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<i>Bugaku</i>, a court dance accompanied by <i>Gagaku</i> music, is a Japanese traditional dance blending Buddhist and Shinto elements that has been performed to select elites mostly in Japanese imperial courts for over twelve hundred years.<br/><br/> In this way it has been an upper class secret, although after World War II the dance was opened to the public and has even toured around the world in 1959. The dance is marked by its slow, precise and regal movements.<br/><br/> The dancers wear intricate traditional Buddhist costumes, which usually include equally beautiful masks. The music and dance pattern is often repeated several times. It is performed on a square platform, usually 6m by 6m.
Kamamalu Kalan Ku'ana-o-Kamehamalu Kekuaiwa-o-kalani Keali-Ho'opili-a-Walu (1802–1824) was Queen consort of the Kingdom of Hawaii as the wife of King Kamehameha II.<br/><br/> In 1823, Kamehameha II and Kamamalu left the Sandwich Islands for London, arriving there in May 1824 for a state visit with King George IV. In London the royal party were fitted with the latest fashion and attended opera and ballet at the Theatre Royal in Drury Lane. Many ladies of London sought the patterns of the turban that adorned her head. She attracted attention because she stood over six feet tall and was strikingly beautiful. She and her husband were the first Hawaiian monarchs to visit England.<br/><br/> While in London, Kamamalu contracted measles and died on July 8. Six days later her grief-stricken husband also died of the measles.
The Eastern Han, also known as the Later Han, formally began on 5 August 25, when Liu Xiu became Emperor Guangwu of Han.<br/><br/> Luoyang, Henan Province, was established as the Eastern Han capital by the Guangwu Emperor Liu Xiu (25-57 CE).
The Eastern Han, also known as the Later Han, formally began on 5 August 25, when Liu Xiu became Emperor Guangwu of Han.<br/><br/> Luoyang, Henan Province, was established as the Eastern Han capital by the Guangwu Emperor Liu Xiu (25-57 CE).
The Qing dynasty, also called the Empire of the Great Qing, or the Manchu dynasty, was the last imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917.<br/><br/> It was preceded by the Ming dynasty and succeeded by the Republic of China. The Qing multi-cultural empire lasted almost three centuries and formed the territorial base for the modern Chinese state.
Wuwei has a population of around 500,000, mainly Han Chinese, but with visible numbers of Hui as well as Mongols and Tibetans. In earlier times it was called Liangzhou. Dominating the eastern end of the Hexi Corridor, it has long played a significant role on this major trade route.<br/><br/> Wuwei’s most famous historic artefact, the celebrated Han Dynasty (206 BCE - 220 CE) bronze horse known as the Flying Horse of Gansu, was discovered here in a tomb beneath Leitai Temple (Leitai Si) in the north part of town. Although the original is now on display in the Gansu Provincial Museum at Lanzhou, the horse’s likeness – depicted at an elegant, flying gallop, with one hoof briefly resting on the head of a flying swallow – is everywhere to be seen, most notably at the centre of Wuwei’s downtown Wenhua Square.
Wuwei has a population of around 500,000, mainly Han Chinese, but with visible numbers of Hui as well as Mongols and Tibetans. In earlier times it was called Liangzhou. Dominating the eastern end of the Hexi Corridor, it has long played a significant role on this major trade route.<br/><br/> Wuwei’s most famous historic artefact, the celebrated Han Dynasty (206 BCE - 220 CE) bronze horse known as the Flying Horse of Gansu, was discovered here in a tomb beneath Leitai Temple (Leitai Si) in the north part of town. Although the original is now on display in the Gansu Provincial Museum at Lanzhou, the horse’s likeness – depicted at an elegant, flying gallop, with one hoof briefly resting on the head of a flying swallow – is everywhere to be seen, most notably at the centre of Wuwei’s downtown Wenhua Square.
Wat Lok Moli or ‘topknot of the world’ is thought to have been founded by King Ku Na, the 6th king of the Mangrai Dynasty (1263–1578), who ruled the Lan Na Kingdom from Chiang Mai between about 1367 and 1388. It was probably a royal temple, since the northern side of the city was a royal precinct at the time; certainly the sanctuary enjoyed a long and close association with the Mangrai rulers. According to a notice at the south entrance of the temple, King Ku Na invited a group of ten monks from Burma to come and live in Chiang Mai, providing Lok Moli as a residence for them.<br/><br/> The huge chedi that distinguishes Lok Moli was built in 1527, perhaps after the orders of the 11th Mangrai monarch, King Muang Kaeo (1495–1526), but apparently during the first year of the first reign of his younger brother, King Ket Chettharat (1526–1538).
Wat Lok Moli or ‘topknot of the world’ is thought to have been founded by King Ku Na, the 6th king of the Mangrai Dynasty (1263–1578), who ruled the Lan Na Kingdom from Chiang Mai between about 1367 and 1388. It was probably a royal temple, since the northern side of the city was a royal precinct at the time; certainly the sanctuary enjoyed a long and close association with the Mangrai rulers. According to a notice at the south entrance of the temple, King Ku Na invited a group of ten monks from Burma to come and live in Chiang Mai, providing Lok Moli as a residence for them.<br/><br/> The huge chedi that distinguishes Lok Moli was built in 1527, perhaps after the orders of the 11th Mangrai monarch, King Muang Kaeo (1495–1526), but apparently during the first year of the first reign of his younger brother, King Ket Chettharat (1526–1538).
Wat Lok Moli or ‘topknot of the world’ is thought to have been founded by King Ku Na, the 6th king of the Mangrai Dynasty (1263–1578), who ruled the Lan Na Kingdom from Chiang Mai between about 1367 and 1388. It was probably a royal temple, since the northern side of the city was a royal precinct at the time; certainly the sanctuary enjoyed a long and close association with the Mangrai rulers. According to a notice at the south entrance of the temple, King Ku Na invited a group of ten monks from Burma to come and live in Chiang Mai, providing Lok Moli as a residence for them.<br/><br/> The huge chedi that distinguishes Lok Moli was built in 1527, perhaps after the orders of the 11th Mangrai monarch, King Muang Kaeo (1495–1526), but apparently during the first year of the first reign of his younger brother, King Ket Chettharat (1526–1538).
The Diwan-i-Khas, or Hall of Private Audience, is a plain square building with four chhatris on the roof. It is famous for its central pillar, which has a square base and an octagonal shaft, both carved with bands of geometric and floral designs, further its thirty-six serpentine brackets support a circular platform for the Mughal emperor Akbar, which is connected to each corner of the building on the first floor, by four stone walkways. It is here that Akbar had representatives of different religions discuss their faiths and gave private audience.<br/><br/> Fatehpur Sikri (the City of Victory) was built during the second half of the 16th century by the Emperor Akbar ((r. 1556-1605)). It was the capital of the Mughal Empire for 10 years.
Agra Fort was originally a brick fort, held by the Hindu Sikarwar Rajputs. It was mentioned for the first time in 1080 CE when a Ghaznavide force captured it.<br/><br/>Sikandar Lodi (1488–1517) was the first Sultan of Delhi who shifted to Agra and lived in the fort. He governed the country from here and Agra assumed the importance of the second capital.<br/><br/>After the First Battle of Panipat in 1526, Mughals captured the fort. The victorious Babur stayed in the fort in the palace of Ibrahim and built a baoli (step well) in it.<br/><br/>The emperor Humayun was crowned here in 1530. Humayun was defeated at Bilgram in 1540 by Sher Shah Suri. The fort remained with Suris till 1555, when Humayun recaptured it.<br/><br/>The Hindu king Hem Chandra Vikramaditya, also called 'Hemu', defeated Humayun's army, led by Iskandar Khan Uzbek, and won Agra. Hemu got a huge booty from this fort and went on to capture Delhi from the Mughals. The Mughals under Akbar defeated King Hemu finally at the Second Battle of Panipat in 1556.<br/><br/>Realizing the importance of its central situation, Akbar made it his capital and arrived in Agra in 1558. The fort was in a ruined condition and Akbar had it rebuilt with red sandstone, completing it in 1573.<br/><br/>It was only during the reign of Akbar's grandson, Shah Jahan, that the site took on its current state.
Agra Fort was originally a brick fort, held by the Hindu Sikarwar Rajputs. It was mentioned for the first time in 1080 CE when a Ghaznavide force captured it.<br/><br/>Sikandar Lodi (1488–1517) was the first Sultan of Delhi who shifted to Agra and lived in the fort. He governed the country from here and Agra assumed the importance of the second capital.<br/><br/>After the First Battle of Panipat in 1526, Mughals captured the fort. The victorious Babur stayed in the fort in the palace of Ibrahim and built a baoli (step well) in it.<br/><br/>The emperor Humayun was crowned here in 1530. Humayun was defeated at Bilgram in 1540 by Sher Shah Suri. The fort remained with Suris till 1555, when Humayun recaptured it.<br/><br/>The Hindu king Hem Chandra Vikramaditya, also called 'Hemu', defeated Humayun's army, led by Iskandar Khan Uzbek, and won Agra. Hemu got a huge booty from this fort and went on to capture Delhi from the Mughals. The Mughals under Akbar defeated King Hemu finally at the Second Battle of Panipat in 1556.<br/><br/>Realizing the importance of its central situation, Akbar made it his capital and arrived in Agra in 1558. The fort was in a ruined condition and Akbar had it rebuilt with red sandstone, completing it in 1573.<br/><br/>It was only during the reign of Akbar's grandson, Shah Jahan, that the site took on its current state.
Agra Fort was originally a brick fort, held by the Hindu Sikarwar Rajputs. It was mentioned for the first time in 1080 CE when a Ghaznavide force captured it.<br/><br/>Sikandar Lodi (1488–1517) was the first Sultan of Delhi who shifted to Agra and lived in the fort. He governed the country from here and Agra assumed the importance of the second capital.<br/><br/>After the First Battle of Panipat in 1526, Mughals captured the fort. The victorious Babur stayed in the fort in the palace of Ibrahim and built a baoli (step well) in it.<br/><br/>The emperor Humayun was crowned here in 1530. Humayun was defeated at Bilgram in 1540 by Sher Shah Suri. The fort remained with Suris till 1555, when Humayun recaptured it.<br/><br/>The Hindu king Hem Chandra Vikramaditya, also called 'Hemu', defeated Humayun's army, led by Iskandar Khan Uzbek, and won Agra. Hemu got a huge booty from this fort and went on to capture Delhi from the Mughals. The Mughals under Akbar defeated King Hemu finally at the Second Battle of Panipat in 1556.<br/><br/>Realizing the importance of its central situation, Akbar made it his capital and arrived in Agra in 1558. The fort was in a ruined condition and Akbar had it rebuilt with red sandstone, completing it in 1573.<br/><br/>It was only during the reign of Akbar's grandson, Shah Jahan, that the site took on its current state.
Diwan-i-Am or Hall of Public Audience, is a building typology found in many cities where the ruler meets the general public. In this case, it is a pavilion-like multi-bayed rectangular structure fronting a large open space.<br/><br/> Fatehpur Sikri (the City of Victory) was built during the second half of the 16th century by the Emperor Akbar ((r. 1556-1605)). It was the capital of the Mughal Empire for 10 years.
The Diwan-i-Khas, or Hall of Private Audience, is a plain square building with four chhatris on the roof. It is famous for its central pillar, which has a square base and an octagonal shaft, both carved with bands of geometric and floral designs, further its thirty-six serpentine brackets support a circular platform for the Mughal emperor Akbar, which is connected to each corner of the building on the first floor, by four stone walkways. It is here that Akbar had representatives of different religions discuss their faiths and gave private audience.<br/><br/> Fatehpur Sikri (the City of Victory) was built during the second half of the 16th century by the Emperor Akbar ((r. 1556-1605)). It was the capital of the Mughal Empire for 10 years.
The Diwan-i-Khas, or Hall of Private Audience, is a plain square building with four chhatris on the roof. It is famous for its central pillar, which has a square base and an octagonal shaft, both carved with bands of geometric and floral designs, further its thirty-six serpentine brackets support a circular platform for the Mughal emperor Akbar, which is connected to each corner of the building on the first floor, by four stone walkways. It is here that Akbar had representatives of different religions discuss their faiths and gave private audience.<br/><br/> Fatehpur Sikri (the City of Victory) was built during the second half of the 16th century by the Emperor Akbar ((r. 1556-1605)). It was the capital of the Mughal Empire for 10 years.
The Diwan-i-Khas, or Hall of Private Audience, is a plain square building with four chhatris on the roof. It is famous for its central pillar, which has a square base and an octagonal shaft, both carved with bands of geometric and floral designs, further its thirty-six serpentine brackets support a circular platform for the Mughal emperor Akbar, which is connected to each corner of the building on the first floor, by four stone walkways. It is here that Akbar had representatives of different religions discuss their faiths and gave private audience.<br/><br/> Fatehpur Sikri (the City of Victory) was built during the second half of the 16th century by the Emperor Akbar ((r. 1556-1605)). It was the capital of the Mughal Empire for 10 years.
The Diwan-i-Khas, or Hall of Private Audience, is a plain square building with four chhatris on the roof. It is famous for its central pillar, which has a square base and an octagonal shaft, both carved with bands of geometric and floral designs, further its thirty-six serpentine brackets support a circular platform for the Mughal emperor Akbar, which is connected to each corner of the building on the first floor, by four stone walkways. It is here that Akbar had representatives of different religions discuss their faiths and gave private audience.<br/><br/> Fatehpur Sikri (the City of Victory) was built during the second half of the 16th century by the Emperor Akbar ((r. 1556-1605)). It was the capital of the Mughal Empire for 10 years.
Palestine (Arabic: فلسطين‎ Filasṭīn, Falasṭīn, Filisṭīn; Greek: Παλαιστίνη, Palaistinē; Latin: Palaestina; Hebrew: פלשתינה Palestina) is a name given to the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. The region is also known as the Land of Israel (Hebrew: ארץ־ישראל Eretz-Yisra'el), the Holy Land and the Southern Levant.<br/><br/> In 1832 Palestine was conquered by Muhammad Ali's Egypt, but in 1840 Britain intervened and returned control of the Levant to the Ottomans in return for further capitulations. The end of the 19th century saw the beginning of Zionist immigration and the Revival of the Hebrew language. The movement was publicly supported by Great Britain during World War I with the Balfour Declaration of 1917. The British captured Jerusalem a month later, and were formally awarded a mandate in 1922.<br/><br/> In 1947, following World War II and the Holocaust, the British Government announced their desire to terminate the Mandate, and the United Nations General Assembly voted to partition the territory into a Jewish state and an Arab state. The Jewish leadership accepted the proposal but the Arab Higher Committee rejected it; a civil war began immediately, and the State of Israel was declared in 1948.<br/><br/> The 1948 Palestinian exodus, known in Arabic as the Nakba (Arabic: النكبة‎, an-Nakbah, 'The Catastrophe') occurred when approximately 711,000 to 725,000 Palestinian Arabs fled or were expelled from their homes, during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War during which Israel captured and incorporated a further 26% of Palestinian territory.<br/><br/> In the course of the Six Day War in June 1967, Israel captured the remainder of historic Palestine and began a continuing policy of Israeli settlement and annexation.
The Audience Hall was built by King Parakramabahu the Great (1123 - 1186).<br/><br/> Polonnaruwa, the second most ancient of Sri Lanka's kingdoms, was first declared the capital city by King Vijayabahu I, who defeated the Chola invaders in 1070 CE to reunite the country under a national leader.
<i>Sandakada pahana</i> is an elaborately carved semi-circular stone slab, usually placed at the bottom of staircases and entrances and is a unique feature of the Sinhalese architecture of ancient Sri Lanka. It symbolises the cycle of Saṃsāra in Buddhism.<br/><br/> The Audience Hall was built by King Parakramabahu the Great (1123 - 1186).<br/><br/> Polonnaruwa, the second most ancient of Sri Lanka's kingdoms, was first declared the capital city by King Vijayabahu I, who defeated the Chola invaders in 1070 CE to reunite the country under a national leader.
The Audience Hall was built by King Parakramabahu the Great (1123 - 1186).<br/><br/> Polonnaruwa, the second most ancient of Sri Lanka's kingdoms, was first declared the capital city by King Vijayabahu I, who defeated the Chola invaders in 1070 CE to reunite the country under a national leader.
The Audience Hall was built by King Parakramabahu the Great (1123 - 1186).<br/><br/> Polonnaruwa, the second most ancient of Sri Lanka's kingdoms, was first declared the capital city by King Vijayabahu I, who defeated the Chola invaders in 1070 CE to reunite the country under a national leader.
The Audience Hall was built by King Parakramabahu the Great (1123 - 1186).<br/><br/> Polonnaruwa, the second most ancient of Sri Lanka's kingdoms, was first declared the capital city by King Vijayabahu I, who defeated the Chola invaders in 1070 CE to reunite the country under a national leader.
The Audience Hall was built by King Parakramabahu the Great (1123 - 1186).<br/><br/> Polonnaruwa, the second most ancient of Sri Lanka's kingdoms, was first declared the capital city by King Vijayabahu I, who defeated the Chola invaders in 1070 CE to reunite the country under a national leader.
Wuwei has a population of around 500,000, mainly Han Chinese, but with visible numbers of Hui as well as Mongols and Tibetans. In earlier times it was called Liangzhou. Dominating the eastern end of the Hexi Corridor, it has long played a significant role on this major trade route.<br/><br/> Wuwei’s most famous historic artefact, the celebrated Han Dynasty (206 BCE - 220 CE) bronze horse known as the Flying Horse of Gansu, was discovered here in a tomb beneath Leitai Temple (Leitai Si) in the north part of town. Although the original is now on display in the Gansu Provincial Museum at Lanzhou, the horse’s likeness – depicted at an elegant, flying gallop, with one hoof briefly resting on the head of a flying swallow – is everywhere to be seen, most notably at the centre of Wuwei’s downtown Wenhua Square.
In 1855 the British sent a diplomatic mission to the court of King Mindon Min (r.1853-1878). Grant (1813-1880) was sent as the official artist of the mission. Together with a privately-printed book of notes, his drawings give a vivid account of the journey, and a number were used for illustrations to Henry Yule’s ‘A Narrative of the mission sent by the Governor General of India to the Court of Ava in 1855’ published in 1858.<br/><br/> Grant wrote that the audience chamber represented in this painting was 'called ‘Thee-ha-thuna-yàzà-pulleng’, and used only on occasions of importance...the blaze and brilliancy of the colonnaded hall, with its choir and transepts, its elaborately ornate and singular throne, glittering in mosaic and gold...'<br/><br/> Today, little remains of the palace buildings at Amarapura.
Christopher Columbus (c. 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was a navigator, colonizer, and explorer from Genoa, Italy, whose voyages across the Atlantic Ocean led to general European awareness of the American continents in the Western Hemisphere. With his four voyages of exploration and several attempts at establishing a settlement on the island of Hispaniola, all funded by Isabella I of Castile, he initiated the process of Spanish colonization which foreshadowed general European colonization of the 'New World'. Isabella I (22 April 1451 – 26 November 1504) was Queen of Castile and León.
Story-tellers and puppeteers in China entertained city-dwellers with much the same stories that playwrights worked into their dramatic texts. Detail from a fourteenth-century handscroll in ink and colour on paper.
Tokugawa Tsunayoshi (February 23, 1646-February 19, 1709) was the fifth shogun of the Tokugawa dynasty of Japan. He is known for instituting animal protection laws, particularly for dogs. This earned him the nickname of 'dog shogun'.<br/><br/> In 1691, Engelbert Kaempfer visited Edo as part of the annual Dutch embassy from Dejima in Nagasaki. He journeyed from Nagasaki to Osaka, to Kyoto, and there to Edo. Kaempfer gives us information on Japan during the early reign of Tokugawa Tsunayoshi. As the Dutch embassy entered Edo in 1692, they asked to have an audience with Shogun Tsunayoshi. While they were waiting for approval, a fire destroyed six hundred houses in Edo, and the audience was postponed.<br/><br/> Tsunayoshi and several of the ladies of the court sat behind reed screens, while the Dutch embassy sat in front of them. Tsunayoshi took an interest in Western matters, and apparently asked them to talk and sing with one another for him to see how Westerners behaved. Tsunayoshi later put on a <i>No</i> drama for them.