The first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire was Charlemagne, king of the Franks. Charlemagne conquered the lands that later became known as the Holy Roman Empire. In Italy, he helped to defend Rome against a barbarian invasion. In return, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne “Emperor of the Romans” in 800 A.D.

In the 900s, a powerful German king, Otto I, gained control over all of Germany, Austria, and northern Italy. He helped the pope put down a rebellion in Rome and was crowned “Roman Emperor.” The word “holy” was not added to the emperor’s title until some years later.

Because he wanted to improve the situation of farmers and just split the country, introduced the elected Tiberius Sempronius Gracchus land reform. So that his laws were to continue, he settled for a renewed Choose year as a leader, but this was prohibited by the state. Thereupon Gracchus was slain along with 300 of his followers. The people rebelled against it and was attacked militarily. In the year 123 BC, Gracchus put younger brother, Gaius Sempronius, whose work continues. He declared a public enemy. He had to flee from Rome and was himself killed by a slave.

Consul Gaius Marius, the views and ideas of the two brothers shared by Consul Gaius Marius (pictured right), which is 111 BC. came to power. He had fought a very successful and was a very respected man he succeeded at last, to enforce the agrarian reform. Anyone who could not fight in the army, got a piece of arable land. It decided the individual military commanders, which led to a strong bond between citizens and the various rulers. Here, the power of the state lost its importance.

Between 91 and 89 BC the Social War took place. Here rebelled several Roman tribal groups. They wanted to be regarded as equal citizens of Rome. Lucius Cornelius Sulla, Gaius Marius had fought with the allies in this war. He was introduced to the reforms. 88 BC, Sulla was elected consul by his followers. As the first commander of the story, he marched into Rome and gained back the military power. Because it was waging war in Asia Minor, Rome, Sulla had to soon leave it. Now Marius saw his chance again. Together with the new consul Lucius Cornelius Cinna, he won power in Rome and began to conduct a reign of terror.

Lucius Cornelius Sulla, 82 BC Sulla returned (left) back to Rome and fought against the followers of Marius. After Sulla BC 79th had stepped down from his position back, came with Marcus Licinius Crassus and Pompey, commander of the army back to power. They joined together with Julius Caesar, a Triumvirate. The state could not make decisions, which agreed not three. Caesar led successful war. Crassus was killed 53 BC in a battle. Pompey again worked closely with the State and was hired by this, to fight against Caesar. What Caesar did not put up with his troops and on the 10th January 49 BC, the border river Rubicon exceed invaded Rome. Pompey himself, he defeated at the Battle of Pharsalus in Greece.

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Now Caesar was the sole ruler of Rome. However, he was overwhelmed with the political tasks and was assassinated in 44 BC sneaky. It is the sole rule of Octavian, the later Augustus ended the civil war 30 BC the Roman Empire.

Benito Mussolini had been a revolutionary Socialist and newspaper editor before the war. He was born in Romagna province. He fought in the war and was wounded and decorated. In 1919, Mussolini founded a political organization called the Fascist Party, which violently opposed the Communists. Mussolini’s followers called him Il Duce (”the leader”). Mussolini promised the Italian people that he would make Italy strong and prosperous if his Fascist Party were elected to office.

Many Italian people believed Mussolini and supported him. On October 28, 1922, Mussolini’s followers, called the Black Shirts, marched on the city of Rome. They demanded that the king of Italy, Victor Emmanuel III, put Mussolini in charge of the government. The king made Mussolini prime minister.

Mussolini soon seized all power for himself and turned the Italian government into a dictatorship. He destroyed the Communist, Socialist and other political organizations, and imprisoned and tortured people who disagreed with him. But he also began a program to improve Italy’s economy. He built new roads and encouraged the growth of industry, which gave the people more jobs.

Mussolini wanted to make Italy a powerful country. He sent Italian armies to conquer Ethiopia (1935) and to help General Francisco Franco fight against the republican government in Spain (1936). World War II broke out in 1939. Mussolini finally allied Italy formally with the German side when France was near collapse (1940). When Italy was conquered by American and British troops, Mussolini tried to escape to Germany. He was captured and killed by Italian resistance fighters on April 28, 1945.

About 1,000 years before the birth of Jesus Christ, many different tribes lived in the Italian peninsula. The most powerful people were the Etruscans. Their homeland was a region in central Italy. They conquered lands to the north and south, but were never able to take over the whole peninsula.

The Italian city of Rome succeeded where the Etruscans had failed. The Roman people not only conquered the whole of Italy, but by 27 B.C., they had also created a huge empire in Europe and the Middle East. The Roman Empire prospered for about 500 years. But in the 300s A.D., German tribes from the north began to invade the western part of the empire.

The last Roman emperor of the west, Romulus Augustus, was defeated by a German barbarian, Odoacer, in 476 A.D. From that date until the mid-1800s, Italy was for the most part divided into a group of small states. These states fought continually among themselves. They found it difficult to combine, even against a foreign invader. Italy was overrun again and again by more powerful peoples from other parts of Europe.

Absolute monarchs have been known by various titles. They would be kings or queens in Europe, emperors in Rome, sultans in Arabia, pharoahs in ancient Egypt, and czars in Russia. But not all monarchs were absolute rulers. Religious leaders were often equally powerful, as were the nobles. Both these groups often took part in the governing of countries through the centuries.

If the government of a country is controlled by a few families of noble birth, it is called an aristocracy. If a country is ruled by a tight family group, the government is called an oligarchy. Some Latin American countries today are controlled by oligarchies. In an aristocracy or an oligarchy, the land and wealth belong to a few people. Most peasants and workers are very poor.

 Snow fell heavily in parts of Italy on Saturday, to cover the capital Romewith a covering of ice and isolated mountain villages and obstructing traffic on the roads, railways and airports across the country.

The snow which has been repeated within a few days Rome intensity not seen since the eighties to the closure of archaeological sites like the Colosseum, but allowed for touristsand residents another opportunity to see historical landmarks such as St. Peter’s Squareand the Fountain of Trevi was covered by a layer of ice.

The civil aviation authority said in a statement that in Italy Fiumicino Airport in Rome, made ​​plans to cancel half the number of flights from 1600 GMT on Saturday. And shut down a number of airports across the country or forced to reduce their work.

And cause heavy snowfall are not accustomed to many parts of Italy to block themovement of trains and roads, especially in mountainous areas where emergency services are struggling to reach isolated villages.

Residents were evacuated from homes in a number of regions of Italy for fear that leads to the accumulation of ice collapse.

Source: Reuters

Pompey, who controlled the government, became jealous of Caesar’s victories, and ordered Caesar to break up the army. But the soldiers respected and trusted Caesar, and instead of dispersing, they followed him across the Rubicon River to capture the city of Rome in 49 B.C. “The die is cast,” Caesar is supposed to have said when he crossed the Rubicon River into Italy. He meant that he could not turn back.

Caesar defeated Pompey’s forces in Spain, North Africa, and Asia Minor. One of Caesar’s famous victories occurred at the battle of Zela, now in Turkey, Caesar’s message to Rome was “Veni, Vidi, Vici” (”I came, I saw, I conquered”).

By 45 B.C., Caesar controlled a vast territory that later was the Roman Empire. The Roman government made Caesar dictator. Some people still feared his power. On March 15 (the Ides of March) in 44 B.C., conspirators stabbed him to death in the Senate building.

Caesar was an excellent leader and a man of many talents. His book, The Gallic (French) Wars, is still widely read. It is remarkable for the clarity of its language and for the period of history it discusses. It is an important book for language students and for historians.

During the short time that Caesar ruled Rome, he made many important changes. He pardoned his enemies and appointed many of them to public offices. He provided work for the soldiers of his army. He offered Roman citizenship to of the peoples he conquered. He developed plans to modernize city government. He built a public library and planned other public buildings. He and an Egyptian astronomer also devised the Julian calendar, which – with one change – is still in use in the Western world today.

At the time of his death, Caesar had plans for draining marshes to provide more land and for constructing a canal. He was organizing the management of the Roman Empire and preparing laws to be used throughout the empire. If Caesar had lived, he might have had an even greater effect on world history.

A ruler of a country who behaves this way is called a dictator. Dictators have complete power over the people of their countries. They usually make or unmake laws without consulting the people. They decide the policy of the government themselves. They have the power to put to death or imprison anyone who disobeys or criticizes them.

Most dictators have come to power in times of war or national emergency. A country may benefit from the strong control of a single ruler at such times. But a dictator must limit the freedom of the people in order to retain complete power. These measures can lead to great hardship if they are continued for any length of time.

Dictators, such as Julius Caesar, were sometimes appointed in times of emergency in ancient Rome. But they were usually allowed to stay in power for only a limited time.

Dictators have ruled in several countries in recent times. Some came to power by gaining the support of a group, such as the army, and seizing control of a country by force. This is how Francisco Franco became dictator of Spain. But in many cases, dictators came to power legally and then took over complete control. Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union, Adolf Hitler of Germany, Francois Duvalier of Haiti, and Juan Peron of Argentina all became dictators by these methods.

Most of these dictators promised their people a better life. But once in power, they repressed all individual freedom. Newspapers were shut down, and radio and television controlled. They used secret police to enforce their laws. If dictators decide to use these methods to stay in power as long as possible, the only way their rules can be ended in their lifetimes is by revolution. And revolution is almost impossible since the dictator controls the army and the police.

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Valentines Day is a wonderfully romantic occasion. It’s also an opportunity to take your relationship a stage further and to help out – here’s a video with some practical advice for men

Valentines Day is a special day for lovers. For gifts of flowers, candy. A day of mystery too – who is the fantastic card from? A billion cards are sent every Valentines Day and 85% of them are from women. But this video solves one mystery that may have been troubling men!

This is a day for taking a lead, helping the relationship along. Not a day for being clumsy and slow

So to help men get to know that special person a little better – what better than an educational video. Just click and watch

You’ll save some embarrassing fumbling. But naturally if she says no – just stop. It may not be the time or the place. Respect her feelings.    

The history of the saint who inspired Valentines Day is, perhaps appropriately, a bit mysterious. There are three Catholic saints named Valentinus who may have started the tradition. One, in the reign of the Roman Emperor Claudius, helped young soldiers escape after Claudius decided that single men made better soldiers and stopped them marrying.

Another helped Christians to escape from the terrible conditions of Roman gaols. The third Saint Valentinus may have been the one who really began Saint Valentines Day. He too was imprisoned in Rome and he fell for the jailers daughter. He told her of his love – by sending her a card.

Valentines Day really took off around 1840 when the first ready printed, fancy cards came onto the market. They were produced by Esther A. Howland and Valentine Cards have been booming ever since.

Happy Valentine’s Day and don’t forget to click the video!