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9849_20 | Notes
References |
9849_21 | Bibliography
Belevitch, Vitold "Summary of the history of circuit theory", Proceedings of the IRE, vol.50, iss.5, pp. 848–855, May 1962.
Chen, Ben M.; Lin, Zongli; Shamash, Yacov Linear Systems Theory: a Structural Decomposition Approach, Boston: Birkhäuser, 2004 .
Colbourn, Charles J.; Dinitz, Jeffrey H. Handbook of Combinatorial Designs, Boca Raton, Florida: Chapman and Hall/CRC Press, 2007 .
Dutoit, Thierry (ed) "Vitold Belevitch (2 March 1921 - 26 December 1999)", Théorie des Circuits et Traitement du Signal Lab, accessed and archived 21 May 2011.
Fettweis, Alfred "In memoriam, Vitold Belevitch", IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems, vol.47, iss.5, pp. 613–614, May 2000.
Fettweis, Alfred (in Dutoit) "Reminiscing Vitold Belevitch (1921–1999)", European Conference on Circuit Theory and Design 2001, Plenary session, Helsinki.
Huurdeman, Anton A. The Worldwide History of Telecommunications, New Jersey: Wiley-IEEE, 2003 . |
9849_22 | Kisačanin, Branislav; Agarwal, Gyan C. Linear Control Systems, New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, 2002 .
van Lint, Jacobus Hendricus; Wilson, Richard Michael A Course in Combinatorics, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001 .
Mols, Sandra; d'Udekem-Gevers, Marie "Disseminating electronics: Bell Telephone and the emergence of electronic computing expertise in post-war Belgium, c.1945–c.1960", History of Telecommunications Conference, 2008, pp. 102–109 Paris: 11–12 September 2008 .
Montgomery, Carol Gray; Dicke, Robert Henry; Purcell, Edward M. Principles of microwave circuits, London: Peter Peregrinus Ltd., 1987 (1948 edition is New York: McGraw-Hill, ).
Rockmore, Daniel Nahum; Healy, Dennis M. Modern Signal Processing, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004 .
Strang, Gilbert; Nguyen, Truong Wavelets and Filter Banks, Wellesley, MA: Wellesley-Cambridge Press 1996 .
Stinson, Douglas Robert Combinatorial Designs: Constructions and Analysis, New York: Springer, 2004 . |
9849_23 | Valkenburg, Mac Elwyn Van Circuit Theory: Foundations and Classical Contributions, Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania: Dowden, Hutchinson & Ross, 1974 .
Vaidyanathan, P. P. Multirate systems and filter banks, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: PTR Prentice Hall, 1993 .
Vandewalle, Joos "In memoriam – Vitold Belevitch", International Journal of Circuit Theory and Applications, vol.28, iss.5, pp. 429–430, September/October 2000.
de Vries, Marc; Boersma, Kees 80 years of research at the Philips Natuurkundig Laboratorium (1914-1994), Amsterdam University Press, 2005 .
Walker, Mark Science and Ideology: a Comparative History, Routledge, 2003 . |
9849_24 | Further reading
Courtois, P.J. "Vitold Belevitch", éditions académia,
Courtois, P.J., The Belgian Electronic Mathematical Machine (1951-1962). An Account. In "Randell’s Tales: a Festschrift recognising the contributions of Brian Randell" Cliff Jones & John Lloyd, Ed. Volume 6875 of the Lecture Notes in Computer Science Series. Springer Verlag, 2011.
Courtois, P.J., Belevitch, V. (1921-1999). Notice Biographique. Volume X of the "Nouvelle Biographie Nationale de l’Académie Royale des Sciences, des Lettres et des Beaux-Arts de Belgique ”. Académie Royale des Sciences, des Lettres et des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, 2009, pages 35–42.
1921 births
1999 deaths
Finnish emigrants
Université de Namur alumni
Catholic University of Leuven (1834–1968) alumni
Belgian mathematicians
Fellow Members of the IEEE
IEEE Centennial Medal laureates
20th-century Belgian mathematicians
Immigrants to Belgium |
9850_0 | The Exodus (Hebrew: יציאת מצרים, Yeẓi’at Miẓrayim: ) is the founding myth of the Israelites. It tells a story of Israelite enslavement and departure from Egypt, revelations at biblical Mount Sinai, and wanderings in the wilderness up to the borders of Canaan. Its message is that the Israelites were delivered from slavery by Yahweh their god, and therefore belong to him by covenant.
The consensus of modern scholars is that the Torah does not give an accurate account of the origins of the Israelites, who appear instead to have formed as an entity in the central highlands of Canaan in the late second millennium BCE from the indigenous Canaanite culture. Most modern scholars believe that the story of the Exodus has some historical basis, but contains little material that is provable. |
9850_1 | The narrative of the Exodus is spread over four of the biblical books of the Torah or Pentateuch, namely Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. There is a widespread agreement that the composition of the Torah took place in the Middle Persian Period (5th century BCE), although some traditions behind it are older since allusions to the story are made by 8th-century BCE prophets such as Amos and Hosea.
The biblical Exodus is central in Judaism, with it being recounted daily in Jewish prayers and celebrated in festivals such as Passover. Early Christians saw the Exodus as a typological prefiguration of resurrection and salvation by Jesus. The narrative has also resonated with non-Jewish groups, such as the early American settlers fleeing persecution in Europe, and African Americans striving for freedom and civil rights.
Biblical narrative and laws
Narrative |
9850_2 | The story of the Exodus is told in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, the last four of the first five books of the Bible (also called the Torah or Pentateuch). In the first book of the Pentateuch, the Book of Genesis, the Israelites had come to live in Egypt in the Land of Goshen during a famine due to the fact that an Israelite, Joseph, had become a high official in the court of the pharaoh. Exodus begins with the death of Joseph and the ascension of a new pharaoh "who did not know Joseph" (Exodus 1:8). The pharaoh becomes concerned by the number and strength of Israelites in Egypt and enslaves them, commanding them to build at two "supply" or "store cities" called Pithom and Rameses (Exodus 1:11). The pharaoh also orders the slaughter at birth of all male Hebrew children. One Hebrew child, however, is rescued by being placed in a basket on the Nile. He is found and adopted by Pharaoh's daughter, who names him Moses. Moses eventually kills an Egyptian he sees |
9850_3 | beating a Hebrew slave, and is forced to flee to Midian, marrying Tzipporah, a daughter of the Midianite priest Jethro. The old pharaoh dies and a new one ascends to the throne. |
9850_4 | Moses, in Midian, goes to Mount Horeb, where Yahweh appears in a burning bush and commands him to go to Egypt to free the Hebrew slaves and bring them to the promised land in Canaan. Yahweh also speaks to Moses's brother Aaron; they both assemble the Israelites and perform signs so that they believe in Yahweh's promise. Moses and Aaron then go to the Pharaoh and ask him to let the Israelites go into the desert for a religious festival, but the Pharaoh refuses and commands the Israelites to make bricks without straw and increases their workload. Moses and Aaron return to the Pharaoh and this time ask him to free the Israelites. The Pharaoh demands for Moses to perform a miracle, and Aaron throws down Moses' staff, which turns into a (sea monster or snake) (Exodus 7:8-13); however, Pharaoh's magicians are also able to do this, though Moses' staff devours the others. The Pharaoh then refuses to let the Israelites go. |
9850_5 | After this, Yahweh begins inflicting the Plagues of Egypt on the Egyptians for each time that Moses goes to Pharaoh and Pharaoh refuses to release the Israelites. Pharaoh's magicians are able to replicate the first plagues, in which Yahweh turns the Nile to blood and produces a plague of frogs, but are unable to reproduce any plagues after the third, the plague of gnats. After each plague Pharaoh allows the Israelites to worship Yahweh to remove the plague, then refuses to free them.
Moses is then commanded to fix the first month of Aviv at the head of the Hebrew calendar. He instructs the Israelites to take a lamb on the 10th day of the month, slaughter it on the 14th, and daub its blood on their doorposts and lintels, and to observe the Passover meal that night, the night of the full moon. |
9850_6 | In the final plague, Yahweh kills all the firstborn sons of Egypt and the firstborn cattle, but the Israelites, with blood on their doorposts are spared. Yahweh commands that the Israelites observe a festival as "a perpetual ordinance" to remember this event (Exodus 12:14). Pharaoh finally agrees to let the Israelites go after his firstborn son is killed. Yahweh leads the Israelites in the form of a pillar of cloud in the day and a pillar of fire at night. However, once the Israelites have already left, Yahweh hardens Pharoahs heart. Pharaoh then changes his mind and pursues the Israelites to the shore of the Red Sea. Moses uses his staff to part the Red Sea, and the Israelites cross on dry ground, but the sea closes down on the pursuing Egyptians, drowning them all. |
9850_7 | The Israelites now begin to complain about Aaron and Moses, as Yahweh miraculously provided them first with water and food, eventually raining manna down for them to eat. Amalek attacks at Rephidim but is defeated in battle. Jethro comes to Moses with Moses's wife and sons; on Jethro's advice, Moses appoints judges for the tribes of Israel. The Israelites reach the Sinai Desert and Yahweh calls Moses to Mount Sinai, where Yahweh reveals himself to his people and establishes the Ten Commandments and Mosaic covenant: the Israelites are to keep his torah (i.e. law, instruction), and in return he will give them the land of Canaan. Yahweh establishes the Aaronic priesthood and various rules for ritual worship, among other laws. However, in Moses's absence the Israelites sin against Yahweh by creating the idol of a golden calf, and as retaliation Yahweh has the Levites kill three thousand people (Exodus 32:28) and Yahweh sends a plague on the Israelites. The Israelites now accept the |
9850_8 | covenant, which is reestablished, build a tabernacle for Yahweh, and receive their laws. Yahweh commands Moses to take a census of the Israelites and establishes the duties of the Levites. Then the Israelites depart from Mount Sinai. |
9850_9 | Yahweh commands Moses to send twelve spies ahead to Canaan to scout the land. The spies discover that the Canaanites are strong, and, believing that the Israelites cannot defeat them, the spies falsely report to the Israelites that Canaan is full of giants so that the Israelites will not invade (Numbers 13:31-33). The Israelites refuse to go to Canaan, so Yahweh manifests himself and declares that the generation that left Egypt will have to pass away before the Israelites can enter Canaan. The Israelites will have to remain in the wilderness for forty years, and Yahweh kills the spies through a plague except for the righteous Joshua and Caleb, who will be allowed to enter the promised land. A group of Israelites led by Korah, son of Izhar, rebels against Moses, but Yahweh opens the earth and sends them living to Sheol. |
9850_10 | The Israelites come to the oasis of Kadesh Barnea, where Miriam dies and the Israelites remain for forty years. The people are without water, so Yahweh commands Moses to get water from a rock by speaking to it, but Moses strikes the rock with his staff instead, for which Yahweh forbids him from entering the promised land. Moses sends a messenger to the king of Edom requesting passage through his land to Canaan, but the king refuses. The Israelites then go to Mount Hor, where Aaron dies. The Israelites try to go around Edom, but the Israelites complain about lack of bread and water, so Yahweh sends a plague of poisonous snakes to afflict them. After Moses prays for deliverance, Yahweh has him create the brazen serpent, and the Israelites who look at it are cured. The Israelites are soon in conflict with various other kingdoms, and king Balak of Moab attempts to have the seer Balaam curse the Israelites, but Balaam blesses the Israelites instead. Some Israelites begin having sexual |
9850_11 | relations with Moabite women and worshipping Moabite gods, so Yahweh orders Moses to impale the idolators and sends a plague, but the full extent of Yahweh's wrath is averted when Phinehas impales an Israelite and a Midianite woman having intercourse (Numbers 25:7-9). Yahweh commands the Israelites to destroy the Midianites and Moses and Phinehas take another census. They then conquer the lands of Og and Sihon in Transjordan, settling the Gadites, Reubenites, and half the Tribe of Manasseh there. |
9850_12 | Moses then addresses the Israelites for a final time on the banks of the Jordan River, reviewing their travels and giving them further laws. Yahweh tells Moses to summon Joshua, whom Yahweh commissions to lead the conquest of Canaan. Yahweh tells Moses to ascend Mount Nebo, from where he sees the promised land and where he dies. |
9850_13 | Covenant and law
The climax of the Exodus is the covenant (binding legal agreement) between God and the Israelites mediated by Moses at Sinai: Yahweh will protect the Israelites as his chosen people for all time, and the Israelites will keep Yahweh's laws and worship only him. The covenant is described in stages: at Exodus 24:3–8 the Israelites agree to abide by the "book of the covenant" that Moses has just read to them; shortly afterwards God writes the "words of the covenant" – the Ten Commandments – on stone tablets; and finally, as the people gather in Moab to cross into Canaan, the land God has promised them, Moses makes a new covenant between Yahweh and the Israelites "beside the covenant he made with them at Horeb" (Deuteronomy 29:1). The laws are set out in a number of codes:
Ethical Decalogue (i.e., the Ten Commandments), Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5;
The Book of the Covenant, Exodus 20:22–23:3;
Ritual Decalogue, Exodus 34; |
9850_14 | The ritual laws of Leviticus 1–6 and Numbers 1–10;
The Holiness Code, Leviticus 17–26;
Deuteronomic Code, Deuteronomy 12–26. |
9850_15 | Origins and historicity
There are two main positions on the historicity of the Exodus in modern scholarship. The majority position is that the biblical Exodus narrative has some historical basis, although there is little of historical worth in the biblical narrative. The other position, often associated with the school of Biblical minimalism, is that the biblical exodus traditions are the invention of the exilic and post-exilic Jewish community, with little to no historical basis. The biblical Exodus narrative is best understood as a founding myth of the Jewish people, providing an ideological foundation for their culture and institutions, not an accurate depiction of the history of the Israelites. The view that the biblical narrative is essentially correct unless it can explicitly be proven wrong (Biblical maximalism) is today held by "few, if any [...] in mainstream scholarship, only on the more fundamentalist fringes." |
9850_16 | Reliability of the biblical account |
9850_17 | Mainstream scholarship no longer accepts the biblical Exodus account as history for a number of reasons. Most scholars agree that the Exodus stories were written centuries after the apparent setting of the stories. The Book of Exodus itself attempts to ground the event firmly in history, dating the exodus to the 2666th year after creation (Exodus 12:40-41), the construction of the tabernacle to year 2667 (Exodus 40:1-2, 17), stating that the Israelites dwelled in Egypt for 430 years (Exodus 12:40-41), and including place names such as Goshen (Gen. 46:28), Pithom and Ramesses (Exod. 1:11), as well as stating that 600,000 Israelite men were involved (Exodus 12:37). The Book of Numbers further states that the number of Israelites in the desert during the wandering were 603,550, including 22,273 first-borns, which modern estimates put at 2.5-3 million total Israelites, a clearly fanciful number that could never have been supported by the Sinai Desert. The geography is vague with regions |
9850_18 | such as Goshen unidentified, and there are internal problems with dating in the Pentateuch. No modern attempt to identify a historical Egyptian prototype for Moses has found wide acceptance, and no period in Egyptian history matches the biblical accounts of the Exodus. Some elements of the story are miraculous and defy rational explanation, such as the Plagues of Egypt and the Crossing of the Red Sea. The Bible also fails to mention the names of any of the Pharaohs involved in the Exodus narrative. |
9850_19 | While ancient Egyptian texts from the New Kingdom mention "Asiatics" living in Egypt as slaves and workers, these people cannot be securely connected to the Israelites, and no contemporary Egyptian text mentions a large-scale exodus of slaves like that described in the Bible. The earliest surviving historical mention of the Israelites, the Egyptian Merneptah Stele (c. 1207 BCE), appears to place them in or around Canaan and gives no indication of any exodus. Archaeologists Israel Finkelstein and Neil Asher Silberman say that archaeology has not found any evidence for even a small band of wandering Israelites living in the Sinai: "The conclusion – that Exodus did not happen at the time and in the manner described in the Bible – seems irrefutable [...] repeated excavations and surveys throughout the entire area have not provided even the slightest evidence." Instead, modern archaeology suggests continuity between Canaanite and Israelite settlement, indicating a primarily Canaanite |
9850_20 | origin for Israel, with no suggestion that a group of foreigners from Egypt comprised early Israel. |
9850_21 | Potential historical origins |
9850_22 | Despite the absence of any archaeological evidence, a majority of scholars agree that the Exodus probably has some historical basis, with Kenton Sparks referring to it as "mythologized history." Scholars posit that small group of people of Egyptian origin may have joined the early Israelites, and then contributed their own Egyptian Exodus story to all of Israel. William G. Dever cautiously identifies this group with the Tribe of Joseph, while Richard Elliott Friedman identifies it with the Tribe of Levi. Most scholars who accept a historical core of the exodus date this possible exodus group to the thirteenth century BCE at the time of Ramses II, with some instead dating it to the twelfth century BCE at the time of Ramses III. Evidence in favor of historical traditions forming a background to the Exodus myth include the documented movements of small groups of Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples into and out of Egypt during the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Dynasties, some elements of |
9850_23 | Egyptian folklore and culture in the Exodus narrative, and the names Moses, Aaron and Phinehas, which seem to have an Egyptian origin. Scholarly estimates for how many people could have been involved in such an exodus range from a few hundred to a few thousand people. |
9850_24 | Joel S. Baden notes the presence of Semitic-speaking slaves in Egypt who sometimes escaped in small numbers as potential inspirations for the Exodus. It is also possible that oppressive Egyptian rule of Canaan during the late second millennium BCE may have aided the adoption of the story of a small group of Egyptian refugees by the native Canaanites among the Israelites. The expulsion of the Hyksos, a Semitic group that had conquered much of Egypt, by the Seventeenth Dynasty of Egypt is also frequently discussed as a potential historical parallel or origin for the story. Alternatively, Nadav Na'aman argues that oppressive Egyptian rule of Canaan during the Nineteenth and especially the Twentieth Dynasty may have inspired the Exodus narrative, forming a "collective memory" of Egyptian oppression that was transferred from Canaan to Egypt itself in the popular consciousness. |
9850_25 | A minority position among scholars is to see the biblical exodus traditions as the invention of the exilic and post-exilic Jewish community, with little to no historical basis. Lester Grabbe, for instance, argues that "[t]here is no compelling reason that the exodus has to be rooted in history," and that the details of the story more closely fit the seventh through the fifth centuries BCE than the traditional dating to the second millennium BCE. Philip R. Davies suggests that the story may have been inspired by the return to Israel of Israelites and Judaeans who were placed in Egypt as garrison troops by the Assyrians in the fifth and sixth centuries BCE. Finkelstein and Silberman argue that "the most consistent geographical details of the Exodus story come from the seventh century BCE [...] six centuries after the events of the Exodus were supposed to have taken place". There is no direct evidence for any of the people or Exodus events in non-biblical ancient texts or in |
9850_26 | archaeological remains, and this has led most scholars to omit the Exodus events from comprehensive histories of Israel. |
9850_27 | Development and final composition
The earliest traces of the traditions behind the exodus appear in the northern prophets Amos and Hosea, both active in the 8th century BCE in northern Israel, but their southern contemporaries Isaiah and Micah show no knowledge of an exodus ( contains a reference to the exodus, which many scholars take to be an addition by a later editor); while Jeremiah, active in the 7th century, mentions both Moses and the Exodus.
The story may, therefore, have originated a few centuries earlier, perhaps in the 9th or 10th BCE, and there are signs that it took different forms in Israel, in the Transjordan region, and in the southern Kingdom of Judah before being unified in the Persian era. The Exodus narrative was most likely further altered and expanded under the influence of the return from the Babylonian captivity in the sixth century BCE. |
9850_28 | Evidence from the Bible suggests that the Exodus from Egypt formed a "foundational mythology" or "state ideology" for the Northern Kingdom of Israel. The northern psalms 80 and 81 state that God "brought a vine out of Egypt" (Psalm 80:8) and record ritual observances of Israel's deliverance from Egypt as well as a version of part of the Ten Commandments (Psalm 81:10-11). The Books of Kings records the dedication of two golden calves in Bethel and Dan by the Israelite king Jeroboam I, who uses the words "Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt" (1 Kings 12:28). Scholars relate Jeroboam's calves to the golden calf made by Aaron of Exodus 32. Both include a nearly identical dedication formula ("These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt;" Exodus 32:8). This episode in Exodus is "widely regarded as a tendentious narrative against the Bethel calves". Egyptologist Jan Assmann suggests that event, which would have taken |
9850_29 | place around 931 BCE, may be partially historical due to its association with the historical pharaoh Sheshonq I (the biblical Shishak). Stephen Russell dates this tradition to "the eighth century BCE or earlier," and argues that it preserves a genuine Exodus tradition from the Northern Kingdom, but in a Judahite recension. Russell and Frank Moore Cross argue that the Israelites of the Northern Kingdom may have believed that the calves at Bethel and Dan were made by Aaron. Russell suggests that the connection to Jeroboam may have been later, possibly coming from a Judahite redactor. Pauline Viviano, however, concludes that neither the references to Jeroboam's calves in Hosea (Hosea 8:6 and 10:5) nor the frequent prohibitions of idol worship in the seventh-century southern prophet Jeremiah show any knowledge of a tradition of a golden calf having been created in Sinai. |
9850_30 | Some of the earliest evidence for Judahite traditions of the exodus is found in Psalm 78, which portrays the Exodus as beginning a history culminating in the building of the temple at Jerusalem. Pamela Barmash argues that the psalm is a polemic against the Northern Kingdom; as it fails to mention that kingdom's destruction in 722 BCE, she concludes that it must have been written before then. The psalm's version of the Exodus contains some important differences from what is found in the Pentateuch: there is no mention of Moses, there are only seven plagues in Egypt, and the manna is described as "food of the mighty" rather than as bread in the wilderness. Nadav Na'aman argues for other signs that the Exodus was a tradition in Judah before the destruction of the northern kingdom, including the Song of the Sea and Psalm 114, as well as the great political importance that the narrative came to assume there. |
9850_31 | A Judahite cultic object associated with the exodus was the brazen serpent or nehushtan: according to 2 Kings 18:4, the brazen serpent had been made by Moses and was worshiped in the temple in Jerusalem until the time of king Hezekiah of Judah, who destroyed it as part of a religious reform, possibly around 727 BCE. In the Pentateuch, Moses creates the brazen serpent in Numbers 21:4-9. Meindert Dijkstra writes that while the historicity of the Mosaic origin of the Nehushtan is unlikely, its association with Moses appears genuine rather than the work of a later redactor. Mark Walter Bartusch notes that the nehushtan is not mentioned at any prior point in Kings, and suggests that the brazen serpent was brought to Jerusalem from the Northern Kingdom after its destruction in 722 BCE. |
9850_32 | The revelation of God on Sinai appears to have originally been a tradition unrelated to the Exodus. Joel S. Baden notes that "[t]he seams [between the Exodus and Wilderness traditions] still show: in the narrative of Israel's rescue from Egypt there is little hint that they will be brought anywhere other than Canaan—yet they find themselves heading first, unexpectedly, and in no obvious geographical order, to an obscure mountain." In addition, there is widespread agreement that the revelation of the law in Deuteronomy was originally separate from the Exodus: the original version of Deuteronomy is generally dated to the 7th century BCE. The contents of the books of Leviticus and Numbers are late additions to the narrative by priestly sources. |
9850_33 | Scholars broadly agree that the publication of the Torah (or Pentateuch) took place in the mid-Persian period (the 5th century BCE), echoing a traditional Jewish view which gives Ezra, the leader of the Jewish community on its return from Babylon, a pivotal role in its promulgation. Many theories have been advanced to explain the composition of the first five books of the Bible, but two have been especially influential. The first of these, Persian Imperial authorisation, advanced by Peter Frei in 1985, holds that the Persian authorities required the Jews of Jerusalem to present a single body of law as the price of local autonomy. Frei's theory was demolished at an interdisciplinary symposium held in 2000, but the relationship between the Persian authorities and Jerusalem remains a crucial question. The second theory, associated with Joel P. Weinberg and called the "Citizen-Temple Community", proposes that the Exodus story was composed to serve the needs of a post-exilic Jewish |
9850_34 | community organized around the Temple, which acted in effect as a bank for those who belonged to it. The books containing the Exodus story served as an "identity card" defining who belonged to this community (i.e., to Israel), thus reinforcing Israel's unity through its new institutions. |
9850_35 | Hellenistic Egyptian parallel narratives |
9850_36 | Writers in Greek and Latin record several Egyptian tales of the expulsion of a group of foreigners that were connected to the Exodus in the Ptolemaic period. These tales often include elements of the Hyksos period and most are extremely anti-Jewish. The earliest non-biblical account is that of Hecataeus of Abdera (c. 320 BCE), as preserved in the first century CE Jewish historian Josephus in his work Against Apion and in a variant version by the first-century BCE Greek historian Diodorus. Hecataeus tells how the Egyptians blamed a plague on foreigners and expelled them from the country, whereupon Moses, their leader, took them to Canaan. In this version, Moses is portrayed extremely positively. Manetho, as preserved in Josephus's Against Apion, tells how 80,000 lepers and other "impure people", led by a priest named Osarseph, join forces with the former Hyksos, now living in Jerusalem, to take over Egypt. They wreak havoc until the pharaoh and his son chase them out to the borders of |
9850_37 | Syria, where Osarseph gives the lepers a law-code and changes his name to Moses. The identification of Osarseph with Moses in Manetho's account may be an interpolation or may come from Manetho. Other versions of the story are recorded by first-century BCE Egyptian grammarian Lysimachus of Alexandria, who sets the story in the time of Pharaoh Bakenranef (Bocchoris), the first-century CE Egyptian historian Chaeremon of Alexandria, and the first-century BCE Gallo-Roman historian Gnaeus Pompeius Trogus. The first century CE Roman historian Tacitus includes a version of the story that claims that the Hebrews worshiped a donkey as their god in order to ridicule Egyptian religion, while the Roman biographer Plutarch claims that the Egyptian god Seth was expelled from Egypt and had two sons named Juda and Hierosolyma. |
9850_38 | It is possible that the stories represent a polemical Egyptian response to the Exodus narrative. Egyptologist Jan Assmann proposes that the story comes from oral sources that "must [...] predate the first possible acquaintance of an Egyptian writer with the Hebrew Bible." Assmann suggests that the story has no single origin but rather combines numerous historical experiences, notably the Amarna and Hyksos periods, into a folk memory. There is general agreement that the stories originally had nothing to do with the Jews. Erich S. Gruen suggests that it may have been the Jews themselves that inserted themselves into Manetho's narrative, in which various negative actions from the point of view of the Egyptians, such as desecrating temples, are interpreted positively.
Religious and cultural significance
In Judaism |
9850_39 | Commemoration of the Exodus is central to Judaism, and Jewish culture. In the Bible, the Exodus is frequently mentioned as the event that created the Israelite people and forged their bond with God, being described as such by the prophets Hosea, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. The Exodus is invoked daily in Jewish prayers and celebrated each year during the Jewish holidays of Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot. The fringes worn at the corners of traditional Jewish prayer shawls are described as a physical reminder of the obligation to observe the laws given at the climax of Exodus: "Look at it and recall all the commandments of the Lord" (Numbers). The festivals associated with the Exodus began as agricultural and seasonal feasts but became completely subsumed into the Exodus narrative of Israel's deliverance from oppression at the hands of God. |
9850_40 | For Jews, Passover celebrates the freedom of the Israelites from captivity in Egypt, the settling of Canaan by the Israelites and the "passing over" of the angel of death during the death of the first-born. Passover involves a ritual meal called a Seder during which parts of the exodus narrative are retold. In the Hagaddah of the Seder it is written that every generation is obliged to remind and identify itself in terms of the Exodus. Thus the following words from the Pesaḥim (10:5) are recited:”In every generation a person is duty-bound to regard himself as if he personally has gone forth from Egypt”.
Because the Israelites fled Egypt in haste without time for bread to rise, the unleavened bread matzoh is eaten on Passover, and homes must be cleansed of any items containing leavening agents, known as Chametz. |
9850_41 | Shavuot celebrates the granting of the Law to Moses on Mount Sinai; Jews are called to rededicate themselves to the covenant on this day. Some denominations follow Shavuot with The Three Weeks, during which the "two most heinous sins committed by the Jews in their relationship to God" are mourned: the Golden Calf and the doubting of God's promise by the Twelve Spies. A third Jewish festival, Sukkot, the Festival of Booths, is associated with the Israelites living in booths after they left their previous homes in Egypt. It celebrates how God provided for the Israelites while they wandered in the desert without food or shelter. It is celebrated by building a sukkah, a temporary shelter also called a booth or tabernacle, in which the rituals of Sukkot are performed, recalling the impermanence of the Israelites' homes during the desert wanderings. |
9850_42 | Non-Jewish significance |
9850_43 | The Christian ritual of the eucharist and the holiday of Easter draw directly on the imagery of the Passover and the Exodus. In the New Testament, Jesus is frequently associated with motifs of the Exodus. The Gospel of Mark has been suggested to be a midrash on the Exodus, though scholar Larry Perkins thinks this unlikely. Mark suggests that the outpouring of Jesus' blood creates a new covenant (Mark 14:24) in the same way that Moses' sacrifice of bulls had created a covenant (Exodus 24:5). In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus reverses the direction of the Exodus by escaping from the Massacre of the Innocents committed by Herod the Great before himself returning from Egypt (Matt 2:13-15). Other parallels in Matthew include that he is baptized by water (Matt 3:13-17), and tested in the desert; unlike the Israelites, he is able to resist temptation (Matt. 4.1-3). The Gospel of John repeatedly calls Jesus the Passover lamb (John 1:29, 13:1, 19:36), something also found in 1 Peter (1 Pet |
9850_44 | 1:18-20), and 1 Corinthians (1 Cor 5:7-8). Michael Graves calls Paul's discussion of the exodus in 1 Corinthians 5:7-8 and his comparison of the early church in Corinth to the Israelites in the desert "[t]he two most significant NT passages touching on the exodus." John also refers to Jesus as manna (John 6:31-5), water flowing from a rock in the desert (John 7:37-9) and as a pillar of fire (John 8:12). Early Christians frequently interpreted actions taken in the Exodus, and sometimes the Exodus as a whole, typologically to prefigure Jesus or actions of Jesus. |
9850_45 | In Romans 9:17, Paul interprets the hardened heart of Pharaoh during the Plagues of Egypt as referring to the hardened hearts of the Jews who rejected Christ. Early Christian authors such as Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, and Augustine all emphasized the supersession of the Old Covenant of Moses by the New Covenant of Christ, which was open to all people rather than limited to the Jews.
A number of historical events and situations have been compared to the Exodus. Many early American settlers interpreted their flight from Europe to a new life in America as a new exodus. American "founding fathers" Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin recommended for the Great Seal of the United States to depict Moses leading the Israelites across the Red Sea. African Americans suffering under slavery and racial oppression interpreted their situation in terms of the Exodus, making it a catalyst for social change. South American Liberation theology also takes much inspiration from the Exodus.
See also |
9850_46 | Book of Joshua, the continuation of the narrative in the conquest of Canaan
Ipuwer Papyrus
List of films related to the Exodus
Moses in Islam
Stations of the Exodus
Va'eira, Bo (parsha), and Beshalach: Torah portions (parashot) telling the Exodus story
The Exodus Decoded
Notes
References
Citations
Bibliography
External links
Old maps showing the route of the Exodus, The National Library of Israel, Eran Laor Cartographic Collection
Egypt in the Hebrew Bible
Book of Exodus
Jewish mythology
Moses
Origin myths
Passover
Sacred history |
9851_0 | This is a list of fictional characters from the Dark Sun campaign setting for the Dungeons & Dragons fantasy role-playing game. Most of these characters have appeared in the multiple Dark Sun source books or novels. Many have some magical abilities.
A
Agis of Asticles: a psionicist senator/nobleman from the city state of Tyr who plays a major role in the Prism Pentad novels by Troy Denning, the freeing of Tyr, and the pursuit of Tithian.
Andropinis: 8th Champion of Rajaat, "Slayer of Elves"; Male; Sorcerer-king of Balic; Cleansing unsuccessful. Formerly known as Albeorn of Dunswich, in the 2nd and 3rd editions, Andropinis was banished to the Black by Rajaat.
In 4th edition, Andropinis is still ruling his city-state of Balic.
Abalach-Re: 5th Champion of Rajaat, "Orc Plague"; Female; Sorcerer-queen of Raam; Exterminated the orc race in 889 years. Formerly Uyness of Waverly, In the 2nd edition, Abalach-Re was killed by Sadira of Tyr with the broken tip of the sword Scourge. |
9851_1 | In 4th edition Abalach-Re is described as a vain and neglectful ruler more interested in her own pleasure than in the well being of the citizens of her city-state. She is otherwise unchanged and is still ruling her city-state at the start of the campaign setting.
Atzetuk : the "adopted" son of the former sorcerer-king of Draj, Tectuktitlay. |
9851_2 | B |
9851_3 | Borys of Ebe: 13th Champion of Rajaat, "Butcher of Dwarves", Dragon of Tyr; Male; former Sorcerer-king of Ur Draxa (now deceased); Cleansing unsuccessful. In the 2nd edition Borys led the Champions in revolt against Rajaat and was later tasked with keeping him imprisoned for eternity. In return for this burden he was transformed into a dragon. The 3rd edition elaborates that Borys' transformation drove him temporarily insane for one hundred years. Upon returning to sanity he realized that Rajaat's prison was nearly at the point of disintegration. Borys demands yearly sacrifices of 1000 slaves from each of the region's city-states to power Rajaat's arcane prison in the Hollow. Borys uses the riches levied from the sacking of Yarmamuke to build his own city-state of Ur-Draxa. It was the greatest city in Athas at that time. He places Borys was eventually killed by Rikus using the Scourge, Borys' ancient sword that was crafted by Rajaat. Rikus accomplished this with assistance from |
9851_4 | Sadira, Neeva, and Rkard as part of the events of the Prism Pentad novels by Troy Denning. |
9851_5 | In The Rise and Fall of A Dragon King, there is a reference to Borys succeeding a previous "Butcher of Dwarves". |
9851_6 | In 4th edition, Borys is mentioned as the leader of the rebellion against Rajaat but his fate is unknown.
C
Caelum: a dwarven Sun Cleric (Paraelemental Sphere of Sun). Marries Neeva and fathers Rkard.
D
Daskinor: 14th Champion of Rajaat, "Goblin Death"; Male; Sorcerer-king of Eldaarich; Exterminated the goblin race in 822 years. In the 2nd and 3rd editions Daskinor descended into insanity and paranoia, and now terrorizes the citizens of the isolated city-state of Eldaarich.
Daskinor is not mentioned in the 4th edition campaign setting and the city-state he ruled is referred to as semi-legendary. |
9851_7 | Dregoth: 3rd Champion of Rajaat, "Ravager of Giants"; Male; Sorcerer-king of Guistenal; Cleansing unsuccessful. In the 2nd edition Dregoth was killed by several of his fellow sorcerer-kings, led by Abalach-Re, to prevent him from becoming a full dragon. Dregoth was raised from death with the aid of his high templar Mon Adderath, becoming something akin to a kaisharga. New Giustenal exists under the remnants of the old city, and Dregoth reigns there as sorcerer-king. Dregoth rebuilds his city and transforms the inhabitants into the dray (dragonborn).
In 4th edition, Dregoth is the progenitor of the dray (dragonborn), and is killed by his fellow sorcerer-kings who feared his growing power. He raises himself from the dead continuing to secretly rule from the desolated city-state of Giustenal.
E
F
G
Gallard : see Nibenay. |
9851_8 | H
Hamanu: 4th Champion of Rajaat, "Troll Scorcher"; Male; Sorcerer-king of Urik; Exterminated the troll race in 1505 years. Formerly Manu of Dece, in the 2nd edition Hamanu kills and replaces Myron when he displeases Rajaat. Hamanu would later assist Borys in his rebellion against Rajaat and become the sorcerer-king of Urik. In the 3rd edition it is explained that Myron was replaced by one of his soldiers, Manu of Deche, for some unknown failing. There is no mention of Hamanu killing Myron.
In 4th edition, Hamanu is largely unchanged though there is no reference to Myron in this edition of the campaign setting. Urik's obsidian mines are listed as source of the conflict between Sielba and Hamanu. Hamanu destroyed Sielba and her city-state she refused to heed Hamanu's warning against prospecting on his land.
I
Inenek : see Lalali-Puy |
9851_9 | Irikos Human defiler and warlord, "The Left Hand of Rajaat";Male;. He was tasked with destroying the orcs during the Cleansing War and was given a powerful sword named Silencer. Rajaat also tasked him with the destruction of the city of Bodach. He was killed after succeeding in his mission but his sword was lost. Irikos is only mentioned in a few source books his destruction of the orcs may have been an error as it conflicts with the majority of the source material (see Abalach-Re).
J
Jo’orsh : One of the two dwarves that stole the Dark Lens. Upon dying they became banshee guardians of the talisman. |
9851_10 | K
Kalak: 2nd Champion of Rajaat, "Ogre Doom"; Male; Sorcerer-king of Tyr; Exterminated the ogre race in 1228 years. In the 2nd and 3rd editions Kalak was attempting to complete the ten-stage metamorphosis ritual to become a dragon by constructing a ziggurat that would harness the life-energy of his city-state's citizens. He was assassinated by Rikus, Neeva, Sadira, Agis, and Tithian as part of the events of the Prism Pentad novels by Troy Denning.
In 4th edition, Kalak is largely unchanged and already deceased at the start of the metaplot. |
9851_11 | Kalid-Ma: 15th Champion of Rajaat, "Tari Killer"; Male; former Sorcerer-king of Kalidnay; Cleansing unsuccessful. 2nd edition His city-state befell an unknown disaster and now lies in ruins, and Kalid-Ma's where abouts is unknown. In 3rd edition it is explained that Kalid-Ma completed the ten-stage metamorphosis and sought to elevate is power to that of Boyrs. He was successful but went insane in the process destroying Kalidnay. He is killed by the combined efforts of the sorcerer-kings Borys, Kalak, and Hamanu. It was later revealed that he was actually trapped in Ravenloft in a comatose state by his High Templar Thakok-An. Psionic Artifacts of Athas states that the orbs of Kalid-Ma can be united and the sorcerer-king will be reborn. Originally, there was some confusion over Kalid-Ma's gender, with early sources like the Ravenloft Forbidden Lore box set and Merchant House of Amketch referring to Kalid-Ma as female, and the later Domains of Dread and Psionic Artifacts of Athas |
9851_12 | referring to him as male. This gender issue may have sprung from confusion with the real-world Hindu goddess, Kali. |
9851_13 | In 4th edition, the cause of Kalid-Ma's death and the ruination of Kalidney unknown.
Keltis: see Oronis.
K'kriq : Thri-Kreen Mantis Warrior who was enslaved by Urik psionicists.
L
Lalali-Puy: 11th Champion of Rajaat, "Arakocra Scourge"; Female; Sorcerer-queen of Gulg; Cleansing unsuccessful. Formerly known as Inenek, in the 2nd and 3rd editions she is lovingly worshiped by her citizens as the forest goddess Oba. She is one of the few sorcerer-kings who wishes to help restore the vitality to Athas, but does so because she believes she will be deified in the process.
In 4th edition, Lalali-Puy remains largely unchanged though her motivations are not explicitly stated. |
9851_14 | M
Magnus: a new race Windsinger (Elemental Air Cleric) who is a cousin of Sadira (on her Elven side). He was mutated by the residual magics around the Pristine Tower, as a consequence he does not appear, even remotely, as his 100% Elven lineage would imply. He is tall and very broad, massively built and reptilian looking.
Myron of Yorum: 4th Champion of Rajaat, "Troll Scorcher"; Male; Deceased; Cleansing unsuccessful. In the 2nd edition Myron was killed by Hamanu for displeasing Rajaat. In the 3rd edition it is explained that Myron was replaced by one of his soldiers,Manu of Deche, for some unknown failing. There is no mention of his death.
Manu: see Hamanu. |
9851_15 | N
Nibenay: 6th Champion of Rajaat, "Bane of Gnomes"; Male; Sorcerer-king of Nibenay; Exterminated the gnome race in 1229 years. He was previously known as Gallard but took the name Nibenay after rebelling against Rajaat. He rules a city-state that shares his name. Also called the Shadow King for his reclusive nature, preferring arcane scholarship to the actual governance of his city-state. In the 2nd and 3rd editions Nibenay previously left the ruling of his city-state to his exclusively female templars but took a more active role after the defeat of Rajaat at the hands of mortals.
In 4th edition Nibenay is largely unchanged but becomes more active in governing his city-state after Kalak's assassination.
Neeva: an ex-slave, a human gladiator from Tyr, she is Rikus' fighting partner and former lover.
Nok: Halfling druid who crafted the Heartwood Spear and Ktandeo's Cane which were used to kill Kalak. |
9851_16 | O
Oronis: 10th Champion of Rajaat, "Lizard Man Executioner"; Male; Sorcerer-king of Kurn; Exterminated the lizard men in 1362 years (see below). Formerly known as Keltis, in the 2nd edition Oronis distanced himself from the power struggles of the other sorcerer-kings and ruled the isolated city-state of Kurn. The 3rd edition describes Oronis as a reluctant leader who advises the ruling council of his city-state. He and his templars actively attempts to benefit his citizen and personally teaches at the local psionic school, and the School of Spies. He is seen as wise and benevolent by his people.
Oronis is not mentioned in the 4th edition campaign setting and his city-state of Kurn is listed as semi-legendary. |
9851_17 | P
Pennarin: "Centaur Crusher". Mentioned in The Rise and Fall of A Dragon King, Pennarin is the only Champion Rajaat killed in the rebellion against him. He is the most likely candidate for the title "Centaur Crusher". He is one of the three Champions known for their physical prowess, the others being Dregoth, "Ravager of Giants", and Hamanu, "Troll Scorcher".
Q
R
Rajaat: Warbringer, the First Sorcerer. A pyreen of twisted body and mind who discovered arcane magic, created the sorcerer-kings, and instigated the Cleansing War. He is imprisoned in a mysterious demiplane called the Hollow.
Rikus: an ex-slave, a mul gladiator from Tyr, he is Neeva's fighting partner and former lover.
Rkard: a mul boy, son of Neeva, who is a sun cleric. His power is limited, but is able to, at the very least, cause minor pain to Hamanu (the 4th Champion of Rajaat, The Troll-Scorcher, and King of Urik) and therefore implies the possibility to harm other Champions as well. |
9851_18 | Rkard (King): The last great king of the dwarves. Killed by Borys. Borys' sword, Scourge, was kept in his tomb for a time.
S
Sacha of Arala: 1st Champion of Rajaat, "Curse of the Kobolds"; Male; Deceased; Exterminated the kobold race in 268 years. In the 2nd and 3rd editions Sacha, along with Wyan, stayed true to Rajaat when Borys betrayed him, and was later beheaded. His headless corpse served Kalak until Tyr's lord was assassinated. Then he served Tithian until his skull was crushed by Rikus of Tyr when it was discovered he was trying to free his ancient master.
Sacha is not mentioned in the 4th edition campaign setting.
Sadira: a half-elf former slave in Tyr who was taught the ways of a preserver as a young child, she is also instrumental in the freeing of Tyr and subsequent transformation into a unique class called the sun wizard.
Sa’ram:One of the two dwarves that stole the Dark Lens. Upon dying they became banshee guardians of the talisman. |
9851_19 | Sielba: 7th Champion of Rajaat, "Destroyer of Pterrans"; Female; former Sorcerer-queen of Yaramuke (now deceased); Cleansing unsuccessful. In the 2nd edition she helped Borys imprison Rajaat and became the sorcerer-queen of the city-state Yaramuke. Both the city-state and their queen were destroyed by Hamanu and his army. In the 3rd edition it is explained that she assaulted Urik in an effort to increase her own power, but was slain by Hamanu, and her city sacked and burned to the ground. The city-state's riches are levied to Borys to appease his anger at the sorcerer-queen's destruction. |
9851_20 | Sielba is largely unchanged in the 4th edition of the campaign setting. The source of the conflict between Sielba and Hamanu is listed as the obsidian mines. Sielba and her city-state are destroyed because she refused to heed Hamanu's warning against prospecting on his land. Sielba was killed and her city-state destroyed but the 4th edition suggests that the cityw as never sacked and may still contain much of its riches.
T
Tectuktitlay: 9th Champion of Rajaat, "Wemic Annihilator"; Male; Sorcerer-king of Draj; Exterminated the wemic race in 1409 years. In the 2nd edition and 3rd editions Tectuktitlay was beaten to death with the dark lens when Rajaat briefly escaped from the Hollow. He is replaced by his adopted son Atzetuk who rules largely as a figurehead.
In 4th edition Tectuktitlay still rules his city-state and is largely unchanged. |
9851_21 | Tithian of Mericles: a nobleman who formerly served as Kalak's High Templar and who, after his death, crowns himself as King of Tyr amidst a crowd where he also abolishes slavery. Later, it is revealed that he is extremely power-hungry and evil himself, wishing to become the new Sorcerer-King of Tyr, and he attempts to free Rajaat The War Bringer.
U
Uyness of Waverly: see Abalach-Re.
V
W
Wyan of Bodach: 12th Champion of Rajaat, "Pixie Blight"; Male; Deceased; Exterminated the pixie race in 877 years. In the 2nd and 3rd editions, Wyan, along with Sacha, stayed loyal to Rajaat and both were beheaded by Borys as a result. Wyan's head survived until it was cut in half by Sadira of Tyr
Wyan is not mentioned in the 4th edition campaign setting.
X
Y
Z
References
Dark Sun |
9852_0 | The Republic of Venice (; ) or Venetian Republic (; ), traditionally known as La Serenissima (; ; ), was a sovereign state and maritime republic in parts of present-day Italy (mainly northeastern Italy) which existed for 1100 years from 697 AD until 1797 AD. Centered on the lagoon communities of the prosperous city of Venice, it incorporated numerous overseas possessions in modern Croatia, Slovenia, Montenegro, Greece, Albania and Cyprus. The republic grew into a trading power during the Middle Ages and strengthened this position in the Renaissance. Citizens spoke the still-surviving Venetian language, although publishing in (Florentine) Italian became the norm during the Renaissance. |
9852_1 | In its early years, it prospered on the salt trade. In subsequent centuries, the city state established a thalassocracy. It dominated trade on the Mediterranean Sea, including commerce between Europe and North Africa, as well as Asia. The Venetian navy was used in the Crusades, most notably in the Fourth Crusade. However, Venice perceived Rome as an enemy and maintained high levels of religious and ideological independence personified by the patriarch of Venice and a highly developed independent publishing industry that served as a haven from Catholic censorship for many centuries. Venice achieved territorial conquests along the Adriatic Sea. It became home to an extremely wealthy merchant class, who patronized renowned art and architecture along the city's lagoons. Venetian merchants were influential financiers in Europe. The city was also the birthplace of great European explorers, such as Marco Polo, as well as Baroque composers such as Antonio Vivaldi and Benedetto Marcello and |
9852_2 | famous painters such as the Renaissance master, Titian. |
9852_3 | The republic was ruled by the doge, who was elected by members of the Great Council of Venice, the city-state's parliament, and ruled for life. The ruling class was an oligarchy of merchants and aristocrats. Venice and other Italian maritime republics played a key role in fostering capitalism. Venetian citizens generally supported the system of governance. The city-state enforced strict laws and employed ruthless tactics in its prisons. |
9852_4 | The opening of new trade routes to the Americas and the East Indies via the Atlantic Ocean marked the beginning of Venice's decline as a powerful maritime republic. The city state suffered defeats from the navy of the Ottoman Empire. In 1797, the republic was plundered by retreating Austrian and then French forces, following an invasion by Napoleon Bonaparte, and the Republic of Venice was split into the Austrian Venetian Province, the Cisalpine Republic, a French client state, and the Ionian French departments of Greece. Venice became part of a unified Italy in the 19th century.
Name
It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice (, , or ) and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in reference to its title as one of the "Most Serene Republics".
History |
9852_5 | During the 5th century, northeast Italy was devastated by the Germanic barbarian invasions. A large number of the inhabitants moved to the coastal lagoons, looking for a safer place to live. Here they established a collection of lagoon communities, stretching over about from Chioggia in the south to Grado in the north, who banded together for mutual defence from the Lombards, Huns, and other invading peoples as the power of the Western Roman Empire dwindled in northern Italy.
These communities were subjected to the authority of the Byzantine Empire. |
9852_6 | At some point in the first decades of the eighth century, the people of the Byzantine province of Venice elected their first leader Ursus (or Orso Ipato), who was confirmed by Constantinople and given the titles of hypatus and dux. He was the first historical Doge of Venice. Tradition, however, first attested in the early 11th century, states that the Venetians first proclaimed one Anafestus Paulicius duke in 697, though this story dates to no earlier than the chronicle of John the Deacon. Whichever the case, the first doges had their power base in Heraclea.
Rise |
9852_7 | Ursus's successor, Deusdedit, moved his seat from Heraclea to Malamocco in the 740s. He was the son of Ursus and represented the attempt of his father to establish a dynasty. Such attempts were commonplace among the doges of the first few centuries of Venetian history, but all were ultimately unsuccessful. During the reign of Deusdedit, Venice became the only remaining Byzantine possession in the north, and the changing politics of the Frankish Empire began to change the factional divisions within Venetia. |
9852_8 | One faction was decidedly pro-Byzantine. They desired to remain well connected to the Empire. Another faction, republican in nature, believed in continuing along a course towards practical independence. The other main faction was pro-Frankish. Supported mostly by clergy (in line with papal sympathies of the time), they looked towards the new Carolingian king of the Franks, Pepin the Short, as the best provider of defence against the Lombards. A minor, pro-Lombard faction was opposed to close ties with any of these further-off powers and interested in maintaining peace with the neighbouring (and surrounding, but for the sea) Lombard kingdom. |
9852_9 | In that period, Venice had established for itself a thriving slave trade, buying in Italy, among other places, and selling to the Moors in Northern Africa (Pope Zachary himself reportedly forbade such traffic out of Rome). When the sale of Christians to Muslims was banned following the pactum Lotharii, the Venetians began to sell Slavs and other Eastern European non-Christian slaves in greater numbers. Caravans of slaves traveled from Eastern Europe, through Alpine passes in Austria, to reach Venice. Surviving records valued female slaves at a tremissa (about 1.5 grams of gold or roughly of a dinar) and male slaves, who were more numerous, at a saiga (which is much less). Eunuchs were especially valuable, and "castration houses" arose in Venice, as well as other prominent slave markets, to meet this demand. Indeed, Venice was far from the only Italian city engaged in the slave trade in Medieval Europe.
Early Middle Ages |
9852_10 | The successors of Obelerio inherited a united Venice. By the Pax Nicephori (803–814), the two emperors had recognised that Venice belonged to the Byzantine sphere of influence. Many centuries later, the Venetians claimed that the treaty had recognised Venetian de facto independence, but the truth of this claim is doubted by modern scholars. A Byzantine fleet sailed to Venice in 807 and deposed the Doge, replacing him with a Byzantine governor. Nevertheless, during the reign of the Participazio family, Venice grew into its modern form. |
9852_11 | Though Heraclean by birth, Agnello, the first Participazio doge, was an early immigrant to Rialto and his dogeship was marked by the expansion of Venice towards the sea via the construction of bridges, canals, bulwarks, fortifications, and stone buildings. The modern Venice, at one with the sea, was being born. Agnello was succeeded by his son Giustiniano, who stole the remains of Saint Mark the Evangelist from Alexandria, took them to Venice, and made him the republic's patron saint. According to tradition, Saint Mark was the founder of the Patriarchate of Aquileia. |
9852_12 | With the patriarch's flight to Grado after the Lombard invasion, the patriarchate split into two: one on the mainland, under the control of the Lombards and later the Franks, and the other in Grado on the lagoons and the areas under Byzantine control. This would later become the Patriarchate of Venice. With the apostle's reliquiae in its hands, Venice could again claim to be the rightful heir of Aquileia. In the Late Middle Ages, this would be the basis for legitimizing the seizure of the patriarchy's vast territories in Friuli and eastwards. |
9852_13 | During the reign of the successor of the Participazio, Pietro Tradonico, Venice began to establish its military might, which would influence many a later crusade and dominate the Adriatic for centuries. Tradonico secured the sea by fighting Narentine and Saracen pirates. Tradonico's reign was long and successful (837–64), but he was succeeded by the Participazio and a dynasty appeared to have been finally established. Around 841, the Republic of Venice sent a fleet of 60 galleys (each carrying 200 men) to assist the Byzantines in driving the Arabs from Crotone, but it failed. In 1000, Pietro II Orseolo sent a fleet of 6 ships to defeat the Narentine pirates from Dalmatia.
High Middle Ages |
9852_14 | In the High Middle Ages, Venice became extremely wealthy through its control of trade between Europe and the Levant, and it began to expand into the Adriatic Sea and beyond. In 1084, Domenico Selvo personally led a fleet against the Normans, but he was defeated and lost nine great galleys, the largest and most heavily armed ships in the Venetian war fleet. Venice was involved in the Crusades almost from the very beginning. Two hundred Venetian ships assisted in capturing the coastal cities of Syria after the First Crusade. In 1110, Ordelafo Faliero personally commanded a Venetian fleet of 100 ships to assist Baldwin I of Jerusalem and Sigurd I Magnusson, king of Norway in capturing the city of Sidon (in present-day Lebanon). In 1123, they were granted virtual autonomy in the Kingdom of Jerusalem through the Pactum Warmundi. |
9852_15 | The Venetians also gained extensive trading privileges in the Byzantine Empire during the 12th century, and their ships often provided the Empire with a navy. In 1182, a vicious anti-Western riot broke out in Constantinople targeting Latins, and Venetians in particular. Many in the Empire had become jealous of Venetian power and influence, thus when the pretender Andronikos I Komnenos marched on the city, Venetian property was seized and the owners imprisoned or banished, an act which humiliated and angered the republic.
In 1183, the city of Zara () successfully rebelled against Venetian rule. The city then put itself under the dual protection of the papacy and Emeric, King of Hungary. The Dalmatians separated from Hungary by a treaty in 1199, and they paid Hungary with a portion of Macedonia. In 1201, the city of Zara recognized Emeric as overlord. |
9852_16 | 13th century
The leaders of the Fourth Crusade (1202–04) contracted with Venice to provide a fleet for transportation to the Levant. When the crusaders were unable to pay for the ships, Doge Enrico Dandolo offered transport if the crusaders were to capture Zara, a city that had rebelled years ago and was a rival to Venice. Upon the capture of Zara, the crusade was again diverted, this time to Constantinople. The capture and sacking of Constantinople has been described as one of the most profitable and disgraceful sacks of a city in history. |
9852_17 | The Venetians claimed much of the plunder, including the famous four bronze horses that were brought back to adorn St Mark's Basilica. Furthermore, in the subsequent partition of the Byzantine lands, Venice gained a great deal of territory in the Aegean Sea, theoretically amounting to three-eighths of the Byzantine Empire. It also acquired the islands of Crete (Candia) and Euboea (Negroponte); the present core city of Chania on Crete is largely of Venetian construction, built atop the ruins of the ancient city of Cydonia.
The Aegean islands came to form the Venetian Duchy of the Archipelago. In ca. 1223/24, the then-lord of Philippopolis, Gerard of Estreux declared himself prepared to acknowledge the suzerainty of the Republic of Venice over a part of his possessions. The Byzantine Empire was re-established in 1261 by Michael VIII Palaiologos, but never again recovered its previous power, and was eventually conquered by the Ottoman Turks. |
9852_18 | The Republic of Venice fought the War of the Castle of Love against Padua and Treviso in 1215. It signed a trade treaty with the Mongol Empire in 1221.
In 1295, Pietro Gradenigo sent a fleet of 68 ships to attack a Genoese fleet at Alexandretta, then another fleet of 100 ships was sent to attack the Genoese in 1299. From 1350 to 1381, Venice fought an intermittent war with the Genoese. Initially defeated, they devastated the Genoese fleet at the Battle of Chioggia in 1380 and retained their prominent position in eastern Mediterranean affairs at the expense of Genoa's declining empire. |
9852_19 | The Serrata del Maggior Consiglio (Great Council Lockout) refers to the constitutional process, started with the 1297 Ordinance, by means of which membership of the Great Council of Venice became an hereditary title. Since it was the Great Council that had the right to elect the Doge, the 1297 Ordinance marked a relevant change in the constitution of the Republic. This resulted in the exclusion of minor aristocrats and plebeian from participating in the government of the Republic.
14th century
In 1363, the revolt of Saint Titus against Venetian rule broke out in the overseas colony of Candia (Crete). It was a joint effort of Venetian colonists and Cretan nobles who attempted to create an independent state. Venice sent a multinational mercenary army which soon regained control of the major cities. However, Venice was not able to fully reconquer Crete until 1368. |
9852_20 | By the end of the 14th century, Venice had acquired mainland possessions in Italy, annexing Mestre and Serravalle in 1337, Treviso and Bassano del Grappa in 1339, Oderzo in 1380, and Ceneda in 1389.
15th century: The expansion in the mainland
In the early 15th century, the republic began to expand onto the Terraferma. Thus, Vicenza, Belluno, and Feltre were acquired in 1404, and Padua, Verona, and Este in 1405.
Venice expanded as well along the Dalmatian coast from Istria to Albania, which was acquired from King Ladislaus of Naples during the civil war in Hungary. Ladislaus was about to lose the conflict and had decided to escape to Naples, but before doing so, he agreed to sell his now practically forfeit rights on the Dalmatian cities for the reduced sum of 100,000 ducats. |
9852_21 | Venice exploited the situation and quickly installed nobility to govern the area, for example, Count Filippo Stipanov in Zara. This move by the Venetians was a response to the threatening expansion of Giangaleazzo Visconti, Duke of Milan. Control over the northeast main land routes was also a necessity for the safety of the trades. By 1410, Venice had a navy of 3,300 ships (manned by 36,000 men) and taken over most of what is now the Veneto, including the cities of Verona (which swore its loyalty in the Devotion of Verona to Venice in 1405) and Padua. |
9852_22 | The situation in Dalmatia had been settled in 1408 by a truce with King Sigismund of Hungary, but the difficulties of Hungary finally granted to the republic the consolidation of its Adriatic dominions. At the expiration of the truce in 1420, Venice immediately invaded the Patriarchate of Aquileia, and subjected Traù, Spalato, Durazzo, and other Dalmatian cities. In Lombardy, Venice acquired Brescia in 1426, Bergamo in 1428, and Cremona in 1499.
Slaves were plentiful in the Italian city-states as late as the 15th century. Between 1414 and 1423, some 10,000 slaves, imported from Caffa, were sold in Venice.
In 1454, a conspiracy for a planned rebellion against Venice was dismantled in Candia. The conspiracy was led by Sifis Vlastos as an opposition to the religious reforms for the unification of Churches agreed at the Council of Florence. |
9852_23 | In 1481, Venice retook nearby Rovigo, which it had held previously from 1395 to 1438; in February 1489, the island of Cyprus, previously a crusader state (the Kingdom of Cyprus), was added to Venice's holdings.
League of Cambrai, the loss of Cyprus, and Battle of Lepanto
The Ottoman Empire started sea campaigns as early as 1423, when it waged a seven-year war with the Venetian Republic over maritime control of the Aegean, the Ionian, and the Adriatic Seas. The wars with Venice resumed after the Ottomans captured the Kingdom of Bosnia in 1463, and lasted until a favorable peace treaty was signed in 1479 just after the troublesome siege of Shkodra. In 1480 (now no longer hampered by the Venetian fleet), the Ottomans besieged Rhodes and briefly captured Otranto. By 1490, the population of Venice had risen to about 180,000 people. |
9852_24 | War with the Ottomans resumed from 1499 to 1503. In 1499, Venice allied itself with Louis XII of France against Milan, gaining Cremona. In the same year, the Ottoman sultan moved to attack Lepanto by land, and sent a large fleet to support his offensive by sea. Antonio Grimani, more a businessman and diplomat than a sailor, was defeated in the sea battle of Zonchio in 1499. The Turks once again sacked Friuli. Preferring peace to total war both against the Turks and by sea, Venice surrendered the bases of Lepanto, Durazzo, Modon, and Coron. |
9852_25 | Venice's attention was diverted from its usual maritime position by the delicate situation in Romagna, then one of the richest lands in Italy, which was nominally part of the Papal States, but effectively divided into a series of small lordships which were difficult for Rome's troops to control. Eager to take some of Venice's lands, all neighbouring powers joined in the League of Cambrai in 1508, under the leadership of Pope Julius II. The pope wanted Romagna; Emperor Maximilian I: Friuli and Veneto; Spain: the Apulian ports; the king of France: Cremona; the king of Hungary: Dalmatia, and each one some of another's part. The offensive against the huge army enlisted by Venice was launched from France. |
Subsets and Splits