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| Pastor Mathias | | Ms. Brunell - Executive Director | | Mr. Gaffney - Managing Director | | Ms. Helmers - Managing Director | | | |
| Mr. Flynn - Senior Director | | Mr. Bolton - Director | | Ms. Irwin - Director | | Mr. James - Director | | Mr. Levine - Director | | Ms. Radewicz - Director | | Mr. Rodgers - Director | | Mr. Shea - Director | | Mr. Widmyer - Director | | | |
| Ms. Avery | | Ms. Baird | | Ms. Baker | | Ms. Bray | | Ms. Burns | | Ms. Coffey | | Ms. Crane | | Mr. David | | Ms. Drew | | | |
| Mr. Dunlap | | Mr. Ewing | | Mr. Farley | | Ms. Finley | | Mr. Friedman | | Ms. Gay | | Ms. Hahn | | Ms. Hobbs | | Ms. Holder | | | |
| Mr. Horton | | Ms. Lee | | Mr. Maddox | | Ms. Perez | | Ms. Rollins | | Ms. Smith | | Ms. Smith | | Ms. Weslin | | Mr. Wilkerson | | | | | | M.R. Mathias - Ambassador |
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| |  | | | The Forgotten History of Messianic Judaism | ONE OF THE MOST COMMON false assumptions about Messianic Judaism is that it "suddenly" popped up in the last half of the Twentieth Century. Most honest Bible scholars re-cognize that most of the believers in the first half of the First Century re-mained loyal Jews, still observing Torah.[1] Their ethnic heritage was predominantly Jewish, and they continued their traditional Jewish lifestyles. Even after the Besorah (Good News) went to the Gentiles, the Jewish believers still remained Torah-observant.
When Rav Sha'ul (Paul) returned from one of his missionary journeys, he related enthusiastically to the Messianic Jews in Jerusalem all about the wonderful things that God was doing among the Gentiles. "When they (the Messianic Jews) heard of it, they glorified the Lord, and said to him, 'You see, brother, how many myriads (tens of thousands) there are among the Jews who believe, and they are all zealous for Torah.'" [2] Even Paul, this great "apostle of liberty" (as he is called among Christians) said, "I have committed no offense neither against the Law of the Jews, nor against the Beit HaMikdash (Temple), nor against Caesar." [3] Later, Rav Sha'ul says, "I have done nothing against our people or the customs of the fathers." [4] This indicates that Paul even observed such Rabbinic, non-biblical traditions such as the separating of milk and meat, as well as various other Halachic [5] methods for observing Torah.
The first Jewish believers in Yeshua were called by such terms as Nazarenes (Netzarim) (Acts 24:5), the sect of the Way (Acts 22:4; 25:14), and simply "Jews" (Acts 21:20; 22:3). The earliest record of the terms "Messianic Jew," and "Messianic Judaism" being used for Jewish believers in Yeshua was in a publication called Our Hope, published by Dr. A.C. Gabelein in March 1895. (Regretfully, Dr. Gabelein later repudiated Messianic Judaism in 1908 after coming into contact with the writings of J.N. Darby and Dr. C.I. Scofield.) The term Messianic Judaism is of relatively recent vintage. However, it can be used to describe Torah-inspired believers (both Jewish and those grafted in from the Gentiles) in the Messiah in earlier centuries also.
It is also a well-established fact that Messianic Judaism continued as a viable movement for almost 300 years after the coming of Yeshua the Messiah. However, it is commonly believed that Messianic Judaism "died" at about the time of the Council of Nicea in 325 CE.[6] Many believe that after 325 CE, most Jewish believers in Yeshua simply converted to Christianity, and ceased to be Jewish in any real sense of the word. In some cases, unfortunately, this did indeed happen. Even today, there are tens of thousands of Jewish believers in the churches, with little or no sense of Jewish identity. Many others after Nicea continued to live as Biblically observant Jews. There was a tremendous amount of persecution that resulted from the very anti-Semitic Council of Nicea. As a result, Messianic Judaism became an underground movement. However, it continued to exert an influence for several more centuries. This is the history which this article seeks to address. [More] | |  |
| |  | | | Arno C. Gaebelein | OUR HOPE | Arno Clemens Gaebelein (August 27, 1861 – December, 1945) was a Methodist minister in the United States of America. He was a prominent teacher and conference speaker. He was also the father of educator and philosopher of Christian education Frank E. Gaebelein.
In the Nov-Dec 1896 issue of "Our Hope" one of the best statements of Hebrew Christians (Messianic Jews) was written under the heading, The Principles of the Hope of Israel Moment.r>
"The Hope of Israel Movement aims to bring the fullness of the gospel of Jesus Christ to His brethren according to the flesh. We hold that Scriptural – not Talmudic or Rabbinical, still less Reformed – Judaism is as much as divine revelation as Christianity. The canon of the New Testament has no higher Dicine authorith than has that of the Old. Neither is complete without the other. Salvation is from the Jews, John iv:22. And the gospel is “to the Jew first,” Rom. i:18. The Jew is not a Gentile. The term “proselyte,” therefore, can never apply to the Jew. The promice of God are Israel’s Rom. ix:4, 5. Gentile believers are the real “proselytes,” once far off, now made nigh, Eph. Ii:12, 13. The root of God’s good olive tree, Israel, bears us; not we the root, Rom. xi:17, 18. To “proselyte” the Jew, then, is to ignore and to reverse the Divine order.
The Jew has no need whatever of the organizations or instutitions of historical (i.e. Gentile and denominational) Christianity. All he needs is personal, saving faith in his own Jewish Messiah, the Christ of God, nothing more. And all that was Dicinely given him through Moses he has full liberty to retain and uphold as far as possible when he becomes a believer in Jesus Christ. This to us clearly follows from these Scriptual considerations: 1. Abraham – the Divine pattern of the true Jew, as well as of the believing Gentile, Rom. iv:11, 12 – received circumcision as an everlasting covenant after he had believed God unto ustification, Gen. xvii:9-14. God Himself added circumcision to Abraham’s faith. And thus Paul writes: “Is any man called being circumcised? Let him not become uncircumcised,” I Cor. Vii:18. This was the ruling of the apostle to the Gentiles in all the churches. (Compare Ezek. xliv:7, 9) 2. The natural seed of Jacob shall not cease to be a nation before the Lord forever, Jerem. xxx:11, xxxi:35, 37; xlvi:28; Rom. xi:1, 29. This is God’s eternal purpose and the secred of Israel’s preservation. Even so at this present times – through the gospel – a remnant of the nation is being saved, according to the election of grace, Rom. xi:5. These saved Jews, to be a true remnant, should not surrender any of the Divinely appointed marks of the nation Israel. Thhey should not be taught to un-Jew themselves. 3. The Lord Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God. (Israel’s national election). Rom. xv:8. He came not to destroy, but to fulfill, the law. Jewish disciples of Christ, by the word of the Lord Himself, should not be taught to break or disrecard one of these least commandments, Matt. v:17, 19. They should walk and live even as He lived among His own people, i.e. as true, conforming Jews (barring, of course, mere traditions of the elders and the commandments of men), 1 John ii:6. 4. On and from the day of Pentecost myriads of Jewish believers were by the Holy Spirit baptized into fellowship with the glorified Christ. He did not cause or direct either the apostles or other Jewish believers to “forsake Moses.” Apostolic teaching and practice throughout the New Testament only show Jewish Christians “walking orderly and keeping the law.” Acts ii:46, 47; iii:1; vi:7; x:9; (chap. Xv:28, 29 by implication, clearly makes observance of all the laws and ordinances of Moses for Jewish believers a matter pleasing to the Holy Goast); xvi:3; xviii:18; xx:16; xxi:17-26; xxiii:1; xxv:8. 5. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is also Son of Abraham and the Son of David. He is at once Head over all things to the church (built up of Jews and Gentiles), and the rightful and coming heir of David’s throne, which He will restore and occupy at His return from heaven, Luke i:32, 33; Acts xv:16; iii:21. Jesus has not surrendered or forfeited His distinctive claim to the thorn of His (Jewish) ancestor, David, by ascending on high and becoming the glorified Head of His body, the church. No more should Hewish believers in Christ, being living members of His body, be made or taught to surrender anything which is Divinely ordered and appointed for Israel as God’s and Christ’s age-lasting and peculiar people." [More] | | |
| |  | | | Cathars and Cathar Beliefs in the Languedoc | The Cathars were a religious group who appeared in Europe in the eleventh century, their origins something of a mystery though there is reason to believe their ideas came from Persia or the Byzantine Empire, by way of the Balkans and Northern Italy. Records from the Roman Catholic Church mention them under various names and in various places. Catholic theologians debated with themselves for centuries whether Cathars were Christian heretics or whether they were not Christians at all. The question is apparently still open. Roman Catholics still refer to Cathar belief as "the Great Heresy" though the official Catholic position is that Catharism is not Christian at all.
The religion flourished in an area often referred to as the Languedoc, broadly bordered by the Mediterannean Sea, the Pyrenees, and the rivers Garonne, Tarn and Rh?ne -? and corresponding to the new French region of Occitanie. [More] | | |
| |  | | | Albigensian Crusade | | Massacre at BéziersThe crusaders captured the small village of Servian and then headed for Béziers, arriving on 21 July 1209. Under the command of the papal legate, Arnaud-Amaury,[24] they started to besiege the city, calling on the Catholics within to come out, and demanding that the Cathars surrender.[25] Both groups refused. The city fell the following day when an abortive sortie was pursued back through the open gates.[26] The entire population was slaughtered and the city burned to the ground. Contemporary sources give estimates of the number of dead ranging between 15,000 and 20,000. The latter figure appears in Arnaud-Amaury's report to the pope.[27] The news of the disaster quickly spread and afterwards many settlements surrendered without a fight. [More] | | |
| |  | | | Worms, Germany | | Worms was anciently a Celtic city named Borbetomagus, perhaps meaning "water meadow".[2] Later it was conquered by the Germanic Vangiones. In 14 BC, Romans under the command of Drusus captured and fortified the city, and henceforth a small troop of infantry and cavalry were garrisoned there. The Romans knew the city as Augusta Vangionum, after the then-emperor and the local tribe; the German Worms developed from this name. The garrison grew into a small town with the regular Roman street plan, a forum, and temples for the main gods Jupiter, Juno, Minerva (whose temple was the site of the later cathedral), and Mars. [More] | | |
| |  | | | Tongeren, Belgium | The Romans referred to Tongeren as Aduatuca Tungrorum or Atuatuca Tongrorum,[3] and it was the capital of the large Roman province of Civitas Tungrorum, an area which covered modern Belgian Limburg, and at least parts of all the areas around it. Before the Roman conquests, this area was inhabited by the group of Belgic tribes known as the Germani cisrhenani. (Despite being known as the Germani, whether they spoke a Germanic language is debated, and the names of their tribes and their leaders were Celtic.) Specifically the Eburones were the largest of these tribes and the one living around Tongeren.
Caesar referred to the fort of the Eburones as Aduatuca, and this has led to a widely accepted proposal that this can be equated to Tongeren. There are counter arguments that the word "Aduatuca" was probably a general word for a fort in this region, meaning that there might have been more places with the same name, and that Tongeren shows no signs of pre-Roman occupation, nor the hilly terrain described by Caesar. There was also a distinct tribe in the area known as the Aduatuci.[4] On the other hand, it has the same name and function as a local capital, and is in generally the right area. If it is not Tongeren itself, the Aduatuca of the Eburones might be the ancient fortification of Caestert in nearby Riemst.
During Julius Caesar’s campaigns in this part of Gaul in the first century BC, the Belgae revolted against the campaign of Caesar, led by the Eburones. They destroyed a legion that had demanded the right to winter among them in 54 BC. Caesar reported that he sold the Aduatuci into slavery, and annihilated the name of the Eburones, many of whom however he reported having fled successfully, including Ambiorix the leader of the revolt. Instead of risking Roman lives to pursue them he invited tribes from over the Rhine, such as the Sigambri to come and plunder. This back-fired when Eburones pointed out to the Sigambri that the Romans had all the booty at Aduatuca, and were the more attractive target.
The Tungri, not mentioned by Caesar, came to dominate this area in the Roman era, and are the reason for the name of the modern name Tongeren. Tacitus says that Tungri was a new name for the original tribes who had previously been called the Germani. But many modern writers believe that the Gallo-Roman population of the area contained a significant amount of more recent Germanic immigrants from across the Rhine. Located on the important road linking Cologne to Bavay via the relay of Liberchies, and surrounded by the fertile lands of the Hesbaye region, Roman Tongeren quickly became one of the largest Gallo-Roman administrative and military towns in the first century. It suffered from a destructive fire during the Batavian siege in 70 AD, which was part of the Batavian revolt. In the second century, it erected a defensive wall, portions of which can still be seen today. Typical Roman buildings were built in town, while villas and mound graves (tumuli) dotted the surrounding area.
In 358 the future emperor Julian met, in Tongeren, a delegation of Salian Franks who had recently settled in Toxandria (the modern Campine region), to the north of Tongeren. They wanted peace but spoke "as if the ground they had seized were rightfully their own". Julian gave ambiguous replies and then after the meetings sent a surprise attack along the Maas river, and "they met him with entreaties rather than with resistance, he received the submission of them and their children".[5] They became increasingly important after this time. Zosimus reports that Julian used them as part of his forces in fights against other Germanic tribes. [More] | | |
| |  | | | Roskilde, Denmark | Roskilde, which developed as the hub of the Viking land and sea trade routes over a thousand years ago, is one of Denmark's oldest cities. From the 11th century until 1443, it was the capital of Denmark.[2] By the Middle Ages, with the support of kings and bishops, it had become one of the most important centres in Scandinavia.[3] The Saxo Grammaticus and other early sources associate the name Roskilde (meaning "Ro's spring") with the legendary King Roar who possibly lived there in the 6th century.[4]
Old map of Roskilde
According to Adam of Bremen and the Saxo Grammaticus, Roskilde was founded in the 980s by Harald Bluetooth. On high ground above the harbour, he built a wooden church consecrated to the Holy Trinity as well as a royal residence nearby.[5] Although no traces of these buildings have been discovered, in 1997 archaeologists found the remains of Viking ships in the Isefjord, the oldest of which is dated to 1030. At the time, there were also two churches in the area: St Jørgensbjerg, an early stone church, and a wooden church discovered under today's St Ib's Church.[6][7] Harald was buried in the wooden church he had built on the site of today's Roskilde Cathedral.[3]
In 1020, King Canute elevated Roskilde to a bishopric, giving it high national status.[5] Absalon, the Danish bishop, had a brick church built on the site of Harald's church in 1170. Today's cathedral was completed in 1275 after five of Absalon's successors had contributed to its construction. As a result of Absalon's influence, many other churches were built in the vicinity, making Roskilde the most important town in Zealand. Coins were minted there from the 11th to the 14th century.[5] In 1150, Sweyn Grathe built a moat around the city.[6] The Roskilde bishops owned large areas of land in the region including, from 1186, Havn on the Øresund which later became Copenhagen. By the time of the Danish Reformation in 1536, there were 12 churches and five monasteries in the city. [More] | | |
| |  | | | Maastricht, Netherlands | | There is some debate as to whether Maastricht is the oldest city in the Netherlands. Some people consider Nijmegen the oldest, mainly because it was the first settlement in the Netherlands to receive Roman city rights. Maastricht never did, but it may be as old or older as a settlement. In addition, Maastricht can claim uninterrupted habitation since Roman times. A large number of archeological finds confirms this. Nijmegen has a gap in its history: there is practically no evidence of habitation in the early Middle Ages. [More] | | |
| |  | | | Evora, Portugal | Évora (Portuguese pronunciation: ['?vu??] ( listen)) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 56,596,[1] in an area of 1307.08 km².[2] It is the seat of the Évora District and capital of the Alentejo region. The present Mayor is Carlos Pinto de Sá of the CDU coalition. The municipal holiday is 29 June.
Due to its well-preserved old town centre, still partially enclosed by medieval walls, and a large number of monuments dating from various historical periods, including a Roman Temple, Évora is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is also a member of the Most Ancient European Towns Network. [More] | | |
| |  | | | Cork, Ireland | Oldest City | Cork (/k??rk/; Irish: Corcaigh, pronounced ['ko?k??], from corcach, meaning "marsh") is a city in Ireland, located in the South-West Region, in the province of Munster. It has a population of 125,622[3] and is the second largest city in the state and the third most populous on the island of Ireland. The greater Metropolitan Cork area (which includes a number of satellite towns and suburbs) has a population exceeding 300,000.[6] In 2005, the city was selected as the European Capital of Culture.
The city is built on the River Lee which splits into two channels at the western end of the city; the city centre is divided by these channels. They reconverge at the eastern end where the quays and docks along the river banks lead outwards towards Lough Mahon and Cork Harbour, one of the world's largest natural harbours.[ [More] | | |
| |  | | | Colchester, Essex, England | Oldest City | Colchester Listeni/'ko?lt??st?r/[1] is a historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.
At the time of the census in 2011, it had a population of 121,859, marking a considerable rise from the previous census and with considerable development since 2001 and ongoing building plans; it has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns.[2] As the oldest recorded Roman town in Britain, Colchester is claimed to be the oldest town in Britain.[3] It was for a time the capital of Roman Britain, and is a member of the Most Ancient European Towns Network.[4]
Colchester is 51.2 miles (82.4 km) northeast of London and is connected to the capital by the A12 road and the Great Eastern Main Line. It is seen as a popular town for commuters,[5] and is less than 30 miles (48 km) away from Stansted Airport and 20 miles (32 km) from the passenger ferry port of Harwich.
Colchester is home to Colchester Castle and Colchester United Football Club. It has a Conservative Member of Parliament, Will Quince, who was elected in the 2015 General Election. The correct demonym is Colcestrian.[6] The River Colne runs through the town.[7] [More] | | |
| |  | | | Cadiz, Spain | Founded as Gadir or Agadir by Phoenicians from Tyre,[9] Cádiz is sometimes counted as the most ancient city still standing in Western Europe.[2] The expeditions of Himilco around Spain and France and of Hanno around Western Africa began here. The Phoenician settlement traded with Tartessos, a city-state whose exact location remains unknown but is thought to have been somewhere near the mouth of the Guadalquivir River.
One of the city's notable features during antiquity was the temple on the south end of its island dedicated to the Phoenician god Melqart, who was conflated with Hercules by the Greeks and Romans under the names "Tyrian Hercules" and "Hercules Gaditanus". It had an oracle and was famed for its wealth.[10] In Greek mythology, Hercules was sometimes credited with founding Gadeira after performing his tenth labor, the slaying of Geryon, a monster with three heads and torsos joined to a single pair of legs. (A tumulus near Gadeira was associated with Geryon's final resting-place.[11]) According to the Life of Apollonius of Tyana, the "Heracleum" (i.e., the temple of Melqart) was still standing during the 1st century. Some historians, based in part on this source, believe that the columns of this temple were the origin of the myth of the "pillars of Hercules". [More] | | |
| |  | | | Andalusia, Spain | Carthaginians and Romans
Partial view of the forum; ruins of Baelo Claudia
With the fall of the Phoenician cities, Carthage became the dominant sea power of the western Mediterranean and the most important trading partner for the Phoenician towns along the Andalusian coast. Between the First and Second Punic Wars, Carthage extended its control beyond Andalucia to include all of Iberia except the Basque Country. Andalusia was the major staging ground for the war with Rome led by the Hannibal Barca. The Romans defeated the Carthaginians and conquered Andalusia, the region being renamed Baetica.[22] It was fully incorporated into the Roman Empire, and from this region came many Roman magistrates and senators, as well as the emperors Trajan and (most likely) Hadrian. [More] | | |
| |  | | | Argos, Greece | Oldest Cities | As a strategic location on the fertile plain of Argolis, Argos was a major stronghold during the Mycenaean era. In classical times Argos was a powerful rival of Sparta for dominance over the Peloponnese, but was eventually shunned by other Greek city-states after remaining neutral during the Greco-Persian Wars.[8]
The Heraion of Argos
Ancient Peloponnese
View of the ancient theatre
There is evidence of continuous settlement in the area starting with a village about 7000 years ago in the late Neolithic, located on the foot of Aspida hill.[5]:124- It was colonized in prehistoric times by the Pelasgian Greeks. Since that time, Argos has been continually inhabited at the same geographical location. Its creation is attributed to Phoroneus, with its first name having been Phoronicon Asty, or the city of Phoroneus. The historical presence of the Pelasgian Greeks in the area can be witnessed in the linguistic remainders that survive up to today, such as the very name of the city and "Larissa", the name of the city's castle located on the hill of the same name, meaning "citadel". [More] | | |
| |  | | | Montauban, France | Montauban is the second oldest (after Mont-de-Marsan) of the bastides of southern France. Its foundation dates from 1144 when Count Alphonse Jourdain of Toulouse, granted it a liberal charter. The inhabitants were drawn chiefly from Montauriol, a village which had grown up around the neighbouring monastery of St Théodard.
In the 13th century the town suffered much from the ravages of the Albigensian war and from the Inquisition, but by 1317 it had recovered sufficiently to be chosen by John XXII as the head of a diocese of which the basilica of St Théodard became the cathedral. [More] | | |
| | | | | Most Ancient European Towns Network - Wikipedia | | Most Ancient European Towns Network is a working group of the oldest cities in Europe. It was founded in 1994, with the idea coming from the town of Argos in Greece, presented to the European Union. The group exists to discuss issues such as archaeological research, tourism and incorporating monuments into urban planning. | | |
| |  | | | Beziers, France | 575 BC | Béziers is one of the oldest cities in France. The latest research (March 2013) shows that Béziers dates from 575 BC, making it older than Agde (525 BC) and a bit younger than Marseille (600 BC)[5]
The site has been occupied since Neolithic times, before the influx of Celts. Roman Betarra was on the road that linked Provence with Iberia. The Romans refounded the city as a new colonia for veterans in 36–35 BC and called it Colonia Julia Baeterrae Septimanorum. Stones from the Roman amphitheatre were used to construct the city wall during the 3rd century.
White wine was exported to Rome; two dolia discovered in an excavation near Rome are marked, one "I am a wine from Baeterrae and I am five years old", the other simply "white wine of Baeterrae". It was occupied by the Moors between 720 and 752.
From the 10th to the 12th century Béziers was the centre of a Viscountship of Béziers. The viscounts ruled most of the coastal plain around the city, including also the city of Agde. They also controlled the major east-west route through Languedoc, which roughly follows the old Roman Via Domitia, with the two key bridges over the Orb at Béziers and over the Hérault at Saint-Thibéry.
After the death of viscount William around 990, the viscounty passed to his daughter Garsendis and her husband, count Raimond-Roger of Carcassonne (d. c.1012). It was then ruled by their son Peter-Raimond (d. c.1060) and his son Roger (d. 1067), both of whom were also counts of Carcassonne.
Roger died without leaving any children and Béziers passed to his sister [More] | | |
| |  | | | Catharism anti Catholic | Paulicianism | Catharism (/'kæ??r?z?m/; from the Greek: ?a?a???, katharoi, "the pure [ones]")[2][3] was a Christian dualist or Gnostic revival[4] movement that thrived in some areas of Southern Europe, particularly northern Italy and southern France, between the 12th and 14th centuries. Cathar beliefs varied between communities, because Catharism was initially taught by ascetic priests who had set few guidelines. The Catholic Church denounced its practices including the Consolamentum ritual, by which Cathar individuals were baptized and raised to the status of 'perfect'.[5]
Catharism had its roots in the Paulician movement in Armenia and eastern Byzantine Anatolia and the Bogomils of the First Bulgarian Empire,[6] who were influenced by the Paulicians resettled in Thrace (Philipopolis) by the Byzantines. Though the term "Cathar" (/'kæ???r/) has been used for centuries to identify the movement, whether the movement identified itself with this name is debatable.[7] In Cathar texts, the terms "Good Men" (Bons Hommes) or "Good Christians" are the common terms of self-identification.[8]
The idea of two Gods or principles, one being good and the other evil, was central to Cathar beliefs. The good God was the God of the New Testament and the creator of the spiritual realm, contrasted with the evil Old Testament God—the creator of the physical world whom many Cathars, and particularly their persecutors, identified as Satan. All visible matter, including the human body, was created by this evil god; matter was therefore tainted with sin. This was the antithesis to the monotheistic Catholic Church, whose fundamental principle was that there was only one God, who created all things visible and invisible.[9] Cathars thought human spirits were the genderless spirits of angels trapped within the physical creation of the evil god, cursed to be reincarnated until the Cathar faithful achieved salvation through a ritual called the consolamentum.[10]
From the beginning of his reign, Pope Innocent III attempted to end Catharism by sending missionaries and by persuading the local authorities to act against them. In 1208 Innocent's papal legate Pierre de Castelnau was murdered while returning to Rome after excommunicating Count Raymond VI of Toulouse, who, in his view, was too lenient with the Cathars.[11] Pope Innocent III then abandoned the option of sending Catholic missionaries and jurists, declared Pierre de Castelnau a martyr and launched the Albigensian Crusade which all but ended Catharism. [More] | | |
| |  | | | Nimes, France | | Nîmes (/ni?m/; French: [nim]; Provençal Occitan: Nimes ['nimes]) is a city in the Occitanie region of southern France. It is the capital of the Gard department.
Nîmes is located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Cévennes mountains. The estimated population of Nîmes is 146,709 (2012).[1]
Nîmes has a rich history, dating back to the Roman Empire when the city was home to 50,000–60,000 people.[2][3][4][5] Several famous monuments are in Nîmes, such as the Nîmes Arena and the Maison Carrée. Because of this, Nîmes is often referred to as the French Rome. [More] | | |
| |  | | | Via Domitia (Ancient Road) | Spain to Italy | Via Domitia was the first Roman road built in Gaul, to link Italy and Hispania through Gallia Narbonensis, across what is now southern France. The route that the Romans regularised and paved was ancient when they set out to survey it, so old that it traces the mythic route travelled by Heracles.[1] Hannibal traversed it on his way from Hispania to Italy.
The land for the route was provided by Massilia in exchange for Rome's protection. It was constructed in 118 BC by the proconsul, Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, whose name it bore; it was built around the same time the first Roman colony in Gaul, Colonia Narbo Martius (Narbonne) was founded. The Via Domitia connected Italy to Hispania. Crossing the Alps by the easiest passage, the Col de Montgenèvre (1850 m), it followed the valley of the Durance, crossed the Rhône at Beaucaire passed through Nîmes (Nemausus) then followed the coastal plain along the Gulf of Lion. At Narbonne, it met the Via Aquitania (which led toward the Atlantic Ocean through Toulouse and Bordeaux). Thus Narbonne was a crucial strategic crossroads of the Via Domitia and the Via Aquitania, and it was an accessible, but well-defendable, port at that time. This "cusp point" in the Roman westwards expansion and ensuing supply, communication and fortification was a very important asset, and was treated as such (see Narbonne). In between the cities that it linked, the Via Domitia was provided with a series of mansiones at distances of a day's journey for a loaded cart, at which shelter, provender and fresh horses could be obtained for travellers on official business.
The route as it was in Late Antiquity is represented in schematic fashion on the Tabula Peutingeriana. [More] | | |
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M.R. Mathias 
