1.
Geographic coordinate system
–
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.
2.
Greece
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Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, historically also known as Hellas, is a country in southeastern Europe, with a population of approximately 11 million as of 2015. Athens is the capital and largest city, followed by Thessaloniki. Greece is strategically located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, situated on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the northeast. Greece consists of nine regions, Macedonia, Central Greece, the Peloponnese, Thessaly, Epirus, the Aegean Islands, Thrace, Crete. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of the mainland, the Ionian Sea to the west, the Cretan Sea and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Greece has the longest coastline on the Mediterranean Basin and the 11th longest coastline in the world at 13,676 km in length, featuring a vast number of islands, eighty percent of Greece is mountainous, with Mount Olympus being the highest peak at 2,918 metres. From the eighth century BC, the Greeks were organised into various independent city-states, known as polis, which spanned the entire Mediterranean region and the Black Sea. Greece was annexed by Rome in the second century BC, becoming a part of the Roman Empire and its successor. The Greek Orthodox Church also shaped modern Greek identity and transmitted Greek traditions to the wider Orthodox World, falling under Ottoman dominion in the mid-15th century, the modern nation state of Greece emerged in 1830 following a war of independence. Greeces rich historical legacy is reflected by its 18 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, among the most in Europe, Greece is a democratic and developed country with an advanced high-income economy, a high quality of life, and a very high standard of living. A founding member of the United Nations, Greece was the member to join the European Communities and has been part of the Eurozone since 2001. Greeces unique cultural heritage, large industry, prominent shipping sector. It is the largest economy in the Balkans, where it is an important regional investor, the names for the nation of Greece and the Greek people differ from the names used in other languages, locations and cultures. The earliest evidence of the presence of human ancestors in the southern Balkans, dated to 270,000 BC, is to be found in the Petralona cave, all three stages of the stone age are represented in Greece, for example in the Franchthi Cave. Neolithic settlements in Greece, dating from the 7th millennium BC, are the oldest in Europe by several centuries and these civilizations possessed writing, the Minoans writing in an undeciphered script known as Linear A, and the Mycenaeans in Linear B, an early form of Greek. The Mycenaeans gradually absorbed the Minoans, but collapsed violently around 1200 BC and this ushered in a period known as the Greek Dark Ages, from which written records are absent. The end of the Dark Ages is traditionally dated to 776 BC, the Iliad and the Odyssey, the foundational texts of Western literature, are believed to have been composed by Homer in the 7th or 8th centuries BC. With the end of the Dark Ages, there emerged various kingdoms and city-states across the Greek peninsula, in 508 BC, Cleisthenes instituted the worlds first democratic system of government in Athens
Greece
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Fresco displaying the Minoan ritual of "bull leaping", found in
Knossos,
Crete.
Greece
–
Flag
Greece
–
The
Lion Gate,
Mycenae
Greece
–
The
Parthenon on the
Acropolis of Athens is one of the best known symbols of
classical Greece.
3.
Administrative regions of Greece
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The administrative regions of Greece are the countrys thirteen first-level administrative entities, each comprising several second-level units, originally prefectures and, since 2011, regional units. The current regions were established in July 1986, by decision of then-Interior Minister Menios Koutsogiorgas as a second-level administrative entities, as part of a decentralization process inspired by then-Interior Minister Alekos Papadopoulos, they were accorded more powers in the 1997 Kapodistrias reform of local and regional government. They were transformed into separate entities by the 2010 Kallikratis Plan. In the 2011 changes, the general secretary was replaced with a popularly elected regional governor. Many powers of the prefectures, which were abolished or reformed into regional units, were transferred to the region level. The regional organs of the government were in turn replaced by seven decentralized administrations. Bordering the region of Central Macedonia there is one region, Mount Athos. It is located on the easternmost of the three large peninsulas jutting into the Aegean from the Chalcidice Peninsula, ISO 3166-2, GR Administrative divisions of Greece
Administrative regions of Greece
–
Administrative regions of Greece Διοικητικές περιφέρειες της Ελλάδας (
Greek)
4.
Thessaly
–
Thessaly is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thessaly was known as Aeolia, Thessaly became part of the modern Greek state in 1881, after four and a half centuries of Ottoman rule. Since 1987 it has formed one of the countrys 13 regions and is further sub-divided into 5 regional units and 25 municipalities, the capital of the region is Larissa. Thessaly lies in central Greece and borders the regions of Macedonia on the north, Epirus on the west, Central Greece on the south, the Thessaly region also includes the Sporades islands. In Homers epic, the Odyssey, the hero Odysseus visited the kingdom of Aeolus, the Plain of Thessaly, which lies between Mount Oeta/Othrys and Mount Olympus, was the site of the battle between the Titans and the Olympians. According to legend, Jason and the Argonauts launched their search for the Golden Fleece from the Magnesia Peninsula, Thessaly was home to extensive Neolithic and Chalcolithic cultures around 6000–2500 BC. Mycenaean settlements have also discovered, for example at the sites of Iolcos, Dimini. In Archaic and Classical times, the lowlands of Thessaly became the home of baronial families, in the summer of 480 BC, the Persians invaded Thessaly. The Greek army that guarded the Vale of Tempe evacuated the road before the enemy arrived, not much later, Thessaly surrendered to the Persians. The Thessalian family of Aleuadae joined the Persians subsequently, in the 4th century BC, after the Greco-Persian Wars had long ended, Jason of Pherae transformed the region into a significant military power, recalling the glory of Early Archaic times. Shortly after, Philip II of Macedon was appointed Archon of Thessaly, the Avars had arrived in Europe in the late 550s. They asserted their authority over many Slavs, who were divided into numerous petty tribes, many Slavs were galvanized into an effective infantry force, by the Avars. In the 7th century the Avar-Slav alliance began to raid the Byzantine Empire, laying siege to Thessalonica, relations between the Slavs and Greeks were probably peaceful apart from the initial settlement and intermittent uprisings. Being agriculturalists, the Slavs probably traded with the Greeks inside towns and it is likely that the re-Hellenization had already begun by way of this contact. This process would be completed by a newly reinvigorated Byzantine Empire, with the abatement of Arab-Byzantine Wars, the Byzantine Empire began to consolidate its power in those areas of mainland Greece occupied by Proto-Slavic tribes. Following the campaigns of the Byzantine general Staurakios in 782–783, the Byzantine Empire recovered Thessaly, apart from military expeditions against Slavs, the re-Hellenization process begun under Nicephorus I involved transfer of peoples. Many Slavs were moved to other parts of the such as Anatolia. In return, many Greeks from Sicily and Asia Minor were brought to the interior of Greece, to increase the number of defenders at the Emperors disposal, even non-Greeks such as Armenians were transferred to the Balkans
Thessaly
–
First Ancient Theatre, Larissa.
Thessaly
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Pineios river with the church of
St. Achilles, patron saint of
Larissa, in the background.
Thessaly
–
"The Hyperian Fountain at
Pherae ",
Edward Dodwell.
5.
Magnesia (regional unit)
–
Magnesia, deriving from the tribe name Magnetes, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Thessaly and its capital is the city of Volos. About 70% of the population of Magnesia live in the Greater Volos area, which is the second-largest city in Thessaly, according to the most recent census, the population stands at 190,010. The regional unit hosts 2,000,000 tourists annually, Magnesia is represented in the Greek Parliament by five seats. Its main agricultural products are wheat, cotton, tomatoes, grapes, olives, apples, a prominent geographic feature of Magnesia is the Pagasetic Gulf, a bay of the Aegean Sea. The Pelion mountain range closes off the Gulf on the east and south side, the highest peak of the wooded Pelion is Pourianos Stavros or Xeforti. On the south edge of Magnesia peninsula Tisaio mountain is found, mt. Maurovouni is the northeasternmost mountain of the regional unit and extends to the neighboring regional unit of Larissa. The southwest border of Magnesia is formed by the Othrys, with its highest peak Gerakovouni, the interior of Magnesia has two plains. The plains southwest of the Pagasetic Gulf arecalled Almyros plains, while the plains northwest of the Gulf are called the Volos-Velestino plain, the hydrological network of Magnesia is not particularly rich and is characterized by the absence of big rivers. The waters coming from Pelion shape the rivers Anavros, Platanorema, in the North section of Magnesia, Lake Karla was formerly found. Lake Karla was drained in 1962, but attempts have been made for its partial restoration, on the bight of Sourpi, next to Amaliapolis a coastal wetland is located, with various species of migratory birds. This wetland together with the forest of Kouri - an infrequent lowland of Oak tree forest close to Almyros - is included in the list of the regions of the European Network Natura 2000. The average temperature is 17 degrees Celsius and the rainfall about 540 millimetres per year. Heat waves and intense cold periods are rare, during the summer the temperature rises up to about 37 to 38 °C in August. The climate varies in different parts of the prefecture, close to the Pagasetic Gulf conditions are humid, in Nea Ionia it is dry and in Velestino. In winter there is significant snowfall in the mountains and often freezing temperatures, the regional unit Magnesia is subdivided into 5 municipalities. These are, Almyros Rigas Feraios South Pelion Volos Zagora-Mouresi Magnesia was created as a prefecture, in addition to the territory of the present regional unit of Magnesia, the Magnesia Prefecture included the Northern Sporades group of islands. As a part of the 2011 Kallikratis government reform, the prefecture was split into the Magnesia, at the same time, the municipalities were reorganised, according to the table below
Magnesia (regional unit)
–
Pagasetic Gulf
Magnesia (regional unit)
–
Municipalities of Magnesia and the Sporades
Magnesia (regional unit)
–
Pelion
Magnesia (regional unit)
–
Volos
6.
Administrative divisions of Greece
–
Following the implementation on 1 January 2011 of the Kallikratis Plan, the administrative divisions of Greece consist of two main levels, the regions and the municipalities. In addition, a number of decentralized administrations overseeing the regions exist as part of the Ministry of the Interior, the old prefectures were either abolished and split up or transformed into regional units in 2011. The Autonomous Monastic State of the Holy Mountain is an autonomous self-governing entity, the first level of government is constituted by the municipalities, which have resulted from merging several former municipalities and communities. They are run by a mayor and a council, elected every 5 years. The municipalities are subdivided into municipal units and finally into communities. Although communities have their own councils, their role is purely advisory to the municipal-level government, the second level is composed of the regions, run by a regional governor and a regional council, popularly elected every 5 years. The regions are divided into units, usually but not always coterminous with the former prefectures. Each regional unit is headed by a governor, drawn from the same political block as the regional governor. The former system of 13 regions,54 prefectures and 1033 municipalities and communities was replaced by 7 decentralized administrations,13 regions and 325 municipalities, the first elections to Greek local government areas were held between 7 November and 14 November 2010
Administrative divisions of Greece
–
Administrative divisions of Greece Διοικητική διαίρεση της Ελλάδας (
Greek)
7.
Volos
–
Volos is a coastal port city in Thessaly situated midway on the Greek mainland, about 330 kilometres north of Athens and 220 kilometres south of Thessaloniki. It is the capital of the Magnesia regional unit, Volos is the only outlet to the sea from Thessaly, the countrys largest agricultural region. With a population of 144,449, it is an important industrial centre, Volos is the newest of the Greek port cities, with a large proportion of modern buildings erected following the catastrophic earthquakes of 1955. It includes the units of Volos, Nea Ionia and Iolkos. The economy of the city is based on manufacturing, trade, services, home to the University of Thessaly, the city also offers facilities for conferences, exhibitions and major sporting, cultural and scientific events. Volos participated in the 2004 Olympic Games, and the city has played host to other athletic events. Volos hosted the 7th International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics from 27 July to 5 August 2013, built at the innermost point of the Pagasetic Gulf and at the foot of Mount Pilio. The city spreads in the plain on the foothills of Mount Pelion, bordering the town of Agria to the east, Volos municipality includes both towns, along with many nearby villages, including Makrinitsa and Portaria. Volos is the a major port of mainland Greece in the Aegean sea, with connection by ferry and hydrofoil to the nearby Sporades Islands. There are also connections to Limnos, Lesvos, Chios and Skyros, modern Volos is built on the area of the ancient cities of Demetrias, Pagasae and Iolcos. Demetrias was established by Demetrius Poliorcetes, King of Macedon, Iolkos, Iolcos or Iolcus, was the homeland of mythological hero Jason, who boarded the ship Argo accompanied by the Argonauts and sailed in quest of the Golden Fleece to Colchis. During the course of the 8th century, mainland Greece was subjected to numerous Bulgarian raids, at the end of the century, a large scale Bulgarian military expedition headed by the chieftain Akamir was launched from Belasica. The Bulgarians plundered Thessalia, from their encampment which was located between modern day Volos and Velestino, the Byzantines called those Bulgarians Velegizitas or Vielesti. Volos, Velestino, Zagora and many placenames in Magnesia originate from that period and are of Slavic origin. The first reference to Golos comes from a Byzantine document dated to 1333, Golos either originated from the Slavic word Golos, which means seat of administration. Or from Gol which means bald, naked, as the area has sparse vegetation, two alternative theories allude to a Greek origin through the words βολή, as fishermen threw their nets into the sea from that area, and βώλος. In the 14 century Volos came under the control of Serbia, subsequent conquest by the Republic of Venice, the city marked a Southern border of Vilayet-i Rumeli-i Şarki in the Ottoman Empire, known then as Golos. Volos is a new city, beginning its strongest growth in the mid-19th century
Volos
–
Volos seaside by night
Volos
–
The return of the Argonauts by
Constantine Volanakis (1837–1907).
Volos
–
The port of Volos by
Constantine Volanakis (c.1875).
Volos
–
Modern sculpture of
Argo, the mythic ship of the
Argonauts, at the port.
8.
Aisonia
–
Aisonia is a former municipality in Magnesia, Thessaly, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Volos, the municipal unit has an area of 75.504 km2. The seat of the municipality was in Dimini, the municipal unit Aisonia is subdivided into the following communities, Dimini Sesklo Aisonia on GTP Travel Pages
Aisonia
–
Aisonia Αισωνία
9.
Eastern European Time
–
Eastern European Time is one of the names of UTC+02,00 time zone,2 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. The zone uses daylight saving time, so that it uses UTC+03,00 during the summer, a number of African countries use UTC+02,00 all year long, where it is called Central Africa Time, although Egypt and Libya also use the term Eastern European Time. The following countries, parts of countries, and territories use Eastern European Time all year round, Egypt, since 21 April 2015, used EEST from 1988–2010, Kaliningrad Oblast, since 26 October 2014, also used EET in years 1945 and 1991–2011. Libya, since 27 October 2013, switched from Central European Time, used year-round EET from 1980–1981, 1990–1996 and 1998–2012. Belarus, in years 1922–30 and 1990–2011 In Poland this time was used in years 1918–22, in time of World War II, Germany implemented MET in east occupied territories. Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol used EET as part of Ukraine in years 1991-94 and 1996-2014 Turkey, used EET in years 1910-1978, now uses year round DST timezone called Further-eastern European Time or Turkey Time. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus also uses FET, sometimes, due to its use on Microsoft Windows, FLE Standard Time or GTB Standard Time are used to refer to Eastern European Time. Since political, in addition to geographical, criteria are used in the drawing of time zones. The EET time zone, were it drawn by purely geographical terms, the easternmost part of the Republic of Macedonia, including the city of Strumica. The absolutely easternmost part of Serbia, in the Pirot District, the easternmost town in Norway, Vardø, lies at 30°51 E, which is located east of even of the central meridian of UTC+2, i. e. east of Istanbul and Alexandria. The Norwegian-Russian border is the place where CET borders Moscow time. There is a point at the Norway-Finland-Russia tripoint, near the town of Rayakoski. Belarus is located between 23°11′E and 32°47′E and is fully located with the physical UTC+2 area, but it uses UTC+3 year around. This also includes the city of Anapa, at the westernmost tip of the Krasnodar Krai near the entrance to the Sea of Azov, the Norway–Russia–Finland tri-zone point at Muotkavaara is surrounded by three different times in winter, two in summer. It had three time zones year-around before 2014, two of the four tripoints of Belarus and the tripoint of the Kaliningrad Region are surrounded by three different times in winter
Eastern European Time
–
light blue
10.
Daylight saving time
–
Daylight saving time is the practice of advancing clocks during summer months by one hour so that evening daylight lasts an hour longer, while sacrificing normal sunrise times. Typically, regions that use Daylight Savings Time adjust clocks forward one hour close to the start of spring, American inventor and politician Benjamin Franklin proposed a form of daylight time in 1784. New Zealander George Hudson proposed the idea of saving in 1895. The German Empire and Austria-Hungary organized the first nationwide implementation, starting on April 30,1916, many countries have used it at various times since then, particularly since the energy crisis of the 1970s. The practice has both advocates and critics, DST clock shifts sometimes complicate timekeeping and can disrupt travel, billing, record keeping, medical devices, heavy equipment, and sleep patterns. Computer software often adjusts clocks automatically, but policy changes by various jurisdictions of DST dates, industrialized societies generally follow a clock-based schedule for daily activities that do not change throughout the course of the year. The time of day that individuals begin and end work or school, North and south of the tropics daylight lasts longer in summer and shorter in winter, with the effect becoming greater as one moves away from the tropics. However, they will have one hour of daylight at the start of each day. Supporters have also argued that DST decreases energy consumption by reducing the need for lighting and heating, DST is also of little use for locations near the equator, because these regions see only a small variation in daylight in the course of the year. After ancient times, equal-length civil hours eventually supplanted unequal, so civil time no longer varies by season, unequal hours are still used in a few traditional settings, such as some monasteries of Mount Athos and all Jewish ceremonies. This 1784 satire proposed taxing window shutters, rationing candles, and waking the public by ringing church bells, despite common misconception, Franklin did not actually propose DST, 18th-century Europe did not even keep precise schedules. However, this changed as rail transport and communication networks came to require a standardization of time unknown in Franklins day. Modern DST was first proposed by the New Zealand entomologist George Hudson, whose shift work job gave him time to collect insects. An avid golfer, he also disliked cutting short his round at dusk and his solution was to advance the clock during the summer months, a proposal he published two years later. The proposal was taken up by the Liberal Member of Parliament Robert Pearce, a select committee was set up to examine the issue, but Pearces bill did not become law, and several other bills failed in the following years. Willett lobbied for the proposal in the UK until his death in 1915, william Sword Frost, mayor of Orillia, Ontario, introduced daylight saving time in the municipality during his tenure from 1911 to 1912. Starting on April 30,1916, the German Empire and its World War I ally Austria-Hungary were the first to use DST as a way to conserve coal during wartime, Britain, most of its allies, and many European neutrals soon followed suit. Russia and a few other countries waited until the year
Daylight saving time
–
Ancient
water clock that lets hour lengths vary with season.
Daylight saving time
–
G. V. Hudson invented modern DST, proposing it first in 1895.
Daylight saving time
–
Retailers generally favor DST.
United Cigar Stores hailed a 1918 DST bill.
Daylight saving time
–
William Willett independently proposed DST in 1907 and advocated it tirelessly.
11.
Eastern European Summer Time
–
Eastern European Summer Time is one of the names of UTC+3 time zone,3 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. It is used as a daylight saving time in some European and Middle Eastern countries. During the winter periods, Eastern European Time is used, since 1996 European Summer Time has been observed from the last Sunday in March to the last Sunday in October, previously the rules were not uniform across the European Union. Syria, since 1983 Ukraine, Moscow Summer Time in years 1981–89, regular EEST from 1992 In one year 1991 EEST was used also in Moscow, egypt has previously used EEST from 1957–2010 and 2014–2015. Turkey, has previously used EEST from 1970-1978 EEST, Moscow Summer Time from 1979–1983, and EEST from 1985-2016
Eastern European Summer Time
–
light blue
12.
Neolithic Greece
–
Neolithic Greece is an archaeological term used to refer to the Neolithic phase of Greek history beginning with the spread of farming to Greece in 7000–6500 BC. The Neolithic Revolution reached Europe beginning in 7000–6500 BC when agriculturalists from the Near East entered the Greek peninsula from Anatolia mainly by island-hopping through the Aegean Sea. Modern archaeologists have divided the Neolithic period of Greek history into six phases, Pre-Pottery, Early Neolithic, Middle Neolithic, Late Neolithic I, Late Neolithic II and these are the estimated populations of hamlets, villages, and towns of Neolithic Greece over time. Note that there are problems with estimating the sizes of individual settlements. The Pre-Ceramic period of Neolithic Greece is characterized by the absence of baked clay pots, settlements consisted of subterranean huts partially dug into the ground with communities inhabited by 50 to 100 people in places such as Argissa, Dendra and Franchthi. The inhabitants cultivated various crops, engaged in fishing, hunting, animal husbandry, developed tools and produced jewellery from clay, seashells, hearths and ovens were constructed in open spaces between the huts and were commonly used. The Middle Neolithic period is characterized by new developments such as houses constructed with stone foundations. In the realm of art, the motif was found on seals and jewellery of the Early Neolithic period and, to a lesser extent. During this period, new crops were cultivated such as wheat, rye, millet. Animals such as sheep and goats were raised for their wool, the Late Neolithic I period was succeeded by the Late Neolithic II period where economic and social life in existing settlements continued uninterruptedly. The Final Neolithic period entails the transition from the Neolithic farming and stock-rearing economy to the economy of the Early Bronze Age. According to Gareth Alun Owens, the Neolithic period saw the development of Minoan and Greek as distinct Indo-European languages in Crete and mainland Greece respectively
Neolithic Greece
–
Neolithic Greece
13.
Eastern Europe
–
Eastern Europe, also known as East Europe, is the eastern part of the European continent. There is no consensus on the area it covers, partly because the term has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, cultural. There are almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region, a related United Nations paper adds that every assessment of spatial identities is essentially a social and cultural construct. One definition describes Eastern Europe as an entity, the region lying in Europe with main characteristics consisting in Byzantine, Orthodox. Another definition was created during the Cold War and used more or less synonymously with the term Eastern Bloc, a similar definition names the formerly communist European states outside the Soviet Union as Eastern Europe. Historians and social scientists generally view such definitions as outdated or relegating, several definitions of Eastern Europe exist today, but they often lack precision or are extremely general. These definitions vary both across cultures and among experts, even scientists, recently becoming more and more imprecise. The Ural Mountains, Ural River, and the Caucasus Mountains are the land border of the eastern edge of Europe. Eurovoc, a multilingual thesaurus maintained by the Publications Office of the European Union, provides entries for 23 EU languages, of these, those in italics are classified as Eastern Europe in this source. Other official web-pages of the European Union classify some of the countries as strictly Central European. The East–West Schism is the break of communion and theology between what are now the Eastern and Western churches which began in the 11th century and lasts until this very day and it divided Christianity in Europe, and consequently the world, into Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. Since the Great Schism of 1054, Europe has been divided between Roman Catholic and Protestant churches in the West, and the Eastern Orthodox Christian churches in the east, due to this religious cleavage, Eastern Orthodox countries are often associated with Eastern Europe. A cleavage of this sort is, however, often problematic, for example, Greece is overwhelmingly Orthodox, the fall of the Iron Curtain brought the end of the East–West division in Europe, but this geopolitical concept is sometimes still used for quick reference by the media. The Baltic states have seats in the Nordic Council as observer states and they also are members of the Nordic-Baltic Eight whereas Eastern European countries formed their own alliance called the Visegrád Group. Estonia Latvia Lithuania The Caucasus nations may be included in the definitions of Eastern Europe, the extent of their geographic or political affiliation with Europe varies by country and source. All three states are members of the European Unions Eastern Partnership program and the Euronest Parliamentary Assembly, on 12 January 2002, the European Parliament noted that Armenia and Georgia may enter the EU in the future. Georgia — in modern geography, Georgia has been classified as part of Eastern Europe. Under the European Union’s geographic criteria, Georgia is viewed as part of Eastern Europe and is the only Caucasus country to be actively seeking EU membership and it is a member of Council of Europe and Eurocontrol
Eastern Europe
–
Division between the Eastern and Western Churches
Eastern Europe
–
Geographic features of Eastern Europe
14.
Type site
–
In archaeology a type site is a site that is considered the model of a particular archaeological culture. For example, the site of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A culture is Jericho. A type site is often the eponym. For example, the site of the pre-Celtic/Celtic Bronze Age Hallstatt culture is the lakeside village of Hallstatt. In geology the term is used similarly for a site considered to be typical of a rock formation etc. A type site contains artifacts, in an assemblage, that are typical of that culture, type sites are often the first or foundational site discovered about the culture they represent. The use of term is therefore similar to that of the specimen type in biology or locus typicus in geology. New Caledonia, of the Lapita culture
Type site
–
Hallstatt
Amber Choker
necklace.
Type site
–
Archaeological map of distribution of the
Celtic Hallstatt
culture c. 800–400 BCE.
Type site
–
19th century illustration of Hallstatt swords.
15.
Neolithic
–
It ended when metal tools became widespread. The Neolithic is a progression of behavioral and cultural characteristics and changes, including the use of wild and domestic crops, the beginning of the Neolithic culture is considered to be in the Levant about 10, 200–8800 BC. It developed directly from the Epipaleolithic Natufian culture in the region, whose people pioneered the use of wild cereals, which then evolved into true farming. The Natufian period was between 12,000 and 10,200 BC, and the so-called proto-Neolithic is now included in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic between 10,200 and 8800 BC. By 10, 200–8800 BC, farming communities arose in the Levant and spread to Asia Minor, North Africa, Mesopotamia is the site of the earliest developments of the Neolithic Revolution from around 10,000 BC. Early Neolithic farming was limited to a range of plants, both wild and domesticated, which included einkorn wheat, millet and spelt, and the keeping of dogs, sheep. By about 6900–6400 BC, it included domesticated cattle and pigs, the establishment of permanently or seasonally inhabited settlements, not all of these cultural elements characteristic of the Neolithic appeared everywhere in the same order, the earliest farming societies in the Near East did not use pottery. Early Japanese societies and other East Asian cultures used pottery before developing agriculture, unlike the Paleolithic, when more than one human species existed, only one human species reached the Neolithic. The term Neolithic derives from the Greek νέος néos, new and λίθος líthos, stone, the term was invented by Sir John Lubbock in 1865 as a refinement of the three-age system. In the Middle East, cultures identified as Neolithic began appearing in the 10th millennium BC, early development occurred in the Levant and from there spread eastwards and westwards. Neolithic cultures are attested in southeastern Anatolia and northern Mesopotamia by around 8000 BC. The total excavated area is more than 1,200 square yards, the Neolithic 1 period began roughly 10,000 years ago in the Levant. A temple area in southeastern Turkey at Göbekli Tepe dated around 9500 BC may be regarded as the beginning of the period. This site was developed by nomadic tribes, evidenced by the lack of permanent housing in the vicinity. At least seven stone circles, covering 25 acres, contain limestone pillars carved with animals, insects, Stone tools were used by perhaps as many as hundreds of people to create the pillars, which might have supported roofs. Other early PPNA sites dating to around 9500–9000 BC have been found in Jericho, Israel, Gilgal in the Jordan Valley, the start of Neolithic 1 overlaps the Tahunian and Heavy Neolithic periods to some degree. The major advance of Neolithic 1 was true farming, in the proto-Neolithic Natufian cultures, wild cereals were harvested, and perhaps early seed selection and re-seeding occurred. The grain was ground into flour, emmer wheat was domesticated, and animals were herded and domesticated
Neolithic
–
An array of Neolithic artifacts, including bracelets, axe heads, chisels, and polishing tools. Neolithic stone artifacts are by definition polished and, except for specialty items, not chipped.
Neolithic
–
Algerian cave paintings depicting hunting scenes
Neolithic
–
Female figure from
Tumba Madžari,
Republic of Macedonia
Neolithic
–
Skara Brae, Scotland. Evidence of home furnishings (shelves)
16.
Greek language
–
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece and other parts of the Eastern Mediterranean. It has the longest documented history of any living language, spanning 34 centuries of written records and its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the major part of its history, other systems, such as Linear B and the Cypriot syllabary, were used previously. The alphabet arose from the Phoenician script and was in turn the basis of the Latin, Cyrillic, Armenian, Coptic, Gothic and many other writing systems. Together with the Latin texts and traditions of the Roman world, during antiquity, Greek was a widely spoken lingua franca in the Mediterranean world and many places beyond. It would eventually become the official parlance of the Byzantine Empire, the language is spoken by at least 13.2 million people today in Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Albania, Turkey, and the Greek diaspora. Greek roots are used to coin new words for other languages, Greek. Greek has been spoken in the Balkan peninsula since around the 3rd millennium BC, the earliest written evidence is a Linear B clay tablet found in Messenia that dates to between 1450 and 1350 BC, making Greek the worlds oldest recorded living language. Among the Indo-European languages, its date of earliest written attestation is matched only by the now extinct Anatolian languages, the Greek language is conventionally divided into the following periods, Proto-Greek, the unrecorded but assumed last ancestor of all known varieties of Greek. The unity of Proto-Greek would have ended as Hellenic migrants entered the Greek peninsula sometime in the Neolithic era or the Bronze Age, Mycenaean Greek, the language of the Mycenaean civilisation. It is recorded in the Linear B script on tablets dating from the 15th century BC onwards, Ancient Greek, in its various dialects, the language of the Archaic and Classical periods of the ancient Greek civilisation. It was widely known throughout the Roman Empire, after the Roman conquest of Greece, an unofficial bilingualism of Greek and Latin was established in the city of Rome and Koine Greek became a first or second language in the Roman Empire. The origin of Christianity can also be traced through Koine Greek, Medieval Greek, also known as Byzantine Greek, the continuation of Koine Greek in Byzantine Greece, up to the demise of the Byzantine Empire in the 15th century. Much of the written Greek that was used as the language of the Byzantine Empire was an eclectic middle-ground variety based on the tradition of written Koine. Modern Greek, Stemming from Medieval Greek, Modern Greek usages can be traced in the Byzantine period and it is the language used by the modern Greeks, and, apart from Standard Modern Greek, there are several dialects of it. In the modern era, the Greek language entered a state of diglossia, the historical unity and continuing identity between the various stages of the Greek language is often emphasised. Greek speakers today still tend to regard literary works of ancient Greek as part of their own rather than a foreign language and it is also often stated that the historical changes have been relatively slight compared with some other languages. According to one estimation, Homeric Greek is probably closer to demotic than 12-century Middle English is to modern spoken English, Greek is spoken by about 13 million people, mainly in Greece, Albania and Cyprus, but also worldwide by the large Greek diaspora. Greek is the language of Greece, where it is spoken by almost the entire population
Greek language
–
Idealized portrayal of
Homer
Greek language
–
regions where Greek is the official language
Greek language
–
Greek language road sign, A27 Motorway, Greece
17.
Village
–
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town, with a population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Though often located in areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods. Villages are normally permanent, with fixed dwellings, however, transient villages can occur, further, the dwellings of a village are fairly close to one another, not scattered broadly over the landscape, as a dispersed settlement. In the past, villages were a form of community for societies that practise subsistence agriculture. In Great Britain, a hamlet earned the right to be called a village when it built a church, in many cultures, towns and cities were few, with only a small proportion of the population living in them. The Industrial Revolution attracted people in numbers to work in mills and factories. This also enabled specialization of labor and crafts, and development of many trades, the trend of urbanization continues, though not always in connection with industrialization. Although many patterns of life have existed, the typical village was small. Homes were situated together for sociability and defence, and land surrounding the living quarters was farmed, Traditional fishing villages were based on artisan fishing and located adjacent to fishing grounds. The soul of India lives in its villages, declared M. K. Gandhi at the beginning of 20th century, according to the 2011 census of India,68. 84% of Indians live in 640,867 different villages. The size of these villages varies considerably,236,004 Indian villages have a population of fewer than 500, while 3,976 villages have a population of 10, 000+. Most of the villages have their own temple, mosque, or church, auyl is a Kazakh word meaning village in Kazakhstan. According to the 2009 census of Kazakhstan,42. 7% of Kazakhs live in 8172 different villages, to refer to this concept along with the word auyl often used the slavic word selo in Northern Kazakhstan. Peoples Republic of China In mainland China, villages 村 are divisions under township Zh, 乡 or town Zh, Republic of China In the Republic of China, villages are divisions under townships or county-controlled cities. The village is called a tsuen or cūn under a rural township, japan South Korea In Indonesia, depending on the principles they are administered, villages are called Kampung or Desa. A Desa is administered according to traditions and customary law, while a kelurahan is administered along more modern principles, Desa are generally located in rural areas while kelurahan are generally urban subdivisions. A village head is respectively called kepala desa or lurah, both are elected by the local community. A desa or kelurahan is the subdivision of a kecamatan, in turn the subdivision of a kabupaten or kota, the same general concept applies all over Indonesia
Village
–
The old village of
Hollókő,
Nógrád,
Hungary (
UNESCO World Heritage Site)
Village
–
An
alpine village in the
Lötschental Valley,
Switzerland
Village
–
Hybe in
Slovakia with
High Tatra mountains in background
Village
–
Berber village in
Ourika valley,
High Atlas, Morocco
18.
Municipalities and communities of Greece
–
The municipalities of Greece are the lowest level of government within the organizational structure of that country. Since the 2011 Kallikratis reform, there are 325 municipalities, thirteen regions form the largest unit of government beneath the State. Within these regions are 74 second-level areas called regional units, regional units are then divided into municipalities. The new municipalities can be subdivided into units, which are subdivided into municipal communities or local communities. Leadership of municipalities and communities is elected by universal and secret ballot, municipalities may voluntarily or be mandated by law to work together to provide certain services, but elected representatives from the participating groups govern these partnerships. The national Greek government supervises local government agencies, but is not to interfere in any local initiatives or actions, the State is required to provide funds necessary to fulfill the mandate of local government agencies. Communities are governed by a community made up of 7 to 11 members. A deputy chairperson from a communal quarter may also take part in meetings when specific issues of a communal interest are being discussed. A municipal council and town hall committee led by a mayor governs municipalities, depending on the size of the municipality, municipal councils are made up of anywhere from 11 to 41 council members representing municipal departments. In addition, the council elects 2 to 6 town hall committee members, in the case of mergers, local village or town councils may still exist to provide feedback and ideas to the larger governing body. Council members are elected via public election every four years on the basis of a party system. Three-fifths of all seats go to the party winning a plurality of the vote, the municipal council elects the town hall committee for a term of two years. Citizens have very few opportunities for direct participation in decision-making outside the elections held four years. Beyond national referendums that may be called for issues, citizens cannot request local referendums. The only other possibility for direct input by citizens is if the local municipality establishes district councils or if the community president calls an assembly to discuss issues of concern. The organization of these opportunities, however, is solely at the discretion of the community or municipal leadership. Ordinary revenue is derived from the State budget, property revenues, by law, the State funds first level governments on the basis of a fixed formula, 20% of legal persons’ income tax, 50% of traffic duties and 3% of property transfer duties. For smaller populated communities and municipalities, the State has also allocated additional revenue based on other expenses, local governments are required to direct any property or resource fees to related expenses
Municipalities and communities of Greece
–
Administrative division of Greece following the "Kallikratis" reform: each colour denotes a region, regional units are outlined in black, and municipalities in white
19.
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.
20.
Macedonia (region)
–
Macedonia /ˌmæsᵻˈdoʊniə/ is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time, however it came to be defined as the geographical region by the mid 19th century. Nowadays the region is considered to include parts of six Balkan countries, Greece and it covers approximately 67,000 square kilometres and has a population of 4.76 million. Its oldest known settlements date back approximately 9,000 years, from the middle of the 4th century BC, the Kingdom of Macedon became the dominant power on the Balkan peninsula, since then Macedonia has had a diverse history. The definition of Macedonia has changed several times throughout history, expansion of Kingdom of Macedon,1. Kingdom of Perdiccas I, Macedonian Kingdom of Emathia consisting of six provinces Emathia, Pieria, Bottiaea, Mygdonia, Eordea, Kingdom of Alexander I, All the above provinces plus the eastern annexations Crestonia, Bisaltia and the western annexations Elimiotis, Orestis and Lynkestis. Kingdom of Philip II, All the above plus the appendages of Pelagonia and Macedonian Paeonia to the north, Sintike, Odomantis and Edonis to the east. In the 2nd century, Macedonia covered approximately the area where it is considered to be today, for reasons that are still unclear, over the next eleven centuries Macedonias location was changed significantly. The Roman province of Macedonia consisted of what is today Northern and Central Greece, much of the area of the present-day Republic of Macedonia. Simply put, the Romans created a larger administrative area under that name than the original ancient Macedon. In the Byzantine Empire, a province under the name of Macedonia was carved out of the original Theme of Thrace and this thema variously included parts of Thrace and gave its name to the Macedonian dynasty. Hence, Byzantine documents of this era that mention Macedonia are most probably referring to the Macedonian thema, during medieval and modern times, Macedonia has been known as a Balkan region inhabited by ethnic Greeks, Albanians, Vlachs, Serbs, Bulgarians, Jews, and Turks. Today, as a region where several very different cultures meet. Macedonian Greeks self-identify culturally and regionally as Macedonians and they form the majority of the regions population. They number approximately 2,500,000 and, today, smaller Greek minorities exist in Bulgaria and the Republic of Macedonia, although their numbers are difficult to ascertain. Ethnic Macedonians self-identify as Macedonians in a sense as well as in the regional sense. They are the second largest ethnic group in the region, because of their primarily Slavic origin they are also known as Macedonian Slavs and Slav Macedonians. They form the majority of the population in the Republic of Macedonia where according to the 2002 census, according to the latest Bulgarian census held in 2001, there are 3,117 people declaring themselves ethnic Macedonians in the Blagoevgrad Province of Bulgaria
Macedonia (region)
–
Distribution of races in the Balkan Peninsula and Asia Minor in 1910 (Historical Atlas by William R. Shepherd, New York)
Macedonia (region)
–
Macedonia shown in blue. The modern region of Macedonia is
divided by the national boundaries of
Greece (
Greek Macedonia), the
Republic of Macedonia,
Bulgaria (
Blagoevgrad Province),
Albania (
Mala Prespa and
Golo Brdo),
Serbia (
Prohor Pčinjski), and
Kosovo (
Gora).
Macedonia (region)
–
Distribution of races in the Balkan Peninsula and Asia Minor in 1918 (National Geographic)
Macedonia (region)
–
Expansion of Macedon into a kingdom
21.
Archaeologist
–
Archaeology, or archeology, is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, Archaeology can be considered both a social science and a branch of the humanities. In North America, archaeology is considered a sub-field of anthropology, archaeologists study human prehistory and history, from the development of the first stone tools at Lomekwi in East Africa 3.3 million years ago up until recent decades. Archaeology as a field is distinct from the discipline of palaeontology, Archaeology is particularly important for learning about prehistoric societies, for whom there may be no written records to study. Prehistory includes over 99% of the human past, from the Paleolithic until the advent of literacy in societies across the world, Archaeology has various goals, which range from understanding culture history to reconstructing past lifeways to documenting and explaining changes in human societies through time. The discipline involves surveying, excavation and eventually analysis of data collected to learn more about the past, in broad scope, archaeology relies on cross-disciplinary research. Archaeology developed out of antiquarianism in Europe during the 19th century, Archaeology has been used by nation-states to create particular visions of the past. Nonetheless, today, archaeologists face many problems, such as dealing with pseudoarchaeology, the looting of artifacts, a lack of public interest, the science of archaeology grew out of the older multi-disciplinary study known as antiquarianism. Antiquarians studied history with attention to ancient artifacts and manuscripts. Tentative steps towards the systematization of archaeology as a science took place during the Enlightenment era in Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries, in Europe, philosophical interest in the remains of Greco-Roman civilization and the rediscovery of classical culture began in the late Middle Age. Antiquarians, including John Leland and William Camden, conducted surveys of the English countryside, one of the first sites to undergo archaeological excavation was Stonehenge and other megalithic monuments in England. John Aubrey was a pioneer archaeologist who recorded numerous megalithic and other monuments in southern England. He was also ahead of his time in the analysis of his findings and he attempted to chart the chronological stylistic evolution of handwriting, medieval architecture, costume, and shield-shapes. Excavations were also carried out in the ancient towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum and these excavations began in 1748 in Pompeii, while in Herculaneum they began in 1738. The discovery of entire towns, complete with utensils and even human shapes, however, prior to the development of modern techniques, excavations tended to be haphazard, the importance of concepts such as stratification and context were overlooked. The father of archaeological excavation was William Cunnington and he undertook excavations in Wiltshire from around 1798, funded by Sir Richard Colt Hoare. Cunnington made meticulous recordings of neolithic and Bronze Age barrows, one of the major achievements of 19th century archaeology was the development of stratigraphy. The idea of overlapping strata tracing back to successive periods was borrowed from the new geological and paleontological work of scholars like William Smith, James Hutton, the application of stratigraphy to archaeology first took place with the excavations of prehistorical and Bronze Age sites
Archaeologist
–
Roman ruins,
Lausanne, Switzerland.
Archaeologist
–
An early photograph of Stonehenge taken July 1877
Archaeologist
–
Artifacts discovered at the 1808
Bush Barrow excavation by Sir
Richard Colt Hoare and
William Cunnington.
Archaeologist
–
Mortimer Wheeler pioneered
systematic excavation in the early 20th century. Pictured, are his excavations at
Maiden Castle, Dorset, in October 1937.
22.
Pre-Pottery Neolithic
–
The Pre-Pottery Neolithic represents the early Neolithic in the Levantine and upper Mesopotamian region of the Fertile Crescent. It succeeds the Natufian culture of the Epipaleolithic as the domestication of plants and animals was in its beginnings, the Pre-Pottery Neolithic culture came to an end around the time of the 8.2 kiloyear event, a cool spell lasting several hundred years centred on 6200 BCE. The Pre-Pottery Neolithic is divided into Pre-Pottery Neolithic A and the following Pre-Pottery Neolithic B and these were originally defined by Kathleen Kenyon in the type site of Jericho. The Pre-Pottery Neolithic precedes the ceramic Neolithic, at Ain Ghazal in Jordan the culture continued a few more centuries as the so-called Pre-Pottery Neolithic C culture. Around 8000 BCE during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A the worlds first town Jericho appeared in the Levant, PPNB differed from PPNA in showing greater use of domesticated animals, a different set of tools, and new architectural styles. Work at the site of Ain Ghazal in Jordan has indicated a later Pre-Pottery Neolithic C period, cultures practicing this lifestyle spread down the Red Sea shoreline and moved east from Syria into southern Iraq. Pre-history of the Southern Levant History of pottery in the Southern Levant Ofer Bar-Yosef, J. Cauvin, Naissance des divinités, Naissance de l’agriculture. La révolution des symboles au Néolithique, translation The birth of the gods and the origins of agriculture
Pre-Pottery Neolithic
–
Pre-Pottery Neolithic
23.
Near East
–
The Near East is a geographical term that roughly encompasses Western Asia. Despite having varying definitions within different academic circles, the term was applied to the maximum extent of the Ottoman Empire. The term has fallen into disuse in English and has replaced by the terms Middle East. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations defines the region similarly, but also includes Afghanistan while excluding the countries of North Africa and the Palestinian territories. Up until 1912 the Ottomans retained a band of territory including Albania, Macedonia and Southern Thrace, the Ottoman Empire, believed to be about to collapse, was portrayed in the press as the sick man of Europe. The Balkan states, with the exception of Bosnia and Albania, were primarily Christian. Starting in 1894 the Ottomans struck at the Armenians on the grounds that they were a non-Muslim people. The Hamidian Massacres aroused the indignation of the entire Christian world, in the United States the now aging Julia Ward Howe, author of the Battle Hymn of the Republic, leaped into the war of words and joined the Red Cross. Relations of minorities within the Ottoman Empire and the disposition of former Ottoman lands became known as the Eastern Question and it now became relevant to define the east of the eastern question. In about the middle of the 19th century Near East came into use to describe part of the east closest to Europe. The term Far East appeared contemporaneously meaning Japan, China, Korea, Indonesia, near East applied to what had been mainly known as the Levant, which was in the jurisdiction of the Ottoman Porte, or government. Those who used the term had little choice about its meaning and they could not set foot on most of the shores of the southern and central Mediterranean from the Gulf of Sidra to Albania without permits from the Ottoman Empire. Some regions beyond the Ottoman Porte were included, one was North Africa west of Egypt. It was occupied by piratical kingdoms of the Barbary Coast, de facto independent since the 18th century, formerly part of the empire at its apogee. Iran was included because it could not easily be reached except through the Ottoman Empire or neighboring Russia, in the 1890s the term tended to focus on the conflicts in the Balkan states and Armenia. The demise of the man of Europe left considerable confusion as to what was to be meant by Near East. It is now used only in historical contexts, to describe the countries of Western Asia from the Mediterranean to Iran. There is, in short, no universally understood fixed inventory of nations and they appear together in the journals of the mid-19th century
Near East
–
The Near East as defined as the
Ottoman Empire at the beginning of "
the eastern question ".
Near East
–
Inhabitants of the Near East, late 19th century
Near East
–
Ottoman Porte, 1767, gateway to trade with the Levant. Painting by
Antoine de Favray.
Near East
–
British troops, Crimea, 1855.
24.
Wheat
–
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region but now cultivated worldwide. In 2016, world production of wheat was 749 million tonnes, making it the second most-produced cereal after maize, since 1960, world production of wheat and other grain crops has tripled and is expected to grow further through the middle of the 21st Century. This grain is grown on land area than any other commercial food. World trade in wheat is greater than for all other crops combined, globally, wheat is the leading source of vegetal protein in human food, having a protein content of about 13%, which is relatively high compared to other major cereals and staple foods. The archaeological record suggests that wheat was first cultivated in the regions of the Fertile Crescent around 9600 BCE. In a small part of the population, gluten – the major part of wheat protein – can trigger coeliac disease, non-coeliac gluten sensitivity, gluten ataxia. Cultivation and repeated harvesting and sowing of the grains of wild grasses led to the creation of domestic strains, in domesticated wheat, grains are larger, and the seeds remain attached to the ear by a toughened rachis during harvesting. In wild strains, a more fragile rachis allows the ear to easily shatter, as the traits that improve wheat as a food source also involve the loss of the plants natural seed dispersal mechanisms, highly domesticated strains of wheat cannot survive in the wild. Cultivation of wheat began to spread beyond the Fertile Crescent after about 8000 BCE, jared Diamond traces the spread of cultivated emmer wheat starting in the Fertile Crescent sometime before 8800 BCE. Archaeological analysis of wild emmer indicates that it was first cultivated in the southern Levant with finds dating back as far as 9600 BCE, Genetic analysis of wild einkorn wheat suggests that it was first grown in the Karacadag Mountains in southeastern Turkey. Dated archeological remains of wheat in settlement sites near this region, including those at Abu Hureyra in Syria. With the anomalous exception of two grains from Iraq ed-Dubb, the earliest carbon-14 date for einkorn wheat remains at Abu Hureyra is 7800 to 7500 years BCE. Remains of harvested emmer from several sites near the Karacadag Range have been dated to between 8600 and 8400 BCE, that is, in the Neolithic period and these remains were dated by Willem van Zeist and his assistant Johanna Bakker-Heeres to 8800 BCE. They also concluded that the settlers of Tell Aswad did not develop this form of emmer themselves, the cultivation of emmer reached Greece, Cyprus and India by 6500 BCE, Egypt shortly after 6000 BCE, and Germany and Spain by 5000 BCE. The early Egyptians were developers of bread and the use of the oven, by 3000 BCE, wheat had reached the British Isles and Scandinavia. A millennium later it reached China, the oldest evidence for hexaploid wheat has been confirmed through DNA analysis of wheat seeds, dating to around 6400-6200 BCE, recovered from Çatalhöyük. The first identifiable bread wheat with sufficient gluten for yeasted breads has been identified using DNA analysis in samples from a dating to approximately 1350 BCE at Assiros in Macedonia. From Asia, wheat continued to spread throughout Europe, in the British Isles, wheat straw was used for roofing in the Bronze Age, and was in common use until the late 19th century
Wheat
–
Wheat
Wheat
–
Spikelets of a hulled wheat,
einkorn
Wheat
–
Green wheat a month before harvest
Wheat
–
Wheat harvest on the
Palouse,
Idaho, United States
25.
Barley
–
Barley, a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago, Barley has been used as animal fodder, as a source of fermentable material for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods. It is used in soups and stews, and in barley bread of various cultures, Barley grains are commonly made into malt in a traditional and ancient method of preparation. In 2014, barley was ranked fourth among grains in quantity produced behind corn, rice, the Old English word for barley was bære, which traces back to Proto-Indo-European and is cognate to the Latin word farina flour. The direct ancestor of modern English barley in Old English was the derived adjective bærlic, the first citation of the form bærlic in the Oxford English Dictionary dates to around 966 CE, in the compound word bærlic-croft. The underived word bære survives in the north of Scotland as bere, the word barn, which originally meant barley-house, is also rooted in these words. Barley is a member of the grass family and it is a self-pollinating, diploid species with 14 chromosomes. The wild ancestor of domesticated barley, Hordeum vulgare subsp, spontaneum, is abundant in grasslands and woodlands throughout the Fertile Crescent area of Western Asia and northeast Africa, and is abundant in disturbed habitats, roadsides and orchards. Outside this region, the barley is less common and is usually found in disturbed habitats. However, in a study of genome-wide diversity markers, Tibet was found to be a center of domestication of cultivated barley. Wild barley has a spike, upon maturity, the spikelets separate. Domesticated barley has nonshattering spikes, making it easier to harvest the mature ears. The nonshattering condition is caused by a mutation in one of two linked genes known as Bt1 and Bt2, many cultivars possess both mutations. The nonshattering condition is recessive, so varieties of barley that exhibit this condition are homozygous for the mutant allele, spikelets are arranged in triplets which alternate along the rachis. In wild barley, only the central spikelet is fertile, while the two are reduced. This condition is retained in certain cultivars known as two-row barleys, a pair of mutations result in fertile lateral spikelets to produce six-row barleys. Recent genetic studies have revealed that a mutation in one gene, two-row barley has a lower protein content than six-row barley, thus a more fermentable sugar content. High-protein barley is best suited for animal feed, Malting barley is usually lower protein which shows more uniform germination, needs shorter steeping, and has less protein in the extract that can make beer cloudy
Barley
–
Barley
Barley
Barley
–
The cross-section of a barley root
Barley
–
Two-row and six-row barley
26.
Sheep
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The sheep is a quadrupedal, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Like all ruminants, sheep are members of the order Artiodactyla, although the name sheep applies to many species in the genus Ovis, in everyday usage it almost always refers to Ovis aries. Numbering a little over one billion, domestic sheep are also the most numerous species of sheep. An adult female sheep is referred to as a ewe, a male as a ram or occasionally a tup, a castrated male as a wether. Sheep are most likely descended from the wild mouflon of Europe, one of the earliest animals to be domesticated for agricultural purposes, sheep are raised for fleece, meat and milk. A sheeps wool is the most widely used animal fiber, and is harvested by shearing. Ovine meat is called lamb when from younger animals and mutton when from older ones, Sheep continue to be important for wool and meat today, and are also occasionally raised for pelts, as dairy animals, or as model organisms for science. Sheep husbandry is practised throughout the majority of the inhabited world, in the modern era, Australia, New Zealand, the southern and central South American nations, and the British Isles are most closely associated with sheep production. Sheepraising has a lexicon of unique terms which vary considerably by region. Use of the sheep began in Middle English as a derivation of the Old English word scēap. A group of sheep is called a flock, herd or mob, many other specific terms for the various life stages of sheep exist, generally related to lambing, shearing, and age. Being a key animal in the history of farming, sheep have a deeply entrenched place in human culture, as livestock, sheep are most often associated with pastoral, Arcadian imagery. Sheep figure in many mythologies—such as the Golden Fleece—and major religions, in both ancient and modern religious ritual, sheep are used as sacrificial animals. Domestic sheep are relatively small ruminants, usually with a crimped hair called wool, domestic sheep differ from their wild relatives and ancestors in several respects, having become uniquely neotenic as a result of selective breeding by humans. A few primitive breeds of sheep retain some of the characteristics of their wild cousins, depending on breed, domestic sheep may have no horns at all, or horns in both sexes, or in males only. Most horned breeds have a pair, but a few breeds may have several. Another trait unique to domestic sheep as compared to wild ovines is their variation in color. Wild sheep are largely variations of brown hues, and variation within species is extremely limited, colors of domestic sheep range from pure white to dark chocolate brown, and even spotted or piebald
Sheep
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Domestic sheep
Sheep
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Head of polled, domesticated sheep in the long grass
Sheep
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Skull
Sheep
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Suffolks are a medium wool, black-faced breed of meat sheep that make up 60% of the sheep population in the U.S.
27.
Goats
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The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the family Bovidae and is related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over 300 distinct breeds of goat, Goats are one of the oldest domesticated species, and have been used for their milk, meat, hair, and skins over much of the world. In 2011, there were more than 924 million live goats around the globe, according to the UN Food, female goats are referred to as does or nannies, intact males are called bucks or billies, and juveniles of both sexes are called kids. Goat meat from animals is called kid or cabrito, while meat from older animals is known simply as goat or sometimes called chevon. To refer to the male, Old English used bucca until ousted by hegote, hegoote in the late 12th century, nanny goat originated in the 18th century and billy goat in the 19th. Goats are among the earliest animals domesticated by humans, the most recent genetic analysis confirms the archaeological evidence that the wild Bezoar ibex of the Zagros Mountains is the likely original ancestor of probably all domestic goats today. The earliest remnants of domesticated goats dating 10,000 years before present are found in Ganj Dareh in Iran. Goat remains have been found at sites in Jericho, Choga Mami Djeitun and Çayönü. Studies of DNA evidence suggests 10,000 years BP as the domestication date, historically, goat hide has been used for water and wine bottles in both traveling and transporting wine for sale. It has also used to produce parchment. Goats are considered small livestock animals, compared to animals such as cattle, camels and horses, but larger than microlivestock such as poultry, rabbits, cavies. Each recognized breed of goats has specific weight ranges, which vary from over 140 kg for bucks of larger breeds such as the Boer, within each breed, different strains or bloodlines may have different recognized sizes. At the bottom of the range are miniature breeds such as the African Pygmy. Most goats naturally have two horns, of various shapes and sizes depending on the breed, Goats have horns unless they are polled or the horns have been removed, typically soon after birth. There have been incidents of polycerate goats, although this is a genetic rarity thought to be inherited, the horns are most typically removed in commercial dairy goat herds, to reduce the injuries to humans and other goats. Unlike cattle, goats have not been bred to be reliably polled, as the genes determining sex. Breeding together two genetically polled goats results in a number of intersex individuals among the offspring, which are typically sterile
Goats
Goats
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Horn cores from the Neolithic village of
Atlit Yam
Goats
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A white Irish goat with horns
Goats
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Eye with horizontal pupil
28.
Cattle
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Cattle—colloquially cows—are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, cattle are raised as livestock for meat, as dairy animals for milk and other dairy products, and as draft animals. Other products include leather and dung for manure or fuel, in some regions, such as parts of India, cattle have significant religious meaning. From as few as 80 progenitors domesticated in southeast Turkey about 10,500 years ago, according to an estimate from 2011, in 2009, cattle became one of the first livestock animals to have a fully mapped genome. Some consider cattle the oldest form of wealth, and cattle raiding consequently one of the earliest forms of theft. Cattle were originally identified as three species, Bos taurus, the European or taurine cattle, Bos indicus, the zebu, and the extinct Bos primigenius. The aurochs is ancestral to both zebu and taurine cattle and these have been reclassified as one species, Bos taurus, with three subspecies, Bos taurus primigenius, Bos taurus indicus, and Bos taurus taurus. Complicating the matter is the ability of cattle to interbreed with other related species. Hybrid individuals and even breeds exist, not only between taurine cattle and zebu, but also one or both of these and some other members of the genus Bos – yaks, banteng. Hybrids such as the breed can even occur between taurine cattle and either species of bison, leading some authors to consider them part of the genus Bos. However, cattle cannot successfully be hybridized with more distantly related bovines such as water buffalo or African buffalo, the aurochs originally ranged throughout Europe, North Africa, and much of Asia. In historical times, its range became restricted to Europe, breeders have attempted to recreate cattle of similar appearance to aurochs by crossing traditional types of domesticated cattle, creating the Heck cattle breed. Cattle did not originate as the term for bovine animals and it was borrowed from Anglo-Norman catel, itself from medieval Latin capitale principal sum of money, capital, itself derived in turn from Latin caput head. Cattle originally meant movable personal property, especially livestock of any kind, the word is a variant of chattel and closely related to capital in the economic sense. The term replaced earlier Old English feoh cattle, property, which today as fee. The word cow came via Anglo-Saxon cū, from Common Indo-European gʷōus = a bovine animal, compare Persian gâv, Sanskrit go-, Welsh buwch. The plural cȳ became ki or kie in Middle English, and a plural ending was often added, giving kine, kien. This is the origin of the now archaic English plural, kine, the Scots language singular is coo or cou, and the plural is kye
Cattle
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Cattle
Cattle
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Żubroń, a cross between
wisent and cattle
Cattle
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An
Ongole bull
Cattle
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A
Hereford bull
29.
Swine
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The domestic pig, often called swine, hog, or pig when there is no need to distinguish it from other pigs, is a large, even-toed ungulate. It is variously considered a subspecies of the boar or a distinct species. The domestic pigs head-plus-body-length ranges from 0.9 to 1.8 m, compared to other artiodactyls, its head is relatively long, pointed, and free of warts. Even-toed ungulates are generally herbivorous, but the pig is an omnivore. Domestic pigs are farmed primarily for the consumption of their meat called pork, the animals bones, hide, and bristles are also used in commercial products. Domestic pigs, especially the pig and micro pig, are sometimes kept as pets. The domestic pig typically has a head, with a long snout which is strengthened by a special prenasal bone. The snout is used to dig into the soil to find food, the dental formula of adult pigs is 3.1.4.33.1.4.3, giving a total of 44 teeth. The rear teeth are adapted for crushing, in the male the canine teeth can form tusks, which grow continuously and are sharpened by constantly being ground against each other. There are four hoofed toes on each foot, or trotter, most domestic pigs have rather a sparse hair covering on their skin, although woolly-coated breeds, such as the Mangalitsa, are raised. Pigs possess both apocrine and eccrine sweat glands, although the latter appear limited to the snout and dorsonasal areas, pigs, however, like other hairless mammals, do not use thermal sweat glands in cooling. Pigs are also less able than many other mammals to dissipate heat from wet mucous membranes in the mouth through panting and their thermoneutral zone is 16 to 22 °C. Pigs are one of four known species which possess mutations in the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor that protect against snake venom. Mongooses, honey badgers, hedgehogs, and pigs all have modifications to the receptor pocket which prevents the snake venom α-neurotoxin from binding and these represent four separate, independent mutations. However, in 1777, Johann Christian Polycarp Erxleben classified the domestic pig as a species from the wild boar. He gave it the name Sus domesticus, which is used by some taxonomists. Remains of pigs have been dated to earlier than 11,400 BC in Cyprus and those animals must have been introduced from the mainland, which suggests domestication in the adjacent mainland by then. There was also a separate domestication in China which took place about 8000 years ago, DNA evidence from sub-fossil remains of teeth and jawbones of Neolithic pigs shows that the first domestic pigs in Europe had been brought from the Near East
Swine
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Domestic pig
Swine
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Domestic pig skull
Swine
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Domestic pigs in a wallow
Swine
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A sow with suckling piglets. Note the greater use of the anterior teats thus forming the teat order
