Francisco Cruz’s Post

Visit our online maritime museum https://lnkd.in/dX5TzbQk The Hellas Liberty Floating Museum, originally built in 1943 as the ARTHUR M. HUDDELL, was converted into a museum ship in 2010 and is now located in Piraeus. The Liberty ships played a crucial role in Greece's post-World War II maritime recovery. These sturdy cargo vessels, originally built in the United States during the war, were sold to Greek shipping companies at low prices. Greek shipowners, capitalising on this opportunity, revitalised their fleet, boosting Greece's position as a dominant force in global shipping. The Liberty ships thus became a symbol of Greek maritime resilience and economic resurgence in the mid-20th century. #libertyships #greekshippingmiracle #greekshipping #libertyships

The Sea Walls of Constantinople consisted of a single line of fortifications along the shores of the Propontis (Marmara) Sea and the Golden Horn.

Recent reports have highlighted the devastating impact of Russia’s invasion on Ukraine's UNESCO World Heritage sites and invaluable cultural landmarks. As of now, over 457 cultural sites—from historic museums to religious buildings—have suffered extensive damage or have been completely destroyed. Notably, cherished sites in Donetsk, Kharkiv, and Odesa have been targeted. One example is the tragic destruction of the Odesa Fine Arts Museum by missile strikes in November 2023. But this loss goes beyond physical structures; it’s a profound attack on Ukraine’s cultural identity, history, and heritage. Protecting and preserving these cultural treasures today is vital in order to safeguard the Ukrainian heritage for future generations. photo: @KyivIndependent

The spotlight is now on the historic old cities, including Damascus, Aleppo, and Bosra Al-Sham, where violations and transgressions have begun to spread widely. The General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums fears that such violations may lead to significant changes in the historical structure of these cities, which are inscribed on the World Heritage List. In this context, the General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums calls on all relevant authorities, institutions, and international and local organizations to contribute in any possible way to limiting these violations, in order to preserve Syria's cultural heritage from extinction. #Ministry_of_Culture #General_Directorate_of_Antiquities_and_Museums #Damascus #Aleppo #Bosra #World_Heritage_Sites

Today 61 BC Pompey the Great celebrates his third triumph for victories over the pirates and the end of the Mithridatic Wars on his 45th birthday. Rome's Great Eastern War: Lucullus, Pompey and the Conquest of the East, 74-62 BC Get the Book USA at https://amzn.to/48sgNmQ Get this book UK at https://amzn.to/3ewCkQY Despite Rome's conquest of the Mediterranean, by the turn of the first century BC, Rome's influence barely stretched into the East. In the century since Rome's defeat of the Seleucid Empire in the 180s BC, the East was dominated by the rise of new empires: Parthia, Armenia and Pontus, each vying to recreate the glories of the Persian Empire. By the 80s BC, the Pontic Empire of Mithridates had grown so bold that it invaded and annexed the whole of Rome's eastern empire and occupied Greece itself. As Rome emerged from the devastating effects of the First Civil War, a new breed of general emerged, eager to re-assert Roman military dominance and carve out a fresh empire in the east, treading in the footsteps of Alexander. This work analyses the military campaigns and battles between a revitalized Rome and the various powers of the eastern Mediterranean hinterland, which ultimately heralded a new phase in Roman imperial expansion and reshaped the ancient East.

Today 61 BC Pompey the Great celebrates his third triumph for victories over the pirates and the end of the Mithridatic Wars on his 45th birthday. Rome's Great Eastern War: Lucullus, Pompey and the Conquest of the East, 74-62 BC Get the Book USA at https://amzn.to/48sgNmQ Get this book UK at https://amzn.to/3ewCkQY Despite Rome's conquest of the Mediterranean, by the turn of the first century BC, Rome's influence barely stretched into the East. In the century since Rome's defeat of the Seleucid Empire in the 180s BC, the East was dominated by the rise of new empires: Parthia, Armenia and Pontus, each vying to recreate the glories of the Persian Empire. By the 80s BC, the Pontic Empire of Mithridates had grown so bold that it invaded and annexed the whole of Rome's eastern empire and occupied Greece itself. As Rome emerged from the devastating effects of the First Civil War, a new breed of general emerged, eager to re-assert Roman military dominance and carve out a fresh empire in the east, treading in the footsteps of Alexander. This work analyses the military campaigns and battles between a revitalized Rome and the various powers of the eastern Mediterranean hinterland, which ultimately heralded a new phase in Roman imperial expansion and reshaped the ancient East.

#ViaAppia, the Queen of Ancient Rome’s roads, has been listed today by #UNESCO as a #WorldHeritageSite. The UNESCO World Heritage Committee, in its meeting in New Delhi, unanimously adopted a decision to recognize the outstanding universal value of Via Appia. The #ReginaViarum was the first of the great roads of Rome built with innovative techniques in 312 BC to connect Rome with the port of Brindisi. Over the centuries it has been a remarkable conduit of trade and cultural exchanges. It became the model for all subsequent Roman public roads as well as, in a certain sense, the origin of the complex road system of the Empire, which is still the backbone of the current communication network of the Mediterranean basin. The creation of this road network has allowed, over the centuries, a practically uninterrupted flow of people, ideas, civilizations, goods, religions and ideas, routes that are still vibrant today. The inscription of Via Appia in the World Heritage List is a remarkable achievement for the Italian #MinistryofCulture, leading a vast group of Italian institutions and communities living along the Appia Way from Rome to Taranto.

This book covers several such places and enables the reader to see several of the lesser-known sites and little-travelled paths of the Italian Campaign. Beyond exploring paths such as the Cavendish Road, there was the critical outmaneuvering of the Germans defending Rome by the 36th Division getting behind the Germans by following an old logging road on Monte Artemisio. Unlike the Cavendish Road, for which there are now markers at the start of the climb, no such markers about the critical role of Monte Artemisio operation were seen on that former logging trail, now a horse, biking and walking trail. Track signs merely guide you to the now derelict Castel d’Ariano at the summit. To that end, walking this route—presented in this book—provided the peak sensation of us history tour addicts—that we were “rediscovering” history, particularly a path, the use of which by 36th Division, arguably cut off weeks of potential delay to the fall of Rome and saved many lives. https://lnkd.in/e9UiMnkB #newbook #history #WWII #europehistory #politicalscience

The Great Wall of Benin Vs Great Wall of China Did you know that the Great Walls of the Benin Kingdom Exceeded the Great Wall of China? The wall was estimated to have taken over 600 years, the wall of the Benin kingdom was two times bigger and four times longer than the Great Wall of China. According to Fred Pearce from New Scientist, these remarkable structures utilized a staggering amount of materials—over a hundred times that of the Great Pyramid of Cheops( famously known as the Great Pyramid of Giza  the largest Egyptian pyramid) The Kingdom of Benin, located in what is now southwestern Nigeria, thrived from the 13th to the 19th centuries. Benin City, its capital, is famous for the Benin Bronzes, a collection of artifacts looted during a British expedition in 1897. While many of these treasures are housed in the British Museum, the Walls of Benin stand as a lesser-known achievement of this great kingdom. Constructed over approximately 600 years, the walls were built as a defensive measure against invading forces, initiated under the leadership of Oba Eweka I. Though damaged during the British expedition and deteriorating over time, remnants of the walls still exist today, highlighting a significant aspect of Benin's history and resilience. Unfortunately, they continue to face threats of destruction. The legacy of the Kingdom of Benin is a testament to its architectural ingenuity and cultural heritage, deserving recognition and preservation.

The site visit of the underground metro station, next to one of the ancient and masterpiece monuments in the world, the Colosseum, Rome, Italy