and the rise of the Nile to the king, who then had a dream in which the Nile god spoke to him, promising to end the drought. A demotic papyrus from the ancient Egyptian temple of Tebtunis, dating to the 2nd century AD, King Djoser plays a prominent role in the story, which also mentions Imhoteps family, his father the god Ptah, his mother Khereduankh, and his little-sister Renpetneferet. At one point Djoser desires the young Renpetneferet, and Imhotep disguises himself, the text also refers to the royal tomb of Djoser. An anachronistic detail is a battle between the Egyptian and Assyrian armies where Imhotep fights an Assyrian sorceress in a duel of magic, Imhotep was one of the chief officials of the Pharaoh Djoser. Egyptologists ascribe to him the design of the Pyramid of Djoser and he may also have been responsible for the first known use of stone columns to support a building. Despite these later attestations, the pharaonic Egyptians themselves never credited Imhotep as the designer of the Stepped Pyramid nor with the invention of stone architecture, as an instigator of Egyptian culture, Imhoteps idealized image lasted well into the Ptolemaic period. The Egyptian historian Manetho credited him with inventing the method of a building during Djosers reign. Prior to Djoser, pharaohs were buried in mastaba tombs, the surviving copy of the papyrus was probably written around 1700 BC but may be a copy of texts written a thousand years earlier. However, this attribution of authorship is speculative, egyptologist James Peter Allen states that The Greeks equated him with their own god of medicine, Asklepios, although ironically there is no evidence that Imhotep himself was a physician. Two thousand years after his death, Imhoteps status was raised to that of a deity of medicine and he was identified or associated with Thoth, the god of architecture, mathematics, medicine and patron of the scribes, Imhoteps cult merging with that of his former tutelary god
19.
Great Hypostyle Hall
–
The Great Hypostyle Hall is located within the Karnak temple complex, in the Precinct of Amon-Re. It is one of the most visited monuments of Ancient Egypt, the structure was built around the 19th Egyptian Dynasty. Its design was instituted by Hatshepsut, at the North-west chapel to Amun in the upper terrace of Deir el-Bahri. The name refers to hypostyle architectural pattern, the hall covers an area of 50,000 sq ft. The roof, now fallen, was supported by 134 columns in 16 rows, the hall was not begun by Horemheb, or Amenhotep III as earlier scholars had thought but was built entirely by Seti I who inscribed the northern wing of the hall with inscriptions. Decoration of the wing was completed by Ramesses II. A series of later pharaohs added inscriptions to the walls and the columns in places their predecessors had left blank, including Ramesses III, Ramesses IV, the north side of the hall is decorated in raised relief, and was mainly Seti Is work. Ramesses II also usurped decoration of his father along the main north-south and east-west processional ways of the hall, most of Seti Is reliefs in the northern part of the hall were respected however. The outer walls depict scenes of battle, Seti I on the north, although these reliefs had religious and ideological functions, they are important records of the wars of these kings. On another wall adjoining the wall of the Hall is a record of Ramesses IIs peace treaty with the Hittites that he signed in Year 21 of his reign. In 1899,11 of the columns of the Great Hypostyle Hall had collapsed in a chain reaction. Georges Legrain, who was then the chief archaeologist in the area, later, similar work had to continue in order to strengthen the rest of the columns of the Temple. Talatat University of Memphis Great Hypostyle Hall Project Media related to Great Hypostyle Hall of Karnak at Wikimedia Commons
20.
Persepolis
–
Persepolis or Parsa, also known as Takht-e-Jamshid, was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire. Persepolis is situated 60 km northeast of the city of Shiraz in Fars Province, the earliest remains of Persepolis date back to 515 BC. It exemplifies the Achaemenid style of architecture, UNESCO declared the ruins of Persepolis a World Heritage Site in 1979. The English word Persepolis is derived from Ancient Greek Persépolis, a compound of Pérsēs and pólis, to the ancient Persians, the city was known as Pārsa. Persepolis is near the small river Pulvar, which flows into the Kur River, the site includes a 125,000 square meter terrace, partly artificially constructed and partly cut out of a mountain, with its east side leaning on Rahmet Mountain. The other three sides are formed by retaining walls, which vary in height with the slope of the ground, rising from 5–13 metres on the west side was a double stair. From there, it slopes to the top. To create the level terrace, depressions were filled with soil and heavy rocks, archaeological evidence shows that the earliest remains of Persepolis date back to 515 BC. As the residence of the rulers of the empire, however, the countrys true capitals were Susa, Babylon and Ecbatana. This accounts for the fact that the Greeks were not acquainted with the city until Alexander the Great took, Darius I ordered the construction of the Apadana and the Council Hall, as well as the main imperial Treasury and its surroundings. These were completed during the reign of his son, Xerxes I, further construction of the buildings on the terrace continued until the downfall of the Achaemenid Empire. Around 519 BC, construction of a stairway was begun. The stairway was initially planned to be the entrance to the terrace 20 metres above the ground. The dual stairway, known as the Persepolitan Stairway, was built symmetrically on the side of the Great Wall. The 111 steps measured 6.9 metres wide, with treads of 31 centimetres and rises of 10 centimetres, originally, the steps were believed to have been constructed to allow for nobles and royalty to ascend by horseback. New theories, however, suggest that the shallow risers allowed visiting dignitaries to maintain an appearance while ascending. The top of the led to a small yard in the north-eastern side of the terrace. Grey limestone was the building material used at Persepolis
21.
Iran
–
Iran, also known as Persia, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, is a sovereign state in Western Asia. Comprising a land area of 1,648,195 km2, it is the second-largest country in the Middle East, with 82.8 million inhabitants, Iran is the worlds 17th-most-populous country. It is the country with both a Caspian Sea and an Indian Ocean coastline. The countrys central location in Eurasia and Western Asia, and its proximity to the Strait of Hormuz, Tehran is the countrys capital and largest city, as well as its leading economic and cultural center. Iran is the site of to one of the worlds oldest civilizations, the area was first unified by the Iranian Medes in 625 BC, who became the dominant cultural and political power in the region. The empire collapsed in 330 BC following the conquests of Alexander the Great, under the Sassanid Dynasty, Iran again became one of the leading powers in the world for the next four centuries. Beginning in 633 AD, Arabs conquered Iran and largely displaced the indigenous faiths of Manichaeism and Zoroastrianism by Islam, Iran became a major contributor to the Islamic Golden Age that followed, producing many influential scientists, scholars, artists, and thinkers. During the 18th century, Iran reached its greatest territorial extent since the Sassanid Empire, through the late 18th and 19th centuries, a series of conflicts with Russia led to significant territorial losses and the erosion of sovereignty. Popular unrest culminated in the Persian Constitutional Revolution of 1906, which established a monarchy and the countrys first legislative body. Following a coup instigated by the U. K. Growing dissent against foreign influence and political repression led to the 1979 Revolution, Irans rich cultural legacy is reflected in part by its 21 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the third-largest number in Asia and 11th-largest in the world. Iran is a member of the UN, ECO, NAM, OIC. Its political system is based on the 1979 Constitution which combines elements of a democracy with a theocracy governed by Islamic jurists under the concept of a Supreme Leadership. A multicultural country comprising numerous ethnic and linguistic groups, most inhabitants are Shia Muslims, the largest ethnic groups in Iran are the Persians, Azeris, Kurds and Lurs. Historically, Iran has been referred to as Persia by the West, due mainly to the writings of Greek historians who called Iran Persis, meaning land of the Persians. As the most extensive interactions the Ancient Greeks had with any outsider was with the Persians, however, Persis was originally referred to a region settled by Persians in the west shore of Lake Urmia, in the 9th century BC. The settlement was then shifted to the end of the Zagros Mountains. In 1935, Reza Shah requested the international community to refer to the country by its native name, opposition to the name change led to the reversal of the decision, and Professor Ehsan Yarshater, editor of Encyclopædia Iranica, propagated a move to use Persia and Iran interchangeably
22.
Achaemenid Empire
–
The Achaemenid Empire, also called the Persian Empire, was an empire based in Western Asia, founded by Cyrus the Great. The empires successes inspired similar systems in later empires and it is noted in Western history as the antagonist of the Greek city-states during the Greco-Persian Wars and for the emancipation of the Jewish exiles in Babylon. The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, was built in a Hellenistic style in the empire as well. By the 7th century BC, the Persians had settled in the portion of the Iranian Plateau in the region of Persis. From this region, Cyrus the Great advanced to defeat the Medes, Lydia, Alexander, an avid admirer of Cyrus the Great, conquered the empire in its entirety by 330 BC. Upon his death, most of the former territory came under the rule of the Ptolemaic Kingdom and Seleucid Empire. The Persian population of the central plateau reclaimed power by the second century BC under the Parthian Empire, the historical mark of the Achaemenid Empire went far beyond its territorial and military influences and included cultural, social, technological and religious influences as well. Many Athenians adopted Achaemenid customs in their lives in a reciprocal cultural exchange. The impact of Cyruss edict is mentioned in Judeo-Christian texts, the empire also set the tone for the politics, heritage and history of modern Iran. Astronomical year numbering Dates are approximate, consult particular article for details Due to the duration of their reigns, Smerdis, Xerxes II. The Persian nation contains a number of tribes as listed here, the Pasargadae, Maraphii, and Maspii, upon which all the other tribes are dependent. Of these, the Pasargadae are the most distinguished, they contain the clan of the Achaemenids from which spring the Perseid kings. Other tribes are the Panthialaei, Derusiaei, Germanii, all of which are attached to the soil, the Achaemenid Empire was created by nomadic Persians. The Achaemenid Empire was not the first Iranian empire, as by 6th century BC another group of ancient Iranian peoples had established the short lived Median Empire. The Iranian peoples had arrived in the region of what is today Iran c.1000 BC and had for a number of centuries fallen under the domination of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, based in northern Mesopotamia. However, the Medes and Persians, Cimmerians, Persians and Chaldeans played a role in the overthrow of the Assyrian empire. The term Achaemenid means of the family of the Achaemenis/Achaemenes, despite the derivation of the name, Achaemenes was himself a minor seventh-century ruler of the Anshan in southwestern Iran, and a vassal of Assyria. At some point in 550 BC, Cyrus rose in rebellion against the Medes, eventually conquering the Medes and creating the first Persian empire
23.
Darius I
–
Darius I was the third king of the Persian Achaemenid Empire. Darius ascended the throne by overthrowing Gaumata, the alleged magus usurper of Bardiya with the assistance of six other Persian noble families, the new king met with rebellions throughout his kingdom and quelled them each time. A major event in Dariuss life was his expedition to punish Athens and Eretria for their aid in the Ionian Revolt, Darius organized the empire by dividing it into provinces and placing satraps to govern it. He organized a new monetary system, along with making Aramaic the official language of the empire. He also put the empire in better standing by building roads and introducing standard weights, through these changes the empire was centralized and unified. Darius also worked on projects throughout the empire, focusing on Susa, Pasargadae, Persepolis, Babylon. He had the cliff-face Behistun Inscription carved to record his conquests, Darius is mentioned in the Biblical books of Haggai, Zechariah, and Ezra–Nehemiah. The Achaemenid Empire during Darius reign controlled the largest fraction of the population of any empire in history. Based on historical estimates, Darius I ruled over approximately 50 million people. Dārīus and Dārēus are the Latin forms of the Greek Dareîos, itself from Old Persian Dārayavauš, the longer form is also seen to have been reflected in the Elamite Da-ri-a-ma-u-iš, Babylonian Da-ri-ia-muš, Aramaic drywhwš, and possibly the longer Greek form Dareiaîos. The name is a nominative form meaning he who holds firm the good, which can be seen by the first part dāraya, meaning holder, and the adverb vau, meaning goodness. At some time between his coronation and his death, Darius left a tri-lingual monumental relief on Mount Behistun, the inscription begins with a brief autobiography including his ancestry and lineage. To aid the presentation of his ancestry, Darius wrote down the sequence of events occurred after the death of Cyrus the Great. Darius mentions several times that he is the king by the grace of Ahura Mazda. Herodotus, a Greek historian and author of The Histories, provided an account of many Persian kings and he wrote extensively on Darius, spanning half of Book 3 along with Books 4,5 and 6. It begins with the removal of the alleged usurper Gaumata and continues to the end of Dariuss reign, in the book of Daniel the kings name changes from king of the Chaldeans = Babylonians to king of the Persians which also occurred between the kingships of Darius I and Xerxes. Additionally the 120 satraps mentioned in Daniel 6,1 can be translated as 20 tribute owing satraps, the Book of Ezra describes the decree to continue reconstruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, specifying financial support and supplies for the temple services. This decree is dated approximately 519 BCE, between Cyrus and Darius, an exchange of letters with King Ahasuerus and Artaxerxes is described, the grandson of Darius I, during whose reign Ezra and Nehemiah came to Jerusalem
24.
Persian column
–
Persian columns or Persians is an archaeological term referring to columns such as those found in Persepolis with a base, fluted shaft, and double-bull capital. Some of the most elaborate columns in the ancient world were those of Persia especially the massive stone columns erected in Persepolis and they included double-bull structures in their capitals. The Hall of Hundred Columns at Persepolis, measuring 70 x 70 metres was built by the Achaemenid king Artaxerxes I
25.
Minoan civilization
–
The Minoan civilization was an Aegean Bronze Age civilization on the island of Crete and other Aegean islands which flourished from about 2600 to 1100 BC. It preceded the Mycenaean civilization of Ancient Greece, the civilization was rediscovered at the beginning of the 20th century through the work of British archaeologist Arthur Evans. It has been described as the earliest of its kind in Europe, the term Minoan, which refers to the mythical King Minos, originally described the pottery of the period. Minos was associated in Greek mythology with the labyrinth and the Minotaur, according to Homer, Crete once had 90 cities. The Minoan period saw trade between Crete and Aegean and Mediterranean settlements, particularly the Near East, traders and artists, the Minoan cultural influence reached beyond Crete to the Cyclades, Egypts Old Kingdom, copper-bearing Cyprus, Canaan and the Levantine coast, and Anatolia. Some of its best art is preserved in the city of Akrotiri on the island of Santorini, although the Minoan language and writing systems remain undecipherable and are subjects of academic dispute, they apparently conveyed a language entirely different from the later Greek. The reason for the end of the Minoan period is unclear, theories include Mycenaean invasions from mainland Greece, the term Minoan refers to the mythical King Minos of Knossos. Its origin is debated, but it is attributed to archeologist Arthur Evans. Minos was associated in Greek mythology with the labyrinth, which Evans identified with the site at Knossos. However, Karl Hoeck had already used the title Das Minoische Kreta in 1825 for volume two of his Kreta, this appears to be the first known use of the word Minoan to mean ancient Cretan, Evans said that applied it, not invented it. Hoeck, with no idea that the archaeological Crete had existed, had in mind the Crete of mythology, although Evans 1931 claim that the term was unminted before he used it was called a brazen suggestion by Karadimas and Momigliano, he coined its archaeological meaning. Instead of dating the Minoan period, archaeologists use two systems of relative chronology, the first, created by Evans and modified by later archaeologists, is based on pottery styles and imported Egyptian artifacts. Evans system divides the Minoan period into three eras, early, middle and late. These eras are subdivided—for example, Early Minoan I, II and III, another dating system, proposed by Greek archaeologist Nicolas Platon, is based on the development of architectural complexes known as palaces at Knossos, Phaistos, Malia and Kato Zakros. Platon divides the Minoan period into pre-, proto-, neo-, the relationship between the systems in the table includes approximate calendar dates from Warren and Hankey. The Thera eruption occurred during a phase of the LM IA period. Efforts to establish the volcanic eruptions date have been controversial, the eruption is identified as a natural event catastrophic for the culture, leading to its rapid collapse. Although stone-tool evidence exists that hominins may have reached Crete as early as 130,000 years ago, evidence for the first anatomically-modern human presence dates to 10, the oldest evidence of modern human habitation on Crete are pre-ceramic Neolithic farming-community remains which date to about 7000 BC
26.
Knossos
–
Knossos is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and is considered Europes oldest city. The name Knossos survives from ancient Greek references to the city of Crete. The coins came from the Roman settlement of Colonia Julia Nobilis Cnossus, a Roman colony placed just to the north of, the Romans believed they had colonized Knossos. The second palace was built on a grander scale over the old Palace after an earthquake destroyed it. The structure and ruins we see today are from the second Palace, during the Bronze Age, the town surrounded the hill on which the palace was built. The site was discovered in 1878 by Minos Kalokairinos, the excavations in Knossos began in AD1900 by the English archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans and his team, and they continued for 35 years. The palace was excavated and partially restored under the direction of Arthur Evans in the earliest years of the 20th century. Its size far exceeded his expectations, as did the discovery of two ancient scripts, which he termed Linear A and Linear B, to distinguish their writing from the pictographs also present. The palace of Knossos was undoubtedly the ceremonial and political centre of the Minoan civilization and it appears as a maze of workrooms, living spaces, and storerooms close to a central square. The palace was abandoned at some time at the end of the Late Bronze Age. The occasion is not known for certain, but one of the disasters that befell the palace is generally put forward. The hill was never again a settlement or civic site, although squatters may have used it for a time, however, fieldwork in 2015 revealed that during the early Iron Age, Knossos was rich in imports and was nearly three times larger than indicated by earlier excavations. Except for periods of abandonment, other cities were founded in the vicinity, such as the Roman colony. The population shifted to the new town of Chandax during the 9th century AD, by the 13th century, it was called Makruteikhos Long Wall, the bishops of Gortyn continued to call themselves Bishops of Knossos until the 19th century. Today, the name is used only for the site now situated in the expanding suburbs of Heraklion. In the first palace period around 2000 BC the urban area reached a size of up to 18,000 people, in its peak the Palace and the surrounding city boasted a population of 100,000 people shortly after 1700 BC. The name Knossos was formerly Latinized as Cnossus or Cnossos, and occasionally Knossus, Gnossus and this site history is to be distinguished from the ancient. In Greek mythology, King Minos dwelt in a palace at Knossos and he had Daedalus construct a labyrinth, a very large maze in which to retain his son, the Minotaur
27.
Mycenaean civilization
–
Mycenaean Greece was the last phase of the Bronze Age in Ancient Greece. It represents the first advanced civilization in mainland Greece, with its states, urban organization, works of art. Among the centers of power emerged, the most notable were those of Pylos, Tiryns, Midea in the Peloponnese, Orchomenos, Thebes, Athens in Central Greece. The most prominent site was Mycenae, in Argolid, to which the culture of this era owes its name. Mycenaean and Mycenaean-influenced settlements also appeared in Epirus, Macedonia, on islands in the Aegean Sea, on the coast of Asia Minor, the Levant, Cyprus and Italy. Their syllabic script, the Linear B, offers the first written records of the Greek language, Mycenaean Greece was dominated by a warrior elite society and consisted of a network of palace states that developed rigid hierarchical, political, social and economic systems. At the head of society was the king, known as wanax. Various theories have proposed for the end of this civilization. Additional theories such as natural disasters and climatic changes have also suggested. The Mycenaean period became the setting of much ancient Greek literature and mythology. The Bronze Age in mainland Greece is generally termed as the Helladic period by modern archaeologists, after Hellas, the Greek name for Greece. This period is divided into three subperiods, The Early Helladic period was a time of prosperity with the use of metals, the Middle Helladic period faced a slower pace of development, as well as the evolution of megaron-type dwellings and cist grave burials. Finally, the Late Helladic period roughly coincides with Mycenaean Greece, the transition period from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age in Greece is known as Sub-Mycenaean. Moreover, it revealed that the bearers of Mycenaean culture were ethnically connected with the populations that resided in the Greek peninsula after the end of this cultural period. Various collective terms for the inhabitants of Mycenaean Greece were used by Homer in his 8th century BC epic, the Iliad, in reference to the Trojan War. The latter was supposed to have happened in the late 13th – early 12th century BC, Homer used the ethnonyms Achaeans, Danaans and Argives, to refer to the besiegers. These names appear to have passed down from the time they were in use to the time when Homer applied them as terms in his Iliad. There is an reference to a-ka-wi-ja-de in the Linear B records in Knossos, Crete dated to c.1400 BC
28.
Mycenae
–
Mycenae is an archaeological site in Greece, located about 90 kilometres southwest of Athens, in the north-eastern Peloponnese. Argos is 11 kilometres to the south, Corinth,48 kilometres to the north, from the hill on which the palace was located, one can see across the Argolid to the Saronic Gulf. In the second millennium BC, Mycenae was one of the centres of Greek civilization. The period of Greek history from about 1600 BC to about 1100 BC is called Mycenaean in reference to Mycenae, at its peak in 1350 BC, the citadel and lower town had a population of 30,000 and an area of 32 hectares. Although the citadel was built by Greeks, the name Mukanai is thought not to be Greek, legend has it that the name was connected to the Greek word mycēs. Thus, Pausanias ascribes the name to the legendary founder Perseus, the earliest written form of the name is Mykēnē, which is found in Homer. The reconstructed Mycenaean Greek name of the site is Mukānai, which has the form of a plural like Athānai, the change of ā to ē in more recent versions of the name is the result of a well-known sound change in later Attic-Ionic. An EH–MH settlement was discovered near a well on top of the Kalkani hill southwest of the acropolis. The first burials in pits or cist graves manifest in the MH period on the west slope of the acropolis, during the Bronze Age, the pattern of settlement at Mycenae was a fortified hill surrounded by hamlets and estates, in contrast to the dense urbanity on the coast. Richer grave goods mark the burials as possibly regal, mounds over the top contained broken drinking vessels and bones from a repast, testifying to a more than ordinary farewell. A walled enclosure, Grave Circle A, included six more shaft graves, with nine female, eight male, Grave goods were more costly than in Circle B. The presence of engraved and inlaid swords and daggers, with points and arrowheads, leave little doubt that warrior chieftains. Some art objects obtained from the graves are the Silver Siege Rhyton, the Mask of Agamemnon, the Cup of Nestor, Alan Wace divided the nine tholos tombs of Mycenae into three groups of three, each based on architecture. His earliest – the Cyclopean Tomb, Epano Phournos, and the Tomb of Aegisthus – are dated to LHIIA, burial in tholoi is seen as replacing burial in shaft graves. The care taken to preserve the shaft graves testifies that they were by then part of the royal heritage, being more visible, the tholoi all had been plundered either in antiquity, or in later historic times. Within these walls, much of which can still be seen, the final palace, remains of which are currently visible on the acropolis of Mycenae, dates to the start of LHIIIA,2. Earlier palaces must have existed, but they had cleared away or built over. The construction of palaces at that time with an architecture was general throughout southern Greece
29.
Relief
–
Relief is a sculptural technique where the sculpted elements remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term relief is from the Latin verb relevo, to raise, to create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that the sculpted material has been raised above the background plane. What is actually performed when a relief is cut in from a surface of stone or wood is a lowering of the field. The technique involves considerable chiselling away of the background, which is a time-consuming exercise. In other materials such as metal, clay, plaster stucco, ceramics or papier-mâché the form can be just added to or raised up from the background, and monumental bronze reliefs are made by casting. There are different degrees of relief depending on the degree of projection of the form from the field. There is also sunk relief, which was restricted to Ancient Egypt. However the distinction between high relief and low relief is the clearest and most important, and these two are generally the only used to discuss most work. Hyphens may or may not be used in all these terms, works in the technique are described as in relief, and, especially in monumental sculpture, the work itself is a relief. Reliefs are common throughout the world on the walls of buildings and a variety of settings. Relief is more suitable for depicting complicated subjects with figures and very active poses, such as battles. Most ancient architectural reliefs were painted, which helped to define forms in low relief. Rock reliefs are carved into solid rock in the open air. This type is found in cultures, in particular those of the Ancient Near East and Buddhist countries. A stele is a standing stone, many of these carry reliefs. The distinction between high and low relief is somewhat subjective, and the two are often combined in a single work. In particular, most later high reliefs contain sections in low relief, a low relief or bas-relief is a projecting image with a shallow overall depth, for example used on coins, on which all images are in low relief. Other versions distort depth much less and it is a technique which requires less work, and is therefore cheaper to produce, as less of the background needs to be removed in a carving, or less modelling is required
30.
Parthenon
–
The Parthenon is a former temple, on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, dedicated to the goddess Athena, whom the people of Athens considered their patron. Construction began in 447 BC when the Athenian Empire was at the peak of its power and it was completed in 438 BC although decoration of the building continued until 432 BC. It is the most important surviving building of Classical Greece, generally considered the zenith of the Doric order and its decorative sculptures are considered some of the high points of Greek art. The Parthenon is regarded as an symbol of Ancient Greece, Athenian democracy and western civilization. The Greek Ministry of Culture is currently carrying out a programme of restoration and reconstruction to ensure the stability of the partially ruined structure. The Parthenon itself replaced a temple of Athena, which historians call the Pre-Parthenon or Older Parthenon. The temple is aligned to the Hyades. While a sacred building dedicated to the patron goddess, the Parthenon was actually used primarily as a treasury. For a time, it served as the treasury of the Delian League, in the final decade of the sixth century AD, the Parthenon was converted into a Christian church dedicated to the Virgin Mary. After the Ottoman conquest, it was turned into a mosque in the early 1460s, on 26 September 1687, an Ottoman ammunition dump inside the building was ignited by Venetian bombardment. The resulting explosion damaged the Parthenon and its sculptures. From 1800 to 1803, Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin removed some of the sculptures with the alleged permission of the Ottoman Empire. These sculptures, now known as the Elgin Marbles or the Parthenon Marbles, were sold in 1816 to the British Museum in London, since 1983, the Greek government has been committed to the return of the sculptures to Greece. The Liddell–Scott–Jones Greek–English Lexicon states that this room was the western cella of the Parthenon, jamauri D. Christopher Pelling asserts that Athena Parthenos may have constituted a discrete cult of Athena, intimately connected with, but not identical to, that of Athena Polias. According to this theory, the name of the Parthenon means the temple of the virgin goddess and it has also been suggested that the name of the temple alludes to the maidens, whose supreme sacrifice guaranteed the safety of the city. Parthénos has also applied to the Virgin Mary, Parthénos Maria. The first instance in which Parthenon definitely refers to the building is found in the writings of the 4th century BC orator Demosthenes. In 5th-century building accounts, the structure is simply called ho naos, because the Parthenon was dedicated to the Greek goddess Athena, it has sometimes been referred to as the Temple of Minerva, the Roman name for Athena, particularly during the 19th century
31.
Doric order
–
The Doric order was one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture, the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognised by the simple circular capitals at the top of columns and it was the earliest and in its essence the simplest of the orders, though still with complex details in the entablature above. The Greek Doric column was fluted or smooth-surfaced, and had no base, the capital was a simple circular form, with some mouldings, under a square cushion that is very wide in early versions, but later more restrained. In stone they are purely ornamental, the relatively uncommon Roman and Renaissance Doric retained these, and often introduced thin layers of moulding or further ornament, as well as often using plain columns. The Doric order was used in Greek Revival architecture from the 18th century onwards, often earlier Greek versions were used, with wider columns. Since at least Vitruvius it has been customary for writers to associate the Doric with masculine virtues and it is also normally the cheapest of the orders to use. In their original Greek version, Doric columns stood directly on the pavement of a temple without a base. The Parthenon has the Doric design columns and it was most popular in the Archaic Period in mainland Greece, and also found in Magna Graecia, as in the three temples at Paestum. These are in the Archaic Doric, where the capitals spread wide from the column compared to later Classical forms, pronounced features of both Greek and Roman versions of the Doric order are the alternating triglyphs and metopes. The triglyphs are decoratively grooved with two vertical grooves and represent the original wooden end-beams, which rest on the plain architrave that occupies the half of the entablature. Under each triglyph are peglike stagons or guttae that appear as if they were hammered in from below to stabilize the post-and-beam construction and they also served to organize rainwater runoff from above. The spaces between the triglyphs are the metopes and they may be left plain, or they may be carved in low relief. The spacing of the triglyphs caused problems which some time to resolve. The architecture followed rules of harmony, since the original design probably came from wooden temples and the triglyphs were real heads of wooden beams, every column had to bear a beam which lay across the centre of the column. Triglyphs were arranged regularly, the last triglyph was centred upon the last column and this was regarded as the ideal solution which had to be reached. Changing to stone instead of wooden beams required full support of the architrave load at the last column. At the first temples the final triglyph was moved, still terminating the sequence, even worse, the last triglyph was not centered with the corresponding column. That “archaic” manner was not regarded as a harmonious design, the resulting problem is called the doric corner conflict
32.
Middle Ages
–
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
33.
Byzantine architecture
–
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
34.
Romanesque architecture
–
Romanesque Architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe characterized by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the date of the Romanesque style, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the late 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style, marked by pointed arches, examples of Romanesque architecture can be found across the continent, making it the first pan-European architectural style since Imperial Roman Architecture. The Romanesque style in England is traditionally referred to as Norman architecture, each building has clearly defined forms, frequently of very regular, symmetrical plan, the overall appearance is one of simplicity when compared with the Gothic buildings that were to follow. The style can be identified right across Europe, despite regional characteristics, Many castles were built during this period, but they are greatly outnumbered by churches. The most significant are the great churches, many of which are still standing, more or less complete. The largest groups of Romanesque survivors are in areas that were less prosperous in subsequent periods, including parts of southern France, northern Spain and rural Italy. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word Romanesque means descended from Roman and was first used in English to designate what are now called Romance languages, Romance language is not degenerated Latin language. Latin language is degenerated Romance language, Romanesque architecture is not debased Roman architecture. Roman architecture is debased Romanesque architecture, the first use in a published work is in William Gunns An Inquiry into the Origin and Influence of Gothic Architecture. The term is now used for the more restricted period from the late 10th to 12th centuries, Many castles exist, the foundations of which date from the Romanesque period. Most have been altered, and many are in ruins. By far the greatest number of surviving Romanesque buildings are churches, the scope of Romanesque architecture Romanesque architecture was the first distinctive style to spread across Europe since the Roman Empire. In the more northern countries Roman building styles and techniques had never been adopted except for official buildings, although the round arch continued in use, the engineering skills required to vault large spaces and build large domes were lost. There was a loss of continuity, particularly apparent in the decline of the formal vocabulary of the Classical Orders. In Rome several great Constantinian basilicas continued in use as an inspiration to later builders, the largest building is the church, the plan of which is distinctly Germanic, having an apse at both ends, an arrangement not generally seen elsewhere. Another feature of the church is its regular proportion, the plan of the crossing tower providing a module for the rest of the plan. These features can both be seen at the Proto-Romanesque St. Michaels Church, Hildesheim, 1001–1030, the style, sometimes called First Romanesque or Lombard Romanesque, is characterised by thick walls, lack of sculpture and the presence of rhythmic ornamental arches known as a Lombard band
35.
Gothic architecture
–
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished in Europe during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture and its characteristics include the pointed arch, the ribbed vault and the flying buttress. Gothic architecture is most familiar as the architecture of many of the cathedrals, abbeys. It is also the architecture of many castles, palaces, town halls, guild halls, universities and to a less prominent extent, private dwellings, for this reason a study of Gothic architecture is largely a study of cathedrals and churches. A series of Gothic revivals began in mid-18th-century England, spread through 19th-century Europe and continued, largely for ecclesiastical and university structures, the term Gothic architecture originated as a pejorative description. Hence, François Rabelais, also of the 16th century, imagines an inscription over the door of his utopian Abbey of Thélème, Here enter no hypocrites, slipping in a slighting reference to Gotz and Ostrogotz. Authorities such as Christopher Wren lent their aid in deprecating the old medieval style, the Company disapproved of several of these new manners, which are defective and which belong for the most part to the Gothic. Gothic architecture is the architecture of the medieval period, characterised by use of the pointed arch. As an architectural style, Gothic developed primarily in ecclesiastical architecture, the greatest number of surviving Gothic buildings are churches. The Gothic style is most particularly associated with the cathedrals of Northern France. At the end of the 12th century, Europe was divided into a multitude of city states, norway came under the influence of England, while the other Scandinavian countries and Poland were influenced by trading contacts with the Hanseatic League. Angevin kings brought the Gothic tradition from France to Southern Italy, throughout Europe at this time there was a rapid growth in trade and an associated growth in towns. Germany and the Lowlands had large flourishing towns that grew in comparative peace, in trade and competition with other, or united for mutual weal. Civic building was of importance to these towns as a sign of wealth. England and France remained largely feudal and produced grand domestic architecture for their kings, dukes and bishops, the Catholic Church prevailed across Europe at this time, influencing not only faith but also wealth and power. Bishops were appointed by the lords and they often ruled as virtual princes over large estates. The early Medieval periods had seen a growth in monasticism, with several different orders being prevalent. Foremost were the Benedictines whose great abbey churches vastly outnumbered any others in France, a part of their influence was that towns developed around them and they became centers of culture, learning and commerce
36.
Renaissance architecture
–
Stylistically, Renaissance architecture followed Gothic architecture and was succeeded by Baroque architecture. Developed first in Florence, with Filippo Brunelleschi as one of its innovators, the style was carried to France, Germany, England, Russia and other parts of Europe at different dates and with varying degrees of impact. Italy of the 15th century, and the city of Florence in particular, was home to the Renaissance, the scholarly approach to the architecture of the ancient coincided with the general revival of learning. A number of factors were influential in bringing this about, Italian architects had always preferred forms that were clearly defined and structural members that expressed their purpose. Many Tuscan Romanesque buildings demonstrate these characteristics, as seen in the Florence Baptistery, Italy had never fully adopted the Gothic style of architecture. In the 15th century, Florence, Venice and Naples extended their power through much of the area that surrounded them and this enabled Florence to have significant artistic influence in Milan, and through Milan, France. Successive Popes, especially Julius II, 1503–13, sought to extend the Pope’s temporal power throughout Italy, in the early Renaissance, Venice controlled sea trade over goods from the East. Trade brought wool from England to Florence, ideally located on the river for the production of fine cloth, by dominating Pisa, Florence gained a seaport, and also maintained dominance of Genoa. In this commercial climate, one family in particular turned their attention from trade to the business of money-lending. The Medici became the chief bankers to the princes of Europe, becoming virtually princes themselves as they did so, along the trade routes, and thus offered some protection by commercial interest, moved not only goods but also artists, scientists and philosophers. This commenced in the mid 15th century and gained momentum in the 16th century, the construction of the Sistine Chapel with its uniquely important decorations and the entire rebuilding of St Peters, one of Christendoms most significant churches, were part of this process. In wealthy republican Florence, the impetus for church-building was more civic than spiritual, the unfinished state of the enormous cathedral dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary did no honour to the city under her patronage. The dome inspired further religious works in Florence, through Humanism, civic pride and the promotion of civil peace and order were seen as the marks of citizenship. Some major ecclesiastical building works were commissioned, not by the church. During the Renaissance, architecture became not only a question of practice, printing played a large role in the dissemination of ideas. The first treatise on architecture was De re aedificatoria by Leon Battista Alberti in 1450 and it was to some degree dependent on Vitruviuss De architectura, a manuscript of which was discovered in 1414 in a library in Switzerland. De re aedificatoria in 1485 became the first printed book on architecture, Sebastiano Serlio produced the next important text, the first volume of which appeared in Venice in 1537, it was entitled Regole generali darchitettura. It is known as Serlios Fourth Book since it was the fourth in Serlios original plan of a treatise in seven books, in all, five books were published
37.
Baroque architecture
–
It was characterized by new explorations of form, light and shadow, and dramatic intensity. Baroque architecture and its embellishments were on the one hand more accessible to the emotions and on the other hand, the new style manifested itself in particular in the context of the new religious orders, like the Theatines and the Jesuits who aimed to improve popular piety. The architecture of the High Roman Baroque can be assigned to the reigns of Urban VIII, Innocent X and Alexander VII. Dissemination of Baroque architecture to the south of Italy resulted in variations such as Sicilian Baroque architecture or that of Naples. To the north, the Theatine architect Camillo-Guarino Guarini, Bernardo Vittone and Sicilian born Filippo Juvarra contributed Baroque buildings to the city of Turin and the Piedmont region. A synthesis of Bernini, Borromini and Cortona’s architecture can be seen in the late Baroque architecture of northern Europe which paved the way for the more decorative Rococo style. During the 17th century, Baroque architecture spread through Europe and Latin America, michelangelos late Roman buildings, particularly St. Peters Basilica, may be considered precursors to Baroque architecture. Colonialism required the development of centralized and powerful governments with Spain and France, the initial mismanagement of colonial wealth by the Spaniards bankrupted them in the 16th century, recovering only slowly in the following century. While this was good for the industries and the arts, the new wealth created an inflation. Rome was known just as much for its new sumptuous churches as for its vagabonds, one of the first Roman structures to break with the Mannerist conventions exemplified in the Gesù, was the church of Santa Susanna, designed by Carlo Maderno. The dynamic rhythm of columns and pilasters, central massing, there is an incipient playfulness with the rules of classic design, but it still maintains rigor. These concerns are more evident in his reworking of Santa Maria della Pace. Probably the most well known example of such an approach is Saint Peters Square, the piazza, designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, is formed principally by two colonnades of free standing columns centred on an Egyptian obelisk. Berninis own favourite design was his church of SantAndrea al Quirinale decorated with polychome marbles. His secular architecture included the Palazzo Barberini based on plans by Maderno, Berninis rival, the architect Francesco Borromini, produced designs that deviated dramatically from the regular compositions of the ancient world and Renaissance. His building plans were based on geometric figures, his architectural forms were unusual and inventive. Borrominis architectural spaces seem to expand and contract when needed, showing some affinity with the style of Michelangelo. A later work, the church of SantIvo alla Sapienza, displays the same playful inventiveness and antipathy to the flat surface, following the death of Bernini in 1680, Carlo Fontana emerged as the most influential architect working in Rome
38.
Rococo
–
Rococo artists and architects used a more jocular, florid, and graceful approach to the Baroque. Their style was ornate and used light colours, asymmetrical designs, curves, unlike the political Baroque, the Rococo had playful and witty themes. By the end of the 18th century, Rococo was largely replaced by the Neoclassic style. In 1835 the Dictionary of the French Academy stated that the word Rococo usually covers the kind of ornament, style and design associated with Louis XVs reign and it includes therefore, all types of art from around the middle of the 18th century in France. The word is seen as a combination of the French rocaille and coquilles, the term may also be a combination of the Italian word barocco and the French rocaille and may describe the refined and fanciful style that became fashionable in parts of Europe in the 18th century. The Rococo love of shell-like curves and focus on decorative arts led some critics to say that the style was frivolous or merely modish, when the term was first used in English in about 1836, it was a colloquialism meaning old-fashioned. While there is some debate about the historical significance of the style to art in general. Italian architects of the late Baroque/early Rococo were wooed to Catholic Germany, Bohemia and Austria by local princes, an exotic but in some ways more formal type of Rococo appeared in France where Louis XIVs succession brought a change in the court artists and general artistic fashion. By the end of the long reign, rich Baroque designs were giving way to lighter elements with more curves. These elements are obvious in the designs of Nicolas Pineau. During the Régence, court life moved away from Versailles and this change became well established, first in the royal palace. The delicacy and playfulness of Rococo designs is seen as perfectly in tune with the excesses of Louis XVs reign. The 1730s represented the height of Rococo development in France, the style had spread beyond architecture and furniture to painting and sculpture, exemplified by the works of Antoine Watteau and François Boucher. The Rococo style was spread by French artists and engraved publications, william Hogarth helped develop a theoretical foundation for Rococo beauty. Though not intentionally referencing the movement, he argued in his Analysis of Beauty that the lines and S-curves prominent in Rococo were the basis for grace. The development of Rococo in Great Britain is considered to have connected with the revival of interest in Gothic architecture early in the 18th century. The beginning of the end for Rococo came in the early 1760s as figures like Voltaire and Jacques-François Blondel began to voice their criticism of the superficiality, Blondel decried the ridiculous jumble of shells, dragons, reeds, palm-trees and plants in contemporary interiors. By 1785, Rococo had passed out of fashion in France, replaced by the order, in Germany, late 18th century Rococo was ridiculed as Zopf und Perücke, and this phase is sometimes referred to as Zopfstil
39.
Entasis
–
In architecture, entasis is the application of a convex curve to a surface for aesthetic purposes. Its best-known use is in certain orders of Classical columns that curve slightly as their diameter is decreased from the bottom upward and it also may serve an engineering function regarding strength. The word we apply to the principle is used by the Roman architectural historian Vitruvius. Creating the illusion of greater strength or perception of height may have been an objective in the application of entasis, examples of this design principle may be found in cultures throughout the world, from ancient times to contemporary architecture. The first known use of entasis was in the construction of Egyptian pyramids and it also may be observed among Classical period Greek column designs, built a thousand years later, for example, in the Doric-order temples in Segesta, Selinus, Agrigento, and Paestum. It was used frequently in Hellenistic and Roman period architecture. The Roman temples built during these periods were higher than those of the Greeks, chinese carpenters of the Song Dynasty followed designs in the AD1103 Yingzao Fashi that specified straight columnns or those with an entasis on the upper third of the shaft. Noted architects, such as the Renaissance master Andrea Palladio, also used entasis in the designs of their buildings and it also may be seen in the sloping or battered walls of some Tibetan monastery and fortress architecture, as well as that of Bhutan. The lower parts of walls, approximately one third, have a slight inward curve. If one builds a wall as a straight, sloping surface. An example in Bhutan is the Dobji dzong, the early Classical builders did not leave an explanation of their reasons for using entasis in their columns. Extensive conjecture about the purpose of its application by them exists, some descriptions of entasis, state simply, that the technique was an enhancement applied to the more primitive conical columns to make them appear more substantial. Other descriptions argue that the technique emphasizes the substantiality of, not the columns, because their discussion of the application of the principle has never been discovered, it is unknown, however, whether the early Greeks knew this. If the column originally was a reference to, or analogous to, the palm tree. That could account for the replication of a principle in nature that became a tradition. Die Schwellung der Säule bei den Architekturtheoretikern bis in das XVIII
40.
Stylobate
–
In classical Greek architecture, a stylobate is the top step of the crepidoma, the stepped platform upon which colonnades of temple columns are placed. The platform was built on a course that flattened out the ground immediately beneath the temple. Others use the term to refer to the entire platform, the stylobate was often designed to relate closely to the dimensions of other elements of the temple. In Greek Doric temples, the length and width of the stylobate were related, the Romans took a different approach, using a much higher stylobate that typically had steps only in the front, leading to the portico. A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture
41.
Foundation (engineering)
–
A foundation is the element of an architectural structure which connects it to the ground, and transfers loads from the structure to the ground. Foundations are generally considered either shallow or deep, foundation engineering is the application of soil mechanics and rock mechanics in the design of foundation elements of structures. Buildings and structures have a history of being built with wood in contact with the ground. Post in ground construction may technically have no foundation, timber pilings were used on soft or wet ground even below stone or masonry walls. In marine construction and bridge building a crisscross of timbers or steel beams in concrete is called grillage, perhaps the simplest foundation is the padstone, a single stone which both spreads the weight on the ground and raises the timber off the ground. Staddle stones are a type of padstone. Dry stone and stones laid in mortar to build foundations are common in parts of the world. Dry laid stone foundations may have painted with mortar after construction. Sometimes the top, visible course of stone is hewn, quarried stones, besides using mortar, stones can also be put in a gabion. One disadvantage is that if using regular steel rebars, the gabion would last much less long than when using mortar, using weathering steel rebars could reduce this disadvantage somewhat. Rubble trench foundations are a shallow trench filled with rubble or stones and these foundations extend below the frost line and may have a drain pipe which helps groundwater drain away. They are suitable for soils with a capacity of more than 10 tonnes/m², shallow foundations, often called footings, are usually embedded about a metre or so into soil. One common type is the spread footing which consists of strips or pads of concrete which extend below the frost line and transfer the weight from walls and columns to the soil or bedrock. Another common type of foundation is the slab-on-grade foundation where the weight of the building is transferred to the soil through a concrete slab placed at the surface. A deep foundation is used to transfer the load of a structure down through the upper layer of topsoil to the stronger layer of subsoil below. There are different types of deep footings including impact driven piles, drilled shafts, caissons, helical piles, geo-piers, the naming conventions for different types of footings vary between different engineers. Historically, piles were wood, later steel, reinforced concrete, a large number of monopile foundations have been utilized in recent years for economically constructing fixed-bottom offshore wind farms in shallow-water subsea locations. For example, a wind farm off the coast of England went online in 2008 with over 100 turbines
42.
Plinth
–
In architecture, a plinth is the base or platform upon which a column, pedestal, statue, monument or structure rests. Gottfried Sempers The Four Elements of Architecture posited that the plinth, the hearth, the roof, the plinth usually rests directly on the ground or stylobate. According to Semper, the plinth exists to negotiate between a structure and the ground, Sempers theory has been influential in the development of architecture. Many houses in rural areas of Bangladesh are built on plinths. The word is used for the base of a cabinet or an audio turntable. In dam engineering, the plinth is the link between the ground and the dam, for the case of arch dams, the term is changed to pulvino
43.
Molding (decorative)
–
Moulding, also known as coving, is a strip of material with various profiles used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid milled wood or plaster, in classical architecture and sculpture, the molding is often carved in marble or other stones. A sprung molding has bevelled edges that allow mounting between two planes, with an open space behind the molding. Other types of molding are referred to as plain, at their simplest, moldings are a means of applying light- and dark-shaded stripes to a structural object without having to change the material or apply pigments. The contrast of dark and light areas gives definition to the object, imagine the vertical surface of a wall lit by sunlight at an angle of about 45 degrees above the wall. Adding a small overhanging horizontal molding to the surface of the wall will introduce a dark horizontal shadow below the molding, adding a vertical fillet to a horizontal surface will create a light vertical shadow. Other varieties of concave molding are the scotia and congé and other convex moldings the echinus, the torus, placing an ovolo directly above a cavetto forms a smooth s-shaped curve with vertical ends that is called an ogee or cyma reversa molding. Its shadow appears as a light at the top and bottom. Similarly, a cavetto above an ovolo forms an s with horizontal ends and its shadow shows two dark bands with a light interior. Together the basic elements and their variants form a vocabulary that can be assembled and rearranged in endless combinations. This vocabulary is at the core of classical architecture and Gothic architecture. Decorative moldings have been made of wood, stone and cement, recently moldings made of Expanded Polystyrene as a core with a cement-based protective coating have become popular. These moldings have environmental, health and safety concerns that were investigated by Doroudiani et al, there are a variety of common moldings, Astragal — A semi-circular molding attached to one of a pair of especially fire doors to cover the air gap where the doors meet. Baguette — Thin, half-round molding, smaller than an astragal, sometimes carved, when enriched with ornaments, it was also called chapelet. Bandelet — Any little band or flat molding, which crowns a Doric architrave and it is also called a tenia (from Greek ταινία an article of clothing in the form of a ribbon. Baseboard, base molding or skirting board — used to conceal the junction of a wall and floor, to protect the wall from impacts. A speed base makes use of a base cap molding set on top of a plain 1 thick board, see also, chin-beak Bed molding — a narrow molding used at the junction of a wall and ceiling. Bed moldings can be either sprung or plain, bolection — a molding which is raised, projecting proud of the face frame
44.
Astragal
–
An astragal is a moulding profile composed of a half-round surface surrounded by two flat planes. An astragal is sometimes referred to as a miniature torus and it can be an architectural element used at the top or base of a column, but is also employed as a framing device on furniture and woodwork. The word astragal comes from the Greek and Latin for vertebra, an astragal is commonly used to seal between a pair of doors. The astragal closes the gap created by bevels on one or both mating doors, and helps deaden sound. The vertical member attaches to a stile on one of a pair of sliding or swinging doors. Exterior astragals are kerfed for weatherstripping, an astragal may also be known as a “meeting stile seal”. It is sometimes confused with the wooden trim that divides the panes of a window or door
45.
Ionic order
–
The Ionic order forms one of the three classical orders of classical architecture, the other two canonic orders being the Doric and the Corinthian. There are two orders, the Tuscan, and the rich variant of Corinthian called the composite order. The Ionic columns are the thinnest and smallest columns out of the three canonic orders, the Ionic capital is characterized by the use of volutes. The Ionic columns normally stand on a base which separates the shaft of the column from the stylobate or platform, since Vitruvius a female character has been ascribed to the Ionic, in contrast to the masculine Doric. The major features of the Ionic order are the volutes of its capital, the only tools required to design these features were a straight-edge, a right angle, string and a compass. Originally the volutes lay in a plane, then it was seen that they could be angled out on the corners. Ionic columns are most often fluted, after a little early experimentation, the number of hollow flutes in the shaft settled at 24. This standardization kept the fluting in a proportion to the diameter of the column at any scale. Roman fluting leaves a little of the surface between each hollow, Greek fluting runs out to a knife edge that was easily scarred. In some instances, the fluting has been omitted, mohr included 8 unfluted Ionic frontal columns on his 1928 design for the railroads St. Louis suburban stop Delmar Station. Pictorial often narrative bas-relief frieze carving provides a feature of the Ionic order. Roman and Renaissance practice condensed the height of the entablature by reducing the proportions of the architrave, the Ionic order originated in the mid-6th century BC in Ionia, the southwestern coastland and islands of Asia Minor settled by Ionian Greeks, where an Ionian dialect was spoken. The Ionic order column was being practiced in mainland Greece in the 5th century BC and it was most popular in the Archaic Period in Ionia. The first of the great Ionic temples was the Temple of Hera on Samos and it stood for only a decade before it was leveled by an earthquake. A longer-lasting 6th century Ionic temple was the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the Parthenon, although it conforms mainly to the Doric order, also has some Ionic elements. A more purely Ionic mode to be seen on the Athenian Acropolis is exemplified in the Erechtheum, following the conquests of Alexander the Great in the east, a few examples of the Ionic order can be found as far as Pakistan with the Jandial temple near Taxila. Several examples of capitals displaying Ionic influences can seen as far away as Patna, especially with the Pataliputra capital. Renaissance architectural theorists took his hints, to interpret the Ionic order as matronly in comparison to the Doric order, the Ionic is a natural order for post-Renaissance libraries and courts of justice, learned and civilized
.jpg)
