Prehistoric Asia

Prehistoric Asia refers to events in Asia during the period of human existence prior to the invention of writing systems or the documentation of recorded history. This includes portions of the Eurasian land mass currently or traditionally considered as the continent of Asia. The continent is commonly described as the region east of the Ural Mountains, the Caucasus Mountains, the Caspian Sea and Black Sea, bounded by the Pacific, Indian, and Arctic Oceans. This article gives an overview of the many regions of Asia during prehistoric times.
Origin of Asian hominids.
Early hominids.
About 1.8 million years ago, "Homo erectus" left the African continent. This species, whose name means "upright man", is believed to have lived in East and Southeast Asia from 1.8 million to 40,000 years ago. Their regional distinction is classified as "Homo erectus sensu stricto". The females weighed an average of and were on average tall. The males weighed an average of and were on average tall. They are believed to have had a vegetarian diet with some meat. They had small brains, when compared to the later "Homo sapiens" and used simple tools.
The earliest human fossils found outside of Africa are skulls and mandibles of the Asian "Homo erectus" from Dmanisi (modern Republic of Georgia) in Caucasus, which is a land corridor that led to North Asia from Africa and Near East or Middle East. They are approximately 1.8 Ma (Megaannum, or million years) old. Archaeologists have named these fossils "Homo erectus georgicus". There were also some remains that looked similar to the "Homo ergaster", which may mean that there were several species living about that time in Caucasus. Bones of animals found near the human remains included short-necked giraffes, ostriches, ancient rhinoceroses from Africa and saber-toothed tigers and wolves from Eurasia. Tools found with the human fossils include simple stone tools like those used in Africa: a cutting flake, core and a chopper.
The oldest Southeast Asian "Homo" fossils, known as the "Homo erectus" Java Man, were found between layers of volcanic debris in Java, Indonesia. Fossils representing 40 "Homo erectus" individuals, known as Peking Man, were found near Beijing at Zhoukoudian that date to about 400,000 years ago. The species was believed to have lived for at least several hundred thousand years in China, and possibly until 200,000 years ago in Indonesia. They may have been the first to use fire and cook food.
Skulls were found in Java of "Homo erectus" that dated to about 300,000 years ago. A skull was found in Central China that was similar to the "Homo heidelbergensis" remains that were found in Europe and Africa and are dated between 200,000 and 50,000 years ago.
"Homo sapiens".
Between 60,000 and 100,000 years ago, "Homo sapiens" came to Southeast Asia by migrating from Africa, known as the "Out of Africa" model. "Homo sapiens" are believed to have migrated through the Middle East on their way out of Africa about 100,000 years ago. Near Nazareth, remains of skeletons, including a double grave of a mother and child, dating to about 93,000 years ago were found in a Jebel Qafzeh cave. Included among the remains was a skeleton of another species which was not "Homo sapiens"; it had a "distinct and undivided browridge that is continuous across the eye sockets" and other discrepancies.
Researchers believe that the modern human, or "Homo sapiens", migrated about 60,000 years ago to South Asia along the Indian Ocean, because people living in the most isolated areas of the Indian Ocean have the oldest non-African DNA markers. Humans migrated into inland Asia, likely by following herds of bison and mammoth and arrived in southern Siberia by about 43,000 years ago and some people moved south or east from there. By about 40,000 years ago "Homo sapiens" made it to Indonesia, where a skull was found on Borneo in Niah Cave.
"Homo sapiens" females weighed an average of and were on average tall. The males weighed an average of and were on average tall. They were omnivorous. As compared to earlier hominids, "Homo sapiens" had larger brains and used more complex tools, including, blades, awls, and microliths out of antlers, bones and ivory. They were the only hominids to develop language, make clothes, create shelters, and store food underground for preservation. In addition, language was formed, rituals were created, and art was made.
Prehistory by region.
North Asia.
Above China is North Asia or Eurasia, in which Siberia, and Russian Far East are extensive geographical regions which has been part of Russia since the seventeenth century.
At the southwestern edge of North Asia is Caucasus. It is a region at the border of Europe and Asia, situated between the Black and the Caspian seas. Caucasus is home to the Caucasus Mountains, which contain Europe's highest mountain, Mount Elbrus. The southern part of the Caucasus consists of independent sovereign states, whereas the northern parts are under the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation.
The Armenian Highland, in Prehistoric Armenia, shows traces of settlement from the Neolithic era. The Shulaveri-Shomu culture of the central Transcaucasus region is one of the earliest known prehistoric culture in the area, carbon-dated to roughly 6000–4000 BC. Another early culture in the area is the Kura-Araxes culture, assigned to the period of ca. 3300–2000 BC, succeeded by the Georgian Trialeti culture (ca. 3000–1500 BC).
The prehistory of Georgia is the period between the first human habitation of the territory of modern-day nation of Georgia and the time when Assyrian and Urartian, and more firmly, the Classical accounts, brought the proto-Georgian tribes into the scope of recorded history.
Central Asia.
Central Asia is the core region of the Asian continent and stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to China in the east and from Afghanistan in the south to Russia in the north. It is also sometimes referred to as Middle Asia, and, colloquially, "the 'stans" (as the six countries generally considered to be within the region all have names ending with the Persian suffix "-stan", meaning "land of") and is within the scope of the wider Eurasian continent. The countries are Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan.
East Asia.
East Asia, for the purpose of this discussion, includes the prehistoric regions of China, Taiwan, Tibet, Xinjiang and Korea. Study of Prehistoric China includes its paleolithic sites, neolithic cultures, Chalcolithic cultures, the Chinese Bronze Age, and the Bronze Age sites.
China.
The earliest traces of early humans, "Homo erectus", in East Asia have been found in China. Fossilized remains of Yuanmou Man were found in Yunnan province in southwest China and have been dated to 1.7 Ma. Stone tools from the Nihewan Basin of the Hebei province in northern China are 1.66 million years old.
Early humans were attracted to what was the warm, fertile climate of Central China more than 500,000 years ago. Skeletal remains of about 45 individuals, known collectively as Peking Man were found in a limestone cave in Yunnan province at Zhoukoudian. They date from 400,000 to 600,000 years ago and some researchers believe that evidence of hearths and artifacts means that they controlled fire, although this is challenged by other archaeologists. About 800 miles west of this site, near Xi'an in the Shaanxi province are remains of a hominid who lived earlier than Peking Man.
Between 100,000 and 200,000 years ago, humans lived in various places in China, such as Guanyindong in Guizhou, where they made Levallois stone artefacts. After 100,000 BCE, "Homo sapiens" lived in China and by 25,000 BCE the modern humans lived in isolated locations on the North China Plain, where they fished and hunted for food. They made artifacts of bone and shell.
Starting about 5000 BCE humans lived in Yellow River valley settlements were they farmed, fished, raised pigs and dogs for food, and grew millet and rice. Begun during the late Neolithic period, they were the earliest communities in China. Its artifacts include ceramic pots, fishhooks, knives, arrows and needles. In the northwest Shaanxi, Gansu and Henan provinces two cultures were established by about the sixth millennium BCE. They produced red pottery. Other cultures that emerged, that also made pottery, include the Bao-chi and Banpo people of Shaanxi and the Chishan people of Hebei.
The Yangshao people, who existed between 5000 and 2500 BCE, were farmers who lived in distinctive dwelling which were partly below the surface. Their pottery included designs which may have been symbols that later evolved into written language. Their villages were in western Henan, southwestern Shanxi and central Shaanxi. Between 2500 and 1000 BCE the Longshan culture existed in southern, eastern and northeastern China and into Manchuria. They had superior farming and ceramic making techniques to that of the Yangshao people and had ritualistic burial practices and worshiped their ancestors. Subsequent dynasties include the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, when the Old Chinese language developed.
Bronze Age China Dynasties
Taiwan.
The Prehistory of Taiwan ended with the arrival of the Dutch East India Company in 1624, and is known from archaeological finds throughout the island. The earliest evidence of human habitation dates back 50,000 years or more, when the Taiwan Strait was exposed by lower sea levels as a land bridge. Around 5000 years ago farmers from mainland China settled on the island. These people are believed to have been speakers of Austronesian languages, which dispersed from Taiwan across the islands of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. The current Taiwanese aborigines are believed to be their descendants.
Korea.
Prehistoric Korea is the era of human existence in the Korean Peninsula for which written records did not exist. It, however, constitutes the greatest segment of the Korean past and is the major object of study in the disciplines of archaeology, geology, and palaeontology.
Japan.
The study of Prehistoric Japan includes Japanese Paleolithic and Jōmon.
Near East.
The Near East is a geographical term that roughly encompasses Western Asia. Despite having varying definitions within different academic circles, the term was originally applied to the maximum extent of the Ottoman Empire, but has since been gradually replaced by the term Middle East. The region is sometimes called the Levant.
At 1.4 million years, Ubeidiya in the northern Jordan River Valley is the earliest "Homo erectus" site in the Levant.
Near East Bronze Age timeline
South Asia.
South Asia is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities, also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east. Topographically, it is dominated by the Indian Plate, which rises above sea level as the Indian subcontinent south of the Himalayas and the Hindu Kush. South Asia is bounded on the south by the Indian Ocean and on land (clockwise, from west) by West Asia, Central Asia, East Asia, and Southeast Asia.
The Riwat site in modern-day Pakistan contains a few artifacts – a core and two flakes – that might date human activity there to 1.9 million years ago, but these dates are still controversial.
The South Asian prehistory is explored in the articles about Prehistoric Sri Lanka, India and Tamil Nadu
Bronze Age India timeline
Southeast Asia.
Southeast Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic and volcanic activity. Southeast Asia consists of two geographic regions: (1) Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as Indochina, comprising Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, and Vietnam; and (2) Maritime Southeast Asia, comprising Brunei, Malaysia, East Timor, Indonesia, Philippines, and Singapore.
The rich Sangiran Formation in Central Java (Indonesia) has yielded the earliest evidence of hominin presence in Southeast Asia. These "Homo erectus" fossils date to more than 1.6 Ma. Remains found in Mojokerto have been dated to 1.49 Ma.
Its history is told by region, including the Early history of Burma and Cambodia, as well as the articles about Prehistoric Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Skeleton remains were found of a hominid that was only tall as an adult in Indonesia on the island of Flores. It had a small brain and, nicknamed "the Hobbit" for its diminutive structure, was classified distinctly as "Homo floresiensis". Evidence of H. floresiensis has been dated to be from 50,000 to 190,000 years ago, after early publications suggested the small hominid persisted until as recently as 12,000 years ago.


Tatsuno Domain

The was a Japanese domain of the Edo period, located in Harima Province (modern-day Tatsuno, Hyōgo).


Akita Tomosue


Fujiwara no Nakamaro Rebellion

The , also known as the Emi Rebellion, was a short-lived and unsuccessful Nara period military confrontation in Japan resulting from a power struggle between former Empress Kōken and the main political figure of the time, Fujiwara no Nakamaro from the powerful Fujiwara clan.
Through the support of Emperor Shōmu and Empress Kōmyō, with whom he had family-ties, Nakamaro rapidly climbed the career ladder during the 740s and 750s achieving some of the highest ranks and court positions. During the early years of the reign of Emperor Junnin, whom he supported, Nakamaro ruled the country "de facto". Following the death of Kōmyō in 760, the retired Empress Kōken started to take government affairs into her hand resulting in a conflict between Nakamaro/Junnin on one side and Kōken and her close associate Dōkyō on the other.
In order to restore authority, on the 11th day of the 9th month, Tenpyō-hōji 8 (October 14, 764), Nakamaro seized the signs of imperial authority and left the capital at Nara for the Eastern Provinces. The group around Kōken reacted by mobilizing an army and blocking access on the main roads. The two armies eventually engaged in a battle a week later on the 18th day of the 9th month (October 21, 764) at Miozaki on the western side of Lake Biwa in which Nakamaro was killed, ending the rebellion.
Background.
Rise to power.
Fujiwara no Nakamaro was a Japanese aristocrat ("kuge") and the second son of Fujiwara no Muchimaro, founder of the "nanke" (southern) branch of the Fujiwara clan. He lived during the Nara period, when the Fujiwara were struggling with the Tachibana clan for influence at the court. Under Emperor Shōmu, who ruled from 724 through 749, the Tachibana were ahead and the influential position of "Minister of the Left" ("sadaijin") was held by Tachibana no Moroe. Fujiwara no Nakamaro made his first contact with the military in 740 as "Great General of the Forward Cavalry" for the escort of Emperor Shōmu's tour to the eastern provinces during the Fujiwara no Hirotsugu rebellion.
In 743, he was appointed as consultant. Shortly thereafter, when the capital was moved from Kuni near the Tachibana power base to the Shigaraki Palace, near Fujiwara holdings, Nakamaro, backed by his aunt Empress Kōmyō joined the Council of State ("Daijō-kan"). As head of the Office of Empress Consort ("shibi chudai"), he was in charge of Kōmyō's principal affairs and his political influence increased as laws issued by the office carried the same weight as imperial edicts. At the same time the power of Tachibana no Moroe, who had been backed by retired Empress Genshō until her death in 748, was in decline. Through this favoritism Nakamaro rose quickly in court rank from 4th senior lower (744) through 4th senior upper (746), 3rd junior (748), 3rd senior (749) and 2nd junior rank in 750.
Shōmu abdicated in 749 in favour of his daughter, Princess Takano-hime, then Empress Kōken. While being an independent and strong-willed woman who identified herself with the Chinese autocratic Empress Wu, during her first reign until 758 she would still be under the shadows of her father, retired Emperor Shōmu and Kōmyō. She would favour the Fujiwara and particularly Nakamaro, giving him much revenue and power by bestowing on him titles. When Moroe publicly criticized Kōken at a drinking party in 755, Nakamaro and his followers forced him to retire. Nakamaro's rapid rise through favoritism was seen with envy, even among the Fujiwara clan members and particularly by his brother Toyonari.
Following Moroe's death in 757, his son, Tachibana no Naramaro plotted to remove Fujiwara no Nakamaro and to overthrow Empress Kōken ("Tachibana no Naramaro Conspiracy"). But Nakamaro learned about it and had the main conspirators executed and his own brother Toyonari send to exile in Dazaifu. In the same year, Nakamaro was appointed to "Minister of Right" ("Udaijin") and "Minister of Office of Empress Consort" ("shibi naishō") which oversaw military affairs of the country. Other positions he held during this time included "Vice Minister" ("jundaijin") and "Senior Commander of the Middle Bodyguards".
In 758, Kōken abdicated formally in favour of Emperor Junnin, a Nakamaro puppet, married to Nakamaro's daughter. The title of the Minister of Right, held by Nakamaro at the time, was changed to "taihō" (Grand Guardian) and his name changed to Emi no Oshikatsu. Nakamaro, at the peak of his power, went north to subdue the Ezo people and made plans to conquer the Korean kingdom of Silla. On the 11th day of the 1st month, 760, Nakamaro was promoted from taihō to taishi and received the 1st junior rank; and in 762 the 1st senior rank.
Conflict with Kōken.
Nakamaro's authority started to decline when his main supporter, Kōmyō, died in 760 and Kōken started to play a more active role in politics. She would allow reigning Emperor Junnin, who was supported by Nakamaro, to do only ceremonial and minor tasks, while she would handle all important governing issues including gratifications and punishments. This is expressed in an edict issued by Kōken in the 6th month of 762 stating: ""henceforth the emperor will conduct minor affairs of state, but important matters of state, including the dispensation of awards and punishments, will be handled by me". Famines, epidemics and expenses for the planned invasion of Silla and a new palace at Hora added to the burden on the government. Furthermore Kōken had developed an intimate relationship with the Buddhist monk, Dōkyō, who had healed her of some illness in the 4th month of 762. In the following year, the appointment of Dōkyō to the third rank in the ecclesiastical hierarchy ("Shōsozu") meant the displacement of Jikun, a priest close to Nakamaro.
Worried about governmental power moving to Dōkyō and seeing fellow clansman drifting towards the group around Kōken, Nakamaro set out for his revolt. On a more general note, this conflict can be seen as a disagreement between two groups over the role of the Emperor, with the one around Kōken favouring direct authority as in China at the time, while on the other side Nakamaro and his followers supported the practice of pre-Tenmu times where the Emperor as high priest of kami affairs was the spiritual leader of the country while actual political power lay in the hand of the leader of an imperial ("in-law") clan.
Rebellion.
In order to restore authority and prestige, Nakamaro planned a "coup d'état". As head of the Middle Guards he seized control of the military in the capital and neighboring provinces, placing his sons in key position at the Palace Guards and as governors of Echizen and Mino Provinces, which were strategic for access to Eastern Honshu. Two other sons (Kuzumaro and Asakari) he named to the Council of State. In return Kōken appointed Fujiwara no Masaki (a critic of Nakamaro) to "Middle Counselor" and had 69-year-old Kibi no Makibi brought back from exile. The latter had played a major role during the Hirotsugu Rebellion and was an expert in Chinese strategy. He was put in charge with the preparation of forces and the reinforcement of defensive works at the Seta River, which would turn out to cut off Nakamaro from the Eastern Provinces. On the 2nd day of the 9th month (October 1) of 764, Nakamaro asked Kōken to name him "Supervisor of Military Messengers from the Four Provinces of the Kinai, the Three Provinces of the Passes (Echizen, Mino, Ise) and Ōmi, Tanba, and Harima".
To see whether the celestial bodies were aligned favorably for a rebellion, Nakamaro consulted the yin-yang master Ōtsu Ōura who was associated with Prince Wake, a nephew of Emperor Junnin. However the astronomer leaked the plot and was rewarded with a promotion to the 4th rank. When Kōken tried to take the imperial seal and station bells from Emperor Junnin on the 11th day of the 9th month (October 10, 764), events escalated. A struggle ensued as Nakamaro sent one of his sons to regain the objects, Kōken replied by sending two crack soldiers and eventually Nakamaro succeeded by ordering the Captain of the Middle Guards to recapture the seals and travel passes. He named the elder brother of Funado, Shioyaki the new emperor. Together with Shioyaki and carrying the signs of imperial authority, he left the capital for Ōmi.
The Former Empress stripped Nakamaro of rank, position and surname (11th day of 9th month). To prevent his flight to the east she had the three ancient barriers () at Suzuka, Fuwa (near what would later be Sekigahara-juku) and Arachi closed. These marked the border to the Eastern Provinces. The army that she raised, occupied the provincial headquarters (kokufu) at Ōmi and had the Seta bridge burned, so that Nakamaro had to find another escape route. Fujiwara no Kurajimaro was sent as leader of an army against Nakamaro.
The rebel army turned north towards Echizen Province where he was counting on support from his son who was provincial governor. But again, Kōken's forces were quicker and with the help of the local elite they had the governor killed and Arachi pass blocked. Seeing no way for escape to the north or south, Nakamaro's group tried to cross Lake Biwa on a boat but had to return due to adverse wind. Eventually it came to an archery battle on the 18th day of the 9th month (October 17, 764) from 1am to 3pm at Miozaki in Ōmi Province. When Nakamaro's side seemed to gain the upper hand, reinforcement from the capital arrived forcing the rebels to retreat. While trying to escape by boat, Nakamaro and his family were captured and executed. The rebel's head was taken as trophy to the capital. According to the "Nihon Kōki", a total of 375 people who participated in the rebellion were sentenced to the death penalty, but that was subsequently commuted to exile.
Factors cited for the failure of Nakamaro's Rebellion include the envy and lack of support from within the Fujiwara clan. Also, despite his high position as Supervisor of Military Messengers, unlike Kōken, Nakamaro did not manage to gain support from local district magistrates who had a major part of military force—particularly fighters on horseback—under their command.
Aftermath.
With her strongest rival out of the way, the retired Empress Kōken was left in full charge of the state of affairs. In what Bender suggests to be a triumphal procession, in 765 Kōken and other court members set out on a royal tour of the provinces of Kawachi, Izumi and Kii. Junnin, who had become Emperor through Nakamaro's support, was disliked by Kōken. In the month following the rebellion, she issued a significant edict in which titular Emperor Junnin was accused of being in collusion with the rebel. She dethroned Junnin and degraded him to the rank of a prince. Together with his mother he was exiled to Awaji Island where conditions were appalling and on an escape attempt the ex-emperor was captured and killed. Kōken became Empress for the second time as Empress Shōtoku.
As Empress Shōtoku she surrounded herself with loyal people. Fujiwara no Toyonari, who had opposed and been exiled by his brother Nakamaro, was brought back from Dazaifu during the revolt on the 14th day of the 9th month (October 13, 764) and reinstated as Minister of Right. She promoted Dōkyō from junior 5th to junior 3rd rank, and in 765 made him prime minister prelate ("daijōdaijin zenshi"). His authority was further increased on the 20th day of the 10th month, 766, to Buddhist King ("Hō-ō") and on the 20th day of the 3rd month, 767 by creation of the "Imperial Office for the Buddhist King" ("Hō-ō Kyūshiki"). In titles he rivaled semi-legendary Prince Shōtoku and he'd also receive officials in the manner of an emperor, however Dōkyō only held spiritual (not political) responsibilities. With Dōkyō's rise in power also came an active propagation of Buddhism. Following the rebellion, Empress Shōtoku ordered the copying of the tripiṭaka, Buddhist canon, and in order to pacify the souls of those that had died during the Nakamaro Rebellion, had the Hyakumantō Darani produced — a large scale commission of miniature wooden pagodas and woodblock prints for distribution in provincial temples.
The Fujiwara retained enough power to prevent a plan to raise Dōkyō to Emperor in 769, known as the Dōkyō Incident. When Empress Shōtoku died in 770 without leaving any children, they managed to break the Imperial line of descendants of Emperor Temmu, which they thought would always favor direct imperial rule over control by a non-imperial clan like the Fujiwara. Dōkyō was sent into exile and several Fujiwara leaders were appointed to prominent government positions. According to Zachert, the political instability and threat to the imperial line of succession due to Dōkyō during Kōken/Shōtoku's rule acted as a deterrent and Japan would not see another female ruler for close to 1000 years.


Ashikaga Ujimitsu

 (1359–1398) was a Nanboku-chō period warrior and the Kamakura-fu's second "Kantō kubō", or "Shōgun" Deputy. Son of first "Kantō Kubō" Ashikaga Motouji, he succeeded his father in 1367 at the age of nine when this last suddenly died during an epidemic. It was during his reign that the "Kanto kubō" title became common enough to appear for the first time in writing. It is in fact contained in a 1382 entry of the . This title was in itself rebellious, because it was first adopted by Takauji himself and its use therefore implied equality with the shogun. In fact, sometimes the "Kanto Kubō" was called "Kantō shōgun".
Ujimitsu was the first "Kantō kubō" to openly aspire to the shogunate, and his relationship with "shōgun" Ashikaga Yoshimitsu in Kyoto consequently deteriorated to the point of being likened to that of "cats and dogs".
Biography.
Ujimitsu became "Kantō Kubō" at the age of nine when his father suddenly died at the age of 29 during an epidemic. Because of his extremely young age, he was given Uesugi Noriaki as a regent and Rinzai Zen priest Gidō Shūshin as a tutor. (Noriaki however died the following year and was replaced by his son Yoshinori.) Immediately after Ujimitsu's accession to power, Uesugi Noriaki left Kamakura for Kyoto to represent the "Kantō kubō" at Ashikaga Yoshimitsu's accession ceremony. Taking advantage of his absence, some Musashi families, led by the Kawagoe and the Takasaka clans, revolted against Ashikaga rule in the so-called , and were soon joined by Shimotsuke Province's Utsunomiya clan. The Uesugi however remained faithful and defeated the coalition.
Ujimitsu worked continuously to define and solidify the structures of the Kamakura Bakufu he had inherited. Having gained full control of Kantō, he then conceived the idea of becoming "shōgun", taking advantage of the fact that "shōgun" Yoshimitsu was busy subduing Kyūshū. He however over the years abandoned the idea after Uesugi Noriharu committed seppuku in protest and he came to realize his lack of reliable support from other clans like the Toki and the Kyōgoku. He ordered a campaign against Oyama Yoshimasa, a Kantō supporter of the Southern Court against the Ashikaga, who had revolted. Although Yoshimasa was defeated and killed in 1382, the fight against the Oyama clan continued for Ujimitsu's entire life. In 1391 he allied himself with "shōgun" Yoshimitsu against the Yamana clan and, although the campaign ended before he could participate, he was nonetheless rewarded with the Mutsu and Dewa Provinces.
Ujimitsu never completely abandoned the ambition to become "shōgun", and gradually his relationship with shogun Yoshimitsu worsened to the point of being described as one of open enmity. The fact he didn't have to suffer the consequences of the situation is probably due to the good offices of his childhood tutor Gidō Shūshin who, being in Kyoto, could intercede for him with Yoshimitsu, but also to the mediation of the Uesugi and to his work against the Oyama clan, which had served the interests of the Ashikaga's Kansai branch.
He died at the age of 41 and was buried at a Rinzai temple near Kamakura called , later incorporated in Zuisen-ji). This is the same temple where in his grandson Mochiuji, defeated in 1439 by Kyoto's army, would commit "seppuku" disembowel himself to avoid the shame of capture.
On the spot near Zuisen-ji where Yōan-ji used to be stands a stele, which reads:
When "Kantō kubō" Ashikaga Ujimitsu died on January 11, 1398, he was given the posthumous name . His son Mitsukane built this temple and gave it his father's posthumous name. The temple's "oshō" Dombo Ushūō was a follower of Musō Soseki. On March 24, 1439 "kubō" Mochiuji, a descendant of Ujimitsu, fought here against "shōgun" Yoshinori, was defeated and disemboweled himself. The temple was burned and never rebuilt. This is where it stood.
Erected by the Kamakuramachi Seinendan in March 1926


ICAANE

The International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East (ICAANE) is a biennial conference cycle initiated by archaeologists from several European universities. The first ICAANE took place in Rome in 1998. Since then the congress has been held every other spring at a different European university. The host of each ICAANE is chosen two years in advance by the ICAANE Scientific Committee. In 2018, in Munich, the decision of arranging the next congress was taken and the University of Bologna was chosen as the host of the 12 ICAANE. This event was subsequently delayed to 2021 as a result of the COVID-19 crisis.
8 ICAANE Warsaw 2012.
On April 30 – May 4, 2012 the 8 ICAANE took place in Warsaw. It was organized by the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology of the University of Warsaw, Institute of Archaeology of the University of Warsaw and the Kazimierz Michałowski Foundation. The congress was attended by nearly 1000 participants who delivered 450 speeches. The media patronage of the 8 ICAANE was undertaken by the National Geographic Polska. The 8 ICAANE Warsaw Organizing Committee also obtained honorary patronages of the President of the Republic of Poland, Bronisław Komorowski, the Minister of Science and Higher Education, Prof. Barbara Kudrycka, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Radosław Sikorski.


Kitabatake Akiyoshi

Kitabatake Akiyoshi (北畠顕能) (1326–1383) was a Kamakura Period military figure who defended the Southern Court during the Nanboku-chō period.
The son of Kitabatake Chikafusa, he helped lead Loyalist forces in the capture of Kyoto in 1352.
He is enshrined at Kitabatake Shrine in Tsu, Mie Prefecture.


Itakura Katsumi


Kammanu

Kammanu was a Luwian speaking Neo-Hittite state in a plateau (Malatya Plain) to the north of the Taurus Mountains and to the west of Euphrates river in the late 2nd millennium BC, formed from part of Kizzuwatna after the collapse of the Hittite Empire. Its principal city was Melid.


Battle of Sultanabad

The Battle of Sultanabad occurred on February 13, 1812, between the Russian Empire and Persian Empire. In the resulting battle, the Russians were routed.
The Persians, numerically superior, were led by Abbas Mirza and fought the Russians led by Pyotr Kotlyarevsky. A Persian offensive into Georgia, with their British and French trained Nezam-e Jadid infantry, initiated the battle. The Persians had also obtained European cannons from the French.
The Persians won the battle by moving faster than the Russians and attacking them near their camp. Although this was a minor victory for the Persians, Abbas Mirza tried to show it as a major victory.
In the end however the Persians lost the invasion due to the Russian maneuvering around the Aras River which culminated in the Battle of Aslanduz. The Persians would have given up had it not been for the news of Napoleon's invasion of Russia in the spring.


List of 8th-century religious leaders

This is a list of the top-level leaders for religious groups with at least 50,000 adherents, and that led anytime from January 1, 701, to December 31, 800. It should likewise only name leaders listed on other articles and lists.


Vani Vilasa Sagara

Vani Vilasa Sagara, popularly known as Mari Kanive () is a dam in Hiriyur Taluk, Chitradurga District, in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located about 20 km south-westerly to Hiriyur, 32 km north-easterly to Hosadurga, 58 km south-easterly to Holalkere, 50 km northerly to Huliyar, 60 km southerly to Chitradurga, and 180 km north-westerly to Bangalore.
Vani Vilasa Sagara was built by the Mysore Maharajas pre-independence across the river Vedavathi. Vani Vilasa Sagara is the oldest dam in the state. The dam is an exquisite piece of architecture, an engineering marvel for that time. The dam irrigates a large area of the Deccan region of Central Karnataka, which is otherwise largely a dry land. It irrigates more than 100 km² of land in Hiriyur and Challakere taluks through right and left bank canals. Vani Vilasa Sagara dam is also the source of domestic water for water capacity is very high due to unusual rain dam become dry Hiriyur and Chitradurga.
History.
Vani Vilasa Sagara across the river Vedavathi was built by the Mysore Maharajas pre-independence. The project was initiated by the regent Queen Maharani Kempa Nanjammani Vani Vilasa Sannidhana who was a widow of Maharaja Chamaraaja Wadiyar. She is known for her exemplary social works. For the construction of this dam royals of Mysore had to pledge royal jewellery due to shortage of money, that is why it was named as "Vani Vilasa Sagara". The Mari Kanive irrigation project was initiated by Sir. Mark Cubbon, the British Resident of Mysore. Further improvements to the dam was initiated by Diwan Sheshadri Iyer in 1897 at the order of his Highness the Maharaja of Mysore Sri Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV. Vani Vilasa Sagara is higher than KRS dam of Mysore.
Tourism.
The dam has been a tourist attraction for many years, but has been apparently neglected as a prime tourist destination. Recently, though, the development work undertaken by the forest department to restore the nearby forest cover, and the 'panchavati' gardens - a garden of medicinal plants with the old Indian cultural theme has improved the tourist figures, making it a popular weekend picnic spot. The 'panchavati' garden has medicinal plants lined up representing cultural themes - the 'Rashis', 'Sapta swaras', 'Nava grahas' and many more. The tourists who visit Chitradurga and Hosdurga often visit Mari kanive on the way. The historic maarikaamba temple here also attracts many tourists. The place is around 20 km drive from Hiriyur on a deviation from NH4 (Bangalore - Mumbai National Highway).
The backwaters of the dam is tailormade for water sports. The Youth Services and Sports Department has chalked out a programme to draw more youngsters towards adventure sport in the region. With the help of General Thimayya Adventure Sports Academy, an adventure sport centre is being planned at a cost of Rs 2.5 crore.
Directions.
Vanivilas dam is about 160 km from Bangalore. So it is advisable to tag Chitradurga fort with this beautiful place. No clear sign boards are available on the highway (but one landmark is there ofter we reach nd cross hiriyur bypass right side from Bangalore to Puna highway we see one sugar factory opposite side service road we take left nd go straight in 18 km), so once you reach Hiryur, slow down for the next 5 km and ask the locals for the correct deviation. Once the deviation is taken clear sign boards are available and the place is about 20 km from the deviation from the highway.
References.


Shalmaneser IV

Shalmaneser IV was king of Assyria (783–773 BC). He succeeded his father Adad-nirari III, and was succeeded by his brother Ashur-dan III. Very little information about his reign has survived.
According to the eponym canon, he led several campaigns against Urartu. His rulership was severely limited by the growing influence of high dignitaries, particularly that of Shamshi-ilu, who was then commander-in-chief of the army.


Fancheng District

Fancheng is a district of the city of Xiangyang, Hubei, People's Republic of China.
History.
Fancheng, or Fan City, was an ancient city in Hubei, situated on the northern side of the Han River, opposite Xiangyang on the southern side of the river. Throughout history, the city has served both military and economic purposes and was famous for numerous battles including the Battle of Fancheng during the Three Kingdoms period and the Siege of Xiangyang during the Mongol invasions.
In 1949, Fancheng was merged with Xiangyang to form Xiangfan, a prefecture-level city. Fancheng is now a district of that city, encompassing and having a population of 821,531, according to a 2010 census.
Administrative divisions.
Subdistricts:
Towns:


2009 in Japan

Events in the year 2009 in Japan.


Fukue Domain

, also known as , was a Japanese domain of the Edo period. It is associated with Hizen Province in modern-day Saga Prefecture.
In the han system, Fukue was a political and economic abstraction based on periodic cadastral surveys and projected agricultural yields. In other words, the domain was defined in terms of "kokudaka", not land area. This was different from the feudalism of the West.
History.
Gotō was settled in ancient times, and was a port of call on the trade route between Japan and Tang-dynasty China in the Nara period. Buddhist prelate Kūkai stopped at Gotō in 806. The islands came under the control of the Gotō clan, a local warlord clan specializing in trade and piracy, during the Muromachi period. The area was the center of intense European missionary activity in the late 16th century, which converted most of the population to the "Kirishitan" (Christian) faith. Gotō Harumasa (1548–1612) served Toyotomi Hideyoshi and participated in the Japanese invasions of Korea. During the Battle of Sekigahara he remained neutral. In 1602, after the start of the Tokugawa bakufu he pledged loyalty to "shōgun" Tokugawa Ieyasu, and in return was confirmed in his ancestral holdings, with revenues of 15,000 "koku".
The early days of the domain were troubled by political problems, with rivalries between different factions of the ruling clan, violent clashes over fishing rights between various islands and villages, and the unpopular suppression of the Kirishitan religion per the Tokugawa bakufu's national seclusion policies. The situation became more quiescent in the 18th century with increasing prosperity due to the growth of whaling and the establishment of the separate Tomiei sub-domain (3000 "koku") on Shinkamigotō.
Towards the end of the Bakumatsu period, the 10th daimyō of Fukue Domain, Gotō Moriakira began reconstruction of Ishida Castle, with the work completed by Gotō Morinori, the 11th and final "daimyō". It was the last Japanese castle to be built under the Tokugawa Bakufu.
Morinori was an early supporter of the "Sonnō jōi" movement, and was ordered to Kyoto in October 1867 to pledge his loyalty to Emperor Meiji. He arrived in Kyoto in 1868, and the new Meiji government ordered him to strengthen the maritime defenses of his island domain against possible incursions by foreign ships. To defray the costs of this program, the new government abolished the subsidiary fief of Tomie, and added its 3000 "koku" to his revenues. However, the people of Tomie were highly opposed to the union with Fukue, and it was not until July 1869 that he was able to take possession of the new territories. By this time, the position of "daimyō" had already been abolished, and his official title was "domain governor".
On July 15, 1871, Fukue domain was abolished with the rest of the han system, and became part of the new Nagasaki Prefecture.
The former Gotō domain is now part of Gotō city, Nagasaki Prefecture.
List of "daimyō".
The hereditary "daimyōs" were head of the clan and head of the domain. They were descendants of Gotō Iemori
Geography.
The area of the han was the Gotō Islands, off the western coast of Kyūshū in the East China Sea. The islands were considered part of Hizen Province.


Upu

Upu or Apu, also rendered as Aba/Apa/Apina/Ubi/Upi. was the region surrounding Damascus of the 1350 BC Amarna letters. Damascus was named "Dimašqu"/"Dimasqu"/ etc. (for example, "Dimaški"-(see: Niya (kingdom)), in the letter correspondence.
The region is only referenced in three letters, EA 53, 189, and 197 (EA is for 'el Amarna'). Etakkama of "Qidšu" (Kadesh) in the Beqaa (named the "Amqu") is in partial control, between allegiance to Pharaoh, and conjoining forces with the king of Hatti.
An example of the intrigue is from the last third of EA 53, (entitled: "Of the villain Aitukama"):
The intrigue of the three Amarna letters appears to involve areas to the north and northwest of Damascus, into Lebanon and the Beqaa (named Amqu).
And, for example Tašša, appears to be "Tahash," Tahaš, named after the biblical 'Tahash' personage; see: Patriarchs (Bible).


2006 in Russia

Events from the year 2006 in Russia.


Mimitori Site

The is an archaeological site containing the ruins of a Jōmon period settlement located in what is now part of the city of Mitsuke, Niigata in the Hokuriku region of Japan. The site was designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 2015.
Overview.
The Mimitori ruins are located in the Higashiyama Hills in the eastern portion of the Niigata Plain, on a ridge with an elevation of 76 meters. The size of this village ruin extends over 16,000 square meters, which makes it the largest in the Hokuriku region. The settlement existed from the middle Jōmon period (3000 to 2000 BC) through the late and final Jōmon period (2000 to 300 BC) and covered three overlapping areas. The middle Jōmon settlement was in the center of the hill, with houses in a horseshoe-shaped configuration around a central plaza, measuring 60 meters north-to-south by 70 meters east-to-west. The foundations of 12 oval-shaped pit dwellings measuring 8 x 3 meters were found, as was a large (10.6 centimeter) jadeite sphere.
The settlement expanded in the late Jōmon period to the west, forming a donut-shape, 200 meters north-to-south by 118 meters east-to-west with a central plaza 18 meters in diameter. A total of 66 pit dwelling foundations were found in this area. A midden was also discovered from this period. The final Jōmon period extended to the east of the original settlement. The style of buildings appears to have transitioned to elevated floor buildings. The pillar hole about 130 centimeters in diameter and was dug more than one meter deep, and a pillar about 50 centimeters in diameter was erected in it. Only two buildings were confirmed, but 36 similar holes were found in a wide area on the eastern side of the ruins. These are also considered to be pillar holes of the same building.
The site has been known since the end of the 19th century as a location where Jōmon pottery and stone tools could be found; however, it was not first excavated until 1967 after a spate of tomb robberies occurred in the area. As a result of these survey results, the momentum for protecting the ruins increased, and a development plan for a large-scale housing area in 1987 was canceled. From 2011 to 2014, and in 2016 the Mitsuke City Board of Education conducted excavations.


Trinil Fauna

The Trinil Fauna is a biostratigraphic faunal assemblage composed from several Javanese sites by Ralph von Koenigswald. Von Koenigswald assigned the early hominid fossils Java Man to the Trinil Fauna after discovering the main fossil of Java Man, a skullcap catalogued as "Trinil 2", in the same geological horizon.


Yanase-ura Site

 is an archaeological site with the ruins of a Jōmon period settlement located in what is now the city of Kakuda, Miyagi Prefecture in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan. The site received protection by the central government as a National Historic Site in 1977.
Overview.
The site is located on a slight elevation located in the western Kakuda Basin in the lower reaches of the Abukuma River, north of the urban center of Kakuda. It is composed of the ruins of a settlement with a thick relic inclusion layer measuring about 100 meters in length and about 50 meters in width, with artifacts located in soil levels up to 2 meters in depth. From pollen analysis and from the clay pottery and figurines, stoneware and animal bones uncovered, the site is estimated to date from the mid-Jōmon through the early Yayoi period. Also from pollen analysis, it appears that this was a lakeshore settlement in the mid-Jōmon period, but the lake gradually became a swamp by end of the Jōmon period. The foundations of numerous pit dwellings from the late Jōmon period and graves from the middle and late Jōmon period were uncovered during archaeological excavations from 1975-76. Eight more excavations have been carried out since 1982
The site was backfilled after excavation, and there is now nothing to see except for a grassy field with a stone market and plaque. It is located about 40 minutes on foot from Yokokura Station on the Abukuma Express.


2009 in Singapore

The following lists events that happened during 2009 in the Republic of Singapore.
Events.
Date unknown.
-Sembawang Shopping Centre opens to the public.


Fujiwara no Hamanari

 was a Japanese noble and poet of the Nara period. He was the son of Fujiwara no Maro, and, according to the genealogy book "Sonpi Bunmyaku", his mother was Uneme of Yakami no Kōri, Inaba Province, who is probably the same person who had a famous affair with Aki no Ōkimi. The collection of Japanese poems "Man'yōshū" does not include his works. With an unknown woman he had a son , among other children with other women. The footnote of "Sonpi Bunmyaku", however, notes that Toyohiko is actually the grandson of Hamanari. Hamanari achieved the court rank of and the position of "sangi".
Life.
As the heir of his father Maro, the founder of the Kyōke, Hamanari was a central figure of that clan. However, he was almost a generation younger than the second heads of the Nanke, Hokke, and Shikike, and this left him always a step behind their advancement.
Hamanari was conferred the rank of in 751. Under Empress Kōken, he held high-level positions in various ministries, but his promotion stagnated at this rank until Fujiwara no Nakamaro's rebellion in 764. He supported Empress Kōken's side in the conflict, and was promoted to a month later. He held a position as director of the "gyōbu-shō", and in 772 was promoted to and "sangi", joining the ranks of the "kugyō".
In 773, Emperor Kōnin's heir was disinherited, and according to the "rekishi monogatari" Mizukagami, Hamanari opposed Fujiwara no Momokawa's candidate Prince Yamabe, the future Emperor Kanmu, in favor of his brother by another mother, on the grounds that Yamabe's mother was descended from immigrants from Baekje.
Still, Hamanari was steadily promoted in Kōnin's court: in 774 to , in 775 to , and in 776 to .
In 781, after Emperor Kanmu assumed the throne, Hamanari was assigned away from the capital as director of the Dazaifu. Two months later, he was demoted within that body, had his retainers reduced from ten people to three and his stipend reduced by two-thirds, and was commanded to stop performing his actual duties and leave them to his supposed subordinate. This was likely intended by Kanmu to set an example for his opposition, and perhaps also as retribution. In 782, Hamanari's son-in-law Higami no Kawatsugu rebelled, and Hamanari was implicated and stripped of his high position as "sangi". He was never able to return to the center of government. Hamanari died in the Daizaifu in 790, at the age of 67.
Personality.
Hamanari was well-read, and practiced divination and onmyōdō. He held positions in various ministries, but was unable to produce any impressive results. According to the Shoku Nihongi, this brought suffering to his subordinates and the people.
For poetics, he is best known for "Kakyō Hyōshiki", the oldest extant piece of Japanese poetic criticism. In it, he attempts to apply phonetic rules of Chinese poetry to Japanese poetry.


Early history of Himachal Pradesh

According to the Mahabharta, the present day Himachal Pradesh consisted of a number of small republics also known as the "Janpadas"..


Date Chikamune

 was an mid-Edo period Japanese samurai, and the 9th "daimyō" of Sendai Domain in northern Japan, and the 25th hereditary chieftain of the Date clan.
Biography.
Chikamune was the eldest son of Date Narimura. His childhood name was Masachiyo (政千代). His mother, Nobuko, was the daughter of the "kampaku" Takatsukasa Sukehira, thus making Chikamune the second cousin of Emperor Kōkaku. His mother died shortly after his birth due to complications with the pregnancy, and both his grandfather and father followed during the same year, leaving the infant Chikamune as "daimyō" of Sendai. Normally, this would be cause for the Tokugawa shogunate to appoint a "metsuke" to oversee the domain until his majority, or could even be a cause of attainder, so the domain's officials kept the fact of Date Narimura's death a secret for several months until the succession was confirmed. In the same year, the infant Chikamune was wed to Aya-hime, a daughter of "Shōgun" Tokugawa Ienari. During this period, his grandmother, Kanshin-in, wielded great influence.
In 1797, Sendai was beset by the largest peasant revolt in its history. The causes were various, and included opposition to reforms initiated during the rule of Date Narimura, and the rebels included 61 upper-rank samurai and more than 2000 lower-rank samurai. Aya-hime also died during the same year.
In 1805, Kanshin-in died, and her influence was replaced by that of Chikamune's great-grandmother. In 1806, Chikamune was wed to Aya-hime's younger sister, Asa-hime, thus re-securing the connection between the Date clan and the Tokugawa, and in 1807, the retired "rōjū" Matsudaira Sadanobu spent four months in Sendai to oversee affairs. In 1808, the shogunate assigned Sendai Domain to secure the northern frontier of Japan at Hakodate, Iturup and Kunashir against increasing incursions by Russia. The domain dispatched 1700 troops to these areas.
In 1809, Chikamune contracted smallpox, Although he survived the disease, he was left disfigured to the extent that his appearance at any official function was deemed inappropriate. His younger half-brother, Tokusaburō (Date Narimune) was adopted as his heir in 1812. Chikamune died two months later at the age of 17. His grave is at the Zuihoden in Sendai.
His wife later remarried to Matsudaira Naritsugu, "daimyō" of Fukui Domain.
Controversy over death.
Chikamune was not seen in public after he contracted smallpox on 4 January 1806 and died of unknown causes two months after the appointment of Date Narimune as his successor. This has led many historians to postulate that Chikamune may have actually died in 1806, and that his death was kept a secret from the authorities. Sendai Domain had been in danger of attainder ever since the death of Date Narimura, and this had been avoided largely through a marriage tie with Shōgun Tokugawa Ienari. The death of Chikamune without heir would have voided this arrangement.


Awa-Katsuyama Domain

 was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Awa Province (modern-day Chiba Prefecture), Japan. It was centered in what is now part of the city of Kamogawa, Chiba.
History.
Most of the Bōsō Peninsula was controlled by the powerful Satomi clan during the Sengoku period. The Satomi fought numerous battles with the Later Hōjō clan of Odawara for control of the Kantō region. In 1580, Satomi Yoriyoshi built Tateyama Castle in southern Awa Province to guard the southern portion of his territories and increase his control over the entrance to Edo Bay. The castle is rebuilt by his son, Satomi Yoshiyasu in 1588, who also built a fortified residence, or "jinya" at Katsuyama, and what is now part of the city of Kamogawa to protect the northeastern approaches to Tateyama Castle. Following the Battle of Odawara in 1590, the Kantō region was assigned to Tokugawa Ieyasu, who confirmed the Satomi as daimyō of Awa and Kazusa Provinces, with revenues of 92,000 "koku". Following the Battle of Sekigahara, Satomi Yoshiyasu also gained control of Kashima District in Hitachi Province, which increased his holdings to 122,000 "koku". After his death in 1603, his territories were inherited by his son, Satomi Tadayoshi. However, Satomi Tadayoshi was related by marriage to Ōkubo Tadachika, and was implicated in the Ōkubo Nagayasu Incident of 1614, which the Tokugawa shogunate used as excuse to abolish Tateyama Domain and extinguish the Satomi clan.
In 1617, the Tokugawa shogunate established Naitō Kiyomasa as a "fudai daimyō", splitting of 30,000 "koku" of the former Satomi territories centered at Katsuyama and was allowed to build a "jin'ya" fortified residence, but not a full castle. He was followed by his son Naitō Masakatsu, who ruled until 1629. Naitō Masakatsu’s son Naitō Shigeyori resigned administration of the domain to assume the post of "Osaka jōdai"; as his heirs were underage at the time of his death, the domain reverted to "tenryō" status.
In 1668, Sakai Tadakuni who had risen through the administrative ranks within the Tokugawa shogunate, gained the requisite 10,000 "koku" in revenue to become daimyō and was permitted to revive the defunct Awa-Katsuyama Domain. His descendants continued to rule Awa-Katsuyama Domain until the Meiji Restoration. With the abolition of the han system in July 1871, Awa-Katsuyama Domain briefly became “Katuyama Prefecture”, which later became part of Chiba Prefecture.


2004 Afghan presidential election

An election to the office of President of Afghanistan was held on October 9, 2004. Hamid Karzai won the election with 55.4% of the votes and three times more votes than any other candidate. Twelve candidates received less than 1% of the vote. It is estimated that more than three-quarters of Afghanistan's nearly 12 million registered voters cast ballots. The election was overseen by the Joint Electoral Management Body, chaired by Zakim Shah and vice-chaired by Ray Kennedy, an American working for the United Nations.
After some accusations of fraud circulated on the day of the election, at least fifteen candidates declared that they were boycotting the ballot, but the boycott dissolved when the United Nations announced it would set up a three-person independent panel to investigate the charges of irregularities. The panel included a former Canadian diplomat, a Swedish electoral expert, and the third member was later named by the European Union.
The date was originally set for July 5, 2004. The elections were twice postponed, first until September, and then until October. Candidates for president also nominated two vice-presidential candidates. Some candidates used this to balance their ticket with regard to Afghanistan's three main ethnic communities. If no candidate had secured 50% of the votes, a run-off election would have been held.
Candidates and issues.
Twenty-three candidates put their name forward for presidency, but five of them dropped out of the running by the time campaigning began.
The favourite throughout was interim president Hamid Karzai. Karzai ran as an independent, though he had the backing of several political parties, including Afghan Mellat, a social democratic party.
Initially, General Abdul Rashid Dostum, a warlord that led the National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan and then became a member of the Afghan National Army in Karzai's first interim government, was expected to be Karzai's main challenger, but it soon became clear that his popularity was limited.
Yunus Qanuni, who served in several prominent positions in the interim government, instead emerged as the focus of opposition to Karzai. Qanuni, a leading member of the Northern Alliance, had the support of Mohammed Fahim, an interim vice-president who was dropped from the Karzai ticket during the campaign. Qanuni claimed to represent the legacy of Ahmad Shah Massoud, as did several other candidates (including Massoud's brother, one of Karzai's vice-presidential candidates).
Also running was Mohammed Mohaqiq. He was a leader of the Islamic Unity Party of Afghanistan, a minister under Burhanuddin Rabbani and Karzai, and had been a strong ally of Dostum. Mohaqiq criticised Karzai as a weak leader and pledged to unite conflicting factions and end the drugs trade. He faced widespread accusations that he committed war crimes during the fight against the Soviet occupation, subsequent internecine conflict within the Mujahedin, and later, against the Taliban.
The youngest candidate was 41-year-old Abdul Hafiz Mansoor. He was a member of the Northern Alliance and claimant to the legacy of Massoud. A journalist and former Minister for Information and Culture, Mansoor accused Karzai of trying to form an elected dictatorship.
The main candidate of the religious right was Ahmad Shah Ahmadzai, leader of the exiled government in Pakistan during the Soviet occupation. Ahmadzai formerly led a radical Islamist group which was active in the Mujahedin, and later in both the Taleban and Al-Qaida, but has since disavowed any links with them.
Hamyon Shah Aasifi represented monarchist groups, although the former King, Mohammed Zahir Shah, has renounced his claims to be head of state.
Abdul Satar Sirat held several ministerial positions in the early 1970s. Sirat later served as envoy for the exiled King and was initially voted leader of the interim government but stepped aside in favour Karzai.
Massouda Jalal, a medical doctor, was the only female candidate, although two women were nominated for vice-president (Nelab Mobarez running with Aasifi and Shafiqa Habibi running with Dostum).
Several candidates publicly supported women's rights, including Karzai, Wakil Mangal and, most prominently, the former police colonel Abdul Hasib Aarian. 72-year-old Abdul Hadi Khalilzai, the oldest candidate and a former teacher and religious lawyer, claimed to support women's rights "according to the Constitution, accepted Afghan tradition and the holy religion of Islam".
Latif Pedram, a journalist and poet, and Mohammed Ibrahim Rashid were strong advocates for the rights of Afghan refugees. Sayed Ishaq Gailani, a Muslim intellectual who fought against the Soviet occupation, stood to represent the Sufi Muslim minority. All candidates claimed to be able to build bridges between Afghanistan's various communities and factions. Ghulam Farooq Nejrabi, a paediatric physician and medical lecturer who called for an end to religious, ethnic and sexual discrimination, even claimed he could build bridges with the Taleban. Mahfuz Nedahi, who had served as Minister of Mines and Industry in the interim government, accused the other candidates of running on tribal or party lines and failing to offer a true programme of national unity, while Sayed Abdul Hadi Dabir, an amateur boxer and former fighter in the Mujahedin, criticised tribal nepotism in government appointments and called for a national Ulema to be formed as part of the elected parliament.
Campaigning and voting.
Ballots contained the names of candidates, accompanied by their photo and an icon of their choice. Where appropriate, the icon was the symbol of their political party. However, most candidates ran as independents regardless of their party affiliation, and selected generic icons to distinguish their candidacy. In order to avoid voting fraud, voters dipped their thumb in ink after they had cast their ballot.
In Afghanistan, polling centres opened at 6 am or 7 am in different areas, and were set to close at 4 pm. However, on election day, voting time was officially extended by two hours, but several polling centres closed on time before news of this announcement reached them.
Very significantly, over two million people voted among refugee communities in Iran and Pakistan, thanks to an operation conducted by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) through a remarkable logistic effort. In Peshawar, Pakistan, under the leadership of Stuart Poucher, a small team from IOM managed in less than two months to hire over 400 electoral officers, and over 6,000 polling officials, to conduct voter education for over 800,000 refugees, over half of whom voted.
Controversies.

Noble and royal titles of the Isle of Man

The following articles detail the noble and royal titles associated with the Isle of Man, a self-governing British Crown dependency in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland:


Engelbert, Duke of Carinthia

Engelbert II (died 13 April 1141), a member of the House of Sponheim, was Margrave of Istria and Carniola from about 1103/07 until 1124. In 1123, he succeeded his elder brother Henry as Duke of Carinthia and Margrave of Verona which he held until his retirement in 1135.
Life.
Engelbert II was the son of Count Engelbert I of Sponheim (d. 1096) and his wife Hedwig of uncertain descent, maybe a daughter of the Billung duke Bernard II of Saxony. His grandfather Count Siegfried I of Sponheim (d. 1065) came to Carinthia about 1035 as an attendant of Emperor Conrad II.
In 1099 Pope Urban II appointed Engelbert II "Vogt" protector of Saint Paul's Abbey, founded by his father. About 1100 he established the County of Kraiburg on the inherited estates of his wife Uta, daughter of Burgrave Ulric of Passau. He also acquired two castles in the Trixen valley near Völkermarkt from the Bishop of Gurk and the market town of Friesach in 1106. About 1107 he was elevated to a margrave in Istria and Carniola, succeeding Count Ulric II of Weimar.
Unlike his father, Engelbert II was a loyal supporter of the ruling Salian dynasty and also a fierce opponent of Archbishop Conrad I of Salzburg in the yet unresolved Investiture Controversy. He stood as guarantor of German king Henry V at his coronation as Holy Roman Emperor in February 1111 and witnessed the Concordat of Worms with Pope Callixtus II in September 1122. In the same year his elder brother Henry IV was created Duke of Carinthia and Margrave of Verona, and upon his death in 1123 Engelbert II succeeded him. The next year he ceded Istria to his son Engelbert III.
In 1135 Engelbert II renounced Carinthia and Verona, whereafter Emperor Lothair II enfeoffed his son Ulrich I. Engelbert retired to Seeon Abbey in the Bavarian Chiemgau, where he died on 13 April 1141.
Marriage and issue.
About 1103 he married Uta, daughter of Bulgrave Ulric of Passau (died 2 February 1099). Together they were the parents of the following children:
Sources.
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Prince Filiberto, Duke of Genoa

Prince Filiberto of Savoy, 4th Duke of Genoa ("Filiberto Lodovico Massimiliano Emanuele Maria"; 10 March 1895 – 7 September 1990) was the fourth Duke of Genoa and a member of the House of Savoy.
Born in Turin, Prince Filiberto was the second son of Prince Thomas of Savoy-Genoa, Duke of Genoa and his wife Princess Isabella of Bavaria (1863–1924). On 22 September 1904 he was given the title Duke of Pistoia.
Prince Filiberto pursued a career in the Royal Italian Army achieving the rank of General. A supporter of Benito Mussolini, he volunteered to serve in the Second Italo-Abyssinian War where he commanded the 1st Blackshirt Division. It was his division that raised the Italian flag over Amba Aradam. When Italy joined World War II, he became commander of the Italian 7th Army, but held no major commands after Italy joined the Allies.
Prince Filiberto married Princess Lydia of Arenberg (1 April 1905 in Brussels – 23 July 1977 in Lausanne) on 30 April 1928 in Turin. She was a daughter of Engelbert-Marie, 9th Duke of Arenberg, and Princess Hedwige of Ligne. They had no children.
After the Second World War a referendum was held in Italy where a majority of people voted to abolish the monarchy. With the death of his brother Ferdinando on 24 June 1963 he succeeded to the title Duke of Genoa.
Prince Filiberto died in Lausanne, Switzerland. His youngest brother Eugenio succeeded to the title Duke of Genoa.


Tiamat (yacht)

Tiamat is a 40-foot racing yacht that sails out of Dublin Bay, Ireland under the burgee of the Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club.
Design.
"Tiamat" was designed by Mark Mills for owner Tim Costello in 2004. She was designed to race competitively under the IRC rating system. Mark Mills has previously designed the DK46 (Yacht), the Mills 32 Aztec (Yacht) (now Raptor) & the Mills 36 Quokka (Yacht).
The hull, interior structure, and deck of "Tiamat" is built in foam cored Epoxy/E-glass, while the spinnaker pole and mast are carbon fibre. Mills has opted for a twin carbon wheel design rather than the standard single wheel as seen on most yachts of this size.
Construction.
Tiamat was constructed by [Vision Yachts] in Cowes, Isle of Wight. Vision Yachts have previously built "Wahoo" (Corby 41), "Gloves Off" (Corby 38) and many Kerr 11.3s.
Below decks has been designed by [Design Unlimited], the yacht interior design and styling house who are responsible for interiors of many modern super yachts. The boat is maintained by the team at Yacht Right Marine Services in Dublin.
Notable Results.
In May 2005 "Tiamat" won the Bell Lawrie Scottish Series, her first event following launching in May . "Tiamat" also won Class 1 Cowes Week.
In 2006, Tiamat teamed up with Andrew Allen and Colm Monahan's Belfast based J109 "No Naked Flames" and Eamonn Rohan's Corby 37, "Blondie III", to form Ireland Team Green to compete in the Rolex Commodores' Cup. Team Green put in a very strong challenge but were beaten into second place by the French Blue Team in the final Offshore Race.
Only weeks before the Commodores' Cup, "Tiamat" won the 2006 Fortis IRC Championships with 7 race wins, claiming the RORC IRC Championship Trophy
In 2007, "Tiamat" won the French IRC Nationals in Deauville, France, winning all 8 races in Class 0. This was followed up by a second place at the Irish National Championships in Cork.


Jakov of Serres

Jakov of Serres (; 1300–1365) was a medieval Serbian writer, scholar, translator, and hierarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church, one of the most important men of letters working in the 14th century.
Biography.
Evidence about his life is scarce but his literary legacy suggests an excellent knowledge of Greek and Slavic languages. In 1343, King and eventually Emperor, Stefan Dušan began to build the Monastery of the Holy Archangels near Prizren; and he appointed Jakov, a learned and highly esteemed monk, its first "hegumen" (abbot). Both Stefan Dušan and his wife Jelena were in awe of Jakov's wide knowledge and they often sought his company and counsel. In 1345, Stefan Dušan captured the city of Serres from the Byzantine Empire; and Jakov was appointed Metropolitan of Serres and its surrounding territories. The population of Serres was mixed Slavic, Albanian and Greek and Jakov was fluent in all three languages and their dialects. In fact, Jakov wrote some literature hymns in Greek and is numbered among the Greek authors as well as Serbian. Jakov was a disciple of Gregory of Sinai and a friend of Romylos of Ravanica.
After the sudden death of Stefan Dušan in 1355, Jelena, Dušan's wife, became a nun, took the name Jelisaveta, and moved from Skoplje, the capital of Serbia, to Serres. From there, she administered her estates; and Jakov was at her side as wise counsel. Jakov wrote the "Triodion" which he sent as his bequest to the Monastery of the Theotokos in Sinai in 1359 or 1360. At present, the Triodion (a two-part Triodion, one for Lent and the other for the period between Easter and Pentecost) is kept in Monastery of St. Catherine in Sinai. Copies are also kept at Hilandar Monastery, Mount Athos, Greece, and in libraries in the United Kingdom, Europe, and North America.
He is illustrated in the Serbian manuscript of scribe Kalist Rasoder's "Tetraevangelion" (The Four Gospels) dating to 1354, held at the British Library.


Barony of Preston and Prestonpans

The Barony of Preston and Prestonpans is a Scottish feudal barony in East Lothian. Once a title attached to land ownership, Scottish feudal baronies are deemed properties in their own right and can now be transferred independent of the land. For most of its history it was referred to as the Barony of Preston and Prestonpans, but as of 1663 the names were unified into one free barony, the Barony of Preston.
The name ‘Preston’ signifies the town or settlement of priests, which results from monks from Newbattle and Holyrood settling in the district in 1184 AD. An early industry was saltpanning, centered in the adjacent Prestonpans.
History.
Preston belonged to the Hamiltons from the latter half of the 14th century. Sir John Hamilton IV of Fingalton married twice, secondly to Jane, daughter of Sir James Liddell of Preston about 1400. He was succeeded sometime before 1438 by his son Sir James Hamilton. He married an Agnes Hamilton and had a son and two daughters. The son, Sir Robert succeeded to the lands and titles by 1460. He was known as Sir Robert Hamilton of Fingalton and Salt Preston. Sir Robert is known to have undertaken a pilgrimage to Rome in 1452-1453. King James III of Scotland appointed Sir Robert as a conservator of the peace between Scotland and England after the Treaty of Nottingham in 1482. He died in 1489 leaving a widow, Marion Johnstone, and 3 sons. His eldest son Sir Robert succeeded.
Sir Robert Hamilton, 3rd of Fingalton, married three times, and had 4 children of whom Robert the eldest succeeded.
Robert Hamilton of Fingalton married Catherine Tweedie and they had four children. As the eldest Sir James was killed in the High Street of Edinburgh in 1520 before his father’s death; the lands and titles went to the second son David.
Sir David Hamilton expanded the family’s landholdings and accompanied King James V on his matrimonial voyage to France when he married Magdalene daughter of King Francis I of France. When the Earl of Hertford invaded Scotland in 1544 the town and castle of Preston was destroyed. Later Sir David was created Knight Banneret and Marischal Deputy of Scotland. Sir David also is noted as an early adherent of Protestantism in Scotland. He married Janet Baillie and they had 13 children of whom George, the eldest succeeded.
George Hamilton is noted as having re-established a parish church in Preston and founding an academy there. George married Barbara Cockburn and they had 11 children of whom John, the eldest, succeeded.
Sir John Hamilton born 1565, received crown charters of the united baronies of Preston and Prestonpans in 1617 and 1623. On 20 August 1617 King James VI granted Sir John Hamilton of Preston and Lady Jean Otterburn his spouse, the lands of Preston and Prestonpans, and on 28 March 1623 the king granted Sir John Hamilton of Preston the lands and barony of Preston and Prestonpans etc. Sir John supported the Covenanters and opposed the policies of King Charles I. He married three times and was succeeded by his first born son Sir James in May 1644.
Sir James Hamilton was born in 1589, married Barbara Mure in 1609, was knighted in 1615, and died in October 1644. He was also a zealous Covenanter. Sir James seems to have been granted the lands and barony of Preston in 1629. On 1 May 1632, Sir James Hamilton of Fingalton, was served heir to his son Robert Hamilton of Preston, in the lands and barony of Preston and Prestonpans with Preston a free burgh of barony. His eldest surviving son John succeeded to the lands and titles.
5 November 1644, John Hamilton of Preston was served heir to his father Sir James Hamilton of Fingalton in the lands and barony of Preston and Prestonpans and Preston a free burgh of barony. John Hamilton entailed his estates and when he died without issue the lands and titles went to his uncle Robert. Robert Hamilton of Sauchieburn, second son of Sir John Hamilton of Preston, had served as a Colonel under King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, during the Thirty Years War. He died in 1648 but childless.
The lands and titles then went to Sir Thomas Hamilton, born 1618, 3rd son of George Hamilton of Preston, who was served heir to John Hamilton his paternal uncle’s grandson (nepotism patrui) in the baronies of Preston and Prestonpans on 2 June 1647.
Sir Thomas accompanied King Charles II during the invasion of England in 1651 which ended in disaster at Worcester. As his lands and residence had been destroyed by Cromwell’s army during the occupation of Scotland after 1651 many original charters were lost. Consequently, the Scots Parliament reissued them including one for the united baronies of Preston and Prestonpans on 4 June 1663. 20 August 1663, King Charles II granted a Crown Charter to Robert Preston of Preston in liferent and his eldest son John Preston, and heirs the above lands now as the free barony of Preston with the town of Preston being created as a free burgh of barony with the right to hold markets. He married three times and by his second wife Anne Hamilton, had two sons William and Robert, both of whom became baronets of Preston in succession.
William Hamilton, 1st baronet, born 1647, became a baronet of Nova Scotia in 1673. He took refuge in Holland and later accompanied William of Orange from Holland to England at the Glorious Revolution of 1688 but died in London shortly thereafter. He married Rachel Nicolson and had three daughters. Consequently, the land and titles were succeeded to by his brother Robert.
Sir Robert Hamilton of Preston (1650-1701) was a zealous Presbyterian and led the Covenanters at the victory at the Battle of Drumclog and at the failure at Bothwell Bridge in 1679. He then fled to the continent and lived in Holland. He later returned to Scotland where he was arrested and imprisoned in 1692-1693.
Sir Robert Hamilton, died 1701, being unmarried conveyed his rights to Thomas Oswald. After the Oswalds the estate was acquired by Lord Grange much of which was eventually bought by Dr James Schaw. Lord and Lady Grange lived at Preston House which was built towards the end of the 16th century for Thomas, son of Sir James Oswald, Lord Provost of Edinburgh and was eventually acquired by Dr James Schaw about 1780 when he acquired the Barony of Preston. Dr. Schaw died in 1784, leaving the barony and the bulk of his estate in support of James Schaw’s Hospital, a school for boys. The successor of the Schaw Bequest was the East Lothian Educational Trust. In the Crown Charter (1830) the Barony is described as:
The barony of Preston was eventually sold by the Trust and was acquired by Professor David Ian McLean. The present Baron of Preston is Robert Ian Lin McLean.


Pidhirtsi

Pidhirtsi (; ) is a village of about 1,000 inhabitants in the Lviv Oblast of Ukraine, located about 80 km east of Lviv, 17 km south of Brody, 60 km north west of Ternopil, at around . Known both for its castle and Basilian monastery of the Annunciation with an icon of the Mother of God.
First written mention of a fortified Ruthenian settlement, then called Plisnensk, comes from 1188 and 1233, found in chronicles from Kiev and Halych-Volhynia as well as in the Tale of Igor's Campaign. The first Basilian monastery is recorded to have been founded by a princess named Helen in 1180. In the 15th century it is referred to by the present day name and in 1440 granted by king Ladislaus III of Poland to its tenant, the Podhorecki noble family. In 1635 the village was purchased by the Grand Crown Hetman Stanisław Koniecpolski, who built a fortified residence there.
In 1682 it was inherited by the Sobieski family. During the first half of the 18th century the present complex of the Basilian monastery was constructed and in 1754 the icon was crowned by Pope Benedict XIV. In 1728 the castle was purchased by the Rzewuski family and expanded by Wacław Rzewuski, who also built the Roman Catholic Church of St. Joseph, consecrated in 1766. Finally from 1869 until 1939 the complex became the property of the Sanguszko family, who turned it into a museum. Pidhirtsi suffered heavily from the war and Soviet rule, and its collection was scattered among different museums in Poland and Ukraine. In 1997 the devastated castle was given to the Lviv Art Gallery and is gradually undergoing restoration. Worship in Polish and Ukrainian is held in St. Joseph's Church.
In 2009 the village's Basilian monastery became the site of a schism within the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church when seven "Pidhirtsi fathers" declared the founding of the Ukrainian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church.


Atherington Priory

Atherington Priory was a priory in West Sussex, England.


Wihtwara

Wihtwara was the kingdom founded on the Isle of Wight, a island off the south coast of England, during the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain. The name was derived from the Jutish name "Wihtwara" ("Men of Wiht"). Its capital was a fort named "Wihtwarasburgh". It has been suggested that the modern-day village of Carisbrooke was built on top of Wihtwarasburgh due to the fact that they share their location. It has also been suggested that Wihtwarasburgh was built on top of a pre-existing Roman fort, but this has not been proven.
Jutish history.
Wihtland was the name given to the Isle of Wight. The Wihtwara were the people of Wihtland, supposedly after Wihtgar who, along with Stuf, was one of the two earliest kings of Wihtland (from 512, as recorded by St Bede). Wihtgar and Stuf were supposedly nephews of Cerdic, the founder of the Wessex dynasty known only as the Gewisse (literally "Allies"). Some scholars have suggested that Wihtgar may have been fictitious: that is, the central figure of a founding myth invented retrospectively, to justify the name. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle differs, however, instead claiming that Wihtgar and Stuf received the land from Cerdic's son Cynric in 534, with the death of Wihtgar taking place in 544.
Subsequent kings are unknown until the final Jutish king, Arwald, who was probably born in the mid 7th Century. In 661 Wulfhere of Mercia conquered Wessex and gave the overlordship to his godson, King Aethelwalh of Sussex and forced the Islanders to convert to Christianity. After Wulfhere's departure the island returned to paganism. Arwald was reportedly killed resisting an invasion in 686 by King Caedwalla of Wessex (under the tutelage of St Wilfrid) together with his brother Mul of Kent. According to Bede, Caedwalla "endeavoured to destroy all the inhabitants" of Wihtland and to replace them with his own followers. However, Bede states that Jutes remained the majority population of the island. When Caedwalla died a few years later, wounds sustained in the fierce fighting the Wihtwara were reputedly responsible.
A survivor from the alleged massacres of the Wihtwara, was Arwald's sister (whose name is now unknown); through her its ruling dynasty became ancestors of later Anglo-Saxon kings. Arwald's sister was married to King Egbert of Kent (at the time also a Jutish kingdom besieged by Caedwalla and his brother, Mul). Arwald's sister was therefore, apparently, the mother of King Wihtred of Kent and grandmother of Æthelbert II of Kent. Æthelbert was the grandfather of Egbert of Wessex, who was, in turn, the paternal grandfather of King Alfred the Great.
Later Middle Ages.
After the Norman Conquest the Isle of Wight was given to the de Redvers family in 1101 who were known as "Lords of the Isle of Wight". However the last of them was Izabel de Forz (also known as Isabella de Fortibus; 1237–1293), who was known informally as the "Queen of the Isle of Wight". Forz was visited shortly before her death by King Edward Longshanks (known later as Edward I), who said later that she had sold the Isle of Wight to him for 6,000 marks. The village of Queens Bower is said to be named after her.
In 1444, Henry Beauchamp, Duke of Warwick a favourite of King Henry VI was given the title (or perhaps nickname) of King of the Isle of Wight. Beauchamp died shortly afterwards and the title was not used again. The closest existing title at that time - the Lordship of the Isle of Wight - was held by the uncle of King Henry VI, Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, after being bestowed it in 1434.


History of Karelia

The History of Karelia is about the cultural and geopolitical region of Karelia, in present-day eastern Finland and northwestern Russia in northern Europe. The Karelian people's presence can be dated back to the 7th millennium BC—6th millennium BC.
Prehistoric.
Karelia is primarily within the Scandinavian and Russian taiga habitat and ecoregion, which was rich in natural resources for prehistoric people's food and shelter needs. The mining of copper in Karelia began between 1 AD and 1000 AD. The ethnic composition of Karelia at the end of the 1st millennium consisted of Finno-Ugrian tribes.
13th century.
Swedish—Novgorodian era.
Karelia was bitterly fought over by Sweden and the Novgorod Republic during the 13th-century Swedish-Novgorodian Wars. The Treaty of Nöteborg (Finnish: "Pähkinäsaaren rauha") in 1323 divided Karelia between the two. The Baltic Sea port city of Viborg (Finnish: "Viipuri") became the capital of the new Swedish province, with the Fief of Viborg existing from 1320 to 1534. The Russians received East Karelia. Since the 13th century the Karelians have lived in the tension between the East and the West, between the Eastern Christianity of Eastern Orthodoxy and Western Christianity of Catholicism and then Lutheranism.
18th century.
Imperial Russian era.
The Treaty of Nystad (Finnish: "Uudenkaupungin rauha") in 1721 between Imperial Russia and Sweden ceded most of Karelia, as the Vyborg Governorate, to Russia. The Treaty of Åbo in 1743 between Sweden and Russia then ceded South Karelia to Russia. After Finland had been occupied by Russia in the Finnish War, parts of the ceded provinces 'Old Finland' were incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Finland, in the Russian Empire.
20th century.
Independence era.
In 1917, with Finland's declaration of independence, Finland became independent and the border was confirmed in 1920 by the Russian–Finnish Treaty of Tartu. This included the Finnish Viipuri Province in Karelia from 1917 to 1947.
Following the Russian Revolution and the Finnish Civil War, Finns were involved in attempts to overthrow the Bolshevists in Russian Karelia (East Karelia), for instance in the failed Aunus expedition. These mainly private expeditions ended after the peace Treaty of Tartu. After the end of the Russian Civil War, and the establishment of the Soviet Union in 1922, the Russian part of Karelia became the Karelian Autonomous republic of the Soviet Union (ASSR) in 1923.
During Soviet Union's first five-year plan (1928 to 1932) tens of thousands of gulag prisoners were used to dig the White Sea–Baltic Canal. In the years of the Stalin's Great Purge (1936 to 1938) around 6,000 people were executed in the woods at Sandormokh near the Solovetsky Islands.
World War II.
In 1939 the Soviet Union attacked Finland starting the Winter War. The Moscow Peace Treaty of 1940 handed the eastern half of Finnish Karelia to the Soviet Union. About 400,000 people, virtually the whole population, had to be relocated within Finland. In 1941 Finland attacked the Soviet Union alongside the Axis powers as co-belligerents. The Finnish military administration in Eastern Karelia administered the region during 1941–1944.
The ceding of the eastern half of Finnish Karelia to the Soviets caused considerable bitterness in Finland, which had lost its fourth largest city, Viipuri, its industrial heartland along the River Vuoksi, its Saimaa canal that connected central Finland to the Gulf of Finland, and its access to the fishing waters of Lake Ladoga (Finnish: "Laatokka"). The serious loss also made of an eighth of the Finnish population displaced refugees, without a chance of return to their Karelian homeland.
Soviet era.
As a consequence of the peace treaty, the Karelian ASSR was incorporated with the Karelo-Finnish SSR 1941–1956, after which it became an ASSR again. Karelia was the only Soviet republic that was "demoted" from an SSR to an ASSR within the Russian SFR. Unlike autonomous republics, soviets republics had the constitutional right to secede. The possible fear of secession, as well as the Russian ethnic majority in Karelia may have resulted in its "demotion."
Russian Federation era.
In 1991 the Republic of Karelia was created out of the ASSR, in the Russian Federation.


Podolia Eyalet

Podolia Eyalet () was an eyalet of the Ottoman Empire. Its capital was Kamianets-Podilskyi (; ; ).
History.
In 1672, the Ottoman army, led by Sultan Mehmed IV, captured Kamaniçe after a short siege. The Treaty of Buchach confirmed Ottoman control of the city, which became the centre of a new eyalet. The treaty was repudiated by the Polish Diet, and war broke out anew.
The Polish campaign proved unsuccessful, and the truce of Żurawno (1676) left Podolia within Ottoman borders. Another Polish-Ottoman war broke out again in 1683. For the next 16 years, Ottoman rule in Podolia generally was limited to the blockaded fortress of Kamianets, held by a garrison of 6,000 soldiers. The other garrisons in Podolia, in Bar, Medzhybizh, Jazlivec, and Chortkiv, barely exceeded 100 soldiers each.
According to the Ottoman provincial budget of 1681, 13 million akçe were spent yearly in the eyalet, primarily for soldiers' pay. Of this amount, less than 3% was collected from Podolia itself, the rest was sent from the central treasury. In 1681, the patriarch of Constantinople appointed the Orthodox metropolitan of Kamianets, named Pankratij.
The fortress was returned to Poland as a result of the Treaty of Karlowitz (1699).
Governors.
During the 27 years of Ottoman rule, Podolia was administered by nine Ottoman pashas:
Administrative divisions.
The eyalet was divided into four sanjaks:


Bernhard, Hereditary Prince of Baden

Bernhard, Hereditary Prince of Baden (Bernhard Max Friedrich August Gustav Louis Kraft; born 27 May 1970) is a German nobleman and heir to the head of the House of Baden.
Early life.
Prince Bernhard was born in Schloss Salem, Salem, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, the eldest son of Maximilian, Margrave of Baden, and Archduchess Valerie of Austria.
Activities.
A commercial lawyer by training, he studied business administration and law in Hamburg and Switzerland. Prince Bernhard manages the family estates including Staufenberg Castle and the margravine wineries dedicated to preserving the grape variety Müller-Thurgau. In the years 2000-2009 he oversaw the transfer of many family assets, including Eberstein Castle and parts of Schloss Salem to the German state in order to stabilise the family's finances.
Through his paternal grandmother, Princess Theodora, Bernhard was a grandnephew of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. The Duke often went to Germany to shoot with the family. In 2021, Bernhard was one of only 30 mourners at his granduncle's funeral at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.
Marriage and children.
He married Stephanie Anne Kaul (born 27 June 1966 at Uelzen), daughter of Christian Kaul and wife Hannelore Scheel, in a civil ceremony on 22 June 2001 and a religious ceremony the following day. The marriage was acknowledged as dynastic by his father.
The couple has three children:
The family lives in Linzgau near Schloss Salem.


Henry II, Margrave of Istria

Henry II, Margrave of Istria ("sometimes called Henry IV"), born c.1175 and died 18 July 1228 in Slovenj Gradec (Windischgraz), was a noble from the House of Andechs who ruled the March of Istria and Carniola from 1204 to 1228. He inherited the County of Stein (Kamnik in Upper Carniola), and expanded his domains to the Windic March through marriage. He died childless, and his vast possessions were eventually inherited by his niece Agnes of Merania.
Life.
He was the second son of Berthold IV, Duke of Merania and Agnes of Rochlitz, daughter of Dedi III, Margrave of Lusatia of the House of Wettin.
After the death of his father in 1204, Henry took over the dignity of Margrave of Istria-Krain and the possessions situated south of the Danube. In Istria itself, the Republic of Venice made life so hard, they virtually dominated the peninsula. The policies of their Doge, Enrico Dandolo, had left a powerful mark on the region. And as trade and influence spread towards Venice, Istria grew weaker.
Earlier in 1207, Henry II married Sophie, daughter and heir of Count Albert of Weichselburg (died 1209) in modern Slovenia, in which the Andechs spent huge wealth in the Windic March. The marriage would remain childless.
Then, in 1208, he had the misfortune of being in the wrong place at the wrong time: he became complicit in the murder of King Philip of Swabia, after the wedding of his oldest brother, Otto I, Duke of Merania and his bride Beatrice II, Countess of Burgundy at Bamberg, the seat of his second eldest brother, Ekbert, Bishop of Bamberg and the one who presided over the wedding. Today this incident is regarded a disgrace on the part of the House of Wittelsbach, but the rapid decline in support of the house of Andechs saw Henry II and Bishop Ekbert lose all rights, properties, dignities and revenues and had to flee to their sister, Gertrude, Queen of Hungary, in Hungary in 1209 for safety.
In 1211, Ekbert could return to his possessions, but Henry II could only regain the Windic March; while his Tyrolean and Bavarian possessions remained lost to him. Although he had a connection with Aquileia – his younger brother Berthold was Patriarch there from 1218 to 1251 – and Leopold VI, Duke of Austria, he was mainly limited as a privateer on his and Sophie's possessions in later Lower Styria and Krain. In 1220, he was "allowed" participation as a witness in the confirmation of the grant of his former Mark to Berthold. Henry was referred to as "ispán" of Moson County in Hungary in 1225.
In May 1228, an agreement between Henry II and Ludwig I, Duke of Bavaria, whom had taken his most of his possessions, was made. Some of his lands and rights were returned, but then in July, death suddenly overtook him in Windischgraz. He was buried in Dießen Abbey. His old Bavarian possessions were probably inherited by his brother Otto, while the Weichselburg lands remained shortly with Sophie.


Stephen Bethlen

Stephen Bethlen de Iktár (1582 – 23 December 1648) was the Prince of Transylvania in late 1630.
Early life.
Stephen was the younger of the two sons of Farkas Bethlen de Iktár and Druzsiána Lázár. He was born in his father's estate, Marosillye (now Ilia in Romania), in 1582.
He was the younger brother of Gabriel Bethlen, Prince of Transylvania between 1613-1629 and King-elect of Hungary.
According to contemporaries, Stephen Bethlen was rather poorly educated. Nevertheless, some people saw in him a successor who was to continue the policies of his brother, the prince. Gabriel Bethlen did everything in his power to equip and strengthen his younger brother with privileges. He gave him the castle of Khust and made him Voivode for life of Hunyad (Hunedoara) and owner of the Hunedoara castle (today part of Romania) and property in Máramaros County.
After the death of his brother, Stephen Bethlen tried on January 25, 1630 without success to take over the reign from his sister-in-law Catherine of Brandenburg. On September 28, 1630 he was more successful and raised to the rank of Prince of Transylvania in Kolozsvár, but he resigned after only 60 days later on November 26, 1630 in Segesvár. On December 1, 1630, George I Rákóczi was elected as new Prince of Transylvania by the Transylvanian state parliament.


Walloon Flanders

Walloon Flanders (Dutch: "Waals Vlaanderen", French: "Flandre wallonne") was a semi-independent part of the County of Flanders, composed of the burgraviates of Lille, Douai and Orchies. It is sometimes referred to as "Lille–Douai–Orchies." The population of the region speak Walloon and Picardy dialects.
History.
The term "Walloon Flanders" appeared after the French conquest and was fixed in the literature by the beginning of the XIX century.
Walloon Flanders was part of the County of Flanders from the early Middle Ages, but was ceded to the Kingdom of France from 1304 to 1369, by the Treaty of Athis-sur-Orge which concluded the Franco-Flemish War (1297-1305). As a result it was to some degree institutionally distinct from the County of Flanders and in some lists it even features as one of the Seventeen Provinces. Furthermore, Walloon Flanders adhered to the Union of Arras in 1579, whereas the County of Flanders joined the Union of Utrecht.
In 1678, Walloon Flanders was annexed to France after the Treaties of Nijmegen.
Together with Maritime Flanders (Westhoek), it forms French Flanders, and is today the part of the Departement du Nord roughly corresponding with the Arrondissement of Lille and the Arrondissement of Douai.


List of mayors of Cluj-Napoca

The following is a list of mayors of Cluj-Napoca, Romania since 1919.


Shirley Robertson

Shirley Ann Robertson, OBE DL (born 15 July 1968) is a British sailor and Olympic gold medallist. She made it into the history books by becoming the first British woman to win an Olympic gold medal at consecutive games, Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004.
She won her first Olympic gold medal in the Europe class at the 2000 Summer Olympics. In the 2004 Summer Olympics, her crew in the Yngling class clinched the gold medal with one race to spare.
Shirley was named female World sailor of the Year by the International Sailing Federation in 2000, and was appointed an MBE in 2000 and an OBE in 2005.
In January 2006 she became the regular presenter of "Mainsail", a CNN monthly program devoted to the sailing world. She was also a commentator for the BBC's sailing coverage at the 2008 Summer Olympics. She commentated on the sailing from Weymouth for the BBC in the 2012 Olympic Games.
Personal life.
Shirley was born in Dundee, but spent her early life in Menstrie in central Scotland.
Shirley married Jamie Boag in June 2001. They currently live in Cowes, on the Isle of Wight.
She also has twins called Annabel and Killian