“christianity isnt exactly an exclusively european religion…..”

Yes it was, but not anymore. After the break-up of the Roman Empire in 476, Christianity and Europe meant the same. And this lastet for another 1000 years. This explains the crusades.

Cool. I Just had my exam Greek history and now I see this.

I read somewhere that Greeks started to colonise the coast of Western Turkey in 300 AD. Actually they did almost 1000 years earlier, after the downfall of the Mycenian culture. 1200 AD, the Dorian invasion, meant that many Greeks had to find a place elsewhere to live.

“Of course we know Asia Minor (Ionia) was populated by Ionian Greeks, which is why Athens gave support to failed attempts to free themselves from Persion yoke.”

Not only Ionian Greeks (like the city of Milete), but even Dorian Greeks went to Turkey (Halicarnassus, Cnidos). From 750 AD the second wave of colonialism meant new poleis in Northern Africa, Italy and other parts of the Mediterranian.

And Pontus. Well, maybe the fact that Mithriades VI ‘almost’ defeated the Romans twice (Sulla and Pompeius).

The importance of the Greek cities in Asia Minor should not be overrestimated. After the Pelopponesian War (431-404 AD), which Sparta, with help from the Persians, won, the cities were left on their own, without financial or military assistance from Athens. Though Sparta was not interrested in Asia Minor, it caused another war with the Persians. When Alexander the Great liberated these cities 100 years later, he had to deal with heavy resistance from these so called Greeks. They felt more related to the Persians than the Greeks, who have left them alone 100 years earlier. Alexander the Great was not a Greek, he was a MACEDONIAN. He introduced himself as the new ‘Persian’ King, rather than a Greek. For example, the ‘prokunesis’ was never used in Ancient Greece before. And Alexander ruled alone, and his empire looked not at all like the Greek poleis which were created 500 years earlier. Athens was a democracy, and even Sparta, though not democratic, but more in common with Athens than with these eastern empires.

SOC : “Parts of western Turkey near and along the coastline were populated by Greek and Macedonian peoples as far back as the 300s BC”

As I said, in 300 BC the Persian Empire (under the Alcmaenoides) was already defeated thanks to Alexander. But eventually, after Alexanders death, the Empire was divided into three new hellenestic states (Empire of the Leucides, Syria+Turkey, Empire of the Lacides, Egypt, Empire of the Antigonides, Macedonia). 150 years later the 3 empires were defeated by the Romans in just a couple of weeks.

Just regular Belgian beer, or a nice gin Tonic. Schweppesand Gordon`s though.

lovely. Especially the interior is important, The altar. Thanks mate.

Material Girl

Strange elections. It never happened that a political party has been whiped out of the parliament. It`s a sad day for Belgium, with extreme right becoming a major party now.

BRUSSELS, Belgium — Belgian voters returned Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt’s Liberal-Socialist coalition to office for another four years in a weekend election in which the far-right made a record showing.

The anti-immigration Vlaams Blok (Flemish Bloc) won the largest vote in its 25-year history on Sunday, five months after race riots rocked the port city of Antwerp.

The party — which has links to French far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen — boosted its share in parliament, but it stands no chance of entering government because all mainstream parties refuse to deal with it.

But the size of its vote highlighted ethnic and linguistic tensions fueled by high unemployment, North African immigration and concern over crime.

Early Monday, Verhofstadt tendered the resignation of his outgoing coalition to King Albert to start the process of forming a new government.

The main losers were the Greens, Verhofstadt’s junior coalition partners. They are now out of office after suffering a huge defeat in Wallonia, the country’s French-speaking south, and Dutch-speaking Flanders in the north.

Belgians increased the strength of Verhofstadt’s Liberals and their Socialist allies, giving them 97 of the 150 parliamentary seats.

With 99.43 percent of the votes counted, the Liberals have 49 seats, a gain of eight. The Socialists won 48 seats, up 13 — the party’s best performance in 15 years and the election’s biggest gain.

In recent years, Verhofstadt’s coalition has passed controversial social policies, legalizing euthanasia, marijuana and gay marriages. The government also introduced tax cuts and reined in budgetary spending.

“The government emerges stronger from these election results. There is a general feeling in the electorate that this government is doing a good job,” Verhofstadt said.

The far-right Vlaams Blok consolidated a string of electoral gains since the 1980s by winning 18 seats, a gain of three.

It was the second consecutive defeat for the Christian Democrats, who dominated Belgian politics for decades until they were ousted in 1999 elections. They lost a seat both in Flanders and Wallonia.

The Greens lost their nine seats in Flanders, a rare parliamentary election wipeout. In Wallonia, they lost seven of their 11 seats.

Voters were angry at the Greens over their campaigning against arms exports to Nepal, night flights over Brussels and tobacco advertising, which cost Belgium its Formula One motor racing grand prix.

Verhofstadt now has to balance the pro-business, privatizing tendencies of his Liberals with the social security and healthcare spending bias of the Socialists.

He also faces a major task in mending strained relations with Washington after Belgium’s opposition to the U.S.-led war in Iraq and its obstruction of NATO moves to boost Turkey’s defenses before the conflict.