1.
Arabic language
–
Arabic is a Central Semitic language that was first spoken in Iron Age northwestern Arabia and is now the lingua franca of the Arab world. Arabic is also the language of 1.7 billion Muslims. It is one of six languages of the United Nations. The modern written language is derived from the language of the Quran and it is widely taught in schools and universities, and is used to varying degrees in workplaces, government, and the media. The two formal varieties are grouped together as Literary Arabic, which is the language of 26 states. Modern Standard Arabic largely follows the standards of Quranic Arabic. Much of the new vocabulary is used to denote concepts that have arisen in the post-Quranic era, Arabic has influenced many languages around the globe throughout its history. During the Middle Ages, Literary Arabic was a vehicle of culture in Europe, especially in science, mathematics. As a result, many European languages have borrowed many words from it. Many words of Arabic origin are found in ancient languages like Latin. Balkan languages, including Greek, have acquired a significant number of Arabic words through contact with Ottoman Turkish. Arabic has also borrowed words from languages including Greek and Persian in medieval times. Arabic is a Central Semitic language, closely related to the Northwest Semitic languages, the Ancient South Arabian languages, the Semitic languages changed a great deal between Proto-Semitic and the establishment of the Central Semitic languages, particularly in grammar. Innovations of the Central Semitic languages—all maintained in Arabic—include, The conversion of the suffix-conjugated stative formation into a past tense, the conversion of the prefix-conjugated preterite-tense formation into a present tense. The elimination of other prefix-conjugated mood/aspect forms in favor of new moods formed by endings attached to the prefix-conjugation forms, the development of an internal passive. These features are evidence of descent from a hypothetical ancestor. In the southwest, various Central Semitic languages both belonging to and outside of the Ancient South Arabian family were spoken and it is also believed that the ancestors of the Modern South Arabian languages were also spoken in southern Arabia at this time. To the north, in the oases of northern Hijaz, Dadanitic and Taymanitic held some prestige as inscriptional languages, in Najd and parts of western Arabia, a language known to scholars as Thamudic C is attested
Arabic language
–
The Galland Manuscript of
One Thousand and One Nights, 14th century
Arabic language
–
al-ʿArabiyyah in written Arabic (
Naskh script)
Arabic language
–
Bilingual traffic sign in
Qatar.
Arabic language
–
Examples of how the Arabic root and form system works.
2.
Damascus
–
Damascus is the capital and likely the largest city of Syria, following the decline in population of Aleppo due to the ongoing battle for the city. It is commonly known in Syria as ash-Sham and nicknamed as the City of Jasmine, in addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major cultural and religious centre of the Levant. The city has an population of 1,711,000 as of 2009. Located in south-western Syria, Damascus is the centre of a metropolitan area of 2.6 million people. The Barada River flows through Damascus, first settled in the second millennium BC, it was chosen as the capital of the Umayyad Caliphate from 661 to 750. After the victory of the Abbasid dynasty, the seat of Islamic power was moved to Baghdad, Damascus saw a political decline throughout the Abbasid era, only to regain significant importance in the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods. Today, it is the seat of the government and all of the government ministries. The name of Damascus first appeared in the geographical list of Thutmose III as T-m-ś-q in the 15th century BC, the etymology of the ancient name T-m-ś-q is uncertain, but it is suspected to be pre-Semitic. It is attested as Dimašqa in Akkadian, T-ms-ḳw in Egyptian, Dammaśq in Old Aramaic, the Akkadian spelling is found in the Amarna letters, from the 14th century BC. Later Aramaic spellings of the name include a intrusive resh, perhaps influenced by the root dr. Thus, the English and Latin name of the city is Damascus which was imported from originated from the Qumranic Darmeśeq, and Darmsûq in Syriac, meaning a well-watered land. In Arabic, the city is called Dimašqu š-Šāmi, although this is shortened to either Dimašq or aš-Šām by the citizens of Damascus, of Syria and other Arab neighbours. Aš-Šām is an Arabic term for Levant and for Syria, the latter, the Anti-Lebanon mountains mark the border between Syria and Lebanon. The range has peaks of over 10,000 ft. and blocks precipitation from the Mediterranean sea, however, in ancient times this was mitigated by the Barada River, which originates from mountain streams fed by melting snow. Damascus is surrounded by the Ghouta, irrigated farmland where many vegetables, cereals, maps of Roman Syria indicate that the Barada river emptied into a lake of some size east of Damascus. Today it is called Bahira Atayba, the hesitant lake, because in years of severe drought it does not even exist, the modern city has an area of 105 km2, out of which 77 km2 is urban, while Jabal Qasioun occupies the rest. The old city of Damascus, enclosed by the city walls, to the south-east, north and north-east it is surrounded by suburban areas whose history stretches back to the Middle Ages, Midan in the south-west, Sarouja and Imara in the north and north-west. These neighbourhoods originally arose on roads leading out of the city and these new neighbourhoods were initially settled by Kurdish soldiery and Muslim refugees from the European regions of the Ottoman Empire which had fallen under Christian rule
Damascus
–
View of Damascus from
Mount Qassioun
Damascus
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Damascus in spring seen from
Spot satellite
Damascus
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One of the rare periods the
Barada river is high, seen here next to the
Four Seasons hotel in downtown Damascus
Damascus
–
Umayyad Mosque façade
3.
Syria
–
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
Syria
–
Female figurine, 5000 BC.
Ancient Orient Museum.
Syria
–
Flag
Syria
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God head, the kingdom of
Yamhad (c. 1600 BC)
Syria
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Ebla royal palace c. 2400 BC
4.
Eastern Catholic
–
The Melkite and Italo-Greek churches also have claims of perpetual communion. Full communion constitutes mutual sacramental sharing between the Eastern Catholic Churches and the Latin Church, including Eucharistic intercommunion, notably, Eastern Catholic churches have different traditions concerning clerical celibacy than the Latin Church, in general, Eastern Catholic Churches allow the ordination of married men as priests. Eastern Catholic churches have their origins in the Middle East, East Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin Catholics in the Middle East, on the other hand, are traditionally served by the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. The Eastern Catholic churches are instead distinct particular churches sui iuris, although maintain full, there are different meanings of the word rite. Apart from its reference to the patrimony of a particular church. The rites treated in CCEO, unless stated, are those that arise from the Alexandrian, Antiochene. The Second Vatican Council spoke of Eastern Catholic Churches as particular Churches or rites, in 1999, the United States National Conference of Catholic Bishops stated, We have been accustomed to speaking of the Latin Rite or the Eastern Rites to designate these different Churches. Canon 112 of the Code of Canon Law uses the phrase autonomous ritual Churches to designate the various Churches, and a writer in a periodical of January 2006 declared, The Eastern Churches are still mistakenly called Eastern-rite Churches, a reference to their various liturgical histories. They are most properly called Eastern Churches, or Eastern Catholic Churches, however, the term rite continues to be used. The 1983 CIC forbids a Latin bishop to ordain, without permission of the Holy See, Pope Benedict XVI wrote, in his 2007 motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, that any Catholic priest of the Latin rite, under certain conditions, may use either edition of the Roman Missal. The term Uniat or Uniate applies to Eastern Catholic churches previously part of Eastern or Oriental Orthodox churches or of the Assyrian Church of the East. The term is considered to have a derogatory connotation, though it was occasionally used by Latin. Official Catholic documents no longer use the due to its perceived negative overtones. According to John Erickson of Saint Vladimirs Orthodox Theological Seminary, The term uniate itself, Eastern Rite Catholic also was no longer in vogue because it might suggest that the Catholics in question differed from Latins only in the externals of worship. The Second Vatican Council affirmed rather that Eastern Catholics constituted churches whose vocation was to provide a bridge to the churches of the East. Communion between Christian churches has been broken over matters of faith, whereby each side accused the other of heresy or departure from the true faith, communion has been broken also because of disagreement about questions of authority or the legitimacy of the election of a particular bishop. In these latter cases each side accused the other of schism, Major breaches of communion, In 431 the Churches that accepted the teaching of the Council of Ephesus classified as heretics those who rejected the Councils statements. The Church of the East, which was mainly under the Sassanid Empire and it later experienced a period of great expansion in Asia before collapsing after the Mongol invasion of the Middle East in the 14th century
Eastern Catholic
–
An Eastern Catholic Bishop of the
Syro-Malabar Catholic Church holding the Mar Thoma Cross, which symbolizes the heritage and identity of the
Saint Thomas Christians in India
Eastern Catholic
–
An Eastern Catholic
Cardinal of the
Syro-Malankara Catholic Church celebrating
Qurbono Qadisho in
West Syriac
5.
Melkite
–
The term Melkite, also written Melchite, refers to various Byzantine Rite Christian churches and their members originating in the Middle East. The word comes from the Syriac word malkoyo, and the Arabic word Malkī, when used in an ecclesiastical sense, it refers specifically to the Melkite Greek Catholic Church as an ethnoreligious group. Melkites view themselves as the first Christian community, dating the Melkite Church back to the time of the Apostles and this first community is said to have been a mixed one made up of individuals who were originally Greek, Greco-Macedonian, Roman, Syriac, and Jewish. After the Islamic conquests of the Levant in the 7th century, the term Melkite was originally used as a pejorative term after the acrimonious division that occurred in Eastern Christianity after the Council of Chalcedon. It was used by non-Chalcedonians to refer to those who backed the council, the Melkites were generally Greek-speaking city-dwellers living in the west of the Levant and in Egypt, as opposed to the more provincial Syriac- and Coptic-speaking non-Chalcedonians. The Melkite Church was organised into three historic patriarchates — Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem — in union with the Patriarch of Constantinople, after the Council of Chalcedon, over the ensuing centuries those Churches which rejected this council recognised different patriarchs in Alexandria and Antioch. From 1342, Roman Catholic clergy were based in Damascus and other areas, in 1724, Cyril VI was elected in Damascus by the Synod as Patriarch of Antioch. Considering this to be a Catholic takeover attempt, Jeremias III of Constantinople imposed a deacon, after being ordained a priest, then bishop, he was given Turkish protection to overthrow Cyril. Sylvesters heavy-handed leadership of the church encouraged many to re-examine the validity of Cyrils claim to the patriarchal throne, the newly elected Pope Benedict XIII also recognised the legitimacy of Cyrils claim and recognized him and his followers as being in communion with Rome. Members of theses communities still call themselves Rûm which literally means Roman or Asian Greek in Arabic, the term Rûm is used in preference to Ionani or Yāvāni which means European-Greek or Ionian in Classical Arabic and Biblical Hebrew. Melkite Greek Catholic Church — Catholic Melkite, Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch — Orthodox Melkite, from which the Melkite Greek Catholic Church emerged in the 1720s. Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria — Orthodox Melkite, Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem — Orthodox Melkite. Sample of Melkite Chant in English Monothelitism Dick, Iganatios, Melkites, Greek Orthodox and Greek Catholics of the Patriarchates of Antioch, Alexandria and Jerusalem
Melkite
–
11th-century Melchite
Hirmologion written in
Syriac Sertâ book script, from
Saint Catherine's Monastery,
Mount Sinai, now part of the
Schøyen Collection.
6.
Episcopal polity
–
An episcopal polity is a hierarchical form of church governance in which the chief local authorities are called bishops. Churches with an episcopal polity are governed by bishops, practicing their authorities in the dioceses and conferences or synods, bishops are considered to derive their authority from an unbroken, personal apostolic succession from the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. Bishops with such authority are said to represent the historical episcopate or historic episcopate, Churches with this type of government usually believe that the Church requires episcopal government as described in the New Testament. In some systems, bishops may be subject to higher-ranking bishops and they also meet in councils or synods. These gatherings, subject to presidency by higher ranking bishops, usually make important decisions, for much of the written history of institutional Christianity, episcopal government was the only known form of church organization. The definition of the word episcopal has variation among Christian traditions, there are subtle differences in governmental principles among episcopal churches at the present time. To some extent the separation of episcopal churches can be traced to these differences in ecclesiology, for some, episcopal churches are churches that use a hierarchy of bishops that regard themselves as being in an unbroken, personal apostolic succession. Episcopal is also used to distinguish between the various organizational structures of denominations. For instance, the word presbyterian is used to describe a church governed by a hierarchy of assemblies of elected elders, similarly, episcopal is used to describe a church governed by bishops. Self-governed local congregations, governed neither by elders nor bishops, are referred to as Congregational. More specifically, the title Episcopal is applied to several churches historically based within Anglicanism including those still in communion with the Church of England, many Methodist churches retain the form and function of episcopal polity, although in a modified form, called connexionalism. All orthodox Christians were in churches with a government, that is, one Church under local bishops. Writing between ca.85 and 110, St. Ignatius of Antioch, Patriarch of Antioch, was the earliest of the Church fathers to define the importance of episcopal government. Assuming Ignatius view was the Apostolic teaching and practice, the line of succession was unbroken and passed through the four ancient Patriarchal sees, Rome, Jerusalem, Antioch, some organizations, though aloof from the political wranglings of imperial Christianity, nevertheless also practiced episcopal polity. The single Roman Empire was divided between two autonomous administrative centers, Roman and Constantinopolitan, West and East, Latin speaking and Greek speaking. This remained the status quo through the fourth century, a deep chasm developed between the East and West, becoming critical around 350, known as the Aryan, or Nicene controversy. The Eastern Christian Churches were thought by Constantine to believe against the Trinity, Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers, France, believed that the Eastern Church should be given the opportunity to, at least, be educated on the subject. Constantine, in his wisdom, and upset by disagreement, banished Hilary to the East and this truth became known in the West, though some differences lingered
Episcopal polity
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The chair (
cathedra) of the
Pope in the
Basilica of St. John Lateran represents his authority.
Episcopal polity
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Church authority in ceremonies is often represented by a
mitre as headdress.
Episcopal polity
–
The government of a bishop is typically symbolized by a cathedral church, such as the Catholic
bishops 's
see at
Chartres Cathedral.
Episcopal polity
–
Pope Pius IX convened the
First Vatican Council that approved the dogma of Pope as the visible head of the church, prime bishop over a hierarchy of clergy and believers
7.
Primate
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A primate is a mammal of the order Primates. In taxonomy, primates include two distinct lineages, strepsirrhines and haplorhines, Primates arose from ancestors that lived in the trees of tropical forests, many primate characteristics represent adaptations to life in this challenging three-dimensional environment. Most primate species remain at least partly arboreal, with the exception of humans, who inhabit every continent except for Antarctica, most primates live in tropical or subtropical regions of the Americas, Africa and Asia. Based on fossil evidence, the earliest known true primates, represented by the genus Teilhardina, an early close primate relative known from abundant remains is the Late Paleocene Plesiadapis, c. Molecular clock studies suggest that the branch may be even older. The order Primates was traditionally divided into two groupings, prosimians and anthropoids. Prosimians have characteristics more like those of the earliest primates, and include the lemurs of Madagascar, lorisoids, simians include monkeys, apes and hominins. Simians are divided into two groups, catarrhine monkeys and apes of Africa and Southeast Asia and platyrrhine or New World monkeys of South, catarrhines consist of Old World monkeys, gibbons and great apes, New World monkeys include the capuchin, howler and squirrel monkeys. Humans are the only extant catarrhines to have spread successfully outside of Africa, South Asia, New primate species are still being discovered. More than 25 species were described in the decade of the 2000s. Considered generalist mammals, primates exhibit a range of characteristics. Some primates are primarily terrestrial rather than arboreal, but all species possess adaptations for climbing trees, locomotion techniques used include leaping from tree to tree, walking on two or four limbs, knuckle-walking, and swinging between branches of trees. Primates are characterized by large brains relative to other mammals, as well as a reliance on stereoscopic vision at the expense of smell. These features are developed in monkeys and apes and noticeably less so in lorises. Three-color vision has developed in some primates, most also have opposable thumbs and some have prehensile tails. Many species are dimorphic, differences include body mass, canine tooth size. Primates have slower rates of development than other similarly sized mammals and reach maturity later, depending on the species, adults may live in solitude, in mated pairs, or in groups of up to hundreds of members. The relationships among the different groups of primates were not clearly understood until relatively recently, for example, ape has been used either as an alternative for monkey or for any tailless, relatively human-like primate
Primate
–
A 1927 drawing of
chimpanzees, a
gibbon (top right) and two
orangutans (center and bottom center): The chimp in the upper left is
brachiating; the orangutan at the bottom center is
knuckle-walking.
Primate
Primate
–
The
Philippine tarsier, once considered a
prosimian, is now predominantly considered a
haplorhine.
Primate
–
Common brown lemur, a
strepsirrhine primate
8.
Egypt
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Egypt, officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia by a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. Egypt is a Mediterranean country bordered by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Gulf of Aqaba to the east, the Red Sea to the east and south, Sudan to the south, and Libya to the west. Across the Gulf of Aqaba lies Jordan, and across from the Sinai Peninsula lies Saudi Arabia, although Jordan and it is the worlds only contiguous Afrasian nation. Egypt has among the longest histories of any country, emerging as one of the worlds first nation states in the tenth millennium BC. Considered a cradle of civilisation, Ancient Egypt experienced some of the earliest developments of writing, agriculture, urbanisation, organised religion and central government. One of the earliest centres of Christianity, Egypt was Islamised in the century and remains a predominantly Muslim country. With over 92 million inhabitants, Egypt is the most populous country in North Africa and the Arab world, the third-most populous in Africa, and the fifteenth-most populous in the world. The great majority of its people live near the banks of the Nile River, an area of about 40,000 square kilometres, the large regions of the Sahara desert, which constitute most of Egypts territory, are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypts residents live in areas, with most spread across the densely populated centres of greater Cairo, Alexandria. Modern Egypt is considered to be a regional and middle power, with significant cultural, political, and military influence in North Africa, the Middle East and the Muslim world. Egypts economy is one of the largest and most diversified in the Middle East, Egypt is a member of the United Nations, Non-Aligned Movement, Arab League, African Union, and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. Miṣr is the Classical Quranic Arabic and modern name of Egypt. The name is of Semitic origin, directly cognate with other Semitic words for Egypt such as the Hebrew מִצְרַיִם, the oldest attestation of this name for Egypt is the Akkadian
Egypt
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The
Giza Necropolis is the oldest of the
ancient Wonders and the only one still in existence.
Egypt
–
Flag
Egypt
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The Greek Ptolemaic queen
Cleopatra VII and her son by Julius Caesar,
Caesarion at the
Temple of Dendera.
Egypt
–
The 1803
Cedid Atlas, showing
Ottoman Egypt.
9.
State of Palestine
–
The State of Palestine claims the West Bank and Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as the designated capital. Most of the areas claimed by the State of Palestine have been occupied by Israel since 1967 in the aftermath of the Six-Day War and its independence was declared on 15 November 1988 by the Palestine Liberation Organization in Algiers as a government-in-exile. Since the British Mandate, the term Palestine has been associated with the area that currently covers the State of Israel, the West Bank. In 1947, the UN adopted a plan for a two-state solution in the remaining territory of the mandate. The plan was accepted by the Jewish leadership but rejected by the Arab leaders, on the eve of final British withdrawal, the Jewish Agency for Israel declared the establishment of the State of Israel according to the proposed UN plan. During the war, Israel gained additional territories that were designated to be part of the Arab state under the UN plan, Egypt occupied the Gaza Strip and Transjordan occupied the West Bank. Egypt initially supported the creation of an All-Palestine Government, but disbanded it in 1959, Transjordan never recognized it and instead decided to incorporate the West Bank with its own territory to form Jordan. The annexation was ratified in 1950 but was rejected by the international community, the Six-Day War in 1967, when Egypt, Jordan, and Syria fought against Israel, ended with Israel being in occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, besides other territories. In 1964, when the West Bank was controlled by Jordan, the Palestinian National Charter of the PLO defines the boundaries of Palestine as the whole remaining territory of the mandate, including Israel. Following the Six-Day War, the PLO moved to Jordan, the October 1974 Arab League summit designated the PLO as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people and reaffirmed their right to establish an independent state of urgency. In November 1974, the PLO was recognized as competent on all matters concerning the question of Palestine by the UN General Assembly granting them observer status as an entity at the UN. In spite of this decision, the PLO did not participate at the UN in its capacity of the State of Palestines government, in 1979, through the Camp David Accords, Egypt signaled an end to any claim of its own over the Gaza Strip. In July 1988, Jordan ceded its claims to the West Bank—with the exception of guardianship over Haram al-Sharif—to the PLO, in November 1988, the PLO legislature, while in exile, declared the establishment of the State of Palestine. In the month following, it was recognised by many states, including Egypt. In the Palestinian Declaration of Independence, the State of Palestine is described as being established on the Palestinian territory, the UN membership application submitted by the State of Palestine also specified that it is based on the 1967 borders. During the negotiations of the Oslo Accords, the PLO recognised Israels right to exist, after Israel took control of the West Bank from Jordan and Gaza Strip from Egypt, it began to establish Israeli settlements there. These were organised into Judea and Samaria district and Hof Aza Regional Council in the Southern District, in 1980, Israel decided to freeze elections for these councils and to establish instead Village Leagues, whose officials were under Israeli influence. Later this model became ineffective for both Israel and the Palestinians, and the Village Leagues began to break up, with the last being the Hebron League, dissolved in February 1988
State of Palestine
–
The destroyed
Palestinian Legislative Council building in Gaza City,
Gaza–Israel conflict, September 2009
State of Palestine
–
Flag
State of Palestine
–
Palestinian children in
Jenin, a city on the West Bank
10.
Lebanon
–
Lebanon, officially known as the Lebanese Republic, is a sovereign state in Western Asia. It is bordered by Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, Lebanons location at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian hinterland facilitated its rich history and shaped a cultural identity of religious and ethnic diversity. At just 10,452 km2, it is the smallest recognized country on the entire mainland Asian continent, the earliest evidence of civilization in Lebanon dates back more than seven thousand years, predating recorded history. Lebanon was the home of the Canaanites/Phoenicians and their kingdoms, a culture that flourished for over a thousand years. In 64 BC, the region came under the rule of the Roman Empire, in the Mount Lebanon range a monastic tradition known as the Maronite Church was established. As the Arab Muslims conquered the region, the Maronites held onto their religion, however, a new religious group, the Druze, established themselves in Mount Lebanon as well, generating a religious divide that has lasted for centuries. During the Crusades, the Maronites re-established contact with the Roman Catholic Church, the ties they established with the Latins have influenced the region into the modern era. The region eventually was ruled by the Ottoman Empire from 1516 to 1918, following the collapse of the empire after World War I, the five provinces that constitute modern Lebanon came under the French Mandate of Lebanon. The French expanded the borders of the Mount Lebanon Governorate, which was populated by Maronites and Druze. Lebanon gained independence in 1943, establishing confessionalism, a unique, foreign troops withdrew completely from Lebanon on 31 December 1946. Lebanon has been a member of the Organisation internationale de la francophonie since 1973, despite its small size, the country has developed a well-known culture and has been highly influential in the Arab world. Before the Lebanese Civil War, the experienced a period of relative calm and renowned prosperity, driven by tourism, agriculture, commerce. At the end of the war, there were efforts to revive the economy. In spite of troubles, Lebanon has the highest Human Development Index and GDP per capita in the Arab world. The name of Mount Lebanon originates from the Phoenician root lbn meaning white, occurrences of the name have been found in different Middle Bronze Age texts from the library of Ebla, and three of the twelve tablets of the Epic of Gilgamesh. The name is recorded in Ancient Egyptian as Rmnn, where R stood for Canaanite L, the name occurs nearly 70 times in the Hebrew Bible, as לְבָנוֹן. The borders of contemporary Lebanon are a product of the Treaty of Sèvres of 1920 and its territory was the core of the Bronze Age Phoenician city-states. After the 7th-century Muslim conquest of the Levant, it was part of the Rashidun, Umyayad, Abbasid Seljuk, with the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, Greater Lebanon fell under French mandate in 1920, and gained independence under president Bechara El Khoury in 1943
Lebanon
–
The
Fall of Tripoli to the Egyptian
Mamluks and destruction of the Crusader state, the County of Tripoli, 1289
Lebanon
–
Flag
Lebanon
–
Fakhreddine II Palace, 17th century
Lebanon
–
1862 map drawn by the French expedition of
Beaufort d'Hautpoul, later used as a template for the 1920 borders of
Greater Lebanon.
11.
Sudan
–
Sudan, also known as North Sudan since South Sudans independence and officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northern Africa. It is the third largest country in Africa, the River Nile divides the country into eastern and western halves. Before the Sudanese Civil War, South Sudan was part of Sudan, Sudan was home to numerous ancient civilizations, such as the Kingdom of Kush, Kerma, Nobatia, Alodia, Makuria, Meroë and others, most of which flourished along the Nile. During the pre-dynastic period Nubia and Nagadan Upper Egypt were identical, by virtue of its proximity to Egypt, the Sudan participated in the wider history of the Near East inasmuch as it was Christianized by the 6th century, and Islamized in the 15th. As a result of Christianization, the Old Nubian language stands as the oldest recorded Nilo-Saharan language, Sudan was the largest country in Africa and the Arab world until 2011, when South Sudan separated into an independent country, following an independence referendum. Sudan is now the third largest country in Africa and also the third largest country in the Arab world and its capital is Khartoum, the political, cultural and commercial centre of the nation. It is a representative democratic federal republic. The politics of Sudan are regulated by an organization called the National Assembly. The Sudanese legal system is based on Islamic law, the countrys place name Sudan is a name given to a geographical region to the south of the Sahara, stretching from Western Africa to eastern Central Africa. The name derives from the Arabic bilād as-sūdān, or the lands of the Blacks, during the fifth millennium BC migrations from the drying Sahara brought neolithic people into the Nile Valley along with agriculture. The population that resulted from this cultural and genetic mixing developed social hierarchy over the centuries become the Kingdom of Kush at 1700 BC. The Kingdom of Kush was an ancient Nubian state centered on the confluences of the Blue Nile and White Nile, and the Atbarah River and it was established after the Bronze Age collapse and the disintegration of the New Kingdom of Egypt, centered at Napata in its early phase. After King Kashta invaded Egypt in the eighth century BC, the Kushite kings ruled as pharaohs of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt for a century before being defeated and driven out by the Assyrians. At the height of their glory, the Kushites conquered an empire that stretched from what is now known as South Kordofan all the way to the Sinai, pharaoh Piye attempted to expand the empire into the Near East, but was thwarted by the Assyrian king Sargon II. Sennacheribs successor Esarhaddon went further, and invaded Egypt itself, deposing Taharqa, Taharqa fled back to his homeland where he died two years later. Egypt became an Assyrian colony, however, king Tantamani, after succeeding Taharqa, Esarhaddon died while preparing to leave the Assyrian capital of Nineveh in order to eject him. However, his successor Ashurbanipal sent an army into southern Egypt and routed Tantamani. During Classical Antiquity, the Nubian capital was at Meroë, in ancient Greek geography, the Meroitic kingdom was known as Ethiopia
Sudan
–
The large mud brick temple, known as the shrek or Western Deffufa, in the ancient city of
Kerma
Sudan
–
Flag
Sudan
–
Nubian pyramids in
Meroë.
Sudan
–
Ruins of
Old Dongola.
12.
Argentina
–
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a federal republic in the southern half of South America. With a mainland area of 2,780,400 km2, Argentina is the eighth-largest country in the world, the second largest in Latin America, and the largest Spanish-speaking one. The country is subdivided into provinces and one autonomous city, Buenos Aires. The provinces and the capital have their own constitutions, but exist under a federal system, Argentina claims sovereignty over part of Antarctica, the Falkland Islands, and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. The earliest recorded presence in the area of modern-day Argentina dates back to the Paleolithic period. The country has its roots in Spanish colonization of the region during the 16th century, Argentina rose as the successor state of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, a Spanish overseas viceroyalty founded in 1776. The country thereafter enjoyed relative peace and stability, with waves of European immigration radically reshaping its cultural. The almost-unparalleled increase in prosperity led to Argentina becoming the seventh wealthiest developed nation in the world by the early 20th century, Argentina retains its historic status as a middle power in international affairs, and is a prominent regional power in the Southern Cone and Latin America. Argentina has the second largest economy in South America, the third-largest in Latin America and is a member of the G-15 and it is the country with the second highest Human Development Index in Latin America with a rating of very high. Because of its stability, market size and growing high-tech sector, the description of the country by the word Argentina has to be found on a Venice map in 1536. In English the name Argentina probably comes from the Spanish language, however the naming itself is not Spanish, Argentina means in Italian of silver, silver coloured, probably borrowed from the Old French adjective argentine of silver > silver coloured already mentioned in the 12th century. The French word argentine is the form of argentin and derives of argent silver with the suffix -in. The Italian naming Argentina for the country implies Argentina Terra land of silver or Argentina costa coast of silver, in Italian, the adjective or the proper noun is often used in an autonomous way as a substantive and replaces it and it is said lArgentina. The name Argentina was probably first given by the Venitian and Genoese navigators, in Spanish and Portuguese, the words for silver are respectively plata and prata and of silver is said plateado and prateado. Argentina was first associated with the silver mountains legend, widespread among the first European explorers of the La Plata Basin. The first written use of the name in Spanish can be traced to La Argentina, a 1602 poem by Martín del Barco Centenera describing the region, the 1826 constitution included the first use of the name Argentine Republic in legal documents. The name Argentine Confederation was also used and was formalized in the Argentine Constitution of 1853. In 1860 a presidential decree settled the name as Argentine Republic
Argentina
–
The
Cave of the Hands in
Santa Cruz province, with indigenous artwork dating from 13,000–9,000 years ago
Argentina
Argentina
–
The surrender of Beresford to
Santiago de Liniers during the
British invasions of the Río de la Plata
Argentina
–
Portrait of General
José de San Martin,
Libertador of Argentina,
Chile and
Peru
13.
Venezuela
–
Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a federal republic located on the northern coast of South America. It is bordered by Colombia on the west, Brazil on the south, Guyana on the east, Venezuela covers 916,445 km2 and has an estimated population of 31775371. The territory now known as Venezuela was colonized by Spain in 1522 amid resistance from indigenous peoples and it gained full independence as a separate country in 1830. During the 19th century, Venezuela suffered political turmoil and autocracy, since 1958, the country has had a series of democratic governments. This new constitution changed the name of the country to República Bolivariana de Venezuela. Venezuela is a presidential republic consisting of 23 states, the Capital District. Venezuela also claims all Guyanese territory west of the Essequibo River, oil was discovered in the early 20th century, and Venezuela has the worlds largest known oil reserves and has been one of the worlds leading exporters of oil. Previously an underdeveloped exporter of commodities such as coffee and cocoa, oil quickly came to dominate exports. The recovery of oil prices in the early 2000s gave Venezuela oil funds not seen since the 1980s, the Venezuelan government then established populist policies that initially boosted the Venezuelan economy and increased social spending, significantly reducing economic inequality and poverty. However, such policies later became controversial since they destabilized the economy, resulting in hyperinflation, an economic depression. According to the most popular and accepted version, in 1499, the stilt houses in the area of Lake Maracaibo reminded the navigator, Amerigo Vespucci, of the city of Venice, so he named the region Veneziola Piccola Venezia. The name acquired its current spelling as a result of Spanish influence, where the suffix -uela is used as a term, thus. The German language 16th century-term for the area, Klein-Venedig, also means little Venice, however, Martín Fernández de Enciso, a member of the Vespucci and Ojeda crew, gave a different account. In his work Summa de geografía, he states that they found people who called themselves the Veneciuela. Thus, the name Venezuela may have evolved from the native word and it is not known how many people lived in Venezuela before the Spanish conquest, it has been estimated at around one million. In addition to indigenous peoples known today, the population included historic groups such as the Kalina, Auaké, Caquetio, Mariche, the Timoto-Cuica culture was the most complex society in Pre-Columbian Venezuela, with pre-planned permanent villages, surrounded by irrigated, terraced fields. They also stored water in tanks and their houses were made primarily of stone and wood with thatched roofs. They were peaceful, for the most part, and depended on growing crops, regional crops included potatoes and ullucos
Venezuela
–
The signing of Venezuela's independence, by
Martín Tovar y Tovar
Venezuela
–
Flag
Venezuela
–
The
Battle of Carabobo, during the
Venezuelan War of Independence
Venezuela
–
José Gregorio Monagas abolished slavery in 1854.
14.
Byzantine Rite
–
It has also been employed, although less frequently, in the Anglican Communion and Lutheran churches. Its development began during the century in Constantinople and it is now the second most-used rite in Christendom after the Roman Rite. Traditionally, the stands throughout the whole service, and an iconostasis separates the sanctuary from the nave of the church. The faithful are very active in their worship, making frequent bows and prostrations, also, traditionally, the major clergy and monks neither shave nor cut their hair or beards. Scripture plays a role in Byzantine worship, with not only daily readings. The entire psalter is read each week, and twice weekly during Great Lent, fasting is stricter than in the Roman rite. On fast days, the faithful give up not only meat, but also dairy products, and on many fast days they also give up fish, wine, the rite observes four fasting seasons, Great Lent, Nativity Fast, Apostles Fast and Dormition Fast. In addition, most Wednesdays and Fridays throughout the year are fast days, there are two ancient liturgical traditions from which all of the Eastern Rites developed, the Alexandrian rite in Egypt and the Antiochene Rite in Syria. These two Rites developed directly from practices of the Early Church, of these two traditions, the Rite of Constantinople developed from the Antiochene Rite. Prior to the see of Constantinoples elevation to the dignity of patriarch by the Second Ecumenical Council in 381, with the councils elevation of Constantinople to primacy in the East, with the words The Bishop of Constantinople. Further developments continued to occur, centered mostly around Constantinople and Mount Athos, monasticism played an important role in the development of the rituals. In Constantinople, the work of the monastery of the Studion greatly enriched the liturgical traditions, iconography continued to develop and a canon of traditional patterns evolved which still influences Eastern religious art to this day. Historical events have also influenced the development of the liturgy, the great Christological and Trinitarian controversies of Late Antiquity are reflected in the glorifications of the Trinity heard in the numerous ekphonies encountered during the services. All liturgical rites change and develop over time, as new saints are canonized, new hymns are composed, as new needs arise, new prayers are written. The rite also profits from the fact that the Christian East is not so centralized in ecclesiastical polity as the West and this allows for greater diversity, and as members of one church visit another, a natural cross-pollination occurs with resultant enrichment on all sides. In spite of its emphasis on tradition, the Byzantine Rite comprises a constantly growing and expanding ritual. The tradition of the Church of Constantinople ascribes the oldest of its two main Divine Liturgies to St. Basil the Great, Metropolitan of Cæsarea in Cappadocia and this tradition is confirmed by the witness of several ancient authors, some of whom were contemporaries. It is certain that St. St. Basil himself speaks on several occasions of the changes he made in the services of Cæsarea. Basil had as his goal the streamlining of the services to make them more cohesive and attractive to the faithful
Byzantine Rite
–
An iconostasis separates the sanctuary from the nave in Byzantine Rite churches. Here is shown part of a six-row iconostasis at
Uglich Cathedral. North Deacon's Door (left) and
Holy Doors (right).
Byzantine Rite
–
Fresco of
Basil the Great in the
cathedral of
Ohrid. The saint is shown
consecrating the
Gifts during the
Divine Liturgy which bears his name.
Byzantine Rite
–
Monks and seminarians on cliros.
Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, New York
15.
Apostles
–
In Christian theology and ecclesiology, the apostles, particularly the Twelve Apostles, were the primary historical disciples of Jesus, the central figure in Christianity. During the life and ministry of Jesus in the 1st century AD, the word disciple is sometimes used interchangeably with apostle, for instance, the Gospel of John makes no distinction between the two terms. In modern usage, prominent missionaries are often called apostles, a practice which stems from the Latin equivalent of apostle, i. e. missio, for example, Saint Patrick was the Apostle of Ireland, and Saint Boniface was the Apostle to the Germans. The commissioning of the Twelve Apostles during the ministry of Jesus is recorded in the Synoptic Gospels, after his resurrection, Jesus sent 11 of them by the Great Commission to spread his teachings to all nations. This event is called the Dispersion of the Apostles. There is also an Eastern Christian tradition derived from the Gospel of Luke of there having been as many as 70 apostles during the time of Jesus ministry. Prominent figures in early Christianity, notably Paul, were called apostles. The period of early Christianity during the lifetimes of the apostles is called the Apostolic Age, during the 1st century AD, the apostles established churches throughout the territories of the Roman Empire and, according to tradition, through the Middle East, Africa, and India. In his writings, the epistles to Christian churches throughout the Levant, Paul did not restrict the term apostle to the Twelve, the restricted usage appears in the Revelation to John. By the 2nd century AD, association with the apostles was esteemed as an evidence of authority, Churches which are believed to have been founded by one of the apostles are known as apostolic sees. Pauls epistles were accepted as scripture, and two of the four gospels were associated with apostles, as were other New Testament works. Various Christian texts, such as the Didache and the Apostolic Constitutions, were attributed to the apostles, bishops traced their lines of succession back to individual apostles, who were said to have dispersed from Jerusalem and established churches across great territories. Christian bishops have traditionally claimed authority deriving, by apostolic succession, early Church Fathers who came to be associated with apostles, such as Pope Clement I with St. Peter, are referred to as the Apostolic Fathers. The Apostles Creed, popular in the West, was said to have composed by the apostles themselves. The word apostle comes from the Greek word ἀπόστολος, formed from the prefix ἀπό- and root στέλλω and originally meaning messenger and it has, however, a stronger sense than the word messenger, and is closer to a delegate. The Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament argues that its Christian use translated a Jewish position known in Hebrew as the sheliach and this ecclesiastical meaning of the word was later translated into Latin as missio, the source of the English missionary. In the New Testament, the names of the majority of the apostles are Hebrew names, Mark 6, 7-13 states that Jesus initially sent out these twelve in pairs to towns in Galilee. The text states that their initial instructions were to heal the sick and their carrying of just a staff is sometimes given as the reason for the use by Christian bishops of a staff of office in those denominations that believe they maintain an apostolic succession
Apostles
–
The Last Supper, a late 1490s mural painting by Leonardo da Vinci, is a depiction of the last supper of Jesus and his twelve apostles on the eve of his crucifixion.
Apostles
–
Jesus and his twelve apostles, fresco with the
Chi-Rho symbol ☧,
Catacombs of Domitilla,
Rome.
Apostles
–
The
Synaxis of the Twelve Apostles. Russian, 14th century, Moscow Museum.
Apostles
–
Jesus and the 12 apostles in
Domus Galilaeae,
Israel.
16.
Saint Peter
–
Saint Peter, also known as Simon Peter, Simeon, or Simōn pronunciation, according to the New Testament, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ, leaders of the early Christian Great Church. Hippolytus of Rome, a 3rd-century theologian, gave him the title of Apostle of the Apostles, according to Catholic teaching, Peter was ordained by Jesus in the Rock of My Church dialogue in Matthew 16,18. He is traditionally counted as the first Bishop of Rome and by Eastern Christian tradition also as the first Patriarch of Antioch. The ancient Christian churches all venerate Peter as a saint and as founder of the Church of Antioch. The New Testament indicates that Peter was the son of John and was from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee or Gaulanitis and his brother Andrew was also an apostle. According to New Testament accounts, Peter was one of twelve apostles chosen by Jesus from his first disciples, originally a fisherman, he played a leadership role and was with Jesus during events witnessed by only a few apostles, such as the Transfiguration. According to the gospels, Peter confessed Jesus as the Messiah, was part of Jesuss inner circle, thrice denied Jesus and wept bitterly once he realised his deed, according to Christian tradition, Peter was crucified in Rome under Emperor Nero Augustus Caesar. It is traditionally held that he was crucified upside down at his own request, Tradition holds that he was crucified at the site of the Clementine Chapel. His remains are said to be contained in the underground Confessio of St. Peters Basilica. According to Catholic doctrine, the direct successor to Saint Peter is the incumbent pope. Two general epistles in the New Testament are ascribed to Peter, the Gospel of Mark was traditionally thought to show the influence of Peters preaching and eyewitness memories. Peters original name was Shimon or Simeon and he was later given the name Peter, New Testament Greek Πέτρος derived from πέτρα, which means rock. In the Latin translation of the Bible this became Petrus, a form of the feminine petra. Another version of this name is Aramaic, , after his name in Hellenised Aramaic. The English, Dutch and German Peter, French Pierre, the Italian Pietro, the Spanish and Portuguese Pedro, the Syriac or Aramaic word for rock is kepa, which in Greek became Πέτρος, also meaning rock. He is also known as Simon Peter, Cephas and Kepha, both Cephas and Kepha also mean rock. In the New Testament, he is among the first of the disciples called during Jesus ministry, Peter became the first listed apostle ordained by Jesus in the early church. Peter was a fisherman in Bethsaida and he was named Simon, son of Jonah or John
Saint Peter
–
Saint Peter by
Peter Paul Rubens shows the saint holding the
Keys of Heaven and wearing the
pallium
Saint Peter
–
Calling of Peter and Andrew,
Caravaggio
Saint Peter
–
Ruins of ancient
Capernaum on north side of the
Sea of Galilee.
Saint Peter
–
Apostle Peter striking the
High Priests ' servant
Malchus with a sword in the
Garden of Gethsemane.
17.
Saint Paul
–
Paul the Apostle, commonly known as Saint Paul, and also known by his native name Saul of Tarsus was an apostle who taught the gospel of the Christ to the first century world. He is generally considered one of the most important figures of the Apostolic Age, in the mid-30s to the mid-50s AD, he founded several churches in Asia Minor and Europe. Paul took advantage of his status as both a Jew and a Roman citizen to minister to both Jewish and Roman audiences, according to writings in the New Testament, Paul was dedicated to the persecution of the early disciples of Jesus in the area of Jerusalem. He was struck blind but, after three days, his sight was restored by Ananias of Damascus, and Paul began to preach that Jesus of Nazareth is the Jewish Messiah, approximately half of the book of Acts deals with Pauls life and works. Fourteen of the books in the New Testament have traditionally been attributed to Paul. Seven of the epistles are undisputed by scholars as being authentic, Pauline authorship of the Epistle to the Hebrews is not asserted in the Epistle itself and was already doubted in the 2nd and 3rd centuries. It was almost unquestioningly accepted from the 5th to the 16th centuries that Paul was the author of Hebrews, but that view is now almost universally rejected by scholars. The other six are believed by scholars to have come from followers writing in his name. Other scholars argue that the idea of an author for the disputed epistles raises many problems. Today, Pauls epistles continue to be roots of the theology, worship, and pastoral life in the Catholic and Protestant traditions of the West. Augustine of Hippo developed Pauls idea that salvation is based on faith, martin Luthers interpretation of Pauls writings influenced Luthers doctrine of sola fide. The main source for information about Pauls life is the material found in his epistles, however, the epistles contain little information about Pauls past. The book of Acts recounts more information but leaves several parts of Pauls life out of its narrative, such as his probable, some scholars believe Acts also contradicts Pauls epistles on multiple accounts, in particular concerning the frequency of Pauls visits to the church in Jerusalem. It has been assumed that Sauls name was changed when he converted from Judaism to Christianity. His Jewish name was Saul, perhaps after the biblical King Saul, a fellow Benjamite, according to the Book of Acts, he inherited Roman citizenship from his father. As a Roman citizen, he bore the Latin name of Paul—in biblical Greek, Παῦλος. It was quite usual for the Jews of that time to have two names, one Hebrew, the other Latin or Greek. Jesus called him Saul, Saul in the Hebrew tongue in the book of Acts, later, in a vision to Ananias of Damascus, the Lord referred to him as Saul, of Tarsus
Saint Paul
–
Saint Paul by
Bartolomeo Montagna
Saint Paul
–
The Conversion of Saul,
fresco by
Michelangelo, 1542–45
Saint Paul
–
Conversion on the Way to Damascus (1601), by
Caravaggio
Saint Paul
–
Caravaggio (1571–1610), The Conversion of Saint Paul, 1600
18.
Holy See
–
The Holy See, also referred to as the See of Rome, is the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, the episcopal see of the Pope, and an independent sovereign entity. It serves as the point of reference for the Catholic Church everywhere. Today, it is responsible for the governance of all Catholics, organised in their Particular Churches, Patriarchates, as an independent sovereign entity, holding the Vatican City enclave in Rome as sovereign territory, it maintains diplomatic relations with other states. Diplomatically, the Holy See acts and speaks for the whole church and it is also recognised by other subjects of international law as a sovereign entity, headed by the Pope, with which diplomatic relations can be maintained. The creation of the Vatican City state was meant to ensure the diplomatic, in Greek, the adjective holy or sacred is constantly applied to all such sees as a matter of course. The word see comes from the Latin word sedes, meaning seat, while Saint Peters basilica in Vatican City is perhaps the church most associated with the Papacy, the actual cathedral of the Holy See is the church of Saint John Lateran within the city of Rome. The Pope governs the Catholic Church through the Roman Curia, the Secretariat of State, under the Cardinal Secretary of State, directs and coordinates the Curia. The incumbent, Archbishop Pietro Parolin, is the Sees equivalent of a prime minister, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, Secretary of the Section for Relations with States of the Secretariat of State, acts as the Holy Sees minister of foreign affairs. Parolin was named in his role by Pope Francis On 31 August 2013, mamberti was named in his role by Pope Benedict XVI in September 2006. The Secretariat of State is the body of the Curia that is situated within Vatican City. The others are in buildings in different parts of Rome that have rights similar to those of embassies. The Roman Rota handles normal judicial appeals, the most numerous being those that concern alleged nullity of marriage and it also oversees the work of other ecclesiastical tribunals at all levels. The most important of these is the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See, the Prefecture of the Papal Household is responsible for the organization of the papal household, audiences, and ceremonies. The Holy See does not dissolve upon a Popes death or resignation and it instead operates under a different set of laws sede vacante. The government of the See, and therefore of the Catholic Church, canon law prohibits the College and the Camerlengo from introducing any innovations or novelties in the government of the Church during this period. In 2001, the Holy See had a revenue of 422.098 billion Italian lire, the Guardian newspaper described Mennini and his role in the following manner. Paolo Mennini, who is in effect the popes merchant banker, Mennini heads a special unit inside the Vatican called the extraordinary division of APSA – Amministrazione del Patrimonio della Sede Apostolica – which handles the patrimony of the Holy See. The Holy See has been recognized, both in practice and in the writing of modern legal scholars, as a subject of public international law, with rights
Holy See
–
The
papal throne (
cathedra), in the apse of
Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, symbolises the Holy See.
19.
Levant
–
The Levant is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean. The term Levant entered English in the late 15th century from French and it derives from the Italian Levante, meaning rising, implying the rising of the sun in the east. As such, it is equivalent to the Arabic term Mashriq. Eventually the term was restricted to the Muslim countries of Syria-Palestine, in 1581, England set up the Levant Company to monopolize commerce with the Ottoman Empire. The name Levant States was used to refer to the French mandate over Syria and this is probably the reason why the term Levant has come to be used synonymously with Syria-Palestine. Some scholars misunderstood the term thinking that it derives from the name of Lebanon, today the term is typically used in conjunction with prehistoric or ancient historical references. It does not include Anatolia, the Caucasus Mountains, or any part of the Arabian Peninsula proper, the Sinai Peninsula is sometimes included. The Levant has been described as the crossroads of western Asia, the eastern Mediterranean, and northeast Africa, the populations of the Levant share not only the geographic position, but cuisine, some customs, and a very long history. They are often referred to as Levantines, the term Levant, which appeared in English in 1497, originally meant the East in general or Mediterranean lands east of Italy. It is borrowed from the French levant rising, referring to the rising of the sun in the east, the phrase is ultimately from the Latin word levare, meaning lift, raise. Similar etymologies are found in Greek Ἀνατολή, in Germanic Morgenland, in Italian, in Hungarian Kelet, in Spanish and Catalan Levante and Llevant, most notably, Orient and its Latin source oriens meaning east, is literally rising, deriving from Latin orior rise. The notion of the Levant has undergone a process of historical evolution in usage, meaning. While the term Levantine originally referred to the European residents of the eastern Mediterranean region, it came to refer to regional native. The English Levant Company was founded in 1581 to trade with the Ottoman Empire, at this time, the Far East was known as the Upper Levant. In early 19th-century travel writing, the term sometimes incorporated certain Mediterranean provinces of the Ottoman empire, in 19th-century archaeology, it referred to overlapping cultures in this region during and after prehistoric times, intending to reference the place instead of any one culture. The French mandate of Syria and Lebanon was called the Levant states, today, Levant is the term typically used by archaeologists and historians with reference to the history of the region. Scholars have adopted the term Levant to identify the region due to it being a wider, yet relevant, archaeologists seeking a neutral orientation that is neither biblical nor national have used terms such as Levantine archaeology and archaeology of the Southern Levant. Two academic journals were launched, Journal of Levantine Studies, published by the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute and The Levantine Review
Levant
–
The
Levantine Sea, the eastern portion of the
Mediterranean.
Levant
–
Countries of the Levant in the broad, historic meaning (equivalent to the
eastern Mediterranean)
Levant
–
French medal commemorating the
war in
Cilicia, which was initially part of the
French mandate.
Levant
–
Satellite view of part of the Levant including
Cyprus,
Israel,
Jordan,
Lebanon,
Palestine, and southern
Syria.
20.
Greece
–
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, historically also known as Hellas, is a country in southeastern Europe, with a population of approximately 11 million as of 2015. Athens is the capital and largest city, followed by Thessaloniki. Greece is strategically located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, situated on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the northeast. Greece consists of nine regions, Macedonia, Central Greece, the Peloponnese, Thessaly, Epirus, the Aegean Islands, Thrace, Crete. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of the mainland, the Ionian Sea to the west, the Cretan Sea and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Greece has the longest coastline on the Mediterranean Basin and the 11th longest coastline in the world at 13,676 km in length, featuring a vast number of islands, eighty percent of Greece is mountainous, with Mount Olympus being the highest peak at 2,918 metres. From the eighth century BC, the Greeks were organised into various independent city-states, known as polis, which spanned the entire Mediterranean region and the Black Sea. Greece was annexed by Rome in the second century BC, becoming a part of the Roman Empire and its successor. The Greek Orthodox Church also shaped modern Greek identity and transmitted Greek traditions to the wider Orthodox World, falling under Ottoman dominion in the mid-15th century, the modern nation state of Greece emerged in 1830 following a war of independence. Greeces rich historical legacy is reflected by its 18 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, among the most in Europe, Greece is a democratic and developed country with an advanced high-income economy, a high quality of life, and a very high standard of living. A founding member of the United Nations, Greece was the member to join the European Communities and has been part of the Eurozone since 2001. Greeces unique cultural heritage, large industry, prominent shipping sector. It is the largest economy in the Balkans, where it is an important regional investor, the names for the nation of Greece and the Greek people differ from the names used in other languages, locations and cultures. The earliest evidence of the presence of human ancestors in the southern Balkans, dated to 270,000 BC, is to be found in the Petralona cave, all three stages of the stone age are represented in Greece, for example in the Franchthi Cave. Neolithic settlements in Greece, dating from the 7th millennium BC, are the oldest in Europe by several centuries and these civilizations possessed writing, the Minoans writing in an undeciphered script known as Linear A, and the Mycenaeans in Linear B, an early form of Greek. The Mycenaeans gradually absorbed the Minoans, but collapsed violently around 1200 BC and this ushered in a period known as the Greek Dark Ages, from which written records are absent. The end of the Dark Ages is traditionally dated to 776 BC, the Iliad and the Odyssey, the foundational texts of Western literature, are believed to have been composed by Homer in the 7th or 8th centuries BC. With the end of the Dark Ages, there emerged various kingdoms and city-states across the Greek peninsula, in 508 BC, Cleisthenes instituted the worlds first democratic system of government in Athens
Greece
–
Fresco displaying the Minoan ritual of "bull leaping", found in
Knossos,
Crete.
Greece
–
Flag
Greece
–
The
Lion Gate,
Mycenae
Greece
–
The
Parthenon on the
Acropolis of Athens is one of the best known symbols of
classical Greece.
21.
Antioch
–
Antioch on the Orontes was an ancient Greco-Roman city on the eastern side of the Orontes River. Its ruins lie near the city of Antakya, Turkey. Antioch was founded near the end of the 4th century BC by Seleucus I Nicator, the citys geographical, military, and economic location benefited its occupants, particularly such features as the spice trade, the Silk Road, and the Persian Royal Road. It eventually rivaled Alexandria as the city of the Near East. It was also the center of Hellenistic Judaism at the end of the Second Temple period. Most of the development of Antioch was done during the Roman Empire. Antioch was called the cradle of Christianity as a result of its longevity, the Christian New Testament asserts that the name Christian first emerged in Antioch. It was one of the four cities of the Syrian tetrapolis, a single route proceeds south in the Orontes valley. The settlement of Meroe pre-dated Antioch, a shrine of the Semitic goddess Anat, called by Herodotus the Persian Artemis, was located here. This site was included in the suburbs of Antioch. There was a village on the spur of Mount Silpius named Io and this name was always adduced as evidence by Antiochenes anxious to affiliate themselves to the Attic Ionians—an eagerness which is illustrated by the Athenian types used on the citys coins. Io may have been an early colony of trading Greeks. John Malalas also mentions a village, Bottia, in the plain by the river. Macedonian ruler Alexander the Great is said to have camped on the site of Antioch and this account is found only in the writings of Libanius, a 4th-century orator from Antioch, and may be legend intended to enhance Antiochs status. But the story is not unlikely in itself, after Alexanders death in 323 BC, his generals divided up the territory he had conquered. Seleucus I Nicator won the territory of Syria, and he proceeded to found four sister cities in northwestern Syria, one of which was Antioch and he is reputed to have built sixteen Antiochs. Seleucus founded Antioch on a site chosen through ritual means, an eagle, the bird of Zeus, had been given a piece of sacrificial meat and the city was founded on the site to which the eagle carried the offering. Seleucus did this on the 22nd day of the month of Artemisios in the year of his reign
Antioch
–
Ancient
Roman road located in
Syria which connected Antioch and
Chalcis.
Antioch
–
Map of Antioch in Roman and early Byzantine times
Antioch
–
This
argenteus was struck in Antioch mint, under
Constantius Chlorus.
Antioch
–
The Antioch Chalice, first half of 6th century,
Metropolitan Museum of Art.
22.
Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch
–
The Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch, also known as the Antiochian Orthodox Church, is an autocephalous Greek Orthodox Church within the wider communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Headed by the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch, it itself the successor to the Christian community founded in Antioch by the Apostles Peter. The seat of the patriarchate was formerly Antioch, in what is now Turkey, however, in the 14th century, it was moved to Damascus, modern-day Syria, following the Ottoman invasion of Antioch. Its traditional territory includes Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Arab countries of the Persian Gulf and its territory formerly included the Church of Cyprus until the latter became autocephalous in 431. Both the Orthodox Churches of Antioch and Cyprus are members of the Middle East Council of Churches and its North American branch is autonomous, although the Holy Synod of Antioch still appoints its head bishop, chosen from a list of three candidates nominated in the North American archdiocese. Its Australasia and Oceania branch is the largest in terms of geographic area due to the large size of Australia. The head of the Orthodox Church of Antioch is called Patriarch, the present Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch is John X Yazigi, who presided over Archdiocese of Western and Central Europe. He was elected as primate of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and he succeeded Ignatius IV who had died on December 5,2012. Membership statistics are not available, but may be as high as 1,100,000 in Syria and 400,000 in Lebanon, the seat of the Patriarch in Damascus is the Mariamite Cathedral of Damascus. The Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch is one of several churches that claim to be the canonical incumbent of the ancient see of St. Peter. These three, however, mutually recognize each other as holding authentic patriarchates, being part of the same Catholic communion. The Roman Catholic Church also appointed titular Latin Rite patriarchs for many centuries, until the office was vacant in 1953 and abolished in 1964. The Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch claims the status of most ancient Christian church in the world, according to Luke the Evangelist- himself a Greco-Syrian member of that community, The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. St. Peter and St. Paul the Apostle are considered the cofounders of the Patriarchate of Antioch, when Peter left Antioch, Evodios and Ignatius took over the charge of the Patriarchate. Both Evodios and Ignatius died as martyrs under Roman persecution. D,70 and 130, were driven out from Jerusalem and Palestine into Syria. They were Greek-speaking Jews of the Diaspora, who returned to settle in Jerusalem, to identify them, Luke uses the term Hellenistai. When he had in mind Greeks, gentiles, non-Jews who spoke Greek and lived according to the Greek fashion, as the very context of Acts 6 makes clear, the Hellenistai are not Hellenes. These ethno-cultural and social tensions were eventually surmounted by the emergence of a new, typically Antiochian Greek doctrine spearheaded by Paul, established, autochthonous Hellenized Cilician-Western Syrian Jews,2
Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch
–
Coat of arms Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and all East
23.
Hellenistic
–
It is often considered a period of transition, sometimes even of decadence or degeneration, compared to the enlightenment of the Greek Classical era. The Hellenistic period saw the rise of New Comedy, Alexandrian poetry, the Septuagint, Greek science was advanced by the works of the mathematician Euclid and the polymath Archimedes. The religious sphere expanded to include new gods such as the Greco-Egyptian Serapis, eastern deities such as Attis and Cybele, the Hellenistic period was characterized by a new wave of Greek colonization which established Greek cities and kingdoms in Asia and Africa. This resulted in the export of Greek culture and language to new realms. Equally, however, these new kingdoms were influenced by the cultures, adopting local practices where beneficial, necessary. Hellenistic culture thus represents a fusion of the Ancient Greek world with that of the Near East, Middle East and this mixture gave rise to a common Attic-based Greek dialect, known as Koine Greek, which became the lingua franca through the Hellenistic world. Scholars and historians are divided as to what event signals the end of the Hellenistic era, Hellenistic is distinguished from Hellenic in that the first encompasses the entire sphere of direct ancient Greek influence, while the latter refers to Greece itself. The word originated from the German term hellenistisch, from Ancient Greek Ἑλληνιστής, from Ἑλλάς, Hellenistic is a modern word and a 19th-century concept, the idea of a Hellenistic period did not exist in Ancient Greece. Although words related in form or meaning, e. g, the major issue with the term Hellenistic lies in its convenience, as the spread of Greek culture was not the generalized phenomenon that the term implies. Some areas of the world were more affected by Greek influences than others. The Greek population and the population did not always mix, the Greeks moved and brought their own culture. While a few fragments exist, there is no surviving historical work which dates to the hundred years following Alexanders death. The works of the major Hellenistic historians Hieronymus of Cardia, Duris of Samos, the earliest and most credible surviving source for the Hellenistic period is Polybius of Megalopolis, a statesman of the Achaean League until 168 BC when he was forced to go to Rome as a hostage. His Histories eventually grew to a length of forty books, covering the years 220 to 167 BC, another important source, Plutarchs Parallel Lives though more preoccupied with issues of personal character and morality, outlines the history of important Hellenistic figures. Appian of Alexandria wrote a history of the Roman empire that includes information of some Hellenistic kingdoms, other sources include Justins epitome of Pompeius Trogus Historiae Philipicae and a summary of Arrians Events after Alexander, by Photios I of Constantinople. Lesser supplementary sources include Curtius Rufus, Pausanias, Pliny, in the field of philosophy, Diogenes Laertius Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers is the main source. Ancient Greece had traditionally been a collection of fiercely independent city-states. After the Peloponnesian War, Greece had fallen under a Spartan hegemony, in which Sparta was pre-eminent but not all-powerful
Hellenistic
–
The
Nike of Samothrace is considered one of the greatest masterpieces of
Hellenistic art.
Hellenistic
–
Alexander fighting the Persian king
Darius III. From the
Alexander Mosaic,
Naples National Archaeological Museum.
Hellenistic
–
Alexander's empire at the time of its maximum expansion.
24.
Near East
–
The Near East is a geographical term that roughly encompasses Western Asia. Despite having varying definitions within different academic circles, the term was applied to the maximum extent of the Ottoman Empire. The term has fallen into disuse in English and has replaced by the terms Middle East. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations defines the region similarly, but also includes Afghanistan while excluding the countries of North Africa and the Palestinian territories. Up until 1912 the Ottomans retained a band of territory including Albania, Macedonia and Southern Thrace, the Ottoman Empire, believed to be about to collapse, was portrayed in the press as the sick man of Europe. The Balkan states, with the exception of Bosnia and Albania, were primarily Christian. Starting in 1894 the Ottomans struck at the Armenians on the grounds that they were a non-Muslim people. The Hamidian Massacres aroused the indignation of the entire Christian world, in the United States the now aging Julia Ward Howe, author of the Battle Hymn of the Republic, leaped into the war of words and joined the Red Cross. Relations of minorities within the Ottoman Empire and the disposition of former Ottoman lands became known as the Eastern Question and it now became relevant to define the east of the eastern question. In about the middle of the 19th century Near East came into use to describe part of the east closest to Europe. The term Far East appeared contemporaneously meaning Japan, China, Korea, Indonesia, near East applied to what had been mainly known as the Levant, which was in the jurisdiction of the Ottoman Porte, or government. Those who used the term had little choice about its meaning and they could not set foot on most of the shores of the southern and central Mediterranean from the Gulf of Sidra to Albania without permits from the Ottoman Empire. Some regions beyond the Ottoman Porte were included, one was North Africa west of Egypt. It was occupied by piratical kingdoms of the Barbary Coast, de facto independent since the 18th century, formerly part of the empire at its apogee. Iran was included because it could not easily be reached except through the Ottoman Empire or neighboring Russia, in the 1890s the term tended to focus on the conflicts in the Balkan states and Armenia. The demise of the man of Europe left considerable confusion as to what was to be meant by Near East. It is now used only in historical contexts, to describe the countries of Western Asia from the Mediterranean to Iran. There is, in short, no universally understood fixed inventory of nations and they appear together in the journals of the mid-19th century
Near East
–
The Near East as defined as the
Ottoman Empire at the beginning of "
the eastern question ".
Near East
–
Inhabitants of the Near East, late 19th century
Near East
–
Ottoman Porte, 1767, gateway to trade with the Levant. Painting by
Antoine de Favray.
Near East
–
British troops, Crimea, 1855.
25.
Palestine (region)
–
Palestine is a geographic region in Western Asia between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. It is sometimes considered to include adjoining territories, the name was used by Ancient Greek writers, and was later used for the Roman province Syria Palaestina, the Byzantine Palaestina Prima, and the Islamic provincial district of Jund Filastin. The region comprises most of the claimed for the biblical regions known as the Land of Israel. Historically, it has known as the southern portion of wider regional designations such as Canaan, Syria, ash-Sham. The boundaries of the region have changed throughout history, today, the region comprises the State of Israel and the Palestinian territories in which the State of Palestine was declared. Modern archaeology has identified 12 ancient inscriptions from Egyptian and Assyrian records recording likely cognates of Hebrew Pelesheth, the term Peleset is found in five inscriptions referring to a neighboring people or land starting from c.1150 BCE during the Twentieth dynasty of Egypt. Neither the Egyptian nor the Assyrian sources provided clear regional boundaries for the term, approximately a century later, Aristotle used a similar definition for the region in Meteorology, in which he included the Dead Sea. The term is accepted to be a translation of the Biblical name Peleshet. The term is used in the Septuagint, who used a transliteration Land of Phylistieim different from the contemporary Greek place name Palaistínē. Following the Muslim conquest, place names that were in use by the Byzantine administration generally continued to be used in Arabic, Modern archaeologists and historians of the region refer to their field of study as Levantine archaeology. The region was among the earliest in the world to see human habitation, agricultural communities, during the Bronze Age, independent Canaanite city-states were established, and were influenced by the surrounding civilizations of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Phoenicia, Minoan Crete, and Syria. Between 1550–1400 BCE, the Canaanite cities became vassals to the Egyptian New Kingdom who held power until the 1178 BCE Battle of Djahy during the wider Bronze Age collapse. The region became part of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from c.740 BCE, in 539 BCE, the Babylonian empire was replaced by the Achaemenid Empire. In the 330s BCE, Macedonian ruler Alexander the Great conquered the region and it ultimately fell to the Seleucid Empire between 219–200 BCE. In 116 BCE, a Seleucid civil war resulted in the independence of certain regions including the Hasmonean principality in the Judaean Mountains, from 110 BCE, the Hasmoneans extended their authority over much of Palestine, creating a Judaean–Samaritan–Idumaean–Ituraean–Galilean alliance. The Judaean control over the region resulted in it also becoming known as Judaea. Between 73–63 BCE, the Roman Republic extended its influence into the region in the Third Mithridatic War, conquering Judea in 63 BCE, and splitting the former Hasmonean Kingdom into five districts. The three-year Ministry of Jesus, culminating in his crucifixion, is estimated to have occurred from 28–30 CE, in 70 CE, Titus sacked Jerusalem, resulting in the dispersal of the citys Jews and Christians to Yavne and Pella
Palestine (region)
–
A 1759 map entitled The Holy Land, or Palestine, showing not only the Ancient Kingdoms of Judah and Israel in which the 12 Tribes have been distinguished, but also their placement in different periods as indicated in the Holy Scriptures by Tobias Conrad
Lotter,
Geographer.
Augsburg,
Germany
Palestine (region)
–
Depiction of Biblical Palestine in c. 1020 BCE according to
George Adam Smith 's 1915 Atlas of the Historical Geography of the Holy Land. Smith's book was used as a reference by
Lloyd George during the negotiations for the
British Mandate for Palestine.
Palestine (region)
–
Herod's Temple in Jerusalem functioned as the spiritual center of the various sects of
Second Temple Judaism until it was destroyed in 70 CE. This picture shows the temple as imagined in 1966 in the
Holyland Model of Jerusalem.
Palestine (region)
–
The
Dome of the Rock, the world's first great work of
Islamic architecture, constructed in 691.
26.
Eastern Orthodox Church
–
The Eastern Orthodox Church teaches that it is the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church established by Jesus Christ in his Great Commission to the apostles. It practices what it understands to be the original Christian faith, the Eastern Orthodox Church is a communion of autocephalous churches, each typically governed by a Holy Synod. It teaches that all bishops are equal by virtue of their ordination, prior to the Council of Chalcedon in AD451, the Eastern Orthodox had also shared communion with the Oriental Orthodox churches, separating primarily over differences in Christology. Eastern Orthodoxy spread throughout the Roman and later Eastern Roman Empires and beyond, playing a prominent role in European, Near Eastern, Slavic, and some African cultures. As a result, the term Greek Orthodox has sometimes used to describe all of Eastern Orthodoxy in general. However, the appellation Greek was never in use and was gradually abandoned by the non-Greek-speaking Eastern Orthodox churches. Its most prominent episcopal see is Constantinople, there are also many in other parts of the world, formed through immigration, conversion and missionary activity. The official name of the Eastern Orthodox Church is the Orthodox Catholic Church and it is the name by which the church refers to itself in its liturgical or canonical texts, in official publications, and in official contexts or administrative documents. Orthodox teachers refer to the Church as Catholic and this name and longer variants containing Catholic are also recognized and referenced in other books and publications by secular or non-Orthodox writers. The common name of the Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, is a shortened practicality that helps to avoid confusions in casual use, for this reason, the eastern churches were sometimes identified as Greek, even before the great schism. After 1054, Greek Orthodox or Greek Catholic marked a church as being in communion with Constantinople and this identification with Greek, however, became increasingly confusing with time. Missionaries brought Orthodoxy to many regions without ethnic Greeks, where the Greek language was not spoken. Today, many of those same Roman churches remain, while a large number of Orthodox are not of Greek national origin. Eastern, then, indicates the element in the Churchs origin and development, while Orthodox indicates the faith. While the Church continues officially to call itself Catholic, for reasons of universality, the first known use of the phrase the catholic church occurred in a letter written about 110 AD from one Greek church to another. Quote of St Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans, Wheresoever the bishop shall appear, there let the people be, even as where Jesus may be, thus, almost from the very beginning, Christians referred to the Church as the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. The Orthodox Church claims that it is today the continuation and preservation of that same Church, a number of other Christian churches also make a similar claim, the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, the Assyrian Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches. The Church of England separated from the Roman Catholic Church, not directly from the Orthodox Church, the depth of this meaning in the Orthodox Church is registered first in its use of the word Orthodox itself, a union of Greek orthos and doxa
Eastern Orthodox Church
–
Orthodox liturgy
Eastern Orthodox Church
–
An
icon of
John the Baptist, 14th century, Macedonia
27.
Latin cross
–
This is a list of Christian cross variants. The Christian cross, with or without a figure of Christ included, is the religious symbol of Christianity. A cross with figure of Christ affixed to it is termed a crucifix, the term Greek cross designates a cross with arms of equal length, as in a plus sign, while the term Latin cross designates a cross with an elongated descending arm. Numerous other variants have developed during the medieval period. Christian crosses are used widely in churches, on top of buildings, on bibles, in heraldry, in personal jewelry, on hilltops. Crosses are a prominent feature of Christian cemeteries, either carved on gravestones or as sculpted stelae, roman Catholic, Anglican and Lutheran depictions of the cross are often crucifixes, in order to emphasize that it is Jesus that is important, rather than the cross in isolation. Large crucifixes are a prominent feature of some Lutheran churches, as illustrated in the article Rood, several Christian cross variants are available in computer-displayed text. The Latin cross symbol is included in the character set as 271D. For others, see Religious and political symbols in Unicode, basic variants, or early variants widespread since antiquity
Latin cross
–
7th-century Byzantine solidus, showing
Leontius holding a
globus cruciger, with a stepped cross on the obverse side.
Latin cross
–
Double-barred cross symbol as used in a 9th-century Byzantine seal
Latin cross
–
11th-century
Christ Pantokrator with a cross-shaped
halo.
Latin cross
28.
Patriarchal cross
–
The Patriarchal cross is a variant of the Christian cross, the religious symbol of Christianity. Similar to the familiar Latin cross, the Patriarchal cross possesses a smaller crossbar placed above the main one, sometimes the patriarchal cross has a short, slanted crosspiece near its foot. This slanted, lower crosspiece often appears in Byzantine Greek and Eastern European iconography, the Byzantine Christianization came to the Morava empire in the year 863, provided at the request of Rastislav sent Byzantine Emperor Michael III. The symbol, often referred to as the cross, appeared in the Byzantine Empire in large numbers in the 10th century. For a long time, it was thought to have given to Saint Stephen by the pope as the symbol of the apostolic Kingdom of Hungary. The two-barred cross is one of the elements in the coats of arms of Hungary since 1190. It appeared during the reign of King Béla III, who was raised in the Byzantine court, Béla was the son of Russian princess Eufrosina Mstislavovna. The cross appears floating in the coat of arms and on the coins from this era, in medieval Kingdom of Hungary was extended Byzantine Cyril-Methodian and western Latin church was expanded later. The two-barred cross in the Hungarian coat of arms comes from the source of Byzantine Empire in the 12th century. Unlike the ordinary Christian cross, the symbolism and meaning of the cross is not well understood. The top beam represents the plaque bearing the inscription Jesus of Nazareth, a popular view is that the slanted bottom beam is a foot rest, however there is no evidence of foot rests ever being used during crucifixion, and it has a deeper meaning. The bottom beam may represent a balance of justice, many symbolic interpretations of the double cross have been put forth. One of them says that the first horizontal line symbolized the secular power, also, that the first cross bar represents the death and the second cross the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Russian cross can be considered a version of the Patriarchal cross. One suggestion is the lower crossbeam represents the footrest to which the feet of Jesus were nailed, in some earlier representations the crossbar near the bottom is straight, or slanted upwards. In later Slavic and other traditions, it came to be depicted as slanted, during 1577–1625 the Russian use of the cross was between the heads of the double-headed eagle in the coat of arms of Russia. One tradition says that this comes from the idea that as Jesus Christ took his last breath, in this manner it also reminds the viewer of the Last Judgment. Another form of the cross was used by the Jagiellonian dynasty in Poland and this cross now features on the coat of arms of Lithuania, where it appears on the shield of the knight
Patriarchal cross
–
Saint Stephen, the first
King of Hungary (1000–1038).
Patriarchal cross
Patriarchal cross
–
Archangel Gabriel holds the
Holy Crown and the apostolic double cross as the symbols of Hungary,
Hősök tere, Budapest, Hungary
Patriarchal cross
–
Serbian Emperor
Stefan Dušan holding the patriarchal cross.
29.
Latin liturgical rites
–
Latin liturgical rites are the Catholic liturgical rites used within the Latin Church. The Latin rites were for centuries no less numerous than the liturgical rites of the Eastern autonomous particular Churches. Their number is now much reduced, in the aftermath of the Council of Trent, in 1568 and 1570 Pope Pius V suppressed the Breviaries and Missals that could not be shown to have an antiquity of at least two centuries. Many local rites that remained even after this decree were abandoned voluntarily, especially in the 19th century. The Roman Rite is by far the most widely used, like other liturgical rites, it developed over time, with newer forms replacing the older. It underwent many changes in the first millennium and a half of its existence, the forms that Pope Pius V, as requested by the Council of Trent, established in the 1560s and 1570s underwent repeated minor variations in the centuries immediately following. Each new typical edition of the Roman Missal and of the liturgical books superseded the previous one. The 20th century saw profound changes. Pope Pius X radically rearranged the Psalter of the Breviary and altered the rubrics of the Mass, later Popes continued to make such changes, beginning with Pope Pius XII, who significantly revised the Holy Week ceremonies and certain other aspects of the Roman Missal in 1955. The Second Vatican Council was followed by a revision of the rites of all the Roman Rite sacraments. As before, each new edition of an official liturgical book supersedes the previous one. Thus, the 1970 Roman Missal, which superseded the 1962 edition, was superseded by the edition of 1975, the 2002 edition in turn supersedes the 1975 edition both in Latin and, as official translations into each language appear, also in the vernacular languages. Under the terms of Summorum Pontificum by Pope Benedict XVI, the Mass of Paul VI is known as the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite. The Tridentine Mass, as in the 1962 Roman Missal, is authorized for use as an extraordinary form of the Roman Rite under the conditions indicated in the document Summorum Pontificum. The Anglican Use is a use of the Roman Rite, during the Liturgy of the Eucharist, especially the Eucharistic Prayer, it is closest to the Roman Rite, while it differs more during the Liturgy of the Word and the Penitential Rite. The language used, which differs from that of the ICEL translation of the Roman Rite of Mass, is based upon the Book of Common Prayer, most Anglican Use parishes use the Book of Divine Worship, an adaptation of the Book of Common Prayer. The Anglican Use is permitted under the United States Pastoral Provision of 1980 in several parishes of that country that have left the Episcopal Church. The same Pastoral Provision also permits, as an exception and on a case by case basis, on 9 November 2009, Pope Benedict XVI established provisions for the setting up of personal ordinariates for Anglicans who join the church
Latin liturgical rites
–
History
30.
Latin Church
–
The Latin Church, commonly called Roman Catholic Church, sometimes Western Church, is the largest autonomous particular church sui iuris within the Catholic Church, applying Latin liturgical rites. There are 24 such sui iuris particular churches within the Catholic Church, all the other particular churches sui iuris, of which there are 23, originated farther east and are, therefore, collectively known as the Eastern Catholic Churches. Because of the migrations, members of all of these particular churches sui iuris are no longer confined to their areas of origin. A person is a member of or belongs to a particular church, a person also inherits or is of, a particular patrimony or rite. Since the rite has liturgical, theological, spiritual and disciplinary elements, Particular churches that inherit and perpetuate a particular patrimony are identified by metonymy with that patrimony. Accordingly, rite has been defined as a division of the Christian church using a distinctive liturgy, is considered equal to the Latin rite within the Church. It thus used the rite as a technical designation of what may now be called a particular church. Church or rite is used as a single heading in the United States Library of Congress classification of works. The last known use was Pope Pius XII in Humani generis who taught that the Mystical Body of Christ and the Roman Catholic Church are one. Most ecclesiologists - experts in the theology of the Church itself - instead use Roman Catholic to refer exclusively to the Latin Church. The reasons for this are that each of the 24 Catholic Churches sui iuris have a modifier - Maronite, Ukrainian, Roman, etc. - and that Latin and Roman are virtually interchangeable. Further, as Adrian Fortescue noted in his article in the 1910 Catholic Encyclopedia, today, the most common Latin liturgical rites are the Roman Rite, the Ambrosian Rite, the Mozarabic Rite, and variations of the Roman Rite. The 23 Eastern Catholic Churches share five families of liturgical rites, the Latin liturgical rites, like the Armenian, are used only in a single sui iuris particular church. In the Eastern Churches these sacraments are usually administered immediately after baptism, celibacy, as a consequence of the duty to observe perfect continence, is obligatory for priests in the Latin Church. Rare exceptions are permitted for men who, after ministering as clergy in other churches and this contrasts with the discipline in most Eastern Catholic Churches. In the Latin Church, a man may not be admitted even to the diaconate unless he is legitimately destined to remain a deacon. Marriage after ordination is not possible, and attempting it can result in canonical penalties, Latin Mass Church of Rome Particular church General Roman Calendar Eastern Catholic Churches Catholic Encyclopedia, Latin Church
Latin Church
–
St. Peter's Basilica, burial place of
Saint Peter
Latin Church
–
St. Peter's Basilica,
Vatican City
31.
Armenian Rite
–
The Armenian Rite is an independent liturgy used by both the Armenian Apostolic and Armenian Catholic Churches. It is also the used by a significant number of Eastern Catholic Christians in the Republic of Georgia. The liturgy is patterned after the directives of Saint Gregory the Illuminator, founder, the Armenians are the only Eastern Church using wine without added water. The Armenians use unleavened bread for the Eucharist, from all the Armenian language anaphoras the only one currently in use is the anaphora of Athanasius of Alexandria. It became the standard anaphora of the Armenian church before the end of the 10th century and is a translation of the Greek version. In research it is attributed to Gregory of Nazianzus, or to an older version of the Armenian anaphora of St. Basil or seen as a composite text. Oriental Orthodox Churches Georgian Byzantine-Rite Catholics New Catholic Dictionary, Armenian Rite
Armenian Rite
–
The Armenian curtained main altar of Holy Etchmiadzin.
32.
East Syrian Rite
–
The East Syrian Rite, also called Syro-Oriental Rite, Assyrian Rite, or Persian Rite, is a Christian liturgy originated in Edessa, Mesopotamia. The latter two churches are Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the See of Rome, the Syrian and Mesopotamian Catholics are now commonly called Chaldeans. The term Chaldean, which in Syriac generally meant magician or astrologer, denoted in Latin and other European languages Syrian nationality, for Aramaic, it especially refers to that form which is found in certain chapters of Daniel. In recent times they have called, chiefly by the Anglicans, the Assyrian Church. Brightman, in his Liturgies Eastern and Western, includes Chaldean and Malabar Catholics, the Chaldean rite originally grew out of the Jerusalem–Antioch liturgy. The liturgy of the Church of the East is attributed to two, but it is said to have been revised by the Patriarch Yeshuyab III in about 650. Some, however, consider this liturgy to be a development of the Antiochian, after the First Council of Ephesus -- the third Ecumenical Council -- the Church of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, which had hitherto been governed by a catholicos, refused to condemn Nestorius. Therefore, As part of the Nestorian Schism, the Church of Seleucia-Ctesiphon cut itself off from Orthodox Christianity, however, At the end of the fourteenth century due to the conquests of Tamerlane and his destruction of Christian settlements across Asia. These remaining communities were later whittled away at in other events, due to these events, the Church of the East was turned into a small community of around 50,000 people in the Hakkari Mountains under the headship of the Shiumn line. There are three Anaphorae, those of the Holy Apostles, Mar Nestorius, and Mar Theodore the Interpreter, the first is the most popularly and extensively used. The third is used from Advent to Palm Sunday, the same pro-anaphoral part serves for all three. The Eucharistic Liturgy is preceded by a preparation, or Office of the Prothesis, the real leavening, however, is done by means of fermented dough from the preparation of the last Eucharistic Liturgy. The Chaldean and Syro-Malabar Catholics now use unleavened bread, the Liturgy itself is introduced by the first verse of the Gloria in Excelsis and the Lords prayer, with farcings, consisting of a form of the Sanctus. Then follow, The Introit Psalm, called Marmitha, with a prayer, varying for Sundays and greater feasts and for Memorials. In the Malabar Rite, Pss. xiv, cl, and cxvi are said in alternate verses by priests, the Antiphon of the Sanctuary, variable, with a similarly varying prayer. The Lakhumara, an antiphon beginning To Thee, Lord, which occurs in other services also preceded by a similarly varying prayer, in the Eastern Rite at low Mass the elements are put on the altar before the incensing. There are four or five Lections, the Law and the Prophecy, from the Old Testament, the Lection from the Acts, the Epistle, always from St. Paul, some days have all five lections, some four, some only three. All have an Epistle and a Gospel, but, generally, when there is a Lection from Law there is none from the Acts, sometimes there is none from either Law or Acts
East Syrian Rite
–
Illustration of Mar Elias, a bishop of the Church of the East, from the 18th–19th century
East Syrian Rite
–
A
Syro-Malabar Catholic bishop holding the Mar Thoma Cross which symbolizes the heritage and identity of the
Syrian Church of
Saint Thomas Christians of
India
East Syrian Rite
–
Amen in East Syriac Aramaic
33.
West Syrian Rite
–
It is part of the liturgical family known as the Antiochene Rite, which originated in the ancient Patriarchate of Antioch. This rite has a number of anaphoras - in fact. A regional variant, the Malankara Rite, developed in the Malankara Church of India, the many Greek terms that remain in the Syriac form suggest that this is derived from Greek. The version must have made very early, evidently before the schism occasioned by the Council of Chalcedon. Early sources, such as Peregrinatio Silviae describe the services at Jerusalem as being in Greek, as long as all Western Syria was one communion, the country dioceses followed the rite of the patriarch at Antioch, only changing the language. Modifications adopted at Antioch in Greek were copied in Syriac by those who said their prayers in the national tongue and this point is important because the Syriac Liturgy already contains all the changes brought to Antioch from Jerusalem. It is not the older pure Antiochene Rite, but the later Rite of Jerusalem-Antioch, the Liturgy of St. James, for example, prays first not for the Church of Antioch, but for the holy Sion, the mother of all churches, that is, Jerusalem. The earliest extant Syriac documents come from about the end of the 5th century and they contain valuable information about local forms of the Rite of Antioch-Jerusalem. The Syriac Orthodox Church kept a version of this rite which is obviously a local variant and its scheme and most of its prayers correspond to those of the Greek St. James, but it has amplifications and omissions such as is found in all local forms of early rites. It seems too that the Syriac Church made some modifications after the schism and this is certainly the case at one point, that of the Trisagion. One Syriac writer is James of Edessa, who wrote a letter to a priest Thomas comparing the Syrian Liturgy with that of Egypt and this letter is an exceedingly valuable and really critical discussion of the rite. A number of later Syriac writers followed James of Edessa, on the whole this church produced the first scientific students of liturgy. Benjamin of Edessa, Lazarus bar Sabhetha of Bagdad, Moses bar Kephas of Mosul, in the eighth and ninth centuries a controversy concerning the prayer at the Fraction produced much liturgical literature. The chronicle of a Syriac prelate, Patriarch Michael the Great, discusses the question, the oldest West Syriac liturgy extant is the one ascribed, as in its Greek form, to Saint James, the brother of the Lord. It is in the dialect of Edessa, the pro-anaphoral part of this is the Ordo communis to which the other later Anaphoras are joined. This follows the Greek St. James with these differences, All the vesting prayers and preparation of the offering are considerably expanded, and this part of the Liturgy is most subject to modification, it began as private prayer only. The Monogenes comes later, the litany before the lessons is missing, the Trisagion comes after the lessons from the Old Testament, it contains the addition, who wast crucified for us. This is the most famous characteristic of the Oriental Orthodox iteration of the rite, the litany between the lessons is represented by the phrase Kyrie eleison said thrice
West Syrian Rite
–
An Eastern Catholic
Cardinal of the
Syro-Malankara Catholic Church celebrating the Holy Qurbono
34.
Syriac Maronite Church
–
The Syriac Maronite Church is an Eastern Catholic sui iuris particular church of the Catholic Church. It came in communion with the Pope, with self-governance under the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches by the Patriarch of Antioch, officially known as the Syriac Maronite Church of Antioch al-Kanīsa al-Anṭākiyya al-Suryāniyya al-Mārūniyya), it is part of the Syriac Christianity by liturgy and heritage. Traditionally, the Maronite Church ministers to the Levant, particularly around Mount Lebanon, other centers of historical importance include Kfarhay, Yanouh, Mayfouq and Qadisha Valley. Establishment of the Maronite Church can be divided into three periods, from the 4th to the 7th centuries, a congregation movement, with Saint Maroun as an inspirational leader and patron saint marked the first period. The second began with the establishment of the Monastery of Saint Maroun on the Orontes and this monastery was described as the Greatest Monastery in the region of Secunda Syria, with more than 300 hermitages around it, according to ancient records. After 518, the de facto administered many parishes in Prima Syria. The Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch re-established their patriarchate in 751 AD, although reduced in numbers today, Maronites remain one of the principals ethno-religious groups in Lebanon, with smaller minorities of Maronites in Syria, Cyprus, Israel and Jordan. Over 3,198,600 Maronites practice the faith, Maron is considered the founder of the spiritual and monastic movement now called the Maronite Church. This movement has had an influence in Lebanon, and to a lesser degree in Syria, Jordan. Saint Maron spent his life on a mountain in Syria, generally believed to be Kefar-Nabo on the mountain of Ol-Yambos, thesix major traditions of the Catholic Church are Alexandrian, Antiochene, Armenian, Chaldean, Constantinopolitan, and Latin. The Maronite Church follows the Antiochene Tradition, a Roman Catholic may attend any Eastern Catholic Liturgy and fulfill his or her obligations at an Eastern Catholic Parish. That is, a Roman Catholic may join any Eastern Catholic Parish, Maronites who do not reside within a convenient distance to a local Maronite Church are permitted to attend other Catholic churches while retaining their Maronite membership. The Maronite Patriarchal Assembly identified five distinguishing marks of the Maronite Church and it is Chalcedonian, in that the Maronites were strong supporters of the Council of Chalcedon of 451. It is faithful to the See of Peter in Rome and it has strong ties to Lebanon. Many of his followers also lived a monastic lifestyle, following Marons death in 410 AD, his disciples built Beth-Maron monastery at Apamea. This formed the nucleus of the Maronite Church, in 452, after the Council of Chalcedon, the monastery was expanded by the Byzantine emperor Marcian. The Maronite movement reached Lebanon when St. Marons first disciple, Abraham of Cyrrhus, the Maronites subscribed to the beliefs of the Council of Chalcedon in 451. Monophysites of Antioch slew 350 monks and burned the monastery, although Justinian I later restored the walls, correspondence concerning the event brought the Maronites papal and orthodox recognition, indicated by a letter from Pope Hormisdas dated February 10,518
Syriac Maronite Church
–
Coat of arms of the Maronite Church. The
Latin saying "The glory of Lebanon is given to him" (
Isaiah 35:2) has been applied to the
Maronite Patriarch.
Syriac Maronite Church
–
Maronite monk and
pilgrims,
Mount Lebanon.
Syriac Maronite Church
–
1779 painting of a Maronite nun from Mount Lebanon, with brown jilbab, blue khumur and black hijab.
35.
Syriac language
–
Syriac /ˈsɪri. æk/, also known as Syriac Aramaic, is a dialect of Middle Aramaic that was once spoken across much of the Fertile Crescent and Eastern Arabia. Indeed, Syriac literature comprises roughly 90% of the extant Aramaic literature, Old Aramaic was adopted by the Neo-Assyrian Empire when they conquered the various Aramean city-kingdoms to its west. The Achaemenid Empire, which rose after the fall of the Assyrian Empire, also adopted Old Aramaic as its official language, during the course of the third and fourth centuries AD, the inhabitants of the region began to embrace Christianity. Along with Latin and Greek, Syriac became one of the three most important Christian languages in the centuries of the Christian Era. Primarily a Christian medium of expression, Syriac had a cultural and literary influence on the development of Arabic. Syriac remains the language of Syriac Christianity to this day. Syriac is a Middle Aramaic language and, as such, a language of the Northwestern branch of the Semitic family and it is written in the Syriac alphabet, a derivation of the Aramaic alphabet. Syriac was the local accent of Aramaic in Edessa, that evolved under the influence of Church of the East and it has been found as far afield as Hadrians Wall in Ancient Britain, with inscriptions written by Assyrian and Aramean soldiers of the Roman Empire. Modern Syriac/Modern Syriac Aramaic is an occasionally used to refer to the modern Eastern Aramaic languages. In this terminology, Modern Syriac is divided into, Modern Western Syriac Aramaic, note however that these are sometimes excluded from the category of Modern Syriac. The modern varieties are, therefore, not discussed in this article, in 132 BC, the kingdom of Osroene was founded in Edessa and Proto-Syriac evolved in that kingdom. Many Syriac-speakers still look to Edessa as the cradle of their language, there are about eighty extant early Syriac inscriptions, dated to the first three centuries AD. All of these examples of the language are non-Christian. As an official language, Syriac was given a relatively coherent form, style, in the 3rd century, churches in Edessa began to use Syriac as the language of worship. There is evidence that the adoption of Syriac, the language of the Assyrian people, was to effect mission, much literary effort was put into the production of an authoritative translation of the Bible into Syriac, the Peshitta. At the same time, Ephrem the Syrian was producing the most treasured collection of poetry, in 489, many Syriac-speaking Christians living in the eastern reaches of the Roman Empire fled to the Sassanid Empire to escape persecution and growing animosity with Greek-speaking Christians. The Christological differences with the Church of the East led to the bitter Nestorian schism in the Syriac-speaking world, as a result, Syriac developed distinctive western and eastern varieties. Syriac literature is by far the most prodigious of the various Aramaic languages and its corpus covers poetry, prose, theology, liturgy, hymnody, history, philosophy, science, medicine and natural history
Syriac language
–
Syriac Aramaic alphabet
Syriac language
–
Although once a major language in the
Fertile Crescent and
Bahrain, Syriac is now limited to the towns and villages in the
Nineveh plains,
Tur Abdin, the
Khabur plains, in and around the cities of
Mosul,
Irbil and
Kurkuk.
Syriac language
–
An 11th-century Syriac
manuscript.
Syriac language
–
Isho or Eesho, the
Aramaic name of
Jesus
36.
Council of Chalcedon
–
The Council of Chalcedon was a church council held from October 8 to November 1, AD451, at Chalcedon. The Council is numbered as the ecumenical council by the Great Church. A minority of Christians do not agree with the councils teachings and its most important achievement was to issue the Chalcedonian Definition. The Councils judgments and definitions regarding the divine marked a significant turning point in the Christological debates, Chalcedon was a city in Bithynia, on the Asian side of the Bosphorus, today the city it is part of the Republic of Turkey and is known as Kadıköy. The Council of Chalcedon issued the Chalcedonian Definition, which repudiated the notion of a nature in Christ. It also insisted on the completeness of his two natures, Godhead and manhood, the council also issued 27 disciplinary canons governing church administration and authority. In a further decree, later known as canon 28, the bishops declared that the See of Constantinople was, in honour, the teachings of the Council are accepted by the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Catholic Church, Old Catholics and various other Western Christian groups. As such, it is recognized as infallible in its dogmatic definitions by the Catholic, most Protestants also agree that the teachings regarding the Trinity and the Incarnation, as defined at Nicaea and Chalcedon, are orthodox doctrine to which they adhere. However, the Council is not accepted by the ancient Oriental Orthodox branch of the Church and this includes the Coptic, Ethiopian, Eritrean, Syriac, Malankara Syrian and Armenian Apostolic churches. They instead teach that The Lord Jesus Christ is God the Incarnate Word and he possesses the perfect Godhead and the perfect manhood. Nevertheless, the Oriental Orthodox churches refuse to accept the decrees of the Council regarding monophysitism, many Anglicans and most Protestants consider it to be the last authoritative ecumenical council. In 325, the first ecumenical council determined that Jesus Christ was God, consubstantial with the Father and this was reaffirmed at the First Council of Constantinople and the Council of Ephesus. After the Council of Ephesus had condemned Nestorianism, there remained a conflict between Patriarchs John of Antioch and Cyril of Alexandria, Cyril claimed that John remained Nestorian in outlook, while John claimed that Cyril held to the Apollinarian heresy. The two settled their differences under the mediation of the Bishop of Beroea, Acacius, on April 12,433, in the following year, Theodoret of Cyrrhus assented to this formula as well. He agreed to anathematize Nestorius as a heretic in 451, during the Council of Chalcedon and he claimed to be a faithful follower of Cyrils teaching, which was declared orthodox in the Union of 433. Cyril had taught that There is only one physis, since it is the Incarnation, Cyril had apparently understood the Greek word physis to mean approximately what the Latin word persona means, while most Greek theologians would have interpreted that word to mean natura. Thus, many understood Eutyches to be advocating Docetism, a sort of reversal of Arianism—where Arius had denied the divinity of Jesus. Cyrils orthodoxy was not called into question, since the Union of 433 had explicitly spoken of two physeis in this context, Leo I wrote that Eutyches error seemed to be more from a lack of skill on the matters than from malice
Council of Chalcedon
–
Fourth Ecumenical Council of Chalcedon, painting by
Vasily Surikov
Council of Chalcedon
–
Ministry of Jesus &
Apostolic Age
37.
List of Byzantine emperors
–
This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Emperors listed below up to Theodosius I in 395 were sole or joint rulers of the entire Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire was the direct legal continuation of the eastern half of the Roman Empire following the division of the Roman Empire in 395. All Byzantine emperors considered themselves to be the rightful Roman emperor in direct succession from Augustus, the title of all Emperors preceding Heraclius was officially Augustus, although other titles such as Dominus were also used. Their names were preceded by Imperator Caesar and followed by Augustus, following Heraclius, the title commonly became the Greek Basileus, which had formerly meant sovereign but was then used in place of Augustus. Following the establishment of the rival Holy Roman Empire in Western Europe, in later centuries, the Emperor could be referred to by Western Christians as the Emperor of the Greeks. Towards the end of the Empire, the standard formula of the Byzantine ruler was in Christ, Emperor. For Roman emperors before Constantine I, see List of Roman emperors, family tree of the Byzantine emperors List of Roman emperors List of Roman usurpers List of Byzantine usurpers List of Roman and Byzantine empresses
List of Byzantine emperors
–
Constantine XI
List of Byzantine emperors
–
Imperial insignia used by the
Palaiologos dynasty
List of Byzantine emperors
–
Constantine I "the Great" (Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Α' ὁ Μέγας, Latin: Gaius Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus)
List of Byzantine emperors
–
Constantius II (Κωνστάντιος [Β'], Flavius Iulius Constantius)
38.
Eastern Orthodoxy
–
The Eastern Orthodox Church teaches that it is the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church established by Jesus Christ in his Great Commission to the apostles. It practices what it understands to be the original Christian faith, the Eastern Orthodox Church is a communion of autocephalous churches, each typically governed by a Holy Synod. It teaches that all bishops are equal by virtue of their ordination, prior to the Council of Chalcedon in AD451, the Eastern Orthodox had also shared communion with the Oriental Orthodox churches, separating primarily over differences in Christology. Eastern Orthodoxy spread throughout the Roman and later Eastern Roman Empires and beyond, playing a prominent role in European, Near Eastern, Slavic, and some African cultures. As a result, the term Greek Orthodox has sometimes used to describe all of Eastern Orthodoxy in general. However, the appellation Greek was never in use and was gradually abandoned by the non-Greek-speaking Eastern Orthodox churches. Its most prominent episcopal see is Constantinople, there are also many in other parts of the world, formed through immigration, conversion and missionary activity. The official name of the Eastern Orthodox Church is the Orthodox Catholic Church and it is the name by which the church refers to itself in its liturgical or canonical texts, in official publications, and in official contexts or administrative documents. Orthodox teachers refer to the Church as Catholic and this name and longer variants containing Catholic are also recognized and referenced in other books and publications by secular or non-Orthodox writers. The common name of the Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, is a shortened practicality that helps to avoid confusions in casual use, for this reason, the eastern churches were sometimes identified as Greek, even before the great schism. After 1054, Greek Orthodox or Greek Catholic marked a church as being in communion with Constantinople and this identification with Greek, however, became increasingly confusing with time. Missionaries brought Orthodoxy to many regions without ethnic Greeks, where the Greek language was not spoken. Today, many of those same Roman churches remain, while a large number of Orthodox are not of Greek national origin. Eastern, then, indicates the element in the Churchs origin and development, while Orthodox indicates the faith. While the Church continues officially to call itself Catholic, for reasons of universality, the first known use of the phrase the catholic church occurred in a letter written about 110 AD from one Greek church to another. Quote of St Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans, Wheresoever the bishop shall appear, there let the people be, even as where Jesus may be, thus, almost from the very beginning, Christians referred to the Church as the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. The Orthodox Church claims that it is today the continuation and preservation of that same Church, a number of other Christian churches also make a similar claim, the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, the Assyrian Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches. The Church of England separated from the Roman Catholic Church, not directly from the Orthodox Church, the depth of this meaning in the Orthodox Church is registered first in its use of the word Orthodox itself, a union of Greek orthos and doxa
Eastern Orthodoxy
–
Orthodox liturgy
Eastern Orthodoxy
–
An
icon of
John the Baptist, 14th century, Macedonia
39.
Romaioi
–
Throughout the Middle Ages, the Byzantine Greeks self-identified as Rhōmaîoi and Graikoí, but are referred to as Byzantines and Byzantine Greeks in modern historiography. The terms Byzantine Empire and Byzantine Greeks were first coined in the English language in 1857 by British historian George Finlay, the social structure of the Byzantine Greeks was primarily supported by a rural, agrarian base that consisted of the peasantry, and a small fraction of the poor. These peasants lived within three kinds of settlements, the chorion or village, the agridion or hamlet, and the proasteion or estate. Many civil disturbances that occurred during the time of the Byzantine Empire were attributed to political factions within the Empire rather than to large popular base. Soldiers among the Byzantine Greeks were at first conscripted amongst the rural peasants, as the Byzantine Empire entered the 11th century, more of the soldiers within the army were either professional men-at-arms or mercenaries. Until the twelfth century, education within the Byzantine Greek population was more advanced than in the West, particularly at primary school level, success came easily to Byzantine Greek merchants, who enjoyed a very strong position in international trade. Despite the challenges posed by rival Italian merchants, they held their own throughout the half of the Byzantine Empires existence. The clergy also held a place, not only having more freedom than their Western counterparts. This position of strength had built up over time, for at the beginning of the Byzantine Empire, under Emperor Constantine the Great, only a part, about 10%. The language of the Byzantine Greeks since the age of Constantine had been Greek, from the reign of Emperor Heraclius, Greek was the predominant language amongst the populace and also replaced Latin in administration. Over time, the relationship between them and the West, particularly with Latin Europe, deteriorated, relations were further damaged by a schism between the Catholic West and Orthodox East that led to the Byzantine Greeks being labeled as heretics in the West. However, the Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire, during most of the Middle Ages, the Byzantine Greeks self-identified as Rhōmaîoi, a term which in the Greek language had become synonymous with Christian Greeks. The ancient name Hellenes was in popular use synonymous to pagan and was revived as an ethnonym in the Middle Byzantine period, the term Byzantines or Byzantine Greeks is an exonym applied by later historians like Hieronymus Wolf, the Byzantines continued to call themselves Romaioi in their language. Most historians agree that the features of their civilization were, 1) Greek language, culture, literature. The Eastern Roman Empire was in language and civilization a Greek society, the term Byzantine has been adopted by Western scholarship on the assumption that anything Roman is essentially Western. However, modern Greeks still use the ethnonyms Romaioi and Graikoi to refer to themselves, as well as the terms Romaica, byzantinist August Heisenberg defined the Byzantine Empire as the Christianised Roman empire of the Greek nation. Byzantium was primarily known as the Empire of the Greeks by Western Europeans due to the predominance of Greek linguistic, cultural, many Greek Orthodox populations, particularly those outside the newly independent modern Greek state, continued to refer to themselves as Romioi well into the 20th century. Some of the children ran to see what Greek soldiers looked like
Romaioi
–
Byzantine culture
Romaioi
–
Soldier wearing the lamellar klivanion cuirass and a straight spathion sword.
Romaioi
–
A page of 5th or 6th century
Iliad like the one a grammarian might possess.
Romaioi
–
Scenes of marriage and family life in Constantinople.
40.
Acts of the Apostles
–
The Acts of the Apostles, often referred to simply as Acts, is the fifth book of the New Testament, it tells of the founding of the Christian church and the spread of its message to the Roman Empire. Acts and the Gospel of Luke make up a work, Luke–Acts, by the same anonymous author. The first part, the Gospel of Luke, tells how God fulfilled his plan for the salvation through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. Acts continues the story of Christianity in the 1st century, beginning with Jesuss Ascension to Heaven, the early chapters, set in Jerusalem, describe the Day of Pentecost and the growth of the church in Jerusalem. Initially the Jews are receptive to the Christian message, but soon turn against the followers of Jesus. Rejected by the Jews, under the guidance of the Apostle Peter the message is taken to the Gentiles. The later chapters tell of Pauls conversion, his mission in Asia Minor and the Aegean, and finally his imprisonment in Rome, the title Acts of the Apostles was first used by Irenaeus in the late 2nd century. It is not known whether this was a title or one invented by Irenaeus, it does seem clear, however. The Gospel of Luke and Acts make up a work which scholars call Luke–Acts. The author is not named in either volume. )He admired Paul, the earliest possible date for the composition of Acts is set by the events with which it ends, Pauls imprisonment in Rome c.63 AD, but an early date is now rarely put forward. In either case there is evidence that it was still being revised well into the 2nd century. Luke aligned his work, Luke–Acts, to the narratives which many others had written, Acts, the second part, is widely thought of as a history, but it lacks exact analogies in Hellenistic or Jewish literature. The title Acts of the Apostles would seem to identify it with the telling of the deeds and achievements of great men. By and large the sources for Acts can only be guessed at, but Luke would have had access to the Septuagint, the gospel of Mark and the collection of sayings of Jesus called the Q source. )There are also points of contacts with 1 Peter, the Letter to the Hebrews, and 1 Clement. Other sources can only be inferred from internal evidence—the traditional explanation of the three we passages, for example, is that they represent eye-witness accounts, the search for such inferred sources was popular in the 19th century, but by the mid-20th it had largely been abandoned. Acts was read as a history of the early church well into the post-Reformation era. The mid-19th century scholar Ferdinand Baur suggested that Luke had re-written history to present a united Peter and Paul, Baur continues to have enormous influence, but today there is less interest in determining Lukes historical accuracy than in understanding his theological program. Luke was written to be read aloud to a group of Jesus-followers gathered in a house to share the Lords supper, the author assumes an educated Greek-speaking audience, but directs his attention to specifically Christian concerns rather than to the Greco-Roman world at large
Acts of the Apostles
–
Books of the
New Testament
Acts of the Apostles
–
Ministry of the Apostles:
Russian icon by
Fyodor Zubov, 1660
Acts of the Apostles
–
Acts 1:1-2a from the 14th century
Minuscule 223
Acts of the Apostles
–
Paul's conversion, from Livre d'Heures d'Étienne Chevalier (c. 1450–1460),
Jean Fouquet, in the
Château de Chantilly.
41.
Episcopal See
–
An episcopal see is, in the usual meaning of the phrase, the area of a bishops ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the significance of the term. The word see is derived from Latin sedes, which in its original or proper sense denotes the seat or chair that, the word throne is also used, especially in the Eastern Orthodox Church, both for the seat and for the area of ecclesiastical jurisdiction. The term see is also used of the town where the cathedral or the residence is located. Within Roman Catholicism, each diocese is considered to be a See unto itself with an allegiance to the See of Rome. The idea of a See as an entity is somewhat complicated due to the existence of the 23 Particular churches of the Roman Catholic Church. The Western Church and its Eastern Counterparts all reserve some level of autonomy within their particular See, the episcopal see of the Pope, the Bishop of Rome, is known as the Holy See or the Apostolic See, claiming Papal supremacy. The view of the Catholic Church contrasted by the Eastern Catholic idea of Pentarchy, followed by Eastern Orthodox opposition to papal supremacy
Episcopal See
–
The seat or cathedra of the Bishop of Rome in the Basilica of
San Giovanni in Laterano
42.
Koine Greek
–
It was based mainly on Attic and related Ionic speech forms, with various admixtures brought about through dialect levelling with other varieties. Koine Greek displayed a wide spectrum of different styles, ranging from more conservative literary forms to the vernaculars of the time. As the dominant language of the Byzantine Empire, it developed further into Medieval Greek, Koine Greek remained the court language of the Byzantine Empire until its dissolution in 1453, while Medieval and eventually Modern Greek were the everyday language. Literary Koine was the medium of much of post-classical Greek literary and scholarly writing, such as the works of Plutarch, Koine is also the language of the Christian New Testament, of the Septuagint, and of most early Christian theological writing by the Church Fathers. In this context, Koine Greek is also known as Biblical, New Testament and it continues to be used as the liturgical language of services in the Greek Orthodox Church. The word koinē is the Greek word for common, and is understood as referring to the common dialect. The word is pronounced /kɔɪˈneɪ/, /ˈkɔɪneɪ/ or /kiːˈniː/ in US English, the pronunciation of the word in Koine gradually changed from Greek pronunciation, to Greek pronunciation. Its pronunciation in Modern Greek is, the term was applied in several different senses by ancient scholars. Others chose to refer to Koine as the Alexandrian dialect or the dialect of Alexandria, the former was often used by modern classicists. Koine Greek arose as a dialect within the armies of Alexander the Great. Under the leadership of Macedon, their newly formed common variety was spoken from the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt to the Seleucid Empire of Mesopotamia and it replaced existing ancient Greek dialects with an everyday form that people anywhere could understand. The passage into the period, known as Medieval Greek. The post-Classical period of Greek thus refers to the creation and evolution of Koine Greek throughout the entire Hellenistic, the linguistic roots of the Common Greek dialect had been unclear since ancient times. During the Hellenistic period, most scholars thought of Koine as the result of the mixture of the four main Ancient Greek dialects, ἡ ἐκ τῶν τεττάρων συνεστῶσα. The view accepted by most scholars today was given by the Greek linguist Georgios Hatzidakis, who showed that, despite the composition of the Four, the stable nucleus of Koine Greek is Attic. In other words, Koine Greek can be regarded as Attic with the admixture of elements especially from Ionic, the degree of importance of the non-Attic linguistic elements on Koine can vary depending on the region of the Hellenistic World. The literary Koine of the Hellenistic age resembles Attic in such a degree that it is mentioned as Common Attic. Koine Greek was therefore considered a form of Greek which was not worthy of attention
Koine Greek
–
Papyrus 46 is one of the oldest extant
New Testament manuscripts in
Greek, written on
papyrus, with its 'most probable date' between 175-225.
Koine Greek
–
Dark blue: areas where Greek speakers probably were a majority. Light blue: areas that were Hellenized. [
when?] [
citation needed]
43.
St. Luke
–
Luke the Evangelist is one of the Four Evangelists—the four traditionally ascribed authors of the canonical Gospels. The New Testament mentions Luke briefly a few times, and the Pauline epistle to the Colossians refers to him as a doctor, Christians since the faiths early years have regarded him as a saint. He is believed to have been a martyr, reportedly as having been hanged in an olive tree, though some believe otherwise. Many scholars believe that Luke was a Greek physician who lived in the Greek city of Antioch in Ancient Syria, though other scholars. Bart Koet for instance considered it as widely accepted that the theology of Luke–Acts points to a gentile Christian writing for a gentile audience, gregory Sterling though, claims that he was either a Hellenistic Jew or a god-fearer. His earliest notice is in Pauls Epistle to Philemon—Philemon 1,24 and he is also mentioned in Colossians 4,14 and 2Timothy 4,11, two works commonly ascribed to Paul. He had become a disciple of the apostle Paul and later followed Paul until his martyrdom, having served the Lord continuously, unmarried and without children, filled with the Holy Spirit he died at the age of 84 years. If one accepts that Luke was in fact the author of the Gospel bearing his name and also the Acts of the Apostles, the we section of Acts continues until the group leaves Philippi, when his writing goes back to the third person. This change happens again when the returns to Philippi. There are three we sections in Acts, all following this rule, Luke never stated, however, that he lived in Troas, and this is the only evidence that he did. The composition of the writings, as well as the range of vocabulary used, a quote in the Letter of Paul to the Colossians differentiates between Luke and other colleagues of the circumcision. 10 My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark,11 Jesus, who is called Justus, also sends greetings. These are the only Jews among my co-workers for the kingdom of God,14 Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send greetings. This comment has traditionally caused commentators to conclude that Luke was a Gentile, if this were true, it would make Luke the only writer of the New Testament who can clearly be identified as not being Jewish. However, that is not the only possibility, although Luke is considered likely to be a Gentile Christian, some scholars believe him to be a Hellenized Jew. The phrase could just as easily be used to differentiate between those Christians who strictly observed the rituals of Judaism and those who did not. Lukes presence in Rome with the Apostle Paul near the end of Pauls life was attested by 2 Timothy 4,11, Only Luke is with me. In the last chapter of the Book of Acts, widely attributed to Luke, we find several accounts in the first person also affirming Lukes presence in Rome including Acts 28,16, And when we came to Rome
St. Luke
–
detail of the St. Luke altarpiece by
Andrea Mantegna
St. Luke
–
Base of a pillar at
Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus,
Puducherry, India
St. Luke
–
James Tissot, Saint Luke (Saint Luc),
Brooklyn Museum
St. Luke
–
Luke as depicted in the head-piece of an Armenian Gospel manuscript from 1609 held at the
Bodleian Library
44.
Pentarchy
–
Pentarchy is a model historically championed in Eastern Christianity as a model of church relations and administration as expressed by the laws of Emperor Justinian I of the Byzantine Empire. In the model, the Christian church is governed by the heads of the five major episcopal sees of the Roman Empire, Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, the pentarchy was first tangibly expressed in the laws of Emperor Justinian I, particularly in Novella 131. The Quinisext Council of 692 gave it formal recognition and ranked the sees in order of preeminence, Rome, Alexandria and Antioch were prominent from the time of early Christianity, while Constantinople came to the fore upon becoming the imperial residence in the 4th century. Thereafter it was ranked just after Rome. Jerusalem received a place due to the citys importance in the early days of Christianity. Within the empire they recognized only the Chalcedonian incumbents, regarding as illegitimate the non-Chalcedonian claimants of Alexandria, infighting among the sees, and particularly the rivalry between Rome and Constantinople prevented the pentarchy from ever becoming a functioning administrative reality. In the Apostolic Age the Christian Church comprised a number of local Churches that in the initial years looked to the first church at Jerusalem as its main centre. But by the 4th century it had developed a system whereby the bishop of the capital of each civil province normally held certain rights over the bishops of the cities of the province. Of the three sees that the First Council of Nicaea was to recognize as having such extraprovincial power, the church in Rome intervened in other communities to help resolve conflicts. Pope Clement I did so in Corinth in the end of the 1st century, in the beginning of 2nd century, Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, speaks of the Church of Rome as presiding in the region of the Romans. In the end of century, Pope Victor I threatened to excommunicate the Eastern bishops who continued to celebrate Easter on 14 Nisan. Bishops participating in councils held at Antioch in the middle of the 3rd century came not only from Syria, but also from Palestine, Arabia, and eastern Asia Minor. Dionysius of Alexandria spoke of these bishops as forming the episcopate of the Orient, mentioning Demetrian, bishop of Antioch, in Egypt and the nearby African territories the bishop of Alexandria was at first the only metropolitan. When other metropolitan sees were established there, the bishop of Alexandria became known as the arch-metropolitan, in the mid-3rd century, Heraclas of Alexandria exercised his power as arch-metropolitan by deposing and replacing the Bishop of Thmuis. In speaking of Antioch, it also spoke generically about other provinces, in this system, the bishop of the capital of each Roman province possessed certain rights with regard to the bishops of other cities of the province. In the interpretation of John H and this prerogative of honour did not entail jurisdiction outside his own diocese. The Emperor Theodosius I, who called the Council, divided the eastern Roman Empire into five dioceses, Egypt, the East, Asia, Pontus, Jerusalem was not put at the head of any of the five dioceses. The Western bishops took no part in the First Council of Constantinople, the Council of Chalcedon, which marked a serious defeat of Alexandria, gave recognition, in its 28th canon, to Constantinoples extension of its power over Pontus and Asia in addition to Thrace
Pentarchy
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Map of Justinian's Pentarchy, with almost all of modern Greece under Rome. Emperor Leo III Isauros moved the border of the Constantinopolitan patriarchate westward and northward in the 8th century.
45.
Alexandria
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Alexandria is the second largest city and a major economic centre in Egypt, extending about 32 km along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country. Its low elevation on the Nile delta makes it vulnerable to rising sea levels. Alexandria is Egypts largest seaport, serving approximately 80% of Egypts imports and exports and it is an important industrial center because of its natural gas and oil pipelines from Suez. Alexandria is also an important tourist destination, Alexandria was founded around a small Ancient Egyptian town c.331 BC by Alexander the Great. Alexandria was the second most powerful city of the ancient world after Rome, Alexandria is believed to have been founded by Alexander the Great in April 331 BC as Ἀλεξάνδρεια. Alexanders chief architect for the project was Dinocrates, Alexandria was intended to supersede Naucratis as a Hellenistic center in Egypt, and to be the link between Greece and the rich Nile valley. The city and its museum attracted many of the greatest scholars, including Greeks, Jews, the city was later plundered and lost its significance. Just east of Alexandria, there was in ancient times marshland, as early as the 7th century BC, there existed important port cities of Canopus and Heracleion. The latter was rediscovered under water. An Egyptian city, Rhakotis, already existed on the shore also and it continued to exist as the Egyptian quarter of the city. A few months after the foundation, Alexander left Egypt and never returned to his city, after Alexanders departure, his viceroy, Cleomenes, continued the expansion. Although Cleomenes was mainly in charge of overseeing Alexandrias continuous development, the Heptastadion, inheriting the trade of ruined Tyre and becoming the center of the new commerce between Europe and the Arabian and Indian East, the city grew in less than a generation to be larger than Carthage. In a century, Alexandria had become the largest city in the world and and it became Egypts main Greek city, with Greek people from diverse backgrounds. Alexandria was not only a center of Hellenism, but was home to the largest urban Jewish community in the world. The Septuagint, a Greek version of the Tanakh, was produced there, in AD115, large parts of Alexandria were destroyed during the Kitos War, which gave Hadrian and his architect, Decriannus, an opportunity to rebuild it. On 21 July 365, Alexandria was devastated by a tsunami, the Islamic prophet, Muhammads first interaction with the people of Egypt occurred in 628, during the Expedition of Zaid ibn Haritha. He sent Hatib bin Abi Baltaeh with a letter to the king of Egypt and Alexandria called Muqawqis In the letter Muhammad said, I invite you to accept Islam, Allah the sublime, shall reward you doubly. But if you refuse to do so, you bear the burden of the transgression of all the Copts
Alexandria
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Alexandria Ἀλεξάνδρεια
Alexandria
Alexandria
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Residential neighborhood in Alexandria
Alexandria
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Fishing in Alexandria
46.
Jerusalem
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Jerusalem is a city located on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is considered a city in the three major Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. During its long history, Jerusalem has been destroyed at least twice, besieged 23 times, attacked 52 times, the part of Jerusalem called the City of David was settled in the 4th millennium BCE. In 1538, walls were built around Jerusalem under Suleiman the Magnificent, today those walls define the Old City, which has been traditionally divided into four quarters—known since the early 19th century as the Armenian, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim Quarters. The Old City became a World Heritage Site in 1981, and is on the List of World Heritage in Danger, Modern Jerusalem has grown far beyond the Old Citys boundaries. These foundational events, straddling the dawn of the 1st millennium BCE, the sobriquet of holy city was probably attached to Jerusalem in post-exilic times. The holiness of Jerusalem in Christianity, conserved in the Septuagint which Christians adopted as their own authority, was reinforced by the New Testament account of Jesuss crucifixion there, in Sunni Islam, Jerusalem is the third-holiest city, after Mecca and Medina. As a result, despite having an area of only 0, outside the Old City stands the Garden Tomb. Today, the status of Jerusalem remains one of the issues in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. During the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, West Jerusalem was among the captured and later annexed by Israel while East Jerusalem, including the Old City, was captured. Israel captured East Jerusalem from Jordan during the 1967 Six-Day War and subsequently annexed it into Jerusalem, one of Israels Basic Laws, the 1980 Jerusalem Law, refers to Jerusalem as the countrys undivided capital. All branches of the Israeli government are located in Jerusalem, including the Knesset, the residences of the Prime Minister and President, the international community does not recognize Jerusalem as Israels capital, and the city hosts no foreign embassies. Jerusalem is also home to some non-governmental Israeli institutions of importance, such as the Hebrew University. In 2011, Jerusalem had a population of 801,000, of which Jews comprised 497,000, Muslims 281,000, a city called Rušalim in the Execration texts of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt is widely, but not universally, identified as Jerusalem. Jerusalem is called Urušalim in the Amarna letters of Abdi-Heba, the name Jerusalem is variously etymologized to mean foundation of the god Shalem, the god Shalem was thus the original tutelary deity of the Bronze Age city. The form Yerushalem or Yerushalayim first appears in the Bible, in the Book of Joshua, according to a Midrash, the name is a combination of Yhwh Yireh and the town Shalem. The earliest extra-biblical Hebrew writing of the word Jerusalem is dated to the sixth or seventh century BCE and was discovered in Khirbet Beit Lei near Beit Guvrin in 1961. The inscription states, I am Yahweh thy God, I will accept the cities of Judah and I will redeem Jerusalem, or as other scholars suggest, the mountains of Judah belong to him, to the God of Jerusalem
Jerusalem
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From upper left: Jerusalem skyline viewed from Givat ha'Arba,
Mamilla, the
Old City and the
Dome of the Rock, a
souq in the
Old City, the
Knesset, the
Western Wall, the
Tower of David and the
Ottoman Old City walls
Jerusalem
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Hebrew: יְרוּשָׁלַיִם (Yerushalayim)
Arabic: القُدس (al-Quds)
Aramaic: יְרוּשְׁלֶם (Yərushəlem)
Jerusalem
Jerusalem
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Stepped Stone Structure in
Ophel /
City of David, the oldest part of Jerusalem
47.
Greek language
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Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece and other parts of the Eastern Mediterranean. It has the longest documented history of any living language, spanning 34 centuries of written records and its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the major part of its history, other systems, such as Linear B and the Cypriot syllabary, were used previously. The alphabet arose from the Phoenician script and was in turn the basis of the Latin, Cyrillic, Armenian, Coptic, Gothic and many other writing systems. Together with the Latin texts and traditions of the Roman world, during antiquity, Greek was a widely spoken lingua franca in the Mediterranean world and many places beyond. It would eventually become the official parlance of the Byzantine Empire, the language is spoken by at least 13.2 million people today in Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Albania, Turkey, and the Greek diaspora. Greek roots are used to coin new words for other languages, Greek. Greek has been spoken in the Balkan peninsula since around the 3rd millennium BC, the earliest written evidence is a Linear B clay tablet found in Messenia that dates to between 1450 and 1350 BC, making Greek the worlds oldest recorded living language. Among the Indo-European languages, its date of earliest written attestation is matched only by the now extinct Anatolian languages, the Greek language is conventionally divided into the following periods, Proto-Greek, the unrecorded but assumed last ancestor of all known varieties of Greek. The unity of Proto-Greek would have ended as Hellenic migrants entered the Greek peninsula sometime in the Neolithic era or the Bronze Age, Mycenaean Greek, the language of the Mycenaean civilisation. It is recorded in the Linear B script on tablets dating from the 15th century BC onwards, Ancient Greek, in its various dialects, the language of the Archaic and Classical periods of the ancient Greek civilisation. It was widely known throughout the Roman Empire, after the Roman conquest of Greece, an unofficial bilingualism of Greek and Latin was established in the city of Rome and Koine Greek became a first or second language in the Roman Empire. The origin of Christianity can also be traced through Koine Greek, Medieval Greek, also known as Byzantine Greek, the continuation of Koine Greek in Byzantine Greece, up to the demise of the Byzantine Empire in the 15th century. Much of the written Greek that was used as the language of the Byzantine Empire was an eclectic middle-ground variety based on the tradition of written Koine. Modern Greek, Stemming from Medieval Greek, Modern Greek usages can be traced in the Byzantine period and it is the language used by the modern Greeks, and, apart from Standard Modern Greek, there are several dialects of it. In the modern era, the Greek language entered a state of diglossia, the historical unity and continuing identity between the various stages of the Greek language is often emphasised. Greek speakers today still tend to regard literary works of ancient Greek as part of their own rather than a foreign language and it is also often stated that the historical changes have been relatively slight compared with some other languages. According to one estimation, Homeric Greek is probably closer to demotic than 12-century Middle English is to modern spoken English, Greek is spoken by about 13 million people, mainly in Greece, Albania and Cyprus, but also worldwide by the large Greek diaspora. Greek is the language of Greece, where it is spoken by almost the entire population
Greek language
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Idealized portrayal of
Homer
Greek language
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regions where Greek is the official language
Greek language
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Greek language road sign, A27 Motorway, Greece
48.
Arabic
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Arabic is a Central Semitic language that was first spoken in Iron Age northwestern Arabia and is now the lingua franca of the Arab world. Arabic is also the language of 1.7 billion Muslims. It is one of six languages of the United Nations. The modern written language is derived from the language of the Quran and it is widely taught in schools and universities, and is used to varying degrees in workplaces, government, and the media. The two formal varieties are grouped together as Literary Arabic, which is the language of 26 states. Modern Standard Arabic largely follows the standards of Quranic Arabic. Much of the new vocabulary is used to denote concepts that have arisen in the post-Quranic era, Arabic has influenced many languages around the globe throughout its history. During the Middle Ages, Literary Arabic was a vehicle of culture in Europe, especially in science, mathematics. As a result, many European languages have borrowed many words from it. Many words of Arabic origin are found in ancient languages like Latin. Balkan languages, including Greek, have acquired a significant number of Arabic words through contact with Ottoman Turkish. Arabic has also borrowed words from languages including Greek and Persian in medieval times. Arabic is a Central Semitic language, closely related to the Northwest Semitic languages, the Ancient South Arabian languages, the Semitic languages changed a great deal between Proto-Semitic and the establishment of the Central Semitic languages, particularly in grammar. Innovations of the Central Semitic languages—all maintained in Arabic—include, The conversion of the suffix-conjugated stative formation into a past tense, the conversion of the prefix-conjugated preterite-tense formation into a present tense. The elimination of other prefix-conjugated mood/aspect forms in favor of new moods formed by endings attached to the prefix-conjugation forms, the development of an internal passive. These features are evidence of descent from a hypothetical ancestor. In the southwest, various Central Semitic languages both belonging to and outside of the Ancient South Arabian family were spoken and it is also believed that the ancestors of the Modern South Arabian languages were also spoken in southern Arabia at this time. To the north, in the oases of northern Hijaz, Dadanitic and Taymanitic held some prestige as inscriptional languages, in Najd and parts of western Arabia, a language known to scholars as Thamudic C is attested
Arabic
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The Galland Manuscript of
One Thousand and One Nights, 14th century
Arabic
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Arabic is the sole official language
Arabic
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Bilingual traffic sign in
Qatar.
Arabic
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Examples of how the Arabic root and form system works.
49.
Coptic language
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Coptic or Coptic Egyptian is the latest stage of the Egyptian language, a northern Afroasiatic language spoken in Egypt until at least the 17th century. Several distinct Coptic dialects are identified, the most prominent of which are Sahidic, originating in parts of Upper Egypt, Coptic and Demotic are grammatically closely related to Late Egyptian, which was written with Egyptian hieroglyphs. Coptic flourished as a language from the second to thirteenth centuries. It was supplanted by Egyptian Arabic as a spoken language toward the modern period. The native Coptic name for the language is ϯⲙⲉⲧⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ /timetremenˈkʰeːmi/ in the Bohairic dialect, the particle prefix met- from the verb ⲙⲟⲩϯ mouti forms all abstract nouns in Coptic. Thus, the whole expression literally means language of the people of Egypt, another name by which the language has been called is ⲧⲙⲛ̄ⲧⲕⲩⲡⲧⲁⲓⲟⲛ /timentkuptaion/ from the Copto-Greek form ⲧⲙⲛ̄ⲧⲁⲓⲅⲩⲡⲧⲓⲟⲛ /timentaiguption/. The term logos ən aiguptios is also attested in Sahidic, in the liturgy of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, the name is more officially ϯⲁⲥⲡⲓ ⲛ̀ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ ti aspi ən rem ən kēmi, the Egyptian language, aspi being the Egyptian word for language. Coptic is today spoken liturgically in the Coptic Orthodox and Coptic Catholic Church, the language is spoken only in Egypt and historically has had little influence outside of the territory, except for monasteries located in Nubia. It should be noted, however, that Coptic ⲉⲙⲥⲁϩ is grammatically masculine, hence it is unclear why the word should have entered Arabic with an initial t, which would have required the word to be grammatically feminine. ṭūbah طوبة brick, Sahidic ⲧⲱⲃⲉ to, be, Bohairic ⲧⲱⲃⲓ to, bi, this subsequently entered Catalan and Spanish as tova and adobe respectively, the latter of which was borrowed by American English. However, most words of Egyptian origin that entered into Greek and subsequently into other European languages came directly from Ancient Egyptian, an example is the Greek ὄασις oasis, which comes directly from Egyptian wḥ3. t or demotic wḥỉ. However, Coptic reborrowed some words of Ancient Egyptian origin into its lexicon, for example, both Sahidic and Bohairic use the word ebenos, which was taken directly from Greek ἔβενος ebony, originally from Egyptian hbny. It was adapted into Arabic as Babnouda, which remains a name among Egyptian Copts to this day. It was also borrowed into Greek as the name Παφνούτιος and that, in turn, is the source of the Russian name Пафнутий, like the mathematician Pafnuty Chebyshev. The Old Nubian language and the modern Nobiin language borrowed many words of Coptic origin, the Egyptian language may have the longest documented history of any language, from Old Egyptian that appeared just before 3200 BC to its final phases as Coptic in the Middle Ages. Coptic belongs to the Later Egyptian phase, which started to be written in the New Kingdom of Egypt, Later Egyptian represented colloquial speech of the later periods. It had analytic features like definite and indefinite articles and periphrastic verb conjugation, Coptic, therefore, is a reference to both the most recent stage of Egyptian after Demotic and the new writing system that was adapted from the Greek alphabet. The earliest attempts to write the Egyptian language using the Greek alphabet are Greek transcriptions of Egyptian proper names, scholars frequently refer to this phase as pre-Coptic
Coptic language
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5th–6th century Coptic liturgic inscription from
Upper Egypt.
Coptic language
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8th century Coptic manuscript of
Luke 5.5–9
Coptic language
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Stone with Coptic inscription
50.
Battle of Yarmuk
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The Battle of Yarmouk was a major battle between the army of the Byzantine Empire and the Muslim Arab forces of the Rashidun Caliphate. The result of the battle was a complete Muslim victory which ended Byzantine rule in Syria, in order to check the Arab advance and to recover lost territory, Emperor Heraclius had sent a massive expedition to the Levant in May 636. The battle is considered to be one of Khalid ibn al-Walids greatest military victories and it cemented his reputation as one of the greatest tacticians and cavalry commanders in history. During the last Byzantine–Sassanid Wars in 610, Heraclius became the emperor of the Byzantine Empire, meanwhile, the Sassanid Persians conquered Mesopotamia and in 611 they overran Syria and entered Anatolia, occupying Caesarea Mazaca. Heraclius, in 612, managed to expel the Persians from Anatolia, over the following decade the Persians were able to conquer Palestine and Egypt. Meanwhile, Heraclius prepared for a counterattack and rebuilt his army, nine years later in 622, Heraclius finally launched his offensive. Heraclius restored the True Cross to Jerusalem with a ceremony in 629. Meanwhile, there had been rapid development in Arabia, where Muhammad had been preaching Islam and by 630. When Muhammad died in June 632, Abu Bakr was elected Caliph, troubles emerged soon after Abu Bakrs succession, when several Arab tribes openly revolted against Abu Bakr, who declared war against the rebels. In what became known as the Ridda wars, Abu Bakr managed to unite Arabia under the authority of the Caliph at Medina. Once the rebels had been subdued, Abu Bakr began a war of conquest, sending his most brilliant general, Khalid ibn al-Walid, Iraq was conquered in a series of successful campaigns against the Sassanid Persians. Abu Bakrs confidence grew, and once Khalid established his stronghold in Iraq, the Muslim invasion of Syria was a series of carefully planned and well coordinated military operations that employed strategy instead of pure strength to deal with Byzantine defensive measures. The Muslim armies, however proved to be too small to handle the Byzantine response. Khalid was sent by Abu Bakr from Iraq to Syria with reinforcements, in July 634, the Byzantines were decisively defeated at Ajnadayn. Damascus fell in September 634, followed by the Battle of Fahl where the last significant garrison of Palestine was defeated and routed, Caliph Abu Bakr died in 634. His successor, Umar, was determined to continue the Caliphate Empires expansion deeper into Syria, though previous campaigns led by Khalid were successful, he was replaced by Abu Ubaidah. Having secured southern Palestine, Muslim forces now advanced up the route, where Tiberias and Baalbek fell without much struggle. From thereon, the Muslims continued their conquest across the Levant, having seized Emesa, the Muslims were just a march away from Aleppo, a Byzantine stronghold, and Antioch, where Heraclius resided
Battle of Yarmuk
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Across the ravines lies the battlefield of Yarmouk, this picture taken about 8 miles away, from Jordan.
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Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Melchites". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "
