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Definition
Despotate of Epirus
The Despotate of Epirus was one of the successor states of the Byzantine Empire when it disintegrated following the Fourth Crusade's capture of Constantinople in 1204 CE. It was originally the most successful of those successor states, coming...
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Fresco Depicting the Council of Trent
Council of Trent (1545-1563), fresco by Pasquale Cati, 1588.
Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere.
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Definition
Coup of 18 Brumaire
The Coup of 18 Brumaire (9-10 November 1799) was a bloodless coup d'état in France that overthrew the government of the French Directory and replaced it with the French Consulate. The coup brought Napoleon Bonaparte to power and, in the view...
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Hall of the Great Council, Doge's Palace, Venice
Hall of the Great Council, Doge's Palace, Venice. The room is 53 meters long and 25 meters wide (173 x 82 ft) and can seat 2,000 people. On the back wall is one of the largest oil paintings on canvas in the world: The Glory of Paradise by...
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Ratification of the Canons of the Council of Trent
Pope Pius IV promulgates the bull Benedictus Deus, ratifying the Canons of the Council of Trent in 1564. Fresco by Pasquale Cati, 1588.
Altemps Chapel, Santa Maria in Trastevere, Rome.
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Council of Chalcedon
An image showing the Council of Chalcedon painted by Vasily Surikov in 1876. Oil on Canvas. The Council of Chalcedon was called in 451 by the Roman Emperor Marcian to settle debates that had begun at two earlier meetings in Ephesus (431...
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Constantine’s Conversion to Christianity
Constantine I (Flavius Valerius Constantinus) was Roman emperor from 306-337 CE and is known to history as Constantine the Great for his conversion to Christianity in 312 CE and his subsequent Christianization of the Roman Empire. His conversion...
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Definition
First Crusade
The First Crusade (1095-1102) was a military campaign by western European forces to recapture the city of Jerusalem and the Holy Land from Muslim control. Conceived by Pope Urban II following an appeal from the Byzantine emperor Alexios I...
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Urban II at the Council of Clermont
A 15th century CE illustration by Jean Colombe of the Council of Clermont of November 1095 CE where Pope Urban II (r. 1088-1099 CE) famously called for the First Crusade (1095-1102 CE). (National Library, Paris)
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Council of Trent
Cardinal Ercole Gonzaga Presiding at the Council of Trent, painting by Elia Naurizio (1589-1657).
Diocesan Museum Francesco Gonzaga, Mantua.