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Japan: 'Shinobazu Pond'. Oil on canvas painting by Odano Naotake (1750-1780), 1770.<br/><br/> Odano Naotake (18 January 1750 - 19 June 1780) was a Japanese painter from Kakunodate. He was a major follower and voice within the Akita ranga/Akita-ha school of painting, a short-lived school that was influenced by Dutch-style painting. It combined traditional Japanese themes and composition with Western-style techniques, such as use of shadows, perspective, reflections in water and oil paints.
Ramiro I (c. 790 – 1 February 850) was King of Asturias from 842 until his death. He was son of King Bermudo I, and became king after the struggle for succession that followed the death of Alfonso II, who died without issue.<br/><br/> Ramiro was a contemporary of Abd ar-Rahman II, Umayyad Emir of Córdoba. During his turbulent reign, the chronicles relate that he had to fend off attacks from both Vikings and Moors.
Alfonso II of Asturias (c. 760 – 842), nicknamed the Chaste, was the king of Asturias during two different periods: first in the year 783 and later from 791 until his death in 842. Upon his death, Nepociano, a family member of undetermined relation, attempted to usurp the crown in place of the future Ramiro I.
Íñigo Arista (c. 790 – 851 or 852) was a Basque leader, considered the first King of Pamplona. He is thought to have risen to prominence after the defeat of local Frankish partisans in 816, and his rule is usually dated from shortly after the defeat of a Carolingian army in 824.
Alfonso I of Asturias (c. 693 – 757) , called the Catholic, was the third King of Asturias, reigning from 739 to his death in 757. His reign saw an extension of the Christian domain of Asturias, reconquering Galicia and León.<br/><br/> He succeeded his brother-in-law Favila, and was succeeded by his son, Fruela I. Alfonso's youngest son, Mauregatus, also became king, and his daughter Adosinda was consort to King Silo of Asturias. The dynasty started by Alfonso was known in contemporary Al-Andalus as the Astur-Leonese dynasty.
Pelagius (Pelayo, Pelayu; c. 685 – 737) was a Visigothic nobleman who founded the Kingdom of Asturias, ruling it from 718 until his death. Through his victory at the Battle of Covadonga, he is credited with beginning the <i>Reconquista</i>, the Christian reconquest of the Iberian peninsula from the Moors. He established an independent Christian state in opposition to Moorish hegemony.
Wamba (VVamba, Vamba; c. 643 – 687 / 688) was the king of the Visigoths from 672 to 680. During his reign, the Visigothic kingdom encompassed all of Hispania and part of southern Gaul known as Septimania.
Suintila, or Swinthila, Svinthila; (c. 588 – 633 / 635) was Visigothic King of Hispania, Septimania and Galicia from 621 to 631. There was a new peace in the Kingdom of the Visigoths. As a direct result, by 624 the king was able to retake those lands that had been under the control of the Eastern Roman Empire. He was a son of Reccared I and wife Bado, and a brother of the general Geila.<br/><br/> It was around Suintila’s time that a secondary form of the word Hispania was growing in usage: Spania, from which the modern name of Spain originated.
Liuvigild, Leuvigild, Leovigild, or Leovigildo (Spanish and Portuguese), (c. 519 – 21 April 586) was a Visigothic King of Hispania and Septimania from 568 to April 21, 586. From 585 he was also King of Galicia. Known for his Codex Revisus or Code of Leovigild, a unifying law allowing equal rights between the Visigothic and Hispano-Roman population, his kingdom covered modern Portugal and most of modern Spain down to Toledo.
Euric (also known as Evaric, or Eurico in Spanish and Portuguese, c. 440 – 28 December 484), son of Theodoric I, ruled as king of the Visigoths, after murdering his brother, Theodoric II, from 466 until his death in 484. Sometimes he is called Euric II.<br/><br/> With his capital at Toulouse, Euric inherited a large portion of the Visigothic possessions in the Aquitaine region of Gaul, an area that had been under Visigothic control since 415. Over the decades the Visigoths had gradually expanded their holdings at the expense of the weak Roman government, including Euric's sieges of Clermont in 475 and 476, as well as advancing well into Hispania in the process.<br/><br/> Upon becoming king, Euric defeated several other Visigothic kings and chieftains in a series of civil wars and soon became the first ruler of a truly unified Visigothic nation. Taking advantage of the Romans' problems, he extended Visigothic power in Hispania. By the time the Western Roman Empire ended in 476 he controlled nearly the entire Iberian peninsula.
Ataulf (also Athavulf, Atawulf, or Athaulf, Latinized as Ataulphus, c. 370 – 15 August 415) was king of the Visigoths from 411 to 415. During his reign, he transformed the Visigothic state from a tribal kingdom to a major political power of Late Antiquity.
Sancha was a daughter of Alfonso V of León by his first wife, Elvira Menéndez. In 1032, Sancha was married to Ferdinand I of León and Castile.<br/><br/> At the Battle of Tamarón in 1037 Ferdinand killed Sancha’s brother Bermudo III of León, making Sancha the heir and allowing Ferdinand to have himself crowned King of León, Sancha thereby became Queen.
Ferdinand I (c. 1015 – 24 December 1065), called the Great (<i>el Magno</i>), was the Count of Castile from his uncle's death in 1029 and the King of León after defeating his brother-in-law in 1037.<br/><br/> According to tradition, he was the first to have himself crowned Emperor of Spain (1056), and his heirs carried on the tradition. While Ferdinand inaugurated the rule of the Navarrese Jiménez dynasty over western Spain, his rise to preeminence among the Christian rulers of the peninsula shifted the locus of power and culture westward after more than a century of Leonese decline.
Ramiro I (bef. 1007 – 8 May 1063) was the first King of Aragon from 1035 until his death. Apparently born before 1007, he was the illegitimate son of Sancho III of Pamplona by his mistress Sancha of Aybar.
Alfonso V (994 – 7 August 1028), called the Noble, was King of León from 999 to 1028. Enough is known of him to justify the belief that he had some of the qualities of a soldier and a statesman.<br/><br/> Like other kings of León, Alfonso used the title emperor to assert his standing among the Christian rulers of Spain. He succeeded his father, Bermudo II, in 999. His mother Elvira García and count Menendo González, who raised him in Galicia, acted as his co-regents. Upon the count's death in 1008, Alfonso ruled on his own.
Fernán González (died 970) was the first autonomous count of Castile, son of Gonzalo Fernández de Burgos, who had been named count of Arlanza and the Duero around the year 900.<br/><br/> Fernán González was a colourful character of legendary status in Iberia, and founder of the dynasty that would rule a semi-autonomous Castile, laying the foundations for its status as an independent kingdom.
Ramiro II (c. 900 – 1 January 951), son of Ordoño II, was a King of León from 931 until his death. Initially titular king only of a lesser part of the kingdom, he gained the crown of León (and with it, Galicia) after supplanting his brother Alfonso IV and cousin Alfonso Fróilaz in 931.
Ordoño II (c. 873 – June 924) was a king of Galicia from 910, and king of Galicia and León from 914 until his death. He was an energetic and feisty ruler who fought successfully against the Muslims, who still dominated most of the Iberian Peninsula at that time.
Alfonso III (c. 848 – 20 December 910), called the Great, was the king of León, Galicia and Asturias from 866 until his death. He was the son and successor of Ordoño I. In later sources he is the earliest to be called 'Emperor of Spain'.
Wilfred or Wifred, called the Hairy, (died 11 August 897) was Count of Urgell (from 870), Cerdanya (from 870), Barcelona (from 878), Girona (from 878, as Wilfred II), Besalú (from 878) and Ausona (from 886). On his death in 897, his son, Wilfred Borrell, inherited these Catalan counties.
Ordoño I (c. 821 – 27 May 866) was King of Asturias from 850 until his death. He was born in Oviedo, where he spent his early life in the court of Alfonso II. He died in Oviedo and was succeeded by his eldest son, Alfonso III.
Okumura Masanobu (1686 – 13 March 1764) was a Japanese print designer, book publisher, and painter. He also illustrated novelettes and in his early years wrote some fiction.<br/><br/> At first his work adhered to the Torii school, but later drifted beyond that. He is a figure in the formative era of ukiyo-e doing early works on actors and <i>bijin-ga</i> ('pictures of beautiful women').
This fragmentary drawing of artillery on the move may have been a study for wall-paintings showing an army on the march. The large carriage-mounted cannons are drawn by bullock teams and pushed from behind by the royal elephants.<br/><br/> Master gunners, mainly European mercenaries, sit on each cannon giving directions. Elephants were widely used for extreme lifting and pushing, and heaving the artillery along was all in their day’s work.
George Adams, the Younger (1750 - 1795), son of George Adams (c. 1709 - 1773), was the author of a number of influential scientific works, including <i>Essays on the Microscope</i>, <i>Astronomical and Geographical Essays</i> and <i>Lectures on Natural and Experimental Philosophy</i>. He was also a globe maker.
Jacques Nicolas Bellin (1703 – 21 March 1772) was a French hydrographer, geographer, and member of the French intellectual group called the <i>philosophes</i>.<br/><br/> Asia's smallest and least-known nation, the Republic of Maldives, lies scattered from north to south across a 750-kilometre sweep of the Indian Ocean 500 kilometres south-west of Sri Lanka. More than 1000 islands, together with innumerable banks and reefs, are grouped in a chain of nineteen atolls which extends from a point due west of Colombo to just south of the equator.
According to oral tradition, tea has been grown in China for more than four millennia. The earliest written accounts of tea making, however, date from around 350 CE, when it first became a drink at the imperial court.<br/><br/> Around 800 CE tea seeds were taken to Japan, where regular cultivation was soon established. Just over five centuries later, in 1517, tea was first shipped to Europe by the Portuguese soon after they began their trade with China. In 1667 the Honourable East India Company ordered the first British shipment of tea from China, requesting of their agents ‘one hundred pounds weight of the best tey that you can get’.<br/><br/> In 1826 the Dutch bought seeds from Japan for cultivation in their growing East Indian Empire, supplementing this effort in 1833 by imports of seeds, workers and implements from China. Meanwhile, also in the 1830s, the East India Company began growing tea on an experimental basis in Assam – the first one hundred boxes of Assamese tea reached Britain in 1840, and found a ready market.<br/><br/> About the same time, tea seedlings were transplanted from Assam to Sri Lanka and planted in the highlands around Kandy. By the beginning of the present century tea was very much in fashion, with plantations established as far afield as Vietnam in Southeast Asia, Georgia in Europe, Natal, Malawi, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique in Africa, Argentina, Brazil and Peru in South America, and Queensland in Australia. Despite this proliferation, however, Sri Lanka remains the largest producer of tea in the world today, with the fragrant black leaf the mainstay of its economy.
According to oral tradition, tea has been grown in China for more than four millennia. The earliest written accounts of tea making, however, date from around 350 CE, when it first became a drink at the imperial court.<br/><br/> Around 800 CE tea seeds were taken to Japan, where regular cultivation was soon established. Just over five centuries later, in 1517, tea was first shipped to Europe by the Portuguese soon after they began their trade with China. In 1667 the Honourable East India Company ordered the first British shipment of tea from China, requesting of their agents ‘one hundred pounds weight of the best tey that you can get’.<br/><br/> In 1826 the Dutch bought seeds from Japan for cultivation in their growing East Indian Empire, supplementing this effort in 1833 by imports of seeds, workers and implements from China. Meanwhile, also in the 1830s, the East India Company began growing tea on an experimental basis in Assam – the first one hundred boxes of Assamese tea reached Britain in 1840, and found a ready market.<br/><br/> About the same time, tea seedlings were transplanted from Assam to Sri Lanka and planted in the highlands around Kandy. By the beginning of the present century tea was very much in fashion, with plantations established as far afield as Vietnam in Southeast Asia, Georgia in Europe, Natal, Malawi, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique in Africa, Argentina, Brazil and Peru in South America, and Queensland in Australia. Despite this proliferation, however, Sri Lanka remains the largest producer of tea in the world today, with the fragrant black leaf the mainstay of its economy.
A mahout is an elephant rider, trainer, or keeper. Usually, a mahout starts as a boy in the family profession when he is assigned an elephant early in its life. Mahout and elephant remain bonded to each other throughout their lives.
According to oral tradition, tea has been grown in China for more than four millennia. The earliest written accounts of tea making, however, date from around 350 CE, when it first became a drink at the imperial court.<br/><br/> Around 800 CE tea seeds were taken to Japan, where regular cultivation was soon established. Just over five centuries later, in 1517, tea was first shipped to Europe by the Portuguese soon after they began their trade with China. In 1667 the Honourable East India Company ordered the first British shipment of tea from China, requesting of their agents ‘one hundred pounds weight of the best tey that you can get’.<br/><br/> In 1826 the Dutch bought seeds from Japan for cultivation in their growing East Indian Empire, supplementing this effort in 1833 by imports of seeds, workers and implements from China. Meanwhile, also in the 1830s, the East India Company began growing tea on an experimental basis in Assam – the first one hundred boxes of Assamese tea reached Britain in 1840, and found a ready market.<br/><br/> About the same time, tea seedlings were transplanted from Assam to Sri Lanka and planted in the highlands around Kandy. By the beginning of the present century tea was very much in fashion, with plantations established as far afield as Vietnam in Southeast Asia, Georgia in Europe, Natal, Malawi, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique in Africa, Argentina, Brazil and Peru in South America, and Queensland in Australia. Despite this proliferation, however, Sri Lanka remains the largest producer of tea in the world today, with the fragrant black leaf the mainstay of its economy.
According to oral tradition, tea has been grown in China for more than four millennia. The earliest written accounts of tea making, however, date from around 350 CE, when it first became a drink at the imperial court.<br/><br/> Around 800 CE tea seeds were taken to Japan, where regular cultivation was soon established. Just over five centuries later, in 1517, tea was first shipped to Europe by the Portuguese soon after they began their trade with China. In 1667 the Honourable East India Company ordered the first British shipment of tea from China, requesting of their agents ‘one hundred pounds weight of the best tey that you can get’.<br/><br/> In 1826 the Dutch bought seeds from Japan for cultivation in their growing East Indian Empire, supplementing this effort in 1833 by imports of seeds, workers and implements from China. Meanwhile, also in the 1830s, the East India Company began growing tea on an experimental basis in Assam – the first one hundred boxes of Assamese tea reached Britain in 1840, and found a ready market.<br/><br/> About the same time, tea seedlings were transplanted from Assam to Sri Lanka and planted in the highlands around Kandy. By the beginning of the present century tea was very much in fashion, with plantations established as far afield as Vietnam in Southeast Asia, Georgia in Europe, Natal, Malawi, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique in Africa, Argentina, Brazil and Peru in South America, and Queensland in Australia. Despite this proliferation, however, Sri Lanka remains the largest producer of tea in the world today, with the fragrant black leaf the mainstay of its economy.
Jaipur is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. It was founded on 18 November 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber, after whom the city was named. The city today has a population of 3.1 million. Jaipur is known as the Pink City of India.<br/><br/> The city is remarkable among pre-modern Indian cities for the width and regularity of its streets which are laid out into six sectors separated by broad streets 34 m (111 ft) wide. The urban quarters are further divided by networks of gridded streets. Five quarters wrap around the east, south, and west sides of a central palace quarter, with a sixth quarter immediately to the east. The Palace quarter encloses the sprawling Hawa Mahal palace complex, formal gardens, and a small lake. Nahargarh Fort, which was the residence of the King Sawai Jai Singh II, crowns the hill in the northwest corner of the old city. The observatory, Jantar Mantar, is a World Heritage Site.
Jaipur is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. It was founded on 18 November 1727 by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II, the ruler of Amber, after whom the city was named. The city today has a population of 3.1 million. Jaipur is known as the Pink City of India.<br/><br/> The city is remarkable among pre-modern Indian cities for the width and regularity of its streets which are laid out into six sectors separated by broad streets 34 m (111 ft) wide. The urban quarters are further divided by networks of gridded streets. Five quarters wrap around the east, south, and west sides of a central palace quarter, with a sixth quarter immediately to the east. The Palace quarter encloses the sprawling Hawa Mahal palace complex, formal gardens, and a small lake. Nahargarh Fort, which was the residence of the King Sawai Jai Singh II, crowns the hill in the northwest corner of the old city. The observatory, Jantar Mantar, is a World Heritage Site.
Suzuki Harunobu (鈴木 春信4, 1724 – July 7, 1770) was a Japanese woodblock print artist, one of the most famous in the Ukiyo-e style. He was an innovator, the first to produce full-color prints (nishiki-e) in 1765, rendering obsolete the former modes of two- and three-color prints.<br/><br/> Harunobu used many special techniques, and depicted a wide variety of subjects, from classical poems to contemporary beauties (bijin, bijin-ga). Like many artists of his day, Harunobu also produced a number of shunga, or erotic images.<br/><br/> During his lifetime and shortly afterwards, many artists imitated his style. A few, such as Harushige, even boasted of their ability to forge the work of the great master. Much about Harunobu's life is unknown.
Suzuki Harunobu (鈴木 春信4, 1724 – July 7, 1770) was a Japanese woodblock print artist, one of the most famous in the Ukiyo-e style. He was an innovator, the first to produce full-color prints (nishiki-e) in 1765, rendering obsolete the former modes of two- and three-color prints.<br/><br/> Harunobu used many special techniques, and depicted a wide variety of subjects, from classical poems to contemporary beauties (bijin, bijin-ga). Like many artists of his day, Harunobu also produced a number of shunga, or erotic images.<br/><br/> During his lifetime and shortly afterwards, many artists imitated his style. A few, such as Harushige, even boasted of their ability to forge the work of the great master. Much about Harunobu's life is unknown. The popular expression 'to jump off the stage at Kiyomizu' is the Japanese equivalent of the English expression 'to take the plunge'. This refers to an Edo period tradition that held that, if one were to survive a 13m jump from the stage, one's wish would be granted. Two hundred and thirty-four jumps were recorded in the Edo period and, of those, 85.5% survived. The practice is now prohibited.
Suzuki Harunobu (鈴木 春信4, 1724 – July 7, 1770) was a Japanese woodblock print artist, one of the most famous in the Ukiyo-e style. He was an innovator, the first to produce full-color prints (nishiki-e) in 1765, rendering obsolete the former modes of two- and three-color prints.<br/><br/> Harunobu used many special techniques, and depicted a wide variety of subjects, from classical poems to contemporary beauties (bijin, bijin-ga). Like many artists of his day, Harunobu also produced a number of shunga, or erotic images.<br/><br/> During his lifetime and shortly afterwards, many artists imitated his style. A few, such as Harushige, even boasted of their ability to forge the work of the great master. Much about Harunobu's life is unknown.
Tonle Sap, Cambodia's great lake, is famous for its floating villages of (mainly) ethnic Vietnamese fisherfolk. In this Dutch engraving the 'floating village' is imagined by the engraver to be a single unit floating on a giant barge-like boat, complete with a house with smoking chimmney.<br/><br/> In reality, of course, each house in a Cambodian 'floating village' is detached and floats independently. An interesting examples of early (1750) Orientalism.
Begum Nur Jahan (Persian/Urdu: نور جہاں ) (alternative spelling Noor Jahan, Nur Jehan, Nor Jahan, etc.) (1577–1645), also known as Mehr-un-Nisaa, was an Empress of the Mughal Dynasty that ruled much of the Indian subcontinent. She was an aunt of Empress Mumtaz Mahal, Emperor Shah Jahan's wife for whom the Taj Mahal was constructed.<br/><br/> Begum Nur Jahan was the twentieth and favourite wife of Mughal Emperor Jahangir, who was her second husband - and the most famous Empress of the Mughal Empire. The story of the couple's infatuation for each other and the relationship that abided between them is the stuff of many (often apocryphal) legends.<br/><br/> She remains historically significant for the sheer amount of imperial authority she wielded - the true 'power behind the throne', as Jehangir was battling serious addictions to alcohol and opium throughout his reign - and is known as one of the most powerful women who ruled India.
In Hinduism, Mahadevi (Sanskrit: Mahādevī, Devanagari: महादेवी) or 'Great Goddess' is a term used to denote the Goddess or Devi that is the sum of all other Devis - an all encompassing Female Deity as the consort or complement to an all encompassing Male Deity (Deva) or the Ultimate Reality (Brahman) in Shaktism.
Vishnu (Sanskrit विष्णु Viṣṇu) is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God.<br/><br/> The Vishnu Sahasranama declares Vishnu as Paramatma (supreme soul) and Parameshwara (supreme God). It describes Vishnu as the All-Pervading essence of all beings, the master of - and beyond - the past, present and future, one who supports, sustains and governs the Universe and originates and develops all elements within. Vishnu governs the aspect of preservation and sustenance of the universe, so he is called 'Preserver of the Universe'.<br/><br/> In the Puranas, Vishnu is described as having the divine colour of water filled clouds, four-armed, holding a lotus, mace, conch (shankha) and chakra (wheel). Vishnu is also described in the Bhagavad Gita as having a 'Universal Form' (Vishvarupa) which is beyond the ordinary limits of human perception or imagination.<br/><br/> Pahari painting (literal meaning 'a painting from the mountainous regions', pahar meaning 'mountain' in Hindi) is an umbrella term used for a form of Indian painting, originating from Himalayan Hill kingdoms of North India, during 17th-19th century. Notably Basohli, Mankot, Nurpur, Chamba, Kangra, Guler, Mandi, and Garhwal, and was done mostly in miniature forms.
The Qianlong Emperor (Chinese pinyin: Qianlong Di; Wade–Giles: Chien-lung Ti) was the sixth emperor of the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty, and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. The fourth son of the Yongzheng Emperor, he reigned officially from 11 October 1736 to 7 February 1795. On 8 February (the first day of that lunar year), he abdicated in favor of his son, the Jiaqing Emperor - a filial act in order not to reign longer than his grandfather, the illustrious Kangxi Emperor. Despite his retirement, however, he retained ultimate power until his death in 1799. Although his early years saw the continuity of an era of prosperity in China, he held an unrelentingly conservative attitude. As a result, the Qing Dynasty's comparative decline began later in his reign.
Nishiki-e (lit. 'brocade picture') refers to Japanese multi-colored woodblock printing; this technique is used primarily in ukiyo-e ('pictures of the floating world'). It was invented in the 1760s, and perfected and popularized by the printmaker Suzuki Harunobu, who produced a great many nishiki-e prints between 1765 and his death five years later. Previously, most prints had been in black-and-white, colored by hand, or colored with the addition of one or two color ink blocks. A nishiki-e print is created by carving a separate woodblock for every color, and using them in a stepwise fashion. An engraver by the name of Kinroku is credited with the technical innovations that allowed so many blocks of separate colors to fit perfectly onto the page where they ought to, relative to one another, in order to create a single complete image.
Samurai is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. By the end of the 12th century, samurai became almost entirely synonymous with bushi, and the word was closely associated with the middle and upper echelons of the warrior class.<br/><br/> The samurai followed a set of rules that came to be known as Bushidō. While they numbered less than ten percent of Japan's population, samurai teachings can still be found today in both everyday life and in martial arts such as Kendō, meaning the way of the sword.
The Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie or VOC in Dutch, literally &quot;United East Indian Company&quot;) was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia. It was the first multinational corporation in the world and the first company to issue stock. It was also arguably the world's first megacorporation, possessing quasi-governmental powers, including the ability to wage war, negotiate treaties, coin money, and establish colonies. It ceased to function in 1798.
Murad Bey (c. 1750 – 1801) was an Egyptian Mamluk chieftain (Bey), cavalry commander and joint ruler of Egypt with Ibrahim Bey. He was of Georgian origin having been born inTbilisi. Following his defeat at the hands of Napoleon's armies at the Battle of the Pyramids, Murad fled to Upper Egypt, mounting a brief guerrilla campaign that staved off Desaix for a year. In 1800, Murad made peace with Jean Baptiste Kléber, and agreed to garrison Cairo, but died of bubonic plague on his journey there.
Hormuz Island (also spelled Hormoz) is an Iranian island in the Persian Gulf. It is located in the Straits of Hormuz and is part of the Hormozgān Province. It has an area of 42 km² (16 square miles).<br/><br/> Hormuz Island was once part of the Portuguese Empire. The island was conquered by the Portuguese explorer Afonso de Albuquerque in the Capture of Ormuz. There is a historic Portuguese fortress on Hormuz Island, the Fort of Our Lady of the Conception. The island was then captured by a combined Anglo-Persian force in 1622 in the Capture of Ormuz.
Russell Sturgis (1750 - 1826) was the second son of Thomas Sturgis, Jr. (1722-1785), and Sarah Paine, of Barnstable, Massachusetts. He married Elizabeth Perkins (1756-1843), daughter of James Perkins (d. 1773), on November 11, 1773. Her grandfather was the Boston merchant and fur trader Thomas Handasyd Perkins, with whom Sturgis apprenticed at age sixteen, then worked as a hatter and furrier. Sturgis served as lieutenant of the Boston regiment of the Massachusetts militia in August and September 1778, and from 1787-1792 served under John Johnston as first lieutenant in Boston.<br/><br/> Sturgis's brothers-in-law, James Perkins (1761-1822) and Thomas Handasyd Perkins (1765-1854), were notable China traders. In 1795 Sturgis joined them in ownership of a new ship, the Grand Turk, which was sent to Canton in March 1796. When the Perkins brothers opened a branch office in Canton (now Guangzhou) in 1803, Sturgis invested substantially, and three of Sturgis's sons subsequently voyaged to China. In 1818 all three were involved in the opium trade as partners in the firm of James P. Sturgis and Company.<br/><br/> Sturgis was also active in Boston public affairs. From 1790-1796 he was a fire warden; in 1792 he was elected to a committee to assess a smallpox outbreak; and he served as Boston selectman from 1796-1797 and 1799-1802. He represented Boston in the Massachusetts state senate in 1801, and ran unsuccessfully as the Republican candidate for state senator in 1805.
The Safavid dynasty (Persian: سلسلهٔ صفويان; Azerbaijani: صفویلر) was one of the most significant ruling dynasties of Iran. They ruled one of the greatest Persian empires since the Muslim conquest of Persia and established the Twelver school of Shi'a Islam as the official religion of their empire, marking one of the most important turning points in Muslim history. The Safavids ruled from 1501 to 1722 (experiencing a brief restoration from 1729 to 1736) and at their height, they controlled all of modern Islamic Republic of Iran, Republic of Azerbaijan and Republic of Armenia, most of Iraq, Georgia, Afghanistan, and the Caucasus, as well as parts of Pakistan, Turkmenistan and Turkey. Safavid Iran was one of the Islamic 'gunpowder empires', along with its neighbours, the Ottoman and Mughal empires.<br/><br/> The Safavid dynasty had its origin in the Safaviyya Sufi order, which was established in the city of Ardabil in the Azerbaijan region. It was of mixed ancestry (Kurdish and Azerbaijani, which included intermarriages with Georgian and Pontic Greek dignitaries). From their base in Ardabil, the Safavids established control over all of Greater Iran and reasserted the Iranian identity of the region, thus becoming the first native dynasty since the Sassanid Empire to establish a unified Iranian state.<br/><br/> Despite their demise in 1736, the legacy that they left behind was the revival of Persia as an economic stronghold between East and West, the establishment of an efficient state and bureaucracy based upon 'checks and balances', their architectural innovations and their patronage for fine arts. The Safavids have also left their mark down to the present era by spreading Shi'a Islam in Iran, as well as major parts of the Caucasus, South Asia, Central Asia, and Anatolia.
The Qianlong Emperor (Chinese pinyin: Qianlong Di; Wade–Giles: Chien-lung Ti) was the sixth emperor of the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty, and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. The fourth son of the Yongzheng Emperor, he reigned officially from 11 October 1736 to 7 February 1795. On 8 February (the first day of that lunar year), he abdicated in favor of his son, the Jiaqing Emperor - a filial act in order not to reign longer than his grandfather, the illustrious Kangxi Emperor. Despite his retirement, however, he retained ultimate power until his death in 1799. Although his early years saw the continuity of an era of prosperity in China, he held an unrelentingly conservative attitude. As a result, the Qing Dynasty's comparative decline began later in his reign.
The Qianlong Emperor (Chinese pinyin: Qianlong Di; Wade–Giles: Chien-lung Ti) was the sixth emperor of the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty, and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. The fourth son of the Yongzheng Emperor, he reigned officially from 11 October 1736 to 7 February 1795. On 8 February (the first day of that lunar year), he abdicated in favor of his son, the Jiaqing Emperor - a filial act in order not to reign longer than his grandfather, the illustrious Kangxi Emperor. Despite his retirement, however, he retained ultimate power until his death in 1799. Although his early years saw the continuity of an era of prosperity in China, he held an unrelentingly conservative attitude. As a result, the Qing Dynasty's comparative decline began later in his reign.