title: Boeing AH-6

text: Boeing funded the development program itself; it intends to market the aircraft for both military and homeland security roles within the U.S. and internationally. The aircraft is estimated to cost US$2 million. The systems related to the unmanned flight capabilities have also been designed to be able to be installed in any other helicopter as well, including the Apache. An Unmanned Little Bird performed a fully autonomous flight in June 2010, including avoiding obstacles using LIDAR.


title: Boeing AH-6

text: In 2009, it was reported that Boeing was working on the "AH-6S Phoenix" for the US Army's restarted ARH program, named Armed Aerial Scout. The AH-6S design is stretched by to allow room for other ARH crew shot down in combat to be recovered. The aircraft also would feature an extended aerodynamic nose to house avionics hardware. AH-6S cockpit and main rotor composite blades are to be based the AH-64D Block III. The AH-6S will have an improved tail rotor and a more powerful Rolls-Royce 250-CE30 engine. The Little Bird has an endurance of 12 hours and carries a maximum mission payload of .


title: Boeing AH-6

text: The AH-6i is the export version of the AH-6S. The AH-6i first flew on September 16, 2009. Jordan has expressed interest in ordering the AH-6i in May 2010. In October 2010 Saudi Arabia requested 36 AH-6i aircraft with related equipment and weapons from the United States through a Foreign Military Sale. Kaman Corporation is developing a retrofittable graphite epoxy rotorblade for the AH-6.


title: Boeing AH-6

text: In summer 2011, an H-6U performed autonomous landings on a moving truck bed for French companies Thales and DCNS for France's General Directorate for Armament, in preparation for sea trials on a French frigate in 2012.


title: Boeing AH-6

text: In October 2012, the AH-6i completed a flight demonstration for the U.S. Army in anticipation of the Armed Aerial Scout program. While the AH-6i is aimed at international customers, Boeing intends to offer it for the program. The Army ended the AAS program in late 2013.


title: Boeing AH-6

text: In December 2012, Boeing demonstrated the Unmanned Little Bird version of the AH-6 to the South Korean Army. The aircraft flew autonomously for 25 minutes to demonstrate the unmanned system's capabilities that can be integrated into Army MD 500 Defender helicopters.


title: Boeing AH-6

text: In September 2013, Aurora Flight Sciences and Boeing offered the H-6U Little Bird for the U.S. Marine Corps unmanned lift intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance capability competition. Boeing, working as a subcontractor, was flying the Little Bird without human input, but with a pilot on board to comply with Federal Aviation Administration regulations during testing near Manassas, Virginia. The H-6U is competing against the unmanned Kaman K-MAX, which has a usable external payload of and has been used in theater to resupply Marines. Evaluations were to begin in February 2014 at Marine Corps Base Quantico.


title: Boeing AH-6

text: Marines at Quantico announced they had successfully landed an unmanned Little Bird, as well as a K-MAX, autonomously using a mini-tablet computer in April 2014. The helicopters were equipped with technology called the Autonomous Aerial Cargo/Utility System (AACUS), which combines advanced algorithms with LIDAR and electro-optical/infrared sensors to enable a person holding a tablet to select a point to land the helicopter at an unprepared landing site. Autonomous landing without the need for remote control or tele-operation reduces operator burden and allows them be resupplied or conduct other missions like medical evacuation around the clock. The AACUS weighs , so it can be easily integrated onto other aircraft like the CH-53E Super Stallion and V-22 Osprey. According to Rear Adm. Matthew Klunder, Chief of Naval Research, operational use of the system could be possible by 2015–2016. The Office of Naval Research selected Aurora Flight Sciences and the Unmanned Little Bird to complete development of the prototype AACUS system over Lockheed and the K-MAX.


title: Flag of Novorossiya

text: A white-yellow-black tricolor was presented on 13 August 2014 by Oleg Tsarev as a potential state flag for a confederation of the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics. This resembled an upside-down Romanov flag, which was the national flag of the Russian Empire from 1858 to 1883.


title: Flag of Novorossiya

text: Novorossiya (or New Russia) was an unrecognised confederation of the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, claiming the territory of the respective Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. On 20 May 2015 the leadership of the Federal State of Novorossiya announced the 'freezing' of the confederation 'project'.


title: Flag of Novorossiya

text: The battle flag is based on the naval jack of the Imperial Russian Navy. Oleksandr Chalenko, who worked as a political journalist in Kiev, described the flag and explained its symbolism in an item published by "Izvestia" on 20 March 2014: "It's a red flag with a blue Saint Andrew's cross. The flag of the Russian Navy. Of the Navy, which played a prominent military role in the emergence and establishment of historical Novorossiya."


title: Flag of Novorossiya

text: On 15 May 2014 the Russian on-line newspaper "Vzglyad" noted that the then Governor of the Donetsk People's Republic, Pavel Gubarev, had announced the start of voting for a flag of the proposed state of Novorossiya.


title: Flag of Novorossiya

text: Following the proposition of the white-yellow-black tricolour as the national flag, the saltire was then adopted as the battle flag of the republic, while a variant with the coat of arms has been used as the "de facto" national flag since.


title: Flag of Novorossiya

text: Some have noted that the flag's design resembles the Confederate States of America's navy jack and battle flag, known also as the "Dixie flag". Ukrainian political analyst Mikhail Pavliv is credited with having created the flag; Pavliv explains that he had simply stumbled upon the flag online somewhere, and that the leader of the New Russia Party, Pavel Gubarev, later picked it up. However, Gubarev has stated that the inspiration for the flag came from banners used by Cossacks in the 18th century. According to Alexey Eremenko of "The Moscow Times", no Cossacks ever used a flag resembling the one chosen. However, vexillologically, the flag is a combination of the flag of the Semirechye Cossacks and the St. Andrew's Flag.


title: Nazi party rally grounds

text: The Nazi party rally grounds (, literally: "Reich Party Congress Grounds") covered about 11 square kilometres in the southeast of Nuremberg, Germany. Six Nazi party rallies were held there between 1933 and 1938.


title: Nazi party rally grounds

text: A "Haus der Kultur" (House of Culture) and a representative entrance portal towards the "Great Road" were planned at the northwestern end of the "Great Road", near the (new) Congress Hall.


title: Nazi party rally grounds

text: Only "Zeppelinfeld", "Luitpoldarena" and "Große Straße" were finished. The "Kongresshalle", "Zeppelinfeld" and the "Große Straße" have been under monument protection since 1973 as significant examples of NS architecture.


title: Nazi party rally grounds

text: The grounds were designed by Hitler's architect Albert Speer, except for the Congress Hall, which was designed by Ludwig and Franz Ruff.


title: Nazi party rally grounds

text: Today the whole site is a memorial. It has hosted the annual Norisring Speedweekend motorsport festival since 1947, and the Rock im Park rock music festival since 2004.


title: Nazi party rally grounds

text: On 30 August 1933 Hitler declared Nuremberg the "City of the "Reichsparteitage" (Reich Party Congresses)". The Party Congresses ("Reichsparteitage") were a self-portrayal of the NS-state and had no programmatic task, simply demonstrating the unity of the nation. In a propagandistic way a relation was to be drawn between the NS movement and the glory of the medieval emperors and the meetings of the Imperial Estates which had been held in Nuremberg in the Middle Ages.


title: Nazi party rally grounds

text: From 1906 onwards, a park named "Luitpoldhain" (literally translated: "Luitpold grove", named after Luitpold, Prince Regent of Bavaria) existed here. During the Weimar Republic (1919–1933), the "Ehrenhalle" (Hall of Honour) was built in the park.


title: Nazi party rally grounds

text: In 1933, Hitler replaced the park with a strictly-structured deployment area, the so-called "Luitpoldarena", with an area of 84,000 m².


title: Nazi party rally grounds

text: During the party rallies, deployments of the SA and the SS with up to 150,000 people took place in this area. The central "relic" here was the "Blutfahne" (Blood flag), which was allegedly carried by the Beer Hall Putsch rebels and was soaked with the blood of one of them. At the "Blutfahnenweihe" (Blood flag consecration), new "Standarten" (flags) of SA- and SS-units were "consecrated" by touching their guidons with the "Blutfahne".


title: Nazi party rally grounds

text: After 1945 the city of Nuremberg redesigned the area into a park again. All buildings from the NS era were demolished. Only the half-round of the terraces of the main grandstand is recognizable.


title: Nazi party rally grounds

text: The "Ehrenhalle" was built by the City of Nuremberg according to a plan of German architect Fritz Mayer. It was inaugurated in 1930, before the Hitler era during the Weimar Republic. It is an arcaded hall with an adjacent cobbled stone terrace with two rows of pedestals for fire bowls. All fourteen pylons remain virtually intact and have not been ignited since the final Nazi party rally in September 1938. Originally the hall was to be a memorial site for the 9,855 soldiers from Nuremberg who had fallen in World War I.


title: Nazi party rally grounds

text: During the Party Congress of 1929 the then unfinished "Hall of Honour" was used for the enactment of a cult of the dead by the National Socialists for the first time. During the Third Reich the Nazis used the site primarily as a commemoration for the fallen soldiers of World War I and commemoration of the 16 dead of the "Hitlerputsch" (the so-called "Martyrs of the NS Movement") (Beer Hall Putsch) on 9 November 1923 in Munich. Hitler, accompanied by SS leader Heinrich Himmler and SA leader Viktor Lutze, strode through the arena over the 240 meters long granite path from the main grandstand to the terrace of the "Ehrenhalle" and showed the Nazi salute there. The ritual was the climax of the celebration.


title: Nazi party rally grounds

text: Opposite the "Ehrenhalle" the crescent-shaped "Ehrentribüne" (literally: tribune of honour) or main grandstand which measured long with gold eagles on each end was built. This structure, built by architect Albert Speer, could seat 500 dignitaries and represented the first permanent structure built by the Nazis in Nuremberg.


title: Nazi party rally grounds

text: The "Ehrenhalle" and the "Ehrentribüne" were connected by a wide granite path. The "Ehrentribüne" was blown up in 1959/60.


title: Nazi party rally grounds

text: The "Luitpold Hall" (Luitpoldhalle) (built 1906) had an outline of featured 76 loudspeakers, 42 spotlights, the largest pipe organ in Germany and could seat 16,000 people. Dating back to the Bavarian Exposition, the former machine hall was renovated and first used by the Nazis for the party convention "party congress" of 1934. Its monumental neo classic facade featured a shell limestone facing with three enormous entrance portals. It was in this building during the "party congress" of 1935, that the Nuremberg laws were adopted which deprived "German Jews" and other minorities of their citizenship. The structure was severely damaged by allied bombs in early 1945 and a few years later replaced by a parking lot. The granite staircase leading to the building remains intact today.


title: Nazi party rally grounds

text: The Congress Hall (Die Kongresshalle) is the biggest preserved national socialist monumental building and is landmarked. It was planned by the Nuremberg architects Ludwig and Franz Ruff. It was intended to serve as a congress centre for the NSDAP with a self-supporting roof and would have provided 50,000 seats. It was located on the shore of and in the pond "Dutzendteich" and marked the entrance of the rally grounds. The building reached a height of (a height of "70 m" was planned) and a diameter of .


title: Nazi party rally grounds

text: The building is mostly built out of clinker with a facade of granite panels. The design (especially the outer facade, among other features) is inspired by the Colosseum in Rome. The foundation stone was laid in 1935, but the building remained unfinished and without a roof. The building with an outline of an "U" ends with two head-buildings. Since 2001, the "Dokumentationszentrum Reichsparteitagsgelände" (Documentation Center of the Nazi Party Rally Grounds), with the permanent exhibition "Faszination und Gewalt" (Fascination and Terror), has been located in the northern wing. In the southern building, the "Serenadenhof", the "Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra" have their domicile.


title: Nazi party rally grounds

text: The great road is almost long and wide. It was intended to be the central of the site and a parade road for the Wehrmacht.


title: Nazi party rally grounds

text: In its northwestern prolongation the road points towards Nuremberg Castle. This was to create a relation between the role of Nuremberg during the Third Reich and its role during medieval times.


title: Nazi party rally grounds

text: The road reached from the Congress Hall to the Märzfeld, the construction work started in 1935 and was finished in 1939 (it has never been used as a parade road, as due to the beginning of World War II, the last rally was held in 1938). The pavement was made of granite pavers in black and gray with edges of exactly .


title: Nazi party rally grounds

text: A representative entrance portal and two pylons were planned at the northwestern end of the Great Road.


title: Nazi party rally grounds

text: Near the entrance area of the "German Stadion" a grandstand with a hall of pillars was planned for the government leaders and generals which were to take the salute on Wehrmacht formations which were to march in direction of the parade ground "Märzfeld".


title: Nazi party rally grounds

text: Nowadays, it is used by the adjacently-located Nuremberg exhibition centre as an occasional parking area for highly-frequented events.


title: Nazi party rally grounds

text: The Zeppelinfeld (in English: "Zeppelin Field") is located east of the Great Road. It consists of a large grandstand ("Zeppelinhaupttribüne") with a width of and a smaller stand. It was one of Albert Speer's first works for the Nazi party and was based upon the Pergamon Altar. Its square piers are inspired by the work of Franco-American architect Paul Philippe Cret. The grandstand is famous as the building that had the swastika blown from atop it in 1945, after Germany's fall in World War II. The name "Zeppelinfeld" or "Zeppelinwiese" refers to the fact that in August 1909 Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin landed with one of his airships (LZ6) in this location.


title: Nazi party rally grounds

text: From 1947 to 1995 the Nurnberg American High School, a DoDDS facility, used the field (called 'Soldiers Field') for high school football and American football practice. In 1967 the city authorities blew up the grandstand's double row of pillars, causing severe damage to the rest of the building. The remainder of the stand is intact and used as the centerpiece of the Norisring motor racing track. The German leg of the traveling heavy metal festival Monsters of Rock was held here twice during the 1980s. The field has also been used, and is still being used today, by the Nuremberg Rams American Football team. Another part of the grounds is home to a campground. After years of neglect the damage due to erosion and dampness was severe, made worse by the poor quality of the initial construction. In 2019 an 85 million euros plan to conserve what remained of the stadium and make it accessible to visitors was announced, with a target completion date of 2025.


title: Nazi party rally grounds

text: Along with his plans for the "Welthauptstadt Germania" ("world capital Germania"), Albert Speer made the plans for the world's largest stadium which was to be located on the rally grounds. Derived from the Panathenaic Stadium of Athens, it would have offered 400,000 seats in a horseshoe shape; planned dimensions: length: 800 m, width: 450 m, height: 100 m, building area 350,000 m².


title: Nazi party rally grounds

text: The foundation stone was laid on 9 July 1937. It was intended to be finished for the party congress in 1945. In 1938, the construction began with the excavation. It was stopped in 1939, but during the whole war, the casting pit had to be kept dry from entering groundwater. After the war, the northern half of the pit filled up with groundwater and is today called "Silbersee" (Silver Lake); the southern half was used to deposit debris from downtown Nuremberg.


title: Nazi party rally grounds

text: The Märzfeld (literally: March Field, relating to the Roman god of war, "Mars") was to be a representation and parade ground for the Wehrmacht. It was located at the southern end of the "Große Straße" (Great road). Its dimensions were or bigger than 80 football fields. The name of the huge deployment area was supposed to recall the recovery of military sovereignty of the German Reich in March 1935.


title: Nazi party rally grounds

text: The construction, never completed, began in 1938 with plans calling for 24 granite towers each about in height. Only eleven were ever completed and were demolished in 1966. Tribunes for about 160,000 people were planned around the field. On the central grandstand a group of colossal statues was planned: a goddess of victory and warriors.


title: Nazi party rally grounds

text: Today the site is occupied by a residential district, Langwasser, which also extends to the south, into the area previously used for tent cities during the party rallies.


title: Nazi party rally grounds

text: In the north-east of the rally grounds the "KdF-Stadt" (KdF-City) was built. In wooden exhibition halls regional products were presented and recreational events were accomplished during the party congresses. The NS-organisation KdF looked after workers during their free time.


title: Bamberg

text: Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian: "Bambärch") is a town in Upper Franconia, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main. The town dates back to the 9th century, when its name was derived from the nearby "" castle. Cited as one of Germany's most beautiful towns, with medieval streets and Europe's largest intact old city wall, the old town of Bamberg has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993.


title: Bamberg

text: From the 10th century onwards, Bamberg became a key link with the Slav peoples, notably those of Poland and Pomerania. It experienced a period of great prosperity from the 12th century onwards, during which time it was briefly the centre of the Holy Roman Empire. Emperor Henry II was also buried in the old town, alongside his wife Kunigunde. The town's architecture from this period strongly influenced that in Northern Germany and Hungary. From the middle of the 13th century onwards, the bishops were princes of the Empire and ruled Bamberg, overseeing the construction of monumental buildings. This growth was complemented by the obtaining of large portions of the estates of the Counts of Meran in 1248 and 1260 by the see, partly through purchase and partly through the appropriation of extinguished fiefs.


title: Bamberg

text: Bamberg lost its independence in 1802, following the secularization of church lands, becoming part of Bavaria in 1803. The town was first connected to the German rail system in 1844, which has been an important part of its infrastructure ever since. After a communist uprising took control over Bavaria in the years following World War I, the state government fled to Bamberg and stayed there for almost two years before the Bavarian capital of Munich was retaken by "Freikorps" units (see Bavarian Soviet Republic). The first republican constitution of Bavaria was passed in Bamberg, becoming known as the "Bamberger Verfassung" (Bamberg Constitution).


title: Bamberg

text: Following the Second World War, Bamberg was an important base for the Bavarian, German, and then American military stationed at Warner Barracks, until closing in 2014.


title: Bamberg

text: During the post-Roman centuries of Germanic migration and settlement, the region later included in the Diocese of Bamberg was inhabited for the most part by Slavs. The town, first mentioned in 902, grew up by the castle "" which gave its name to the Babenberg family. On their extinction, it passed to the Saxon house. The area was Christianized chiefly by the monks of the Benedictine Fulda Abbey, and the land was under the spiritual authority of the Diocese of Würzburg.


title: Bamberg

text: In 1007, Holy Roman Emperor Henry II made Bamberg a family inheritance, the seat of a separate diocese. The Emperor's purpose in this was to make the Diocese of Würzburg less unwieldy in size and to give Christianity a firmer footing in the districts of Franconia, east of Bamberg. In 1008, after long negotiations with the Bishops of Würzburg and Eichstätt, who were to cede portions of their dioceses, the boundaries of the new diocese were defined, and Pope John XVIII granted the papal confirmation in the same year. Henry II ordered the building of a new cathedral, which was consecrated 6 May 1012. The church was enriched with gifts from the pope, and Henry had it dedicated in honor of him. In 1017 Henry also founded Michaelsberg Abbey on the Michaelsberg ("Mount St. Michael"), near Bamberg, a Benedictine abbey for the training of the clergy. The emperor and his wife Kunigunde gave large temporal possessions to the new diocese, and it received many privileges out of which grew the secular power of the bishop. Pope Benedict VIII visited Bamberg in 1020 to meet Henry II for discussions concerning the Holy Roman Empire. While he was here he placed the diocese in direct dependence on the Holy See. He also personally consecrated some of Bamberg's churches. For a short time Bamberg was the centre of the Holy Roman Empire. Henry and Kunigunde were both buried in the cathedral.


title: Bamberg

text: From the middle of the 13th century onwards, the bishops were princes of the Empire and ruled Bamberg, overseeing the construction of monumental buildings. In 1248 and 1260 the see obtained large portions of the estates of the Counts of Meran, partly through purchase and partly through the appropriation of extinguished fiefs. The old Bishopric of Bamberg was composed of an unbroken territory extending from Schlüsselfeld in a northeasterly direction to the Franconian Forest, and possessed in addition estates in the Duchies of Carinthia and Salzburg, in the Nordgau (the present Upper Palatinate), in Thuringia, and on the Danube. By the changes resulting from the Reformation, the territory of this see was reduced nearly one half in extent. Since 1279 the coat of arms of the city of Bamberg is known in the form of a seal.


title: Bamberg

text: The witch trials of the 17th century claimed about one thousand victims in Bamberg, reaching a climax between 1626 and 1631, under the rule of Prince-Bishop Johann Georg II Fuchs von Dornheim. The famous "Drudenhaus" (witch prison), built in 1627, is no longer standing today; however, detailed accounts of some cases, such as that of Johannes Junius, remain.


title: Bamberg

text: Bambrzy (") are German Poles who are descended from settlers from the Bamberg area who settled in villages around Poznań in the years 1719–1753.


title: Bamberg

text: In 1759, the possessions and jurisdictions of the diocese situated in Austria were sold to that state. When the secularization of church lands took place (1802) the diocese covered and had a population of 207,000. Bamberg thus lost its independence in 1802, becoming part of Bavaria in 1803.


title: Bamberg

text: Bamberg was first connected to the German rail system in 1844, which has been an important part of its infrastructure ever since. After a communist uprising took control over Bavaria in the years following World War I, the state government fled to Bamberg and stayed there for almost two years before the Bavarian capital of Munich was retaken by "Freikorps" units (see Bavarian Soviet Republic). The first republican constitution of Bavaria was passed in Bamberg, becoming known as the "Bamberger Verfassung" (Bamberg Constitution).


title: Bamberg

text: In February 1926 Bamberg served as the venue for the Bamberg Conference, convened by Adolf Hitler in his attempt to foster unity and to stifle dissent within the then-young Nazi party. Bamberg was chosen for its location in Upper Franconia, reasonably close to the residences of the members of the dissident northern Nazi faction but still within Bavaria.


title: Bamberg

text: Bamberg is located in Franconia, north of Nuremberg by railway and east of Würzburg, also by rail. It is situated on the Regnitz river, before it flows into the Main river.


title: Bamberg

text: Its geography is shaped by the Regnitz and by the foothills of the Steigerwald, part of the German uplands. From northeast to southwest, the town is divided into first the Regnitz plain, then one large and several small islands formed by two arms of the Regnitz ('), and finally the part of town on the hills, the "Hill Town" (').


title: Bamberg

text: Bamberg extends over seven hills, each crowned by a church. This has led to Bamberg being called the "Franconian Rome" — although a running joke among Bamberg's tour guides is to refer to Rome instead as the "Italian Bamberg". The hills are Cathedral Hill, Michaelsberg, Kaulberg/Obere Pfarre, Stefansberg, Jakobsberg, Altenburger Hill and Abtsberg.


title: Bamberg

text: Climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year-round. The Köppen climate classification subtype for this climate is "" (Marine West Coast Climate/Oceanic climate), with a certain continental influence as indicated by average winter nighttime temperatures well below zero.


title: Bamberg

text: In 2013 (latest data available) the GDP per inhabitant was €56,723. This places the district 10th out of 96 districts (rural and urban) in Bavaria (overall average: €39,691).


title: Bamberg

text: The Town of Bamberg was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1993 due to its medieval layout and its well preserved historic buildings. Since the Middle Ages, urban gardening has been practiced in Bamberg. The Market Gardeners’ District together with the City on the Hills and the Island District is an integral part of the World Heritage site. In 2005, the Municipality established a unit to coordinate the implementation of the World Heritage Convention in Bamberg. In 2019, a visitor and interpretation centre opened for the World Heritage site.


title: Bamberg

text: Bamberg Cathedral is a late Romanesque building with four towers. It was founded in 1004 by Emperor Henry II, finished in 1012 and consecrated on 6 May 1012. It was later partially destroyed by fire in 1081. The new cathedral, built by Saint Otto of Bamberg, was consecrated in 1111 and in the 13th century received its present late-Romanesque form.


title: Bamberg

text: The cathedral is long, wide, high, and the four towers are each about high. It contains many historic works of art, such as the marble tomb of the founder and his wife, considered one of the greatest works of the sculptor Tilman Riemenschneider, and carved between 1499 and 1513. Another treasure of the cathedral is an equestrian statue known as the Bamberg Horseman ("). This statue, possibly depicting the emperor Conrad III, most likely dates to the second quarter of the 13th century. The statue also serves as a symbol of the town of Bamberg.


title: Bamberg

text: The ' (New Residence) (1698–1704) was initially occupied by the prince-bishops, and from 1864 to 1867 by the deposed King Otto of Greece. Its ' (Rose Garden) overlooks the town. It has over 4500 roses.


title: Bamberg

text: The is located on the highest of Bamberg's seven hills. It was mentioned for the first time in 1109. Between 1251 and 1553 it was the residence of Bamberg's bishops. Destroyed in 1553 by Albert Alcibiades, Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach, it was used after scant repairs only as a prison, and increasingly fell into decay.


title: Bamberg

text: In 1801, A. F. Marcus bought the castle and completely repaired it. His friend, the famous German writer E.T.A. Hoffmann, who was very impressed by the building, lived there for a while. The next owner, Anton von Greifenstein, in 1818 founded an association to preserve the castle. This society still maintains the entire property today. The Altenburg today houses a restaurant.


title: Bamberg

text: Other churches are the ', an 11th-century Romanesque basilica; the '; the ' or ' (1320–1387), which has now been restored to its original pure Gothic style. The ', 12th century Romanesque (restored), on the Michaelsberg, was formerly the church of the Benedictine Michaelsberg Abbey secularized in 1803 and now contains the ', or almshouse, and the museum and municipal art collections.


title: Bamberg

text: Of the bridges connecting the sections of the lower town the ' was completed in 1455. Halfway across this, on an island, is the ' or town hall (rebuilt 1744–1756). The lyceum, formerly a Jesuit college, contains a natural history museum. The old palace (") was built in 1591 on the site of an old residence of the counts of Babenberg. Monuments include the Maximilian fountain (1880), with statues of King Maximilian I of Bavaria, the emperor Henry II and his wife, Conrad III and Saint Otto, bishop of Bamberg.


title: Bamberg

text: There are also tunnels beneath the town. These were originally constructed as mines which supplied sandstone which could be used for construction or as an abrasive cleaner. Mining came to an end in 1920 but a tunnel network remained. The tunnels were used as an air raid shelter during World War II. A part of the network can be visited on a guided tour.


title: Bamberg

text: Bamberg is known for its smoked Rauchbier and is home to 11 breweries, including , , Brauerei Heller-Trum (Schlenkerla), Brauerei Kaiserdom, , Klosterbräu, , , Gasthausbrauerei Ambräusianum, Kron Prinz, and Weyermann Röstmalzbierbrauerei. Weyermann Specialty Malting, founded in Bamberg in 1879, supplies breweries around the world. Every August there is a five-day "", a kirmess celebrated with beers. The Franconia region surrounding Bamberg is home to more than 200 breweries. In October and early November many of the 70 breweries in and around Bamberg celebrate Bockbieranstiche with special releases of Bock beer.


title: Bamberg

text: The University of Bamberg, named Otto-Friedrich University, offers higher education in the areas of social science, business studies and the humanities, and is attended by more than 12,000 students. The University of Applied Sciences Bamberg offers higher education in the areas of public health. Bamberg is also home to eight secondary schools (gymnasiums):


title: Bamberg

text: There are also numerous other institutes for primary, secondary, technical, vocational and adult education.


title: Bamberg

text: The InterCityExpress main line No. 28 (Munich – Nuremberg – Leipzig – Berlin / – Hamburg) and the main line No. 18 (Munich – Nuremberg – Halle – Berlin / – Hamburg) run on the Nuremberg–Bamberg and the Bamberg–Hof lines through the Bamberg station. It takes less than two hours to Munich on the train and with the Nuremberg–Erfurt high-speed railway through the Thuringian mountains finished in 2017 less than three hours to Berlin. Two intercity trains of line no. 17 (Vienna – Warnemünde) and line no. 61 (Leipzig – Nuremberg – Karlsruhe) also run through Bamberg.


title: Bamberg

text: East-west connections are poorer. Bamberg is connected to other towns in eastern Upper Franconia such as Bayreuth, Coburg, and Kronach via the Bamberg–Hof line with trains usually running at least every hour. Connections on the Würzburg–Bamberg line to the west are hourly regional trains to Würzburg, which is fully connected to the ICE network. Tourists arriving at Frankfurt International Airport can take advantage of the new direct connection from Frankfurt's main station.


title: Bamberg

text: Bamberg is not near any of the major (i.e. single-digit) autobahns. But it is nevertheless well connected to the network in all directions: the A70 from Schweinfurt (connecting to the A7 there) to Bayreuth (connecting to the A9) runs along the northern edge of the town. The A73 on the eastern side of town connects Bamberg to Nuremberg (connecting to the A9) and Thuringia, ending at Suhl.


title: Bamberg

text: Bamberg is served by . Mostly public aircraft operate there. It used to be a military airport. (IATA-Code: ZCD, ICAO-Code: EDQA) It is also possible to charter public flights to and from this airport.


title: Bamberg

text: Most international tourists who travel by plane arrive at Frankfurt International Airport or Munich Airport. The nearest major airport is Nuremberg Airport which can be reached within 45mins by car or one hour by train and subway.


title: Bamberg

text: Both the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal and its predecessor, the Ludwig Canal, begin near Bamberg. The Ludwig Canal was opened in 1846 but closed in 1950 after damage during the second world war. With the completion of the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal in 1992, uninterrupted water transport was again made possible between the North Sea and the Black Sea.


title: Bamberg

text: Local public transport within Bamberg relies exclusively on buses. More than 20 routes connect the outlying quarters and some villages in the vicinity to the central bus station. In addition, there are several "Night Lines" (the last of these, though, tend to run around midnight) and some park-and-ride lines from parking lots on the periphery to the town centre.


title: Bamberg

text: Bamberg was an important base for the Bavarian, German, and then American military stationed at Warner Barracks. Warner Barracks was closed in the fall of 2014, with the last battalion leaving being the 54th Engineer Battalion, and the grounds returned to the German government. In 2016, a large part of the facility was taken over by the German Federal Police for training purposes. Muna Kasserne was a small base occupied by the 504th Maintenance Company, 71st Maintenance Bn. It was part of Warner Barracks although located separately.


title: Bamberg

text: Bamberg is an urban district, or "kreisfreie Stadt". Its town council ("Stadtrat") and its mayor ("Oberbürgermeister") are elected every six years, though not in the same year. Thus, the last municipal election for the town council was in 2014, for the mayor in 2012. As an exception to the six-year term, the term starting in 2012 will take eight years to synchronize the elections with those in the rest of Bavaria.


title: Bamberg

text: As of the elections of 16 March 2014, the 44 member strong town council comprises 12 CSU councillors, 10 SPD councillors, 8 Green councillors, 4 councillors of the "Bamberger Bürger-Block" and 4 of the "Freie Wähler" (Free Voters), both local political movements. These five parties achieved the number of councillors necessary to form a parliamentary group. In addition, there are 3 councillors of the "Bamberger Unabhängige Bürger" and the 1 councillor each of the "Bamberger Realisten", the FDP and the "Bamberger Linke Liste".


title: Bamberg

text: The previous council, elected on 2 March 2008, was composed of 15 CSU councillors, 10 SPD councillors, 7 Green councillors, 5 councillors of the Bamberger Bürger-Block and 3 of the Freie Wähler (Free Voters), both local political movements. These five parties achieved the number of councillors necessary to form a parliamentary group. In addition, there were 2 councillors of the "Bamberger Realisten" and one of the FDP and the Republikaner, making them ineligible for caucus status.


title: Anastasio Somoza Debayle

text: Anastasio "Tachito" Somoza Debayle (; 5 December 1925 – 17 September 1980) was the President of Nicaragua from 1 May 1967 to 1 May 1972 and from 1 December 1974 to 17 July 1979. As head of the National Guard, he was "de facto" ruler of the country between 1972 and 1974, even during the period when he was not the "de jure" ruler.


title: Anastasio Somoza Debayle

text: Somoza Debayle succeeded his older brother in office. He was the last member of the Somoza family to be president, ending a dynasty that had been in power since 1937. After insurgents led by the Sandinista National Liberation Front (; FSLN) were closing in on Managua in July 1979, Somoza fled Nicaragua. Power was ceded to the Junta of National Reconstruction. He was assassinated in 1980 while in exile in Paraguay.


title: Anastasio Somoza Debayle

text: As is customary in most Spanish-speaking countries, he was given both his parents' last names, Somoza being his father's last name and Debayle being his mother's last name. Debayle was of French origin.


title: Anastasio Somoza Debayle

text: Anastasio Somoza Debayle, nicknamed "Tachito" (Spanish: "Little Tacho") by his father, was born in 1925 as the third child of Anastasio Somoza García and Salvadora Debayle. At the age of seven, he was enrolled at the Instituto Pedagógico La Salle, run by the Christian Brothers. One of his classmates was Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal, who later became a journalist and publisher of "La Prensa" newspaper and one of the most prominent opponents of the Somoza dynasty.


title: Anastasio Somoza Debayle

text: From the age of ten, Tachito was educated in the United States. He and older brother Luis Somoza Debayle, both attended St. Leo College Prep (Florida) and La Salle Military Academy (Long Island). During this period their father became president of Nicaragua, and served from 1937 to 1947, and again from 1950 into 1956.


title: Anastasio Somoza Debayle

text: Somoza Debayle passed the examination for West Point, entered the United States Military Academy on July 3, 1943, and graduated on June 6, 1946.


title: Anastasio Somoza Debayle

text: After his return to Nicaragua, Somoza Debayle was appointed chief of staff of the National Guard (Nicaragua's national army), by his father. The president had also appointed numerous family members and close personal friends to other important posts in his government. As commander of the Guard, the young Somoza was head of the nation's armed forces, effectively the second-most powerful man in Nicaragua.


title: Anastasio Somoza Debayle

text: Two years after his return from West Point, Somoza Debayle had an affair and fathered a daughter, Patricia. She was later sent to a series of schools abroad.


title: Anastasio Somoza Debayle

text: On 10 December 1950, Somoza married Hope Portocarrero, an American citizen and his first cousin. Their wedding was held at the Cathedral in Managua and officiated by Archbishop Jose Antonio Lezcano. Over 4,000 guests attended the ceremony. The reception was given by Somoza's father, President Anastasio Somoza García, in the luxurious and modern Palacio de Comunicaciones.


title: Anastasio Somoza Debayle

text: Following their father's assassination on 21 September 1956, Somoza's elder brother, Luis, took over the presidency. Anastasio also had a large hand in the government during this time; he helped ensure that the presidency was held by politicians loyal to his family from 1963 to 1967.


title: Anastasio Somoza Debayle

text: Anastasio was elected president in his own right on 5 February 1967 and took office on 1 May, a few weeks after his brother's death. While Luis had ruled more gently than his father, Anastasio shared his father’s cold intolerance of dissent. His rule soon resembled his father’s in all significant respects, with harsh repression of dissent.


title: Anastasio Somoza Debayle

text: With regard to educating the workforce, Somoza replied, "I don't want an educated population; I want oxen."


title: Anastasio Somoza Debayle

text: He was due to leave office in May 1972; at the time, Nicaraguan presidents were barred from immediate re-election. However, prior to that, Somoza worked out an agreement that allowed him to stand for re-election in 1974. He would be replaced as president by a three-man junta consisting of two members of his Nationalist Liberal Party and one member from the opposition Conservative while he retained control of the National Guard. Somoza and his triumvirate drew up a new constitution that was ratified by the triumvirate and the cabinet on April 3, 1971. He stepped down as president on May 1, 1972. However, as head of the National Guard, he remained the "de facto" ruler of the country.


title: Anastasio Somoza Debayle

text: Anastasio Somoza and his son were both part owners of Plasmaferesis. The company collected blood plasma from up to 1,000 of Nicaragua's poorest persons every day for sale in the United States and Europe. According to "El Diario Nuevo" and "La Prensa", “Every morning the homeless, drunks, and poor people went to sell half a liter of blood for 35 (Nicaraguan) cordobas.


title: Anastasio Somoza Debayle

text: On 23 December 1972, an earthquake struck the nation's capital, Managua, killing about 5,000 people and virtually destroying the city. The government declared martial law, and Somoza took over "de jure" as well as "de facto" control of the country as head of the National Emergency Committee. He reportedly embezzled a large amount of money from funds sent to Nicaragua from around the world to help rebuild Managua. Some parts of Managua have yet to be rebuilt or restored, including the National Cathedral.


title: Anastasio Somoza Debayle

text: Somoza also allegedly exported freshly imported emergency blood plasma abroad at the time of the earthquake, when most medical supplies in Nicaragua were desperately in short supply.


title: Anastasio Somoza Debayle

text: Somoza was re-elected president in the 1974 election. By this time, the Catholic Church had begun to speak out against his government (one of his fiercest critics was Ernesto Cardenal, a leftist Nicaraguan priest who preached liberation theology and was later appointed as the Sandinista government's Minister of Culture). By the late 1970s, human rights groups were condemning the record of the Somoza government. Support for the Sandinistas was growing inside and outside the country.


title: Anastasio Somoza Debayle

text: During the Somoza era, GDP growth rates were high (GDP doubled from 1965 to 1975), but the distribution of wealth was very unequal. The Somoza clan controlled 60% of the economic activities of the country. The social spending was low and also distributed in an unequal manner. In late 1970s, 65% of school-age children got enrolled in school and 22% completed six years of primary education. Three quarters of the rural population could not read and write. From 1965 to 1975 the number of children under 5 who were suffering from malnutrition, doubled.


title: Anastasio Somoza Debayle

text: In 1975 Somoza Debayle launched a campaign to crush the Sandinistas; individuals suspected of supporting the Front were targeted. The Front, named after Augusto César Sandino (a Nicaraguan rebel leader in the 1920s), began its guerrilla war against the Somozas in 1963. It received funds from the Soviet Union and Cuba under Fidel Castro. Support for the Sandinistas ballooned after the earthquake, especially when U.S President Jimmy Carter withdrew American support for the regime for human rights reasons, including the televised murder of American journalist Bill Stewart by government soldiers.


title: Anastasio Somoza Debayle

text: At this point, the opposition to the Somozas included not only Sandinistas, but other prominent figures such as publisher Pedro Chamorro (assassinated on January 10, 1978). Israel was the last nation to supply weapons to the Somoza regime. During the 1947–1949 Palestine war when Israel struggled to become independent, Somoza's father provided substantial financial support for the new nation. President Carter forced the Israeli government to call back a ship carrying weapons vital to the survival of the Somoza regime.


title: Anastasio Somoza Debayle

text: Because of Somoza's status, most of his family members were forced to flee into Honduras, Guatemala, and the United States. It is uncertain where the surviving Somozas live; they changed their names to protect their own lives.


title: Anastasio Somoza Debayle

text: On July 17, 1979, Somoza resigned from the presidency and fled to Miami in a converted Curtiss C-46. He took with him the caskets of his father and brother and, it is claimed, much of Nicaragua's national treasure.


title: Anastasio Somoza Debayle

text: The country was left with $1.6 billion in foreign debt, the highest in Central America. After Somoza had fled, the Sandinistas found less than $2 million in the national treasury.


title: Anastasio Somoza Debayle

text: Denied asylum in the U.S. by President Carter, Somoza later took refuge in Paraguay, then under the rule of Alfredo Stroessner. He bought a ranch and a gated house at Avenida España no. 433 in Asunción, the capital. The president of the Chamber of Deputies, Francisco Urcuyo, took over as acting president, but lasted only a day before peacefully handing Managua to the Sandinistas.


title: Anastasio Somoza Debayle

text: Little more than a year later, Somoza was assassinated in Asunción on September 17, 1980. He was 54 years old. He was ambushed by a seven-strong Sandinista commando team (four men and three women). The action was known as "Operation Reptile".


title: Anastasio Somoza Debayle

text: The Sandinista team were armed with two Soviet-made machine guns, two AK-47 assault rifles, two automatic pistols, and an RPG-7 rocket launcher, with four anti-tank grenades and two rockets. The leader was Argentinian Marxist revolutionary Enrique Gorriarán Merlo (code named "Ramon"), an ex-Ejército Revolucionario del Pueblo member. One of the team members said: "We cannot tolerate the existence of millionaire playboys while thousands of Latin Americans are dying of hunger. We are perfectly willing to give up our lives for this cause."


title: Anastasio Somoza Debayle

text: The Sandinista team had researched and planned their assault over a time period of more than six months. The team studied Somoza's movements via a team member who was staked out at a newspaper kiosk near the estate. The commando team also utilized disinformation tactics to gain access into important residencies under the guise of a famous name, that being Julio Iglesias'. They waited in ambush for Somoza in Avenida España. Somoza was often driven about the city in a sedan, which was believed to be unarmored. Team member Oswaldo, disguised as a paper boy, watched Somoza exit the estate and signaled when he was leaving at 10:10 A.M.


title: Anastasio Somoza Debayle

text: Once in position, Hugo Irurzún ("Capitán Santiago") readied the RPG-7. He tried to fire an anti-tank rocket at the car, but the RPG-7 misfired. Ramon shot the chauffeur while Irurzún quickly reloaded the RPG with a new rocket. The second rocket directly hit the sedan. Accounts said that the Mercedes' engine kept running after the rocket explosion. Previously, the commando team had considered the possibility that Somoza's vehicle might be equipped with armor panels in front. Worried that it could deflect the rocket projectile, they chose to make a lateral attack on the vehicle. Somoza was killed instantly and burned, along with his new driver, César Gallardo, and Somoza's financial advisor, Colombian citizen Jou Baittiner. Later media reports in Paraguay said that Somoza's body was so unrecognizable that forensics had to identify him through his feet.


title: Anastasio Somoza Debayle

text: Of the seven assassins, six escaped. Iruzun was killed in a shootout with Paraguayan police the day after the assassination.


title: Anastasio Somoza Debayle

text: Somoza was buried in Miami, at Woodlawn Park Cemetery and Mausoleum. (His father, Somoza Garcia, was buried in Nicaragua.) A few months before Somoza's murder, his memoirs, "Nicaragua Betrayed", were published. He blamed the Carter administration for his downfall. His son, Anastasio Somoza Portocarrero, went into exile in Guatemala.


title: Anastasio Somoza Debayle

text: Brian Latell, a former US National Intelligence Officer for Latin America and Cuba, argues in his book, "After Fidel", that the plan to assassinate Somoza was devised in Havana, with direct input from Fidel Castro. According to him, the Sandinistas had won power in July 1979 with the assistance of massive, covert Cuban military aid. Fidel and his brother Raúl Castro purportedly developed a complex, multinational covert action to provide the Sandinistas with huge quantities of modern armaments. Latell claims Cuban intelligence and paramilitary advisors poured into Nicaragua along with the equipment. He says the evidence indicated that Somoza's assassination was similar to other such operations in which Cuban intelligence had been involved. He says that Somoza was a long-time nemesis of Castro after having provided critical support to the U.S. in preparing for the Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba in April 1961. Jorge Masetti, a former Argentine guerrilla working with Cuban intelligence services, describes the Somoza assassination and also asserts that Cuba had a direct role in planning it in his memoir, "In the Pirate's Den" (2002).


title: Anastasio Somoza Debayle

text: Somoza's funeral attracted numerous wealthy Nicaraguan and Cuban exiles in South Florida, who protested the left-wing governments of Nicaragua, led by the Sandinista National Liberation Front, and Cuba, led by the Communist Party of Cuba. But some commentators noted that the exiles in Miami were also relieved at Somoza's death. The newly founded Contra army, which consisted of many ex-members of Somoza's National Guard, would have had to give the impression of having no relation to the old Somoza regime, for purposes of public relations and world opinion.


title: Anastasio Somoza Debayle

text: In 1979, the Brazilian newspaper "Gazeta Mercantil" estimated that the Somoza family's fortune amounted to between $2 billion and $4 billion with its head, Anastasio Somoza Debayle, owning $1 billion. At the time he fled the country, he reportedly personally controlled 22 percent of the agricultural land of Nicaragua.


title: Anastasio Somoza Debayle

text: Somoza was the subject of the 1983 film "Last Plane Out", in which he was portrayed by actor Lloyd Battista. The film chronicles journalist Jack Cox's journey to Nicaragua, when Somoza was battling insurgents. The same year, he was depicted in "Under Fire", set during the 1979 Nicaraguan Revolution, this time portrayed by actor René Enriquez. In Warren Beatty's "Rules Don't Apply", Somoza is portrayed by Julio Oscar Mechoso. In Graham Greene's novel "The Captain and the Enemy", the titular character's final act is a failed attempt at assassinating Somoza by crashing a plane into his bunker, though Somoza himself never appears in the book.


title: Melissa Manchester

text: Melissa Manchester (born February 15, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Since the 1970s, her songs have been carried by adult contemporary radio stations. She has also appeared on television, in films, and on stage.


title: Melissa Manchester

text: Manchester was born in the Bronx, a borough of New York City, into a musical family. Her father, David Manchester, was a bassoonist for the New York Metropolitan Opera for three decades. Her mother was one of the first women to design and found her own clothing firm, Ruth Manchester Ltd. The Manchesters are of Jewish origin.


title: Melissa Manchester

text: Manchester started a singing career at an early age. She learned the piano and harpsichord at the Manhattan School of Music, began singing commercial jingles at age 15, and became a staff writer at age 17 for Chappell Music while attending Manhattan's High School of Performing Arts.


title: Melissa Manchester

text: She studied songwriting at New York University with Paul Simon when she was 19. Manchester played the Manhattan club scene, where Barry Manilow, a friend and fellow jingles singer introduced her to Bette Midler. In 1971, she became a member of the Harlettes, the back-up singers for Midler, which she co-created with Manilow.


title: Melissa Manchester

text: Manchester made a brief speaking appearance as "Yoko Ono" on the 1972 album "National Lampoon Radio Dinner", on the track titled "Magical Misery Tour", and as the singer in "Deteriorata".


title: Melissa Manchester

text: Manchester's debut album, "Home to Myself", was released in 1973; Manchester co-wrote many of its songs with Carole Bayer Sager. Two years later, her album "Melissa" produced her first top-ten hit, "Midnight Blue", which enjoyed 17 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. The song's peak position was #6 for the week of August 9, 1975.


title: Melissa Manchester

text: In 1974, she performed the songs "O Heaven" and "Home to Myself" on the pilot episode of "Ms." magazine's television show, "Woman Alive!", a feminist program. She performed the song live on Burt Sugarman's television series "Midnight Special" in 1974.


title: Melissa Manchester

text: In 1976, Manchester released 'Come in From the Rain' on her 1976 "Better Days & Happy Endings" album. It has since been covered by several other artists including The Captain & Tennille, Rosemary Clooney, Vic Damone, Eydie Gorme, Shirley Horn, Cleo Laine, Peggy Lee, Carmen McRae, Jane Olivor, Barbara Cook, Mel Torme, and Diana Ross.


title: Melissa Manchester

text: Manchester appeared with Richie Havens, Melanie, and Frankie Valli as a contributor and performer in the 1977 NBC special documentary "How the Beatles Changed the World". Manchester collaborated with Kenny Loggins to co-write Loggins' 1978 hit duet with Stevie Nicks, "Whenever I Call You 'Friend. She would later record this for her 1979 Melissa Manchester album. She guest-starred on the CBS-TV daytime soap opera "Search for Tomorrow" to teach a main character (played by Michael Nouri), who played a singer-songwriter, the essentials of the craft. In 1979, Manchester reached #10 with her version of Peter Allen's "Don't Cry Out Loud", for which she received a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Female Vocal Performance.


title: Melissa Manchester

text: In 1979, she performed two nominated songs on the Academy Awards show: "I'll Never Say Goodbye" (from "The Promise") and "Through the Eyes of Love" (theme song from "Ice Castles"). The winning song that year was "It Goes Like It Goes", from "Norma Rae".


title: Melissa Manchester

text: In 1982, she released the smash "You Should Hear How She Talks About You", which won the 1983 Grammy for Best Pop Female Vocal Performance, beating out Linda Ronstadt, Olivia Newton-John, Juice Newton, and Laura Branigan. The song itself reached #4 in "Cash Box" and #5 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart as well as #10 Adult Contemporary.


title: Melissa Manchester

text: Manchester continued to place singles on the Adult Contemporary charts throughout the 1980s. Another top-ten entry on the AC chart was a 1989 updating of Dionne Warwick's "Walk on By". The single was pulled from her Mika/Polygram album "Tribute", which honored some of the singers that influenced her style. In 1992 she sang the title song for the animated musical "", written by the Sherman Brothers and accompanied by the London Symphony Orchestra.


title: Melissa Manchester

text: She appeared as herself during a two-day guest appearance on the ABC-TV daytime drama "General Hospital" to sing the song for Robin Scorpio and her AIDS-afflicted boyfriend Stone Cates.


title: Melissa Manchester

text: Throughout the 1980s and 1990s Manchester alternated recording with acting, appearing with Bette Midler in the film "For the Boys", on the television series "Blossom", and co-writing (with bookwriter-lyricist Jeffrey Sweet) and starring in the musical "I Sent a Letter to My Love" based on the Bernice Rubens novel of the same name. In 1990, Manchester could be heard performing "I Wish I Knew", played over the opening credits of the CBS television drama "The Trials of Rosie O'Neill". In addition, she opened Game 6 of the 1991 World Series singing the U.S. National Anthem.


title: Melissa Manchester

text: In 2004, Manchester returned with her first album in nine years, "When I Look Down That Road". While touring to support the album, she was praised for her still "powerful voice" and for "reinventing [herself] while staying true to what made [her] popular."


title: Melissa Manchester

text: In April 2007, she returned to theater, starring in the Chicago production of "HATS! The Musical", a show to which she and Sharon Vaughn contributed two songs. Also in 2007, she recorded a duet cover with Barry Manilow of the Carole King classic "You've Got a Friend" on Manilow's "The Greatest Songs of the Seventies". In 2008, Manchester released a new single, "The Power of Ribbons", to digital retailers. Proceeds from othe single benefit breast cancer research.


title: Melissa Manchester

text: In 2011 an independent film named "Dirty Girl" was released with many of Manchester's songs used throughout the film, five of which made it onto the soundtrack. Manchester made a non-speaking cameo appearance as the pianist who accompanies the lead character's rendition of "Don't Cry Out Loud".


title: Melissa Manchester

text: In 2013, Manchester announced that she was recording her 20th studio album, "You Gotta Love the Life", her first since "When I Look Down That Road". She subsequently launched an Indiegogo campaign to raise funds to independently release the album.


title: Melissa Manchester

text: In an interview with NPR, Manchester talks about the crowd-funding experience and relays the back-story behind the single, "Feelin' for You". A drunk in a juke joint approached Manchester and asked if she was married, to which she replied, "Yes, very happily." The drunk replied, "Too bad, cause I got a feelin' for you." "Feelin' for You", written by Manchester and Sara Niemietz, includes a solo by Keb' Mo'. The single was released on January 9, 2015, and premiered at #2 on the Smooth jazz charts. "You Gotta Love the Life" was released on February 10, 2015, and hit #17 on the "Billboard" Jazz Albums chart for the week of February 28, 2015.


title: Melissa Manchester

text: A second single, "Big Light", featuring a duet with Al Jarreau, along with an accompanying music video, was released for radio on June 15, 2015.


title: Melissa Manchester

text: In 2017, more than 25 years after Melissa released ‘’Tribute’’, her 1989 album honoring the female singers who influenced her, she released ’’The Fellas’’, with covers of male influences including Tony Bennett, Dean Martin, Johnny Mathis, Frank Sinatra and Mel Torme. This was Manchester's second independently produced studio album, which featured accompaniment by the Blue Note Orchestra from Citrus College in Glendora, CA, where she is artist-in-residence. There was only one duet on the album, 'For Me and My Gal', performed with Barry Manilow.


title: Melissa Manchester

text: During the pandemic of 2020, Melissa kept busy working on her 24th album, RE:VIEW, a re-envisioned and reworked compilation of several of her previous hits. She released just one song per month with its accompanying video, which addressed the political and social climates of the time. The complete album was planned for a Fall 2021 release via CD and streaming services.


title: Melissa Manchester

text: In 2021, she returned to playing club dates, though mainly telling stories and singing just a few songs of her catalog. During one such performance in which she shared the stage with Michael Feinstein, Melissa was surprised by Feinstein and Songbook Foundation Executive Director Christopher Lewis with the Songbook Hall of Fame's New Standard Award. While presenting her with the award, Feinstein said, "Among the awards we present each year is the New Standard Award, which is presented to a songwriter or performer who continues to write and perform music that will stand the test of time and become the pop standards of tomorrow. I can't think of anyone who fits that description more than Melissa Manchester. Her music has touched the lives of so many people over the years. Her songs – many of which we heard tonight – have become standards and are part of the fabric of our lives."


title: Melissa Manchester

text: Manchester appeared on the "Blossom" television series as Maddy Russo, from 1993 to 1995. She played Corrine in the feature film "For the Boys" (1991) and the piano teacher in "Dirty Girl" (2010). In addition to live performances as herself, Manchester composes and performs songs and has done character voice in animated works.


title: Allotropy

text: Allotropy or allotropism () is the property of some chemical elements to exist in two or more different forms, in the same physical state, known as allotropes of the elements. Allotropes are different structural modifications of an element: the atoms of the element are bonded together in a different manner.


title: Allotropy

text: For example, the allotropes of carbon include diamond (the carbon atoms are bonded together to form a cubic lattice of tetrahedra), graphite (the carbon atoms are bonded together in sheets of a hexagonal lattice), graphene (single sheets of graphite), and fullerenes (the carbon atoms are bonded together in spherical, tubular, or ellipsoidal formations).


title: Allotropy

text: The term "allotropy" is used for elements only, not for compounds. The more general term, used for any compound, is polymorphism, although its use is usually restricted to solid materials such as crystals. Allotropy refers only to different forms of an element within the same physical phase (the state of matter, such as a solid, liquid or gas). The differences between these states of matter would not alone constitute examples of allotropy. Allotropes of chemical elements are frequently referred to as "polymorphs" or as "phases" of the element.


title: Allotropy

text: For some elements, allotropes have different molecular formulae or different crystalline structures, as well as a difference in physical phase; for example, two allotropes of oxygen (dioxygen, O, and ozone, O) can both exist in the solid, liquid and gaseous states. Other elements do not maintain distinct allotropes in different physical phases; for example, phosphorus has numerous solid allotropes, which all revert to the same P form when melted to the liquid state.


title: Allotropy

text: The concept of allotropy was originally proposed in 1840 by the Swedish scientist Baron Jöns Jakob Berzelius (1779–1848). The term is derived . After the acceptance of Avogadro's hypothesis in 1860, it was understood that elements could exist as polyatomic molecules, and two allotropes of oxygen were recognized as O and O. In the early 20th century, it was recognized that other cases such as carbon were due to differences in crystal structure.


title: Allotropy

text: By 1912, Ostwald noted that the allotropy of elements is just a special case of the phenomenon of polymorphism known for compounds, and proposed that the terms allotrope and allotropy be abandoned and replaced by polymorph and polymorphism. Although many other chemists have repeated this advice, IUPAC and most chemistry texts still favour the usage of allotrope and allotropy for elements only.


title: Allotropy

text: Allotropes are different structural forms of the same element and can exhibit quite different physical properties and chemical behaviours. The change between allotropic forms is triggered by the same forces that affect other structures, i.e., pressure, light, and temperature. Therefore, the stability of the particular allotropes depends on particular conditions. For instance, iron changes from a body-centered cubic structure (ferrite) to a face-centered cubic structure (austenite) above 906 °C, and tin undergoes a modification known as tin pest from a metallic form to a semiconductor form below 13.2 °C (55.8 °F). As an example of allotropes having different chemical behaviour, ozone (O) is a much stronger oxidizing agent than dioxygen (O).


title: Allotropy

text: Typically, elements capable of variable coordination number and/or oxidation states tend to exhibit greater numbers of allotropic forms. Another contributing factor is the ability of an element to catenate.


title: Allotropy

text: Among the metallic elements that occur in nature in significant quantities (56 up to U, without Tc and Pm), almost half (27) are allotropic at ambient pressure: Li, Be, Na, Ca, Ti, Mn, Fe, Co, Sr, Y, Zr, Sn, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Gd, Tb, Dy, Yb, Hf, Tl, Th, Pa and U. Some phase transitions between allotropic forms of technologically relevant metals are those of Ti at 882 °C, Fe at 912 °C and 1394 °C, Co at 422 °C, Zr at 863 °C, Sn at 13 °C and U at 668 °C and 776 °C.


title: Allotropy

text: In 2017, the concept of nanoallotropy was proposed by Prof. Rafal Klajn of the Organic Chemistry Department of the Weizmann Institute of Science. Nanoallotropes, or allotropes of nanomaterials, are nanoporous materials that have the same chemical composition (e.g., Au), but differ in their architecture at the nanoscale (that is, on a scale 10 to 100 times the dimensions of individual atoms). Such nanoallotropes may help create ultra-small electronic devices and find other industrial applications. The different nanoscale architectures translate into different properties, as was demonstrated for surface-enhanced Raman scattering performed on several different nanoallotropes of gold. A two-step method for generating nanoallotropes was also created.


title: Filtration

text: Filtration is a physical separation process that separates solid matter and fluid from a mixture using a "filter medium" that has a complex structure through which only the fluid can pass. Solid particles that cannot pass through the filter medium are described as "oversize" and the fluid that passes through is called the "filtrate". Oversize particles may form a filter cake on top of the filter and may also block the filter lattice, preventing the fluid phase from crossing the filter, known as "blinding". The size of the largest particles that can successfully pass through a filter is called the effective "pore size" of that filter. The separation of solid and fluid is imperfect; solids will be contaminated with some fluid and filtrate will contain fine particles (depending on the pore size, filter thickness and biological activity). Filtration occurs both in nature and in engineered systems; there are biological, geological, and industrial forms.


title: Filtration

text: Filtration is also used to describe biological and physical systems that not only separate solids from a fluid stream, but also remove chemical species and biological organisms by entrainment, phagocytosis, adsorption and absorption. Examples include slow sand filters and trickling filters. It is also used a general term for microphagy in which organisms use a variety of means to filter small food particles from their environment. Examples range from the microscopic "Vorticella" up to the Basking shark, one of the largest fishes, and the baleen whales, all of which are described as Filter feeders.


title: Filtration

text: There are many different methods of filtration; all aim to attain the separation of substances. Separation is achieved by some form of interaction between the substance or objects to be removed and the filter. The substance that is to pass through the filter must be a fluid, i.e. a liquid or gas. Methods of filtration vary depending on the location of the targeted material, i.e. whether it is dissolved in the fluid phase or suspended as a solid.


title: Filtration

text: There are several laboratory filtration techniques depending on the desired outcome namely, hot, cold and vacuum filtration. Some of the major purposes of obtaining the desired outcome are, for the removal of impurities from a mixture or, for the isolation of solids from a mixture.


title: Filtration

text: Hot filtration method is mainly used to separate solids from a hot solution. This is done to prevent crystal formation in the filter funnel and other apparatus that come in contact with the solution. As a result, the apparatus and the solution used are heated to prevent the rapid decrease in temperature which in turn, would lead to the crystallization of the solids in the funnel and hinder the filtration process.


title: Filtration

text: One of the most important measures to prevent the formation of crystals in the funnel and to undergo effective hot filtration is the use stemless filter funnel. Due to the absence of a stem in the filter funnel, there is a decrease in the surface area of contact between the solution and the stem of the filter funnel, hence preventing re-crystallization of solid in the funnel, adversely affecting the filtration process.


title: Filtration

text: Cold filtration method is the use of ice bath in to rapidly cool the solution to be crystallized rather than leaving it to cool slowly in the room atmosphere. This technique results to the formation of very small crystals as opposed to getting large crystals by cooling the solution at room temperature.


title: Filtration

text: Vacuum filtration technique is mostly preferred for small batches of solution to quickly dry small crystals. This method requires a Büchner funnel, filter paper of smaller diameter than the funnel, Büchner flask, and rubber tubing to connect to vacuum source.


title: Filtration

text: Centrifugal filtration is carried out by rapidly rotating the substance to be filtered. The more dense material is separated from the less dense matter by the horizontal rotation.


title: Filtration

text: Gravity filtration is the process of pouring the mixture from a higher location to a lower one. It is frequently accomplished via simple filtration, which involves placing filter paper in a glass funnel with the liquid passing through by gravity while the insoluble solid particles are caught by the filter paper. Filter cones, fluted filters, or filtering pipets can all be employed, depending on the amount of the substance at hand.


title: Filtration

text: Only when a driving force is supplied will the fluid to be filtered be able to flow through the filter media. Gravity, centrifugation, applying pressure to the fluid above the filter, applying a vacuum below the filter, or a combination of these factors may all contribute to this force. In both straightforward laboratory filtrations and massive sand-bed filters, gravitational force alone may be utilized. Centrifuges with a bowl holding a porous filter media can be thought of as filters in which a centrifugal force several times stronger than gravity replaces gravitational force. A partial vacuum is typically provided to the container below the filter media when a laboratory filtration is challenging in order to speed up the filtering process. Depending on the type of filter being used, the majority of industrial filtration operations employ pressure or vacuum to speed up filtering and reduce the amount of equipment needed.


title: Filtration

text: Two main types of filter media are employed in laboratories: "surface filters", which are solid sieves which trap the solid particles, with or without the aid of filter paper (e.g. Büchner funnel, belt filter, rotary vacuum-drum filter, cross-flow filters, screen filter), and "depth filters", a bed of granular material which retains the solid particles as they pass (e.g. sand filter). The surface filter type allows the solid particles, i.e. the residue, to be collected intact; the depth filter does not permit this. However, the depth filter is less prone to clogging due to the greater surface area where the particles can be trapped. Also, when the solid particles are very fine, it is often cheaper and easier to discard the contaminated granules than to clean the solid sieve.


title: Filtration

text: Filter media can be cleaned by rinsing with solvents or detergents or backwashing. Alternatively, in engineering applications, such as swimming pool water treatment plants, they may be cleaned by backwashing. Self-cleaning screen filters utilize point-of-suction backwashing to clean the screen without interrupting system flow.


title: Filtration

text: Fluids flow through a filter due to a difference in pressure—fluid flows from the high-pressure side to the low-pressure side of the filter. The simplest method to achieve this is by gravity and can be seen in the coffeemaker example. In the laboratory, pressure in the form of compressed air on the feed side (or vacuum on the filtrate side) may be applied to make the filtration process faster, though this may lead to clogging or the passage of fine particles. Alternatively, the liquid may flow through the filter by the force exerted by a pump, a method commonly used in industry when a reduced filtration time is important. In this case, the filter need not be mounted vertically.


title: Filtration

text: Certain filter aids may be used to aid filtration. These are often incompressible diatomaceous earth, or kieselguhr, which is composed primarily of silica. Also used are wood cellulose and other inert porous solids such as the cheaper and safer perlite. Activated carbon is often used in industrial applications that require changes in the filtrates properties, such as altering color or odor.


title: Filtration

text: These filter aids can be used in two different ways. They can be used as a precoat before the slurry is filtered. This will prevent gelatinous-type solids from plugging the filter medium and also give a clearer filtrate. They can also be added to the slurry before filtration. This increases the porosity of the cake and reduces resistance of the cake during filtration. In a rotary filter, the filter aid may be applied as a precoat; subsequently, thin slices of this layer are sliced off with the cake.


title: Filtration

text: The use of filter aids is usually limited to cases where the cake is discarded or where the precipitate can be chemically separated from the filter.


title: Filtration

text: Filtration is a more efficient method for the separation of mixtures than decantation, but is much more time-consuming. If very small amounts of solution are involved, most of the solution may be soaked up by the filter medium.


title: Filtration

text: An alternative to filtration is centrifugation—instead of filtering the mixture of solid and liquid particles, the mixture is centrifuged to force the (usually) denser solid to the bottom, where it often forms a firm cake. The liquid above can then be decanted. This method is especially useful for separating solids which do not filter well, such as gelatinous or fine particles. These solids can clog or pass through the filter, respectively.


title: Filtration

text: Biological filtration may take place inside an organism, or the biological component may be grown on a medium in the material being filtered. Removal of solids, emulsified components, organic chemicals and ions may be achieved by ingestion and digestion, adsorption or absorption. Because of the complexity of biological interactions, especially in multi-organism communities, it is often not possible to determine which processes are achieving the filtration result. At the molecular level, it may often by individual catalytic enzyme actions within an individual organisms. The waste products of sone organisms may subsequently broken down by other organisms to extract as much energy as possible and in so doing reducing complex organic molecules to very simple inorganic species such as water, carbon dioxide and nitrogen.


title: Filtration

text: Inside mammals reptile and birds, the kidneys function by renal filtration in which the glomerulus selectively removes undesirable constituents such as Urea, followed by selective reabsorption of many substances essential for the body to maintain homeostasis. The complete process is termed excretion.


title: Filtration

text: Similar but often less complex solutions are deployed in all animals even the Protozoa where the contractile vacuole provides a similar function.


title: Filtration

text: Biofilms are often complex communities of bacteria, phages, yeasts and often more complex organisms including protozoa, Rotifers and Annelids which form dynamic and complex, frequently gelatinous films on wet substrates. Such biofilms coat the rocks of most rivers and the sea and they provide the key filtration capability of the Schmutzdecke on the surface of slow sand filters and the film on the filter media of trickling filters which are used to create potable water and treat sewage respectively.


title: Filtration

text: An example of a biofilm is a biological slime, which may be found in lakes, rivers, rocks, etc. The utilization of single- or dual-species biofilms is a novel technology since natural biofilms are sluggish developing. Use of biofilms in the biofiltration process allows for the attachment of desirable biomass and critical nutrients to immobilized support. So that water may be reused for various processes, advances in biofiltration methods assist to remove significant volumes of effluents from the wastewater.


title: Filtration

text: Systems for biologically treating wastewater are crucial for enhancing both human health and water quality. Biofilm technology, the formation of biofilms on various filter media, and other factors have an impact on both the growth and structure and function of these biofilms. In order to conduct a thorough investigation of the composition, diversity, and dynamics of biofilms, it also takes on a variety of traditional and contemporary molecular approaches.


title: Filtration

text: Filter feeders are organisms that obtain their food by filtering their, generally aquatic, environment. Many of the protozoa are filter feeders using a range of adaptations including rigid spikes of protoplasm held in the water flow as in the Suctoria to various arrangements of beating Cillia to direct particles to the mouth including organisms such as "Vorticella" which have a complex ring of cilia which create a vortex in the flow drafting particles into the oral cavity. Similar feeding techniques are used by the Rotifera and the Ectoprocta. Many aquatic arthropods are filter feeders . Some use rhythmical beating of abdominal limbs to create a water current to the mouth whilst the hairs on the legs trap any particle. Other such as some caddis flies spin fine webs in the water flow to trap particles.


title: Filtration

text: Many filtration processes include more than one filtration mechanism, and particulates are often removed from the fluid first to prevent clogging of downstream elements.


title: Manuel I Komnenos

text: Manuel I Komnenos (; 28 November 1118 – 24 September 1180), Latinized Comnenus, also called Porphyrogennetos (; "born in the purple"), was a Byzantine emperor of the 12th century who reigned over a crucial turning point in the history of Byzantium and the Mediterranean. His reign saw the last flowering of the Komnenian restoration, during which the Byzantine Empire had seen a resurgence of its military and economic power, and had enjoyed a cultural revival.


title: Manuel I Komnenos

text: Eager to restore his empire to its past glories as the superpower of the Mediterranean world, Manuel pursued an energetic and ambitious foreign policy. In the process he made alliances with Pope Adrian IV and the resurgent West. He invaded the Norman Kingdom of Sicily, although unsuccessfully, being the last Eastern Roman emperor to attempt reconquests in the western Mediterranean. The passage of the potentially dangerous Second Crusade through his empire was adroitly managed. Manuel established a Byzantine protectorate over the Crusader states of Outremer. Facing Muslim advances in the Holy Land, he made common cause with the Kingdom of Jerusalem and participated in a combined invasion of Fatimid Egypt. Manuel reshaped the political maps of the Balkans and the eastern Mediterranean, placing the kingdoms of Hungary and Outremer under Byzantine hegemony and campaigning aggressively against his neighbours both in the west and in the east.


title: Manuel I Komnenos

text: However, towards the end of his reign, Manuel's achievements in the east were compromised by a serious defeat at Myriokephalon, which in large part resulted from his arrogance in attacking a well-defended Seljuk position. Although the Byzantines recovered and Manuel concluded an advantageous peace with Sultan Kilij Arslan II, Myriokephalon proved to be the final, unsuccessful effort by the empire to recover the interior of Anatolia from the Turks.


title: Manuel I Komnenos

text: Called "ho Megas" (, translated as "the Great") by the Greeks, Manuel is known to have inspired intense loyalty in those who served him. He also appears as the hero of a history written by his secretary, John Kinnamos, in which every virtue is attributed to him. Manuel, who was influenced by his contact with western Crusaders, enjoyed the reputation of "the most blessed emperor of Constantinople" in parts of the Latin world as well. Modern historians, however, have been less enthusiastic about him. Some of them assert that the great power he wielded was not his own personal achievement, but that of the dynasty he represented; they also argue that, since Byzantine imperial power declined catastrophically after Manuel's death, it is only natural to look for the causes of this decline in his reign.


title: Manuel I Komnenos

text: Born on 28 November 1118, Manuel Komnenos was the fourth son of John II Komnenos and Irene of Hungary, so it seemed very unlikely that he would succeed his father. His maternal grandfather was St. Ladislaus. Manuel favourably impressed his father by his courage and fortitude during the unsuccessful Siege of Neocaesarea (1140), against the Danishmendid Turks. In 1143 John II lay dying as a result of an infected wound; on his deathbed he chose Manuel as his successor, in preference to his elder surviving brother Isaac. John cited Manuel's courage and readiness to take advice, in contrast to Isaac's irascibility and unbending pride, as the reasons for his choice. After John died on 8 April 1143, his son, Manuel, was acclaimed emperor by the armies. Yet his succession was by no means assured: with his father's army in the wilds of Cilicia far from Constantinople, he recognised that it was vital he should return to the capital as soon as possible. He still had to take care of his father's funeral, and tradition demanded he organise the foundation of a monastery on the spot where his father died. Swiftly, he dispatched the "megas domestikos" John Axouch ahead of him, with orders to arrest his most dangerous potential rival, his brother Isaac, who was living in the Great Palace with instant access to the imperial treasure and regalia. Axouch arrived in the capital even before news of the emperor's death had reached it. He quickly secured the loyalty of the city, and when Manuel entered the capital in August 1143, he was crowned by the new patriarch, Michael II Kourkouas. A few days later, with nothing more to fear as his position as emperor was now secure, Manuel ordered the release of Isaac. Then he ordered two golden pieces to be given to every householder in Constantinople and 200 pounds of gold (including 200 silver pieces annually) to be given to the Byzantine Church.


title: Manuel I Komnenos

text: The empire that Manuel inherited from his father was in a more stable position than it had been a century earlier. In the late 11th century, the Byzantine Empire had faced marked military and political decline, but this decline had been arrested and largely reversed by the leadership of Manuel's grandfather and father. Nevertheless, the empire continued to face formidable challenges. At the end of the 11th century, the Normans of Sicily had removed Italy from the control of the Byzantine emperor. The Seljuk Turks had done the same with central Anatolia. And in the Levant, a new force had appeared—the Crusader states—which presented the Byzantine Empire with new challenges. Now, more than at any time during the preceding centuries, the task facing the emperor was daunting indeed.


title: Manuel I Komnenos

text: The first test of Manuel's reign came in 1144, when he was faced with a demand by Raymond, Prince of Antioch for the cession of Cilician territories. However, later that year the crusader County of Edessa was engulfed by the tide of a resurgent Islamic jihad under Imad ad-Din Zengi. Raymond realized that immediate help from the west was out of the question. With his eastern flank now dangerously exposed to this new threat, there seemed little option but for him to prepare for a humiliating visit to Constantinople. Swallowing his pride, he made the journey north to submit to Manuel and ask for protection. He was promised the support that he had requested, and his allegiance to Byzantium was secured.


title: Manuel I Komnenos

text: In 1146 Manuel assembled his army at the military base Lopadion and set out on a punitive expedition against Mas'ud, the Sultan of Rûm, who had been repeatedly violating the frontiers of the Empire in western Anatolia and Cilicia. There was no attempt at a systematic conquest of territory, but Manuel's army defeated the Turks at Acroënus, before capturing and destroying the fortified town of Philomelion, removing its remaining Christian population. The Byzantine forces reached Masud's capital, Konya, and ravaged the area around the city, but could not assault its walls. Among Manuel's motives for mounting this razzia there included a wish to be seen in the West as actively espousing the crusading ideal; Kinnamos also attributed to Manuel a desire to show off his martial prowess to his new bride. While on this campaign Manuel received a letter from Louis VII of France announcing his intention of leading an army to the relief of the crusader states.


title: Manuel I Komnenos

text: Manuel was prevented from capitalising on his conquests by events in the Balkans that urgently required his presence. In 1147 he granted a passage through his dominions to two armies of the Second Crusade under Conrad III of Germany and Louis VII of France. At this time, there were still members of the Byzantine court who remembered the passage of the First Crusade, a defining event in the collective memory of the age that had fascinated Manuel's aunt, Anna Komnene.


title: Manuel I Komnenos

text: Many Byzantines feared the Crusade, a view endorsed by the numerous acts of vandalism and theft practised by the unruly armies as they marched through Byzantine territory. Byzantine troops followed the Crusaders, attempting to police their behaviour, and further troops were assembled in Constantinople, ready to defend the capital against any acts of aggression. This cautious approach was well advised, but still the numerous incidents of covert and open hostility between the Franks and the Greeks on their line of march, for which it seems both sides were to blame, precipitated conflict between Manuel and his guests. Manuel took the precaution—which his grandfather had not taken—of making repairs to the city walls, and he pressed the two kings for guarantees concerning the security of his territories. Conrad's army was the first to enter the Byzantine territory in the summer of 1147, and it figures more prominently in the Byzantine sources, which imply that it was the more troublesome of the two. Indeed, the contemporary Byzantine historian Kinnamos describes a full-scale clash between a Byzantine force and part of Conrad's army, outside the walls of Constantinople. The Byzantines defeated the Germans and, in Byzantine eyes, this reverse caused Conrad to agree to have his army speedily ferried across to Damalis on the Asian shore of the Bosphoros.


title: Manuel I Komnenos

text: After 1147, however, the relations between the two leaders became friendlier. By 1148 Manuel had seen the wisdom of securing an alliance with Conrad, whose sister-in-law Bertha of Sulzbach he had earlier married; he actually persuaded the German king to renew their alliance against Roger II of Sicily. Unfortunately for the Byzantine emperor, Conrad died in 1152, and despite repeated attempts, Manuel could not reach an agreement with his successor, Frederick Barbarossa.


title: Manuel I Komnenos

text: Manuel's attention was again drawn to Antioch in 1156, when Raynald of Châtillon, the new Prince of Antioch, claimed that the Byzantine emperor had reneged on his promise to pay him a sum of money and vowed to attack the Byzantine province of Cyprus. Raynald arrested the governor of the island, John Komnenos, who was a nephew of Manuel, and the general Michael Branas. The Latin historian William of Tyre deplored this act of war against fellow Christians and described the atrocities committed by Raynald's men in considerable detail. Having ransacked the island and plundered all its wealth, Raynald's army mutilated the survivors before forcing them to buy back their flocks at exorbitant prices with what little they had left. Thus enriched with enough booty to make Antioch wealthy for years, the invaders boarded their ships and set sail for home. Raynald also sent some of the mutilated hostages to Constantinople as a vivid demonstration of his disobedience and his contempt for the Byzantine emperor.


title: Manuel I Komnenos

text: Manuel responded to this outrage in a characteristically energetic way. In the winter of 1158–59, he marched to Cilicia at the head of a huge army; the speed of his advance (Manuel had hurried on ahead of the main army with 500 cavalry) was such that he managed to surprise the Armenian Thoros of Cilicia, who had participated in the attack on Cyprus. Thoros fled into the mountains, and Cilicia swiftly fell to Manuel.


title: Manuel I Komnenos

text: Meanwhile, news of the advance of the Byzantine army soon reached Antioch. Raynald knew that he had no hope of defeating the emperor, and in addition knew that he could not expect any aid from King Baldwin III of Jerusalem. Baldwin did not approve of Raynald's attack on Cyprus, and in any case had already made an agreement with Manuel. Thus isolated and abandoned by his allies, Raynald decided that abject submission was his only hope. He appeared dressed in a sack with a rope tied around his neck, and begged for forgiveness. Manuel at first ignored the prostrate Raynald, chatting with his courtiers; William of Tyre commented that this ignominious scene continued for so long that all present were "disgusted" by it. Eventually, Manuel forgave Raynald on condition that he would become a vassal of the Empire, effectively surrendering the independence of Antioch to Byzantium.


title: Manuel I Komnenos

text: Peace having been restored, a grand ceremonial procession was staged on 12 April 1159 for the triumphant entry of the Byzantine army into the city, with Manuel riding through the streets on horseback, while the Prince of Antioch and the King of Jerusalem followed on foot. Manuel dispensed justice to the citizens and presided over games and tournaments for the crowd. In May, at the head of a united Christian army, he started on the road to Edessa, but he abandoned the campaign when he secured the release by Nur ad-Din, the ruler of Syria, of 6,000 Christian prisoners captured in various battles since the second Crusade. Despite the glorious end of the expedition, modern scholars argue that Manuel ultimately achieved much less than he had desired in terms of imperial restoration.


title: Manuel I Komnenos

text: Satisfied with his efforts thus far, Manuel headed back to Constantinople. On their way back, his troops were surprised in line of march by the Turks. Despite this, they won a complete victory, routing the enemy army from the field and inflicting heavy losses. In the following year, Manuel drove the Turks out of Isauria.


title: Manuel I Komnenos

text: In 1147 Manuel was faced with war by Roger II of Sicily, whose fleet had captured the Byzantine island of Corfu and plundered Thebes and Corinth. However, despite being distracted by a Cuman attack in the Balkans, in 1148 Manuel enlisted the alliance of Conrad III of Germany, and the help of the Venetians, who quickly defeated Roger with their powerful fleet. In 1149, Manuel recovered Corfu and prepared to take the offensive against the Normans, while Roger II sent George of Antioch with a fleet of 40 ships to pillage Constantinople's suburbs. Manuel had already agreed with Conrad on a joint invasion and partition of southern Italy and Sicily. The renewal of the German alliance remained the principal orientation of Manuel's foreign policy for the rest of his reign, despite the gradual divergence of interests between the two empires after Conrad's death.


title: Manuel I Komnenos

text: Roger died in February 1154 and was succeeded by William I, who faced widespread rebellions against his rule in Sicily and Apulia, leading to the presence of Apulian refugees at the Byzantine court. Conrad's successor, Frederick Barbarossa, launched a campaign against the Normans, but his expedition stalled. These developments encouraged Manuel to take advantage of the multiple instabilities on the Italian peninsula. He sent Michael Palaiologos and John Doukas, both of whom held the high imperial rank of "sebastos", with Byzantine troops, ten ships and large quantities of gold to invade Apulia in 1155. The two generals were instructed to enlist the support of Frederick, but he declined because his demoralised army longed to get back north of the Alps as soon as possible. Nevertheless, with the help of disaffected local barons, including Count Robert of Loritello, Manuel's expedition achieved astonishingly rapid progress as the whole of southern Italy rose up in rebellion against the Sicilian Crown and the untried William I. There followed a string of spectacular successes as numerous strongholds yielded either to force or the lure of gold.


title: Manuel I Komnenos

text: The city of Bari, which had been the capital of the Byzantine Catapanate of Italy for centuries before the arrival of the Normans, opened its gates to the Emperor's army, and the overjoyed citizens tore down the Norman citadel. After the fall of Bari, the cities of Trani, Giovinazzo, Andria, Taranto and Brindisi were also captured. William arrived with his army, including 2,000 knights, but was heavily defeated.


title: Manuel I Komnenos

text: Encouraged by the success, Manuel dreamed of restoration of the Roman Empire, at the cost of union between the Orthodox and the Catholic Church, a prospect which would frequently be offered to the Pope during negotiations and plans for alliance. If there was ever a chance of reuniting the eastern and western churches, and coming to reconciliation with the Pope permanently, this was probably the most favourable moment. The Papacy was never on good terms with the Normans, except when under duress by the threat of direct military action. Having the "civilised" Byzantines on its southern border was infinitely preferable to the Papacy than having to constantly deal with the troublesome Normans of Sicily. It was in the interest of Pope Adrian IV to reach a deal if at all possible, since doing so would greatly increase his own influence over the entire Orthodox Christian population. Manuel offered a large sum of money to the Pope for the provision of troops, with the request that the Pope grant the Byzantine emperor lordship of three maritime cities in return for assistance in expelling William from Sicily. Manuel also promised to pay 5,000 pounds of gold to the Pope and the Curia. Negotiations were hurriedly carried out, and an alliance was formed between Manuel and Hadrian.


title: Manuel I Komnenos

text: At this point, just as the war seemed decided in his favour, events turned against Manuel. Byzantine commander Michael Palaiologos alienated allies with his attitude, stalling the campaign as Count Robert III of Loritello refused to speak to him. Although the two were reconciled, the campaign had lost some of its momentum: Michael was soon recalled to Constantinople, and his loss was a major blow to the campaign. The turning point was the Battle of Brindisi, where the Normans launched a major counter-attack by both land and sea. At the approach of the enemy, the mercenaries that had been hired with Manuel's gold demanded huge increases in their pay. When this was refused, they deserted. Even the local barons started to melt away, and soon John Doukas was left hopelessly outnumbered. The arrival of Alexios Komnenos Bryennios with some ships failed to retrieve the Byzantine position. The naval battle was decided in favour of the Normans, while John Doukas and Alexios Bryennios (along with four Byzantine ships) were captured. Manuel then sent Alexios Axouch to Ancona to raise another army, but by this time William had already retaken all of the Byzantine conquests in Apulia. The defeat at Brindisi put an end to the restored Byzantine reign in Italy; in 1158 the Byzantine army left Italy and never returned again. Both Nicetas Choniates and Kinnamos, the major Byzantine historians of this period, agree, however, that the peace terms Axouch secured from William allowed Manuel to extricate himself from the war with dignity, despite a devastating raid by a Norman fleet of 164 ships (carrying 10,000 men) on Euboea and Almira in 1156.