Arguably, the Post-Classic continued until the conquest of the last independent native state of Mesoamerica, Tayasal, in 1697.
Beck
Beck Hansen (better known as simply Beck) (born Bek David Campbell, July 8, 1970 in Los Angeles, California) is an American singer, musician, and multi-instrumentalist. He is known for folky rock music, unusual lyrics, and post-modern arrangements, which has made him one of the most outstanding in 1990s alternative rock.
He became extremely popular with his hit song "Loser" in 1994. Beck is known for including various styles of music into his songs, including folk music, electronica, indie music, techno, rock music, and alternative music, among others.
Hansen married actress Marissa Ribisi in 2004. They currently have two children: a son, Cosimo Henri, and a daughter, Tuesday.
Prime Meridian
The Prime Meridian is the meridian (line of longitude) that goes through the Royal Observatory, Greenwich in London it is also known as the International Meridian or Greenwich Meridian. Other longitudes are given as east or west of the Prime Meridian.
Lines like this are not actually lines on the ground, but are ways of saying where a place is on the globe. The ones that run horizontal (east to west) are called latitude. They tell us how far a location is from the equator. The other lines are vertical and are known as longitudes.
Such is the Meridian's fame that each year, hundreds of thousands of visitors from all around the world make their way to the Observatory to stand astride the Line. But its position is marked in hundreds of other places too. On its path from pole to pole, the Meridian passes through England, France, Spain, Algeria, Mali, Burkina Faso, Togo, Ghana and Antarctica.
Retirement
Retirement is when people stop working. People may retire when they reach a certain age, or if they get sick or have an accident, or even for their own choice. Some people may semi-retire and keep some sort of job. People typically due this after working for so many years and growing tired of it.
Sophia
Sophia and sofia may mean:
Trdat the Architect
Trdat the Architect (c. 950-1020) (Armenian: Տրդատ ճարտարապետ), known in Latin as Tiridates, was chief architect of the Bagratuni Dynasty of Armenia.
After a great earthquake in 989 destroyed the dome of Hagia Sophia, the Byzantine officials sent Trdat to Byzantium to organize repairs. The restored dome was completed by 994.
Byzantium
Byzantium () was an ancient Greek city. The name "Byzantium" is a Latinization of the original name Byzantion.
The city became the center of the Byzantine Empire, (the Greek-speaking Roman Empire of late Antiquity and the Middle Ages), but at that time it was already called Constantinople.
The origins of Byzantium are not clear. There is only a legend. It tells that a certain Byzas from Megara (a town near Athens), founded Byzantium, when he sailed northeast across the Aegean Sea. He had asked the Oracle at Delphi where he should found his new city. The Oracle told him to find it "opposite the blind." At the time, he did not know what this meant. But when he came upon the Bosporus he realized what it meant: on the Asiatic shore was a Greek city, Chalcedon. It was they who must have been blind because they had not seen that obviously superior land was just a half mile away on the other side of the Bosporus. Byzas founded his city here in this "superior" land and named it Byzantion after himself.
Byzantion was mainly a trading city due to its strategic location at the Black Sea's only entrance. Byzantion later conquered Chalcedon, across the Bosporus.
When it fought with Pescennius Niger against the victorious Septimius Severus, the city was besieged by Roman forces and suffered extensive damage in 196 AD. Byzantium was rebuilt by Septimius Severus, when he had become emperor, and quickly regained its earlier prosperity.
When Roman Emperor Constantine I decided to move his capital to the Eastern part of the Roman Empire he chose the place of Byzantion because of its strategical value. He refounded it, in 330 AD, as "Nova Roma". After his death the city was called Constantinople ('city of Constantine'). It remained the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, which was later called the Byzantine Empire by historians.
Following the legend the citizens of Byzantium claimed the crescent moon as their state symbol, after an important victory in 340 BC. However, the origin of the crescent and star as a symbol dates back much earlier - to ancient Babylon and ancient Egypt. But Byzantium was the first city that used the crescent moon as its symbol. In 330 AD Constantine I added the Virgin Mary's star to the flag.
Coat of arms of Armenia
The national coat of arms of Armenia consists of an eagle and a lion supporting a shield. The coat of arms combines new and old symbols. The eagle and lion are ancient Armenian symbols dating from the first Armenian kingdoms that existed prior to Christ.
The current coat of arms was adopted on 19 April 1992 by the Armenian Supreme Council decision. On 15 June 2006, the law on the state coat of arms of Armenia was passed by the Armenian Parliament.
The shield consists of many parts. In the center is an image of Mount Ararat with Noah's Ark sitting on top of it. According to tradition, the ark is said to have finally rested on the mountain after the great flood. Ararat is considered the national symbol of Armenia and so is of significant importance to the coat of arms. Surrounding Mount Ararat are symbols of old Armenian dynasties. In the lower left portion of the shield, there are two eagles looking at each other, symbolizing the length of the Armenian territory during the reign of the Artaxiad Dynasty that ruled in the 1st century BC. In the upper left portion, there is a lion with a cross, the emblem for the Bagratuni dynasty that ruled during the Middle Ages, between 7th and 11th centuries. Under this dynasty, Armenia blossomed culturally, making its capital, Ani, one of the most important cultural, social and commercial centers of its time. Bagratuni was destroyed by the Byzantine Empire's encroachment and by Seljuk invasions in the 11th century AD. In the upper right portion, there is a two-headed eagle, the emblem of the first dynasty to reign over a Christian Armenia, the Arsacid Dynasty of Armenia. Tiridates III of Arsacid Dynasty made Armenia the first Christian nation in 301 AD. This dynasty ruled from the 1st century AD to 428 AD. In the lower right portion, there is a lion with a cross, the emblem of the Rubenid dynasty. This dynasty reigned in Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia, a state that expanded and prospered during the 12th and 13th centuries, until the Mamelukes and Turks eventually conquered it.
The eagle supports the shield on the left side of the coat of arms, while the lion on the right side. The eagle was the symbol of the Artaxiad Dynasty and later on the symbol of the Arsacid Dynasty of Armenia. It holds the Artaxiad Dynasty's branch of the shield. Whereas, the lion was the symbol of the Bagratuni Dynasty and later on the symbol of the Rubenid Dynasty. It holds the Rubenid Dynasty's branch of the shield.
Both of these animals were chosen because of their power, courage, patience, wisdom, and nobility in animal kingdom.
The present-day Armenian coat of arms has its origins with the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Armenia (DRA) in 1918. In that year, an early variation of the coat of arms was adopted by the DRA. The symbols on this earlier version were placed in a slightly different order and the eagle and lion have their tongues out, giving them a more menacing look. It's also worthy to note that only Mount Ararat (along with Little Ararat) are depicted while Noah's Ark is absent. The coat of arms was designed by architect and member of the Russian Academy of Fine Arts Alexander Tamanian (best known for his work on Yerevan's city plan) and artist Hakob Kojoyan.