1.
Pope Gregory V
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Pope Gregory V, born Bruno of Carinthia was Pope from 3 May 996 to his death in 999. He was a son of the Salian Otto I, Duke of Carinthia, Gregory V succeeded Pope John XV when only twenty-four years of age. He was the chaplain of his cousin Emperor Otto III, who presented him as candidate, Gregory V was the first German Pope. Politically, Gregory V acted consistently as the Emperors representative in Rome, one of his first acts was to crown Otto III Emperor on 21 May 996. The revolt of Crescentius II was decisively suppressed by the Emperor, John XVI fled, and Crescentius II shut himself up in the Castel SantAngelo. The Emperors troops pursued the antipope, captured him, cut off his nose and ears, cut out his tongue, blinded him and he was sent to the monastery of Fulda in Germany, where he lived until c. The Castel SantAngelo was besieged, and when it was taken in 998, Gregory V died suddenly, not without suspicion of foul play, on 18 February 999. He is buried in St. Peters Basilica near Pope Pelagius I and his successor was Gerbert, who took the name Sylvester II. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Herbermann, Charles. In, Salvador Miranda, The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church, online at fiu. edu, Website of Florida International University, ein Salier auf dem Stuhl Petri, Online article on Gregory V, from the Diocese of Speyers publication, Der Pilger Gregorius V papa. Repertorium Historical Sources of the German Middle Ages, in, Salvador Miranda, The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church, online at fiu. edu, Website of Florida International University, retrieved 5 November 2011. Ein Salier auf dem Stuhl Petri, online article about Gregory V, from the Diocese of Speyers circular, Der Pilger
2.
Pope John XVII
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Pope John XVII was Pope for about seven months from 16 May to 6 November 1003. He was born John Sicco, the son of another John Sicco, John XVII was nominated to the papacy by John Crescentius, a Roman noble who held power in the city in opposition to Emperor Otto III. John XVIIs successor, Pope John XVIII, was selected by Crescentius. John died on 6 November 1003 and was buried in the Lateran Basilica between the two doors of the principal façade. According to John the Deacon, his epitaph began by stating that here is the tomb of the supreme John, John XVI was an antipope according to official reckoning, and thus his regnal number XVI should have been reused. But this did not occur, and the sequencing has never been corrected, the Lives of the Popes in the Early Middle Ages. Volume 5, The Popes In The Days of Feudal Anarchy, from Formosus to Damasus II, london, Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co. Attribution, This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh. John N. D. Kelly, Reclams Lexikon der Päpste, 2nd edition, Reclam, Stuttgart,2005 ISBN 3-15-010588-9, sub voce. In, Massimo Bray, Enciclopedia dei Papi, Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Vol.2, Rome,2000, OCLC313581688, pp. 125–126. In, Salvador Miranda, The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church, online at fiu. edu, Website of Florida International University, retrieved 22 November 2011
3.
History of Auvergne
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The history of the Auvergne dates back to the early Middle Ages, when it was a historic province in south central France. It was originally the feudal domain of the Counts of Auvergne, christianized by Saint Austremoine, Auvergne was quite prosperous during the Roman ages. After a short time under the Visigoths, it was conquered by the Franks, during the earlier medieval period, Auvergne was a county within the duchy of Aquitaine and as such part of the Angevin Empire until the 13th century. In 1225, Louis VIII of France granted Poitou and Auvergne to his third son Alfonso, on Alfonsos death in 1271, Auvergne along with the County of Toulouse, Poitou and the Comtat Venaissin reverted to the royal domain. The Middle Ages, especially the 10th to 13th centuries, were a period of development for Auvergne, with the building of famous abbeys. In the year 1095, the historic Council of Clermont was held there and its wide autonomy was ended by King Philippe-Auguste of France, who linked it to the royal possessions. The region is famed for its charcuterie, which is celebrated in La Mangona festivals in many Auvergnat villages, for its cheeses, Auvergne is also the site of several major hydroelectric projects, mainly located on the Dordogne, Cère, and Truyère rivers. The region is also quite touristic, thanks to its landscapes, Auvergnat, a variety of the Occitan language, was historically spoken in the Auvergne. Aubrac oxen, a breed, are raised in the Aubrac hills. The Auvergne emigrants, together with other Aveyron and Italian emigrants, composer Joseph Canteloube based Songs of the Auvergne, his well-known piece for voice and orchestra, on folk music and songs from the Auvergne. Singer-songwriter Georges Brassens composed Chanson pour lAuvergnat, composer Camille Saint-Saëns composed Rhapsodie dAuvergne in 1884, based upon folk songs from the Auvergne. Vercingetorix, King of the Arverni, leader of the Gallic resistance against Julius Caesar. Gilbert du Motier, marquis de La Fayette, born in Auvergne, was a hero in both France and the United States for his roles in the American Revolutionary War and the French Revolution. Pierre-Andre Coffinhal, Jacobin leader and vice-president of the Revolutionary Tribunal, was born in Auvergne, a close friend of Robespierre, he was executed following the events of the 9 Thermidor. Jean-Baptiste Carrier was a French Revolutionary born in Yolet of Auvergne and he was famous for his brutality towards his enemies. In 1794, he was guillotined upon the conviction of the National Convention, sylvester II, pope and scholar, born Gerbert of Aurillac, a significant player in the transition from the Carolingians to the Capetians. The Dalfi dAlvernha or Dauphin dAuvergne, troubadour and patron of troubadours, Count of Clermont and Montferrand Joseph Canteloube, French composer. Guy Debord, writer and leader of the Situationist International, acquired a house in the region in 1975
4.
France in the Middle Ages
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From the 13th century on, the state slowly regained control of a number of these lost powers. The crises of the 13th and 14th centuries led to the convening of an assembly, the Estates General. From the Middle Ages onward, French rulers believed their kingdoms had natural borders, the Pyrenees, the Alps and this was used as a pretext for an aggressive policy and repeated invasions. The belief, however, had little basis in reality for not all of territories were part of the Kingdom. France had important rivers that were used as waterways, the Loire, the Rhone and these rivers were settled earlier than the rest and important cities were founded on their banks but they were separated by large forests, marsh, and other rough terrains. Before the Romans conquered Gaul, the Gauls lived in villages organised in wider tribes, the Romans referred to the smallest of these groups as pagi and the widest ones as civitates. These pagi and civitates were often taken as a basis for the imperial administration and these religious provinces would survive until the French revolution. Discussion of the size of France in the Middle Ages is complicated by distinctions between lands personally held by the king and lands held in homage by another lord, the domaine royal of the Capetians was limited to the regions around Paris, Bourges and Sens. The great majority of French territory was part of Aquitaine, the Duchy of Normandy, the Duchy of Brittany, the Comté of Champagne, the Duchy of Burgundy, and other territories. Philip II Augustus undertook a massive French expansion in the 13th century, only in the 15th century would Charles VII and Louis XI gain control of most of modern-day France. The weather in France and Europe in the Middle Ages was significantly milder than during the preceding or following it. Historians refer to this as the Medieval Warm Period, lasting from about the 10th century to about the 14th century, part of the French population growth in this period is directly linked to this temperate weather and its effect on crops and livestock. At the end of the Middle Ages, France was the most populous region in Europe—having overtaken Spain, in the 14th century, before the arrival of the Black Death, the total population of the area covered by modern-day France has been estimated at around 17 million. The population of Paris is controversial, josiah Russell argued for about 80,000 in the early 14th century, although he noted that some other scholars suggested 200,000. The higher count would make it by far the largest city in western Europe, the Black Death killed an estimated one-third of the population from its appearance in 1348. The concurrent Hundred Years War slowed recovery and it would be the mid-16th century before the population recovered to mid-fourteenth century levels. The vast majority of the population spoke a variety of vernacular languages derived from vulgar Latin. Modern linguists typically add a group within France around Lyon
5.
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
6.
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
7.
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
8.
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
9.
French language
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French is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages, French has evolved from Gallo-Romance, the spoken Latin in Gaul, and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues doïl—languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, French was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to Frances past overseas expansion, there are numerous French-based creole languages, a French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French. French is a language in 29 countries, most of which are members of la francophonie. As of 2015, 40% of the population is in Europe, 35% in sub-Saharan Africa, 15% in North Africa and the Middle East, 8% in the Americas. French is the fourth-most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union, 1/5 of Europeans who do not have French as a mother tongue speak French as a second language. As a result of French and Belgian colonialism from the 17th and 18th century onward, French was introduced to new territories in the Americas, Africa, most second-language speakers reside in Francophone Africa, in particular Gabon, Algeria, Mauritius, Senegal and Ivory Coast. In 2015, French was estimated to have 77 to 110 million native speakers, approximately 274 million people are able to speak the language. The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie estimates 700 million by 2050, in 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked French the third most useful language for business, after English and Standard Mandarin Chinese. Under the Constitution of France, French has been the language of the Republic since 1992. France mandates the use of French in official government publications, public education except in specific cases, French is one of the four official languages of Switzerland and is spoken in the western part of Switzerland called Romandie, of which Geneva is the largest city. French is the language of about 23% of the Swiss population. French is also a language of Luxembourg, Monaco, and Aosta Valley, while French dialects remain spoken by minorities on the Channel Islands. A plurality of the worlds French-speaking population lives in Africa and this number does not include the people living in non-Francophone African countries who have learned French as a foreign language. Due to the rise of French in Africa, the total French-speaking population worldwide is expected to reach 700 million people in 2050, French is the fastest growing language on the continent. French is mostly a language in Africa, but it has become a first language in some urban areas, such as the region of Abidjan, Ivory Coast and in Libreville. There is not a single African French, but multiple forms that diverged through contact with various indigenous African languages, sub-Saharan Africa is the region where the French language is most likely to expand, because of the expansion of education and rapid population growth
10.
Greco-Roman world
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Certainly, all men of note and accomplishment, whatever their ethnic extractions, spoke and wrote in Greek and/or Latin. The historian Josephus Flavius was Jewish but he wrote and spoke in Greek and was a Roman citizen. Occupying the periphery of this world were Roman Germany, Illyria and Pannonia, also included was Dacia, Nubia, Mauretania, Arabia Petraea, the Tauric Chersonesus. The above seems to ignore the major rivalry between the Greco-Romans, during their period of ascendancy, and the empire to the east. In the schools of art, philosophy and rhetoric, the foundations of education were transmitted throughout the lands of Greek, within its educated class spanning all of the Greco-Roman era, the testimony of literary borrowings and influences is overwhelming proof of a mantle of mutual knowledge. For example, several hundred papyrus volumes found in a Roman villa at Herculaneum are in Greek, from the lives of Cicero and Julius Caesar, it is known that Romans frequented the schools in Greece. The installation, both in Greek and Latin, of Augustuss monumental eulogy, the Res Gestae, is a proof of recognition for the dual vehicles of the common culture. Most educated Romans were likely bilingual in Greek and Latin, Greco-Roman architecture is architecture of the Roman world that followed the principles and style established in ancient Greece. The most representative building of that era was the temple, other prominent structures that represented the style included government buildings, like the Roman Senate, and cultural structures, like the Colosseum. The three primary styles of column design used in temples in classical Greece were Doric, Ionic, examples of Doric architecture are the Parthenon and the Temple of Hephaestus in Athens, while the Erechtheum, which is located right next to the Parthenon is Ionic. Ionic Greco-Roman architecture tend to be more decorative than the formal Doric styles, by AD211, with Caracallas edict known as the Constitutio Antoniniana, all free inhabitants of the Empire became citizens. As a result, even after the Fall of Rome, the people of the empire that remained continued to call themselves Romans even though Greek became the language of the Empire. Rhomaioi is what they continued to call themselves through the Ottoman era, Classical Antiquity Classical mythology Legacy of the Roman Empire Greco-Roman mysteries Hellenistic Greece Magic in the Greco-Roman world List of Greco-Roman geographers Sir William Smith. Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography
11.
Abacus
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The exact origin of the abacus is still unknown. Today, abaci are often constructed as a frame with beads sliding on wires. The use of the word abacus dates before 1387 AD, when a Middle English work borrowed the word from Latin to describe a sandboard abacus, the Latin word came from Greek ἄβαξ abax which means something without base, and improperly, any piece of rectangular board or plank. Alternatively, without reference to ancient texts on etymology, it has suggested that it means a square tablet strewn with dust. Whereas the table strewn with dust definition is popular, there are those that do not place credence in this at all, Greek ἄβαξ itself is probably a borrowing of a Northwest Semitic, perhaps Phoenician, word akin to Hebrew ʾābāq, dust. The preferred plural of abacus is a subject of disagreement, with both abacuses and abaci in use, the user of an abacus is called an abacist. The period 2700–2300 BC saw the first appearance of the Sumerian abacus, some scholars point to a character from the Babylonian cuneiform which may have been derived from a representation of the abacus. Archaeologists have found ancient disks of various sizes that are thought to have used as counters. However, wall depictions of this instrument have not been discovered, during the Achaemenid Empire, around 600 BC the Persians first began to use the abacus. The earliest archaeological evidence for the use of the Greek abacus dates to the 5th century BC, also Demosthenes talked of the need to use pebbles for calculations too difficult for your head. The Greek abacus was a table of wood or marble, pre-set with small counters in wood or metal for mathematical calculations and this Greek abacus saw use in Achaemenid Persia, the Etruscan civilization, Ancient Rome and, until the French Revolution, the Western Christian world. A tablet found on the Greek island Salamis in 1846 AD, dates back to 300 BC and it is a slab of white marble 149 cm long,75 cm wide, and 4.5 cm thick, on which are 5 groups of markings. Below these lines is a space with a horizontal crack dividing it. Also from this frame the Darius Vase was unearthed in 1851. It was covered with pictures including a holding a wax tablet in one hand while manipulating counters on a table with the other. The earliest known documentation of the Chinese abacus dates to the 2nd century BC. The Chinese abacus, known as the suanpan, is typically 20 cm tall and it usually has more than seven rods. There are two beads on each rod in the deck and five beads each in the bottom for both decimal and hexadecimal computation
12.
Armillary sphere
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As such, it differs from a celestial globe, which is a smooth sphere whose principal purpose is to map the constellations. It was invented separately in ancient Greece and ancient China, with use in the Islamic world. With the Earth as center, a sphere is known as Ptolemaic. With the sun as center, it is known as Copernican, the flag of Portugal features an armillary sphere. The armillary sphere is also featured in Portuguese heraldry, associated with the Portuguese discoveries during the Age of Exploration and this section refers to labels in the diagram below. The exterior parts of machine are a compages of brass rings. The equinoctial A, which is divided into 360 degrees for showing the right ascension in degrees. The Arctic Circle E, and the Antarctic Circle F, each 23½ degrees from its respective pole at N and S.5. The equinoctial colure G, passing through the north and south poles of the heaven at N and S, the solstitial colure H, passing through the poles of the heaven, and through the solstitial points Cancer and Capricorn, in the ecliptic. Within these circular rings is a terrestrial globe J, fixed on an axis K. On this axis is fixed the flat celestial meridian L L and this flat meridian is graduated the same way as the brass meridian of the common globe, and its use is much the same. The globe may be turned by hand within this ring, so as to any given meridian upon it. The horizon is divided into 360 degrees all around its outermost edge, within which are the points of the compass, for showing the amplitude of the sun and the moon, both in degrees and points. The celestial meridian L passes through two notches in the north and south points of the horizon, as in a common globe, both here, if the globe be turned round, the horizon and meridian turn with it. At the south pole of the sphere is a circle of 25 hours, fixed to the rings, in the box T are two wheels and two pinions, whose axes come out at V and U, either of which may be turned by the small winch W. If the earthly globe be turned, the hour-index goes round its hour-circle, but if the sphere be turned, and so, by this construction, the machine is equally fitted to show either the real motion of the earth, or the apparent motion of the heaven. — Then turn the winch, and observe when the sun or moon rise and set in the horizon, throughout Chinese history, astronomers have created celestial globes to assist the observation of the stars. The Chinese also used the sphere in aiding calendrical computations and calculations
13.
Byzantine Empire
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It survived the fragmentation and fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD and continued to exist for an additional thousand years until it fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. During most of its existence, the empire was the most powerful economic, cultural, several signal events from the 4th to 6th centuries mark the period of transition during which the Roman Empires Greek East and Latin West divided. Constantine I reorganised the empire, made Constantinople the new capital, under Theodosius I, Christianity became the Empires official state religion and other religious practices were proscribed. Finally, under the reign of Heraclius, the Empires military, the borders of the Empire evolved significantly over its existence, as it went through several cycles of decline and recovery. During the reign of Maurice, the Empires eastern frontier was expanded, in a matter of years the Empire lost its richest provinces, Egypt and Syria, to the Arabs. This battle opened the way for the Turks to settle in Anatolia, the Empire recovered again during the Komnenian restoration, such that by the 12th century Constantinople was the largest and wealthiest European city. Despite the eventual recovery of Constantinople in 1261, the Byzantine Empire remained only one of several small states in the area for the final two centuries of its existence. Its remaining territories were annexed by the Ottomans over the 15th century. The Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 finally ended the Byzantine Empire, the term comes from Byzantium, the name of the city of Constantinople before it became Constantines capital. This older name of the city would rarely be used from this point onward except in historical or poetic contexts. The publication in 1648 of the Byzantine du Louvre, and in 1680 of Du Canges Historia Byzantina further popularised the use of Byzantine among French authors, however, it was not until the mid-19th century that the term came into general use in the Western world. The Byzantine Empire was known to its inhabitants as the Roman Empire, the Empire of the Romans, Romania, the Roman Republic, Graikia, and also as Rhōmais. The inhabitants called themselves Romaioi and Graikoi, and even as late as the 19th century Greeks typically referred to modern Greek as Romaika and Graikika. The authority of the Byzantine emperor as the legitimate Roman emperor was challenged by the coronation of Charlemagne as Imperator Augustus by Pope Leo III in the year 800. No such distinction existed in the Islamic and Slavic worlds, where the Empire was more seen as the continuation of the Roman Empire. In the Islamic world, the Roman Empire was known primarily as Rûm, the Roman army succeeded in conquering many territories covering the entire Mediterranean region and coastal regions in southwestern Europe and north Africa. These territories were home to different cultural groups, both urban populations and rural populations. The West also suffered heavily from the instability of the 3rd century AD
14.
France
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
15.
Gerald of Aurillac
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Gerald of Aurillac is a French saint of the Roman Catholic Church, also recognized by other religious denominations of Christianity. The details of his life known today primarily from The Life of St. Gerald of Aurillac written by Odo of Cluny. Gerald resisted, having assumed the title of comes and doubtless preferring to own his fealty to the more distant liege. According to Odo, Gerald suffered an illness as a child, sufficient in duration to advance his reading, in later life he was to suffer blindness. Nevertheless, secretly tonsured under his cap, he consecrated his life in service to God, gave away his possessions, took a personal vow of chastity. He founded a church and abbey on his estate of Aurillac and his memorial feast day is October 13. The validation of his local cult by Odo of Cluny served to establish his wider veneration, Saint Gerald, considered by his Church and his followers as a great example of a celibate Christian aristocrat, is the patron saint of counts and bachelors. Because of his health and blindness, more emphasized in his developing cult than in Odos Life, he is also the patron saint of the disabled, handicapped. He also became the saint of Upper Auvergne. University of Kansas Lecture on Gerald of Aurillac The Life of Saint Gerald of Aurillac by Odo of Cluny, trans
16.
Borrell II, Count of Barcelona
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Borrell II was Count of Barcelona, Girona, and Ausona from 945 and Count of Urgell from 948. Borrell was first seen acting as Count during the reign of his father Sunyer in 945 at the consecration of the church of Sant Pere de les Puelles in Barcelona. In 947, Sunyer retired to life and ceded the government of his realms jointly to his sons Borrell. In 948, Borrell inherited Urgell from his uncle Sunifred II. Sunyer died in 950, and Miró died in 966, leaving Borrell sole ruler of more than half of Old Catalonia and his own documents almost all refer to him merely as comes et marchio, Count and Marquis. Borrell was the son of Sunyer, in 967 he married Letgarda, who is speculated to have been daughter of a Count of Toulouse or Rouergue based on the names given to her children. By her Borrell had two sons and two daughters, Ramon Borrell, Ermengol, Ermengarda and Richilda, after Letgardas death circa 986, he married Eimeruda of Auvergne in 987. On the other hand, he had far greater success as a diplomat, furthermore, in 970, he voyaged to Rome to meet with both Pope John XIII and Emperor Otto I. Borrell was also a patron of learning and culture, in 967, Borrell visited the monastery of Aurillac and the Abbot asked the count to take Gerbert of Aurillac with him so that the boy could study mathematics in Spain. In the following years, Gerbert studied under the direction of Bishop Atto of Vic, some 60 km north of Barcelona, and probably also at the nearby Monastery of Santa Maria de Ripoll. He was also taken on the 970 embassy to Rome, during which the Pope persuaded Otto to employ Gerbert as a tutor for his young son, the future emperor Otto II. In 985 the Hispanic March was attacked by the Muslim general Almanzor, who managed to take Barcelona, many citizens were taken prisoner by the Muslim forces. No answer to Hughs letter is known from Borrell, and the connection between the March and France was effectively broken. From 988, Borrells sons Ramon Borrell and Ermengol appear as rulers in a territory, with Ramon Borrell being count of Barcelona, Girona. It was not to be, however, and his death followed soon afterwards
17.
Catalonia
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Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, located on the northeastern extremity of the Iberian Peninsula. It is designated as a nationality by its Statute of Autonomy, Catalonia consists of four provinces, Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. The capital and largest city is Barcelona, the second-most populated municipality in Spain, Catalonia comprises most of the territory of the former Principality of Catalonia. It is bordered by France and Andorra to the north, the Mediterranean Sea to the east, the official languages are Catalan, Spanish, and the Aranese dialect of Occitan. The eastern counties of these marches were united under the rule of the Frankish vassal the Count of Barcelona, in the later Middle Ages Catalan literature flourished. Between 1469 and 1516, the King of Aragon and the Queen of Castile married and ruled their kingdoms together, retaining all their distinct institutions, Courts, and constitutions. During the Franco-Spanish War, Catalonia revolted against a large and burdensome presence of the Royal army in its territory, within a brief period France took full control of Catalonia, at a high economic cost for Catalonia, until it was largely reconquered by the Spanish army. In the nineteenth century, Catalonia was severely affected by the Napoleonic, in the second half of the century Catalonia experienced industrialisation. As wealth from the industrial expansion grew, Catalonia saw a cultural renaissance coupled with incipient nationalism while several workers movements appeared. In 1914, the four Catalan provinces formed a Commonwealth, and with the return of democracy during the Second Spanish Republic, after the Spanish Civil War, the Francoist dictatorship enacted repressive measures, abolishing Catalan institutions and banning the official use of the Catalan language again. Since the Spanish transition to democracy, Catalonia has regained some political and cultural autonomy and is now one of the most economically dynamic communities of Spain, the origin of the name Catalunya is subject to diverse interpretations because of a lack of evidence. During the Middle Ages, Byzantine chroniclers claimed that Catalania derives from the medley of Goths with Alans. Other less plausible theories suggest, Catalunya derives from the land of castles, having evolved from the term castlà or castlan. This theory therefore suggests that the names Catalunya and Castile have a common root, the source is of Celtic origin, meaning chiefs of battle. Although the area is not known to have been occupied by Celts, the Lacetani, an Iberian tribe that lived in the area and whose name, due to the Roman influence, could have evolved by metathesis to Katelans and then Catalans. In English, Catalonia is pronounced /kætəˈloʊniə/, the native name, Catalunya, is pronounced in Central Catalan, the most widely spoken variety whose pronunciation is considered standard. The Spanish name is Cataluña, and the Aranese name is Catalonha, the first known human settlements in what is now Catalonia were at the beginning of the Middle Palaeolithic. From the next era, the Epipaleolithic or Mesolithic, important remains survive
18.
Vic
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Vic is the capital of the comarca of Osona, in the Barcelona Province, Catalonia, Spain. Vics location is 69 km from Barcelona and 60 km from Girona, vics position has made it one of the most important towns in central Catalonia. Vic lies in the middle of the Plain of Vic, equidistant from Barcelona, Vic is famous for its persistent fog in winter as a result of a persistent thermal inversion with temperatures as low as -10 °C and an absolute record of -24 °C. Episodes of cold and severe snowstorms are noticeable, in summer, storms are very common during the dry season, typical of the Mediterranean climate of coastal Catalonia. For that reason the natural vegetation includes the pubescent oak typical of the climates of eastern France, Northern Italy. In past times it was called Ausa by the Romans, iberian coins bearing this name have been found there. Sewage caps on sidewalks around the city will also read Vich, during the 8th and 9th centuries, Vic sat in the Spanish Marches that separated Frankish and Islamic forces. It was destroyed in 788 during a Muslim incursion, afterwards only one quarter was rebuilt, which was called Vicus Ausonensis, from which the name Vic was derived. It was repopulated by Wilfred the Hairy in 878 who gained control over the part of the city. From then on, the city was ruled by the count of Barcelona, at a council in Toulouges in 1027, the bishop of Vic established the first Peace and Truce of God that helped reduce private warfare. During the 18th century the city was the first focus of the rebellion against the centralist policy of King Philip V of Spain, the conflict became the War of the Spanish Succession. In the early 20th century Vic had 9500 inhabitants, and in 1992 it hosted Roller Hockey events of the Barcelona 1992 Summer Olympics and it lies within the four Catalonian provinces, but the greater part of it in that of Barcelona. None, however, is mentioned by name until 516 when Cinidius is named as assisting at the provincial Council of Tarragona and Girona, with this bishop ends the history of the Church of Ausona before the Saracen invasion. In 826 Vic fell once more into the hands of the Moors and was reconquered by Wilfred the Hairy. Count Wilfred dedicated the monastery of Ripoll to the Blessed Virgin. Bishop Atton is worthy of mention as a promoter of education. Many persons availed themselves of the advantages offered by his reforms, among them Gerbert, the monk of Aurillac, afterwards Pope Sylvester II, who was distinguished for his learning. Another of the most illustrious bishops of Vic was Oliva, son of the Count of Besalú, the dedication took place 15 January 1032
19.
Santa Maria de Ripoll
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The Monastery of Santa Maria de Ripoll is a Benedictine monastery, built in the Romanesque style, located in the town of Ripoll in Catalonia, Spain. Although much of the present church in 19th century rebuilding, the portico is a renowned work of Romanesque art. The Monastery of Santa Maria de Ripoll was founded in 888 by Count Wilfred the Hairy who used it as a centre to bring about the repopulation of the region after conquering it. Wilfreds son, Ridulph, was educated there and was abbot of the monastery. The monastery grew rapidly, and was reconsecrated in 935,977 and 1032. The monastery at Ripoll had several offshoots which included the abbeys of St. Martin-du-Canigou, from 1070 to 1169 the monastery was governed by the Abbey of St. Victor of Marseille. Santa Maria de Ripoll was the religious center of Catalonia until the 15th century. In 1428 it was damaged by an earthquake, after which it was restored with the new parts in Gothic style. The monastery became the mausoleum for the Counts of Barcelona and Counts of Besalú. The library and much of the monasterys vast archives were destroyed by fire in 1835, in 1847 part of the cloister was demolished, followed by the 1856 by the abbey palace. It was rebuilt in 1886, under the direction of architect Elias Rogent, the original monastic church had a nave and four aisles, roofed by barrel vaults. The nave and aisle terminated in five apses, later increased to seven when apses were added to the transepts also, the current church dates to Rogents reconstruction in 1896, and although maintaining features of the original church, the present building has only two aisles. The transept houses the tombs of the counts of Besalú and of several counts of Barcelona, the cloister contains more of the original structure than the church itself, the first floor having been built between 1180 and the early 15th century. The second floor dates to the 15th and 16th century and it is formed, on each side, by thirteen semicircular arches supported by small pairs of columns with carved Corinthian-like capitals, sculpted by Pere Gregori and Jordi de Déu. Each one of the latter has a different decoration, inspired by themes or by daily life. The portal, although damaged by fires and restored in modern times, is an example of Catalan Romanesque sculpture. The frontal section features a relief from the century, divided in seven horizontal bands. The upper two show God enthroned, near whom are the symbols of the Four Evangelists, the scene is completed by angels in adoration
20.
Al-Andalus
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Al-Andalus, also known as Muslim Spain or Islamic Iberia, was a medieval Muslim territory and cultural domain occupying at its peak most of what are today Spain and Portugal. At its greatest geographical extent in the century, southern France—Septimania—was briefly under its control. Rule under these kingdoms led to a rise in cultural exchange, a number of achievements that advanced Islamic and Western science came from al-Andalus including major advances in trigonometry, astronomy, surgery, pharmacology, and other fields. Al-Andalus became an educational center for Europe and the lands around the Mediterranean Sea as well as a conduit for culture. For much of its history, al-Andalus existed in conflict with Christian kingdoms to the north, after the fall of the Umayyad caliphate, al-Andalus was fragmented into a number of minor states and principalities. Attacks from the Christians intensified, led by the Castilians under Alfonso VI, the Almoravid empire intervened and repelled the Christian attacks on the region, deposing the weak Andalusi Muslim princes and included al-Andalus under direct Berber rule. In the next century and a half, al-Andalus became a province of the Berber Muslim empires of the Almoravids and Almohads, ultimately, the Christian kingdoms in the north of the Iberian Peninsula overpowered the Muslim states to the south. In 1085, Alfonso VI captured Toledo, starting a gradual decline of Muslim power, with the fall of Córdoba in 1236, most of the south quickly fell under Christian rule and the Emirate of Granada became a tributary state of the Kingdom of Castile two years later. In 1249, the Portuguese Reconquista culminated with the conquest of the Algarve by Afonso III, finally, on January 2,1492, Emir Muhammad XII surrendered the Emirate of Granada to Queen Isabella I of Castile, completing the Christian Reconquista of the peninsula. The toponym al-Andalus is first attested to by inscriptions on coins minted by the new Muslim government in Iberia, the etymology of the name has traditionally been derived from the name of the Vandals. A number of proposals since the 1980s have contested this, Vallvé proposed a corruption of the name Atlantis, halm derives the name from a Gothic term *landahlauts. Bossong suggests derivation from a pre-Roman substrate and they crossed the Pyrenees and occupied Visigothic Septimania in southern France. Most of the Iberian peninsula became part of the expanding Umayyad Empire and it was organized as a province subordinate to Ifriqiya, so, for the first few decades, the governors of al-Andalus were appointed by the emir of Kairouan, rather than the Caliph in Damascus. Visigothic lords who agreed to recognize Muslim suzerainty were allowed to retain their fiefs, resistant Visigoths took refuge in the Cantabrian highlands, where they carved out a rump state, the Kingdom of Asturias. In the 720s, the al-Andalus governors launched several raids into Aquitaine. At the Battle of Poitiers in 732, the al-Andalus raiding army was defeated by Charles Martel, in 734, the Andalusi launched raids to the east, capturing Avignon and Arles and overran much of Provence. In 737, they climbed up the Rhône valley, reached as far as Burgundy, Charles Martel of the Franks, with the assistance of Liutprand of the Lombards, invaded Burgundy and Provence and expelled the raiders by 739. Relations between Arabs and Berbers in al-Andalus had been tense in the years after the conquest
21.
Al-Hakam II
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Al-Hakam II was the second Caliph of Córdoba, in Al-Andalus and son of Abd-ar-Rahman III and Murjan. He ruled from 961 to 976, Al-Hakam II succeeded to the Caliphate after the death of his father Abd-ar-Rahman III in 961. He secured peace with the Catholic kingdoms of northern Iberia, economic development was also encouraged through the widening of streets and the building of markets. Hakam himself was well versed in numerous sciences. He would have purchased from Damascus, Baghdad, Constantinople, Cairo, Mecca, Medina, Kufa. His status as a patron of knowledge brought him fame across the Muslim world to the point that even written in Persia. During his reign, a massive effort was undertaken, and many books were translated from Latin. He formed a joint committee of Muladi Muslims and Mozarab Catholics for this task and his personal library was of enormous proportions. Some accounts speak of him having more than 600,000 books, however, Hitchcock argues that any number in excess of 600 is inconceivable. The catalogue of library books itself was claimed to be 44 volumes long, according to Hitchcock, this may be because volume and page were confused. Of special importance to Al-Hakam was history, and he wrote a history of al-Andalus. Following his death, Hajib Almanzor had all ancient science books destroyed, the mathematician Lubna of Córdoba was employed as Al-Hakams private secretary. She was said to be versed in the exact sciences, her talents were equal to the solution of the most complex geometrical. The famous physician, scientist, and surgeon Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi was also active in Al-Hakams court during his reign. His building works included an expansion of the mosque of Córdoba, the Mezquita, and the completion of the royal residence Medina Azahara. Whilst the internal administration was left increasingly to the Berber vizir Al-Mushafi and he was chiefly preoccupied with repulsing the last Norman attacks, and with the struggle against the Zirids and the Fatimids in northern Morocco. The Fatimids were defeated in Morocco in 974, while Al-Hakam II was able to maintain the supremacy of the caliphate over the Catholic states of Navarre, Castile, Al-Hakam married Subh of Cordoba, a Christian concubine who gave him two sons. She also held sway and strong influence over the court and it is said that al-Hakam nicknamed her with the masculine name Jafar
22.
Mozarabs
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The Mozarabs is a modern historical term that refers to the Iberian Christians who lived under Moorish rule in Al-Andalus. Their descendants remained unconverted to Islam, however they were mostly fluent in Arabic, the local Romance vernaculars, heavily permeated by Arabic, spoken by Christians and Muslim alike has also come to be known as Mozarabic language. Mozarabs were mostly Roman Catholics of the Visigothic or Mozarabic Rite, most of the Mozarabs were descendants of Hispanic Christians and were primarily speakers of the Mozarabic language under Islamic rule. They also included members of the former Visigothic ruling elite who did not convert to Islam or emigrate northwards after the Muslim conquest. A few were Arab and Berber Christians coupled with Muslim converts to Christianity who, as Arabic speakers, a prominent example of Muslims who became Mozarabs by embracing Christianity is the Andalusian rebel and Anti-Umayyad military leader, Umar ibn Hafsun. Some Mozarabs were even Conversos Sephardi Jews who likewise became part of the Mozarabic milieu, separate Mozarab enclaves were located in the large Muslim cities, especially Toledo, Córdoba, Zaragoza, and Seville. Christians and Jews were designated dhimmi under Sharia, despite their restrictions, the dhimmi were fully protected by the Muslim rulers and did not have to fight in case of war, because they paid the jizyah. Some of them held high offices in the Islamic administration under some rulers. Conversion to Islam was encouraged by the Ummayad Caliphs and Emirs of Córdoba, many Mozarabs converted to Islam to avoid the heavy Jizya tax which they were subjected to as Dhimmis. Apostasy, however, for one who had raised as a Muslim or had embraced Islam, was a crime punishable by death. Until the mid-9th century, relations between Muslims and the majority Christian population of Al-Andalus, were relatively cordial, Christian resistance to the first wave of Muslim conquerors was unsuccessful. In exchange, Theodomir received Abd al-Aziz promise to both his property and his jurisdiction in the province of Murcia. There was no change in the composition of the people on the land, there is also substantial evidence that Mozarabs fought in the defence of the thaghr, participating in raids against Christian neighbours and struggles between Muslim factions. For instance, in 936, a significant number of Christians holed up in Calatayud with the rebel Mutarraf, there is very little evidence of any Christian resistance at Al-Andalus in the 9th century. Evidence points to a rapid attrition in the North, although Mozarab merchants traded in Andalusi markets, they were neither influential nor numerous before the middle of the 12th century. This was owed to commercial disinterest and disorganization in the early Middle Ages rather than any specific or religious impediments set up by the Muslim rulers, unlike Andalusi Muslims and Jews, Mozarabs had little interest in commerce because of their general perception of trade as lowly and despicable. It is often assumed that Mozarab merchants forged a vital commercial and cultural link between the north and south across the Iberian frontiers. Mozarab refugees may have had influence in northern Iberian trade at places like Toledo, the level of literary culture among the northern Christians was inferior to that of their Mozarab brethren in the historic cities to the south, due to the prosperity of Al-Andalus
23.
Madrasa
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Madrasa is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, whether secular or religious. The word is variously transliterated madrasah, medresa, madrassa, madraza, medrese, in the West, the word usually refers to a specific type of religious school or college for the study of the Islamic religion, though this may not be the only subject studied. In countries like India, not all students in madrasas are Muslims, the word madrasah derives from the triconsonantal Semitic root د-ر-س D-R-S to learn, study, through the wazn مفعل, mafʻal, meaning a place where something is done. Therefore, madrasah literally means a place where learning and studying take place, for example, in the Ottoman Empire during the Early Modern Period, madaris had lower schools and specialised schools where the students became known as danişmends. The usual Arabic word for a university, however, is جامعة, the Hebrew cognate midrasha also connotes the meaning of a place of learning, the related term midrash literally refers to study or learning, but has acquired mystical and religious connotations. However, in English, the term usually refers to the specifically Islamic institutions. A regular curriculum includes courses in Arabic, tafsir, sharīʻah, hadiths, mantiq, in the Ottoman Empire, during the Early Modern Period, the study of hadiths was introduced by Süleyman I. Depending on the demands, some madaris also offer additional advanced courses in Arabic literature, English and other foreign languages, as well as science. Ottoman madaris along with religious teachings also taught styles of writing, grammary, syntax, poetry, composition, natural sciences, political sciences, people of all ages attend, and many often move on to becoming imams. The certificate of an ʻālim, for example, requires approximately twelve years of study, a good number of the ḥuffāẓ are the product of the madaris. The madaris also resemble colleges, where people take evening classes, an important function of the madaris is to admit orphans and poor children in order to provide them with education and training. Madaris may enroll female students, however, they study separately from the men, the term Islamic education means education in the light of Islam itself, which is rooted in the teachings of the Quran - holy book of Muslims. Islamic education and Muslim education are not the same, because Islamic education has epistemological integration which is founded on Tawhid - Oneness or monotheism. The first institute of education was at the estate of Hazrat Zaid bin Arkam near a hill called Safa, where Hazrat Muhammad was the teacher. After Hijrah the madrasa of Suffa was established in Madina on the east side of the Al-Masjid an-Nabawi mosque, ubada ibn as-Samit was appointed there by Hazrat Muhammad as teacher and among the students. In the curriculum of the madrasa, there were teachings of The Quran, The Hadith, faraiz, tajweed, genealogy, treatises of first aid, there were also trainings of horse-riding, art of war, handwriting and calligraphy, athletics and martial arts. The first part of madrasa based education is estimated from the first day of nabuwwat to the first portion of the Umaiya caliphate and it was founded by Fāṭimah al-Fihrī, the daughter of a wealthy merchant named Muḥammad al-Fihrī. This was later followed by the establishment of al-Azhar in 959 in Cairo, niẓām al-Mulk, who would later be murdered by the Assassins, created a system of state madaris in various ʻAbbāsid cities at the end of the 11th century
24.
Pope John XIII
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Pope John XIII can also refer to Pope John XIII of Alexandria. Pope John XIII was Pope from 1 October 965 to his death in 972 and his pontificate was caught up in the continuing conflict between the Emperor, Otto I, and the Roman nobility. Born in Rome, probably sometime during the 930s, John was the son of Giovanni and it has been conjectured that his father was the Roman noble Giovanni Crescentius, a member of the Crescentii family who had married into the family of Theophylact I, Count of Tusculum. If so, his father had previously been a duke, and possibly even appointed consul, consequently, John was probably the brother of Crescentius the Elder, as well as Stephania, lady of Palestrina and Marozia, who married Gregory I, Count of Tusculum. After leaving the schola, he took a part in papal administration, serving in the Chancery of Apostolic Briefs under popes John XII. He also served as Librarian of the Holy Apostolic See in 961, at some point he was appointed as the bishop of Narni, as which he participated in the Synod of Rome which deposed Pope John XII, as well as the Synod of Rome which saw his restoration. After the death of Leo VIII, the Roman nobility asked the Emperor, when this was not possible, Bishop John Crescentius was suggested as a compromise candidate by Otto’s envoys, the bishops Otger of Spiers and Liutprand of Cremona. Elected unanimously, John was consecrated on Sunday,1 October 965, John immediately took on the task of curbing the power of the Roman nobility. He gave members of the Crescentii family important positions to shore up his support, while he also sought closer ties with the emperor. However, with the back in Germany, various local powers decided to take advantage of his absence to intrigue against John XIII. ”The leaders of the Roman militia captured the pope on December 16,965. However, fearing John’s presence there would inspire resistance from his followers, word eventually reached Otto of all these disturbances, who entered Italy in late summer of 966 at the head of an enormous army. In the meantime, John had managed to escape from Campagna, in thanks for Pandulf’s aid, John converted Capua into a Metropolitan see, and consecrated as its first archbishop Pandulf’s brother John, on August 14,966. In Rome, the pope’s supporters rose up, and Rofred and Stephen were killed by John Crescentius, Pope John left Capua, and crossed into Sabina, where he was met by his brother-in-law, Benedict, who also offered John his support. With Rome effectively back in his hands, John returned and was welcomed back into the city on November 14,966, although he was initially lenient towards the rebels, the arrival of Otto saw a change in approach. The emperor banished to Germany the two men appointed consul, the twelve principal leaders were hanged. Other plotters were executed or blinded. A bag of feathers was placed upon his head and two more at his thighs, in gratitude for the emperor’s intervention, John lauded him by declaring him to be the liberator and restorer of the Church, the illustrious guest, and three times blessed emperor. In 969, he met Gerbert dAurillac, the future Pope Sylvester II, after John XIIIs restoration, he worked with the Emperor on ecclesiastical improvements
25.
Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor
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Otto I, traditionally known as Otto I the Great, was German king from 936 and emperor of the Holy Roman Empire from 962 until his death in 973. He was the oldest son of Henry I the Fowler and Matilda, Otto inherited the Duchy of Saxony and the kingship of the Germans upon his fathers death in 936. He continued his fathers work of unifying all German tribes into a single kingdom, through strategic marriages and personal appointments, Otto installed members of his family in the kingdoms most important duchies. This reduced the various dukes, who had previously been co-equals with the king, Otto transformed the Roman Catholic Church in Germany to strengthen royal authority and subjected its clergy to his personal control. After putting down a brief civil war among the duchies, Otto defeated the Magyars at the Battle of Lechfeld in 955. The victory against the pagan Magyars earned Otto a reputation as a savior of Christendom, by 961, Otto had conquered the Kingdom of Italy and extended his realms borders to the north, east, and south. The patronage of Otto and his immediate successors facilitated a so-called Ottonian Renaissance of arts, following the example of Charlemagnes coronation as Emperor of the Romans in 800, Otto was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 962 by Pope John XII in Rome. Ottos later years were marked by conflicts with the papacy and struggles to stabilize his rule over Italy, reigning from Rome, Otto sought to improve relations with the Byzantine Empire, which opposed his claim to emperorship and his realms further expansion to the south. To resolve this conflict, the Byzantine princess Theophanu married his son Otto II in April 972, Otto finally returned to Germany in August 972 and died at Memleben in May 973. Otto II succeeded him as Holy Roman Emperor, Otto was born on 23 November 912, the oldest son of the Duke of Saxony, Henry the Fowler and his second wife Matilda, the daughter of Dietrich of Ringelheim, a Saxon count in Westphalia. Otto had four siblings, Hedwig, Gerberga, Henry. On 23 December 918, Conrad I, King of East Francia and Duke of Franconia, although Conrad and Henry had been at odds with one another since 912, Henry had not openly opposed the king since 915. Furthermore, Conrads repeated battles with German dukes, most recently with Arnulf, Duke of Bavaria, after several months of hesitation, Eberhard and the other Frankish and Saxon nobles elected Henry as king at the Imperial Diet of Fritzlar in May 919. For the first time, a Saxon instead of a Frank reigned over the kingdom, Burchard II of Swabia soon swore fealty to the new king, but Arnulf of Bavaria did not recognize Henrys position. According to the Annales Iuvavenses, Arnulf was elected king by the Bavarians in opposition to Henry, in 921, Henry besieged Arnulfs residence at Ratisbon and forced him into submission. Arnulf had to accept Henrys sovereignty, Bavaria retained some autonomy, Otto first gained experience as a military commander when the German kingdom fought against Slavic tribes on its eastern border. While campaigning against the Slavs in 929, Ottos illegitimate son William, with Henrys dominion over the entire kingdom secured by 929, the king probably began to prepare his succession over the kingdom. No written evidence for his arrangements is extant, but during this time Otto is first called king in a document of the Abbey of Reichenau, while Henry consolidated power within Germany, he also prepared for an alliance with Anglo-Saxon England by finding a bride for Otto
26.
Otto II, Holy Roman Emperor
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Otto II, called the Red, was Holy Roman Emperor from 973 until his death in 983. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto II was the youngest and sole surviving son of Otto the Great, Otto II was made joint-ruler of Germany in 961, at an early age, and his father named him co-Emperor in 967 to secure his succession to the throne. His father also arranged for Otto II to marry the Byzantine Princess Theophanu, when his father died after a 37-year reign, the eighteen-year-old Otto II became absolute ruler of the Holy Roman Empire in a peaceful succession. Otto II spent his reign continuing his fathers policy of strengthening Imperial rule in Germany, Otto II also continued the work of Otto I in subordinating the Catholic Church to Imperial control. Early in his reign, Otto II defeated a revolt against his rule from other members of the Ottonian dynasty who claimed the throne for themselves. His victory allowed him to exclude the Bavarian line of Ottonians from the line of Imperial succession and this strengthened his authority as Emperor and secured the succession of his own son to the Imperial throne. With domestic affairs settled, Otto II would focus his attention from 980 onward to annexing the whole of Italy into the Empire and his conquests brought him into conflict with the Byzantine Empire and with the Muslims of the Fatimid Caliphate, who both held territories in southern Italy. While he was preparing to counterattack Muslim forces, an uprising by the Slavs broke out in 983. Otto II died suddenly in 983 at the age of 28 after a ten-year reign and he was succeeded as Emperor by his three-year-old son Otto III, plunging the Empire into a political crisis. Otto II was born in 955, the son of the King of Germany Otto I. By 957, Otto IIs older brothers Henry and Bruno had died, as well as Otto Is son from his first wife Eadgyth, with his older brothers dead, the two-year-old Otto IIs became the Kingdoms crown prince and Otto Is heir apparent. Otto I entrusted his son, Archbishop William of Mainz, with Otto IIs literary. Margrave Odo, commander of the Eastern March, taught the young prince the art of war. Needing to put his affairs in order prior to his descent into Italy, Otto I summoned a Diet at Worms and had Otto II elected, at the age of six, co-regent in May 961. Otto II was later crowned by his uncle Bruno the Great, Archbishop of Cologne, while Otto I had secured succession of the throne, he had violated the Kingdoms unwritten law that succession rights could only be granted to a child who has reached the age of majority. He was likely motivated by the associated with his expedition into Italy to claim the Imperial title from the Pope. Otto I crossed the Alps into Italy, while Otto II remained in Germany, after three and a half year absence in Italy, Otto I returned to Germany early in 965 as Holy Roman Emperor. In order to give the hope of dynastic continuity after his death, Otto I again confirmed Otto II as his heir on February 2,965, though Otto I was crowned Emperor in 962 and returned to Germany in 965, the political situation in Italy remained unstable
27.
Holy Roman Emperor
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The Holy Roman Emperor was the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire. From an autocracy in Carolingian times the title evolved into an elected monarchy chosen by the Prince-electors, until the Reformation the Emperor elect was required to be crowned by the Pope before assuming the imperial title. The title was held in conjunction with the rule of the Kingdom of Germany, in theory, the Holy Roman Emperor was primus inter pares among the other Catholic monarchs, in practice, a Holy Roman Emperor was only as strong as his army and alliances made him. Various royal houses of Europe, at different times, effectively became hereditary holders of the title, after the Reformation many of the subject states and most of those in Germany were Protestant while the Emperor continued to be Catholic. The Holy Roman Empire was dissolved by the last Emperor as a result of the collapse of the polity during the Napoleonic wars, from the time of Constantine I the Roman emperors had, with very few exceptions, taken on a role as promoters and defenders of Christianity. In the west, the title of Emperor was revived in 800, as the power of the papacy grew during the Middle Ages, popes and emperors came into conflict over church administration. The best-known and most bitter conflict was known as the Investiture Controversy. After Charlemagne was crowned Emperor of the Romans by Pope Leo III, no pope appointed an emperor again until the coronation of Otto the Great in 962. Under Otto and his successors, much of the former Carolingian kingdom of Eastern Francia fell within the boundaries of the Holy Roman Empire, the various German princes elected one of their peers as King of the Germans, after which he would be crowned as emperor by the Pope. After Charles Vs coronation, all succeeding emperors were called elected Emperor due to the lack of papal coronation, the term sacrum in connection with the medieval Roman Empire was first used in 1157 under Frederick I Barbarossa. Charles V was the last Holy Roman Emperor to be crowned by the Pope, the final Holy Roman Emperor-elect, Francis II, abdicated in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars that saw the Empires final dissolution. The standard designation of the Holy Roman Emperor was August Emperor of the Romans, the word Holy had never been used as part of that title in official documents. In German-language historiography, the term Römisch-deutscher Kaiser is used to distinguish the title from that of Roman Emperor on one hand, the English term Holy Roman Emperor is a modern shorthand for emperor of the Holy Roman Empire not corresponding to the historical style or title. Successions to the kingship were controlled by a variety of complicated factors, elections meant the kingship of Germany was only partially hereditary, unlike the kingship of France, although sovereignty frequently remained in a dynasty until there were no more male successors. The Electoral council was set at seven princes by the Golden Bull of 1356, another elector was added in 1690, and the whole college was reshuffled in 1803, a mere three years before the dissolution of the Empire. After 1438, the Kings remained in the house of Habsburg and Habsburg-Lorraine, with the exception of Charles VII. Maximilian I and his successors no longer travelled to Rome to be crowned as Emperor by the Pope, Maximilian therefore named himself Elected Roman Emperor in 1508 with papal approval. This title was in use by all his uncrowned successors, of his successors only Charles V, the immediate one, received a papal coronation
28.
Bobbio
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Bobbio is a small town and commune in the province of Piacenza in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. It is located in the Trebbia River valley southwest of the town Piacenza, there is also an abbey and a diocese of the same name. Bobbio is the center of the Unione Montana Valli Trebbia e Luretta. Bobbio is located in the heart of Val Trebbia, a described by Ernest Hemingway as the most beautiful in the world. The town is nestled at the foot of Monte Penice,1,460 metres above sea level, the possessions of the abbey in the Lombard and Carolingian eras spanned the north of Italy. Bobbio is a coveted tourist destination known for its history of art and culture, for nature lovers and it has from antiquity been a crossroads between different cultures such as the Piacentine, Ligurian, Piedmontese, and Pavian. The historical center and heart of the city has maintained the characteristics of the medieval village. One town landmark, the Ponte Vecchio, called Ponte Gobbo, also known as the Devils Bridge, is an ancient stone bridge of Roman origin, which crosses the river Trebbia in eleven irregular arches. The Shrine of Our Lady of Penice, located on top of Monte Penice, dominates the landscape, historians have speculated that Bobbio was the town in which Leonardo da Vinci completed the Mona Lisa. Carla Glori in December 2011 has published her book Enigma Leonardo, Bobbio is 45 kilometres from Piacenza and from there it can be reached by the state road n. 45, which connects Piacenza to Genova, from Pavia the route to Bobbio is via road n.461 and Pass Penice. From Bobbio, the road to Piacenza is only a few minutes from Barberino Orrido, continuing in the same direction you enter the village of Mezzano Scotti, and a few kilometers afterwards, the little village called Perino. It is a starting point for visiting the Perino Valley or the ancient characteristic villages of Aglio. On the same road but in the direction of Genova and 4 kilometres from Bobbio is San Salvatore, a few kilometers upstream is Marsaglia and Brugnello, with the ancient Church of Brugnello overlooking the river Trebbia. From Bobbio, taking the state road n.461 for Pavia after 12 kilometres you reach Passo Penice where there is a ski resort on the top of the Monte Penice. This is the location of the ancient Virgin Penice Sanctuary with a view of the region, on the other side of the river just 10 kilometres from Bobbio is the village of Coli, situated between beautiful pine woods and pasture fields. The river Trebbia is the backbone of Bobbio and its surrounding territory and it springs in Liguria on Mount Prelà and flows 120 kilometres to reach the river Po. Its waters are fresh, clean and run between stones and rocks outlining a twisting journey through wonderful overhanging and spectacular waterfalls, the Trebbia valley is also one of the most interesting geological areas in Italy, well known among international scholars
29.
Lothair of France
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Lothair, sometimes called Lothair III or Lothair IV, was the Carolingian king of West Francia from 10 September 954 until his death in 986. Lothair was born in Laon near the end of 941, as the eldest son of king Louis IV and Gerberga of Saxony. He succeeded his father on 10 September 954 at the age of thirteen and was crowned at the Abbey of Saint-Remi by Artald of Reims, Archbishop of Reims on 12 November 954. Queen Gerberga made an arrangement with her brother-in-law Hugh the Great, Duke of the Franks and Count of Paris, in exchange for supporting Lothairs rule Hugh was given rule over Duchy of Aquitaine and much of Kingdom of Burgundy as more or less a regent. Lothair inherited a kingdom, where the great magnates took lands, rights. Magnates like Hugh the Great and Herbert II, Count of Vermandois were always a veiled threat, in 955 Lothair and Hugh the Great together took Poitiers by siege. With Hugh the Greats death in 956 Lothair, only fifteen, came under the guardianship of his maternal uncle Bruno, archbishop of Cologne, with Brunos advice, Lothair mediated between Hughs sons - Hugh Capet and Otto, Duke of Burgundy. The King gave Paris and the title of dux francorum to Hugh Capet, the guardianship of Archbishop Bruno of Cologne lasted until 965 and oriented Lothair towards policy of submission towards the East Francia, which was evolving into German Holy Roman Empire. Despite his youth, Lothair wanted to rule alone and reinforced his authority over his vassals and this desire of political independence led to a deterioration in relations between the King and his maternal relatives and a struggle with the new Holy Roman Empire. Despite this, Lothair wanted to maintain ties with Emperor Otto I by marrying Princess Emma of Italy in early 966, in 962 Baldwin III, Count of Flanders, son, co-ruler, and heir of Arnulf I, Count of Flanders died and Arnulf bequeathed Flanders to Lothair. On Arnulfs death in 965, Lothair invaded Flanders and took many cities and he temporarily remained in control of Arras and Douai. Lothair attempted to increase his influence in the Lotharingia, once held by his family, a great battle, which remained undecided, took place in Mons. Although Lothair secretly encouraged this war, he did not intervene directly to help his brother, Charles took advantage of the situation and established himself in Lotharingia. In 977, Charles accused Queen Emma of adultery with Bishop Adalberon of Laon, the Synod of Sainte-Macre, led by Archbishop Adalberon of Reims, took place in Fismes to discuss the matter. Due to a lack of evidence, both the Queen and Bishop were absolved, but Charles, who maintained the rumors, was expelled from the kingdom by Lothair. The House of Ardennes and the Lotharingian party, who were favorable to an agreement with Otto II, rewarding Charles, who had questioned the honor of the wife of the King of the Franks, was a way to offend the King himself. In August 978 Lothair mounted an expedition into Lorraine accompanied by Hugh Capet and upon their crossing the Meuse river took Aachen, Lothair then sacked the imperial Palace of Aachen for three days, and reversed the direction of the bronze eagle of Charlemagne to face east instead of west. In retaliation Otto II, accompanied by Charles, invaded West Francia in October 978 and ravaged Reims, Soissons and Laon
30.
Duchy of Lorraine
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The Duchy of Lorraine, originally Upper Lorraine, was a duchy now included in the larger present-day region of Lorraine in northeastern France. It was founded in 959 following the division of Lotharingia into two duchies, Upper and Lower Lorraine, the westernmost parts of the Holy Roman Empire. The Lower duchy was quickly dismantled, while Upper Lorraine came to be known as simply the Duchy of Lorraine, the Duchy of Lorraine was coveted and briefly occupied by the Dukes of Burgundy and the Kings of France. When Stanisław died on 23 February 1766, Lorraine was annexed by France, lorraines predecessor, Lotharingia, was an independent Carolingian kingdom under the rule of King Lothair II. Its territory had originally been a part of Middle Francia, created in 843 by the Treaty of Verdun, Middle Francia was allotted to Emperor Lothair I, therefore called Lotharii Regnum. On his death in 855, it was divided into three parts, of which his son Lothair II took the northern one. His realm then comprised a territory stretching from the County of Burgundy in the south to the North Sea. In French, this became known as Lorraine, while in German. In the Alemannic language once spoken in Lorraine, the -ingen suffix signified a property, thus, in a figurative sense, stuck in the conflict with his rival Hugh the Great, in 942 King Louis IV of France renounced all claims to Lotharingia. In 953, the German king Otto I had appointed his brother Bruno the Great Duke of Lotharingia, in 959, Bruno divided the duchy into Upper and Lower Lorraine, this division became permanent following his death in 965. The Upper Duchy was further up the system, that is, it was inland. Upper Lorraine was first denominated as the Duchy of the Moselle, the usage of Lotharingia Superioris and Lorraine in official documents begins later, around the fifteenth century. The first duke and deputy of Bruno was Frederick I of Bar, Lower Lorraine disintegrated into several smaller territories and only the title of a Duke of Lothier remained, held by Brabant. After the duchy of the Moselle came into the possession of René of Anjou, the name Duchy of Lorraine was adopted again, only retrospectively called Upper Lorraine. At that time, several territories had already split off, such as the County of Luxembourg, the Electorate of Trier, the County of Bar, the border between the Empire and the Kingdom of France remained relatively stable throughout the Middle Ages. In 1301, Count Henry III of Bar had to receive the part of his lands as a fief by King Philip IV of France. In 1475, the Burgundian duke Charles the Bold campaigned for the Duchy of Lorraine, in the 1552 Treaty of Chambord, a number of insurgent Protestant Imperial princes around Elector Maurice of Saxony ceded the Three Bishoprics to King Henry II of France in turn for his support. In the 17th century, the French kings began to covet Lorraine, while the central Imperial authority decayed in the course of the Thirty Years War, Chief Minister Cardinal Richelieu urged the occupation of the duchy in 1641
31.
Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor
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Otto III was Holy Roman Emperor from 996 until his early death in 1002. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto III was the son of the Emperor Otto II. Otto III was crowned as King of Germany in 983 at the age of three, shortly after his fathers death in southern Italy while campaigning against the Byzantine Empire, though the nominal ruler of Germany, Otto IIIs minor status ensured his various regents held power over the Empire. His cousin Henry II, Duke of Bavaria, initially claimed regency over the young king, Otto III was then still a child, so his grandmother, the Dowager Empress Adelaide of Italy, served as regent until 994. In 996, Otto III marched to Italy to claim the titles King of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor, Otto III also sought to reestablish Imperial control over the city of Rome, which had revolted under the leadership of Crescentius II, and through it the papacy. Crowned as Emperor, Otto III put down the Roman rebellion and installed his cousin as Pope Gregory V, after the Emperor had pardoned him and left the city, Crescentius II again rebelled, deposing Gregory V and installing John XVI as Pope. Otto III returned to the city in 998, reinstalled Gregory V, when Gregory V died in 999, Otto III installed Sylvester II as the new Pope. Otto IIIs actions throughout his life further strengthened imperial control over the Catholic Church, from the beginning of his reign, Otto III faced opposition from the Slavs along the eastern frontier. Following the death of his father in 983, the Slavs rebelled against imperial control, Otto III would fight to regain the Empires lost territories throughout his reign with only limited success. While in the east, Otto III strengthened the Empires relations with Poland, Bohemia, returning to Rome in 1001, Otto III faced a rebellion by the Roman aristocracy, which forced him to flee the city. While marching to reclaim the city in 1002, however, Otto III suffered a sudden fever, with no clear heir to succeed him, his early death threw the Empire into political crisis. Otto III was born in June or July 980 somewhere between Aachen and Nijmegen, the only son of Emperor Otto II and his wife Theophanu, Otto III was the youngest of the couples four children. Immediately prior to Otto IIIs birth, his father had completed military campaigns in France against King Lothar, on 14 July 982, Otto IIs army suffered a crushing defeat against the Muslim Emirate of Sicily at the Battle of Stilo. Otto II had been campaigning in southern Italy with hopes of annexing the whole of Italy into the Holy Roman Empire, Otto II himself escaped the battle unharmed but many important imperial officials were among the battles casualties. This was the first time a German ruler had been elected on Italian soil, after the assembly was concluded, Otto III and his mother Theophanu travelled across the Alps in order for Otto to be crowned at Aix, the traditional location of the coronation of the German kings. Otto II stayed behind to address military action against the Muslims, while still in central Italy, however, Otto II suddenly died on 7 November 983, and was buried in St. Peters Basilica in Rome. Otto III was crowned as king on Christmas Day 983, three weeks after his fathers death, by Willigis, the Archbishop of Mainz, and by John, news of Otto IIs death first reached Germany shortly after his sons coronation. The unresolved problems in southern Italy and the Slavic uprising on the Empires eastern border made the Empires political situation extremely unstable, with a minor on the throne, the Empire was thrown into confusion and Otto IIIs mother Theophanu assumed the role of regent for her young son
32.
Hugh Capet
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Hugh Capet was the first King of the Franks of the House of Capet from his election in 987 until his death. He succeeded the last Carolingian king, Louis V, the son of Hugh the Great, Duke of the Franks, and Hedwige of Saxony, daughter of the German king Henry the Fowler, Hugh was born in 941. Hugh Capet was born into a well-connected and powerful family with ties to the royal houses of France. Through his mother, Hugh was the nephew to Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Henry I, Duke of Bavaria, Bruno the Great, Archbishop of Cologne, and finally, Gerberga of Saxony, Queen of France. Gerberga was the wife of Louis IV, King of France and mother of Lothair of France and Charles and his paternal family, the Robertians, were powerful landowners in the Île-de-France. His grandfather had been King Robert I, King Odo was his granduncle and King Rudolph was his uncle by affinity. Hughs paternal grandmother was a descendant of Charlemagne, after the end of the ninth century, the descendants of Robert the Strong became indispensable in carrying out royal policies. As Carolingian power failed, the nobles of West Francia began to assert that the monarchy was elective, not hereditary. Robert I, Hugh the Greats father, was succeeded as King of the Franks by his son-in-law, when Rudolph died in 936, Hugh the Great had to decide whether he ought to claim the throne for himself. To block his rivals, Hugh the Great brought Louis dOutremer and this maneuver allowed Hugh to become the most powerful person in France in the first half of the tenth century. Once in power, Louis IV granted him the title of dux Francorum, Louis also officially declared Hugh the second after us in all our kingdoms. Hugh also gained power when Herbert II of Vermandois died in 943, Hugh the Great came to dominate a wide swath of central France, from Orléans and Senlis to Auxerre and Sens, while the king was rather confined to the area northeast of Paris. The realm in which Hugh grew up, and of which he would one day be king, Hughs predecessors did not call themselves kings of France, and that title was not used by his successors until the time of his descendant, Philip II. Kings ruled as rex Francorum, the remaining in use until 1190 The lands they ruled comprised only a small part of the former Carolingian Empire. The eastern Frankish lands, the Holy Roman Empire, were ruled by the Ottonian dynasty, represented by Hughs first cousin Otto II and then by Ottos son, Otto III. The lands south of the river Loire had largely ceased to be part of the West Francia kingdom in the years after Charles the Simple was deposed in 922. Both the Duchy of Normandy and the Duchy of Burgundy were largely independent, in 956, when his father Hugh the Great died, Hugh, the eldest son, was then about fifteen years old and had two younger brothers. In 954, Otto I appointed his brother Bruno, Archbishop of Cologne and Duke of Lorraine, as guardian of Lothair, in 956, Otto gave him the same role over Hugh and the Robertian principality
33.
Carolingian dynasty
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The Carolingian dynasty was a Frankish noble family with origins in the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century AD. The name Carolingian derives from the Latinised name of Charles Martel, the Carolingian dynasty reached its peak in 800 with the crowning of Charlemagne as the first Emperor of Romans in over three centuries. His death in 814 began a period of fragmentation of the Carolingian empire and decline that would eventually lead to the evolution of the Kingdom of France. This picture, however, is not commonly accepted today, the greatest Carolingian monarch was Charlemagne, who was crowned Emperor by Pope Leo III at Rome in 800. His empire, ostensibly a continuation of the Western Roman Empire, is referred to historiographically as the Carolingian Empire, the Carolingian rulers did not give up the traditional Frankish practice of dividing inheritances among heirs, though the concept of the indivisibility of the Empire was also accepted. The Carolingians had the practice of making their sons kings in the various regions of the Empire. The Carolingians were displaced in most of the regna of the Empire by 888 and they ruled in East Francia until 911 and held the throne of West Francia intermittently until 987. One chronicler of Sens dates the end of Carolingian rule with the coronation of Robert II of France as junior co-ruler with his father, Hugh Capet, the dynasty became extinct in the male line with the death of Eudes, Count of Vermandois. His sister Adelaide, the last Carolingian, died in 1122, the Carolingian dynasty has five distinct branches, The Lombard branch, or Vermandois branch, or Herbertians, descended from Pepin of Italy, son of Charlemagne. Though he did not outlive his father, his son Bernard was allowed to retain Italy, Bernard rebelled against his uncle Louis the Pious, and lost both his kingdom and his life. Deprived of the title, the members of this branch settled in France. The counts of Vermandois perpetuated the Carolingian line until the 12th century, the Counts of Chiny and the lords of Mellier, Neufchâteau and Falkenstein are branches of the Herbertians. With the descendants of the counts of Chiny, there would have been Herbertian Carolingians to the early 14th century, the Lotharingian branch, descended from Emperor Lothair, eldest son of Louis the Pious. At his death Middle Francia was divided equally between his three surviving sons, into Italy, Lotharingia and Lower Burgundy, the sons of Emperor Lothair did not have sons of their own, so Middle Francia was divided between the western and eastern branches of the family in 875. The Aquitainian branch, descended from Pepin of Aquitaine, son of Louis the Pious, since he did not outlive his father, his sons were deprived of Aquitaine in favor of his younger brother Charles the Bald. The German branch, descended from Louis the German, King of East Francia, since he had three sons, his lands were divided into Duchy of Bavaria, Duchy of Saxony and Duchy of Swabia. His youngest son Charles the Fat briefly reunited both East and West Francia — the entirety of the Carolingian empire — but it again after his death. With the failure of the lines of the German branch, Arnulf of Carinthia
34.
Pope John XV
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John XV and Pope John XV can also refer to Pope John XV of Alexandria. Pope John XV was Pope from August 985 to his death in 996 and he was said to have been Pope after another Pope John who reigned four months after Pope John XIV and was named Papa Ioannes XIV Bis or Pope John XIVb. This supposed second John XIV never existed, rather he was confused with a cardinal deacon John, son of Robert. In 993, he was the first pope to proclaim a saint, at the request of the German ruler, he canonized Bishop Ulrich of Augsburg on 31 January 993. Before that time, saint cults had been local and spontaneous, John XV was the son of Leo, a Roman presbyter. The Popes venality and nepotism made him unpopular with the citizens of Rome. He was a patron and protector of the monks of Cluny. During this papacy, a dispute arose over the deposition in 991 of Arnulf, Archbishop of Reims, by French churchmen. Hugh Capet, king of France, made Arnulf archbishop of Reims in 988, even though Arnulf was the nephew of the Kings bitter rival, Charles thereupon succeeded in capturing Reims and took the archbishop prisoner. Hugh, however, considered Arnulf a turncoat and demanded his deposition by John XV, what would you say of such a one, when you see him sitting upon the throne glittering in purple and gold. Must he not be the Antichrist, sitting in the temple of God, the proceedings of the Synod of Reims were repudiated by Rome, although a second synod had ratified the decrees issued there. John XV summoned the French bishops to hold an independent synod outside the French kings realm at Aachen to reconsider the case, when they refused, he called them to Rome, but they protested that the unsettled conditions en route and in Rome made that impossible. Through the exertions of the legate, the deposition of Arnulf was finally pronounced illegal, after Hugh Capets death on 23 October 996, Arnulf was released from his imprisonment and soon restored to all his dignities. As for Gerbert, he set out for the court at Magdeburg. This was the first time in history that a solemn canonization had been made by a Pope, the Emperor then elevated his own kinsman Bruno to the papal dignity under the name of Gregory V. Herbermann, Charles, ed. Pope John XV. Franz Xaver Seppelt, Geschichte der Päpste, 2nd edition, Kösel Verlag, Munich,1955, pp. 381ff. In, Massimo Bray, Enciclopedia dei Papi, Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, Vol.2, Rome,2000, OCLC313581688, pp. 102–107
35.
Ravenna
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Ravenna is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the city of the Western Roman Empire from 402 until that empire collapsed in 476. It then served as the capital of the Kingdom of the Ostrogoths until it was re-conquered in 540 by the Eastern Roman Empire. Afterwards, the city formed the centre of the Byzantine Exarchate of Ravenna until the invasion of the Lombards in 751, although an inland city, Ravenna is connected to the Adriatic Sea by the Candiano Canal. It is known for its well-preserved late Roman and Byzantine architecture, the origin of the name Ravenna is unclear, although it is believed the name is Etruscan. Some have speculated that ravenna is related to Rasenna, the term that the Etruscans used for themselves, the origins of Ravenna are uncertain. Ravenna consisted of houses built on piles on a series of islands in a marshy lagoon – a situation similar to Venice several centuries later. The Romans ignored it during their conquest of the Po River Delta, in 49 BC, it was the location where Julius Caesar gathered his forces before crossing the Rubicon. Later, after his battle against Mark Antony in 31 BC and this harbor, protected at first by its own walls, was an important station of the Roman Imperial Fleet. Nowadays the city is landlocked, but Ravenna remained an important seaport on the Adriatic until the early Middle Ages, during the German campaigns, Thusnelda, widow of Arminius, and Marbod, King of the Marcomanni, were confined at Ravenna. Ravenna greatly prospered under Roman rule, Emperor Trajan built a 70 km long aqueduct at the beginning of the 2nd century. During the Marcomannic Wars, Germanic settlers in Ravenna revolted and managed to seize possession of the city, for this reason, Marcus Aurelius decided not only against bringing more barbarians into Italy, but even banished those who had previously been brought there. In AD402, Emperor Honorius transferred the capital of the Western Roman Empire from Milan to Ravenna, at that time it was home to 50,000 people. However, in 409, King Alaric I of the Visigoths simply bypassed Ravenna, after many vicissitudes, Galla Placidia returned to Ravenna with her son, Emperor Valentinian III and the support of her nephew Theodosius II. The late 5th century saw the dissolution of Roman authority in the west, Odoacer ruled as King of Italy for 13 years, but in 489 the Eastern Emperor Zeno sent the Ostrogoth King Theoderic the Great to re-take the Italian peninsula. After losing the Battle of Verona, Odoacer retreated to Ravenna, Theoderic took Ravenna in 493, supposedly slew Odoacer with his own hands, and Ravenna became the capital of the Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy. Both Odoacer and Theoderic and their followers were Arian Christians, but co-existed peacefully with the Latins, Ravennas Orthodox bishops carried out notable building projects, of which the sole surviving one is the Capella Arcivescovile. Theoderic allowed Roman citizens within his kingdom to be subject to Roman law, the Goths, meanwhile, lived under their own laws and customs
36.
Pope Sylvester I
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Pope Sylvester I, whose name is also spelled Silvester, was pope from 31 January,314 to his death in 335. He filled the See of Rome at an important era in the history of the Catholic Church and his feast is jubilantly celebrated as Saint Sylvesters Day among the Western Christian Churches on December 31, while Eastern Christian Churches commemorate it on January 2. Sylvester did not attend the First Council of Nicaea in 325 and these also appear in the Donation of Constantine. The Pope, in return, offered the crown of his own good will to Constantine, such a useful legend quickly gained wide circulation, Gregory of Tours referred to this political legend in his history of the Franks, written in the 580s. Pope Sylvester II, himself a close associate of Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor, in the West, the liturgical feast of Saint Sylvester is on 31 December, the day of his burial in the Catacomb of Priscilla. This is the last day in the year and, accordingly, in German-speaking countries and in some close to them. In other countries, too, the day is referred to as Saint Sylvesters Day or the Feast of Saint Sylvester. In São Paulo, Brazil, a running event called the Saint Silvester Road Race occurs every year on 31 December. According to it, Pope Sylvester was offered the imperial crown, lu Santu Papa Silvestru, a story in Giuseppe Pitrès collection of Sicilian fables, recounts the legend as follows, Constantine the king wants to take a second wife, and asks Sylvester. Sylvester denies him permission, calling on heaven as witness, Constantine threatens him, not long after, Constantine falls ill, when he is desperate of ever regaining his health he has a dream which commands him to send for Sylvester. He obeys, and Sylvester receives Constantines messengers in his cave and swiftly baptizes them, whereafter he is led back to Constantine, whom he baptizes also, in this story, Constantine and his entourage are not pagans but Jews. Another legend has Sylvester slaying a dragon and he is often depicted with the dying beast. List of longest-reigning popes List of Catholic saints List of popes Gisela Schmitt, Pope St. Sylvester I CE Francesco Scorza Barcellona, SILVESTRO I, santo. In, Enciclopedia dei Papi, Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana Template, LThK Horst Fuhrmann, Konstantinische Schenkung in, vol.5, Artemis & Winkler, Munich/Zurich 1991, ISBN 3-7608-8905-0, Col. 1385–1387. Papst in, Lexicon of the Middle Ages, vol.7, LexMA-Verlag, Munich 1995, ISBN 3-7608-8907-7, Col. 1905–1908. Opera Omnia by Migne Colonnade Statue in St Peters Square Legenda Aurea
37.
Constantine the Great
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Constantine the Great, also known as Constantine I or Saint Constantine, was a Roman Emperor from 306 to 337 AD. Constantine was the son of Flavius Valerius Constantius, a Roman Army officer and his father became Caesar, the deputy emperor in the west, in 293 AD. Constantine was sent east, where he rose through the ranks to become a military tribune under the emperors Diocletian, in 305, Constantius was raised to the rank of Augustus, senior western emperor, and Constantine was recalled west to campaign under his father in Britannia. As emperor, Constantine enacted many administrative, financial, social, the government was restructured and civil and military authority separated. A new gold coin, the solidus, was introduced to combat inflation and it would become the standard for Byzantine and European currencies for more than a thousand years. He called the First Council of Nicaea in 325, at which the Nicene Creed was adopted by Christians, in military matters, the Roman army was reorganised to consist of mobile field units and garrison soldiers capable of countering internal threats and barbarian invasions. The age of Constantine marked an epoch in the history of the Roman Empire. He built a new residence at Byzantium and renamed the city Constantinople after himself. It would later become the capital of the Empire for over one thousand years and his more immediate political legacy was that, in leaving the empire to his sons, he replaced Diocletians tetrarchy with the principle of dynastic succession. His reputation flourished during the lifetime of his children and centuries after his reign, the medieval church upheld him as a paragon of virtue while secular rulers invoked him as a prototype, a point of reference, and the symbol of imperial legitimacy and identity. Beginning with the Renaissance, there were more critical appraisals of his due to the rediscovery of anti-Constantinian sources. Critics portrayed him as a tyrant, trends in modern and recent scholarship attempted to balance the extremes of previous scholarship. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built on his orders at the site of Jesus tomb in Jerusalem. The Papal claim to power in the High Middle Ages was based on the supposed Donation of Constantine. He is venerated as a saint by Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholics, though Constantine has historically often been referred to as the First Christian Emperor, scholars debate his actual beliefs or even his actual comprehension of the Christian faith itself. Constantine was a ruler of major importance, and he has always been a controversial figure, the fluctuations in Constantines reputation reflect the nature of the ancient sources for his reign. These are abundant and detailed, but have strongly influenced by the official propaganda of the period. There are no surviving histories or biographies dealing with Constantines life, the nearest replacement is Eusebius of Caesareas Vita Constantini, a work that is a mixture of eulogy and hagiography
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Simony
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Simony /ˈsaɪməni, ˈsɪ-/ is the act of selling church offices and roles. The term also extends to other forms of trafficking for money in spiritual things, Simony was also one of the important issues during the Investiture Controversy. Although an offense against canon law, Simony became widespread in the Catholic Church in the 9th and 10th centuries, in the canon law, the word bears a more extended meaning than in English law. Simony according to the canonists, says John Ayliffe in his Parergon, in the Corpus Juris Canonici the Decretum and the Decretals deal with the subject. No distinction seems to have drawn between the sale of an immediate and of a reversionary interest. The innocent simoniace promotus was, apart from dispensation, liable to the penalties as though he were guilty. Certain matters were simoniacal by the law which would not be so regarded in English law. So grave was the crime of simony considered that even infamous persons could accuse another of it, English provincial and legatine constitutions continually assailed simony. The Church of England also struggled with the practice after its separation from Rome, both Edward VI of England and Elizabeth I promulgated statutes against simony. The cases of Bishop of St. Davids Thomas Watson in 1699, by the Benefices Act 1892, a person guilty of simony is guilty of an offence for which he may be proceeded against under the Clergy Discipline Act 1892. An innocent clerk is under no disability, as he might be by the canon law, Simony may be committed in three ways – in promotion to orders, in presentation to a benefice, and in resignation of a benefice. The common law has been modified by statute. Where no statute applies to the case, the doctrines of the law may still be of authority. As of 2011, simony remains an offence, an unlawfully bestowed office can be declared void by the Crown, and the offender can be disabled from making future appointments and fined up to £1000. Clergy are no longer required to make a declaration as to simony on ordination, concordat of Worms Gregorian Reform Civil law Ayliffe, John. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh. Lord Mackay of Clashfern Halsburys Laws of England, 4th ed. Vol.14, Ecclesiastical Law,832 Penalties and disability on simony,1359 Simony Smith, a Dictionary of Christian Antiquities, Being a Continuation of the Dictionary of the Bible. J. B. Burr Pub. Co. pp. Simony, weber, N. A. Simony, Catholic Encyclopaedia Thomas Aquinas, Simony, Summa Theologica
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Archbasilica of St. John Lateran
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It is the oldest of and has precedence among the four papal major basilicas, all of which are in Rome, because it is the oldest church in the West and houses the cathedra of the Roman Pontiff. It has the title of ecumenical mother church of the Roman Catholic faithful, the current archpriest is Agostino Vallini, Cardinal Vicar General for the Diocese of Rome. The archbasilica stands over the remains of the Castra Nova equitum singularium, the fort was established by Septimius Severus in AD193. Following the victory of Emperor Constantine I over Maxentius at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, the guard was abolished, substantial remains of the fort lie directly beneath the nave. The remainder of the site was occupied during the early Roman Empire by the palace of the gens Laterani, sextius Lateranus was the first plebeian to attain the rank of consul, and the Laterani served as administrators for several emperors. One of the Laterani, Consul-designate Plautius Lateranus, became famous for being accused by Nero of conspiracy against the Emperor, the accusation resulted in the confiscation and redistribution of his properties. The Lateran Palace fell into the hands of the Emperor when Constantine I married his second wife Fausta, known by that time as the Domus Faustae or House of Fausta, the Lateran Palace was eventually given to the Bishop of Rome by Constantine I. The palace basilica was converted and extended, becoming the residence of Pope St. Silvester I, eventually becoming the Cathedral of Rome, Pope Sylvester I presided over the official dedication of the archbasilica and the adjacent Lateran Palace in 324, declaring both to be a Domus Dei. The papal cathedra was placed in its interior, rendering it the cathedral of the Pope qua Bishop of Rome, the archbasilica and Lateran Palace were re-dedicated twice. Pope Sergius III dedicated them to St. John the Baptist in the 10th century in honor of the newly consecrated baptistry of the archbasilica, Pope Lucius II dedicated them to St. John the Evangelist in the 12th century. Consequently, the archbasilica remains dedicated to the Savior, and its titular feast is the Feast of the Transfiguration, the archbasilica became the most important shrine of the two St. Johns, albeit infrequently jointly venerated. In later years, a Benedictine monastery was established in the Lateran Palace, and was devoted to serving the archbasilica, the Lateran Palace has also been the site of five ecumenical councils. During the time the papacy was seated in Avignon, France, the Lateran Palace, two fires ravaged them in 1307 and 1361. After both fires the pope sent money from Avignon to pay for their reconstruction and maintenance, nonetheless, the archbasilica and Lateran Palace lost their former splendor. When the papacy returned from Avignon and the pope again resided in Rome, the archbasilica, the popes resided at the Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere and later at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore. Eventually, the Palace of the Vatican was built adjacent to the Basilica of St. Peter, which existed since the time of Emperor Constantine I, and it has remained the official residence of the pope. The original Lateran Palace was demolished and replaced with a new edifice, on the square in front of the Lateran Palace is the largest standing obelisk in the world, known as the Lateran Obelisk. It weighs an estimated 455 tons and it was commissioned by the Egyptian Pharaoh Thutmose III and erected by Thutmose IV before the great Karnak temple of Thebes, Egypt
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