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Library of Alexandria (Original)

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Raven
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« Reply #90 on: April 02, 2008, 01:19:10 pm »

Michelle Sandberg

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   posted 12-22-2005 01:07 AM                       
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Intellectual life in Roman Alexandria
The discovery of lecture halls at Kom Al-Dikka has generated popular interest, hasty conclusions and a number of revelations. Jill Kamil assesses the evidence


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The Polish mission at Kom Al-Dikka in Alexandria has made several exciting finds over the years, but their latest discovery hard on the heels of the establishment of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina has set tongues buzzing.

Grzegorz Majcherek, director of the Polish-Egyptian mission which has been excavating at Kom Al-Dikka for the past 40 or more years, insists that overzealous journalists have rather too hastily linked this latest discovery in Alexandria to the ancient library.

"In fact, the newly-excavated complex of lecture halls brings us no closer to determining the actual position of the famous library of antiquity," he says.

Majcherek admits that no physical traces of the renowned institution had yet come to light. "We are still unable to answer questions of key importance such as where it originally stood, and what was its ultimate fate," he says.

Archaeology has tried in vain to come to terms with the great Alexandria Library, which remains a living myth even though it is claimed that the Bibliotheca Alexandrina is built on its original site. Ever since Abdel-Rahman Al- Jabarti, better known as Al-Falaki (the astronomer), began to dig systematically for the ancient ruins in Alexandria in the late 19th century, a search for the library has proved a challenge matched only by that for the tomb of Alexander the Great. In both cases, archaeology has far been defeated.

However, Majcherek hastened to add, the discovery Al- Dikka did throw new light on key issues such as the nature of academic life in the Alexandria of late antiquity. It also provided astonishing evidence that the intellectual vitality and tradition of Alexandrian science -- as symbolised by the library and mouseion -- continued well into the seventh century. "Alexandrian scholarship did not end with the murder of Hypatia, the famous female philosopher and mathematician," Majcherek says. "The lecture halls in fact bridged the gap between classical antiquity with the emerging Arab civilisation."

The Roman ruins at Kom Al-Dikka, which lie at the very heart of Alexandria not far from the intersection between Nabi Daniel and Hurriya streets, have yielded surprises ever since the Polish mission in Egypt was first asked to evaluate the antiquities that came to light when an artillery position built by Napoleon's troops was being cleared for development. It soon became clear that the site was far too important to be sacrificed to progress. Excavations commenced, and although the area constitutes the only fragment of the ancient urban layout, discoveries made there season after season have been accompanied by impressive reconstruction.

Among the finds were monumental Roman red-brick baths dating from the fourth century and closely associated with an elevated cistern that supplied water, as well as a small theatre with marble tiers of the same period. Both buildings opened to the west into a large open space lined with columns, the agora of late antique Alexandria.

The eastern side of the agora underwent reconstruction in the sixth century, with meeting rooms being built within the colonnade. The theatre was also radically transformed: a dome was constructed over the tiers of steps, thus creating a huge lecture hall in line with surprisingly well preserved smaller chambers.

More recent excavations have revealed a vast complex of well-preserved lecture halls of late Roman (fifth to seventh century) date. Some of them had been explored in the 1880s, but their total number has now grown to 13 and Majcherek says that only now has their purpose become apparent. The auditoria have similar dimensions to, and stretch along, the theatre portico, which is also the eastern colonnade of a large public square in the centre of the city. In all the rooms rows of stepped benches run along the walls in a horseshoe shape, with an elevated seat for the lecturer at the rounded end. When new rows of seats appeared in place of the lateral parodoi (passageway separating the stage from the auditorium), the classical semicircular plan of the cavea (auditorium) was changed into a horseshoe-shaped arrangement that archaeologists immediately recognised as similar to that found in the auditoria or lecture halls. The discoveries have shed new light on the function of the theatre, which was excavated back in the 1960s.

The rebuilding on antiquity appears to have been carried out to fulfil the need to adapt to a new function, which was to provide an assembly hall for meetings and lectures, seating a larger audience. Estimates of the capacity of the total number of auditoria, which are estimated to number 20 in all, run at several hundred students, which, incidentally, is the estimated capacity of the theatre structure.

This discovery has caused great excitement, since it has become clear that the Polish mission has actually put a finger on the very hub of intellectual life in late Roman Alexandria. The important issue now, according to Majcherek, is to understand what exactly this complex of auditoria represented. He claims that the entire evidence so far indicates that we are dealing with an academic institution that operated in late antique Alexandria. The central location of the complex in the ancient town, and the characteristic arrangement of particular halls, corroborates the conclusions drawn on their function.

Interestingly, all the halls line the back wall of the portico, which is in itself a monumental setting for the structures. These are rectangular and follow the same orientation, but differ in size. Five are located directly to the north of the theatre and are approximately of the same dimensions -- their length running in the range from nine to 12 metres. All five of the halls are bordered to the east by a long casing wall that separates the auditoria from an area that had already been abandoned and had become a dumping ground for rubbish and debris.

The main differences observed in the halls lying nearer to the northern end of the portico, according to Majcherek, is that while one of the auditoria shows the same characteristics as described above, another, which adjoined it on the south, demonstrates an entirely different plan. It appears to suggest a function quite unlike a lecture hall in that it departs from the described scheme not only in orientation, but also in the internal arrangement. Instead of benches lining three of the walls, there are two distinct tribunes rising high on two opposite walls and, separately, benches inside the apse, very much like those in ancient churches.

Majcherek admits it is difficult to say for certain whether the structure was yet another auditorium. "Perhaps it was rather an ecclesiastical building, a small church or chapel, that was still part of the complex as a whole," he says. However, the absence of evidence of an altar weakens this hypothesis. Even a summary review of known church plans from Egypt reveals no close analogies although, interestingly, churches with a similar layout of benches in the presbytery are known from Jordan and Palestine.

Majcherek points out two distinctive features of all the halls. One is that in some cases the central seat ends with an ordinary block of stone somewhat elevated above the neighbouring seats, and in others with a seat of monumental form with separate steps leading up to it. The other is that almost all the halls have a low pedestal projecting above the floor level, always in the centre of the room opposite the prominently positioned main seat, and usually a stone block covered with plaster -- in one case a marble capital was used for this purpose. Majcherek says these two features are of key importance in identifying the function of the halls. "The central seat undoubtedly served for the important person heading the gathering, and what comes to mind are associations with a lecturer's 'chair', while the pedestal would appear to have been used by students during their oratorical presentations," he says.

The date of the abandonment and destruction of the lecture halls poses no problem. In all the halls investigated, graves of the earliest, eighth-century phase of the Muslim cemetery are recorded, in some cases cut into the pavement or benches of the auditorium. Thus, the auditoria were not abandoned earlier than the late seventh century. This is significant, according to Majcherek, especially in view of evidence that the nearby bath complex was in all likelihood destroyed in consequence of the Persian invasion [in 619 AD] and was never rebuilt. "That being the case, we can be sure that our baths were not heated with the books from the library -- and put an end to the persistent black legend that places blame on Amr Ibn Al-As for its destruction."

Indeed, the lecture halls appear to have survived all the political tribulations of the first half of the seventh century and continued in use for some time afterwards. Certain evidence for this comes from an Arab inscription on one of the pedestals dating from the very beginning of the ninth century. The grand square at the crossroads of the two main arteries of the ancient town were also mentioned in early Arab sources, corresponding perfectly with the topography of Kom Al-Dikka. The location of the complex of auditoria near a square of monumental proportions suggests special status, further emphasised by the nearby presence of imperial baths. This entire urban district encompassing a vast square, baths, theatre and, finally, a set of municipal lecture halls, deserves serious consideration as the proper centre of the social life of Alexandria in late antiquity, and gradually taking over the role of the Ptolemaic gymnasium.

Majcherek points out that while surviving biographies such as the Vita Severi by Zacharias of Mithylene and the Vita Isidori by Damascios, as well as letters and other literary sources, provide a vivid and colourful picture of the academic life of the epoch, none of these records gives topographical references that might help identify the complex. "The richness of historical sources is unfortunately still balanced by archaeological ignorance," he says. "[Kom Al- Dikka] might well be university but we shall have to wait for the results of further excavations before making more specific and univocal conclusions".
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« Reply #91 on: April 02, 2008, 01:20:11 pm »

Brooke

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   posted 12-22-2005 01:46 AM                       
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Wow.
Guess the Christians did do the library after all.

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« Reply #92 on: April 02, 2008, 01:20:31 pm »

Brooke

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It would be difficult finding anything since they were supposed to have built another building on top of it.

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« Reply #93 on: April 02, 2008, 01:21:10 pm »

Riven

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  posted 12-22-2005 01:06 PM                       
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Wishing you a Merry Christmas also Chronos..

Hope you've been a good boy for Santa. Smiley

Thanks for your much appreciated wisdom and hard work Chronos.

This will be a great Christmas for us to remember. Smiley

http://www.mts.net/~perasa/Avila_Atlantis_II_Ocean_View_Riven_05.jpg

The Myth, no longer is.

Merry Christmas.

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« Reply #94 on: April 02, 2008, 01:22:04 pm »

Chronos

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Riven, define, "good." Wink

Actually, thank you for all your hard work. I would hate to think of this forum without you.

Maybe somewhere in the next world, the Library of Alexandria still exists, and we'll all meet there someday, and it will answer every last one of our questions.

Happy New Year to everyone, too.

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« Reply #95 on: April 02, 2008, 01:22:27 pm »

Riven

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Thanks Chronos.

Yes, those Romans were clever weren't they.

Actualy, I think it does still exist.

We just need to get all the books back, that is, if they're not in the Oxyrynchus "Garbage".

I still believe most of those books are out there.

Personaly, I view this garbage as the "scapegoat" for the conformists to continue conforming also. 

If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, dazzle them with vaca de madre.

Sad, but true.

As for "Good", well Chronos, we all know how fond the Gods, Heroes, and Myths were of Women. 

That kinda Good. Man and Woman.

What else is there? 

Spread the Light. 

Peace be with you.
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« Reply #96 on: April 02, 2008, 01:22:50 pm »

Riven

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Sometimes I wonder Chronos,
using GOOGLE EARTH,
and looking WEST of the Great Pyramid
to the Roash hills of birth,
appear a magnificient labyrinth of lines.

Further left, you'll see
large Circular lines so divine,
arranged as such, a library would
to preserve the age of time. 

Tis tru to know the Rose line
to the sun of shadow and light
can a man walk upon the labyrinth
with a book held tight in his might.

and he shall call his book,The Book of Thoth-Riv.

http://www.mts.net/~perasa/Roash%20Labyrinth_Thoth%20Roseline_Riven05.jpg

[ 12-23-2005, 03:10 AM: Message edited by: Riven ]

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« Reply #97 on: April 02, 2008, 01:23:10 pm »

 
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Hmm, I don't get the riddle but believe there must be some answer within the lines. Then, I haven't got Google Earth yet.

Is it free, and, if so, how much of a difference does it make?

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« Reply #98 on: April 02, 2008, 01:23:40 pm »

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Wishing Chronos & Riven, Valerie, Brig & Smiley, also a Merry Christmas.

Brooke, I wished you a Merry Christmas in another thread.

I'm making my rounds right now.

[ 12-24-2005, 04:03 AM: Message edited by: Sarah ]

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« Reply #99 on: April 02, 2008, 01:24:10 pm »

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Long live the Libray of Alexandria. It lives on in our hearts anyway.

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« Reply #100 on: April 02, 2008, 01:24:34 pm »

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Faith: "The Crusaders have been made out repeatedly to be the villains in this war, but you can just as easily see their whole participation as a move to insure their security.

The Muslim world was advancing on the west at that time and unless they gathered together and made war, they would not have been turned back.

And almost all the Muslm states were converted at the point of a sword anyway."


My Response

Faith,

Gosh! Security? Is that what they're teaching in school these days?

The Muslims had advanced into Spain, where they built great cities, wonders of architecture, and and founded large universities that taught mathematics and astronomy... two fields that had been all but abandoned in the rest of Europe. They also preserved the writings of Aristotle in arabic... knowledge of Aristotle (and most greek Philosophy) had been lost to the western world after the Pope ordered the burning of the Library at Alexandria.

Most Europeans showed little interest in Moorish Spain. The purpose of the Crusades was to liberate the land that where Christ had been put to the cross. They eventually beseiged and then entered the city of Jerusalem. Once inside (in the words of E.H. Gombrich (A Little History of the World, Yale University Press,2005), "they behaved neither like knights or Christians. They massacred all the Muslims and committed hideous atrocities."

Something good did come out of the Crusades. While ignoring Muslim accomplishments in nearby Spain, Christians discovered Arab culture --their buildings, sense of beauty, mathematics -- in the distant orient. Eventually much of this knowledge was taken back to Europe. The books of Aristotle were translated from Arabic into Latin and Europeans rediscovered a world of knowledge that had once belonged to them, but which had been held in safekeeping by Arabs for many centuries.

Security? The Crusades had as much to do with security as the war in Iraq has to do with 9/11.

Merry Christmas!
George Erikson

www.AtlantisInAmerica.com

[ 12-25-2005, 11:59 AM: Message edited by: George Erikson ]
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« Reply #101 on: April 02, 2008, 01:24:55 pm »

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Hi George Erikson,

I respectfully disagree. There's no question the Crusaders committed their atrocities, they did. The point is, the Muslimns committed their atrocities as well, but it's more popular these days to simply blame the Christians.

As for the advances in science the Muslims made, well, yes, at the time they were a little more advanced than the west, but by the Renaissance, the west had caught up and has been ahead ever since. Civilizations ebb and flow. The mere fact that there even was a Library of Alexandria can testify to that.

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« Reply #102 on: April 02, 2008, 01:25:49 pm »

 
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George,

You also mentioned security. It's also fashionable to look at the Crusades as an isolated event and paint the Crusaders simply as religious zealots. It's actually more complicated than that.

Here is a timeline if events that Ishtar posted under the Crusades topic that explains all the events that came prior to them between the two cultures. You'll notice that for most of the prior five hundred years before that, the Muslims were the aggressors:

Timeline of the Crusades: Before the Crusades 350 - 1095
0355 After removing a Roman temple from the site (possibly the Temple of Aphrodite built by Hadrian), Constantine I has the Church of the Holy Sepulcher constructed in Jerusalem. Built around the excavated hill of the Crucifixion, legend has it that Constantine's mother Helena discovered the True Cross here.
0613 Persians capture Damascus and Antioch.
0614 Persians sack Jerusalem. damaging the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the process.
0633 Muslims conquer Syria and Iraq.
0634 - 0644 Umar (c. 0591 - 0644) reigns as the second caliph.
0635 Muslims begin the conquest of Persia and Syria.
0635 Arab Muslims capture the city of Damascus from the Byzantines.
August 20, 0636 Battle of Yarmuk (also: Yarmuq, Hieromyax): Following the Muslim capture of Damascus and Edessa, Byzantine Emperor Heraclius organizes a large army which manages to take back control of those cities. However, Byzantine commander, Baänes is soundly defeated by Muslim forces under Khalid ibn Walid in a battle in the valley of the Yarmuk River outside Damascus. This leaves all of Syria open to Arab domination.
0637 The Arabs occupy the Persian capital of Ctesiphon. By 0651, the entire Persian realm would come under the rule of Islam and continued its westward expansion.
0637 Syria is conquered by Muslim forces.
0637 Jerusalem falls to invading Muslim forces.
0638 Caliph Umar I enters Jerusalem.
0639 Muslims conquer Egypt and Persia.
0641 Islam spreads into Egypt. The Catholic Archbishop invites Muslims to help free Egypt from Roman oppressors.
0641 Under the leadership of Abd-al-Rahman, Muslims conquer southern areas of Azerbaijan, Daghestan, Georgia, and Armenia.
0641 Under the leadership of Amr ibn al-As, Muslims conquer the Byzantine city of Alexandria in Egypt. Amr forbids the looting of the city and proclaims freedom of worship for all. According to some accounts, he also has what was left of the Great Library burned the following year. Al-As creates the first Muslim city in Egypt, al-Fustat, and builds there the first mosque in Egypt.
0644 Muslim leader Umar dies and is succeeded by Caliph Uthman, a member of the Umayyad family that had rejected Muhammad's prophesies. Rallies arise to support Ali, Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, as caliph. Uthman launches invasions to the west into North Africa.
0649 Muawiya I, a member of the Umayyad family, leads a raid against Cyprus, sacking the capital Salamis-Constantia after a short siege and pillaging the rest of the island.
0652 Sicily is attacked by Muslims coming out of Tunisia (named Ifriqiya by the Muslims, a name later given to the entire continent of Africa).
0653 Muawiya I leads a raid against Rhodes, taking the remaining pieces of the Colossus of Rhodes (one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world) and shipping it back to Syria to be sold as scrap metal.
0654 Muawiya I conquers Cyprus and stations a large garrison there. The island would remain in Muslim hands until 0966.
0655 Battle of the Masts: In one of the only Muslim naval victories in the entire history of Islam, Muslim forces under the command of Uthman bin Affan defeat Byzantine forces under Emperor Constant II. The battle takes place off the coast of Lycia and is an important stage in the decline of Byzantine power.
0661 - 0680 Mu'awiya, founder of the Umayyad dynasty, becomes the caliph and moves the capital from Mecca to Damascus.
0662 Egypt fell to the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates until 868 CE. A year prior, the Fertile Crescent and Persia yielded to the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates, whose rule lasted until 1258 CE and 820 CE, respectively.
0667 Sicily is attacked by Muslims coming out of Tunisia.
0668 First Siege of Constantinople: This attack lasts off and on for seven years, with the Muslim forces generally spending the winters on the island of Cyzicus, a few miles south of Constantinople, and only sailing against the city during the spring and summer months. The Greeks are able to fend off repeated attacks with a weapon desperately feared by the Arabs: Greek Fire. It burned through ships, shields, and flesh and it could not be put out once it started. Muawiyah has to send emissaries to Byzantine Emperor Constans to beg him to let the survivors return home unimpeded, a request that is granted in exchange for a yearly tribute of 3,000 pieces of gold, fifty slaves, and fifty Arab horses.
0669 The Muslim conquest reaches to Morocco in North Africa. The region would be open to the rule of the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates until 800 CE.
0672 Muslims under Mauwiya I capture the island of Rhodes.
0674 Arab conquest reaches the Indus River.
August 23, 0676 Birth of Charles Martel (Charles the Hammer) in Herstal, Wallonia, Belgium, as the illegitimate son of Pippin II. Serving as Mayor of the Palace of the kingdom of the Franks, Charles would lead a force of Christians that turn back a Muslim raiding party near Poitiers (or Tours) which, according to many historians, would effectively halt the advance of Islam against Christianity in the West.
0677 Muslims send a large fleet against Constantinople in an effort to finally break the city, but they are defeated so badly through the Byzantine use of Greek Fire that they are forced to pay an indemnity to the Emperor.
0680 Birth of Leo III the Isaurian, Byzantine Emperor, along the Turkish-Syrian border in the Syrian province of Commagene. Leo's tactical skills would be responsible for turning back the second Arab Muslim siege of Constantinople in 0717, shortly after he is elected emperor.
0688 Emperor Justinian II and Caliph al-Malik sign a peace treaty making Cyprus neutral territory. For the next 300 years, Cyprus is ruled jointly by both the Byzantines and the Arabs despite the continuing warfare between them elsewhere.
0691 Birth of Hisham, 10th caliph of the Umayyad Dynasty. It is under Hisham that Muslim forces would make their deepest incursions into Western Europe before being stopped by Charles Martel at the Battle of Poitiers in 0732.
0698 Muslims capture Carthage in North Africa.
0700 Muslims from Pamntelleria raid the island of Sicily.
0711 With the further conquest of Egypt, Spain and North Africa, Islam included all of the Persian empire and most of the old Roman world under Islamic rule. Muslims began the conquest of Sindh in Afghanistan.
April 0711 Tariq ibn Malik, a Berber officer, crosses the strait separating Africa and Europe with a group of Muslims and enters Spain (al-Andalus, as the Muslims called it, a word is etymologically linked to "Vandals"). The first stop in the Muslim conquest of Spain is at the foot of a mountain that comes to be called Jabel Tarik, the Mountain of Tarik. Today it is known as Gibraltar. At one time the Berbers had been Christians but they recently converted in large numbers to Islam after the Arab conquest of North Africa.
July 19, 0711 Battle of Guadalete: Tariq ibn Ziyad kills King Rodrigo (or Roderic), Visigoth ruler of Spain, at the Guadalete River in the south of the Iberian peninsula. Tariq ibn Ziyad had landed at Gibraltar with 7,000 Muslims at the invitation of heirs of the late Visigoth King Witica (Witiza) who wanted to get rid of Rodrigo (this group includes Oppas, the bishop of Toledo and primate of all Spain, who happens to be the brother of the late king Witica). Ziyad, however, refuses to turn control of the region back over to the heirs of Witica. Almost the entire Iberian peninsula would come under Islamic control by 0718 CE.
0712 Muslim governor of Northern Africa Musa ibn Nusayr follows Tariq ibn Ziyad with an army of 18,000 as reinforcements for the conquest of Andalusia. Musa's father had been a Catholic Yemenite studying to be a priest in Iraq when he was captured in Iraq by Khalid, the "Sword of Islam," and forced to choose between conversion or death. This invasion of Iraq had been one of the last military orders given by Muhammed before his death.
0714 Birth of Pippin III (Pippin the Short) in Jupille (Belgium). Son of Charles Martel and father of Charlemagne, in 0759 Pippin would capture Narbonne, the last Muslim stronghold in France, and thereby drive Islam out of France.
0715 By this year just about all of Spain is in Muslim hands. The Muslim conquest of Spain only took around three years but the Christian reconquest would require around 460 years (it might have gone faster had the various Christian kingdoms not been at each other' throats much of the time). Musa's son, Abd el-Aziz, is left in charge and makes his capital the city of Seville, where he married Egilona, widow of king Rodrigo. Caliph Suleiman, a paranoid ruler, would have el-Aziz assassinated and sends Musa into exile in his native Yemen village to live out his days as a beggar.
0716 Lisbon is captured by Muslims.
0717 Cordova (Qurtuba) becomes the capital of Muslim holdings in Andalusia (Spain).
0717 Leo the Isaurian, born along the Turkish-Syrian border in the Syrian province of Commagene, revolts against the usurper Theodosius III and assumes the throne of the Byzantine Empire.
August 15, 0717 Second Siege of Constantinople: Taking advantage of the civil unrest in the Byzantine Empire, Caliph Sulieman sends 120,000 Muslims under the command of his brother, Moslemah, to launch the second siege of Constantinople. Another force of around 100,000 Muslims with 1,800 galleys soon arrives from Syria and Egypt to assist. Most of these reinforcements are quickly destroyed with Greek Fire. Eventually the Muslims outside Constantinople begin to starve and, in the winter, they also begin to freeze to death. Even the Bulgarians, usually hostile to the Byzantines, send a force to destroy Muslim reinforcements marching from Adrianopolis.
August 15, 0718 Muslims abandon their second siege of Constantinople. Their failure here leads to the weakening of the Umayyad government, in part because of the heavy losses. It is estimated that of the 200,000 soldiers who besieged Constantinople, only around 30,000 made it home. Although the Byzantine Empire also sustains heavily casualties and loses most its territory south of the Taurus Mountains, by holding the line here they prevent a disorganized and militarily inferior Europe from having to confront a Muslim invasion along the shortest possible route. Instead, the Arabic invasion of Europe must proceed along the longer path across northern Africa and into Spain, a route which prevents quick reinforcement and ultimately proves ineffective.
0719 Muslims attack Septimania in southern France (so named because it was the base of operations for Rome's Seventh Legion) and become established in the region known as Languedoc, made famous several hundred years later as the center of the Cathar heresy.
July 09, 0721 A Muslim army under the command of Al-Semah and that had crossed the Pyrenees is defeated by the Franks near Toulouse. Al-Semah is killed and his remaining forces, which had previously conquered Narbonne, are forced back across the Pyrenees into Spain.
0722 Battle of Covadonga: Pelayo, (0690-0737) Visigoth noble who had been elected the first King of Asturias (0718-0737), defeats a Muslim army at Alcama near Covadonga. This is generally regarded as the first real Christian victory over the Muslims in the Reconquista.
0724 Hisham becomes the 10th caliph of the Umayyad Dynasty. It is under Hisham that Muslim forces make their deepest incursions into Western Europe before being stopped by Charles Martel at the Battle of Poitiers in 0732.
0724 Under the command of Ambissa, Emir of Andalusia, Muslim forces raid southern France and capture the cities of Carcassone and Nimes. Primary targets in these and other raids are churches and monasteries where the Muslims take away holy objects and enslave or kill all the clerics.
0725 Muslim forces occupied Nimes, France.
0730 Muslim forces occupy the French cities of Narbonne and Avignon.
October 10, 0732 Battle of Tours: With perhaps 1,500 soldiers, Charles Martel halts a Muslim force of around 40,000 to 60,000 cavalry under Abd el-Rahman Al Ghafiqi from moving farther into Europe. Many regard this battle as being decisive in that it saved Europe from Muslim control. Gibbon wrote: "A victorious line of march had been prolonged above a thousand miles from the rock of Gibraltar to the banks of the Loire; the repetition of an equal space would have carried the Saracens to the confines of Poland and the Highlands of Scotland; the Rhine is not more impassable than the Nile or Euphrates, and the Arabian fleet might have sailed without a naval combat into the mouth of the Thames. Perhaps the interpretation of the Koran would now be taught in the schools of Oxford, and her pulpits might demonstrate to a circumcised people the sanctity and truth of the revelation of Muhammed." Others, though, argue that the battle's importance has been exaggerated. The names of Tours, Poitiers, and Charles Martel do not appear in the Arab histories. They list the battle under the name Balat al-Shuhada, the Highway of Martyrs, and is treated as a minor engagement.
0735 Muslim invaders capture the city of Arles.
0737 Charles Martel sends his brother, Childebrand, to lay siege to Avignon and drive out the Muslim occupiers. Childebrand is successful and, according to records, has all the Muslims in the city killed.
0739 Already having retaken Narbonne, Beziers, Montpellier, and Nimes during the previous couple of years, Childebrand captures Marseille, one of the largest French cities still in Muslim hands.
June 08, 0741 Death of Leo III the Isaurian, Byzantine Emperor. Leo's tactical skills were responsible for turning back the second Arab Muslim siege of Constantinople in 0717, shortly after he was elected emperor.
October 22, 0741 Death of Charles Martel (Charles the Hammer) in at Quierzy (today the Aisne county in the Picardy region of France). As Mayor of the Palace of the kingdom of the Franks, Charles had led a force of Christians that turned back a Muslim raiding party near Poitiers (or Tours) which, according to many historians, effectively halted the advance of Islam against Christianity in the West.
April 04, 0742 Birth of Charlemagne, founder of the Frankish Empire.
0743 Death of Hisham, 10th caliph of the Umayyad Dynasty. It was under Hisham that Muslim forces made their deepest incursions into Western Europe before being stopped by Charles Martel at the Battle of Poitiers in 0732.
0750 The Arabian Nights, a compilation of stories written under the reign of the Abbasids, became representative of the lifestyle and administration of this Persian influenced government.
0750 - 0850 The Four Orthodox Schools of Islamic Law were established.
0750 The Abbasids assume control of the Islamic world (except Spain, which falls under the control of a descendant of the Umayyad family) and moved the capital to Baghdad in Iraq. The Abbasid Caliphate would last until 1258.
September 0755 Abd al-Rahman of the Umayyad dynasty flees to Spain to escape the Abbasids and would be responsible for creating the "Golden Caliphate" in Spain.
0756 The Emirate of Cordova is established by Umayyad refugee Abd al-Rahman I in order to revive the defeated Umayyad caliphate which had been destroyed in 0750 by the Abbasids. Cordova would become independent of the Abbasid Empire and represents the first major political division within Islam. The political and geographic isolation of the Cordova Caliphate would make it easier for Christians to decisively conquer it despite their failures elsewhere, although this would not be completed until 1492.
0759 Arabs lose the city of Narbonne, France, their furthest and last conquest into Frankish territory. In capturing this city Pippin III (Pippin the Short) ends the Muslim incursions in France.
0768 Pepin's son, Carolus Magnus (Charlemagne), succeeded his father and became one of the most important European rulers of medieval history.
September 24, 0768 Death of Pippin III (Pippin the Short) at Saint Denis. Son of Charles Martel and father of Charlemagne, in 0759 Pippin captured Narbonne, the last Muslim stronghold in France, and thereby drove Islam out of France.
0778 Charlemagne, King of the Franks and soon-to-be Holy Roman Emperor, is invited by a group of Arab leaders in northeastern Spain to attack Abd al-Rahman I, ruler of the Emirate of Cordova. Charlemagne obliges them, but is forced to retreat after only getting as far as Saragossa. It is during his march back through the Pyrenees that his forces are set upon by Basques. Among the many who die is the war leader Roland from Breton, killed in Roncevalles, whose memory has been preserved in the "Chanson de Roland," an important epic poem during the Middle Ages.
0785 The Great Mosque in Cordoba, in Muslim controlled Spain, was built.
0787 Danes invade England for the first time.
0788 Death of Abd al-Rahman I, founder of the Umayyad Emirate of Cordova. His successor is Hisham I.
0792 Hisham I, emir of Cordova, calls for a Jihad against the infidels in Andalusia and France. Tens of thousands from as far away as Syria heed his call and cross the Pyrennes to subjugate France. Cities like Narbonne are destroyed, but the invasion is ultimately hated at Carcassone.
0796 Death of Hisham I, emir of Cordova. His successor is his son, al-Hakam, who would keep up the jihad against the Christians but would also be forced to contend with rebellion at home.
0799 The Basques rise in revolt and kill the local Muslim governor of Pamplona.
0800 North Africa falls under the rule of the Aghlabi dynasty of Tunis, which would last until 0909 CE.
0800 - 1200 Jews experience a "golden age" of creativity and toleration in Spain under Moorish (Muslim) rule.
0800 Ambassadors of Caliph Harunu r-Rashid give keys to the Holy Sepulcher to the Frankish king, thus acknowledging some Frankish control over the interests of Christians in Jerusalem.
0801 Vikings begin selling slaves to Muslims.
0806 Hien Tsung becomes the Emperor of China. During his reign a shortage of copper leads to the introduction of paper money.
0813 Muslims attack the Civi Vecchia near Rome.
April 04, 0814 Death of Charlemagne, founder of the Frankish Empire.
0816 With the support of Moors, the Basques revolt against the Franks in Glascony.
0822 Death of Al-Hakam, emir of Cordova. He is succeeded by Abd al-Rahman II.
June 0827 Sicily is invaded by Muslims who, this time, are looking to take control of the island rather than simply taking away booty. They are initially aided by Euphemius, a Byzantine naval commander who is rebelling against the Emperor. Conquest of the island would require 75 years of hard fighting.
0831 Muslim invaders capture the Sicilian city of Palermo and make it their capital.
0835 Birth of Ahmad Ibn Tultun, founder of the Tulunid Dynasty in Egypt. Originally sent there as a deputy by the Abbasid Caliphate, Tultun will establish himself as an independent power in the region, extending his control as far north as Syria. It is under Tultun that the Great Mosque of Cairo is built.
0838 Muslim raiders sack Marseille.
0841 Muslim forces capture Bari, principle Byzantine base in southeastern Italy.
0846 Muslim raiders sail a fleet of ships from Africa up the Tiber river and attack outlying areas around Ostia and Rome. Some manage to enter Rome and damage the churches of St. Peter and St. Paul. Not until Pope Leo IV promises a yearly tribute of 25,000 silver coins do the raiders leave. The Leonine Wall is built in order to fend off further attacks such as this.
0849 Battle of Ostia: Aghlabid monarch Muhammad sends a fleet of ships from Sardinia to attack Rome. As the fleet prepares to land troops, the combination of a large storm and an alliance of Christian forces were able to destroy the Muslims ships.
0850 The Acropolis of Zimbabwe was built in Rhodesia.
0850 Perfectus, a Christian priest in Muslim Cordova, is executed after he refuses to retract numerous insults he made about the Prophet Muhammed. Numerous other priests, monks, and laity would follow as Christians became caught up in a zest for martyrdom.
0851 Abd al-Rahman II has eleven young Christians executed in the city of Cordova after they deliberately seek out martyrdom by insulting the Prophet Muhammed.
0852 Death of Abd al-Rahman II, emir of Cordova.
0858 Muslim raiders attack Constantinople.
0859 Muslim invaders capture the Sicilian city of Castrogiovanni (Enna), slaughtering several thousand inhabitants.
0863 Under Cyril (0826 - 0869) and Methodius (c. 0815 - 0885) the conversion of Moravia begins. The two brothers were sent by the patriarch of Constantinople to Moravia, where the ruler, Rostilav, decreed in 863 that any preaching done had to be in the language of the people. As a result, Cyril and Methodius developed the first usable alphabet for the Slavic tongue - thus, the Cyrillic alphabet.
0866 Emperor Louis II travels from Germany to southern Italy to battle the Muslim raiders causing trouble there.
0868 The Sattarid dynasty, whose rule would continue until 0930 CE, extended Muslim control throughout most of Persia. In Egypt, the Abbasid and Umayyad caliphates ended and the Egyptian-based Tulunid dynasty took over (lasting until 904 CE).
0869 Arabs capture the island of Malta.
0870 After a month-long siege, the Sicilian city of Syracuse is captured by Muslim invaders.
0871 King Alfred the Great of England created a system of government and education which allowed for the unification of smaller Anglo-Saxon states in the ninth and tenth centuries.
0874 Iceland is colonized by Vikings from Norway.
0876 Muslims pillage Campagna in Italy.
0879 The Seljuk Empire unites Mesopotamia and a large portion of Persia.
0880 Under Emperor Basil, the Byzantines recapture lands occupied by Arabs in Italy.
0884 Death of Ahmad Ibn Tultun, founder of the Tulunid Dynasty in Egypt. Originally sent there as a deputy by the Abbasid Caliphate, Tultun established himself as an independent power in the region, extending his control as far north as Syria. It is under Tultun that the Great Mosque of Cairo is built.
0884 Muslims invading Italy burn the monastery of Monte Cassino to the ground.
0898 Birth of Abd al-Rahman III, generally regarded as the greatest of the Umayyad caliphs in Andalusia. Under his rule, Cordova would become one of the most powerful centers of Islamic learning and power.
0900 The Fatimids of Egypt conquered north Africa and included the territory as an extension of Egypt until 0972 CE.
0900 Mayans emigrate to the Yucatan Peninsula.
0902 The Muslim conquest of Sicily is completed when the last Christian stronghold, the city of Taorminia, is captured. Muslim rule of Sicily would last for 264 years.
0905 The Tulunid Dynasty in Egypt is destroyed by an Abbasid army sent to reestablish control over the region of Egypt and Syria.
0909 Sicily came under the control of the Fatimids' rule of North Africa and Egypt until 1071 CE. From 0878 until 0909 CE, their rule of Sicily was uncertain.
0909 The Fatimid Dynasty assumes control of Egypt. Claiming descent from Fatima, daughter of the Prophet Muhammed, and Ali bin Abi Talib, the Fatimids would rule Egypt until being overthrown by the Auyybids and Saladin in 1171.
0911 Muslims control all the passes in the Alps between France and Italy, cutting off passage between the two countries.
0912 Abd al-Rahman III becomes the Umayyad Caliph in Andalusia.
0916 A combined force of Greek and German emperors and Italian city-states defeat Muslim invaders at Garigliano, putting Muslim raids in Italy to an end.
0920 Muslim forces cross the Pyrenees, enter Gascony, and reach as far as the gates of Toulouse.
0929 Abd al-Rahman III transforms the Emirate of Cordova into and independent caliphate no longer under even theoretical control from Baghdad.
0935 - 0969 The rule of Egypt was under the Ikhidid dynasty.
0936 The Althing, the oldest body of representative government in Europe, is established in Iceland by the Vikings.
0939 Madrid is recaptured from Muslim forces.
0940 Hugh, count of Provence, gives his protection to Moors in St. Tropez if they agree to keep the Alpine passes closed to his rival, Berenger.
c. 0950 Catholicism becomes prevalent and dominant religion throughout Europe.
0950 According to traditional historiography, Europe enters Dark Ages.
0953 Emperor Otto I sends representatives to Cordova to ask Caliph Abd al-Rahman III to call off some Muslim raiders who had set themselves up in Alpine passes and are attacking merchant caravans going in and out of Italy.
0961 Death of Abd al-Rahman III, generally regarded as the greatest of the Umayyad caliphs in Andalusia. Under his rule, Cordova became one of the most powerful centers of Islamic learning and power. He is succeeded by Abdallah, a caliph who would kill many of his rivals (even family members) and has captured Christians decapitated if they refuse to convert to Christianity.
0961 Under the command of general Nicephorus Phokas, the Byzantines recapture Crete from Muslim rebels who had earlier fled Cordova.
0965 Byzantine Emperor Nicephorus Phokas reconquers Cyprus from the Muslims.
0965 Grenoble is recaptured from the Muslims.
0969 The Fatimid dynasty (Shi'ite) takes Egypt from the Ikshidids and assumes the title of caliphate in Egypt until 1171 CE.
0969 Byzantine Emperor Nicephorus II Phocas reconquers Antioch (modern Antakya, capital of the province Hatay) from the Arabs.
0972 The Fatimids of Egypt conquer north Africa.
0972 The Muslims in the Sisteron district of France surrender to Christian forces and their leader asks to be baptized.
0981 Eric the Red is exiled from Iceland and settles in a new land he called Greenland in order to attract settlers.
0981 Ramiro III, king of Leon, is defeated by Al-Mansur Ibn Abi Aamir (Almanzor) at Rueda and is forced to begin paying tribute to the Caliph of Cordova.
0985 Al-Mansur Ibn Abi Aamir sacks Barcelona
0994 The monastery of Monte Cassino is destroyed a second time by Arabs.
0995 Japanese literary and artistic golden age begins under Emperor Fujiwara Michinaga (ruled 0995 - 1028).
July 03, 0997 Under the leadership of Almanzor, Muslim forces march out of the city of Cordova and head north to capture Christian lands.
August 11, 0997 Muslim forces under Almanzor arrive at the city of Compostela. The city had been evacuated and Almanzor burns it to the ground.
0998 Venice conquers the Adriatic port of Zara. The Venetians would eventually lose the city to the Hungarians and, in 1202, they offer a deal to soldiers of the Fourth Crusade: capture the city again for them in exchange for passage to Egypt.
c. 1000 Chinese perfect the production and use of gunpowder.
1000 The Seljuk (Saljuq) Turkish Empire is founded by an Oghuz Turkish bey (chieftain) named Seljuk. Originally from the steppe country around the Caspian Sea, the Seljuks are the ancestors of the Western Turks, present-day inhabitants of Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan.
August 08, 1002 Death of Al-Mansur Ibn Abi Aamir, ruler of Al-Andalus, on the way back from raiding the Rioja region.
1004 Arab raiders sack the Italian city of Pisa.
1007 Birth of Isaac I Comnenus, Byzantine emperor. Founder of the dynasty of the Comneni, Isaac's government reforms may have helped the Byzantine Empire last longer.
1009 The Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem is destroyed by Muslim armies.
1009 Caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, founder of the Druze sect and sixth Fatimid Caliph in Egypt, orders the Holy Sepulcher and all Christian buildings in Jerusalem be destroyed. In Europe a rumor develops that a "Prince of Babylon" had ordered the destruction of the Holy Sepulcher at the instigation of the Jews. Attacks on Jewish communities in cities like Rouen, Orelans, and Mainz ensue and this rumor helps lay the basis for massacres of Jewish communities by Crusaders marching to the Holy Land.
1009 Sulaimann, grandson of Abd al-Rahman III, returns over 200 captured fortresses to the Castilians in return for massive shipments of food for his army.
1012 Caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, founder of the Druze sect and sixth Fatimid Caliph in Egypt, orders the destruction of all Christian and Jewish houses of worship in his lands.
1012 Berber forces capture Cordova and order that half the population be executed.
1013 Jews are expelled from the Umayyad Caliphate of Cordova, then ruled by Sulaimann.
1015 Arab Muslim forces conquer Sardinia.
1016 The Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem is partially destroyed by earthquakes.
1020 Merchants from Amalfi and Salerno are granted permission by the Egyptian Caliph to build a hospice in Jerusalem. Out of this would eventually grow The Order of Knights of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem (also known as: Knights of Malta, Knights of Rhodes, and most commonly as Knights Hospitaller).
1021 Caliph al-Hakim proclaimed himself to be divine and founded the Druze sect.
1022 Several Cathar heretics are discovered in Toulouse and put to death.
1023 Muslims expel the Berber rulers from Cordova and install Abd er-Rahman V as caliph.
1025 The power of the Byzantine Empire begins to decline.
1026 Richard II of Normandy leads a group of several hundred armed men on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in the belief that the Day of Judgment had arrived. Turkish control of the region hampers their goals, however.
1027 The Frankish protectorate over Christian interests in Jerusalem is replaced by a Byzantine protectorate. Byzantine leaders begin the reconstruction of the Holy Sepulcher.
1029 Alp Arslan, "The Lion Hero," is born. Arslan is the son of Togrul Beg, conqueror of Baghdad who made himself ruler of the Caliphate, and great-grandson of Seljuk, founder of the Seljuk Turkish empire.
1031 The Moorish Caliphate of Córdoba falls.
1031 The emir of Aleppo has the Krak des Chevaliers contructed.
1033 Castile is retaken from the Arabs.
1035 The Byzantines make a landing in Sicily, but don't try to recapture the island from the Muslims.
1038 The Seljuk Turks become established in Persia.
1042 The rise of the Seljuk Turks begins.
1045 - 1099 1099 Life of Ruy Diaz de Vivar, known as El Cid (Arabic for "lord"), national hero of Spain. El Cid would become famous for his efforts to drive the Moors out of Spain.
May 18, 1048 Persian poet Umar Khayyam is born. His poem The Rubaiyat became popular in the West because of its use by Victorian Edward Fitzgerald.
1050 - 1200 The first agricultural revolution of Medieval Europe begins in 1050 CE with a shift to the northern lands for cultivation, a period of improved climate from 700 CE to 1200 CE in western Europe, and the widespread use and perfection of new farming devices. Technological innovations include the use of the heavy plow, the three-field system of crop rotation, the use of mills for processing cloth, brewing beer, crushing pulp for paper manufacture, and the widespread use of iron and horses. With an increase in agricultural advancements, Western towns and trade grow exponentially and Western Europe returns to a money economy.
1050 Duke Bohemond I (Bohemond Of Taranto, French Bohémond De Tarente), prince of Otranto (1089–1111) is born. One of the leaders of the First Crusade, Bohemond would be largely responsible for the capture of Antioch and he secures the title Prince of Antioch (1098 - 1101, 1103 - 04).
1050 Byzantine emperor Constantine IX Monomachos restores the complex of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.
1054 A famine in Egypt forces al Mustansir, 8th Fatimid caliph, to seek food and other commercial assistance from Italy and the Byzantine Empire.
July 16, 1054 Great Schism: The Western Christian Church, in an effort to further enhance its power, had tried to impose Latin rites on Greek churches in southern Italy in 1052; as a consequence, Latin churches in Constantinople were closed. In the end, this leads to the excommunication of Michael Cerularius, patriarch of Constantinople (who in turn excommunicates Pope Leo IX). Although generally regarded as a minor event at the time, today it is treated as the final event that sealed the Great Schism between Eastern and Western Christianity.
1055 Seljuk Turks capture Baghdad.
1056 The Almoravid (al-Murabitun) Dynasty begins its rise to power. Taking the name "those who line up in defense of the faith," this is a group of fanatical Berber Muslims who would rule North Africa and Spain until 1147.
1061 Roger Guiscard lands at Sicily with a large Norman force and captures the city of Masara. The Norman reconquest of Sicily would require another 30 years.
1063 Alp Arslan succeeds his father, Togrul Beg, as ruler of the Baghdad Caliphate and the Seljuk Turks.
1064 The Seljuk Turks conquer Christian Armenia.
September 29, 1066 William the Conqueror invades England and claims the English throne at the Battle of Hastings. Because William is both the King of England and the Duke of Normandy, The Norman Conquest fuses French and English cultures. The language of England evolves into Middle English with an English syntax and grammar and a heavily French vocabulary.
1067 Romanus IV Diogenes becomes the Byzantine Emperor.
1068 Alp Arslan invades the Byzantine Empire and is repulsed by Romanus IV Diogenes over the course of three campaigns. Not until 1070, though, would the Turks be driven back across the Euphrates river.
1070 Seljuk Turks capture Jerusalem from the Fatimids. Seljuk rule is not quite as tolerant as that of the Fatimids and Christian pilgrims begin returning to Europe with tales of persecution and oppression.
1070 Brother Gerard, a leader of the Benedictine monks and nuns who run the hospices in Jerusalem. beings to organize The Order of Knights of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem (also known as: Knights of Malta, Knights of Rhodes, and most commonly as Knights Hospitaller) as a more military force for the active protection of Christian pilgrims.
1071 Normans conquer the last Byzantine holdings in Italy.
1071 - 1085 Seljuk Turks conquer most of Syria and Palestine.
August 19, 1071 Battle of Manzikert: Alp Arslan leads an army of Seljuk Turks against the Byzantine Empire near Lake Van. Numbering perhaps as many as 100,000 men, the Turks take the fortresses of Akhlat and Manzikert before Byzantine Emperor Romanus IV Diogenes can respond. Although Diogenes is able to recapture Akhlat, the siege of Manzikert fails when a Turkish relief force arrives and Andronicus Ducas, an enemy of Romanus Diogenes, refuses to obey orders to fight. Diogenes himself is captured and released, but he would be murdered after his return to Constantinople. Partly because of the defeat at Manzikert and partly due to the civil wars following the murder of Digoenes, Asia Minor would be left open to Turkish invasion.
1072 Tancred of Hauteville is born. A grandson of Robert Guiscard and nephew of Bohemund of Taranto, Tancred would become a leader of the First Crusade and eventually regent of the Principality of Antioch.
December 15, 1072 Malik Shah I, son of Alp Arslan, succeeds his father as Seljuk Sultan.
1073 Seljuk Turks conquer Ankara.
July 1074 El Cid marries Jimena, niece of Alfonso IV of Castile and daughter of the Count of Oviedo.
1076 First recorded execution in England by the ax: the Earl of Huntingdon.
1078 Seljuk Turks capture Nicaea. It would change hands three more times, finally coming under control of the Turks again in 1086.
1079 Battle of Cabra: El Cid led his troops to a rout of Emir Abd Allah of Granada.
1080 Order of the Hospital of St. John is founded in Italy. This special order of knights was dedicated to guarding a pilgrim hospital, or hostel, in Jerusalem.
1080 An Armenian state is founded in Cilicia, a district on the southeastern coast of Asia Minor (Turkey), north of Cyprus, by refugees feeling the Seljuk invasion of their Armenian homeland. A Christian kingdom located in the midst of hostile Muslim states and lacking good relations with the Byzantine Empire, "Armenia Minor" would provide important assistance to Crusaders from Europe.
1081 - 1118 Alexius I Comnenus is Byzantine emperor.
1081 El Cid, now a mercenary because he had been exiled by Alfonso IV of Castile, enters the service of the Moorish king of the northeast Spanish city of Zaragosa, al-Mu'tamin, and would remain there for his successor, al-Mu'tamin II.
1082 Ibn Tumart, founder of the Amohad Dynasty, is born in the Atlas mountains.
1084 Seljuk Turks conquer Antioch, a strategically important city.
October 25, 1085 The Moors are expelled from Toledo, Spain, by Alfonso VI.
October 23, 1086 Battle of Zallaca (Sagrajas): Spanish forces under Alfonso VI of Castile are defeated by the Moors and their allies, the Almorivids (Berbers from Morocco and Algeria, led by Yusef I ibn Tashufin), thus preserving Muslim rule in al-Andalus. The slaughter of Spaniards was great and Yusef refused to abide by his agreement to leave Andalusia in the hands of the Moors. His intention was actually to make Andalusia an African colony ruled by the Almorivids in Morocco.
1087 After his crushing defeat at Zallaqa, Alfonso VI swallows his pride and recalls El Cid from exile.
September 13, 1087 Birth of John II Comnenus, Byzantine emperor.
1088 Patzinak Turks begin forming settlements between the Danube and the Balkans.
March 12, 1088 Urban II is elected pope. An active supporter of the Gregorian reforms, Urban would become responsible for launching the First Crusade.
1089 Byzantine forces conquer the island of Crete.
1090 Yusuf Ibn Tashfin, King of the Almoravids, captures Granada.
1091 The Normans recapture Sicily from the Muslims.
1091 Cordova (Qurtuba) is captured by the Almoravids.
1092 After the death of Seljuk Sultan (al-sultan , "the power") Malik Shah I, the capital of the Seljuks is moved from Iconjium to Smyrna and the empire itself dissolves into several smaller states.
May 1094 El Cid captures Valencia from the Moors, carving out his own kingdom along the Mediterranean that is only nominally subservient to Alfonso VI of Castile. Valencia would be both Christian and Muslim, with adherents of both religions serving in his army.
August 1094 The Almoravids from Morocco land near Cuarte and lay siege to Valencia with 50,000 men. El Cid, however, breaks the siege and forces the Amoravids to flee - the first Christian victory against the hard-fighting Africans.
November 18, 1095 Pope Urban II opens the Council of Clermont where ambassadors from the Byzantine emperor Alexius I Comnenus, asking help against the Muslims, were warmly received

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(Psalms) 31:5,
"Into your hands I commit my spirit; redeem me, O LORD, the God of truth."

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« Reply #103 on: April 02, 2008, 01:27:20 pm »

George Erikson
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   posted 12-25-2005 07:10 PM                       
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+Faith+

Wow, that's a lot! History has turned out to be one damned event after another... most of it related to warfare. However, Europeans had more reason to fear Charlemagne than the Moors.

Quote: "There's no question the Crusaders committed their atrocities, they did. The point is, the Muslimns committed their atrocities as well, but it's more popular these days to simply blame the Christians."
Really?!! My take is that most people in this country believe that Muslims and their holy wars are more at fault than Christians. I do agree that there is plenty of blame to be laid on both sides!

Quote:
"0800 - 1200 Jews experience a "golden age" of creativity and toleration in Spain under Moorish (Muslim) rule." 400 years of religious tolerance under the Moors!!! No wonder the sciences and arts in Moorish Spain far outshone anything the rest of Europe was up to.

Peace on Earth. Goodwill to man.
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« Reply #104 on: April 02, 2008, 01:27:39 pm »

Riven

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  posted 12-26-2005 12:25 AM                       
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And a Merry Christmas to you Sarah, and also to our new member Faith.

Thank you.

Yes,Google Earth is free, and chances are, you will even be able to see the rooftop of your home!

It's a great program from Google Labs.

You are correct in my little poem being a riddle, which actualy started out from replying to Chronos.

His name worked so well into the riddle! 

When you have the program running, look to the left of Cairo and the pyramids to the labyrinth in Roash.

The strange circle top left, could have been a great library at one time also.

There was another such Labyrinth in Upper Egypt near Lake Moeris as well, which was said to be of magnificient size, and also "vanished".

Since we are talking about Libraries, they also contain books, so I thought I would add my theory of perhaps another way to find the hidden book of Thoth, much sought after for decades since Khufu's time around 2400.bC.

You'll also notice the "Rose Line" on the right side of my picture. This line comes from the two larger Pyramids of the Three, heading South,South West, lining up with 3 Islands in the Atlantic on the other side of Africa(Avila), Sao Tome being one of them.

In this general direction, comes the secrets of Egypt and the Book of The Dead.

It is also the way to Eden and the Sacred Isles of The Blest and Atlantis II.

http://www.mts.net/~perasa/Roash%20Labyrinth_Thoth%20Roseline_Riven05.jpg


As you can see, this line, lines up exactly with one of the "paths" on the labyrinth at the right side.

If this is correct, for it's just one of my theories for now, then according to the emerald tablets, there should be a "proper" way to take this path to the hidden book of Thoth. 

It would even be more fascinating, if those circular lines, upper left, was in fact also, an ancient library of wisdom for the Egyptians.


As for the Muslims, George and Faith, I wouldn't really attribute all those advancements to a "NEW" culture type.

Rather, to the people of India who migrated into Babylon to the Lands of Sumer Akkad around 3000.bC, and were the most populous in the times of Herodotus.

These Pakistani's have mathematical geniuses far back to roughly 1500-2000.bC.

Muslim, is nothing but a new religion.

Most knowledge came out of the "diversity" of Lower Egypt.

For all you know, Jesus Christ, could have been 3000 years earlier than the Byzantine dogmas.

Strange that some Bible Scholars attribute the Bible's beginnings to around 4000.bC, the Calendar of Egypt, and the Jewish Calender shortly after:  (Babylonian).

In 2400.bC, Philitis the Good Shepherd, was more revered than the Pharaoh Khufu to the masses of Egypt. 

Man is living by the "Second Book".

How do you think the Mayans became so advanced?



[ 12-26-2005, 12:26 AM: Message edited by: Riven ]
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