Life.

He was born in Milan, the son of Stefano Visconti and Valentina Doria. From 1346 to 1349 he lived in exile, until he was called back by his uncle Giovanni Visconti. On 27 September 1350 Bernabò married Beatrice Regina della Scala, daughter of Mastino II, Lord of Verona and Taddea da Carrara, and forged both a political and cultural alliance between the two cities. His intrigues and ambitions kept him at war almost continuously with Pope Urban V, the Florentines, Venice and Savoy. In 1354, at the death of Giovanni, he inherited the power of Milan, together with his brothers Matteo and Galeazzo. Bernabò received the eastern lands (Bergamo, Brescia, Cremona and Crema), that bordered the Veronese territories. Milan itself was to be ruled in turn by the three brothers. The vicious Matteo was murdered in 1355 at the order of his brothers, who divided his inheritance between them.  In 1356, after having offended the emperor, he pushed back a first attack upon Milan by the imperial vicar Markward von Randeck, imprisoning him. In 1360 he was declared heretic by Innocent VI at Avignon and condemned by Emperor Charles IV. The ensuing conflict ended with a dismaying defeat at San Ruffillo against the imperial troops under Galeotto I Malatesta (29 July 1361). In 1362, after the death of his sister's husband, Ugolino Gonzaga, caused him to attack also Mantua. Warring on several different fronts, in December of that year he sued for peace with the new pope, Urban V, through the mediation of King John II of France. However, because Barnabò neglected to return the papal city of Bologna and to present himself at Avignon, on 4 March 1363 he was excommunicated once more, together with his children, one of whom, Ambrogio, was captured by the Papal commander Gil de Albornoz. With the peace signed on 13 March 1364, Visconti left the occupied Papal lands, in exchange for the raising of the ban upon a payment of 500,000 florins.  In spring 1368 Visconti allied with Cansignorio della Scala of Verona, and attacked Mantua, still ruled by Ugolino Gonzaga. The situation was settled later in the year through an agreement between him and emperor. Two years later he besieged Reggio, which he managed to acquire from Gonzaga in 1371. The following war against the Este of Modena and Ferrara raised again Papal enmity against the Milanese, now on the part of Gregory XI. In 1370, he ordered the construction of the Trezzo Bridge, then the largest single-arch bridge in the world.  In 1373, the pope sent two papal delegates to serve Bernabò and Galeazzo their excommunication papers (consisting of a parchment bearing a leaden seal rolled in a silken cord). Bernabò, infuriated, placed the two papal delegates under arrest and refused their release until they had eaten the parchment, seal, and silken cord which they had served him. He managed to resist, despite also the outbreak of a plague in Milan, whose consequences he suppressed with frantic energy. In 1378 he allied with the Republic of Venice in its War of Chioggia against Genoa. His troops were however defeated in September 1379 in the Val Bisagno.  Bernabò, whose despotism and taxes had enraged the Milanese — he is featured among the "exempla" of tyrants as victims of Fortune in Chaucer's "Monk's Tale" as "god of delit and scourge of Lumbardye" — was deposed by his nephew Gian Galeazzo Visconti in 1385. Imprisoned in the castle of Trezzo, he was poisoned in December of that year.  Bonino da Campione sculpted the equestrian statue of Bernabò Visconti for the church of San Giovanni in Conca around 1363. Its positioning near the church's main altar was regarded as highly problematic by contemporaries and it was commented on by poet and intellectual Petrarch among others. The equestrian statue was reused – with changes and additions carried out by the same Bonino in 1385-86 – as Bernabò's funerary monument in the same church. It is now preserved in the Castello Sforzesco in Milan.An erratic small-size male head in marble now in the storerooms of Castello Sforzesco has recently been rediscovered and tentatively identified as a portrait of the elderly Bernabò. This work too has been attributed to Bonino da Campione.

Children.

Bernabò was an ally of Stephen II, Duke of Bavaria: three of his daughters were married with Stephen's descendants. He had 17 legitimate children with his wife Beatrice Regina della Scala:  His illegitimate offspring by Donnina del Porri, legitimated in a ceremony after the death of his wife in 1384, were as follows:  In addition, Bernabò had other illegitimate offspring by other mistresses:  —With Beltramola Grassi:  —With Montanina de Lazzari:  —With Giovanolla Montebretto:

Bernabò or Barnabò Visconti (1323 – 19 December 1385) was an Italian soldier and statesman who was Lord of Milan.


Biography.

Valentina was born in Milan as the second of the four children of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, the first Duke of Milan, and his first wife Isabelle, a daughter of King John II the Good of France. She was probably named after her paternal great-grandmother Valentina Doria, wife of Stefano Visconti.  After her mother's death in childbirth in 1373, Valentina and her siblings were raised by their paternal grandmother Bianca of Savoy and aunt Violante Visconti. The deaths of her brothers Carlo (1374), Gian Galeazzo (1376) and Azzone (1381) left Valentina as the only surviving child of her parents' marriage and the Countess of Vertus, a title she shared with her spouse.  In 1380, a marriage was negotiated with her cousin Carlo Visconti, Lord of Parma (fourth son of Bernabò Visconti, Lord of Milan) and a papal dispensation was even granted; however, Bernabò later annulled the betrothal and, in 1382, married his son to a French noblewoman, Beatrice of Armagnac.  The death of Bernabò in 1385 left Gian Galeazzo as the sole ruler over the Visconti inheritance, and with this Valentina's status changed considerably. At this point, the new Lord of Milan opened negotiations with King Wenceslaus of Germany and Bohemia for a marriage between Valentina and his half-brother John of Görlitz; at the same time, he also negotiated a union with Louis II of Anjou, titular King of Naples (who was at that time was betrothed to Lucia Visconti, one of Bernabò's daughters). However, Marie of Blois, Dowager Duchess of Anjou finally cancelled the negotiations, and then Gian Galeazzo turned his attention to his nephew-by-marriage Louis, Duke of Touraine, second son of King Charles V of France and brother of the reigning Charles VI. King Wenceslaus became aware of the double game of Gian Galeazzo, and broke off the negotiations with a letter full of insults, leaving Louis the only suitor of Valentina, his first cousin.  Because of the close relationship between bride and groom, a papal dispensation was granted on 25 November 1386, and the marriage contract was signed on 27 January 1387 in Paris. Valentina received as a dowry the County of Vertus (which was the dowry of her own mother at the time of her marriage in 1348) and the city of Asti, with the sums of 450,000 florins in cash and 75,000 florins in jewelry. In the contract was also stipulated that in absence of male heirs, Valentina would inherit the Visconti dominions. It was because of this, that her grandson Louis XII of France claimed the Duchy of Milan and embarked on the Italian Wars. The marriage by proxy was celebrated three months later, on 8 April, in both the Milanese and French courts.  Valentina was only able to leave Milan for France on 23 June 1389, because of "reasons of security" given to her father: in fact, Gian Galeazzo wanted to amend the marriage contract after the pregnancy of his second wife Caterina Visconti (another Bernabò's daughters) ended. Only after the birth of his son Gian Maria on 7 September 1388 did he feel secure enough to send his daughter to France.  Escorted by her paternal cousin Amadeus VII, Count of Savoy and a retinue of 300 knights, Valentina was finally handed to Louis's envoys. The formal marriage took place in the city of Melun, on 17 August 1389.  The union produced eight children:  In 1392 her husband exchanged the Duchy of Touraine for the Duchy of Orléans; since then, Valentina was styled "Duchess of Orléans".  Because of intrigues at the court of Charles VI of France and the enmity of the queen, Isabeau of Bavaria-Ingolstadt, Valentina was exiled from the court and had to leave Paris. There were rumours that Isabeau was having an affair with Louis and that Valentina was very close to the King, who was in poor mental health.  A patroness of Eustache Deschamps, who wrote poetry in her honour, she was also the mother of one of France's most famous poets, Charles of Orléans.  Louis de Valois' murder was orchestrated by his cousin and political rival John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy in 1407. Valentina outlived her husband by only a little over a year, dying at Blois at the age of 37.

Valentina Visconti (1371 – 4 December 1408) was a Countess of Vertus, and Duchess consort of Orléans as the wife of Louis de Valois, Duke of Orléans, the younger brother of King Charles VI of France.


Life.

Christus was born in Baarle, near Antwerp and Breda. Long considered a student of and successor to Jan van Eyck, his paintings have sometimes been confused with those of van Eyck. At the death of van Eyck in 1441, it is thought that Christus took over his master's workshop. Christus purchased his Bruges citizenship in 1444, exactly three years after van Eyck's death, taking advantage of a decree set down by Philip the Good allowing in men indebted to him after the Bruges Revolt of 1436–38. Had he been an active pupil in van Eyck's Bruges workshop in 1441, he would have received his citizenship automatically after the customary period of one year and one day. Christus may have been van Eyck's successor in the Bruges school, but perhaps not his pupil. Recent research reveals that Christus, long seen only in his predecessor's light, was an independent painter whose work shows just as much influence from, among others, Dirk Bouts, Robert Campin and Rogier van der Weyden.  It is unknown whether Christus visited Italy, and brought style and technical accomplishments of the Northern European painters directly to Antonello da Messina and other Italian artists, but it is known that his paintings were purchased by Italians. A document testifying to the presence of a "Piero da Bruggia" (Petrus from Bruges?) in Milan may suggest that he visited that city at the same time as Antonello, and the two artists may even have met. This might account for the remarkable similarities between the "Portrait of a Man" attributed to Christus in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and many of Antonello's portraits, including the supposed self-portrait in the National Gallery in London. It would also explain how Italian painters learned about oil painting and how Northern painters learned about linear perspective. Antonello, along with Giovanni Bellini, was one of the first Italian painters to use oil paint like his Netherlandish contemporaries. And Christus' "Virgin and Child Enthroned with Saints Francis and Jerome" in Frankfurt, seemingly dated 1457 (the third digit is illegible), is the first known Northern picture to demonstrate accurate linear perspective.  The composition of a "Lamentation", now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, seems so closely inspired a marble relief by Antonello Gagini in the cathedral at Palermo that it has been suggested that the picture may have been painted for an Italian client.  A late work, the reserved "Portrait of a Young Girl" belongs among the masterworks of Early Netherlandish painting, marking a new development in Netherlandish portraiture. It no longer shows the sitter in front of a neutral background, but in a concrete space defined by the background wall panels. Christus had already perfected this format in his two portraits of 1446. The unknown woman, whose exquisite clothing suggests that she might come from France, radiates an aura of discretion and of nobility, while appearing slightly unreal in the elegant stylization of her form.  Christus died in Bruges in 1475 or 1476. Hans Memling succeeded him as the next great painter in Bruges.

Works.

Christus produced at least six signed and dated works, which form the basis for any other attributions to him. These are: the "Portrait of Edward Grymeston" (on loan to the National Gallery, London, 1446), the Portrait of a Carthusian (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1446), the so-called "St. Eligius in His Shop" (Metropolitan Museum of Art Robert Lehman Collection, New York, 1449), the "Virgin Nursing the Child" (now in the Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp, 1449), the so-called ""Berlin Altar Wings"" with the Annunciation, Nativity, and Last Judgment (Gemäldegalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, 1452), and the "Virgin and Child Enthroned with Saints Jerome and Francis" (Stadelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt-am-Main, 1457?—the digits are not clear). In addition, a pair of panels in the Groeningemuseum in Bruges (showing the Annunciation and Nativity) bears a date of 1452, but its authenticity is suspect.

Petrus Christus ( 1410/1420 – 1475/1476) was an Early Netherlandish painter active in Bruges from 1444, where, along with Hans Memling, he became the leading painter after the death of Jan van Eyck. He was influenced by van Eyck and Rogier van der Weyden and is noted for his innovations with linear perspective and a meticulous technique which seems derived from miniatures and manuscript illumination. Today, some 30 works are confidently attributed to him. The best-known include the 1446 "Portrait of a Carthusian" and c. 1470 Berlin "Portrait of a Young Girl", both are highly innovative in presentation of the figure against detailed, rather than flat, backgrounds.


Biography.

Roger Garaudy was born in Marseille. During World War II, Garaudy joined the French Resistance, for which he was imprisoned in Djelfa, Algeria, as a prisoner of war of Vichy France.  Garaudy converted to Islam in 1982 after marrying a Palestinian woman, later writing that "The Christ of Paul is not the Jesus of the Bible," and also forming other critical scholarly conclusions regarding the Old and New Testaments. As a Muslim, he adopted the name "Ragaa" and became an Islamic commentator and supporter of the Palestinian cause.

Political and academic career.

Following the war, Garaudy joined the French Communist Party. As a political candidate, he succeeded in being elected to the National Assembly and eventually rose to the position of deputy speaker, and later senator.  Garaudy lectured in the faculty of arts department of the University of Clermont-Ferrand from 1962-1965. Due to controversies between Garaudy and Michel Foucault, Garaudy left. He later taught in Poitiers from 1969-1972.  Garaudy remained a Christian and eventually re-converted to Catholicism during his political career. He was befriended by one of France's most prominent clerics of the time, the Abbé Pierre, who in later years supported Garaudy, even regarding the latter's most controversial views.  In 1970, Garaudy was expelled from the Communist Party following his outspoken criticism of the 1968 Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia.  Garaudy wrote more than 50 books, mainly on political philosophy and Marxism.

Holocaust denial.

In 1996, Garaudy published, with his editor Pierre Guillaume, the work "Les Mythes fondateurs de la politique israelienne" (literally, "The Founding Myths of Israeli Politics"), later translated into English as "The Founding Myths of Modern Israel". In the book he wrote of "the myth of the six million" Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Because of this breach of French law concerning Holocaust denial, the courts banned any further publication and on 27 February 1998 fined Garaudy 240,000 French francs. He was sentenced to a suspended jail sentence of several years. Garaudy appealed this decision to the European Court of Human Rights, but his appeal was rejected as inadmissible. At his hearing, Garaudy stated that his book in no way condoned National Socialist methods, and that book was an attack on the mythologizing and use of "the holocaust" by Israeli government as policy. He argued that his book dealt with the Israeli government's use of "the holocaust" as a "justifying dogma" for its actions, mainly in Palestine and toward Palestinians.

Support from the Islamic World.

In the Islamic Republic of Iran, 160 members of the parliament signed a petition in Garaudy's support. Senior Iranian officials invited him to Tehran and received him warmly. Iranian leaders condemned Israel and the West for bringing Garaudy to trial. Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei cited Garaudy for his work in exposing the Zionists’ "Nazi-like behavior." Iranian President Mohammad Khatami described Garaudy as "a thinker" and "a believer" who was brought to trial merely for publishing research which was "displeasing to the West.".  Garaudy has been praised throughout the Islamic World:

Later activities and death.

In later interviews, Garaudy stated that the attacks of 11 September 2001 were organized by the United States government. He also repeated his claim on the Holocaust, stating that it was "invented as a myth by Churchill, Eisenhower and De Gaulle" to justify the destruction and occupation of Germany.  In December 2006, Garaudy was unable to attend the International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust in Tehran, Iran owing to ill health. He reportedly sent a videotaped message supporting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's view that Israel should cease to exist.  Roger Garaudy died in Paris on 13 June 2012, aged 98.

Praise for Garaudy after his death.

Following his death in June 2012, Garaudy subsequently received praise from a number of sources (as translated by MEMRI):

Works.

The author of more than 70 books, some his translated works include:

Roger Garaudy, later Ragaa Garaudy (; 17 July 1913 – 13 June 2012), was a French philosopher, French resistance fighter and a communist author. He converted to Islam in 1982. In 1998, he was convicted and fined for Holocaust denial under French law for claiming that the death of six million Jews was a "myth".


Name.

Utica is an unusual latinization of the Punic name () or (). These derived from Phoenician "ˁAtiq" (), cognate with Arabic "ˁatiqah" () and Hebrew "ˁatiq" (). These all mean "Old" and contrast the settlement with the later colony Carthage, whose own name literally meant "New Town". The latinization is a little unusual in that the Latin U more often transcribed the letter W (i.e., waw) in Punic names.  The Greeks called it Ἰτύκη.

History.

Phoenician colony.

Utica was founded as a port located on the trade route leading from Phoenicia to the Straits of Gibraltar and the Atlantic Ocean, facilitating trade in commodities like tin.  The exact founding date of Utica is a matter of controversy. Several classical authors date its foundation to around 1100BC. The archaeological evidence, however, suggests a foundation no earlier than the eighth centuryBC. The inland settlement used Rusucmona ("Cape Eshmun") on Cape Farina to the northeast as its chief port, although continued silting has rendered the present-day settlement at Ghar el-Melh a small farming community. Although Carthage was later founded about 40 km from Utica, records suggest "that until 540BC Utica was still maintaining political and economic autonomy in relation to its powerful Carthaginian neighbor".

Carthaginian rule.

By the fourth century BC, Utica came under Punic control, but continued to exist as a privileged ally of Carthage. Soon, commercial rivalry created problems between Carthage and Utica.  This relationship between Carthage and Utica began to disintegrate after the First Punic War, with the outbreak of rebellion among mercenaries who had not received compensation for their service to Carthage. Originally, Utica refused to participate in this rebellion, so that the Libu forces led by Spendius and Matho laid siege to Utica and nearby Hippocritae.  The Carthaginian generals Hanno and Hamilcar then came to Utica's defense, managing to raise the siege, but "the severest blow of all... was the defection of Hippacritae and Utica, the only two cities in Libya which had...bravely faced the present war...indeed they never had on any occasion given the least sign of hostility to Carthage." Eventually, the forces of Carthage proved victorious, forcing Utica and Hippacritae to surrender after a short siege.

Roman rule.

Utica again defied Carthage in the Third Punic War, when it surrendered to Rome shortly before the breakout of war in 150 BC. After its victory, Rome rewarded Utica by granting it an expanse of territory stretching from Carthage to Hippo.  As a result of the war, Rome created a new province of Africa, and Utica became its capital, which meant that the governor's residence was there along with a small garrison. Over the following decades Utica also attracted Roman citizens who settled there to do business. During the Roman Civil War between the supporters of Pompey and Caesar, the remaining Pompeians, including Cato the Younger, fled to Utica after being defeated at the Battle of Thapsus in 46 BC. Caesar pursued them to Utica, meeting no resistance from the inhabitants. Cato, who was the leader of the Pompeians, ensured the escape of his fellow senators and anyone else who desired to leave, then committed suicide, unwilling to accept the clemency of Caesar.  Displaying their fondness for Cato, "the people of Utica...called Cato their saviour and benefactor... And this they continued to do even when word was brought that Caesar was approaching. They decked his body in splendid fashion, gave it an illustrious escort, and buried it near the sea, where a statue of him now stands, sword in hand". After his death, Cato was given the name of Uticensis, due to the place of his death as well as to his public glorification and burial by the citizens of Utica.  Utica obtained the formal status of a municipium in 36 BC and its inhabitants became members of the Quirina tribe. The city was chosen by the Romans as the place where the governor of their new Africa Province was resident, but the silting of the port (because of the Medjerda River) damaged the importance of Utica.  During the reign of Augustus, however, the seat of provincial government was moved to a since rebuilt Carthage, although Utica did not lose its status as one of the foremost cities in the province. When Hadrian was emperor, Utica requested to become a full Roman colony, but this request was not granted until Septimius Severus, a native of the Province of Africa, took the throne.  The city and all the area east of the "Fossatum Africae" was nearly fully romanised by the time of Septimius Severus. According to historian Theodore Mommsen, all the inhabitants of Utica spoke Latin and practised Christianity in the fourth and early fifth century. The Peutinger Map from around this time shows the town.

Destruction.

In AD 439, the Vandals captured Utica, in AD 534 the Byzantines captured it once more. Finally the Arabs were responsible for its ultimate destruction around AD 700. "Excavations at the site have yielded two Punic cemeteries and Roman ruins, including baths and a villa with mosaics".

Diocese of Utica.

Roman Utica was a Christian city with an important diocese in Africa Proconsularis.  Indeed, there are more than a dozen bishops documented in Utica. The first, Aurelius, intervened at the council held at Carthage in 256 AD by St. Cyprian to discuss the question of the "lapsi". Maurus, the second bishop, was accused of apostasy during the persecution of 303 AD. The third, Victorius, took part in the Council of Arles in 314 AD along with Cecilianus of Carthage; he is mentioned in the "Roman Martyrology" on 23 August. Then the fourth, Quietus, assisted at the Council of Carthage (349) proclaimed by Gratus.  At the Conference of Carthage (411) which saw gathered together the bishops of Nicene Christianity and of heretical Donatism Victorius II took part for the Church and Gedudus for the Donatists. The historian Morcelli added the bishop Gallonianus, present at the Council of Carthage (419), who, according to J. Mesnage, instead belonged to the Diocese of Utina. Then the Bishop Florentinus, who intervened at the Synod of Carthage (484), was met by the Vandal king Huneric, after which he was exiled.  Faustinianus participated at the Council of Carthage (525). He was followed by the bishop Giunilius, an ecclesiastical writer, who dedicated his works to Primasius of Hadrumetum. In the seventh century was the bishop Flavianus, who assisted at the Council of Carthage (646) against Monothelitism; and Potentinus, who was exiled in Spain and intervened at the Council of Toledo (684).  With the Arab conquest, Utica was destroyed and disappeared even as an independent diocese. Only during the early Renaissance Utica was again a diocese, when the Spanish Empire conquered the region for some decades and Pedro del Campo was named bishop of the recreated Diocese of Utica in 1516 AD.

Ruins.

The site of the ruins of Utica is set on a low hill, composed of several Roman villas. Their walls still preserve decorative floor mosaics. To the northwest of these villas is a Punic necropolis, with Punic sarcophagi below the Roman level.  Currently, the site is located about 30 km from Tunis and 30 km from Bizerte and near cities with four other historical sites:  The House of the Cascade at Utica is typical of most Roman houses excavated in North Africa.

Utica () was an ancient Phoenician and Carthaginian city located near the outflow of the Medjerda River into the Mediterranean, between Carthage in the south and Hippo Diarrhytus (present-day Bizerte) in the north. It is traditionally considered to be the first colony to have been founded by the Phoenicians in North Africa. After Carthage's loss to Rome in the Punic Wars, Utica was an important Roman colony for seven centuries.


Personal life.

In 515, Amalasuintha married Eutharic (522), an Ostrogoth noble of the old Amali dynasty who had been previously living in the Arian Kingdom of Hispania. Her husband was the son of Widerich (born ), grandson of Berismund (born ), and great-grandson of Thorismund (died after 400), king of the Ostrogoths. It was important to Amalasuintha's father, Theoderic the Great, that she marry into a legitimate royal family, lest her own family's legitimacy be questioned.  She was very much an intellectual, and was well known for her extensive knowledge and reading, which included fluency in Latin, Greek and Gothic. In addition, she was a student of philosophy and was said to possess the wisdom of Solomon. Amalasuintha was also described in her day as possessing all of the central Roman virtues expected of a noble woman: happiness, fertility, and patience, although more emphasis was placed on her virtues within the political realm versus the feminine, something that separates her from other Ostrogoth princesses. Like most Ostrogoths, Amalasuintha was an Arian Christian.

Rule.

Eutharic died, apparently in the early years of his marriage to Amalasuintha, leaving her with two children, Athalaric and Matasuntha (after 550). On the death of her father on 30 August 526, her son succeeded him at the age of ten, but she held the power as regent for her son. Her tremendous influence in her position as regent can be seen in a diptych of Rufius Gennadius Probus Orestes she appears in alongside her son, Athalaric, in 530. Deeply imbued with the old Roman culture, she gave to that son's education a more refined and literary turn than suited the ideas of her Gothic subjects. Conscious of her unpopularity she banished — and afterwards put to death — three Gothic nobles whom she suspected of conspiring against her rule. At the same time, she opened negotiations with the Byzantine emperor Justinian I with the view of removing herself and the Gothic treasure to Constantinople. Her son's death on 2 October 534 initially made little apparent change in the state of affairs.  After Athalaric's death, Amalasuintha became queen, ruling alone only for a short while before making her cousin Theodahad co-ruler (not, as sometimes stated, her husband, for his wife was still living), with the intent of strengthening her position. Theodahad was a prominent leader of the Gothic military aristocracy, the very group that so opposed her pro-Roman stances. Amalasuintha believed this pairing would help to make supporters out of her harshest critics. The choice was unfortunate, for Theodahad fostered the disaffection of the Goths, and either by his orders or with his permission, Amalasuintha was imprisoned on the island of Martana, located in lake of Bolsena in northern Lazio, where on 30 April in the spring of 534/535 she was murdered in her bath.

Death.

The death of Amalasuintha gave Justinian I a reason to go to war with the Ostrogoths and attempt to take Italy. According to the Eastern Roman historian Procopius, it is believed that Amalasuintha and Justinian I had a very close diplomatic relationship. More specifically, Procopius believed that Amalasuintha was thinking about handing over Italy to Justinian around the time of her death. Shortly after Amalasuintha's murder, Theodahad was replaced by Witigis, Amalasuintha's son-in-law. With the people's support, Witigis had Theodahad put to death.

Sources.

The letters of Cassiodorus, chief minister and literary adviser of Amalasuintha, and the histories of Procopius and Jordanes, give us our chief information as to the character of Amalasuintha. Cassiodorus was a part of a greater pro-Roman party that desired to Romanize the traditional Ostrogothic kingship, further evidence of the pro-Roman circle that Amalasuintha surrounded herself with.

Legacy.

The life of Amalasuintha was made the subject of a tragedy, the first play written by the young Carlo Goldoni and presented at Milan in 1733.  Romanian poet George Coșbuc wrote a poem entitled "The Queen Of The Ostrogoths" in which Amalasuintha speaks to Theodahad (named Teodat in the poem) shortly before he kills her.  Asteroid 650 Amalasuntha is named in her honour.  Amalasuintha is portrayed by Honor Blackman in the 1968 film "Kampf um Rom."

Further reading.

Amalasuintha (30 April 534/535) ruled the Ostrogoths as regent during the minority of her son from 526 to 534 and then as queen regnant from 534 to 535. She was the youngest daughter of Theoderic the Great, and firmly believed in the upholding of Roman virtues and values. She is best known for her diplomatic relationship with Justinian I, who invaded Italy in response to her assassination.


History.

The Habsburg Monarchy built a Vauban-type fort there to defend it from the Ottoman Empire, and that fort would remain a bone of contention for the two empires. In 1699 the island came under Ottoman control, however, it was recaptured by the Austrians in the 1716–18 war, and the fortress of New Orșova was built by Austrian colonel Nicolas Doxat. After a four-month siege in 1738 it became Ottoman again, followed by the Austrians re-conquering it in 1789, but they had to return the island with the Treaty of Sistova (1791), which ended the 1787–91 war between the Ottoman Empire and the Habsburg Monarchy (and, by extension, the Ottoman–Habsburg wars). Thereafter, the island lost its military importance.  In 1804, during the First Serbian Uprising, Serbian rebels, led by Milenko Stojković, caught and executed the Dahije (renegade Janissary junta in the Sanjak of Smederevo) that had fled Belgrade and taken refuge on the island, thereby ending Dahije tyranny.  Even though the Ottomans lost the areas surrounding the island after the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) (and the Romanian War of Independence which was a part of the same conflict) the island was totally forgotten during the peace talks at the Congress of Berlin in 1878, which allowed it to remain a "de jure" Ottoman territory and the Ottoman sultan's private possession (although "de facto", in 1913, Austria-Hungary unilaterally declared its sovereignty over the island) until the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923.  Between 1878 and 1918 the areas surrounding the island were controlled by Austria-Hungary to the north and Serbia to the south, but the island was under Ottoman sovereignty. The Ottoman Government continued to appoint and send a "nahiye müdürü" (administrative head of a unit smaller than a district and bigger than a village) and a "kadı" (judge) regularly. The island's inhabitants (officially citizens of the Ottoman Empire) enjoyed exemption from taxes and customs and were not subject to conscription. The islanders also had the right to vote during the Ottoman general elections of 1908. On May 12, 1913, taking advantage of the Balkan Wars, dr. Zoltán Medve, the lord-lieutenant of Krassó-Szörény County sailed to the island under Austro-Hungarian ensign and introduced Hungarian administration by the representation of the Dual Monarchy. The island was transformed to a municipality became known as Újorsova assigned into the Orsova district of Krassó-Szörény County. This was the last territorial expansion of Hungary before the outbreak of the First World War; the seizure was never officially recognized by the Ottoman government.  Following the end of World War I, Romania unilaterally declared its sovereignty in 1919 and strengthened its claim with the Treaty of Trianon in 1920. On July 24, 1923, the new Republic of Turkey officially ceded Ada Kaleh to Romania with Articles 25 and 26 of the Treaty of Lausanne; by formally recognizing the related provisions in the Treaty of Trianon.  The population lived primarily on the cultivation of tobacco and fishery, and later on tourism. In its last years of existence, the island's population ranged between 600 and 1,000 inhabitants. Before the island was covered by the waters of the Iron Gates dam, part of the population moved to Constanța in Romania and the rest to Turkey, invited by Prime Minister Demirel during his visit to the island.  The Ada Kaleh Mosque, dating from 1903, was built on the site of an earlier Franciscan monastery. The carpet of the mosque, a gift from the Turkish Sultan Abdülhamid II, was relocated to the Constanţa Mosque in 1965.  The island was visited by King Carol II of Romania in 1931, and by Prime Minister Süleyman Demirel of Turkey on September 13, 1967.

Aftermath.

During the construction of the dam, some of the structures that were built on the island were relocated to the nearby Şimian Island, including part of the masonry of the fortress' catacombs, the mosque, the bazaar, Mahmut Pasha's house, the graveyard and various other objects. However, the Ada Kaleh community decided to emigrate to Turkey after the evacuation of the island, instead of re-settling on Șimian Island. Also, a smaller part went to Dobruja, another Romanian territory with a Turkish minority, so the reconstruction of the "New Ada Kaleh" was never completed.

Literature.

Ada Kaleh plays an important part in the novel of one of the most famous Hungarian authors, Mór Jókai. In the novel "The Golden Man" ("Az Arany Ember"), published in 1872, Ada Kaleh is called the "No One's Isle" and it becomes an almost mythical symbol of peace, seclusion and beauty, juxtaposed with the material outside world.  In "Between the Woods and the Water", the second volume of Patrick Leigh Fermor's narrative of his journey across Europe, the author describes a delightful visit in 1934 with a group of elderly inhabitants and discusses the history of the island.

Ada Kaleh ( from meaning "Island Fortress", or, Serbian and Bulgarian: Адакале / "Adakale") was a small island on the Danube in what is modern Romania, populated mostly by Turks of Romania, that was submerged during the construction of the Iron Gates hydroelectric plant in 1970. The island was about 3 km downstream from Orșova and was less than two kilometers long and approximately half a kilometer wide (1.75 x 0.4–0.5 km).


Early life.

Alexios III Angelos was the second son of Andronikos Doukas Angelos and Euphrosyne Kastamonitissa. Andronikos was himself a son of Theodora Komnene, the youngest daughter of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos and Irene Doukaina. Thus Alexios Angelos was a member of the extended imperial family. Together with his father and brothers, Alexios had conspired against Emperor Andronikos I Komnenos (), and thus he spent several years in exile in Muslim courts, including that of Saladin.  His younger brother Isaac was threatened with execution under orders of Andronikos I, their first-cousin once-removed, on September 11, 1185. Isaac made a desperate attack on the imperial agents and soon killed their leader Stephen Hagiochristophorites. He then took refuge in the church of Hagia Sophia and from there appealed to the populace. His actions provoked a riot, which resulted in the deposition of Andronikos I and the proclamation of Isaac as Emperor. Alexios was now closer to the imperial throne than ever before.

Reign.

By 1190 Alexios had returned to the court of his younger brother, from whom he received the elevated title of "sebastokratōr". In March 1195 while Isaac II was away hunting in Thrace, Alexios was acclaimed as emperor by the troops with the covert support of Alexios' wife Euphrosyne Doukaina Kamatera. Alexios captured Isaac at Stagira in Macedonia, put out his eyes, and thenceforth kept him a close prisoner, despite having previously been redeemed by Alexios from captivity at Antioch and showered with honours.  To compensate for this crime and to solidify his position as emperor, Alexios had to scatter money so lavishly as to empty his treasury, and to allow such licence to the officers of the army as to leave the Empire practically defenceless. These actions inevitably led to the financial ruin of the state. At Christmas 1196, Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI attempted to force Alexios to pay him a tribute of 5,000 pounds (later negotiated down to 1,600 pounds) of gold or face invasion. Alexios gathered the money by plundering imperial tombs at the church of the Holy Apostles and heavily taxing the people through the "Alamanikon". Because of Henry's death in September 1197, the gold was never dispatched. The able and forceful empress Euphrosyne tried in vain to sustain his credit and his court; Vatatzes, the favourite instrument in her attempts at reform, was assassinated by the emperor's orders.  In the east the Empire was overrun by the Seljuk Turks; from the north, the Kingdom of Hungary and the rebellious Bulgarians and Vlachs descended unchecked to ravage the Balkan provinces of the Empire, sometimes penetrating as far as Greece, while Alexios squandered the public treasure on his palaces and gardens and attempted to deal with the crisis through diplomatic means. The Emperor's attempts to bolster the empire's defences by special concessions to "pronoiars" (notables) in the frontier zone backfired, as the latter increased their regional autonomy. Byzantine authority survived, but in a much weakened state. In 1197, local lord Dobromir Chrysos established himself in region of Vardar Macedonia, defying the imperial power for several years.  During first years of Alexios reign, relations between Byzantium and Serbia were good, since his daughter Eudokia Angelina was married to Serbian Grand Prince Stefan Nemanjić, who was granted the title of "sebastokrator". But in 1200, those relations deteriorated. Marriage between Stefan and Eudokia was dissolved, and alliance between Serbia and Byzantium ended, leaving Byzantium without a single ally in Southeastern Europe.

Fourth Crusade.

Soon Alexios was threatened by a new and more formidable danger. In 1202, soldiers assembled at Venice to launch the Fourth Crusade. Alexios IV Angelos, the son of the deposed Isaac II, had recently escaped from Constantinople and now appealed for support to the crusaders, promising to end the East-West Schism, to pay for their transport, and to provide military support if they would help him depose his uncle and ascend to his father's throne.  The crusaders, whose objective had been Egypt, were persuaded to set their course for Constantinople, arriving there in June 1203, proclaiming Alexios IV as Emperor, and inviting the populace of the capital to depose his uncle. Alexios III took no effective measures to resist, and his attempts to bribe the crusaders failed. His son-in-law, Theodore Laskaris, who was the only one to attempt anything significant, was defeated at Scutari, and the siege of Constantinople began. Unfortunately for the city, misgovernment by Alexios III had left the Byzantine navy with only 20 worm-eaten hulks by the time the crusaders arrived.  In July, the crusaders, led by the aged Doge Enrico Dandolo, scaled the walls and took control of a major section of the city. In the ensuing fighting, the crusaders set the city on fire, ultimately leaving 20,000 people homeless. On 17 July Alexios III finally took action and led 17 divisions from the St. Romanus Gate, vastly outnumbering the crusaders. His courage failed, however, and the Byzantine army returned to the city without a fight. His courtiers demanded action, and Alexios III promised to fight. Instead, that night (July 17/18), Alexios III hid in the palace, and finally, with one of his daughters, Eirene, and as much treasure (1,000 pounds of gold) as he could collect, got into a boat and escaped to Debeltos in Thrace, leaving his wife and his other daughters behind. Isaac II, drawn from his prison and robed once more in the imperial purple, received his son, Alexios IV, in state.

Life in exile.

Alexios III attempted to organize resistance to the new regime from Adrianople and then Mosynopolis, where he was joined by the later usurper Alexios V Doukas "Mourtzouphlos" in April 1204, after the definitive fall of Constantinople to the crusaders and the establishment of the Latin Empire. At first Alexios III received Alexios V well, even allowing him to marry his daughter Eudokia Angelina. Later Alexios V was blinded and deserted by his father-in-law, who fled from the crusaders into Thessaly. Here Alexios III eventually surrendered, with Euphrosyne, to Marquis Boniface of Montferrat, who was establishing himself as ruler of the Kingdom of Thessalonica.  Alexios III attempted to escape Boniface's "protection" in 1205, seeking shelter with Michael I Komnenos Doukas, the ruler of Epirus. Captured by Boniface, Alexios and his retinue were sent to Montferrat before being brought back to Thessalonica in. At that point the deposed emperor was ransomed by Michael I, who sent him to Asia Minor, where Alexios' son-in-law Theodore Laskaris - now emperor of Nicaea - was holding his own against the Latins. Here Alexios conspired against his son-in-law after the latter refused to recognize Alexios' authority, receiving the support of Kaykhusraw I, the sultan of Rûm. In the Battle of Antioch on the Meander in 1211, the sultan was defeated and killed, and Alexios was captured by Theodore Laskaris. Alexios was then confined to a monastery at Nicaea, where he died later in 1211.

Family.

By his marriage to Euphrosyne Doukaina Kamatera, Alexios had three daughters:

Alexios III Angelos () (1211) was Byzantine Emperor from March 1195 to July 17/18, 1203. A member of the extended imperial family, Alexios came to throne after deposing, blinding, and imprisoning his younger brother Isaac II Angelos. The most significant event of his reign was the attack of the Fourth Crusade on Constantinople in 1203, on behalf of Alexios IV Angelos. Alexios III took over the defense of the city, which he mismanaged, then fled the city at night with one of his three daughters. From Adrianople, and then Mosynopolis, he unsuccessfully attempted to rally his supporters, only to end up a captive of Marquis Boniface of Montferrat. He was ransomed, sent to Asia Minor where he plotted against his son-in-law Theodore Laskaris, but was eventually captured and spent his last days confined to the Monastery of Hyakinthos in Nicaea, where he died.


Latin.

There are two supines, I (first) and II (second). They are originally the accusative and dative or ablative forms of a verbal noun in the fourth declension, respectively.

First supine.

The first supine ends in "-um". It has two uses.  The first supine comes with verbs of motion. In one usage, it indicates purpose. For example, "mater pompam me spectatum duxit" is Latin for "Mother took me to watch the procession", and "legati ad Caesarem gratulatum convenerunt" is Latin for "Ambassadors came to Caesar to congratulate him". The translation of this first usage of the first supine is similar to, if not identical to, the Latin clause of purpose.  A second usage is in combination with the future passive infinitive. In this second usage it indicates fate; for example "occisum iri" means "to be going to be killed". It mostly appears in indirect statements, for example "occisum iri a Milone video", meaning "I foresee that he is going to be killed by Milo".

Second supine.

The second supine, which comes with adjectives, is rarely used; only a few verbs have been seen to commonly adopt the form. It is derived from the dative of purpose, which expresses the purpose of a thing or action, or the ablative of respect, which can translate as "with regard/respect to" and is used to indicate to what extent or in what way the main clause is true. It is the same as the first supine but replacing final "-um" by "-ū", with a lengthened "u". "Mirabile dictū", for example, translates as "amazing to say", where "dictū" is the supine form. The sense is generally passive, even if usually not explicitly marked as such in idiomatic English translation; for example, "difficile creditū", "hard to believe", is more literally "hard to be believed", or "hardly believable".

Germanic languages.

In English grammar, the term "supine" is sometimes used to refer to the "to"-infinitive. The "to"-infinitive is seen in sentences like "To err is human; to forgive divine."  In Swedish, the supine is used with an auxiliary verb to produce some compound verb forms (perfect forms). "See" Swedish grammar.  In Icelandic grammar, "sagnbót" (usually translated as "supine") is a verbal form identical to the neuter participle, used to form certain verb tenses.

Finnic languages.

In Estonian, the supine is called "ma-tegevusnimi" (lit. "ma-action name") because all the words in supine have "ma" in the end (as in "tegema", "jooksma", "kõndima"), and they act similarly to the Latin example. The supine is also the common dictionary form for verbs.

Romance languages.

In Romanian, the supine generally corresponds to an English construction like "for doing": "Această carte este de citit" means "This book is for reading".

Slavic languages.

The Slovene and the Lower Sorbian supine is used after verbs of movement; "see" Slovenian verbs. The supine was used in Proto-Slavic but it was replaced in most Slavic languages by the infinitive in later periods.

Baltic languages.

In some dialects of Lithuanian, the supine is used with verbs of motion to indicate purpose: "Moterys eina miestan duonos pirktų ", which means "The women are going to the town to buy some bread". The standard language uses the infinitive, pirkti, instead of the supine. In the past, the supine was much more widespread form than now.

In grammar, a supine is a form of verbal noun used in some languages. The term is most often used for Latin, where it is one of the four principal parts of a verb. The word refers to a position of lying on one's back (as opposed to 'prone', lying face downward), but there exists no widely accepted etymology that explains why or how the term came to be used to also describe this form of a verb.


Signs and symptoms.

These descriptions refer to 'classic' Alport syndrome, which usually causes significant disease from young adult or late childhood life. Some individuals, usually with milder mutations or 'carrier' status, develop disease later, or show only some of the features of classic disease.

Hematuria and proteinuria.

Blood in urine is a usual feature of Alport syndrome from early infancy, identifiable on urine dipsticks. In young children, episodes of visible (macroscopic) haematuria may occur. Protein begins to appear in urine as the disease progresses. This is now regarded as an indication for treatment with ACE inhibitors.

Hearing loss.

Alport syndrome can also cause hearing loss although some patients are not affected. Hearing in Alport syndrome patients is normal at birth. Hearing loss in affected patients develops progressively, usually at the stage when kidney function is normal, but there is substantial proteinuria. However, in some patients, hearing loss is only noted after kidney function has been lost. Characteristically the early changes are reduced ability to hear high-frequency sounds, 'high-tone hearing loss'. This becomes more severe and affects lower frequencies too. Hearing loss is not usually complete in Alport syndrome; good communication is almost always possible with the use of hearing aids.

Leiomyomatosis.

Diffuse leiomyomatosis of the esophagus and tracheobronchial tree has been reported in some families with Alport syndrome. Symptoms usually appear in late childhood and include dysphagia, postprandial vomiting, substernal or epigastric pain, recurrent bronchitis, dyspnea, cough, and stridor. Leiomyomatosis is confirmed by computed tomography (CT) scanning or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Eye changes.

Various eye abnormalities are often seen including lenticonus, keratoconus, cataracts as well as retinal flecks in the macula and mid-periphery. These rarely threaten vision. Lenticonus (cone-shaped lens) can be treated by replacement of the lens, as for cataracts. Mild keratoconus can be managed with hard, scleral, piggy-back or other specialty medical contact lenses; progressive cases may be halted with corneal collagen cross linking; and severe cases may require a corneal transplant.

Other abnormalities.

Aortic dissection has been described very rarely in patients with early-onset disease. Leiomyomas, tumours of smooth muscle affecting the oesophagus and female genital tract, may occur in a rare overlap syndrome involving the adjacent "COL4A5" and "COL4A6" genes.

Pathophysiology.

Genetics.

Alport syndrome is caused by mutations in "COL"4A3, "COL4A4", and "COL4A5", three of six human genes involved in basement membrane (type IV) collagen biosynthesis. Mutations in any of these genes prevent the proper production or assembly of the specialised type IV collagen '345' network which is an important structural component of basement membranes in the kidney, inner ear, and eye. It is also found in other locations, including the alveoli of the lungs. Basement membranes are thin, sheet-like structures that separate and support cells in many tissues. Type IV collagen '112' type is found in both vertebrates and invertebrates, and is the major isoform in most human basement membranes. When mutations prevent the formation of 345 type IV collagen network in the glomerulus, the 112 network, which is formed in fetal development but usually replaced by 345, persists into adult life.

Inheritance patterns.

Alport syndrome can have different inheritance patterns depending on which specific mutation is present.  Clinical utility gene card for: Alport syndrome.

Diagnosis.

The diagnosis can usually be made on a combination of clinical, family history and biopsy criteria.

Biopsy of kidneys or skin.

To be helpful, kidney biopsies need to be taken before the disease is too advanced. Changes on conventional (light) microscopy are not characteristic, and the possibility of other diagnoses, particularly focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), may be raised. Electron microscopy shows a characteristic sequence of changes from thinning of the glomerular basement membrane (GBM), developing into areas of thinning and thickening, and finally into a complex appearance with apparent splitting, often described as a 'basketweave' appearance. Early or very localised changes on this spectrum are not diagnostic, but the later changes are considered diagnostic.  Immunohistochemistry or immunofluorescence studies to identify the COL3-4-5 proteins in GBM can be helpful. However, these studies may be normal in some patients with Alport syndrome, especially milder variants.  Skin contains type IV collagen in a '556' network. Skin biopsies have been used to show absence of the "COL4A5" gene product, but these techniques are not straightforward, only apply to patients with severe "COL4A5" mutations, and are not widely available. Genetic testing is now a better alternative if kidney biopsy is not possible.

Family history.

A family history of end-stage renal disease with hearing impairment is suggestive of Alport syndrome, but other conditions can cause this combination of abnormalities. Most can be distinguished by clinical features. The finding of haematuria in relatives is suggestive. While X-linked inheritance is the most common pattern, genetic testing is revealing that atypical presentations may be more common than currently thought.

Genetic testing.

Genetic testing plays an increasingly important role in confirming the diagnosis where the clinical features do not amount to proof.

Other tests.

The use of eye examinations for screening has been proposed.

Treatment.

Kidney disease and renal failure.

In addition to measures for chronic kidney disease (CKD) of any cause, there is evidence that ACE inhibitors can slow the deterioration of kidney function in Alport syndrome, delaying the need for dialysis or transplantation. The development of proteinuria has been recommended as an indication for commencing treatment.  Once kidney failure has developed, patients usually do well on dialysis or with a kidney transplant. Transplantation can rarely be associated with the formation of antibodies to type IV collagen in the donor kidney resulting in progressive graft failure as a result of Goodpasture syndrome ('Alport post-transplant anti-GBM disease').  Gene therapy has been frequently discussed, but delivering it to the podocytes in the glomerulus that normally produce the type IV collagen in the glomerular basement membrane is challenging.

Hearing loss.

It is not known whether ACE inhibitors or other treatments affect hearing loss. For those with classic Alport syndrome, hearing aids are often required in teenage or young adult years.

Prognosis.

Studies of the life expectancy of patients with Alport syndrome are rare, but one 2012 study of 456 male patients from across Europe who received a kidney transplant found that they had somewhat increased life expectancy compared to matched controls (the controls were "randomly selected from the same age, year, and modality categories").

Alport syndrome is a genetic disorder affecting around 1 in 5,000-10,000 children, characterized by glomerulonephritis, end-stage kidney disease, and hearing loss. Alport syndrome can also affect the eyes, though the changes do not usually affect sight, except when changes to the lens occur in later life. Blood in urine is universal. Proteinuria is a feature as kidney disease progresses.


Etymology.

The word antipodes derives from the Greek: ἀντίποδες, plural of "antipous" (ἀντίπους) "with feet opposite (ours)", from "anti-" "opposed" and "pous" "foot".  The island group was originally called the "Penantipodes" meaning "next to the antipodes", because it lies near to the antipodes of London (located around 51.5°S, 180°W). Over time the name has been shortened to "Antipodes". The island's actual antipodes are situated on the territory of the French village Gatteville-le-Phare, near Cherbourg.

Geography.

The volcanic Antipodes Islands lie southeast of Stewart Island/Rakiura. They consist of a main island (Antipodes Island), area, surrounded by a series of small offshore islands and rocks. These islands include Bollons Island, at the second largest in the group, to the northeast of the main island's North Cape, and the nearby smaller Archway Island; Leeward Island, situated just off the centre of the main island's east coast (to which it is connected by a rocky bar at low tide); the two Windward Islands, situated apart, the easternmost of which is to the immediate north of Cave Point, the main island's westernmost point; and the tiny Orde Lees Islet, located close to the main island's northwestern shore. Numerous small islets and stacks further surround the coast of the main island.  The islands are steep, and cliffs and rocky reefs line the majority of the coasts. The highest point is Mount Galloway at in the north of the main island, which also forms part of the group's most recently active volcano. Mount Waterhouse, to Galloway's southwest, also reaches over. Several other heights on the main island reach above, as does the highest point of Bollons Island. A ridge of peaks, the Reliance Ridge, runs along the main island's south coast. Several small streams run from the slopes of the main island's peaks, with the largest of these being the Dougall Stream, which runs northeast from the eastern slopes of Mount Waterhouse to reach the east coast not far from its closest point to Leeward Island. The Ringdove Stream runs east along the northern flanks of the Reliance Ridge to reach the large, rocky Ringdove Bay in the southeast of the main island. A further prominent stream runs southwest from the northwestern slopes of Mount Waterhouse to reach Stack Bay to the south of the Cave Point Peninsula, and a fourth runs north from the slopes of Mount Galloway, reaching the sea to the west of North Cape, close to Reef Point.

History.

Prehistory.

There is no archaeological evidence of human visitation prior to European discovery of the islands. Descriptions of a shard of early Polynesian pottery having been discovered below the surface on the main island in 1886, and housed in the collections of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa are unsubstantiated. The Museum has not been able to locate such a shard in its collection, and the original reference to the object in the Museum's collection documentation indicates no reference to Polynesian influences.

Sealing.

The island group was discovered in 1800 by Captain Henry Waterhouse commanding HMS "Reliance". Matthew Flinders was first lieutenant, and his younger brother Samuel, was a midshipman on the vessel: Samuel prepared the chart of the islands. Waterhouse reported the presence of seals. In 1803 Waterhouse's brother-in-law George Bass applied to Governor Philip Gidley King of New South Wales for a fishing monopoly from a line bisecting southern New Zealand from Dusky Sound to the Otago Harbour to cover all the lands and seas to the south, including the Antipodes Islands, probably because he knew the latter were home to large populations of fur seals. Bass sailed from Sydney to the south that year and was never heard of again but his information led to a sealing boom at the islands in 1805 to 1807. In February 1805, the first sealing gangs arrived on the island from the American schooners "Favorite" and "Independence". They killed about 60,000 seals over the course of the year they were stationed on the islands.  At one time eighty men were present; there was a battle between American and British-led gangs and a single cargo of more than 80,000 skins—one of the greatest ever shipped from Australasia—was on-sold in Canton for one pound sterling a skin, a multimillion-dollar return in modern terms. Prominent Sydney merchants such as Simeon Lord, Henry Kable and James Underwood were engaged in the trade as well as the Americans Daniel Whitney and Owen Folger Smith. William W. Stewart, who claimed to have charted Stewart Island, and probably William Tucker who started the retail trade in preserved Maori heads, were present during the boom. After 1807, sealing was occasional and cargoes small, no doubt because the animals had been all but exterminated.

Shipwrecks.

A much later attempt to establish cattle on the islands was short-lived (as were the cattle). When the ship (with a crew of 16) foundered off the main island's coast in 1893, the eleven surviving crew spent nearly three months living as castaways on the island, living on raw muttonbirds, mussels and roots for 87 days before gaining the attention of the government steamer by a flag made from their sail. A well-supplied castaway depot was available on the other end of the island, but the survivors' weak condition and the island's mountainous terrain prevented them from searching for depots.  The depot was found and used by the crew of the French barque "President Felix Faure", wrecked in Anchorage bay in 1908, who were stranded for sixty days until rescued by.  The last wreck at the Antipodes was the yacht "Totorore" with the loss of two lives, Gerry Clark and Roger Sale, in June 1999.

Nuclear testing proposals.

In 1955 the British Government required a large site remote from population centres to test the new thermonuclear devices it was developing. Various islands in the South Pacific and Southern Oceans were considered, along with Antarctica. The Admiralty suggested the Antipodes Islands.

Flora and fauna.

The flora of the islands has been recorded in detail, and includes megaherbs. The islands are also home to numerous bird species including the endemic Antipodes snipe, Antipodes parakeet, Reischek's parakeet, as well as several albatrosses, petrels and penguins, including half of the world population of the erect-crested penguin.  Original population of fur seals seems to be regionally extinct or in serious peril where "Upland Seals" once found on Antipodes and Macquarie Island have been claimed as a distinct subspecies with thicker furs by scientists although it is unclear whether these seals were genetically distinct.

Important Bird Area.

The Antipodes group has been identified as an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because of its significance as a breeding site for several species of seabirds. The seabirds are southern rockhopper and erect-crested penguins, Antipodean, black-browed, light-mantled and white-capped albatrosses, and northern giant, grey and white-chinned petrels.

Conservation.

As with many other islands, introduced rodents have caused problems by preying on the indigenous wildlife. A "Million Dollar Mouse" campaign was launched in 2012 to raise funds for an eradication programme as part of the New Zealand government's "Predator Free 2050" project. In the winter of 2016, the Department of Conservation carried out bait drops totalling 65 tonnes from three helicopters, and searched with trained dogs for any remaining rodents, which eliminated the estimated 200,000 mice on Antipodes Island.  The island group is surrounded by the Moutere Mahue / Antipodes Island Marine Reserve.

The Antipodes Islands are inhospitable and uninhabited volcanic islands in subantarctic waters to the south of – and territorially part of – New Zealand. The archipelago lies to the southeast of Stewart Island/Rakiura, and to the northeast of Campbell Island. They are very close to being the antipodal point to Normandy in France, meaning that the furthest away city from here is Cherbourg, France.


Description.

The laboratory is a cylindrical module, made from stainless steel, with two end cones. It is in external diameter and in overall length, excluding the projecting external experiment racks. Its shape is very similar to that of the Multi-Purpose Logistics Modules (MPLMs), since both were designed to fit in the cargo bay of a Space Shuttle orbiter. The starboard end cone contains most of the laboratory's on-board computers. The port end cone contains the Common Berthing Mechanism.

Construction.

ESA chose EADS Astrium Space Transportation as prime contractor for "Columbus" manufacturing. The module was tested at the European Space Research and Technology Centre. The "Columbus" flight structure, the micro-meteorite protection system, the active and passive thermal control, the environmental control, the harness and all the related ground support equipment were designed and qualified by Alcatel Alenia Space in Turin, Italy as defined by the PICA – Principle (for definition see History below); the related hardware was pre-integrated and sent as PICA in September 2001 to Bremen. The lab was built and qualified on system level at the EADS Astrium Space Transportation facilities in Bremen, Germany.

Launch, berthing and outfitting.

In November 2007, "Columbus" was moved out of the KSC Space Station Processing Facility, and installed into the payload bay of the "Atlantis" orbiter for launch on ISS assembly flight 1E (STS-122).  During cryo-filling of the Space Shuttle External Tank (ET) with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen prior to the first launch attempt on December 6, 2007, two of four LH2 ECO sensors failed a test. Mission rules called for at least three of the four sensors to be in working order for a launch attempt to proceed. As a result of the failure, the Launch Director Doug Lyons postponed the launch, initially for 24 hours. This was later revised into a 72-hour delay, resulting in a next launch attempt set for Sunday December 9, 2007. This launch attempt was scrubbed when one of the ECO sensors again failed during fuelling.  The ECO sensors external connector was changed on the Space Shuttle external tank, causing a two-month delay in the launch. "Columbus" was finally launched successfully on the third attempt at 2:45pm EST, February 7, 2008. Once at the station, Canadarm2 removed "Columbus" from the docked shuttle's cargo bay and attached it to the starboard hatch of "Harmony" (also known as Node 2), with the cylinder pointing outwards on February 11, 2008.

Research activities and payloads.

Activities in the lab are controlled on the ground by the Columbus Control Center (at DLR Oberpfaffenhofen in Germany) and by the associated User Support Operations Centres throughout Europe.  The laboratory can accommodate ten active International Standard Payload Racks (ISPRs) for science payloads. Agreements with NASA allocate to ESA 51% usage of the "Columbus" Laboratory. ESA is thus allocated five active rack locations, with the other five being allocated to NASA. Four active rack locations are on the forward side of the deck, four on the aft side, and two are in overhead locations. Three of the deck racks are filled with life support and cooling systems. The remaining deck rack and the two remaining overhead racks are storage racks.  In addition, four un-pressurized payload platforms can be attached outside the starboard cone, on the "Columbus" External Payload Facility (CEPF). Each external payload is mounted on an adaptor able to accommodate small instruments and experiments totalling up to.  The following European ISPRs have been initially installed inside "Columbus":  The first external payloads were mounted on "Columbus" by crew members of the mission STS-122 mission. The three payloads mounted are:  Planned additional external payloads:  See also:  In 2014 the ISS-RapidScat instrument was installed, which was operated until late 2016. ISS-RapidScat was transported to ISS by the SpaceX CRS-4 spaceflight.

History.

"Columbus" was originally planned as part of the Columbus program, an ESA program to develop an autonomous crewed space station that could be used for a variety of microgravity experiments. The program ran from 1986 to 1991 and included three components: a "Man-Tended Free Flyer" (MTFF) element serviced by the Hermes shuttle, an "Attached Pressurized Module" (APM), and a Polar Platform ("PPF"). After several budget cuts and cancellation of Hermes shuttle, all that remained in the Columbus program was the APM, finally renamed to "Columbus".  When only the APM was left in the program there were not enough tasks for the two main contributors Germany and Italy represented by MBB-ERNO and Alenia respectively. As compromise the PICA (Pre Integrated Columbus APM) – Principle was invented meaning a split responsibility where Alenia as a co-prime is responsible for the overall Columbus configuration, the mechanical and thermal/life support systems, HFE and harness design/manufacturing whereas EADS Astrium Space Transportation is responsible for the overall Columbus design and all Avionics systems including electrical harness design and software. Splitting off systems engineering responsibility and harness design under separate fixed-price contracts was found not to be advantageous with respect to efficiency and fast decision making as financial reasonings were pre-dominant in the last phase of development and verification.  The structure used for "Columbus" is based on the MPLM module built for NASA by Thales Alenia Space. In 2000 the pre-integrated module (structure including harness and tubing) was delivered to Bremen in Germany by the Co-prime contractor Alenia. The final integration and system testing was performed by the overall prime contractor EADS Astrium Space Transportation, after that the initial Payload was integrated and the overall complement checked-out.  On May 27, 2006 "Columbus" was flown from Bremen, Germany to Kennedy Space Center on board an Airbus Beluga.  The final schedule was much longer than originally planned due to development problems (several caused by the complex responsibility splitting between the Co-prime and the Overall prime contractor) and design changes introduced by ESA but being affordable due to the Shuttle problems delaying the "Columbus" launch for several years. The main design change was the addition of the "External Payload Facility" (EPF), which was driven by the different European Payload organizations being more interested in outer space than internal experiments. Also the addition of a terminal for direct communications to/from ground, which could have been used also as back-up for the "ISS" system, was studied but not implemented for cost reasons.

Columbus is a science laboratory that is part of the International Space Station (ISS) and is the largest single contribution to the ISS made by the European Space Agency (ESA).


Life.

Reinerová grew up in a German-speaking Jewish family, her mother a German-Bohemian from Saaz (Žatec) and her father an ironware dealer from Prague. Prior to World War II, she worked as a translator, an interpreter and an editor for the "Arbeiter-Illustrierte-Zeitung". She fled to Paris in 1938 and later travelled to Morocco. She was visiting Mexico with the communist and writer Egon Erwin Kisch in March 1939 and was the only member of her family to survive the Holocaust. She returned to what was then Czechoslovakia after 1948. In the 1950s, she was jailed by Czechoslovakia's Socialist authorities and spent 15 months in prison; she recorded this experience in one of her novels, "Alle Farben der Sonne und der Nacht". After her release she published sporadically. In 1968 she was the Editor in Chief of the English language publication 'Czechoslovak Life' published by the Orbis Publishing House in Prague. From the summer of 1968, and throughout the period following the Warsaw Pact invasion, Czechoslovak Life continued to support the Action Programme of the Communist Party. She remained as Editor in Chief until at least the end of 1969. Later she was not allowed to publish at all until the fall of communism. Her works are mostly published at Aufbau Verlagsgruppe, Berlin.  On January 25, 2008, a speech Reinerová wrote but could not longer deliver personally due to ill health was read in German parliament in the course of an hour of remembrance for the victims of the Third Reich.  Reinerová had been largely a recluse ever since a spell in hospital in 2007, with the cause of her death not immediately known. Reinerová, the oldest living German-language writer in Prague, died June 27, 2008, in Prague, in her apartment, at 92. Lucie Cernhousova, head of Literaturhaus, the Prague publisher of German-language writers, disclosed her death.

Awards.

In 1999, she was awarded the Schiller Prize. In 2003, she won the prestigious Goethe Medal.

Lenka Reinerová () (May 17, 1916 – June 27, 2008) was an author from the Czech Republic who wrote exclusively in German. She was born in Prague.


Life.

Andronikos II was born Andronikos Doukas Angelos Komnenos Palaiologos () at Nicaea. He was the eldest surviving son of Michael VIII Palaiologos and Theodora Palaiologina, grandniece of John III Doukas Vatatzes.  Andronikos was acclaimed co-emperor in 1261, after his father Michael VIII recovered Constantinople from the Latin Empire, but he was not crowned until 1272. Sole emperor from 1282, Andronikos II immediately repudiated his father's unpopular Church union with the Papacy, which he had been forced to support while his father was still alive, but he was unable to resolve the related schism within the Orthodox clergy until 1310.  Andronikos II was also plagued by economic difficulties. During his reign the value of the Byzantine "hyperpyron" depreciated precipitously, while the state treasury accumulated less than one seventh the revenue (in nominal coins) that it had previously. Seeking to increase revenue and reduce expenses, Andronikos II raised taxes, reduced tax exemptions, and dismantled the Byzantine fleet (80 ships) in 1285, thereby making the Empire increasingly dependent on the rival republics of Venice and Genoa. In 1291, he hired 50–60 Genoese ships, but the Byzantine weakness resulting from the lack of a navy became painfully apparent in the two wars with Venice in 1296–1302 and 1306–10. Later, in 1320, he tried to resurrect the navy by constructing 20 galleys, but failed.  Andronikos II Palaiologos sought to resolve some of the problems facing the Byzantine Empire through diplomacy. After the death of his first wife Anne of Hungary, he married Yolanda (renamed Irene) of Montferrat, putting an end to the Montferrat claim to the Kingdom of Thessalonica. Andronikos II also attempted to marry off his son and co-emperor Michael IX Palaiologos to the Latin Empress Catherine I of Courtenay, thus seeking to eliminate Western agitation for a restoration of the Latin Empire. Another marriage alliance attempted to resolve the potential conflict with Serbia in Macedonia, as Andronikos II married off his five-year-old daughter Simonis to King Stefan Milutin in 1298.  In spite of the resolution of problems in Europe, Andronikos II was faced with the collapse of the Byzantine frontier in Asia Minor, despite the successful, but short, governorships of Alexios Philanthropenos and John Tarchaneiotes. The successful military victories in Asia Minor by Alexios Philanthropenos and John Tarchaneiotes against the Turks were largely dependent on a considerable military contingent of Cretan escapees, or exiles from Venetian-occupied Crete, headed by Hortatzis, whom Michael VIII had repatriated to Byzantium through a treaty agreement with the Venetians ratified in 1277. Andronikos II had resettled those Cretans in the region of Meander river, the southeastern Asia Minor frontier of Byzantium with the Turks.  After the failure of the co-emperor Michael IX to stem the Turkish advance in Asia Minor in 1302 and the disastrous Battle of Bapheus, the Byzantine government hired the Catalan Company of Almogavars (adventurers from Catalonia) led by Roger de Flor to clear Byzantine Asia Minor of the enemy. In spite of some successes, the Catalans were unable to secure lasting gains. Being more ruthless and savage than the enemy they intended to subdue they quarreled with Michael IX, and eventually openly turned on their Byzantine employers after the murder of Roger de Flor in 1305; together with a party of willing Turks they devastated Thrace, Macedonia, and Thessaly on their road to Latin occupied southern Greece. There they conquered the Duchy of Athens and Thebes. The Turks continued to penetrate the Byzantine possessions, and Prusa fell in 1326. By the end of Andronikos II's reign, much of Bithynia was in the hands of the Ottoman Turks of Osman I and his son and heir Orhan. Also, Karasids conquered Mysia-region with Paleokastron after 1296, Germiyan conquered Simav in 1328, Saruhan captured Magnesia in 1313, and Aydinids captured Smyrna in 1310.  The Empire's problems were exploited by Theodore Svetoslav of Bulgaria, who defeated Michael IX and conquered much of northeastern Thrace in. The conflict ended with yet another dynastic marriage, between Michael IX's daughter Theodora and the Bulgarian emperor. The dissolute behavior of Michael IX's son Andronikos III Palaiologos led to a rift in the family, and after Michael IX's death in 1320, Andronikos II disowned his grandson, prompting a civil war that raged, with interruptions, until 1328. The conflict precipitated Bulgarian involvement, and Michael Asen III of Bulgaria attempted to capture Andronikos II under the guise of sending him military support. In 1328 Andronikos III entered Constantinople in triumph and Andronikos II was forced to abdicate.  Andronikos II died as a monk at Constantinople in 1332.

Family.

On 8 November 1273 Andronikos II married as his first wife Anna of Hungary, daughter of Stephen V of Hungary and Elizabeth the Cuman, with whom he had two sons:  Anna died in 1281, and in 1284 Andronikos married Yolanda (renamed Irene), a daughter of William VII of Montferrat, with whom he had:  Andronikos II also had at least three illegitimate daughters:

Andronikos II Palaiologos (; 25 March 1259 – 13 February 1332), usually Latinized as Andronicus II Palaeologus, reigned as Byzantine Emperor from 1282 to 1328. Andronikos' reign was marked by the beginning of the decline of the Byzantine Empire. During his reign, the Turks conquered most of the Western Anatolian territories of the Empire and, during the last years of his reign, he also had to fight his grandson Andronikos in the First Palaiologan Civil War. The civil war ended in Andronikos II's forced abdication in 1328 after which he retired to a monastery.


Gameplay.

"Soldier of Fortune" is best known for its graphic depictions of firearms dismembering the human body. This graphic violence is the game's main stylistic attraction, much like the destructible environments of "Red Faction" or bullet time of "Max Payne". The GHOUL engine enables depiction of extreme graphic violence, in which character models are based on body parts that can each independently sustain damage (gore zones). There are 26 zones in total: a shot to the head with a powerful gun will often make the target's head explode, leaving nothing but the bloody stump of the neck remaining; a close-range shot to the stomach with a shotgun will leave an enemy's bowels in a bloody mess, and a shot to the nether regions will cause the victims to clutch their groin in agony for a few seconds before kneeling over dead. It is possible to shoot off an enemy's limbs (head, arms, legs) leaving nothing left but a bloody torso. In the last mission there is also a fictional microwave weapon, causing the enemies to fry or explode, depending on the firing mode. However, nonviolence is a possibility, if the player is a good shot it is possible to shoot an enemy's weapon out of their hand, causing them to cower on the floor to surrender. The game also came with password-protected options to disable all gore and there is even a version of the game with the extreme violence permanently locked-out, titled "Soldier of Fortune: Tactical Low-Violence Version".

Multiplayer.

In multiplayer mode, there are seven gametypes: Arsenal, Assassination, Capture the Flag, Conquer the Bunker, Control, Deathmatch and Realistic Deathmatch.

Plot.

The story involves the theft of nuclear weapons, and the main enemy turns out to be an Afrikaner neo-fascist group based in Germany, led by South African exile Sergei Dekker. At the beginning of the game, terrorists steal four nuclear weapons from a storage facility in Russia, and proceed to sell them to various nations. This is a prelude to the acquisition of advanced weapons of mass destruction by this terrorist group. John Mullins, working for a U.S.-based mercenary ("soldier of fortune") organization known only as "The Shop", and his partner, Aaron "Hawk" Parsons, are assigned to prevent the nukes from falling into the wrong hands, and stop the terrorists in their plans. His missions take him to New York City, Sudan, Siberia, Tokyo, Kosovo, Iraq, Uganda and finally Germany.

Development.

Raven Software acquired a license from the mercenary magazine "Soldier of Fortune" to produce a video game based on the publication. The game was built around a modified version of the "Quake II" game engine. It was the first game to utilize the GHOUL damage model engine developed by Raven Software. This introduced the ability to dismember enemies in combat, adding to the realism of the game. Upgraded versions of the GHOUL system were later used in other Raven titles, such as "" and "".  The game was originally supposed to be much more realistic, featuring mostly real weapons, and the players taking damage would impede their movement and dexterity, depending on where and how many times they were hit. In 1998 (prior to the Kosovo War) the game was also supposed to be partially based in Bosnia instead of Kosovo.  The game is AMD Eyefinity validated.

Rerelease.

GOG.com re-released "Soldier of Fortune" alongside its two successors digitally on October 1, 2018.

Reception.

According to PC Data, a firm that tracked sales in the United States, "Soldier of Fortune" sold 100,919 units by November 2000. NPD Techworld, which also covered the United States, reported 298,563 units sold for the game's computer version by December 2002.  Chris Kramer reviewed the PC version of the game for "Next Generation", rating it four stars out of five, and stated that "Sure, it's not for kids, but it's as good an FPS as you could ever ask for. Go ahead, be antisocial for a while."  Jim Preston reviewed the Dreamcast version of the game for "Next Generation", rating it three stars out of five, and stated that "It's hardly revolutionary, and certainly not for younger gamers, but Dreamcast owners looking for that last shot of action will be satisfied."  Critical reaction was positive, with the GameRankings averaged rating of 82.30% for the PC version. However, the Dreamcast version's reception was less enthusiastic, with the 71.06% average rating (reviewers criticized the loading times, which were both frequent and extremely lengthy).

Violence controversy.

In 2000, after receiving a complaint from a member of the public about the explicit content of the game, the British Columbia Film Classification Office investigated and decided the violence, gore and acts of torture were not suitable for persons under 18 years of age. In a controversial decision, the game was labeled an "adult motion picture" and was rated as a pornographic film. In Germany, the game was placed on the Index List of the Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons.

Sequels.

Based on its success, Raven Software and Activision later published "" in 2002, based on the "Quake III: Team Arena" engine. Initially released for Windows, the sequel was later ported to the Xbox.  A third game in the series, "" was made by Cauldron HQ and released on November 14, 2007.  An MMOFPS based on the series, "Soldier of Fortune Online" was published in Korea by Dragonfly and went in Closed Beta on August 12, 2010 and ended on August 16, 2010.

Soldier of Fortune is a first-person shooter video game developed by Raven Software and published by Activision on February 29, 2000, for Microsoft Windows. It was later released for the PlayStation 2, as well as the Dreamcast, while Loki Software also made a port for Linux. It was digitally re-released on GOG.com on October 2, 2018, along with its two successors. The player takes on the role of a U.S. mercenary as he trots around the globe hoping to halt a terrorist nuclear weapons plot.


History.

The 307 was presented as the 307 Prométhée prototype at the 2000 Mondial de l'Automobile. The production hatchback versions were introduced to the European markets on 26 April 2001, as a successor to the Peugeot 306. The 307 was also sold in Australia, New Zealand, Asia, and (in 1.6 and 2.0 petrol versions) Mexico.  In Brazil, the 307 is sold with 1.6 and 2.0 flex (gas/ethanol) engines.

Design and engineering.

The 307 makes use of a reworked 306 platform, that can also be found on the Citroën Xsara as well as the 1991 Citroën ZX. However, the car is larger than the 306 in every direction. The 307 continued the company's styling first seen on the Peugeot 206 and Peugeot 607.  With upswept front lights and a steeply rising bonnet leading to a highly sloped windscreen (and the upright rear doors first seen on the 206), the 307 departed from the Pininfarina designed themes employed on the previous two generations of Peugeots, as introduced with the Peugeot 205, and ending with the (evolutionary) Peugeot 406.  Its height is, which is in the middle of the spectrum between small family cars (between 1400 and 1450 mm) and compact MPVs (between 1600 and 1650 mm). Some consider the 307 as a low compact MPV rather than a tall small family car, because of its height and profile.  One advertisement for the 307, which was first released in 2001, featured the hit song from 1987, "(Something Inside) So Strong".

"Top Gear".

In a report from "Top Gear Magazine" in June 2001, the new Peugeot 307 1.6 16v TU5 JP4 went head to head with its competitors, the Ford Focus 1.6L I4 Zetec-SE and Honda Civic 1.6 VTEC. The Peugeot received high praise in all areas of the road test, beating both the Ford and Honda on price, space, handling, running costs and refinement.  The Peugeot won the road test, followed by the Ford, then the Honda.

Facelift.

In October 2005, the 307 was revised to meet the onslaught of rivals which had been launched since the introduction of the 307 four years earlier in 2001.  The front of the car was restyled featuring mildly revised lights, a new bonnet and the removal of the trademark Peugeot grille between the headlights. With the latter change, along with a new front bumper, the front of the car was now dominated by a larger air intake, as first established on the Peugeot 407, and which was now effectively the company's new grille.

Body styles.

The 307 was launched as a three and five door hatchback, though in June 2002, the range of the 307 was expanded with the introduction of two estates, the 307 Break and 307 SW. Externally the two estates are almost identical, however the SW version has silver roof bars and a three/four length panoramic glass roof as standard equipment.  Internally though, the 307 Break is a conventional estate, while the SW features an optional third row of removable seats, so it is more flexible due to its MPV like configuration. The SW exists because Peugeot did not develop a compact MPV spinoff as Citroën did with the Xsara Picasso, instead preferring to offer a more flexible version, but maintaining the style and road manners of an estate.  Unlike the previous model, there was no saloon version, but one was designed for emerging markets, such as China and the Latin American market, as saloons were much preferred to hatchbacks. The 307 CC, a cabriolet with a retractable hardtop, was launched in August 2003, to compete against the new European coupé cabriolets.  In June 2004, a four door saloon version of the 307 was launched in China. The 307 is produced for the Chinese market by the Dongfeng Peugeot-Citroën Automobile, a joint venture with the PSA Group. This model was also built in Argentina between May 2006 and November 2010. Production ended in China in 2014.  For the 1.6 L setup also available (from 09/2007 onwards) is a version called 1.6 BioFlex that can as well run on ethanol E85.

Engines.

Hybrid HDi.

In January 2006, Peugeot announced a prototype diesel-electric hybrid engine for the 307 that could achieve, but was not intended for sale until at least 2010, by which time the 307 was replaced by the 308, and the hybrid was still not launched.  The Citroën C4 Hybride HDi was announced at the same time.

Reliability.

According to some sources, the 307 suffers from below average build quality and reliability, having featured at the bottom of the German Automobile Club breakdown statistics for 3 to 5 year old small family cars in 2009. However, June 2005 saw a facelift within the model and reliability increased, making it a more popular model. 2006/2007 models were referenced as a lot more reliable and trustworthy.

Motorsport.

The Peugeot 307 WRC, a World Rally Car based on the 307 CC, replaced the championship-winning 206 WRC in the World Rally Championship for the season of 2004.  The vehicle was plagued by transmission problems throughout its career, and the works team's drivers' driving styles did not suit the car's handling characteristics. In 2004, the car took seven podiums and a maiden win in Rally Finland, but it was not able to challenge for the championship as Marcus Grönholm finished fifth in the drivers' championship and Peugeot fourth in the manufacturers' championship.  The season of 2005 was more successful, and Peugeot was a serious challenger for the manufacturers' championship, leading the championship after round 10, but the challenge faded after Markko Märtin's retirement from rallying. Peugeot ultimately finished second in the manufacturers' championship, while Grönholm finished third in the drivers' championship, tied on points with second-placed Petter Solberg. Grönholm took victories at Rally Finland and Rally Japan along with six other podium finishes, while Märtin took four further podiums.  The car saw its factory supported competition life cut short at the end of 2005 by PSA's decision to withdraw the factory teams of both Citroën and Peugeot from top level rallying. A private undertaking by seasoned Peugeot preparatory firm Bozian Racing, dubbed "OMV Peugeot Norway World Rally Team", largely assumed responsibility for the running of WRC specification 307s for the following season of 2006. Manfred Stohl and Henning Solberg were named as the driving personnel. Stohl impressively placed fourth in the overall drivers' standings, and the 307 WRC took seven podiums by privateer teams that season.  Overall, the car has three WRC victories and 26 podiums to its name, Marcus Grönholm having driven it to the top of the podium in the series at the Rally Finland in 2004 and 2005 as well as at the Rally Japan in 2005.  The 307 WRC will be remembered for the accident that befell WRC competitors Markko Märtin and Michael Park on September 18, 2005, which resulted in co-driver Park's death. On stage 15 of Wales Rally GB, Märtin lost control of his 307 WRC and collided with a tree, killing Park instantly. This was the first fatality in a WRC event since Rodger Freeth in 1993.  The Peugeot 307 has also been raced in the World Touring Car Championship, the British Touring Car Championship, Stock Car Brasil, TC2000 and the Danish Touring Car Championship.

The Peugeot 307 is a small family car produced by the French manufacturer Peugeot since 2001, following the Peugeot 306 which ceased production in 2002. It was awarded the European Car of the Year title for 2002, and continued to be offered in China and certain South American markets through 2014, despite the French launch of the 308 (its intended successor) in September 2007.


Terminology.

The term "supervolcano" was first used in a volcanic context in 1949.  Its origins lie in an early 20th-century scientific debate about the geological history and features of the Three Sisters volcanic region of Oregon in the United States. In 1925, Edwin T. Hodge suggested that a very large volcano, which he named Mount Multnomah, had existed in that region. He believed that several peaks in the Three Sisters area were the remnants of Mount Multnomah after it had been largely destroyed by violent volcanic explosions, similar to Mount Mazama. In 1948, the possible existence of Mount Multnomah was ignored by volcanologist Howel Williams in his book "The Ancient Volcanoes of Oregon". This book was reviewed in 1949 by another volcanologist, F. M. Byers Jr. In the review, Byers refers to Mount Multnomah as a supervolcano.  More than fifty years after Byers' review was published, the term "supervolcano" was popularised by the BBC popular science television program "Horizon" in 2000, referring to eruptions that produce extremely large amounts of ejecta.  The term "megacaldera" is sometimes used for caldera supervolcanoes, such as the Blake River Megacaldera Complex in the Abitibi greenstone belt of Ontario and Quebec, Canada.  Eruptions that rate VEI 8 are termed "super eruptions". Though there is no well-defined minimum explosive size for a "supervolcano", there are at least two types of volcanic eruptions that have been identified as supervolcanoes: large igneous provinces and massive eruptions.

Large igneous provinces.

Large igneous provinces, such as Iceland, the Siberian Traps, Deccan Traps, and the Ontong Java Plateau, are extensive regions of basalts on a continental scale resulting from flood basalt eruptions. When created, these regions often occupy several thousand square kilometres and have volumes on the order of millions of cubic kilometers. In most cases, the lavas are normally laid down over several million years. They release large amounts of gases.  The Réunion hotspot produced the Deccan Traps about 66 million years ago, coincident with the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event. The scientific consensus is that a meteor impact was the cause of the extinction event, but the volcanic activity may have caused environmental stresses on extant species up to the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary. Additionally, the largest flood basalt event (the Siberian Traps) occurred around 250 million years ago and was coincident with the largest mass extinction in history, the Permian–Triassic extinction event, although it is unknown whether it was solely responsible for the extinction event.  Such outpourings are not explosive, though lava fountains may occur. Many volcanologists consider Iceland to be a large igneous province that is currently being formed. The last major outpouring occurred in 1783–84 from the Laki fissure, which is approximately long. An estimated of basaltic lava was poured out during the eruption (VEI 4).  The Ontong Java Plateau has an area of about, and the province was at least 50% larger before the Manihiki and Hikurangi Plateaus broke away.

Massive explosive eruptions.

Volcanic eruptions are classified using the Volcanic Explosivity Index, or VEI. It is a logarithmic scale, which means that an increase of one in VEI number is equivalent to a tenfold increase in volume of erupted material. VEI 7 or VEI 8 eruptions are so powerful that they often form circular calderas rather than cones because the downward withdrawal of magma causes the overlying rock mass to collapse into the empty magma chamber beneath it.

Known super eruptions.

Based on incomplete statistics, at least 60 VEI 8 eruptions have been identified. <nowiki>*</nowiki> means DRE (dense rock equivalent).

A supervolcano is a large volcano that has had an eruption with a Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) of 8, the largest recorded value on the index. This means the volume of deposits for that eruption is greater than 1,000 cubic kilometers (240 cubic miles).