occupation droctulf
  Droctulf ( Droctulfus , Droctulfo , Drocton ) was a Byzantine ___MASK56___ of Suevic or Alemannic origin . According to Paul the ___MASK67___ ' s Historia Langobardorum , he was raised among the Lombards , with whom he entered the Italian peninsula in 569 . He eventually joined the Byzantine army to fight against them , becoming an important ally of both ___MASK2___ and Pope . After Faroald , the Lombard duke of Spoleto , captured Classis , the port of Ravenna , Droctulf recaptured it for the Empire in 575 -- 76 . He was briefly imprisoned ( Paul refers to a captivitas ) , but was released to the Empire and served as the commander ( dux , duke ) of the Byzantine post of Brescello ( Reggio nell ' Emilia ) , which guarded a bridge over the river Po leading to Classis , from around 584 . Between 584 and 590 , he warred extensively against Authari , king of the Lombards , who eventually forced him to retreat to Ravenna while the region of Brescello was taken by the Lombards and the walls of the city razed to the ground . After his failure in Italy , Droctulf was called to the Balkans and Thrace to fend off the army of Slavs and Avars then besieging Adrianople ( 586 ) . The Byzantines granted him burial in the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna , where his lengthy epitaph survived to be recorded by Paul . Heaven , the heavens or seven heavens , is common ___MASK52___ , cosmological , or transcendent place where beings such as gods , angels , jinn , saints , or venerated ancestors are said to originate , be enthroned , or to live . According to the beliefs of some religions , heavenly beings can descend to earth or incarnate , and earthly beings can ascend to Heaven in the afterlife , or in exceptional cases enter Heaven alive . The Po Valley , Po Plain , Plain of the Po , or Padan Plain (, " Val Padana or Padania ") is a ___MASK13___ geographical feature of Italy . It extends approximately in an east - west direction , with an area of including its Venetic extension not actually related to the Po river basin ; it runs from the Western Alps to the Adriatic Sea . The flatlands of Veneto and Friuli are often considered apart since they do not drain into the Po , but they effectively combine into an unbroken plain . The Byzantine ___MASK50___ or Eastern Roman ___MASK50___ was the primary ___MASK85___ body of the Byzantine armed forces , serving alongside the Byzantine navy . A direct descendant of the Roman ___MASK50___ , the Byzantine ___MASK50___ maintained a similar level of discipline , strategic prowess and organization . It was among the most effective armies of western Eurasia for much of the Middle Ages . Over time the cavalry arm became more prominent in the Byzantine ___MASK50___ as the legion system disappeared in the early 7th century . Later reforms reflected some Germanic and Asian influences  rival forces frequently became sources of mercenary units e . g .; Huns , Cumans , Alans and ( following the Battle of Manzikert ) Turks , meeting the Empire ' s demand for light cavalry mercenaries . Since much of the Byzantine ___MASK85___ focused on the strategy and skill of generals utilizing militia troops , heavy infantry were recruited from Frankish and later Varangian mercenaries . The Catholic Church , also known as the Roman Catholic Church , is the largest Christian church , with more than 1 . 27 billion members worldwide . As one of the oldest ___MASK52___ institutions in the world , it has played a prominent role in the history of Western civilisation . Headed by the Bishop of Rome , known as the pope , its doctrines are summarised in the Nicene Creed . The Catholic Church is notable within Western Christianity for its sacred tradition and seven sacraments . A militia is generally an ___MASK50___ or some other type of fighting unit that is composed of non - professional fighters , citizens of a nation or subjects of a state or government who can be called upon to enter a combat situation , as opposed to a professional force of regular , full - time ___MASK45___ , or historically , members of the warrior nobility class ( e . g ., knights or samurai ). Unable to hold their own against properly trained and equipped professional forces , it is common for militias to engage in guerrilla warfare or defense instead of being used in open attacks and offensive actions . A ___MASK89___ is a person who writes books or documents by hand in hieratics , cuneiform or other scripts and may help keep track of records for priests and government . The Roman ___MASK50___ ( Latin : ) is a term that can in general be applied to the terrestrial armed forces deployed by the Romans throughout the duration of Ancient Rome , from the Roman Kingdom ( to c . 500 BC ) to the Roman Republic ( 500  31 BC ) and the Roman Empire ( 31 BC  395 / 476 AD ), and its successor the East Roman or Byzantine Empire . It is thus a term that may span approximately 2 , 000 years , during which the Roman armed forces underwent numerous permutations in composition , organisation , equipment and tactics , while conserving a core of lasting traditions . A ___MASK42___ is a person who researches , studies , and writes about the past , and is regarded as an authority on it . Historians are concerned with the continuous , methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race ; as well as the study of all history in time . If the individual is concerned with events preceding written history , the individual is a ___MASK42___ of prehistory . Although " ___MASK42___ " can be used to describe amateur and professional historians alike , it is reserved more recently for those who have acquired graduate degrees in the discipline . Some historians , though , are recognized by publications or training and experience . " ___MASK42___ " became a professional occupation in the late nineteenth century as research universities were emerging in Germany and elsewhere . Infantry is the ___MASK56___ branch of an ___MASK50___ that engages in ___MASK85___ combat on foot . As the troops who engage with the enemy in close - ranged combat , infantry units bear the largest brunt of warfare and typically suffer the greatest number of casualties during a ___MASK85___ campaign . Historically , as the oldest branch of the combat arms , the infantry are the tip of the spear of a modern ___MASK50___ , and continually undergo training that is typically more physically demanding and psychologically stressful than that of any other branch of the combat arms . Common representations of infantry fighting forces include the U . S . Army Infantry Branch , U . S . Marine Corps Infantry , Royal Canadian Infantry Corps , Infantry of the British Army , and the Royal Australian Corps of Infantry . Jesus (; c . 4 BC  c . AD 30 / 33 ), also referred to as Jesus of Nazareth or Jesus Christ , was a Jewish ___MASK94___ and ___MASK55___ who became the central figure of Christianity . Christians believe him to be the Son of God and the awaited Messiah ( Christ ) prophesied in the Old Testament . Virtually all modern scholars of antiquity agree that Jesus existed historically , although the quest for the historical Jesus has produced little agreement on the historical reliability of the Gospels and on how closely the biblical Jesus reflects the historical Jesus . Jesus was a Galilean Jew who was baptized by John the Baptist and subsequently began his own ___MASK21___ , preaching his message orally and often being referred to as " rabbi ". He was arrested and tried by the Jewish authorities , and was crucified by the order of Pontius Pilate , the Roman prefect . Jesus debated fellow Jews on how to best follow God , performed healings , taught in parables and gathered followers . After his death , his followers believed he rose from the dead , and the community they formed eventually became the Christian Church . A ___MASK74___ ( from , " monachos ", " single , solitary " and Latin " monachus ") is a person who practices ___MASK52___ asceticism , living either alone or with any number of other monks . A ___MASK74___ may be a person who decided to dedicate his life to serving all other living beings , or to be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live his life in prayer and contemplation . The concept is ancient and can be seen in many religions and in philosophy . In ecclesiastical heraldry , papal coats of arms ( those of individual popes ) and those of the Holy See and Vatican City State include an image of crossed keys to represent the metaphorical keys of the office of ___MASK57___ Peter , the keys of heaven , or the keys of the kingdom of Heaven , that , according to Roman Catholic teaching , Jesus promised to ___MASK57___ Peter , empowering him to take binding actions . In the Gospel of Matthew , Jesus says to Peter , " I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven , and whatever you bind on Earth shall be bound in heaven , and whatever you loose on Earth shall be loosed in heaven ." The keys of heaven or keys of ___MASK57___ Peter are seen as a symbol of papal authority : " Behold he [ Peter ] received the keys of the kingdom of heaven , the power of binding and loosing is committed to him , the care of the whole Church and its government is given to him [ cura ei totius Ecclesiae et principatus committitur ( Epist ., lib . V , ep . xx , in P . L ., LXXVII , 745 )]". Cavalry ( from French " cavalerie ", cf . " cheval " ' horse ') or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback . Cavalry were historically the most mobile of the combat arms . An individual ___MASK75___ in the cavalry is known by a number of designations such as cavalryman , horseman , dragoon or trooper . The designation of cavalry was not usually given to any military forces that used other animals , such as camels , mules or elephants . Infantry who moved on horseback , but dismounted to fight on foot , were known in the 17th and early 18th centuries as dragoons , a class of mounted infantry which later evolved into cavalry proper while retaining their historic title . Paul the ___MASK67___ ( 720s 13 April 799 AD ), also known as " Paulus Diaconus ", " Warnefridus , Barnefridus , Winfridus " and sometimes suffixed " Cassinensis " ( i . e . " of Monte Cassino "), was a Benedictine monk , scribe , and historian of the Lombards . The Iberian Peninsula , also known as Iberia , is located in the southwest corner of Europe . The peninsula is principally divided between Portugal and Spain , comprising most of their territory . It also includes Andorra and a small part of France along the peninsula ' s northeastern edge , as well as Gibraltar on its south coast , a small peninsula which forms an overseas territory of the ___MASK53___ . With an area of approximately , it is the second largest European peninsula , after the Scandinavian . The pope ( from " pappas ", a child ' s word for " ___MASK47___ ") is the Bishop of Rome and , therefore , the ___MASK78___ of the worldwide Catholic Church . The primacy of the Roman bishop is largely derived from his role as the traditional successor to Saint Peter , to whom Jesus is supposed to have given the keys of Heaven and the powers of " binding and loosing ", naming him as the " rock " upon which the church would be built . The current pope is Francis , who was elected on 13 March 2013 , succeeding Benedict XVI . The Italian Peninsula or Apennine Peninsula (" Penisola appenninica ") is the central and the smallest of the three large peninsulas of Southern Europe ( between the Iberian Peninsula and the Balkan Peninsula ). It extends from the Po Valley in the north to the central Mediterranean Sea in the south . The peninsula ' s shape gives it the nickname " lo Stivale " ( the Boot ). Three smaller peninsulas contribute to this characteristic shape , namely Calabria ( the " toe "), Salento ( the " heel ") and Gargano ( the " spur "). The Battle of Manzikert was fought between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuq Turks on August 26 , 1071 near Manzikert ( modern Malazgirt in Mu Province , Turkey ). The decisive defeat of the Byzantine ___MASK50___ and the capture of the ___MASK2___ Romanos IV Diogenes played an important role in undermining Byzantine authority in Anatolia and Armenia , and allowed for the gradual Turkification of Anatolia . Gargano is a historical and geographical sub - region in the province of Foggia , Apulia , southeast Italy , consisting of a wide isolated ___MASK28___ massif made of highland and several peaks and forming the backbone of the Gargano Promontory projecting into the Adriatic Sea , the " spur " on the Italian " boot ". The high point is Monte Calvo at . Most of the upland area , about , is part of the Gargano National Park , founded in 1991 . It is within the Italian Province of Foggia . Heavy infantry refers to heavily armed and armoured infantrymen trained to mount frontal assaults and / or anchor the defensive center of a battle line . This differentiates them from medium or light infantry which are relatively mobile and lightly armoured skirmisher troops intended for screening , ___MASK18___ , and other roles unsuited to the heavier soldiers . In ___MASK20___ , a suffix ( also sometimes termed postfix or ending ) is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word . Common examples are case endings , which indicate the grammatical case of nouns or adjectives , and verb endings , which form the conjugation of verbs .