"ગંજીફાનાં પત્તા" મધ્યમ પ્રકારના જાડા કાગળમાંથી બનાવવામાં આવે છે. પાતળા કાર્ડ, પાતળું પ્લાસ્ટીક, જે અલગ પ્રકારની આકૃતિઓ સાથે અને રમવાના એક સેટ તરીકે વપરાતા. પત્તા ઘણુખરુ હથેળીના કદના રખાતા જેથી વપરાશ સરળ રહેતો અને ૨૦મી સદીના મધ્યથી ઘણી વખત પ્લાસ્ટીકના પણ બનાવાતા. પત્તાના એક આખ્ખા સેટને કેત, પેક અથવા ડેક કહેવાય અને ખેલાડીની પાસે એક્સાથે રહેતા પત્તાને તેમનો 'હાથ' કહેવાય છે. પત્તાનો ડેક એ ગંજીફાની ઘણી બધી રમતોમાં વપરાય છે જેમાની અમુક સાથે જુગાર પણ સંકળાયેલ હોય છે. એક્જ કદ/માપ અને સરળતાથી મળવાના આ બે કારણે તેમનો ઉપયોગ બીજી રીતે પણ થવા લાગ્યો, જેમકે, જાદુની તરકીબો, પત્તા દ્વારા ભવિષ્ય, કોઇ પ્રકારની ગુપ્ત સંજ્ઞા, બીજી રમતો અથવા પત્તાનુ ઘર બનાવવા. મુદ્રિત થયેલા ગંજીફા પહેલી વખત ડ્રેસ્ડન(જર્મની)માં વિકસાવાયા અને બનાવાયા.  thin card, or thin plastic, figured with distinguishing motifs and used as one of a set for playing card games. Playing cards are typically palm-sized for convenient handling and since the mid 20th century have sometimes been manufactured from plastic. A complete set of cards is called a pack or deck, and the set of cards held at one time by a player during a game is commonly called their hand. A deck of cards may be used for playing a great variety of card games, some of which may also incorporate gambling. Because playing cards are both standardized and commonly available, they are often adapted for other uses, such as magic tricks, cartomancy, encryption, boardgames, or building a house of cards. The first ever printed cards were developed and crafted in Dresden, Germany.

દરેક પત્તાનો અગ્ર ભાગ (અથવા મુખ)બીજા દરેક પત્તાથી અલગ આક્રુતિ/સંજ્ઞના હોય છે અને તેમનો ઉપયોગ રમત પ્રમાણે જુદો જુદો હોય છે. દરેક પત્તાનો પ્રુષ્ઠ ભાગ કોઇ પણ એક ડેકમાં એક સરખો જ હોય છે, જે ઘણુ઼ખરૂ એક જ રંગ અને એકસરખી આક્રુતિ વાળા હોય છે. પત્તાનો પ્રુષ્ઠ ભાગ ઘણી વખત જાહેરાત માટે પણ વપરાય છે. લગભગ બધીજ રમતોમાં પત્તાને એક ડેકમાં ગોઠવી અને તેમનો ક્રમ ચીપીને બદલી નાખવામાં આવે છે.    The front (or "face") of each card carries markings that distinguish it from the other cards in the deck and determine its use under the rules of the game being played. The back of each card is identical for all cards in any particular deck, and usually of a single color or formalized design. The back of playing cards is sometimes used for advertising. For most games, the cards are assembled into a deck, and their order is randomized by shuffling.

History

Early history

"ગંજીફા ના પત્તા" ની શોધ ચીન દેશ મા થઇ હતી. લગભગ ઇસવી સન ૯ મા તેંગ શાસન દરમ્યાન(૬૧૮-૯૦૭), જયાં રાજકુમારીના મિત્રો અથવા સગાઓ પત્તાની રમત રમતાં. હવે એ પણ સુવિદિત છે કે ડોમિનોઝ અને પત્તા એ ખરેખર તો ચીન માં જ શોધાયેલ પાસાઓ નુ નવુ સ્વરુપ છે. આંકડા(બિંદુ) વાળા પાસા, જે ભુતકાળ માં ઘણા વપરાશમાં લેવાતા, તેમાં સુધારા-વધારા થતા પત્તા અને ડોમિનોઝનુ સ્વરુપ મળ્યુ(૯મી શતાબ્દિ ચીન)."</સંદર્ભ> તેંગ લેખક સુ ઇ (જેમણે "જિન્શિ" પદવી મેળવી ઇ.સ. ૮૮૫માં)નોધ્યું છે કે રાજકુમારી તોન્ગચેંગ (?-૮૭૦), જે તેંગના મહારાજા યિઝોંગ(શાસન ૮૬૦-૮૭૪) ની પુત્રી સમય પસાર કરવા વેઇ કુટુંબ/કબીલા ના સભ્યો જોડે પત્તાની રમત રમતા હતા. સોંગ શાસન(૯૬૦-૧૨૭૯)ના એક વિદ્વાન ઓયાંગ ઝિયુએ(૧૦૦૭-૧૦૭૨)યોગ્યજ નોધ્યું છે કે પત્તાની રમત તેંગ શાસનના મધ્યથી જ અસ્તિત્વમાં હતી અને લખવાના માધ્યમની તેમની શોધખોળ સાથે સંકળાયેલ હતીકાગળના વીંટાને ને બદલે  પત્તાના  ઉપયોગનો વિકાસ.<સંદર્ભ નામ="નીધમ ૧૩૨">. "યેઝી ગેક્સિ" નામનુ એક પુસ્તકમાં, જેની લેખિકા તેંગ સમયની હતી, તેંગ પછીના સમયના ઘણા લેખકોએ સુધારા-વધારા કર્યા હતા.    as early as the 9th century during the Tang Dynasty (618–907), when relatives of a princess played a "leaf game". The Tang writer Su E (obtained a jinshi degree in 885) stated that Princess Tongchang (?–870), daughter of Emperor Yizong of Tang (r. 860–874), played the leaf game with members of the Wei clan to pass the time. The Song Dynasty (960–1279) scholar Ouyang Xiu (1007–1072) asserted that card games existed since the mid Tang Dynasty and associated their invention with the simultaneous development of using sheets or pages instead of paper rolls as a writing medium. A book called Yezi Gexi was allegedly written by a Tang era woman, and was commented on by Chinese writers of subsequent dynasties.

Ancient Chinese "money cards" have four "suits": coins (or cash), strings of coins (which may have been misinterpreted as sticks from crude drawings), myriads of strings, and tens of myriads. These were represented by ideograms, with numerals of 2–9 in the first three suits and numerals 1–9 in the "tens of myriads". Wilkinson suggests that the first cards may have been actual paper currency which were both the tools of gaming and the stakes being played for. The designs on modern Mahjong tiles likely evolved from those earliest playing cards. However, it may be that the first deck of cards ever printed was a ચીન domino deck, in whose cards we can see all the 21 combinations of a pair of dice. In Kuei-t'ien-lu, a Chinese text redacted in the 11th century, we find that dominoes cards were printed during the Tang Dynasty, contemporary to the first printed books. The Chinese word pái (牌) is used to describe both paper cards and gaming tiles.

An Indian origin for playing cards has been suggested by the resemblance of symbols on some early European decks (traditional Sicilian cards, for example) to the ring, sword, cup, and baton classically depicted in the four hands of Indian statues.

The time and manner of the introduction of cards into Europe are matters of dispute. The 38th canon of the council of Worcester (1240) is often quoted as evidence of cards having been known in England in the middle of the 13th century, but the games de rege et regina (on the king and the queen) there mentioned are now thought to more likely have been chess.

If cards were generally known in Europe as early as 1278 , it is very remarkable that Petrarch, in his work De remediis utriusque fortunae (On the remedies of good/bad fortunes) that treats gaming, never once mentions them. Boccaccio, Chaucer and other writers of that time specifically refer to various games, but there is not a single passage in their works that can be fairly construed to refer to cards. Passages have been quoted from various works, of or relative to this period, but modern research leads to the supposition that the word rendered cards has often been mistranslated or interpolated.

A miniature of courtiers playing cards with the king can be found in the Roman du Roy Meliadus de Leonnoys (c. 1352), produced for King Louis II of Naples.

It is likely that the precursor of modern cards arrived in Europe from the Mamelukes of Egypt in the late 1300s, by which time they had already assumed a form very close to that in use today. In particular, the Mameluke deck contained 52 cards comprising four "suits": polo sticks, coins, swords, and cups. Each suit contained ten "spot" cards (cards identified by the number of suit symbols or "pips" they show) and three "court" cards named malik (King), nā'ib malik (Viceroy or Deputy King), and thānī nā'ib (Second or Under-Deputy). The Mameluke court cards showed abstract designs not depicting persons (at least not in any surviving specimens) though they did bear the names of military officers.

A complete pack of Mameluke playing cards was discovered by Leo Mayer in the Topkapi Palace, Istanbul, in 1939; this particular complete pack was not made before 1400, but the complete deck allowed matching to a private fragment dated to the twelfth or thirteenth century. In effect it's not a complete deck, but there are cards of three different packs of the same style. There is some evidence to suggest that this deck may have evolved from an earlier 48-card deck that had only two court cards per suit, and some further evidence to suggest that earlier Chinese cards brought to Europe may have travelled to Persia, which then influenced the Mameluke and other Egyptian cards of the time before their reappearance.

It is not known whether these cards influenced the design of the Indian cards used for the game of Ganjifa, or whether the Indian cards may have influenced these. Regardless, the Indian cards have many distinctive features: they are round, generally hand painted with intricate designs, and comprise more than four suits (often as many as thirty two, like a deck in the Deutsches Spielkarten-Museum, painted in the Mewar, a city in Rajasthan, between the 18th and 19th century. Decks used to play have from eight up to twenty different suits).

Spread across Europe and early design changes

In the late 14th century, the use of playing cards spread rapidly throughout Europe. Documents mentioning cards date from 1371 in Spain, 1377 in Switzerland, and 1380 in many locations including Florence, Paris.  A 1369 Paris ordinance [on gaming?] does not mention cards, but its 1377 update does. In the account books of Johanna, duchess of Brabant and Wenceslaus of Luxemburg, an entry dated May 14, 1379, reads: "Given to Monsieur and Madame four peters, two forms, value eight and a half moutons, wherewith to buy a pack of cards". In his book of accounts for 1392 or 1393, Charles or Charbot Poupart, treasurer of the household of Charles VI of France, records payment for the painting of three sets of cards.

The earliest cards were made by hand, like those designed for Charles VI; this was expensive. Printed woodcut decks appeared in the 15th century. The technique of printing woodcuts to decorate fabric was transferred to printing on paper around 1400 in Christian Europe, very shortly after the first recorded manufacture of પપેર there, while in Islamic Spain it was much older. The earliest dated European woodcut is 1418. No examples of printed cards from before 1423 survive. But from about 1418 to 1450 professional card makers in Ulm, Nuremberg, and Augsburg created printed decks. Playing cards even competed with devotional images as the most common uses for woodcut in this period.

Most early woodcuts of all types were coloured after printing, either by hand or, from about 1450 onwards, stencils. These 15th century playing cards were probably painted.

The Master of the Playing Cards worked in Germany from the 1430s with the newly invented printmaking technique of engraving. Several other important engravers also made cards, including Master ES and Martin Schongauer. Engraving was much more expensive than woodcut, and engraved cards must have been relatively unusual.

In the 15th century in Europe, the suits of playing cards varied; typically a deck had four suits, although five suits were common and other structures are also known. In Germany, hearts, bells, leaves, and acorns became the standard suits and are still used in Eastern and Southeastern German decks today for Skat, Sheepshead, and other games. Italian and Spanish cards of the 15th century used swords, batons (or wands), cups, and coins (or rings). The Tarot, which included extra trump cards, was invented in Italy in the 15th century.

The four suits now used in most of the world - spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs - originated in France in approximately 1480. The trèfle (club) was probably copied from the acorn and the pique (spade) from the leaf of the German suits. The names "pique" and "spade", however, may have derived from the sword of the Italian suits. In England, the French suits were eventually used, although the earliest decks had the Italian suits[Chatto, link not provided].

Also in the 15th century, Europeans changed the court cards to represent European royalty and attendants, originally "king", "chevalier" (knight), and "knave" (or "servant"). In a German pack from the 1440s, Queens replace Kings in two of the suits as the highest card. Fifty-six-card decks containing a King, Queen, Knight, and Valet (from the French tarot court) were common.

Court cards designed in the 16th century in the manufacturing centre of Rouen became the standard design in England, while a Parisian design became standard in France. Both the Parisian and Rouennais court cards were named after historical and mythological heroes and heroines. The Parisian names have become more common in modern use, even with cards of Rouennais design.

|Pallas
|-
|Queen of Hearts
|Judith
|-
|Queen of Diamonds
|Rachel (either biblical, historical (see Charles above), or mythical as a corruption of the Celtic Ragnel, relating to Lancelot below)
|-
|Queen of Clubs
|Argine (possibly an anagram of regina, which is Latin for queen, or perhaps Argea, wife of Polybus and mother of Argus)
|-
|Knave of Spades
|Ogier the Dane/Holger Danske (a knight of Charlemagne)
|-
|Knave of Hearts
|La Hire (comrade-in-arms to Joan of Arc, and member of Charles VII's court)
|-
|Knave of Diamonds
|Hector
|-
|Knave of Clubs
|Judas Maccabeus, or Lancelot
|}

Later design changes
thumb|upright|A transformation playing card from the 1895 Vanity Fair deck

In early games the kings were always the highest card in their suit. However, as early as the late 14th century special significance began to be placed on the nominally lowest card, now called the Ace, so that it sometimes became the highest card and the Two, or Deuce, the lowest. This concept may have been hastened in the late 18th century by the French Revolution, where games began being played "ace high" as a symbol of lower classes rising in power above the royalty. The term "Ace" itself comes from a dicing term in Anglo-Norman language, which is itself derived from the Latin as (the smallest unit of coinage). Another dicing term, trey (3), sometimes shows up in playing card games.

Corner and edge indices enabled people to hold their cards close together in a fan with one hand (instead of the two hands previously used). For cards with Latin suits the first pack known is a deck printed by Infirerra and dated 1693 (International Playing Cards Society Journal 30-1 page 34), but were commonly used only at the end of 18th century. Indices in the Anglo-American deck were used from 1875, when the New York Consolidated Card Company patented the Squeezers, the first cards with indices that had a large diffusion. However, the first deck with this innovation was the Saladee's Patent, printed by Samuel Hart in 1864.

Before this time, the lowest court card in an English deck was officially termed the Knave, but its abbreviation ("Kn") was too similar to the King ("K") and thus this term did not translate well to indices. However, from the 1600s on the Knave had often been termed the Jack, a term borrowed from the game All Fours where the Knave of trumps has this name. All Fours was considered a game of the lower classes, so the use of the term Jack at one time was considered vulgar. The use of indices, however, encouraged a formal change from Knave to Jack in English decks. In decks for non-English languages, this conflict does not exist; the French tarot deck for instance labels its lowest court card the "Valet", which is the "squire" to the Knight card (not seen in 52-card decks) as the Queen is paired with the King.

This was followed by the innovation of reversible court cards. This invention is attributed to a French card maker of Agen, main city in the Lot-et-Garonne department, that in 1745 had this idea. But the French government, which controlled the design of playing cards, prohibited the printing of cards with this innovation. In central Europe (trappola cards), Italy (tarocchino bolognese) and in Spain the innovation was adopted during the second half of 18th century. In Great Britain the deck with reversible court cards was patented in 1799 by Edmund Ludlow and Ann Wilcox. The Anglo-American pack with this design was printed around 1802 by Thomas Wheeler (International Playing Cards Society Journal XXVII-5 p. 186 and International Playing Cards Society Journal 31-1 p. 22). Reversible court cards meant that players would not be tempted to turn upside-down court cards right side up. Before this, other players could often get a hint of what other players' hands contained by watching them reverse their cards. This innovation required abandoning some of the design elements of the earlier full-length courts.

During the French Revolution, the traditional design of Kings, Queens, and Jacks became Liberties, Equalities, and Fraternities. The radical French government of 1793 and 1794 saw themselves as toppling the old regime and a good revolutionary would not play with Kings or Queens, but with the ideals of the revolution at hand. This would ultimately be reversed in 1805 with the rise of Napoleon.

In the 19th century, a type of card known as a transformation playing card became popular in Europe and America. In these cards, an artist incorporated the pips of the non-face cards into an artistic design.

Symbolism
Popular legend holds that the composition of a deck of cards has religious, metaphysical, or astronomical significance: typical numerological elements of the explanation are that the four suits represent the four seasons, the 13 cards per suit are the 13 phases of the lunar cycle, black and red are for day and night, the 52 cards of the deck (joker excluded) symbolizes the number of weeks in a year, and finally, if the value of each card is added up—and 1 is added, which is generally explained away as being for a single joker—the result is 365, the number of days in a year. If the other joker is also added, that makes 366 days, the amount of days in a leap year. The context for these stories is sometimes given to suggest that the interpretation is a joke, generally being the purported explanation given by someone caught with a deck of cards in order to suggest that their intended purpose was not gambling.

Today

Anglo-American
The primary deck of fifty-two playing cards in use today, called French deck in most languages but Anglo-American playing cards in English, includes thirteen ranks of each of the four French suits, diamonds (), spades (), hearts () and clubs (), with reversible Rouennais "court" or face cards (some modern face card designs, however, have done away with the traditional reversible figures). Each suit includes an ace, depicting a single symbol of its suit; a king, queen, and jack, each depicted with a symbol of its suit; and ranks two through ten, with each card depicting that many symbols (pips) of its suit. Two (sometimes one or four) Jokers, often distinguishable with one being more colorful than the other, are included in commercial decks but many games require one or both to be removed before play. Modern playing cards carry index labels on opposite corners (rarely, all four corners) to facilitate identifying the cards when they overlap and so that they appear identical for players on opposite sides. A deck often comes with two Joker Cards that do not usually have hearts, diamonds, clubs or spades, because they can be any card in certain games. In most card games, however, they are not used.

The fanciful design and manufacturer's logo commonly displayed on the Ace of Spades began under the reign of James I of England, who passed a law requiring an insignia on that card as proof of payment of a tax on local manufacture of cards. Until August 4, 1960, decks of playing cards printed and sold in the United Kingdom were liable for taxable duty and the Ace of Spades carried an indication of the name of the printer and the fact that taxation had been paid on the cards. The packs were also sealed with a government duty wrapper.

Though specific design elements of the court cards are rarely used in game play and many differ between designs, a few are notable. The Jack of Spades, Jack of Hearts, and King of Diamonds are drawn in profile, while the rest of the courts are shown in full face; these cards are commonly called "one-eyed". When deciding which cards are to be made wild in some games, the phrase "acey, deucey, one-eyed jack" (or "deuces, aces, one-eyed faces") is sometimes used, which means that aces, twos, and the one-eyed jacks are all wild. The King of Hearts is the only King with no mustache, and is also typically shown with a sword behind his head, making him appear to be stabbing himself. The axe held by the King of Diamonds is behind his head with the blade facing toward him. This leads to the nickname "suicide kings". The Jack of Diamonds is sometimes known as "laughing boy". The King of Diamonds is traditionally armed with an axe while the other three kings are armed with swords, and thus the King of Diamonds is sometimes referred to as "the man with the axe" because of this. This is the basis of the trump "one-eyed jacks and the man with the axe". The Ace of Spades, unique in its large, ornate spade, is sometimes said to be the death card, and in some games is used as a trump card. The Queen of Spades usually holds a scepter and is sometimes known as "the bedpost queen", though more often she is called "Black Lady". In many decks, the Queen of Clubs holds a flower. She is thus known as the "flower Queen", though this design element is among the most variable; the standard Bicycle Poker deck depicts all Queens with a flower styled according to their suit.

There are theories about who the court cards represent. For example, the Queen of Hearts is believed by some to be a representation of Elizabeth of York—the Queen consort of King Henry VII of England, or it is sometimes believed to be a representation of Anne Boleyn, the second wife of Henry VIII. The United States Playing Card Company suggests that in the past, the King of Hearts was Charlemagne, the King of Diamonds was Julius Caesar, the King of Clubs was Alexander the Great, and the King of Spades was the Biblical King David (see King (playing card)). However the Kings, Queens and Jacks of standard Anglo-American cards today do not represent anyone in particular. They stem from designs produced in Rouen before 1516, and by 1540–67 these Rouen designs show well executed pictures in the court cards with the typical court costumes of the time. In these early cards the Jack of Spades, Jack of Hearts, and King of Diamonds are shown from the rear, with their heads turned back over the shoulder so that they are seen in profile; however, the Rouen cards were so badly copied in England that the current designs are gross distortions of the originals.

Other oddities such as the lack of a moustache on the King of Hearts also have little significance. The King of Hearts did originally have a moustache but it was lost by poor copying of the original design. Similarly the objects carried by the court cards have no significance. They merely differentiate one court card from another and have also become distorted over time.

The most common sizes for playing cards are poker size (2½in × 3½in; 63 mm × 88 mm, or B8 size according to ISO 216) and bridge size (2¼in × 3½in, approx. 56 mm × 88 mm), the latter being narrower, and thus more suitable for games such as bridge in which a large number of cards must be held concealed in a player's hand. Interestingly, in most casino poker games, the bridge-sized card is used; the use of less material means that a bridge deck is slightly cheaper to make, and a casino may use many thousands of decks per day so the minute per-deck savings add up. Other sizes are also available, such as a smaller size (usually 1¾in × 2⅝in, approx. 44 mm × 66 mm) for solitaire, tall narrow designs (usually 1¼in × 3in) for travel and larger ones for card tricks. The weight of an average B8-sized playing card is 0.063 oz (1.8g), a deck 3.3 oz (94g).

Some decks include additional design elements. Casino blackjack decks may include markings intended for a machine to check the ranks of cards, or shifts in rank location to allow a manual check via inlaid mirror. Many casino decks and solitaire decks have four indices instead of the usual two. Many decks have large indices, largely for use in stud poker games, where being able to read cards from a distance is a benefit and hand sizes are small. Some decks use four colors for the suits in order to make it easier to tell them apart: the most common set of colors is black (spades ), red (hearts ), blue (diamonds ) and green (clubs ). Another common color set is borrowed from the German suits and uses green Spades and yellow Diamonds (as the comparable German suits are Leaves and Bells respectively; see below) with red Hearts and black Clubs.

When giving the full written name of a specific card, the rank is given first followed by
the suit, e.g., "Ace of Spades". Shorthand notation may list the rank first "A♠" (as is typical when discussing poker) or list the suit first (as is typical in listing several cards in bridge) "♠AKQ". Tens may be either abbreviated to T or written as 10.

Piquet
The piquet deck is a subset of the French-suited 52-card deck, with all values from 2 through 6 in each suit removed. The resulting 32-card deck is notable for its use in a variety of games; a trick-taking game from the 1300s, Piquet, gave the deck its most common name, and the game of Belote, currently the most popular card game in France, also uses this deck. West German players adopted the deck for the game of Skat (the traditional Skat deck uses German suits; see below).

Pinochle/Doppelkopf
The game of Pinochle, which evolved from the French game Bezique, uses a deck composed of two copies of each Anglo-American card with values from 9 through King and Ace. A deck with the same composition, but different card art, is available in Europe for the very popular German game of Doppelkopf, which derived from the game Sheepshead and is related to Skat.

Tarot

The 78-card Tarot deck, and subsets of it, are used for a variety of European trick-taking games. The Tarot is distinguished from most other decks by the use of a separate trump suit of 21 cards, and one Fool, whose role varies according to the specific game. Additionally, it differs from the 52-card deck in the use of one additional court card in each suit, the Cavalier or Knight. In Europe, the deck is known primarily as a playing card deck; in the Americas, the deck is primarily known for its use in cartomancy; the trumps and fool comprising the Major Arcana while the 56 suited cards make up the Minor Arcana.

The origins of the tarot deck are thought to be Italian, with the oldest surviving examples dating from the mid 1400s in Milan, and using the traditional Latin suits of Swords, Cups, Coins and Staves (representing the four main classes of feudal society; military, clergy, mercantile trade, and agriculture). It is generally thought that the tarot was invented between 1411 and 1425 by adding trump cards to a deck format that was already popular in Italy as of this period, having been introduced from North Africa in the mid 1300's. The deck spread from Italy to Germanic countries, where the Latin suits evolved into the suits of Leaves (or Shields), Hearts (or Roses), Bells, and Acorns, and a combination of Latin and Germanic suit pictures and names resulted in the internationally-recognized French suits of Spades, Hearts, Diamonds and Clubs. It was a simplification of this French-suited tarot deck by removing the trumps that resulted in the English deck, popularized by British colonization and the gentleman's game Brag. The English deck would eventually become the internationally-recognized 52-card deck.

The trumps originally represented characters and ideals of increasing power, from the Magician and High Priestess of the 1 and 2 of trumps to the Sun, Judgement and the World at the high end. Allegorical meanings for each card existed as of the earliest days of the deck, but it wasn't until the late 1700s's that the works of Antoine Court de Gebelin made decks based on the Tarot de Marseille popular for divinatory purposes.

From this point, the evolution of decks for cartomancy and for gaming diverged; the "reading tarots" based on the symbolic designs of the Tarot de Marseille (which were modified slightly to produce the widely-known Rider-Waite deck) kept the older style of full-length character art, specific character meanings for the 21 trumps, and the use of the Latin suits (although most of the reading tarots in use today derive from the French Tarot de Marseille). On the other hand, "playing tarots", especially those of France and the Germanic regions, had by the end of the 1800s evolved into a form more resembling the modern playing card deck, with corner indices and easily-identifiable number and court cards. The use of the traditional characters cards for the trumps was largely discarded in favor of more whimsical scenes. The Tarot Nouveau is an example of the current style of playing tarot, though the artwork and design of this deck can be traced back to the 1890s. The Italian and Spanish Tarocchi decks, however, have largely kept the traditional character identifications of each trump, as well as the Latin suits, though these decks are used almost exclusively for gaming. Tarocco Bolognese and Tarocco Piedmontese are examples of Italian-suited playing tarot decks.

German

German suits may have different appearances. Many Eastern and Southern Germans prefer decks with Hearts, Bells, Leaves, and Acorns (for Hearts, Diamonds, Spades, and Clubs), as mentioned above. In the game Skat, East German players used the German deck, while players in Western Germany mainly used the French deck. After the reunification a compromise deck was created for official Skat tournaments, with French symbols but German colors (green Spades and yellow Diamonds).

Central European
The cards of Hungary, Austria, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Slovakia, Western Romania, Transcarpathia in Ukraine, Vojvodina in Serbia and South Tyrol
use the same colors (Hearts, Bells, Leaves and Acorns) as the cards of Southern and Eastern Germany. They usually have a deck of 32 or 36 cards. The numbering includes VII, VIII, IX, X, Under, Over, King and Ace. Some variations with 36 cards have also the number VI. The VI in bells also has the function like a joker in some games and it's named Welli or Weli.

These cards are illustrated with a special picture series that was born in the times before the 1848-49 revolutions in Hungary, when revolutionary movements were awakening all over in Europe. The Aces show the four seasons: the Ace of Hearts is Spring, the Ace of Bells is Summer, the Ace of Leaves is Autumn and the Ace of Acorns is Winter. The characters of the Under and Over cards were taken from the drama William Tell, the legendary Swiss freedom fighter, written by Friedrich Schiller in 1804, which was shown at Kolozsvár in 1827. It was long believed that the card was invented in Vienna at the Card Painting Workshop of Ferdinand Piatnik, however in 1974 the very first deck was found in an English private collection, and it has shown the name of the inventor and creator of deck as József Schneider, a Master Card Painter at Pest, and the date of its creation as 1837. Had he not chosen the Swiss characters of Schiller's play, had he chosen Hungarian heroes or freedom fighters, his deck of cards would never have made it into distribution, due to the heavy censorship of the government at the time. Interestingly, although the characters on the cards are Swiss, these cards are unknown in Switzerland.

Games that are played with this deck in Hungary include Skat, Ulti, Snapszer (or 66), Zsír (or Víg a hetes), Fire, Preferansz, Makaó, Lórum, Piros pacsi and Piros papucs. This set of cards is also used very often in the game of Preferans. In Croatia and Slovenia these cards are also commonly used for a game called Belot (also popular in Bulgaria and Armenia). Explanations of these games can be found at The Card Games Website.

The most common game played in Western Rumania (Transylvania and Banat) is Cruce, a variation of Snapszer, most commonly played in 2 pairs, with team members facing each other, hence the name (Cruce = Romanian for Cross).

Switzerland
In Switzerland, the national game is Jass. It is played with decks of 36 cards. West of the Brünig-Napf-Reuss line, a French-style 36-card deck is used, with numbers from 6 to 10, Jacks, Queens, Kings and Aces. The same kind of deck is used in Graubünden and in parts of Thurgau.

In Central Switzerland, Zürich, Schaffhausen and Eastern Switzerland, the prevalent deck consists of 36 playing cards with the following suits: Roses, Bells, Acorns and Shields (in German: Rosen, Schellen, Eichel und Schilten). The ranks of the alternate deck, from low to high, are: 6, 7, 8, 9, Banner (10), "Under", "Over", King and Ace.

Italian

Italian playing cards most commonly consist of a deck of 40 cards (4 suits going 1 to 7 plus 3 face cards), and are used for playing Italian regional games such as Scopa or Briscola. 52 (or more rarely 36) card sets are also found in the north. Since these cards first appeared in the late 14th century when each region in Italy was a separately ruled province, there is no official Italian pattern. There are sixteen official regional patterns in use in different parts of the country (about one per region). These sixteen patterns are split amongst four regions:
 Northern Italian Suits - Triestine, Trevigiane, Trentine, Primiera Bolognese, Bergamasche, Bresciane
 Spanish-like Suits - Napoletane, Sarde, Romagnole, Siciliane, Piacentine.
 French Suits - Genovesi, Lombarde or Milanesi, Toscane, Piemontesi.
 German Suits - Salisburghesi used in Alto Adige/Südtirol

The suits are coins (sometimes suns or sunbursts) (Denari in Italian), swords (Spade), cups (Coppe) and clubs (sometimes batons Bastoni), and each suit contains an ace (or one), numbers two through seven, and three face cards. The face cards are:
 Re (king), the highest valued - a man standing, wearing a crown
 Cavallo (lit. horse) [italo-Spanish suits] - a man sitting on a horse / or Donna (lit. woman from Latin domina = mistress) [french suits] - a standing woman with a crown
 Fante (lit. infantry soldier) - a younger figure standing, without a crown

The Spanish-like-suit knave (fante - the lowest face card) is depicted as a woman, and is sometimes referred to as donna like the next higher face card of the French-suit deck; this, when coupled with the French usage, which puts a queen, also called donna (woman) in Italian and not regina (queen), as the mid-valued face card, can very occasionally lead to a swap of the value of the French-suit donna (or more rarely of the international-card Queen) and the knave (or jack).

Unlike Anglo-American cards, some Italian cards do not have any numbers (or letters) identifying their value. The cards' value is determined by identifying the face card or counting the number of suit characters.

Spanish

The traditional Spanish deck (referred to as baraja española in Spanish) uses Latin suit symbols. Being a Latin-suited deck (like the Italian deck), it is organized into four palos (suits) that closely match those of the Italian-suited Tarot deck: oros ("golds" or coins), copas (beakers or cups), espadas (swords) and bastos (batons or clubs). Certain decks include two "comodines" (jokers) as well.

The cards (cartas in Spanish) are all numbered, but unlike in the standard Anglo-French deck, the card numbered 10 is the first of the court cards (instead of a card depicting ten coins/cups/swords/batons); so each suit has only twelve cards. The three court or face cards in each suit are as follows: la sota ("the knave" or jack, numbered 10 and equivalent to the Anglo-French card J), el caballo ("the horse", horseman, knight or cavalier, numbered 11 and used instead of the Anglo-French card Q; note the Tarot decks have both a queen and a knight of each suit, while the Anglo-French deck uses the former, and the Spanish deck uses the latter), and finally el rey ("the king", numbered 12 and equivalent to the Anglo-French card K). However, most Spanish games involve forty-card decks, with the 8s and 9s removed, similar to the standard Italian deck.

The box that goes around the figure has a mark to distinguish the suit without showing all of your cards: The cups have one interruption, the swords two, the clubs three, and the gold none. This mark is called "la pinta" and gave rise to the expression: "le conocí por la pinta" (I knew him by his markings).

The Baraja have been widely considered to be part of the occult in many Latin-American countries, yet they continue to be used widely for card games and gambling, especially in Spain, which does not use the Anglo-French deck. Among other places, the Baraja have appeared in One Hundred Years of Solitude and other Hispanic and Latin American literature. The Spanish deck is used not only in Spain, but also in other countries where Spain maintained an influence (e.g., Mexico, Argentina and most of Hispanic America, the Philippines and Puerto Rico) 1. Among the games played with this deck are: el mus (a very popular and highly regarded vying game of Basque origin), la brisca,  la pocha, el tute (with many variations), el guiñote, la escoba del quince (a trick-taking game), el julepe, el cinquillo, las siete y media, la mona, el truc (or truco), el cuajo (a matching game from the Philippines), el jamón, el tonto, el hijoputa, el mentiroso, el cuco and las parejas.

East Asia
The standard 52-card deck is commonly known as a "poker" deck in Taiwan, Japan, China, and South Korea. Alternatively, a more common name in Japan for the same deck is trump (トランプ torampu) which comes from the term trump card. These cards are most often used for baccarat and blackjack in casinos, or deciding the order of play or challenge in games of billiards. Poker itself and other western games are relatively unknown. Home and online card games in east Asia such as Koi-Koi and Go-Stop use a Karuta, such as hanafuda, uta-garuta or kabufuda deck in Japan, and the equivalent hwatu deck in Korea.

Accessible playing cards
Playing cards have been adapted for use by the visually impaired by the inclusion of large-print and/or braille characters as part of the card. Both standard card decks and decks for specific games such as UNO are commonly adapted. Large-print cards are also commonly used by the elderly. In addition to increasing the size of the suit symbol and the denomination text, large-print cards commonly reduce the visual complexity of the images for simpler identification. They may also omit the patterns of pips in favor of one large pip to identify suit. Oversize cards are sometimes used but are uncommon. These can assist with ease of handling and to allow for larger text.

No universal standards for braille playing cards exist. There are many national and producer variations. In most cases each card is marked with two braille characters in the same location as the normal corner markings. The two characters can appear in either vertical (one character below another) or horizontal (two characters side by side). In either case one character identifies the card suit and the other the card denomination. 1 for ace, 2 through 9 for the numbered cards, X or the letter O for ten, J for jack, Q for queen, K for king. The suits are variously marked using D for diamond, S for spade, C or X for club and H or K for heart.

Playing card symbols in Unicode
The Unicode standard defines 8 characters for card suits in the Miscellaneous Symbols block, from U+2660 to U+2667:

There is also a proposal by Michael Everson, dated 2004-05-18 to encode the 52 cards of the Anglo-American-French deck together with a character for "Playing Card Back" and another for a joker.

Production techniques
The typical production process for a new deck starts with the choice between the most suitable material: cardboard or plastic.

Cards are printed on unique sheets that undergo a varnishing procedure in order to enhance the brightness and glow of the colors printed on the cards, as well as to increase their durability.

In today's market, some high-quality products are available. There are some specific treatments on card surfaces, such as calendering and linen finishing, that guarantee performance for either professional or domestic use.

The cards are printed on sheets, which are cut and arranged in bands (vertical stripes) before undergoing a cutting operation that cuts out the individual cards. After assembling the new decks, they pass through the corner-rounding process that will confer the final outline: the typical rectangular playing-card shape.

Finally, each deck is wrapped in cellophane, inserted in its case and is ready for the final distribution.

See also

 Card game
 List of poker hand nicknames
 Card manipulation
 Shuffling
 Sleight of hand
 House of cards
 Tarocchi
 Tarot
 French suited tarot
 Baraja (playing cards)
 Playing card manufacturers
 Card throwing
 Hanafuda
 Dealer shoe
 Ganjifa
 Tien len (VC)

Notes

References

 Lo, Andrew. "The Game of Leaves: An Inquiry into the Origin of Chinese Playing Cards," Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, Vol. 63, No. 3 (2000): 389-406.

 Roman du Roy Meliadus de Leonnoys (British Library MS Add. 12228, fol. 313v), c. 1352
 An Introduction to a History of Woodcut, Arthur M. Hind, Houghton Mifflin Co. 1935 (in USA), reprinted Dover Publications, 1963 ISBN 0-486-20952-0
 Prints and Printmaking, Antony Griffiths, British Museum Press (in UK),2nd edn, 1996 ISBN 0-7141-2608-X

External links
 History of the design of the court cards
 Online database of playing cards and card games
 Courts on playing cards
 Deck of playing cards in SVG
 Deck of playing cards in .fla and .png
 The History of Playing Cards discussed in 1987 by Roger Somerville

પત્તા


A parachute uses drag to slow something moving in air. It is often an umbrella shaped device on which people or things can float slowly and safely down to the ground from a great height, such as an aircraft.

The word parachute comes from the French words parer meaning to protect and chute meaning fall carefully down making sure you are safe. Drogue parachutes are used to aid horizontal deceleration of a vehicle (a fixed-wing aircraft, or a drag racer), or to provide stability (tandem free-fall, or space shuttle after touchdown).

Parachutes are used in a sport called skydiving. Paratroopers are soldiers who attack by jumping from an airplane.

The word "parachute" comes from "para", meaning "against" or "counter" in Ancient Greek, and "chute", the French word for "fall". In many other languages, the word refers to "falling-screen", such as German Fallschirm. Some modern parachutes are classified as semi-rigid wings, which are maneuverable and can make a controlled descent to break on impact with the ground.

The inventor Leonardo Da Vinci sketched a parachute in his Codex Atlanticus (fol. 381v), in about 1485. Leonardo's canopy was held open by a square wooden frame. The feasibility of Leonardo's pyramidal design was successfully tested in 2000 by the Briton Adrian Nicholas and again in 2008 by another skydiver. According to the historian of technology Lynn White, these conical and pyramidal designs, much more elaborate than early artistic jumps with rigid parasols in Asia, mark "the origin of the parachute as we know it".

Parts
The parachute package is called rig. It consists of backpack, harness and canopy. The backpack is the container in which the parachute is stored, and which opens up when the parachute is deployed. The harness is the strapping on which the backpack is attached to the jumper. Modern harnesses have leg straps, vertical (upwards) straps and chest strap which can be tightened snug. The fabric part of the parachute is called canopy. It is attached to the harness by lines, which themselves attach to four straps called risers. The canopy may be round, bell-like, resembling like a jellyfish, or the canopy may be a mattress-like, resembling a wing profile. Most army parachutes are bell parachutes, while most recreational, rescue and professional parachutes are wing parachutes.

Usually the backpack contains not just one but two parachutes: main parachute, which is opened normally, and reserve parachute, which is opened in an emergency situation, such as when the main does not open or is tangled. The use of reserve parachute have saved thousands of jumpers who would otherwise have died.

Old-fashioned bell parachutes were opened by pulling a rip cord. Modern parachutes do not have rip cords anymore, but the skydiver simply throws a small auxiliary (helper) parachute called pilot chute into air. This small auxiliary chute then pulls the main parachute canopy out of its pod in the backpack and it inflates (fills with air) automatically.

Failure
A parachute is carefully folded, or "packed" to ensure that it will open reliably. If a parachute is not packed properly it may result in death since the main parachute might fail to deploy (open and develop) correctly or fully. In the U.S. and many developed countries, emergency and reserve parachutes are packed by "riggers" who must be trained and certified according to legal standards. Sport skydivers are always trained to pack their own primary "main" parachutes. Many skydivers never let anyone else to pack their parachutes because they know the rig is correctly packed when they have done it themselves.

Parachutes can malfunction in several ways. Malfunctions can range from minor problems that can be corrected in-flight and still be landed, to catastrophic malfunctions that require the main parachute to be cut away using a modern 3-ring release system, and the reserve be deployed. Most skydivers also equip themselves with small barometric computers (known as an AAD or automatic activation device like Cypres, FXC or Vigil) that will automatically activate the reserve parachute if the skydiver has not deployed a parachute to reduce his rate of descent by a preset altitude.

Parachute Accidents
 1911 August 14. Atlantic City New Jersey. Charles Bennet age 20 of Newark, a parachute jumper, substained mortal injuries when he crashed through the skylight of the Marlborough-Blenheim dining room.

Related pages
 Skydiving
 Parasailing
 BASE jumping

Notes

Sports equipment

Parachute


Maidstone is a town in Kent, in England. It stands on the River Medway. Maidstone is the county town of Kent, meaning the local government is based there. Its name means "stone of the maidens". The town of Maidstone is within the borough of Maidstone, which also includes several surrounding villages. In 2001, 75,070 people lived in the town of Maidstone, and there were 138,959 in the whole of the Borough.

History
During the Civil War a battle took place in 1648, which was won by Oliver Cromwell's soldiers. A year later, Andrew Broughton, who was then Mayor of Maidstone (and also Clerk to the High Court of Justice) gave the death sentence to Charles I. Today there is a plaque in Maidstone Town Centre describing Andrew as 'Mayor and Regicide' (a killer of kings).

Maidstone used to be an industrial area, with paper making and brewing being two of the most important industries, although both have mainly died out in recent years. Until 1998, Sharps Toffee factory was where Bassets liquorice allsorts and other sweets were made. Most of the heavy industry has now been replaced by light and service industries.

Today
Today, Maidstone is one of the top five shopping centres in the south east of England, with more than one million square feet of retail space.  Most of this is in two shopping areas, Fremlin Walk, which was built on the site of one of the old breweries, is , and The Mall Maidstone provides another . Both include multi-story car parks.

Towns in Kent

Maidstone


The Theriso revolt () was an insurrection that broke out in March 1905 against the government of Crete, then an autonomous state under Ottoman suzerainty. The revolt was led by the Cretan politician Eleftherios Venizelos, and is named after his mother's native village, Theriso, the focal point of the revolt.

The revolt stemmed from the dispute between Venizelos and the island's ruler, Prince George of Greece, over the island's future, particularly over the question of Cretan union with Greece. The conflict's origin can be traced to 1901, when Prince George dismissed Venizelos from the government. The hostility between Venizelos and the prince was precipitated by the latter's attitude toward foreign relations and by his refusal to engage in dialogue with his advisers over the island's internal affairs. After a prolonged political struggle, Venizelos and his followers decided upon an armed uprising, with the goals of uniting Crete with Greece and ushering in a more democratic government for the island.

The Theriso revolt not only established Venizelos as the leading politician in Crete, but also brought him to the attention of the wider Greek world. His reputation would lead in 1909 to his call to Greece, where he became Prime Minister.

Context

Autonomous Crete

In 1897, a renewed revolt broke out in Crete, which had been under Ottoman domination since the mid-17th century. The island's Christian majority wished to join Greece, but the Great Powers (France, the United Kingdom, Russia, Germany, Italy and Austria-Hungary) were opposed to it. A compromise led to the creation of an autonomous state under Ottoman suzerainty, guaranteed by the presence of military contingents of the Powers. Prince George of Greece, the second son of King George I, was named High Commissioner. In turn, Prince George named Eleftherios Venizelos prime minister.

Disagreements soon emerged between the two men. Their first argument concerned the construction of a palace for Prince George. Shortly after his arrival on the island, the latter indicated his wish for a palace. Venizelos protested that a palace would be a symbol of permanence for a regime he intended to be temporary, while union with Greece was awaited. The offended prince eventually dropped his demand for a palace.

The principal source of contention between the Prince and Venizelos concerned their vision for the island's government. Although the chief author of the island's constitution (notably of articles guaranteeing individual liberties and equality between Christians and Muslims), Venizelos believed it was far too conservative and granted the Prince too much power. The Cretan assembly had few powers and only met once every two years. Moreover, ministers were in fact counselors to the prince, who alone could approve laws.

In foreign relations, Prince George alone was authorised to deal with the Great Powers, as illustrated by the absence of a foreign affairs minister. The Prince took responsibility for the matter of Greek annexation of the island and discussing the subject with the foreign ministers of Russia, France, Italy and Britain, without taking care to speak to his counselors. In the summer of 1900, when he was preparing to tour the European courts, the prince declared: "When I am travelling in Europe, I shall ask the Powers for annexation, and I hope to succeed on account of my family connections".

Venizelos thought union would be premature, especially as Cretan institutions were still unstable. He recommended instead the creation of a Cretan army, followed by the withdrawal of European troops. Once foreign control had diminished, then union with Greece could take place. However, this approach was dimly viewed by public opinion and the Athenian newspapers impatient for union to succeed.

Dismissal of Venizelos

In February 1901, the Powers refused to make any change to the island's status. Although this demonstrated the correctness of Venizelos' approach, something Prince George publicly admitted, it was the minister who endured attacks from the press.

Venizelos handed in his resignation on two occasions: first on 5 March 1901, citing health reasons, and then on 18 March, explaining that he could not work while in permanent disagreement with his colleagues and the High Commissioner. George refused to accept his resignation, instead preferring to dismiss him for insubordination. On 20 March, posters on the walls of Chania announced the Prince's dismissal of Venizelos.

After his departure, the newspapers launched an anti-Venizelos campaign. A series of articles possibly written by the Prince's secretary referred to him as the "insolent counselor", criticising his policies as anti-union, anti-dynastic and pro-Powers. After his dismissal, Venizelos withdrew from politics. However, in December 1901, he responded to the accusations by means of five articles in the newspaper Kyrix, prompting the Prince to throw his former minister in prison.

Revolt
Venizelos next appeared on the public stage in the spring of 1905, when an insurrection against the Cretan government broke out. He was its leader, denouncing the corruption of Prince George's entourage and the ruler's inability to persuade the Great Powers to accept the idea of Crete's union with Greece. The Powers, especially Russia and Austria-Hungary, adamantly opposed union for fear it would disrupt the fragile political equilibrium in Europe, particularly in the Balkans. Additionally, they were unwilling to appease Greece, with its famously weak army and navy, at the expense of alienating Turkey.

During the Cretan Revolt (1897–1898) which led to the establishment of autonomy in Crete, Venizelos was a fervent proponent of union with Greece. However, during his premiership of the island, he envisioned autonomy, believing union would be premature. During his absence from power, Venizelos again changed his belief about the "Cretan Question". As in 1897, he thenceforth advocated union at all costs. Although absent from political life, he showed his support for the advocates of union (Enosis) during their demonstrations.

Theriso assembly

In February 1905, Venizelos organised an assembly at Theriso with a group of seventeen other Cretan leaders who became the core of his movement. At first they were joined by 300 armed Cretans who, although not posing a significant military threat, would prove very difficult to remove, hidden in the Theriso gorge. The impact of this act was important: within twenty days, some 7,000 sympathisers had flocked to Theriso. Venizelos chose the village of Theriso for its strategic position 14 km from Chania, its naturally defenses at the foothills of the White Mountains, and its easy access to other villages and valleys, around Chania as well as toward Sfakia. The passage toward Theriso was defended by narrow gorges, easy for the insurgents to control. Moreover, these gorges concealed numerous grottoes and caverns that served as natural shelters for the insurgents who converged around Theriso. The village was already a symbol of resistance before 1905: in 1821, during the Greek War of Independence, several hundred Greeks there had routed an army of 21,000 Ottomans.

The rebellion broke out officially in broad daylight on , when some 1,500 Cretans met at Theriso, which thenceforth became the centre of the revolt. Venizelos and other prominent critics of the Prince formed the core of the revolt, along with around a thousand men, of whom only half were armed. From the first moments, skirmishes took place between the gendarmerie and the rebels.

Aside from a general dissatisfaction with the Prince's authoritarian government, the assembled rebels fervently supported union with Greece. On the first day of the uprising, Venizelos declared that Enosis was impossible as long as Prince George remained the island's High Commissioner. The following declaration was approved by the insurgents and read in St. George's Church at Theriso on 10 March: "The Cretan people, meeting in a general assembly at Theriso in Kydonia, today, 11/24 March 1905, proclaims its political union with the Kingdom of Greece, in a single free and constitutional state".

The following day, Papagiannakis, a former deputy in the Cretan Assembly, and Konstantinos Manos, communicated to the consuls of the Great Powers, on behalf of the rebels, the reasons that had led to the revolt. They mentioned the transitional character of the present government and the eventual desire to join Greece, and cited the political instability which prevented foreign investment and hindered the island's development. Finally, they mentioned the growing general discontent because of the government's "nearly absolutist" nature.

From Theriso, Venizelos organised a provisional government that printed its own postage stamps and newspaper. Papagianannakis was elected president of the insurrection's assembly and was assisted by four vice-presidents. A revolutionary triumvirate emerged: Konstantinos Foumis, a childhood friend of Venizelos' and former High Court prosecutor, as well as a member of parliament and former minister, was assigned charge of finances; Konstantinos Manos, the former mayor of Chania, handled the military aspect and held the post of general secretary; Venizelos covered the political and organisational side.

The opposition decided not to take part in the elections scheduled for  that would choose 64 Cretan deputies (in addition to the ten directly named by Prince George). The Theriso insurgents called for a boycott of the elections and for an armed struggle against the regime.

The new assembly, which met on 20 April at Chania, was opened by a speech from Prince George on the economy and planned reforms. However, as soon as he left the chamber, the assembly voted in favour of Enosis. In the assembly hall, entirely decorated with Greek flags, the deputies proclaimed the union of Crete with the Greek mother country and placed it under the control of King George I. They then informed the consuls of the Great Powers at Chania of this resolution.

On 31 May, at the end of the parliamentary session, most of the deputies joined the Theriso Assembly. A month later, two of the prince's chief counselors, Kriaris and Koundouros (the finance minister), resigned their posts and joined their former colleague in the mountains.

Quasi civil war

Martial law was declared by Prince George, who only had 1,100 gendarmes at his disposal, as well as recognition from the European powers. The presence of two parallel governments led to a near-civil war among the population, with clashes leaving several victims in the vicinity of Chania. At the end of April, armed encounters between gendarmes and rebels took place at Voukolies. Three rebels and two gendarmes were killed, while fifteen peasants were wounded. During the skirmishes, residents set ablaze the gendarmes' stations.

At the beginning of August, the insurgents took the customs house at Kasteli Panormos. On the morning of 7 August, the Russian gunboat Khrabry, with 200 Imperial Guards aboard, as well as several Cretan gendarmes, laid anchor off Kastelli. Two Russian officers and an Italian lieutenant of the gendarmerie went to meet the rebels in order to engage in negotiations. The Italian gendarme ordered the insurgents to wave the white flag of surrender in the next half-hour or else face shelling. An hour and a half later, the Khrabry opened fire. This incident caused greater unrest.

While Konstantinos Manos marched on Rethymno seeking to free political prisoners, insurgents attacked Koubes (west of Rethymno). The following day, Colonel Urbanovich send fifty infantrymen there to defend the position, but the Russian soldiers suffered a setback. Urbanovich himself then went to the scene leading a column of 400 soldiers. In the face of these reinforcements, the rebels had to abandon their positions and beat a retreat south to Atsipopoulo, on the heights of Rethymno. After violent combat pitting them against the Russians and the gendarmes, the Cretans ended up ceding the village to the Russians. Among the victims of the fighting were certain insurgent leaders. The reports of the French consul at Chania observe that, despite these events, the insurgents were not leading a systematic attack against European troops.

At the beginning of summer in 1905, Prince George realised the importance of renewing dialogue with Venizelos. He wished to do so through a mutual acquaintance, James Bourchier, then correspondent in the region for The Times. At first agreeing to talks at the Theriso camp, Venizelos then declined the invitation, claiming that any cooperation with the High Commissioner was impossible.

During a new parliamentary session in September, the Cretan Assembly, encouraged by the Theriso revolt, voted for several reforms taken directly from the Venizelist programme:

Abolition of the prince's prerogative to name mayors and municipal councillors;
Introduction of universal male suffrage for all municipal functions;
Abolition of the prince's prerogative to name ten Assembly deputies of his choice;
Abrogation of restrictions on freedom of the press;
Modification of the electoral laws.

Before the Prince's allies had time to respond, the Assembly decided to convoke a National Assembly that could make laws regarding all the relevant issues.

The arrival of winter made life more difficult for the insurgents hiding in the mountains. Moreover, since October, the financial situation had been worrisome. In order to sustain the insurgents' war effort, Venizelos had to take out loans. Thus, he borrowed 100,000 francs in obligations of 5 francs each in Greece. October also saw the first defections. Rebel bands from around Sitia laid down their arms and were granted an amnesty. In mid-October, Venizelos and his comrades recognised that it would be difficult to maintain the revolt, all the more so as the latest military operations had been directly aimed at them, notably by the Russians. They gave notice that they were ready to entrust the island's fate to the Great Powers. Venizelos participated in new negotiations with the consuls, seeking to obtain a maximum of concessions regarding the island's internal affairs. In a letter addressed to the Great Powers, he stated his intention to lay down arms in exchange for honourable conditions. Most of the insurgents were ready to hand over their weapons and, for those who refused to lay down arms, it was proposed that they be transported to Greece without being disarmed. In exchange for 800 guns and the same number of cartridges, an amnesty would be possible for the insurgents, except for the gendarmes who had deserted. With these conditions, Venizelos accepted surrender. Several days later, he obtained the right to have the deserting gendarmes transported to Greece. On 25 November, the Theriso camp was broken up and an amnesty proclaimed.

International reaction

From the beginning of the insurrection, the Great Powers' consuls based in Crete convened in numerous meetings. The reinforcement of the local gendarmerie with European troops was quickly planned. With similar speed, Prince George of Greece secured from the European powers the creation of an international corps intended to aid the Cretan gendarmerie in protecting Chania from a possible rebel attack.

The Greek government, led by Theodoros Deligiannis, opposed Venizelos' action. Deligiannis informed King George of the insurrection and Prince George of his support, and denounced "Venizelos' coup d'etat in Crete" publicly.

Among the European nations, Russia reacted most promptly to the events. According to Venizelos' biographer Chester, the Russian conscripts were particularly cruel in their treatment of the Venizelists. During March and April, a contingent of the Tsar's soldiers marched toward the Lefka Ori accompanied by Cretan gendarmes. At the beginning of June, Russian troops disembarked in Crete and took several villages while the Russian fleet bombarded several others. The British, despite their support of the existing regime, only took a few symbolic actions without real impact. As for the French and the Italians, they avoided taking part in any anti-revolutionary activity. Nevertheless, an international force was assembled at Alikianos, on the road to Theriso, ready to receive orders. With the arrival of troops at Alikianos, Colonel Lubanski of the French Army organised a first meeting with the insurgents at Fournes, between Alikianos and Theriso, in a spot where the insurgents could see unmistakably the European force gathered in the valley. The talks took place on 1 April and were attended by Konstantinos Foumis and Konstantinos Manos, with Colonel Lubanski receiving the insurgents' grievances. The following day, the latter went to Theriso with a message for Venizelos: the Powers were unanimous regarding the impossibility of the island's annexation by Greece.

After the Cretan Assembly issued its declaration of independence in April 1905, the Great Powers responded on 2 May (OS): they were determined to use their naval and ground forces if necessary to maintain order. That same day, at Heraklion, the Greek flag flying above a government building was discreetly removed by the British Army and replaced with a Cretan flag.

Later however, as the Great Powers realised that Prince George had lost popular support, they arranged for negotiations. On 13 July, the insurgent leaders were invited to meet the European consuls. The following day, Venizelos, Foumis and Manos met them at a monastery near Mournies. Each leader went to the monastery accompanied by his men, who surrounded the building, but without incident. With each side remaining camped on its positions, no agreement was reached during the talks.

On 31 July, the Powers declared martial law. This measure seems to have had a minimal impact: the insurgents then controlled the entire west of the island, where order reigned, and they were ready to retreat into the White Mountains if necessary. Afterwards, the foreign troops increased their activity. The British occupied Heraklion, the Russians Rethymno, the Italians Kissamos and the French Agios Nikolaos, Sitia and Ierapetra. At Rethymno, the Russians declared a state of siege and the measures they took were more severe than in the island's other regions.

In November 1905, in response to Venizelos' letter affirming his willingness to lay down arms, the Powers agreed to significant reforms and proclaimed a general amnesty in exchange for 700–800 guns. An international commission visited the island and recommended the overhaul of the Cretan gendarmerie so that Greek officers would lead it, and the withdrawal of international forces present on the island starting in 1897.

End of the conflict

At the end of November 1905, close to 1,000 insurgents and gendarmes were transported to Greece. Nevertheless, despite their departure and the halt to the revolt called by Venizelos, Crete remained tense and the island was liable to erupt in insurrection yet again. Tensions between the supporters of each side led to conflict. For instance, when municipal elections were held and the opposition won 40 of 77 available mayoral posts, bloodshed resulted.

In February 1906, the Great Powers sent a mission to evaluate Crete's administration and finances. At the end of March, the members of the commission finished their study, which they gave to the Powers. Fresh legislative elections took place in May 1906. The Prince's party won 78 seats in the assembly, while the opposition won 36. When Prince George opened the parliamentary session in July, he announced that the international commission's report had been studied by the Great Powers, who were also considering how Cretans' national aspirations could be taken into account. Strengthened in its intentions, the assembly once again voted for Crete's annexation by Greece and suspended its activities until the Powers' decision was to be made known.

On 25 July, at Chania, the Great Powers announced a series of proposed reforms for the island:
Reform of the gendarmerie, by placing a Greek officer at its head
Creation of Cretan armed forces that would allow the definitive withdrawal of international troops
Agreement on a loan of 9,300,000 francs, two thirds of which would be devoted to public works, with the remaining third serving as an indemnity to the victims of the recent insurrections
Extension to Crete of the Greek Finance Commission (an international commission controlling Greek finances)
Creation of a commission composed of Cretans and consuls to review the expropriation of Muslim properties, lands, mosques and cemeteries
Equal rights for Christians and Muslims
Constitutional revision
Agreement on the points of disagreement with Turkey, among which were the question of the national flag, the detention of Cretan prisoners in Turkey, telegraph rates and the protection of Cretans abroad and in Turkey
A recommendation obliging the consuls to consult with local authorities on all matters of public order
A report on interest payments on a 4,000,000-franc loan through 1911

Venizelos was disposed to accept the proposals, but Prince George viewed them with hostility. In the following days, he asked for Athens to present his resignation to the Powers. His father, King George I, exercised his full powers in order to try and modify the reforms granted to the island, but the sole concession he was able to obtain was the right to choose his son's successor.

In the assembly, 80 of 130 deputies, all close to the government, showed their displeasure with the idea of replacing George, a development that threatened to plunge the island anew into revolt. The closer the Prince's departure seemed, the more his allies agitated in the hope of a new European intervention. However, it was clear to the Powers this time that the situation could only improve with George's departure.

On , Prince George left the island for good. Numerous sympathisers converged upon Chania to bid their goodbyes. Six hundred of these were armed, which added to the moment's tension. There was no longer any question of delaying his departure and proceeding to hold lavish ceremonies for him. He went on board the Greek battleship Psara and, while the crowd began to stir itself up, troops intervened at the same time as British soldiers disembarked.

Aftermath

Prince George of Greece was replaced by Alexandros Zaimis, a former Greek prime minister, for a five-year term beginning on 18 September 1906. From June 1906, an agreement between the former rebels of Theriso and the Cretan Assembly allowed for the creation of a constituent assembly led by Antonios Michelidakis. On 2 December, this body submitted a new constitution to Zaimis, who then swore allegiance to it.

Order gradually returned to the island. A public administration was set up and laws passed for improving the health and education systems. In July 1907, Michelidakis was elected president of the Cretan Assembly, defeating Konstantinos Foumis by 34 to 31 votes. Impressed by the efforts the Cretan government had made, and having received assurances regarding the safety of the Muslim population, the European powers decided to send their troops home. On 26 August 1908, the first French contingents embarked at Chania, paving the way for a complete evacuation of the island.

In 1908, the Young Turk Revolution roiled the Ottoman political landscape and strained relations between Turkey and Crete. The empire's new leaders wished to abrogate the agreements adopted concerning the island's statute and reintegrate Crete into the Empire. On 10 October, taking advantage of Zaimis' absence, the committee exercising his duties proclaimed Crete's union with Greece, an action later approved by parliament. The office of High Commissioner was abolished and the Greek constitution adopted. An executive committee met, with Venizelos at its centre holding the foreign affairs portfolio. The Greek government of Georgios Theotokis did not risk ratifying this union, but the Great Powers only protested half-heartedly, continuing their military withdrawal and completing it in June 1909. In 1913, following the First Balkan War, Crete achieved official union with Greece.

The Theriso revolt established Eleftherios Venizelos' fame in Crete and also in continental Greece; he would go on to serve as Prime Minister of Crete from April to September 1910. The following month, King George I invited him to become Prime Minister of Greece, an office he would hold seven times between 1910 and 1933.

Notes

References
S. M Chester, Life of Venizelos, with a Letter from His Excellency M. Venizelos, Constable, London, 1921.
Theocharis E. Detorakis, History of Crete, Iraklion, 1994
F. R. Bridge, "Relations with Austria-Hungary and the Balkan States, 1905–1908", in Francis Harry Hinsley (ed.), British Foreign Policy Under Sir Edward Grey, Cambridge University Press, 1977.
C. Kerofilas, Eleftherios Venizelos, His Life and Work, John Murray, 1915.
Paschalis M. Kitromilides, Eleftherios Venizelos: the Trials of Statesmanship, Institute for Neohellenic Research, National Hellenic Research Foundation, 2006.
Davide Rodogno, Against Massacre: Humanitarian Interventions in the Ottoman Empire, 1815–1914, Princeton University Press, 2012.
Jean Tulard, Histoire de la Crète, PUF, 1979.

External links
Eleftherios Venizelos during the years of the High Commissionership of Prince George (1898–1906), National Research Foundation "Eleftherios K. Venizelos"
The Cretan Question, 1897–1908, National Board for Historical Service. Government Printing Office, Washington, 1918.

Eleftherios Venizelos
Cretan State
Conflicts in 1905
1905 in Greece
Riots and civil disorder in Greece
Cretan rebellions

Theriso revolt


Arminius, also known as Armin or Hermann (b. 18 BC/17 BC in Magna Germania; d. AD 21 in Germania) was a chieftain of the Cherusci. He was able to unite a group of Germanic tribes together to fight the Romans. They destroyed a Roman army in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. This was the greatest military disaster the Romans had ever suffered.

After the battle, Arminius immediately sent Varus' severed head to Maroboduus, king of the Marcomanni, the other most powerful Germanic ruler. Arminius offered an anti-Roman alliance. Marobod declined the offer, sending the head on to Rome for burial, and remained neutral throughout the ensuing war. Only later did a brief, inconclusive war break out between the two Germanic leaders.

Rome's response
Later, in 14 AD, the Roman general  Germanicus, nephew of the Emperor Tiberius, led a huge 8-legion army (a legion was up to 5,000 men) into Germania against the coalition of tribes led by Arminius.

After visiting the site of the disastrous Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, where 15/20,000 Romans had been killed in 9 AD, and burying their remains, he launched a massive assault on the heartland of Arminius' tribe, the Cheruscans.

Arminius initially lured Germanicus' cavalry into a trap and inflicted minor casualties, until successful fighting by the Roman infantry caused the Germans to break and flee into the forest. This victory, combined with the fact that winter was fast approaching, meant Germanicus's next step was to lead his army back to its winter quarters on the Rhine.

In spite of doubts on the part of his uncle, Emperor Tiberius, Germanicus managed to raise another huge army and invaded Germany again the next year, in 16. He forced a crossing of the Weser near modern Minden, suffering heavy losses. Then he met Arminius' army in an engagement often called the Battle of the Weser River.

Germanicus's superior tactics and better trained and equipped legions inflicted huge casualties on the German army, with only minor losses. One final battle was fought at the Angivarian Wall west of modern Hanover, repeating the pattern of high German fatalities, forcing them to flee.

With his main objectives reached and with winter approaching Germanicus ordered his army back to their winter camps, with the fleet occasioning some damage by a storm in the North Sea. However, only a minute number of Romans died due to this storm. After a few more raids across the Rhine, which resulted in the recovery of two of the three legion's eagles lost in 9, Germanicus was recalled to Rome and informed by Tiberius that he would be given a triumph and reassigned to a different command.

Death of Arminius
Five years later, Arminius was killed on the orders of rival Germanic chiefs. Although Arminius could not keep unity among the Germanic tribes, the loss of Roman legions in the Teutoburg forest had a far-reaching effect on the Germanic tribes and the Roman Empire. Germanicus' campaign was the last major Roman  military effort east of the Rhine.

References

Germanic peoples
History of Germany
Ancient Rome
Rebellions in Europe
20s deaths
10s BC births

Arminius


Nicosia Destrict is ane o the sax destricts o Cyprus. Its main toun is the island kintra's caipital ceety, Nicosia. The TRNC-controlled northren pairt o the destrict is the Necosia District o the unrecognized Turkish Republic o Northren Cyprus.

TRNC-controlled auries o the Larnaca Destrict o the Republic o Cyprus are admeenistered as pairt o Nicosia Destrict, while wastren pairts o the Nicosia Destrict unner TRNC control are admeenistered as pairt o the new Morphou Destrict.

Destricts o Cyprus

Nicosia Destrict