Τα ελληνικά προϊστορικά μνημεία και ο αρχαίος πολιτισμός στην χώρα των Υπερβορείων(Φινλανδία, Λαπωνία, Ρωσία)

Η Σεϊντόζερο είναι ένα από τα πιο μυστικιστικά μέρη της βορειοδυτικής Ρωσίας. Τριγυρισμένη από βουνά, είναι κρυμμένη μέσα στην καρδιά της χερσονήσου Κόλσκι. Η ονομασία της σημαίνει «ιερή λίμνη» στη γλώσσα του γηγενούς πληθυσμού, Σαάμι. Τη σέβονται σαν έναν ιδιαίτερο τόπο όπου επιτρέπεται να έρθεις μόνο αν είναι αναγκαίο, προκειμένου να επικοινωνήσεις με το Μεγάλο Πνεύμα, και να ζητήσεις συμβουλή ή προστασία. Στη Σεϊντόζερο δεν αποτολμά ο καθένας να πάει μόνο και μόνο από περιέργεια. Πόσο μάλλον, αφού η διαδρομή περνά μέσα από ένα σκοτεινό φαράγγι και ένα επικίνδυνο πέτρινο πέρασμα.
Απαντες αντιμετωπίζουν τη λίμνη με σεβασμό, καθώς με αυτή συνδέονται εκατοντάδες ιστορίες για παράξενα, μυστικιστικά φαινόμενα, και την ιδιαίτερη γαλήνια ατμόσφαιρα. Τη Σεϊντόζερο προστατεύει ο γίγαντας Κούιβα, η γιγαντιαία ανθρώπινη φιγούρα που είναι αποτυπωμένη σ’ ένα βράχο. Η ακριβής προέλευσή της, παραμένει άγνωστη. Οι θρύλοι των Σαάμι αναφέρουν ότι τον κακό γίγαντα τιμώρησαν οι θεοί, χτυπώντας τον με κεραυνούς και μετατρέποντάς τον σε βράχο. Πολλοί ερευνητές θεωρούν ότι συγκεκριμένα εδώ έχουν διατηρηθεί τα ίχνη της Υπερβορείας, ενός μυθικού πολιτισμού που μνημονεύεται στα αρχαιοελληνικά κείμενα, ανάλογου με τη Σαμπάλα και την Ατλαντίδα. Στους αρχαιοελληνικούς θρύλους αναφέρεται ότι τη χώρα των Υπερβορείων, ενός λαού που διέθετε γνώσεις αποκρυφισμού και ήταν «κοντά» στους θεούς, την επισκεπτόταν συχνά ο ίδιος ο Απόλλωνας ο οποίος προσωποποιούσε τον Ήλιο. Οι υποστηρικτές αυτής της θεωρίας αναζητούν επιβεβαίωση στις γλωσσικές αντιστοιχίες. Η πρόεδρος της κοινωνικής οργάνωσης του Μούρμανσκ «Υπερβορεία», Βαλεντίνα Σαρίποβα, λέγει ότι «η χερσόνησος ονομάζεται “Κόλσκι”, που ηχεί το ίδιο με τον σλαβικό θεό του ήλιου Κολιαντά, ενώ η “Υπερβορεία” σε μετάφραση από τα αρχαία ελληνικά σημαίνει “πέρα από τον βόρειο άνεμο”». Τουρίστες και μελετητές των μυστηριωδών φαινομένων βρίσκουν συχνά στην περιοχή της Σεϊντόζερο πέτρες με ασυνήθιστα σωστή μορφή, που μοιάζουν με ερείπια αρχαίων κτισμάτων. Η Σαρίποβα ανέφερε στην RBTH ότι «πρόσφατα ανακαλύφθηκαν υπολείμματα αστεροσκοπείου και συγκεκριμένα πέτρες, στις οποίες έχουν φτιαχτεί βαθουλωτές γραμμές που κατευθύνονται ακριβώς προς τον Πολικό Αστέρα, ενώ σε πολλούς βράχους έχουν χαραχτεί αρχαίες γραφές ή ρουνικά σύμβολα». Στη χερσόνησο Κόλσκι ανακαλύπτονται και άλλα πράγματα, τα οποία προκαλούν απορίες στους ερευνητές. Από τις αρχές ακόμη του περασμένου αιώνα ο επιστήμονας, Αλεξάντρ Μπάρτσενκο, βρήκε στην περιοχή της Σεϊντόζερο μια μυστηριώδη είσοδο που οδηγεί κάτω απ’ τη γη. Τα στοιχεία των αποστολών του κρίθηκαν απόρρητα. Την είσοδο στη σπηλιά δεν την είδε ποτέ πια κανείς, ενώ τον ίδιο τον επιστήμονα τον εκτέλεσαν. Στις μέρες μας τις έρευνές του συνέχισε η ρωσική κοινωνική οργάνωση «Kosmopoisk». Οι μετέχοντες στην αποστολή ανακάλυψαν και αυτοί μερικά σπήλαια, αλλά για την ώρα εντελώς συνηθισμένα. Ο ρώσος ερευνητής ανώμαλων φαινομένων, Βαντίμ Τσερνομπρόβ, θεωρεί ότι σε αυτό το θέμα μπορεί να μπει μια τελεία μόνο αφότου βρεθούν όλες οι υπόγειες είσοδοι. Ο ίδιος αναμένει να βρεθεί οτιδήποτε, ενώ όσον αφορά τις αρχαίες πόλεις πιστεύει πως, έστω και αν βρεθούν κτίσματα, τότε αυτά θα βρίσκονται κάτω απ’ τη γη είτε κάτω απ’ το νερό. Ελπίζει λοιπόν, ότι κάποιοι από τους θρύλους θα αποδειχθούν αληθινοί. Τα αινίγματα των μεγαλιθικών μνημείων. Στέκονται εκεί για χιλιετηρίδες αποτελώντας ακόμα ένα αίνιγμα για τους ερευνητές του παρελθόντος. Ο λόγος για κάποια μεγαλιθικά μνημεία της Ευρώπης, τεράστιους σχηματισμούς, πολλές φορές με δαιδαλώδη δομή, μάρτυρες ενός άγνωστου πολιτισμού. Παρά τις εικασίες των αρχαιολόγων, αυτές οι λίθινες κατασκευές ηλικίες απ’ ό,τι υπολογίζεται 5 ως 6 χιλιάδων ετών, δεν μπορούν να αποδοθούν με σιγουριά σε κάποιο γνωστό πολιτισμό, ούτε έχει δοθεί μια απάντηση για το λόγο που έχουν χτιστεί. Από τον 15ο αιώνα υπάρχουν αναφορές για την ύπαρξη αυτών των κατασκευών, σε μια εποχή που η επίσημη εκκλησία τιμωρούσε με βαριές ποινές τον αμαρτωλό, για το απλό παράπτωμα του να πλησιάσει εκείνος τις κατασκευές αυτές. Το «αμάρτημα» βέβαια συνδέονταν με την παράδοση που συνέδεε τους σχηματισμούς αυτούς με προ-χριστιανικές (και συνεπώς ειδωλολατρικές) λατρείες και τελετουργικά. Αίνιγμα επίσης αποτελεί η γεωγραφική κατανομή τους. Αν και οι πιο διάσημη κατασκευή είναι αυτή του Stonehedge στην Αγγλία, βρίσκονται όμως παντού: στη Βρετανία, στη Βαλτική μέχρι και στη Βόρεια Ρωσία υπάρχουν ανάλογες δομές, σύμφωνα και με τον καθηγητή Anatoly Verba απ’ το πανεπιστήμιο του Arkhangelsk. Άλλο αίνιγμα είναι ο τρόπος κατασκευής τους, καθώς πολλές φορές μιλάμε για ογκόλιθους βάρους άνω των 50 τόνων. Ακόμα πιο μεγάλο αίνιγμα όμως αποτελεί ο σκοπός της κατασκευής τους. Πολλοί υποστηρίζουν την τελετουργική λειτουργία τους, κάποιοι άλλοι όμως υποστηρίζουν την άποψη ότι λειτουργούν σαν τεράστιοι πομποί και δέκτες μετάδοσης σημάτων προς και από το Σύμπαν, υπόθεση η οποία φαίνεται κάπως «τρελή» στους αρχαιολόγους, οι οποίοι όμως με τη σειρά τους δεν έχουν δώσει μια σίγουρη απάντηση για τη χρήση τους. Κάποιες άλλες υποθέσεις τις συνδέουν με μεταναστεύσεις λαών, αλλά και με εμπορικές διασυνδέσεις των βρετανικών νήσων με μεσογειακούς λαούς και την Ελλάδα. Η υπόθεση αυτή που υποστηρίζει και η καθηγήτρια Lyudmila Orekhova, συνδέει την ύπαρξη αυτών των κατασκευών με τον Μινωικό πολιτισμό, βλέποντας σχέσεις ανάμεσα στον Λαβύρινθο που κατασκεύασε ο Δαίδαλος, με τη δαιδαλώδη δομή κάποιων μεγαλιθικών μνημείων. Εξάλλου κάποιοι ιστορικοί έχουν στηρίξει με στοιχεία το ενδεχόμενο οι Έλληνες να είχαν ταξιδεύσει στη Βόρεια Ευρώπη για εμπορικούς ή αποικιστικούς σκοπούς.
Αν αποδειχτεί  ότι οι Έλληνες είχαν φθάσει στην Φινλανδία και ότι η γλώσσα τους και η μυθολογία τους είναι ελληνογενής(έχει στοιχεία ), θα είναι η σημαντικότερη απόδειξη για την άφιξη των Ελλήνων στην Β. Ευρώπη. Οι τυχόν ομοιότητες στη μυθολογία, θρησκεία και γλώσσα μεταξύ Ελλήνων και λοιπών ευρωπαϊκών λαών θα μπορούσαν να ερμηνευθούν και μέσω της ινδοευρωπαϊκής θεωρίας. Οι Φινλανδοί όμως θεωρούνται λαός μη  ινδοευρωπαϊκός. Αν λοιπόν ο πολιτισμός τους είχε επηρεασθεί από τον ελληνικό, αυτό σημαίνει και ότι οι λοιποί ευρωπαϊκοί πολιτισμοί είχαν επηρεασθεί από τον ελληνικό. Αψευδής μάρτυρας της αφίξεως των Ελλήνων στην Φινλανδία είναι τοπωνύμια και εθνικά ονόματα των Φιλανδών, τα οποία είναι ελληνικής προελεύσεως. Η μυθολογία επίσης των Φιλανδών, όπως και η θρησκεία τους, είναι ή εχει πστοιχεία αρχαιοελληνικής προελεύσεως. Απεδείχθη η ταύτιση των νυμφών της Φινλανδίας με τις Εσπερίδες νύμφες. Οι ομοιότητες όμως δεν περιορίζονται εκεί. Ο Φινλανδός Lonrot κατέγραψε τα λαϊκά άσματα της περιοχής, τα όποια εξυμνούν κάποιον ήρωα ονόματι Βαϊναμόνεν, ο οποίος «όταν τραγουδά με το έγχορδό του, όλα τα ζώα τον πλησιάζουν και τον ακούν με ευφροσύνη». Ο Βαϊναμόνεν δεν είναι άλλος απο τον Ορφέα με την λύρα του. Σύμφωνα με τον Castren στο έργο του «Nordiska Resor» ο Jumala ήταν ο υπέρτατος θεός – δημιουργός των Φιλανδών, ο θεός των βροντών, ενώ ο Ukko ήταν ο θεός πού κρατούσε στους ώμους του τον κόσμο. Γίνεται εύκολα αντιληπτό ότι πρόκειται για τον Δία και τον Άτλαντα. Αυτό αποδεικνύεται και από το ότι επίθετο του Διός στην Βοιωτία και Θεσσαλία ήταν το Ομολώιος, το οποίο παρεφθάρη στους Φινλανδούς ως Jumala [αμολώιος > χομολώιος > χουμολώιος (κώφωση του ο σε ου) > γιουμολόιος (μετατροπή της δασείας σε ημίφωνο j) > Jumala]. Ετυμολογείται επίσης από πελασγικό – γίμο) = βροντή. Οι Φιλανδοί επίσης ονομάζουν τον θεό Jen. Ο Jen είναι Ο Ζευς των Ελλήνων (Ζευς > γεν. Ζηνός, Ζενός). Η μετατροπή του ζ (Ζευς) σε j (Jen) δεν πρέπει να μας ξενίζει.Τα κοινά στοιχεία στην γλώσσα, στην θρησκεία και εν γένει στον πολιτισμό των Ευρωπαίων οφείλονται στις επεκτάσεις αυτές των Αιγαίων κατά την απώτατη προϊστορία και όχι σε μεταναστεύσεις ενός ανύπαρκτου λαού, προϊόν φαντασίας των γλωσσολόγων του περασμένου αιώνα, των Ινδοευρωπαίων. Αυτό φαίνεται και από το γεγονός ότι θρησκευτικά σύμβολα του μινωικού πολιτισμού (διπλός πέλεκυς, ταύρος κ.λπ.), ο οποίος θεωρείται προϊνδοευρωπαϊκός – εμφανίζονται διάσπαρτα σε όλη την Ευρώπη κατά τη Μέση Νεολιθική εποχή. Ο Alain Danielou αναλύοντας στο έργο του «Shiva and Dionysus» (σελ. 168) τον περίφημο «Γίγαντα του Cerne Abbas» – τον οποίο ο Stukeley από το 1764 ταυτοποιούσε με τον Ηρακλή, επειδή κρατούσε ρόπαλο και το όνομα του Helis ήταν παραφθορά του Hercules – παρατηρεί: Όλα τα σύμβολα (ταύρος, φαλλός, κριός, όφις) ευρίσκονται σε πολιτιστικά και γεωργικά κέντρα του 6000 π.Χ. πού είναι εξαπλωμένα από την Ευρώπη και την Αφρική ως την Ν.Α. Ασία. Ο νέος και γυμνός ιθυφαλλικός θεός υπάρχει σε όλες τις περιόδους της προϊστορικής Ευρώπης, από τον Πρωτο-Σέσκλο και το Starcevo (6000 π.Χ.) ως το Διμήνι και την περίοδο Vinca της Ρουμανίας, όπου η αρχαιολογική έρευνα απεκάλυψε νεκρούς σε στάση Γιόγκα. Αμέτρητες(πιθανά) ομοιότητες στους μύθους και την εικονογραφία δεν αφήνουν (πιθανά) αμφιβολία για την αρχική ενότητα της αρχαίας θρησκείας και της ευρείας εξαπλώσεως της επιρροής της. Το μεγάλο αυτό πολιτιστικό ρεύμα εκτεινόταν από την Πορτογαλία ως το Μπαλί». Κυρίαρχος λαός της Ευρώπης λοιπόν κατά την απώτατη προϊστορία ήταν οι Έλληνες – Πελασγοί. Στην κυτταρική μνήμη της πελασγικής καταγωγής των Ευρωπαίων πρέπει να αποδοθεί και η Αναγέννηση, η αναγέννηση του αρχαίου ελληνικού πνεύματος. Το γεγονός της προϊστορικής επεκτάσεως των Ελλήνων θα γίνει με τον καιρό αποδεκτό απ’ την πανεπιστημιακή κοινότητα, εφ’ όσον στηρίζεται σε αδιάβλητα στοιχεία και όχι σε  αοριστολογίες και εικασίες, στις οποίες στηρίζεται η ινδοευρωπαϊκή θεωρία. Είναι καιρός οι Ευρωπαίοι να παραδεχθούν τις πελασγικές καταβολές τους.
Πήγη: http://gr.rbth.com/arts/travel/2014/11/24/anazitoyn_ti_rosiki_sampala_ston_arktiko_kyklo_33857
http://www.esoterica.gr/news/june_03/megalith/megalith.htm
http://olympia.gr/2012/09/19/προϊστορικοι-έλληνεσ-στην-β-ευρωπη-κε/

La ricca storia dei Greci del Sud Italia(Magna Grecia) : Puglia, Basilicata, Campania e Calabria

L'insediamento umano in Puglia risale quanto meno a 250.000 anni fa, come testimoniano i resti fossili dell' Uomo di Altamura, una forma arcaica di Homo neanderthalensis. Numerosi sono i reperti di epoca preistorica, tra i quali diversi menhir e dolmen. Intorno al I millennio a.C., si insediarono sul territorio i popoli dei Dauni, dei Peucezi e dei Messapi di probabile origine illirica, e più tardi, in epoca ellenica, numerose furono le colonie magnogreche soprattutto nella parte meridionale della regione, tra le quali la città spartana di Taras (Taranto). Durante la seconda guerra sannitica (326-304 a.C.), l'esercito romano, nel tentativo di prestare soccorso a Luceria, assediata dai Sanniti, subì una grave sconfitta nella Battaglia delle Forche Caudine (321 a.C.). Ben presto Roma comprese l'importanza strategica dell'Apulia, ma l'occupazione della regione, nel III secolo a.C., non fu agevole soprattutto per la resistenza di Tarentum e Brundisium. Nel 216 a.C. a Canne (Barletta) l'esercito romano patì contro iCartaginesi di Annibale la sua peggiore sconfitta. Venne quindi istituita la Regio II Apulia et Calabria, che includeva anche il Sannio, una parte dell'attuale Molise e la Basilicata orientale. Con la costruzione della via Appia e, in epoca imperiale, della via Traiana (lungo cui prosperarono città come Aecae, Herdonia, Silvium, Canusium e Bitonto), la regione occupò posizioni di primato nella produzione del grano e dell'olio, diventando la maggior esportatrice di olio d'oliva in Oriente. Alla caduta dell'Impero romano d'Occidente, anche la Puglia attraversò un lungo periodo di sofferenza. Molti popoli (Eruli e Ostrogoti) si alternarono sul territorio, ma alla fine divenne dominio dell'Impero bizantino (VI-XI secolo). Bari divenne capoluogo di un territorio esteso sino all'odierna Basilicata e sottoposto all'autorità di un capitano (o più propriamente catapano), nome del governatore bizantino da dove deriva il termine Capitanata. Con l'arrivo dei Normanni (XI secolo), Taranto diventò la capitale dell' omonimo principato, esteso su tutta la Terra d'Otranto. Nel 1043 i Normanni fondarono la Contea di Puglia e, successivamente, il Ducato di Puglia e Calabria. Dal 1130 fece parte del Regno di Sicilia. Nel secolo XIII il nome Apulia fu utilizzato da alcuni autori per indicare la parte meridionale della penisola italiana. Sia con i Normanni che con gli Svevi capeggiati dagli Hohenstaufen, la Puglia conseguì un grande progresso materiale e civile, che toccò l'apice con Federico II, a cui si deve la realizzazione di una serie di edifici laici e religiosi, alcuni di alto valore artistico, tra cui Castel del Monte ad Andria. Tra il 1282 e il 1400 la Puglia fu sotto la dominazione degli Angioini, all'interno del Regno di Napoli, a cui si sostituirono gli spagnoli: a partire da questo momento cominciò a radicarsi il potere dei latifondisti sul territorio.
Nella preistoria di Basilicata i primi insediamenti umani risalgono al Paleolitico inferiore (Homo Erectus) e a rifugi del Mesolitico. Dal V millennio a.C. si diffusero gli insediamenti in villaggi fortificati e nell'età del ferro esistette una cultura indigena locale. Dall'VIII secolo a.C. fu fondata la colonia greca di Siris(di madrepatria microasiatica) e intorno al 630 a.C. quella diMetaponto, di colonizzazione achea, completando l'occupazione della costa ionica, mentre nell'interno continuano a fiorire le comunità indigene (in particolare nell'area di Melfi). Dopo un primo periodo di pacifica convivenza alcuni insediamenti indigeni scompaiono e altri vengono fortificati. Le città greche lottano l'una con l'altra. I primi contatti dei Romani con i Lucani si ebbero con una temporanea alleanza anti sannita intorno al 330 a.C. Dopo la conquista di Taranto nel 272 a.C. il dominio romano si estese a tutta la regione. Venne prolungata la via Appia fino a Brindisi e vennero fondate le colonie di Potentia(Potenza) e Grumentum. A Venosa nacque il poeta latino Orazio. Alla fine del V secolo la Lucania era già ampiamente cristianizzata e dopo la caduta dell'impero romano restò in possesso bizantino fino alla conquista longobarda nel 568, entrando a far parte del Ducato di Benevento. Le incursionisaracene portarono le popolazioni locali all'abbandono degli abitati in pianura e in prossimità della costa, a favore di centri protetti sulle alture. Tricarico e Tursi conoscono una dominazione araba di più lunga durata che inciderà profondamente sulla struttura stessa degli abitati, che hanno conservato testimonianze ancora oggi ben visibili nei quartieri della ràbata e della saracena a Tricarico e della rabatana a Tursi.
Nel 968, dopo la conquista bizantina, venne costituito il thema di Lucania, con capoluogo Tursikon (attuale Tursi). Nel 1059 con la conquista normanna, il thema scomparve e Melfidivenne una delle sedi del potere regale. Federico II di Svevia soggiornò a Melfi nel 1225 e nel1231, anno in cui vennero emanate le Constitutiones regni Siciliae ("Costituzioni di Melfi"), e in quegli anni, venne costruito il castello di Lagopesole. Nel XIV secolo la Lucania attraversò una profonda crisi demografica, attribuibile probabilmente alla "cacciata dei Saraceni" ordinata da Carlo I d'Angiò. La famiglia Caracciolo ottenne la signoria su Melfi e diversi altri feudi. Nella seconda metà del XV secolo si ebbe una generale ripresa economica e demografica, anche in seguito all'arrivo di profughi dalle regioni dell' Impero bizantino in seguito alla caduta di Costantinopoli. La Basilicata fu teatro della famosa Congiura dei baroni ordita nel 1485 dal principe di Salerno Antonello II dei Sanseverinoconsigliato da Antonello Petrucci e Francesco Coppola, ai danni del re di Napoli Ferdinando I di Napoli che coinvolse molte famiglie feudatarie di signori e baroni del regno della fazione guelfa favorevoli agli angioini, tra cui oltre iSanseverino, conti di Tricarico, si ricordano i Caracciolo principi di Melfi, i Gesualdo marchesi di Caggiano, i del Balzo-Orsini principi di Altamura e di Venosa, i Guevara principi di Teramo, i Senerchia conti di Sant'Andrea e Rapone, che si riunirono nel Castello del Malconsigliodi Miglionico (detto anche della congiura dei Baroni). La Congiura fu narrata dallo Storico Camillo Porzio nella sua più celebre opera, La congiura dei Baroni del regno di Napoli contra il re Ferdinando I.
Sin dal II millennio a.C., nell'attuale Campania è attestata la presenza di popolazioni di ceppo indoeuropei quali gli Osci (oOpici), gli Aurunci, gli Ausoni, i Sidicini ed i Sanniti; i quali parlavano la lingua osca, una lingua indo-europea del gruppo italico. Successivamente la zona costiera della Campania, come altre zone dell'Italia meridionale, fu soggetto dellacolonizzazione greca. I primi insediamenti lungo le coste della regione, portarono alla nascita di centri come Pithecusa(Ischia), Kyme (Cuma), Parthenope prima e Neapolis poi (Napoli), Dikaiarcheia (Pozzuoli), Poseidonia (Paestum), Elea(Ascea), Pixunte (Policastro Bussentino). La Campania divenne così uno dei centri culturali più importanti della Magna Grecia, la quale in seguito eserciterà un'influenza decisiva sulla società romana e poi sull'intera civiltà occidentale. Lo stesso alfabeto latino, con buona probabilità, deriva dall'alfabeto greco calcidese di Cuma. La prima delle colonie greche in Campania e nell'intero Mediterraneo occidentale fu l' isola di Ischia (già sede di insediamenti punico-cartaginesi a partire dal X secolo a.C.), dove agli inizi dell' VIII secolo a.C. un élite tecnico culturale proveniente da Calcide di Eubea si insediò priva di armi e con il consenso dei Cartaginesi nella baia di Lacco Ameno, luogo ben noto ai Cartaginesi, in funzione osservativa delle abilità tecnologiche delle comunità etrusche nel lavorare il ferro dell' Elba. Il primo stanziamento, detto dai greci Pithecusa, ebbe carattere misti tra la cultura greca e quella cartaginese e precedette temporalmente anche quelli di Naxos e Megara Hyblaea nella Sicilia meridionale (in realtà, il geografo Strabone, nonché l'attento studio del mito della Sirena Partenope e degli altri fatti storici riconducibili a quel periodo, hanno fornito buone tesi a proposito di un antecedente insediamento Rodio posto nell' isolotto di Megaride, attuale Castel dell'Ovo. Esso, riconducibile al IX secolo a.C., costituirebbe il primo nucleo delle futura Napoli). In seguito ai buoni rapporti intessuti da questa avanguardia, tra cui va ricordato il passaggio dell'alfabeto greco agli etruschi, avvenne lo stanziamento di coloni che dapprima interessò l'isola di Ischia e poi si allargò in terraferma ad un'area limitata e di marginale interesse per la preesistente civiltà etrusco-sannita ed in particolare nel napoletano. Dapprima essi si insediarono a Cuma (il punto della terraferma più vicino a Lacco Ameno) e poi si insediarono a Dicearchia (Pozzuoli), Parthenope e poi presso la definitiva Nea Polis (ovvero la Napoli attuale), nella quale fu organizzato il tipico impianto urbanistico ippodameo costituito da plateiai estenopoi, divenuti poi nell'epoca romana l'area dei decumani di Napoli. È interessante inoltre notare come tuttora la popolosa e densa città metropolitana di Napoli occupi uno spazio decisamente esiguo nella complessiva superficie regionale. L'insediamento greco avvenne infatti solo lungo le coste, mentre la parte interna era abitata dagli etruschi che diedero vita ad una lega di dodici municipi con a capo Capua, Nuceria,Nola, Acerra, Suessula. Successivamente la regione costiera subì prima l'influenza politico-militare Sanniti (intorno al V secolo a.C.) e poi divenne un obiettivo espansionistico di Roma. A seguito delle treguerre sannitiche (343-290 a.C.), con esito infausto per le popolazioni locali, fu occupata dai Romani, che vi fondarono parecchie colonie (come quella di Puteoli, l'attuale Pozzuoli). Durante la seconda guerra punica, solo poche città si allearono ai Cartaginesi, mentre la maggior parte della regione restò fedele a Roma. Amministrativamente fece parte dellaRegio I; ai tempi di Diocleziano acquisì poi autonomia. Durante l'occupazione romana, molti potenti costruirono lungo la costa le proprie ville estive. Anche dal punto di vista economico ci fu uno straordinario sviluppo dell'agricoltura e del commercio, la regione era infatti da sempre una delle zone più ricche del mondo classico e romano e ciò gli valse l'appellativo di Campania Felix. A Napoli, infine, nel castel dell'Ovo, con la morte dell'imperatore Romolo Augusto avvenuta dopo il 511, si decretò definitivamente la caduta dell' Impero romano d'Occidente. Sul finire del V secolo d.C. i longobardi scesero in Italiaarrivando fino in Campania. Con la fondazione del Ducato di Benevento e poi con la caduta di Pavia divenne principato e verso il XI secolo divenne possedimento del pontefice (denominato dagli storici il balcone del Papa sul Sud Italia), la Campania perse la sua unità, poiché piccole parti del territorio andarono a Bisanzio e tutto il resto ai principi Longobardi. Il Ducato di Napoli cadde in mano bizantina nel 536, ma ben presto tale territorio si ribellò alle autorità centrali, divenendo un vero e proprio stato autonomo. Nell'anno 1030 i normanni acquisirono il feudo di Aversa, ceduto da uno degli ultimi duchi di Napoli: un episodio storico che provocò l'ascesa della potente dinastia normanna. Nel giro di un secolo, da quell'avamposto, furono in grado di unificare e sottomettere politicamente buona parte dei territori dell'Italia meridionale. La Campania venne compresa nel Regno di Sicilia, e affidata ai rispettivi sovrani (Altavilla, Hohenstaufen, Angioini e Aragonesi).
Con i Vespri siciliani, ci fu l'inizio della guerra dei novant'anni. La Sicilia si divise dal Regno e alla dinastia Angioina rimase ilSud Italia continentale che divenne quindi Regno di Napoli. Seguì poi la dinastia Aragonese, sotto il cui regno Napoli divenne uno dei più importanti centri del Rinascimento e dell'Umanesimo. Alfonso V d'Aragona, riuscì a ricostituire momentaneamente l'unificazione dei due Regni. Napoli sotto questo sovrano divenne una vera e propria capitale del Mediterraneo.
Le prime tracce della presenza dell'uomo in Calabria risalgono al Paleolitico come testimoniano i ritrovamenti nelle grotte di Praia a Mare e il graffito del Bos primigenius della Grotta del Romito a Papasidero, una figura di bovide incisa nella roccia 12.000 anni fa. Durante l'era dei metalligiunsero nuove popolazioni, uno degli insediamenti più importanti risalente a quel periodo è il complesso di Torre Galli nei pressi di Vibo Valentia, inoltre, nei pressi di Roccella Ionica, sul finire degli anni sessanta, furono condotti degli scavi che riportarono alla luce una necropoli risalente all'età del ferro, così come, negli anni cinquanta, in contrada Ronzo a Calanna a poca distanza dall'abitato si scoprì la necropoli di un villaggio protostorico databile ai secoli XI- X a.c, importanti reperti ritrovati sono conservati a Reggio Calabria nel Museo nazionale della Magna Grecia. Secondo il mito, Aschenez, pronipote di Noè, mercante semita ed inventore della barca a remi, giunse tre generazioni dopo il diluvio universale sulle sponde dove fu fondata Reggio.
Più tardi, secondo il mito greco, circa 850 anni prima della guerra di Troia, vi sarebbero dunque giunti Enotrio e Peucezio (riportato anche come Paucezio), di stirpe enotria e pelasgica, originari della Siria che, trovando il suolo molto fertile, chiamarono la regione "Ausonia" in ricordo dell'Ausonide, fertile zona della Siria. Secondo la leggenda Enotrio avrebbe regnato per 71 anni e alla sua morte gli sarebbe succeduto il figlio Italo ("uomo forte e savio" secondo quanto narra Dionigi di Alicarnasso) che regnò su una popolazione "Italòi" che occupavano la penisola nella zona situata a sud dell'Istmo di Catanzaro, che oggi sono la province di Catanzaro, Vibo Valentia e Reggio Calabria, dalla quale l'Ausonia avrebbe preso il nuovo nome di "Italia", come riportano Tucidide ("quella regione fu chiamata Italia da Italo, re arcade") e Virgilio (Eneide, III). Sappiamo comunque da Dionigi di Alicarnasso (1 11,2-4; 12,1) e Diodoro Siculo che gli "Ausoni" (abitanti dell'Ausonia) erano stanziati nella zona di Reggio già intorno al XVI secolo a.C..
Tali popolazioni dunque (Ausoni-Enotri-Itali, di probabile origine indoeuropea, Italici appartenenti al gruppo latino-falisco), avrebbero abitato prevalentemente le zone costiere. I Lucani (Italici indoeuropei, appartenenti al gruppo osco-umbro), abitavano nella regione che da essi prese il nome di "Lucania", a nord della Calabria. L'entroterra della Calabria (chiamato in seguito dai Romani "Bruttium"), fu abitato principalmente dai Bruzi (di temperamento bellicoso, chiamati Brutti o Bretti, strettamente imparentati coi Lucani) oltre che da genti di origine iberica. Il centro nevralgico di questo popolo era Consentia, l'attuale Cosenza, la quale venne eletta dalle tribù dei Bruzi, dopo essersi coalizzate in una lega, "capitale" della regione. Fu occupata dai Romani assieme al resto della Magna Grecia nel 265 a.C., ma durante la seconda guerra punica si ribellò a Roma per allearsi con Annibale, per poi ritornare sotto il saldo controllo della repubblica romana dopo la sconfitta del condottiero cartaginese. Di fondamentale importanza è lo sbarco dei Greci sulle coste calabresi, i quali strapparono le terre ai Lucani (costretti a rifugiarsi nell'entroterra e nella parte settentrionale della Calabria), e si mescolarono con gli altri popoli autoctoni, dando vita ad una cultura meticcia, greco-italica, estremamente florida nei secoli successivi. I Greci fondarono fiorenti colonie, così magnificenti da guadagnarsi l'appellativo di Magna Grecia (Grande Grecia), così importanti da superare, in alcuni casi, la stessa madrepatria. Tra l' VIII ed il IV secolo a.C. infatti fiorivano su tutta la costa numerose ed importanti città della Magna Grecia, comeRhegion, Kroton, Locri Epizephyrii, Metauros e Sybaris, e numerose sub-colonie fondate dalle colonie stesse quali: Kaulon, Hipponion, Medma, Terina e Scolacium.
La storia delle poleis magnogreche vide primeggiare politicamente ed economicamente le città di Reggio come padrona dello Stretto di Messina e della Calabria meridionale, di Locri Epizefiri nella parte centrale della regione, e di Crotone in quella settentrionale, in una storia fatta di alterne alleanze e conflitti interni tra le tre potenze della regione. Successivamente, con la pressione delle popolazioni italiche dei Bruzi e dei Lucani (che conquistarono anche la gran parte poleis greche), e con l'avvento di Roma, la Magna Greciainiziò il suo declino, dovuto anche ad una continua lotta per il predominio tra le poleis. Con la caduta dell'Impero romano d'Occidente, la Calabria fu devastata dalle guerre gotiche, tra goti e bizantini, i quali ebbero la meglio. Successivamente a causa dell'invasionelongobarda i Bizantini persero gran parte dell'Italia compresa anche parte della Calabria settentrionale, i territori rimasti del Bruzio furono aggregati con le terre possedute nel Salento, formando il ducato di Calabria compreso nel thema di Sicilia.
Successivamente il dominio bizantino in Italia Meridionale fu diviso in: thema di Langobardia, con capitale Bari, e, una volta caduta la Sicilia in mano agli arabi, in thema di Calabria, con capitale Reggio. Quest'ultimo territorio aveva dunque ereditato il nome Calabria, precedentemente usato per designare la penisola salentina; con l'estendersi delle conquisti bizantine fu organizzato anche il thema di Lucania che comprendeva parte dell'odierna Calabria settentrionale.
Durante l'alto medioevo gli abitanti furono spinti verso l'interno della regione sia dalle pestilenze che dalle incursioni piratesche, una vera minaccia per gli insediamenti costieri, continuata fino alla fine del XVIII secolo. Numerose furono infatti le fortificazioni collinari e montuose nell'entroterra calabrese, costituita da villaggi arroccati in posizione sufficientemente arretrata e inaccessibile da poter avvistare in tempo le navi nemiche e sbarrare prontamente le vie d'accesso ai centri abitati. Nel IX e X secolo, la Calabria fu terra di confine tra i Bizantini e gli Arabi insediatisi in Sicilia, che si contesero a lungo la penisola, soggetta a razzie e schermaglie, spopolata e demoralizzata, ma con gli importanti monasteri bizantini, vere e proprie roccaforti della cultura del tempo, e patria di numerosissimi santi monaci (san Nilo da Rossano, san Gregorio da Cerchiara ecc). Alla lunga contesa arabo-bizantina mette fine però la famiglia normanna degli Altavilla. L'anno1061 sancisce infatti che la Calabria è dei Normanni, suddivisa tra Roberto il Guiscardo, Duca di Calabria, e Ruggero, Conte di Calabria. Il governo così organizzato fu messo in atto dai locali magnati bizantini. Il dominio viene esteso alle Puglie e da questo momento ha termine ogni pertinenza bizantina. Roberto conferma in Reggio la capitale del Ducato di Puglia e di Calabria e sede delgiustizierato di Calabria, nominandosi egli stesso Duca;In questo periodo Cosenza divenne capitale e sede del giustizierato Val di Crati e Terra Giordana e residenza di Ruggero II, Duca di Calabria che iniziò la costruzione del Castello sui ruderi di una fortezza saracena. Ruggero è invece Conte di Calabria, vassallo del fratello Roberto, con sede a Mileto.
Roberto il Guiscardo fu investito Duca di Puglia, Calabria e Sicilia il 23 agosto 1059 da papa Niccolò II con la formula: per Grazia di Dio e di San Pietro duca di Puglia e Calabria e, se ancora mi assisteranno, futuro Signore della Sicilia.
Πηγη: https://it.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilicata
https://it.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puglia
https://it.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campania
https://it.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calabria

Константи́н IX Монома́х византийский император и Влади́мир Все́володович Монома́х великий князь киевский

Константи́н IX Монома́х (по другому счету X или XI; Мономах — фамильное имя; ок.1000 — 11 января 1055) — византийский император (11 июня 1042 — 11 января 1055) из Македонской династии. Взошёл на императорский престол благодаря браку сЗоей Порфирородной, дочерью императора Константина VIII. В царствование Романа III Аргира (1028—1034), которому Константин приходился зятем, он был приближен к императорскому двору, понравился императрице Зое и стал её фаворитом, чем возбудил опасения придворных, как возможный жених Зои и претендент на престол после смерти Романа, и при воцарении Михаила IV Пафлагонянина (1034—1041) был отправлен в ссылку в Митилину, на о-ве Лесбос, где и прожил все царствование Михаила IV и Михаила V (1041—1042). После свержения Михаила V Мономах был вызван в Константинополь, где женился на Зое и был коронован императором. Константин был примерно на 20 лет моложе жены, а к моменту брака ей было уже за шестьдесят. Для обоих это супружество было уже третьим. Такой брак не одобряется православной церковью, поэтому венчание, хоть и торжественное, совершил не патриарх, а «первый из пресвитеров» собора Святой Софии — Стип. Патриарх Алексий «под давлением обстоятельств и, можно сказать, воли Божьей уступил и, хотя сам не возложил руки на венчающихся, обнял их, уже сочетавшихся браком и обвенчанных». По словам Пселла, это он сделал, возможно, льстиво, так как придерживался дворцовой партии императрицы Феодоры. В своём манифесте после венчания Зоя заявила, что этот брак претит её понятиям о чести и совершён исключительно ради интересов империи. До 1050 г. он царствовал совместно с Зоей и её сестрой Феодорой, а с 1050 г., после смерти Зои — совместно с Феодорой, которая и стала его единоличной преемницей после кончины Константина в январе 1055 г. от воспаления лёгких. Легкомысленный, жадный до наслаждений Константин не интересовался государственными делами, которые не расстраивались совершенно только благодаря прочности византийского бюрократического механизма. Ряд «анекдотов», характеризующих его личность, сохранён его современником Михаилом Пселлом. В 1043 имел место последний поход Руси (единственный после крещения) на Константинополь — Русско-византийская война 1043 года. Им командовал сын Ярослава Мудрого Владимир Ярославич. О причинах похода ведутся споры. Армия Руси потерпела полное поражение, Константин IX получил контрибуцию. Вероятно, в знак заключения мира с Русью Константин выдал свою дочь от первого брака (или, как предполагают некоторые авторы, иную близкую родственницу) замуж за другого сына Ярослава,Всеволода. Родившийся в 1053 году от этого брака сын Владимир получил от родителей прозвище по деду — Владимир Мономах. В позднем русском Средневековье возникла легенда (Сказание о князьях Владимирских), связывающая с личностью Константина IX шапку Мономаха, якобы подаренную им внуку как знак царских прав. В действительности Константин умер, когда Владимиру было 2 года и он не был прямым наследником, не говоря уже об общепринятой сейчас датировке так называемой шапки Мономаха временами Ивана Калиты — первой половиной XIV века. Единственной известной регалией, подаренной кому-либо Константином, была корона, которую он отправил венгерскому королю Андрашу I ко дню коронации его и его супруги Анастасии, дочери Ярослава Мудрого
Влади́мир Все́володович Монома́х (др.-рус.Володимиръ (-мѣръ) Мономахъ; в крещении Василий; 1053—19 мая 1125) —князь смоленский (1073—1078), черниговский (1078—1094), переяславский (1094—1113), великий князь киевский (1113—1125), государственный деятель, военачальник, писатель, мыслитель. Сын князя Всеволода Ярославича. Прозван Мономахом по прозванию рода матери, которая предположительно была дочерью византийского императора Константина IX Мономаха. Своё детство и юность провёл при дворе отца Всеволода Ярославича в Переяславле-Южном. Постоянно возглавлял отцовскую дружину, осуществлял далёкие походы, воевал против половцев.
В 1076 году вместе с Олегом Святославичем участвовал в походе в помощь полякам против чехов, также дважды с отцом и Святополком Изяславичем против ВсеславаПолоцкого. Во время второго похода произошло первое использование наёмного войска из половцев для междоусобной войны. На момент смерти Святослава Ярославича (декабрь 1076 года) был смоленским князем. В 1078 году его отец стал киевским князем, а Владимир Мономах получил Чернигов. В1080 году отбил набег половцев на черниговские земли, нанёс поражение кочевникам-торкам. В начале 1080-х подавил восстание вятичей, произведя два похода (две подряд зимы между 1078 и 1084 годами). В 1093 году после смерти отца, великого князя Всеволода, имел возможность занять киевский престол, но, не желая войны, добровольно уступил это право двоюродному брату Святополку, сказав: «Если сяду на столе отца своего, то буду воевать со Святополком, так как стол этот был его отца». Сам же остался княжить в Чернигове. Однако, Владимир сохранил свою власть в Ростове и распространил её на Смоленск. Также ему удалось не допустить замены своего сына Мстислава в Новгороде сыном Святополка (1102) и тем самым нарушить традицию, по которой в Новгороде княжил старший сын киевского князя. После смерти (1113) киевского князя Святополка Изяславича вКиеве вспыхнуло народное восстание; верхи киевского общества призвали на княжение Владимира Мономаха (4 мая 1113 года). Став киевским князем, он подавил восстание, но в то же время вынужден был законодательным путём несколько смягчить положение низов. Так возник «Устав Владимира Мономаха» или «Устав о резах», который вошёл в состав пространной редакции «Русской Правды». Этот устав ограничил прибыли ростовщиков, определял условия закабаления и, не покушаясь на основы феодальных отношений, облегчал положение холопов и закупов. Княжение Владимира Мономаха было периодом последнего усиления Киевской Руси. Владимир Мономах через своих сыновей управлял 3/4 её территории. Туров Мономах получил по смерти Святополка как киевскую волость. В 1117 году Мономах отозвал своего старшего сына Мстислава из Новгорода в Белгород, что стало вероятной причиной выступления сына Святополка Изяславича Ярослава, правившего на Волыни и опасавшегося за свои наследственные права на Киев. В 1118 году Мономах вызвал новгородских бояр в Киев и привёл их к присяге. В 1118 году Ярослав был изгнан с Волыни, после чего пытался вернуть княжество с помощью венгров, поляков и разорвавших союз с МономахомРостиславичей, но безуспешно. В 1119 году Мономах силой оружия завладел также Минским княжеством. При Владимире Мономахе начали заключаться династические браки между Рюриковичами. Ярослав Святополчич (убит в 1123 году при попытке вернутьВладимир-Волынский) и Всеволод Ольгович (черниговский князь с 1127 года) были женаты на дочерях Мстислава Владимировича (внучках Мономаха), на дочери Мономаха Агафье был женат Всеволодко городенский, Роман Владимирович был женат на дочериВолодаря Ростиславича Перемышльского. Стабильность в государстве держалась на авторитете Мономаха, который он заслужил в борьбе с половцами, а также концентрации большей части земель Древнерусского государства в руках киевского князя. После второго похода русских дружин в верховья Северского Донца с разгромом находящихся под властью половцев городов (1116) половцы откочевали от русских границ (частично ушли на службу в Грузию), и посланное в конце правления Мономаха за Дон войско не нашло там половцев. В 1116—1117 годах по поручению Владимира Мономаха создана была 2-я редакция«Повести временных лет» Сильвестром, монахом Выдубицкого монастыря, затем в 1118 по поручению переведённого отцом на юг Мстислава Владимировича — 3-я. Именно эта редакция летописи дошла до наших дней.
Πηγή: https://ru.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Константин_IX_Мономах
https://ru.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Владимир_Всеволодович_Мономах

The history and culture of the indigenous ancient white tribes of Libya, modern Africa

The Latin name Libya (from Greek Λιβύη, Libyē) referred to the region west of the Nile Valley, generally corresponding to modern Northwest Africa. Its people were ancestors of the modern Berber people. Berbers occupied the area for thousands of years before the beginning of human records in Ancient Egypt. Climate changes affected the locations of the settlements. More narrowly, Libya could also refer to the country immediately west of Egypt, viz. Marmarica (Libya Inferior) and Cyrenaica (Libya Superior). The Libyan Sea or Mare Libycum was the part of the Mediterranean south of Crete, between Cyrene and Alexandria. In the Greek period the Berbers were known as Libyans, a Greek term for the inhabitants of northwest Africa. Their lands were called Libya, and extended from modern Morocco to the western borders of Ancient Egypt. Modern Egypt contains the Siwa Oasis, historically part of Libya, where the Berber Siwi language is still spoken. In Classical Greece, the term had a broader meaning, encompassing the continent that later (2nd century BC) became known as Africa, which, in antiquity, was assumed to constitute one third of the world's land mass, besides Europe and Asia. Homer also names Libya, in Odyssey (IX.95; XXIII.311). Menelaus had travelled there on his way home from Troy; it was a land of wonderful richness, where the lambs have horns as soon as they are born, where ewes lamb three times a year and no shepherd ever goes short of milk, meat or cheese. Homer used the name in a geographic sense, while he called its inhabitants Lotophagi, meaning "Lotus-eaters". After Homer, Aeschylus, Pindar, and other Ancient Greek writers use the name. Later, the name Libya appeared in the Hebrew language, written in the Bible as Lehabim andLubim, indicating the ethnic population and the geographic territory as well. Herodotus (1.46) used Λιβύη Libue to indicate the African continent; the Libues proper were the light-skinned North Africans, while those south of the Ancient Egypt (and Elephantine on the Nile) were known to him as "Aethiopians"; this was also the understanding of later Greek geographers suchDiodorus, Strabo, Pliny the Elder, etc. Latin absorbed the name from Greek and the Punic languages. The Romans would have known them before their colonization of North Africa, because of the Libyan role in the Punic wars against the Romans. The Romans used the name Libyes, but only when referring to Barca and the Western desert of Egypt. The other Libyan territories became known as Africa. There were many Berber tribes in ancient Libya, including the now extinct Psylli, with the Libu being the most prominent. The ancient Libyans were nomad hunter gatherers, living off their goats, camels and other livestock while hunting and gathering at the same time. Milk, meat, hides and wool were gathered from their livestock for food, tents and clothing. Ancient Egyptian sources describe Libyan men with long hair, braided and beaded, neatly parted from different sides and decorated with feathers attached to leather bands around the crown of the head while wearing thin robes of antelope hide, dyed and printed, crossing the shoulder and coming down until mid calf length to make a robe. Older men kept long braided beards. Women wore the same robes as men, plaited, decorated hair and both genders wore heavy jewelry. Weapons included bows and arrows, hatchets, spears and daggers. The Libyan script that was used in Libya was mostly a funerary script. It is difficult to understand, and there are a number of variations. Information on Ancient Libya comes from archaeological evidence and historic sources written by Egyptians neighbors, the Ancient Greeks, Romans, and Byzantines, and from Arabs of Medieval times. Since Neolithic times, the climate of North Africa has become drier. A reminder of thedesertification of the area is provided by megalithic remains, which occur in great variety of form and in vast numbers in presently arid and uninhabitable wastelands: dolmens and circles like Stonehenge, cairns, underground cells excavated in rock, barrows topped with huge slabs, and step-pyramid like mounds. Most remarkable are the trilithons, some still standing, some fallen, which occur isolated or in rows, and consist of two squared uprights standing on a common pedestal that supports a huge transverse beam. In the Terrgurt valley, Cowper says, "There had been originally no less than eighteen or twenty megalithic trilithons, in a line, each with its massive altar placed before it." In ancient times, the Phoenicians and Carthaginians, Achaemenid Empire of Iran, the armies of Alexander the Great and his Ptolemaic successors from Egypt, then Romans, Vandals, and local representatives of the Byzantine Empire ruled all or parts of Libya. The territory of modern Libya had separate histories until Roman times, as Tripoli and Cyrenaica. Cyrenaica, by contrast, was Greek before it was Roman. It was also known as Pentapolis, the "five cities" being Cyrene (near the village of Shahat) with its port of Apollonia (Marsa Susa),Arsinoe (Tocra), Berenice (Bengazi) and Barca (Merj). From the oldest and most famous of the Greek colonies the fertile coastal plain took the name of Cyrenaica. These five cities were also known as the Western Pentapolis; not to be confused with the Pentapolis of the Roman era on the current west Italian coast. Herodotus described the inhabitants of Libya as two peoples: The Libyans in northern Africa and the Ethiopians in the south. According to Herodotus, Libya began where ancient Egypt ended, and extended to Cape Spartel, south of Tangier on the Atlantic coast. Herodotus divided them into Eastern Libyans and Western Libyans. Eastern Libyans werenomadic shepherds east of Lake Tritonis. Western Libyans were sedentary farmers who lived west of Lake Tritonis. At one point, a catastrophic change reduced the vast body of fresh water to a seasonal lake or marsh. Ibn Khaldun and Herodotus distinguish the Libyans on the basis of their lifestyles rather than ethnic background. Modern historians tend to follow Herodotus's distinction. Examples, Oric Bates in his book The Eastern Libyans. Some other historians have used the modern name of theBerbers in their works, such as the French historian Gabriel Camps. The Libyan tribes mentioned in these sources were: "Adyrmachidae", "Giligamae", "Asbystae", "Marmaridae", "Auschisae", "Nasamones", "Macae", "Lotus-eaters (or Lotophagi)", "Garamantes", "Gaetulians", "Maures (Berbers)", and "Luwatae", as well as many others. White Aethiopians (Leucaethiopes) is a term found in ancient Roman literature which may have referred to the lighter skinned Berber non-negroid populations of Saharan-Africa. The term is used by Pliny the Elder, and is also mentioned by Pomponius Mela, Ptolemy and Orosius. These authorities do not, however, agree on the geographical location of the White Aethiopians. The 10th-century traveller Ibn Hawqal describes a similar situation among the Berber, which Richard Smith suggests may reflect "a real event, the absorption of tribes" from Ethiopia. "If we pass through the interior of Africa in a southerly direction, beyond the Gætuli, after having traversed the intervening deserts, we shall find, first of all the Liby-Egyptians, and then the country where the Leucæthiopians dwell."” Oric Bates notes that Ptolemy wrote of the White Aethiopians and the Melanogaetulians, and compares this to the mention by Orosius of the "Libyoaethopians". Pomponius Mela wrote, in Frank E. Romer's translation, that "On those shores washed by the Libyan Sea, however, are found the Libyan Aegyptians, the White Aethiopians, and, a populous and numerous nation, the Gaetuli. Then a region, uninhabitable in its entire length, covers a broad and vacant expanse." According to Smith,Ptolemy placed two peoples, Leukaethiopes and Melanogaetulians ('Black Gaetulians') in the far west of North Africa, namely in southern Morocco. The Leukaethiopes, "literally, 'white Ethiopians'" could also, Smith suggests, be described as "white black men", since in ancient times "the term 'Ethiopian' referred to skin color". According to Richard Smith, Pliny the Elder however places the Leukaethiopes south of the (Sahara) desert between the white Gaetulians and the black Nigritae, with closest neighbours the Libyaegyptians, "literally the 'Egyptian Libyans', another oxymoron"; but, Smith says, Pliny does not mention any black Gaetulians.Fula women: Edmund Dene Morel conjectured that the White Ethiopians of classical times were Fula people. The Fula people or Fulani or Fulɓe (Fula: Fulɓe; French: Peul; Hausa: Fulani; Portuguese: Fula; Wolof: Pël; Bambara: Fulaw) numbering approximately 20 million people in total are one of the most widely dispersed and culturally diverse of the peoples of Africa. The Fulani are bound together by the common language of Fulfulde, as well as by some basic elements of Fulbe culture, such as the pulaaku, a code of conduct common to all Fulani groups. A significant proportion of their number, (an estimated 13 million), are nomadic, making them the largest pastoral nomadic group in the world. Spread over many countries, they are found mainly in West Africa and northern parts of Central Africa, but also in Sudan and Egypt.Egypt The earliest evidence that shed some light on the pre-historic Fulani culture can be found in the Tassili n'Ajjer rock art Fulani's artifacts, which seem to depict the early life of the people dating back thousands of years (6000 B.C.E.). Examination of these rock paintings suggests the presence of proto-Fulani cultural traits in the region by at least the 4th millennium B.C.E. Tassili-N'Ajjer in Algeria is one of the most famous North African sites of rock painting. In the 9th century the Fulani may have been involved in the formation of a state with its capital at Takrur which is suggested to have had influx of Fulani migrating from the east and settling in the Senegal valley, although John Donnelly Fage suggests that Takrur was formed through the interaction of Berbers from the Sahara and "Negro agricultural peoples" who were "essentially Serer".Fula are primarily known to be pastoralists, but are also traders in some areas. Most Fula in the countryside spend long times alone on foot, and can be seen frequently parading with their cattle throughout the west African hinterland, moving their herds in search of water and better pasture. They were, and still are, the only major migratory people group of West Africa, although the Tuareg, another nomadic tribe of North African origin, live just immediately north of Fula territory, and sometimes live alongside the Fulani in countries such as Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.Fula society in most parts of West Africa features the caste divisions typical of the region.There are the Fulani proper, also referred to as the Fulɓe, including the Pullo (also called the Rimɓe (singular)) and the Dimo, meaning "noble". There is the artisan caste, including blacksmiths, potters, griots, genealogists, woodworkers, and dressmakers. They, like the Fulɓe, are free people. Then there are those groups of captive, slave or serf ancestry: the Maccuɗo, Rimmayɓe, Dimaajo, and less often Ɓaleeɓe, the Fulani equivalent of the Tuareg Ikelan known as Bouzou (Buzu)/Bella in the Hausa and Songhay languages respectively. The last two categories are not distinguishable in any significant way, and today, most are essentially free by law. The castes are endogamous in nature, meaning individuals marry only within their caste.  Fulani culture continued to emerge in the area of the upper Niger and Senegal Rivers. A study by Hassan et al. (2008) on the Fulani in Sudan observed a significantly higher occurrence of the West Eurasian haplogroup R-M173 (53.8%). The remainder belonged to various Afro-Asiatic associated haplogroup E1b1b subclades, including 34.62% E-M78 and 27.2% E-V22.The paternal lineages of the Fula/Fulɓe/Fulani tend to vary depending on geographic location. According to a study by Cruciani et al. (2002), around 90% of Fulani individuals from Burkina Faso carried haplotype 24, which corresponds with the common Sub-Saharan haplogroup E1b1a.A minority carried the West Eurasian haplogroups T (18%) and R-M173 (12%).In contrast to their heterogeneous paternal lineages, the Fulani largely cluster maternally with other Niger-Congo populations. Only 8.1% of their mtDNA clades were associated with West Eurasian or Afro-Asiatic groups (J1b, U5, H, and V).According to Tishkoff et al. (2009), the Fulani's genomic ancestry clusters near that of Chadic and Central Sudanic speaking populations. Based on this, the researchers suggest that the Fulani may have adopted a Niger-Congo language at some point in their history while intermarrying with local populations. Additionally, low to moderate levels of West Eurasian admixture was also observed in the Fulani samples, which the authors propose may have been introduced via the Iberian peninsula.
Πηγή: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Libya
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Aethiopians
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fula_people

Greco-buddhism in Kushan Empire : The influence of the greek culture and civilisation in Central Asia and Indian subcontinent

Greco-Buddhism, sometimes spelled Graeco-Buddhism, refers to the cultural syncretism between Hellenistic culture andBuddhism, which developed between the 4th century BCE and the 5th century CE in Bactria and the Indian subcontinent, corresponding to the territories of modern day Afghanistan, India, and Pakistan. It was a cultural consequence of a long chain of interactions begun by Greek forays into India from the time of Alexander the Great, carried further by the establishment of the Indo-Greek Kingdom and extended during the flourishing of the Kushan Empire. Greco-Buddhism influenced the artistic, and perhaps the spiritual development of Buddhism, particularly Mahayana Buddhism. Buddhism was then adopted in Central and Northeastern Asia from the 1st century CE, ultimately spreading to China, Korea, Japan,
Philippines, Siberia, and Vietnam. The interaction between Hellenistic Greece and Buddhism started when Alexander the Great conquered the Achaemenid Empire and further regions of Central Asia in 334 BCE, crossing the Indus and then the Jhelum River after the Battle of the Hydaspes and going as far as the Beas, thus establishing direct contact with India. Alexander founded several cities in his new territories in the areas of the Amu Darya and Bactria, and Greek settlements further extended to the Khyber Pass, Gandhara (see Taxila), and the Punjab region. These regions correspond to a unique geographical passageway between the Himalayas and the Hindu Kush mountains through which most of the interaction between India and Central Asia took place, generating intense cultural exchange and trade. Following Alexander's death on June 10, 323 BCE, the Diadochi or "Successors" founded their own kingdoms in Anatolia and Central Asia. General Seleucus set up the Seleucid Empire, which extended as far as India. Later, the eastern part of the Seleucid Kingdom broke away to form the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom (250 BC-125 BC), followed by the Indo-Greek Kingdom (180 BC - 10 CE), and later the Kushan Empire (1st–3rd century CE).
According to Ptolemy, Greek cities were founded by the Greco-Bactrians in northern India. Menander established his capital in Sagala (modern Sialkot, Punjab, Pakistan) one of the centers of the blossoming Buddhist culture. A large Greek city built by Demetrius and rebuilt by Menander has been excavated at the archaeological site of Sirkap near Taxila, where Buddhist stupas were standing side-by-side with Hindu and Greek temples, indicating religious tolerance and syncretism. The Kushan Empire, one of the five tribes of the Yuezhi, settled in Bactria around 125 BCE, displacing the Greco-Bactrians and invading the northern parts of Pakistan and India from around 1 CE. By that time they had already been in contact with Greek culture and the Indo-Greek kingdoms for more than a century. They used the Greek script to write their language, as exemplified by their coins and their adoption of the Greek alphabet. The absorption of Greek historical and mythological culture is suggested by Kushan sculptures representing Dionysiac scenes or even the story of the Trojan Horse and it is probable that Greek communities remained under Kushan rule. Heraios (often read as Heraus, Heraos, Miaos) was a clan chief of the Kushans (reign: 1-30 CE), one of the five constituent tribes of the Yuezhi confederacy in Bactria in the early 1st century CE, roughly at the time when the Kushans were starting their invasion of India. Silver coins were made in the Hellenistic style and used the Greek writing. The reverse shows the winged Greek god of victory Nike holding out a wreath over the clan chief mounted on a horse. The clan chief wears a tunic and has a large bow on the side. On the coins, the clan chief's name appears as "ΗΛΟΥ" or ""ΗΙΛΟΥ", which has been variously transliterated as "Ilou", "Maou" or "Miaou". Kanishka I or Kanishka the Great, was the emperor of the Kushan dynasty in the second century (c. AD 127–163). He is famous for his military, political, and spiritual achievements. A descendant of Kushan empire founder Kujula Kadphises, Kanishka came to rule an empire in Bactria extending from Turfan in the Tarim Basin toPataliputra on the Gangetic plain. The main capital of his empire was located at Puruṣapura in Gandhara, with two other major capitals at Kapisa and Mathura. His conquests and patronage of Buddhism played an important role in the development of the Silk Road, and the transmission of Mahayana Buddhism from Gandhara across the Karakoram range to China. Kanishka's date of accession was later used as a calendar era, the so-called Saka era, corresponding to AD 78. However, this date is not now regarded as the historical date of Kanishka's accession. Kanishka is estimated to have accessed to the throne in AD 127 by Falk (2001). Kanishka's coins from the beginning of his reign bear legends in Greek language and script and depict Greek divinities. Later coins bear legends in Bactrian, the Iranian language that the Kushans evidently spoke, and Greek divinities were replaced by corresponding Iranian ones. All of Kanishka's coins – even ones with a legend in the Bactrian language – were written in a modified Greek script that had one additional glyph (Ϸ) to represent /š/ (sh), as in the word 'Kushan' and 'Kanishka'. A few coins at the beginning of his reign have a legend in the Greek language and script: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΥΣ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΝ ΚΑΝΗΣΚΟΥ, basileus basileon kaneshkou "[coin] of Kanishka, king of kings."Greek deities, with Greek names are represented on these early coins: ΗΛΙΟΣ (ēlios, Hēlios), ΗΦΑΗΣΤΟΣ (ēphaēstos, Hephaistos), ΣΑΛΗΝΗ (salēnē, Selene), ΑΝΗΜΟΣ (anēmos, Anemos). Following the transition to the Bactrian language on coins, Iranian and Indic divinities replace the Greek ones. Bactrian (Αρια, Arya) is an Iranian language which was spoken in the Central Asian region of Bactria (present-day Afghanistan, Pakistan and Tajikistan), and used as the official language of the Kushan and the Hephthalite empires. Bactrian was natively known as αρια or "Arya" language. Because Bactrian was written predominantly in an alphabet based on the Greek script, Bactrian is sometimes referred to as "Greco-Bactrian", "Kushan" or "Kushano-Bactrian". Until the 1970s, Bactrian was sometimes referred to as "Eteo-Tocharian", because in medieval times, Bactria was also known as Tokharistan at the time of the arrival of the Yuezhi tribes. But it is now certain that Bactrian is an Iranian language, and as such not closely related to the Tocharian languages. after 124 BC, Bactria was overrun by Yuezhi Tocharian tribes. Subsequently, one of the Yuezhi tribes advanced to found the Kushan dynasty in the 1st century AD. The Kushans at first retained the Greek language for administrative purposes, but soon began to use Bactrian. The Bactrian Rabatak inscription (discovered in 1993 and deciphered in 2000) records that the Kushan king Kanishka (c. 127 AD) discarded Greek (Ionian) as the language of administration and adopted Bactrian ("Arya language"). The Greek language accordingly vanishes from official use and only Bactrian is attested. The use of the Greek script however remained to write Bactrian. In the 3rd century, the Kushan territories west of the Indus river fell to the Sassanids, and Bactrian began to be influenced by Middle Persian. Next to Pahlavi script and (occasionally)Brahmi script, some coinage of this period is still in Greco-Bactrian script. Beginning in the mid-4th century, Bactria and northwestern India yielded to the Hephthalite tribes. The Hephthalite period is marked by linguistic diversity and in addition to Bactrian, Middle Persian, North Indo-Aryan, Turkish and Latin vocabulary is also attested. The Hephthalites ruled their territories until the 7th century when they were overrun by the Arabs, after which the official use of Bactrian ceased. Although Bactrian briefly survived in other usage, that too eventually ceased, and the latest examples of the language date to the end of the 9th century. The territorial expansion of the Kushans helped propagate Bactrian to Northern India and parts of Central Asia. Among Indo-Iranian languages, the use of the Greek script is unique to Bactrian. The Bactrian language is known from inscriptions, coins, seals, manuscripts, and other documents. The Kushan king Kanishka, who honored Zoroastrian, Greek and Brahmanic deities as well as the Buddha and was famous for his religious syncretism, convened the Fourth Buddhist council around 100 CE in Kashmir in order to redact the Sarvastivadin canon. Some of Kanishka's coins bear the earliest representations of the Buddha on a coin (around 120 CE), in Hellenistic style and with the word "Boddo" in Greek script. Kanishka also had the original Gandhari Prakrit Mahāyāna sūtras translated into Sanskrit, "a turning point in the evolution of the Buddhist literary canon". The Kanishka casket, dated to the first year of Kanishka's reign in 127 CE, was signed by a Greek artist named Agesilas, who oversaw work at Kanishka's stupas (cetiya), confirming the direct involvement of Greeks with Buddhist realizations at such a late date. The new syncretic form of Buddhism expanded fully into East Asia soon after these events. The Kushan monk Lokaksema visited the court of Emperor Ling of Han at Luoyang in 178 CE and worked there for ten years to make the first known translations of Mahayana texts into Chinese. The new faith later spread into Korea and Japan, and was itself at the origin of Chan Buddhism. The interaction of Greek and Buddhist cultures operated over several centuries until it ended in the 5th century CE with the invasions of the Hephthalite Empire and finally wiyh the expansion of Islam. The Hephthalites, Ephthalites, Ye-tai, White Huns, or in Sanskrit as the Sveta Huna, were a a confederation of nomadic and settled people in Central Asia who expanded their domain westward in the 5th century. At the height of its power in the first half of the 6th century, the Hephthalite Empire controlled territory in present-day Afghanistan,Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, India and China.
Πηγή: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greco-Buddhism
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heraios
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanishka
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bactrian_language
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hephthalite_Empire