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Carrara

Carrara

Carrara is a city in the Massa Carrara province of Tuscany, Italy, famous for the white or blue-gray marble quarried there. It is on the Lavensa river, some 60 miles west northwest of Florence. As of 1991, the population was 61,197 people. In addition to the marble quarries, the city has academies of sculpture and fine arts and a museum of statuaries and antiquities. The local marble is exported around the world, and marble from elsewhere is also fashioned and sculpted commercially here. Carrara marble has been famous since the time of Ancient Rome; the Pantheon and Trajan's Column in Rome are constructed of it. Many famous sculptures of the Renaissance, such as Michelangelo's David, were carved from Carrara marble. For Michelangelo at least, Carrara marble was valued above all else, except that of maybe his own quarry in Pietrasanta. Marble Arch in London and the Duomo di Siena is also made from this well regarded stone. The close bond between Carrara and its famous marble quarries dates back to ancient times. The word "Carrara" likely comes from the ancient term "Kar" (stone). Ancient Romans would quarry the marble, load it onto ships at the port of Luni and take it to Rome by sea. The municipality of Carrara was first established in 1235. Over the centuries it was ruled by Pisa (1235), Lucca (1322), Genoa (1329) and Milan (1343). After the death of Filippo Maria Visconti of Milan in 1477 Carrara was fought over by Tommaso Campogregoso, lord of Sarzana, and the Malaspina family.
- [http://www.tuscany-villas.com/directoryarticolo,iddirectoryarticolo,58,iddirectorycategoria,1.html#articles&PHPSESSID=c7bf1d19a473d6f8a957c6a1c2707109 Original photos and comments about Carrara, Tuscany, Italy] Category:Towns in Tuscany ja:カラーラ

City

:For alternate meanings see city (disambiguation) A city is an urban area that is differentiated from a town, village, or hamlet by size, population density, importance, or legal status.

Introduction

In most parts of the world, cities are generally substantial and nearly always have an urban core, but in the United States many incorporated areas which have a very modest population, or a suburban or even mostly rural character, are designated as cities. City can also be a synonym for "downtown" or a "city centre". A city usually consists of residential, industrial and business areas together with administrative functions which may relate to a wider geographical area. A large share of a city's area is primarily taken up by housing, which is then supported by infrastructure such roads, streets and often public transport routes such as a subway or a metro rail system. Lakes and rivers may be the only undeveloped areas within the city. The study of cities is covered extensively in human geography. "The city is a human habitat that allows people to form relations with others at various levels of intimacy while remaining entirely anonymous." (This definition was the subject of an exhibition at the Israeli pavilion at the 2000 Venice Biennale of architecture)

The difference between towns and cities

The difference between towns and cities is differently understood in different parts of the English speaking world. There is no one standard international definition of a city: the term may be used either for a town possessing city status; for an urban locality exceeding an arbitrary population size; for a town dominating other towns with particular regional economic or administrative significance. Although city can refer to an agglomeration including suburban and satellite areas, the term is not appropriate for a conurbation (cluster) of distinct urban places, nor for a wider metropolitan area including more than one city, each acting as a focus for parts of the area. In the United Kingdom, a city is a town which has been known as a city since time immemorial, or which has received city status by royal charter — which is normally granted on the basis of size, importance or royal connection (traditional pointers have been whether the town has a cathedral or a university). Some cathedral cities, for example St. David's in Wales, are quite small, and may not be known as cities in common parlance. (See the City status in the United Kingdom.) A similar system existed in the medieval Low Countries where a landlord would grant settlements certain privileges (city rights) that settlements without city rights didn't have. This include the privilege to put up city walls, hold markets or set up a judicial court. In Australia and New Zealand, city is used to refer both to units of local government, and as a synonym for urban area. For instance the [http://www.southperth.wa.gov.au City of South Perth] is part of the urban area known as Perth, commonly described as a city. On the other hand, Gisborne in New Zealand is known as the first city to see the sun, despite being administered by a district council, not a city council. An interesting phenomenon in American English is the generalisation of the term city to all settlements. Britons may be bemused by forms with fields headed, not Town and Postal code, but City and ZIP, even though the person needing to fill it in could be living in a city, a town without city status, or even a village or hamlet. In turn, many Americans often talk of "City Halls" when referring to town halls in quite small European towns and villages. Strangely, even though Americans are well aware that "village" means something smaller than a town, the word has often been co-opted by enterprising developers to make their projects sound welcoming and friendly. The result are so-called villages with 20 and 30-story high-rises, like Westwood Village in Los Angeles.

Geography

Westwood Village, of around 1550. The city is completely surrounded by a city wall and defensive canal. The square shape is inspired by Jerusalem.]] The geographies of cities, both physical and human, are diverse. Often cities will either be coastal and have a harbour or be situated near a river giving economic advantage. Water transports on rivers and oceans were (and in most cases still are) cheaper and more efficient than road transport over long distances. Older European cities often have historically intact central areas where the streets are jumbled together, seemingly without a structural plan. This quality is a legacy of earlier unplanned or organic development, and is often perceived by today's tourists to be picturesque. Modern city planning has seen many different schemes for how a city should look. The most commonly seen pattern is the grid, almost a rule in parts of the United States, and used for thousands of years in China. Derry was the first ever planned city in Ireland, begun in 1613, with the walls being completed 5 years later in 1618. The central diamond within a walled city with four gates was thought to be a good design for defence. The grid pattern chosen was subsequently much copied in the colonies of British North America [http://worldfacts.us/UK-Londonderry.htm]. However, the grid has been used for a long time in history. The Greeks gave their colonies around the Mediterranian often with a grid. One of the best examples around is the city of Priene. This city even had it's different districts. Much like modern city planning today. Also in de Medival times we see a preference for lineair planning. Good examples are the cities establish in the south of France by various rulers. And city expantions in old Dutch and Flanders cities. Other forms may include a radial structure in which main roads converge on a central point, often the effect of successive growth over long time with concentric traces of town walls and citadels - recently supplemented by ring-roads that take traffic around the edge of a town. Many Dutch cities are structured that way: a central square surrounded by a concentric canals. Every city expansion would imply a new circle (canals + town walls). In cities like Amsterdam and Haarlem this pattern is still clearly visible.

History of cities

Towns and cities have a long history, although opinions vary on whether any particular ancient settlement can be considered to be a city. The first true towns are sometimes considered to be large settlements where the inhabitants were no longer simply farmers of the surrounding area, but began to take on specialized occupations, and where to trade, food storage and power was centralized. Societies that live in cities are often called civilizations. By this definition, the first towns we know of were located in Mesopotamia, such as Ur, and along the Nile, the Indus Valley Civilization and China. Before this time it was rare for settlements to reach significant size, although there were exceptions such as Jericho, Çatalhöyük and Mehrgarh. The growth of ancient and medieval empires led to ever greater capital cities and seats of provincial administration, with ancient Rome, its eastern successor Constantinople and successive Chinese and later Indian capitals approaching or exceeding the half-million population level. It is estimated that ancient Rome population exceeded one million people by the end of the last century BCE, which is considered the only city to reach that number until the Industrial Revolution, however, Alexandria population was close to one million at the same time. Similar large administrative, commercial, industrial and ceremonial centres emerged in other areas, though on a smaller scale. During the European Middle Ages, a town was as much a political entity as a collection of houses. City residence brought freedom from customary rural obligations to lord and community: "Stadtluft macht frei" ("City air makes you free") was a saying in Germany. In Continental Europe cities with a legislature of their own wasn't unheard of, the laws for towns as a rule other than for the countryside, the lord of a town often being another than for surrounding land. In the Holy Roman Empire (i.e. medieval Germany and Italy) some cities had no other lord than the emperor. In exceptional cases like Venice, Genoa or Lübeck, cities themselves became powerful states, sometimes taking surrounding areas under their control or establishing extensive maritime empires. Similar phenomena existed elsewhere, as in the case of Sakai, which enjoyed a considerable autonomy in late medieval Japan. Most towns remained far smaller places, so that in 1500 only some two dozen places in the world contained more than 100,000 inhabitants: as late as 1700 there were fewer than forty, a figure which would rise thereafter to 300 in 1900. A small city of the early modern period might contain as few as 10,000 inhabitants, a town far fewer still. While the city-states, or poleis, of the Mediterranean and Baltic Sea languished from the 16th century, Europe's larger capitals benefited from the growth of commerce following the emergence of an Atlantic economy fuelled by the silver of Peru. By the 18th century, London and Paris rivalled the well-developed regionally-traditional capital cities of Baghdad, Beijing, Istanbul, Kyoto and Venice. The growth of modern industry from the late 18th century onward led to massive urbanization and the rise of new great cities, first in Europe and then in other regions, as new opportunities brought huge numbers of migrants from rural communities into urban areas. In the Great Depression of the 1930s cities were hard hit by unemployment, especially those with a base in heavy industry. Today the world's population is about half urban, with millions still streaming annually into the growing cities of Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Modern conceptions

Traditional approach

A universal linear approach to cities has been in place and accepted for a long time. As this approach falls short of explaining a number of aspects of city life, such as the diversity between cities, new ways have been sought. Influenced by post-structuralist thinking a new approach was born: using spatial thinking it is possible to not only fill the gaps, but indeed replace the old completely. Three characteristics have been identified as defining a city: the number of people to area (density), the networks of the city, as well as a particular way of life. None of these characteristics alone is enough to make a place a city. Until recently cities were almost exclusively viewed as part of a single, linear line of development. Starting with the Greek city-state, this linear approach placed each city somewhere, and it was believed that it was only a matter of time until the next stage along the prescript path of advancement was reached. For each stage an exemplar was identified. Step by step from Athens onwards to Venice and London, Los Angeles seemed to be the ultimate stage of a postmodern city. Such an approach regarded a city as a single static entity, which could be studied disconnected in time and space. This leads to a theoretical framework with little connection to real cities, but these were simply seen as less clear examples. In spite of apparent shortcomings, this approach is still very commonplace in respected and popular publications.

Shortcomings

Despite its wide acceptance this traditional approach to cities had serious shortcomings. Firstly, leaving the latest stage aside, it was completely eurocentric. It was believed that every city in the world could be compared with a past stage in the history of one European city. Secondly, there was no real explanation when and how changes occurred, how another stage in the line of development was achieved. There seemed no need to follow the changes of one city, but instead attention was turned to another exemplar. Thirdly, the disconnected view of cities is problematic. It implies that history, culture and connections of a place do not influence a place, which is questionable. Some thinkers argue that a history ignoring connections is necessary incomplete. Fourthly, the traditional approach failed to define what makes a city. It is unclear why one place is regarded as a city while another one is not. Lewis Mumford argued in 1937 for a social dimension, describing cities as geographical plexuses. Finally, viewing cities as a single body misses modern conceptions that there is more than one story to a place. The city of an aristocrat will surely differ from that of a slave. This also reflects a shift away from one single history of the powerful élites (often referred to as city élites) to a multidimensional perception of history. The notion of city rhythms has been introduced to highlight the different aspects of city life... The term city can be used to mean either an area of contiguous urbanization or a particular municipality (an [http://www.demographia.com/db-world-muni.htm area within the political borders of an incorporated municipality]). There is a substantial variation in municipalities around the world. The largest municipality, Chongqing, is approximately the same size as the state of Indiana and contains much more rural territory than continuous urbanization. In most cases, however, the continuous urbanization popularly thought of as the city extends well beyond the boundaries of the core incorporated city.

Modern approach

As a modern approach to cities, urban thinking analyzes various issues that arise in urban areas. It focuses largely upon connections and internal divisions which helps create a better understanding of the dynamics of cities. Using such spatial thinking, it is possible to understand various aspects for which the traditional approach did not provide an adequate explanation. One important aspect of spatial thinking is looking at the connections of a city. Such connections allow one to understand the unique character of a place. Rather than treating all cities the same, places are seen as interconnected through networks of culture, economics, trade or history. So while London and Tokyo are economically linked through stock markets, Graz and Stockholm are linked via the Cultural Capital of Europe. These networks overlap and are concentrated in cities. Arguably this concentration of networks creates a unique feeling of a place. Such networks, however, do not only link cities with cities, but also a city to its surroundings. The notion of a city footprint reflects the idea that a city on its own is not sustainable: it depends on produce from its surroundings, it needs trade links and other connections for economic viability. Looking at networks, it becomes possible to explain the rise and fall of cities. This has to do with the changing importance of connections and is maybe best illustrated with the arrival of Spanish colonizers in America. Within a short time, connections to Madrid became more important than connections to the former centre Tenochtitlán. The concentration of networks in cities can be used as an explanation of urbanization. It is the access to certain networks that attracts people. As various networks spatially run together in a confined area, people gather in cities. At the same time, this concentration of people means the introduction of new networks, such as social links, increasing the creation of new possibilities within cities. Urban social movements are a direct result of this possibility of making new connections. It is this openness to new connections that makes cities both attractive and to a certain degree unpredictable. Another important aspect of modern urban thinking is looking at the divisions within a city. This internal differentiation is linked to the external connections of a city. As places of meeting histories, cities are hybrid and heterogeneous. Hybrid they are as the connections which link places are bilateral, involving giving and taking in both directions. Heterogeneous they are because of the dynamism of cities. New encounters are ongoing processes where social relations and differences are constantly negotiated and shaped, reflecting the unequal power involved. Neither the internal differentiations nor the connections and networks of a place on their own define a city. Internal divisions are caused by external links, while at the same time connections to the outside open up the possibility of new social divisions. Divisions and connections in every city are intertwined, and only by considering both aspects of spatial thinking the complexity of cities is approachable. Immigration illustrates this interconnection of external networks and internal divisions well. The networks concentrated in the core of the city attract immigrants. As they immigrate, the newcomers bring along their histories, bringing new networks or enforcing existing ones. At the same time, their history offers opportunities to identify with or likewise exclude. Division and connection come hand in hand. Rather than attempting to eradicate such tensions and contradictions in the theoretical framework, modern urban thinking – influenced by poststructuralist thought – accounts for both sides. Static universal bodies are replaced by multidimensional networks, allowing for fluidity and dynamism.

Global cities

A global city, also known as a world city, is a prominent centre of trade, banking, finance, innovations, and markets. The term "global city", as opposed to megacity, was coined by Saskia Sassen in a seminal 1991 work. Whereas "megacity" refers to any city of enormous size, a global city is one of enormous power or influence. Global cities, according to Sassen, have more in common with each other than with other cities in their host nations. Bangkok, Beijing, Brussels, Chicago, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, London, Moscow, Mumbai, New York, Los Angeles, Paris, São Paulo, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, and Toronto are commonly referred to as global cities, however, the term is also applied to other cities. The notion of global cities regards the power of cities as contained within cities. The city is seen as a container where skills and resources are concentrated. The more successful city is able to concentrate more of these skills and resources. This makes the city itself more powerful in terms that it can influence what is happening around the world. Following this view of cities, it is possible to rank the world's cities hierarchically (John Friedmann and Goetz Wolff, "World City Formation: An Agenda for Research and Action," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 6, no. 3 (1982): 319.). Critics of the notion point out to the different realms of power. The term global city narrowly focuses on economics. Cities like Rome are powerful in religious terms. Additionally, it has been questioned whether the city itself can be regarded as an actor. In 1995 Kanter argued that successful cities can be identified by three elements. To be successful, a city needs to have good thinkers (concepts), good makers (competence) or good traders (connections). The interplay of these three elements, Kanter argued, means that good cities are not planned but managed.

Environmental effects

Modern cities are known for creating their own microclimates. This is due to the large clustering of hard surfaces that heat up in sunlight and that channel rainwater into underground ducts. As a result, city weather is often windier and cloudier than the weather in the surrounding countryside. Conversely, because these effects make cities warmer (urban heat shield or urban heat islands) than the surrounding area, tornadoes tend to go around cities. Additionally towns can cause significant downstream weather effects. Garbage and sewage are two major problems for cities, as is air pollution coming from internal combustion engines (see public transport). The impact of cities on places elsewhere, be it hinterlands or places far away, is considered in the notion of city footprinting (ecological footprint).

Inner city

Main article: Inner city In the United States, United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, the term "inner city" is sometimes used with the connotation of being an area, perhaps a ghetto, where people are less educated and wealthy and where there is more crime. These connotations are less common in other Western countries, as deprived areas are located in varying parts of other Western cities. In fact, with the gentrification of some formerly run-down central city areas the reverse connotation can apply - in Australia the term "outer suburban" applied to a person implies a lack of sophistication. For instance, in Paris the inner city is the richest part of the metropolitan area, where housing is the most expensive, and where elites and high-income individuals dwell. The United States, in particular, suffers from a culture of anti-urbanism that some say dates back as far as Thomas Jefferson who wrote that "The mobs of great cities add just so much to the support of pure government as sores do to the strength of the human body." On the businessmen who brought manufacturing industry into cities and hence increased the population density necessary to supply the workforce, he wrote "the manufactures of the great cities... have begotten a depravity of morals, a dependence and corruption, which renders them an undesirable accession to a country whose morals are sound." Modern anti-urban attitudes are to be found in America in the form of a planning profession that continues to develop land on a low-density suburban basis, where access to amenities, work and shopping is provided almost exclusively by car rather than on foot. However, there is a growing movement in North America called "New Urbanism" that calls for a return to traditional city planning methods where mixed-use zoning allows people to walk from one type of land-use to another. The idea is that housing, shopping, office space, and leisure facilities are all provided within walking distance of each other, thus reducing the demand for road-space and also improving the efficiency and effectiveness of mass transit.

References

- Toynbee, Arnold (ed), Cities of Destiny, New York: McGraw-Hill, 1967. Pan historical/geographical essays, many images. Starts with "Athens", ends with "The Coming World City-Ecumenopolis".

External links

- [http://www.populationdata.net/palmaresvilles.html All 1M+ major urban areas]
- [http://www.p.lodz.pl/I35/personal/jw37/EUROPE/europe.html Place Names of Europe]
- [http://www.tageo.com/index.htm Place Names of the world - Index of 2M cities]
- [http://www.nationmaster.com/graph-T/geo_lar_cit&int=-1&b_ac=1 Most populous city of each country]
- [http://www.world-gazetteer.com/st/statb.htm For all countries, number of cities per size category]
- [http://www.nationmaster.com/graph-T/geo_lar_cit_pop_cap&int=-1 For each country, part of its population that lives in its most populous city] (with some odd figures due to the comparison of data of different years)
- [http://www.nlc.org/nlc_org/site/ The National League of Cities] (United States)
- [http://www.innercitypress.org Inner City Press] (Weekly publication on cities, United States)
- [http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/cgi-local/DHI/dhi.cgi?id=dv1-52 Dictionary of the History of ideas:] The City
- [http://www.morganquitno.com/cit05list.htm Morgan Quinto's 11th Annual America's Safest (and Most Dangerous) Cities]
- [http://www.skyscraperpage.com A friendly website designed by skyscraper enthusiasts featuring diagrams and descriptions of the buildings of cities around the world.]
- [http://www.bifurcaciones.cl bifurcaciones.cl, urban cultural studies journal]
- [http://worldheritage-forum.net/de/ Worldheritage-Forum] Weblog and Informationen on UNESCO World Heritage topics (with focus on cities) Category:Urban studies and planning Category:Cities ja:都市 ja:市 nb:By simple:city th:เมือง

Massa-Carrara

Massa-Carrara (It. Provincia di Massa-Carrara) is a province in the Tuscany region of Italy. It is named after the two main towns in its territory: Carrara and Massa, its capital. It has an area of 1,156 sq km, and a total population of 197,652 (2001). There are 17 comuni in the province. Its economical relevance, once mainly based on the production of the famous white Carrara marble, has now shifted to the importation and fabrication of blocks of marble and granite from all over the world.

External link

- [http://www.provincia.ms.it Province homepage (in Italian)]

References

#[http://www.upinet.it/indicatore.asp?id_statistiche=6 Italian Institute of Statistics] Massa-Carrara ja:マッサ＝カラーラ県

Marble

This page is about the metamorphic rock. For the game with little glass spheres - see marbles. Marble is metamorphosed limestone, composed of fairly pure calcite (a crystalline form of calcium carbonate, Ca C O₃). It is extensively used for sculpture, as a building material, and in many other applications. Faux marble or faux marbling is a wall painting technique that imitates the color patterns of real marble (not to be confused with paper marbling). Marble dust can be combined with cement or synthetic resins to make reconstituted or cultured marble. Places named after the stone include Marble Hill, Manhattan, New York, the Sea of Marmara, India's Marble Rocks and the towns of Marble, Minnesota and Marble, Colorado. The Elgin Marbles are marble sculptures taken from the Parthenon to Britain by the Earl of Elgin.

Origins

Marble is a metamorphic rock resulting from regional or at times contact metamorphism of sedimentary carbonate rocks, either limestone or dolostone. This metamorphic process causes a complete recrystallization of the original rock into an interlocking mosaic of calcite and/or dolomite crystals. The temperatures and pressures necessary to form marble usually destroy any fossils and sedimentary textures present in the original rock. Pure white marble is the result of metamorphism of very pure limestones. The characteristic swirls and veins of many colored marble varieties are usually due to various mineral impurities such as clay, silt, sand, iron oxides, or chert which were originally present as grains or layers in the limestone. Green coloration is often due to serpentine resulting from originally high magnesium limestone or dolostone with silica impurities. These various impurities have been mobilized and recrystallized by the intense pressure and heat of the metamorphism.

Kinds of marble

metamorphism Some historically important kinds of marble, named after the locations of their quarries, include:
- Paros (Greece)
- Penteli (Greece)
- Carrara (Italy)
- Proconnesus (Turkey)
- Macael (Spain) White marbles, like Carrara, have been prized for sculpture since classical times. This preference has to do with the softness and relative isotropy and homogeneity, and a relative resistance to shattering. Also, the low index of refraction of calcite allows light to penetrate several millimeters into the stone before being scattered out, resulting in the characteristic "waxy" look which gives "life" to marble sculptures of the human body.

Construction marble

In the construction trade, the term "marble" is used for any massive, crystalline calcitic rock (and some non-calcitic rocks) useful as building stone. For example, Tennessee Marble is really a massive, highly fossiliferous gray to pink to maroon Ordovician dolostone, known as the Holston Formation by geologists.

Etymology

The word "marble" derives from the Greek marmaros, "shining stone" (OED). This stem is also the basis for the English word "marmoreal" meaning "marble-like". OED

Cultural associations

As the favorite medium for Greek and Roman sculptors and architects, marble has become a cultural symbol of tradition and refined taste. Its extremely varied and colorful patterns make it a favorite decorative material, and are often imitated — e.g. in background patterns for computer displays. In folklore, marble is associated with the astrological sign of Gemini. Pure white marble is an emblem of purity. It is also an emblem of immortality, and an ensurer of success in education.

External links

- [http://www.marblemasteruk.com/ Tips for cleaning marble] MarbleMaster Cleaning and Restoration Advice
- [http://www.science.uwaterloo.ca/earth/waton/s9910.html Calcite, Limestone and Marble] by Kelly Snyder and Peter Russel.
- [http://www.marble-institute.com/ Marble Institute of America], a trade organization.
- [http://www.ancientroute.com/resource/stone/marble.htm Geology, types, and history]
- [http://graphics.stanford.edu/projects/mich/learning-to-carve/learning-to-carve.html Learning to carve] by Marc Levoy. Category:Art materials Category:Metamorphic rocks ja:大理石

1991

1991 (MCMXCI) is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar.

Events

January

- January 2 - Sharon Pratt Dixon is sworn in as mayor of Washington, DC becoming the first black woman to lead a city of that size and importance.
- January 4 - The United Nations Security Council votes unanimously to condemn Israel's treatment of Palestinians.
- January 10 - SA State Govt forced to bail out State Bank.
- January 11 - The Soviets storm Vilnius to stop Lithuanian independence.
- January 12 - Gulf War: The U.S. Congress passes a resolution authorizing the use of military force to liberate Kuwait.
- January 13 - The Soviet Union troops assault the Vilnius TV tower in Lithuania and kill 14 unarmed civilians, many more are injured.
- January 13 - Soccer stampede and fight at Johannesburg, South Africa - 42 dead.
- January 14 - Three PLO guerilla chiefs assassinated in Tunis.
- January 16 - US serial killer Aileen Wuornos confesses to the murders of six men.
- January 17 - Operation Desert Storm begins.
- January 17 - Gulf War: The air strikes against Iraq begin.
- January 17 - Gulf War: Iraq fires 8 Scud missiles into Israel.
- January 17 - Harald V becomes King of Norway on the death of his father, Olav V.
- January 18 - Eastern Airlines shuts down after 62 years citing financial problems.
- January 26 - The Somalian president Siad Barre flees his compound in Mogadishu.
- January 29 - Siad Barre is succeeded by Ali Mahdi Muhammad.

February

February.]]
- February 4 - The Baseball Hall of Fame votes to ban Pete Rose.
- February 5 - A Michigan court bars Dr Jack Kevorkian from assisting in suicides.
- February 7 - Haiti's first democratically-elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, is sworn in.
- February 7 - The IRA launches a mortar attack on 10 Downing Street during a cabinet meeting.
- February 9 - Voters in Lithuania vote for independence.
- February 11 - UNPO, the Unrepresented Nations & Peoples Organization, forms in the Hague, Netherlands.
- February 13 - Gulf War: Two laser-guided "smart bombs" destroy an underground bunker in Baghdad killing hundreds of Iraqis. Iraqi officials claim that the bunker was a bomb shelter but United States military intelligence identified it as a military facility.
- February 15 - The Visegrad Agreement, establishing cooperation to move toward free-market systems, is signed by the leaders of Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Poland.
- February 16 - Gulf War: American and British war planes bomb the suburbs of Baghdad, injuring at least 11 civilians and killing three others.
- February 22 - Gulf War: Iraq accepts a Russian proposed cease fire agreement. The US rejects the agreement, but said that retreating Iraqi forces would not be attacked if they left Kuwait within 24 hours.
- February 23 - Gulf War: Ground troops cross the Saudi Arabian border and enter Kuwait, thus starting the ground phase of the war.
- February 23 - Thailand: General Sunthorn Kongsompong leads a bloodless coup d'état, deposing Prime Minister Chatichai Choonhavan.
- February 25 - Gulf War: An Iraqi Scud missile hits an American military barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia killing 28 US Marines.
- February 26 - Gulf War: On Baghdad radio, Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein announces the withdrawal of Iraqi troops from Kuwait. Iraqi soldiers set fire to Kuwaiti oil fields as they retreat.
- February 27 - Gulf War: Kuwait is liberated, and a ceasefire is declared, after 100 hours of ground fighting. Iraq accepts the terms of the ceasefire, which call for the country to disarm.

March

- March-April - Iraqi forces suppress rebellions in the southern and northern parts of the country, creating a humanitarian disaster on the borders of Turkey and Iran
- March 1 - Ballistic Missile Submarine USS-Lafayette (now ex-Lafayette) starts to be deactivated
- March 1 - Ethan-Allen-class submarine USS-Sam Houston (now ex-Sam Houston SSBN-609) starts to be deactivated
- March 1 - Clayton Keith Yeutter finishes as the United States Secretary of Agriculture, under the George H. W. Bush administration
- March 3 - An amateur video captures the beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles police officers.
- March 3 - Latvia and Estonia vote to become independent of the Soviet Union
- March 4 - Vermont celebrates its bicentennial statehood.
- March 4 - Most primitive form of World Wide Web is put online.
- March 9 - Massive demonstrations are held against Slobodan Milošević in Belgrade. Two people are killed and tanks are in the streets
- March 10 - Gulf War: Operation Phase Echo - 540,000 American troops begin to leave the Persian Gulf
- March 11 - A curfew is imposed on black townships in South Africa after fighting between rival political gangs killed 49.
- March 13 - The United States Department of Justice announces that Exxon has agreed to pay $1 billion for the clean-up of the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska.
- March 14 - After 16 years in prison for allegedly bombing a pub in an Irish Republican Army attack, the "Birmingham Six" are freed when a court determines that the police fabricated evidence
- March 15 - Four Los Angeles, California police officers are indicted for the videotaped March 3, 1991 beating of motorist Rodney King during an arrest.
- March 15 - Germany formally regains complete independence after the four post-World War II occupying powers (France, the United Kingdom, the United States and the Soviet Union) relinquish all remaining rights.
- March 31 - The Warsaw Pact is officially dissolved.
- March 31 - Albania has the first multi-party elections

April

- April 1 - The New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times report that [http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0910366/ Selene Walters] had verified her claim that then SAG President Ronald Reagan raped her in her home in 1952
- April 3 - Iraq disarmament crisis: The U.N. Security Council passes the Cease Fire Agreement, Resolution 687. The resolution called for the destruction or removal of all of Iraq's chemical and biological weapons, all stocks of agents and components, and all research, development, support and manufacturing facilities for ballistic missiles with a range greater than 150km and production facilities; and for an end to its support for international terrorism. Iraq accepts the terms of the resolution on April 6
- April 4 - Senator John Heinz of Pennsylvania and six others are killed when a helicopter collided with their plane over Merion, Pennsylvania
- April 9 - Supreme Council of the Republic of Georgia declared the restoration of independence of Georgia
- April 10 - A rare tropical storm develops in the Southern Hemisphere off the coast of Angola; the first of its kind to be documented by Satelites.
- April 14 - In the Netherlands, thieves steal 20 paintings worth $500 million from the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. Less than an hour later they are found in an abandoned car near the museum
- April 17 - After approaching 3,000 in July 1990, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 3,000 for the first time ever, closing at 3,004.46.
- April 17 - First Performance of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" at the OK Hotel in Seattle, Washington the song that marked the beggining of a new movement in music called Grunge. It managed to turn a crowd calmly seated at tables into a moshpit.
- April 18 - Iraq disarmament crisis: Iraq declares some of its chemical weapons and materials to the UN, as required by Resolution 687, and claims that it does not have biological weapons program.
- April 26 - Tornadoes break out in the central United States. The most notable tornado of the day was the one that hit in Andover, Kansas. The outbreak of nearly seventy tornadoes killed 17 people in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. The tornado that hit Andover was the only F5 of the year. (see The Andover, Kansas Tornado)
- April 29 - A tropical cyclone hits Bangladesh killing an estimated 138,000 people.

May

- May 5 - The shooting of a Salvadoran man by police in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood of Washington D.C. ignites the Cinco de Mayo Riots, which bring the city to a standstill for 3 days.
- May 15 - Edith Cresson becomes France's first female premier
- May 16 - HM Queen Elizabeth II gives a speech to the US Congress.
- May 19 - Willy T. Ribbs becomes the first African-American driver to qualify for the Indianapolis 500
- May 21 - In Sri Perumbudur near Madras, former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi is assassinated by a terrorist bomb hidden in a bouquet of flowers
- May 26 - In Thailand, a Lauda Air Boeing 767 crashes near Bangkok killing all 223 people on-board
- May 28 - The capital city of Addis Ababa falls to the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, ending both the Derg regime in Ethiopia and the Ethiopian Civil War.

June

- June 6 - George and Barbara Loeb, members of the Church of the Creator, are arrested and charged with murder
- June 12 - Boris Yeltsin is elected president of Russia, the largest and most populous of the fifteen Soviet republics.
- June 13 - A spectator is killed by lightning at the U.S. Open [http://www.crh.noaa.gov/mkx/slide-show/tstm/slide114.html]
- June 15 - Pinatubo climactic eruption, one of the most destructive volcanic event of the century shaked the Phillipines
- June 17 - Apartheid: The South African Parliament repeals the Population Registration Act, which had required racial classification of all South Africans at birth
- June 17 - Exhemation of US President Zachary Taylor to discover whether or not his death was caused by arsenic poisoning, instead of acute gastrointestinal illness. No trace of arsenic is found.
- June 23 - Sonic the Hedgehog was created and released for the Sega Genesis
- June 23-June 28 - Iraq disarmament crisis: U.N. inspection teams attempt to intercept Iraqi vehicles carrying nuclear related equipment. Iraqi soldiers fire warning shots in the air to prevent inspectors from approaching the vehicles
- June 25 - Croatia and Slovenia declare their independence from Yugoslavia

July

- July 1 - The Warsaw Pact is officially dissolved.
- July 7 - The Brioni Agreement ends the ten day war in Slovenia
- July 9 - International Human Rights Federation cites human rights violations committed by police and military personnel during Oka crisis in Quebec.
- July 10 - Boris Yeltsin begins his 5-year term as the first elected president of Russia
- July 11 - Total Solar Eclipse.(Hawaii, Mexico, Central America, Colombia and Brazil).
- July 19 - Mike Tyson rapes Desiree Washington.
- July 22 - Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer is arrested after the remains of 11 men and boys are found in his Milwaukee, Wisconsin apartment.

August

August is torn down in Moscow, signalling the Collapse of the Soviet Union.]]
- August 6 - Tim Berners-Lee releases files describing his idea for the "World Wide Web."
- August 7 - Assassination of Shapora Baktiari, former prime minister of Iran
- August 8 - Collapse of Warsaw radio mast, the tallest construction ever built
- August 17 - Strathfield Massacre (Sydney, Australia) - taxi driver Wade Frankum shoots seven people and injuring 6 others before turning the gun on himself.
- August 18 - Collapse of the Soviet Union: Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev is put under house arrest while vacationing in the Crimea. The putsch is led by eight high-ranking hard-liners, and will collapse in less than 72 hours.
- August 20 - Collapse of the Soviet Union: Estonia declares its independence from the Soviet Union and more than 100,000 people rally outside the Soviet Union's parliament building protesting the coup that deposed President Mikhail Gorbachev
- August 21 - Collapse of the Soviet Union: Latvia declares its independence from the Soviet Union
- August 24 - Ukraine declares independence from Soviet Union
- August 25 - Student Linus Torvalds post a messages to Usenet newsgroup comp.os.minix about the new operating system kernel he has been developing.
- August 29 - Maronite general Michel Aoun leaves Lebanon via a French ship into exile
- August 31 - Kyrgyzstan declares independence from the Soviet Union

September

- September 2 - The United States recognizes the independence of the Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
- September 3 - In Hamlet, North Carolina, a grease fire breaks out at the Imperial Foods chicken processing plant, killing 25 people.
- September 5 - Fall of Communism in the USSR.
- September 5-September 7 - At the 35th Annual Tailhook Symposium, 83 women and 7 men are assaulted.
- September 6 - The Soviet Union recognizes the independence of the Baltic States.
- September 6 - The name "Saint Petersburg" is restored to Russia's second-largest city, which had been renamed "Leningrad" in 1924.
- September 8 - Republic of Macedonia becomes independent.
- September 15 - The C-17 Globemaster III flys for the first time. The C-17 is regarded by many in the industry as the best, safest and most capable aircraft in the history of aviation.
- September 16 - Guns N' Roses Use Your Illusion album was released.
- September 21 - Armenia declares independence from the Soviet Union
- September 21-September 30 - Iraq disarmament crisis: IAEA inspectors discover files on Iraq's hidden nuclear weapons program. Iraqi officials confiscate documents from UN weapons inspectors, and refuse to allow them to leave the site without turning over other documents. A four-day standoff ensues. Iraq permits the team to leave with the documents after a statement from the UN Security Council threatens enforcement actions.
- September 22 - The Dead Sea Scrolls are made available to the public for the first time, by the Huntington Library.
- September 24 - The release of Nirvanas Nevermind signified the start of the Grunge era that would dominate the music scene up to the mid-90's.
- September 30 - Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide is removed from power.

October

- October 2 - Arkansas Governor William J. Clinton announces he will seek the 1992 Democratic Party nomination for President of the United States.
- October 8 - The Croatian Parliament cuts all remaining ties with Yugoslavia
- October 11 - KGB is replaced by the SVR
- October 11 - Iraq disarmament crisis: The U.N. Security Council passes Resolution 715, which demands that Iraq "accept unconditionally the inspectors and all other personnel designated by the Special Commission". Iraq rejects the resolution, calling it "unlawful"
- October 12 - Askar Akayev, previously chosen President of Kyrgyzstan by republic's Supreme Soviet, is confirmed president in an uncontested poll
- October 14 - Bulgarians celebrate the end of the rule of the communist party
- October 15 - Following a bitter confirmation hearing that involved allegations of sexual misconduct, the United States Senate votes 52 to 48 to confirm Judge Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court of the United States
- October 16 - George Hennard guns down 24 people in Texas
- October 19 - 7.0 Richter Scale earthquake in Northern Italy - 2000 dead
- October 20 - Oakland Hills firestorm kills 25 and destroys 3469 homes and apartments
- October 27 - The first free parliamentary elections in Poland
- October 29 - The American Galileo spacecraft makes its closest approach to 951 Gaspra, becoming the first probe to visit an asteroid
- Winter - Centennial of Basketball

November

- November 4 - Ronald Reagan opened his presidential library in Simi Valley.
- November 5 - Body of publishing tycoon Robert Maxwell is found floating in the sea - he had fallen off his yacht
- November 7 - Los Angeles Lakers point guard Magic Johnson announces that he has HIV, effectively ending his career in the NBA.
- November 7 - The last oil well was put out of fire in Kuwait.
- November 14 - American and British authorities announce indictments against two Libyan intelligence officials in connection with the downing of the Pan Am Flight 103
- November 14 - Cambodian Prince Norodom Sihanouk returns to Phnom Penh after 13 years of exile
- November 18 - Shiite Muslim kidnappers in Lebanon set Anglican Church envoys Terry Waite and Thomas Sutherland free
- November 18 - Serb troops take Vukovar after siege of 87 days
- November 23 - Freddie Mercury, lead singer of the band Queen, issues a public statement confirming that he is stricken with AIDS. He would die of complications the next day.
- November 24 - Freddie Mercury dies of AIDS in his home in London, of AIDS-Related Chronic problems.
- November 27 - The United Nations Security Council unanimously adopts UN Security Council Resolution 721, opening the way to the establishment of peacekeeping operations in Yugoslavia.
- November 29 - Federal Yugoslavian Army begins to withdraw from Zagreb

December

- December 1 - Cold War: Ukrainian voters overwhelmingly approve a referendum for independence from the Soviet Union
- December 4 - Journalist Terry Anderson is released after seven years' captivity as a hostage in Beirut (he was the last and longest-held American hostage in Lebanon).
- December 4 - Pan American World Airways ends operations.
- December 8 - Leaders of Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine met and signed an agreement ending the Soviet Union and establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in the Belovezhskaya Pushcha Nature Reserve in Belarus
- December 12 - Russian SFSR ceases to be a part of the Soviet Union
- December 19 - Paul Keating replaces Bob Hawke as Australian prime minister
- December 25 - Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as president of the Soviet Union
- December 26 - Supreme Soviet meets and formally dissolves the Soviet Union
- December 31 - Soviet Union officially ceases to exist

Undated events

- Carbon nanotubes invented by Sumio Iijima
- University of South Australia founded.
- Impostor James Hogue exposed in Princeton University
- Milo Kirk elected president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

Births

- February 17 - Bonnie Wright, English actress
- March 8 - Devon Werkheiser, American actor
- March 28 - Amy Bruckner, American actress
- April 4 - Jamie Lynn Spears, American actress
- April 10 - Amanda Michalka, American actress and singer
- April 20 - Thomas Curtis, American actor
- May 17 - Daniel Curtis Lee, American actor
- June 27 - Madylin Sweeten, American actress
- July 5 - Jason Dolley, American actor
- July 7 - Devon Alan, American actor
- July 12 - Erik Per Sullivan, American actor
- August 21 - Tess Gaerthé, Dutch singer and actress
- August 28 - Kyle Orlando Massey, American actor
- October 19 - Christopher Gerse, American actor

Deaths

January-February

- January 5 - Vasko Popa, Yugoslavian poet (b. 1922)
- January 8 - Steve Clark, English guitarist (Def Leppard) (b.1960)
- January 11 - Carl David Anderson, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1905)
- January 17 - King Olav V of Norway (b. 1903)
- January 29 - Yasushi Inoue, Japanese historian (b. 1907)
- January 30 - John Bardeen, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1908
- January 30 - John McIntire, American actor (b. 1907)
- February 5 - Dean Jagger, American actor (b. 1903)
- February 6 - Salvador Luria, Italian-born biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1912)
- February 6 - Danny Thomas, American singer, comedian, and actor (b. 1914)
- February 21 - John S. Cooper, a U.S. Republican senator
- February 14 - John McCone, American Central Intelligence Agency director (b. 1902)
- February 21 - Margot Fonteyn, English ballet dancer (b. 1919)
- February 24 - John Charles Daly, South African-born journalist and game show host (b. 1914)
- February 24 - George Gobel, American comedian (b. 1919)

March-May

- March 2 - Serge Gainsbourg, French singer (b. 1928)
- March 3 - Arthur Murray, American dancer and dance instructor (b. 1895)
- March 12 - Ragnar Granit, Finnish neuroscientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1900)
- March 14 - Howard Ashman, American lyricist (b. 1950)
- March 14 - Doc Pomus, American composer (b. 1925)
- March 29 - Lee Atwater, American Presidential advisor (b. 1951)
- April 1 - Martha Graham, American dancer and choreographer (b. 1894)
- April 3 - Charles Goren, American bridge player, writer, and columnist (b. 1901)
- April 3 - Graham Greene, English writer (b. 1904)
- April 4 - Max Frisch, Swiss writer (b. 1911)
- April 4 - H. John Heinz III, U.S. Senator (plane crash) (b. 1938)
- April 4 - Forrest Towns, American runner (b. 1914)
- April 10 - Natalie Schafer, American actress (b. 1900)
- April 26 - Carmine Coppola, American composer and conductor (b. 1910)
- April 28 - Ken Curtis, American actor (b. 1916)
- May 8 - Jean Langlais, French composer and organist (b. 1907)
- May 8 - Rudolf Serkin, Austrian pianist (b. 1903)
- May 15 - Andreas Floer, German mathematician (b. 1956)
- May 21 - Rajiv Gandhi, Prime Minister of India (b. 1944)
- May 22 - Derrick Henry Lehmer, American mathematician (b. 1905)
- May 24 - Wilhelm Kempff, German pianist (b. 1895)
- May 27 - Leopold Nowak, Austrian musicologist (b. 1904)

June-December

- June 9 - Claudio Arrau, Chilean-born pianist (b. 1903)
- June 14 - Peggy Ashcroft, British actress (b. 1907)
- June 15 - Arthur Lewis, British economist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1915)
- July 1 - Michael Landon, American actor (b. 1936)
- July 4 - Victor Chang, Australian physician (murdered) (b. 1936)
- July 15 - Bert Convy, American game show host, actor, and singer (brain tumor) (b. 1933)
- July 16 - Robert Motherwell, American painter (b. 1915)
- July 18 - André Cools, Belgian politician (assassinated) (b. 1927)
- July 24 - Isaac Bashevis Singer, Polish-born Yiddish writer, Nobel Prize laureate
- August 1 - Chris Short, American baseball pitcher (b. 1937)
- August 5 - Paul Brown, American football coach (b. 1908)
- August 8 - James Irwin, astronaut (b. 1930)
- August 11 - J.D. McDuffie, American race car driver (b. 1938)
- August 13 - James Roosevelt, American businessman and politician (b. 1907)
- August 14 - Richard A. Snelling, Governor of Vermont (b. 1927)
- August 30 - Jean Tinguely, Swiss painter and sculptor (b. 1925)
- September 2 - Alfonso García Robles, Mexican diplomat and politician, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1911)
- September 3 - Frank Capra, Italian-born film director (b. 1897)
- September 7 - Edwin McMillan, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1907)
- September 17 - Zino Francescatti, French violinist (b. 1902)
- September 24 - Dr. Seuss, American children's author (b. 1904)
- September 26 - Miles Davis, American jazz trumpeter (b. 1926)
- October 24 - Gene Roddenberry, American television producer (b. 1921)
- November 24 - Eric Carr, American drummer (Kiss) (b. 1950)
- November 24 - Freddie Mercury, Zanzibar-born singer (Queen) (b. 1946)
- December 1 - George Joseph Stigler, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1911)
- December 6 - Richard Stone, British economist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1913)
- December 10 - Greta Kempton, American artist (b. 1901)
- December 15 - Vasily Zaitsev, Russian World War II hero (b. 1915)
- December 16 - Horatio Luro, Argentine-born racehorse trainer (b. 1901)
- December 18 - George Abecassis, English race car driver (b. 1913)

Nobel Prizes

- civilization that existed in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East between 753 BC and its downfall in AD 476. For several centuries, the Romans controlled the whole of Western Europe, as well as the entire area surrounding the Mediterranean Sea and some of the area surrounding the Black Sea. Black Sea]]

History

Monarchy

Black Sea The city of Rome grew from settlements on and around the Palatine Hill, approximately eighteen miles from the Tyrrhenian Sea on the river Tiber. At this location the Tiber has an island where the river can be forded. Because of the river and the ford, Rome was at a crossroads of traffic and trade. In Roman legend, Rome was founded on 21 April 753 BC, by Romulus who, along with his brother Remus was suckled by a she-wolf. Romulus killed Remus in a quarrel over where their new city should be located. Romulus, whose name is said to have inspired Rome's name, was the first of seven Kings of Rome, the last of whom, Tarquin the Proud, was deposed in 510 BC or 509 BC when the Roman Republic was established. The mythical or semi-mythical kings are (in chronological order): Romulus, Numa Pompilius (Good King Numa), Tullus Hostilius, Ancus Marcius, Tarquinius Priscus, Servius Tullius, and Tarquinius Superbus (Tarquin the Proud).

Republic

Tarquinius Superbus The Roman Republic was established around 509 BC, according to later writers such as Titus Livius (Livy), when the king was driven out, and a system based on annually elected magistrates was established in the monarchy's place. The most important were the two consuls, who between them exercised executive authority, but had to contend with the Senate, which grew in size and power with the establishment of the Republic. The magistracies were originally restricted to patricians but were later opened to plebeians. The Romans gradually subdued the other peoples on the Italian peninsula, mostly related Italic tribes (of Indo-European stock) such as the Samnites and Sabines, but also the Etruscans. The last threat to Roman hegemony in Italy came when Tarentum, a major Greek colony, enlisted the aid of Pyrrhus of Epirus in 282 BC. The Romans secured their conquests by founding Roman colonies in strategic places. In the second half of the 3rd century BC, Rome clashed with Carthage in the first two Punic wars. These wars resulted in Rome's first overseas conquests, of Sicily and Iberia, and the rise of Rome as a significant imperial power. After defeating Macedon and the Seleucids in the 2nd century BC, the Romans became the undisputed masters of the Mediterranean. Internal strife now became the greatest threat to the Republic. The Senate, jealous of its own power, repeatedly blocked important land reforms. An unintended consequence of Gaius Marius's military reforms was that soldiers often had more loyalty to their commander than to the city, and a powerful general, such as Marius or his rival Lucius Cornelius Sulla, could hold the city and Senate to ransom. In the mid-1st century BC three men, Julius Caesar, Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, and Marcus Licinius Crassus, formed a secret pact (the First Triumvirate) to control the Republic. After the conquest of Gaul a stand-off between Caesar and the Senate led to civil war, with Pompey leading the Senate's forces. Caesar emerged victorious and was made dictator for life. After Caesar's assassination a Second Triumvirate, consisting of Caesar's designated heir Octavian and his former supporters Mark Antony and Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, took power, but its members soon descended into a struggle for dominance. Lepidus was exiled to Circeii after attempting to coerce the highest position in the government through empty threats against Rome. When Octavian defeated Antony and queen Cleopatra of Egypt at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC he became the undisputed master of Rome. He assumed almost absolute power while retaining the pretence of Republican form of government. His designated successor, Tiberius, took power without bloodshed.

Empire

Tiberius, in AD 14, and in AD 117.]] After the reign of the first emperor, Augustus, the Empire was ruled by his relatives, the Julio-Claudian dynasty until the death of Nero in 69. The territorial expansion of the state continued and the empire remained secure despite some incompetent emperors. Their rule was followed by the Flavian dynasty. During the reign of the Five Good Emperors (AD 96-180) the Empire reached its zenith in terms of territory, economy and culture. The state was secure from both internal and external threats and the Pax Romana created prosperity. With the conquest of Dacia during the reign of Trajan the Empire saw the peak of its territorial expansion, at which point it covered 2.5 million square miles. The period between 180 and

Carrara

City

Introduction

The difference between towns and cities

Geography

History of cities

Modern conceptions

Traditional approach

Shortcomings

Modern approach

Global cities

Environmental effects

Inner city

See also

Lists

Miscellaneous

References

External links

Massa-Carrara

See also

External link

References

Marble

Origins

Kinds of marble

Construction marble

Etymology

Cultural associations

See also

External links

1991

Events

Undated events

Births

Deaths

January-February

March-May

June-December

Nobel Prizes

History

Monarchy

Republic

Empire