Areopagus was the oldest of the Athenian courts of justice, an assembly having a position indeed more august than an ordinary court, and in its best days exercising a general supervision over public morals. It obtained its name from its place of meeting, on the Hill of Ares, near the Acropolis or citadel of Athens. It existed from very remote times, and the crimes tried before it were wilful murder, poisoning, robbery, and arson, while it had under its control also dissoluteness of morals, and innovations in the state and in religion. Its meetings were held in the open air, and its members were selected from those who had held the office of archon. The tribunal latterly lost much of its powers, but it continued to exist in name at least as late as the time of Cicero or later, having had an existence of seven or eight hundred years. Research Areopagus
Pietro Giannone was an Italian author and martyr. He was born in 1676 and died in 1748. He studied law in Naples, and after winning a high place as an advocate retired to give himself up to the execution of his great work, the Civil History of the Kingdom of Naples (published in 1723). The severity with which Pietro Giannone treated the church, and the attacks which he made on the temporal power of the popes, drew upon him the persecutions of the court of Rome, and of the clergy in general. The offensive publication was burned, and the author excommunicated. Pietro Giannone therefore left Naples in 1723, and took refuge in Vienna, where, for a time, he was protected by the influence of powerful friends, but had ultimately to leave and betake himself to Venice in 1734. Expelled from Venice by the suspicious republic, he finally took refuge in Geneva. Here he wrote his Triregno, a bitterattack on the papal pretensions. In 1736, having been enticed by a government emissary to enter the Sardinian States, he was seized and imprisoned in the citadel of Turin, where he died in 1748. Research Pietro Giannone
In Greek mythology, Dido or Elissa was the reputed founder of Carthage. She was the daughter of a king of Tyre, called by some Belus, by others Metten or Matgenus. After her father's death, her brother murdered her husband, Sichaeus, With the intention of obtaining his wealth. However, Dido, accompanied by many Tyrians of her party, fled with all the treasure over the sea, and landed on the coast of Africa, not far from the Phoenician colony of Utica, where she built a citadel called Byrsa (' the hide of a bull') on a piece of ground which she had bought from the Numidian king, Iarbas. The meaning of the word Byrsa gave rise to the legend that Dido bought as much land as could be encompassed with a bullock's hide. Once the agreement was concluded, she cut the hide into small thongs, and thus enclosed a large piece of ground, on which she built the city of Carthage. To avoid being compelled to marry Iarbas, she stabbed herself on a funeral pile, and after her death was honoured as a deity by her subjects. Research Dido
Louisbourg in Cape Breton, Canada, was a fort erected by the French in 1720. Upon the outbreak out of King George's War in 1744, privateers were sent out from Louisbourg to harass the New England coast. Governor Shirley, of Massachusetts, succeeded in raising, in 1745, a strong force of men and ships, to which all the New England States, New York and Pennsylvania contributed, either in money or supplies. An army of 3250 men was dispatched against the fort under the command of William Pepperell, of Maine. This force began the siege April the 30th. Five unsuccessful attacks were made. Finally, the French garrison becoming mutinous, the commander of Louisbourg surrendered on June the 17th. The fort was restored to the French by the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748. It was again captured by Shirley in 1758, during the French and Indian War. On June 2, 1758, the British appeared before this fortress with 10,000 men under Amherst, and forty-one sail under Boscawen. The fort was defended by 3080 regulars,, five ships and seven frigates. On June the 8th, in spite of surf and a spirited resistance, the British gained a foothold on the island. The outposts were soon captured and lines drawn around the citadel. The French ships were burned or captured. The garrison attempted a sortie, but was repulsed. Half the men were in hospitals. On July the 27th the fort capitulated, and the strongest point in America, and great stores, fell into the hands of the English. Research Battles of Louisbourg
In June, 1759, Wolfe appeared before Quebec with 4000 men and a fleet. The French under Montcalm, numbering 16,000, held all the heights on the north bank of the river. Wolfe seized the heights on the south, thus commanding the basin and getting his artillery trained on the town. The French plan was the defensive. Wolfe got his ships past the city, making the line of defence longer. He also entrenched himself on the French left and made a furiousassault at Montmorenci. As the season wore on he was obliged to strike a blow before winter. This he did on September the 13th, and gained a decisive advantage on the Plains of Abraham.
The French were disorganized. Vaudreuil proved incompetent and ordered the garrison to capitulate when provision gave out. This the gallant Ramesay was forced to do just as aid came from Montreal. The citadel capitulated on September the 17th, 1759. The English garrisoned the place. The French made an attempt to regain it the following spring, but were driven back. The fall of the citadel was the death-blow to French power in North America.
At the beginning of the American Revolution, as a part of the scheme for the conquest of Canada, a force was sent against Quebec under Benedict Arnold. After numberless privations, he arrived at Quebec on November the 13th, 1775, and drew up for battle the 700 men who remained of his force. On December the 3rd Montgomery came with 500 men, and on December the 31st a furiousattack was made upon the town from opposite sides. The repulse was due mainly to the unfortunate death of General Montgomery. Bennedict Arnold also was severely wounded. The expedition was a blank failure. Research Battles of Quebec
The Battle of Chapultepec was a famous battle of the Mexican War fought between September the 12th and 14th 1847. Scott commanding 7200 Americans, Santa Anna 25,000 Mexicans. Pillow and Quitman were ordered to attack the castle, supported by Worth, Twiggs checking reinforcements from the city. An entrance into the castlegroves and the castle itself was quickly effected and the fighting raged along the streets of the city. The castleflag was shot away and General Bravo, four other generals, 100 officers and 800 men surrendered. Worth had meanwhile established his headquarters within the city gates. On September the 14th Worth captured the citadel and hoisted over the palace the Stars and Stripes. Santa Anna sent to Scott demanding guarantees of life and property. Scott refused to be bound by terms other than those imposed by honour and usage. Scott was obliged to sweep the streets with canister and grape because of attacks from the houses. Research Battle of Chapultepec
The Battle of Hattin was a major defeat for the Crusaders by Saladin on the 4th of July 1187 at a village in Palestine 8 km north-west of Tiberias. A force of Frankish Crusaders was completely wiped out, destroying the military power of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. A column of Frankish Crusaders was marching to the relief of the citadel of Tiberias which was under siege by Saladin. The column was attacked by a Saracen army and brought to a halt at Hattin, a place with no water. Harassing attacks during the night ensured that the Crusaders had no rest, and the lack of water demoralised them. On the following morning they were in no condition to withstand attack; the Saracens swept around in two wings and completely annihilated the Crusader force. Research Battle of Hattin
The Elefant (SdKfz 184) was a German heavy self-propelled gun of the Second World War designed by Ferdinand Porsche, and originally called the Ferdinand after him. The Elefant consisted of a Tiger I (P) chassis mounted with an 88 mm Pak 43/2 gun and later models also carried a machine-gun. The Elefant carried a crew of six and was powered by two Maybach HL120TRM engines providing a top speed of 30 kmh and a range of 150 km. The Elefant first saw action during Operation Citadel at Kursk in 1943. Although the Elefant could invariably knock-out any tank it came across, it was an easy target for infantry to attack from the crew's blindside. Research Elefant
The immediate cause of the first Crusade was the preaching of Peter of Amiens, or Peter the Hermit, who in 1093 had joined other pilgrims on a journey to Jerusalem. On his return he gave PopeUrban II a description of the unhappy situation of Christians in the East, and presented a petition for assistance from the Patriarch of Jerusalem. The statements of the pope at the Councils of Piacenza and Clermont in 1095 produced a profound sensation throughout Europe, and in 1096 several armies set out in different divisions, most of which, being ignorant of military discipline and unprovided with necessaries, were destroyed before reaching Constantinople, which had been chosen for their place of meeting. A well-conducted regular army, however, of 80,000 men was headed by Godfrey of Bouillon; Hugh of Vermandois, brother to Philip, king of France; Baldwin, brother of Godfrey; Robert II of Flanders; Robert II of Normandy, brother of William II, king of England; Raymond of Toulouse; and other heroes. They traversed Germany, Hungary, and the Byzantine Empire, passed over into Asia Minor, conquered Nicaea in June 1097, and shortly after, on the 4th of July, fought the first pitched battle at Dorylaeum, being completely victorious after a severe contest. They then marched through Asia Minor upon Antioch, which, with the exception of the citadel, fell into their hands by treachery in June 1098.
Surrounded in turn by a Turkish army, they were soon reduced to pitiable straits, but succeeded in routing their besiegers on June the 28th. After remaining nearly a year in the neighbourhood of Antioch they commenced, in May 1099, their march against Jerusalem, the siege of which they commenced in June. Their numbers were now reduced to little more than 20,000 men; but after a fierce struggle the town was taken by storm on July the 15th, and Godfrey of Bouillon was chosen king of Jerusalem, or, as he preferred to term himself, Protector of the Holy Sepulchre. At his death in 1100 he was succeeded by his brother Baldwin, who had in the earlier part of the Crusade established himself in Edessa, and made himself ruler of an extensive territory stretching over the Armenianmountains and the plain of Mesopotamia. Research First Crusade
The Hang Nadim is a Malaysian Laksamana Class missile corvette. The 650 ton missile corvette has a steel hull, with an overall length of 62.3 metres and a breadth of 9.3 metres. The ship has a complement of 56 crew. The ship's long range sea skimming missile system is the Otomat Mark 2/Teseo. Six Otomat Teseo Mark 2 missile launchers, three pointing to port and three pointing starboard, are installed on the stern deck. The ship's medium range air defence system is the Albatros which provides defence against aircraft and incoming anti-ship missiles. The Albatros launcher is installed on the raised bridge deck to the stern of the main mast and fires the Aspide missile. The ships torpedo system is the ILAS-3 torpedo launcher. The triple launchers are installed one each side on the main deck and fire the A244/S anti-submarine torpedoes. The ship's main gun, the 76 mm 62 calibre OTO Breda Super Rapid is installed on the bow deck in front of the citadel. The ship's multi-role gun is the OTO Breda 40 mm L70 twin gun Research Hang Nadim
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Areopagus
