1.
Javelin throw
–
The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about 2.5 m in length, is thrown. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area, Javelin throwing is an event of both the mens decathlon and the womens heptathlon. The javelin was part of the pentathlon of the Ancient Olympic Games beginning in 708 BC in two disciplines, distance and target throw, the javelin was thrown with the aid of a thong, called ankyle wound around the middle of the shaft. Athletes would hold the javelin by the thong and when the javelin was released this thong unwound giving the javelin a spiraled flight, throwing javelin-like poles into targets was revived in Germany and Sweden in the early 1870s. In Sweden, these developed into the modern javelin, and throwing them for distance became a common event there. The rules continued to evolve over the decades, originally, javelins were thrown with no run-up. Limited run-ups were introduced in the late 1890s, and soon developed into the modern unlimited run-up, swedens Eric Lemming, who threw his first world best in 1899 and ruled the event from 1902 to 1912, was the first dominant javelin thrower. Competitions for the hand only were less common, though not unknown. At the Olympics a both-hands contest was only once, in 1912, Finland swept the medals. Hungarys Mór Kóczán used a freestyle end grip to break the 60-meter barrier in 1911, the first known womens javelin marks were recorded in Finland in 1909. Originally, women threw the same implement as men, a lighter, shorter javelin for women was introduced in the 1920s, womens javelin throw was added to the Olympic program in 1932, Mildred Babe Didrikson of the United States became the first champion. For a long time, javelins were made of wood, typically birch. The current mens record is held by Jan Železný at 98.48 m. Of the 69 Olympic medals that have been awarded in the javelin,32 have gone to competitors from Norway. Finland has, however, never been nearly as successful in the womens javelin, the javelin was also part of some of the many early forms of womens pentathlon, and has always been included in the heptathlon after it replaced the pentathlon in 1981. The size, shape, minimum weight, and center of gravity of the javelin are all defined by IAAF rules. In international competition, men throw a javelin between 2.6 and 2.7 m in length and 800 g in weight, the javelin has a grip, about 150 mm wide, made of cord and located at the javelins center of gravity. Unlike the other throwing events, the used to throw the javelin is dictated by IAAF rules
2.
Spear
–
A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The most common design for hunting or combat spears since ancient times has incorporated a metal spearhead shaped like a triangle, lozenge, the heads of fishing spears usually feature barbs or serrated edges. The word spear comes from the Old English spere, from the Proto-Germanic speri, from a Proto-Indo-European root *sper- spear, Spears can be divided into two broad categories, those designed for thrusting in melee combat and those designed for throwing. The spear has been used throughout history both as a hunting and fishing tool and as a weapon. Along with the axe, knife and club, it is one of the earliest and most important tools developed by early humans, as a weapon, it may be wielded with either one hand or two. It was used in every conflict up until the modern era, where even then it continues on in the form of the bayonet. Spear manufacture and use is not confined to human beings and it is also practiced by the western chimpanzee. Chimpanzees near Kédougou, Senegal have been observed to create spears by breaking straight limbs off trees, stripping them of their bark and side branches and they then used the weapons to hunt galagos sleeping in hollows. Orangutans also have used spears to fish, presumably after observing humans fishing in a similar manner, neanderthals were constructing stone spear heads from as early as 300,000 BP and by 250,000 years ago, wooden spears were made with fire-hardened points. From 200,000 BP onwards, Middle Paleolithic humans began to make stone blades with flaked edges which were used as spear heads. These stone heads could be fixed to the shaft by gum or resin or by bindings made of animal sinew. During this period, a clear difference remained between spears designed to be thrown and those designed to be used in hand-to-hand combat, by the Magdalenian period, spear-throwers similar to the later atlatl were in use. Spears were one of the most common weapons used in the Stone Age. They may be seen as the ancestor of such weapons as the lance, the pilum, the halberd, the naginata, the glaive, the bill. Spears may be used as both a projectile and melee weapons, Spears used primarily for thrusting may be used with either one or two hands and tend to have heavier and sturdier designs than those intended exclusively for throwing. From the atlatl dart, the arrow for use with bows eventually developed, short, one-handed spears featuring socketed metal heads were used in conjunction with a shield by the earliest Bronze Age cultures. They were wielded in either combat or in large troop formations. This tradition continued from the first Mesopotamian cultures, through the various ancient Egyptian dynasties, during this time the spear was also used by cavalry
3.
Ranged weapon
–
A ranged weapon is any weapon that can harm targets at distances greater than hand-to-hand distance. In contrast, a weapon intended to be used in combat is called a melee weapon. Ranged weapons give the attacker an advantage in combat since the target has less time to react and it also provides a safer combat option since melee combat often becomes a life or death struggle where each member has a high probability of dying. The line between ranged and melee weapons is not entirely definite, for instance, spears, knives, early ranged weapons include thrown weapons such as javelins, slings, darts, the bow and arrow, and medieval siege engines like stone throwers, catapults, ballistas and trebuchets. Siege engines were used for passing or hitting obstacles like fortifications. After the invention of gunpowder and the development of firearms, ranged weapons became the weapon of choice, in modern warfare, ranged weaponry is used in the form of cruise and ballistic missiles. Maximum effective range of a weapon is the greatest distance fired, while some are small and light enough to be used by individuals, most require a team to aim, move or fire. ISBN 1-58574-478-6 The Traditional Bowyers Bible Volume 1, the Traditional Bowyers Bible Volume 2. The Traditional Bowyers Bible Volume 3, the ballistics of the sling, Thom Richardson, Royal Armouries Yearbook, Volume 31998
4.
Bow and arrow
–
The bow and arrow is a projectile weapon system that predates recorded history and is common to most cultures. Archery is the art, practice, or skill of applying it, a bow is a flexible arc that shoots aerodynamic projectiles called arrows. A string joins the two ends of the bow and when the string is drawn back, the ends of the bow are flexed, when the string is released, the potential energy of the flexed stick is transformed into the kinetic energy of the arrow. Archery is the art or sport of shooting arrows from bows, today, bows and arrows are used primarily for hunting and for the sport of archery. Someone who makes bows is known as a bowyer, and one who makes arrows is a fletcher —or in the case of the manufacture of arrow heads. The bow and arrow appears around the transition from the Upper Paleolithic to the Mesolithic, at the site of Nataruk in Turkana County, Kenya, obsidian bladelets found embedded in a skull and within the thoracic cavity of another skeleton, suggest the use of stone-tipped arrows as weapons. After the end of the last glacial period, use of the bow seems to have spread to every inhabited continent, including the New World, the oldest extant bows in one piece are the elm Holmegaard bows from Denmark which were dated to 9,000 BCE. High-performance wooden bows are made following the Holmegaard design. Microliths discovered on the south coast of Africa suggest that arrows may be at least 71,000 years old, the bow was an important weapon for both hunting and warfare from prehistoric times until the widespread use of gunpowder in the 16th century. Organised warfare with bows ended in the mid 17th century in Europe, the British upper class led a revival of archery from the late 18th century. Sir Ashton Lever, an antiquarian and collector, formed the Toxophilite Society in London in 1781, under the patronage of George, the basic elements of a bow are a pair of curved elastic limbs, traditionally made from wood, joined by a riser. Both ends of the limbs are connected by a known as the bow string. By pulling the string backwards the archer exerts compressive force on the section, or belly, of the limbs as well as placing the outer section, or back. While the string is held, this stores the energy released in putting the arrow to flight. The force required to hold the string stationary at full draw is used to express the power of a bow. Other things being equal, a draw weight means a more powerful bow. The various parts of the bow can be subdivided into further sections, the topmost limb is known as the upper limb, while the bottom limb is the lower limb. At the tip of each limb is a nock, which is used to attach the bowstring to the limbs, the riser is usually divided into the grip, which is held by the archer, as well as the arrow rest and the bow window
5.
Slingshot
–
A slingshot or catapult, ging, shanghai, kattie, bean shooter, or flip or tirador, is normally a small hand-powered projectile weapon. The classic form consists of a Y-shaped frame held in the off hand, the other ends of the strips lead back to a pocket that holds the projectile. The dominant hand grasps the pocket and draws it back to the extent to provide power for the projectile - up to a full span of the arm with sufficiently long bands. Slingshots depend on strong elastic materials, typically vulcanized natural rubber or the equivalent, by 1860, this new engine had already established a reputation for juvenile use in vandalism. While early slingshots were most associated with young vandals, they were also capable hunting arms in the hands of a skilled user, placing multiple balls in the pouch produces a shotgun effect, such as firing a dozen BBs at a time for hunting small birds. With the addition of a suitable rest, the slingshot can also be used to fire arrows, the Wham-O company, founded in 1948, was named after their first product, the Wham-O slingshot. It was made of ash wood and used flat rubber bands, the Wham-O was suitable for hunting with a draw weight of up to 200 newtons, and was available with an arrow rest. The 1940s also saw the creation of the National Slingshot Association, headquartered in San Marino, California, despite the slingshots reputation as a tool of juvenile delinquents, the NSA reported that 80% of slingshot sales were to men over 30 years old, many of them professionals. John Milligan, a manufacturer of the aluminium-framed John Milligan Special. The middle 1950s saw two major innovations in slingshot manufacture, typified by the Wrist-Rocket Company of Columbus, Nebraska, slingshots are also occasionally used in angling to disperse bait into the water over a wide area, so that multiple fish are attracted near the anglers fishing rod. A home-made derivative of a slingshot also exists, consisting of a rubber balloon cut in half and tied to an object such as the neck of a plastic bottle. The projectile is inserted through the tube and into the cut balloon, and these so-called balloon guns are sometimes made as a substitute to ordinary slingshot, and is often used to create the shotgun effect with multiple projectiles fired at once. The world record for the most energetic shot with a handheld slingshot was 135 Joules and it was shot with a forward extended slingshot, also known as a starship, which achieves more power by increasing draw length. Slingshots have been used as weapons, but primarily by guerrilla forces due to the primitive resources. Slingshots have also used by the military to launch unmanned aerial vehicles. Two crew members form the fork, with an elastic cord stretched between them to power to launch the small aircraft. One of the dangers inherent in slingshots is the probability that the bands will fail. Most bands are made from latex, which degrades with time and use, failures at the pouch end are safest, as they result in the band rebounding away from the user
6.
Spear-thrower
–
A spear-thrower or atlatl is a tool that uses leverage to achieve greater velocity in dart-throwing, and includes a bearing surface which allows the user to store energy during the throw. It may consist of a shaft with a cup or a spur at the end that supports, the spear-thrower is held in one hand, gripped near the end farthest from the cup. The dart is thrown by the action of the upper arm, the throwing arm together with the atlatl acts as a lever. The spear-thrower is a low-mass, fast-moving extension of the throwing arm and this extra length allows the thrower to impart force to the dart over a longer distance, thus imparting more energy and ultimately higher speeds. Common modern ball throwers use the same principle, a spear-thrower is a long-range weapon and can readily impart to a projectile speeds of over 150 km/h. In the United States the Nahuatl word atlatl is often used for revived uses of spear-throwers, the ancient Greeks and Romans used a leather thong or loop, known as an ankule or amentum, as a spear-throwing device. Spear-thrower designs may include such as thong loops to fit the fingers, the use of flexible shafts, stone balance weights. Darts resemble large arrows or thin spears and are typically from 1.2 to 2.7 m in length and 9 to 16 mm in diameter, another important improvement to the spear-throwers design was the introduction of a small weight strapped to its midsection. Some atlatlists maintain that stone weights add mass to the shaft of the device, causing resistance to acceleration when swung and resulting in a more forceful, others claim that spear-thrower weights add only stability to a cast, resulting in greater accuracy. Based on previous work done by William S. Webb, William R, the use of the device would reduce the telltale zip of a swung atlatl to a more subtle woof sound that did not travel as far and was less likely to alert prey. The woomera design is different from most other spear-throwers, in that it has a curved, hollow shape. Several Stone Age spear-throwers are decorated with carvings of animals, the British Museum has a mammoth, many pieces of decorated bone may have belonged to Bâtons de commandement. The Aztec atlatl was often decorated with designs and feathers. Wooden darts were known at least since the Middle Paleolithic, while the spear-thrower is capable of casting a dart well over one hundred meters, it is most accurately used at distances of twenty meters or less. The spearthrower is believed to have been in use by Homo sapiens since the Upper Paleolithic, most stratified European finds come from the Magdalenian. In this period, elaborate pieces, often in the form of animals, are common, the earliest secure data concerning atlatls have come from several caves in France dating to the Upper Paleolithic, about 21,000 to 17,000 years ago. The earliest known example is a 17, 500-year-old Solutrean atlatl made of antler, found at Combe Saunière. In Europe, the spear-thrower was supplemented by the bow and arrow in the Epi-Paleolithic and this allowed for more forgiving flint knapping, dart heads designed for a particular spear thrower tend to differ in mass by only a few percent
7.
Middle English
–
This stage of the development of the English language roughly followed the High to the Late Middle Ages. Middle English developed out of Late Old English, seeing many dramatic changes in its grammar, pronunciation and this largely forms the basis for Modern English spelling, although pronunciation has changed considerably since that time. Middle English was succeeded in England by the era of Early Modern English, by that time, a variant of the Northumbrian dialect was developing into the Scots language. During the Middle English period many Old English grammatical features were simplified or disappeared, noun, adjective and verb inflections were simplified, a process that included the reduction of most grammatical case distinctions. Middle English also saw an adoption of Norman French vocabulary, especially in areas such as politics, law. Everyday English vocabulary remained mostly Germanic, with Old Norse influence becoming apparent, significant changes in pronunciation took place, especially for long vowels and diphthongs, which in the later Middle English period began to undergo the Great Vowel Shift. Little survives of early Middle English literature, most likely due to the Norman domination, poets wrote both in the vernacular and courtly English. It is popularly believed that William Shakespeare wrote in Middle English, the latter part of the 11th century was a period of transition from Late Old English to Early Middle English. The influence of Old Norse certainly helped move English from a synthetic language towards a more analytic or isolating word order and it was, after all, a salutary influence. The gain was greater than the loss, there was a gain in directness, in clarity, and in strength. The change to Old English from Old Norse was substantive, pervasive and it is most important to recognise that in many words the English and Scandinavian language differed chiefly in their inflectional elements. The body of the word was so nearly the same in the two languages only the endings would put obstacles in the way of mutual understanding. In the mixed population which existed in the Danelaw these endings must have led to confusion, tending gradually to become obscured. This blending of peoples and languages resulted in simplifying English grammar. There are also many Norman-derived terms relating to the cultures that arose in the 12th century. Sometimes, and particularly later, words were taken from Latin, giving such sets as kingly, later French borrowings came from standard rather than Norman French, this leads to such cognate pairs as warden, guardian. The end of Anglo-Saxon rule did not, of course, change the language immediately, the general population would have spoken the same dialects as before the Conquest, these changed slowly until written records of them became available for study, which varies in different regions. Once the writing of Old English came to an end, Middle English had no standard language, Early Middle English has a largely Anglo-Saxon vocabulary, but a greatly simplified inflectional system
8.
Old French
–
Old French was the Gallo-Romance dialect continuum spoken from the 9th century to the 14th century. In the 14th century, these came to be collectively known as the langues doïl. The mid-14th century is taken as the period to Middle French. The areal of Old French in contemporary terms corresponded to the parts of the Kingdom of France, Upper Burgundy. As part of the emerging Gallo-Romance dialect continuum, the langues doïl were contrasted with the langue doc, in these examples, we notice a clear consequence of bilingualism, that sometimes even changed the first syllable of the Latin words. Pope estimated that perhaps still 15% of the vocabulary of modern French derives from Germanic sources, at the third Council of Tours in 813, priests were ordered to preach in the vernacular language, since the common people could no longer understand formal Latin. The second-oldest document in Old French is the Eulalia sequence, which is important for reconstruction of Old French pronunciation due to its consistent spelling. The Capetians langue doïl, the forerunner of modern standard French, did not begin to become the common speech of all of France, however, until after the French Revolution. In the Late Middle Ages, the Old French dialects diverged into a number of distinct langues doïl, during the Early Modern period, French now becomes established as the official language of the Kingdom of France throughout the realm, also including the langue doc-speaking territories in the south. Old French gives way to Middle French in the mid-14th century, the earliest extant French literary texts date from the ninth century, but very few texts before the 11th century have survived. The first literary works written in Old French were saints lives, the Canticle of Saint Eulalie, written in the second half of the 9th century, is generally accepted as the first such text. The first of these is the area of the chansons de geste. More than one hundred chansons de geste have survived in three hundred manuscripts. The oldest and most celebrated of the chansons de geste is The Song of Roland, a fourth grouping, not listed by Bertrand, is the Crusade cycle, dealing with the First Crusade and its immediate aftermath. Jean Bodels other two categories—the Matter of Rome and the Matter of Britain—concern the French romance or roman, around a hundred verse romances survive from the period 1150–1220. From around 1200 on, the tendency was increasingly to write the romances in prose, the most important romance of the 13th century is the Romance of the Rose which breaks considerably from the conventions of the chivalric adventure story. The Occitan or Provençal poets were called troubadours, from the word trobar to find, lyric poets in Old French are called trouvères. By the late 13th century, the tradition in France had begun to develop in ways that differed significantly from the troubadour poets
9.
Celtic languages
–
The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or Common Celtic, a branch of the greater Indo-European language family. Modern Celtic languages are spoken on the north-western edge of Europe, notably in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall. There are also a number of Welsh speakers in the Patagonia area of Argentina. Some people speak Celtic languages in the other Celtic diaspora areas of the United States, Canada, Australia, in all these areas, the Celtic languages are now only spoken by minorities though there are continuing efforts at revitalisation. Welsh is the only Celtic language not classified as endangered by UNESCO, the spread to Cape Breton and Patagonia occurred in modern times. SIL Ethnologue lists six living Celtic languages, of four have retained a substantial number of native speakers. These are the Goidelic languages and the Brittonic languages, the other two, Cornish and Manx, died in modern times with their presumed last native speakers in 1777 and 1974 respectively. For both these languages, however, revitalisation movements have led to the adoption of these languages by adults and children, taken together, there were roughly one million native speakers of Celtic languages as of the 2000s. In 2010, there were more than 1.4 million speakers of Celtic languages, shelta, based largely on Irish with influence from an undocumented source. Some forms of Welsh-Romani or Kååle also combined Romany itself with Welsh language, beurla-reagaird, Highland travellers language Celtic divided into various branches, Lepontic, the oldest attested Celtic language. Anciently spoken in Switzerland and in Northern-Central Italy, from the Alps to Umbria, coins with Lepontic inscriptions have been found in Noricum and Gallia Narbonensis. Celtiberian, anciently spoken in the Iberian peninsula, in parts of modern Galicia, Asturias, La Rioja, Aragón, Cantabria, Old Castile, the relationship of Celtiberian with Gallaecian, in the northwest of the peninsula, is uncertain. Gallaecian, anciently spoken in the former Gallaecia, northwest of the peninsula, Gaulish languages, including Galatian and possibly Noric. These languages were spoken in a wide arc from Belgium to Turkey. Brittonic, including the living languages Breton, Cornish, and Welsh, before the arrival of Scotti on the Isle of Man in the 9th century, there may have been a Brittonic language in the Isle of Man. Goidelic, including the living languages Irish, Manx, and Scottish Gaelic, scholarly handling of the Celtic languages has been rather argumentative owing to scarceness of primary source data. Other scholars distinguish between P-Celtic and Q-Celtic, putting most of the Gaulish and Brittonic languages in the former group, the P-Celtic languages are sometimes seen as a central innovating area as opposed to the more conservative peripheral Q-Celtic languages. In the P/Q classification schema, the first language to split off from Proto-Celtic was Gaelic and it has characteristics that some scholars see as archaic, but others see as also being in the Brittonic languages
10.
Throwing stick
–
The throwing stick or throwing club is one of the first weapons used by early humans and cultures all around the world. In essence, it is a stave or wooden club thrown as a projectile to hunt small game such as rabbits or waterfowl, in flight, it rotates rapidly, hitting the target with one of the ends, maiming or killing it. One difference between a stick and a javelin is in their shapes and lengths. A javelin is almost always a straight shaft with either a pointed tip or an attached to the front end. A throwing stick can be straight like a wooden shaft or curved like the boomerang. It became obsolete as slings and bows became more prevalent, except for on the Australian continent, Throwing sticks shaped like returning boomerangs are designed to fly straight to a target at long ranges. Their surfaces are shaped as airfoils, when tuned correctly they do not exhibit curved flight, but rather they fly on an extended straight flight path. Straight flight ranges greater than 100 meters distance have been reported by sources as well as in recent research. There were some throwing sticks placed in the tombs of pharaohs, the throwing stick is a tool used in hunting small game and waterfowl. The Ancient Egyptians used throwing sticks to hunt ducks, as seen in wall paintings. The 18th dynasty Pharaoh Tutankhamun was a lover of duck hunting. Menceys, the kings of the ancient Guanches of the Canary Islands, the Aborigines of Australia used the boomerang. Its range was in excess of 100 meters and it could also be wielded as a club or knife for attacking close kangaroo, wallaby, and emu by using it as a club. Some Native American tribes such as the Hopi, as well as all southern California tribes, utilized the throwing stick to hunt rabbits, other titles for the throwing stick are, rabbit stick, throwing club, killer stick, baton, boomerang, and kylie. The throwing stick can also be used as a weapon in human combat, as a survival tool, the throwing stick is one of the most effective and easiest tools to obtain. Other than a weapon, it can also be used as a tool for making fire-pits. A curved limb will suffice as a throwing stick, Ancient throwing sticks were made of hardwood with a weighted or curved end to one side to impart momentum so the stick stays straight and does not wobble in mid-flight. Some throwing sticks and their variations are about 2 to 3 feet long pieces of thick hardwood, when they are thrown, they spin, creating the image of a sort of blurry disc
11.
Lower Paleolithic
–
The Lower Paleolithic is the earliest subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. It spans the time from around 3, the Middle Paleolithic followed the Lower Paleolithic and recorded the appearance of the more advanced prepared-core tool-making technologies such as the Mousterian. Whether the earliest control of fire by hominins dates to the Lower or to the Middle Paleolithic remains an open question. The Lower Paleolithic began with the appearance of the oldest stone tools in the world, roughly 3.3 million ago in eastern Africa, the Gelasian, some 2.5 million years ago, saw the appearance of the Homo genus, possibly developing from australopithecine forebears. Homo habilis is assumed to have lived primarily on scavenging, using tools to cleave meat off carrion or to break bones to extract the marrow, decreasing oceanic evaporation produced a drier climate and the expansion of the savannah at the expense of forests. Reduced availability of fruits stimulated some proto-australopithecines to search out new food sources found in the drier savannah ecology, Homo erectus appeared by about 1.8 million years ago, via the transitional variety Homo ergaster. Homo erectus moved from scavenging to hunting, developing the hunting-gathering lifestyle that would remain dominant throughout the Paleolithic into the Mesolithic, Homo erectus migrated out of Africa and dispersed throughout Eurasia. Stone tools in Malaysia have been dated to be 1.83 million years old, the Peking Man fossil, discovered in 1929, is roughly 700,000 years old. In Europe, the Olduwan tradition split into two parallel traditions, the Clactonian, a tradition, and the Acheulean, a hand-axe tradition. The Levallois technique for knapping flint developed during this time, the carrier species from Africa to Europe was undoubtedly Homo erectus. This type of human is more linked to the flake tradition. Many Mousterian finds in the Middle Paleolithic have been knapped using a Levallois technique, monte Poggiolo, near Forlì, Italy, is the location of an Acheulian littoral handaxe industry dating from 1.8 to 1.1 million years ago. The appearance of Homo heidelbergensis about 600,000 years ago heralds a number of new varieties, such as Homo rhodesiensis. Homo heidelbergensis is a candidate for first developing a form of symbolic language. Whether control of fire and earliest burials date to this period or only appear during the Middle Paleolithic is an open question, the hand-axe tradition originates in the same period. The intermediate may have been Homo heidelbergensis, held responsible for the manufacture of improved Mode 2 Acheulean tool types, in Africa, flakes and axes coexisted in Europe, sometimes at the same site. The axe tradition, however, spread to a different range in the east and it appears in Arabia and India, but more importantly, it does not appear in southeast Asia. Homo sapiens first appear about 200,000 years ago, control of fire by early humans Lomekwi, site of the oldest tools discovered The First People and Culture at Indiana University Bloomington
12.
Stratigraphy
–
Stratigraphy is a branch of geology which studies rock layers and layering. It is primarily used in the study of sedimentary and layered volcanic rocks, stratigraphy has two related subfields, lithologic stratigraphy or lithostratigraphy, and biologic stratigraphy or biostratigraphy. The first practical application of stratigraphy was by William Smith in the 1790s. Another influential application of stratigraphy in the early 19th century was a study by Georges Cuvier, variation in rock units, most obviously displayed as visible layering, is due to physical contrasts in rock type. This variation can occur vertically as layering, or laterally, and these variations provide a lithostratigraphy or lithologic stratigraphy of the rock unit. Key concepts in stratigraphy involve understanding how certain geometric relationships between rock layers arise and what these geometries imply about their original depositional environment. The basic concept in stratigraphy, called the law of superposition, states, in a stratigraphic sequence. Chemostratigraphy studies the changes in the proportions of trace elements and isotopes within. Carbon and oxygen isotope ratios vary with time, and researchers can use those to map subtle changes that occurred in the paleoenvironment and this has led to the specialized field of isotopic stratigraphy. Biostratigraphy or paleontologic stratigraphy is based on evidence in the rock layers. Strata from widespread locations containing the fossil fauna and flora are said to be correlatable in time. Biologic stratigraphy was based on William Smiths principle of succession, which predated. It provides strong evidence for the formation and extinction of species, the geologic time scale was developed during the 19th century, based on the evidence of biologic stratigraphy and faunal succession. One important development is the Vail curve, which attempts to define a global historical sea-level curve according to inferences from worldwide stratigraphic patterns, stratigraphy is also commonly used to delineate the nature and extent of hydrocarbon-bearing reservoir rocks, seals, and traps of petroleum geology. Chronostratigraphy is the branch of stratigraphy that places an absolute age, a gap or missing strata in the geological record of an area is called a stratigraphic hiatus. This may be the result of a halt in the deposition of sediment, alternatively, the gap may be due to removal by erosion, in which case it may be called a stratigraphic vacuity. It is called a hiatus because deposition was on hold for a period of time, a physical gap may represent both a period of non-deposition and a period of erosion. A geologic fault may cause the appearance of a hiatus, magnetostratigraphy is a chronostratigraphic technique used to date sedimentary and volcanic sequences
13.
Spruce
–
A spruce is a tree of the genus Picea /paɪˈsiːə/, a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal regions of the earth. Spruces are large trees, from about 20–60 m tall when mature, the needles, or leaves, of spruce trees are attached singly to the branches in a spiral fashion, each needle on a small, peg-like structure. The needles are shed when 4–10 years old, leaving the branches rough with the retained pegs, spruces are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species. They are also used by the larvae of gall adelgids, the word spruce entered the English language from the Polish Prusy, Prussia. DNA analyses have shown that traditional classifications based on the morphology of needle, Spruce has been found in the fossil record from the early Cretaceous,136 million years ago. Thirty-five named species of spruce exist in the world, the Plant List has 59 accepted spruce names. Beyond that, determination can become more difficult, intensive sampling in the Smithers/Hazelton/Houston area of British Columbia showed Douglas, according to Coates et al. Daubenmire, after sampling, had already recognized the importance of the 2 latter characters. Without cones, morphological differentiation among spruce species and their hybrids is more difficult, but, if an extended photoperiod is provided for Sitka spruce, seedlings become unacceptably tall by the end of the first growing season. g. Growth rhythm, shoot and root weight, and needle serration, or some combination of, Spruce seedlings are most susceptible immediately following germination, and remain highly susceptible through to the following spring. Seedlings that germinate late in the season are particularly vulnerable because they are tiny and have not had time to harden off fully. Mortality rates generally decrease sharply thereafter, but losses often remain high for some years, establishment is a subjective concept based on the idea that once a seedling has successfully reached a certain size, not much is likely to prevent its further development. Growth remains very slow for several to many years, Spruce is useful as a building wood, commonly referred to by several different names including North American timber, SPF and whitewood. Spruce wood is used for many purposes, ranging from construction work. The Wright brothers first aircraft, the Flyer, was built of spruce, because this species has no insect or decay resistance qualities after logging, it is generally recommended for construction purposes as indoor use only. Spruce wood, when left outside cannot be expected to last more than 12–18 months depending on the type of climate it is exposed to, Spruce is one of the most important woods for paper uses, as it has long wood fibres which bind together to make strong paper. The fibres are thin walled and collapse to thin bands upon drying, spruces are commonly used in mechanical pulping as they are easily bleached. Together with northern pines, northern spruces are commonly used to make NBSK, spruces are cultivated over vast areas as pulpwood
14.
Pole weapon
–
A pole weapon or polearm is a close combat weapon in which the main fighting part of the weapon is fitted to the end of a long shaft, typically of wood, thereby extending the users effective range. Spears, Glaives, poleaxes, halberds, and naginata are all varieties of polearms, the purpose of using pole weapons is either to extend reach or to increase leverage and thus increase striking power. Because they contain relatively little metal, polearms are cheap to make and this has made them the favored weapon of peasant levies and peasants in rebellion the world over. Many are adapted from farm implements, or other tools, polearms were common weapons on medieval European battlefields. Their range and impact force made them effective weapons against armored warriors on horseback, the Renaissance saw a plethora of different varieties. Polearms in modern times are largely constrained to ceremonial military units such as the Papal Swiss Guard or Yeomen of the Guard or traditional martial arts, Chinese Martial Arts in particular have preserved a wide variety of weapons and techniques. The classification of pole weapons can be difficult, and European weapon classifications in particular can be confusing, for example, the word halberd is also used to translate the Chinese ji and also a range of medieval Scandinavian weapons as described in sagas, such as the atgeir. To add to this, we have various nineteenth century used by scholars. We must remember too that any particular weapon, while men-at-arms may have been armed with custom designed military weapons, militias were often armed with whatever was available. These may or may not have mounted on poles and described by one of more names. The problems with precise definitions can be inferred by a description of Royalist infantry which were engaged in the Battle of Birmingham during the first year of English Civil War. The infantry regiment that accompanied Prince Ruperts cavalry were armed, with pikes, half-pikes, halberds, hedge-bills, Welsh hooks, clubs, pitchforks, with chopping-knives, and pieces of scythes. Falx Rhomphaia Kontos The dagger-axe, or gee is a type of weapon that was in use from Shang dynasty until at least Han dynasty China and it consists of a dagger-shaped blade made of bronze mounted by the tang to a perpendicular wooden shaft. A common Bronze Age infantry weapon, some dagger axes include a spear-point. There is a variant type with a divided two-part head, consisting of the straight blade. Other rarities include archaeology findings with 2 or sometimes 3 blades stacked in line on top of a pole, though the weapon saw frequent use in ancient China, the use of the dagger-axe decreased dramatically after the Qin and Han dynasties. By the medieval Chinese dynasties, with the decline of chariot warfare, a Guan dao or Kwan tou is a type of Chinese pole weapon. In Chinese it is called a Yanyue dao which translates as reclining moon blade
15.
Boxgrove
–
Boxgrove is a village and civil parish in the Chichester District of the English county of West Sussex, about five kilometres north east of the city of Chichester. The village is just south of the A285 road which follows the line of the Roman road Stane Street, the parish has an area of 1,169 hectares. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 901 people living in 423 households of whom 397 were economically active, the 2011 Census indicated at population of 957. Included in the parish are the hamlets of Crockerhill, Strettington, an electoral ward in the same name exists. This ward stretches North West to West Dean with a population taken at the 2011 census of 2,235. Boxgrove is best known for the Lower Palaeolithic archaeological site discovered in a quarry known as Ameys Eartham Pit located near the village. Parts of the complex were excavated between 1983 and 1996 by a team led by Mark Roberts of University College London. Numerous Acheulean flint tools and remains of animals dating to around 500,000 years ago were found at the site, the area was therefore used by some of the earliest occupants of the British Isles. Remains of Homo heidelbergensis were found on the site in 1994, teeth from another individual were found two years later. A Benedictine monastery was founded at Boxgrove by William de la Haye in 1115, the priory church remains as the Church of England parish church of St. Mary and St. Blaise, minus the original nave, and mostly dates from the 13th century. Several parishioners of Boxgrove were prosecuted for playing cricket in the churchyard on Sunday,5 May 1622 and this is the earliest known reference to the cricket bat. Sussex Cricket in the Eighteenth Century, media related to Boxgrove at Wikimedia Commons
16.
Peltast
–
A peltast was a type of light infantry in Thrace and Paeonia who often served as skirmishers. Peltasts carried a wicker shield called a pelte as their main protection. According to Aristotle, the pelte was rimless and covered in goat or sheep skin, some literary sources imply that the shield could be round, but in art it is usually shown as crescent-shaped. It also appears in Scythian art and may have been a type in Central Europe. The shield could be carried with a strap and a hand grip near the rim or with just a central hand-grip. It may also have had a carrying strap as Thracian peltasts slung their shields on their backs when evading the enemy, Peltasts weapons consisted of several javelins, which may have had throwing straps to allow more force to be applied to a throw. In the Archaic period, the Greek martial tradition had been focused almost exclusively on the heavy infantry, the style of fighting used by peltasts originated in Thrace and the first Greek peltasts were recruited from the Greek cities of the Thracian coast. They are generally depicted on vases and in other images as wearing the typical Thracian costume and they also usually wear a patterned tunic, fawnskin boots and a long cloak, called a zeira, decorated with a bright, geometric, pattern. However, many mercenary peltasts were recruited in Greece. Some vases have also been found showing hoplites carrying peltes, often, the mythical Amazons are shown with peltast equipment. Peltasts gradually became important in Greek warfare, in particular during the Peloponnesian War. Xenophon in the Anabasis describes peltasts in action against Persian cavalry at the Battle of Cunaxa in 401 BCE where they were serving as part of the force of Cyrus the Younger. In Tissaphernes had not fled at the first charge, but had instead charged along the river through the Greek peltasts, however he did not kill a single man as he passed through. The Greeks opened their ranks and proceeded to blows and throw javelins at them as they went through. Xenophons description makes it clear that these peltasts were armed with swords, as well as javelins, when faced with a charge from the Persian cavalry they opened their ranks and allowed the cavalry through while striking them with swords and hurling javelins at them. They became the type of Greek mercenary infantry in the 4th century BCE. Their equipment was less expensive than that of traditional hoplites and would have more readily available to poorer members of society. The Athenian general Iphicrates destroyed a Spartan phalanx in the Battle of Lechaeum in 390 BCE, in the account of Diodorus Siculus, Iphicrates is credited with re-arming his men with long spears, perhaps in around 374 BCE
17.
George Rawlinson
–
George Rawlinson was a 19th-century English scholar, historian, and Christian theologian. Rawlinson was born at Chadlington, Oxfordshire, and was the brother of Sir Henry Rawlinson. Having taken his degree at the University of Oxford in 1838, he was elected to a fellowship at Exeter College, Oxford, in 1840, of which from 1842 to 1846 he was fellow and tutor. He was ordained in 1841, was Bampton lecturer in 1859, in his early days at Oxford, Rawlinson played cricket for the University, appearing in five matches between 1836 and 1839 which have since been considered to have been first-class. In 1872 he was appointed canon of Canterbury, and after 1888 he was rector of All Hallows, in 1873, he was appointed proctor in Convocation for the Chapter of Canterbury. He married Louisa, daughter of Sir RA Chermside, in 1846 and he was also contributor to the Speakers Commentary, the Pulpit Commentary, Smiths Dictionary of the Bible, and various similar publications. He was the author of the article Herodotus in the 9th edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica and this article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Rawlinson, George. Historical Evidences of the Scripture Records Stated Anew, With Special Reference to the Doubts and Discoveries of Modern Times
18.
Military of ancient Egypt
–
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of eastern North Africa, concentrated along the Northern reaches of the Nile River in Egypt. The civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh. Its history occurred in a series of stable Kingdoms, separated by periods of relative instability known as Intermediate Periods, ancient Egypt reached its pinnacle during the New Kingdom, after which it entered a period of slow decline. Egypt was conquered by a succession of foreign powers in late period. Although the Egyptian military forces in the Old and Middle kingdoms were well maintained, for most parts of its long history, ancient Egypt was unified under one government. The main military concern for the nation was to keep enemies out, the arid plains they wanted to get rid of and deserts surrounding Egypt were inhabited by nomadic tribes who occasionally tried to raid or settle in the fertile Nile river valley. Nevertheless, the expanses of the desert formed a barrier that protected the river valley and was almost impossible for massive armies to cross. The Egyptians built fortresses and outposts along the borders east and west of the Nile Delta, in the Eastern Desert, small garrisons could prevent minor incursions, but if a large force was detected a message was sent for the main army corps. Most Egyptian cities lacked city walls and other defenses, the history of ancient Egypt is divided into three kingdoms and two intermediate periods. During the three Kingdoms Egypt was unified under one government, during the Intermediate periods government control was in the hands of the various nomes and various foreigners. The geography of Egypt served to isolate the country and allowed it to thrive and this circumstance set the stage for many of Egypts military conquests. They enfeebled their enemies by using small projectile weapons, like bows and arrows and they also had chariots which they used to charge at the enemy. The Old Kingdom was one of the most prosperous times in Egypts history, because of this affluence, it allowed the government to stabilize and in turn organize a functioning military. Before Egypts New Kingdom, there were four major causes for military conflict, the Old Kingdoms military was most marked by their construction of forts along the Nile River. At this time, the conflict was with Nubia and Egypt felt the urge to defend their borders by building forts deep into this country. These forts were never attacked, but they acted as a deterring factor towards potential invaders. Many are currently underwater in Lake Nasser, but while they were visible they were a testament to the affluence. During the Old Kingdom there was no army in Egypt
19.
Chariotry in ancient Egypt
–
In ancient Egyptian society chariotry stood as an independent unit in the King’s military force. Chariots were first introduced as a weapon in Egypt by the Hyksos in the 16th century BC, the Egyptians developed their own design of the chariot. Archaeologist Joost Crouwel writes that Chariots were not sudden inventions, and this development can best be traced in the Near East, where spoke-wheeled and horse-drawn ‘true’ chariots are first attested in the earlier part of the second millennium BC. The early usage of chariots was mainly for transportation purposes, with technological improvements to their structure, the use of chariots for military purposes began. The Egyptians invented the yoke saddle for their horses around 1500 BC. Chariots were effective for their speed, mobility and strength which could not be matched by infantry at the time. They quickly became a new weapon across the ancient Near East. The best preserved examples of Egyptian chariots are the six specimens from the tomb of Tutankhamun, Chariots were very expensive, heavy and prone to breakdowns, yet in contrast with early cavalry, chariots offered a more stable platform for archers. Chariots were also effective for archery because of the relatively long bows used, such a bow was difficult to handle while on horseback. A chariot could also carry more ammunition than a single rider, however, the chariot also had several disadvantages, notably its size and its dependence on the right terrain. Chariots were thus not suitable for use in the way modern tanks have used as a physical shock force. Chariots were not able to launch sudden strikes because they made too much noise and this tactic was effective against tight units of spearmen as it allowed holes to be punched in a line which would otherwise be difficult to attack due to its compact nature. In another role, chariots were deployed to pursue and disperse enemies after the victory had been achieved, Egyptian light chariots contained one driver and one warrior, usually wielding a bow or, after depleting all his arrows, a short spear. In ancient Egypt, members of the units formed their own aristocratic class known as the maryannu. The heroic symbolism can be seen in paintings in which the King is shown riding with the elites. This image became typical of royal power iconography in the New Kingdom, the best known and preserved textual evidence about Egyptian chariots in action was from the Battle of Kadesh during the reign of Ramses II, probably the largest single chariot battle of all time
20.
Skirmisher
–
Skirmishers are light infantry or cavalry soldiers stationed to act as a vanguard, flank guard, or rearguard, screening a tactical position or a larger body of friendly troops from enemy advances. They are usually deployed in a skirmish line — an irregular open formation much more out in depth and breadth than a traditional line formation. Their purpose is to harass the enemy — engaging them in light or sporadic combat in order to delay their movement, disrupt their attack. Skirmishers can be either regular army units temporarily detached to perform skirmishing, light infantry, light cavalry, and irregular units often specialize in skirmishing. Though often critical in screening the army from sudden enemy attacks. In modern times, following the obsolescence of such heavy troops, all infantry has become indistinguishable from skirmishers, and those acting as skirmishers are said to skirmish. A battle with only light, relatively indecisive combat is called a skirmish. In ancient and medieval warfare, skirmishers typically carried bows, javelins, slings, skirmishers could also be effectively used to surround opposing soldiers in the absence of friendly cavalry. Once preliminary skirmishing was over, skirmishers participated in the battle by shooting into the enemy formation. Due to their mobility, skirmishers were also valuable for reconnaissance, in classical Greece, skirmishers originally had low status. Often Greek historians ignored them altogether, though Xenophon distinguished them explicitly from the statary troops and it was far cheaper to equip oneself as lightly armed as opposed to a fully armed hoplite – indeed it was not uncommon for the lightly armed to go into battle equipped with stones. Hence the low status of skirmishers reflected the low status of the sections of society who made up skirmishers. Additionally, hit and run tactics contradicted the Greek ideal of heroism, plato gives the skirmisher a voice to advocate flight without shame, but only to denounce it as an inversion of decent values. Skirmisher infantry would gain respect in the subsequent years as their usefulness was more widely recognised. Celts did not, in general, favour ranged weapons, the exceptions tended not to include the use of skirmishers. The Britons used the sling and javelin extensively, but for siege warfare, among the Gauls likewise, the bow was employed when defending a fixed position. The Celtic lack of skirmishers cost them dearly during the Gallic Invasion of Greece of 279 BC, in the Punic Wars, despite the Roman and Carthaginian armies different organisations, skimishers had the same role in both, to screen the main armies. The Roman army of the republican and early imperial periods frequently recruited foreign auxiliary troops to act as skirmishers to supplement the citizen Legions
21.
Hoplite
–
Hoplites were citizen-soldiers of Ancient Greek city-states who were primarily armed with spears and shields. Hoplite soldiers utilized the phalanx formation in order to be effective in war with fewer soldiers, the hoplites were primarily represented by free citizens—propertied farmers and artisans—who were able to afford the bronze armour suit and weapons. Hoplites were not professional soldiers and often lacked sufficient military training, although some states did maintain a small elite professional unit, hoplite soldiers were relied on heavily and made up the bulk of ancient Greek armies of the time. In the 8th or 7th century BC, Greek armies adopted a military innovation known as the phalanx formation, the formation proved successful in defeating the Persians when employed by the Athenians at the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC during the First Greco-Persian War. The phalanx was also employed by the Greeks at the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC. The word hoplite derives from hoplon, the name for the type of shield used by the soldiers, however, the shield was more commonly known as an aspis, so the word hopla may refer to the soldiers weapons or even their full armament. In the modern Hellenic Army, the word hoplite is used to refer to an infantryman, the fragmented political structure of Ancient Greece, with many competing city-states, increased the frequency of conflict, but at the same time limited the scale of warfare. Limited manpower did not allow most Greek city-states to form armies which could operate for long periods because they were generally not formed from professional soldiers. Most soldiers had careers as farmers or workers and returned to these professions after the campaign, all hoplites were expected to take part in any military campaign when called for duty by leaders of the state. This inevitably reduced the duration of campaigns and often resulted in the campaign season being restricted to one summer. Armies generally marched directly to their destination, and in cases the battlefield was agreed to by the contestants in advance. Battles were fought on ground, and hoplites preferred to fight with high terrain on both sides of the phalanx so the formation could not be flanked. An example of this was the Battle of Thermopylae, where the Spartans specifically chose a narrow pass to make their stand against the massive Persian army. The vastly outnumbered Greeks held off the Persians for seven days, when battles occurred, they were usually set piece and intended to be decisive. The battlefield would be flat and open to facilitate phalanx warfare and these battles were usually short and required a high degree of discipline. At least in the classical period, when cavalry was present, its role was restricted to protection of the flanks of the phalanx, pursuit of a defeated enemy. Light infantry and missile troops took part in the battles but their role was less important, before the the opposing phalanxes engaged, the light troops would skirmish with the enemies light forces, and then protect the flanks and rear of the phalanx. The military structure created by the Spartans was a phalanx formation
22.
Phalanx
–
The phalanx was a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar weapons. In Greek texts, the phalanx may be deployed for battle, on the march, even camped and they marched forward as one entity. The word phalanx is derived from the Greek word phalangos, meaning finger, the term itself, as used today, does not refer to a distinctive military unit or division, but to the general formation of an armys troops. Thus a phalanx does not have a combat strength or composition but includes the total number of infantry. Many spear-armed troops historically fought in what might be termed phalanx-like formations, the word has come into use in common English to describe a group of people standing, or moving forward closely together, c. f. This article focuses on the use of the phalanx formation in Ancient Greece, the Hellenistic world. The earliest known depiction of a phalanx-like formation occurs in a Sumerian stele from the 25th century BC, here the troops seem to have been equipped with spears, helmets, and large shields covering the whole body. Ancient Egyptian infantry were known to have employed similar formations, the first usage of the term phalanx comes from Homers, used to describe hoplites fighting in an organized battle line. Homer used the term to differentiate the formation-based combat from the individual duels so often found in his poems, historians have not arrived at a consensus about the relationship between the Greek formation and these predecessors of the hoplites. Traditionally, historians date the origin of the phalanx of ancient Greece to the 8th century BC in Sparta. It is perhaps more likely that the formation was devised in the 7th century BC after the introduction of the aspis by the city of Argos and this is further evidenced by the Chigi vase, dated to 650 BC, identifying hoplites armed with aspis, spear and panoply. Two of the basic strategies seen in earlier warfare include the principle of cohesion and this would suggest that the Greek phalanx was rather the culmination and perfection of a slowly developed idea that originated many years earlier. As weaponry and armour advanced through the years in different city-states, the hoplite phalanx of the Archaic and Classical periods in Greece was a formation in which the hoplites would line up in ranks in close order. The hoplites would lock their shields together, and the first few ranks of soldiers would project their spears out over the first rank of shields, the phalanx therefore presented a shield wall and a mass of spear points to the enemy, making frontal assaults against it very difficult. It also allowed a higher proportion of the soldiers to be engaged in combat at a given time. Battles between two phalanxes usually took place in open, flat plains where it was easier to advance, rough terrain or hilly regions would have made it difficult to maintain a steady line and would have defeated the purpose of employing the use of a phalanx. As a result, battles between Greek city-states would not take place in any location, nor would they be limited to sometimes obvious strategic points. Rather, many times, the two opposing sides would find the most suitable piece of land where the conflict could be settled, mostly, the battle ended with one of the two fighting sides fleeing to safety
23.
Battle of Lechaeum
–
The Battle of Lechaeum was an Athenian victory in the Corinthian War. He decided to ambush it with his force of javelin throwers, by launching repeated hit-and-run attacks against the Spartan formation, Iphicrates and his men were able to wear the Spartans down, eventually routing them and killing just under half. This marked one of the first occasions in Greek military history on which a force of peltasts had defeated a force of hoplites, in 392 BC, a civil war had taken place at Corinth, in which a group of pro-Spartan oligarchs was defeated and exiled by anti-Spartan democrats. Those exiles cooperated with Spartan forces in the region to control of Corinths port on the Corinthian Gulf. They then repulsed several attacks on the port by the democrats at Corinth and their Theban and Argive allies, the Athenians then sent out a force to assist in garrisoning Corinth, with Iphicrates commanding the peltasts. The Athenians and their allies were largely bottled up in Corinth, while Agesilaus moved about Corinthian territory with the bulk of his army, he left a sizable force at Lechaeum to guard the port. Part of this force at Lechaeum was composed of men from the city of Amyclae, with this festival approaching, the Spartan commander at Lechaeum marched out with a force of hoplites and cavalry to escort the Amyclaeans past Corinth on their way home. After successfully leading his force well past the city, the commander ordered his hoplites to turn and return to Lechaeum, while the cavalry continued on with the Amyclaeans. Although he would be marching near the walls of the city of Corinth with his force, he expected no trouble, believing that the men in the city were thoroughly cowed and unwilling to march out. Accordingly, the Athenian hoplites drew up a little outside Corinth, while the peltasts went after the Spartan force in pursuit and this process was repeated several times, with similar results. Unable to drive off the peltasts, and suffering all the while. The men in Lechaeum, seeing their predicament, sailed out in boats to as close as to the hill as they could reach. The Athenians, meanwhile, began to bring up their hoplites, all in all, in the fighting and pursuit,250 of the 600 men in the regiment were killed. News of the Spartan defeat, accordingly, was a shock to Agesilaus. He also launched several raids against Spartan allies in the region. The Ancient Greeks, A critical history ISBN 0-674-03314-0 Xenophon, print Version, Xenophon, A History of My Times, Translated by Rex Warner, notes by George Cawkwell. ISBN 0-14-044175-1 The most recent study of this battle is Nicholas Victor Sekunda, Bogdan Burliga, Iphicrates, Peltasts, Gdańsk, Foundation for the Development of Gdańsk University,2014
24.
Athens
–
Athens is the capital and largest city of Greece. In modern times, Athens is a cosmopolitan metropolis and central to economic, financial, industrial, maritime. In 2015, Athens was ranked the worlds 29th richest city by purchasing power, Athens is recognised as a global city because of its location and its importance in shipping, finance, commerce, media, entertainment, arts, international trade, culture, education and tourism. It is one of the biggest economic centres in southeastern Europe, with a financial sector. The municipality of Athens had a population of 664,046 within its limits. The urban area of Athens extends beyond its administrative city limits. According to Eurostat in 2011, the Functional urban areas of Athens was the 9th most populous FUA in the European Union, Athens is also the southernmost capital on the European mainland. The city also retains Roman and Byzantine monuments, as well as a number of Ottoman monuments. Athens is home to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the Acropolis of Athens and the medieval Daphni Monastery, Athens was the host city of the first modern-day Olympic Games in 1896, and 108 years later it welcomed home the 2004 Summer Olympics. In Ancient Greek, the name of the city was Ἀθῆναι a plural, in earlier Greek, such as Homeric Greek, the name had been current in the singular form though, as Ἀθήνη. It was possibly rendered in the later on, like those of Θῆβαι and Μυκῆναι. During the medieval period the name of the city was rendered once again in the singular as Ἀθήνα, an etiological myth explaining how Athens has acquired its name was well known among ancient Athenians and even became the theme of the sculpture on the West pediment of the Parthenon. The goddess of wisdom, Athena, and the god of the seas, Poseidon had many disagreements, in an attempt to compel the people, Poseidon created a salt water spring by striking the ground with his trident, symbolizing naval power. However, when Athena created the tree, symbolizing peace and prosperity. Different etymologies, now rejected, were proposed during the 19th century. Christian Lobeck proposed as the root of the name the word ἄθος or ἄνθος meaning flower, ludwig von Döderlein proposed the stem of the verb θάω, stem θη- to denote Athens as having fertile soil. In classical literature, the city was referred to as the City of the Violet Crown, first documented in Pindars ἰοστέφανοι Ἀθᾶναι. In medieval texts, variant names include Setines, Satine, and Astines, today the caption η πρωτεύουσα, the capital, has become somewhat common
25.
Sparta
–
Sparta was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece. In antiquity the city-state was known as Lacedaemon, while the name Sparta referred to its settlement on the banks of the Eurotas River in Laconia. Around 650 BC, it rose to become the dominant military land-power in ancient Greece, given its military pre-eminence, Sparta was recognized as the overall leader of the combined Greek forces during the Greco-Persian Wars. Between 431 and 404 BC, Sparta was the enemy of Athens during the Peloponnesian War, from which it emerged victorious. Spartas defeat by Thebes in the Battle of Leuctra in 371 BC ended Spartas prominent role in Greece, however, it maintained its political independence until the Roman conquest of Greece in 146 BC. It then underwent a period of decline, especially in the Middle Ages. Modern Sparta is the capital of the Greek regional unit of Laconia, Sparta was unique in ancient Greece for its social system and constitution, which completely focused on military training and excellence. Its inhabitants were classified as Spartiates, mothakes, perioikoi, Spartiates underwent the rigorous agoge training and education regimen, and Spartan phalanges were widely considered to be among the best in battle. Spartan women enjoyed more rights and equality to men than elsewhere in the classical world. Sparta was the subject of fascination in its own day, as well as in the West following the revival of classical learning and this love or admiration of Sparta is known as Laconism or Laconophilia. At its peak around 500 BC the size of the city would have been some 20,000 –35,000 free residents, plus numerous helots, olliers theory of the Spartan mirage has been widely accepted by scholars. The ancient Greeks used one of three words to refer to the location of the Spartans. The first refers primarily to the cluster of settlements in the valley of the Eurotas River. The second word was Lacedaemon, this was used sometimes as an adjective and is the name commonly used in the works of Homer. Herodotus seems to denote by it the Mycenaean Greek citadel at Therapne and it could be used synonymously with Sparta, but typically it was not. It denoted the terrain on which Sparta was situated, in Homer it is typically combined with epithets of the countryside, wide, lovely, shining and most often hollow and broken. The hollow suggests the Eurotas Valley, Sparta on the other hand is the country of lovely women, a people epithet. The name of the population was used for the state of Lacedaemon
26.
Corinth
–
Corinth is a city and former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality of Corinth, of which it is the seat and it is the capital of Corinthia. It was founded as Nea Korinthos or New Corinth in 1858 after an earthquake destroyed the settlement of Corinth. Corinth derives its name from Ancient Corinth, a city-state of antiquity, in 1858, the old city, now known as Archaia Korinthos, located 3 kilometres SW of the modern city, was totally destroyed by a magnitude 6.5 earthquake. Nea Korinthos or New Corinth was then built a few kilometers away on the coast of the Gulf of Corinth, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake in 1928 devastated the new city, which was then rebuilt on the same site. It was rebuilt again after a fire in 1933. The Municipality of Corinth had a population of 58,192 according to the 2011 census, the second most populous municipality in the Peloponnese Region after Kalamata. The municipal unit of Corinth had 38,132 inhabitants, of which Corinth itself had 30,176 inhabitants, placing it in place behind Kalamata. The municipal unit of Corinth includes apart from Corinth proper the town of Archaia Korinthos, the town of Examilia, the municipal unit has an area of 102.187 km2. Corinth is an industrial hub at a national level. Corinth Refineries are one of the largest oil refining Industrial complex in Europe, copper cables, petroleum products, leather, medical equipment, marble, gypsum, ceramic tiles, salt, mineral water and beverages, meat products, and gums are produced nearby. As of 2005, a period of deindustrialization has commenced as a large complex, a textile factory. Corinth is a road hub. The A7 toll motorway for Tripoli and Kalamata, branches off the A8/European route E94 toll motorway from Athens at Corinth, Corinth is the main entry point to the Peloponnesian peninsula, the southernmost area of continental Greece. KTEL Korinthias provides intercity bus service in the peninsula and to Athens via the Isthmos station southeast of the city center, local bus service is also available. The city has connected to the Proastiakos, the Athens suburban rail network, since 2005. The port of Corinth, located north of the city centre and close to the northwest entrance of the Corinth Canal, at 3756. 0’ N /2256. 0’ E, serves the needs of industry. It is mainly a cargo exporting facility and it is an artificial harbour (depth approximately 9 metres, protected by a concrete mole
27.
Ancient Olympic Games
–
The Olympic Games were a series of athletic competitions among representatives of city-states and one of the Panhellenic Games of Ancient Greece. They were held in honor of Zeus, and the Greeks gave them a mythological origin, the first Olympics is traditionally dated to 776 BC. The games were held four years, or olympiad, which became a unit of time in historical chronologies. During the celebration of the games, an Olympic Truce was enacted so that athletes could travel from their cities to the games in safety, the prizes for the victors were olive leaf wreaths or crowns. The games became a tool used by city-states to assert dominance over their rivals. Politicians would announce political alliances at the games, and in times of war, the games were also used to help spread Hellenistic culture throughout the Mediterranean. The Olympics also featured religious celebrations, the statue of Zeus at Olympia was counted as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Sculptors and poets would congregate each olympiad to display their works of art to would-be patrons, the ancient Olympics had fewer events than the modern games, and only freeborn Greek men were allowed to participate, although there were victorious women chariot owners. The games were held at Olympia rather than moving between different locations as is the practice with the modern Olympic Games. Victors at the Olympics were honored, and their feats chronicled for future generations, to the Greeks, it was important to root the Olympic Games in mythology. During the time of the ancient games their origins were attributed to the gods and these origin traditions have become nearly impossible to untangle, yet a chronology and patterns have arisen that help people understand the story behind the games. The earliest myths regarding the origin of the games are recounted by the Greek historian, according to the story, the dactyl Heracles and four of his brothers, Paeonaeus, Epimedes, Iasius and Idas, raced at Olympia to entertain the newborn Zeus. He crowned the victor with an olive wreath, which also explains the four year interval. The other Olympian gods would also engage in wrestling, jumping and running contests, another myth of the origin of the games is the story of Pelops, a local Olympian hero. The story of Pelops begins with Oenomaus, the king of Pisa, Greece, according to an oracle, the king would be killed by her husband. Now, the kings chariot horses were a present from the god Poseidon and were therefore supernaturally fast, Pelops was a very handsome young man and the kings daughter fell in love with him. Before the race, she persuaded her fathers charioteer Myrtilus to replace the bronze axle pins of the chariot with wax ones. Naturally, during the race the wax melted and the fell from his chariot and was killed
28.
Pilum
–
The pilum was a javelin commonly used by the Roman army in ancient times. It was generally about 2 metres long overall, consisting of an iron shank about 7 millimetres in diameter and 60 centimetres long with pyramidal head. The shank was joined to the shaft by either a socket or a flat tang. The purpose was so the enemy could not throw the pilum back at the Roman army. The total weight of a pilum was between 2 and 5 kilograms, with the versions produced during the earlier Republican era being slightly heavier than those produced in the later Empire era, the iron shank was the key to the function of the pilum. The weapon had a hard pyramidal tip but the shank was made of softer iron and this softness would cause the shank to bend after impact, thus rendering the weapon useless to the enemy who might throw it back. Even if the shank did not bend, the pyramidal tip still made it difficult to pull out, although the bending of the pilums shank is commonly seen to be an integral part of the weapons design and as an intentional feature, there is little evidence to suggest this. The combination of the weight and the aforementioned pyramidal tip. That the pilum needed to pierce layers of armour necessitated a lengthy shank, the momentum of the pilum caused the shank to bend upon impact, and, although unintended, proved to be a useful characteristic of the weapon. Most other javelins of the time were unable to penetrate a shield, the length of the shank and its depth of penetration also made it hard to pull out of a shield even if it failed to bend. If the bearer of the shield was charging and a Pilum penetrated the shield, on some pila there was a spike on the end of the shaft which made it easier to dig into the ground. Pila were divided into two models, heavy and light, pictorial evidence suggests that some versions of the weapon were weighted by a lead ball to increase penetrative power but archeological specimens of this design variant are not so far known. Recent experiments have shown pila to have a range of approximately 33 metres, the origin of the pilums design is a matter of contention. Considering that there are two versions of the pilum, it may be possible that the Roman pilum had as ancestors two different weapons, perhaps from different cultural groups respectively. The two weapon designs may have coalesced into the form of the typical Roman pilum, as is known today, legionaries of the Late Republic and Early Empire often carried two pila, with one sometimes being lighter than the other. The effect of the throw was to disrupt the enemy formation by attrition. Pila could also be used in combat, one documented instance of this occurred at the Siege of Alesia. Additionally, pila could be employed as a thrusting implement and a barrier against cavalry charges, some pila had small hand-guards, to protect the wielder if he intended to use it as a melee weapon, but it does not appear that this was common. When once fixed in the shield it was impossible to them out
29.
Anastylosis
–
Anastylosis is an archaeological term for a reconstruction technique whereby a ruined building or monument is restored using the original architectural elements to the greatest degree possible. It is also used to refer to a similar technique for restoring broken pottery. The intent of anastylosis is to rebuild, from as much of the materials that is left after usually thousands of years of abuse. This is done by placing components back into their original positions, when elements or parts are missing, modern materials may be substituted, such as plaster, cement, and synthetic resins. The international Venice Charter of 1964 details criteria for anastylosis, first, the original condition of the structure must be confirmed scientifically. Second, the placement of each recovered component must be determined. Third, supplemental components must be limited to those necessary for stability, new construction for the sake of filling in apparent lacunae is not allowed. Anastylosis has its detractors in the scientific community, damage to the original components is practically inevitable. An element may be, or may have been reused in, or may have originated in, to use it in one reconstruction obviates its use in others. A primitive anastylosis was carried out in 1836 at the Acropolis in Athens, starting in 1902, the Greek architect Nikolas Balanos used anastylosis in order to restore a collapsed portion of the Parthenon, restore the Erechtheion, and rebuild the Nike Temple a second time. Iron clamps and plugs which had used earlier had started to rust and had caused heavy damage to the original structure. These were removed and replaced with metal clamps. When the temple was again rebuilt additional newly identified original fragments were added. Currently, anastylosis is being applied to the Parthenon, early in the 20th century, Dutch archaeologists carried out anastylosis of the stupa at the Buddhist temple complex at Borobudur in Java, Indonesia between 1907 and 1911. The Prambanan Hindu temple complex was excavated and was reconstructed between 1911-1953. The École Française dExtrême-Orient began restoration work at Angkor Wat in 1908, between 1986 and 1992, the Archaeological Survey of India carried out restoration work on the temple. Bayon was restored by EFCO followed by Japanese Government Team for the Safeguarding of Angkor, ta Prohm is being restored by Archaeological Survey of India. Archaeologists have estimated that as much as 50% of the material is recoverable
30.
Marian reforms
–
The Marian reforms of 107 BC were a group of military reforms initiated by Gaius Marius, a statesman and general of the Roman Republic. He had to own property worth 3500 sesterces in value and he had to supply his own armaments. They were not expected or equipped to any portion of the battle line. Hastati - 4th class citizens who could afford basic armor, a small shield, Principes - 3rd class citizens, who could afford a full set of high-quality armor, a large shield and a bronze helmet in addition to their sword. Considered the core of the legion, the principes were the pre-Marian unit that most closely resembled the standardized legionary that the Marian reforms would eventually produce. They stood directly behind the hastati and relieved them in the front line if they were unable to break the formation by themselves. Allowing the enemy to wear out on the lighter hastati before facing the principes usually proved to be a decisively successful strategy. Triarii - The final infantry unit, the triarii, was restricted to experienced veterans of the principes, the Roman idiom ad triarios redisse was used to refer to a final, mighty attempt to salvage a desperate situation. Equites - rich citizens of the order who could afford a horse. They usually advanced along the flanks of the line and were intended to break up enemy skirmisher and missile units. They were also the primary reconnaissance force. When war threatened, the consuls of the day would be charged with the duty of recruiting an army from the citizenry of the Republic. As a rule, one of the consuls would lead this mainly volunteer army into battle, as it can be imagined, not all elected consuls were adept at leading an army. For example, in 113 BC, the consul Gnaeus Papirius Carbo was defeated at the Battle of Noreia by invading tribes of the Cimbri and that was followed by a protracted war in Africa against King Jugurtha of Numidia. Consul Quintus Caecilius Metellus Numidicus was sent to defeat Jugurtha, Metellus never lost any armies and won some battles but after two years, he had not achieved total victory. Gaius Marius, one of his legates, requested Metellus to release him from his duties so he could return to Rome, when Marius became junior consul in 107 BC and was appointed the task of concluding the war with Jugurtha, he had no army. The army Metellus had commanded in Africa was assigned to the consul, Lucius Cassius Longinus, to expel the Cimbri. To overcome that problem, he introduced a number of reforms, the foremost of the Marian reforms was the inclusion of the Roman landless masses, the capite censi, men who had no property to be assessed in the census
31.
Gauls
–
The Gauls were Celtic peoples inhabiting Gaul in the Iron Age and the Roman period. Their Gaulish language forms the branch of the Continental Celtic languages. The Gauls emerged around the 5th century BC as the bearers of the La Tène culture north of the Alps, Gaul was never united under a single ruler or government, but the Gallic tribes were capable of uniting their forces in large-scale military operations. They reached the peak of their power in the early 3rd century BC, after this, Gaul became a province of the Roman Empire, and the Gauls were culturally assimilated into a Gallo-Roman culture, losing their tribal identities by the end of the 1st century AD. The Gauls of Gallia Celtica according to the testimony of Caesar called themselves Celtae in their own language, the name Gaul itself may be derived from Latin Galli, or it may be derived from the Germanic word Walha. Gaulish culture developed out of the Celtic cultures over the first millennia BC, the Urnfield culture represents the Celts as a distinct cultural branch of the Indo-European-speaking people. The spread of iron working led to the Hallstatt culture in the 8th century BC, the Hallstatt culture evolved into the La Tène culture in around the 5th century BC. The Greek and Etruscan civilizations and colonies began to influence the Gauls especially in the Mediterranean area, Gauls under Brennus invaded Rome circa 390 BC. Following the climate deterioration in the late Nordic Bronze Age, Celtic Gaul was invaded in the 5th century BC by tribes later called Gauls originating in the Rhine valley. Gallic invaders settled the Po Valley in the 4th century BC, defeated Roman forces in a battle under Brennus in 390 BC and raided Italy as far as Sicily. A large number of Gauls served in the armies of Carthage during the Punic Wars, in the Aegean world, an invasion of Eastern Gauls appeared in Thrace, north of Greece, in 281 BC. However, according to the Roman legend of the gold of Delphi. One king Cerethrius invaded the Thracians, while another Gallic king Bolgios invaded Macedonia and Illyria where he killed the Macedonian king Ptolemy Keraunos, in 278 BC Gaulish settlers in the Balkans were invited by Nicomedes I of Bithynia to help him in a dynastic struggle against his brother. They numbered about 10,000 fighting men and about the number of women and children. They were eventually defeated by the Seleucid king Antiochus I, in a battle where the Seleucid war elephants shocked the Galatians. While the momentum of the invasion was broken, the Galatians were by no means exterminated and continued to demand tribute from the Hellenistic states of Anatolia to avoid war,4,000 Galatians were hired as mercenaries by the Ptolemaic Egyptian king Ptolemy II Philadelphus in the 270 BC. According to Pausanias, soon after arrival the Celts plotted “to seize Egypt, ”, Galatians also participated at the victorious in 217 BC Battle of Raphia under Ptolemy IV Philopator, and continued to serve as mercenaries for the Ptolemaic Dynasty until its demise in 30 BC. They sided with the renegade Seleucid prince Antiochus Hierax, who reigned in Asia Minor, after the defeat, the Galatians continued to be a serious threat to the states of Asia Minor
32.
Italy
–
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world
33.
Military establishment of the Roman Republic
–
As the Roman kingdom successfully overcame opposition from the Italic hill tribes, and became a larger state, the age of tyranny in the eastern Mediterranean began to subside. Inspired by the idea of new constitutions arising there, the Roman populace threw off the yoke of tyranny, the army was now facing threats from all of Europe and could only respond through change. This article covers the military establishment of the Roman Republic, for preGinavious changes in the Roman army, see military establishment of the Roman kingdom. The historian Polybius gives us a picture of the republican army at what is arguably its height in 160 BC. Serving in the army was part of Roman civic duty, to serve in the armies of Rome, one had to purchase ones own equipment, and soldiers were sorted into different classes according to wealth. Velites made up the lower class soldiers, it was this class which made up the majority of the infantry legions characteristic to Rome. His changes were so critical to the success of Roman legions that the army is characterized in history as pre-Marian and post-Marian or just Marian, the highest officers of the military were the two consuls for that year, who were also the leaders of the senate at Rome. Each of them ordinarily commanded a group of two legions, they also had responsibility for raising these troops. In militaristic Rome, the highest civilian officers were also the military chiefs of staff and they answered only to the Roman Senate. Raising the legions was an annual affair, the term of service was one year, although many candidates no doubt were picked year after year. The magistrates decided who in the tribes were eligible for selection, the word we translate as magistrate was the title of a tribal official, a tribunus. Here a basic division of the military and civilian branches applied, the working organizations of the tribe were called comitia. They elected tribunes of plebs, tribunes of the people, as well as 24 tribune militaries —6 per legion — who were careerists with at least 5 or 6 years service experience, a career would include both military and civilian offices. The 6 military tribunes were to be the staff of the legion. On election day, the presiding tribune sent the men of the tribe to appear before the military tribunes in groups of four, the four senior staffs of the future legions observed a priority of selection, which rotated. Each staff would take its pick, man by man until each had selected 4200 men, the selection of 16,800 men must have taken several days. If the circumstances of the state required it, the complement could be expanded to more men. Additional forces could be drafted under ad hoc commanders called proconsules, in the later republic, the relatively small number of legions commanded by the consuls resulted in their power being overshadowed by the proconsuls, the provincial governors
34.
Hasta (spear)
–
Hasta is a Latin word meaning spear. Hastae were carried by early Roman legionaries, in particular they were carried by, however, during Republican times, the hastati were re-armed with pila and gladii and the hasta was only retained by the triarii. Unlike the pilum, verutum or lancea, the hasta was not thrown, a hasta was about 2 m in length, with a shaft generally made from ash, while the head was of iron. A little spear with which a brides hair was parted into locks, a spear, as a gymnastic weapon. The Hasta pura was a spear without iron – presumably without the iron tip that was used in combat, a hasta was also used as a sign that would be conventionally understood in Roman culture as announcing an auction. Hence, an auction was called hasta and an auction-room a hastarium
35.
Clipeus
–
It was round in shape and in the middle was a bolt of iron, or of some other metal, with a sharp point. Pliny the Elder also describes the custom of having a bust-portrait of a painted on a clipeus. From this round bas-reliefs in a medallion on sarcophagi and in other forms are known as clipeus portraits, the legionary scutum, a convex rectangular shield disappeared during the 3rd century. All troops adopted the auxiliary oval shield, shields, from examples found at Dura and Nydam, were of vertical plank construction, the planks glued, and faced inside and out with painted leather. The edges of the shield were bound with stitched rawhide, which shrank as it dried improving structural cohesion and it was also lighter than the edging of copper alloy used in earlier Roman shields. Clipeus virtutis, Latin for shield of bravery was awarded to Augustus for his courage, clemency, justice and piety by the senate, shield Aspis Peltarion Parma Scutum Bishop and Coulston, M. C. & J. C. N. Roman Military Equipment From the Punic Wars to the Fall of Rome, warfare in Roman Europe, AD 350–425. A History of Ideas and Images in Italian Art, John Murray, London,1983, ISBN 0-7195-3971-4, a Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities
36.
Hastati
–
Hastati were a class of infantry employed in the armies of the early Roman Republic who originally fought as spearmen, and later as swordsmen. These soldiers were the unit after Rome threw off the Etruscan rule. They were originally some of the poorest men in the legion, the Senate supplied their soldiers with only a short stabbing sword, the gladius, and their distinctive squared shields. The hastati soldier was equipped with these, and several soft iron tipped throwing spears called pila. This doubled their effectiveness, not only as a leading edge to their maniple. Later, the contained the younger men rather than just the poorer. Their usual position was the first battle line and they fought in a quincunx formation, supported by light troops. The enemy was allowed to penetrate the first battle line consisting of hastati, then the enemy would deal with the hardened, seasoned soldiers. They were eventually disbanded after the Marian reforms of 107 BC, hastati appear to have been remnants of the old third class of the army under the Etruscan kings when it was reformed by Marcus Furius Camillus. By the 4th century BC the military the Romans had inherited from the Etruscans was still in use, though its efficiency was doubtful, it proved effective against Romes largely local adversaries. When Gauls invaded Etruria in 390 BC, the requested help from Rome. The small contingent Rome sent to repel the Gallic invaders provoked an attack on Rome. The entire Roman army was destroyed at the Battle of the Allia in a defeat that prompted reforms by Marcus Furius Camillus. Under the new system, men were sorted into classes based on wealth, the hastati were the third poorest, with the rorarii being slightly poorer and the principes slightly wealthier. Hastati were armed with spears, or hastae, up to 1.8 metres long. They fought in a formation, usually carrying scuta, large rectangular shields. They wore light armour, the most common form being small breastplates, in this type of legion, the 900 hastati formed 15 maniples, military units of 60 men each. Attached to each maniple were about 20 leves, javelin-armed light infantry, the hastati stood in the first battle line, in front of the principes of the second line and the triarii of the third
37.
Principes
–
Principes were spearmen, and later swordsmen, in the armies of the early Roman Republic. They were men in the prime of their lives who were fairly wealthy and they were the heavier infantry of the legion who carried large shields and wore good quality armour. Their usual position was the battle line. They fought in a formation, supported by light troops. They were eventually disbanded with after the Marian reforms of 107 BC, according to Pat Southern, principes appear to have been born from remnants of the old second class of the army under the Etruscan kings when it was reformed by Marcus Furius Camillus. The second class stood in some of the first few ranks of a large phalanx and were equipped in a similar manner to principes. They would support the heavier first class in the front ranks, in the early Camillan system of organisation of the 3rd and 4th centuries BC, men were sorted into classes based on wealth, the principes being the wealthiest after the triarii. Principes were armed with spears, or hastae, up to 1.8 metres long. They fought in a formation, usually carrying scuta, large rectangular shields. They wore heavier armour types, the most common form being chainmail, in this type of legion, the 900 principes formed 15 maniples, military units of 60 men each. The principes stood in the battle line, behind hastati of the first line. In a pitched battle, the leves, javelin armed light infantry would form up at the front of the legion and harass the enemy with fire to cover the advance of the hastati. If the hastati failed to break the enemy during their engagement, they would fall back, if the principes could not break through, they would retire behind the heavy triarii spearmen who would then engage the enemy in turn. The equites, cavalrymen, were used as flankers and to pursue routing enemies, the rorarii and accensi in the final battle line were some of the least dependable troops, and were used in a support role, providing mass and reinforcing wavering areas of the line. By the time of the Punic wars of the 2nd century BC, in a new Polybian system, infantry were sorted into classes according to age and experience rather than wealth, the principes being older veterans with a greater degree of experience. Their equipment and role was similar to the previous system, except they now carried swords, or gladii. Each princeps also carried two pila, heavy javelins that bent on impact to prevent them being removed from the victim or thrown back, the principes had been increased in number to 1,200 per legion, and formed 10 maniples of 120 men each. The rorarii and accensi had been disbanded, leves had been replaced with velites, who had a similar role, with forty of them being attached to each maniple in the legion
38.
Triarii
–
Triarii were one of the elements of the early Roman military manipular legions of the early Roman Republic. They were the oldest and among the wealthiest men in the army and they wore heavy metal armor and carried large shields, their usual position being the third battle line. They were equipped with spears and were considered to be elite soldiers among the legion, during the Camillan era, they fought in a shallow phalanx formation, supported by light troops. In most battles triarii were not used because the lighter troops usually defeated the enemy before the triarii were committed to the battle. They were meant to be used as a force in the battle, thus prompting an old Roman saying, It comes down to the triarii. According to author Pat Southern, triarii may have evolved from the old first class of the army under the Etruscan kings, the first class comprised the richest soldiers in the legion who were equipped with spears, breastplates and large shields, like heavy Greek hoplites. They served as infantry in the early Roman army, and were used at the front of a very large phalanx formation. After a time, engagements with the Samnites and Gauls appear to have taught the Romans the importance of flexibility, by the 4th century BC, the military formations the Romans had inherited from the Etruscans were still in use. Though their efficiency was doubtful, they proved effective against Romes largely local adversaries, when Gauls invaded Etruria in 390 BC, the inhabitants requested help from Rome. The small contingent Rome sent to repel the Gallic invaders provoked an attack on Rome. This crushing defeat prompted a series of reforms by Marcus Furius Camillus. Under the new system, men were sorted into according to wealth. Triarii were armed with spears, or hastae, about 2 metres long and they also carried swords, or gladii, about 84 centimetres long, in case the spear broke or the enemy drew too close. They fought as hoplites, usually carrying clipei, large round Greek shields, heavy plate armour was favoured, with mail also being popular. Many would paint or engrave portraits of ancestors onto their shield, the triarii stood in the third line of the legion, behind the front line of hastati and the second line of principes, and in front of the rorarii and accensi. If the hastati failed to break the enemy, they would fall back and let the principes, heavier and more experienced infantry, the equites, cavalrymen, were used as flankers and to pursue routing enemies. The rorarii, the reserve soldiers, and accensi, the least dependable troops armed with slings, would be used in a support role, providing mass. By the time of the Second Punic War of the late 3rd century BC, after a series of more organic changes as opposed to a single intentional reform, a new system gradually came into being
39.
Iron
–
Iron is a chemical element with symbol Fe and atomic number 26. It is a metal in the first transition series and it is by mass the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earths outer and inner core. It is the fourth most common element in the Earths crust, like the other group 8 elements, ruthenium and osmium, iron exists in a wide range of oxidation states, −2 to +6, although +2 and +3 are the most common. Elemental iron occurs in meteoroids and other low oxygen environments, but is reactive to oxygen, fresh iron surfaces appear lustrous silvery-gray, but oxidize in normal air to give hydrated iron oxides, commonly known as rust. Unlike the metals that form passivating oxide layers, iron oxides occupy more volume than the metal and thus flake off, Iron metal has been used since ancient times, although copper alloys, which have lower melting temperatures, were used even earlier in human history. Pure iron is soft, but is unobtainable by smelting because it is significantly hardened and strengthened by impurities, in particular carbon. A certain proportion of carbon steel, which may be up to 1000 times harder than pure iron. Crude iron metal is produced in blast furnaces, where ore is reduced by coke to pig iron, further refinement with oxygen reduces the carbon content to the correct proportion to make steel. Steels and iron alloys formed with metals are by far the most common industrial metals because they have a great range of desirable properties. Iron chemical compounds have many uses, Iron oxide mixed with aluminium powder can be ignited to create a thermite reaction, used in welding and purifying ores. Iron forms binary compounds with the halogens and the chalcogens, among its organometallic compounds is ferrocene, the first sandwich compound discovered. Iron plays an important role in biology, forming complexes with oxygen in hemoglobin and myoglobin. Iron is also the metal at the site of many important redox enzymes dealing with cellular respiration and oxidation and reduction in plants. A human male of average height has about 4 grams of iron in his body and this iron is distributed throughout the body in hemoglobin, tissues, muscles, bone marrow, blood proteins, enzymes, ferritin, hemosiderin, and transport in plasma. The mechanical properties of iron and its alloys can be evaluated using a variety of tests, including the Brinell test, Rockwell test, the data on iron is so consistent that it is often used to calibrate measurements or to compare tests. An increase in the content will cause a significant increase in the hardness. Maximum hardness of 65 Rc is achieved with a 0. 6% carbon content, because of the softness of iron, it is much easier to work with than its heavier congeners ruthenium and osmium. Because of its significance for planetary cores, the properties of iron at high pressures and temperatures have also been studied extensively
40.
Roman Empire
–
Civil wars and executions continued, culminating in the victory of Octavian, Caesars adopted son, over Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC and the annexation of Egypt. Octavians power was then unassailable and in 27 BC the Roman Senate formally granted him overarching power, the imperial period of Rome lasted approximately 1,500 years compared to the 500 years of the Republican era. The first two centuries of the empires existence were a period of unprecedented political stability and prosperity known as the Pax Romana, following Octavians victory, the size of the empire was dramatically increased. After the assassination of Caligula in 41, the senate briefly considered restoring the republic, under Claudius, the empire invaded Britannia, its first major expansion since Augustus. Vespasian emerged triumphant in 69, establishing the Flavian dynasty, before being succeeded by his son Titus and his short reign was followed by the long reign of his brother Domitian, who was eventually assassinated. The senate then appointed the first of the Five Good Emperors, the empire reached its greatest extent under Trajan, the second in this line. A period of increasing trouble and decline began with the reign of Commodus, Commodus assassination in 192 triggered the Year of the Five Emperors, of which Septimius Severus emerged victorious. The assassination of Alexander Severus in 235 led to the Crisis of the Third Century in which 26 men were declared emperor by the Roman Senate over a time span. It was not until the reign of Diocletian that the empire was fully stabilized with the introduction of the Tetrarchy, which saw four emperors rule the empire at once. This arrangement was unsuccessful, leading to a civil war that was finally ended by Constantine I. Constantine subsequently shifted the capital to Byzantium, which was renamed Constantinople in his honour and it remained the capital of the east until its demise. Constantine also adopted Christianity which later became the state religion of the empire. However, Augustulus was never recognized by his Eastern colleague, and separate rule in the Western part of the empire ceased to exist upon the death of Julius Nepos. The Eastern Roman Empire endured for another millennium, eventually falling to the Ottoman Turks in 1453, the Roman Empire was among the most powerful economic, cultural, political and military forces in the world of its time. It was one of the largest empires in world history, at its height under Trajan, it covered 5 million square kilometres. It held sway over an estimated 70 million people, at that time 21% of the entire population. Throughout the European medieval period, attempts were made to establish successors to the Roman Empire, including the Empire of Romania, a Crusader state. Rome had begun expanding shortly after the founding of the republic in the 6th century BC, then, it was an empire long before it had an emperor
41.
Lead
–
Lead is a chemical element with atomic number 82 and symbol Pb. When freshly cut, it is bluish-white, it tarnishes to a dull gray upon exposure to air and it is a soft, malleable, and heavy metal with a density exceeding that of most common materials. Lead has the second-highest atomic number of the stable elements. Lead is a relatively unreactive post-transition metal and its weak metallic character is illustrated by its amphoteric nature and tendency to form covalent bonds. Compounds of lead are found in the +2 oxidation state. Exceptions are mostly limited to organolead compounds, like the lighter members of the group, lead exhibits a tendency to bond to itself, it can form chains, rings, and polyhedral structures. Lead is easily extracted from its ores and was known to people in Western Asia. A principal ore of lead, galena, often bears silver, Lead production declined after the fall of Rome and did not reach comparable levels again until the Industrial Revolution. Nowadays, global production of lead is about ten million tonnes annually, Lead has several properties that make it useful, high density, low melting point, ductility, and relative inertness to oxidation. In the late 19th century, lead was recognized as poisonous, Lead is a neurotoxin that accumulates in soft tissues and bones, damaging the nervous system and causing brain disorders and, in mammals, blood disorders. A lead atom has 82 electrons, arranged in a configuration of 4f145d106s26p2. The combined first and second ionization energies—the total energy required to remove the two 6p electrons—is close to that of tin, leads upper neighbor in group 14. This is unusual since ionization energies generally fall going down a group as an elements outer electrons become more distant from the nucleus, the similarity is caused by the lanthanide contraction—the decrease in element radii from lanthanum to lutetium, and the relatively small radii of the elements after hafnium. The contraction is due to shielding of the nucleus by the lanthanide 4f electrons. The combined first four ionization energies of lead exceed those of tin, for this reason lead, unlike tin, mostly forms compounds in which it has an oxidation state of +2, rather than +4. Relativistic effects, which become particularly prominent at the bottom of the periodic table, as a result, the 6s electrons of lead become reluctant to participate in bonding, a phenomenon called the inert pair effect. A related outcome is that the distance between nearest atoms in crystalline lead is unusually long, the lighter group 14 elements form stable or metastable allotropes having the tetrahedrally coordinated and covalently bonded diamond cubic structure. The energy levels of their outer s- and p-orbitals are close enough to allow mixing into four hybrid sp3 orbitals
![[icon]](/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small}
