title: Ethnography

text: A typical ethnography attempts to be holistic and typically follows an outline to include a brief history of the culture in question, an analysis of the physical geography or terrain inhabited by the people under study, including climate, and often including what biological anthropologists call habitat. Folk notions of botany and zoology are presented as ethnobotany and ethnozoology alongside references from the formal sciences. Material culture, technology, and means of subsistence are usually treated next, as they are typically bound up in physical geography and include descriptions of infrastructure. Kinship and social structure (including age grading, peer groups, gender, voluntary associations, clans, moieties, and so forth, if they exist) are typically included. Languages spoken, dialects, and the history of language change are another group of standard topics. Practices of child rearing, acculturation, and emic views on personality and values usually follow after sections on social structure. Rites, rituals, and other evidence of religion have long been an interest and are sometimes central to ethnographies, especially when conducted in public where visiting anthropologists can see them.


title: Ethnography

text: As ethnography developed, anthropologists grew more interested in less tangible aspects of culture, such as values, worldview and what Clifford Geertz termed the "ethos" of the culture. In his fieldwork, Geertz used elements of a phenomenological approach, tracing not just the doings of people, but the cultural elements themselves. For example, if within a group of people, winking was a communicative gesture, he sought to first determine what kinds of things a wink might mean (it might mean several things). Then, he sought to determine in what contexts winks were used, and whether, as one moved about a region, winks remained meaningful in the same way. In this way, cultural boundaries of communication could be explored, as opposed to using linguistic boundaries or notions about the residence. Geertz, while still following something of a traditional ethnographic outline, moved outside that outline to talk about "webs" instead of "outlines" of culture.


title: Ethnography

text: Within cultural anthropology, there are several subgenres of ethnography. Beginning in the 1950s and early 1960s, anthropologists began writing "bio-confessional" ethnographies that intentionally exposed the nature of ethnographic research. Famous examples include "Tristes Tropiques" (1955) by Lévi-Strauss, "The High Valley" by Kenneth Read, and "The Savage and the Innocent" by David Maybury-Lewis, as well as the mildly fictionalized "Return to Laughter" by Elenore Smith Bowen (Laura Bohannan).


title: Ethnography

text: Later "reflexive" ethnographies refined the technique to translate cultural differences by representing their effects on the ethnographer. Famous examples include "Deep Play: Notes on a Balinese Cockfight" by Clifford Geertz, "Reflections on Fieldwork in Morocco" by Paul Rabinow, "The Headman and I" by Jean-Paul Dumont, and "Tuhami" by Vincent Crapanzano. In the 1980s, the rhetoric of ethnography was subjected to intense scrutiny within the discipline, under the general influence of literary theory and post-colonial/post-structuralist thought. "Experimental" ethnographies that reveal the ferment of the discipline include "Shamanism, Colonialism, and the Wild Man" by Michael Taussig, "Debating Muslims" by Michael F. J. Fischer and Mehdi Abedi, "A Space on the Side of the Road" by Kathleen Stewart, and "Advocacy after Bhopal" by Kim Fortun.


title: Ethnography

text: This critical turn in sociocultural anthropology during the mid-1980s can be traced to the influence of the now classic (and often contested) text, "Writing Culture: The Poetics and Politics of Ethnography", (1986) edited by James Clifford and George Marcus. "Writing Culture" helped bring changes to both anthropology and ethnography often described in terms of being 'postmodern,' 'reflexive,' 'literary,' 'deconstructive,' or 'poststructural' in nature, in that the text helped to highlight the various epistemic and political predicaments that many practitioners saw as plaguing ethnographic representations and practices.


title: Ethnography

text: Where Geertz's and Turner's interpretive anthropology recognized subjects as creative actors who constructed their sociocultural worlds out of symbols, postmodernists attempted to draw attention to the privileged status of the ethnographers themselves. That is, the ethnographer cannot escape the personal viewpoint in creating an ethnographic account, thus making any claims of objective neutrality highly problematic, if not altogether impossible. In regards to this last point, "Writing Culture" became a focal point for looking at how ethnographers could describe different cultures and societies without denying the subjectivity of those individuals and groups being studied while simultaneously doing so without laying claim to absolute knowledge and objective authority. Along with the development of experimental forms such as 'dialogic anthropology,' 'narrative ethnography,' and 'literary ethnography', "Writing Culture" helped to encourage the development of 'collaborative ethnography.' This exploration of the relationship between writer, audience, and subject has become a central tenet of contemporary anthropological and ethnographic practice. In certain instances, active collaboration between the researcher(s) and subject(s) has helped blend the practice of collaboration in ethnographic fieldwork with the process of creating the ethnographic product resulting from the research.


title: Ethnography

text: Sociology is another field which prominently features ethnographies. Urban sociology, Atlanta University (now Clark-Atlanta University), and the Chicago School, in particular, are associated with ethnographic research, with some well-known early examples being "The Philadelphia Negro" (1899) by W. E. B. Du Bois, "Street Corner Society" by William Foote Whyte and "Black Metropolis" by St. Clair Drake and Horace R. Cayton, Jr. Major influences on this development were anthropologist Lloyd Warner, on the Chicago sociology faculty, and to Robert Park's experience as a journalist. Symbolic interactionism developed from the same tradition and yielded such sociological ethnographies as "Shared Fantasy" by Gary Alan Fine, which documents the early history of fantasy role-playing games. Other important ethnographies in sociology include Pierre Bourdieu's work in Algeria and France.


title: Ethnography

text: Jaber F. Gubrium's series of organizational ethnographies focused on the everyday practices of illness, care, and recovery are notable. They include "Living and Dying at Murray Manor," which describes the social worlds of a nursing home; "Describing Care: Image and Practice in Rehabilitation," which documents the social organization of patient subjectivity in a physical rehabilitation hospital; "Caretakers: Treating Emotionally Disturbed Children," which features the social construction of behavioral disorders in children; and "Oldtimers and Alzheimer's: The Descriptive Organization of Senility," which describes how the Alzheimer's disease movement constructed a new subjectivity of senile dementia and how that is organized in a geriatric hospital. Another approach to ethnography in sociology comes in the form of institutional ethnography, developed by Dorothy E. Smith for studying the social relations which structure people's everyday lives.


title: Ethnography

text: Other notable ethnographies include Paul Willis's "Learning to Labour," on working class youth; the work of Elijah Anderson, Mitchell Duneier, and Loïc Wacquant on black America, and Lai Olurode's "Glimpses of Madrasa From Africa". But even though many sub-fields and theoretical perspectives within sociology use ethnographic methods, ethnography is not the "sine qua non" of the discipline, as it is in cultural anthropology.


title: Ethnography

text: Beginning in the 1960s and 1970s, ethnographic research methods began to be widely used by communication scholars. As the purpose of ethnography is to describe and interpret the shared and learned patterns of values, behaviors, beliefs, and language of a culture-sharing group, Harris, (1968), also Agar (1980) note that ethnography is both a process and an outcome of the research. Studies such as Gerry Philipsen's analysis of cultural communication strategies in a blue-collar, working-class neighborhood on the south side of Chicago, "Speaking 'Like a Man' in Teamsterville", paved the way for the expansion of ethnographic research in the study of communication.


title: Ethnography

text: Scholars of communication studies use ethnographic research methods to analyze communicative behaviors and phenomena. This is often characterized in the writing as attempts to understand taken-for-granted routines by which working definitions are socially produced. Ethnography as a method is a storied, careful, and systematic examination of the reality-generating mechanisms of everyday life (Coulon, 1995). Ethnographic work in communication studies seeks to explain "how" ordinary methods/practices/performances construct the ordinary actions used by ordinary people in the accomplishments of their identities. This often gives the perception of trying to answer the "why" and "how come" questions of human communication. Often this type of research results in a case study or field study such as an analysis of speech patterns at a protest rally, or the way firemen communicate during "down time" at a fire station. Like anthropology scholars, communication scholars often immerse themselves, and participate in and/or directly observe the particular social group being studied.


title: Ethnography

text: The American anthropologist George Spindler was a pioneer in applying the ethnographic methodology to the classroom.


title: Ethnography

text: Anthropologists such as Daniel Miller and Mary Douglas have used ethnographic data to answer academic questions about consumers and consumption. In this sense, Tony Salvador, Genevieve Bell, and Ken Anderson describe design ethnography as being "a way of understanding the particulars of daily life in such a way as to increase the success probability of a new product or service or, more appropriately, to reduce the probability of failure specifically due to a lack of understanding of the basic behaviors and frameworks of consumers." Sociologist Sam Ladner argues in her book, that understanding consumers and their desires requires a shift in "standpoint," one that only ethnography provides. The results are products and services that respond to consumers' unmet needs.


title: Ethnography

text: Businesses, too, have found ethnographers helpful for understanding how people use products and services. By assessing user experience in a "natural" setting, ethnology yields insights into the practical applications of a product or service. It's one of the best ways to identify areas of friction and improve overall user experience. Companies make increasing use of ethnographic methods to understand consumers and consumption, or for new product development (such as video ethnography). The "Ethnographic Praxis in Industry" (EPIC) conference is evidence of this. Ethnographers' systematic and holistic approach to real-life experience is valued by product developers, who use the method to understand unstated desires or cultural practices that surround products. Where focus groups fail to inform marketers about what people really do, ethnography links what people say to what they do—avoiding the pitfalls that come from relying only on self-reported, focus-group data.


title: Ethnography

text: The ethnographic methodology is not usually evaluated in terms of philosophical standpoint (such as positivism and emotionalism). Ethnographic studies need to be evaluated in some manner. No consensus has been developed on evaluation standards, but Richardson (2000, p. 254) provides five criteria that ethnographers might find helpful. Jaber F. Gubrium and James A. Holstein's (1997) monograph, "The New Language of Qualitative Method," discusses forms of ethnography in terms of their "methods talk."


title: Ethnography

text: Gary Alan Fine argues that the nature of ethnographic inquiry demands that researchers deviate from formal and idealistic rules or ethics that have come to be widely accepted in qualitative and quantitative approaches in research. Many of these ethical assumptions are rooted in positivist and post-positivist epistemologies that have adapted over time but are apparent and must be accounted for in all research paradigms. These ethical dilemmas are evident throughout the entire process of conducting ethnographies, including the design, implementation, and reporting of an ethnographic study. Essentially, Fine maintains that researchers are typically not as ethical as they claim or assume to be — and that "each job includes ways of doing things that would be inappropriate for others to know".


title: Ethnography

text: Fine is not necessarily casting blame at ethnographic researchers but tries to show that researchers often make idealized ethical claims and standards which are inherently based on partial truths and self-deceptions. Fine also acknowledges that many of these partial truths and self-deceptions are unavoidable. He maintains that "illusions" are essential to maintain an occupational reputation and avoid potentially more caustic consequences. He claims, "Ethnographers cannot help but lie, but in lying, we reveal truths that escape those who are not so bold". Based on these assertions, Fine establishes three conceptual clusters in which ethnographic ethical dilemmas can be situated: "Classic Virtues", "Technical Skills", and "Ethnographic Self".


title: Ethnography

text: Much debate surrounding the issue of ethics arose following revelations about how the ethnographer Napoleon Chagnon conducted his ethnographic fieldwork with the Yanomani people of South America.


title: Ethnography

text: While there is no international standard on Ethnographic Ethics, many western anthropologists look to the American Anthropological Association for guidance when conducting ethnographic work. In 2009, the Association adopted a code of ethics, stating: Anthropologists have "moral obligations as members of other groups, such as the family, religion, and community, as well as the profession". The code of ethics notes that anthropologists are part of a wider scholarly and political network, as well as human and natural environment, which needs to be reported on respectfully. The code of ethics recognizes that sometimes very close and personal relationship can sometimes develop from doing ethnographic work. The Association acknowledges that the code is limited in scope; ethnographic work can sometimes be multidisciplinary, and anthropologists need to be familiar with ethics and perspectives of other disciplines as well. The eight-page code of ethics outlines ethical considerations for those conducting Research, Teaching, Application and Dissemination of Results, which are briefly outlined below.


title: Ethnography

text: According to Norman K. Denzin, ethnographers should consider the following seven principles when observing, recording, and sampling data:


title: David Baddiel

text: David Lionel Baddiel (; born 28 May 1964) is an English comedian, presenter, screenwriter, and author. He is known for his work alongside Rob Newman in "The Mary Whitehouse Experience" and his comedy partnership with Frank Skinner. He has also written the children's books "The Parent Agency", "The Person Controller", "AniMalcolm", "Birthday Boy", "Head Kid", and "The Taylor TurboChaser".


title: David Baddiel

text: David Lionel Baddiel was born on 28 May 1964 in Troy, New York, the son of a Welsh father and German mother. He moved to England with his family when he was four months old. His parents were both Jewish: his father, Colin Brian Baddiel, came from a working-class Swansea family and worked as a research chemist with Unilever before being made redundant in the 1980s, after which he sold Dinky Toys at Grays Antique Market. His mother, Sarah, was born in Nazi Germany; a swastika appeared on her birth certificate. She was five months old when she was taken to England by her parents in 1939 after the family had fled Nazi Germany, where her wealthy father had been stripped of his assets as a victim of "Kristallnacht". Soon after their arrival in the United Kingdom, her father was interned as an "enemy alien" on the Isle of Man for a year. He had mental health issues, sometimes requiring hospitalisation, for the rest of his life. Baddiel said in 2022 that he had been parented by his elder brother Ivor, as "my dad was unemployed and angry, while my mum was distracted by her passionate affair".


title: David Baddiel

text: An episode of the BBC genealogy series "Who Do You Think You Are?" investigated Baddiel's heritage in some detail, but failed to prove his theory that his mother had been secretly adopted from another Jewish family who had no hope of escaping. He grew up in the Dollis Hill area of London alongside his two brothers Ivor and Dan (one older, one younger). Ivor is a writer. Baddiel attended the North West London Jewish Day School in Brent, and the public school Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School in Elstree. He studied English at King's College, Cambridge, where he was a member of the Cambridge Footlights, and graduated with a double first BA. He began studies for a PhD in English at University College London, but did not complete it.


title: David Baddiel

text: After leaving university, Baddiel became a professional stand-up comedian in London, as well as a writer for acts such as Rory Bremner and series including "Spitting Image". His first television appearance came in one episode of the showbiz satire "Filthy, Rich and Catflap". In 1988 he was introduced to Rob Newman, and the two formed a writing partnership. Subsequently, paired up with Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis, another comedy duo, they began writing and performing in "The Mary Whitehouse Experience" on BBC Radio 1, where the show ran for four series and a special. This success led the show to transfer to BBC2, where it ran for two series, after which both duos decided to end the show. During this time, Baddiel also co-hosted the Channel 4 programme "A Stab in the Dark".


title: David Baddiel

text: After "The Mary Whitehouse Experience", Baddiel and Newman re-teamed up for "Newman and Baddiel in Pieces", which ran for seven episodes on BBC2, featuring character sketches, monologues, and observation routines. Despite a fraught working relationship, the show saw Newman and Baddiel find enormous success as live performers, held up as examples of comedy as ‘the new rock ’n’ roll’, with their tour ("Newman and Baddiel: Live and In Pieces") culminating in the first-ever sold-out gig for a comedy act at Wembley Arena, playing to 12,500 people. Despite this success, increasing tension between the pair led to them announcing the tour would be their last together. Their final tour was the subject of a BBC2 documentary, "Newman and Baddiel on the Road to Wembley".


title: David Baddiel

text: Baddiel subsequently met and began sharing a flat with fellow comedian Frank Skinner. Both lifelong football fans (Baddiel is a Chelsea F.C. fan), the pair created, wrote and performed "Fantasy Football League", a popular entertainment show based on fantasy football. Running for three series on BBC2, followed by a series of live specials throughout the 1998 World Cup and then again through the 2004 European Championship, as well as a series of podcasts for "The Times" from Germany at the 2006 World Cup, and another series for Absolute Radio from South Africa during the 2010 World Cup (amassing over three million downloads). During this time the duo also twice topped the UK Singles Chart with the football anthem "Three Lions", co-written and performed with The Lightning Seeds. The song was originally written as the England football team's official anthem for UEFA Euro 1996 and was subsequently re-recorded with updated lyrics as the unofficial anthem for the 1998 World Cup. The song continues to be popular with England fans and returned to the charts in July 2018, celebrating the progress of the England national football team at the 2018 FIFA World Cup with the phrase "it's coming home" featuring heavily on social media and television.


title: David Baddiel

text: Baddiel received criticism for his impression of black footballer Jason Lee in "Fantasy Football League", which involved him wearing a pineapple on his head and using blackface. Lee said he considered this a form of bullying. Baddiel has issued a number of apologies on social media and in an article for "The Daily Telegraph", saying it was "part of a very bad racist tradition". Lee said in 2020 that he had not received a direct apology from Baddiel or Skinner over the series of sketches but in 2022 Baddiel met Lee to apologise in his Channel 4 documentary. In his 2021 book "Jews Don't Count", Baddiel said the use of blackface was racist but also wrote that many people asking for him to apologise for the performance only did so after he publicly spoke out against antisemitism.


title: David Baddiel

text: After ending "Fantasy Football League", the pair took an improvised question-and-answer show to the Edinburgh Fringe which then became a television series, "Baddiel and Skinner Unplanned", which ran for five series on ITV, as well as a West End run at the Shaftesbury Theatre in 2001.


title: David Baddiel

text: The pair also appeared on a celebrity special of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" in 2001, becoming the first celebrity contestants to reach £250,000 for their charities, the "Catholic Children's Society" and the "Imperial Cancer Research Fund".


title: David Baddiel

text: Baddiel has written four novels: "Time for Bed" (1996), "Whatever Love Means" (2002), "The Secret Purposes" (2006), and "The Death of Eli Gold" (2011). In June 2015, he published his first children's novel, "The Parent Agency", which won the "LOLLIE" award (formerly the "Roald Dahl Funny Book Awards") for "Best Laugh Out Loud Book for 9–13-Year-Olds" and is set to be developed into a feature film (also written and produced by Baddiel) through Fox 2000 Pictures. His subsequent children's novels include "The Person Controller" (2015), "AniMalcolm" (2016), "Birthday Boy" (2017) and "Head Kid" (2018). He wrote "The Boy Who Could Do What He Liked", a short story published for World Book Day in 2016.


title: David Baddiel

text: In 2001, Baddiel wrote and starred in "Baddiel's Syndrome", a sitcom for Sky 1 which also starred Morwenna Banks, Stephen Fry and Jonathan Bailey, which ran for fourteen episodes. He also wrote the comedy film, "The Infidel", starring Omid Djalili, Richard Schiff, Matt Lucas and Miranda Hart. Baddiel has since adapted the film into a musical with music by Erran Baron Cohen. Baddiel directed the production which ran at London's Theatre Royal Stratford East in late 2014. Baddiel's other writing credits include "The Norris McWhirter Chronicles" for Sky 1, which starred Alistair McGowan and John Thomson and which Baddiel also directed, and two episodes of the ITV reboot of "Thunderbirds", "Thunderbirds Are Go!"


title: David Baddiel

text: In 2004, Baddiel created and hosted "Heresy", a BBC Radio 4 panel show which sees celebrity guests trying to overthrow popular prejudice and received wisdom. The show is currently in its 10th series and has been hosted by Victoria Coren since 2008, with Baddiel returning regularly as a guest. In 2014 Baddiel created and hosted "Don't Make Me Laugh", a new panel show for Radio 4 that tasks guests with talking for as long as possible on obviously humorous subjects without getting laughs. The second series aired in 2016. In 2015, he created and fronted "David Baddiel Tries to Understand...", a BBC Radio 4 show which sees Baddiel try to understand famously complex subjects as suggested by his followers on Twitter, and has now run for three series.


title: David Baddiel

text: Baddiel has appeared in shows including "Little Britain", "Skins", "The Life of Rock with Brian Pern" and "Horrible Histories" and is a regular guest on panel shows including "8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown", "QI" and Alan Davies’ "As Yet Untitled". In 2016, he fronted a four-part travel documentary for Discovery entitled "David Baddiel On the Silk Road", a 4,000-mile journey to explore the most famous trade route in history, as well as presenting two episodes of BBC2's "Artsnight" and becoming a regular presenter of "The Penguin Podcast" in which he interviews authors about the objects that inspired their books, which has seen him interview guests including Johnny Marr, Zadie Smith and Ruby Wax. Other documentaries he has fronted include "Baddiel and the Missing Nazi Billions" (BBC2), "Who Do You Want Your Child to Be?" (BBC2), "World's Most Dangerous Roads" (BBC2), and an episode of "Who Do You Think You Are?" (BBC1). He appeared on "Desert Island Discs" in 2018.


title: David Baddiel

text: Baddiel filmed a documentary about his father's dementia, "The Trouble with Dad", shown on Channel 4 in 2017.


title: David Baddiel

text: In 2019 Baddiel featured in "Taskmaster" series 9. He won one episode and finished fifth out of five in the overall series.


title: David Baddiel

text: In January 2021, it was announced Baddiel would appear as a contestant on the 4th series of "The Great Stand Up to Cancer Bake Off", which aired in Spring 2021.


title: David Baddiel

text: In 2013, he returned to stand-up comedy with his critically acclaimed show "Fame (Not the Musical)", which ran at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe before transferring to London's Menier Chocolate Factory and a subsequent nationwide tour. In Spring 2016 Baddiel premiered a new show, "My Family: Not the Sitcom", again at the Menier Chocolate Factory; the confessional show tells the true story of Baddiel's recently deceased mother and dementia-suffering father.


title: David Baddiel

text: Following a five-week run, the show transferred to London's West End in September 2016 for another five-week run at the Vaudeville Theatre. In spring 2017 it was announced that the show would return to the West End for one final ten-week run at the "Playhouse Theatre" in March 2017. In the same month, it was announced that the show was nominated for an Olivier Award, in The Entertainment and Family category. Rob Newman saw one of these performances, the first time the two had been in the same room since 1993.The show was performed as part of the Montreal Comedy Festival in 2017 and will tour the UK in 2018. Most recently, Baddiel took the show to a four-city tour of Australia. His new show about social media, "Trolls: Not The Dolls", tours the UK in 2020.


title: David Baddiel

text: In October 2019 Baddiel's play "God's Dice" was produced at the Soho Theatre, London. The title is an allusion to Einstein's view of quantum uncertainty: "God does not play dice with the universe". The work deals with "an ageing [quantum physicist] seduced into supporting a radical religious sect".


title: David Baddiel

text: In November 2022 Baddiel fronted a Channel 4 documentary "David Baddiel: Jews Don't Count". "The Guardian" TV section summed it up as:"Baddiel focuses on the ideas that formed his 2021 book of the same title. His central thesis is that “Jews don’t count as a proper minority” when it comes to contemporary notions of prejudice and racism. He sets out to explore why so many people seem to ignore antisemitism, as well as “the dysfunction between progressives and Jews”.The "Financial Times" review remarked:"That Baddiel and Channel 4 have already received a torrent of scorn online for making the programme only serves to highlight its importance."


title: David Baddiel

text: Baddiel is a Labour Party voter, but does not describe himself as a "Labour supporter". He has said, "I would never support a political party like that, regardless of what I believe personally. My job is to be funny and that might involve me being funny at the expense of whoever's stepped in shit that week."


title: David Baddiel

text: In February 2016, Baddiel commented on the election of Jeremy Corbyn as Labour leader: "I think it's interesting to think that we've got a proper left-wing Labour politician. My main thing about Corbyn is I think the scaremongering about him by the right-wing press is so absurd it makes me want to support Corbyn, even though in some ways I might not. Some of the people around him I personally wouldn't trust but I think he himself is a decent man."


title: David Baddiel

text: In April 2017, Baddiel wrote an article for "The Guardian" in which he was critical of Ken Livingstone's comments regarding Adolf Hitler and Zionism, but also made it clear that he was not a Zionist and that he disagreed with "religion being the basis for statehood" and what he called "the appalling actions of the present Israeli government".


title: David Baddiel

text: In March 2018, Baddiel appeared on "Daily Politics", in which he described antisemitism as "sort of invisible" to Corbyn and others on the political left because they are focused on "fighting the good fight against capitalism". In February 2020, he told "The Guardian" that Holocaust denial is "a direct way of saying Jews are liars, Jews have tricked the world for their own gain, Jews are the most evil, pernicious race that exist". He further said, "It is hate speech. There's no other conclusion.”


title: David Baddiel

text: In February 2021, Baddiel's non-fiction book "Jews Don't Count" was published by "The Times Literary Supplement". The book is largely about the alleged double standards extensively employed (either knowingly or unknowingly) by anti-racists when dealing with antisemitism, detailing how "a sacred circle is drawn around those whom the progressive modern left are prepared to go into battle for, and it seems as if the Jews aren't in it". Much of the book consists of examples used as evidence that such progressives have a blind spot when it comes to antisemitism.


title: David Baddiel

text: Baddiel is a patron of Humanists UK and the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM). He acted as compere for the "Stand-Up to Stop Suicide" event organised by Claire Anstey and the charity, and has appeared on radio advertisements publicising the issue of young male suicide.


title: David Baddiel

text: In February 2009, Baddiel and several other entertainers wrote an open letter in "The Times" supporting leaders of the Baháʼí Faith who were then on trial in Iran.


title: David Baddiel

text: Following his experiences with his father, Baddiel has worked closely with a number of charities supporting the victims of dementia and their families. He performed a special one-off charity gala of his "My Family: Not the Sitcom" show at the Vaudeville Theatre, with all proceeds from the evening being split between the Alzheimer's Society, the National Brain Appeal, and the Unforgettable Foundation. There were also collections made for the charities throughout the run of the show.


title: David Baddiel

text: In 2017, it was announced that Baddiel would take part in Comic Relief's "Red Nose Convoy", in which three pairs of celebrities travel in convoy from Kenya to Uganda while delivering aid.


title: David Baddiel

text: To benefit the cancer charity CLIC Sargent, Baddiel narrated the 2018 short film "To Trend on Twitter" with fellow comedians Reece Shearsmith, Steve Pemberton, and Helen Lederer, and actor Jason Flemyng.


title: David Baddiel

text: In March 2019, Baddiel hosted "Comic Relief Does University Challenge" on BBC One as part of Red Nose Day.


title: David Baddiel

text: Baddiel and fellow comedian Morwenna Banks live in North London with their two children: a daughter named Dolly (born 2001) and a son named Ezra (born 2004). Despite his upbringing, he has described himself as a "10 out of 10 atheist" and as a "fundamentalist" Jewish atheist. He suffers from insomnia, about which he has written guest articles.


title: David Baddiel

text: Baddiel is an avid fan of the rock band Genesis and introduced them at their press conference in 2006. He also provided sleeve notes for the reissue of the album "Nursery Cryme" as part of the "Genesis 1970–1975" boxed set. He is a fan of the band's former lead singer Peter Gabriel, and a diarist for "The Times" once incorrectly reported that he had been "loud and offensive" while attending one of Gabriel's concerts, something Baddiel has referred to in his live act. He is also a fan of David Bowie and marked Bowie's 65th birthday in 2012 by expressing a desire to see him come out of retirement. He attended the tribute concert to Bowie at London's Union Chapel following Bowie's death in 2016 and addressed the audience, describing Bowie as "the greatest tunesmith we have".


title: Agneepath (2012 film)

text: Agneepath () is a 2012 Indian Hindi-language action drama film produced by Hiroo Yash Johar and Karan Johar under Dharma Productions and directed by Karan Malhotra in his directorial debut. A remake of the eponymous 1990 film of the same title directed by Mukul S. Anand and starring Amitabh Bachchan, it centers on a screenplay written by Malhotra and Ila Dutta Bedi, with dialogues written by Piyush Mishra. The film stars Hrithik Roshan, Sanjay Dutt, Rishi Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Kanika Tiwari, Om Puri and Zarina Wahab. The renewed plot follows Vijay Deenanath Chauhan, a common man from the island village of Mandwa who arrives in Mumbai and becomes the city's biggest gangster in order to seek vengeance for his father's death at the hands of Kancha Cheena.


title: Agneepath (2012 film)

text: Karan Johar had harboured intentions of remaking the original "Agneepath" ever since its release, which was produced by his father Yash Johar. Despite receiving critical acclaim, the film was a commercial failure and brought Yash to financial ruin. Believing that he was not qualified to direct an action film, Johar approached Malhotra, his associate director on "My Name is Khan" (2010), to helm the project. He considered the film to be a tribute to his father. Principal photography of "Agneepath" took place in Diu and Mumbai, with several accidents taking place on the sets. The music of the film was composed by Ajay–Atul, with lyrics written by Amitabh Bhattacharya. As with the original, the title is taken from a poem of the same name by Harivansh Rai Bachchan, which forms a thematic link through the film, both literally and metaphorically.


title: Agneepath (2012 film)

text: "Agneepath" was theatrically released in India on 26 January 2012, coinciding with the Republic Day celebrations, and in 2650 screens worldwide. Produced on a budget of , the film broke the record for the highest-opening day for a film in India and became a commercial success with a worldwide gross of over , emerging as the fifth highest-grossing Hindi film of 2012. Critics highlighted Malhotra's direction and Roshan and Kapoor's performance as praiseworthy, with many considering it to be superior to the original film. At the 58th Filmfare Awards, "Agneepath" received 5 nominations, including Best Actor (Roshan) and Best Supporting Actor (Kapoor). Additionally, it won 5 IIFA Awards and 4 Zee Cine Awards.


title: Agneepath (2012 film)

text: Within the island village of Mandwa, the school teacher Deenanath Chauhan is highly respected by the villagers. Extremely jealous of Deenanath's popularity in the eyes of the citizens, the village chief summons his evil son Kancha to destroy Deenanath's image in the citizens' eyes. Kancha also has plans to start a drug cartel from Mandwa, knowing that the soil of Mandwa is rich for the cultivation of cocaine. When Kancha requests the people to lend their lands to him under the pretext of expanding the salt industry of Mandwa, Deenanath dissuades the villagers from doing so. Knowing this, Kancha decides to get rid of the school teacher. He ambushes and murders a young girl inside the school, framing Deenanath for the murder. With the support of the villagers, Kancha then kills Deenanath by hanging him to death from a tree which is witnessed by young Vijay, the son of the teacher. Vijay, along with his pregnant mother Suhasini, leaves the village. The Chauhans find shelter in a "chawl" in Dongri, a suburb in Mumbai, but Vijay harbors intentions to go back to Mandwa and kill Kancha. While in Mumbai, Suhasini delivers a baby girl named Shiksha, while Vijay befriends a girl, Kaali Gawde. Vijay is fascinated by Rauf Lala, a local human trafficker, and Kancha's nemesis, and gets into his company by refusing to stand as a witness in court to a crime committed by Lala and joins his gang.


title: Agneepath (2012 film)

text: Suhasini takes Shiksha with her upon deserting Vijay's side after he kills Kaali's abusive father at a young age and resorts to violence. A grown-up Vijay now works for Rauf Lala and finds himself as his trusted wingman. Once Inspector and now Commissioner, Eknath Gaitonde, who remembers Vijay from the Lala incident, acts as a silent guardian for Vijay and tries to eliminate crime in Mumbai. When Rauf's influence over the drug business in Mumbai is falling, Kancha decides to grow his influence as a drug lord in the city and sends his aid, Shantaram over to Mumbai for the process. Shantaram succeeds in bribing the Home Secretary of Maharashtra, Mr. Borkar to get access to the interiors of Mumbai for smuggling cocaine.


title: Agneepath (2012 film)

text: Vijay catches Borkar red-handed while trying to smuggle cocaine from Mandwa into Mumbai through his headquarters in Goa. Borkar and Shantaram are forced to hand over the pure cocaine to Lala, thus making them Lala's suppliers rather than rivals. Lala rewards Vijay with the territory of Dongri for his achievement. He further gains Lala's trust by taking a bullet shot which was aimed at Lala's son, Mazhar, this, however, later turns out as a conspiracy involving Vijay and Shantaram to eliminate Mazhar. After having Mazhar shot by Shantaram and subsequently even killing Shantaram himself to eradicate evidence, Vijay brings Mazhar's corpse to Lala, who falls sick and is admitted to a hospital; in the meantime, Vijay takes over Lala's empire and brings all the crimes committed by Lala's gang to an end. All this results in him being contacted by Kancha and invited to Mandwa for a business agreement.


title: Agneepath (2012 film)

text: However, Kancha is taken aback when Vijay mentions that he wants Mandwa in exchange for Mumbai; Vijay's allies and companions are killed, and he is beaten up severely by Kancha, but despite initially suspecting this deal, Kancha later agrees on the condition that Gaitonde must be killed. Meanwhile, back in Mumbai, Lala regains health and finds out the truth behind Mazhar's death. He gets hold of Shiksha and tries to sell her off. Vijay is notified of this by Kancha and he flees back to Mumbai and kills Lala in a bloody skirmish; Shiksha shares an emotional reunion with Vijay as a grown-up Kaali accompanies them. Soon after, Kancha sends Surya, his right-hand man, to aid Vijay in assassinating Gaitonde. However, During the Ganesh Chaturthi, Surya suspects that Vijay is in league with Gaitonde, and sets out to do the deed himself.


title: Agneepath (2012 film)

text: However, when Surya tries to assassinate Gaitonde, he is killed by Vijay, who reveals his credentials before murdering him, amid a crowd. Vijay and Kaali fall in love and get married, but Kaali gets killed right after during a shooting spree by Kancha's men in retaliation for Surya's death. Vijay leaves for Mandwa to avenge the death of Deenanath and Kaali. He destroys the island of Mandwa through explosions and after an intense battle, Kancha almost kills Vijay with a knife, but with all his might, Vijay kills Kancha by hanging him from the same tree in which his father was hanged. However, due to his severe injuries, Vijay is last seen in his mother's and sister's hands passing away whilst seeing a vision of his father and his younger self calling him forward and shouting "Agneepath".


title: Agneepath (2012 film)

text: Karan Johar explained in an interview with "The Times of India" that he harboured intentions of remaking the original "Agneepath" ever since its release in 1990. Although the film had received critical acclaim over the years, its commercial failure had devastated his father, producer Yash Johar. Eventually, the idea of a possible remake materialised on the sets of Karan Johar's fourth directorial venture "My Name Is Khan", in which Karan Malhotra was his associate director. Johar told Malhotra of his desire to remake the original film and asked him to revisit it again. On not directing the film himself, Johar commented, "I am happy directing films on love, romance, and drama. That's what I do best. I don't think I will be good at an action film. So I am not taking the reins of the film in my hand".


title: Agneepath (2012 film)

text: However, Johar maintained that the new film would belong to a different milieu as compared to the original. He stated, "We are adapting the film from the original but ours would be a new age version that would fit in well with today's time. We really hope that we are able to do justice to the original and make the remake exciting for today's generation." Karan dedicated the film to Yash Johar as a tribute. In an interview with "Filmfare", he added that the protagonist of the film would be "more of an underdog", while the antagonist would be "more flamboyant and menacing" than the original.


title: Agneepath (2012 film)

text: Several changes were made to the storyline of the original film, including the omission of certain characters and the addition of new ones. The characters of Krishnan Iyer M.A., played by Mithun Chakraborty and Nurse Mary Matthew, played by Madhavi were done away with and new characters such as Rauf Lala and Kaali Gawde were introduced in the screenplay. Moreover, the characterisation of Vijay Deenanath Chauhan was changed, unlike the original which was inspired by Al Pacino's role in "Scarface" (1983). In an interview with "The Calcutta Telegraph", Malhotra explained the adaptation by saying, "The similarity (between the original and this film) lies only in the fact that it is a revenge film; a son seeking revenge for his father's death. Unlike Mr. (Amitabh) Bachchan's film, my film starts and ends in Mandwa and is primarily about the conflict between the mother and the son. It's a completely new film with a lot of new characters." He additionally termed "Agneepath" to be a "crazily dramatic masala Bollywood film".


title: Agneepath (2012 film)

text: While media reports initially suggested that Abhishek Bachchan was being considered to portray the role of Vijay, Malhotra approached Roshan for the role. Roshan, however, was sceptical on taking up a role earlier played by Amitabh Bachchan and agreed to star in the film only after months of deliberation. He said, "The script had so much passion that I felt very emotional and I made up my mind to do it". On casting Roshan, Malhotra explained, "Hrithik has the charm of a boy and the attitude of a man. Also, he has a certain vulnerability, which I was looking in my characterisation of Vijay Deenanath Chauhan." While explaining the character of Vijay, Malhotra added, "Nobody can play Vijay the way Amitabh Bachchan did, and I would have wanted my Vijay to be subtle even if it wasn't Hrithik. I wanted the negative characters in my film to be bigger. This made Hrithik's victory seem bigger." Roshan did not look up Bachchan's performance in the original for inspiration, as he considered his role to be completely different in Malhotra's vision. However, he faced several difficulties while filming, having suffered from a severe back injury, which caused him considerable pain, throughout the shooting schedule. During an interview with "Filmfare" he quoted, ""Agneepath" is the hardest I've ever worked in my life. I didn't know what the film had in store for me. I've never been so tired in my life. I have exhausted my body completely."


title: Agneepath (2012 film)

text: Kapoor was subsequently cast as Rauf Lala, an underworld don; alien to the opportunity of playing a completely negative character in his entire career, he was initially hesitant to sign the film. Later, in an interview with "Daily News and Analysis" he stated that when Malhotra had offered him the role, he considered it to be a joke and thought that he would be the reason for the film's failure. Kapoor subsequently insisted on a test look before principal photography could begin, so that he could comfortably fit into the Muslim character of Lala, who wears "kohl" in his eyes, a karakul cap and is dressed in traditional "kurta-pajamas". While shooting for the action sequences, Kapoor suffered several bad falls and bruises, but continued shooting and was thereby praised by Roshan for his professionalism.


title: Agneepath (2012 film)

text: For the role of Kancha, the antagonist, Dutt was cast. According to Malhotra, the script of "Agneepath" demanded that the villain be more powerful than the hero, and due to Dutt's bulky frame, he was considered perfect for the role. The character of Kancha demanded that Dutt go bald, but due to a prior commitment to the film "Son of Sardar", which was being shot simultaneously, he could not do so for the sake of continuity. Therefore, Hollywood make up artist Robin Slater created a "bald" look for Dutt, with the use of prosthetics. However, due to the summer heat in Diu, the make-up would eventually drip down Dutt's face, which impelled him to finally shave his head. Malhotra admitted to being inspired by Marlon Brando's bald look in the film "Apocalypse Now" (1979) while designing Dutt's character. Dutt explained his look by saying, "Kancha is suffering from an ailment that leaves him hairless. I shaved my head for the role, not once but twice, and the eye-brows and eye-lashes have been digitally removed." Furthermore, Dutt worked out in the gym twice a day in order to bulk up for the role.


title: Agneepath (2012 film)

text: During pre-production, media reports suggested that several actresses including Genelia D'Souza, Chopra and Kareena Kapoor were being considered for the role of Kaali Gawde. However, Chopra was approached over the others, and she agreed to do the film instantly. While initial reports suggested that Chopra would be playing the role of a sex worker in the film, they were later denied as rumours; in an interview with Rediff.com, she clarified that she was playing a prostitute's daughter. On Chopra's character, Malhotra commented, "Despite being a male dominated film, the part played by Priyanka Chopra is very prominent. It isn't that of a simple or ordinary lover. She is there for Vijay unconditionally and without any expectations. With all the dangerous people around her, she is like this pretty flower standing there with a smile on her face." Chopra wanted to visit a brothel to prepare for her role, but Malhotra insisted that she don't for safety reasons.


title: Agneepath (2012 film)

text: Among the supporting roles, Zarina Wahab was cast as Suhasini Chauhan, Vijay's mother, a role originally played by Rohini Hattangadi. Wahab agreed to do the film due to her close association with producer Johar, who had earlier directed her in a brief role in "My Name Is Khan". For the role of Shiksha Chauhan, newcomer Kanika Tiwari from Bhopal was auditioned and cast among 6500 girls. Filming for the song was demanding on Katrina Kaif, as she ended up with cuts and blisters on her feet, due to the long, stretched-out schedules.


title: Agneepath (2012 film)

text: Principal photography of "Agneepath" took place in the union territory of Diu, which was used to double as the village of Mandwa. Johar had to complete several formalities before shooting could begin, due to the sensitive nature of the territory. Malhotra, however did not shoot in the port of Mandwa itself, as it was "too congested". While shooting for the film in Mumbai, a picture of Roshan, filming a "dahi handi" sequence was leaked to the media. Worried over this, Johar increased the security on the sets and banned the use of cell phones. Additionally, Chopra faced difficulties in allocating dates to shoot for the film, as she was simultaneously shooting for Anurag Basu's "Barfi!".


title: Agneepath (2012 film)

text: According to Malhotra, most of the action stunts in the film were shot by Roshan and Dutt themselves, while body doubles were used to film a few scenes. Several accidents took place during the filming of "Agneepath". Chopra's "lehenga" caught fire, while shooting for an elaborate Ganpati festival song. Roshan too scalded his hands while shooting for the same scene. Roshan also suffered from an eye injury during the shoot of a song, when "holi" colours were flung into his eyes by some junior artists. During a schedule in October, Roshan suffered from a major back injury while lifting a man weighing 110 kilograms, which was a part of an elaborate action sequence. Shooting was stalled for some time following the incident, while Roshan recuperated in a hospital.


title: Agneepath (2012 film)

text: While Ravi K. Chandran was assigned as the cinematographer of "Agneepath", he opted out of the film after filming certain portions for unknown reasons. Kiran Deohans was later contracted to replace him. Sabu Cyril was contracted as the production designer for the film, along with a team of 200 people. He explained the creation of Kancha's den by saying that he built a "haveli"-like structure with tantric paintings on the walls, resembling an old fort built by the Portuguese (who had historically occupied Diu). Vijay's home, on the other hand, was a "small sack-like thing" on the terrace of a "chawl", which was built on open ground with a hundred houses. Cyril added, "We wanted a tree to be at the edge of a hillside, protruding out due to erosion, with not enough soil. We made this banyan tree with fibre as we wanted it to have a particular look." This tree forms a visual thread to represent Kancha's atrocities in the film. The song "Chikni Chameli" featuring Kaif was shot in Film City, Mumbai, where the entire set of Dutt's villa was recreated.


title: Agneepath (2012 film)

text: The music of "Agneepath" was composed by Ajay–Atul, with lyrics written by Amitabh Bhattacharya. The songs were composed with the help of live instrumentation being extensively used. While explaining the process involved in composing the soundtrack, Ajay said that Malhotra narrated the story to them for over four hours, whilst humming the background score that he wanted. This was followed by innumerable discussions which made them "understand each other well". He also mentioned that the song "Chikni Chameli" was a remake of their own Marathi song "Kombdi Palali" from the film "Jatra" (2006). Sony Music acquired the rights to the album for .


title: Agneepath (2012 film)

text: "Agneepath" derives its name from a poem of the same name written by Harivansh Rai Bachchan. The poem, which is recited through the film provides a metaphorical link to represent Vijay's quest for vengeance. Several critics consider "Agneepath" to be a homage to the era of the melodramatic, over-the-top action films of the 1980s and 90s. Critic Rajeev Masand analysed, ""Agneepath" is a throwback to those heightened action dramas of the 90s, so every dialogue is delivered as a punch-line; our hero may be battered and stabbed, yet he'll rise like the Phoenix, and the women are flung around to be raped or sold as sex slaves." He added, "The film is enhanced by uncompromising, brutal action, and by its striking camerawork, especially those scenes framed against a monsoon sky, heavy with dark clouds." Writing for "Hindustan Times", Mayank Shekhar explained that the film, like several other Bollywood films, was inspired by the Indian epic tale of the "Ramayana". He also added that "the external logic of a star-driven, fantasy fed film" would "not be easy to gulp for many." While writing a critique for "Deccan Chronicle", Suparna Sharma quoted, ""Agneepath" is more than a remake or a homage to the original. It's about a son righting a wrong and this emotion makes us connect with the film immediately."


title: Agneepath (2012 film)

text: The first official trailer of "Agneepath" was launched at a press conference in Mumbai on 29 August 2011. Dharma Productions streamed the event live on the production house's YouTube channel. The event was attended by the entire cast: Roshan, Kapoor, Dutt and Chopra. The trailer of the film was the third most watched trailer in India, behind the films, "Don 2" and "Ra.One".


title: Agneepath (2012 film)

text: The film associated itself with McDonald's to provide a discount of to customers buying a meal at the joint. Additionally, few winners were offered a chance to win a lunch date with Roshan. As part of the promotional campaign, Roshan, Dutt and Chopra visited Dubai on 19 January 2012, to interact with fans at a shopping mall, followed by an invitational high tea party. The actors travelled to several places in India including New Delhi, Nagpur and other cities to promote the film.


title: Agneepath (2012 film)

text: Prior to its theatrical release, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) certified the film with a UA certificate after demanding a few cuts, due to a high proportion of violence present in the film. Explaining the certificate, Pankaja Thakur, CEO of CBFC stated, ""Agneepath" has a lot of bloodsheds but none of us felt disturbed by it. The violence is not the type that can psychologically damage a child and the softer scenes of the film managed to offset the darker part of it". The film's posters subsequently featured disclaimers reading, "This film is certified U/A. We advise parental guidance due to violence in the film." The board consequently praised Johar for the step.


title: Agneepath (2012 film)

text: Initially scheduled to release on 28 December 2011, "Agneepath" was postponed by a week to 26 January to coincide with the Republic Day celebrations. The film eventually released at around 2650 screens worldwide. The satellite rights of the film were originally sold to Zee Network for a sum of , a month before the theatrical release, which marked a distant first for the studio, whose earlier rights were often sold either to Star India or Sony Pictures Networks. Somehow, this meant that the deal would appear in later stages, and after "Baar Baar Dekho" being one of the films, several films produced by the studio in 2017, 2018 and 2019 would be sold to Zee TV. Dharma Productions released the DVD of "Agneepath" on 13 March 2012 across all regions in the NTSC format, with a censor rating of PG-13. The DVD includes special features such as the "making of the film" and "deleted scenes and songs". It is available in Dolby Digital 5.1 and Stereo format with English and Arabic subtitles presented in . The film is now available on Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, with its renewed satellite rights now owned by Viacom 18.


title: Agneepath (2012 film)

text: Upon release, "Agneepath" received positive reviews from film critics in India. Taran Adarsh of "Bollywood Hungama" gave the film a score of 4.5 out of 5, and said, ""Agneepath" is an uncomplicated story of revenge, is hard-hitting yet entertaining, dwells on strong emotions and aggressive and forceful action, yet is dissimilar from the original. It is a fitting tribute to the masterwork." Subhash K. Jha of IANS gave it 4 out of 5 stars, while commenting, "Every component of the film falls into place, with a resounding thump. Agneepath is brilliant in its brutality. It's a riveting and hectic homage to the spirit of the cinema when revenge reigned supreme. And content was king. This new "Agneepath" takes us back to the era when there was no computer or cellphones. And communication with the audience was immediate and electrifying." Kaveree Bamzai of "India Today" rated the film 4 out of 5, noting, "Melodramatic, choir-inducing sentiment, ecstatic. "Agneepath" is that rare mainstream movie written well."


title: Agneepath (2012 film)

text: Aniruddha Guha of "Daily News and Analysis" gave the film 3.5 out of 5, reviewing, "An adaptation rather than a remake, the film assumes a life of its own once the central plot has been established. The film then charts a journey of his own." Piyali Dasgupta of "NDTV" gave it 3.5 out of 5, stating "Watch this film because this one is unadulterated Bollywood entertainment." Daily Bhaskar gave the film 3.5 out of 5 stars, while adding, "On the whole, "Agneepath" totally rests on star power which will lure the cine-goers to halls but how far will it impress them remains to be seen."


title: Agneepath (2012 film)

text: Avijit Ghosh of "The Times of India" gave the film 3 stars out of 5, and said, "Try to wipe out the movie's earlier version from your mind. You might find it more enjoyable." Sukanya Verma of "Rediff" gave it 3 out of 5, while commenting, ""Agneepath", less of a remake, more of a tribute. The makers of "Agneepath" should have just called it "Dharmapath"." Kunal Guha of "Yahoo.com" gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, saying that, "The biggest dilemma of remaking a movie is how much to retain and what to retain. If the new story takes violent shifts, you lose the audience who came to revisit the original. If you photocopy scene-by-scene, you risk failing to connect with the audience who is accustomed to present sensibilities. The only safe bet: a 'khichdi' of the past and the present, like this one."


title: Agneepath (2012 film)

text: Mayank Shekhar of "Hindustan Times" gave the film 3 out of 5 stars while remarking, "This is the kind of genuine theatre experience, now getting rare, which remains most precious in the life of a film-goer. Reason can take over later. I had a ball!" Sonia Chopra of "Sify" gave it 3 out of 5, and mentioned, "Debut director Karan Malhotra shows great promise in making the film visually arresting and maintaining the consistency of performances. But remaking a cult film means you have big shoes to fill. If you're a loyalist of the late Mukul Anand's "Agneepath", you're likely to have reservations with this one. But if you leave the comparisons aside and are willing to forgive the faults, "Agneepath" is worth a watch essentially to savor Hrithik's performance." Rajeev Masand of "CNN-IBN" gave "Agneepath" 3 out of 5 and said, "It is in the end, an old-fashioned revenge drama treated in that melodramatic, over-the-top style. You're not likely to be bored by the intense action and the solid performances, but prepare to be exhausted by just how long this film plays on."


title: Agneepath (2012 film)

text: Overseas, the film received positive reviews. Russel Edwards of "Variety" reviewed, "Debuting helmer Karan Malhotra stokes up a fiery revenge tale in "Agneepath", an expensively pumped-up, relentlessly energetic retelling of the 1990 Amitabh Bachchan cult favorite of the same name. Toplining Bollywood hunk Hrithik Roshan and veteran actor Sanjay Dutt donning the hat as the antagonist, this dynamic Hindi action extravaganza boosts its potent story with an aggressive style that will ensure audiences feel every blow." Farah Andrews of "Gulf News" praised the film while saying, "Fans of the 1990 original starring Amitabh Bachchan and Danny Denzongpa as Vijay and Kancha may be wary about the remake, but take it from us, the revamped flick is well worth a watch." Rabina A. Khan of "The First Post" wrote, "Director Karan Malhotra has made an impressive film under the able guidance of his mentor, Karan Johar. It scores on all directorial aspects – design, sound, edit, costumes, camera, a phenomenal cast, dialogues, and a very gripping screenplay."


title: Agneepath (2012 film)

text: "Agneepath" broke the record of the highest opening day collections, with a nett of on its opening day, surpassing the previous record held by "Bodyguard". Subsequently, the film netted over its extended four-day weekend. The film's collections sustained well on its first Monday and it netted around , taking its five-day total to nett. It netted on Tuesday and another nett on Wednesday. The movie brought its first-week total to nett, thereby emerging as a major commercial success.


title: Agneepath (2012 film)

text: The film collected in its second week, thus taking its two-week total to nett. The film collected nett in its third week, taking its three-week nett collections to . It collected in its fourth week, taking its four-week nett collections to . "Agneepath" was thus declared a "superhit". "Agneepath" has collected in its lifetime run in India. Its final distributor share was .


title: Agneepath (2012 film)

text: After a successful opening in the domestic market, "Agneepath" made in its four-day weekend, overseas. At the time of release, the film holds the record for the twelfth largest opening ever internationally. The film has grossed around $6 million in overseas markets.


title: Bulgasal: Immortal Souls

text: Bulgasal: Immortal Souls () is a South Korean television series starring Lee Jin-wook, Kwon Nara, Lee Joon, Gong Seung-yeon, Jung Jin-young, Park Myung-shin, and Kim Woo-seok. It is led by director Jang Young-woo, and the screenplay is written by husband-and-wife team Kwon So-ra and Seo Jae-won. It aired on tvN from December 18, 2021 to February 6, 2022. It is also available for streaming on Netflix.


title: Bulgasal: Immortal Souls

text: The series tells the story of a woman who remembers her past lives by repeating death and reincarnation for 600 years, and a man who cannot kill nor be killed and has lived for the past 600 years as a Bulgasal—a mythical creature that feeds off human blood and is cursed with immortality.


title: Bulgasal: Immortal Souls

text: On December 17, 2020, it was reported that Lee Jin-wook was being cast for the series and was positively considering his appearance. The actor and director Jang Young-woo previously worked together in 2020 series "Sweet Home". In February 2021, actors Lee Joon, Kwon Nara and Jung Jin-young also received casting offer. Line-up for the lead stars consisting of Lee Jin-wook, Kwon Nara, Lee Joon, Gong Seung-yeon, Jung Jin-young, Park Myung-shin and Kim Woo-seok was finally confirmed on March 17.


title: Bulgasal: Immortal Souls

text: "Bulgasal: Immortal Souls" was initially scheduled for release in 2022. In November 2021, it was confirmed that the series would premiere on December 18.


title: Communist Party of Germany

text: The Communist Party of Germany (, , KPD ) was a major political party in the Weimar Republic between 1918 and 1933, an underground resistance movement in Nazi Germany, and a minor party in West Germany in the postwar period until it was banned by the Federal Constitutional Court in 1956.


title: Communist Party of Germany

text: Founded in the aftermath of the First World War by socialists who had opposed the war, the party joined the Spartacist uprising of January 1919, which sought to establish a soviet republic in Germany. After the defeat of the uprising, and the murder of KPD leaders Rosa Luxemburg, Karl Liebknecht and Leo Jogiches, the party temporarily steered a more moderate, parliamentarian course under the leadership of Paul Levi. During the Weimar Republic period, the KPD usually polled between 10 and 15 percent of the vote and was represented in the national and in state parliaments. Under the leadership of Ernst Thälmann from 1925 the party became thoroughly Stalinist and loyal to the leadership of the Soviet Union, and from 1928 it was largely controlled and funded by the Comintern in Moscow. Under Thälmann's leadership the party directed most of its attacks against the Social Democratic Party of Germany, which it regarded as its main adversary and referred to as "social fascists"; the KPD considered all other parties in the Weimar Republic to be "fascists".


title: Communist Party of Germany

text: The KPD was banned in the Weimar Republic one day after the Nazi Party emerged triumphant in the German elections in 1933. It maintained an underground organization in Nazi Germany, and the KPD and groups associated with it led the internal resistance to the Nazi regime, with a focus on distributing anti-Nazi literature. The KPD suffered heavy losses between 1933 and 1939, with 30,000 communists executed and 150,000 sent to Nazi concentration camps.


title: Communist Party of Germany

text: The party was revived in divided postwar West and East Germany and won seats in the first (West German Parliament) elections in 1949, but its support collapsed following the establishment of the German Democratic Republic in the former Soviet Occupation Zone in the east. The KPD was banned as extremist in West Germany in 1956 by the Constitutional Court. In 1969, some of its former members founded an even smaller fringe party, the German Communist Party (DKP), which remains legal, and multiple tiny splinter groups claiming to be the successor to the KPD have also subsequently been formed.


title: Communist Party of Germany

text: In East Germany, the party was merged, by Soviet decree, with remnants of the Social Democratic Party to form the Socialist Unity Party (SED) which ruled East Germany from 1949 until 1989–1990; the merger was opposed by many Social Democrats, many of whom fled to the western zones. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, reformists took over the SED and renamed it the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS); in 2007 the PDS subsequently merged with the SPD splinter faction WASG to form .


title: Communist Party of Germany

text: Before the First World War the Social Democratic Party (SPD) was the largest party in Germany and the world's most successful socialist party. Although still officially claiming to be a Marxist party, by 1914 it had become in practice a reformist party. In 1914 the SPD members of the Reichstag voted in favour of the war. Left-wing members of the party, led by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg, strongly opposed the war, and the SPD soon suffered a split, with the leftists forming the Independent Social Democratic Party of Germany (USPD) and the more radical Spartacist League. The League formed the core of what would become the KPD. In November 1918, revolution broke out across Germany. The KPD held its founding congress in Berlin from 30 December 1918 to 1 January 1919, in the reception hall of the City Council. Rosa Luxemburg was initially against the setting up of a new party but joined the KPD after her initial hesitation. Apart from the Spartacists, another dissent group of socialists called the International Communists of Germany, also dissenting members of the Social Democratic party but mainly located in Hamburg, Bremen and Northern Germany, joined the KPD. The Revolutionary Shop Stewards, a network of dissenting socialist trade unionists centered in Berlin, were also invited to the congress, but ultimately did not join the KPD because they deemed the founding congress too syndicalist-leaning.


title: Communist Party of Germany

text: These reports were given by leading figures of the Spartacist League, but members of the International Communists of Germany also took part in the discussions.


title: Communist Party of Germany

text: Under the leadership of Liebknecht and Luxemburg, the KPD was committed to a revolution in Germany, and attempts to bring down the interim government and create a revolutionary situation continued during 1919 and 1920. Germany's SPD leadership, which had come to power after the fall of the monarchy, was vehemently opposed to a socialist revolution. With the new regime terrified of a Bolshevik Revolution in Germany, Defense Minister Gustav Noske recruited former right-wing military officers and demobilized veterans and formed various "Freikorps" and anti-communist paramilitaries to violently suppress all revolutionary activity. During the failed Spartacist uprising in Berlin of January 1919, Liebknecht and Luxemburg, who had not initiated the uprising but joined once it had begun, were captured by the "Freikorps" and murdered. At its peak, the party had 350–400,000 members in 1920. The party split a few months later into two factions, the KPD and the much smaller Communist Workers Party of Germany (KAPD).


title: Communist Party of Germany

text: Following the assassination of Leo Jogiches, Paul Levi became the KPD's leader. Other prominent members included Clara Zetkin, Paul Frölich, Hugo Eberlein, Franz Mehring, August Thalheimer, Wilhelm Pieck and Ernst Meyer. Levi led the party away from the policy of immediate revolution, in an effort to win over SPD and USPD voters and trade union officials. These efforts were rewarded when a substantial section of the USPD joined the KPD, making it a mass party for the first time.


title: Communist Party of Germany

text: Through the 1920s the KPD was racked by internal conflict between radical and moderate factions, partly reflecting the power struggles between Joseph Stalin and Grigory Zinoviev in Moscow. Germany was seen as being of central importance to the struggle for socialism, and the failure of the German revolution was a major setback. Eventually Levi was expelled in 1921 by the Comintern for "indiscipline". Further leadership changes took place in the 1920s. Supporters of the Left or Right Opposition to the Stalinist-controlled Comintern leadership were expelled; of these, Heinrich Brandler, August Thalheimer and Paul Frölich set up a splinter Communist Party Opposition in 1928.


title: Communist Party of Germany

text: During the years of the Weimar Republic, the KPD was the largest Communist party in Europe and was seen as the "leading party" of the communist movement outside of the Soviet Union. The party abandoned the goal of immediate revolution, and from 1924 onwards contested Reichstag elections, with some success.


title: Communist Party of Germany

text: A new KPD leadership more favorable to the Soviet Union was elected in 1923. The party’s left around Ruth Fischer, Arkadi Maslow and Werner Scholem took leadership of the KPD in 1924; Ernst Thälmann was allied to this faction and became a member of the politburo and was appointed


title: Communist Party of Germany

text: KPD vice-chairman in January 1924. Stalin engineered the Fischer leadership’s removal in August 1925, and installed Thälmann as party chairman.


title: Communist Party of Germany

text: From 1923 to 1928, the KPD broadly followed the united front policy developed in the early 1920s of working with other working class and socialist parties to contest elections, pursue social struggles and fight the rising right-wing militias. For example, in 1926 it worked with SPD on a referendum to expropriate the German nobility, together mobilising 14.4 million voters.


title: Communist Party of Germany

text: The party's first paramilitary wing was the "Roter Frontkämpferbund" (Alliance of Red Front Fighters), which was founded in 1924 but banned by the governing Social Democrats in 1929.


title: Communist Party of Germany

text: By 1927, the party had 130,000 members, of whom 40,000 had been members in 1920. From 1928 onwards (after Stalin reinstated Thälmann as KPD leader against the majority of the KPD central committee in the wake of an embezzlement scandal involving Thälmann's ally John Wittorf), the party followed the Comintern line and received funding from the Comintern. Under Thälmann's leadership, the party was closely aligned with the Soviet leadership headed by Joseph Stalin; Thälmann has been described as "the driving force behind Stalinization in the mid to late 1920s" and "Stalin’s right hand in Germany". After winning control from his former leftist allies, he expelled the party's Right Opposition around Heinrich Brandler.


title: Communist Party of Germany

text: Aligning with the Comintern's ultra-left Third Period, under the slogan "Class against class", the KPD abruptly turned to viewing the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) as its main adversary. In this period, the KPD referred to the SPD as "social fascists". The term social fascism was introduced to the German Communist Party shortly after the Hamburg Uprising of 1923 and gradually became ever more influential in the party; by 1929 it was being propagated as a theory. The KPD regarded itself as "the only anti-fascist party" in Germany and held that all other parties in the Weimar Republic were "fascist". After the Nazi electoral breakthrough in the 1930 Reichstag election, the SPD proposed a renewed united front with the KPD against fascism but this was rejected.


title: Communist Party of Germany

text: In the early 1930s, the KPD cooperated with the Nazis in attacking the social democrats, and both sought to destroy the liberal democracy of the Weimar Republic. They also followed an increasingly nationalist course, trying to appeal to nationalist-leaning workers.


title: Communist Party of Germany

text: The KPD leadership initially first criticised but then supported the 1931 Prussian Landtag referendum, an unsuccessful attempt launched by the far-right Stahlhelm to bring down the social democrat state government of Prussia by means of a plebiscite; the KPD referred to the SA as "working people's comrades" during this campaign.


title: Communist Party of Germany

text: The KPD maintained a solid electoral performance, usually polling more than 10% of the vote. It gained 100 deputies in the November 1932 elections, getting 16% of the vote and coming third. In the presidential election of the same year, its candidate Thälmann took 13.2% of the vote, compared to Hitler's 30.1%. In this period, while also opposed to the Nazis, the KPD regarded the Nazi Party as a less sophisticated and thus less dangerous fascist party than the SPD, and KPD leader Ernst Thälmann declared that "some Nazi trees must not be allowed to overshadow a forest [of social democrats]". In February 1932, Thälmann argued that “Hitler must come to power first, then the requirements for a revolutionary crisis [will] arrive more quickly”. In November 1932, the KPD and the Nazis worked together in the Berlin transport workers’ strike.


title: Communist Party of Germany

text: Critics of the KPD accused it of having pursued a sectarian policy. For example, the Social Democratic Party criticized the KPD's thesis of "social fascism", and both Leon Trotsky from the Comintern's Left Opposition and August Thalheimer of the Right Opposition continued to argue for a united front. Critics believed that the KPD's sectarianism scuttled any possibility of a united front with the SPD against the rising power of the National Socialists.


title: Communist Party of Germany

text: Thälmann repudiated these allegations, claiming that the right-wing leadership of the SPD rejected and actively worked against the KPD's efforts to form a united front against fascism. After Franz von Papen's government carried out a coup d'état in Prussia the KPD called for a general strike and turned to the SPD leadership for joint struggle, but the SPD leaders again refused to cooperate with the KPD.


title: Communist Party of Germany

text: In 1932, as the party began to shift focus to the fascist threat, the KPD founded the Antifaschistische Aktion, commonly known as Antifa, which it described as a "red united front under the leadership of the only anti-fascist party, the KPD". In February 1933, shortly before the end of the Weimar Republic, the KPD proposed a coalition with the SPD against Nazism, which the SPD rejected.


title: Communist Party of Germany

text: On 27 February, soon after the appointment of Adolf Hitler as chancellor, the Reichstag was set on fire and Dutch council communist Marinus van der Lubbe was found near the building. The Nazis publicly blamed the fire on communist agitators in general, although in a German court in 1933, it was decided that van der Lubbe had acted alone, as he claimed to have done. The following day, Hitler persuaded Hindenburg to issue the Reichstag Fire Decree. It suspended the civil liberties enshrined in the Weimar Constitution, ostensibly to deal with Communist acts of violence.


title: Communist Party of Germany

text: Repression began within hours of the fire, when police arrested dozens of communists. Although Hitler could have formally banned the KPD, he did not do so right away. Not only was he reluctant to chance a violent uprising, but he believed the KPD could siphon off SPD votes and split the left. However, most judges held the KPD responsible for the fire, and took the line that KPD membership was in and of itself a treasonous act. At the March 1933 election, the KPD elected 81 deputies. However, it was an open secret that they would never be allowed to take up their seats; they were all arrested in short order. For all intents and purposes, the KPD was "outlawed" on the day the Reichstag Fire Decree was issued, and "completely banned" as of 6 March, the day after the election.


title: Communist Party of Germany

text: Shortly after the election, the Nazis pushed through the Enabling Act, which allowed the cabinet–in practice, Hitler–to enact laws without the involvement of the Reichstag, effectively giving Hitler dictatorial powers. Since the bill was effectively a constitutional amendment, a quorum of two-thirds of the entire Reichstag had to be present in order to formally call up the bill. Leaving nothing to chance, Reichstag President Hermann Göring did not count the KPD seats for purposes of obtaining the required quorum. This led historian Richard J. Evans to contend that the Enabling Act had been passed in a manner contrary to law. The Nazis did not need to count the KPD deputies for purposes of getting a supermajority of two-thirds of those deputies present and voting. However, Evans argued, not counting the KPD deputies for purposes of a quorum amounted to "refusing to recognize their existence", and was thus "an illegal act".


title: Communist Party of Germany

text: The KPD was efficiently suppressed by the Nazis. The most senior KPD leaders were Wilhelm Pieck and Walter Ulbricht, who went into exile in the Soviet Union. The KPD maintained an underground organisation in Germany throughout the Nazi period, but the loss of many core members severely weakened the Party's infrastructure.


title: Communist Party of Germany

text: A number of senior KPD leaders in exile were caught up in Joseph Stalin's Great Purge of 1937–1938 and executed, among them Hugo Eberlein, Heinz Neumann, Hermann Remmele, Fritz Schulte and Hermann Schubert, or sent to the gulag, like Margarete Buber-Neumann. Still others, like Gustav von Wangenheim and Erich Mielke (later the head of the Stasi in East Germany), denounced their fellow exiles to the NKVD. Willi Münzenberg, the KPD's propaganda chief, was murdered in mysterious circumstances in France in 1940.


title: Communist Party of Germany

text: In East Germany, the Soviet Military Administration in Germany forced the eastern branch of the SPD to merge with the KPD (led by Pieck and Ulbricht) to form the Socialist Unity Party (SED) in April 1946. Although nominally a union of equals, the SED quickly fell under communist domination, and most of the more recalcitrant members from the SPD side of the merger were pushed out in short order. By the time of the formal formation of the East German state in 1949, the SED was a full-fledged Communist party, and developed along lines similar to other Soviet-bloc communist parties. It was the ruling party in East Germany from its formation in 1949 until 1989. The SPD managed to preserve its independence in Berlin, forcing the SED to form a small branch in West Berlin, the Socialist Unity Party of West Berlin.


title: Communist Party of Germany

text: The KPD reorganised in the western part of Germany, and received 5.7 percent of the vote in the first Bundestag election in 1949. But the onset of the Cold War and the subsequent widespread repression of the far-left soon caused a collapse in the party's support. The reputation of the party had also been damaged by the conduct of the Red Army during its occupation of eastern Germany, which included looting, political repression, and mass rape. On orders from Joseph Stalin, the Communist deputies to the Parlamentarischer Rat refused to sign the BRD Basic Law to avoid recognizing the political legitimacy of West Germany. At the 1953 election the KPD only won 2.2 percent of the total votes and lost all of its seats, never to return. The party was banned in August 1956 by the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany. The decision was upheld in 1957 by the European Commission of Human Rights in "Communist Party of Germany v. the Federal Republic of Germany".


title: Communist Party of Germany

text: After the party was declared illegal, many of its members continued to function clandestinely despite increased government surveillance. Part of its membership refounded the party in 1968 as the German Communist Party (DKP). Following German reunification many DKP members joined the new Party of Democratic Socialism, formed out of the remains of the SED. In 1968, another self-described successor to the KPD was formed, the Communist Party of Germany/Marxists–Leninists (KPD/ML), which followed Maoist and later Hoxhaist ideas. It went through multiple splits and united with a Trotskyist group in 1986 to form the Unified Socialist Party (VSP), which failed to gain any influence and dissolved in the early 1990s. However, multiple tiny splinter groups originating from the KPD/ML still exist, several of which claim the name of KPD. Another party claiming the KPD name was formed in 1990 in East Berlin by several hardline communists who had been expelled from the PDS, including Erich Honecker. The KPD (Bolshevik) split off from the East German KPD in 2005, bringing the total number of active KPDs to at least five (more or less).


title: Communist Party of Germany

text: The Left, formed out of a merger between the PDS and Labour and Social Justice – The Electoral Alternative in 2007, claims to be the historical successor of the KPD (by way of the PDS).


title: Communist Party of Germany

text: In the early 1920s, the party operated under the principle of democratic centralism, whereby the leading body of the party was the Congress, meeting at least once a year. Between Congresses, leadership of the party resided in the Central Committee, which was elected at the Congress, of one group of people who had to live where the leadership was resident and formed the Zentrale and others nominated from the districts they represented (but also elected at the Congress) who represented the wider party. Elected figures were subject to recall by the bodies that elected them.


title: Communist Party of Germany

text: The KPD employed around about 200 full-timers during its early years of existence, and as Broue notes "They received the pay of an average skilled worker, and had no privileges, apart from being the first to be arrested, prosecuted and sentenced, and when shooting started, to be the first to fall".


title: Battle of Salamis

text: The Battle of Salamis ( ) was a naval battle fought between an alliance of Greek city-states under Themistocles and the Persian Empire under King Xerxes in 480 BC. It resulted in a decisive victory for the outnumbered Greeks. The battle was fought in the straits between the mainland and Salamis, an island in the Saronic Gulf near Athens, and marked the high point of the second Persian invasion of Greece.


title: Battle of Salamis

text: To block the Persian advance, a small force of Greeks blocked the pass of Thermopylae, while an Athenian-dominated Allied navy engaged the Persian fleet in the nearby straits of Artemisium. In the resulting Battle of Thermopylae, the rearguard of the Greek force was annihilated, while in the Battle of Artemisium the Greeks suffered heavy losses and retreated after the loss at Thermopylae. This allowed the Persians to conquer Phocis, Boeotia, Attica and Euboea. The Allies prepared to defend the Isthmus of Corinth while the fleet was withdrawn to nearby Salamis Island.


title: Battle of Salamis

text: Although heavily outnumbered, the Greeks were persuaded by Athenian general Themistocles to bring the Persian fleet to battle again, in the hope that a victory would prevent naval operations against the Peloponnese. Persian king Xerxes was also eager for a decisive battle. As a result of subterfuge on the part of Themistocles (which included a message directly sent to Xerxes letting him know that much of the Greek fleet was stationed at Salamis), the Persian navy rowed into the Straits of Salamis and tried to block both entrances. In the cramped conditions of the Straits, the great Persian numbers were an active hindrance, as ships struggled to maneuver and became disorganized. Seizing the opportunity, the Greek fleet formed in line and scored a decisive victory.


title: Battle of Salamis

text: Xerxes retreated to Asia with much of his army, leaving Mardonius to complete the conquest of Greece. The following year the remainder of the Persian army was decisively beaten at the Battle of Plataea and the Persian navy at the Battle of Mycale. The Persians made no further attempts to conquer the Greek mainland. These battles of Salamis and Plataea thus mark a turning point in the course of the Greco-Persian wars as a whole; from then onward, the Greek "poleis" would take the offensive.


title: Battle of Salamis

text: The Greek city-states of Athens and Eretria had supported the unsuccessful Ionian Revolt against the Persian Empire of Darius I in 499-494 BC, led by the satrap of Miletus, Aristagoras. The Persian Empire was still relatively young, and prone to revolts amongst its subject peoples. Moreover, Darius was a usurper, and had spent considerable time extinguishing revolts against his rule. The Ionian revolt threatened the integrity of his empire, and Darius thus vowed to punish those involved (especially those not already part of the empire). Darius also saw the opportunity to expand his empire into the fractious world of Ancient Greece. A preliminary expedition under Mardonius, in 492 BC, to secure the land approaches to Greece ended with the conquest of Thrace and forced Macedon to become a client kingdom of Persia.


title: Battle of Salamis

text: In 491 BC, Darius sent emissaries to all the Greek city-states, asking for a gift of 'earth and water' in token of their submission to him. Having had a demonstration of his power the previous year, the majority of the Greek cities duly obliged. In Athens, however, the ambassadors were put on trial and then executed; in Sparta, they were simply thrown down a well. This meant that Sparta was also now effectively at war with Persia.


title: Battle of Salamis

text: Darius thus put together an amphibious task force under Datis and Artaphernes in 490 BC, which attacked Naxos, before receiving the submission of the other Cycladic Islands. The task force then moved on Eretria, which it besieged and destroyed. Finally, it moved to attack Athens, landing at the bay of Marathon, where it was met by a heavily outnumbered Athenian army. At the ensuing Battle of Marathon, the Athenians won a remarkable victory, which resulted in the withdrawal of the Persian army to Asia.


title: Battle of Salamis

text: Darius therefore began raising a huge new army with which he meant to completely subjugate Greece; however, in 486 BC, his Egyptian subjects revolted, indefinitely postponing any Greek expedition. Darius then died whilst preparing to march on Egypt, and the throne of Persia passed to his son Xerxes I. Xerxes crushed the Egyptian revolt, and very quickly restarted the preparations for the invasion of Greece. Since this was to be a full-scale invasion, it required long-term planning, stock-piling and conscription. Xerxes decided that the Hellespont would be bridged to allow his army to cross to Europe, and that a canal should be dug across the isthmus of Mount Athos (rounding which headland, a Persian fleet had been destroyed in 492 BC). These were both feats of exceptional ambition, which would have been beyond any other contemporary state. By early 480 BC, the preparations were complete, and the army which Xerxes had mustered at Sardis marched towards Europe, crossing the Hellespont on two pontoon bridges.


title: Battle of Salamis

text: The Athenians had also been preparing for war with the Persians since the mid-480s BC, and in 482 BC the decision was taken, under the guidance of the Athenian politician Themistocles, to build a massive fleet of triremes that would be necessary for the Greeks to fight the Persians. However, the Athenians did not have the manpower to fight on land and sea; and therefore combatting the Persians would require an alliance of Greek city states. In 481 BC, Xerxes sent ambassadors around Greece asking for earth and water, but made the very deliberate omission of Athens and Sparta. Support thus began to coalesce around these two leading states. A congress of city states met at Corinth in late autumn of 481 BC, and a confederate alliance of Greek city-states was formed. It had the power to send envoys asking for assistance and to dispatch troops from the member states to defensive points after joint consultation. This was remarkable for the disjointed Greek world, especially since many of the city-states in attendance were still technically at war with each other.


title: Battle of Salamis

text: Initially the 'congress' agreed to defend the narrow Vale of Tempe, on the borders of Thessaly, and thereby block Xerxes's advance. However, once there, they were warned by Alexander I of Macedon that the vale could be bypassed through the pass by the modern village of Sarantaporo, and that the army of Xerxes was overwhelming, so the Greeks retreated. Shortly afterwards, they received the news that Xerxes had crossed the Hellespont. A second strategy was therefore adopted by the allies. The route to southern Greece (Boeotia, Attica and the Peloponnese) would require the army of Xerxes to travel through the very narrow pass of Thermopylae. This could easily be blocked by the Greek hoplites, despite the overwhelming numbers of Persians. Furthermore, to prevent the Persians bypassing Thermopylae by sea, the Athenian and allied navies could block the straits of Artemisium. This dual strategy was adopted by the congress. However, the Peloponnesian cities made fall-back plans to defend the Isthmus of Corinth should it come to it, whilst the women and children of Athens had been evacuated "en masse" to the Peloponnesian city of Troezen.


title: Battle of Salamis

text: Famously, the much smaller Greek army held the pass of Thermopylae against the Persians for three days before being outflanked by a mountain path. Much of the Greek army retreated, before the Spartans and Thespians who had continued to block the pass were surrounded and killed. The simultaneous Battle of Artemisium was up to that point a stalemate; however, when news of Thermopylae reached them, the Allied fleet also retreated, since holding the straits of Artemisium was now a moot point.


title: Battle of Salamis

text: The Allied fleet now rowed from Artemisium to Salamis to assist with the final evacuation of Athens. "En route" Themistocles left inscriptions addressed to the Ionian Greek crews of the Persian fleet on all springs of water that they might stop at, asking them to defect to the Allied cause. Following Thermopylae, the Persian army proceeded to burn and sack the Boeotian cities that had not surrendered, Plataea and Thespiae, before marching on the now evacuated city of Athens. The Allies (mostly Peloponnesian) prepared to defend the Isthmus of Corinth, demolishing the single road that led through it, and building a wall across it.


title: Battle of Salamis

text: This strategy was flawed, however, unless the Allied fleet was able to prevent the Persian fleet from transporting troops across the Saronic Gulf. In a council-of-war called once the evacuation of Athens was complete, the Corinthian naval commander Adeimantus argued that the fleet should assemble off the coast of the Isthmus in order to achieve such a blockade. However, Themistocles argued in favour of an offensive strategy, aimed at decisively destroying the Persians' naval superiority. He drew on the lessons of Artemisium, pointing out that ""battle in close conditions works to our advantage"". He eventually won through, and the Allied navy remained off the coast of Salamis.


title: Battle of Salamis

text: The time-line for Salamis is difficult to establish with any certainty. Herodotus presents the battle as though it occurred directly after the capture of Athens, but nowhere explicitly states as much. If Thermopylae/Artemisium occurred in September, then this may be the case, but it is probably more likely that the Persians spent two or three weeks capturing Athens, refitting the fleet, and resupplying. Clearly though, at some point after capturing Athens, Xerxes held a council of war with the Persian fleet; Herodotus says this occurred at Phalerum. Artemisia, queen of Halicarnassus and commander of its naval squadron in Xerxes's fleet, tried to convince him to wait for the Allies to surrender believing that battle in the straits of Salamis was an unnecessary risk. Nevertheless, Xerxes and his chief advisor Mardonius pressed for an attack.


title: Battle of Salamis

text: It is difficult to explain exactly what eventually brought about the battle, assuming that neither side simply attacked without forethought. Clearly though, at some point just before the battle, new information began to reach Xerxes of rifts in the allied command; the Peloponnesians wished to evacuate from Salamis while they still could. This alleged rift amongst the Allies may have simply been a ruse, in order to lure the Persians to battle. Alternatively, this change in attitude amongst the Allies (who had waited patiently off the coast of Salamis for at least a week while Athens was captured) may have been in response to Persian offensive maneuvers. Possibly, a Persian army had been sent to march against the Isthmus in order to test the nerve of the fleet.


title: Battle of Salamis

text: Either way, when Xerxes received this news, he ordered his fleet to go out on patrol off the coast of Salamis, blocking the southern exit. Then, at dusk, he ordered them to withdraw, possibly in order to tempt the Allies into a hasty evacuation. That evening Themistocles attempted what appears to have been a spectacularly successful use of disinformation. He sent a servant, Sicinnus, to Xerxes, with a message proclaiming that Themistocles was ""on the king's side and prefers that your affairs prevail, not the Hellenes"". Themistocles claimed that the Allied command was in-fighting, that the Peloponnesians were planning to evacuate that very night, and that to gain victory all the Persians needed to do was to block the straits. In performing this subterfuge, Themistocles seems to have been trying to bring about exactly the opposite; to lure the Persian fleet into the Straits. This was exactly the kind of news that Xerxes wanted to hear; that the Athenians might be willing to submit to him, and that he would be able to destroy the rest of the Allied fleet. Xerxes evidently took the bait, and the Persian fleet was sent out that evening to effect this block. Xerxes ordered a throne to be set up on the slopes of Mount Aigaleo (overlooking the straits), in order to watch the battle from a clear vantage point, and so as to record the names of commanders who performed particularly well.


title: Battle of Salamis

text: According to Herodotus, the Allies spent the evening heatedly debating their course of action. The Peloponnesians were in favour of evacuating, and at this point Themistocles attempted his ruse with Xerxes. It was only when Aristides, the exiled Athenian general arrived that night, followed by some deserters from the Persians, with news of the deployment of the Persian fleet, that the Peloponnesians accepted that they could not escape, and so would fight.


title: Battle of Salamis

text: However, the Peloponnesians may have been party to Themistocles's stratagem, so serenely did they accept that they would now have to fight at Salamis. The Allied navy was thus able to prepare properly for battle the forthcoming day, whilst the Persians spent the night fruitlessly at sea, searching for the alleged Greek evacuation. The next morning, the Persians rowed into the straits to attack the Greek fleet; it is not clear when, why or how this decision was made, but it is clear that they did take the battle to the Allies.


title: Battle of Salamis

text: Herodotus reports that there were 378 triremes in the Allied fleet, and then breaks the numbers down by city state (as indicated in the table). However, his numbers for the individual contingents only add up to 371. He does not explicitly say that all 378 fought at Salamis (""All of these came to the war providing triremes...The total number of ships...was three hundred and seventy-eight""), and he also says that the Aeginetans ""had other manned ships, but they guarded their own land with these and fought at Salamis with the thirty most seaworthy"". Thus it has been supposed that the difference between the numbers is accounted for by a garrison of 12 ships left at Aegina. According to Herodotus, two more ships defected from the Persians to the Greeks, one before Artemisium and one before Salamis, so the total complement at Salamis would have been 373 (or 380).


title: Battle of Salamis

text: According to the Athenian playwright Aeschylus, who actually fought at Salamis, the Greek fleet numbered 310 triremes (the difference being the number of Athenian ships). Ctesias claims that the Athenian fleet numbered only 110 triremes, which ties in with Aeschylus's numbers. According to Hyperides, the Greek fleet numbered only 220. The fleet was effectively under the command of Themistocles, but nominally led by the Spartan nobleman Eurybiades, as had been agreed at the congress in 481 BC. Although Themistocles had tried to claim leadership of the fleet, the other city states with navies objected, and so Sparta (which had no naval tradition) was given command of the fleet as a compromise.