In abstract algebra, a semiring is an algebraic structure. It is a generalization of a ring, dropping the requirement that each element must have an additive inverse. At the same time, it is a generalization of bounded distributive lattices.

The smallest semiring that is not a ring is the two-element Boolean algebra, e.g. with logical disjunction  as addition. A motivating example that is neither a ring nor a lattice is the set of natural numbers  under ordinary addition and multiplication, when including the number zero. Semirings are abundant, because a suitable multiplication operation arises as the function composition of endomorphism over any commutative monoid.

The theory of (associative) algebras over commutative rings can be generalized to one over commutative semirings.

Terminology
Some authors call semiring the structure without the requirement for there to be a  or . This makes the analogy between ring and  on the one hand and  and  on the other hand work more smoothly. These authors often use rig for the concept defined here. This originated as a joke, suggesting that rigs are rings without negative elements. (And this is similar to using rng to mean a ring without a multiplicative identity.)

The term dioid (for "double monoid") has been used to mean semirings or other structures. It was used by Kuntzman in 1972 to denote a semiring. (It is alternatively sometimes used for naturally ordered semirings, but the term was also used for idempotent subgroups by Baccelli et al. in 1992.)

Definition
A semiring is a set  equipped with two binary operations  and  called addition and multiplication, such that:

  is a monoid with identity element called :

  is a monoid with identity element called :

 Addition is commutative:

 Multiplication by the additive identity  annihilates :

 Multiplication left- and right-distributes over addition:

Explicitly stated,  is a commutative monoid.

Notation
The symbol  is usually omitted from the notation; that is,  is just written

Similarly, an order of operations is conventional, in which  is applied before . That is,  denotes .

For the purpose of disambiguation, one may write  or  to emphasize which structure the units at hand belong to.

If  is an element of a semiring and , then -times repeated multiplication of  with itself is denoted , and one similarly writes  for the -times repeated addition.

Construction of new semirings
The zero ring with underlying set  is also a semiring, called the trivial semiring. This triviality can be characterized via  and so  is often silently assumed as if it were an additional axiom.
Now given any semiring, there are several ways to define new ones.

As noted, the natural numbers  with its arithmetic structure form a semiring. The set  equipped with the operations inherited from a semiring , is always a sub-semiring of .

If  is a commutative monoid, function composition provides the multiplication to form a semiring: The set  of endomorphisms  forms a semiring, where addition is defined from pointwise addition in . The zero morphism and the identity are the respective neutral elements. If  with  a semiring, we obtain a semiring that can be associated with the square  matrices  with coefficients in , the matrix semiring using ordinary addition and multiplication rules of matrices. Yet more abstractly, given  and  a semiring,  is always a semiring also. It is generally non-commutative even if  was commutative.

Dorroh extensions: If  is a semiring, then  with pointwise addition and multiplication given by  defines another semiring with mulitplicative unit . Very similarly, if  is any sub-semiring of , one may also define a semiring on , just by replacing the repeated addition in the formula by multiplication. Indeed, these constructions even work under looser conditions, as the structure  is not actually required to have a multiplicative unit.

Zerosumfree semirings are in a sense furthest away from being rings. Given a semiring, one may adjoin a new zero  to the underlying set and thus obtain such a zerosumfree semiring that also lacks zero divisors. In particular, now  and the old semiring is actually not a sub-semiring. One may then go on and adjoin new elements "on top" one at a time, while always respecting the zero. These two strategies also work under looser conditions. Sometimes the notations  resp.  are used when performing these constructions.

Adjoining a new zero to the trivial semiring, in this way, results in another semiring which may be expressed in terms of the logical connectives of disjunction and conjunction: . Consequently, this is the smallest semiring that is not a ring. Explicitly, it violates the ring axioms as  for all , i.e.  has no additive inverse. In the self-dual definition, the fault is with . (This is not to be conflated with the ring , whose addition functions as xor .)
In the von Neumann model of the naturals, ,  and . The two-element semiring may be presented in terms of the set theoretic union and intersection as . Now this structure in fact still constitutes a semiring when  is replaced by any set whatsoever.

The ideals on a semiring , with their standard operations on subset, form a lattice-ordered, simple and zerosumfree semiring. The ideals of  are in bijection with the ideals of . The collection of left ideals of  (and likewise the right ideals) also have much of that algebraic structure, except that then  does not function as a two-sided multiplicative identity.

If  is a semiring and  is an inhabited set,  denotes the free monoid and the formal polynomials  over its words form another semiring. For small sets, the generating elements are conventionally used to denote the polynomial semiring. For example, in case of a singleton  such that , one writes . Zerosumfree sub-semirings of  can be used to determine sub-semirings of .

Given a set , not necessarily just a singleton, adjoining a default element to the set underlying a semiring  one may define the semiring of partial functions from  to .

Given a derivation  on a semirings , another semiring with multiplication "" fulfilling  may be established.

The above is by no means an exhaustive list of systematic constructions.

Derivations
Derivations on a semiring  are the maps  with  and .

For example, if  is the  unit matrix and , then the subset of  given by the matrices  with  is a semiring with derivation .

Properties
A basic property of semirings is that  is not a left or right zero divisor, and that  but also  squares to itself, i.e. these have .

Some notable properties are inherited from the monoid structures: The monoid axioms demand unit existence, and so the set underlying a semiring cannot be empty. Also, the 2-ary predicate  defined as , here defined for the addition operation, always constitutes the right canonical preorder relation. Reflexivity  is witnessed by the identity. Further,  is always valid, and so zero is the least element with respect to this preorder. Considering it for the commutative addition in particular, the distinction of "right" may be disregarded. In the non-negative integers , for example, this relation is anti-symmetric and strongly connected, and thus in fact a (non-strict) total order.

Below, more conditional properties are discussed.

Semifields
Any field is also a semifield, which in turn is a semiring in which also multiplicative inverses exist.

Rings
Any field is also a ring, which in turn is a semiring in which also additive inverses exist. Note that a semiring omits such a requirement, i.e., it requires only a commutative monoid, not a commutative group. The extra requirement for a ring itself already implies the existence of a multiplicative zero. This contrast is also why for the theory of semirings, the multiplicative zero must be specified explicitly.

Here , the additive inverse of , squares to . As additive differences  always exist in a ring,  is a trivial binary relation in a ring.

Commutative semirings
A semiring is called a commutative semiring if also the multiplication is commutative. Its axioms can be stated concisely: It consists of two commutative monoids  and  on one set such that  and .

The center of a semiring is a sub-semiring and being commutative is equivalent to being its own center.

The commutative semiring of natural numbers is the initial object among its kind, meaning there is a unique structure preserving map of  into any commutative semiring.

The bounded distributive lattices are partially ordered, commutative semirings fulfilling certain algebraic equations relating to distributivity and idempotence. Thus so are their duals.

Ordered semirings
Notions or order can be defined using strict, non-strict or second-order formulations. Additional properties such as commutativity simplify the axioms.

Given a strict total order (also sometimes called linear order, or pseudo-order in a constructive formulation), then by definition, the positive and negative elements fulfill  resp. . By irreflexivity of a strict order, if  is a left zero divisor, then  is false. The non-negative elements are characterized by , which is then written .

Generally, the strict total order can be negated to define an associated partial order. The asymmetry of the former manifests as . In fact in classical mathematics the latter is a (non-strict) total order and such that  implies . Likewise, given any (non-strict) total order, its negation is irreflexive and transitive, and those two properties found together are sometimes called strict quasi-order. Classically this defines a strict total order - indeed strict total order and total order can there be defined in terms of one another.

Recall that "" defined above is trivial in any ring. The existence of rings that admit a non-trivial non-strict order shows that these need not necessarily coincide with "".

Additively idempotent semirings
A semiring in which every element is an additive idempotent, that is,  for all elements , is called an (additively) idempotent semiring. Establishing  suffices. Be aware that sometimes this is just called idempotent semiring, regardless of rules for multiplication.

In such a semiring,  is equivalent to  and always constitutes a partial order, here now denoted . In particular, here . So additively idempotent semirings are zerosumfree and, indeed, the only additively idempotent semiring that has all additive inverses is the trivial ring and so this property is specific to semiring theory. Addition and multiplication respect the ordering in the sense that  implies , and furthermore implies  as well as , for all  and .

If  is addtively idempotent, then so are the polynomials in .

A semiring such that there is a lattice structure on its underlying set is lattice-ordered if the sum coincides with the meet, , and the product lies beneath the join . The lattice-ordered semiring of ideals on a semiring is not necessarily distributive with respect to the lattice structure.

More strictly than just additive idempotence, a semiring is called simple iff  for all . Then also  and  for all . Here  then functions akin to an additively infinite element. If  is an additively idempotent semiring, then  with the inherited operations is its simple sub-semiring.
An example of an additively idempotent semiring that is not simple is the tropical semiring on  with the 2-ary maximum function, with respect to the standard order, as addition. Its simple sub-semiring is trivial.

A c-semiring is an idempotent semiring and with addition defined over arbitrary sets.

An additively idempotent semiring with idempotent multiplication, , is called additively and multiplicatively idempotent semiring, but sometimes also just idempotent semiring. The commutative, simple semirings with that property are exactly the bounded distributive lattices with unique minimal and maximal element (which then are the units). Heyting algebras are such semirings and the Boolean algebras are a special case.

Further, given two bounded distributive lattices, there are constructions resulting in commutative additively-idempotent semirings, which are more complicated than just the direct sum of structures.

Number lines
In a model of the ring , one can define a non-trivial positivity predicate  and a predicate  as  that constitutes a strict total order, which fulfills properties such as , or classically the law of trichotomy. With its standard addition and multiplication, this structure forms the strictly ordered field that is Dedekind-complete. By definition, all first-order properties proven in the theory of the reals are also provable in the decidable theory of the real closed field. For example, here  is mutually exclusive with .

But beyond just ordered fields, the four properties listed below are also still valid in many sub-semirings of , including the rationals, the integers, as well as the non-negative parts of each of these structures. In particular, the non-negative reals, the non-negative rationals and the non-negative integers are such a semirings.
The first two properties are analogous to the property valid in the idempotent semirings: Translation and scaling respect these ordered rings, in the sense that addition and multiplication in this ring validate

In particular,  and so squaring of elements preserves positivity.

Take note of two more properties that are always valid in a ring. Firstly, trivially  for any . In particular, the positive additive difference existence can be expressed as

Secondly, in the presence of a trichotomous order, the non-zero elements of the additive group are partitioned into positive and negative elements, with the inversion operation moving between them. With , all squares are proven non-negative. Consequently, non-trivial rings have a positive multiplicative unit,

Having discussed a strict order, it follows that  and , etc.

Discretely ordered semirings
There are a few conflicting notions of discreteness in order theory. Given some strict order on a semiring, one such notion is given by  being positive and covering , i.e. there being no element  between the units, . Now in the present context, an order shall be called discrete if this is fulfilled and, furthermore, all elements of the semiring are non-negative, so that the semiring starts out with the units.

Denote by  the theory of a commutative, discretly ordered semiring also validating the above four properties relating a strict order with the algebraic structure. All of its models have the model  as its initial segment and Gödel incompleteness and Tarski undefinability already apply to . The non-negative elements of a commutative, discretely ordered ring always validate the axioms of . So a slightly more exotic model of the theory is given by the positive elements in the polynomial ring , with positivity predicate for  defined in terms of the last non-zero coefficient, , and  as above. While  proves all -sentences that are true about , beyond this complexity one can find simple such statements that are independent of . For example, while -sentences true about  are still true for the other model just defined, inspection of the polynomial  demonstrates -independence of the -claim that all numbers are of the form  or  ("odd or even"). Showing that also  can be discretely ordered demonstrates that the -claim  for non-zero  ("no rational squared equals ") is independent. Likewise, analysis for  demonstrates independence of some statements about factorization true in . There are  characterizations of primality that  does not validate for the number .

In the other direction, from any model of  one may construct an ordered ring, which then has elements that are negative with respect to the order, that is still discrete the sense that  covers . To this end one defines an equivalence class of pairs from the original semiring. Roughly, the ring corresponds to the differences of elements in the old structure, generalizing the way in which the initial ring  can be defined from . This, in effect, adds all the inverses and then the preorder is again trivial in that .

Beyond the size of the two-element algebra, no simple semiring starts out with the units. Being discretly ordered also stands in contrast to, e.g., the standard ordering on the semiring of non-negative rationals , which is dense between the units. For another example,  can be ordered, but not discretely so.

Natural numbers
 plus mathematical induction gives a theory equivalent to first-order Peano arithmetic . The theory is also famously not categorical, but  is of course the intended model.  proves that there are no zero divisors and it is zerosumfree and so no model of it is a ring.

The standard axiomatization of  is more concise and the theory of its order is commonly treated in terms of the non-strict "". However, just removing the potent induction principle from that axiomatization does not leave a workable algebraic theory. Indeed, even Robinson arithmetic , which removes induction but adds back the predecessor existence postulate, does not prove the monoid axiom .

Complete semirings
A complete semiring is a semiring for which the additive monoid is a complete monoid, meaning that it has an infinitary sum operation  for any index set  and that the following (infinitary) distributive laws must hold:

Examples of a complete semiring are the power set of a monoid under union and the matrix semiring over a complete semiring.
For commutative, additively idempotent and simple semirings, this property is related to residuated lattices.

Continuous semirings
A continuous semiring is similarly defined as one for which the addition monoid is a continuous monoid. That is, partially ordered with the least upper bound property, and for which addition and multiplication respect order and suprema.  The semiring  with usual addition, multiplication and order extended is a continuous semiring.

Any continuous semiring is complete: this may be taken as part of the definition.

Star semirings
A star semiring (sometimes spelled starsemiring) is a semiring with an additional unary operator ,< satisfying

A Kleene algebra is a star semiring with idempotent addition and some additional axioms. They are important in the theory of formal languages and regular expressions.

Complete star semirings
In a complete star semiring, the star operator behaves more like the usual Kleene star: for a complete semiring we use the infinitary sum operator to give the usual definition of the Kleene star:

where

Note that star semirings are not related to *-algebra, where the star operation should instead be thought of as complex conjugation.

Conway semiring

A Conway semiring is a star semiring satisfying the sum-star and product-star equations:

Every complete star semiring is also a Conway semiring, but the converse does not hold. An example of Conway semiring that is not complete is the set of extended non-negative rational numbers  with the usual addition and multiplication (this is a modification of the example with extended non-negative reals given in this section by eliminating irrational numbers).

An iteration semiring is a Conway semiring satisfying the Conway group axioms,  associated by John Conway to groups in star-semirings.

Examples
 By definition, any ring and any semifield is also a semiring.
 The non-negative elements of a commutative, discretely ordered ring form a commutative, discretely (in the sense defined above) ordered semiring. This includes the non-negative integers .
 Also the non-negative rational numbers as well as the non-negative real numbers form commutative, ordered semirings. The latter is called . Neither are rings or distributive lattices. These examples also have multiplicative inverses.
 New semirings can conditionally be constructed from existing ones, as described. The extended natural numbers  with addition and multiplication extended so that .
 The set of polynomials with natural number coefficients, denoted  forms a commutative semiring. In fact, this is the free commutative semiring on a single generator  Also polynomials with coefficients in other semirings may be defined, as discussed.
 The non-negative terminating fractions , in a positional number system to a given base , form a sub-semiring of the rationals. One has  if  divides . For , the set  is the ring of all terminating fractions to base  and is dense in .
 The log semiring on  with addition given by  with multiplication  zero element  and unit element

Similarly, in the presence of an appropriate order with bottom element,
 Tropical semirings are variously defined. The  semiring  is a commutative semiring with  serving as semiring addition (identity ) and ordinary addition (identity 0) serving as semiring multiplication.  In an alternative formulation, the tropical semiring is  and min replaces max as the addition operation.  A related version has  as the underlying set. They are an active area of research, linking algebraic varieties with piecewise linear structures.
 The Łukasiewicz semiring: the closed interval  with addition given by taking the maximum of the arguments () and multiplication  given by  appears in multi-valued logic.
 The Viterbi semiring is also defined over the base set  and has the maximum as its addition, but its multiplication is the usual multiplication of real numbers. It appears in probabilistic parsing.

Note that . More regarding additively idempotent semirings,
 The set of all ideals of a given semiring form a semiring under addition and multiplication of ideals.
 Any bounded, distributive lattice is a commutative, semiring under join and meet. A Boolean algebra is a special case of these. A Boolean ring is also a semiring (indeed, a ring) but it is not idempotent under .  A  is a semiring isomorphic to a sub-semiring of a Boolean algebra.
 The commutative semiring formed by the two-element Boolean algebra and defined by . It is also called the . Now given two sets  and  binary relations between  and  correspond to matrices indexed by  and  with entries in the Boolean semiring, matrix addition corresponds to union of relations, and matrix multiplication corresponds to composition of relations.
 Any unital quantale is a semiring under join and multiplication.
 A normal skew lattice in a ring  is a semiring for the operations multiplication and nabla, where the latter operation is defined by

More using monoids,
 The construction of semirings  from a commutative monoid  has been described. As noted, give a semiring , the  matrices form another semiring. For example, the matrices with non-negative entries,  form a matrix semiring.
 Given an alphabet (finite set) Σ, the set of formal languages over  (subsets of ) is a semiring with product induced by string concatenation  and addition as the union of languages (that is, ordinary union as sets). The zero of this semiring is the empty set (empty language) and the semiring's unit is the language containing only the empty string.
 Generalizing the previous example (by viewing  as the free monoid over ), take  to be any monoid; the power set  of all subsets of  forms a semiring under set-theoretic union as addition and set-wise multiplication:
 Similarly, if  is a monoid, then the set of finite multisets in  forms a semiring. That is, an element is a function ; given an element of  the function tells you how many times that element occurs in the multiset it represents. The additive unit is the constant zero function. The multiplicative unit is the function mapping  to  and all other elements of  to  The sum is given by  and the product is given by

Regarding sets and similar abstractions,
 Given a set  the set of binary relations over  is a semiring with addition the union (of relations as sets) and multiplication the composition of relations. The semiring's zero is the empty relation and its unit is the identity relation. These relations correspond to the matrix semiring (indeed, matrix semialgebra) of square matrices indexed by  with entries in the Boolean semiring, and then addition and multiplication are the usual matrix operations, while zero and the unit are the usual zero matrix and identity matrix.
 The set of cardinal numbers smaller than any given infinite cardinal form a semiring under cardinal addition and multiplication. The class of  of an inner model form a (class) semiring under (inner model) cardinal addition and multiplication.
 The family of (isomorphism equivalence classes of) combinatorial classes (sets of countably many objects with non-negative integer sizes such that there are finitely many objects of each size) with the empty class as the zero object, the class consisting only of the empty set as the unit, disjoint union of classes as addition, and Cartesian product of classes as multiplication.
 Isomorphism classes of objects in any distributive category, under coproduct and product operations, form a semiring known as a Burnside rig. A Burnside rig is a ring if and only if the category is trivial.

Semiring of sets

A  (of sets) is a (non-empty) collection  of subsets of  such that
 If (3) holds, then  if and only if
If  then
If  then there exists a finite number of mutually disjoint sets  such that

Conditions (2) and (3) together with  imply that  Such semirings are used in measure theory. An example of a semiring of sets is the collection of half-open, half-closed real intervals

A  or  is a collection  of subsets of  satisfying the semiring properties except with (3) replaced with:
 If  then there exists a finite number of mutually disjoint sets  such that

This condition is stronger than (3), which can be seen as follows. If  is a semialgebra and , then we can write  for disjoint . Then:

and every  since it is closed under intersection, and disjoint since they are contained in the disjoint 's. Moreover, the condition is strictly stronger: any  that is both a ring and a semialgebra is an algebra, hence any ring that is not an algebra is also not a semialgebra (e.g. the collection of finite sets on an infinite set ).

Star semirings
Several structures mentioned above can be equipped with a star operation.
 The aforementioned semiring of binary relations over some base set  in which  for all  This star operation is actually the reflexive and transitive closure of  (that is, the smallest reflexive and transitive binary relation over  containing ).
 The semiring of formal languages is also a complete star semiring, with the star operation coinciding with the Kleene star (for sets/languages).
 The set of non-negative extended reals  together with the usual addition and multiplication of reals is a complete star semiring with the star operation given by  for  (that is, the geometric series) and  for
 The Boolean semiring with
 The semiring on  with extended addition and multiplication, and  for

Applications
The  and  tropical semirings on the reals are often used in performance evaluation on discrete event systems. The real numbers then are the "costs" or "arrival time"; the "max" operation corresponds to having to wait for all prerequisites of an events (thus taking the maximal time) while the "min" operation corresponds to being able to choose the best, less costly choice; and + corresponds to accumulation along the same path.

The Floyd–Warshall algorithm for shortest paths can thus be reformulated as a computation over a  algebra.  Similarly, the Viterbi algorithm for finding the most probable state sequence corresponding to an observation sequence in a hidden Markov model can also be formulated as a computation over a  algebra on probabilities.  These dynamic programming algorithms rely on the distributive property of their associated semirings to compute quantities over a large (possibly exponential) number of terms more efficiently than enumerating each of them.

Generalizations
A generalization of semirings does not require the existence of a multiplicative identity, so that multiplication is a semigroup rather than a monoid. Such structures are called  or . A further generalization are , which additionally do not require right-distributivity (or , which do not require left-distributivity).

Yet a further generalization are : in addition to not requiring a neutral element for product, or right-distributivity (or left-distributivity), they do not require addition to be commutative. Just as cardinal numbers form a (class) semiring, so do ordinal numbers form a near-semiring, when the standard ordinal addition and multiplication are taken into account. However, the class of ordinals can be turned into a semiring by considering the so-called natural (or Hessenberg) operations instead.

In category theory, a  is a category with functorial operations analogous to those of a rig. That the cardinal numbers form a rig can be categorified to say that the category of sets (or more generally, any topos) is a 2-rig.

See also

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

 Golan, Jonathan S., Semirings and their applications. Updated and expanded version of The theory of semirings, with applications to mathematics and theoretical computer science (Longman Sci. Tech., Harlow, 1992, . Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, 1999. xii+381 pp.

Further reading

Algebraic structures
Ring theory

Semiring


C Television (C TV) was the flagship television station of the Caribbean New Media Group, a state-owned media company in Trinidad and Tobago that was formed in 2005 as the successor company to Trinidad and Tobago Television (TTT). Until August 2018, C TV operated from studios at 11 A Maraval Road, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. The station boasted that its facilities were the most technologically advanced of its kind in the Caribbean region at the time of launch. The station was replaced by a rebranded TTT in August 2018.

History
The Caribbean New Media Group was formed in 2005 after the financial demise of its predecessor, the National Broadcasting Network (NBN), the parent company of the flagship television station, Trinidad & Tobago Television (TTT). The studios, located on Maraval Road, Port of Spain, were refurbished where the station commenced operations on June 5, 2006. During the initial test period, programming consisted of a four-hour block from 6.00 to 10.00p.m.

The formal launch of the Caribbean New Media Group occurred in mid-2007 and the station was re-branded from CNMG Television to C. In 2011, the station was then rebranded to CTV.

In August 2017, Minister Maxie Cuffie announced that CNMG would be wound up and replaced by TTT Limited. The rebranded TTT station was launched in August 2018.

Programming
C TV's programming line-up included local and foreign content. The station gained popularity with its broadcast of the Miss World Pageant annually, Digicel Rising Stars programme and the coverage of the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup. C TV's foreign line-up included popular US television series such as Pretty Little Liars, Hawaii Five-0, Hellcats, The Cleveland Show, The Doctors, The Simpsons, Grimm (TV series), Blue Bloods (TV series), Law & Order SVU, House (TV Series), Motive (TV series), NCIS, NCIS: Los Angeles and Vampire Diaries among others.

News and current affairs
CTV would broadcast four and a half hours of news programming on weekdays and thirty minutes of news programming on weekends. The station's breakfast programme First Up, was one of the highest rated programmes in the country. "First Up" was simulcast on its sister radio station Talk City 91.1. CTV also carried an hour-long newscast at 7.00pm and news updates carried at 6pm, 9pm and 10pm. There was also a thirty-minute newscast at noon. All newscasts were available on demand on the station's website.

Controversy
On November 8, 2010, outspoken First Up presenter Fazeer Mohammed was replaced by GISL Chief Executive Officer Andy Johnson. The incident led many commentators to speculate that it was politically motivated, stemming from an interview between Mohammed and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Suruj Rambajhan. The Media Association of Trinidad and Tobago condemned the action. The incident also caused a massive public outcry on the station's social networking sites.

Coverage
CTV broadcast on VHF channels 9 and 13 on the island of Trinidad and channel UHF 20 on the island of Tobago. The station was also transmitted on all of the country's major cable systems on the following channels:

 Flow (National): Ch. 6 (Digital) Ch. 106 (Advanced Video Service)
 Massy Communications (National): Ch. 105
 Digicel Play: Ch. 7
 Trico (Tobago): Ch. 2
 RVR International (Rio Claro): Ch. 9
 Mayaro Cable: Ch. 9
 Diamond Vale Cable: Ch. 13

CTV was also available on national platforms Blink (IPTV) and Green Dot (Satellite).

Anchors and presenters
 Samantha John - C News At 7
 James Saunders - C News At 7 (sports)
 Ean Wallace  - C News At 7 (weather)
 StacyAnn Providence - C News At Noon
 Paul Richards - Good Morning T&T
 Jessie May Ventour - Good Morning T&T

Radio
C TV was available to listen live on Talk City 91.1 FM.

References

 Trinidad Express 11/09/2010 -Fired
 Trinidad Guardian 11/09/2010 - Mohammed pulled from Channel Six talk show
 Trinidad Express 11/10/2010 - Editorial: Political Interference?

External links
 Official Website
 Caribbean New Media Group

Television stations in Trinidad and Tobago
Television channels and stations established in 2006
Television channels and stations disestablished in 2018
Defunct mass media in Trinidad and Tobago
Defunct television networks

C TV


"Barrel of a Gun", Depeche Mode'in ikinci albümü Ultratan bir şarkı.

Şarkı listesi
1. Barrel of a Gun - 5:29
2. Painkiller - 7:29
3. Barrel of a Gun (Underworld Soft Mix) - 6:29
4. Barrel of a Gun (One Inch Punch Mix) - 5:25
5. Barrel of a Gun (Underworld Hard Mix) - 9:37
6. Barrel of a Gun (United Mix) - 6:36
7. Painkiller (Plastikman Mix) - 8:39
8. Barrel of a Gun (3 Phase Mix) - 5:23
9. Barrel of a Gun (One Inch Punch Mix V2) - 5:25
10. Barrel of a Gun (Radio Version - Edit) - 4:00

Video
Video to "Barrel of a Gun" is the first video without Alan Wilder, which left the band after the Devotional Tour, in 1995 (last video band with Alan Wilder is the video to song In Your Room (1994)). Is too the first video after the members problems with heroin, alcohol and amfethamine. The unforgetable moment in the film is the moment, when David Gahan with Martin Gore and Andy Fletcher are playing the guitars (this moment is after the second chorus). Actions in film to track are seen in the autumn and in the winter. In the film play your rools David Gahan, Martin Gore and Andy Fletcher (without Victor Indrizzo). You can see the video to "Barrel of a Gun" in the YouTube service:Video to "Barrel of a Gun".

İlgili çalışmalar
1. "Barrel of a Gun (Radio Version – Edit)" was remixed by Roland Brown.
2. In the drums to "Barrel of a Gun" and "It's No Good" is playing Victor Indrizzo.
3. "Barrel of a Gun" is the eight, but don't last industrial single by Depeche Mode (after the "Get the Balance Right!", "Everything Counts", "Love, in Itself", "People Are People", "Master and Servant", "Stripped" and "A Question of Time").

Müzisyenler
1. David Gahan - lead vocals
2. Andy Fletcher - keyboard, backing vocals, bass guitar
3. Victor Indrizzo - Percussiom
4. Martin Gore - guitar, backing vocals

1997 single'ları
Depeche Mode şarkıları
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Carl Georg Heise (28 June 1890 – 11 August 1979) was a German art historian. From 1945 to 1955 he was director of the Kunsthalle Hamburg.

Life
Heise was born into a Hamburg mercantile family with artistic interests. In about 1906 Aby Warburg became his mentor, and recommended to him a period of studying art history with Wilhelm Vöge in Freiburg. Subsequently, he went to Adolph Goldschmidt in Halle and—against Warburg's advice—to Heinrich Wölfflin in Munich. In 1910 he travelled to Italy with Wilhelm Waetzoldt and Warburg, visiting Venice and finally Ferrara, where Warburg was researching the frescoes in the Palazzo Schifanoia. In 1912 Warburg travelled with him to Rome to the art historians' congress. In 1914 he was rejected as a volunteer for military service, then studied in Berlin and Kiel where in 1915 he obtained his doctorate under the supervision of Count Vitzthum von Eckstädt with a thesis on North German painting in the Middle Ages, which he dedicated to Warburg. In 1916 Heise worked at the Hamburger Kunsthalle, where he compiled a catalogue under Gustav Pauli of the museum's older paintings. From 1919 to 1921 together with Giovanni Mardersteig and initially also Kurt Pinthus he edited the newspaper Genius. Zeitschrift für werdende und alte Kunst.

On 1 May 1920 he began work as museum director of St. Anne's Museum in Lübeck. In 1926 he came up with the Jubelkugel (a type of sweet) sold in connection with a lottery for the private financing of the festivities for the 700th anniversary of the city of Lübeck, which with the exhibition Lübeckische Kunst außerhalb Lübecks ("Lübeck Art outside Lübeck") became a great presentation of the significance of Lübeck in art throughout northern Europe. Heise initiated in 1929 one of the first photographic exhibitions, displaying photographs by Albert Renger-Patzsch, Emil Otto Hoppé, Hugo Erfurth and Wilhelm Castelli, then a young Lübeck photographer. In 1931 he curated an exhibition in the Overbeck Society on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the establishment of the Katharineum zu Lübeck together with the drawing teacher Hans Peters and the works of pupils.

During his time in Lübeck Heise acquired works by Expressionists such as Ernst Barlach (for St. Catherine's Church), Franz Marc and particularly Edvard Munch as well as photographs of the Neue Sachlichkeit movement by Albert Renger-Patzsch. On Heise's initiative the building now known as the Behnhaus was acquired for the city in 1921 and equipped as a museum. He also prepared the way for the museum church of St. Katharine's, for which he had a vision as a sculpture hall of Lübeck art for the entire Baltic region; the plaster cast of Bernt Notke's "St. George's Group" (Sankt-Jürgen-Gruppe) is still reminiscent of this. Many of his acquisitions were later shown in the context of the "Entartete Kunst" exhibitions of 1937 onwards.

Because of his passionate advocacy of modern German art Heise was dismissed from his post during the Gleichschaltung, on 29 September 1933, although he remained in it until 1 January 1934. Between 1928 and 1933 he lived in the Zöllnerhaus ("Tax or customs collector's house") at the Burgtor in Lübeck, previously the residence of the author Ida Boy-Ed.

After the war he was the director of the Hamburger Kunsthalle from 1946 to 1956, and held a professorship at the University of Hamburg. The art-historical "Heise Collection", containing 9,000 titles, is today in the Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Bremen ("State and University Library of Bremen"). He is counted as a significant champion of German classical modernism (Klassische Moderne).

Writings

 (as editor) Unterhaltung mit Friedrich dem Großen (diaries of Henri de Catt 1758–1760, translated by Clara Hertz). Kiepenheuer: Weimar 1916.
 Norddeutsche Malerei. Studien zu ihrer Entwicklungsgeschichte im 15. Jahrhundert von Köln bis Hamburg). Wolff: Leipzig 1918.
 (as co-editor with Giovanni Mardersteig): Genius. Bilder und Aufsätze zu alter und neuer Kunst. Wolff: Munich 1920.
 Lübecker Plastik. Cohen: Bonn 1926.
 Lübecker Kunstpflege 1920–1933. Published on behalf of the Museum für Kunst- u. Kulturgeschichte. Lübeck 1934.
 Fabelwelt des Mittelalters. Phantasie- und Zierstücke Lübeckischer Werkleute aus drei Jahrhunderten. 120 photographs by W. Castelli. Rembrandt: Berlin 1936.
 Deutsche Bildschnitzer der Dürerzeit. Günther und Co.: Berlin c. 1940.
 Persönliche Erinnerungen an Aby Warburg. New York 1947.
 Der Lübecker Passionsaltar von Hans Memling. Ellermann: Hamburg 1950.
 Führer durch die Hamburger Kunsthalle. Christians: Hamburg 1955.
 (ed.): Rembrandt von Rijn, Die Nachtwache 1642. Reclam: Stuttgart 1957.
 Lovis Corinth. Bildnisse seiner Frau. Reclam: Stuttgart 1958.
 Der gegenwärtige Augenblick. Reden und Aufsätze aus vier Jahrzehnten. Gebr. Mann: Berlin 1960.
 Das Museum in Gegenwart und Zukunft. Festvortrag zur Jahrhundertfeier des Wallraf-Richartz-Museums. Cologne 1961.
 Grosse Zeichner des XIX. Jahrhunderts. Gebr. Mann: Berlin 1959.

Notes and references

Bibliography

 Betthausen, P., Feist, P. H., Fork, C.: Metzler-Kunsthistoriker-Lexikon. Zweihundert Porträts deutschsprachiger Autoren aus vier Jahrhunderten, pp. 166–169. Metzler: Stuttgart u. a. 1999
 Enns, Abram: Kunst und Bürgertum. Die kontroversen zwanziger Jahre in Lübeck. Christians: Hamburg 1978
 Heise, Carl Georg: Persönliche Erinnerungen an Aby Warburg (= Gratia 43); editing and commentary by Björn Biester and Hans-Michael Schäfer. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz 2005
 Renger-Patzsch, A.: Lübeck. Mit einer Einleitung von Carl Georg Heise. Published on behalf of the Nordische Gesellschaft by Ernst Timm. Wasmuth: Berlin 1928 (jacket design by Alfred Mahlau)
 Westheider, Ortrud: Die neue Sicht der Dinge. Carl Georg Heises Lübecker Fotosammlung aus den 20er Jahren. Exhibition catalogue 1995. Kunsthalle: Hamburg 1985.

External links

German art historians
Academic staff of the University of Hamburg
Directors of museums in Germany
Writers from Lübeck
Writers from Hamburg
1890 births
1979 deaths
German male non-fiction writers

Carl Georg Heise


A Persian miniature (Persian: نگارگری ایرانی negârgari Irâni) is a small Persian painting on paper, whether a book illustration or a separate work of art intended to be kept in an album of such works called a muraqqa. The techniques are broadly comparable to the Western Medieval and Byzantine traditions of miniatures in illuminated manuscripts. Although there is an equally well-established Persian tradition of wall-painting, the survival rate and state of preservation of miniatures is better, and miniatures are much the best-known form of Persian painting in the West, and many of the most important examples are in Western, or Turkish, museums. Miniature painting became a significant genre in Persian art in the 13th century, receiving Chinese influence after the Mongol conquests, and the highest point in the tradition was reached in the 15th and 16th centuries. The tradition continued, under some Western influence, after this, and has many modern exponents. The Persian miniature was the dominant influence on other Islamic miniature traditions, principally the Ottoman miniature in Turkey, and the Mughal miniature in the Indian sub-continent.

Persian art under Islam had never completely forbidden the human figure, and in the miniature tradition the depiction of figures, often in large numbers, is central. This was partly because the miniature is a private form, kept in a book or album and only shown to those the owner chooses. It was therefore possible to be more free than in wall paintings or other works seen by a wider audience. The Quran and other purely religious works are not known to have been illustrated in this way, though histories and other works of literature may include religiously related scenes, including those depicting the Islamic prophet Muhammad, after 1500 usually without showing his face.

As well as the figurative scenes in miniatures, which this article concentrates on, there was a parallel style of non-figurative ornamental decoration which was found in borders and panels in miniature pages, and spaces at the start or end of a work or section, and often in whole pages acting as frontispieces. In Islamic art this is referred to as "illumination", and manuscripts of the Quran and other religious books often included considerable number of illuminated pages. The designs reflected contemporary work in other media, in later periods being especially close to book-covers and Persian carpets, and it is thought that many carpet designs were created by court artists and sent to the workshops in the provinces.

In later periods miniatures were increasingly created as single works to be included in albums called muraqqa, rather than illustrated books. This allowed non-royal collectors to afford a representative sample of works from different styles and periods.

Style

The bright and pure colouring of the Persian miniature is one of its most striking features. Normally all the pigments used are mineral-based ones which keep their bright colours very well if kept in proper conditions, the main exception being silver, mostly used to depict water, which will oxidize to a rough-edged black over time. The conventions of Persian miniatures changed slowly; faces are normally youthful and seen in three-quarters view, with a plump rounded lower face better suited to portraying typical Central Asian or Chinese features than those of most Persians. Lighting is even, without shadows or chiaroscuro. Walls and other surfaces are shown either frontally, or as at (to modern eyes) an angle of about 45 degrees, often giving the modern viewer the unintended impression that a building is (say) hexagonal in plan. Buildings are often shown in complex views, mixing interior views through windows or "cutaways" with exterior views of other parts of a facade.  Costumes and architecture are always those of the time.

Many figures are often depicted, with those in the main scene normally rendered at the same size, and recession (depth in the picture space) indicated by placing more distant figures higher up in the space. More important figures may be somewhat larger than those around them, and battle scenes can be very crowded indeed. Great attention is paid to the background, whether of a landscape or buildings, and the detail and freshness with which plants and animals, the fabrics of tents, hangings or carpets, or tile patterns are shown is one of the great attractions of the form. The dress of figures is equally shown with great care, although artists understandably often avoid depicting the patterned cloth that many would have worn. Animals, especially the horses that very often appear, are mostly shown sideways on; even the love-stories that constitute much of the classic material illustrated are conducted largely in the saddle, as far as the prince-protagonist is concerned. Landscapes are very often mountainous (the plains that make up much of Persia are rarely attempted), this being indicated by a high undulating horizon, and outcrops of bare rock which, like the clouds in the normally small area of sky left above the landscape, are depicted in conventions derived from Chinese art. Even when a scene in a palace is shown, the viewpoint often appears to be from a point some metres in the air.

The earliest miniatures appeared unframed horizontally across the page in the middle of text, following Byzantine and Arabic precedents, but in the 14th century the vertical format was introduced, perhaps influenced by Chinese scroll-paintings.  This is used in all the luxury manuscripts for the court that constitute the most famous Persian manuscripts, and the vertical format dictates many characteristics of the style.

The miniatures normally occupy a full page, later sometimes spreading across two pages to regain a square or horizontal "landscape" format. There are often panels of text or captions inside the picture area, which is enclosed in a frame, eventually  of several ruled lines with a broader band of gold or colour.  The rest of the page is often decorated with dense designs of plants and animals in a muted grisaille, often gold and brown; text pages without miniatures often also have such borders.  In later manuscripts, elements of the miniature begin to expand beyond the frame, which may disappear on one side of the image, or be omitted completely.

Another later development was the album miniature, conceived as a single picture rather than a book illustration, though such images may be accompanied by short lyric poems. The withdrawal of Shah Tahmasp I from commissioning illustrated books in the 1540s probably encouraged artists to transfer to these cheaper works for a wider circle of patrons.  Albums or muraqqas were assembled by collectors with album miniatures, specimen pages of calligraphy, and miniatures taken from older books, to which border paintings were often added when they were remounted.  Album miniatures usually showed a few figures on a larger scale, with less attention to the background, and tended to become drawings with some tints of coloured wash, rather than fully painted.

In the example at right the clothes are fully painted, and the background uses the gold grisaille style earlier reserved for marginal decoration, as in the miniature at the head of the article.  Many were individual portraits, either of notable figures (but initially rarely portraits of rulers), or of idealized beautiful youths. Others were scenes of lovers in a garden or picnics.  From about the middle of the 16th century these types of images became dominant, but they gradually declined in quality and originality and tended towards conventional prettiness and sentimentality.

Books were sometimes refurbished and added to after an interval of many years, adding or partly repainting miniatures, changing the border decoration, and making other changes, not all improvements.  The Conference of the Birds miniature in the gallery below is an addition of 1600 to a manuscript of over a century earlier, and elements of the style appear to represent an effort to match the earlier miniatures in the book.  The famous painting Princes of the House of Timur was first painted in 1550-55 in Persia for the exiled Mughal prince Humayun, who largely began the Mughal miniature tradition by taking back Persian miniaturists when he gained the throne.  It was then twice updated in India (c.1605 and 1628) to show later generations of the royal house.  The dimensions of the manuscripts covered a range not dissimilar to typical modern books, though with a more vertical ratio; many were as small as a modern paperback, others larger.  Shah Tamasp's Shahnameh stood 47 cm high, and one exceptional Shahnameh from Tabriz of c. 1585 stood 53 cm high.

Artists and technique

In the classic period artists were exclusively male, and normally grouped in workshops, of which the royal workshop (not necessarily in a single building) was much the most prestigious, recruiting talented artists from the bazaar workshops in the major cities. However the nature of the royal workshop remains unclear, as some manuscripts are recorded as being worked on in different cities, rulers often took artists with them on their travels, and at least some artists were able to work on private commissions.  As in Europe, sons very often followed their father into the workshop, but boys showing talent from any background might be recruited; at least one notable painter was born a slave. There were some highly placed amateur artists, including Shah Tahmasp I (reigned 1524–1576), who was also one of the greatest patrons of miniatures.  Persian artists were highly sought after by other Islamic courts, especially those of the Ottoman and Mughal Empires, whose own traditions of miniature were based on Persian painting but developed rather different styles.

The work was often divided between the main painter, who drew the outlines, and less senior painters who coloured in the drawing.  In Mughal miniatures at least, a third artist might do just the faces.  Then there might be the border paintings; in most books using them these are by far the largest area of painted material as they occur on text pages as well.  The miniatures in a book were often divided up between different artists, so that the best manuscripts represent an overview of the finest work of the period.  The scribes or calligraphers were normally different people, on the whole regarded as having a rather higher status than the artists - their names are more likely to be noted in the manuscript.

Royal librarians probably played a significant role in managing the commissions; the extent of direct involvement by the ruler himself is normally unclear.  The scribes wrote the main text first, leaving spaces for the miniatures, presumably having made a plan for these with the artist and the librarian.  The book covers were also richly decorated for luxury manuscripts, and when they too have figurative scenes these presumably used drawings by the same artists who created the miniatures.  Paper was the normal material for the pages, unlike the vellum normally used in Europe for as long as the illuminated manuscript tradition lasted.  The paper was highly polished, and when not given painted borders might be flecked with gold leaf.

A unique survival from the Timurid period, found "pasted inconspicuously" in a muraqqa in the Topkapi Palace is thought to be a report to Baysunghur from his librarian. After a brief and high-flown introduction, "Petition from the most humble servants of the royal library, whose eyes are as expectant of the dust from the hooves of the regal steed as the ears of those who fast are for the cry of Allahu akbar ..." it continues with very businesslike and detailed notes on what each of some twenty-five named artists, scribes and craftsmen has been up to over a period of perhaps a week: "Amir Khalil has finished the waves in two sea-scenes of the Gulistan and will begin to apply colour. ... All the painters are working on painting and tinting seventy-five tent-poles .... Mawlana Ali is designing a frontispiece illumination for the Shahnama. His eyes were sore for a few days."  Apart from book arts, designs for tent-makers, tile-makers, woodwork and a saddle are mentioned, as is the progress of the "begim's little chest".

History

The ancient Persian religion of Manichaeism made considerable use of images; not only was the founding prophet Mani (c.216–276) a professional artist, at least according to later Islamic tradition, but one of the sacred books of the religion, the Arzhang, was illustrated by the prophet himself, whose illustrations (probably essentially cosmological diagrams rather than images with figures) were regarded as part of the sacred material and always copied with the text.  Unfortunately, the religion was repressed strongly from the Sassanid era and onwards so that only tiny fragments of Manichean art survive.  These no doubt influenced the continuing Persian tradition, but little can be said about how.  It is also known that Sassanid palaces had wall-paintings, but only fragments of these have survived.

There are narrative scenes in pottery, though it is hard to judge how these relate to lost contemporary book painting.  Recent scholarship has noted that, although surviving early examples are now uncommon, human figurative art was also a continuous tradition in Islamic lands in secular contexts (such as literature, science, and history); as early as the 9th century, such art flourished during the Abbasid Caliphate (c. 749-1258, across Spain, North Africa, Egypt, Syria, Turkey, Mesopotamia, and Persia).

The great period of the Persian miniature began when Persia was ruled by a succession of foreign dynasties, who came from the east and north. The traumatic Mongol invasion of 1219 onwards established the Ilkhanate as a branch of the Mongol Empire, and despite the huge destruction of life and property, the new court had a galvanising effect on book painting, importing many Chinese works and probably artists, with their long-established tradition of narrative painting. The Ilkhanids continued to migrate between summer and winter quarters, which together with other travels for war, hunting and administration, made the portable form of the illustrated book the most suitable vehicle for painting, as it also was for mobile European medieval rulers.  The Great Mongol Shahnameh, now dispersed, is the outstanding manuscript of the period.

After 1335 the Ilkhanate split into several warring dynasties, all swept aside by the new invasion of Timur from 1381. He established the Timurid dynasty, bringing a fresh wave of Chinese influence, who were replaced by the Black Sheep Turkmen in 1452, followed by the White Sheep Turkmen from 1468, who were in turn replaced by the Safavid dynasty by 1501; they ruled until 1722.  After a chaotic period Nader Shah took control, but there was no long-lived dynasty until the Qajar dynasty, who ruled from 1794 to 1925.

It was only in the 14th century that the practice began of commissioning illustrated copies of classic works of Persian poetry, above all the Shahnameh of Ferdowsi (940-1020) and the Khamsa of Nizami, which were to contain many of the finest miniatures.  Previously book illustration, of works in both Arabic and Persian, had been concentrated in practical and scientific treatises, often following at several removes the Byzantine miniatures copied when ancient Greek books were translated.  However a 14th-century flowering of Arabic illustrated literary manuscripts in Syria and Egypt collapsed at the end of the century, leaving Persia the undisputed leader in Islamic book illustration.  Many of the best miniatures from early manuscripts were removed from their books in later centuries and transferred to albums, several of which are now in Istanbul; this complicates tracing the art history of the period.

Miniatures from the Safavid and later periods are far more common than earlier ones, but although some prefer the simpler elegance of the early 15th and 16th centuries, most art historians agree in seeing a rise in quality up to the mid-16th century, culminating in a series of superb royal commissions by the Safavid court, such as the Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp (or Houghton Shahnameh). There was a crisis in the 1540s when Shah Tahmasp I, previously a patron on a large scale, ceased to commission works, apparently losing interest in painting.  Some of his artists went to the court of his nephew Ibrahim Mirza, governor of Mashad from 1556, where there was a brief flowering of painting until the Shah fell out with his nephew in 1565, including a Haft Awrang, the "Freer Jami".  Other artists went to the Mughal court.  After this the number of illustrated book manuscript commissions falls off, and the tradition falls into over-sophistication and decline.

Tabriz in the north-west of Iran is the longest established centre of production, and Baghdad (then under Persian rule) was often important. Shiraz in the south, sometimes the capital of a sub-ruler, was a centre from the late 14th century, and Herat, now in Afghanistan, was important in the periods when it was controlled from Persia, especially when the Timurid prince Baysonqor was governor in the 1420s; he was then the leading patron in Persia, commissioning the Baysonghor Shahnameh and other works.  Each centre developed its own style, which were largely reconciled and combined under the Safavids.

The schools of Herat, where the Timurid royal workshops usually were, had developed a style of classical restraint and elegance, and the painters of Tabriz, a more expressive and imaginative style.  Tabriz was the former capital of the Turkmen rulers, and in the early Safavid period the styles were gradually harmonized in works like the Shahnameh of Shah Tahmasp.  But a famous unfinished miniature showing Rustam asleep, while his horse Rakhsh fights off a lion, was probably made for this manuscript, but was never finished and bound in, perhaps because its vigorous Tabriz style did not please Tahmasp. It appears to be by Sultan Mohammad, whose later works in the manuscript show a style adapted to the court style of Bizhad.  It is now in the British Museum.

Chinese influences

Before Chinese influence was introduced, figures were tied to the ground line and included "backgrounds of solid color", or in "clear accordance with indigenous artistic traditions". However, once influenced by the Chinese, Persian painters gained much more freedom through the Chinese traditions of "unrestricted space and infinite planes". Much of the Chinese influence in Persian art is probably indirect, transmitted through Central Asia. There appear to be no Persian miniatures that are clearly the work of a Chinese artist or one trained in China itself. The most prestigious Chinese painting tradition, of literati landscape painting on scrolls, has little influence; instead the closest parallels are with wall-paintings and motifs such as clouds and dragons found in Chinese pottery, textiles, and other decorative arts.  The format and composition of the Persian miniature received strong influence from Chinese paintings.

The Ilkhanid rulers did not convert to Islam for several decades, meanwhile remaining Tantric Buddhists or Christians (usually Nestorians).  While very few traces now remain, Buddhist and Christian images were probably easily available to Persian artists at this period.  Especially in Ilkhanid and Timurid Mongol-Persian mythological miniatures,  mythical beasts were portrayed in a style close to the Chinese qilin, fenghuang (phoenix), bixie and Chinese dragon, though they have a much more aggressive character in Islamic art, and are often seen fighting each other or natural beasts.

Prominent Persian miniaturists
The workshop tradition and division of labour within both an individual miniature and a book, as described above, complicates the attribution of paintings.  Some are inscribed with the name of the artist, sometimes as part of the picture itself, for example as if painted on tiles in a building, but more often as a note added on the page or elsewhere; where and when being often uncertain.  Because of the nature of the works, literary and historical references to artists, even if they are relied upon, usually do not enable specific paintings to be identified, though there are exceptions.  The reputation of Kamāl ud-Dīn Behzād Herawī, or Behzād, the leading miniaturist of the late Timurid era, and founder of the Safavid school, remained supreme in the Persianate world, and at least some of his work, and style, can be identified with a degree of confidence, despite a good deal of continuing scholarly debate.

Sultan Mohammed, Mir Sayyid Ali, and Aqa Mirak, were leading painters of the next generation, the Safavid culmination of the classic style, whose attributed works are found together in several manuscripts.  Abd al-Samad was one of the most successful Persian painters recruited by the Mughal Emperors to work in India.  In the next generation, Reza Abbasi worked in the Late Safavid period producing mostly album miniatures, and his style was continued by many later painters. In the 19th century, the miniatures of Abu'l-Hasan Khan Gaffari (Sani ol molk), active in Qajar Persia, showed originality, naturalism, and technical perfection.   Mahmoud Farshchian is a contemporary miniaturist whose style has broadened the scope of this art.

Gallery

Maktab

Style( Persian: (مکتب  maktab) or (مدرسه school))
The maktab of Iranian miniature painting have been named based on the central authority of the ruling empires in the country. Wherever power and wealth were concentrated and considered the capital and seat of government, artists would come to those places willingly or sometimes forcibly. This naming and classification of Iranian miniature painting maktab have been commonly used in Western research and to some extent in Iranian studies.

There may be overlaps in the historical periods discussed later due to the dispersion of governments and their capitals within the realm of Iranian culture and art, rather than their political territories.

Some of the Iranian miniature painting maktab include the following (in chronological order):

1. Baghdad Maktab (or Abbasid Maktab): This maktab had a relatively short period during the late 12th century in the capital city of Baghdad under the Abbasid caliphate. It had less influence from Iranian art and showed a stronger inclination towards Byzantine painting and realism. However, some works exhibited influences from Sasanian and Central Asian art.

2. Seljuk Maktab: This maktab emerged during the Seljuk period and was influenced by both Iranian and Central Asian art.

3. First Tabriz Maktab (or Ilkhanid Maktab): This maktab developed during the Ilkhanid period, which was a Mongol dynasty. It had significant connections with Iranian and Central Asian art.

4. First Shiraz Maktab: This maktab emerged in Shiraz and had its own distinctive style.

5. Jalairid Maktab: This maktab developed during the Jalairid dynasty and had its own unique characteristics.

6. Second Shiraz Maktab: This maktab emerged as a revival of the First Shiraz Maktab and continued its artistic traditions.

7. Herat Maktab: This maktab flourished in Herat under the Timurid dynasty and produced remarkable works.

8. Bukhara Maktab: This maktab developed in Bukhara and had its own distinct artistic style.

9. Second Tabriz Maktab: This maktab emerged as a revival of the First Tabriz Maktab during the Safavid period and incorporated elements from various artistic traditions.

10. Qazvin Maktab: This maktab emerged in Qazvin and had its own artistic characteristics.

11. Isfahan Maktab: This maktab developed in Isfahan during the Safavid period and played a significant role in the development of Iranian miniature painting.

12. Qajar Maktab: This maktab emerged during the Qajar dynasty and had its own distinct style.

1)Tabriz Maktab of Art (First Period)

With the Mongol invasion and the establishment of the Ilkhanate rule, Maragheh and Tabriz transformed into cultural centers. The Ilkhanate rule had two important consequences for Iranian painting. The first was the transfer of elements and techniques of Chinese art to Iran, and the second was the establishment of a form of collective artistic education in workshops and royal libraries. The Tabriz Maktab of Art, also known as the Mongol or Ilkhanid Maktab, along with its subsequent period, the Jalayirid period, formed the main foundation of Iranian painting. During this period, artists sought to integrate visual and pictorial art. One of the notable events of this period was the creation of a cultural complex near Tabriz, known as Rab'-e Rashidi, by the order of Rashid al-Din Fazlullah Hamadani, the vizier of Ghazan Khan. This place served as a gathering place for Iranian and foreign artists, scholars, and calligraphers. One of the works produced in Rab'-e Rashidi is the Comprehensive Book of Chronicles, which was worked on by numerous artists in various styles. The First Tabriz style brought about fundamental changes compared to its previous period, the Seljuk period. The technique of hatching, the depiction of clouds and mountains, the rendering of faces, composition, and shading all borrowed from Chinese art, while the use of silver color and the depiction of garments recalled Byzantine and Mesopotamian art. However, the figurative style of the human figures and their arrangement in the composition remained Iranian in nature. The scenes became more expansive, and we can even see a portion of the sky in the images. The peak of the First Tabriz art can be seen in the Demotte Shahnameh, where the influence of foreign arts is more evident. Nevertheless, this imitation gave rise to new visual patterns and concepts. For example, the dragon in Chinese art symbolizes nature and fertility, but the Iranian painter portrays Bahram fighting the dragon as a symbol of overcoming evil, indicating a disregard for their original meanings and a mere adoption of the Chinese pattern. One of the renowned artists of this period is Ahmad Musa.

2)Jalayirid Maktab of Art

After the death of the last Mongol Ilkhan, Abu Sa'id, power struggles ensued among Mongol dynasties, and eventually, the Jalayirid dynasty seized power and established their rule in Tabriz and Baghdad. During this period, book illustration received significant attention, and artworks from the Ilkhanid period were collected and preserved. Despite the numerous tensions of this period, many artists, especially during the reign of Sultan Ahmad Jalayir, received patronage, with many kings themselves reciting poetry and engaging in painting. Although the artists continued the tradition of the Ilkhanid maktab, they also advanced experimental approaches. The outstanding result of this period is the Divan of Khwaju Kermani, which includes the signature of an artist named Junayd Baghdadi, making it the oldest known signature of an Iranian painter. In Junayd's paintings and generally in the Jalayirid maktab, the spaces expanded completely, and the paintings occupy an entire page. The figures in the images are slender and tall, and architectural spaces depict both interiors and exteriors simultaneously for the first time. In this period, books were written in a new style of Nasta'liq calligraphy, and the colors became more vibrant compared to the Ilkhanid period, while the issue of the relationship between humans and nature was resolved. Overall, the artworks of the Ilkhanid and Jalayirid periods can be divided into three main categories. The first category consists of pure Iranian works, which, even if influenced by other arts, are combined with Iranian elements. The second category includes paintings that combine Iranian and Chinese art, with a more tangible influence of Chinese art, and the third category consists of paintings abundant in Chinese elements and are almost foreign in nature. The artworks of the Jalayirid period belong to the first category, where Chinese elements are hardly seen.

3)The Maktab of Shiraz

During the 8th century AH (14th century CE), while the Ilkhanid and Jalayirid maktabs were flourishing in Tabriz and Baghdad, an independent artistic movement was taking place in the city of Shiraz. When the Mongols invaded, the rulers of Fars managed to protect the city through diplomacy and intelligence, allowing it to continue its existence under the same previous rulers. Many Iranian artists and intellectuals sought refuge in Shiraz under the patronage of local dynasties, namely the Al-e Injou and later the Al-e Mozaffar. Consequently, Shiraz became a central hub for preserving and continuing the ancient traditions and arts of Iran, such as Seljuk art and resistance against foreign influences.

Significant developments during this period include the flourishing of Persian poetry and literature, and the emergence of renowned figures like Saadi and Hafez. Calligraphy workshops thrived in Iran, and the production and illustration of Shahnameh (the Persian epic) had widespread popularity in Shiraz. The illustrations of Shirazi books were simple and reminiscent of Seljuk-era manuscripts, characterized by flat and vibrant colors, large figures, and shallow spaces, evoking the ancient traditions of Iranian art.

In the Maktab of Shiraz, the central theme is humanity, while other motifs fill the surrounding spaces. After the death of Abu Sa'id, the last ruler of the Injou dynasty, Shiraz and some other cities became artistically independent. For instance, in cities like Behbahan, a unique style of nature illustration without human presence can be observed. During the Mozaffarid period, the depiction of lyrical poems (ghazals) received more attention, and the spaces became more expansive. Although the Maktab of Shiraz had its distinct path compared to Tabriz and Baghdad, there was artistic and cultural exchange between these cities, influencing one another. It can be inferred that the vibrant colors of the Maktab of Shiraz influenced Baghdad and Tabriz, while in return, the spacious compositions from Tabriz and Baghdad reached Shiraz. The production of books in Shiraz was so extensive that its products were exported to other countries such as Turkey and India, representing a tradition known as the "commercial style" that endured until the Safavid era in Isfahan.

4)The Herat school (Maktab-e Herat)

was an artistic movement in Persian painting during the medieval period, originating in the city of Herat in present-day Afghanistan. The maktab flourished under the patronage of Baysonqor Mirza, who succeeded Shah Rukh and established Herat as his capital. During Baysonqor Mirza's reign, the workshop of the royal court in Herat became a melting pot of artistic influences from Shiraz, Tabriz, and even Chinese painting traditions. These diverse influences converged to give birth to the distinctive style of the Herat Maktab. The artistic style of the Baysonqor Mirza period transformed into a formal and refined manner, exemplified in the illustrations of the Baysonqori Shahnameh. Notable artists of this period included Jafar Tabrizi, Gawwam al-Din, Mir Khalil, and Khwaja Ghiyath al-Din. Despite the upheavals in Herat after Shah Rukh's death until the reign of Hussain Bayqara, independent artworks from artists such as Maulana Vali Allah and Mansur were produced. The establishment of Sultan Husayn Bayqara's rule and the presence of his minister, Mir Ali-Shir Nava'i, marked a splendid era for art in Iran. Various art forms thrived, and artists gained recognition. Mir Ali-Shir Nava'i fostered a gathering of intellectuals who came together regardless of social status, sharing ideas and artworks. Notable members of this gathering included Wa'iz Kashifi, Kamal al-Din Behzad, and Sultan Ali Mashhadi. During this period, alongside the traditional masters who continued the Baysonqori style, a new generation of talented and innovative artists emerged, introducing new experiences to Persian painting. For example, Haji Mohammad Haravi, known as Mohammad Siyah Qalam, incorporated Iranian satire and grotesque elements in his works. Kamal al-Din Behzad focused on human figures and depicted everyday life in courtly paintings. In this period, the art of portraiture gradually gained popularity, often attributed to Kamal al-Din Behzad. Some portraits of contemporary rulers like Sultan Husayn and Shah Bayqara have survived from this time. This style was also influenced by the arrival of Gentile Bellini, who came to Istanbul at the invitation of an Ottoman Sultan, and later had an impact on Timurid artists. The Herat Maktab encompassed various artistic trends and exhibited a high degree of diversity. However, the works of the Sultan Husayn and Kamal al-Din Behzad period, known as the Kamaleddin Behzad Maktab, are particularly well-known. Generally, it can be said that colors became more vibrant in the Herat Maktab, and the compositions became more complex, featuring circular and intersecting elements. Human activities and details received more attention, and the workshop tradition became a fixed practice in Persian painting. The Herat Maktab, especially the style of Kamal al-Din Behzad, had a direct influence on subsequent periods, such as the Second Tabriz Maktab. Following the rise of the Shaybanid dynasty in Herat, Mohammad Khan Shaybani moved the capital to Bukhara, leading many artists of the Herat Maktab to migrate there. This migration gave rise to the Bukhara Maktab, which followed in the footsteps of the Herat Maktab. The prominent artist of the Bukhara Maktab was Mahmud Muzahhib, who continued the style of Kamal al-Din Behzad. The characteristics of the Bukhara Maktab included rich colors, intricate details within simple forms, short figures, and frontal structures.

5)The Second Shiraz School

In the city of Shiraz during the Timurid period, specifically in the late 8th century, two Timurid rulers, Sultan Iskandar and Sultan Ibrahim, governed Shiraz and greatly influenced its art. Sultan Iskandar gathered the artists of Shiraz once again after the Timurid invasions. It is likely that Pir Ahmad Baghshamali was active in Sultan Iskandar's workshop. The painters of Sultan Iskandar depicted his battles, which became known as "The Selected Battles of Sultan Iskandar." The court style of Sultan Iskandar had already emerged before the establishment of the Herat School and demonstrated the earliest fusion of Iran's exquisite painting styles, such as the Jalairid and Al-Muzaffar styles. The use of lapis lazuli blue color, sponge-like rocks in the sky's horizon, slender and colorful figures, and embellished architectural structures with arabesque patterns were characteristic of the Iskandar School, which later directly influenced the Herat School. Sultan Iskandar was deposed due to conflicts with Shah Rukh Timurid and was succeeded by Ibrahim Sultan, Shah Rukh's son. Ibrahim Sultan's reign brought about significant transformations in the Shiraz style. The figures became more strongly designed, and the colors became more muted, with a strong tendency towards compositional harmony evident in the artworks. Calligraphic elements gained particular importance in the composition, and fixed rules for arranging and formatting texts were established, which became inseparable from the Shiraz style until the late 10th century AH. The general rule was to place two or four inscriptions at the top and bottom of the image, creating a symmetrical and geometric structure within the artwork, with significant subjects often appearing in the central section and beneath the horizon line. Notable works from this period include the Khamsa of Nizami and the Shahnameh of Ibrahim Sultan.

6)The Turkmen Style

During the 8th century AH, two Turkmen tribes simultaneously occupied the western regions of Iran. Initially, the Qara Qoyunlu gained power and made Tabriz their capital, followed by the Aq Qoyunlu, who seized control over all of Iran except for Khorasan. Overall, the Turkmen style was a mixture of the Herat, Tabriz, Shiraz, and Baghdad schools. They established a royal workshop similar to the Timurid court workshop and employed both local and non-local painters. The result was a new and distinct style characterized by robust figures, round faces with arched eyebrows, and small mouths. The works produced in the Tabriz region, due to the strong tradition of landscape painting in the early Tabriz school, emphasized nature in Turkmen painting, giving rise to fantastical and surreal landscapes. As previously mentioned, there was a commercial style in Shiraz during the first period of the Shiraz School, which continued with the arrival of the Turkmen. The non-courtly Turkmen style was simple and unadorned, yet it can be considered suitable for commercial purposes due to its commercial nature and high production. Nevertheless, these images are very explicit and clear in terms of description. One of the Shirazi artists believed to be the creator of this commercial style is Farhad. He is the same artist who illustrated the Khavarannameh manuscript written by Ibn Husam Khusfi. These illustrations have innovative compositions that vividly demonstrate Farhad's imagination. The final and most advanced phase of the Turkmen style occurred during the reign of Yakub Beg, the Aq Qoyunlu ruler. Artists such as Sheikh and Darvish Mohammad produced images of the Khamsa of Nizami during that period. These images feature imaginative landscapes and diverse colors, with nature surpassing humanity. The power of imagination in these images is so high that the peaks of rocky mountains transform into human and animal forms. This poetic depiction of nature also found its way into the Safavid school through Sultan Muhammad.

7)Tabriz School 2

With the establishment of the Safavid government, Shah Ismail chose Tabriz as the center of his rule and gathered Turkmen painters, including Sultan Muhammad, in Tabriz. Artists from the Herat school, such as Sheikhzadeh and Kamal al-Din Behzad, initially produced artistic works under the rule of the Safavid government in Herat and then migrated to Tabriz during the reign of Shah Tahmasb. One notable work produced in Safavid Herat is the "Zafarnama" (Book of Victory), characterized by intricate compositions, diverse colors, and strong design, displaying elements of Behzad's style. In comparison to his Timurid-era works in the Herat school, Behzad's works in the Tabriz school exhibit less vibrant spirit and subdued colors, possibly influenced by the taste of the court patrons. One of the main characteristics we observe in Safavid paintings is the presence of a specific type of turban known as the "Qizilbash turban." The fusion of Western and Eastern Iranian painting styles gave rise to an authentic and complete style, exemplified by Shahnameh-e Tahmasbi (Tahmasb's Shahnameh) and Khamsa-e Tahmasbi (Tahmasb's Khamsa), which were the result of collaborative efforts by a group of artists. These two works represent a juxtaposition of two main stylistic poles: Sultan Muhammad's style, the Turkmen style, and the contrasting style of the Calligraphers of the Behzad School. It seems that in images dominated by nature and slightly surreal, the Turkmen and Sultan Muhammad schools had an influence, while the Calligraphers of the Behzad School created works that focused more on human figures and human relationships. The paintings in the Tabriz school became much busier, featuring more figures within a scene. This led to more complex compositions, a higher variety of colors, and a tendency to push the figures out of the space. In Tabriz School 2, although there is no perspective, the principles of authentic Iranian painting are adhered to. However, due to the complex relationships between elements and architecture, the images appear both two-dimensional and three-dimensional simultaneously. The synchronicity of events and places reached its peak in Tabriz School 2, where one can witness various events taking place within a single image, yet perceiving the works as cohesive and unified. Tabriz School 2 came to a halt with the capital's relocation to Qazvin, and after Shah Tahmasb's withdrawal of support, many artists dispersed to various cities. On the other hand, in Mashhad, Ibrahim Mirza, a young Safavid prince, established a workshop and brought together skilled artists from Tabriz and local artists in Mashhad. Thus, the Safavid Tabriz style continued in Mashhad with new approaches. One of the most significant works produced in Mashhad is the "Haft Orang" by Jami. Overall, in Mashhad, we encounter new characteristics, including emphasis on color through white spots, dominance of soft and curvilinear lines, presence of ancient trees, fragmented rocks, and slender figures with long necks and round faces. During the twenty years that Mashhad continued its activities, there was not much book illustration flourishing in the Safavid capital of Qazvin, and only a few works were produced following the Mashhad style during a short period, particularly during the reign of Ismail II.

8)"Maktab-i Isfahan

After a tumultuous decade, Shah Abbas ascended the Safavid throne and relocated the capital to Isfahan. During this period, all the industrial arts flourished and served the taste of the Shah, resulting in the infiltration of Western art into the underlying fabric of society. Architecture, textiles, carpets, and ceramics of this era had numerous enthusiastic admirers, yet, with a fair critique, one can find a decline in vitality and creativity in almost all the arts of this period. However, the field of painting had a different and pioneering movement, as it was almost independent of court patronage. In this period, even before the Isfahan School, we encounter a new style where artists produced works independent of books on a large scale. The emergence of this phenomenon depended on two factors: a decrease in court support and the growth of the merchant class. The taste of the Shahs was changing, and artists could not rely solely on court patronage. Consequently, they turned towards capitalists and nobles. As they lacked the financial capability to produce a complete book, they contented themselves with single-page illustrations. In the midst of this, a young and talented artist named Reza Abbasi appeared and perfected this style of painting. Reza Abbasi's technique was based on the value of line, giving volume to the work through the thickness and thinness of lines. In his paintings, figures were usually large and detached from the surroundings. Later, Moin Mosavar continued Reza Abbasi's style by combining it with his own personal style. Generally, it can be said that the connection between painting and literature had weakened, and the line had surpassed color in the art of painting. These two events led artists to observe their surroundings and document various everyday events. Workshop traditions gradually weakened, and individual worth of each artist became more independent during this period. As a result, signing and long inscriptions became prevalent, particularly in the works of Moin Mosavar."Wall painting was another art form that emerged in the 11th century AH (17th century CE) in the Safavid palaces of Isfahan and continued the style of Qazvin School wall paintings. The compositions of the wall paintings resemble the illustrations found in books, but when executed on a large scale, they lose the delicacy found in books. Gradually, with the arrival of Europeans, Western painting styles entered Iranian paintings and captivated the taste of the Safavid Shahs. In the late period, we witness two main trends: the first being the distinctive and independent style of painters such as Reza Abbasi and Moin Mosavar, and the second being painters like Mohammad Zaman, who were influenced by European naturalism, and their works were referred to as the "School of Italy in Isfahan". The first trend continued until the end of Moin Mosavar's life, while the inclination towards naturalism grew and became more formalized, marking a new beginning in the Iranian painting style.

9)The Qajar Schoolof painting emerged during the Zand period and continued into the Qajar era and slightly beyond. This style holds a prominent position as a cohesive and school-based style in Iranian painting, encompassing all the thematic and practical features of a painting school. It was primarily developed through the fusion of traditional Iranian painting characteristics with elements and techniques borrowed from European painting. Although there were some works in a similar style during the Safavid period in Iran, which were referred to as "Europeanization," it found its distinct form primarily during the Zand period and continued into the Qajar era. A genre of folk painting known as "Qahveh-Khaneh-gari" (coffeehouse painting) also emerged during this time.

In later culture
The French painter Henri Matisse said he was inspired by Persian miniatures. He visited the Munich 1910 exhibition of Persian miniatures and carpets, and noted that:
"the Persian miniatures showed me the possibility of my sensations. That art had devices to suggest a greater space, a really plastic space. It helped me to get away from intimate painting."

Persian miniatures are mentioned in the novel My Name Is Red by Orhan Pamuk.

See also
 Persian culture
 List of Persian painters
 Persianate

Notes

References
Balafrej, Lamia. The Making of the Artist in Late Timurid Painting, Edinburgh University Press, 2019,
Brend, Barbara. Islamic art, Harvard University Press, 1991, , 9780674468665
Canby, Sheila R. (ed) (2009). Shah Abbas; The Remaking of Iran, 2009, British Museum Press,
Canby, Sheila R. (1993), Persian Painting, 1993, British Museum Press,
Crill, Rosemary, and Jarilwala, Kapil. The Indian Portrait: 1560-1860, 2010, National Portrait Gallery Publications, , 978 1855144095
("Gray 1930") Gray, Basil, Persian Painting, Ernest Benn, London, 1930
("Gray 1976") Gray, Basil, and others in Jones, Dalu & Michell, George, (eds); The Arts of Islam, Arts Council of Great Britain, 1976,
Gruber, Christiane, Representations of the Prophet Muhammad in Islamic painting, in Gulru Necipoglu, Karen Leal eds., Muqarnas, Volume 26, 2009, BRILL, , 9789004175891, google books
Meri, Josef W. Medieval Islamic Civilization: An Encyclopedia, 2005, Psychology Press,
Rawson, Jessica, Chinese Ornament: The Lotus and the Dragon, 1984, British Museum Publications,
"OAO", Sims, Eleanor, and others. Oxford Art Online (subscription required), Islamic art, §III, 4: Painted book illustration (v) c 1250–c 1500, and (vi) c 1500–c 1900, accessed Jan 21, 2011
Roxburgh, David J. 2000. The Study of Painting and the Arts of the Book, in Muqarnas, XVII, BRILL.
Thackston, Wheeler McIntosh. Album prefaces and other documents on the history of calligraphers and painters, Volume 10 of Studies and sources in Islamic art and architecture: Supplements to Muqarnas, BRILL, 2001, ,
Titley, Norah M.  Persian Miniature Painting, and Its Influence on the Art of Turkey and India: the British Library collections, 1983, University of Texas Press,
Welch, Stuart Cary. Royal Persian Manuscripts, Thames & Hudson, 1976,

Further reading

 Grabar, Oleg, Mostly Miniatures: An Introduction to Persian Painting, 2001, Princeton University Press, ,
 Hillenbrand, Robert. Shahnama: the visual language of the Persian book of kings, Ashgate Publishing, 2004, ,
 Robinson, B. W., Islamic painting and the arts of the book, London, Faber and Faber, 1976
 Robinson, B. W., Persian paintings in the India Office Library, a descriptive catalogue, London, Sotheby Parke Bernet, 1976
Schmitz, Barbara, and Desai, Ziyaud-Din A. Mughal and Persian paintings and illustrated manuscripts in the Raza Library, Rampur, 2006, Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts,
"Iranica", Welch, Stuart Cary, and others, Art in Iran:vii. Islamic pre-Safavid, ix. Safavid to Qajar Periods, in Encyclopædia Iranica (online, accessed January 27, 2011)

External links

 The Shahnameh Project, Cambridge University – database of miniatures (archived 28 October 2017)
 A brief history of Persian Miniature by Katy Kianush. Iran Chamber Society
 Chester Beatty Library Image Gallery mixed Islamic images
Video on Behzad from the Asia Society, US
 Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian
 Miniatures from the Topkapi Museum

Iranian art
Persian art
Miniature painting
Illuminated manuscripts
Islamic illuminated manuscripts
Islamic art
Persian handicrafts
Islamic arts of the book
Iranian inventions
Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity

Persian miniature


Elvis Forde (born 18 November 1959) is a retired Barbadian sprinter who specialized in the 400 metres. He was the flag bearer for his native country at the opening ceremony of the 1988 Summer Olympics.

He won the bronze medals at the 1985 Central American and Caribbean Championships and the 1986 Central American and Caribbean Games, and the gold medal at the 1987 Central American and Caribbean Championships.

At the 1984 Olympic Games he finished seventh in the 4 x 400 metres relay, together with teammates Richard Louis, David Peltier and Clyde Edwards. Their time of 3:01.60 minutes is still the Barbadian record.

Forde also competed in the individual distance at the 1984 Olympics. Here, he achieved his career best time of 45.32 seconds. He also competed at the 1987 World Indoor Championships and the 1988 Olympic Games.
Indoor, he was a 2-time winner of the 600-yard dash at the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships, the last 2 times the event was held before being converted into the 500 metres.
He is the former head track and field coach at Illinois State University in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois. Forde is now the head men and women's cross-country and women's track & field coach at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

References

External links

1959 births
Living people
Barbadian male sprinters
Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Olympics
Olympic athletes for Barbados
Athletes (track and field) at the 1987 Pan American Games
Pan American Games competitors for Barbados
Competitors at the 1986 Central American and Caribbean Games
Central American and Caribbean Games bronze medalists for Barbados
Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in athletics

Elvis Forde


ក្រុងបារាជ [ វៀតណាម:Long Xuyên ()] គឺជាទីរួមខេត្ត មាត់ជ្រូក, in the Mekong Delta region of southwestern វៀតណាម. It is located at approximately 1,950 km south of Hanoi, 189 km from Ho Chi Minh City, and 45 km from the boundary with Cambodia. The population of Long Xuyen city is over 300,000 (2007), with an area of only 130 km².

Long Xuyen is the second most prosperous city in southwestern Vietnam, just after Can Tho city.

សេដ្ឋកិច្ច
Long Xuyen is a very developed city in merchandising (mainly in rice trading) and processing fish industry (such as basa fish) with more than six plants and 10,000 workers.

ការអប់រំ
Long Xuyen is home to An Giang University and the Long Xuyen Teacher's Training College.  An Giang University is the second largest university in the Mekong Delta. An Giang University has more than 8,000 students and began as a teaching trainer's college.  It was recognized with university status in 2000.  Currently they have faculties in Education, Agriculture, Economics, IT, and Marx-Lenin Ideologies

There are three main high schools in Long Xuyen city. Thoai Ngoc Hau, Binh Khanh, and Long Xuyen, respectively. Thoai Ngoc Hau high school was once known as Long Xuyen high school, with currently over 2,000 students. Thoai Ngoc Hau is a specialized school for majors of English, Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics, Literature, and Biology.

វប្បធម៌
Long Xuyên is the center of the Hòa Hảo religion. There are also many Catholic churches, as well as some people who follow Buddhism and other religions.

The local people often go to supermarkets on Saturday and Sunday. Also, former president Ton Duc Thang's birthday is celebrated in My Hoa Hung (Tiger Island).

Local dishes include the standard Vietnamese fare as well as some variations on the area specialties (for example basa fish, mắm thái, and thot not coconuts).

Each year, many tourists pass through Long Xuyen, on their way to Chau Doc, which is a major stop-over on the way to Cambodia. However, tourists rarely stay in Long Xuyen.

Bà Chúa Xứ Shrine is a sacred place that is visited by many people who pray for financial success.  Each March, Chau Doc celebrates the Bà Chúa Xứ festival, a large religious festival on top of Sam mountain.

Notable residents

Nguyen Ngoc Tho, vice-president of the Republic of Vietnam (before April 30, 1975)
Ton Duc Thang, senior Communist Party leader, President of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam); later became the first President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
Nguyen Hien Le, writer
Vo Tong Xuan, agronomist and former rector of An Giang University
Vương Trung Hiếu, writer
Le Minh Tung, Vice-Chairman of An Giang province and current rector of An Giang University
Ta Minh Tam, artist
Duc Tuan, singer
Phuong Trinh, singer
Ba Cut, Hoa Hao warlord

ខេត្តក្រុងនៃកម្ពុជាក្រោម

ក្រុងបារាជ


The Alberts were a British music/comedy troupe of the mid-1950s to mid-1960s, featuring brothers Anthony "Tony" and Douglas "Dougie" Gray, along with Bruce Lacey. They were notable for their surreal performances.

Career
Educated at the Oratory School (Kensington), they were evacuated during World War II to Penzance. They left school after the war and performed their National Service in Egypt. They appeared on several of Spike Milligan's television series. They intended to inaugurate the fledgling BBC2 on 20 April 1964, but a power failure delayed the launch until the following day. For almost the entire year of 1963, beginning January 1963, in the West End, The Alberts, along with Joyce Grant, Ivor Cutler, Michael Codron and William Donaldson, presented An Evening of British Rubbish, which Princess Margaret attended twice, and which was released on an LP record by George Martin, head of Parlophone at the time. Several members of The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band have publicly said they were hugely influenced by The Alberts.

The Gray brothers appeared in several films directed by Ken Russell, including Dante's Inferno and The Music Lovers. They toured the world with the Royal Opera house with non-singing roles in Benjamin Britten's Peter Grimes and released a single in May 1962, produced by George Martin at Abbey Road, called "Morse Code Melody", with "Sleepy Valley" on the flip side. Another single, "Goodbye Dolly (Gray)" / "Blaze Away" and credited to The Massed Alberts, an expanded version of the group again featuring Bruce Lacey, was also released on Parlophone in July 1964 but similarly failed to chart.

The Alberts (including Lacey) adapted Alexandre Dumas père's novel, The Three Musketeers Ride Again!, at the Royal Court Theatre, with Rachel Roberts, Valentine Dyall, Colin Phillips, Alexei Jawdokimov and Jill Bruce in the cast, directed by Eleanor Fazan.

Anthony "Tony" Gray (22 December 1927 – 14 April 2014) died at age 86 in the UK. He was twice married and had six children.

Douglas Gray (28 September 1930 - 18 June 2020) died aged 89 in Norfolk. He had two children, Pandora and Gideon, a musician. In later, life Gray turned up for the service at his local church every Sunday dressed as a Cossack.

Discography
 The Alberts, The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, The Temperance Seven, singles compilation album, 1971
 By Jingo It's British Rubbish (1998 CD: HUX 015), singles compilation

References

British comedy musical groups
British surrealist artists
Surrealist groups
Musical groups from London

The Alberts