The Battle of Tours (10 October 732), also called the Battle of Poitiers, was an important victory of the Frankish and Burgundian forces under Charles Martel over the raiding parties of the Umayyad Caliphate led by Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi, Governor-General of al-Andalus.
It was fought in an area between the cities of Poitiers and Tours, in Aquitaine in west-central France, near the village of Moussais-la-Bataille, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) northeast of Poitiers. The location of the battle was close to the border between the Frankish realm and the then-independent Duchy of Aquitaine under Odo the Great.
It was fought in an area between the cities of Poitiers and Tours, in Aquitaine in west-central France, near the village of Moussais-la-Bataille, about 20 kilometres (12 mi) northeast of Poitiers. The location of the battle was close to the border between the Frankish realm and the then-independent Duchy of Aquitaine under Odo the Great.
"Woe to the vanquished!"
— Brennus
Vae Victis "woe to the vanquished," quoted by Titus Livius (59 BC to AD 17) , History, v. xlviii. 9 of Brennus, a chief of the Gauls in 390 BC when arranging terms of peace.
When the Romans complained that the Gauls were using excessive weights in measuring the amount of gold the Romans were to pay, Brennus threw his sword among the weights, exclaiming, "Vae victis," meaning that he, not they, was dictating the terms.
— Brennus
Vae Victis "woe to the vanquished," quoted by Titus Livius (59 BC to AD 17) , History, v. xlviii. 9 of Brennus, a chief of the Gauls in 390 BC when arranging terms of peace.
When the Romans complained that the Gauls were using excessive weights in measuring the amount of gold the Romans were to pay, Brennus threw his sword among the weights, exclaiming, "Vae victis," meaning that he, not they, was dictating the terms.
Traditional Europe
The New Year’s Bear Dance Ritual gather inhabitants of northern Moldova, Romania, from very young children to the elderly, for the final day of an approximately week-long festival of winter traditions taking place between Christmas and the end of the year.…
The annual spring celebration “Bele Poklade” took place yesterday in Lozovik and other towns across Serbia.
On Poklade Sunday, the young and unmarried (usually male) villagers create costumes from pumpkins, wool, feathers, flax and fleece to embody the dark spirits they wish to banish from the village and from themselves. They bang drums, yell, smack fences with sticks and leap over fires to expel evil forces, closing the winter season and opening the way for a fruitful, fertile spring.
On Poklade Sunday, the young and unmarried (usually male) villagers create costumes from pumpkins, wool, feathers, flax and fleece to embody the dark spirits they wish to banish from the village and from themselves. They bang drums, yell, smack fences with sticks and leap over fires to expel evil forces, closing the winter season and opening the way for a fruitful, fertile spring.