On May 20 of 325 AD, the world stopped. The Council of Nicaea had begun, in one way or another this event was going to shape the future of the entire humanity.
There’s nothing wrong with affirming that the choices made in the Council of Nicaea influenced history up to the present day. Some of its decrees and dogmas affected our lives, shaping religious beliefs and political ideologies.
Icon of Christ of the Pantocrator type (Χριστός Παντοκράτωρ)
Preservation of peace
Under the patronage of Emperor Constantine, Christianity transitioned from a marginalized cult to a strong religious one. This led to the construction of the first Christian churches, within and outside city walls.
However, in only 20 years, there was so much confusion and internal conflicts in the heart of the Church itself that the emperor had to intervene to shape its future. Thus, a council was planned in the city of Nicaea, in Bithynia, on 325 AD. Christ’s nature brought together 220 bishops who intervened on that occasion, it was such a huge important topic that it could have destroyed the Empire itself.
Spread of Christianity during the 3rd Century AD
A new world, made of dogmas and heretics.
The decisions made at the Council of Nicaea gave a new structure to a state that was increasingly influenced by too many Christian values.
The council of Nicaea strongly denied the Arian interpretation of the Holy Trinity, viewing Jesus as a subordinate to God. Furthermore, the conception of Jesus from Mother Mary through the Holy Spirit was declared a miracle. Therefore, a dogma was declared, imposing a truth that would have determined faith from then onwards. Additionally, the Church’s structure was reorganized, stating the authority of the bishops of Rome and Alexandria over others. However, according to sources, the Council of Nicaea ended up being a flash in the pan. In conclusion, heretical movements became stronger, accompanying the empire into its progressive transformation.
Ario condemned from the Nicaea Council, icon hailing from the Mégalo Metéoron monastery, Greece.
“Archaeology is the search for fact, not truth. If it’s the truth you’re interested in, Dr. Tyree’s philosophy class is right down the hall.”
With these words from the movie Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade, which you have to keep in mind, let’s start with an in-depth study of Hitler’s ideology: the esoteric Nazism and the research of the Holy Grail and the Spear of Longinus. According to the Nazi ideology, these objects would have given great power to the German army, leading the Aryan race to conquer the world.
However, how much the Führer and his right-hand man Himmler relied on magical powers to win the war, is actually irrelevant to what really happened. We don’t know if there’s any truth behind their beliefs and if that research was related to a true interest in finding these objects. We’ll limit ourselves in telling some facts related to the research of these mystical powerful objects without passing them off as the truth.
Indiana Jones against the Nazis of Hitler
The common thread of this in-depth study is the figure of the most famous archaeologist that the world of cinema has ever known: Professor Henry Jones Junior, but he prefers to be called Indiana Jones.
Spielberg has deceived entire generations of young students who, since their first day in class, had to accept the hard truth that real archaeology is far from the one pictured by Professor Jones. But there’s one thing that the director and his character didn’t lie about: the obsession of the Nazis (the antagonists par excellence in Indiana Jones’ movies) towards legendary objects related to religion.
The Holy Grail, the cup that would have given immense power to Hitler
In Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade, the Nazis were in search of the Holy Grail, which was the cup used by Christ during the Last Supper and consequently used by Joseph of Arimathea to collect the blood of Christ from the cross. Professor Jones was able to find the holy grail before the enemies and showed his intelligence through the way he chose the right cup, which was the most modest one, hidden among other chalices covered in gold and precious gems. The Nazis instead drank from the wrong cup: they were blinded by the glory and power that hides under the yarning gold, and from that you can understand the absence of humbleness. This is what happened on the big screen.
In real life, there was an Indiana Jones, he was an historian and medieval researcher, engaged in the search of artifacts such as the Holy Grail. His name was Otto Rahn, and he didn’t fight the Nazis: he was an SS officer, Himmler tasked him with finding the Holy Grail.
Otto Rahn, seeker of the Grail
The myth of Parsifal, the only knight worthy of seeing the Holy Grail
Otto Rahn was passionate about medieval epic poems and, just like Himmler, he knew well the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. He focused on the figure of Parsifal, King Arthur’s knight who found the Holy Grail. According to the legend, the Holy Grail was kept on the top of Monsalvato, in a hermitage where the pure of heart spent their life drawing strength from sacred objects that were kept there. The Spear of Longinus was also among these objects, but we’ll talk about this later.
At this point, it’s important to clarify that, even though the beneficiary of the power of the objects would have been the Führer, the obsessive research was a work of Himmler (SS chief and second most powerful man in Germany) and Otto Rahn.
Apparition of the Grail on the Round Table in a XV century paintingParsifal wielding the Spear of Longinus in Richard Wagner’s Parsifal. Drawing made by Arnaldo Dell’Ira, about 1930
The crusade against the Cathars, the hint of the Holy Grail on Monsalvato
After having passed the scrutiny of medieval history, Rahn managed to locate Monsalvato in France. The crusade against the Cathars (1209-1229) gave a hint to the researcher.
The Cathars were persecuted by the crusaders under the pope’s command, they perched on the fortress of Mòntsegur, in order to escape from the violent rage of the knights. Montsegur is known as the place where, on the 16th of March 1244, the Cathars were burned alive by the Crusaders. The strong familiarity between the “Mòntsegur” of the Cathars and the “Monsalvato” of Parsifal made Rahn think that it was the Grail’s last time it was seen before disappearing into thin air. The research started in 1929 without any results. When Rahn returned to Germany in 1933, he wrote a report of his adventures in France, entitled “The Crusade against the Grail” which had some success right away.
Mòntsegur (France)
The Spear of Longinus, an object passed down from Constantine to Charlemagne, up to Hitler
There was another object that Hitler wanted, which has already been mentioned: The Spear of Longinus, which, according to the legend, wounded Jesus Christ’s side. In the Indiana Jones’ movies there is no reference to the Spear. Probably because, unlike the other objects such as the Holy Grail and the Ark of The Covenant, Hitler actually managed to obtain it.
SImone Martini’s Crucifixion, the Spear that wounded Jesus’ side can be seen on the left
In the Gospels of Matthew (27:49,50) and John (20:33-35), there’s an episode about the Spear: it belonged to Gaius Cassius Longinus, an almost-blind commander of a Roman century. He was the one who stabbed Jesus Christ’s side with his spear, whose blood, by dripping on the spear, arrived in Longinus’s eyes and he instantly regained his sight.
The Spear became a sacred object, and according to written sources, it was brought from Jerusalem to Constantinople to Helena, the mother of the Emperor Constantine, alongside other relics that belonged to Jesus Christ.
Longinus depicted on a mosaic of the XV century, preserved in Chio
The Spear was kept in the Byzantine courts for many centuries up until it changed hands from Charlemagne to Otto I, and it was used as the symbol of the Holy Roman Empire, then it passed to Henry IV of Bavaria and the emperor Charles IV. On 12 March 1938, Hitler was conquering Austria, and the Spear, which was part of the Habsburg treasures was about to change its owner. Hitler, after invading Austria, brought all the royal treasury to Nuremberg.
13 October 1938: the Spear left the Austrian capital transported on an armored train and was protected by a special corps of the SS. It was put inside the church of Saint Catherine, alongside the royal treasure of the Hasburg. The legend says that the Spear was brought to Germany to manifest its amazing powers. In reality, the Spear arrived in Germany because it belonged to a country that was invaded. Hitler probably saw the Spear as the symbol of the continuity of Otto I’s Empire. When the war ended, the Spear returned to Austria and is now preserved inside the Hofborg Museum of Vienna.
Scientific Analysis of the Spear and its real origins
Obviously, according to the study of this finding, it wasn’t a miraculous spear. But we can appreciate the historic value: the item has been dated around the VIII Century AD. The manufacture is of Carolingian origins. The spear, broken into two points, has a triple wrapping in iron, silver, and gold.
The silver band dates to the II Century AD, but the engraving on it belongs to the Henry IV of Bavaria, who lived between 1084 and 1105. The golden sheath is from the XIV Century, and it was in Charles IV’s possession, who got “Lancea et Clavus Domini” engraved on it.
The Spear of Longinus, kept in the Hofburg Museum of Vienna
In conclusion, we don’t know if it is true that the Nazis relied on the power of these objects and if they believed they could have brought the Arian race on top of the world. But the facts tell us that the Nazis, ridiculed and mocked in Indiana Jones’ movies, committed crimes that left a bloody imprint on history. And they have done it without any help from divine and powerful objects, but only guided by the hate generated by the human mind.
April 1945: the last days of the Führer and his Nazi Germany
Hitler was witnessing the dissolution of his Third Reich inside his bunker (Führerbunker), aware that, in a matter of time, the country would have ended in ruins. He couldn’t accept defeat and the fact that the Germans weren’t “devoted enough”, which is why he thought that Germany should have fallen down with him.
A Russian soldier stands in Adolf Hitler’s bunker, Berlin, 1945
The last days of the Führer
On the 20th of April, Hitler came out from his bunker for the first time stepping on what was left of a Berlin in tears. He came across some injured soldiers and promised them an impossible victory: no one could defend Germany.
Some days after, he ranted against the betrayal and the incompetence of his commanders and admitted – for the first time – that the war was lost. The failure and his pride brought him to the only possible way that allowed him to walk tall until the end: death.
“I don’t want my body to be exposed, I want the Soviets to know that I stayed here until the end”, Hitler affirmed. He wished to die in Berlin where he was spending his last days. He asked to a SS Doctor, Werner Haase, which were the most reliable methods of suicide: he suggested a gun and poison.
Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun
Hitler’s death
On the 30th of April, in the final stage of the battle of Berlin, Hitler committed suicide alongside his partner Eva Braun. The woman, with her head on the legs of the Führer, crushed a vial of cyanide between her teeth. Hitler did the same, ensuring his death with a gunshot into his right temple. The corpses of Hitler and Eva Braun were brought outside the building and set on fire. The veracity of their deaths and what truly happened to their bodies is still debated.
26 April 1478, Florence. Lorenzo and Giuliano de’ Medici were getting ready to go to the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, but little did they know that someone had been scheming a plot behind their backs, and that right inside the Cathedral, the two lords of Florence were going to be victims of what is historically known as the Pazzi conspiracy.
Lorenzo De’ Medici, portrait by Sandro Botticelli
Who were the Pazzi, the historical rivals of the Medici
As skilled traders, during the 15th century, the Pazzi were able to make money and become one of the most powerful families in Florence.
Through a series of arranged marriages among other powerful families of the city, they entered the politics of Florence as the most influential members, on par with the Medici family.
The marriage policy of Jacopo de’ Pazzi involved the Medicis. Therefore, Bianca de’ Medici, sister of Lorenzo and Giuliano, married Guglielmo de’ Pazzi. The wedding should have smoothed out the historical tensions between the two families. The Pazzi were bankers just like the Medici, but they never accepted the supremacy of the rival family and their power over Florence.
There was also another thing that the Pazzis couldn’t tolerate, a privilege that they did not have; the Medici were the bankers of the Pope.
Although the Pazzis are known in history for being rivals with Medicis, they weren’t the only ones that wanted their death. From Rome, Francesco de’ Pazzi, nephew of Jacopo, managed to involve Pope Sixtus IV, nephew of Francesco Salviati (archbishop of Pisa), and the king of Naples, Ferrante d’Aragona. Each of them had their reasons for wanting to destroy the Medici’s family.
Post Mortem portrait of Giuliano De’ Medici by Sandro Botticelli, 1478-1480
The matter of Imola and the dispute with the Pope
In 1473, the Duke of Imola, Giangaleazzo Sforza, put up the city of Imola for sale. The Pope intended to purchase and give it as a wedding gift to his nephew Girolamo Riario, who married Caterina Sforza. With his nephew as the head of the city, the Papal State would have expanded its dominion as far as Romagna, but the city was in the crosshairs of Lorenzo the Magnificent. The Pope didn’t have enough money to buy it and the Medicis, since they were their bankers, knew it.
Lorenzo went to the Pazzis, asking them to not lend money to the Pope and to not reveal that he intended to purchase the city. In this way, without any support from the Florentine banks, Sixtus would have lost his chance of getting the fortress of Romagna, which would have been handed to the people of Florence. However, the Pazzis betrayed the intentions of Lorenzo and warned the Pope about his plans.
The breaking point between the Pope and the Medicis occurred when Sixtus IV decided to replace the Medicis with the Pazzis as the bankers of the pontifical funds.
The resentment of Francesco Salviati, the Archbishop of Pisa
Among the protagonists of the Conspiracy, there was a member of an important family of Florence (he was related to the Pazzis): Francesco Salviati. He was appointed by the Pope as the Archbishop of Pisa, and in 1474 Salviati strongly wanted the position of the Archbishop of Florence, but Lorenzo was able to prevent his rise. If Lorenzo had denied Florence, the Pope would have closed its door on Pisa with a power struggle.
The king of Naples Ferrante d’Aragona and Federico da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, took part in the conspiracy, and both were motivated by a political calculation rather than resentment. They wanted Florence weak without any interruptions from the Medicis.
Francesco Salviati’self portrait, 1540-1549
The conspiracy takes shape
Francesco de’ Pazzi, the nephew of Jacopo, was the one who kicked off the project. Francesco lived in Rome, where he oversaw the apostolic treasury, after the Pope entrusted it to the Pazzis. The desire to physically eliminate Lorenzo and Giuliano pushed him to talk to Girolamo Riario and the Archbishop Salviati, who gave him their consent.
Initially, Jacopo de’ Pazzi was reluctant, because he was aware of the gravity of the situation. Thus, Riario thought that if he would have gained the consent of the Pope, then Jacopo could have not refused.
The attempt was successful: Sixtus IV advocated a change of regime in Florence, even though he recommended to do it without shedding any blood. The original plan was blown out by Giuliano de’ Medici
For the conspirators, it was fundamental that Lorenzo and Giuliano died together. According to the original plan, they should have drunk a poisoned chalice the night before the 26th of April. However, since Giuliano was sick, he didn’t participate in the feast that night. Because of that, they decided that the attack would have happened the morning after, during the mass in Santa Maria del Fiore.
The decision to commit a massacre in the church was the one that saved Lorenzo’s life. His appointed assassin, Giovanni Battista da Montesecco, pulled himself out because he didn’t want to assassinate a man in a sacred place. In his place, two priests were hired by the conspirators.
Bernardo Bandini Baroncelli was the appointed assassin of Giuliano, he was a Florentine who opposed the Medici’s and hoped that Florence would have been free from their lordship.
The Pazzi Conspiracy by Stefano Ussi
26 april 1478, the Pazzi conspiracy goes down in history
After the mass, Bandini, Francesco de’ Pazzi, and the other plotters cornered the young man until, after nineteen stab wounds, his dead body collapsed to the ground.
Lorenzo, probably because the two priests were hesitating, had enough time to react and pick up the sword. He was injured in his neck, but he still managed to defend himself and barricade inside the sacristy with his men. He had no idea of what had happened to his brother, and in spite of the wound, he kept calling Giuliano. In the meantime, according to the plan, Jacopo de’ Pazzi, was supposed to call the crowd outside the church while praising the people and their freedom. Nevertheless, the conspirators underestimated the love that the people of Florence had for the Medicis.
The failed conspiracy and the tragic ending of the conspirators
As soon as the rumor spread of what had happened in the church, an angry crowd rushed to Francesco de’ Pazzi’s residence, where he went right after to regain his strengths after being seriously injured. He was dragged to Palazzo Vecchio and hanged. Archbishop Salviati had the same fate, who, according to the plan, was meant to conquer Palazzo Vecchio and kill the gonfalonier of justice. After a fight between the two, the gonfalonier prevailed on the archbishop. He was prosecuted and executed, and, as it is said, right where Francesco de’ Pazzi had been executed.
Jacopo tried to escape but, outside Florence, he was recognized by a farmer, captured, and hanged.
Montesecco, after having explained all the details about the conspiracy, was decapitated instead of hanged because he refused to kill Lorenzo.
Hanging of Bernardo Baroncelli by Leonardo da Vinci, 1479
Lorenzo de Medici had the chance to clean Florence from all his enemies
While he was locked up in his palace for over ten days after the attack, Lorenzo did not waste any time to avenge his brother, who was the only victim in the conspiracy (except for the conspirators).
The Pazzi’s family was held accountable. Gugliemo, the husband of Bianca de’ Medici, even though he was the only one exempt, was exiled from the city. There was only a man left who did not receive justice yet, and that person was Baroncelli, the killer of Giuliano, who managed to escape. He was tracked down a year later in Constantinople and brought back to Florence.
In 1479, to his execution, there was a boy, a young apprentice of Verrocchio, who drew Baroncelli hanging from the neck: that young boy was Leonardo Da Vinci.
21 April 753 b.C., it’s an important date where history and myth merge to give birth to the legend of one of the most important cities that the world has ever known: Rome.
Through literary sources, we’re going to retrace the events that led to the foundation of the city and, thanks to archaeology, we’re going to see if there’s any truth behind it.
The origins and the myth of Romulus and Remus through literary sources
Plutarch and Titus Livius are some of the greatest writers of the past that dedicated their writings to the myth of the foundation of Rome, associated with the legend of Romulus and Remus.
The story of the foundation starts when Romulus and Remus, thanks to the approval of their grandpa, Numitor (whose throne was initially usurped by his brother, and then returned to him thanks to the intervention of his grandchildren) left their hometown, Alba Longa, in order to go back to the banks of the Tiber where they grew up.
Apparently, this is supposed to be the place where they founded the city of Rome. However, the problem was to establish the name of the city and who should have had the right to reign. Titus Livius explains to us how the matter was resolved:
“Since they were twins, and birthright couldn’t be applied as an elective criteria, the gods who protected that area should have decided, through the haruspices, the one that could name the city and could rule after its foundation. So, in order to interpret the signs, Romulus chose the Palatine Hill and Remus chose the Aventine Hill.”
(Livius, Ab Urbe Condita, Book 1)
According to the myth, the brothers looked towards Alba Longa from the top of the two hills. From there, the gods would have sent a sign which would have legitimated the future king. From the East, the first omen arrived: Remus saw six vultures flying around his head, while Romulus saw twelve of them. The gods had decided: Romulus was going to be the king.
After having established who would have ruled, it was time to found the city on the Palantine
Romulus, after obtaining the god’s favors, chose the Palatine as a starting point, and then he prepared to make a foundation ritual and trace the perimeter of the dawning city.
Plutarch described this moment in a detailed way:
“Romulus hooked a plowshare in the plow and yoked an ox and a cow on it, he rode them, tracing a deep groove in the perimeter that he established. Where it was intended to place a door, the plow was extracted while the plowshare was pulled so that they would leave a gap in the groove.”
(Plutarch, Life of Romulus)
Plutarch tells us that, after tracing the groove, the edge of the city was redesigned, and the foundation stones for the city were placed. That sacred and inviolable boundary was called Pomerium. To add a sacrality to the event, a girl was sacrificed and buried close to the pomerium.
The city of Rome was founded, and its ritual of foundation became the model of inspiration for other future cities.
Romolo traces the boundaries of Rome, Annibale Carracci (1520)
The Myth of Rome: archaeology could confirm or disprove
A specific date, two twins who were nursed by a Wolf and raised by shepherds in a hut, a circle of walls, a human sacrifice, and a small village named Rome, founded on the Palatine and ruled by one king. It seems like the Roman writers agree on the events that led to the birth of Rome, the Eternal City. How much of this “fairy tale” has convinced archaeologists? The answer is: a lot.
Andrea Carandini claimed that he made one of the most important discoveries during excavations around the Palatine’s area, in 2005.
The sacrifice of the girl during the furrow of foundation
On the slopes of the Palatine, a burial was dug containing the remains of a murdered little girl and buried with her grave goods. There was a small cup, which allowed us to determine the date of the burial, around 775-750 b.C., a date that is incredibly close to the one attributed to the foundation of Rome.
In the ridge between the Palatine Hill and the Velian Hill, Carandini and his team found the remains of a wall, dated at about 750-700 b.C., which took the name of “Wall of Romulus”.
The “Wall of Romulus”, between the Palatine and the Velian hills
The huts of the kings and the temple of Vesta
Under the Palatine, archaeologists excavated the remains of some huts; hearths, stove tops, and post holes which were datable to the 8th century b.C.
Those elements were found near a temple dedicated to the goddess Vesta, which was already excavated in 1987. Inside the temple, the remains of a previous building, were discovered, once again, from the 8th century. Even though it was a building of considerable size with an external court (which meant that it was a house worthy of an important figure), the construction technique was still rudimentary: once again, post holes that supported a roof and walls of dried clay, which were typical of constructions from that historical period.
This building was attributed to Numa Pompilius (754-673 b.C.).
Reconstruction of a 8th century b.C. hut on the Palatine hine
The “tugurium Romuli” or “the house of Romulus”
The “tugurium Romuli” is a hut that has been identified thanks to the presence of dugs where stakes supported the roof, which was of modest size.
The foundations of this building recur to the Iron Age (900-700 b.C.) and the position on the Palatine Hill could be associated with the first legendary king of Rome, that’s why it is named after him, “the house of Romulus”.
One of the huts that was found on the Palatine hill during Carandini’s excavations
The Lupercale
To conclude with the findings that allowed archaeologists to give credit to the myth, in 2007, the Italian archaeologist Irene Iacopi announced that, under the slopes of the Palatine, 16 meters deep, the archaeologists found a cave, which could only be explored with a camera probe, whose vault was decorated with Augustus’s eagle.
Perhaps, it might have been a place attributed to the legend and then became a house of worship.
“I’m an archaeologist, which means that I’m an historian, I study things that are made by humans and what is left of them on the land. I have been lucky enough to excavate for many years in those places that are mentioned in the myth, where Rome is supposed to be founded, and where the first kings may have lived. I have collected lots of material evidence in these excavations, which seem to be external to the literary tradition, and yet dating back to those days that recall the events and the actions of legendary figures. This is why I don’t believe that the legend of Rome is a fairy tale, but rather a tradition where truth and fiction are present and blended.”
Today marks the anniversary of one of the most dramatic events in the history of maritime navigation: the shipwreck of the Titanic, known as “the ship of dreams”. The RMS Titanic was a British transatlantic of the Olympic class which, shortly after the start of its voyage, sank on April 15th, 1912, after colliding with an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean. To this day, the wreck is still being studied.
The Titanic
The beginning of the voyage
In 1908, at the Harland and Woolf shipyards in Belfast, the entrepreneurs J. Bruce Ismay and W. James Pirrie financed a project which involved the construction of massive vessels that could face any type of sea voyage and demonstrate how much naval technology had progressed. The project included the making of three sister ships: the Olympic, the Titanic and the Gigantic. The Titanic was launched in May 1911 and a year later, its memorable voyage began. On 11 April 1912, the ship sailed from the port of Southampton, England, with lots of passengers on board, including Irish emigrants looking for a better future in America.
The departure of the transatlantic
The iceberg
The first days of the trip were peaceful and the Titanic gave the impression of being the ship of dreams. There was every kind of comfort onboard, and the passengers enjoyed a stunning view, it was like they were living in a fairytale.
However, the ship had some flaws. The transatlantic didn’t have adequate spyglasses while crossing the Atlantic Ocean at high speed, probably due to an excessive sense of human safety which is a frequent mistake during sea voyages.
On April 14th, 1912, at 23:40, the Titanic hit a massive iceberg that heavily damaged its right side.
The iceberg that caused the sinking of the Titanic (reconstrunction)
The end of a dream
Initially, what seemed to be a minor inconvenience was, eventually, the cause of the sinking of the Titanic. The iceberg had struck a crucial spot of the vessel which began to fill with water, with critical consequences. Within a few hours the first five compartments were flooded: the forepeak, the mail-holder and the boiler. The ship tilted so much that it broke in two parts; one of the two parts, the bow, sank immediately. Then, the stern initially straightened up but later plummeted. What was meant to be a trip in the ship of dreams turned out to be a nightmare that caused the death of most of the passengers on board. Some vanished with the ship; others couldn’t face the low temperatures of the Atlantic Ocean; and others died waiting for the rescuers who arrived several hours after the sinking.
A team of german and kurd archaeologists discovered a 3400 year-old city which dates to the Mitanni age, located on the Tigris. The settlement re-emerged from the waters of the Mosul basin due to extreme drought in Iraq. The city, with its palace and large buildings, might be the ancient Zakhiku, an important centre of the Mitanni Empire (ca. 1550-1350 BC).
The reapparance
In december 2021, huge quantites of water were drained from the Mosul basin, the most important water supply of Iraq, in order to save the crops from the drought that afflicts the southern region of the country. This led to the reapparance of the city, which goes back to the Bronze Age and is situated in Kemune, in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
This unexpected event put great pressure on the archeologists, who spontaneously organized to excavate and document as many parts as possible of the city before it was submerged again. In few days, with the financial support of the Frits Thyssen Foundation, a team led the rescue excavations in Kemune between January and February of 2022, with the help of the Directorate of Antiquity and Heritage in Duhok (Iraqi Kurdistan). Among the members of the team, there are Dr.Hasan Ahmed Qasim, chairman of the Kurdistan Archeological Organization, Dr. Ivana Puljiz of the Freiburg University and Prof. Dr. Peter Pfälzner of the Tübingen University.
Aerial view of the Kemune excavation
The Artifacts
In a short time, the researchers managed to map a large part of the city. In addition to a palace that was already documented during a short campaign in 2018, other large buildings were discovered, such as a massive fortification and a multi-storey storage building. The urban complex dates to the age of the Mitanni Empire (ca. 1550-1350 BC), which controlled large zones of Northern Mesopotamia and Syria.
The researchers were surprised by the excellent condition of the walls, despite the material (sun-dried mud bricks) and the submersion. This is due to the earthquake that destroyed the city in 1350 BC, in which the superior parts of the walls buried the buildings.
Large building walls, perhaps a storage building
Cuneiform Tablets
One of the most interesting findings are five ceramic vessels which contained an archive of more than 100 cuneiform tablets that date to the Middle Assyrian period. Some clay tablets, probably letters, are even preserved in their envelopes. The researchers hope that this discovery may provide important information about the end of the Mitanni period of the city and the beginning of the Assyrian dominion in the region.
The Genoese domain in Crimea. Though usually ignored, this piece of history deserves to remembered, given the recent conflict in Ukraine, as it makes us think about how a country that is perceived to be far from us is actually part of our history.
From Genoa to Crimea
Constantinople fell in 1204 after the 4th Crusade. The world trembled but then held its breath: the dream of Byzantium survived at Nicaea, held by the house of the Palaiologoi, where the empire survived and was reborn. Then, in 1261, the Treaty of Ninfeo was signed: the Genoese would have helped Michael VIII Palaiologos to retake Constantinople from the Latins; in return, Genoa would have replaced Venice in the maritime trades in the Black Sea, up into Crimea. In reality, this happened because Michael had already tried to retake the capital, but the venetian fleet managed to prevent the capitulation through starvation. Ironically, the decisive Genoese fleet was completely useless: Constantinople fell in the hands of the byzantine army’s vanguard without a fight. Thus, in a motion of perplexity, joy and awe, the Genoese started their own colonial empire without a single loss.
Genoese Colonial Empire
The Gazaria and the Principality of Theodore
When Genoa joined the political and commercial games of the Black Sea, Crimea boasted centuries of coexistence between populations. Notably, the Khazars questioned the byzantine presence in the peninsula during the 7th century, conquering the fortress of Sudak, which is now UNESCO heritage. However, the coastal territories were reconquered, and the empire kept them until 4th Crusade, in 1204, when the Principality of Theodore was born in Crimea. It goes without saying that, with the birth of the Gazaria, which is the Genoese dominion over Crimea, the relationships strained: the Silk Road passed through, and it was a more than valid excuse to fuel feuds and conflicts. From the city of Kaffa, the Genoese attempted, over time, to isolate their neighbors, cutting them out of the sea trades. Therefore, a conflictual situation emerges, where an important piece is missing: the Mongolic interference in the peninsula.
Territories belonging to the Genoese and to the Principality
Struggle over the control of Crimea
The arrival of the mongols changed the balance of power between the Principality and Genoa. In 1308, the city of Kaffa was besieged and conquered but, afterwards, the Genoese managed to retake control, laying the foundations for a heyday period. Even the Principality of Theodore, during 1395, experienced the Mongolian ferocity, but it was able to rise again, standing up to the Genoese. Consequently, two sides were formed: Genoa, supported by the Eastern Roman Empire, and the Principality of Theodore, supported by the Khanate. Anyways, the Genoese power grew so much that the consuls of Kaffa assumed the title of Consuls of the whole Black Sea. Nevertheless, luck did not last: with the fall of Constantinople, in 1453, the Gazaria went into crisis and the Genoese power finally capitulated in 1475, with the fall of Kaffa.
Mohamed II enters in Constantinople, Benjamin Constant (1876)
Sudak: from the Alans to the Genoese
One of the most promiment archeological sites in Crimea is the fortress of Sudak. It is considered to be an Alan foundation of 212 B.C., which, not without reason, was historically kept aside until it became more and more important during the Middle Ages, in relation to the Silk Road. Hence, Sudak became a thriving port, and this attracted the powers that surrounded it. During the 13th century, Venice and Genoa fought over its control, and the latter, after its victory in 1365, realized the most promiment fortifications, which can still be admired today. A unique site: the best example of a genoese fort that is still standing and is perfectly preserved. The symbol of a past, of a contact between populations, of which the existence is ignored, but it’s still there, majestic, guarding the coast of the Black Sea.
The Genoese fortress of Sudak, Crimea.
Kaffa: the Genoa of Crimea
The city of Kaffa (current Feodosiya), rose above the ashes of the Greek settlement of Theodosia, a city that followed the dynamics of the Bosporian Kingdom, and then it vanished during the roman empire. During the 13th century A.D., Kaffa went down in history as a Genoese outpost in the commercial trades of the Black Sea, an originally small settlement which became, over time, a fully-fledged stronghold of the peninsula. It was, indeed, a thorn in its neighbors’ side, which attempted repeatedly to destroy it: the Venetians in 1296, followed by the Mongolians in 1308. In every case, Genoa always manage to reconquer and improve it, so much that in 1472 the Turks will be forced to conquer a city inhabited by 70000 people and defended by two sets of walls. Unfortunately, nowadays, we only have a few remains, a sad evidence of its past splendor.
The U.N. and the NATO are two entities that are easily confused because they both refer to international organizations. In a situation such as the current one it is certainly necessary to know the difference between the two and understand their respective peculiarities.
The League of Nations, “forerunner” of the U.N.
On the 28th of April 1919, after the First World War, the League of Nations (LON) was founded, an international organization headquartered in Geneva, aimed at peacefully solving conflicts, deleting every form of injustice and violence between populations. The objective of the organization, which was joined by several countries, was to seek peaceful solutions and negotiations. However, the L.O.N. was a very weak entity and it did not have enough power to prevent wars: it did not possess any practical means of intervention to preserve peace, other than applying economic sanctions to the member that did not respect the agreements and used war to resolve disputes. Moreover, due to the non-adherence of the USA, alongside the late or temporary membership of Germany, Japan and USSR, the LON was completely unprepared to face the international unrest of the Thirties which will lead, shortly after, to the Second World War.
League Of Nations Symbol
What is the U.N. and when was it born?
The United Nations (U.N.) was formally born the 26th of June 1945, on the base of a statute approved by 49 countries reunited at the San Francisco conference. Founded after the killings of the Second World War, the U.N. replaced the League of Nations and it swore to preserve peace, international safety, respect of the fundamental rights of man, promoting the economic, social and cultural development of all countries. The theme of human rights was very heartfelt, so much that, on the 10th December of 1948, a document about human freedom was presented during the General Assembly: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Its first article says:
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Art.1)
Eleanor Roosevelt presents the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The U.N.
The U.N. consisted of two entities: the General Assembly and the Security Council
General Assembly: Deliberative body to which all the countries took part equally. The Vatican participated as a “permanent observer”.
Security Council: Executive body, composed of five permanent members and 10 countries that took part in rotation. The permanent members were the allied countries during the war (US, USSR, Great Britain, France and China) and each of them had veto power: the Security Council could make binding decisions only if said members reached unanimity. The other ten members were chosen every two years (Italy has been elected 6 times, starting from 1959).
UN Security Council session
What is the NATO and when was it born?
NATO refers to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which is an intergovernmental military alliance with the objective to protect its members against a potential soviet attack. This entity lays its foundation on the Atlantic Alliance of 1949. On the 4th of April 1949, the United States, Canada and almost all the countries of western Europe, including Italy, signed the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington, which was considered as a sort of western response to the pressure that the USSR exerted on the countries of Eastern Europe. If the USSR had invaded even one of the signatory countries, the alliance would have taken action. Tensions between the two blocks were very high, also because of the nuclear arms race.
On the 29th of August 1949, the USSR experimented its first nuclear fission bomb.
NATO Flag
Differences between UN and NATO
The UN is the organization of the United Nations, while NATO is the North Atlatinc Treaty Organization.
UN has to facilitate cooperation among its countries in several fields, the NATO is a military alliance.
UN was founded in 1945, the NATO was founded in 1949.
The UN is headquartered in New York while the NATO is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium.
As of today, the UN and the NATO consist of, respectively, 193 and 30 member states.
Preventive Excavations for the construction of a supermarket in San Severino Marche (MC), made between October 2021 and January 2022, have unearthed 14 roman graves that can be dated to the first two centuries of the empire.
The sepulchral area discovered in San Severino Marche (Macerata), is part of the wide necropolis of the roman town of Septempeda. It was identified close to the S.P. 361 and it has an east-west development, parallel to the roadway. The presence of a rectangular basement made of a casting against concrete and river rocks enhances the peri-urban nature of the necropolis. Unfortunately, the poor condition doesn’t allow to accurately understand the type of structure but it had to be a monumental funerary complex.
Direct and Indirect Cremation Burials
The tombs that were brought to light are 14, 3 of them characterized by the ground inhumation ritual, the others by the incineration ritual. The latter can be officiated both directly and indirectly. In the first case, the corpse was placed inside the designed grave for the combustion, which was also used for the burial of the ashes. In the case of the indirect cremation, the deceased’s remains were taken from the pyre and subsequently placed inside the final grave.
The busta sepulcra, also known as direct cremation tombs, have returned large wooden pyres. Here, the deceased were placed and cremated, accompanied by grave goods, some of them burned alongside the body, others placed afterwards. Part of these graves have a sepulcrum, a funerary structure made of tiles, which is still intact. The indirect cremation burials have a simpler structure, made of a small box shaped like a triangle or a rectangle and formed by split tiles, within which the ashes and the funerary equipment were conserved. Also noteworthy is the condition of the burnt remains of the pyre, as well as the gurney and the wooden coffins, of which the original position of the nails has been preserved, allowing the reconstruction of the context.
Remians of a pyre
The funerary equipment
The artifacts that have been recovered from the graves have allowed a first (and partial) documentation of the wide procedure followed during the funeral rites. Most of the interments feature items that were placed and burned during the incineration, while others were added later after the rearrangement of the remains. Among the recovered objects, we can find a considerable quantity of glass ointment vases that have been deformed from the heat, coins,oil lamps and bronze artifacts, which include a splendid round mirror with a shaped grip. Moreover, there were items that were closely related to everyday life, such as sewing needles and spindles for the female burials or common work tools such as knives, razors and scrapers for the male ones.
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Per fornire le migliori esperienze, utilizziamo tecnologie come i cookie per memorizzare e/o accedere alle informazioni del dispositivo. Il consenso a queste tecnologie ci permetterà di elaborare dati come il comportamento di navigazione o ID unici su questo sito. Non acconsentire o ritirare il consenso può influire negativamente su alcune caratteristiche e funzioni.
Funzionale
Sempre attivo
L'archiviazione tecnica o l'accesso sono strettamente necessari al fine legittimo di consentire l'uso di un servizio specifico esplicitamente richiesto dall'abbonato o dall'utente, o al solo scopo di effettuare la trasmissione di una comunicazione su una rete di comunicazione elettronica.
Preferenze
L'archiviazione tecnica o l'accesso sono necessari per lo scopo legittimo di memorizzare le preferenze che non sono richieste dall'abbonato o dall'utente.
Statistiche
L'archiviazione tecnica o l'accesso che viene utilizzato esclusivamente per scopi statistici.L'archiviazione tecnica o l'accesso che viene utilizzato esclusivamente per scopi statistici anonimi. Senza un mandato di comparizione, una conformità volontaria da parte del vostro Fornitore di Servizi Internet, o ulteriori registrazioni da parte di terzi, le informazioni memorizzate o recuperate per questo scopo da sole non possono di solito essere utilizzate per l'identificazione.
Marketing
L'archiviazione tecnica o l'accesso sono necessari per creare profili di utenti per inviare pubblicità, o per tracciare l'utente su un sito web o su diversi siti web per scopi di marketing simili.
