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"Qasr Ibrim (, Old Nubian: Silimi; Coptic: ⲡⲣⲓⲙ Prim) is an archaeological site in Lower Nubia, located in the modern country of Egypt. The name dates far back into antiquity; it was Pedeme to the Meroitic inhabitants, and Primis to the Romans. The site has a long history of occupation, ranging from as early as the eighth century BCE to 1813 CE, and was an economic, political, and religious center. Originally it was a major city perched on a cliff above the Nile, but the flooding of Lake Nasser after the construction of the Aswan High Dam transformed it into an island and flooded its outskirts. Qasr Ibrim is the only major archaeological site in Lower Nubia to have survived the Nile floods. Both prior to and after the Nile floods, it has remained a major site for archaeological investigations. History Human habitation at the site dates from the Late Period of ancient Egypt, but it reached its greatest prominence in the Middle Ages, when the area was the home of the Eparch of Nobatia. Qasr Ibrim is the source of the largest collection of Old Nubian documents ever found, including the records of the Eparch. The site was occupied until 1813, when the last occupants were driven out by artillery fire. Today the island is closed to all but archaeologists. Qasr Ibrim in 2008 =Egyptian influence= Egypt's influence in Nubia began around 2,000 BCE, when Egyptian invaded and claimed sovereignty over the area. Many Egyptian artifacts and evidence of Egyptian architecture have been found at Qasr Ibrim. The earliest inscription at the site is a stela, a stone or wooden slab, from the reign of Amenhotep I. The stela was found in a now-ruined Christian Byzantine cathedral at Qasr Ibrim where it had been reused in one of the church's crypts. The stela is now located in the British Museum. Sandstone Stela Dated to Year 8 of Pharaoh Amenhotep I (~1530 BCE, 18th Dynasty, from Qasr Ibrim) - British Museum = Roman occupation= The site was partly rebuilt "under the prefecture of Gaius Petronius during Augustus' reign." Qasr Ibrim played a key role in Rome's defense of the Aswan region, and was likely held until 100 CE or later. The fortress, constructed by Roman military engineers, was the strongest in the Nile Valley at this time. = A center of Christianity= Stela of Georgios, bishop of Ibrim, 10th to 11th century CE, currently housed in the Petrie Museum During Roman times the town was one of the last bastions of paganism, its six temples converting to Christianity two centuries later than the rest of Egypt. It then became one of the main Christian centers in Lower Nubia. Christianity first came to Qasr Ibrim in the 6th century, but had little effect. It wasn't until the city became part of the kingdom of Makuria, in the early 8th century, that Qasr Ibrim became a center for Christianity. This continued even through the fifteenth century when the Makurian kingdom became Islamic. The city held out against Islam until the 16th century, when a unit of Bosnian soldiers, part of the Ottoman army, occupied the site. The Bosnian soldiers stayed on and eventually married into the local Nubian community, using part of the cathedral as a mosque. Two churches remain on the site. The Taharqa Church was most likely built between 542-580 CE, this would make it one of Nubia's earliest churches. Like many of the first churches in Nubia, it would have been constructed within the walls of the already present temples. Qasr Ibrim's cathedral was built later, though the date of construction in unclear. Archaeologists currently believe it was constructed in the first half of the eighth century. Island of Qasr Ibrim in the Lake Nasser, Egypt Archaeology The site was first excavated by David Randall-MacIver and C. Leonard Woolley for the Eckley B. Coxe Expedition for the University of Pennsylvania in 1911. In 1963, excavations were started by the Egyptian Exploration Society and have continued periodically to the present day. Cemeteries found east and west of the main settlement were excavated in 1932 and 1961. There are still areas around the complex that have yet to be excavated, although some sites, including those near the river, were destroyed in floods caused by the Aswan Dam. =Evidence for plant and animal use= The almost rainless conditions of the area have created excellent preservation of organic materials. Pottery dated to the post-Meroitic period (350-600 CE) shows evidence of both date palm and doum palm residues. Various samples of sorghum dating from between 800 BCE to 1800 CE have also been found at Qasr Ibrim. There are four forms of sorghum that are found on the site. From when the site was settled until around 100 CE only wild sorghum can be found. From 100 CE until around 1500 CE an early form of cultivated sorghum (Sorghum bicolor, ssp. bicolor, race Bicolor) is found. Around 1200 CE an advanced form of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor, ssp. bicolor, race Durra) appears. Between the 5th and 7th centuries CE a transitional race is also present. There are believed to be three phases of agricultural history, the Napatan occupation, the Roman occupation, and the Meroitic periods. Listed below are the main crops that have been identified in each phase: Napatan (mid 8th-mid 7th century BCE): *emmer wheat (Triticum turgidum L.) *hulled barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) *broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) *flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) Roman (25 BCE-mid 1st century CE): *emmer wheat (Triticum turgidum L.) *hulled barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) *broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) *flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) *cotton (Gossypium sp.) Meroitic (100-300 CE): *sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) *hulled barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) *durum wheat (Triticum turgidum ssp. turgidum) *bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) The site has also revealed many archaeozoological remains, though they have not been as heavily studied as the botanical remains. Evidence of a heavily sheep and goat based economy has been found, along with large numbers of juvenile cattle. These cattle remains suggest a meat- and milk-based economy. The cattle could also have been used for religious ceremonies at the Meroitic Temple. The ritually-deposited remains of a domesticated chicken were also found below a house floor, and date to the post-Meroitic period (late 5th to early 6th centuries CE). = Artefacts = Original Roman caliga, found at Qasr Ibrim, Egypt. 1st century BCE – 1st century CE. British Museum, room 65. Qasr Ibrim is known not only for its organic remains, textiles have also been found at the site. During the Roman occupation of the site sandals, textiles, and leather fragments were left behind. Woolen fabrics are believed to have brought to Qasr Ibrim in 23 BCE by the Romans. Cotton fabrics were not introduced until the first century CE by the Meroitic peoples. The un-dyed Meroitic fabrics differ from the wool of the Romans, which has been found in blues and other bright colors. The conditions at Qasr Ibrim have also preserved a large number of documents in nine different languages or scripts. This includes hieroglyphics, Demotic, Meroitic, Greek, Latin, Coptic, Old Nubian, Arabic, and Turkish. Earlier documents were written on papyrus, though parchment was the preferred material for sacred texts. Paper was not common writing material in Nubia until the twelfth century. The nature of the documents range from a variety of religious and secular texts, including personal letters, and religious documents. These documents show the significance of Qasr Ibrim as a frontier society, and the importance of a vast trade network. See also * List of ancient Egyptian sites ReferencesExternal links * Qasr Ibrim Egypte Eternelle Category:History of Nubia Category:Archaeological sites in Egypt Category:Former populated places in Egypt "
"The fortress at Shlisselburg is one of a series of fortifications built on an island in Lake Ladoga, near the present-day city of St. Petersburg, Russia. The first fortress was built in 1323. It was the scene of many conflicts between Russia and Sweden and changed hands between the two empires. During World War II, it was heavily damaged. Today it is part of the UNESCO World Heritage site Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments. Oreshek Fortress Inside the fortress walls Interior of the dungeon Origins A wooden fortress named Oreshek () or Orekhov () was built by Grand Prince Yury of Moscow (in his capacity as Prince of Novgorod) on behalf of the Novgorod Republic in 1323. It guarded the northern approaches to Novgorod and access to the Baltic Sea. The fortress is situated on Orekhovets Island whose name refers to nuts in Swedish as well as in Finnish (Pähkinäsaari, "Nut Island") and Russian languages. After a series of conflicts, a peace treaty was signed at Oreshek on August 12, 1323 between Sweden and Grand Prince Yury and the Novgorod Republic. This was the first agreement on the border between Eastern and Western Christianity running through present-day Finland. A modern stone monument to the north of the Church of St. John in the fortress commemorates the treaty. In 1333 Novgorodians invited Lithuanian prince Narimantas to govern their north- western domain. Narimantas appointed his son, Alexander Narimuntovich to rule the autonomous Principality of Oreshek. In 1348 king Magnus Eriksson attacked and briefly took the fortress during his crusade in the region in 1348–1352.Michael C. Paul, "Archbishop Vasilii Kalika, the Fortress at Orekhov and the Defense of Orthodoxy," in Alan V. Murray, ed., The Clash of Cultures on the Medieval Baltic Frontier (Farnham, UK: Ashgate, 2009): 266–267. It was largely ruined by the time the Novgorodians retook the fortress in 1351. The fortress was rebuilt in stone in 1352, by Archbishop Vasily Kalika of Novgorod (1330–1352), who, according to the Novgorod First Chronicle, was sent by the Novgorodians after several Russian and Lithuanian princes ignored the city's pleas to help them rebuild and defend the fort.Arseny Nikolayevich Nasonov, ed. "Новгородская первая летопись: старшего и младшего изводов". Moscow and Leningrad, 1950, p. 100Michael C. Paul. "Secular Power and the Archbishops of Novgorod Before the Muscovite Conquest". Kritika: Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History 8, No. 2, pp. 237, 249; Paul, "Archbishop Vasilii Kalika," 257-258. The remnants of the walls of 1352 were excavated in 1969, and can be seen just north of the Church of St. John in the center of the present fortress. Expansion In 1478, the Novgorod Republic was absorbed by the Muscovy who immediately started to strengthen their border with Sweden. The existing small citadel was demolished and a new stone fortress with seven towers was constructed, which occupied almost the complete island. The old Novgorodian basement was used to construct a new citadel with three towers inside the outer walls. The total length of the walls was about 740 meters. Their height up to 12 meters, and the width at the basement 4.5 meters; The towers were 14-16 meters high and 16 meters in diameter at the basement. This made it the strongest Russian fortress of that period. The residents were forced to resettle on the mainland and most preferred the Southern bank of Neva for safety reasons. In 1554–55, during the Russo-Swedish war, The Swedes laid siege to the fortress, with no success. In response, Muscovites besieged Vyborg, with no success either. During the Livonian war, in 1582 Swedish troops led by Pontus De La Gardie almost captured the fortress. After a row of artillery fire they managed to break into one of the towers, but were later repelled by Muscovites. The fort was captured by Sweden in 1611 during the Ingrian War after nine months of siege, when the defenders lost every 9 men of 10. As part of the Swedish Empire, the fortress was known as Nöteborg ("Nut- fortress") in Swedish or Pähkinälinna in Finnish, and became the center of the north-Ingrian Nöteborg county (slottslän). During that time very little was done to maintain the fortress in good order, and the experts coming to Nöteborg to do inspections warned the crown of its deterioration . During the Ingrian Campaign of tsar Alexei Mikhailovich in June 1656 the fortress came under a siege by voevoda Potyomkin which lasted until November 1656 with no success. Great Northern War In 1702, during the Great Northern War, the fortress was taken by Russians under Peter the Great in an amphibious assault: 440 Swedish soldiers defended the fort for ten days before surrendering. After heavy artillery fire and 13 hours of fighting inside the fortress, the Swedish commandant finally agreed to capitulate on honorable conditions. The Swedes left the fortress with their flags, rifles and four cannons. The Russian forces numbered 12,500 men and sustained a total of 1,500 casualties, compared to 360 for the Swedes.{see Siege of Nöteborg (1702)}. Peter renamed the fortress to Shlisselburg, a transliteration into the Cyrillic alphabet of Schlüsselburg. The name, meaning "Key-fortress" in German, which refers to Peter's perception of the fortress as the "key to Ingria". During Imperial times the fortress lost its military role and was used as a notorious political prison. Among its famous prisoners were Wilhelm Küchelbecker, Mikhail Bakunin and, for thirty-eight years, Walerian Łukasiński. Ivan VI was murdered in the fortress in 1764, and Lenin's brother, Aleksandr Ulyanov, was hanged there as well. The prison's buildings and former occupants were described in some detail in I. P. Youvatshev's The Russian Bastille or the Schuesselburg Fortress (1909) it being informally known as the Russian Bastille. It is said that immediately after the Russian Revolution of 1917 the prisoners, both political and criminal, were released, and set the prison on fire, but according to Youvatshev the prison had been abolished in 1905. 20th century In 1928, the fortress was turned into a branch of the Museum of the October Revolution, but in 1939, shortly before the war, it was closed and the exhibits were moved to Leningrad . Shortly before Shlisselburg was occupied by the German troops (8 September 1941), a garrison of 350 Red Army soldiers was sent to the fortress on Orekhovets island to bring supplies and munition to the frontline. The garrison held the abandoned castle for 500 days preventing the Germans from landing there and cutting the last transit route from Leningrad to the mainland. Food and supplies were brought from the northern bank of the Neva which remained under Soviet control. Heavy artillery fire by the Germans destroyed all the buildings inside the fortress and part of the outer towers and walls, but despite numerous attempts the fortress was not captured. During Operation Iskra (18 January 1943) the siege of the fortress was lifted. Current condition The war completely devastated the fortress. Out of the original ten towers, the fortress retains only six (five Russian and one Swedish). The remains of a church inside the fortress were transformed into a memorial to the fortress's defenders. An archaeological site was established in the fortress during 1968-1975 that excavated what remained from the ancient Novgorodian stone fort dated 1352 and other artifacts. The fortress has been the site of an annual rock concert since 2003. There is also a museum of political prisoners of the Russian Empire and a small collection of World War II artillery. Renovation of the walls and towers is slow, although still underway. A stone monument in memory of the first Russo-Swedish peace treaty (1323) was placed inside the fortress. Tourists can reach the island from May to October via Shlisselburg or from the Northern bank of Neva, via Petrokrepost' railway station with regular ferries that run every 10-15 minutes. References Category:Buildings and structures in Leningrad Oblast Category:Forts in Russia "
"Lady Louisa Conolly (5 December 1743 - August 1821) was an English-born Irish noblewoman. She was the third of the famous Lennox Sisters, and was notable among them for leading a wholly uncontroversial life filled with good works. Biography Born Lady Louisa Augusta Lennox, she was the third of the four Lennox sisters portrayed in Stella Tillyard's book Aristocrats: Caroline, Emily, Louisa, and Sarah Lennox and in the BBC television series based on it. The Lennox sisters were the daughters of Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond, and Lady Sarah Cadogan. The 2nd duke's father, the first duke, was an illegitimate son of King Charles II of England. Louisa was still a child when her parents died within a year of each other in 1750 and 1751. After this, Lady Louisa was brought up by her much older sister Emily FitzGerald, Duchess of Leinster, in Kildare. In 1758, aged 15, she married Thomas Conolly (1738-1803), grand-nephew of William Conolly, Speaker of the Irish House of Commons. Her husband, a wealthy land-owner and keen horseman, was also a successful politician who was elected to Parliament as early as 1759. The couple lived in the Palladian mansion Castletown House in County Kildare, the decoration of which she directed throughout the 1760s and 1770s. The Conolly summer residence 'Cliff House' on the banks of the River Erne between Belleek, County Fermanagh and Ballyshannon County Donegal was demolished as part of the Erne Hydroelectric scheme, which constructed the Cliff and Cathaleen's Fall hydroelectric power stations. Cliff hydroelectric power station was constructed on the site of 'Cliff House' and was commissioned in 1950. Themselves unhappily childless, at that point they took up the welfare of young children from disadvantaged backgrounds as a lifelong project, contributing both money and effort towards initiatives which would enable foundlings and vagabonds to acquire productive skills and support themselves. They developed one of the first Industrial Schools where boys learnt trades, and Lady Louisa took active personal interest in mentoring the students.History Conolly Family Turtle Bunbury. In middle age, Lady Louisa also virtually adopted her niece Emily Napier (1783-1863), the daughter of her sister Lady Sarah Lennox. Emily, who would spend long months with her aunt in Kildare, married Sir Henry Bunbury, 7th Baronet, and moved to Suffolk, although she remained close to her aunt until her death. Thomas Conolly died in 1803. Upon his death, the major part of his estates, which included Wentworth Castle, passed to a distant relative, Frederick Vernon. Lady Louisa received the Castletown House and estate, as also certain liquid investments and valuable urban properties, which enabled her to live in comfort and continue her activities until her own death in 1821. She willed these substantial properties to a great-nephew, Edward Michael Pakenham (grandson of Thomas' sister Harriet), later the MP for Donegal, References * Tillyard, Stella. Aristocrats: Caroline, Emily, Louisa, and Sarah Lennox, 1740-1832. London: Chatto & Windus, 1994. Trivia In 1999, a 6-part miniseries based on the lives of Louisa Lennox and her sisters aired in the U.K. It was called Aristocrats (TV mini-series). External links * Castletown House Category:Daughters of British dukes Category:1743 births Category:1821 deaths "