“I have overcome the world!”

Did he liberate the world from Roman slavery? Did he overcome death? Did he marry the Helen of the Democratic Greeks who were also Aboltionist like Jesus, and thus the bitter enemies of Rome, and Paul of Tarsus, the Roman citizen who persecuted the first church – even in Greece?

I Jon the Nazarite, have solved the riddle of the ages! Jesus founded a Democracy that Paul overcame.

We have ovecome!

Jon Presco

Copyright 2011

The origins of Roses (Greek: Rhode) are disputed. A popular theory holds it was founded in the 8th century BC by Greek colonists from Rhodes. It seems more probable, however, that it was founded in the 5th century BC by Greeks from Massalia (Marseilles), perhaps with an admixture of colonists from neighbouring Emporion (today’s Empúries). Remains of the Greek settlement can still be seen. Remains from the Roman period go back to the 2nd century BC and continue well into Christian times with a paleochristian church and necropolis. After the collapse of Roman power the town seems to have been abandoned, but a fortified settlement from the Visigothic period has been excavated on the nearby Puig Rom.

The monastery of Santa Maria de Roses is mentioned for the first time in a document of the year 944. Around this monastery grew the mediaeval town of Roses, which fell under the shared jurisdiction of the abbots of Santa Maria de Roses and the counts of Empúries. In 1402 the county of Empúries was incorporated in the Crown of Aragon and Roses acquired the right to organize its own municipal governmentand the economy

[edit] Fortification
The Castell de la Trinitat.In the first decades of the 16th century Roses suffered repeatedly from attacks by privateers from North Africa. To counter this threat, Charles V ordered the construction of extensive fortifications in 1543. In spite of these precautions, a naval squadron led by the Turkish admiral Barbarossa attacked and plundered the town some months later. After substantial revisions, the fortifications were completed in 1553, under Charles’s son Philip II. The entire medieval town was now enclosed by a bastioned pentagonal wall (illustration, below). The defensive system was supplemented by the Castell de la Trinitat, some 2.5 km to the east. The town received a permanent military garrison, which changed its character profoundly. To minimise friction between the citizenry and the soldiers, barracks were constructed, but this did not prevent a gradual movement of part of the population outside the walls, where the modern town of Roses now is.

In the following centuries the fortifications were severely tested. In 1645, during the Catalan Revolt, French troops besieged Roses and captured it. The Treaty of the Pyrenees (1659) restored the town to Spain.

In 1693, during the War of the Grand Alliance the French captured the town again. This time the French occupation lasted until the Peace of Ryswick in 1697. In 1712, during the War of the Spanish Succession, Austrian troops tried to take the city, but were driven off. In 1719, during the War of the Quadruple Alliance, the French again attacked, and but failed to take Roses.

City of Reus (Catalonia, Spain)
Tarragona Province
Last modified: 2010-03-20 by eugene ipavec
Keywords: spain | catalonia | tarragona | reus | rose: heraldic (red) | coat of arms |
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2:3
image by Jaume Ollé
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• Description
• Flag 1774-c. 1943
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See also:
• Club Reus Sportiu (hockey club)
• Tarragona Province
• Catalonia (Spain)
• Spain
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Other sites:
• Els símbols de la ciutat: La bandera (The city symbols: The flag, Catalan text only) at the Reus city website, including construction sheets
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Description
Reus is my town. Gaudi, a world famous architect, was born there. The flag has been in use for over 100 years or so (minor changes in the rose several times) but currently it is not official because it doesn’t have the aprobation of the Generalitat de Catalunya (autonomous government). The rose is the sign that the Holy Virgin gave to a girl in one apparition in the 17th century. The coat-of-arms of the city includes the rose and on top Saint Peter’s keys – the shield was granted by Pope Benedictus XIII, an anti-Pope and a citizen of the Catalan domains, who was recognized by all the Catalan cities. During major holidays (i.e. Saint Peter’s day) the coat-of-arms is displayed on the flag (then it is the so called Pomp flag) and is used in vertical.