1.
April
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April is the fourth month of the year in the Gregorian calendar, the fifth in the early Julian and the first month to have the length of 30 days. The Romans gave this month the Latin name Aprilis but the derivation of this name is uncertain, jacob Grimm suggests the name of a hypothetical god or hero, Aper or Aprus. April was the month of the earliest Roman calendar, before Ianuarius and Februarius were added by King Numa Pompilius about 700 BC. It became the month of the calendar year during the time of the decemvirs about 450 BC. The 30th day was added during the reform of the calendar undertaken by Julius Caesar in the mid-40s BC, the Venerable Bede says in The Reckoning of Time that this month ēastre is the root of the word Easter. He further states that the month was named after a goddess Eostre whose feast was in that month and it is also attested by Einhard in his work, Vita Karoli Magni. In China the symbolic ploughing of the earth by the emperor and princes of the blood took place in their third month, in Finnish April is huhtikuu, meaning slash-and-burn moon, when gymnosperms for beat and burn clearing of farmland were felled. In Slovene, the most established traditional name is mali traven and it was first written in 1466 in the Škofja Loka manuscript. In Ancient Rome, the festival of Cerealia was held for seven days from mid-to-late April, feriae Latinae was also held in April, with the date varying. Other ancient Roman observances include Veneralia, Megalesia, Fordicidia, Parilia, Vinalia Urbana, Robigalia, floralia was held April 27 during the Republican era, or April 28 on the Julian calendar, and lasted until May 3. However, these dates do not correspond to the modern Gregorian calendar, the Lyrids meteor shower appears on April 16-April 26 each year, with the peak generally occurring on April 22. Eta Aquariids meteor shower appears in April. It is visible from about April 21 to about May 20 each year with activity on or around May 6. The Pi Puppids appear on April 23, but only in years around the parent comets perihelion date, the Virginids also shower at various dates in April. The birth flower is typically listed as either the Daisy or the Sweet Pea, the zodiac signs for the month of April are Aries and Taurus. This list does not necessarily imply either official status nor general observance, in Catholic tradition, April is the Month of the Resurrection of the Lord. Seharane is celebrated by Kurdish Jews outside of Israel on this date. A. R. E, Day Fast and Prayer Day Air Force Day Kamakura Matsuri at Tsurugaoka Hachiman, lasts until third Sunday
2.
May
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May is the fifth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and the third month to have the length of 31 days. May is also the month with the shortest name, may is a month of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere. Therefore, May in the Southern Hemisphere is the equivalent of November in the Northern Hemisphere. Late May typically marks the start of the vacation season in the United States and Canada and ends on Labor Day. The month May was named for the Greek goddess Maia, who was identified with the Roman era goddess of fertility, Bona Dea, whose festival was held in May. Mayovka, in the context of the late Russian Empire, was a picnic in the countryside or in a park in the days of May. Eventually, mayovka came to mean an illegal celebration of May 1 by revolutionary public, special devotions to the Virgin Mary take place in May. See May devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary, eta Aquariids meteor shower appears in May. It is visible from about April 21 to about May 20 each year with activity on or around May 6. The Arietids shower from May 22-July 2, and peaks on June 7, the Virginids also shower at various dates in May. Under the calendar of ancient Rome, the festival of Bona Dea fell on May 1, Argei fell on May 14 or May 15, Agonalia fell on May 21, and Ambarvalia on May 29. Floralia was held April 27 during the Republican era, or April 28 on the Julian calendar, lemuria fell on 9,11, and 13 May under the Julian calendar. The College of Aesculapius and Hygia celebrated two festivals of Rosalia, one on May 11 and one on May 22, Rosalia was also celebrated at Pergamon on May 24–26. A military Rosalia festival also occurred on May 31, ludi Fabarici was celebrated on May 29-June 1. Mercury would receive a sacrifice on the Ides of May, tubilustrium took place on May 23 as well as in March. These dates do not correspond to the modern Gregorian calendar, mays birthstone is the emerald which is emblematic of love and success. The May birth flower is the Lily of the Valley and the Crataegus monogyna, the mayflower Epigaea repens is a North American harbinger of May, and the floral emblem of both Nova Scotia and Massachusetts. Its native range extends from Newfoundland south to Florida, west to Kentucky in the southern range, the zodiac signs for the month of May are Taurus and Gemini
3.
June
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June is the sixth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and the second month to have the length of 30 days. June contains the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, the day with the most daylight hours, and the winter solstice in the Southern Hemisphere, June in the Northern Hemisphere is the seasonal equivalent to December in the Southern Hemisphere and vice versa. In the Northern hemisphere, the beginning of the astronomical summer is 21 June. In the Southern hemisphere, meteorological winter begins on 1 June, at the start of June, the sun rises in the constellation of Taurus, at the end of June, the sun rises in the constellation of Gemini. However, due to the precession of the equinoxes, June begins with the sun in the sign of Gemini. The Latin name for June is Junius, ovid offers multiple etymologies for the name in the Fasti, a poem about the Roman calendar. In ancient Rome, the period from mid-May through mid-June was considered inauspicious for marriage, ovid says that he consulted the Flaminica Dialis, the high priestess of Jupiter, about setting a date for his daughters wedding, and was advised to wait till after June 15. Plutarch, however, implies that the month of June was more favorable for weddings than May. Certain meteor showers take place in June, the Arietids takes place May 22 to July 2 each year, and peaks on June 7. The Beta Taurids June 5 to July 18, the June Bootids take place roughly between 26 June and 2 July each year. The Secular Games were held roughly every 100 years in either May or June and these dates does not correspond to the modern Gregorian calendar. In Catholic tradition, June is the Month of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, african-American Music Appreciation Month ALS Awareness Month Caribbean American Heritage Month Crop over, celebrated until the first Monday in August. The birth flowers are rose and honeysuckle, the zodiac signs for the month of June are Gemini and Cancer
4.
Leap year
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A leap year is a calendar year containing one additional day added to keep the calendar year synchronized with the astronomical or seasonal year. By inserting an additional day or month into the year, the drift can be corrected, a year that is not a leap year is called a common year. For example, in the Gregorian calendar, each year has 366 days instead of the usual 365. In the Bahai Calendar, a day is added when needed to ensure that the following year begins on the vernal equinox. For example, Christmas Day fell on a Tuesday in 2001, Wednesday in 2002, the length of a day is also occasionally changed by the insertion of leap seconds into Coordinated Universal Time, owing to the variability of Earths rotational period. Unlike leap days, leap seconds are not introduced on a regular schedule, in the Gregorian calendar, the standard calendar in most of the world, most years that are multiples of 4 are leap years. In each leap year, the month of February has 29 days instead of 28, adding an extra day to the calendar every four years compensates for the fact that a period of 365 days is shorter than a tropical year by almost 6 hours. Some exceptions to this rule are required since the duration of a tropical year is slightly less than 365.25 days. For example, the years 1700,1800, and 1900 were not leap years, over a period of four centuries, the accumulated error of adding a leap day every four years amounts to about three extra days. The Gregorian calendar therefore removes three leap days every 400 years, which is the length of its leap cycle and this is done by removing February 29 in the three century years that cannot be exactly divided by 400. The years 1600,2000 and 2400 are leap years, while 1700,1800,1900,2100,2200 and 2300 are common years, by this rule, the average number of days per year is 365 + 1⁄4 − 1⁄100 + 1⁄400 =365.2425. The rule can be applied to years before the Gregorian reform, the Gregorian calendar was designed to keep the vernal equinox on or close to March 21, so that the date of Easter remains close to the vernal equinox. The Accuracy section of the Gregorian calendar article discusses how well the Gregorian calendar achieves this design goal, the following pseudocode determines whether a year is a leap year or a common year in the Gregorian calendar. The year variable being tested is the representing the number of the year in the Gregorian calendar. Care should be taken in translating mathematical integer divisibility into specific programming languages, if then else if then else if then else February 29 is a date that usually occurs every four years, and is called leap day. This day is added to the calendar in leap years as a corrective measure, the Gregorian calendar is a modification of the Julian calendar first used by the Romans. The Roman calendar originated as a calendar and named many of its days after the syzygies of the moon, the new moon. The Nonae or nones was not the first quarter moon but was exactly one nundina or Roman market week of nine days before the ides and this is what we would call a period of eight days
5.
Gregorian calendar
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The Gregorian calendar is internationally the most widely used civil calendar. It is named after Pope Gregory XIII, who introduced it in October 1582, the calendar was a refinement to the Julian calendar involving a 0. 002% correction in the length of the year. The motivation for the reform was to stop the drift of the calendar with respect to the equinoxes and solstices—particularly the northern vernal equinox, transition to the Gregorian calendar would restore the holiday to the time of the year in which it was celebrated when introduced by the early Church. The reform was adopted initially by the Catholic countries of Europe, the last European country to adopt the reform was Greece, in 1923. Many countries that have used the Islamic and other religious calendars have come to adopt this calendar for civil purposes. The reform was a modification of a made by Aloysius Lilius. His proposal included reducing the number of years in four centuries from 100 to 97. Lilius also produced an original and practical scheme for adjusting the epacts of the moon when calculating the date of Easter. For example, the years 1700,1800, and 1900 are not leap years, but the years 1600 and 2000 are. The canonical Easter tables were devised at the end of the third century, when the vernal equinox fell either on 20 March or 21 March depending on the years position in the leap year cycle. As the rule was that the full moon preceding Easter was not to precede the equinox, the date was fixed at 21 March for computational purposes, the Gregorian calendar reproduced these conditions by removing ten days. To unambiguously specify a date, dual dating or Old Style, dual dating gives two consecutive years for a given date, because of differences in the starting date of the year, and/or to give both the Julian and the Gregorian dates. The Gregorian calendar continued to use the calendar era, which counts years from the traditional date of the nativity. This year-numbering system, also known as Dionysian era or Common Era, is the predominant international standard today, the Gregorian calendar is a solar calendar. A regular Gregorian year consists of 365 days, but as in the Julian calendar, in a leap year, in the Julian calendar a leap year occurs every 4 years, but the Gregorian calendar omits 3 leap days every 400 years. In the Julian calendar, this day was inserted by doubling 24 February. In the modern period, it has become customary to number the days from the beginning of the month, some churches, notably the Roman Catholic Church, delay February festivals after the 23rd by one day in leap years. Gregorian years are identified by consecutive year numbers, the cycles repeat completely every 146,097 days, which equals 400 years
6.
Julia Maesa
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Julia Maesa was a Roman citizen and daughter of Gaius Julius Bassianus, priest of the sun god Heliogabalus, the patron god of Emesa in the Roman province of Syria. Grandmother of both the Roman emperors Elagabalus and Alexander Severus, she figured prominently in the ascension of each to the title at the age of fourteen and she was also the maternal aunt of the emperors Geta and Caracalla. Like her younger sister Julia Domna, she was among the most important women to exercise power behind the throne in the Roman empire, following the death of Caracalla, Julia Maesa rescued the Severan dynasty from the usurper Macrinus. Julia Maesa was married to Syrian noble Gaius Julius Avitus Alexianus by whom had two daughters Julia Soaemias Bassiana and Julia Avita Mamaea each one mother of an emperor. Following the accession to the throne of her brother in law Lucius Septimius Severus, after the murder of her nephew, the emperor Caracalla and the suicide of Julia Domna, she was compelled to return to Syria. The new emperor Macrinus did not proscribe her and allowed her to keep her money, once back in Syria and possessed of ample funds, Maesa engaged in a plot to overthrow Macrinus and place one of her grandsons, Elagabalus son of Julia Soaemias, in his place. In order to legitimise this pretension, mother and daughter fomented the rumor that the 14-year-old boy was Caracallas illegitimate son, the two Julias were successful, mainly because Macrinus was of an obscure origin without the proper political connections and Elagabalus became emperor. For her loyalty and support, Elagabalus honored Julia Maesa with the title Augusta avia Augusti, the teenager proved to be a disaster as emperor, scorning Roman values with both religious and sexual scandals. He took the liberty in marrying a Vestal Virgin, Julia Maesa decided to promote instead her fourteen-year-old grandson Alexander Severus and she convinced Elagabalus to adopt Alexander as his heir. Elagabulus was murdered shortly thereafter by the Praetorian Guard alongside his mother, both were thrown into the Tiber river in contempt after being dragged from the palace through the streets. This event followed a rumor that Alexander had died, Julia Maesa died on an uncertain date around 224. Like her sister Domna before her, she was deified, women in Ancient Rome Severan dynasty family tree Livius. org, Julia Maesa Media related to Julia Maesa at Wikimedia Commons
7.
Caracalla
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Caracalla, formally Marcus Aurelius Severus Antoninus Augustus, was Roman emperor from AD198 to 217. A member of the Severan Dynasty, he was the eldest son of Septimius Severus, Caracalla reigned jointly with his father from 198 until Severus death in 211. Caracalla then ruled jointly with his younger brother Geta, with whom he had a fraught relationship, Caracallas reign was marked by domestic instability and external invasions from the Germanic people. Caracallas reign was notable for the Antonine Constitution, also known as the Edict of Caracalla, the edict gave all the enfranchised men Caracallas adopted praenomen and nomen, Marcus Aurelius. Towards the end of his rule, Caracalla began a campaign against the Parthian Empire and he did not see this campaign through to completion due to his assassination by a disaffected soldier in 217. He was succeeded as emperor by Macrinus after three days, Caracalla is presented in ancient sources as a tyrant and cruel leader, an image that has survived into modernity. Dio Cassius and Herodian present Caracalla as a soldier first and emperor second, in the 12th century, Geoffrey of Monmouth started the legend of Caracallas role as the king of Britain. Later, in the 18th century, Caracallas memory was revived in the works of French artists due to the parallels between Caracallas apparent tyranny and that of King Louis XVI, Modern works continue to portray Caracalla as a psychopathic and evil ruler. His rule is remembered as being one of the most tyrannical of all Roman emperors, Caracalla was born Lucius Septimius Bassianus. He was renamed Marcus Aurelius Antoninus at the age of seven as part of his fathers attempt at union with the families of Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. According to Aurelius Victor in his Epitome de Caesaribus, he became known by the agnomen Caracalla after a Gallic hooded tunic that he habitually wore and he may have begun wearing it during his campaigns on the Rhine and Danube. Dio generally referred to him as Tarautas, after a famously diminutive, Caracalla was born in Lugdunum, Gaul, on 4 April 188 to Septimius Severus and Julia Domna. He had a younger brother, Geta, who would briefly rule as co-emperor alongside him. Caracallas father, Septimius Severus, appointed Caracalla joint Augustus and full emperor from the year 198 onwards and his brother Geta was granted the same title in 210. In 202 Caracalla was forced to marry the daughter of Gaius Fulvius Plautianus, Fulvia Plautilla, by 205 Caracalla had succeeded in having Plautianus executed for treason, though he had probably fabricated the evidence of the plot himself. It was then that he banished his wife, whose later killing might have carried out under Caracallas orders. Caracallas father, Septimius Severus, died on 4 February 211 at Eboracum while on campaign in Caledonia, Caracalla and his brother, Publius Septimius Antoninus Geta, jointly inherited the throne upon their fathers death. Caracalla and Geta ended the campaign in Caledonia after concluding a peace with the Caledonians that returned the border of Roman Britain to the line demarcated by Hadrians Wall
8.
Syria
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Syrias capital and largest city is Damascus. Religious groups include Sunnis, Christians, Alawites, Druze, Mandeans, Shiites, Salafis, Sunni Arabs make up the largest religious group in Syria. Its capital Damascus and largest city Aleppo are among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, in the Islamic era, Damascus was the seat of the Umayyad Caliphate and a provincial capital of the Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt. The post-independence period was tumultuous, and a number of military coups. In 1958, Syria entered a union with Egypt called the United Arab Republic. Syria was under Emergency Law from 1963 to 2011, effectively suspending most constitutional protections for citizens, Bashar al-Assad has been president since 2000 and was preceded by his father Hafez al-Assad, who was in office from 1970 to 2000. Mainstream modern academic opinion strongly favours the argument that the Greek word is related to the cognate Ἀσσυρία, Assyria, in the past, others believed that it was derived from Siryon, the name that the Sidonians gave to Mount Hermon. However, the discovery of the inscription in 2000 seems to support the theory that the term Syria derives from Assyria. The area designated by the word has changed over time, since approximately 10,000 BC, Syria was one of centers of Neolithic culture where agriculture and cattle breeding appeared for the first time in the world. The following Neolithic period is represented by houses of Mureybet culture. At the time of the pre-pottery Neolithic, people used vessels made of stone, gyps, finds of obsidian tools from Anatolia are evidences of early trade relations. Cities of Hamoukar and Emar played an important role during the late Neolithic, archaeologists have demonstrated that civilization in Syria was one of the most ancient on earth, perhaps preceded by only those of Mesopotamia. The earliest recorded indigenous civilisation in the region was the Kingdom of Ebla near present-day Idlib, gifts from Pharaohs, found during excavations, confirm Eblas contact with Egypt. One of the earliest written texts from Syria is an agreement between Vizier Ibrium of Ebla and an ambiguous kingdom called Abarsal c.2300 BC. The Northwest Semitic language of the Amorites is the earliest attested of the Canaanite languages, Mari reemerged during this period, and saw renewed prosperity until conquered by Hammurabi of Babylon. Ugarit also arose during this time, circa 1800 BC, close to modern Latakia, Ugaritic was a Semitic language loosely related to the Canaanite languages, and developed the Ugaritic alphabet. The Ugarites kingdom survived until its destruction at the hands of the marauding Indo-European Sea Peoples in the 12th century BC, Yamhad was described in the tablets of Mari as the mightiest state in the near east and as having more vassals than Hammurabi of Babylon. Yamhad imposed its authority over Alalakh, Qatna, the Hurrians states, the army of Yamhad campaigned as far away as Dēr on the border of Elam
9.
Macrinus
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Macrinus was Roman Emperor from April 217 to 8 June 218. He reigned jointly with his young son Diadumenianus, Macrinus was by origin a Berber from Mauretania Caesariensis. A member of the class, he became the first emperor who did not hail from the senatorial class and was the first emperor from Mauretania. Before becoming emperor, Macrinus served under Emperor Caracalla as a praetorian prefect and he later conspired against Caracalla and had him murdered in a bid to protect his own life, succeeding him as emperor. His predecessors policies had left Romes coffers empty and the empire at war with several kingdoms, as emperor, Macrinus first attempted to enact reform to bring economic and diplomatic stability to Rome. While Macrinus diplomatic actions brought about peace with each of the individual kingdoms, Caracallas aunt Julia Maesa took advantage of the unrest and instigated a rebellion to have her fourteen-year-old grandson, Elagabalus, recognized as emperor. Macrinus was overthrown at the Battle of Antioch on 8 June 218, Macrinus fled the battlefield and tried to reach Rome, but was captured in Chaceldon and later executed in Cappadocia. He sent his son to the care of Artabanus V of Parthia, after Macrinus death the Senate declared him and his son enemies of Rome and had their names struck from the records and their images destroyed. Macrinus was born in Caesarea Mauretaniae in the Roman province of Mauretania to a family of Berber origins. He received an education which allowed him to ascend to the Roman political class, over the years he earned a reputation as a skilled lawyer and under Emperor Septimius Severus he became an important bureaucrat. Severus successor Caracalla later appointed him a prefect of the Praetorian Guard, while Macrinus probably enjoyed the trust of Emperor Caracalla, this may have changed when, according to tradition, it was prophesied that he would depose and succeed the emperor. Macrinus, fearing for his safety, resolved to have Caracalla murdered before he was condemned, in the spring of 217, Caracalla was in the eastern provinces preparing a campaign against the Parthian Empire. Macrinus was among his staff, as were members of the Praetorian Guard. In April, Caracalla went to visit a temple of Luna near the site of the battle of Carrhae and was accompanied only by his personal guard, which included Macrinus. On April 8, while traveling to the temple, Caracalla was stabbed to death by Justin Martialis, in the aftermath, Martialis was killed by one of Caracallas men. For two or three days, Rome remained without an emperor, by April 11, Macrinus had proclaimed himself emperor and taken for himself all of the imperial titles and powers, without waiting for the Senate. The army backed his claim as emperor and the Senate, so far away, was powerless to intervene, Macrinus never returned to Rome as emperor and remained based in Antioch for the duration of his reign. Macrinus was the first emperor to hail from the class, rather than the senatorial
10.
Elagabalus
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Elagabalus /ˌɛləˈɡæbələs/, also known as Heliogabalus, was Roman emperor from 218 to 222. A member of the Severan dynasty, he was Syrian, the son of Julia Soaemias. In his early youth he served as a priest of the god Elagabal in the hometown of his mothers family, as a private citizen, he was probably named Sextus Varius Avitus Bassianus. Upon becoming emperor he took the name Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus and he was called Elagabalus only after his death. In 217, the emperor Caracalla was assassinated and replaced by his Praetorian prefect, Caracallas maternal aunt, Julia Maesa, successfully instigated a revolt among the Legio III Gallica to have her eldest grandson, Elagabalus, declared emperor in his place. Macrinus was defeated on 8 June 218 at the Battle of Antioch, Elagabalus, barely 14 years old, became emperor, initiating a reign remembered mainly for sex scandals and religious controversy. Later historians suggest Elagabalus showed a disregard for Roman religious traditions and he replaced the traditional head of the Roman pantheon, Jupiter, with the deity of whom he was high priest, Elagabalus. He forced leading members of Romes government to participate in religious rites celebrating this deity and his behavior estranged the Praetorian Guard, the Senate, and the common people alike. Amidst growing opposition, Elagabalus, just 18 years old, was assassinated and replaced by his cousin Severus Alexander on 11 March 222, the plot was devised by his grandmother, Julia Maesa, and carried out by disaffected members of the Praetorian Guard. Elagabalus developed a reputation among his contemporaries for extreme eccentricity, decadence and this tradition has persisted, and with writers of the early modern age he suffers one of the worst reputations among Roman emperors. Edward Gibbon, for example, wrote that Elagabalus abandoned himself to the grossest pleasures, according to Barthold Georg Niebuhr, The name Elagabalus is branded in history above all others because of his unspeakably disgusting life. Elagabalus was born around the year 203 to Sextus Varius Marcellus and his father was initially a member of the Equites class, but was later elevated to the rank of senator. His grandmother, Julia Maesa, was the widow of the consul Julius Avitus, the sister of Julia Domna, and he had at least one sibling, an unnamed elder brother. His mother, Julia Soaemias, was a cousin of the Roman emperor Caracalla and his other relatives included his aunt Julia Avita Mamaea and uncle Marcus Julius Gessius Marcianus and among their children, their son Severus Alexander. Elagabaluss family held hereditary rights to the priesthood of the sun god Elagabal, the deity Elagabalus was initially venerated at Emesa. This form of the name is a Latinized version of the Syrian Ilāh hag-Gabal, which derives from Ilāh and gabal, resulting in the God of the Mountain. The cult of the deity spread to parts of the Roman Empire in the 2nd century. The god was later imported and assimilated with the Roman sun god known as Sol Indiges in republican times and as Sol Invictus during the second, in Greek the sun god is Helios, hence Heliogabalus, a hybrid conjunction of Helios and Elagabalus
11.
Ancient Rome
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In its many centuries of existence, the Roman state evolved from a monarchy to a classical republic and then to an increasingly autocratic empire. Through conquest and assimilation, it came to dominate the Mediterranean region and then Western Europe, Asia Minor, North Africa and it is often grouped into classical antiquity together with ancient Greece, and their similar cultures and societies are known as the Greco-Roman world. Ancient Roman civilisation has contributed to modern government, law, politics, engineering, art, literature, architecture, technology, warfare, religion, language and society. Rome professionalised and expanded its military and created a system of government called res publica, the inspiration for modern republics such as the United States and France. By the end of the Republic, Rome had conquered the lands around the Mediterranean and beyond, its domain extended from the Atlantic to Arabia, the Roman Empire emerged with the end of the Republic and the dictatorship of Augustus Caesar. 721 years of Roman-Persian Wars started in 92 BC with their first war against Parthia and it would become the longest conflict in human history, and have major lasting effects and consequences for both empires. Under Trajan, the Empire reached its territorial peak, Republican mores and traditions started to decline during the imperial period, with civil wars becoming a prelude common to the rise of a new emperor. Splinter states, such as the Palmyrene Empire, would divide the Empire during the crisis of the 3rd century. Plagued by internal instability and attacked by various migrating peoples, the part of the empire broke up into independent kingdoms in the 5th century. This splintering is a landmark historians use to divide the ancient period of history from the pre-medieval Dark Ages of Europe. King Numitor was deposed from his throne by his brother, Amulius, while Numitors daughter, Rhea Silvia, because Rhea Silvia was raped and impregnated by Mars, the Roman god of war, the twins were considered half-divine. The new king, Amulius, feared Romulus and Remus would take back the throne, a she-wolf saved and raised them, and when they were old enough, they returned the throne of Alba Longa to Numitor. Romulus became the source of the citys name, in order to attract people to the city, Rome became a sanctuary for the indigent, exiled, and unwanted. This caused a problem for Rome, which had a large workforce but was bereft of women, Romulus traveled to the neighboring towns and tribes and attempted to secure marriage rights, but as Rome was so full of undesirables they all refused. Legend says that the Latins invited the Sabines to a festival and stole their unmarried maidens, leading to the integration of the Latins, after a long time in rough seas, they landed at the banks of the Tiber River. Not long after they landed, the men wanted to take to the sea again, one woman, named Roma, suggested that the women burn the ships out at sea to prevent them from leaving. At first, the men were angry with Roma, but they realized that they were in the ideal place to settle. They named the settlement after the woman who torched their ships, the Roman poet Virgil recounted this legend in his classical epic poem the Aeneid
12.
Emperor Suzaku
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Emperor Suzaku was the 61st emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Suzakus reign spanned the years from 930 through 946, before his ascension of the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name was Hiroakira-shinnō. He was also known as Yutaakira-shinnō, Hiroakira-shinnō was the 11th son of Emperor Daigo and Empress Consort Onshi, a daughter of the regent and great minister of the council of state, Fujiwara no Mototsune. Suzaku had two Empresses or consorts and one Imperial daughter, Suzakus older brother died unexpectedly young, as did his brothers son. These untimely deaths opened the way for Suzaku to accede to the throne, october 16,930, In the 33rd year of the reign of Daigo-tennō, the emperor abdicated, and the succession was received by his eleventh son, Hiroakira-shinnō. 930, Emperor Suzaku, who was only 8 years old, may 16,931, The era name was changed to mark the beginning of the new emperors reign. August 5,931, The former-Emperor Uda died at the age of 65,932, The udaijin Fujiwara no Sadakata died at the age of 65. 933, The dainagon Fujiwara no Nakahira is named udaijin, Nakahira is the brother of sesshō Fujiwara Tadahira. 933, Ten of the dignitaries of the empire went falcon-hunting together in Owari Province. Each of them was magnificent in his formal hunting attire,935, The Great Fundamental Central Hall on Mt. Hiei burned down. September 7,936, Fujiwara no Tadahira was named daijō-daijin, and in same period, Fujiwara no Nakahira was named sadaijin. 937, The former-Emperor Yōzei celebrated his 70th birthday,937, Serial intermittent ground-tremors were felt in Heian-kyō from the 10th through the 29th days of this month. 940, During his reign Taira no Masakado raised and insurrection in the Kantō region and declared himself emperor,941, Fujiwara no Sumitomo staged a rebellion in the east, but his army was defeated by Tachibana Tōyasu. 946, Suzaku abdicates, having ruled for 16 years, the emperor was succeeded by his younger brother, who would become Emperor Murakami. September 6,952, Suzaku died at the age of 30, the actual site of Suzakus grave is known. This emperor is venerated at a memorial Shinto shrine at Kyoto. The Imperial Household Agency designates this location as Suzakus mausoleum and it is formally named Daigo no misasagi in Fushimi-ku, Kyoto near the Buddhist temple, Daigo-ji. Kugyō is a term for the very few most powerful men attached to the court of the Emperor of Japan in pre-Meiji eras
13.
Emperor Murakami
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Emperor Murakami was the 62nd emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Murakamis reign spanned the years from 946 to his death in 967, before he ascended to the Chrysanthemum Throne, his personal name was Nariakira-shinnō. Nariakira-shinnō was the 14th son of Emperor Daigo, and the brother of Emperor Suzaku by another mother. Murakami had ten Empresses and Imperial consorts and 19 Imperial sons and he had a very nice biwa called Kenjō. In 944, he was appointed crown prince and ascended the throne two years later,16 May 946, In the 16th year of the reign of Emperor Suzaku, the emperor abdicated, and the succession was received by his younger brother, Nariakira-shinnō. 31 May 946, Shortly thereafter, Emperor Murakami, who was 21 years old, Murakamis maternal uncle Fujiwara no Tadahira remained as the Sessho regent until 949. The brothers Fujiwara no Saneyori and Fujiwara no Morosuke became the de facto rulers of Japan,23 October 949, The former-Emperor Yōzei died at the age of 82. 951, The emperor ordered the compilation of Gosen Wakashū, this work was undertaken by the Five Men of the Pear Chamber under his patronage,6 September 952, The former-Emperor Suzaku died at the age of 30. 16 October 960, The Imperial palace burned down, the first time it had been ravaged by fire since the capital was removed from Nara to Heian-kyō in 794, Murakami was a central figure in Heian period culture. He was also a flute and koto player. 5 July 967, The former-Emperor Murakami died at the age of 42, the actual site of Murakamis grave is known. This emperor is venerated at a memorial Shinto shrine at Kyoto. The Imperial Household Agency designates this location as Murakamis mausoleum and it is formally named Murakami no misasagi Kugyō is a collective term for the very few most powerful men attached to the court of the Emperor of Japan in pre-Meiji eras. In general, this group included only three to four men at a time. These were hereditary courtiers whose experience and background have brought them to the pinnacle of a lifes career, during Murakamis reign, this apex of the Daijō-kan included, Kampaku, Fujiwara no Tadahira, 880–949. Sadaijin, Ono-no Miya Fujiwara no Saneyori, 900–970, nadaijin Dainagon The years of murakamis reign are more specifically identified by more than one era name or nengō
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Japan
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Japan is a sovereign island nation in Eastern Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asia Mainland and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea, the kanji that make up Japans name mean sun origin. 日 can be read as ni and means sun while 本 can be read as hon, or pon, Japan is often referred to by the famous epithet Land of the Rising Sun in reference to its Japanese name. Japan is an archipelago consisting of about 6,852 islands. The four largest are Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, the country is divided into 47 prefectures in eight regions. Hokkaido being the northernmost prefecture and Okinawa being the southernmost one, the population of 127 million is the worlds tenth largest. Japanese people make up 98. 5% of Japans total population, approximately 9.1 million people live in the city of Tokyo, the capital of Japan. Archaeological research indicates that Japan was inhabited as early as the Upper Paleolithic period, the first written mention of Japan is in Chinese history texts from the 1st century AD. Influence from other regions, mainly China, followed by periods of isolation, from the 12th century until 1868, Japan was ruled by successive feudal military shoguns who ruled in the name of the Emperor. Japan entered into a period of isolation in the early 17th century. The Second Sino-Japanese War of 1937 expanded into part of World War II in 1941, which came to an end in 1945 following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan is a member of the UN, the OECD, the G7, the G8, the country has the worlds third-largest economy by nominal GDP and the worlds fourth-largest economy by purchasing power parity. It is also the worlds fourth-largest exporter and fourth-largest importer, although Japan has officially renounced its right to declare war, it maintains a modern military with the worlds eighth-largest military budget, used for self-defense and peacekeeping roles. Japan is a country with a very high standard of living. Its population enjoys the highest life expectancy and the third lowest infant mortality rate in the world, in ancient China, Japan was called Wo 倭. It was mentioned in the third century Chinese historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms in the section for the Wei kingdom, Wa became disliked because it has the connotation of the character 矮, meaning dwarf. The 倭 kanji has been replaced with the homophone Wa, meaning harmony, the Japanese word for Japan is 日本, which is pronounced Nippon or Nihon and literally means the origin of the sun. The earliest record of the name Nihon appears in the Chinese historical records of the Tang dynasty, at the start of the seventh century, a delegation from Japan introduced their country as Nihon
15.
1204
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Year 1204 was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. January – Four-year-old Guttorm is proclaimed King of Norway, his reign ends with his death a few months later, january 28 – Byzantine emperor Alexios IV Angelos is overthrown in a revolution. February 5 – Alexios V Doukas is proclaimed Byzantine emperor, april 13 – Fourth Crusade, The Crusaders take Constantinople by storm, and pillage the city for 3 days. Forces of the Republic of Venice seize the antique statues that will become the horses of Saint Mark, may 16 – Baldwin, Count of Flanders is crowned emperor of the Latin Empire a week after his election, by the members of the Fourth Crusade. Theodore I Laskaris flees to Nicaea after the capture of Constantinople, boniface I, Marquess of Montferrat, a leader of the Fourth Crusade, founds the Kingdom of Thessalonica. The writings of French theologian Amalric of Bena are condemned by the University of Paris, tsar Kaloyan is recognized as king of Bulgaria by Pope Innocent III, after the creation of the Bulgarian Uniate church. Valdemar II of Denmark is recognized as king in Norway, angers and Normandy are captured by Philip II of France. The Cistercian convent of Port-Royal-des-Champs is established, the district of Cham becomes subject to Bavaria. Hermann I, Landgrave of Thuringia submits to Philip of Swabia, the Channel Islands of Guernsey and Jersey decide, after a plebiscite of wealthy land owners, to remain with the English crown, after Normandy is recaptured by Philip II of France
16.
Baldwin I, Latin Emperor
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He lost his final battle to Kaloyan, the emperor of Bulgaria, and spent his last days as his prisoner. Baldwin was the son of Baldwin V of Hainaut and Margaret I, when the childless Philip of Alsace left on the last of his personal crusades in 1177, he designated his brother-in-law Baldwin V his heir. One year later, Philip of Alsace had his protégé married to his niece, Isabelle of Hainaut, offering the County of Artois and other Flemish territories as dowry, much to the dismay of Baldwin V. Count Philips wife Elisabeth died in 1183, and Philip Augustus seized the province of Vermandois on behalf of Elisabeths sister, Philip then remarried, to Matilda of Portugal. Philip gave Matilda a dower of a number of major Flemish towns, when Countess Margaret I died in 1194, Flanders descended to her eldest son Baldwin, who ruled as Baldwin IX, Count of Flanders. In 1186, the younger Baldwin had married Marie of Champagne, daughter of Count Henry I of Champagne, the chronicler Gislebert describes Baldwin as being infatuated with his young bride, who nevertheless preferred prayer to the marital bed. Immediately after this arrangement, the count of Hainauts son Baldwin, thirteen years old, received as wife Marie and this Marie began sufficiently young to devote herself to divine obedience in prayers, vigils, fasts and alms. The solemn rejoicing of the wedding was celebrated at Valenciennes with an abundance of knights and ladies, through Marie, Baldwin had additional connections and obligations to the defenders of the Holy Land, her brother Henry II of Champagne had been King of Jerusalem in the 1190s. Maries uncles Richard I of England and Philip II of France had just been on the Third Crusade, Baldwins own family had also been involved in the defence of Jerusalem, his uncle Philip had died on Crusade. Baldwins maternal grandmother was great-aunt of Queen Isabella I of Jerusalem, Baldwin wanted to continue the tradition. Margaret died in 1194, and the younger Baldwin became Count of Flanders and his father died the next year, and he succeeded to Hainaut. Isabelle had died in 1190, but King Philip still retained her dowry, on behalf of Isabelles son, the eight years of Baldwins rule in Flanders were dominated by his attempts to recover some of this land. After Philip II of France took Baldwins brother, Philippe of Namur, prisoner, the Treaty of Péronne was signed in January 1200 on the condition that Baldwin receive the territories he had won during the war. Baldwin was made the vassal of Philip II, and the king returned portions of Artois to Baldwin. In this fight against the French king, Baldwin allied with others who had quarrels with Philip, including kings Richard I and John of England, and the German King Otto IV. A month after the treaty, on Ash Wednesday 1200 in the town of Bruges, Baldwin took the cross and he spent the next two years preparing, finally leaving on 14 April 1202. As part of his effort to leave his domains in good order, one detailed an extensive criminal code, and appears to be based on a now-lost charter of his father. The other laid down rules for inheritance
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Emperor
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An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the equivalent, may indicate an emperors wife, mother. Emperors are generally recognized to be of an honour and rank than kings. The Emperor of Japan is the currently reigning monarch whose title is translated into English as Emperor. Both kings and emperors are monarchs, but emperor and empress are considered the higher monarchical titles. In as much as there is a definition of emperor, it is that an emperor has no relations implying the superiority of any other ruler. Thus a king might be obliged to pay tribute to another ruler, or be restrained in his actions in some unequal fashion, although initially ruling much of Central Europe and northern Italy, by the 19th century the Emperor exercised little power beyond the German speaking states. In Eastern Europe the rulers of the Russian Empire also used translatio imperii to wield authority as successors to the Eastern Roman Empire. Their title of Emperor was officially recognised by the Holy Roman Emperor in 1514, in practice the Russian Emperors are often known by their Russian-language title Tsar, which may also used to refer to rulers equivalent to a king. Historians have liberally used emperor and empire anachronistically and out of its Roman and European context to any large state from the past or the present. Such pre-Roman titles as Great King or King of Kings, used by the Kings of Persia, however such empires did not need to be headed by an emperor. Empire became identified instead with vast territorial holdings rather than the title of its ruler by the mid-18th century, outside the European context, emperor was the translation given to holders of titles who were accorded the same precedence as European emperors in diplomatic terms. In reciprocity, these rulers might accredit equal titles in their languages to their European peers. Through centuries of international convention, this has become the dominant rule to identifying an emperor in the modern era, also the name of the position split in several branches of Western tradition, see below. Later new symbols of worldly and/or spiritual power, like the orb, rules for indicating successors also varied, there was a tendency towards male inheritance of the supreme office, but as well election by noblemen, as ruling empresses are known. Ruling monarchs could additionally steer the succession by adoption, as occurred in the two first centuries of Imperial Rome. Of course, intrigue, murder and military force could also mingle in for appointing successors, probably the epoch best known for this part of the imperial tradition is Romes third century rule. When Republican Rome turned into a de facto monarchy in the half of the 1st century BC
