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Vigla (tagma)
The ''Vigla'' ( gr, Βίγλα, "guard watch", from la, vigilia), also known as the ''Arithmos'' ( gr, Ἀριθμός, "Number") and in English as the Watch, was one of the elite '' tagmata'' of the Byzantine army. It was established in the latter half of the 8th century, and survived until the late 11th century. Along with the ''Noumeroi'' regiment, the ''Vigla'' formed the guard of the imperial palace in Constantinople, and was responsible for the Byzantine emperor's safety on expeditions. History and functions The ''Vigla'' or ''Arithmos'' was the third of the imperial ''tagmata'' to be established, with its commander attested for the first time in 791.. Both names derive from the Latin terminology of the Late Roman army: the term ''vigilia'' was applied from the 4th century onto any kind of guard detachment, while ''arithmos'' is the Greek translation of the Latin '' numerus'', both titles being used in a generic sense for "regiment". In literary sources, ''Vigla'' is more c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinople. It survived the fragmentation and fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD and continued to exist for an additional thousand years until the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453. During most of its existence, the empire remained the most powerful economic, cultural, and military force in Europe. The terms "Byzantine Empire" and "Eastern Roman Empire" were coined after the end of the realm; its citizens continued to refer to their empire as the Roman Empire, and to themselves as Romans—a term which Greeks continued to use for themselves into Ottoman times. Although the Roman state continued and its traditions were maintained, modern historians prefer to differentiate the Byzantine Empire from Ancient Rome ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Haldon
John F. Haldon FBA ( 23 October 1948 in Newcastle upon Tyne) is a British historian, and Shelby Cullom Davis '30 Professor of European History emeritus, professor of Byzantine history and Hellenic Studies emeritus, as well as former director of the Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Iran and Persian Gulf Studies at Princeton University. Early life and education Haldon is from Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. He received his bachelor's degree from the University of Birmingham, United Kingdom, his master's degree from Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Germany, and his PhD from the University of Birmingham, in the UK. Haldon also studied Modern Greek at the University of Athens. He initially wanted to study Roman-British history and work on post-Roman Britain, but eventually changed his field of study. Career From 1980 to 1995, he was junior professor at the University of Birmingham. From 1995 to 2000, he was director of the Centre for Byzantine, Ottoman and Modern Greek Studies at the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Walls Of Constantinople
The Walls of Constantinople ( el, Τείχη της Κωνσταντινουπόλεως) are a series of defensive stone walls that have surrounded and protected the city of Constantinople (today Istanbul in Turkey) since its founding as the new capital of the Roman Empire by Constantine the Great. With numerous additions and modifications during their history, they were the last great fortification system of antiquity, and one of the most complex and elaborate systems ever built. Initially built by Constantine the Great, the walls surrounded the new city on all sides, protecting it against attack from both sea and land. As the city grew, the famous double line of the Theodosian Walls was built in the 5th century. Although the other sections of the walls were less elaborate, they were, when well-manned, almost impregnable for any medieval besieger. They saved the city, and the Byzantine Empire with it, during sieges by the Avar-Sassanian coalition, Arabs, Rus', and Bulgar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palatini (Roman Military)
The ''palatini'' (Latin for "palace troops") were elite units of the Late Roman army mostly attached to the ''comitatus praesentales'', or imperial escort armies. In the elaborate hierarchy of troop-grades, the ''palatini'' ranked below the ''scholares'' (members of the elite cavalry regiments called the ''scholae''), but above the ''comitatenses'' (regiments of the regional ''comitatus'') and the ''limitanei'' (border troops). The term derives from ''palatium'' ("palace") a reference to the fact that the regiments originally served in the imperial escort armies only. Later they were also found in the regional ''comitatus'' (mobile field armies). There, however, they continued to enjoy higher status and pay than the rest of the ''comitatus'' regiments. At the time the ''Notitia Dignitatum'' was written (ca. 395 for the Eastern Empire), 80% of the regiments in the eastern ''comitatus praesentales'' were graded ''palatini'' and 14% of those in the regional ''comitatus''. The ''palati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John B
John Bryn Williams (born 1977), known as John B, is an English disc jockey and electronic music producer. He is widely recognised for his eccentric clothing and wild hair and his production of several cutting edge drum and bass tracks. John B ranked number 76 in ''DJ Magazine''s 2010 Top 100 DJs annual poll, announced on 27 October 2010. Career Williams was born on 12 July 1977 in Maidenhead, Berkshire. He started producing music around the age of 14, and now is the head of drum and bass record label Beta Recordings, together with its more specialist drum and bass sub-labels Nu Electro, Tangent, and Chihuahua. He also has releases on Formation Records, Metalheadz and Planet Mu. Williams was ranked 92nd drum and bass DJ on the 2009 ''DJ Magazine'' top 100. Style While his trademark sound has evolved through the years, it generally involves female vocals and trance-like synths (a style which has been dubbed "trance and bass", "trancestep" and "futurestep" by listeners). His m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Muslim Conquests
The early Muslim conquests or early Islamic conquests ( ar, الْفُتُوحَاتُ الإسْلَامِيَّة, ), also referred to as the Arab conquests, were initiated in the 7th century by Muhammad, the main Islamic prophet. He established a new unified polity in Arabia that expanded rapidly under the Rashidun Caliphate and the Umayyad Caliphate, culminating in Islamic rule being established across three continents. According to Scottish historian James Buchan: "In speed and extent, the first Arab conquests were matched only by those of Alexander the Great, and they were more lasting." At their height, the territory that was conquered stretched from Iberia (at the Pyrenees) in the west to India (at Sind) in the east; Muslim rule spanned Sicily, most of North Africa and the Middle East, and the Caucasus and Central Asia. English historian Edward Gibbon writes in ''The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'': Among other drastic changes, the early Musli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
East Roman Army
The Eastern Roman army refers to the army of the eastern section of the Roman Empire, from the empire's definitive split in 395 AD to the army's reorganization by themes after the permanent loss of Syria, Palestine and Egypt to the Arabs in the 7th century during the Byzantine-Arab Wars. The East Roman army is the continuation of the Late Roman army of the 4th century until the Byzantine army of the 7th century onwards. The East Roman army was a direct continuation of the eastern portion of the late Roman army, from before the division of the empire. The East Roman army started with the same basic organization as the late Roman army and its West Roman counterpart, but between the 5th and 7th centuries, the cavalry became more important, the field armies took on more tasks, and the border armies were transformed into local militias. In the 6th century, Emperor Justinian I, (), sent much of the East Roman army to try to reconquer the former Western Roman Empire. In these wars, t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vexillation
A ''vexillatio'' (plural ''vexillationes'') was a detachment of a Roman legion formed as a temporary task force created by the Roman army of the Principate. It was named from the standard carried by legionary detachments, the ''vexillum'' (plural ''vexilla''), which bore the emblem and name of the parent legion. Although commonly associated with legions, it is likely that ''vexillationes'' included auxiliaries. The term is found in the singular, referring to a single detachment, but is usually used in the plural to refer to an army made up of picked detachments. ''Vexillationes'' were assembled ad hoc to meet a crisis on Rome's extensive frontiers, to fight in a civil war, or to undertake an offensive against Rome's neighbours. They varied in size and composition, but usually consisted of about 1000 infantry and/or 500 cavalry. Purpose Most of the Roman Army (around 400,000 strong at the beginning of the 3rd century) was stationed along the frontiers from the time of Hadrian, if n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iconophile
Iconodulism (also iconoduly or iconodulia) designates the religious service to icons (kissing and honourable veneration, incense, and candlelight). The term comes from Neoclassical Greek εἰκονόδουλος (''eikonodoulos'') (from el, εἰκόνα – ''icon (image)'' + el, δοῦλος – ''servant''), meaning "one who serves images (icons)". It is also referred to as iconophilism (also iconophily or iconophilia from el, εἰκόνα – ''icon (image)'' + el, φιλέω – ''love'') designating a positive attitude towards the religious use of icons. In the history of Christianity, iconodulism (or iconophilism) was manifested as a moderate position, between two extremes: iconoclasm (radical opposition to the use of icons) and iconolatry (idolatric veritable (full) adoration of icons). History In contrast to moderate or respectful adoration, various forms of latria of icons (''iconolatry'') were also starting to appear, mainly in popular worship. Since verita ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Byzantine Iconoclasm
The Byzantine Iconoclasm ( gr, Εικονομαχία, Eikonomachía, lit=image struggle', 'war on icons) were two periods in the history of the Byzantine Empire when the use of religious images or icons was opposed by religious and imperial authorities within the Orthodox Church and the temporal imperial hierarchy. The First Iconoclasm, as it is sometimes called, occurred between about 726 and 787, while the Second Iconoclasm occurred between 814 and 842. According to the traditional view, Byzantine Iconoclasm was started by a ban on religious images promulgated by the Byzantine Emperor Leo III the Isaurian, and continued under his successors. It was accompanied by widespread destruction of religious images and persecution of supporters of the veneration of images. The Papacy remained firmly in support of the use of religious images throughout the period, and the whole episode widened the growing divergence between the Byzantine and Carolingian traditions in what was still ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Constantine V
Constantine V ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντῖνος, Kōnstantīnos; la, Constantinus; July 718 – 14 September 775), was Byzantine emperor from 741 to 775. His reign saw a consolidation of Byzantine security from external threats. As an able military leader, Constantine took advantage of civil war in the Muslim world to make limited offensives on the Arab frontier. With this eastern frontier secure, he undertook repeated campaigns against the Bulgars in the Balkans. His military activity, and policy of settling Christian populations from the Arab frontier in Thrace, made Byzantium's hold on its Balkan territories more secure. Religious strife and controversy was a prominent feature of his reign. His fervent support of Iconoclasm and opposition to monasticism led to his vilification by later Byzantine historians and writers, who denigrated him with the nicknames "the Dung-Named" ( grc-gre, Κοπρώνυμος, Koprónimos; la, Copronymus), because he allegedly defaecated dur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Exkoubitoi
The Excubitors ( la, excubitores or , , i.e. 'sentinels'; transcribed into Greek as , ) were founded in as an imperial guard unit by the Byzantine emperor Leo I the Thracian. The 300-strong force, originally recruited from among the warlike mountain tribe of the Isaurians, replaced the older as the main imperial bodyguard. The Excubitors remained an active military unit for the next two centuries, although, as imperial bodyguards, they did not often go on campaign. Their commander, the count of the Excubitors (, ), soon acquired great influence. Justin I was able to use this position to rise to the throne in 518, and henceforth the counts of the Excubitors were among the main political power-holders of their day; two more, Tiberius II Constantine and Maurice, rose to become emperors in the late 6th century. In the late 7th century, the Excubitors appear to have degenerated into a parade-ground formation, and fade from the record as a corps. Individual seals of office attest to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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