National Palace Museum of Korea

The National Palace Museum of Korea is a national museum of South Korea located in Gyeongbokgung Palace, Seoul.
History.
The museum first began as the "Korean Imperial Museum", which was established in September 1908 and was originally located in Changgyeonggung Palace. On November of the following year, the museum was opened to the public. However, on April 1938, the ruling Japanese government renamed the museum to the "Museum of Yi dynasty".
In March 1946, after the liberation of Korea, it was renamed "Deoksugung Museum". In 1991, Cultural Heritage Administration instituted the museum in Seokjojeon (석조전, Stone Hall) of Deoksugung Palace, and in 2005, the museum was relocated to a modern building inside Gyeongbokgung Palace.
Collection.
National Palace Museum of Korea houses over 40,000 artifacts and royal treasures, from the palaces of the Joseon Dynasty and the Korean Empire, of which 14 are National Treasures of South Korea. It displays records, state rites, architecture, clothing, royal life, education, culture, paintings and music of the dynasty's ruling era. It also has among its collection the royal seal of King Gojong of Joseon, which was used for his personal letters to Russian czar and Italian emperor after 1903. It disappeared during Japanese rule and was re-covered from a US-based Korean collector in 2009.
In March 2021, in conjunction with the Korea Cultural Heritage Foundation, the National Palace Museum opened an installation at the arrivals hall of Terminal 1 at Incheon Airport. The installation features eight pieces of media art including one transparent LED display, three media walls and four kinetic artworks. The artworks display traditional Korean themes and cultural elements.
Special collection.
The Museum houses 1,200 volumes of historical texts including 150 copies of Uigwe from the Joseon Dynasty that were looted in 1922, during rule by Japan under the supervision of then Resident-General of Korea Itō Hirobumi. They were repatriated in December 2011 and a special exhibition was held from 27 December 2011 to 5 February 2012. The copies chronicled the royal rituals of King Gojong and King Sunjong, the last two emperors of Joseon Dynasty and Daehan Empire before Korea was annexed in 1910.


Akashi Castle

 is a Japanese castle in Akashi, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan.
Akashi castle was constructed by Ogasawara Tadazane on Mount Akamatsu from 1617 to 1619 to watch over the western lords, by the order of Tokugawa Hidetada. It is known Miyamoto Musashi helped in building the castle as he was invited by Ogasawara Tadanao to be a "Construction Supervisor". The castle only took one year to complete, which was relatively fast for the time period. This was done so quickly as a result of a 1615 law mandating one castle per clan, so many castles were dismantled and parts of some were used to construct Akashi Castle.
The castle was built in Akashi, which was an important strategic point between Osaka and western Japan, where many major tozama daimyō had their feudal estates. Akashi Castle was expected to be a key staging point to stop a hypothetical invasion of Osaka.
Akashi castle underwent major repairs in 1739, and was demolished by the Meiji Government in 1874.
Cultural Property.
In Akashi Castle, there are two Important Cultural Properties selected by Japanese government:
These two "yagura", or towers, are the castle's only remaining buildings.


Lutipri

Lutipri was the father of the Urartian king Sarduri I.
Lutipri may have ruled Urartu between 844 and 834 BCE, in a period of obscurity after the destruction of the former capital Arzashkun by Shalmaneser III, and before Sarduri's foundation of the new capital at Tushpa.
As Sarduri I may have established a new dynasty, it is possible that his father, Lutipri, was not actually a king of Urartu.


Chaophraya Thammasakmontri

Sanan Devahastin na Ayudhya (also spelled Thephasadin among other variants; , , ; 1 January 1877 – 1 February 1943), better known by his noble title Chaophraya Thammasakmontri (, ), was an educator, writer and senior government officer of Siam/Thailand. He served as Minister of Public Instruction from 1915–1926, and was the first President of the National Assembly, serving from 28 June – 1 September 1932 and from 15 December 1933 – 26 February 1934.
Personal life.
Sanan Devahastin na Ayudhya was born near the Hua Met Shrine, Saphan Shan District, Phra Nakhon Province, Bangkok, on 1 January 1876. When he was eight years old his father died and his life changed, although this misfortune proved providential in some ways to his future career as an educator, minister and key member of the court of King Rama VI. Despite being the son of a senior nobleman and a direct descendant of King Rama I, he helped mothers with gardening and trading, and was contracted to undertake buttonhole stitching from a young age. Through these enterprises, he learned to be hardworking, compassionate, and thrifty,
and not to be discouraged by unforeseen drawbacks - all valuable lessons that enabled him to flourish in both his education and his later work as Minister of Public Instruction, a position similar to Minister of Education today. Following his marriage to Lady Tawin Salak, the young couple were given a grand new home as a wedding present by the bride's father, Phraya Sriphuripricha, in the Nang Loeng neighbourhood in Pomprap Sattruphai district, part of Bangkok's old town. The prominent, Western-style Neoclassical mansion is an architectural showpiece and important legacy of Bangkok's historical and cultural heritage. Built in 1899, it was commissioned, designed and constructed by the Italian architect, Mario Tamagno, designer of the Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall, Neilson Hays Library and Hua Lamphong Railway Station. The impressive white house with green eaves on Nakhon Sawan Road, replete with imported white Italian marble, teak floors, delicate stucco designs and intricate patterns on the beams, arches and vents, reflects the esteemed Italian architect's style and the European influences of the time. Chaophraya Thammasakmontri's house, now owned by his descendants, recently reopened as an educational and cultural centre. Renamed "Bangkok 1899", both the house and its gardens opened to the public in February 2019 to promote the arts, cultural exhibitions and the arts in education, with a focus on sustainability. By reopening the house to the public as an art-space-cum-civic-centre, the 'Bangkok 1899' project commemorates the life and work of Chaophraya Thammasakmontri, and continues his idea of using education as a means of social, national, cultural and individual development. Creative Migration, a non-profit international arts organization based in Los Angeles and Bangkok with major support from The Rockefeller Foundation and Ford Motor Company Fund, spearheaded the restoration.
Education and Career.
Senan Devahastin Na Aydhaya studied at Wat Bophitphimuk School, Suankularb Wittayalai School and Sunanta School, followed by the Teacher Training School from 1892 - 1894, where he earned a teaching certificate and became one of the first graduates in the initial cohort of qualified schoolteachers in Thailand. He taught for approximately two years, and then on 4 May 1896, as a scholarship student with the Thai Ministry of Education, he left Thailand to continue his studies at Borough Road College in Isleworth, west London (later incorporated into Brunel University), under the direction of Sir Robert Laurie Morant. After his studies in Britain and following a three-month study tour of India and Myanmar, he returned to Thailand and established the Thai education system based on the British school system. He was awarded the title Chaophraya Thammasakmontri and became Lord Chamberlain in the King's Court. Known as the father of modern Thai education, Chaophraya Thammasakmontri laid the foundations of contemporary learning in the country and was one of the forward-thinking educators who helped found and build Chulalongkorn University, the country's first higher education institution. After resigning from government service, Chao Phraya Thammasakmontri collaborated with his eldest daughter, Chailai Thephasadin Na Ayudhaya, to convert his family home into Satree Chulanak School to promote education and provide scholarships for talented young students. A "reformist aristocrat and an early figure of public intellectual", Chaophraya Thammasakmontri, also known as Khru Thep, "initiated the use of verse as a medium for political and social commentary". A volume of his poems and writings has recently been published by Butterfly Book, an independent Bangkok publishing house set up by Chaophraya Thammasakmontri's late granddaughter, the best-selling Thai author Phakawadee Utamote, and author and publisher, Makut Onrutdee.
Death.
Chaophraya Thammasakmontri died from a heart attack on February 1, 1943, at his house in Nakhon Sawan Road, Bangkok. He was 67.
Royal decorations.
Chuan was awarded the following royal decorations in the Honours System of Thailand:


2005 Northern Cypriot parliamentary election

Early parliamentary elections were held in Northern Cyprus on 20 February 2005, after the coalition government led by Mehmet Ali Talat lost its majority in the House of Representatives. The vote was a resounding victory for Mehmet Ali Talat's CTP-United Forces alliance, although it fell just short of a majority. The UBP, Democratic Party and BDH also crossed the 5% election threshold and won seats in the House.
Electoral system.
The House had 50 members, elected for a five-year term by mitigated proportional representation. Under North Cyprus law, a party had to receive 5% of the total vote to get any seats in parliament.
Aftermath.
Talat became Prime Minister, leading a coalition of the CTP and DP.
June 2006 by-election.
A by-election was held on 25 June 2006 to fill the positions left vacant by the death of Salih Miroğlu (UBP general secretary) and the election of Talat as president. The two parliamentary seats in contention were in Lefkoşa and Kyrenia. This by-election was held together with municipal elections, and the United States Department of State reported that both "were generally free and fair". Of the two vacant seats, one was held by the National Unity Party, the other by the CTP. The two elected candidates were Gülboy Beydağlı and Özkan Yorgancıoğlu, both of which belong to the CTP. The latter thus increased its representation in the Assembly from 24 to 25 seats. The ruling coalition of the CTP and DP had difficulty forming a government after this by-election. When three deputies (two from the National Unity Party and one from the Democratic Party) resigned to form the new, progovernment Freedom and Reform Party in September, the coalition collapsed and Serdar Denktaş quit the government. The CTP then formed a coalition government with the newly formed Freedom and Reform Party, in which it was the biggest partner, holding seven ministries.


Sargis II Tmogveli

Sargis II Tmogveli () or Sargis of Tmogvi was a 13th century Georgian statesman and writer. Visramiani a medieval Georgian version of the old Iranian love story "Vīs and Rāmīn", traditionally taken to have been rendered to him.
Biography.
Around 1246, Sargis was part of a failed plot aimed at overthrowing the Mongol hegemony, he survived arrest and torture in captivity that befell upon his fellow conspirators when their designs to stage a rebellion was betrayed to the Mongols. Exploiting the complicated issue of succession, the Mongols had the Georgian nobles divided into two rival parties, each of which advocated their own candidate to the crown. Sargis played an important role in having Prince David Ulu confirmed as co-ruler of Georgia. Following the coronation, David Ulu was sent to the Great Khan to receive an official recognition. King David Ulu made Sargis Tmogveli an escort for his journey to Karakorum. Sargis firmly opposed David Narin and those who were brought up with him, saying: "It is not proper for a woman's offspring to sit on the throne, which is a place of the son, an autocratic king - the son of a man."


Yuan Weishi

Yuan Weishi (; born December 15, 1931) is a Chinese historian and philosopher.
Biography.
Yuan was born in Xingning, Guangdong. He was admitted to Zhongshan University Department of Economics in 1950, and then went to a master program in political economy at Fudan University. He worked as a faculty member at Zhongshan University Department of Philosophy.
In the January 2006 issue of "Freezing Point", Yuan published an essay titled "Modernisation and History Textbooks", criticizing the official theme of government issued middle schools history textbooks, claiming that they contain numbers of distortions of the historical accounts (see for example in the article about the Boxer Rebellion). Professor Yuan said:"The public, especially the students, have the right to find out the true historical facts."


Durjan Sal

Durjan Sal was a Nagvanshi king in the 17th century. He succeeded his father Bairisal in 1614.
Immediately after accession to Nagvanshi throne, he threw away all allegiance to the Mughals. Because of the independent attitude of Durjan Sal, coupled with possibility of acquiring diamonds from Khukhra, Jahangir ordered governor of Bihar Ibrahim Khan, an expedition against Durjan Sal. Durjan Sal sent some of his men to Ibrahim Khan and promised to pay some diamond and elephants but Khan could not agree to it. Before Durjan Sal could collect his kinsmen Ibrahim Khan invade Khukhragarh with the help of guides. As it was a surprise attack, Durjan Sal was not able to do preparation to defend himself So he fled to the nearby hills with his family members. Durjan Sal was later found in cave with his family members. They were arrested and all the diamonds taken. Twenty three elephants also fall in the hand of Ibrahim Khan. Durjan Sal taken to Delhi and then he was sent to prison in Gwalior.
Mughal officials were collecting diamonds in river bed of Khokhra and sending it to Mughal court. The Jeweller tested diamond that were brought to Jahangir, they declared the best among them to be impure and impure to be sound. Durjan Sal was recalled from prison to identify real diamonds after staying twelve years in prison. He pointed out flaw and proved himself right. He tied the diamonds to the end of horn of a ram and made it fight with another ram. While flaw diamond split other remain intact. Jahangir so pleased that he released him. Durjan Sal begged that the other Raja who had been in the confinement of Gwalior fort should be released. He requested that his formal position to be resorted to him. He agreed to paid annual tribute of Rs 6,000 and title of Shah was also conferred on him.
During the absence of Durjan Sal from Khokhra, one of the relatives of him had captured the throne of chieftaincy although the overall control of the region continued to be excised by the imperial officers. The occupant of the chieftaincy developed hostility towards Mughals. As a result, Ahmed Beg Khan, the Nephew of Ibrahim Khan Fatah Jang and deputy governor of Orissa Subah, attacked the Khokhra in 1624. But Mughal could not mobilise effective army against him and could not able to remove from the throne.
After release of Durjan Sal from prison in 1627, he came to Khokhra and launched an attack to the usurper and succeeded in establishing himself in the throne. In fight, he was assisted by one of the raja who had accompanied him from Gwalior.
He constructed the fort of Doisagarh, also known as Navratangarh, in Gumla. He died in 1640. He succeeded by his son Ram Shah.


Yan (Three Kingdoms)

Yan () was a Chinese kingdom that existed from July 237 to September 238 CE in the Liaodong Peninsula during what is known as the Three Kingdoms period. Its predecessor was an independent regime ruled by Gongsun Du and his son Gongsun Kang from 190 to 237. Though it only claimed independence in 237, historians such as Wang Zhongshu and Hou Tao consider it to be a de facto independent regime from when Gongsun Du established his rule in Liaodong in 190. Although it existed during the Three Kingdoms period, it was not one of the eponymous three kingdoms: (Wei, Shu, and Wu). Nevertheless, writers such as Kang Youwei consider it to be a "4th country".
Predecessors.
Gongsun Du.
Gongsun Du's father Gongsun Yan (公孫延) lived in Xuantu Commandery where Gongsun Du became minister in 170. Although he was dismissed from his post, he became administrator of Liaodong Commandery in 190 or 189 on the recommendation of Dong Zhuo. Gongsun Du established a monarchial rule and completely controlled Liaodong. He split Liaodong into three commanderies, creating Liaoxi Commandery and Zhongliao Commandery out of Liaodong.
Liaodong was adjacent to Goguryeo, whose rulers initially cooperated with Gongsun Du but subsequently frequently quarreled. Gongsun Du repeatedly attacked both Goguryeo and Wuhuan. In 196, the warlord Cao Cao gave Gongsun Du the titles of "general of military might" and "lord of Yongning Xiang". However, Gongsun Du rejected the latter title, considering himself the king of Liaodong, rather than a mere lord. The title would be given to his younger son Gongsun Gong after Gongsun Du's death. Gongsun Du military activities are largely credited with leading to the Gongsun family's rise.
Gongsun Kang.
When Gongsun Du died in 204, his son Gongsun Kang took over, and shortly after exploited a succession feud in Goguryeo. Though the candidate supported by Gongsun Kang was eventually defeated, the victor Sansang of Goguryeo was compelled to move his capital southeast to Hwando (present-day Ji'an, Jilin) on the Yalu River, which offered better protection. Gongsun Kang moved in and restored order to the Lelang Commandery, establishing the new Daifang Commandery by splitting off the southern part of Lelang.
In 207, Gongsun Kang killed Yuan Shao's sons Yuan Shang and Yuan Xi, and gave their heads to Cao Cao. Gongsun Kang's act was seen as one of compliance to Cao, an attitude his son Gongsun Yuan would reverse.
Gongsun Gong.
After Gongsun Kang's death, his two sons Gongsun Huang and Gongsun Yuan were too young to succeed to the title. As a result, his brother Gongsun Gong took the throne. However, he suffered from diabetes ("yin xiao", ) and was infertile. After Cao Pi took over Eastern Han, he told Gongsun Gong to give a son as a hostage to Cao. Gongsun Huang, Gongsun Kang's elder son, was sent to Luoyang. Gongsun Gong dared not be aggressive towards Cao Wei, and Gongsun Yuan considered him a coward. Claiming that he would restore Liaodong to glory, he forced Gongsun Gong from the throne, imprisoned him and became ruler in December 228.
Gongsun Yuan.
Gongsun Yuan claimed friendship with Eastern Wu and sent envoys in May 229. In February 230, Wei promoted Gongsun Yuan to "cheqi general" (). In March 232, Sun Quan sent envoys to Gongsun Yuan to ask for horses, which were supplied. However, when returning in September, the envoys were attacked by Tian Yu. Most of their goods were lost and one of the envoys was killed. In October 232, Gongsun Yuan sent envoys accepting a position as a vassal of Wu. In March 233, Wu gave him the title of the "king of Yan", and sent two envoys to him; they were killed by Gongsun Yuan and their heads sent to Luoyang, and Gongsun Yuan accepted vassalship from Cao Wei. Gongsun Yuan's attitude angered both Cao Wei and Eastern Wu; Cao Rui (king of Cao Wei) and Sun Quan (king of Eastern Wu) both vowed to kill him.
In 237, Cao Wei general Guanqiu Jian sent troops to attack Gongsun Yuan, but was defeated because of heavy rain.
Gongsun Yuan's reign.
After Guanqiu Jian's defeat, Gongsun Yuan claimed independence in July, and used the era date Shaohan (); the new country had a government and officials, and set up four commanderies: Liaodong, Xuantu, Lelang and Daifang, and in January 238, Gongsun Yuan resumed relations with Wu, hoping for military reinforcements from it.
Downfall.
In June 238, after planning with Cao Rui, Sima Yi, one of Cao Wei's generals, led 40,000 soldiers to attack Gongsun Yuan; after a siege lasting three months, Gongsun Yuan's headquarters fell to Sima Yi, who received assistance from Goguryeo, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. Many who served the Gongsun clan were massacred. Gongsun Gong was released from prison.
Relations with Goguryeo.
Goguryeo frequently battled with the Gongsun clan despite initial cooperation. In 197, hostilities between the Gongsuns and Goguryeo first broke out when Balgi, elder brother of King Sansang of Goguryeo, staged a rebellion and gained the support of Gongsun Du. Sansang's younger brother Gyesu repelled the attack, defeating Gongsun Du, and Balgi committed suicide. Gongsun Kang took advantage of a succession feud in Goguryeo and launched an attack again in 209, defeating Goguryeo and forcing it to move its capital. In Sima Yi's conquest of Yan, Goguryeo sent thousands of troops to assist Sima Yi.
Impact.
Sino-Goguryeo relations.
After Wu's envoys were killed by Gongsun Yuan in 233, some of their troops escaped to Goguryeo and set up a Wu-Goguryeo alliance. In 234, Cao Wei sent envoys to set up an alliance with Goguryeo. Between Wei and Wu, Goguryeo chose Weikilling Wu's envoys in 234 and another set in 236. In 238, Goguryeo sent troops to assist in the defeat of Gongsun Yuan. The Wei-Goguryeo alliance broke down in 242, when King Dongcheon of Goguryeo plundered the Liaodong district of Xi'anping (西安平; near present-day Dandong) at the mouth of the Yalu River. Wei launched a war in retaliation, which ended in a Wei victory and destroyed the Goguryeo capital of Hwando, sent its King fleeing, and broke the tributary relationships between Goguryeo and the other tribes of Korea that formed much of Goguryeo's economy. Although the King evaded capture and eventually settled in a new capital, Goguryeo was reduced to such insignificance that for half a century there was no mention of the state in Chinese historical texts.
Five Barbarians.
Sima Yi's conquest of Gongsun Yuan was attributed partly with the Uprising of the Five Barbarians Incident, through increasing the financial power of Liaodong and forcing Han people in Liaodong to move inland, allowing the Xianbei to enter Liaodong.


Pyithu Hluttaw

The Pyithu Hluttaw (, ; House of Representatives) is the "de jure" lower house of the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, the bicameral legislature of Myanmar (Burma). It consists of 440 members, of which 330 are directly elected through the first-past-the-post system in each townships (the third-level administrative divisions of Myanmar), and 110 are appointed by the Myanmar Armed Forces.
After the 2010 general election, Thura Shwe Mann was elected as the first Speaker of House of Representatives. The last elections to the Pyithu Hluttaw were held in November 2015. At its first meeting on 1 February 2016, Win Myint and T Khun Myat were elected as Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Pyithu Hluttaw.
As of 8 November 2015, 90% of the members are men (389 members) and 10% women (44 members).
After the coup d'état on 1 February 2021, the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw was dissolved by Acting President Myint Swe, who declared a one-year state of emergency and transferred all legislative powers to Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Min Aung Hlaing.
Composition.
2016–2021.
Results are as of 20 November 2015.
Voting seats by region and state.
Notes:
Note: Result as of 20 Nov 2015. Elections in seven townships of Shan State were cancelled due to armed conflicts. Military appointed were not included in this table.


Usha Kiran Palace

Usha Kiran Palace is a heritage hotel, adjacent to Jai Vilas Mahal on a 9-acre land in Gwalior built by the royal Scindia dynasty of the Marathas. The management of the five-star hotel is done by Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces. The hotel makes use of solar power energy produced at Kadodiya Solar Park, which has been built by Vivaan Solar.
History.
It was built in 1902 as a guest residence for the Prince of Wales who was visiting. It later became the guest house of Jivajirao Scindia where he brought Vijayaraje Scindia after the marriage.
Subsequently moving from Mumbai to Gwalior, Priyadarshini Raje Scindia, the wife of Jyotiraditya Scindia, transformed the Palace into a hotel. The Palace has preserved its tradition with the usage of rosewood elevator from 1930 and two-blade ceiling fans.


Souvannarath

Prince Souvannarath (8 July 1893 – 23 June 1960) was the 3rd prime minister of the Kingdom of Laos from 1947 – 1948. He was a son of Prince Bounkhong and half-brother to Princes Phetsarath, Souvanna Phouma and Souphanouvong.


Nagcarlan Church

The San Bartolome Apostol Parish Church ("Saint Bartholomew, the Apostle Parish Church") is a Roman Catholic church in Nagcarlan, Laguna, Philippines. Its titular is St. Bartholomew and its feast day is celebrated every August 24.
History.
Nagcarlan was first colonized in 1571 by Juan de Salcedo, grandson of Miguel López de Legazpi. It was founded by Franciscan priests Juan de Plasencia and Diego Oropesa in 1578. The church of Nagcarlan was first built from light materials such as nipa and wood in 1583 under the chaplaincy of its first priest, Father Tomas de Miranda who also pioneered the cultivation of wheat in the country and was dedicated to Saint Bartholomew. During Father Cristobal Torres' term, a second church made of stone and bricks was built in 1752. The multicolored stones and bricks of the church were offered by the people during its construction. The church was partially destroyed by fire in 1781. Immediate repair and reconstruction was done under the term of Father Anatacio de Argobejo and later by Father Fernando de la Puebla, who built the four storey brick bell tower. Further reconstruction using adobe and restoration (including elaborately designed tiles) in 1845 and addition of the choir loft on three strong arches was done under the supervision of Father Vicente Velloc. The Nagcarlan Underground Cemetery was built also in 1845 and the church rectory in 1850 under Father Velloc. In the 1990s, Monsignor Jose Barrion led a huge restoration project for the church.
Features.
The tiered wall Nagcarlan church generally falls under the Baroque style. The design of the facade has a semicircular arched main entrance along with semicircular windows and tall pedestals and columns present also in the church's side entrance. The four storey brick bell tower has bells with the Franciscan coat of arms (crossed arms of Christ and St. Francis of Assisi) and Muslim inspired crenelations.
On popular culture.
The church was featured in the 1974 movie "Kampanerang Kuba" starring Vilma Santos and its teleserye remake, an ABS-CBN television series starring Anne Curtis in 2005.


Lunavada State

Lunavada State, also known as Lunawada State, was a princely state in India during the time of the British Raj. Its last ruler acceded to the Union of India on 10 June 1948.
Lunavada State had an area of 1,005 km2 and fell under the Rewa Kantha Agency of the Bombay Presidency, later integrated into the Baroda and Gujarat States Agency. Its capital was located in Lunavada town in present-day Gujarat state, India.
History.
According to tradition the predecessor state was established in 1225 by descendants of Sidhraj, Raja of Anhilwara Patan, as the state of Virpur. In 1434, Rana Bhimsinghji moved the capital to Lunavada on the other side of the Mahi river. Before the town was established, the area was controlled by the princely Sant State.
In 1826 Lunavada State became a British protectorate and was a second class state in the Rewa Kantha Agency. The capital was Lunavada town, said to have been founded in 1434. The 1901 census records that the population had a decrease of 28% in the previous decade, due to famine.
Col. HH Maharaja Sri Virbhadrasinhji Ranjitsinhji 1929/1986, born 8 June 1910 in Lunawada, invested with full ruling powers on 2 October 1930, Member of the Chamber of Princes, married Manher Kunwari [HH Maharani Kusum Kunwari of Lunawada], daughter of Capt. HH Maharana Raj Saheb Shri Sir Amarsinhji Banesinhji (Gangubha) of Wankaner, and had issue. He died in 1986.
Rulers.
The rulers had the title 'Rana' and were accorded a status of 9-gun salute by the British authorities.


Andrew Do

Andrew Do () is an American politician currently serving as Orange County Supervisor, representing the First District. He is a Republican.
Early life.
Do fled with his family from Vietnam to the United States following the Fall of Saigon. Do grew up in Garden Grove, California.
Education.
Do attended UC Davis. Do earned a JD from Hastings College of the Law.
Career.
In 2007, Do served as the chief of staff for Janet Nguyen, a politician from Southern California.
Do was a city council member of Garden Grove, California. Do was a Deputy District Attorney of Orange County. Do was an Adjunct Professor at California State University of Fullerton.
Controversies.
Do has been accused by his political opponents of residency fraud, stating that his primary residence is outside the district he serves (First District) and is instead in North Tustin (Third District).


Viralakshmi

Viralakshmi also called Narpatindralakshmi (10th-century - 11th-century), was a queen of the Khmer Empire, married to king Suryavarman I (r. 1006–1050) of the Khmer Empire. Her name Viralakshmi means ‘the fortune of Vira’.
She is recorded as a relative of Harshavarman I, but her precise relationship to him is not specified. She was in any event a member of the "kamratem an" or elite of the polity Vrai Kanlong, ‘forest of the kanlong’, and the sister of Narapatindravarman and Bhuvanaditya. She was possibly a daughter of Jayaviravarman, or a sister of Harshavarman I and Iśanavarman II.
Suryavarman I is noted to have ‘offered a tiara, earrings, clothes of gold, and all sorts of finery, and he also offered a covered palanquin of gold’ to Viralakshmi when he proposed marriage to her. Her brothers Narapatindravarman and Bhuvanaditya were given great priviligies, and the latter made prince of Vanapura. The marriage is believed to have been of great help to Suryavarman I in attaining the throne.
Suryavarman I was succeeded in 1050 by Udayadityavarman II, who was possibly the younger brother of queen Viralakshmi, and who was previously named Bhuvanaditya. She was possibly the mother or the paternal aunt of queen Vijayendralakshmi.


Tala Mi Thiri

Tala Mi Thiri (, ; also တလမေသီရိ) was a princess of Martaban–Hanthawaddy Kingdom. She the eldest daughter of King Binnya U and elder half-sister of King Razadarit.
Her first marriage to King Kue Na of Lan Na from 1365 to 1371 ended in a divorce. Her second marriage to Smim Maru, a wealthy son of a court official, was marred by an alleged long-running affair between Maru and her aunt Princess Maha Dewi.
Early life.
The princess was the only child of Queen Hnin An Daung and King Binnya U. Born in Martaban (Mottama), then capital of the Mon-speaking kingdom, she was the king's eldest child. She had three other much younger half-siblings: Binnya Nwe, Tala Mi Daw and Baw Ngan-Mohn.
Queen of Lan Na.
Thiri's cloistered upbringing changed forever in 1363/64. That year, a coup pushed her father out of Martaban. The royal family moved to the dynasty's ancestral home Donwun, about 100 km north of Martaban. Her stay at Donwun was short. Her father sent her to Chiang Mai to wed King Kue Na of Lan Na. It was a marriage of state designed to achieve an alliance between the kingdoms but she had a terrible time. Soon after, she began reporting back to her family that she did not enjoy her life in Chiang Mai, and begged her family to get her back.
Her calls initially went unheeded. Binnya U was fighting for his survival. He was driven out of Donwun in 1369/70. By 1371, he was forced to accept to a truce with the rebel forces in which he agreed to pay the rebels in exchange for the rebels' nominal allegiance to him. Soon after she returned to her homeland but to Binnya U's new capital Pegu (Bago).
Pegu years.
At Pegu, the princess, still only in her early twenties, soon found a suitor in Smim Maru. Though not of royal lineage, Maru was a wealthy son of a court minister, and offered 5 "viss" (8.16 kg) of gold in dowry. The king had fond memories of Maru's father, who had died in action in his service, and gave his permission. A 7-day lavish wedding between Maru and the princess followed.
Her second marriage did not turn out right either. According to the "Razadarit Ayedawbon", Maru was just trying to get close to power. By the mid 1370s, the power increasingly belonged to the king's elder sister Maha Dewi. The king's health had been deteriorating, and he had begun giving day-to-day duties to his sister, one person he trusted. The chronicle reports that Maru began an affair with the much older Maha Dewi about three years into the marriage. Powerful court factions opposed to Maha Dewi made sure that the affair became public.
At any rate, Thiri remained married to Maru till the end. In 1383, her 15-year-old half-brother Binnya Nwe raised a small rebellion out of Dagon with help from opposing factions of the court. Maru tried to put down the rebellion but was driven back in November 1383. After Binnya U's death on 2 January 1384, Maru tried to rally the court to back him. When it became clear that the court would back Nwe instead, Maru and Thiri tried to flee to Martaban.
But they did not get far and were arrested. On 5 January 1384, on the day of the coronation, the couple were tied to a pole at the royal elephant stables for all to see. The "Razadarit Ayedawbon" states that Maha Dewi collapsed when she saw Maru and Thiri tied to the pole. Nwe before starting the coronation ordered Maru executed. Thiri apparently escaped the execution. The chronicle does not say that the new king, about to take the title Razadarit, ordered the execution of his half-sister Thiri.


Kyaswa (disambiguation)

Kyaswa was a Burmese royal title.
It may mean:


Liberty League (Georgia)

First Georgian national liberation organization, active in 1892–1896 years in Russian Empire.
The league was established in Kutaisi June 26–29 of 1892 by Georgian students from Russian and European universities. Most of its founders were from Universities of Warsaw, Kiev, St. Petersburg, Moscow, Kharkiv, Odessa.
Many of the league's founders became prominent politicians, like George Gvazava, George Dekanozishvili, Archil Jorjadze, Tedo Sakhokia, Jacob Pantskhava, Niko Jakeli, Mikhail Kheltuplishvili, Vakhtang Ghambashidze, Ivan Eliashvili.
Out of the league emerged two leading historic Georgian parties – Social-Federalists in 1904 and National Democrats in 1917.
Among actively supporters of the league were well-known public figures of the Sixtiers generation – writers Cyril Lordkipanidze, David Mikeladze (one of the sessions of the league's founding was held in his apartment), educator Silovan Khundadze and others.
Most of the league's members were arrested by Tsarist gendarmes in the spring of 1893. Persecutions took place till 1896.


Huoluochaideng

The Huoluochaideng (霍洛柴登) city site in Hanggin Banner, Inner Mongolia, is known for the massive quantity of coins (3500 kg) that were found there. The coins included Wu Zhu cash coins from the Han dynasty as well as coinage produced under Wang Mang's Xin dynasty.
The site.
The site appears to be the ruins of a city, possibly from the time of the Han and Xin dynasties. The site was first excavated in August 2012 by the Cultural Relics and Archaeological Institute of Inner Mongolia and Hangjin Banner Cultural Relics Administration Office - three coin hoards were found within the site, and the remains of a major coin-casting workshop were found in the northwestern part of the site. Further excavation was carried out in 2013, when four coin-casting kilns were found of which two (Y1 and Y4) were well-preserved. Over 150 pieces of clay coin models and 20 pieces of clay moulds were found in and around the kilns, as well as coins, ceramics, bronze and iron objects, stone tool, slag and animal bones. The coins are mostly issues of Wang Mang, in the first decades of the first century AD: daquan wushi, xiaoquan zhiyi, huoquan, banliang and wuzhu. The coin models, moulds and coins suggest that the site may have been in use from 157 BC to AD 23.


Mihran Mesrobian House

The Mihran Mesrobian House is a historic building located in Chevy Chase, Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. The house was designed by well-regarded Washington, D.C.-area architect Mihran Mesrobian. It is the only residence that he designed for himself and his wife, Zabelle. Mesrobian was better known for his Beaux-Arts designs in the 1920s and Art Deco designs in the 1930s. He chose the Art Moderne style for his house, which was completed in 1941. It stands out among the more traditional revival styles in the neighborhood. Earlier designs for the house show "a much more radical, modernistic design," but he made concessions to the "Chevy Chase Land Company's more conservative design covenants." The two-story frame and brick veneer structure has a full basement. It features asymmetrical massing, whitewashed brick that resembles concrete, glass block panels, a sun porch on the second floor, and a low hip roof. The cinderblock and brick perimeter wall with classical cast-stone decorative elements and the gate were also designed by Mesrobian and completed in 1945.
Mesrobian lived in the house until his death in 1975. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2017.


National Iranian Radio and Television

National Iranian Radio and Television, or NIRT for short, (, "Radio-ye Telâvisiun-e Mili-ye 'Iran") was the first Iranian state broadcaster, which was established on June 19, 1971, following the merger of the country's radio and television services. It operated up until the Iranian Revolution in 1979, after which NIRT became the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB).
Background and history.
Introduction of television.
Television was first introduced in Iran on October 3, 1958 by Television Iran (TVI). A privately-owned and commercially-operated monopoly, TVI carried Western programming dubbed in Persian. Following the opening of its station in Tehran, it established a station in Abadan on February 28, 1960.
This was followed by National Iranian Television (NITV) in 1966. Earlier that year, the Plan and Budget Organization allocated a budget for the project, and the Ministry of Economics donated land. A temporary structure was built, and on October 26, NITV transmitted its first broadcast message, a statement by the Shah. Test programs were run, and complete programming commenced at Nowruz, the Iranian New Year, in March 1967. The first week’s programs included the broadcasting of the Shah’s birthday celebrations from Amjadieh Stadium.
Creation of NIRT.
In June 1967, the Parliament approved a proposal for the economic and administrative independence of NITV, under which it would merge with Radio Iran in 1971 to form National Iranian Radio and Television (NIRT). This was incorporated as a public broadcasting monopoly run as an independent government corporation, with the Shah appointing Reza Ghotbi as the first director-general. TVI, meanwhile, had been nationalised in 1969.
Prior to 1967, television had covered about 2.1 million people; when NIRT began regular transmissions that year, coverage rose to 4.8 million, and by 1974 had risen to over 15 million, roughly half the total population. The large budget allocations that were provided to NIRT, a reflection of the organisation's role in development, enabled it to use the latest technologies, including microwave delivery systems, to overcome problems of mountainous terrain.
By 1975–76, radio covered almost the entire country, and 70 percent of the population had television reception. Before then, by 1973, NIRT had already established a total of 14 television production centres with 153 transmitters, covering approximately 88 cities and towns in Iran, accounting for 60 per cent of the population. The following year, this had increased to fifteen, including two in Tehran, as well as one each in the provincial cities of Abadan (established in October 1970), Ardebil, Bandar Abbas (October 1968), Esfahan (March 1969), Kerman (September 1971), Kermanshah (October 1970), Shiraz (November 1969), Mahabad (September 1971), Mashad (September 1971), Rasht (April 1970), Rezaiyeh (July 1968), Sanandaj (September 1971), Tabriz (March 1971) and Zahedan (September 1971).
Despite overall budget cuts in 1975–76, NIRT's total budget rose about 20 percent. Earlier, it had aimed for its first television network to reach 65 per cent of the population of Iran, with its second network reaching 50 per cent by the end of 1977, marking the end of the country's Fifth Development Plan. The first network, known as the First Program, carried general content, of which only 33 per cent was imported, with the second network or Second Program aiming to show more educational and cultural content, of which 60 per cent of its content was imported.
By 1974, Iran was second only to Japan in Asia in terms of the development of its broadcasting capabilities. This prompted one Western commentator to argue in 1977 that "[if] Iran continues on its present path it will be the first nation in the world to have nationally spread television before a nationally spread press".
Colour television broadcasts first began in 1975, although reception was largely confined to affluent people able to afford colour sets. Regular colour broadcasts were introduced in 1976. The standard was changed to the French SECAM in February 1977, resulting in imported television sets becoming unusable. Although NIRT had the facilities to broadcast in colour, and used this when broadcasting the Asian Games held in Tehran in 1974, full broadcasts in colour were delayed until 1978, on account of the ability of local manufacturers to meet demand for colour sets.
NIRT International Radio and Television.
For 22 years, the American Forces Radio and Television Service (AFRTS) broadcast a local radio service (Radio 1555) and 17 years of local TV service (Channel 7) to the capital of Iran from their studios in Tehran. However, in 1976 it was decided by the Iranian government that AFRTS should close down its radio and TV services, which it did on October 25, 1976.
The following morning, October 26th, the Shah's birthday, the new government-owned radio and television service began under the control of NIRT Director General, Reza Ghotbi, with Cyrus Ramtin as the first director of NIRT's new international channel. Like the AFRTS services they replaced, they appealed to the 60,000 US Army and civilian personnel then stationed in Iran, as well as the wider population of foreign nationals resident in the country.
NIRT International Radio, initially known as Tehran International, broadcast in English. It had a team of American and British presenters, Ted Anthony - previously from KLAC, Los Angeles, and from the UK: Frank Carpenter previously from Radio Hallam, and Marc Paul. The initial English language news team all from the UK comprised John Coulson who subsequently joined Presentation, Ray Goff, Peter Body and Mike Russell. Later Presentation was joined by Claude "Hoot" Hooten (as Brad Edwards) - previously from KGBS Los Angeles.
NIRT International Television broadcast for eight and a half hours daily. Programs were mainly in English, with some films and programs in French and German. Although the service carried some programming devoted to Iranian culture and education, its output remained broadly similar to that of the AFRTS service it had replaced, with nearly all imported programs from the United States.


Chowmahalla Palace

Chowmahalla Palace or Chowmahallat (from "chār mahallāt", lit. "four palaces" in Dakhini Urdu) is the palace of the Nizams of Hyderabad State in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It was the seat of the Asaf Jahi dynasty and was the official residence of the Nizams of Hyderabad while they ruled their state. The palace was built by Nizam Salabat Jung. The palace remains the property of Barkat Ali Khan Mukarram Jah, heir of the Nizams. Other members of the Hyderabadi Nizam family have also wed here.
The word "chār" or "chahār", and its variation "chow", means "four" and the word "mahal" means "palace" in Urdu, Hindi and Persian. All ceremonial functions including the accession of the Nizams and receptions for the Governor-General were held at this palace.
The UNESCO Asia Pacific Merit award for cultural heritage conservation was presented to Chowmahalla Palace on 15 March 2010. UNESCO representative Takahiko Makino formally handed over the plaque and certificate to Princess Esra, former wife and GPA holder of Prince Mukarram Jah Bahadur.
History.
While Salabat Jung initiated its construction in 1750, it was completed by the period of Afzal ad-Dawlah, Asaf Jah V between 1857 and 1869.
The palace is unique for its style and elegance. Construction of the palace began in the late 18th century and over the decades a synthesis of many architectural styles and influences emerged. The palace consists of two courtyards as well as the grand Khilwat (the Dharbar Hall), fountains and gardens. The palace originally covered , but only remain today.
The palace was restored between 2005 and 2010 under the patronage of Princess Esra.
Southern Courtyard.
This is the oldest part of the palace, and has four palaces Afzal Mahal, Mahtab Mahal, Tahniyat Mahal and Aftab Mahal. It was built in the neo-classical style.
Northern courtyard.
This part has "Bara Imam", a long corridor of rooms on the east side facing the central fountain and pool that once housed the administrative wing and "Shishe-Alat", meaning mirror image.
It has Mughal domes and arches and many Persian elements like the ornate stucco work that adorn the Khilwat Mubarak. These were characteristics of buildings built in Hyderabad at the time.
Opposite the Bara Imam is a building that is its shishe or mirror image. The rooms were once used as guest rooms for officials accompanying visiting dignitaries.
Khilwat Mubarak.
This is heart of Chowmahalla Palace. It is held in high esteem by the people of Hyderabad, as it was the seat of the Asaf Jahi dynasty. The grand pillared Durbar Hall has a pure marble platform on which the Takht-e-Nishan or the royal seat was laid. Here the Nizams held their durbar and other religious and symbolic ceremonies. The 19 spectacular Chandeliers of Belgian crystal recently reinstalled to recreate the lost splendor of this regal hall.
Clock Tower.
The clock above the main gate to Chowmahalla Palace is affectionately called Khilwat Clock. It has been ticking away for around 251 years. An expert family of clock repairers winds the mechanical clock every week.
Council Hall.
This building housed a rare collection of manuscripts and priceless books. The Nizam often met important officials and dignitaries here. Today it is a venue for temporary exhibitions from the treasures of the Chowmahalla Palace Collection of the bygone era.
Roshan Bangla.
The Sixth Nizam - Mir Mahbub Ali Khan is believed to have lived here and the building was named after his mother Roshan Begum.
The present Nizam (Barkat Ali Khan Mukarram Jah) and his family decided to restore the Chowmahalla Palace and open it to the public in January 2005. It took over 5 years to document and restore the palaces of the first courtyard to its former glory. The palace also has a collection of vintage cars like the Rolls Royce, which were used by the Nizam Kings.


Yeung Kwo

Yeung Kwo (; 1914 – 25 August 1956) was a member of the Malayan Communist Party. A Malayan of Chinese descent, he was appointed to the Central Executive Committee of the Malayan Communist Party (MCP) in 1946. He was an opponent of Lai Teck, the party's secretary general until 1947.


Kittisiri Meghavanna of Anuradhapura

Kittisiri Meghavanna was King of Anuradhapura in the 6th century, whose reign lasted from 560 to 561. He succeeded his father Moggallana II as King of Anuradhapura and was succeeded by Maha Naga.


Peter L. Pond

The Reverend Peter Lawrence Pond (1933–2000) was a New England clergyman, activist and philanthropist who worked with Cambodian orphans on the Thai-Cambodian border. He was Executive Director of the Providence-based Cambodian Crisis Committee and was a co-founder of the Thai Friends Relief Foundation as well as the Inter-Religious Mission for Peace in Cambodia.
Early career.
Born to a prominent family in Milford, Connecticut on February 13, 1933, Pond was named after his ancestor, the explorer Peter Pond. He described his childhood with his divorced father as "deprived of love" and said that this deprivation shaped his desire to help others. He attended the Rectory School and the Pomfret School and graduated from Yale in 1954 with a degree in American Studies. Against his father's wishes, he entered Yale Divinity School in 1955.
As a divinity student he flew to Hungary in 1956 to establish a camp for children displaced by the violence of the Hungarian Revolution. After graduating in 1960 he worked with impoverished children in Puerto Rico and in New England, in a program on gang violence run by the Indo-Chinese Advocacy Project. In order to raise additional funds for his programs, Pond worked as the Director for Resettlement at the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, as a consultant for Lutheran Social Services of New England, as a consultant for the Peace Corps in Colombia and Chile and for VISTA on Navajo reservations in the US.
Foundation of the Puerto Rican Peace Corps (later VESPRA).
In 1963 Pond founded a YMCA chapter in Aguirre, Puerto Rico that served the children of sugarcane cutters. At the request of Don Luis Muñoz Marín, the first elected Governor of Puerto Rico and his wife, Pond initiated in Cayey, Puerto Rico a chapter of the YMCA with the specific focus of finding ways to keep youth and young adults "civically occupied". This program was called YMCA-"Cuerpo de Paz de Puerto Rico" with an operational base in Henry Barracks, an old army post. The initial group of volunteers was composed of 200 community leaders, 40 university students, 25 teachers and 85 high school students. The group committed to work voluntarily in community development projects for 80 hours per month for a minimum of one year.
In the spring of 1965 "Cuerpo de Paz de Puerto Rico" was renamed "Voluntarios en Servicio a Puerto Rico Asociados" (VESPRA), after Pond sought and obtained funding from the Office of Economic Opportunity in Washington, D.C. As a result of Pond's efforts, a joint training session called VISTA/VESPRA I was conducted in Cayey where sixty community leaders and university students were trained and assigned to communities in Puerto Rico and the eastern United States. In the summer of 1966, Pond and his associates, together with the New York Society for Ethical Culture, co-sponsored the Encampment for Citizenship in Henry Barracks with participants from over 50 countries, where they learned the fundamentals of community development, self-government, and civic responsibilities. By 1967 Pond's efforts in fostering community development had moved into the slums of San Juan utilizing local leadership and volunteers from the universities. Systematization of the training program gave VESPRA national visibility.
Work with Cambodian refugees.
After his second divorce in 1976, Pond felt a desire to start over and decided in 1979 to move to Thailand, where his mother, Josephine Stanton, wife of Edwin F. Stanton, the first United States Ambassador to Thailand after World War II, was living at the time. Pond wanted to establish an "indigenous Peace Corps" in Thailand and met with members of the Thai Royal Family. But the plight of refugees fleeing Cambodia after the end of the Pol Pot regime caught his attention, and he went immediately to volunteer at Sa Kaeo Refugee Camp on the Thai-Cambodian border. "It was a suffering I had not known," Pond later recalled, "and I felt compelled to be a part of it. I had just never seen such a broken people as the Cambodian people. There was so much devastation, so much incredible sadness that I was crying and very shaken."
In June 1980 the Thai Government decided to forcibly repatriate thousands of refugees. Pond and the Preah Maha Ghosananda organized a protest against the forced repatriation of refugees from Sa Kaeo and Pond was imprisoned "in a shack filled with human excrement" for several days. When Queen Sirikit heard about how Pond had been mistreated by Thai soldiers, she ordered his release and made amends by offering him three wishes. Pond selected three Cambodian orphans, including the musician Arn Chorn-Pond, to take back to the US. After his release Peter asked the United Nations for permission to begin a foster care program in the US for Khmer orphans, but was refused because it was felt that it was more appropriate for the children to return to Cambodia.
In all, he adopted 16 Cambodian children, mostly orphans, including the musician Arn Chorn-Pond and Rhode Island's first Cambodian physician, Dr. Soneath Pond. He also worked with Thai street children in the Patpong section of Bangkok and provided food for detainees at the Suan Phlu Immigration Detention Center. In 1983 he was invited by Rosalynn Carter to join the White House's National Cambodian Crisis Committee, created in 1980 as a clearing house for donations and relief efforts. That same year Pond and the Maha Ghosananda visited Pope John Paul II to discuss ways of achieving peace in Cambodia. In April 1984, he was asked to testify before the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs on the refugee situation in Thailand, along with Kitty Dukakis.
In 1989 Pond and the Maha Ghosananda founded the Inter-Religious Mission for Peace in Cambodia, a Bangkok-based project designed to bring monks and refugees together from all the refugee camps on the Thai-Cambodian border, including those run by the Khmer Rouge, to teach peace and nonviolence through Buddhism. As a result of his work, Pond received an honorary doctorate from Providence College in 1992.
Devoutly religious, Pond was at different times in his life a Lutheran, a Congregationalist, a Unitarian-Universalist, and a Roman Catholic.
Attempted murder.
Pond also assisted refugees in Khmer Rouge camps along the Thai-Cambodian border, and on June 23, 1989, as he was leaving the Khmer Rouge refugee camp Site 8 where he had been trying to establish a literacy program, two soldiers stopped Pond's car and demanded that Pond help recruit soldiers for the Khmer Rouge. When Pond refused they threatened him with a sawed-off shotgun and shot him twice, nearly killing him. In spite of this, he returned to work a few months later and continued until his death in 2000.
The controversial man.
Those who knew Peter Pond often had mixed feelings about him. Described as "Quixotic, obsessive, even fanatic in his quest" to save Cambodian orphans, he was said to be
one of those individuals who is single-minded of purpose that I think a lot of people find either intimidating or aggravating or downright bizarre. He has put himself on the firing line consistently, not just in front of bullets, but on the political firing line, with the US, the United Nations, volunteers, the Thai Government ... Peter's philosophy has basically been, 'To hell with the system.' If it is not serving these children, go around it, subvert it, do anything you need to, even if it means breaking the law, if it serves the cause. His means are not always politic or even polite, but he is so totally devoted to serving the Cambodian people, particularly the Cambodian children, I think he must be forgiven ...
His adopted son Arn Chorn-Pond said of Pond, "Peter [is] very lonely himself ... People do not understand what he do. They think he wants something, but Peter don't want anything. What he does is from his heart. It is pure help. This guy is so simple we don't understand. It is so simple we make it complicated. Maybe we are so modern we can no understand pure love."


Khamsum Singye Wangchuck

Prince "Dasho" Khamsum Singye Wangchuck (born 6 October 1985) is a prince of Bhutan. He is the son of the fourth King of Bhutan Jigme Singye Wangchuck and his wife, Queen Mother "Ashi" Sangay Choden Wangchuck. He is half-brother of the fifth King, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck.
Education.
He was educated at Lungtenzampa Middle Secondary School, Yangchenphug Higher Secondary School and Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
Military career.
He was commissioned in the Royal Bhutan Army as 2nd-Lieutenant (16 December 2005).


Aulikara Empire

The Aulikara Empire was a short-lived power founded by Yashodharman of Malwa, who belonged to the Aulikara dynasty. It was centred around the Malwa plateau, bordered by the Brahmaputra River and the Indian Ocean in the east and west, and the Himalayas and Mahendra mountains to the north and south. The Aulikara Empire was ruled by the Second Aulikara dynasty.
Establishment.
Yashodharman conquered vast territories from the Hunas and Guptas after the Battle of Sondani, thus establishing the short-lived Aulikara empire.
Decline.
Most of the empire disintegrated after Yashodharman's death, and after his son, Shiladitya's death, the empire collapsed completely.


Battle of Sharur

The Battle of Sharur occurred in August 1510. It ended with a decisive victory for the Safavid army. After this victory, the way of the Safavids to Tabriz was opened. Alvand Mirza disappeared from the political scene.
Background.
Ismail defeated Shirvanshah Farrukh Yasar in the Battle of Jabani in 1500 and captured Baku in the spring of 1501. While besieging the Gulustan fortress, he heard the news that AQ Qoyunlu Alvand Mirza had gathered troops and moved to fight him. Although Alvand advised him to stay in Shirvan and became its ruler.
Battle.
Two armies met in the plain of Sharur. Ismail had an army of 7,000 and Alvand Mirza had an army more than 10,000. According to Roger Savory, the number of Alvand's army was 4 times more than the number of Ismail's army. Anyway Ismail won by showing great commanding ability. Seeing that his army was disbanded, Alvand Mirza fled to Erzincan.
Ismail also killed in a one-on-one battle with the famous commander of the Aq Qoyunlus, Karachagay khan. Although Ismail was only 14 years old in that battle.
Aftermath.
After victory, Ismail went to Tabriz. After entering Tabriz, he proclaimed himself shah and founded the Safavid Empire. With this battle, Ismail captured Azerbaijan. Thus, he accumulated the rich resources needed to expand his state.


Shirvan Domes

Shirvan Domes or Shamakhi mausoleum is a 15th-century mausoleum and graveyard in Shamakhi, Azerbaijan. It is located at the foot of Gulistan Fortress.
The notorious representatives of Shirvan Dynasty were buried there. The monument's name is defined be the number of gravestones in the crypt.
History.
In ancient times Shamakhi was the capital of Shirvan - the state of Shirvanshahs, which was established in the 18th century along with other smaller states after weakening of the dynasty of Abbasids. The town has a glorious but tragic history - it has been devastated many times. And not only by invaders but also as a result of earthquakes since this is an area of high seismicity. When in 1191 Kizil Arslan of Atabeks Eldenisids dynasty seized and grounded the city Shirvanshah Ahsitan the 1st temporarily relocated the capital to Baku. However, in 1501 both Shamakhi and Baku were captured by Shah Ismail Sefevi. 37 years later Shirvan's existence as an independent state ceased and Tahmasib Sefevi founded the state of Sefevids. Afterwards Shamakhi was frequently destroyed in wars with Turkish Ottomans. Not only people were killed, architectural monuments and books were also destroyed.


Kittisena of Anuradhapura

Kittisena was King of Anuradhapura in the 6th century, whose reign lasted the year 524. He succeeded his father Kumara Dhatusena as King of Anuradhapura and was succeeded by his uncle Siva II.


List of journalists killed in Tajikistan

This is a list of journalists who have been killed in Tajikistan or journalists from Tajikistan killed outside of the country since 1990. Listees include those known to have been murdered, as well as cases of suspicious deaths.
History.
From 1990-2001 Tajikistan was one of the most dangerous countries in the world for journalists. Estimates for the number of journalists killed number from fifty to eighty. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, journalism in Tajikistan underwent a transformation as the Soviet Union liberalized under glasnost and perestroika. Journalists in both private and state-run media were permitted greater editorial and investigative freedoms to report on issues and to challenge government propaganda. But journalists ran into danger when they publicly confronted powerful interests or reported on violent events. The first journalistic death in Tajikistan occurred on 12 February 1990 when a sniper in a government building opened fire on demonstrators in Dushanbe, killing a number of individuals, including a Lenfilm employee filming the events from his hotel. Following the events of February 1990, the government placed pressure on editors to fire dozens of journalists working for local television stations, radio stations and newspapers.
Journalists continued to face official harassment through the fall of the Soviet Union and the independence of Tajikistan in 1991. In mid-1992 the Civil War in Tajikistan began, and journalists became targets for killings. During the war, forces of the opposition and the government both massacred civilians from certain regions because of their perceived political alignments. Thousands of Gharmis and Pamiris were selectively killed by pro-government forces for killings in the first year of the war. In December 1992 alone, four journalists of Pamiri origin were killed. There were also instances of journalists who were killed for their criticism of Islamic groups allied with the opposition. By 1995 at least 37 journalists had been killed in Tajikistan.
By the late 1990s, the number of killings of journalists in Tajikistan began to fall. This was not due to greater press freedoms in the republic, but rather to the fact that a large number of journalists had fled the country and journalistic freedom of expression inside of Tajikistan had come to a halt. The non-governmental organization Freedom House rated press freedoms in Tajikistan as "Not Free" beginning in 1992. Other NGOs, including Human Rights Watch, the Committee to Protect Journalists and the Glasnost Defense Foundation, have issued reports condemning the lack of press freedoms in Tajikistan. By 2007 the murder of journalists had ceased, but that year Human Rights Watch criticized the government of Tajikistan for its move to "tighten control over independent media activities" and the fact that journalists critical of the government are "routinely threatened with prosecution". In nearly every case of the killing of a journalist in Tajikistan, no suspects have been arrested or brought to trial.


Kingdom of Chalcis

Chalcis was a small ancient Iturean majority kingdom situated in the Beqaa Valley, named for and originally based from the city of the same name. The ancient city of Chalcis (a.k.a. Chalcis sub Libanum, Chalcis of Coele-Syria was located midway between Berytus and Damascus. The modern town of Anjar in Lebanon is believed to be the site of ancient Chalcis sub Libanum, although this has not been definitively demonstrated. The ruins of a Roman temple are located a few kilometers south-west of Anjar near Majdal Anjar. Other sources indicate that Chalcis sub Libanum is located at "Husn esh-Shadur" near Baalbek.
Independent kingdom.
Originally, Chalcis was a city in Coele-Syria. When the Seleucid influence in the area began to dissipate, the Itureans created the Kingdom of Chalcis, which stretched from the Mediterranean Sea to near Damascus. They made Chalcis the capital of their realm, Baalbek was the center of worship. The founder of the kingdom seems to have been Ptolemaeus, son of Menneus, an Ituraean dynast.
During the time of Alexander Jannaeus, Hasmonaean king of Judea, Ptolemaeus had to cede part of his territory to the Hasmonaeans. This area was later known as Iturea (Iturea, in an ethnic sense, covered a much larger area). In 64 BCE Ptolemaeus bribed the Roman general Pompeius to refrain from annexing his kingdom and allow him to continue to rule as Tetrarch. Pompey also returned to him the areas lost to Jannaeus when he brought an end to the independent Hasmonaean state in 63 BCE.
Roman vassal state.
Chalcis was a vassal state under Roman rule during the remainder of Ptolemaeus' reign. In 40 BCE, he was succeeded by his son Lysanias. Lysanias supported the efforts of the Hasmonean scion Antigonus II Mattathias to take the throne of Judea in 42 and 40 BCE, allying with him against the Roman client king Herod, whom he temporarily supplanted on his Parthian-supported second attempt. Lysanias's anti-Roman sympathies eventually led to his execution by Mark Antony in 33 BCE, at the instigation of Cleopatra VII of Egypt, who had eyes on his territories.
Though Antony gave Lysanias' territory to Cleopatra, a remnant realm of Chalcis persisted after this disaster, with the most important cities being Chalcis and Abila. Cleopatra leased it to Zenodorus, possibly a son of Lysanias, and following her suicide in 30 BCE, Augustus initially allowed Zenodorus to rule as Tetrarch, only to depose him in 23 BCE for conducting raids into Trachonitis, which had prompted complaints from his neighbors. Augustus then gave some or all of his lands to Herod, including Iturea, Batanaea, Trachonitis and Auranitis. Little is known about Chalcis itself in the time immediately after Lysanias' death; Chalcis sub Libanum and its district may have been made part of the Roman province of Syria, while Abilene, the area around Abila, appears to have made up a separate statelet at least part of the time.
Division.
The districts surrendered to Herod continued to be ruled by him and his family, who in time came to control the core regions of the former kingdom as well. After Herod's death, Gaulanitis, Auranitis, Batanaea, and Trachonitis became a tetrarchy under Philip, one of his sons. Meanwhile, Abilene may have gone to another Lysanias, mentioned in the "Gospel of Luke" as tetrarch of Abilene in the time of John the Baptist. It is possible, however, that the reference to Lysanias in "Luke" is an anachronistic reference to the Lysanias put to death by Antony.
In AD 37, Emperor Caligula gave Herod Agrippa I the former tetrarchies of Philip (Gaulanitis, Auranitis, Batanaea, and Trachonitis) and Lysanias (Abilene). His realm was subsequently augmented in AD 39 by the non-Iturean regions of Galilee and Perea, formerly ruled by Herod Antipas (to which Caligula's successor Claudius would add Judea and Samaria in AD 41). Agrippa ruled all these territories until his death in AD 44.
Meanwhile, in AD 39, the district of Iturea was given by Caligula to a certain Soemus, who is called by Dio Cassius (lix. 12) and by Tacitus ("Annals", xii. 23) "king of the Itureans." Soemus reigned until his death in AD 49, when his kingdom was incorporated into the province of Syria (Tacitus, "l.c.").
In AD 41, at Agrippa's request, his brother Herod was given Chalcis and allowed the title of "basileus" by Claudius. King Herod of Chalcis reigned until his death in AD 48, whereupon his kingdom was given to Agrippa's son Agrippa II, though only as a tetrarchy.
Agrippa II was forced to give up the tetrarchy of Chalcis in AD 53, but in exchange Claudius made him ruler with the title of king over the territories previously governed by Philip (Batanea, Trachonitis and Gaulanitis), and Lysanias (Abilene). In 55, the Emperor Nero added to his realm the cities of Tiberias and Taricheae in Galilee, and Livias (Iulias), with fourteen villages near it, in Perea.
The tetrarchy of Chalcis previously surrendered by Agrippa II was subsequently in 57 given to his cousin Aristobulus, the son of Herod of Chalcis (). After the death of Aristobulus in AD 92, Chalcis was absorbed into the province of Syria.
According to Photius, Agrippa died at the age of seventy in the third year of the reign of Trajan (AD 100, but statements of Josephus, in addition to the contemporary epigraphy from his kingdom, cast this date into serious doubt. The modern scholarly consensus holds that he died before 93/94. Following his death his realm as well came under the direct rule of Rome.


Chinese Cultural Fever

Chinese Cultural Fever - ( ) was interpreted as a cultural tendency in mainland China in the late 1980s, beginning with the economic reform.
Some may consider it as the first independent cultural initiative in China ever since Chinese Communist Party took over mainland China in 1949. However, China shut herself up in isolation until recent times when she opened to western philosophy and technological influences. When Tiananmen Square Massacre took place in 1989 resulting in several deaths during demands for liberalization in China, China's political climate was subject to abrupt change which seemed to have brought to an end all forms or expressions of Chinese cultural fever. Nevertheless, Chinese cultural fever sparks again in the 21st Asian Century when China continually makes huge progress in economic and technological advances both locally as well as internationally. Everywhere you go, you can see Chinese influence all over the world: politically, economically, culturally, technologically and environmentally. People from all over the world come to learn Chinese, eat Chinese meals, drink Chinese tea, and study at Chinese Universities for profound cultural exchanges.
Chinese Political Climate After Tiananmen Square:
After the massacre of protesting students at Tiananmen Square in 1989, the Chinese political climate changed drastically. China began to control its citizens more harshly and consequences became more dictatorial. They began to limit citizens criticism against the government and silence the people. The Democracy Wall, a way for citizens to express their opinions about Congress, was demolished and citizens still have little say in government power. Although free speech was never given to the citizens, they opened up to involve themselves more with international affairs, spreading their culture globally.
Chinese Cultural Fever in the 21st Century America:
Chinese culture has affected our society today on a global scale. Since the increased popularity of immigration due to the 1849 Gold Rush Era in California, Chinese culture has seeped into American society. Chinese food has seen a severe climb in popularity. Immigration helping to integrate Chinese cuisine into American culture. In 1989, Chinese restaurants have increased to a number of 43,139, three times the amount of McDonald's across the country in 2019. Many Chinese dishes have also become a staple to American fast food, combining similar tastes creating a heterogeneous mixture: Chinese-American food. Panda Express, a staple Chinese-American fast food chain, collects a hefty revenue of 3 billion dollars making it the 23rd most popular food chain in America.
Chinese language class enrollments are increasing rapidly as well. With the growing economy of China, classes on the language are skyrocketing, making it the 7th most popular language class offered in schools across America. For the year 2009, 51,582 college or university students in America are learning the language. Chinese language enrollments among university and college students have seen a 51% rise from the year 2002 to 2006, making it the second fastest rising language course, falling short to Arabic. A similar pattern was seen in 1980 when Japan's economy rapidly increased. The increase of interest between students and the Japanese language corresponded similarly to the relationship between students and the Chinese language.
Immigration:
Immigration plays a role in the current Chinese cultural fever. During the years of 1980-1990 more than 800,000 Chinese persons immigrated to the United States of America. With the sudden increase of Chinese citizens, Chinese culture increased alongside the population. Chinese food was becoming more and more popular. The cause of such immigration can be due to a multitude of factors. The Chinese brought their home to a foreign country, helped popularize the sudden increase of Chinese comfort foods. Din Tai Fung, a Taiwanese dumpling chain which serves comfort meals, has seen a drastic increase in sales.
The increase of Chinese citizens has also sparked an increase in interest in Chinese products. Certain Chinese teas have to see an increase in interest.
The introduction of a "new" language will too spark interest, and as more and more Chinese citizens immigrate and create their own Chinese-American families, the more the language will be spoken. Currently, in America, there are more than three million Chinese speakers and with a substantial amount of Chinese immigrants, there will be more to come.


Jiahu

Jiahu () was the site of a Neolithic settlement based in the central plain of ancient China, near the Yellow River. It is located between the floodplains of the Ni River to the north, and the Sha River to the south, north of the modern city of Wuyang, Henan Province. Most archaeologists consider the site to be one of the earliest examples of the Peiligang culture. Settled around 7000 BC, the site was later flooded and abandoned around 5700 BC. The settlement was surrounded by a moat and covered a relatively large area of 55,000 square meters (5.5 hectare). At one time, it was "a complex, highly organized Chinese Neolithic society," home to at least 250 people and perhaps as many as 800.
The important discoveries of the Jiahu archaeological site include the Jiahu symbols, possibly an early example of proto-writing, carved into tortoise shells and bones; the thirty-three Jiahu flutes carved from the wing bones of cranes, believed to be among the oldest playable musical instruments in the world; and evidence of wine fermented from rice, honey and hawthorn leaves.
A broad variety of other artifacts indicates a fairly advanced settlement for the early Neolithic period, including residences, burial sites, pottery kilns, an assortment of implements made of stone and earthenware, and a large central structure believed to be a communal workspace. To date, 45 residences have been excavated at Jiahu. Most of these are small, between four and ten meters. Most of these were semi-subterranean (partially dug into the earth) and with a single room; however, some of these had additional rooms built on later. Rubbish pits and storage cellars were also excavated, and nine pottery kilns were identified.
Discovery and excavation of the site.
Discovered by Zhu Zhi in 1962, extensive excavation of the site did not occur until the 1980s. Most of the site still has not been excavated, although work is slowly progressing. The excavation of Jiahu burial sites and rubbish pits has been productive, yielding abundant evidence about the lives of the Jiahu people. Chinese researchers from the Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, led for many years by Zhang Juzhong, a professor from the University of Science and Technology of China, have carried out archaeological research around the site for decades.
Zhang's team conducted excavation of portions of the site in seven stages; each stage took two to three years. A large portion of the Jiahu site was excavated in the first two phases of the project, between 1983 and 1987. Zhang and his assistants published the findings of the first two phases in detail in the journal "Antiquity".
Jiahu and Peiligang.
Some archaeologists point to cultural distinctions between Jiahu and Peiligang, as well as the distance: Jiahu is isolated, many kilometers south of the larger Peiligang grouping of over 100 archaeological sites in a fairly compact area. The distance would have represented a journey on foot of several days in the Neolithic era. This school of thought suggests that Jiahu and Peiligang represented separate, neighboring cultures that interacted and shared many characteristics. Other early Neolithic settlements in this part of the world were much farther south and east.
Archaeologists have divided Jiahu into three distinct phases. The oldest phase ranges from 7000 to 6600 BC; the middle phase ranges from 6600 to 6200 BC; and the last phase ranges from 6200 to 5700 BC. The last two phases correspond to the Peiligang culture, while the earliest phase is unique to Jiahu.
Careful examination of the skeletons of over 400 individuals, removed from more than 300 graves, by several scientific teams over the course of the past 30 years illustrates that the Jiahu ethnic group was a part of the Northern Mongoloid group, and identified closely with the Miaodigou and Xiawanggang sub-groups which were also descendants of hunting and gathering tribes in Henan Province, and the Dawenkou, Xixiahou and Yedian sub-groups that were later found in Shandong Province.
Agriculture, hunting, fishing and foraging.
The inhabitants of Jiahu cultivated foxtail millet and rice. While millet cultivation is common in the Peiligang culture, rice cultivation at Jiahu is unique, and tends to support the theory that Jiahu was a separate culture from the Peiligang grouping. On the other hand, difference in local climate, moisture and soil conditions may have made cultivating rice in the Peiligang area more difficult. Jiahu rice cultivation is one of the earliest found, and the most northerly found at such an early stage in history. The rice was a kind of short-grained "japonica" rice. Scholars had previously thought the earliest domesticated rice belonged to the long-grain "indica" subspecies.
There is abundant proof of millet farming in cool, dry high latitudes of the Yellow River Valley, and rice farming dominated in warm, moist low latitudes of the Yangtze River Valley. The early Neolithic site of Jiahu lies near the boundary between the cool, dry north and the warm, moist south. In another sign of advancement, Jiahu's farmers had moved on from the usual slash-and-burn techniques of Neolithic farmers, and were using intensive cultivation in permanent fields.
Jiahu is also the site of the earliest find of wild soybean seeds in China; a large quantity of soybean remains were discovered at Jiahu.
Food was plentiful, from farming as well as hunting and foraging, and contributed to considerable population growth for such an early settlement. Women of the Jiahu culture gathered wild pears and apricots, and foraged for acorns, chestnuts, broad beans, edible roots and tubers in the surrounding countryside. There is evidence of domesticated pigs, dogs, poultry, and small numbers of cattle. The Jiahu people used manure from their pigs and cattle as fertilizer, substantially increasing the yield of their rice crops. The livestock produced meat, milk and eggs. There was also evidence of deer, wild boar and rabbit hunting, and fishing for carp and herring in the nearby rivers to the north and south, with nets made of hemp fibers. The red-crowned crane, a large bird indigenous to the region, was hunted for meat; its bones and feathers were also used for other purposes.
Due to this steadily improving and varied diet, the health and longevity of the Jiahu people gradually improved. This has been documented through comparison of the archaeological evidence. Over 400 burials have been unearthed at Jiahu, and many hundreds more are believed to await excavation. Skeletons have been measured and carefully examined, revealing the height, weight, gender, and approximate age of each of the deceased Jiahu at the time of death, as well as the general health, and in many cases the cause of death. The three phases of Jiahu history correspond to steadily increasing numbers of middle-aged and older people, suggesting an increase in survival and life expectancy, and fewer remains of children and infants, suggesting a reduction in child and infant mortality. By the third phase, the average height of an adult had increased by 0.8in (2 cm) and the bones and teeth were in significantly better condition.
Tools, fortifications and weapons.
A stone sickle blade has been recovered. This was secured to a wooden handle to harvest grain. Evidence of baskets woven from wild grass has been uncovered. These were used to carry grain from the harvests. Remnants of a spinning loom have been found, indicating the production of cloth, probably from hemp fibers. Among the many tools and utensils unearthed at Jiahu are three-legged earthenware cooking pots with tight-fitting lids, and a variety of stone implements, including arrowheads, barbed harpoons, spades, axes, awls, and chisels.
Stone spearheads have also been found, and evidence of what may have been a wooden stockade fence along at least a portion of the interior shore of the moat. These improved weapons, and the moat surrounding the settlement, provided an ideal defense for such an early culture. The area is known to have been frequented by nomadic hunting and gathering tribes for several thousand years prior to the Jiahu settlement, and these may have been potential enemies, as well as the genetic forebears of Jiahu. The Jiahu people are not believed to have been warlike in nature, but capable of defending themselves if the need arose.
Thorough examination of the site has revealed no evidence of any armed conflict. Unearthed human remains showing signs of violent death are very rare, and scattered along the known timeline—rather than occurring at the same time which would indicate a battle. It is possible that the large size of the settlement, its substantial defenses, and the improved weapons of the Jiahu people may have caused potential enemies of that time to keep their distance. Such a scenario is consistent with the substantial growth in population and longevity exhibited by the Jiahu site. Without war, and with plenty of nutritious food, the village flourished.
Evidence of cultural development.
After thorough study of 238 skeletal remains, Harvard University forensic archaeologist Barbara Li Smith published findings that the Jiahu villagers enjoyed fairly good health. The average age of death by the third phase was around 40, representing a very good life expectancy for Neolithic people. Sponge lesions on the skulls indicate that anemia and iron deficiency were a problem. Hole bone lesions from disease and parasitic infections were rare, although fecal evidence indicated the occasional presence of hookworm parasites, possibly from poorly cooked pork.
Ceremonial burial.
The burials at Jiahu were usually accompanied by burial offerings, with increasing frequency as the second and third phases progressed. Burial objects range from pottery to tortoise shells. Burial offerings varied between individuals, and are believed to be linked to the skills they displayed in life, providing evidence of an early specialization of labor. The types of labor specialization, from most common to most rare, included farmers, herdsmen, fishermen, hunters, potters, musicians, and a tribal priest.
Most of the burials were earthen pits; infants were buried in earthenware jars. As is common with Neolithic communities, the burials were in cemeteries which were separate from the residential areas, although many gravesites overlapped, so they were probably not marked. A few burials were multiple, while most burial pits contained single individuals. These did not follow any discernible pattern, although it is possible that in some cases, couples (a man and a woman of roughly the same age) were buried together.
In some graves the heads were severed from the body and pointed toward the northwest. Cut marks made when the bones were fresh indicates the heads were cut off shortly after the person died. A few burial offerings included turquoise carvings, and represented a significant level of material wealth, suggesting some differences in social status. Burial offerings in women's graves were more sparse, indicating lower social status, and indicated that their roles were limited to childbearing and child care, cooking, and foraging for food.
Flutes.
Some of the most significant burial offerings discovered were playable tonal flutes made from red-crowned crane wing bones. This crane is five feet tall with a wingspan of eight feet, yielding large bones for this purpose. The first of the flutes were found in the late 1980s, but were not described in the West until 1999.
Thirty-three flutes—including around 20 intact flutes, several broken or fragmented ones, and several more unfinished ones—have been found at Jiahu. All are between seven and 10 inches in length. It seems plausible that ancient flutes were also made from bamboo. Ancient myths described bamboo flutes; but no ancient ones have been found, in all likelihood because bamboo decays more quickly than bone and doesn't survive burial for thousands of years like bone.
The oldest phase at Jiahu only contains two flutes, which are tetratonic and pentatonic; the middle phase at Jiahu contains several flutes, including an interesting pair of hexatonic flutes. One of the flutes was broken, and the other flute seems to be a replica of the first flute, as it shows evidence of adjustments made to match the pitch of the first. Innovations in the last phase include the use of heptatonic flutes. The flutes were cut, smoothed at the ends, polished and finally drilled with a row of holes on one side. One of the broken flutes was repaired by drilling fourteen tiny holes along the breakage lines and then tying the sections together with hemp string.
The flutes play in the so-called pentatonic scale, in which octaves are divided into five notes—the basis of many kinds of music, including Chinese folk music. The fact that the flute has a scale indicates that its original players played music rather than just single notes. The flutes were probably used in some kind of ceremonial capacity, but may have been played for entertainment.
Pottery and fermented beverages.
Jiahu yielded some of the oldest Chinese pottery yet found in Neolithic China. Patrick McGovern, of the University of Pennsylvania Museum, led a team of scientists who applied biomarker chemical analysis to pottery jars from Jiahu. They found signature molecules proving alcohol was fermented from rice, honey, grapes, and hawthorn. Researchers hypothesize that this hybrid beverage (a beer, wine, and mead combination) was fermented by the process of mold saccharification, a uniquely Chinese contribution to the art of beverage-making in which several mold species are used to break down the carbohydrates of rice and other grains into simple, fermentable sugars. Specific aromatic herbs and flowers such as chrysanthemum, in addition to tree resins such as China fir, had been added to the hybrid beverages, the researchers found. These aromatic additions, as well as the honey, indicate that fermented beverages with a pleasing aroma and sweet taste were important to the Jiahu people.
Substantial quantities of rice and millet were stored in pottery jars, enabling the specialization of labor. Jiahu society is believed to have been fairly egalitarian, with several hundred residents of the village at the height of its development. Comparative DNA evidence from remains in the Jiahu settlement itself, as well as other evidence gathered, leads to speculation among researchers that there were one or more other ancient villages nearby, with peaceful interaction with the Jiahu in some form; but the sites of other villages nearby have not been located.
Inscribed symbols.
At Jiahu, archaeologists identified eleven markings of Jiahu symbols, also known as pictograms: nine on tortoise shells and two on bone, as possible evidence for proto-writing. The markings correspond to the middle phase. Some of the markings are quite similar to later Chinese characters; two of the most intriguing marks appear to be similar to later characters for "eye" () and "sun" (). However, correspondence of many early non-writing symbols with the Shang dynasty period oracle bone writing is to be expected, given the pictographic style of many of the Shang characters.
In later Chinese culture dating to around 3500 BC, tortoise shells were used as a form of divination. These were subjected to intense heat, and the cracks that formed were read as omens. The cracks were then carved as permanent marks on the surface of the shell. The evidence of shell pictograms from Jiahu may indicate that this tradition, or a related one, has much deeper roots in ancient Chinese culture than previously considered.
End of the village: a flood.
Based on the archaeological evidence, a severe flood from the nearby rivers submerged most or all of the Jiahu settlement under a few feet of water sometime around 5700 BC. The inhabitants evacuated. It is not known where they went. The absence of tools and weapons in most of the residences indicates that they were able to salvage most of their belongings. They may have built a new village that has not been discovered, emigrated to the Peiligang villages, or scattered.
Zhang Juzhong imagines that they were led by their tribal priest to build a new village nearby on higher ground, so that they could send salvage parties to the old village site. The new village site has never been found. The demolishing of older structures to salvage materials for the construction of new ones may have eradicated the site of the new village if it existed.


Kot Rajput

Kot Rajput is a town located in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is located in Lahore District at 31°9'0N 73°13'0E with an altitude of 173 metres (570 feet). Neighbouring settlements include Kutruwal and Bhagthal.


Kilich Khan

Khawaja Abid Khan Siddiqi (died 1691), or Nawab Khawaja Abid Siddiqi/Khawaja Abid (Qalich Khan - Title given by Shah Jahan), better known as Kilich Khan, was a Nawab and military general under Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. He was a Siddiqi by lineage, and a loyal general of the Mughal Empire. He was the father of Ghazi ud-Din Khan Siddiqi - Feroze Jung I (a Mughal general) and the grandfather of Mir Qamar-ud-din Siddiqi, Asaf Jah I.
Birth.
Kilich Khan was born in Adilabad near the ancient Silk Road city of Samarkand. His father was Khawaja Ismail Khan Siddiqi Bayafandi s/o Shaikh Allahdad Khan Siddiqi Bayafandi s/o Shaikh Abdul Rehman Azizzan Khan Siddiqi Bayafandi the 14th in direct descent from Shihab al-Din 'Umar al-Suhrawardi of Sohrevard in Iran a celebrated Sufi mystic lived in Persia, a renowned scholar known for his piety and knowledge of the law and was even honored with the title "Allum-ul-Ulema" (wisest of the wise).
Through his father's side of the family, Nawab Kilich Khan could trace his lineage back 34 generations to the first Caliph of Islam, Abu Bakr Siddique since Nawab Kilich Khan was his direct descendant through the Bayafandi Clan in the 'Asir Region of Arabia, and on his mother's side of the family he can trace his ancestry to Prophet Muhammad.
Early life.
Kilich Khan broke his family tradition and became a warrior rather than a scholar. Kilich Khan is known to have utilized the composite bow and arrow, he kept the Quran attached to his quiver and rode along with a Crescent standard and a yellow flag.
Henry Briggs a historian wrote,
" In youth he was trained to the use of the bow, the spear and the sword. Riding on horseback was familiar to him from the moment he could toddle alone from his mother's knee as it is to this day to everybody from the plains of Arabia to the hills of Afghanistan and he was specially taught to regard the cause of the Crescent and the Quran as the great purpose of his existence."
It was in 1655 that Kilich Khan undertook a pilgrimage to Mecca. But on his way there he stopped off in Hindustan to present himself before Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. The Mughal Emperor bestowed on Kilich Khan a "Khilat" or dress of honour and promised him that after he returned from Mecca he could take up a post on his personal staff.
Aurangzeb was trained by him. Under his command, Aurangzeb conquered central India and south India. He was Chief Commander of Aurangzeb's Army when Golconda was conquered.
He was promoted to Sadar-i-Qul ( Supt. of Endowments ) 1681 - 1685, Subedar of Ajmer 1667-1672, Subedar of Multan 1672-1676, Amir-i-Haj 1676-1680. Faujdar of Zafarabad ( Bidar ) 1686-1687. Granted the title of Azim Khan 1657, and Qilich Khan Bahadur 1680.
Later life.
He returned from his pilgrimage to Mecca in Arabia to India in 1658 to take up his post serving the Emperor Shah Jahan, only to find that the Emperor had been taken ill and so Kilich Khan decided to throw his lot in with Prince Aurangzeb. Taking command of one of the Mughal armies, Kilich Khan played a crucial role in the Battle of Samugarh. For this, he was rewarded by being made "Sadr us Sadur" (President of Presidents) and one of the Emperor's most trusted generals.
He then proceeded to follow Aurangzeb around India as the Emperor pursued his dream of bringing all of Hindustan under the Timuri Flag. Many battles were fought and many Forts besieged but it was during the Siege of Golconda in 1687 that Kilich Khan shone through as the Emperors most loyal and courageous general. When Aurangzeb's army left to attack Golconda, it was under the command of Kilich Khan's son Ghazi ud-Din Khan Feroze Jung.
Ghazi ud-Din Khan Feroze Jung was so keen on taking the fort that in a sudden assault, he sent his father in charge of the storming party. However, Kilich Khan was hit by the shrapnel of a powerful cannonball, the bombardment which completely severed his arm. He returned to the Mughal camp on his horse refusing to dismount. Aurangzeb's Vizier-e-Azam (prime minister), Asad Khan noticed that while the surgeons were busy taking bits of bone and iron from his wound, he was stoically sipping coffee. Kilich Khan died a few days later, his arm was also found identified by the signet ring he always wore on his finger. Kilich Khan is buried in a tomb at Kismatpur near Himayat Sagar only a few Kilometers from where he had died at Golconda in Hyderabad, Telangana, India.
Children.
Having had issue, five sons and two daughters. Nawab Ghaziuddin Khan Siddiqi Bayafandi, Nawab Khwaja Hamid Khan Bahadur Siddiqi Bayafandi, Nawab Rahim Chin Kilich Khan Bahadur Siddiqi Bayafandi and two sons died young. Khadija Begum Sahiba and another daughter married to Nawab Riyat Khan Bahadur.
External links.
https://www.auliadeccan.com/2020/12/hazrat-khaja-abid-kilich-khan-siddiqui.html by https://www.auliadeccan.com/ : (Himayat sagar Rajendar nagar:Hazrat khaja abid kilich khan siddiqui)


Simon Marootian

Simon Marootian (1923 - 1980) was a political activist and a Superior Court Judge of Fresno County. He became the first Superior Court Judge of Fresno County of Armenian descent.
Life and career.
Simon Marootian served as Supreme Court Judge of Fresno county from 1975 to 1980. He was also a local and statewide Democratic Party political activist. He was the chairman of the Fresno County Democratic Central Committee. In 1974 he became the Co-Chairman of Edmund Pat Brown campaign to become governor of California. He was also the chairman of the parish council of the St. Gregory Apostolic Church in Fowler, California.
He died in 1980 at the age of fifty-seven.


Ulugh Muhammad

Ulugh Muhammad (1405–1445; ; ; written as Ulanus by orientalists) was a medieval Tatar statesman, Gengisid, Khan of the Golden Horde (before 1436), ruler of Crimea (1437), and the founder of the Khanate of Kazan, which he ruled from 1438-1445. He was the son of the oglan Ichkile Hassan and the cousin of Tokhtamysh. He received the nickname "Ulugh", meaning older or large, in contrast to another Muhammed who was called "Kichi", meaning younger or small.
Ulugh Muhammad was Khan of the Golden Horde in 1419-1423, 1426, 1428. In 1428-1432 he waged a stubborn struggle for possession of the Ulug Ulus with the representatives of a minor branch of the Tukaytimurids (one of the branches of the Gengisids). After being defeated, Ulugh Muhammad escaped to Volga Bulgaria vilayet in 1423. With the support Vytautas, Ulugh Muhammad was able to regain the throne of the Golden Horde in 1426. He succeeded in spreading the power of the Horde to Crimea and established friendly relations with the Ottoman Sultan Murad II. Ulugh Muhammad sent an embassy to Egypt in 1428-1429. In 1431 the son and grandson of the ruler of Moscow, Dmitriy Donskoy came to the court to Ulugh Muhammad in order to reach a decision about princely succession. Ulugh Muhammad ruled in favour of the grandson, Vasiliy II .
Family.
Ulugh Muhammad was most likely the son of Jalal ad-Din khan and the grandson of Tokhtamysh, although he may have been descended from Hassan Jefai, a relative of Tokhtamysh. Either way, he was a descendant of Jochi and therefore of Genghis Khan. Ulugh Muhammad's son Mustafa died fighting near Ryazan in 1444. His son Qasim Khan went to collect ransom after the battle of Suzdal, entered Russian service and in 1452 founded the Qasim Khanate. His son Mäxmüd of Kazan succeeded him.
Golden Horde.
Ulugh Muhammad first came to power following the death of Yeremferden. His main competitor for control of the Horde was his cousin Dawlat Berdi, the son of Yeremferden. For much of his reign Ulugh Muhammad controlled Sarai, and was therefore seen as the most legitimate ruler within the Horde, although Sarai was captured by his rival after the Siege of Sarai in 1420 and held by him for two years.
In 1422 Baraq Khan defeated both Ulugh Muhammad and Dawlat and drove them out of the country. While Dawlat remained in Crimea, Ulugh Muhammad fled to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and pled for assistance from Vytautas the Great. With this assistance, he was able to march on Baraq and recapture Sarai.
After regaining control over the Khanate, Ulugh Muhammad marched on Crimea, where Dawlat Berdi had re-established himself following Baraq's defeat and death. After a series of indecisive skirmishes his invasion was cut short due to the death of Vytautas, which forced Ulugh Muhammad to concentrate his forces on Lithuania, where he supported Sigismund Kęstutaitis against Švitrigaila in the fight for the Lithuanian throne. Švitrigaila, in turn, supported Dawlat Berdi and later Sayid Ahmad I, as did Vasili II of Moscow.
Kazan.
Ulugh Muhammad lost control of the Golden Horde 1436 and fled to Crimea. He quarreled with the Crimeans, led a 3000-man army north and took the border town of Belyov. In 1437 Vasili II of Moscow sent a huge army against Ulugh Muhammad under the command of Dmitry Shemyaka, but they were defeated at the battle of Belyov. Ulugh Muhammad subsequently moved to Volga and in 1438 captured Kazan, separating it from the Golden Horde. In 1439 he raided Russia and burned Kolomna and the outskirts of Moscow. Nothing is known of his life from 1439-1444, but in 1444–45 Ulugh Muhammad occupied Nizhny Novgorod and marched on Murom. Vasili II counterattacked in 1445 but was defeated and captured at the Battle of Suzdal, only to be ransomed. Ulugh Muhammad died a few months later, possibly murdered by his son Mäxmüd.