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Wikipedia:Today's featured article/January 21, 2015

Hi Constantine. A summary of the Featured Article you nominated will appear on the Main Page soon. I had to squeeze the text down to about 1200 characters; was there anything I left out you'd like to see put back in? - Dank (push to talk) 22:22, 4 January 2015 (UTC)

Hello Dank and happy new year! No, it looks fine, except one thing: the picture of the walls is a little dull, and seeing as the siege was mostly decided on the sea, I would suggest using the well-known Greek fire image instead. Constantine ✍ 08:32, 5 January 2015 (UTC)

Okay, glad the text is good ... I handle that part. User:Crisco 1492 handles the images. - Dank (push to talk) 14:36, 5 January 2015 (UTC)

Good to see and read today, precious again! --Gerda Arendt (talk) 12:25, 21 January 2015 (UTC)

Is scuola brotherhood?

Hi,

Can you please help? Is Scuola dei Greci = Greek Orthodox Brotherhood of St Nicholas?--Antidiskriminator (talk) 23:25, 5 January 2015 (UTC)

Hello! Well, the History of the Greek Nation, Vol. X, p. 240, says that in 1498 the local Greek community put in a request to form an association, the Scuola di San Nicolo della nazion Greca, but does not go into too much detail concerning its activities; it speaks of the community rather than the scuola thereafter, but it implies the two to be about the same as the Scuola di San Nicolo that provided the Greek community's legal framework of operation in Venice, and there is no mention of a second association. In short, the answer to your question appears to be "yes". Cheers, Constantine ✍ 10:09, 6 January 2015 (UTC)

Thanks. --Antidiskriminator (talk) 11:41, 6 January 2015 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of Nikephoros Phokas the Elder

Hi there, I'm pleased to inform you that I've begun reviewing the article Nikephoros Phokas the Elder you nominated for GA-status according to the criteria. This process may take up to 7 days. Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments you might have during this period. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Caponer -- Caponer (talk) 02:01, 7 January 2015 (UTC)

Interesting article—thanks for writing it! Ed ^{[talk] [majestic titan]} 02:25, 7 January 2015 (UTC)

I concur Cplakidas! I've completed my review here. Outstanding job, as always. Once you've addressed all my comments and questions, this article will be good to go forward to Good Article status! -- Caponer (talk) 03:59, 7 January 2015 (UTC)

Congratulations on a job well done Cplakidas! It has been a sincere pleasure and a privilege reviewing your article. I have hereby passed it to Good Article status! -- Caponer (talk) 11:50, 7 January 2015 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of Nikephoros Phokas the Elder

The article Nikephoros Phokas the Elder you nominated as a good article has passed ; see Talk:Nikephoros Phokas the Elder for comments about the article. Well done! If the article has not already been on the main page as an "In the news" or "Did you know" item, you can nominate it to appear in Did you know. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Caponer -- Caponer (talk) 12:01, 7 January 2015 (UTC)

Books and Bytes - Issue 9

The Wikipedia Library

Books & Bytes
Issue 9, November-December 2014
by The Interior (talk · contribs), Ocaasi (talk · contribs), Sadads (talk · contribs)

• New donations, including real-paper-and-everything books, e-books, science journal databases, and more
• New TWL coordinators, conference news, a new open-access journal database, summary of library-related WMF grants, and more
• Spotlight: "Global Impact: The Wikipedia Library and Persian Wikipedia" - a Persian Wikipedia editor talks about their experiences with database access in Iran, writing on the Persian project and the JSTOR partnership

Read the full newsletter

MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 23:36, 8 January 2015 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of Theodore Synadenos

Hi there, I'm pleased to inform you that I've begun reviewing the article Theodore Synadenos you nominated for GA-status according to the criteria. This process may take up to 7 days. Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments you might have during this period. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Ealdgyth -- Ealdgyth (talk) 16:41, 9 January 2015 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of Theodore Synadenos

The article Theodore Synadenos you nominated as a good article has passed ; see Talk:Theodore Synadenos for comments about the article. Well done! If the article has not already been on the main page as an "In the news" or "Did you know" item, you can nominate it to appear in Did you know. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Ealdgyth -- Ealdgyth (talk) 14:02, 15 January 2015 (UTC)

Hello. I am Andreana Dakanali (Andreana Dak). I Try to give an article in wikipedia but I found many proplems because of my english. The greek wikipedia has not the same forms so I dont Know exactly what is that I have to do so to make you sure about the article. Is sure that is not copied from anywhere, the singer Giannis Haroulis gave it to me. I Hope to understand how it works before you have to do all the delete things you say. I'm really sorry for the bad english and I hope you can understand me. What ever you want you can text me. Thank you for your help! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Andreana dak (talk • contribs) 17:34, 15 January 2015 (UTC)

Removal of indentation in favor of bullets in list of sources

Here you changed my source list which used indentation to bullets. I've reverted it because I see no reason for the change, but I'm grateful for your other correction in that article (which I've left intact). What was your reason for changing to bullets? I never see bullets being used for source lists in scientific journal articles or books? --AlexanderVanLoon (talk) 10:38, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

It's the usual style in Wikipedia, as you can see in most pages and in WP:CITE. Constantine ✍ 10:58, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

Thank you for your reply. However, since Template:Refbegin doesn't discourage it's use and WP:CITE doesn't even mention it, it's still my personal preference. Of course I won't change it in pages were bullets are already in use, but for articles I (re)write myself I'll keep using indentation for the list of sources. I guess I should deliberate with the people behind WP:CITE to revise the policy. --AlexanderVanLoon (talk) 15:48, 16 January 2015 (UTC)

Ein kleiner Gefallen

Hallo Constantine
how are you? On 9th January I greeted on your behalf your homeland on the way back to Rome :-) . There was clear weather, and from my left window seat I could see in the glorious afternoon light Thracia, Lemnos, Samotracia, Chalcidica, Thessaly, Eubea, Attica and Epirus, plus the snow capped Olympus... If you have time and lust, could you please do some ce on this article. It was a redirect, so that no copyediting busy bees are coming so far. :-) Greeting from Helvetia Felix. Alex2006 (talk) 10:12, 19 January 2015 (UTC)

Hello Alex! I've had to go urgently to Greece due to some family troubles and was a bit out of touch. I'll gladly check the article and make a copyedit. Cheers, Constantine ✍ 20:03, 21 January 2015 (UTC)

Thanks Costas! I hope it was nothing serious...Take care! Cheers, Alex2006 (talk) 06:36, 22 January 2015 (UTC)

No problem Alex, it is, as always, a pleasure. A small favour in return, could you try to communicate with this IP who edits on Longobardia? Unless I am very much mistaken, his native language is Italian, and I cannot seem to have a meaningful interaction in English with him. Constantine ✍ 09:14, 22 January 2015 (UTC)

Thanks! Actually, yesterday I ask for half-protectection both articles, and one is now protected. :-) I will try to speak with him, altough I don't think that there the problem is the language...Moreover, I noticed that he is using at least 3 different ips (all coming from Sicily). Alex2006 (talk) 09:20, 22 January 2015 (UTC)

Hallo Costas, yesterday I wrote to that guy at the talk page of the admin who protected the article, because he complained with him, but until now he did not answer...Alex2006 (talk) 19:13, 23 January 2015 (UTC)

I saw that, thanks. He answered below, but he is still as unwilling to give a straight answer as ever. Constantine ✍ 19:16, 23 January 2015 (UTC)

Non ti curar di lor, ma guarda e passa :-) Alex2006 (talk) 19:39, 23 January 2015 (UTC)

Longobardia

Hello...as regards Longobardia, Celsius (1727) noted that the name was used to indicate Longobardia Italy only after the destruction of the Lombard kingdom in 774. Therefore, he believed that the warriors mentioned in the stele belonged to the shipment of Federico II in Italy. This view was also accepted by Brocman (1762) believed that the warriors killed in battle against the Byzantine Emperor. The von Friesen (1913) noted, however, that in the inscriptions there was referring to Lombardy, but the lands of the south known as the eleventh century Langobardia that belonged to Byzantium, where he fought many battles between the Greeks and Normans and where perished men mentioned in the pieces.--79.19.99.123 (talk) 18:03, 20 January 2015 (UTC)

Greetings. First, the sources you cite here are way beyond outdated, second, I am afraid you fail to explain what exactly your sources are supposed to assert, and third, I don't see what they have to do with you reverting my changes, to whit: the name of the province was given by the Byzantines, not the Varangians, so that is the one that should be mentioned in the lede; what it was known as to the Varangians or other Germanics is secondary to the fact that it was a Byzantine province. Whether it was the first or second or n-th state entity known as Longobardia is neither here nor there, and smacks of WP:OR: since the name was given after the Langobards, it is self-evident that, at least as a colloquial name, the term existed before the Byzantines created the province, i.e. for Longorbardia major and minor, as attested by Theophanes. Whether it was an "official" name or not is pedantry and irrelevant: if the term was applied to the Lombard kingdom and/or the Duchy of Benevento, then the statement that the Byz. province was the "first state entity" to bear it is most likely false, and stating otherwise requires sources of extraordinary reputability, certainly not from the 18th century... Please read WP:RS, WP:CITE and WP:EXTRAORDINARY in this regard... Constantine ✍ 00:52, 21 January 2015 (UTC)

sorry but your opinion is unclear ... Theophanes does not make a name within the Italian territory, but a distinction of the Lombards to the north and south of Rome. There are no government entity or official names of certain territories before thema Byzantine Longobardia ... the only real name of the Lombard kingdom is "Regnum Langobardorum". There is no connection between the name of "Langobardia majors" and the future region "Lombardy". Poi..le sources of my previous intervention ripendono lively debate a precise historical and not absolete, contemporary sources shows: Erik Brate, Elias Wessen.--80.182.9.48 (talk) 02:06, 21 January 2015 (UTC)

Please stop reverting, or you risk getting blocked. From the moment there is a dispute, the rules are to not revert until an agreement is reached. Now, it may be that you are not proficient in English, but I really cannot understand the point you are trying to make and why you revert even my cosmetic and style edits. For instance, the Germanic name is irrelevant to the lede section, as it was not an official name; you do not address that in your counter-arguments, but revert nonetheless. You also revert the source formatting of the sources you added, which makes them look odd next to the existing ones. And as far as the assertion about Longobardia is concerned, I need to see a page reference and quote from a modern, reliable source to the effect of what you claim, not vague references to 18th-century books. More importantly, you need to a) read the policy links I gave above and b) try and use correct and coherent English, because this is the English WP, and if you cannot make yourself understood, you'll only get into trouble. Constantine ✍ 12:05, 21 January 2015 (UTC)

The problem is that your speech is unfounded. There are no sources and links about the rest of Italy under the name "Longbardland". Here we want sources that attest to the use of the word in the Germanic form Longobardia and not fairy tales. When you mentioned Theophanes I understand that your speech is baseless. The Wessen Langbardland is clear the term is used only after the fall of the Regnum Langobardorum and only to indicate the Byzantine thema of southern Italy under the name Longobardia or Langobardia, place called Langbardland by Germanic warriors Varangians of the battles in the ground against Byzantine and Norman . The previous speaker I talked about the historical debate with sources and modern sources are: Erik Brate,Elias Wessen, Sveriges runinskrifter: III. Södermanlands runinskrifter, publisher Kungl. Vitterhets Historie och Antikvitets Akademien, Stockholm, 1924-1936, ISSN 0562-8016;E.Wessén, Jansson, SB F, Sveriges runinskrifter: VI. Upplands runinskrifter of 1 publisher Kungl. Vitterhets Historie och Antikvitets Akademien, Stockholm, 1940-1943, ISSN 0562-8016

Your rollback are meaningless ... you have some reliable sources to talk ???--79.18.110.123 (talk) 12:31, 21 January 2015 (UTC)

Sigh... I am the guy who began the article and put whatever references were in there in the first place, so please spare me the "you have some reliable sources to talk ???" crap. The article focuses on a Byzantine province, so the Germanic name is incidental and secondary, and has no place in the lede. The article makes clear, with impeccable sources, that the term "Longobardia" was used by Theophanes, one of the major sources on the early medieval Mediterranean, beyond the Byzantine province for Lombard territories in Italy; whether as a geographic or shorthand form instead of an official one is irrelevant to the point. You try to push through a specific interpretation, and parrot a couple of books to this effect. All right, I want to see page numbers and quotes from the books to support your opinion, because until then it is just that, an opinion, which apparently directly contradicts authorities like the ODB and Pertusi. And please take time to write proper English, I can often scarcely understand what you are writing. Constantine ✍ 19:58, 21 January 2015 (UTC)

Wikipedia is based on sources...you have some reliable sources to talk ? please...--95.233.199.151 (talk) 00:35, 22 January 2015 (UTC)

I can't tell if you are trolling or not, but for the moment I am assuming you are not. It is very simple: you have made a very definite statement about the use of the name Longobardia, which prima facie seems to contradict already extant and well-referenced information, and referred to a few sources to back up your claim. Per WP:EXTRAORDINARY, please give the relevant page numbers and quotes from the sources. Constantine ✍ 09:12, 22 January 2015 (UTC)

involving some administrators for your goals ... in note Longobardia have deleted the information ..without a valid reason--87.17.107.33 (talk) 18:51, 23 January 2015 (UTC)

My "goals" are you giving a proper reference to a contested statement you try to introduce. Yet you persist with off-topic remarks while humming loudly with your fingers in your ears. I cannot help you if you refuse to give a straight answer. Constantine ✍ 18:54, 23 January 2015 (UTC)

Greek problem

Hello Constantine! Could you help me with a buying problem? I would like to buy the ebook Halcyon Days in Crete II. ΤΗΕ VIA EGNATIA UNDER OTTOMAN RULE 1380-1699, but I don't know if this site is reliable or not. Do you have any idea about it?--Renato de carvalho ferreira (talk) 18:52, 20 January 2015 (UTC)

Hello Renato! The site is reliable, it is the publishing house of the University of Crete, so no worries. Constantine ✍ 00:53, 21 January 2015 (UTC)

The Bugle: Issue CVI, January 2015

Your Military History Newsletter Project news: From the editors; awards and honours; contest results Articles: Last month's new Featured and A-Class content Book reviews: Jonas Vinther on Hitler and Cliftonian on the Rhodesia Regiment Interview: 2014 Military History Newcomer Award nominees Review essay: Nick-D on the Australian War Memorial Op-ed: TomStar81 on the birth of strategic bombing Timeline: This month in World War I

The Bugle is published by the Military history WikiProject. To receive it on your talk page, please join the project or sign up here.
If you are a project member who does not want delivery, please remove your name from this page. Your editors, Ian Rose (talk) and Nick-D (talk) 13:27, 23 January 2015 (UTC)

Greek presidential elections

Dear Sir could you give me some information on the following:

• Greek presidential election, 1924
• Greek presidential election, 1929
• Greek presidential election, 1933
• Greek presidential election, 1980
• Greek presidential election, 1985
• Greek presidential election, 1990

I would be grateful. Mr Hall of England (talk) 15:16, 24 January 2015 (UTC)

Inside Hitler's Greece

Hallo Constantine, hope you have a great time. I can recall that you have access to Mazower's specific work and it may be helpfull to clear some things in the Greco-Italian War article: a failed verification tag has been placed here [[1]] (although I can confirm the specific event from alternative works). Also, here [[2]]: Mazower's work has been characterized as trashy and poorly researched book. I believe you may shed some light on this.Alexikoua (talk) 20:42, 24 January 2015 (UTC)

Hello Alexi. I'll have a look into it. As for Mazower being "trashy and poorly researched", I am speechless, although in retrospect that's not surprising, when it comes from the guy whose view on the war is essentially that Greece should have surrendered immediately, so that the Germans would not have had to invade... Instead of dismissing one of the most expert historians on Balkan and WW2 history like this, this self-proclaimed historian might for once bother to be specific with his concerns and bring some actual, honest-to-god reliable sources into the discussion. Constantine ✍ 21:43, 24 January 2015 (UTC)

I had the feeling that something is really wrong with the specific editor. By the way (not to be confused with history), WWWII Italians are never presented as villains in any Hoolywood movie, as far I can remember.Alexikoua (talk) 21:28, 25 January 2015 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of Muhammad ibn Tughj al-Ikhshid

Hi there, I'm pleased to inform you that I've begun reviewing the article Muhammad ibn Tughj al-Ikhshid you nominated for GA-status according to the criteria. This process may take up to 7 days. Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments you might have during this period. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Caponer -- Caponer (talk) 22:01, 24 January 2015 (UTC)

Constantine, you've written another masterpiece my friend. I was a bit nitpicky though and left some comments and suggestions at Talk:Muhammad ibn Tughj al-Ikhshid/GA1. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns, and please let me know if I'm off base on anything. Thank you for all your great work on this article! -- Caponer (talk) 20:57, 25 January 2015 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of Muhammad ibn Tughj al-Ikhshid

The article Muhammad ibn Tughj al-Ikhshid you nominated as a good article has been placed on hold . The article is close to meeting the good article criteria, but there are some minor changes or clarifications needing to be addressed. If these are fixed within 7 days, the article will pass; otherwise it may fail. See Talk:Muhammad ibn Tughj al-Ikhshid for things which need to be addressed. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Caponer -- Caponer (talk) 21:20, 25 January 2015 (UTC)

Re: Anti-Judaism

I want to thank you again for the edit, and perhaps I should have double checked before restoring a WP:Redlink. But it really does help move to the project forward when you bother to fill out the WP:edit summary field in the first place! -- Kendrick7^talk 14:30, 27 January 2015 (UTC)

No problem and no hard feelings, I was going through several pages cleaning up and was too bored to paste the explanation everywhere (admittedly, it's not as if I am very conscientious re the use edit summaries). I should have expected someone to object. Cheers, Constantine ✍ 14:57, 27 January 2015 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of Muhammad ibn Tughj al-Ikhshid

The article Muhammad ibn Tughj al-Ikhshid you nominated as a good article has passed ; see Talk:Muhammad ibn Tughj al-Ikhshid for comments about the article. Well done! If the article has not already been on the main page as an "In the news" or "Did you know" item, you can nominate it to appear in Did you know. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Caponer -- Caponer (talk) 11:01, 28 January 2015 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of Muslim conquest of Sicily

Hi there, I'm pleased to inform you that I've begun reviewing the article Muslim conquest of Sicily you nominated for GA-status according to the criteria. This process may take up to 7 days. Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments you might have during this period. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Simon Burchell -- Simon Burchell (talk) 17:01, 28 January 2015 (UTC)

A barnstar for you!

	The Writer's Barnstar
	Dear Cplakidas, thank you for your contributions to Wikipedia, especially your recent creation of Rhaiktor. Keep up the good work! You are making a difference here! With regards, AnupamTalk 19:42, 28 January 2015 (UTC)

Thank you, much appreciated, but if I may ask, why exactly did you single out the Rhaiktor article? It's certainly not among my most impressive work :P... Constantine ✍ 19:47, 28 January 2015 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of Muslim conquest of Sicily

The article Muslim conquest of Sicily you nominated as a good article has been placed on hold . The article is close to meeting the good article criteria, but there are some minor changes or clarifications needing to be addressed. If these are fixed within 7 days, the article will pass; otherwise it may fail. See Talk:Muslim conquest of Sicily for things which need to be addressed. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Simon Burchell -- Simon Burchell (talk) 10:20, 29 January 2015 (UTC)

You're welcome :-). Thanks for your help in many articles --Odythal (talk) 14:05, 2 February 2015 (UTC)

WP:RX

Hi, I was wondering if you would be able to assist with the following source requested at the WP:RX -

• "The origin of the lords of Karytaina in the Frankish Morea". Evergates, Theodore. (1994). Medieval prosopography vol. 15, 1 (1994) p. 81-114

You've included it as a reference when you created Geoffrey of Briel. Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance. - NQ (talk) 10:44, 6 February 2015 (UTC)

Hello! I was fortunate as I had found a partial version online. It is no longer available though, and although I have searched, I too could not find the source anywhere else. Constantine ✍ 12:11, 6 February 2015 (UTC)

Thank you very much for your efforts. Do you happen to have a link to the no longer available partial version? - NQ (talk) 12:47, 6 February 2015 (UTC)

No, it is some time ago, and I deleted the link since it no longer worked :(. Constantine ✍ 13:22, 6 February 2015 (UTC)

Thanks for your help. - NQ (talk) 13:26, 10 February 2015 (UTC)

Kostia Vlastos

Dear Konstantinos,

What was the reason of removing Kostia Vlastos from the Category:Greek diaspora?

He was an active member of the Greek diaspora in Paris during the first half of the previous century.

Thank you very much for your attention.

Actia Nicopolis (talk) 17:04, 9 February 2015 (UTC)

The more specific category "French people of Greek descent" is already a child category of the more generic "Greek diaspora" category. Cheers, Constantine ✍ 21:01, 9 February 2015 (UTC)

Ottoman Classical Army

Hi,

I noticed massive changes at Military of the Ottoman Empire. Ottoman Classical Army has zero GBS hits. What do you think about it?--Antidiskriminator (talk) 22:45, 10 February 2015 (UTC)

The name is a neologism, at least in this form, as it never existed as a proper name; " Ottoman army of the classical period" would be an appropriate descriptive form, or "Ottoman Army (classical period/15th-19th centuries)" etc. analogous to the move I performed with Ottoman Modern Army. Constantine ✍ 08:56, 11 February 2015 (UTC)

Thanks for your reply. I will rename it to Ottoman Army (15th-19th centuries) to be consistent with Ottoman Army (1861–1922), according to your position. Please feel free to correct it if you have a better proposal. --Antidiskriminator (talk) 11:59, 11 February 2015 (UTC)

Administrative organization of Greece

Hi Constantine! Could you give me few minutes of your time? Since I started expanding Via Egnatia on pt.wiki, I also continue creating articles about Greece and I'm not finding something I need. On the internet I found the PDF of the Kallikratis reform explaining everything, but I'm not finding about the Kapodistrias reform or even the reform before them. Do you have any idea about where I can find out such information? And even, do you know any governmental site about the administrative subdivisions of Greece? I'm looking for this because I would like to know when some municipalities were created, and this information is also difficult to achieve. Just some few sites provide it.--Renato de carvalho ferreira (talk) 00:05, 11 February 2015 (UTC)

Hello Renato! AFAIK there is no comprehensive resource, but the Greek WP has a series of articles on Greek administrative divisions. Otherwise, the most comprehensive source I could find re the details of the Kapodistrias reform, apart from the administrative boundary changes, was this article, unfortunately in Greek. I'll keep it in mind and notify you if I come across anything more. Cheers, Constantine ✍ 12:16, 11 February 2015 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of Muslim conquest of Sicily

The article Muslim conquest of Sicily you nominated as a good article has passed ; see Talk:Muslim conquest of Sicily for comments about the article. Well done! If the article has not already been on the main page as an "In the news" or "Did you know" item, you can nominate it to appear in Did you know. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Simon Burchell -- Simon Burchell (talk) 15:01, 12 February 2015 (UTC)

Britannia yet again...

Hi Cplakidas. I don't know if you remember, but we discussed the placement of Valentia and the layout of the Roman Provinces over a year ago (here). Today, @LlywelynII: made a lot of edits about it, including placing notes in your heavily used map on Commons (here and here). I think those edits were poorly discussed, but I'm no specialist. José Luiz ^talk 09:51, 15 February 2015 (UTC)

I've contacted him. The placement of the British provinces was always a bit of a problem, as the sources are unclear and modern interpretations vary. I am eager to see what he has to say. Constantine ✍ 10:25, 15 February 2015 (UTC)

It's not your bad. You know and addressed the fact that our knowledge of Britain (especially late-4th century Britain) is hinky. The mistake was by the editor who tried to turn your well-done and well-caveated overview into an (ugly, squashed) cutout map that inaccurately presents your (acknowledgedly) conjectural borders and placements as facts. That cutout needed annotating and removal from any page that used it; your main overview doesn't have any real problems I can see. It's fine for the pages that use it as an overview and is about as well as we know the material, except for that fact that it doesn't mention those who put Valentia on or beyond the wall. — LlywelynII 11:08, 15 February 2015 (UTC)

Well, looking at it again... it's always possible you could put your caveat onto the map itself. That's probably ugly but you could do the British provincial boundaries with a separate form of line to indicate the utterly conjectural nature of their course. Modern people looking at a map are going to assume it is what it is, not ± completely reversed provinces. — LlywelynII 11:12, 15 February 2015 (UTC)

Ok then, I will add Valeria to the region between the Antonine and Hadrianic walls, and what else? BTW, do you have an idea of the currently prevailing opinion re the British provinces (if indeed there is one)? In other words, what is certain and what is not? Regarding the boundaries, perhaps I should leave them out of Britain entirely, and/or I should make the caveat in the description more visible. Constantine ✍ 12:41, 15 February 2015 (UTC)

Your interest in improving your work is commendable : ) but, even though I had some classical studies in college, it didn't touch on this. The important point was that the cutout map was a terrible idea. Discussion of Britain in 410 should use something like this with no borders at all or something like this where the provincial borders are clearly tentative.

Since I do wanna encourage such thorough behavior, though, I did some cursory Googling. This has a 2nd source for Britannia "Valentiana" or "Valentiniana" (Polemius Silvius's Nomina Omnium Provinciarum) but he also included Orcades (the Orkneys) as a 6th province. This one goes through the list: it says Gerald's statement that Valentia was in reoccupied Scotland is a theory but hasn't been backed up by recent archaeology; it similarly says that Wales has been offered as its location but that "lacks academic support at present"; the leading ideas at the moment are (a) that it was the Wall and its forward and backward hinterland, being partially carved out of Britannia II and (b) that it was the name for the Diocese of Britain—the whole Roman administration—and it was never a fifth province. This guy notes that everyone is working from essentially no information whatsoever, but proposes that—as a consular province—it was a renaming of Maxima Caesariensis and listing it as a fifth alongside its old name was a mistaken duplication.

How to deal with that? I suppose just add another iffy Valentia north of the wall and leave it at that... but certainly discourage cutouts of Britannia and, if you have time, find a way to identify the borders on your map that are tentative rather than certain. — LlywelynII 13:34, 15 February 2015 (UTC)

Great, thanks for the thorough answer. BTW, if you want to delve more into the subject and lack access to journals, I can be of assistance as I have academic access. Cheers, Constantine ✍ 14:07, 15 February 2015 (UTC)

Aromanians

Hello Cplakidas, i don't understand why you deleted my pic(Flag of the Aromanians). We also have our simbols, our flag, anthem, motto etc... I am sorry but i know better than you the things about Aromanians(Us) becose i am an aromanian(From Epirus). Please let me do the best for my people here in internet! Good Night... Noptia bunã! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Remenu (talk • contribs) 18:00, 16 February 2015 (UTC)

National flag of Aromanians

Dear Cplakidas, our great great great grandpas belived in the sun. This is becose we have this flag. This flag is a "Macedonian flag" and we are "Makedo-romans or Makinonj". We have our indetity! — Preceding unsigned comment added by Remenu (talk • contribs) 18:09, 16 February 2015 (UTC)

And why it was an aromanian flag here before????? The white flag??? This wasn't ours! Every nation has a flag, we have ours too. We don't have a our state, but we have our culture, language and symbols, like dhe kurds! And our motto is: Rrãmãnu nu chieri(The Aromanian don't lose) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Remenu (talk • contribs) 18:17, 16 February 2015 (UTC)

Why you don't answer me? It was an aromanian flag here before????? The white flag? Why??????? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Remenu (talk • contribs) 18:38, 16 February 2015 (UTC)

DYK for Plaka Bridge

 — Crisco 1492 (talk) 00:06, 17 February 2015 (UTC)

DYK for Battle of the Echinades (322 BC)

 — Crisco 1492 (talk) 00:06, 17 February 2015 (UTC)

DYK for Battle of Amorgos

 — Crisco 1492 (talk) 00:06, 17 February 2015 (UTC)

Aromanians article recent changes

Based on our discussion at the AN/I Noticeboard, would you concur that the excess wikilinks should be removed? It is my understanding that only the first appearance of a wikilinked entry should be thus linked, and the rest should remain as simple text. I do not want to run afoul of the 3RR rule myself, but if it is clearly a case of WP:CIR then I don't mind putting in the time. I will stay away from the flag issue, as I do not have enough connection to the topic to have a fully formed opinion on the matter. My experience in Macedonia has taught me that such issues are highly contentious, and I am not into WikiWars. ScrapIronIV (talk) 17:22, 19 February 2015 (UTC)

Removing overlinking is fairly uncontroversial: WP:OVERLINK is a MoS guideline after all. As far as I am concerned, if you want to help with that, you are welcome; it is a tedious job. The problem, I think, would be to get the user in question not to re-revert you. If he doesn't understand/accept 3RR, I doubt he will understand the concept of overlinking, especially as it is about 90% of his edits. I could be wrong, however. Constantine ✍ 17:37, 19 February 2015 (UTC)

The Bugle: Issue CVII, February 2015

Your Military History Newsletter Project news: From the editors; awards and honours; contest results Articles: Last month's new Featured and A-Class content Book review: Nick-D on the British Pacific Fleet Op-ed: TomStar81 looks at the advent of chemical warfare Timeline: This month in World War I

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Agafokliya

Thanks for this, but the source explicitly gives the masculine form. Thoughts?—Ëzhiki (Igels Hérissonovich Ïzhakoff-Amursky) • (yo?); February 21, 2015; 00:26 (UTC)

Well, the feminine form is obviously derived from the masculine form Agathocles, but the Russian form was derived straight from the Greek feminine form, not the from the masculine and then feminized. I've tweaked the description, how does it look now? Constantine ✍ 00:43, 21 February 2015 (UTC)

I understand it's derived from the feminine version, but I was not willing to say what the source didn't. The tweak seems to be an acceptable compromise, though; thanks!—Ëzhiki (Igels Hérissonovich Ïzhakoff-Amursky) • (yo?); February 23, 2015; 13:04 (UTC)

Не стоит благодарности :) --Constantine ✍ 13:25, 23 February 2015 (UTC)

Notice of Edit warring noticeboard discussion

Hello. This message is being sent to inform you that there is currently a discussion involving you at Wikipedia:Administrators' noticeboard/Edit warring regarding a possible violation of Wikipedia's policy on edit warring. Thank you. Picture Master (talk) — Preceding undated comment added 04:41, 22 February 2015 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of Husayn ibn Hamdan

Hi there, I'm pleased to inform you that I've begun reviewing the article Husayn ibn Hamdan you nominated for GA-status according to the criteria. This process may take up to 7 days. Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments you might have during this period. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Sturmvogel 66 -- Sturmvogel 66 (talk) 02:40, 24 February 2015 (UTC)

DYK for List of Abbasid governors of Tarsus

— Coffee // have a cup // beans // 00:21, 28 February 2015 (UTC)

Kalpis (pottery)

Hi, can you add a bit to this and some sources?♦ Dr. Blofeld 10:42, 4 March 2015 (UTC)

Hello Doctor! I'll try to find some info during the weekend. Cheers, Constantine ✍ 19:04, 4 March 2015 (UTC)

I had a look in my sources, including the Pauly and New Pauly, and there was almost nothing of note, except that it is a type of vase. As this is not my area of expertise, I cannot add anything more. Constantine ✍ 18:05, 8 March 2015 (UTC)

Books and Bytes - Issue 10

The Wikipedia Library

Books & Bytes
Issue 10, January-February 2015
by The Interior (talk · contribs), Ocaasi (talk · contribs), Sadads (talk · contribs)

• New donations - ProjectMUSE, Dynamed, Royal Pharmaceutical Society, and Women Writers Online
• New TWL coordinator, conference news, and a new guide and template for archivists
• TWL moves into the new Community Engagement department at the WMF, quarterly review

Read the full newsletter

MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 17:40, 4 March 2015 (UTC)

DYK for Abu Firas al-Hamdani

— Coffee // have a cup // beans // 10:27, 5 March 2015 (UTC)

DYK nomination of Muhammad ibn Tughj al-Ikhshid

Hello! Your submission of Muhammad ibn Tughj al-Ikhshid at the Did You Know nominations page has been reviewed, and some issues with it may need to be clarified. Please review the comment(s) underneath your nomination's entry and respond there as soon as possible. Thank you for contributing to Did You Know! Captain Assassin! ^{«T ♦ C ♦ G»} 05:28, 6 March 2015 (UTC)

Reverting undiscussed moves

Re: Your recent comments at Talk:Siege of Constantinople (Rus' Siege of Constantinople) (860). If you wish to revert a recent undiscussed move (as was the case for this article), you do not need to go through the full RM process even if the move requires an admin (per WP:RMUM). You can propose the move in the Requesting technical moves section of the RM page. —  AjaxSmack  16:17, 6 March 2015 (UTC)

I am aware of that, but since the RM discussion had been opened already, it would have been bad form from me to move it. Cheers, Constantine ✍ 19:11, 6 March 2015 (UTC)

Iacovos / Iakovos Rizos

I was going to ask you whether I did anything stupid in that article! I put it at the "c" spelling because the few English sources I found preponderantly used that spelling. There aren't many of them and they are old, but they do include the Ioannou book. Yngvadottir (talk) 21:00, 7 March 2015 (UTC)

Ah, I see. Well, the reason I moved this was because transliteration with a "c" for this particular name is very peculiar. If the sources use the "c", then probably it should be mentioned, but it looks very odd, even given the latinizing/frenchifying tendencies in transliterating Greek names in the 19th century. Certainly one of my personal favourites among English authors on modern Greece, the esteemed Michael Llewellyn Smith (a former UK ambassador and noted philhellene), uses the "k", as do a couple of other publications as far as I can see. Constantine ✍ 21:07, 7 March 2015 (UTC)

Yes, I assumed it was going to be Iakovos, but when I started finding material, I noticed the few English sources had "c". Of course it's strictly speaking the 1974 translator for Ioannou. The MPhil thesis uses "c" in the text and then "k" in the picture caption on the next page. Unfortunately it was slim pickings indeed, since I can't read either Russian or Greek, until I stumbled on that encyclopedia entry noting that he went by "Jacques Rizo". So I think I'll add the "c" version to the lede and leave it at that. Do let me know if I made any other blunders, though. Yngvadottir (talk) 21:26, 7 March 2015 (UTC)

That seems a reasonable compromise. Otherwise I think the article is fine. I'll try to find more material tomorrow, but being cut of from any offline Greek source at the moment I don't expect to find much of substance... Constantine ✍ 21:30, 7 March 2015 (UTC)

DYK for Muhammad ibn Tughj al-Ikhshid

— Coffee // have a cup // beans // 00:02, 9 March 2015 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of Manuel Erotikos Komnenos

Hi there, I'm pleased to inform you that I've begun reviewing the article Manuel Erotikos Komnenos you nominated for GA-status according to the criteria. This process may take up to 7 days. Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments you might have during this period. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Caponer -- Caponer (talk) 23:20, 9 March 2015 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of Manuel Erotikos Komnenos

The article Manuel Erotikos Komnenos you nominated as a good article has been placed on hold . The article is close to meeting the good article criteria, but there are some minor changes or clarifications needing to be addressed. If these are fixed within 7 days, the article will pass; otherwise it may fail. See Talk:Manuel Erotikos Komnenos for things which need to be addressed. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Caponer -- Caponer (talk) 14:20, 10 March 2015 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of Manuel Erotikos Komnenos

The article Manuel Erotikos Komnenos you nominated as a good article has passed ; see Talk:Manuel Erotikos Komnenos for comments about the article. Well done! If the article has not already been on the main page as an "In the news" or "Did you know" item, you can nominate it to appear in Did you know. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Caponer -- Caponer (talk) 15:21, 10 March 2015 (UTC)

Edit war and vandalism on Greece (country) and related pages

Dear C Plakidas, please be advised that Future Perfect at Sunrise, Dolescum, and other user names using 'sock puppets' are systematically engaging in edit war with me, Alexis Gounaris, by deleting as many necessary references on the Greece and other related pages to Greek Macedonia as possible, with the obvious intention of disassociating the name from Greece and the Greek people. Since an indefinite edit ban from editing any pages on Balkan topics has now been imposed on me, essentially for attempting to simply maintain my own edits on the Greece page that mentioned Greek Macedonia, I hope you and others active on pages related to Greece, Greeks, Macedonia, and Byzantine civilisation, can ensure that references to Greek Macedonia are not permanently deleted. Thank you. A Gounaris

@A Gounaris: the guys you mention are certainly not sockpuppets, but users of long and good standing here. I have deliberately not gotten involved in the whole bruhaha, and have only a limited perception of what has been going on, but I certainly don't think that the users in question are involved in an anti-Greek crusade. Rather (again, from the occasional glance) it seems to me this is chiefly a content dispute on the focus and level of detail of the article(s) in question ought to have, which is best resolved through polite and patient discussion at the relevant talk page(s) (i.e. the exact opposite of this). The one sure-fire way to have yourself and your views, regardless how sensible they may be, become irrelevant in Wikipedia, is to start the accusation game due to frustration. Sorry to say, but you are approaching this the wrong way. My advice is, take some time off, calm down, marshal your arguments, and present them cogently and dispassionately. You will have every chance to convince others of the correctness of your views, but you must be calm and accept the fact that you may get rebuffed. Constantine ✍ 22:50, 13 March 2015 (UTC)

DYK for Manuel Erotikos Komnenos

— Coffee // have a cup // beans // 12:01, 14 March 2015 (UTC)

Discussion at Talk:First_Bulgarian_Empire#Split_.28Bulgarian_Khanate.29

You are invited to join the discussion at Talk:First_Bulgarian_Empire#Split_.28Bulgarian_Khanate.29. Thanks. Zoupan 21:53, 16 March 2015 (UTC)

RfA

Hey Constantine, it's time for my annual question: do you want to be an administrator? I'd still be happy to write a nomination if you've changed your mind. Ed ^{[talk] [majestic titan]} 19:41, 17 March 2015 (UTC)

Hah, hello Ed! As usual, a heartfelt thank you for the vote of confidence, but the answer remains the same. I don't want to sound dismissive, quite the contrary, I have the highest respect for admins, but that is precisely the point: as I've said before, that is not my cup of tea. About the only reason I'd be tempted to run for adminship is so that I wouldn't have to go through deletion processes for technical moves over redirects etc. any more, and that's not a good enough reason... The admin's broom would only gather dust in my hands, I am afraid, and I would feel bad about it. Constantine ✍ 20:05, 17 March 2015 (UTC)

That, honestly, would be a good enough reason for the tools. While there are people who think you should have a need for the tools, their number has dwindled in recent years. As long as you're generally familiar with the normal admin processes (read: have looked at the pages and their associated policies, especially AfD) and wouldn't severely mess them up if you did decide to dabble in them, you'd be fine. In short, you'd be a net positive, and that should be enough for RfA if I can convince you to run! Ed ^{[talk] [majestic titan]} 00:27, 18 March 2015 (UTC)

Hmmm, let me think about it. I will get back to you for help if I decide I'll run. Cheers, Constantine ✍ 15:56, 18 March 2015 (UTC)

Please feel free to get second and third opinions if you're unsure! And seriously, WP:NETPOSITIVE is a thing. :-) Best, Ed ^{[talk] [majestic titan]} 20:30, 18 March 2015 (UTC)

Hello, Cplakidas. You have new messages at Talk:Münejjim Bashi.
You can remove this notice at any time by removing the {{Talkback}} or {{Tb}} template.

Hi

Hi Cplakidas, are you actively contributing in Greek Wiki? Jaqeli 12:37, 21 March 2015 (UTC)

Hello! Not very much, only occasionally. Constantine ✍ 19:26, 21 March 2015 (UTC)

Can you create some Georgia-related articles in Greek Wiki? I mean even a little translations would do it. As a native Greek could you help? Jaqeli 19:32, 21 March 2015 (UTC)

I'd be happy to help. Do you have any suggestions as to what to prioritize? Constantine ✍ 20:56, 21 March 2015 (UTC)

I'd say Georgian scripts, George the Hagiorite, Pharnavaz I of Iberia, Rhadamistus and Anthim the Iberian. I hope it's not that much. Even some couple of words about them in Greek Wiki would do it greatly. Thanks again. Jaqeli 21:38, 21 March 2015 (UTC)

Any news? Jaqeli 18:23, 31 March 2015 (UTC)

Hi! I've begun translating Rhadamistus (Ραδάμιστος), the rest will follow. I don't have too much time, but the above at least will get done. Cheers, Constantine ✍ 18:25, 31 March 2015 (UTC)

Oh, thank you. Jaqeli 18:40, 31 March 2015 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of Michael Dokeianos

Hi there, I'm pleased to inform you that I've begun reviewing the article Michael Dokeianos you nominated for GA-status according to the criteria. This process may take up to 7 days. Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments you might have during this period. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Sturmvogel 66 -- Sturmvogel 66 (talk) 20:41, 22 March 2015 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of Nikephoros Xiphias

Hi there, I'm pleased to inform you that I've begun reviewing the article Nikephoros Xiphias you nominated for GA-status according to the criteria. This process may take up to 7 days. Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments you might have during this period. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Sturmvogel 66 -- Sturmvogel 66 (talk) 20:41, 22 March 2015 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of Husayn ibn Hamdan

The article Husayn ibn Hamdan you nominated as a good article has passed ; see Talk:Husayn ibn Hamdan for comments about the article. Well done! If the article has not already been on the main page as an "In the news" or "Did you know" item, you can nominate it to appear in Did you know. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Sturmvogel 66 -- Sturmvogel 66 (talk) 20:42, 22 March 2015 (UTC)

Invitation

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Your GA nomination of Michael Dokeianos

The article Michael Dokeianos you nominated as a good article has passed ; see Talk:Michael Dokeianos for comments about the article. Well done! If the article has not already been on the main page as an "In the news" or "Did you know" item, you can nominate it to appear in Did you know. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Sturmvogel 66 -- Sturmvogel 66 (talk) 16:01, 26 March 2015 (UTC)

The Bugle: Issue CVIII, March 2015

Your Military History Newsletter Project news: From the editors; awards and honours; contest results Articles: Last month's new Featured and A-Class content Book review: Recent external reviews Review essay: Nick-D on the Australian Fleet Air Arm Museum Op-ed: TomStar81 on submarine warfare in World War I Timeline: This month in World War I

The Bugle is published by the Military history WikiProject. To receive it on your talk page, please join the project or sign up here.
If you are a project member who does not want delivery, please remove your name from this page. Your editors, Ian Rose (talk) and Nick-D (talk) 09:36, 27 March 2015 (UTC)

Mitarakis/Mitarachi

Γεια σου!

Looking quickly on the web it seems to me that the most frequent form of his name in English media is Notis Mitarachi (see [3]), including his own usage (see [4]). It uses a transcription often seen for Chiot names, see for instance Rodocanachi. Do you think that we can rename the page to Notis Mitarachi? Place Clichy (talk) 19:09, 27 March 2015 (UTC)

Hi Place Clichy! I guess if his personal preference is firmly established, it should be moved. I'll do it right away. Constantine ✍ 19:20, 27 March 2015 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of Abu'l-Aswar Shavur ibn Fadl

Hi there, I'm pleased to inform you that I've begun reviewing the article Abu'l-Aswar Shavur ibn Fadl you nominated for GA-status according to the criteria. This process may take up to 7 days. Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments you might have during this period. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Sturmvogel 66 -- Sturmvogel 66 (talk) 20:40, 2 April 2015 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of Nikephoros Xiphias

The article Nikephoros Xiphias you nominated as a good article has passed ; see Talk:Nikephoros Xiphias for comments about the article. Well done! If the article has not already been on the main page as an "In the news" or "Did you know" item, you can nominate it to appear in Did you know. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Sturmvogel 66 -- Sturmvogel 66 (talk) 23:02, 2 April 2015 (UTC)

The 200 DYK Creation and Expansion Medal

		The 200 DYK Creation and Expansion Medal
		A little overdue I think, but congratulation on hitting the 200 mark! Your additions on Greek and Middle Eastern history are a boon to the encyclopedia. Well done! Harrias talk 09:28, 9 April 2015 (UTC)

Thanks a lot, much appreciated! :) Constantine ✍ 11:34, 9 April 2015 (UTC)

DYK for Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ali al-Madhara'i

The DYK project (nominate) 00:02, 10 April 2015 (UTC)

Gregory V

Hallo Costantine,
I hope that everything is ok for you in beautiful Vienna. :-) I just moved, and my books are still scattered around everywhere, in boxes, at office and in keller. :-) If you have time and lust, could you please comment my thread on the talk page of Gregory V of Constantinople? Since some days on this article is taking place an edit war for reasons which I don't fully understand, since what the source say is quite clear, but is the source reliable? Thsnks, Alex2006 (talk) 04:41, 10 April 2015 (UTC)

Hello Alessandro, things are going well, thanks. Καλορίζικο to your new home! I've added a few things in the article, as you have probably seen. I'll keep an eye out if there is any trouble. BTW, I was contacted by the local Byzantine institute on my map of Constantinople, and we are preparing a major revision. I'll keep you posted. Cheers, and regards to your wife! Constantine ✍ 11:06, 10 April 2015 (UTC)

Great, thanks! Of course, you will be always welcome, wherever you prefer to come, west, south or southeast. :-) Alex2006 (talk) 11:14, 10 April 2015 (UTC)

A new reference tool

Hello Books & Bytes subscribers. There is a new Visual Editor reference feature in development called Citoid. It is designed to "auto-fill" references using a URL or DOI. We would really appreciate you testing whether TWL partners' references work in Citoid. Sharing your results will help the developers fix bugs and improve the system. If you have a few minutes, please visit the testing page for simple instructions on how to try this new tool. Regards, MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 18:47, 10 April 2015 (UTC)

List of Byzantine usurpers

Hello Constantine, do you have any information (primary source) about "Manuel Komnenos (1201) – usurper in Lydia"? Thanks --217.83.28.58 (talk) 22:08, 13 April 2015 (UTC)

...and hopefully also about "John Kantakouzenos (1205–1209) – the archon of Methone, he established a breakaway regime at Messenia". It seems neither N. Choniates nor Villehardouin and the Chronicle of Morea mention him. Karl Hopf thought him to be the same person as the kaisar deposed by Isaac II in 1186. --217.83.17.27 (talk) 23:47, 19 April 2015 (UTC)

Hi! I have left my most relevant sources on this back in Greece, so I will answer with what little I remember or can find here: this Kantakouzenos is identified by modern scholars (I certainly read it in Savvides and Ilieva) with the "lord of Methone" who asked for Villehardouin's assistance in winter 1204/05. I don't know if a meaningful article can be written for him, but there is some stuff to go on. As for Manuel Komnenos, I really don't know anything about him and what is more, I cannot find anything about him; he was added by another user, and I feel that perhaps he should be removed. Constantine ✍ 21:29, 21 April 2015 (UTC)

Hello, thanks! Regarding Kantakouzenos, I am quite puzzled, because it is not him who Curta and Kalligas identify as Villehardouins Greek ally in Methone, but rather (Leo) Chamaretos (see Curta, Southeastern Europe, p. 375; Kalligas, Monemvasia, p. 26)--217.83.10.121 (talk) 19:56, 24 April 2015 (UTC)

Hi! Thanks for reminding me of this, I had quite forgotten that there was an identification with Chamaretos as well, although I have read both Curta and Kalligas. Well, I never said that all modern scholars agreed; there obviously exists room for many interpretations here. If Curta, as it seems, draws upon Bon's work on the Byzantine Peloponnese, then it is there that we should look for a discussion on this identification. Unfortunately, I don't have access to it. Constantine ✍ 20:20, 24 April 2015 (UTC)

DYK for Michael Dokeianos

 — Crisco 1492 (talk) 00:47, 14 April 2015 (UTC)

Semi-Arianism

Hello, Cplakidas - What do you think of the changes made to Semi-Arianism [5] (besides the spelling mistake)? CorinneSD (talk) 22:41, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

Hello CorinneSD . I am afraid I am rather ignorant in Christology and the correct terminology for such fine theological distinctions :(. However, as a matter of editing practice, if this is still supposed to be referenced from Britannica, it should follow the source; if it is not found in Britannica in this way, then a new source is required. Constantine ✍ 23:17, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

O.K. Thanks! CorinneSD (talk) 23:24, 15 April 2015 (UTC)

Byzantine ivory

Hi Constantine,

I came across this interesting Byzantine ivory, the group of soldiers at the bottom right shows some interesting features of equipment, particularly the egg-shaped helmets. Unfortunately the image does not have a date attached. Do you have any idea about a date for this? I feel it is probably 950-1050-ish. Urselius (talk) 14:36, 17 April 2015 (UTC)

Hi Urselius! I originally thought it to be Macedonian-era, but that goes to show that I know little about the finer points of Byzantine art: it is actually Palaiologan. Cheers, Constantine ✍ 15:19, 17 April 2015 (UTC)

Thanks, I'm very surprised by the date, though deliberate archaism is a repeating feature of Byzantine art. The armour is amazingly practical-looking, when you think of contemporary painted icons showing fantastical cuirasses. Urselius (talk) 13:48, 18 April 2015 (UTC)

Hermeticism

Hello, C - I just started reading the article on Hermeticism, and I was surprised to see "Trismegistus" translated as "Thrice-Great" since I had often seen it as "Thrice-Greatest" ("Thrice-Greatest Hermes"). Then I looked at the article on Hermes Trismegistus and saw that, right at the beginning of the article, "Hermes Trismegistus" is translated as "Thrice-Greatest Hermes". Shouldn't these two translations be consistent? CorinneSD (talk) 22:04, 17 April 2015 (UTC)

In the second paragraph of the article Hermeticism there is a list of writers. One of them is listed as "Thomas of Aquinas". Since I had never seen his name written like that, I clicked on the link to the article about him, and the name is given as Thomas Aquinas, or two alternatives, neither of which is "Thomas of Aquinas". What do you recommend? CorinneSD (talk) 22:08, 17 April 2015 (UTC)

In the last paragraph of Hermeticism#Late Antiquity, there is a term that has a red link: The Asclepius. Do you know if The Asclepius has anything to do with Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine? If it does, shouldn't it be mentioned in the article on Asclepius, and shouldn't the term The Asclepius be linked to the "Asclepius" article? CorinneSD (talk) 22:54, 17 April 2015 (UTC)

Hello CorinneSD! To my knowledge, it is definitely Thrice-Greatest, which is what the Greek name means after all. Thomas of Aquinas is pretty certainly Thomas Aquinas; someone mixed up the names, making "of Aquino" into "of Aquinas". I did not know of the Asclepius, but a search in Google Books suggests that there did indeed exist such a work on hermetic knowledge. It obviously has no relation with Asclepius, though. Cheers, Constantine ✍ 07:31, 18 April 2015 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of Abu'l-Aswar Shavur ibn Fadl

The article Abu'l-Aswar Shavur ibn Fadl you nominated as a good article has passed ; see Talk:Abu'l-Aswar Shavur ibn Fadl for comments about the article. Well done! If the article has not already been on the main page as an "In the news" or "Did you know" item, you can nominate it to appear in Did you know. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Sturmvogel 66 -- Sturmvogel 66 (talk) 12:41, 18 April 2015 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of Nikephoros Phokas Barytrachelos

Hi there, I'm pleased to inform you that I've begun reviewing the article Nikephoros Phokas Barytrachelos you nominated for GA-status according to the criteria. This process may take up to 7 days. Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments you might have during this period. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of West Virginian -- West Virginian (talk) 17:41, 21 April 2015 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of Nikephoros Phokas Barytrachelos

The article Nikephoros Phokas Barytrachelos you nominated as a good article has been placed on hold . The article is close to meeting the good article criteria, but there are some minor changes or clarifications needing to be addressed. If these are fixed within 7 days, the article will pass; otherwise it may fail. See Talk:Nikephoros Phokas Barytrachelos for things which need to be addressed. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of West Virginian -- West Virginian (talk) 18:01, 21 April 2015 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of Nikephoros Phokas Barytrachelos

The article Nikephoros Phokas Barytrachelos you nominated as a good article has passed ; see Talk:Nikephoros Phokas Barytrachelos for comments about the article. Well done! If the article has not already been on the main page as an "In the news" or "Did you know" item, you can nominate it to appear in Did you know. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of West Virginian -- West Virginian (talk) 21:41, 21 April 2015 (UTC)

Question about what a good article is

Hallo Costantine,
I have a question for you, and for one time it does not deal with the City and its surroundings :-), but has to do with your experience as Good Articles writer. According to you, this article, which got the GA status a couple of days ago, is a GA level article? If not, why? Thanks for your answer, Alex2006 (talk) 14:27, 23 April 2015 (UTC)

Hi Alex! Well, it meets the technical GA criteria, and as a bare-bones coverage it does touch on the topics one would expect from it. To my mind, however, it is woefully inadequate in terms of context, events leading to and following from the signing of the pact, etc. It should at least include a section on German and Italian foreign policy aims, German-Italian relations and increasing alignment before 1938, as well as after (for instance Italy's non-belligerence in the early part of WW2), its impact on German and Italian foreign policy/rearmament, as well as reactions by France, Britain and the minor countries of Europe. In terms of comprehensiveness of content, therefore, the article IMO fails even B-class criteria. Constantine ✍ 14:47, 23 April 2015 (UTC)

Hallo Constantine, I see that we share the same opinion: also for me the article ignores totally context (and which context! :-)), causes and consequences (which were devastating for Europe) of the pact. I will ask for a reassessment, thanks! Alex2006 (talk) 17:06, 23 April 2015 (UTC)

Wars involving Albania

It appears that Ujkrieger isn't conveiced about the "Arta flag", as well as other ones, and continues reverting by pretending that the images are well sourced.Alexikoua (talk) 12:41, 24 April 2015 (UTC)

Hi Alexi, I see that a source has been added. Can we have an English translation and see what it says? Constantine ✍ 20:30, 24 April 2015 (UTC)

As I see the source was already present in commons [[6]] it was just placed on a wrong field. Also the link to a forum, which appears to add some text of this work can hardly be considered of some value (postage stambs prove nothing close to historicity).Alexikoua (talk) 07:36, 25 April 2015 (UTC)

As I've imagined, nothing close to wp:rs supports the historicity of the images (and they are many in the case of medieval Balkan entities). They are just a modern-day artistic reconstruction. Alexikoua (talk) 09:43, 25 April 2015 (UTC)

Then it should be removed, as you did quite correctly. I'll keep an eye out myself. Constantine ✍ 20:52, 25 April 2015 (UTC)

The Bugle: Issue CIX, April 2015

Your Military History Newsletter Project news: From the editors; awards and honours; contest results Articles: Last month's new Featured and A-Class content Book reviews: Nick-D looks at the landing at Anzac Cove Op-ed: TomStar81 on the debut of poison gas in World War I Timeline: This month in World War I

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Wikipedia:WikiProject Intertranswiki

Hi, can I interest you and page stalkers in this project? For starting missing articles from other wikis. All about addressing systematic bias. If so put your name down on the project talk page and add a tick by your name. Even if not, at some point we'll do some Greek/Turkish stub of the week drives and will need your input on what is missing! I'm aware that other wikis the quality isn't always great for translation, but the idea really is to identify notable missing articles.♦ Dr. Blofeld 11:50, 3 May 2015 (UTC)

Hi Doctor! I am interested, and applaud the intention. I'll go ahead and add a few things that have caught my notic thus far. Cheers, --Constantine ✍ 12:58, 3 May 2015 (UTC)

Thankyou, you can use the directory pages of Wikipedia:WikiProject Intertranswiki/Greek to pick up any missing articles worthy of starting. All history articles go in Wikipedia:WikiProject Intertranswiki/Greek/History, you can also list any others not on other wikis you've been meaning to start for Greece too but list those in a section at the bottom. I've been meaning to do a bit on Greek films sometime too.♦ Dr. Blofeld 13:04, 3 May 2015 (UTC)

OK. As an aside, it might be worthwhile to use/update {{Interlanguage link}} to automatically add such missing articles to the relevant categories or lists. Constantine ✍ 13:08, 3 May 2015 (UTC)

Books and Bytes - Issue 11

The Wikipedia Library

Books & Bytes
Issue 11, March-April 2015
by The Interior (talk · contribs), Ocaasi (talk · contribs), Sadads (talk · contribs), Nikkimaria (talk · contribs)

• New donations - MIT Press Journals, Sage Stats, Hein Online and more
• New TWL coordinators, conference news, and new reference projects
• Spotlight: Two metadata librarians talk about how library professionals can work with Wikipedia

Read the full newsletter

MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 23:20, 4 May 2015 (UTC)

DYK for Husayn ibn Hamdan

Panyd^{The muffin is not subtle} 20:05, 5 May 2015 (UTC)

Isaak Doukas (Kersak)

Hello Constantine, are you able to - or do you know somebody who can - translate a Serbian text? I am interested in what B. Ferjancic, p. 188-189, writes about this Serbian sebastokrator who was the commander of Stefan Dusans cavalry. Would be great help! PDF is available online (www.4shared.com/web/preview/pdf/VM5DBf1nba). Greets --217.83.24.112 (talk) 19:38, 8 May 2015 (UTC)

Hi! Unfortunately, while I can guess at some Serbian through my knowledge of Russian, it is by far not enough to translate properly. You might want to ask established Serbian users with an interest in the period like User:Zoupan or User:Antidiskriminator, or post a request at Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Serbia. Cheers, Constantine ✍ 20:28, 8 May 2015 (UTC)

I will try to interpret the source.... It says (p188) ....

• The 14th century sources mention many people with the title of sebastcrator, though its not clear who gave them this title and when. The first who deserves to be mentioned is sebastocrator Kersak, known from Serbian documents. The charter, issued by King Stephen Dusan in 1345 in Ohrid monastery of Periplet, mentions "sebastocrator of Ohrid, a brother of our kingdom" and then explans that village Radokali was granted to monastery by "merciful nobleman of our kingdom, sebastocrator Kersak". This is usually interpreted that this charter describes one person while we have impression that they were two different persons, one who was sebastocrator of Ohrid referred to as "brother" by Dusan, and the other person to whom Dusan referres to only as his nobleman. ....Kersak's name is corruption of Kir Isak, made by serbian scribe. Mihailo Dinić pays attention to 1343 inscription which mentions certain Kir Nićifor Isak. Based on this, often overlooked, inscription which is important for determination of Serbian capture of Berat, Dinić concludes that Kir Nićifor Isak is Kersak mentioned in Dusan's charter. We (authors - AD) believe that this conclusion is correct, although double name version of Nicifor Isak was unusual in medieval greek onomastics. ...

On page 189 author(s) concluded that title of sebastocrator was given to Kersak by Byzantine emperor (not by Dusan, as it was assumed by some scholars, including Dinic) and that he already had this title when he switched sides and joined Dusan. High rank of this lower level nobleman is seen as evidence that title of sebastocrator was degraded.--Antidiskriminator (talk) 22:31, 8 May 2015 (UTC)

Euphrosyne Palaiologina

Καλησπερα, Cplakidas! How are you? Firstly, I want to thank you - I didn't know there is such template, so I "manually" put links. XD Do you maybe have a plan to write in near future about Euphrosyne Irene Palaiologina (hr)? You see, I'm little afraid to write about her, since I don't know very much (I'm not surprised - she is just usually mentioned in sources with her husband, probably because she was born out of her father's marriage). But you can put link on Croatian Wiki if you want, until you or I make the article (or someone else, of course!).--Miha (talk) 08:06, 9 May 2015 (UTC)

Καλημέρα (Καλησπέρα is for after 12 o'clock :))! I am fine, hopefully you as well :). I'll have a look into her and see what I can find, but if there isn't that much, then perhaps there shouldn't be an article. Constantine ✍ 08:28, 9 May 2015 (UTC)

Hi again! I've searched my sources, and she is only mentioned briefly as Michael VIII's illegitimate daughter who was married off to Nogai. Nothing else seems to be known of her, the PLP doesn't even have an entry on her. I've created a list at Euphrosyne Palaiologina instead, which lists the several women who bore the name, but who in all probability won't ever get an article as they are too obscure. Cheers, Constantine ✍ 13:24, 9 May 2015 (UTC)

Philotheou

Hi Cplakidas, do you happen to have photos of frescos from Philotheou monastery? There are two frescos of Georgian kings there and I found it hard to find any on the net and maybe you could help? Jaqeli 12:38, 9 May 2015 (UTC)

Hi! No, unfortunately I haven't yet found an opportunity to visit Athos. BTW, I am planning on beginning the translation of the Georgian scripts article into Greek, and would like some help regarding where the tone falls in the Georgian words (Asomtavruli, Nuskhuri, Mkhedruli, damts'erloba, Mrgvlovani, letter names, etc). I'd appreciate any help! Constantine ✍ 12:54, 9 May 2015 (UTC)

Ok. As for the Georgian scripts, of course I'll help but what exactly do you mean in "tone fall" in Georgian words? Jaqeli 13:04, 9 May 2015 (UTC)

I mean which syllables are stressed. Constantine ✍ 13:11, 9 May 2015 (UTC)

Georgian language does not have any. Jaqeli 13:15, 9 May 2015 (UTC)

Georgian does not have stress marks, but it certainly has stress. All languages do. Constantine ✍ 13:17, 9 May 2015 (UTC)

Georgian does not. Anyways, the stress is not that important I think with Georgian scripts. Jaqeli 13:38, 9 May 2015 (UTC)

I simply cannot believe that. No language is flat in its intonation. There must be some stress. Perhaps I am not making myself understood: I mean that, for instance, the Georgian president is known in Russian as Гео́ргий Маргвелашви́ли, with the acute marks showing where the name is stressed. Now I suppose that this follows Georgian pronunciation, and is not randomly invented by the Russians. That is what I need, because in Greek you simply cannot have transliterated words without the stress marks. Constantine ✍ 13:44, 9 May 2015 (UTC)

I understand but that's how it is. Georgian president გიორგი მარგველაშვილი is pronounced simply as გიორგი მარგველაშვილი without any stress. There is simply none. Jaqeli 13:51, 9 May 2015 (UTC)

Wow, OK. One learns something new every day :) I'll come back to you if I have specific questions. Constantine ✍ 13:55, 9 May 2015 (UTC)

Anytime. Jaqeli 13:58, 9 May 2015 (UTC)

Constantine, you're correct that Georgian is not flat in its intonation, but that doesn't mean it has stress. The intonation (prosody) is a feature of the phrase, not of the word. If you say a word in isolation, then it will have the intonation of the phrase, and you might think the first syllable is stressed. But if you put the same word in a phrase where some other word comes in front of it, then it will lose that stress. That is, the stress isn't part of the word, any more that when you ask a question in Russian, the tone is part of the word. (Yes, the word will be pronounced with question tone, but put another word after it in the question, and the tone will shift to that word.) — kwami (talk) 18:37, 9 May 2015 (UTC)

Aiantis

I just thought I'd bring it to your attention:

Nikodemus son of Xenokrates of Rhamnus took monies from the tribe while acting on insecure grounds i.e. illegally, amounting to 666 and 2/3 of a drachma. ref. MI Finley - Studies in Land and Credit in Ancient Athens, 500-200 B.C.: The Horos Inscriptions (p.93) Transaction Publishers (1st published 1953) ISBN 1412835356 [Retrieved 2015-04-18]

you deleted this, and also headings. The latter I think might have some reason, although you might have instead thought for yourself of better titles (being Greek as you are), but the former I'm some-what taken by the fact... you think financial wrong-doings in ancient Athens shouldn't be included? I know that isn't the answer but I don't know the answer, so, feel free to enlighten me as to why you think this information isn't worthwhile for inclusion, or I might just return it to the article. That would be the reasonable choice of anyone, especially since you wrote no edit summary, which obvs. leaves me with no clue what-so-ever for your reasoning. Hmmm, I could guess.... you were related to him??? no?? I don't know. Anyway, please tell me why you deleted this info. Thanks! Whalestate (talk) 21:29, 12 May 2015 (UTC)

Hi! Well, regarding the headings, having headings for one-sentence paragraphs is rather redundant. As for the deleted info, it is not encyclopaedic. Wikipedia aims to include all human knowledge, but there is a limit to what is notable and what not. How does this info further our knowledge of the tribe? It doesn't. It is only tangentially related, and with zero historical significance. It might belong in an article on this Nikodemos, if there were more info about him, or in an article on embezzlement and law in ancient Attica, but here it was simply a bit of trivia. Constantine ✍ 21:55, 12 May 2015 (UTC)

In lew of your comment(s) at ANI

...I thought you might enjoy this humorous clip which essentially and rather accurately sums up the entire editorial and material problem in less than 60 seconds :) TomStar81 (Talk) 09:59, 15 May 2015 (UTC)

Hah, yes indeed. If, as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words, a cartoon clip is sometimes worth an entire book :). Seriously though, I have yet to meet a German who would actually say and believe all that, whereas in Italy, you can buy wines with the Duce's face on them at tourist shops in Rome and then listen to your taxi driver go on on how they fought the Germans during the Resistance... I know that there is a whole sociopolitical background story to this and that different parts of Italian society claim different parts of the war's legacy, but still, I am not the only Greek (or Serb, Albanian, or Libyan, I suspect) to find this rather irritating. Constantine ✍ 11:38, 15 May 2015 (UTC)

The Bugle: Issue CX, May 2015

Your Military History Newsletter Project news: From the editors; awards and honours; contest results Articles: Last month's new Featured and A-Class content Book review: Recent external reviews Op-ed: TomStar81 and Simon Harley on the sinking of the Lusitania Timeline: This month in World War I

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Michael II Komnenos Doukas

Hi, Cplakidas. I have a question, is about this ruler. Which was his real name, because in medieval lands, it is named Constantine and he was the successor of Michael and not Theodore. Please help me with this doubt.

Baptized as Constantine, he was known as Michael after the death of his father, whom he succeeded in [1215] as Lord of Epirus, under the guardianship of his uncle Theodore who exiled him with his mother to Peloponnesos and seized the lordship.

A greeting. Kardam (talk) 03:03, 22 May 2015 (UTC)

The article is accurate that he was exiled after his father's death, and only succeeded to the throne of Epirus after Theodore's death. But AFAIK there was no tutelage of Theodore over him, nor can I find a source about him being baptized Constantine. Polemis' study on the Doukai states that Constantine was a legitimate son, who probably died as a child before 1215. In general, don't put too much reliance on Medieval Lands. It draws upon primary sources, but almost completely ignores modern scholarship. Constantine ✍ 16:09, 22 May 2015 (UTC)

Understood and thanks by respond. Kardam (talk) 22:39, 22 May 2015 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad ibn al-Ash'ath

Hi there, I'm pleased to inform you that I've begun reviewing the article Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad ibn al-Ash'ath you nominated for GA-status according to the criteria. This process may take up to 7 days. Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments you might have during this period. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Sturmvogel 66 -- Sturmvogel 66 (talk) 19:01, 22 May 2015 (UTC)

Quixotic plea

You are invited to join the discussion at Wikipedia talk:Wikipediholism test. Thanks. — {{U|Technical 13}} (e • t • c) 04:44, 23 May 2015 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of Battle of Apamea

Hi there, I'm pleased to inform you that I've begun reviewing the article Battle of Apamea you nominated for GA-status according to the criteria. This process may take up to 7 days. Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments you might have during this period. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Ian Rose -- Ian Rose (talk) 13:01, 25 May 2015 (UTC)

Egypt in the late antiquity

Hello mate! I was wondering, when did the Sasanians really lose control of Egypt? on some sources it says 628, while on others it say 630 and so on. Since you have a great knowledge of these kind of things, I was wondering if you could help me with this little problem. --HistoryofIran (talk) 13:18, 26 May 2015 (UTC)

Hi! IIRC, there is no explicit information on this. It is assumed that the Persians withdrew as part of the deal Shahrbaraz made with Heraclius after he turned against Khosrau, so it is generally placed in 629 (at least both Kaegi and Howard-Johnston, possibly the two major contemporary experts on the period, seem to agree on this). Constantine ✍ 14:21, 26 May 2015 (UTC)

Appreciate it mate, thanks. --HistoryofIran (talk) 14:30, 26 May 2015 (UTC)

My pleasure :). Constantine ✍ 22:15, 26 May 2015 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of Tzachas

Hi there, I'm pleased to inform you that I've begun reviewing the article Tzachas you nominated for GA-status according to the criteria. This process may take up to 7 days. Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments you might have during this period. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Tomandjerry211 -- Tomandjerry211 (talk) 21:41, 26 May 2015 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of Battle of Apamea

The article Battle of Apamea you nominated as a good article has passed ; see Talk:Battle of Apamea for comments about the article. Well done! If the article has not already been on the main page as an "In the news" or "Did you know" item, you can nominate it to appear in Did you know. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Ian Rose -- Ian Rose (talk) 23:41, 26 May 2015 (UTC)

Excellent Job

I loved the Article "Abbasid invasion of Asia Minor" in 806, your work is magnificent and motivates me to create articles like it in the future. RussianDewey (talk)

Hi RussianDewey, and thank you for your kind words. It is good to see one's work appreciated! Best regards, Constantine ✍ 09:42, 27 May 2015 (UTC)

Eshmun

Hello, C - Just wondered whether this edit to Eshmun was correct: [7]. CorinneSD (talk) 22:52, 29 May 2015 (UTC)

Hi! IMO yes, it replaces a link to the person after whom the site is named with the site itself; definitely an improvement in terms of context. Cheers, Constantine ✍ 17:54, 30 May 2015 (UTC)

Aorist

C - I don't know whether you have any interest in, or knowledge about, this, but I thought I'd ask anyway:

I was reading about Georgian grammar, and got to the article on Aorist. In that article there is a paragraph about Aorist#Hermeneutic implications. I then went to the article on Hermeneutics. Do you think it would be a good idea to add information about the aorist verb form to the article about Hermaneutics, with regard to the difficulties of translating the Greek New Testament into Latin or modern Western languages? I don't really know how to do it, so feel free to do this if and when you want to. I just thought you might be interested in this. CorinneSD (talk) 23:02, 29 May 2015 (UTC)

Hi CorinneSD! No, I am afraid I don't have an opinion on this, or enough knowledge to form (an educated) one. Constantine ✍ 17:53, 30 May 2015 (UTC)

O.K. Thanks! CorinneSD (talk) 00:54, 31 May 2015 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of Battle of Alexandretta

Hi there, I'm pleased to inform you that I've begun reviewing the article Battle of Alexandretta you nominated for GA-status according to the criteria. This process may take up to 7 days. Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments you might have during this period. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of West Virginian -- West Virginian (talk) 20:41, 30 May 2015 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of Battle of Alexandretta

The article Battle of Alexandretta you nominated as a good article has been placed on hold . The article is close to meeting the good article criteria, but there are some minor changes or clarifications needing to be addressed. If these are fixed within 7 days, the article will pass; otherwise it may fail. See Talk:Battle of Alexandretta for things which need to be addressed. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of West Virginian -- West Virginian (talk) 21:01, 30 May 2015 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of Battle of Alexandretta

The article Battle of Alexandretta you nominated as a good article has passed ; see Talk:Battle of Alexandretta for comments about the article. Well done! If the article has not already been on the main page as an "In the news" or "Did you know" item, you can nominate it to appear in Did you know. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of West Virginian -- West Virginian (talk) 13:41, 31 May 2015 (UTC)

Trifão de Constantinopla

Constantine, thanks for the correction in our Portuguese version of this article. I'm learning Greek and Latin nowadays, but I still make mistakes with their declination rules.--Renato de carvalho ferreira (talk) 09:39, 4 June 2015 (UTC)

Hi Renato! No worries :). Cheers, Constantine ✍ 09:47, 4 June 2015 (UTC)

Despot (court title)

Any opinion on whether this page would be better titled Despot (Byzantine title)? Srnec (talk) 00:44, 5 June 2015 (UTC)

Hi Srnec! TBH, given the title's (albeit limited) use by other states as well, I feel it is best left in its current title. Constantine ✍ 06:22, 5 June 2015 (UTC)

Greek inscription

Hi Cplakidas, can you please tell what is written here in Greek? Jaqeli 09:21, 5 June 2015 (UTC)

It is rather archaic and idiomatic, but I'll try:

"The glorious king's son Amazaspos,
of king Mithridates the brother,
whose native land lies next to the Caspian Gates,
Iberian, son of an Iberian, here lies,
[in this] sacred (?) city, which Nikator [I guess Seleucus I] founded,
on the olive-rich (?) both banks of Mygdon river,
he died as follower of the leader of the Ausones [i.e. Romans],
the king/ruler who campaigned against Parthia,
before his hands sullied with enemies blood (?),
brave the hands with the spear and the bow
and the sword's teeth, on foot and on horse,
[while] looking like chaste maidens.

I hope it helps! Constantine ✍ 10:07, 5 June 2015 (UTC)

Thank you. Can you please also write the whole text in Greek? Jaqeli 10:32, 5 June 2015 (UTC)

Here you are:

Ὁ κλεινὸς ἷνις βασιλέως Ἀμαζάσπος
ὁ Μιθριδάτου βασιλέως κασίγνητος,
ᾧ γαῖα πατρ[ὶ]ς Κασπίας παρὰ κλῄθρας,
Ἴβηρ Ἴβηρος, ἐνθαδὶ τετάρχυται
πόλιν παρ' ἰρήν, ἢν ἒδειμε Νικάτωρ
ἐλαιόθηλον ἀμφὶ Μυγδόνος νᾶμα·
θάν[ε]ν δ' ὀπαδός Αὐσόνων ἁγήτορι
μολὼν ἄνακ[τι Π]αρθικην ἐφ' ὑσμίνην,
πρίν περ παλά[ξ]αι χεῖρα δηίῳ λύθρωι,
ἵφθιμον αἰᾶι χεῖρα δουρὶ κα[ὶ τ]όξω[ι]
καὶ φασγάνου κνώδοντι , πεζὸς ἱπ[πεύς τε·]
ὁ δ'αὐτὸς ἷσος παρθένοισιν αἰδοίαις.
I hope I haven't missed any diacritics. Cheers, --Constantine ✍ 18:10, 5 June 2015 (UTC)

DYK for Battle of Apamea

 — Chris Woodrich (talk) 13:51, 5 June 2015 (UTC)

Byzantine Italy

Hi, for intertranswiki Round 19 can you find me 10 missing articles from Byzantine Italy, you might look here or from personal reference books or whatever. if you could help create a few it would be great too!♦ Dr. Blofeld 12:20, 7 June 2015 (UTC)

Not interested?♦ Dr. Blofeld 20:26, 8 June 2015 (UTC)

Hi Dr.! Byzantine Italy is not really my strong suit. If you want to postpone it a while and give me a little time to check up on my sources, however, I can come up with something. Cheers, Constantine ✍ 20:29, 8 June 2015 (UTC)

Thanks

Yeah that was my fault..thought for one sec I was editing the Second invasion, not the First one. That's what you can get if you edit with your phone. Hah

- LouisAragon (talk) 15:03, 9 June 2015 (UTC)

@LouisAragon: no worries, it happens. Cheers, Constantine ✍ 15:19, 9 June 2015 (UTC)

Ragnaris

Hi, Cplakidas. I recently created a stub on Ragnaris. As you've created several quality articles on figures of the Gothic War (Indulf etc), i figured notifying you could be useful i you're interesting in expanding the Ragnaris article. Krakkos (talk) 23:02, 9 June 2015 (UTC)

Nice work on Ragnaris. I've also created articles on Coccas, Valaris, Scipuar, Gibal and Asbadus if you're interested in improving them. Krakkos (talk) 19:43, 10 June 2015 (UTC)

Thanks for the heads up (and for creating them in the first place)! I'll go over them gradually, I am currently in the middle of rather too many projects :). Constantine ✍ 19:56, 10 June 2015 (UTC)

Nice work on the above-mentioned articles! I recently created the related Battle of Treviso. This battle seems to have been something of a turning point so you might want to take a look :). Krakkos (talk) 14:57, 14 June 2015 (UTC)

Thanks. I'll give it a look, but don't expect too much soon. I am in the middle of half a dozen different projects in WP, not to mention real life. I hope some day to find time to rewrite the Gothic War article, and the corresponding battle articles. There is certainly enough material to make a nice featured topic out of it just by copying Bury, but there are also quite a few nice recent studies (Amory is one of them) on the war itself, on Justinian, the Goths, etc. If and when I get around to it, I hope I can invite you to join in! Cheers, Constantine ✍ 20:09, 14 June 2015 (UTC)

Re: A small award

Thanks! -- llywrch (talk) 23:26, 10 June 2015 (UTC)

Eastern Roman or Byzantine?

I am being accused of "nonconstructive editing" because I had changed early Byzantine emperors (Arcadius to Phocas) from Byzantine to Eastern Roman. The reason why I did this because they ruled at a time when the Eastern/Byzantine Empire still bore a strong resemblance to the Roman Empire of classical antiquity. The Eastern Empire itself would've ended in 610 AD. That's when Heraclius switched the court language from Latin to Greek and reformed the military and administrative divisions from obviously Roman to what are now seen as Byzantine. What existed from thereon was Byzantium. Would you agree with me to refer to the Byzantine Empire before 610 AD as "Eastern Roman Empire"? --Miss Paris Slue (talk) 02:25, 11 June 2015 (UTC)

The consensus position is to use Byzantine Empire for the period beginning 330 (see, e.g., Talk:Byzantine_Empire#Lead.2C_again). This was a long and divisive dispute causing instability across numerous pages. Please accept the consensus and stop making these changes. Laszlo Panaflex (talk) 03:48, 11 June 2015 (UTC)

@Miss Paris Slue: Laszlo Panaflex summed it up better than I could. It is a frequently recurring issue, but consensus both in Wikipedia and, more importantly, in the academic world and in published works is to use "Byzantine", not "Eastern Roman". This is no absolute rule; exceptions can be made when the context is clearly within Late Antiquity, but for the emperors at least, where there is a clear line of continuity between 330 and 1453, "Byzantine" should be used. Constantine ✍ 14:14, 11 June 2015 (UTC)

Still, 330/395 - 1453 doesn't make much sense to me. From the wikipedia page 610, "[Heraclius's] first major act is to change the official language of the Eastern Roman Empire from Latin to Greek (already the language of the vast majority of the population). Because of this, after AD 610 the Empire is customarily referred to as the Byzantine Empire." Therefore, I'm thinking we should use 610 as the end of the classical (Eastern) Roman Empire and the beginning of the Middle Ages Byzantine Empire. --Miss Paris Slue (talk) 01:46, 12 June 2015 (UTC)

This statement is oversimplified and rather misleading. Heraclius' reign does present a watershed in Byzantine history, but not so much due to the language issue; that was simply a convenient excuse for (mostly 19th-century) historians who wanted to show that the Byzantines were really Greeks and could not claim to be "Roman" (remember that the Roman Empire was the model for most European empires up to the early 20th century) as they did not speak Latin (conveniently overlooking that already under Justinian, most of the laws, one of the last preserves of Latin language in the East, were issued in Greek; but Justinian was accounted a great ruler and so had to be "Roman" rather than a decadent Byzantine ;)). In reality, Heraclius' reign was important due to the Muslim conquests, which shattered the late antique world. Indeed it is true that the "classical" Byzantine Empire, a much reduced medieval state different in extent, society, economy, state and military structures, even worldview, from the late antique one, emerged after Heraclius. But this was a very gradual process, and the strands of continuity are too many to mark a "clean break" in 395, 476, 910, 641 or any other such date (the great J. B. Bury for instance included the emperors up to Irene of Athens in the "late Roman" period). Customarily, in historiography as well as academia, the foundation of Constantinople marks the beginning of the Byzantine period; certainly until 395, one can still write of "Roman" emperors/state/etc. pure and simply without confusion; indeed there are a number of authors who like to make the point of extending the "Roman" label all the way up to 1453. After 395 "Eastern Roman" can be used, but for all intents and purposes, "Eastern Roman"="Byzantine". Which is why you'll find Justinian's face on so many books with "Byzantine" in their title :). Anyhow, as to the labelling of the emperors, it has long been agreed to stick to "Byzantine" after 395, to avoid confusion since a) as I said, the two terms are more or less coterminous, and b) the distinction is largely one made by some modern authors for their own purposes, as it implies a moment in time where the Byzantine state ceased being "Roman" and became something else, "Byzantine". That being said, if the context warrants it, then "Eastern Roman" or plain "Roman" may be used; for instance, in the Vandalic War, I have used "[Eastern] Roman" throughout, as it IMO better fits the setting: the Romans of Justinian were attempting to recover what the Romans had once held, within thew context of the still largely Romanized late antique Mediterranean world. Constantine ✍ 08:53, 12 June 2015 (UTC)

Miss Paris Slue. I'd like to amend. For the emperor's pages, I would place Justinian as the first "Byzantine Emperor" (for his many major reforms, as well as huge building constructions and reconquests), while I'd have Byzantine Emperors from Arcadius until Justin I labeled as "Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire." What do you think? --Miss Paris Slue (talk) 23:47, 13 June 2015 (UTC)

Well, no. That is precisely the point: there is no neat cut-off point, and us trying to pinpoint one is WP:OR, especially when the scholars themselves disagree on it. To put it simply: a man born in Ephesus or Alexandria in 500 who lived until 570 would have been surprised to learn that he had been born an "Eastern Roman" but died a "Byzantine". These are modern distinctions, and hence best not used too much. Constantine ✍ 09:13, 14 June 2015 (UTC)

I'd still say the Eastern Empire lasted until 610 AD. Not only did Heraclius change the official language to Greek, he also changed the administrative and military divisions from what is seen as "Roman" to what is seen now as "Byzantine." The legions and provinces were replaced with themes and themata. FWIW, you should also check out Timeline of the Roman Empire, it lists the Eastern Empire as 395 until 610 (" the transition in the East in 610.") --Miss Paris Slue (talk) 20:06, 14 June 2015 (UTC)

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Good books

Hey Constantine,

The two PDF books at this site, which I'm sure you're already familiar with, are about Abbasid Samarra and seem like they'd be right up your alley. There's not really much that can be done with the maps since they're in copyright, but they're great for fleshing out in one's mind what the city actually looked like. Hope you like them! Ro4444 (talk) 22:32, 15 June 2015 (UTC)

Hi! Thanks, I knew about the first volume, but not the pdf version, nor the second one! It is nice to see that they are made freely available. They will be interesting to read, and perhaps lead in due time to an expansion on our Samarra article. BTW, on maps, I am pretty certain that if you do not copy them one to one, you can use them even if they are copyrighted to create your own maps, as long as you reference them properly. Cheers, Constantine ✍ 06:02, 16 June 2015 (UTC)

Eastern Roman vs. Byzantine

No, please don't change Eastern Roman back to Byzantine on the pages for early byzantine emperors (Arcadius to Phocas). Not only did Heraclius change the official language to Greek, he also changed the administrative and military divisions from what is seen as "Roman" to what is seen now as "Byzantine." The legions and provinces were replaced with themes and themata. FWIW, you should also check out Timeline of the Roman Empire, it lists the Eastern Empire as 395 until 610 (" the transition in the East in 610.") --Miss Paris Slue (talk) 15:17, 18 June 2015 (UTC)

Miss Paris Slue, what you have written right now about Heraclius is nonsense: the legions had mostly ceased to be the core of the army since the 4th century, and the "classical" Byzantine administrative structure (I suppose you mean the themes) is now agreed to have been introduced by his successors, and to only have permanently superseded the old provinces sometime in the 9th century. I am under the impression that you know nothing of Byzantine history except what you have (selectively) read on Wikipedia, and while several of our articles on Byzantine history are good, they are no substitute for reading up from actual scholarly works. Go read a few actual books on the matter, and then perhaps we can have a discussion. In the meantime, unless you want to get permanently blocked, please stop wasting my time, your time, and the time of everybody else involved on a matter of terminology that is disputed, ultimately of little import, and does not contribute to making Wikipedia better. Constantine ✍ 16:50, 18 June 2015 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of Tzachas

The article Tzachas you nominated as a good article has passed ; see Talk:Tzachas for comments about the article. Well done! If the article has not already been on the main page as an "In the news" or "Did you know" item, you can nominate it to appear in Did you know. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Tomandjerry211 -- Tomandjerry211 (talk) 19:21, 20 June 2015 (UTC)

Gregory of Dekapolis

Hello Constantine, what's up? Congratulations for another well succeeded nomination. I suppose it is another for your hundreds of good articles. But well, talking now about a problem. Do you have any source or do you know anywhere to find a source that says that Gregory of Dekapolis was a studite? According to Joseph the Hymnographer's article, Gregory was and studite and invited him to be a monk there because of his rare character. I can't find any source for this, and the Joseph's article doesn't have any source too.--Renato de carvalho ferreira (talk) 02:53, 22 June 2015 (UTC)

Hi Renato, I am well, and thanks for your kind words. I hope everything is fine on your side as well :) As to your question, the article on Gregory is pretty clear (and I re-checked the sources to be sure): he was not a Studite, but lived in Thessalonica, where Joseph was his pupil. I've had a look at the PmbZ's article on Joseph, and there is nothing on being a Studite either. Cheers, Constantine ✍ 17:02, 22 June 2015 (UTC)

Taking advantage of our conversation I ask, do you know anywhere to download the PDF of PmbZ? I have the work for the Palaeologus's period and the 4 volumes of The Prosopography of Later Roman Empire, but I still need this one to continue creating more articles about this time.--Renato de carvalho ferreira (talk) 19:16, 23 June 2015 (UTC)

There is no link I know of. The first set of volumes is partially available on Google Books, but now I have access through the University of Vienna to the entire work. If you need any specific articles, let me know and I'll send them to you. Cheers, Constantine ✍ 20:08, 23 June 2015 (UTC)

Thanks for the support. For now I have no intention to use it, because I have another red links that I would like to create first, including a lot of articles that you created or expanded for the last months. I try to follow your path but you are really fast! I still have lots of articles with red links to solve and I also have to conclude pt:Teodorico Estrabão that I expanded and now nominated to featured article. And I still have to discover how to expand this svg map that I created without destroying it. The letters are really small and it's impossible to read it. Everything I tried didn't work indeed.--Renato de carvalho ferreira (talk) 02:26, 24 June 2015 (UTC)

My pleasure. On the svg, provided it contains no raster images, you can simply select all elements across all layers, group them and increase size (while keeping ration locked). That should do the trick. For the rest, there's no hurry to finish  :). I too don't have nearly as much time as I'd like to edit here... Constantine ✍ 09:57, 24 June 2015 (UTC)

The Bugle: Issue CXI, June 2015

Your Military History Newsletter Project news: From the editors; awards and honours; contest results Articles: Last month's new Featured and A-Class content Book review: Recent external reviews Op-ed: TomStar81 on the new technology of World War I Timeline: This month in World War I

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If you are a project member who does not want delivery, please remove your name from this page. Your editors, Ian Rose (talk) and Nick-D (talk) 13:38, 23 June 2015 (UTC)

Lygos

Hallo Constantine, I hope that you are doing well in Felix Austria, especially now that it is summer. :-) We just spent two weeks in Rome, full of sun, fermenting garbage (because of the sun), sea gulls (because of the fermenting garbage) and illegal immigrants (the connection with the sea gulls is obscure :-))). A question for you: a new user changed everywhere the name "Lygos" (the Tracian settlement on Sarayburnu) to "Ligos", and wrote a stub about it. Do you know this spelling? All my sources (Janin & co.) report the "y", so I changed his edits back. I googled and could see that Ligos is the name of a bunch of restaurants in Istanbul... :-)

P.S. Last week we saw the movie "A touch of spice" (Politiki Kouzina) and, can you believe it? My wife kept weeping the whole day...She told me that the movie is wonderful and brought her back to her childhood. Fazit: Greci e Turchi, una faccia, una razza! :-) Cheers, Alex2006 (talk) 04:57, 26 June 2015 (UTC)

Hello Alex, nice to hear from you! Things are well here in felix Austria, although rather busy (end of semester, lots to do). No holidayn for me yet, although there is a nice trip to Crete planned for late August/early September. On the settlement, it is definitely Lygos, and I think it was Pliny who first mentioned it (?). On the movie, I know it well; it was a major success when it was shown, and was quite an enjoyable movie, but the impact among the people who have actually lived in the City (like my uncle) was something else entirely. My best greetings to you and your wife (and I hope she is happy with the election outcome :)). Constantine ✍ 14:54, 26 June 2015 (UTC)

Very good, I will move the article then, after informing the creator. Of course we are both very happy, but it will be a long way, until Turkey will be free of these thugs...At least we saw that they cannot change the outcome of an election. :-) The movie is very poetic, but maybe not 100% faithful to the reality, that`s why the refugees did not like it...Did you see what is going out right now in Greece? I always believed that an agreement would have been possible, I don`t understand who is right and who is wrong. Italy borrowed 40 Billion €, I think that the money is lost. :-( Cheers from sunny Zurich Alex2006 (talk) 17:25, 27 June 2015 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of Michael I Komnenos Doukas

Hi there, I'm pleased to inform you that I've begun reviewing the article Michael I Komnenos Doukas you nominated for GA-status according to the criteria. This process may take up to 7 days. Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments you might have during this period. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Calvin999 -- Calvin999 (talk) 19:40, 26 June 2015 (UTC)

Your GA nomination of Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad ibn al-Ash'ath

The article Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad ibn al-Ash'ath you nominated as a good article has passed ; see Talk:Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad ibn al-Ash'ath for comments about the article. Well done! If the article has not already been on the main page as an "In the news" or "Did you know" item, you can nominate it to appear in Did you know. Message delivered by Legobot, on behalf of Sturmvogel 66 -- Sturmvogel 66 (talk) 16:21, 27 June 2015 (UTC)

Talk:Latin_Emperor#Problems_with_Article_Names

I see you moved back Henry of Flanders. There was a short discussion (in which I didn't participate) before an editor boldly moved all the Latin emperors. Srnec (talk) 23:37, 28 June 2015 (UTC)

Agapis Agonas Agonos

Is it my opinion only or there is a racism towards non-American and non-British cultural and entertainment content? If this article is to be deleted then there also aother unimportant articles, such as Peirce Geodetic Monument which is only a short column installed in an american university and is included only because it has documentation sources. --Amblitude (talk) 19:45, 29 June 2015 (UTC)

There is a WP:SYSTEMICBIAS, yes, but "racism" it is not. Seriously now, an episode from a Greek TV series is not what an encyclopedia should be about. Wikipedia did use once to contain lots of this stuff, but there was a collective decision that too much trivia and pop culture are unencyclopaedic. Constantine ✍ 20:09, 29 June 2015 (UTC)