belfry Bell tower, either freestanding or attached to another structure. More particularly it refers to the room, usually at the top of such a tower, where the bells and their supporting timberwork are hung. The belfry is a prominent feature of Belgian Gothic architecture, especially in Flanders. The Halles (Market Hall) and belfry in Brugge (late 13th century) is a typical example. The term derives from the medieval siege tower ( ber- frei), a tall wooden structure that could be rolled up to a fortification wall so that the warriors hidden inside could storm the battlements.
Belgae \'bel-,gi\ Inhabitants of Gaul north of the Sequana (Seine) and Matrona (Marne) rivers. The term was apparently first applied by Julius Caesar, whose Gallic victories (54-51 bc) sent many Belgae into Britain, where they formed kingdoms, the most important of which were at Cam- ulodunum (Colchester), Verulamium (St. Albans), and Calleva Atrebatum (Silchester).
Belgian Congo See Democratic Republic of the Congo
Belgica Vbel-ji-koX Ancient country, northeastern Gallia (Gaul). One of the administrative areas into which Augustus divided Gaul, it stretched from the Seine River to the Rhine and included the Low Countries. Its capi¬ tal was Durocortorum Remorum (now Reims). Part of the area became Germania Inferior and Germania Superior under Domitian, and later, under Diocletian, the remainder was divided into Belgica Prima and Belgica Secunda. In the 5th century ad, Belgica was absorbed by the Franks. See also Belgium.
Belgium officially Kingdom of Belgium Country, northwestern Europe. Area: 11,787 sq mi (30,528 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 10,432,000. Capitaclass="underline" Brussels. The population consists mostly of Flemings and Walloons. The Flemings, more than half of the population, speak
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© 2002 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
BELGIUM
Flemish (Dutch) and live in the northern half of the country; the Walloons, about one-third of the population, speak French and inhabit the southern half. Languages: Dutch, French, German (all official). Reli¬ gions: Christianity (predominantly Roman Catholic); also Islam. Cur¬ rency: euro. Belgium can be divided into several geographic regions. The southeast consists of the forested Ardennes highland, which extends south of the Meuse River valley and includes Belgium’s highest point, Mount Botrange (2,277 ft [694 m]). Middle Belgium is a fertile region crossed by tributaries of the Schelde River. Lower Belgium comprises the flat plains of Flanders in the northwest with their many canals. Maritime Flanders borders the North Sea and is agriculturally prosperous; the chief North Sea port is Ostende, but Antwerp, near the mouth of the Schelde, handles more trade. Belgium has minimal natural resources, so the manufacture of goods from imported raw materials plays a major role in the economy, and the country is highly industrialized. It is a monarchy with a parlia¬ ment composed of two legislative houses; the chief of state is the mon¬ arch, and the head of government is the prime minister. Inhabited in ancient times by the Belgae, a Celtic people, the area was conquered by Julius Caesar in 57 bc; under Augustus it became the Roman province of Belgica. Conquered by the Franks, it later broke up into semi-independent territories, including Brabant and Luxembourg. By the late 15th century the territories of the Netherlands, of which the future Belgium was a part, gradually united and passed to the Habsburgs. In the 16th century it was a centre for European commerce. The basis of modern Belgium was laid in the southern Catholic provinces that split from the northern provinces after the Union of Utrecht in 1579 (see The Netherlands). Overrun by the French and incorporated into France in 1801, the area was reunited with Holland and with it became the independent Kingdom of The Netherlands in 1815. After the revolt of its citizens in 1830, it became the indepen¬ dent Kingdom of Belgium. Under Leopold II it acquired vast lands in Africa. Overrun by the Germans in World Wars I and II, it was the scene of the Battle of the Bulge (1944-45). Internal discord led to legislation in the 1970s and ’80s that created three nearly autonomous regions in accor¬ dance with language distribution: Flemish Flanders, French Wallonia, and bilingual Brussels. In 1993 Belgium became a federation comprising the three regions, which gained greater autonomy at the outset of the 21st century. It is a member of the European Union.
Belgrade Serbian Beograd \ba-'6-,grad\ City (pop., 2002: 1,120,092), capital of the republic of Serbia and administrative centre of Serbia and Montenegro. Lying at the juncture of the Danube and Sava riv¬ ers, it is one of the Balkans’ most important commercial and transporta¬ tion centres. Inhabited by Celts in the 4th century bc, it was later taken by the Romans and named Singidunum. It was destroyed by Huns in the
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Belgrade ► bell I 193
5th century. In the 11th century it became a frontier town of Byzantium and in the 13th century came under the rule of Serbia. The Ottoman Empire besieged the city in the 15th century, and the forces of SOleyman I finally took it in 1521; it was held almost continuously by the Turks into the 19th century. It became the capital of the kingdom of Serbia in 1867 and, after World War I, of the new Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (renamed Yugoslavia in 1929). It suffered severely under Nazi occupation (1941—44). It was damaged by NATO bombers in the Kosovo conflict (1999). Yugoslavia underwent many border changes in the 20th century and was renamed Serbia and Montenegro in 2003.
Belgrade, Peace of (1739) Either of two peace settlements that ended the Ottoman empire’s four-year war with Russia and its two-year war with Austria. In 1735 Russia had attempted to establish itself on the northern Black Sea. Austria entered the war as Russia’s ally in 1737, but military failures prompted it to make a separate peace in September 1739, ceding northern Serbia (including Belgrade) and Little Walachia to the Ottomans. With Austria’s defection, the Russians had to make a disappointing peace that same month. Under its terms, Russia could not have warships on the Black Sea and had to depend on Ottoman shipping for its Black Sea com¬ merce.
Belhadj \bel-'haj\, Ali also spelled ‘All Bel Hajj (b. c. 1956, Tunisia) Deputy leader of the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), an Algerian political party. Bom to Algerian parents, he became a high-school teacher and an imam. He and the more moderate Abbasi al-Madani registered FIS as a political party in 1989. In 1990 FIS won a majority of votes in local elec¬ tions; in 1991 the Algerian government announced martial law and impris¬ oned Belhadj and al-Madani. In 1994 Belhadj was transferred to house arrest.