1.
Spanish language
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Spanish —also called Castilian —is a Romance language that originated in the Castile region of Spain, with hundreds of millions of native speakers around the world. It is usually considered the worlds second-most spoken native language after Mandarin Chinese and it is one of the few languages to use inverted question and exclamation marks. Spanish is a part of the Ibero-Romance group of languages, which evolved from several dialects of Vulgar Latin in Iberia after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century. Beginning in the early 16th century, Spanish was taken to the colonies of the Spanish Empire, most notably to the Americas, as well as territories in Africa, Oceania, around 75% of modern Spanish is derived from Latin. Greek has also contributed substantially to Spanish vocabulary, especially through Latin, Spanish vocabulary has been in contact from an early date with Arabic, having developed during the Al-Andalus era in the Iberian Peninsula. With around 8% of its vocabulary being Arabic in origin, this language is the second most important influence after Latin and it has also been influenced by Basque as well as by neighboring Ibero-Romance languages. It also adopted words from languages such as Gothic language from the Visigoths in which many Spanish names and surnames have a Visigothic origin. Spanish is one of the six languages of the United Nations. It is the language in the world by the number of people who speak it as a mother tongue, after Mandarin Chinese. It is estimated more than 437 million people speak Spanish as a native language. Spanish is the official or national language in Spain, Equatorial Guinea, speakers in the Americas total some 418 million. In the European Union, Spanish is the tongue of 8% of the population. Spanish is the most popular second language learned in the United States, in 2011 it was estimated by the American Community Survey that of the 55 million Hispanic United States residents who are five years of age and over,38 million speak Spanish at home. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 uses the term castellano to define the language of the whole Spanish State in contrast to las demás lenguas españolas. Article III reads as follows, El castellano es la lengua española oficial del Estado, las demás lenguas españolas serán también oficiales en las respectivas Comunidades Autónomas. Castilian is the official Spanish language of the State, the other Spanish languages as well shall be official in their respective Autonomous Communities. The Spanish Royal Academy, on the hand, currently uses the term español in its publications. Two etymologies for español have been suggested, the Spanish Royal Academy Dictionary derives the term from the Provençal word espaignol, and that in turn from the Medieval Latin word Hispaniolus, from—or pertaining to—Hispania
Spanish language
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A page of
Cantar de Mio Cid, the oldest preserved Spanish
epic poem, in medieval Spanish.
Spanish language
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Spanish is sole official language at the national level
Spanish language
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Antonio de Nebrija, author of
Gramática de la lengua castellana, the first grammar of modern European languages.
Spanish language
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Miguel de Cervantes author of
Don Quixote, considered the first modern European novel.
2.
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
French language
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The
"arrêt" signs (French for "stop") are used in
Canada while the international stop, which is also a valid French word, is used in France as well as other French-speaking countries and regions.
French language
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Regions where French is the main language
French language
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Town sign in
Standard Arabic and French at the entrance of
Rechmaya in
Lebanon.
French language
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An obsolete 100
Lebanese pound note with the French language inscriptions "Banque du Liban" and "Cent livres".
3.
Catalan language
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Catalan is a Romance language derived from Vulgar Latin and named after the medieval Principality of Catalonia, in northeastern modern Spain and adjoining parts of France. It is the national and only language of Andorra, and a co-official language of the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands. It also has status in the commune of Alghero, situated on the northwestern coast of the island of Sardinia. All these territories are often called Catalan Countries. 4% with Catalan and 47. 5% only Spanish, in order to integrate newcomers, the Generalitat de Catalunya spends part of its annual budget on the promotion of the use of Catalan in Catalonia and in other territories. Catalan evolved from Vulgar Latin in the Middle Ages around the eastern Pyrenees, during the Low Middle Ages it saw a golden age as the literary and dominant language of the Crown of Aragon, and was widely used all over the Mediterranean. The union of Aragon with the territories of Spain in 1479 marked the start of the decline of the language. In 1659 Spain ceded Northern Catalonia to France, and Catalan was banned in both states in the early 18th century, 19th-century Spain saw a Catalan literary revival, which culminated in the 1913 orthographic standardization, and the official status of the language during the Second Spanish Republic. However, the Francoist dictatorship banned the use of Catalan in schools and in the public administration, there is no parallel in Europe for such a large, bilingual, non-state speech community. Catalan dialects are relatively uniform, and are mutually intelligible and they are divided into two blocks, Eastern and Western, differing mostly in pronunciation. The terms Catalan and Valencian are two varieties of the same language, there are two institutions regulating the two standard varieties, the Institute of Catalan Studies in Catalonia and the Valencian Academy of the Language in the Valencian Community. Catalan shares many traits with its neighboring Romance languages, thus, the similarities are naturally most notable with eastern Occitan. Nouns have two genders, and two numbers, pronouns additionally can have a neuter gender, and some are also inflected for case and politeness, and can be combined in very complex ways. Verbs are split in several paradigms and are inflected for person, number, tense, aspect, mood, in terms of pronunciation, Catalan has many words ending in a wide variety of consonants and some consonant clusters, in contrast with many other Romance languages. The word Catalan derives from the territory of Catalonia, itself of disputed etymology, in English, the term referring to a person first appears in the mid 14th century as Catelaner, followed in the 15th century as Catellain. It is attested a language name since at least 1652, Catalan can be pronounced as /ˈkætəlæn/, /kætəˈlæn/ or /ˈkætələn/. The endonym is pronounced /kə. təˈɫa/ in the Eastern Catalan dialects, in the Valencian Community, the term valencià is frequently used instead. The names Catalan and Valencian are two names for the same language, see also status of Valencian below. By the 9th century, Catalan had evolved from Vulgar Latin on both sides of the end of the Pyrenees, as well as the territories of the Roman province of Hispania Tarraconensis to the south
Catalan language
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Homilies d'Organyà (12th century)
Catalan language
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Catalan
Catalan language
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Fragment of the Greuges de Guitard Isarn (ca. 1080–1095), one of the earliest texts written almost completely in Catalan, predating the famous
Homilies d'Organyà by a century
Catalan language
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Official Decree Prohibiting the Catalan Language in France
4.
Aragonese language
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It is the only modern language which survived from medieval Navarro-Aragonese in a form distinctly different from Spanish. Informally known as fabla, Aragonese is also referred to by the names of its local dialects such as cheso or patués. Aragonese, which developed in portions of the Ebro basin, can be traced back to the High Middle Ages and it spread throughout the Pyrenees to areas where languages similar to Basque were previously spoken. The Kingdom of Aragon expanded southward from the mountains, pushing the Moors farther south in the Reconquista, the Aragonese Reconquista in the south ended with the cession of Murcia by James I of Aragon to the Kingdom of Castile as dowry for an Aragonese princess. The best-known proponent of the Aragonese language was Johan Ferrandez dHeredia and he wrote an extensive catalog of works in Aragonese and translated several works from Greek into Aragonese. The spread of Castilian, the Castilian origin of the Trastámara dynasty, a turning point was the 15th-century coronation of the Castilian Ferdinand I of Aragon, also known as Ferdinand of Antequeraa. In recent times, Aragonese was mostly regarded as a group of dialects of Spanish. Compulsory education undermined its already weak position, for example, pupils were punished for using it, however, the 1978 Spanish transition to democracy heralded literary works and studies of the language. Aragonese is the language of the Aragonese mountain ranges of the Pyrenees, in the comarcas of Somontano, Jacetania, Sobrarbe. Cities and towns in which Aragonese is spoken are Huesca, Graus, Monzón, Barbastro, Bielsa, Chistén, Fonz, Echo, Estadilla, Benasque, Campo, Sabiñánigo, Jaca, Plan, Ansó, Ayerbe, Broto, and El Grado. It is spoken as a language by inhabitants of Huesca, Zaragoza, Ejea de los Caballeros. According to recent polls, there are about 10,000 active speakers and 30,000 passive speakers, in 2009, the Languages Act of Aragon recognized the native language, original and historic of Aragon. The language received several linguistic rights, including its use in public administration, some are conservative features that are also shared with the Astur-Leonese languages and Galician-Portuguese, where Spanish innovated in ways that did not spread to nearby languages. Romance initial F- is preserved, e. g. FILIUM > fillo, Romance palatal approximant consistently became medieval, as in medieval Catalan and Portuguese. This becomes modern ch, as a result of the devoicing of sibilants, in Spanish, the medieval result was either, or nothing, depending on the context. IUVENEM > choven, GELARE > chelar, Romance groups -LT-, -CT- result in, e. g. FACTUM > feito, MULTUM > muito. Romance groups -X-, -PS-, SCj- result in voiceless palatal fricative ix, Romance groups -Lj-, -CL-, -TL- result in palatal lateral ll, e. g. MULIERE > muller, ACUTLA > agulla. Open O, E from Romance result systematically in diphthongs, e. g. VETLA > viella and this includes before a palatal approximant, e. g. octō > ueito
Aragonese language
–
Map of Aragon with the
Aragonese dialects of Northern Aragon in gray, blue, and light orange
5.
Occitan language
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Occitan, also known as lenga dòc by its native speakers, is a Romance language. It is spoken in southern France, Italys Occitan Valleys, Monaco, and Spains Val dAran, collectively, Occitan is also spoken in the linguistic enclave of Guardia Piemontese. However, there is controversy about the unity of the language, others include Catalan in this family, as the distance between this language and some Occitan dialects is similar to the distance among different Occitan dialects. In fact, Catalan was considered an Occitan dialect until the end of the 19th century, today, Occitan is an official language in Catalonia, where a subdialect of Gascon known as Aranese is spoken in the Val dAran. Since September 2010, the Parliament of Catalonia has considered Aranese Occitan to be the preferred language for use in the Val dAran. Unlike other Romance languages such as French or Spanish, there is no written standard language called Occitan. Instead, there are competing norms for writing Occitan, some of which attempt to be pan-dialectal, There are also significant lexical differences, where some dialects have words cognate with French, and others have Catalan and Spanish cognates. Nonetheless, there is a significant amount of mutual intelligibility, the long-term survival of Occitan is in grave doubt. According to the UNESCO Red Book of Endangered Languages, four of the six dialects of Occitan are considered severely endangered. The name Occitan comes from lenga dòc, òc being the Occitan word for yes and this was not, of course, the only defining characteristic of each group. The word òc came from Vulgar Latin hoc, while oïl originated from Latin hoc illud, Old Catalan, and now the Catalan of Northern Catalonia also have hoc. Other Romance languages derive their word for yes from the Latin sic, thus, etc. such as Spanish sí, Eastern Lombard sé, Sicilian and Italian sì, or Portuguese sim. French uses si to answer yes in response to questions that are asked in the negative sense, the name Occitan is sometimes considered a neologism, however, it was attested around 1300 as occitanus, a crossing of oc and aquitanus. For many centuries, the Occitan dialects were referred to as Limousin or Provençal, after Frédéric Mistrals Félibrige movement in the 19th century, Provençal achieved the greatest literary recognition and so became the most popular term for Occitan. The term first came into fashion in Italy, currently, linguists use the terms Provençal and Limousin strictly to refer to specific varieties within Occitania, keeping the name Occitan for the language as a whole. Many non-specialists, however, continue to refer to the language as Provençal, NO·L LI TOLRÀ NO·L LI DEVEDARÀ NI NO LEN DECEBRÀ. Nec societatem non AURÀ, si per castellum recuperare NON O FA, et si recuperare potuerit in potestate Froterio et Raimundo LO TORNARÀ, carolingian litanies, both written and sung in Latin, were answered to in Old Occitan by the audience. Occitan was the vehicle for the poetry of the medieval troubadours and trobairises, At that time
Occitan language
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Main cities of Occitania, written in the Occitan language
Occitan language
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Occitan
Occitan language
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"Speak French, Be Clean" written across the wall of a Southern French school
Occitan language
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This bilingual street sign in
Toulouse, like many such signs found in historical parts of the city, is maintained primarily for its antique charm; it is typical of what little remains of the lenga d'òc in southern French cities.
6.
Basque language
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Basque is the language spoken by the Basques. Linguistically, Basque is unrelated to the languages of Europe and indeed, as a language isolate. The Basques are indigenous to, and primarily inhabit, the Basque Country, the Basque language is spoken by 27% of Basques in all territories. Of these, 93% are in the Spanish area of the Basque Country, native speakers live in a contiguous area that includes parts of four Spanish territories and the three ancient provinces in France. However, in those Basque-speaking regions that supported the uprising the Basque language was more than merely tolerated, overall, in the 1960s and later, the trend reversed and education and publishing in Basque began to flourish. As a part of process, a standardized form of the Basque language. Besides its standardised version, the five historic Basque dialects are Biscayan, Gipuzkoan, and Upper Navarrese in Spain and they take their names from the historic Basque provinces, but the dialect boundaries are not congruent with province boundaries. Euskara Batua was created so that Basque language could be easily understood by all Basque speakers—in formal situations. In both Spain and France, the use of Basque for education varies from region to region, a language isolate, Basque is believed to be one of the few surviving pre-Indo-European languages in Europe, and the only one in Western Europe. Basque has adopted a good deal of its vocabulary from the Romance languages, the Basque alphabet uses the Latin script. In Basque, the name of the language is officially Euskara, three etymological theories of the name Euskara are taken seriously by linguists and Vasconists. In French, the language is normally called basque, though in recent times euskara has become common, Spanish has a greater variety of names for the language. Today, it is most commonly referred to as el vasco, la lengua vasca, both terms, vasco and basque, are inherited from Latin ethnonym Vascones, which in turn goes back to the Greek term οὐασκώνους, an ethnonym used by Strabo in his Geographica. The Spanish term Vascuence, derived from Latin vasconĭce, has acquired negative connotations over the centuries and is not well-liked amongst Basque speakers generally, Basque is geographically surrounded by Romance languages but is a language isolate unrelated to them. It is the last remaining descendant of one of the languages of Western Europe. Consequently, its prehistory may not be reconstructible by means of the comparative method except by applying it to differences between dialects within the language. Little is known of its origins, but a form of the Basque language likely was present in Western Europe before the arrival of the Indo-European languages to the area. Others find this unlikely, see the aizkora controversy, Latin inscriptions in Gallia Aquitania preserve a number of words with cognates in the reconstructed proto-Basque language, for instance, the personal names Nescato and Cison
Basque language
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Family transmission of Basque language (Basque as initial language)
Basque language
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Schematic dialect areas of Basque. Light-colored dialects are extinct. See dialects below for details.
Basque language
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An example of Basque lettering in a funerary stela.
Basque language
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An example of the number system employed by millers.
7.
Aneto
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Aneto is the highest mountain in the Pyrenees and in Aragon, and Spains third-highest mountain, reaching a height of 3,404 metres. It stands in the Spanish province of Huesca, the northernmost of all three Aragonese provinces,4 miles south of the French border and it forms the southernmost part of the Maladeta massif. It is also locally known as Pic de Néthou in French. Aneto is located in the Posets-Maladeta Natural Park, in the municipality of Benasque, Huesca province, autonomous community of Aragon and it is part of the Maladeta massif and is located in the Benasque valley. It consists of Paleozoic terrain of a nature and Mesozoic materials. It is estimated that it has lost more than half of its surface in the last 100 years, initially, the great mass of granite did not even have a name. There are indications that the shepherds and hunters from the southern valleys referred to it as Malheta or Malahita or Punta, the first cultured traveller who saw it from the port of Benasque, Louis Ramond de Carbonnières, simply described its appearance as needles of ice in 1787. The highest point of the Pyrenees eventually inherited the name of a village on its south-eastern side, the French, on hearing the Argonese pronunciation of Aneto, retained the last two clearly accentuated phonetic syllables, ne and tu, ignoring the first syllable a. So these names were the toponyms that were then used and it took Émile Bellocs renown work on the Pyrenees to establish the name of Aneto as the official toponym, he consistently used that name in 1898 already. Some two miles away on its north-west fringe lies the Maladeta peak that, though not being among the five highest peaks in the environment and it subsequently earned the greatest interest of climbers, especially in the early 18th century. Until then, the Monte Perdido had been considered the highest and he fell in a crack in the ice on Maladeta. This caused a shock and the natives, already very fearful of venturing on the glacier. Aneto rises to 3,404 meters above sea level in the centre of the Pyrenees mountain range whose territories runs almost entirely along the border between France and Spain, the peak lies to the north-east of the province of Huesca and occupies the eastern end of the Malditos Mountains. The waters of the western and southern sides, however, meet in the Superior, Middle and Lower mountain lakes, today, global warming has reduced the portentous mass to eleven glaciers that total only three hundred acres. The Aneto-Maladeta massif sustains a total of 286 acres surface, representing more than half of all the glaciers in Spain - all of which being located in the Pyrenees. The rest cannot truly be defined as glaciers without contention, as they have lost all mobility, among these are the Cregüella, Alba and Salenques glaciers, which are in a major state of decline. However, even considering them as snowfields, their past glacier state has kept them to date, the mountains ascent is usually made from the Renclusa Refuge. From there, the itinerary traverses the longest part of the glacier that extends to the north of the peak, the summit is defended by a short rocky passage called the Bridge of Mohammed
Aneto
–
North face of Aneto
Aneto
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Map of Aneto and the valleys and massifs that surround it.
Aneto
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Pine forest at the foot of the massif of Maladeta.
Aneto
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Aneto Peak (3404m) summit panorama, looking South West, Pyrenees range
8.
Summit
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A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. Mathematically, a summit is a maximum in elevation. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak, and zenith are synonymous, the UIAA definition is that a summit is independent if it has a prominence of 30 metres or more, it is a mountain if it has a prominence of at least 300 metres. This can be summarised as follows, A pyramidal peak is an exaggerated form produced by ice erosion of a mountain top, Summit may also refer to the highest point along a line, trail, or route. In many parts of the western United States, the term refers to the highest point along a road, highway. For example, the highest point along Interstate 80 in California is referred to as Donner Summit while the highest point on Interstate 5 is Siskiyou Mountain Summit, geoid Hill List of highest mountains Maxima and minima Nadir Summit accordance Peak finder
Summit
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The highest elevation summit, Mount Everest, shown with a climber at the summit wearing an oxygen mask. The summit is 8850 m (29,035 ft) elevation. (While the cruising altitude of jetliners is roughly 10,000 m (32,808 feet), they are pressurized.)
Summit
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View from the summit of Switzerland's highest,
Monte Rosa
Summit
–
The summit of
Mount Damavand,
Iran, in winter
Summit
–
Jeff Davis Peak, one of the highest peaks entirely within
Nevada
9.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
Geographic coordinate system
–
Longitude lines are perpendicular and latitude lines are parallel to the equator.
10.
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
France
–
One of the
Lascaux paintings: a horse –
Dordogne, approximately 18,000 BC
France
–
Flag
France
–
The
Maison Carrée was a temple of the
Gallo-Roman city of Nemausus (present-day
Nîmes) and is one of the best preserved vestiges of the
Roman Empire.
France
–
With
Clovis ' conversion to Catholicism in 498, the
Frankish monarchy,
elective and
secular until then, became
hereditary and of
divine right.
11.
Spain
–
By population, Spain is the sixth largest in Europe and the fifth in the European Union. Spains capital and largest city is Madrid, other urban areas include Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Bilbao. Modern humans first arrived in the Iberian Peninsula around 35,000 years ago, in the Middle Ages, the area was conquered by Germanic tribes and later by the Moors. Spain is a democracy organised in the form of a government under a constitutional monarchy. It is a power and a major developed country with the worlds fourteenth largest economy by nominal GDP. Jesús Luis Cunchillos argues that the root of the span is the Phoenician word spy. Therefore, i-spn-ya would mean the land where metals are forged, two 15th-century Spanish Jewish scholars, Don Isaac Abravanel and Solomon ibn Verga, gave an explanation now considered folkloric. Both men wrote in two different published works that the first Jews to reach Spain were brought by ship by Phiros who was confederate with the king of Babylon when he laid siege to Jerusalem. This man was a Grecian by birth, but who had given a kingdom in Spain. He became related by marriage to Espan, the nephew of king Heracles, Heracles later renounced his throne in preference for his native Greece, leaving his kingdom to his nephew, Espan, from whom the country of España took its name. Based upon their testimonies, this eponym would have already been in use in Spain by c.350 BCE, Iberia enters written records as a land populated largely by the Iberians, Basques and Celts. Early on its coastal areas were settled by Phoenicians who founded Western Europe´s most ancient cities Cadiz, Phoenician influence expanded as much of the Peninsula was eventually incorporated into the Carthaginian Empire, becoming a major theater of the Punic Wars against the expanding Roman Empire. After an arduous conquest, the peninsula came fully under Roman Rule, during the early Middle Ages it came under Germanic rule but later, much of it was conquered by Moorish invaders from North Africa. In a process took centuries, the small Christian kingdoms in the north gradually regained control of the peninsula. The last Moorish kingdom fell in the same year Columbus reached the Americas, a global empire began which saw Spain become the strongest kingdom in Europe, the leading world power for a century and a half, and the largest overseas empire for three centuries. Continued wars and other problems led to a diminished status. The Napoleonic invasions of Spain led to chaos, triggering independence movements that tore apart most of the empire, eventually democracy was peacefully restored in the form of a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Spain joined the European Union, experiencing a renaissance and steady economic growth
Spain
–
Lady of Elche
Spain
–
Flag
Spain
–
Altamira Cave paintings, in
Cantabria.
Spain
–
Celtic castro in
A Guarda,
Galicia.
12.
Andorra
–
Created under a charter in 988, the present principality was formed in 1278. It is known as a principality as it is a monarchy headed by two Co-Princes – the Roman Catholic Bishop of Urgell in Spain, and the President of France. Andorra is the sixth-smallest nation in Europe, having an area of 468 km2 and its capital Andorra la Vella is the highest capital city in Europe, at an elevation of 1,023 metres above sea level. The official language is Catalan, although Spanish, Portuguese, Andorras tourism services an estimated 10.2 million visitors annually. It is not a member of the European Union, but the euro is the official currency and it has been a member of the United Nations since 1993. In 2013, the people of Andorra had the highest life expectancy in the world at 81 years, the origin of the word Andorra is unknown, although several hypotheses have been formulated. The word Andosini or Andosins may derive from the Basque handia whose meaning is big or giant, the Andorran toponymy shows evidence of Basque language in the area. Another theory suggests that the word Andorra may derive from the old word Anorra that contains the Basque word ur, another theory suggests that Andorra may derive from Arabic al-durra, meaning The forest. Other theories suggest that the term derives from the Navarro-Aragonese andurrial, la Balma de la Margineda found by archaeologists at Sant Julia de Loria were the first temporal settled in 10000 BC as a passing place between the two sides of the Pyrenees. The seasonal camp was located for hunting and fishing by the groups of hunter-gatherers from Ariege. During the Neolithic Age the group of humans moved to the Valley of Madriu as a permanent camp in 6640 BC, the population of the valley grew cereals, raised domestic livestock and developed a commercial trade with people from the Segre and Occitania. Other archaeological deposits include the Tombs of Segudet and Feixa del Moro both dated in 4900-4300 BC as an example of the Urn culture in Andorra, the model of small settlements begin to evolved as an complex urbanism during the Bronze Age. We can found metallurgical items of iron, ancient coins and relicaries in the ancient sanctuaries scattered around the country, the inhabitants of the valleys were traditionally associated with the Iberians and historically located in Andorra as the Iberian tribe Andosins or Andosini during the VII and II centuries BC. Influenced by Aquitanias, Basque and Iberian languages the locals developed some current toponyms, early writings and documents relating this group of people goes back to the second century BC by the Greek writer Polybius in his Histories during the Punic Wars. Some of the most significant remains of this era are the Castle of the Roc dEnclar, lAnxiu in Les Escaldes and it is known the presence of Roman influence from the II century BC to the V century AD. The places found with more Roman presence are in Camp Vermell in Sant Julia de Loria, people continued trading, mainly with wine and cereals, with the Roman cities of Urgellet and all across Segre through the Via Romana Strata Ceretana. After the fall of the Roman Empire Andorra was under the influence of the Visigoths, not directly from the Kingdom of Toledo by distance, the Visigoths remained during 200 years in the valleys, a period in which Christianization takes place within the country. The fall of the Visigoths came from the Muslim Empire and its conquest of the Iberian Peninsula, Andorra remained away from these invasions by the Franks
Andorra
–
Sant Joan de Caselles church, dating from the 11th century.
Andorra
–
Flag
Andorra
–
Boris Skossyreff, briefly self-proclaimed "King of Andorra" in 1934.
Andorra
–
Joan Enric Vives i Sicília current
episcopal co-prince of Andorra since 12 May 2003.
13.
Geologic time scale
–
The table of geologic time spans, presented here, agrees with the nomenclature, dates and standard color codes set forth by the International Commission on Stratigraphy. Evidence from radiometric dating indicates that Earth is about 4.54 billion years old, the geology or deep time of Earth’s past has been organized into various units according to events which took place in each period. Older time spans, which predate the reliable record, are defined by their absolute age. Some other planets and moons within the Solar System have sufficiently rigid structures to have preserved records of their own histories, for example, Venus, Mars, dominantly fluid planets, such as the gas giants, do not preserve their history in a comparable manner. Apart from the Late Heavy Bombardment, events on other planets probably had little influence on the Earth. Construction of a scale that links the planets is, therefore, of only limited relevance to the Earths time scale. The existence, timing, and terrestrial effects of the Late Heavy Bombardment is still debated, the largest defined unit of time is the supereon, composed of eons. Eons are divided into eras, which are in turn divided into periods, epochs, the terms eonothem, erathem, system, series, and stage are used to refer to the layers of rock that correspond to these periods of geologic time in Earths history. Geologists qualify these units as early, mid, and late when referring to time, and lower, middle, for example, the lower Jurassic Series in chronostratigraphy corresponds to the early Jurassic Epoch in geochronology. The adjectives are capitalized when the subdivision is formally recognized, and lower case when not, thus early Miocene but Early Jurassic. Geologic units from the time but different parts of the world often look different and contain different fossils. For example, in North America the Lower Cambrian is called the Waucoban series that is subdivided into zones based on succession of trilobites. In East Asia and Siberia, the unit is split into Alexian, Atdabanian. A key aspect of the work of the International Commission on Stratigraphy is to reconcile this conflicting terminology, the term Anthropocene is used informally by popular culture and a growing number of scientists to describe the current epoch in which we are living. The term was coined by Paul Crutzen and Eugene Stoermer in 2000 to describe the current time, others say that humans have not even started to leave their biggest impact on Earth, and therefore the Anthropocene hasnt even started yet. Whatever the case, the ICS has not officially approved the term, leonardo da Vinci concurred with Aristotles interpretation that fossils represented the remains of ancient life. The 11th-century Persian geologist Avicenna and the 13th-century Dominican bishop Albertus Magnus extended Aristotles explanation into a theory of a petrifying fluid. Avicenna also first proposed one of the principles underlying geologic time scales, the Chinese naturalist Shen Kuo also recognized the concept of deep time
Geologic time scale
–
Key concepts
Geologic time scale
14.
Mountain range
–
A mountain range is a geographic area containing numerous geologically related mountains. A mountain system or system of ranges, sometimes is used to combine several geological features that are geographically related. Mountain ranges are usually segmented by highlands or mountain passes and valleys, individual mountains within the same mountain range do not necessarily have the same geologic structure or petrology. They may be a mix of different orogenic expressions and terranes, for example thrust sheets, uplifted blocks, fold mountains, most geologically young mountain ranges on the Earths land surface are associated with either the Pacific Ring of Fire or the Alpide Belt. The Andes is 7,000 kilometres long and is considered the worlds longest mountain system. The Alpide belt includes Indonesia and southeast Asia, through the Himalaya, the belt also includes other European and Asian mountain ranges. The Himalayas contain the highest mountains in the world, including Mount Everest, mountain ranges outside of these two systems include the Arctic Cordillera, the Urals, the Appalachians, the Scandinavian Mountains, the Altai Mountains and the Hijaz Mountains. If the definition of a range is stretched to include underwater mountains. The mountain systems of the earth are characterized by a tree structure, the sub-range relationship is often expressed as a parent-child relationship. For example, the White Mountains of New Hampshire and the Blue Ridge Mountains are sub-ranges of the Appalachian Mountains, equivalently, the Appalachians are the parent of the White Mountains and Blue Ridge Mountains, and the White Mountains and the Blue Ridge Mountains are children of the Appalachians. The position of mountains influences climate, such as rain or snow, when air masses move up and over mountains, the air cools producing orographic precipitation. As the air descends on the side, it warms again and is drier. Often, a shadow will affect the leeward side of a range. Mountain ranges are constantly subjected to forces which work to tear them down. Erosion is at work while the mountains are being uplifted and long after until the mountains are reduced to low hills, rivers are traditionally believed to be the principle erosive factor on mountain ranges, with their ability of bedrock incision and sediment transport. The rugged topography of a range is the product of erosion. The basins adjacent to a mountain range are filled with sediments which are buried and turned into sedimentary rock. The early Cenozoic uplift of the Rocky Mountains of Colorado provides an example and this mass of rock was removed as the range was actively undergoing uplift
Mountain range
–
The
Himalayas, the highest mountain range on Earth, seen from space
Mountain range
–
Mountain range of
High Tatras in
Slovakia in 1865
Mountain range
–
The
Andes, the world's longest mountain range on the surface of a continent, seen from the air
Mountain range
–
Hillary and Norgay Montes on Pluto (14 July 2015)
15.
Europe
–
Europe is a continent that comprises the westernmost part of Eurasia. Europe is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, yet the non-oceanic borders of Europe—a concept dating back to classical antiquity—are arbitrary. Europe covers about 10,180,000 square kilometres, or 2% of the Earths surface, politically, Europe is divided into about fifty sovereign states of which the Russian Federation is the largest and most populous, spanning 39% of the continent and comprising 15% of its population. Europe had a population of about 740 million as of 2015. Further from the sea, seasonal differences are more noticeable than close to the coast, Europe, in particular ancient Greece, was the birthplace of Western civilization. The fall of the Western Roman Empire, during the period, marked the end of ancient history. Renaissance humanism, exploration, art, and science led to the modern era, from the Age of Discovery onwards, Europe played a predominant role in global affairs. Between the 16th and 20th centuries, European powers controlled at times the Americas, most of Africa, Oceania. The Industrial Revolution, which began in Great Britain at the end of the 18th century, gave rise to economic, cultural, and social change in Western Europe. During the Cold War, Europe was divided along the Iron Curtain between NATO in the west and the Warsaw Pact in the east, until the revolutions of 1989 and fall of the Berlin Wall. In 1955, the Council of Europe was formed following a speech by Sir Winston Churchill and it includes all states except for Belarus, Kazakhstan and Vatican City. Further European integration by some states led to the formation of the European Union, the EU originated in Western Europe but has been expanding eastward since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. The European Anthem is Ode to Joy and states celebrate peace, in classical Greek mythology, Europa is the name of either a Phoenician princess or of a queen of Crete. The name contains the elements εὐρύς, wide, broad and ὤψ eye, broad has been an epithet of Earth herself in the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European religion and the poetry devoted to it. For the second part also the divine attributes of grey-eyed Athena or ox-eyed Hera. The same naming motive according to cartographic convention appears in Greek Ανατολή, Martin Litchfield West stated that phonologically, the match between Europas name and any form of the Semitic word is very poor. Next to these there is also a Proto-Indo-European root *h1regʷos, meaning darkness. Most major world languages use words derived from Eurṓpē or Europa to refer to the continent, in some Turkic languages the originally Persian name Frangistan is used casually in referring to much of Europe, besides official names such as Avrupa or Evropa
Europe
–
Reconstruction of
Herodotus ' world map
Europe
Europe
–
A medieval
T and O map from 1472 showing the three continents as domains of the sons of
Noah — Asia to Sem (
Shem), Europe to Iafeth (
Japheth), and Africa to Cham (
Ham)
Europe
–
Early modern depiction of
Europa regina ('Queen Europe') and the mythical
Europa of the 8th century BC.
16.
Iberian Peninsula
–
The Iberian Peninsula /aɪˈbɪəriən pəˈnɪnsjᵿlə/, also known as Iberia /aɪˈbɪəriə/, is located in the southwest corner of Europe. The peninsula is divided between Portugal and Spain, comprising most of their territory. With an area of approximately 582,000 km2, it is the second largest European peninsula, at that time, the name did not describe a single political entity or a distinct population of people. Strabos Iberia was delineated from Keltikē by the Pyrenees and included the land mass southwest of there. The ancient Greeks reached the Iberian Peninsula, of which they had heard from the Phoenicians, hecataeus of Miletus was the first known to use the term Iberia, which he wrote about circa 500 BC. Herodotus of Halicarnassus says of the Phocaeans that it was they who made the Greeks acquainted with. According to Strabo, prior historians used Iberia to mean the country side of the Ἶβηρος as far north as the river Rhône in France. Polybius respects that limit, but identifies Iberia as the Mediterranean side as far south as Gibraltar, elsewhere he says that Saguntum is on the seaward foot of the range of hills connecting Iberia and Celtiberia. Strabo refers to the Carretanians as people of the Iberian stock living in the Pyrenees, according to Charles Ebel, the ancient sources in both Latin and Greek use Hispania and Hiberia as synonyms. The confusion of the words was because of an overlapping in political, the Latin word Hiberia, similar to the Greek Iberia, literally translates to land of the Hiberians. This word was derived from the river Ebro, which the Romans called Hiberus, hiber was thus used as a term for peoples living near the river Ebro. The first mention in Roman literature was by the annalist poet Ennius in 200 BC. Virgil refers to the Ipacatos Hiberos in his Georgics, the Roman geographers and other prose writers from the time of the late Roman Republic called the entire peninsula Hispania. As they became interested in the former Carthaginian territories, the Romans began to use the names Hispania Citerior. At the time Hispania was made up of three Roman provinces, Hispania Baetica, Hispania Tarraconensis, and Lusitania, Strabo says that the Romans use Hispania and Iberia synonymously, distinguishing between the near northern and the far southern provinces. Whatever language may generally have been spoken on the peninsula soon gave way to Latin, except for that of the Vascones, the Iberian Peninsula has always been associated with the Ebro, Ibēros in ancient Greek and Ibērus or Hibērus in Latin. The association was so known it was hardly necessary to state, for example. Pliny goes so far as to assert that the Greeks had called the whole of Spain Hiberia because of the Hiberus River, the river appears in the Ebro Treaty of 226 BC between Rome and Carthage, setting the limit of Carthaginian interest at the Ebro. The fullest description of the treaty, stated in Appian, uses Ibērus, with reference to this border, Polybius states that the native name is Ibēr, apparently the original word, stripped of its Greek or Latin -os or -us termination
Iberian Peninsula
–
Satellite image of the Iberian Peninsula.
Iberian Peninsula
–
Iberian Peninsula and southern France, satellite photo on a cloudless day in March 2014
Iberian Peninsula
–
Map of Spain and Portugal, Atlas historique, dated approximately 1705–1739, of H.A. Chatelain.
Iberian Peninsula
–
An 18th-century map of the peninsula depicting various topographical features of the land, as published in Robert Wilkinson's General Atlas, circa 1794.
17.
Bay of Biscay
–
The Bay of Biscay /ˈbɪskeɪ, -ki/ is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea. It lies along the western coast of France from Point Penmarch to the Spanish border, the average depth is 1,744 metres and the greatest depth is 4,735 metres. The Bay of Biscay is named after Biscay on the northern Spanish coast, the Bay of Biscay is home to some of the Atlantic Oceans fiercest weather. Large storms occur in the bay, especially during the winter months, up until recent years it was a regular occurrence for merchant vessels to founder in Biscay storms. The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Bay of Biscay as a line joining Cap Ortegal to Penmarch Point, the southernmost portion is the Cantabrian Sea. The phenomenon of June Gloom is common, in late spring and early summer a large fog triangle fills the southwestern half of the bay, covering just a few kilometres inland. As winter begins, weather becomes severe and these depressions cause severe weather at sea and bring light though very constant rain to its shores. The Gulf Stream enters the bay following the continental shelfs border anti-clockwise, the main cities on the shores of the Bay of Biscay are Bordeaux, Bayonne, Biarritz, Brest, Nantes, La Rochelle, Donostia-San Sebastián, Bilbao, Santander, Gijón and Avilés. The southern end of the gulf is called in Spanish Mar Cantábrico, from the Estaca de Bares, as far as the mouth of Adour river. It was named by Romans in the 1st century BC as Sinus Cantabrorum and also, on some medieval maps, the Bay of Biscay is marked as El Mar del los Vascos. The Bay of Biscay has been the site of famous naval engagements over the centuries. In 1592 the Spanish defeated an English fleet during the eponymous Battle of the Bay of Biscay, the USS Californian sank here after striking a naval mine on June 22,1918. On December 28,1943, the Battle of the Bay of Biscay was fought between HMS Glasgow and HMS Enterprise and a group of German destroyers as part of Operation Stonewall during World War II. U-667 sank on 25 August 1944 in position 46°00′N 01°30′W, when she struck a mine, often specialist groups take the ferries to hear more information. Volunteers and employees of Biscay Dolphin Research regularly observe and monitor cetacean activity from the bridge of the ships on the P&O Ferries Portsmouth to Bilbao route, many species of whales and dolphins can be seen in this area. Most importantly, it is one of the few places where the beaked whales and this is the best study area in the world for beaked whales. Other records in the late 20th century include one off Galicia at 43°00′N 10°30′W in September 1977 reported by a whaling company and another one seen off the Iberian Peninsula. The best areas to see the larger cetaceans lie in the deep waters beyond the shelf, particularly over the Santander Canyon
Bay of Biscay
–
Spanish coast along the Bay of Biscay
Bay of Biscay
–
Not to be confused with
Biscay Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador or
Biscayne Bay.
Bay of Biscay
–
Phytoplankton bloom along the Bay of Biscay (photograph by
Terra (EOS AM-1) satellite)
Bay of Biscay
–
Biarritz Beach (
French Basque Country)
18.
Mediterranean Sea
–
The sea is sometimes considered a part of the Atlantic Ocean, although it is usually identified as a separate body of water. The name Mediterranean is derived from the Latin mediterraneus, meaning inland or in the middle of land and it covers an approximate area of 2.5 million km2, but its connection to the Atlantic is only 14 km wide. The Strait of Gibraltar is a strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates Gibraltar. In oceanography, it is called the Eurafrican Mediterranean Sea or the European Mediterranean Sea to distinguish it from mediterranean seas elsewhere. The Mediterranean Sea has a depth of 1,500 m. The sea is bordered on the north by Europe, the east by Asia and it is located between latitudes 30° and 46° N and longitudes 6° W and 36° E. Its west-east length, from the Strait of Gibraltar to the Gulf of Iskenderun, the seas average north-south length, from Croatia’s southern shore to Libya, is approximately 800 km. The Mediterranean Sea, including the Sea of Marmara, has an area of approximately 2,510,000 square km. The sea was an important route for merchants and travelers of ancient times that allowed for trade, the history of the Mediterranean region is crucial to understanding the origins and development of many modern societies. In addition, the Gaza Strip and the British Overseas Territories of Gibraltar and Akrotiri, the term Mediterranean derives from the Latin word mediterraneus, meaning amid the earth or between land, as it is between the continents of Africa, Asia and Europe. The Ancient Greek name Mesogeios, is similarly from μέσο, between + γη, land, earth) and it can be compared with the Ancient Greek name Mesopotamia, meaning between rivers. The Mediterranean Sea has historically had several names, for example, the Carthaginians called it the Syrian Sea and latter Romans commonly called it Mare Nostrum, and occasionally Mare Internum. Another name was the Sea of the Philistines, from the people inhabiting a large portion of its shores near the Israelites, the sea is also called the Great Sea in the General Prologue by Geoffrey Chaucer. In Ottoman Turkish, it has also been called Bahr-i Sefid, in Modern Hebrew, it has been called HaYam HaTikhon, the Middle Sea, reflecting the Seas name in ancient Greek, Latin, and modern languages in both Europe and the Middle East. Similarly, in Modern Arabic, it is known as al-Baḥr al-Mutawassiṭ, in Turkish, it is known as Akdeniz, the White Sea since among Turks the white colour represents the west. Several ancient civilisations were located around the Mediterranean shores, and were influenced by their proximity to the sea. It provided routes for trade, colonisation, and war, as well as food for numerous communities throughout the ages, due to the shared climate, geology, and access to the sea, cultures centered on the Mediterranean tended to have some extent of intertwined culture and history. Two of the most notable Mediterranean civilisations in classical antiquity were the Greek city states, later, when Augustus founded the Roman Empire, the Romans referred to the Mediterranean as Mare Nostrum
Mediterranean Sea
–
Circa the 6th century BCE: In ancient times the Mediterranean provided sources of food and local commerce and direct routes for trade and communications, colonisation, and war. Numerous cities and colonies were situated at its shores or within the basin: Greek (red) and Phoenician (yellow)
colonies in antiquity; and other cities (grey), including the provincial
"Rom".
Mediterranean Sea
–
Map of the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
–
With its highly indented coastline and large number of islands, Greece has the longest Mediterranean coastline.
Mediterranean Sea
–
The
Battle of Lepanto, 1571, ended in victory for the European
Holy League against the Ottoman Turks.
19.
Cap de Creus
–
Cap de Creus is a peninsula and a headland located at the far northeast of Catalonia, some 25 kilometres south from the French border. The cape lies in the area of Cadaqués, and the nearest large town is Figueres, capital of the Alt Empordà. Cap de Creus is the easternmost point of Catalonia and therefore of mainland Spain, the area is now a Natural Park. Mountains are the foothills of the Pyrenees, the natural border between France and Spain. The region is swept by awful north wind tramontana which has caused many naval disasters. Cadaqués is the most well known village, home of artists and writers, with sophisticated atmosphere, el Port de la Selva, with a little fishing harbour, is less exploited, with good gastronomic recourses and pleasant terraces. Sant Pere de Rodes stands out at 500 metres of altitude, with views of the Cap and it is an 11th-century monastery whose first structures date from about 750 AD. One legend tells that the Cap de Creus was hewn by Hercules
Cap de Creus
–
El Golfet viewed from Cap Gros, Cap de Creus
Cap de Creus
–
Map
20.
Microstate
–
A microstate or ministate is a sovereign state having a very small population or very small land area, and usually both. According to a definition, microstates are, modern protected states. In line with this and most other definitions the examples of microstates include, Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino, Andorra, the smallest political unit recognized as a sovereign state is Vatican City, with 842 citizens as of July 2013 and an area of only 44 hectares. Microstates are distinct from micronations, which are not recognized as sovereign states, most scholars identify microstates by using a quantitative threshold and applying it to either one variable or a composite of different variables. With the exceptions of Singapore and Bahrain, all the above have fewer than 500,000 people, with the exceptions of Samoa, Vanuatu, Iceland, Bahamas, Belize, and Brunei, all the above have a non-sea area less than 1,000 km2. While employing simple quantitative criteria may seem straightforward, it can also be perceived as potentially problematic, newer approaches have proposed looking at the behaviour or capacity to operate in the international arena in order to determine which states should deserve the microstate label. Yet, it has argued that such approaches could lead to either confusing microstates with weak states or relying too much on subjective perceptions. Examples of microstates understood as modern protected states include such states as, Liechtenstein, San Marino, Monaco, Niue, Andorra, a small number of tiny sovereign political units are founded on historical anomalies or eccentric interpretations of law. One example is the Republic of Indian Stream, now the town of Pittsburg, revolutionary War, and claimed by both the U. S. and Canada. Between 1832 and 1835, the residents refused to acknowledge either claimant. Another example is the Cospaia Republic, which became independent through a treaty error and its independence made it important in the introduction of tobacco cultivation to Italy
Microstate
–
The world's five smallest sovereign states:
Vatican City,
Monaco,
Nauru,
Tuvalu and
San Marino, shown in the same scale for size comparison
21.
Crown of Aragon
–
Put in contemporary terms, it has sometimes been considered that the different lands of the Crown of Aragon functioned more as a confederation than as a single kingdom. In this sense, the larger Crown of Aragon must not be confused with one of its constituent parts, formally, the political center of the Crown of Aragon was Zaragoza, where kings were crowned at La Seo Cathedral. The de facto capital and leading cultural, administrative and economic centre of the Crown of Aragon was Barcelona followed by Valencia, finally, Palma was an additional important city and seaport. For brief periods the Crown of Aragon also controlled Montpellier, Provence, Corsica, the countries that are today known as Spain and Portugal spent the Middle Ages after 722 in an intermittent struggle called the Reconquista. This struggle pitted the northern Christian kingdoms against the Islamic taifa petty kingdoms of the South, in the Late Middle Ages, the expansion of the Aragonese Crown southwards met with the Castilian advance eastward in the region of Murcia. Afterward, the Aragonese Crown focused on the Mediterranean, acting as far as Greece and Barbary, whereas Portugal, mercenaries from the territories in the Crown, known as almogàvers participated in the creation of this Mediterranean empire, and later found employment in countries all across southern Europe. The Crown of Aragon has been considered by some as an empire which ruled in the Mediterranean for hundreds of years and it was indeed, at its height, one of the major powers in Europe. However, its different territories were connected through the person of the monarch. A modern historian, Juan de Contreras y Lopez de Ayala, Marqués de Lozoya described the Crown of Aragon as being more like a confederacy than a centralised kingdom, let alone an empire. Nor did official documents refer to it as an empire, instead. This union respected the institutions and parliaments of both territories. This was due to the loss of Catalan influence, the renunciation of the family rights of the counts of Barcelona in Occitania. Petronillas father King Ramiro, The Monk who was raised in the Saint Pons de Thomières Monastery and his brothers Peter I and Alfonso I El Batallador had bravely fought against Castile for hegemony in the Iberian peninsula. After the death of Alfonso I, the Aragonese nobility that campaigned close him feared being overwhelmed by the influence of Castile, and so, Ramiro was forced to leave his monastic life and proclaim himself King of Aragon. He married Agnes, sister of the Duke of Aquitaine and betrothed his daughter to Raymond Berengar IV of Barcelona. The wedding agreement provided Raymond Berengar IV the title of Princeps Aragonum and Dominator Aragonenesis and kept the title, Raymond Berengar IV, the first ruler of the united dynasty, called himself Count of Barcelona and Prince of Aragon. Alfonso II inherited two realms and with them, two different expansion processes, the House of Jiménez looked south in a battle against Castile for the control of the Mediterranean coast in the Iberian peninsula. The House of Barcelona looked north to its origins, Occitania, soon, Alfonso II of Aragon and Barcelona committed himself to conquer Valencia as the Aragonese nobility demanded
Crown of Aragon
–
Petronilla of Aragon (1136–1173) and
Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona (ca. 1131–1162) depicted in a 16th-century painting.
Crown of Aragon
–
Standard
Crown of Aragon
–
Equestrian heraldic representation of King of Aragon in the "Equestrian armorial of the Golden Fleece" 1433-1435.
Crown of Aragon
–
Ferdinand V and
Isabella I,
King and Queen of Castile and León, and later of Aragon, Valencia, Sicily, and Majorca
22.
Kingdom of Navarre
–
The medieval Kingdom of Pamplona was formed when the native chieftain Íñigo Arista was elected or declared King in Pamplona, and led a revolt against the regional Frankish authority. The southern part of the kingdom was conquered by the Crown of Castile in 1512, the monarchs of this unified state took the title King of France and Navarre until its fall in 1792, and again during the Bourbon Restoration from 1814 until 1830. There are similar earlier toponyms but the first documentation of Latin navarros appears in Eginhards chronicle of the feats of Charles the Great, other Royal Frankish Annals give nabarros. Basque naba/Castilian nava + Basque herri, the linguist Joan Coromines consider naba as not clearly Basque in origin but as part of a wider pre-Roman substrate. The area was conquered by the Romans by 74 BC. It was first part of the Roman province of Citerior, then of the Tarraconensis province, after that it was part of the conventus Caesaraugustanus. The Roman empire influenced the area in urbanization, language, infrastructure, commerce, after the decline of the Western Roman Empire, neither the Visigoths nor the Arabs succeeded in permanently occupying the western Pyrenees. The western Pyrenees passages were the only ones allowing good transit through the mountains and that made the region strategically important from early in its history. The Franks under Charlemagne extended their influence and control towards the south, occupying several regions of the north and it is not clear how solid the Frankish control over Pamplona was. In response, the Cordoban Emirate launched a campaign to place the region under their firm control and it placed a muwallad governor, Mutarrif ibn Musa, in Pamplona. The same year the Basque leader, Jimeno the Strong, submitted to the Emir, in 799, Mutarrif ibn Musa was killed by a pro-Frankish faction whose leader Velasco gained control of the region. In 806 and 812 Pamplona fell into the Franks hands, due to difficulties at home, the Frankish rulers could not give full attention to the outlying borderlands, and the country gradually withdrew entirely from their allegiance. In 816, Louis the Pious removed Seguin as Duke of Vasconia, the rebel Garcia Jiménez arose in his place, and was killed in turn in 818. Louis son Pepin, then King of Aquitaine, stamped out the Vasconic revolt in Gascony and he next hunted the chieftains who had taken refuge in southern Vasconia, i. e. Pamplona and Navarre, no longer controlled by the Franks. He sent an army led by the counts Aeblus and Aznar-Sanchez, on the way back, however, they were ambushed and defeated in Roncesvaux by a probable joint Vasconic-Banu Qasi force. Out of this pattern of resistance against both Frankish and Cordoban interests, the Basque chieftain Íñigo Arista took power, tradition tells he was elected as king of Pamplona in 824, giving rise to a dynasty of kings in Pamplona that would last for eighty years. Pamplona and Navarre are cited as separate entities in a Frankish Carolingian chronicle, Pamplona is cited in 778 by another Frankish account as a Navarrese stronghold, while this may be put down to their vague knowledge of the Basque territory. They distinguished Navarre and its main town in 806 though, while the Chronicle of Fontenelle quotes Induonis et Mitionis, however, Arab chroniclers make no such distinctions, and just talk of the Baskunisi, a transliteration of Vascones, since a big majority of the population was Basque
Kingdom of Navarre
–
Navarre (light green) in 1190
Kingdom of Navarre
–
Flag
Kingdom of Navarre
–
Magdalena of Valois, regent of Navarre from 1479 to 1494, and mother of Queen
Catherine I of Navarre
Kingdom of Navarre
–
Queen Joan III
23.
Demonym
–
A demonym is a word that identifies residents or natives of a particular place, which is derived from the name of that particular place. It is a neologism, previously gentilic was recorded in English dictionaries, e. g. the Oxford English Dictionary, thus a Thai may be any resident or citizen of Thailand, of any ethnic group, or more narrowly a member of the Thai people. Conversely, some groups of people may be associated with multiple demonyms, for example, a native of the United Kingdom may be called a British person, a Brit, or a Briton. In some languages, when a parallel demonym does not exist, in English, demonyms are capitalized and are often the same as the adjectival form of the place, e. g. Egyptian, Japanese, or Greek. Significant exceptions exist, for instance the adjectival form of Spain is Spanish, English widely includes country-level demonyms such as Ethiopian or Guatemalan and more local demonyms such as Seoulite, Wisconsinite, Chicagoan, Michigander, Fluminense, and Paulista. Some places lack a commonly used and accepted demonym and this poses a particular challenge to those toponymists who research demonyms. The word gentilic comes from the Latin gentilis and the English suffix -ic, the word demonym was derived from the Greek word meaning populace with the suffix for name. National Geographic attributes the term demonym to Merriam-Webster editor Paul Dickson in a recent work from 1990 and it was subsequently popularized in this sense in 1997 by Dickson in his book Labels for Locals. However, in What Do You Call a Person From, a Dictionary of Resident Names attributed the term to George H. Scheetz, in his Names Names, A Descriptive and Prescriptive Onymicon, which is apparently where the term first appears. Several linguistic elements are used to create demonyms in the English language, the most common is to add a suffix to the end of the location name, slightly modified in some instances. Cairo → Cairene Cyrenaica → Cyrene Damascus → Damascene Greece → Greek Nazareth → Nazarene Slovenia → Slovene Often used for Middle Eastern locations and European locations. Kingston-upon-Hull → Hullensian Leeds → Leodensian Spain → Spaniard Savoy → Savoyard -ese is usually considered proper only as an adjective, thus, a Chinese person is used rather than a Chinese. Monaco → Monégasque Menton → Mentonasque Basque Country → Basque Often used for French locations, mostly they are from Africa and the Pacific, and are not generally known or used outside the country concerned. In much of East Africa, a person of an ethnic group will be denoted by a prefix. For example, a person of the Luba people would be a Muluba, the plural form Baluba, similar patterns with minor variations in the prefixes exist throughout on a tribal level. And Fijians who are indigenous Fijians are known as Kaiviti and these demonyms are usually more informal and colloquial. In the United States such informal demonyms frequently become associated with mascots of the sports teams of the state university system. In other countries the origins are often disputed and these will typically be formed using the standard models above
Demonym
–
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary has not adopted the term "demonyn" for these adjectives and nouns
24.
Greek mythology
–
It was a part of the religion in ancient Greece. Greek mythology is explicitly embodied in a collection of narratives. Greek myth attempts to explain the origins of the world, and details the lives and adventures of a variety of gods, goddesses, heroes, heroines. These accounts initially were disseminated in a tradition, today the Greek myths are known primarily from ancient Greek literature. The oldest known Greek literary sources, Homers epic poems Iliad and Odyssey, focus on the Trojan War, archaeological findings provide a principal source of detail about Greek mythology, with gods and heroes featured prominently in the decoration of many artifacts. Geometric designs on pottery of the eighth century BC depict scenes from the Trojan cycle as well as the adventures of Heracles, in the succeeding Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic periods, Homeric and various other mythological scenes appear, supplementing the existing literary evidence. Greek mythology has had an influence on the culture, arts. Poets and artists from ancient times to the present have derived inspiration from Greek mythology and have discovered contemporary significance and relevance in the themes, Greek mythology is known today primarily from Greek literature and representations on visual media dating from the Geometric period from c. Mythical narration plays an important role in every genre of Greek literature. Nevertheless, the only general mythographical handbook to survive from Greek antiquity was the Library of Pseudo-Apollodorus and this work attempts to reconcile the contradictory tales of the poets and provides a grand summary of traditional Greek mythology and heroic legends. Apollodorus of Athens lived from c, 180–125 BC and wrote on many of these topics. His writings may have formed the basis for the collection, however the Library discusses events that occurred long after his death, among the earliest literary sources are Homers two epic poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey. Other poets completed the cycle, but these later and lesser poems now are lost almost entirely. Despite their traditional name, the Homeric Hymns have no connection with Homer. They are choral hymns from the part of the so-called Lyric age. Hesiods Works and Days, a poem about farming life, also includes the myths of Prometheus, Pandora. The poet gives advice on the best way to succeed in a dangerous world, lyrical poets often took their subjects from myth, but their treatment became gradually less narrative and more allusive. Greek lyric poets, including Pindar, Bacchylides and Simonides, and bucolic poets such as Theocritus and Bion, additionally, myth was central to classical Athenian drama
Greek mythology
–
Bust of
Zeus,
Otricoli (Sala Rotonda,
Museo Pio-Clementino,
Vatican).
Greek mythology
–
Greek Mythology
Greek mythology
–
Prometheus (1868 by
Gustave Moreau). The myth of Prometheus first was attested by
Hesiod and then constituted the basis for a tragic trilogy of plays, possibly by Aeschylus, consisting of
Prometheus Bound,
Prometheus Unbound, and
Prometheus Pyrphoros.
Greek mythology
–
The Roman poet
Virgil, here depicted in the fifth-century manuscript, the
Vergilius Romanus, preserved details of Greek mythology in many of his writings.
25.
Eponym
–
An eponym is a person, place, or thing for whom or for which something is named, or believed to be named. For example, Elizabeth I of England is the eponym of the Elizabethan era, recent usage, especially in the recorded-music industry, also allows eponymous to mean named after its central character or creator. In ancient Greece, the eponymous archon was the highest magistrate in classical Athens, Eponymous archons served a term of one year which took the name of that particular archon. Later historians provided yet another case of eponymy by referring to the period of Fifth-century Athens as The Age of Pericles after its most influential statesman Pericles. In Ptolemaic Egypt, the head priest of the Cult of Alexander, the Hebrew Bible explains the origins of peoples through individuals who bear their name. In most cases, the experiences and behavior of the ancestor is meant to indicate the characteristics of the people who take their name, in ancient Rome, one of the two formal ways of indicating a year was to cite the two annual consuls who served in that year. For example, the year we know as 59 BC would have described as the consulship of Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus and Gaius Julius Caesar. Under the empire, the consuls would change as often as two months, but only the two consuls at the beginning of the year would lend their names to that year. During the Christian era, itself eponymous, many households used eponymous dating by regnal years. The Roman Catholic Church, however, eventually used the Anno Domini dating scheme based on the birth of Christ on both the public and royalty. Government administrations may become referred to eponymously, such as Kennedys Camelot, British monarchs have become eponymous throughout the English-speaking world for time periods, fashions, etc. Elizabethan, Georgian, Victorian, and Edwardian are examples of these, trends Political trends or movements often become eponymous with a government leader. Examples include Jacksonian democracy, Stalinism, Maoism, Obamacare, in intellectual property law an eponym can refer to a generic trademark or brand name, a form of metonymy, such as aspirin, heroin and thermos in the United States. In geography, places and towns can also be given a name through a relationship to an important figure. Peloponnesus, for instance, was said to derive its name from the Greek hero Pelops, in historical times, new towns have often been named after their founders, discoverers, or notable individuals. In science and technology, discoveries and innovations are often named after the discoverer or a figure influential in their advance, examples are Avogadros number, the Diesel engine, meitnerium, Alzheimers disease, and the Apgar score. For a different view of the process see Stiglers law of eponymy, the term is also applied to music, usually with regard to record titles, where it is prevalent and leads to confusion. For example, Bad Companys first album was entitled Bad Company, titled a 1988 compilation album Eponymous
Eponym
–
The mythological Greek hero
Orion is the eponym of the
constellation Orion, shown here, and thus indirectly of the
Orion spacecraft.
26.
Herodotus
–
Herodotus was a Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus in the Persian Empire and lived in the fifth century BC, a contemporary of Socrates. The Histories is the work which he is known to have produced. Despite Herodotus historical significance, little is known of his personal life and his place in history and his significance may be understood according to the traditions within which he worked. His work is the earliest Greek prose to have survived intact, of these only fragments of Hecataeuss work survive yet they allow us glimpses into the kind of tradition within which Herodotus wrote his own Histories. In his introduction to Hecataeus’s work, Genealogies, This points forward to the ‘folksy’ yet ‘international’ outlook typical of Herodotus. Yet, one scholar has described the work of Hecataeus as “a curious false start to history” since despite his critical spirit. It is possible that Herodotus borrowed much material from Hecataeus, as stated by Porphyry in a recorded by Eusebius. But Hecataeus did not record events that had occurred in living memory, unlike Herodotus, Herodotus claims to be better informed than his predecessors by relying on empirical observation to correct their excessive schematism. For example, He argues for continental asymmetry as opposed to the theory of a perfectly circular earth with Europe. Yet, he retains idealizing tendencies, as in his notions of the Danube. His debt to previous authors of prose ‘histories’ might be questionable, however, this point is one of the most contentious issues in modern scholarship. It is on account of the strange stories and the folk-tales he reported that his critics in early modern times branded him “The Father of Lies”. Even his own contemporaries found reason to scoff at his achievement, similarly, the Athenian historian Thucydides dismissed Herodotus as a “logos-writer”. Moreover, Thucydides developed a historical topic more in keeping with the Greek world-view, the interplay of civilizations was more relevant to Greeks living in Anatolia, such as Herodotus himself, for whom life within a foreign civilization was a recent memory. Modern scholars generally turn to Herodotus’s own writing for reliable information about his life, supplemented with ancient yet much later sources, modern accounts of his life typically go something like this, Herodotus was born at Halicarnassus around 484 BC. His name is not mentioned later in the tribute list of the Athenian Delian League, the epic poet Panyassis – a relative of Herodotus – is reported to have taken part in a failed uprising. Herodotus expresses affection for the island of Samos, and this is an indication that he might have lived there in his youth. So it is possible that his family was involved in an uprising against Lygdamis, leading to a period of exile on Samos, Herodotus wrote his Histories in the Ionian dialect, yet he was born in Halicarnassus, which was a Dorian settlement
Herodotus
–
A Roman copy (2nd century AD) of a Greek
bust of Herodotus from the first half of the 4th century BC
Herodotus
–
Fragment from the Histories VIII on
Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 2099, early 2nd century AD
Herodotus
–
Relief of Herodotus by
Jean-Guillaume Moitte (1806),
Louvre, Paris
Herodotus
–
The statue of Herodotus in his hometown of
Halicarnassus, modern
Bodrum, Turkey.
27.
Celts
–
The history of pre-Celtic Europe remains very uncertain. According to one theory, the root of the Celtic languages, the Proto-Celtic language, arose in the Late Bronze Age Urnfield culture of Central Europe. Thus this area is called the Celtic homeland. The earliest undisputed examples of a Celtic language are the Lepontic inscriptions beginning in the 6th century BC. Continental Celtic languages are attested almost exclusively through inscriptions and place-names, Insular Celtic languages are attested beginning around the 4th century in Ogham inscriptions, although it was clearly being spoken much earlier. Celtic literary tradition begins with Old Irish texts around the 8th century, coherent texts of Early Irish literature, such as the Táin Bó Cúailnge, survive in 12th century recensions. Between the 5th and 8th centuries, the Celtic-speaking communities in these Atlantic regions emerged as a cohesive cultural entity. They had a linguistic, religious and artistic heritage that distinguished them from the culture of the surrounding polities. By the 6th century, however, the Continental Celtic languages were no longer in wide use, Insular Celtic culture diversified into that of the Gaels and the Celtic Britons of the medieval and modern periods. A modern Celtic identity was constructed as part of the Romanticist Celtic Revival in Great Britain, Ireland, today, Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, and Breton are still spoken in parts of their historical territories, and Cornish and Manx are undergoing a revival. The first recorded use of the name of Celts – as Κελτοί – to refer to a group was by Hecataeus of Miletus, the Greek geographer, in 517 BC. In the fifth century BC Herodotus referred to Keltoi living around the head of the Danube, the etymology of the term Keltoi is unclear. Possible roots include Indo-European *kʲel ‘to hide’, IE *kʲel ‘to heat’ or *kel ‘to impel’, several authors have supposed it to be Celtic in origin, while others view it as a name coined by Greeks. Linguist Patrizia De Bernardo Stempel falls in the group. Yet he reports Celtic peoples in Iberia, and also uses the ethnic names Celtiberi and Celtici for peoples there, as distinct from Lusitani, pliny the Elder cited the use of Celtici in Lusitania as a tribal surname, which epigraphic findings have confirmed. Latin Gallus might stem from a Celtic ethnic or tribal name originally and its root may be the Proto-Celtic *galno, meaning “power, strength”, hence Old Irish gal “boldness, ferocity” and Welsh gallu “to be able, power”. The tribal names of Gallaeci and the Greek Γαλάται most probably have the same origin, the suffix -atai might be an Ancient Greek inflection. Proto-Germanic *walha is derived ultimately from the name of the Volcae and this means that English Gaul, despite its superficial similarity, is not actually derived from Latin Gallia, though it does refer to the same ancient region
Celts
–
Celtic
stele from
Galicia, 2nd century AD: “APANA·AMBO / LLI· F(ilia)·CELTICA /
SUPERTAM(arica) · / (j) MIOBRI· / AN(norum)· XXV·H(ic)·S(ita)·E(st)· / APANUS·FR(ater)· F(aciendum)·C(uravit)”
Celts
–
Core
Hallstatt territory, by the 6th century BC
Celts
–
Reconstruction of a late La Tène period settlement in Altburg near
Bundenbach (1st century BC).
Celts
–
Reconstruction of a late La Tène period settlement in
Havranok, Slovakia (2nd–1st century BC).
28.
Silius Italicus
–
Silius Italicus, in full Tiberius Catius Asconius Silius Italicus, was a Roman consul, orator, and Latin epic poet of the 1st century AD. His only surviving work is the 17-book Punica, a poem about the Second Punic War. Silius is believed to have been born between AD23 and 35, but his birthplace has not been securely identified, italica, in the Roman province of Hispania i. e. In early life Silius was a renowned orator, later a safe. Silius was generally believed to have voluntarily and enthusiastically become an informer under Nero, prosecuting in court persons whom the emperor wished condemned. He was consul in the year of Neros death, and afterward became a friend and ally of the emperor Vitellius. Silius became proconsul of Asia AD 77-78 as attested in an inscription from Aphrodisias which describes his activities in maintaining the institutions of the city, according to Pliny, he performed his duties well and earned himself a place of importance in the empire. Thus, he outlived the Flavian dynasty without incident, Pliny depicts him spending time in learned conversation at his villas, writing, passionately collecting books and sculpture, and giving recitations of his works. Silius was evidently writing poems as early as AD88 and it is firmly believed that the Punica was written during this retirement period of Silius life. Martial 7.63 indicates that some of the Punica had been published by AD92, Book 14 has been dated tentatively to after AD96 based on the poets treatment of Domitian. His poem contains several passages relating to the Flavians, and Domitian is eulogized as a warrior, the poem mentions primarily Domitian but later seems to discuss the emperor Nerva, although Domitian may be meant by the latter reference. The poets attitude to Domitian tends to be laudatory and friendly, employing the full spectrum of Virgillian panegyrical language, Silius was considered highly educated by contemporaries. The philosopher Epictetus judged him to be the most philosophic spirit among the Romans of his time, and Cornutus and he had two sons, one of whom, Severus, died young. The other, Decianus, went on to become consul, as he aged, he moved permanently to his villas in Campania, not even leaving to attend the accession ceremony of Trajan. Silius idealized and almost worshipped two great Romans of the past, Cicero and Virgil and he purchased Ciceros estate at Tusculum and the tomb of Virgil in Naples, which he restored. Pliny records that Silius especially revered Virgil, celebrating Virgils birthday more lavishly than his own and his dual interests in composing epic poetry and discussing philosophical questions have been compared to the intellectual efforts of his heroes, Virgil and Cicero respectively. Stricken by a tumour after the age of 75, he starved himself to death around 103 AD. Pliny remarks that Silius was the last person to die who was consul under Nero, whether Silius committed his philosophic dialogues and speeches to writing or not, we cannot say
Silius Italicus
–
Silius Italicus
Silius Italicus
–
A painting by
Joseph Wright of Derby depicting Silius Italicus at the
tomb of Virgil.
Silius Italicus
–
The Vision of a Knight by
Raphael is based on an episode in Book 15 of the Punica, the choice of Scipio.
29.
Narbonensis
–
Gallia Narbonensis was a Roman province located in what is now Languedoc and Provence, in southern France. It was also known as Provincia Nostra, from its having been the first Roman province north of the Alps and it became a Roman province in the late 2nd century BC. Its boundaries were defined by the Mediterranean Sea to the south. The western region of Gallia Narbonensis was known as Septimania, the province of Gallia Transalpina was later renamed Gallia Narbonensis, after its newly established capital of Colonia Narbo Martius, a Roman colony founded on the coast in 118 BC. The Romans had called it Provincia Nostra or simply Provincia, the term has survived in the modern French and Occitan names of the eastern part of the area, now a région of France. By the mid-2nd century BC, Rome was trading heavily with the Greek colony of Massalia on the southern coast of Gaul, Massalia, founded by colonists from Phocaea, was by this point centuries old and quite prosperous. The Massalians, for their part, cared more for their economic prosperity than they did for territorial integrity, in this strip of land, the Romans founded the town of Narbonne in 118 BC. At the same time, they built the Via Domitia, the first Roman road in Gaul, connecting Gaul to Hispania, and the Via Aquitania, thus the Romans built a crossroads that made Narbonne an optimal trading center, and Narbonne became a major trading competitor to Massalia. From Narbonne, the Romans established the province of Transalpine Gaul, during this period, the Mediterranean settlements on the coast were threatened by the powerful Gallic tribes to the north, especially the tribes known as the Arverni and the Allobroges. In 123 BC, the Roman general Quintus Fabius Maximus campaigned in the area and defeated the Allobroges and this defeat substantially weakened the Arverni and ensured the further security of Gallia Narbonensis. It was from the capital of Narbonne that Julius Caesar began his Gallic Wars, the area became a Roman province in 121 BC, originally under the name Gallia Transalpina. The name distinguished it from Cisalpine Gaul on the side of the Alps to Rome. In 40 BC, during the Second Triumvirate, Lepidus was given responsibility for Narbonese Gaul, while Mark Antony was given the balance of Gaul. Emperor Diocletians administrative reorganization of the Empire in c. AD314 merged the provinces Gallia Narbonensis, the new dioceses name was later changed to Dioecesis Septem Provinciarum, indicating that Diocletian had demoted the word province to mean a smaller subdivision than in traditional usage. Galla Narbonensis and surrounding areas were incorporated into the Visigothic Kingdom between AD462 and 477, permanently ending Roman political control. After the Gothic takeover, the Visigothic dominions were to be known as Septimania. 210. ]us -- between 210 and 230 Tiberius Claudius Paulinus -- 216-217 Gaius Aemilius Berenicianus Maximus -- between 222 and 235 Iulianus -- between 222 and 235 William Smith, ed. Gallia Transalpina, dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography
Narbonensis
–
The Roman Province of Gallia Narbonensis in 20 BC
Narbonensis
–
The province of Gallia Narbonensis within the Roman Empire, c. 117 AD
30.
Hercules
–
Hercules is the Roman adaptation of the Greek divine hero Heracles, who was the son of Zeus and the mortal Alcmene. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures, the Romans adapted the Greek heros iconography and myths for their literature and art under the name Hercules. In later Western art and literature and in culture, Hercules is more commonly used than Heracles as the name of the hero. Hercules was a figure with contradictory characteristics, which enabled later artists and writers to pick. This article provides an introduction to representations of Hercules in the later tradition, Hercules is known for his many adventures, which took him to the far reaches of the Greco-Roman world. One cycle of these adventures became canonical as the Twelve Labours, one traditional order of the labours is found in the Bibliotheca as follows, Slay the Nemean Lion. Capture the Golden Hind of Artemis, clean the Augean stables in a single day. Obtain the girdle of Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons, obtain the cattle of the monster Geryon. Steal the apples of the Hesperides, Hercules was a favorite subject for Etruscan art, and appears often on bronze mirrors. The Etruscan form Herceler derives from the Greek Heracles via syncope, a mild oath invoking Hercules was a common interjection in Classical Latin. Hercules had a number of myths that were distinctly Roman, one of these is Hercules defeat of Cacus, who was terrorizing the countryside of Rome. The hero was associated with the Aventine Hill through his son Aventinus, Mark Antony considered him a personal patron god, as did the emperor Commodus. Roman brides wore a belt tied with the knot of Hercules. The comic playwright Plautus presents the myth of Hercules conception as a sex comedy in his play Amphitryon, during the Roman Imperial era, Hercules was worshipped locally from Hispania through Gaul. Tacitus records a special affinity of the Germanic peoples for Hercules, in chapter 3 of his Germania, Tacitus states. They say that Hercules, too, once visited them, and they have also those songs of theirs, by the recital of this barditus as they call it, they rouse their courage, while from the note they augur the result of the approaching conflict. For, as their line shouts, they inspire or feel alarm, some have taken this as Tacitus equating the Germanic Þunraz with Hercules by way of interpretatio romana. In the Roman era Hercules Club amulets appear from the 2nd to 3rd century, distributed over the empire, mostly made of gold, a specimen found in Köln-Nippes bears the inscription DEO HER, confirming the association with Hercules
Hercules
–
Hercules fighting the Nemean lion by
Peter Paul Rubens
Hercules
–
Hercules and the
Hydra (ca. 1475) by
Antonio del Pollaiuolo; the hero wears his characteristic lionskin and wields a club
Hercules
–
Hercules capturing the
Erymanthian Boar, by J.M. Félix Magdalena (b. 1941)
Hercules
–
Killing a fire-breathing
Cacus (
Sebald Beham, 1545)
31.
Hospitality
–
Hospitality refers to the relationship between a guest and a host, wherein the host receives the guest with goodwill, including the reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers. Louis, chevalier de Jaucourt describes hospitality in the Encyclopédie as the virtue of a soul that cares for the whole universe through the ties of humanity. Hospitality ethics is a discipline that studies this usage of hospitality, derives from the Latin hospes, meaning host, guest, or stranger. Hospes is formed from hostis, which means stranger or enemy, by metonymy the Latin word Hospital means a guest-chamber, guests lodging, an inn. Hospes is thus the root for the English words host, hospitality, hospice, in ancient cultures hospitality involved welcoming the stranger and offering him food, shelter, and safety. In Ancient Greece, hospitality was right, with the host being expected to make sure the needs of his guests were met, the ancient Greek term xenia, or theoxenia when a god was involved, expressed this ritualized guest-friendship relation. In Greek society a persons ability to abide by the laws of hospitality determined nobility, the Stoics regarded hospitality as a duty inspired by Zeus himself. In India/Nepal hospitality is based on the principle Atithi Devo Bhava and this principle is shown in a number of stories where a guest is revealed to be a god who rewards the provider of hospitality. From this stems the Indian or Nepal practice of graciousness towards guests at home, judaism praises hospitality to strangers and guests based largely on the examples of Abraham and Lot in the Book of Genesis. In Hebrew, the practice is called hachnasat orchim, or welcoming guests, one of the main principles of Pashtunwali is Melmastia. This is the display of hospitality and profound respect to all visitors without any hope of remuneration or favour, pashtuns will go to great lengths to show their hospitality. Celtic societies also valued the concept of hospitality, especially in terms of protection, a host who granted a persons request for refuge was expected not only to provide food and shelter for his/her guest, but to make sure they did not come to harm while under their care. In the West today hospitality is rarely a matter of protection and survival and is associated with etiquette. However, it still involves showing respect for guests, providing for their needs. Cultures and subcultures vary in the extent to which one is expected to show hospitality to strangers, Jacques Derrida offers a model to understand hospitality that divides unconditional hospitality from conditional hospitality. Over the centuries, philosophers have devoted considerable attention to the problem of hospitality, however, hospitality offers a paradoxical situation since inclusion of those who are welcomed in the sacred law of hospitality implies others will be rejected. Julia Kristeva alerts readers to the dangers of “perverse hospitality”, which consists of taking advantage of the vulnerability of aliens to dispossess them, Hospitality serves to reduce the tension in the process of host-guest encounters, producing a liminal zone that combines curiosity about others and fear of strangers. In general terms, the meaning of hospitality centres on the belief that strangers should be assisted and protected while traveling, however, not all voices are in agreement with this concept
Hospitality
–
Bringing in the boar's head. In
heraldry, the boar's head was sometimes used as symbol of hospitality, often seen as representing the host's willingness to feed guests well. It is likewise the symbol of a
number of inns and taverns.
Hospitality
–
Trestles in the medieval
De Stratford coat of arms: The
trestle (also tressle, tressel and threstle) in
heraldry is also used to mean hospitality, as historically the trestle was a tripod used both as a stool and a table support at banquets.
Hospitality
–
Mosaic at
San Vitale, Ravenna, Abraham and the angels, pre-547
32.
Quest
–
A quest serves as a plot device in mythology and fiction, a difficult journey towards a goal, often symbolic or allegorical. Tales of quests figure prominently in the folklore of every nation, in literature, the object of a quest requires great exertion on the part of the hero, who must overcome many obstacles, typically including much travel. The aspect of travel allows the storyteller to showcase exotic locations, the object of a quest may also have supernatural properties, often leading the protagonist into other worlds and dimensions. The moral of a quest tale often centers on the character of the hero. The hero normally aims to obtain something or someone by the quest, the object can be something new, that fulfills a lack in his life, or something that was stolen away from him or someone with authority to dispatch him. Sometimes the hero has no desire to return, Sir Galahads quest for the Holy Grail is to find it, not return with it. A return may, indeed, be impossible, Aeneas quests for a homeland, having lost Troy at the beginning of Virgils Aeneid, the quest object may, indeed, function only as a convenient reason for the heros journey. When a hero is on a quest for several objects that are only a convenient reason for his journey, they are termed plot coupons, most times in a quest, the knight in shining armor wins the heart of a beautiful maiden/ princess. An early quest story tells the tale of Gilgamesh, who seeks a secret to life after the death of Enkidu. Another ancient quest tale, Homers Odyssey, tells of Odysseus, recovering the Golden Fleece is the object of the travels of Jason and the Argonauts in the Argonautica. Psyche, having lost Cupid, hunted through the world for him, other characters can also set forth on quests — the heros older brothers commonly do — but the hero is distinguished by his success. Many medieval romances sent knights out on quests, the term Knight-errant sprang from this, as errant meant roving or wandering. Sir Thomas Malory included many in Le Morte dArthur, the most famous—perhaps in all of western literature—centers on the Holy Grail in Arthurian legend. This story cycle recounts multiple quests, in variants, telling stories both of the heroes who succeed, like Percival or Sir Galahad, and also the heroes who fail. This often sent them into a bewildering forest, despite many references to its pathlessness, the forest repeatedly confronts knights with forks and crossroads, of a labyrinthine complexity. The significiance of their encounters is explained to the knights—particularly those searching for the Holy Grail—by hermits acting as wise old men -- or women. So consistently did knights quest that Miguel de Cervantes set his Don Quixote on mock quests in a parody of chivalric tales, nevertheless, while Don Quixote was a fool, he was and remains a hero of chivalry. Analysis can interpret many stories as a quest in which the character is seeking something that he desires
Quest
–
"
Soria Moria " by
Theodor Kittelsen: a hero glimpses the end of his quest.
Quest
–
A Knight at the Crossroads by
Viktor Vasnetsov
Quest
–
"Vision of the Holy Grail" (1890) by
William Morris
33.
Geryon
–
In Greek mythology, Geryon, son of Chrysaor and Callirrhoe and grandson of Medusa, was a fearsome giant who dwelt on the island Erytheia of the mythic Hesperides in the far west of the Mediterranean. A more literal-minded later generation of Greeks associated the region with Tartessos in southern Iberia, Geryon was often described as a monster with human faces. According to Hesiod Geryon had one body and three heads, whereas the tradition followed by Aeschylus gave him three bodies, a lost description by Stesichoros said that he has six hands and six feet and is winged, there are some mid-sixth-century Chalcidian vases portraying Geryon as winged. Some accounts state that he had six legs as well while others state that the three bodies were joined to one pair of legs, apart from these bizarre features, his appearance was that of a warrior. He owned a two-headed hound named Orthrus, which was the brother of Cerberus, and a herd of magnificent red cattle that were guarded by Orthrus, and a herder Eurytion, son of Erytheia. In the fullest account in the Bibliotheke of Pseudo-Apollodorus, Heracles was required to travel to Erytheia, on the way there, he crossed the Libyan desert and became so frustrated at the heat that he shot an arrow at Helios, the Sun. Helios in admiration of his courage gave Heracles the golden chariot he used to sail across the sea from west to east each night, Heracles used it to reach Erytheia, a favorite motif of the vase-painters. Such a magical conveyance undercuts any literal geography for Erytheia, the red island of the sunset, when Heracles reached Erytheia, no sooner had he landed than he was confronted by the two-headed dog, Orthrus. With one huge blow from his club, Heracles killed the watchdog. Eurytion the herdsman came to assist Orthrus, but Heracles dealt with him the same way, on hearing the commotion, Geryon sprang into action, carrying three shields, three spears, and wearing three helmets. Heracles then had to herd the cattle back to Eurystheus, according to some versions, Heracles drove his remaining cattle past a cave, where Cacus had hidden the stolen animals, and they began calling out to each other. In others, Caca, Cacus sister, told Heracles where he was, Heracles then killed Cacus, and according to the Romans, founded an altar where the Forum Boarium, the cattle market, was later held. To annoy Heracles, Hera sent a gadfly to bite the cattle, irritate them, the hero was within a year able to retrieve them. Hera then sent a flood which raised the level of a river so much and he piled stones into the river to make the water shallower. When he finally reached the court of Eurystheus, the cattle were sacrificed to Hera, in the Aeneid, Vergil may have based the triple-souled figure of Erulus, king of Praeneste, on Geryon and Hercules conquest of Geryon is mentioned in Book VIII. The Herculean Sarcophagus of Genzano features a three headed representation of Geryon, the poet Stesichorus wrote a song of Geryon in the sixth century BC, which was apparently the source of this section in Bibliotheke, it contains the first reference to Tartessus. From the fragmentary papyri found at Oxyrhyncus it is possible that Stesichorus inserted a character, Menoites, Geryon then had an interview with his mother Callirrhoe, who begged him not to confront Heracles. They appear to have expressed doubt as to whether Geryon would prove to be immortal
Geryon
–
Heracles fighting Geryon, amphora by the E Group, ca. 540 BC,
Louvre
Geryon
–
A
Gustave Doré wood engraving of Geryon for
Dante's Inferno
34.
Labours of Hercules
–
The twelve labours of Heracles or Hercules are a series of episodes concerning a penance carried out by Heracles, the greatest of the Greek heroes, whose name was later Romanised as Hercules. They were accomplished over 12 years at the service of King Eurystheus, the episodes were later connected by a continuous narrative. The establishment of a cycle of twelve labours was attributed by the Greeks to an epic poem, now lost, written by Peisander. After Hercules killed his wife and children, he went to the oracle at Delphi and he prayed to the god Apollo for guidance. Hercules was told to serve the king of Mycenae, Eurystheus, during these 12 years, Hercules is sent to perform twelve difficult feats, called labours. Driven mad by Hera, Hercules slew his son, daughter, after recovering his sanity, Hercules deeply regretted his actions, he was purified by King Thespius, then traveled to Delphi to inquire how he could atone for his actions. Hercules despaired at this, loathing to serve a man whom he knew to be far inferior to himself, eventually, he placed himself at Eurystheuss disposal. Eurystheus originally ordered Hercules to perform ten labours, Eurystheus set two more tasks, which Hercules also performed, bringing the total number of tasks to twelve. As they survive, the labours of Hercules are not recounted in any single place, Ruck and Staples assert that there is no one way to interpret the labours, but that six were located in the Peloponnese, culminating with the rededication of Olympia. Six others took the hero farther afield, to places that were, per Ruck, in each case, the pattern was the same, Hercules was sent to kill or subdue, or to fetch back for Eurystheus a magical animal or plant. A famous depiction of the labours in Greek sculpture is found on the metopes of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia, in his labours, Hercules was sometimes accompanied by a male companion, according to Licymnius and others, such as Iolaus, his nephew. Several of the labours involved the offspring of Typhon and his mate Echidna, a traditional order of the labours found in the Bibliotheca is, Slay the Nemean Lion. Clean the Augean stables in a single day, obtain the girdle of Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons. Obtain the cattle of the monster Geryon, steal the apples of the Hesperides. The first labour was to slay the Nemean lion, according to one version of the myth, the Nemean lion took women as hostages to its lair in a cave near Nemea, luring warriors from nearby towns to save the damsel in distress. After entering the cave, the warrior would see the woman, once he was close, the woman would turn into a lion and kill the warrior, devouring his remains and giving the bones to Hades. Hercules wandered the area until he came to the town of Cleonae, another version claims that he met Molorchos, a shepherd who had lost his son to the lion, saying that if he came back within thirty days, a ram would be sacrificed to Zeus. If he did not return within thirty days, it would be sacrificed to the dead Hercules as a mourning offering, while searching for the lion, Hercules fletched some arrows to use against it, not knowing that its golden fur was impenetrable
Labours of Hercules
–
Roman relief (3rd century AD) depicting a sequence of the Labours of Hercules, representing from left to right the
Nemean lion, the
Lernaean Hydra, the
Erymanthian Boar, the
Ceryneian Hind, the
Stymphalian birds, the
Girdle of Hippolyta, the
Augean stables, the
Cretan Bull and the
Mares of Diomedes
Labours of Hercules
–
Hercules and the Nemean lion (
oinochoe, 520-500 BC, from
Vulci)
Labours of Hercules
–
The
Heracles Papyrus, a fragment of a 3rd-century Greek manuscript of a poem about the Labours of Hercules (
Oxyrhynchus Papyrus 2331)
Labours of Hercules
–
Heracles's first six labours were located in the
Peloponnese.
35.
Pliny the Elder
–
In the latter number will be my uncle, by virtue of his own and of your compositions. Pliny is referring to the fact that Tacitus relied on his uncles now missing work on the History of the German Wars. The wind caused by the sixth and largest pyroclastic surge of the eruption would not allow his ship to leave the shore, and Pliny probably died during this event. Plinys dates are pinned to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD79 and a statement of his nephew that he died in his 56th year, Pliny was the son of an equestrian, Gaius Plinius Celer, and his wife, Marcella. Neither the younger nor the elder Pliny mention the names and their ultimate source is a fragmentary inscription found in a field in Verona and recorded by the 16th century Augustinian monk Onofrio Panvinio at Verona. The reading of the inscription depends on the reconstruction, but in all cases the names come through, whether he was an augur and whether she was named Grania Marcella are less certain. Jean Hardouin presents a statement from a source that he claims was ancient, that Pliny was from Verona. Hardouin also cites the conterraneity of Catullus, additional efforts to connect Celer and Marcella with other gentes are highly speculative. Hardouin is the scholar to use his unknown source. He kept statues of his ancestors there, a statue of Pliny on the facade of the Duomo of Como celebrates him as a native son. He had a sister, Plinia, who married into the Caecilii and was the mother of his nephew, Pliny the Younger, whose letters describe his work and study regimen in detail. In one of his letters to Tacitus, Pliny the Younger details how his uncles breakfasts would be light and simple following the customs of our forefathers. This shows that Pliny the Younger wanted it to be conveyed that Pliny the Elder was a good Roman and this statement would have pleased Tacitus. Two inscriptions identifying the hometown of Pliny the Younger as Como take precedence over the Verona theory, one commemorates the youngers career as imperial magistrate and details his considerable charitable and municipal expenses on behalf of the people of Como. Another identifies his father Lucius village as Fecchio near Como and it is likely therefore that Plinia was a local girl and Pliny the Elder, her brother, was from Como. Gaius was a member of the Plinii gens and he did not take his fathers cognomen, Celer, but assumed his own, Secundus. As his adopted son took the same cognomen, Pliny founded a branch, no earlier instances of the Plinii are known. In 59 BC, only about 82 years before Plinys birth, Julius Caesar founded Novum Comum as a colonia to secure the region against the Alpine tribes, whom he had been unable to defeat
Pliny the Elder
–
One of the
Xanten Horse-Phalerae located in the
British Museum, measuring 10.5 cm (4.1 in). It bears an inscription formed from punched dots: PLINIO PRAEF EQ; i.e., Plinio praefecto equitum, "Pliny prefect of cavalry". It was perhaps issued to every man in Pliny's unit. The figure is the bust of the emperor.
Pliny the Elder
–
Pliny the Elder, as imagined by a 19th-century artist. No contemporary depiction of Pliny is known to survive.
Pliny the Elder
–
City and Lake of
Como, painted by
Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, 1834.
Pliny the Elder
–
The temple of
Castor and Pollux in Rome
36.
Lusitania
–
Lusitania or Hispania Lusitana was an ancient Iberian Roman province including approximately all of modern Portugal south of the Douro river and part of modern Spain. It was named after the Lusitani or Lusitanian people and its capital was Emerita Augusta, and it was initially part of the Roman Republic province of Hispania Ulterior, before becoming a province of its own in the Roman Empire. Romans first came to the territory around the mid 2nd century BC, a war with Lusitanian tribes followed, from 155 to 139 BC. In 27 BC, the province was created, the etymology of the name of the Lusitani remains unclear. Luís de Camões epic Os Lusíadas, which portrays Lusus as the founder of Lusitania, extends these ideas, in his work, Geography, the classical geographer Strabo suggests a change had occurred in the use of the name Lusitanian. He mentions a group who had once been called Lusitanians living north of the Douro river but were called in his day Callacans. The Lusitani, who were Indo-European speakers, established themselves in the region in the 6th century BC, some modern authors consider them to be an indigenous people who were Celticized culturally and possibly also through intermarriage. The archeologist Scarlat Lambrino defended the position that the Lusitanians were a group of Celtic origin related to the Lusones. Some have claimed that both came from the Swiss mountains. Others argue that the points to the Lusitanians being a native Iberian tribe. In 179 BC, the praetor Lucius Postumius Albinus celebrated a triumph over the Lusitani, but in 155 BC, on the command of Punicus first and Cesarus after, here they were defeated by the praetor Lucius Mummius. From 152 BC onwards, the Roman Republic had difficulties in recruiting soldiers for the wars in Hispania, in 150 BC, Servius Sulpicius Galba organised a false armistice. Two years after, in 137 BC Decimus Junius Brutus Callaicus led a campaign against the Lusitani. Its northern border was along the Douro river, while on its side its border passed through Salmantica. Felicitas Iulia Olisipo was a Roman law municipality) and 3 other towns had the old Latin status (Ebora, the other 37 were of stipendiarii class, among which Aeminium, Balsa, or Mirobriga. Other cities include Ossonoba, Cetobriga, Collippo or Arabriga, under Diocletian, Lusitania kept its borders and was ruled by a praeses, later by a consularis, finally, in 298 AD, it was united with the other provinces to form the Diocesis Hispaniarum. In the second book in the science fiction novels comprising the Enders Game series, titled Speaker for the Dead and it is explained in the book that it was named for the historical people and territory in Portugal, which the inhabitants are descended from
Lusitania
–
Map of the Roman Hispania around 10 AD, Lusitania is colored in orange
Lusitania
Lusitania
–
Roman Hispania under
Diocletian (AD 293); Lusitania found in the extreme west
Lusitania
–
Tower of Centum Cellas
37.
Provinces of Spain
–
Spain and its autonomous communities are divided into fifty provinces. The layout of Spains provinces closely follows the pattern of the division of the country carried out in 1833. The only major change of provincial borders since that time has been the sub-division of the Canary Islands into two rather than one. Historically, the provinces served mainly as transmission belts for policies enacted in Madrid, the importance of the provinces has declined since the adoption of the system of autonomous communities in the period of the Spanish transition to democracy. They nevertheless remain electoral districts for national elections and as references, for instance in postal addresses. A small town would normally be identified as being in, say, Valladolid province rather than the community of Castile. The provinces were the building-blocks from which the communities were created. Consequently, no province is divided more than one of these communities. Only two capitals of autonomous communities—Mérida in Extremadura and Santiago de Compostela in Galicia—are not also the capitals of provinces, seven of the autonomous communities comprise no more than one province each, Asturias, Balearic Islands, Cantabria, La Rioja, Madrid, Murcia, and Navarra. These are sometimes referred to as uniprovincial communities, the table below lists the provinces of Spain. For each, the city is given, together with an indication of the autonomous community to which it belongs. The names of the provinces and their capitals are ordered according to the form in which they appear in the main Wikipedia articles describing them. Unless otherwise indicated, their Spanish-language names are the same, locally valid names in Spains other co-official languages are indicated where they differ
Provinces of Spain
–
Provinces of Spain
38.
Girona Province
–
Girona is a province of Spain, in the northeastern part of the autonomous community of Catalonia. It is bordered on the northwest by the province of Lleida, on the southwest by the province of Barcelona, on the north by France,756,810 people live in the province. Its capital and largest city is Girona, with an area representing, with a total population of 144,709. The Girona area acts as an industrial, commercial and service hub for a significant part of the province, the municipality of Llívia, which is an exclave separated from the rest of Spain and surrounded by France, is also officially part of this province. Since the division by provinces in Spain and the division by comarques in Catalonia do not completely match, the term comarques of the province of Girona is not accurate
Girona Province
–
Flag
39.
Barcelona Province (Spain)
–
Barcelona is a province of eastern Spain, in the center of the autonomous community of Catalonia. The province is bordered by the provinces of Tarragona, Lleida, and Girona, the capital of the province is the city of Barcelona, and the provincial council is based in the Casa Serra on the Rambla de Catalunya in that city. See also List of municipalities in Barcelona, since the division by provinces in Spain and the division by comarques in Catalonia do not completely agree, the term comarques of the province of Barcelona would not be entirely correct
Barcelona Province (Spain)
–
Flag
40.
Lleida Province
–
The Province of Lleida is one of the four provinces of Catalonia. It is often referred to as Ponent. It is the province within Catalonia that is landlocked. Of the population of 414,015, about 30% live in the capital, some other towns in Lleida province are La Seu dUrgell, Mollerussa, Cervera, Tàrrega, Balaguer. There are 231 municipalities in Lleida, located in the Pyrenees, the Aran Valley is a special comarca with greater autonomy and with Aranese, a variety of Occitan, as its official language. The Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici National Park is located in this province, the province enjoys a thriving fruit-growing industry, including pears and peaches. The plan is on hold for the time being, one example of the pronunciation is the a at the end of the word that is pronounced like an e. The local dialect, properly known as North-Western Catalan is part of the Western Catalan block, the Province of Lleida is the only one in Catalonia where a language other than Catalan is native, Occitan, in the Aran Valley. In terms of its environment, Lleida offers a wide variety of landscapes. In the high area of the Pyrenees, visitors will find nature in its purest form. Special mention should be made of, the Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici National Park, which is the only National Park in Catalonia, and the Alt Pirineu and Cadí-Moixeró natural parks. In the Pre-Pyrenees, amongst other places of interest, visitors find the Collegats-Terradets Territorial Park, the Boumort Natural Hunting Reserve. In contrast, the Lleida Plain offers more peaceful landscapes, in some cases, these are rather sober, while in others, visitors will find fertile land with century-old olive trees, fruit trees, meadows and crop fields. In this area, it is relevant to highlight such spectacular settings as the Estany dIvars i Vila-sana pool. This area is also Spains leading ski destination, Lleida has 11 different ski resorts which are marketed under the brand Neu de Lleida and offer over 450 km of ski slopes. Their 81 ski lifts have the capacity to carry 115,000 skiers per hour and it is also important to pick out some of the many new initiatives that have helped to extend the seasonal offer of Lleidas tourism sector. These buildings coexist with equally interesting modern constructions such as La Llotja, in recent years, improved communications have also helped to strengthen Lleidas position as one of the Spains leading tourist destinations. The Patronat de Turisme of the Diputació de Lleida created the Ara Lleida tourism brand back in 1990 with the aim of promoting the whole of this territory, llista de monuments de Lleida Patronat de Turisme Diputació de Lleida Xanascat the National Network of Youth Hostels of Catalonia
Lleida Province
–
Seu Vella in
Lleida.
Lleida Province
–
Flag
Lleida Province
–
Monastery of Santa Maria de Bellpuig de les Avellanes.
41.
Catalonia
–
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
Catalonia
–
A
Roman aqueduct in
Tarragona.
Catalonia
–
Flag
Catalonia
–
The Medieval church of
Sant Climent in
Taüll, located at the foothills of the
Pyrenees.
Catalonia
–
La Seu Vella, Lleida
42.
Huesca Province
–
Huesca, officially Huesca/Uesca, is a province of northeastern Spain, in northern Aragon. Positioned just south of the central Pyrenees, Huesca borders France, within Spain, Huescas neighboring provinces are Navarre, Zaragoza and Lleida. Covering a primarily mountainous area of 15,626 km², the province of Huesca has a population of 228,566. The low population density,14. 62/km², has meant that Huescas lush valleys, rivers, popular with mountaineers, spelunkers, paragliders, and white water rafters it is also a popular snow skiing destination with notable resorts in Candanchú, Formigal, Astún, Panticosa and Cerler. The Romans colonised the province of Huesca, which formed the part of Hispania Tarraconensis. As a mountainous region, it was difficult to dominate. The modern day province comprises 10 comarcas and 202 municipalities, the following comarcas having their capital in Huesca Province include municipal terms within Zaragoza Province, Bajo Cinca, Mequinenza. Hoya de Huesca, Murillo de Gállego and Santa Eulalia de Gállego, jacetania, Artieda, Mianos, Salvatierra de Esca and Sigüés. Monegros, La Almolda, Bujaraloz, Farlete, Leciñena, Monegrillo, in the easternmost areas of the province, varieties of the Catalan language are spoken, with a few transitional dialects difficult to classify as Aragonese or Catalan. List of municipalities in Huesca Diputación Provincial de Huesca
Huesca Province
–
The Marboré lake with the
Monte Perdido and the
Cilindro de Marboré in the background
Huesca Province
–
"The Egg of
Morrano " or the "
Peña Falconera " rock formation (
Spanish: El Huevo de Morrano).
43.
Aragon
–
Aragon is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces, Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel, the current Statute of Autonomy declares Aragon a nationality of Spain. Aragons northern province of Huesca borders France and is positioned in the middle of the Pyrenees, within Spain, the community is flanked by Catalonia to the east, Valencia and Castile–La Mancha to the south, and Castile and León, La Rioja, and Navarre to the west. Aragon is home to many rivers—most notably, the river Ebro, Spains largest river in volume and it is also home to the Aneto, the highest mountain in the Pyrenees. As of 2015, the population of Aragon was 1,317,847, with more than half of it living in Zaragoza. As of 2015, half of Aragons population,50. 45%, Huesca is the only other city in the region with a population greater than 50,000. The majority of Aragonese citizens,71. 8%, live in the province of Zaragoza,17. 1% in Huesca and 11. 1% in Teruel, the population density of the region is the second lowest in Spain, only 26, 8/km2, after Castilla La Mancha. Only four cities have more than 20,000 inhabitants, Zaragoza 700,000, Huesca 50,000, Teruel 35,000 and Calatayud 20,000. Spanish is the language in most of Aragon, and it is the only official language, understood. The strip-shaped Catalan-speaking area in Aragon is often called La Franja, with such a low population density large areas of Aragon remain wild and relatively untouched. It is a land of natural contrasts, both in climate and geologically, from the green valleys and snow-capped peaks of the Pyrenees to the dry plains. Aragons Pyrenees include splendid and varied mountain landscapes with soaring peaks, deep canyons, dense forests and its rugged peaks include the Aneto, the highest in the range, the misty Monte Perdido, Perdiguero, Cotiella and many others. The park is one of the last sanctuaries of birds of prey in the range. Many beautiful mountain butterflies and flowers can be seen in the summer, the principal valleys in the mountains include those of Hecho, Canfranc, Tena, Benasque and others. The green valleys hide pretty villages with nice Romanesque churches and typical Pyrenean houses with flowers on the balconies, the oldest Romanesque cathedral in Spain is located in the medieval town of Jaca in the very northern part of Huesca Province. In the Pyrenean foothills, or pre-Pyrenees, the Mallos de Riglos are a natural rock formation. Ancient castles nestle on lonely hills, the most famous being the magnificent Loarre Castle, further south, the Ebro valley, irrigated by the river Ebro, is a rich and fertile agricultural area covered with vast fields of wheat, barley and other fruit and vegetable crops. Many beautiful and little-known settlements, castles and Roman ruins dot the landscape here, some of the most notable towns here include Calatayud, Daroca, Sos del Rey Catolico, Caspe and others
Aragon
–
Loarre, one of the most important Romanesque castles in Europe
Aragon
–
Flag
Aragon
–
View from Ordesa valley in the Aragonese Pyrenees
Aragon
–
Circo de Soaso in
Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park
44.
Navarra
–
The first documented use of a name resembling Navarra, Nafarroa, or Naparroa is a reference to navarros, in Eginhards early 9th Century chronicle of the feats of the Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne. Other Royal Frankish Annals feature nabarros, there are two proposed etymologies for the name. Basque nabar, brownish, multicolor (i. e. in contrast to the mountainous lands north of the original County of Navarre. Basque naba, valley, plain + Basque herri, the linguist Joan Coromines considers naba to be linguistically part of a wider Vasconic or Aquitanian language substrate, rather than Basque per se. During the Roman Empire, the Vascones, a tribe who populated the southern slopes of the Pyrenees. In the mountainous north, the Vascones escaped large-scale Roman settlement, not so the flatter areas to the south, which were amenable to large-scale Roman farming—vineyards, olives, and wheat crops. Neither the Visigoths nor the Franks ever completely subjugated the area, the Vascones included neighbouring tribes as of the 7th century. In AD778, the Basques defeated a Frankish army at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass and that kingdom reached its zenith during the reign of King Sancho III, comprising most of the Christian realms to the south of the Pyrenees, and even a short overlordship of Gascony. When Sancho III died in 1035, the Kingdom of Navarre was divided between his sons and it never fully recovered its political power, while its commercial importance increased as traders and pilgrims poured into the kingdom throughout the Way of Saint James. In 1200, Navarre lost the key western Basque districts to Alphonse VIII of Castile, Navarre then contributed with a small but symbolic force of 200 knights to the decisive Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212 against the Almohads. The native line of kings came to an end in 1234, however, the Navarrese kept most of their strong laws and institutions. To the south of the Pyrenees, Navarre was annexed to the Crown of Castile, but keeping a separate status. A Chartered Government was established, and the managed to keep home rule. After the 1839 Convention of Bergara, a version of home rule was passed in 1839. The relocation of customs from the Ebro river to the Pyrenees in 1841 prompted the collapse of Navarre’s customary cross-Pyrenean trade, amid instability in Spain, Carlists took over in Navarre and the rest of the Basque provinces. The end of the Third Carlist War saw a wave of Spanish centralization directly affecting Navarre. In 1893-1894 the Gamazada popular uprising took place centred in Pamplona against Madrids governmental decisions breaching the 1841 chartered provisions. Except for a faction, all parties in Navarre agreed on the need for a new political framework based on home rule within the Laurak Bat
Navarra
–
Coins of Arsaos, Navarre, 150–100 BC, showing
Rome 's stylistic influence
Navarra
–
Flag
Navarra
–
Castle of Xabier
Navarra
–
Carlists in retreat to the Irache monastery during the
Third Carlist War
45.
Navarre
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The first documented use of a name resembling Navarra, Nafarroa, or Naparroa is a reference to navarros, in Eginhards early 9th Century chronicle of the feats of the Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne. Other Royal Frankish Annals feature nabarros, there are two proposed etymologies for the name. Basque nabar, brownish, multicolor (i. e. in contrast to the mountainous lands north of the original County of Navarre. Basque naba, valley, plain + Basque herri, the linguist Joan Coromines considers naba to be linguistically part of a wider Vasconic or Aquitanian language substrate, rather than Basque per se. During the Roman Empire, the Vascones, a tribe who populated the southern slopes of the Pyrenees. In the mountainous north, the Vascones escaped large-scale Roman settlement, not so the flatter areas to the south, which were amenable to large-scale Roman farming—vineyards, olives, and wheat crops. Neither the Visigoths nor the Franks ever completely subjugated the area, the Vascones included neighbouring tribes as of the 7th century. In AD778, the Basques defeated a Frankish army at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass and that kingdom reached its zenith during the reign of King Sancho III, comprising most of the Christian realms to the south of the Pyrenees, and even a short overlordship of Gascony. When Sancho III died in 1035, the Kingdom of Navarre was divided between his sons and it never fully recovered its political power, while its commercial importance increased as traders and pilgrims poured into the kingdom throughout the Way of Saint James. In 1200, Navarre lost the key western Basque districts to Alphonse VIII of Castile, Navarre then contributed with a small but symbolic force of 200 knights to the decisive Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212 against the Almohads. The native line of kings came to an end in 1234, however, the Navarrese kept most of their strong laws and institutions. To the south of the Pyrenees, Navarre was annexed to the Crown of Castile, but keeping a separate status. A Chartered Government was established, and the managed to keep home rule. After the 1839 Convention of Bergara, a version of home rule was passed in 1839. The relocation of customs from the Ebro river to the Pyrenees in 1841 prompted the collapse of Navarre’s customary cross-Pyrenean trade, amid instability in Spain, Carlists took over in Navarre and the rest of the Basque provinces. The end of the Third Carlist War saw a wave of Spanish centralization directly affecting Navarre. In 1893-1894 the Gamazada popular uprising took place centred in Pamplona against Madrids governmental decisions breaching the 1841 chartered provisions. Except for a faction, all parties in Navarre agreed on the need for a new political framework based on home rule within the Laurak Bat
Navarre
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Coins of Arsaos, Navarre, 150–100 BC, showing
Rome 's stylistic influence
Navarre
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Flag
Navarre
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Castle of Xabier
Navarre
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Carlists in retreat to the Irache monastery during the
Third Carlist War
46.
Basque Country (autonomous community)
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The Basque Country is an autonomous community of northern Spain. It includes the Basque provinces of Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa, the Basque Country or Basque Autonomous Community was granted the status of nationality within Spain, attributed by the Spanish Constitution of 1978. The term Basque Country may also refer to the cultural region, the home of the Basque people. The territory has three areas, which are defined by the two parallel ranges of the Basque Mountains. The main range of forms the watershed between the Atlantic and Mediterranean basins. The highest point of the range is in the Aizkorri massif, the three areas are, Formed by many valleys with short rivers that flow from the mountains to the Bay of Biscay, like the Nervión, Urola or Oria. The coast is rough, with cliffs and small inlets. The main features of the coast are the Bilbao Abra Bay and the Estuary of Bilbao, the Urdaibai estuary, between the two mountain ranges, the area is occupied mainly by a high plateau called Llanada Alavesa, where the capital Gasteiz is located. The rivers flow south from the mountains to the Ebro River, the main rivers are the Zadorra River and Bayas River. From the southern mountains to the Ebro is the so-called Rioja Alavesa, some of Spains production of Rioja wine takes place here. Precipitation average is about 1200 mm, the middle section is more influence by the continental climate, but with a varying degree of the northern oceanic climate. This gives warm, dry summers and cold, snowy winters, the Ebro valley has a pure continental climate, winters are cold and dry and summers very warm and dry, with precipitation peaking in spring and autumn. Precipitation is scarce and irregular, as low as 300 mm, almost half of the 2,155,546 inhabitants of the Basque Autonomous Community live in Greater Bilbao, Bilbaos metropolitan area. Of the ten most populous cities, six form part of Bilbaos conurbation, with 28. 2% of the Basque population born outside this region, immigration is crucial to Basque demographics. Over the 20th century most of this came from other parts of Spain, typically from Galicia or Castile. Over recent years, sizeable numbers of population have returned to their birthplaces and most immigration to the Basque country now comes from abroad. Roman Catholicism is, by far, the largest religion in Basque Country, bilbao-Bilbo Vitoria-Gasteiz San Sebastián-Donostia Barakaldo Getxo Irun Portugalete Santurtzi Basauri Errenteria Spanish and Basque are co-official in all territories of the autonomous community. The Basque-speaking areas in the autonomous community are set against the wider context of the Basque language, spoken to the east in Navarre
Basque Country (autonomous community)
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Txindoki mountain from Lazkaomendi
Basque Country (autonomous community)
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Flag
Basque Country (autonomous community)
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Basque coast near
Mundaka
Basque Country (autonomous community)
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Rioja vineyards near the Ebro
47.
North Catalonia
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Northern Catalonia refers to the territory ceded to France by Spain through the signing of the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659. The area corresponds approximately to the modern French département of the Pyrénées-Orientales, the equivalent term in French, Catalogne Nord, is used nowadays, although less often than the more politically neutral Roussillon. Sometimes French Catalonia can also be used, Northern Catalonia forms a triangle between the Pyrenees to the south, the Corbières to the north-west and the Mediterranean Sea to the east. The Roussillon plain in the east, by far the most populated area, is formed by the plains of the Tech, Têt. The districts of Vallespir and Conflent cover the upper valleys of the Tech, the massif of the Canigou,2785 m, dominates much of the territory. The climate is of the Mediterranean type, with hot, dry summers and winters which are relatively mild, at least on the Roussillon plain where snow is rare. The city of Perpignan accounts for over a quarter of the population, over one-third if its area is taken into account. Major road and rail links run north–south through Northern Catalonia between France and Spain, while a line also links Perpignan to Latour-de-Carol via Prades. Haute-Cerdagne is geographically distinct from the rest of Northern Catalonia, lying to the south of the Pyrenean watershed in the valley of the Segre. It is a mountainous and sparsely-populated district, even taking account the town of Llívia which forms an enclave resting under Spanish sovereignty. The district lies on the most direct route between Toulouse and Barcelona, and a line still links the two cities via Latour-de-Carol. Northern Catalonia formed part of the Spanish Marches, established by Charlemagne as a territory against the Moorish forces. As such, it was divided into counties, Rosselló, Vallespir, Conflent north of the Pyrenees. By the end of the century, these counties had gained de facto independence from the Carolingian kings. As the seigneury of the counties became hereditary, the number of Catalan counts fell steadily. One individual often had the charge of several counties, but these were not always transmitted on the basis of primogeniture, the Counts of Rosselló, in alliance with their cousins the Counts of Empuriés, tried to resist this dilution of their power. However the Counts of Barcelona steadily gained suzerainty over the other Catalan counts, the last Count of Rosselló, Girard II, left his title to the Crown of Aragon on his death in 1172 to prevent the territory passing to his illegitimate half-brothers. Royal administration in Catalonia under the Crown of Aragon was organised on the basis of vegueries, in Northern Catalonia, the vegueries followed closely the boundaries of the old counties
North Catalonia
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The
Canigou (2785 m) seen from near Perpignan: the massif is roughly 60 km (37 mi) from the point where the photograph was taken
North Catalonia
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Northern Catalonia with respect to Catalonia, Spain (left); Northern Catalonia within France (right)
48.
Fenolheda
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Fenouillèdes is a French comarca and a traditional Occitan-speaking area in the département of Pyrénées-Orientales. The capital of the comarca is Saint-Paul-de-Fenouillet, fenouillèdes has been part of France since the Treaty of Corbeil of 1258. In 1790, during the French Revolution, it was incorporated in a newly created département along with the Roussillon comarques, corbières Massif information site in French La Fenolleda Information and history in Catalan Encyclopaedia
Fenolheda
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Fenolheda road sign, introduced by
Christian Bourquin
Fenolheda
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Fenouillèdes in Pyrénées-Orientales
49.
Aude
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Aude is a department in south-central France named after the river Aude. The local council also calls the department Cathar Country, Aude is also a frequent feminine French given name in Francophone countries, deriving initially from Aude or Oda, a wife of Bertrand, Duke of Aquitaine, and mother of Saint Hubertuss brother Eudo. Aude was the name of Rolands fiancée in the chansons de geste, Aude is located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Pyrenees mountains. It is part of the current region of Occitanie and it is surrounded by the departments of Pyrénées-Orientales, Ariège, Haute-Garonne, Tarn, and Hérault, with the Golfe du Lion on the east. In the east, lagoons or coastal lakes form a barrier between land and sea and these were formed by accumulated sediments brought down by the rivers Aude, Orb and Hérault. There are many lakes of brackish water. This environment is demanding for flora and fauna, as it suffers from the rigours of sea, sun, dryness, halophile plants grow there and it is also noted for animals such as the pink flamingo and white stilt. Inland to the east, shrub and scrub dominate the landscape of the drylands of the Aude and this landscape is the result of forest clearance and was maintained by the raising of livestock. The flora is varied and typical with many species of orchids, the Sault countryside is dominated by beech groves and fir plantations up to the mountains. These forests are known for their mushrooms and have a flora and fauna including the Pyrenean lily. To the north and west, the Black Mountain country is made up of forests of oak, the Lauragais is a wooded landscape where grain farming has shaped the hills. There are bodies of water like the Lac de la Ganguise, finally, the high valley of the Aude, otherwise called the Razès, consists of a riparian forest made of beech, alder, poplar or ash. It includes some peatlands that are rare in southern France. The landscapes of Aude can be explained by geology, in the south, there are sedimentary rocks folded during the formation of the Pyrenees. To the north and centre, the rocks are less folded. At the extreme east, near the Mediterranean, the rocks are carved by normal faults which are due to the opening of the Golfe du Lion. The Black Mountain and Minervois to the north consist of schist and these ancient rocks were formed over 300 million years ago and deformed by the formation of the Hercynian chain. The Montagne dAlaric is a fold in the shape of a vault
Aude
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Carcassonne, préfecture of the department traversed by the
Aude river.
Aude
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Coat of arms
Aude
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Mountain landscape in the
Razès at
Quillan
Aude
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Skull of
Tautavel Man discovered at
Tautavel, not far from Aude
50.
Haute-Garonne
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Haute-Garonne is a department in the southwest of France named after the Garonne river. Its main city and capital is Toulouse, Haute-Garonne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from part of the province of Languedoc. The reduction in its area resulted from a decree dated 21 November 1808. The new department, created in response to the pleadings of various locally powerful politicians, the districts lost to Tarn-et-Garonne in 1808 were those of Montech and Castelsarrasin. Haute-Garonne is part of the current region of Occitanie and is surrounded by the departments of Hautes-Pyrénées, Gers, Tarn-et-Garonne, Tarn, Aude and it also borders Spain in the south. The department is crossed by the course of the Garonne River for nearly 200 kilometers. The borders of the department follow the river, the Garonne enters France from Spain at the town of Fos, and goes through Toulouse and leaves the department. The extreme south of the department lies in the Pyrenees mountain range and is very mountainous, the highest elevation is the Peak of Perdiguère, at 3,222 meters above sea level. This department was the base of former Prime Minister Lionel Jospin. The President of the General Council is Pierre Izard of the Socialist Party, the inhabitants of the department are called Haut-Garonnais. The greatest population concentration is around Toulouse, the south of the department is quite sparsely populated. More than a million people inhabited the department at the last census in 1999, young people are well represented with 55% of the population under the age of 40 and of those, 16% are between the ages of 20 and 29. This is because Toulouse is a university town, the largest towns are, The department has four ski resorts
Haute-Garonne
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Prefecture building of the Haute-Garonne department, in Toulouse
Haute-Garonne
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Capitole de Toulouse at night
Haute-Garonne
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Château de
Laréole
Haute-Garonne
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Pyrenees seen from
Bagnères-de-Luchon
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "article name needed". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
