Albert von Buxthoeven was born around 1165. He had an elder brother named Hermann and his uncle was Hartwig von Utlede, who became Archbishop of Hamburg-Bremen in 1184. Hartwig von Utlede appears to have had close ties with the Saxon Duke, Heinrich der Löwe. 1/10
The period saw merchants from Bremen and Lübeck, another city under the influence of Heinrich der Löwe, develop bases among the Baltic tribes. As their influence increased, Archbishop Hartwig extended his Archbishopric to the Baltic consecrating Meinhard as Bishop of Üxküll. 2/10
Heinrich der Löwe had an on and off tussle with the Holy Roman Emperor, which also had an impact on Archbishop Hartwig's fortunes. By the end of the century, the brothers, Albert and Hermann, appear to have joined the clergy under their uncle. 3/10
In 1199, Albert von Buxthoeven was appointed the new Bishop of Üxküll. He quickly realized the untenable position of his post, and a sought a stronger base. Together with merchants from Gotland, he founded a more defendable base nearer to the sea - Riga. 4/10
He then brought in armed reinforcements from Germany and founded Schwertbrüderorden (Order of the Brothers of the Sword), later known as the Livonian Order. The Livonians were a Finnic tribe prominent in the region and were the first to face the brunt of attack by the Order. 5/10
But pretty soon, the Order gained control of the neighbouring tribes as well. In 1209, they plundered the Latgalian Principality of Jersika, which had close ties with the Rus' Principality of Polotsk. It would be later divided between the Order and the Archbishopric. 6/10
In 1225, Emperor Heinrich confirmed Albert and his brother, Hermann, as Princes of the Empire. Hermann von Buxthoeven had become the Bishop of Dorpat, which ventured further north from Albert's province. The Livonian Order also controlled a large part of the Baltic as well. 7/10
Bishop Albert died in 1229, when the Livonian Order still held a strong sway over the Baltics. But they suffered a severe setback in 1236 when an attack on Samogitians, a Lithuanian tribe, was defeated with the help of Semigallians. Most of the Order's soldiers were killed. 8/10
Soon, the various tribes of Lithuanians united under Mindaugus to fight the Order. The broken Order merged with the Teutonic Order to become an autonomous branch. The Teutonic Order controlled regions further south in the Baltics. 9/10
The Livonian Confederation collapsed in 1561 and was divided by its neighbours. Courland and Livonia survived for a while as independent duchies, while Riga lasted as an imperial city for two decades before falling to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. 10/10
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
Hermann von Salza was born around 1165 in Thuringia, Holy Roman Empire (Germany). Not much is known about his early years, though he may have taken part in the Siege of Acre in 1189, where the Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed. 1/10
The Order was started by merchants from Lübeck and Bremen to provide medical support for the wounded in the siege. In 1197, Emperor Heinrich raised German knights for battle in the Levant. The Landgrave of Thuringia was among those that answered the call. 2/10
When the Romans made their calendar, it started with March and had only ten months. The second King of Rome is traditionally attributed to have added January and February.
That change was brought about by the fifth King of Rome, who oddly did not change the numerically named September, October etc. to match the rearranged calendar. 3/4
Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma was born in 1706 to Karthika Thirunal and Raghava Varma. His mother was the sister of Rama Varma, who became King of Venad in 1721. Venad was one of the many successor states of the Chera Kingdom in the South West of the Indian subcontinent. 1/10
Protected by the Western Ghats in its east, the Cheras had flourished till the 12th century. After its collapse, many city states with varying power over its neighbours had come up, with the southernmost Ay Kingdom breaking away and forging connections with the Pandyas. 2/10
India will never recognize the capacity of its citizens. Now it is the time for @socialepfo 🤷
Managed to reach till Step 8 and then instead of receiving OTP gets redirected to Aadhar site for a Virtual ID. But once that is entered, EPFO becomes non-responsive. Same process has continued multiple times. 🤦
Very odd day. Site seems to be working okay overall now. But not much luck in getting the last step done, though other things appear to be working fine. Even managed to change the intended nomination. The date appears to have been extended thankfully.
François-Dominique Toussaint Bréda was born around 1743. His father or grandfather may have been Gaou Guinou, a Prince of the Kingdom of Ardra in the African continent. Gaou Guinou was captured, perhaps during a civil war, and sold as a slave in the Caribbean. 1/10
Toussaint grew up in the French colony of Saint-Domingue, which was on the western part of the island of Hispaniola. Earlier dominated by the Spanish, Hispaniola's western part had become dominated by the French in the 17th century, who formally acquired it in 1697. 2/10
Salvador Correia de Sá e Benevides was born in 1594 to Martim de Sá and Marie de Mendoza Benevides. His maternal family were prominent nobles of Cadiz in Spain, while his paternal ancestors played a significant role in Portuguese Brazil. 1/10
In 1565, Estácio de Sá had founded Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. Both Salvador's father and grandfather, Salvador de Sá, had been Governors of Rio de Janeiro on different occasions and the younger Salvador followed them becoming Governor of the southern captaincies of Brazil. 2/10