1.
Pope Honorius IV
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Pope Honorius IV, born Giacomo Savelli, was Pope from 2 April 1285 to his death in 1287. His father was Luca Savelli, who died as Senator of Rome in 1266 and his mother Joanna belonged to the Aldobrandeschi family. He studied at the University of Paris, where he held a prebend, later he obtained the benefice of rector at the church of Berton in the Diocese of Norwich in England, a nation he never visited. In 1261 he was created Cardinal Deacon of Santa Maria in Cosmedin by Pope Urban IV, Cardinal Savelli pursued a diplomatic career. Pope Clement IV sent him and three cardinals to invest Charles of Anjou as King of Sicily at Rome on 28 July 1265. In 1274 he accompanied Gregory X to the Council of Lyon, the death of Adrian V in the following month rendered the negotiations with Rudolf fruitless. He became Protodeacon of the Sacred College in November 1277 and as such, he crowned Popes Nicholas III on 26 December 1277 and Martin IV on 23 March 1281. When Martin IV died on 28 March 1285, at Perugia, Cardinal Savelli was unanimously elected Pope on 2 April, on the first ballot, and took the name of Honorius IV. He remained at Perugia throughout April, but, once negotiations were completed, he travelled to Rome and he was ordained a priest by Cardinal Latino Malabranca Orsini on May 19, and was consecrated a bishop and crowned pope on Trinity Sunday,20 May at the Vatican Basilica. Honorius IV was already advanced in age and so severely affected with gout that he could neither stand nor walk. When saying Mass he was obliged to sit in a specially constructed chair, Sicilian affairs required immediate attention from the new Pope. Previously, under Martin IV, the Sicilians had rejected the rule of Charles of Anjou, taking Peter III of Aragon as their king without the consent, the massacre of 31 March 1282 known as the Sicilian Vespers had precluded any reconciliation. The Sicilians not only repulsed the attacks of the combined French and Papal forces, on 6 January 1285, Charles of Anjou died, leaving his captive son Charles as his natural successor. Honorius IV, more inclined than Martin IV, did not renounce the Churchs support of the House of Anjou. On the other hand, he did not approve of the government the Sicilians had been subject to under Charles of Anjou. This is evident from legislation embodied in his constitution of 17 September 1285 and he passed forty-five ordinances intended chiefly to protect the people of Sicily against their king and his officials. Neither the king nor the bishops concerned themselves about the excommunication, the king even sent a hostile fleet to the Roman coast and destroyed the city of Astura by fire. Honorius IV, however, declared the contract invalid and forbade all similar agreements for the future, while Honorius IV was inexorable in the stand he had taken towards Sicily, his relations towards Alfonso III of Aragon became less hostile
2.
Pope Celestine V
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Pope Celestine V, born Pietro Angelerio, also known as Pietro da Morrone, Peter of Morrone, and Peter Celestine, was Pope for five months from 5 July to 13 December 1294, when he resigned. He was also a monk and hermit who founded the order of the Celestines as a branch of the Benedictine order and he was elected pope in the Catholic Churchs last non-conclave papal election, ending a two-year impasse. Among the only edicts of his to remain in force was the confirmation of the right of the pope to abdicate, nearly all of his official acts were annulled by his successor. On 13 December 1294, a week after issuing the decree, Celestine resigned, stating his desire to return to his humble and he was subsequently imprisoned by Boniface in the castle of Fumone in the Campagna region, in order to prevent his potential installation as antipope. He died in prison on 19 May 1296 at the age of 81, Celestine was canonized on 5 May 1313 by Pope Clement V. No subsequent pope has taken the name Celestine, according to tradition, Pietro Angelerio was born to parents Angelo Angelerio and Maria Leone in a town called SantAngelo Limosano, in the Kingdom of Sicilia. SantAngelo Limosano is now part of Provincia di Campobasso, in Molise, after his fathers death he began working in the fields. His mother Maria was a key figure in Pietros spiritual development, from the time he was a child, he showed great intelligence and love for others. He became a Benedictine monk at Faifoli in the Diocese of Benevento when he was 17 and he showed an extraordinary disposition toward asceticism and solitude, and in 1239 retired to a solitary cavern on the mountain Morrone, hence his name. Accounts exist of the severity of his penitential practices, while living like this he founded, in 1244, the order subsequently named after him, the Celestines. A new religious community was formed, and Pietro gave them a rule formulated in accordance with his own practices, in 1264 the new institution was approved by Urban IV. Gregory took it under the Papal protection, assured to it the possession of all property it might acquire, nothing more was needed to ensure the rapid spread of the new association and Pietro lived to see himself Superior-General to thirty-six monasteries and more than six hundred monks. Pietro, however, cannot be accused of ambition or the lust of power when a superior, any more than when he insisted on divesting himself of the Papacy. The cardinals assembled at Perugia after the death of Pope Nicholas IV in April 1292, after more than two years, a consensus had still not been reached. Pietro, well known to the cardinals as a Benedictine hermit, latino Malabranca, the aged and ill dean of the College of Cardinals cried out, In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, I elect brother Pietro di Morrone. The cardinals promptly ratified Malabrancas desperate decision, elected on 5 July 1294, at age 79, he was crowned at Santa Maria di Collemaggio in the city of Aquila in the Abruzzo on 29 August, taking the name Celestine V. The Perdonanza Celestiniana festival is celebrated in LAquila every 28–29 August in commemoration of this event, with no political experience, Celestine proved to be an especially weak and ineffectual pope. He held his office in the Kingdom of Naples, out of contact with the Roman Curia and he appointed the kings favorites to church offices, sometimes several to the same office
3.
Pope Nicholas III
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Pope Nicholas III, born Giovanni Gaetano Orsini, was Pope from 25 November 1277 to his death in 1280. He was a Roman nobleman who had served under eight popes, the future pope, Giovanni Gaetano Orsini, was born in Rome, a member of the prominent Orsini family of Italy, the eldest son of Roman nobleman Matteo Rosso Orsini by his first wife, Perna Caetani. His brother Giordano was named Cardinal Deacon of San Eustachio by Nicholas III on 12 March 1278 and his brother Gentile became Lord of Mugnano, Penna, Nettuno and Pitigliano. Another brother, Matteo Rosso of Montegiordano, was Senator of Rome in 1279, War Captain of Todi, there were five other younger brothers and two sisters. The Orsini family had produced several popes, Stephen II, Paul I. He did not, as some used to think, study at Paris—though his nephew did. His career shows no indication that he was a professional or a theologian. He never became a priest, until he became pope in 1277 and he was a Canon and Prebendary of York, and also of Soissons and Laon In the summer of 1244, he was one of five cardinals who fled to Genoa with Pope Innocent IV. He was at Lyons, and was present in June and July for the Ecumenical Council of Lyons, Cardinal Orsini and the Curia did not return to Italy until May 1251—after the death of Emperor Frederick II Hohenstaufen. After spending the summer in Genoa, Milan and Brescia, they finally reached Perugia in November 1251, the Curia returned to Rome in mid-October, where Pope and Curia resided continually until the end of April,1254. At the beginning of December, the Battle of Foggia took place, Innocent IV died in Naples, where he had taken refuge, on 7 December 1254, and the meeting to elect his successor was therefore held in Naples in the palace in which he had died. Voting began on Friday,11 December, with ten of the cardinals present. But on Saturday,12 December, Cardinal Rinaldo dei Conti di Segni, the nephew of Pope Gregory IX and he chose to be called Alexander IV and was crowned on Sunday, December 20,1254, in the Cathedral of Naples. As for Cardinal Giovanni Gaetano Orsini, in his first eleven, a peripatetic Curia had its disadvantages. Pope Alexander IV and the Curia continued to live in Naples, until the first week of June 1255 when they returned to Anagni, and it was not until mid-November that the Pope was back in Rome. There the Curia stayed until the end of May,1256, the problem was that Rome was in the hands of Senator Brancaleone degli Andalo, Count of Casalecchio, since 1252, and the Ghibbelines and Alexander was repeatedly driven out by unruly mobs. Rome was home again until the end of May,1257, the vacation lasted until the end of October,1258, when the Court visited Anagni again, they stayed until the beginning of November,1260. The Pope then was able to reside at the Lateran until the first week of May,1261, Alexander IV died at Viterbo on 25 May 1261
4.
Marche
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Marche, or The Marches /ˈmɑːrtʃᵻz/, is one of the twenty regions of Italy. The name of the region derives from the name of marca, originally referring to the medieval March of Ancona and nearby marches of Camerino. Marche is well known for its tradition, with the finest and most luxurious Italian footwear being manufactured in this region. Except for river valleys and the very narrow coastal strip. A railway from Bologna to Brindisi, built in the 19th century, inland, the mountainous nature of the region, even today, allows relatively little travel north and south, except by twisting roads over the passes. Most of the region is mountainous or hilly, the features being the Apennine chain along the internal boundary. With the sole exception of Monte Vettore,2,476 metres high, the hilly area covers two-thirds of the region and is interrupted by wide gullies with numerous – albeit short – rivers and by alluvial plains perpendicular to the principal chain. The parallel mountain chains contain deep river gorges, the best known being those of the Furlo, the Rossa and the Frasassi. The coastal area is 173 kilometres long and is relatively flat, inland, in the mountainous areas, is more continental with cold and often snowy winters, by the sea is more mediterranean. Precipitation varies from 1000-1500 mm. per year inland and 600-800 mm. per year on the Adriatic coast, Marche was known in ancient times as the Picenum territory. The Picens or Picentes were the Italic tribe who lived in Picenum during the Iron Age, in the fourth century BC the northern area was occupied by the Senones, a tribe of Gauls. In Marche was fought the Battle of Sentinum in 295 BC, after it, the Romans founded numerous colonies in the areas, connecting them to Rome by the Via Flaminia, Ascoli was a seat of Italic resistance during the Social War. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the region was invaded by the Goths, after the Gothic War, it was part of the Byzantine Exarchate of Ravenna. After the fall of the Exarchate it was briefly in the possession of the Lombards, in the ninth to eleventh centuries the marches of Camerino, Fermo and Ancona were created, hence the modern name. Marche was nominally part of the Papal States, but most of the territory was under local lords, in the twelfth century, the commune of Ancona resisted both the imperial authority of Frederick Barbarossa and the Republic of Venice, and was a maritime republic on its own. An attempt to restore Papal suzerainty by Gil de Albornoz in the century was short-lived. During the Renaissance, the region was fought over by rival aristocratic families, such as the Malatesta of Rimini, Pesaro, Fano and the house of Montefeltro of Urbino. The last independent entity, the Duchy of Urbino, was dissolved in 1631, after Napoleons defeat, Marche returned to Papal rule until 4 November 1860, when it was annexed to the unified Kingdom of Italy by a plebiscite
5.
Papal States
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The Papal States, officially the State of the Church, were territories in the Italian Peninsula under the sovereign direct rule of the pope, from the 8th century until 1870. They were among the states of Italy from roughly the 8th century until the Italian Peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia. At their zenith, they covered most of the modern Italian regions of Lazio, Marche, Umbria and Romagna and these holdings were considered to be a manifestation of the temporal power of the pope, as opposed to his ecclesiastical primacy. By 1861, much of the Papal States territory had been conquered by the Kingdom of Italy, only Lazio, including Rome, remained under the Popes temporal control. In 1870, the pope lost Lazio and Rome and had no physical territory at all, Italian Fascist leader Benito Mussolini ended the crisis between unified Italy and the Vatican by signing the Lateran Treaty, granting the Vatican City State sovereignty. The Papal States were also known as the Papal State, the territories were also referred to variously as the State of the Church, the Pontifical States, the Ecclesiastical States, or the Roman States. For its first 300 years the Catholic Church was persecuted and unrecognized and this system began to change during the reign of the emperor Constantine I, who made Christianity legal within the Roman Empire, and restoring to it any properties that had been confiscated. The Lateran Palace was the first significant new donation to the Church, other donations followed, primarily in mainland Italy but also in the provinces of the Roman Empire. But the Church held all of these lands as a private landowner, the seeds of the Papal States as a sovereign political entity were planted in the 6th century. Beginning In 535, the Byzantine Empire, under emperor Justinian I, launched a reconquest of Italy that took decades and devastated Italys political, just as these wars wound down, the Lombards entered the peninsula from the north and conquered much of the countryside. While the popes remained Byzantine subjects, in practice the Duchy of Rome, nevertheless, the pope and the exarch still worked together to control the rising power of the Lombards in Italy. As Byzantine power weakened, though, the took a ever larger role in defending Rome from the Lombards. In practice, the papal efforts served to focus Lombard aggrandizement on the exarch, a climactic moment in the founding of the Papal States was the agreement over boundaries embodied in the Lombard king Liutprands Donation of Sutri to Pope Gregory II. When the Exarchate of Ravenna finally fell to the Lombards in 751, the popes renewed earlier attempts to secure the support of the Franks. In 751, Pope Zachary had Pepin the Younger crowned king in place of the powerless Merovingian figurehead king Childeric III, zacharys successor, Pope Stephen II, later granted Pepin the title Patrician of the Romans. Pepin led a Frankish army into Italy in 754 and 756, Pepin defeated the Lombards – taking control of northern Italy – and made a gift of the properties formerly constituting the Exarchate of Ravenna to the pope. The cooperation between the papacy and the Carolingian dynasty climaxed in 800, when Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne Emperor, the precise nature of the relationship between the popes and emperors – and between the Papal States and the Empire – is disputed. Events in the 9th century postponed the conflict, the Holy Roman Empire in its Frankish form collapsed as it was subdivided among Charlemagnes grandchildren
6.
Holy Roman Empire
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The Holy Roman Empire was a multi-ethnic complex of territories in central Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806. On 25 December 800, Pope Leo III crowned the Frankish king Charlemagne as Emperor, reviving the title in Western Europe, more than three centuries after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The title was revived in 962 when Otto I was crowned emperor, fashioning himself as the successor of Charlemagne, some historians refer to the coronation of Charlemagne as the origin of the empire, while others prefer the coronation of Otto I as its beginning. Scholars generally concur, however, in relating an evolution of the institutions and principles constituting the empire, the office of Holy Roman Emperor was traditionally elective, although frequently controlled by dynasties. Emperor Francis II dissolved the empire on 6 August 1806, after the creation of the Confederation of the Rhine by Napoleon, before 1157, the realm was merely referred to as the Roman Empire. In a decree following the 1512 Diet of Cologne, the name was changed to Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, by the end of the 18th century, the term Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation had fallen out of official use. As Roman power in Gaul declined during the 5th century, local Germanic tribes assumed control, by the middle of the 8th century, however, the Merovingians had been reduced to figureheads, and the Carolingians, led by Charles Martel, had become the de facto rulers. In 751, Martel’s son Pepin became King of the Franks, the Carolingians would maintain a close alliance with the Papacy. In 768 Pepin’s son Charlemagne became King of the Franks and began an expansion of the realm. He eventually incorporated the territories of present-day France, Germany, northern Italy, on Christmas Day of 800, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne emperor, restoring the title in the west for the first time in over three centuries. After the death of Charles the Fat in 888, however, the Carolingian Empire broke apart, according to Regino of Prüm, the parts of the realm spewed forth kinglets, and each part elected a kinglet from its own bowels. After the death of Charles the Fat, those crowned emperor by the pope controlled only territories in Italy, the last such emperor was Berengar I of Italy, who died in 924. Around 900, autonomous stem duchies reemerged in East Francia, on his deathbed, Conrad yielded the crown to his main rival, Henry the Fowler of Saxony, who was elected king at the Diet of Fritzlar in 919. Henry reached a truce with the raiding Magyars, and in 933 he won a first victory against them in the Battle of Riade, Henry died in 936, but his descendants, the Liudolfing dynasty, would continue to rule the Eastern kingdom for roughly a century. Upon Henry the Fowlers death, Otto, his son and designated successor, was elected King in Aachen in 936 and he overcame a series of revolts from an elder brother and from several dukes. After that, the managed to control the appointment of dukes. In 951, Otto came to the aid of Adelaide, the queen of Italy, defeating her enemies, marrying her. In 955, Otto won a victory over the Magyars in the Battle of Lechfeld
7.
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
8.
Franciscans
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The Franciscans are a group of related mendicant religious orders within the Catholic Church, founded in 1209 by Francis of Assisi. These orders include the Order of Friars Minor, the Order of Saint Clare, Francis began preaching around 1207 and traveled to Rome to seek approval from the Pope in 1209. The original Rule of Saint Francis approved by the Pope disallowed ownership of property, the austerity was meant to emulate the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. Franciscans traveled and preached in the streets, while boarding in church properties, Saint Clare, under Franciss guidance, founded the Poor Clares in 1212, which remains a Second Order of the Franciscans. The extreme poverty required of members was relaxed in final revision of the Rule in 1223, the degree of observance required of members remained a major source of conflict within the order, resulting in numerous secessions. The Order of Friars Minor, previously known as the Observant branch, is one of the three Franciscan First Orders within the Catholic Church, the others being the Capuchins and Conventuals. The Order of Friars Minor, in its current form, is the result of an amalgamation of smaller orders completed in 1897 by Pope Leo XIII. The latter two, the Capuchin and Conventual, remain distinct religious institutes within the Catholic Church, observing the Rule of Saint Francis with different emphases, Franciscans are sometimes referred to as minorites or greyfriars because of their habit. In Poland and Lithuania they are known as Bernardines, after Bernardino of Siena, the name of original order, Friars Minor, means lesser brothers, and stems from Francis of Assisis rejection of extravagance. Francis was the son of a cloth merchant, but gave up his wealth to pursue his faith more fully. Francis adopted of the tunic worn by peasants as the religious habit for his order. Those who joined him became the original Order of Friars Minor and they all live according to a body of regulations known as the Rule of St Francis. First Order The First Order or the Order of Friars Minor are commonly called simply the Franciscans and this Order is a mendicant religious order of men, some of whom trace their origin to Francis of Assisi. Their official Latin name is the Ordo Fratrum Minorum, St. Francis thus referred to his followers as Fraticelli, meaning Little Brothers. Franciscan brothers are informally called friars or the Minorites and they all live according to a body of regulations known as the Rule of St Francis. These are The Order of Friars Minor, known as the Observants, most commonly simply called Franciscan friars, official name, the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin or simply Capuchins, official name, Friars Minor Capuchin. The Conventual Franciscans or Minorites, official name, Friars Minor Conventual, Second Order The Second Order, most commonly called Poor Clares in English-speaking countries, consists of religious sisters. The order is called the Order of St. Clare, but in the century, prior to 1263, this order was referred to as The Poor Ladies, The Poor Enclosed Nuns
9.
Santa Pudenziana
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The basilica of Santa Pudenziana is a 4th-century church of Rome, dedicated to Saint Pudentiana, sister of Saint Praxedis and daughter of Saint Pudens. It is the church for the Philippines. It has been suggested there was no such person as Pudentiana. St. Paul refers to Pudens, however, so it appears there was a real person with this name. The church of Santa Pudenziana is recognized as the oldest place of Christian worship in Rome and it was built over a 2nd-century house, probably during the pontificate of Pius I in 140–155 AD, and re-uses part of a bath facility still visible in the structure of the apse. This church was the residence of the Pope until, in 313, in the 4th century, during the pontificate of Pope Siricius, the building was transformed into a three-naved church. In the acts of the synod of 499, the bears the titulus Pudentis. The church is situated at a lower level, one enters through wrought iron gates. Steps spring down to the courtyard from both sides of the entrance. The architrave of the hall of the faded façade contains a marble frieze that used to belong to a portal from the 11th century. It is a significant work of sculpture in Rome. It shows Pastore, Pudenziana, Prassede and their father Pudens, the columns in the nave were part of the original basilica structure. The Romanesque belltower was added in the early 13th century, the painting of Angels and Saints before the Saviour on the dome is a fresco by a painter Pomarancio. During these last restorations some fragments of a Laocoön group were found that were larger than those in the Vatican, as no one was willing to pay extra for this find, they filled up the hole in the ground. The façade was renewed in 1870 and frescoes were added by Pietro Gagliardi, the right side of the present basilica was part of a Roman bath house dating from the reign of emperor Hadrian. On the wall behind the altar are three paintings made in 1803 by Bernardino Nocchi representing, St. Timotheus, The Glory of St Pudentiana. The mosaics in the apse are late Roman art and they date from around the end of the 4th century, they are regarded by different groups of scholars as dating from either the reign of Pope Siricius or the pontificate of Innocent I. They were heavily restored in the 16th century and they are among the oldest Christian mosaics in Rome and one of the most striking mosaics outside of Ravenna
10.
Roman Catholic Suburbicarian Diocese of Palestrina
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The Roman Catholic Suburbicarian Diocese of Palestrina, is a Roman Catholic suburbicarian diocese centered on the comune of Palestrina in Italy. During the 17th century, the comune of Palestrina was the territory of a number of Italian noble families including the Barberini, Colonna. Members of these families are represented throughout the list of diocese Bishops, Barberini Pope Urban VIII appointed a number of relatives and close supporters to the Palestrina diocese and governmental positions. Cist. The Cardinal Bishop has no powers with regard to the government of the diocese, the diocesan bishops have been, Pietro Severi Renato Spallanzani Pietro Garlato Vittorio Tomassetti Eduardo Davino Domenico Sigalini Bräuer, Martin. Brixius, Johannes M. Die Mitglieder des Kardinalskollegiums von 1130-1181, series episcoporum Ecclesiae catholicae, Leipzig 1931. Kardinäle, Klerus und Kirchen Roms, 1049–1130, Bibliothek des Deutschen Historischen Instituts in Rom 1977, lentz, Harris M. Popes and Cardinals of the 20th Century, A Biographical Dictionary. Papst und Kardinalskolleg von 1191 bis 1216, Vienna 1984, hierarchia catholica medii et recentis aevi V. Patavii, Messagero di S. Antonio. Hierarchia catholica medii et recentis aevi VI, Suburbicarian Diocese of Palestrina Official Website
11.
Pope
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The pope is the Bishop of Rome and, therefore, the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church. The current pope is Francis, who was elected on 13 March 2013, the office of the pope is the papacy. The pope is considered one of the worlds most powerful people because of his diplomatic and he is also head of state of Vatican City, a sovereign city-state entirely enclaved within the Italian capital city of Rome. The papacy is one of the most enduring institutions in the world and has had a prominent part in world history, the popes in ancient times helped in the spread of Christianity and the resolution of various doctrinal disputes. In the Middle Ages, they played a role of importance in Western Europe. Currently, in addition to the expansion of the Christian faith and doctrine, the popes are involved in ecumenism and interfaith dialogue, charitable work, Popes, who originally had no temporal powers, in some periods of history accrued wide powers similar to those of temporal rulers. In recent centuries, popes were gradually forced to give up temporal power, the word pope derives from Greek πάππας meaning father. The earliest record of the use of title was in regard to the by then deceased Patriarch of Alexandria. Some historians have argued that the notion that Peter was the first bishop of Rome, the writings of the Church Father Irenaeus who wrote around AD180 reflect a belief that Peter founded and organised the Church at Rome. Moreover, Irenaeus was not the first to write of Peters presence in the early Roman Church, Clement of Rome wrote in a letter to the Corinthians, c. 96, about the persecution of Christians in Rome as the struggles in our time and presented to the Corinthians its heroes, first, the greatest and most just columns, the good apostles Peter and Paul. St. Ignatius of Antioch wrote shortly after Clement and in his letter from the city of Smyrna to the Romans he said he would not command them as Peter and Paul did. Given this and other evidence, many agree that Peter was martyred in Rome under Nero. Protestants contend that the New Testament offers no proof that Jesus established the papacy nor even that he established Peter as the first bishop of Rome, others, using Peters own words, argue that Christ intended himself as the foundation of the church and not Peter. First-century Christian communities would have had a group of presbyter-bishops functioning as leaders of their local churches, gradually, episcopacies were established in metropolitan areas. Antioch may have developed such a structure before Rome, some writers claim that the emergence of a single bishop in Rome probably did not occur until the middle of the 2nd century. In their view, Linus, Cletus and Clement were possibly prominent presbyter-bishops, documents of the 1st century and early 2nd century indicate that the Holy See had some kind of pre-eminence and prominence in the Church as a whole, though the detail of what this meant is unclear. It seems that at first the terms episcopos and presbyter were used interchangeably, the consensus among scholars has been that, at the turn of the 1st and 2nd centuries, local congregations were led by bishops and presbyters whose offices were overlapping or indistinguishable
12.
Ascoli Piceno
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Ascoli Piceno is a town and comune in the Marche region of Italy, capital of the province of the same name. Its population is around 49,500 but the area of the city has more than 100,000. The town lies at the confluence of the Tronto River and the small river Castellano and is surrounded on three sides by mountains, two natural parks border the town, one on the northwestern flank and the other on the southern. Ascoli has good connections to the Adriatic coast and the city of San Benedetto del Tronto, by highway to Porto dAscoli. In 268 BC it became a civitas foederata, a city with nominal independence from Rome. In 91 BC, together with cities in central Italy, it revolted against Rome. Its inhabitants acquired Roman citizenship, following the developments and the fall of the Roman Republic. During the Middle Ages Ascoli was ravaged by the Ostrogoths and then by the Lombards of King Faroald, in 1189 a free republican municipality was established but internal strife led dramatically to the demise of civic values and freedom and to unfortunate ventures against neighboring enemies. This unstable situation opened the way to foreign dictatorships, like those of Galeotto I Malatesta, initially recruited as a mercenary in the war against Fermo, Sforza was ousted in 1482, but Ascoli was again compelled to submit to the Papal suzerainty. In 1860 it was annexed, together with Marche and Umbria, many of the buildings in the central historical part of the city are built using marble called travertino, a grey-hued stone extracted from the surrounding mountains. Its central Renaissance square, Piazza del Popolo is surrounded by a number of buildings utilizing this stone, according to traditional accounts, Ascoli Piceno once housed some two hundred towers in the Middle Ages, today some fifty can still be seen. Main sights include, Cathedral of SantEmidio, dedicated to Saint Emygdius, Tempietto di SantEmidio alle Grotte Tempietto di SantEmidio Rosso San Francesco, Gothic style church begun in 1258). The dome was completed in 1549, a monument to Pope Julius II is in the side portal, while the central portal is one of the finest examples of local travertine decoration. Adjacent to the church is the 16th-century Loggia dei Mercanti, in Bramantesque style of the Roman High Renaissance, convent of San Francesco, adjacent to the above-named church, of which two noteworthy cloisters remain today. The rectangular façade has a 1547 portal similar to that of SantEmidio, the convent houses the town library, the Contemporary Art Gallery and an auditorium. San Domenico, former convent, now school, has a Renaissance cloister with 17th-century frescoes, santa Maria Inter Vineas, 13th century church San Pietro Martire, 13th century church with a 1523 side portal by Nicola Filotesio, known locally as Cola dAmatrice. The interior contains the precious reliquary of the Holy Thorn, a gift of Philip IV of France, San Tommaso,1069 Romanesque-style church built with spolia from the neighboring Roman amphitheater. San Vittore, Romanesque church documented from 996 with a low bell tower, edicola di Morelli, Monumental baroque niche attached to the exterior of the church of San Francesco at the Piazza del Popolo
13.
Crusades
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The First Crusade arose after a call to arms in a 1095 sermon by Pope Urban II. Urban urged military support for the Byzantine Empire and its Emperor, Alexios I, the response to Urbans preaching by people of many different classes across Western Europe established the precedent for later Crusades. Volunteers became Crusaders by taking a vow and receiving plenary indulgences from the church. Some were hoping for apotheosis at Jerusalem, or forgiveness from God for all their sins, others participated to satisfy feudal obligations, gain glory and honour, or find opportunities for economic and political gain. Many modern Historians have polarised opinions of the Crusaders behaviour under Papal sanction, to some it was incongruous with the stated aims and implied moral authority of the papacy and the Crusades, to the extent that on occasions that the Pope excommunicated Crusaders. Crusaders often pillaged as they travelled, while their leaders retained control of captured territory rather than returning it to the Byzantines. During the Peoples Crusade thousands of Jews were murdered in what is now called the Rhineland massacres, Constantinople was sacked during the Fourth Crusade rendering the reunification of Christendom impossible. These tales consequently galvanised medieval romance, philosophy and literature, but the Crusades also reinforced the connection between Western Christendom, feudalism, and militarism. Crusade is not a term, instead the terms iter for journey or peregrinatio for pilgrimage were used. Not until the word crucesignatus for one who was signed with the cross was adopted at the close of the century was specific terminology developed. The Middle English equivalents were derived from old French, croiserie in the 13th–15th centuries, croisade appeared in English c1575, and continued to be the leading form till c1760. By convention historians adopt the term for the Christian holy wars from 1095, the Crusades in the Holy Land are traditionally counted as nine distinct campaigns, numbered from the First Crusade of 1095–99 to the Ninth Crusade of 1271/2. Usage of the term Crusade may differ depending on the author, pluralists use the term Crusade of any campaign explicitly sanctioned by the reigning Pope. This reflects the view of the Roman Catholic Church that every military campaign given Papal sanction is equally valid as a Crusade, regardless of its cause, justification, generalists see Crusades as any and all holy wars connected with the Latin Church and fought in defence of their faith. Popularists limit the Crusades to only those that were characterised by popular groundswells of religious fervour – that is, only the First Crusade, Medieval Muslim historiographers such as Ali ibn al-Athir refer to the Crusades as the Frankish Wars. The term used in modern Arabic, ḥamalāt ṣalībiyya حملات صليبية, campaigns of the cross, is a loan translation of the term Crusade as used in Western historiography. The Islamic prophet Muhammad founded Islam in the Arabian Peninsula, the resulting unified polity in the seventh and eighth centuries led to a rapid expansion of Arab power. This influence stretched from the northwest Indian subcontinent, across Central Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, southern Italy, tolerance, trade, and political relationships between the Arabs and the Christian states of Europe waxed and waned
14.
Heresy
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Heresy /hār ə sē/ is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs. A heretic is a proponent of such claims or beliefs, the term is usually used to refer to violations of important religious teachings, but is used also of views strongly opposed to any generally accepted ideas. It is used in particular in reference to Christianity, Judaism, the word heresy is usually used within a Christian, Jewish, or Islamic context, and implies slightly different meanings in each. The founder or leader of a movement is called a heresiarch. Heresiology is the study of heresy, according to Titus 3,10 a divisive person should be warned two times before separating from him. The Greek for the phrase divisive person became a term in the early Church for a type of heretic who promoted dissension. In contrast correct teaching is called not only because it builds up the faith. The Church Fathers identified Jews and Judaism with heresy and they saw deviations from orthodox Christianity as heresies that were essentially Jewish in spirit. The use of the word heresy was given currency by Irenaeus in his 2nd century tract Contra Haereses to describe. He described the beliefs and doctrines as orthodox and the Gnostics teachings as heretical. He also pointed out the concept of succession to support his arguments. By Roman law the Emperor was Pontifex Maximus, the high priest of the College of Pontiffs of all recognized religions in ancient Rome. To put an end to the doctrinal debate initiated by Arius, Constantine called the first of what would afterwards be called the ecumenical councils and then enforced orthodoxy by Imperial authority. The first known usage of the term in a context was in AD380 by the Edict of Thessalonica of Theodosius I. Prior to the issuance of this edict, the Church had no state-sponsored support for any particular legal mechanism to counter what it perceived as heresy, by this edict the states authority and that of the Church became somewhat overlapping. One of the outcomes of this blurring of Church and state was the sharing of state powers of legal enforcement with church authorities and this reinforcement of the Churchs authority gave church leaders the power to, in effect, pronounce the death sentence upon those whom the church considered heretical. The edict of Theodosius II provided severe punishments for those who had or spread writings of Nestorius and those who possessed writings of Arius were sentenced to death. For some years after the Reformation, Protestant churches were known to execute those they considered heretics
15.
Friar
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The most significant orders of friars are the Dominicans, Franciscans, Augustinians and Carmelites. Friars are different from monks in that they are called to live the evangelical counsels in service to society, rather than through cloistered asceticism, whereas monks live in a self-sufficient community, friars work among laypeople and are supported by donations or other charitable support. A monk or nun makes their vows and commits to a community in a particular place. The English term Friar is derived from the Norman French word frere, from the Latin frater, Fray is sometimes used in former Spanish colonies such as the Philippines or the American Southwest as a title, such as in Fray Juan de Torquemada. In the Roman Catholic Church, there are two classes of orders known as friars, or mendicant orders, the four great orders, the four great orders were mentioned by the Second Council of Lyons, and are, The Carmelites, founded c. They are also known as the White Friars because of the cloak which covers their brown habit. They received papal approval from Honorius III in 1226 and later by Innocent IV in 1247, the Carmelites were founded as a purely contemplative order, but became mendicants in 1245. There are two types of Carmelites, those of the Ancient Observance and those of the Discalced Carmelites and they are also known as the Friars Minor. The Franciscans were founded by St. Francis of Assisi and received papal approval by Innocent III in 1209. Today the Friars Minor is composed of three branches, the Order of Friars Minor, Order of Friars Minor Capuchin and the Order of Friars Minor Conventual wearing grey or black habits. They are also known as the Friar Preachers, or the Black Friars, the Dominicans were founded by St. Dominic and received papal approval from Honorius III in 1216 as the Ordo Praedicatorum under the Rule of St. Augustine. They became a mendicant order in 1221, the Augustinians, founded in 1244 and enlarged in 1256. They are also known as the Hermits of St. Augustine and their rule is based on the writings of Augustine of Hippo. The Augustinians were assembled from various groups of hermits as a mendicant order by Pope Innocent IV in 1244, additional groups were added by Alexander IV in 1256. Francis, a branch of the Third Order of St, in the Anglican Communion there are also a number of mendicant groups such as the Anglican Friars Preachers and The Society of St. Francis. Several high schools, as well as Providence College, use friars as their school mascot, the Major League Baseball team San Diego Padres have the Swinging Friar. The University of Michigans oldest a cappella group is a male known as The Friars. The University of Pennsylvania has an honor society known as Friars
16.
Pope Gregory X
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Pope Gregory X, born Teobaldo Visconti, was Pope from 1 September 1271 to his death in 1276 and was a member of the Secular Franciscan Order. He was elected at the conclusion of an election that ran from 1268 to 1271. He convened the Second Council of Lyons and also new regulations in regards to papal conclaves. Though briefly annulled by Pope Adrian V and Pope John XXI, these remained in force until the 20th century. Pope Clement XI beatified him in 1713 after the confirmation of his cultus, Teobaldo Visconti, a member of the House of Visconti, was born in Piacenza around 1210. It is said that he began his career by attaching himself to the household of the Cistercian Cardinal Giacomo de Pecorari, Bishop of Palestrina and he was attracted by the reputation of holiness which the Cardinal enjoyed, he had been elected abbot of the monastery of Trois-Fontaines in Champagne. Teobaldo became the Cardinals Oeconomus or Majordomo, and was therefore in constant attendance, the Cardinal was Legate of Pope Gregory IX in Tuscany in 1235, in Lombardy in 1236-1237, and in Provence, France and Germany in 1239-1241. It was probably during the assignment in Provence that Teobaldo became known to important French clergy and he was already Canon of the Basilica of S. Antonino in Piacenza when he returned to Piacenza on business of the Cardinal in 1239. He then returned to the Cardinal, whose new assignment in France was actually to preach a crusade against Frederick II Augustus, the Hohenstaufen Emperor, early in 1239, the Pope had again excommunicated the Emperor. Each had demanded an Ecumenical Council to settle their differences, the Pope was willing, but he planned that the council would meet under his auspices and in his territory. He would also bring to Rome all of the enemies of Frederick Hohenstaufen. It was at point in 1240 that Teobaldo also became a Canon of the Cathedral of Lyons. Pope Gregorys ecumenical council never took place, and he died on 22 August 1241, the search for a successor to Gregory IX took more than two months. The new Pope, Celestine IV, who was old and ill, survived his election by only 17 days, the second electoral assembly of 1241 did not take place for some time, however. Only a half-dozen of the 12 cardinals remained in the city and it was not until June 1243 that all the Cardinals, assembled at Anagni and not in Rome, elected Cardinal Sinibaldo Fieschi of Genoa as Pope Innocent IV. In 1243, when the Bishop of Piacenza died, Innocent IV offered the position to Archdeacon Teobaldo, Cardinal Giacomo, however, died in Rome on 25 June 1244. Upon the death of his patron and spiritual model, Teobaldo decided not to any longer in the Curia, planning to travel to Paris. When he reached Lyons, however, he was received by the Archbishop-elect, Philippe, Teobaldo initially refused, but the Archbishop insisted and finally Teobaldo accepted the position
17.
Papal legate
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A papal legate or Apostolic legate is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic Church. He is empowered on matters of Catholic Faith and for the settlement of ecclesiastical matters, the legate is appointed directly by the pope. The term legation is applied both to a mandate and to the territory concerned. In the High Middle Ages, papal legates were often used to strengthen the links between Rome and the parts of Christendom. More often than not, legates were learned men and skilled diplomats who were not from the country they were accredited to. The Italian-born Guala Bicchieri served as legate to England in the early 13th century. Papal legates often summoned legatine councils, which dealt with church government, during the Middle Ages, a legatine council was the usual means that a papal legate imposed his directives. There are several ranks of papal legates in diplomacy, some of which are no longer used, a nuncio performs the same functions as an ambassador and has the same diplomatic privileges. Under the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, to which the Holy See is a party and this highest rank is normally awarded to a priest of cardinal rank. It is an investiture and can either be focused or broad in scope. The legate a latere is the ego of the Pope. The legatus natus would act as the representative in his province. Although limited in their jurisdiction compared to legati a latere, a legatus natus were not subordinate to them, literally sent legate, possessing limited powers for the purpose of completing a specific mission. This commission is normally focused in scope and of short duration, some administrative provinces of the Papal states in Italy were governed by a Papal Legate. This has been the case in Benevento, in Pontecorvo and in Viterbo, in four cases, including Bologna, this post was awarded exclusively to Cardinals, the Velletri post was created for Bartolommeo Pacca. The title could be changed to Apostolic Delegate, as happened in Frosinone in 1827, Papal diplomacy Nuncio – an envoy whose diplomatic status is recognized by the receiving state – usually a titular archbishop. Papal apocrisiarius List of papal legates to England Other Pontifical legate Catholic Encyclopedia, Legate WorldStatesmen - Italy to 1860 - Papal State Maseri, de Legatis et Nunciis Apostolicis Iudiciis Ecclesiasticis Civilibus et Criminalibus Oneribusque Civitatum Cameralibus et Communitativis. Commentatio Canoncia de Legatis et Nuntiis Pontificum, die englische Legation des Cardinals Guido Fulcodi, des spaeteren P. Clemens IV
18.
Michael VIII Palaiologos
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Michael VIII Palaiologos or Palaeologus reigned as Byzantine Emperor 1259–1282. Michael VIII was the founder of the Palaiologan dynasty that would rule the Byzantine Empire until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453 and he recovered Constantinople from the Latin Empire in 1261 and transformed the Empire of Nicaea into a restored Byzantine Empire. Michael rose to distinction at an age, serving as the governor of the Thracian towns of Melnik. However, in the fall of 1253 Michael was accused before the Emperor John III Vatatzes of plotting against the throne, the only way Michael was allowed to prove his innocence was through trial by ordeal, holding a red-hot iron. Following the death of John Vatatzes, Michael crossed the Sangarios River with a few close friends, Michael was invested with the titles of megas doux and, in November 1258, of despotēs. On 1 January 1259 Michael VIII Palaiologos was proclaimed co-emperor at Nymphaion, in 1259 Michael VIII defeated the alliance of William II Villehardouin, Prince of Achaea, and Michael II Komnenos Doukas of Epirus at the Battle of Pelagonia. According to Geanakoplos, n the period preceding the Nicene reconquest of Constantinople in 1261 no event was of greater importance than Michael Palaeologus victory at Pelagonia. Despite this brilliant victory, only one event could remove the stigma of usurper completely from the eyes of his subjects — recovery of Constantinople itself, in 1260 Michael personally led an unsuccessful attempt to capture the city. Rumors of reinforcements for the city forced Michael to sign a one-year truce with the Latin Emperor Baldwin II that August. Realizing that he needed a navy to effectively besiege Constantinople, Michael concluded the Treaty of Nymphaeum with Genoa in March of the following year, Genoese help proved to be unneeded when Michael VIIIs general Alexios Strategopoulos captured Constantinople from Baldwin II through treachery on 25 July 1261. News of the city first reached Michaels sister Eulogia, who awoke her brother at dawn. He was not convinced until a messenger arrived from Strategopoulos bearing the crown, Michael VIII entered the city on 15 August and had himself crowned together with his infant son Andronikos II Palaiologos. Once in control of Constantinople, Michael abolished all Latin customs and reinstated most Byzantine ceremonies and institutions as they had existed before the Fourth Crusade. He repopulated the capital, building its population from 35,000 when he took power to 70,000 by the end of his reign, and restored damaged churches, monasteries, and public buildings. In December John IV, who had left behind at Nicaea, was blinded and relegated to a monastery. Although Michael tried to keep the blinding of John a secret and this ban was not lifted until six years later on the appointment of patriarch Joseph I. In the words of Geanaklopos, With the fall of Constantinople, for the Greeks had now effectively reasserted their right to a church divorced from Rome. Thus it became the task of each of the six successive popes of Michaels reign to accomplish the return of the schismatics to the Roman fold, Michael also approached Manfred of Sicily to achieve some kind of accord
19.
Bonaventure
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Saint Bonaventure, born Giovanni di Fidanza, was an Italian medieval Franciscan, scholastic theologian and philosopher. The seventh Minister General of the Order of Friars Minor, he was also Cardinal Bishop of Albano and he was canonised on 14 April 1482 by Pope Sixtus IV and declared a Doctor of the Church in the year 1588 by Pope Sixtus V. He is known as the Seraphic Doctor, many writings believed in the Middle Ages to be his are now collected under the name Pseudo-Bonaventure. He was born at Bagnorea in Umbria, not far from Viterbo, almost nothing is known of his childhood, other than the names of his parents, Giovanni di Fidanza and Maria Ritella. He entered the Franciscan Order in 1243 and studied at the University of Paris, possibly under Alexander of Hales, in 1253 he held the Franciscan chair at Paris. A dispute between seculars and mendicants delayed his reception as Master until 1257, where his degree was taken in company with Thomas Aquinas, after having successfully defended his order against the reproaches of the anti-mendicant party, he was elected Minister General of the Franciscan Order. On 24 November 1265, he was selected for the post of Archbishop of York, however, during his tenure, the General Chapter of Narbonne, held in 1260, promulgated a decree prohibiting the publication of any work out of the order without permission from the higher superiors. This prohibition has induced modern writers to pass judgment upon Roger Bacons superiors being envious of Bacons abilities. However, the prohibition enjoined on Bacon was a general one and its promulgation was not directed against him, but rather against Gerard of Borgo San Donnino. Gerard had published in 1254 without permission a heretical work, Introductorius in Evangelium æternum, thereupon the General Chapter of Narbonne promulgated the above-mentioned decree, identical with the constitutio gravis in contrarium Bacon speaks of. The above-mentioned prohibition was rescinded in Rogers favour unexpectedly in 1266, there, after his significant contributions led to a union of the Greek and Latin churches, Bonaventure died suddenly and in suspicious circumstances. The 1913 edition of the Catholic Encyclopedia has citations that suggest he was poisoned, but no mention is made of this in the 2003 second edition of the New Catholic Encyclopedia. The only extant relic of the saint is the arm and hand with which he wrote his Commentary on the Sentences and he steered the Franciscans on a moderate and intellectual course that made them the most prominent order in the Catholic Church until the coming of the Jesuits. His theology was marked by an attempt completely to integrate faith and he thought of Christ as the one true master who offers humans knowledge that begins in faith, is developed through rational understanding, and is perfected by mystical union with God. Bonaventures feast day was included in the General Roman Calendar immediately upon his canonisation in 1482. It was at first celebrated on the second Sunday in July, but was moved in 1568 to 14 July, since 15 July and it remained on that date, with the rank of double, until 1960, when it was reclassified as a feast of the third class. In 1969 it was classified as a memorial and assigned to the date of his death,15 July. Bonaventure was regarded as one of the greatest philosophers of the Middle Ages, the German philosopher Dieter Hattrup denies that Reduction of the Arts to Theology was written by Bonaventure, claiming that the style of thinking does not match Bonaventures original style
20.
Dominican Order
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Members of the order, who are referred to as Dominicans, generally carry the letters O. P. after their names, standing for Ordinis Praedicatorum, meaning of the Order of Preachers. Membership in the order includes friars, nuns, active sisters, the order is famed for its intellectual tradition, having produced many leading theologians and philosophers. The Dominican Order is headed by the Master of the Order, in the year 2000, there were 5,171 Dominican friars in solemn vows,917 student brothers, and 237 novices. By the year 2013 there were 6,058 Dominican friars, a number of other names have been used to refer to both the order and its members. In England and other countries the Dominican friars are referred to as Black Friars because of the black cappa or cloak they wear over their white habits, Dominicans were Blackfriars, as opposed to Whitefriars or Greyfriars. They are also distinct from the Augustinian Friars who wear a similar habit and their identification as Dominicans gave rise to the pun that they were the Domini canes, or Hounds of the Lord. The Dominican Order came into being in the Middle Ages at a time when religion began to be contemplated in a new way, men of God were no longer expected to stay behind the walls of a cloister. Instead, they travelled among the people, taking as their examples the apostles of the primitive Church. Out of this emerged two orders of mendicant friars, one, the Friars Minor, was led by Francis of Assisi, the other. Dominics new order was to be an order, trained to preach in the vernacular languages. Rather than earning their living on vast farms as the monasteries had done, at the same time, Dominic inspired the members of his order to develop a mixed spirituality. They were both active in preaching, and contemplative in study, prayer and meditation, the brethren of the Dominican Order were urban and learned, as well as contemplative and mystical in their spirituality. While these traits affected the women of the order, the nuns especially absorbed the latter characteristics, in England, the Dominican nuns blended these elements with the defining characteristics of English Dominican spirituality and created a spirituality and collective personality that set them apart. The orders origins in battling heterodoxy influenced its development and reputation. Many later Dominicans battled heresy as part of their apostolate, indeed, many years after St. Dominic reacted to the Cathars, the first Grand Inquistor of Spain, Tomás de Torquemada, would be drawn from the Dominican Order. As an adolescent, he had a love of theology. During his studies in Palencia, Spain, he experienced a famine, prompting Dominic to sell all of his beloved books. At the age of twenty-four or twenty-five, he was ordained to the priesthood, at that time the south of France was the stronghold of the Cathar or Albigensian heresy, named after the Duke of Albi, a Cathar sympathiser and opponent to the subsequent Albigensian Crusade
21.
Philip IV of France
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Philip IV, called the Fair or the Iron King, was King of France from 1285 until his death. By virtue of his marriage with Joan I of Navarre, he was also Philip I, Philip relied on skillful civil servants, such as Guillaume de Nogaret and Enguerrand de Marigny, to govern the kingdom rather than on his barons. Philip and his advisors were instrumental in the transformation of France from a country to a centralized state. Philip, who sought an uncontested monarchy, compelled his vassals by wars and his ambitions made him highly influential in European affairs. His goal was to place his relatives on foreign thrones, princes from his house ruled in Naples and Hungary. He tried and failed to make relative the Holy Roman Emperor. He began the advance of France eastward by taking control of scattered fiefs. To further strengthen the monarchy, he tried to control the French clergy and this conflict led to the transfer of the papal court to the enclave of Avignon in 1309. In 1306, Philip the Fair expelled the Jews from France and, in 1307, Friday 13th, Philip was in debt to both groups and saw them as a state within the state. His final year saw a scandal amongst the family, known as the Tour de Nesle Affair. His three sons were kings of France, Louis X, Philip V, and Charles IV. A member of the House of Capet, Philip was born in the fortress of Fontainebleau to the future Philip III. He was the second of four born to the couple. His father was the heir apparent of France at that time, in August 1270, when Philip was two years old, his grandfather died while on Crusade, his father became king, and his elder brother Louis became heir apparent. Only five months later, in January 1271, Philips mother died after falling from a horse, a few months later, one of Philips younger brothers, Robert, also died. Philips father was crowned king at Rhiems on 15 August 1271. Six days later, he married again, Philips step-mother was Marie, in May 1276, Philips elder brother Louis died, and the eight year old Philip became crown prince. It was suspected that Louis had been poisoned, and that his stepmother, one reason for these rumours was the fact that the queen gave birth to her own eldest son in the same month as the death of the crown prince
22.
Alfonso III of Aragon
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Alfonso III, called the Liberal or the Free, was the King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona from 1285. He conquered the Kingdom of Majorca between his succession and 1287 and he was a son of King Peter III of Aragon and Constance, daughter and heiress of King Manfred of Sicily. Thus in 1285 he declared war on his uncle, James II of Majorca and he initially sought to maintain Aragonese control over Sicily early in his reign by supporting the claims to the island of his brother, James II of Aragon. However, he retracted the support for his brother shortly before his death. During his lifetime a dynastic marriage with Eleanor, daughter of King Edward I of England, was arranged, however Alfonso died before meeting his bride. He died at the age of 26 in 1291, and was buried in the Franciscan convent in Barcelona, alighieri, Dante, Purgatorio, Canto VII, l. The New Cambridge Medieval History, Volume 6, C. 1300-c.1415, the Chronicle of San Juan De LA Pena, A Fourteenth-Century Official History of the Crown of Aragon ISBN 0-8122-1352-1 OCallaghan, Joseph. A History of Medieval Spain ISBN 0-8014-9264-5
23.
Cardinal Priest
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A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical leader, considered a Prince of the Church, and usually an ordained bishop of the Roman Catholic Church. The cardinals of the Church are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, the duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and making themselves available individually or in groups to the Pope as requested. Most have additional duties, such as leading a diocese or archdiocese or managing a department of the Roman Curia, a cardinals primary duty is electing the pope when the see becomes vacant. During the sede vacante, the governance of the Holy See is in the hands of the College of Cardinals. The right to enter the conclave of cardinals where the pope is elected is limited to those who have not reached the age of 80 years by the day the vacancy occurs. In 1059, the right of electing the pope was reserved to the clergy of Rome. The term was applied in this sense as early as the century to the priests of the tituli of the diocese of Rome. The Church of England retains an instance of this origin of the title, which is held by the two senior members of the College of Minor Canons of St Pauls Cathedral. In Rome the first persons to be called cardinals were the deacons of the seven regions of the city at the beginning of the 6th century, when the word began to mean principal, eminent, or superior. The name was given to the senior priest in each of the title churches of Rome. By the 8th century the Roman cardinals constituted a class among the Roman clergy. They took part in the administration of the church of Rome, by decree of a synod of 769, only a cardinal was eligible to become pope. In 1059, during the pontificate of Nicholas II, cardinals were given the right to elect the pope under the Papal Bull In nomine Domini. For a time this power was assigned exclusively to the cardinal bishops, Cardinals were granted the privilege of wearing the red hat by Pope Innocent IV in 1244. In cities other than Rome, the name began to be applied to certain church men as a mark of honour. This meaning of the word spread rapidly, and from the 9th century various episcopal cities had a class among the clergy known as cardinals. The use of the title was reserved for the cardinals of Rome in 1567 by Pius V, in the year 1563 the influential Ecumenical Council of Trent, headed by Pope Pius IV, wrote about the importance of selecting good Cardinals. The earlier influence of temporal rulers, notably the French kings, in early modern times, cardinals often had important roles in secular affairs
24.
Cardinal Bishop
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A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical leader, considered a Prince of the Church, and usually an ordained bishop of the Roman Catholic Church. The cardinals of the Church are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, the duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and making themselves available individually or in groups to the Pope as requested. Most have additional duties, such as leading a diocese or archdiocese or managing a department of the Roman Curia, a cardinals primary duty is electing the pope when the see becomes vacant. During the sede vacante, the governance of the Holy See is in the hands of the College of Cardinals. The right to enter the conclave of cardinals where the pope is elected is limited to those who have not reached the age of 80 years by the day the vacancy occurs. In 1059, the right of electing the pope was reserved to the clergy of Rome. The term was applied in this sense as early as the century to the priests of the tituli of the diocese of Rome. The Church of England retains an instance of this origin of the title, which is held by the two senior members of the College of Minor Canons of St Pauls Cathedral. In Rome the first persons to be called cardinals were the deacons of the seven regions of the city at the beginning of the 6th century, when the word began to mean principal, eminent, or superior. The name was given to the senior priest in each of the title churches of Rome. By the 8th century the Roman cardinals constituted a class among the Roman clergy. They took part in the administration of the church of Rome, by decree of a synod of 769, only a cardinal was eligible to become pope. In 1059, during the pontificate of Nicholas II, cardinals were given the right to elect the pope under the Papal Bull In nomine Domini. For a time this power was assigned exclusively to the cardinal bishops, Cardinals were granted the privilege of wearing the red hat by Pope Innocent IV in 1244. In cities other than Rome, the name began to be applied to certain church men as a mark of honour. This meaning of the word spread rapidly, and from the 9th century various episcopal cities had a class among the clergy known as cardinals. The use of the title was reserved for the cardinals of Rome in 1567 by Pius V, in the year 1563 the influential Ecumenical Council of Trent, headed by Pope Pius IV, wrote about the importance of selecting good Cardinals. The earlier influence of temporal rulers, notably the French kings, in early modern times, cardinals often had important roles in secular affairs
25.
Palestrina
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Palestrina is an ancient city and comune with a population of about 21,000, in Lazio, about 35 kilometres east of Rome. It is connected to the latter by the Via Prenestina and it is the birthplace of composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. Palestrina is sited on a spur of the Monti Prenestini, a range in the central Apennines. Palestrina borders the municipalities, Artena, Castel San Pietro Romano, Cave, Gallicano nel Lazio, Labico, Rocca di Cave, Rocca Priora, Rome, San Cesareo, Valmontone. Early burials show that the site was occupied in the 8th or 7th century BC. The ancient necropolis lay on a plateau at the foot of the hill below the ancient town, from these come the famous bronze boxes and hand mirrors with inscriptions partly in Etruscan. Also famous is the bronze Ficoroni Cista, engraved pictures of the arrival of the Argonauts in Bithynia. An example of archaic Latin is the inscription on the Ficoroni Cista, the caskets are unique in Italy, but a large number of mirrors of precisely similar style have been discovered in Etruria. Hence, although it would be reasonable to conjecture that objects with Etruscan characteristics came from Etruria, other imported objects in the burials show that Praeneste traded not only with Etruria but also with the Greek east. The origin of Praeneste was attributed by the ancients to Ulysses, the name derives probably from the word Praenesteus, referring to its overlooking location. Praeneste was probably under the hegemony of Alba Longa while that city was the head of the Latin League and it withdrew from the league in 499 BC, according to Livy, and formed an alliance with Rome. After Rome was weakened by the Gauls of Brennus, Praeneste switched allegiances, from 373 to 370, it was in continual war against Rome or her allies, and was defeated by Cincinnatus. Eventually in 354 and in 338 the Romans were victorious and Praeneste was punished by the loss of portions of its territory, as such, it furnished contingents to the Roman army, and Roman exiles were permitted to live at Praeneste, which grew prosperous. The roses of Praeneste were a byword for profusion and beauty, præneste was situated on the Via Labicana. Its citizens were offered Roman citizenship in 90 BC in the Social War, in Sullas second civil war, Gaius Marius the Younger was blockaded in the town by the forces of Sulla. When the city was captured, Marius slew himself, the inhabitants were massacred in cold blood. From an inscription it appears that Sulla delegated the foundation of the new colony to Marcus Terentius Varro Lucullus, within a decade the lands of the colonia had been assembled by a few large landowners. From the late Republic to the late Empire, markets, baths, shrines and even a second forum were built in the lower city, the poet Horace ranked cool Praeneste with Tibur and Baiae as favored resorts
26.
Pope Martin IV
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Pope Martin IV, born Simon de Brion, was Pope from 22 February 1281 to his death in 1285. He was the last French Bishop of Rome to have held court in the Holy See, Simon de Brion, son of Jean, sieur de Brion, was born at the château of Meinpincien, Île-de-France, France, in the decade following 1210. He had a brother named Gilo, who was a knight in diocese of Sens, the seigneurial family of Brion, who took their name from Brion near Joigny, flourished in the Brie français. He spent time at the University of Paris, and is said to have studied law at Padua. Through papal favour he received a canonry at Saint-Quentin in 1238 and spent the period 1248–1259 as a canon of the chapter in Rouen. At the same time he was appointed treasurer of the church of St. Martin in Tours by King Louis IX of France, an office he held until he was elected pope in 1281. In 1255-1259, King Louis IX founded the French royal convent at Longchamps for the Poor Clares, the Kings sister Isabelle was the patroness, and Simon de Brion was the Guardian. In 1259, he was appointed to the council of the king and he became Chancellor of Louis IX of France. On December 17,1261, the new French Pope, Urban IV, made Chancellor de Brion cardinal-priest, Simons previous experience at the French Court made him the perfect choice as Legate. Cardinal Simon therefore returned to France as Papal Legate for Urban IV, in 1264, on the eve of S. Bartholomew, he held a general synod at Paris. He was appointed again, by Pope Gregory X on 1 August 1274 and his first task was to raise support and money for a Crusade against Manfred, the Hohenstaufen candidate for the Imperial Crown. He immediately became involved in the negotiations for papal support for the assumption of the crown of Sicily by Charles of Anjou. As Legate he presided over several synods on reform, and on the raising of funds for Pope Gregorys crusade, the most important of these was held at Bourges on 13 September 1276. Signatures on papal bulls indicate that Cardinal Simon was back in Viterbo by 11 January 1268. In a letter of 14 or 15 January 1268, Pope Clement IV wrote to Cardinal Simon de Brion that he had heard that the Cardinal had fallen from his horse and he also wrote that Conradin and Ludwig Duke of Bavaria were at Verona, and were pressing for Pavia. Cardinal Simons injury must not have severe, since, on April 3,1268. In vetting names, Simon seemed the most suitable, Pope Clement IV fell ill on the Feast of S. Cecilia, and died at Viterbo on 29 November 1268. He had governed the Church for three years, nine months, and twenty-four days, the See of Peter was vacant for two years and nine months
27.
Cardinal (Catholicism)
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A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical leader, considered a Prince of the Church, and usually an ordained bishop of the Roman Catholic Church. The cardinals of the Church are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, the duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and making themselves available individually or in groups to the Pope as requested. Most have additional duties, such as leading a diocese or archdiocese or managing a department of the Roman Curia, a cardinals primary duty is electing the pope when the see becomes vacant. During the sede vacante, the governance of the Holy See is in the hands of the College of Cardinals. The right to enter the conclave of cardinals where the pope is elected is limited to those who have not reached the age of 80 years by the day the vacancy occurs. In 1059, the right of electing the pope was reserved to the clergy of Rome. The term was applied in this sense as early as the century to the priests of the tituli of the diocese of Rome. The Church of England retains an instance of this origin of the title, which is held by the two senior members of the College of Minor Canons of St Pauls Cathedral. In Rome the first persons to be called cardinals were the deacons of the seven regions of the city at the beginning of the 6th century, when the word began to mean principal, eminent, or superior. The name was given to the senior priest in each of the title churches of Rome. By the 8th century the Roman cardinals constituted a class among the Roman clergy. They took part in the administration of the church of Rome, by decree of a synod of 769, only a cardinal was eligible to become pope. In 1059, during the pontificate of Nicholas II, cardinals were given the right to elect the pope under the Papal Bull In nomine Domini. For a time this power was assigned exclusively to the cardinal bishops, Cardinals were granted the privilege of wearing the red hat by Pope Innocent IV in 1244. In cities other than Rome, the name began to be applied to certain church men as a mark of honour. This meaning of the word spread rapidly, and from the 9th century various episcopal cities had a class among the clergy known as cardinals. The use of the title was reserved for the cardinals of Rome in 1567 by Pius V, in the year 1563 the influential Ecumenical Council of Trent, headed by Pope Pius IV, wrote about the importance of selecting good Cardinals. The earlier influence of temporal rulers, notably the French kings, in early modern times, cardinals often had important roles in secular affairs
28.
Holy See
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The Holy See, also referred to as the See of Rome, is the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, the episcopal see of the Pope, and an independent sovereign entity. It serves as the point of reference for the Catholic Church everywhere. Today, it is responsible for the governance of all Catholics, organised in their Particular Churches, Patriarchates, as an independent sovereign entity, holding the Vatican City enclave in Rome as sovereign territory, it maintains diplomatic relations with other states. Diplomatically, the Holy See acts and speaks for the whole church and it is also recognised by other subjects of international law as a sovereign entity, headed by the Pope, with which diplomatic relations can be maintained. The creation of the Vatican City state was meant to ensure the diplomatic, in Greek, the adjective holy or sacred is constantly applied to all such sees as a matter of course. The word see comes from the Latin word sedes, meaning seat, while Saint Peters basilica in Vatican City is perhaps the church most associated with the Papacy, the actual cathedral of the Holy See is the church of Saint John Lateran within the city of Rome. The Pope governs the Catholic Church through the Roman Curia, the Secretariat of State, under the Cardinal Secretary of State, directs and coordinates the Curia. The incumbent, Archbishop Pietro Parolin, is the Sees equivalent of a prime minister, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, Secretary of the Section for Relations with States of the Secretariat of State, acts as the Holy Sees minister of foreign affairs. Parolin was named in his role by Pope Francis On 31 August 2013, mamberti was named in his role by Pope Benedict XVI in September 2006. The Secretariat of State is the body of the Curia that is situated within Vatican City. The others are in buildings in different parts of Rome that have rights similar to those of embassies. The Roman Rota handles normal judicial appeals, the most numerous being those that concern alleged nullity of marriage and it also oversees the work of other ecclesiastical tribunals at all levels. The most important of these is the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See, the Prefecture of the Papal Household is responsible for the organization of the papal household, audiences, and ceremonies. The Holy See does not dissolve upon a Popes death or resignation and it instead operates under a different set of laws sede vacante. The government of the See, and therefore of the Catholic Church, canon law prohibits the College and the Camerlengo from introducing any innovations or novelties in the government of the Church during this period. In 2001, the Holy See had a revenue of 422.098 billion Italian lire, the Guardian newspaper described Mennini and his role in the following manner. Paolo Mennini, who is in effect the popes merchant banker, Mennini heads a special unit inside the Vatican called the extraordinary division of APSA – Amministrazione del Patrimonio della Sede Apostolica – which handles the patrimony of the Holy See. The Holy See has been recognized, both in practice and in the writing of modern legal scholars, as a subject of public international law, with rights
29.
College of Cardinals
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The College of Cardinals, formerly styled Sacred College of Cardinals, is the body of all cardinals of the Catholic Church. A function of the college is to advise the pope about church matters when he summons them to an ordinary consistory and it also attends various functions as a matter of protocol, for example, during the canonization process. Historically, cardinals were the clergy serving parishes of the city of Rome under its bishop, the College acquired particular importance following the crowning of Henry IV as King of Germany and Holy Roman Emperor at the age of six, after the unexpected death of Henry III in 1056. This was significant as the aims and views of the Holy Roman Emperor, churchmen involved in what has become known as the Gregorian Reform took advantage of the new kings lack of power and in 1059 reserved the election of the pope to the clergy of the Church in Rome. Reserving to the cardinals the election of the pope represented a significant shift in the balance of power in the Early Medieval world. From the beginning of the 12th century, the College of Cardinals started to meet as such, in the Catholic church, the Dean of the College of Cardinals and the Cardinal Vice-Dean are the president and vice-president of the college. Both are elected by and from the six Cardinal-bishops, but the election requires Papal confirmation, except for presiding and delegating administrative tasks, they have no authority over the cardinals, acting as primus inter pares. The Fundamental Law of Vatican City State requires that appointees to the legislative body. The word cardinal is derived from the Latin cardo, meaning hinge, the office of cardinal as it is known today slowly evolved during the first millennium from the clergy of Rome. In 845 the Council of Meaux required Bishops to establish Cardinal titles or parishes in their towns and those who were assigned to the latter roles were given the titles of Legatus a latere and Missus Specialis. During the pontificate of Stephen V, the three classes of the College that are present today began to form, Stephen decreed that all cardinal-bishops were bound to sing Mass on rotation at the high altar at St. Peters Basilica, one per Sunday. The first class to form was that of the cardinal-deacons, direct descendants of the original seven ordained in Acts 6, followed by the cardinal-priests, and finally. The College played a part in various reforms within the Church as well. In the 12th century, the Third Lateran Council declared that only Cardinals could assume the papacy, in 1130, under Urban II, all the classes were permitted to take part in papal elections, up to this point, only cardinal-bishops had this role. By the end of the 14th century, the practice of solely Italian cardinals had ceased, between the 14th century and 17th century, there was much struggle for the College between the cardinals of the day and the reigning popes. The most effective way for a pope to increase his power was to increase the number of cardinals and those cardinals in power saw these actions as an attempt to weaken their influence. In 1517, Pope Leo X added another thirty-one cardinals, bringing the total to sixty-five so that he could have a majority in the College of Cardinals. Paul IV brought the total to seventy, Pope Pius IV raised an additional six
30.
Rabban Bar Sauma
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Rabban Bar Sauma, also known as Rabban Ṣawma or Rabban Çauma, was a Turkic/Chinese monk turned diplomat of the Nestorian Church of the East in China. He is known for embarking on a pilgrimage from Mongol-controlled China to Jerusalem with one of his students, due to military unrest along the way, they never reached their destination, but instead spent many years in Mongol-controlled Baghdad. The younger Markos was eventually chosen as Patriarch of the Church of the East, the elderly monk met with many of the European monarchs, as well as the Pope, in attempts to arrange a Franco-Mongol alliance. The mission bore no fruit, but in his years in Baghdad. His travels occurred prior to the return of Marco Polo to Europe, Rabban Bar Sauma was born c.1220 in or near modern-day Beijing, known then as Zhongdu, later as Khanbaliq under Mongol rule. According to Gregory Barhebraeus he was of Turkic Uyghur origin, Chinese accounts describe his heritage as Wanggu, a tribe of Turkic origin classified as part of the Mongol Caste of the Yuan Dynasty. The name bar Ṣauma is Aramaic for Son of Fasting though he was born to a wealthy family and he was a follower of the Nestorian faith, and became an ascetic monk around the age of 20 and then a religious teacher for decades. In his middle age, Rabban Bar Sauma and one of his younger students Rabban Marcos embarked on a journey from China, to make a pilgrimage to the religious center of Jerusalem. They travelled by way of the former Tangut country, Khotan, Kashgar, Talas in the Syr Darya valley, Khorasan, Maragha and Mosul, arriving at Ani in Armenia. The Patriarch requested the two monks to visit the court of the Mongol Ilkhanate ruler Abaqa, in order to obtain confirmation letters for Mar Denhas ordination as Patriarch in 1266, during the journey, Rabban Markos was declared a Nestorian bishop. The Patriarch then attempted to send the monks as messengers back to China, but military conflict along the route delayed their departure, when the Patriarch died, Rabban Marcos was elected as his replacement, Mar Yaballaha III in 1281. The two monks traveled to Maragha to have the selection confirmed by Abagha, but the Ilkhanate ruler died before their arrival and it was Arghuns desire to form a strategic Franco-Mongol alliance with the Christian Europeans, against their common enemy the Muslim Mamluks. A few years later, the new patriarch Mar Yaballaha suggested his former teacher Rabban Bar Sauma for the embassy, to meet with the Pope and the European monarchs. In 1287, the elderly Bar Sauma embarked on his journey to Europe, bearing gifts and letters from Arghun to the Byzantine emperor, the Pope, and he followed the embassy of another Nestorian, Isa Kelemechi, sent by Arghun to Pope Honorius IV, in 1285. Rabban Bar Sauma traveled with a retinue of assistants, and 30 riding animals. Bar Sauma likely did not speak any European languages, though he was known to be fluent in Chinese, Turkish, Europeans communicated to him in Persian. Bar Saumas writings give a particularly enthusiastic description of the beautiful Hagia Sophia and he next travelled to Italy, again journeying by ship. As their course took them past the island of Sicily, he witnessed and recorded the eruption of Mount Etna on June 18,1287
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Franco-Mongol alliance
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Several attempts at a Franco-Mongol alliance against the Islamic caliphates, their common enemy, were made by various leaders among the Frankish Crusaders and the Mongol Empire in the 13th century. Such an alliance might have seemed an obvious choice, the Mongols were already sympathetic to Christianity, the Franks and Mongols also shared a common enemy in the Muslims. However, despite many messages, gifts, and emissaries over the course of several decades, communications tended to follow a recurring pattern, the Europeans asked the Mongols to convert to Western Christianity, while the Mongols responded with demands for submission and tribute. Other Christian leaders such as the Crusaders of Acre were more mistrustful of the Mongols, European attitudes began to change in the mid-1260s, from perceiving the Mongols as enemies to be feared, to potential allies against the Muslims. The Mongols sought to capitalize on this, promising a re-conquered Jerusalem to the Europeans in return for cooperation, the Mongol Empire eventually dissolved into civil war, and the Egyptian Mamluks successfully recaptured all of Palestine and Syria from the Crusaders. After the Fall of Acre in 1291, the remaining Crusaders retreated to the island of Cyprus, with the Fall of Ruad in 1302 or 1303, the Crusaders lost their last foothold in the Holy Land. Traditionally, the Mongols tended to see outside parties as either subjects or enemies, among Western Europeans, there had long been rumors and expectations that a great Christian ally would come from the East. These rumors circulated as early as the First Crusade, and usually surged in popularity after the Crusaders lost a battle, a legend arose about a figure known as Prester John, who lived in far-off India, Central Asia, or perhaps even Ethiopia. This legend developed a life of its own, and some individuals who came from the East were greeted with expectations that they might be sent by the long-awaited Prester John. In 1210, news reached the West of the battles of the Mongol Kuchlug, kuchlugs forces had been battling the powerful Khwarezmian Empire, whose leader was the Muslim Muhammad II of Khwarezm. Rumors circulated in Europe that Kuchlug was the mythical Prester John, Mongol raiding parties were beginning to invade the eastern Islamic world, in Transoxania and Persia in 1219–1221. In a letter dated June 20,1221, Pope Honorius III even commented about forces coming from the Far East to rescue the Holy Land. After Genghis Khans death in 1227, his empire was divided by his descendants into four sections or Khanates, the southwestern section, known as the Ilkhanate, was under the leadership of Genghis Khans grandson Hulagu. He continued to support his brother, the Great Khan, and was therefore at war with the Golden Horde, while at the time continuing an advance towards Persia. The Mongol invasion of Europe ended in 1242, in part because of the death of the Great Khan Ögedei, when one Great Khan died, Mongols from all parts of the empire were recalled to the capital to decide who should be the next Great Khan. In the meantime, the Mongols relentless march westward had displaced the Khawarizmi Turks, along the way, the Turks took Jerusalem from the Christians in 1244. After the subsequent loss at the Battle of La Forbie, Christian kings began to prepare for a new crusade, the loss of Jerusalem caused some Europeans to look to the Mongols as potential allies of Christendom, provided the Mongols could be converted to Western Christianity. In March 1245, Pope Innocent IV had issued multiple papal bulls, some of which were sent with an envoy, the Franciscan John of Plano Carpini, to the Emperor of the Tartars
32.
Europeans in Medieval China
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Given textual and archaeological evidence, it is thought that thousands of Europeans lived in Imperial China during the period of Mongol rule. These were people from countries traditionally belonging to the lands of Christendom during the High to Late Middle Ages who visited, traded, performed Christian missionary work, or lived in China. The most famous European visitor to China during this period was Marco Polo, preceded, respectively, by his father and uncle Niccolò and Maffeo Polo. The establishment of the Ming dynasty in 1368 and reestablishment of native Han Chinese rule led to the cessation of European merchants and Roman Catholic missionaries living in China. The Venetian merchant Marco Polo, as well as his father and uncle Niccolò and Maffeo Polo, respectively, Marco Polo wrote an account of his travels there, as did the Franciscan friar Odoric of Pordenone, the merchant Francesco Balducci Pegolotti, and the author John Mandeville. In Khanbaliq, the Roman archdiocese was established by John of Montecorvino, the Uyghur Nestorian Christian Rabban Bar Sauma was the first diplomat from China to reach the royal courts of Christendom in the West. Before the 13th century, instances of Europeans going to China or of Chinese going to Europe are virtually unknown, euthydemus I, Hellenistic ruler of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom in Central Asia during the 3rd century BC, led an expedition into the Tarim Basin in search of precious metals. Lucas Christopoulos presents an argument that the influence of Hellenistic art in China stretches back to the Qin dynasty, yet ancient ceramics from sites at Khotan bear clear influence from the Hellenistic Kingdom of Ptolemaic Egypt, with styles non-existent in Kushan art. This has led Christopoulos to assume the presence of peoples not only from the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom but also Greeks, Saka, the Eastern-Han era Chinese general Ban Chao, Protector General of the Western Regions, explored Central Asia and in 97 AD dispatched his envoys Gan Ying to Daqin. Subsequently, there were a series of Roman embassies in China lasting from the 2nd to 3rd centuries AD, historian Rafe de Crespigny speculates that they were Roman merchants instead of official diplomats. Roman golden medallions from the reigns of Antoninus Pius and his adopted son Marcus Aurelius have been found in Oc Eo, Roman coins have been found in China, but far less so than in India. It is possible that a group of Greek acrobatic performers, who claimed to be from a place west of the seas, were presented by a king of Burma to Emperor An of Han in 120 AD. It is known that in both the Parthian Empire and Kushan Empire of Asia, ethnic Greeks continued to be employed as such as musicians. Byzantine Greek historian Procopius stated that two Nestorian Christian monks eventually uncovered the way of how silk was made, from this revelation monks were sent by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian as spies on the Silk Road from Constantinople to China and back to steal the silkworm eggs. These histories also provided descriptions of Constantinople, its walls, and how it was besieged by Da shi and their commander Mo-yi. From Chinese records it is known that Michael VII Doukas of Fu lin dispatched a mission to Chinas Song dynasty that arrived in 1081. China was a destination for Radhanite Jews who brought boys, female slaves and eunuchs from Europe according to the 9th-century Book of Roads, during the subsequent Song period there was also a community of Kaifeng Jews in China. Polo related this account to Rustichello da Pisa around 1298 while they shared a Genoese prison cell following their capture in battle, although Marco Polos presence is omitted entirely, his story is confirmed by the 14th-century Persian historian Rashid-al-Din Hamadani in his Jami al-tawarikh
33.
Edward I of England
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Edward I, also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. He spent much of his reign reforming royal administration and common law, through an extensive legal inquiry, Edward investigated the tenure of various feudal liberties, while the law was reformed through a series of statutes regulating criminal and property law. Increasingly, however, Edwards attention was drawn towards military affairs, the first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his fathers reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons. In 1259, he sided with a baronial reform movement. After reconciliation with his father, however, he remained throughout the subsequent armed conflict. After the Battle of Lewes, Edward was hostage to the rebellious barons, Montfort was defeated at the Battle of Evesham in 1265, and within two years the rebellion was extinguished. With England pacified, Edward joined the Ninth Crusade to the Holy Land, the crusade accomplished little, and Edward was on his way home in 1272 when he was informed that his father had died. Making a slow return, he reached England in 1274 and was crowned at Westminster on 19 August, after suppressing a minor rebellion in Wales in 1276–77, Edward responded to a second rebellion in 1282–83 with a full-scale war of conquest. After a successful campaign, Edward subjected Wales to English rule, built a series of castles and towns in the countryside, next, his efforts were directed towards Scotland. Initially invited to arbitrate a dispute, Edward claimed feudal suzerainty over the kingdom. In the war followed, the Scots persevered, even though the English seemed victorious at several points. At the same there were problems at home. In the mid-1290s, extensive military campaigns required high levels of taxation and these crises were initially averted, but issues remained unsettled. When the King died in 1307, he left to his son, Edward II, Edward I was a tall man for his era, hence the nickname Longshanks. He was temperamental, and this, along with his height, made him an intimidating man, nevertheless, he held the respect of his subjects for the way he embodied the medieval ideal of kingship, as a soldier, an administrator and a man of faith. The Edict remained in effect for the rest of the Middle Ages, Edward was born at the Palace of Westminster on the night of 17–18 June 1239, to King Henry III and Eleanor of Provence. Among his childhood friends was his cousin Henry of Almain, son of King Henrys brother Richard of Cornwall, Henry of Almain would remain a close companion of the prince, both through the civil war that followed, and later during the crusade. Edward was in the care of Hugh Giffard – father of the future Chancellor Godfrey Giffard – until Bartholomew Pecche took over at Giffards death in 1246, there were concerns about Edwards health as a child, and he fell ill in 1246,1247, and 1251
34.
James II of Aragon
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James II, called the Just, was the King of Sicily from 1285 to 1296 and King of Aragon and Valencia and Count of Barcelona from 1291 to 1327. In 1297 he was granted the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica and he used the Latin title Iacobus Dei gracia rex Aragonum, Valencie, Sardinie, et Corsice ac comes Barchinone. He was the son of Peter III of Aragon and Constance of Sicily. James was born at Valencia as the son of King Peter I and he succeeded his father as King of Sicily in 1285. Upon the death of his brother Alfonso III in 1291, he succeeded also to the throne of the Crown of Aragon and he spent May of that year in Catania, inspiring the local monk Atanasiu di Iaci to write the Vinuta di re Iapicu about his time there. By a peace treaty with Charles II of Anjou in 1296, he agreed to give up Sicily, due to the fact that Frederick would not withdraw from the island, Pope Boniface VIII asked James II, along with Charles II of Naples, to remove him. As an enticement to do this the Pope invested James II with the title to Sardinia and Corsica, because of his inability to disguise his apathy on the matter, he returned to Aragon. Frederick reigned there until his death in 1337, by the Treaty of Anagni in 1295, he returned the Balearic Islands to his uncle James II of Majorca. Aragon retained control over the territories of the Majorca kingdom — Montpellier. In 1298, by the Treaty of Argilers, James of Majorca recognised the suzerainty of James of Aragon, during the period that followed his return to Aragon, James II wanted to gain access to the Muslim world in the south, from which Castile restricted Aragon. In order to achieve this goal, and assisted by his Admiral Don Bernat de Sarrià, Baron of Polop, he formed an alliance with the enemies of the adolescent king of Castile, James II wanted Murcia in order to give his kingdom access to Granada. The allied forces entered from all directions in 1296, where James II was victorious in capturing Murcia, in 1313, James II granted administrative and political autonomy to the Aran Valley, the legal details of which are described in a Latin manuscript called the Querimonia. The devolution of power was a reward for the Aranese pledging allegiance to James II in a dispute with the kingdoms of France, James was involved in the 1321 leper scare. He ordered the arrest and torture of French lepers seeking shelter in his realm and it was probably during his reign at Sicily that James composed his only surviving piece of Occitan poetry, a religious dansa dedicated to the Virgin Mary, Mayre de Deu. A contemporary, Arnau de Vilanova, wrote a verse-by-verse Latin commentary of the dansa in 1305, the metaphor James uses has been analysed by Alfred Jeanroy, who sees similarities in the Roman de Fauvel. The final verses ask Mary to protect him, the king, from sin, He married four times, — Isabella of Castile, Viscountess of Limoges, daughter of Sancho IV of Castile and his wife María de Molina. The wedding took place in the city of Soria, on 1 December 1291 when the bride was only 8 years old. The marriage, which was never consummated, was dissolved and annulled after Sanchos death in 1295, — Blanche of Anjou, daughter of his familys rival Charles II of Naples and Maria of Hungary
35.
Sicily
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Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is an autonomous Region of Italy, along with surrounding minor islands, Sicily is located in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula, from which it is separated by the narrow Strait of Messina. Its most prominent landmark is Mount Etna, the tallest active volcano in Europe, the island has a typical Mediterranean climate. The earliest archaeological evidence of activity on the island dates from as early as 12,000 BC. It became part of Italy in 1860 following the Expedition of the Thousand, a revolt led by Giuseppe Garibaldi during the Italian unification, Sicily was given special status as an autonomous region after the Italian constitutional referendum of 1946. Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially regard to the arts, music, literature, cuisine. It is also home to important archaeological and ancient sites, such as the Necropolis of Pantalica, the Valley of the Temples, Sicily has a roughly triangular shape, earning it the name Trinacria. To the east, it is separated from the Italian mainland by the Strait of Messina, about 3 km wide in the north, and about 16 km wide in the southern part. The northern and southern coasts are each about 280 km long measured as a line, while the eastern coast measures around 180 km. The total area of the island is 25,711 km2, the terrain of inland Sicily is mostly hilly and is intensively cultivated wherever possible. Along the northern coast, the ranges of Madonie,2,000 m, Nebrodi,1,800 m. The cone of Mount Etna dominates the eastern coast, in the southeast lie the lower Hyblaean Mountains,1,000 m. The mines of the Enna and Caltanissetta districts were part of a leading sulphur-producing area throughout the 19th century, Sicily and its surrounding small islands have some highly active volcanoes. Mount Etna is the largest active volcano in Europe and still casts black ash over the island with its ever-present eruptions and it currently stands 3,329 metres high, though this varies with summit eruptions, the mountain is 21 m lower now than it was in 1981. It is the highest mountain in Italy south of the Alps, Etna covers an area of 1,190 km2 with a basal circumference of 140 km. This makes it by far the largest of the three volcanoes in Italy, being about two and a half times the height of the next largest, Mount Vesuvius. In Greek Mythology, the deadly monster Typhon was trapped under the mountain by Zeus, Mount Etna is widely regarded as a cultural symbol and icon of Sicily. The Aeolian Islands in the Tyrrhenian Sea, to the northeast of mainland Sicily form a volcanic complex, the three volcanoes of Vulcano, Vulcanello and Lipari are also currently active, although the latter is usually dormant
36.
Charles II of Naples
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Charles II, called the Lame, was King of Naples, King of Albania, Prince of Salerno, Prince of Achaea, Count of Provence and Forcalquier and Count of Anjou. He was the son of Charles I of Anjou, who had conquered the Kingdom of Naples and his mother was Beatrice of Provence. During the Sicilian Vespers, he was captured by Roger of Lauria in the battle at Naples in 1284. When his father died in 1285, he was still a prisoner of Peter III of Aragon, in 1288, King Edward I of England mediated to make peace, and Charles was freed on condition that he retain Naples alone. Sicily was left to the Aragonese, Charles was then released, leaving three of his sons and sixty Provençal nobles as hostages. He promised to pay 30,000 marks and to return as a prisoner if the conditions were not fulfilled within three years, Charles of Valois, in alliance with Castile, prepared to take possession of Aragon, reopening the Aragonese Crusade. Alfonso died childless in 1291 before the treaty could be carried out, an attempt was made to bribe Frederick into consenting to this arrangement, but being backed up by his people he refused, and was afterwards crowned King of Sicily. Peace was at last made in 1302 at Caltabellotta, Charles gave up all rights to Sicily and agreed to the marriage of his daughter Eleanor and King Frederick, the treaty was ratified by the Pope in 1303. Charles spent his last years quietly in Naples, which city he improved and embellished and he died in Naples in May 1309, and was succeeded by his son Robert the Wise. In 1270, he married Maria of Hungary, the daughter of Stephen V of Hungary and she married secondly 1309 Bertrand III of Baux, Count of Andria Armorial of the House Anjou-Sicily
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Studium generale
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Studium generale is the old customary name for a Medieval university. There is no official definition of what constituted a Studium generale. The term Studium generale first appeared at the beginning of the 13th century, out of customary usage and this privilege, known as jus ubique docendi, was, by custom, reserved only to the Masters of the three oldest universities—Salerno, Bologna and Paris. Their reputation was so great that its graduates and teachers were welcome to teach in all other Studia and it consequently became customary for Studia generalia, eager to elevate themselves, to apply for similar bulls. The older universities at first disdained requesting such privileges themselves, feeling their reputation was sufficient, but Bologna and Paris eventually stooped down to apply for them too, receiving their papal bulls in 1292. Arguably the most coveted feature of the papal bulls was the exemption that allowed teachers. This dispensed them from the requirements set out in Canon Law. Finally, the pope could issue bulls guaranteeing the autonomy of the university from the interference of local civil or diocesal authorities, although not a necessary criteria, it became customary to bestow the privileges of Paris to other Studia generalia. The pope was not the only supplier of these privileges, the Holy Roman Emperor also issued imperial charters granting much the same privileges - starting with the University of Naples in 1224. In other respects, e. g. structure, administration, curriculum, generally speaking, most Studia generalia tended to copy one of two old models, the student-centered system of Bologna or the master-centered structure of Paris. Most of the early studia generalia were found in Italy, France, England, Spain and Portugal, the Vatican continues to designate many new universities as studia generalia, although the popular significance of this honour has declined over the centuries. This list quickly grew as new universities were founded throughout Europe, many of these universities received formal confirmation of their status as studia generalia towards the end of the 13th century by way of papal bull, along with a host of newer universities. They are in line with the roots of the traditional universities to reach outside of their boundaries. A studium particulare was a version of the Studium that tended to take local students, the studium generale, by contrast, would take students from all regions and all countries. List of oldest universities in continuous operation Cobban, Alan, The Medieval Universities, Their Development and Organization, London, haskins, George L The University of Oxford and the Ius ubique docendi, The English Historical Review, pp. 281–292. The Universities of Europe in the Middle Ages, Vol.1
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University of Coimbra
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The University of Coimbra is a Portuguese public university in Coimbra, Portugal. It is a member of the Coimbra Group, a group of leading European research universities. The University of Coimbra has over 20,000 students, and hosts one of the largest communities of international students in Portugal, on 22 June 2013, UNESCO added the university to its World Heritage List. The university was founded, or ratified, in 1290 by King Dinis, the Papal confirmation was also given in 1290, during the Papacy of the Pope Nicholas IV. In accordance with the Papal Bull, all the licit Faculties, with the exception of that of Theology, thus the Faculties of Arts, Law, Canon Law and Medicine were the first to be created. It was, however, not to remain in Lisbon for long, in 1308, likely due to problems of emancipation from the Church and conflicts between the inhabitants of the city and the students, the University moved to Coimbra. This town already had old traditions in education, being home to the highly successful school of the Monastery of Santa Cruz, the university was then established on the site known as Estudos Velhos, which corresponds roughly to the area where the Main Library now stands. In 1338, during the reign of Afonso IV, it was again transferred to Lisbon, from whence it returned in 1354. In 1377, during the reign of King Fernando, it was transferred yet again to Lisbon, where it would remain for over a century, the authorization for a Faculty of Theology probably dates from this period – around 1380. In 1537, during the reign of João III, the university moved definitively to Coimbra, the entire university institution, including the teaching staff and all the books from its library, were moved from Lisbon to Coimbra. At the same time, university colleges were created, a restructuring of the curricula was undertaken and new teachers, during many decades it was the only university in Portugal, since its foundation in 1290 until 1559, and again between 1759 and 1911. The long history and past predominance of the University of Coimbra made it an important focus of influence in Portugal, not only educational, only in the 2008/2009 school year did the entire university fully adopt the new programs within its 8 faculties. Its governance is assured by the Rector, the Senate and the University Assembly, the last responsible for the election of the Rector and the Senate. The Rector has the responsibility for the strategic direction and the overall administration of the university, together with the Senate. The university is divided into eight different faculties, comprising about 25,000 students, in addition, the university manages several museums and other cultural organizations, including a science museum, a museum of sacred art, and an academic museum. It also harbours a very dynamic associative life, with its numerous sports and cultural sections and it is an important structure of extracurricular formation of the University of Coimbras students and a major institution of the city itself. The AAC develops activities such as theatre, cinema, radio and television broadcast, music, choral singing, journalism or philately, as well as rowing, athletics, every student, and occasionally some non-students, are entitled to belong to these sections. The universitys academic traditions and institutions color the life of the city, the color of the university seal and of the Rectors office, representing the entire institution as a whole, is dark green
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Denis of Portugal
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Denis, called the Farmer King and the Poet King, was King of Portugal and the Algarve. The eldest son of Afonso III of Portugal by his wife, Beatrice of Castile. His marriage to Elizabeth of Aragon, who was canonised as a saint of the Roman Catholic Church, was arranged in 1281 when she was 10 years old. He worked to reorganise his countrys economy and gave an impetus to Portuguese agriculture and he ordered the planting of a large pine forest near Leiria to prevent the soil degradation that threatened the region and as a source of raw materials for the construction of the royal ships. He was also known for his poetry, which constitutes a major contribution to the development of Portuguese as a literary language and his policies encouraged economic development with the creation of numerous towns and trade fairs. In 1289 Denis had signed an agreement with Pope Nicholas IV, the new order was designed to be a continuation of the Order of the Temple. Denis negotiated with Clements successor, John XXII, for recognition of the new order and its right to inherit the Templar assets, during Denis reign, Lisbon became one of Europes centres of culture and learning. The first university in Portugal, then called the Estudo Geral, was founded with his signing of the document Scientiae thesaurus mirabilis in Leiria on 3 March 1290. Lectures in the arts, civil law, canon law, and medicine were given, and on 15 February 1309, the granted the university a charter. The university was moved between Lisbon and Coimbra several times, and finally installed permanently in Coimbra in 1537 by order of King John III and he patronised troubadours, and wrote lyric poetry in the troubadour tradition himself. His best-known work is the Cantigas de Amigo, a collection of songs as well as satirical songs. These poems are found in the order in the two previously known codices. As heir-apparent to the throne, Infante Denis was summoned by his father Afonso III to share governmental responsibilities. The country was again in conflict with the Catholic Church at the time, Afonso having been excommunicated in 1277, consequently, the church was favorably inclined to reach an agreement with the new monarch upon his accession to the throne. The next year he took steps against ecclesiastical power when he promulgated amortisation laws. These prohibited the church and religious orders from buying lands, several years later he issued another decree forbidding them to inherit the estates of recruits to the orders. In 1288, Denis managed to persuade Pope Nicholas IV to issue a papal Bull that separated the Order of Santiago in Portugal from that in Castile, to which it had been subordinate. With the extinction of the Knights Templar, he was able to transfer their assets in the country to the Order of Christ, Denis was essentially an administrator and not a warrior king
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Lisbon
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Lisbon is the capital and the largest city of Portugal, with a population of 552,700 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km². Its urban area extends beyond the administrative limits with a population of around 2.7 million people. About 2.8 million people live in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area and it is continental Europes westernmost capital city and the only one along the Atlantic coast. Lisbon lies in the western Iberian Peninsula on the Atlantic Ocean, the westernmost areas of its metro area is the westernmost point of Continental Europe. Lisbon is recognised as a city because of its importance in finance, commerce, media, entertainment, arts, international trade, education. It is one of the economic centres on the continent, with a growing financial sector. Humberto Delgado Airport serves over 20 million passengers annually, as of 2015, and the motorway network, the city is the 7th-most-visited city in Southern Europe, after Istanbul, Rome, Barcelona, Madrid, Athens and Milan, with 1,740,000 tourists in 2009. The Lisbon region contributes with a higher GDP PPP per capita than any region in Portugal. Its GDP amounts to 96.3 billion USD and thus $32,434 per capita, the city occupies 32nd place of highest gross earnings in the world. Most of the headquarters of multinationals in the country are located in the Lisbon area and it is also the political centre of the country, as its seat of Government and residence of the Head of State. Lisbon is one of the oldest cities in the world, julius Caesar made it a municipium called Felicitas Julia, adding to the name Olissipo. Ruled by a series of Germanic tribes from the 5th century, in 1147, the Crusaders under Afonso Henriques reconquered the city and since then it has been a major political, economic and cultural centre of Portugal. Unlike most capital cities, Lisbons status as the capital of Portugal has never been granted or confirmed officially – by statute or in written form. Its position as the capital has formed through constitutional convention, making its position as de facto capital a part of the Constitution of Portugal. It has one of the warmest winters of any metropolis in Europe, the typical summer season lasts about four months, from June to September, although also in April temperatures sometimes reach around 25 °C. Although modern archaeological excavations show a Phoenician presence at this location since 1200 BC, another conjecture based on ancient hydronymy suggests that the name of the settlement derived from the pre-Roman appellation for the Tagus, Lisso or Lucio. Lisbons name was written Ulyssippo in Latin by the geographer Pomponius Mela and it was later referred to as Olisippo by Pliny the Elder and by the Greeks as Olissipo or Olissipona. The Indo-European Celts invaded in the 1st millennium BC, mixing with the Pre-Indo-European population and this indigenous settlement maintained commercial relations with the Phoenicians, which would account for the recent findings of Phoenician pottery and other material objects
41.
Acre, Israel
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Acre is a city in the northern coastal plain region of the Northern District, Israel at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. The city occupies an important location, as it sits on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, traditionally linking the waterways and this location helped it become one of the oldest cities in the world, continuously inhabited since the Middle Bronze Age some 4000 years ago. Acre is the holiest city of the Baháí Faith, and as such receives many Bahai pilgrims, in 2015 the population was 47,675. Acre is a city, that includes Jews, Muslims, Christians. The mayor is Shimon Lankri, who was reelected in 2011, Acres etymology is a matter of controversy, though most likely deriving from the early Canaanite language. According to Biblical tradition, the name is derived from Canaanite Adco, meaning a border, the city was known as Ptolemais during the Hellenistic and Roman-Byzantine periods. During the Crusades it was known as St. John dAcre after the Knights Hospitaller, Acre is therefore counted among the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the region. Egyptian sources seem to be mentioning Acre, starting possibly with execration texts from ca.1800 BCE, the name Aak, which appears on the tribute lists of Thutmose III, may be a reference to Acre. The Amarna letters also mention a place named Akka, as well as the Execration texts, First settlement at the site of Ancient Acre appears to have been in the Early Bronze Age, or about 3000 BC. In the Hebrew Bible, Akko is one of the places from which the Israelites did not drive out the Canaanites and it is later described in the territory of the tribe of Asher and according to Josephus, was ruled by one of Solomons provincial governors. Throughout Israelite rule, it was politically and culturally affiliated with Phoenicia, around 725 BC, Akko joined Sidon and Tyre in a revolt against Shalmaneser V. Greek historians refer to the city as Ake, meaning cure, according to the Greek myth, Heracles found curative herbs here to heal his wounds. Strabo refers to the city as once a rendezvous for the Persians in their expeditions against Egypt, about 165 BC Judas Maccabeus defeated the Seleucids in several battles in Galilee, and drove them into Ptolemais. About 153 BC Alexander Balas, son of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, contesting the Seleucid crown with Demetrius, seized the city, which opened its gates to him. Demetrius offered many bribes to the Maccabees to obtain Jewish support against his rival, including the revenues of Ptolemais for the benefit of the Temple in Jerusalem, Jonathan Apphus threw in his lot with Alexander and in 150 BC he was received by him with great honour in Ptolemais. Some years later, however, Tryphon, an officer of the Seleucid Empire, the city was captured by Alexander Jannaeus, Cleopatra and Tigranes the Great. Here Herod the Great built a gymnasium, the Christian Acts of the Apostles reports that Luke the Evangelist, Paul the Apostle and their companions spent a day in Ptolemais with the Christian brethren there. A Roman colonia was established at the city, Colonia Claudii Cæsaris, the Romans enlarged the port and the city, that flourished for six centuries even as a Christian center
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Nicholas (popes)". Encyclopædia Britannica. 19 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 649–651.
