tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73330725315265078452024-03-19T10:55:46.176-07:00Iaonas"Ούτις εμοί γ' όνομα"Iaonashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08005740090163340741noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7333072531526507845.post-50782724947664961922014-10-17T04:35:00.001-07:002014-10-17T05:26:47.699-07:00Το γυμνό στην Βυζαντινή τέχνη<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Στο άκουσμα των λέξεων Βυζαντινή τέχνη οι περισσότεροι από εμάς σκέφτονται αμέσως την εκκλησιαστική Βυζαντινή τέχνη, τον συντηρητισμό στην τέχνη ενδεχομένως , τις κλασσικές αγιογραφίες και τα θαυμάσια Βυζαντινά ψηφιδωτά. Υπάρχει όμως και μια άλλη όψη τη Βυζαντινής τέχνης που έχει ως θέμα της το γυμνό , τόσο στη Χριστιανική θεματολογία, όσο και στις παραστάσεις μυθολογικής , παγανιστικής θεματολογίας. <br />
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Μερικά δείγματα Βυζαντινής τέχνης από τον 5ο αι. μ.Χ. εώς τον 12ο αι. μ.Χ.</div>
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Η θεά Αφροδίτη, Έρως και Ψυχή , 5ος αι. μ.Χ. , Μουσείο του Ερμιτάζ , Αγία Πετρούπολη</div>
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Η θεά Αφροδίτη , Βυζαντινή ανάγλυφη <<πυξίδα>> , 5ος αι. μ.Χ , Μουσείο Walter art museum της Βαλτιμόρης </div>
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Η Αριάδνη , 6ος αι. μ.Χ. , Musée de Cluny , Παρίσι</div>
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Μελέαγρος 7ος αι. μ.Χ. , Μουσείο του Ερμιτάζ , Αγία Πετρούπολη</div>
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Μελέαγρος και Αταλάντη 7ος αι. μ.Χ. , Μουσείο του Ερμιτάζ , Αγία Πετρούπολη</div>
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Βυζαντινά κιβωτίδια με ανάγλυφες παραστάσεις </h3>
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Τα βυζαντινά αυτά κιβωτίδια φέρουν ανάγλυφες μυθολογικές παραστάσεις ή σκηνές από την κλασσική αρχαιότητα. Υπάρχουν και κιβωτίδια τα οποία φέρουν παραστάσεις με Χριστιανική θεματολογία στα οποία απεικονίζεται εξίσου το γυμνό σώμα όπως σκηνές με τον Αδάμ και την Εύα , πράγμα το οποίο αποτελεί άλλη μια απόδειξη για την ελευθερία έκφρασης στην Βυζαντινή μικρογλυπτική τέχνη. Αρκετά από αυτά τα κιβωτίδια παράχθηκαν στην Κωνσταντινούπολη κατά την διάρκεια της λεγόμενης <<Μακεδονικής αναγέννησης>> και θεωρείται πως ήταν γαμήλια δώρα και προσωπικά αντικείμενα της Βυζαντινής αριστοκρατίας.</div>
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Διονυσιακή σκηνή με Έρωτες, τον Ηρακλή που κρατά άρπα και Κένταυρο , λεπτομέρεια από το κιβωτίδιο του βερόλι 10ος αι. μ.Χ. , Μουσείο Victoria and Albert , Λονδίνο</div>
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Μυθολογική σκηνή με τον θεό Άρη και την Αφροδίτη, τον Βελλεροφόντη , <<κιβωτίδιο του βερόλι>> 10ος αι. μ.Χ. , Μουσείο Victoria and Albert , Λονδίνο</div>
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Ο Βελλεροφόντης , λεπτομέρεια από το κιβωτίδιο του βερόλι 10ος αι. μ.Χ. , Μουσείο Victoria and Albert , Λονδίνο</div>
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Η αρπαγή της Ευρώπης , κρίνοντας από τις λεπτομέρειες είναι μια αρκετά τολμηρή σκηνή και αποτελεί άλλη μια απόδειξη της ελευθερίας της έκφρασης της τέχνης στο Βυζάντιο, κιβωτίδιο του βερόλι 10ος αι. μ.Χ. , Μουσείο Victoria and Albert , Λονδίνο</div>
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Διονυσιακή σκηνή με θηρία και έρωτες , κιβωτίδιο του βερόλι 10ος αι. μ.Χ. , Μουσείο Victoria and Albert , Λονδίνο</div>
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Μυθολογική σκηνή με Νύμφη σε θαλάσσιο ιππόκαμπο , κιβωτίδιο του βερόλι 10ος αι. μ.Χ. , Μουσείο Victoria and Albert , Λονδίνο</div>
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Ο Ιππόλυτος 10ος αι. μ.Χ. , Grunes Gew , Δρέσδη<br />
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Ο Τριπτόλεμος 10ος αι. μ.Χ. , Metropolitan museum of art , Νέα Υόρκη</div>
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Άλλη μια σκηνή με θέμα την Αρπαγή της Ευρώπης, Αφροδίτη και Άρης (δεξιά) 11ος αι. μ.Χ. , Μουσείο Victoria and Albert , Λονδίνο </div>
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Διονυσιακές σκηνές με χορευτές και άλλα μυθολογικά στοιχεία 10ος αι. μ.Χ. Μουσείο Walter art museum της Βαλτιμόρης </div>
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Διονυσιακές σκηνές με Κένταυρο και χορευτές (πάνω σκηνή) και η εκστρατεία του θεού Διονύσου (κάτω σκηνή) 10ος αι. μ.Χ. , Μουσείο Walter art museum της Βαλτιμόρης </div>
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Χορευτές και πολεμιστές , Βυζαντινό κιβωτίδιο 11ου αι. μ.Χ. , Μetropolitan museum of art , Νέα Υόρκη</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqV7eqqcOGjyIRnMFHx5N7I04M3ci7Qb04kbsx7rBSiB79L_Prw4KURS_FmwaB5vhNbwkEwcyNx7z2smVBIPoTHLE4Y636RcODLdG9ellXJOL3TBZxemquP339JBWft54926eJ8yDYpBlT/s1600/fig_22_darmstadt1347043653861.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqV7eqqcOGjyIRnMFHx5N7I04M3ci7Qb04kbsx7rBSiB79L_Prw4KURS_FmwaB5vhNbwkEwcyNx7z2smVBIPoTHLE4Y636RcODLdG9ellXJOL3TBZxemquP339JBWft54926eJ8yDYpBlT/s1600/fig_22_darmstadt1347043653861.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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Ο Ηρακλής και οι Διόσκουροι (κεντρική σκηνή), ερωτική σκηνή (δεξιά) , κιβωτίδιο του Darmstadt , 12ος αι. μ.Χ. </div>
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Το γυμνό σε Βυζαντινά χειρόγραφα</h4>
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Βυζαντινό χειρόγραφο της Μαθηματικής σύνταξης του Πτολεμαίου , στην οποία απεικονίζεται ο ζωδιακός κύκλος , οι μήνες και ο Ήλιος ακριβώς στο κέντρο , 10ος αι. μ.Χ. , Vaticanus Gr. 1291<br />
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Ο θεός Ήλιος σε τέθριππο άρμα , πλαισιωμένος από γυμνόστηθες νύμφες. από την Μαθηματική σύνταξη Πτολεμαίου 10ος αι. μ.Χ. , Vaticanus Gr. 1291</div>
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Βυζαντινό χειρόγραφο με τον θεό Ήλιο πλαισιωμένο από νύμφες , λεπτομέρεια από την Μαθηματική σύνταξη Πτολεμαίου 10ος αι. μ.Χ. , Vaticanus Gr. 1291</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinQPwHNwqMEmesSwCuq9sJbuHGDlk7N3a8BMnymUe8aVoYoejeOr1GljWMBRcXd2M9CMtKeMCLU6Uz1Xvo2Nl4aVTOm3a8yrEP0PXXMlBPtpcfTru4ChPTtG3F4SM9iuThyB0A6gw8n8Ae/s1600/p5310810.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinQPwHNwqMEmesSwCuq9sJbuHGDlk7N3a8BMnymUe8aVoYoejeOr1GljWMBRcXd2M9CMtKeMCLU6Uz1Xvo2Nl4aVTOm3a8yrEP0PXXMlBPtpcfTru4ChPTtG3F4SM9iuThyB0A6gw8n8Ae/s1600/p5310810.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Η θεά Ρέα σε άρμα λεόντων γυμνόστηθη και ο θεός Έρως 10ος-11ος αι. μ.Χ. , Venice Marciana Cod. gr. 479</div>
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Το γυμνό στη Χριστιανική θεματολογία</h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRnTlA7RBSJdYsvpwMYPf76wV6jdce3GXnPG9cC_Tp9z1Ky2lljg5o9ep_CXJDGa05LSCr2pZfUeKnovlyGAnjYJUm5nZgti8on7xccdfxrRswAdfYO84epkOo0e6jyPziYF1h7a-6Qa6f/s1600/Ivory+Box+with+Scenes+of+Adam+and+Eve,+1000-1100s+AD,+Byzantine,+Constantinople,+ivory,+wood+-+Cleveland.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRnTlA7RBSJdYsvpwMYPf76wV6jdce3GXnPG9cC_Tp9z1Ky2lljg5o9ep_CXJDGa05LSCr2pZfUeKnovlyGAnjYJUm5nZgti8on7xccdfxrRswAdfYO84epkOo0e6jyPziYF1h7a-6Qa6f/s1600/Ivory+Box+with+Scenes+of+Adam+and+Eve,+1000-1100s+AD,+Byzantine,+Constantinople,+ivory,+wood+-+Cleveland.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Ο Αδάμ και η Εύα στον κήπο της Εδέμ , ανάγλυφο κιβωτίδιο 11ου-12ου αι. μ.Χ. , Μουσείο Cleveland museum of Art</div>
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Ο Αδάμ και η Εύα, , ανάγλυφο κιβωτίδιο 11ου-12ου αι. μ.Χ. , Μουσείο Cleveland museum of Art</div>
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Ρεβέκκα και Ελιέζερ, 6ος αι. μ.Χ. , Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, cod. theol. gr. 31<br />
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Ο μεθυσμένος Νώε , ο οποίος συχνά απεικονίζεται γυμνός ή ημίγυμνός και αποτελεί ένα μοτίβο στην εκκλησιαστική τέχνη που επαναλαμβάνεται , 6ος αι. μ.Χ. , Vienna, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, cod. theol. gr. 31</div>
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Πηγές</h4>
Kurt Weitzmann , Greek mythology in Byzantine art , 1951<br />
<a href="http://www.portaaurea.gr/istoria_meletes/byzart.htm">http://www.portaaurea.gr/istoria_meletes/byzart.htm</a><br />
<a href="http://vizantinitehni.wordpress.com/">http://vizantinitehni.wordpress.com</a><br />
Το Βυζάντιο ώριμο για αλλαγές , Εθνικό Ίδρυμα Ερευνών (Ε.Ι.Ε.). Ινστιτούτο Βυζαντινών Ερευνών, 2004<br />
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Iaonashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08005740090163340741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7333072531526507845.post-22362674967487573182013-12-14T06:38:00.000-08:002013-12-17T11:17:13.445-08:00Some of the most bizarre cannons of all times<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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In this article are presented some of the most bizarre cannons ever created. Lets take a look at some of these.</div>
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<u>Archimedes' steam cannon</u></h3>
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The steam cannon is a type of a cannon that launches projectiles with the power of steam instead of gunpowder. It was either invented by Archimedes or by Ctesibius of Alexandria. Ctesibius had also experimented with the properties of steam and long range weapons. Archimedes' steam cannon was used in antiquity against the Roman fleet during the siege of Syracuse (212 BC). Archimedes was indeed a great mathematician and engineer, he was a great inventor and had constructed various mechanisms. In order to defend his city from the Romans , the wise Archimedes created various war machines. One of these weapons was a steam cannon, which is also quoted centuries later by Leonardo Da Vinci who tried to recreate this weapon. Da Vinci made various designs of this weapon which he named it Architonnerre.</div>
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Since the attempt of Da Vinci to recreate this weapon various engineers have tried as well to create steam cannons or compressed air cannons. Bellow we see the designs of the Greek engineer Ioannis Sakas who recreated the weapon and successfully tested it. Recently the Mythbasters experimented on the effectiveness of Archimedes' steam cannon by using Ioannis Sakas' model.<br />
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Various authors such as Da vinci and Petrarch attribute the invention of steam cannons to Archimedes , even so Ctesibius had also studied and experimented the properties of steam combined with long ranged weapons. And it is said that Ctesibius had also constructed a steam cannon in Alexandria.</div>
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<u>Valturio's Elbow-Cannon</u></h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_R_wtscGb2slaih4KGOpmqa8OEHveWvOGjPlHPJ_IwVrsO5QO8QBCr0O2lR44krxsxSZqsQEAV8Cfpj-CD9ZSGKw3POzvGiNIg1iv-QOOlLYx5DN5YW0GrZeSUgmvhTr6jp3N-2Bzchav/s1600/Untitled.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_R_wtscGb2slaih4KGOpmqa8OEHveWvOGjPlHPJ_IwVrsO5QO8QBCr0O2lR44krxsxSZqsQEAV8Cfpj-CD9ZSGKw3POzvGiNIg1iv-QOOlLYx5DN5YW0GrZeSUgmvhTr6jp3N-2Bzchav/s320/Untitled.png" width="320" /></a>
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This peculiar "elbow-cannon" was designed by the Italian engineer Roberto Valturio in the 15th century AD. This drawing is from Valturio's military treatise called "De re Militari". Valturio names this bizarre cannon as "ALIA MIRABILIS MACHINA" and it's one of the infernal machines that he designed. The cannon ball of this weapon was a bomb made from two hemispheres. In the same book he had also designed another strange weapon which was a large dragon shaped chariot which bore cannons. It's uncertain though if these weapons like the elbow-gun were created or if it were product of Valturio's imagination. The shape of this cannon is so unusual that it's hard for someone to imagine that such weapon could had ever existed. My only guess is , if this cannon really existed, that it would have been used in the battlefield probably as a mortar, although it seems to me highly impossible.<br />
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<u>The wooden cannon</u></h3>
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As we know most conventional cannons are made from iron. But no, these cannons were made from wood. These wooden cannons were made from wood and in order to withstand the blast , were usually reinforced with metal rings or with rope bindings. Due to the lack of the essential materials such as metal and the necessity, made various engineers to come up with the idea of making wooden cannons. They could fire shots like most conventional cannons , but were extremely flammable, thus making it weak in comparison with most conventional cannons made of metal. There are various reports of this weapon being deployed in battles of the 15th , till the 18th and 19th century.</div>
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Wooden Cannons are already being mentioned by Vannoccio Biringuccio (1480-1539). Wooden cannons were also used during the English civil war and made at Lambeth for Cromwell and were already in use by Henry VIII during the siege of Boulogne in 1544. Wooden cannons were deployed by armies throughout Europe and also around the world like in China, and the Turks also it is said to have constructed a cherry-wood gun.<br />
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<u>The leather Cannon</u></h3>
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The leather cannon was another odd weapon used in the history of warfare. This type of cannon was developed for the Swedish army during the 30 years war in 1625. The leather cannon was consisted by a copper tube encased in leather.<br />
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The leather cannon was invented by the Austrian engineer Wurmbrandt and offered his invention to Gustavus Adolphus and the Swedish army. Such weapons were also produced by the English Robert Scott in 1627.<br />
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Recently this type of Cannon was also tested by the "Mythbasters" who proved that the leather cannons are capable of firing but also proven to be very flammable.<br />
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<u>The Ice cannon</u></h3>
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Cannons made of ice? As strange as it may sounds it is true that there were such cannons. The first ice cannon was constructed in 1750's in the Russian empire. These first Ice cannons were made for the wedding ceremony of Empress Anna. The Russians had constructed a palace made of ice in the area of Saint's Petersburg. Inside the ice palace there were trees , birds and statues made of ice. There were also 6 cannons and 2 mortars made of ice. These ice cannons were only capable to make a blast but could not injure anybody. The Russian engineers loaded the ice cannons with the proper amount of gunpowder and then fired a blast. These were only used for entertainment and was a great and fascinating spectacle at that time.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO_j16iFHkbX5meLZGxOBpLELZvvco7KDA13-k9tC9HubmsaAhMBQYOZO2aQ_FAIZzTqKlblJjJlQao0jqdGT93M-0rRucTqLEI6YQgXMYmOxooVSeVTMGyyW74CKB964lAJ0EK8CzzfYa/s1600/800px-Valery_Jacobi_Ice_House.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO_j16iFHkbX5meLZGxOBpLELZvvco7KDA13-k9tC9HubmsaAhMBQYOZO2aQ_FAIZzTqKlblJjJlQao0jqdGT93M-0rRucTqLEI6YQgXMYmOxooVSeVTMGyyW74CKB964lAJ0EK8CzzfYa/s320/800px-Valery_Jacobi_Ice_House.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Painting of 1878 by Valery Jacobi , depicting the wedding ceremony of empress Anna and the ice palace.<br />
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<u> The Confederate revolving cannon</u></h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_vuUsAP8sajNRz9TBWthbv29DGmTrE8lHeeFArj2Pr3aJQiCImZOgI1ZsbzRXdzRKwhOLSUh_03X6n_oUDUOWkP-Qpft3h0rQ1NYq6x6wbLC83pkpDA8H6uAzKacIhJ8CRsmES8iGJhv_/s1600/800px-ConfederateRevolvingCannon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_vuUsAP8sajNRz9TBWthbv29DGmTrE8lHeeFArj2Pr3aJQiCImZOgI1ZsbzRXdzRKwhOLSUh_03X6n_oUDUOWkP-Qpft3h0rQ1NYq6x6wbLC83pkpDA8H6uAzKacIhJ8CRsmES8iGJhv_/s320/800px-ConfederateRevolvingCannon.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
The confederate revolving cannon was a cannon used in the American civil war (1861-1865) , designed by Henry Clay Pate for the confederate states army. The main idea was to increase the fire rate of the cannon. So Henry Clay Pate came with the idea of a revolving cannon. It's not so bizarre but the idea and its innovating design made it a unique weapon. This weapon was basically a revolving pistol in a larger scale. It could held and fire five rounds before being reloaded again. </div>
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<u>Louis-Guillaume Perreaux's multi charge cannon</u></h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8MR5mMiBxv3SYCFPuPX0XsyL0ga7xb9Bo-q0sqkTkVc9amPTAw5GI7WiyBOr4zQhajhlX0pcRKjPWtcd-zkl_Y8k2hOXGbarv21N8Gt7GtOsl6yuQUkHhnvg5_24rVC3Bw06_eVZcKnGK/s1600/800px-Cannon_working_on_the_multi-charge_principle_-_Louis-Guillaume_Perreaux.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="98" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8MR5mMiBxv3SYCFPuPX0XsyL0ga7xb9Bo-q0sqkTkVc9amPTAw5GI7WiyBOr4zQhajhlX0pcRKjPWtcd-zkl_Y8k2hOXGbarv21N8Gt7GtOsl6yuQUkHhnvg5_24rVC3Bw06_eVZcKnGK/s320/800px-Cannon_working_on_the_multi-charge_principle_-_Louis-Guillaume_Perreaux.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Louis-Guillaume Perreaux was a French inventor and also one of the first creators of the multi charge type of cannon. The idea was to create a cannon shot with a greater acceleration. In order to boost the cannon shot this unique type of cannon was equipped with additional propellant charges along the barrel, that were triggered as the shell had passed them. The design and the concept itself makes this type of cannon one of the most bizarre types of weapons. Since Louis-Guillaume's cannon many have designed and experimented with the use of multi charge cannons. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0-rbTM8EzyorIWgBUHzqHS64njlJ-R15CpymSh6dxYexaNN5si8bVojedfcbw7JerQjRaTIhRM9gH9WP_82KPupJW5lBJuD3B9Td_8vHMTmzyGMlfjGc8npqupGvw18unmE3wS_kwQQTe/s1600/450px-Leather_Cannon_Detail_3_GNM_Nuremberg_W614.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> </div>
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<u>Lyman's and Haskell's multi charge cannons</u></h3>
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Azel Storrs Lyman and the American inventor James Richard Hasskell was one of the pioneers in the construction of multi charge cannons. Like Guillaume's multi charge gun, the goal was also to create a cannon that could fire a shot with greater acceleration than the usual type of cannon. Lyman and Haskell created various multi chamber guns back in the 1860s.</div>
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Haskell's multi charge gun (1881)</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoXSxiZXGFSX7rL0Etg3sCHB4Aq5PthRZE9IcOYZ1dWyH-vQ3y4sEWynphn5mvzGNKm2DUnoQwY99mqyWO-wwknKzArrqII1LL4dEpNtQ1haYdTDKWZkAa0yeOzEqEtnD9WUr6IVCjWMJ3/s1600/Lyman-Haskell_multi-chamber_gun_1883.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoXSxiZXGFSX7rL0Etg3sCHB4Aq5PthRZE9IcOYZ1dWyH-vQ3y4sEWynphn5mvzGNKm2DUnoQwY99mqyWO-wwknKzArrqII1LL4dEpNtQ1haYdTDKWZkAa0yeOzEqEtnD9WUr6IVCjWMJ3/s320/Lyman-Haskell_multi-chamber_gun_1883.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Lyman's and Haskell's multi charge gun (1883)</div>
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Haskell's multi charge gun (1892)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho9dY05-dVqxr1W-V8RdzXJM_3yiZ_Dqp4dAaV6IPEqG8GVJNRBKoioYPm5LA47bWD5_OhE7PB3X0nDOptU91dzJkFvhGEQPU6aRgfV6j_GUgxQI43lyA9QLWaYRPUTw7JYejGndW4jYxd/s1600/800px-Haskell_USP484011_1892_01_09.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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<u>The Paris gun</u></h3>
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The Paris gun (Wilhelmgeschutze) was a German super weapon in WWI. Its purpose was to bombard Paris itself from long distances. The most strange thing about this gun is the length of the barrel. The 35 meters long barrel made it extremely heavy and could easily break, due to the tensions when it fired. And for that reason the German engineers constructed a suspension bridge like truss which was equipped with screw-jacks to apply the tension of the barrel, giving it this unique appearance. The effectiveness of the weapon was not so great as its appearance, but it did had a psychological effect on the opposing force and especially on the citizens of Paris.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyoBXLFp_1pq2oLgj5f48XRi2Fs8FF18uK_8pVIe7-tO1ppY0d9uuCTDNyP-jPWGtnDB1ImCXPEwVaJCn5mKFeP1f5cGCPGaC1RwdC1dqAfjxlfC8heqMKlwxYNPLh08PCuaSWTuEUsZ7V/s1600/44Big_Bertha_1_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyoBXLFp_1pq2oLgj5f48XRi2Fs8FF18uK_8pVIe7-tO1ppY0d9uuCTDNyP-jPWGtnDB1ImCXPEwVaJCn5mKFeP1f5cGCPGaC1RwdC1dqAfjxlfC8heqMKlwxYNPLh08PCuaSWTuEUsZ7V/s320/44Big_Bertha_1_.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Photo of the Paris gun (also known as Wilhemkaiser Geschutz) deployed during WWI at the western front.<br />
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<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<u>The V3 cannon</u></h3>
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The V3 cannon is being considered one of the super guns of WWII. The length of this weapon was reaching 130 meters , making it into if not the longest, at least one of the longest cannons ever created. The German war machine experimented and developed various types of weapons, they even created the V1 and V2 rockets, making a significant research in the field of rocketry and not only. Undoubtedly they did make an important advance in the history of warfare. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN2M1ohYXExQQIdCB0g_sbviYljAydxa1KFt5yaxPSxPLNdZLBu7N9ZNhfu6a0Q6q83PlJtHtspI_FQnefkkwdH2HdkX631td7XTlThDl3Od8GAH7kzmb2Bv43VF4TAZFxi-XKVhtCUSgT/s1600/700px-Wooden_Cannon_GNM_W622.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIolnKUIsxd1Y5ZFCXJBpbKwpGT36xt5fLFTGLRjlGOxpIQ8hOUEdw4GTIUSt0E26GlQePvTuxlFWfgpG-7nBkPbBOltiineD0UZ3Mlr43BP5iqBkjdKXvBzkRsBGayEoH7CVSC43oMCR9/s1600/German-V3-Super-Gun-e1286589201235-620x350.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIolnKUIsxd1Y5ZFCXJBpbKwpGT36xt5fLFTGLRjlGOxpIQ8hOUEdw4GTIUSt0E26GlQePvTuxlFWfgpG-7nBkPbBOltiineD0UZ3Mlr43BP5iqBkjdKXvBzkRsBGayEoH7CVSC43oMCR9/s320/German-V3-Super-Gun-e1286589201235-620x350.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-LAroqH-hhOY-W9SzhARYSjzpzh0MgYkS4goNaZSyVvhA96R_Q3k9e2ARQZm35ssnsB49SgolVzfx8F96_jrRNvOLFO5MUd61KtXASyLdRS_DuKi70i6-IYHfZcQBQ9vdFP_rstIsLqJx/s1600/borodino.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> The V3 cannon was designed by the German army in WWII and was basically a multi charge type of cannon in a much larger scale, actually the largest cannon of its type ever created. Its purpose was to bombard targets from long distances. The design of this weapon and its concept as well makes it surely one of the most unusual weapons in the history of modern warfare.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm_1f0v7qN84sH5cxKtsSNPme8xUqW3ONzAsSzVozNnFHrBrMeMv2SyoyWqiLA-bipfrde8GgkCu-Yl9LXCFetmPOvQA4CB2B7QYUz2mLss1BCFS04RubHDv3O08R7V9IL8Er4qhBvzrQr/s1600/Bundesarchiv_Bild_146-1981-147-30A,_Hochdruckpumpe_V-3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm_1f0v7qN84sH5cxKtsSNPme8xUqW3ONzAsSzVozNnFHrBrMeMv2SyoyWqiLA-bipfrde8GgkCu-Yl9LXCFetmPOvQA4CB2B7QYUz2mLss1BCFS04RubHDv3O08R7V9IL8Er4qhBvzrQr/s320/Bundesarchiv_Bild_146-1981-147-30A,_Hochdruckpumpe_V-3.jpg" width="214" /></a></div>
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The V3 cannon was successfully used by the German army during the last phase of WWII.<br />
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<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<u>Conclusion </u></h3>
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Humanity since antiquity is being experimenting and researching new ideas. The same case applies for the history of warfare. Sometimes armies have used unorthodox tactics in order to surprise and achieve victory over the enemy. Some of these weapons might not had been very effective but it is surely an example that the human mind knows no bounds. The human mind is capable of making something that may seem impossible into possible. These unconventional weapons may seem to be a paradox in the history of warfare, but is also a proof that our fantasy and ingenuity are limitless.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKjbVDHvmZ16_VfJo9T8ZqY4-3Fc6jupcz0i-2bcKTy2Rh-f5K6ymbs0ulias_GI1J5-R-kMTZ3vt3j1pSPA3BSM8gpR5jhFOuxQjDKQ1Fuig3kQ1Ry9iQ4L0zPJ_uyzc_rnL-J4TRtCBv/s1600/steam_cannon_photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a> </div>
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<u>Sources</u></h3>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
A history of Greek fire and gunpowder by J. R. Partington, John Hopkins university press 1997</div>
</li>
<li><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The Origin of the artillery by Henry William Lovett Hime 1915</div>
</li>
</ul>
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Links</li>
</ul>
<a href="http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ref/MG/I/MG-2.html">http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ref/MG/I/MG-2.html</a><br />
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confederate_Revolving_Cannon">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confederate_Revolving_Cannon</a><br />
<a href="http://www.landships.info/landships/artillery_articles/Paris_Kanone.html">http://www.landships.info/landships/artillery_articles/Paris_Kanone.html</a><br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V-3_cannon">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V-3_cannon</a><br />
</div>
Iaonashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08005740090163340741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7333072531526507845.post-2861957658433313952012-08-20T06:51:00.001-07:002013-10-05T07:09:07.391-07:00Greek victories against the Turks<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg4PYedjJuU_L150GrFI6jcfIpxvlWpHouVVhePAkp_r582Hh63o4lzHsmqpJFosefy5hcuC72WfnO1kdNmjwsI15A-wYcLjLRoLB3BNIvo2Nq2wvxW9GAhfJ-vcETeQxo-yIIEsRhY56Q/s1600/image.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg4PYedjJuU_L150GrFI6jcfIpxvlWpHouVVhePAkp_r582Hh63o4lzHsmqpJFosefy5hcuC72WfnO1kdNmjwsI15A-wYcLjLRoLB3BNIvo2Nq2wvxW9GAhfJ-vcETeQxo-yIIEsRhY56Q/s320/image.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Recently a nationalistic list of Turkish victories against the Greeks came to my attention, which had many innacurasies . The list contained victories from the medieval times till the modern era of various "Turkish" tribes including the Huns. I am not gonna make a debate weather those factions were one and the same or if they were Turkish tribes or not. In response I've decided to make a similar list of Greek victories against the Turks from medieval times till the modern era. <br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">408 –
Hunnic invasion of Moesia by Uldin= Byzantine victory<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">559 – Byzantines
with Belisarius vs Kutrigurs with Khan Zabergan= Byzantine victory<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">626 - Byzantines
vs Avars Siege of Constantinople = Byzantine victory<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1016 - Byzantines
and Russians against the Khazars=Byzantine -Russian victory<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1048 - Battle
of Kapetron = Byzantine victory<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1069 - Battle
of Iconium= Byzantine victory<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1091 - Battle
of Levounion, Byzantines vs Pechenegs= Byzantine victory<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1091 - Naval
battle near Chios island vs Chaka bey= Byzantine victory<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1092 - Naval
battle of in the sea of marmara vs Chaka bey=Byzantine victory<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1094 - Battle
near andrianople, Byzantines vs Cumans= Byzantine victory<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">1097 - Siege
of Nicaea by Byzantines</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">
and Crusaders = Byzantine and Crusader victory<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1117 - Battle
of Philomelion = Byzantine victory<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1122 - Battle
of Beroia Byzantines vs Pechenegs= Byzantine victory<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1177 - Battle
of Hyelion and Leimocheir = Byzantine victory<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1211 - Battle
on Antioch of the meander = Byzantine victory<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1223 - Siege
of Trebizond= Byzantine victory<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1312 - Battle
of Gallipoli vs Turcopoles= Byzantine victory<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1422 -
Siege of Constantinople vs the ottomans= Byzantine victory<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">1453 - Naval
Battle of</span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> <span lang="EN-US">Constantinople
5 Byzantine ships vs 75 ottoman ships= Byzantine victory<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1790 - Naval
battle in Kafirea with Lambros Katsonis=Greek victory<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1821 - Battle
of Gravia Inn , 120 Greeks vs 9000 ottomans=Greek victory<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1821 - Battle
of Vassilika =Greek victory<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1821 - Battle
of Valtetsi =Greek victory<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">1821 - Battle
of</span><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"> Doliana =Greek
victory<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1822 - Naval
battle of patra =Greek victory<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1822 - Battle
of Dervenakia =Greek victory<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1822 - Naval
battle of Spetses =Greek victory<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1824 - Naval
Battle of Samos =Greek victory<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1824 - Naval
Battle of Gerontas =Greek victory<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1825 - Battle
of the Lerna Mills =Greek victory<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1826 - Battle
of Arachova =Greek victory<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1829 - Battle
of Petra =Greek victory<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1912 - Battle
of sarantaporo= Greek victory<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1912 - Liberation
of Thessalonica= Greek victory<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1912 - Battle
of Korytsa= Greek victory<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1913 - Battle
of Bizani= Greek victory<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1912 - Naval
battle of Elli= Greek victory<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1913 - Naval
battle of Lemnos = Greek victory<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1919 - Liberation
of Smyrna=Greek victory<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1919 - Battle
of Aydın= Greek victory<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1921 - Battle
of Kütahya–Eskişehir= Greek victory<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3xonxN5IuCN5aXcelFNWDXH6gsrA2F-tXlZ57W3rWO0uCI0wt3iLBukqZFrFsDuvS2pBQqSlmFQeN2qfNttzSk2xt_SWimySlwjXafi72QGk3VXffkAPGQj7_yTAUv_EQVaNNkyFnWaOc/s1600/17collapseandrevivalbat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3xonxN5IuCN5aXcelFNWDXH6gsrA2F-tXlZ57W3rWO0uCI0wt3iLBukqZFrFsDuvS2pBQqSlmFQeN2qfNttzSk2xt_SWimySlwjXafi72QGk3VXffkAPGQj7_yTAUv_EQVaNNkyFnWaOc/s320/17collapseandrevivalbat.jpg" width="235" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b>Some observations</b></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In most of the battles both at sea and land the Greek forces were much fewer than the Turkish forces, yet the Greek forces managed to emerge victorious.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Byzantine empire had encountered many Turkish tribes and had emerged victorious several times.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Byzantine empire lasted for 1.150 years whereas the Ottoman empire for only 600 years.</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">WWI Greece and the allies win the war over the central powers and the Ottoman empire</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In 1921 the Greek army reaches Ankara, only 100 years after the Greek revolution. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<li><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EL; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Finally the Turks have nearly zero</span><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EL; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EL; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EL; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> victories over the Greeks in naval battles</span></li>
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Iaonashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08005740090163340741noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7333072531526507845.post-77618962079518284422012-06-09T01:14:00.000-07:002013-01-28T10:41:11.001-08:00Alexander the great Greek hero<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Statue of Alexander the great (311BC) wearing a lion skin just like his ancestor Hercules. The Macedonians considered themselves as descendants of the Heraclidae kings and the Dorians.
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One of Greece's greatest leaders Alexander the great was born in 356BC in the Greek kingdom of Macedon. The kingdom of Macedonia was an ancient Greek kingdom which was founded around the 8th or the 7th century BC and was located in northern Greece and was next to mount Olympus area. The first capital of the Macedonian kings was Aegae, from there the Macedonians expanded their kingdom towards Thrace and Illyria. The Macedonians were Greek speakers, they had Greek names, they worshiped Greek deities and were allowed to participate in the Olympic games and the other Panhellenic festivities including the Amphictionic league etc. Alexander I of Macedon during the Greco-Persian wars according to Herodotus came to the Greek allied camp and declared himself a Hellene and gave important information of the Persian plans and position of their armies. Also according to Herodotus the Macedonians were coming from a Greek Dorian tribe called Makednoi and were descendants of the Temenidae of Argos. Also the ancient historian Thucydides says in his work that the Macedonian kings are coming from the Temenidae of Argos. The Macedonians also took part in the Peloponnesian war which was a Greek civil war. King Brasidas of Sparta and King Perdicas II of Macedon made two common campaigns against their foes the Athenians and against the Illyrians in 424BC. King Archaelaus later around 400BC relocated the Macedonian capital from Aegae to the city of Pella. King Philip II of Macedon decided to unite the Hellenes and campaign against their common enemies the Persians. King Philip despite, the political accusations of Demosthenes, was a true Hellene and was awarded as an Olympic champion in 356BC the same year when his son Alexander was born. Alexander's mother was Olympias a Molossian Greek princess from Epirus. Philip's ultimate plan was to unite the Hellenes against the Persians for that purpose after his victory at Chaeronea he created the league of Corinth. Unfortunately Philip was assasinated and he never saw his plans coming true. Alexander fulfilled the vision of his father he beat the Persian armes at the river of Granicus and went into troy where he made dedications and offerings to his favorite hero Achilles and continue on his campaigns further into Asia. Finally Alexander after the battles of issus, the siege of Tyrus and the battle of Gaugamela, he conquered the Persian empire and went further into India. After his victory at Hydaspes river and the refuse of his army to continue on he returned back into Babylon. Alexander also founded many cities which were centers of Greek culture and all these cities had the name Alexandria through out his empire. Alexander spread Greek culture from Greece all the way to india and after his premature death the Hellenistic world was created. The Macedonians in the east were called Yonas or Yaunas or Yunan which is another name for the Hellenes. King Seleucus Nicator is being called as a Greek king in the edicts of Ashoka. Clearly Alexander the great had created a Greek empire and he was a true hero of Greece like Hercules and Achilles which he saw as his ancestors. All the inscriptions of the Macedonians were written in the Greek koine and all their coins had Greek gods and heroes. Alexander also in antiquity was depicted wearing often a lion skin just like Hercules the great Greek hero of mythology</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQT1LlwLOqogg4vwjBOB9OWwiIqImKwq41gua885mIDgC65ZTEONXBH4sNO1PV4OC_IYVfO-r7I9uGVgBteKEX_lm56iNrCu2WCUrCibYqTCQpOEbGLixjzENxGr8hwIpuQThPtQNL9E73/s1600/1990.24.0387.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQT1LlwLOqogg4vwjBOB9OWwiIqImKwq41gua885mIDgC65ZTEONXBH4sNO1PV4OC_IYVfO-r7I9uGVgBteKEX_lm56iNrCu2WCUrCibYqTCQpOEbGLixjzENxGr8hwIpuQThPtQNL9E73/s320/1990.24.0387.jpeg" width="213" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsLV81BLZAa1_DiL3wRxEAMxlPnZpzYnGiWPDtJI-yRVjbFC0LGID63rS20fPazZiNVim0rrt8Y52qmxaf569nMAQtRx5D5gQxsIcH2iYdiTSJJU2oM7GbPtpYxmGjWu0SrTqZvbXIMgpq/s1600/Alexander_The_Great_with_lion_scalp%5B8%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsLV81BLZAa1_DiL3wRxEAMxlPnZpzYnGiWPDtJI-yRVjbFC0LGID63rS20fPazZiNVim0rrt8Y52qmxaf569nMAQtRx5D5gQxsIcH2iYdiTSJJU2oM7GbPtpYxmGjWu0SrTqZvbXIMgpq/s320/Alexander_The_Great_with_lion_scalp%5B8%5D.jpg" width="236" /></a></div>
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Here we see in the left Hercules wearing his lion skin (525-500BC) and from the right we see Alexander the great wearing also a lion skin. This was done in Macedonian art in order to emphasize their Greek Dorian roots.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLkd_IKI0gM03_ehyphenhyphen6hjSCRmGBL-trMgmA8GTJtFuMB74aIAgm9U3JMifePkNCsGAtb8FyIrCtGXPIapiw9D-rhbkUBW5SxIWtGZKNhQfgRGxYGqCbEceb-IErU4NxRE0QkHjTb-w6Hqql/s1600/Alexander_lion+skin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLkd_IKI0gM03_ehyphenhyphen6hjSCRmGBL-trMgmA8GTJtFuMB74aIAgm9U3JMifePkNCsGAtb8FyIrCtGXPIapiw9D-rhbkUBW5SxIWtGZKNhQfgRGxYGqCbEceb-IErU4NxRE0QkHjTb-w6Hqql/s200/Alexander_lion+skin.jpg" width="155" /></a></div>
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Here we see another depiction of Hercules next to Cerberus and wearing the skin of the Nemean lion. From the right we see Alexander the great a proud descendant of the Heraclid Argead dynasty of Macedonia.<br />
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Alexander created a Greek world which included three continents all the way to India and was remembered for it as Greece's greatest hero.<br />
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Many Roman historians like Flavius Arrianus viewed Alexander as a Greek king and states in his work Alexander's Anabasis that Alexander after his victory at Granicus he sent to Athens trophies from the battle and an inscription "Alexander son of Philip and the Greeks without the Spartans from the lands of barbarians which they habit Asia" ("Αλέξανδρος Φιλίππου και οι Έλληνες, πλην Λακεδαιμονίων, εκ των βαρβάρων, των την Ασίαν κατοικούντων"). The same inscription according to Arrian made a reference for the Greek mercenaries who fought in the persian army that they were indeed Greeks but they fought against Greece in favor of the barbarians (ότι Έλληνες όντες, εναντία τη Ελλάδι, υπέρ των βαρβάρων εμάχοντο). While Strabo in his work "Geographika" concludes that Macedonia is part of Greece (Εστιν ουν Ελλας και η Μακεδονια). The successors of Alexander fought each other and exhausted themselves until the Romans conquered their lands. King Antiochus III of Seleucia in 192 BC tried to liberate Greece from the Roman oppression he went to Greece with his army and was elected leader of the Aetolian league. Unfortunately the Greek Macedonian king Antiochus was defeated by the Romans at thermopylae in 191BC. The last Hellenistic kingdoms were the ptolemaic egypt which fell in 30BC and the Indo Greek kingdom in around 10BC or 30AD. Finally Plutarch another historian of the Greco-Roman world concludes that Alexander was a Greek king and Pausanias that Macedonia is a Greek land. <br />
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<u>Alexander the great in medieval Greek literature</u></h3>
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Many Byzantine authors including George Hamartolos wrote the history of Alexander the great. Such works including the Iliad and the Odyssey were popular amongst the Byzantines whose culture and language was Greek and especially after the 7th cent.</div>
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Here we see bellow a Byzantine manuscript of the 11th
cent
written in Greek
from the archives of the Marciana library of Venice with the deeds and the life of Alexander the great.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzE24ZQUMa2QmlDrz6gvqtt8InyMIh6FDNmBPGwC48u9gqe1k8KLZS9RalnRLlZtev-O8OkLWIWXVpRh6svvvoVK3qZ9dMcqu6QUFW9-A0n3iiES5MaK3dUW4Gjk8nrYc06wldwAygU9C7/s1600/p5310832.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzE24ZQUMa2QmlDrz6gvqtt8InyMIh6FDNmBPGwC48u9gqe1k8KLZS9RalnRLlZtev-O8OkLWIWXVpRh6svvvoVK3qZ9dMcqu6QUFW9-A0n3iiES5MaK3dUW4Gjk8nrYc06wldwAygU9C7/s320/p5310832.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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In this icon we see Alexander holding Bucephalus and besides him is his father Philip.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6L2exSquN89-DmD4LvWkw0cqM9gkOmY7UAjByblscNb3wpPv2GFktJjIkFOk1ihiHculXRz1hl0_V89fRAoO5EPr4Q_UMPELFNjQxQSdnAfSBQ7jQxFcg9_P0hXDi6e4Ccqga2oi_xw-c/s1600/p5310831.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6L2exSquN89-DmD4LvWkw0cqM9gkOmY7UAjByblscNb3wpPv2GFktJjIkFOk1ihiHculXRz1hl0_V89fRAoO5EPr4Q_UMPELFNjQxQSdnAfSBQ7jQxFcg9_P0hXDi6e4Ccqga2oi_xw-c/s320/p5310831.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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In this picture we see Alexander the great chasing king Darius of the Persian empire probably at his victory in Gaugamela.</div>
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In medieval times Alexander's Romance was a popular work and was quite common. The work itself derives from the work of Calisthenes and was first written in Greek by an uknown author of the 3rd century AD. His work is a fusion of history and the deeds of Alexander the great with imaginary elements. <br />
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Bellow are two pages from Alexander's Romance written in Greek in the 14th century AD.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYtZQxKb0KznEuyIsFldKwp6DwHvY9WHX-BMWpo1j3gFFXHkfgxBWTumgU7x1OnRZACMYQ3_vJ9JWt0hoymc4yqiHTGRnDeF8-OvY06k_A5ZtToIt5NPMCc8zJ5uYdBGn7HPe-vvWJHzU_/s1600/9999_min_01_19r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYtZQxKb0KznEuyIsFldKwp6DwHvY9WHX-BMWpo1j3gFFXHkfgxBWTumgU7x1OnRZACMYQ3_vJ9JWt0hoymc4yqiHTGRnDeF8-OvY06k_A5ZtToIt5NPMCc8zJ5uYdBGn7HPe-vvWJHzU_/s320/9999_min_01_19r.jpg" width="234" /></a></div>
In this page we see Alexander the great who according to the description participates in the Olympics.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsDCkbjNpANV0S8fhe2S2pXxInYvaXePlWC9Rghe3iuF7Z7XI4bQREwfYlj4cEeomoQXQi-V4DKK7H2SGcohELI3w_-vYZAnPXys4qQWLjFaZ_dxlXZ4eXtMl39gFOVMYCXiRDcbWu_OCJ/s1600/9999_min_01_63v.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsDCkbjNpANV0S8fhe2S2pXxInYvaXePlWC9Rghe3iuF7Z7XI4bQREwfYlj4cEeomoQXQi-V4DKK7H2SGcohELI3w_-vYZAnPXys4qQWLjFaZ_dxlXZ4eXtMl39gFOVMYCXiRDcbWu_OCJ/s320/9999_min_01_63v.jpg" width="245" /></a></div>
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And here we see Alexander making an offering to god orpheus.</div>
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It should also be clarified that during the Byzantine era the term Macedonia referred to the region of Thrace while Macedonia was called Theme of Thessalonica and theme of Strymon. Thessalonica was a Greek city all the way from antiquity and capital of the region. We see that Alexander the great is part of the Greek medieval literature from the very beginning of the medieval times till the end.<br />
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Alexander the great after the fall of the Byzantine empire still remains as part of the Greek consciousness. The figure of Alexander the great was still in the memory of the Greek nation.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7YEVeNIEUprtBJK_Os_i3gExjCmTw4_jkpmHqq32oBzJpugbJKslAcX2lSjdZdJ59JC77ZDB3uL1ufU21L_GBY2eIS3dOj_QT1MNizmuCthkiVzbKsh65MpjYdvpzQQh7Nz-pc39V1XpC/s1600/sisoes1566.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7YEVeNIEUprtBJK_Os_i3gExjCmTw4_jkpmHqq32oBzJpugbJKslAcX2lSjdZdJ59JC77ZDB3uL1ufU21L_GBY2eIS3dOj_QT1MNizmuCthkiVzbKsh65MpjYdvpzQQh7Nz-pc39V1XpC/s320/sisoes1566.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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In this icon of 1566 from Varlaam monastery in Meteora we see saint Sisois who sees Alexander's grave and is devastated by the sight of the dead king.</div>
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The inscription says: "The great ascetic Sisois before the grave of the Hellene king Alexander, who in older times shone with glory, is horrified, and feeling sorrow over the inconsistency of time and the temporary nature of glory, cries: “Seeing thee, O grave, I shed a heartfelt tear. I remember the common debt. How shall I go through such an end? O death who can escape thee?"</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX8nFEE9XEkkiLMAbcdcDhF04DxbxeKlu2OLX6yAm9y5wn8x_GB9d8AWg5vDPonJbiZAkjKtsqjREiOJlFFqxisNrKPR92ugEXnv3K_WYO-SLipw_XQg0-6wMh0EyBAM6PTx7Vv-PFv6bv/s1600/%CE%92%CE%B1%CF%83%CE%B9%CE%BB%CE%B5%CE%B9%CE%B1%CF%82+%CE%95%CE%BB%CE%BB%CE%B7%CE%BD%CF%89%CE%BD+%CE%B1%CE%BB%CE%B5%CE%BE%CE%B1%CE%BD%CE%B4%CF%81%CE%BF%CF%82+1568.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX8nFEE9XEkkiLMAbcdcDhF04DxbxeKlu2OLX6yAm9y5wn8x_GB9d8AWg5vDPonJbiZAkjKtsqjREiOJlFFqxisNrKPR92ugEXnv3K_WYO-SLipw_XQg0-6wMh0EyBAM6PTx7Vv-PFv6bv/s320/%CE%92%CE%B1%CF%83%CE%B9%CE%BB%CE%B5%CE%B9%CE%B1%CF%82+%CE%95%CE%BB%CE%BB%CE%B7%CE%BD%CF%89%CE%BD+%CE%B1%CE%BB%CE%B5%CE%BE%CE%B1%CE%BD%CE%B4%CF%81%CE%BF%CF%82+1568.jpg" width="253" /></a></div>
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And here we see Alexander the great with the inscription "King Alexander of the Hellenes" in a drawing of Dochiariou monastery in Athos 1568. </div>
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In this document of 1631 written in Greek from prince John Alexander of Vallachia. The prince writes the history from the beginning of the world until the fall of Constantinople. In his work the prince clearly states Alexander as a Greek king. </div>
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The document in this page says : End of the Persian rule. Beginning of the rule of the Hellenes. And continues on describing who was the first king of Macedon until the era and the deeds of Alexander.</div>
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Various testimonies from the 18th century:<br />
In 1701 the Greek bishop of Antioch states that the Greeks praise Alexander for his deeds.<br />
In 1738 a Greek merchant in Holland says "My God rise up a new Alexander"<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYT7JSfwV0N00359MlG2POdzbUPbhpsEVtOaRvo0NhjUmZLeEBzbv_oDGLVQNcOfaj_35uLNTeyUoqjKoIHpVltb2SXNrkKKQR5ftyibsDfPSF_6WMOdWYEPLmu3hBbaRxdJVOiHLclBIF/s1600/%CE%BC%CE%AD%CE%B3%CE%B1%CF%82+%CE%B1%CE%BB%CE%AD%CE%BE%CE%B1%CE%BD%CE%B4%CF%81%CE%BF%CF%82+%CF%83%CE%B5+%CE%B5%CE%BA%CE%BA%CE%BB%CE%B7%CF%83%CE%AF%CE%B1.jpg+1740.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYT7JSfwV0N00359MlG2POdzbUPbhpsEVtOaRvo0NhjUmZLeEBzbv_oDGLVQNcOfaj_35uLNTeyUoqjKoIHpVltb2SXNrkKKQR5ftyibsDfPSF_6WMOdWYEPLmu3hBbaRxdJVOiHLclBIF/s320/%CE%BC%CE%AD%CE%B3%CE%B1%CF%82+%CE%B1%CE%BB%CE%AD%CE%BE%CE%B1%CE%BD%CE%B4%CF%81%CE%BF%CF%82+%CF%83%CE%B5+%CE%B5%CE%BA%CE%BA%CE%BB%CE%B7%CF%83%CE%AF%CE%B1.jpg+1740.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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In this picture in a Greek church of Kozani in 1740 we see Alexander the great from the right along with Darius and Porus.</div>
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Rigas Fereos in 1797 published Alexander's portrait his goal was to raise the moral of the Greek people with Greece's greatest hero.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRLja988sX0GR8Oc31HU9N2COq9XS1oqjA5IzqghQaHBfp6XhYAvchWhyphenhyphen9YwOzPz2t8KQT18gmZS5thmPwuB4-V2ulWpQUpIsekNa33bGJjIMtOB7CRVRvJvf-8zvip53Hxd5fM1q1Lm3G/s1600/%CE%91%CE%BB%CE%B5%CE%BE%CE%B1%CE%BD%CE%B4%CF%81%CE%BF%CF%82+19.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="127" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRLja988sX0GR8Oc31HU9N2COq9XS1oqjA5IzqghQaHBfp6XhYAvchWhyphenhyphen9YwOzPz2t8KQT18gmZS5thmPwuB4-V2ulWpQUpIsekNa33bGJjIMtOB7CRVRvJvf-8zvip53Hxd5fM1q1Lm3G/s320/%CE%91%CE%BB%CE%B5%CE%BE%CE%B1%CE%BD%CE%B4%CF%81%CE%BF%CF%82+19.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Here is another document from the 1850s, a drawing of Athanasios Iatridis (1798-1866), which depicts Alexander the great as one of the greatest Greek heores. From the left to the right are King Pyrrhus of Epirus, Achilles, Alexander the great, Hommer in a form of a statue and Constantine the great with the phrase en touto nika (in hoc signo vinces). Next to Alexander the artist has written "Hail to the Greek empire". </div>
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The works of Theophilos Kefalas</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9hJ4qXSCIrgvGGzu7YDCREjMAPOfjVy8oEWGjbLP_aLd1ITGKRrWRdriM0XXtWWHRmTvswyjShvebdyfpIH6ydUJEtrdffhW945l_aWOF6ZtnLkxA5ZXC3UMp9Ihjhd06rAzrIFIkQ5ZG/s1600/theophilos++1900.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9hJ4qXSCIrgvGGzu7YDCREjMAPOfjVy8oEWGjbLP_aLd1ITGKRrWRdriM0XXtWWHRmTvswyjShvebdyfpIH6ydUJEtrdffhW945l_aWOF6ZtnLkxA5ZXC3UMp9Ihjhd06rAzrIFIkQ5ZG/s320/theophilos++1900.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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Alexander the great work of Theophilos in 1900</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglhIr-cknP14xgISbOm1IjInhHSmLxCsdiJEPX7eyxtCbh6TSiRFo-YmfiB2gLtAbOdsF_2X8mxgNbU-jPtIZjlZnhfyEpcxKb3XsH5gBrINCHi3g-MZgSYp6G63oOiqV-zDk0xFpXccwO/s1600/theophilos+alexander+in+india.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglhIr-cknP14xgISbOm1IjInhHSmLxCsdiJEPX7eyxtCbh6TSiRFo-YmfiB2gLtAbOdsF_2X8mxgNbU-jPtIZjlZnhfyEpcxKb3XsH5gBrINCHi3g-MZgSYp6G63oOiqV-zDk0xFpXccwO/s320/theophilos+alexander+in+india.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></div>
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Alexander the great in India against king Porus</div>
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Alexander and the mermaid</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXWv2Uk9zWR5lq1dV1dN13H0ddIzXMiUSai3H90iHJlvf4HvSGvSxonWvLVusAoy_Y7eTvYKrI0i5IwIsEiAvodEbjOyMlYgf0EAKHx8ynrezS59Xsts0E-lSz9irBdGtoaxR0m6U-N8AN/s1600/mermaid_alexander_sister.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXWv2Uk9zWR5lq1dV1dN13H0ddIzXMiUSai3H90iHJlvf4HvSGvSxonWvLVusAoy_Y7eTvYKrI0i5IwIsEiAvodEbjOyMlYgf0EAKHx8ynrezS59Xsts0E-lSz9irBdGtoaxR0m6U-N8AN/s320/mermaid_alexander_sister.jpg" width="216" /></a>A popular folk legend in Greece which existed before the 20th century is about Alexander and his sister the mermaid. After the death of Alexander his sister Thessalonike was transformed into a mermaid and wanders in the seas. When she sees a boat she stops and asks the sailors "Is king Alexander alive?". Those who say no he isnt alive she drawns them into the sea. But those who say "yes King Alexander lives and reigns and the whole world he dominates" are passing through with safety.</div>
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According to other folk legends Alexander was a great Greek king who went into Asia and killed the cursed snake. </div>
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Traditional costume from the Greek Macedonian women of Emathia. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgexc30EXxkp_xFUz6T2U7axm0y6L_H4kTGYzdn2gbSnNyyScyedSmmHRwwYg8qHuyanCoOZONiddAHXLXcZyLYU4_HkwUuAjPAkMjiKCttxyuI13fB9P4nz3-7994JR3eBYsxi2zbSfoHz/s1600/247549_10150198019272071_134216497070_6880025_4095433_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgexc30EXxkp_xFUz6T2U7axm0y6L_H4kTGYzdn2gbSnNyyScyedSmmHRwwYg8qHuyanCoOZONiddAHXLXcZyLYU4_HkwUuAjPAkMjiKCttxyuI13fB9P4nz3-7994JR3eBYsxi2zbSfoHz/s320/247549_10150198019272071_134216497070_6880025_4095433_n.jpg" width="228" /></a></div>
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The women of Alexandreia in Emathia wear Macedonian helmets which according to tradition were allowed to wear by Alexander the great. After a barbarian raid the women of Emathia fought the enemy and for their bravery they were allowed to wear helmets which they continued to have from antiquity until today.</div>
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<b><u>Conclusion </u></b></h2>
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Alexander the great was always considered a Greek king from Macedon and his people the Macedonians were considered as Hellenes too. Alexander was always in the Greek consciousness from antiquity till the Byzantine era and during the ottoman era untill the recent times. There was nowhere a separate Macedonian nation neither in antiquity nor in medieval times. Macedonia means Greece, Alexander the great was Greece's greatest leader, history and truth cannot be distorted.</div>
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<b><u>Sources</u></b></h2>
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<li>Εγκυκλοπεδια Ιστορια του Ελληνικου εθνους</li>
<li>Νεοελληνικος διαφωτισμος Κ.Θ.Δημαρας</li>
<li><a href="http://www.safem.gr/%CE%9F%CE%A0%CE%A4%CE%99%CE%9A%CE%9F%CE%A5%CE%9B%CE%99%CE%9A%CE%9F/%CE%95%CE%A1%CE%93%CE%91%CE%95%CE%9B%CE%9B%CE%97%CE%9D%CE%A9%CE%9D%CE%9A%CE%91%CE%9B%CE%9B%CE%99%CE%A4%CE%95%CE%A7%CE%9D%CE%A9%CE%9D/tabid/74/Default.aspx">http://www.safem.gr/ΟΠΤΙΚΟΥΛΙΚΟ/ΕΡΓΑΕΛΛΗΝΩΝΚΑΛΛΙΤΕΧΝΩΝ/tabid/74/Default.aspx</a></li>
<li><a href="http://history-of-macedonia.com/wordpress/2011/05/16/1631-ellinikotita-makedonon/">http://history-of-macedonia.com/wordpress/2011/05/16/1631-ellinikotita-makedonon/</a></li>
<li><a href="http://hellenicantidote.blogspot.gr/2008/07/mortality-of-alexander-great.html">http://hellenicantidote.blogspot.gr/2008/07/mortality-of-alexander-great.html</a></li>
<li>Other sources from the Internet</li>
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Iaonashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08005740090163340741noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7333072531526507845.post-23428822825910856942011-12-11T02:08:00.027-08:002013-10-05T07:15:55.104-07:00Greek Conquistadors and explorers in the Spanish army<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, in the hands of the Ottomans many Greeks migrated to European countries. Many of them went to Italy, France, Austria, Russia and Spain. Most of them managed to prosper in various sectors, such as merchants, artists, scholars, soldiers or even officers in foreign armies. Many Greeks migrated to Spain, one of the most famous was El Greco (whose name was Dominikos Theotokopoulos), a great artist and distinguished painter (he is considered as the father of Expressionism). But besides El Greco there were others who even served in the Spanish army. Many of those Greek soldiers were mercenaries, or Condottieri, who helped the Spanish against the Ottomans in many battles. Greek soldiers even traveled to the New world in the 16th century, where they served as shipmasters, sailors, soldiers and especially as artillerymen, conquistadors and explorers. Many of those Greeks knew how to manufacture gunpowder and could operate cannons and firearms.<br />
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<b><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Don Theodoro Griego</span></u></b></h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicrse90JMKNDa-CJGjPNAawHFSdFK0XtGgEg2YOo3lvPvq5a0dmMiiK0q16sdys5r8CzBkb7hv-sGhBDqgwOgfIeVAJt4K89E2nvhU3G0FnoG4qVa54DaQP3Lih7SYepYdhY4gkT7pr_jb/s1600/3415125912_9f4d30fa7b_z.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicrse90JMKNDa-CJGjPNAawHFSdFK0XtGgEg2YOo3lvPvq5a0dmMiiK0q16sdys5r8CzBkb7hv-sGhBDqgwOgfIeVAJt4K89E2nvhU3G0FnoG4qVa54DaQP3Lih7SYepYdhY4gkT7pr_jb/s320/3415125912_9f4d30fa7b_z.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Theodoro Griego was a Greek explorer and conquistador, he was born in the Aegean and later moved into Spain. He then set sailed from the spanish port of Sanlucar de Barrameda and followed Panfilo de Narvaez in his expedition to North America in 1527. He was one of the first Greeks to reach the new continent (America) in the modern era. The expedition sailed from Cuba in 1527 and reached Florida. Narvaez ordered his men to explore Florida and march further to the north, in 1528 they reached the Apalachee, but Narvaez arrogantly attacked the Indians and destroyed their settlements. Soon after they were attacked by the Apalachee warriors and they run out of resources. At that difficult moment Don Theodoro made 5 rafts, using liquid from pines, wood and leather and saved most of his companions. Eventually Don Theodoro Griego was killed searching for water in a nearby Indian settlement. Most of the men who participated in the Narvaez expedition were killed, including Narvaez himself and only 4 survived to tell the story. Today a statue has been erected in Florida in the city of Tampa in honor of this great Greek Conquistador and explorer.<br />
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<b><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Pedro de Candia</span></u></b></h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWHMJ8-3Pi0ZdrRG3mI4l-hRv3AWhSsDCLRe-lYIMqoyfSsxYwmtp84rmyYom3Md8VXk55LKSPdeCwi-rh0K-WldE6hftHNhTDD53GEcfN8HL7EZhwK1EpesbfUo74V2BNvYqZMr91sVPc/s1600/Arcabucero-Pedro_de_Candia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWHMJ8-3Pi0ZdrRG3mI4l-hRv3AWhSsDCLRe-lYIMqoyfSsxYwmtp84rmyYom3Md8VXk55LKSPdeCwi-rh0K-WldE6hftHNhTDD53GEcfN8HL7EZhwK1EpesbfUo74V2BNvYqZMr91sVPc/s320/Arcabucero-Pedro_de_Candia.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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Pedro de candia was born in Crete somewhere in 1485 or 1494 in the Greek city of Candia (Heraclion), he was a Greek conquistador and explorer and his Spanish companions and Spanish archives called him El Griego. Pedro de Candia served in the Spanish army as Condottieri and fought the Turks in many places of the Mediterranean sea and he also participated in various battles in Italy. Later he married the daughter of a Duke in Spain at Villapando, his descendants became members of the Spanish and Italian nobility. In 1526 he followed Pedro de los Rios to Panama (also known as Tierra Firme). In 1527 he joined the expedition of Francisco Pizarro and Diego de Almagro, who went to explore the lands south of Panama. During that expedition Diego de Almagro and Francisco Pizarro argued, as Almagro wanted to return to Panama to take provisions and reinforcements, while Pizarro refused to return. Pizarro decided to stay in the isla del Gallo and only Pedro de Candia and few men which were called the famous 13 (Los Trece de fama) decided to stay with Pizarro. When Diego de Almagro returned Pizarro and his men joined another expedition to the south. They passed todays Colombia and Equador and reached northern Peru. There Francisco Pizarro sent Pedro de Candia to explore the city of Tumbes. The Greek Conquistador entered alone the Inca city, the indians were astonished by the looks of Pedro de Candia, as he was wearing a shining armor and was very tall and white, with blue eyes and black hair and beard (In fact Pedro de candia was the tallest man amongst the Spaniards). He was then brought infront of</div>
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the Inca governor who was very curious of his arquebus and challenged him to prove his might. Pedro de Candia then aimed and fired a wooden tablet which he completely destroyed. As soon as the sound of the firearm was heard some indians screamed and others fell to the ground terrified. The Inca governor then ordered to bring wild beasts (apparently Jaguars) to see what Pedro de Candia would do. Pedro then fired again with his arquebus and the wild beasts approached him and stood calmly by his side. The governor of Tumbes then said to him that he holds the thunder of the sky and made an offering to him, an offer which is made to the gods and especially Illapa the god of thunder! Then the virgin priestesses of the sun god, escorted him to the sun temple of Tumbes. In the city Candia noticed golden and silver leafs and Jewels unprotected and in public in common sight. The gold or the silver for the Indians was of no importance. When Candia returned into the Spaniards he reported all that he had seen in the city and his report, especially about the gold and silver, filled the Spaniards with enthusiasm. Pedro de Candia returned in Spain in 1528-1529 and he was declared a nobleman, commander of the artillery of the Spanish army in Peru and was apointed as mayor of Tumbes. In 1532 the Spanish army with Diego de Almagro and Francisco Pizzaro arrived in Peru again, they conquered Tumbes and marched to the south. The Inca emperor Atahualpa attacked the Spanish army at Cajamarca. During the battle Candia's cannons played an important role in the battle, as the indians had never seen cannons before and had a psychological effect on them. At Cajamarca the Spanish army (only 138 men) managed to beat the Inca army (9000 men) and managed to capture Attahualpa himself. After they captured Cuzco which was the capital of the inca empire, Pizarro killed Atahualpa, although the inca emperor had converted to Christianity and requested to spare his life. Pizarro also apointed Manco Inca as the new emperor of Cuzco. In the years that followed Francisco Pizarro and Diego de Almagro became enemies and in 1538 fought each other in the battle of las Salinas. Pedro de Candia and his cannons gave the victory to Pizarro. After that battle Pedro de Candia had aquired much wealth and he even had his own army of about 300 men. In 1538 he decided to make an expedition east of Cuzco with his men, in search of a mythical kingdom similar to El Dorado which was called Ambaya and according to the indians, it was full of riches (It should be noted that gold for the indians was not a sign of wealth). Pedro de Candia had learnt of the existance of that kingdom, as he had friendly relations with the native indians and he even had one son with an Indian woman. Candia and his army travelled EAST of Cuzco and entered a dangerous jungle in an area called today as Madre de Dios. The jungle was an unfriendly enviroment for Candias men, and it was also habited by fierce indian tribes which were also practising cannibalism. Facing the indian attacks in the jungle and mistrust by his men he decided to return to Cuzco. In the following years Francico Pizarro was assassinated by Diego the son of Almagro. War broke out in 1542 between Almagro the younger and the brothers of Pizarro. Pedro de Candia and his men this time joined the forces of Almagro. Amongst Candia's men there were many Greeks under his command, 16 of them were engineers who could operate and create cannons and gunpowder. From the other side were also 4 or 5 Greeks in the army of the Pizarro brothers. Almagro and Candia met the forces of the Pizarro brothers at a place called Chupas. Almagro's men before the battle discovered one letter which was sent for Candia by the Pizarro brothers that talked to him to betray Almagro. The letter never came in the hands of Candia, although in the battle of Chupas, Candia and his Greek artillery men performed very badly, something that Diego Almagro the younger recieved as treachery. As the battle was lost Almagro run with anger against Candia and killed him with his own hands. Very soon Almagro was killed as he tried to find refuge in the walls of Cuzco. This was the end of one of the greatest Conquistadors and explorers of the New world.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Map of Pizarro's conquest of Peru.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Jorge Griego</u></b></span></h2>
Jorge Griego (George the Greek) was a Greek Conquistador, he was born in Greece in 1504 and followed his Greek friend Pedro de Candia, who was a Conquistador and commander of the artillery, he went in Spain and then to Panama and Peru. Jorge Griego served in the spanish army in Peru as a footman. In 1532 under the command of Francisco Pizarro he participated in the battle of Cajamarca, where the much less Spanish army (probably 138 men) managed to beat the overwhelming Inca army (9000 men) of the Inca emperor Atahualpa. In Cuzco, Jorge received his share from the Inca treasures. He was later appointed as an encomendero in the city of Jauja in Peru. In later years he moved into Lima (where he had a large estate) and participated in 1544 and 1545 in the campaigns of Blasco Nunez Vela and of Pedro de la Gasca. Although it wasn't his profession he manufactured large quantities of gunpowder for the Spanish army. Finally Jorge Griego after 1545 went back to Spain and settled in the city of Seville in the district of Triana.<br />
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<b><u><span style="font-size: large;">Juan Griego (Philippines 1571)</span></u></b></h2>
Another Greek conquistador appears during the Spanish conquest of the Philippines. During the campaign of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi a Greek conquistador named Juan Griego follows Legazpi and for his services he becomes an encomendero (land lord) in the island of Mindanao. His encomienda included many lands of northern Mindanao, however in 1572 Legazpi recalled this encomienda because the Spanish forces did not effectively controlled the area.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spanish map of the island Mindanao 17th century</td></tr>
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<b><u>Juan Griego 1514-1560</u></b></h2>
Juan Griego was another Greek conquistador who served in the Spanish army. After having spent 5 years in the far indies he went to Santo Dominigo in 1514 and in 1518 he went to Cuba. He became a member of the Cortez entrada and after the capture of Tenochtitlan he went to Guatemala. He returned to Mexico (New Spain) and was finally assigned as an encomendero of the province of Atoyaquillo until his death in 1560. It should also be clarified that Juan Griego the encomendero of Atoyaquillo shouldnt not be confused with Juan Griego the encomendero of the Mindanao province. The name Juan or John (Ioannes in Greek) was a common name amongst the Greek population and many Greeks had that name.<br />
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<b><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Juan de Fuca</span></u></b></h2>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2FgTR6cL04EiqTGA-oybb4KjuxZEExJkO488l-_0nRKA_vlD_DaniRKR2ftwiTALUoETh37JF-q4ljZSRvdzkXEihQYg4dTPQz7k8S7z_xPzGvK86zPsMVr0MWSEmiR9ko9jr9hYIPEYM/s1600/Defucamap.GIF" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2FgTR6cL04EiqTGA-oybb4KjuxZEExJkO488l-_0nRKA_vlD_DaniRKR2ftwiTALUoETh37JF-q4ljZSRvdzkXEihQYg4dTPQz7k8S7z_xPzGvK86zPsMVr0MWSEmiR9ko9jr9hYIPEYM/s1600/Defucamap.GIF" /></a>Juan de Fuca was a Greek explorer under the services of the Spanish empire. Juan de Fuca was either called Ioannis Fokas or Apostolos Valerianos. Juan de Fuca was born in the Greek island of Kefalonia in 1536, he later offered his services to the Spanish empire. In 1587 he arrived in New Spain (todays Mexico) and began to travel as a maritime pilot from Mexico to the Philippines and China. His Galleon though santa Anna was attacked by an English ship and was sunk near California. Juan de Fuca survived but he lost all of his fortune. In 1592 the viceroy of New Spain Luis de Velasco ordered him to undertake a journey in an effort to explore the fabled strait of Anian (todays Vancouver). In his first journey he joined the Spanish expedition of 3 ships under the overall command of a Spanish captain. The journey was a failure because of a mutiny and returned to California. In the second journey he lead the expedition with one Galleon and armed marines. He began his journey from Acapulco and went far to the north and finally he found the strait of Anian. Juan de Fuca returned to Acapulco and described the latitude and the geographical composition of the strait. Juan de Fuca never recieved his payment for his services and after two years having not been rewarded by viceroy Velasco, Juan went on to Spain. The old Greek explorer never received his payment in 1596 he decided to return to Kefalonia his homeland. But he met an Englishman, Michael Lok who recorded the journeys of Juan de Fuca and tried to convince the old explorer to join the English navy. Eventually they didn't came to an agreement and Juan de Fuca retired in his homeland and died there in 1602.<br />
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Today the strait in Vancouver bears his name and is called Juan de Fuca strait.<br />
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<b><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Other Greeks who are mentioned in the Spanish army</span></u></b><br />
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Also in Magellan's expedition, 1519-1522 many Greek sailors took part on the journey. It should also be mentioned that amongst the Spaniards the rest of the crew were Greeks, Italians, Portugese, English, French and Germans. These men were the first to make a circumnavigation of the globe, but many of them and including Ferdinand Magellan himself died during that journey and only 18 out of 237 men of the original crew survived. Amongst those 18 survivors, 4 of them were Greeks.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCevQELaoSfgcHByaHpjQcmTBMOXzqMYML4njq0Marjs8sa9OsxpZ8HazEKLdiPsNisTlICVhRkt6jwOn94T3NW1AXGkPFBUbIS7SXx3dtvYp11nZCVGEzXgsyuwxcGJpKKjRJMoXDY5ZI/s1600/0527.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCevQELaoSfgcHByaHpjQcmTBMOXzqMYML4njq0Marjs8sa9OsxpZ8HazEKLdiPsNisTlICVhRkt6jwOn94T3NW1AXGkPFBUbIS7SXx3dtvYp11nZCVGEzXgsyuwxcGJpKKjRJMoXDY5ZI/s1600/0527.jpg" /></a></div>
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The 4 Greek survivors were:<br />
Francisco Albo from Rodas (Island of Rhodes), a maritime pilot<br />
Miguel de Rodas (Island of Rhodes), a maritime pilot<br />
Nicholas the Greek from Nafplion, a mariner<br />
Miguel Sanchez from Rodas (Island of Rhodes), a mariner<br />
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It should also be noted that Francisco Albo was the only one who kept a log book, along with the Italian Antonio Pigafetta. Their descriptions were a valuable source of information for the future explorers.<br />
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Other Greeks who are being mentioned in the Spanish archives are Anton de Rodas a respected Greek shipmaster and commander of two Spanish ships, the first one was San Jorge and the other was San Juan, he was a maritime pilot in the soars of Peru from 1535-1537. He made several journeys from Lima to Panama in the 1540s and finally he settled at Lima in 1550 where he had a large house. He married a Spanish wife and continued to be a ship master in the Pacific sea, at least until 1563. Another Greek shipmaster which is mentioned in the Spanish archives is Juan de Xio a Greek captain from Chios island. While most captains who sailed in the Pacific in the soars of Chille knew nothing of latitude and traveled by instinct, from the other hand Juan de Xio was the only one who navigated during that time (1540) with an astrolabe, a navigating chart and three mariner's compasses. A Greek captain in the Spanish army was Juan Griego, he was born in Seville, in the 16th century he began to make journeys from Spain to the Americas. Juan Griego is being mentioned in a census of 1545, he even founded a city on the island of isla Margarita in Northern Venezuela. Today that city is called Juan Griego and is named after the Greek captain, it has a population of about 28.256 inhabitants and is located on the Marcano municipality of the Nueva Esparta state, in the island of Margarita in Venezuela. Another Greek also named Juan Griego, son of Lazaro Griego from Negreponte or Crete, born in 1566, he participated in the expedition of Juan de Onate against the native indians of the Akoma tribe in Mexico in 1598. Juan Griego is described as a 32 years old man with a grey beard and of good stature, armed and with a big scar in his forehead. Juan was married with his wife Pascuala Bernal, and was one of the first residents of Santa Fe. He also had 3 sons named Lazaro, Juan and Fransisco. Juan died in Santa Fe probably after 1631.<br />
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<b><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Epilogue</span></u></b></div>
The Greeks after the fall of their homeland and the fall of Constantinople seemed devastated but they never yielded, as they managed to rise up again and managed to prosper in various sectors in western Europe, as well as in the Ottoman empire. Many Greeks became successful captains and soldiers, artists and scholars in countries such as Italy and Spain and even in the ottoman empire many high officers, dragomans and captains were of Greek origins. While in Spain Greek scholars and artists like El Greco, distinguished themselves. The Greeks of the Spanish army contributed mainly in the conquest and exploration of the continent of America and played a significant role. Many of them were sailors and captains, others were explorers like Juan de Fuca and artillery men, while some of them were even Conquistadors like Pedro de Candia and Jorge Griego.<br />
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<b><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Sources</span></u></b></div>
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<u><b>Books</b></u></div>
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<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Spanish Peru, 1532-1560: a Social history by James Lockhart</li>
<li>The discovery and the conquest of Peru of Pedro de Cieza by Alexandra Parma Cook and Noble Cook</li>
<li>Men of Cajamarca by James Lockhart</li>
<li>A history of the Conquest of Peru by William H. Prescott </li>
<li>Old ties and new solidarities: studies on Philippine communities by Charles J-H Macdonald and Guillermo M. Pesigan</li>
<li>The encomenderos of new Spain 1521-1555 by Romerich Himmerich y Valencia</li>
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<u><b>And Wiki articles</b></u></div>
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_American">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_American</a></div>
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Griego">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Griego</a></div>
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_de_Fuca">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_de_Fuca</a><br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cagayan_de_Oro">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cagayan_de_Oro</a> </div>
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<b><u>Other links</u></b></div>
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<a href="http://alkek.library.txstate.edu/swwc/cdv/book/25.html">http://alkek.library.txstate.edu/swwc/cdv/book/25.html</a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.greenapple.gr/articlesdesc.php?id=129">http://www.greenapple.gr/articlesdesc.php?id=129</a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://genforum.genealogy.com/peru/messages/709.html">http://genforum.genealogy.com/peru/messages/709.html</a><br />
<a href="http://www.enchantedlearning.com/explorers/1500b.shtml">http://www.enchantedlearning.com/explorers/1500b.shtml</a><br />
<a href="http://cybergata.com/roots/5072.htm">http://cybergata.com/roots/5072.htm</a> </div>
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Iaonashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08005740090163340741noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7333072531526507845.post-18914667336856914462011-11-09T07:30:00.001-08:002012-03-01T15:38:19.032-08:00The Byzantine empire 336-1453<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm9ZjojIxN4A4CcyJ9Hiw6wijU_j0-gi8cfv-HzIOycP3nZWnpBNSAsXNAR5-ZwzaTWFIv0rbzt1HcbaiCn7KQSbcr6LoEj1fl6CGnDp6413aI4nbAOxHWMY8X3pDa4uyoQx_dzDPunPMk/s1600/Constantinople.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm9ZjojIxN4A4CcyJ9Hiw6wijU_j0-gi8cfv-HzIOycP3nZWnpBNSAsXNAR5-ZwzaTWFIv0rbzt1HcbaiCn7KQSbcr6LoEj1fl6CGnDp6413aI4nbAOxHWMY8X3pDa4uyoQx_dzDPunPMk/s400/Constantinople.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
The Eastern Roman Empire or else Byzantium was a majestic empire which lasted over a milenia. Its capital Constantinople (Nova Roma) was founded by emperor Constantine the Great in 330 AD, at the place of the ancient Greek city Byzantio. The empire was the ark of the ancient Greek knowledge, because many ancient documents preserved in the monasteries and the library of Constantinople. The Byzantine empire was connected with the Greek element, because in the eastern roman empire the people used the Greek language and after the 7th century AD it became the official language. The Byzantine society was very advanced, the capital reached 1.000.000 citizens. Also their weapons were very advanced, for example the liquid fire or else the Greek fire as it is called, was a flamethrower weapon and with its use they destroyed the Arab fleet and save europe from Islam. In 530AD emperor Justinianus with his architects Anthemius and Isidorus built the temple of Aghia Sofia, which was the wonder of medieval times. The economy of Byzantium was not Feudalism, as it was in Europe, it was a commercial economy. The empire with missionaries helped culture to expand in the slavic and russian kingdoms. Cyril and Methodius created the slavic alphabet or else Cyrilic alphabet as it called and converted them to Orthodox christianity. The Byzantine empire had many enemies, but outlasted them for many years, especialy with emperor Basil the 2nd the empire was restored. After the death of the emperor Basil (1025) Byzantium began to fall because of incapable emperors. In the year 1071 the Byzantines lost the battle of Manzikert against the Turks, while at the same time Bari fell to the Normans. Emperor Alexius Comnenus and his sucessors began the restoration of the empire. In the year 1204 Constantinople was captured by the crusaders of the 4th crusade. The remnants of the empire were divided in the empire of Nikea, of Trapezunta and in the despotate of Epirus. In the year 1261 Constantinople was recaptured by the Byzantines and Michael Palaeologos became Emperor. The Palaeologian dynasty was the last dynasty of Byzantium. The two civil wars at the years 1324-1357 torn appart the empire. The civil wars gave the oppotunity to the Ottoman turks to invade europe. Emperor John Palaeologos in a last effort asked for help from the Pope, but the people of Constaninople refused his help. In May 29 1453 Constaninople fell to sultan Mehmet the 2nd of the Ottomans. The capital renamed to Istanbul and became the capital of the Ottoman empire. After the capture of the Byzantine capital the Balkans and Hungary fell to the Ottomans rule. The Despotate of Morea fell in 1460 and the empire of Trapezunta fell in 1461. The destruction of the Byzantine empire triggered Renaissance age, because many ancient documents from the monasteries and greek scholars fled to Italy, where they translated the documents from greek to Italian and Latin. The legacy of the Byzantine empire is Orthodoxy, the Orthodox church preserved the memories and the values of the empire until the present day.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWLiD_GY0bHk04de-irYTYq6bABGrylG81GNPU045UtCnNYxlD8NtdePhp7N51R880oJEaf6qRXyIvynpB5TVyFW7hsS4_cznsOLLlRCWl9Hpb0k30fndYrmX0e3Mf6O_UtEzHCCI-q-_y/s1600/university+constantinople.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWLiD_GY0bHk04de-irYTYq6bABGrylG81GNPU045UtCnNYxlD8NtdePhp7N51R880oJEaf6qRXyIvynpB5TVyFW7hsS4_cznsOLLlRCWl9Hpb0k30fndYrmX0e3Mf6O_UtEzHCCI-q-_y/s400/university+constantinople.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The university of Constantinople 5th-15th cent</td></tr>
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</u></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US">The very foundations of the Byzantine culture and intellect lay in the Greco-Roman world and the Christian ideas of the Apostles, Greek philosophy and Greek ideas were a dominant role model of the empire, while the Greek was the official language of the empire at least from the 7th cent AD. The eastern Roman empire was also an empire of the mind and had briliant scholars, in fact the greatest in Europe, as their knowledge and abilities were unmatched. The Byzantines gave emphasis in philosophy and in spiritualism, some of the greatest cultural achievements of the empire were, the Orthodox dogma which dominated and influenced half of Europe and the creation of the Cyrilic alphabet by two Greek brothers, Cyril and Methodius from the city of Thessalonica. The Byzantines had also the first university in medieval Europe which was the Magnaura university in Constantinople (The pandidaktirion) which was founded in 425 AD. The university included schools of medicine, philosophy and law. At the time various economic schools, colleges,polytechnics, libraries and fine arts academies were also open in the city. Byzantine scholars were able of creating automatic machines such as automatic birds and lions by using steam or hydraulic power, advanced weapons such as flamethrowers and grenades and they wrote important works such as the Alexiad by Anna Comnena, the work "De administrando imperio" by emperor Constantine porphyrogenitus </span>and the "Poliorcetica" of Hero of Byzantium. Byzantine scholars were also familiar with the philosophical works of ancient Greece. After the destruction of the library of Alexandria, Constantinople, the imperial capital, had the greatest library in Europe. The library of Constantinople had all the works of ancient Greece and of the Hellenistic world, unfortunatelly the library of Constantinople was looted by the barbaric raids of the Crusaders in 1204. The Byzantine art also had its roots from the Hellenistic world. Byzantine art was expanded in eastern Europe in south Italy and in middle east. Marvelous works of art were created and wonderfull structures were erected. A Byzantine wonder of Architecture was the Hagia Sophia Cathedral and was the greatest building in medieval Europe, while it was built by two Greek architects and mathematicians, Anthemius of Trales and Isidore of Miletus in 537 during the reign of emperor Justinian. The Byzantines not only they influenced Europe but also the Arab world. The islamic world, after the fall of Byzantine Alexandria and the fall of Byzantine Syria, adopted the ideas and philosophy of ancient Greece, the philosophical ideas of Aristotle were very popular amongst various muslim philosophers such as Avicenna. The Arabs despite the wars and their rivalry with the Byzanine empire had close contacts with the Byzantines and the Arabs were very intrested in the cultural achievements of the empire, for example the Caliph of Baghdad Al Mamun frequently exchanged letters with Leo the Mathematician, the Byzantine scholar answered all his questions of Astrology, mathematics and philosophy. Byzantine Scholars were also responsible for the creation of the Renaissance age, after the fall of Constantinople in 1453, many ancient documents from the monasteries and greek scholars fled to Italy, where they translated the documents from greek to Italian and Latin.<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: large;"><b><u>The greatest Byzantine Scholars and philosophers</u></b></span><br />
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<b><u>Zosimos of Panopolis 4th cent</u></b><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><b><u>Hypatia 370-415</u></b></span><br />
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<b><u>Nonnus of Panopolis 5th cent</u></b><br />
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<b><u>Proclus 415-485</u></b><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><b><u>John Philoponus 490-570</u></b></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><b><u>Anthemius and Isidore 6th cent</u></b></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><b><u>Stephanus of Byzantium 6th cent</u></b></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><b><u>Stephen of Alexandria 610-641</u></b></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><b><u>Callinicus of Heliopolis 7th cent</u></b></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><b><u>Marcus Graecus 8th cent</u></b></span></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><b><u>Leo the Mathematecian 790-869</u></b></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><b><u>Photios I of Constantinople 810-893</u></b></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><b><u>Cyril and Methodius 9th cent</u></b></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><b><u>Hero of Byzantium 9th cent</u></b></span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US"><b><u>Michael Psellus 1017-1078</u></b></span><br />
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<b><u>Anna Comnena 1083-1153</u></b><br />
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<b><u>George Pletho Gemistus 1355-1452</u></b><br />
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<b><u>Basilios Bessarion 1403-1472</u></b><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><b><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Byzantine society</span></u></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><u><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil0zVsSzzeCGfYqc8xXJLiT1lUKspbMIEQHzby0mArP3cezPZwpYm_GxiHiW07T_zrrkMKttLuTW9CE8suZ1lS8v1RtiyEUCuDt-hbEtkB_34yZFdAz1Myak3pMU1I_p75D7U2jBEgXeYX/s1600/hippodrome2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil0zVsSzzeCGfYqc8xXJLiT1lUKspbMIEQHzby0mArP3cezPZwpYm_GxiHiW07T_zrrkMKttLuTW9CE8suZ1lS8v1RtiyEUCuDt-hbEtkB_34yZFdAz1Myak3pMU1I_p75D7U2jBEgXeYX/s320/hippodrome2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The Byzantines called themselves as Romaioi and their empire as kingdom of the Romans (Basilion ton Romeon) or Romania (Ρωμανια), but their cultural identity and language was Greek. The Byzantine society was very advanced, the Byzantine capital had reached 1.000.000 citizents at its high peak. Constantinople was the greatest city in the medieval world, even greatest in population from Bejiing. Clearly we see the greatness of byzantine society in the work of Henri Pirenne "Medieval cities: Their origins and the revival of trade". While in west and north Europe people lived enclosed in small fortified castles being depended by the land as the economical system in Europe was feudalism, while Byzantium had a commersial economy. Trade was very limited in Europe as the people were forbiden to move from their villages or cities. The Feudal system had the people binded by the land and the Feudarch had the full control over his subjects. That had as a result to limit trade and eventually caused the collapse of the Carolingian economy. Feudalism had led Europe to economic exhaustion and prevented the development of trade and the growth of cities. While the Byzantine society had a growing economy as it was based on a commercial system. Byzantine traders traveled to the middle east and even in the far east. Byzantine trade had even reached china and fine Silks were brought to Constantinople eventually the Byzantines developed their own silk industry and made great profits from the silk trade. The Orthodox Church had a leading role in Byzantium, there wasnt much superstition amongst the circle of the orthodox church although, the issue of iconoclasm had created serious problems and divided the Byzantine society and hierarchy.During the issue of Iconoclasm many works of art were destroyed and many people were persecuted and killed. Finally the whole issue was resolved by empress Irene of Athens. The orthodox church also faced various "heretical" dogmas such as the "herecy" of Nestorianism, Arianism and Paulicianism. The emperors were often ruthless against such religious groups. The great hippodrome of Constantinople was a popular mean of entertainment, h<span lang="EN-US">orse racing and chariot racing were popular pastimes in the ancient world and hippodromes were common features of Greek cities in the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine eras. It should also be mentioned that in the Hippodrome were various factions such as the Blue (Veneti) and the green (Prasini) faction. These factions were very popular and their strength could even threaten emperors, for example in the Nika riot the two factions of the hippodrome caused a whole riot from which Justinian almost lost his throne. Like in all empires, there were many nationalities in the Byzantine empire, such as Syrians, Armenians, Slavs, Thracians and Anatolians, but the Greek population was the one which dominated the empire, first the Greeks dominated the empire culturally as they were able to force their culture over all the other groups, and in the 7th cent the Greek language replaced latin in the govermental status. Slowly as the empire shrunk the Greek population became the most dominant and until the 13rd cent AD the Byzantine empire had became a Greek state.</span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><b><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Byzantine military </span></u></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br />
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</u></b></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span">The Byzantine empire faced many enemies and managed to outlast them for centuries, during its over 1000 years existance. The Byzantines faced, Goths, Persians, Arabs, Turks, Slavs, Bulgars, Vikings, Lombards, Crusaders... and managed to survive for a milenia. The Byzantine army was a direct descendant of the Roman army, in the eastern Roman empire legion formations were used at least untill the time of emperor Heraclius in the 7th century AD. Emperor Heraclius reformed the army and that put an end to the old Roman military structure, Heraclius also created the Byzantine themes (Themata), t</span>he very name of the Themes draws its etymology from the Greek word thesis (placement), the themes replaced the former Roman provincial administration. The Byzantine batalions or regiments were called Tagmata, some of the greatest military units were the Cataphracts, the Akrites, which was the border line guard in Anatolia and the Varangian guard.<br />
<div style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">The Varangian guard was formed during the reign of emperor Basil II, the members of that guard were vikings. The Varangians were renowned for their bravery in battle, they were fierce warriors and well respected soldiers. The Byzantines were once tested by their attacks, the Viking Rus had made several raids against the empire, but the Byzantines managed to hold them back with their superior Greek fire weapons. Emperor Basil II created the Varangian guard, since then the Varangians became a trusted ally and one of the best Byzantine units, they participated in many battles, in the balkan peninsula against the Bulgars and in Anatolia and sicily against the Arabs. Other units were the Palatine Scholae which was an elite guard originating from the Roman empire, the Hetaireia (The Company) which was the personal guard of the emperor, echoing from the ancient Macedonian companion cavalry of Alexander the great (hetairoi). The guard was composed by Byzantine Aristocratic members and also by many foreigners such as Franks, in later times it was divided in various units such as the Byzantine immortals (Athanatoi) in the 10th and 11th cent AD. The Byzantines also employed many mercenaries, but the loyalty of these mercenary units was doubtfull, for example the Catalan company was employed by the Byzantines but eventually the Catalans turned against the empire they raided many cities in Thrace and created many problems to the empire.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQnBO5qQpOVjiUDSlb2_35Dh5D_Rij6UtBD1rO0Khgu23S5NJmCW8v_a9mA-XFMyHBafucQ7LeNmEsdjH4FPd1g_VtDThfvoMGMrIyFCID6nWUDapwkzPkzMcQ0C7qo69pIshk0qhHdZ4C/s1600/hist17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQnBO5qQpOVjiUDSlb2_35Dh5D_Rij6UtBD1rO0Khgu23S5NJmCW8v_a9mA-XFMyHBafucQ7LeNmEsdjH4FPd1g_VtDThfvoMGMrIyFCID6nWUDapwkzPkzMcQ0C7qo69pIshk0qhHdZ4C/s320/hist17.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>The Byzantines were also very advanced in the art of warfare. They were the first to use trebuchets in medieval Europe and it apears that the Byzantines were the ones who invented the counterweight trebuchet and it was a very effective weapon especially in sieges. The Byzantines were very innovative and had great engineers, one of them, Leo the mathematician had created an optical telegraph (a system of beacons) which alerted the Byzantines of the movements of the enemy, very quickly.That system gave the upper hand to the Byzantines in Anatolia and secured victory over the Arabs. But of all the Byzantine weapons the greatest was the Byzantine flamethrowers which were called as Greek fire, or as "automaton pyr" (Automatic fire). During an Arab attack against Constantinople in 672 AD Callinicus of Heliopolis brought the weapon to the imperial capital. Callinicus was credited with the invention of Greek fire and the Byzantines achieved victory over the muslim army. The weapon itself was kept secret and the family of Callinicus continued to develop it under secrecy, the Alexiad in the 11th century mentions of Lambros an engineer of Greek fire, who was a descendant of Callinicus.The Byzantines also used flamethrowers at naval battles, they had installed huge fire siphons in their war ships. The Byzantine navy was tested by the saracens but eventually managed to become dominant in eastern mediteranean. The imperial navy also confronted Viking fleets of the Kievan Rus and Normans, the Pisan fleet in 1099 near Rhodes, seljuk and pirate fleets. Also pyrotechnics and cannons were used in the Byzantine army, for example during the siege of Constantinople the Byzantines had installed various cannons on the city walls. There is also an assumption that gunpowder may had been known to Byzantine engineers in Constantinople from the 8th cent AD as some sources mention. The greatest military tacticians in Byzantium were, General Belisarius, general Nikiphoros Ouranos, Emperor Alexius Comnenus, Emperor Basil II, Emperor Heraclius, Emperor Nikiphoros II Phocas and John I Tzimiskes. It should also be mentioned that the title of general was called as Strategos or Stratelates and as Magister (Magistros). Important military works were the Tactica of Leo the wise, the tactica of Nikephoros Ouranos and the Poliorcetica of Hero of Byzantium. Finally the Byzantine army managed to survive for over a milenia but eventually the empire was overrun as enemies apeared from all fronts and due to inner rivalries it finally collapsed.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Why the Byzantine empire was a Greek empire</u></b></span><br />
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</u></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxKbeMaYBnjPzU_ltcKckyJQJ71XAI5G-a-8F-Ci1P2eh_v52sBMb7cPwVoq07Oxdi27EF3fCbEGHD0HdnkfF-79KYZ9PQ1v_tT_he-Im_tvSNUTr0Cel3Jz5-aCSP0hrrYvQnPGEz34Ih/s1600/byzantine1.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxKbeMaYBnjPzU_ltcKckyJQJ71XAI5G-a-8F-Ci1P2eh_v52sBMb7cPwVoq07Oxdi27EF3fCbEGHD0HdnkfF-79KYZ9PQ1v_tT_he-Im_tvSNUTr0Cel3Jz5-aCSP0hrrYvQnPGEz34Ih/s1600/byzantine1.gif" /></a></div>The Byzantine empire was the eastern part of the Roman empire, the people of the empire called themselves as Romaioi (Ρωμαιοι) and called their state as Romania (Ρωμανια) or Kingdom of the Romans (Basilio ton Romeon). The term Byzantine was introduced by Hieronymus wolf a German historian in the 16th century after the fall of Constantinople. The empire was trully Roman only untill the 7th century AD when emperor Heraclius reformed the empire, he abolished latin and made Greek the official language of the empire.It is also true that the name Hellene was corrupted and took the meaning of pagan in the first centuries of the Byzantine empire. But the eastern part of the Roman empire was Greek speaking and was once a part of the Hellenistic world. Heraclius also adopted the tittle of Basileus instead of the Roman tittle of Imperator. From that point and after the empire was becoming more and more Greek and untill the 13rd century AD it had became a Greek state untill its fall. The empire was multinational with a significant Greek population, all these national groups inside the empire, were under the influence of Greek culture, language and education.<br />
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The Byzantines although they called themselves as Romans they were aware of their Hellenic origins. Some examples of their Greek concioucness are:<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Evidence of the use of the term Graikos can be found in the works of Priscus, a historian of the 5th century AD. The historian stated in one of his accounts that while unofficially on an embassy to Attila the Hun, he had met at Attila's court someone who dressed like a Scythian yet spoke Greek. When Priskos asked the person where he had learned the language, the man smiled and said that he was a Greek by birth.</span><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></div><br />
Leo the Mathematecian (790-870 AD) calls himself a Greek through one of his poems with the tittle"To myself who is called Greek" And he describes himself as a modest person who doesnt desire fame or riches.<br />
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Already from the 11th century Anna Comnene ("The Alexiad") uses the name Greeks as a national identification for the people of the empire.<br />
Anna Comnene "The Alexiad"<br />
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Nicetas Choniates insisted on using the name "Hellenes", he states that he cannot continue in writting history, which is one of the greatest inventions of Hellenism and he stressed out the outrages attacks of the "Latins" against the "Hellenes" in the Peloponessus.<br />
Nicetas Choniates, "The Sack of Constantinople", 9 '¦Å, Bonn, pp.806<br />
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Emperor John III Ducas Vatatzes (1192-1254 AD), wrote in a letter to Pope Gregory IX about the wisdom that "rains upon the Hellenic nation"and states that Constantine's heritage was passed on to the Hellenes, so he argued, and they alone were its inheritors and successors.<br />
John Vatatzes, "Unpublished Letters of Emperor John Vatatzes", Athens I, pp.369--378, (1872)<br />
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Theodore II Lascaris (1222-1258), was eager to project the name of the Greeks with true nationalistic zeal. He made it a point that "the Hellenic race looms over all other languages" and that "every kind of philosophy and form of knowledge is a discovery of Hellenes... What do you, O Italian, have to display?"<br />
Theodore Lascaris, "Christian Theology", 7,7 & 8<br />
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In the 14th cent AD Nikolaos Kavasilas calls Greeks the scholars of Thessaloniki, and the city as "house of Hellenism". Nicephorus Blemmydes referred to the Byzantine emperors as Hellenes. Theodore Alanias (in 1204) wrote in a letter to his brother that "the homeland may have been captured, but Hellas still exists within every wise man".<br />
Nicephorus Blemmydes, "Pertial narration", 1, 4<br />
Theodore Alanias, "PG 140, 414"<br />
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The neo-platonic philosopher George Gemistos Plethon (15th cent AD) stated "We are Hellenes by race and culture".<br />
George Gemistus Plethon, "Paleologeia and Peloponessiaka", pp.247<br />
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The scholar, teacher, and translator, John Argyropoulos (15th cent AD) calls John VIII Palaiologos as a Greek king and addresses him as "Sun King of Hellas".<br />
Makrides, Vasilios (2009). Hellenic Temples and Christian Churches: A Concise History of the Religious Cultures of Greece from Antiquity to the Present. New York, New York: New York University Press.<br />
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Two days before the fall of Consantinople the Emperor Constantine Paleologos calls the city as "The joy and hope of all Greeks".<br />
Sphrantzes, George (1477). The Chronicle of the Fall.<br />
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<u>Byzantine papacy and Byzantine Rome</u><br />
Another fact which confirms that the empire was Greek , is that when the city of Rome was in Byzantine hands, Greek Popes were elected (678-752). Popes like saint Pope Agatho and Pope Zachary were of Greek origins. From 678 to 752, thirteen popes were elected, 11 of them were either of Greek origins or Greek speaking. This is another fact that confirms the turning point of the 7th cent AD, the reforms of Emperor Heraclius had changed the latin character of the empire into Greek and that is reflected and during the Byzantine papacy of 678 to 752.<br />
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</div><div>The foreigners saw the empire as Greek and reffered to it as Imperium Graecorum. For Pope Gregory the great, Gregory of Tours, Isidore of Seville, Liutprand of Cremona, Paul the Deacon the chronicler of the lombards, wiliam of Tyre and many others the eastern Roman empire was Greek and all the western documents call the empire as Imperium Graecorum which means a Greek empire. Also Stefan Dousan after conquering parts of the Byzantine empire took the title of "Imperator Grecorum et Raxie".<br />
While the vikings saw the Byzantines as Greeks.In their runestones which are being called as Greece runestones, they recorded the Byzantine empire as a Greek empire.<br />
<span lang="EN-US">"On these runestones the word Grikkland ("Greece") appears in three inscriptions, the word Grikk(j)ar ("Greeks") appears in 25 inscriptions, two stones refer to men as grikkfari ("traveller to Greece") and one stone refers to Grikkhafnir ("Greek harbours"). Constantinople is being mentioned by the Norse as Miklagard which means the big city. Rune inscriptions are even to be found inside the Hagia Sophia temple and were made by the Varangian troops who served in the Byzantine army."</span><br />
<span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece_runestones">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece_runestones</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span lang="EN-US"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><u><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><u><b>Epilogue</b></u></span></div><br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjpYP2ihaFcBVCGPJlw87AJ1ZXp23o9Qlsgo-09zFOLdy8mCT4jsoBt1sfdErNtH1HjF-9gI9_8m3hleeuvybCxBg46hFrnrBkd6QlE5gGCR0y_BVmn1YhhS6gfizURyeMOoEqElqvzDF8/s1600/Eastern-orthodoxy-world-by-country.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjpYP2ihaFcBVCGPJlw87AJ1ZXp23o9Qlsgo-09zFOLdy8mCT4jsoBt1sfdErNtH1HjF-9gI9_8m3hleeuvybCxBg46hFrnrBkd6QlE5gGCR0y_BVmn1YhhS6gfizURyeMOoEqElqvzDF8/s320/Eastern-orthodoxy-world-by-country.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">The orthodox world</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
The Byzantine empire or else Eastern Roman empire was the most powerfull and most advanced state in medieval europe. The empire was a direct descendand of the Roman empire, but it transformed into a Greek empire, as its language and culture after the 7th cent AD was Greek. Constantinople was a beacon of knowledge and art and it was the greatest city in the world. The empire managed to survive for over 1000 years, an achievement that few empires acomplished in world history. The empire ceased to exist by 1453 and 1461 (fall of Trapezunta), but its legacy remained. Some reminders of this legacy are, the Cyrilic alphabet, the Byzantine art and the Orthodox church.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><u>Sources</u></b> </span><br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Henri Pirenne "Medieval cities their origins and the revival of trade"</li>
<li>James Riddick Partington "A history of Greek fire and gunpowder"</li>
<li>Anna Comnena "The Alexiad"</li>
<li>History of the Greek nation, Academy of Athens (Ιστορία του Ελληνικού έθνους, Ακαδημία Αθηνών)</li>
<li>Γιώργος Καραμπελιάς "1204 Η διαμόρφωση του Νεώτερού Ελληνισμού"</li>
<li>Νίκος Σβορώνος "Επισκόπηση της Νεοελληνικής ιστορίας"</li>
<li>Articles from wikipedia</li>
</ul><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece_runestones">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greece_runestones</a><br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_Papacy">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_Papacy</a><br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_army">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_army</a><br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_the_Greeks">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_the_Greeks</a></div></div>Iaonashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08005740090163340741noreply@blogger.com1