Culture of Artsakh includes artifacts of tangible and intangible culture that has been historically associated with Artsakh (historic province) in the Southern Caucasus, controlled by Azerbaijan and the breakaway Republic of Artsakh. These include monuments of religious and civil architecture, memorial and defense structures, and various forms of art.

General information

Nagorno Karabakh and adjacent territories belonging to historical Artsakh (some of which fell under the Republic of Artsakh's control in 1992–1994) has been called an open-sky treasure-house of various forms of Armenian architecture. Overall, Nagorno-Karabakh hosts several thousand architectural artifacts and historical monuments in a larger sense. In addition to ecclesiastical structures, this number includes samples of civil architecture, ancient castles and fortresses as well as numerous khachkars.

The art and architecture created in Nagorno Karabakh has progressed through the same major stages as did Armenian art in a larger sense. They began developing in the pre-Christian times, proceeded through the adoption of Christianity early in the fourth century, and entered the era of modernity after blossoming in the Middle Ages.

The principal expression of Artsakh's art in the Middle Ages was through ecclesiastical architecture: churches, cathedrals, chapels and monasteries. Most other forms of art in that period, including illuminated manuscripts, khachkars (Armenian: խաչքար; unique-to-Armenia stone slabs with engraved crosses) and mural paintings were likewise tied to Artsakh's religious life and its primary institution—the Armenian Apostolic Church.

Works of architecture in Nagorno-Karabakh are constructed according to similar principles and with the use of the same techniques as those in the rest of Armenia. Limestone is the principal building materials that form the nucleus for the walls. They are then covered with facing and/or plated with volcanic tuff rock slabs.

In large buildings in cities or in monasteries the exterior facing can consist of carefully cut blocks of tuff. The monasteries of Gandzasar and Dadivank serve as the primary examples of that style. For more modest structures, such as parish churches in provinces, it was common to use less carefully cut stone, a practice which creates a more rustic appearance.

Names of monasteries in Nagorno Karabakh, like in the rest of historical Artsakh and Armenia, customarily include the term "vank" (Armenian: վանք), which means "monastery." Examples: Dadivank, Gtichavank, Khunisavank, Khadavank, Khatravank, Yerits Mankants Vank, etc. Monasteries are often located in or near settlements that bear the name Vank (Վանք); the most notable cases include Dadivank Monastery, Gandzasar Monastery and Spitak Khach Vank Monastery. Names of castles and fortresses in Nagorno Karabakh like in the rest of historical Artsakh and Armenia, customarily include the term "berd" (Armenian: բերդ) which means "fort." Examples: Jraberd, Handaberd, Mairaberd, Khokhanaberd, etc.

Historical monuments of the pre-Christian era
The earliest monuments in Artsakh relate to the pre-Christian era when polytheism was the most widespread form of religion. The most curious art form from that time period is, perhaps, large anthropomorphic stone idols that are found in the eastern lowlands of the northern counties of Jraberd (Armenian: Ջրաբերդ) and Khachen (Armenian: Խաչեն). They date from the Iron Age.

In the northeastern outskirts of the Republic of Artsakh, and further to the east, so-called sahmanakars (Armenian: սահմանաքար, meaning "border stones") are found. They originally appeared during the reign of the Artashessian (Artaxiad) royal dynasty in Armenia (190 BC-53 AD) who used the stones, with inscriptions, to demarcate the kingdom's frontiers for travelers. In Artsakh, the tradition of marking borders with sahmanakars endured throughout the Middle Ages. The largest of such medieval markers stands near the town of Mataghes (Armenian: Մատաղես) in the Mardakert District. An inscription on the stone declares: "Here [the province of] Syunik ends."

Monasteries, churches and chapels in and around Artsakh

In the early Middle Ages, Artsakh and neighboring provinces of Utik and Paytakaran, known together as The Eastern Prefectures of Armenia (Armenian: Կողմանք Արևելից Հայոց) became a target of missionary activities of prominent religious leaders from Armenian mainland. The most distinguished of them were St. Gregory the Illuminator (Armenian: Սբ. Գրիգոր Լուսավորիչ, died circa 337 AD), who baptized Armenia into the first Christian state in 301 AD, and St. Mesrob Mashtots (Armenian: Սբ. Մեսրոբ Մաշտոց, 361–440 AD), the scholar who created the Armenian alphabet.

A number of Christian monuments that are identified with that vital period of the Armenian history belong to the world's oldest places of Christian worship. Among them is the Amaras Monastery (Armenian: Ամարասի Վանք), which, according to ancient authors, such as the forefather of Armenian history Movses Khorenatsi (approx.410–490), was founded in the 4th century AD by St. Gregory himself. The oldest part of the monastery is the martyrium of St. Grigoris (Armenian: Սբ. Գրիգորիս), St. Gregory's grandson and Bishop of Aghvank, who was killed by the pagans, around 338 AD, when teaching Gospel in the land of the Mazkuts (present-day Republic of Dagestan, in Russia). The mausoleum of St. Grigoris is a vaulted burial chamber equipped with two lateral vestibules that serves as the crypt for a church dating from a later period. Amaras is an active monastery of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

While traveling in Artsakh and the neighboring provinces of Syunik and Utik, in circa 410 AD, St. Mesrob Mashtots established a school at Amaras where the Armenian script, invented by him in 405 AD, was first introduced for teaching purposes.

For 35 years until his death in 440, Mashtots recruited teams of monks to translate the religious, scientific and literary masterpieces of the ancient world into this new alphabet. Much of their work was conducted in the monastery at Amaras ..."

The description of St. Mesrob Mashtots' journey to Artsakh and the neighboring province of Utik is a focal point of several chapters of the "History of Aghvank" (Armenian: Պատմություն Աղվանից) written in the 7th century by one of Artsakh's most prominent natives—Armenian historian Movses Kaghankatvatsi (Armenian: Մովսես Կաղանկատվացի).

Another temple whose history relates to the mission of St. Mesrob Mashtots is the Targmanchats Monastery (Armenian: Սբ. Թարգմանչաց Վանք) near Karhat (Armenian: Քարհատ, present-day Dashkesan in Azerbaijan, to the north of the Republic of Artsakh). The word Targmanchats (Armenian: Թարգմանչաց) meaning "Saint Translators," designates both St. Mesrob Mashtots and St. Sahak Partev (Armenian: Սբ. Սահակ Պարթև), head of the Armenian Church (387–436 AD) who sponsored Mashtots' scholarly and religious expeditions. Using Mashtots' alphabet, St. Sahak Partev translated the Bible from Syriac into Armenian in 411 AD (as testified by Mashtots' pupil Koryun in his biographic work about his teacher). The main church of the monastery, reconstructed in 989, consists of one vaulted room (single nave) with an apse on the east flanked by two small rooms.

The basilica of St. Gevorg (Սբ. Գևորգ, St. George) at the Tzitzernavank Monastery (Armenian: Ծիծեռնավանք) in Kashatagh, is not only an important religious site, but is the best-preserved example of an Armenian basilica with three naves. It is a large and well-preserved structure dating probably from the fifth or sixth centuries. It stands not far from the so-called Lachin Corridor, a territory that connects Armenia with the Republic of Artsakh. The word Tzitzernavank originates from the root "tzitzern" (Armenian: ծիծեռն) meaning "little finger" in Old Armenian. This points to a period in the history of the monastery when it was believed to contain relics of St. George the Dragon-Slayer. In the past, the monastery belonged to the Tatev eparchy and is mentioned as a notable religious center by the 13th-century historian Stephanos Orbelian (Armenian: Սթեփանոս Օրբելյան) and Bishop Tovma Vanandetsi (Armenian: Թովմա Վանանդեցի) in 1655. Beginning from 1992, the Tzitzernavank Monastery underwent renovation and became a venue of autumn festivals organized annually on St. George's Day. Tzitzernavank is an active monastery of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

Churches with a cupola built on a radiating or cruciform floor plan were numerous in Armenia during the seventh century, and are well represented in Artsakh. One example is the chapel at Vankasar (Armenian: Վանքասար) where the cupola and its drum rest on the central square of a cruciform floor plan. The chapel is located on the eastern frontier of the Republic of Artsakh, and was reputedly founded by Artsakh's celebrated monarch Vachagan II the Pious (Armenian: Վաչագան Բ Բարեպաշտ) of the early medieval Arranshahik dynasty (Armenian: Առանշահիկ). Another example is the Okhta Trne church at Mokhrenes (Armenian: Օխտը Տռնէ, "The Eight-Door Church"), probably dating from the fifth to seventh centuries. Its walls, roughly cut and bonded, enclose a quatrefoil interior with four small diagonal niches. Less common is the free cross plan with a cupola, found in the Chapel of St. Savior (Armenian: Սբ. Փրկիչ) in the Mardakert District.

Artsakh's designs at times differed from the course of the architectural evolution of mainland Armenia. Observations suggest that certain floor plans frequently employed in other regions of Armenia during the seventh century are not found in Artsakh. These include the chamber with a cupola supported by wall braces (e.g. the cathedral in Aruj, in the Aragatsotn Province of Armenia); the cruciform plan with a cupola on four free-standing pillars (e.g. St. Gayaneh Church in the Holy City of Echmiadzin, Armenia), and the radiating type with four rooms in a rectangle (e.g. St. Hripsimeh Church in the Holy City of Echmiadzin, Armenia).

Another peculiarity of the region is that few of Artsakh's monuments date from the post-Arab period or the rise of Armenian kingdoms (ninth to the eleventh centuries), which was a very productive artistic era in other Armenian provinces. The structures that could be attributed to that period are chapels on the cruciform plan with a cupola, such as the church at Varazgom (Armenian: Վարազգոմ) near Kashatagh, the Khunisavank Monastery (Armenian: Խունիսավանք) in Getabaks (now–Gedabey district of Azerbaijan, north to the Republic of Artsakh), and churches with a single nave, such as the church in Parissos (Armenian: Փարիսոս).

It was during the post-Seljuk period and the beginning of the Mongol period (late twelfth and thirteenth centuries) when Artsakh's architecture blossomed. Monasteries in this era served as active centers of art and scholarship. Most of them contained scriptoria where manuscripts were copied and illuminated. They also were fortified and often served as places of refuge for the population in times of trouble.

Several monastic churches from this period adopted the model used most widely throughout Armenia: a cathedral with a cupola in the inscribed cross plan with two or four angular chambers. Examples include the largest and most complex monasteries of Artsakh: Dadivank (Armenian: Դադիվանք, 1214–1237), Gandzasar (Armenian: Գանձասար, 1216–1238) and Gtichavank (Armenian: Գտիչավանք, 1241–1246). In the case of the Gandzasar and Gtichavank monasteries, the cone over the cupola is umbrella-shaped, a picturesque design that was originally developed by the architects of Armenia's former capital city of Ani, in the tenth century, and subsequently spread to other provinces of the country, including Artsakh.

Like all Armenian monasteries, those in Artsakh reveal great geometric rigor in the layout of buildings. In this regard, the thirteenth century's Dadivank, the largest monastic complex in Artsakh and all of Eastern Armenia, located in the northwestern corner of the Mardakert District, is a remarkable case. Dadivank was sufficiently well preserved to leave no doubt that it was one of the most complete monasteries in the entire Caucasus. With its Memorial Cathedral of the Holy Virgin in the center, Dadivank has approximately twenty different structures, which are divided into four groups: ecclesiastical, residential, defensive and ancillary. Dadivank is an active monastery of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

A conspicuous characteristic of Armenian monastic architecture of the thirteenth century is the gavit (գավիթ, also called zhamatoun; Armenian: ժամանտուն). The gavits are special square halls usually attached to the western entrance of churches. They were very popular in large monastic complexes where they served as narthexes, assembly rooms and lecture halls, as well as vestibules for receiving pilgrims. Some appear as simple vaulted galleries open to the south (e.g. in the Metz Arrank Monastery; Armenian: Մեծառանից Վանք); others have an asymmetrical vaulted room with pillars (Gtichavank Monastery); or feature a quadrangular room with four central pillars supporting a pyramidal dome (the Dadivank Monastery). In another type of gavit, the vault is supported by a pair of crossed arches – in Horrekavank (Armenian: Հոռեկավանք) and Bri Yeghtze (Armenian: Բռի Եղցէ) monasteries.

The most famous gavit in Nagorno-Karabakh, though, is part of the Gandzasar Monastery. It was built in 1261 and is distinctive for its size and superior quality of workmanship. Its layout corresponds exactly to that of Haghbat (Armenian: Հաղբատ) and Mshakavank (Armenian: Մշակավանք)—two monasteries located in the northern part of Armenia. At the center of the ceiling, the cupola is illuminated by a central window which is adorned with the same stalactite ornaments as in Geghard (Armenian: Գեղարդ) and Harichavank (Armenian: Հառիճավանք)—monasteries in Armenia dating from the early thirteenth century.

The Gandzasar Monastery was the spiritual center of Khachen (Armenian: Խաչեն), the largest and most powerful principality in medieval Artsakh, by virtue of being home to the Katholicosate of Aghvank. Also known as the Holy See of Gandzasar, Katholicosate of Aghvank (Armenian: Աղվանից Կաթողիկոսություն) was one of the territorial subdivisions of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

Gandzasar's Cathedral of St. Hovhannes Mkrtich (Armenian: Սբ. Հովհաննես Մկրտիչ, designating St. John the Baptist) is one of the most well-known Armenian architectural monuments of all times. No surprise, Gandzasar is number one tourist attraction in the Republic of Artsakh. In its decor there are elements which relate it to three other monuments, in Armenia, from the early thirteenth century: the colonnade on the drum resembles that of Harichavank (Armenian: Հառիճավանք; built around 1201), and the great cross with a sculpture of Crucifixion at the top of the facade is also found at Kecharis (Armenian: Կեչառիսի Վանք, built around 1214) and Hovhannavank (Armenian: Հովհաննավանք, 1216–1250). Gandzasar an active monastery of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

Gandzasar and Dadivank are also well known for their bas-reliefs that embellish their domes and walls. After the Cathedral of St. Cross on the Lake Van (also known as Akhtamar-Ախթամար, in Turkey), Gandzasar contains the largest amount of sculpted decor compared to other architectural ensembles of Armenia. The most famous of Gandzasar's sculptures are Adam and Eve, Jesus Christ, the Lion (a symbol of the Vakhtangian princes (Armenian: Վախթանգյան իշխաններ) who built both Gandzasar and Dadivank), and the Churchwardens—each holding on his hands a miniature copy of the cathedral. In Dadivank, the most important bas-relief depicts the patrons of the monastery, whose stone images closely resemble those carved on the walls of the Haghbat, Kecharis and Harichavank monasteries, in Armenia.

Although in this period the focus in Artsakh shifted to more complex structures, churches with a single nave continued to be built in large numbers. One example is the monastery of St. Yeghishe Arakyal (Armenian: Սբ. Եղիշե Առաքյալ, also known as the Jrvshtik Monastery (Ջրվշտիկ), which in Armenian means "Longing-for-Water"), in the historical county of Jraberd, that has eight single-naved chapels aligned from north to south. One of these chapels is a site of high importance for the Armenians, as it serves as a burial ground for Artsakh's fifth-century monarch King Vachagan II the Pious Arranshahik. Also known as Vachagan the Pious for his devotion to the Christian faith and support in building a large number of churches throughout the region, King Vachagan is an epic figure whose deeds are immortalized in many of Artsakh's legends and fairytales. The most famous of those tells how Vachagan fell in love with the beautiful and clever Anahit, who then helped the young king defeat pagan invaders.

After an interruption that lasted from the fourteenth to the sixteenth centuries, architecture flourished again, in the seventeenth century. Many parish churches were built, and the monasteries, serving as bastions of spiritual, cultural and scholarly life, were restored and enlarged. The most notable of those is the Yerits Mankants Monastery ("Monastery of Three Infants," Armenian: Երից Մանկանց Վանք) that was built around 1691 in the county of Jraberd. The monastery was established by the feudal family of Melik-Israelians (Armenian: Մելիք-Իսրաելյան), Lords of Jraberd, with an apparent purpose to rival the Holy See of Gandzasar and its hereditary patrons—the Hasan-Jalalians, Lords of Khachen.

Artsakh's architecture of the nineteenth century is distinguished by a merger of innovation and the tradition of grand national monuments of the past. One example is the Cathedral of the Holy Savior also known as "Ghazanchetsots" (Armenian: Ղազանչեցոց Սբ. Ամենափրկիչ, 1868–1888) because it was erected in the historical Ghazanchetsots (Ղազանչեցոց) borough of Shusha. It stands in Shusha, former capital of Karabakh Khanate and is among the largest Armenian churches ever erected. The cathedral's architectural forms were influenced by the designs of the ancient cathedral of St. Echmiadzin (4th–9th centuries), center of the Armenian Apostolic Church located to the west of Armenia's capital of Yerevan. After the Karabakh War, the cathedral underwent restoration, and currently serves as an active house of worship of the Armenian Apostolic Church.

In addition to the Cathedral of the Holy Savior, Shusha hosted the Hermitage of Holy Virgins (Armenian: Կուսանաց Անապատ, 1816) and three other Armenian churches: Holy Savior "Meghretsots" (Armenian: Մեղրեցոց Սբ. Ամենափրկիչ, 1838), St. Hovhannes "Kanach Zham" (Armenian: Սբ. Հովհաննես, 1847) and Holy Savior "Aguletsots" (Armenian: Ագուլեցոց Սբ. Ամենափրկիչ, 1882).

In the nineteenth century, several Muslim monuments appear as well. They are linked to the emergence of the Karabakh Khanate, a short-lived, Muslim-ruled principality in Karabakh (1750s–1805). In the city of Shusha, three nineteenth-century mosques were built, which, together with two Russian Orthodox chapels, are the only non-Armenian architectural monuments found on the territories comprising the former Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Region and today's Republic of Artsakh.

Monuments of civil architecture
From the 17th and 18th centuries, several palaces of Armenian meliks (Armenian: մելիք, duke) should be noted, especially the Palace of the Melik-Beglarian (Armenian: Մելք-Բեգլարյան) family in Giulistan (in the Shahumian District), Palace of the Melik-Avanian (Armenian: Մելք-Ավանյան) family in Togh (in the Hadrut District), Palace of the Melik-Mnatzakanian (Armenian: Մելք-Մնացականյան) family in Getashen, Palace of the Melik-Haikazian (Armenian: Մելիք-Հայկազյան) family in Kashatagh (in the Kashatagh-Lachin District), Palace of the Melik-Dolukhanian (Armenian: Մելք-Դոլուխանյան) family in Tukhnakal (near Stepanakert) and, finally, Palace of the Khan of Karabakh in the city of Shusha. Princely palaces from earlier epochs, while badly damaged by time, are equally if not more impressive. Among those preserved is the Palace of the Dopian Princes, Lords of Tzar, near Aknaberd (in the Mardakert District).

Artsakh's medieval inns (called "idjevanatoun;" Armenian: իջևանատուն) comprise a separate category of civil structures. The best preserved example of those is found near the town of Hadrut.

Before its destruction in 1920 the main repository of the region's civil architecture was Shusha. In the late 19th century, Shusha became one of the largest cities in Caucasus. In 1913, it hosted more than 42,000 people.

Shusha's architecture had its unique style and spirit. That special style synthesized designs used in building grand homes in Artsakh's rural areas (especially in the southern county of Dizak) and elements of neo-classical European architecture. The quintessential example of Shusha's residential dwellings is the house of the Avanesantz family (19th century). Shusha's administrative buildings of note include: Royal College (1875), Eparchial College (1838), Technical School (1881) summer and winter clubs of the City Hall (1896 and 1901), The Zhamharian Hospital (1900), The Khandamirian Theater (1891), The Holy Virgin Women's College (1864) and Mariam Ghukassian Nobility High School (1894). Of these buildings, only Royal College and the Zhamharian Hospital survived the Turko-Muslim attack on the city in 1920.

The best-preserved examples of Artsakh's rural civil architecture are found in historical settlements of Banants (Armenian: Բանանց), Getashen (Armenian: Գետաշեն), Hadrut (Armenian: Հադութ) and Togh (Armenian: Տող).

History of vandalism and destruction
The first record of damage to historical monuments occurred during the early medieval period. During the Armenian-Persian war of 451–484 AD, the Amaras Monastery was wrecked by Persian conquerors who sought to bring pagan practices back to Armenia. Later, In 821, Armenia was overrun by Arabs, and Amaras was plundered. In the same century, however, the monastery was rebuilt under the patronage of Prince Yesai (Armenian: Եսայի Իշխան Առանշահիկ), Lord of Dizak, who bravely fought against the invaders. In 1223, as testified by the Bishop Stephanos Orbelian (died in 1304), Amaras was looted again—at this time, by the Mongols—who took with them St. Grigoris' crosier and a large golden cross decorated with 36 precious stones. According to Orbelian, the wife of the Mongolian leader, Byzantine Princess Despina, proposed to send the cross and the crosier to Constantinople.

In 1387, Amaras and ten other monasteries of Artsakh were attacked by Tamerlane's hordes from Central Asia. According to a local Armenian legend, Tamerlane destroyed Amaras and ordered his soldiers to make up a miles-long line from the monastery all the way to the River Arax. Tamerlane's soldiers were passing on the stones of the demolished buildings from one person to another and throwing them into the water to form a bridge. But as soon as the conquerors left the region, the legend says, the region's inhabitants rushed to the river, brought the stones back and rebuilt the monastery to its original state. It must have been at that time when Amaras' famous scriptorium was established.

Shortly after the Armenian genocide and the end of the Caucasus Campaign in 1918, a Pogrom instigated by the Muslim Azerbaijani Population in 1920 resulted in the destruction of the entire Armenian quarter of the city, which had a devastating effect on cities architecture heritage and position as a major trade city and producer of silk in the 19th century. After the entry of Turko-Islamic nomads to Karabakh's highlands in the 1750s, the city became divided into two parts: Armenian and Muslim. Although the Islamic Turkic tribesmen (known since the 1930s as "Azerbaijanis") constituted a small percentage of the population of Artsakh's highlands, their largest concentration was in Shusha, where they lived in peace with the Armenian population there. However, during the early 20th century the cities cosmopolitan and tolerant attitude began to fall apart, and became a venue of sporadic inter-communal violence, but it was in March 1920 when it received the deadliest blow of all. Aided by expeditionary Ottoman forces, armed Turko-Tartar ("Azerbaijani" ) bands burned and destroyed the Armenian section of the city, murdering most of its Armenian residents in the process— some 20,000 people in total.

The city's three out of five Armenian churches were totally destroyed by the Turkic bands: Holy Savior "Meghretzotz" (Armenian: Մեղրեցոց Սբ. Փրկիչ, built in 1838), Holy Savior "Aguletzotz" (Armenian: Ագուլեցոց Սբ. Փրկիչ, built in 1882) and Hermitage of Holy Virgins (Armenian: Կուսանաց Անապատ, built in 1816). The Cathedral of the Holy Savior (1868–1888) was desecrated and severely damaged. With as many as 7,000 buildings demolished, Shusha has never been restored to its former grandeur. Instead, it shrank, becoming a small town populated by Azerbaijanis(14 thousand residents in 1987 versus 42 thousand in 1913). It stood in ruins from 1920 up to the mid-1960s, when the ruins of the city's Armenian half were bulldozed by orders from Baku and cheaply built apartment complexes were built on top of them.

The Karabakh War (1991–1994) likewise left its deep scars on the architectural face of Nagorno Karabakh. The Azerbaijani Army intentionally targeted Armenian Christian monuments for the purpose of their demolition, using, among a variety of means, heavy artillery and military airplanes. Both Amaras and Gandzasar monasteries suffered in the process. Robert Bevan writes: "The Azeri campaign against the Armenian enclave of Nagorno Karabakh which began in 1988 was accompanied by cultural cleansing that destroyed the Egheazar monastery and 21 other churches."

Fortresses, castles and princely palaces
The fortresses of the region (called "berd" in Armenian; բերդ) were usually built on hard-to-reach rocks or on the tips of mountains,using the rugged and heavily forested terrain of the region. Some of the fortresses in Nagorno Karabakh include Jraberd (Armenian: Ջրաբերդ), Handaberd (Armenian: Հանդաբերդ), Kachaghakaberd (Armenian: Կաչաղակաբերդ), Shikakar (Armenian: Շիկաքար), Giulistan (Armenian: Գյուլիստան), Mairaberd (Armenian: Մայրաբերդ), Toghaberd (Armenian: Տողաբերդ), Aknaberd (Armenian: Ակնաբերդ), and Aghjkaberd (Armenian: Աղջկաբերդ). These Castles belonged to Artsakh's aristocratic families, safeguarding their domains against foreign invaders that came from the eastern steppes. The forts were established very early in the history of the region, and each successive generation of their custodians contributed to their improvement.

When the Principality of Khachen forged ties with the Kingdom of Cilicia (1080–1375), an independent Armenian state on the Mediterranean Sea that aided the Crusaders, a small number of Artsakh's fortifications acquired a certain Cilician look as a result.

The Handaberd Castle, the traditional stronghold of the Vakhtangian-Dopian Princes located in Karvachar (Armenian: Քարվաճառ, Azerbaijan's former district of Kelbajar), was rebuilt with a grant received from Cilicia's King Levon I; for that it was also known as "Levonaberd" (Armenian: Լևոնաբերդ).

Karabakh's most remarkable pieces of fortifications, though, are the Citadel of Shusha and Askeran Fortress. Backed by an intricate system of camps, recruiting centers, watchtowers and fortified beacons, both belonged to the so-called Lesser Syghnakh (Armenian: Փոքր Սղնախ), which was one of Artsakh's two main historical military districts responsible for defending the southern counties of Varanda and Dizak. When the Citadel of Shusha was founded by Panah Ali Khan Javanshir, the founder of the Karabakh Khanate, its walls and other fortifications were built.

Khachkars

Khachkars (Armenian: խաչքար), stone slab monuments decorated with a cross, represent a special chapter in the history of sculpture, and are unique to historical Armenia.

In the first stage of their evolution, this type of monuments already existed in Artsakh, as attested by one of the earliest dated samples found on the eastern shore of the Lake Sevan (at Metz Mazra, year 881) which at that time was part of the dominion of Artsakh's Princes of Tzar. A very large number of khachkars is also found on the territory of today's Republic of Artsakh and adjacent regions.

Several thirteenth-century examples look particularly refined, and a few of them deserve a special attention for their superior design. The two khachkars of the Gtichavank Monastery (Armenian: Գտիչավանք) dating from about 1246 (one of which is preserved at St. Echmiadzin in Armenia), show the two bishops who founded Gtichavank. There are also the two tall khachkar plaques placed inside the Memorial Bell-Tower at the Dadivank Monastery (1283), which are veritable laceworks in stone.

Artsakh's most well-known example of embedded khachkars—where khachkars standing next to each other form some kind of hooded iconostas-in-stone—is the Bri Yeghtze Monastery (Armenian: Բռի Եղծէ Վանք), in the historical country of Varanda (Armenian: Վարանդա, presently in the Martuni District of the Republic of Artsakh). The use of embedded khachkars in Bri Yeghtze is the same as in the Tzaghatz Kar Monastery (Armenian: Ցաղաղ Քարի Վանք, in Vayots Dzor Province of Armenia) and in the Horomos Monastery near Kars (Armenian: Հոռոմոսի Վանք, now in Turkey).

A large khachkar, brought from Artsakh's Metz Arants Hermitage (Armenian: Մեծ Առանց Անապատ) to St. Echmiadzin, represents a rare type of the so-called "winged crosses" which resemble Celtic cross stones from Scotland and Ireland. The largest collection of standing khachkars in Artsakh is in the area called Tsera Nahatak, near the village of Badara.

Lapidary inscriptions

In most cases, facades and walls of Artsakh's churches and monasteries contain engraved texts in Armenian that often provide the precise date of construction, names of patrons and, sometimes, even name of the architect. The number of such texts exceeds several hundred.

Covering the walls of churches and monasteries with ornamented texts in Armenian developed in Artsakh, and in many other places in historical Armenia, into a unique form of decor. Compared with other Armenian lands, Artsakh contains a very large number of Armenian lapidary (inscribed in stone) texts per unit of territory, which date from the 5th century. The most notable and extensive of those cover entire walls of the Dadivank and Gandzasar monasteries.

A prominent inscription, for instance, details the foundation of Dadivank's Memorial Cathedral; it covers a large area of the cathedral's southern facade. It begins with the following section:

"By the grace of God Almighty and his only begotten son Jesus Christ, and by the grace of the most Holy Spirit, I, Arzou Hatun, humble servant of the Christ, the daughter of the greatest prince of princes Kurt and the spouse of the Crown Prince Vakhtang, Lord of Haterk and the whole of Upper Khachen, with utmost hope have built this holy cathedral in the place of the last rest of my husband and my two sons … My elder [son] Hasan martyred for his Christian faith in the war against the Turks; and in three months my younger son Grigor died of natural causes and passed to the Christ, leaving his mother in inconsolable mourning. While [my sons] were alive, they vowed to build a church to the glory of God … and I undertook the construction of this expiatory temple with utmost hope and diligence, for the salvation of their souls, and mine and all of my nephews. Thus I plead: while worshipping before the holy altar, remember my prayers inscribed on this church … Completed in the year [modern 1214] of the Armenian Calendar…"

Another historic text inscribed in Armenian is found on the tombstone of St. Grigoris, Bishop of Artsakh, at the Amaras Monastery. St. Grigoris was St. Gregory the Enlightener's grandson who martyred preaching Gospel in the Northern Caucasus:

"The tomb of St. Grigoris, Katholicos of Aghvank, grandson of St. Gregory; born in [322 AD], anointed in the year [340 AD], martyred in the year [348 AD] in Derbend, by King Sanesan of the Mazkuts; his holy remains were brought to Amaras by his pupils, deacons from Artsakh."

Fresco art
Few of Artsakh's frescoes were preserved, but those which survived are important for the history of Armenian fresco art because of their unique compositional features and color schemes. The largest collection of Artsakh's frescos are found inside the Memorial Cathedral (1214), at the Dadivank Monastery. The Memorial Cathedral was built by the orders of Queen Arzou of Haterk. The paintings depict St. Mary, Jesus Christ and St. Nicholas, with a group of angels and worshippers.

The fresco on the southern wall shows the Holy Virgin in a long robe with a red kerchief tied around her head. She is holding an oration adorned with crosses. Another fresco portrays the Christ, as he is giving the Gospel to St. Nicholas. The fresco on the northern wall represents the birth of Jesus: St. Joseph stands at St. Mary's bedside, and the three magicians kneel in adoration in front; cherubs fly in the sky above them, singing Glory in Highest Heaven. A native of Artsakh and the 13th century author Kirakos Gandzaketsi (Armenian: Կիրակոս Գանձակեցի) hints in his "History of Armenia" that Queen Arzou (Armenian: Առզու Թագուհի) and her daughters were gifted with exceptional artistic talent, so it has been theorized that they could have been among those who helped paint the murals. Other than at Dadivank, Some other frescoes are found in the main parish church of the town of Arajadzor in Mardakert District.

Illuminated manuscripts
More than thirty known medieval manuscripts originate in Artsakh, Many of which are 13th and 14th century illuminated manuscripts created during the Principality of Khachen. These scripts were created in Ganja, Azerbaijan, as well as at Karabakh's monasteries of Gandzasar, Khoranashat (Armenian: Խորանաշատ), Targmanchatz, Holy Virgin of Tzar (Armenian: Ծառա Սբ. Աստվածածին) and Yerits Mankants (Armenian: Երից Մանկանց Վանք). A group of illuminated works is specific to the regions of Artsakh and Utik; in their linear and unadorned style they resemble miniatures of the Syunik and Vaspurakan schools. These compositions are simple and monumental, often with an iconography that is original and distinct from Byzantine models. Besides depicting biblical stories, several of Artsakh's manuscripts attempt to convey the images of the rulers of the region who often ordered the rewriting and illumination of the texts. Manuscript No. 115 preserved at the Matenadaran Institute of Ancient Manuscripts in Yerevan, Armenia contains a miniature portrait of Prince Vakhtang Tangik (Armenian: Վախթանգ Թանգիկ, Vakhtang the Precious) Lord of Haterk.

During the 12th–15th centuries several dozens of well-known scriptoria functioned in Artsakh and neighboring Utik. The best period of Artsakh's miniature painting may be divided into two main stages. The first one includes the second half of the 12th and the beginning of the 13th centuries. The second stage includes the second half of the 13th century to the beginning of the 14th century. Among the most interesting works of the first stage one can mention the Matenadaran manuscript no. 378, called the Gospel of Prince Vakhtang Khachentsi (produced in 1212), and the Matenadaran manuscript no. 4829, a Gospel produced in 1224 and associated with the name of Princess Vaneni Jajro.

Carpets and rugs

Carpets and rugs are a form of art which is central to the artistic identity of the region. It is known that in the tenth century dyed fabrics and rugs from Artsakh were highly valued in the Arab world. Two accounts by the historian Kirakos Gandzaketsi mention embroideries and altar curtains handmade by his contemporaries Arzou and Khorishah—two princesses of the House of Upper Khachen (Haterk/Հաթերք)—for the Dadivank Monastery. In the 19th century, local rugs and samples of natural silk production became part of international exhibitions and art fairs in Moscow, Philadelphia and Paris.

The abundance of rugs produced in the modern period is rooted in this solid ancient tradition. Indeed, recent research has begun to highlight the importance of the Armenian region of Artsakh in the history of a broader group of rugs classified as "Caucasian." Woven works by Artsakh's Armenians come in several types. Rugs in an "eaglebands" (Armenian: արծվագորգ/artzvagorg) or "sunburst" (Armenian: արևագորգ/arevagorg) pattern, a sub-type of Armenian rug featuring dragons, whose manufacturing center from the eighteenth century was Artsakh's county of Jraberd, have characteristically large radiating medallions. Other rugs come with ornaments resembling serpents ("serpentbands;" Armenian: օձագորգ/odzagorg) or clouds with octagonal medallions comprising four pairs of serpents in an "S" shape, and rugs with a series of octagonal, cross-shaped or rhomboid medallions, often bordered by a red band.

Artsakh is also the source of some of the oldest rugs bearing Armenian inscriptions: the rug with three niches from the town of Banants (1602), the rug of Catholicos Nerses of Aghvank (1731), and the famous Guhar (Gohar) Rug (1700). It should also be added that most rugs with Armenian inscriptions come from Artsakh.

See also
 Armenian Cultural Heritage in Azerbaijan

References

Bibliography
 Armenia: 1700 years of Christian Architecture. Moughni Publishers, Yerevan, 2001
 Tom Masters and Richard Plunkett. Georgia, Armenia & Azerbaijan, Lonely Planet Publications; 2 edition (July 2004)
 Nicholas Holding. Armenia with Nagorno Karabagh, Bradt Travel Guides; Second edition (October, 2006)

External links
 Armenica.org

Artsakh
Artsakh

Culture of Artsakh


Caleb Quaye (born 9 October 1948), is an English rock guitarist and studio musician best known for his work in the 1960s and 1970s with Elton John, Mick Jagger, Pete Townshend, Paul McCartney, Hall & Oates and Ralph McTell, and also toured with Shawn Phillips in the 1970s. He is the son of Cab Kaye, younger brother of Terri Quaye, and older half-brother of singer Finley Quaye.

Early career

Quaye was a member of local band The SoundCasters (Sound Castles) while at school. He spent several years as a member of Long John Baldry's backing band, Bluesology, which also featured a keyboard player named Reg Dwight, who would soon become known as Elton John. When Bluesology disbanded in 1967, Quaye released a single under the name Caleb called "Baby Your Phrasing is Bad" b/w "Woman of Distinction" (1967, Philips Records). In 1969 he served as guitarist for the one-off "flower power" pop band Argosy (which also included Dwight, Roger Hodgson, and Nigel Olsson) on their single, "Mr. Boyd" b/w "Imagine".

Starting in 1969, Quaye played guitar supporting Elton John at live concerts around the local London area, with what eventually became the nucleus of Hookfoot for sporadic shows.  The live support work continued until Elton formed his original touring band in the spring of 1970, the trio featuring Dee Murray and Nigel Olsson.

In April 1970, Quaye formed the band Hookfoot with Ian Duck, Roger Pope and David Glover, all of whom were DJM Records house musicians and had backed Elton's earliest live performances. The group's self-titled debut album was a mix of rock and jazz and included songs by Quaye and Duck, in addition to Stephen Stills and Neil Young covers. Quaye played guitar and keyboards on this album. The group's follow-up record Good Times a-Comin'  was a more straight-ahead rock album. A third album was Communication and the last album titled Roarin' . A live album called Hookfoot Live in Memphis, recorded in 1973 was released later.  The group disbanded in 1974 and Quaye stayed in the United States to work as a session musician. He is credited as a guitarist on Bill Quateman's 1973 debut album, Bill Quateman, and toured with Quateman in support of the album.

Quaye played guitar, bass and drums on "Forever's No Time at All", written and sung by Nicholls. It opened I Am, a 1972 album dedicated to Meher Baba also featuring Pete Townshend.  Later that year, the song appeared on Townshend's solo debut Who Came First.

Quaye played guitar on the original demos for Joan Armatrading's debut album Whatever's for Us, which was released in November 1972. The demos were recorded by Gus Dudgeon at Marquee Studios, London.

Subsequently, Caleb Quaye was enlisted by Billy Nicholls to play lead guitar, bass, drums and keyboards on Love Songs, recorded in 1974 and released on GM Records.

Elton John Band

Quaye first met Elton John in 1965, and in 1967 helped him to get studio time to record demos at Dick James' studio, where he worked as an engineer. They played together in the Bread and Beer Band, and Quaye produced John's first solo single.

Quaye played off and on for more than 10 years with John, both as a session player and later full band member, appearing on all of his earliest recordings and albums as a session player until the beginning of 1972, as well as being a member of Bluesology during 1967/68. He finally fully joined the Elton John Band in May 1975 for the Rock of the Westies and Blue Moves albums, as well as subsequent 1975/76 Elton tours.

In 2019, an old and previously unreleased song he co-wrote with Elton John in the late 1960s, "Thank You For All Your Loving", was featured in the film Rocketman.

Hall & Oates
In 1978, Quaye, along with fellow Elton John Band members Kenny Passarelli and Roger Pope, joined Hall & Oates. This group recorded Livetime as well as the September 1978 release Along the Red Ledge.  Caleb also played on Daryl Hall's first solo album which also featured Passarelli, Pope, and Robert Fripp (King Crimson).

Christian faith and music ministry
In 1982, Quaye embraced the Christian faith becoming a musician/evangelist. From 1986 to 1995, Quaye was an Associate Pastor, Chief Musician and Staff Evangelist at the Foursquare Church in Pasadena, California. Since 1996, Quaye has served as the National Worship Director for the Foursquare denomination, ministering throughout the United States, England and Europe.

Quaye used to serve as adjunct faculty at LIFE Pacific College in San Dimas, California, teaching music and worship leadership. He is also one of the elders in the church that meets in the chapel on campus.

In February 2006, Vision Publishing released Quaye's autobiography, A Voice Louder Than Rock & Roll, in paperback. The book is credited to "Caleb Quaye with Dale A. Berryhill."

From 2008 on, Quaye released two jazz-rock fusion CDs. The first one was One Night in San Dimas, with Out of the Blue as the 2010 follow-up album; both of which he plays his signature model Brazen guitar, loaded with Seymour Duncan pick-ups.

He now serves at The Church on the Way, Van Nuys CA.

Collaborations

With Long John Baldry

It Ain't Easy (Warner Brothers, 1971)

With Joan Baez
 Recently (Gold Castle, 1987)

With The Beach Boys
 Keepin' the Summer Alive (CBS Records, 1980)

With Peter Criss
 Let Me Rock You (Casablanca Records, 1982)

With Charlie Dore
 Listen! (Chrysalis Records, 1981)

With Yvonne Elliman
 Food of Love (Purple Records, 1973)

With Daryl Hall
 Sacred Songs (RCA Records, 1980)

With Hall & Oates
 Along the Red Ledge (RCA Records, 1978)

With Jennifer Holliday
 Feel My Soul (Geffen, 1983)

With Bruce Johnston
 Going Public (Columbia Records, 1977)

With Elton John
 Empty Sky (DJM Records, 1969)
 Elton John (DJM Records, 1970)
 Tumbleweed Connection (DJM Records, 1970)
 Madman Across the Water (Uni Records, 1971)
 Rock of the Westies (MCA Records, 1975)
 Blue Moves (Rocket, 1976)

With Al Kooper
 New York City (You're a Woman) (Columbia Records, 1971)

With Liza Minnelli
 Tropical Nights (Columbia Records, 1977)

With Keb' Mo'
 Rainmaker (Chocolate City, 1980)

With Harry Nilsson
 Nilsson Schmilsson (RCA Victor, 1971)

With Lou Reed
 Lou Reed (RCA Records, 1972)

With Brenda Russell
 Two Eyes (Warner Bros. Records, 1983)

With Dusty Springfield
 White Heat (Casablanca Records, 1982)

With Bernie Taupin
 Taupin (DJM Records, 1971)

References

External links
 Caleb's Band Page on New World Music Ministries, Inc. (archived)
 2007 video of Quaye discussing the connection between his spiritual faith and musical creativity
 March 2010 Hollywood music in Media nomination
 Caleb Quaye on Allmusic.com

Living people
1948 births
Musicians from London
English session musicians
English expatriates in the United States
English people of Ghanaian descent
English Christians
English record producers
British rhythm and blues boom musicians
Black British rock musicians
Elton John Band members
English rock guitarists
Hall & Oates members
Bluesology members

Caleb Quaye


Home recording is the practice of recording sound in a private home instead of a professional recording studio. A studio set up for home recording is called a home studio or project studio. Home recording is widely practiced by voice actors, narrators, singers, musicians, podcast hosts, and documentary makers at all levels of success. The cost of professional audio equipment has dropped steadily as technology advances during the 21st century, while information about recording techniques has become easily available online. These trends have resulted in an increase in the popularity of home recording and a shift in the recording industry toward recording in the home studio. The COVID-19 pandemic and COVID-19 lockdowns resulted in a dramatic global increase in the number of remote workers in 2020, which is anticipated by experts to remain a permanent shift in the field of sound recording when the pandemic ends.

Studio equipment
Until the late 1970s, music could be recorded either on low-quality tape recorders or on large, expensive reel-to-reel tape machines.  Due to their high price and specialized nature, reel-to-reel machines were only practical for professional studios and wealthy artists. In 1979, Tascam invented the Portastudio, a small four-track machine aimed at the consumer market.  With this new product, small multitrack tape recorders became widely available, and grew in popularity throughout the 1980s.  In the 1990s, analog tape machines were supplanted by digital recorders and computer-based digital audio workstations (DAWs).  These new devices were designed to convert audio tracks into digital files, and record the files onto magnetic tape (such as ADAT), hard disk, compact disc, or flash ROM.

The way the room sounds or reverberates can change dramatically the way music is mixed, written, and recorded. Untreated rooms have an uneven frequency response, which means that any mixing decisions being made are being based on a sound that is 'coloured,' because sound mixers can not accurately hear what is being played. Acoustic panels and bass traps can improve the sound in the room.

Impact on professional recording studios
Professional recording studios have been heavily impacted by the growth of home studio technology over the last two decades. The advancements in such technology along with the moderate to low budgets of up-and-coming and even established artists have put many commercial studios out of business. Many professional engineers have moved from these commercial studios into their own homes to be able to work with their clients at a more accessible cost. Artists have also set up their home studios to self-record and produce their own material and not have to deal with high budgets and expensive studio time. Lack of album sales in recent years and major record labels cutting their budgets to fund their artists and producers to record in these high-end studios have done a significant amount of damage as well. Some of music's iconic studios have been forced to shut their doors for good due to these circumstances. The list of these studios include The Hit Factory, which was located in New York City and home to albums such as Born in the U.S.A. by Bruce Springsteen and Graceland by Paul Simon, and Sony Music Studios, which was also located in New York City and where Nirvana recorded their MTV Unplugged session. Another studio that was forced to close was Olympic Studios in London, where works by Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and The Rolling Stones were recorded.

Even though these commercial studios are able to produce a quality recording for the artists that record in them, many of the recording software used in home studios can emulate what the consoles and tape recorders are able to do. As mentioned in the Los Angeles Times, according to NAMM, the trade group for music retailers and manufacturers: "The total computer music market went from just under $140 million in sales in 1999 to almost a half-billion dollars in 2008". So while album sales have significantly dropped in the past decade, which has forced recording studios to cut costs, the sales of computer software and technology related to music have significantly increased as well. Maureen Droney, senior director of the Recording Academy's Producers & Engineers Wing, spoke to the Los Angeles Times and reflected on what the recording studios have come to be in today's music industry with the following statement: "In some ways we've come full circle ... We've gone back to being small and entrepreneurial. People still look to commercial studios when they have something to offer that they can't do at home. But, as it is, the recording studio business started with people starting small, funky studios, oftentimes in bedrooms and garages."

See also
 Lo-fi music
Bedroom pop
Chillwave
Hypnagogic pop

References

Sound recording

Home recording


Claudio Ambrosini (born 9 April 1948) is an Italian composer and conductor.

Biography
He studied foreign languages and literature at the Università di Milano graduating with an MA in 1972. Afterwards, he studied electronic music with Alvise Vidolin at the Venice Conservatory from 1972 to 1975. He also studied early instruments there from 1975 to 1978 and music history at the Università di Venezia, where he received an MA in 1978. He was influenced in his compositions by his encounters with Bruno Maderna and Luigi Nono.

He won the Prix de Rome in 1985. In 1986, he represented Italy at the UNESCO International Rostrum of Composers. In 2007, he received the Leone d'Oro per la Musica at the Biennale di Venezia. He has received commissions from RAI, WDR, the French government,  the Teatro La Fenice, the Accademia Filarmonica Romana and from other institutions.

He has worked for the Centro per la Sonologia Computazionale in Padova since 1976. He is a professor with the department of information engineering of the University of Padova. In 1979, he founded the Ex Novo Ensemble in Venice, which is dedicated to the execution of contemporary music. In 1983, he founded the Centro Internazionale per la Ricerca Strumentale, where he is still director.

External links
Biography and works
Ex Novo Ensemble

1948 births
Living people
Italian composers
Italian male composers
Italian male conductors (music)
University of Milan alumni
Academic staff of the University of Padua
21st-century Italian conductors (music)
21st-century Italian male musicians

Claudio Ambrosini


Ben Tre is a ceety and municipality o Ben Tre province, in Mekong Delta (Vietnam), 85 km south of Ho Chi Minh Ceety. Its population stands at aboot 116,000 fowk (2011). The ceety is locatit on the richt bank o the Ben Tre River. Ben Tre is located at 2,000 km south o Hanoi.
Tan Son Nhat Airport is 85 km north of Ben Tre.

Ceeties in Vietnam

Ben Tre


Blood plasma is the yellow liquid part of blood. In normal blood, the blood cells are suspended in the plasma.

Plasma makes up about 55% of the total blood volume. It is mostly water (90% by volume) and contains dissolved proteins, glucose, clotting factors, mineral ions, hormones and carbon dioxide. Plasma is the transport medium for excretion.

In hospitals, blood plasma is prepared like this. An anti-coagulant stops the blood clotting. Then tubes of blood are spun very fast in a centrifuge. The blood cells go to the bottom of the tubes. The plasma is poured into another container.

Hospitals may give patients:
Saline solution (pure water plus salt) for blood volume. This can be done quickly in an emergency.
Blood plasma.
Packed red cells.
Whole blood.

Blood serum is blood plasma without fibrinogen or the other clotting factors (that is, whole blood minus both the cells and the clotting factors).

Plasmapheresis is a medical therapy which involves taking out blood plasma, treating it, and putting it back in the patient.

Storage
Whole plasma may be stored frozen, or it may be stored dry. Dried plasma can be flown anywhere in the world, and is vital for the armed forces. The method was invented in the US in 1940, and used widely in World War II. The Army/Navy standard pack was two tin cans, each with 400cc bottles inside. One held the plasma, the other distilled (pure) water. The plasma could be restored in three minutes, and remained fresh for about four hours.

References

Blood

Blood plasma


Purchasing is the buying of goods or services. An item that has been bought is called a purchase. The opposite of a purchase is a sale. In common usage, the shorter word "buy" is typically used when shopping, rather than the word "purchase".

However, the word has been used in many major historical terms, including:

 the Louisiana Purchase (of 1803), which greatly increased the size of the U.S.;
 the Purchase System in the British Army;
 the Ashbourne Irish Land Purchase Act, or similar laws;
 a Purchase and Sale Agreement, as a contract between a buyer and seller of land (real estate).

The word purchase is often used in contracts with "acquisition", as in the term "Acquisitions and Mergers" (A&M) in legal agreements made between large companies. Those contracts typically state than a company was purchased by another company.

Trade

Purchase


The Chadian orphan children scandal is about six French citizens from the aid group L'Arche de Zoe. On October 26, 2007, they were about to fly 103 Sudanese children to France from Chad. Chadian authorities claimed that the children were not orphans from Darfur in Sudan, but children from Chad with parents still alive.  For that reason, the six workers were arrested in an airport on October 26, 2007. On December 21, they stood trial for kidnapping of 103 children. Chad's interior minister, Ahmat Bachir, said that the French suspects could face up to 20 years of hard labour in a Chad prison if they are convicted. The six suspects started a hunger strike in protest against the Chad court and the charges brought against them. On December 26, 2007, the six French aid workers were sentenced to eight years with hard labour in prison by a court in Chad. The French prime minister promised to talk with the Chadian government to try to bring the six aid workers back to France. In that case, they would have to serve their eight-year prison sentence in France.

Other websites
Zoe's Ark workers get hard labor
French nurse falls ill during trial in Chad
French aid workers were 'saving lives,' not kidnapping: lawyer
Chad charges aid workers with kidnapping

2007
2007 in France
Chad
International law
Scandals

2007 Zoé's Ark controversy


War is a situation or a period of fighting between countries or groups of people. A war generally involves the use of weapons, a military organization and soldiers. War is a situation in which a nation enforces its rights by using force. Not every armed conflict is a war. A fight between individuals, between gangs, drug cartels, etc. is not considered a war. However, most wars are called armed conflicts. International humanitarian law is a set of rules that tries to limit the effects of wars. International Humanitarian Law recognizes two kinds of wars. These are:
 "International armed conflicts" between two or more states.
 "Non-international armed conflicts" as being between a government and a group that is not a government or one that is between two such groups.

Karl von Clausewitz wrote in his classic book, On War, that "war is a mere continuation of policy with other means." Clausewitz viewed war as a political instrument. His book about military philosophy remains the most influential work on the history and strategy of war. An earlier authority on war was Sun Tzu. In his book The Art of War, Sun Tzu saw war as a necessary evil. It was something people do.

Wars have been fought to control natural resources, for religious or cultural reasons and over political balances of power. They have been fought over legitimacy (correctness) of particular laws. They have been fought to settle arguments about land or money, and many other issues. The reasons behind any war are often very complex. While a war can start for just about any reason, there is usually more than one cause.

War and the beginning of nations
From the earliest times, individual states or political factions have used war to gain sovereignty over regions. In one of the earliest civilizations in history, Mesopotamia, they were in a near constant state of war. Ancient Egypt during its Early Dynastic Period came about by war when Lower and Upper Egypt were joined as one country, about 3100 BC. The Zhou Dynasty ruled Ancient China came to power in 1046 through war. Scipio Africanus (236-183 BCE) defeated Carthage leading Ancient Rome to begin a conquest of the known world. Philip II of Macedon (382-336 BCE) united a group of city-states to become Ancient Greece.

Kinds of war
Sometimes, people don't see a difference between fighting between countries or people, and the formal declaration of a state of war. Those who do see this difference usually only use the word "war" for the fighting where the countries' governments have officially declared war on each other. Smaller armed conflicts are often called riots, rebellions, coups, etc.

One country may send forces to another country for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it is to help keep order or prevent killings of innocents or other crimes against humanity. It may be to protect a friendly government against an uprising. Here it may be called a police action or humanitarian intervention instead of a war. Some people think it's still a war.

Another kind of war existed from 1947 until 1991 called the Cold War. This started when diplomatic relations between the United States and the Soviet Union broke down. Both countries had nuclear weapons and both stood ready to use them against the other. But there was no actual war between the two. It ended with the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. The cold war was also called a containment where the United States tried to prevent the spread of communism to other countries. During the cold war, the major powers did not fight themselves, but often backed third parties in what was called a proxy war. The Vietnam War is often given as an example of a proxy war. But proxy wars happened long before the cold war and are still happening.

A war between peoples and groups in the same country is known as a civil war. It is generally agreed there are two things that make a war a civil war. It must be a struggle between groups in the same country or state over political control or to force a major change in the government's policy. The second criterion is that more than 1000 people have to have been killed, with a minimum of 100 from each side. The American Civil War is an example of a civil war. While the figures are mere estimates, the total casualties are thought to be about 750,000.

Laws of war

Only in the last 150 years or so, have states agreed on international laws to limit warfare. This has been mainly for humanitarian reasons. The Geneva conventions and the Hague Conventions are two examples of agreements that establish laws governing wars. Collectively, these are usually called International humanitarian law (IHL). Because these are established laws, they restrict those engaged in armed conflicts to follow the IHL. Also, a country must not only respect the law but they also need to make sure other countries respect it as well. They cannot turn a blind eye (meaning pretend they do not see a thing) to countries who are not following IHC. The first of these was the Geneva Convention in 1864. It became international law with the signatures of 100 countries.

Statistical analysis
The statistical analysis of war was started by Lewis Fry Richardson following World War I. More recent databases of wars have been assembled by the Correlates of War Project and Peter Brecke.

Related pages
 Peace, the word which is its opposite meaning - where there is peace, this means that there is no war.
 Anti-war movement
 Conflict
 List of ongoing armed conflicts
 List of wars
 List of battles

Notes

References

Other websites

 Correlates of War Project
 War and Civilization - Episode 1: First Blood (History Documentary); YouTube
 History Channel Documentary - Sun Tzu The Art of War:YouTube

Basic English 850 words

War


A Parish Assembly in Jersey is the decision-making body of local government, comprising ratepayers (including mandataires) and electors of the parish.

The Parish Assembly:
sets the annual domestic rate according to the budget proposed by the Connétable;
elects members of the municipality, including the Roads Committee, Roads Inspectors, Vingteniers, Constable's Officers;
recommends liquor licences to the licensing bench;
adopts road names;
authorises the Procureurs du Bien Public to enter into contracts in the name of the parish;
may discuss other matters as proposed by the Connétable, or at the written request of a number of members of the Assembly

Municipal structure

Each parish is headed by a Constable (French: Connétable; Jèrriais: Connêtabl'ye) who is elected for a three-year period by the residents of the Parish.

The Constable is assisted in all matters by a Parish Municipality which consists of two Procureurs du Bien Public.

Vingtaines

The Parish is further divided into Vingtaines (or in Saint Ouen cueillettes). Each vingtaine is represented by two Vingteniers, two Roads Inspectors and three Constable's Officers. All are elected and sworn officers of the Royal Court.

Roads Committee

A Roads Committee of five elected principals is also available to offer advice on a range of issues; chiefly related to the roads. Centeniers are the highest ranking police officers in Jersey and are elected.

In Jersey, the Roads Committee (French: Comité des Chemins) is the highway authority for Parish roads in each Parish. In accordance with the Loi (1914) sur la Voirie it superintends the repair and maintenance of by-roads in the Parish, establishes boundary stones, issues Choses Publiques licenses, examines planning applications that fall within its responsibilities, supervises refuse collection, adjudicates fines during the Visite du Branchage, and proposes new road names, as may be necessary, for approval by the Parish Assembly. The Connétable presides over the Roads Committee which also includes the Rector and three Principals of the Parish [five Principals for St Helier] elected for a term of three years by the Parish Assembly.

Instructions are passed to Roads Inspectors whose duty it is to ensure that the repairs are carried out.

In St. Helier, the larger Roads Committee also undertakes additional non-statutory responsibilities with regard to parks and other matters, and acts, in the absence of a municipal council, as an advisory body to the Connétable. By convention, the two Procureur du Bien Public of St. Helier attend meetings of the Roads Committee, but cannot vote.

Roads Inspectors

The Parish Assembly elects two Roads Inspectors for each Vingtaine [or Cueillette in St Ouen] for a three-year term of office in accordance with the Loi (1914) sur la Voirie. Roads Inspectors are responsible for the repair of by-roads of the Parish and have to ensure the instructions of the Roads Committee are carried out.

In the Parish of St Helier, the Roads Inspectors also undertake additional non-statutory responsibilities with regard to the policing of infractions of the Road Traffic Act (Jersey) and other areas of the law within the parochial remit such as dog licensing and fly posting. They also serve as conduits of information to the Honorary Police.

Their chief role is the annual Visite du Branchage and the triennial Visite Royale.

Supplementary bodies are also elected to serve specific needs; in the largest parish St Helier these include; the Accounts Committee, the Welfare Board, and the Youth Council.

Matters of import are brought before a gathering of the municipality and members of the public for consideration and vote.

Honorary Police Officers

There is an Honorary Police (French: Police Honorifique) force in each parish in Jersey.

Honorary Police officers have, for centuries, been elected by parishioners to assist the Connétable of the Parish to maintain law and order. Officers are elected as Centeniers, Vingteniers or Constable's Officers each with various duties and responsibilities. Centeniers are the highest ranking police officers in Jersey and are elected.

The Honorary Police provided the only law enforcement prior to the appointment of paid Police officers for the Parish of Saint Helier in 1853 and later to serve the whole Island. The Honorary Police still provide an essential and very valuable service to the Parish and community.

Each Parish Assembly elects a number of Centeniers, Vingteniers and Constable's Officers who act in the name of the Connétable of the Parish in maintaining law and order. These officers are elected for a period of three years and take an oath in the Royal Court.

All Honorary Police officers must live in the Parish at the time of their first election or, in the case of St Helier, be a ratepayer or mandataire of that Parish. If an officer moves out of the Parish during her/his term of office, s/he may continue her/his term of office with the approval of Her Majesty's Attorney General and the Connétable of the Parish and may stand for re-election provided there is no break in service.

A person may be nominated for election as a member of the Honorary Police if, on the day of nomination, s/he is at least 20 years of age and less than 70 years of age.

Honorary Police officers are on duty for one week at a time, usually every 3 or 4 weeks depending upon the roster within the Parish, and are on call 24 hours a day during that period. Honorary Police officers are elected to serve the Parish but in certain circumstances may assist or operate outside the Parish.

Anyone standing for election as a member of the Honorary Police will have to undergo a criminal record check.

Ecclesiastical Assembly
In order to maintain the historic ties to the Church of England a Rectorate comprising the Connétable and Procureurs, and the Rector and Churchwardens oversees the operation of the largest church within the Parochial boundary. Decisions regarding the operation of the Church are made by an Ecclesiastical Assembly which is composed of the same persons as the Parish Assembly.

References

External links
Loi (1804) au sujet des assemblées paroissiales
Loi (1905) au sujet des assemblées paroissiales

Parochial politics of Jersey
Parishes of Jersey
Government of Jersey
Political organisations based in Jersey
Law of Jersey
Youth councils
Jersey

Parish Assembly (Jersey)


Factory-backed is a term commonly used in motor sports to describe a racing team with support from a manufacturer. This support includes financial aid. Motor sports is an expensive pastime, and some amount of factory support is often necessary for success. Full factory backing is often seen in the top levels of competition.

Sports words

Factory-backed


Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (22 November 1710 – 1 July 1784) was a famous German composer and organist.

He was born in Weimar. He was the son of Johann Sebastian Bach, who taught him to play the harpsichord and organ. Johann Sebastian wrote some pieces and put them in a book called Notebook for Wilhelm Friedemann Bach. Although they are in order of increasing difficulty, it is not known if these were used to teach him to play, or how to write music. The book does contain two allemandes and four preludes written by Wilhelm Friedemann. He also learned to play the violin.

Wilhelm Friedemann was an excellent organist, and took over teaching some of his father's students. In 1733 he was appointed as the organist at the Dresden Sophienkirche (St. Sophia's Church). While living in Dresden he continued to write music including harpsichord concertos, sinfonias, trio sonatas, harpsichord sonatas, and other smaller works for keyboard. He published his first music in 1745.

In 1746 became organist of the Liebfrauenkirche at Halle. This was an important position and he was paid twice as much as he had earned at Dresden. He was expected to provide music for feast days, and so he began to compose cantatas which could be reused each year. He still visited his father, and often used parts of his music. After his father's death in 1750, Wilhelm Friedemann inherited as lot of his father's music, and tried to make people think they were his compositions. He was in trouble with the church when he went to Leipzig to sort out his father's estate. They felt that he was away for too long and was not fulfilling his proper duties.

In 1764, after arguing with a lot of people, he left the job in Halle, remaining unemployed and living a life of poverty until his death.

He had a lot of talent which he did not use. He was a very good improviser, but was careless when playing music by other composers, including his father's.

References

1710 births
1784 deaths
Wilhelm Friedemann
Classical era composers
18th-century German composers
German organists
People from Weimar

Wilhelm Friedemann Bach


The Boxer is a breed of dog. With good care, a Boxer can be an ideal pet and companion.

Characteristics
Boxers are good guard dogs. They are strong and like to run in open spaces. They can have a coat in various colors, such as fawn, brindle, fawn-brindle mix, white, white-fawn mix, and brindle-white mix. Males are 22-25 inches at the withers (tops of the shoulders) and the females are 21-24 inches at the withers. These dogs can range from medium size (65 lbs) to medium large (75 lbs).  Boxers are one of the most popular breeds of dogs in the US and over-breeding is a concern.

Boxers are loyal dogs and unlike certain breeds, are not "one-person" dogs. They can become loyal to a person, family or group of persons and family friends. They make friends by nature and are curious dogs who love to explore. They are well-suited to be with children and elderly persons, though they can knock people down playing. These dogs may be feared because of their fearsome stance that can look intimidating. They rarely bark without a reason.

They have a high energy level and require lots of exercise. They love to play and have fun. Owners note that they act "puppy-like" their entire lifetime. Their temperament is jovial.  Mean Boxers are a rarity. Boxers love to chase, run, play tag and get any form of attention whenever possible. Boxers are easy to train to do tricks, especially for rewards including attention, love and recognition. They are clever dogs with a good memory. They love to ride in vehicles and are good "road trip" dogs.

These dogs can have some neurotic behaviors and can become anxious if left alone. If they are left alone, "crate-training" is important. Dogs who are crate trained do not mind the practice and often feel secure in a den-like setting. But being in an open house may make the dog agoraphobic, causing them to destroy things. Boxers are easily trained and want to please. While not aggressive, they will show some protective behaviors over their owners and families, especially children. Boxers do well with other dogs and pets such as cats, if they are properly acquainted and socialized. Because Boxers are very bright dogs, they may challenge an owner mentally by being defiant or by being openly obstinate. This type of behavior requires training and patience.

Health and care
Many veterinarians now refuse to crop (cut, bandage and splint to produce points) the Boxer's ears and many owners prefer the "naturally-floppy ears" to avoid painful and possibly cruel cosmetic surgery. Many owners like the cute appearance. Most Boxers have their tail cropped at birth. White Boxers, which were drowned at birth for much of the breed's span, are now sold or allowed to be distributed as pets, though most are neutered or spayed to prevent breeding.

Medical issues common to Boxers include hereditary conditions such as hip dysplasia, certain forms of heart defects and certain forms of cancer. A reputable breeder vs. a "puppy-mill" Boxer is recommended. All dogs should get all necessary and regular vaccinations, have regular veterinarian checkups and teeth cleanings, along with a good diet and plenty of exercise. The average lifespan of a healthy Boxer is 9–11 years. Many people get a Boxer and then may give it to a rescue or pound because they are not ready or willing to devote the time that Boxers require for training and attention. A Boxer will not be ignored and will go to great lengths to draw attention to itself, good or even bad. Jumping on people is a common complaint, so positive reinforcement training is a must. They are affable, lovable, clown-like, yet dedicated dogs who adore their owner(s).

History
The Boxer was bred in Germany and was originally bred for bull-bating and dog fights, but when that was ruled out they were used as hunting dogs and farm dogs and just regular house pets.  The Boxer breed was created from the brabanter and Bullenbeiser. Though originally bred to fight and later used as a military sentry or police dog, Boxer owners will confirm that this type of role is no longer suitable for Boxers, as many decades of breeding had produced a dog that is too docile for this type of duty.

Dog breeds originating in Germany
FCI breeds
Molossers

Boxer (dog)


The Artognou stone, sometimes erroneously referred to as the Arthur stone, is an archaeological artefact uncovered in Cornwall in the United Kingdom. It was discovered in 1998 in securely dated sixth-century contexts among the ruins at Tintagel Castle in Cornwall, a secular, high status settlement of sub-Roman Britain. It appears to have originally been a practice dedication stone for some building or other public structure, but it was broken in two and re-used as part of a drain when the original structure was destroyed. Upon its discovery the stone achieved some notoriety due to the suggestion that "Artognou" was connected to the legendary King Arthur, though scholars such as John Koch have criticized the evidence for this connection. The stone is on display at the Royal Cornwall Museum.

Archaeological description

The dating of the stone has been arrived at by two methods: first, the stone came from a securely stratified context in association with imported pottery of known types dating to the fifth/sixth centuries; second, forms of certain letters noted on the slate appear in British inscribed stones from Scotland to Cornwall post-500 and are certainly known elsewhere from 6th century north Cornwall (part of the kingdom of Dumnonia).

At the top right-hand corner of the fragment is a deeply cut motif consisting (as visible) of a letter A and another incomplete character on either side of a large diagonal cross; the whole may represent a common Christian symbol, a Christogram—the Greek alphabet letters Alpha and Omega flanking a large Greek letter Chi (written like a Roman X), the initial of Christos (Christ). Below this and to the left, but overlapping it slightly, is a smaller, more lightly incised inscription in Latin, reading: PATERN[--] COLI AVI FICIT ARTOGNOU. This seems to have been repeated lower down and to the right; only the letters COL[.] and FICIT, on two lines, can be seen on the fragment. This repetition, the overlap with the Christogram and the shallow carving (scratching would be a more accurate description) all suggest that this was not a formal inscription but an example of graffiti.

The inscription has been translated by the Celtic Inscribed Stones Project as "Artognou descendant of Patern[us] Colus made (this). Colus made (this)."

The name Artognou means "Bear Knowing", from the Brittonic root *arto "bear" plus *gnāwo- "to know", and is cognate with the Old Breton name Arthnou and Welsh Arthneu.

Also found in the sixth-century fort at Tintagel were numerous remains of expensive pottery, glasswork, and coins from Visigothic Spain and the Byzantine Empire (when excavated in the 1930s by C. A. Ralegh Radford).

Arthurian controversy
After its discovery the stone was advanced in popular news media as possible evidence for the historical basis for the legendary King Arthur, with the name Artognou proposed as a variant of Arthur, and was referred to as the "Arthur stone". The stone's dating fits the general timeframe usually given for an "historical Arthur" and, according to a tradition first recorded by Geoffrey of Monmouth, Arthur was conceived at Tintagel Castle. However, the Celticist John Koch and other scholars have rejected this idea, arguing against the connection between the names and saying there is no reason to suspect an association with an historical Arthur. Koch justifies this by pointing out that the name Artognou means "bear-knowledge", whereas he suggests the name Arthur is more likely derived from the Latin "Artorius".

References

External links

Celtic Inscribed Stones Project
Glasgow University: Tintagel Excavations 1998. The archaeological context of the find: "Although Tintagel is often associated with the mysterious and mythical past, we must dismiss any idea that the name on this stone is in any way to be associated with the legendary and literary figure Arthur. Arthur was only associated with Tintagel through the work of Geoffrey of Monmouth in the twelfth century, six hundred years later. As Professor Thomas states, "All this stone shows in the name ARTOGNOU, is the use of this (Celtic) element".
 (Archived at Archive.org)

"Early Medieval Tintagel: An Interview with Archaeologists Rachel Harry and Kevin Brady"

Archaeological artifacts
Arthurian legend
History of Cornwall
Sub-Roman Britain
1998 archaeological discoveries
Tintagel
Medieval inscriptions

Artognou stone


Bulandi () is a 1990 Pakistani Urdu movie. It was directed by Javed Fazil and produced by Aslam Butt. The movie is also known as Vantage. Bulandi is a Lollywood movie starring by Nadeem, Samina Peerzada, Reema Khan, Shan, Madhiha Shah, Reema and Shaan.

1990s Pakistani movies
1990 movies
Urdu-language movies

Bulandi (1990 movie)


Deanna Milligan (born 1972 in Vancouver) is a Canadian actress. She haes appeared in numerous Canadian an U.S. films an telly shows. She haed a major role playin Dave Thomas' dochter in the The Beachcombers made for TV movies: The New Beachcombers an A Beachcombers Christmas. She wis the meestery wumman in the Canadian independent short film Shoes Off!. She costarred in the A&E TV movie Karoll's Christmas playin the girlfriend tae Tom Everett Scott an aw. Milligan played the assistant tae Santa Claus in the film Must Be Santa an aw.

She wis a regular on twa short livit telly shows: Northwood, whaur she played the troubled teen Jennifer, an Big Sound, whaur she played the bubbly assistant Jesse Polt tae Greg Evigan. She haes guest starred on shows such as The X-Files, Chris Carter's Millennium, Danger Bay, Neon Rider, 21 Jump Street, The Outer Limits, Sliders, Highlander: The Series, Da Vinci's Inquest, an Corner Gas.

She is marriet tae actor Jason Gaffney an haes twa dochters. She currently runs a clothin line, Cherry Blossom, wi actress Stacy Grant.

Freemit airtins

1972 births
Livin fowk
Canadian televeesion actresses
Canadian film actresses
Fowk frae Vancouver

Deanna Milligan


Nancy Armstrong (born 1938) is a scholar, critic and professor of English at Duke University.

Overview
Before moving to Duke, Armstrong was the Nancy Duke Lewis Professor of Comparative Literature, English, Modern Culture & Media, and Gender Studies at Brown University.  She is currently the Gilbert, Louis & Edward Lehrman Professor of English at Duke.  She is interested in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century British and American fiction, empire and sexuality, narrative and critical theory, visual culture, and scientific discourses at work in literary forms. She is best known for her groundbreaking book on the relationship between subjectivity and the novel, Desire and Domestic Fiction.

Life and work
Armstrong's most influential book is Desire and Domestic Fiction: A Political History of the Novel (Oxford University Press, 1987), a work of scholarship still relevant thirty years after its publication. As one reviewer put it, the book "changed the ways in which feminist critics of these novels saw the work these texts did; it changed the way we thought about public and private, agency and oppression, writing and action, giving us a far broader sense of the cultural work that novels do, as they translate political information into narratives about sex, gender, and desire."

Over the course of her career, Armstrong has published many books and nearly one hundred articles and chapters. Her two recent books are How Novels Think: British Fiction and the Limits of Individualism (Columbia University Press, 2005), which is about the relationship between the formation of the modern individual and the genre of the novel, and Fiction in the Age of Photography: The Legacy of British Realism    (Harvard University Press, 1999), which lays out a theory of realism that connects visual culture and fiction.

In 1992, Armstrong published, together with Leonard Tennenhouse, "a pioneer[ing] study in the field of transatlantic literary relations", The Imaginary Puritan: Literature, Intellectual Labor, and the Origins of Personal Life (University of California Press, 1992), which looks at the relationship between the author and the emerging nation-state.

Armstrong is currently working on a project provisionally titled Gothic Remains. She is also managing editor of Novel: A Forum on Fiction and co-editor of Encyclopedia of British Literary History.

Armstrong received her B.A. in 1966 from the State University of New York at Buffalo and her Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1977. She is a past president of the Semiotic Society of America (1992).

Notes

External links
Armstrong's page at Duke
NOVEL: A Forum on Fiction

1938 births
Living people
Duke University faculty
American academics of English literature
University at Buffalo alumni
Brown University faculty
University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni
Presidents of the Semiotic Society of America

Nancy Armstrong


Johanna Spyri (12 June 1827 – 7 July 1901) wrote stories for children in the German language. Her most famous book was Heidi.

Biography
She was born Johanna Heusser in Hirzel, Switzerland. Her father was a doctor and her mother was a poet.

She lived with her extended family: her grandmother, two aunties, and two cousins as well as her mother, father, two brothers and three sisters. This large household inspired her when she wrote Gritli's Children.

She spent several summers around Chur in Graubünden when she was young. This setting was later used in her novels.

Her only education was her village school in Hirzel. She wrote poetry as a child.

She married Bernhard Spyri, an employee , when she was 25. They met when they were children. They lived in Zurich, Switzerland and had only one child, a son, Berhard Diethelm Spyri, in 1855. In Zurich, they were friends with the musician Richard Wagner and poet Conrad Ferdinand Meyer. Both her husband and son died of tuberculosis in 1884.

Writing

In 1870, she started writing to help orphans and refugees of the Franco-Prussian War by describing their situation and giving money from her books to help them.

Her first stories were very popular, so she wrote another story about another orphan, Heidi. She published the first part of Heidi anonymously in 1881. It became popular, so she wrote the second part in 1882 using her own name. She became very famous, but preferred a quiet, private life.

She wrote more than forty stories for children in German. Most of these stories have been translated into English. Heidi is still her most popular book, with new editions still published today.

She died in Berlin on July 7, 1901, but is buried with her family Zurich.

References

Other websites

1827 births
1901 deaths
Swiss writers
People from the canton of Zürich

Johanna Spyri


Ahmad Shamlou (December 12, 1925 – July 24, 2000) () or Shamlou was a Persian poet, writer and journalist. In 1954, he was arrested. He was freed in 1955. Shamlou published more than seventy books. He wrote short stories, novels, plays, essays and poems.  He died in Tehran and was buried in Karaj.

1925 births
2000 deaths
Persian poets

Ahmad Shamlou


The Malacostraca (Greek: "soft shell") are the largest subgroup of crustaceans. They include decapods (such as crabs,  lobsters and shrimp), stomatopods (mantis shrimp) and krill. There are 22,000 members in this group. It represents two thirds of all crustacean species. The first malacostracans appeared in the Cambrian period.

The classification of crustaceans is currently being debated. Some think Malacostraca is a class and others think it is a subclass.

Morphology

Malacostraca have heads with six segments. They have a pair of antennules and a pair of antennae. They also have mouthparts. There are appendages near the mouthparts, called maxillipeds. They have five pairs of walking legs. The first pair is formed like a pincer. There are eight thoracic segments. There are six abdominal segments. They are used for swimming. Members of Malacostraca have compound stalked or sessile eyes. They have a two-chambered stomach and a centralized nervous system.

Classification

Class Malacostraca Latreille, 1802
 Subclass Phyllocarida Packard, 1879
 †Order Archaeostraca
 †Order Hoplostraca
 †Order Canadaspidida
 Order Leptostraca Claus, 1880
 Subclass Hoplocarida Calman, 1904
 Order Stomatopoda Latreille, 1817 (mantis shrimp)
 Subclass Eumalacostraca Grobben, 1892
 Superorder Syncarida Packard, 1885
 †Order Palaeocaridacea
 Order Bathynellacea Chappuis, 1915
 Order Anaspidacea Calman, 1904
 Superorder Peracarida Calman, 1904
 Order Spelaeogriphacea Gordon, 1957
 Order Thermosbaenacea Monod, 1927
 Order Lophogastrida Sars, 1870
 Order Mysida Haworth, 1825
 Order Mictacea Bowman, Garner, Hessler, Iliffe & Sanders, 1985
 Order Amphipoda Latreille, 1816
 Order Isopoda Latreille, 1817 (woodlice, slaters)
 Order Tanaidacea Dana, 1849
 Order Cumacea Krøyer, 1846
 Superorder Eucarida Calman, 1904
 Order Euphausiacea Dana, 1852
 Order Amphionidacea Williamson, 1973
 Order Decapoda Latreille, 1802 (crabs, lobsters, shrimp)

Malacostraca


Forrest Gump is a 1994 American epic comedy-drama romance movie. It is based on the 1986 book of the same name by Winston Groom. Forrest Gump is the main character of both the movie and book. The movie earned much money in theaters. It earned $677 million worldwide during its theatrical run. It earned more money than any other movie in North America that year. The movie was nominated for a total of 13 Academy Awards. It won six of these, including Best Picture, Best Visual Effects, Best Director (Robert Zemeckis), and Best Actor (Tom Hanks).

The Forrest Gump is renowned for its timeless storytelling, iconic characters, and Oscar-winning excellence. Tom Hanks' portrayal of Forrest Gump in an American historical journey, coupled with innovative visuals and social commentary, continues to resonate with audiences.

The movie is set in Alabama. It tells the story of a man with an IQ of 75 and his epic journey through life. It tells about him meeting historical people, affecting popular culture and being a part of historic events. While all this happened, Forrest does not know the importance of the events were because of his naiveté and much lower than average intelligence. There are many differences between the story in the movie and the story in the novel.

Awards
The movie won six Academy Awards: Best Picture, Director, Actor, Visual Effects, Film Editing and Adapted Screenplay. The film was nominated for an additional six Academy Awards, including Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Gary Sinise as Lieutenant Dan. The other nominations were for Best Cinematography, Art Direction, Sound Editing, Makeup, Original Score and Sound Mixing. At the Golden Globes the film won for Best Motion Picture in the Drama Category, Best Direction of a Motion Picture and Best performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture and was nominated for Best Original Score, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Screenplay. The movie has a 71 percent rating on the website Rotten Tomatoes with 40 positive and 16 negative reviews. The audience gave the film a rating of 4.1 out of 5 on the website with 93% of the audience liking the film.

Cast
 Tom Hanks as Forrest Gump
 Robin Wright as Jenny Curran
 Gary Sinise as Lieutenant Dan Taylor
 Mykelti Williamson as Benjamin Buford "Bubba" Blue
 Sally Field as Mrs. Gump

Other websites

Referances

1994 comedy-drama movies
1990s coming-of-age movies
1994 romantic comedy movies
1994 romantic drama movies
American comedy-drama movies
American coming-of-age movies
American epic movies
American romantic comedy movies
American romantic drama movies
Best Picture Oscar
1990s English-language movies
Golden Globe Award winning movies
Movies based on books
Movies set in Alabama
Movies set in the 1950s
Movies set in the 1960s
Movies set in the 1970s
Movies set in the 1980s
United States National Film Registry movies
Movies directed by Robert Zemeckis
Movies composed by Alan Silvestri
Movies that won the Best Visual Effects Academy Award
Movies set in California
1994 movies

Forrest Gump


The national emblem of Algeria is the seal used by the government.  Other states use coats of arms.  The current emblem began in 1976.  The difference was changing the motto from French to Arabic. On the emblem is the crescent that is also found on the Flag of Algeria.  It is a symbol of Islam.  The text says "The People's Democratic Republic of Algeria".

The Hand of Fatima is in front of the Atlas Mountains.  It is below a rising sun to show a new era.  Buildings are for industry and plants for agriculture.

Historic coats of arms and emblems

Algeria
National symbols of Algeria

Emblem of Algeria