Minoan art (Crete): * see Endnote<A>

2600-1100 BC, this art consists of frescoes (taken from palatial ruins); the standard form of these depicts natural movements; ceramics (pottery) survived, in Middle Minoan we find naturalistic designs (such as fish, squid, birds and lilies) & in Late Minoan period, flowers & animals were common with greater variety.  They also produced metalwork, with imported gold & copper having mastered faience & granulation (as indicated by a gold bee pendant) & advanced techniques to include use of intense, precise temperature, to bond gold to itself without burning it. 

Spengler labels this as Civilization, Autumn (early Civilization) and views it as a reflection of the Hyksos domination in Egypt.

 

Egypt (post-Hyksos): * see Endnote <B>

reference The New Kingdom (1550-1077 BC),a period Spengler labels Late Civilization Winter.  Although Winter it represents a significant period in Egyptian history

 

Scipio:

(236-183 BC) aka Scipio Africanus Roman general & later consul, in 2nd Punic War defeated Hannibal at Zama (202 BC); earlier he had conquered Carthage's holdings in the Iberian peninsula, defeating Mago Barca at the Battle of Ilipa (206 BC).

 

Hannibal:

(247-181 BC) Carthaginian general, one of the greatest military commanders in history; in the 2nd Punic war marched an army with war elephants from Iberia over Pyrenees & Alps into Italy & decisively defeated Roman armies at the Trebia, Lake Trasimene & Cannae, winning Italian allies & occupying Italy for 15 years but never able to take Rome.  A Roman counter-invasion of N. Africa forced him to return to Carthage where he was defeated at Zama

and see Chapter III, page 112

 

Forum of Nerva: * see Endnote <C>

85-97 AD; 4th & smallest of the imperial forums of Rome; long served as a market area (booksellers & cobblers), was both a thoroughfare & monumental entrance to the larger Roman Fora.  Long & narrow, with protruding columns decorating the walls instead of arcades.  Western end held a temple of Minerva, behind which was a monumental entrance.

see illustration

 

Otto I: * see Endnote<D>

912-73; Duke of Saxony elected king of Germany 936 on death of father (Henry the Fowler); continued unification of German into a single kingdom, expanding royal powers at the expense of the aristocracy.  His patronage & success led to a minor cultural renaissance of the arts and architecture.  On his death in 973 he was the most powerful man in Europe & received ambassadors from Poland, Bohemia, England, Magyars, Danes, Slavs & Muslim Spain and legates from Byzantium, Rome.

 

Otto II:

955-83, ruled 973-83; ruler with his father from 961, crowned emperor 967; faced family rebellion but excluded the Bavarian line of Ottonians from succession, strengthening Imperial authority & securing his own son's succession.  He continued his father’s work in subordinating the Church to Imperial needs.  The papacy at this time was very unstable & weak, prey to local Roman mobs & interests, anti-popes & assassinations.  In 979 Pope Benedict VII was forced to withdraw form Rome & subsequently sought the aid of Otto II.  The Emperor worked to push Imperial power south & attempted to annex the whole of Italy.  This led to conflict with the Byzantines & the Saracens of the Fatimid Caliphate (both holding lands in S. Italy).  His campaign against the Saracens ended in 982 with defeat at the Battle of Stilo.  Moreover, in 983 Otto II faced a Great Slav Rising against his rule, which pushed Imperial power back, east of the Elbe.

 

Otto III:

980-1002, King of Germany from 983, Emperor from 996; leadership in the Empire was held by regents until 995, in a period of instability.  Viking raiders came from the north, Slavic rebels were active in the East, Italy & Rome were chaotic.  In 996 Otto he marched to Italy claiming the Italian & Imperial crowns, aiming to re-establish imperial control of Rome.  He achieved this & was crowned Emperor; he installed the first German pope, Gregory V.  The chaotic situation provided grounds for the Emperor to strengthen Imperial ambitions within the church (deposing, executing & installing popes).  Rome remained volatile; at his death Otto was marching on the city following rebellion by the Roman aristocracy.  In the east he faced a deteriorating position as the Slavs steadily pushed back Imperial control.  While he had minimal success in regaining lands, he did strengthen Imperial relations with Poland, Hungary & Bohemia and extended Christianity into these areas with missions.

 

Conrad II:

990-1039, King of Germany (1024), Italy (1026), Emperor (1027) & Burgundy (1033), founder of Salian dynasty which ruled the Holy Roman Empire for over a century.  He continued the policies of Henry II, treating the Church as a power centre, appointing bishops as vital roles in his empire (against secular lords); he also continued a policy of benign neglect over Italy, especially for the city of Rome.

 

Henry VI: * see Endnote <E>

1165 -97, son of Barbarossa Hohenstaufen dynasty, King of Germany from 1190, Emperor from 1191, King of Sicily from 1194.  Spent much time in conflict with the House of Welf, had to enforce the inheritance claims by his wife against her nephew Count Tancred of Lecce.  Using an enormous ransom for the release of King Richard I, he conquered Sicily in 1194; however, the intended unification with the Holy Roman Empire ultimately failed.

 

Frederick II: * see Endnotes<F>

1194-1250; King of Sicily from 1198, Germany from 1212, Italy & Emperor from 1220, Jerusalem from 1225.  Son of Henry VI.  Under him the Holy Roman Empire reaching its all-time territorial peak.  His political and cultural ambitions were enormous, he ruled a vast area beginning: Sicily and Italy all north to Germany, he acquired control of Jerusalem; the Papacy became his enemy as time went by and it eventually prevailed.  His dynasty collapsed soon after his death.

 

Viking-Norman conquerst: * see Endnote<G>

the Vikings sailed most of the N. Atlantic, reaching south to N. Africa & east to Russia, the Middle East & Constantinople, as looters, traders, colonists & mercenaries.  Under Leif Ericsson (970-1020) they reached North America & and set up a short-lived settlement in Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada.  More established settlements were formed in Greenland, Iceland, Great Britain and Normandy.

see illustrations

 

Pope Gregory VII: * see Endnotes<H>

1015-85, pope from 1073; a great reforming pope, responsible for the Gregorian Reforms, a series of reforms initiated by him & his circle in the papal curia (1050–80), which dealt with the moral integrity (celibacy, condemnation of simony) & independence of the clergy.  He is also famous for his role in the Investiture Controversy, with Henry IV (Emperor), affirming the primacy of papal authority & papal election by the Cardinals.  

 

Pope Innocent III: * see Endnote<I>

(1161-1216) powerful & influential pope between 1198-1216; claimed papal supremacy over all of Europe's kings, asserted absolute spiritual authority of his office, while still respecting the temporal authority of kings; used interdict & other censures to compel princes to obey his decisions; aimed at protecting "the liberty of the Church" from inroads by secular princes, in particular, that princes should not be involved in the selection of bishops.  Also a strong defender of the "patrimonium" of the papacy (central Italy, the Papal States) threated by Hohenstaufen German kings who, as Roman emperors, claimed it for themselves; he supported the anti-Hohenstaufen Otto faction against Frederick.  In 1201 papal pressure forced noblemen appointed by Henry IV, to leave Italy & threatened excommunication for anyone who failed to recognize the papal candidate Otto; he formed the League of San Genesio, a confederation of Italian cities against German imperial interests in Italy.  The next year Rome declared the pope had the right to approve a nominated King of the Germans for the Imperial title & make the choice in a disputed succession.  Innocent extended the scope of the crusades, against Muslim Spain, the Holy Land & the Cathars (S. France); he organized the Fourth Crusade of 1202–1204, led to sack of Constantinople (against his orders) which he accepted as the will of God to reunite the Latin and Orthodox Churches.  Inocent also supported the Church's reforms through his decretals & 4th Lateran Council (refining Canon law).

 

Crusades: * see Endnote <J>

series of religious wars sanctioned by the Latin Church in the medieval period; the most famous campaigns in the Eastern Mediterranean, aimed at recovering the Holy Land from Muslim rule, specifically Jerusalem.  These crusades to the Holy Land lasted from 1095 to 1291 & ultimately failed to establish a permeant Western enclave.

 

Iliad:

Greek epic poem in dactylic hexameter, attributed to Homer; it is paired with the Odyssey, also by Homer; dated to around the 8th century BC. Set during the Trojan War, the 10 year siege of the city of Troy (Ilium) by a coalition of Greek states, tells of the battles & events during the weeks of a quarrel between King Agamemnon & the warrior Achilles; covers only a few weeks in the final year but alludes to many of the Greek legends about the siege; earlier events, cause of the war, and related concerns, then takes up events prophesied for the future (Achilles' imminent death, fall of Troy)

 

post Mycenaean period:

aka the Greek Dark Ages or Homeric Age; covers Greek history from end of the Mycenaean palatial civilization 1100 BC to the first signs of the Greek poleis in the 9th century BC.  Archaeological evidence shows widespread collapse of Bronze Age civilization in the E. Mediterranean at the start of this period; the palaces & cities of the Mycenaeans were destroyed or abandoned.  Written Greek language used by Mycenaean bureaucrats (Linear B) ceased. The decoration on Greek pottery after 1100 BC lacks the figurative decoration of Mycenaean ware & is restricted to simpler, generally geometric styles (1000–700 BC)