glossary page 4
analogy: * see Endnote <A>
a similarity between like features of two things, on which a comparison may be based.
polarity: * see Endnote <B>
the property or characteristic that produces unequal physical effects at different points in a body or system, as a magnet or storage battery;-the presence or manifestation of 2 opposite or contrasting principles or tendencies.
periodicy: * see Endnote <C>
the character of occurring or appearing at regular intervals); the tendency to recur at regular intervals.
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morphologically:* see Endnote <D>
the branch of biology dealing with the form and structure of organisms; the form and structure of an organism considered as a whole.
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Petrarch:
(1304-74) Italian scholar & poet in Renaissance Italy, often considered the founder of Humanism, his rediscovery of Cicero's letters is often credited with initiating the 14th-century Renaissance.
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Cicero:
(106-43 BC) Roman politician &lawyer, served as consul in 63 BC; he came from a wealthy municipal family of the Roman equestrian order, and is considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists. His influence on the Latin language was immense & the subsequent history of prose (in Latin & European languages) to the 19th century is said to be either a reaction against or a return to, his style.
Cecil Rhodes:
(1853-1902) British businessman, mining magnate & politician in South Africa, ardent believer in British imperialism. Sent to S. Africa for his health, made a fortune in diamonds at Kimberley (1871) & came to dominate world diamond market (established De Beers diamond company 1888). Entered the Cape Parliament in 1880, in 1890 elected PM; his Company founded the southern African territory of Rhodesia in the early 1880s (now Zimbabwe & Zambia); he resigned as PM in 1896 following the unsuccessful Jameson Raid (an unauthorized attack on Transvaal Boers). He established the Rhodes Scholarship at Oxford &promoted his vision of a Cape to Cairo Railway through British territory.
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Hadrian:
(76-138 AD) Roman emperor (117-138 AD) famous for building Hadrian's Wall, the northern limit of Britannia. He also rebuilt the Pantheon and constructed the Temple of Venus and Roma. A Philhellene in his tastes, considered to have been a humanist & is regarded as the 3rd of the Five Good Emperors.
Charles XII of Sweden:
(1682-1718) absolutist King of Sweden (697-1718) ascending to the crown age14, age 18 his Swedish Empirewas attacked by neighbours sparking the Great Northern War (of 21 years). He left his capital of Stockholm in 1700 to lead his army, ruling from the field the next 18 years. Sweden lost to a coalition of European powers great and small led by Peter the Great of Russia. This marked the end of serious Swedish Imperial pretensions & birth of the Russia as a European power.
Quintus Curtius:
(1st century AD) Roman historian, his surviving work: "All the Books That Survive of the Histories of Alexander the Great of Macedon"; much is missing; apart from his name on the manuscripts, nothing else certain is known of him.
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Alexander:
(356 -323 BC) king (basileus) of the Greek kingdom of Macedon, member of the Argead dynasty; born in Pella, succeeded his father Philip II age 20. He spent most of his rule on military campaign through Asia & NE Africa, by age 30 he created one of the largest empires of the ancient world, stretching from Greece to NW India. Undefeated in battle, considered one of history's most successful military commanders.
Frederick the Great:
(1712–1786); Hohenzollern King of Prussia (1740-86), accomplishments included military victories, reorganization of Prussian armies, patronage of the arts & the Enlightenment in Prussia & victory against great odds in the Seven Years' War. Under him Prussia increased its territories achieving full sovereignty over all historical Prussian lands becoming a leading military power in Europe.
Considerations:
a book written by Frederick the Great- the full title being "Considerations on the Manner of Waging War with Austria" (1758)
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Macedonians:
tribe of Greeks living on the alluvial plain of rivers Haliacmon & Axios in NE mainland Greece; expanded from their homeland on the northern edge of the Greek world, absorbing or driving out neighbouring non-Greek tribes, primarily Thracian and Illyrian.
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Philip the II:
(382-336 BC) Macedonian king (359–336 BC) , member of the Argead dynasty; following his assassination his son Alexander suceeded him; the rise of Macedon under his rule was achieved in part by his reformation of the Macedonian army & establishing the Macedonian phalanx (critical in securing battlefield victories). After defeating Athens & Thebes at Chaeronea (338 BC) he tried to establish a federation of Greek states known as the League of Corinth, with him as the elected hegemon & commander, with the aim of invading Persia. Following his death, his son Alexander went on to invade Persia.
Thermopylae:
or "hot gates" (named for its hot sulphur springs) a narrow coastal passage in Greece where in 380 BC Greek forces (led by Sparta) met the invading Persians who defeated them. Commemorated by Simonides in the famous epitaph: "Go tell the Spartans, stranger passing by, that here obedient to their laws we lie."
Cardinal Fleury:
(1653–1743) French cardinal, chief minister of Louis XV.
House of Hapsburg:
a hugely influential royal house of Europe, who occupied the throne of the Holy Roman Empire from 1438 to1740.
House of Bourbon:
French royal dynasty, originated in 1272 when the heiress of the lordship of Bourbon married the youngest son of King Louis IX; continued for 3 centuries as a cadet branch under Capetians; in 1589 Henry IV became the first Bourbon king, uniting Navarre with France; by the 18th century the dynasty held thrones in Spain, Naples, Sicily & Parma; overthrown in 1792 by the French Revolution; restored briefly in 1814-1830 after which the cadet Bourbon branch (Orléans) ruled until overthrown in 1848.
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proscriptions:
denounce or condemn (a thing) as dangerous or harmful; prohibit; to put outside the protection of the law; outlaw.to banish or exile.
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Anthony: * see Endnote <E>
(83 -30 BC) Roman politician & general (full name Marc Antony) played major role in transforming the oligarchic Republic into an autocratic Empire; a supporter of Julius Caesar, served as a general in Gaul & the Civil War, appointed administrator of Italy. After Caesar's death (44 BC) he joined Lepidus (another of Caesar's generals) & Octavian. This Triumvir defeated Caesar's murderers at the Battle of Philippi (42 BC) & divided the Republic; they eventually fell out &made war on each other. At the Battle of Actium (30 BC) Anthony was defeated. He fled to Egypt where he & Cleopatra committed suicide. Octavian was then named Augustus, the first Roman emperor (27 BC).
Octavius:
(63 BC–14 AD) first Roman emperor (from 27 BC; from an old &wealthy equestrian branch of the plebeian gens Octavia, he was named in Caesar’s will as son & heir; formed Second Triumvirate. Following its demise, he was named Augustus; he restored façade of the free Republic, with the Senate, executive magistrates & the legislative assemblies. In reality he retained autocratic powers, holding office for life, as supreme military command, tribune, censor. However he rejected monarchical titles, calling himself Princeps Civitatis ("First Citizen of the State"). From this came the constitutional framework known as the Principate, first phase of the Roman Empire.
Ranke:
(1795 – 1886) German historian & founder of modern source-based history; credited with shaping historical profession in the West; he employed seminar teaching methods &focused on archival research & analysis of historical documents. He set the standard for historical writing, introducing reliance on primary sources, an emphasis on narrative history & international politics.
Cyaxares:
(625–585 BC) Third &most capable king of Media, outshining his father’s & grandfather’s military reputations; first to divide his troops into separate cohorts of spearmen, archers & horsemen; united the Iranian tribes & conquered neighbouring territories, transforming the Median Empire into a regional power. He facilitated the fall of the Neo-Assyrian Empire & drove the Scythians from Media.
Henry the Fowler:
(876 –936) first of the the Ottonian Dynasty of kings & emperors, founder king of the medieval German state; duke of Saxony (from 912) & in 919 elected king of Germany (East Francia) ; an avid hunter he earned the sobriquet “the Fowler” or bird hunter. He maintained royal power and left his successor, Otto I a strong kingdom.
Cimmerians:
tribe first mentioned in Assyrian records late 8th century BC; originating in the Pontic steppe they assaulted Urartu (NE Anatolia ruled by Neo-Assyrian Empire) in 714 BC. Although defeated in 705 BC by Sargon II the Assyrian, they conquered Phrygia (Anatolia); in 696; they reached the height of power taking Sardis (capital of Lydia) in 652 BC; following this Assyrian forces thwarted their invasion of Persia. Soon after this, Alyattes of Lydia defeated them & they disappear from history, probably settling in Cappadocia
Hungarians:* see Endnote <F>
aka Magyars, national & ethnic group who spoke Hungarian, originating on the Pontic steppes east of the Carpathians. In the 9th & 10th centuries they initiated the "conquest of the homeland" begining with a small migration crossing from the Carpathian Mountains. They subsequently launched a series of plundering raids between 899 and 955; they also targeted the Byzantine Empire between 943-71. However, they gradually settled in the Basin & established a Christian monarchy, the Kingdom of Hungary circa 1000 AD.
Alcibiades: * see Endnote <G>
(450- 404 BC) Athenian statesman, orator & general who played a major role in the second half of the Peloponnesian War as a strategic adviser, military commander, and politician. In Athens he advocated an aggressive foreign policy & was a proponent of the Sicilian Expedition. He fled to Sparta after charged with sacrilege; eventually he defected to Persia & then finally back to Athens. His propensity for making enemies meant he never remained in one place for long. By the end of the war (which he had helped to rekindle in the early 410s), his influence was gone.