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Mont-Saint-Michel
Mont-Saint-Michel is the name of a tidal island located off the coasts of Normandy and Brittany, near the mouths of the Couesnon River and the town of Avranches in France. While the island of Mont-Saint-Michel has held cultural, religious...
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The Layout of a Medieval Abbey
Abbeys were a striking feature of medieval urban and rural landscapes. Their layout and architecture reflected their purpose as cut-off monastic retreats which, conversely, also served and inspired their local communities. Although evolving...
Definition
Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, constructed 532-537, continues to be revered as one of the most important structures in the world. Hagia Sophia (Greek Ἁγία Σοφία, for 'Holy Wisdom') was designed to be the major basilica of the Byzantine Empire...
Definition
Parthian Art
Parthian art flourished within the Eurasian cultural corridor from the late hundreds BCE to the early 1st and 2nd centuries CE. With the Parthian Empire (247 BCE - 224 CE) stretching from India and China in the east to the Mediterranean shores...
Definition
Tughlaq Dynasty
The Tughlaq dynasty (also spelt Tughluq), ruled the Delhi sultanate from 1320 to 1413. Followed by the Khalji dynasty and preceded by the Sayyids, the Tughlaq dynasty formed an important period in the history and culture of the Sultanate...
Definition
George IV of Great Britain
George IV of Great Britain (r. 1820-1830) was the fourth of the Hanoverian monarchs. He first reigned as Prince Regent from 1811 for his mad father George III of Great Britain (r. 1760-1820). George IV was an unpopular monarch for his many...
Definition
Chartres Cathedral
The Notre Dame Cathedral (Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption) of Chartres in northern France was built in its current Romanesque and Gothic form between 1190 and 1220. A grander version of earlier cathedrals on the same site, it attracted...
Definition
Grossmunster
Grossmünster (“large cathedral” in German) is a Romanesque ex-cathedral situated in the heart of Zürich, Switzerland, which was built over the course of the 11th and 13th centuries CE. According to legend, the Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne...
Definition
Cniva - The Goth King Who Defeated Rome
Cniva (also given as Kniva, reign circa 250 to possibly 270) was the king of the Goths who defeated Emperor Decius (reign 249-251) at the Battle of Abritus in 251. Little is known of him other than his campaign in 251, in which he successfully...
Definition
Ostrogoth
The Ostrogoths were the eastern tribe of the Goths (a Germanic people) who rose in power in the area north of the Black Sea. The designation, Ostrogoth, taken to mean 'Eastern Goth', actually means 'Goths glorified by the rising sun' and...