Civilopedia Entry Project v1.11

[blizzrd]

Spoiler :

Lorenzo de' Medici (the Magnificent) (1449 - 1492)

Lorenzo de' Medici was destined to a brief but intense life that would go down in the history of Florence and Italy. He was one of the great leaders of the Italy of his time, which precisely in Florence witnessed on extraordinary flowering of intellectual activities. He was a politician, a man of power and culture.

Lorenzo began his public life very early and he succeeded his father when he was not yet twenty-one. Immediatly he had to face difficult situations such as financial problems, conspiracies, relations with the Papacy, with Kings princes and milers of the countries. Nevertheless slowly the "balance of power" that Lorenzo maintained with Milan, Venice and Naples reinforced the florentine position, and wise economic measures improved the family finances. But Lorenzo's genius went further than this: he continued his family's traditional patronage of artists, opening his house and gardens to the younger ones. First Leonardo then Michelangelo and many others such as Botticelli, Filippino Lippi etc. turned to him for aid and protection.

In 1485, Girolamo Savonarola, a Dominican from the convent of San Marco began to seduce the Florentines with his prophetic language. He spoke of the Apocalypse and of the dreadful God, first from the pulpit of San Marco and then from that of the cathedral. Although it had been Lorenzo who had brought the Dominican back from exile in Bologna, Savonarola's preaching soon took on a tone of implacable accusation against his benefactor.

The friar accused Lorenzo publicy and univocably of ruining the state and squandering the wealth of the people deposited in the public coffers. Those who attempted to appease the spirit of the friar received the answer, "I do not care. But let (the Magnificent) know that I am a foreigner and he is a citizen and the first of the city: I am to stay and he is to go: I shall stay and not he." Many saw in these words a prophesy of Lorenzo's death, like the lightning-bolt that had struck Brunelleschi's dome a few months before his death. Accounts of this last meeting between Lorenzo the Magnificent and Savonarola, differ, but one may suppose, or hope, that in the end the friar remembered above all his duties as a priest. Lorenzo died peacefully in the night between April 8 and 9, 1492 in the Villa of Careggi. Florence was deeply shaken by his death which left an immense void in the world.

Two years after Lorenzo's death his eldest son Piero, called the "unfortunate", was exiled from Florence for his political "incapacity" and only after 18 years the Medici family could return to its home-town.

 

[Tomorrow's Dawn]

Spoiler :

Lorenzo di Medici (the Magnificent) (1449 - 1492)

Lorenzo di Medici was destined to a brief but intense life that would go down in the history of Florence and Italy. He was one of the great leaders of the Italy of his time, which precisely in Florence witnessed on extraordinary flowering of intellectual activities. He was a politician, a man of power and culture.

Lorenzo began his public life very early and he succeeded his father when he was not yet twenty-one. Immediatly he had to face difficult situations such as financial problems, conspiracies, relations with the Popacy, with Kings princes and milers of the countries. Nevertheless slowly the "balance of power" that Lorenzo maintained with Milan, Venice and Naples reinforced the florentine position, and wise economic measures improved the family finances. But Lorenzo's genius went further than this: he continued his family's traditional patronage of artists, opening his house and gardens to the younger ones. First Leonardo then Michelangelo and many others such as Botticelli, Filippino Lippi etc. turned to him for aid and protection.

In 1485, Girolamo Savonarola, a Dominican from the convent of San Marco began to seduce the Florentines with his prophetic language. He spoke of the Apocalypse and of the dreadful God, first from the pulpit of San Marco and then from that of the cathedral. Although it had been Lorenzo who had brought the Dominican back from exile in Bologna, Savonarola's preaching soon took on a tone of implacable accusation against his benefactor.

The friar accused Lorenzo publicy and univocably of ruining the state and squandering the wealth of the people deposited in the public coffers. Those who attempted to appease the spirit of the friar received the answer, "I do not care. But let (the Magnificent) know that I am a foreigner and he is a citizen and the first of the city: I am to stay and he is to go: I shall stay and not he." Many saw in these words a prophesy of Lorenzo's death, like the lightning-bolt that had struck Brunelleschi's dome a few months before his death. Accounts of this last meeting between Lorenzo the Magnificent and Savonarola, differ, but one may suppose, or hope, that in the end the friar remembered above all his duties as a priest. Lorenzo died peacefully in the night between April 8 and 9, 1492 in the Villa of Careggi. Florence was deeply shaken by his death which left an immense void in the world.

Two years after Lorenzo's death his eldest son Piero, called the "unfortunate", was exiled from Florence for his political "incapacity" and only after 18 years the Medici family could return to its home-town.

fix'd. Dropped a period between Careggi & Florence.

 

[blizzrd]

Spoiler :

Songtsen Gampo was the first Dharmaraja of Tibet. He married a Nepalese and a Chinese princess and was famous for building the Jokhang Temple of Lhasa which still stands today.

Songtsen Gampo was the forefather of Buddhism in Tibet. Two generations before King Trisong Detsen invited Shantarakhorsehockya and Padmasambhava to Tibet, King Songtsen Gampo cultivated the nation for its transformation, clearing pathways for the dharma to enter and ultimately permeate Tibetan culture. Without Songsten Gampo there would be no Tibetan alphabet, Lhasa would have no Jokang, and the supreme demoness of Central Tibet might still be roaming the earth unfettered.

Songtsen Gampo reigned from 617 to 650. His Yarlung dynasty was based in Central Tibet during an imperialist period in Tibetan history. Bon was the dominant religion, and Buddhism was only seminally present. No Tibetan translations of the Buddhist scriptures existed, partially because there was no written form of Tibetan, so Songsten Gampo instructed his minister Thonmi Sambota to travel to India, study Sanskrit, and develop a Tibetan script. He then commissioned the translation of several thousand texts.

His celebrated successes in battle expanded the Tibetan empire deep into Nepal and China, and it was during these battles that he gained an appreciation of the neighbouring cultures. As a reminder of the great empire that Songtsen Gampo ruled, a large pillar still stands before the Potala palace in Lhasa, erected during his reign, on which is inscribed the agreement between the Tibetan and Chinese rulers to respect each other's borders. He studied Chinese, became skilled in the art of leadership, and most importantly, he adopted sacred codes of conduct from Buddhist scripture. Under his rule, sacred practices began to replace the shamanistic practices of the Bonpos.

Songtsen Gampo's two queens can be credited for a great part of his cultural awareness. Bhirkuti, from Kathmandu, brought the traditions of Himalayan Buddhism. Princess Wengchen, daughter of the Tang emperor, brought a treasure trove of ancient Chinese wisdom. She travelled across the steppes to her husband with a collection of Chinese classic literature and texts on sacred astrology, geomancy, and medicine.

Many obstacles lay in Princess Wengchen's path as she headed to Yarlung. She had a vision of a gargantuan demoness who lay sprawled across the Himalayas, so large that one limb lay in Paro, Bhutan and another lay in Western Tibet. When she arrived in Yarlung, she shared her vision with her new husband. Recognizing the value of the treasures that his bride brought to him, as well as the importance of her vision, King Songsten Gampo commissioned thirteen demoness-subjugating temples across the land, built over the demoness's vital organs, ankles, wrists, and torso, forever binding her from wreaking havoc. The Lhasa Jokang was built over her heart centre, and Wengchen's Buddha statue was placed inside, where it still resides. Other such temples are Trenduk Lhakhang in Tsetang and Paro Kyichu in Bhutan.

King Songtsen Gampo is considered a human emanation of Avalokiteshvara, and he was the grandfather of King Trisong Detsen. Songtsen Gampo meditated for several years in a cave that is now at the core of Potala palace, and is revered for his great patronage of Buddhism.

Through his enlightened leadership, the path was cleared for the dharma to be propagated throughout the provinces, and for Buddhism to flourish.

 

[Tomorrow's Dawn]

Spoiler :

Songtsen Gampo was the first Dharmaraja of Tibet. He married a Nepalese and a Chinese princess and was famous for building the Jokhang Temple of Lhasa which still stands today.

Songtsen Gampo was the forefather of Buddhism in Tibet. Two generations before King Trisong Detsen invited Shantarakhorsehockya and Padmasambhava to Tibet, King Songtsen Gampo cultivated the nation for its transformation, clearing pathways for the dharma to enter and ultimately permeate Tibetan culture. Without Songsten Gampo there would be no Tibetan alphabet, Lhasa would have no Jokang, and the supreme demoness of Central Tibet might still be roaming the earth unfettered.

Songtsen Gampo reigned from 617 to 650. His Yarlung dynasty was based in Central Tibet during an imperialist period in Tibetan history. Bon was the dominant religion, and Buddhism was only seminally present. No Tibetan translations of the Buddhist scriptures existed, partially because there was no written form of Tibetan, so Songsten Gampo instructed his minister Thonmi Sambota to travel to India, study Sanskrit, and develop a Tibetan script. He then commissioned the translation of several thousand texts.

His celebrated successes in battle expanded the Tibetan empire deep into Nepal and China, and it was during these battles that he gained an appreciation of the neighbouring cultures. As a reminder of the great empire that Songtsen Gampo ruled, a large pillar still stands before the Potala palace in Lhasa, erected during his reign, on which is inscribed the agreement between the Tibetan and Chinese rulers to respect each other's borders. He studied Chinese, became skilled in the art of leadership, and most importantly, he adopted sacred codes of conduct from Buddhist scripture. Under his rule, sacred practices began to replace the shamanistic practices of the Bonpos.

Songtsen Gampo's two queens can be credited for a great part of his cultural awareness. Bhirkuti, from Kathmandu, brought the traditions of Himalayan Buddhism. Princess Wengchin, daughter of the Tang emperor, brought a treasure trove of ancient Chinese wisdom. She travelled across the steppes to her husband with a collection of Chinese classic literature and texts on sacred astrology, geomancy, and medicine.

Many obstacles lay in Princess Wengchin's path as she headed to Yarlung. She had a vision of a gargantuan demoness who lay sprawled across the Himalayas, so large that one limb lay in Paro, Bhutan and another lay in Western Tibet. When she arrived in Yarlung, she shared her vision with her new husband. Recognizing the value of the treasures that his bride brought to him, as well as the importance of her vision, King Songsten Gampo commissioned thirteen demoness-subjugating temples across the land, built over the demoness's vital organs, ankles, wrists, and torso, forever binding her from wreaking havoc. The Lhasa Jokang was built over her heart centre, and Wengchin's Buddha statue was placed inside, where it still resides. Other such temples are Trenduk Lhakhang in Tsetang and Paro Kyichu in Bhutan.

King Songtsen Gampo is considered a human emanation of Avalokiteshvara, and he was the grandfather of King Trisong Detsen. Songtsen Gampo meditated for several years in a cave that is now at the core of Potala palace, and is revered for his great patronage of Buddhism.

Through his enlightened leadership, the path was cleared for the dharma to be propagated throughout the provinces, and for Buddhism to flourish.

Princess Wengchin should be Princess Wengchen.

 

[blizzrd]

Spoiler :

Abū Yūsuf Yaʿqūb al-Manṣūr, in full Abū Yūsuf Yaʿqub Ibn ʿabd Al-muʾmin Al-manṣūr (born c. 1160—died Jan. 23, 1199, Marrakech, Mor.), third ruler of the Muʾminid dynasty of Spain and North Africa, who during his reign (1184–99) brought the power of his dynasty to its zenith.

When his father, Abū Yaʿqūb Yūsuf, died on July 29, 1184, Abū Yūsuf Yaʿqūb succeeded to the throne with minor difficulties. In November factious tribes in Algeria captured Algiers and other towns, but by 1188 he had pacified his African territories and returned to his Spanish possessions to check the encroachments of the Portuguese and Castilians. His efforts took seven years—until the Battle of Alarcos (July 18, 1195), when he decisively defeated the Castilian army of Alfonso VIII and took the title of al-Manṣūr (“the Victor”). The following year he advanced as far as Madrid but was unable to take it.

Having defeated all of his enemies, al-Manṣūr returned to Marrakech, where he went into partial retirement and appointed his son Muḥammad as his heir. Al-Manṣūr was a great builder of public works, many of which still stand.

 

[merijn_v1]

I have a pedia text for Songtsen Gampa (RFCA) and Yakub al-Mansur (RFCE) on my computer. I will upload them later when I'm back home.

EDIT: I see that Blizzrd already provided the texts.

 

[Leoreth]

I think the easiest for Leoreth is if we provide him fully ready text files. So he has to do nothing but uploading them. This is how we did it in the previous civilopedia-text-collection-program.

As Leoreth is busy with other things, I can image he doesn't want to merge in every text by hand. We can do that for him.

Yes, that would be good, because it's simple but tedious work. I'll communicate early enough when I'm about to upload the release (should be within a week I think), then you can throw all the collected texts into one XML file (like DoC v1.11 Texts.xml or something) and upload them here.

All the contributions here are appreciated by the way.

 

[Royal Tenenbaum]

And as I am no genius when it comes to XML, if someone else could do that, that would be great. I will also be working on making sure all the entries are orderly and... what's the word I'm looking for... uniform? Standard style and organization...

 

[merijn_v1]

I'll add the texts to the files. I've done it with RFCE, RFCA, RFCCW, so this one shouldn't be a problem.

 

[blizzrd]

From what I can see here:
Link
pombos were actually scouting units, not heavy infantry. Which could make it tough to find suitable civilopedia text...

It is more likely that the Kongolese used masses of spearmen and archers in battle, based on this:
Link

 

[Leoreth]

I plan to release the new version soon, it would be nice if someone could compile the new civilopedia text into an XML text file.

 

[Tomorrow's Dawn]

blizzrd, there is still one last instance of Wenching in the final paragraph of your Songsten Gampo entry.

 

[blizzrd]

found it, edit made

 

[merijn_v1]

I plan to release the new version soon, it would be nice if someone could compile the new civilopedia text into an XML text file.

I'll do it when I'm back home.
It will be ready around 6:00 PM UTC+1. (Amsterdam time zone)

Do you want me to create a new text file with all the text or should I merge the new text into the current text files? (ofcourse I will put them in the most appropriate file then)

 

[Leoreth]

I'll do it when I'm back home.
It will be ready around 6:00 PM UTC+1. (Amsterdam time zone)

Do you want me to create a new text file with all the text or should I merge the new text into the current text files? (ofcourse I will put them in the most appropriate file then)

That's great, and the timing is fine.

It's okay if you just make one file and call it 1.11 texts or something.

 

[merijn_v1]

@ blizzrd

What "title" should I give the leaders? I mean the line under the name in the civilopedia page. (The red line in the example below):

[SIZE="5"]Catherine the Great[/SIZE]
[COLOR="Red"][B]Tsarina of Russia[/B][/COLOR]
[B]Lived:[/B] May 2, 1729 - November 17, 1796 AD

[TAB][B]Background:[/B]
[TAB]xxx

 

[blizzrd]

Simon Bolivar
President of Gran Colombia

Harun al-Rashid
Caliph of Baghdad

Lorenzo de' Medici (fully Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici, abbreviating to "de' Medici" is more correct than "di Medici")
Il Magnifico, Ruler of Florence

Songsten Gampo
Dharmaraja of Tibet

Yaqub al-Mansur
Caliph of Morocco and Al-Andalus

 

[merijn_v1]

As I didn't have much to do, I was able to work on it already. It contains all texts of the 1st post. There are still pedia entries without a text left!!!

But anyway, here it is.

 

[Leoreth]

Thanks a lot!

 

[blizzrd]

As I didn't have much to do, I was able to work on it already. It contains all texts of the 1st post. There are still pedia entries without a text left!!!

But anyway, here it is.

Good job!

There's a typo in the title of Lorenzo di Piero de' Medici within the zipped xml file though (currently Pireo instead of Piero)