Goghtn

Goght'n (; also mentioned in sources as Goght'an, Գողթան, and spelled Gołt'n by modern scholars) was a canton ("gavaṛ") located in the province of Vaspurakan in historical Armenia. Its borders roughly corresponded to the modern Ordubad Rayon of Nakhichevan, Azerbaijan.
Goght'n was well known for winemaking, the quality of its grape and fruit orchards. The region also was the birthplace of a number of prominent Armenian "gusans" (minstrels). The ancestors of the renowned twentieth-century Armenian composer and music ethnologist Komitas Vardapet were originally from Goght'n. Some of the region's oldest towns and villages have survived to this day, including Jugha (now Julfa) and Ordvat' (modern-day Ordubad).
History.
Early to medieval.
According to Movses Khorenatsi, King Tigran Ervanduni (of the Orontid line) of Armenia, settled his wife and his daughters in an area to the east of (Ararat) and up to Goght'n, in Tambat, Oskiokh, Djaghguyn and other settlements giving them also three towns – Khram, Jugha and Khoshakunik, and on the other bank of the river (Arax) all the fields from Ajanakan up to the Nakhchavan Fortress. Mesrop Mashtots', the inventor of the Armenian alphabet, is assumed to have lived and worked in the town of Msrvanis (Mesropavan) during his stay in Goght'n. The Armenian princes of Goght'n probably had branched off from the family in Syunik' and had their own regional bishop. The second "Gahnamak", or Military List, notes that the princes were expected during time of war to furnish 500 cavalry to help defend the Kingdom of Armenia's southern gate (that is, its southern border).
The seventh-century Armenian atlas "Ashkharhats'uyts"' mentions Goght'n as the 31st of the 35 districts of Vaspurakan. Its last hereditary Armenian prince, Vahan, who had been brought up in Damascus as a Muslim, converted back to his Christian faith after returning to Armenia. For this act of apostasy, he was seized by the Muslims and sent to Syria, where he was tortured and executed in 737. Sometime in the early tenth century, during the tenure of the emir of Iranian Azerbaijan Yusuf ibn Abi'l-Saj, Goght'n fell to a Muslim emir called, by the contemporary Armenian historian Hovhannes Draskhanakertts'i, Agarene, probably from the Arab Shaybāni tribe. Goght'n may have been referred to at this time as "Kilit" by the Arabs. When the fortress of Yernjak fell to Yusuf in 912/14, Yusuf awarded it to the emir, whose successors sought to expand their landholdings through the course of the tenth century. The city of Nakhchavan was taken, though by the second half of the ninth century the emir of Goght'n had lost it to the Bagratuni kings of Armenia. The emirs of Goght'n and Armenians kings continued to struggle over control of the Arax River Valley until King Gagik I (r. 989-1020) reduced them at end of the tenth century. It was later overrun by the Seljuks, passing under the control of the Mongols and later Safavid Persia.
Early modern to modern.
In 1604, the region was depopulated by Shah Abbas I and its Armenian inhabitants deported to Iran. Goght'n became a part of the "khanate" of Nakhichevan in the mid-1700s and was divided into five districts ("mahals"): Ordubad, Agulis, Dasht, Belev, and Chananab. In 1752, it was attacked and subjected by Azat Khan.
In the early twentieth century, Goght'an was the name given to the subregion of Sharur-Nakhichevan by the government of the First Republic of Armenia. Its administrative center was at Agulis, with commissar Ashot Melik-Musian and militia chief Movses Giulnazarian at its head. The region suffered intense fighting during a brief conflict between Armenia and the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in the latter half of 1919, including the destruction of Agulis in December by a Muslim mob.
Monuments.
A number of historical Armenian churches were once found in Goght'n. These included Basilica of St. James in Shoṛot', the Monastery of St. Thomas the Apostle in Upper Agulis, Holy Mother of God Church in Ts'gnay, and Monastery of St. Mesrop in Msrvanis.


History of Jakarta

Jakarta is Indonesia's capital and largest city. Located on an estuary of the Ciliwung River, on the northwestern part of Java, the area has long sustained human settlement. Historical evidence from Jakarta dates back to the 4th century CE, when it was a Hindu settlement and port. The city has been sequentially claimed by the Indianized kingdom of Tarumanegara, the Hindu Kingdom of Sunda, the Muslim Sultanate of Banten, and by Dutch, Japanese and Indonesian administrations. The Dutch East Indies built up the area before it was taken during World War II by the Empire of Japan and finally became independent as part of Indonesia.
Jakarta has been known by several names. It was called Sunda Kelapa during the Kingdom of Sunda period and Jayakarta, Djajakarta or Jacatra during the short period of the Banten Sultanate. Thereafter, Jakarta evolved in three stages. The "old city", close to the sea in the north, developed between 1619 and 1799 during the era of the VOC. The "new city" to the south evolved between 1809 and 1942 after the Dutch government took over control of Batavia from the failed VOC whose charter expired in 1799. The third was the development of modern Jakarta since the proclamation of independence in 1945. Under the Dutch, it was known as Batavia (1619–1945), and was Djakarta (in Dutch) or Jakarta, during the Japanese occupation and the modern period.
For a more detailed history of Jakarta before the proclamation of Indonesian independence, see Batavia, Dutch East Indies.
Early kingdoms (4th century AD).
The coastal area and port of Jakarta in northern West Java has been the location of human settlement since the 4th century BCE Buni culture. The earliest historical record discovered in Jakarta is the Tugu inscription, which was discovered in Tugu sub-district, North Jakarta. It is among the oldest inscriptions in Indonesian history. The area was part of the Indianized kingdom of Tarumanagara.
In AD 397, King Purnawarman established Sunda Pura, located on the northern coast of West Java, as the new capital city for the kingdom. The capital of Tarumanagara kingdom was most probably located somewhere between Tugu sub-district North Jakarta and Bekasi Regency West Java. Purnawarman left seven memorial stones across the area, including the present-day Banten and West Java provinces, consisting of inscriptions bearing his name.
Kingdom of Sunda (669–1527).
After the power of Tarumanagara declined, its territories became part of the Kingdom of Sunda. According to the Chinese source, "Chu-fan-chi", written by Chou Ju-kua in the early 13th Century, the Sumatra-based kingdom of Srivijaya ruled Sumatra, the Malay peninsula, and western Java (known as Sunda). The port of Sunda was described as strategic and thriving, with pepper from Sunda renowned for its supreme quality. The people of the area worked in agriculture and their houses were built on wooden piles.
One of the ports at the mouth of a river was renamed Sunda Kelapa or Kalapa (Coconut of Sunda), as written in Hindu Bujangga Manik, manuscripts from a monk's lontar and one of the precious remnants of Old Sundanese literature. The port served Pakuan Pajajaran (present day Bogor), the capital of the Sunda Kingdom. By the fourteenth century, Sunda Kelapa became a major trading port for the kingdom.
Accounts of 16th century European explorers make mention of a city called Kalapa, which apparently served as the primary port of a Hindu kingdom of Sunda. In 1522, the Portuguese secured Luso Sundanese padrão, a political and economic agreement with the Sunda Kingdom, the authority of the port. In exchange for military assistance against the threat of the rising Islamic Javan Sultanate of Demak, Prabu Surawisesa, king of Sunda at that time, granted them free access to the pepper trade. Portuguese who were in the service of the sovereign made their homes in Sunda Kelapa.
Banten Sultanate (1527–1619).
To prevent Portuguese gaining a foothold on Java, Fatahillah, on behalf of the Demak attacked the Portuguese in Sunda Kelapa in 1527 and succeeded in conquering the harbour on 22 June, after which Sunda Kelapa was renamed Jayakarta. Later, the port became a part of the Banten Sultanate, located west from Jayakarta.
By the late 16th century, Jayakarta was under the rule of the Sultanate of Banten. Prince Jayawikarta, a follower of the Sultan of Banten, established a settlement on the west banks of the Ciliwung River, erecting a military post to control the port at the mouth of the river.
Dutch Batavia (1610-1942).
Dutch East India Company (1610–1800).
Dutch mercantile activity to East Indies commenced in 1595. Over the next 25 years there was contention between the Dutch and British on the one hand, and between the Sultanate of Banten and Prince Jayawikarta on the other.
In 1602, the Dutch government granted a monopoly on Asian trade to the Dutch East India Company ( (VOC); literally "United East Indian Company"). In 1603, the first permanent Dutch trading post in Indonesia was established in Bantam, West Java. In 1610, Prince Jayawikarta granted permission to Dutch merchants to build a wooden godown and houses on the east bank of the Ciliwung River, opposite to Jayakarta. This outpost was established in 1611.
The rivalry was ultimately resolved in 1619, when the Dutch established a closer relationship with Banten and militarily intervened at Jayakarta, where they assumed control of the port after destroying the existing city. The new city built on the site was officially named as Batavia on January 18, 1621, from which the Dutch East Indies eventually ruled the entire region. Batavia under VOC control was essentially a Company Town, under the authority of a governor-general in Batavia and a board of directors in Amsterdam that served the Dutch merchants in the region, predominantly the spice trade between Europe and the Moluccas. The administrative center of this new town is the Batavia Castle.
During the era of the VOC, Batavia was centered on the so-called "Benedenstad" or "Lower City". It consisted of the walled Kota, the older harbor at Sunda Kelapa, and the Chinese quarter at Glodok. In the middle of 18th century, Batavia also included the outskirts area along the canal of the Molenvliet (now Jalan Gajah Mada and Jalan Hayam Wuruk), the Noordwijk (now Jalan Juanda), the Rijswijk (now Jalan Veteran), along Gunung Sahari, and Jacatraweg (Jalan Pangeran Jayakarta). Also included were the markets at Tanah Abang and Senen, Jakarta's oldest markets.
Batavia was under VOC control until the Company went bankrupt and its charter expired in 1799.
Dutch East Indies (1800–1942).
After the Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (VOC) went bankrupt and was dissolved in 1800, the Batavian Republic nationalized its debts and possessions, expanding all of the VOC's territorial claims into a fully-fledged colony named the Dutch East Indies. Batavia evolved from the site of the company's regional headquarters into the capital of the colony. The city gradually expanded to the south.
During the period, administrative buildings were relocated to the area then known as Weltevreden, e.g. south of the Koningsplein, the Waterlooplein and Rijswijk (Jalan Veteran). The area, then known as Weltevreden, which include the Koningsplein, Rijswijk, Noordwijk, Tanah Abang, Kebon Sirih, and Prapatan became a popular residential, entertainment and commercial district for the European colonial elite. The name Weltevreden lingered until 1931 when it officially became known as Batavia Centrum (Central Batavia).
The period also saw development of the Pasar Baru market in the 1820s, the completion of Tanjung Priok port in 1886, the development of Menteng and Gondangdia garden city in the 1910s, and the inclusion of Meester Cornelis (now Jatinegara) into Jakarta in 1935.
Japanese occupation (1942–1945).
On 5 March 1942, Batavia fell to the Japanese. The Dutch formally surrendered to the Japanese occupation forces on 9 March 1942, and rule of the colony was transferred to Japan. The city was renamed Jakarta (officially ジャカルタ特別市 "Jakaruta tokubetsu-shi", Special Municipality of Jakarta, in accordance with the special status that was assigned to the city).
To strengthen its position in Indonesia, the Japanese government issued Act No. 42 1942 as part of the "Restoration of the Regional Administration System". This act divided Java into several "Syuu" ("Resident Administration" or "Karesidenan") that were each led by a Bupati (Regent). Each "Syuu" was divided into several "Shi" ("Municipality" or "Stad Gemeente") that were led by "Wedanas" ("District Heads"). Below a "Wedana" was a "Wedana" Assistant ("Sub-district Head"), who, in turn, oversaw a "Lurah" ("Village Unit Head"), who, in turn, was responsible over a "Kepala Kampung" ("Kampung Chief").
A "schichoo" ("Mayor") was superior to all of these officials, following the law created by the "Guisenken" ("Head of the Japanese Imperial Administration"). The effect of this system was a "one-man rule" structure with no councils or representative bodies. The first "schichoo" of Jakarta was Tsukamoto and the last was Hasegawa.
The economic situation and the physical condition of Indonesian cities deteriorated during the occupation, including Jakarta. Beautiful colonial buildings and hotels were converted into military barracks. Many buildings were vandalized, as metal was needed for the war, and many iron statues from the Dutch colonial period were taken away by the Japanese troops. Among the destroyed colonial landmarks during the Japanese occupation were the statue of Jan Pieterszoon Coen at Waterlooplein.
In 1943, the Japanese Imperial administration slightly revised the administration of Jakarta by adding a special counseling body. This agency was composed of twelve local Javanese leaders who were regarded as loyal to the Japanese; among them were Suwiryo (who became the vice for Jakarta's schichoo) and Dahlan Abdullah.
National revolution era (1945–1949).
After the collapse of Japan in 1945, the area went through a period of transition and upheaval during the Indonesian national struggle for independence. During the Japanese occupation and from the perspective of the Indonesian nationalists who declared independence on 17 August 1945, the city was renamed Jakarta. After the war, the Dutch name Batavia was internationally recognized until full Indonesian independence was achieved on 27 December 1949 and Jakarta was officially proclaimed the national capital of Indonesia.
Following the surrender of the Japanese, Indonesia declared its independence on 17 August 1945. The proclamation was enacted at Jalan Pegangsaan Timur No. 56 (now Jalan Proklamasi), Central Jakarta, with Suwiryo acting as the committee chairman. Suwiryo was recognised as the first mayor of Jakarta Tokubetsu Shi. The position was soon altered to "Pemerintah Nasional Kota Jakarta" ("Jakarta City National Administration").
On 19 September 1945, Sukarno held his Indonesian independence and anti-colonialism/imperialism speech, during "Rapat Akbar" or grand meeting at Lapangan Ikada, now the Merdeka Square.
The grand meeting would start a period of national revolution in Indonesia.
On 29 September 1945, Anglo-Dutch troops arrived in Jakarta to disarm and repatriate the Japanese garrison. They also planned on reasserting control over the colony. On November 21, 1945, Suwiryo and his assistants were arrested by members of the Netherlands Indies Civil Administration.
On 4 January 1946, Indonesian Republicans withdrew from Ally-occupied Jakarta and established the capital in Yogyakarta. War was not apparent in Jakarta and urban development continued in the city as the Dutch tried to re-establish themselves. In 1947, the Dutch succeeded in implementing a set of planning regulations for urban development—the SSO/SVV ("Stadsvormings-ordonantie/Stadsvormings-verordening")—that had been devised prior to the war. Batavia was planned to expand with an addition of a new satellite city 8 kilometers south of the Koningsplein. This 730 ha area would become the Kebayoran satellite city, the first urban planning in Indonesia after the World War II.
On 27 December 1949, the Dutch recognised Indonesia as an independent country and sovereign federal state under the name of "Republic of the United States of Indonesia". At this time, the Jakarta City Administration was led by Mayor Sastro Mulyono.
Transition into a capital of an independent nation (1950s).
Expansion of city's boundary.
After the recognition of Indonesian sovereignty on 27 December 1949, in March 1950, Jakarta was increased in size from 182 square kilometres to 530 square kilometres. Despite the dramatic increase in size, impact on the city's population was minimal: population of Jakarta was 1,340,625 in 1949 to 1,432,085 in 1950 to 1,661,125 in 1951. The new districts added to Jakarta at the time was sparsely populated and rural.
Kebayoran Baru was still a satellite city of Jakarta and located outside the boundaries of Jakarta. The construction of thoroughfares such as Jalan Thamrin and Jalan Sudirman had been underway since 1949 and would only be opened in 1953.
City development.
Jakarta in the 1950s was more or less similar with the colonial period: banking districts were still centered in Kota around Kali Besar and Jalan Pintu Besar Utara. Chinese business hub were centered at Glodok, especially Pintu Kecil. The colonial Pasar Baru, Pasar Senen and Glodok were still the busiest markets in Jakarta. The European shopping and leisure districts were still centered at Harmoni Junction. Most colonial hotels retained their Dutch names, e.g. Hotel des Indes or Hotel Duta Indonesia, Hotel der Nederlanden or Hotel Dharma Nirmala, and Hotel des Galeries. Kemayoran airport handled both domestic and international flights.
Jakarta's urban area in 1950 were enclosed within the city's railway network. Areas beyond the railway lines remained empty, e.g. Tomang and Grogol to the west, Pluit and swampy Ancol to the north. Areas to the east and northeast, e.g. the area between Jalan Gunung Sahari and Tanjung Priok remained rural (with the exception of the Kemayoran Airport). Kali Sunter (Sunter River) was in the countryside and would not be developed as residential area until the 1970s.
Among new suburbs developed during the 1950s were Grogol, Tanah Tinggi, Bendungan Hilir and Pejompongan; mostly to provide housing for civic workers.
Despite the slow city development, the beginning of the 1950s saw construction of infrastructure that would lay a foundation for the explosive growth of Jakarta in the 1960s. Jalan Thamrin and Jalan Sudirman were built between 1949 and 1953 to connect Central Jakarta with Kebayoran Baru. These projects are usually collaboration between Dutch and Indonesia. The first buildings that were constructed along the Thamrin-Sudirman were Bank Indonesia headquarters (1958-1962), Hotel Indonesia (1959-1962), and the Welcome Monument. AT that time, Jalan Sudirman was largely rural and devoid of any buildings until the 1970s, with the exception of Gelora Bung Karno sports complex.
Taking over Dutch assets.
After recognition of Indonesian sovereignty on 27 December 1949, transition from Dutch to Indonesian leadership occurred immediately as Dutch residences and properties were taken over by the Indonesian government. Among the notable buildings conversion were:
Despite the numerous departments converted into Indonesian control, from the economic perspective, the transition was much slower. The Dutch still owned key sectors of Indonesian economy during most of the 1950s, including banking, oil and shipping. Only in late 1957, the nationalization of Dutch assets would begin, partly triggered by the anger over the refusal of the Netherlands to transfer sovereignty of Irian Jaya to Indonesia. By 1960, almost all Dutch assets in Indonesia had been taken over and Dutch citizens were expelled from Indonesia.
Expulsion of the Dutch and population boom.
Expulsion of the Dutch caused tremendous social change in Jakarta. In the middle of 1952, 48,280 foreigners (excluding Chinese) were living in Jakarta, of which 90.2% were Dutch. By the end of 1950s, only a few hundred of the Dutch stayed in Jakarta. The 1960s was regarded as a decade when foreigners were no longer a common sight on the streets of Jakarta.
The departure of the Dutch also caused a massive migration of the rural population into Jakarta, in response to a perception that the city was the place for economic opportunities. The kampung areas in Jakarta swelled as a result. There were house shortages, as well the lack of schools, medical services, water and electricity. In 1951 and 1952, 25 hectares of land was opened for housing at Grogol, 25 hectares at Tanah Tinggi (just south of Kemayoran Airport) and 25 hectares at Pejompongan. Another 15 hectares at Pejompongan were set for a water purification plant. The 730 hectare satellite city of Kebayoran Baru, which was conceived by the Dutch in the 1930s, remained the most important housing development in Jakarta in the 1950s.
Infrastructure.
Jakarta's tram system, which began in 1869 as horse-drawn trams, and would be developed up until the electric trams from 1899, would face competition with buses and faces financial issues. President Sukarno didn't believe trams was an effective system for Jakarta, and so gradually he began to stop the operation of the trams. By April 1960, tramlines only operated from Senen and Kramat to Jatinegara. By 1962, the tramway disappeared from Jakarta.
The 1950s was known as the decade where the informal "becak" can be found extensively in Jakarta. Introduced to Jakarta in the 1930s, the number of "becak" soared in late 1940s, which occurred at the same time with the wave of immigration into Jakarta to find employment. 31,000 "becaks" were registered in 1953.
Proposal to relocate the capital.
In the mid-1950s, driven by a sense of corruption and disproportionate government expenditure in Jakarta, there were proposals to relocate the capital. Those in support included Takdir Alisjahbana, who was unflattering in his depiction of the city. However, by 1957, these proposals were abandoned. Instead, the city's boundaries were expanded, and it became the Daerah Khusus Ibukota (DKI, Special Capital Territory), one of the provinces of Indonesia.
Sukarno's nationalistic projects (1960-1965).
Monumental projects.
Dramatic changes in Jakarta's skyline occurred during the period between 1960-1965 when President Sukarno, also an architect and an urban planner, personally drove the city into a modern capital that would not only be the pride of the Indonesian nation, but would also be a "beacon" of a powerful new nation. The short period would give Jakarta many of its most famous modernist landmarks and monuments.
Sukarno had already transitioned the country to "Guided Democracy" between 1957 and 1959, which greatly increased his own political power. Sukarno's great power allowed him to award the 1962 Asian Games to Indonesia, with Jakarta as the host city. The event was used as a trigger to complete new landmarks in Jakarta, and so the first half of the 1960s saw large government-funded projects that were undertaken with openly nationalistic architecture. By working on the optimistic monumental projects, Sukarno hoped to put the newly independent nation's pride on international display.
Sukarno filled Jakarta with numbers of monuments. Numbers of monumental projects were conceived, planned and initiated during his administration. Some of the notable monumental projects of Sukarno during the first half of the 1960s were: Semanggi "clover-leaf" highway interchange, a broad avenue in Central Jakarta (Jalan M.H. Thamrin and Jalan Jenderal Sudirman), and Jalan Gatot Subroto; a broad by-pass connecting Tanjung Priok harbour with Halim Airport (Jalan Jenderal Ahmad Yani); four high-rise hotels, including Hotel Indonesia; a new parliament building; a stadium; Sarinah Department Store; the development of Ancol on the north coast of Jakarta to become Jakarta's main recreation complex; the largest mosque in Southeast Asia; and the widening of Jalan Thamrin and Jalan Sudirman ahead of the 1962 Asian Games.
Most of Jakarta's monuments were initiated during the first half of the 1960s e.g. the National Monument, Selamat Datang Monument, Pemuda Monument at Senayan, Irian Jaya Liberation Monument at Lapangan Banteng, and the Dirgantara Monument at Pancoran.
During the first half of the 1960s, government projects in Jakarta was so intense to the extent that Jakarta's citizens struggled to find cement and building materials for their own use.
New suburbs.
In early 1960s, increasing use of cars allow city development outside the constrain of railway network. Several suburbs began to be developed very far from the city center. Few of such developments were Grogol to the west, which was developed as a flood-proof residential area in the 1950s but was immediately flooded in February 1960; several housings to the west of Kemayoran Airport; and new housing developments on the west of Jalan Gajah Mada (Tanah Sereal, Krukut, Krendang and Duri) and on the east of Jalan Hayam Wuruk (Mangga Besar and Sawah Besar). Several residential projects that were developed in the 1950s began to took shape in the 1960s, among them are Pejompongan (land opened in 1952), Bendungan Hilir, Setiabudi to the east of Jalan Sudirman, Tanah Tinggi (designated in 1951) and Rawa Sari (now Cempaka Putih Timur, designated in 1952).
Fall of Sukarno.
The period of monumental projects came to an immediate halt after the September 30 Movement in 1965. The incident would begin Sukarno's downfall from power. As a result, Jakarta's skyline was scarred with unfinished steel and concrete structures. A book "Djakarta Through the Ages" published in 1969 by the Jakarta City Government claimed: "Djakarta is dotted with steel skeletons and the concrete shells of unfinished buildings. There is no money to finish them. Who is able to finish and utilize these buildings?" Among the delayed projects of Sukarno in Jakarta were Wisma Nusantara, a 30-storey office tower meant to be the tallest in Southeast Asia but was abandoned as an unfinished steel structure from 1966 to 1971; the Istiqlal Mosque, started in 1961 but not completed until 1978; the National Parliament building, started in 1965 and completed in stages up until 1983; the Hotel Borobudur which started in 1963 but to be opened in 1974; and the Balai Sarbini and Veteran's Building complex approved in 1965 but was opened in 1973.
Rise of Ali Sadikin (1966 – late 1970s).
Improvement in infrastructure.
In 1966, Ali Sadikin was elected as governor of Jakarta. He would serve as a governor of Jakarta from 1966–1977, Jakarta's longest-serving governor. Instead of focusing on monumental projects, Ali Sadikin focused his policy towards providing the basic needs of Jakarta's rapidly expanding population. Kampung improvement programs were one of his best-known projects. He repaired and build roads, provided public transport, better sanitation, health services and educational opportunities for the poor.s
Among the roads that were constructed during the 1970s were Jalan Tomang Raya, which was built as a continuation of Jalan Kyai Caringin and which crossed over Jalan Letnan Jenderal S. Parman into Tanjung Duren and the new housing estate of Kebon Jeruk. At that time, the continuation of Jalan Tomang Raya was known as Jalan Arjuna, a relatively modest road which by the 1990s would be developed into the Jakarta-Tangerang-Merak toll road. Another road built in the 1970s was Jalan H R Rasuna Said. When completed, Rasuna Said, Sudirman, and Gatot Subroto formed the Golden Triangle of Jakarta, the where business, financial, and diplomatic heart of Jakarta. During this period, the first buildings appeared on Jalan Sudirman north of the Semanggi.
Despite the success of the program, which won the Aga Khan Award for architecture in 1980, it was discontinued for its over-emphasis upon the improvement of only physical infrastructure. Sadikin was also responsible for rehabilitating public services, banning rickshaws, and clearing out "slum dwellers" and "street peddlers".
Completion of delayed projects.
The 1970s saw the completion of projects that were begun in the 1960s by Sukarno.
The early 1970s saw Jalan Thamrin become a major thoroughfare with buildings higher than 5 storeys. Jalan Sudirman was still relatively empty, except for the Gelora Bung Karno sports complex and some housing at Bendungan Hilir and Setiabudi. Monuments such as the Irian Jaya Liberation Monument, the Prince Diponegoro Monument, the Heroes Monument, and the Dirgantara Monument were completed in the early 1970s.
During the late 1970s, Ancol, another project proposed by Sukarno in the early 1960s, was already well-established as the Ancol Dreamland recreational area with its Bina Ria beach, a golf course, swimming pools, an oceanarium, Putri Duyung Cottage, Hotel Horison and its casinos, a drive-in theater, and new housing developments on both sides.
Jakarta Fairs and other entertainments.
In 1968, the Jakarta Fairs were initiated at Medan Merdeka, and the Taman Ismail Marzuki cultural center at Cikini was opened. Taman Ria Remaja (Youth Recreation Park) was opened in the 1970s next to the Gelora Bung Karno.
Decline of Kemayoran Airport.
By 1974, a redeveloped Halim Perdanakusuma Airport became the international airport, with Kemayoran becoming a domestic-only airport. During the late 1970s, some housing west of Kemayoran Airport, such as the grid-like housing development of Pademangan, started to grow closer to the western edge of Kemayoran Airport.
Economic growth (late 1970s – 1980s).
Early on during Ali Sadikin's years as governor, Suharto was elected president of Indonesia in 1967. He decided to promote foreign investment in Indonesia. Ali Sadikin ensured that Jakarta's infrastructure was able to support business opportunities and boost economic growth with the construction of the Jakarta Convention Center (1974) and several hotel projects. The 1970s saw a hotel building boom with the opening of nine major hotels: Hotel Kartika Plaza (1972), President Hotel (1973), Hotel Borobudur (1974), Hotel Ambassador/Aryaduta (1974), Hotel Sahid Jaya (1974), Hotel Kartika Chandra (1974), the Hilton Hotel (1976), Hotel Sari Pan Pacific (1976) and Mandarin Hotel (1978), as well as the extension of Hotel Indonesia in 1974.
The 1970s also witnessed the redevelopment of Jakarta's two oldest markets: Pasar Senen and Pasar Tanah Abang. The Aldiron Plaza shopping center (now Blok M Square), considered to be the precursor of Jakarta's shopping malls, was opened in the mid-1970s.
The situation in the 1970s encouraged the emergence of a large number of private housing projects, but government housing schemes were also implemented to cope with the growth of the urban population.
1980s–present.
During the 1980s, smaller land sites were acquired for high-rise projects, while larger parcels of land were subdivided for low-key projects, such as the building of new shophouses. This period also saw the removal of kampongs from the inner-city areas and the destruction of many historical buildings. One infamous case was the demolition of the Society of Harmonie and the subsequent construction of a parking lot.
The period between the late-1980s and the mid-1990s saw a massive increase in foreign investment as Jakarta became the focus of a real estate boom. The investment of overseas capital into joint-venture property and construction projects with local developers brought many foreign architects into Indonesia. However, unlike the Dutch architects of the 1930s, many of these expatriate architects were unfamiliar with the tropics, while their local partners had received similarly Modernist architectural training. As a result, downtown areas in Jakarta gradually resembled those of the large Western cities; and often at a high environmental cost: high-rise buildings consume huge amounts of energy in terms of air-conditioning and other services.
The economic boom period of Jakarta ended abruptly in the 1997 Asian financial crisis and many projects were left abandoned. The city became a center of violence, protest, and political maneuvering, as long-time president, Suharto, began to lose his grip on power. Tensions reached a peak in May 1998, when four students were shot dead at Trisakti University by security forces; four days of riots ensued, resulting in damage to, or destruction of, an estimated 6,000 buildings, and the loss of 1,200 lives. The Chinese of the Glodok district were severely affected during the riot period and accounts of rape and murder later emerged. In the following years, including several terms of ineffective Presidents, Jakarta was a center of popular protest and national political instability, including several Jemaah Islamiyah-connected bombings.
Since the turn of the century, the people of Jakarta have witnessed a period of political stability and prosperity, along with another construction boom.


Ubasi Khong Tayiji

Ubasi Khong Tayiji was a 17th-century Mongol prince. He was the first Altan Khan of Khalkha who ruled Khotgoids in northwestern Khalkha See Altan Khan of the Khotgoid.
About 1609 he occupied the former Oirat heartland around Kobdo and Lake Ubsa Nor. He drove the Oirats west into Dzungaria in 1620 and 1623. Ubasi was killed by the Oirats in 1623 and was succeeded by his son Badma Erdeni Khong Tayiji.


Former administrative units of Pakistan

The former administrative units of Pakistan are states, provinces and territories which mainly existed between 1947 and 1975 when the current provinces and territories were established. The former units have no administrative function today but some remain as historical and cultural legacies. In some cases, the current provinces and territories correspond to the former units – for example the province of Punjab includes almost all the territory of the former province of West Punjab.
At independence.
(iii) Princely States of Pakistan.
Between August 1947 and March 1948, the rulers of the following princely states (which had existed alongside but outside British India) acceded their states to Pakistan, giving up control of their external affairs, while all retaining internal self-government, at least to begin with. This was lost by stages, until by 1974 all of the states had been fully integrated into Pakistan.
After independence.
The origins of most of the former administrative units lay in the set-up inherited from British India. From 1947 to 1971 newly independent Pakistan comprised two "wings" – 1600 kilometres apart and separated by India. The eastern wing comprised the single province of East Bengal, which included the Sylhet District from the former British Indian province of Assam as well as the Buddhist-majority Chittagong Hill Tracts awarded by the Radcliffe Commission. The politically dominant western wing united three Governor's provinces (North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), West Punjab and Sind), and one Chief Commissioner's Province (Baluchistan), also included were thirteen princely states and parts of Kashmir.
In 1948, the area around Karachi was separated from Sind province to form the Federal Capital Territory. In 1950 the North-West Frontier Province was expanded to include the small states of Amb and Phulra and the name of West Punjab province was changed to Punjab. The Baluchistan States Union was formed in 1952 by the four princely states of southwest Pakistan. Thus, between 1947 and 1955, Pakistan comprised five provinces and one territory.
The western wing eventually included thirteen princely states, one union of states, Gwadar enclave, Gilgit agency and parts of Kashmir:
One Unit of Pakistan 1955.
Simmering tensions between the eastern and western wings of Pakistan led to the One Unit policy announced by Prime Minister Muhammad Ali Bogra. The states and provinces of the western wing merged in 1955 to become divisions of the new province of West Pakistan with the provincial capital at Lahore. At the same time, East Bengal became the new province of East Pakistan with the provincial capital at Dacca. West Pakistan annexed the former Omani enclave of Gwadar (on the Balochistan coast) in 1958 as part of Kalat division. In 1960 the federal government moved from Karachi to Rawalpindi (the provisional capital pending the completion of Islamabad), whilst the federal legislature moved to Dacca. The Federal Capital Territory was merged with West Pakistan in 1961 to form the new division of Karachi. In 1963 the Trans-Karakoram Tract was transferred by treaty from Gilgit Agency to China under the provision that the settlement was subject to the final solution of the Kashmir dispute. Thus from 1955 to 1970, Pakistan comprised two provinces:
New provinces of Pakistan 1970.
The One Unit policy was regarded as a rational administrative reform to reduce expenditure and eliminate provincial prejudices. However the military coup of 1958 signalled troubled times for the two-province system as the office of Chief Minister of West Pakistan was abolished by President Ayub Khan to be replaced by Governor's rule. Eventually, in 1970, the province of West Pakistan was dissolved by President Yahya Khan and four new provinces were created along with some changes in Pakistani Kashmir. These provinces combined most of the former provinces and states as follows:
Changes after 1970.
The province of East Pakistan became independent in December 16, 1971 as the new country of Bangladesh. The states of Hunza and Nagar were abolished and their territories merged into the Northern Areas in 1974. The Federally Administered Tribal Areas were formed from parts of the North West Frontier Province districts of Peshawar and Dera Ismail Khan in 1975.
The status of the Islamabad area was changed to a capital territory in 1981. The names of two provinces were slightly modified in 1990 – Baluchistan became Balochistan and Sind became Sindh. In 2009, the Northern Areas changed its name to Gilgit–Baltistan. In 2010, the North West Frontier Province changed its name to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. 8 Years later in May 2018, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas merged with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.


Tang-Nanzhao conflicts in Annan

Tang–Nanzhao conflicts in Annan (modern-day northern Vietnam) was a period of intense chaos and warfare in Tang's Protectorate General to Pacify the South between local rebel forces, the kingdom of Nanzhao in modern-day Yunnan and the Tang dynasty of China that lasted from 854 to 866. It ended in the defeat of Nanzhao and the retaking of Annan by the Tang general, Gao Pian, although the Tang would later lose the region for good in 880.
Prelude (854–857).
In 854, Li Zhuo became jiedushi of Annan. He reduced the amount of salt traded to the mountain chiefs in the west in exchange for horses. The mountains chiefs responded by launching raids on Chinese garrisons. When Li Zhuo began suffering defeats, Đỗ Tồn Thành, a military commander, allied himself with the tribal chiefs against Li. In the next year, Li Zhuo killed Đỗ Tồn Thành as well as the chieftain of the Qidong Man in Aizhou (Nghệ An, central Vietnam). The Đỗ tribe had been a powerful Vietnamese family in Thanh Hoá and Nghệ An since 5-6th century. These actions provoked the natives into an alliance with Nanzhao. Fan Chuo, a Tang official in Annan reported: "…The native chiefs within the frontiers were subsequently seduced by the Man rebels…" and "again became close friends with them. As days passed and months came, we gradually had to encounter raids and sudden attacks. This caused a number of places to fall into rebel hands."
Early phase (857–862).
In modern day Phú Thọ and Hòa Bình Province on the western frontier of the protectorate, the local general Lý Do Độc who led an army of 6,000, and was assisted by seven commanders called "Lords of the Ravines", submitted to Nanzhao. The Nanzhao king Meng Shilong (蒙世隆) sent a Trustee of the East to deliver a letter to Do Độc soliciting his submission. Lý Do Độc and the Lords of the Ravine accepted the offer of vassalage by the Nanzhao kin, who sent the Trustee one of his daughters to marry Lý Do Độc's eldest son. In 858, Nanzhao dispatched military forces to the region. In the meantime, local chiefs led raids that brought warfare to villages in the heart of the protectorate. In 857, Song Ya was sent to Annan to deal with the situation, but was recalled to deal with another rebellion after only two months. His replacement, Li Hongfu, only held nominal control over the protectorate, which was actually controlled by Luo Xinggong (羅行恭), who commanded 2,000 well trained soldiers. In 858, the Tang court sent a new jiedushi, Wang Shi, to protect Annan. He banished Luo Xinggong, saw off a Nanzhao reconnaissance force, and defeated an invasion by the mountain tribes. The Tang garrisons were upgraded with heavy-armored cavalry and infantry and Songping was fortified with a reed palisade. In the same year, a serious rebellion broke out in Yongzhou, Guangxi. The situation in Yong held the threat of severing land communication between Annan and the empire, so a special army was established there to deal with rebels and to insure communications. This army was called the Yellow Head Army, for the soldiers wore yellow bands around their heads. In early autumn, local people were agitated by a rumor that the Yellow Head Army had embarked to attack them by surprise. One evening they surrounded Songping and demanded that Wang Shi return north and allow them to fortify the city against the Yellow Head Army. Shi was eating his evening meal when this commotion broke out. It is reported that, paying no heed to the mutineers, he leisurely finished his meal. Then, dressed in his battle gear, he appeared on the wall with his generals and admonished the crowd of rebels, who dispersed. The next morning, Shi’s troops captured and beheaded some ringleaders of the affair.
In 860, Wang Shi was recalled to deal with a rebellion elsewhere. The new jiedushi, Li Hu, arrived at Songping and executed Đỗ Tồn Thành's son, Đỗ Thủ Trừng, who according to Chinese sources was involved in a mutiny years earlier, probably due to the death of his father at the hands of Li Zhuo four years earlier. This alienated many of the powerful local clans of Annan. Anti-Tang Vietnamese allied with highland people, who appealed to Nanzhao for help, and as a result invaded the area in 860, briefly taking Songping before being driven out by a Tang army the next year. Prior to Li Hu's arrival, Nanzhao had already seized Bozhou. When Li Hu led an army to retake Bozhou, the Đỗ family gathered 30,000 men, including contingents from Nanzhao to attack the Tang. When Li Hu returned, he learned the Vietnamese rebels and Nanzhao had taken control over Annan. On 17 January 861, Songping fell to the rebels and Hu fled to Yongzhou. In summer 861, Li Hu retook Songping on 21 July but Nanzhao forces moved around and seized Yongzhou. Li Hu was banished to Hainan island and was replaced by Wang Kuan. Wang Kuan and the Tang court sought local cooperation by recognizing the power of the Đỗ family, granting a posthumous title to Đỗ Tồn Thành along with an apology for the deaths of him and his son and an admission that Li Hu had exceeded his authority.
Nanzhao offensive (863).
In 863, Nanzhao returned with an invasion force numbering 50,000 with the aid of the local people and besieged Annan's capital Songping in mid-January. On 20 January, the defenders led by Cai Xi killed a hundred of the besiegers. Five days later, Cai Xi captured, tortured, and killed a group of enemies known as the Puzi "Man". A local official named Liang Ke was related to them and defected as a result. On 28 January, an enemy Buddhist monk, possibly Indian, was wounded by an arrow while strutting to and fro naked outside the southern walls. On 14 February, Cai Xi shot down 200 enemies and over 30 horses using a mounted crossbow from the walls. By 28 February, most of Cai Xi's followers had perished, and he himself had been wounded several times by arrows and stones. The enemy commander, Yang Sijin, penetrated the inner city. Cai Xi tried to escape by boat, but it capsized midstream, drowning him. The 400 remaining defenders wanted to flee as well, but could not find any boats, so they chose to make a last stand at the eastern gate. Ambushing a group of enemy cavalry, they killed over 2,000 enemy troops and 300 horses before Yang sent reinforcements from the inner city. After taking Songping, on 20 June Nanzhao laid siege to Junzhou (modern Haiphong). A Nanzhao and rebel fleet of 4,000 men led by a "Thổ" chief named Chu Đạo Cổ (Zhu Daogu, 朱道古) was attacked by a local commander, who rammed their vessels and sank 30 boats, drowning them. In total, the invasion destroyed Tang armies in Annan numbering over 150,000. Although initially welcomed by the local Vietnamese in ousting Tang control, Nanzhao turned on them, ravaging the local population and countryside. Both Chinese and Vietnamese sources note that the Vietnamese fled to the mountains to avoid destruction. A government-in-exile for the protectorate was established in Haimen (near modern-day Hạ Long) with Song Rong in charge. Ten thousand soldiers from Shandong and all other armies of the empire were called and concentrated at Halong Bay for reconquering Annan. A supply fleet of 1,000 ships from Fujian was organized.
Tang counterattack (864–866).
The Tang launched a counterattack in 864 under Gao Pian, a general who had made his reputation fighting the Türks and the Tanguts in the north. In September 865, Gao's 5,000 troops surprised a Nanzhao army of 50,000 while they were collecting rice from the villages and routed them. Gao captured large quantities of rice, which he used to feed his army. A jealous governor, Li Weizhou, accused Gao of stalling to meet the enemy, and reported him to the throne. The court sent another general named Wang Yanqian to replace Gao. In the meantime, Gao had been reinforced by 7,000 men who arrived overland under the command of Wei Zhongzai. In early 866, Gao's 12,000 men defeated a fresh Nanzhao army and chased them back to the mountains. He then laid siege to Songping but had to leave command due to the arrival of Li Weizhou and Wang Yanqian. He was later reinstated after sending his aid, Zeng Gun, to the capital and he returned with a reinstatement. Gao completed the retaking of Annan in fall 866, executing the enemy general, Duan Qiuqian, and beheading 30,000 of his men.
Aftermath.
Gao Pian rebuilt the capital citadel, repairing 5,000 meters of damaged wall, reconstructing 400,000 bays for its residents, and named it Đại La. He also renamed Annan to Jinghai Jun (lit. Peaceful Sea Army). More than half of local rebels fled into the mountains at this time. This may well have sealed the separation of Muong from Vietnamese, which historians such as Henri Maspero suggest based on linguistic evidence, that took place at the end of Tang rule in Annan.
A campaign against local aboriginals in Annan was conducted from 874-879. In 877, troops deployed from Annan in Guangxi mutined. In 880, the army in Annan mutinied, took the city of Đại La, and forced the military commissioner Zeng Gun to flee, ending de facto Chinese control in Vietnam.


Arthur Joseph West

Arthur Joseph West (1863 in Bromsgrove; – 2 November 1937 in Bexhill-on-Sea) was a British civil engineer. Under his leadership, the Labuan Coal Line and the North Borneo Railway from Beaufort to Weston and Melalap were built.
Personal life.
West was born in 1863 in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England, the son of a farmer. Little is known about his youth and early professional career, but he was recorded in a census as a teacher at the age of 17. On the recommendation of his friend William Clark Cowie, he was appointed as Chief Railway Engineer on 7 July 1896 by the North Borneo Chartered Company with an annual salary of 4,800 Straits dollars. Although his previous experience was limited to the construction of the kilometre-long narrow Labuan Line, with which the coal mines of Labuan had been connected to the port of Victoria Town, his position was completely independent from any control of the Governor, being mainly directed by Cowie.
West began his work on Bukau in 1896 as the first section for the North Borneo Railway. At the same time he had to construct both the line to the north of Beaufort and south towards Brunei Bay. The terminus of the line on Brunei Bay had been selected by Cowie but proved to be too shallow as it was a mangrove forest area. West called the station there "West Town", which later became Weston. West married Mary Louisa Dixon in 1895 at Newington, London; and had two children named Arthur Gilbert Dixon (b.1898) and Willie. His first son was born in Labuan and baptised there on 28 November 1897 by the Governor of Beaufort. His family remained in the island during the first phase of construction of the North Borneo Railway.
On 3 February 1898, barely two years after the beginning of construction, the railway first opened for service. However, completion of the entire Beaufort–Weston section took two more years. From 1900, West used all his energy to extend the railway line along the Padas River to Tenom and then to Melalap. Tenom was reached in 1905; Melalap in 1906. On 1 April 1900, his family moved to Bukau. His two sons received an academic and technical education in Cambridge and entered a technical career; Gilbert, the older of the two became an assistant chief engineer at the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) while Willie became a geologist.
As his career and presence was mainly linked to Cowie, he was relieved of his post and left Borneo on Cowie's death in 1910. West died on 2 November 1937 in Bexhill-on-Sea.


State Protected Monuments of India

This article contains lists of State Protected Monuments of India.
Table of monuments.
The State Protected Monuments are designated by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). The state governments of India are authorised to maintain, protect and promote the State Protected Monuments.


Asprosaurus

Asprosaurus is an extinct genus of anguimorph lizard from the Late Cretaceous of South Korea. Named in 2015 from the Seonso Conglomerate Formation, the type species Asprosaurus bibongriensis is the first Mesozoic lizard to have been discovered on the Korean peninsula. Because "Asprosaurus" is known only from fragmentary material, its relationships with other lizards are uncertain. However, features of the lower jaw suggest that it may be a member of a clade (evolutionary grouping) called Monstersauria, which includes the living Gila monster.
Size.
"Asprosaurus" is among the largest Late Cretaceous terrestrial lizards from Asia described to date, with an estimated skull length of it is only rivalled by Chianghsia from China.


Name-ye Khosrowan

Name-ye Khosrowan (, The Book of Khosrows/Kings) is a historical book written by the Qajar prince, Jalal al-Din Mirza Qajar between 1868 and 1872 CE. "Name-ye Khosrowan" includes history of Iran, from the ancient times to the Zand dynasty.


Theinhko

Theinhko (; also Theinkho, ; c. 919 – 956) was king of the Pagan dynasty of Burma (Myanmar) from c. 934 to c. 956. According to the Burmese chronicles, Theinhko was a son of the previous king, Sale Ngahkwe. Theinhko was killed by a farmer, Nyaung-u Sawrahan, from whose farm he took a cucumber. The king had been on a hunting trip and separated from his retinue, exhausted and thirsty. The farmer was accepted as king by the queen to prevent unrest in the kingdom and became known as the "Cucumber King", "farmer king" or "Taungthugyi Min".
The story is likely a fairy tale. There are at least three other versions—an exact parallel in the Burmese fairy tale "Princess Thudhammasari" and two variants in Cambodian history, one in the eighth and another in the 14th century. Kings of Cambodia claim descent from the gardener.
Various chronicles do not agree on the dates regarding his life and reign. The oldest chronicle "Zatadawbon Yazawin" is considered to be the most accurate for the Pagan period. The table below lists the dates given by four main chronicles, as well as "Hmannan's" dates when anchored by the Anawrahta's inscriptionally verified accession date of 1044.


Samuel Mansfield

Samuel Mansfield (1815 – 12 December 1893) was a member of the Bombay Civil Service from 1834 to 1872.
Mansfield was the brother of General William Mansfield, 1st Baron Sandhurst, who was Commander-in-Chief of India from 1865 to 1870. He was educated at Haileybury.
He was the Commissioner in Sind from 1862 to March 1867. During his tenure, a separate Judicial Commissioner was appointed for Sind, thus relieving him of this role. He was a member of the senior council of Bombay from 1867 to 1872.
Mansfield was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Star of India in the 1866 Birthday Honours.


Vijayabahu III of Dambadeniya

Vijayabahu III was the first King of Dambadeniya, who ruled from 1220 to 1224. He was a member of the Sinhala Royal Family who began the Siri Sanga Bo dynasty, he was succeeded by his son Parakkamabahu II.
In media.
In the 2013 film Siri Parakum directed by Somaratne Dissanayake, Palitha Silva played the role of Vijayabahu III.


Hurung Royal Tomb

The Hureung Royal Tomb is a 15th-century mausoleum located in Ryongjong-ri, Kaepung-gun near Kaesong, North Korea. The site consists of two separate burial mounds, which contain the remains of Jongjong, the second king of the Joseon dynasty and son of its founder Taejo, as well as the body of his wife, Queen Jeongan. Construction on the tombs began after Queen Jeongan's death in 1412, and was only completed after Jeongjong himself died in 1419. Both tombs consist of a burial mound ringed with a carved granite base; they are surrounded by statues of the twelve zodiac animals. The "spirit road" up to the tombs is lined with statues of military officers and Confucian officials.
Despite being the tomb of a Joseon monarch, the site was excluded from the World Heritage Site "Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty" as it is located in North Korea. It is one of only two royal tombs from that dynasty in the country; the other, Cherung, belongs to Queen Shinui, wife of the dynasty's founder Taejo, who died before her husband became king and moved the capital to Seoul.


Chalukyas of Navasarika

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The Chalukyas (IAST: Cālukya) of Navasarika (modern Navsari) were an Indian dynasty that ruled parts of present-day Gujarat and Maharashtra during 7th and 8th centuries, as vassals of the Chalukyas of Vatapi. They are also known as the "Early Chalukyas of Gujarat" (as opposed to the later Chalukyas of Gujarat).
In the late 660s, the Vatapi Chalukya king Vikramaditya I appointed his brother Dharashraya Jayasimhavarman as the governor of the north-western parts of his kingdom, which included southern Gujarat (Lata), Nashik region, and northern Konkan. Dharashraya's eldest son Shryashraya Shiladitya died before him, and he was succeeded by his younger sons, first Jayashraya Mangalarasa, and then Avanijanashraya Pulakeshin. Avanijanashraya is best known for repulsing an Arab invasion from the Umayyad Caliphate near Navsari, a feat recorded in his 738-739 inscription. After his reign, the history of this Chalukya branch is uncertain: their territory subsequently came under the Rashtrakuta control.
Dharashraya Jayasimhavarman.
The Navsari branch of the Chalukyas was established by Dharashraya Jayasimhavarman (IAST: Dharāśraya Jaya-siṃha-varman), who was a son of the Vatapi Chalukya king Pulakeshin II, and a younger brother of Pulakeshin's successor Vikramaditya I. Sometime before 667-670 CE, Vikramaditya appointed Dharashraya as the governor of the north-western Chalukya territories, which included parts of present-day southern Gujarat, and the Konkan and Nashik region of Maharashtra.
Dharashraya is attested by his Nashik inscription, which is dated to 20 or 21 March 685 (year 436 of the Kalachuri era). This Sanskrit-language inscription records the grant of the Dhondhaka village in the Nasikya "vishaya" (Nashik province) to a Brahmana named Trivikrama.
The Nashik inscription states that Dharashraya defeated and routed the army of a king named Vajjada, between the Mahi and the Narmada rivers. Historian V. V. Mirashi theorizes that Vajrata invaded the Gurjara kingdom, whose ruler Dadda III was a Chalukya vassal; the Chalukya emperor dispatched Dharashraya to repulse the invader. However, there is no concrete proof to support this theory. Historian Shyam Manohar Mishra theorizes that Vajjada may have been another name for Dadda III. It is possible that this Vajjada is same as the Vajrata, who according to a Samangad inscription, was defeated by the Rashtrakuta king Dantidurga. It is likely that Dharashraya's campaign against Vajjada was ordered by his overlord and nephew Vinayaditya (the successor of Vikramaditya I), who wanted to expand the Chalukya power in the north.
Shryashraya Shiladitya.
Dharashraya's eldest son was Shryashraya Shiladitya (IAST: Śrayāśraya Śilādtiya). An inscription of Shryashraya, issued by him as the crown prince ("yuvaraja"), is dated to 23 May 668 (year 420 of the Kalachuri era). Its find spot is unknown. It is written in Sanskrit language using an early form of the Telugu-Kannada alphabet. It records the grant of Mudgapadra village to migrant Brahmana cousins Revaditya and Varasyaka by Dharashraya and Shryashraya. The inscription was issued from Navasarika (Navsari) and its text was composed by Dhananjaya.
A Surat inscription of Shryashraya, also in Sanskrit language, is dated to 28 January 671 (Kalachuri year 421). It records the grant of the Asatti village to Bhogikasvamin. Another of his Sanskrit inscriptions, found at Surat, is dated 692-693 (Kalachuri year 443: the date can be read as 2 August 692 CE, assuming that the inscription was issued in the Kalachuri year 443; or as 23 July 693 CE, assuming that it was issued after the expiry of the Kalachuri year 443). The inscription was issued from Kusumeshvara, and records the grant of a field in the Osumbhala village to Matrishvara Dikshita.
Shryashraya appears to have died before his father Dharashraya; therefore, Dharashraya was succeeded by his second eldest son Jayashraya Mangalarasa, who was succeeded by Avanijanashraya Pulakeshin, another of Dharashraya's sons. Tribhuvanashraya Nagavardhana, a fourth son of Dharashraya, is attested by an inscription found at Nirpan village of Maharashtra. This inscription records the grant of the Belegrama village to the shrine of the deity Kapaleshvara, but is considered spurious by historians.
Jayashraya Mangalarasa.
Jayashraya Mangalarasa (IAST: Jayāśraya Maṅgalarasa-rāja) was nominally a vassal of the Chalukya king Vinayaditya, but appears to have been practically independent.
The Manor inscription of Mangalarasa is dated to 7 April 691 (year 613 of the Shaka era). This Sanskrit language inscription describes Mangalarasa as a crown prince, and records the grant of some villages and other land to the Sun temple at Manapura. It indicates that Mangalarasa bore the titles "Prithvi-vallabha", "Yuddhamalla", and "Vinayaditya".
The Diveagar inscription issued during Mangalarasa's reign is dated to 727-728 (Shaka 649). It records the grant of the Talavallika village by prince Dharashraya Jayasimha to the goddess Katyayani, whose statue was located on the bank of a temple tank in Kadadroho-Votinera.
The Valsad (Balsar) inscription of Mangalarasa is dated to 731-732 (Shaka 653). It describes him as "Raja Vinayaditya Yuddhamalla Mangalarasa".
The Rashtrakuta chief Indra I forcibly abducted Bhavanaga, a daughter or niece of Mangalarasa, from a marriage "pandal" at Kaira. Kaira was located in the traditional Maitraka territory; therefore, historian A. S. Altekar theorizes that Bhavanaga was to be married to a Maitraka prince. On the other hand, historian Shyam Manohar Mishra theorizes that Mangalarasa had conquered Kaira from the Maitrakas by this time.
Avanijanashraya Pulakeshin.
Mangalarasa's younger brother and successor Avanijanashraya Pulakeshin (IAST: Avani-janāśraya Pulakeśi-rāja) ascended the throne sometime between 731 and 739. He is attested by a Sanskrit inscription, which is known as the Navsari inscription, although its exact find spot is not known. The Epigraphical Society of India received it from a resident of Satem village of Navsari district. It is dated to the year 490 of the Kalachuri era; the date can be interpreted as 1 November 738 (assuming current year i.e. it was issued in the 490th year of the Kalachuri era) or 21 October 739 (assuming expired year i.e. it was issued after 490 years of the era had been completed).
The inscription records Avanijanashraya's repulsion of an Arab invasion from the Umayyad Caliphate. It states that the Tajikas (the Arabs) had advanced up to Navsari after plundering the kingdoms of the Saindhavas, Kachchhelas, Saurashtra, Chavotkas, Mauryas, the Gurjaras, and others. The forces of Avanijanashraya defeated the invaders after a fierce battle.
As a result of this success, Avanijanashraya's overlord conferred several titles upon him, including "solid pillar of Dakshinapatha" ("Dakshinapathasadhara"), "ornament of the Chalukya family" ("Challuki-kulalankara"), "beloved of the earth" ("Prithvi-vallabha"), and "the repeller of the unrepellable" ("Anivartaka-nivartayitri"). The overlord was the Vatapi Chalukya ruler Vikramaditya II, although the inscription doesn't mention his name, simply calling him "Vallabha Narendra".
Avanijanashraya appears to have annexed the former Gurjara territory to the Chalukya kingdom after repulsing the Arabs. He became the most powerful ruler of the Navsari Chalukya family, and assumed the title "Paramabhattaraka". His use of this title, usually borne by the sovereign rulers, cannot be explained with certainty. It is possible that it signifies his declaration of independence; alternatively, it is possible that he remained a Chalukya vassal, and the assumption of the title was just meant for glorification.
The Chalukyas of Navasarika were ultimately supplanted by the Rashtrakutas in the 8th century.


Ashina Xichun

Ashina Xichun, also known as Chuluo Khagan (Turkic: Çula Han, , Middle Chinese: (Guangyun) , died 620), was the khagan of the Eastern Turkic Khaganate, and second son of Yami Qaghan.He succeeded his elder brother Shibi and ruled for 18 months.
Reign.
Since Ashina Shibobi was still a minor, Ilteber shad () succeeded his elder brother as khagan, also creating him Nipu shad and appointing eastern territories to him. He terminated the campaign started by his brother after receiving a large tribute from Tang.
Nevertheless, he created Yang Zhengdao (杨政道) a posthumous son of Yang Jian as puppet King of Sui (隋國王). Starting to plan a major assault as advised by Liang Shidu, he became allied to Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande. As part of the plan, he requested Dou to cross the Taihang Mountains and meet him at Jin (晉州, roughly modern Linfen, Shanxi) and Jiang (絳州, roughly modern Yuncheng, Shanxi) Prefectures.
However he died from illness, possibly poisoned by the Minister of Ceremonies () Zheng Yuanshu (鄭元璹). Perpetrators were executed by Illig Qaghan.
Family.
He married the Sui dynasty's Princess Yicheng (義成公主) in heqin, the former wife of Qimin in levirate marriage along with other wives. Issues:


2007 Gasoline Rationing Plan in Iran

The 2007 gasoline rationing plan in Iran was launched by president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's cabinet to reduce that country's fuel consumption. Although Iran is one of the world's largest producers of petroleum, rapid increases in demand and limited refining capacity has forced the country to import about 40% of its gasoline, at an annual cost of up to USD $7 billion.
The fuel rationing originally triggered discontent in Iran, but, according to analysts quoted in the Western news media, the Iranian government is hoping that reducing gasoline imports will help insulate the country from international pressure related to its nuclear program. "We will greatly suffer if they (foreign countries) suddenly decide not to sell us fuel," said Iranian political analyst Saeed Leylaz. "Fuel rationing is a security-economic decision to reduce fuel consumption." In an interview Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said: "They [Americans] had a plan and idea that is neutralized. They don't know our nation. They think if they refuse to provide us with gasoline, our nation would say we don't want nuclear energy."
Background.
An increase in population since 1980 from 40 to 68 million people has pushed Iran’s gasoline consumption up by nearly 13 percent annually over the past five years. As a result, the country consumes far more gasoline than its refineries can provide. Production stands at a day, compared with daily demand standing at . With 43 percent of its gasoline imported, Iran is the world’s second largest gasoline importer.
Iran's petrol is heavily subsidised, sold at about a fifth of its real cost. The price of 1,000 rials ($0.11) per litre makes Iran one of the cheapest countries in the world for motorists. The government maintains that the rich benefit from 70 percent of subsidies and that it is one of the primary reasons for changing the subsidies system.
Gas rationing plan.
Iran took action to reduce its dependence on foreign gasoline through a three-pronged strategy which includes:
A special committee set up by the government came up with a four-point
program which includes:
The Iranian government provides incentives to CNG car buyers and has meanwhile decreased the gasoline subsidies. Iran is the Middle East's leading car manufacturer. In 2005 Iranian automakers produced nearly one million vehicles including 884,000 passenger cars and 104,000 heavy vehicles, altogether worth $11.6 billion. The Iranian government aims to have most of Iran’s cars running on natural gas by 2015.
The restrictions began at midnight local time on Wednesday 27 June (2030 GMT Tuesday) and were set to continue for four months. The rationing system, allowed private drivers 100 liters (26 gallons) of fuel per month at the subsidized price. Taxis got 800 liters (211 gallons) a month. Anything more than that was bought at a higher price. The fuel rationing triggered widespread discontent in Iran, but if it succeeds in reducing the amount of imported gasoline, it could help insulate the country from international pressure related to its nuclear program.
Based on the rationing plan, each private car received 120 liters per month at about 10 cents per liter. The price for non-rationed gasoline in November 2008 was almost 40 cents.
Prices in neighboring countries.
In mid-November 2008, the prices super gasoline in the neighboring Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Turkey and the UAE were 105, 108, 74, 84, 187 and 45 cents per liter. Whereas, in Iran motorists are allowed 100 liters (26.4 US gallons) of gasoline each month at the subsidized price of about 10 cents per liter (37.9 cents per US gallons) and an unlimited amount at 40 cents per liter ($1.52 per US gallons).
This means that the Iranian government is giving subsidy to the Turkish government or the governments of Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Arab countries of the south.
On the opposite side, Norway, despite being an oil-rich country, has the most expensive gasoline prices in the world.
Fuel smuggling.
According to Iranian counter-smuggling authorities, 17 percent of daily fuel production equivalent to some 40 million liters (10.6 million US gallons) were being smuggled out of the country every day in 2009. This is while most of the smuggling concerns gasoline and diesel fuel, whereas Iran imports both of these to the tune of 30 million liters (7.9 million US gallons) every day. Smugglers are using "lakes of fuel", underground pipelines to neighboring countries and oil tankers on the Shatt al-Arab waterway. Facilities such as the Martyr Rajai Port Complex in Hormuzgan province are reportedly used by the IRGC to export state subsidized gasoline outside the country. Fuel smuggling has increased by 232 percent compared to last year's figures. Iran says its naval security forces have confiscated ten oil tankers smuggling 4,600 tons of Iranian fuel out of the Persian Gulf in 2008. As of 2012, smuggling to Pakistan and Afghanistan continues unabated because of price differential with these countries and because of the steep devaluation of the Iranian rial.
Economic damage.
Iranian taxpayers incur a loss of $3.3 billion annually because of fuel smuggling (& not including other smuggled oil derivatives), equivalent to the "development budget" of Iran. This means that the Iranian government is giving subsidy to the Turkish government or the governments of Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and the Arab countries of the south.
According to National Police Chief Esmaeil Ahmadi-Moqaddam, before the implementation of the subsidy reform plan, 20 million liters of fuel were trafficked out of the country. Twenty million liters of fuel is trafficked out of Iran every year despite increased domestic fuel prices caused by the Iranian targeted subsidy plan. Over the past three years (2010–13), 8-10 million liters of gasoline has been produced per day by the domestic petrochemical units.
Immediate reactions to gas rationing plan.
Some lawmakers were urgently drafting a bill to stop rationing. Private cars will get 100 litres of gasoline a month but less if they also burn compressed natural gas, state TV said. Drivers have complained that the amount is too little. All gasoline is already sold using electronic "smart" cards, but some drivers have not received them. Officials say the cards will reduce the possibility of a black market in fuel.
Iranians were given only two hours' notice of the move that limits private drivers to 100 litres of fuel a month. There is anger that the government did not give people more notice. At least 12 petrol stations have been torched in the Iranian capital, Tehran. "Guns, fireworks, tanks, [President] Ahmadinejad should be killed," chanted angry youths, throwing stones at police.
Long term reactions to gas rationing plan.
As of mid-2008, the Gas Rationing Plan was regarded as a total failure, due to the reasons below:
Oil Minister said the gasoline rationing scheme has helped the country curb consumption by up to 20 million liters a day or $4 billion (2008). Consumption rates approach 22.5 million gallons (85.2 million liters) per day without the restrictions.
Critics acknowledge that rationing did bring consumption down by around 16 million liter a day. Then again, extra quotas for various government organizations, individuals with special needs and some businesses, as well as a 100-liter bonus for ’summer holidays’ allocated by the government reversed the initial fall in consumption. According to Iran-Daily:
Consumers under 45 different categories are now receiving additional gasoline rations.
In the early stages of the plan, traffic was reduced, gasoline consumption went down, there was less pollution and people were adapting to the change in fuel consumption patterns. However with the announcement of extra quotas, the initial achievements were destroyed.
In June 2009, Oil Ministry announced that Iran has so far saved $8.5 billion through the nationwide fuel rations program. Regarding the fuel rationing program, if the plan had not been executed, Iran would have had to import 33 million liters of gasoline per day in 2007-8 and 44 million liters in 2008-9. With the implementation of the plan these figures reduced to 18.9 million liters and 21.6 million liters per day, respectively.
End of the gas rationing plan.
By July 2010, Iran had managed to save 11 billion dollars since the rationing began, thanks to the gasoline rationing plan, which has spared the need for excessive imports of the commodity. In June 2010, it was announced that after the implementation of the new subsidy reform plan, gasoline will be sold on "free market price". The start of the gasoline subsidy cuts will coincide with the beginning of the second half of the Iranian year on September 23, 2010. At that time, the 2007 Gas rationing plan will come to an end (the quota system will remain in place while gasoline prices will be increased).


Paku Alam I

Paku Alam I, originally known as Natakusuma, was the first ruler of the principality of Pakualaman, rewarded for helping the British quell conflict in Yogyakarta in June 1812. Pakualaman (also written Paku Alaman) became a small hereditary Duchy within the Sultanate of Yogyakarta, as a mirror-image of the Mangkunegaran principality in the territory of the Susuhunanate of Surakarta. Paku Alam I ruled from 1812 to 1829, and was buried at Kota Gede.


Manka

The Manka is a famous stone that lies on an old tomb in the city of Multan, Punjab, Pakistan.
It is a chocolate-coloured stone with light yellow marks on it, in length, in diameter and thick, with a hole 9 inches in diameter through its centre.
The tomb lies outside the Delhi Gate. Some people believe a saint wore it round his neck, while some maintain that it was his thumb ring. The tomb is believed to be 1300 years old. It is possible that it may belong to the times of the early Muslim invasion under Muhammad bin Qasim.


List of rulers of Martaban

This is a list of rulers of Martaban (Mottama), one of the three main Mon-speaking provinces of Lower Burma, from the 13th to 17th centuries. Martaban was the capital of Hanthawaddy Kingdom (Ramanya) from 1287 to 1364.
Pagan Period.
The earliest extant evidence of Martaban on records is an 1176 inscription by King Sithu II of Pagan (Bagan).


Battle of Talas

The Battle of Talas or Battle of Artlakh (; , Nastaliq: ) was a military engagement between the Abbasid Caliphate along with its ally, the Tibetan Empire, against the Chinese Tang dynasty. In July 751 AD, Tang and Abbasid forces met in the valley of the Talas River to vie for control over the Syr Darya region of central Asia. After several days of stalemate, the Karluk Turks, originally allied to the Tang, defected to the Abbasids (Chinese sources) and tipped the balance of power, resulting in a Tang rout.
The defeat marked the end of the Tang westward expansion and resulted in Muslim control of Transoxiana for the next 400 years. Control of the region was economically beneficial for the Abbasids because it was on the Silk Road. Chinese prisoners captured in the aftermath of the battle are said to have brought paper-making technology to the Middle East, from where it eventually spread to Europe.
Location.
The exact location of the battle has not been confirmed but is believed to be near Taraz and Talas on the border of present-day Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. The Chinese name Daluosi (怛羅斯, Talas) was first seen in the account of Xuanzang. Du Huan located the city near the western drain of the Chui River.
Background.
The oasis towns on the Silk Roads in Central Asia had once been controlled by the Türgesh, but the Turkic tribal confederation plunged into chaos in the latter half of the 7th century. The Tang empress Wu had retaken control of the Tarim Basin from the Tibetan Empire in 692 as part of the Tang expansion in Inner Asia and the oasis towns became a major source of income for the Chinese Tang dynasty. In 705 Qutayba ibn Muslim started to lead the army of the Arab Umayyad caliphate into wars to conquer Silk Road towns, exploiting Türgesh infighting. The Umayyad conquered the oasis towns Bukhara and Samarqand, expanding the border of their empire eastwards. At the same time the Türgesh khagan tribe leader Suluk began uniting the infighting Türgesh tribes. The Umayyad Arab, Tibetan and Tang armies would have two encounters. In 715 Alutar was established as king of Fergana with the help of Umayyad and Tibetan soldiers. The disposed Ikhshid fled to the Tang controlled Kuqa, requested the aid of the emperor Xuanzong of Tang and 10,000 Tang soldiers reinstated Ikhshid as Fergana king. In 717 Arab Umayyad soldiers, assisted by the Tibetan Empire, besieged the oasis town Aksu in the Tarim Basin, but were defeated by the Tang military in the battle of Aksu.
In 715 the Tang emperor declined the demand of the Türgesh tribe leader Suluk to be recognized as Qaghan, instead offering him the rank of duke in the Tang military. In response, Suluk invaded the Tarim Basin together with the Tibetan Empire, but they were driven out by the cavalry of Ashina Xian. Suluk and his khagan soldiers challenged the Umayyad and Tang control of the oasis towns regularly. But before Suluk's death his soldiers were defeated by the Tang in 736 and by the Umayyad military in 737. At the same time Türgesh tribes established metal industries in Tang controlled Fergana Valley, an area that was also home to important iron production centers. The Karluks, a federation of three Türgesh tribes with settlements in the Tian Shan mountains, were producers and exporters of iron weapons to the Tibetan empire and the Tang dynasty.
In 747 the Tang general Gao Xianzhi, who had successfully fought the Tibetan empire in the Pamir Mountains, established Tang control over the Gilgit region. In early 748 the Arab general Abu Muslim occupied Merv, the capital of Greater Khorasan, and went on to lead what has become known as the Abbasid revolution. In the year 750, Abu al-'Abbas al-Saffah (As-Saffah) was proclaimed the first Abbasid caliph in the great mosque of Kufa. The Umayyad Caliphate fell in 750 at the Battle of the Zab. Abu Muslim had raised an army that included Muslims and non-Muslims, which he dispatched westwards to take control over Ummayyad territory. The Tang general and the Abbasid general would eventually meet in 750 when the kings of the Silk Road towns Tashkent and Ferghana sought the support of their imperial overlords in a battle of dominance. Gao Xianzhi conquered the Abbasid controlled Tashkent after a siege. The Abbasid general Ziyad ibn Salih escaped from Tashkent to Samarkand were he gathered troops and marched eastwards to confront the Tang army. In Fergana the Tang general Gao Xianzhi raised an army by recruiting Karluk Turks.
Battle.
The numeric quantities of the combatants involved in the battle of Talas are not known with certainty. The Abbasid army consisted of 200,000 soldiers according to Chinese estimates, which included contingents from their Tibetan ally. On the opposite side, Arab records put the combined Chinese forces at 100,000. But Chinese sources record a combined army of 10,000 Tang Chinese and 20,000 Karluk mercenaries. The "Tongdian" (801 CE), the earliest narrative for battle itself by either side suggests 30,000 deaths, and the "Tangshu" (945 CE) counted 20,000 death in this battle. The earliest Arabic account for the battle itself from "Al-Kamil fi al-Tarikh" (1231 CE) suggest 50,000 deaths and 20,000 prisoners.
In the month of July 751, the Abbasid forces joined in combat with the Tang Chinese force (the combined army of Tang Chinese and Karluk mercenaries) on the banks of the Talas river. The Tang army was subjected to a devastating defeat. The Tang dynasty's defeat was due to the defection of Karluk mercenaries and the retreat of Ferghana allies who originally supported the Chinese. The Karluk mercenaries, two-thirds of the Tang army, defected to the Abbasids during the battle; Karluk troops attacked the Tang army from close quarters while the main Abbasid forces attacked from the front. The Tang troops were unable to hold their positions, and the commander of the Tang forces, Gao Xianzhi, recognized that defeat was imminent and managed to escape with some of his Tang regulars with the help of Li Siye. Out of an estimated 10,000 Tang troops, only 2,000 managed to return from Talas to their territory in Central Asia. Despite losing the battle, Li did inflict heavy losses on the pursuing Arab army after being reproached by Duan Xiushi. The loss of 8,000 troops to the Tang empire can be compared to a troop strength of more than 500,000 before the Anshi rebellion.
Aftermath.
According to one of the few Arabic sources on the battle that has survived, a text by Al-Maqdisi, the Abbasid general Abu Muslim took 25,000 Chinese prisoners and confiscated possessions from the Tang military camp. According to Al-Maqdisi, Abu Muslim prepared his forces and equipment to invade more Tang controlled territory. But he was presented with a letter from the first Abbasid caliph As-Saffah, in which he was informed that his services are needed as governor of Khurasan.
Caliph Al-Saffah died in the year 752 AD. Chinese sources record that his successor, the Abbasid caliph Al-Mansur, sent his diplomatic delegations regularly to China. Al-Mansur's delegations were known in China as "Khayi Tashi" ("Black Clothes"). Shortly after the battle of Talas, the domestic An Lushan rebellion and subsequent warlordism gave the Arabs the opportunity to further expand into Central Asia as Tang influence in the region retreated. The An Lushan Rebellion started in 755 and lasted until 763, forcing the Tang army to retreat from the Xinjiang after enjoying around 100 years of sovereignty. This effectively ended the Tang Chinese presence in Central Asia. In 756 Al-Mansur sent more than 22,000 Arab mercenaries to assist Emperor Xuanzong of Tang in the An Lushan rebellion. The Muslim population of Ningxia are considered descendants of the Arab soldiers who settled after Chang'an was recaptured.
Following the end of An Lushan rebellion in 763 the Tang military was debilitated and never recovered. The Tang Empire started to fragment as the military of the Tibetan Empire invaded China. The Tibetan army also concurred territory in the Hindu Kush and Pamir Mountains from Indian kingdoms and assisted the establishment of the Pala Empire in eastern India in the latter half of the 8th century. It was only under the fifth Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid that a formal military alliance between the Tang, the Uighur Turks and the Abbasid engaged the Tibetan army on the western Tibetan frontier with the Arabs. At the same time the Uighur Turks fought the Tibetans along the Central Asian Silk Roads. The Karluks expanded their settlements around the Tian Shan mountains and also settled westwards in Abbasid controlled Fergana and Tukharistan. Iron weapons continued to be exported to Tibet and China on the Silk Roads between Kuqa and Aksu near the Tarim basin. Arab sources record that in the 10th century Aksu and Fergana had markets for arms traders.
Talas is in modern day Kyrgyzstan and had been part of the Silk Road: From Dunhuang in China, along the edge of the Takla Makan desert, passing through oasis towns such as Kucha, roads went through a region Arabs called Transoxiana. The Silk Roads in Transoxiana went through Talas, Tashkent, Samarkand, and Khwarazm. Turning south, roads went through Kunduz in presentday Afghanistan, the Pamir Mountains could be crossed on roads going through Kulob and Balkh in the Bactria region. From there present day India could be reached on a road through Bamyan that lead over the Hindu Kush. Muslim influence along these Central Asian Silk Road had started in the 8th century, one key event being the battle of Talas. Prior to which Buddhists controlled much of the roads. Central Asian Buddhism went into a decline after the battle of Talas.
Following the An Lushan rebellion the diplomatic exchange between Buddhist Indian kingdoms and the Tang dynasty all but ceased. Prior to the battle of Talas, between 640 and 750 diplomatic envoys from Indian kingdoms, often accompanied by Buddhist monks, had regularly visited the Tang court. Military cooperation with Indian kingdoms was considered by the Tang court in the late 8th century, but diplomatic relations were only fully resumed by the Song dynasty. The increasing Muslim dominance of these Silk Roads made it more difficult for Buddhist monks and pilgrims to travel between India and China. Chinese Buddhism developed into an independent religion with distinct spiritual elements. Indigenous Buddhist traditions like Pure Land Buddhism and Zen emerged in China. China became the center of East Asian Buddhism, following the Chinese Buddhist canon, as Buddhism spread to Japan and Korea from China.
Modern historic evaluation.
Among the earliest historians who proclaimed the importance of this battle was the Russian historian Vasily Bartold, according to whom: "The earlier Arab historians, occupied with the narrative of events then taking place in western Asia, do not mention this battle; but it is undoubtedly of great importance in the history of (Western) Turkestan as it determined the question which of the two civilizations, the Chinese or the Muslim, should predominate in the land (of Turkestan)."
Professor Denis Sinor said that it was interference in the internal affairs of the Western Turkic Khaganate which ended Chinese supremacy in Central Asia, since the destruction of the Western Khaganate rid the Muslims of their greatest opponent, and it was not the Battle of Talas which ended the Chinese presence.
The Chinese Muslim historian Bai Shouyi wrote that furthermore, at the same time that Talas took place, the Tang also sent an army from Shibao city in Qinghai to Suyab and consolidated Chinese control over the Turgesh. According to Shouyi, Chinese expansion in Central Asia did not halt after the battle of Talas. The Chinese commander Feng Changqing, who took over the position from Gao Xianzhi through Wang Zhengjian, virtually swept across the Kashmir region and captured Gilgit shortly two years later. Even Tashkent reestablished its vassal status in 753, when the Tang bestowed a title to its ruler. Shouyi also maintains that the Chinese influence to the west of the Pamir Mountains certainly did not cease as the result of the battle. Central Asian states under Muslim control, such as Samarkand, continued to request aid from the Tang against the Arabs and in 754, all nine kingdoms of Western Turkestan again sent petitions to the Tang to attack the Arabs and the Tang continued to turn down such requests as it did for decades. Ferghana, which participated in the battle earlier, in fact joined among the central Asian auxiliaries with the Chinese army under a summons and entered Gansu during An Lushan Rebellion in 756. Shouyi also noted that neither did the relations between the Chinese and Arabs worsen, as the Abbasids, like their predecessors since 652, continued to send embassies to China uninterruptedly after the battle. Such visits had overall resulted in 13 diplomatic gifts between 752 and 798.
Professor Xue Zongzheng came to the conclusion that other than the transfer of paper, there is no evidence to support a geopolitical or demographic change resulting from this battle. In fact, it seems that Tang influence over Central Asia even strengthened after 751 and that by 755, Tang power in Central Asia was at its zenith. Several of the factors after the battle had been taken note of prior to 751. Firstly, the Karluks never in any sense remained opposed to the Chinese after the battle. In 753, the Karluk Yabghu submitted under the column of Cheng Qianli and captured A-Busi, a betrayed Chinese mercenary of Tongluo (Tiele) chief (who had defected earlier in 743), and received his title in the court on 22 October.
Papermaking.
High quality paper had been known—and made—in Central Asia for centuries; a letter on paper survives from the fourth century to a merchant in Samarkand. According to ancient Arabic sources, Chinese prisoners of war are responsible for a technology transfer to the Islamic world, because they engaged in the craft of papermaking while living on land occupied by the Abbasid caliphate following the lost battle of Talas. No historic Chinese source records this transfer of technology through prisoners of war. However, Du Huan who was captured by the Abbasid army at the battle of Talas and upon his return to China published his travel writings, documented that Chinese crafts such as silk weaving were practiced by Chinese prisoners of war while living on Abbasid controlled territory. However, it was only after the first paper mill was built in the Abbasid imperial capital of Baghdad in 794-795 that paper was manufactured throughout the Islamic world and paper started to replace papyrus.