The Ostrogothic Military

This chapter explores the place of the army and military organisation within the Ostrogothic kingdom. It discusses these issues according to three chronological phases: the army of the conquest, the army in the kingdom of Italy, and the Gothic Wars. Issues such as whether the Ostrogoths themselves were an army, the nature of the army’s settlement and provision of a salary in Italy, and the role of ethnic identity’s role in the formation of the army are all discussed. The army itself has not often been studied as a separate institution, and this may be because, as we shall see, throughout the Ostrogothic kingdom’s short life, the military was inextricably bound up with the nature and the fate of that polity

The decline and fall of the ancient triumph

This chapter argues that although victory remained absolutely central to royal ideals and imagery, there was a crucial change between the late Roman and the early medieval western worlds. Though key features remained (processions etc.) there was a decisive shift of emphasis towards Christian celebration presided over by the church; towards thanksgiving rather than praise; and towards Old Testament imagery. It is argued that a key phase of this shift took place after the Justinianic wars of the mid-sixth century. This change is explained in terms of the renegotiation of the ideological bases of power caused by Justinian’s wars and the end of the Roman Empire. In this more Christian mode of thought, credit for victory was not appropriately given to mortal warriors, however skilful. Finally, the developments in the nature of ‘triumphal’ rulership are ascribed to a change in the ‘geo-political’ nature of the West and perhaps to a difference in the types of warfare being waged

Genetic analysis of the vitamin D receptor gene in two epithelial cancers: melanoma and breast cancer case-control studies

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Vitamin D serum levels have been found to be related to sun exposure and diet, together with cell differentiation, growth control and consequently, cancer risk. Vitamin D receptor (<it>VDR</it>) genotypes may influence cancer risk; however, no epidemiological studies in sporadic breast cancer (BC) or malignant melanoma (MM) have been performed in a southern European population. In this study, the <it>VDR </it>gene has been evaluated in two epithelial cancers BC and MM.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We have conducted an analysis in 549 consecutive and non-related sporadic BC cases and 556 controls, all from the Spanish population, and 283 MM cases and 245 controls. Genotyping analyses were carried out on four putatively functional SNPs within the <it>VDR </it>gene.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>An association with the minor allele A of the non-synonymous SNP rs2228570 (rs10735810, <it>Fok</it>I, Met1Thr) was observed for BC, with an estimated odds ratio (OR) of 1.26 (95% CI = 1.02–1.57; p = 0.036). The synonymous variant rs731236 (<it>Taq</it>I) appeared to be associated with protection from BC (OR = 0.80, 95%CI = 0.64–0.99; p = 0.047). No statistically significant associations with MM were observed for any SNP. Nevertheless, sub-group analyses revealed an association between rs2228570 (<it>FokI</it>) and absence of childhood sunburns (OR = 0.65, p = 0.003), between the 3'utr SNP rs739837 (<it>Bgl</it>I) and fair skin (OR = 1.31, p = 0.048), and between the promoter SNP rs4516035 and the more aggressive tumour location in head-neck and trunk (OR = 1.54, p = 0.020).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In summary, we observed associations between SNPs in the <it>VDR </it>gene and BC risk, and a comprehensive analysis using clinical and tumour characteristics as outcome variables has revealed potential associations with MM. These associations required confirmation in independent studies.</p