55 résultats pour "rulers"
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Qing Dynasty - History.
The Manchus also dealt with the problem of Russian expansion into northeastern Asia. In 1689 the Treaty of Nerchinsk was signed by an envoy from the Manchu courtand a Russian representing Peter the Great. The treaty, the first between China and a Western country, established territorial boundaries and defined rules ofcommerce for the two powers. Through the mid-18th century, the Manchus continued to consolidate their power. In 1720 the Qing ruler sent forces to fight the Mongols in Tibet and the...
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Ancient Egypt.
around 4500 BC. The style and decoration of the pottery found at these sites differ from those of pottery found in Upper Egypt. The northern type eventually fell out of use. Other differences between the peoples in Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt include the nature of their architecture and the arrangements for burial of the dead, thelatter perhaps signifying differing religious beliefs. B Unification and Early Dynastic Period By 3500 BC, the settlement of Hierakonpolis, located on the west bank...
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Ancient Egypt - USA History.
around 4500 BC. The style and decoration of the pottery found at these sites differ from those of pottery found in Upper Egypt. The northern type eventually fell out of use. Other differences between the peoples in Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt include the nature of their architecture and the arrangements for burial of the dead, thelatter perhaps signifying differing religious beliefs. B Unification and Early Dynastic Period By 3500 BC, the settlement of Hierakonpolis, located on the west bank...
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Crusades.
modern Lebanon; the Principality of Antioch, in modern Syria; and the County of Edessa, in modern northern Syria and southern Turkey. IV CRUSADES OF THE 12TH CENTURY The Crusades of the 12th century, through the end of the Third Crusade in 1192, illustrate the tensions and problems that plagued the enterprise as a whole. For thelords of Outremer a compromise with the residents and Muslim powers made sense; they could not live in constant warfare. And yet as European transplants theydepended on...
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Crusades .
modern Lebanon; the Principality of Antioch, in modern Syria; and the County of Edessa, in modern northern Syria and southern Turkey. IV CRUSADES OF THE 12TH CENTURY The Crusades of the 12th century, through the end of the Third Crusade in 1192, illustrate the tensions and problems that plagued the enterprise as a whole. For thelords of Outremer a compromise with the residents and Muslim powers made sense; they could not live in constant warfare. And yet as European transplants theydepended on...
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Ancient Egypt.
around 4500 BC. The style and decoration of the pottery found at these sites differ from those of pottery found in Upper Egypt. The northern type eventually fell out of use. Other differences between the peoples in Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt include the nature of their architecture and the arrangements for burial of the dead, thelatter perhaps signifying differing religious beliefs. B Unification and Early Dynastic Period By 3500 BC, the settlement of Hierakonpolis, located on the west bank...
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Renaissance
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INTRODUCTION
Renaissance, series of literary and cultural movements in the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries.
the great writings of ancient Greece and Rome. Intellectuals continued to build on the ideas of the Renaissance during the 18th century Age of Enlightenment, a time when scientific advancements led to a newemphasis on the power of human reason. One of the early Enlightenment thinkers was French philosopher and writer Voltaire. He claimed that the Renaissance was acrucial stage in liberating the mind from the superstition and error that he believed characterized Christian society during the Middl...
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Renaissance .
the great writings of ancient Greece and Rome. Intellectuals continued to build on the ideas of the Renaissance during the 18th century Age of Enlightenment, a time when scientific advancements led to a newemphasis on the power of human reason. One of the early Enlightenment thinkers was French philosopher and writer Voltaire. He claimed that the Renaissance was acrucial stage in liberating the mind from the superstition and error that he believed characterized Christian society during the Middl...
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Mesoamerica.
for cooking. In other regions, the earliest ceramics are more sophisticated technically and aesthetically. At around 1800 BC in the Pacific coastal region of Soconusco (in what is now southeastern Chiapas State, Mexico), the earliest pottery was very complex both in forms and decoration. It seems to have had a social function and beenused primarily for ritual feasting. III MAJOR CIVILIZATIONS Over a period of 3000 years, beginning in about 1500 BC, a number of important cultures emerged in M...
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Atlantic Slave Trade.
members of the planters’ society. Through most of the years of the Atlantic trade, prices for Africans remained favorable in relation to the price of the crops theyproduced. They were, thus, the best economic solution for plantation owners seeking inexpensive labor. The Atlantic slave trade began as a trickle in the 1440s and grew slowly through the 17th century. By 1700, 25,000 slaves, on average, were crossing the Atlantic everyyear. After 1700 the trade grew much more rapidly to a peak in the...
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Holy Roman Empire
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INTRODUCTION
Holy Roman Empire, political entity of lands in western and central Europe, founded by Charlemagne in
AD
800 and dissolved by Emperor Francis II in 1806.
acquired the imperial title and an area running from the North Sea through Lotharingia (Lorraine) and Burgundy to northern Italy; Louis II received East Francia (theGerman duchies of Saxony, Swabia, and Bavaria). In 870 Lothair’s middle kingdom was divided by the Treaty of Mersen, which gave Lotharingia to East Francia and therest to West Francia. This division created the foundation for today’s states of Germany and France, respectively; however, in the 9th century these were highly fractured d...
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Holy Roman Empire .
acquired the imperial title and an area running from the North Sea through Lotharingia (Lorraine) and Burgundy to northern Italy; Louis II received East Francia (theGerman duchies of Saxony, Swabia, and Bavaria). In 870 Lothair’s middle kingdom was divided by the Treaty of Mersen, which gave Lotharingia to East Francia and therest to West Francia. This division created the foundation for today’s states of Germany and France, respectively; however, in the 9th century these were highly fractured d...
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Maya Civilization.
destruction was directed mostly at temples in the ceremonial precincts; it had little or no impact on the economy or population of a city as a whole. Some city-states didoccasionally conquer others, but this was not a common occurrence until very late in the Classic period when lowland civilization had begun to disintegrate. Until thattime, the most common pattern of Maya warfare seems to have consisted of raids employing rapid attacks and retreats by relatively small numbers of warriors, most o...
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Maya Civilization - History.
destruction was directed mostly at temples in the ceremonial precincts; it had little or no impact on the economy or population of a city as a whole. Some city-states didoccasionally conquer others, but this was not a common occurrence until very late in the Classic period when lowland civilization had begun to disintegrate. Until thattime, the most common pattern of Maya warfare seems to have consisted of raids employing rapid attacks and retreats by relatively small numbers of warriors, most o...
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Chinese Literature
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INTRODUCTION
Chinese Literature, writings of the Chinese people, with a continuous history of more than 3,000 years.
(Huang) River basin region in the north. The verses are in lines of four characters (or syllables) and use rhyme and alliteration (repetition of the initial letter). Confuciusquoted them in his works. Because he described them as “without depraved thoughts,” all the verses in the Shi jing have been treated as moral allegories. (4) The Li ji (Book of Ritual ) contains detailed discussions of the principles of conduct at court and in private ceremonies. Although the Han dynasty and later ruler...
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Chinese Literature
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INTRODUCTION
Chinese Literature, writings of the Chinese people, with a continuous history of more than 3,000 years.
(Huang) River basin region in the north. The verses are in lines of four characters (or syllables) and use rhyme and alliteration (repetition of the initial letter). Confuciusquoted them in his works. Because he described them as “without depraved thoughts,” all the verses in the Shi jing have been treated as moral allegories. (4) The Li ji (Book of Ritual ) contains detailed discussions of the principles of conduct at court and in private ceremonies. Although the Han dynasty and later ruler...
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Roma Roman A legendary figure who came to be
worshiped as a goddess, Roma was the personification
of the city of Rome.
became Rome. The first hill people settled appears to have been the Capitoline Hill. Archaeologists have discovered some of the oldest temples to the supreme Roman god, Jupiter, on this hill. According to legend, it was on this hill that Romulus founded his city. The next hill that settlers developed was the nearby Palatine, 1,250 yards to the southeast of the Capitoline Hill. Legend says that Evander, a leader from the Arcadia region of ancient Greece, settled this hill even before Romulus was...
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Qing Dynasty - history.
ministries and recruited talented Chinese men who had lost confidence in Ming rule to fill some of the posts. In 1635 Abahai renamed his people “Manchu” to give them a sense of a fresh start, free from past ties to the Chinese. In 1636 he declared the beginning of a new dynasty,which he named Qing (Chinese for “pure”). While the Jurchen transformed their social and military organization north of the Great Wall, China to the south faced serious crises. In the 1620s and 1630s, bad weatherruined...
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Feudalism
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INTRODUCTION
Feudalism, contractual system of political and military relationships existing among members of the nobility in Western Europe during the High Middle Ages.
lord”; thus, it was not rebellion for a subvassal to fight against his lord’s lord. In England, however, William the Conqueror and his successors required their vassals’vassals to take oaths of fealty to them. B Duties of a Vassal Military service in the field was basic to feudalism, but it was far from all that the vassal owed to his lord. When the lord had a castle, he might require his vassals togarrison it, a service called castle-guard. The lord also expected his vassals to attend his cour...
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Babylonia - USA History.
Pharmacology, too, doubtless had made considerable progress, although the only major direct evidence of this comes from a Sumerian tablet written several centuriesbefore Hammurabi. C Legal System and Writing Law and justice were key concepts in the Babylonian way of life. Justice was administered by the courts, each of which consisted of from one to four judges. Often theelders of a town constituted a tribunal. The judges could not reverse their decisions for any reason, but appeals from their...
- Seven Against Thebes Greek The name given to the conflict between the rulers of the kingdom of Thebes and the rebels who challenged the king for the throne.
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Assyria - USA History.
villages and cities were ransacked and razed, but no attempt was made to annex their territories. In the course of time this pattern of conquest changed, and the Assyrian rulers began to make Assyria the center of a new empire by incorporating the conquered landsinto their domain, although probably not according to a conscious plan. Toward the end of the 10th century BC, for example, Adad-nirari II annexed the Aramaean state centering on Nisibis, east of the Habur River. His son, Tukulti-Ninurt...
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Middle Ages .
Saints were very important in Late Antiquity. They were considered both models of virtue and powerful miracle workers. One of the most well-known saints of the periodwas Saint Anthony. Anthony gave away all his possessions and left his hometown in Egypt to live alone in the desert and pray. Anthony was one of the first Christianmonks. The word monk comes from a term meaning 'alone.' Gradually Anthony attracted followers, and he eventually became the center of a whole community of monks who wis...
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Roman Empire .
A Government Augustus did not derive his power from any single office, but from the authority of his name and his victory. In fact, he carefully pieced together a patchwork of powersthat allowed him to be an absolute ruler and yet avoid the hatred Caesar aroused as dictator. In Latin, the name Augustus implies both political authority and religiousrespect. The Romans had for some time called Octavian imperator , a title once awarded to victorious generals that soon became associated with the r...
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Roman Empire - History.
A Government Augustus did not derive his power from any single office, but from the authority of his name and his victory. In fact, he carefully pieced together a patchwork of powersthat allowed him to be an absolute ruler and yet avoid the hatred Caesar aroused as dictator. In Latin, the name Augustus implies both political authority and religiousrespect. The Romans had for some time called Octavian imperator , a title once awarded to victorious generals that soon became associated with the r...
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Maya Civilization - history.
III CLASSIC PERIOD Maya Ruins, El SalvadorThe Maya occupied a large part of Central America, and their civilization reached its height between ad 300 and 900. Many ruins ofthe ancient civilization have been excavated in El Salvador, including huge limestone pyramids.Susan McCartney/Photo Researchers, Inc. Classic Maya civilization became more complex in about AD 300 as the population increased and centers in the highlands and the lowlands engaged in both cooperation and competition with each o...
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Ancient Egypt - history.
The Nile River runs through the ancient city of Thebes in eastern Egypt. For a time, beginning in 2040 bc, Thebes was the capital ofEgypt.Farrell Grehan/Photo Researchers, Inc. According to inscriptions and documents found by archaeologists, the Egyptians called their country Kemet, meaning “the Black Land,” a reference to the dark, fertile soil that remained after the Nile floodwaters had receded. They also used another term, Deshret, or “the Red Land,” a designation for the desert sands th...
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Shang Dynasty - History.
The dynastic ancestors belonged to an elaborate religious pantheon that also included various nature powers and the Shang high god, Di. The higher powers were lessconcerned with the well-being of Shang society than the ancestors were. Di, whose wishes were often hard to determine, could even cause the Shang harm. The naturepowers could occasionally influence the wind, rain, and harvests, but only Di could actually order the weather. For an agricultural society such as the Shang, this wasperhaps...
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Martin Luther
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INTRODUCTION
Martin Luther (1483-1546), German theologian and religious reformer, who
VI THEOLOGY Luther was not a systematic theologian, but his work was subtle, complex, and immensely influential. It was inspired by his careful study of the New Testament, but itwas also influenced in important respects by the great 4th-century theologian Saint Augustine. A Law and Gospel Luther maintained that God interacts with human beings in two ways—through the law and through the Gospel. The law represents God’s demands—as expressed, for example, in the Ten Commandments and the golden r...
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Martin Luther.
VI THEOLOGY Luther was not a systematic theologian, but his work was subtle, complex, and immensely influential. It was inspired by his careful study of the New Testament, but itwas also influenced in important respects by the great 4th-century theologian Saint Augustine. A Law and Gospel Luther maintained that God interacts with human beings in two ways—through the law and through the Gospel. The law represents God’s demands—as expressed, for example, in the Ten Commandments and the golden r...
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Temple (building)
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INTRODUCTION
Wat Phra Kaeo
Thailand has nearly 18,000 Buddhist temples, called wats, throughout the country.
colonnaded terraces connected by ramps. The surrounding area was planted with trees and flowers during Hatshepsut’sreign and for many years after.Gian Berto Vanni/Art Resource, NY In ancient Egypt, temples were grandiose, built of huge blocks and columns of stone. Often they were enlarged by successive rulers to form strung-out series of templeparts, as in the gigantic Temple of Amon (circa 1550-1070 BC) at Al Karnak. The Nile cliffs were used as settings for temples, such as the massive mortuar...
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Guinea - country.
Mining operations in 2004 yielded 16 million metric tons of bauxite, 468,400 carats of high-quality diamonds, and 16,000 kg (35,300 lb) of gold. Environmental concernsand political instability in neighboring Liberia have delayed exploitation of high-grade iron ore from Mount Nimba. In 1999 the national budget included $466 million in revenues and $414 million in expenditures. The unit of currency is the Guinean franc, which is divided into 100 centimes (3,644 francs equal U.S.$1; 2005 average...
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Côte d'Ivoire - country.
D Culture Traditional artistic expressions in Côte d’Ivoire include woodcarvings (particularly masks), decorative fabrics, and acrobatic dancing. Urban populations have beengreatly influenced by French culture. The French language is almost universally used in the written literature of Côte d’Ivoire, to the exclusion of the African languages. IV ECONOMY About 60 percent of Côte d’Ivoire’s total labor force is employed in farming and forestry. Government efforts to avoid dependence on a small...
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Ancient Greece - history.
Palace of KnossosThe ancient city of Knossos was a center of the Minoan civilization, an advanced society on Crete named after Minos, a legendaryCretan king. Skilled in such fields as engineering and architecture, the Minoans constructed the palace at Knossos in 1700 bc. Aserious fire at least three centuries later caused the collapse of the palace and foreshadowed the subsequent decline of the city.Wolfgang Kaehler Settlers had begun sailing from Asia Minor to Crete about 6000 BC because the i...
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Roman Mythology
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INTRODUCTION
Roman Mythology, the religious beliefs and practices of the people of ancient Rome.
Aeneas and AnchisesAccording to mythology, Aeneas was a Trojan prince. After Troy fell to the Greeks during the Trojan War, Aeneas traveledto Italy and met and married a woman in the kingdom that occupied the region that would one day become Rome.Through this marriage, Aeneas was the direct ancestor of Romulus and Remus, the legendary founders of Rome. In thispainting he is carrying his father, Anchises, on his back while fleeing from Troy. This painting by Lionello Spada is in theLouvre Museum...
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Byzantine Art and Architecture
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INTRODUCTION
Archangel Michael
This depiction of the archangel Michael, in Saint Mark's Cathedral in Venice, Italy, is an example of ancient enamel art.
This Byzantine ivory relief shows Christ the Pantocrator, or ruler of the world, raising his hand in a gesture of blessing. Itcomes from the cover of a lectionary, or book containing portions of the scriptures, and dates from the second golden ageof Byzantine art, the late 10th century. The relief is in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, England.Bridgeman Art Library, London/New York Mosaics were the favored medium for the interior adornment of Byzantine churches. The small cubes, or tesserae, t...
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Slavery in Africa.
The spread of Islam from Arabia into Africa after the religion’s founding in the 7th century AD affected the practice of slavery and slave trading in West, Central, and East Africa. Arabs had practiced slave raiding and trading in Arabia for centuries prior to the founding of Islam, and slavery became a component of Islamic traditions.Both the Qur'an (Koran) (the sacred scripture of Islam) and Islamic religious law served to codify and justify the existence of slavery. As Muslim Arabs conquered...
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Mesopotamian Art and Architecture
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INTRODUCTION
Mesopotamian Art and Architecture, the arts and buildings of the ancient Middle Eastern civilizations that developed in the area (now Iraq) between the Tigris and
Euphrates rivers from prehistory to the 6th century
BC.
arts. III EARLY DYNASTIC PERIOD Figures from Tell AsmarCreated around 2700 bc, these stone figures are from the city of Tell Asmar in what today is Iraq. From the Temple ofAbu, the statuettes stood in watchful prayer with the wide, staring eyes often found in Sumerian sculpture. The figuresare in the Iraq Museum, Baghdād, Iraq.Art Resource, NY The first historical epoch of Sumerian dominance lasted from about 3000 BC until about 2340 BC. While earlier architectural traditions continued, a ne...
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Middle East - Geography.
though overall they have improved considerably since the 1970s. This variation reflects the different levels of wealth and development in countries of the Middle East. Inthe highly developed country of Israel the infant mortality rate was 8 deaths per 1000 live births in 1997. By comparison, the rate per 1000 live births was 71 in less-developed Egypt and 75 in Yemen. A Ethnic Groups and Languages Arabs make up the majority of the people of the Middle East, accounting for almost the entire popu...
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Han Dynasty - history.
of merit rather than birth. Written examinations were adopted as a means of determining the best qualified people, although use of the examinations in actually makingappointments was limited. A school was established at the capital for training government officials. The administrative bureaucracy was systematized, and a career civilservice was created and extended through much of the empire. Although personally interested in the magical side of Daoism, Wudi made a descendent of Confucius the sup...
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Han Dynasty - history.
of merit rather than birth. Written examinations were adopted as a means of determining the best qualified people, although use of the examinations in actually makingappointments was limited. A school was established at the capital for training government officials. The administrative bureaucracy was systematized, and a career civilservice was created and extended through much of the empire. Although personally interested in the magical side of Daoism, Wudi made a descendent of Confucius the sup...
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Italy - country.
C Natural Resources Italy is poor in natural resources. Much of the land is unsuitable for agriculture because of mountainous terrain or unfavorable climate. Italy, moreover, lacks substantialdeposits of basic natural resources such as coal, iron, and petroleum. Natural gas is the country’s most important mineral resource. Other deposits include feldspar andpumice. Many of Italy’s mineral deposits on the islands of Sicily and Sardinia had been heavily depleted by the early 1990s. Italy is rich...
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Book
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INTRODUCTION
Kelmscott Chaucer
The Kelmscott Chaucer was published in 1896 by William Morris' company, the Kelmscott Press.
B Medieval European Books Illustration of Saint Mark in the Ebbo GospelsThis is a page from the illuminated manuscript known as the Ebbo Gospels (about 816-835). It depicts Saint Mark lookingheavenward for inspiration as he writes his gospel account, and is drawn in an expressive, energetic style typical ofmedieval art of that period. The full name of the Ebbo Gospels is the Gospel Book of Archbishop Ebbo of Reims. This pagemeasures about 25 by 20 cm (about 10 by 8 in).Bridgeman Art Library, Lo...
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Military Religious Orders .
Hospitalers’ charitable functions were playing a secondary role to their military duties. Successes in war defending the Holy Land enriched the order with vast gifts ofproperty in Europe and Palestine. In the 12th century the Hospitalers acquired three impressive fortresses in Palestine at Krak des Chevaliers, Belvoir, and Margat. Atthe height of their power in the 13th century, the Hospitalers regularly supplied 500 knights to defend the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem against the Empire. The Crusad...
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Asian Theater
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INTRODUCTION
Asian Theater, live performance, featuring actors or puppets, native to Asia, a continent with more than 2 billion people of many nations and cultures.
III THEATER IN EAST ASIA Theater in East Asia includes the traditions of China, Japan, and Korea. Most Chinese theater is urban, secular (nonreligious) entertainment, influenced by the ethics of Confucianism. However, a belief in spirits influences rituals performed by ethnic minorities in China, and Buddhism dominates traditional Tibetan performance. Japanesedramatic forms combine native shamanistic performance, secular entertainment, and cultural or religious influences from China and Kore...
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Roman Mythology.
Her temple on the Aventine Hill in Rome was a center for organizations of skilled craftspeople. According to tradition, in 509 BC the dynasty of Etruscan kings ended and the Roman Republic was founded. The republic was ruled by two chief magistrates, called consuls, who were elected by the people to one-year terms. During the time of the republic, the Capitoline temple became the most important public shrine of theRoman people and the focus of public worship. Each January, the new consuls offer...
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Bahrain - country.
A Religion Almost all Bahrainis and the majority of nonnatives are followers of Islam (Muslims). About 70 percent of all native Bahrainis belong to the Shia branch of Islam, whilethe remainder, including the ruling al-Khalifa clan, are adherents of the Sunni branch. Non-Muslims, including Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, and Jews, account for 15percent of the total population. High unemployment among the Shia population has caused considerable discontent on the part of this group toward the Sunni...
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Reformation .
Saxony, he made war against the Schmalkaldic League, a defensive association of Protestant princes. The Roman Catholic forces were successful at first. Later,however, Duke Maurice went over to the Protestant side, and Charles V was obliged to make peace. The religious civil war ended with the religious Peace of Augsburg in1555. Its terms provided that each of the rulers of the German states, which numbered about 300, choose between Roman Catholicism and Lutheranism and enforcethe chosen faith up...
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China - country.
North China lies between the Mongolian Steppe on the north and the Yangtze River Basin on the south. It stretches west from the Bo Hai gulf and the Yellow Sea to theeastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau. Administratively, North China includes Beijing and Tianjin municipalities; Shandong and Shanxi provinces; most of Hebei, Henan,and Shaanxi provinces; and portions of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and of Jiangsu, Anhui, and Gansu provinces. Humans have lived in the agriculturally rich region of Nor...
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Federal Republic of Germany - country.
B Rivers and Lakes Rivers have played a major role in Germany’s economic development. The Rhine River flows in a northwesterly direction from Switzerland through much of westernGermany and The Netherlands into the North Sea. It is a major European waterway and a pillar of commerce and trade. Its primary German tributaries include theMain, Mosel, Neckar, and Ruhr rivers. The Oder (Odra) River, along the border between Poland and Germany, runs northward and empties into the Baltic; it provides an...