The Letter of an Ethiopian King to King George II of Nubia in the framework of the ecclesiastic correspondence between Axum, Nubia and the Coptic Patriarchate in Egypt and of the events of the 10th Century AD

Abstract: This article examines the letter sent by an Ethiopian King to King George II of Makouria (Nubia) as well as other letters referring to the dynastic and ecclesiastical crisis in Axum during the 10th Century AD. It presents a ‘’diplomatic’’ analysis of these documents, thereby completing details, dates and names of Kings who wrote or received the letters. This lead to a thorough discussion and study of the decline and final period of Axum, including the role of the Queen of the Bani al-Hamwiyah/Habasha and an assessment of the authority and value of the History of the Patriarchs of Alexandria. Historical criticism, supported by auxilia such as diplomatica and chronology, are thereby used

OIKOUMENE EN PERIPHEREIA IN DIE MARE ERYTHRAEUM-GEBIED IN DIE VROEG:CHRISTELIKE PERIODE

In sy studie, Europe and the People without History, het die Amerikaanse antropoloog en historikus E.R. Wolf (1982:3-5) die stelling gemaak dat die wereld se beskawings steeds een geheel vorm, waarvan die verskillende onderdele mekaar steeds in 'n mindere of 'n meerdere mate beinvloed. Dit lei hom tot die vraag: "If there are connections everywhere, why do we persist in turning dynamic, interconnected phenomena into static, disconnected things?

The controversial Anoole and Haile Selassie monuments as reflecting the religious and political tensions between Christians and Muslim Ethiopians

Abstract: Statues referring to history are expressions of the collective conscience of nations or groups in a nation, and therefore their value is determined by the changing policies and altering concepts of such nations or groups. Ethiopia, the only African nation without a real colonial past sensu stricto, presents some characteristic examples. Crowned in the Orthodox Tewahedo Church’s Cathedral in Addis Ababa, Emperor Haile Selassie’s reign (1916/1930 - 1975), fall and murder are well known. He was the last of the so-called Solomonic line, beginning with Sheba and Menelik I, the son she had from King Solomon. Haile Selassie became anathema and was regarded as an outdated dictator, belonging to the colonial period. However, a statue of the emperor was erected outside the African Union’s headquarters in Addis Ababa, but it soon also became controversial. Another very controversial statue was erected in Hetosa, Oromo, in 2014 and is known as the Anoole statue. It was also a remembrance of the past and refers to the acts of one of the most glorious emperors of Modern Ethiopian history, Menelik II, who wished to restore Ethiopian unity by bringing all old territories back under the crown. The Oromo group, a non-Semitic, largely non-Christian-Orthodox ethnic group resisted such unification. The emperor reacted by persecuting the Oromos in 1886, using an old Ethiopian traditional way of punishment, i.e. to cut the right breasts of women and right hands of men

Diquat Derivatives: Highly Active, Two-Dimensional Nonlinear Optical Chromophores with Potential Redox Switchability

In this article, we present a detailed study of structure−activity relationships in diquaternized 2,2′-bipyridyl (diquat) derivatives. Sixteen new chromophores have been synthesized, with variations in the amino electron donor substituents, π-conjugated bridge, and alkyl diquaternizing unit. Our aim is to combine very large, two-dimensional (2D) quadratic nonlinear optical (NLO) responses with reversible redox chemistry. The chromophores have been characterized as their PF_6^− salts by using various techniques including electronic absorption spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry. Their visible absorption spectra are dominated by intense π → π^* intramolecular charge-transfer (ICT) bands, and all show two reversible diquat-based reductions. First hyperpolarizabilities β have been measured by using hyper-Rayleigh scattering with an 800 nm laser, and Stark spectroscopy of the ICT bands affords estimated static first hyperpolarizabilities β_0. The directly and indirectly derived β values are large and increase with the extent of π-conjugation and electron donor strength. Extending the quaternizing alkyl linkage always increases the ICT energy and decreases the E_(1/2) values for diquat reduction, but a compensating increase in the ICT intensity prevents significant decreases in Stark-based β_0 responses. Nine single-crystal X-ray structures have also been obtained. Time-dependent density functional theory clarifies the molecular electronic/optical properties, and finite field calculations agree with polarized HRS data in that the NLO responses of the disubstituted species are dominated by ‘off-diagonal’ β_(zyy) components. The most significant findings of these studies are: (i) β_0 values as much as 6 times that of the chromophore in the technologically important material (E)-4′-(dimethylamino)-N-methyl-4-stilbazolium tosylate; (ii) reversible electrochemistry that offers potential for redox-switching of optical properties over multiple states; (iii) strongly 2D NLO responses that may be exploited for novel practical applications; (iv) a new polar material, suitable for bulk NLO behavior

A cluster of multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis among patients arriving in Europe from the Horn of Africa: a molecular epidemiological study

SummaryBackground The risk of tuberculosis outbreaks among people fleeing hardship for refuge in Europe is heightened. We describe the cross-border European response to an outbreak of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis among patients from the Horn of Africa and Sudan. Methods On April 29 and May 30, 2016, the Swiss and German National Mycobacterial Reference Laboratories independently triggered an outbreak investigation after four patients were diagnosed with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. In this molecular epidemiological study, we prospectively defined outbreak cases with 24-locus mycobacterial interspersed repetitive unit-variable number tandem repeat (MIRU-VNTR) profiles; phenotypic resistance to isoniazid, rifampicin, ethambutol, pyrazinamide, and capreomycin; and corresponding drug resistance mutations. We whole-genome sequenced all Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates and clustered them using a threshold of five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). We collated epidemiological data from host countries from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Findings Between Feb 12, 2016, and April 19, 2017, 29 patients were diagnosed with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in seven European countries. All originated from the Horn of Africa or Sudan, with all isolates two SNPs or fewer apart. 22 (76%) patients reported their travel routes, with clear spatiotemporal overlap between routes. We identified a further 29 MIRU-VNTR-linked cases from the Horn of Africa that predated the outbreak, but all were more than five SNPs from the outbreak. However all 58 isolates shared a capreomycin resistance-associated tlyA mutation. Interpretation Our data suggest that source cases are linked to an M tuberculosis clone circulating in northern Somalia or Djibouti and that transmission probably occurred en route before arrival in Europe. We hypothesise that the shared mutation of tlyA is a drug resistance mutation and phylogenetic marker, the first of its kind in M tuberculosis sensu stricto. Funding The Swiss Federal Office of Public Health, the University of Zurich, the Wellcome Trust, National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Oxford Biomedical Research Centre (BRC), the Medical Research Council, BELTA-TBnet, the European Union, the German Center for Infection Research, and Leibniz Science Campus Evolutionary Medicine of the Lung (EvoLUNG)

The Multi-Scale Infrastructure for Chemistry and Aerosols (MUSICA)

To explore the various couplings across space and time and between ecosystems in a consistent manner, atmospheric modeling is moving away from the fractured limited-scale modeling strategy of the past toward a unification of the range of scales inherent in the Earth system. This paper describes the forward-looking Multi-Scale Infrastructure for Chemistry and Aerosols (MUSICA), which is intended to become the next-generation community infrastructure for research involving atmospheric chemistry and aerosols. MUSICA will be developed collaboratively by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and university and government researchers, with the goal of serving the international research and applications communities. The capability of unifying various spatiotemporal scales, coupling to other Earth system components, and process-level modularization will allow advances in both fundamental and applied research in atmospheric composition, air quality, and climate and is also envisioned to become a platform that addresses the needs of policy makers and stakeholders

Les duchés de l’Empire latin de Constantinople après 1204 : origine, structures et statuts

The Duchies of the Latin Empire of Constantinople after 1204. Origin, Structures and Statutes. This article examines the origin, structures and status of the ‘ duchies’ which were created directly or indirectly as a consequence or a by-product of the 4th Crusade and the creation of the Latin Empire of Constantinople. After having discussed the terminology, it first examines the ducata resulting from the Partitio Romaniae or grants by the first Latin Emperors (Nicaea, Philadelphia, Nicomedia, Neocastron, Philippopolis, Lemnos and the Archipelago), as well as the case of the dux of Thessaloniki. It then discusses the duchies, which were created in other circumstances, but still related – in some way to the capture of Constantinople, namely Athens (with Neo Patra), Leucas (with the so-called ‘ duchy of Cephalonia’), and finally the Venetian ones with reference to Crete, Dyrrachion and Negroponte. With the time progressing, it appears that the Western feudal influence outdid any original Byzantine one.Cet article examine l’origine, les structures et le statut des «duchés » créés directement ou indirectement en conséquence – ou comme un «produit supplémentaire » – de la Quatrième Croisade et de la création de l’Empire latin de Constantinople. Après la discussion de la terminologie, les «duchés » résultant de la Partitio Romaniae ou des dons faits par les premiers empereurs (Nicée, Philadelphie, Nicomédie, Néocastron, Philippopolis, Lemnos et l’Archipel), de même que le cas spécial du dux de Thessalonique sont analysés. Ensuite suivent les duchés, créés dans d’autres circonstances, mais néanmoins liés – dans une certaine mesure – à la conquête de Constantinople : Athènes [ avec Néo-Patras] et Leucade [ et le soi-disant duché de Céphalonie]. Finalement cet article s’occupe des «duchés vénitiens » (Crète, Dyrrachion et Négroponte). Il apparaît que l’influence occidentale a progressivement gagné en importance au détriment de l’influence byzantine.De hertogdommen van het Latijns Keizerrijk van Konstantinopel na 1204 : oorsprong, strukturen en statuten. Dit artikel onderzoekt de oorsprong, de strukturen en het statuut van de hertogdommen (ducata), die ontstonden als een onmiddelijk of indirect gevolg (of bij-produkt) van de Vierde kruistocht en de oprichting van het Latijns Keizerrijk van Konstantinopel. Na de diskussie van de terminologie worden de ‘ hertogdommen’ besproken die resulteerden uit de Partitio Romaniae of die gesticht waren door de eerste ‘ Latijnse’ keizers (Nicea, Philadelphia, Nicomedia, Neocastron, Philippopolis, Lemnos en de Archipelago), alsook het uitzonderlijk geval van de dux van Thessaloniki. Vervolgens worden de ‘ hertogdommen’ onderzocht, die ontstonden als gevolg van andere uitzonderlijke gebeurtenissen, maar toch in verband met de verovering van Konstantinopel, namelijk Athene (met Neo-Patras), Leukas (met het zogenaamde hertogdom van Kephallonia), en tenslotte ook de ‘ Venetiaanse hertogdommen’ met verwijzing naar Kreta, Dyrrachion en Negroponte. Met verloop van tijd werd de westerse invloed steeds groter ten nadele van de oorspronkelike Byzantijnse.Hendrickx Benjamin. Les duchés de l’Empire latin de Constantinople après 1204 : origine, structures et statuts. In: Revue belge de philologie et d'histoire, tome 93, fasc. 2, 2015. Histoire médiévale moderne et contemporaine - Middeleeuwse moderne en hedendaagse geschiedenis. pp. 303-328

Allagion, tzaousios et prôtallagatôr dans le contexte moréote : quelques remarques

REB 50 1992 France p. 207-217 B. Hendrickx, Allagion, tzaousios et prôtallagatôr dans le contexte moréote : quelques remarques. — En se référant plus particulièrement à la Chronique de Morée, l'auteur émet quelques remarques sur la définition de l'allagion et la fonction du tzaousios telles qu'elles ont déjà été exposées dans cette revue (HEB 47, 1989, p. 183-207). Il ajoute quelques considérations sur le prôtallagalôr.Hendrickx Benjamin. Allagion, tzaousios et prôtallagatôr dans le contexte moréote : quelques remarques. In: Revue des études byzantines, tome 50, 1992. pp. 207-217