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July 29

July 29

July 29 is the 210th day (211th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 155 days remaining.

Events


- 1014 - Battle of Kleidion: Byzantine emperor Basil II inflicts a decisive defeat on the Bulgarian army, but his subsequent savage treatment of 15,000 prisoners reportedly causes Tsar Samuil of Bulgaria to die of shock.
- 1030 - King Olaf II fights and dies in the Battle of Stiklestad, trying to regain his Norwegian throne from the Danes.
- 1567 - James VI is crowned King of Scotland at Stirling.
- 1588 - Battle of Gravelines: The Spanish Armada is defeated by an English naval force under command of Lord Charles Howard and Sir Francis Drake off the coast of Gravelines, France.
- 1693 - War of the Grand Alliance: Battle of Landen - France wins a Pyrrhic victory over Allied forces in the Netherlands.
- 1793 - John Graves Simcoe decides to build a fort and settlement at Toronto, having sailed into the bay there.
- 1848 - "Deşteaptă-te, române!" ("Wake up, O, Romania!", Romania's national anthem) is first sung in Râmnicu Vâlcea during the 1848 Revolution.
- 1848 - Irish Potato Famine: Tipperary Revolt - In Tipperary, an unsuccessful nationalist revolt against British rule is put down by police.
- 1851 - Annibale de Gasparis discovers asteroid 15 Eunomia.
- 1858 - United States and Japan sign the Harris Treaty.
- 1864 - American Civil War: Confederate spy Belle Boyd is arrested by Union troops and detained at the Old Capitol Prison in Washington, DC.
- 1899 - The First Hague Convention is signed.
- 1900 - In Italy, King Umberto I of Italy is assassinated by Italian-born anarchist Gaetano Bresci.
- 1907 - Sir Robert Baden-Powell founds the Boy Scouts with the first scout camp at Brownsea Island.
- 1920 - Construction of the Link River Dam begins as part of the Klamath Reclamation Project.
- 1932 - Great Depression: In Washington, DC, U.S. troops disperse the last of the "Bonus Army" of World War I veterans.
- 1945 - The BBC Light Programme radio station was launched for mainstream light entertainment and music.
- 1947 - After being shut off on November 9, 1946 for a memory upgrade, ENIAC, the world's first all-electronic digital computer, is reactivated. It will remain in continuous operation until October 2, 1955.
- 1948 - After a hiatus of 12 years caused by World War II, the first Summer Olympics opened in London, United Kingdom.
- 1954 - The Fellowship of the Ring, the first part of The Lord of the Rings, is published in the UK.
- 1957 - The International Atomic Energy Agency is established.
- 1958 - The U.S. Congress formally creates the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
- 1965 - Vietnam War: The first 4,000 101st Airborne Division paratroopers arrive in Vietnam, landing at Cam Ranh Bay.
- 1966 - Musician Bob Dylan crashes his Triumph motorcycle in upstate New York. He goes into seclusion for over a year before reemerging and reinventing himself artistically.
- 1967 - Vietnam War: Off the coast of North Vietnam the USS Forrestal catches on fire in the worst US naval disaster since World War II, killing 134.
- 1967 - At the fourth day of celebrating its 400th anniversary, the city of Caracas, Venezuela was shaken by an earthquake. The phenomenon lasted for 35 seconds, leaving approximately 500 deaths.
- 1976 - In New York City, the "Son of Sam" kills one person and seriously wounding another in the first of a series of attacks.
- 1981 - Lady Diana Spencer marries Charles, Prince of Wales.
- 1993 - The Israeli Supreme Court acquits accused Nazi death camp guard John Demjanjuk of all charges and he is set free.
- 1996 - The controversial child protection portion of the Communications Decency Act (1996) is struck down as too broad by a U.S. federal court.
- 2004 - U.S. Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts accepts the Democratic nomination for President of the United States at the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston, Massachusetts.
- 2005 - System Administrator Appreciation Day
- 2005 - Astronomers discover 10th planet.

Births


- 1166 - Henry II of Champagne (d. 1197)
- 1605 - Simon Dach, German poet (d. 1659)
- 1801 - George Bradshaw, English publisher (d. 1853)
- 1805 - Alexis de Tocqueville, French historian and political scientist (d. 1859)
- 1843 - Johannes Schmidt, German linguist (d. 1901)
- 1849 - Max Nordau, Austrian author, philosopher, and Zionist leader (d. 1923)
- 1865 - Alexander Glazunov, Russian composer (d. 1936)
- 1869 - Booth Tarkington, American author (d. 1946)
- 1872 - Eric Alfred Knudsen, American author, folklorist (d. 1957)
- 1874 - James Shaver Woodsworth, Canadian minister, social worker, and politician (d. 1942)
- 1876 - Maria Ouspenskaya, Russian-born actress (d. 1949)
- 1878 - Don Marquis, American author (d. 1937)
- 1883 - Porfirio Barba-Jacob, Colombian poet and writer (d. 1942)
- 1883 - Benito Mussolini, Italian dictator (d. 1945)
- 1884 - Ralph A. Bard, U.S. Navy Undersecretary (d. 1975)
- 1887 - Sigmund Romberg, Hungarian-born composer (d. 1951)
- 1892 - William Powell, American actor (d. 1984)
- 1897 - Sir Neil Ritchie, British general (d. 1983)
- 1898 - Isidor Isaac Rabi, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1988)
- 1900 - Eyvind Johnson, Swedish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1976)
- 1904 - J. R. D. Tata, Indian pioneer aviator and entrepreneur (d. 1993)
- 1905 - Clara Bow, American actress (d. 1965)
- 1905 - Dag Hammarskjöld, Swedish UN Secretary-General, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1961)
- 1905 - Stanley Kunitz, American poet
- 1905 - Thelma Todd, American actress (d. 1935)
- 1906 - Diana Vreeland, French-born fashion editor (d. 1989)
- 1907 - Melvin Belli, American lawyer and actor (d. 1996)
- 1913 - Erich Priebke, Nazi war criminal
- 1920 - Rodolfo Acosta, Mexican actor (d. 1974)
- 1924 - Lloyd Bochner, Canadian actor
- 1925 - Mikis Theodorakis, Greek composer
- 1927 - Harry Mulisch, Dutch author
- 1929 - Jean Baudrillard, French philosopher
- 1930 - Paul Taylor, American dancer and choreographer
- 1932 - Nancy Landon Kassebaum Baker, U.S. Senator
- 1935 - Peter Schreier, German tenor
- 1936 - Elizabeth Dole, U.S. senator
- 1937 - Daniel McFadden, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1938 - Peter Jennings, Canadian-born television journalist (d. 2005)
- 1941 - David Warner, Canadian actor
- 1942 - Tony Sirico, American actor
- 1943 - David Taylor, English snooker player
- 1949 - Vida Blue, baseball player
- 1953 - Ken Burns, American producer and director
- 1953 - Geddy Lee, Canadian musician (Rush)
- 1957 - Nelli Kim, Russian gymnast
- 1959 - Sanjay Dutt, Indian actor
- 1959 - Ruud Janssen, Dutch writer and artist
- 1965 - Chang-Rae Lee, Korean-born author
- 1966 - Martina McBride, American singer
- 1972 - Wil Wheaton, American actor
- 1973 - Stephen Dorff, American actor
- 1973 - Wanya Morris, American singer Boyz II Men
- 1979 - Abs Breen, English singer
- 1980 - Fernando Gonzalez, Chilean Tennis Player
- 1981 - Fernando Alonso, Spanish race car driver
- 1987 - Randy S. Mays Jr., Student at the University of Pittsburgh

Deaths


- 238 - Pupienus, Roman Emperor (assassinated)
- 238 - Balbinus, Roman Emperor (assassinated)
- 1030 - King Olaf II of Norway (b. 995)
- 1099 - Pope Urban II (b. 1042)
- 1108 - King Philip I of France (b. 1081)
- 1507 - Martin Behaim, German-born navigator and geographer (b. 1459)
- 1612 - Jacques Bongars, French scholar and diplomat (b. 1554)
- 1644 - Pope Urban VIII (b. 1568)
- 1752 - Peter Warren, British admiral
- 1792 - René Nicolas Charles Augustin de Maupeou, Chancellor of France (b. 1714)
- 1813 - Jean-Andoche Junot, French general (suicide) (b. 1771)
- 1833 - William Wilberforce, English campaigner against slavery (b. 1759)
- 1844 - Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart, Austrian composer (b. 1791)
- 1856 - Robert Schumann, German composer (b. 1810)
- 1887 - Agostino Depretis, Italian statesman (d. 1813)
- 1890 - Vincent van Gogh, Dutch painter (b. 1853)
- 1900 - King Umberto I of Italy (b. 1844)
- 1913 - Tobias Michael Carel Asser, Dutch jurist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1838)
- 1951 - Hozumi Shigeto, Japanese author (b. 1883)
- 1954 - Coen de Koning, Dutch speed skater (b. 1879)
- 1970 - John Barbirolli, English conductor (b. 1899)
- 1970 - George Szell, Hungarian conductor (b. 1897)
- 1974 - Cass Elliot, American musician (b. 1941)
- 1974 - Erich Kästner, German author (b. 1899)
- 1975 - James Blish, American writer (b. 1921)
- 1979 - Herbert Marcuse, German philosopher (b. 1898)
- 1979 - Bill Todman, American television producer (b. 1916)
- 1981 - Robert Moses, New York public works official (b. 1888)
- 1982 - Vladimir Zworykin, Russian physicist and inventor (b. 1889)
- 1983 - Luis Buñuel, Spanish director (b. 1900)
- 1983 - Raymond Massey, Canadian actor (b. 1896)
- 1983 - David Niven, English actor (b. 1910)
- 1984 - Fred Waring, American band leader and inventor (b. 1900)
- 1990 - Bruno Kreisky, Chancellor of Austria (b. 1911)
- 1994 - Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin, British chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1910)
- 1996 - Jason Thirsk, American bassist (Pennywise) (b. 1967)
- 2001 - Edward Gierek, Polish politician (b. 1913)
- 2001 - Wau Holland, German hacker (b. 1951]])
- 2001 - Henryk Jablonski, President of Poland (b. 1909)
- 2003 - Foday Sankoh, Sierra Leonean rebel leader (b. 1937)
- 2004 - Rena Vlahopoulou, Greek comedienne and actress (b. 1923)

Holidays and observations


- Norway - St. Olav's Day
- Roman Catholic Church - Feast of Saint Olaf (Olaf II of Norway), patron of woodcarvers
- Roman Catholic Church - Feast of Saint Martha, sister of Lazarus, patron of cooks and dieticians
- Faroe Islands - Ólavsøka: opening of the Løgting session
- National Anthem Day in Romania

External links


- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/29 BBC: On This Day] ---- July 28 - July 30 - June 29 - August 29 -- listing of all days ko:7월 29일 ms:29 Julai ja:7月29日 simple:July 29 th:29 กรกฎาคม

Leap year

A leap year (or intercalary year) is a year containing an extra day or month in order to keep the calendar year in sync with an astronomical or seasonal year. Seasons and astronomical events do not repeat at an exact number of days, so a calendar which had the same number of days in each year would over time drift with respect to the event it was supposed to track. By occasionally inserting (or intercalating) an additional day or month into the year, the drift can be corrected. Leap years (which keep the calendar in sync with the year) should not be confused with leap seconds (which keep clock time in sync with the day).

Gregorian calendar

The Gregorian calendar, the current standard calendar in most of the world, adds a 29th day to February in all years evenly divisible by 4, except for century years (those ending in -00), which receive the extra day only if they are evenly divisible by 400. Thus 1996 was a leap year whereas 1999 was not, and 1600, 2000 and 2400 are leap years but 1700, 1800, 1900 and 2100 are not. The reasoning behind this rule is as follows:
- The Gregorian calendar is designed to keep the vernal equinox on or close to March 21, so that the date of Easter (celebrated on the Sunday after the 14th day of the Moon that falls on or after 21 March) remains correct with respect to the vernal equinox.
- The vernal equinox year is currently about 365.242375 days long.
- The Gregorian leap year rule gives an average year length of 365.2425 days. This difference of a little over 0.0001 days means that in around 8,000 years, the calendar will be about one day behind where it should be. But in 8,000 years' time the length of the vernal equinox year will have changed by an amount we can't accurately predict (see below). So the Gregorian leap year rule does a good enough job. Image:Gregoriancalendarleap.png

Which day is the leap day?

The Gregorian calendar is a modification of the Julian calendar first used by the Romans. The Roman calendar originated as a lunar calendar (though from the 5th century BC it no longer followed the real moon) and named its days after three of the phases of the moon: the new moon (calends, hence "calendar"), the first quarter (nones) and the full moon (ides). Days were counted down (inclusively) to the next named day, so 24 February was ante diem sextum calendas martii ("the sixth day before the calends of March"). Since 45 BC, February in a leap year had two days called "the sixth day before the calends of March". The extra day was originally the second of these, but since the third century it was the first. Hence the term bissextile day for 24 February in a bissextile year. Where this custom is followed, anniversaries after the inserted day are moved in leap years. For example, the former feast day of Saint Matthias, 24 February in ordinary years, would be 25 February in leap years. This historical nicety is, however, in the process of being discarded: The European Union declared that, starting in 2000, 29 February rather than 24 February would be leap day, and the Roman Catholic Church also now uses 29 February as leap day. The only tangible difference is felt in countries that celebrate feast days.

Julian calendar

The Julian calendar adds an extra day to February in years divisible by 4. This rule gives an average year length of 365.25 days. The excess of about 0.0076 days with respect to the vernal equinox year means that the vernal equinox moves a day earlier in the calendar every 130 years or so.

Revised Julian Calendar

The Revised Julian calendar adds an extra day to February in years divisible by 4, except for years divisible by 100 that do not leave a remainder of 200 or 600 when divided by 900. This rule agrees with the rule for the Gregorian calendar until 2799. The first year that dates in the Revised Julian calendar will not agree with the those in the Gregorian calendar will be 2800, because it will be a leap year in the Gregorian calendar but not in the Revised Julian calendar. This rule gives an average year length of 365.242222… days. This is a very good approximation to the mean tropical year, but because the vernal equinox tropical year is slightly longer, the Revised Julian calendar does not do as good a job as the Gregorian calendar of keeping the vernal equinox on or close to 21 March.

Chinese calendar

The Chinese calendar is lunisolar, so a leap year has an extra month, often called an embolismic month after the Greek word for it. In the Chinese calendar the leap month is added according to a complicated rule, which ensures that month 11 is always the month that contains the northern winter solstice. The intercalary month takes the same number as the preceding month; for example, if it follows the second month then it is simply called "leap second month".

Hebrew calendar

The Hebrew calendar is also lunisolar with an embolistic month. In the Hebrew calendar the extra month is called Adar Alef (first Adar) and is added before Adar, which then becomes Adar Sheni (second Adar). According to the Metonic cycle, this is done seven times every nineteen years, specifically, in years, 3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17, and 19. In addition, the Hebrew calendar has postponement rules that postpone the start of the year by one or two days. The year before the postponement gets one or two extra days, and the year whose start is postponed loses one or two days. These postponement rules reduce the number of different combinations of year length and starting day of the week from 28 to 14, and regulate the location of certain religious holidays in relation to the Sabbath.

Hindu Calendar

In the Hindu calendar, which is a lunisolar calendar, the embolismic month is called adhika maas (extra month). It is the month in which the sun is in the same sign of the stellar zodiac on two consecutive dark moons.

Iranian calendar

The Iranian calendar also has a single intercalated day once in every four years, but every 33 years or so the leap years will be five years apart instead of four years apart. The system used is more accurate and more complicated, and is based on the time of the March equinox as observed from Teheran. The 33-year period is not completely regular; every so often the 33-year cycle will be broken by a cycle of 29 or 37 years.

Long term leap year rules

The accumulated difference between the Gregorian calendar and the vernal equinoctial year amounts to 1 day in about 8,000 years. This suggests that the calendar needs to be improved by another refinement to the leap year rule: perhaps by avoiding leap years in years divisible by 8,000. (The most common such proposal is to avoid leap years in years divisible by 4,000 [http://www.google.com/search?q=%22gregorian+calendar%22+error+%22leap+year%22+4000]. This is based on the difference between the Gregorian calendar and the mean tropical year. Others claim, erroneously, that the Gregorian calendar itself already contains a refinement of this kind [http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mleapyr.html].) However, there is little point in planning a calendar so far ahead because over a timescale of tens of thousands of years the number of days in a year will change for a number of reasons, most notably: #Precession of the equinoxes moves the position of the vernal equinox with respect to perihelion and so changes the length of the vernal equinoctial year. #Tidal acceleration from the sun and moon slows the rotation of the earth, making the day longer. In particular, the second component of change depends on such things as post-glacial rebound and sea level rise due to climate change. We can't predict these changes accurately enough to be able to make a calendar that will be accurate to a day in tens of thousands of years.

Marriage proposal

There is a tradition, said to go back to Saint Patrick and Saint Bridget in 5th century Ireland, whereby women may only make marriage proposals in leap years.

Saint Patrick and the leap year

:Saint Patrick, having driven the frogs out of the bogs was walking along the shores of Lough Neagh, when he was accosted by Saint Bridget in tears, and was told that a mutiny had broken out in the nunnery over which she presided, the ladies claiming the right of popping the question. :Saint Patrick said he would concede them the right every seventh year, when Saint Bridget threw her arms round his neck, and exclaimed, "Arrah, Pathrick, jewel, I daurn't go back to the girls wid such a proposal. Make it one year in four." Saint Patrick replied, "Bridget, acushla, squeeze me that way again, an' I'll give ye leap-year, the longest of the lot." Saint Bridget, upon this, popped the question to St Patrick himself, who, of course, could not marry: so he patched up the difficulty as best he could with a kiss and a silk gown. (Source: Evans, Ivor H, Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, Cassell, London, 1988) According to a 1288 law in Scotland, fines were levied if the proposal was refused by the man; compensation ranged from a kiss to a silk gown to soften the blow. Because men felt that put them at too great a risk, the tradition was in some places tightened to restricting female proposals to 29 February.

Birthdays

A person who was born on 29 February may be called a "leapling". In non-leap years they usually celebrate their birthday on 28 February or 1 March. There are many instances in children's literature where a person's claim to be only a quarter of their actual age turns out be based on counting their leap-year birthdays. A similar device is used in the plot of the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta The Pirates of Penzance. Category:Calendars Category:Units of time als:Schaltjahr ko:윤년 ja:閏年 simple:Leap year th:ปีอธิกสุรทิน



Battle of Kleidion

The Battle of Kleidion (also Clidium, "the key", or Belasitsa) took place on July 29, 1014 between Bulgaria and the Byzantine Empire.

Prelude

The Byzantines and Bulgarians had been at war for decades. The largest phase of the war began in 1002, as Tsar Samuil of Bulgaria attempted to expand his territory into Byzantine Greece. Samuil successfully captured land as far south as Athens. Byzantine emperor Basil II wanted to stop this expansion and take back the land that had been lost to the Bulgarians in previous decades and centuries. Every year, Basil marched into Bulgaria to pillage the land, and by 1005 he had recaptured Thessaly, Macedonia, and Greece, and formed an alliance with the Serbs.

The battle

The culmination of years of war came in 1014 when Basil finally faced the entire Bulgarian army in battle, which he had been unable to do in the previous 12 years. Samuil had built ditches along the frontier and had fortified many of the valleys and passes with walls and towers, especially the pass of Kleidion on the Strymon River, which Basil would most likely need to march through to reach the heart of Bulgaria. While leading his troops towards Kleidion Basil was frequently attacked by Bulgarian raiders, but the Bulgarians were defeated by a detachment of Byzantine troops under Theophylactus Botaniates, the strategos (duke) of Thessalonika. At Kleidion Basil besieged the fortifications, but was unable to pass through the valley, which was defended by about 15-20,000 Bulgarians. Basil's general Nicephorus Xiphias (the strategos of Philippopolis) then took his forces around Mt. Belasitsa and ambushed the Bulgarians from behind, trapping them in the valley. The Bulgarians abandoned their towers to face this new threat, and Basil was able to break through. In the confusion, thousands of Bulgarians were killed; according to the account of Byzantine historian John Skylitzes, Samuil was present at the battle and was able to escape only with the help of his son's horse.

The prisoners

Botaniates was ambushed and killed by more Bulgarian raiders after the battle. Skylitzes also records that Basil completely routed the rest of the Bulgarians and took 14 000 prisoners. Basil then divided them into groups of 100 men, blinded 99 men in each group, and left one man in each with one eye so that he could lead the others home; this was possibly done in response to the death of Botaniates. Stylitzes says that Samuil died of a heart attack as he saw his forces march past on July 31, although other sources say Samuil was not present at the battle and lived until October 6.

Aftermath

Because of his victory Basil gained the nickname Bulgaroktonos, "the Bulgar-slayer." Despite Skylitzes' account, the Bulgarians under Samuil's successors must have had some army left, as Basil did not immediately capture the rest of Bulgaria. The war lasted another four years, until Bulgaria was completely defeated in 1018. In that year Bulgaria's last stronghold at Dyrrhachium was captured, and Bulgaria became a province of the Byzantine Empire till the successful uprising led by the Asen brothers in 1185.

Sources


- John Skylitzes, Synopsis Historion, translated by Paul Stephenson. [http://homepage.mac.com/paulstephenson/trans/scyl1.html]
- Warren T. Treadgold, A History of the Byzantine State and Society. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1997. ISBN 0-8047-2630-2 Category:1014 Kleidion 1014 Kleidion 1014

Basil II

Basil II "Bulgaroktonus" (in Greek Basilios Bulgaroktonos, written Βασίλειος Βουλγαροκτόνος, (en) "The Bulgar-Slayer" (958 – December 15, 1025)) Byzantine emperor (January 10, 976 – December 15, 1025) led the Byzantine Empire to its greatest heights in nearly five centuries. However, he left no worthy heir and most of his achievements were undone by a long line of weak successors.

Birth and childhood

Basil was the son of Emperor Romanus II, who died when Basil was only five years old. Because he and his brother, the future Emperor Constantine VIII of the Byzantine Empire (ruled 1025-1028), were too young to reign in their own right, Basil's mother Theophano married one of Romanus' leading generals, who took the throne as the Emperor Nicephorus II Phocas in 963. Nicephorus was murdered in 969, only to be succeeded by another general, who became Emperor John I Tzimisces and reigned for seven years. Finally, when John died on January 10, 976, Basil took the throne.

Asian rebellions and Russian alliance

Basil was a brave soldier and a superb horseman; he was to approve himself a strong ruler and an able general. He did not at first display the full extent of his energy. In the early years of his reign, the administration remained in the hands of the eunuch Basileios (an illegitimate son of Romanus I), president of the senate, a wily and gifted man, who hoped that the young emperors would be his puppets. Basil waited and watched without interfering, and devoted himself to learning the details of administrative business and instructing himself in military science. Although Nicephorus Phocas in particular had proven to be a brilliant military commander during his reign, both he and Tzimisces had proven to be lax administrators. As a result of this, Basil found himself with a serious problem as soon as his reign began. The great landowners of Asia Minor who provided many of the empire's soldiers and taxes - Bardas Skleros and Bardas Phocas - were in open revolt against the empire. Basil, showing the penchant for ruthlessness that would become his trademark, took the field himself and suppressed the rebellions of both Skleros (979) and Phocas (987). To do so Basil formed an alliance with Vladimir the Great of Kiev, who had captured the main imperial base in the Crimea, Chersonesos, in 988. Vladimir offered to evacuate Chersonesos and to supply 6,000 men of his army as reinforcements to Basil. In exchange Vladimir demanded to be married to Basil's younger sister Anna (963 - 1011). At first, Basil hesitated. The Byzantines viewed all the nations of Northern Europe, be they Franks or Russians, as barbarians. Anna herself objected to marrying a barbarian ruler, as such a marriage would have no precedents in imperial annals. But when Vladimir promised to baptize himself and to convert his nation to Christianity, Basil finally had to agree. Vladimir and Anna were married in the Crimea in 989. The Rus recruitments were instrumental in ending the rebellion, and they were later organized into the Varangian Guard. The fall of Basileios followed the rebellions. He was accused of plotting with the rebels and punished with exile and the confiscation of his enormous property. Seeking to protect the lower and middle classes, Basil made ruthless war upon the system of immense estates which had grown up, in Asia Minor and which his predecessor, Romanus I, had endeavoured to check.

Campaigns against the Arabs

Having put an end to the internal strife, Basil then turned his attention to the empire's other enemies. In the 990s, Basil launched a campaign against the Muslim Arabs to the south of the empire's heartland, and won several battles in Syria. Although he did not have the force to drive into Palestine and reclaim Jerusalem, his victories did restore much of Syria to the empire. No emperor since Heraclius had been able to hold these lands for any length of time, and they would remain Byzantine for the next 75 years.

Bulgarian campaigns

Heraclius However, Basil was far from done. He wanted to restore to the empire territories that had long slipped from its grasp. As the second millennium got under way, he took on his greatest adversary, Tsar Samuil of Bulgaria. When all-out war broke out in 1002, Samuil had extended the Bulgarian kingdom from the Danube River in the north all the way into Greece, stopping just north of Athens. His rule extended from the Adriatic to the Black Sea, and all of this territory had been conquered over the past 300 years at the expense of the Byzantines. Basil was determined to reverse the fortunes of the empire. The war ravaged the Balkans for the next dozen years, as Basil and Samuil each won impressive victories. Samuil's force was outnumbered numerically, but he was able to avoid fighting a general engagement while harassing Basil's forces as they advanced through Bulgarian territory. Samuil hoped to wear down the Byzantine forces and either defeat them, or force Basil to make peace. Finally, on July 29, 1014, Basil II cornered the Bulgarian army and forced it to fight at the Battle of Kleidion, with Samuil several miles away from the battlefield. Having crushed the Bulgarians, Basil was said to have blinded 15,000 prisoners, leaving a one-eyed man to every hundred to lead them to their tsar, who fainted at the sight and died two days later. Although maybe an exaggeration, this gave Basil his nickname Bulgaroktonus, "the Bulgar-slayer." Bulgaria fought on for four more years, but finally submitted in 1018. The victory over the Bulgarians and the subsequent submission of the Serbs fulfilled one of Basil's goals, as the empire regained its ancient Danube River frontier for the first time in 400 years. Meanwhile, in 1016, Byzantine armies, in conjunction with Mstislav of Chernigov, attacked the Crimea, much of which had fallen under the sway of the Khazar successor kingdom of Georgius Tzul, based at Kerch. Kedrenos reports that Georgius Tzul was captured and the Khazar successor-state was destroyed.

Later years

Basil returned in triumph to Constantinople, then promptly went east and attacked the Persians over control of Armenia, which had become a Byzantine tributary when its king died in 1000. More victories followed, and Armenia rejoined the Byzantine empire for the first time in two centuries. Basil created in those highlands a strongly fortified frontier, which, if his successors had been capable, should have proved an effective barrier against the invasions of the Seljuk Turks. In the meantime, other Byzantine forces restored much of southern Italy, lost to the Normans over the previous 150 years, to the empire's control. When Basil finally died on December 15, 1025, he was planning a military expedition to recover the island of Sicily. By his last request, he was buried not among the other emperors of his family, but instead next to the cavalry's training field. Contemporary sources state this was in order for him to forever hear his troops training to combat for his empire. During the pillage of 1204, Basil's grave was ravaged by the invading Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade.

Assessment

Basil was a short, stocky man who cared little for the pomp and ceremony of the imperial court, and typically held court dressed in military regalia. Still, he was a capable administrator, who unique among the soldier-emperors, left a full treasury upon his death. He was worshipped by his army, as he spent most of his reign campaigning with them instead of sending orders from the distant palaces of Constantinople, as had most of his predecessors. He lived the life of a soldier to the point of eating the same daily rations as any other member of the army. He also took the children of deceased officers of his army under his protection, and offered them sheltering, nourishment and education. Many of those children would later grow to become his soldiers and his officers, and came to think of him as a father. Constantinople Besides being called the "Father of the Army", he was also popular with country farmers. This class produced most of his army's supplies and offered him most of his soldiers. To assure that this flow of supplies and men continued, Basil's laws protected small agrarian property and lowered their taxes. His reign was considered an era of relative prosperity for the class, despite the almost constant wars. On the other hand Basil increased the taxes of the nobility and the church and looked to decrease their power and wealth. Though understandably unpopular with them, neither of them had the power to effectively oppose the army-supported Emperor. Basil never married or had children that we know of - a womanizer as a young man, Basil chose to devote himself fully to the duties of state upon becoming emperor. Unfortunately, this meant that he was succeeded by his brother and his family, who proved to be ineffective rulers. Within 50 years of Basil's death, the empire had once again fallen to the status of a second-rate power, and had lost almost everything he regained.

Basil in literature

During the 20th century in Greece, interest for the prominent Emperor resulted in Basil becoming the subject of a number of biographies as well as historical novels. Arguably the most popular of them is Basil Bulgaroktonus (1964) by historical fiction writer Kostas Kyriazis (1920 - ). Written as a sequel to his previous work Theophano (1963), focusing on Basil's mother, it examines Basil's life from his childhood till his death at an advanced age, through the eyes of three different narrators (all of them fictional). The first one is Areti Skylitzi, a girl from a noble family that John I brought to young Basil to be his friend and playmate. She becomes the confidant of his deepest thoughts and later the only woman that truly loves him. Basil can never marry her. Witnessing at an early age the murders of his father Romanus and step-father Nicephorus by Theophano, their wife, his mother, had traumatised him. He associates marriage, trust with death and murder. Areti stays by his side, as his unofficial consort, till his death. She alone hearing his private thoughts, filled often with self-doubt, sorrow, inner conflict while dealing with hard decisions. For Areti, Basil is her life-long consort, needing to be comforted. The second narrator is Nicolaus, one of Basil's generals. He has followed Basil's campaigns through his life, and witnessed his major battles and later his death. For him Basil was his leader, a lord to be respected and served, a "father" of his army. The third and last one is a Bulgarian, one of Samuil's generals. He spend most of his life serving his Tsar and fighting Basil. He tells their side of the long battle, that occupied almost forty years. For him Basil is the enemy, the slayer of his people, the man responsible for his own leader's death. Accurately describing the historical events and adding fictional to fill-in the blanks, it has been considered the best introduction to Basil and his age, a casual reader could have. It has been continuously reprinted since 1964.

Bibliography


- Michael Psellus the Younger. Chronographia.

External links


- A more detailed profile of the Emperor:http://www.roman-emperors.org/basilii.htm Category:958 births Category:1025 deaths Category:Macedonian dynasty Category:Byzantine emperors ja:バシレイオス2世

Bulgaria

The Republic of Bulgaria (Bulgarian: Република България) is a republic in the southeast of Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the east, Greece and Turkey to the south, Serbia and Montenegro and the Republic of Macedonia to the west, and Romania to the north along the river Danube. It is one of Europe's oldest countries.

History

Main article: History of Bulgaria In the late 7th century a branch of the Bulgars led by Khan Asparuh migrated into the northern Balkans, where they merged with the local Slavic populaton and possibly remnants of the Thracian population to form the first Bulgarian state in 681 AD. This was the first Slavic nation-state in history. The Bulgarian empire was a significant European power in the 9th and the 10th century, while fighting with the Byzantine Empire for the control of the Balkans. The Bulgarian state was crushed by an assault by the Rus in 969 and completely subdued by a determined Byzantine assault under Basil II in 1018. It was re-established in 1185 and continued to be an important power in the European south-east for two more centuries by fighting to assert its place in the region with the Byzantine Empire, crushing the Crusader states in Greece, as well as Hungary. By the end of the 14th century the country was overrun by the Ottoman Empire. A liberation attempt by the Polish-Hungarian forces under the rule of Wladislaus III of Poland was clashed in 1444 in the battle of Varna. An autonomous Bulgarian principality comprising Moesia and the region of Sofia was established in 1878 following the Russo-Turkish War, 1877-78. After uniting with Eastern Rumelia in 1885, the principality was proclaimed a fully independent kingdom in 1908. During 1912 and 1913 it became involved in the Balkan Wars, a series of conflicts with its neighbours, during which Bulgarian territory varied in size. During World War I and later World War II, Bulgaria found itself fighting on the losing side. Despite that fact, Bulgaria saved the lives of its own 50,000 Jews from the Nazi death camps by refusing to comply with a 31 August 1943 resolution, which demanded their deportation to Auschwitz. Bulgaria fell within the Soviet sphere of influence after World War II and became a People's Republic in 1946. Communist domination ended in 1989, when Bulgaria again held multiparty elections. Bulgaria joined NATO on 29 March, 2004 and is set to join the European Union on 1 January, 2007 after signing the Treaty of Accession on 25 April 2005.

Politics

Main article: Politics of Bulgaria

Executive

Politics of Bulgaria The president of Bulgaria (Georgi Purvanov since 22 January 2002) is directly elected for a 5-year term with the right to one re-election. The president serves as the head of state and commander in chief of the armed forces. The president is the head of the Consultative Council for National Security and while unable to initiate legislation, the President can return a bill for further debate, though parliament can overturn the president's veto with a simple majority vote. The Council of Ministers is chaired by the Prime Minister (Sergey Stanishev since 17 August 2005), and is the principal body of the Executive Branch and presently consists of 20 ministers. The Prime Minister is nominated by the largest parliamentary group and is given a mandate by the President to form a cabinet. The current governmental coalition is made of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), National Movement Simeon II (NMS), and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (representing mainly the Turkish minority).

Legislative

The Bulgarian unicameral parliament, the National Assembly or Narodno Sabranie, consists of 240 deputies who are elected for 4-year-term stretches by popular vote. The votes are for party or coalition lists of candidates for each of the twenty-eight administrative divisions. A party or coalition must garner a minimum of 4% of the vote in order to enter parliament. Parliament is responsible for enactment of laws, approval of the budget, scheduling of presidential elections, selection and dismissal of the prime minister and other ministers, declaration of war, deployment of troops outside of Bulgaria, and ratification of international treaties and agreements. The last elections took place on June 2005. The next elections are planned for summer 2009.

Judiciary

The Bulgarian judicial system consists of regional, district and appeal courts, as well as a Supreme Court of Cassation. In addition, there is a Supreme Administrative Court and a system of military courts. The Presidents of the Supreme Court of Cassation, Supreme Administrative Court and the Prosecutor General are elected by a qualified majority of two thirds from all the members of the Supreme Judicial Council and are appointed by the President of the Republic. The Supreme Juicial Council is in charge of the self-administration and organisation of the Judiciary. The Constitutional Court is in charge of reviewing the constitutionality of laws and statutes brought before it, as well as the compliance of these laws with international treaties that the Government has signed. Parliament elects the 12 members of the Constitutional Court by a two-thirds majority, the members serve a nine-year term.

Regional and local government

The territory of the Republic of Bulgaria is divided into regions and municipalities. In all Bulgaria has 28 regions, each headed by a regional governor appointed by the government. In addition, there are 263 municipalties.

Regions

Main article: Regions of Bulgaria Regions of Bulgaria Since 1999 Bulgaria consists of 28 regions (oblasti, singular - oblast), after having been subdivided into 9 provinces since 1987. All are named after the regional capital, with the national capital itself forming a separate region:

Geography

Main article: Geography of Bulgaria Geography of Bulgaria Bulgaria is comprised of portions of the classical regions of Thrace, Moesia, and Macedonia. The southwest of the country is mountainous, containing the highest point of the Balkan Peninsula, peak Musala at 2,925 m, and the range of the Balkan mountains runs west-east through the middle of the country, north of the famous Rose Valley. Hilly country and plains are found in the southeast, along the Black Sea coast in the east, and along Bulgaria's main river, the Danube in the north. Other major rivers include the Struma and the Maritsa river in the south. The Bulgarian climate is temperate, with cold, damp winters and hot, dry summers. The Balkan peninsula derives its name from the Balkan or Stara Planina mountain range which runs through the center of Bulgaria into eastern Serbia. See also:
- List of cities in Bulgaria
- Rivers of Bulgaria
- Reservoirs and dams in Bulgaria

Economy

Main article: Economy of Bulgaria Bulgaria's economy contracted dramatically after 1989 with the loss of the market of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON) member states, to which the Bulgarian economy had been closely tied. The standard of living fell by about 40%, but it regained pre-1990 levels in June 2004. In addition, UN sanctions against Yugoslavia and Iraq took a heavy toll on the Bulgarian economy. The first signs of recovery emerged in 1994 when the GDP grew and inflation fell. During 1996, however, the economy collapsed due to lack of international economic support and an unstable banking system. Since 1997 the country has been on the path to recovery, with GDP growing at a 4-5% rate, increasing FDI, macroeconomic stability and EU membership set for 2007. The former government, elected in 2001, pledged to maintain the fundamental economic policy objectives adopted by its predecessor in 1997, i.e., retaining the Currency Board, practicing sound financial policies, accelerating privatisation, and pursuing structural reforms. Economic forecasts for 2005 and 2006 predict continued growth in the Bulgarian economy. The annual year-on-year GDP growth for 2005 and 2006 is expected to total 5,3% and 6,0%, respectively. Industrial output for 2005 is forecast to rise by 11,9% year-on-year, and for 2006 - by 15,2% year-on-year. Unemployment for 2005 is projected at 11,5% and for 2006 - at under 10%. On April 25, 2005 Bulgaria signed the Treaty of Accession with the European Union and is set to join the bloc in 2007.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Bulgaria According to the 2001 census, Bulgaria's population is mainly ethnic Bulgarian (83.9%), with two sizable minorities in the form of Turks (9.4%) and Roma (4.7%). Of the remaining 2.0%, 0.9% are distributed among some forty smaller minorities, the most numerous of which are the Armenians, Russians, Vlachs, Crimean Tatars, Karakachans, Macedonian Slavs and Jews; the people who have not declared their ethnicity are 1.1% of the total population. 84.8% of the Bulgarian population speak Bulgarian, a member of the Slavic languages, as mother-language. Bulgarian is the only official language, but other languages are spoken, corresponding closely to ethnic breakdown. Most Bulgarians (82.6%) are at least nominally a member of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, the national Eastern Orthodox church. Other religious denominations include Islam (12.2%), Roman Catholicism (0.6%), various Protestant denominations (0.5%), with other denominations, atheists and undeclared numbering ca. 4.1%.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Bulgaria
- List of famous Bulgarians
- Bulgarian customs
- Music of Bulgaria
- Bulgarian dances
- Bulgarian cuisine

Religion

Most citizens of Bulgaria are at least nominally members of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church founded in 870 AD (autocephalous since 927). The Bulgarian Orthodox Church is the independent national church of Bulgaria like the other national branches of Eastern Orthodoxy and is considered an inseparable element of Bulgarian national consciousness. The church has been abolished, or rather reduced to a subordinate position within the Greek Orthodox Church, twice during the periods of Byzantine (1018-1185) and Ottoman (1396-1878) domination but has been revived every time as a symbol of Bulgarian statehood. In 2001, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church had a total of 6,552,000 members in Bulgaria (82.6% of the population). However many younger people raised during the 45 years of communist rule are not religious even though they formally may be members of the church. communist Despite the dominant position of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church in Bulgarian cultural life, a number of Bulgarian citizens belong to other religious denominations, most notably Islam, Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. Islam came to Bulgaria at the end of the 14th century after the conquest of the country by the Ottomans. It gradually gained ascendancy throughout the 15th and 16th centuries by introduction of Turkish colonists and (usually forceful) conversion of Bulgarians and at the time of the Liberation (1878) not less than 40% of the population of the country was Muslim. The percentage has been greatly reduced since then, mostly due to emigration. In 2001, there were 967,000 Muslims in Bulgaria (12.2% of the population). In the 16th and the 17th century missionaries from Rome converted the Bulgarian Paulicians in the districts of Plovdiv and Svishtov to Roman Catholicism. Their descendants form nowadays the bulk of Bulgarian Catholics whose number stood at 44,000 in 2001. Protestantism was introduced in Bulgaria by missionaries from the United States in 1857. Missionary work continued throughout the second half of the 19th and the first half of the 20th century. In 2001, there were some 42,000 Protestants in Bulgaria.
- Bulgarian Orthodox Church
- Roman Catholicism in Bulgaria
- Protestantism in Bulgaria
- Islam in Bulgaria
- Judaism

National parks

Bulgaria has over 10 major national parks and many reservation areas.
- [http://www.centralbalkannationalpark.org/en/ Central Balkan National Park]
- Golden Sands National Park
- [http://www.pirin-np.com/English/pirin-np_E.htm Pirin National Park]
- [http://www.rhodope.net/ Rhodope National Park]
- [http://www.rilanationalpark.org/en/ Rila National Park]
- Roussenski Lom National Park
- Sinite Kamani National Park
- Shoumen Plateau National Park
- [http://www.staraplanina.org/index.php Stara Planina (Balkan Mountains)]
- [http://www.discoverstrandja.com/index.htm Strandja National Park]
- [http://www.picturesofbulgaria.com/article/vitosha_national_park.html Vitosha National Park]
- Vratchansky Balkan National Park

Additional Resources


- [http://www.bulgariannationalparks.org/en/ Bulgarian National Parks]
- [http://www.greenbalkans.org/index_en.html Green Balkans]

Miscellaneous topics


- The Ten Lies of Macedonism]
- [[Communications in Bulgaria]]
- [[Foreign relations of Bulgaria
- Military of Bulgaria
- Public holidays in Bulgaria
- Reporters without borders world-wide press freedom index 2004: ranked 36 out of 167 countries
- Tourism in Bulgaria
- Transportation in Bulgaria
- Bulgarian law Much of the material in these articles comes from the CIA World Factbook 2000 and the 2003 U.S. Department of State website.

Further reading


- A Concise History of Bulgaria RJ Crampton
- Beyond Hitler's Grasp: The Heroic Rescue of Bulgaria's Jews Michael Bar-Zohar
- Blue Guide: Bulgaria James Pettifer
- Crown of Thorns : The Reign of King Boris III of Bulgaria, 1918-1943 Stephane Groueff
- The Fragility of Goodness: Why Bulgaria's Jews Survived the Holocaust Tzvetan Todorov
- Lonely Planet World Guide: Bulgaria Paul Greenway
- Music of Bulgaria Timothy Rice
- The Rough Guide To Bulgaria Jonathan Bousfield
- Voices from the Gulag: Life and Death in Communist Bulgaria Tzvetan Todorov
- The Iron Fist-inside the Bulgarian secret archives Alexenia Dimitrova

External links

Official


- [http://www.government.bg/fce/index.shtml?s=001&p=0023 Council of Ministers] - Official Governmental Site
- [http://www.bulgaria.bg/EN/default.htm Diplomatic missions of Republic of Bulgaria abroad] - Diplomatic missions of Republic of Bulgaria abroad
- [http://www.eypbulgaria.org/ European Youth Parliament - Bulgaria]
- [http://www.president.bg/en/index.php President.bg] - Official Presidential Site
- [http://www.parliament.bg/?lng=en Narodno Sabranie] - Official Parliamentary Site
- [http://www.minfin.government.bg/?language=english Ministry of Finance of Bulgaria]
- [http://www.mvr.bg/en/ Ministry of Interior of Bulgaria]
- [http://www.mtc.government.bg/indexe.htm Ministry of Transport and Communications of Bulgaria]
- [http://www.culture.government.bg/index.html?l=en Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Bulgaria]
- [http://www.mi.government.bg/eng/ Ministry of Economy of Bulgaria]
- [http://www.doe.bg/cgi-bin/i.pl?l=2 Ministry of Energy and Energy Resources of Bulgaria]
- [http://www2.moew.government.bg/index_e.html Ministry of Environment and Water of Bulgaria]
- [http://www.mfa.government.bg/index.php?newlang=eng Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria]
- [http://www.mod.bg/en/index.html Ministry of Defense of Bulgaria]
- [http://www.bnr.bg/RadioBulgaria/Emission_English/ National Radio] - Official Radio Site

English language Bulgarian media


- [http://www.questbulgaria.com Quest Bulgaria Magazine (monthly)]
- [http://www.bnr.bg/en/ Radio Bulgaria – the world service of the Bulgarian National Radio]
- [http://news.dnevnik.bg Dnevnik]
- [http://www.focus-fen.net Focus English News]
- [http://novinite.com/ Sofia News Agency]
- [http://www.standartnews.com Standart (daily)]
- [http://www.sofiaecho.com The Sofia Echo (weekly)]

Other


- [http://www.expatfocus.com/expatriate-bulgaria Expat Focus guide to Bulgaria]
- [http://www.bulgarian-villa.com Bulgarian Building Projects]
- [http://get.info.bg Bulgaria Info Site - regions, maps, FAQ]
- [http://www.kirildouhalov.net Art, history and music of Bulgaria]
- [http://www.picturesofbulgaria.com Pictures of Bulgaria]
- [http://www.pbase.com/ngruev/bulgaria/ More Pictures of Bulgaria]
- [http://www.greatestcities.com/Europe/Bulgaria.html Map, Info and Pictures of Bulgaria and Cities]
- [http://www.balcanica.org/history/maps.html Historical maps of Bulgaria]
- [http://www.bulgarianmonastery.com Bulgarian Monasteries]
- [http://www.blackseaestates.net/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabindex=5&tabid=12, Picture Gallery of Bulgaria]
- [http://www.bulgarianfinearts.com Paintings by Bulgarian authors]
- [http://www.worldwide-tax.com/bulgaria/indexbulgaria.asp Bulgaria economy and business indicators] Bulgaria key Data on Taxes and Income Tax. ---- Volga Bulgaria is also a historic state that existed in 10-14th centuries around the confluence of Volga and Kama. Category:Republics Category:Black Sea countries roa-rup:Vurgarii zh-min-nan:Bulgariya ko:불가리아 ms:Bulgaria ja:ブルガリア simple:Bulgaria th:ประเทศบัลแกเรีย fiu-vro:Bulgaaria

1030

Events


- July 29 - Battle of Stiklestad in Norway. Olav Haraldsson loses to his pagan vassals and is wounded.
- July 30 - Olav Haraldsson dies of his wounds at the Battle of Stiklestad. He is later sainted.
- The city of Kaunas in Lithuania is founded.
- The city of Tartu in Estonia is founded.
- Earliest mention of Thalwil, Switzerland
- Henry I of France revolts against his father Robert

Births


- July 26 - Stanislaus of Szczepanów, St. Stanislaw (d. 1079)
- Baldwin VI, Count of Flanders (d. 1070)
- Vsevolod I of Kiev (d. 1093)

Deaths


- July 19 - Adalberon, bishop of Laon
- July 29 - King Olaf II of Norway (b. 995)
- September 30 - William V, Duke of Aquitaine (b. 969) Category:1030 ko:1030년

Battle of Stiklestad

The Battle of Stiklestad (Old Norse Stiklarstaðir) in 1030 is one of the most famous battles in the history of Norway. In this battle King Olaf II of Norway (Old Norse Óláfr Haraldsson) lost his life. He was later made a saint, and the battle represents the victory of Christianity over traditional pagan beliefs in Norway.

History

During the 8th Century, Norway was controlled by several local strong kings having control over their regional areas. At the end of the century, King Harald Fairhair (ON Haraldr Hárfagri) managed, in no little part due to the military superiority gained by his alliance with Sigurd Ladejarl of Nidaros, to subjugate these mini-kingdoms, and created the first unified Norwegian state. This alliance folded after Harald's death, together with the infant state. The Lade family and various decendants of Harald Fairhair would spend the next century interlocked in feuds over power. As well as power politics, religion also played part in these conflicts, as two of the Fairhair heirs, Håkon the Good and Olav Tryggvason attempted the conversion of the then pagan Norwegians into Christianity. In the year 1000 Svein (ON Sveinn) and Eric (ON Eiríkr) of the Ladejarls took control over Norway, being supported by the Danish king Svein. In the year 1015 Olav Haraldsson, representing the Hárfagri family, returned from one of his viking trips and he was immediately elected as King of Norway. In June 1016 he won the battle at Nesjar against the Ladejarls. The major reason behind Olav Haraldsson's success in becoming King of Norway was the fact that Denmark was busy conquering England. In the year 1028 however, the Danish King Canute the Great made an alliance with the Ladejarls, and Olav had go into exile in Garðaríki (Russia). In the year of 1029 the last Ladejarl Håkon Jarl drowned, and Olav decided to return to Norway with his army to regain his throne and the Kingdom of Norway. According to saga sources, he traveled with his 3,600 men army through Sweden and crossed the mountains into the valley of Verdal (ON Veradalr), 80 km north of the city of Trondheim. Olav and his men arrived at Stiklestad a farm in the lower part of the valley. This was where the Battle of Stiklestad took place, as described by Snorre (Snorri Sturluson) in his famous book Heimskringla 200 years later. At Stiklestad, Olav met an army led by Hårek from Tjøtta (ON Hárekr ór Þjóttu), Tore Hund (ON Þórir Hundr) from Bjarkøy and Kalv Arneson (ON Kálfr Árnason), a man who previously served Olav. The peasant army consisted of more than 7,000 men according to Snorre. The battle took place on July 29, 1030. At the end of the day, Olav's army had lost. During the battle, Olav received three severe wounds and died leaning against a large stone. On top of this stone, the Stiklestad Church was later erected. His body was carried away and buried in secrecy in Trondheim. The year after the battle his coffin was moved to the Klement Church in Trondheim. According to Snorre, his hair had grown since he was buried. Olav was sanctified and given the name Olav den Hellige (Saint Olaf). The Stiklestad Church was erected on top of the stone against which he died. The stone is supposedly still inside the altar of the church. 100 years later, the Nidaros Cathedral was built in Trondheim, and Olav's coffin was moved to this church. In the 15th Century, during the Protestant Reformation period, Olav's coffin was moved and his remains was buried somewhere in Nidaros Cathedral — exactly where is still today an unsolved mystery. July 29 1954, the owner of the farm Sul arranged to have a theater play on his premises. The historic play was based upon both the story of the Battle of Stiklestad described by Snorre and the events that could likely have taken place at the Sul farm at the time before the battle. Snorre writes that Olav had visited this farm with his army on his way to Stiklestad. Today, 50 years later, more than 600,000 people have travelled to Stiklestad to view The Saint Olav Drama at what is now the largest outdoor theatre in Scandinavia.

Evaluation

While Snorre's description of the battles in the Heimskringa makes for epic reading, a lot of its grandeur most likely must be put down to the writer's taste for the grand. In Gardarrike, Olav was only surrounded by his most loyal followers. Neither can one expect that recruitment was especially ample in Sweden or through the sparsely populated valleys through which Olav travelled. Thus, Olav's army probably was of a rather rag-tag character, an impression accentuated by tales of how local robber groups would join it as Olav made his way down Verdal. In fact, why Olav chose to travel through the rather barren and politically hostile Trøndelag, rather than to try and rally his relatives and political allies of Eastern Norway, is to this day an unsolved mystery. Perhaps he was making a ditch attempt for Nidaros, hoping to win acceptance for his claim to the throne amongst the peasants of Trondelag. On the other hand, the opposition, basically lower nobles and grand farmers under influence of the Danish king Canute, could not have had much time to assemble a large force. When alerted to Olav's presence, they must have responded swiftly, considering that they met Olav relatively far up in the valley. Therefore, their action points more towards a small, hastily arranged rally of men rather than the elaborate logistics that would have been needed to assemble a 10,000 man strong army. Those who could have mobilized a large scale army, the local nobles of Trøndelag (of which Einar Tambarskjelvar was a prime example) were notable largely by their absence on either side. Also, a battlefield of a raging battle between nearly 20,000 men should have produced rich archeological findings to that effect; at Stiklestad, however, these are sparse. Based on this information, the most logical conclusion therefore is that while the battle of Stiklestad had massive political, social and religious consequences, it in military terms probably was a unspectacular if raw clash between two small bands counting tens and hundreds rather than thousands. Perhaps Snorre attempted to show its significance by blowing its proportions out of size and scale? Olav's role in Norwegian history had only just begun at his death. While nobles and rich farmers had expected their position to improve with the removal of the aggressive Olav, the opposite happened. The rule of Canute's mistress Alfiva and their infant son Svein exceedingly harsh on the people. Especially the church, a traditional ally of Olav, came under the squeeze. Thus, it accentuated the late king's martyr status, as it joined and egged on common folk in revolting against the hardships enforced by Danish the succeeding Danish rule. Olav's heroic last stand made for great nation-building material in the immature Norwegian state. Even nature lended a hand, as the day of the battle coincided with a nearly full solar eclipse, as reflected in Snorre's description of an ill-fated 'blooded red sun', interpreted as a certain omen of bad things to come. Olav, a rather stubborn and rash ruler, prone to rough treatment of his enemies, ironically became Norway's patron saint. His canonization was performed only a year after his death by the bishop of Nidaros. The cult of Olav not only unified the country, it also fulfilled the conversion of the nation, something for which the king had fought so hard. While divise in life, in death Olav - perpeetus rex normanni, the eternal king of Norwegians - wielded an unifying power no foreign monarch could hope to undo. Canute, most distracted by the task of administrating England, managed to rule Norway for five years after the battle through his viceroy son Svein. However, when Olav's illegitimate son Magnus (dubbed 'the Good') lay claim to the Norwegian throne, Canute had to yield. Thus, a century of prosperity and expansion followed, lasting until the kingdom again decended into a civil war over succession.

External links


- [http://www.stiklestad.no/english/ Information about Stiklestad, the history, the play and the museum] Category:1030 Stiklestad Stiklestad Category:History of Norway

Danish people

:This article is about Danes as an ethnic group. For information about residents or nationals of Denmark, see demographics of Denmark. For information on the breed of dog see Great Dane The term Dane may refer to:
- People with a Danish ancestral or ethnic identity, whether living in Denmark, emigrants, or the descendents of emigrants.
- Members of the Danish ethnic minority in Southern Schleswig, a former Danish province.
- Anyone whose mother tongue is Danish.
- Nationals or citizens of Denmark, which also includes a German minority in South Jutland as well as recent non-European immigrants and their descendents (see: Demographics of Denmark). This article refers to the two definitions, ethnic Danes and their descendents plus the minority in Germany.

Danes in Denmark

Almost1 5 million ethnic Danes live in Denmark today. The Danes are a Scandinavian ethnic group, and are the descendents of the Norse - better known as Vikings - along with Norwegians, Swedes, Icelanders, and Faroese. The average Dane enjoys a comfortable standard of living. See also History of Denmark. A minority of approx. 50,000 Danes live in Southern Schleswig in Germany, a former Danish territory, forming around 10% of the local population. In Denmark, the latter group is often referred to as De danske syd for grænsen (literally: the Danes south of the (Danish-German) border).

The Danish Nation in a political context

Det danske folk (The Danish nation) as a concept, played an important role in 19th century ethnic nationalism and refers to self-identification rather than a legal status. Use of the term is most often restricted to a historical context; the historic German-Danish struggle regarding the status of the Duchy of Schleswig vis-à-vis a Danish nation-state. It describes people of Danish nationality, both in Denmark and elsewhere. Most importantly, ethnic Danes in both Denmark proper and the former Danish Duchy of Schleswig. Excluded from this definition are people from the formerly Norwegian Faroe Islands and Greenland as well as members of the German minority as well as members of other ethnic minorities. The term should not be confused with the legal concept of nationality, Danske statsborgere (Danish nationals) i.e. individuals holding Danish citizenship.

References


- 1 [http://www.dst.dk/asp2xml/external/external.asp?title=Nyt%20fra%20Danmarks%20Statistik:%C2%A0Nr.%20478,%208.%20november%202005&ancestor=Gratis%20statistik&file=/asp2xml/PUK/udgivelser/get_file.asp?id=8062&show=pdf Danmarks Statistik] (pdf in Danish) reports that Denmark, per October 1st, 2005, has 461,614 inhabitants of foreign inheritance out of 5,425,420 total inhabitants. That amounts to an estimate of 4,963,806 ethnic Danish people on October 1st, 2005. .
- 2 The [http://www.euroamericans.net/dane.htm# 2000 American census] reports that the United States, in the 2000 census, has 1,430,897 inhabitants of Danish ancestry.
- 3 The [http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/gl.html#people CIA World Factbook] reports that Greenland, in a July 2005 estimate, has 56,375 inhabitants. The share of Danes was in 2000 estimated to be just below 12%. Taking for granted that the two ethnic groups have developed equally from 2000 to 2005, this adds up to an estimate just below 6765 Danish people in July 2005. Category:Ethnic groups of Europe Category:Germanic peoples ja:デーン人

1567

Events


- The Duke of Alva arrives in the Netherlands with Spanish forces to suppress unrest there. He replaces Margaret of Parma as Governor of the Netherlands. Prince William of Orange is outlawed, and Count Lamoral of Egmont imprisoned.
- February 10 - Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, husband of Mary I of Scotland, is murdered at the Provost's House in Edinburgh.
- May 15 - Mary I of Scotland marries James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell.
- June 15 - Mary I of Scotland is defeated at Carberry Hill by the Scottish nobles. She is imprisoned in Lochleven Castle.
- July 24 - Mary I of Scotland abdicates the throne, succeeded by her son King James VI of Scotland.
- July 25 - The city of Santiago de León de Caracas, in Venezuela, is founded by Diego de Losada.
- July 29 - James VI is crowned at Stirling.
- September 9 - At a dinner, the Duke of Alva arrests the Count of Egmont and the Count of Horne for treason.
- September 29 - Beginning of the Second War of Religion in France when the Prince of Condé and Gaspard de Coligny fail in an attempt to capture King Charles IX and his mother at Meaux. The Huguenots do capture several cities (including Orleans), and march on Paris.
- November 10 - Battle of Saint-Denis - Anne de Montmorency, with 16,000 Royalists falls on Condé's 3,500 Huguenots. The Huguenots surprisingly hold on for some hours before being driven off. Montmorency is mortally wounded.
- King Frederick II of Denmark and Norway founds Fredrikstad in Norway.

Births


- February 12 - Thomas Campion, English poet and composer (died 1620)
- May 15 - Claudio Monteverdi, Italian composer (died 1643)
- August 21 - Francis de Sales, Bishop of Geneva and saint (d. 1622)
- November 1 - Diego Sarmiento de Acuña, conde de Gondomar, Spanish diplomat (died 1626)
- November 14 - Maurice of Nassau, Prince of Orange (died 1625)
- November 21 - Anne de Xainctonge, French saint (died 1621)
- December 15 - Christoph Demantius, German composer (died 1643)
- Valens Acidalius, German critic and poet (died 1595)
- William Alabaster, English poet (died 1640)
- Adriaen Block, Dutch fur trader and navigator (died 1624)
- Samuel de Champlain, French explorer (died 1635)
- Jacques Clément, French assassin of Henry III of France (died 1589)
- Edward Sutton, 5th Baron Dudley (died 1643)
- Jan Szczesny Herburt, political writer
- Thomas Lake, Secretary of State to King James I (died 1630)
- Date Masamune, Japanese daimyo
- Thomas Nashe, English poet (died 1600)
- Willem Schouten, Dutch navigator (died 1625)
- Torii Tadamasa, Japanese nobleman (died 1628)
- Akizuki Tanenaga, Japanese samurai and soldier (died 1614)
- Yodo-Dono, Japanese concubine of Toyotomi Hideyoshi
- Sanada Yukimura, Japanese warrior See also :Category: 1567 births.

Deaths


- January 23 - Jiajing Emperor of China (b. 1507)
- January 26 - Nicholas Wotton, English diplomat
- February 10 - Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, consort of Mary I of Scotland (born 1545)
- March 31 - Philipp I of Hesse (born 1504)
- April 18 - Wilhelm von Grumbach, German adventurer (born 1503)
- June 2 - Shane O'Neill, Irish chieftain (born 1530)
- June 12 - Richard Rich, Lord Chancellor of England (born 1490)
- October 1 - Pietro Carnesecchi, Italian humanist (born 1508)
- November 12 - Anne de Montmorency, constable of France (born 1493)
- Thomas Beccon, English protestant reformer (born 1511)
- Gerolamo Cardano, Italian mathematician (born 1501)
- Marin Drzic, Croatian writer (born 1508)
- Shahgali, khan of Qasim in 1516-1519
- Lawrence Sheriff, English gentleman and grocer to Elizabeth I (born 1510)
- Michael Stifel, German mathematician (born 1487)
- Jan Krzysztof Tarnowski, Polish nobleman (born 1537) See also :Category: 1567 deaths. Category:1567 ko:1567년

James I of England

James VI of Scotland and James I of England and Ireland (occasionally known as King James the Vain) (Charles James) (19 June 1566–27 March 1625) was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland. He ruled in Scotland as James VI from