USS Wadsworth (FFG-9), third ship of the  of guided-missile frigates, was named for Commodore Alexander S. Wadsworth (1790–1851). She was the third US Navy ship named Wadsworth. She was the second "short-hull" (Flight I) OHP frigate  long. Commissioned in 1980, she served in the US Navy until 2002.  Upon decommissioning she was immediately turned over to the Polish navy, where she now serves as .

History
Ordered from Todd Pacific Shipyards, Los Angeles Division, San Pedro, California on 27 February 1976 as part of the FY75 program, Wadsworth, originally classified PF-111, was laid down on 13 July 1977, launched on 29 July 1978, and commissioned on 28 February 1980. Wadsworth was sponsored by Mrs. Patricia P. Roberts, the great-great-great-granddaughter of Commodore Alexander S. Wadsworth.

Wadsworth portrayed  in the 1990 film The Hunt for Red October along with USS Gary (FFG-51).

The ship's motto was "For One's Country" and originates from the words of Captain Isaac Hull, Commanding Officer of  before her August 1812 battle with HMS Guerriere. Hull said, "Men, now do your duty. Your officers cannot have entire command over you now. Each man must do all in his power for his country."

Wadsworth and her crew received Battle Effectiveness Awards for operations in 1993, 1998 and 2001.

Decommissioned on 28 June 2002, Wadsworth was handed over to Poland the same day and commissioned as , after Tadeusz Kościuszko an American Revolutionary War hero in the United States and an independence hero in Poland. She was formally stricken from the Navy list on 23 July 2002.

References

External links

USS Wadsworth FFG-9 Memorial Site

Ships built in Los Angeles
1978 ships
Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates of the United States Navy
Cold War frigates and destroyer escorts of the United States

USS Wadsworth (FFG-9)


Sigbjørn Apeland (born 10 May 1966 was raised in Sveio, Norway) is a musician (organ and Harmonium) and scientist, known from several recordings and for his work in the borderland between folk music, church music and improvisational music.

Career

Apeland is a graduate in performing Church music at the Rogaland Musikkonservatorium (1988) and ethnomusicology from University of Bergen (1998), before he as fellow at Griegakademiet completed his Dr. art. with the thesis Kyrkjemusikkdiskursen: Musikklivet i Den norske kyrkja som diskursiv praksis (Church music discourse: The music scene in the Norwegian church as discursive practice, 2005).

Apeland contributes on numerous album releases by Nils Økland (1995–), Reidun Horvei (1998), Ingeleiv Kvammen and Olav Kvammen (2000), Åsne Valland Nordli (2001), Marylands (2001), and Agnes Buen Garnås (2002). For the Vossajazz he released the album Fryd (1998), in collaboration with Berit Opheim (vocals), Bjørn Kjellemyr (bass), Einar Mjølsnes (Hardingfele) and Per Jørgensen (trumpet). With Berit Opheim he released the album Den Blide Sol (2007).

Apeland often plays together with county musicians in Hordaland, he also collaborates with the fiddle player Synnøve S. Bjørset, and with Knut Hamre, Hildegun Riise and Benedicte Maurseth.

Honors
2014: Vossajazzprisen

Discography

Solo albums
2011: Glossolalia (Hubro Music)

Collaborations
1998: Sette Meg I Huskestong (NorCD), with Småkvedarane frå Voss
1998: Fryd (Vossa Jazz Records), with Einar Mjølsnes, Per Jørgensen, Berit Opheim & Bjørn Kjellemyr
2007: Den Blide Sol (NorCD), with Berit Opheim
2009: 1982 (NorCD), with Øyvind Skarbø & Nils Økland
2011: Lysøen - Hommage À Ole Bull (ECM Records), with Nils Økland recorded at Lysøen
2016: Bumblin' Creed (Northern Spy), with Padang Food Tigers

References

External links

Norwegian traditional musicians
20th-century Norwegian organists
21st-century Norwegian organists
Male organists
Academic staff of the University of Stavanger
Hubro Music artists
ECM Records artists
University of Bergen alumni
Musicians from Sveio
1966 births
Living people
20th-century Norwegian male musicians
21st-century Norwegian male musicians
Agbaland members
NorCD artists
Northern Spy Records artists
Academic staff of the University of Bergen

Sigbjørn Apeland


Homeric Greek is the language used by Homer (in his epics: The Iliad and Odyssey) and by Hesiod.  It is also known as Epic Greek.

It is called Epic Greek because it was used as the language of epic poetry. This is usually in dactylic hexameter, by poets such as Hesiod and Theognis of Megara. Compositions in Epic Greek  disappeared with the rise of Koine Greek.

Further reading
Colvin, Stephen C. 2007. A historical Greek reader: Mycenaean to the koiné. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Edwards, G. Patrick. 1971. The language of Hesiod in its traditional context. Oxford: Blackwell.
Hackstein, Olav. 2010. "The Greek of epic." In A companion to the Ancient Greek language. Edited by Egbert J. Bakker, 401–23. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.

References

Greek language

Homeric Greek


Josef František Munclinger, also Josef František Munclingr  (13 September 1888 in Nítkovice, Austria-Hungary – 31 October 1954 in Mariánské Lázně, Czechoslovakia) was a Czech operatic bass and opera stage director who had an active international career from the 1910s through the 1950s. His voice is preserved on a number of recordings made for the Ultraphon and Supraphon labels.

Biography
At the age of six he lost both his parents and grew up in Lemberg (then Poland) where his uncle played in the theatre orchestra. He simultaneously studied at the philosophy faculty of the University of Lemberg and at the Lemberg Conservatory  (singing and composition with Stanisław Niewiadomski and Mieczysław Sołtys). In 1911 he made his professional opera debut at the Lviv Opera as Colline in Giacomo Puccini's La bohème. In the season 1913-1914 he sang at the Great Theatre in Poznań. During the 1916-1919 he was the member of Studio Piotrowsky, Teatr Stołeczny and Teatr Wielki in Warsaw. In 1915 he made also his opera directing debut with an expressionistic performance of  The Tales of Hoffmann by Jacques Offenbach.

In 1921 Munclinger left Poland to join the Slovak National Theatre in Bratislava where he was committed until 1924. At this theatre he staged numerous premieres, among them the famous Slovak premiere of Káťa Kabanová in 1923 in the presence of Leoš Janáček who appreciated Munclinger's performance as the best at that time. During his engagement in Bratislava Munclinger married the actress Lenka Honty.

After his Vienna tour in 1925 Josef František Munclinger was engaged as a soloist at the Vienna State Opera. He signed already the contract but shortly after signing he preferred the offer of cooperation by the new Opera chief at the National Theatre in Prague Otakar Ostrčil and became for more than 25 years (between 1925 and 1951) a significant opera stage director and singer of this prominent Czech stage. He sang the Magician in the world premiere of Jaromír Weinberger's Schwanda the Bagpiper on 27 April 1927 as well as the role of the second apprentice in the Czech premiere of Alban Berg's Wozzeck on 11 November 1926. In 1942 he starred in the world premiere of František Škroup's Columbus (composed in 1855). Among the other roles he performed Basilio in The Barber of Seville, Beneš in Dalibor, Chrudoš in Libuše, Gian Francesci in La Juive, the Grand Inquisitor in Don Carlos, Herrmann in Tannhäuser, Kecal in The Bartered Bride, Malina in The Secret, Marbuel in The Devil and Kate, Mephistopheles in Faust, Ramfis in Aida, Scarpia in Tosca, Tonio in Pagliacci, Vodník in Rusalka, and Volfram Olbramovič in The Brandenburgers in Bohemia.

Since the 1920s Munclinger worked as a guest artist at the opera houses and concert stages in Budapest, Vienna, Berlin, Paris, Poznaň and Warsaw. After his retirement from the National Theatre in Prague in 1951 he was also active as a teacher at the Janáček Academy of Music and Performing Arts in Brno where he stimulated and helped to establish the first opera directing department. He tutored numerous Czech and Slovak opera directors.

Josef Munclinger also wrote books on dramatic art (e.g. Hercova tvář a maska), translated and wrote opera librettos, worked as scenic designer and upgraded the Czech stage directing with technical news like projected scene or sound amplifiers.

Having never retired from the stage, Munclinger died in Mariánské Lázně in 1954 at the age of 66. His son Milan Munclinger was an important conductor, flutist and musicologist and his brother-in-law Tibor Honty was a notable Czech photographer.

References

Sources

External links
František Sláma Archive: sections Reminiscences about Josef František Munclingr and Josef František Munclingr's biography in documents
Archive of the National Theatre in Prague: List of Munclinger's performances at the National Theatre in Prague
The Czech Museum of Music
Munclinger's biography in Operissimo

1888 births
1954 deaths
20th-century Czech male opera singers
Czechoslovak male opera singers
Operatic basses
Czech opera directors
Lviv Conservatory alumni
Czech expatriates in Poland
People from Kroměříž District
Musicians from Lviv

Josef František Munclinger


This is a list of Australian comics creators. Although comics have different formats, this list covers creators of editorial cartoons, comic books, graphic novels, and comic strips, along with early innovators. The list presents authors with Australia as their country of origin, although they may have published or now be resident in other countries. For other countries, see List of comic creators.

Editorial cartoonists
Australian professional cartoonists work for commercially published newspapers and journals, as well as in Australian comics, children's illustration, and animation. Many of these artists have their work collected and published as books.

 Dean Alston
 Michael Atchison
 David Blumenstein
 Jason Chatfield
 Patrick Cook
 Stan Cross
 John Ditchburn
 William Ellis Green
 Robert Hannaford
 Geoff "Jeff" Hook
 Judy Horacek
 Arthur Horner
 Mark Knight
 Sean Leahy
 Bill Leak
Mary Leunig
 Michael Leunig
Andrew Marlton
 Neil Matterson
 Stewart McCrae
 George Molnar
 Alan Moir
 Dillon Naylor
 Peter Nicholson
 Pat Oliphant
 Ward O'Neill
 Bruce Petty
 Geoff Pryor
 Paul Rigby
 Victoria Roberts
 D.H. Souter
 John Spooner
 Ron Tandberg
 Andrew Weldon
 Cathy Wilcox

Comic book and comic strip creators
Australian comic book and strip artists and writers:

A
Hart Amos – (The Lost Patrol, Devil Doone, Kidnap Cavern, Hurricane Hardy, Air Hawk and the Flying Doctors)
Patrick Alexander – (Pink Chickens, Raymondo Person, The Wraith).

B
Marcelo Baez – (Diabla)
Jimmy Bancks – (Ginger Meggs)
Fil Barlow – (Inkspots, Zooniverse)
Scott Beattie – (The Seven Swords)
Paul Bedford – (The LisT)
Phil Belbin – (Peril on Venus, Climax Comics, The Raven, The Early Birds)
Andrez Bergen – (Tales to Admonish, Magpie, Bullet Gal, Trista & Holt, Tobacco-Stained Mountain Goat)
Moira Bertram – (Jo, Flameman)
David Blumenstein – (Nakedfella Comics, Herman, The Legal Labrador, #takedown)
Paul Bradford – (Astral Crusaders, Witch Hunters, Undercurrent, Silent but Deadly)
Maurice Bramley – (The Phantom Commando, The Fast Gun)

C
Bernard Caleo –  (Tango, The False Impressionists)
Eddie Campbell – (Bacchus, From Hell)
Gerald Carr –  (Vampire!, Vixen, The Dirty Digger)
Gary Chaloner –  (Jackaroo, Red Kelso, Will Eisner's John Law)
W. Chew 'Chewie' Chan – (Iron Man, Buckaroo Banzai and Cthulhu Tales)
Queenie Chan – (The Dreaming)
Peter Chapman – (The Phantom Ranger, Sir Falcon, The Shadow)
Jason Chatfield – (continued Ginger Meggs since 2007)
Keith Chatto – (Destiny Scott, The Lone Wolf, Air Hawk and the Flying Doctors, The Phantom)
Con Chrisoulis – (Clans, Rebel Rebel: The Graphic Biography of David Bowie, Tales of The Smiths)
R.B. Clark – (Boofhead)
Darren Close – (Killeroo)
Noel Cook – (Kokey Koala)
Trudy Cooper – (Oglaf, artist, co-creator and co-writer of Platinum Grit)
Stan Cross – (The Potts & Wally and the Major)

D
 Wynne W. Davies – (Percy the Pommy)
David de Vries – (Cyclone!, Dark Horse Down Under, The Phantom)
John Dixon – (The Crimson Comet, Air Hawk and the Flying Doctors, Captain Strato)
Les Dixon – (Bluey and Curley, Phill Dill)
Michal Dutkiewicz – (Batman Forever, Lost in Space)
Will Dyson – (early political cartoonist)

E
Tony Edwards – (Captain Goodvibes)
Sarah Ellerton – (Inverloch)
Anton Emdin – (Cruel World)
Ken Emerson – (Bush Folks, The Warrumbunglers)
 Hal English – (Red Steele, Cobra Woman)

F
Jules Faber – (Sporadic, Golgotha)
George Finey – (early cartoonist)
Roger Fletcher – (Torkan)
Adam Ford – (Jutchy ya ya, Man bites Dog, The Book of Job, The Amazing Atavistic Adventures of the Fish, Neuronn: the Creature from a Human Brain)
Hayden Fryer – (Cobber, Darkest Night, Nothing Serious, Full Moon, Billy: Demon Slayer)

G
May Gibbs – (Bib and Bub)
Nicki Greenberg – (The Great Gatsby: a graphic adaptation, Tango)
Alex Gurney – (Stiffy and Mo, Bluey and Curley)

H
George Hall – (Reverie)
Peta Hewitt – (Terinu)
Yaroslav Horak – (Chandor, Brenda Starr, James Bond, The Mask, Jet Fury)
Marie "Mollie" Horseman – (Pam)
Sarah Howell – (Squishface Studio)
Simon Hanselmann (aka Simon James) – (Shucka shucka, Girl mountain, Horse Mania / Poofter Basher (split cassingle), Megg and Mogg)

J
Scott Johnson – (Hip Pocket)
Eric Jolliffe – (Andy, Saltbush Bill, Witchetty's Tribe)
Garth Jones – (Killeroo: Road Rage)
Phil Judd – (Pet Therapy)

K
James Kemsley – (writer/artist of Ginger Meggs, 1948–2007)

L
Daniel Lawson – (Azerath, Contractually Obligated, Killeroo:Scars, Colt)
Len Lawson – (The Lone Avenger)
Percy Leason - (political cartoonist)
Peter Ledger – (Carlos McLlyr, Sisterhood of Steel)
Glenn Lumsden – (Cyclone!, The Phantom)
Carl Lyon - (Black McDermitt, Wally and the Major)

M
Paul Mason – (The Phantom, Kid Phantom (Frew Publications), The Eldritch Kid: Bone War (Gestalt Comics), The Soldier Legacy (Black House Comics))
Arthur Mather – (Captain Atom, Sergeant Pat, Secret Agent X9, Flynn of the FBI)
Shane McCarthy – (Detective Comics, Transformers)
Stewart McKenny – (The Watch)
Emile Mercier – (Supa Dupa Man, Wocko the Beaut, Doc McSwiggle, Search for the Gnu-Gnah)
Syd Miller – (Chesty Bond, Aminalaughs, Us Girls, Rod Craig)
Joan Morrison - (Morrison Girls)

N
Dillon Naylor – (Da 'n Dill, Batrisha, A Brush With Darkness)
Tony Newton – (Foolproof Comics)
Wayne Nichols – (The X-Files, Orphan Black, Incredible Hulk: Giant-Size, Exiles, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.)
Syd Nicholls – (Fatty Finn, Middy Malone)

O
Kathleen O'Brien – (Wanda (Wanda the War Girl))
Gavin L. O'Keefe – (Phantastique, Jonny Flathead)
Pat Oliphant – (political cartoonist)
Mandy Ord – (Brick Dog, Sensitive Creatures, Dirty Little Creep, Ordinary Eyeball)

P
 Jason Paulos - (Hairbutt the Hippo, Eeek!)
Maria Pena – (Fox Comics, Passionate Nomads)
Craig Phillips – (Finch!)
 Tad Pietrzykowski - (Cyclone!, Dark Nebula, Golden Age Southern Cross)
Lloyd Piper – (Wolf, Ginger Meggs)
Reginald Pitt - (Silver Starr, Yarmak - The Jungle King)
Stanley Pitt – (Anthony Fury, Silver Starr, Captain Power, Yarmak - Jungle King)

R
Dean Rankine – (Holy Cow! Christian Comics, Grossgirl and Boogerboy)
Virgil Reilly – (Silver Flash, Invisible Avenger)
Norm Rice – (Powerman, Steele Carewe, Rice and Shine, Bluey and Curley)
Madeleine Rosca – (Hollow Fields manga)
Dan Russell – (Darky, the Kid from the Snowy River)
Jim Russell – (The Potts)

S
Allan Salisbury - (Snake Tales)
Nicola Scott – (Birds of Prey (DC Comics), Star Wars titles (Dark Horse), Angel titles (IDW Publishing), Dead Year High (Penguin Books), Season of the Witch (Image Comics), Halloween Man)
Christopher Sequeira  – (Iron Man (in Marvel Comics' 'Astonishing Tales'), Justice League Adventures (DC Comics), 9/11: Artists Respond Vol. II (DC Comics), Cthulhu Tales (Boom! Studios), Dark Detective: Sherlock Holmes (Black House Comics), Pulse of Darkness, Rattlebone: The Pulp-Faced Detective, Mister Blood, Deadlock & Doc Morton, Bold Action, The Borderlander, Jonny Flathead: Agent of MONSTA. Editor Tides of Hope (Supernova Pop Culture Expo, 2011)-
Mark Sexton – (Bug & Stump)
 Lee Sheppard – (Cactus Island)
Lee Slattery – (Bacchus, Dee Vee, Everybody Loves The Lizardman)
Jozef Szekeres – (Elfquest WaveDancers (original series), Safety-Belt Man, Dart, Dawn, Oblagon, Underwater Love.)

T
Shaun Tan – (The Lost Thing, The Arrival)
Tom Taylor – (Injustice: Gods Among Us (DC Comics), The Deep: Here Be Dragons (Gestalt Publishing), Star Wars: Invasion (Dark Horse Comics), Earth-Two (DC Comics))
Ben Templesmith – (30 Days of Night, Star Wars Comics)
Ian C. Thomas – (Moth & Tanuki (in OzTAKU and Mania), Ratty Things (Mania), The Ink, Xuan Xuan, Maelstrom (also in Reverie), Busker Jim (City Extra))
Andie Tong – (Spectacular Spider-Man UK, The Batman Strikes! and Tangent: Superman's Reign, Tron: Betrayal.)

V
Sheldon Vella
Ron Vivian – (continued Ginger Meggs)

W
Monty Wedd – (Foreign Legion, Bert and Ned, Captain Justice, The Scorpion, Kent Blake and King Comet, Space Rangers)
Paul Wheelahan – (The Raven, The Panther)
Cecil 'Unk' White – (The Adventures of Blue Hardy, Freckles)
Colin Wilson – (Strips, 2000AD, La Jeunesse de Blueberry, Dans L'Ombre du Soleil, Point Blank)
Ashley Wood – (Cyclone Comics Quarterly, Dark Horse Down Under, Popbot)
Paul Woods - (Insert Brain Here)

See also
 Comics in Australia

References

External links
Tabula Rasa – Information on Australian comics and creators
Australian Cartoonists' Association
Australian Comics Database

Australian comics creators

List of Australian comics creators


In January 2021, a fast and large increase of GameStop stock and other assets took place on many stock exchanges. It caused major damage to hedge funds. The stock price of GameStop went up by almost 200 times from its record low, hitting a high of nearly $500 per share on January 28, 2021.

This was caused by users of the forum r/wallstreetbets on Reddit through commission-free trading apps such as Robinhood.

On January 28, Robinhood stopped the buying of GameStop and other securities. This caused many criticisms and accusations of market manipulation from politicians and businesspeople.  People who criticized Robinhood were Senator Ted Cruz, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

Lawsuits were also filed against Robinhood in the U.S. District Courts for the Southern District of New York and the Northern District of Illinois.

References

January 2021 events
February 2021 events
Economic history
Video games

GameStop short squeeze


Dr. Dolittle: Million Dollar Mutts (also known as Dr. Dolittle 5) is a 2009 American comedy film directed by Alex Zamm and starring Kyla Pratt and Norm Macdonald. It was released on May 19, 2009, and like its predecessor, Dr. Dolittle: Tail to the Chief (2008), was a direct-to-DVD release.

It is the fifth and final film in the Dr. Dolittle film series, before the 2020 reboot and is the final Dr. Dolittle film to be distributed by 20th Century Fox, and the third film in the series not to feature Eddie Murphy as Doctor Dolittle or Raven-Symoné as Charisse Dolittle, though they are mentioned in the film. Pratt and MacDonald are the only cast members to appear in all five films.

Plot
Maya Dolittle (Kyla Pratt) thinks she doesn't have to spend 7 years in college to be a vet because she can talk to animals. While taking a walk with Lucky (voiced by Norm MacDonald), she helps a cat on a tree by talking to it. She gets discovered and Tiffany Monaco (Tegan Moss), a Hollywood star, brings her to L.A. to help her little puppy, who turns out to be a male. Soon, Maya and Tiffany began creating their own show, The Animal Talkers. Maya also meets Brandon Booker (Brandon Jay McLaren) who is her love interest. Maya soon finds out the show isn't about helping animals and goes back home to study being a vet. She also finds out Brandon is at her school too. Meanwhile, Monkey (voiced by Phil Proctor) is out in L.A. searching for his big break but quits because he wants to help Maya.

Cast
 Kyla Pratt as Maya Dolittle
 Tegan Moss as Tiffany Monaco
 Brandon Jay McLaren as Brandon Booker
 Jason Bryden as Rick Beverley
 Karen Holness as Lisa Dolittle
 Judge Reinhold as Network Executive
 Sebastian Spence as Chad Cassidy
 Elizabeth Thai as Reporter
 Frank Cassini as Firefighter
 Sarah Deakins as Vet
 Mark Hillson as Biker
 Doron Bell as Ridiculuz
 Curtis Caravaggio as Chase
 Matthew Harrison as Paul Furhooven

Voice cast
 Norm Macdonald as Lucky the Dog
 Jaime Ray Newman as Emmy
 Phil Proctor as Monkey/Snake
 Greg Ellis as Dave the Dove
 Fred Stoller as Fluffernufferman
 Pauly Shore as Cat
 Jeff Bennett as Princess / Rocco / Frog / Horse
 Vicki Lewis as Chubster
 Stephen Root as Turtle
 Greg Proops as Puppy

References

External links

2009 films
2009 direct-to-video films
20th Century Fox direct-to-video films
American children's comedy films
Canadian children's comedy films
2000s English-language films
Davis Entertainment films
Direct-to-video comedy films
Doctor Dolittle films
American fantasy comedy films
Film spin-offs
Films produced by John Davis
Films directed by Alex Zamm
Direct-to-video sequel films
2000s American films
2000s Canadian films

Dr. Dolittle: Million Dollar Mutts


Mike Tyson vs. Clifford Etienne, billed as Back to Business, was a professional boxing match contested on February 22, 2003.

Background
In his previous fight on June 8, 2002, Mike Tyson had met WBC and IBF heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis. In what would prove to be the final title match of Tyson's career, he was thoroughly outboxed by Lewis, who from the second round on, won every round on the judge's scorecards before knocking out Tyson in the eighth. Though Tyson's plans were not immediately known after his defeat, he announced in November that he would return to boxing on February 22, 2003 to take on fringe contender Clifford Etienne, with the fight taking place at the site of his previous fight with Lewis, the Pyramid Arena in Memphis. Etienne began his professional career with 19 consecutive victories and was named 2000's "Most Exciting Fighter to Watch" by The Ring magazine, but a loss to Fres Oquendo, in which Etienne was knocked down seven times in eight rounds, halted his progress. Only days before the fight was to take place, however, Tyson's new trainer Freddie Roach announced that he didn't think Tyson was ready for the fight and advised him to not go through with it, citing Tyson's lack of condition, as well as the fact that a loss to a journeyman like Etienne could end Tyson's career. Two days later, the fight was cancelled after both the fight's promoters and Tyson's team failed to hear back from Tyson about whether or not he would go through with the fight. However, Tyson arrived in Memphis the following day, seemingly putting the fight back on, but the fight was again held up as Etienne pulled out because several members of his camp had already left Memphis after the first cancellation. The following day, Etienne had a change of heart and stated "This morning, I woke up and I thought about it. I realized that I've worked all these weeks for this. I weighed everything out again. The fight is on."

The fight
Despite concerns about Tyson's condition, the fight would prove to be one of his quickest victories. Tyson would start the match aggressively by throwing powerful combinations at Etienne, causing Etienne to clinch with Tyson, though the combined momentum of the two fighters caused both men to stumble to the mat and the referee then called a brief timeout to allow the fighters to regroup from the fall. After the fight was resumed, Tyson continued to throw wild power punches at Etienne, though none connected. Etienne responded by throwing several power punches of his own which caused Tyson to clinch. After being separated, Etienne missed Tyson with a left jab–right hand combination. Tyson then missed with a left hook, but rebounded with a strong right hand that sent Etienne down. Etienne laid flat on his back and made no attempt to get back up as the referee counted him out. Tyson was then awarded the knockout victory at 49 seconds of the first round. The victory would be the 50th and final one of Tyson's professional career.

Aftermath
Prior the fight, there had been preliminary discussions about a possible rematch between Lewis and Tyson that would take place during June 2003 depending on how well Tyson performed against Etienne. Immediately after his impressive victory over Etienne, Jim Gray conducted an interview with Tyson and asked him if the rematch with Lewis was next. However, after being dominated by Lewis in the previous fight, Tyson was reluctant to face Lewis so soon and said he would need at least two more tuneup bouts before he would consider fighting Lewis again. However, with both men in their mid 30s and near end of their careers, Lewis insisted that the match take place in June and gave Tyson an April 15 deadline to accept the match, but Tyson passed on the match and instead agreed to face Oleg Maskaev on the undercard of Lewis' title defense against Vitali Klitschko, which was scheduled for June 21. However, Tyson pulled out of the deal and would not fight for the remainder of 2003 due in large part to Tyson filing for bankruptcy and subsequently filing a $100 million lawsuit against Don King. After a 17-month layoff, Tyson would finally return to boxing on July 30, 2004 to take on Danny Williams. Though he came into the fight as a 9–1 underdog, Williams would upset Tyson by knocking him out in the fourth round.

References

2003 in boxing
Boxing in Tennessee
Sports in Memphis, Tennessee
2003 in sports in Tennessee
Etienne
February 2003 sports events in the United States

Mike Tyson vs. Clifford Etienne


Mesopotamian religion was the original religious beliefs and practices of the civilizations of ancient Mesopotamia, particularly Sumer, Akkad, Assyria and Babylonia between circa 6000 BC and 400 AD. The religious development of Mesopotamia and Mesopotamian culture in general, especially in the south, were not particularly influenced by the movements of the various peoples into and throughout the area. Rather, Mesopotamian religion was a consistent and coherent tradition, which adapted to the internal needs of its adherents over millennia of development.

The earliest undercurrents of Mesopotamian religious thought are believed to have developed in Mesopotamia in the 6th millennium BC, coinciding with the region beginning to be permanently settled. The earliest evidence of Mesopotamian religion dates to the mid-4th millennium BC, coincides with the invention of writing, and involved the worship of forces of nature as providers of sustenance. In the 3rd millennium BC, objects of worship were personified and became an expansive cast of divinities with particular functions. The last stages of Mesopotamian polytheism, which developed in the 2nd and 1st millennia BC, introduced greater emphasis on personal religion and structured the gods into a monarchical hierarchy, with the national god being the head of the pantheon. Mesopotamian religion finally declined with the spread of Iranian religions during the Achaemenid Empire and with the Christianization of Mesopotamia.

History

The very earliest undercurrents of Mesopotamian religious thought are believed to have developed in the first half of the sixth millennium BC, at the time people first began to permanently settle in Mesopotamia owing to improved irrigation. The early religious developments of the region are unknown since they preceded the invention of writing. The first evidence for what is recognisably Mesopotamian religion can be seen with the invention in Mesopotamia of writing circa 3500 BC.

The people of Mesopotamia originally consisted of two groups, East Semitic speakers of Akkadian and the people of Sumer, who spoke Sumerian, a language isolate. These peoples were members of various city-states and small kingdoms. The Sumerians left the first records, and are believed to have been the founders of the civilization of the Ubaid period (6500 BC to 3800 BC) in Upper Mesopotamia. By historical times they resided in southern Mesopotamia, which was known as Sumer (and much later, Babylonia), and had considerable influence on the Akkadian speakers and their culture. Akkadian speakers are believed to have entered the region at some point between 3500 BC and 3000 BC, with Akkadian names first appearing in the regnal lists of these states c. 29th century BC.

The Sumerians were advanced: as well as inventing writing,  early forms of mathematics, early wheeled vehicles/chariots, astronomy, astrology, written code of law, organised medicine, advanced agriculture and architecture, and the calendar. They created the first city-states such as Uruk, Ur, Lagash, Isin, Kish, Umma, Eridu, Adab, Akshak, Sippar, Nippur and Larsa, each of them ruled by an ensí. The Sumerians remained largely dominant in this synthesised culture, however, until the rise of the Akkadian Empire under Sargon of Akkad circa 2335 BC, which united all of Mesopotamia under one ruler.

There was increasing syncretism between the Sumerian and Akkadian cultures and deities, with the Akkadians typically preferring to worship fewer deities but elevating them to greater positions of power.

Effect of Assyrian religious beliefs on its political structure
Like many nations in Mesopotamian history, Assyria was originally, to a great extent, an oligarchy rather than a monarchy. Authority was considered to lie with "the city", and the polity had three main centres of power—an assembly of elders, a hereditary ruler, and an eponym. The ruler presided over the assembly and carried out its decisions. He was not referred to with the usual Akkadian term for "king", šarrum; that was instead reserved for the city's patron deity Ashur, of whom the ruler was the high priest. The ruler himself was only designated as "steward of Assur" (iššiak Assur), where the term for steward is a borrowing from Sumerian ensí. The third centre of power was the eponym (limmum), who gave the year his name, similarly to the eponymous archon and Roman consuls of classical antiquity. He was annually elected by lot and was responsible for the economic administration of the city, which included the power to detain people and confiscate property. The institution of the eponym as well as the formula iššiak Assur lingered on as ceremonial vestiges of this early system throughout the history of the Assyrian monarchy.

Religion in the Neo-Assyrian Empire
The religion of the Neo-Assyrian Empire centered around the Assyrian king as the king of their lands as well. However, kingship at the time was linked very closely with the idea of divine mandate. The Assyrian king, while not being a god himself, was acknowledged as the chief servant of the chief god, Ashur. In this manner, the king's authority was seen as absolute so long as the high priest reassured the peoples that the gods, or in the case of the henotheistic Assyrians, the god, was pleased with the current ruler. For the Assyrians who lived in Assur and the surrounding lands, this system was the norm. For the conquered peoples, however, it was novel, particularly to the people of smaller city-states. In time, Ashur was promoted from being the local deity of Assur to the overlord of the vast Assyrian domain, which spread from the Caucasus and Armenia in the north to Egypt, Nubia and the Arabian Peninsula in the south, and from Cyprus and the eastern Mediterranean Sea in the west to central Iran in the east. Assur, the patron deity of the city of Assur from the late Bronze Age, was in constant rivalry with the patron deity of Babylon, Marduk. Worship was conducted in his name throughout the lands dominated by the Assyrians. With the worship of Assur across much of the Fertile Crescent, the Assyrian king could command the loyalty of his fellow servants of Assur.

Later Mesopotamian history
In 539 BC, Mesopotamia was conquered by the Achaemenid Empire (539–332 BC), then ruled by Cyrus the Great. This brought to an end over 3000 years of Mesopotamian dominance of the Near East. The Persians maintained and did not interfere in the native culture and religion and Assyria and Babylon continued to exist as entities (although Chaldea and the Chaldeans disappeared), and Assyria was strong enough to launch major rebellions against the Achaemenids in 522 and 482 BC. During this period the Syriac language and Syriac alphabet evolved in Assyria among the Assyrian people, and were centuries later to be the vehicle for the spread of Syriac Christianity throughout the near east.

Then, two centuries later in 330 BC, the Macedonian emperor Alexander the Great overthrew the Persians and took control of Mesopotamia itself. After Alexander's death, increased Hellenistic influence was brought to the region by the Seleucid Empire. Assyria and Babylonia later became provinces under the Parthian Empire (Achaemenid Assyria and province of Babylonia), Rome (province of Assyria) and Sasanian Empire (province of Asoristan). Babylonia was dissolved as an entity during the Parthian Empire, though Assyria endured as a geopolitical entity until the Muslim conquest of Persia, while the Assyrians are still present today.

During the Parthian Empire there was a major revival in Assyria between the second century BC and fourth century AD, with temples once more being dedicated to gods such as Assur, Sin, Shamash, Hadad and Ishtar in various Parthian vassal states in Mesopotamia.

In the third century AD, Manichaeism, which incorporated elements of Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, and local Mesopotamian religion, developed.

Mythology

There are no specific written records explaining Mesopotamian religious cosmology that survive today. Nonetheless, modern scholars have examined various accounts, and created what is believed to be an at least partially accurate depiction of Mesopotamian cosmology. In the Epic of Creation, dated to 1200 BC, it explains that the god Marduk killed the mother goddess Tiamat and used half her body to create the earth, and the other half to create both the paradise of šamû and the netherworld of irṣitu. A document from a similar period stated that the universe was a spheroid, with three levels of šamû, where the gods dwelt, and where the stars existed, above the three levels of earth below it.

Deities

Mesopotamian religion was polytheistic, thereby accepting the existence of many different deities, both male and female, though it was also henotheistic, with certain gods being viewed as superior to others by their specific devotees. These devotees were often from a particular city or city-state that held that deity as its tutelary deity; for instance, Enki was often associated with the city of Eridu in Sumer, Assur with Assur and Assyria, Enlil with the Sumerian city of Nippur, Ishtar with the Assyrian city of Arbela, and the god Marduk with Babylon. Though the full number of gods and goddesses found in Mesopotamia is not known, K. Tallqvist, in his Akkadische Götterepitheta (1938) counted around 2,400 that scholars know, most of which had Sumerian names. In the Sumerian language, the gods were referred to as dingir, while in the Akkadian language they were known as ilu and it seems that there was syncreticism between the gods worshipped by the two groups, adopting one another's deities.

The Mesopotamian gods bore many similarities with humans, and were anthropomorphic, thereby having humanoid form. Similarly, they often acted like humans, requiring food and drink, as well as drinking alcohol and subsequently suffering the effects of drunkenness, but were thought to have a higher degree of perfection than common men. They were thought to be more powerful, all-seeing and all-knowing, unfathomable, and, above all, immortal. One of their prominent features was a terrifying brightness (melammu) which surrounded them, producing an immediate reaction of awe and reverence among men. In many cases, the various deities were family relations of one another, a trait found in many other polytheistic religions. The historian J. Bottéro was of the opinion that the gods were not viewed mystically, but were instead seen as high-up masters who had to be obeyed and feared, as opposed to loved and adored. Nonetheless, many Mesopotamians, of all classes, often had names that were devoted to a certain deity; this practice appeared to have begun in the third millennium BC among the Sumerians, but also was later adopted by the Akkadians, Assyrians and Babylonians as well.

Initially, the pantheon was not ordered, but later Mesopotamian theologians came up with the concept of ranking the deities in order of importance. A Sumerian list of around 560 deities that did this was uncovered at Farm and Tell Abû Ṣalābīkh and dated to circa 2600 BC, ranking five primary deities as being of particular importance.

One of the most important of these early Mesopotamian deities was the god Enlil, who was originally a Sumerian divinity viewed as a king of the gods and a controller of the world, who was later adopted by the Akkadians. Another was the Sumerian god An, who served a similar role to Enlil and became known as Anu among the Akkadians. The Sumerian god Enki was later also adopted by the Akkadians, initially under his original name, and later as Éa. Similarly the Sumerian moon god Nanna became the Akkadian Sîn while the Sumerian sun god Utu became the Akkadian Shamash. One of the most notable goddesses was the Sumerian sex and war deity Inanna. With the later rise to power of the Babylonians in the 18th century BC, the king, Hammurabi, declared Marduk, a deity who before then had not been of significant importance, to a position of supremacy alongside Anu and Enlil in southern Mesopotamia.

Perhaps the most significant legend to survive from Mesopotamian religion is the Epic of Gilgamesh, which tells the story of the heroic king Gilgamesh and his wild friend Enkidu, and the former's search for immortality which is entwined with all the gods and their approval. It also contains the earliest reference to The Great Flood.

Akkadian religion sometimes took inspiration from influential Sumerian religious leaders and beliefs, and deified Sumerian kings at some points.

Recent discoveries
In March 2020, archaeologists announced the discovery of a 5,000-year-old cultic area filled with more than 300 broken ceremonial ceramic cups, bowls, jars, animal bones and ritual processions dedicated to Ningirsu at the site of Girsu. One of the remains was a duck-shaped bronze figurine with eyes made from bark which is thought to be dedicated to Nanshe.

Cultic practice

Public devotions

Each Mesopotamian city was home to a deity, and each of the prominent deities was the patron of a city, and all known temples were located in cities, though there may have been shrines in the suburbs. The temple itself was constructed of mud brick in the form of a ziggurat, which rose to the sky in a series of stairstep stages. Its significance and symbolism have been the subject of much discussion, but most regard the tower as a kind of staircase or ladder for the god to descend from and ascend to the heavens, though there are signs which point towards an actual cult having been practiced in the upper temple, so the entire temple may have been regarded as a giant altar. Other theories treat the tower as an image of the cosmic mountain where a dying and rising god "lay buried." Some temples, such as the temple of Enki in Eridu contained a holy tree (kiskanu) in a holy grove, which was the central point of various rites performed by the king, who functioned as a "master gardener."

Mesopotamian temples were originally built to serve as dwelling places for the god, who was thought to reside and hold court on earth for the good of the city and kingdom. His presence was symbolized by an image of the god in a separate room. The god's presence within the image seems to have been thought of in a very concrete way, as instruments for the presence of the deity." This is evident from the poem How Erra Wrecked the World, in which Erra deceived the god Marduk into leaving his cult statue. Once constructed, idols were consecrated through special nocturnal rituals where they were given "life", and their mouth "was opened" (pet pî) and washed (mes pî) so they could see and eat. If the deity approved, it would accept the image and agree to "inhabit" it. These images were also entertained, and sometime escorted on hunting expeditions. In order to service the gods, the temple was equipped with a household with kitchens and kitchenware, sleeping rooms with beds and side rooms for the deity's family, as well as a courtyard with a basin and water for cleansing visitors, as well as a stable for the god's chariot and draft animals.

Generally, the god's well-being was maintained through service, or work (dullu). The image was dressed and served banquets twice a day. It is not known how the god was thought to consume the food, but a curtain was drawn before the table while he or she "ate", just as the king himself was not allowed to be seen by the masses while he ate. Occasionally, the king shared in these meals, and the priests may have had some share in the offerings as well. Incense was also burned before the image, because it was thought that the gods enjoyed the smell. Sacrificial meals were also set out regularly, with a sacrificial animal seen as a replacement (pūhu) or substitute (dinānu) for a man, and it was considered that the anger of the gods or demons was then directed towards the sacrificial animal. Additionally, certain days required extra sacrifices and ceremonies for certain gods, and every day was sacred to a particular god.

The king was thought, in theory, to be the religious leader (enu or šangū) of the cult and exercised a large number of duties within the temple, with a large number of specialists whose task was to mediate between men and gods: a supervising or "watchman" priest (šešgallu), priests for individual purification against demons and magicians (āšipu), priests for the purification of the temple (mašmašu), priests to appease the wrath of the gods with song and music (kalū), as well as female singers (nāru), male singers (zammeru), craftsmen (mārē ummāni), swordbearers (nāš paṭri), masters of divination (bārû), penitents (šā'ilu), and others.

Private devotions
Besides the worship of the gods at public rituals, individuals also paid homage to a personal deity. As with other deities, the personal gods changed over time and little is known about early practice as they are rarely named or described. In the mid-third millennium BC, some rulers regarded a particular god or gods as being their personal protector. In the second millennium BC, personal gods began to function more on behalf of the common man, with whom he had a close, personal relationship, maintained through prayer and maintenance of his god's statue. A number of written prayers have survived from ancient Mesopotamia, each of which typically exalt the god that they are describing above all others. The historian J. Bottéro stated that these poems display "extreme reverence, profound devotion, [and] the unarguable emotion that the supernatural evoked in the hearts of those ancient believers" but that they showed a people who were scared of their gods rather than openly celebrating them. They were thought to offer good luck, success, and protection from disease and demons, and one's place and success in society was thought to depend on his personal deity, including the development of his certain talents and even his personality. This was even taken to the point that everything he experienced was considered a reflection of what was happening to his personal god. When a man neglected his god, it was assumed that the demons were free to inflict him, and when he revered his god, that god was like a shepherd who seeks food for him.

There was a strong belief in demons in Mesopotamia, and private individuals, like the temple priests, also participated in incantations (šiptu) to ward them off. Although there was no collective term for these beings either in Sumerian or Akkadian, they were merely described as harmful or dangerous beings or forces, and they were used as a logical way to explain the existence of evil in the world. They were thought to be countless in number, and were thought to even attack the gods as well. Besides demons, there were also spirits of the dead, (etimmu) who could also cause mischief. Amulets were occasionally used, and sometimes a special priest or exorcist (āšipu or mašmašu) was required. Incantations and ceremonies were also used to cure diseases which were also thought to be associated with demonic activity, sometimes making use of sympathetic magic. Sometimes an attempt was made to capture a demon by making an image of it, placing it above the head of a sick person, then destroying the image, which the demon was somehow likely to inhabit. Images of protecting spirits were also made and placed at gates to ward off disaster.

Divination was also employed by private individuals, with the assumption that the gods have already determined the destinies of men and these destinies could be ascertained through observing omens and through rituals (e.g., casting lots). It was believed that the gods expressed their will through "words" (amatu) and "commandments" (qibitu) which were not necessarily spoken, but were thought to manifest in the unfolding routine of events and things. There were countless ways to divine the future, such as observing oil dropped into a cup of water (lecanomancy), observing the entrails of sacrificial animals (extispicy), observation of the behavior of birds (augury) and observing celestial and meteorological phenomena (astrology), as well as through interpretation of dreams. Often interpretation of these phenomena required the need for two classes of priests: askers (sa'ilu) and observer (baru), and also sometimes a lower class of ecstatic seer (mahhu) that was also associated with witchcraft.

Morality, virtue, and sin

Although ancient paganism tended to focus more on duty and ritual than morality, a number of general moral virtues can be gleaned from surviving prayers and myths. It was believed that man originated as a divine act of creation, and the gods were believed to be the source of life, and held power over sickness and health, as well as the destinies of men. Personal names show that each child was considered a gift from divinity. Man was believed to have been created to serve the gods, or perhaps wait on them: the god is lord (belu) and man is servant or slave (ardu), and was to fear (puluhtu) the gods and have the appropriate attitude towards them. Duties seem to have been primarily of a cultic and ritual nature, although some prayers express a positive psychological relationship, or a sort of conversion experience in regard to a god. Generally the reward to mankind is described as success and long life.

Every man also had duties to his fellow man which had some religious character, particularly the king's duties to his subjects. It was thought that one of the reasons the gods gave power to the king was to exercise justice and righteousness, described as mēšaru and kettu, literally "straightness, rightness, firmness, truth". Examples of this include not alienating and causing dissension between friends and relatives, setting innocent prisoners free, being truthful, being honest in trade, respecting boundary lines and property rights, and not putting on airs with subordinates. Some of these guidelines are found in the second tablet of the Šurpu incantation series.

Sin, on the other hand, was expressed by the words hitu (mistake, false step), annu or arnu (rebellion), and qillatu (sin or curse), with strong emphasis on the idea of rebellion, sometimes with the idea that sin is man's wishing to "live on his own terms" (ina ramanisu). Sin also was described as anything which incited the wrath of the gods. Punishment came through sickness or misfortune, which inevitably lead to the common reference to unknown sins, or the idea that one can transgress a divine prohibition without knowing it—psalms of lamentation rarely mention concrete sins. This idea of retribution was also applied to the nation and history as a whole. A number of examples of Mesopotamian literature show how war and natural disasters were treated as punishment from the gods, and how kings were used as a tool for deliverance.

Sumerian myths suggest a prohibition against premarital sex. Marriages were often arranged by the parents of the bride and groom; engagements were usually completed through the approval of contracts recorded on clay tablets. These marriages became legal as soon as the groom delivered a bridal gift to his bride's father. Nonetheless, evidence suggests that premarital sex was a common, but surreptitious, occurrence.  The worship of Inanna/Ishtar, which was prevalent in Mesopotamia could involve wild, frenzied dancing and bloody ritual celebrations of social and physical abnormality. It was believed that "nothing is prohibited to Inanna", and that by depicting transgressions of normal human social and physical limitations, including traditional gender definition, one could cross over from the "conscious everyday world into the trance world of spiritual ecstasy."

Afterlife
The ancient Mesopotamians believed in an afterlife that was a land below our world. It was this land, known alternately as Arallû, Ganzer or Irkallu, the latter of which meant "Great Below", that it was believed everyone went to after death, irrespective of social status or the actions performed during life. Unlike Christian Hell, the Mesopotamians considered the underworld neither a punishment nor a reward. Nevertheless, the condition of the dead was hardly considered the same as the life previously enjoyed on earth: they were considered merely weak and powerless ghosts. The myth of Ishtar's descent into the underworld relates that "dust is their food and clay their nourishment, they see no light, where they dwell in darkness." Stories such as the Adapa myth resignedly relate that, due to a blunder, all men must die and that true everlasting life is the sole property of the gods.

Eschatology
There are no known Mesopotamian tales about the end of the world, although it has been speculated that they believed that this would eventually occur. This is largely because Berossus wrote that the Mesopotamians believed the world to last "twelve times twelve sars"; with a sar being 3,600 years, this would indicate that at least some of the Mesopotamians believed that the Earth would only last 518,400 years. Berossus does not report what was thought to follow this event, however.

Historical study

Challenges
The modern study of Mesopotamia (Assyriology) is still a fairly young science, beginning only in the middle of the Nineteenth century, and the study of Mesopotamian religion can be a complex and difficult subject because, by nature, their religion was governed only by usage, not by any official decision, and by nature it was neither dogmatic nor systematic. Deities, characters, and their actions within myths changed in character and importance over time, and occasionally depicted different, sometimes even contrasting images or concepts. This is further complicated by the fact that scholars are not entirely certain what role religious texts played in the Mesopotamian world.

For many decades, some scholars of the ancient Near East argued that it was impossible to define there as being a singular Mesopotamian religion, with Leo Oppenheim (1964) stating that "a systematic presentation of Mesopotamian religion cannot and should not be written." Others, like Jean Bottéro, the author of Religion in Ancient Mesopotamia, disagreed, believing that it would be too complicated to divide the religion into many smaller groups, stating that:

 Should we dwell on a certain social or cultural category: the "official religion, " the "private religion, " the religion of the "educated"... Should we emphasise a certain city or province: Ebla, Mari, Assyria? Should we concentrate on a certain period in time: the Seleucid, the Achaemenid, the Chaldean, the Neo-Assyrian, the Kassite, the Old Babylonian, the Neo-Sumerian, or the Old Akkadian period? Since, contrary to what some would imprudently lead us to believe, there were no distinct religions but only successive states of the same religious system... – such an approach would be excessive, even pointless.

Panbabylonism

According to Panbabylonism, a school of thought founded by Hugo Winckler and held in the early 20th century among primarily German Assyriologists, there was a common cultural system extending over the ancient Near East which was overwhelmingly influenced by the Babylonians. According to this theory the religions of the Near East were rooted in Babylonian astral science- including the Hebrew Bible and Judaism. This theory of a Babylonian-derived Bible originated from the discovery of a stele in the acropolis of Susa bearing a Babylonian flood myth with many similarities to the flood of Genesis, the Epic of Gilgamesh. However, flood myths appear in almost every culture around the world, including cultures that never had contact with Mesopotamia. The fundamental tenets of Panbabylonism were eventually dismissed as pseudoscientific, however Assyriologists and biblical scholars recognize the influence of Babylonian mythology on Jewish mythology and other Near Eastern mythologies, albeit indirect. Indeed, similarities between both religious traditions may draw from even older sources.

Influence

Biblical eschatology
In the New Testament Book of Revelation, Babylonian religion is associated with religious apostasy of the lowest order, the archetype of a political/religious system heavily tied to global commerce, and it is depicted as a system which, according to the author, continued to hold sway in the first century CE, eventually to be utterly annihilated. According to some interpretations, this is believed to refer to the Roman Empire, but according to other interpretations, this system remains extant in the world until the Second Coming.
 Revelation 17:5: "And upon her forehead was a name written, mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth,"
 Revelation 18:9: "The kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her will weep and lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burning, standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, 'Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour your judgment has come.' And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more..."

Popular culture
Mesopotamian religion, culture, history and mythology has influenced some forms of music. As well as traditional Syriac folk music, many heavy metal bands have named themselves after Mesopotamian gods and historical figures, including the partly Assyrian band Melechesh.

New religious movements

Various new religious movements in the 20th and 21st centuries have been founded that venerate some of the deities found in ancient Mesopotamian religion, including various strains of neopaganism that have adopted the worship of the historical Mesopotamian gods.

Reconstruction
As with most dead religions, many aspects of the common practices and intricacies of the doctrine have been lost and forgotten over time. However, much of the information and knowledge has survived, and great work has been done by historians and scientists, with the help of religious scholars and translators, to re-construct a working knowledge of the religious history, customs, and the role these beliefs played in everyday life in Sumer, Akkad, Assyria, Babylonia, Ebla and Chaldea during this time. Mesopotamian religion is thought to have been an influence on subsequent religions throughout the world, including Canaanite/Israelite, Aramean, and ancient Greek.

Mesopotamian religion was polytheistic, worshipping over 2,100 different deities, many of which were associated with a specific state within Mesopotamia, such as Sumer, Akkad, Assyria or Babylonia, or a specific Mesopotamian city, such as;  (Ashur), Nineveh, Ur, Nippur, Arbela, Harran, Uruk, Ebla, Kish, Eridu, Isin, Larsa, Sippar, Gasur, Ekallatum, Til Barsip, Mari, Adab, Eshnunna and Babylon.

Some of the most significant of these Mesopotamian deities were Anu, Enki, Enlil, Ishtar (Astarte), Ashur, Shamash, Shulmanu, Tammuz, Adad/Hadad, Sin (Nanna), Kur, Dagan (Dagon), Ninurta, Nisroch, Nergal, Tiamat, Ninlil, Bel, Tishpak and Marduk.

Mesopotamian religion has historically the oldest body of recorded literature of any religious tradition. What is known about Mesopotamian religion comes from archaeological evidence uncovered in the region, particularly numerous literary sources, which are usually written in Sumerian, Akkadian (Assyro-Babylonian) or Aramaic using cuneiform script on clay tablets and which describe both mythology and cultic practices. Other artifacts can also be useful when reconstructing Mesopotamian religion. As is common with most ancient civilizations, the objects made of the most durable and precious materials, and thus more likely to survive, were associated with religious beliefs and practices. This has prompted one scholar to make the claim that the Mesopotamian's "entire existence was infused by their religiosity, just about everything they have passed on to us can be used as a source of knowledge about their religion." While Mesopotamian religion had almost completely died out by approximately 400–500 CE after its indigenous adherents had largely become Assyrian Christians, it has still had an influence on the modern world, predominantly because many biblical stories that are today found in Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Mandaeism were possibly based upon earlier Mesopotamian myths, in particular that of the creation myth, the Garden of Eden, the flood myth, the Tower of Babel, figures such as Nimrod and Lilith and the Book of Esther. It has also inspired various contemporary neo-pagan groups.

See also
 Anunnaki
 Mesopotamian prayer
 Music of ancient Mesopotamia
 Religions of the ancient Near East
 Yazdânism

Notes

References
 Bottéro, Jean (2001). Religion in Ancient Mesopotamia. Trans. by  Teresa Lavender Fagan. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. .
 Bottéro, Jean (2001b). Everyday Life In Ancient Mesopotamia. JHU Press. .
 .
 Davies, Owen (2009). Grimoires: A History of Magic Books. New York: Oxford University Press.
 .
 Schneider, Tammi (2011). An Introduction To Ancient Mesopotamian Religion. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
 Ringgren, Helmer (1974). Religions of The Ancient Near East, Translated by John Sturdy. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press.
 Meador, Betty De Shong (2000). Inanna, Lady of Largest Heart. Austin: University of Texas Press.

External links

 Ancient Mesopotamian Gods and Goddesses
 Comprehensive list of Mesopotamian gods (World History Encyclopedia)

Religion in ancient Israel and Judah

Ancient Mesopotamian religion


Razhden Arsenidze () (1 October 1880 – 24 May 1965) was a Georgian jurist, journalist, and politician.

He was involved with the Georgian Social Democratic Labour Party, branch of Russian Social Democratic Labour Party and sided with its Menshevik wing in 1903. He later engaged in revolutionary journalism and was exiled by the Imperial Russian administration to Siberia whence he was able to return only after the 1917 February Revolution toppled down the Tsar's government.

Arsenidze was one of the authors of the 26 May 1918 Act of Independence of Georgia and was elected to the Constituent Assembly of Georgia in 1919. The same year, he became a Minister of Justice in the cabinet of Noe Zhordania, and held this post until being briefly succeeded by Evgeni Gegechkori in 1921. At the same time, he functioned as a secretary of the Central Committee of Georgian Social Democratic Labour Party.

The Red Army invasion of Georgia of 1921 forced him into exile to France where he published his memoirs about Joseph Stalin (frequently cited in the works of a prominent U.S. Sovietologist Robert C. Tucker) and produced a study of the 18th-century Georgian code of King Vakhtang VI (both works published in Paris, 1963).

Arsenidze died in Paris and was buried at the Leuville Cemetery.

Works

Арсенидзе Р. Из воспоминаний о Сталине //Новый журнал. 1963.

Sources

Lang, David Marshall (1962), A Modern History of Georgia, p. 162. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.
Stephen F. Jones (2005), Socialism in Georgian Colors: The European Road to Social Democracy, 1883-1917, pp. 119–120, 157, 178. Harvard University Press, .
The history of the Ministry of Justice of Georgia. Ministry of Justice of Georgia. Accessed on November 20, 2007.

References

1880 births
1965 deaths
Journalists from Georgia (country)
Jurists from Georgia (country)
Memoirists from Georgia (country)
Russian Social Democratic Labour Party members
Mensheviks
Social Democratic Party of Georgia politicians
Democratic Republic of Georgia
Government ministers of Georgia (country)
Georgian exiles
Emigrants from Georgia (country) to France
Burials at Leuville cemetery
20th-century journalists
20th-century memoirists

Razhden Arsenidze


The 29th Division War Memorial is a war memorial beside the junction of the A45 and the B4455 near Stretton-on-Dunsmore, near Rugby, Warwickshire. It commemorates the service of the British 29th Division during the First World War. The memorial became a Grade II listed building in 1987, upgraded to Grade II* in 2015, and it is described by Historic England as "probably the most significant single memorial in Britain associated with the Gallipoli campaign".

Background
The 29th Division was assembled in the East Midlands from late 1914, from largely regular army units returned from garrison duty in various parts of the British Empire. Approximately 18,000 servicemen paraded near Rugby on 12 March 1915, formed into a marching column approximately  long which was reviewed by the King, George V. The column took over an hour to pass the King, who took the salute mounted on his horse Delhi.

Soon afterwards, the 29th Division left England for war service abroad: with the Royal Naval Division, the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps and the French Corps expéditionnaire d'Orient, it formed the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force that landed on the Gallipoli peninsula in April 1915.

The British forces withdrew in January 1916 and the 29th Division was redeployed to France, serving on the Western Front, including the first day of the Battle of the Somme, and also at the Battle of Arras and the Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele), and then was part of the British Army of the Rhine that occupied parts of Germany after the Armistice. By the time it was disbanded in March 1919, the division had suffered some 94,000 casualties.

Memorial
The memorial was designed and constructed by Robert Bridgeman and Sons from Lichfield. It comprises a tapering  monolith of Portland stone topped by a stone urn with crown and orb, standing on a square pedestal. The north side of the pedestal bears the red triangle insignia of the division, above which is a panel with the inscription:

"HERE / IN THE CENTRE OF ENGLAND / WHERE TELFORD'S COACHING-ROAD / FROM LONDON TO HOLYHEAD / IS CROSSED BY THE ROMAN FOSSE WAY / ON THE 12TH OF MARCH 1915 / HIS MAJESTY KING GEORGE V / REVIEWED HIS TROOPS / OF THE IMMORTAL / XXIX DIVISION / SHORTLY BEFORE THEY EMBARKED / FOR ACTIVE SERVICE / IN GALLIPOLI" and carries on in smaller type "IN MEMORY OF THEIR STAY IN WARWICKSHIRE / 1914-15 AND OF THEIR INCOMPARABLE SERVICES / SINCE THE AVENUE ON THIS ROAD WAS REPLANTED / AND THIS MONUMENT ERECTED BY / INHABITANTS OF THE COUNTY". Inscriptions on the base of the pedestal record the division's order of battle.

It was erected after the war, near the place where the 29th Division was reviewed in 1915. The £646 cost was raised from public subscriptions, and £720 donated by John Montagu Douglas Scott, 7th Duke of Buccleuch who also donated the land for the memorial.

The memorial was unveiled by the Lord Lieutenant of Warwickshire William Craven, 4th Earl of Craven at a ceremony attended by over 7,000 people on 24 May 1921, Empire Day. It was accepted by the Chairman of Warwickshire County Council Lord Algernon Percy and dedicated by the Bishop of Coventry Huyshe Yeatman-Biggs.

The memorial stands in circle of gravel with an avenue of lime trees. The limes were planted in the 1950s and later renewed, and replace the remains of a  long avenue of elm trees to either side of the London Road (now the A45) planted in the early 18th century across Dunsmore Heath which had themselves been renewed as part of the memorial project in 1920-21 after many were blown down by a storm in 1912. Two captured field guns were displayed to either side of the memorial, but it is believed that they were removed as scrap metal during the Second World War.

The site is now within a roundabout installed in the mid-1980s at the junction of the A45 (close to the A5 route from London to Holyhead which follows the line of the Roman Watling Street) and the B4455 (part of the Roman Fosse Way from Exeter to Lincoln). The memorial became a Grade II listed building in 1987, upgraded to Grade II* in March 2015

See also

Lancashire Fusiliers War Memorial, memorial to a regiment which fought as part of the 29th Division
Grade II* listed buildings in Rugby (borough)
Grade II* listed war memorials in England

References

 29th Division Column, Imperial War Museum
 29th Division Column, War Memorials Online
 The Incomparable 29th Division
 29th Division, The Long, Long Trail
 Gallipoli troops of the 'Immortal 29th Division' remembered 100 years after parade for the King, 27 March 2015
 War Memorial on London Road, Stretton on Dunsmore, near Rugby, Warwickshire, Our Warwickshire
 War Memorial on London Road, Stretton on Dunsmore, near Rugby, Warwickshire, Warwickshire County Council

Grade II* listed monuments and memorials
Grade II* listed buildings in Warwickshire
Monuments and memorials in Warwickshire
World War I memorials in England
Buildings and structures completed in 1921

29th Division War Memorial


Elkanah  ( 'Ĕlqānā "El has purchased") was, according to the First Book of Samuel, the husband of Hannah, and the father of her children including her first, Samuel. Elkanah practiced polygamy; his other wife, less favoured but bearing more children, was named Peninnah. The names of Elkanah's other children apart from Samuel are not given. Elkanah plays only a minor role in the narrative, and is mostly a supporting character to Eli, Hannah, and Samuel.

Lineage

According to 1 Samuel 1, Elkanah was the son of Jeroham, who was the son of Elihu, who was the son of Tohu, who was the son of Zuph. He is described as having originated from Zuph, specifically Ramathaim-Zophim, which was part of the tribal lands of Ephraim. While he is called an Ephraimite in 1 Samuel, the Books of Chronicles state that he was a Levite.

Elkanah lived in the mountains of Ephraim (1 Chronicles 6:16-30, 33-37); the Tribe of Levi had no contiguous parcel of land, but were assigned to dwell in certain cities that were scattered throughout the tribes of Israel (Book of Genesis 49:6-7; Book of Numbers 35:6). The fact that Elkanah, a Levite, was denominated an Ephraimite is analogous to the designation of a Levite belonging to Judah (Judges 17:7, for example).

The Books of Samuel variously describe Samuel as having carried out sacrifices at sanctuaries, and having constructed and sanctified altars. According to the Priestly Code/Deuteronomic Code only Aaronic priests/Levites (depending on the underlying tradition) were permitted to perform these actions, and simply being a nazarite or prophet was insufficient. The books of Samuel and Kings offer numerous examples where this rule is not followed by kings and prophets. In the Book of Chronicles, Samuel is described as the son of a Levite, rectifying this situation; however critical scholarship widely sees the Book of Chronicles as an attempt to redact the Book(s) of Samuel and of Kings to conform to later religious sensibilities.

According to rabbinical commentary, Hannah was Elkanah's first wife, and although childless, his favorite. He would attempt to comfort her, "Hannah, why are you weeping? Why are you not eating? Why are you so miserable? Am I not better to you than ten sons?" (1 Samuel 1:8).

Talmud
The Talmud lists him as a prophet, along with his wife and son.

See also
 Midrash Samuel

Notes

Books of Samuel people
Samuel
Tribe of Levi

Elkanah


The Early Beatles is the Beatles' sixth album released on Capitol Records, and their eighth album overall for the American market. All of the tracks on this album had previously been available on the Vee-Jay Records release Introducing... The Beatles, issued in January, 1964. The front cover photo for this album features the same back cover photo for the British LP Beatles for Sale.

The album is included in Robert Christgau's "Basic Record Library" of 1950s and 1960s recordings, published in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981).

Background
Vee-Jay Records had gained American distribution rights to the tracks on this album before the group became popular in America (because Capitol Records, the US subsidiary of EMI which owned the Beatles' record label Parlophone, had declined to release the group's records in America), and their releases had initially failed to chart. But after the group became famous, Vee-Jay, still holding the rights to the early material, was able to reissue them in America and this time the records sold in the millions. Capitol filed a lawsuit attempting to stop Vee Jay from distributing the tracks, but was unsuccessful. In October 1964, Vee-Jay's license to distribute the Beatles recordings they possessed expired, thus giving Capitol the distribution rights for the tracks on the album.

Release and reception
Although Vee-Jay (and subsidiary,  Tollie Records) had compiled four albums, ten singles and one EP in the space of just fifteen months from these Beatles tracks, when issued by Capitol, The Early Beatles sold well, but its highest Billboard chart position was only number 43, making it the only original Beatles album issued by Capitol or United Artists Records not to reach numbers 1 or 2 in America (with the exception of the Capitol documentary album, The Beatles' Story, which peaked at number 7). Capitol did little to promote The Early Beatles since the label merely viewed it as a replacement for Introducing...The Beatles, rather than a "new" Beatles album. The Early Beatles was certified Gold ($1 million in sales) on 8 January 1974 and Platinum (1 million copies sold) on 10 January 1997 by the RIAA. The album was released in both mono and stereo versions. As no stereo masters of "Love Me Do" and "P.S. I Love You" exist, Capitol used EMI's duophonic mixes of both songs. The mono pressing of the album was made with a two-to-one fold-down of the stereo tapes, as evidenced by John and Paul's vocal collision and chuckle heard in the third verse of "Please Please Me".  The original mix on the UK mono issue of the Please Please Me album uses an edit to correct the mistake, while the stereo version of the same album does not. So the existence of the vocal error in a mono mix is unique to The Early Beatles as well as a short-lived Capitol Starline 45 rpm single released in October, 1965 and deleted only two months later.

Compact disc
The Early Beatles is available on compact disc as part of The Capitol Albums, Volume 2 boxed set (catalogue number CDP 0946 3 57498 2 3), in both its original stereo and mono fold-down Capitol mixes. In 2014, a second CD version of The Early Beatles containing the 2009 remastered UK stereo and mono mixes, was issued individually and as part of the Beatles The U.S. Albums boxed set.

Personnel
 John Lennon – rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, harmonica, vocals
 Paul McCartney – bass guitar, vocals
 George Harrison – lead guitar, acoustic guitar, vocals
 Ringo Starr – drums, tambourine, maracas
 Andy White – drums on Love Me Do and P.S. I Love You
 George Martin – celesta on Baby It's You

Track listing
The album consists of eleven of the fourteen tracks from the Beatles' first American album Introducing...The Beatles as well as their first British LP Please Please Me.  All songs written by Lennon-McCartney except where noted.

Side one
"Love Me Do" – 2:23
"Twist and Shout" (Phil Medley and Bert Russell) – 2:33
"Anna (Go to Him)" (Arthur Alexander) – 3:00
"Chains" (Gerry Goffin and Carole King) – 2:27
"Boys" (Luther Dixon and Wes Farrell) – 2:25
"Ask Me Why" – 2:28

Side two
"Please Please Me" – 2:00
"P.S. I Love You" – 2:05
"Baby It's You" (Burt Bacharach, Mack David, and Luther Dixon, credited as Barney Williams) – 2:38
"A Taste of Honey" (Ric Marlow and Bobby Scott) – 2:04
"Do You Want to Know a Secret" – 1:59

Remaining Vee-Jay tracks issued on LP by Capitol in the US

Charts and certifications

Chart performance

Certifications

Notes

References

Albums produced by George Martin
The Beatles compilation albums
1965 compilation albums
Capitol Records compilation albums

The Early Beatles


Keane are an English rock band. They started in East Sussex. They are known for using pianos and their little use of guitars in their music. They listen to artists like The Beatles, U2 and Oasis.

Tim Rice-Oxley and Dom Scott composed the songs that the band played from 1997 to 2001. When Dom left in 2001, Tim composed all the future songs.

History

Beginning (1995 - 2003)
Pianist Tim Rice-Oxley and singer Tom Chaplin were friends since they were kids. Rice-Oxley's brother was born on the same day and hospital in 1979.

They studied at Vinehall School and later at Tonbridge School. There, they met the other member of the band, Richard Hughes.

Tim made the band in 1995 with his friend Dominic Scott. They named the band "The Lotus Eaters". They changed their name to "Cherry Keane" in 1997, when Chaplin entered the band. Cherry Keane was a woman who served tea at Tim and Tom's school. The name changed again to "Keane". In an interview on 2006, Rice-Oxley said that the band was called Coldplay, but he gave this name to a friend (Chris Martin, of Coldplay).

Keane began playing songs by other artists, but soon they wanted to play their own songs.
Their first live performance (gig) was in 1998, at the "Hope & Anchor" pub (bar) in England.

They made 2 CDs and sold at the pubs where they played. Scott left the band in 2001. Tim wrote "Everybody's Changing" for this.

In December 2002, Simon Williams of Fierce Panda went to a Keane gig in and he offered to make the band's next and first commercial single (song), "Everybody's Changing".
The single was released on 2003.

Hopes and Fears (2003 - 2006)

After another single, in 2004, Island Records invited Keane to make a single with them. "Everybody's Changing" was made after "Somewhere Only We Know". An album was released in May and called "Hopes And Fears". The album was very successful and it was the second best-seller album of the year.

The album sold five million (5,000,000) copies. In 2006, they competed for a Grammy but they lost.

Under the Iron Sea (2005 - 2006)

Keane began recording their second album, "Under the Iron Sea", in 2005, with producer Andy Green.

The first two singles from the album were "Atlantic" and "Is It Any Wonder?". Now, the album has sold one million (2,000,000) copies in the world.

Perfect Symmetry (2008)
Their third album is called Perfect Symmetry produced with Island Records. It was released 13 October 2008 to favourable reviews. According to international Island Records manager, Jon Turner, "the general international feel is of excitement and 'Spiralling' is a favourite track of the US company.". The album included the singles "Spiralling", "The Lovers Are Losing", "Perfect Symmetry" and "Better Than This".

Strangeland (2011-2012)
The band's fourth album was released in May 2012 through Island Records. It went straight to No.1 in the UK Albums Chart. It included the singles "Silenced By The Night", "Disconnected", "Sovereign Light Cafe" and "Black Rain". The album cover is photographed in Bexhill-On-Sea in East Sussex, which is where the Sovereign Light Cafe is located and where the video for "Sovereign Light Cafe" was filmed.

Cause & Effect (2018-2019)
The band's fifth album after a five-year hiatus released on September 20th 2019. The band got together in 2018 and started to work on a new album after Rice-Oxley had been through a divorce and Chaplin had been through therapy for addiction. It included the singles "The Way I Feel", "Love Too Much" and "Stupid Things". It reached number 2 in the charts.

Equipment list
This is a list of Keane's equipment.
 Piano:
 Yamaha CP70B Electric piano
 Yamaha CP70M Electric piano
 Synthesizers:
 Rhodes Suitcase Piano
 Nord Lead 3
 Yamaha CP60M
 Bass:
 Fender Precision Bass
 Fender Jazz
 Yamaha CP35 Bass synthesizer
 Yamaha DX-7 synthesizer
 Organs:
 Hammond XK2
 Drums:
 Yamaha Maple Custom "Absolute Nouveau"
 Microphones:
 Sennheiser e602s/e604s/e935s/421
 Shure Beta 57/91
 Other:
 Apple PowerBook G4 Titanium
 Apple PowerMac G5

Members

 Tim Rice-Oxley - piano, bass, keyboards, backing singer
 Tom Chaplin - singer, live keyboards, organ
 Richard Hughes - drums
 Dominic Scott - guitar, keyboard (left in 2001)

Discography
Keane releases:

Singles (songs)
 "Call Me What You Like" (1996)
 "Wolf At The Door" (1997)
 "Everybody's Changing" (1999)
 "This Is The Last Time" (1999)
 "Somewhere Only We Know" (2000)
 "Everybody's Changing" (2000) (made again)
 "Bedshaped" (2000)
 "This Is the Last Time" (2000) (made again)
 "Bend and Break" (2001)
 "Atlantic" (2002)
 "Is It Any Wonder?" (2002)
 "Crystal Ball" (2002)
 "Try Again" (2003)
 "A Bad Dream" (2003)
 "The Night Sky" (2003)
 "Spiralling" (2004)
 "The Lovers Are Losing" (2004)
 "Better Than This" (2005)

Albums
 Hopes and Fears (2004)
 EP Live Recordings 2004 (2005) (concert album)
 Under the Iron Sea (2006)
 Keane Live 06 (concert album)
 Perfect Symmetry (2008)
 Strangeland (2012)

Awards
Keane have won the following awards:
 Brit Award for New Artist
 Brit Award for Best Album
 Premios Onda for Best International Band
 Q Magazine for Best Album
 Ivor Novello for Best Composer (Tim Rice-OXley)

References

Other websites

Sites
 Official site
 Lyrics, official FAQ and tabs

1995 establishments in England
1990s British music groups
2000s British music groups
2010s British music groups
English rock bands

Musical groups established in 1995
Musical quartets
New wave bands
People from East Sussex

Keane (band)


Cazorla is a municipality of Spain located in the province of Jaén, Andalusia. According to the 2006 census (INE), it had a population of 8,173 inhabitants.

Description
Cazorla lies at an elevation of 836 metres on the western slope of the Sierra de Cazorla. It is the entry point and base for visits to the Natural Park of Sierras de Cazorla, Segura y Las Villas Natural Park, a vast protected area of magnificent river gorges and forests.  Spain's second longest river, the Guadalquivir, has its source in the mountains to the south of the settlement.

Distances to nearby cities are:  Jaén, 121 km.; Granada, 205 km.; and Linares, 71 km. See  Mapa de Carreteras de Jaén

The town is constructed around three main squares, the Plaza de la Constitución (La Tejera), the Plaza de la Corredera (El Huevo, because of its egg shape), and the Plaza Santa Maria (La Plaza Vieja). The Cerezuelo Rive runs underneath the Plaza Santa Maria. This last square is the oldest and is connected to the other two by narrow, twisting streets. It takes its name from the old cathedral which, unfinished and damaged by floods in the seventeenth century, was later burnt by French troops. It is now in ruin, and it serves as scenic or institutional events. Above the square sits an austere, reconstructed Moorish castle tower called La Yedra. Still higher up on the rocky escarpment lies the ruins of still yet another ruined fortress, the Castle of the Five Corners (Castillo de las Cinco Esquinas).

A recommended excursion is to the nearby village of La Iruela, which has a ruined Moorish fortress perched on a daunting rock peak. A number of battles were fought here during the Reconquista until Don Rodrigo Jimenez de Rada, archbishop of Toledo, reconquered it in 1231 and made it the seat of his archbishopric.

Its primitive structure is relatively intact. The principal defenses consist of a crumbling principal tower and two separate enclosures, with some of its battlements still intact, connected by a long curtain wall. These walls also protected the monastery, whose remains are still visible nearby. See Castles

The history of Cazorla goes back more than two thousand years. Under the Romans the town had the name of Carcacena.  Not only were there significant Iberian and Roman settlements here, but this was also the see of one of the first bishoprics of early Christian Spain.  Under the Moors it was a strategic stronghold and one of dozens of fortresses and watchtowers guarding the mountains.  Taken after a bitter struggle in 1235, during the Reconquista, the town then acted as an outpost for Christian troops.

Today Cazorla is heavily dependent on rural tourism and hosts events such as the Cazorla Blues Festival each July. There is also production of high-quality olive oil from the one third of municipal land planted in olive trees. Sierra de Cazorla is the Denomination of Origen for this olive oil. See Sierra de Cazorla. The town celebrates its annual fair in mid-September.

For such a small town there are a surprising number of three and four star hotels and countless rural guest houses.

Winter nights can be cold and windy due to the elevation, but snow is infrequent. Summers are cooler than the low-lying plains to the west and the town fills with tourists during the summer months.

Twin towns — Sister cities
 La Sénia, Catalonia, Spain

References

External links
Cazorla
Sefaradim of Monastir
Photos of Cazorla
Web Portal of Sierras de Cazorla
The Forum
 Monuments of Spain
 Natural Park Sierras de Cazorla, Segura and Las Villas

Municipalities in the Province of Jaén (Spain)

Cazorla


The Apalachee were a Native American people who historically lived in the Florida Panhandle.

History
The Apalachee occupied the site of Velda Mound starting about 1450 CE. They had left the area before the Spanish came in the 17th century. They first saw Spanish explorers in the 16th century. This is when the Hernando de Soto expedition arrived. They lived between the Aucilla River and Ochlockonee River, at the head of Apalachee Bay. This was an area known to Europeans as the Apalachee Province.

The Spaniards had created Catholic missions throughout their province by the early 1600s. The Apalachee were farmers and noted warriors. By 1655 there were eight towns, each with a mission. In addition to the Spanish, each town had an Apalachee population of between 6,000–8000. The British with their Creek allies often raided the Apalachee and Spanish towns. In 1703 a British army and hundreds of Creek warriors attacked the territory. The Apalachee were nearly destroyed. The survivors, who numbered about 1400, dispersed. Over time many Apalachee mixed in with other groups, particularly the Creek Confederacy. Others found protection with the French in what is now Alabama and Louisanna. About 300 descendants in Rapides Parish, Louisiana, claim an Apalachee identity today.

Language
The Apalachee spoke a Muskogean language called Apalachee. The language is now extinct.

References

Other websites
 The Apalachees of Northwest Florida
 Apalachee Before European Contact

Native Americans

Apalachee


Methanogens are microorganisms that make methane as a metabolic byproduct in anoxic conditions. The organisms are archaea,  a different domain from bacteria.  They are common in wetlands, where they make marsh gas.

Methanogens are also common in the digestive tracts of animals such as ruminants and humans. Methane is often belched out.

In marine sediments methane is produced when sulfates are low. This happens below the top layers. Methanogenic archaea populations play an important role in anaerobic wastewater treatments. Some methanogens are extremophiles, found in environments such as hot springs and submarine hydrothermal vents as well as in the "solid" rock of the Earth's crust, kilometers below the surface.

Methanogens convert acetic acid to methane in a fermentation process. Do not confuse them with methanotrophs, which use up methane for their carbon and energy requirements. Methanogens were discovered in 1776 and were formed 3.6 billion years ago.

References

Archaeans
Metabolism

Methanogen