1.
September
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September is the ninth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and the third month to have the length of 30 days. It is also the month with the longest name, September in the Northern Hemisphere is the seasonal equivalent of March in the Southern Hemisphere. In the Northern hemisphere, the beginning of the autumn is on 1 September. In the Southern hemisphere, the beginning of the spring is on 1 September. September marks the beginning of the ecclesiastical year in the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is the start of the year in many countries, in which children go back to school after the summer break. September was originally the seventh of ten months on the oldest known Roman calendar, after the calendar reform that added January and February to the beginning of the year, September became the ninth month, but retained its name. It had 29 days until the Julian reform, which added a day, ancient Roman observances for September include Ludi Romani, originally celebrated from September 12 to September 14, later extended to September 5 to September 19. In the last 1st century BC, a day was added in honor of the deified Julius Caesar on 4 September. Ludi Triumphales was held from September 18–22, the Septimontium was celebrated in September, and on December 11 on later calendars. These dates do not correspond to the modern Gregorian calendar, in 1752, the British Empire adopted the Gregorian calendar. In the British Empire that year, September 2 was immediately followed by September 14, September was called harvest month in Charlemagnes calendar. September corresponds partly to the Fructidor and partly to the Vendémiaire of the first French republic, on Usenet, it is said that September 1993 never ended. September is called Herbstmonat, harvest month, in Switzerland, the Anglo-Saxons called the month Gerstmonath, barley month, that crop being then usually harvested. The September equinox takes place in this month, and certain observances are organized around it and it is the Autumn equinox in the Northern Hemisphere, and the Vernal Equinox in the Southern Hemisphere. The dates can vary from 21 September to 24 September, September is mostly in the sixth month of the astrological calendar, which begins at the end of March/Mars/Aries. The birth flowers for September are the forget-me-not, morning glory, the zodiac signs for the month of September are Virgo and Libra whose end and start are related to equinox date. This list does not necessarily imply either official status or general observance, emergency Number Day Enkutatash falls on this day if it is not a leap year. National Day of Catalonia National Hot Cross Bun Day Nayrouz Patriot Day Remember Freedom Day Teachers Day September 12 Day of Conception Day of the Programmer, Enkutatash falls on this day if it is a leap year
2.
October
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October is the tenth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and the sixth month to have the length of 31 days. The eighth month in the old Roman calendar, October retained its name after January and February were inserted into the calendar that had originally created by the Romans. In Ancient Rome, one of three Mundus patet would take place on October 5, Meditrinalia October 11, Augustalia on October 12, October Horse on October 15 and these dates do not correspond to the modern Gregorian calendar. Among the Anglo-Saxons, it was known as Winterfylleth, because at full moon winter was supposed to begin. This list does not necessarily imply either official status or general observance, October 19, Amavasya In Catholic tradition, October is the Month of the Holy Rosary. Neil Gaiman wrote a story personifying the month, titled October in the Chair, ray Bradbury published a collection of short stories titled The October Country in 1955. Octobers birthstones are the tourmaline and opal and its birth flower is the calendula. The zodiac signs for this month are Libra and Scorpio
3.
November
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November is the eleventh and penultimate month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and the fourth and last month to have the length of 30 days. November was the month of the ancient Roman calendar. November retained its name when January and February were added to the Roman calendar, November is a month of late-spring in the Southern Hemisphere and late-autumn in the Northern Hemisphere. Therefore, November in the Southern Hemisphere is the equivalent of May in the Northern Hemisphere. In Ancient Rome, Ludi Plebeii was held from November 4–17, Epulum Jovis was held on November 13 and these dates do not correspond to the modern Gregorian calendar. November was referred to as Blōtmōnaþ by the Anglo-Saxons, brumaire and Frimaire were the months on which November fell in the French Republican Calendar. The Orionids, which occur in late October, sometimes last into November, the Western zodiac signs for the month of November are Scorpio and Sagittarius. Novembers birthstones are the topaz which symbolizes friendship and the citrine and its birth flower is the chrysanthemum. This list does not necessarily imply either official status or general observance, November 18, Amavasya In Catholic tradition, November is the Month of the Holy Souls in Purgatory
4.
October 7
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October 7 is the 280th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 85 days remaining until the end of the year and this date is slightly more likely to fall on a Wednesday, Friday or Sunday than on Monday or Tuesday, and slightly less likely to occur on a Thursday or Saturday. 3761 BC – The epoch reference date epoch of the modern Hebrew calendar,1403 – Battle of Modon, Genoese fleet under Jean Le Maingre is defeated by the Republic of Venice at Modon in the Peloponnese. 1406 – French troops comprising 1,000 men at arms landed on Jersey,1477 – Uppsala University is inaugurated after receiving its corporate rights from Pope Sixtus IV in February the same year. 1513 – Battle of La Motta, Spanish troops under Ramón de Cardona defeat the Venetians,1542 – Explorer Cabrillo discovers Santa Catalina Island off of the California coast. 1571 – The Battle of Lepanto is fought, and the Holy League annihilates the Turkish fleet,1582 – Because of the implementation of the Gregorian calendar, this day is skipped in Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain. 1691 – The English royal charter for the Province of Massachusetts Bay is issued,1763 – King George III of the United Kingdom issues the Royal Proclamation of 1763, closing aboriginal lands in North America north and west of the Alleghenies to white settlements. 1777 – American Revolutionary War, The Americans defeat the British in the Second Battle of Saratoga,1780 – American Revolutionary War, Battle of Kings Mountain, American Patriot militia defeat Loyalist irregulars led by British major Patrick Ferguson in South Carolina. 1800 – French corsair Robert Surcouf, commander of the 18-gun ship La Confiance,1840 – Willem II becomes King of the Netherlands. 1868 – Cornell University holds opening day ceremonies, initial student enrollment is 412,1870 – Franco-Prussian War, Siege of Paris, Léon Gambetta flees Paris in a hot-air balloon. 1879 – Germany and Austria-Hungary sign the Twofold Covenant and create the Dual Alliance,1912 – The Helsinki Stock Exchange sees its first transaction. 1916 – Georgia Tech defeats Cumberland University 222–0 in the most lopsided college football game in American history,1918 – The Regency Council of the Kingdom of Poland declares independence from the German Empire and forms the Republic of Poland. 1919 – KLM, the carrier of the Netherlands, is founded. It is the oldest airline operating under its original name. 1924 – Andreas Michalakopoulos becomes Prime Minister of Greece for a period of time. 1929 – Photius II becomes Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople,1933 – Air France is inaugurated, after being formed by a merger of 5 French airlines. 1940 – World War II, The McCollum memo proposes bringing the United States into the war in Europe by provoking the Japanese to attack the United States. 1942 – World War II, The October Matanikau action on Guadalcanal begins as United States Marine Corps forces attack Imperial Japanese Army units along the Matanikau River,1944 – World War II, During an uprising at Birkenau concentration camp, Jewish prisoners burn down Crematorium IV
5.
Leap year
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A leap year is a calendar year containing one additional day added to keep the calendar year synchronized with the astronomical or seasonal year. By inserting an additional day or month into the year, the drift can be corrected, a year that is not a leap year is called a common year. For example, in the Gregorian calendar, each year has 366 days instead of the usual 365. In the Bahai Calendar, a day is added when needed to ensure that the following year begins on the vernal equinox. For example, Christmas Day fell on a Tuesday in 2001, Wednesday in 2002, the length of a day is also occasionally changed by the insertion of leap seconds into Coordinated Universal Time, owing to the variability of Earths rotational period. Unlike leap days, leap seconds are not introduced on a regular schedule, in the Gregorian calendar, the standard calendar in most of the world, most years that are multiples of 4 are leap years. In each leap year, the month of February has 29 days instead of 28, adding an extra day to the calendar every four years compensates for the fact that a period of 365 days is shorter than a tropical year by almost 6 hours. Some exceptions to this rule are required since the duration of a tropical year is slightly less than 365.25 days. For example, the years 1700,1800, and 1900 were not leap years, over a period of four centuries, the accumulated error of adding a leap day every four years amounts to about three extra days. The Gregorian calendar therefore removes three leap days every 400 years, which is the length of its leap cycle and this is done by removing February 29 in the three century years that cannot be exactly divided by 400. The years 1600,2000 and 2400 are leap years, while 1700,1800,1900,2100,2200 and 2300 are common years, by this rule, the average number of days per year is 365 + 1⁄4 − 1⁄100 + 1⁄400 =365.2425. The rule can be applied to years before the Gregorian reform, the Gregorian calendar was designed to keep the vernal equinox on or close to March 21, so that the date of Easter remains close to the vernal equinox. The Accuracy section of the Gregorian calendar article discusses how well the Gregorian calendar achieves this design goal, the following pseudocode determines whether a year is a leap year or a common year in the Gregorian calendar. The year variable being tested is the representing the number of the year in the Gregorian calendar. Care should be taken in translating mathematical integer divisibility into specific programming languages, if then else if then else if then else February 29 is a date that usually occurs every four years, and is called leap day. This day is added to the calendar in leap years as a corrective measure, the Gregorian calendar is a modification of the Julian calendar first used by the Romans. The Roman calendar originated as a calendar and named many of its days after the syzygies of the moon, the new moon. The Nonae or nones was not the first quarter moon but was exactly one nundina or Roman market week of nine days before the ides and this is what we would call a period of eight days
6.
Gregorian calendar
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The Gregorian calendar is internationally the most widely used civil calendar. It is named after Pope Gregory XIII, who introduced it in October 1582, the calendar was a refinement to the Julian calendar involving a 0. 002% correction in the length of the year. The motivation for the reform was to stop the drift of the calendar with respect to the equinoxes and solstices—particularly the northern vernal equinox, transition to the Gregorian calendar would restore the holiday to the time of the year in which it was celebrated when introduced by the early Church. The reform was adopted initially by the Catholic countries of Europe, the last European country to adopt the reform was Greece, in 1923. Many countries that have used the Islamic and other religious calendars have come to adopt this calendar for civil purposes. The reform was a modification of a made by Aloysius Lilius. His proposal included reducing the number of years in four centuries from 100 to 97. Lilius also produced an original and practical scheme for adjusting the epacts of the moon when calculating the date of Easter. For example, the years 1700,1800, and 1900 are not leap years, but the years 1600 and 2000 are. The canonical Easter tables were devised at the end of the third century, when the vernal equinox fell either on 20 March or 21 March depending on the years position in the leap year cycle. As the rule was that the full moon preceding Easter was not to precede the equinox, the date was fixed at 21 March for computational purposes, the Gregorian calendar reproduced these conditions by removing ten days. To unambiguously specify a date, dual dating or Old Style, dual dating gives two consecutive years for a given date, because of differences in the starting date of the year, and/or to give both the Julian and the Gregorian dates. The Gregorian calendar continued to use the calendar era, which counts years from the traditional date of the nativity. This year-numbering system, also known as Dionysian era or Common Era, is the predominant international standard today, the Gregorian calendar is a solar calendar. A regular Gregorian year consists of 365 days, but as in the Julian calendar, in a leap year, in the Julian calendar a leap year occurs every 4 years, but the Gregorian calendar omits 3 leap days every 400 years. In the Julian calendar, this day was inserted by doubling 24 February. In the modern period, it has become customary to number the days from the beginning of the month, some churches, notably the Roman Catholic Church, delay February festivals after the 23rd by one day in leap years. Gregorian years are identified by consecutive year numbers, the cycles repeat completely every 146,097 days, which equals 400 years
7.
539 BC
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The year 539 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as year 215 Ab urbe condita, the denomination 539 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years. – Battle of Opis, Troops of the Persian Achaemenid Empire under Cyrus the Great decisively defeat those of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, October 7 – Achaemenid troops under Gobryas enter Babylon unopposed. On October 29 Cyrus enters the city, incorporating the Neo-Babylonian Empire into the Achaemenid Empire makes the latter into the largest in the history of the world up until that point. Nabonidus, last king of Babylon Belshazzar, co-regent of Babylon
8.
Cyrus the Great
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Cyrus II of Persia, commonly known as Cyrus the Great and also called Cyrus the Elder by the Greeks, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire. From the Mediterranean Sea and Hellespont in the west to the Indus River in the east, under his successors, the empire eventually stretched at its maximum extent from parts of the Balkans and Eastern Europe proper in the west, to the Indus Valley in the east. His regal titles in full were The Great King, King of Persia, King of Anshan, King of Media, King of Babylon, King of Sumer and Akkad, the reign of Cyrus the Great lasted between 29 and 31 years. Cyrus built his empire by conquering first the Median Empire, then the Lydian Empire, either before or after Babylon, he led an expedition into central Asia, which resulted in major campaigns that were described as having brought into subjection every nation without exception. Cyrus did not venture into Egypt, as he died in battle. He was succeeded by his son, Cambyses II, who managed to add to the empire by conquering Egypt, Nubia, Cyrus the Great respected the customs and religions of the lands he conquered. This became a successful model for centralized administration and establishing a government working to the advantage. In fact, the administration of the empire through satraps and the principle of forming a government at Pasargadae were the works of Cyrus. Cyrus the Great is also recognized for his achievements in human rights, politics. Having originated from Persis, roughly corresponding to the modern Iranian province of Fars and this view has been criticized by some historians as a misunderstanding of the Cylinders generic nature as a traditional statement that new monarchs make at the beginning of their reign. The name Cyrus is a Latinized form derived from the Greek Κῦρος, Kỹros, the name and its meaning has been recorded in ancient inscriptions in different languages. This may also point to a relationship to the mythological first king of Persia, Jamshid. Karl Hoffmann has suggested a translation based on the meaning of an Indo-European-root to humiliate, in the Persian language and especially in Iran, Cyruss name is spelled as کوروش. In the Bible, he is known as Koresh, the Persian domination and kingdom in the Iranian plateau started by an extension of the Achaemenid dynasty, who expanded their earlier domination possibly from the 9th century BC onward. The eponymous founder of dynasty was Achaemenes. Achaemenids are descendants of Achaemenes as Darius the Great, the king of the dynasty, traces his genealogy to him. Ancient documents mention that Teispes had a son called Cyrus I, Cyrus I had a full brother whose name is recorded as Ariaramnes. In 600 BC, Cyrus I was succeeded by his son, Cambyses I, Cyrus the Great was a son of Cambyses I, who named his son after his father, Cyrus I
9.
Achaemenid Empire
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The Achaemenid Empire, also called the Persian Empire, was an empire based in Western Asia, founded by Cyrus the Great. The empires successes inspired similar systems in later empires and it is noted in Western history as the antagonist of the Greek city-states during the Greco-Persian Wars and for the emancipation of the Jewish exiles in Babylon. The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, was built in a Hellenistic style in the empire as well. By the 7th century BC, the Persians had settled in the portion of the Iranian Plateau in the region of Persis. From this region, Cyrus the Great advanced to defeat the Medes, Lydia, Alexander, an avid admirer of Cyrus the Great, conquered the empire in its entirety by 330 BC. Upon his death, most of the former territory came under the rule of the Ptolemaic Kingdom and Seleucid Empire. The Persian population of the central plateau reclaimed power by the second century BC under the Parthian Empire, the historical mark of the Achaemenid Empire went far beyond its territorial and military influences and included cultural, social, technological and religious influences as well. Many Athenians adopted Achaemenid customs in their lives in a reciprocal cultural exchange. The impact of Cyruss edict is mentioned in Judeo-Christian texts, the empire also set the tone for the politics, heritage and history of modern Iran. Astronomical year numbering Dates are approximate, consult particular article for details Due to the duration of their reigns, Smerdis, Xerxes II. The Persian nation contains a number of tribes as listed here, the Pasargadae, Maraphii, and Maspii, upon which all the other tribes are dependent. Of these, the Pasargadae are the most distinguished, they contain the clan of the Achaemenids from which spring the Perseid kings. Other tribes are the Panthialaei, Derusiaei, Germanii, all of which are attached to the soil, the Achaemenid Empire was created by nomadic Persians. The Achaemenid Empire was not the first Iranian empire, as by 6th century BC another group of ancient Iranian peoples had established the short lived Median Empire. The Iranian peoples had arrived in the region of what is today Iran c.1000 BC and had for a number of centuries fallen under the domination of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, based in northern Mesopotamia. However, the Medes and Persians, Cimmerians, Persians and Chaldeans played a role in the overthrow of the Assyrian empire. The term Achaemenid means of the family of the Achaemenis/Achaemenes, despite the derivation of the name, Achaemenes was himself a minor seventh-century ruler of the Anshan in southwestern Iran, and a vassal of Assyria. At some point in 550 BC, Cyrus rose in rebellion against the Medes, eventually conquering the Medes and creating the first Persian empire
10.
Babylon
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Babylon was a major city of ancient Mesopotamia in the fertile plain between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The city was built upon the Euphrates and divided in parts along its left and right banks. Babylon was originally a small Semitic Akkadian city dating from the period of the Akkadian Empire c.2300 BC, the town attained independence as part of a small city-state with the rise of the First Amorite Babylonian Dynasty in 1894 BC. Babylon grew and South Mesopotamia came to be known as Babylonia, the empire quickly dissolved after Hammurabis death and Babylon spent long periods under Assyrian, Kassite and Elamite domination. After being destroyed and then rebuilt by the Assyrians, Babylon became the capital of the Neo-Babylonian Empire from 609 to 539 BC, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. After the fall of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, the city came under the rule of the Achaemenid, Seleucid, Parthian, Roman, and Sassanid empires. It has been estimated that Babylon was the largest city in the world from c.1770 to 1670 BC and it was perhaps the first city to reach a population above 200,000. Estimates for the extent of its area range from 890 to 900 hectares. The remains of the city are in present-day Hillah, Babil Governorate, Iraq, about 85 kilometres south of Baghdad, comprising a large tell of broken mud-brick buildings, the English Babylon comes from Greek Babylṓn, a transliteration of the Akkadian Babili. The Babylonian name in the early 2nd millennium BC had been Babilli or Babilla, by the 1st millennium BC, it had changed to Babili under the influence of the folk etymology which traced it to bāb-ili. The Gate of God or Gate of El being from the Aramaic Hebrew Bab for Gate and El for God and this being similar to the Hebrew word for confusion Balal. In the Bible, the name appears as Babel, interpreted in the Hebrew Scriptures Book of Genesis to mean confusion, the modern English verb, to babble, or to speak meaningless words, is popularly thought to derive from this name, but there is no direct connection. The remains of the city are in present-day Hillah, Babil Governorate, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad, comprising a large tell of broken mud-brick buildings and debris. The site at Babylon consists of a number of mounds covering an area of about 2 by 1 kilometer, oriented north to south, along the Euphrates to the west. Originally, the river roughly bisected the city, but the course of the river has since shifted so that most of the remains of the western part of the city are now inundated. Some portions of the city wall to the west of the river also remain, remains of the city include, Kasr—also called Palace or Castle, it is the location of the Neo-Babylonian ziggurat Etemenanki and lies in the center of the site. Amran Ibn Ali—the highest of the mounds at 25 meters, to the south and it is the site of Esagila, a temple of Marduk which also contained shrines to Ea and Nabu. Homera—a reddish colored mound on the west side, most of the Hellenistic remains are here
11.
Constantine the Great
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Constantine the Great, also known as Constantine I or Saint Constantine, was a Roman Emperor from 306 to 337 AD. Constantine was the son of Flavius Valerius Constantius, a Roman Army officer and his father became Caesar, the deputy emperor in the west, in 293 AD. Constantine was sent east, where he rose through the ranks to become a military tribune under the emperors Diocletian, in 305, Constantius was raised to the rank of Augustus, senior western emperor, and Constantine was recalled west to campaign under his father in Britannia. As emperor, Constantine enacted many administrative, financial, social, the government was restructured and civil and military authority separated. A new gold coin, the solidus, was introduced to combat inflation and it would become the standard for Byzantine and European currencies for more than a thousand years. He called the First Council of Nicaea in 325, at which the Nicene Creed was adopted by Christians, in military matters, the Roman army was reorganised to consist of mobile field units and garrison soldiers capable of countering internal threats and barbarian invasions. The age of Constantine marked an epoch in the history of the Roman Empire. He built a new residence at Byzantium and renamed the city Constantinople after himself. It would later become the capital of the Empire for over one thousand years and his more immediate political legacy was that, in leaving the empire to his sons, he replaced Diocletians tetrarchy with the principle of dynastic succession. His reputation flourished during the lifetime of his children and centuries after his reign, the medieval church upheld him as a paragon of virtue while secular rulers invoked him as a prototype, a point of reference, and the symbol of imperial legitimacy and identity. Beginning with the Renaissance, there were more critical appraisals of his due to the rediscovery of anti-Constantinian sources. Critics portrayed him as a tyrant, trends in modern and recent scholarship attempted to balance the extremes of previous scholarship. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built on his orders at the site of Jesus tomb in Jerusalem. The Papal claim to power in the High Middle Ages was based on the supposed Donation of Constantine. He is venerated as a saint by Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholics, though Constantine has historically often been referred to as the First Christian Emperor, scholars debate his actual beliefs or even his actual comprehension of the Christian faith itself. Constantine was a ruler of major importance, and he has always been a controversial figure, the fluctuations in Constantines reputation reflect the nature of the ancient sources for his reign. These are abundant and detailed, but have strongly influenced by the official propaganda of the period. There are no surviving histories or biographies dealing with Constantines life, the nearest replacement is Eusebius of Caesareas Vita Constantini, a work that is a mixture of eulogy and hagiography
12.
Battle of the Milvian Bridge
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The Battle of the Milvian Bridge took place between the Roman Emperors Constantine I and Maxentius on October 28,312. It takes its name from the Milvian Bridge, an important route over the Tiber, Constantine won the battle and started on the path that led him to end the Tetrarchy and become the sole ruler of the Roman Empire. Maxentius drowned in the Tiber during the battle and his body was taken from the river. According to chroniclers such as Eusebius of Caesarea and Lactantius, the battle marked the beginning of Constantines conversion to Christianity, Eusebius of Caesarea recounts that Constantine and his soldiers had a vision sent by the Christian God. This was interpreted as a promise of victory if the sign of the Chi-Rho, the underlying causes of the battle were the rivalries inherent in Diocletians Tetrarchy. After Diocletian stepped down on 1 May 305, his successors began to struggle for control of the Roman Empire almost immediately, although Constantine was the son of the Western Emperor Constantius, the Tetrarchic ideology did not necessarily provide for hereditary succession. When Constantius died on 25 July 306, his fathers troops proclaimed Constantine as Augustus in Eboracum, in Rome, the favorite was Maxentius, the son of Constantius imperial colleague Maximian, who seized the title of emperor on 28 October 306. But whereas Constantines claim was recognized by Galerius, ruler of the Eastern provinces, Galerius, however, recognized Constantine as holding only the lesser imperial rank of Caesar. Galerius ordered his co-Augustus, Severus, to put Maxentius down in early 307, once Severus arrived in Italy, however, his army defected to Maxentius. Severus was captured, imprisoned, and executed, Galerius himself marched on Rome in the autumn, but failed to take the city. Constantine avoided conflict with both Maxentius and the Eastern emperors for most of this period, by 312, however, Constantine and Maxentius were engaged in open hostility with one another, although they were brothers-in‑law through Constantines marriage to Fausta, sister of Maxentius. In the spring of 312, Constantine gathered his forces and decided to oust Maxentius himself. He easily overran northern Italy, winning two battles, the first near Turin, the second at Verona, where the praetorian prefect Ruricius Pompeianus, Maxentius most senior general, was killed. It is commonly understood that on the evening of 27 October with the armies preparing for battle, some details of that vision, however, differ between the sources reporting it. Lactantius states that, in the night before the battle, Constantine was commanded in a dream to delineate the heavenly sign on the shields of his soldiers and he followed the commands of his dream and marked the shields with a sign denoting Christ. Lactantius describes that sign as a staurogram, or a Latin cross with its upper end rounded in a P-like fashion, there is no certain evidence that Constantine ever used that sign, opposed to the better known Chi-Rho sign described by Eusebius. From Eusebius, two accounts of the battle survive, the first, shorter one in the Ecclesiastical History promotes the belief that God helped Constantine but does not mention any vision. In his later Life of Constantine, Eusebius gives an account of a vision
13.
Maxentius
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For the saint of the same name see Saint Maxentius Maxentius was Roman Emperor from 306 to 312. He was the son of former Emperor Maximian and the son-in-law of Emperor Galerius, the latter part of his reign was preoccupied with civil war, allying with Maximinus II against Licinius and Constantine. The latter defeated him at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge in 312, Maxentius exact date of birth is unknown, it was probably around 278. He was the son of the Emperor Maximian and his wife Eutropia, as his father became emperor in 285, he was regarded as crown prince who would eventually follow his father on the throne. He seems not to have served, however, in any important military or administrative position during the reign of Diocletian, the exact date of his marriage to Valeria Maximilla, daughter of Galerius, is unknown. He had two sons, Valerius Romulus and an unknown one, in 305, Diocletian and Maximian abdicated, and the former caesares Constantius and Galerius became Augusti. Although two sons of emperors were available, Constantine and Maxentius, they were passed over for the new tetrarchy, Maxentius retired to an estate some miles from Rome. When Constantius died in 306, his son Constantine was crowned emperor on July 25 and this set the precedent for Maxentius accession later in the same year. Maxentius accepted the honour, promised donations to the citys troops, the usurpation obviously went largely without bloodshed, the prefect of Rome went over to Maxentius and retained his office. Apparently the conspirators turned to Maximian as well, who had retired to a palace in Lucania, Maxentius managed to be recognized as emperor in central and southern Italy, the islands of Corsica and Sardinia and Sicily, and the African provinces. Northern Italy remained under the control of the western Augustus Severus, Maxentius refrained from using the titles Augustus or Caesar at first and styled himself princeps invictus, in the hope of obtaining recognition of his reign by the senior emperor Galerius. However, the latter refused to do so, apart from his alleged antipathy towards Maxentius, Galerius probably wanted to deter others from following the examples of Constantine and Maxentius and declaring themselves emperors. Galerius reckoned that it would be not too difficult to quell the usurpation, and early in 307, the Augustus Severus marched on Rome with a large army. When Maximian himself finally left his retreat and returned to Rome to assume the office once again and support his son. Shortly after he surrendered to Maximian, who promised that his life be spared, the joint rule of Maxentius and Maximian in Rome was tested further when Galerius himself marched to Italy in the summer of 307 with an even larger army. While negotiating with the invader, Maxentius could repeat what he did to Severus, by the promise of large sums of money, Galerius was forced to withdraw, plundering Italy on his way. Some time during the invasion, Severus was put to death by Maxentius, after the failed campaign of Galerius, Maxentius reign over Italy and Africa was firmly established. However, Constantine tried to avoid breaking with Galerius, and did not openly support Maxentius during the invasion
14.
Tiber
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It drains a basin estimated at 17,375 square kilometres. The river has achieved lasting fame as the watercourse of the city of Rome. The river rises at Mount Fumaiolo in central Italy and flows in a southerly direction past Perugia. However, it does not form a delta, owing to a strong north-flowing sea current close to the shore, to the steep shelving of the coast. The source of the Tiber consists of two springs 10 metres away from each other on Mount Fumaiolo and these springs are called Le Vene. The springs are in a beech forest 1,268 metres above sea level, during the 1930s, Benito Mussolini placed an antique marble Roman column at the point where the river arises, inscribed QUI NASCE IL FIUME SACRO AI DESTINI DI ROMA. There is an eagle on the top of this column, the first miles of the Tiber run through Valtiberina before entering Umbria. It is probable that the genesis of the name Tiber was pre-Latin, like the Roman name of Tibur, the same root is found in the Latin praenomen Tiberius. There are also Etruscan variants of this praenomen in Thefarie and Teperie, the legendary king Tiberinus, ninth in the king-list of Alba Longa, was said to have drowned in the river Albula, which was afterward called Tiberis. Yet another etymology is from *dubri-, water, considered by Alessio as Sicel and this root *dubri- is widespread in Western Europe e. g. Dover, Portus Dubris. According to the legend, Jupiter made him a god and guardian spirit of the river and this gave rise to the standard Roman depiction of the river as a powerfully built reclining god, also named Tiberinus, with streams of water flowing from his hair and beard. The Tiber was also believed to be the river into which Romulus and Remus were thrown as infants, according to legend, the city of Rome was founded in 753 BC on the banks of the Tiber about 25 kilometres from the sea at Ostia. The island Isola Tiberina in the centre of Rome, between Trastevere and the ancient center, was the site of an important ancient ford and was later bridged. Legend says Romes founders, the twin brothers Romulus and Remus, were abandoned on its waters, the river marked the boundary between the lands of the Etruscans to the west, the Sabines to the east and the Latins to the south. Benito Mussolini, born in Romagna, adjusted the boundary between Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna, so that the springs of the Tiber would lie in Romagna and it was later used to ship stone, timber and foodstuffs to Rome. During the Punic Wars of the 3rd century BC, the harbour at Ostia became a key naval base and it later became Romes most important port, where wheat, olive oil, and wine were imported from Romes colonies around the Mediterranean. Wharves were also built along the riverside in Rome itself, lining the riverbanks around the Campus Martius area, the Romans connected the river with a sewer system and with an underground network of tunnels and other channels, to bring its water into the middle of the city. Wealthy Romans had garden-parks or horti on the banks of the river in Rome up through the first century BC and these may have been sold and developed about a century later
15.
Valentinian III
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Valentinian III was Western Roman Emperor from 425 to 455. His reign was marked by the dismemberment of the Western Empire. Valentinian was born in the capital of Ravenna, the only son of Galla Placidia. His mother was the younger half-sister of the western emperor Honorius, while his father was at the time a Patrician and the power behind the throne. Through his mother, Valentinian was a descendant both of Theodosius I, who was his grandfather, and of Valentinian I, who was the father of his maternal grandmother. It was also through his mothers side of the family that he was the nephew of Honorius and first cousin to Theodosius II, Valentinian had a full sister, Justa Grata Honoria, who was probably born in 417 or 418. When Valentinian was less than two years old, Honorius appointed Constantius co-emperor, a position he would hold until his death seven months later, as a result of all these family ties, Valentinian was the son, grandson, great-grandson, cousin, and nephew of Roman Emperors. In either 421 or 423, Valentinian was given the title of Nobilissimus by Honorius, in 423, Honorius died, and the usurper Joannes took the power in Rome. To counter this threat to his power, Theodosius belatedly recognised Valentinian’s father as Augustus, Theodosius also betrothed him to his own daughter Licinia Eudoxia. Given his minority status, the new Augustus ruled under the regency of his mother Galla Placidia and her regency lasted until 437, and, for the duration, Theodosius II gave her his full support. This period was marked with an imperial policy and an attempt to stabilize the western provinces as far as the stretched resources of the empire could manage. In 425, the court at Ravenna negotiated with the Huns who had accompanied Flavius Aëtius to Italy in support of Joannes and they agreed to leave Italy, and to evacuate the province of Pannonia Valeria, which was returned to the empire. This allowed Felix and the government to restructure the defences along the Danubian provinces in 427 and 428. In addition, there were significant victories over the Visigoths in Gaul in 426/7 and 430, nevertheless, there were significant problems that threatened the viability of the Roman state in the west. The Visigoths were a constant presence in south-eastern Gaul and could not be dislodged, the Vandals in Hispania continued their incursions, and, in 429, they commenced their invasion of Mauretania Tingitana. The loss of these territories seriously impacted the ability to function. The burden of taxation became more and more intolerable as Romes power decreased, in 427, Felix accused Bonifacius of being a traitor and demanded that he return to Italy. Bonifacius refused and defeated an army sent by Felix to capture him, weakened, Felix was unable to resist Aëtius who, with the support of Galla Placidia, replaced him as Magister militum praesentalis in 429, before having him killed in 430
16.
Roman emperor
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The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman Empire during the imperial period. The emperors used a variety of different titles throughout history, often when a given Roman is described as becoming emperor in English, it reflects his taking of the title Augustus or Caesar. Another title often used was imperator, originally a military honorific, early Emperors also used the title princeps. Emperors frequently amassed republican titles, notably Princeps Senatus, Consul, the first emperors reigned alone, later emperors would sometimes rule with co-Emperors and divide administration of the Empire between them. The Romans considered the office of emperor to be distinct from that of a king, the first emperor, Augustus, resolutely refused recognition as a monarch. Although Augustus could claim that his power was authentically republican, his successor, Tiberius, nonetheless, for the first three hundred years of Roman Emperors, from Augustus until Diocletian, a great effort was made to emphasize that the Emperors were the leaders of a Republic. Elements of the Republican institutional framework were preserved until the end of the Western Empire. The Eastern emperors ultimately adopted the title of Basileus, which had meant king in Greek, but became a title reserved solely for the Roman emperor, other kings were then referred to as rēgas. In addition to their office, some emperors were given divine status after death. The Western Roman Empire collapsed in the late 5th century, Romulus Augustulus is often considered to be the last emperor of the west after his forced abdication in 476, although Julius Nepos maintained a claim to the title until his death in 480. Constantine XI was the last Byzantine Roman emperor in Constantinople, dying in the Fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans in 1453, a Byzantine group of claimant Roman Emperors existed in the Empire of Trebizond until its conquest by the Ottomans in 1461. In western Europe the title of Roman Emperor was revived by Germanic rulers, the Holy Roman Emperors, in 800, at the end of the Roman Republic no new, and certainly no single, title indicated the individual who held supreme power. Insofar as emperor could be seen as the English translation of imperator, then Julius Caesar had been an emperor, however, Julius Caesar, unlike those after him, did so without the Senates vote and approval. Julius Caesar held the Republican offices of four times and dictator five times, was appointed dictator in perpetuity in 45 BC and had been pontifex maximus for a long period. He gained these positions by senatorial consent, by the time of his assassination, he was the most powerful man in the Roman world. In his will, Caesar appointed his adopted son Octavian as his heir, a decade after Caesars death, Octavians victory over his erstwhile ally Mark Antony at Actium put an end to any effective opposition and confirmed Octavians supremacy. His restoration of powers to the Senate and the people of Rome was a demonstration of his auctoritas, some later historians such as Tacitus would say that even at Augustus death, the true restoration of the Republic might have been possible. Instead, Augustus actively prepared his adopted son Tiberius to be his successor, the Senate disputed the issue but eventually confirmed Tiberius as princeps
17.
Licinia Eudoxia
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Licinia Eudoxia was a Roman Empress, daughter of Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius II. Her husbands included the Western Roman Emperors Valentinian III and Petronius Maximus, Eudoxia was born in 422, the daughter of Theodosius II, Eastern Roman Emperor and his consort Aelia Eudocia, a woman of Greek origin. Her only known siblings, Arcadius and Flacilla, predeceased their parents and their paternal grandparents were Arcadius and Aelia Eudoxia. Their maternal grandfather was Leontius, a sophist from Athens, the identity of her maternal grandfather was first given by Socrates of Constantinople. John Malalas later gave a detailed account of her mothers history. The jealousy and avarice of her brothers soon compelled Athenais to seek a refuge at Constantinople, later historians have tended to reject the above account as too reminiscent of a fairy tale or a romance novel to be historically accurate. The exact circumstances of the introduction of Eudocia to Theodosius II, the argument is considered doubtful as the building activity of Eudocia in the 420s focused on Athens rather than Antioch. The identity of Eudoxias maternal grandmother is not recorded, in 424, Eudoxia was betrothed to Valentinian III, her first cousin, once removed. The year of their betrothal was recorded by Marcellinus Comes, at the time of their betrothal, Valentinian was approximately four years old, Eudoxia only two. Gibbon attributes the betrothal to the agreement of the three females who governed the Roman world, meaning Galla Placidia, her niece Pulcheria, Galla Placidia was Valentinian IIIs mother and a younger, paternal half-sister of Arcadius. Valentinian III was at the time being prepared to claim the throne of the Western Roman Empire, the latter was not a member of the Theodosian dynasty and thus regarded a usurper by the Eastern court. Within 424, Valentinian was proclaimed a Caesar in the Eastern court, the following year, Joannes was defeated and executed. Valentinian replaced him as Augustus of the West, Eudoxia and Valentinian III married on 29 October 437, in Constantinople, their marriage marking the reunion of the two halves of the House of Theodosius. The marriage was recorded by Socrates of Constantinople, the Chronicon Paschale, in 439, Eudoxia was granted the title of Augusta, with the birth of their first daughter Eudocia. They also had a daughter, Placidia. The births and eventual fates of the two daughters were recorded by Priscus, Procopius, John Malalas and the Chronicon Paschale, on 16 March 455, Valentinian III was killed in the Campus Martius, Rome by Optila and Thraustila. He summoned Optila and Thraustila, brave Scythians who had campaigned with Aëtius and had assigned to attend on Valentinian. He gave and received guarantees, put the blame for Aëtius murder on the Emperor and those who avenged the fallen man, he said, would justly have the greatest blessings
