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Melus Of Bari
Melus (also ''Milus'' or ''Meles'', ''Melo'' in Italian) (died 1020) was a Lombard nobleman from the Apulian town of Bari, whose ambition to carve for himself an autonomous territory from the Byzantine catapanate of Italy in the early eleventh century inadvertently sparked the Norman presence in Southern Italy. Melus and his brother-in-law Dattus rebelled in 1009 and quickly took Bari itself. In 1010, they took Ascoli and Troia, but the new '' catapan'', Basil Mesardonites, gathered a large army, and on 11 June 1011 Bari fell. Melus fled to the protection of Prince Guaimar III of Salerno and Dattus to the Benedictine abbey of Montecassino, where the anti-Greek monks, at the insistence of Pope Benedict VIII, gave him a fortified tower on the Garigliano. Melus' family, however, were captured and carted off to Constantinople. In 1016, according to the Norman chronicler William of Apulia, Melus went to the Shrine of Saint Michael at Monte Gargano to intercept some Norm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Italian Language
Italian (''italiano'' or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. Together with Sardinian, Italian is the least divergent language from Latin. Spoken by about 85 million people (2022), Italian is an official language in Italy, Switzerland ( Ticino and the Grisons), San Marino, and Vatican City. It has an official minority status in western Istria (Croatia and Slovenia). Italian is also spoken by large immigrant and expatriate communities in the Americas and Australia.Ethnologue report for language code:ita (Italy) – Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (ed.), 2005. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Fifteenth edition. Dallas, Tex.: SIL International. Online version ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ("the Great City"), Πόλις ("the City"), Kostantiniyye or Konstantinopolis ( Turkish) , image = Byzantine Constantinople-en.png , alt = , caption = Map of Constantinople in the Byzantine period, corresponding to the modern-day Fatih district of Istanbul , map_type = Istanbul#Turkey Marmara#Turkey , map_alt = A map of Byzantine Istanbul. , map_size = 275 , map_caption = Constantinople was founded on the former site of the Greek colony of Byzantion, which today is known as Istanbul in Turkey. , coordinates = , location = Fatih, İstanbul, Turkey , region = Marmara Region , type = Imperial city , part_of = , length = , width ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ofanto
The Ofanto (), known in ancient times as Aufidus or Canna, is a river in southern Italy that flows through the regions of Campania, Basilicata, and Apulia, into the Gulf of Manfredonia near Barletta. Geography The river's source is on the Irpinia Plateau, at above sea level, near Nusco and Torella dei Lombardi, in the province of Avellino. From there it runs southeast near Lioni before flowing into Lago di Conza, an artificial lake. The river then forms the border between the province of Avellino and the province of Potenza except for a small extension of the province of Avellino near Calitri. The Atella flows into the Ofanto near this point as a right tributary of the river. The river curves north and flows near Monteverde before forming the border between the province of Foggia and the province of Potenza. It then curves east for a distance and a right tributary, the Olivento, flows into it in this area. The river curves northeast and then forms the border between the provinc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Basil II
Basil II Porphyrogenitus ( gr, Βασίλειος Πορφυρογέννητος ;) and, most often, the Purple-born ( gr, ὁ πορφυρογέννητος, translit=ho porphyrogennetos).. 958 – 15 December 1025), nicknamed the Bulgar Slayer ( gr, ὁ Βουλγαροκτόνος, ),). and believe the epithet to have entered common usage among the Byzantines at the end of the 12th century, when the Second Bulgarian Empire broke away from Byzantine rule and Basil's martial exploits became a theme of Imperial propaganda. It was used by the historian Niketas Choniates and the writer Nicholas Mesarites, and consciously inverted by the Bulgarian ruler Kaloyan, who called himself "Roman-slayer" ( gr, Ρωμαιοκτόνος, translit=Rhomaioktonos). was the senior Byzantine emperor from 976 to 1025. He and his brother Constantine VIII were crowned before their father Romanos II died in 963, but they were too young to rule. The throne thus went to two generals, Nikepho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Varangian Guard
The Varangian Guard ( el, Τάγμα τῶν Βαράγγων, ''Tágma tōn Varángōn'') was an elite unit of the Byzantine Army from the tenth to the fourteenth century who served as personal bodyguards to the Byzantine emperors. The Varangian Guard was known for being primarily composed of recruits from northern Europe, including mainly Norsemen from Scandinavia but also Anglo-Saxons from England. The recruitment of distant foreigners from outside Byzantium to serve as the emperor's personal guard was pursued as a deliberate policy, as they lacked local political loyalties and could be counted upon to suppress revolts by disloyal Byzantine factions. The Rus' provided the earliest members of the Varangian Guard. They were in Byzantine service from as early as 874. The Guard was first formally constituted under Emperor Basil II in 988, following the Christianization of Kievan Rus' by Vladimir I of Kiev. Vladimir, who had recently usurped power in Kiev with an army of Varang ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Basil Boioannes
Basil Boioannes ( grc-gre, Βασίλειος Βοϊωάννης, Basíleios Boïōánnēs, ; la, Basilius Bugianus, ), in Italian called it, Bugiano, label=none, i=no (), was the Byzantine catapan of Italy (1017 – 1027 Chalandon, Ferdinand. ''Histoire de la domination normande en Italie et en Sicile''. Paris, 1907.) and one of the greatest Byzantine generals of his time. His accomplishments enabled the Empire to reestablish itself as a major force in southern Italy after centuries of decline. Yet, the Norman adventurers introduced into the power structure of the Mezzogiorno would be the eventual beneficiaries. Life Upon his appointment by Emperor Basil II in December 1017, he immediately requested reinforcements from Constantinople to fight the insurgency of the Lombard general Melus of Bari and his Norman soldiery. The request was granted: a detachment of the elite Varangian Guard was sent. The two forces met on the river Ofanto near Cannae, the site of Hannibal's victory o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trani, Apulia
Trani () is a seaport of Apulia, in southern Italy, on the Adriatic Sea, by railway west-northwest of Bari. It is one of the capital cities of the Province of Barletta-Andria-Trani. History Overview The city of ''Turenum'' appears for the first time in the Tabula Peutingeriana, a 13th-century copy of an ancient Roman itinerary. The name, also spelled ''Tirenum'', was that of the Greek hero Diomedes. The city was later occupied by the Lombards and the Byzantines. First certain news of an urban settlement in Trani, however, trace back only to the 9th century. The most flourishing age of Trani was the 11th century, when it became an episcopal see in place of Canosa, destroyed by the Saracens. Its port, well placed for the Crusades, then developed greatly, becoming the most important on the Adriatic Sea. In the year 1063 Trani issued the '' Ordinamenta et consuetudo maris'', which is "the oldest surviving maritime law code of the Latin West".Paul Oldfield, ''City and Community ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kontoleon Tornikios
Kontoleon TornikiosIn Latin, Tornicius Condoleo; in Italian Tornichio. The anonymous chronicler of Bari calls him Audronic, which some have taken as Andronicus. Chalandon uses the Gallicised form Contoléon. was the Catapan of Italy from May to September 1017. He was originally the '' strategos'' of Cephallenia. As ''strategos'', he accompanied the catapan Basil Mesardonites to Apulia in 1011. Basil died in 1016 and Leo was nominated to replace him, arriving in May. At the time, Melus of Bari had risen in revolt again, this time with a band of Normans. Leo sent Leo Passianos with an army against him. Passianos and Melus met on the Fortore at Arenula. The battle was either indecisive (William of Apulia) or a victory for Melus (Leo of Ostia). Tornikios then took command himself and led them into a second encounter near Civita. This second battle was a victory for Melus, though Lupus Protospatharius and the anonymous chronicler of Bar record a defeat. A third battle, a decisive vi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fortore
The Fortore (Latin: ''Fertor'' or ''Frento'') is a river which flows through the provinces of Benevento, Campobasso and Foggia in southern Italy. It is long. The river rises from the slopes of Monte Altieri, which reaches above sea level. The Fortore, on the Adriatic side of the Apennines, collects the waters of four small streams about from San Bartolomeo in Galdo. From there it runs in a northerly direction through a narrow and twisting valley between Daunian Mountains. After , near Castelvetere in Val Fortore, it exits from the province of Benevento. In its lower course it forms the border between the provinces of Campobasso and Foggia. The Fortore flows into the Adriatic Sea not far from Lake Lesina. See also *Battle of Civitate The Battle of Civitate was fought on 18 June 1053 in southern Italy, between the Normans, led by the Count of Apulia Humphrey of Hauteville, and a Swabian-Italian- Lombard army, organised by Pope Leo IX and led on the battlefield by Gerard, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Capua
Capua ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta, in the region of Campania, southern Italy, situated north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. History Ancient era The name of Capua comes from the Etruscan ''Capeva''. The meaning is 'City of Marshes'. Its foundation is attributed by Cato the Elder to the Etruscans, and the date given as about 260 years before it was "taken" by Rome. If this is true it refers not to its capture in the Second Punic War (211 BC) but to its submission to Rome in 338 BC, placing the date of foundation at about 600 BC, while Etruscan power was at its highest. In the area several settlements of the Villanovian civilization were present in prehistoric times, and these were probably enlarged by the Oscans and subsequently by the Etruscans. Etruscan supremacy in Campania came to an end with the Samnite invasion in the latter half of the 5th century BC. About 424 BC it was captured by the Samnites and in 343 BC b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rainulf Drengot
Rainulf Drengot (also Ranulph, Ranulf, or Rannulf; died June 1045) was a Norman adventurer and mercenary in southern Italy. In 1030 he became the first count of Aversa. He was a member of the Drengot family. Early life and arrival in Italy When Rainulf was exiled by Richard II of Normandy for a violent criminal act,Marjorie Chibnall, ''The Normans'', (Blackwell Publishing, 2006), 76. Rainulf, Osmond, and their brothers Gilbert Buatère, Asclettin (later count of Acerenza), and Raulf went on a pilgrimage to the shrine of the soldier-archangel, Michael, at Monte Sant'Angelo sul Gargano in the Byzantine Catepanate of Italy. They brought with them a band of 250 warriors, formed of other exiles, landless cadets and similar adventurers. Mercenary service In 1017 they arrived in the Mezzogiorno, which was in a state of virtual anarchy. Establishing a stronghold at Monte Gargano in Apulia, they joined forces with the Lombard Melus of Bari, who had rebelled against his Byzantine ov ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pilgrim
A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the adherent of a particular religious belief system. In the spiritual literature of Christianity, the concept of pilgrim and pilgrimage may refer to the experience of life in the world (considered as a period of exile) or to the inner path of the spiritual aspirant from a state of wretchedness to a state of beatitude. History Pilgrims and the making of pilgrimages are common in many religions, including the faiths of ancient Egypt, Persia in the Mithraic period, India, China, and Japan. The Greek and Roman customs of consulting the gods at local oracles, such as those at Dodona or Delphi, both in Greece, are widely known. In Greece, pilgrimages could either be personal or state-sponsored. In the early period of Hebrew history, pilgrims traveled ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
