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Volturno

Volturno

The Volturno is a river in south-central Italy. It rises in the Abruzzese Apennines near Alfedena and flows southeast as far as its junction with the Calore River near Caiazzo. It then turns southwest, past Capua, to enter the Tyrrhenian Sea in Castel Volturno, northwest of Naples. The river is 175 km long. In 554, the Byzantine general Narses defeated a Frankish-Alamannic army near this river, during the Gothic War. Following the invasion of southern Italy by revolutionary forces led by Giuseppe Garibaldi in 1860, Francis II of the Two Sicilies fled from Naples and took up a defensive position behind the Volturno. Garibaldi's troops defeated the Neapolitan forces at the Battle of the Volturno on October 1st and 2nd. The Volturno also gave its name to the Volturno Line, a German defensive position in Italy during World War II. Category:Rivers of Italy

River

:For the Second World War frigate class, see River class frigate. For the state of Nigeria, see Rivers State. MyScene.]] A river is a large natural waterway. It is a specific term in the vernacular for large streams, stream being the umbrella term used in the scientific community for all flowing natural waterways. In the vernacular, stream may be used to refer to smaller streams, as may creek, run, fork, etc. Passage via a river or stream is the usual way rainfall on land finds its way to the ocean or other large body of water such as a lake. A river consists of several basic parts, originating from headwaters or a spring at the source, that flow into the main stream. Smaller side streams that join the river are tributaries. Water flow is normally confined to a channel, with a bottom or bed between banks. The lower end of a river is its base level, commonly called its mouth, a river typically widens at its end and forms what is known as a river delta or estuary.

Topography

estuary.]]A river conducts water by constantly flowing perpendicular to the elevation curve of its bed, thereby converting the positional energy of the water into kinetic energy. Where a river flows over relatively flat areas, the river will meander: start to form loops and snake through the plain by eroding the river banks. Loops that are formed are sometimes cut off, forming a shorter river channel and leaving a remnant, oxbow lake. Rivers that carry large amounts of sediment develop conspicuous deltas at their mouths. Rivers whose mouths are in saline tidal waters may form estuaries. There are 4 main types of rivers. These types are:
- Youthful river - a river with a steep gradient that has very few tributaries and flows quickly. Its channels erode deeper rather than wider.
- Mature river - a river with a gradient that is less steep than those of youthful rivers and flows more slowly than youthful rivers. A mature river is fed by many tributaries and has more discharge than a youthful river. Its channels erode wider rather than deeper.
- Old river - a river with a low gradient and low erosive energy. Old rivers are characterized by flood plains.
- Rejuvenated river - a river with a gradient that is raised by the earth's movement. Where a river descends quickly over sloped topography, rapids with whitewater or even waterfalls occur. Rapids are often used for recreational purposes (see Whitewater kayaking). Waterfalls are sometimes used as sources of energy, via watermills and hydroelectric plants. Rivers begin at their source in higher ground, either rising from a spring, forming from glacial meltwater, flowing from a body of water such as a lake, or simply from damp, boggy places where the soil is waterlogged. They end at their base level where they flow into a larger body of water, the sea, a lake, or as a tributary to another (usually larger) river. In arid areas rivers sometimes end by losing water to evaporation and percolation into dry, porous material such as sand, soil, or pervious rock. The area drained by a river and its tributaries is called its watershed or catchment basin. (Watershed is also used however to mean a boundary between catchment basins.) Starting at the mouth of the river and following it upstream as it branches again and again the resulting river network forms a dendritic (tree-like) structure that is an example of a natural random fractal.

Biology

The flora and fauna of rivers are much different from those of the ocean because the water is fresh (non-salty). Living things in a river must be adapted to the current of the moving water.

Pollution

Human pollution of rivers is common, and very few rivers in the world today are clean of man-made substances. The most common pollutant is sewage piped into rivers, but chemical pollution is also common, and industrial accidents (and/or negligence) account for much of the destruction of riparian biomes. Heated water dumped into rivers by power plants and factories also affects river life.

Navigation

The Rhine is the busiest river in the world for transport ships. Inland vessels use the river to reach the major cities in Germany, Eastern France and Switzerland to transport bulk goods, liquids, containers AND passengers into the hinterland of the Port of Rotterdam and the ports of Amsterdam and Antwerp. Many millions of tons of goods are transported upstream yearly from these three sea ports to the industries near Nijmegen, Duisburg, Düsseldorf, Neuss, Köln, Koblenz, Mainz, Mannheim, Karlsruhe, Strasbourg, Colmar, Mulhouse and Basel. The lower part of the river is navigable for the largest inland vessels (up to 135 meters long and 17 meters wide) with an available depth of more than 2,50 even at the lower water levels. The further upstream, the more depth restrictions: at low water periods draught of ships is often limited to 1,90 m. for the stretch around Bingen (between the mouths of the Mosel and the Main). Upstream from Karlsruhe the Rhine is the border between France and Germany. The French have canalized the river by means of a series of hydropower dams and double ship locks, thus ensuring a year round navigable depth of 3.50 meters. (Source: NoorderSoft Waterways Database)

Dams

In places where the elevation changes of a river are great, dams for hydroelectric plants and other purposes are often built. This disrupts the natural flow of the river, and creates a lake behind the dam. Often the building of dams affects the whole of the river, even the part above the dam, as migrating fish are hindered (see fish ladder), waterflow is no longer bounded by seasonal changes and sediment flow is blocked. Dams are useful in many ways, such as providing HEP, acting as regulator of river flow so as to regulate the occurrence of flooding, which is especially important to wet-rice agriculture, and also to improve navigation and transport on the river. Often, dams such as Hoover Dam along Colorado River become famous tourist attractions. However, critics of dams, especially 'Green' advocates, argue that dams remove upper-river biodiversity such as through deforestation and forced migration of rural villages and indigenous tribes. Furthermore, trapping of river sediments behind the dams lead to salination and loss of nutrients for down-water fish. It also raises concern of eathquakes due to instablity of incompetent dams which have to support thousands of tonnes of sediments behind them. One very famous, and problematic, dam is the Aswan High Dam in the Nile.

Flooding

Flooding is a natural part of a river's cycles. Human activity, however, has upset the natural way flooding occurs by walling off rivers and straightening their courses. Removal of bogs, swamps and other wetlands in order to produce farmland has reduced the absorption zones for excess water and made floods into sudden disasters rather than gradual increases in water flow. In ancient Egypt, life was made possible through the floods of the Nile and the accompanying silt and sediment which enriched the fields with fresh nutrients. Nowadays, since people have built on these floodplains, floods are disasters, causing untold property loss each year. Human interference in the form of deforestation can also worsen conditions. The removal of vegetation leads to a reduction in Interception (vegetation stopping precipitation) and the 'weakening' of soil since plant roots no longer hold it together. As a result there is a reduced Infiltration capacity (how much water the soil can hold) and greater infiltration (precipitation going into the ground). This leads to faster soil saturation and therefore greater overland flow (also known as surface run off) and therefore, there are flash floods as the lag time decrease.

Logjams

Logjams are barriers within rivers, created by dead and uprooted trees. Over time, the obstruction prevents further logs to bypass, resulting in the creation of new network channels. According to author David R. Montgomery in his book, King of Fish, a logjam also causes water to buildup within a small space, forming peaceful pools within the main channel for young salmon to live within. The existence of these deep pools along with the complex web of channels creates an ideal salmon habitat. Today, many believe that the rebuilding of salmon runs is contingent upon reproducing the same environment shaped by logjams. As a result, many scientists have attempted to recreate artificial logjams. Marc Duboiski and Mike Ramsey of the Salmon Recovery Funding board staff, George Pess of the National Marine Fisheries Service, and Kevin Bauersfeld of Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife have prepared the Report to the Salmon Recovery Funding Board On the Engineered Log Jam (ELJ) Workshop ([http://iac.wa.gov/Documents/SRFB/Log_Jam_Report.pdf#search='log%20jams%20and%20salmon']), with the hope of mimicking natural logjams. Report to the Salmon Recovery Funding Board On the Engineered Log Jam (ELJ) Workshop."]]

Management

In its natural state a river may be inconvenient to man in a variety of ways. Rivers in inhabited areas have therefore been managed or controlled to make them more useful and less disruptive to human activity.
- The river channel may be dredged to make it deeper for navigation or to prevent flooding.
- Dams (see above) or weirs may be built to control the flow, store water, or extract energy.
- Levees may be built to prevent flooding.
- Sluice gates provide a means of controlling flow and adjusting river levels.
- floodways may be added to draw off excess river water in times of flood.
- Canals connect rivers to one another for water transfer or navigation.
- River courses may be modified to improve navigation, or straightened to increase the flow rate. River management is an ongoing activity as rivers tend to 'undo' the modifications made by man. Dredged channels silt up, sluice mechanisms deteriorate with age, levees and dams may suffer seepage or catastrophic failure.

River lists

(See also :Category:Lists of rivers.)

The world's ten longest rivers

It is difficult to measure the length of a river, mainly because rivers have a fractal property, which means that the more precise the measure, the longer the river will seem. Also, it's hard to state exactly where a river begins or ends, as very often, upstream, rivers are formed by seasonal streams, swamps, or changing lakes. This is an average measurement. # Nile (6,690 km) # Amazon (6,400 km) # Yangtze (Chang Jiang) (6,380 km) # Mississippi-Missouri (6,270 km) # Ob-Irtysh (5,570 km) # Huang He (Yellow) (5,464 km) # Amur (4,410 km) # Congo (4,380 km or 4,670 km). (The source of this river is disputed.) # Lena (4,260 km) # Mackenzie (4,240 km) For a longer list see Longest rivers. This also gives more information on measuring river lengths.

Well-known rivers (in alphabetic order)


- Aa - multiple rivers in Europe
- Amazon - largest river in the world
- American
- Amu Darya
- Amur - principal river of eastern Siberia
- Arkansas - major tributary of Mississippi River
- Arno - river through Florence
- Arvandrud (Shatt al-Arab) the large border river between Iran and Iraq.
- Brahmaputra - principal river in North East India & Tibet
- Chao Phraya - principal river of Thailand
- Colorado (Argentina)
- Colorado (U.S.) - principal river of American West
- Columbia - principal river of Pacific Northwest
- Congo - principal river of central Africa
- Danube - principal river of central and southeastern Europe
- De La Plata - the widest river in the world. South America
- Ebro - river in northwest Spain
- Elbe - major German river, Hamburg is situated on it
- Euphrates - twin principal river of Mesopotamia(Iraq)
- Ganges - principal river of India
- Han-gang - river of Seoul
- Helmand River - Principle river of (Afghanistan)
- Hari Rud (Afghanistan)
- Huang He (Yellow) - principal river of China
- Hudson - principal river of New York
- Indus - principal river of Pakistan
- Jordan - principal river of Israel
- Karun - principal (navigable) river of southern Iran.
- Kaveri - principal river of South India
- Lena - principal river of northeastern Siberia
- Mackenzie - longest river in Canada
- Magdalena - principal river of Colombia
- Main - river in Germany
- Mekong - principal river of Southeast Asia
- Mersey - river on which sits the English city of Liverpool
- Meuse - principal river of the southern provinces of the Netherlands and eastern Belgium.
- Mississippi - principal river of central United States
- Missouri - principal river of the Great Plains
- Murray - principal river of southeastern Australia
- Niger - principal river of west Africa
- Nile - Possibly the longest river in the world (or second after the Amazon)
- Ob - large river of Siberia
- Odra - major river in Eastern Europe
- Ohio - largest river between Mississippi and Appalachians
- Orinoco - principal river of Venezuela
- Parana - major South American river
- Paraguay - principal tributary of Parana river and major South American river in Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina
- Po - principal river of Italy
- Potomac River - principal river of the District of Columbia in the United States
- Rhine - principal river of northwestern Europe
- Rhône - principal river of southern France
- Rio Grande - border between United States and Mexico
- Saint Lawrence - drains Great Lakes
- Seine - river of Paris
- Segura- in southeast Spain
- Severn- longest river in Great Britain
- Shinano-gawa - longest river in Japan
- Snake - largest tributary to the Columbia river in Washington
- Tajo - largest river in the Iberian Peninsula
- Tay - largest river in Scotland
- Thames - river of London
- Tiber - river of Rome
- Tigris - twin principal river of Mesopotamia(Iraq)
- Tonegawa - largest river in Japan
- Vistula - principal river of Poland
- Volga - principal river of Russia
- Yangtze (Chang Jiang) - longest river in China
- Yenisei - large river of Siberia
- Yukon - principal river of Alaska and Yukon Territory
- Zambezi - principal river of southeastern Africa

Other lists


- List of waterways
- List of rivers by continent
  - List of rivers of Europe
    - Rivers of the United Kingdom
  - List of rivers of Asia
  - List of rivers of Africa
  - List of rivers of Australia
  - List of rivers of New Zealand
  - List of rivers of the Americas
  - List of rivers of Oceania
- List of river name etymologies

Rivers in myth and fiction

Real rivers


- The Thames in Edward Rutherfurd's London.
- The Thames in Jerome K. Jerome's Three Men in a Boat.
- The Thames and the Congo in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness.
- The Mississippi in Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn.
- The River Liffey through Dublin in James Joyce's Finnegans Wake.

Mythological rivers


- In Greek mythology, the Acheron, Cocytus, Phlegethon, Lethe and Styx (the five rivers of Hades); and the Eridanus.
- The Alph, an underground river imagined by various mystics and mentioned in Coleridge's poem Kubla Khan.
- The Sambation river stops flowing every Saturday.

Fictional rivers


- River Ankh traversing the city of Ankh-Morpork in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series.
- Chocolate river in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.
- River Djel in the country of Djelibeybi in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series.
- The River in the Riverworld novels of Philip José Farmer.
- Rivers of Middle-earth in various works of J. R. R. Tolkien.

See also


- Aquaduct
- Canal
- Drought
- Water dispute

Crossings

Rivers may be crossed by:
- bridges
- ferries
- fords
- tunnels.

Transport


- barge
- riverboat
- sailing
- towpath

External links


- [http://www.srbc.net/about.htm Management: River Basin Commissions]. Category:Bodies of water Category:Geomorphology zh-min-nan:Hô ja:川 ko:강 ms:Sungai simple:River th:แม่น้ำ



Calore River

The Calore or Calore Irpino is a river in southwestern Italy. It rises in the Croci di Acerno (889 m.) in the Apennine Mountains and is a tributary of the Volturno. In ancient times it was known as Calor. Category:Rivers of Italy

Capua

Capua (modern Santa Maria Capua Vetere) was the chief ancient city of Campania, and one of the most important towns of ancient Italy, situated 25 km (16 mi) north of Neapolis, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain.

History

The name of Capua comes from the Etruscan, Capue. The meaning remains unknown. 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 be referred, not to its capture in the second Punic War (211 BC) but to its submission to Rome in 338 BC, we get about 600 BC as the date of its foundation, a period at which Etruscan power was at its highest, and which may perhaps, therefore, be accepted. Like many founded cities, however, it probably replaced an earlier settlement, although no one is going to dig up the city to find out. Etruscan supremacy in Campania came to an end with the Samnite invasion in the latter half of the 5th century BC. Capua entered into alliance with Rome for protection against the Samnite mountain tribes, along with its dependent communities Casilinum, Calatia, Atella, so that the greater part of Campania now fell under Roman supremacy. The citizens of Capua received the civitas sine suffragio," citizenship without the vote. In the second Samnite War with Rome, Capua proved an untrustworthy Roman ally, so that after the defeat of the Samnites, the Ager Falerus on the right bank of the Volturnus was confiscated. In 318 the powers of the native officials (meddices) were limited by the appointment of officials with the title praefecti Capuam Cumas (taking their name from the most important towns of Campania); these were at first mere deputies of the praetor urbanus, but after 123 BC were elected Roman magistrates, four in number; they governed the whole of Campania until the time of Augustus, when they were abolished. In 312 BC, Capua was connected with Rome by the construction of the Via Appia, the most important of the military highways of Italy. The gate by which it left the Servian walls of Rome bore the name Porta Capena--perhaps the only case in which a gate in this enceinte bears the name of the place to which it led. At what time the Via Latina was prolonged to Casilinum is doubtful (it is quite possible that it was done when Capua fell under Roman supremacy, i.e. before the construction of the Via Appia); it afforded a route only 10 km (6 mi) longer, and the difficulties with its construction were much less; it also avoided the troublesome journey through the Pontine Marshes. The importance of Capua increased steadily during the 3rd century, and at the beginning of the second Punic War it was considered to be only slightly behind Rome and Carthage themselves, and was able to furnish 30,000 infantry and 4000 cavalry. Until after the defeat of Cannae it remained faithful to Rome, but, after a vain demand that one of the consuls should always be selected from it or perhaps in order to secure regional supremacy in the event of a Carthaginian victory, it defected Hannibal, who made it his winter quarters. Livy and others have sugested that the luxurious conditions were Hannibal's Cannae because his troops became soft. Historians from Bosworth Smith onwards have been skeptical of this observing that his troops gave as good account of themselves in battle after that winter as before. After a long siege it was taken by the Romans in 211 BC and severely punished; its magistrates and communal organization were abolished, the inhabitants losing their civic rights, and its territory became Roman state domain. Parts of it were sold in 205 and 199 BC, another part was divided among the citizens of the new colonies of Volturnum and Liternum established near the coast in 194 BC, but the greater portion of it was reserved to be let by the state. Considerable difficulties occurred in preventing illegal encroachments by private persons, and it became necessary to buy a number of them out in 162 BC. It was, after that period, let, not to large but to small proprietors. Frequent attempts were made by the democratic leaders to divide the land among new settlers. Brutus in 83 BC actually succeeded in establishing a colony, but it was soon dissolved; and Cicero?s speeches De Lege Agrania were directed against a similar attempt by Servilius Rullus in 63 BC. In the meantime the necessary organization of the inhabitants of this thickly populated district was in a measure supplied by grouping them round important shrines, especially that of Diana Tifatina, in connection with which a pagus Dianae existed, as we learn from many inscriptions; a pagus Herculaneus is also known. The town of Capua belonged to none of these organizations, and was entirely dependent on the praefecti. It enjoyed great prosperity, however, owing their growing of spelt, the grain of which was worked into groats, wine, roses, spices, unguents, etc., and also owing to its manufacture, especially of bronze objects, of which both the elder Cato and the elder Pliny speak in the highest terms. Its luxury remained proverbial; and Campania is especially spoken of as the home of gladiatorial combats. From the gladiatorial schools of Campania came Spartacus and his followers in 73 BC. Julius Caesar as consul in 59 BC succeeded in carrying out the establishment of a colony in connection with his agrarian law, and 20,000 Roman citizens were settled in this territory. The number of colonists was increased by Mark Antony, Augustus (who constructed an aqueduct from the Mons Tifata, and gave the town of Capua estates in the district of Cnossus in Crete to the value of 12 million sesterces, and Nero. In the war of AD 69 it took the side of Vitellius. Under the later empire it is not often mentioned; but in the 4th century it was the seat of the consularis Campaniae and its chief town, though Ausonius puts it behind Mediolanum (Milan) and Aquileia in his ordo nobilium urbium. Under Constantine we hear of the foundation of a Christian church in Capua. In 456 it was taken and destroyed by Genseric, but must have been soon rebuilt: it was, however, finally destroyed by the Saracens in 840 and the church of Santa Maria Maggiore, founded about 497, alone remained. It contains 52 ancient marble columns, but was modernized in 1766. The site was only occupied in the late middle ages by a village which has, however, outgrown the medieval Capua in modern days.

Remains

No pre-Roman remains have been found within the town of Capua itself, but important cemeteries have been discovered on all sides of it, the earliest of which go back to the 7th or 6th century BC. The tombs are of various forms, partly chambers with frescoes on the walls, partly cubical blocks of peperino, hollowed out, with grooved lids. The objects found within them consist mainly of vases of bronze (many of them without feet, and with incised designs of Etruscan style) and of clay, some of Greek, some of local manufacture, and of paintings. On the east of the town, in the Patturelli property, a temple has been discovered with Oscan votive inscriptions originally thought to be Oscan, now recognized as Etruscan, some of them inscribed upon terracotta tablets, the most famous of which is the Tabula Capuana, conserved in Berlin, still, after more than a century of searching, the second-longest Etruscan text. Other brief inscriptions are on cippi. A group of 150 tufa statuettes represent a matron holding one or more children in her lap: three bore Latin inscriptions of the early Imperial period. The site of the town being in a perfectly flat plain, without natural defences, it was possible to lay it out regularly. Its length from east to west is accurately determined by the fact that the Via Appia, which runs from north-west to south-east from Casilinum to Calatia, turns due east very soon after passing the so-called Arco Campano (a triumphal arch of good brickwork, once faced with marble, with three openings, erected in honour of some emperor unknown), and continues to run in this direction for 5413 3/4 English ft (1,600 m) = 6000 ancient Oscan feet. The west gate was the Porta Romana; remains of the east gate (the name of which we do not know) have been found. This fact shows that the main street of the town was perfectly oriented, and that before the Via Appia was constructed, i.e. in all probability in pre-Roman times. The width of the town from north to south cannot be so accurately determined as the line of the north and south walls is not known, though it can be approximately fixed by the absence of tombs. Beloch fixes it at 4000 Oscan feet = 3609 English feet (1,100 m), nor is it absolutely certain (though it is in the highest degree probable, for Cicero praises its regular arrangement and fine streets) that the plan of the town was rectangular. Within the town are remains of public baths on the north of the Via Appia and of a theatre opposite, on the south. The former consisted of a large cryptoporticus round three sides of a court, the south side being open to the road; it now lies under the prisons. Beloch (see below) attributes this to the Oscan period; but the construction as shown in Labruzzi?s drawing (v. 17) 1 is partly of brick-work and opus reticulatum, which may, of course, belong to a restoration. The stage of the theatre had its back to the road; Labruzzi (v. 18) gives an interesting view of the cavea. It appears from inscriptions that it was erected after the time of Augustus. Other inscriptions, however, prove the existence of a theatre as early as 94 BC, so that the existence of another elsewhere must be assumed. We know that the Roman colony was divided into regions and possessed a capitolium, with a temple of Jupiter, within the town, and that the market-place, for unguents especially, was called Seplasia; we also hear of an aedes alba, probably the original senate house, which stood in an open space known as albana. But the sites of all these are quite uncertain.

Amphitheatre

Outside the town on the north is the amphitheatre, built in the time of Augustus, restored by Hadrian and dedicated by Antoninus Pius, as the inscription over the main entrance recorded. The exterior was formed by 80 Doric arcades of four storeys each, but only two arches now remain. The keystones were adorned with heads of divinities. The interior is better preserved; beneath the arena are subterranean passages like those in the amphitheatre at Puteoli. It is one of the largest in existence; the longer diameter is 185 yd (170 m)., the shorter 152 yd (140 m), and the arena measures 83 by 49 yd (75 by 45 m)., the corresponding dimensions in the colosseum at Rome being 205, 170, 93 and 58 yd (188, 155, 85, 53 m). To the east are considerable remains of baths — a large octagonal building, an apse against which the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie is built, and several heaps of debris. On the Via Appia, to the south-east of the east gate of the town, arc two large and well-preserved tombs of the Roman period, known as le Carceri vecchie and la Conocchia. To the east of the amphitheatre an ancient road, the Via Dianae, leads north to the Pagus Dianae, on the west slopes of the Mons Tifata, a community which sprang up round the famous and ancient temple of Diana, and probably received an independent organization after the abolition of that of Capua in [211 BC]. The place often served as a base for attacks on the latter, and Sulla, after his defeat of C. Norbanus, gave the whole of the mountain to the temple. Within the territory of the pagus were several other temples with their magistri. After the restoration of the community of Capua, we find magistri of the temple of Diana still existing, but they were probably officials of Capua itself. The site is occupied by the Benedictine church of S. Angelo in Formis which dates from 944, and was reconstructed by the abbot Desiderius (afterwards Pope Victor III) of Monte Cassino), with interesting paintings, dating from the end of the 11th century to the middle of the 12th, in which five different styles may be distinguished. They form a complete representation of all the chief episodes of the New Testament. Deposits of votive objects (favissae), removed from the ancient temple from time to time as new ones came in and occupied all the available space, have been found, and considerable remains of buildings belonging to the Vicus Dianae (among them a triumphal arch and some baths, also a hail with frescoes, representing the goddess herself ready for the chase) still exist. The ancient road from Capua went on beyond the Vicus Dianae to the Volturnus (remains of the bridge still exist) and then turned east along the river valley to Caiatia and Telesia. Other roads ran to Puteoli and Cumae (the so-called Via Campana) and to Neapolis, and as we have seen the Via Appia passed through Capua, which was thus the most important road centre of Campania.

References


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Miscellaneous

Capua has recently been included in the hit PC game Rome: Total War as the governing settlement of Campania and the capital of the Roman faction of Scipii. Category:Euboean colonies of Magna Graecia Category:Roman sites of Campania ja:カプア

Tyrrhenian Sea

The Tyrrhenian Sea is part of the Mediterranean Sea off of the western coast of Italy. It is bounded by Corsica and Sardinia (west) Liguria (north), Tuscany, Latium, Campania, and Calabria (east), and Sicily (south). The maximum depth is 3785 m. The Tyrrhenian Sea is situated near the African-European Fault; therefore mountain chains and active volcanoes (mount Marsilii) are in its depths. Winds are Mistral from the Rhone valley, Libeccio from the south-west, Scirocco and Ostro from the south. There are five exits from the Tyrrhenian Sea:
- The Strait of Messina between Sicily and Messina on the toe of Italy, 3 km wide.
- The Corsica Channel between Italy and Corsica, about 80 km wide.
- The Strait of Bonifacio between Corsica and Sardinia, 11 km wide.
- An unnamed strait between Sardinia and Tunisia, about 200 km wide.
- The Strait of Sicily between Tunisia and Sicily, about 160 km wide. In Greek mythology, it is believed that the cliffs above the Tyrrhenian Sea housed the four winds kept by Aeolus. The name for this part of the Mediterranean Sea derives from the Greek name for the Etruscans, who were emigrants from Lydia and led by the prince Tyrrhenus. The Etruscans settled along the coast of modern Tuscany and referred to the water as the "Sea of the Etruscans". Category:Seas ja:ティレニア海

Naples

:Alternate uses: See Naples (disambiguation) Naples (Italian Napoli, Neapolitan Napule, from Greek Νέα Πόλις - Néa Pólis - meaning "New City"; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is the largest city in southern Italy and capital of Campania Region and the Province of Naples. The city has a population of about 1 million, and together with its suburbs, the metropolitan area has 3.7 million inhabitants (Neapolitans). It is located just halfway between the Vesuvius volcano and a separate volcanic area, the Campi Flegrei, all part of the Campanian volcanic arc. Napoli is where pizza originally came from. It is rich in historical, artistic and cultural traditions and gastronomy. Neapolitan is a colourful, rich italian dialect- known in Naples as Napulitano. The metropolitan area of Naples is second in Italy by population, with over 4,400,000 inhabitants. The city is served by Naples International Airport.

History

see main article History of Naples History of Naples

Food and drink

Naples is by tradition the home of pizza. It is the birthplace of the Pizza Margherita, which traditionally is made with mozzarella cheese, pomodoro (tomato) and basil - each representing the red, white, and green of the Italian flag. The pizza was created as homage to Queen Margherita when she visited the city. La vera pizza ("true pizza") should be made in a wood-burning oven similar to a Tandoori oven. Naples is also famous for its pasta dishes, where spaghetti is often served with sugo di pomodoro, a tomato sauce which gets its full flavour from sun-ripe Campanian San Marzano tomatoes. Another excellent Campanian dish found in Naples is melanzane alla parmigiana, which is fried slices of aubergine (eggplant) gratinéed with tomato sauce and parmesan cheese. Often one can get another version of melanzane alla parmigiana with an addition of mozzarella cheese. Naples offers several kinds of unique pastry, the most famous of which is perhaps the babà, followed by choux (Neapolitans write it as sciù) and the Pastiera, a cake prepared for Easter. The babà (also known as savarin) is a mushroom-shaped piece of leavend sweet paste, soaked with an orange flavoured mixture of Pastiera and water. Choux is a small "bubble" of leavened paste stuffed with light cream, usually coffee or chocolate flavored. The Pastiera is a cake with a complicated recipe, varying by the county in which it is prepared. The ingrediants are typically annealed grain, eggs, and sometimes cream. It is always combined with boiled rice. Another typical Neapolitan pastry is the Sfogliatella (riccia or frolla). Naples is also known for its gelato. Gelato is not ice cream, but rather iced milk.

Tourist attractions

gelato Naples itself is less visited than some of the surrounding attractions. There are, however, many attractions within the city. La Villa Comunale (formerly a royal park) has been refurbished and stretches along the seafront in the smarter western end of the city. It contains an aquarium which is possibly Europe's oldest and is favoured by the locals for family walks on Sunday mornings. The Museo Archeologico Nazionale Napoli contains a large collection of Roman artifacts from Pompeii and Herculaneum as well as the Farnese Marbles, some of the greatest surviving Roman statues, an amazing numismatical collection; The Museo Nazionale di Capodimonte contains art collections including works by Michelangelo, Raphael, Botticelli and Caravaggio. Naples is the home of the Teatro di San Carlo, the oldest active opera house in Europe, which opened its doors on November 4, 1737. Other notable monuments are: 1737
- Castel dell'Ovo
- Castel Nuovo with the Arch of Triumph of Alfonso I
- Palazzo Reale
- Piazza del Plebiscito
- Cathedral of St. January
- church of Santa Chiara
- church of San Lorenzo Maggiore
- church of Santa Maria Donna Regina
- church of Gesù Nuovo ("new Jesus")
- church of San Domenico Maggiore

Under Naples

San Domenico Maggiore Guided tours operate around the Stratification of Naples which shows the city through the layers laid down across history. Subterranean Naples consists of old Greco-Roman reservoirs dug out from the soft tufo stone on which, and from which, the city is built. You can visit approximately one kilometer of the many kilometers of tunnels under the city. There are also large catacombs in and around the city.You can find, even, a lot of trash buried deep under the roads, dating to the Greeks and the Romans.

Also in Naples

Naples is the site of three major military bases. Naval Support Activity Naples, located in Capodichino is a major US Navy base which is responsible for the support and control of US Naval assets in the 6th Fleet area of responsibility, and Bagnoli, known as Joint Force Command South (formerly AFSOUTH, many Sailors still call it this) is a major NATO base, which is responsible for the coordination of NATO forces in the south European Region. There is also the Support Site, which consists mostly of housing and personnel support facilities, located in Gricignano di Aversa. Capodichino is the site of the Naples International Airport.

Around Naples

The islands of Procida, (famously used as the set for much of il Postino), Capri and Ischia can all be reached quickly by Aliscafi (twin-hulled ferries). Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast are situated south of Naples. The Roman ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum (destroyed in the A.D. 79 eruption of Vesuvius) are also nearby. Near Naples there is Pozzuoli and the Campi flegrei were the romans fuond a rich military colony.

Sporting Naples

Naples is the home of the underachieving soccer team Napoli. With the help of Diego Maradona, they achieved rare success in 1987 and in 1990 by winning the scudetto, the UEFA cup, italian supercup and the italian cup. In 2004 the football team was declared bankrupt and has been subsequently reborn into the lower division of Serie C1 as 'Napoli Soccer'.

The Neapolitan diaspora

Naples has seen many of its children spread throughout the world, setting up 'Little Italies' in many countries. The majority of these Neapolitans who left Italy went to the Americas, especially the United States, Canada, Brazil, and Argentina.

Gulf of Naples


- Ischia
- Capri
- Procida
- Sorrento
- Positano
- Pozzuoli

Famous Neapolitans


- Enrico Alvino architect
- Giambattista Basile poet, courtier, and fairy tale collector
- Gian Lorenzo Bernini
- Libero Bovio
- Giordano Bruno
- Battistello Caracciolo
- Renato Carosone
- Enrico Caruso
- Benedetto Croce philosopher
- Antonio de Curtis (Totò) writer and actor
- Eduardo De Filippo writer and actor
- Peppino De Filippo actor
- Titina De Filippo actress
- Massimo Troisi actor
- Enrico De Nicola jurist, journalist and politician
- Salvatore Di Giacomo writer, poet and lyricist
- Armando Diaz general and politician
- Gaetano Filangieri jurist
- Vincenzo Gemito sculptor
- Luca Giordano
- Giacinto Gigante
- Ruggero Leoncavallo
- Pirro Ligorio, mannerist architect
- Alfonso Maria de' Liguori jurist and writer (Catholic saint)
- Giovan Battista Marino
- Domenico Morelli painter
- Giovanni Paisiello
- Giovanni Battista Pergolesi
- Giovanni Pontano
- Basilio Puoti
- Salvator Rosa poet, satirist and Baroque era painter
- Ferdinando Russo poet, journalist and writer
- Raffaele Sacco poet and lyricist
- Ferdinando Sanfelice
- Jacopo Sannazaro
- Domenico Scarlatti
- Matilde Serao journalist and novelist
- Massimo Stanzione
- Domenico Antonio Vaccaro sculptor, architect and painter
- Giambattista Vico philosopher
- Raffaele Viviani
- Sophia Loren actress

Community Boards of Naples

Naples is politically divided in 10 Community Boards :
- 1 : Chiaia, Posillipo and S.Ferdinando
- 2 : Avvocata, Montecalvario, S.Giuseppe, Porto, Mercato and Pendino
- 3 : Stella and S.Carlo all'Arena
- 4 : S.Lorenzo, Vicaria and Poggioreale-Zona Industriale
- 5 : Arenella and Vomero
- 6 : Barra, Ponticelli and S.Giovanni a Teduccio
- 7 : Miano, S.Pietro a Patierno and Secondigliano
- 8 : Chiaiano, Piscinola-Marianella and Scampia
- 9 : Pianura and Soccavo
- 10 : Bagnoli and Fuorigrotta

See also


- Two Sicilies
- Monarchs of Naples and Sicily
- Duchies of Naples
- Viceroys of Naples

External links


- [http://www.comune.napoli.it City Council's website]
- [http://www.compart-multimedia.com/virtuale/us/napoli/naples.htm Naples, Italy] Virtual reality movies and photo gallery
- [http://www.napoli.com/english Around Naples]
- [http://faculty.ed.umuc.edu/~jmatthew/naples/newAN.html Around Naples, slightly different version of above site.]
- [http://www.ctpn.it Compagnia Trasporti Pubblici (Public Transport Company)]
- [http://www.unicocampania.it/ing/home.htm Consorzio Unico Campania, English Home Page]
- [http://www.unina.it Università degli Studi di Napoli "Federico II"] University of Naples
- [http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=5207 Satellite image of Naples and Vesuvius] at NASA's Earth Observatory
- [http://www.verapizzanapoletana.org/vpn/charter.html Association of the Verace Pizza Napoletana (The True Pizza Society)]
- [http://www.marketplace.it/museo.nazionale/ Museo Archeologico Nazionale Napoli (National Archaeological Museum)]
- [http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/napoliwatch.html Napoliwatch - reports in English of all Napoli Soccer's matches]
- [http://www.bnnonline.it/traduzio/eng/engfirst.htm Biblioteca Nazionale di Napoli (National Library of Naples)] Category:Coastal cities of Italy
- Category:Cities in Campania Category:Cumaean colonies Category:Former countries in Europe ko:나폴리 ja:ナポリ simple:Naples

Narses

:For other historical figures with similar names, see Narses (disambiguation). Narses (478-573) was, along with Belisarius, one of the two great generals in the service of the Eastern Roman Emperor Justinian I. during the so-called "Reconquest" that took place during the Justinian's reign. Narses was a Romanized Armenian from the noble Kamsarakan family, which claimed descent from the royal Arsacid dynasty. He spent most of his life as a relatively unimportant eunuch in the palace of the emperors in Constantinople, but when Justinian became emperor in 527, historical events conspired to make him famous. He was 74 years old in 552, when the ever-suspicious Justinian recalled Belisarius from his campaign against the Ostrogoths in Italy and replaced him with Narses. Despite his age, he proved to be just as energetic and skilled as his predecessor, though history has generally credited Belisarius with the greater strategic genius. He launched yet another campaign against the Ostrogoths, finally defeating their formidable King Baduila at the Battle of Taginae. In 553 he defeated the remnants of the Ostrogoth army at the Battle of Mons Lactarius. In 554, he drove the Franks and Alamanni, who had come to help the Ostrogoths, back over the Alps. Eventually, the surviving Ostrogoths surrendered to him, and Italy was restored to the empire. Narses remained in Italy as its prefect (governor), but his administration was unpopular. After Justinian's death, his nephew Justin II removed him as prefect and demanded he return to Constantinople. Narses relinquished his post, but refused to leave Italy, instead retiring to a villa near Naples. The last years of his life are somewhat clouded in suspicion. Many sources at the time say Narses secretly encouraged the invasion of Italy by the Lombards in 568, in revenge for Justin II's taking away his position. Still, Narses, then 90 years old, offered his services to the emperor once more. He was turned down. By the time Narses died, more than half of Italy had fallen into Lombard hands. Category:Byzantine generals Category:Justinian Dynasty Category:478 births Category:573 deaths Category:Eunuchs ko:나르세스

Franks

:Francia redirects here. For the Bolognese artist, see Francesco Raibolini. The Franks or the Frankish people were one of several west Germanic tribes who entered the late Roman Empire from Frisia as foederati and established a lasting realm (sometimes referred to as Francia) in an area that covers most of modern-day France and the western regions of Germany (Franconia, Rhineland, Hesse), forming the historic kernel of both these two modern countries. The conversion to Christianity of the pagan Frankish king Clovis was a crucial event in the history of Europe. The Frankish realm underwent many partitions and repartitions, since the Franks divided their property among surviving sons, and lacking a broad sense of a res publica, they conceived of the realm as a large extent of private property. This practice explains in part the difficulty of describing precisely the dates and physical boundaries of any of the Frankish kingdoms and who ruled the various sections. The contraction of literacy while the Franks ruled compounds the problem: they produced few written records. In essence however, two dynasties of leaders succeeded each other, first the Merovingians and then the Carolingians. The Merovingian kings claimed descent of their dynasty from the Sicambri, a Scythian or Cimmerian tribe, asserting that this tribe had changed their name to "Franks" in 11 BC, following their defeat and relocation by Drusus, under the leadership of a certain chieftain called Franko. The ethnonym has also been traced to a
- frankon "javelin, lance" (Old English franca, compare the Saxons, named after the seax, and the Lombards, named after the battle-axe; the throwing axe of the Franks is known as the Francisca), but conversely, the weapon may also have been named after the tribe. The meaning of "free" (English frank, frankly) arose because after the conquest of Gaul, only Franks had the status of freemen. Initially two main subdivisions existed within the Franks: the Salian ("salty") and the Ripuarian ("river") Franks. By the 9th century, if not earlier, this division had in practice become virtually non-existent, but continued for some time to have implications for the legal system under which a person could go on trial.

The earliest records of the Franks

9th century, Germany.]] The earliest Frankish history remains relatively unclear. Our main source, the Gallo-Roman chronicler Gregory of Tours, whose Historia Francorum (History of the Franks) covers the period up to 594, quotes from otherwise lost sources like Sulpicius Alexander and Frigeridus and profits from Gregory's personal contact with many Frankish notables. Apart from Gregory's History there exist some earlier Roman sources, such as Ammianus and Sidonius Apollinaris. Gregory states that the Franks originally lived in Pannonia, but later settled on the banks of the Rhine. Additional early sources likewise relate that the Franks migrated in prehistoric times from the mouth of the Danube on the Black Sea, to the Rhine, where they adopted their name (circa. 11 BC) in honour of a hereditary chieftain called Franko – replacing the earlier tribal name Sicambri (or Sugambri) – said to be an offshoot of the Cimmerians or Scythians. This legend of a Scythian or Cimmerian background is thus consistent with the origin legends of nearly all other European nations as well. Modern scholars of the period of the migrations have similarly suggested that the Frankish Confederacy emerged from the unification of various earlier, smaller Germanic groups (including the Sugambri, Usipeti, Tencteri, and Bructeri) who inhabited the Rhine valley and lands immediately to the east – a social development perhaps accelerated by increasing upheaval in the area arising from the war between Rome and the Marcomanni beginning in 166, and subsequent conflicts of the late 2nd century and the 3rd century. A region in the north-east of the modern-day Netherlands – north of the erstwhile Roman border – bears the name Salland, and may have received that name from the Salians – likewise, the island of Sjælland in Denmark. Around 250, one group of Franks, taking advantage of a weakened Roman Empire, penetrated as far as Tarragona in present-day Spain, plaguing this region for about a decade before Roman forces subdued them and expelled them from Roman territory. About forty years later, the Franks had the Scheldt region under control and interfered with the waterways to Britain; Roman forces pacified the region, but did not expel the Franks.

Foundation of the Frankish kingdom

In 355–358, the later Emperor Julian once again found the shipping lanes on the Rhine under control of the Franks and again pacified them. Rome granted a considerable part of Gallia Belgica to the Franks. From this time on they became foederati of the Roman Empire. A region roughly corresponding to present-day Flanders and the Netherlands south of the rivers remains a Germanic-speaking region to this day. (The West Germanic language known as Dutch predominates there now.) The Franks thus became the first Germanic people who permanently settled within Roman territory. See this [http://www.roman-emperors.org/nouest4.htm external map]. From their heartland, the Franks gradually conquered most of Roman Gaul north of the Loire valley and east of Visigothic Aquitaine. At first they helped defend the border as allies; for example, when a major invasion of mostly East Germanic tribes crossed the Rhine in 406, the Franks fought against these invaders. The major thrust of the invasion passed south of the Loire river. (In the region of Paris, Roman control persisted until 486, a decade after the fall of the emperors of Ravenna, in part due to alliances with the Franks.)

The Merovingians

:Main article: Merovingian. The reigns of earlier Frankish chieftains – Pharamond (about 419 until about 427) and Clodio (Chlodio) (about 427 until about 447) – seem to owe more to myth than fact, and their relationship to the Merovingian line remains uncertain. Gregory mentions Chlodio as the first king who started the conquest of Gaul by taking Camaracum (Cambrai) and expanding the border of frankish territory south to the Somme. This probably took some time; Sidonius relates that Aëtius surprised the Franks and drove them back (probably around 431). This period marks the beginning of a situation that would endure for many centuries: the Germanic Franks became rulers over an increasing number of Gallo-Roman subjects. In 451, Aëtius called upon his Germanic allies on Roman soil to help fight off an invasion by the Huns. The Salian Franks answered the call, the Ripuarians fought on both sides as some of them lived outside the Empire. Gregory's sources tentatively identify Meroveus (Merovech) as king of the Franks and possibly a son of Chlodio. Meroveus was succeeded by Childeric I, whose grave, rediscovered in 1653, contained a ring that identified him as king of the Franks.

Clovis

:Main article: Clovis I Childeric's son Clovis engaged in a campaign of consolidating the various Frankish kingdoms in Gaul and the Rhineland, which included defeating Syagrius in 486. This victory ended Roman control in the Paris region. In the Battle of Vouillé (507), Clovis, with the help of the Burgundians, defeated the Visigoths, expanding his realm eastwards down to the Pyrenees mountains. The conversion of Clovis to Trinitarian Roman Christianity, after his marriage to the Catholic Burgundian princess Clothilde in 493, may have helped to increase his standing in the eyes of the Pope and the other orthodox Christian rulers. Clovis' conversion signalled the conversion of the rest of the Franks. Because they were able to worship with their Catholic neighbours, the newly-Christianized Franks found much easier acceptance from the local Gallo-Roman population than did the Arian Visigoths, Vandals or Burgundians. The Merovingians thus built what eventually proved the most stable of the successor-kingdoms in the west. :Main article: Merovingian Stability, however, did not feature day-to-day in the Merovingian era. While casual violence existed to a degree in late Roman times, the introduction of the Germanic practice of the blood-feud to obtain personal justice led to a perception of increased lawlessness. Disruptions to trade occurred, and civic life became increasingly difficult, which led to an increasingly localized and fragmented society based on self-sufficient villas. Literacy practically disappeared outside of churches and monasteries. The Merovingian chieftains adhered to the Germanic practice of dividing their lands among their sons, and the frequent division, reunification and redivision of territories often resulted in murder and warfare within the leading families. So though Clovis drove the Visigoths out of Gaul, at his death in 511, his four sons divided his realm between themselves, and over the next two centuries his descendants shared the kingship. The Frankish area expanded further under Clovis' sons, eventually covering most of present-day France, but including areas east of the Rhine river as well, such as Alamannia (today's southwestern Germany) and Thuringia (from 531). Saxony, however, remained outside the Frankish realm until conquered by Charlemagne centuries later. After a temporary reunification of the separate kingdoms under Clotaire I, the Frankish lands split once again in 561 into Neustria, Austrasia, and Burgundy, which had been absorbed into the Frankish realms through a combination of political marriage and force of arms. In each Frankish kingdom the Mayor of the Palace served as the chief officer of state. A series of premature deaths beginning with that of Dagobert I in 639 led to a series of under age kings. By the turn of the 8th century, this had allowed the Austrasian Mayors to consolidate power in their own hereditary regency, laying the foundation for a new dynasty: their descendants the Carolingians.

The Carolingians

:Main articles: Carolingian, Carolingian Empire The Carolingian kingship traditionally begins with the deposition of the last Merovingian king, with papal assent, and the accession in 751 of Pippin the Short, father of Charlemagne. Pippin had succeeded his own father, Charles Martel, as Mayor of the Palace of a reunited and re-erected Frankish kingdom comprised of the formerly independent parts. Pippin reigned as an elected king. Although such elections happened infrequently, a general rule in Germanic law stated that the king relied on the support of his leading men. These men reserved the right to choose a new "kingworthy" leader out of the ruling clan if they felt that the old one could not lead them in profitable battle. While in later France the kingdom became hereditary, the kings of the later Holy Roman Empire proved unable to abolish the elective tradition and continued as elected rulers until the Empire's formal end in 1806. Pippin solidified his position in 754 by entering into an alliance with Pope Stephen III, who presented the king of the Franks a copy of the forged "Donation of Constantine" at Paris and in a magnificent ceremony at Saint-Denis anointed the king and his family and declared him patricius Romanorum ("protector of the Romans"). The following year Pippin fulfilled his promise to the pope and retrieved the Exarchate of Ravenna, recently fallen to the Lombards, and returned it, not to the Byzantine emperor again, but to the Papacy. Pippin donated the re-conquered areas around Rome to the Pope, laying the foundation for the Papal States in the "Donation of Pippin" which he laid on the tomb of St Peter. The papacy had good cause to expect that the remade Frankish monarchy would provide a deferential power base (potestas) in the creation of a new world order, centred on the Pope.

Charlemagne

:Main article Charlemagne Upon Pippin's death in 768, his sons, Charles and Carloman, once again divided the kingdom between themselves. However, Carloman withdrew to a monastery and died shortly thereafter, leaving sole rule to his brother, who would later become known as Charlemagne or Karl der Große (Charles the Great), a powerful, intelligent, and modestly literate figure who became a legend for the later history of both France and Germany. Charlemagne restored an equal balance between emperor and pope. From 772 onwards, Charles conquered and eventually defeated the Saxons to incorporate their realm into the Frankish kingdom. This campaign expanded the practice of non-Roman Christian rulers undertaking the conversion of their neighbours by armed force; Frankish Catholic missionaries, along with others from Ireland and Anglo-Saxon England, had entered Saxon lands since the mid-8th century, resulting in increasing conflict with the Saxons, who resisted the missionary efforts and parallel military incursions. Charles' main Saxon opponent, Widukind, accepted baptism in 785 as part of a peace agreement, but other Saxon leaders continued to fight. Upon his victory in 787 at Verden, Charles ordered the wholesale killing of thousands of pagan Saxon prisoners. After several more uprisings, the Saxons suffered definitive defeat in 804. This expanded the Frankish kingdom eastwards as far as the Elbe river, something the Roman empire had only attempted once, and at which it failed in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest (9 AD). In order to more effectively Christianize the Saxons, Charles founded several bishoprics, among them Bremen, Münster, Paderborn, and Osnabrück. At the same time (773–774), Charles conquered the Lombards and thus could include northern Italy in his sphere of influence. He renewed the Vatican donation and the promise to the papacy of continued Frankish protection. In 788, Tassilo, dux (duke) of Bavaria rebelled against Charles. Quashing the rebellion incorporated Bavaria into Charles' kingdom. This not only added to the royal fisc, but also drastically reduced the power and influence of the Agilolfings (Tassilo's family), another leading family among the Franks and potential rivals. Until 796, Charles continued to expand the kingdom even farther southeast, into today's Austria and parts of Croatia. Croatia when a treaty split it amongst his grandsons: Central Franks ruled by Lothair I (green), East Franks ruled by Louis the German (yellow), and Charles the Bald led West Franks (purple).]] Charles thus created a realm that reached from the Pyrenees in the southwest (actually, including an area in Northern Spain (Marca Hispanica) after 795) over almost all of today's France (except Brittany, which the Franks never conquered) eastwards to most of today's Germany, including northern Italy and today's Austria. In the hierarchy of the church, bishops and abbots looked to the patronage of the king's palace, where the sources of patronage and security lay. Charles had fully emerged as the leader of Western Christendom, and his patronage of monastic centres of learning gave rise to the "Carolingian Renaissance" of literate culture. On Christmas Day, 800, Pope Leo III crowned Charles as "Emperor of the Romans" in Rome in a ceremony presented as if a surprise (Charlemagne did not wish to be indebted to the bishop of Rome), a further papal move in the series of symbolic gestures that had been defining the mutual roles of papal auctoritas and imperial potestas. Though Charlemagne, in deference to Byzantine outrage, preferred the title "Emperor, king of the Franks and Lombards", the ceremony formally acknowledged the Frankish Empire as the successor of the (Western) Roman one (although only the forged "Donation" gave the pope political authority to do this), thus triggering a series of disputes with the Byzantines around the Roman name. After an initial protest at the usurpation, in 812, the Byzantine Emperor Michael I Rhangabes acknowledged Charlemagne as co-Emperor. The coronation gave permanent legitimacy to Carolingian primacy among the Franks. The Ottonians later resurrected this connection in 962. Upon Charlemagne's death on January 28, 814 in Aachen, he was buried in his own Palace Chapel at Aachen.

Later Carolingians

Charlemagne had several sons, but only one survived him. This son, Louis the Pious, followed his father as the ruler of a united Empire. But sole inheritance remained a matter of chance, rather than intent. When Louis died in 840, the Carolingians adhered to the custom of partible inheritance, and the Treaty of Verdun in 843 divided the Empire in three: # Louis' eldest surviving son Lothair I became Emperor and ruler of the Central Franks. His three sons in turn divided this kingdom between them into Lotharingia, Burgundy and (Northern) Italy. These areas would later vanish as separate kingdoms. # Louis' second son, Louis the German, became King of the East Franks. This area formed the kernel of the later Holy Roman Empire, which eventually evolved into modern Germany. For a list of successors, see the List of German Kings and Emperors. # His third son Charles the Bald became King of the West Franks; this area became the foundation for the later France. For his successors, see the List of French monarchs. Subsequently, at the Treaty of Mersen (870) the partitions were recast, to the detriment of Lotharingia. On December 12, 884, Charles the Fat reunited most of the Carolingian Empire, aside from Burgundy. In late 887, his nephew, Arnulf of Carinthia revolted and assumed the title as King of the East Franks ('Germany'). Charles retired and soon died on January 13, 888. Odo, Count of Paris was chosen to rule in the west ('France'), and was crowned the next month. The Carolingians were 10 years later restored in France, and ruled until 987, when the last Frankish King, Louis V, died

Carolingian legacy

Although an historical accident, the unification of most of what is now western and central Europe under one chief ruler provided a fertile ground for the continuation of what is known as the Carolingian Renaissance. Despite the almost constant internecine warfare that the Carolingian Empire endured, the extension of Frankish rule and Roman Christianity over such a large area ensured a fundamental unity throughout the Empire. Each part of the Carolingian Empire developed differently; Frankish government and culture depended very much upon individual rulers and their aims. Those aims shifted as easily as the changing political alliances within the Frankish leading families. However, those families, the Carolingians included, all shared the same basic beliefs and ideas of government. These ideas and beliefs had their roots in a background that drew from both Roman and Germanic tradition, a tradition that began before the Carolingian ascent and continued to some extent even after the deaths of Louis the Pious and his sons.

Crusaders and other Western Europeans as "Franks"

Because the Frankish kingdom dominated Western Europe for centuries, terms derived from "Frank" were used by many in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and beyond as a synonym for Roman Christians (e.g., al-Faranj in Arabic, Feringhee or Feringhi in Hindustani, Falangji in Chinese, and Frangos in Greek). During the crusades, which were at first led mostly by nobles from northern France who claimed descent from Charlemagne, both Muslims and Christians used these terms as ethnonyms to describe the Crusaders. This usage is often followed by modern historians, who call Western Europeans in the eastern Mediterranean "Franks" regardless of their country of origin. Compare with Rhomaios, Rûmi ("Roman"), used for Orthodox Christians.

See also


- List of Frankish Kings
- Old Frankish language
- List of French monarchs
- List of German monarchs
- List of Holy Roman Emperors
- History of France
- History of Germany
- Holy Roman Empire

Further reading


- Geary, Patrick J. Before France and Germany: the Creation and Transformation of the Merovingian World. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988. ISBN 0195044584.
- Category:Ancient Germanic peoples Category:History of the Germanic peoples Category:Ancient Roman enemies and allies Category:Ethnic groups of Europe als:Franken (Volk) ja:フランク人

Gothic War

The Gothic War, 535–552, was the expression of Justinian's decision in 535 to reverse the course of events of the past century in the West and win back for the Eastern Roman Empire the provinces of Italy that had been lost, first to Odoacer and then to the Ostrogoth Theodoric the Great. Justinian's cause for war was the exile and assassination in 535 of Amalasuntha, Theodoric's heiress, whose representatives had signed a pact with Justinian that enabled Imperial forces to use Sicilian bases in their campaign against the Vandals in Africa. The Emperor's most successful general in this enterprise, which would lay southern and central Italy waste, was Belisarius, recently successful against the Vandals, whom he now commissioned to attack the Ostrogoths. Belisarius quickly captured Sicily and then crossed into Italy, where he captured Rhegium and Naples by November and Rome in December 536, forcing the Gothic king Witigis to evacuate. The following year, Belisarius, with too few troops to face the Goths in the open field, successfully defended Rome against a Gothic siege (January 537 to March 538), interrupted by minor sallies from the walled city, such as the "Battle of the Pincian Gate", then, finally reinforced from Constantinople, took the offensive. Narses relieved besieged Ariminum (Rimini) and Belisarius' lieutenant Mundalias moved north to take Mediolanum (Milan). The following year (540), the Franks intervened; they took Milan and sacked it. Narses was recalled but Belisarius besieged the Ostrogoth capital of Ravenna, where Witiges was captured. The Goths offered to make Belisarius the western emperor, but he refused. The Goths' offer perhaps raised suspicions in Justinian's mind and Belisarius was recalled to the East to fight the Persians in Syria. :Main article: Totila. In 541 the Ostrogoths acclaimed Totila as their new leader, having assassinated his predecessor who had opened negociations with the Empire, and Totila mounted a vigorous and successful campaign against the Byzantines, recapturing all of northern Italy and even driving the Byzantines out of Rome, after a long, second siege (547–549). Belisarius returned to Italy in 544, where he found that the situation had changed greatly. He managed to recover Rome briefly, but his Italian campaign proved unsuccessful, thanks in no small part to his being starved of supplies and reinforcements by a jealous Justinian, if we adopt the view of Procopius. In 548, Justinian relieved him in favor of Narses, who was able to bring the campaign to a successful conclusion. For his part, Belisarius went into retirement. In the third campaign of the Gothic War, Rome was besieged a third time, and captured by Totila, whose offers of peace were rejected by Justinian. A new Italian campaign was organized under Justinian's nephew Germanus, while Liberius harassed the Visigoths in Hispania. With the death of Germanus in 551, Narses took on Totila, and at the Battle of Taginae Narses defeated and killed Totila. The Goths holding Rome capitulated, and at the Battle of Mons Lactarius, in October 553, Narses defeated Teias and the last remnants of the Gothic army in Italy. The Pyrrhic victory of the Gothic War drained the Eastern Empire of much-needed resources that might have been employed against more immediate threats in the East. In Italy, the war was devastating to the urbanized society that was supported by a settled hinterland. The economic destruction of Italy was so total that it took several centuries for the communes to recover. Imperial gains were fleeting: only three years after the death of Justinian, the mainland Italian territories fell into the hands of a far more primitive Germanic tribe, the Lombards, leaving to the Exarchate of Ravenna a band of territory that stretched across central Italy to the Tyrrhenian Sea and south to Naples. Primary sources for the history of the Gothic War are by Belisarius' secretary, Procopius, whose History of the Wars covers the Gothic War in three of its eight books. Procopius was no friend of Justinian, and his assessments require caution. Edward Gibbon depended on Procopius for the first modern account ([http://www.worldwideschool.org/library/books/hst/roman/TheDeclineandFallofTheRomanEmpire-4/chap9.html vol. iv, part V.ch 41]). Claudian's panegyric De Bello Gothico ("The Gothic War") celebrates the earlier war, which expelled Alaric from Italy, seen from the perspective of a client of Stilicho, "the restorer of civilization's glory" in Claudian's phrase.

See also


- Battle of Taginae, July 552
- Battle of Mons Lactarius, October 553

External links


- [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Claudian/De_Bello_Gothico
- .html Claudian, De Bello Gothico] (in English)
- Edward Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire ([http://www.worldwideschool.org/library/books/hst/roman/TheDeclineandFallofTheRomanEmpire-4/chap9.html Chapter xli])
- [http://patriot.net/~townsend/GBoH/Modules/gboh-belisariusatbay-module.html Matteo Cioci, "Belisarius at bay : two battles of the Gothic War"] Category:Wars Category:Late Antiquity

Francis II of the Two Sicilies

King Francis II of the Two Sicilies (January 16, 1836 – December 27, 1894) was the son and heir of Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies and Maria Cristina of Savoy. Francis II was the last of the Bourbon kings of Naples. His education had been much neglected and he proved a man of weak character, greatly influenced by his stepmother Maria Theresa of Austria, by the priests, and by the camarilla, or reactionary court set. On January 8, 1859, Francis married Marie Sophie of the royal Bavarian house of Wittelsbach (younger sister of Empress Elisabeth "Sissi" of Austria). Their only daughter, Cristina, only lived three months. He ascended the throne on the death of his father (May 22, 1859). As prime minister he at once appointed Carlo Filangieri, who, realizing the importance of the Franco-Piedmontese victories in Lombardy, advised Francis to accept the alliance with Piedmont proposed by Cavour. On June 7 a part of the Swiss Guard mutinied, and while the king mollified them by promising to redress their grievances, General Nunziante collected other troops, who surrounded the mutineers and shot them down. The incident resulted in the disbanding of the whole Swiss Guard, the strongest bulwark of the dynasty. Cavour again proposed an alliance to divide the papal states between Piedmont and Naples, the province of Rome excepted, but Francis rejected an idea which to him savoured of sacrilege. Filangieri strongly advocated a Constitution as the only measure which might save the dynasty, and on the king’s refusal he resigned. Meanwhile the revolutionary parties were conspiring for the overthrow of the Bourbons in Calabria and Sicily, and Garibaldi was preparing f