Amphisbaenia  (called amphisbaenians or worm lizards) is a group of usually legless squamates, comprising over 200 extant species. Amphisbaenians are characterized by their long bodies, the reduction or loss of the limbs, and rudimentary eyes. As many species have a pink body and scales arranged in rings, they have a superficial resemblance to earthworms. While the genus Bipes retains forelimbs, all other genera are limbless. Although superficially similar to the snakes, legless lizards, and blind lizards, recent phylogenetic studies suggest that they are most closely related to wall lizards of the family Lacertidae. Amphisbaenians are widely distributed, occurring in North America, Europe, Africa, South America, Western Asia and the Caribbean. Most species are less than  long.

Description

Despite a superficial resemblance to some primitive snakes, amphisbaenians have many unique features that distinguish them from other reptiles. Internally, their right lung is reduced in size to fit their narrow bodies, whereas in snakes, it is always the left lung. Their skeletal structure and skin are also different from those of other squamates. Both genetic and recent fossil evidence indicate that amphisbaenians lost their legs independently from snakes.

The head is stout, not set off from the neck, and either rounded, sloped, or sloped with a ridge down the middle. Most of the skull is solid bone, with a distinctive single median tooth in the upper jaw. It has no outer ears, and the eyes are deeply recessed and covered with skin and scales. These rudimentary eyes have a cornea, lens, and complex ciliary body, which allows them to detect light, but they are reduced in size and do not have an anterior chamber. The body is elongated, and the tail truncates in a manner that vaguely resembles the head. At their tail is a single fracture plane for tail autotomy, between the fifth and eighth caudal rings and is often visible due to coloration. The purpose seems to be to distract predators with the tail acting as a decoy. Their name is derived from Amphisbaena, a mythical serpent with a head at each end—referencing both the manner in which their tail truncates, and their ability to move just as well in reverse as forwards. The four species of Bipes are unusual in having a pair of forelimbs, but all limbless species have some remnants of the pelvic and pectoral girdles embedded within the body musculature.

Amphisbaenians have a distinctive skin made up of rings of scales (annuli) that form a tube in which the loosely attached trunk of the body moves. Burrowing is achieved with an accordion-like motion, with longitudinal muscles in the skin bunching up the annuli, anchoring it to the surrounding soil, and trunk muscles moving the body forward or backwards within the integumentary tube.

Amphisbaenians are carnivorous, able to tear chunks out of larger prey with their powerful, interlocking teeth. Like lizards, some species are able to shed their tails (autotomy). Most species lay eggs, although at least some are known to be viviparous.

The red worm lizard (Amphisbaena alba) is often found in association with leafcutter ants. This reptile is thought to forage in the ants' deep galleries, where the insects deposit their waste. The presence of these reptiles is easily explained by the fact that they prey on the larvae of large beetles that also inhabit the leafcutter ants' galleries.

Amphisbaenians have often been categorized by their skull shape. The specialized skull shape is hypothesized to be driven by environmental and ecological conditions, such as soil type, and is an instance of convergent evolution.

Distribution
Amphisbaenians are found in North America, Europe, Africa, South America, the Middle East, and the Caribbean, a surprisingly large distribution despite being small subterranean animals that rarely ever leave their burrows.
Initially, this large distribution was thought to be due to vicariance, or the result of the breakup of Pangaea. This hypothesis was supported by morphological data that dated amphisbaenian diversification to over 200 million years ago (Mya), while Pangaea was still intact. However, a recent study using a combination of molecular and fossil evidence suggests that amphisbaenians originated in North America, where they underwent their first divergence around 107 Mya. They then underwent another major diversification into North American and European forms 40–56 Mya. Finally, the African and South American forms split around 40 Mya. This suggests that worm-lizards crossed the Atlantic Ocean (which had fully formed by 100 Mya) twice, once just after the K–Pg extinction, and then again, later in the Palaeogene. This also implies that limblessness evolved independently three times, a finding that contrasts the morphological theory that limbed amphisbaenians are the most basal. This widespread dispersal is suggested to have occurred by rafting – natural erosion or a storm event loosened a large raft of soil and vegetation that drifted across the ocean until landing on another shore. This oceanic rafting would be feasible due to the subterranean lifestyle and small nutritional requirements of amphisbaenids. After the Chicxulub impact, many predators of amphisbaenians became extinct, which allowed colonist amphisbaenians to thrive in new territories.

Evolution

The fully limbed Slavoia darevskii from the Late Cretaceous (Campanian) of Mongolia may represent an early relative of amphisbaenians. The oldest known modern amphisbaenians are members of Rhineuridae and the extinct family Oligodontosauridae from the Paleocene of North America. Modern amphisbaenians likely originated in North America, before dispersing to South America, Africa and Europe via rafting during the Paleogene.

Taxonomy
Taxonomic classification of amphisbaenians was traditionally based on morphological characters, such as the number of preanal pores, body annuli, tail annuli, and skull shape. Such characters are vulnerable to convergent evolution; in particular, the loss of the forelimbs and the evolution of specialized shovel-headed and keel-headed morphs appear to have occurred multiple times in the history of the group. Classifications based on mitochondrial DNA sequences and nuclear DNA sequences better reflect their true evolutionary history, and are now being used to distinguish genera of amphisbaenians.

The most ancient branch of the tree is the Rhineuridae. The remaining five families form a group to the exclusion of rhineurids. Bipedidae, Blanidae, and Cadeidae represent the most ancient divergences within this grouping, with Trogonophidae and Amphisbaenidae diverging more recently. South American amphisbaenids apparently are derived from African amphisbaenids that rafted across the Atlantic in the Eocene, about 40 million years ago. Cuban cadeids may be similarly derived from blanids that rafted across from northwestern Africa or southwestern Europe in a similar time frame.

Amphisbaenia has usually been considered a suborder of squamates, but more recent studies indicate that it is part of the lizard clade Lacertoidea, ranked only as a superfamily, so it is now commonly described as an unranked clade.

Families
Six families of amphisbaenians are currently recognised:
Amphisbaenidae Gray, 1865 – Amphisbaenids, tropical worm lizards of South America, some Caribbean islands, and Sub-Saharan Africa. (12 genera, 182 species)
Bipedidae Taylor, 1951 – Only in Mexico and commonly called ajolotes, but not to be confused with axolotls (1 genus, 3 species)
Blanidae Kearney & Stuart, 2004 – Anatolian, Iberian, and Moroccan worm lizards (1 genus, 7 species)
Cadeidae Vidal and Hedges, 2008 – Cuban keel-headed worm lizards (1 genus, 2 species). Traditionally amphisbaenids, but shown by DNA to be closest to Blanidae.
Rhineuridae Vanzolini, 1951 – North American worm lizards (1 genus)
Trogonophidae Gray, 1865 – Palearctic worm lizards (4 genera, 6 species)

Phylogeny

The following cladogram shows the relationships between the six amphisbaenian families determined in the phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial and nuclear genes by Vidal et al. (2008).

References

Further reading
Branch, Bill (2004). Field Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Third Revised edition, Second Impression. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. . (Suborder Amphisbaenia, pp. 201–202).
Gans C (2005). "Checklist and Bibliography of the Amphisbaenia of the World". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History (289): 1–130.
Goin CJ, Goin OB; Zug GR (1978). Introduction to Herpetology, Third Edition. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman and Company. xi + 378 pp. . (Suborder Amphisbaenia, pp. 276–278).
Gray JE (1844). Catalogue of the Tortoises, Crocodiles, and Amphisbænians, in the Collection of the British Museum. London: Trustees of the British Museum. (Edward Newman, printer). viii + 80 pp. ("Amphisbænia", new order, p. 68).

Tetrapod suborders
Taxa named by John Edward Gray
Extant Santonian first appearances

Amphisbaenia


The Middle Powers Initiative (MPI), a program of the Global Security Institute, is dedicated to the worldwide reduction and elimination of nuclear weapons, in a series of well-defined stages accompanied by increasing verification and control.

Through MPI, eight international non-governmental organizations are able to work primarily with "middle power" governments to encourage and educate the nuclear weapons states to take immediate practical steps that reduce nuclear dangers, and commence negotiations to eliminate nuclear weapons.

Middle power countries are politically and economically significant, internationally respected countries that have renounced the nuclear arms race, a standing that gives them significant political credibility.

The campaign is guided by an International Steering Committee, chaired by Senator Douglas Roche, O.C., former Canadian Disarmament Ambassador.

Currently, the efforts of the Middle Powers Initiative are focused through the Article VI Forum, a new and creative initiative intended to stimulate and shape effective responses to the crisis of the non-proliferation / disarmament regime manifested by the breakdown of the 2005 NPT Review Conference. The Article VI Forum takes its name from the article of the NPT in which the nuclear states commit themselves to the elimination of their nuclear weapons.

The Forum is conducting high-level meetings with key diplomats and leaders to examine the political, legal, and technical elements required for a nuclear weapons-free world.

The Forum will continue its work of advancing the imperative to uphold the core bargain of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty relating to the proliferation of nuclear weapons and ensuring steady progress toward their global elimination.

External links
 Middle Powers Initiative

International security

Middle Powers Initiative


A trilemma is a difficult choice where there are three different options, and where each option looks unfavorable.

One of the earliest uses of the definition of trilemma is that of the Greek philosopher Epicurus, who says there is no omnipotent and omnibenevolent God. David Hume summarized this trilemma as follows:

 If God is unable to prevent evil, then he is not all-powerful.
 If God is not willing to prevent evil, then he is not all-good.
 If God is both willing and able to prevent evil, then why does it exist?

Although traditionally ascribed to Epicurus, it has been suggested that it may actually be the work of an early skeptic writer, possibly Carneades.

In studies of philosophy, discussions and debates related to this trilemma are often referred to as being about the "problem of evil".

Related pages
 Dilemma

References

Philosophy

Trilemma


was a town located in Amakusa District, Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan.

As of 2003, the town had an estimated population of 4,136 and a density of 74.93 persons per km². The total area was 55.20 km².

On March 27, 2006, Shinwa, along with the cities of Hondo and Ushibuka, and the towns of Amakusa, Ariake, Goshoura, Itsuwa, Kawaura, Kuratake and Sumoto (all from Amakusa District), was merged to create the new city of Amakusa and no longer exists as an independent municipality.

External links
 Official website of Amakusa

Dissolved municipalities of Kumamoto Prefecture

Shinwa, Kumamoto


George Fordyce  (18 November 1736 – 25 May 1802) was a distinguished Scottish physician, lecturer on medicine, and chemist, who was a Fellow of the Royal Society and a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians.

Early life
George Fordyce was born at Aberdeen in 1736, a short time after the death of his father, George Fordyce, proprietor of a small landed estate called Broadford, near the city. He was taken from home at the age of two following his mother's remarriage and was sent to Foveran, Aberdeenshire, where he received his schooling. Following that he attended the University of Aberdeen where he attained the degree of Master of Arts at the age of 14.

Career
Fordyce had decided to study medicine and was apprenticed to his uncle, Dr. John Fordyce, in Uppingham, in Rutland. He later returned to the University of Edinburgh, where he took his degree of M.D. in 1758;  his inaugural dissertation was on catarrh. From Edinburgh he went to Leyden, where he studied anatomy under the famous anatomist Bernhard Siegfried Albinus.

In 1759 he returned to England, having decided to settle in London as a teacher and medical practitioner. Despite his relations' disapproval, he persisted, and by the end of 1759 had commenced a course of lectures upon chemistry. In 1764, he also began to lecture upon Materia medica and the practice of physic. He delivered these lectures for nearly 30 years. According to the Dictionary of National Biography, his habits had always been such as to try his constitution; and in early life, it is said, he often reconciled the claims of pleasure and business by lecturing for three hours in the morning without having gone to bed the night before.

In 1765 he became a licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians and in 1770 was elected physician to St Thomas' Hospital. In 1774 he was chosen as a member of the Literary Club, in 1776 a Fellow of the Royal Society, and in 1778 a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians. This latter was chiefly to secure his assistance with a new edition of the College's Pharmacopoeia. He was Harveian Orator in 1791.

In 1783, with John Hunter, he assisted in setting up a small society of physicians and surgeons, which later published several volumes of transactions under the title of Transactions of a Society for the improvement of medical and chirurgical knowledge, and attended its meetings regularly until shortly before his death.

Dining habits

Fordyce was an eccentric, who ate only one meal of meat a day at the same hour in the same place. He would always eat a pound and a half of rump steak and whilst this was being prepared, half a broiled chicken or plate of fish.

As reported in The Epicure's Almanack (1815, page 3), Fordyce dined daily at Dolly's Chophouse:

"At this house the ingenious anatomist and chemical lecturer, Dr. George Fordyce, dined every day for more than twenty years. His research in comparative anatomy had led him to conclude that man, through custom, eats oftener than nature requires, one meal a day being sufficient for that noble animal the lion. He made the experiment on himself at this, his favorite house, and finding it succeeded, he continued the following regimen for the term above mentioned. At four o'clock, his accustomed hour of dining, he entered, and took his seat at a table always reserved for him, on which were instantly placed a silver tankard full of strong ale; a bottle of port wine, and a measure containing a quarter pint of brandy. The moment the waiter announced him, the cook put a pound and a half of rump steak on the gridiron, and on the table a delicate trifle as a bon bouche, to serve until the steak was ready. This morsel was sometimes half a broiled chicken, sometimes a plate of fish: when he had eaten this, he took one glass of his brandy, and then proceeded to devour his steak. We say devour, because he always ate so rapidly that one might imagine that he was hurrying away to a patient, to deprive death of a dinner. When he had finished his meat, he took the remainder of his brandy, having, during his dinner, drunk the tankard of ale, and afterwards the bottle of port. He thus daily spent an hour and a half of his time, and then returned to his house in Essex Street, to give his six-o'clock lecture on chemistry. He made no other meal until his return next day at four o'clock to Dolly's."

Family
In 1762 he married the daughter of Charles Stuart, Esq., conservator of Scottish privileges in the United Netherlands, by whom he had four children: two sons and two daughters. His daughter Mary Sophia Fordyce married Samuel Bentham (Jeremy Bentham's brother).

He died in London in 1802, of disorders connected with gout, and was buried at St Anne's, Soho.

Bibliography

Books
 Elements of Agriculture and Vegetation (London, 1781). This was a collection of a course of lectures assembled by one of his listeners. Fordyce corrected the copy, and afterwards published it under this title.
 Elements of the practice of Physic (London, 1768–1770). This was used by him as a textbook for a part of his course of lectures on that subject.
 A Treatise on the Digestion of Food (London, 1791). It was originally read before the College of Physicians, as the Guelstonian Lecture.
 Four Dissertations on Fever (1794–1803). A fifth, which completed the subject, was left by him in manuscript form, and posthumously published. Boston 1823 edition.

Papers
Published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society:

Of the Light produced by Inflammation.
Examination of various Ores in the Museum of Dr W. Hunter.
A New Method of assaying Copper Ores.
An Account of some Experiments on the Loss of Weight in Bodies on being melted or heated.
An Account of an Experiment on Heat.
The Cronian Lecture on Muscular Motion.
On the Cause of the additional Weight which Metals acquire on being calcined.
Account of a New Pendulum, being the Bakerian Lecture.

Published in the Medical and Chirurgical Transactions:

Observations on the Small-pox, and Causes of Fever.
An Attempt to improve the Evidence of Medicine.
Some Observations upon the composition of Medicines.

References

Further reading

1736 births
1802 deaths
Fellows of the Royal Society
Health professionals from Aberdeen
Academics from Aberdeen
Scottish chemists
18th-century Scottish medical doctors
Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians
Alumni of the University of Aberdeen
Scottish scholars and academics
Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
Leiden University alumni

George Fordyce


The Trouble with Miss Switch is a 1980 animated television special produced by Ruby-Spears Productions and based on the 1971 children's book of the same name by Barbara Brooks Wallace. It originally aired in two parts on ABC Weekend Special series on February 16 and 23, 1980.

Following its initial broadcast, Miss Switch was frequently rerun and due to its popularity, a sequel called Miss Switch to the Rescue was also produced as an ABC Weekend Special in 1982.

Synopsis
Rupert Brown and Amelia Daley are classmates at Pepperdine Elementary School who discover that their substitute teacher, Miss Switch, is a witch complete with a magical talking Lykoi-Breed cat named Bathsheba. She tells the children that the wicked witch Saturna has taken control of the Witches' Council and has condemned the fair Miss Switch with the aid of her Compute-O-Witch. Rupert suggests bewitching a certain football player's number at the big game to ensure victory, but Saturna causes the spell to backfire so that the visiting team wins. Rupert comes up with another plan, but asks Miss Switch to let him and Amelia accompany her.

Miss Switch and Bathsheba fly to Witch Mountain with Rupert and Amelia. Saturna sends out her bats to attack them, which causes the broom to splinter; some bats carry Miss Switch away, while the others drop Rupert, Amelia and Bathsheba down a well. Miss Switch finds herself in the council room, where the Witches' Council prepares their verdict. The children and Bathsheba get out of the well, and sneak in disguised as witches. Just as Miss Switch agrees to be banished, her friends reveal that her ability to spread love and joy is the most original witchcraft idea of all. After the Compute-O-Witch explodes from Rupert and Amelia's speech, the Witches' Council banishes Saturna and appoints Miss Switch the new Head Witch. The next day, Miss Switch tells the kids that she's to return to Witch Mountain as she says goodbye to Rupert and Amelia.

Voices
 Janet Waldo—Miss Switch
 Eric Taslitz—Rupert Brown
 Nancy McKeon—Amelia Daley
 June Foray—Bathsheba and Saturna
 Frank Welker—Guinea Pig
 Philip Tanzini—Banana
 Alan Dinehart—Hector

Production credits
Executive Producers: Joe Ruby & Ken Spears
Produced by: Jerry Eisenberg
Directed by: Charles A. Nichols
Written by: Sheldon Stark
From the Book by: Barbara Brooks Wallace
Voices: Janet Waldo, Eric Taslitz, Nancy McKeon, June Foray, Frank Welker, Philip Tanzini, Alan Dinehart
Story Direction: Ron Campbell
Character Design: Allan Huck, Alice Hamm, Edgar Soller
Voice Direction: Alan Dinehart
Layout Supervisor: Larry Huber
Unit Supervisor: David High
Layout: John Freeman, Bob Givens, John F. Guerin, Floyd Norman, Wallace Sides, Bart Seitz, Lin Larsen, Pat Wong
Production Manager: Warren Marshall
Layout: Lyle Beddes, Stuart Heimdal, Elaine Hultgren, Boyd Kirland, Brad Landreth, Debra Pugh, Keith Sargent, Roy Smith, Grant Wilson
Animation Supervisor: Ed Solomon
Animation: Steve Clark, Jim Davis, Daniel De La Vega, Frank Gonzales, John Howley, Bill Hutten, Tony Love, Norm McCabe, Frank Nakielski, Don Orlando, Don Parmele, Bill Pratt, Virgil Raddatz, Bill Reed, Joe Roman, Joanna Romersa, John Shook, Mike Stribling, Marty Taras
Backgrounds Painted by: Gary Conklin, Bill Lorencz, P.S. Lewis, Michele Moen, Phil Phillipson, Gary Selvaggio, Peter Van Elk, Thomas Woodington, Gloria Wood
Production Manager: John Ahern
Titles: Bob Schaefer
Music: Dean Elliott

Home video release
The Trouble with Miss Switch was released on a VHS titled The Miss Switch Mystery Special as a double feature with Miss Switch to the Rescue by Strand VCI Entertainment in 1991. To date, it has not been released on DVD by current rightsholder Warner Home Video.

See also
 Miss Switch to the Rescue
 List of Ruby-Spears productions
 ABC Weekend Special

References

External links

1980 television specials
1980s American animated films
1980s American television specials
1980s animated television specials
ABC Weekend Special
American Broadcasting Company television specials
Films directed by Charles August Nichols
Films scored by Dean Elliott
Television series about witchcraft
Ruby-Spears television specials
Television shows based on children's books

The Trouble with Miss Switch


The 1983 German Supercup was an unofficial edition of the German Supercup, a football match contested by the winners of the previous season's Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal competitions.

The match was played at the Olympiastadion in Munich, and contested by cup winners Bayern Munich and league champions Hamburger SV. Bayern won the match 4–2 on penalties, following a 1–1 draw (with no extra time played), to claim the unofficial title.

Teams

Match

Details

See also
 1981–82 Bundesliga
 1981–82 DFB-Pokal

References

Unofficial 1983
FC Bayern Munich matches
Hamburger SV matches
1982–83 in German football cups
DFB-Supercup 1983

1983 German Supercup


Charles-Victor Guilloux (1866–1946) was a French symbolist artist.

Biography
Guilloux was born in Paris in 1866 and died in  Lormes, Nièvre, in 1946.

An employee of the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, Guilloux was a self-taught artist who critics like  Albert Aurier, Félix Fénéon, and  Rémy de Gourmont liken to the time of the Symbolist movement. From 1891, his works were successfully received at the exhibitions of the  Société des artistes indépendants, and then at the "Impressionists and Symbolists" exhibitions at the gallery of Le Barc de Boutteville.

Very soon, the titles of his paintings appear more elliptical, sometimes tinged with musical connotations (Scherzo Moon, 1894, location unknown), while the origin of his motifs becomes less and less identifiable.

This structuring of space and the distribution of forms and colors on which André Mellerio (1862–1943) commented in his idealist movement in painting (1896), are found in many works painted by Guilloux: Moonrise over a Channel (Mills, Anne de Beaujeu Museum) or Landscape at Dusk (Beauvais, Musée de l'Oise département).

He exhibited at the Salon de la Société nationale des Beaux-Arts in 1905, and at the Salon des Indépendants  between 1911 and  1914. In 2007, the Musée d'Orsay bought his painting Crépuscule (Twilight)

References

French Symbolist painters
19th-century French painters
French male painters
20th-century French painters
20th-century French male artists
1866 births
1946 deaths
19th-century French male artists

Charles Guilloux


The Khmer Empire was a Hindu-Buddhist empire in Southeast Asia, centered around hydraulic cities in what is now northern Cambodia. Known as Kambuja by its inhabitants, it grew out of the former civilisation of Chenla and lasted from 802 to 1431. Historians call this period of Cambodian history the Angkor period, after the empire's most well-known capital, Angkor. The Khmer Empire ruled or vassalised most of mainland Southeast Asia and stretched as far north as southern China.  At its peak, the Empire was larger than the Byzantine Empire, which existed around the same time.

The beginning of the Khmer Empire is conventionally dated to 802, when Khmer prince Jayavarman II declared himself chakravartin (, a title equivalent to 'emperor') in the Phnom Kulen mountains. Although the end of the Khmer Empire has traditionally been marked with the Fall of Angkor to the Siamese Ayutthaya Kingdom in 1431, the reasons for the empire's collapse are still debated amongst scholars. Researchers have determined that a period of strong monsoon rains was followed by a severe drought in the region, which caused damage to the empire's hydraulic infrastructure. Variability between droughts and flooding was also a problem, which may have caused residents to migrate southward and away from the empire's major cities.

The site of Angkor is perhaps the empire's most notable legacy, as it was the capital during the empire's zenith. The majestic monuments of Angkor, such as Angkor Wat and Bayon, bear testimony to the Khmer Empire's immense power and wealth, impressive art and culture, architectural technique, aesthetic achievements, and variety of belief systems that it patronised over time. Satellite imaging has revealed that Angkor, during its peak in the 11th to the 13th centuries, was the most extensive pre-industrial urban complex in the world.  Researchers have also concluded that the Khmer Empire invented the world's first healthcare system, which included 102 hospitals.

Etymology
Modern scholars often refer to the empire as the "Khmer Empire" () or the "Angkor Empire" (), the latter after the capital Angkor.

The empire referred to itself as Kambuja (; Old Khmer: ; ) or Kambujadeśa (; Old Khmer: ; ), names which were pre-modern predecessors to the modern Kampuchea.

Historiography
No written records of the Angkor period have survived other than stone inscriptions. Current knowledge of the historical Khmer civilisation is derived primarily from:
 Archaeological excavation, reconstruction and investigation
 Stone inscriptions (the most important of which are foundation steles of temples), which report on the political and religious deeds of the kings
 Reliefs in a series of temple walls with depictions of daily life, market scenes, military marches, and palace life
 Reports and chronicles of Chinese diplomats, traders, and travellers

History

Formation and growth

Reign of Jayavarman II

According to an inscription in the Sdok Kok Thom temple, around 781 the Khmer prince Jayavarman II established Indrapura as the capital of his domain. It was located in Banteay Prey Nokor, near today's Kampong Cham. After returning to his home in the former kingdom of Chenla, he quickly built up his influence and defeated a series of competing kings. In 790 he became king of a kingdom called Kambuja by the Khmer. He then moved his court northwest to Mahendraparvata, far inland north from the great lake of Tonlé Sap.

Jayavarman II (reigned 802–835) is widely regarded as the king who set the foundations of the Angkor period. Historians generally agree that this period of Cambodian history began in 802, when Jayavarman II conducted a grandiose consecration ritual on the sacred Mount Mahendraparvata, now known as Phnom Kulen. At the ritual, which was taken from the Hindu tradition, Jayavarman II proclaimed himself as chakravartin (from Sanskrit, ; Old Khmer: Kamraten jagad ta Raja) and devaraja (from Sanskrit, ). He also declared Kambuja's independence from a place inscriptions call "Java".

Historians debate whether "Java" means the Indonesian island of Java, Champa or a different location.  According to an older established interpretation, Jayavarman II was a prince who lived at the court of Sailendra in Java and brought back to Cambodia the art and culture of the Javanese Sailendran court (such as the concept of a devaraja). This classical theory was revisited by modern scholars such as Claude Jacques and Michael Vickery, who noted that the Khmer used the term chvea to describe the Chams, their neighbours to the east. Moreover, Jayavarman's political career began in Vyadhapura (likely the modern-day ruins of Banteay Prey Nokor) in eastern Cambodia, which makes the scenario of longtime contacts with the Chams (even through skirmishes, as the inscription suggests) more probable than the scenario of a long stay in distant Java. Finally, many early temples on Phnom Kulen show both Cham (e.g. Prasat Damrei Krap) and Javanese influences (e.g. the primitive "temple-mountain" of Aram Rong Cen and Prasat Thmar Dap), even if their asymmetric distribution seems typically Khmer.

In the following years, he extended his territory and established a new capital, Hariharalaya, near the modern-day town of Roluos. He thereby laid the foundation of Angkor, which was to arise some  to the northwest. Jayavarman II died in 835 and was succeeded by his son Jayavarman III. Jayavarman III died in 877 and was succeeded by Indravarman I.

The successors of Jayavarman II kept extending the territory of Kambuja. Indravarman I (reigned 877–889) managed to expand the kingdom without wars and initiated extensive building projects, which were enabled by the wealth gained through trade and agriculture. Foremost were the temple of Preah Ko and irrigation works. Indravarman I developed Hariharalaya further by constructing Bakong circa 881. Bakong in particular bears striking similarities to the Borobudur temple in Java, which suggests that it may have served as the prototype for Bakong. There may have been exchanges of travellers and missions between Kambuja and the Sailendras in Java, which would have brought to Cambodia not only ideas, but also technical and architectural details.

Establishment of Yasodharapura

Indravarman I was followed by his son Yasovarman I (reigned 889–915), who established a new capital, Yasodharapura– the first city of the larger Angkor area. The city's central temple was built on Phnom Bakheng, a hill which rises around 60 m above the plain on which Angkor sits. The East Baray, a massive water reservoir measuring , was also created under the reign of Yasovarman I.

At the beginning of the 10th century, the empire fractured. Jayavarman IV moved the capital to Lingapura (now known as Koh Ker), some  northeast of Angkor. Only when Rajendravarman II ascended to the throne (reigned 944–968) was the royal palace returned to Yasodharapura. He once again took up the extensive building schemes of the earlier kings and established a series of Hindu temples in the Angkor area, such as Pre Rup and the East Mebon, a temple located on an artificial island in the center of the East Baray. Several Buddhist temples and monasteries were also built. In 950, the first war took place between Kambuja and the kingdom of Champa to the east (in what is now central Vietnam).

The son of Rajendravarman II, Jayavarman V, reigned from 968 to 1001, after establishing himself as the new king over the other princes. His rule was a largely peaceful period, marked by prosperity and a cultural flowering. He established a new capital slightly west of his father's and named it Jayendranagari; its state temple, Ta Keo, was to the south. At the court of Jayavarman V lived philosophers, scholars, and artists. New temples were also established; the most important of these were Banteay Srei, considered one of the most beautiful and artistic of Angkor, and Ta Keo, the first temple of Angkor built completely of sandstone.

A decade of conflict followed the death of Jayavarman V. Three kings reigned simultaneously as antagonists to each other until Suryavarman I (reigned 1006–1050) ascended to the throne by taking the capital Angkor. His rule was marked by repeated attempts by his opponents to overthrow him and military conflicts with neighbouring kingdoms. Suryavarman I established diplomatic relations with the Chola dynasty of south India early in his rule.

In the first decade of the 11th century, Kambuja came into conflict with the kingdom of Tambralinga in the Malay peninsula. After surviving several invasions from his enemies, Suryavarman requested aid from the powerful Chola emperor Rajendra I against Tambralinga. After learning of Suryavarman's alliance with Chola, Tambralinga requested aid from the Srivijaya king Sangrama Vijayatungavarman. This eventually led to Chola coming into conflict with Srivijaya. The war ended with a victory for Chola and Kambuja, and major losses for Srivijaya and Tambralinga. The two alliances had religious nuance, as Chola and Kambuja were Hindu Shaivite, while Tambralinga and Srivijaya were Mahayana Buddhist. There is some indication that, before or after the war, Suryavarman I gifted a chariot to Rajendra I to possibly facilitate trade or an alliance.

Suryavarman I's wife was Viralakshmi, and following his death in 1050, he was succeeded by Udayadityavarman II, who built the Baphuon and West Baray.  In 1074, conflict arose between Harshavarman III, the younger brother and successor of Udayadityavarman II, and the Champa king Harivarman IV.

Golden age of Khmer civilisation

Reign of Suryavarman II and Angkor Wat

The 12th century was a time of conflict and brutal power struggles. Under Suryavarman II (reigned 1113–1150) the kingdom united internally and Angkor Wat, dedicated to the god Vishnu, was built over a period of 37 years. In the east, Suryavarman II's campaigns against Champa and Dai Viet were unsuccessful, though he sacked Vijaya in 1145 and deposed Jaya Indravarman III. The Khmers occupied Vijaya until 1149, when they were driven out by Jaya Harivarman I. In 1114, Suryavarman II sent a mission to Chola and presented a precious stone to the Chola emperor Kulottunga I.

Another period followed in which kings reigned briefly and were violently overthrown by their successors. Finally, in 1177 the capital was raided and looted in a naval battle on the Tonlé Sap lake by a Cham fleet under Jaya Indravarman IV, and Khmer king Tribhuvanadityavarman was killed.

Reign of Jayavarman VII and Angkor Thom

King Jayavarman VII (reigned 1181–1219) was generally considered Cambodia's greatest king. He had already been a military leader as a prince under the previous kings. After Champa had conquered Angkor, he gathered an army and retook the capital. He consequently ascended to the throne and continued to wage war against Champa for another 22 years, until the Khmer defeated their the Chams in 1203 and conquered large parts of their territory.  According to Chinese sources, Jayavarman VII added Pegu to the territory of the Khmer Empire in 1195.

Jayavarman VII stands as the last of the great kings of Angkor, not only because of his successful military campaign against Champa, but also because he was not a tyrannical ruler in the manner of his immediate predecessors. He unified the empire and carried out noteworthy building projects. The new capital, now called Angkor Thom (), was built. In the centre, the king (himself a follower of Mahayana Buddhism) had constructed as the state temple the Bayon, with towers bearing faces of the boddhisattva Avalokiteshvara, each several metres high, carved out of stone. Further important temples built under Jayavarman VII were Ta Prohm for his mother, Preah Khan for his father, Banteay Kdei, and Neak Pean, as well as the reservoir of Srah Srang. An extensive network of roads was laid down connecting every town of the empire, with rest-houses built for travellers and a total of 102 hospitals established across his realm.

Reign of Jayavarman VIII
After the death of Jayavarman VII, his son Indravarman II (reigned 1219–1243) ascended to the throne. Like his father, he was a Buddhist, and he completed a series of temples begun under his father's rule. As a warrior he was less successful. In 1220, under mounting pressure from the increasingly powerful Dai Viet and its ally Champa, the Khmer withdrew from many of the provinces previously conquered from the Chams.

Indravarman II was succeeded by Jayavarman VIII (reigned 1243–1295). In contrast to his predecessors, Jayavarman VIII was a follower of Hindu Shaivism and an aggressive opponent of Buddhism, destroying many Buddha statues in the empire and converting Buddhist temples to Hindu temples. Kambuja was threatened externally in 1283 by the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. Jayavarman VIII avoided war with general Sogetu (sometimes known as Sagatu or Sodu), the governor of Guangzhou, China, by paying annual tribute to the Mongols, starting in 1285. Jayavarman VIII's rule ended in 1295 when he was deposed by his son-in-law Srindravarman (reigned 1295–1309). The new king was a follower of Theravada Buddhism, a school of Buddhism that had arrived in southeast Asia from Sri Lanka and subsequently spread through most of the region.

In August 1296, the Chinese diplomat Zhou Daguan arrived in Angkor and recorded, "In the recent war with the Siamese, the country was utterly devastated". He remained at the court of Srindravarman until July 1297. He was neither the first nor the last Chinese representative to visit Kambuja. His stay is notable, however, because Zhou later wrote a detailed report on life in Angkor. His portrayal of the empire is today one of the most important sources of understanding historical Angkor. Alongside the descriptions within several great temples (the Bayon, the Baphuon, Angkor Wat), his account informs us that the towers of the Bayon were once covered in gold; the text also offers valuable information on the everyday life and habits of the inhabitants of Angkor.

Decline
By the 14th century, Kambuja had suffered a long, arduous, and steady decline. Historians have proposed different causes for the decline: the religious conversion from Vishnuite-Shivaite Hinduism to Theravada Buddhism that affected social and political systems, incessant internal power struggles among Khmer princes, vassal revolt, foreign invasion, plague, and ecological breakdown.

For social and religious reasons, many aspects contributed to the decline of Kambuja. The relationship between the rulers and their elites was unstable– among the 27 rulers of Kambuja, eleven lacked a legitimate claim to power, and violent power struggles were frequent. Kambuja focused more on its domestic economy and did not take advantage of the international maritime trade network. The input of Buddhist ideas also conflicted with and disturbed the state order built under Hinduism.

Conversion from Hinduism to Buddhism

The last Sanskrit inscription is dated 1327 and describes the succession of Indrajayavarman by Jayavarmadiparamesvara. Historians suspect a connection with the kings' adoption of Theravada Buddhism: the kings were no longer considered devarajas (god kings) and there was therefore no need to erect huge temples to them, or rather to the gods under whose protection they stood. The retreat from the concept of the devaraja may also have led to a loss of royal authority and thereby to a lack of workers. The water-management apparatus also degenerated, meaning that harvests were reduced by floods or drought. While previously three rice harvests per year were possible– a substantial contribution to the prosperity and power of Kambuja– the declining harvests further weakened the empire.

Looking at the archaeological record, however, archaeologists noticed that not only were the structures ceasing to be built, but the Khmer's historical inscription was also lacking from the 14th to 17th centuries. With this lack of historical content, there is very limited archaeological evidence to work with. However, archaeologists have been able to determine that the sites were abandoned and then reoccupied later by different people.

Foreign pressure

The Ayutthaya Kingdom arose from a confederation of three city-states on the Lower Chao Phraya basin (Ayutthaya-Suphanburi-Lopburi). From the fourteenth century onward, Ayutthaya became Kambuja's rival. Angkor was besieged by the Ayutthayan king Uthong in 1352, and following its capture the next year, the Khmer king was replaced with successive Siamese princes. Then in 1357, the Khmer king Suryavamsa Rajadhiraja retook the throne.  In 1393, the Ayutthayan king Ramesuan besieged Angkor again, capturing it the next year. Ramesuan's son ruled Kambuja for a short time before being assassinated. Finally, in 1431, the Khmer king Ponhea Yat abandoned Angkor as indefensible, and moved to the Phnom Penh area.

The new centre of the Khmer kingdom was in the southwest, at Oudong near present-day Phnom Penh. However, there are indications that Angkor was not completely abandoned. One line of Khmer kings may have remained there, while a second moved to Phnom Penh to establish a parallel kingdom. The final fall of Angkor would then be due to the transfer of economic– and therewith political– significance, as Phnom Penh became an important trade centre on the Mekong. Severe droughts and ensuing floods were considered one of the contributing factors to its fall. The empire focused more on regional trade after the first drought.

Ecological breakdown

Ecological failure and infrastructural breakdown is an alternative theory regarding the end of Kambuja. Scientists working on the Greater Angkor Project believe that the Khmers had an elaborate system of reservoirs and canals used for trade, transportation, and irrigation. The canals were used for harvesting rice. As the population grew there was more strain on the water system. During the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, there was also severe climatic changes impacting the water management system.

Periods of drought led to decreases in agricultural productivity, and violent floods due to monsoons damaged the infrastructure during this vulnerable time. To adapt to the growing population, trees were cut down from the Kulen hills and cleared out for more rice fields. That created rain runoff carrying sediment to the canal network. Any damage to the water system would have enormous consequences.

Plague
The plague theory, which suggests a severe epidemic outbreak may have hit the heavily populated Angkor and contributed to the fall of the empire, has been reconsidered. By the 14th century, the Black Death had affected Asia, as the plague first appeared in China around 1330 and reached Europe around 1345. Most seaports along the line of travel from China to Europe felt the impact of the disease, which might have had a severe impact on life throughout Southeast Asia. Possible diseases include bubonic plague, smallpox and malaria.

Angkor after the 15th century
There is evidence for a further period of use of Angkor after the 15th century. Under the rule of Khmer king Barom Reachea I (reigned 1566–1576), who temporarily succeeded in driving back Ayutthaya, the royal court was briefly returned to Angkor. Inscriptions from the 17th century testify to Japanese settlements alongside those of the remaining Khmer. The best-known inscription tells of Ukondayu Kazufusa, who celebrated the Khmer New Year in Angkor in 1632. However, in the following decades the Japanese community was absorbed into the local Khmer community, owing to a lack of new Japanese arrivals and thus little possibility of renewing their community.

Culture and society

Much of what is known about Kambuja comes from the bas-reliefs of Angkor's temples and the first-hand accounts of Chinese diplomat Zhou Daguan (The Customs of Cambodia), which provide information on 13th-century Cambodia and earlier. The bas-reliefs, such as those in the Bayon, describe everyday life in the ancient Khmer kingdom, including scenes of palace life, naval battles on the river and lakes, and common scenes of the marketplace.

Economy and agriculture
The ancient Khmers were a traditional agricultural community, relying heavily on rice farming. The farmers, who formed the majority of the kingdom's population, planted rice near the banks of the lake or river, in the irrigated plains surrounding their villages, or in the hills when the lowlands were flooded. The rice paddies were irrigated by a massive and complex hydraulics system, including networks of canals and barays, or giant water reservoirs. This system enabled the formation of large-scale rice farming communities surrounding Khmer cities. Sugar palm trees, fruit trees, and vegetables were grown in the orchards by the villages, providing other sources of agricultural produce such as palm sugar, palm wine, coconut, various tropical fruits, and vegetables.

Located by the massive Tonlé Sap lake, and also near numerous rivers and ponds, many Khmer people relied on fresh water fisheries for their living. Fishing gave the population their main source of protein, which was turned into prahok– dried or roasted or steamed fish paste wrapped in banana leaves. Rice was the main staple along with fish. Other sources of protein included pigs, cattle, and poultry, which were kept under the farmers' houses, which were elevated on stilts to protect them from flooding.

The marketplace of Angkor contained no permanent buildings; it was an open square where the traders sat on the ground on woven straw mats and sold their wares. There were no tables or chairs. Some traders might be protected from the sun with a simple thatched parasol. A certain type of tax or rent was levied by officials for each space occupied by traders in the marketplace. The trade and economy in the Angkor marketplace were mainly run by women.

Zhou Daguan's description of the women of Angkor:

The role of women in the trade and economy of Kambuja suggests that they enjoyed significant rights and freedom. Their practice of marrying early may have contributed to the high fertility rate and huge population of the kingdom.

Society and politics

Kambuja was founded upon extensive networks of agricultural rice farming communities. A distinct settlement hierarchy is present in the region. Small villages were clustered around regional centres, such as the one at Phimai, which in turn sent their goods to large cities like Angkor in return for other goods, such as pottery and foreign trade items from China. The king and his officials were in charge of irrigation management and water distribution, which consisted of an intricate series of hydraulics infrastructure, such as canals, moats, and massive reservoirs called barays.

Society was arranged in a hierarchy reflecting the Hindu caste system, where the commoners– rice farmers and fishermen – formed the large majority of the population.  The kshatriyas– royalty, nobles, warlords, soldiers, and warriors– formed a governing elite and authorities. Other social classes included brahmins (priests), traders, artisans such as carpenters and stonemasons, potters, metalworkers, goldsmiths, and textile weavers, while on the lowest social level were slaves.

The extensive irrigation projects provided rice surpluses that could support a large population. The state religion was Hinduism but influenced by the cult of Devaraja, elevating the Khmer kings as possessing the divine quality of living gods on earth, attributed to the incarnation of Vishnu or Shiva. In politics, this status was viewed as the divine justification of a king's rule. The cult enabled the Khmer kings to embark on massive architectural projects, constructing majestic monuments such as Angkor Wat and Bayon to celebrate the king's divine rule on earth.

The King was surrounded by ministers, state officials, nobles, royalties, palace women, and servants, all protected by guards and troops. The capital city of Angkor and the Khmer royal court are famous for grand ceremonies, with many festivals and rituals held in the city. Even when travelling, the King and his entourages created quite a spectacle, as described in Zhou Daguan's accounts. Zhou Daguan's description of a royal procession of Indravarman III is as follows:

Zhou Daguan's description of the Khmer king's wardrobe:

Khmer kings were often involved in series of wars and conquests. The large population of Angkor enabled the kingdom to support large free standing armies, which were sometimes deployed to conquer neighbouring princedoms or kingdoms. Series of conquests were led to expand the kingdom's influence over areas surrounding Angkor and Tonle Sap, the Mekong valley and delta, and surrounding lands. Some Khmer kings embarked on military conquests and war against neighbouring Champa, Dai Viet, and Thai warlords. Khmer kings and royal families were also often involved in incessant power struggle over successions or rivalries over principalities.

Military

According to Zhou Daguan, who stayed in Yaśodharapura from 1296 to 1297, the Sukhothai Kingdom laid waste to Khmer lands in repeated wars. According to Zhou, the Khmer soldiers fought naked and barefoot, wielding only lance and shield. They did not use bows and arrows (though, in some instances, they used them in naval warfare), trebuchets, body armour, or helmets. When Sukhotai attacked, ordinary people were ordered to face them without strategy or preparation. The Khmer had double bow crossbows mounted on elephants, which Michel JacqHergoualc'h suggests were elements of Cham mercenaries in Jayavarman VII's army.

In terms of fortifications, Zhou described Angkor Thom's walls as being  long in circumference with five gateways, each with two gates, surrounded by a large moat spanned by bridges. The walls, which formed an exact square, were made of stone and so tightly packed that no weeds grew from them. The walls were around 6–7 meters in height and sloped from the inside, thick enough to contain chambers, but with no battlements and only a single stone tower on each of the four sides. Guards operated them, but dogs were not allowed on the walls. According to an oral tradition told to Henri Mouhot, Kambuja had a standing army of 5 to 6 million soldiers.

Culture and way of life

Zhou Daguan's description of Khmer houses:

Houses of farmers were situated near the rice paddies on the edge of the cities.  The walls of the houses were made of woven bamboo, with thatched roofs, and they were on stilts. A house was divided into three rooms by woven bamboo walls. One was the parents' bedroom, another was the daughters' bedroom, and the largest was the living area. Sons slept wherever they could find space. The kitchen was at the back or in a separate room. Nobles and kings lived in the palace and much larger houses in the city. They were made of the same materials as the farmers' houses, but the roofs were wooden shingles and had elaborate designs as well as more rooms.

Zhou Daguan reported that locals do not produce silk or have the ability to stitch and darn with a needle and thread.

The common people wore a sampot where the front end was drawn between the legs and secured at the back by a belt. Nobles and kings wore finer and richer fabrics. Women wore a strip of cloth to cover the chest, while noble women had a lengthened one that went over the shoulder. Men and women wore a Krama. Along with depictions of battle and the military conquests of kings, the basreliefs of Bayon depict the mundane everyday life of common Khmer people, including scenes of the marketplace, fishermen, butchers, people playing a chess-like game, and gambling during cockfighting.

Religion

The main religion was Hinduism, followed by Buddhism in popularity. Initially, the kingdom revered Hinduism as the main state religion. Vishnu and Shiva were the most revered deities, worshipped in Khmer Hindu temples. Temples such as Angkor Wat are actually known as Phitsanulok  (Vara Vishnuloka in Sanskrit) or the realm of Vishnu, to honour the posthumous King Suryavarman II as Vishnu.

Hindu ceremonies and rituals performed by Brahmins (Hindu priests), usually only held among the ruling elites of the king's family, nobles, and the ruling class. The empire's official religions included Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism until Theravada Buddhism prevailed, even among the lower classes, after its introduction from Sri Lanka in the 13th century.

Art and architecture

Zhou Daguan's description on the Angkor Royal Palace:

Kambuja produced numerous temples and majestic monuments to celebrate the divine authority of Khmer kings. Khmer architecture reflects the Hindu belief that the temple was built to recreate the abode of Hindu gods, Mount Meru, with its five peaks and surrounded by seas represented by ponds and moats. The early Khmer temples built in the Angkor region and the Bakong temple in Hariharalaya (Roluos) employed stepped pyramid structures to represent the sacred temple-mountain.

Khmer art and architecture reached their aesthetic and technical peak with the construction of the majestic temple Angkor Wat. Other temples are also constructed in the Angkor region, such as Ta Phrom and Bayon. The construction of the temple demonstrates the artistic and technical achievements of Kambuja through its architectural mastery of stone masonry.

List of architectural styles during Angkor period:

Relations with regional powers

During the formation of the empire, the Khmer had close cultural, political, and trade relations with Java and with the Srivijaya empire that lay beyond Khmer's southern seas. In 851 a Persian merchant named Sulaiman al-Tajir recorded an incident involving a Khmer king and a Maharaja of Zabaj. He described the story of a Khmer king who defied the power of Maharaja of Zabaj. It was said that the Javanese Sailendras staged a surprise attack on the Khmers by approaching the capital from the river. The young king was later punished by the Maharaja, and subsequently the kingdom became a vassal of the Sailendra dynasty.

Zabaj is the Arabic form of Javaka and might refer to Java or Srivijaya. The legend probably describes the predecessor or initial stage of the Khmer kingdom under Javanese dominion. The Legend of the Maharaja of Zabaj was later published by the historian Masoudi in his 947 book, "Meadows of Gold and Mines of Gems." The Kaladi inscription of Java ( 909) mentioned Kmir (Khmer people or Cambodian) together with Campa (Champa) and Rman (Mon) as foreigners from mainland Southeast Asia who frequently came to Java to trade. The inscription suggests a maritime trade network had been established between Kambuja and Java (Mdang kingdom).

In 916 CE Arab historian Abu Zaid Hasan, recorded in a lengthy chronicle that the young, inexperienced king of Khmer, is hostile to Java. When the hostility becomes state policy and is known publicly, the King of Java attacked and captured the Khmer king. He was beheaded and the head brought to Java. The King of Java ordered the Minister of Khmer Empire to seek the successor. After being cleaned and embalmed, the head of the king was put in a vase and sent to the new Khmer king.

Throughout its history, the empire also was involved in series of wars and rivalries with the neighbouring kingdoms of Champa, Tambralinga, and Đại Việt– and later in its history with Siamese Sukhothai and Ayutthaya. The Khmer Empire's relations with its eastern neighbour Champa was exceptionally intense, as both sides struggled for domination in the region. The Cham fleet raided Angkor in 1177, and in 1203 the Khmer managed to push back and defeat Champa.

Arab writers of the 9th and 10th century hardly mention the region for anything other than its perceived backwardness, but they considered the king of Al-Hind (India and Southeast Asia) one of the four great kings in the world. The ruler of the Rashtrakuta Dynasty is described as the greatest king of Al-Hind, but even the lesser kings of Al-Hind including the kings of Java, Pagan Burma, and the Khmer kings of Cambodia are invariably depicted by the Arabs as extremely powerful and as being equipped with vast armies of men, horses, and often tens of thousands of elephants. They were also known to have been in possession of vast treasures of gold and silver. The Khmer rulers established relations with the Chola dynasty of South India.

The Khmer Empire seems to have maintained contact with Chinese dynasties; spanning from the late Tang period to the Yuan period. The relations with the Yuan dynasty was of great historical significance, since it produced The Customs of Cambodia (), an important insight into the Khmer Empire's daily life, culture and society. The report was written between 1296 and 1297 by the Yuan diplomat Zhou Daguan, sent by Temür Khan of Yuan dynasty to stay in Angkor.

Beginning in the 13th century, Khmer's relations with the Siamese were difficult and bitter, resulting in rivalry and hostility for centuries. In August 1296, Zhou Daguan recorded that in the recent war with the Siamese, the country was utterly devastated. This report confirmed that by the late 13th century, the Siamese warlords had revolted and disrupted the Khmer empire's hegemony, starting Siam's rise. By the 14th century, the Siamese Ayutthaya Kingdom became the Khmer empire's formidable rival, as Angkor was besieged and captured twice by Ayutthayan Siamese invaders in 1353 and 1394. Being the successor to the former Khmer dependency of Lavo (Lopburi), Ayutthaya also inherited traditions of Khmer prestige and statecraft. Unlike earlier Tai polities that had a relatively flat hierarchy, Ayutthaya adopted Angkor's more complex social stratification, the deification of kings (Devaraja) as well as Khmer honorifics and elaborate Brahmanic rituals. Specialist staff in early Ayutthaya, like scribes, court Brahmans, jurists, chamberlains, accountants, physicians and astrologers, usually came from the Khmer-speaking elites of city-states in the eastern Chaophraya Basin that had been under the influence of the Khmer Empire.

In the 1300s, the Lao prince Fa Ngum was exiled to lived in the royal court of Angkor. His father-in-law, the King of Cambodia, gave him a Khmer army to create a buffer state in what is now Laos. Fa Ngum conqured local principalities and established the Kingdom of Lan Xang. With the assistance of Khmer scholars, Fa Ngum introduced Theravada Buddhism and the culture of the Khmer Empire to the region.

A Javanese source, the Nagarakretagama canto 15, composed in 1365 in the Majapahit Empire, claimed Java had established diplomatic relations with Kambuja (Cambodia) together with Syangkayodhyapura (Ayutthaya), Dharmmanagari (Negara Sri Dharmaraja), Rajapura (Ratchaburi) and Singhanagari (Songkla), Marutma (Martaban or Mottama, Southern Myanmar), Champa and Yawana (Annam). This record describes the political situations in Mainland Southeast Asia in the mid-14th century; although the Cambodian kingdom still survived, the rise of Siamese Ayutthaya had taken its toll. Finally, the empire fell, marked by the abandonment of Angkor for Phnom Penh in 1431, caused by Siamese pressure.

List of rulers

Gallery of temples

See also
 Post-Angkor period
 List of kings of Cambodia, a chronological list with reign, title, and posthumous title(s), where known

Notes

References

Bibliography

 Vittorio Roveda: Khmer Mythology, River Books. .

 David P. Chandler: A History of Cambodia, Westview Press. .
 .
 .
 Henri Mouhot: Travels in Siam, Cambodia, Laos, and Annam, White Lotus Co, Ltd. .

 Benjamin Walker, Angkor Empire: A History of the Khmer of Cambodia, Signet Press, Calcutta, 1995.
 I.G. Edmonds, The Khmers of Cambodia: The story of a mysterious people.
 Jessup, H. I. (2018). The South-East Asia: The Khmer 802–1566. In J. Masselos (ed.) The Great Empires of Asia (pp. 78–106). Thames & Hudson.

External links

Former countries in Cambodian history
Former empires in Asia
States and territories disestablished in 1432
802 establishments
1432 disestablishments in Asia
Hindu states
Indianized kingdoms
Former countries in Southeast Asia
1st millennium in Cambodia
2nd millennium in Cambodia
Former monarchies of Southeast Asia

Khmer Empire


A crown post is a term in traditional timber framing for a post in roof framing which stands on a tie beam or collar beam and supports a collar plate. Historically, crown posts were called king posts, but this usage is confusing and obsolete. A crown post is designed to be in a compression and transfers weight to the tie beam, where a king post is designed to be in tension and supports the tie beam. In the U.K a crown strut is similar to a crown post but does not carry a plate.

References

Timber framing

Crown post


Welsh independence (Welsh: Annibyniaeth i Gymru) is a political movement that wants Wales to leave the United Kingdom and be an independent country.

Wales was conquered by Edward I of England in the 13th century and became part of the Kingdom of England in 1535.

The idea of an independent Welsh state began in the middle of the 1800s and has gotten more recognition in the 21st century. There are political parties like Plaid Cymru and Propel that support the idea. There has also been a few paramilitary groups, such as the Free Wales Army and Meibion Glyndŵr that wanted independence.

In 2019, three independence marches took place. The first one happened in Cardiff, Wales' capital city, and around 3,000 people took part. The second march happened in Caernarfon in Gwynedd and around 8,000 people took part. A third march happened in Merthyr Tydfil with 5,200 people taking part.

In a 2021 poll by ITV News, 39% of Welsh people said they wanted independence.

The growth of independence movements in Wales and Scotland has resulted in English independence movements also becoming bigger.

Related pages
 Devolution
 Scottish independence

Nationalism
Politics of Wales
Organisations based in Wales

Welsh independence


Intel Core i5 is a name that Intel uses for the computer processors it makes for desktop and laptop computers.

The first Core i5 is a version of the earlier Core i7, the Lynnfield core. Lynnfield Core i5 processors have an 8 MB L3 cache. They have a DMI (Direct Media Interface) bus running at 2.5 GT/s. Core i5 also has support for dual-channel DDR SDRAM memory and have Hyper-threading disabled. A new feature called Turbo Boost Technology was introduced which maximizes speed for demanding computer programs. This increases performance to match the amount of work the computer must do.

The Core i5-5xx mobile processors are named Arrandale. They are based on the 32nm Westmere shrink of the Nehalem microarchitecture. Arrandale processors have integrated graphics capability but only two processor cores. They were released in January 2010. Clarkdale, is the desktop version of Arrandale. These are the first processors to have integrated video. It has Hyper-Threading enabled and the full 4 MB L3 cache.

References

Intel Core processors

Intel Core i5


The Naval War College Museum in Newport, Rhode Island, is one of 10 official American museums operated by the United States Navy, under the direction of the Naval History & Heritage Command and in co-operation with the Naval War College. It is located at Building 10, Luce Avenue, Naval Station Newport.  It is located in the building which first housed the Naval War College, a structure built in the early 19th century to house Newport's poor.  The building is a contributing element to a National Historic Landmark District, along with Luce Hall, the college's first purpose-built building, in recognition of the War College's historical significance.

History
The Naval War College established the Naval Museum in 1952, with the approval of the Chief of Naval Operations to manage its collections of historical artifacts. Since 1978, it has occupied its present quarters on Coasters Harbor Island in Narragansett Bay. This building, now called Founders Hall, was originally built in 1819 as the Newport Poor Asylum. The city of Newport and the state of Rhode Island donated this property to the Navy for use as the Naval War College. The college's first president, Rear Admiral Stephen B. Luce, formally dedicated the building to the Navy's use. The building became famous in the years 1886–1889, when the college's second president, Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan, first gave his lectures in this building that formed the basis for his famous book The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783 (1890).

Founders Hall and Luce Hall were designated a National Historic Landmark District in 1964, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1966.

Museum
Today, the Naval War College Museum uses this building to display exhibits on three themes: (a) the history of the Naval War College since 1884; (b) the history of naval activities in the Narragansett Bay area since the colonial period; and (3) the history of the art and science of naval warfare since ancient times.

See also

List of maritime museums in the United States

References

External links
Naval War College Museum official website

1952 establishments in Rhode Island
University and college buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Rhode Island
Infrastructure completed in 1884
Landmarks in Rhode Island
Maritime museums in Rhode Island
Military and war museums in Rhode Island
Museums established in 1952
Museums in Newport, Rhode Island
National Historic Landmarks in Rhode Island
Naval War College
United States Navy museums
University museums in Rhode Island
Naval History and Heritage Command
National Register of Historic Places in Newport, Rhode Island
Historic district contributing properties in Rhode Island

Naval War College Museum


The Other Side Of Sevi is the first acoustic album of the Bulgarian rock band Sevi, which was recorded live on November 30, 2012 and released on February 13, 2013. The band made the concert as a part of the music video promo of their third single Victim.

Background

The album consist of 9 tracks, which are rearranged acoustic versions of some of the songs of Sevi's debut album What Lies Beyond, also two other songs, You Don't Love Me, which was one of the first songs of Sevi, but they never recorded it, and the other – On My Own, which Svetlana "Sevi" Bliznakova co-wrote with Pino Biaggioli and recorded with the Italian rock band "Eldritch". It was also the first live performance of the song Into You.
Sevi made some experimental arrangements of the songs in order to make them different enough from the studio versions, along with the idea of keeping the emotion and the meaning of the songs. The genre varies from swing and blue grass to cabaret, which gives completely new sounding of Sevi's music, so that's why it is called The Other Side Of Sevi.

Track list
"Into You"
"On My Own"
"Limited Edition"
"Hot"
"You Don't Love Me"
"Run Away"
"Speed Up"
"If I'm Made For Lovin' You"
"Victim''

References

External links
 Official website
 Sevi at Facebook

2013 albums

The Other Side of Sevi


The blue grenadier (also known as hoki, blue hake, New Zealand whiptail, or whiptail hake, Macruronus novaezelandiae) is a merluccid hake of the family Merlucciidae found around southern Australia and New Zealand, as well as off both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of South America from Peru to Brazil at depths of between . It feeds in midwater on small squids, crustaceans, and fish.  Its length is between . It is a slender, silvery fish similar in appearance to the gemfish. The meat of the fish is white and almost always sold in fillets; culinarily it is considered a whitefish.

Commercial use
Australian supermarkets have many hoki products, mainly in pre-packaged processed foods.
Often the manufactured meat result is manufactured into a fish cutlet shape and then battered or crumbed to further give a good fresh look.

The hoki is one of the species used in McDonald's Filet-O-Fish, Fish Fingers and McFish sandwiches. It was previously served at Long John Silver's and Denny's restaurants in the United States, and continues to be served at Denny's in New Zealand.

The blue grenadier is a very important commercial species in Australia. They are mostly caught in the south-east, off southern New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia and are considered very good eating, particularly when fresh.

Sustainable consumption

The blue grenadier is the subject of a large commercial fishery industry in New Zealand, which has been certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) as well-managed and sustainable in March 2001. New Zealand has established a fishing quota of about 100,000 tons. The first MSC certification ended in April 2007. Reassessment of the certification commenced in early 2005 and finished in October 2007. A 2009 New York Times article raised questions over the sustainability of blue grenadier fishing practices around New Zealand, though its conclusions were disputed by New Zealand representatives. However, recent quotas on catches have been reduced by nearly two thirds from 275,000 to 100,000 tons.

In 2010, Greenpeace International added the blue grenadier (hoki) to its seafood red list. The Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand (Forest & Bird) assigns hoki an E grade (red - avoid). Both organisations state damage to the sea floor due to bottom trawling and bycatch of species such as New Zealand fur seals, albatrosses, petrels and basking sharks as the primary reasons for the ratings.

In September 2013, as New Zealand Hoki, it continued to appear on the MSC's list of sustainable fish.

References

Further reading

External links
World Aquaculture's Hoki Profile
Terra Curanda Fisheries Section

blue grenadier
Commercial fish
Marine fish of New Zealand
Marine fish of Southern Australia
blue grenadier

Blue grenadier


José Ponciano Arriaga Mejía (1811–1865) was a lawyer and radical liberal politician from the Mexican state of San Luis Potosí.

Biography
Arriaga rose to prominence in the late 1840s and is particularly known for pushing for the equality of people through property rights. Arriaga proposed a law in which the government would confiscate lands from the local hacienda owners and redistribute it to the local Indian population. Later in his career, Arriaga proposed landowners who possessed more than 15 square leagues, had to begin cultivating their land or forfeit it. Arriaga further proposed that anyone who did not own at least 50 pesos worth of land would be exempt from most taxes. The focus for Arriaga on equality through property rights stems from his argument that "despite the fundamental laws of the land, a privileged caste would be able to establish an aristocracy of wealth and monopolize land and political power."

Arriaga is also known for proposing a law that would establish a public attorney to represent the poor.

Ponciano Arriaga has served in multiple political positions including:
Minister of justice
Constitutional Congressman representing eight constituencies: Guerrero, Mexico State, Michoacán, Jalisco, Puebla, Zacatecas as well as San Luis Potosí and the Federal District.
Secretary of the Interior
Defensor de los Fondos de Beneficencia
President of the Chamber of Deputies in 1856 and 1862-1863.

Arriaga, in his position as First Minister of the Interior, participated in writing the first draft of the 1857 Mexican constitution, later earning him the title of "Father of the 1857 constitution."

The Ponciano Arriaga International Airport in San Luis Potosí is dedicated to Arriaga's memory. Arriaga is entombed in the Mexican National Rotunda (Rotonda de los Hombres Ilustres).

References

1811 births
1865 deaths
Liberalism in Mexico
Presidents of the Chamber of Deputies (Mexico)
Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Mexico)
19th-century Mexican lawyers
Mexican Secretaries of the Interior
People from San Luis Potosí City
Mexican people of Basque descent
19th-century Mexican politicians
Politicians from San Luis Potosí

Ponciano Arriaga


The Intelligence Oversight Act of 1980 is a United States federal law that amended the Hughes–Ryan Act and requires United States government agencies to report covert actions to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI).  The previous requirement to notify six to eight other committees was eliminated.

Enacted on September 21, 1980, The Intelligence Oversight Act of 1980 provided that the heads of intelligence agencies would keep the oversight committees "fully and currently informed" of their activities including "any significant anticipated intelligence activity." Detailed ground rules were established for reporting covert actions to the Congress, in return for the number of congressional committees receiving notice of covert actions being limited to the two oversight committees.

See also
Hughes–Ryan Act
Church Committee

References

1980 in American law
United States federal defense and national security legislation

Intelligence Oversight Act


A reed pen ( ; singular  ) is a writing implement made by cutting and shaping a single reed straw or length of bamboo.

History and manufacture

Reed pens with regular features such as a split nib have been found in Ancient Egyptian sites dating from the 4th century BC. Reed pens were used for writing on papyrus, and were the most common writing implement in antiquity. In Mesopotamia and Sumer, reed pens were used by pressing the tips into clay tablets to create written records, using cuneiform.

To make a reed pen, scribes would take an undamaged piece of reed about 20 cm long, and leave the end that would be cut into point in water for some time. This ensured that the pen would not splinter when cut. They crafted a series of cuts that would cut the nib of the pen until it was flat enough, and pointed. The pointed end was then cut off, not too far from the point, to form a squared end suitable for writing. At the end they would start the split, which would act as a primitive ink barrel, from the tip of the nib and lengthen it until it was of the proper length. They made care not to lengthen it extensively, because the pen was at risk of snapping in half. Being skilled at making reed pens was important for early scribes due to low durability of the pen.

Reed pens are stiffer than quill pens cut from feathers and do not retain a sharp point for as long. This led to them being replaced by quills. Nevertheless, a reed pen can make bold strokes, and it remains an important tool in calligraphy.

Reed pen in art

Although quill pens had largely replaced reed pens by medieval times, from time to time the powerful strokes produced by the reed pen have been preferred by modern artists. Until the end of the 19th century, most art was commissioned by wealthy patrons or by institutions such as the church. As such, more traditional depictions of accepted themes were both the most popular and widely accepted. During the 19th century, social and cultural changes were reflected in literature and art. With this, artists began to explore different ways to express their vision and create their own personal style.  Artist Vincent van Gogh made use of the strong stroke and accent of the reed pen, combining it with brown ink and graphite, to create a drawing of a different style.

See also
 Penknife
 Qalam, Arabian reed pen
 List of pen types, brands and companies

References

External links
"A Light Note on the Science of Writing and Inks" (1852): an Arabic manuscript about reed pens

Writing implements
Pens

Reed pen


David Currie is a Canadian conductor who was the music director and conductor for the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra from 1992 until 2016. Currie is also an assistant professor at the University of Ottawa, where he teaches double bass and conducting, and conducts the university orchestra.

Career
Currie is a graduate of the University of Michigan and the Interlochen Arts Academy. Prior to joining the OSO, he was a double bass player in the National Arts Centre Orchestra from 1971 until 1991, when he retired as Principal Bass.

Currie studied conducting in Siena, Italy and at the Toho Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo, one of Japan's most prestigious private music institutions, where he studied with Professor Morihiro Okabe and Maestro Kazuyoshi Akiyama. Since 1982, Mr. Currie has also been the conductor of the University of Ottawa Orchestra.

He is the founding conductor of the Tabaret Ensemble, a string ensemble of seven professors and seven music students from the University of Ottawa. He is also the founding conductor of the Pierrot Ensemble, a group that performs 20th-century music.
Currie has acted as a guest conductor for Ottawa's National Arts Centre Orchestra, and for Ottawa's opera company (Opera Lyra Ottawa).

In May 1992, Currie became Music Director of the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra. As music director, his duties include leading rehearsals, conducting the orchestra concerts, planning the programs, and engaging in community outreach activities. He stepped down in 2016.

Personal
Currie is married to Nancy Currie, an Ottawa-based visual artist and arts teacher, and the couple have two daughters (now adults).

References

External links
Profile of David Currie, from Ottawa Symphony

Male conductors (music)
Canadian classical musicians
Living people
Musicians from Ottawa
Toho Gakuen School of Music alumni
University of Michigan alumni
Academic staff of the University of Ottawa
21st-century Canadian conductors (music)
Year of birth missing (living people)
21st-century Canadian male musicians

David Currie (conductor)


Ghost-canceling reference (GCR) is a special sub-signal on a television channel that receivers can use to compensate for the ghosting effect of a television signal distorted by multipath propagation between transmitter and receiver.

In the United States, the GCR signal is a chirp in frequency of the modulating signal from 0 Hz to 4.2 MHz, transmitted during the vertical blanking interval over one video line (line 19 in the U.S.), shifted in phase by 180° once per frame, with this pattern inverted every four lines. Television receivers generate their own local versions of this signal and use the comparison between the local and remote signals to tune an adaptive equalizer that removes ghost images on the screen.

GCR was introduced after its recommendation in 1993 by the Advanced Television Systems Committee.

References

External links
Official GCR specification

Television technology

Ghost-canceling reference


In Loving Memory is a gospel compilation released by Motown Records in September 1968. It is dedicated to the memory of Motown founder Berry Gordy's sister, Mrs. Loucye S. Gordy Wakefield, and features several popular Motown acts, including Diana Ross & the Supremes, The Temptations, The Miracles and Marvin Gaye, performing versions of popular gospel songs and spirituals.

Loucye Gordy Wakefield was the sister of the founder of Motown Record's Berry Gordy Jr. based in the early days in Detroit. There was a scholarship fund set up in her memory. Loucye was vice-president of Motown Record Corporation, she headed Billings & Collections, and Jobete Publishing. The original recording of In Loving Memory is a tribute to Louyce as an expression of love from Motown stars in songs who paid tribute at her funeral on July 29, 1965.

Commercially, an album, In Loving Memory was released 9/68 on Motown MT 642 in the US, also an EP on subsidiary label Chisa 60642 with 4 tracks from the album, and in the US, and in 1969 in the UK on TML 11124.

There were also annual Sterling Balls where scholarships were presented; October 4, 1969 at Gordy Manor with entertainment from Marvin Gaye, with a non-commercial album with same tracks as the 1968 commercially released album but was not given a Motown release number.

In 1971 Motown produced Motown M 739 a Souvenir Album Sterling Ball Benefit, this was not released commercially but was given to attendees of the 1971 Sterling Ball given again at Gordy Manor.

Both Sterling Ball albums were in silver card covers.

Track listing
"Just a Closer Walk with Thee" – Gladys Knight & the Pips
"His Eye Is on the Sparrow" – Marvin Gaye
"He" – Diana Ross & the Supremes
"The Lord's Prayer" – The Temptations
"Were You There" – Martha Reeves & the Vandellas
"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" – Stevie Wonder
"How Great Thou Art" – Gladys Knight & the Pips
"Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen" – Four Tops
"Rock of Ages" – Smokey Robinson & the Miracles
"Steal Away" – Voices of Tabernacle
"Never Grow Old" – Voices of Tabernacle
"What Do You Choose" – Harvey Fuqua

1968 compilation albums
Gospel compilation albums
Motown compilation albums

In Loving Memory (compilation album)


Countess Dorothea of Hanau-Münzenberg (4 February 1556 – 5 September 1638), was a German noblewoman member of the House of Hanau by birth and by virtue of her two marriages Countess of Ortenburg and Gleichen-Kranichfeld-Ehrenstein-Blankenhain.

Life
She was a daughter of Count Philip III of Hanau-Münzenberg and Countess Palatine Helena of Simmern.

On 15 June 1571 Dorothea married with Count Anton of Ortenburg (5 September 1530 – 23 May 1573), a member of the Aulic Council and governor of Heidenheim on behalf of Württemberg and son of Count Joachin of Ortenburg, who with his ally Frederick III, Elector Palatine established the Protestantism in his domains against the adjacent Roman Catholic Duchy of Bavaria ruled by Albert V. This marriage, in consequence, strengthened the Protestant cause in Germany and indirectly was seen as a threat to Bavaria. Moreover, Dorothea had a dowry of 10,000 florins, huge amount needed by the Ortenburg family who was short of money at that time because of their fight against Bavaria and the Aulic Council expenses of Anton caused considerable additional costs. Once betrothed, Anton and Dorothea where summoned at the court of the Elector Palatine in Heidelberg in May 1570, where the groom arrived from the Diet of Speyer. The wedding ceremony took place at Ortenburg Castle, followed by four days of festivities who costed 8,000 florins.

Anton died on 23 May 1573, leaving his wife pregnant. Seven months later, on 1 December 1573, Dorothea gave birth a son, Frederick, who only lived four days.

After the death of her husband and newborn son, the 17-year-old widow wanted to return with her family in Hanau. The financial settlement of this matter was slow. Only in 1575 Dorothea was able to leave Ortenburg, although the dispute continued until 1582. According to her father, this conflict cost him 23,000 guilders.

On 28 November 1585 Dorothea married with Count Volrad of Gleichen-Kranichfeld-Ehrenstein-Blankenhain (4 March 1556 – 8 March 1627), who was a student at University of Jena during 1573-1576. They had five children. Dorothea's second marriage ended in divorce in 1596. She never remarried.

Dorothea died on 5 September 1638. At her funeral, a funeral sermon was published.

Issue
A daughter (baptized on 3 March 1587 in Blankenhain – d. before 1623).
A daughter (baptized on 18 February 1588 in Blankenhain – d. before 1623).
Dorothea Susanne (d. 1638), heiress of Blankenhain and Kranichfeld; married on 1. November 1619 to Baron George of Mörsperg and Beffort (d. 1648).
Anna Elisabeth (d. young).
Frederick William (d. 1599).

Ancestors

Notes

References

 Adrian Willem Eliza Dek: De Afstammelingen van Juliana van Stolberg tot aan het jaar van de vrede van Munster, in: Spiegel der Historie. vol. 3, nº. 7/8, 1968.
 Reinhard Suchier: Genealogie des Hanauer Grafenhauses, in: Festschrift des Hanauer Geschichtsvereins zu seiner fünfzigjährigen Jubelfeier am 27. August 1894, Hanau, 1894
 Ernst J. Zimmermann: Hanau Stadt und Land, 3rd ed., Hanau, 1919, reprinted: 1978
 Gunter Wieland: Anton Graf zu Ortenburg (1550-1573) – frühes Ende einer großen Hoffnung. In: Förderkreis Bereich Schloss Ortenburg (Hrsg.): Ortenburg - Reichsgrafschaft und 450 Jahre Reformation 1563-2013. Ortenburg 2013, pp. 96–100.

House of Hanau
1556 births
1638 deaths
Countesses in Germany
16th-century German people
17th-century German people

Dorothea of Hanau-Münzenberg


According to Marxism, society is made up of the base (substructure) and the superstructure. These two parts influence each other.

Base and superstructure

Base
The base (economy) is made up of the means of production (such as land, factories, raw materials) and the relations of production, or the social relations people enter in order to survive (such as being an employer or an employee or what social class someone is part of).

Superstructure
The superstructure (ideology) is made up of the non-material things (such as institutions, laws, religion, culture) that make up society and shape how people think about themselves and their place in the world. The superstructure shows the interests of the ruling class.

Relationship
The base shapes the superstructure. The superstructure defends how the base operates. For example, in capitalism, schools teach students why capitalism is good and how to participate in a capitalist economy.

The base and the superstructure need each other to exist. They also change over time.

References

Marxism
Society

Base and superstructure