The disastrous mortal disease known as the Bubonic Plague came out of the East and spread, unleashing a rampage of death across Europe in the years 1346-53. The Plague reached the shores of Italy in the spring of 1348. Three years later, anywhere between 25% to 50% of Europe's population had fallen victim to the pestilence.
In Florence, the poet Petrarch, who was lost to the Plague with his beloved wife and children, wrote: "All the citizens did little except to carry dead bodies to be buried. At every church they dug deep pits down the water-table. In the morning when a large number of bodies were found in the pit, people took some earth and shoveled it down .. ."
Another chronicler, Agnolo di Tura relates from his Tuscan home town that "... in many places in Siena great pits were dug and piled deep with multitude of dead and there were bodies that were sparsely covered with earth that the dogs dragged them forth and devoured many bodies through the city."
The tragedy was extraordinary in the city of Florence. In the course of just a few months, 60% of the population died from the plague, and the same proportion in Siena.
The epidemic was caused by the bacterium "Yersina pestis" that circulates among wild rodents where they live in great numbers and density. Plague among humans arises when the rodents, normally black rats, in human habitation, become infected. The black rat, also called the "House Rat" and the "Ship Rat," likes to live close to people, the very quality that makes it dangerous. In contrast, the brown or grey rat prefers to keep its distance living in sewers and cellars.
Normally, it takes 10 to 14 days before the plague has killed off most of a contaminated rat colony. After 3 days of fasting, hungry fleas turn on humans. From the bite site, the contagion drains to a lymph node that consequently swells to form a painful bubo, most often in the groin, on the thigh, in an armpit or on the neck. Hence the name Bubonic Plague.
In order to become an epidemic the disease must be spread to other rat colonies in the locality and transmitted to inhabitants in the same way. It took some time for people to recognize that a terrible epidemic was breaking out among them.
Importantly, plague was spread considerable distances by rat fleas on ships. Infected ship rats would die, but their fleas would often survive and find new rat hosts wherever they landed.
The Plague presented itself in three interrelated forms. The most common bubonic variant is that of infected fleas attached themselves to black rats and then spread to humans. Although some survived the painful ordeal, the manifestation of these lesions usually signaled the victim had a life expectancy of up to a week. A second variation presented was -the pneumonic plague attacked the respiratory system and was spread by merely breathing the exhaled air of a victim. It was much more virulent than its bubonic cousin -life expectancy was measured in one or two days. Finally, the septicemic version of the disease attacked the blood system.
The violence of this plague was such that the sick communicated it to the healthy who came near them, just as fire catches anything dry or oily near it. Such fear took possession of the living that almost all of them avoided the sick and everything belonging to them. They formed small communities, living entirely separate from everybody else. They shut themselves up in houses where there were no sick, allowing no news or discussion of death and sickness.
In this suffering and misery, the authority of human and divine laws almost disappeared, for, like other men, the ministers and executors of the laws were all dead or sick, so that no duties were carried out.
Many individuals adopted a course of life in the middle. They did not restrict their victuals, nor allowed themselves to be drunken, but satisfied their appetites moderately. They did not shut themselves up, but went about, carrying flowers or scented herbs or perfumes in their hands, for the whole air was infected with the smell of dead bodies.
Others abandoned their own cities, their own houses, their relatives and their properties, and went abroad, as if God's wrath in punishing men's wickedness with this plague would not follow them but strike only those who remained within the walls of the city. Such terror struck into their hearts by this calamity, that brother abandoned brother, sister her brother, and very often the wife her husband. Fathers and mothers refused to see and tend their children, as if they had not being theirs.
A multitude of sick men and women were left without care. Most of them remained in their houses. Others ended their lives in the streets both at night and during the day. Dead bodies filled every corner of the walled cities. The cemeteries were full forcing to dig huge trenches,where they buried bodies by hundreds.
The Plague had an enormous impact on European society and greatly affected the dynamics of change and development from the medieval to Early Modern period.
Tuesday, 5 June 2018
Sunday, 3 June 2018
THE ANCIENT CITY OF FLORENCE.
Florence was set at the confluence of two streams, the Arno and the Mugnone, where the oldest populations had previously been located.
Rectangular in plan, it was enclosed in a wall about 1,800 meters long. The build-up area, like all the cities founded by Romans, was characterized by straight roads which crossed at right angles. The two main roads led to 4 towered gates and converged on a central square, where the Temple dedicated to the Capitoline Triad (Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva) were later to rise.
Archaeological finds, many of which came to light during the course of works which "gave new life," to the old city center, have been made it possible to locate and identify the remains of varios important public works such as the Capitoline Baths, the Baths of Capaccio, the sewage system, the pavement of the streets and the Temple of Isis, in Plaza San Firenze. At that time the Arno River was outside the walls, with a river port that constituted an important infrastructure for the city, for in Roman times the River was navigable from its mouth up to its confluence with the Affrico, upstream from Florence, and the first bridge in Florentine history was built in all likelihood somewhat upstream from today's Ponte Vecchio, around the 1st century BC.
Florence developed rapidly thanks to its favorable position and the role it played in the ambit of the territorial organization in the region and it soon passed Arezzo as the leading center in Northern Etruria.
Economic power was the driving force behind the urban growth of the young colony. Commercial activity and trade thrived thanks to the fact that important communication routes, land and water, intersected at Florence and offer an explanation for the presence of those oriental merchants, probably on their way from Pisa, who first introduced the cult of Isis.
The earliest indications of Christian religion are bound to the cults of the deacon Lorenzo and the Palestinian saint, Felicita and so the 1st Florentine churches were built. However, they do not seem to have had a bishop prior to the late 3rd century.
The Barbarian invasions seriously impaired the importance of Florence. In 405, the city managed to halt the hordes of Rada'gaisus, but later it could not avoid being involved in the disastrous Gotho-Byzantine war. In 541-44 new city walls were built utilizing the structures of various large Roman buildings. The wall was trapezoidal and its modest size testifies to the decline of the city, greatly depopulated; there may have been less than a thousand inhabitants. Around the end of the 6th century when the Lombards conquered Northern and Central Italy, Florence also fell under their dominion. This was the beginning of the darkest period in the city's history. Cut off from the major routes, the main reason for its existence suddenly vanished. For their North-South communications, the Lombards abandoned the central Bologna-Pistla-Florence route as being too exposed to the incursions of the Byzantines who still held control of the Eastern part of Italy and Lucca was chosen as capital of the duchy of Tuscany as it lay along the road they used for internal communications. After Queen Theodolinda was converted to the church of Rome, a number of religious buildings were founded in the city, not of course in its present form and size and its foundations are still visible in the "subterranean"of the church.
In the 8th century, the Carolingian period, a feudal system was installed and Florence became a county of the Holy Roman Empire. In the 9th century various facts testify a revival of the city. A public ecclesiastic school was set up and the bridge over the Arno River, which had been destroyed, seems to have been rebuild. At the turn of the century new city-walls were built for fear of the Hungarian invasions. Towards the end of the 10th century, Countess Willa, widow of the Marquis of Tuscany, who owned an entire district within the city-walls, founded and endowed a Benedictine abbey in memory of her husband. Countess Willa's son Hugo, greatly contributed to the development of Florence thanks to his decision to leave Lucca. His choice of the city on the banks of the Arno as his dwelling place reinforced its administrative character.
In the middle of the 11th century the position of Florence in Tuscany became even more important because Lucca was no longer the seat of the Marquisate and because of the city's decisive participation in the movement for the reform of the church. In 1055 Florence even played host to a council, under Pope Victor II with the presence of Henry III and the participation of 120 bishops. Many old structures were rebuilt during the 2nd half of the 11th century. On November 6, 1059, Bishop Gerard, who had become pope under the name of Nicholas II, re-consecrated the ancient baptismal church of the city which had been rebuilt in more imposing form, much like what it is today. In 1115 the Florentine populace to all effects already constitute a Commune. The first mention of an officially constituted Commune dates to 1138, when at a meeting of the Tuscan cities it was decided to constitute a League, for fear that Henry the Proud who had oppressed them as imperial legate might be elected emperor.
At that time the community was made up of religious and secular representatives, with 3 dominant social groups: -nobles, grouped into consorterie, -merchants, and the horse soldiers, the backbone of the army. Although the nobles held most of the power in the 12th century, it was mainly the merchants who were responsible for the growth of the city. Extensive trade and its inseparable companion, credit, were the basis for the economic and demographic expansion of the city. It underwent a temporary halt when Frederick Barbarossa advanced South into Italy.
In 1172 the Commune decided to enlarge the city walls and incorporate newest districts. The perimeter of the new city walls, raised in barely 2 years, from 1173 to 1175, was twice that of the "old circle" and enclosed an area that was 3 times as great. As a result the Arno River became an infrastructure within the city, as a communication route, a source of energy and a water supply for industries.
In the 12th century the skyline of the city was punctuated by numerous towers that served for military purposes and gave birth to the phenomenon of the "Tower Societies" associations which reunited the owners of various towers enabling them to control a portion of the city. Later the towers were used as houses. A considerable amount of small and large churches also sprang up as the size of the city increased. In 2 centuries the number of churches in Florence was tripled.
In 1182 the merchants, who had begun to organize in corporate association, on the example of the Society of Knights, multiplied and spread well beyond the limits of their region. Florence thus became an international economic center, with its operators in the principal fairs of the West. The development of the economy went on at such a rate that in a few years the associations multiplied among the other categories of tradesmen and artisans, whose numbers increased considerably. Also accelerated immigration from the countryside, lay at the basis of this economic expansion. This was why Oltr'Arno, on which the populous Southern regions converged, increased enormously and a new bridge in wood on stone piers was constructed in 1128 and in 1237 a third bridge was built upstream. This bridge, completely in stone, was set across the widest point of the Arno and was eventually called Ponte alle Grazie, after the small church which was built on one of its piers in the middle of the 14th century.
During the 14th century, internal strife and wars were aggravated by famine and epidemics, particularly the deadly Black Plague of 1348, which aggravated a situation that was already precarious. Before the Plague a disastrous flood of 1333 swept away all the bridges over the Arno River except the Rubaconte. The 14th century was therefore a century of political and economic crisis again.
Rectangular in plan, it was enclosed in a wall about 1,800 meters long. The build-up area, like all the cities founded by Romans, was characterized by straight roads which crossed at right angles. The two main roads led to 4 towered gates and converged on a central square, where the Temple dedicated to the Capitoline Triad (Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva) were later to rise.
Archaeological finds, many of which came to light during the course of works which "gave new life," to the old city center, have been made it possible to locate and identify the remains of varios important public works such as the Capitoline Baths, the Baths of Capaccio, the sewage system, the pavement of the streets and the Temple of Isis, in Plaza San Firenze. At that time the Arno River was outside the walls, with a river port that constituted an important infrastructure for the city, for in Roman times the River was navigable from its mouth up to its confluence with the Affrico, upstream from Florence, and the first bridge in Florentine history was built in all likelihood somewhat upstream from today's Ponte Vecchio, around the 1st century BC.
Florence developed rapidly thanks to its favorable position and the role it played in the ambit of the territorial organization in the region and it soon passed Arezzo as the leading center in Northern Etruria.
Economic power was the driving force behind the urban growth of the young colony. Commercial activity and trade thrived thanks to the fact that important communication routes, land and water, intersected at Florence and offer an explanation for the presence of those oriental merchants, probably on their way from Pisa, who first introduced the cult of Isis.
The earliest indications of Christian religion are bound to the cults of the deacon Lorenzo and the Palestinian saint, Felicita and so the 1st Florentine churches were built. However, they do not seem to have had a bishop prior to the late 3rd century.
The Barbarian invasions seriously impaired the importance of Florence. In 405, the city managed to halt the hordes of Rada'gaisus, but later it could not avoid being involved in the disastrous Gotho-Byzantine war. In 541-44 new city walls were built utilizing the structures of various large Roman buildings. The wall was trapezoidal and its modest size testifies to the decline of the city, greatly depopulated; there may have been less than a thousand inhabitants. Around the end of the 6th century when the Lombards conquered Northern and Central Italy, Florence also fell under their dominion. This was the beginning of the darkest period in the city's history. Cut off from the major routes, the main reason for its existence suddenly vanished. For their North-South communications, the Lombards abandoned the central Bologna-Pistla-Florence route as being too exposed to the incursions of the Byzantines who still held control of the Eastern part of Italy and Lucca was chosen as capital of the duchy of Tuscany as it lay along the road they used for internal communications. After Queen Theodolinda was converted to the church of Rome, a number of religious buildings were founded in the city, not of course in its present form and size and its foundations are still visible in the "subterranean"of the church.
In the 8th century, the Carolingian period, a feudal system was installed and Florence became a county of the Holy Roman Empire. In the 9th century various facts testify a revival of the city. A public ecclesiastic school was set up and the bridge over the Arno River, which had been destroyed, seems to have been rebuild. At the turn of the century new city-walls were built for fear of the Hungarian invasions. Towards the end of the 10th century, Countess Willa, widow of the Marquis of Tuscany, who owned an entire district within the city-walls, founded and endowed a Benedictine abbey in memory of her husband. Countess Willa's son Hugo, greatly contributed to the development of Florence thanks to his decision to leave Lucca. His choice of the city on the banks of the Arno as his dwelling place reinforced its administrative character.
In the middle of the 11th century the position of Florence in Tuscany became even more important because Lucca was no longer the seat of the Marquisate and because of the city's decisive participation in the movement for the reform of the church. In 1055 Florence even played host to a council, under Pope Victor II with the presence of Henry III and the participation of 120 bishops. Many old structures were rebuilt during the 2nd half of the 11th century. On November 6, 1059, Bishop Gerard, who had become pope under the name of Nicholas II, re-consecrated the ancient baptismal church of the city which had been rebuilt in more imposing form, much like what it is today. In 1115 the Florentine populace to all effects already constitute a Commune. The first mention of an officially constituted Commune dates to 1138, when at a meeting of the Tuscan cities it was decided to constitute a League, for fear that Henry the Proud who had oppressed them as imperial legate might be elected emperor.
At that time the community was made up of religious and secular representatives, with 3 dominant social groups: -nobles, grouped into consorterie, -merchants, and the horse soldiers, the backbone of the army. Although the nobles held most of the power in the 12th century, it was mainly the merchants who were responsible for the growth of the city. Extensive trade and its inseparable companion, credit, were the basis for the economic and demographic expansion of the city. It underwent a temporary halt when Frederick Barbarossa advanced South into Italy.
In 1172 the Commune decided to enlarge the city walls and incorporate newest districts. The perimeter of the new city walls, raised in barely 2 years, from 1173 to 1175, was twice that of the "old circle" and enclosed an area that was 3 times as great. As a result the Arno River became an infrastructure within the city, as a communication route, a source of energy and a water supply for industries.
In the 12th century the skyline of the city was punctuated by numerous towers that served for military purposes and gave birth to the phenomenon of the "Tower Societies" associations which reunited the owners of various towers enabling them to control a portion of the city. Later the towers were used as houses. A considerable amount of small and large churches also sprang up as the size of the city increased. In 2 centuries the number of churches in Florence was tripled.
In 1182 the merchants, who had begun to organize in corporate association, on the example of the Society of Knights, multiplied and spread well beyond the limits of their region. Florence thus became an international economic center, with its operators in the principal fairs of the West. The development of the economy went on at such a rate that in a few years the associations multiplied among the other categories of tradesmen and artisans, whose numbers increased considerably. Also accelerated immigration from the countryside, lay at the basis of this economic expansion. This was why Oltr'Arno, on which the populous Southern regions converged, increased enormously and a new bridge in wood on stone piers was constructed in 1128 and in 1237 a third bridge was built upstream. This bridge, completely in stone, was set across the widest point of the Arno and was eventually called Ponte alle Grazie, after the small church which was built on one of its piers in the middle of the 14th century.
During the 14th century, internal strife and wars were aggravated by famine and epidemics, particularly the deadly Black Plague of 1348, which aggravated a situation that was already precarious. Before the Plague a disastrous flood of 1333 swept away all the bridges over the Arno River except the Rubaconte. The 14th century was therefore a century of political and economic crisis again.
THE HEBREW 'GIBBORIM.'
Gibborim is a Hebrew word that can be glossed "mightiest" which is an intensive for "gabar" that can be glossed "mighty." Many time it is used of people who are valiant, mighty, or of great stature.
As a class of beings, Genesis 6:1-4 says: "When men began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. Then the Lord said, "My Spirit will not content with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be 120 years. The Nephil'im were on earth in those days -and also afterward- when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown."
The Nephil'im were the offspring of the sons of God and the daughters of men before the Deluge.
Ezekiel talks about this class of beings by saying, "In the 12th year, on the 15th day of the month, the Word of the Lord came to me: 'Son of man, wail for the hordes of Egypt and consign to the Earth below both her and the daughters of mighty nations, with those who go down to the pit.'
Say to them, 'Are you more favored than others? Go down and be laid among the uncircumcised.'
They will fall among those killed by the sword. The sword is drawn; let Egypt be dragged off with all her hordes. From within the grave the mighty leaders will say of Egypt and her allies, 'They have come down and they lie with the uncircumcised, with those killed by the sword.' (Ezekiel 32: 17-21)"
"Assyria is there with her whole army; she is surrounded by the graves of all her slain, all who have fallen by the sword. Their graves are in the depths of the pit and her army lies around her grave. All who had spread terror in the Land of the Living are slain, fallen by the sword." (Ez. 32: 22-23)
"Elam is there, with all her hordes around her grave. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword. All who had spread terror in the Land of the Living went down uncircumcised to the Earth below. They bear their shame with those who go down to the pit. A bed is made for her among the slain, with all her hordes around her grave. All of them uncircumcised, killed by the sword. Because their terror had spread in the Land of the Living, they bear their shame with those who go down to the pit; they are laid among the slain." (Ezekiel 32: 24-25)
"Meshech and Tubal are there, with all their hordes around their graves. All of them are uncircumcised, killed by the sword because they spread their terror in the Land of the Living. Do they not lie with the other uncircumcised warriors who have fallen, who went down to the grave with their weapons of war, whose swords were placed under their heads? The punishment for their sins rested on their bones, though the terror of these warriors had stalked through the Land of the Living." (Ez.32: 26-27)
"Edom is there, her kings and all her princess; despite their power, they are laid with those killed by the sword. They lie with the uncircumcised, with those who go down the pit." (Ez.32: 29)
"All the princes of the North and all the Sidonians are there; they went down with the slain in disgrace despite the terror caused by their power. They lie uncircumcised with those killed by the sword and bear their shame with those who go down the pit." (Ezekiel 32: 30)
"You too, O Pharaoh, will be broken and will lie among the uncircumcised, with those killed by the sword." (Ez.32:28) "Pharaoh -he and all his army- will see them and he will be consoled for all his hordes that were killed by the sword, declares the Sovereign Lord. Although I had him spread terror in the Land of the Living, Pharaoh and all his hordes will be laid among the uncircumcised, with those killed by the sword, declares the Sovereign Lord." (Ezekiel 32: 31-32)
The "sons of God"have been interpreted to be the "fallen angels" who were expelled from Heaven. In the Abrahamic religion adopted by the Islamic Empire from the 7th century, the fallen angels are ex-agents of God and enemies of humanity. The term 'fallen angel' neither appear in the Hebrew Scripture nor in Islamic Scripture.
2 Peter 2:4 says; "For if God do not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the Judgment Day." This is used to describe how angels were cast down to Earth during the War in Heaven described in the Book of Revelation between angels led by the Archangel Michael against those led by the Dragon identified as "the devil or Satan."
The word "Gibborin"is loosely translated in some Bibles as 'giants' and left untranslated in others. Numbers 13 says: "The Lord said to Moses, 'Send some men to explore the Land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders.' So at the Lord's command Moses sent them out from the Desert of Paran. All of them were leaders of the Israelites."(13: 1-3)
"When Moses sent them to explore Canaan, he said, 'Go up through the Negev and on into the hill country. See what the Land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. What kind of Land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified? How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees on it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the Land."(It was the season for the first ripe grapes) (13: 17-20)
"So they went up and explored the Land from the Desert of Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo Hamath.
They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahi'man, Shesh'ai, and Talm'ai, the descendants of Anak, lived. (Hebron had been built 7 years before Zoan in Egypt)." (13: 21-22)
"They came back (at the end of the 40 days) to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran."(13:26) "They gave Moses this account:'We went into the Land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes (That place was called the Valley of Eshcol because of the cluster of grapes they cut off there) that two of us carried on a pole between us, along with some pomegranates and figs. But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan.' Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, 'We should go up and take possession of the Land, for we can certainly do it.'
But the men who had gone up with Caleb said, 'We can't attack those people; they are stronger than we are.' And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the Land they had explored. They said, 'The Land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephil'im there (the descendants of Anak come form the Nephil'im). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them." (13: 26-33)
The word Gebborin should be applied in this case to Joshua and Caleb that were terrible angered and shocked at the manner in which their fellow scouts had spoken and acted. Both of them tore their clothes and said to the entire assembly, "The Land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. If the Lord our God is pleased with us, He will lead us into that Land, a Land flowing with milk and honey, and He will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the Land because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us." (13: 5-9)
God took the lives of those who made a false report: "The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: 'How long will this wicked community grumble against Me? I have heard the complains of these grumbling Israelites.' So tell them, 'As surely as I live,' declares the Lord, 'I will do to you the very things I heard you say: In this desert your bodies will fall -every one of you 20 years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against Me. Not one of you will enter the Land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.' " (13: 26-31)
As a class of beings, Genesis 6:1-4 says: "When men began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. Then the Lord said, "My Spirit will not content with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be 120 years. The Nephil'im were on earth in those days -and also afterward- when the sons of God went to the daughters of men and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown."
The Nephil'im were the offspring of the sons of God and the daughters of men before the Deluge.
Ezekiel talks about this class of beings by saying, "In the 12th year, on the 15th day of the month, the Word of the Lord came to me: 'Son of man, wail for the hordes of Egypt and consign to the Earth below both her and the daughters of mighty nations, with those who go down to the pit.'
Say to them, 'Are you more favored than others? Go down and be laid among the uncircumcised.'
They will fall among those killed by the sword. The sword is drawn; let Egypt be dragged off with all her hordes. From within the grave the mighty leaders will say of Egypt and her allies, 'They have come down and they lie with the uncircumcised, with those killed by the sword.' (Ezekiel 32: 17-21)"
"Assyria is there with her whole army; she is surrounded by the graves of all her slain, all who have fallen by the sword. Their graves are in the depths of the pit and her army lies around her grave. All who had spread terror in the Land of the Living are slain, fallen by the sword." (Ez. 32: 22-23)
"Elam is there, with all her hordes around her grave. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword. All who had spread terror in the Land of the Living went down uncircumcised to the Earth below. They bear their shame with those who go down to the pit. A bed is made for her among the slain, with all her hordes around her grave. All of them uncircumcised, killed by the sword. Because their terror had spread in the Land of the Living, they bear their shame with those who go down to the pit; they are laid among the slain." (Ezekiel 32: 24-25)
"Meshech and Tubal are there, with all their hordes around their graves. All of them are uncircumcised, killed by the sword because they spread their terror in the Land of the Living. Do they not lie with the other uncircumcised warriors who have fallen, who went down to the grave with their weapons of war, whose swords were placed under their heads? The punishment for their sins rested on their bones, though the terror of these warriors had stalked through the Land of the Living." (Ez.32: 26-27)
"Edom is there, her kings and all her princess; despite their power, they are laid with those killed by the sword. They lie with the uncircumcised, with those who go down the pit." (Ez.32: 29)
"All the princes of the North and all the Sidonians are there; they went down with the slain in disgrace despite the terror caused by their power. They lie uncircumcised with those killed by the sword and bear their shame with those who go down the pit." (Ezekiel 32: 30)
"You too, O Pharaoh, will be broken and will lie among the uncircumcised, with those killed by the sword." (Ez.32:28) "Pharaoh -he and all his army- will see them and he will be consoled for all his hordes that were killed by the sword, declares the Sovereign Lord. Although I had him spread terror in the Land of the Living, Pharaoh and all his hordes will be laid among the uncircumcised, with those killed by the sword, declares the Sovereign Lord." (Ezekiel 32: 31-32)
The "sons of God"have been interpreted to be the "fallen angels" who were expelled from Heaven. In the Abrahamic religion adopted by the Islamic Empire from the 7th century, the fallen angels are ex-agents of God and enemies of humanity. The term 'fallen angel' neither appear in the Hebrew Scripture nor in Islamic Scripture.
2 Peter 2:4 says; "For if God do not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the Judgment Day." This is used to describe how angels were cast down to Earth during the War in Heaven described in the Book of Revelation between angels led by the Archangel Michael against those led by the Dragon identified as "the devil or Satan."
The word "Gibborin"is loosely translated in some Bibles as 'giants' and left untranslated in others. Numbers 13 says: "The Lord said to Moses, 'Send some men to explore the Land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders.' So at the Lord's command Moses sent them out from the Desert of Paran. All of them were leaders of the Israelites."(13: 1-3)
"When Moses sent them to explore Canaan, he said, 'Go up through the Negev and on into the hill country. See what the Land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. What kind of Land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified? How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees on it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the Land."(It was the season for the first ripe grapes) (13: 17-20)
"So they went up and explored the Land from the Desert of Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo Hamath.
They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahi'man, Shesh'ai, and Talm'ai, the descendants of Anak, lived. (Hebron had been built 7 years before Zoan in Egypt)." (13: 21-22)
"They came back (at the end of the 40 days) to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran."(13:26) "They gave Moses this account:'We went into the Land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes (That place was called the Valley of Eshcol because of the cluster of grapes they cut off there) that two of us carried on a pole between us, along with some pomegranates and figs. But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan.' Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, 'We should go up and take possession of the Land, for we can certainly do it.'
But the men who had gone up with Caleb said, 'We can't attack those people; they are stronger than we are.' And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the Land they had explored. They said, 'The Land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. We saw the Nephil'im there (the descendants of Anak come form the Nephil'im). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them." (13: 26-33)
The word Gebborin should be applied in this case to Joshua and Caleb that were terrible angered and shocked at the manner in which their fellow scouts had spoken and acted. Both of them tore their clothes and said to the entire assembly, "The Land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. If the Lord our God is pleased with us, He will lead us into that Land, a Land flowing with milk and honey, and He will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the Land because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us." (13: 5-9)
God took the lives of those who made a false report: "The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: 'How long will this wicked community grumble against Me? I have heard the complains of these grumbling Israelites.' So tell them, 'As surely as I live,' declares the Lord, 'I will do to you the very things I heard you say: In this desert your bodies will fall -every one of you 20 years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against Me. Not one of you will enter the Land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.' " (13: 26-31)
SAUL DIED BY HIS OWN SWORD.
1 Samuel 31 says that Saul was injured in battle and then he used his own sword and fell on it. We read, "The fighting grew fierce around Saul, and when the archers overtook him, they wounded him critically. Saul said to his armor-bearer, 'Draw your sword and run me through, or these uncircumcised fellows will come and run me through and abuse me.' But his armor-bearer was terrified and would not do it; so Saul took his own sword and fell on it. When the armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his sword and died with him. So Saul and his 3 sons and his armor-bearer and all his men died together that same day." (1 Samuel 31: 3-6)
1 Chronicles 10 says: "Now the Philistines fought against Israel; the Israelites fled before them, and many fell slain on Mount Gilboa. The Philistines pressed hard after Saul and his sons, and they killed his sons Jon'athan, Abin'adab and Malki-Shua. The fighting grew fierce around Saul, and when the archers overtook him, they wounded him. Saul said to his armor-bearer, 'Draw your sword and run me through, or these uncircumcised fellows will come and abuse me.' But his armor-bearer was terrified and would not do it; so Saul took his own sword and fell on it. When the armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his sword and died. So Saul and his 3 sons, and all his house died together."
(1 Chronicles 10: 1-6)
The saying "live by the sword and died by the sword" is an idiom that basically means "what goes around comes around." If anyone use violent, forceful, or underhanded methods against other people then that individual can expect those same methods to be used against his body."
The saying has become a common expression, adapted from a conversation between Jesus and His disciple Peter just before Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane. After Jesus was betrayed by the only Judean of the 12, Judas Iscariot, a group of soldiers moved in to arrest the Lord. In a rash attempt to protect Jesus, Peter pulled out his sword and struck the servant of the High Priest, cutting off his ear (John 18:10). Jesus rebuked Peter and put a quick stop to the bloodshed. Jesus replaced the wounded man's ear, healing him instantly (Luke 22:51). Then Jesus told Peter to put his sword away, for "all who draw the sword by themselves will die by the sword" (Matthew 26:52). Jesus also told Peter that He himself would not fight the arrest, for it was God's Will that He drinks from the cup that was given to Him (John 18:11).
In Saul's case, the figurative usage of "falling on one's sword" is when someone takes personal responsibility for a group action.
The expression also is the Anglicized equivalent of "hara-kiri" -Japanese samurai custom of committing suicide by disembowelment (belly-cut) with a sword rather than face the dishonor of surrender.
The way in which Judas Iscariot (the only one from Judah), died give us a better comprehension about the spiritual level in which Saul found himself that ended the life of his whole house.
Acts 1 says: "In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about 120) and said, 'Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus -Judas was one of our number and shared in the ministry.' (With the reward he got for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their own language 'Alkedama,' that is, 'Field of Blood'). "
"For" said Peter, "It is written in the Book of Psalms, 'May another take his place of leadership.' Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from John's baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection" (Acts 1: 15-22).
Samuel was chosen and anointed by the prophet Samuel to be king of Israel, not because God wanted to, it happened because the people of Israel wanted a king like their neighboring nations. In the ceremony Samuel warned Saul and the nation of the need to follow God and not depart from His instructions. Saul won a couple of great battles and went from being humble to being proud. Under instruction from God Saul led a battle against the Amelekites. This was because Amelek ambushed Moses during the Exodus. The instruction was to kill everything and everyone. Saul didn't do that but instead spared the king and the best of the animals. He then lied when Samuel asked if he obeyed. When challenged by Samuel he then blamed the people. Samuel the pronounced the judgment from God: "Has the Lord as great delight in Burnt Offerings and sacrifices, as in Obeying the Voice of the Lord? Behold, to Obey is better than sacrifice, and to Heed than the fat of rams. For Rebellion is as the Sin of Witchcraft, and Stubbornness is as Iniquity and Idolatry."
When Judas betrayed Jesus to the assembly of 23 or 71 rabbis appointed (Sanhedrin) to sit as a tribunal in the Garden of Gethsemane, at the foot of the Mount Olives in Jerusalem (by kissing him and addressing him as "Rabbi" to reveal His identity to the crowd who had come to arrest Him) he received 30 pieces of silver. The Gospel of Luke 22:3 and the Gospel of John 13:27 suggest that he was possessed by Satan. Matthew 27: 1-10 says that Judas after learning that Jesus was to be crucified, he attempted to return the money he had been paid for his betrayal to the chief priests and committed suicide by hanging. The priests used the money to buy a field which was called the "Field of Blood" because it had been bought with blood money.
The same series of events happened to Saul. He disobeyed God's command, he died by his own sword, and his complete house ended with him, showing us the real meaning of Disobedience to God. The action of Rebellion is treated as if it is a Sin of Witchcraft , Stubborness as if it is Iniquity and Idolatry.
In 2 Samuel 1, the Amalekite's claim to have killed Saul is based on the Judgment Saul faced when he disobeyed God's command and because of his stubbornness and rebellion towards God he and his house was sentenced to death.
1 Chronicles 10 says: "Now the Philistines fought against Israel; the Israelites fled before them, and many fell slain on Mount Gilboa. The Philistines pressed hard after Saul and his sons, and they killed his sons Jon'athan, Abin'adab and Malki-Shua. The fighting grew fierce around Saul, and when the archers overtook him, they wounded him. Saul said to his armor-bearer, 'Draw your sword and run me through, or these uncircumcised fellows will come and abuse me.' But his armor-bearer was terrified and would not do it; so Saul took his own sword and fell on it. When the armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his sword and died. So Saul and his 3 sons, and all his house died together."
(1 Chronicles 10: 1-6)
The saying "live by the sword and died by the sword" is an idiom that basically means "what goes around comes around." If anyone use violent, forceful, or underhanded methods against other people then that individual can expect those same methods to be used against his body."
The saying has become a common expression, adapted from a conversation between Jesus and His disciple Peter just before Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane. After Jesus was betrayed by the only Judean of the 12, Judas Iscariot, a group of soldiers moved in to arrest the Lord. In a rash attempt to protect Jesus, Peter pulled out his sword and struck the servant of the High Priest, cutting off his ear (John 18:10). Jesus rebuked Peter and put a quick stop to the bloodshed. Jesus replaced the wounded man's ear, healing him instantly (Luke 22:51). Then Jesus told Peter to put his sword away, for "all who draw the sword by themselves will die by the sword" (Matthew 26:52). Jesus also told Peter that He himself would not fight the arrest, for it was God's Will that He drinks from the cup that was given to Him (John 18:11).
In Saul's case, the figurative usage of "falling on one's sword" is when someone takes personal responsibility for a group action.
The expression also is the Anglicized equivalent of "hara-kiri" -Japanese samurai custom of committing suicide by disembowelment (belly-cut) with a sword rather than face the dishonor of surrender.
The way in which Judas Iscariot (the only one from Judah), died give us a better comprehension about the spiritual level in which Saul found himself that ended the life of his whole house.
Acts 1 says: "In those days Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about 120) and said, 'Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus -Judas was one of our number and shared in the ministry.' (With the reward he got for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their own language 'Alkedama,' that is, 'Field of Blood'). "
"For" said Peter, "It is written in the Book of Psalms, 'May another take his place of leadership.' Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from John's baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection" (Acts 1: 15-22).
Samuel was chosen and anointed by the prophet Samuel to be king of Israel, not because God wanted to, it happened because the people of Israel wanted a king like their neighboring nations. In the ceremony Samuel warned Saul and the nation of the need to follow God and not depart from His instructions. Saul won a couple of great battles and went from being humble to being proud. Under instruction from God Saul led a battle against the Amelekites. This was because Amelek ambushed Moses during the Exodus. The instruction was to kill everything and everyone. Saul didn't do that but instead spared the king and the best of the animals. He then lied when Samuel asked if he obeyed. When challenged by Samuel he then blamed the people. Samuel the pronounced the judgment from God: "Has the Lord as great delight in Burnt Offerings and sacrifices, as in Obeying the Voice of the Lord? Behold, to Obey is better than sacrifice, and to Heed than the fat of rams. For Rebellion is as the Sin of Witchcraft, and Stubbornness is as Iniquity and Idolatry."
When Judas betrayed Jesus to the assembly of 23 or 71 rabbis appointed (Sanhedrin) to sit as a tribunal in the Garden of Gethsemane, at the foot of the Mount Olives in Jerusalem (by kissing him and addressing him as "Rabbi" to reveal His identity to the crowd who had come to arrest Him) he received 30 pieces of silver. The Gospel of Luke 22:3 and the Gospel of John 13:27 suggest that he was possessed by Satan. Matthew 27: 1-10 says that Judas after learning that Jesus was to be crucified, he attempted to return the money he had been paid for his betrayal to the chief priests and committed suicide by hanging. The priests used the money to buy a field which was called the "Field of Blood" because it had been bought with blood money.
The same series of events happened to Saul. He disobeyed God's command, he died by his own sword, and his complete house ended with him, showing us the real meaning of Disobedience to God. The action of Rebellion is treated as if it is a Sin of Witchcraft , Stubborness as if it is Iniquity and Idolatry.
In 2 Samuel 1, the Amalekite's claim to have killed Saul is based on the Judgment Saul faced when he disobeyed God's command and because of his stubbornness and rebellion towards God he and his house was sentenced to death.
Saturday, 2 June 2018
THE PARABLE OF EASTERN ISLAND.
Eastern Island, also known as Rapa Nui is located in the South East Pacific and is famous for its approximately 1,000 carvings of human-faced statues. The famous carvings are massive, up to 12 meters /40 ft tall and 75 tons in weight. they were decorated on top with a soft red stone (Pukao) in the shape of a hat. the statues also have torsos buried beneath the heads. The statues on its platforms can be found ringing almost the entire coast of the island. Despite their seaside location, every single one of them appears to face inland and not out to sea. The build up appears to have stopped when around the time of European contact in 1722, when Dutch explorers landed on the island on Easter Day. Why the construction was abandoned is another mystery. It is known that disease ravaged the island's people after contact with the foreigners.
The island measures about 22 km/14 mi by 11 km/ 7mi at its furthest points and it is often said it can be traversed by foot in a single day.
The volcanic island is the most isolated inhabited land-mass on Earth. The closest inhabited land is the Pitcairn Islands, located about 1,900 km/ 1200 mi to the West. Chile, the closest South American country, is located about 3,700 km/ 2,300 mi to the East.
It has long being held to be the most important example of a traditional society destroying itself. When people first came to the island, around 1000 AD, they would have found the island overgrown with a dense forest of palm trees and shrubs, among other vegetation. In centuries that followed it was deforested until, by the 19th century, the landscape was utterly barren.
Scholars take this example as a parable of today's global environmental problems. Data shows that by early historic times the deforestation of Easter Island was already complete. An anthropologist who collected the data said, "Easter Island has become a paragon for pre-historic human-induced ecological catastrophe and cultural collapse."
The island had a relatively simple ecosystem with vegetation once dominated by millions of palm trees. Almost all of the palm seed shells discovered on the island were found to have been gnawed by rats. Thousand of rat bones have been found, and crucially, much of the damage to forestry appeared to have been done before by fires on the island. Exactly how rats got on to the island is not known. Once they arrived, the rats found palm nuts that offered an almost unlimited high-quality food supply. Under ideal conditions, rats reproduce so rapidly that their numbers double every 47 days; unchecked, a single mating pair can produce a population of nearly 17 million in just over 3 years. It demonstrates that rats were capable, on their own, to deforesting large lowland coastal areas in about 200 years or less.
The environmental catastrophe of Easter Island has been masked by the speculation about the intentions of people that inhabited the island. It is the clearest example of a society that destroyed itself by overexploiting its own resources. Once tree clearing started, it didn't stop until the whole forest was gone. Chemical analyses of teeth from 41 human skeletons excavated on the island revealed the inhabitants ate rats rather than seafood.
Easter Island's fate could one day be our own. We do not dare abuse the trees and animals around us, because if we do, we will go down together.
The island measures about 22 km/14 mi by 11 km/ 7mi at its furthest points and it is often said it can be traversed by foot in a single day.
The volcanic island is the most isolated inhabited land-mass on Earth. The closest inhabited land is the Pitcairn Islands, located about 1,900 km/ 1200 mi to the West. Chile, the closest South American country, is located about 3,700 km/ 2,300 mi to the East.
It has long being held to be the most important example of a traditional society destroying itself. When people first came to the island, around 1000 AD, they would have found the island overgrown with a dense forest of palm trees and shrubs, among other vegetation. In centuries that followed it was deforested until, by the 19th century, the landscape was utterly barren.
Scholars take this example as a parable of today's global environmental problems. Data shows that by early historic times the deforestation of Easter Island was already complete. An anthropologist who collected the data said, "Easter Island has become a paragon for pre-historic human-induced ecological catastrophe and cultural collapse."
The island had a relatively simple ecosystem with vegetation once dominated by millions of palm trees. Almost all of the palm seed shells discovered on the island were found to have been gnawed by rats. Thousand of rat bones have been found, and crucially, much of the damage to forestry appeared to have been done before by fires on the island. Exactly how rats got on to the island is not known. Once they arrived, the rats found palm nuts that offered an almost unlimited high-quality food supply. Under ideal conditions, rats reproduce so rapidly that their numbers double every 47 days; unchecked, a single mating pair can produce a population of nearly 17 million in just over 3 years. It demonstrates that rats were capable, on their own, to deforesting large lowland coastal areas in about 200 years or less.
The environmental catastrophe of Easter Island has been masked by the speculation about the intentions of people that inhabited the island. It is the clearest example of a society that destroyed itself by overexploiting its own resources. Once tree clearing started, it didn't stop until the whole forest was gone. Chemical analyses of teeth from 41 human skeletons excavated on the island revealed the inhabitants ate rats rather than seafood.
Easter Island's fate could one day be our own. We do not dare abuse the trees and animals around us, because if we do, we will go down together.
THE CAROLINGIAN DYNASTY.
The Carolingian dynasty was a noble family of Frankish tribe aristocrats who came to rule over much Western Europe from 751 to 987. The dynasty's most prominent member was Charlemagne.
The family originally served as hereditary mayors of the palace of Austrasia, the North Eastern section of the kingdom of the Franks comprising modern-day Eastern France, Western Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands, under the Merovingian rule.
Pepin I of Landen (580-640) assumed the position of mayor of the palace during the reign of the Merovingian king, Clotaire II, (584-629). The post of mayor of the palace, known in Latin as "mayor-domus," came to hold decision-making authority, while the king served as reigning figurehead.
Pepin's daughter married the son of Arnulf, bishop of Metz (582-640), uniting two of the most prominent Frankish noble families. Their son, Pepin II of Heristal (635-714), continued the family's dominance, conquering Neustria, the Western section of the kingdom of the Franks comprising most of present-day Northern France, in 687. He became mayor of the palace in Austrasia, Neustria, and Burgundy. The names used to identified the family (Pippinid or Arnulfing) derived from one of Pepin II's grandfathers.
Later known as the Carolingian family, the Pippinid family made the post of mayor of the palace hereditary. The most famous Carolingian mayor of the palace was Charles Martel (686-791) -known variously as Carolus Martellus in Latin or Charles "the Hammer"in English- who served as mayor of the palace of the 3 Frankish kingdoms.
In 732 Charles Martel won the Battle of Tours, which halted an advancing army from overturning Western Europe. The first wave of Muslim expansion into Iberia, present-day Spain and Portugal, began in 711. This expedition landed in Gibraltar and was followed by further Muslim expansion. The Muslims were able to overcome the small states that existed in Iberia because of the fractured nature of Iberian Christendom. In 730 the Umayyad caliph appointed a new governor on the Iberian Muslim state known in Arabic as al-Andalus. Despite the religious differences, some Muslim and Christian rulers signed treaties with one another and formed alliances in order to further their political goals. In 721 the army of Eudes, Christian duke of Aquitaine, defeated an Umayyad invasion force at Toulousse. However Muslim incursions into France continued, reaching as far North as the province of Burgundy by the mid-720s. Eudes was defeated in a fierce battle near the city of Bordeaux and the Garonne River and desperate for aid, he turned toward Charles Martel, the Carolingian Frankish ruler, agreeing to submit to his authority. On October 732 Charles positioned the Frankish army, which was made up entirely of armory infantrymen equipped with heavy shields and long spears, between the Muslim invasion force and the monastery of St. Martin. The Muslim army, which was made up entirely of Arab and Berber cavalry, met the Franks near Tours and the two sides scouted one another's positions and skirmished for nearly a week before commencing battle on the 7th day. the Muslim army was the larger of the two. The Frankish infantry formed into a tightly grouped phalanx and managed to repel successive Muslim cavalry charges throughout the day. Late in battle the Muslim commander was killed while trying to rally waning Muslim forces and his army halted their attacks. With a substantial amount of captured treasure from their campaign in Southern France, the Muslims decided to withdraw South back toward Iberia. In later campaigns, Charles continued to push the Iberian Muslims back across the Pyrenees Mountains and out of France.
Following Charles Martel's death, his position was divided between his two sons, Pepin III (714-768) known as "the Short," in Neustra, and Carloman (710-754) in Austrassia. Pepin III secured papal and noble support to seize power. He, reuniting Austrassia and Neustria into one kingdom, usurped the Crown of the Merovingians to become the ruling king in 751. He became the founder of the Carolingian dynasty as King Pepin I. The pope annointed Pepin I, also granting him the title of Roman Patrician. Pepin I also created the Papal States out of conquered territory in Central Italy, giving it to the pope to administer. Following Pepin I's death, his kingdom was divided equally among his two sons, Carloman (755-771) and Charlemagne (742-814). Following Carloman's death in 771, Charlemagne became sole ruler. He expanded the Frankish empire toward the South, conquering much of Southern Germany, including Bavaria and Saxony, and Northern and Central Italy, to reunite most of the former Western Roman Empire. Charlemagne's empire came to include present-day France, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxem'Bourg, and parts of Italy and Spain. He continued his alliance with the pope in Rome, promoting religious reform and cultural growth. Consequently Pope Leo III (d.816) crowned Charlemagne Roman emperor on December 25, 800.
In 806 Charlemagne created a plan for the division of his empire among his sons. however on the day of his death in 1814, his sole surviving son, Louis I (778-840), known as "the Pious," came to the throne. Both Charlemagne and Louis I worked to centralize authority throughout the empire. Nobles and administrators were appointed that led to the development of a feudalistic society under the emperor. After Louis I's death, his three sons, Lothair (795-855), Louis "the German"(804-876), and Charles "the Bald"(823-877), fought for control of te Frankish empire. In 1843 the Treaty of Verdum divided the empire into three segments (West Francia, Middle Francia, and East Francia) among each of Louis I's sons. Following Lothair I's death in 855, Middle Francia was divided among his sons and renewed tensions arose between the various factions of the Carolingians. Despite ensuing rivalries and invasions, the Carolingians retained control of the Eastern portion of the Frankish empire until 911. Over time East Francia's political centralization dissolved into regional duchies, which operated as petty kingdoms. The Western portion was dominated by several feudal lords, who elected the count of Paris, Hugh Capet (938-996), as king of France in 987 following the death of the last Carolingian ruler. he became the founder of the French royal house, the Capetians (987-1328), which included the later cadet branches: the Valois (1328-1589), the Bourbons (1589-1792; 1814; 1815-30), and the Bourbon-Orleans (1830-48).
The family originally served as hereditary mayors of the palace of Austrasia, the North Eastern section of the kingdom of the Franks comprising modern-day Eastern France, Western Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands, under the Merovingian rule.
Pepin I of Landen (580-640) assumed the position of mayor of the palace during the reign of the Merovingian king, Clotaire II, (584-629). The post of mayor of the palace, known in Latin as "mayor-domus," came to hold decision-making authority, while the king served as reigning figurehead.
Pepin's daughter married the son of Arnulf, bishop of Metz (582-640), uniting two of the most prominent Frankish noble families. Their son, Pepin II of Heristal (635-714), continued the family's dominance, conquering Neustria, the Western section of the kingdom of the Franks comprising most of present-day Northern France, in 687. He became mayor of the palace in Austrasia, Neustria, and Burgundy. The names used to identified the family (Pippinid or Arnulfing) derived from one of Pepin II's grandfathers.
Later known as the Carolingian family, the Pippinid family made the post of mayor of the palace hereditary. The most famous Carolingian mayor of the palace was Charles Martel (686-791) -known variously as Carolus Martellus in Latin or Charles "the Hammer"in English- who served as mayor of the palace of the 3 Frankish kingdoms.
In 732 Charles Martel won the Battle of Tours, which halted an advancing army from overturning Western Europe. The first wave of Muslim expansion into Iberia, present-day Spain and Portugal, began in 711. This expedition landed in Gibraltar and was followed by further Muslim expansion. The Muslims were able to overcome the small states that existed in Iberia because of the fractured nature of Iberian Christendom. In 730 the Umayyad caliph appointed a new governor on the Iberian Muslim state known in Arabic as al-Andalus. Despite the religious differences, some Muslim and Christian rulers signed treaties with one another and formed alliances in order to further their political goals. In 721 the army of Eudes, Christian duke of Aquitaine, defeated an Umayyad invasion force at Toulousse. However Muslim incursions into France continued, reaching as far North as the province of Burgundy by the mid-720s. Eudes was defeated in a fierce battle near the city of Bordeaux and the Garonne River and desperate for aid, he turned toward Charles Martel, the Carolingian Frankish ruler, agreeing to submit to his authority. On October 732 Charles positioned the Frankish army, which was made up entirely of armory infantrymen equipped with heavy shields and long spears, between the Muslim invasion force and the monastery of St. Martin. The Muslim army, which was made up entirely of Arab and Berber cavalry, met the Franks near Tours and the two sides scouted one another's positions and skirmished for nearly a week before commencing battle on the 7th day. the Muslim army was the larger of the two. The Frankish infantry formed into a tightly grouped phalanx and managed to repel successive Muslim cavalry charges throughout the day. Late in battle the Muslim commander was killed while trying to rally waning Muslim forces and his army halted their attacks. With a substantial amount of captured treasure from their campaign in Southern France, the Muslims decided to withdraw South back toward Iberia. In later campaigns, Charles continued to push the Iberian Muslims back across the Pyrenees Mountains and out of France.
Following Charles Martel's death, his position was divided between his two sons, Pepin III (714-768) known as "the Short," in Neustra, and Carloman (710-754) in Austrassia. Pepin III secured papal and noble support to seize power. He, reuniting Austrassia and Neustria into one kingdom, usurped the Crown of the Merovingians to become the ruling king in 751. He became the founder of the Carolingian dynasty as King Pepin I. The pope annointed Pepin I, also granting him the title of Roman Patrician. Pepin I also created the Papal States out of conquered territory in Central Italy, giving it to the pope to administer. Following Pepin I's death, his kingdom was divided equally among his two sons, Carloman (755-771) and Charlemagne (742-814). Following Carloman's death in 771, Charlemagne became sole ruler. He expanded the Frankish empire toward the South, conquering much of Southern Germany, including Bavaria and Saxony, and Northern and Central Italy, to reunite most of the former Western Roman Empire. Charlemagne's empire came to include present-day France, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxem'Bourg, and parts of Italy and Spain. He continued his alliance with the pope in Rome, promoting religious reform and cultural growth. Consequently Pope Leo III (d.816) crowned Charlemagne Roman emperor on December 25, 800.
In 806 Charlemagne created a plan for the division of his empire among his sons. however on the day of his death in 1814, his sole surviving son, Louis I (778-840), known as "the Pious," came to the throne. Both Charlemagne and Louis I worked to centralize authority throughout the empire. Nobles and administrators were appointed that led to the development of a feudalistic society under the emperor. After Louis I's death, his three sons, Lothair (795-855), Louis "the German"(804-876), and Charles "the Bald"(823-877), fought for control of te Frankish empire. In 1843 the Treaty of Verdum divided the empire into three segments (West Francia, Middle Francia, and East Francia) among each of Louis I's sons. Following Lothair I's death in 855, Middle Francia was divided among his sons and renewed tensions arose between the various factions of the Carolingians. Despite ensuing rivalries and invasions, the Carolingians retained control of the Eastern portion of the Frankish empire until 911. Over time East Francia's political centralization dissolved into regional duchies, which operated as petty kingdoms. The Western portion was dominated by several feudal lords, who elected the count of Paris, Hugh Capet (938-996), as king of France in 987 following the death of the last Carolingian ruler. he became the founder of the French royal house, the Capetians (987-1328), which included the later cadet branches: the Valois (1328-1589), the Bourbons (1589-1792; 1814; 1815-30), and the Bourbon-Orleans (1830-48).
THE ONE WHO REPLACED JUDAS.
According to the Acts of the Apostles, an apostle had to be chosen to replace Judas Iscariot who proved to be a traitor, thereby fulfilling earlier prophecies (Ps 41:9; 109:8). The remaining 11 faithful apostles are listed at Acts 1:13.
The calling of this apostle is unique, because it is made before the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the early church, and Jesus whom personally selected a body of 12 appointed representatives, had already ascended to heaven.
Some of the apostles that were appointed by Jesus had been disciples of John the Baptizer before becoming Jesus' disciples (John 1:35-42), Judas Iscariot being considered the sole Judean.
The Greek word "a.po.stel'lo," meaning "send forth (or off)". Its basic sense is illustrated in Jesus' statement: "A slave is not greater than his master, nor is one that is sent forth greater than the one that sent him." (John 13:16) When names are translated from Hebrew to Greek, they often go through a few changes. The name Judah is pronounced Judas in Greek. The word "Jew" is an Anglicizing of the word 'Judahites' or 'Judeans.' Jesus is betrayed by a man named Judah. In many ways, Judas' rejection of Jesus as King foreshadows the way the whole nation of Judah will respond to the Son of God.
Matthew's Gospel is often summed up by the theme "Jesus is the King." The irony and beauty of the Gospel is that Jesus is not merely the King of the Jews, He is the King of the Gentiles (Nations). Matthew introduces Jesus as the Anointed Son of David who begins His Ministry as a light to the Gentiles in Galilee (Chapter 4). In Matthew, Jesus' ministry takes place exclusively outside Jerusalem.
When Jesus finally comes riding toward the city of Jerusalem on a donkey, it is His first and final visit in Matthew's narrative. Jesus is celebrated by his fellow Galilean pilgrims outside the city gates, but when He enters the city, Jerusalem's response is,"Who is this!"(Matt. 21:10). They are deeply disturbed by the uproar the "Galilean Leader" has caused.
Judas Iscariot acts as an agent of the Jerusalem establishment, and he embodies the resentment of the ones in power and the subsequent rejection of Jesus. The way he acted toward Jesus is the way the nation of Judah in general responded to their Messiah. John writes in his opening chapter: He came to His Own, and His Own People did not receive Him" (John 1:11).
After Jesus' resurrection, He does not march to the city of Jerusalem, instead He meets with his disciples in Galilee of the Gentiles. There Jesus proclaims Himself to have "all authority in Heaven and on Earth," sending His People to make disciples of all nations.
Judah is sadly absent. Acts 1 says: "With the payment Judas received for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language "Akeldama," that is, "Field of Blood." .. It is written in the Book of Psalms:"May his place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in their tents. May another take his place of leadership." (Acts 1:18-20)
Peter, knowing the Scriptures were to be fulfilled, proposed that another man be chosen to take Judas Iscariot's place among the 12 apostles to maintain their number and their ministry. There were at least 72 other men, besides the Twelve, whom the Lord had commissioned for ministry (Luke 10:1).
The calling of this apostle is unique, because it is made before the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the early church, and Jesus whom personally selected a body of 12 appointed representatives, had already ascended to heaven.
Some of the apostles that were appointed by Jesus had been disciples of John the Baptizer before becoming Jesus' disciples (John 1:35-42), Judas Iscariot being considered the sole Judean.
The Greek word "a.po.stel'lo," meaning "send forth (or off)". Its basic sense is illustrated in Jesus' statement: "A slave is not greater than his master, nor is one that is sent forth greater than the one that sent him." (John 13:16) When names are translated from Hebrew to Greek, they often go through a few changes. The name Judah is pronounced Judas in Greek. The word "Jew" is an Anglicizing of the word 'Judahites' or 'Judeans.' Jesus is betrayed by a man named Judah. In many ways, Judas' rejection of Jesus as King foreshadows the way the whole nation of Judah will respond to the Son of God.
Matthew's Gospel is often summed up by the theme "Jesus is the King." The irony and beauty of the Gospel is that Jesus is not merely the King of the Jews, He is the King of the Gentiles (Nations). Matthew introduces Jesus as the Anointed Son of David who begins His Ministry as a light to the Gentiles in Galilee (Chapter 4). In Matthew, Jesus' ministry takes place exclusively outside Jerusalem.
When Jesus finally comes riding toward the city of Jerusalem on a donkey, it is His first and final visit in Matthew's narrative. Jesus is celebrated by his fellow Galilean pilgrims outside the city gates, but when He enters the city, Jerusalem's response is,"Who is this!"(Matt. 21:10). They are deeply disturbed by the uproar the "Galilean Leader" has caused.
Judas Iscariot acts as an agent of the Jerusalem establishment, and he embodies the resentment of the ones in power and the subsequent rejection of Jesus. The way he acted toward Jesus is the way the nation of Judah in general responded to their Messiah. John writes in his opening chapter: He came to His Own, and His Own People did not receive Him" (John 1:11).
After Jesus' resurrection, He does not march to the city of Jerusalem, instead He meets with his disciples in Galilee of the Gentiles. There Jesus proclaims Himself to have "all authority in Heaven and on Earth," sending His People to make disciples of all nations.
Judah is sadly absent. Acts 1 says: "With the payment Judas received for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language "Akeldama," that is, "Field of Blood." .. It is written in the Book of Psalms:"May his place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in their tents. May another take his place of leadership." (Acts 1:18-20)
Peter, knowing the Scriptures were to be fulfilled, proposed that another man be chosen to take Judas Iscariot's place among the 12 apostles to maintain their number and their ministry. There were at least 72 other men, besides the Twelve, whom the Lord had commissioned for ministry (Luke 10:1).
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