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gemsofgreece · 7 months ago

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https://x.com/archeohistories/status/1803838446672449797

Αρχίσανε επιτέλους να μιλάνε για αυτά; Καιρός ήτανε.

- REPLY / COMMENTARY TO THE SUBMISSION -

Adding commentary in English because the tweet in the link is also in English. So, I searched a bit about the author, it turns out the study is not even as new as the tweeter account states (yeah I will probably never start calling it x, old habits die hard, let alone that it was a horrible name change to begin with, anyway!). The link refers to a book actually written in 2004 by historian Robert C. Davis, “Christian Slaves, Muslim Masters: White Slavery in the Mediterranean, the Barbary Coast, and Italy, 1500–1800″. The book is legit and was well received amongst readers and peer review alike. I had to search all that up in order to be sure what I am posting here, obviously.

Of course, when you’re from any place in the North Mediterranean and have the most basic knowledge of history, you don’t need this book to tell you first that there were massive practices of slavery commited by Asian and African muslims against Southern and Eastern Europeans, ever since the Late Middle Ages, especially and usually through piracy, but not only. It’s a well known fact. I was dumbfounded when I read in the tweet that the previous estimations in the American academic circles were on the tens of thousands. This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. By studying the Modern Greek history alone, literally just early 19th century Greek history - a span of 30 years tops - there were hundreds of thousands of Greeks sold as slaves by the Ottomans. Now calculate this happening in all the north Mediterranean coast - spanning from Greece to Spain - for over 4 centuries. Obviously the reasons or the perpetrators weren’t always the same - it could be Ottomans, Arabs, Barbery pirates, mixed, it could be a market, it could be a war tactic, it could be retaliation, it could be a lot of things. Byzantine and Ottoman Greece was regularly mauled by pirates. In fact, there were also Ottoman Greek pirates, i.e in Mani. My point anyway is that estimating that number to the tens of thousands is ridiculous when that was even too little for a span of 30 years in Greece alone. Then again, I see that this book didn’t examine at all slavery in Greece and the Ottoman Empire. It is more about southwestern Europe. But still the old American estimations seemed - uhm - “diplomatically discreet”. The new book raises the number close to a million in the southwest alone.

I did well to look it up because I read that this book got almost exploited by far right groups who tried to create the rhetoric of an “eye for an eye”, suggesting the West Europeans and Americans were responding with slavery to the Barbery and Ottoman and other muslim slave traders (no, West Europeans and Americans would not go to such lengths for the sake of South Europeans, let’s put it like that, so the whole “white vengeance” argument is beyond stupid, let alone that it remains problematic). I must thus add that: the writer rejected such arguments openly, saying "Two such enormous wrongs don’t make anything right.“

This is what I hate the most. People end up behaving the exact same way. Abusing history and the objectivity with which it must always be studied in order to serve their political rhetorics and ideologies. We will never learn from past mistakes, it seems as if we are incapable of doing it. You will NEVER see the topics of European / White / Christian people getting sold in multiple hundreds of thousands as slaves by non-Christian - POC (as Americans like to call them) being big in America. Or at least ackowledged and examined beyond academic circles. But this is exactly also what the far right groups attempted; to minimize the horrific, well studied Atlantic slave trade or “excuse” it! The level of bias and all these groups accusing each other of the very things they themselves commit…!

At some point, in one of my posts about Ottoman Greek history where I added some of the living conditions for a Christian far from the cosmopolitan areas of the Ottoman Empire (AKA lowkey almost any place besides Constantinople) - historically fact checked - at some point I got an impressively vile reply from a self-identifying “activist” who cursed at me and long story short they said I was a despicable liar. Of course, by “activist” we mean a muslim person who said their family history was affected by the western colonization, which I respect, but they could not equally respect that people of the same faith as them (not even the same nation!) could be capable of vile acts as well and their activism was limited only to people who had the exact same experience as they did. Everyone else was a despicable liar. Anyway, needless to say, I wasn’t lying.

And before someone says “oH YoU taLK abOUt BIas buT ALExandER-”. Of course. We have said this a thousand times over. Ancient Greece practiced slavery, not even just to foreigners or POC but also Greeks enslaving other Greeks, like, top THAT. But so did the Sumerians, the Hebrews, the Hittites, the Babylonians, the Egyptians, the Romans and the Persians at least after the Achaemenid dynasty. You know?

But this is exactly the point and this is ultimately the reason I am personally publishing and commenting to this submission; to make a point that who is an oppressor, a slave trader, a wrongdoer of any sort has NOTHING to do with skin, religion, geography and I can’t believe there are people living in 2024 in advanced societies truly believing this. It is not some genetical trait of white people to be slave traders. The only thing it takes is power imbalance and a little touch of convenient propaganda for any human to commit and normalize the most horrendous deed. If they are morally weak, of course, which is also not a genetical trait and unfortunately it is not rare at all, anywhere in the world.

#history #european history #mediterranean history #greek history #tw slavery #books #robert c. davis #submission #link

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daenysthedreamer101 · 7 months ago

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Youngest Original ~ TVDU

Ch 9 - Old wounds never heal

Mikaelson!OC

Warnings: Esther being a bad mother/ANGST/self-harm, kinda (scratching)

A/N: When I first started writing this ch, I thought it would be a fun little filler ch...it did not turn out that way lol. I had a lot of feels while writing this one.

Masterlist

Some old wounds never truly heal, and bleed again at the slightest word. - George R.R. Martin

October 2010, Mystic Falls

The initial plan of leaving Klaus and Mystic Falls behind fell into the water the second their mother walked into the house. Immediately upon reuniting with her children, their mother started making order in the house.

Both Mother and Finn cut their hair, wanting to look more 'time appropriate'. To Bekah and Kassie's great pleasure, a big shopping spree was organized. Klaus wasn't so happy, since he had to pay for everything.

Kassie was overjoyed, now that her entire family was back together. She was more than happy to help Kol and Finn adjust to the 21st century. She spent hours with both of them explaining how certain machines work and how society has changed over time, and she helped them with learning modern English.

Kol was more or less familiar with most of the things she mentioned. Finn, on the other hand, was not. Back when he was daggered, the Byzantine Empire was still a thing and there was no electricity, no modern medicine, and no cars.

Finn was in the house library where Kassandra told him to wait for her. She was insistent on helping him assimilate to the 21st century and who was he to tell her no? Soon, he heard a click-clack sound fast approaching him. He would later learn it was because of her shoes. "I'm here! Sorry for making you wait." Kassandra said as she entered the room with many books in her arms.

She wore a black sleeveless top with a cowl neckline, blue bell-bottom jeans, and brown leather boots. Her long, dark curls fell freely down her back and a big smile was plastered on her face. Finn could see she was very excited about this.

She plopped herself right next to him, and he could see her bright eyes looking at him. Oh, how he missed her beautiful face. He missed how her eyes almost disappeared when she laughed, he missed her giggles, he missed the way she would scrunch her nose like a bunny from time to time.

"What?" She asked with furrowed brows. He chuckled and shook his head.

"It's nothing. I just...missed you, a lot." He confessed.

"Aww...I missed you too, Finn!" She said, giggled, and did the bunny nose scrunch thing. At that moment, an image of a young Kassie weaving herself through his legs and begging to be carried flashed through his mind. He patted her on the head, just like when she was little.

"Now...We have lots to talk about! Let's start with the Second Crusade!" Kassie then proceeded to tell Finn about 800 years' worth of European and world history. They were interrupted multiple times, mostly by Kol or Klaus. Kassie shooed them away every time, annoyed that they were disturbing her precious time with her eldest brother.

After Elijah, Finn was the brother she was closest to. Finn was 12 years older than her, so he always felt very protective of both her and Bekah. He was by far, the gentlest of her brothers and the quietest one in the family.

As she was folding the map of Europe she used in her presentation, Finn observed her face - her eyelashes seemed to be covered in a black substance which made them darker and her eyelids appeared to shimmer. How? He didn't know. He gently grabbed her face and turned it toward him. He studied her face with furrowed brows, trying to understand.

She seemed taken aback by this, her eyes looking curiously at him. He lifted her chin and in that moment the sunlight covered her face, making the shimmer on her eyelids more apparent. "Why do your eyelids shimmer?" He asked, eager to know.

She chuckled and grabbed his hand. "Oh, my dear Finn. It's called 'eye shadow'. It's a powder-like substance you apply to your eyelids. It comes in many different colors. The one I have now has these little crystals that make my eyes shimmer!"

She explained to him the best she could. Old Norse didn't have words for glitter or makeup. But it seems he understood what she was trying to explain. He then asked about her eyelashes and she explained what mascara did. She enjoyed his childlike curiosity.

After her study session with Finn, Kassandra went back to her room. There, she found Rebekah, who was rummaging through her closet. Kassie sighed softly before clearing her throat. Bekah spared her a glance but continued looking through her clothes.

"What are you doing?" Kassie asked as she took a blouse from Bekah's hand and put it back on the hanger.

"These are cute," Bekah said as she held up a pair of boots. "Can I borrow them sometime?"

"Rebekah."

Her sister sighed and jumped on her bed. Kassie followed and sat next to her sister. Bekah was playing with the sheets of the bed and some of the sunlight caught her golden heart-shaped ring, the one that matched Kassie's silver one. Kassie took hold of Bekah's hand.

"What is it?" Kassie asked softly.

"Mother is planning a ball, you know that?" Bekah said and Kassie furrowed her brows. Why was she always the last person in this family to find things out?

"Ok, and?"

Bekah gave her a look and rolled her eyes. She dramatically threw her hand in the air. "And? Well, we need some ball gowns, obviously. And you have none in your closet."

"So? We'll just go shopping. Plus, it will be a good bonding experience, seeing as we haven't spoken properly in over 90 years." Kassie remarked as she got up from the bed and started putting all the clothes back into the closet.

"Why is she even making a ball in the first place?" Kassie asked.

"I don't know. Something about family bonding and healing old wounds, I wasn't really listening." Bekah said, looking at her nails.

Kassie chuckled at her sister's snarky comment. She missed this; Rebekah was always a breath of fresh air, especially amongst their male-dominant family. She and Kassie were like two peas in a pod, you could not find one without the other. The two girls were only 14 months apart and in many ways, they thought of each other as twins who were supposed to be born together but were separated long before their creation.

"I missed you." Kassie blurted out before she could stop herself. She jumped back on the bed, grabbed Bekah's hand, and looked at her ring as she poured her heart out.

"I missed your snarky comments. I missed your fashion advice. I missed you helping me with my hair. I had no one to confide in when Klaus got on my nerves...I was alone, for decades. It was horrible, Bex." Kassie confessed tearfully.

Rebekah said nothing, for her own throat was tight and she herself was on the verge of tears. She pulled Kassie into a tight hug and they just held each other for what felt like hours. After a while, she pulled back and wiped off a tear from Kassie's cheek.

"No more crying. Now, how about that dress shopping?" Bekah suggested, trying to lighten the situation.

Kassie sniffled and smiled.

The two sisters spent the entire afternoon shopping for the perfect ball gown. Once they settled on the ones they liked, they drove back home. Then, Finn informed them that Mother wanted to speak with Kassandra. In private.

Kassie was surprised but surmised it wasn't that odd. Her mother hadn't seen her in over 1000 years; it was natural a mother wanted to spend some time alone with her youngest child. She made her way to Mother's room. She knocked and slowly opened the door. She was met with the sight of her mother, now with shorter hair and dressed in modern clothing, standing over a table.

There was a smell in the air; something herbal, Kassie concluded. She stood there, waiting for her mother to speak. "Mother?" She said after a while. Her mother turned, and Kassie saw she was holding a bundle of dried herbs.

"It's just sage. For privacy, so that the others can't eavesdrop." Mother said calmly.

She gestured for Kassie to sit down and she did. On one hand, Kassie was happy that her entire family was back together; it's just, that she never expected her mother to return. In all honesty, she was fine with her mother being dead. Yes, she was aware of how horrible that sounded. But in her defense, her mother conspired with their father to kill Kassie and her siblings, and then Mother turned them into blood-sucking monsters. No one could blame her for having a difficult relationship with her parents.

"Why did you call me here?" Kassie asked as Mother sat down next to her.

"I haven't seen my precious little girl in over 10 centuries. I just wanted to talk to you a bit about your life. Is that such a crime?" Mother said and then asked how the dress shopping went.

"Um...fine. I chose a blue one. Bex chose a green one." Kassie replied awkwardly.

"Good, good. And who will you bring to the dance?" Mother inquired.

Kassie gave her a confused look.

"You know... as your date, as the people now say."

"Oh...Um, no one."

"No one? Kassandra, darling, you're a beautiful girl! It would be such a shame for you to be all alone." Mother commented, gently touching her knee. Kassie squirmed slightly in her seat.

"Mother, I've been in this place for only a month. I don't know anyone good enough to invite them as my date." Kassie retorted.

"That's because you guard your heart like a fortress and let no one in. Daughter, it's been 900 years. Let him go." Mother told her gently.

Kassandra looked at her mother in disbelief. How could she say such a thing? Kassie felt confused beyond belief. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

"Excuse me? Let him go? The love of my life? My husband? You want me to let him go? Are...Do you hear yourself?"

"Kassandra, dear...You've been pining after him for centuries. You've been holding on to this false sense of hope and nothing good came of it. Get over him and continue living your life."

"...Get over him? Are you mad!? Hope is the only thing that has kept me going. How could you say such a thing?"

Her mother gave her a look of pity and Kassie could not bear it. She got up and paced across the room. "So this is why you called me here? To open old wounds and hurt me even more?" She accused, feeling rage coil inside her like an angry viper.

"Of course not! As your mother all I want is for you to be happy! You've wasted centuries searching for him and to no avail. You need to let him go." Mother said as she grabbed Kassie's hand.

"If you truly were my mother, you would know how much I loved him and how much he meant to me. There is no peace, no happiness without him. I lost him centuries ago, but I still have faith. I know he will come back to me." She rebuked tearfully, pulling away from her mother.

She glared at her mother but decided it was not worth arguing anymore. She stormed out of the stuffy room and slammed the door behind her.

Elijah was in his study when a loud bang echoed through the house. Suspecting Klaus and Kol or even Rebekah broke something, he walked out into the hallway to inspect what happened. To his surprise, he saw Kassandra storming down the stairs and out of the house.

"Kassandra!" He called for her but she ignored him. He followed her outside and kept calling her. She got inside her car and he sped over to her before she could take off. He knocked on the window. She sighed but still lowered it.

"Little dove, what happened? What upset you?" He asked, genuinely concerned for his little girl.

"Get in the car." She commanded. "I said. Get. In. The. Car." She repeated herself after she noticed his silent confusion.

He did as she said, not wanting to upset her further. She wanted to talk, or she wouldn't have invited him. Once he was in the car, she hit the pedal and drove them deep into the forest surrounding Mystic Falls.

Multiple times throughout the drive, he tried asking her what happened but she did not answer. A silent fury was brewing inside her, one that would not be silent for long. Tears kept on spilling down her face, blurring her vision, and all Elijah wanted to do was take her in his arms and hold her, just like when she was a little girl. But she was grown, no matter how hard he tried to ignore that.

Shortly after crossing Wickery Bridge, she made a sudden stop in the middle of the road. Quickly unbuckling her safety belt, she opened the car door, intending to get out, but Elijah stopped her. With a soft hand, he pulled her back into her seat. Refusing to meet his eye, she kept her gaze away from him, staring through the window. Putting her hands on the steering wheel, she gripped it, needing something to ground her.

"Am I a fool?" She whispered, still not meeting his eye.

"What do you mean?" Elijah asked softly.

"Am I a fool for wanting to believe he will come back to me, and that in the end, I was not wrong in upholding my faith in him?" She clarified and Elijah knew immediately whom she was talking about.

"And why would you think such a thing?" He inquired.

She shook her head, too upset to verbalize her thoughts. Taking a deep breath, she told Elijah about her 'talk' with their mother.

"She said that I need to let him go...that I need to get over him...How-how could she say that?"

"Kassandra-"

"Ugh, why didn't she just stay dead!?" Kassie yelled, hitting the steering wheel, and stormed out of the car. Elijah followed suit.

She paced alongside the car, her hands in her hair, while she tried steadying her breathing. She was losing control, she could sense it. Soon, she would spiral. All the negative feelings she had been harboring for Klaus and now her Mother, resurfaced. Then, she screamed in frustration and kicked a nearby tree, making the entire trunk shake. Elijah was by her side in a second and grabbed her shoulders.

"Doll, listen to me. Breathe. Calm down."

"Wh-why are they hurting me?" She asked while grabbing his arms, her throat tightening. Elijah didn't seem to understand.

"M-Mother and Klaus. Why are they hurting me? Always s-saying m-mean things to me and hurting my f-feelings..." She stammered, her voice breaking.

She sounded so childlike and innocent. Elijah swallowed hard and gently took hold of her head. Kassie looked at him, her eyes wide and glossy, her face covered in tears. Her lower lips quivered as she asked "Don't they love m-me?" At that moment, she looked and sounded like a scared little girl craving validation and affection.

"Of course they do." He answered quickly.

"I know he is alive Elijah, I know he is. In my heart and in my bones I know it. If he was d-dead...I would feel it, surely. If he were dead, I would die too." She insisted and Elijah had never heard her speak with so much conviction.

Before he could respond, she removed herself from his arms. She turned around, looking up at the waning sun. God, she was angry. So, so, so angry. Vampirism only heightened her emotions, and now her rage was feeding into her bloodlust, making her hungrier than usual. Usually, she was able to keep it under control, to subdue the urge to kill and devour. But right now, Kassie could feel the grip she had on her passions slowly fading away.

In a desperate attempt to distract herself from the hunger, she started harshly scratching her bare shoulders and forearms, so hard she started drawing blood; though the wounds immediately healed. Her sharp nails pierced her skin, leaving behind a stinging sensation. Maybe if she focused on the pain, she would forget about the bloodlust.

"Kassandra, stop! Stop hurting yourself!" Elijah reprimanded with a raised voice, something he rarely did with her.

He grabbed her hands and held them tightly. She squirmed in his arms, trying to free herself but he didn't let her go. Instead, he turned her around and pulled her closer. Her back hit his chest and he wrapped his arms around her middle. She thrashed and screamed and the sounds broke Elijah's heart.

"Kassandra, please-" Elijah begged but his pleas were not heard. Kassie dug her sharp nails into his hands. He hissed in pain. If she continued like this, he would have to snap her neck. He decided he needed to reason with her, but, it was also obvious to Elijah that she had a lot of pent-up anger and it was crucial she let it all out.

Then, he pinned her up against a tree and pulled her arms behind her back. She screamed in anguish and at this point her true face was fully on display. Her long fangs were bared as she hissed in his face. Her face was twisted in anger, her red eyes stared at him.

"Kassandra, listen to me. I understand you are angry and hurt. I know, better than anyone, how it feels to lose the love of your life. But you need to calm down. This is not you. You cannot let anger control you. You are better than this."

At these words, she stopped fighting him and seemed to relax in his arms. The fangs and black veins were gone, and her blue irises reappeared. She stared at him confused.

"Lijah?" She uttered his name and just by her voice he could tell she was back to normal. Once the blindfold of rage was lifted from her eyes and she realized what happened, guilt overwhelmed her. She sank to her knees and wept as she tried apologizing.

"I'm s-sorry...I'm s-so sorry, Lijah, I-I don't know what h-happened to me." She sobbed.

"My sweet girl." He whispered as he crouched next to her and got down to her level. She threw herself in his arms. He shed a few tears himself.

"Where's Elijah?" Klaus asked as he walked into the living room. He was out for most of the day and when he visited Elijah's study he was not there. Kassandra was also nowhere to be found.

"He went after Kassie," Rebekah informed him as she filed her nails.

"Went after her? Well, where is she? What happened?" Klaus asked.

"Something happened with Kassie. I didn't see anything but I heard Elijah calling for her and then they stormed out of the house. I'm assuming it had something to do with her talk with Mother." Rebekah replied.

Klaus hummed. What could their Mother say to hurt Kassie so much she stormed out of the house? There was only one thing that came to mind. He needed to make sure their Mother kept quiet.

They were now in the car and this time, Elijah was driving. She was in the passenger seat, looking out the window, her head tilted. The moon was rising and its light illuminated her tear-stricken face.

The car was silent. Neither of them spoke. Guilt and shame washed over her in continuous waves as she replayed her breakdown in her mind. She hurt Elijah, her favorite brother. The one person on this Earth who was always there for her. She sank deeper into her seat, covered her face with her hand, and wept silently.

Almost like he was reading her mind, Elijah spoke up. "I'm not angry at you, Kassandra. I do not begrudge you."

She shook her head. This had nothing to do with his forgiveness because it did not matter. This was about her consciousness eating at her and her sense of shame for what she had done. His forgiveness did not make it any easier.

"I think death would've been easier than this...Cursed existence."

Elijah said nothing, but she knew he agreed.

Taglist: @ashaluuler

#my girl is in the trenches #somebody save her #kassandra mikaelson #tvd oc #my original characters #tvd fanfiction #the originals fanfiction #the originals #the mikaelsons #elijah mikaelson #rebekah mikaelson #klaus mikaelson #kol mikaelson #finn mikaelson #mikaelson family

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canmom · 9 months ago

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авантура Цанмома у Београду

avantura Canmoma u Beogradu, or, the adventure of canmom in Belgrade

it's another one of these 'travels of canmom' posts! last time we went to Gamescom in Germany. this time I went to Belgrade for a company event.

I can't actually talk that much about this one because the main thing I was doing was cooking up game pitches for what we might work on next (kind of like a game jam but just for concepts), and while that was very interesting and I learned a lot about how to get ideas across in limited time and make judgements about what videogames might sell and how long they'd take to make and such... it is however probably not something I can talk in too much detail about yet, because we might end up making these games, so I can't be like 'the theme was x and we pitched y'.

so instead I will mostly talk about Belgrade! and show some of the photos I took that don't have game developers wandering around in them.

that's Nikola Tesla airport. did you know that Nikola Tesla was from modern-day Serbia (at the time, the Austrian Empire)? I didn't but I do now!

most of the week was spent in this fancy villa...

...which is called the Villa Saga Paradiso. it must once upon a time have been some stinking rich family's holiday home, because it's a super weird building, with such features as a pool table, swimming pool, tennis court, library, and even a weird kinda stage thing on the top floor. definitely full of weirdly shaped rooms and interesting old furniture, it felt kinda like a place a moomin might hole up. so here's some pics of the place.

also the view was kinda insane...

also! here's a pic of a Serbian snail that came out rather nice:

anyway on Saturday we went into the city centre to do some more touristy shit. I went to the two places in Belgrade that presumably everyone goes, namely the Fortress and the Temple. but I also got some shots of the city centre...

(also a tram shot for the trams girls in the audience)

so as you can see, the vibes of central Belgrade are p Southern European sorta architecture, lots of pale stone walls and tiled roofs and the like. but you also have these crazy cool looking tower blocks from the communist period...

...which were unfortunately quite hard to photograph out of a moving car window.

But yeah, we were on our way to the fortress.

Belgrade Fortress has a pretty storied history. At one point it simply was Belgrade; even after that, it's been occupied by variously the Byzantines, Turks and Austrians, who all made various additions and modifications to the fortress, and sometimes accidentally blew it up. Nowadays it's become a kind of park and tourist area, surrounded by the river, and thus some pretty impressive views...

as well as various things that tourists might like to look at, like statues of dinosaurs and tanks, and people dressed Historically.

apparently you're only allowed 30 images in a post, so let me make another one for the Temple, which was the craziest building I saw, and the butt statue...

#adventures of canmom #belgrade #serbia #photography

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khensaptah · 1 year ago

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Mystic Egyptian Polytheism Resource List

Because I wanted to do a little more digging into the philosophy elements explored in Mahmoud's book, I took the time tonight to pull together the recommended reading he listed toward the end of each chapter. The notes included are his own.

MEP discusses Pharaonic Egypt and Hellenistic Egypt, and thus some of these sources are relevant to Hellenic polytheists (hence me intruding in those tags)!

Note: extremely long text post under this read more.

What Are The Gods And The Myths?

ψ Jeremy Naydler’s Temple of the Cosmos: The Ancient Egyptian Experience of the Sacred is my top text recommendation for further exploration of this topic. It dives deep into how the ancients envisioned the gods and proposes how the various Egyptian cosmologies can be reconciled. ψ Jan Assmann’s Egyptian Solar Religion in the New Kingdom: Re, Amun and the Crisis of Polytheism focuses on New Kingdom theology by analyzing and comparing religious literature. Assmann fleshes out a kind of “monistic polytheism,” as well as a robust culture of personal piety that is reflected most prominently in the religious literature of this period. He shows how New Kingdom religious thought was an antecedent to concepts in Hermeticism and Neoplatonism. ψ Moustafa Gadalla’s Egyptian Divinities: The All Who Are The One provides a modern Egyptian analysis of the gods, including reviews of the most significant deities. Although Gadalla is not an academic, his insights and contributions as a native Egyptian Muslim with sympathies towards the ancient religion are valuable.

How to Think like an Egyptian

ψ Jan Assmann’s The Mind of Egypt: History and Meaning in the Time of the Pharaohs is my top text recommendation for further exploration of this topic. It illuminates Egyptian theology by exploring their ideals, values, mentalities, belief systems, and aspirations from the Old Kingdom period to the Ptolemaic period. ψ Garth Fowden’s The Egyptian Hermes: A Historical Approach to the Late Pagan Mind identifies the Egyptian character of religion and wisdom in late antiquity and provides a cultural and historical context to the Hermetica, a collection of Greco-Egyptian religious texts. ψ Christian Bull’s The Tradition of Hermes Trismegistus: The Egyptian Priestly Figure as a Teacher of Hellenized Wisdom provides a rich assessment of the Egyptian religious landscape at the end of widespread polytheism in Egypt and how it came to interact with and be codified in Greek schools of thought and their writings.

How To Think Like A Neoplatonist

Radek Chlup’s Proclus: An Introduction is my top text recommendation for further exploration of this topic. It addresses the Neoplatonic system of Proclus but gives an excellent overview of Neoplatonism generally. It contains many valuable graphics and charts that help illustrate the main ideas within Neoplatonism. ψ John Opsopaus’ The Secret Texts of Hellenic Polytheism: A Practical Guide to the Restored Pagan Religion of George Gemistos Plethon succinctly addresses several concepts in Neoplatonism from the point of view of Gemistos Plethon, a crypto-polytheist who lived during the final years of the Byzantine Empire. It provides insight into the practical application of Neoplatonism to ritual and religion. ψ Algis Uzdavinys’ Philosophy as a Rite of Rebirth: From Ancient Egypt to Neoplatonism draws connections between theological concepts and practices in Ancient Egypt to those represented in the writings and practices of the Neoplatonists.

What Is “Theurgy,” And How Do You Make A Prayer “Theurgical?”

ψ Jeffrey Kupperman’s Living Theurgy: A Course in Iamblichus’ Philosophy, Theology and Theurgy is my top text recommendation for further exploration of this topic. It is a practical guide on theurgy, complete with straightforward explanations of theurgical concepts and contemplative exercises for practice. ψ Gregory Shaw’s Theurgy and the Soul: The Neoplatonism of Iamblichus demonstrates how Iamblichus used religious ritual as the primary tool of the soul’s ascent towards God. He lays out how Iamblichus proposed using rites to achieve henosis. ψ Algis Uzdavinys’ Philosophy and Theurgy in Late Antiquity explores the various ways theurgy operated in the prime of its widespread usage. He focuses mainly on temple rites and how theurgy helped translate them into personal piety rituals.

What Is “Demiurgy,” And How Do I Do Devotional, “Demiurgical” Acts?

ψ Shannon Grimes’ Becoming Gold: Zosimos of Panopolis and the Alchemical Arts in Roman Egypt is my top text recommendation for further exploration of this topic. It constitutes an in-depth look at Zosimos—an Egyptian Hermetic priest, scribe, metallurgist, and alchemist. It explores alchemy (ancient chemistry and metallurgy) as material rites of the soul’s ascent. She shows how Zosimos believed that partaking in these practical arts produced divine realities and spiritual advancements. ψ Alison M. Robert’s Hathor’s Alchemy: The Ancient Egyptian Roots of the Hermetic Art delves deep temple inscriptions and corresponding religious literature from the Pharaonic period and demonstrates them as premises for alchemy. These texts “alchemize” the “body” of the temple, offering a model for the “alchemizing” of the self. ψ A.J. Arberry’s translation of Farid al-Din Attar’s Muslim Saints and Mystics: Episodes from the Tadhkirat al-Auliya contains a chapter on the Egyptian Sufi saint Dhul-Nun al-Misri (sometimes rendered as Dho‘l-Nun al-Mesri). He is regarded as an alchemist, thaumaturge, and master of Egyptian hieroglyphics. It contains apocryphal stories of his ascetic and mystic life as a way of “living demiurgically.” It is an insightful glimpse into how the Ancient Egyptian arts continued into new religious paradigms long after polytheism was no longer widespread in Egypt.

Further Reading

Contemporary Works Assmann, Jan. 1995. Egyptian Solar Religion in the New Kingdom: Re, Amun and the Crisis of Polytheism. Translated by Anthony Alcock. Kegan Paul International. Assmann, Jan. 2003. The Mind of Egypt: History and Meaning in the Time of the Pharaohs. Harvard University Press. Bull, Christian H. 2019. The Tradition of Hermes Trismegistus: The Egyptian Priestly Figure as a Teacher of Hellenized Wisdom. Brill. Chlup, Radek. 2012. Proclus: An Introduction. Cambridge University Press. Escolano-Poveda, Marina. 2008. The Egyptian Priests of the Graeco-Roman Period. Brill. Fowden, Garth. 1986. The Egyptian Hermes: A Historical Approach to the Late Pagan Mind. Cambridge University Press. Freke, Tim, and Peter Gandy. 2008. The Hermetica: The Lost Wisdom of the Pharaohs. Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin. Gadalla, Moustafa. 2001. Egyptian Divinities: The All Who Are The One. Tehuti Research Foundation. Grimes, Shannon. 2019. Becoming Gold: Zosimos of Panopolis and the Alchemical Arts in Roman Egypt. Princeton University Press. Jackson, Howard. 2017. “A New Proposal for the Origin of the Hermetic God Poimandres.” Aries: Journal for the Study of Western Esotericism 17 (2): 193-212. Kupperman, Jeffrey. 2014. Living Theurgy: A Course in Iamblichus’ Philosophy, Theology and Theurgy. Avalonia. Mierzwicki, Tony. 2011. Graeco-Egyptian Magick: Everyday Empowerment. Llewellyn Publications. Naydler, Jeremy. 1996. Temple of the Cosmos: The Ancient Egyptian Experience of the Sacred. Inner Traditions. Opsopaus, J. 2006. The Secret Texts of Hellenic Polytheism: A Practical Guide to the Restored Pagan Religion of George Gemistos Plethon. New York: Llewellyn Publications. Roberts, Alison M. 2019. Hathor’s Alchemy: The Ancient Egyptian Roots of the Hermetic Art. Northgate Publishers. Shaw, Gregory. 1995. Theurgy and the Soul: The Neoplatonism of Iamblichus. 2nd ed. Angelico Press. Snape, Steven. 2014. The Complete Cities of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson. Uzdavinys, Algis. 1995. Philosophy and Theurgy in Late Antiquity. Wheaton, IL: Quest Books. Uzdavinys, Algis. 2008. Philosophy as a Rite of Rebirth: From Ancient Egypt to Neoplatonism. Lindisfarne Books. Wilkinson, Richard H. 2000. The Complete Temples of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson.

Ancient Sources in Translation Attar, Farid al-Din. 1966. Muslim Saints and Mystics: Episodes from the Tadhkirat alAuliya. Translated by A.J. Arberry. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. Betz, Hans Dieter. 1992. The Greek Magical Papyri in Translation, Including the Demotic Spells. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Copenhaver, Brian P. 1995. Hermetica: The Greek Corpus Hermeticum and the Latin Asclepius in a New English Translation, with Notes and Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Guthrie, Kenneth. 1988. The Pythagorean Sourcebook and Library: An Anthology of Ancient Writings which Relate to Pythagoras and Pythagorean Philosophy. Grand Rapids, MI: Phanes Press. Iamblichus. 1988. The Theology of Arithmetic. Translated by Robin Waterfield. Grand Rapids, MI: Phanes Press. Iamblichus. 2003. Iamblichus: On the Mysteries. Translated by Clarke, E., Dillon, J. M., & Hershbell, J. P. Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature. Iamblichus. 2008. The Life of Pythagoras (Abridged). Translated by Thomas Taylor. Whitefish, MT: Kessinger Publishing. Lichtheim, Miriam. 1973-1980. Ancient Egyptian Literature. Volumes I-III. Berkeley: University of California Press. Litwa, M. David. 2018. Hermetica II. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Majercik, Ruth. 1989. The Chaldean Oracles: Text, Translation, and Commentary. Leiden: Brill. Plato. 1997. Plato: Complete Works. Edited by John M. Cooper and D. S. Hutchinson. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing. Plotinus. 1984-1988. The Enneads. Volumes 1-7. Translated by A.H. Armstrong. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. Van der Horst, Pieter Willem. 1984. The Fragments of Chaeremon, Egyptian Priest and Stoic Philosopher. Leiden: E.J. Brill.

#mystic egyptian polytheism #resource list #philosophy #neoplatonism #egyptian polytheism #hellenic polytheism #hermeticism

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ladyniniane · 2 months ago

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The last empress

And here is Maria of Trebizond (c.1404-1439) the last crowned Byzantine empress and wife of the penultimate emperorJohn VIII Palaiologos (and one of my favorite empresses).

I based my drawing on Bertrandon de la Broquière's account:

"He then placed the coat over her shoulders and put one of the long, pointed hats of Greece which bears along the said top three golden feathers and which fitted her very well. She seemed to me as beautiful as before. (…) She wore make up, which was unnecessary because she was young and fair-skinned. In each ear she had a hanging earring, large and flat bearing several stones, mostly rubies."

Maria was an active woman who often went hunting with her husband or alone. She rode her horse astride, something that fascinated the foreign visitors. I can't know for sure how she hunted. I chose to give her a bow as an allusion to Pisanello's depiction of her husband. Since her life was marked by many difficult events, I chose to depict her in a happy moment.

Maria was John's third wife, but also the only one that he had personally chosen (his first marriages had been marriages in name only). Her relationship with her husband was by all accounts a happy one, marked by love and respect.

The Ecthesis Chronica tells us that John loved her "beyond measure" because of her beauty and wisdom. He also valued her advice. Due to the Empire's dire situation, John left for Italy in 1438 in the hope of concluding an ecclesiastical union with the Catholic Church and thus obtaining western military aid.

Maria and her mother-in-law Helena Dragaš likely governed the capital in his absence. Maria didn't live to see her husband come back. She became ill, an event reportedly foretold by the appearance of a comet in the sky, and died on December 17, 1439.

John's entourage learned about her death during the return journey. They hid it to the emperor, fearing that his grief would delay their journey further. It was only when John returned to the capital that his mother told him the truth.

The emperor fell into a deep depression and was later buried in Maria's tomb after his death in 1448.

#maria of trebizond #niniane's drawing journey #byzantine empire #women in history #queen of cities #I really wanted to draw her because her story makes me so emotional #this was colored with a lot of patience and love #30+ minutes!#One day I will make a more detailed post about her on my sideblog #In the meantime here it is #John VIII Palaiologos

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dykepuffs · 3 months ago

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Hello! Hope I'm not bothering you but I found your post about "How Do I Make My Fictional Gypsies Not Racist?" and I wanted to ask you something if it's ok with you. The post cached my attention because you use the term gypsy with easiness and I'm curious about how it's that, because as far as the internet says it's a derogatory term.

It's not the first time I've seen somebody use that word, but the person who used it was Roma, if I remember correctly.

This is absolutely not to accuse you of anything, I just want to know your perspective! Thank you and have a nice day!

Hallo!

Yes, I hoped I'd answered this is my main post but, I'll answer it more explicitly and from more angles here - It'll be in sections because I have a lot of thoughts and they're not in any particular order.

I won't be using asterisks to obscure any words in this post, because precision is important and I don't want to leave any ambiguities about which words I mean, so CN for words for Romani people that are often derogatory, for the rest of the post.

1) Is Gypsy a derogatory word?

Gypsy is an untranslatable word, in that the exact lexical field covered by "Gypsy" isn't matched by any words in other languages. Sometimes, people translate tzigane, gitano, zigeuner, cíkanská etc as "Gypsy" but that's really imprecise and causes more problems - These words aren't all calques or related.

The ones which sound broadly like "sigan" (Cigan, tzigane, zigeuner, cíkanský etc) most likely come via the Balkans and the Ancient Greek word "Athinganoi/Athinganos" - Unambiguously a rude word, untouchable, a caste of itinerant fortune-tellers in the Byzantine Empire, which was applied much in the same way as "Tink/tinker" was applied to Scottish and Irish Travellers - a trade as a synecdoche of a people, and specifically a stigmatised trade at that. And they usually are very much derogatory words (but even then - you will meet Roma living in Romania and Hungary and Czechia etc who do use those words for themselves, and they will have as complicated a relationship with them as we do with Gypsy)

Gypsy... We're less sure. We know it comes from "Egyptians", first applied in Scotland and England to recent Romani migrants in the late 1400s or early 1500s (We see it in the naming of the Egyptians Acts in 1501 and 1531, which refer to both Egyptians and "Counterfeit Egyptians" - Meaning those Romani people, and the local Britons who lived with them, travelled with them and did the same itinerant trades. Presumably, the "Counterfeit Egyptians" of the previous 500 years intermixing with Romani people are why modern Romany (Romanichal, Angloromany, English Travellers, whatever you call us) are so pale compared to southern and eastern European Roma.

But why "Egyptians", we aren't really sure. Top contenders are:

1) The Romani people deliberately passed themselves off as Coptic Egyptians, hoping for welcome as fellow-Christians.

2) Local Britons mistook these brightly-dressed dark-skinned people, speaking an unknown language, for Egyptians.

3) To someone who spoke English, and maybe could recognise French, Dutch, Latin or other especially northern European trading languages, the Romanes language of the time that was closer to Hindi, with Greek and Romanian loanwords, would sound unintelligible - We think that's where we get the English word "Jibberish" and "Jibber" from, from the Romanes word "chib/jib"-"Language". But, potentially, does "Gypsy" come from "Jib-sy", taking the common English slang format of adding "-ies" "-sie" to the end of something to make a name for something from a feature of it (Like "walky-talky" for a portable two way radio, "bluey" to describe a merled dog, "pinky" for a mouse or rabbit before it has fur, "Geordie" and "Cockney" and various other local demonyms) - Potentially we are "The ones that speak the chib" - "the chibsies".

4) It was related to a preexisting racial slur, the idea of "Egyptian" to mean a bizarre, foreign, alien version of something- Hermetics were often called "Egyptian" around the same period, because of their strange rites and beliefs, which were popularly associated with Egypt (As was Hermes Trismagestus).

5) The port area in the Netherlands where they sailed to Scotland from was potentially "Little Egypt" and they were named as such for their port of departure, as migrations are often named for their port of arrival, or departure, or the boat they came on - like talking about Plymouth colonists, Windrush generation, Ellis Island immigrants.

What we do know though, is that the first people that the word Gypsy was applied to, were the ancestors of the modern English-speaking Romany and Kale people of Scotland, England and Wales (ie, my personal ancestors) - Most of whom use "Gypsy" as their preferred word to describe themselves. (Further complications: Other Traveller groups in the UK who also in some contexts will call themselves Gypsies, Water-Gypsies, Irish Gypsies, Gypsy Travellers, who may or may not see themselves as Romani but who often have interlaced family trees and traditions with Romanichal and Kale families.)

Personally, as a Romany Gypsy I usually call myself a Gypsy in English for two reasons:

1) Because in singular, I'd have to choose rom/rawni - not just man/woman but also husband/wife, because our words for adult man/adult woman are the same as the word for husband/wife, and I usually don't want to do that; I'm unmarried, but too old to call myself chavo, and I usually don't want to be explicit about my gender in that way anyway.

2) because the other words for us in English are Romani loanwords. The Romani language is still stigmatised in England, and doubly so Angloromanes, our paralanguage/mixed-language/creole - Children raised speaking it are described as being in "linguistic poverty", we are disciplined at school for "speaking in code" (i still have a speech impediment in Romanes that I don't have in English, after being tortured and humiliated by teachers at school for speaking Romanes. Even getting out a couple of words, I stutter and fail, from shame) - and the police and courts describe our language as "thieves' cant" and further punish us for speaking it, they still treat people speaking it as evidence of planning crimes, a final vestige of those Egyptians Acts which levied the death sentence on anyone speaking Romany.

So when a gorjer prefers that I call myself Rromani rather than Gypsy, I hear that as a demand to perform my language for them, for their titillation and for their comfort, so that they can try to forget that for hundreds of years we have been executed, imprisoned, transported, beaten, and treated as second class citizens, for speaking our language. So, no, gorjers don't get to hear one single beautiful word of our language, they can hear "Gypsy" and their ears can burn with the shame of what they still do to us.

So is Gypsy a word that gorjers should use?

Context matters.

Are you talking about an organisation like the Gypsy Lore Society, or a modern Gypsy And Traveller Exchange, or things made by us like Gypsy Pegs, Gypsy Flowers, Gypsy Bangles, Gypsy Jazz? Go for it, use the capital G, in the same way as you capitalise French food, German engineering, Ukrainian poetry. If an organisation describes itself as being for Roma, don't assume that you can translate that to 'for Gypsies', but likewise you can't assume that 'for Gypsies' can be translated to 'for Roma' - All Roma are Romani, not all Romani are Roma (As in, they might be Sinti, Manouche, Roma, Romanisael, Kale, Romany... etc).

Do you want to describe something made by gorjers as Gypsy-like, or describe a gorjer as being like a Gypsy... Then don't.

There is probably a second post to write about this, on the theory of "Gypsy-ing", how the archetype of the Gypsy is created and applied to populations in different ways, but this is already very long and very tiring so, thank you for bearing with me this far!

#thegslur

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bijoumikhawal · 1 year ago

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Coptic Women's Headpieces: padded headbands and Palmyran strips

Neither of these have much (...in the first case, any) information out there to make their own post about, but they're both interesting.

The first are these padded headpieces. In the past I'd only seen the one made of leather with flowers on it in the V&A, which notes its possible usage. However it was only until recently when I began poking around on the French internet when I found more, and better yet, an undeniable depiction of a woman wearing the headpiece. Before this I'd seen some depictions that may be the headpiece being worn, but usually seem much flatter than these were made to be or like they're a more standard gold diadem.

In addition to this, there are a few depictions of Coptic figures wearing these flower bud/petal crowns (more popular in the earlier part of Roman Egyptian art history), which makes me wonder if these were ever used as a base for those.

It's also possible this was out under the turbans worn by women in Coptic art. An example of a bust from Byzantine exists of a woman wearing a turban from Constantinople, and when viewed from the side it can be seen that the volume at the front of her headdress terminates in points near the nape of her neck/her ears. However, this bust also lacks the volume one would expect from the examples if a roll like the extant examples was used.

The other piece is one I noticed before, and isn't specific to Egypt, or originated from there. It seems to have come from Palmyra, and is fairly common in the funeral busts we have from there.

These are small plaques of metal and gems, typically with a few small beads dangling over the forehead. Currently it's supposed that they were attached to a woman's bun in some way.

Here's a Roman-era Greek bust and a Roman- era Tunisian example.

Heres some Roman-Egyptian portraits with similar head jewelry. So far, I haven't found a definitive later Coptic depiction of one being worn, but I don't think that means they stopped being worn before Christianization. It's possibly just a matter of what art has survived and what I've personally seen. Generally, Coptic jewelry is similar to the jewelry from earlier Roman-Egyptian examples, with some more unique examples and examples that were inspired by later trends in the Byzantine Empire.

One of the possible Coptic examples is from the tomb of Theodosea (full disclosure: Theodosea herself was Greek Christian living Egypt, not a Copt in the sense we mean it now, but she's dressed in a way generally common in Egypt at the time. I use "possible Coptic example" here to indicate the contemporary cultural majority of Egypt, which is distinct from the pre-Christian cultural identity of native Egyptians). Theodosea here is identified by Engy Hanna as wearing some type of golden hairnet, with a green pendant with 3 hanging pearls and two strings of hanging beads attached. Because of her palla, it's impossible to tell if she has only one medallion attached to her hairnet or if this is a strip. The overall composition of elements (a cover over the hair, the two strands, center ornament, and a shawl over top the head) are very similar to Palmyran headdresses, though she doesn't wear a turban or the patterned fillet they do.

Recently, I found a bust on an auction site labeled "Roman, probably made in Egypt" from the 1st century, with this ornament but made of a more pliable material- probably fabric. And another on the same site, maybe Egyptian (the information mentions both the terms Gandhara and Greco-Egyptian), with the more typical jeweled look, 2nd-3rd century (which is more into the swing of Christianization in Egypt).

The last aside is another jewelry piece resembling that of Palmyra, though less so: a kind of circlet that appears to be made of chain with a center pendant. The star pendant worn by the second woman also notably resembles the pin holding the strip to the Greek girl's updo. The hanging strands of Theodosea are more blatant, but it's possible these were elaboration on the fashion. This style of jeweled forehead circlet, unlike the headband and strip (I have seen art of Syrian and Egyptian women with a strip, as well as Nubian art of women with a fillet/circlet and a center strip. The latter seems to be a more widely used item than the former two, which I have only seen one depiction each of so far), has remained consistently popular in West Asia and North Africa. Additionally the padded band worn by one of the Palmyran women featured here could be a related item to the padded headband; to know one would have to see the back of her head or find an artifact connecting the two. Even if a relationship can be proven between the Byzantine, Palmyran, and Coptic padded fillets, there is no clear indication of where it originated.

*I am a Copt, and if you are not, do not tag this post talking about "recreations". I find that offensive given the actions taken by Albert Gayet in regard to the clothes he took from graves. It is a simple boundary and you will not "enlighten" me to see how it's fine.*

Sources/Further reading:

https://art.rmngp.fr/fr/library/artworks/femme-assise_terre-cuite_polychromie-technique

https://art.rmngp.fr/fr/library/artworks/bourrelet-de-coiffure-postiches_laine-textile

https://art.rmngp.fr/fr/library/artworks/bourrelet-de-manteau_laine-textile

https://art.rmngp.fr/fr/library/artworks/bourrelet-de-mantelet_laine-textile_textile-matiere_lin-fibre | sources for 3 of the padded fillets and the figurine

https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O353014/pair-of-fillets-unknown/

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/468716 | the marble bust

https://www.persee.fr/doc/bch_0007-4217_1969_num_93_2_4903 | in German, has photos of carvings with the hair ornament

https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2016/ancient-marbles-classical-sculpture-art-l16260/lot.59.html | carving of the short haired child

https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2022/ancient-sculpture-and-works-of-art/a-roman-marble-portrait-head-of-a-girl-circa-2nd | carving of a girl with a jeweled strip, may be Egypt as the notes say an image of it was published in a work on Greco-Egyptian art and the girl has an "Isis lock" hairstyle

https://www.jstor.org/stable/4241695 | overview of Palmyran jewelry

https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/G_1903-0717-3 | Tunisian example of strip

https://www.livius.org/pictures/greece/thessaloniki/thessaloniki-museum-pieces/thessaloniki-portrait-of-a-girl/

https://womenofegyptmag.com/2020/02/11/what-coptic-artefacts-tell-us-about-women-in-ancient-egypt-part-one/

#Coptic art #Coptic culture #Late Antiquity #Late Antique Egypt #Masr #Copt #Actually Egyptian tag #Cipher talk

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gwendolynlerman · 6 months ago

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Discovering the world

Lebanon 🇱🇧

Basic facts

Official name: الجمهورية اللبنانية (al-Jumhūrīyah al-Lubnānīyah) (Republic of Lebanon)

Capital city: Beirut

Population: 5.3 million (2023)

Demonym: Lebanese

Type of government: unitary parliamentary republic

Head of state: vacant (President)

Head of government: Najib Mikati (Prime Minister)

Gross domestic product (purchasing power parity): $78.23 billion (2022)

Gini coefficient of wealth inequality: 31.8% (medium) (2011)

Human Development Index: 0.723 (high) (2022)

Currency: pound (LBP)

Fun fact: It hosts the highest number of refugees per capita and per square kilometer.

Etymology

The country’s name comes from Mount Lebanon, whose name derives from the Phoenician root lbn, meaning “white”.

Geography

Lebanon is located in West Asia and borders Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west.

There are two main climates: Mediterranean-influenced humid continental in the center and east and hot-summer Mediterranean in the rest. Temperatures range from 11 °C (51.8 °F) in winter to 30 °C (86 °F) in summer. The average annual temperature is 20.9 °C (69.6 °F).

The country is divided into nine governorates (muḥāfaẓāt), which are further divided into twenty-five districts (aqdyah). The largest cities in Lebanon are Beirut, Tripoli, Jounieh, Zahlé, and Sidon.

History

2500-64 BCE: Phoenicia

1650-1180 BCE: Hittite Empire

1550-1069 BCE: New Kingdom of Egypt

550-332 BCE: Achaemenid Empire

332-64 BCE: Seleucid Empire

64 BCE-394 CE: Roman Empire

394-635: Byzantine Empire

619-629 CE: Sasanian Empire

636-661: Rashidun Caliphate

661-750: Umayyad Caliphate

750-1517: Abbasid Caliphate

1099-1291: Kingdom of Jerusalem

1102-1289: County of Tripoli

1250-1516: Mamluk Sultanate

1516-1842: Emirate of Mount Lebanon

1516-1918: Ottoman Empire

1843-1861: Double Qaim-Maqamate of Mount Lebanon

1860: civil conflict in Mount Lebanon and Damascus

1915-1918: Great Famine of Mount Lebanon

1920-1926: State of Greater Lebanon

1923-1946: Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon

1926-1943: Lebanese Republic

1943-present: Republic of Lebanon

1948: Arab-Israeli War

1975-1990: Lebanese Civil War

1976-2005: Syrian occupation

1985-2000: South Lebanon conflict

2005: Cedar Revolution

2006: Lebanon War

2006-2008: protests

2007: Lebanon conflict

2011: Intifada of Dignity

2019: 17 October Revolution

2020: Beirut explosion

2021: Beirut clashes

Economy

Lebanon mainly imports from the European Union, Türkiye, and China and exports to the European Union, the United Arab Emirates, and Switzerland. Its top exports are diamonds, polyacetals, and gold.

It has natural gas, limestone, oil, and salt reserves. Services represent 83% of the GDP, followed by industry (13.1%) and agriculture (3.9%).

Lebanon is a member of the Arab League, la Francophonie, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

Demographics

95% of the population is Arab, while Armenians make up 4%. The main religion is Islam, practiced by 55% of the population, 27.6% of which is Sunni.

It has a negative net migration rate and a fertility rate of 1.7 children per woman. 89% of the population lives in urban areas. Life expectancy is 78.3 years and the median age is 31.3 years. The literacy rate is 96.7%.

Languages

The official language of the country is Arabic. French is spoken by 40% of the population.

Culture

Lebanese culture has Persian, Greek, Roman, Arab, Ottoman, and French influences. Lebanese people are very gregarious.

Men traditionally wear a shirt, a dark vest, baggy pants (sherwal), a belt, and a headdress. Women wear a shiny dress (gambaz), a wide belt, and a conical hat with a long piece of silk (tantur).

Architecture

Traditional houses in Lebanon are made of stone and wood and have flat roofs and terraces.

Cuisine

The Lebanese diet is based on fish, meat, pulses, and vegetables. Typical dishes include bamieh bi-zeit (okra and tomato stew), kibbeh (fried balls made of spiced meat and bulgur), sayadieh (seasoned fish and rice), sfouf (an almond-semolina cake), and tabbouleh (a salad of bulgur, onion, tomatoes, and parsley).

Holidays and festivals

Like other Christian and Muslim countries, Lebanon celebrates Epiphany, Armenian Christmas, St. Maroun Day, Feast of the Annunciation Day, Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Assumption, Christmas Day, Islamic New Year, Ashura, Mawlid, Eid al-Fitr, and Eid al-Adha. It also commemorates New Year’s Day and Labor Day.

Specific Lebanese holidays include Rafic Hariri Memorial Day on February 14, Liberation and Resistance Day on May 25, and Lebanese Independence Day on November 22.

Independence Day

Other celebrations include the Aerial and Circus Arts Festival, the Baalbeck International Festival, which features dance and music performances, and the Beiteddine Art Festival.

Baalbeck International Festival

Landmarks

There are six UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Anjar, Baalbek, Byblos, Ouadi Qadish (the Holy Valley) and the Forest of the Cedars of God (Horsh Arz el-Rab), Rachid Karami International Fair-Tripoli, and Tyre.

Ouadi Qadish and the Forest of the Cedars of God

Other landmarks include Jabal Moussa, the Mohammad Al-Amin Mosque, the Moussa Castle, Our Lady of Lebanon, and the Tripoli Citadel.

Tripoli Citadel

Famous people

Amin Maalouf - writer

Elie Saab - fashion designer

Fares Fares - actor

Jackie Chamoun - skier

Khalil Beschir - racing driver

May Ziade - poet and writer

Nadine Labaki - actress

Najwa Karam - singer

Ragheb Alama - singer

Rima Fakih - model

Rima Fakih

You can find out more about life in Lebanon in this post and this video.

#discoveringtheworld #langblr #arabic

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flagwars · 1 year ago

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People’s Flag Wars: Round 1, Bracket 11

See the symbolism below.

Coptic Egypt is a flag by @arthurdrakoni.

Symbolism: “This is the flag of Coptic Egypt. It comes from a world where Islam was never founded. One of the many consequences of this was that the Byzantine Empire continued to prosper for a number of years. Eventually, however, tensions began to grow within the empire. Egypt began to feel that Constantinople was giving them the short end of the stick a bit too often. Egypt's main grievances were increased taxes and increased tensions between the Coptic and Orthodox churches. After a brief war, Egypt was granted its independence. Despite this, Egypt retains good relations with Byzantium. It also maintains good relations with fellow Oriental Orthodox nations Ethiopia and Armenia. Egypt has traditionally been a hub of trade, and following its independence work began on a canal in the Sinai Peninsula. Egypt established traditions ports in India and China. It also established colonies in Australia, which is known as New Egypt, as well as a few minor colonies in South America.

The wealth from its trade and colonies has made Egypt a very rich nation. People and goods from throughout the world can be found across Egypt's cities. Currently there is something of an architectural fad based around reinterpretations of Ancient Egyptian architecture. Egypt also has a reputation for having some of the best universities and centers of learning in the world. It is a nation which honors its past while keeping an eye towards the future.

The flag contains a Coptic Cross to represent Egypt's Coptic faith. The background represents the sands of Egypt, while the blue bands stands for the waters of the Nile River. The writing is in the Coptic Script and reads "Jesus Christ, Son of God".”

Forest City Flag is a flag by @forestcityflag.

Symbolism: “The Forest City is a new flag for Cleveland, highlighting both our history and environment. The blue top half represents Lake Erie, our very own inland sea. The green bottom half represents the Forest City nickname and the Emerald Necklace of our Metroparks. The wavy chevron in the center represents the Cuyahoga River winding its way through downtown. The pattern is inspired by a design from Moses Cleaveland's coat of arms (he's the guy who invented Cleveland). At the same time, the upward facing arrow is reminiscent of the city's motto "Progress and Prosperity," pointing up towards the future.”

New Jersey Autonomous Zone is a flag by @lil-tachyon.

Symbolism: “The design is based on the original New Jersey flag but re-imagined in the context of some kind of anarcho-communist future. The buff field of the NJ flag is replaced by the bisected black/red used by anarcho-communists and syndicalists. The coat of arms has the godesses Liberty and Ceres replaced by workers wielding a sickle and hammer, the horse head replaced by the head of the Jersey Devil, a yellow Star backed by a slice of pork roll replacing the helmet, and tomatoes and cranberries flanking the star. The motto is changed from "Liberty and Prosperity" to "Trenton Makes, The World Takes," the words infamously featured on the Lower Trenton Bridge.”

#polls #flags #vexillology #people's flag wars

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jasmineleeplays · 4 months ago

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Queen Drichglur is thrilled that King Goffredo is showing her love and appreciation by taking the effort to learn her native language - Sardinian Vulgar. Given how Lustful King Goffredo is, they both spend some time together alone, in their bedchambers.

Soon, Prince Goffredo comes of age and becomes a Midas Touched (Level 4 Stewardship education). Besides that, he is also a secret Homosexual.

King Goffredo is beset with Vengeful Memories of how Basileus Eusebios of the Byzantine Empire abused his eldest sister Basilissa Anna. He contemplates making the man hang for his crimes as he gazes upon the gallows.

However, King Goffredo checks himself. God teaches us to forgive our neighbours and enemies for their trespasses against us, just as God forgives us of our trespasses. The fleeting thought of revenge passes from his mind.

King Goffredo's beneficiary Kopke, crafts an Illustrious Furniture which he names "Kopke's Statue". King Goffredo renames it as "Statue of King Goffredo", because that is what the statue depicts.

Queen Drichglur gives birth to their 4th daughter, Princess Anastasia of Italy, who is Comely and Intelligent.

Within the span of 6 months, Queen Drichglur contracts Pneumonia, is given a safe treatment which is successful and recovers from Pneumonia in June of 1129.

Soon, Maddalena di Padua, the daughter of Count Rinaldo, who is Amazonian, marries Prince Goffredo. With their union, their child has the chance of inheriting Beautiful, Intelligent, Herculean/Amazonian and Bleeder traits. This is on top of a 1.9% risk of their children being Inbred.

Finally, for his last Hold Court event, King Goffredo commissions the building of the City of Asciano in the County of Siena at the behest of his Steward, Count Eugenio of Polesine.

The construction would take 5 years to complete however, and we won't be playing King Goffredo in this file anymore. Thus concludes the adventures of King Goffredo and his grandmother Queen Matilda (formerly Duchess Matilda).

In the next post update, we will be playing Roads to Power DLC, with a brand new starting character! Let's look forward to it!

#ck3 #crusader kings iii #crusader kings 3 #duchess matilda #king goffredo

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whencyclopedia · 7 months ago

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The Stained Glass Windows of Chartres Cathedral

The 167 stained glass windows of Chartres Cathedral, built 1190-1220 CE, are the most complete group surviving anywhere from the Middle Ages. Several windows date to the mid-12th century CE while over 150 survive from the early 13th century CE. There are religious scenes to tell the faithful the key stories of the Bible as well as countless depictions of saints, kings, queens, nobles, knights, and priests. The city's merchants donated 42 windows to the cathedral, and they crop up in many smaller scenes showing the full range of medieval professions from barrel-makers to butchers.

Medieval Stained Glass

The technique of staining glass for windows using metal oxides dates back to at least the 7th century CE and the churches of the Byzantine Empire. However, the craft really became a refined art in the 12th and 13th centuries CE. The five main colours used to 'stain' glass were bright ruby red, which came from copper oxide, sapphire blue from cobalt oxide, green from iron oxide, yellow from sulphur or soot, and purple from manganese oxide. These materials were added to the glass while it was being heated, but because the result proved too opaque to allow much light through, often a thin layer of coloured glass was laid on top of a thicker pane of transparent or white glass. Painted on the interior side of the glass, details of scenes were rendered using a mixture of glass fillings, metal oxides, and vinegar or urine. The paint was then permanently fused onto the glass by putting the pieces into a kiln.

Individual pieces of stained and painted glass were specially cut according to a design chalked out beforehand on a wooden board and then inserted into lead borders to make a single composite panel. The finished panel was then mounted into the metal armature of the window frame using dowels and metal strips. A single tall lancet window at Chartres may include over 50 such panels of all shapes and sizes.

Not only decorative, the windows were also intended as a pictorial guide to the Gospel message in an era when few could read. Consequently, the wages of sin, the benefits of salvation, and the lives of the most important saints and biblical figures are shown as a lesson to all. Most windows, when they tell a narrative such as the life of an apostle or Bible parable, should be read from left to right starting at the base. Four-leafed rosette or quatrefoil panels are read by looking first at the bottom leaf, then the left, centre, and right leaf, and finally the top leaf. Following are descriptions of only some of the most important and striking windows in Chartres cathedral.

#History #AlixdeBretagne #Brittany #ChartresCathedral #WHE #[#]

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gemsofgreece · 2 years ago

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Ancient Greece left a mark in myths and literature, but do you know any Byzantine stories that are worth being recognised? Also do you know any stories by modern Greek authors that deserve the same hype as the old ones?

Yes! The issue with Byzantine literature is that too little survives and even less survives in full, which is a result of both the relentless warring and invasions of the Byzantine Empire from west and east alike and the loud indifference regarding the preservation of anything Byzantine for the longest time, as opposed to the mania with Ancient Greek literature.

Regarding Byzantine fiction in specific, which is what I think you are asking, I think three romance novels survive and an epic poetic one. That last one is the trademark of Byzantine literature:

Basil Digenés Akritas (Βασίλειος Διγενής Ακρίτας), 9 - 10th Century

This versed epic novel is the best known amongst the acritic songs. Those poems were about the exploits of the akrites, meaning the soldiers / guards living and protecting the borders of the Byzantine empire. Digenes Akritas was a hero coming from two different bloodlines, as also evident by his epithet "Digenes", his father was a Saracen emir and his mother was of Byzantine Greek noblility in Cappadocia. Digenes has essentially supernatural power - there are herculian parallels - and he is not infallible in his morals - the story narrates his bravery, manliness, exploits and romance(s), and his piety - in a paradoxical combo truly few could master as much as the Byzantines.

Erotókritos (Ερωτόκριτος), 16 - 17th Century

The monumental versed romance of post-Byzantine and very early Modern Greece is this classic of Cretan literature, composed by Vitsentzos Kornaros. Incidentally getting written the same time as Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, I will go fully on record saying it's better than Romeo and Juliet. The reason I make this comparison at all is because the general concept is similar, although it unfolds entirely differently in the process; the forbidden love between two young people and the fierce objection of the parents. And also, because I don't get the fuss around R&J. Anyway, apart from the concept, the story is different, it's a friends to lovers, not enemies to lovers, one is a royal, the other is not, and the main character is , again, a super skilled warrior on top of everything else. The story is also set in a fantastical multi-Greek world: it's officially set in Ancient Athens, but it has Byzantine, Cretan, Greek folk and Frankish elements. The lovestory of Erotokritos and Aretusa remains the ultimate Greek romance and the poem has turned into folk songs that are well known and loved by all of us. The Cretan literature of the time produced more notable works, such as Erophile, which is super morbid and dark as hell, but I don't know much about it yet so I can't recommend it.

As for Modern Greek literature, I am going to state another potentially surprising opinion. I do not consider myself an expert at it, however from the little I've read I like it wayyyy more than Ancient Greek literature, excluding the Homeric epics. Granted, it might have to do with how each can possibly resonate with us but it's also about the prose. This is subjective but I LOVE modern Greek prose and poetry. My mouth always threatens to drool when reading the Skiathitic dialect of Papadiamantis *shrug*.

You didn't ask about poetry but modern Greek poetry is 100% verified drool worthy. I don't know if you know Greek though, certainly translations aren't equal to the real thing. Still, I recommend the poetry of Odysseus Elytis, Giorgos Seferis, Constantine Cavafy, Giannis Ritsos, Nikos Kavvadias, Dionysios Solomos and so many more.

As for prose, I will start as a broken record once more, with the short novel "The Murderess" (Η Φόνισσα) by Alexandros Papadiamantis. You need no more description, that's all.

Here is a list of the 200 best modern Greek novels, as voted by readers. It's in Greek though. I didn't know it, but the Murderess is the most upvoted. I approve.

I will add nine more from this list to make a random Top 10 of classics:

Ματωμένα Χώματα (Bloody Earth) by Dido Sotiriou, 1962

Ένα παιδί μετράει τ' άστρα (A child counts the stars) by Menelaus Loudemis, 1956

Παραμύθι χωρίς όν��μα (Fairytale without a name) by Penelope Delta, 1910

Η Μεγάλη Χίμαιρα (The Great Chimaera) by Manolis Karagatsis, 1953

Η Ζωή εν Τάφω (Life in the Grave) by Stratis Myrivilis, 1924

Ο Χριστός ξανασταυρώνεται (Christ, Recrucified) by Nikos Kazantzakis, 1948

Βίος και Πολιτεία του Αλέξη Ζορμπά (Life and Times of Alexis Zorbas) by Nikos Kazantzakis, 1946 (also known as "Zorbas the Greek" abroad...)

Το Τρίτο Στεφάνι (The Third Marriage) by Kostas Tachtsis, 1962

Η Πάπισσα Ιωάννα (Popess Johanna) by Emmanuel Roides, 1866

Το Νούμερο 31328 (Number 31328) by Ilias Venetis, 1931

#greece #literature #books #byzantine literature #modern greek literature #greek culture #recs #erotokritos #the murderess #basil digenes akritas #anon #ask

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pomnenka-kyticka · 2 years ago

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Ravka from slavic person pov

I wanted to talk about Ravka and its culture for quite some time now. Keep in mind that Ravka is inspired by Russia and I am not Russian. I´m Slavic tho and I have some points that stood out to me (mainly) from the KoS duology. My sources are my bad memory and The Grishaverse Wiki.

I´ll start with the similarities and explain a few things you might have missed. The Ravkan coat of arms is the double-headed eagle. If you´d look at Russia´s coat of arms it is also a double-headed eagle. They have some different detailing but even at first glance, you can notice the origins of the Lantsov coat of arms. Serbia also has the double-headed eagle on its coat of arms and Albania has it on its flag (but it mostly resembles the Russian version). It originated from the Byzantine Empire´s double-headed eagle which adapted to some of the countries that used to belong to it after its fall.

The names and surnames have been discussed a lot so I´ll be brief with that. I think that it´s fine to change the grammar rules about names but it should have made more sense. Slavic languages have gendered surnames and there are two versions. One for women of that name and one for men with the same surname. For example, Zoya would (according to the grammar) be called NazyalenskA, not NazyalenskY. I don´t have a problem with distancing the Grishaverse from the real world by swapping those rules, but I feel like they were just thrown around randomly and that didn´t really make sense. I still liked the names and think they were memorable. Also, this isn´t a critique but I think that there weren´t enough (if any) nicknames. The only mention of nicknames (that I can remember) is that the Grisha are called Grisha because it´s named after the first one Grigorij. Which doesn´t really make sense if you avoid the use of nicknames.

Ok, moving on to the next topic: food. I must say, I really didn´t like the portrayal of Ravkan food in the books (at least KoS duology). The thing that I remembered from RoW is when Nikolai is leaving some dinner and comments on his chef’s food. He says that he found even more things to put in aspic. It all sounded more like a caricature of the actual Slavic food. While there are dishes that use aspic, I wouldn´t say that is something that defines it. There is much more to Russian cuisine than various ingredients covered in aspic...

Some things I liked: mention of permafrost and climate in Ravka, the worship of the Saints (supposedly based on Slavic paganism), and Sankt Juris who is probably a Grishaverse portrayal of Saint George. Oh, also the pronunciation of names from Fedyor´s actor was on top!!

That would be all. I hope this wasn´t too confusing (in my defense it is late and this was proofread by Grammarly).

#grishaverse #ravka #king of scars #rule of wolves #nikolai lantsov #zoya nazyalensky #alina starkov #alexander morozova #mal oretsev #nina zenik #genya safin #david kostyk #shadow and bone #shadow and bone netflix

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xxswagcorexx · 2 years ago

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tumblr user xxswagcorexx why do you insist on hiding away half your analyses/ramblings in the tags of your posts speak ur truth!!! anyway talk mythology andor symbolism to me whats the significance behind red's cult eating honey? do either of them get any items of power mixed up sometimes but just go whoops and move on like its no big deal? what would an outsider pov on this mess look like "ah that pair of lunatic gods again" bc this is sooo funny to me to imagine

i am . scared of everyone (and plus i don't wanna make the post too long and tags let me ramble without worrying abt length/mention small things without feeling like i need to format it properly ^_^

and uh abt the honey thing. this is where u can see this is Really inspired by greek mythology but basically in greek mythology, honey was seen as food of the gods and would provide gods immortality and whatnot ^_^ anyways i was like "hmmmmmm reddoons core" but also it just really works well. aesthetically for him

(AND GET READY FOR A LONG RAMBLE UNDER THE CUT)

anyways on the topic of the honey thing, i tend to associate red with gold because 1) money and 2) red and gold are a really classic color combo that i love, so honey (sorta) resembling molten gold is just. really aesthetically pleasing to me

and also iirc red wanted to make the byzantine empire in earthbound season 2? and when i came across a video on how to make byzantine honey fritters by tasting history with max miller i was like "omg reddoons core"--and from the video it seems like honey was a bit of a special dessert? in 6:33 of the video, there's a poem about a monk complaining about how the abbots have it a lot better than the monks and they mention that the abbots had 2nd helping of honey fritters so yeah i think its safe to assume honey was a semi-special thing, even if it was common. so uh. yeah. money and reddoons. thumbs up

and for the longest time i have associated bees and honey by rina sawayama with. swagdoons in general and the entire song is about how much the singer loves money and partying even if they're broke as shit LMAO its such a good bop if you like pop i recommend it . anyways ya that just added to the aesthetic in general

(as u can tell most of it was based off of vibes and plus in biased because i like how. warm milk and honey taste and plus i really like the idea of milk being something nurturing and honey being something sweet that is representative of love bc ur being sweet and easing someone into something so. Yeah. just vibes but how i figure out vibes are so specific that its worth explaining i think <- loves romanticizing the mundane) (and there's a sick ass line from the end poem like that) (like "And the player was a new human, never alive before, made from nothing but milk and love. You are the player. The story. The program. The human. Made from nothing but milk and love." come ON that line fucks so hard how couldn't i love it)

anyways i think with all of that in mind, red's cult would eat honey as a sign of wealth and comfort/nurturing 4 those reasons ^_^ (i am so sorry for all of that for explaining that i just have lots of Reasons to why i feel something sometimes)

WILDLY OFF TOPIC but u also asked abt items of power getting mixed up, i think it would happen most during worship </3 i think they'd just go to each other and be like "REDDOONS one of your cult members sacrificed blood as a loyalty pact to their partner instead of WAR again. u want it" and red would either let ash keep it or take it so uh. insert them sharing their power with each other here even though their values are usually on increasing ur ego and being on top of the world (CONSIDERING THIS FANDOM LOVES THEMES OF LOYALTY IN A GAY GAY HOMOSEXUAL WAY) (SEE WHY I DDNT WANT THEM COMING FROM ANOTHER GOD OR MERGING INTO 1 GOD) (THE IMPLICATIONS ARENT GOOD)

anyways i think ash and red (as gods) and their cults are pretty well known (like how swagdoons r the 2nd most popular ls ship) but LORD if their myths got lost to time they'd be a nightmare to study via texts and scripts in the future. like i can imagine for the LONGEST time historians argue if they were gods that changed during the dark ages because red's name predates ash until they Finally find a myth involving them as 2 different characters and its settled that they're 2 separate gods even though they represent similar-ish things LOL anyways yeah i can imagine more myths of them being found and historians going ??? wtd were these gods <3 hope that answers ur questions anon! :D

#ashswag #reddoons #tw swearing #media.warning.swearing #tw caps #media.warning.caps #mcytshipping #lsshipping #<- not really?? tbh i dont ship them myself but it Is mentioned a bit so #but also i am letting this out to the world for a reason . become a true mythology and make up whatever u wanna do with them ^_^#death of that author or whatever . evolve them and make them ur own!!!!!#anyways ya i think red's cult would Really value material goods and focus on living ur best life in a lots of money and party kinda way #and i mentioned his would be more of an ideology so i think his practices would involve stuff involving shooting the shit and Capitalism #while with ash he gives u like. Things if you sacrifice and worship him (like winning a battle)#so ya #also iirc some religions Do talk abt money in their holy texts so perhaps some of reds myths r abt that #i should really make a tag for this huh. i cant think of any so uhhhhh #into the pantheon #<- yeah lets go with that 4 now #anyways ^_^ ty for the ask anon!#and i am So Sorry to the maintag for spamming i am just Ill about this concept #ask.core #swagdoons #asshole roommates #scam duo

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