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Battle Of Sirmium
The Battle of Sirmium, Battle of Semlin or Battle of Zemun () was fought on July 8, 1167 between the Byzantine Empire, and the Kingdom of Hungary. The Byzantines achieved a decisive victory, forcing the Hungarians to sue for peace on Byzantine terms. The battle consolidated Byzantine control of the western Balkans. Background From the mid 11th century, the Kingdom of Hungary had been expanding its territory and influence southwards, with a view to annexing the regions of Dalmatia and Croatia. This, and Hungarian alliances with the Serbian principalities, was the cause of tension with the Byzantine Empire, centred on Constantinople, which viewed Hungarian expansion as a potential threat to Byzantine dominance in the Balkans. The Byzantines and Hungarians launched a number of invasions of each other's territory, and the Byzantines regularly aided pretenders to the Hungarian throne. Friction and outbreaks of open warfare between the Byzantines and Hungarians reached a peak in the 115 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Komnenian Restoration
The Komnenian restoration is the term used by historians to describe the military, financial, and territorial recovery of the Byzantine Empire under the Komnenian dynasty, from the accession of Alexios I Komnenos in 1081 to the death of Andronikos I Komnenos in 1185. At the onset of the reign of Alexios I, the empire was reeling from its defeat by the Seljuk Turks at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071. The empire was also being threatened by the Normans of Robert Guiscard, who were invading the Balkans from their base in southern Italy. All this occurred as the empire's military institution was in disarray and had grown increasingly reliant on mercenaries. Previous emperors had also squandered the large gold deposits of Constantinople, so the defense of the empire had broken down, and there were few troops to fill the gaps. The Komnenoi nevertheless managed to reassert Byzantine pre-eminence in the Mediterranean world, militarily and culturally. Relations between the Byza ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Appanage
An appanage, or apanage (; ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a monarch, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture (where only the eldest inherits). It was common in much of Europe. The system of appanage greatly influenced the territorial construction of France and the German states and explains why many of the former provinces of France had coats of arms which were modified versions of the king's arms. Etymology Late Latin , from or 'to give bread' (), a for food and other necessities, hence for a "subsistence" income, notably in kind, as from assigned land. Original appanage: in France History of the French appanage An appanage was a concession of a fief by the sovereign to his younger sons, while the eldest son became king on the death of his father. Appanages were considered as part of the inheritance transmitted to the (younger sons). The word was specifically used for the r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Germans
Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, implemented in 1949 following the end of World War II, defines a German as a German nationality law, German citizen. During the 19th and much of the 20th century, discussions on German identity were dominated by concepts of a common language, culture, descent, and history.. "German identity developed through a long historical process that led, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, to the definition of the German nation as both a community of descent (Volksgemeinschaft) and shared culture and experience. Today, the German language is the primary though not exclusive criterion of German identity." Today, the German language is widely seen as the primary, though not exclusive, criterion of German identity. Estimates on the total number of Germ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tatikios
Tatikios or Taticius (, c. 1048 – died after 1110) was an Eastern Roman general of Turkish origin during the reign of Alexios I Komnenos. His name is also rendered as Tetigus, Tatizius, Tatitius, Tatic, or Tetig. Origins and early life The father of Tatikios was a "Saracen", probably meaning a Turk, who was captured by Alexius' father John Comnenus and who served as a slave in the Comnenus household. Tatikios and Alexius grew up together. Tatikios is described as an ''oikogenes'' of Alexius (that is, "from the same house"). In 1078, before Alexius became emperor, Tatikios accompanied him in battle against his rival Nicephorus Basilacius. During this campaign Tatikios discovered Basilacius' plans for an ambush. When Alexius became emperor in 1081 Tatikios held the office of '' megas primikerios'' in the imperial household. Later that year he commanded the "Turks living around Ochrida", perhaps Hungarians at the Battle of Dyrrhachium against Robert Guiscard. Military and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexios I Komnenos
Alexios I Komnenos (, – 15 August 1118), Latinization of names, Latinized as Alexius I Comnenus, was Byzantine Emperor, Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. After usurper, usurping the throne, he was faced with a collapsing empire and constant warfare throughout his reign, Alexios was able to curb the Byzantine decline and begin the military, financial, and territorial recovery known as the Komnenian restoration. His appeals to Western Europe for help against the Seljuk Empire, Seljuk Turks were the catalyst that sparked the First Crusade. Although he was not the first emperor of the Komnenos, Komnenian dynasty, it was during his reign that the Komnenos family came to full power and initiated a hereditary succession to the throne. The son of John Komnenos (Domestic of the Schools), John Komnenos and a nephew of Isaac I Komnenos, Alexios served with distinction under three Byzantine emperors. In 1081, he led a rebellion against Emperor Nikephoros III Botaneiates and took ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Taxiarch
The word taxiarch ( ; ) is used in the Greek language to mean "brigadier". The term derives , in military context meaning 'an ordered formation'. It is cognate with the scientific term taxonomy. In turn, the rank has given rise to the Greek term for brigade, ''taxiarchia''. In Greek Orthodox Church usage, the term is also applied to the archangels Michael and Gabriel, as leaders of the heavenly host, and several locations in Greece are named after them. Ancient use In ancient Greece, the title or rank was held by a number of officers in the armies of several but not all city-states, with Sparta being a notable exception. In Classical Athens, there were ten taxiarchs, one for each of the city's tribes ('' phylai''), a subordinate to the respective ''strategos''. Byzantine use The term first appears in use in the Byzantine army in the late 6th-century ''Strategikon'' of emperor Maurice, where it is reserved for the commander of the elite '' Optimatoi'' mercenary corps. In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hetaireia
The (, , Latinized as ) was a term for a corps of bodyguards during the Byzantine Empire. Etymology and usage of the term means (from ), echoing the ancient Macedonian Companions and the Classical Greek aristocrats who attended . The most important such corps was the 'Imperial ' (, ), composed chiefly of foreigners, which formed part of the Byzantine professional standing army alongside the in the 9th–12th centuries. The term was also applied to the smaller bodyguards of thematic military commanders (), headed by a count (, ), and from the 13th century on, it was employed in a generic sense for the armed retinues of magnates, bound by oath to their master. Imperial The exact origin, role, and structure of the Imperial are unclear. The term first appears in the early 9th century, as the bodyguard of Emperor Leo V the Armenian () on campaign. It is unclear, however, whether the usage is technical, referring to a specific unit, or simply as a term for bodyguard; it is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lombardy
The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is located between the Alps mountain range and tributaries of the river Po (river), Po, and includes Milan, its capital, the largest metropolitan area in the country, and among the largest in the EU. Its territory is divided into 1,502 ''comuni'' (the region with the largest number of ''comuni'' in the entire national territory), distributed among twelve administrative subdivisions (eleven Provinces of Italy, provinces plus the Metropolitan City of Milan). The region ranks first in Italy in terms of population, population density, and number of local authorities, while it is fourth in terms of surface area, after Sicily, Piedmont, and Sardinia. It is the second-most populous Region (Europe), region of the European Union (EU), and the List of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mercenary
A mercenary is a private individual who joins an armed conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rather than for political interests. Beginning in the 20th century, mercenaries have increasingly come to be seen as less entitled to protection by rules of war than non-mercenaries. The Geneva Conventions declare that mercenaries are not recognized as legitimate combatants and do not have to be granted the same legal protections as captured service personnel of the armed forces. In practice, whether or not a person is a mercenary may be a matter of degree, as financial and political interests may overlap. International and national laws of war Protocol Additional GC 1977 (APGC77) is a 1977 amendment protocol to the Geneva Conventions. Article 47 of the protocol provides the most widely accepted international definition of a mercenary, th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Varangian Guard
The Varangian Guard () was an elite unit of the Byzantine army from the tenth to the fourteenth century who served as personal bodyguards to the Byzantine emperors. The Varangian Guard was known for being primarily composed of recruits from Northern Europe, including mainly Norsemen from Scandinavia but also Anglo-Saxons from England. The recruitment of distant foreigners from outside Byzantium to serve as the emperor's personal guard was pursued as a deliberate policy, as they lacked local political loyalties and could be counted upon to suppress revolts by disloyal Byzantine factions. The Rus' people, Rus' provided the earliest members of the Varangian Guard. They were in Byzantine service from as early as 874. The Guard was first formally constituted under Emperor Basil II in 988, following the Christianization of Kievan Rus' by Vladimir I of Kiev. Vladimir, who had recently taken control of Kiev with an army of Varangian warriors, sent 6,000 men to Basil as part of a military ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cumans
The Cumans or Kumans were a Turkic people, Turkic nomadic people from Central Asia comprising the western branch of the Cumania, Cuman–Kipchak confederation who spoke the Cuman language. They are referred to as Polovtsians (''Polovtsy'') in Rus' chronicles, as "Cumans" in Western sources, and as "Kipchaks" in Eastern sources. Related to the Pecheneg, they inhabited a shifting area north of the Black Sea and along the Volga River known as Cumania, from which the Cuman–Kipchaks meddled in the politics of the Caucasus and the Khwarazmian Empire. The Cumans were fierce and formidable nomadic warriors of the Eurasian Steppe who exerted an enduring influence on the medieval Balkans. They were numerous, culturally sophisticated, and militarily powerful. Many eventually settled west of the Black Sea, influencing the politics of Kievan Rus', the Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia, Galicia–Volhynia Principality, the Golden Horde Khanate, the Second Bulgarian Empire, the Kingdom of Serbia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Turkic Peoples
Turkic peoples are a collection of diverse ethnic groups of West Asia, West, Central Asia, Central, East Asia, East, and North Asia as well as parts of Europe, who speak Turkic languages.. "Turkic peoples, any of various peoples whose members speak languages belonging to the Turkic subfamily...". "The Turkic peoples represent a diverse collection of ethnic groups defined by the Turkic languages." According to historians and linguists, the Proto-Turkic language originated in Central-East Asia, potentially in the Altai-Sayan region, Mongolia or Tuva.: "The ultimate Proto-Turkic homeland may have been located in a more compact area, most likely in Eastern Mongolia": "The best candidate for the Turkic Urheimat would then be northern and western Mongolia and Tuva, where all these haplogroups could have intermingled, rather than eastern and southern Mongolia..." Initially, Proto-Turkic speakers were potentially both hunter-gatherers and farmers; they later became nomadic Pastoralism, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
