1.
Ostia Antica
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Ostia Antica is a large archeological site, close to the modern suburb of Ostia, that was the location of the harbour city of ancient Rome, which is approximately 30 kilometres to the northeast. Ostia is a derivation of os, the Latin word for mouth, at the mouth of the River Tiber, Ostia was Romes seaport, but due to silting the site now lies 3 kilometres from the sea. The site is noted for the excellent preservation of its ancient buildings, magnificent frescoes, Ostia may have been Romes first colonia. An inscription seems to confirm the establishment of the old castrum of Ostia in the 7th century BC, the oldest archaeological remains so far discovered date back to only the 4th century BC. The most ancient buildings currently visible are from the 3rd century BC, notably the Castrum, Ostia was a scene of fighting during the period of the civil wars Sullas first civil war between Gaius Marius and Sulla during the 1st century BC. In 87 BC, Marius attacked the city in order to cut off the flow of trade to Rome, forces led by Cinna, Carbo and Sertorius crossed the Tiber at three points before capturing the city and plundering it. After his victory here, Marius moved on to attack and capture Antium, Aricia, in 68 BC, the town was sacked by pirates. During the sack, the port was set on fire, the war fleet was destroyed. Within a year, the pirates had been defeated, the town was then re-built, and provided with protective walls by the statesman and orator Marcus Tullius Cicero. During Julius Caesars time as Dictator, one of his improvements to the city was his establishment of better supervision of the supply of grain to Rome and he proposed better access to grain by the use of a new harbor in Ostia along with a canal from Tarracina. The town was developed during the first century AD under the influence of Tiberius. The town was also enriched by the construction of a new harbor on the northern mouths of the Tiber. The new harbor, not surprisingly called Portus, from the Latin for harbor, was excavated from the ground at the orders of the emperor Claudius. This harbor became silted up and needed to be supplemented later by a built by Trajan finished in the year 113 AD, it has a hexagonal form. Moreover, it must remember also that at a short distance. These elements took business away from Ostia itself and began its commercial decline, Ostia itself was provided with all the services a town of the time could require, in particular, a famous lighthouse. By 1954 eighteen mithraea had been discovered, Mithras had his largest following among the population that were the majority of this port town. Archaeologists also discovered the public latrinae, organised for collective use as a series of seats that allow us to imagine today that their function was also a social one
2.
Basilica of San Clemente al Laterano
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The Basilica of Saint Clement is a Roman Catholic minor basilica dedicated to Pope Clement I located in Rome, Italy. The archaeological traces of the history were discovered in the 1860s by Joseph Mullooly. The lowest levels of the present basilica contain remnants of the foundation of a possibly republican era building that might have destroyed in the Great Fire of 64. An industrial building – probably the imperial mint of Rome from the late 1st century A. D. onwards, was built or remodelled on the site during the Flavian period. Shortly after an insula, or apartment block, was also built and it was separated from the industrial building by a narrow alleyway. About a hundred years later a mithraeum, a sanctuary of the cult of Mithras, was built in the courtyard of the insula. The main cult room, which is about 9. 6m long and 6m wide, was discovered in 1867, the exedra, the shallow apse at the far end of the low vaulted space, was trimmed with pumice to render it more cave-like. Central to the room of the sanctuary was found an altar, in the shape of a sarcophagus. The torchbearers Cautes and Cautopates appear on respectively the left and right faces of the same monument, a dedicatory inscription identifies the donor as one pater Cnaeus Arrius Claudianus, perhaps of the same clan as Titus Arrius Antoninus mother. Other monuments discovered in the include a bust of Sol kept in the sanctuary in a niche near the entrance. Fragments of statuary of the two torch bearers were also found, one of the rooms adjoining the main chamber has two oblong brickwork enclosures, one of which was used as a ritual refuse pit for remnants of the cult meal. All three monuments mentioned above are still on display in the mithraeum, a fourth monument, – a statue of St. Peter found in the speleums vestibule and still on display there – is not of the mysteries. At some time in the 4th century, the level of the industrial building was filled in with dirt and rubble. An apse was built out over part of the domus, whose lowest floor, restorations were undertaken in the 9th century and ca 1080-99. The early basilica was the site of councils presided over by Pope Zosimus and Symmachus, the last major event that took place in the lower basilica was the election in 1099 of Cardinal Rainerius of St Clemente as Pope Paschal II. Apart from those in Santa Maria Antiqua, the largest collection of Early Medieval wall paintings in Rome is to be found in the basilica of San Clemente. Clement, and on the life of St. Alexius, sisinnius encourages the servants in Italian Fili de le pute, traite. Which, translated into English means, Come on, you sons of bitches, carvoncello, give it to him from the back with the pole
3.
Rome
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Rome is a special comune and the capital of Italy. Rome also serves as the capital of the Lazio region, with 2,873,598 residents in 1,285 km2, it is also the countrys largest and most populated comune and fourth-most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. It is the center of the Metropolitan City of Rome, which has a population of 4.3 million residents, the city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, within Lazio, along the shores of the Tiber. Romes history spans more than 2,500 years, while Roman mythology dates the founding of Rome at only around 753 BC, the site has been inhabited for much longer, making it one of the oldest continuously occupied sites in Europe. The citys early population originated from a mix of Latins, Etruscans and it was first called The Eternal City by the Roman poet Tibullus in the 1st century BC, and the expression was also taken up by Ovid, Virgil, and Livy. Rome is also called the Caput Mundi, due to that, Rome became first one of the major centres of the Italian Renaissance, and then the birthplace of both the Baroque style and Neoclassicism. Famous artists, painters, sculptors and architects made Rome the centre of their activity, in 1871 Rome became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy, and in 1946 that of the Italian Republic. Rome has the status of a global city, Rome ranked in 2014 as the 14th-most-visited city in the world, 3rd most visited in the European Union, and the most popular tourist attraction in Italy. Its historic centre is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, monuments and museums such as the Vatican Museums and the Colosseum are among the worlds most visited tourist destinations with both locations receiving millions of tourists a year. Rome hosted the 1960 Summer Olympics and is the seat of United Nations Food, however, it is a possibility that the name Romulus was actually derived from Rome itself. As early as the 4th century, there have been alternate theories proposed on the origin of the name Roma. There is archaeological evidence of occupation of the Rome area from approximately 14,000 years ago. Evidence of stone tools, pottery and stone weapons attest to about 10,000 years of human presence, several excavations support the view that Rome grew from pastoral settlements on the Palatine Hill built above the area of the future Roman Forum. Between the end of the age and the beginning of the Iron age. However, none of them had yet an urban quality, nowadays, there is a wide consensus that the city was gradually born through the aggregation of several villages around the largest one, placed above the Palatine. All these happenings, which according to the excavations took place more or less around the mid of the 8th century BC. Despite recent excavations at the Palatine hill, the view that Rome has been indeed founded with an act of will as the legend suggests in the middle of the 8th century BC remains a fringe hypothesis. Traditional stories handed down by the ancient Romans themselves explain the earliest history of their city in terms of legend and myth
4.
Mithraism
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Mithraism, also known as the Mithraic mysteries, was a mystery religion centred around the god Mithras that was practised in the Roman Empire from about the 1st to the 4th century. The mysteries were popular in the Roman military, worshippers of Mithras had a complex system of seven grades of initiation and communal ritual meals. Initiates called themselves syndexioi, those “united by the handshake” and they met in underground temples, called mithraea, which survive in large numbers. The cult appears to have had its centre in Rome, numerous archaeological finds, including meeting places, monuments and artifacts, have contributed to modern knowledge about Mithraism throughout the Roman Empire. The iconic scenes of Mithras show him being born from a rock, slaughtering a bull, about 420 sites have yielded materials related to the cult. Among the items found are about 1000 inscriptions,700 examples of the bull-killing scene and it has been estimated that there would have been at least 680 mithraea in Rome. No written narratives or theology from the religion survive, limited information can be derived from the inscriptions and brief or passing references in Greek, interpretation of the physical evidence remains problematic and contested. The Romans regarded the mysteries as having Persian or Zoroastrian sources, since the early 1970s the dominant scholarship has noted dissimilarities between Persian Mithra-worship and the Roman Mithraic mysteries. The term Mithraism is a modern convention, writers of the Roman era referred to it by phrases such as Mithraic mysteries, mysteries of Mithras or mysteries of the Persians. Modern sources sometimes refer to the Greco-Roman religion as Roman Mithraism or Western Mithraism to distinguish it from Persian worship of Mithra. The name Mithras is a form of Mithra, the name of an Old Persian god – a relationship understood by Mithraic scholars since the days of Franz Cumont. An early example of the Greek form of the name is in a 4th century BCE work by Xenophon, the Cyropaedia, the exact form of a Latin or classical Greek word varies due to the grammatical process of declension. There is archeological evidence that in Latin worshippers wrote the nominative form of the name as Mithras. Related deity-names in other languages include Sanskrit Mitra, the name of a god praised in the Rig Veda, in Sanskrit, mitra means friend or friendship. The form mi-it-ra-, found in a peace treaty between the Hittites and the kingdom of Mitanni, from about 1400 BCE. Iranian Mithra and Sanskrit Mitra are believed to come from an Indo-Iranian word mitra meaning contract / agreement / covenant, modern historians have different conceptions about whether these names refer to the same god or not. John R. Hinnells has written of Mitra / Mithra / Mithras as a deity worshipped in several different religions. On the other hand, David Ulansey considers the bull-slaying Mithras to be a new god who began to be worshipped in the 1st Century BCE, there have been many attempts to interpret this material
5.
Classical antiquity
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It is the period in which Greek and Roman society flourished and wielded great influence throughout Europe, North Africa and Southwestern Asia. Conventionally, it is taken to begin with the earliest-recorded Epic Greek poetry of Homer, and continues through the emergence of Christianity and it ends with the dissolution of classical culture at the close of Late Antiquity, blending into the Early Middle Ages. Such a wide sampling of history and territory covers many disparate cultures, Classical antiquity may refer also to an idealised vision among later people of what was, in Edgar Allan Poes words, the glory that was Greece, and the grandeur that was Rome. The culture of the ancient Greeks, together with influences from the ancient Near East, was the basis of art, philosophy, society. The earliest period of classical antiquity takes place before the background of gradual re-appearance of historical sources following the Bronze Age collapse, the 8th and 7th centuries BC are still largely proto-historical, with the earliest Greek alphabetic inscriptions appearing in the first half of the 8th century. Homer is usually assumed to have lived in the 8th or 7th century BC, in the same period falls the traditional date for the establishment of the Ancient Olympic Games, in 776 BC. The Phoenicians originally expanded from Canaan ports, by the 8th century dominating trade in the Mediterranean, carthage was founded in 814 BC, and the Carthaginians by 700 BC had firmly established strongholds in Sicily, Italy and Sardinia, which created conflicts of interest with Etruria. The Etruscans had established control in the region by the late 7th century BC, forming the aristocratic. According to legend, Rome was founded on April 21,753 BC by twin descendants of the Trojan prince Aeneas, Romulus and Remus. As the city was bereft of women, legend says that the Latins invited the Sabines to a festival and stole their unmarried maidens, leading to the integration of the Latins and the Sabines. Archaeological evidence indeed shows first traces of settlement at the Roman Forum in the mid-8th century BC, the seventh and final king of Rome was Tarquinius Superbus. As the son of Tarquinius Priscus and the son-in-law of Servius Tullius, Superbus was of Etruscan birth and it was during his reign that the Etruscans reached their apex of power. Superbus removed and destroyed all the Sabine shrines and altars from the Tarpeian Rock, the people came to object to his rule when he failed to recognize the rape of Lucretia, a patrician Roman, at the hands of his own son. Lucretias kinsman, Lucius Junius Brutus, summoned the Senate and had Superbus, after Superbus expulsion, the Senate voted to never again allow the rule of a king and reformed Rome into a republican government in 509 BC. In fact the Latin word Rex meaning King became a dirty and hated throughout the Republic. In 510, Spartan troops helped the Athenians overthrow the tyrant Hippias, cleomenes I, king of Sparta, put in place a pro-Spartan oligarchy conducted by Isagoras. Greece entered the 4th century under Spartan hegemony, but by 395 BC the Spartan rulers removed Lysander from office, and Sparta lost her naval supremacy. Athens, Argos, Thebes and Corinth, the two of which were formerly Spartan allies, challenged Spartan dominance in the Corinthian War, which ended inconclusively in 387 BC
6.
Roman Empire
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Civil wars and executions continued, culminating in the victory of Octavian, Caesars adopted son, over Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC and the annexation of Egypt. Octavians power was then unassailable and in 27 BC the Roman Senate formally granted him overarching power, the imperial period of Rome lasted approximately 1,500 years compared to the 500 years of the Republican era. The first two centuries of the empires existence were a period of unprecedented political stability and prosperity known as the Pax Romana, following Octavians victory, the size of the empire was dramatically increased. After the assassination of Caligula in 41, the senate briefly considered restoring the republic, under Claudius, the empire invaded Britannia, its first major expansion since Augustus. Vespasian emerged triumphant in 69, establishing the Flavian dynasty, before being succeeded by his son Titus and his short reign was followed by the long reign of his brother Domitian, who was eventually assassinated. The senate then appointed the first of the Five Good Emperors, the empire reached its greatest extent under Trajan, the second in this line. A period of increasing trouble and decline began with the reign of Commodus, Commodus assassination in 192 triggered the Year of the Five Emperors, of which Septimius Severus emerged victorious. The assassination of Alexander Severus in 235 led to the Crisis of the Third Century in which 26 men were declared emperor by the Roman Senate over a time span. It was not until the reign of Diocletian that the empire was fully stabilized with the introduction of the Tetrarchy, which saw four emperors rule the empire at once. This arrangement was unsuccessful, leading to a civil war that was finally ended by Constantine I. Constantine subsequently shifted the capital to Byzantium, which was renamed Constantinople in his honour and it remained the capital of the east until its demise. Constantine also adopted Christianity which later became the state religion of the empire. However, Augustulus was never recognized by his Eastern colleague, and separate rule in the Western part of the empire ceased to exist upon the death of Julius Nepos. The Eastern Roman Empire endured for another millennium, eventually falling to the Ottoman Turks in 1453, the Roman Empire was among the most powerful economic, cultural, political and military forces in the world of its time. It was one of the largest empires in world history, at its height under Trajan, it covered 5 million square kilometres. It held sway over an estimated 70 million people, at that time 21% of the entire population. Throughout the European medieval period, attempts were made to establish successors to the Roman Empire, including the Empire of Romania, a Crusader state. Rome had begun expanding shortly after the founding of the republic in the 6th century BC, then, it was an empire long before it had an emperor
7.
Apse
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In architecture, an apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an Exedra. Smaller apses may also be in other locations, especially shrines, an apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault. Commonly, the apse of a church, cathedral or basilica is the semicircular or polygonal termination to the choir or sanctuary, in relation to church architecture it is generally the name given to where the altar is placed or where the clergy are seated. An apse is occasionally found in a synagogue, e. g. Maoz Haim Synagogue, the apse is separated from the main part of the church by the transept. Smaller apses are sometimes built in other than the east end. The domed apse became a part of the church plan in the early Christian era. In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, the apse is known as diaconicon. Various ecclesiastical features of which the apse may form part are drawn here, The chancel, directly to the east beyond the choir contains the High Altar. This area is reserved for the clergy, and was formerly called the presbytery. Hemi-cyclic choirs, first developed in the East, came to use in France in 470, famous northern French examples of chevets are in the Gothic cathedrals of Amiens, Beauvais and Reims. The word ambulatory refers to an aisle in the apse that passes behind the altar and choir. An ambulatory may refer to the passages that enclose a cloister in a monastery, or to other types of aisles round the edge of a church building
8.
Crypt
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A crypt is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics, originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a church, such as at the Abbey of Saint-Germain en Auxerre, but were later located beneath chancel, naves and transepts as well. Occasionally churches were raised high to accommodate a crypt at the level, such as St Michaels Church in Hildesheim. Crypt developed as a form of the Latin vault as it was carried over into Late Latin. It also served as a vault for storing important and/or sacred items, crypta, however, is also the female form of crypto hidden. The earliest known origin of both is in the Ancient Greek κρύπτω, the first person singular indicative of the verb to conceal, first known in the early Christian period, in particular North Africa at Chlef and Djemila in Algeria, and Byzantium at Saint John Studio in Constantinople. Where Christian churches have been built over mithraea, the mithraeum has often been adapted to serve as a crypt, crypts were introduced into Frankish church building in the mid-8th century, as a feature of its Romanization. Their popularity then spread widely in western Europe under Charlemagne. Examples from this period are most common in the early medieval West, for example in Burgundy at Dijon, after the 10th century the early medieval requirements of a crypt faded, as church officials permitted relics to be held in the main level of the church. By the Gothic period crypts were built, however burial vaults continued to be constructed beneath churches. In more modern terms, a crypt is most often a stone chambered burial vault used to store the deceased, crypts are usually found in cemeteries and under public religious buildings, such as churches or cathedrals, but are also occasionally found beneath mausolea or chapels on personal estates. Wealthy or prestigious families will often have a family crypt or vault in which all members of the family are interred, many royal families, for example, have vast crypts containing the bodies of dozens of former royalty. In some localities an above ground crypt is more commonly called a mausoleum, there was a trend in the 19th century of building crypts on medium to large size family estates, usually subtly placed on the edge of the grounds or more commonly incorporated into the cellar. After a change of owner these are often blocked up and the house deeds will not allow this area to be re-developed, catacomb Mausoleum Tumulus Ossuary Tomb Cemetery Media related to Crypt at Wikimedia Commons Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Crypt
9.
Christianity
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Christianity is a Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, who serves as the focal point for the religion. It is the worlds largest religion, with over 2.4 billion followers, or 33% of the global population, Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God and the savior of humanity whose coming as the Messiah was prophesied in the Old Testament. Christian theology is summarized in creeds such as the Apostles Creed and his incarnation, earthly ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection are often referred to as the gospel, meaning good news. The term gospel also refers to accounts of Jesuss life and teaching, four of which—Matthew, Mark, Luke. Christianity is an Abrahamic religion that began as a Second Temple Judaic sect in the mid-1st century, following the Age of Discovery, Christianity spread to the Americas, Australasia, sub-Saharan Africa, and the rest of the world through missionary work and colonization. Christianity has played a prominent role in the shaping of Western civilization, throughout its history, Christianity has weathered schisms and theological disputes that have resulted in many distinct churches and denominations. Worldwide, the three largest branches of Christianity are the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the denominations of Protestantism. There are many important differences of interpretation and opinion of the Bible, concise doctrinal statements or confessions of religious beliefs are known as creeds. They began as baptismal formulae and were expanded during the Christological controversies of the 4th and 5th centuries to become statements of faith. Many evangelical Protestants reject creeds as definitive statements of faith, even agreeing with some or all of the substance of the creeds. The Baptists have been non-creedal in that they have not sought to establish binding authoritative confessions of faith on one another. Also rejecting creeds are groups with roots in the Restoration Movement, such as the Christian Church, the Evangelical Christian Church in Canada, the Apostles Creed is the most widely accepted statement of the articles of Christian faith. It is also used by Presbyterians, Methodists, and Congregationalists and this particular creed was developed between the 2nd and 9th centuries. Its central doctrines are those of the Trinity and God the Creator, each of the doctrines found in this creed can be traced to statements current in the apostolic period. The creed was used as a summary of Christian doctrine for baptismal candidates in the churches of Rome. Most Christians accept the use of creeds, and subscribe to at least one of the mentioned above. The central tenet of Christianity is the belief in Jesus as the Son of God, Christians believe that Jesus, as the Messiah, was anointed by God as savior of humanity, and hold that Jesus coming was the fulfillment of messianic prophecies of the Old Testament. The Christian concept of the Messiah differs significantly from the contemporary Jewish concept, Jesus, having become fully human, suffered the pains and temptations of a mortal man, but did not sin
10.
Initiation
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Initiation is a rite of passage marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society. It could also be an admission to adulthood in a community or one of its formal components. In an extended sense it can signify a transformation in which the initiate is reborn into a new role. A person taking the initiation ceremony in traditional rites, such as depicted in these pictures, is called an initiate. Mircea Eliade discussed initiation as a religious act by classical or traditional societies. He defined initiation as a change in existential condition, which liberates man from profane time. Initiation recapitulates the history of the world. And through this recapitulation, the world is sanctified anew. Can perceive the world as a work, a creation of the Gods. Eliade differentiates between types of initiations in two ways, types and functions and this real valuation of ritual death finally led to conquest of the fear of real death. Function is to reveal the meaning of existence to the new generations and to help them assume the responsibility of being truly men. It reveals an open to the trans-human, a world that, in our philosophical terminology. Puberty Rites- collective rituals whose function is to effect the transition from childhood or adolescence to adulthood and they represent above all the revelation of the sacred. Entering into a Secret Society- Mystical Vocation- the vocation of a man or a shaman. This is limited to the few who are destined to participate in an intense religious experience than is accessible to the rest of the community. These can be broken into two types, puberty rites, by virtue of which adolescents gain access to the sacred, to knowledge, specialized initiations, which certain individuals undergo in order to transcend their human condition and become protégés of the Supernatural Beings or even their equals. Dissonance is then thought to produce feelings of group attraction among initiates after the experience. Rewards during initiations have important consequences in that initiates who feel more rewarded express stronger group identity, as well as group attraction, initiations can also produce conformity among new members
11.
Iconography
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The word iconography comes from the Greek εἰκών and γράφειν. A secondary meaning is the production of images, called icons, in the Byzantine and Orthodox Christian tradition. In art history, an iconography may also mean a depiction of a subject in terms of the content of the image, such as the number of figures used, their placing. Sometimes distinctions have been made between iconology and iconography, although the definitions, and so the distinction made, varies, when referring to movies, genres are immediately recognizable through their iconography, motifs that become associated with a specific genre through repetition. Gian Pietro Bellori, a 17th-century biographer of artists of his own time, describes and analyses, not always correctly, many works. Lessings study of the classical figure Amor with a torch was an early attempt to use a study of a type of image to explain the culture it originated in. These early contributions paved the way for encyclopedias, manuals, mâles lArt religieux du XIIIe siècle en France translated into English as The Gothic Image, Religious Art in France of the Thirteenth Century has remained continuously in print. In the United States, to which Panofsky immigrated in 1931, students such as Frederick Hartt, the period from 1940 can be seen as one where iconography was especially prominent in art history. These are now being digitised and made online, usually on a restricted basis. For example, the Iconclass code 71H7131 is for the subject of Bathsheba with Davids letter, whereas 71 is the whole Old Testament and 71H the story of David. A number of collections of different types have been classified using Iconclass, notably types of old master print, the collections of the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin. These are available, usually on-line or on DVD, the system can also be used outside pure art history, for example on sites like Flickr. Central to the iconography and hagiography of Indian religions are mudra or gestures with specific meanings, the symbolic use of colour to denote the Classical Elements or Mahabhuta and letters and bija syllables from sacred alphabetic scripts are other features. Under the influence of art developed esoteric meanings, accessible only to initiates. The art of Indian Religions esp, for example, Narasimha an incarnation of Vishnu though considered a wrathful deity but in few contexts is depicted in pacified mood. Conversely, in Hindu art, narrative scenes have become more common in recent centuries, especially in miniature paintings of the lives of Krishna. Eventually the Church would succeed in weeding most of these out, after the period of Byzantine iconoclasm iconographical innovation was regarded as unhealthy, if not heretical, in the Eastern Church, though it still continued at a glacial pace. More than in the West, traditional depictions were often considered to have authentic or miraculous origins, the Eastern church also never accepted the use of monumental high relief or free-standing sculpture, which it found too reminiscent of paganism
12.
Solstice
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The Solstice occurs twice each year as the Sun reaches its most northerly or southerly excursion relative to the celestial equator on the celestial sphere. The seasons of the year are directly connected to both the solstices and the equinoxes, the term solstice can also be used in a broader sense, as the day when this occurs. The day of the solstice has either the most sunlight of the year or the least sunlight of the year for any other than the equator. Alternative terms, with no ambiguity as to which hemisphere is the context, are June solstice and December solstice, at latitudes outside the tropics, the summer solstice marks the day when the sun appears highest in the sky. Within the tropics, the sun directly overhead from days to months before the solstice and again after the solstice. For an observer on the North Pole, the sun reaches the highest position in the sky once a year in June, the day this occurs is called the June solstice day. Similarly, for an observer on the South Pole, the sun reaches the highest position on December solstice day, when it is the summer solstice at one Pole, it is the winter solstice on the other. The suns westerly motion never ceases as the Earth is continually in rotation, however, the suns motion in declination comes to a stop at the moment of solstice. In that sense, solstice means sun-standing and this modern scientific word descends from a Latin scientific word in use in the late Roman republic of the 1st century BC, solstitium. Pliny uses it a number of times in his Natural History with a meaning that it has today. It contains two Latin-language morphemes, sol, sun, and -stitium, stoppage, the Romans used standing to refer to a component of the relative velocity of the Sun as it is observed in the sky. Relative velocity is the motion of an object from the point of view of an observer in a frame of reference, from a fixed position on the ground, the sun appears to orbit around the Earth. To an observer in a frame of reference, the planet Earth is seen to rotate about an axis. The Earths axis is tilted with respect to the plane of the Earths orbit, an observer on Earth therefore sees a solar path that is the result of both rotation and revolution. At maximum or minimum elevation, the relative motion of the Sun perpendicular to the horizon stops. Outside of the tropics, the maximum occurs at the summer solstice. The path of the Sun, or ecliptic, sweeps north and south between the northern and southern hemispheres, the days are longer around the summer solstice and shorter around the winter solstice. When the Suns path crosses the equator, the length of the nights at latitudes +L° and -L° are of equal length and this is known as an equinox
13.
Afterlife
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The afterlife is the concept of a realm, or the realm itself, in which an essential part of an individuals identity or consciousness continues to exist after the death of the body. Belief in an afterlife, which may be naturalistic or supernatural, is in contrast to the belief in oblivion after death, in this latter view, such rebirths and deaths may take place over and over again continuously until the individual gains entry to a spiritual realm or Otherworld. Major views on the afterlife derive from religion, esotericism and metaphysics, in metaphysical models, theists generally believe some type of afterlife awaits people when they die. Members of some generally non-theistic religions, tend to believe in an afterlife, the Sadducees were an ancient Jewish sect that generally believed that there was a God but no afterlife. Reincarnation refers to a concept found among Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs, Rosicrucians, Theosophists, Spiritists. Reincarnation is also a belief described in Kabbalistic Judaism as gilgul neshamot and this succession leads toward an eventual liberation. One consequence of reincarnationist beliefs is that our current lives are both afterlife and a beforelife, according to those beliefs events in our current life are consequences of actions taken in previous lives, or Karma. In most denominations, heaven is a condition of reward for the righteous to go after they die, traditionally defined as eternal union with God. In contrast to heaven, hell is a condition of punishment and torment for the wicked, traditionally defined as eternal separation from God and confinement with other sinful souls and fallen angels. So they are seen as existing in a state of natural. In other Christian denominations it has described as an intermediate place or state of confinement in oblivion. The notion of purgatory is associated particularly with the Catholic Church, the tradition of the church, by reference to certain texts of scripture, speaks of a cleansing fire although it is not always called purgatory. Anglicans of the Anglo-Catholic tradition generally also hold to the belief, traditional African religions are diverse in their beliefs in an afterlife. For each soul remains distinct and each represents a new soul. In some societies like the Mende, multiple beliefs coexist, the Mende believe that people die twice, once during the process of joining the secret society, and again during biological death after which they become ancestors. However, some Mende also believe that people are created by God they live ten consecutive lives. One cross-cultural theme is that the ancestors are part of the world of the living, interacting with it regularly, the afterlife played an important role in Ancient Egyptian religion, and its belief system is one of the earliest known in recorded history. When the body died, parts of its known as ka
14.
Zoroaster
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Zoroaster, also known as Zarathustra, Zarathushtra Spitama or Ashu Zarathushtra, was an ancient Iranian prophet whose teachings developed into Zoroastrianism. He inaugurated a movement that became the dominant religion in Ancient Persia. He was a speaker of Old Avestan and lived in the eastern part of the Iranian Plateau. Zoroastrianism was already an old religion when first recorded, and it was the religion of Persian Empires. He is credited with the authorship of the Yasna Haptanghaiti as well as the Gathas, most of his life is known from the Zoroastrian texts. Zoroasters name in his language, Avestan, was probably Zaraϑuštra. His English name, Zoroaster, derives from a later Greek transcription, Zōroastrēs, as used in Xanthuss Lydiaca and this form appears subsequently in the Latin Zōroastrēs and, in later Greek orthographies, as Zōroastris. The Greek form of the name appears to be based on a phonetic transliteration or semantic substitution of Avestan zaraϑ- with the Greek zōros, subject then to whether Zaraϑuštra derives from *Zarantuštra- or from *Zaratuštra-, several interpretations have been proposed. If Zarantuštra is the form, it may mean with old/aging camels. With angry/furious camels, from Avestan *zarant-, angry, furious, who is driving camels or who is fostering/cherishing camels, related to Avestan zarš-, to drag. Why this is not so for zaraϑuštra has not yet been determined, notwithstanding the phonetic irregularity, that Avestan zaraϑuštra with its -ϑ- was linguistically an actual form is shown by later attestations reflecting the same basis. All present-day, Iranian-language variants of his name derive from the Middle Iranian variants of Zarϑošt, there is no consensus on the dating of Zoroaster, the Avesta gives no direct information about it, while historical sources are conflicting. Many scholars like Mary Boyce used linguistic and socio-cultural evidence to place Zoroaster between 1500 and 1000 BCE, both texts are considered to have a common archaic Indo-Iranian origin. These scholars suggest that Zoroaster lived in a tribe or composed the Gathas before the 1200–1000 BCE migration by the Iranians from the steppe to the Iranian Plateau. The shortfall of the argument is the comparison, and the archaic language of Gathas does not necessarily indicate time difference. Other scholars propose a period between 7th and 6th century, for example, c, the latest possible date is the mid 6th century, at the time of Achaemenid Empires Darius I, or his predecessor Cyrus the Great. However, in the Avesta it should not be ignored that Vishtaspas son became the ruler of the Persian Empire, the most likely conclusion is that Darius Is father was named in honor of the Zoroastrian patron, indicating probable Zoroastrian faith by Arsames. e. This belief is recorded by Diogenes Laërtius, and variant readings could place it six hundred years before Xerxes I, however, Diogenes also mentions Hermodorus belief that Zoroaster lived five thousand years before the Trojan War, which would mean he lived around 6200 BCE
15.
Cosmos
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The cosmos is the universe regarded as a complex and orderly system, the opposite of chaos. Cosmology is the study of the cosmos in several of the above meanings, all cosmologies have in common an attempt to understand the implicit order within the whole of being. In this way, most religions and philosophical systems have a cosmology, Cosmology is a branch of metaphysics that deals with the nature of the universe, a theory or doctrine describing the natural order of the universe. The basic definition of Cosmology is the science of the origin, in modern astronomy the Big Bang theory is the dominant postulation. In physical cosmology, the cosmos is often used in a technical way. Our particular cosmos, the universe, is generally capitalized as the Cosmos. According to Charles Peter Mason in Sir William Smith Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, Pythagoreans described the universe. It appears, in fact, from this, as well as from the extant fragments, the second book appears to have been an exposition of the nature of numbers, which in the Pythagorean theory are the essence and source of all things. In theology, the cosmos is the heavenly bodies. In Christian theology, the word is used synonymously with aion to refer to worldly life or this world or this age as opposed to the afterlife or World to Come. The book The works of Aristotle mentioned Aristotle says the poet Orpheus never existed, bertrand Russel noted The Orphics were an ascetic sect, wine, to them, was only a symbol, as, later, in the Christian sacrament. The intoxication that they sought was that of enthusiasm, of union with the god and they believed themselves, in this way, to acquire mystic knowledge not obtainable by ordinary means. This mystical element entered into Greek philosophy with Pythagoras, who was a reformer of Orphism as Orpheus was a reformer of the religion of Dionysus, from Pythagoras Orphic elements entered into the philosophy of Plato, and from Plato into most later philosophy that was in any degree religious. Cosmos – Illustrated Encyclopedia of Cosmos and Cosmic Law Greene, B, the Elegant Universe, Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory. Norton, New York Hawking, S. W, yulsman, T. Origins, The Quest for our Cosmic Roots
16.
Tienen
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Tienen or Thienen is a city and municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, in Flanders, Belgium. The municipality comprises the city of Tienen proper and the towns of Bost, Goetsenhoven, Hakendover, Kumtich, Oorbeek, Oplinter, Sint-Margriete-Houtem, on January 1,2006, Tienen had a total population of 31,835. The total area is 71.77 km2 which gives a density of 444 inhabitants per km². Tienen is known in Belgium as the center of sugar production, the huge sugar beet processing factory, the Sugar refinery of Tienen, is located at the eastern edge of the town. The company Citrique Belge is one of the biggest producers of citric acid, Tienen has a facility for making energy saving lamps by Havells-Sylvania. Other noticeable facts about Tienen include the station building, which is the oldest in Belgium that is still being used. Tienen is also known for its summer rock festival Suikerrock. Other cultural landmarks include the pool and local community centre. The city was ruled by the very old German family Thienen in the early middle-ages. This is likely a branch of the Jonckers dynasty, according to a Spanish anonymous historian, the last known Jonckers ruler, duke Rogerius, was decapitated by the Spanish Inquisitor Thiago Vidal. In the late century, under the French name Tirlemont. The French Republican army of General Charles François Dumouriez met and turned back the Austrian army of Prince Josias of Coburg on 16 March 1793, for the veteran Dumouriez, the hero of Valmy and Jemappes, this was to be the very last victory. Within a week his army suffered such catastrophic defeats that the victor of Tirlemont defected infamously to the royalists for the rest of his life, beatrijs of Nazareth, Flemish mystic André Vandeweyer, Belgian footballer and coach Linguist Herman Liebaers was born in Tienen. Louis Michel, politician Luc Van Acker, Belgian musician and producer Dries Holsbeekx, Pilot Extraordiner, Stand up Comedian, Tienen is twinned with, Bielsko-Biała, Poland Official website - Only available in Dutch tienen. info - All news from Tienen, only available in Dutch Suikerrock
17.
Jajce
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Jajce is a town and municipality located in the central part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the Bosanska Krajina region. It is part of the Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and it is on the crossroads between Banja Luka, Mrkonjić Grad and Donji Vakuf, on the confluence of the rivers Pliva and Vrbas. Jajce was first built in the 14th century and served as the capital of the independent Kingdom of Bosnia during its time, the town has gates as fortifications, as well as a castle with walls which lead to the various gates around the town. About 10–20 kilometres from Jajce lies the Komotin Castle and town area which is older but smaller than Jajce and it is believed the town of Jajce was previously Komotin but was moved after the Black Death. The first references to the name of Jajce in written sources is from the year 1396, skenderbeg Mihajlović besieged Jajce in 1501 without success and was defeated by Ivaniš Korvin assisted by Zrinski, Frankopan, Karlović and Cubor. During this period, Queen Catherine restored the Saint Marys Church in Jajce, eventually, in 1527, Jajce became the last Bosnian town to fall to Ottoman rule. The town then lost its importance, as the border moved further North. There are several churches and mosques built in different times during different rules, Jajce passed with the rest of Bosnia and Herzegovina under the administration of Austria-Hungary in 1878. The Franciscan monastery of Saint Luke was completed in 1885, from 1929-41, Jajce was part of the Vrbas Banovina of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Post-war economy of Jajce in socialist times was based on industry, at the end of April and the beginning of May 1992, almost all ethnic Serbs left and fled to territory under Republika Srpska control. Retreating forces where joined by a column of 30,000 to 40,000 civilian refugees, stretching 16 kilometres towards Travnik, shrader defined it as the largest and most wretched single exodus of the Bosnian War. Bosniak refugees re-settled in Central Bosnia, while Croats moved either to Croatia or closer to the Croatian border due to rising tensions, by November 1992 the pre-war population of Jajce had shrunk from 45,000 to just several thousand. In the following weeks, all mosques and Catholic churches in Jajce were demolished as retribution for the HVOs destruction of the towns only Serbian Orthodox monastery on 10–11 October. The VRS converted the towns Franciscan monastery into a prison and its archives, museum collections and artworks were looted, by 1992, all religious buildings in Jajce had been destroyed, save for two mosques whose perilous positioning on a hilltop had made them unsuitable for demolition. Jajce was recaptured together with Bosanski Petrovac in mid-September 1995 during Operation Mistral 2 by the Croatian Defence Council, Jajce became part of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina according to the Dayton Agreement. A significant number of Serb refugees settled in Brčko while the rest settled in Mrkonjić Grad, Šipovo, the economy of the Jajce municipality is nowadays weak. UNESCO has started to renovate the historical parts of the city together with Kulturarv utan gränser, the main project of the company was to renovate the old traditional houses which symbolised the panoramic view of the city and the waterfall. As of 2006, most of the houses were rebuilt, Jajce was a popular tourist destination in Yugoslav times, mostly due to the historical importance of the AVNOJ session
18.
Angers
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Angers is a city in western France, about 300 km southwest of Paris. It is chef-lieu of the Maine-et-Loire department and was, before the French Revolution, the inhabitants of both the city and the province are called Angevins. The commune of Angers proper, without the area, is the third most populous in northwestern France after Nantes and Rennes. Angers is the capital of Anjou and was for centuries an important stronghold in northwestern France. It is the cradle of the Plantagenet dynasty and was during the reign of René of Anjou one of the centers of Europe. Angers developed at the confluence of three rivers, the Mayenne, the Sarthe, and the Loir, all coming from the north and their confluence, just north of Angers, creates the Maine, a short but wide river that flows into the Loire several kilometers south. The Angers metropolitan area is an economic center in western France, particularly active in the industrial sector, horticulture. Angers proper covers 42.70 square kilometers and has a population of 147,305 inhabitants, the Angers Loire Métropole is made up of 33 communes covering 540 square kilometers with 287,000 inhabitants. Angers enjoys a cultural life, made possible by its universities. The old medieval center is dominated by the massive château of the Plantagenêts, home of the Apocalypse Tapestry. Angers is also both at the edge of the Val de Loire, a World Heritage Site, and the Loire-Anjou-Touraine regional natural park, the city is first mentioned by Ptolemy around AD150 in his Geography. It was then known as Juliomagus, a name by which it appears in the Tabula Peutingeriana. The name is a compound of the Latin name Julius and the Celtic magos, similar town dedications were common in Roman Gaul, and toponyms often kept a Gallic element. When the location needed to be distinguished from other Juliomagi, it was known as Juliomagus Andecavorum, in reference to the principal Gallic tribe in, around AD400, the city came to be referred to as the civitas Andecavorum. This was a change in Gaul, also seen in the names of Paris, Tours. During the Middle Ages, the late Latin name gradually developed into the modern one and it is successively mentioned as Andecava civitas, Andecavis, Andegavis, Angieus and Angeus. The form Angiers appeared during the 12th century and was corrupted to Angers. The Latin Andecavum gave also Anjou its name and this double formation is quite common in France and is also seen in Poitiers & Poitou and Bourges & Berry
19.
Mariana, Corsica
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Mariana is a Roman site south of Biguglia, in the Haute-Corse département of the Corsica région of south-east France. It lies in the area known as La Marana, near the present town of Lucciana. There are two old churches in the area — the Church of Santa Maria Assunta and San Parteo Church and it was founded in 93 BC as a military colony. Saint Devota, patron saint of Corsica and Monaco, is said to have been martyred here in 303 AD, media related to Mariana at Wikimedia Commons La Marana
20.
Strasbourg
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Strasbourg is the capital and largest city of the Grand Est region of France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany in the region of Alsace. In 2014, the city proper had 276,170 inhabitants, Strasbourgs metropolitan area had a population of 773,347 in 2013, making it the ninth largest metro area in France and home to 13% of the Grand Est regions inhabitants. The transnational Eurodistrict Strasbourg-Ortenau had a population of 915,000 inhabitants in 2014, Strasbourg is the seat of several European institutions, such as the Council of Europe and the Eurocorps, as well as the European Parliament and the European Ombudsman of the European Union. The city is also the seat of the Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine, Strasbourgs historic city centre, the Grande Île, was classified a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1988, the first time such an honour was placed on an entire city centre. The largest Islamic place of worship in France, the Strasbourg Grand Mosque, was inaugurated by French Interior Minister Manuel Valls on 27 September 2012. Economically, Strasbourg is an important centre of manufacturing and engineering, as well as a hub of road, rail, the port of Strasbourg is the second largest on the Rhine after Duisburg, Germany. Before the 5th century, the city was known as Argantorati, a Celtic Gaulish name Latinized first as Argentorate, after the 5h century, the city became known by a completely different name Gallicized as Strasbourg. That name is of Germanic origin and means Town of roads, Strasbourg is situated on the eastern border of France with Germany. This border is formed by the River Rhine, which forms the eastern border of the modern city. The historic core of Strasbourg however lies on the Grande Île in the River Ill, which flows parallel to, and roughly 4 kilometres from. The natural courses of the two eventually join some distance downstream of Strasbourg, although several artificial waterways now connect them within the city. This section of the Rhine valley is an axis of north-south travel, with river traffic on the Rhine itself. The city is some 400 kilometres east of Paris, in spite of its position far inland, Strasbourgs climate is classified as Oceanic, with warm, relatively sunny summers and cold, overcast winters. Precipitation is elevated from mid-spring to the end of summer, but remains largely constant throughout the year, on average, snow falls 30 days per year. The highest temperature recorded was 38.5 °C in August 2003. The lowest temperature recorded was −23.4 °C in December 1938. Nonetheless, the disappearance of heavy industry on both banks of the Rhine, as well as effective measures of traffic regulation in and around the city have reduced air pollution
21.
Cologne
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Cologne is the largest city in the German federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and the fourth-largest city in Germany. It is located within the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region, one of the major European metropolitan areas, and with more than ten million inhabitants, Cologne is located on both sides of the Rhine River, less than eighty kilometres from Belgium. The citys famous Cologne Cathedral is the seat of the Catholic Archbishop of Cologne, the University of Cologne is one of Europes oldest and largest universities. Cologne was founded and established in Ubii territory in the first century AD as the Roman Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium, Cologne, the French version of the citys name, has become standard in English as well. The city functioned as the capital of the Roman province of Germania Inferior, during the Middle Ages it flourished on one of the most important major trade routes between east and west in Europe. Cologne was one of the members of the Hanseatic League and one of the largest cities north of the Alps in medieval. Up until World War II the city had several occupations by the French. Cologne was one of the most heavily bombed cities in Germany during World War II, the bombing reduced the population by 95%, mainly due to evacuation, and destroyed almost the entire city. With the intention of restoring as many buildings as possible. Cologne is a cultural centre for the Rhineland, it hosts more than thirty museums. Exhibitions range from local ancient Roman archeological sites to contemporary graphics, the Cologne Trade Fair hosts a number of trade shows such as Art Cologne, imm Cologne, Gamescom, and the Photokina. The first urban settlement on the grounds of modern-day Cologne was Oppidum Ubiorum, founded in 38 BC by the Ubii, in 50 AD, the Romans founded Colonia on the Rhine and the city became the provincial capital of Germania Inferior in 85 AD. The city was named Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium in 50 AD, considerable Roman remains can be found in present-day Cologne, especially near the wharf area, where a notable discovery of a 1900-year-old Roman boat was made in late 2007. From 260 to 271 Cologne was the capital of the Gallic Empire under Postumus, Marius, in 310 under Constantine a bridge was built over the Rhine at Cologne. Roman imperial governors resided in the city and it one of the most important trade. Cologne is shown on the 4th century Peutinger Map, maternus, who was elected as bishop in 313, was the first known bishop of Cologne. The city was the capital of a Roman province until occupied by the Ripuarian Franks in 462, parts of the original Roman sewers are preserved underneath the city, with the new sewerage system having opened in 1890. Early medieval Cologne was part of Austrasia within the Frankish Empire, Cologne had been the seat of a bishop since the Roman period, under Charlemagne, in 795, bishop Hildebold was promoted to archbishop
22.
Darmstadt
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Darmstadt is a city in the state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine-Main-Area. Darmstadt has a population around 150,000, the Darmstadt Larger Urban Zone has 430,993 inhabitants. Darmstadt holds the official title City of Science as it is a centre of scientific institutions, universities. The existence of the elements were also confirmed at GSI Centre for Heavy Ion Research, nihonium, flerovium, moscovium, livermorium. Darmstadt is also the seat of the worlds oldest pharmaceutical company, Merck, Darmstadt was formerly the capital of a sovereign country, the Grand Duchy of Hesse and its successor, the Peoples State of Hesse, a federal state of Germany. As the capital of an increasingly prosperous duchy, the city gained some international prominence, in the 20th century, industry, as well as large science and electronics sectors became increasingly important, and are still a major part of the citys economy. It is also home to the football club SV Darmstadt 98, Darmstadt, Indiana was named after Darmstadt and for the former Royal Family. The name Darmstadt first appears towards the end of the 11th century, the origins of the name are unknown. Dar-mund in Middle Low German is translated as Boggy Headlands, even locals often believe, incorrectly, that the name derives from the Darmbach. In fact, the received its current name much later, after the city. Darmstadt was chartered as a city by the Holy Roman Emperor Ludwig the Bavarian in 1330, the city, then called Darmstait, became a secondary residence for the counts, with a small castle established at the site of the current, much larger edifice. When the house of Katzenelnbogen became extinct in 1479, the city was passed to the Landgraviate of Hesse, the city grew in population during the 19th century from little over 10,000 to 72,000 inhabitants. A polytechnical school, which became a Technical University now known as TU Darmstadt, was established in 1877. In the beginning of the 20th century, Darmstadt was an important centre for the art movement of Jugendstil, annual architectural competitions led to the building of many architectural treasures of this period. Also during this period, in 1912 the chemist Anton Kollisch, working for the pharmaceutical company Merck, Darmstadts municipal area was extended in 1937 to include the neighbouring localities of Arheilgen and Eberstadt, and in 1938 the city was separated administratively from the surrounding district. Darmstadt was the first city in Germany to force Jewish shops to close in early 1933, the shops were only closed for one day, for endangering communal order and tranquility. In 1942, over 3,000 Jews from Darmstadt were first forced into a camp located in the Liebigschule. Darmstadt was first bombed on 30 July 1940, and 34 other air raids would follow before the wars end, the old city centre was largely destroyed in a British bombing raid on 11 September 1944
23.
Frankfurt
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The city is at the centre of the larger Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region, which has a population of 5.8 million and is Germanys second-largest metropolitan region after Rhine-Ruhr. Since the enlargement of the European Union in 2013, the centre of the EU is about 40 km to the east of Frankfurts CBD. Frankfurt is culturally and ethnically diverse, with half of the population. A quarter of the population are foreign nationals, including many expatriates, Frankfurt is an alpha world city and a global hub for commerce, culture, education, tourism and traffic. Its the site of many global and European headquarters, Frankfurt Airport is among the worlds busiest. Automotive, technology and research, services, consulting, media, Frankfurts DE-CIX is the worlds largest internet exchange point. Messe Frankfurt is one of the worlds largest trade fairs, major fairs include the Frankfurt Motor Show, the worlds largest motor show, the Music Fair, and the Frankfurt Book Fair, the worlds largest book fair. Frankfurt is home to educational institutions, including the Goethe University, the UAS, the FUMPA. Its renowned cultural venues include the concert hall Alte Oper, Europes largest English Theatre and many museums, Frankfurts skyline is shaped by some of Europes tallest skyscrapers. In sports, the city is known as the home of the top football club Eintracht Frankfurt, the basketball club Frankfurt Skyliners, the Frankfurt Marathon. Its the seat of German sport unions for Olympics, football, Frankfurt is the largest financial centre in continental Europe. It is home to the European Central Bank, Deutsche Bundesbank, Frankfurt Stock Exchange, the Frankfurt Stock Exchange is one of the worlds largest stock exchanges by market capitalization and accounts for more than 90 percent of the turnover in the German market. Frankfurt is considered a city as listed by the GaWC groups 2012 inventory. Among global cities it was ranked 10th by the Global Power City Index 2011, among financial centres it was ranked 8th by the International Financial Centers Development Index 2013 and 9th by the Global Financial Centres Index 2013. Its central location within Germany and Europe makes Frankfurt a major air, rail, Frankfurt Airport is one of the worlds busiest international airports by passenger traffic and the main hub for Germanys flag carrier Lufthansa. Frankfurter Kreuz, the Autobahn interchange close to the airport, is the most heavily used interchange in the EU, in 2011 human-resource-consulting firm Mercer ranked Frankfurt as seventh in its annual Quality of Living survey of cities around the world. According to The Economist cost-of-living survey, Frankfurt is Germanys most expensive city, Frankfurt has many high-rise buildings in the city centre, forming the Frankfurt skyline. It is one of the few cities in the European Union to have such a skyline and because of it Germans sometimes refer to Frankfurt as Mainhattan, the other well known and obvious nickname is Bankfurt
24.
Heddernheim
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Heddernheim is a city district of Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It is part of the Ortsbezirk Nord-West and is subdivided into the Stadtbezirke Heddernheim-Ost and Heddernheim-West, there have been three Mithraea discovered at Heddernheim. A hoard of silver votive plaques was discovered in the Roman settlement of Nida near Heddernheim in the nineteenth century, the offerings appear to have been deposited in a shrine dedicated to the Roman God of Jupiter Dolichenus. Heddernheim was first mentioned in documents in 801 AD as Phetterenheim, the Heddernheim station serves four lines, U1, U2, U3 and U8 of the Frankfurt U-Bahn
25.
Freiburg im Breisgau
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Freiburg im Breisgau is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany with a population of about 220,000. In the south-west of the country, it straddles the Dreisam river, historically, the city has acted as the hub of the Breisgau region on the western edge of the Black Forest in the Upper Rhine Plain. The city is known for its medieval minster and Renaissance university, as well as for its standard of living. The city is situated in the heart of the major Baden wine-growing region, according to meteorological statistics, the city is the sunniest and warmest in Germany and held the all-time German temperature record of 40.2 °C from 2003 to 2015. Freiburg was founded by Konrad and Duke Berthold III of Zähringen in 1120 as a market town, hence its name. Frei means free, and Burg, like the modern English word borough, was used in those days for a city or town. The German word Burg also means a town, as in Hamburg. Thus, it is likely that the name of place means a fortified town of free citizens. This town was located at a junction of trade routes between the Mediterranean Sea and the North Sea regions, and the Rhine and Danube rivers. In 1200, Freiburgs population numbered approximately 6,000 people, at about that time, under the rule of Bertold V, the last duke of Zähringen, the city began construction of its Freiburg Münster cathedral on the site of an older parish church. Begun in the Romanesque style, it was continued and completed 1513 for the most part as a Gothic edifice, in 1218, when Bertold V died, then Egino V von Urach, the count of Urach assumed the title of Freiburgs count as Egino I von Freiburg. The city council did not trust the new nobles and wrote down its established rights in a document, at the end of the thirteenth century there was a feud between the citizens of Freiburg and their lord, Count Egino II of Freiburg. Egino II raised taxes and sought to limit the freedom, after which the Freiburgers used catapults to destroy the counts castle atop the Schloßberg. The furious count called on his brother-in-law the Bishop of Strasbourg, Konradius von Lichtenberg, the bishop responded by marching with his army to Freiburg. According to an old Freiburg legend, a butcher named Hauri stabbed the Bishop of Strasbourg to death on 29 July 1299. It was a Pyrrhic victory, since henceforth the citizens of Freiburg had to pay an annual expiation of 300 marks in silver to the count of Freiburg until 1368, in 1366 the counts of Freiburg made another failed attempt to occupy the city during a night raid. Eventually the citizens were fed up with their lords, and in 1368 Freiburg purchased its independence from them, the city turned itself over to the protection of the Habsburgs, who allowed the city to retain a large measure of freedom. Most of the nobles of the city died in the battle of Sempach, the patrician family Schnewlin took control of the city until the guildsmen revolted
26.
Hanau
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Hanau is a town in the Main-Kinzig-Kreis, in Hesse, Germany. It is located 25 km east of Frankfurt am Main and its station is a major railway junction and it has a port on the river Main, making it an important transport centre. Hanau is known for being the birthplace of Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm, since the 16th century it was a centre of precious metal working with many goldsmiths. It is home to Heraeus, one of the largest family-owned companies in Germany, in 1963, the town hosted the third Hessentag state festival. Until 2005, Hanau was the centre of the Main-Kinzig-Kreis. The historic core of Hanau is situated within a semicircle of the river Kinzig which flows into the river Main just west of the town, after this change, Hanau for the first time also extended to the south bank of the Main river. The name is derived of Hagenowe which is an out of Haag. As a place of settlement Hanau was first mentioned in 1143, then it was the site of a castle which used the waters of the river Kinzig as a defense. The castle belonged to a family, calling themselves of Hanau since the 13th century. Starting from this castle a village developed and became a town in 1303, as a result of this history, the main church of Hanau stood outside its walls in the village of Kinzdorf. The villagers moved into the town, Kinzdorf became a village leaving only the church. Only in the 15th century was the status of the Hanau parish church transferred to the church of Mary Magdalene within the town walls, shortly after the first town walls were built at the beginning of the 14th century, the town outgrew this limit. These new fortifications enclosed three elements, The medieval castle, the town of Hanau and the Vorstadt. At the end of the 16th century, Count Philipp Ludwig II attracted Protestant refugees from the Netherlands and this was of high economic interest for him because these Walloons brought high-class trade, their knowledge of jewellery and other production of luxury items and therefore taxes to his county. Out of this tradition, goldsmiths are still trained in Hanau, Hanau also was the site of the first workshop to produce Faience within Germany. These new citizens were granted privileges and they formed their own community, church and it took more than 200 years to amalgamate both. The new town – larger than the old one – was protected by a very modern fortification in Baroque-style which proved a big asset only a few years later in the Thirty Years War. The town survived a siege in 1637 with only minor damage, in 1736 Johann Reinhard III of Hanau-Lichtenberg, the last of the Counts of Hanau, died
27.
Heidelberg
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Heidelberg is a college town situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. At the 2015 census, its population was 156,257, located about 78 km south of Frankfurt, Heidelberg is the fifth-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg. Heidelberg is part of the densely populated Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region, founded in 1386, Heidelberg University is Germanys oldest and one of Europes most reputable universities. A scientific hub in Germany, the city of Heidelberg is home to internationally renowned research facilities adjacent to its university. Heidelberg is in the Rhine Rift Valley, on the bank of the lower part of the Neckar in a steep valley in the Odenwald. It is bordered by the Königsstuhl and the Gaisberg mountains, the Neckar here flows in an east-west direction. On the right bank of the river, the Heiligenberg mountain rises to a height of 445 meters, the Neckar flows into the Rhine approximately 22 kilometres north-west in Mannheim. Villages incorporated during the 20th century stretch from the Neckar Valley along the Bergstraße, Heidelberg is on European walking route E1. Alongside the Philosophenweg on the side of the Old Town. There is a population of African rose-ringed parakeets, and a wild population of Siberian swan geese. Heidelberg is an authority within the Regierungsbezirk Karlsruhe. The Rhein-Neckar-Kreis rural district surrounds it and has its seat in the town, Heidelberg is a part of the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region, often referred to as the Rhein-Neckar Triangle. The Rhein-Neckar Triangle became a European metropolitan area in 2005, Heidelberg consists of 15 districts distributed in six sectors of the town. The new district will have approximately 5, 000–6,000 residents, Heidelberg has an oceanic climate, defined by the protected valley between the Pfälzerwald and the Odenwald. Year-round, the temperatures are determined by maritime air masses coming from the west. In contrast to the nearby Upper Rhine Plain, Heidelbergs position in the leads to more frequent easterly winds than average. The hillsides of the Odenwald favour clouding and precipitation, the warmest month is July, the coldest is January. Temperatures often rise beyond 30 °C in midsummer, according to the German Meteorological Service, Heidelberg was the warmest place in Germany in 2009
28.
Augsburg
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Augsburg is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. It was a Free Imperial City for over 500 years and it is a university town and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is a district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is the third-largest city in Bavaria with a population of 286,000 citizens, after Neuss and Trier, Augsburg is Germanys third oldest city, being founded by the Romans as Augusta Vindelicorum, named after the Roman emperor Augustus. Augsburg is the only German city with its own legal holiday and this gives Augsburg more legal holidays than any other region or city in Germany. Augsburg was the home of two families that rose to great prominence internationally, replacing the Medicis as Europes leading bankers, the Fugger. Augsburg lies at the convergence of the Alpine rivers Lech and Wertach, in the south extends the Lechfeld, an Outwash plain of the post ice age between the rivers Lech and Wertach, where rare primeval landscapes were preserved. The Augsburg city forest and the Lech valley heaths today rank among the most species-rich middle European habitats, on Augsburg borders the nature park Augsburg Western Woods - a large forestland. The city itself is also heavily greened, as a result, in 1997 Augsburg was the first German city to win the Europe-wide contest Entente Florale for Europes greenest and most livable city. Augsburg is surrounded by the counties Landkreis Augsburg in the west, the neighboring towns and cities are Friedberg, Königsbrunn, Stadtbergen, Neusäß, Gersthofen, Rehling, Affing, Kissing, Mering, Merching, Bobingen, Gessertshausen und Diedorf. Augsburg has a continental climate. The city was founded in 15 BC by Drusus and Tiberius as Augusta Vindelicorum, the name means Augusta of the Vindelici. This garrison camp soon became the capital of the Roman province of Raetia, thus, Augsburg was the intersection of many important European east-west and north-south connections, which later evolved as major trade routes of the Middle Ages. Around 120 AD Augsburg became the capital of the Roman province Raetia, Augsburg was sacked by the Huns in the 5th century AD, by Charlemagne in the 8th century, and by Welf of Bavaria in the 11th century, but arose each time to greater prosperity. Augsburg was granted the status of a Free Imperial City on March 9,1276 and from then until 1803, it was independent of its former overlord, the Prince-Bishop of Augsburg. Frictions between the city-state and the prince-bishops were to remain frequent however, particularly after Augsburg became Protestant and curtailed the rights, with a strategic location as intersection of trade routes to Italy, the Free Imperial City became a major trading center. Augsburg produced large quantities of goods, cloth and textiles. Augsburg became the base of two banking families that rose to prominence, the Fuggers and the Welsers
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Mainz
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Mainz is the capital and largest city of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany. It was the capital of the Electorate of Mainz at the time of the Holy Roman Empire. The city is famous as the home of the invention of the printing press. Until the twentieth century, Mainz was usually referred to in English by its French name, Mainz is located on the 50th latitude, on the west bank of the river Rhine, opposite the confluence of the Main with the Rhine. The population in the early 2012 was 200,957, an additional 18,619 people maintain a primary residence elsewhere but have a home in Mainz. The city is part of the Rhein Metro area comprising 5.8 million people, Mainz can easily be reached from Frankfurt International Airport in 25 minutes by commuter railway. Mainzs history and economy are closely tied to its proximity to the Rhine river historically handling much of the regions waterborne cargo, todays huge container port hub allowing trimodal transport is located on the North Side of the town. The river also provides another positive effect, moderating Mainzs climate, after the last ice age, sand dunes were deposited in the Rhine valley at what was to become the western edge of the city. The Mainz Sand Dunes area is now a reserve with a unique landscape. When the Mainz legion camp was founded in 13/12 BC, the buildings near the Rhine River, historical sources and archaeological findings both prove the importance of the military and civilian Mogontiacum as a port city on the Rhine. The Roman stronghold or castrum Mogontiacum, the precursor to Mainz, was founded by the Roman general Drusus perhaps as early as 13/12 BC. As related by Suetonius the existence of Mogontiacum is well established by four years later, although the city is situated opposite the mouth of the Main river, the name of Mainz is not from Main, the similarity being perhaps due to diachronic analogy. Main is from Latin Menus, the name the Romans used for the river, linguistic analysis of the many forms that the name Mainz has taken on make it clear that it is a simplification of Mogontiacum. The name appears to be Celtic and ultimately it is, however, it had also become Roman and was selected by them with a special significance. Mogontiacum was an important military town throughout Roman times, probably due to its position at the confluence of the Main. The town of Mogontiacum grew up between the fort and the river, the castrum was the base of Legio XIIII Gemina and XVI Gallica, XXII Primigenia, IIII Macedonica, I Adiutrix, XXI Rapax, and XIIII Gemina, among others. Mainz was also a base of a Roman river fleet, the Classis Germanica, remains of Roman troop ships and a patrol boat from the late 4th century were discovered in 1982/86 and may now be viewed in the Museum für Antike Schifffahrt. A temple dedicated to Isis Panthea and Magna Mater was discovered in 2000 and is open to the public
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Neuss
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Neuss is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the west bank of the Rhine opposing Düsseldorf, Neuss is the largest city within the Rhein-Kreis Neuss district. It is primarily known for its historic Roman sites, as well as the annual Neusser Bürger-Schützenfest, in 1984 Neuss celebrated 2000 years since its foundation. It therefore holds the title of Germanys oldest city alongside the city of Trier. Neuss was founded by the Romans in 16 BC as a fortification with the current city to the north of the castrum, at the confluence of the rivers Rhine and Erft. Legio XVI Gallica of the Roman army was stationed here in 43-70 AD and it was disbanded after surrendering during the Batavian rebellion. Later a civil settlement was founded in the area of todays centre of the town during the 1st century AD, Novaesium, together with Trier, is one of the three oldest Roman settlements in Germany. Neuss grew during the Middle Ages because of its location on several routes, by the crossing of the great Rhine valley. During the 10th century, the remains of the martyr and tribune Saint Quirinus and this resulted in pilgrimage to the shrine of St. Quirinus even from countries beyond the borders of the Holy Roman Empire. Neuss was first documented as a town in 1138, one of the main events in the towns history is the siege of the town in 1474–75 by Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, that lasted for nearly a year. The citizens of Neuss withstood the siege and were rewarded by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III. The town was granted the right to mint its own coins and to carry the coat of arms, the imperial eagle. Neuss became a member of the Hanseatic League, although it was never accepted by the members of the League. In 1586, more than two-thirds of the city was destroyed by fire and its importance as a place for trading declined rapidly, and from the mid-17th century onwards, Neuss became a place only important for its agriculture. Until the late 18th century, Neuss belonged to the Electorate of Cologne, from 1794 to 1814, Neuss was part of France during the reign of Napoleon. The town had a population of 6,333 at that time and it was part of the Prussian Province of Jülich-Cleves-Berg and its successor, the Rhine Province. Neuss regained its power in the 19th century, with expansion of the harbour in 1835. The citys boundaries were expanded in 1881, Neuss became part of the new state of North Rhine-Westphalia in 1946
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Riegel am Kaiserstuhl
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Riegel am Kaiserstuhl is a municipality in the district of Emmendingen in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It lies 8 km northwest of Emmendingen, and is accessed by the motorway A5, Riegel provides its citizens education with the Michaelschule that consists of both a Grund- and a Hauptschule. A Mithraeum was unearthed in the neighborhoods of Riegel. A reconstruction of the temple was placed there, and the artifacts can be seen at the museum in Freiburg im Breisgau. Champhol, Eure-et-Loir, France, since 1995 Riegel am Kaiserstuhl, pictures & history Riegel am Kaiserstuhl, actual and historical pictures
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Saalburg
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The Saalburg is a Roman fort located on the Taunus ridge northwest of Bad Homburg, Hesse, Germany. It is a Cohort Fort belonging to the Limes Germanicus, the Roman linear border fortification of the German provinces, the Saalburg, located just off the main road roughly halfway between Bad Homburg and Wehrheim is the most completely reconstructed Roman fort in Germany. Since 2005, as part of the Upper German limes, it part of a UNESCO World Heritage site. In the modern numbering system for the limes, it is ORL11, the earliest examinations of the site were undertaken from 1853 to 1862 by the Nassau Antiquarian Society under the direction of Friedrich Gustav Habel. In 1897, Kaiser Wilhelm II, following a suggestion by L. Jacobi, as a result, the Saalburg became the most completely reconstructed fort on the entire limes. It also houses the Saalburg Museum, one of the two most important institutions dedicated to the study of the German Limes. Since prehistoric times, trade routes like the Lindenweg or Linienweg connected the Rhine-Main plain with the Usingen basin, such routes would have followed a course from the mouth of the Nidda near Höchst, northwards across the low Taunus ridge, as does the modern Bundesstraße 456. A location along major communication routes almost always equals a strategic importance, thus, it is no surprise that the mountain pass beside the Saalburg was first fortified by Roman troops during Domitians wars against the Chatti, when two simple earthen enclosures were erected. Shortly after the two enclosures, around AD90, a simple wood-and-earth fort was built to house a numerus, a numerus was a unit of auxiliary troops consisting of 2 centuriae and numbering about 160 men. There is some evidence that the troop stationed at this fort was a numerus Brittonum, i. e. a unit from Britain, late in the reign of Hadrian, c. AD135, the fort was replaced with a much larger fort for a cohort. The new castle was reoriented to face the growing Roman city of Nida, originally, it had dry-built wood-and stone walls, which were replaced in the 2nd half of the 2nd century with mortared stone walls and an earthen ramp. The reconstructed fort is based on third and last architectural phase. Part of the defensive ditch has also been restored and can be inspected there. The cohort had initially been stationed at Aquae Mattiacorum, had then moved to the Butzbach fort. The fort existed in form and with that occupancy until the fall of the German limes in c. During the intervening period, the name of the unit is mentioned in stone inscriptions. In the early 3rd century, the situation along the limes became increasingly unsettled, a preventative war under Caracalla, who marched against the Alamanni and their Chatti allies from Raetia and Mogontiacum in AD213, lowered the Germanic pressure on the border only temporarily
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Wiesloch
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Wiesloch pronounced, locally, is a city in Germany, in northern Baden-Württemberg. It is situated 13 kilometres south of Heidelberg, also in the vicinity of Wiesloch are the cities and towns of Dielheim, Malsch, Mühlhausen, Rauenberg and Sankt Leon-Rot. During the reformation of the area in the 1970s Wieslochs inhabitants exceeded 20,000, Wiesloch became a Große Kreisstadt on January 1,1973, when Altwiesloch, Baiertal, Frauenweiler and Schatthausen were joined with the town of Wiesloch to form the present municipality. Wiesloch is a town of, Sturgis, St. This bird lived during the Early Oligocene, when the area had a humid, subtropical climate similar to the northern Caribbean today. There were three battles near Wiesloch, the Battle of Mingolsheim on April 27,1622, the 1632 Battle of Wiesloch on August 16,1632, and the 1799 Battle of Wiesloch on December 3,1799. Wiesloch was attacked on January 28,1689 by French troops under Ezéchiel du Mas, Comte de Mélac, during the Nine Years War and she was supplied with ligroin by the apothecary Willi Ockel. In 2008, the Bertha Benz Memorial Route was officially designated a heritage route. It is a 194 km signposted circuit from Mannheim via Heidelberg and Wiesloch to Pforzheim in the Black Forest, the Codex Manesse includes four sophisticated Middle High German lyrics in the tagelied genre ascribed to the Minnesinger von Wissenlo. The identity of the Minnesinger von Wissenlo is not known, but the poet is conjectured to be Heinrich Swendinger von Wissenloch, who lived in the second half of the 13th century. An illustration titled von Wissenlo in the Codex Manesse shows a lady, a child, and a knight, Wiesloch is partly situated on the southern foothills of the Odenwald, partly in the Rhine Valley and partly in the Kraichgau. Five brooks flow through Wiesloch, the Leimbach, the Gauangelbach, the Waldangelbach, the Ochsenbach, Wiesloch includes the global headquarter of the MLP AG, a large German broker of personal finance services. It also hosts the worlds largest printing press manufacturing site, operated by Heidelberger Druckmaschinen, other large companies in the close vicinity are HeidelbergCement, the central cool store warehouses for the REWE Group supermarket chain, and the global headquarters of SAP SE. MetropolPark Wiesloch-Walldorf is the name for the commercial and industrial business park surrounding Wiesloch-Walldorf railway station. The open-air Leimbach Park and Wiesloch Feldbahn and Industrial Museum are in the surrounding the joint railway station. Official website of the city of Wiesloch Wiesloch -- Industrial Center of the Heidelberg Area South
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Aquincum Mithraeum (of Victorinus)
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The Aquincum Mithraeum is a temple to the Roman god Mithras near Budapest in Hungary. The temple was built within a townhouse in the Roman city of Aquincum, now in Óbuda on the outskirts of the city of Budapest. The temple was discovered during excavations in 1888 within what appeared to be a house near to the centre of the Roman city. The shrine was orientated north to south and measured 7m wide by 15. 03m long, the interior was divided up into three parts- two ante rooms and the sanctuary proper. The front room is postulated by the excavators as a Shrine of Mercury, a room was located on the west side and is of uncertain purpose. The middle room probably served as a narthex, the main part of the shrine was divided into three lateral parts, typical of all mithraea. A central nave about 2. 18m wide and 1 meter below ground level was flanked on either side by podium benches for the initiates to recline on during the ceremonies. Steps lead down to the floor level of the nave directly from the entrance. Along the front of the benches, and slightly recessed into them, were placed a pair of small altars all dedicated by Marcus Antoninus Victorinus. Mithras, naked and emerging from the rock to mid-thigh, holds a torch in his upraised left hand. The rock is encircled by a serpent who raises its head towards the god, DEO CAUTI / M ANT VIC/TORINUS / DEC COL / AQ AEDILIS. Marcus Antonius Victorinus, Decurion of the colony of Aquincum, as above though to DEO CAU/TOPATI / To Cautopates. FONTI / PERENNI / M ANT / VICTORI/NUS DEC / COL AQ / AED, Marcus Antonius Victorinus, Decurion of the colony of Aquincum. A fragment of the tauroctony was found in the excavations and would have stood on the stone base at the end wall of the temple cella. The shrine is accessible within the Aquincum Archaeological Park, just south of the Aquincum Museum building. The remains have been restored and consolidated for display. The tauroctony fragment and the altar are located in the wing of the Lapidarium situated at the northern edge of the Archaeological Park. The Victorinus altars are the originals in situ, fertorakos Mithraeum, Mithraeu in Fertőrákos, Hungary Savaria Mithraeum, Mithraeum in Savaria, Hungary
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Caesarea Maritima
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Caesarea Maritima is an Israeli National Park in the Sharon plain, including the ancient remains of the coastal city of Caesarea. The city and harbor were built under Herod the Great during c, 22–10 BC near the site of a former Phoenician naval station known as Stratonos pyrgos. It later became the capital of Roman Judea, Roman Syria Palaestina. It was re-fortified by the Crusaders, and finally slighted by the Mamluks in 1265, the name Caesarea was adopted into Arabic as Qaysaria قيسارية. The location was all but abandoned in 1800, the ruins of the ancient city, on the coast just about 2 km south of modern Caesarea, were excavated in the 1950s and 1960s and the site was incorporated into a new national park in 2011. The site of the former Phoenician naval station was awarded to Herod the Great in 30 BC, Herod built his palace on a promontory jutting out into the sea, with a decorative pool surrounded by stoas. He went on to build a port and a city. In the year AD6, Caesarea became the civilian and military capital of Iudaea Province and the residence of the Roman procurator Antonius Felix. This city is the location of the 1961 discovery of the Pilate Stone and it is likely that Pilate used it as a base, and only went to Jerusalem when needed. It is also the location of Herods tomb. The city was described in detail by the 1st-century Roman Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, Josephus describes the harbor as being as large as the one at Piraeus, the major harbor of Athens. Remains of the buildings erected by Herod and the medieval town are still visible today, including the city walls, the castle. Caesarea grew rapidly, becoming the largest city in Judea, with a population of 125,000 over an urban area of 3.7 square kilometres. According to Josephus, the outbreak of the Jewish revolt of AD66 was provoked by Greeks of a merchant house in Caesarea sacrificing birds in front of a local synagogue. According to Josephus, Caesarea was the scene in AD26 of an act of civil disobedience to protest Pilates order to plant eagle standards on the Temple Mount of Jerusalem. The emperor Vespasian raised its status to that of a Colonia, in AD70, after the Jewish revolt was suppressed, games were held here to celebrate the victory of Titus. Many Jewish captives were brought to Caesarea Maritima, Kasher claims that 2,500 captives were slaughtered in gladiatorial games, Caesarea was one of four Roman colonies for veterans in the Syria-Phoenicia region. Caesarea is mentioned in the 3rd century Mosaic of Rehob, with respect to its non-Jewish population, when it was built in the 1st century BC, Sebastos Harbor ranked as the largest artificial harbor built in the open sea, enclosing around 100,000 m2
