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kemetic-dreams · 7 months ago

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Kandake, kadake or kentake (Meroitic: 𐦲𐦷𐦲𐦡 kdke), often Latinised as Candace (Ancient Greek: Κανδάκη, Kandakē), was the Meroitic term for the sister of the king of Kush who, due to the matrilineal succession, would bear the next heir, making her a queen mother.

Pliny writes that the "Queen of the Ethiopians" bore the title Candace, and indicates that the Ethiopians had conquered ancient Syria and the Mediterranean.

In 25 BC the Kush kandake Amanirenas, as reported by Strabo, attacked the city of Syene, today's Aswan, in territory of the Roman Empire; Emperor Augustus destroyed the city of Napata in retaliation.

Cassius Dio wrote that Kandake's army advanced as far as the Elephantine in Egypt, but Petronius defeated them and took Napata, their capital, and other cities.

Four African queens were known to the Greco-Roman world as the "Candaces": Amanishakheto, Amanirenas, Nawidemak, and Malegereabar

Biblical usage

The Baptism of Queen Candace's Eunuch (c. 1625–30, attributed to Hendrick van Balen and Jan Brueghel the Younger)

In the New Testament, a treasury official of "Candace, queen of the Ethiopians", returning from a trip to Jerusalem, met with Philip the Evangelist:

Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." This is a desert place. And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship

He discussed with Philip the meaning of a perplexing passage from the Book of Isaiah. Philip explained the scripture to him and he was promptly baptised in some nearby water. The eunuch 'went on his way, rejoicing', and presumably therefore reported back on his conversion to the Kandake

Evidence outside of Nubia that shows additional links to Kushite's queenship concept are found in Ethiopia. Ethiopia has a long dynastic history claimed to be over three millennia from before 1000 BC to 1973, the year of the overthrow of the last Menelik emperor, Haile Selassie. The Ethiopian monarchy's official chronicle of dynastic succession descends from Menelik I includes six regnant queens referred to as Kandake. The following queens from the king list have "Kandake" added to their name:

Nicauta Kandake (r. 740–730 BCE)

Nikawla Kandake II (r. 342–332 BCE)

Akawsis Kandake III (r. 325–315 BCE)

Nikosis Kandake IV (r. 242–232 BCE)

Nicotnis Kandake V (r. 35–25 BCE)

Garsemot Kandake VI (r. 40–50 CE) – Allegedly the queen who ruled at the time of the Biblical story of the Ethiopian eunuch.

Twenty-one queens are recorded as sole regent in the kingdom of Ethiopia until the 9th century CE. The conquest of Meroe by the Axumite King Ezana may well provide the historical fiction for the Ethiopian dynastic claim to the Nubian Kandakes and their kings, as it was from this point onwards that the Axumites began calling themselves "Ethiopians", a Greco-Roman term previously used largely for the ancient Nubians. For example, Makeda, Queen of Sheba, in the Kebra Nagast, is also recognized as Candace or "Queen Mother".

Alexandrian legend

Jewellery of Kandake Amanishakheto, from her tomb

A legend in the Alexander romance claims that "Candace of Meroë" fought Alexander the Great. In fact, Alexander never attacked Nubia and never attempted to move further south than the oasis of Siwa in Egypt. The story is that when Alexander attempted to conquer her lands in 332 BC, she arranged her armies strategically to meet him and was present on a war elephant when he approached. Having assessed the strength of her armies, Alexander decided to withdraw from Nubia, heading to Egypt instead. Another story claims that Alexander and Candace had a romantic encounter.

These accounts originate from Alexander Romance by an unknown writer called Pseudo-Callisthenes, and the work is largely a fictionalized and grandiose account of Alexander's life. It is commonly quoted, but there seems to be no historical reference to this event from Alexander's time. The whole story of Alexander and Candace's encounter appears to be legendary.

John Malalas has mixed the Pseudo-Callisthenes material with other and wrote about the affair of Alexander with Kandake, adding that they got married. Malalas also wrote that Kandake was an Indian queen and Alexander met her during his Indian campaign

List of ruling kandakes

Pyramid of Amanitore in modern day Sudan

See also: List of monarchs of Kush

At least eleven kandakes also ruled in their own right as monarchs (i.e. queen regnants) of Kush:

Nahirqo (middle 2nd century BC)

An unknown queen regnant (end of the 2nd–first half of the 1st century BC)

Amanirenas (end of the 1st century BC–beginning of the 1st century AD)

Amanishakheto (early 1st century AD)

Shanakdakhete (first half of the 1st century AD)

Nawidemak (first half of the 1st century AD?)

Amanitore (middle 1st century AD)

Amanikhatashan (middle 2nd century AD?)

Amanikhalika (second half of the 2nd century AD)

Patrapeamani [de] (early 4th century)

Amanipilade (mid-4th century)

Based on the reading of a single inscription, some lists give two later kandakes named Maloqorebar (266–283 AD) and Lahideamani (306-314 AD). A recently discovered inscription corrects this earlier reading, however, showing that neither was a woman.

Archaeological sources

The Kandakes of Meroe were first described through the Greek geographer's Strabo account of the "one-eyed Candace" in 23 BCE in his encyclopedia Geographica. There are at least ten regnant Meroitic queens during the 500 years between 260 BCE and 320 CE, and at least six during the 140 periods between 60 BC and 80 AD. The iconographic portrayal of the Meroitic queens depicts them as women often alone and at the forefront of their stelae and sculptures and shown in regal women's clothing. Early depictions of Kushite queens typically do not have Egyptian elements making their appearance drastically different from their Kushite men and Egyptian counterparts. As seen in the Dream Stela of Tanawetamani, a large shawl was wrapped around the body with an additionally decorated cloak worn over the first; typically, a small tab-like element hanging below the hem touches the ground and has been interpreted as a little tail. The first association with this element of dress is with Tarharqo's mother during his coronation ceremony.

It was not until George Reisner excavated the royal cemeteries at El Kurru and Nuri that archaeological material became available to study the Kushite queenship. Additionally, a few royal tombs of Kushite women have been found at Meroe's cemetery and in Egypt at Abydos (Leahy 1994). At El Kurru, six pyramids belong to royal women of the 25th Dynasty and a pyramid for queen Qalhata of the Napatan period. At Nuri, the tombs of royal women are located on the west plateau with more inscriptional information available at the site, linking the roles that the kings' mothers played in succession and their importance during the Kushite dynasty.

The most important event that Kushite women participated in was kingship's ensured continuity, where royal women were mentioned and represented in the royal ceremony. The lunettes of the stelae of Tanawetamani, Harsiyotef, and Nastasen all provide iconographic and textual evidence of these kings' enthronement. In all of these stelae, the king is accompanied by a female member of his family, mother, and wife. The king's mother played an essential role in the legitimacy of her son as the king; textual evidence from Taharqo's coronation stelae represents inscriptional evidence suggesting that the king's mother traveled to her son's coronation. During the Kushite 25th Dynasty, the office that is known as God's Wife of Amun was established. The royal women in this role acted as the primary contact with the Kushite god Amun. They played a decisive role in the king's accession to the throne.

Bas-reliefs dated to about 170 B.C. reveal the kentake Shanakdakheto, dressed in armor and wielding a spear in battle. She did not rule as queen regent or queen mother, but as a fully independent ruler. Her husband was her consort. In bas-reliefs found in the ruins of building projects she commissioned, Shanakdakheto is portrayed both alone as well as with her husband and son, who would inherit the throne by her death.

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camisoledadparis · 1 day ago

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THIS DAY IN GAY HISTORY

based on: The White Crane Institute's 'Gay Wisdom', Gay Birthdays, Gay For Today, Famous GLBT, glbt-Gay Encylopedia, Today in Gay History, Wikipedia, and more … January 24

41 AD – Roman Emperor Caligula is assassinated at the Palatine Games by his own officers after a reign of only four years. He was noted for his madness and cruelty including arbitrary murder and arbitrary sex encounters with men, women, and animals, including forcing his officers into regular sex bouts.

Hadrian and Antinous

76 AD – The Roman Emperor, Stoic and Epicurean philosopher Publius Aelius Traianus Hadrianus or as he has come down to us, Hadrian was born in Spain. Hadrian was the third of the "Five Good Emperors". His reign had a faltering beginning, a glorious middle, and a tragic conclusion.

He is considered by many historians as the most versatile of all the Roman Emperors. He liked to display knowledge of all intellectual and artistic fields. Above all, Hadrian patronized the arts: Hadrian's Villa at Tibur (Tivoli) was the greatest Roman example of an Alexandrian garden, recreating a sacred landscape, lost in large part to the despoliation of the ruins by the Cardinal d'Este who had much of the marble removed to build Villa d'Este. In Rome, the Pantheon, originally built by Agrippa but destroyed by fire in 80, was rebuilt under Hadrian in the domed form it retains to this day. It is among the best preserved of Rome's ancient buildings and was highly influential to a many of the great architects of the Italian Renaissance and Baroque periods.

Today we recall his abiding love of Antinous, his eromenos (boy lover), who he honored so greatly in death. It was while visiting Claudiopolis that Hadrian espied the beautiful Antinous, a young boy who was destined to become the emperor's eromenos — his beloved. Sources say nothing about when Hadrian met Antinous, however, there are depictions of Antinous that shows him as a young man of twenty or so. They became inseparable companions and carried out one of the most storied love affairs of history.

Hadrian and Antinous in Egypt

In October 130 AD, while Hadrian and his entourage were sailing on the Nile, Antinous drowned, for unknown reasons. though accident, suicide, murder or religious sacrifice have all been postulated. After Antinous' death, Hadrian's grief knew no bounds, causing the most extravagant respect to be paid to his memory. Cities were founded in his name, medals struck with his effigy, and statues erected to him in all parts of the empire.

Following the example of Alexander (who sought divine honors for his lover, Hephaistion, when he died), Hadrian had Antinous proclaimed a god. Temples were built for his worship in Bithynia, Mantineia in Arcadia, and Athens, festivals celebrated in his honour and oracles delivered in his name. The city of Antinopolis or Antinoe was founded on the ruins of Besa where he died. One of Hadrian's attempts at extravagant remembrance failed, when the proposal to create a constellation of Antinous being lifted to heaven by an eagle (the constellation Aquila) failed of adoption. Legend was that his likeness was placed over the face of the Moon.

Hadrian died in 138 on the tenth day of July, in his villa at Baiae at age 62.

Frederick II & Voltaire

1712 – The Prussian King Frederick II, aka Frederick the Great, was born. (d.1786) Interested primarily in the arts during his youth, Frederick unsuccessfully attempted to flee from his authoritarian father, the "Soldier-King" Frederick William I. Young Frederick persuaded his lover, Hans von Katte, a Lieutenant in the Royal Guard, to help him flee the king's ruthless domination. They were captured and von Katte was sentenced to death. The prince was ordered to be present at von Katte's execution by sword.

For another ten years Frederick had to live under the yoke of his tyrannical father and accept his arrangements for a marriage that was probably never consummated. (Upon his father's death in 1740, Frederick immediately separated from his wife, Elizabeth Christine of Brunswick.)

Frederick was a proponent of enlightened absolutism. For years he was a correspondent of Voltaire, with whom the king had a turbulent friendship. Voltaire was later to write a book exposing Frederick's homosexuality, but it was published only in 1784, six years after its author's death. In his correspondence with Voltaire, Frederick early on evinced a great interest in what we would today call gay culture. In an astonishingly open fashion, this interest was encouraged by Voltaire.

It was not only through literature that Frederick extolled homosexuality. He collected ancient artwork, notably ancient carved gemstones picturing nude athletes and the Adoring Youth, a Hellenistic bronze that had previously belonged to another famous homosexual general, Prince Eugene of Savoy, which he placed in view of his library window. He commissioned frescoes of Ganymede for his palaces; and, in 1768, inspired by Voltaire's poem bearing that title, had a Temple of Friendship built in his garden at Potsdam, inscribed with the names of lovers and friends of antiquity, such as Orestes and Pylades and Nisus and Euryalus.

Apart from Katte, a few of Frederick's great loves are known: Fredersdorf, the handsome guard assigned to him after his escape, who eventually became his Majordomo; Count Algarotti, the seductive Italian writer; and the abbé Bastiani, a Venetian who was made Canon of Breslaw (Wroclaw) Cathedral and who did not hesitate to show his compatriot Casanova the love letters he had received from the king.

Close to him also, but showing the same tastes in a more outrageous manner, was his brother Prince Henry. Voltaire called him a Potsdamite (that is, a Sodomite), and he was reputed to recruit only homosexuals in his regiments.

The philosopher Diderot, well informed and not prone to exaggeration, wrote in March 1760 a note on Frederick in which he says: "The only one thing that this admirable flute player was missing was a mouthpiece that should have been a little cleaner." He also penned a poem entitled Parallèle between Caesar and Frederick (undated) that includes the statement: "Caesar was generous, Frederick is miserly. When I compare them I see but one point in common, namely that they were both buggers. But there wasn't a Roman lady who was worthwhile with whom Caesar did not sleep, whereas His Prussian Majesty never touched a woman, not even his own wife."

The works of Niccolò Machiavelli, such as "The Prince," were considered a guideline for the behavior of a king in Frederick's age. In 1749, Frederick finished his Anti-Machiavel — an idealistic writing in which he opposes Machiavelli. It was published anonymously in 1740, but Voltaire distributed it in Amsterdam to great popularity. Under Frederick, Immanuel Kant published religious writings in Berlin which would have been censored elsewhere in Europe.

Frederick had famous buildings constructed in his capital, Berlin, most of which still exist today, such as the Berlin State Opera, the Royal Library, St. Hedwig's Cathedral, the French and German Cathedrals on the Gendarmenmarkt, and Prince Henry's Palace (now the site of Humboldt University). However, the king preferred spending his time in his summer residence Potsdam, where he built the palace of Sanssouci, the most important work of Northern German rococo. Sanssouci, which translates from French as "carefree" or "without worry", was a refuge for Frederick, where he surrounded himself with freethinking men—no women were allowed—many of whom, such as Count Algarotti or the philosopher La Mettrie, were homosexual. Voltaire describes the utter freedom of their suppers there (for instance, discussing Plato's theory of the Androgynes) and the exact way in which Frederick would pick handsome soldiers for his sexual "schoolboy games."

Near the end of his life Frederick grew increasingly solitary. His circle of male friends at Sanssouci gradually died off without replacements, and Frederick became increasingly critical and arbitrary, to the frustration of the civil service and officer corps. The populace of Berlin always cheered the king when he returned to the city from provincial tours or military reviews, but Frederick took no pleasure from his popularity with the common folk, preferring instead the company of his pet Italian greyhounds, whom he referred to as his 'marquises de Pompadour' as a jibe at the French royal mistress. Frederick died in an armchair in his study in the palace of Sanssouci on 17 August 1786.

1746 – Gustav III was King of Sweden from 1771 until his death. (d.1792) He was the eldest son of King Adolph Frederick and Louisa Ulrika of Prussia, she a sister of Frederick the Great of Prussia. (See above)

Gustav was educated under the care of two governors who were amongst the most eminent Swedish statesmen of the day, Carl Gustaf Tessin and Carl Fredrik Scheffer; but he owed most perhaps to the poet and historian Olof von Dalin. His education was far more liberal than that of his uncle, Frederick the Great.

On the whole, Gustav cannot be said to have been well educated, but he read very widely; there was scarcely a French author of his day with whose works he was not intimately acquainted;and his enthusiasm for the new French ideas of enlightenment was sincere.

A vocal opponent of abuses by the nobility, he seized power from the government in a coup d'état in 1772, ending the Age of Liberty and venturing into a campaign to restore royal autocracy. As a bulwark of enlightened despotism, his expenditure of considerable public funds on cultural ventures contributed to his controversial rule. Attempts to seize first Norway through Russian aid, then to recapture the Baltic provinces through a war against Russia were unsuccessful, although much of Sweden's former military might was restored. An admirer of Voltaire, Gustav legalized Catholic and Jewish presence in the realm and enacted wide-ranging reforms aimed at economic liberalism, social reform and the abolishment of torture and capital punishment (although freedom of the press was curtailed).

A patron of the arts and benefactor of arts and literature, Gustav founded several academies, among them the Swedish Academy, created a National Costume and had the Royal Swedish Opera built. In 1772 he founded the Royal Order of Vasa to acknowledge and reward those Swedes who had helped to advance process in the fields of agriculture, mining and commerce.

By proxy in Christiansborg Palace, Copenhagen, on 1 October 1766 and in person in Stockholm on 4 November 1766, Gustav married Princess Sophia Magdalena, daughter of King Frederick V of Denmark. The match was not a happy one, owing partly to an incompatibility of temper; but still more to the interference of the jealous Queen Mother. The marriage produced two children: Crown Prince Gustav Adolf , and Prince Carl Gustav, Duke of Småland. For the consummation of the marriage, the king requested the assistance of Adolf Munck, reportedly because of anatomical problems both spouses possessed. Gustav's mother supported rumors that he was not the father of his first son and heir. It was rumored at the time that Gustav indulged in homosexuality. The close personal relationships he formed with two of his courtiers, Count Axel von Fersen and Baron Gustav Armfelt, were alluded to in that regard. His sister-in-law implied as much in a diary.

Gustav was assassinated at a masked ball by a conspiracy of noblemen claiming only to commit tyrannicide, although later research has revealed more personal motives.

1928 – Heterosexual actor Michel Serrault (d.2007) was a French stage actor and film star who appeared from 1954 until (and including) 2007 in more than 150 films. He was best known for his role as Zaza in La cage aux folles.

Although he wanted to be a circus clown, Serrault's parents sent him to a seminary to study for the priesthood. He spent only a few months there before taking-up acting. His first professional job was in a touring production in Germany of Molière's Les Fourberies de Scapin. After military service in Dijon, he returned to Paris and joined Robert Dhéry's burlesque troupe and appeared in their second hit show, Dugudu.

In 1948, he began his career in the theatre with Robert Dhéry in Les Branquignols. His first film was Ah! Les belles bacchantes, starring Robert Dhéry, Colette Brosset (Dhéry's then-wife), and Louis de Funès in 1954. Serrault played in the 1955 suspense thriller Les diaboliques, starring Simone Signoret and directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot.

He met and worked with Jean Poiret in the early 1950s, which led to a song and comedy cabaret act and their playing together in 18 films from 1956 to 1984, and in a number of plays written by Poiret. The films they worked together in included Cette sacrée gamine (1956), with Brigitte Bardot, and Sacha Guitry's last film, Assassins et voleurs (1957).

From February 1973 through 1978, he portrayed the role of Albin/Zaza opposite Jean Poiret in the play La cage aux folles, written by Poiret. He recreated the role for the film version of the play, which was released in 1978. Serrault died from relapsing polychondritis at his home in Équemauville on 29 July 2007 at age 79.

1944 – German performance artist and counter-tenor Klaus Nomi was born in Immenstadt, Germany (d.1983). Nomi is remembered for bizarrely theatrical live performances, heavy make-up, unusual costumes, and a highly stylized signature hairdo which flaunted a receding hairline. His songs were equally unusual, ranging from synthesizer-laden interpretations of classic opera to covers of 1960s pop standards like Chubby Checker's "The Twist" and Lou Christie's "Lightnin' Strikes."

Born Klaus Sperber in Immenstadt, Germany, in Nomi's youth in the 1960s, he worked as an usher at the Deutsche Opera in West Berlin where he would sing on stage in front of the fire curtain after the shows for the other ushers and maintenance crew. Around that time he also sang operatic arias at a Berlin Gay club called Kleist Casino. Nomi moved from Germany to New York City in the mid-1970s. He began his involvement with the art scene based in the East Village. Nomi died on August 6, 1983 in New York City, one of the first celebrities to die of an illness complicated by AIDS. His ashes were scattered over New York City.

1951 – Michael Cohen (d.1997) was an American singer-songwriter from New York City. He released three albums in the 1970s which were among the first to deal with explicitly gay themes.

Cohen was licensed as a cab driver in New York City in 1972.

Cohen self-released his first album, eponymously titled Mike Cohen, in 1972. This was followed by two albums on Folkways Records, "What Did You Expect: Songs about the Experiences of Being Gay" (1973) and "Some of Us Had to Live" (1976). The latter two are available from Smithsonian Folkways.

Cohen was influenced by James Taylor and Leonard Cohen (no relation) and his music is very much in the folk rock style.

"What Did You Expect: Songs about the Experiences of Being Gay" consisted of nine songs that recounted Cohen's coming-out experience, ballads about his lover and a cover of a song by Leonard Cohen (no relation).

"The Last Angry Young Man", which opens What did You Expect?, deals with the misconceptions around homosexuality of the older generation while "Gone", from the same album, deals sensitively with the death of a gay friend. Frieze Magazine describes Cohen's "Bitterfeast" from the same album as a "raw and chokingly emotional" ballad based on a poem by Leonard Cohen.

After releasing a third album on a small label, Cohen "dropped off the radar" until his death in 1997.

You can read some of his lyrics in his own hand here: Queer Music Heritage

1975 – Norman Lear's trail-blazing, groundbreaking, though, alas, short-lived series "Hot L Baltimore" premiered on this date. The television situation comedy series was adapted from the hit off-Broadway play by Lanford Wilson and took place in the "Hotel Baltimore" in Baltimore, Maryland and drew its title from the cheap establishment's neon marquee, which had a burned-out letter "e" that had never been replaced. The half-hour series premiered January 24, 1975 and was produced by Norman Lear for ABC. (It was, in fact the first Norman Lear property to air on ABC.) The cast included Conchata Ferrell, James Cromwell, Richard Masur, Al Freeman, Jr., Gloria LeRoy, Jeannie Linero, and Charlotte Rae.

The series had several controversial elements, including two primary characters who were prostitutes (one of whom was an illegal immigrant) and one of the first gay couples to be depicted on an American television series. George (Lee Bergere) and Gordon (Henry Calvert) were middle-aged gay lovers in their fifties. Because of the story lines the show was the first network television show to have a warning at its opening, cautioning viewers about mature themes. The network supported the show and gave it a full publicity campaign, but it failed to win an audience and was canceled after thirteen episodes; its last telecast was June 6, 1975.

1983 – Frank James Michael Grande Marchione , usually credited as Frankie Grande, is an American musical theatre actor, producer and YouTube personality.

Grande was born in New York City. He grew up in Englewood, New Jersey and moved with his mother to Boca Raton, Florida, at age 10. His half-sister is singer and actress Ariana Grande. He graduated from Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania in 2005, having triple-majored in biology, theatre and dance. Grande is openly gay.

He began his acting career in 2007, appearing as Boots the Monkey in a national tour of Dora the Explorer Live! (Dora's Pirate Adventure) and in regional theatre productions including the title role in George M!, Mike Costa in A Chorus Line and Lewis in Pippin, among others. Later in 2007, he joined the Broadway cast of the musical Mamma Mia!, in the ensemble and as understudy for Eddie, in which he performed for three years. Grande was named "Mr. Broadway" in the "Mr. Broadway 2007" charity benefit. He co-founded the non-profit arts organization "Broadway in South Africa", travelling to South Africa to work with disadvantaged youth for seven years, before it merged with buildOn. Grande also helped buildOn to build a school in a rural village in Malawi, and in 2014 buildOn honored him for his efforts with its Global Impact Award.

Grande has produced shows on and off Broadway, including Broadway productions of Hamlet (2009) starring Jude Law, La Bête (2010–11) starring David Hyde Pierce, and Born Yesterday (2011) starring Jim Belushi. He also produced Brooke Shields' one-woman cabaret show in 2011. Grande has performed in cabaret acts in New York City, including at Birdland Jazz Club and 54 Below.

In 2012, Grande established a YouTube channel and has also been building a following on Twitter and Instagram. Earlier in 2014, he was a contestant on the reality television series Big Brother 16. His philanthropic work includes co-founding the non-profit arts organization "Broadway in South Africa" and work for buildOn.

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racefortheironthrone · 11 months ago

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How did all the heresies and theological arguments of the Late Roman Empire lead to "the Arab caliphates getting a decent navy and winning the Battle of the Masts"?

This is actually a fascinating story about the nature of the religious world and religious politics in the Late Roman and Byzantine Empires and the Rashidun Caliphate.

Because heresies and theological arguments tended to start at the level of bishops and patriarchs fighting with the bishops and patriarchs of other metropoles (and that filters out to which missionaries were sent where), there were strong regional variations as to which position was in the local majority.

Skipping over the Arian controversy because it's not relevant to the Battle of the Masts, Cyril of Alexandria was the leader of the Monophysite faction ("physis" meaning "nature," i.e Christ has one nature, which tracks with the Council of Nicaea's declaration that he had one "essence"), and his dyophysite (meaning two "natures") rivals were based out of Antioch - and Alexandria and thus Egypt became Monophysite. However, Constantinople and Anatolia were dyophysite and worked to make sure that the Second Council of Ephesus and the Council of Chalcedon declared monophysitism a heresy and dyophysitism as Orthodoxy, thus leading to the Chalcedonian Schism.

Following on from this, the emperors Justin II and Justinian I were Orthodox. Now, Justinian tried to end the Schism through the Second Council of Constantinople in 553, but this didn't really work and it remained state policy to persecute Monophysites. However, the empress Theodora was Monophysite and acted as patroness and political defender of Monophysites throughout the empire - which made her very popular in Egypt...and with the Greens in the Hippodrome, who were also Monophysites. Naturally, if the Greens were Monophysite, the Blues were Orthodox, because why not turn your sports rivalry into a religious rivalry and a pseudo-political party system? It's not called the Byzantine Empire because it's simple.

Even though Theodora was a Green, Justinian supported the Blues, which meant that no matter what your sports team or religious views or pseudo-partisanship you could support the imperial family. (Indeed, many historians think that the two at least somewhat arranged their religious and sports affiliations with this in mind.) This worked...up until the Nika riots ended up with Belisarius turning the Imperial army on the sports fans turned revolutionary rioters in the Hippodrome, leading to the deaths of as many as 30,000 people.

And so it went, with Alexandria tending to be the losers in the monoergism vs. dyoergism (does Christ have one "energy" or two?) debate, and the monolethitism vs. dyolethetism (does Christ have one "will" or two?) debate. Notably, these debates saw the Emperors of the time trying to get the Church to adopt a compromise (both monoergism and monothelitism were essentially an attempt by the Emperor Heraclius and his Patriarch to find a new theological formulation that the Alexandrians could live with while pointing urgently in the direction of first the Persians and then the Arabs) and failing due to religious partisans digging in their heels, or Emperors siding violently with one side or the other, ironically in the name of Imperial unity.

And this brings us to the Arab Conquest that gave birth to the Rashidun Caliphate. Now, the Christian population of Alexandria was not exactly thrilled about suddenly being ruled over by Muslim Arabs in 642...but in a genius stroke of enlightened self-interest, the Rashidun Caliphate adopted a policy whereby non-Muslim subjects (dhimmis) would be left alone in terms of religious matters as long as they paid their jizya taxes on non-Muslims (with the idea being to create a financial incentive to convert). While this wasn't the most popular, the Alexandrians realized that having to pay religious taxes and then getting left alone in peace and quiet to be Monophysite was a much better deal than having to pay Byzantine imperial taxes and getting religiously persecuted all the damn time.

This mattered geostrategically, because the Port of Alexandria was one of the largest ports in the Mediterranean, and thus had one of the largest shipyards and a lot of shipbuilders, and a hell of a lot of trained ex-Roman sailors and marines who were heavily Monophysite. These recently-unemployed sailors and marines were very happy to work for the Rashidun Caliphate, especially when the Caliphs started to shift resources into the navy to combat Byzantine dominance on the seas. Thus, only a few years after the Rashidun conquest of Egypt in 642, the Arab navy was suddenly able to fight on equal terms with the Byzantine navy - and then started kicking their ass.

This at last brings us to the Battle of the Masts in 655, where an Arab fleet (crewed mostly by Monophysite Egyptians) of 200 ships under the command of admiral Abu al-A'war came into contact with a Byzantine fleet of 500 ships led by the Emperor Constans II off the coast of Lycia...and smashed it to pieces. According to the historian al-Tabari, it was called the Battle of the Masts because there were rough seas and both fleets lashed themselves together to allow for marine boarding operations, so that soldiers were literally crossing from mast to mast. Constans II supposedly only managed to escape by changing uniforms with one of his subordinates as a disguise.

The defeat was so crippling that Constantinople was brought under siege for the first time by the Rashidun that same year, although that brief siege (the brevity of which is why historians refer to the siege of 674-678 as the "First Arab Siege of Constantinople") was unsuccessful due to a storm that sunk the Arab ships carrying the artillery and siege engines that the land army was counting on. Naturally, the Byzantines attributed this storm and the first Arab civil war that broke out in 655 (which bought the Byzantines some desperately-needed breathing room) to divine intervention.

Just to show how the past is always with us, I wanted to share a bit of a statement by the Coptic Orthodox Church of the Southern United States:

"The Coptic Orthodox Church was accused of being 'Monophysite' in the Council of Chalcedon. The term monophysite comes from two Greek words meaning "single nature". Monophysitism merged Christ's humanity into His divinity so that effectively it meant that in Christ there was only one single nature, a divine nature. This is NOT what the Coptic Orthodox believes. We believe that "Christ's divinity parted not from His humanity, not for a single moment nor a twinkling of an eye" and we recite this statement in every liturgy. As a result, we are Miaphysite and not Monophysite. Miaphysitism (one nature) means the Lord Jesus Christ is perfect human and perfect divine and these two natures are united together without mingling, nor confusion, nor alteration in one nature; the nature of God incarnate."

#byzantine empire #late roman empire #heresy #theology #rashidun caliphate #the battle of the masts

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confusedbyinterface · 1 month ago

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I haven't seen Gladiator 2, just read the critiques, and now I'm imagining a better movie.

Start in Caledonia. Like the first movie, you have the heroic main guy, the aged emperor, and his sons, fighting in the cold north. Except! His son Caracalla is strong, ascetic, a perfect soldier. Maybe keep his brother Geta as weak and decadent, if you want. When Severus dies they want to split the Empire, Julia tries to keep them together, and Caracalla kills Geta in her arms. Lucius gets caught up in the purges, he's one of Geta's people (or associates with one of them) and is sent to the arena to die. You can get a bunch of shots of Geta's statues being smashed, and so on.

Here you have some wild execution scenes as part of the purge. Lucius fights in big melees and animal hunts. The naval battle goes somewhere here. Despite being there to die he keeps winning, and wins the crowd. He gets trained by Macrinus, becomes a top gladiator. Eventually Caracalla swings in, grants Lucius his freedom and citizenship to great cheers. Then goes on: every free man in the Empire is now a Roman citizen. Huge cheers. Some senator snidely remarks more citizens means more taxes for the Emperor's ego projects.

Lucius becomes Caracalla's right hand man. Caracalla even apologises for what he did, when you're emperor, you have to do hard things, for the good of the Empire. They go around doing more battles, stopping intrigues, etc, and it slowly becomes clear Caracalla isn't a hard man doing hard things, he's an unstable megalomaniac. The climax is the big naval invasion scene. Caracalla has his giant dodecareme or whatever, which those fools in the senate said couldn't be done but is the greatest ship ever made. They assault Alexandria, which is "in revolt" but all the ships are clearly not military vessels, and when they land the city leaders ask the Emperor why he's doing this. He goes on some rant about being Alexander reborn, about the Alexandrians insulting him, about Aristotle betraying Alexander and taking revenge, and so on, before murdering them and sending his army to sack the city.

Now Macrinus is finally able to convince Lucius that Caracalla needs to be stopped. Caracalla goes for a piss, and starts talking about his plans to conquer Persia, India, China, and become ruler of the world. Lucius stabs him.

I'm not sure how it ends: Maybe with Macrinus becoming emperor and saying but discarding Lucius as outliving his usefulness. Maybe he just has a sinister look in his eye that lets you know he's no better. Maybe you go into the civil war against Julia and Elegabulus, or even Elegabulus winning and Julia darkly hinting that if he doesn't work out, she has more grandsons. Maybe she echoes something Macrinus said about gladiators, like she's the lanista and her family are her stable. The point is Rome is now in a cycle of violence and conflict.

This isn't, historically accurate, but it would be based on history, the way the first is based on Commodus being obsessed with gladiators. Caracalla would be recognisably Caracalla. Julia Domna is there. The themes reflect the rise of the barracks emperors and the crisis of the third century, not Weak Men Make Hard Times memes.

#gladiator #gladiator 2 #ancient rome

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senespera-ffxiv · 6 months ago

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//dawntrail level 95 and level 100 optional dungeons spoilers

this thought just came up in my head but genuinely I wouldn't want to spoil the progression of The Skydeep Cenote for *anyone* playing the game because the way the dungeon changes as you progress through it is just so magical

Like I mentioned this a bit in the post where I gushed about the music but moment when you first see the Golden City paired with the music swelling is such an experience and I love it so much

And it even works on people who actively pay attention to the lore because they're like consistently dropping mobs and architectural motifs from The Qitana Ravel in order to nudge you towards realizing that Ronka may have been The First's version of whatever civilization existed there before the Yok Huy, making the final region with the Alexandrian stuff a bit of a surprise lol

Speaking of which, the dungeon seems to be split into three sections

The part that the Yok Huy dug

A part that seems to belong to that Ronka-esque civilization

The Golden City and stuff that Alexandria built

Tender Valley appears to suggest that the Ronka-esque civilization is separate from the Yok Huy Empire since the Great Serpent of Ronka shows up as a boss there and the NPC afterwards (also the Yok Huy person who tells us about how they found the Great Serpent of Ronka) specifically mentions that they found some old ruins if I remember correctly?

Part of me wants them to follow up on this lol. But also I know they tend to not do much with the optional dungeons after they've released (for example Temple of the Fist was mostly a Monk lore expansion, Saint Mocianne's Arboretum has to do with Sharlayan proper in Eorzea and they haven't specifically explored that history yet, also The Stigma Dreamscape fleshed out a little bit more about the Omicron/Dragon war but I feel like there's maybe a bit more to be done there??? idk. Point being that a lot of the immediate post-expansion optional dungeons have either just fleshed out pre-existing lore beats or created threads that have been left just sort of dangling for now and they haven't really followed up on any of it, so I'm not exactly expecting them to follow up on the Ronka lore from Tender Valley but also plz Yoshi-P follow up on the Ronka lore I need to know

#ffxiv #ff14 #dawntrail #senespera dawntrail screaming #dawntrail spoilers

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biff-adventurer · 6 months ago

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unpopular opinion and dt spoilers

regarding that reddit thread, i don't think it ultimately matters how the soul, memories and life force are different. i'm not big on concrete lore in general, but that's because my experience with people obsessing over concepts in lore often encourages people to behave as though there are objective truths that are unbendable/ unbreakable/ unadaptable.

also, the perspective of this original poster disagreeing with one of the commenters on the ethos of alexandria as it's laid out in the story... their argument reeks of cultural blindness and bias. it's not that their clarification isn't adding something, but rather that they prioritize the hard lore of an imaginary world over the way that world is connected to concepts in the real world. this is a mentality i have commonly encountered over the last seven years, that lulls people back into a dream to forget reality altogether.

i love it when people use lore for interesting concepts in their own stories, and when they interpret between the lines and when they exploit new possibilities from subtle details that are often overlooked. the creativity behind this involves a lot of thinking, which is beautiful to witness and exciting to explore.

the other thing is... the alexandrians are an invading force. that doesn't mean they aren't human. it means they're both. we must always remember that people can do bad things for reasons they deem acceptable. we can empathize with them, but it isn't the same as forgetting their actions and completely absolving them of their mistakes. forgiveness is the willingness to help someone who wants to change, without holding their past against them irrationally. when their behaviors begin to show a lack of remorse and reflection, that is when trepidation toward the person is rational.

and these are very broad ideas to describe a very specific kind of situation. i realize that. but what's worse to me is that people might use the specifics of this lore to completely absolve sphene and her subjects who created the system. sphene was a lovely person and i found myself weeping for her through the alexandria dungeon. i still do. but we can't forget that her choices were incredibly flawed. the same applies for the japanese empire, and how its impact echoes into society today.

my wife made some good points:

"Also yeah it doesn’t matter because the point is, their own society doesn’t have enough energy to sustain them. So they’re killing other people to perpetuate their system. Seimei ryoku is gone once it’s used to sustain the Endless. It’s easier to think of this as all these things make up a human, but the fact of the matter is these things that make up who an individual is, is nothing more than a resource to the Alexandrians. They rationalize it by people’s memories are uploaded to the cloud so they never die, truly, so you can use their parts and you’re not REALLY doing anything bad. But the thing is this kioku isn’t real. It’s not the true, spiritual memory of the person, it’s an artificial memory of that person. The real kioku is being stripped away and erased. "Honestly, I think people are getting too caught up in the semantics and the big picture is that the Alexandrian system is a place where people have culturally accepted the monetization of humanity itself."

i know it is difficult to sit in the middle between love and anger. it is a painful way to live. but it's what life is, and what being a responsible person is about. accepting the good and sifting out the bad doesn't mean something is hateable. it does mean we should encourage people to resist and deny harmful practices, even if they are culturally ingrained and therefore historically validated in the minds of the people.

people in remote parts of india believe in child marriage and in abandoning or killing infant girls because they believe girls only bring bad luck, that to do well in the future, you must rely on boys. this is what i saw in mamook during the rite of brotherhood questline. of course, they never spelled out how the villagers explicitly suffered when it came to the stillborn children, except that it produced streams of guilt and grief, and a giant burden for the survivors. but it's hard not to see them as parallels.

i truly believe this is how we're meant to see the alexandrians. they have accepted this way of life because they believe it maximizes the joys they experience by living. the writing implies it is a cultural issue. even so, as the cornservant quest in solution nine shows, they are losing important aspects of life that allow us to truly enjoy it.

so, you know... i enjoy clarity on the lore. but it hurts my heart when people use it to close their eyes to unfortunate truths.

#ooc;;#i'm not looking for a debate or conversation about this #i just really needed to have this said SOMEWHERE in the universe so i could let it go

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lihyot-am-chofshi-beartzeinu · 1 year ago

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youtube

TRANSCRIPT: How can Anti-Zionism be the new antisemitism? Surely there’s no connection between them. Antisemitism is hatred of Jews as a people, a race, an ethnic group. Anti-Zionism is objection to a country, a nation, a state. What’s the connection between them?

Antisemitism is a virus that mutates, so that new antisemites can deny they are antisemites at all, because their hate is different from the old. In the Middle Ages Jews were hated for their religion. In the nineteenth and early twentieth century they were hated for their race. Today they are hated for their nation state, Israel.

What then is the connection between Jews as a people, Judaism as a religion, and Israel as a state? The connection between the Jewish people and Israel goes back long before the birth of either Christianity or Islam. Jews created a society there in the days of Joshua, a kingdom in the days of Saul, and a nation with Jerusalem as its capital in the days of King David: all this more than 3,000 years ago.

Jews are the only people who ever created a nation state there. At all other times in the past 3,000 years it was merely an administrative district in an empire whose centre was elsewhere: the Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian, Alexandrian, Roman and Byzantine empires, the Crusaders of the Holy Roman Empire, the various Muslim empires such as the Umayyads, Abbasids, Fatimids, Mamluks and Ottomans, and finally the British. Jews are the only people who have maintained a continuous presence in the land. They are its indigenous, original inhabitants.

The November 1947 United Nations vote to bring Israel into existence was a momentous reversal of imperialism. It gave back to the Jewish people the home taken from them by empire after empire. Israel was the only non-artificial creation in the Middle East after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. The rest – among them Jordan, Syria, Iraq, Libya, Saudi Arabia and Yemen – were artificial creations that hadn’t been states before, which is why most of them still exist in a condition of ethnic, religious and tribal strife. Only Israel had previously existed as a nation state.

That’s the unbreakable connection between Israel and the Jewish people. The connection between Israel and Judaism is equally ancient and fundamental. It is more than just as Robert Frost said, “Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in.” Read the Hebrew Bible and you’ll see immediately that it isn’t about the salvation of the soul. It’s about creating in the holy land a society based on the biblical ideas of justice, welfare, the sanctity of life – and caring for the stranger “because you know what it feels like to be a stranger.”

Judaism began with two journeys to the land, one by Abraham and Sarah, the other by the Israelites in the days of Moses. At least half of the 613 commandments of the Bible are only applicable to the land of Israel. And though in the centuries of exile and dispersion Jews lived in almost every land under the sun, Israel has remained a focus of their prayers and the only place where they have been able to do what every other nation takes for granted, construct their own society in the light of their own ideals.

Judaism differs from the other Abrahamic monotheisms, Christianity and Islam, in that it is the only one of the three that never created or sought to create an empire. It was the imperialism of the Roman emperor Hadrian that led him in the 2nd century to change the country’s name to Palestine, one of the first, but certainly not the last, deliberate falsifications of history by those who seek to deny the Jewish people’s right to their land.

There are 56 Islamic nations, and 159 in which Christians form the majority. There is and only ever has been one Jewish state, tiny and vulnerable though it is and always was. That is why Anti-Zionism, denying Jews the right to their one and only collective home by misrepresenting Judaism, is the new antisemitism, every bit as virulent and dangerous as the old.

From the Rabbi Sacks Legacy.

#antizionism is antisemitism #israel #am yisrael chai #Youtube

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whencyclopedia · 9 months ago

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Council of Chalcedon

The Council of Chalcedon was called in 451 CE by the Roman Emperor Marcian (r. 450-457) to settle debates regarding the nature (hypostases, "reality") of Christ that had begun at two earlier meetings in Ephesus (431 CE and 439 CE). The question was whether Christ was human or divine, a man who became God (through the resurrection and ascension) or God who became a man (through the incarnation, "taking on flesh"), and how his humanity and divinity affected his essence and being, if at all.

Shortly after Emperor Constantine's conversion to Christianity in 312 CE, an Alexandrian presbyter, Arius, applying logic, had simply taught that if God created everything in the universe, then at some point he must have created Christ. This caused debates and even riots throughout the cities of the Roman Empire. If Christ was a creature, then he was subordinate to God. Seeking empire-wide unity, Constantine I (r. 306-337 CE) called for a council meeting at Nicaea in 325 to settle the matter.

The First Council of Nicaea produced what became known as the concept of the Trinity. This concept expressed the belief that Christ was of the identical essence of God, who had manifested himself in the earthly Jesus of Nazareth. It produced the innovation of a creed that dictated what all Christians should believe. The Nicene Creed was now enforced by the legions of the Roman emperor, and Arianism was condemned as heresy. However, those who sided with Arius continued to incorporate his teachings in their communities. One of Constantine's sons, Constantius II (r. 337-361 CE), was an Arian Christian.

With the beginning of the barbarian invasions in this period, Christians were urged to be patriotic Christians, in line with the Imperial Church. However, the Antiochene and Alexandrian communities continued to debate which emperors had such authority (legitimacy), depending upon their views of continuing Arianism at their courts and other topics. The other problem was that the Council of Nicaea only addressed the relationship between God and Christ but said nothing about his nature.

Struggle Among the Sees

For several centuries, Christian bishops had competed with each other in relation to who had the authority to dictate beliefs and rituals for all Christians. The major sees (dioceses) of bishops were Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria, Constantinople, and Rome. The First Council of Constantinople in 381 elevated Rome above all others (as the site of martyrdom of Saint Peter and Paul the Apostle). Alexandria, which had several Christian schools of philosophy, saw this as an insult to their prestige. Antioch resented it because they claimed their community was the first to be called Christians (from Luke's Acts of the Apostles). Jerusalem was the most insulted, as this was the site of the trial and crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth and his resurrection. Thrown into this mix were three more heresies that ultimately required more imperial anathemas and dictates: Paulinism, Novatianism, and Nestorianism.

#History #Christianity #CouncilofChalcedon #JesusChrist #WHE #[#]

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thealexandrianroyals · 5 months ago

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Changes in titles

Hey everyone, I am changing the titles for some of Royal Family.

The Emperor will now be known as the Pharaoh of the Alexandria Empire or The Pharaoh of the Two Lands and his wife will be known as The Great Royal Wife of the Alexandrian Empire (or The Great Royal Wife of the Two Lands)

The Empress Regnant will be known as The Great Queen of the Alexandrian Empire or The Two Lands and her husband or spouse will be the Prince (or Princess) Consort.

The heir to the throne will now be known as The Prince (or Princess) of Atha. The Prince of Atha's wife will be the Princess of Atha while a female heir (The Princess of Atha)'s spouse will be known by her second most female title of The Duke (or Duchess) of Thebes.

#ts4blackroyals #ts4 royal family #ts4 royalty #ts4 royal simblr #ts4 monarchy #ts4 royal legacy #ts4 legacy #ts4 #thealexandrianroyals

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thepastisalreadywritten · 2 months ago

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SAINT OF THE DAY (November 26)

Local commemorations of the fourth-century martyr Saint Peter of Alexandria will take place on November 25 and 26.

Although his feast day in the Western tradition (on the latter date) is no longer a part of the Roman Catholic Church’s universal calendar, he remains especially beloved among Catholic and Orthodox Christians of the Egyptian Coptic tradition.

Tradition attests that the Egyptian bishop was the last believer to suffer death at the hands of Roman imperial authorities for his faith in Christ.

For this reason, St. Peter of Alexandria is known as the “Seal of the Martyrs.”

He is said to have undertaken severe penances for the sake of the suffering Church during his lifetime and written letters of encouragement to those in prison, before going to his death at the close of the “era of the martyrs.”

Both the date of Peter’s birth and of his ordination as a priest are unknown.

It is clear, however, that he was chosen to lead Egypt’s main Catholic community in the year 300 after the death of Saint Theonas of Alexandria.

He may have previously been in charge of Alexandria’s well-known catechetical school, an important center of religious instruction in the early Church.

Peter’s own theological writings were cited in a later fifth-century dispute over Christ’s divinity and humanity.

In 302, Emperor Diocletian and his subordinate Maximian attempted to wipe out the Church in the territories of the Roman Empire.

They used their authority to destroy Church properties, imprison and torture believers, and eventually kill those who refused to take part in pagan ceremonies.

As the Bishop of Alexandria, Peter offered spiritual support to those who faced these penalties, encouraging them to hold to their faith without compromise.

One acute problem for the Church during this period was the situation of the “lapsed.”

These were Catholics who had violated their faith by participating in pagan rites under coercion, but who later repented and sought to be reconciled to the Church.

Peter issued canonical directions for addressing their various situations, and these guidelines became an important part of the Eastern Christian tradition for centuries afterward.

Around the year 306, Peter led a council that deposed Bishop Meletius of Lycopolis, a member of the Catholic hierarchy who had allegedly offered sacrifice to a pagan idol.

Peter left his diocese for reasons of safety during some portions of the persecution, giving Meletius an opening to set himself up as his rival and lead a schismatic church in the area.

The “Meletian schism” would continue to trouble the Church for years after the death of Alexandria’s legitimate bishop.

Saint Athanasius, who led the Alexandrian Church during a later period in the fourth century, claimed that Meletius personally betrayed Peter of Alexandria to the state authorities during the Diocletian persecution.

Although Diocletian himself chose to resign his rule in 305, persecution continued under Maximinus Daia, who assumed leadership of the Roman Empire’s eastern half in 310.

The early Church historian Eusebius attests that Maximinus, during an imperial visit to Alexandria, unexpectedly ordered its bishop to be seized and killed without imprisonment or trial in 311.

Three priests – Faustus, Dio, and Ammonius – were reportedly beheaded along with him.

St. Peter of Alexandria’s entry in the “History of the Patriarchs of the Coptic Church of Alexandria” (a volume first compiled by a Coptic Orthodox bishop in the 10th century) concludes with a description of the aftermath of his death.

“And the city was in confusion and was greatly disturbed when the people beheld this martyr of the Lord Christ.

Then the chief men of the city came and wrapped his body in the leathern mat on which he used to sleep; and they took him to the church …

And, when the liturgy had been performed, they buried him with the fathers. May his prayers be with us and all those that are baptized!”

#saint of the day #Saint Peter of Alexandria #History of the Patriarchs of the Coptic Church of Alexandria

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wagahai-da · 2 months ago

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i still wanna do a comparative analysis on the breakup and successive inter-kingdom politics of the alexandrian successors and the mongol empire

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ffxiv-swarm · 4 months ago

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prompt 26: zip

Halfway through what she’d intended as a six-month sabbatical, Portia had started to settle in to Tuliyollal. She’d cut her hair, started wearing local clothes, and even gotten mostly used to the food. (Mostly. She could handle mustard-spicy, but chili-spicy was on an entirely different level. Her tongue would never be the same.) Still, there were moments of severe culture shock. Like today, when an Alexandrian woman sidled up to XRral Soj’s Metalworks, asked if they do armor repairs, and—when the answer was yes—plunked an arrangement of straps and zippers on the counter and signed off on the work.

Rral Soj stared at the armored jacket, missing several plates and with a zipper that Portia could see would refuse to zip. “What is that,” she said flatly, and for a moment Portia couldn't think what she meant.

Ah, she was testing the zipper. Portia frowned at her. “...’Tis a zipper. Do you not have them?”

“No!” she huffed, ears flattening. “We could make metal teeth this small, of course, but why would we? Ties and buttons are fine.”

Rral Soj had a point, but something like sympathetic pride made her stick up for the Alexandrians. They reminded her so much of what Garlemald could have been, after all, if the Empire’s collapse had been less violent. She picked up the jacket, shaking it out. Another plate clattered to the workbench. “You can create more shapes—look—” The zippers on the arms and collar were less damaged than the main one (it seemed their client had a run-in with a bandercoeurl) so she was able to unzip and fold and remove parts until what had been a low-collared long-sleeved jacket was sleek, sleeveless, and covered the entire lower half of the wearer’s face.

Rral Soj blinked slowly. “...The weavers’ guild must be losing their minds over these.”

She nodded. “If we’re going to get more Alexandrian customers, we need to start offering zipper repair in addition to our other services.”

“Which means we need to learn to make ‘em.” Rral Soj’s gaze dropped, her ears twitching forward. Portia knew she was already pondering alloys and casting methods, and any minute now she was going to lunge for her supply crates. But she wasn’t great with fiddly little pieces like that, which meant...

Papawni. Portia didn’t hate the girl anymore, but it was still mildly infuriating watching her take approximately a thousand years to solder delicate filigree onto the handle of a bespoke sword as though deadlines were a polite suggestion. One of these day Portia was going to tell her about Garlean factory assembly lines and probably make her swoon. (Rral Soj would swoon too, but for an entirely different reason.)

But now the girl was crowding forward to study the tiny metal teeth, and her smile was positively radiant. “Leave it to me!”

Well. Portia guessed the girl wasn’t useless, after all.rral s

#portia #garlean #ffxivwrite2024 #fire the headcanons #rral soj #papawni

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madamlaydebug · 8 months ago

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Books Destroyed to Control Knowledge......

By Moe Bedard and William Blades - Since man could write, books have been some of the most Burning books prized possessions in all the world. Men would travel the globe, and spend vast fortunes in order to acquire the knowledge written on pages to fill their massive libraries.

Just as fast as they could build their limestone storehouses of wisdom, they were destroyed. There are many forces of nature that have caused the destruction of millions of original one of a kind books over the course of the last few thousands years. But no force has been so destructive as that of man.

Almost every race, country, religion, king and dictator has the ash of burnt books on their hands.

There are many stories over the last few thousand-years about the destruction of these libraries, and books being lost forever. There was the Library of the Serapeum in ancient Egypt that was set ablaze by the orders of Theophilus of Alexandria, who was so ordered by Theodosius I. There was the burning of the Great Library at Alexandria in 391 AD, and the Maya codices of the Yucatán were tossed to the flames by the Spanish conquistadors and Catholic monks.

The burning of the Imperial Library of Constantinople in the Byzantine Empire by the Templar Crusaders in 1204 AD. The House of Wisdom in Baghdad Iraq was destroyed in 1258 AD by the Mongol Invaders. The destruction of the United States Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. by Troops of the British Army in 1814 AD.

This list of destroyed books, and libraries can go on and on.

Book-Burning-Christian THE HISTORY OF DESTROYED LIBRARIES AND BOOKS

One of the earliest records of the destruction of books is told to us by St. Luke, when, after the preaching of Paul, many of the Ephesians "which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it 50,000 pieces of silver" (Acts xix, 19).

There were books and what they called little scrolls that were said to be based on gnosis, alchemy, and magic. The little scrolls had short magic sentences on them and were in high demand. They had written on them various prayers and spells as protection against such things as the "evil eye," and evil demons.

One of the greatest ancient libraries mentioned above was built by the dynasty of the Greco-burning library Alexandria Egyptian Ptolemies who had built two in Alexandria. These ancient books of early ages were written on sheets of parchment, having a wooden roller at each end so that the reader needed only to unroll a portion at a time. The libraries were burnt to the ground on multiple occasions; once during Caesar's Alexandrian War in 48 BC, and again in 640 AD when it was burnt by the Saracens.

The great Phoenician city of antiquity, Carthage fell to the Romans in 146 B.C. during the final Punic Wars, and approximately a half a million volumes of one of a kind Phoenician books and manuscripts were burnt.

The followers of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, the Mohammedans reason for destroying books were said;"If they contain what is in the Koran they are superfluous, and if they contain anything opposed to it they are immoral." In the 15th century the great library of the Emperor Constantine, containing 120,000 Manuscripts, and all the Christian churches were looted of their books and thrown into the sea upon the orders of Mohammed II.

At Cremona, in 1569, 12,000 books printed in Hebrew were publicly burnt as heretical, simply on account of their language; and Cardinal Ximenes, at the capture of Granada, treated 5,000 copies of the Koran in the same way.

At the time of the Reformation in England a great destruction of books took place. The antiquarian Bale, writing in 1587, thus speaks of the shameful fate of the Monastic libraries:

At the Great Fire of London in 1666, the number of books burnt was enormous. Not only in private houses and Corporate and Church libraries were priceless collections reduced to cinders, but an immense stock of books removed from Paternoster Row by the Stationers for safety was burnt to ashes in the vaults of St. Paul's Cathedral.

Friars, an Order which was at constant war with the illiterate secular Clergy. It runs thus:—" In the year 1439, two Minorite friars who had all their lives collected books, died. In accordance with popular belief, they were at once conducted before the heavenly tribunal to hear their doom, taking with them two asses laden with books.

At Heaven's gate the porter demanded, 'Whence came ye?'

The Minorities replied 'From a monastery of St. Francis.' 'Oh!' said the porter, 'then St. Francis shall be your judge.' So that saint was summoned, and at sight of the friars and their burden demanded who they were, and why they had brought so many books with them. 'We are Minorities,' they humbly replied, 'and we have brought these few books with us as a solatium in the new Jerusalem.' 'And you, when on earth, practised the good they teach?' sternly demanded the saint, who read their characters at a glance.

Their faltering reply was sufficient, and the blessed saint at once passed judgment as follows:—' Insomuch as, seduced by a foolish vanity, and against your vows of poverty, you have amassed this multitude of books and thereby and therefore have neglected the duties and broken the rules of your Order, you are now sentenced to read your books for ever and ever in the fires of Hell.' Immediately, a roaring noise filled the air, and a flaming chasm opened in which friars, and asses and books were suddenly engulfed."

"Their pages mangled, burnt and torn,

The loss was his alone;

But ages yet to come shall mourn

The burning of his own."

The second poem commences with the following doggerel:—

"When Wit and Genius meet their doom

In all-devouring Flame,

They tell us of the Fate of Rome

And bid us fear the same."

SOURCES: The Enemies of Books By William Blades

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