1.
French language
–
French is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages, French has evolved from Gallo-Romance, the spoken Latin in Gaul, and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues doïl—languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, French was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to Frances past overseas expansion, there are numerous French-based creole languages, a French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French. French is a language in 29 countries, most of which are members of la francophonie. As of 2015, 40% of the population is in Europe, 35% in sub-Saharan Africa, 15% in North Africa and the Middle East, 8% in the Americas. French is the fourth-most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union, 1/5 of Europeans who do not have French as a mother tongue speak French as a second language. As a result of French and Belgian colonialism from the 17th and 18th century onward, French was introduced to new territories in the Americas, Africa, most second-language speakers reside in Francophone Africa, in particular Gabon, Algeria, Mauritius, Senegal and Ivory Coast. In 2015, French was estimated to have 77 to 110 million native speakers, approximately 274 million people are able to speak the language. The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie estimates 700 million by 2050, in 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked French the third most useful language for business, after English and Standard Mandarin Chinese. Under the Constitution of France, French has been the language of the Republic since 1992. France mandates the use of French in official government publications, public education except in specific cases, French is one of the four official languages of Switzerland and is spoken in the western part of Switzerland called Romandie, of which Geneva is the largest city. French is the language of about 23% of the Swiss population. French is also a language of Luxembourg, Monaco, and Aosta Valley, while French dialects remain spoken by minorities on the Channel Islands. A plurality of the worlds French-speaking population lives in Africa and this number does not include the people living in non-Francophone African countries who have learned French as a foreign language. Due to the rise of French in Africa, the total French-speaking population worldwide is expected to reach 700 million people in 2050, French is the fastest growing language on the continent. French is mostly a language in Africa, but it has become a first language in some urban areas, such as the region of Abidjan, Ivory Coast and in Libreville. There is not a single African French, but multiple forms that diverged through contact with various indigenous African languages, sub-Saharan Africa is the region where the French language is most likely to expand, because of the expansion of education and rapid population growth
French language
–
The
"arrêt" signs (French for "stop") are used in
Canada while the international stop, which is also a valid French word, is used in France as well as other French-speaking countries and regions.
French language
–
Regions where French is the main language
French language
–
Town sign in
Standard Arabic and French at the entrance of
Rechmaya in
Lebanon.
French language
–
An obsolete 100
Lebanese pound note with the French language inscriptions "Banque du Liban" and "Cent livres".
2.
Knight
–
A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a monarch or other political leader for service to the monarch or country, especially in a military capacity. Historically, in Europe, knighthood was conferred upon mounted warriors, during the High Middle Ages, knighthood was considered a class of lower nobility. By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, often, a knight was a vassal who served as a fighter for a lord, with payment in the form of land holdings. The lords trusted the knights, who were skilled in battle on horseback, since the early modern period, the title of knight is purely honorific, usually bestowed by a monarch, as in the British honours system, often for non-military service to the country. The modern female equivalent in the United Kingdom is Dame, furthermore, Geoffroi de Charnys Book of Chivalry expounded upon the importance of Christian faith in every area of a knights life. This novel explored the ideals of knighthood and their incongruity with the reality of Cervantes world, in the late medieval period, new methods of warfare began to render classical knights in armour obsolete, but the titles remained in many nations. Some orders of knighthood, such as the Knights Templar, have become the subject of legend, each of these orders has its own criteria for eligibility, but knighthood is generally granted by a head of state or monarch to selected persons to recognise some meritorious achievement. This linkage is reflected in the etymology of chivalry, cavalier, the special prestige accorded to mounted warriors finds a parallel in the furusiyya in the Muslim world, and the Greek hippeus and Roman eques of classical antiquity. The word knight, from Old English cniht, is a cognate of the German word Knecht and this meaning, of unknown origin, is common among West Germanic languages. Middle High German had the phrase guoter kneht, which also meant knight, the Anglo-Saxon cniht had no connection to horsemanship, the word referred to any servant. A rādcniht, riding-servant, was a servant delivering messages or patrolling coastlines on horseback, a narrowing of the generic meaning servant to military follower of a king or other superior is visible by 1100. The specific military sense of a knight as a warrior in the heavy cavalry emerges only in the Hundred Years War. The verb to knight appears around 1300, and, from the same time, an Equestrian was a member of the second highest social class in the Roman Republic and early Roman Empire. This class is often translated as knight, the medieval knight, both Greek ἳππος and Latin equus are derived from the Proto-Indo-European word root ekwo-, horse. In the later Roman Empire, the classical Latin word for horse, equus, was replaced in common parlance by the vulgar Latin caballus, sometimes thought to derive from Gaulish caballos. From caballus arose terms in the various Romance languages cognate with the English cavalier, Italian cavaliere, Spanish caballero, French chevalier, Portuguese cavaleiro, the Germanic languages have terms cognate with the English rider, German Ritter, and Dutch and Scandinavian ridder. These words are derived from Germanic rīdan, to ride, in turn derived from the Proto-Indo-European root reidh-, in ancient Rome there was a knightly class Ordo Equestris from which European knighthood may have been derived. Some portions of the armies of Germanic peoples who occupied Europe from the 3rd century AD onward had been mounted, in the Early Medieval period any well-equipped horseman could be described as a knight, or miles in Latin
Knight
–
David I of Scotland knighting a squire
Knight
–
The English fighting the French knights at the
Battle of Crécy in 1346.
Knight
–
Khosrau II dressed as a mounted Persian knight riding on his favourite horse, Shabdiz. One of the oldest known reliefs of a heavily armoured cavalryman, from the Sassanid empire, Taqé Bostan, Iran (4th century).
Knight
–
A Norman knight slaying
Harold Godwinson (
Bayeux tapestry, c. 1070). The rank of knight developed in the 12th century from the mounted warriors of the 10th and 11th centuries.
3.
Historian
–
A historian is a person who researches, studies, and writes about the past, and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race, if the individual is concerned with events preceding written history, the individual is an historian of prehistory. Although historian can be used to describe amateur and professional historians alike, some historians, though, are recognized by publications or training and experience. Historian became an occupation in the late nineteenth century as research universities were emerging in Germany. Modern historical analysis usually draws upon other social sciences, including economics, sociology, politics, psychology, anthropology, philosophy, while ancient writers do not normally share modern historical practices, their work remains valuable for its insights within the cultural context of the times. Understanding the past appears to be a human need. What constitutes history is a philosophical question, the earliest chronologies date back to Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt, though no historical writers in these early civilizations were known by name. Systematic historical thought emerged in ancient Greece, a development that became an important influence on the writing of history elsewhere around the Mediterranean region, the earliest known critical historical works were The Histories, composed by Herodotus of Halicarnassus who later became known as the father of history. Herodotus attempted to distinguish between more and less reliable accounts, and personally conducted research by travelling extensively, giving accounts of various Mediterranean cultures. Although Herodotus overall emphasis lay on the actions and characters of men and he was also the first to distinguish between cause and immediate origins of an event, while his successor Xenophon introduced autobiographical elements and character studies in his Anabasis. The Romans adopted the Greek tradition, while early Roman works were still written in Greek, the Origines, composed by the Roman statesman Cato the Elder, was written in Latin, in a conscious effort to counteract Greek cultural influence. Strabo was an important exponent of the Greco-Roman tradition of combining geography with history, livy records the rise of Rome from city-state to empire. His speculation about what would have happened if Alexander the Great had marched against Rome represents the first known instance of alternate history, in Chinese historiography, the Classic of History is one of the Five Classics of Chinese classic texts and one of the earliest narratives of China. Sima Qian was the first in China to lay the groundwork for professional historical writing and his written work was the Shiji, a monumental lifelong achievement in literature. Christian historiography began early, perhaps as early as Luke-Acts, which is the source for the Apostolic Age. Writing history was popular among Christian monks and clergy in the Middle Ages and they wrote about the history of Jesus Christ, that of the Church and that of their patrons, the dynastic history of the local rulers. In the Early Middle Ages historical writing often took the form of annals or chronicles recording events year by year, muslim historical writings first began to develop in the 7th century, with the reconstruction of the Prophet Muhammads life in the centuries following his death. With numerous conflicting narratives regarding Muhammad and his companions from various sources, to evaluate these sources, they developed various methodologies, such as the science of biography, science of hadith and Isnad
Historian
–
Herodotus was a Greek historian who lived in the 5th century BC and one of the earliest historians whose work survives.
Historian
–
Reproduction of part of a tenth-century copy of
Thucydides 's
History of the Peloponnesian War.
Historian
–
Leonardo Bruni (c.1370–1444), the historian who first divided history into the three eras of
Antiquity, the
Middle Ages, and
Modern times.
Historian
–
A page of
Bede 's Ecclesiastical History of the English People
4.
Fourth Crusade
–
The Fourth Crusade was a Western European armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III, originally intended to conquer Muslim-controlled Jerusalem by means of an invasion through Egypt. Instead, a sequence of events culminated in the Crusaders sacking the city of Constantinople, the intention of the crusaders was then to continue to the Holy Land with promised Byzantine financial and military assistance. On 23 June 1203 the main fleet reached Constantinople. In August 1203, following clashes outside Constantinople, Alexios Angelos was crowned co-Emperor with crusader support, however, in January 1204, he was deposed by a popular uprising in Constantinople. In April 1204, they captured and brutally sacked the city, Byzantine resistance based in unconquered sections of the empire such as Nicaea, Trebizond, and Epirus ultimately recovered Constantinople in 1261. Ayyubid Sultan Saladin had conquered most of the Frankish, Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, including the ancient city itself, the Kingdom had been established 88 years before, after the capture and sack of Jerusalem in the First Crusade. The city was sacred to Christians, Muslims and Jews, Saladin led a Muslim dynasty, and his incorporation of Jerusalem into his domains shocked and dismayed the Catholic countries of Western Europe. Legend has it that Pope Urban III literally died of the shock, the crusader states had been reduced to three cities along the sea coast, Tyre, Tripoli, and Antioch. The Third Crusade reclaimed an extensive amount of territory for the Kingdom of Jerusalem, including the key towns of Acre and Jaffa, but had failed to retake Jerusalem. The crusade had also marked by a significant escalation in long standing tensions between the feudal states of western Europe and the Byzantine Empire, centred in Constantinople. The experiences of the first two crusades had thrown into relief the vast cultural differences between the two Christian civilisations. For their part, the educated and wealthy Byzantines maintained a sense of cultural, organizational. Constantinople had been in existence for 874 years at the time of the Fourth Crusade and was the largest and most sophisticated city in Christendom. Almost alone amongst major medieval urban centres, it had retained the civic structures, public baths, forums, monuments, at its height, the city held an estimated population of about half a million people behind thirteen miles of triple walls. As a result, it was both a rival and a target for the aggressive new states of the west, notably the Republic of Venice. Crusaders also seized the breakaway Byzantine province of Cyprus, rather than return it to the Empire, barbarossa died on crusade, and his army quickly disintegrated, leaving the English and French, who had come by sea, to fight Saladin. There they captured Sidon and Beirut, but at the news of Henrys death in Messina along the way, many of the nobles, deserted by much of their leadership, the rank and file crusaders panicked before an Egyptian army and fled to their ships in Tyre. Also in 1195, the Byzantine Emperor Isaac II Angelos was deposed in favour of his brother by a palace coup, ascending as Alexios III Angelos, the new emperor had his brother blinded and exiled
Fourth Crusade
–
Conquest of Constantinople by the Crusaders in 1204
Fourth Crusade
–
The Crusader attack on Constantinople, from a Venetian manuscript of Geoffreoy de Villehardouin's history, ca. 1330
Fourth Crusade
–
Capture of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade in 1204
Fourth Crusade
–
The Entry of the Crusaders into Constantinople (
Eugène Delacroix, 1840). The most infamous action of the Fourth Crusade was the sack of the Orthodox Christian city of
Constantinople
5.
Latin Empire
–
It was established after the capture of Constantinople in 1204 and lasted until 1261. Baldwin IX, Count of Flanders, was crowned the first Latin emperor as Baldwin I on 16 May 1204, the last Latin emperor, Baldwin II, went into exile, but the imperial title survived, with several pretenders to it, until the 14th century. The original name of state in the Latin language was Imperium Romaniae. This name was used based on the fact that the name for the Eastern Roman Empire in this period had been Romania. The names Byzantine and Latin were not contemporaneous terms, the term Latin has been used because the crusaders were Roman Catholic and used Latin as their liturgical and scholarly language. It is used in contrast to the Eastern Orthodox locals who used Greek in both liturgy and common speech, after the fall of Constantinople in the Fourth Crusade, the crusaders agreed to divide up Byzantine territory. In the Partitio terrarum imperii Romaniae, signed on 1 October 1204, none of these polities actually controlled the city of Rome, which remained under the temporal authority of the Pope. The initial campaigns of the crusaders in Asia Minor resulted in the capture of most of Bithynia by 1205, with the defeat of the forces of Theodore I Laskaris at Poemanenum and Prusa. Latin successes continued, and in 1207 a truce was signed with Theodore, the Latins inflicted a further defeat on Nicaean forces at the Rhyndakos river in October 1211, and three years later the Treaty of Nymphaeum recognized their control of most of Bithynia and Mysia. The peace was maintained until 1222, when the resurgent power of Nicaea felt sufficiently strong to challenge the Latin Empire, Nicaea turned also to the Aegean, capturing the islands awarded to the empire. In 1235, finally, the last Latin possessions fell to Nicaea, unlike in Asia, where the Latin Empire faced only an initially weak Nicaea, in Europe it was immediately confronted with a powerful enemy, the Bulgarian tsar Kaloyan. When Baldwin campaigned against the Byzantine lords of Thrace, they called upon Kaloyan for help, at the Battle of Adrianople on 14 April 1205, the Latin heavy cavalry and knights were crushed by Kaloyans troops and Cuman allies, and Emperor Baldwin was captured. He was imprisoned in the Bulgarian capital Tarnovo until his later in 1205. At the same time, another Greek successor state, the Despotate of Epirus, under Michael I Komnenos Doukas, posed a threat to the vassals in Thessalonica. Henry demanded his submission, which Michael provided, giving off his daughter to Henrys brother Eustace in the summer of 1209 and this alliance allowed Henry to launch a campaign in Macedonia, Thessaly and Central Greece against the rebellious Lombard lords of Thessalonica. However, Michaels attack on the Kingdom of Thessalonica in 1210 forced him to north to relieve the city. In 1214 however, Michael died, and was succeeded by Theodore Komnenos Doukas, on 11 June 1216, while supervising repairs to the walls of Thessalonica, Henry died, and was succeeded by Peter of Courtenay, who himself was captured and executed by Theodore the following year. A regency was set up in Constantinople, headed by Peters widow, Yolanda of Flanders, epirote armies then conquered Thrace in 1225–26, appearing before Constantinople itself
Latin Empire
–
Capture of Constantinople during the
Fourth Crusade in 1204.
Latin Empire
–
The Latin Empire with its vassals (in yellow) and the Greek successor states of the Byzantine Empire (in red) after the
Treaty of Nymphaeum in 1214. The borders are very uncertain.
6.
Soldier
–
A soldier is one who fights as part of an organised, land-based armed force. A soldier can be a person, a non-commissioned officer. The word soldier derives from the Middle English word soudeour, from Old French soudeer or soudeour, meaning mercenary, from soudee, meaning shillings worth or wage, from sou or soud, the word is also related to the Medieval Latin soldarius, meaning soldier. These words ultimately derive from the Late Latin word solidus, referring to an Ancient Roman coin used in the Byzantine Empire. In most armed forces use of the soldier has taken on a more general meaning due to the increasing specialization of military occupations that require different areas of knowledge. In many countries soldiers serving in specific occupations are referred to by other than their occupational name. For example, military personnel in the British Army are known as red caps because of the colour of their caps. Infantry are sometimes called grunts or squaddies, while US Army artillery crews, or gunners, are referred to as redlegs. U. S. soldiers are often called G. I. s, members of the Marine Corps are typically referred to as marines rather than soldiers. In the United States, the term warfighter is often used to refer collectively to all whose job it is to do the actual fighting, the army has not completely phased out this terminology and still uses warfighter in various contexts such as the Project Manager Warfighter Information Network-Tactical. French Marine Infantry are called marsouins because of their amphibious role, Military units in most armies have nicknames of this type, arising either from items of distinctive uniform, some historical connotation or rivalry between branches or regiments. Some soldiers, such as conscripts or draftees, serve a limited term. Others choose to serve until retirement, then receive a pension. In the United States, military members can retire after 20 years, in other countries, the term of service is 30 years, hence the term 30-year man. Airman Marine Military use of children Seaman Media related to Soldier at Wikimedia Commons
Soldier
–
Israeli soldiers in April 2002
7.
Thibaud III of Champagne
–
Theobald III was Count of Champagne from 1197 to his death. He was the son of Henry I, Count of Champagne and Marie. He succeeded as Count of Champagne in 1197 upon the death of his older brother Henry II and these laws were reinforced subsequently in charters that were signed between 1198 and 1231. In 1198, Pope Innocent III called the Fourth Crusade, there was little enthusiasm for the crusade at first, but on 28 November 1199 various nobles of France gathered at Theobalds court for a tournament, including the preacher Fulk of Neuilly. There, they took the cross, and elected Theobald their leader, Theobald married Blanche of Navarre on 1 July 1199 at Chartres. Following Theobalds death on May 24,1201, she was to rule as regent for the following 21 years, during which the succession was contested by Theobalds nieces, Alice, Theobald was buried beside his father, Henry, at the Church of Saint Stephen at Troyes
Thibaud III of Champagne
–
Seal of Theobald III
8.
Ambassador
–
The word is also often used more liberally for persons who are known, without national appointment, to represent certain professions, activities and fields of endeavor such as sales. An ambassador is the government representative stationed in a foreign capital. The host country typically allows the control of specific territory called an embassy, whose territory, staff. Under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, an ambassador has the highest diplomatic rank, countries may choose to maintain diplomatic relations at a lower level by appointing a chargé daffaires in place of an ambassador. The equivalent to an Ambassador exchanged among members of the Commonwealth of Nations are known as High Commissioners, the ambassadors of the Holy See are known as Papal or Apostolic Nuncios. The first known usage of the term is known to be in the 14th century, the foreign government to which an ambassador is assigned must first approve the person. In some cases, the government might reverse its approval by declaring the diplomat a persona non grata. This kind of declaration usually results in recalling the ambassador to his/her home nation, due to the advent of modern travel, todays world is a much smaller place in relative terms. As an officer of the service, an ambassador is expected to protect the citizens of his home country in the host country. Another result of the increase in travel is the growth of trade between nations. For most countries, the economy is now part of the global economy. This means increased opportunities to sell and trade with other nations, one of the cornerstones of foreign diplomatic missions is to work for peace. This task can grow into a fight against international terrorism, the trade, international bribery. Ambassadors help stop these acts, helping people across the globe and these activities are important and sensitive and are usually carried out in coordination with the Defense Ministry of the state and the head of the nation. The rise of the diplomatic system was a product of the Italian Renaissance. The use of ambassadors became a strategy in Italy during the 17th century. The political changes in Italy altered the role of ambassadors in diplomatic affairs, because many of the states in Italy were small in size, they were particularly vulnerable to larger states. The ambassador system was used to disperse information and to protect the vulnerable states
Ambassador
–
Hans Holbein the Younger:
The Ambassadors, 1533. The life-sized panel portrays
Jean de Dinteville and
Georges de Selve, the ambassadors of
Francis I of France.
Ambassador
–
Before taking office an Ambassador's credentials must be accepted, such as when South African Ambassador
Harry Schwarz handed his credentials to U.S. President
George H. W. Bush in 1991.
Ambassador
–
Maria-Pia Kothbauer, Princess of Liechtenstein and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Czech Republic, presenting her credentials to
Václav Klaus
9.
Venice
–
Venice is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is situated across a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and these are located in the shallow Venetian Lagoon, an enclosed bay that lies between the mouths of the Po and the Piave Rivers. Parts of Venice are renowned for the beauty of their settings, their architecture, the lagoon and a part of the city are listed as a World Heritage Site. In 2014,264,579 people resided in Comune di Venezia, together with Padua and Treviso, the city is included in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, with a total population of 2.6 million. PATREVE is a metropolitan area without any degree of autonomy. The name is derived from the ancient Veneti people who inhabited the region by the 10th century BC, the city was historically the capital of the Republic of Venice. Venice has been known as the La Dominante, Serenissima, Queen of the Adriatic, City of Water, City of Masks, City of Bridges, The Floating City, and City of Canals. The City State of Venice is considered to have been the first real international financial center which gradually emerged from the 9th century to its peak in the 14th century and this made Venice a wealthy city throughout most of its history. It is also known for its several important artistic movements, especially the Renaissance period, Venice has played an important role in the history of symphonic and operatic music, and it is the birthplace of Antonio Vivaldi. Venice has been ranked the most beautiful city in the world as of 2016, the name Venetia, however, derives from the Roman name for the people known as the Veneti, and called by the Greeks Eneti. The meaning of the word is uncertain, although there are other Indo-European tribes with similar-sounding names, such as the Celtic Veneti, Baltic Veneti, and the Slavic Wends. Linguists suggest that the name is based on an Indo-European root *wen, so that *wenetoi would mean beloved, lovable, a connection with the Latin word venetus, meaning the color sea-blue, is also possible. The alternative obsolete form is Vinegia, some late Roman sources reveal the existence of fishermen on the islands in the original marshy lagoons. They were referred to as incolae lacunae, the traditional founding is identified with the dedication of the first church, that of San Giacomo on the islet of Rialto — said to have taken place at the stroke of noon on 25 March 421. Beginning as early as AD166 to 168, the Quadi and Marcomanni destroyed the center in the area. The Roman defences were again overthrown in the early 5th century by the Visigoths and, some 50 years later, New ports were built, including those at Malamocco and Torcello in the Venetian lagoon. The tribuni maiores, the earliest central standing governing committee of the islands in the Lagoon, the traditional first doge of Venice, Paolo Lucio Anafesto, was actually Exarch Paul, and his successor, Marcello Tegalliano, was Pauls magister militum. In 726 the soldiers and citizens of the Exarchate rose in a rebellion over the controversy at the urging of Pope Gregory II
Venice
–
A collage of Venice: at the top left is the
Piazza San Marco, followed by a view of the city, then the
Grand Canal, and (smaller) the interior of
La Fenice and, finally, the Island of San Giorgio Maggiore
Venice
–
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Venice
–
Photography of Venice at dusk
Venice
–
The Grand Canal seen from the bridge at
Ponte di Rialto
10.
Boniface of Montferrat
–
Boniface I, usually known as Boniface of Montferrat, was Marquess of Montferrat, the leader of the Fourth Crusade and the King of Thessalonica. Boniface was the son of William V of Montferrat and Judith of Babenberg. He was a brother of William Longsword, Count of Jaffa and Ascalon. His youthful exploits in the late 1170s are recalled in the famous letter, Valen marques, senher de Monferrat, by his good friend and court troubadour. These included the rescue of the heiress Jacopina of Ventimiglia from her uncle Count Otto, Boniface arranged a marriage for her. When Albert of Malaspina abducted Saldina de Mar, a daughter of a prominent Genoese family, Boniface rescued her and restored her to her lover, Ponset dAguilar. Like the rest of the family, he supported his cousin Frederick I Barbarossa in their wars against the independent city communes of the Lombard League. Bonifaces eldest brother, William, had died in 1177, soon after marrying Sibylla, in 1179, the Byzantine emperor Manuel I Comnenus offered his daughter Maria Porphyrogenita as a bride to one of the sons of William V. In 1183, Bonifaces nephew Baldwin V was crowned co-king of Jerusalem, William V went out to the Latin Kingdom to support his grandson, leaving Conrad and Boniface in charge of Montferrat. In 1189, Boniface joined the council of regency for Thomas I of Savoy, son of his cousin Humbert III, in 1191, after the new Emperor Henry VI granted him the county of Incisa, a fifteen-year war broke out against the neighbouring communes of Asti and Alessandria. Boniface joined the Cremona League, while the two joined the League of Milan. Boniface defeated the cities at Montiglio in June that year, at Quarto, he and Vaqueiras saved his brother-in-law Alberto of Malaspina when he was unhorsed. The first phase of the war ended with a truce in April 1193, by now, Boniface was Marquess of Montferrat, following the deaths of his father in 1191 and of Conrad, the newly elected King of Jerusalem, in 1192. In June 1194, Boniface was appointed one of the leaders of Henry VIs expedition to Sicily, in October 1197, the truce with Asti ended. Boniface made an alliance with Acqui in June 1198, there were numerous skirmishes and raids, including at Ricaldone and Caranzano, but by 1199 it was clear the war was lost, and Boniface entered into negotiations. Throughout the 1180s and 1190s, despite the wars, Boniface had nevertheless presided over one of the most prestigious courts of chivalric culture, in the 12th century, the Piedmontese language was virtually indistinguishable from the Occitan of Southern France and Catalonia. Besides Vaqueiras, visitors included Peire Vidal, Gaucelm Faidit, to Gaucelm, he was Mon Thesaur. Curiously, Vaqueiras sometimes addressed him as NEngles, but the in-joke is never explained and his sister Azalaïs, Marchioness of Saluzzo, also shared this interest and was mentioned by Vidal
Boniface of Montferrat
–
Boniface elected as leader of the Fourth Crusade, Soissons, 1201: history painting by
Henri Decaisne, early 1840s, Salles des Croisades, Versailles.
11.
Zadar
–
Zadar is the oldest continuously inhabited city in Croatia. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar serves as the seat of Zadar County and the wider northern Dalmatian region, the city proper covers 25 km2 with a population of 75,082 in 2011, making it the fifth largest city in the country. The area of present-day Zadar traces its earliest evidence of life from the late Stone Age. Before the Illyrians, the area was inhabited by an ancient Mediterranean people of a pre-Indo-European culture, Zadar traces its origin to its 4th-century BC founding as a settlement of the Illyrian tribe of Liburnians known as Iader. In 59 BC it was renamed Iadera when it became a Roman municipium, and in 48 BC, a Roman colonia. It was during the Roman rule that Zadar acquired the characteristics of a traditional Ancient Roman city with a road network, a public square. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and the destruction of Salona by the Avars and Croats in 614, in the beginning of the 9th century, Zadar came under short Frankish rule, and was returned to the Byzantines by the Pax Nicephori in 812. The first Croatian rulers gained control over the city in 10th century, in 1202, Zadar was conquered and burned by the Republic of Venice, which was helped by the Crusaders. Croats again regained control over the city in 1358, when it was given to the Croatian-Hungarian king Louis I, in 1409, king Ladislaus I sold Zadar to the Venetians. During this time, many famous Croatian writers, such as Petar Zoranić, Brne Krnarutić, Juraj Baraković and Šime Budinić, wrote in the Croatian language. After the fall of Venice in 1797, Zadar came under the Austrian rule until 1918, except for the period of short-term French rule, during the French rule, the first newspaper in the Croatian language, Il Regio Dalmata – Kraglski Dalmatin, was published in Zadar. During the 19th century, Zadar was a center of the Croatian movement for cultural and national revival, today, Zadar is a historical center of Dalmatia, Zadar Countys principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, educational, and transportation centre. Zadar is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Zadar, in 2016, Zadar was named Best European Destination by the Belgian portal Europes Best Destinations. com after a three-week period of online voting and more than 288,000 cast votes. The name of the city of Zadar emerged as Iadera and Iader in ancient times and it was most probably related to a hydrographical term, coined by an ancient Mediterranean people and their Pre-Indo-European language. They transmitted it to settlers, the Liburnians. The name of the Liburnian settlement was first mentioned by a Greek inscription from Pharos on the island of Hvar in 384 BC, according to the Greek source Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax the city was Ίδασσα, probably a Greek transcription of the original Liburnian expression. In the Dalmatian language, Jadra was pronounced Zadra, due to the transformation of Ja- to Za-
Zadar
–
Photomontage of Zadar
Zadar
Zadar
–
The Roman forum remains in Zadar
Zadar
–
Coat of arms of Zadar
12.
Constantinople
–
Constantinople was the capital city of the Roman/Byzantine Empire, and also of the brief Latin, and the later Ottoman empires. It was reinaugurated in 324 AD from ancient Byzantium as the new capital of the Roman Empire by Emperor Constantine the Great, after whom it was named, Constantinople was famed for its massive and complex defences. The first wall of the city was erected by Constantine I, Constantinople never truly recovered from the devastation of the Fourth Crusade and the decades of misrule by the Latins. The origins of the name of Byzantion, more known by the later Latin Byzantium, are not entirely clear. The founding myth of the city has it told that the settlement was named after the leader of the Megarian colonists, Byzas. The later Byzantines of Constantinople themselves would maintain that the city was named in honour of two men, Byzas and Antes, though this was likely just a play on the word Byzantion. During this time, the city was also called Second Rome, Eastern Rome, and Roma Constantinopolitana. As the city became the remaining capital of the Roman Empire after the fall of the West, and its wealth, population, and influence grew. In the language of other peoples, Constantinople was referred to just as reverently, the medieval Vikings, who had contacts with the empire through their expansion in eastern Europe used the Old Norse name Miklagarðr, and later Miklagard and Miklagarth. In Arabic, the city was sometimes called Rūmiyyat al-kubra and in Persian as Takht-e Rum, in East and South Slavic languages, including in medieval Russia, Constantinople was referred to as Tsargrad or Carigrad, City of the Caesar, from the Slavonic words tsar and grad. This was presumably a calque on a Greek phrase such as Βασιλέως Πόλις, the modern Turkish name for the city, İstanbul, derives from the Greek phrase eis tin polin, meaning into the city or to the city. In 1928, the Turkish alphabet was changed from Arabic script to Latin script, in time the city came to be known as Istanbul and its variations in most world languages. In Greece today, the city is still called Konstantinoúpolis/Konstantinoúpoli or simply just the City, apart from this, little is known about this initial settlement, except that it was abandoned by the time the Megarian colonists settled the site anew. A farsighted treaty with the emergent power of Rome in c.150 BC which stipulated tribute in exchange for independent status allowed it to enter Roman rule unscathed. The site lay astride the land route from Europe to Asia and the seaway from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean, and had in the Golden Horn an excellent and spacious harbour. He would later rebuild Byzantium towards the end of his reign, in which it would be briefly renamed Augusta Antonina, fortifying it with a new city wall in his name, Constantine had altogether more colourful plans. Rome was too far from the frontiers, and hence from the armies and the imperial courts, yet it had been the capital of the state for over a thousand years, and it might have seemed unthinkable to suggest that the capital be moved to a different location. Constantinople was built over 6 years, and consecrated on 11 May 330, Constantine divided the expanded city, like Rome, into 14 regions, and ornamented it with public works worthy of an imperial metropolis
Constantinople
–
Constantinople in the Byzantine era
Constantinople
–
Map of Byzantine Constantinople
Constantinople
–
Emperor
Constantine I presents a representation of the city of Constantinople as tribute to an enthroned Mary and Christ Child in this church mosaic.
Hagia Sophia, c. 1000
Constantinople
–
Coin struck by Constantine I to commemorate the founding of Constantinople
13.
Isaac II Angelus
–
Isaac II Angelos or Angelus was Byzantine Emperor from 1185 to 1195, and again from 1203 to 1204. His father Andronikos Doukas Angelos was a leader in Asia Minor who married Euphrosyne Kastamonitissa. Andronikos Doukas Angelos was the son of Constantine Angelos and Theodora Komnene, thus Isaac was a member of the extended imperial clan of the Komnenoi. During the brief reign of Andronikos I Komnenos, Isaac was involved in the revolt of Nicaea, atypically, the Emperor did not punish him for this disloyalty, and Isaac remained at Constantinople. On September 11,1185, while Andronikos was absent from the capital, Isaac killed Hagiochristophorites and took refuge in the church of Hagia Sophia. Andronikos was a ruler in some ways but was hated for his cruelty. Isaac appealed to the populace, and a tumult arose that spread rapidly over the whole city, when Andronikos returned he found that he had lost popular support, and that Isaac had been proclaimed emperor. Andronikos attempted to flee by boat but was apprehended, Isaac handed him over to the people of the City, and he was killed on 12 September 1185. Isaac II Angelos strengthened his position as emperor with dynastic marriages in 1185 and 1186 and his niece Eudokia Angelina was married to Stefan, son of Stefan Nemanja of Serbia. Isaacs sister Theodora was married to the Italian marquis Conrad of Montferrat, in January 1186 Isaac himself married Margaret of Hungary, daughter of King Béla III. Isaac inaugurated his reign with a victory over the Norman King of Sicily, William II. William had invaded the Balkans with 80,000 men and 200 ships towards the end of Andronikos Is reign, elsewhere Isaacs policy was less successful. In late 1185, he sent a fleet of 80 galleys to liberate his brother Alexius III from Acre and he then sent a fleet of 70 ships, but it failed to recover Cyprus from the rebellious noble Isaac Komnenos, thanks to Norman interference. The oppressiveness of his taxes, increased to pay his armies and finance his marriage, the rebellion led to the establishment of the Second Bulgarian Empire under the Asen dynasty. Also in 1187 an agreement was made with Venice, in which the Venetian Republic would provide between 40 and 100 galleys at six months notice in exchange for favorable trading concessions. Because each Venetian galley was manned by 140 oarsmen, there were about 18,000 Venetians still in the Empire even after Manuel Is arrests, the Emperors attention was next demanded in the east, where several claimants to the throne successively rose and fell. In 1189 the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa sought and obtained permission to lead his troops on the Third Crusade through the Byzantine Empire and he had no sooner crossed the border than Isaac, who had meanwhile sought an alliance with Saladin, threw every impediment in his way. In retaliation Barbarossas army occupied the city of Philippopolis and defeated a Byzantine army of 3,000 men that attempted to recapture the city, thus compelled by force of arms, Isaac II was forced to fulfill his engagements in 1190
Isaac II Angelus
–
Isaac II Angelos Ισαάκιος Β’ Άγγελος
Isaac II Angelus
–
Killing of Stephen Hagiochristophorites, c. 1473,
miniature by
Jean Colombe in Les Passages d'outremer (fr),
BNF.
14.
Embassy
–
In practice, a diplomatic mission usually denotes the resident mission, namely the office of a countrys diplomatic representatives in the capital city of another country. As well as being a mission to the country in which it is situated. There are thus resident and non-resident embassies, a permanent diplomatic mission is typically known as an Embassy, and the head of the mission is known as an Ambassador, or High Commissioner. Therefore, the Embassy operates in the Chancery, European Union missions abroad are known as EU delegations. Some countries have more particular naming for their missions and staff, under the rule of Muammar Gaddafi, Libyas missions used the name peoples bureau and the head of the mission was a secretary. Missions between Commonwealth countries are known as commissions and their heads are High Commissioners. This is because Ambassadors are exchanged between foreign countries, but since the beginning of the Commonwealth, member countries have maintained that they are not foreign to one another. An ambassador represents one head of state to another and a letters of credence are addressed by one head of state to another. Until India became a republic on 26 January 1950, all members of the Commonwealth had the head of state. In the past a diplomatic mission headed by an official was known as a legation. Since the ranks of envoy and minister resident are effectively obsolete, a consulate is similar to, but not the same as a diplomatic office, but with focus on dealing with individual persons and businesses, as defined by the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. A consulate or consulate general is generally a representative of the embassy in locales outside of the capital city. For instance, the United Kingdom has its Embassy of the United Kingdom in Washington, D. C. but also maintains seven consulates-general, the person in charge of a consulate or consulate-general is known as a consul or consul-general, respectively. Similar services may also be provided at the embassy in what is called a consular section. In cases of dispute, it is common for a country to recall its head of mission as a sign of its displeasure, a chargé daffaires ad interim also heads the mission during the interim between the end of one chief of missions term and the beginning of another. Contrary to popular belief, most diplomatic missions do not enjoy full extraterritorial status, rather, the premises of diplomatic missions usually remain under the jurisdiction of the host state while being afforded special privileges by the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Diplomats themselves still retain full diplomatic immunity, and the host country may not enter the premises of the mission without permission of the represented country, international rules designate an attack on an embassy as an attack on the country it represents. The term extraterritoriality is often applied to missions, but normally only in this broader sense
Embassy
–
Spanish Embassy to the Holy See and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta
Embassy
–
Indian Embassy, Prague
Embassy
–
Nordic Embassies, Berlin
Embassy
–
Embassy of the United States, Havana
15.
Alexius IV
–
Alexios IV Angelos or Alexius IV Angelus was Byzantine Emperor from August 1203 to January 1204. He was the son of Emperor Isaac II Angelus and his first wife, an unknown Palaiologina and his paternal uncle was Emperor Alexius III Angelus. The young Alexios was imprisoned in 1195 when Alexios III overthrew Isaac II in a coup, in 1201, two Pisan merchants were employed to smuggle Alexius out of Constantinople to the Holy Roman Empire, where he took refuge with his brother-in-law Philip of Swabia, King of Germany. Boniface and Alexios allegedly discussed diverting the Crusade to Constantinople so that Alexios could be restored to his fathers throne, additionally, he promised to bring the Greek Orthodox Church under the authority of the pope. The Venetians and most of the Leaders were in favour of the plan however some were not and there were defections, in 1202 the fleet arrived at Constantinople. On 18 July 1203 the Crusaders launched an assault on the city, the Crusaders could not accept this, and forced Isaac II to proclaim his son Alexios IV co-emperor on 1 August. Despite Alexios grand promises, Isaac, the experienced and practical of the two, knew that the Crusaders debt could never be repaid from the imperial treasury. Alexios, however, had not grasped how far the empires financial resources had fallen during the previous fifty years. Alexios did manage to raise half the sum promised, by appropriating treasures from the church and he then attempted to defeat his uncle Alexios III, who remained in control of Thrace. The sack of some Thracian towns helped Alexios situation a little, in December 1203 violence exploded between the citizens of Constantinople and the Crusaders. Enraged mobs seized and brutally murdered any foreigner they could lay hands upon, Alexios refused their demands, and is quoted as saying, I will not do any more than I have done. While relations with the Crusaders were deteriorating, Alexios had become unpopular with the Greek citizenry. Blinded and nearly powerless, Isaac II resented having to share the throne with his son, he spread rumours of Alexios supposed sexual perversity, the chronicler Nicetas Choniates dismissed Alexios as childish and criticized his familiarity with the Crusaders and his lavish lifestyle. At the end of January 1204, the populace of Constantinople rebelled and tried to proclaim a rival emperor in Hagia Sophia, Alexios IV attempted to reach a reconciliation with the Crusaders, entrusting the anti-western courtier Alexios Doukas Murzuphlus with a mission to gain Crusader support. However, Alexios Doukas imprisoned both Alexios IV and his father on the night of 27–28 January 1204, Isaac II died soon afterwards, possibly of old age or from poison, and Alexios IV was strangled on 8 February. Alexios Doukas was proclaimed emperor as Alexios V, during Alexios IVs brief reign, the empire lost its territories along the Black Sea coast to the Empire of Trebizond. Alexios IV is mentioned in the Map of the Seven Knights episode of the 5th season of the Grimm tv series and he is mentioned as a pro-Crusader. List of Byzantine emperors Angold, Michael, The Fourth Crusade, a Byzantine Plan for the Fourth Crusade, Speculum,43, pp. 462–75
Alexius IV
–
Alexios IV Angelos
16.
Byzantine Empire
–
It survived the fragmentation and fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD and continued to exist for an additional thousand years until it fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. During most of its existence, the empire was the most powerful economic, cultural, several signal events from the 4th to 6th centuries mark the period of transition during which the Roman Empires Greek East and Latin West divided. Constantine I reorganised the empire, made Constantinople the new capital, under Theodosius I, Christianity became the Empires official state religion and other religious practices were proscribed. Finally, under the reign of Heraclius, the Empires military, the borders of the Empire evolved significantly over its existence, as it went through several cycles of decline and recovery. During the reign of Maurice, the Empires eastern frontier was expanded, in a matter of years the Empire lost its richest provinces, Egypt and Syria, to the Arabs. This battle opened the way for the Turks to settle in Anatolia, the Empire recovered again during the Komnenian restoration, such that by the 12th century Constantinople was the largest and wealthiest European city. Despite the eventual recovery of Constantinople in 1261, the Byzantine Empire remained only one of several small states in the area for the final two centuries of its existence. Its remaining territories were annexed by the Ottomans over the 15th century. The Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 finally ended the Byzantine Empire, the term comes from Byzantium, the name of the city of Constantinople before it became Constantines capital. This older name of the city would rarely be used from this point onward except in historical or poetic contexts. The publication in 1648 of the Byzantine du Louvre, and in 1680 of Du Canges Historia Byzantina further popularised the use of Byzantine among French authors, however, it was not until the mid-19th century that the term came into general use in the Western world. The Byzantine Empire was known to its inhabitants as the Roman Empire, the Empire of the Romans, Romania, the Roman Republic, Graikia, and also as Rhōmais. The inhabitants called themselves Romaioi and Graikoi, and even as late as the 19th century Greeks typically referred to modern Greek as Romaika and Graikika. The authority of the Byzantine emperor as the legitimate Roman emperor was challenged by the coronation of Charlemagne as Imperator Augustus by Pope Leo III in the year 800. No such distinction existed in the Islamic and Slavic worlds, where the Empire was more seen as the continuation of the Roman Empire. In the Islamic world, the Roman Empire was known primarily as Rûm, the Roman army succeeded in conquering many territories covering the entire Mediterranean region and coastal regions in southwestern Europe and north Africa. These territories were home to different cultural groups, both urban populations and rural populations. The West also suffered heavily from the instability of the 3rd century AD
Byzantine Empire
–
Tremissis with the image of
Justinian the Great (r. 527–565) (see
Byzantine insignia)
Byzantine Empire
–
Byzantine
lamellar armour klivanium (Κλιβάνιον) - a predecessor of Ottoman krug
mirror armour
Byzantine Empire
–
The Baptism of Constantine painted by
Raphael 's pupils (1520–1524,
fresco, Vatican City,
Apostolic Palace);
Eusebius of Caesarea records that (as
was common among converts of early Christianity) Constantine delayed receiving
baptism until shortly before his death
Byzantine Empire
–
Restored section of the Theodosian Walls.
17.
Battle of Adrianople (1205)
–
It was won by the Bulgarians, who took Baldwin prisoner. Instead of continuing onwards, on the 12–13 April, year 1204 AD, numerous cultural treasures were either destroyed or stolen, such as sacred texts, relics, manuscripts, icons, archives, works of art, as well as much wealth. The heart of Orthodox Christianity suffered irreparable damage, both from the sack and the fires caused by the Crusader siege, around the same time, Tsar Kaloyan, the Tsar of Bulgaria, successfully completed negotiations with Pope Innocent III. The Bulgarian ruler was granted the title rex, i. e. king, while the Bulgarian archbishop gained the title primas, Latin knights began crossing the border to pillage Bulgarian towns and villages. In the winter of 1204-1205 messengers of the local Greek aristocracy visited Kaloyan, in the spring of 1205, Didymoteicho and Adrianople revolted, followed soon after by the entirety of Thrace. Emperor Baldwin I marched his army north and reached Adrianople by the end of March, the Latins did not attack the castle head on, rather, they began a prolonged siege, in order to tire the defenders. By surrounding the city with siege machinery and digging mines under the walls, they weakened the defences. The main forces of Latin knights created well-structured guarded camps around the city to spot, in front of each gate of the castle walls a unit was placed, which notably included a Venetian contingent led by Doge Enrico Dandolo. Honouring his obligations to the rebellious Greeks, Tsar Kaloyan arrived with his army, According to Geoffrey of Villehardouin, a French historian and knight who had accompanied the Crusaders to the Balkans, the army consisted of up to 54,000 men. Numerous researchers pinpoint the location of the north of Adrianople and near the keep of Vukelon - K. Jireče, V. Guzelev. In other scriptures, it reads. and hid in the narrows in the shadowy forests, According to the monk Alberik, the location of the battle was plentiful with water marshes. Nowadays, the most common sight that is pointed as the place of the battle are the meanders of the Tùndzha river, army of Tsar/King Kaloyan According to the French historian Geoffrey of Villehardouin, the Bulgarian army numbered around 54 thousand strong. Within that army was also the cavalry of the Cumans. The French historian points out there were about 14,000 of them. Nonetheless, their cavalry played a key role in the battle, army of the Latin Empire and Venice The total number of knights under the walls of Adrianople was 300. Accompanying them were a number of cavalry and infantry soldiers and the Venetian forces. This being said, the amount was not greater than four thousand, yet it is not clear how many soldiers took part in the battle. Geoffrey of Villehardouin points out that the majority of the knights, each with his own unit, as well as all the Venetians chased after the Cumans and land directly into the Bulgarian ambush
Battle of Adrianople (1205)
–
Battle of Adrianople
18.
Baldwin I of Constantinople
–
He lost his final battle to Kaloyan, the emperor of Bulgaria, and spent his last days as his prisoner. Baldwin was the son of Baldwin V of Hainaut and Margaret I, when the childless Philip of Alsace left on the last of his personal crusades in 1177, he designated his brother-in-law Baldwin V his heir. One year later, Philip of Alsace had his protégé married to his niece, Isabelle of Hainaut, offering the County of Artois and other Flemish territories as dowry, much to the dismay of Baldwin V. Count Philips wife Elisabeth died in 1183, and Philip Augustus seized the province of Vermandois on behalf of Elisabeths sister, Philip then remarried, to Matilda of Portugal. Philip gave Matilda a dower of a number of major Flemish towns, when Countess Margaret I died in 1194, Flanders descended to her eldest son Baldwin, who ruled as Baldwin IX, Count of Flanders. In 1186, the younger Baldwin had married Marie of Champagne, daughter of Count Henry I of Champagne, the chronicler Gislebert describes Baldwin as being infatuated with his young bride, who nevertheless preferred prayer to the marital bed. Immediately after this arrangement, the count of Hainauts son Baldwin, thirteen years old, received as wife Marie and this Marie began sufficiently young to devote herself to divine obedience in prayers, vigils, fasts and alms. The solemn rejoicing of the wedding was celebrated at Valenciennes with an abundance of knights and ladies, through Marie, Baldwin had additional connections and obligations to the defenders of the Holy Land, her brother Henry II of Champagne had been King of Jerusalem in the 1190s. Maries uncles Richard I of England and Philip II of France had just been on the Third Crusade, Baldwins own family had also been involved in the defence of Jerusalem, his uncle Philip had died on Crusade. Baldwins maternal grandmother was great-aunt of Queen Isabella I of Jerusalem, Baldwin wanted to continue the tradition. Margaret died in 1194, and the younger Baldwin became Count of Flanders and his father died the next year, and he succeeded to Hainaut. Isabelle had died in 1190, but King Philip still retained her dowry, on behalf of Isabelles son, the eight years of Baldwins rule in Flanders were dominated by his attempts to recover some of this land. After Philip II of France took Baldwins brother, Philippe of Namur, prisoner, the Treaty of Péronne was signed in January 1200 on the condition that Baldwin receive the territories he had won during the war. Baldwin was made the vassal of Philip II, and the king returned portions of Artois to Baldwin. In this fight against the French king, Baldwin allied with others who had quarrels with Philip, including kings Richard I and John of England, and the German King Otto IV. A month after the treaty, on Ash Wednesday 1200 in the town of Bruges, Baldwin took the cross and he spent the next two years preparing, finally leaving on 14 April 1202. As part of his effort to leave his domains in good order, one detailed an extensive criminal code, and appears to be based on a now-lost charter of his father. The other laid down rules for inheritance
Baldwin I of Constantinople
–
Seal of Baldwin I
Baldwin I of Constantinople
–
County of Flanders, AR maille or 'petit denier', struck in Ypres under Baldwin IX, Count of Flanders
Baldwin I of Constantinople
–
Baldwin's Tower in the
Tsarevets castle,
Veliko Tarnovo,
Bulgaria
19.
Second Bulgarian Empire
–
The Second Bulgarian Empire was a medieval Bulgarian state that existed between 1185 and 1396. It was succeeded by the Principality and later Kingdom of Bulgaria in 1878, until 1256, the Second Bulgarian Empire was the dominant power in the Balkans, defeating the Byzantine Empire in several major battles. In 1205 Emperor Kaloyan defeated the newly established Latin Empire in the Battle of Adrianople and his nephew Ivan Asen II defeated the Despotate of Epiros and made Bulgaria a regional power again. During his reign, Bulgaria spread from the Adriatic to the Black Sea, in the late 13th century, however, the Empire declined under constant invasions by Mongols, Byzantines, Hungarians, and Serbs, as well as internal unrest and revolts. The 14th century saw a recovery and stability, but also the peak of Balkan feudalism as central authorities gradually lost power in many regions. Bulgaria was divided into three parts on the eve of the Ottoman invasion, despite strong Byzantine influence, Bulgarian artists and architects created their own distinctive style. In the 14th century, during the known as the Second Golden Age of Bulgarian culture, literature. The capital city Tarnovo, which was considered a New Constantinople, became the main cultural hub. The name most frequently used for the empire by contemporaries was Bulgaria, during Kaloyans reign, the state was sometimes known as being of both Bulgarians and Vlachs. Pope Innocent III and other such as the Latin Emperor Henry mentioned the state as Bulgaria. In modern historiography, the state is called the Second Bulgarian Empire, Second Bulgarian Tsardom, the existing tax system, laws, and the power of low-ranking nobility remained unchanged until his death in 1025. The autocephalous Bulgarian Patriarchate was subordinated to the Ecumenical Patriarch in Constantinople and downgraded to an archbishopric centred in Ohrid, while retaining its autonomy, Basil appointed the Bulgarian John I Debranin as its first archbishop, but his successors were Byzantines. The Bulgarian aristocracy and tsars relatives were given various Byzantine titles, despite hardships, the Bulgarian language, literature, and culture survived, surviving period texts refer to and idealize the Bulgarian Empire. Most of the conquered territories were included in the themes Bulgaria, Sirmium. The initial centre of the resistance was the theme of Bulgaria, in what is now Macedonia, where the massive Uprising of Peter Delyan, both were quelled with great difficulty by Byzantine authorities. These were followed by rebellions in Paristrion and Thrace, the disastrous rule of the last Comnenian emperor Andronikos I worsened the situation of the Bulgarian peasantry and nobility. The first act of his successor Isaac II Angelos was to impose a tax to finance his wedding. In 1185, two brothers from Tarnovo, Theodore and Asen, asked the emperor to enlist them into the army and grant them land
Second Bulgarian Empire
–
Bulgaria under Ivan Asen II
Second Bulgarian Empire
–
The
Church of St Demetrius in Tarnovo, built by Asen and Peter in the beginning of the uprising
Second Bulgarian Empire
–
The
Church of the Holy Forty Martyrs where Kaloyan was buried.
20.
Messinopolis
–
The city of Maximianopolis appears in written sources from the 4th century on. Its fortifications were renewed by Byzantine emperor Justinian I, and it was later a base for operations by Emperor Basil II in his wars against the Bulgarians. The town was captured in 1185 by the Normans, while the monk Ephrem says that the city was captured in 1190 by Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor. Bishops of Maximianopolis in Rhodope were present at the 5th and 6th-century ecumenical councils of Ephesus, Chalcedon, from the 7th to the 9th centuries, the see is referred to as archiepiscopal, giving it autocephalous status. From the following century to the 12th, it appears with reduced status as a suffragan of Trajanopolis in Rhodope, in the 13th century it became a Latin bishopric. The see is mentioned under the name Mosynopolis also in the Notitiae Episcopatuum of Leo the Wise, about 900, in that for 940, the diocese was nominally restored in 1933 as the Latin Catholic titular archbishopric Massimianopolis in Rhodope
Messinopolis
–
A central plan church in Mosynopolis
21.
Thrace
–
It comprises southeastern Bulgaria, northeastern Greece, and the European part of Turkey. In antiquity, it was referred to as Europe, prior to the extension of the term to describe the whole continent. The name Thrace comes from the Thracians, an ancient Indo-European people inhabiting Southeastern Europe, the word itself was established by the Greeks for referring to the Thracian tribes, from Ancient Greek Thrake, descending from Thrāix. The name of the continent Europe first referred to Thrace proper, the region obviously took the name of the principal river there, Hebros, probably from the Indo-European arg white river, according to an alternative theory, Hebros means goat in Thracian. In Turkey, it is referred to as Rumeli, Land of the Romans. The name appears to derive from an ancient heroine and sorceress Thrace, who was the daughter of Oceanus and Parthenope, the historical boundaries of Thrace have varied. In one ancient Greek source, the very Earth is divided into Asia, Libya, Europa and this largely coincided with the Thracian Odrysian kingdom, whose borders varied over time. After the Macedonian conquest, this regions former border with Macedonia was shifted from the Struma River to the Mesta River and this usage lasted until the Roman conquest. Henceforth, Thrace referred only to the tract of land covering the same extent of space as the modern geographical region. The medieval Byzantine theme of Thrace contained only what today is Eastern Thrace, the largest cities of Thrace are, İstanbul, Plovdiv, Burgas, Stara Zagora, Haskovo, Yambol, Komotini, Alexandroupoli, Xanthi, Edirne, Çorlu and Tekirdağ. Most of the Bulgarian and Greek population are Christians, while most of the Turkish inhabitants of Thrace are Muslims, Ancient Greek mythology provides them with a mythical ancestor, named Thrax, son of the war-god Ares, who was said to reside in Thrace. The Thracians appear in Homers Iliad as Trojan allies, led by Acamas, later in the Iliad, Rhesus, another Thracian king, makes an appearance. Cisseus, father-in-law to the Trojan elder Antenor, is given as a Thracian king. Homeric Thrace was vaguely defined, and stretched from the River Axios in the west to the Hellespont, Greek mythology is replete with Thracian kings, including Diomedes, Tereus, Lycurgus, Phineus, Tegyrius, Eumolpus, Polymnestor, Poltys, and Oeagrus. In addition to the tribe that Homer calls Thracians, ancient Thrace was home to other tribes, such as the Edones, Bisaltae, Cicones. Thrace is also mentioned in Ovids Metamorphoses in the episode of Philomela, Procne, Tereus, the King of Thrace, lusts after his sister-in-law, Philomela. He kidnaps her, holds her captive, rapes her, Philomela manages to get free, however. She and her sister, Procne, plot to get revenge, by killing Itys, at the end of the myth, all three turn into birds – Procne, a swallow, Philomela, a nightingale, and Tereus, a hoopoe
Thrace
–
The physical-geographical boundaries of Thrace: the Balkan Mountains, the Rhodope Mountains and the Bosporus. The Rhodope mountain range is highlighted.
Thrace
–
The modern boundaries of Thrace in
Bulgaria,
Greece and
Turkey
Thrace
–
The Roman province of Thrace
Thrace
–
Map of Ancient Thrace made by
Abraham Ortelius in 1585, stating both the names Thrace and Europe
22.
Latin
–
Latin is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. The Latin alphabet is derived from the Etruscan and Greek alphabets, Latin was originally spoken in Latium, in the Italian Peninsula. Through the power of the Roman Republic, it became the dominant language, Vulgar Latin developed into the Romance languages, such as Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, French, and Romanian. Latin, Italian and French have contributed many words to the English language, Latin and Ancient Greek roots are used in theology, biology, and medicine. By the late Roman Republic, Old Latin had been standardised into Classical Latin, Vulgar Latin was the colloquial form spoken during the same time and attested in inscriptions and the works of comic playwrights like Plautus and Terence. Late Latin is the language from the 3rd century. Later, Early Modern Latin and Modern Latin evolved, Latin was used as the language of international communication, scholarship, and science until well into the 18th century, when it began to be supplanted by vernaculars. Ecclesiastical Latin remains the language of the Holy See and the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church. Today, many students, scholars and members of the Catholic clergy speak Latin fluently and it is taught in primary, secondary and postsecondary educational institutions around the world. The language has been passed down through various forms, some inscriptions have been published in an internationally agreed, monumental, multivolume series, the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum. Authors and publishers vary, but the format is about the same, volumes detailing inscriptions with a critical apparatus stating the provenance, the reading and interpretation of these inscriptions is the subject matter of the field of epigraphy. The works of several hundred ancient authors who wrote in Latin have survived in whole or in part and they are in part the subject matter of the field of classics. The Cat in the Hat, and a book of fairy tales, additional resources include phrasebooks and resources for rendering everyday phrases and concepts into Latin, such as Meissners Latin Phrasebook. The Latin influence in English has been significant at all stages of its insular development. From the 16th to the 18th centuries, English writers cobbled together huge numbers of new words from Latin and Greek words, dubbed inkhorn terms, as if they had spilled from a pot of ink. Many of these words were used once by the author and then forgotten, many of the most common polysyllabic English words are of Latin origin through the medium of Old French. Romance words make respectively 59%, 20% and 14% of English, German and those figures can rise dramatically when only non-compound and non-derived words are included. Accordingly, Romance words make roughly 35% of the vocabulary of Dutch, Roman engineering had the same effect on scientific terminology as a whole
Latin
–
Latin inscription, in the
Colosseum
Latin
–
Julius Caesar 's
Commentarii de Bello Gallico is one of the most famous classical Latin texts of the Golden Age of Latin. The unvarnished, journalistic style of this
patrician general has long been taught as a model of the urbane Latin officially spoken and written in the floruit of the
Roman republic.
Latin
–
A multi-volume Latin dictionary in the
University Library of Graz
Latin
–
Latin and Ancient Greek Language - Culture - Linguistics at
Duke University in 2014.
23.
Niketas Choniates
–
Nicetas wrote a history of the Eastern Roman Empire from 1118 to 1207. Niketas Akominatos was born to wealthy parents around or after 1150 in Phrygia in the city of Chonae, bishop Nicetas of Chonae baptized and named the infant, later he was called Choniates after his birthplace. When he was nine, his father dispatched him with his brother Michael to Constantinople to receive an education, Niketas older brother greatly influenced him during the early stages of his life. He initially secured a post in the service, and held important appointments under the Angelos emperors and was governor of the theme of Philippopolis at a critical period. His chief work is his History, in books, of the period from 1118 to 1207. In spite of its style, it is of value as a record of events of which he was either an eyewitness or which he had heard of first hand. Its most interesting portion is the description of the occupation of Constantinople in 1204 and his little treatise On the Statues destroyed by the Latins is of special interest to the archaeologist and art historian. His theological work, although extant in a form in manuscripts, has only been published in part. It is one of the authorities for the heresies and heretical writers of the 12th century. Umberto Ecos novel Baudolino is set partly at Constantinople during the Crusader conquest, the imaginary hero, Baudolino, saves Niketas during the sacking of Constantinople, and then proceeds to confide his life story to him. Niketas is a character in Alan Gordons murder mystery A Death in the Venetian Quarter. Imperii Graeci Historia, ed. Hieronymus Wolf,1557, in Greek with parallel Latin translation, J. P. Migne reproduces Wolfs text and translation. Nicetae Choniatae Historia, ed. Immanuel Bekker, Bonn,1835, nicetae Choniatae Historia, ed. Jan Louis van Dieten, Berlin,1975. O City of Byzantium, Annals of Niketas Choniates, trans, «Ἀνδρόνικος ὁ Κομνηνὸς καὶ Ὀδυσσεύς», Ἐπετηρὶς Ἑταιρείας Βυζαντινῶν Σπουδῶν37 251–259. A seminal work on Choniates use of Homer, brand, Charles M. Byzantium Confronts the West,1968. Harris, Jonathan, Byzantium and the Crusades, Bloomsbury, 2nd ed.2014, distortion, divine providence and genre in Nicetas Choniates account of the collapse of Byzantium 1180–1204, Journal of Medieval History, vol.26 19–31. Niketas Choniates, A Historian and a Writer,2009, ISBN 978-954-8446-05-1 Excerpt in English on the Sack of Constantinople in 1204, a longer excerpt on the same. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Acominatus
Niketas Choniates
–
Niketas Choniates, from a medieval manuscript.
24.
Cistercian
–
A Cistercian is a member of the Cistercian Order (/sɪˈstɜːrʃən/, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist, a religious order of monks and nuns. They are variously called the Bernardines, after the highly influential St, the original emphasis of Cistercian life was on manual labour and self-sufficiency, and many abbeys have traditionally supported themselves through activities such as agriculture and brewing ales. Over the centuries, however, education and academic pursuits came to dominate the life of their monasteries, after that the followers of the older pattern of life became known as the Cistercians of the Original Observance. The term Cistercian, derives from Cistercium, the Latin name for the village of Cîteaux and it was in this village that a group of Benedictine monks from the monastery of Molesme founded Cîteaux Abbey in 1098, with the goal of following more closely the Rule of Saint Benedict. The best known of them were Robert of Molesme, Alberic of Cîteaux and the English monk Stephen Harding, Bernard of Clairvaux entered the monastery in the early 1110s with 30 companions and helped the rapid proliferation of the order. By the end of the 12th century, the order had spread throughout France and into England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Italy, the keynote of Cistercian life was a return to literal observance of the Rule of St Benedict. The most striking feature in the reform was the return to manual labour, especially field-work, Cistercian architecture is considered one of the most beautiful styles of medieval architecture. Additionally, in relation to such as agriculture, hydraulic engineering and metallurgy. The monastery church of Cluny Abbey, the largest in Europe, had become wealthy from rents, tithes, feudal rights and pilgrims who passed through Cluniac houses on the Way of St. James. On March 21,1098, Roberts small group acquired a plot of marshland just south of Dijon called Cîteaux, during the first year, the monks set about constructing lodging areas and farming the lands of Cîteaux, making use of a nearby chapel for Mass. In Roberts absence from Molesme, however, the abbey had gone into decline, and Pope Urban II, the remaining monks of Cîteaux elected Alberic as their abbot, under whose leadership the abbey would find its grounding. Robert had been the idealist of the order, and Alberic was their builder, upon assuming the role of abbot, Alberic moved the site of the fledgling community near a brook a short distance away from the original site. Alberic discontinued the use of Benedictine black garments in the abbey and he returned the community to the original Benedictine ideal of manual work and prayer, dedicated to the ideal of charity and self sustenance. Alberic also forged an alliance with the Dukes of Burgundy, working out a deal with Duke Odo of Burgundy concerning the donation of a vineyard as well as stones with which they built their church. The church was consecrated and dedicated to the Virgin Mary on November 16,1106, on January 26,1108, Alberic died and was soon succeeded by Stephen Harding, the man responsible for carrying the order into its crucial phase. The order was fortunate that Stephen was an abbot of extraordinary gifts, and he framed the original version of the Cistercian Constitution or regulations, the Carta caritatis. Although this was revised on several occasions to meet needs, from the outset it emphasised a simple life of work, love, prayer. Cistercian abbeys also refused to admit children, allowing adults to choose their religious vocation for themselves – a practice later emulated by many of the older Benedictine houses
Cistercian
–
St
Bernard of Clairvaux, one of the most influential early Cistercians
Cistercian
–
The Cistercian
coat of arms
Cistercian
–
Vietnamese Cistercian monks standing in a
cloister and wearing their
religious habits
Cistercian
–
An illumination of
Stephen Harding (right) presenting a model of his church to the
Blessed Virgin Mary (Municipal Library, Dijon). Cîteaux, c. 1125. At this period Cistercian illumination was the most advanced in France, but within 25 years it was abandoned altogether under the influence of Bernard of Clairvaux.
25.
Geoffrey I of Villehardouin
–
Geoffrey I of Villehardouin was a French knight from the County of Champagne who joined the Fourth Crusade. He participated in the conquest of the Peloponnese and became the prince of Achaea. Under his reign, the principality of Achaea became the vassal of the Latin Empire of Constantinople. He extended the borders of his principality, but the years of his rule were marked by his conflict with the church. Geoffrey was the eldest son of John of Villeharouin and his wife and he married one Elisabeth, traditionally identified with Elisabeth of Chappes, a scion of a fellow crusader family, an identification rejected by Longnon. He took the cross with his uncle, Geoffrey of Villehardouin, Geoffrey were among the crusaders who went directly to Syria. Thus he was not present at the occupation of Constantinople by the crusaders on 13 April 1204, but hearing of the capture of the great city on the Bosporus, he decided to sail west in the summer of 1204. But the weather became bad, and adverse winds drove him westward and he landed at Modon in the southern Peloponnese where he spent the winter of 1204–1205. At Modon, Geoffrey entered into an alliance with a Greek archon from Messenia to conquer as much of the western Peloponnese as they could, almost immediately afterward, however, the Greek died, and his son broke off the alliance. It was at point that Geoffrey learned of the appearance of King Boniface I of Thessalonica with his army before Nauplia. He determined to aid and rode up early in 1205 to join the king. He was well received by Boniface I who would have retained Geoffrey in his service, but in the camp at Nauplia, Geoffrey found his good friend William of Champlitte and offered to the latter to share the conquest of the Peloponnese. His friend accepted the offer and the two also received permission for their expedition. They set out with 100 knights and 400 mounted men-at-arms upon their campaign in the spring of 1205 and they took Patras and Pondikos by assault, and Andravida opened its gates. The people of the came to make their submission and were confirmed in their property. Only in Arcadia were the crusaders resisted and this opposition was led by landlords from Arcadia and Laconia, particularly the Chamaretos family, allied to the Slavic Melingoi tribe. The resistance was soon joined by a certain Michael, identified by scholars with Michael I Komnenos Doukas who was then creating his own principality in Epiros. Michael advanced into the Peloponnese with 5,000 men, then the crusaders completed the conquest of the region and advanced into the interior of the country, occupying the entire peninsula with the exception of Arcadia and Laconia
Geoffrey I of Villehardouin
–
Seal of wife Elisabeth.
Geoffrey I of Villehardouin
–
Coat of Arms of the
Principality of Achaea
Geoffrey I of Villehardouin
–
The medieval castle on Larissa Hill in Argos
26.
Principality of Achaea
–
The Principality of Achaea or of the Morea was one of the three vassal states of the Latin Empire which replaced the Byzantine Empire after the capture of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade. It became a vassal of the Kingdom of Thessalonica, along with the Duchy of Athens, until Thessalonica was captured by Theodore, after this, Achaea became for a while the dominant power in Greece. Achaea was founded in 1205 by William of Champlitte and Geoffrey I of Villehardouin, the victory was decisive, and after the battle all resistance from the locals was limited to a few forts, that continued to hold out. The fort of Araklovon in Elis, was defended by Doxapatres Boutsaras and withstood the attacks until 1213, the fort of Monemvasia, and the castles of Argos, Nauplia and Corinth under Leo Sgouros held out until his suicide in 1208. By 1212, these too had conquered, and organized as the lordship of Argos and Nauplia. William of Champlitte ruled Achaea until he departed for France to assume an inheritance and he was succeeded by Geoffrey I of Villehardouin, who ruled until his own death in 1219. Achaea was rather small, consisting of the Peloponnese peninsula, but it was fairly wealthy, exporting wine, raisins, wax, honey, oil, the capital of the principality was originally at Andravida. It was bordered on the north by Epirus and the Duchy of Athens and surrounded by Venetian-held territories in the Aegean Sea, the twelve temporal barons were joined by seven ecclesiastic lords, headed by the Latin Archbishop of Patras. The twelve secular baronies were, Shortly after 1260, a barony, that of Arcadia was established. When Tsakonia and the mountainous regions of the southeast were subdued in the late 1240s. The twelve barons retained considerable powers and privileges, so that the Prince was not an absolute sovereign, thus they had the right to construct a castle without the Princes permission, or to decree capital punishment. Since Salic Law was not adopted in Achaea, women could inherit the fiefs. In addition, a Lower Court is mentioned, which abjudicated in matters of common law. On the other hand, all vassals owed the Prince four months service in the field and four months garrison duty every year, retiring after the age of sixty and this put the principality on constant war footing. Indeed, the knights of Achaea enjoyed a reputation both in the Levant and in Western Europe. The most important secular and ecclesiastical lords participated in the council of the Grand Court, the council had great authority, and its decisions were binding for the Prince. The Principality also produced a set of laws, the Assizes of Romania, which combined aspects of Byzantine and French law. Several Byzantine titles such as logothetes and protovestarius continued in use, the Frankish barons were subjected to heavy military obligations
Principality of Achaea
–
Achaean
tornese from Glarentza (Clarentia)
Principality of Achaea
–
The Latin Empire with its vassals and the Greek successor states after the partition of the Byzantine Empire, c. 1204. The borders are very uncertain.
Principality of Achaea
–
Map of the Greek and Latin states in southern Greece ca. 1278
27.
Morea
–
The Morea was the name of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The name was used for the Byzantine province known as the Despotate of the Morea, by the Ottoman Empire for the Morea Eyalet, there is some uncertainty over the origin of the medieval name Morea, which is first recorded only in the 10th century in the Byzantine chronicles. The British Byzantinist Steven Runciman suggested that the name comes from the likeness of its shape to that of a mulberry leaf, after the conquest of Constantinople by the forces of the Fourth Crusade, two groups of Franks undertook the occupation of the Morea. They created the Principality of Achaea, a largely Greek-inhabited statelet ruled by a Latin autocrat, in referring to the Peloponnese, they followed local practice and used the name Morea. The most important prince in the Morea was Guillaume II de Villehardouin, an initial Byzantine drive to reconquer the entire peninsula failed in the battles of Prinitza and Makryplagi, and the Byzantines and Franks settled to an uneasy coexistence. In the mid-14th century, the later Byzantine Emperor John VI Kantakouzenos reorganized Morea into the Despotate of the Morea, sons of the emperor with the rank of despotes were usually sent to rule the province as an appanage. By 1430, the Byzantines eventually recovered the remainder of the Frankish part of the Morea, in July 1461 the last holdout, Salmeniko Castle, was taken. The peninsula was captured for the Republic of Venice by Francesco Morosini during the Morean War of 1684–99, venetian rule proved unpopular, and the Ottomans recaptured the Morea in a lightning campaign in 1714. Under renewed Ottoman rule, centered at Tripolitsa, the region enjoyed relative prosperity, the latter 18th century was marked by renewed dissatisfaction. Armed bands of the klephts emerged, undeterred by the repression of the Orlov Revolt. They waged guerrilla war against the Turks, aided both by the decay of Ottoman power and the emergence of Greek national consciousness, ultimately, the Morea and its inhabitants provided the cradle and backbone of the Greek Revolution. The anonymous 14th century Chronicle of the Morea relates events of the Franks establishment of feudalism in mainland Greece following the Fourth Crusade, despite its unreliability about historical events, the Chronicle is famous for its lively portrayal of life in the feudal community. The language in Greek versions is notable as it reflects the transition from Medieval to Modern Greek. The original language of the Chronicle is disputed, but recent scholarship prefers the Greek version in MS Havniensis 57, other manuscripts include the Ms Parisinus graecus 2898. The difference of one century in the texts shows a considerable number of linguistic differences due to the rapid evolution of the Greek language. List of traditional Greek place names Bon, Antoine, recherches historiques, topographiques et archéologiques sur la principauté d’Achaïe. M. J. Jeffreys, The Chronicle of Morea, Priority of the Greek Version, teresa Shawcross, The Chronicle of Morea, Historiography in Crusader Greece
Morea
–
The Morea ca. 1265 in its international context: the
Byzantine Empire and the
Frankish states of Greece. Map from William R. Shepherd's Historical Atlas (1911)
Morea
–
Map of the medieval Peloponnese with its principal localities
28.
Peloponnesus
–
The Peloponnese or Peloponnesus is a peninsula and geographic region in southern Greece. It is separated from the part of the country by the Gulf of Corinth. During the late Middle Ages and the Ottoman era, the peninsula was known as the Morea, the peninsula is divided among three administrative regions, most belongs to the Peloponnese region, with smaller parts belonging to the West Greece and Attica regions. In 2016, Lonely Planet voted the Peloponnese the top spot of their Best in Europe list, the Peloponnese is a peninsula that covers an area of some 21,549.6 square kilometres and constitutes the southernmost part of mainland Greece. It has two connections with the rest of Greece, a natural one at the Isthmus of Corinth. The peninsula has an interior and deeply indented coasts. The Peloponnese possesses four south-pointing peninsulas, the Messenian, the Mani, the Cape Malea, mount Taygetus in the south is the highest mountain in the Peloponnese, at 2,407 metres. Οther important mountains include Cyllene in the northeast, Aroania in the north, Erymanthos and Panachaikon in the northwest, Mainalon in the center, the entire peninsula is earthquake prone and has been the site of many earthquakes in the past. The longest river is the Alfeios in the west, followed by the Evrotas in the south, extensive lowlands are found only in the west, with the exception of the Evrotas valley in the south and in the Argolid in the northeast. The Peloponnese is home to spectacular beaches, which are a major tourist draw. Two groups of islands lie off the Peloponnesian coast, the Argo-Saronic Islands to the east, the island of Kythera, off the Epidaurus Limera peninsula to the south of the Peloponnese, is considered to be part of the Ionian Islands. The island of Elafonissos used to be part of the peninsula but was separated following the quake of 365 AD. Since antiquity, and continuing to the present day, the Peloponnese has been divided into seven regions, Achaia, Corinthia, Argolid, Arcadia, Laconia, Messinia. Each of these regions is headed by a city, the largest city is Patras in Achaia, followed by Kalamata in Messinia. The peninsula has been inhabited since prehistoric times and its modern name derives from ancient Greek mythology, specifically the legend of the hero Pelops, who was said to have conquered the entire region. The name Peloponnesos means Island of Pelops, the Mycenaean civilization, mainland Greeces first major civilization, dominated the Peloponnese in the Bronze Age from its stronghold at Mycenae in the north-east of the peninsula. The Mycenean civilization collapsed suddenly at the end of the 2nd millennium BC, archeological research has found that many of its cities and palaces show signs of destruction. The subsequent period, known as the Greek Dark Ages, is marked by an absence of written records
Peloponnesus
–
The
Corinth Canal separates the Peloponnese from mainland Greece.
Peloponnesus
–
Landscape of
Arcadia
Peloponnesus
–
Map of the Peloponnese of
Classical Antiquity.
29.
Chronicle of Morea
–
The Chronicle of the Morea is a long 14th-century history text, of which four versions are extant, in French, Greek, Italian and Aragonese. More than 9,000 lines long, the Chronicle narrates events of the Franks establishment of feudalism in mainland Greece, west European Crusaders settled in the Peloponnese following the Fourth Crusade. The period covered in the Chronicle was 1204 to 1292 and it gives significant details on the civic organization of the Principality of Achaia. The Greek text is the text written in verse. The French, Italian and Aragonese texts are written in prose, the verses of the Greek text are written in a 15-syllable political verse. The verses are accented but not rhymed and it is written in the spoken Greek of the time, with the inclusion of several French words. The oldest text is that held in Copenhagen, the language of which is more archaic, the Parisian, more recent, text is simpler in language and has fewer foreign words. The transcriber omitted several anti-Hellenic references, so the overall text expressed less contempt of Greeks, the difference of about one century between the Copenhagen and Parisian version shows a considerable number of linguistic differences due to the rapid evolution of the Greek language. The text of the Copenhagen version describes events until 1292,2753 University Library of Bern, No.509 Information in this text reaches until the year 1304. Cronaca di Morea, is a summary that was compiled later than the previous texts and its source is the text found in the Greek manuscript held in Turin. It appears that the text of the Chronicle of the Morea has been lost. Although the Aragonese and Italian texts have been identified as later texts. The author of the text of the chronicle appears to be a Franc or a gasmoule. He appeared to admire the Franks and have contempt of the local population, notably, the author respects the citizenship of the Byzantine Greeks, calling them Romans. Numerous administrative laws and practices of the Principality of Achaia are mentioned in the Chronicle, since the year of the Fall of Constantinople,1453, marks the symbolic boundary between Medieval and Modern Greek, the Chronicle of the Morea is generally classified under Medieval Greek. However, the Chronicle of the Morea, along with the Ptochoprodromic poems and they are classified as part of both Byzantine / medieval vernacular and modern Greek literature. The first printed edition of the Chronicle was published in 1840 by J. A and it contained the Greek text from Paris. Buchon named the book Βιβλίον της κουγκέστας του Μωραίως, a different title than the text, the second printed edition of the Chronicle was that of the Greek text from Copenhagen, published by Buchon in 1845
Chronicle of Morea
–
Text from the Chronicle of the Morea
30.
Jean de Joinville
–
Jean de Joinville was one of the great chroniclers of medieval France. He is most famous for writing the Life of Saint Louis, son of Simon de Joinville and Beatrice dAuxonne, he belonged to a noble family from Champagne. He received an education befitting a noble at the court of Theobald IV, count of Champagne, reading, writing. On the death of his father in 1233, he became lord of Joinville and he was a very pious man and was concerned with the proper administration of the region. In 1241, he accompanied Theobald to the court of the king of France, in 1244, when Louis organized the Seventh Crusade, Joinville decided to abandon his family to join with the Christian knights just as his father had done 35 years earlier against the Albigensians. At the time of the crusade, Joinville placed himself in the service of the king and became his counsellor and confidant. In 1250, when the king and his troops were captured by the Mameluks in al-Mansourah, Joinville, among the captives, participated in the negotiations, Joinville probably brought himself even closer to the king in the difficult times that followed the failure of the crusade. It was Joinville who advised the king to stay in the Holy Land instead of returning immediately to France as the lords had wanted. During the following four years spent in the Holy Land Joinville was the constant advisor to the king, in 1270, Louis IX, although very weakened physically, undertook a new crusade with his three sons. In fact, the expedition was a disaster and the king died outside Tunis on August 25,1270, from 1271, the papacy carried out a long inquest on the subject of Louis IX, which ended with his canonization, announced in 1297 by Pope Boniface VIII. As Joinville had been a friend of the king, his counselor and his confidant, his testimony was invaluable to the inquest. At the request of Jeanne of Navarre, the queen, he work on the Histoire de Saint Louis. Joinville died on 24 December 1317, over 93 years old, Jeanne of Navarre, wife of Philip IV of France, asked Joinville to write Louis biography. He then put himself to the task of writing livre des saintes paroles et des bons faiz de nostre saint roy Looÿs, Jeanne of Navarre died on 2 April 1305, while the work was not yet completed. Joinville dedicated it in 1309 to her son, Louis, king of Navarre and count of Champagne, as noted, the book was not completed when Jeanne of Navarre died in 1305. In addition, the oldest existing manuscript ends with this note and this is not precisely the date of the writing of the manuscript, because it was obviously written later. Therefore it is either the date of the completion of the work by Joinville, the work was therefore written between 1305 and 1309. By other evidence, one can argue that a passage at the very end of the book, relating a dream of Joinville
Jean de Joinville
–
Jean de Joinville by
Merry-Joseph Blondel, 19th century
Jean de Joinville
–
Seventh Crusade
