Roman Culture Research Articles

داء السكري يكشف التفوق الطبي للحضارة الإسلامية على الحضارات الإنسانية القديمة: دراسة تاريخية لأربعة آلاف سنة

الملخص إن المعرفة التراكمية للإنسان، من خلال الحضارات القديمة، أوصلت البشرية إلى ما هي عليه اليوم من تفوق علمي. وبما أن الحضارات لها مراحل كالإنسان: بداوة، ثم ازدهار، فتدهور، فإن تفوق بعضها يعكس دورها في التطور الإنساني، والنضوج العلمي. وتقدّم هذه الدراسة التحليلية مقارنةً حول دور الحضارات التي عاشت منذ أربعة آلاف سنة في فهم، وتشخيص، وعلاج داء السكري الذي عُرِفَ بعمقه في التاريخ البشري. واختيرت ست حضارات هي: الفرعونية، والهندية، واليونانية، والرومانية، والصينية، ثم الإسلامية بهذا التتابع، وفق معايير هذه الدراسة، لرصد ما تركته هذه الحضارات من كتابات، أو مؤلفات أو آثار تدل على معرفتها بهذا المرض وطرق تعاملها معه. وكشفت هذه الدراسة معرفة جميع هذه الحضارات بداء السكري، حيث أطلقت عليه أسماء متعددة ومختلفة، إلا أنها اتفقت جميعًا على وصف أعراض المرض، المتمثلة بالعطش الشديد، وكثرة التبول، وفقدان الوزن. في حين لاحظ بعضها وجود مادة السكر في البول، إما من خلال تجمّع النمل أو الذباب، أو من خلال طعمه الحلو، فكانت طريقة التشخيص التي استخدمها الأطباء حينها. وكان لهذه الحضارات، كالحضارة الإسلامية، تميزٌ في ربط هذا الداء بمضاعفاته ومحاولة تفسير أسبابه. وقد كان هناك تفاوت كبير بين الحضارات في طرق العلاج، وإن اتفق معظمها على الحد من الطعام، وزيادة النشاط البدني. وفي هذا السياق، تفوقت الحضارة الإسلامية تفوقًا واضحًا في عدة مجالات، أولًا تنظيم مهنة الطب، وربطها بالقيم والأخلاق، ونشر المستشفيات لعلاج المرضى؛ وثانيًا إعداد الأطباء والعلماء الذين درسوا هذا المرض ووضعوا له طرق التشخيص والعلاج؛ ثالثًا إعداد المؤلفات التي وصفت المرض وقنّنت علاجه. وإضافة إلى ما سبق، تُبرز دراسة تاريخ داء السكري في الحضارات القديمة تفوقَ الحضارة الإسلامية على الحضارات الأخرى في تعاملها مع الإنسان، وما يحتاجه للمحافظة على الصحة، ودور المجتمع المتمثل بالعلماء والأفراد في تقديم النموذج المتميز في خدمة البشرية، والرقي العلمي المنضبط بالقيم والأخلاق التي تحكم مهنة الطب.

Heritage of the Ancient Rome as a Theme of Cultural Tourism in the Authors’ Route in the Rhineland

This article pertains to the heritage of the ancient Rome in the Western European cities as a theme of cultural tourism. The main objective is to describe this heritage and to present it as a tourist value of particularly high historical and cultural worth. The main goal is to develop the authors’ concept of a cultural heritage route named the Rhineland Route of the Roman Civilization that includes 11 cities where 30 selected monuments of legacy of the ancient Roman civilization have been depicted. A cartographic method, namely the signature one, has been applied in the article. It was used to mark, among other locations, towns with Roman roots on a map of the Rhineland, showing a proposed route through the ancient Roman monuments. The heritage of the ancient Rome can serve to raise historical and cultural awareness at many levels – from local and regional to international ones. This historical legacy has a real impact on the tourist attractiveness in all the characterised cities, being well-adapted and attractively developed for tourist use.

The Impact of the Religious Thought and Beliefs on the Sustainability of Urban Process and Production

The relationship between belief and the architectural and urban production of cities made up an important topic in various studies that dealt with the impact of religion on shaping the city. Considering that belief and transactions usually determine the activities practiced by the social system in the city. Where the performance of the social system is reflected in urban production and the relationship between the elements of the city. This study is a comparative study designed to determine the nature of the influence of religion and belief on the processes and sustainability of building products in different cultures (Iraqi, Egyptian, Greek, Roman, and Eastern civilizations). Where the problem was addressed according to a descriptive and analytical approach, that reveals the features of sustainability in the architecture process and product of ancient civilizations influenced by religious thought and beliefs. The method used to achieve the goal of this research begins by defining the sustainability characteristics of architecture, urban products and intellectual indicators as criteria for comparison, and then presenting the results and conclusions that have been reached.

Considerations on the art of the book from the reign od Saint Constantin Brancoveanu

A prominent figure in Romanian culture and spirituality, Saint Constantin Brancoveanu, Prince of Wallachia from 1688 to 1714, established an era characterized by prosperity, supported culture and education, made donations and played the role of protector of schools and printing. During his reign, elegant manuscripts were made as well as books in which the printing art shone through the mastery of engravings or the technical perfection of the printing press. The Greek Romanian Gospel of 1693, illustrated by talented archbishop Antim Ivireanul, represents a typographical masterpiece in which the care for the printed text mingles with the richness and the refinement of decorative elements. Apart from the printing of countless beautifully illustrated church books, the prince’s collaboration with holy archbishop Antim Ivireanul also resulted in the complete establishment of the Romanian language in liturgy.

Metaphors and the Transplant Experience

Metaphors and the Transplant Experience Madalina Meirosu Fire and ice. I felt so cold. Every evening, I was shivering, and I had no idea why. I was just a kid, twelve years old, and shivering every [End Page E6] night before going to bed, even though it was warm in the house, even though we had plenty of warm blankets. I hated evenings because the cold was unbearable when the sun went down, and I had no way to escape it. It was emanating from my bones. I no longer mentioned it to the adults because the few times I had spoken of it, teeth chattering, I was just told to get under the blankets. Winter was coming from inside my bones, every evening, and I was freezing, and there was nothing I could do about it. And then, one evening, fire broke out inside my body. It was as if my body had had enough of winter and was conjuring up a volcano—the fever was so high that I was delirious, dreaming of fires and bombardments, and fighting on a battlefield where everything spelled doom. It took doctors a long time to figure out what was wrong. Romania had barely emerged from a bloody revolution in 1990, overthrowing a dictatorial regime, and medical equipment and knowledge were limited. Doctors struggled to make sense of my symptoms and tests, and by the time I was diagnosed with obstructive nephropathy and renal failure a few months later, it was clear that there was nothing to be done for me, at least not in Romania. Or as a famous Romanian kidney specialist told my desperate parents, towering over my bed: there is nothing to be done other than find a burial spot. Cold, again, in my bones, day and night. And now the cold took on a different meaning—the prelude to the cold of an open grave in front of me. My parents did not give up, they could not accept that their child would die so young, and a doctor in the capital city suggested that my situation would have been different had I been able to go abroad. Western Europe had the medical resources to treat me, but it was financially impossible for us to afford it. But my parents did not give up, and eventually, after numerous appeals, a miracle took place, and a teaching hospital abroad agreed to treat me. After a couple of surgeries, I gradually emerged from the winter within. I grew in height dramatically, put on weight, and began to thrive, though the occasional cold shivers in the evening reminded me what the doctors had said: the surgeries were a temporary patch. My remaining kidney had very limited functionality and would give out sooner or later, thereby forcing me to be on dialysis or to have a kidney transplant. Just before my 18th birthday, we began to prepare for the worst. The cold had returned in the evening, this time accompanied by nausea. I was asked if I would like to go ahead with the transplantation—I had been on the transplant list, and though nothing had come available, my father was a match—or if I preferred dialysis. I understood the benefits and advantages of both. I also understood that there would be more chances for a kidney from a post-mortem donation if I were on dialysis. I did not want my father to donate. There was shame and stigma in being chronically ill in Romanian culture, a shame that had been a constant reality for me. Especially in families with uneducated backgrounds, deeply steeped in a poor peasant mentality, being ill meant not being useful or worthy. Disability equaled shame. I did not want that for him. From what I understood, his health and ability could have been impacted after the donation. And I did not want that for me; I preferred to finish high school and deal with whatever health challenges I might have after finishing. My doctors suggested that I reconsider—that it would be better for me to receive the transplant as soon as possible. But I stuck to my plan, and my parents went...

De Friese Landsordonnantie van 1602

On November 30 and the first of December 1602 a new body of law was officially promulgated by the Court of Friesland. It was an unique event and also the promulmulgated law, officialy named Statuten, Ordonnantien, ende Costumen van Frieslandt (Statutes, Ordinances and Customs of Friesland), was special. Nowhere else in the Low Countries a similar body of law was ever made. In more than 671 articles, dispersed over 89 titles and spread over four books, it stated which rules of law, promulgated in de 16th century, were still in force. When necessary these rules were brought up to date and new rules were introduced. Important was that this body law defined which rules of Roman (Civil) Law were valid in Friesland and which were not. The so called Ordinance of the country (Landsordonnantie) or Frisian Ordinance, as the promulgated law soon was named, stayed in force until she was replaced by her revision in 1723. This article gives a reconstruction of the way the Frisian Ordinance of 1602 came into being.

March, October, the Yoke and the Arch: A Study of Boundaries in Ancient Roman Belief

This study attempts an alternate look at what is sometimes a quick study of an ingrained “Roman aggression” placed in the opening chapter of a typical Roman history, re-evaluating the “us-them” element in Roman thinking during their primeval “homesteading” era, and some of the motived often imputed to tribal Roman culture that have been used to explain their expansion in Italy (and after). From the pomoerium, or spiritual/physical boundary of the farm or the community, the frequently cleansed and inspected line between the settled and peaceful homesteaded or urbanized place and the dangerous, unsettled outlands beyond, where potential raiders or enemies – hostes – and the spirit that animated them dwelt. Romans punctuated this boundary with shrines, openings (carefully guarded by archaic spiritual means) and, at key moments during the year, by religious activity intended to keep them safe. These activities and checkpoints are clues to the way Romans saw the boundaries, and may even correct some false impressions we have of important features in their urban landscape. The checkpoints of passage through this boundary between human community and outworld were gate-like temples (guarded by Janus) or a similar structure called a “iugum,” and both underlie the structure we today call a “triumphal arch.” Understanding how Romans (or archaic Italians) felt about community boundaries may help correct the image we have of this arch, and what it meant, and in fact our image of them. Early Roman boundary-passage customs use these artifacts for related forms of expiation, cleansing and pacification, a character shared by the treatment of defeated armies and in fected persons, even meaning in the triumphal procession, which had much more to do with cleansing the contagious guilt (or infected violence) of a returning army than it did with celebrating a victory. More than a century ago the Roman historian-anthropologist William Warde Fowler attempted clear modern perspectives on early Romans, aggression-defense, and their ideas of boundaries. This article is also a tribute to some of his key, forgotten insights. Keywords: ancient urban studies, Archaic Italy, Roman rituals, Roman anthropology, Roman aggression

The image of the Russian Enlightened Monarch in the Romanian culture at the end of the eighteenth and beginning of the nineteenth century

This paper aims to reconstruct the way in which the Romanian written culture from the second half of the eighteenth century and the beginning of the nineteenth gradually built the image of the Russian Enlightened monarchy with three of its most famous representatives: Peter II, Catherine II and Alexander I. By means of translating from Italian and German historiography, these texts served a double goal: on the one hand they satisfied the reader’s need for knowledge and understanding of the contemporary events, and on the other they contributed to a political discourse that viewed Russia and the Russian Orthodox monarchy as potential saviours of the Romanian principalities from the oppression of the Muslim Ottoman Empire. By means of translation analysis, we have attempted to illustrate how the Western image of an Eastern monarch, guided by a blend of Western philosophy and Eastern Orthodox tradition, was transferred in the Romanian culture as a scientific base for political and cultural decisions.

„Bucegiștii”. Vacanțele în munți ale familiei Urechia: construcția unei filiații literare

Focusing on a family of writers that of V.A. Urechiă and his sons, Nestor and Alceu, the article aims at a comparative analysis of the family's sociability that they develop in the summers spent at their villas in Câmpina and Sinaia, with expeditions in the Bucegi Mountains, and the literature that feeds on these expeditions. Beyond the opportunity offered by the writings of the Urechiă family, we wish to observe the production and efficiency of genealogical forms (Georges Didi-Huberman); the stake of such an approach comes from its historical situation. The moment of founding the Urechia family coincides with the founding of the Romanian culture and nation, making the investigation of their mountain expeditions, genealogical issues, and literary forms gain a political weight with an accent on the nation rather than on the family itself.

Martial's hawk and Iberian falconry. An exception in the ancient world

It has been generally acknowledged that falconry was unknown in Antiquity until it was imported in the 5th century AD by Germanic tribes into the lands of the Roman Empire. However, this theory contrasts with a 1st century AD epigram by Martial that depicts a hawk kept in captivity that regrets hunting for a fowler, a concept that can be perfectly understood as falconry. Due to a lack of knowledge of Iberian iconography and the absence of other early sources that attest to the existence of hawking in Antiquity, historians of hunting have interpreted Martial's epigram in diverse ways to avoid accepting that the poet was familiar with falconry. However, a careful look at Iberian figurative arts between the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC reveals that Iberians depicted scenes perfectly coherent with falconry. Furthermore, some of these images were created in the region around Bilbilis where Martial was born, grew up and retired. Thus, we can conclude that it is highly likely that Martial was describing falconry in his epigram due to his knowledge of the sport in his native Hispania. Iberians seem to have practiced falconry since at least the 3rd century BC. This constituted an exception in the ancient world, since there is no evidence to prove that falconry was known in Middle Eastern, Greek or Roman civilizations.

ETHNIC AND RELIGIOUS – CONSTANCIES IN DIFFERENT IDEOLOGICAL CONFIGURATIONS

As a crossing point of the ideological options, of ethnic issues and confessional confrontations, the Romanian culture seems to obey the alternating rhythm of the historical loss of memory and, at the same time, of the anamnesis. On this background, the present times always appear as being doubtful, always menaced. Such tearing proved to be advantageous to the proliferation of many ideologies which found the ideal scene for materialization. Thus, the literary ideologies appear as natural reflexes to this kind of tectonics. In fact, there is not any specifically Romanian in all these phenomena. Ruptures have always been instrumented and used in ideological battles everywhere on the earth.

Late Roman Law and the Quranic Punishments for Adultery

Late Roman Law and the Quranic Punishments for Adultery

4. Project “Easter Triptych”

Abstract The “Easter Triptych” project was conducted in six annual editions (except for 2020 and 2021 – the years of the Coronavirus Pandemic). It was conceived and achieved in the name and in the spirit of the three important moments in the history of our humanity: Birth, Passion and Joy of the Resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ. This great religious cultural project was attended by important personalities of Iaşi and not only, such as lyrical artists from the Romanian National Opera Iaşi, church persons from the Metropolitan Church of Moldavia and Bukovina, university professors, ethnographers, craftsmen and students. We were joined by Radio Romania Cultural Bucharest, Radio Iasi, TV Iasi, Radio “Trinitas” and “Moldova” National Museum Complex Iasi. With this important project, I also went to Austria, Vienna, to the Romanian Cultural Center and to the Republic of Moldova, to “Alecu Russo” State University Balti. Each edition presented under its generous scope, equally traditions, customs and beliefs firmly established in our soul and conscience as Romanians. The events included moments of musical art: classical musical works (lyrical, instrumental, choral), Christmas carols, Easter songs, religious poems, book launches, exhibitions of decorated eggs from the Bukovina area, exhibitions of icons, crosses, carpets woven in monasteries, ceramic objects from Horezu, wooden sculpture objects and traditional folk costumes. In addition to these, there was a CD: “Easter Triptych”.

Acquisitive Prescription in Early Modern International Law

Abstract This article examines the role of Roman acquisitive prescription in early modern international law debates. The ubiquity of prescription demonstrates the importance of Roman private law in the development of international law. Yet, although it was a widely-used juristic concept, there was no consensus about its legitimacy in international relations from 1500 to 1800. Debates raged over whether it was a product of the natural law, the law of nations, or the Roman civil law. There was a crucial tension between prescription’s utility in confirming the political status quo and its tendency to justify ownership based on prior injustice or violence. In assessing the place of prescription in international law, this article examines its use by Grotius, Vázquez, Freitas, Boecler, Conring, Bellarmine, Solórzano, and others in debates over freedom of the seas, imperial possessions in the Americas, Dutch independence, papal temporal power, and the aftermath of the Thirty Years War.

The Winter Solstice as a Roman Cultural Fingerprint from the Mythical Origins of Rome to Augustus

ABSTRACT The winter solstice shaped Rome and its landscape from the ancestral cult of Saturnus as primordial god of the Roman territory before the city’s founding to its use by Augustus as one of the signs of his multiple celestial and solar connections. The important feasts around this date are well known and, in this paper, we propose to demonstrate how some significant public monuments, possibly from the origins of Rome and certainly from during Augustus’s reign, are oriented towards the winter solstice sunrise or sunset. To demonstrate the importance and truly cultural sense of these observations we show how the solstitial orientation is dominant in the cities founded or significantly rebuilt under Augustus. The winter solstice appears then as a powerful and stable cultural marker that traverses the history of the city of Rome, links Augustus with the origins of the city as a kind of new founder – as was already known through other evidence – and connects any provincial cities with Rome to show the depth of their commitment to her as a part of a common world view.

Roman Cultures during Prehistoric Eras between Creation and Evolution

The Italian peninsula served as a dividing line between the Mediterranean's western and eastern basins, and its unique location allowed it to serve as a point of contact and meeting for the various cultural currents that converged in the Mediterranean basin, including European and African cultures from the north and south. This Mediterranean region, in which the Italian peninsula played a significant role, served as the womb in which (Rome) was conceived, followed by a sequence of beneficial changes that shaped and created the cultured Roman existence.

REFLECTIONS OF POMEGRANATE MYTHOLOGY ON FASHION DESIGN

Fruits are not only useful and delicious food sources, but also an indispensable part of socio-cultural life (Çağlıtütüncügil, 2013: 78). Since the fruits on the tree are closest to the sky (that is, to God), they are under the privilege of lords, princes and nobles. Foods grown underground, such as potatoes, which are at the bottom of the hierarchy, are considered foods suitable for the substrate. In mythology, belief traditions, holy books, and mysticism, fruits represent saying something (Naksali, 2006, XII). Thus, various beliefs about fruits were born, fruits became symbols, and the language of fruits was formed. The development of humanity has, in many respects, been tied to fruition. The pomegranate fruit has come to the fore with its iconographic meanings rather than fruit. The pomegranate has enriched its location not only with its beauty of form, but also with its symbolic values, which have historical depth and intensity of meaning, reaching legends. Historical values and motifs play an important role in carrying culture forward. The pomegranate motif has positive meanings such as fertility, abundance, love, continuity of marriage, beauty and children in all civilizations. Expressing the value of such an important motif, expanding its usage area, keeping it alive and spreading it are among the aims. The fact that the motif has not been dealt with in terms of fashion design before has been effective in the selection of the subject. In this study, the literature on the subject was searched and the meanings attributed to the pomegranate fruit in Sumerian, Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Vietnamese and Japanese civilizations were examined. Inspired by the image, history and mythological meanings of the pomegranate, it has also been tried to be reflected in the fashion industry. In this context, a storyboard and six clothing designs were made. The drawings were created with the procreate program. In this study, which was carried out with the logic of collection, pomegranate motifs were stylized, clothing design suggestions were presented and the clothes were made ready for production. It is thought that this study will contribute to the employees related to the subject, especially fashion designers.

High‐performing mortar‐based materials from the late imperial baths of Aquileia: An outstanding example of Roman building tradition in Northern Italy

AbstractThis study provides the first detailed insight into the composition and properties of structural mortars used in a 4th‐century AD bath complex in Aquileia, the emblematic center of Roman culture in Northern Italy. Eighteen mortars, taken from different structures of the site, and three stone samples from the vaulting opus caementicium have been analyzed adopting a multianalytical approach integrating optical microscopy, X‐ray powder diffraction, X‐ray fluorescence, and scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy‐dispersive spectroscopy. The properties of the compounds are outstanding, as revealed by the formation of hydraulic phases (i.e., Al‐tobermorite and AFm) in most of the samples: the waterproofing capabilities of cocciopesto mortars are remarkable, as revealed by the formation of anthropogenic Al‐tobermorite (5.5 wt%) in pool coating samples; the lightweight of the vaults was guaranteed by the use of porous caementa and pozzolanic volcanic aggregates imported from the Gulf of Naples, as demonstrated by petro‐mineralogical features and chemical analysis of major and trace elements. This is the first proven case of trade in these building materials to the north of the Italian peninsula. These outcomes shed new light on the robust technical expertise of local artisans in Aquileia and indicate that the Cisalpina province was by no means a peripheral reality in the Roman Empire, as far as mortar‐based materials are concerned.

Recitindu-l pe Stahl

In this paper, I highlight mostly ignored aspects of the work of H. H. Stahl: his stance on the issue of “national specificity,” on village culture, and on the modernization of Romanian villages through “culturalization”. Reviewing some of his popularization and scientific texts from the 1930, but also his late contributions from the 1980, show a remarkable continuity and consistency of Stahl’s vision on these subjects. And it is not the kind of vision someone would expect from a socialist or Marxist social scientist. For Stahl, the village culture was the true (and unique) Romanian culture, a peasant culture that he was very fond of. In some respects, and, in fact, not so surprisingly, Stahl, what regards “national specificity” and village culture, is much closer to (the reactionary, traditionalist, autochthonous) Mircea Vulcănescu, his monographist fellow and personal friend, than any other leftist thinker in interwar Romania.

The Symbol of the Phoenix in the Catacombs of Priscilla in Rome and Its Transformation in Early Christianity

The presented study deals with the oldest Christian depiction of a phoenix found in the Catacombs of Priscilla in Rome. Since catacomb art is a narrative depiction of biblical stories, it is important to incorporate the motive of phoenix into historical context. The study performs analysis and comparison the links and connections of the phoenix symbol in pagan and Christian thought. As Christian iconography is associated with allegorical symbols, the intention is to anticipate the meaning, origin and etymology of the phoenix symbol. The article therefore summarizes how the symbol and position of the phoenix found in the catacombs evolved from Egyptian myths through Greek and Roman culture to the transformation in Christian literature and Christian thought, especially in the Gospel of John, which connects the symbol of the phoenix with the palm and Lazarus.