History of the ancient Levant

The Levant is the large area in Southwest Asia, south of the Taurus Mountains, bounded by the Mediterranean Sea in the west, the Arabian Desert in the south, and Mesopotamia in the east. It stretches 400 miles north to south from the Taurus Mountains to the Sinai desert, and 70 to 100 miles east to west between the sea and the Arabian desert. The term is also sometimes used to refer to modern events or states in the region immediately bordering the eastern Mediterranean Sea: Cyprus, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria and Hatay Province of Turkey.
The term normally does not include Anatolia (although at times Cilicia may be included), the Caucasus Mountains, Mesopotamia or any part of the Arabian Peninsula proper. The Sinai Peninsula is sometimes included, though it is more considered an intermediate, peripheral or marginal area forming a land bridge between the Levant and northern Egypt.
Stone Age.
Anatomically modern Homo sapiens are demonstrated at the area of Mount Carmel in modern-day Israel during the Middle Paleolithic dating from . These migrants out of Africa seem to have been unsuccessful, and by in the Levant, Neanderthal groups seem to have benefited from the worsening climate and replaced Homo sapiens, who were possibly confined once more to Africa.
A second move out of Africa is demonstrated by the Boker Tachtit Upper Paleolithic culture, from 52,000–50,000 BC, with humans at Ksar Akil XXV level being modern humans. This culture bears close resemblance to the Badoshan Aurignacian culture of Iran, and the later Sebilian I Egyptian culture of . Stephen Oppenheimer suggests that this reflects a movement of modern human (possibly Caucasian) groups back into North Africa, at this time.
It would appear this sets the date by which Homo sapiens Upper Paleolithic cultures begin replacing Neanderthal Levalo-Mousterian, and by Palestine was occupied by the Levanto-Aurignacian Ahmarian culture, lasting from 39,000–24,000 BC. This culture was quite successful spreading as the Antelian culture (late Aurignacian), as far as Southern Anatolia, with the Atlitan culture.
After the Late Glacial Maxima, a new Epipaleolithic culture appears in Southern Palestine. The appearance of the Kebarian culture, of microlithic type implies a significant rupture in the cultural continuity of Levantine Upper Paleolithic. The Kebaran culture, with its use of microliths, is associated with the use of the bow and arrow and the domestication of the dog. Extending from 18–10,500 BC, the Kebaran culture shows clear connections to the earlier Microlithic cultures using the bow and arrow, and using grinding stones to harvest wild grains, that developed from the Halfan culture of Egypt, that came from the still earlier Aterian tradition of the Sahara. Some linguists see this as the earliest arrival of Nostratic languages in the Middle East.
Kebaran culture was quite successful, and was ancestral to the later Natufian culture (12,500–9,500 BC), which extended throughout the whole of the Levantine region. These people pioneered the first sedentary settlements, and may have supported themselves from fishing and the harvest of wild grains plentiful in the region at that time. the oldest remains of bread were discovered at the archaeological site Shubayqa 1, once home of the Natufian hunter-gatherers, roughly 4,000 years before the advent of agriculture.
Natufian culture also demonstrates the earliest domestication of the dog, and the assistance of this animal in hunting and guarding human settlements may have contributed to the successful spread of this culture. In the northern Syrian, eastern Anatolian region of the Levant, Natufian culture at Cayonu and Mureybet developed the first fully agricultural culture with the addition of wild grains, later being supplemented with domesticated sheep and goats, which were probably domesticated first by the Zarzian culture of Northern Iraq and Iran (which like the Natufian culture may have also developed from Kebaran).
By 8500–7500 BC, the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) culture developed out of the earlier local tradition of Natufian in Southern Palestine, dwelling in round houses, and building the first defensive site at Tell es-Sultan (ancient Jericho) (guarding a valuable fresh water spring). This was replaced in 7500 BC by Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB), dwelling in square houses, coming from Northern Syria and the Euphrates bend.
During the period of 8500–7500 BC, another hunter-gatherer group, showing clear affinities with the cultures of Egypt (particularly the Outacha retouch technique for working stone) was in Sinai. This Harifian culture may have adopted the use of pottery from the Isnan culture and Helwan culture of Egypt (which lasted from 9000 to 4500 BC), and subsequently fused with elements from the PPNB culture during the climatic crisis of 6000 BC to form what Juris Zarins calls the Syro-Arabian pastoral technocomplex, which saw the spread of the first Nomadic pastoralists in the Ancient Near East. These extended southwards along the Red Sea coast and penetrating the Arabian bifacial cultures, which became progressively more Neolithic and pastoral, and extending north and eastwards, to lay the foundations for the tent-dwelling Martu and Akkadian peoples of Mesopotamia.
In the Amuq valley of Syria, PPNB culture seems to have survived, influencing further cultural developments further south. Nomadic elements fused with PPNB to form the Minhata Culture and Yarmukian Culture which were to spread southwards, beginning the development of the classic mixed farming Mediterranean culture, and from 5600 BC were associated with the Ghassulian culture of the region, the first chalcolithic culture of the Levant. This period also witnessed the development of megalithic structures, which continued into the Bronze Age.
Kish civilization.
The Kish civilization or Kish tradition is a time period corresponding to the early East Semitic era in Mesopotamia and the Levant. Coined by Ignace Gelb, the epoch began in the early 4th millennium BC. The tradition encompasses the sites of Ebla and Mari in the Levant, Nagar in the north, and the proto-Akkadian sites of Abu Salabikh and Kish in central Mesopotamia which constituted the Uri region as it was known to the Sumerians. The end of this period coincides with the migration of Akkadian speakers from the Levant into Mesopotamia, causing the end of the Uruk period in 3100 BC.
Bronze Age.
In modern scholarship the chronology of the Bronze Age Levant is divided into Early/Proto Syrian, corresponding to the Early Bronze age c. 3300 BC - 2000 BC; Old Syrian, corresponding to the Middle Bronze age c. 2000 BC - 1550 BC; and Middle Syrian, corresponding to the Late Bronze age c. 1550 BC - 1200 BC. The term Neo-Syria is used to designate the early Iron Age.
The early Syrian period was dominated by the Eblaite first kingdom (3000 BC - 2300 BC), Kingdom of Nagar (2600 BC - 2300 BC) and the Mariote second kingdom (2500 BC - 2290 BC). The Akkadian Empire conquered large areas of the Levant, but collapsed due to the 4.2 kiloyear event circa 2200 BC. This event prompted movement of populations from upper Mesopotamia to the northern Levant.
The Akkadians were followed by the Amorite kingdoms in the old Syrian period ca. 2000–1600 BC, which arose in Mari, Yamkhad and Qatna. The Amorites also founded Babylon in Mesopotamia. Also following the Akkadians was the extension of Khirbet Kerak ware culture, showing affinities with the Caucasus, and possibly linked to the later appearance of the Hurrians.
Around the 17th and 16th centuries BC most of the older centers had been overrun. In the middle Syrian period the Mitanni in northern Syria, for a time, menaced the Hittite kingdom, but were defeated by it around the middle of the 14th. The Semitic Hyksos used the new technologies to occupy Egypt, but were expelled, leaving the empire of the New Kingdom to develop in their wake. Around the beginning of the New Kingdom period, Egypt exerted rule over much of the Levant. Rule remained strong during the Eighteenth Dynasty, but Egypt's rule became precarious during the Nineteenth and Twentieth Dynasties. Ramses II was able to maintain control over it in the stalemated battle against the Hittites at Kadesh in 1275 BC, but soon thereafter, the Hittites successfully took over the northern Levant (Syria and Amurru). Ramses II, obsessed with his own building projects while neglecting Asiatic contacts, allowed control over the region to continue dwindling. During the reign of his successor Merneptah, the Merneptah Stele was issued which claimed to have destroyed various sites in the southern Levant, including a people known as "Israel". However, archaeological findings show no destruction at any of the sites mentioned in the Merneptah stele and so it is considered to be an exercise in propaganda, and the campaign most likely avoided the central highlands in the southern Levant. Over the course of the reign of Ramses III (1186-1155 BC), Egyptian control over the southern Levant completely collapsed in the wake of the invasion of the Sea Peoples, more specifically, the Philistines who settled into the southwestern Coastal Plain.
From 1550 until 1100, much of the Levant was conquered by Egypt, which in the latter half of this period contested Syria with the Hittite Empire.
At the end of the 13th century BC, all of these powers suddenly collapsed. Cities all around the eastern Mediterranean were sacked within a span of a few decades by assorted raiders. The Hittite empire was destroyed. Egypt repelled its attackers with only a major effort, and over the next century shrank to its territorial core, its central authority permanently weakened. Multiple cities on the Coast like Ugarit and other Canaanite cities were destroyed by the Sea People.
Iron Age.
The destruction at the end of the Bronze Age left a number of tiny kingdoms and city-states behind. A few Hittite centres remained in northern Syria known as the Syro-Hittite states after the main Hittite state fell in 1180 BC, along with some Phoenician ports in Canaan that escaped destruction and developed into great commercial powers. The Israelites emerged as a rural culture, mainly in the Canaanite hill-country and the Eastern Galilee, quickly spreading through the land and forming an alliance in the struggle for the land against the Philistines to the West, Moab and Ammon to the East and Edom to the South. In the 12th century BC, most of the interior, as well as Babylonia and Upper Mesopotamia, was overrun by Arameans and Chaldeans, while the shoreline around today's Gaza Strip was settled by Philistines.
In this period a number of technological innovations spread, most notably iron working and the Phoenician alphabet, developed by the Phoenicians or the Canaanites around the 16th century BC.
During the 9th century BC, the Assyrians began to reassert themselves against the incursions of the Aramaeans, and over the next few centuries developed into a powerful and well-organised empire. Their armies were among the first to employ cavalry, which took the place of chariots, and had a reputation for both prowess and brutality. At their height, the Assyrians dominated all of the Levant, Egypt, and Babylonia. However, the empire began to collapse toward the end of the 7th century BC, and was obliterated by an alliance between a resurgent New Kingdom of Babylonia and the Iranian Medes. In 612 BC the Kingdom of Cilicia was established by the Syennesis dynasty as an independent state in Cilicia, and lasted until 549 BC.
After the Battle of Carchemish, Nebuchadnezzar II besieged Jerusalem in 605 BC and destroyed the Temple, starting the period of the Babylonian captivity from between 597 BC and 581 BC. The subsequent balance of power was short-lived, though. In the 550s BC the Persians revolted against the Medes and gained control of their empire, and over the next few decades annexed to it the realms of Lydia in Anatolia, Damascus, Babylonia, and Egypt, as well as consolidating their control over the Iranian plateau nearly as far as India. This vast kingdom was divided up into various satrapies and governed roughly according to the Assyrian model, but with a far lighter hand. Around this time Zoroastrianism became the predominant religion in Persia.
Classical Age.
Persia controlled the Levant, but by the 4th century BC Persia had fallen into decline. The Phoenicians occasionally rebelled against the Persians who taxed them heavily, while the Jews were granted return from the exile by Cyrus the Great. The campaigns of Xenophon in 401-399 BC illustrated how very vulnerable Persia had become to armies organized along Greek lines. Such an army under the Macedonian King Alexander the Great conquered the Levant (333-332 BC).
Alexander did not live long enough to consolidate his realm; after his death in 323 BC the greater share of the east eventually went to the descendants of Seleucus I Nicator. This period saw great innovations in mathematics, science, architecture, and the like, and Greeks founded cities throughout the east, some of which grew to be the world's first major metropolises. Hellenistic culture did not, however, reach very far into the countryside. In addition, the Seleucids brought in many Greeks from mainland Greece to populate more than 30 cities founded by Alexander in the Levant.
The Seleucids (312 to 63 BC) adopted a pro-western stance that alienated both the powerful eastern satraps and many Greeks who had migrated to the east. During the 2nd century BC, Greek culture lost ground in the Levant, and the Seleucid Empire began to break apart. The Seleucid decline continued, and the Roman Republic overran the Seleucid heartland in 65 BC. Judea, which had become independent under the Hasmonean dynasty (140 BC - 37 BC), was annexed by Rome in 63 BC and became Iudaea Province (6 - 135 AD), the period became notable for when the Jewish population was expelled from Jerusalem after the destruction of the second Temple c. 70 AD and dispersed all over the old world. The Kingdoms of Osroene and Commagene dominated parts of the northern Levant in the first century BC to first century AD as buffer kingdoms between the Seleucids, Romans and Parthians.
The first to second centuries also saw the emergence of a plethora of religions and philosophical schools. Philosophical schools emerged under famous philosophers at the time, most notably Neoplatonism under Iamblichus and Porphyry, Neopythagorianism under Apollonius of Tyana and Numenius of Apamea, and Hellenic Judaism under Josephus. Christianity emerged as a sect of Judaism and finally as an independent religion by the second century. Gnosticism also took hold in the region.
A Persian dynasty, the Sassanids (224-651), periodically clashed with Rome, and later with the Byzantine Empire. In 391 the Byzantine era began with the permanent division of the Roman Empire into Eastern and Western halves. Byzantine control over many parts of the Levant lasted until 636, when Arab armies conquered the area and it became a part of the Rashidun Caliphate.
The Byzantines reached a low point under Phocas (Byzantine Emperor from 602 to 610), with the Sassanids occupying the whole of the eastern Mediterranean. In 610, though, Heraclius took the throne in Constantinople and began a successful counter-attack, expelling the Persians and invading Media and Assyria. Unable to stop his advance, the Sassanian king Khosrau II was assassinated (628) and the Sassanid empire fell into anarchy. Weakened by their quarrels, neither the Byzantines nor the Sassanids could deal with the onslaught of the Arabs, newly unified under the banners of Islam and keen to expand their area of control. By 650 Arab forces had conquered all of Persia, Syria, and Egypt.


2003 in the Philippines

2003 in the Philippines details events of note that happened in the Philippines in the year 2003.


Kampili kingdom

The Kampili kingdom was a short-lived Hindu kingdom of early 14th-century in the Deccan region. The kingdom existed near Ballari and Tungabhadra river in northeastern parts of the present-day Karnataka state, India. It ended after a defeat by the armies of Delhi Sultanate, and a "jauhar" (ritual mass suicide) in 1327/28 CE when it faced a certain defeat. The Kampili kingdom in some historical accounts is called the Basnaga kingdom, and as what inspired and ultimately led to the Hindu Vijayanagara Empire.
The founder of the kingdom was a Hoysala commander, Singeya Nayaka-III (1280–1300 AD), who declared independence after the Muslim forces of the Delhi Sultanate defeated and captured the territories of the Seuna Yadavas of Devagiri in 1294 CE. Nayaka-III was succeeded by his son Kampilideva in 1300, who remained in dispute with the territorial claims of Delhi Sultanate. The Kampili kingdom finally fell to the invasion in 1327/28 CE from the north by the forces of Muhammad bin Tughluq, the Sultan of Delhi. The triumphant army led by Malik Zada sent the news of its victory, over Kampili kingdom, to Muhammad bin Tughluq in Delhi by sending a straw-stuffed severed head of the dead Hindu king. From the ruins of the Kampili kingdom, soon rose the Vijayanagara Empire in 1336 CE, and grew into one of the famed empires of India that ruled Southern India for over 200 years.


2004 in Philippine television

The following is a list of events affecting Philippine television in 2004. Events listed include television show debuts, finales, cancellations, and channel launches, closures and rebrandings, as well as information about controversies and carriage disputes.


Miyazu Domain

The was a Japanese domain of the Edo period, located in Tango Province (modern-day Miyazu, Kyoto).


9th Asian Film Awards

The 9th Asian Film Awards are the 2015 edition of the Asian Film Awards. The ceremony was held at the Venetian Theatre in The Venetian Casino and Hotel in Macau.
South Korean director Im Kwon-taek received the Lifetime Achievement Award, while Japanese actress Miki Nakatani received the Excellence in Asian Cinema Award.
This year marked the second time that the awards were organized by the Hong Kong International Film Festival, joined by the Busan and Tokyo film festivals through the Asian Film Awards (AFA) Academy.
Awards jury.
The jury for the 9th Asian Film Awards are:
Winners and nominees.
Winners are listed first and highlighted in bold.


Xiangzhou District, Xiangyang

Xiangzhou District () is a district of the city of Xiangyang, Hubei, People's Republic of China. The district itself was formerly known as Xiangyang (). It was a city famous for the siege of Xiangyang (1267–1273) by invading forces of the Mongol-founded Yuan Dynasty. It was also an important city during the period of the Three Kingdoms, in the "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" it was said that it was nearby Xiangyang that Zhuge Liang received his three visits from Liu Bei. Xiangyang was also where Sun Jian fought Liu Biao in 191 AD during the Three Kingdoms. Today, Xiangzhou has been incorporated with nearby Fancheng to form the prefecture-level city of Xiangyang, part of Hubei province.
Administrative divisions.
Subdistricts:
Towns:
Transportation.
Xiangyang East railway station is located in the district and is an interchange between multiple high-speed lines.


Maeda Toshimichi II


Privolnoye, Azerbaijan

Privolnoye is a village and municipality in the Jalilabad Rayon of Azerbaijan. It has a population of 4,268.


Battle of Changshao

The Battle of Changshao was a military conflict between Qi and Lu, two major principality states in Shandong Peninsula during the Spring and Autumn Period of Zhou dynasty. The battle happened in the January (lunar calendar) of 684 BC at Changshao. Lu claimed the victory under the lead of general Cao Gui (). This battle is described in detail by Zuo Qiuming in his "Spring and Autumn Commentary of Zuo (Zuozhuan)", but it is not mentioned in Sima Qian's book of "Shi Ji". This battle is considered as a classic example of winning by good military strategies, and the well-known "chengyu" 一鼓作氣 ("yī gŭ zuò qì", lit: "first drum creates spirit", explained below) was derived from Cao Gui's assessment of the battle, as recorded by the "Zuozhuan".
Background.
Duke Xiang of Qi was assassinated in 686 BC; one month later, his successor was also assassinated. Duke Xiang's younger son, Xiaobai, took the throne in the spring of 685 BC as the Duke Huan of Qi. Duke Huan's elder brother, Lord Jiu, believed that he was the right person to take the throne, so he allied with Duke Zhuang of Lu and launched a war against Duke Huan. However, the army of State of Lu was defeated by Qi in the Battle of Ganshi, and Duke Zhuang of Lu was almost killed in the battle. Realizing that State of Lu was supporting Lord Jiu, Duke Huan of Qi was annoyed. He planned to attack Lu as a revenge.
The Battle.
In the spring of 684 BC, Duke Huan of Qi ordered his army to attack Lu. Cao Gui was appointed as the general of Lu to defend the state. Duke Zhuang of Lu also presented at the frontline along with Cao Gui. Cao Gui asked the army of Lu to stand still in the battle formation and fortifications and not to fight back until his order. The army of Qi charged twice but the army of Lu stayed in the fortifications and did not respond. When the Qi soldiers started their third charge, Cao Gui ordered the army of Lu to launch a counter attack. At this point, soldiers of Qi were tired and could hardly concentrate, so they were defeated. Duke Zhuang of Lu immediately ordered soldiers of Lu to chase the fleeing Qi army. Cao Gui accepted the order after making sure that there was no ambush. Qi army was completely destroyed and expelled out of the border.
After the victory, when the Duke asked for an explanation of the success, Gui replied, "[the key to victory in] battle lies in the spirit [of courage and fortitude]: at the first drum beat (i.e., order to charge) [the Qi soldiers'] spirits were raised. On the second time, their spirits declined. Finally, on the third time, their spirits had been exhausted. Their spirits were exhausted while [those of] our [soldiers'] still brimmed. Consequently we defeated them."
The direct quote, "the first drum raises spirits" () has become a "chengyu" (classical four-character idiom) that expresses the idea that one should aim to complete a difficult task by giving one's best, sustained effort on a favorable occasion when one is most encouraged and confident of success, rather than to waver in one's effort and have to try again on a future occasion, at which time one might well have lost confidence or enthusiasm. Thus the meaning is similar to the English expression, "strike while the iron is hot."


Sagara clan

The Sagara clan was a Japanese clan during the Sengoku period. It was a tactical ally of the Shimazu clan.
The Sagara clan was, in the Edo period, a tozama daimyô clan which ruled over Hitoyoshi han in Higo province. The domain boasted a kokudaka of 22,000 koku. The Sagara were originally descended from the Fujiwara clan, and are believed to have taken their name from the manor ("shōen") they held in Sagara, Haibara district, Tôtômi province during the Kamakura period. In 1198, the year before his death, Minamoto no Yoritomo granted the territory of Hitoyoshi (on Kyushu, in modern-day Kumamoto prefecture) to the Sagara. Hitoyoshi is surrounded on all sides by mountains, making it quite easily defensible, and allowing the Sagara to relatively easily survive their neighbors' attacks during the Sengoku period. Sagara Nagatsune initially fought alongside the Western Army (against Tokugawa Ieyasu) at the Battle of Sekigahara, but secretly sent an envoy to Ieyasu declaring his allegiance. When Ieyasu's forces laid siege to Nagatsune's Ôgaki castle, he granted the attackers entry, thus earning him some relief from Tokugawa enmity. After contributing as well to Tokugawa efforts during the Siege of Osaka, he earned a high reputation for his clan.


Society of the Hoysala Empire

The Hoysala Empire () was a South Indian Kannadiga empire that ruled most of the modern-day state of Karnataka between the 10th to the 14th centuries. The capital of the empire was initially based at Belur, and later transferred to Halebidu. Hoysala society in many ways reflected the emerging religious, political and cultural developments of those times.
Society.
A notable feature of the Hoysala kingdom was the involvement of women, especially of royalty, in administrative matters. Queen Umadevi governed Halebidu in the absence of Veera Ballala II and is known to have fought wars against antagonistic feudatories. Women participated in music, dance, literature, poetry, politics and administration. Queen Shantala Devi was well versed in dance and music and rendered public performances. Akka Mahadevi, a Vachana poet who renounced the temporal world in favour of one of devotion became an example for woman of the day. The practice of sati, though voluntary was prevalent and prostitution was socially acceptable. Temple dancers ("Devadasi") were common in temples and some were well educated and accomplished in arts. These qualifications gave them more freedom than other urban and rural women who were restricted to daily mundane tasks. Like in most of India, the Indian caste system was conspicuously present.
Trade on the west coast brought many foreigners to India including Arabs, Jews, Persians, Chinese and people from the Malay Peninsula. Large scale migration of people from present day Karnataka to Tamil Nadu happened during this time. With the expansion of Hoysala territory in Tamil country, these immigrants went as officers and soldiers of the empire and were given land concessions. Migration of Tamil sculptors to Belur and Halebidu is also apparent from the presence of some Chola style sculptures in a few Hoysala temples. The marketplace was the nuclei of urban centres. This is where materials and produce was brought and exchanged hands. These were the location of recurring festivals and fairs. In South India, towns were called "Pattana" or "Pattanam" and the marketplace, "Nagara" or "Nagaram". Important marketplaces gradually grew into townships and so did famous pilgrim places. Shravanabelagola in Hassan district developed from a place of religion in the 7th century to an important settlement by the 12th century when rich Jain merchants were established here. The market place was also closely tied with temple administration.
The prolific temple construction was not entirely for religious reasons. Temples acted as local courts or as surrogate courts, especially when built from royal endowments. They were seen as palaces and the rituals marking the daily routine of the deity imitated those of the king. Some temples also received local patronage from rich landlords. Temples built from royal patronage took on an aura of a leading ceremonial centre. When king Vishnuvardhana built the Chennakesava Temple ( a Vaishnava temple) at Belur, the town was transformed into a famous city. Competition from the Shaiva merchants of Halebidu resulted in the construction of the Hoysaleswara temple which gave the town prominence. Often temples built in rural areas were not supported by royal patronage. They evolved into complex institutions related to fiscal, political, cultural and religious needs. Irrespective of patronage, temples were also establishments that provided employment to hundreds of people. Temple funds maintained families of priests, record keepers, administrators, guards, garland makers, dancers, "devadasis", sculptors, carpenters and craftsmen. They were also a source of loans. Inscriptions mention 12%–15% interest on loans. In short, Hindu temples began to take on the shape of wealthy Buddhist monasteries.


Mauretania Sitifensis

Mauretania Sitifensis was a Roman province in Africa Proconsularis. The capital was Setifis.
History.
In the later division of the Roman Empire under the Emperor Diocletian, the eastern part of Mauretania Caesariensis, from Saldae to the river Ampsaga, was erected into a new province, and called "Mauretania Sitifensis" from the inland town of Setifis (Setif in modern Algeria).
At the time of Constantine the Great, Mauretania Sitifensis was assigned to the administrative Diocese of Africa, in the praetorian prefecture of Italy. The new province had a huge economic development in the IV century, until the conquest by the Vandals. In this province the Donatism Christian denomination challenged the Roman Church, that was the main local religion after Constantine, while Setifis was a center of Mithraism.
While in certain areas under Vandal and Byzantine control, most of Mauretania Sitifensis (until 578 AD) was ruled by Berber kingdoms like the Kingdom of Altava. Only the coastal area around Saldae and Setifis remained fully Romanized.
Byzantine emperor Maurice in 585 AD created the province of "Mauretania Prima" and erased the old Mauretania Sitifensis. Indeed, the emperor Maurice in that year created the office of "Exarch", which combined the supreme civil authority of a praetorian prefect and the military authority of a "magister militum", and enjoyed considerable autonomy from Constantinople. Two exarchates were established, one in Italy, with seat at Ravenna (hence known as the Exarchate of Ravenna), and one in Africa, based at Carthage and including all imperial possessions in the Western Mediterranean. The first African exarch was the "Patricius" Gennadius: he was appointed as "magister militum Africae" in 578 AD, and quickly defeated the Romano-Moorish kingdom of Garmul in Mauretania extending the territory of the Mauretania Sitifensis. Among the provincial changes done by emperor Maurice, Mauretania Caesariensis and Mauretania Sitifensis were merged to form the new province of "Mauretania Prima".
Mauretania Sitifensis initially had an area of 17800 square miles and had a good agriculture (cereals, etc..), that was exported through the port of Saldae. But under Byzantine control the province was reduced to only the coastal section, with one third of the original area.


Thebais Prima


Teiji Takagi

Teiji Takagi (高木 貞治 "Takagi Teiji", April 21, 1875 – February 28, 1960) was a Japanese mathematician, best known for proving the Takagi existence theorem in class field theory. The Blancmange curve, the graph of a nowhere-differentiable but uniformly continuous function, is also called the Takagi curve after his work on it.
Biography.
He was born in the rural area of the Gifu Prefecture, Japan. He began learning mathematics in middle school, reading texts in English since none were available in Japanese. After attending a high school for gifted students, he went on to the University of Tokyo, at that time the only university in Japan. There he learned mathematics from such European classic texts as Salmon's "Algebra" and Weber's "Lehrbuch der Algebra". Aided by Hilbert, he then studied at Göttingen. Aside from his work in algebraic number theory he wrote a great number of Japanese textbooks on mathematics and geometry.
During World War I, he was isolated from European mathematicians and developed his existence theorem in class field theory, building on the work of Heinrich Weber. As an Invited Speaker, he presented a synopsis of this research in a talk "Sur quelques théoremes généraux de la théorie des nombres algébriques" at the International Congress of Mathematicians in Strasbourg in 1920. There he found little recognition of the value of his research, since algebraic number theory was then studied mainly in Germany and German mathematicians were excluded from the Congress. Takagi published his theory in the same year in the journal of the University of Tokyo. However, the significance of Takagi's work was first recognized by Emil Artin in 1922, and was again pointed out by Carl Ludwig Siegel, and at the same time by Helmut Hasse, who lectured in Kiel in 1923 on class field theory and presented Takagi's work in a lecture at the meeting of the DMV in 1925 in Danzig and in his "Klassenkörperbericht" (class field report) in the 1926 annual report of the DMV. Takagi was then internationally recognized as one of the world's leading number theorists. In 1932 he was vice-president of the International Congress of Mathematicians in Zurich and in 1936 was a member of the selection committee for the first Fields Medal.
He was also instrumental during World War II in the development of Japanese encryption systems; see Purple.


Saidai-ji

 or the "Great Western Temple" is a Buddhist temple that was once one of the powerful Seven Great Temples in the city of Nara, Nara Prefecture, Japan. The temple was established in AD 765 as a counterpart to Tōdai-ji and it is the main temple of the sect of Buddhism after the sect's founder, , took over administration in 1238.
One building, the Aizen-dō, houses a statue of Aizen Myō-ō, while the main image is of Shakyamuni Buddha, erected by Eison in 1249.


2000 in Malaysia

This article lists important figures and events in Malaysian public affairs during the year 2000, together with births and deaths of notable Malaysians.


Mizoguchi Hidekatsu

 was a Sengoku period samurai and early Edo period "daimyō" of Shibata Domain in Echigo Province, Japan (modern-day Niigata Prefecture). His courtesy title was "Hōki-no-kami," and his Court rank was Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade.
Biography.
Mizoguchi Hidekatsu was the eldest son of Mizoguchi Katsumasa and was born in Mizobuchi village, Nakamura District of Owari Province, in what is now part of the modern city of Inazawa, Aichi. HIs childhood name was Take-maru (竹丸), and his post-"genpuku" name was Sadakatsu (定勝). He entered the service of Niwa Nagahide as a child. By 1581, his talents had come to the attention of Oda Nobunaga, who accepted him as a direct retainer, and who granted him a 5000 "koku" fief in what is now Takahama, Fukui, In 1582, Nobunaga was assassinated in the Honnō-ji Incident and he transferred his allegiance to Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Following the 1583 Battle of Shizugatake, he was made a "yoriki-daimyō" under Niwa Nagahide and transferred to Daishō-ji in Kaga Province with a "kokudaka" of 44,000 "koku". In 1585, following Niwa Nagahide's death, Hideyoshi recognized him as an independent "daimyō", and the following year he changed his name from Sadakatsu to Hidekatsu.
During the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598), he was assigned to the guard at Hideyoshi's headquarters at Nagoya Castle in Hizen Province and in 1598 was transferred to Shibata Domain in Echigo Province with an increase in "kokudaka" to 60,000 "koku". He sided with the Eastern Army in the Battle of Sekigahara and was thus confirmed in his holdings by the Tokugawa shogunate. He died in Shibata in 1610 at the age of 63
Hidekatsu had 2 sons and 5 daughters and was succeeded by his eldest son, Mizoguchi Nobukatsu. His second son, Mizoguchi Yoshikatsu was the first "daimyō" of Sōme Domain, a 10,000 "koku" domain which existed from 1610 to 1687.


Mir Hussein bin Haydar

 Mir Hussein bin Haydar was the Uzbek Emir of Bukharan Emirate from October 1826 to December 1826. His father was emir Haydar bin Shahmurad (1800–1826).
Emir Haydar died in October 1826 and was succeeded by his son Mir Hussein bin Haydar.
Hussein ruled for only two months and fourteen days. According to local historian Ahmad Donish, “this emir has achieved extraordinary perfection and merit, he mastered all sciences, including foreign ones. He knew versification, medicine, alchemy and fortune telling"
Mir Hussein reigned for only two months and fourteen days (October-December 1826). According to some reports, he was poisoned by Hakim Kushbegi
Emir Mir Hussein died in December 1826 and was succeeded by Umar bin Haydar.


Tzath I of Lazica

Tzath I (), Tzathius or Tzathios () in Byzantine sources, was king of Lazica (western Georgia) from 521/522 to an unknown date. He rejected Sassanid Persian overlordship and turned to the Byzantine emperor Justin I (r. 518–527) for aid. He was the first Christian king of Lazica.
Tzath was the son of Damnazes, of whom almost nothing is known. Upon his father's death, in 521 or 522, he refused to recognize the traditional suzerainty exercised by the Persian ruler over Lazica, rejected Zoroastrianism, and instead turned to the Byzantine Empire. He went to Constantinople, where he was received by Emperor Justin I, baptized as a Christian, and wedded to a noble wife, Valeriana. After having received the insignia and royal robes that signified both his royal status and his submission to the Byzantine emperor, he returned to Lazica.
Tzath is mentioned for the last time with the outbreak of the Iberian War in 527, when Lazica was attacked by the Persians, who had easily overrun the rebellious Iberians. He sent for aid to Emperor Justinian I (r. 527–565), who had just succeeded his uncle Justin. Justinian responded by sending an army, which allowed Lazica to resist the Persians successfully.
Professor Cyril Toumanoff has conjectured that Tzath's reign lasted until circa 540, when he was succeeded by his possible son, Gubazes II. Opsites, an uncle of Gubazes, is mentioned by the 6th-century Byzantine historian Procopius as "king of the Lazi" on one occasion and as prince of east Abasgia on the other. If indeed a king, Opsites's reign may well be placed between those of Tzath and Gubazes. Toumanoff, however, further assumes that Opsites was a member of the Lazic royal family and prince of Abasgia, but never a king of Lazica, thus making Gubazes a direct successor of Tzath I.


Gokenin

A was initially a vassal of the shogunate of the Kamakura and the Muromachi periods. In exchange for protection and the right to become "jitō" (manor's lord), a "gokenin" had in times of peace the duty to protect the imperial court and Kamakura. In times of war, he had to fight with his forces under the shōgun’s flag. From the mid-13th century, the fact that "gokenin" were allowed to become "de facto" owners of the land they administered, coupled to the custom that all "gokenin" children could inherit, brought the parcelization of the land and a consequent weakening of the shogunate. The "gokenin" class ceased to be a significant force during the Muromachi period and was supplanted by the figure of the "daimyō". During the successive Edo period, the term finally came to indicate a direct vassal of the shōgun, below an , meaning that they did not have the right to an audience with the shōgun.
Etymology.
The terms "gokenin" and "kenin" are etymologically related but have very different meanings. Confusion can arise also because in documents sometimes this last word is used together with the honorific prefix (go + "kenin"). Under the ritsuryō legal system in use in Japan from the seventh to the tenth century, a "kenin" ("house person") was a human being who, while legally property of a family, could be inherited but not sold and, unlike a slave, had some rights. For example, the inventory of a temple's wealth mentions thirteen "kenin", among them four women, who were in effect servants.
From the beginning of the Japanese Middle Ages, the relationship between lords and vassals tended, even in the absence of real blood ties, to be seen as an ancestral bond where each side inherited the rights and duties of the previous generation. Both sides thought of and spoke of their relationship in terms suggesting kinship, hence the use of the term "gokenin", the prefix "go-" denoting prestige having been added after the Heian period. This social class evolved during the Kamakura shogunate based on the personal, contractual and military relationship between the shōgun and individual "gokenin". Until recently it was assumed Kamakura shōgun Minamoto no Yoritomo coined the word and the role when he started his campaign to gain power in 1180. The Azuma Kagami, diary of the shogunate, uses the term from its very first entries. The first reliable documentary evidence of a formal "gokenin" status and of actual vassal registers however dates to the early 1190s, and it seems therefore that the vassalage concept remained vague for at least the first decade of the shogunate's life. In any event, by that date the three main administrative roles created by the Kamakura shogunate ("gokenin", "shugo" (governor) and "jitō" (manor's lord)) were certainly in existence. The right to appoint them was the very basis of Kamakura's power and legitimacy.
History.
Fall of Kamakura.
"Gokenin" vassals were descendants of former shōen owners, former peasants or former samurai who had made a name for themselves in Minamoto no Yoritomo's army during his military campaigns against the Taira clan and were rewarded after victory. They and the bands of samurai they hired provided the shōgun with the military force he needed. They also collected local taxes and ruled over territories they were entrusted with, but nominally didn't own. Because the shōgun had usurped the emperor's power to nominate them, they owed loyalty only to him. The "gokenin" title was earned by participating to an initiation ceremony, writing one's name in a register () and making an oath of vassalage. The Kamakura government retained the power to appoint and dismiss, but otherwise left "gokenin" "shugo" and "jitō" alone and free to use tax income as they saw fit. As long as they remained faithful, they had considerable autonomy from the central government. In time, because "gokenin" officials were rarely dismissed, their powers and land ownership became in practice hereditary. By the end of the shogunate, the government was little more than a coalition of semi-autonomous states.
"Gokenin" and the "daimyōs".
After the fall of the Kamakura in 1333, changes in the balance of power forced the Ashikaga to try to modify the state's economy and structure. The process of reversing the extreme parcelization of the land would occupy the next couple of centuries. The dynasty tried to eradicate local warlords and concentrate power in its hands, but this in fact only increased the level of hostility. It seized the lands of the Hōjō clan, former rulers of Kamakura, and of all defeated "gokenin" but, at seeing the Ashikaga keep those lands for themselves, to the point where they had direct control of almost 25% of the country, their own allies started fearing for themselves and their heirs. The ensuing turmoil gave inadvertently rise to the figure of the "daimyō" feudal lord, although the term wouldn't be in wide use for the first half a century. Many "daimyōs" were "shugo" or "jitō" of "gokenin" extraction or even noblemen, but most were new faces who had supplanted their superiors. Crucially, because resisting the Ashikaga required a strong central power and a smooth succession, among them inheritance was no longer shared, but passed on intact to a single heir, who often was not even a blood relative, but a promising man adopted specifically to be heir.
Later status.
In the Edo period, "gokenin" were the lowest-ranking vassals of the Tokugawa shogunate, next to the "hatamoto". Unlike a "hatamoto", a "gokenin" was not of " status – in other words, he was not allowed to have an audience with the shōgun.


Murakuni Oyori

Murakuni Oyori (村国男依) (died 676) was a military commander of ancient Japan, who fought in the Jinshin War as a servant of Prince Ō-ama. His kabane, or family title, is muraji. He was given the rank of Shōshi after death.
The Murakuni clan was influential in Mino Province. Oyori was a servant of Prince Ō-ama. When Emperor Tenji became ill in 671, his brother Ō-ama decided to retire from political life in order to evade successor rivalry with Prince Ōtomo, the emperor's son. But the retirement was a fake. He later plotted a revolt called the Jinshin War.
Six months after the death of Tenji, on June 22, 672, Prince Ō-ama sent three messengers to Ō Honji, the administrator of the prince's domain of Ahachima (later Anpachi District) in Mino Province. This was the first action of the revolt. The messengers Murakuni Oyori, Wanibe Kimite, and Mugetsu Hiro incited the province to rebellion against the government of Prince Ōtomo (Emperor Kōbun). Then Oyori returned to report. Ō-ama started Yoshino to Mino on June 24 and met with Oyori on June 26 near the district office of Asaake District in Ise Province. Oyori informed that 3,000 soldiers of Mino occupied Fuwa (today's Sekigahara), a narrow point between the eastern provinces and Ōtsu, the capital of Japan at the time. Content with the success of the first critical action, Ō-ama praised Oyori.
Ō-ama collected more soldiers from the eastern provinces and sent two armies on July 2. One was a reinforcement to Yamato Province. The other main force marched to Ōmi Province and Ōtsu. Oyori was one of four commanders of this army and probably the most prominent one.
The army of "Oyori and others" fought their first battle at Yokokawa of Okinaga on July 7. They cut down the enemy general, Sakaibe Kusuri. On July 9 they defeated the enemy at Tokome and killed Hata Tomotari. On the 13th they won a victory at the riverside of Yasukawa, catching Kosohe Ōkuchi and Haji Chishima. On the 17th they swept the enemy from the capital of Ōmi province. Finally, on July 22, Prince Ōtomo himself led a large army at Seto of the Uji River near Ōtsu. Ōtomo lost the battle and committed suicide the next day.
Emperor Tenmu, former Prince Ō-ama, gave Oyori a fiefdom (in reality, tax revenue) composed of 120 families. This was the prize of highest merit given to warriors. Murakuni Oyori died in July 676. He was given the rank of Shōshi posthumously. On March 8, 716, his son Shigamaro was granted rice fields based on Oyori's meritorious service.


Azerbaijani Legion

The Azerbaijani Legion () was one of the foreign units of the Wehrmacht. It was formed in December 1941 on the Eastern Front as the "Kaukasische-Mohammedanische Legion" (Muslim Caucasus Legion) and was re-designated 1942 into two separate legions, the North Caucasian legion and the Azerbaijani legion. It was made up mainly of former Azerbaijani POW volunteers but also volunteers from other peoples in the area. It was part of the Ostlegionen. It was used to form the 162nd (Turkistan) Infanterie-Division of the Wehrmacht in 1943. Later, some of these Azerbaijanis joined the Azeri Waffen SS Volunteer Formations.
Many Azerbaijanis joined here in hopes of liberating their homeland from Soviet rule. One Azerbaijani soldier who was captured said to the Germans he was anti-Bolshevik, and only wanted an opportunity to free his homeland.
Origins.
The sweeping initial victories of Operation Barbarossa produced hundreds of thousands of non-Russian soldier prisoners in the POW cages of the German Army. All of them were hungry, many were starving. In a mere eight months of 1941-42, the invading German armies killed an estimated 2.8 million Soviet POWs through starvation, exposure, and summary execution. Conditions in the prison camps were atrocious. "There were no barracks or permanent housing. The camps were simply open areas fenced off with barbed wire. The prisoners had to lie in the sun, then in mud, and in the fall—with temperatures as low as minus 30 degrees Celsius—faced the possibility of freezing to death."
The foreign Waffen beginnings were shrouded in great secrecy, for fear of Hitler who was categorically opposed to any form of participation of Soviet citizens in the war against Russia. But the needs of the army on the Eastern Front induced German commanders to accept the services of volunteers to fight the Soviet regime even against the clear orders of the Supreme Command.
Tens of thousands of them were Muslims, where the majority of them came from the Soviet Union. In December 1941 a top secret memorandum ordered that the OKW was to create two Muslim units: the Turkistanische Legion, consisting of Muslim volunteers from Central Asia; such as Turkomans, Uzbeks, Kazakhs, Kyrgyzs, Karakalpaks, and Tajiks, and the Kaukasisch-Mohammedanische Legion from Caucasian Muslims volunteers; such as Azeris, Dagestanis, Chechens, Ingushes, and Lezgins.
The German courting of the Soviet Muslims was part of Hitler's schemes for bringing Turkey onto his side and to advance control of the oil fields in the Middle East and Baku. The most numerous of the Soviet Muslims that served the Germans were the Turkestanis. The first Turkestani volunteers were integrated as one battalion of the 444th Sicherungs Division in November 1941, and became an auxiliary force to help the Germans fight the local partisans. Major Andreas Meyer-Mader was appointed as commander of the 444th Battalion. Meyer-Mader, an Austrian, had served on the staff of Chiang Kai-shek’s Chinese Nationalist Army before World War II.
According to Argumenty i Fakty newspaper, 40,000 Azerbaijani nationals fought for Third Reich, while 700,000 Azerbaijanis were conscripted into the armies of the Soviet Union.
450th Turkistanisches Battalion.
The 450th Battalion was raised at the town of Legionowo, Poland and spent most of the summer patrolling the communications and rail networks between Kharkov and Stalingrad. Discipline became so bad that Meyer-Mader was removed from command of the 450th Battalion during 1943.
In November 1943, Meyer-Mader met Himmler to offer his services to help raise and command a Turkic SS unit. Himmler approved the broad plan and then transferred him into the ranks of the Waffen SS and promoted him to the rank of SS-Obersturmbannührer (Lieutenant Colonel). On 14 December, a meeting was held in Berlin in the presence of the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Mohammad Amin al-Husayni. The Grand Mufti approved the plan to raise a Turkic-Muslim SS division and to give his "spiritual leadership" to influence the Muslim volunteers.
Ostmuselmanisches SS-Regiment.
Between November 1943 and January 1944, there was a series of meetings between Meyer-Mader and Muslim volunteers. As a result of these meetings, on 4 January 1944, it was decided to form the Ostmuselmanisches SS-Regiment. At the same meeting, it was decided to disband the following Wehrmacht battalions who would serve as a basis for a new platform: 450th, 480th, 782nd, 786th, 790th, 791st and I/94th Turkistanische battalions, Aserbaidschanische 818th and Volga Tatar 831st. Many of the volunteers deserted at this time, and the 818th defected to Polish and Ukrainian resistance movements in 1943.
Furthermore, at the same time, Meyer-Mader made several visits to prisoners of war camps and called for volunteers to join the new Muslim SS legion. The recruits were Azeri, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, and Tadjik. By the end of January 1944 he was able to recruit three thousand volunteers who were concentrated in Poniatova. To increase the staffing regiment, dozens of German officers and non-commissioned officers were transferred there. Nevertheless, it was a very slow process, mainly due to lack of equipment, including uniforms and even shoes. Therefore, the October 1944 deadline, which Himmler appointed for the deployment of divisions in the regiment there were only four thousand people who had been formed into three battalions. The unit was formed in Trawniki, Poland, before they were transferred to Belorussia for further training. SS-Obersturmbannführer Andreas Meyer-Mader was appointed as its first commander.
This unit suffered from poor discipline and poor morale, especially after Meyer-Mader was killed during a skirmish with partisans in Yuratishki, near Minsk, on 28 March 1944. The situation became worse when the replacement commander, SS-Hauptsturmführer (Captain) Billig executed 78 unit members for insubordination. This incident made Himmler angry and Billig was relieved. In May 1944, the 550 men (Volga Tatars, Azeris, Kirgyz, Uzbek, and Tadjiks) from the Ostmuslemanische SS-Regiment were attached to the SS Dirlewanger brigade.
Warsaw.
On 29 January 1944 Heinz Reinefarth was assigned as SS and Police Leader in Reichsgau Wartheland (Polish Great Poland Voivodeship annexed by Germany in 1939). In this post he was responsible for the organised repression against Poles and other nationalities deprived of all rights by Germany. After the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising, Reinefarth was ordered to organise a military unit from the 16th Police Company and other smaller security units and head for Warsaw. Upon arrival, his forces were included in the Korpsgruppe Von Dem Bach of General Erich von dem Bach who was ordered by Himmler to quell the rebellion. From 5 August 1944 Reinefarth's group took part in fighting in the Wola area. In several days, his and Oskar Dirlewanger's soldiers executed approximately 40,000 civilian inhabitants of Warsaw in what is now known as the Wola massacre. The Wola killings were mostly inflicted by elements of Kampfgruppe Reinefarth that assaulted the area held by the insurgents from the west.
It is hard to determine which specific units are to be held responsible, but the main “cleansing” tasks had been assigned to Angriffsgruppe Dirlewanger with following forces:
2 Grenadier Battalions (I & II) of SS Sturmbrigade Dirlewanger, Aserbaidschanische Feld Bataillon I./111 (com. Hptm. Werner Scharrenberg), Ostmuselmanisches SS Regiment (without Battalion III), II Btl. "Bergmann" – (without 7. Komp.) Ltn. Mertelsmann, Gendermerie Operationsgruppe Walter (2 gendarmerie Komp.), Komp. I & II of Aserb. Feld Btl. I/111, Anti-aircraft battery of 80th Regiment, Sturmpanzer-Kompanie z.b.V. 218 (8x Brummbär) Hptm. Kellmann,a part of machine gun 4.Kompanie of Aserb. Feld Btl. I/111, 1. Platoon of 654. Pioniere Battalion, 1 KRONE flamethrower unit (8x Flammenwerfer 41)
Lack of precise documentation does not allow to specify precisely which elements of the above were involved in the Wola killing. It is also possible that some units of the other assault group that operated in the Wola area (Angriffsgruppe Reck) were taking active part in the events, as they also consisted of police/gendarmerie and special assignment units (Hptm. Kirchhubel's Warschau Polizei Kompanie, Hptm. Fersemann's Polizei Wachtkompanie, platoon of SS-Röntgen MG Kompanie from Posen (Poznan), but also SS Grenadiere of SS-Schule Treskau and Azerbaijani 7.Komp/II Bt. Bergmann).
Osttürkische Waffen-Verbände der SS.
On 20 October 1944 the rest of the Ostmuselmanisches SS-Regiment was transferred from Ukraine to Slovakia and renamed "Osttürkische Waffen-Verbände der SS" and reorganized into 3 battalions organized along ethnic lines.
Each battalion would consist of staff, one staff company and five infantry companies. The Ostmuselmanisches regiment was integrated into the Osttürkische Waffen-Verbände der SS and was considered to be dissolved. In December 1944 The Waffen-Gruppe Aserbeidschan (commander W-Ostuf Kerrar Alesgerli) was transferred to the Kaukasiche Waffen-Verbände der SS. The disbanded Tatar Waffen Gebirgs Brigade der SS would replace the Azerbaijani soldiers; Commander: SS-Standartenführer Harun el-Raschid Hintersatz (birth name Wilhelm Hintersatz, a former Austrian officer who had converted to Islam.)
The reorganisations began in January 1945 as follows:
Apparently new “volunteers” were integrated, because the Osttürkische Waffen-Verbände had increased from 5,000 men in January 1945 to 8,500 men in the period of February–May 1945. As Hitler's Reich crumbled, the Waffen-SS gave up all adherence of standards for recruit selection. If they could walk and shoot a rifle, they were good enough for the SS. At this time all German military forces were scraping the bottom of the manpower barrel - for example in January 1945, Heer and Waffen-SS recruiting centers were combined. Waffen-SS troops were increasingly transfers from other military branches of the Wehrmacht from paramilitary and labor formations. The whole unit arrived in March 1945 in Merate, 20 km north of Milan, northern Italy. Assigned to the defense of the area, the Osttürkische Waffen-Verbände apparently participated in no larger operation against partisans. On the 26 April 1945 Hintersatz signed a pact with the local partisan command, according to which the soldiers would remain in the barracks in Merate, until the US troops arrived. This happened on 30 April 1945 and the whole unit went into the hands of the 1st Armored Division (United States).
Kaukasischer Waffen-Verband der SS.
In December 1944, while training in Slovakia, a rumor that the unit was to be transferred to Andrey Vlasov’s army dropped morale of the soldiers. Dec 24: 450 men deserted on Christmas Eve, 300 eventually did return. The Azerberjani regiment was removed from the Osttürkische Waffen-Verbände 30 Dec 1944, and transferred to Kaukasischer Waffen-Verband der SS.
Kaukasischer Waffen-Verband der SS, also known as Freiwilligen Brigade Nordkaukasien, began forming with volunteers from the Caucasus region, with the Frewilligen-Stamm-Division as a nucleus. It was transferred from the Neuhammer training camp to Paluzza in northern Italy in Jan. 1945 and was still forming when it surrendered to British forces at the end of the war.
Organisation:
Commander Waffen-Standartenführer, Magomed Nabi Oglu Israfilov (Israfilbey) born 25 January 1893 in Azerbaijan. Israfilov was formerly a Colonel in the Russian Imperial Army. From the summer of 1943 to 1944 he was chairman of the Azerbaijan Committee. From May–September 1943 he was commander of the 314th Infantry Regiment in the 162.(Turk) Infanterie Division. On 17 March 1945, he was appointed responsible for military affairs in the Azerbaijan National Committee. He was sentenced to death on 11 July 1945 by the Baku Military District.
Unternehmen Zeppelin.
The Unternehmen (operation) Zeppelin was initiated in 1942 by SS-Brigadeführer Walter Schellenberg, who became in the middle of May 1943 the Chief of Section E of Amt IV of the RSHA, the foreign intelligence service of the SS. The SS-Obersturmbannführer (Lieutenant Colonel) Georg Greife was responsible for this operation.
As soon as the German troops had entered the territory of the North Caucasus members of the different Caucasus National Committees, started to set up the core of a State administration and other organizations for the eventuality that Wehrmacht would force the passage in Transcaucasia.
In the summer of 1942, the Reich ministries for Finances, Interior, Foreign Affairs as well as the RSHA created a special group, “Sonderstab Kaukasus”. The “Sonderstab” (special staff) was under the aegis of “Unternehmen Zeppelin”. The members of the “Sonderstab” were to organize units of police forces to maintain order in the territory of the North Caucasus, and would constitute the organization apparatus of State.
The Unternehmen Zeppelin had many purposes: creation of intelligence groups for the collection and transmission of information from the USSR; advocacy groups for the distribution of social, national, and religious propaganda; rebel groups to organize and conduct a rebellion; and sabotage groups for political sabotage and terror.
From wireless reports of these commandos behind the Russian lines it is possible to determine what actions were taken. It was envisaged to recruit the future civil servants among the prisoners of war of Caucasian nationality, who were in large numbers in the German camps of the North Caucasus. The Azerbaijani group was directed by Abbas Bey Atamalibekov. (There is not much informations about Atamalibekov. In 1919 he was a member of the Azeri Delegation led by Alimardan Topchubashev which participated at the Paris Peace Conference in Versailles. He actively participated in the formation of national legions from the Soviet prisoners of war in 1942, together with Abdurahman Fatalibeyli-Dudanginsky and Fuad Amirjan in Berlin. He represented Azeri SS in the Azerbaijan National committee from 1943 to 1945 and then fled to Chile)
Unternehmen Zeppelin was “partially successful”. Most of the Sonderstab members were captured and executed by KGB agents. In his personal archives, member of the Ostministerium, Gerhard Von Mende gives the number of 348 people from Azerbaijani origin who participated in those operations. It is not known if anyone of them were SS.


2000 in India

The following lists events that happened during 2000 in the Republic of India.
Events.
May.
12 May- Miss India Lara Dutta crowned Miss Universe 2000 in Cyprus.


Fujiwara no Moroane

Fujiwara no Moroane was a Japanese noblewoman and sister-in-law of Emperor Kanmu of Japan.
Moroane was a member of the famous Fujiwara clan. Her father was a nobleman called Fujiwara no Yoshitsugu. Her mother was Abe no Komina.
Her sister was Empress Fujiwara no Otomuro, wife of Emperor Kanmu. Moroane was an aunt of Emperor Heizei and Emperor Saga.
Moroane married courtier Fujiwara no Momokawa. Their children were:
Her grandson was Emperor Junna.


2005 in Taiwan

Events from the year 2005 in Taiwan, Republic of China. This year is numbered Minguo 94 according to the official Republic of China calendar.


University of Mysore

The University of Mysore is a public state university in Mysore, Karnataka, India. The university was founded during the reign of Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV, the Maharaja of Mysore. It opened on 27 July 1916. Its first chancellor was the Maharaja of Mysore; the first Vice-Chancellor was H. V. Nanjundaiah. The university became the first outside the British administration in India, the sixth in India as a whole, and the first in Karnataka. It is a state university of the affiliating type, and became autonomous on 3 March 1956, when it gained recognition from the University Grants Commission.
The university encompasses 180 affiliated colleges and four constituent colleges (forming an aggregate of 60,000 students). In addition, the university has 37 postgraduate departments, eight specialised research and training centres, and two postgraduate centres that together offer a total of about 55 regular academic programs to 3,500 students. It also runs a number of employment-oriented diploma courses and certificate programs.
The Mysore University Library comprises over 800,000 books, 2,400 journal titles, and 100,000 volumes of journals. The main campus features an amphitheater, an auditorium, a swimming pool, and hostel accommodations for men and women. As of July 2013, the University of Mysore was accredited "Grade A" by National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC).
Mysore University has a dedicated Prasaranga, in the lines of Oxford University Press, formally established by Dr. Kuvempu on 6'th July 1960.
History.
The University of Mysore is the 6th oldest university in India and the oldest in the state of Karnataka. It was established in 1916 by then Maharaja of Mysore, Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV, after two of his educational experts (C. R. Reddy and Thomas Denham) undertook a five-year study of higher education around the world. They structured the new school to encompass elements from universities that promote original research (University of Chicago), those that emphasise extending knowledge among the people (University of Wisconsin), and those that combine intellectualism with an educational system calculated to train students for political and social life (University of Oxford and Cambridge). H. V. Nanjundaiah, who played a key role in establishing the university, was elected by the Maharaja of Mysore to run the University as the first Vice-Chancellor, and he held the post until his death in 1920. Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvarayya, then Dewan of Mysore, also played a major role in its promotion. The university was inaugurated on 27 July 1916. Maharaja College of Mysore and the Central College of Bangalore, both previously affiliated with Madras University, became part of the new university. The Act was amended in 1933 and 1939 to make the senate representative of public life and to establish the academic council responsible for the academic affairs of the university.
During the reorganisation of Mysore state in 1956, the Mysore University Act passed, which made the university an autonomous body (this has since been superseded by the Karnataka State Universities Act, 2000). In 1960, the university's graduate centre was set up in the picturesque environs of Kukkarahalli lake. The national poet and Jnanpith Award winner, K. V. Puttappa (Kuvempu), a former Vice-Chancellor of the University, christened this campus 'Manasagangotri', meaning: 'the fountainhead of the Ganges of the Mind' or 'the eternal spring of the mind'. Bangalore University was carved out in 1964 starting with Central College, Bangalore, and the University Visvesvaraya College of Engineering. Mangalore University was formed out of the colleges in Dakshina Kannada in 1980.
Recent academic restructuring.
The university has recently changed academic direction, with a greater emphasis on basic science. It has introduced integrated MSc courses in physics, chemistry, and biochemistry. The University has also formed ties with various Chinese universities for resource sharing and training in information technology education.
The International School of Information Management, was created in 2005 through the collaboration of three US universities, as well as Dalhousie University of Canada, and IIIT, Bangalore. Faculty members from these partnering institutions teach at ISiM.
The Third Sector Research Resource Centre (TSRRS) was established in 2004. The aim of the centre is '...to undertake and promote interdisciplinary [sic] studies and research in the domain of civil society,' with a secondary aim of developing and offering Diploma and Masters programs in the management of non-profit organisations.
More recently, the Department of Law in the university was incorporated into the Mysore University School of Justice (MUSJ). Continuing with the university's initiative to introduce five-year integrated courses to produce professionals with in-depth knowledge, the MUSJ has introduced a program leading to a degree in law, as a bid to enhance the quality of legal education in Karnataka.
Other initiatives currently underway by the University are the establishment of a National Centre for History of Science, a digital library, a Centre for International Programmes, a school of life sciences, an IT division, and a joint campus with IIS-Bangalore. In the last five years, an Archaeological and Folklore Museum has been established in the Jayalakshmi Vilas Mansion with a donation from the Infosys Foundation.
University Evening College
University Evening College is one of the four constituent colleges of the university, (established in 1965 at the campus of Maharaja College) and is open to those who cannot pursue their studies on a regular basis. In accordance with the motto of the University "Nahi Jnaanena Sadrisham", this college has been catering to the educational needs of young as well as middle-aged adults.
The college's branch of the NSS (National Service Scheme) was awarded the national NSS award and NSS state award. Through the NSS unit, the college has '...created a space for the students to participate, enlighten and create a consciousness among the public about social, economic, cultural, legal and environmental issues of society.'
The college has an N.C.C (National Cadet Corps) unit. The N.C.C is a Tri-Services Organization, comprising the Army, Navy and Air Force.
Crest and motto.
The university's motto, "Na Hi Gyanena Sadrusham" (Nothing compares with knowledge) is taken from the Bhagavad Gita. It is inscribed in Devanagari script at the top of the university crest. At the bottom of the same crest is a saying in Sanskrit, reading "Sathyamevoddharamyaham" (I uphold only the truth).
Campuses.
The main campus of the University, created in 1960, lies to the west of the Kukkarahalli Lake. The University headquarters, Crawford Hall, is located across the lake to the east. Two satellite campuses have since been set up in response to the demands for postgraduate education in suburban and rural areas: the Sir M.Visveswaraya Postgraduate Centre at Tubinakere in Mandya, and the Mysore University Postgraduate Centre at Hemagangotri in Hassan.
At the time of the University's founding, colleges in the entire state of Mysore came under its jurisdiction. This has since been limited to the Mysore, Mandya, Hassan, and Chamarajanagar districts, with the remaining areas falling under the remit of Bangalore University (1986), Mangalore University (1980), and Kuvempu University (1987). In 1996, the Institute for Correspondence Courses and Continuing Education in the Manasagangotri campus was separated from the University of Mysore to form the Karnataka State Open University.
Ranking.
Mysore University was ranked 27th among universities in India by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) in 2020 and 47th overall.
Notable people.
Alumni.
Notable alumni of the university include cartoonist R. K. Laxman, billionaire N. R. Narayana Murthy, and Chief Justice of India M. N. Venkatachaliah.
Faculty.
Notable faculty of the university include former President of India Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Indologist S. Srikanta Sastri, Royal Medal laureate Sivaramakrishna Chandrasekhar, and poet Kuvempu.
External links.
Official website for Online Studies


2009 in Cambodia

The following lists events that happened during 2009 in Cambodia.


Fujiwara no Otsugu

 was a Japanese statesman, courtier, politician and editor during the Heian period. He is credited as one of the collaborative compilers of the "Nihon Kōki".
Career at court.
He was a minister during the reigns of Emperor Saga, Emperor Junna and Emperor Ninmyō.
Genealogy.
Otsugu's father was Fujiwara no Momokawa.


Hunter Commission

Hunter Commission may refer to:


Date Tomomune

Date Tomomune (伊達 朝宗, 1129 - October 23, 1199) was a samurai during the closing years of the Heian period through to the beginning of the Kamakura period. He is known as the founder of the Date Clan.
Biography.
In 1189, Nakamura Hitachi-nyudo Nensai received the territory of Date from Minamoto Yoritomo as a result of his participation in the Battle of Ōshu. He then changed his name to Date Tomomune and founded the Date Clan at Takakogaoka Castle, in the present day town of Hobara in Date City, Fukushima Prefecture.
His grave is in the present day town of Koori in Fukushima.
In popular culture.
Date Tomomune is prominently featured in the anime "Masamune Datenicle", produced by the City of Date in Fukushima in collaboration with Fukushima Gainax. Throughout the series, a young Date Masamune receives the help of his ancestors while struggling with his new role as the 17th lord of the Date Clan. Date Tomomune appears in the first episode.


4th Asian Film Awards

The 4th Asian Film Awards was given in a ceremony on 22 March 2010 as part of the Hong Kong International Film Festival.


Boradigah

Boradigah (also, Baradigyakh, Boradigyakh, Boradygia, Boradygiya, Boradygyakh, Boradigakh, Boardiqex, and Vardygya) is a village and municipality in the Masally Rayon of Azerbaijan. It has a population of 5,591.


Nichitsu


Mizoguchi Nobukatsu

 was a Sengoku period samurai and the 2nd "daimyō" of Shibata Domain in early Edo period Echigo Province, Japan (modern-day Niigata Prefecture). His courtesy title was "Hōki-no-kami," and his Court rank was Junior Fifth Rank, Lower Grade.
Biography.
Mizoguchi Nobukatsu was the eldest son of Mizoguchi Hidekatsu and was born in Takahama Wakasa Province, in what is now part of the modern city of Takahama, Fukui. His childhood name was Hisasaburō (久三郎), but he changed it to Hidenobu (秀信) after he entered into the service of Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1597. During the Battle of Sekigahara, the Mizoguchi clan sided with the eastern army of Tokugawa Ieyasu, but remained in Shibata as there were still many supporters of the pro-Toyotomi Uesugi clan in the province. After the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate, the clan was confirmed in its holding of Shibata Domain.
He became "daimyō" of Shibata in 1610 on the death of his father. Shortly afterwards, he divided the domain by giving 12,000 "koku" to his younger brother, Mizuguchi Yoshikatsu, for the creation of a cadet house, Sōmei Domain. The domain was reduced from 60,000 "koku" to 50,000 "koku" with 2000 "koku" coming from new rice lands. Yoshikatsu already had 5000 "koku" which he had received from his father directly, but returned these lands to Nobukatsu, as his elder brother would have more expenses in his duties to the shogunate while serving in Edo. Nobukatsu made much efforts in increasing the rice production of his domain, and although he increased the "kokudaka" by 15,000 "koku", he gave all of these new lands to sons of his younger brothers, keeping Shibata Domain itself at 50,000 "koku". During the 1615 Siege of Osaka, he was assigned to the guard of Matsudaira Tadateru.
He died in Edo in 1628, and his grave is at the temple of Kisshō-ji in Edo, which subsequently became the clan's mortuary temple in Edo.
Nobukatsu was married to a daughter of Hori Hidemasa had 4 sons and 3 daughters.


Battle of Badon

The Battle of Badon also known as the Battle of Mons Badonicus (, "Blockade/siege of the Badonic Hill"; "Bellum in monte Badonis", "Battle on Badon Hill"; "Bellum Badonis", "Battle of Badon"; Old Welsh: "Badon"; Middle Welsh: "Gweith Vadon", "Battle of Badon"; , "Battle of Badon Mount/Hill") was a battle purportedly fought between Britons and Anglo-Saxons in sub-Roman Britain in the late 5th or early 6th century. It was credited as a major victory for the Britons, stopping the encroachment of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms for a period.
The earliest references to the battle by the British cleric Gildas date to the 6th century. It is chiefly known today for the supposed involvement of King Arthur, a tradition that first clearly appeared in the 9th-century "Historia Brittonum", possibly written by Nennius. Because of the limited number of sources, there is no certainty about the date, location, or details of the fighting.
Historical accounts.
Siege of Mount Badon.
The earliest mention of the Battle of Badon is Gildas' "De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae" ("On the Ruin and Conquest of Britain"), written in the early to mid-6th century. In it, the Anglo-Saxons are said to have "dipped [their] red and savage tongue in the western ocean" before Ambrosius Aurelianus organized a British resistance with the survivors of the initial Saxon onslaught. Gildas describes the period that followed Ambrosius' initial success:
"De Excidio Britanniae" describes the battle as such an "unexpected recovery of the [island]" that it caused kings, nobles, priests, and commoners to "live orderly according to their several vocations" before the long peace degenerated into civil wars and the iniquity of Maelgwn Gwynedd.
The battle is next mentioned in an 8th-century text of Bede's "Ecclesiastical History of the English People". It describes the "siege of Mount Badon, when they made no small slaughter of those invaders," as occurring 44 years after the first Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain. Since Bede places that arrival during or just after the joint reign of Marcian and Valentinian III in 449456, he must have considered Badon to have taken place between 493 and 500. Bede then puts off discussion of the battle "But more of this hereafter" only to seemingly never return to it. Bede does later include an extended account of Saint Germanus of Auxerre's victory over the Saxons and Picts in a mountain valley, which he credits with curbing the threat of invasion for a generation. However, as the victory is described as having been accomplished bloodlessly, it was presumably a different occasion from Badon. Accepted at face value, St. Germanus' involvement would also place the battle around 430, although Bede's chronology shows no knowledge of this.
Battle of Badon.
The earliest surviving text mentioning Arthur at the battle is the early 9th-century "Historia Brittonum", in which the soldier (Latin "mīles") Arthur is identified as the leader of the victorious British force at Badon:
The twelfth battle was on Mount Badon in which there fell in one day 960 men from one charge by Arthur; and no one struck them down except Arthur himself.
The Battle of Badon is next mentioned in the "Annales Cambriae" ("Annals of Wales"), assumed to have been written during the mid- to late-10th century. The entry states:
That Arthur had gone unmentioned in the source closest to his own time, Gildas, was noticed at least as early as the 12th-century hagiography which claims that Gildas had praised Arthur extensively but then excised him completely after Arthur killed the saint's brother, Hueil mab Caw. Modern writers have suggested the details of the battle were so well known that Gildas could have expected his audience to be familiar with them.
Geoffrey of Monmouth's c. 1136 "Historia Regum Britanniae" was massively popular and survives in many copies from soon after its composition. Going into (and fabricating) much greater detail, Geoffrey closely identifies Badon with Bath, including having Merlin foretell that Badon's baths would lose their hot water and turn poisonous. He also mixes in aspects of other accounts: the battle begins as a Saxon siege and then becomes a normal engagement once Arthur's men arrive; Arthur bears the image of the Virgin both on his shield and shoulder. Arthur charges, but kills a mere 470, ten more than the number of Britons ambushed by Hengist near Salisbury. Elements of the Welsh legends are also added: in addition to the shield "Pridwen", Arthur gains his sword "Caliburnus" and his spear, "Ron". Geoffrey also makes the defence of the city from the Saxon sneak attack a holy cause, having Dubricius offer absolution of all sins for those who fall in battle.
Scholarship.
There is considerable scholarly debate as to the exact date and location of the battle, though most agree that it took place in southern England sometime around the turn of the sixth century.
Date.
Dates proposed by scholars for the battle include 493, 501 and 516. Daniel McCarthy and Dáibhí Ó Cróinín have posited that Gildas' 44 years and one month is not a reference to the simple chronology but a position within the 84-year Easter cycle used for computus at the time by the Britons and the Irish church. The tables in question begin in January 438, which would place their revised date of the battle in February 482.
Andrew Breeze in a recent book (2020) argues that the Battle of Badon or "Braydon, Wiltshire" happened in 493, basing the date in that Gildas was writing "De Excidio" in 536, in the middle of Extreme weather events of 535–536, because he cited a ‘certain thick mist and black night’ which
‘sits upon the whole island’ of Britain,but not the subsequent famine in the year 537. Breeze also commented that Badon was fought "(...) in southern Britain, was fought in 493 and had nothing to do with Arthur."
Location.
Susan Hirst, Geoffrey Ashe and Michael Wood argue for the site of Liddington Castle on the hill above Badbury (Old English: "Baddan byrig") in Wiltshire. This site commands The Ridgeway, which connects the River Thames with the River Avon and River Severn beyond.
The similarly-named Badbury Rings in Dorset have also been argued to be the location of the battle. Tim and Annette Burkitt have proposed the site of Bath, Somerset on the basis of the Welsh Annals, as well as archaeological and toponymic evidence.
More recently, Andrew Breeze argues that "Badon" must be etymologically Brittonic rather than English (thus eliminating Bath from consideration as its name is entirely Germanic), and that the toponym as given by Gildas ("Badonici Montis") is a misprint of "Bradonici Montis", based on known Celtic place names in Wales and Cornwall. Breeze posits Ringsbury Camp near Braydon in Wiltshire as the location of the battle.
Possible Saxon commander.
Some authors have speculated that Ælle of Sussex may have led the Saxon forces at this battle, while others reject the idea out of hand.
Second Badon.
The A Text of the "Annales Cambriae" includes the entry: "The first celebration of Easter among the Saxons. The second battle of Badon. Morgan dies." The date for this action is given by Phillimore as 665, but the Saxons' first Easter is placed by the B Text in its entry 634 years after the birth of Christ and "the second Badon" is not mentioned.
Local lore.
Apart from the professional scholarship, various communities throughout Wales and England carry on local traditions maintaining that their area was the site of the battle: these include Bathampton Down, which has evidence of Dark Age camps, circumvallation entrenchments, and artillery mounds surrounding it; as does Mynydd Baedan near Maesteg in South Wales (which is the only Mountain amongst these candidates); Badbury Rings at the Kingston Lacy House in Dorset; and Bowden Hill in Wiltshire.


Nanto Shichi Daiji

Nanto Shichi Daiji (南都七大寺), literally "the seven great temples of the southern capital (meaning Nara)", is a historical common name generally referring to the powerful and influential seven Buddhist temples located in Nara. Although there have been some changes as to which temples are included over the years, since there have been fluctuations in power. The following is a list as it stood at the early stage, all of which were originally built by imperial order:
Sometimes the temples were called "the fifteen great temples of the southern capital" too, including other prestigious temples such as Tōshōdai-ji (唐招提寺) and Hokke-ji (法華寺).


Kariya Domain

 was a feudal domain of the Edo period Tokugawa shogunate located in Mikawa Province (modern-day Aichi Prefecture), Japan, what is now part of the modern-day cities of Kariya and Anjō. It was centered on Kariya Castle, which was located in what is now the city of Kariya.
History.
During the Sengoku period, the area of Kariya Domain was part of the territory of Tokugawa Ieyasu’s mother’s family, the Mizuno clan. Ieyasu’s maternal grandfather Mizuno Tadamasa built Kariya Castle. The Mizuno clan shifted allegiances adroitly between the Imagawa clan to Oda Nobunaga and to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who relocated the clan to Ise Province. However, Mizuno Katsunari, the grandson of Tadamasa was allowed to return to the clan’s ancestral territories by Ieyasu after the Battle of Sekigahara. He was later awarded with more lucrative territories in western Japan, and replaced by Mizuno Tadakiyo from another branch of the clan based at Obata Domain in Kōzuke Province. In 1632, he was transferred to nearby Yoshida Domain, and was replaced by Matsudaira Tadafusa to 1647, followed by Matsudaira Sadamasa (from a different branch of the Matsudaira clan) to 1651. The domain was thereafter in the hands of the Inagaki clan, Abe clan, Honda clan, Miura clan and finally the Doi clan from 1734 until the Meiji restoration.
The next-to-last daimyō of Kariya Domain, Doi Toshiyoshi, despite holding several important posts within the administration of the Tokugawa shogunate, gave shelter to the rebels from the Tenchūgumi Incident and was forced to resign. His adopted son Doi Toshinori presided over a domain in a state of civil war between pro-shogunate and pro-"sonnō jōi" forces during the Boshin War and was unable to fulfill his assigned duty to hold Sumpu Castle for the shogunate. After the abolition of the han system in July 1871, the domain became “Kariya Prefecture”, which later became part of Aichi Prefecture.
Kariya Domain was not a single contiguous territory, but consisted of 22 villages in Hekikai District in Mikawa and 11 villages in Date District, Mutsu Province at the time of the Bakumatsu period.
The domain had a population of 19,850 people in 4927 households per the 1870 census. The domain maintained its primary residence (kamiyashiki) in Edo at Akasaka.


Battle of Minatogawa

The Battle of Minatogawa (), also known as the Battle of Minato River, was a battle of the Nanboku-chō Wars fought near the Minato River in Settsu Province (present day Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture) on 5 July 1336.
The Imperial forces loyal to Emperor Go-Daigo led by Kusunoki Masashige and Nitta Yoshisada attempted to intercept the Ashikaga forces led by Ashikaga Takauji in Settsu. The Ashikaga invaded from Kyushu after consolidating their forces at the Battle of Tatarahama and attacked the Imperial force at the Minato River from land and sea. The Imperial force was surrounded and destroyed by Ashikaga, killing Kusunoki and causing Yoshisada to retreat, and allowing the Ashikaga to march to Kyoto.
The Battle of Minatogawa was a major defeat for the Imperial loyalists but became famous in Japanese mythology for the loyalty displayed by Kusunoki to the Emperor in the face of certain death and defeat.
Background.
In February 1336, the defeat of the rebellious Ashikaga clan in the Nanboku-chō Wars forced Ashikaga Takauji to flee the capital Kyoto for the island of Kyushu. With this position of strength, the Imperial general Kusunoki Masashige had attempted to persuade Emperor Go-Daigo to seek peace with the Ashikaga. However, believing that the threat of the Ashikaga clan could be eliminated, Go-Daigo refused and ordered Nitta Yoshisada to assemble the force to defeat the Ashikaga armies. Yoshisada launched his campaign as ordered, but when Akamatsu Norimura sided with the Ashikaga he was led into a protracted siege defending Shirohata Castle in Harima Province. With the Imperial forces distracted by the siege, the Ashikaga had time to regroup and consolidate its forces in Kyushu by winning the Battle of Tatarahama against Imperial loyalists in April. Immediately, Takauji launched the counter-invasion against the Imperial forces, advancing into Honshu by land and sea. Yoshisada was informed of Takauji's advance and ended the siege at Shirohata Castle, attempting to find a better defensive position against the Ashikaga invasion by retreating to Hyogo.
Battle.
Emperor Go-Daigo ordered Kusunoki to gather his force and to reinforce Yoshisada in Settsu despite the strategic flaws of the plan. Kusunoki proposed that the Emperor and Imperial forces hide on Mount Hiei near Kyoto, allowing the Ashikaga to enter the city and attacking from the mountain, trapping them and forcing them to defend the city while harassing their supply route. Go-Daigo rejected the proposal, refusing to leave Kyoto, and after failing to argue for the strategy, Kusunoki ordered his eldest son, Kusunoki Masatsura, back to his domain to continue the war before advancing to successfully join Yoshisada. The Imperial force had no naval force to prevent itself from being surrounded, but chose a defendable position near the Minato River and extended its troop east to attempt to prevent a landing from sea to the south.
The Ashikaga force chose to encircle and destroy the Imperial force. The main land force led by Ashikaga Tadayoshi attacked the Imperials from the west to tie down Masashige, with Shoni Yorihisa launching a side attack from the south and Shiba Takatsune circling from the north to attack from behind. The landing of Hosokawa Jozen further to the east forced Yoshisada to avoid an encirclement by pulling back and Kusunoki was quickly surrounded with Takauji landing his naval force between two Imperial forces without any interference. Abandoned by the main Imperial force, the Kusunoki clan force was quickly overwhelmed and Kusunoki Masashige, his brother Kusunoki Masasue, and all his clansmen were subsequently killed. Yoshisada was forced back to Kyoto which was quickly abandoned as undefendable and Go-Daigo retreated to the religious sanctuary of Mount Hiei, which he had previously refused to do.
The unimpeded force of Ashikaga clan entered Kyoto and enthroned Emperor Kōmyō, beginning the Northern Court-Southern Court rivalry of the Nanboku-chō period as Go-Daigo fled Kyoto to Yoshino.
Cultural Significance.
The Battle of Minatogawa and series of battles are recorded with drama and exaggeration of accounts in Taiheiki, a historical epic which provides the wealth of information known to this period. During the Edo period, Kusunoki, despite only commanding a fraction of the Imperial force, became a figure of loyalty for choosing to sacrifice himself for the Imperial family against the impossible odds, with Tokugawa Mitsukuni writing the epitaph and Minatogawa Shrine consecrated on 24 May 1872 to cement his fame. The battle was commonly taught as a morality tale until the end of World War II, and Captain Goro Nonaka criticized the use of Ohka by 721st Naval Air Group comparing it to this battle as a sign of futility.


Imperial Rule Assistance Political Association

The , abbreviated to "Yokuseikai" or IRAPA, was the political wing of the Imperial Rule Assistance Association and a joint caucus of both the House of Representatives and the House of Peers that existed between 20 May 1942 to 30 March 1945.
In Japanese history, the Imperial Rule Assistance Political Association established the "one country, one party" system.
History.
Although candidates who received the endorsement of the IRAA and its affiliated Imperial Rule Assistance Young Men's Corps won a commanding majority in the elections of 30 April 1942, 85 unendorsed candidates who were critical of Prime Minister Hideki Tojo’s cabinet were also elected. Tojo, who was concerned about this, invited 70 representatives from the political world, the business community, and the press to form the Imperial Rule Assistance Political Consolidation Preparation Committee on 7 May and he appointed as its chairman Masatsune Ogura, a former finance minister from the Sumitomo Group. Afterwards seven more members including five active cabinet members joined. Starting with these 77, a membership list, platform, and rules were announced on 14 May and notes requesting participation in a new proposed organization were sent to prominent men in Japanese society, all the while maintaining the facade of an organization by interested volunteers. However, in reality, the Imperial Rule Assistance Diet Members' League, the IRAA's affiliate in the House of Representatives and parent body of the endorsed candidates in the last election, had simply disbanded and formed the core of the new group. The Home Ministry also revealed its plans to immediately certify the new group's status as a political organization but by contrast to order the dissolution of all other parliamentary caucuses, such as Ichiro Hatoyama’s Fraternity Association and others, which had been formed by the unendorsed candidates after the previous election. No successor groups were recognized, and because of that unless the elected representatives affiliated with the new group, further political activity would be impossible.
And so, from the work of the Imperial Rule Assistance Political Consolidation Preparation Committee, the new Imperial Rule Assistance Political Association was established on 20 May. Its first president was Former Prime Minister Nobuyuki Abe, head of the IRAA’s council to endorse candidates in the last election. Out of the 466 members in the House of Representatives, 458 joined, all of them except two members who were being prosecuted for criminal offenses and six members of the Tohokai group who fought dissolution. Three days later, the Tohokai was also compelled to disband and all of its members ending up being forcibly integrated into the Imperial Rule Assistance Political Association. Even in the House of Peers, where adherence was voluntary and de facto duel membership in pre-existing caucuses was permitted, 326 of the 411 members joined the Imperial Rule Assistance Political Association. However, because the caucuses of the House of Peers were close knit and were not supposed to engage in political activities, and considering the House of Peers’ traditional role since its establishment of defending the interests of the government, Japan had more or less put in place the "one country, one party" system.
The platform of the IRAPA called for the rallying of political forces across the country, close cooperation with the IRAA, and the setting up of the so-called "Imperial Rule Assistance Parliament" uniting all factions. Due to the fact that this platform was swiftly passed without amendment as part of government-sponsored legislation, members of the Imperial Diet were henceforth bound to cooperate in the prosecution of the war. An executive council consisting of 29 members was set up as the organization's highest organ. Non-Diet members such as Aiichiro Fujiyama occupied a majority of the positions, but at the same time the permanent members who conducted proceedings in the Imperial Diet comprised seven members from each house of the legislature. From the House of Representatives Yonezo Maeda, Tadao Oasa, Ryūtarō Nagai, and Tatsunosuke Yamazaki were among those elected and those from the House of Peers included Fumio Gotō, Takuo Godo, Sotaro Ishiwata, and Nagakage Okabe.
Next, in order to accomplish the goal that was held up in the party's platform of establishing an "Imperial Rule Assistance Parliament", broad powers were given to the permanent members of the executive council and Diet members who were critical of the Tojo cabinet including those had just been absorbed from other groups were deprived of their right to speak both within the Diet and within the IRAPA. And yet at the same time, though it was said to preside over an "Imperial Rule Assistance Parliament", the IRAPA also included elements of a "catch-all party", and the Tojo cabinet and the militarists found that it was not always a pliant rubber stamp and would still provoke conflicts with them. Seeking to avoid such conflicts and maintain the facade of national unity, Tojo and the military had no choice but to let the permanent members of the executive council enter the cabinet and to ask for their cooperation while paying heed to their wishes in the decision-making process on domestic policies.
However, factional activity in the House of Representatives soon began to manifest itself mirroring that of old parties such as the Rikken Seiyukai and Rikken Minseito. Conflicts over policy ended up being provoked even by first-time assemblymen who won election in 1942, including members of the Imperial Rule Assistance Young Men's Corps who were a product of the one-party system as well as the established far-right like Bin Akao and Ryoichi Sasakawa who were skeptical about the new system. Furthermore, to avoid promoting disunity the IRAPA did not have its own regional branches, which were instead left to the IRAA, but this meant that campaigning for the next election would not be possible. Although there was agitation for a merger with the local operations of the IRAA, this was quashed by the opposition of Prime Minister Tojo. Then in June 1943, six members of the House of Representatives including Ichiro Hatoyama and Seigo Nakano ended up breaking away from the IRAPA.
Even so, while the Tojo cabinet continued, the "Imperial Rule Assistance Parliament" and the Political Association that supported it kept the system solid for a time. However, in July 1944 Governor-General of Korea Kuniaki Koiso succeeded Tojo as prime minister and when Nobuyuki Abe in turn was appointed Governor-General in place of Koiso, the post of President of the IRAPA fell in August to former Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet Seizo Kobayashi. After that, rents started to develop within the Association. While doubts were being harbored about his leadership skills, Kobayashi was appointed Minister of State by the Koiso cabinet in December 1944 and a restructuring of the IRAPA and IRAA was ordered by Koiso in preparation for the expected invasion of Japan. Koiso and Kobayashi laid out a policy to dissolve the IRAA, the IRAPA, and the Imperial Rule Assistance Young Men's Corps, and to replace them with a new party fully integrating the entire nation, including integration of the regional branches of the IRAA. Although this policy to form a new party was rapidly accepted by a meeting of IRAPA Diet members on 20 January 1945 and was formally announced by President Kobayashi on 12 February, it was opposed by the senior members of the IRAA and Diet members belonging to the Imperial Rule Assistance Young Men's Corps who as minority factions were excluded from the decision-making process.
It then became clear that Nobusuke Kishi, along with dissidents who were dissatisfied with President Kobayashi, was working out a scheme to promote Yosuke Matsuoka as the new president. Because of this, the IRAPA was thrown into turmoil from the inside, and the dissidents along with Diet members of the Imperial Rule Assistance Young Men's Corps who opposed Kobayashi declared their secession one by one. In response, Kobayashi resigned as Minister of State on 1 March and made every effort to mollify his opponents and organize the new party, but at the time of the founding of the new party's preparation committee on 8 March the plan was already in shambles. Diet members of the Imperial Rule Assistance Young Men's Corps said that they would not participate in the IRAPA or it successor and instead formed the Association of Imperial Assistance Dietmen on 10 March and Kishi's dissidents followed suit on 11 March and formed the Association for Defense of the Fatherland. Observing this situation, the House of Peers also decided to opt out of joining the new party and though the IRAPA finally dissolved on 30 March 1945 and was replaced with the Greater Japan Political Association under President Jiro Minami, the "one country, one party" system of the "Imperial Rule Assistance Parliament" had effectively collapsed and Japan would end up losing the war.


Nashikubo ruins

The is an archaeological site containing the ruins of a Jōmon period settlement located in the Osachinashikubo neighborhood of the city of Okaya, Nagano in the Chūbu region of Japan. The site was designated a National Historic Site of Japan in 1984.
Overview.
The Nashikubo site is located on the northern side of the Suwa basin in central Nagano Prefecture at an elevation of 830 to 860 meters. The location is northwest of Lake Suwa and is on an alluvial fan formed by the Jogenjisawa River flowing from the mountains north of Lake Suwa. It was first reported to academia in 1901 and was excavated seven times: in 1918, and from 1949 to 1950 and 1963 and 1969. The site measures approximately 150 meters east-west by 250 meters north-south, with three groups of residences along the contour line of the slope. The foundations of seven pit dwellings from the early Jōmon period (4000–2500 BCE), 58 from the middle Jōmon period (3000–2000 BCE), eight, including four with flagstone floors, from the late Jōmon period (2000–1000 BCE), and 21 from an undetermined period were discovered. The site also included a number of tombs located between the dwellings. The number of tombs found was 485. There is a high probability that the site extends considerably further than what has been excavated to date.
Numerous examples of a distinctive style of Jōmon pottery, decorated with a woven bamboo geometric motif to resemble a basket were found, and this pottery has been named the "Nashikubo style". It dates from the early middle Jōmon period. Grave goods include jade and amber jewelry which originated from the coast of the Sea of Japan in what is now Niigata Prefecture, indicating long-distance trading during the Jōmon period.
The site was backfilled after excavation and is now an empty field. It is located approximately 15 minutes on foot from Okaya Station on the JR Tokai Chūō Main Line railway.