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The Hermitage of San Baudelio de Berlanga (Ermita de San Baudelio de Berlanga) is an early 11th-century church at Caltojar in the province of Soria, Spain, 80 km south of Berlanga de Duero. It is an example of Mozarabic architecture and was built in the 11th century, in what was then the frontier between Islamic and Christian lands. It is dedicated to Saint Baudilus or Baudel.<br/><br/> The hermitage housed many fine Romanesque frescoes from about 1125; most of these have been removed, but some have remained. Two sections, transferred to canvas, are now in the Indianapolis Museum of Art, showing the Entry of Christ into Jerusalem and the Wedding at Cana.<br/><br/> The paintings were done by the Catalan Master of Tahull (Taüll in Catalan), whose best known works are in Sant Climent de Taüll and the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya in Barcelona, with two other painters. The frescoes include that of a camel and of a war elephant, which were inspired by Muslim motifs.
The Ramayana is a story as old as time and - at least in the Indian subcontinent and across much of Southeast Asia - of unparalleled popularity. More than two thousand three hundred years ago the scholar-poet Valmiki sat down to write his definitive epic of love and war.<br/><br/> The poem Valmiki composed is styled the Ramayana, or 'Romance of Rama' in Sanskrit. In its present form, the Sanskrit version consists of some 24,000 couplets divided into seven books.<br/><br/> The Ramakien is the Thai version of this epic and has an important influence on Thai literature, art and drama. It is regarded as the National Epic of Thailand.<br/><br/> Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha); full official name Wat Phra Si Rattana Satsadaram is regarded as the most sacred Buddhist temple in Thailand. It is located within the precincts of the Grand Palace.<br/><br/> The Grand Palace served as the official residence of the Kings of Thailand from the 18th century onwards. Construction of the Palace began in 1782, during the reign of King Rama I, when he moved the capital across the river from Thonburi to Bangkok.
The Ramayana is a story as old as time and - at least in the Indian subcontinent and across much of Southeast Asia - of unparalleled popularity. More than two thousand three hundred years ago the scholar-poet Valmiki sat down to write his definitive epic of love and war.<br/><br/> The poem Valmiki composed is styled the Ramayana, or 'Romance of Rama' in Sanskrit. In its present form, the Sanskrit version consists of some 24,000 couplets divided into seven books.<br/><br/> The Ramakien is the Thai version of this epic and has an important influence on Thai literature, art and drama. It is regarded as the National Epic of Thailand.<br/><br/> Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha); full official name Wat Phra Si Rattana Satsadaram is regarded as the most sacred Buddhist temple in Thailand. It is located within the precincts of the Grand Palace.<br/><br/> The Grand Palace served as the official residence of the Kings of Thailand from the 18th century onwards. Construction of the Palace began in 1782, during the reign of King Rama I, when he moved the capital across the river from Thonburi to Bangkok.
In 1592, Nanda Bayin ordered his son Minchit Sra to attack Ayutthaya. The Siamese army, under King Naresuan, met the Burmese army at Nong Sarai on Monday 18 January, 1593.<br/><br/> The personal battle between Naresuan and Minchit Sra is now a highly-romanticised historical scene known as Yuddhahatthi, the Elephant battle. After narrowly missing Naresuan and cutting his head, Minchit Sra was slashed to death on the back of his elephant. This was on Monday, the 2nd waning day of the 2nd month of the Buddhist calendar Chulasakarat Era year 954. Calculated to correspond to Monday, 18 January, AD 1593 of the Gregorian calendar, this date is now observed as Royal Thai Armed Forces day.
When Queen Chamadevi's great war elephant, Blacky Purple died, it was buried with great honour beneath a chedi which still stands near Lamphun railway station. Here, too, can be seen monuments to Chamadevi's swiftest horse, her favourite cat, and a special cockerel ‘which crowed so loud and shrill that it could clearly be heard as far as Lopburi’.<br/><br/> Blacky Purple's monument, known locally as Ku Chang, is the most impressive of these monuments. The tall black chedi and neighbouring shrine are cluttered with wooden, plaster and stone elephants of every size and description. Fresh bananas and sugar cane are brought for the spirit of Blacky Purple every morning, and the frequent visitors offer lao khao (white liquor), pigs' heads, candles, incense and yellow chrysanthemum flowers.<br/><br/> Lamphun was the capital of the small but culturally rich Mon Kingdom of Haripunchai from about 750 AD to the time of its conquest by King Mangrai (the founder of Chiang Mai) in 1281.
Somdet Phra Naresuan Maharat, or Somdet Phra Sanphet II (1555 - 1605) was King of the Ayutthaya Kingdom from 1590 until his death in 1605. Naresuan was one of Siam's most revered monarchs as he was known for his campaigns to free Siam from Burmese rule. During his reign numerous wars were fought against Burma, and Siam reached its greatest territorial extent and influence.
A war elephant was an elephant trained and guided by humans for combat. Their main use was to charge the enemy, trampling them and breaking their ranks. A division of war elephants is known as elephantry.<br/><br/> They were probably first employed in India, the practice spreading out across south-east Asia and westwards into the Mediterranean. Their most famous use in the West was by the Greek general Pyrrhus of Epirus and in great numbers by the armies of Carthage, especially under Hannibal.<br/><br/> War Elephants were widely used in Southeast Asia, notably in warfare between Siam and Burma.
The Bayon was originally the official state temple of the Mahayana Buddhist King Jayavarman VII. The Bayon, at the centre of Angkor Thom (Great City), was established in the 12th century by King Jayavarman VII.<br/><br/> Angkor Thom, meaning ‘The Great City’, is located one mile north of Angkor Wat. It was built in the late 12th century CE by King Jayavarman VII, and covers an area of 9 km², within which are located several monuments from earlier eras as well as those established by Jayavarman and his successors. It is believed to have sustained a population of 80,000-150,000 people.<br/><br/> At the centre of the city is Jayavarman's state temple, the Bayon, with the other major sites clustered around the Victory Square immediately to the north.<br/><br/> Angkor Thom was established as the capital of Jayavarman VII's empire, and was the centre of his massive building programme. One inscription found in the city refers to Jayavarman as the groom and the city as his bride.<br/><br/> Angkor Thom seems not to be the first Khmer capital on the site, however, as Yasodharapura, dating from three centuries earlier, was centred slightly further northwest.<br/><br/> The last temple known to have been constructed in Angkor Thom was Mangalartha, which was dedicated in 1295. In the following centuries Angkor Thom remained the capital of a kingdom in decline until it was abandoned some time prior to 1609.
A war elephant was an elephant trained and guided by humans for combat. Their main use was to charge the enemy, trampling them and breaking their ranks. A division of war elephants is known as elephantry.<br/><br/> They were probably first employed in India, the practice spreading out across south-east Asia and westwards into the Mediterranean. Their most famous use in the West was by the Greek general Pyrrhus of Epirus and in great numbers by the armies of Carthage, especially under Hannibal.<br/><br/> War Elephants were widely used in Southeast Asia, notably in warfare between Siam and Burma.
French expeditioner Garnier wrote: “In the grand square of Oubon, this remarkable sculptured wooden elephant saddle is preserved. On both sides of the cage there are two shields to protect the fighters and two quivers to hold the arrows and the lances. The back piece is richly sculpted with many roses and arabesques encrusted with small pieces of silvered and colored glass and precious stones.”
In 1592, Nanda Bayin ordered his son Minchit Sra to attack Ayutthaya. The Siamese army, under King Naresuan, met the Burmese army at Nong Sarai on Monday 18 January, 1593.<br/><br/> The personal battle between Naresuan and Minchit Sra is now a highly-romanticised historical scene known as Yuddhahatthi, the Elephant battle. After narrowly missing Naresuan and cutting his head, Minchit Sra was slashed to death on the back of his elephant. This was on Monday, the 2nd waning day of the 2nd month of the Buddhist calendar Chulasakarat Era year 954. Calculated to correspond to Monday, 18 January, AD 1593 of the Gregorian calendar, this date is now observed as Royal Thai Armed Forces day.
Probably born in Venice around 1254 CE, Marco Polo was raised by his aunt and uncle after his mother died. His father, Niccolo, was a Venetian merchant who left before Marco was born to trade in the Middle East. Niccolo and his brother Maffeo passed through much of Asia and met with Mongol emperor Kublai Khan who reportedly invited them to be ambassadors. In 1269, Niccolo and Maffeo returned to Venice, meeting Marco for the first time.<br/><br/> In 1271, Marco Polo, aged 17, with his father and his uncle, set off for Asia, travelling through Constantinople, Baghdad, Persia, Kashgar, China and Burma. They returned to Venice 24 years and 15,000 miles later with many riches. Upon their return, Venice was at war with Genoa, and Marco Polo was imprisoned. He spent the few months of his imprisonment dictating his adventures to a fellow inmate, Rustichello da Pisa, who incorporated the tales into a book he called 'The Travels of Marco Polo'. The book documented the use of paper money and the burning of coal, and opened European eyes to the wonders of the East.
Somdet Phra Naresuan Maharat, or Somdet Phra Sanphet II (1555 - 1605) was King of the Ayutthaya Kingdom from 1590 until his death in 1605. Naresuan was one of Siam's most revered monarchs as he was known for his campaigns to free Siam from Burmese rule. During his reign numerous wars were fought against Burma, and Siam reached its greatest territorial extent and influence.
Wat Pa Daet (วัดป่าแดด), the name – ‘sunlit woodland’ – indicates this was formerly a forest temple. A walled enclosure contains a viharn, sala and ho trai or library, while just outside stands an ubosot in traditional northern style, surrounded by a narrow moat.<br/><br/> The viharn dates from 1877 and was painstakingly restored in the mid-1980s. Decorated in black and gold, the three-tiered roof sweeps low in typical Lan Na style, with elaborate winged gables supporting flaring naga. The steps leading to the portico are guarded by Burmese-style chinthe lions and naga-makara balustrades, with the chinthe emerging from the makara mouths, an unusual synthesis found elsewhere in the Mae Chaem Valley as well as at the ho trai of Wat Phra Singh in Chiang Mai.<br/><br/> Within the viharn, after passing beneath gilded eyebrow pelmets, are a series of relatively well-preserved late 19th century murals, some of which appear to have been restored, while others are fading almost completely away due perhaps to salinity in the plaster. Of particular interest are panels showing northern Thai women with their long tresses, quite different to Bangkok fashions of the time, and a Buddha birth-scene, northern Thai style, with women crowding around Gautama’s mother as she gives birth standing upright, holding on to the branches of a tree.<br/><br/> Tucked away in a narrow valley, Mae Chaem (แม่แจ่ม) must rank as one of the least accessible corners of Chiang Mai. Located on the westernmost frontier of the province, it is isolated from the main Chiang Mai valley by the East Thanon Thongchai Range dominated by Doi Inthanon (ดอยอินทนนท์; at 2,565m Thailand’s highest mountain), and from neighbouring Mae Hong Son province to the west by the Central Thanon Thongchai Range, including Doi Khun Bong (ดอยขุนบง; 1,772m).
The Trưng Sisters (c. 12 - AD 43), known in Vietnamese as Hai Bà Trưng (literally 'the two Trưng Ladies'), and individually as Trưng Trắc and Trưng Nhị, were two first century Vietnamese women leaders who successfully rebelled against Chinese Han-Dynasty rule for three years, and are regarded as national heroines of Vietnam. The sisters were born in Northern Vietnam, the dates of their birth are unknown, but Trưng Trắc was older than Trưng Nhị. The exact date of their death is also unknown but both died in AD 43.<br/><br/> Dong Ho painting (Vietnamese: Tranh Đông Hồ or Tranh làng Hồ), full name Dong Ho folk woodcut painting (Tranh khắc gỗ dân gian Đông Hồ) is a genre of Vietnamese woodcut paintings originating from Dong Ho village (làng Đông Hồ) in Bac Ninh Province, Vietnam.<br/><br/> Using the traditional điệp paper and colours derived from nature, craftsmen print Dong Ho pictures of different themes from good luck wishes, historical figures to everyday activities and folk allegories. In the past, Dong Ho painting was an essential element of the Tết holiday in Vietnam.
In 1592, Nanda Bayin ordered his son Minchit Sra to attack Ayutthaya. The Siamese army, under King Naresuan, met the Burmese army at Nong Sarai on Monday 18 January, 1593.<br/><br/> The personal battle between Naresuan and Minchit Sra is now a highly-romanticised historical scene known as Yuddhahatthi, the Elephant battle. After narrowly missing Naresuan and cutting his head, Minchit Sra was slashed to death on the back of his elephant. This was on Monday, the 2nd waning day of the 2nd month of the Buddhist calendar Chulasakarat Era year 954. Calculated to correspond to Monday, 18 January, AD 1593 of the Gregorian calendar, this date is now observed as Royal Thai Armed Forces day.
In 1592, Nanda Bayin ordered his son Minchit Sra to attack Ayutthaya. The Siamese army, under King Naresuan, met the Burmese army at Nong Sarai on Monday 18 January, 1593.<br/><br/> The personal battle between Naresuan and Minchit Sra is now a highly-romanticised historical scene known as Yuddhahatthi, the Elephant battle. After narrowly missing Naresuan and cutting his head, Minchit Sra was slashed to death on the back of his elephant. This was on Monday, the 2nd waning day of the 2nd month of the Buddhist calendar Chulasakarat Era year 954. Calculated to correspond to Monday, 18 January, AD 1593 of the Gregorian calendar, this date is now observed as Royal Thai Armed Forces day.