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Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was ruler of both the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and the Spanish Empire (as Charles I of Spain) from 1516, as well as of the lands of the former Duchy of Burgundy from 1506. He stepped down from these and other positions by a series of abdications between 1554 and 1556.<br/><br/> Through inheritance, Charles brought together under his rule extensive territories in western, central, and southern Europe, and the Spanish viceroyalties in the Americas and Asia. As a result, his domains spanned nearly 4 million square kilometres (1.5 million square miles), and were the first to be described as 'the empire on which the sun never sets'.
Charles V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was ruler of both the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and the Spanish Empire (as Charles I of Spain) from 1516, as well as of the lands of the former Duchy of Burgundy from 1506. He stepped down from these and other positions by a series of abdications between 1554 and 1556.<br/><br/> Through inheritance, Charles brought together under his rule extensive territories in western, central, and southern Europe, and the Spanish viceroyalties in the Americas and Asia. As a result, his domains spanned nearly 4 million square kilometres (1.5 million square miles), and were the first to be described as 'the empire on which the sun never sets'.
Heraclius (575-641) was son of Heraclius the Elder, exarch of Africa, who led a revolt against the usurper emperor Phocas, deposing him in 610. Heraclius became emperor and was immediately forced to deal with multiple threats on many frontiers.<br/><br/> One of the main frontiers was the Byzantine-Sassanid War of 602-628 against King Khosrau II and the Sassanid Empire. The Sassanids managed to fight all the way to the walls of Constantinople before failing to penetrate them, allowing Heraclius to counter-attack and drive them all the way back to the Sassanid capital of Ctesiphon. Khosrau was executed by his son Kavadh II, and a peace treaty was agreed. The Sassanid Empire soon fell to the Muslim conquests, another threat Heraclius had to deal with.<br/><br/> Heraclius was credited for making Greek the Byzantine Empire's official language, as well as for his enlarging of the empire and his reorganisation of government and military. Though his attempts at religious harmony failed, he was successful in returning the True Cross to Jerusalem.
The Treaty of Zaragoza, also referred to as the capitulation of Zaragoza, was a peace treaty between Spain and Portugal signed on 22 April of 1529 by King John III and the Emperor Charles V, in the city of Zaragoza. The treaty defined the areas of Spanish and Portuguese influence in Asia to resolve the 'Moluccas issue', when both kingdoms claimed those islands for themselves, considering it within their exploration area established by the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494. The conflict first developed in 1520, when the expeditions of both kingdoms reached the Pacific Ocean, since there was not a set limit to the east.
Supervised by Spanish-born Pope Alexander VI, the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494 divided the world in half—into Spanish and Portuguese territories.<br/><br/> Following Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama's success in discovering a sea route around Africa to India in 1498, King Manuel I commissioned Pedro Alvares Cabral to lead a second voyage of 13 ships and 1,500 men to India. Although he intended to stay close to the west coast of Africa, Cabral sailed far off course and accidentally chanced upon the coast of South America.<br/><br/> According to the Treaty of Tordesillas of 1494, any land falling within 370 leagues [2.060 km] west of the Cape Verde Islands was to belong to Portugal, whereas any land discovered west of this meridian would be Spanish territory, as decreed by Spanish-born Pope Alexander VI. The coastline of Brazil therefore fell within the Portuguese sphere of influence and was colonized by Manuel I.<br/><br/> However, following Portugal’s discovery of the Spice Islands of the Moluccas in 1512, Spain contested the line of demarcation. The issue was never fully settled, but the Treaty of Zaragoza in 1529 attempted to resolve the matter by setting the ‘antemeridian’ as 17 degrees to the east of the Moluccas, thus preventing the Spanish from claiming the Spice Islands.
Supervised by Spanish-born Pope Alexander VI, the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494 divided the world in half—into Spanish and Portuguese territories. However, following Portugal’s discovery of the Spice Islands of the Moluccas in 1512, Spain contested the line of demarcation. The issue was never fully settled, but the Treaty of Zaragoza in 1529 attempted to resolve the matter by setting the ‘antemeridian’ as 17 degrees to the east of the Moluccas, thus preventing the Spanish from claiming the Spice Islands. This 1522 map favors the Spanish claim, with the antemeridian cutting through Siam, Malacca and Sumatra, hundreds of miles west of the Moluccas.
St. Vincent was born in Huesca but lived in Zaragoza, northern Spain. Imprisoned in Valencia for his faith, and tortured on a gridiron, Vincent converted his jailer to Christianity before being martyred under the Emperor Diocletian in c. 304. It is said that ravens protected his body as it was shipped to what is now Cape St. Vincent, the southwesternmost point of the Algarve in Portugal. He is today the patron saint of Lisbon, and of vintners and vinegar-makers. His feast day is 22 January in the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches, and 11 November in the Eastern Orthodox churches.
An astrolabe (Greek: ἁστρολάβον astrolabon, 'star-taker') is an elaborate inclinometer, historically used by astronomers, navigators, and astrologers. Its many uses include locating and predicting the positions of the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars, determining local time given local latitude and vice-versa, surveying, triangulation, and to cast horoscopes.<br/><br/> It was used in classical antiquity, through the Islamic Golden Age, the European Middle Ages and Renaissance for all these purposes. In the Islamic world, it was also used to calculate the Qibla and to find the times for Salah, prayers.<br/><br/> There is often confusion between the astrolabe and the mariner's astrolabe. While the astrolabe could be useful for determining latitude on land, it was an awkward instrument for use on the heaving deck of a ship or in wind. The mariner's astrolabe was developed to address these issues.