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Siyavash is a major figure in Ferdowsi's epic, the <i>Shahnameh</i> (or <i>Shahnama</i>).<br/><br/> He was a legendary Iranian prince from the earliest days of the Iranian Empire. A handsome and desirable young man, his name literally means 'the one with the black horse' or 'black stallion.
The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum is a museum in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. The site is a former high school which was used as the notorious Security Prison 21 (S-21) by the Khmer Rouge communist regime from its rise to power in 1975 to its fall in 1979. Tuol Sleng means 'Hill of the Poisonous Trees' or 'Strychnine Hill'.<br/><br/> The Khmer Rouge, or Communist Party of Kampuchea, ruled Cambodia from 1975 to 1979, led by Pol Pot, Nuon Chea, Ieng Sary, Son Sen and Khieu Samphan. It is remembered primarily for its brutality and policy of social engineering which resulted in millions of deaths. Its attempts at agricultural reform led to widespread famine, while its insistence on absolute self-sufficiency, even in the supply of medicine, led to the deaths of thousands from treatable diseases (such as malaria). Brutal and arbitrary executions and torture carried out by its cadres against perceived subversive elements, or during purges of its own ranks between 1976 and 1978, are considered to have constituted a genocide. Several former Khmer Rouge cadres are currently on trial for war crimes in Phnom Penh.
The Gajapati Dynasty was established in Orissa by Kapilendra Deva in 1435, after the fall of the last Eastern Ganga king, Bhanudeva IV. The dynasty is also known as a Suryavamsi dynasty. In about 1450, Kapilendra Deva installed his eldest son, Hamira, as the governor of Rajamundry and Kondavidu. <br/><br/> During Kapilendra Deva's reign, Sarala Dasa, the Oriya poet, wrote the Oriya Mahabharata and his other works.
Dhutanga (Known in Thai as 'Thudong') is a group of thirteen austerities, or ascetic practices, most commonly observed by Forest Monastics of the Theravada Tradition of Buddhism.<br/><br/> All Forest Monks will observe at least one of the dhutanga austerities. The dhutanga austerities are meant to deepen the practice of meditation and assist in living the Holy Life. Their aim is to help the practitioner to develop detachment with material things including the body.<br/><br/> King Mengrai founded the city of Chiang Mai (meaning 'new city') in 1296, and it succeeded Chiang Rai as capital of the Lanna kingdom. Chiang Mai sometimes written as 'Chiengmai' or 'Chiangmai', is the largest and most culturally significant city in northern Thailand.
Dhutanga (Known in Thai as 'Thudong') is a group of thirteen austerities, or ascetic practices, most commonly observed by Forest Monastics of the Theravada Tradition of Buddhism.<br/><br/> All Forest Monks will observe at least one of the dhutanga austerities. The dhutanga austerities are meant to deepen the practice of meditation and assist in living the Holy Life. Their aim is to help the practitioner to develop detachment with material things including the body.<br/><br/> King Mengrai founded the city of Chiang Mai (meaning 'new city') in 1296, and it succeeded Chiang Rai as capital of the Lanna kingdom. Chiang Mai sometimes written as 'Chiengmai' or 'Chiangmai', is the largest and most culturally significant city in northern Thailand.
Dhutanga (Known in Thai as 'Thudong') is a group of thirteen austerities, or ascetic practices, most commonly observed by Forest Monastics of the Theravada Tradition of Buddhism.<br/><br/> All Forest Monks will observe at least one of the dhutanga austerities. The dhutanga austerities are meant to deepen the practice of meditation and assist in living the Holy Life. Their aim is to help the practitioner to develop detachment with material things including the body.<br/><br/> King Mengrai founded the city of Chiang Mai (meaning 'new city') in 1296, and it succeeded Chiang Rai as capital of the Lanna kingdom. Chiang Mai sometimes written as 'Chiengmai' or 'Chiangmai', is the largest and most culturally significant city in northern Thailand.
Dhutanga (Known in Thai as 'Thudong') is a group of thirteen austerities, or ascetic practices, most commonly observed by Forest Monastics of the Theravada Tradition of Buddhism.<br/><br/> All Forest Monks will observe at least one of the dhutanga austerities. The dhutanga austerities are meant to deepen the practice of meditation and assist in living the Holy Life. Their aim is to help the practitioner to develop detachment with material things including the body.<br/><br/> King Mengrai founded the city of Chiang Mai (meaning 'new city') in 1296, and it succeeded Chiang Rai as capital of the Lanna kingdom. Chiang Mai sometimes written as 'Chiengmai' or 'Chiangmai', is the largest and most culturally significant city in northern Thailand.
Dhutanga (Known in Thai as 'Thudong') is a group of thirteen austerities, or ascetic practices, most commonly observed by Forest Monastics of the Theravada Tradition of Buddhism.<br/><br/> All Forest Monks will observe at least one of the dhutanga austerities. The dhutanga austerities are meant to deepen the practice of meditation and assist in living the Holy Life. Their aim is to help the practitioner to develop detachment with material things including the body.<br/><br/> King Mengrai founded the city of Chiang Mai (meaning 'new city') in 1296, and it succeeded Chiang Rai as capital of the Lanna kingdom. Chiang Mai sometimes written as 'Chiengmai' or 'Chiangmai', is the largest and most culturally significant city in northern Thailand.
Dhutanga (Known in Thai as 'Thudong') is a group of thirteen austerities, or ascetic practices, most commonly observed by Forest Monastics of the Theravada Tradition of Buddhism.<br/><br/> All Forest Monks will observe at least one of the dhutanga austerities. The dhutanga austerities are meant to deepen the practice of meditation and assist in living the Holy Life. Their aim is to help the practitioner to develop detachment with material things including the body.<br/><br/> King Mengrai founded the city of Chiang Mai (meaning 'new city') in 1296, and it succeeded Chiang Rai as capital of the Lanna kingdom. Chiang Mai sometimes written as 'Chiengmai' or 'Chiangmai', is the largest and most culturally significant city in northern Thailand.
Dhutanga (Known in Thai as 'Thudong') is a group of thirteen austerities, or ascetic practices, most commonly observed by Forest Monastics of the Theravada Tradition of Buddhism.<br/><br/> All Forest Monks will observe at least one of the dhutanga austerities. The dhutanga austerities are meant to deepen the practice of meditation and assist in living the Holy Life. Their aim is to help the practitioner to develop detachment with material things including the body.<br/><br/> King Mengrai founded the city of Chiang Mai (meaning 'new city') in 1296, and it succeeded Chiang Rai as capital of the Lanna kingdom. Chiang Mai sometimes written as 'Chiengmai' or 'Chiangmai', is the largest and most culturally significant city in northern Thailand.
Dhutanga (Known in Thai as 'Thudong') is a group of thirteen austerities, or ascetic practices, most commonly observed by Forest Monastics of the Theravada Tradition of Buddhism.<br/><br/> All Forest Monks will observe at least one of the dhutanga austerities. The dhutanga austerities are meant to deepen the practice of meditation and assist in living the Holy Life. Their aim is to help the practitioner to develop detachment with material things including the body.<br/><br/> King Mengrai founded the city of Chiang Mai (meaning 'new city') in 1296, and it succeeded Chiang Rai as capital of the Lanna kingdom. Chiang Mai sometimes written as 'Chiengmai' or 'Chiangmai', is the largest and most culturally significant city in northern Thailand.
Dhutanga (Known in Thai as 'Thudong') is a group of thirteen austerities, or ascetic practices, most commonly observed by Forest Monastics of the Theravada Tradition of Buddhism.<br/><br/> All Forest Monks will observe at least one of the dhutanga austerities. The dhutanga austerities are meant to deepen the practice of meditation and assist in living the Holy Life. Their aim is to help the practitioner to develop detachment with material things including the body.<br/><br/> King Mengrai founded the city of Chiang Mai (meaning 'new city') in 1296, and it succeeded Chiang Rai as capital of the Lanna kingdom. Chiang Mai sometimes written as 'Chiengmai' or 'Chiangmai', is the largest and most culturally significant city in northern Thailand.
Dhutanga (Known in Thai as 'Thudong') is a group of thirteen austerities, or ascetic practices, most commonly observed by Forest Monastics of the Theravada Tradition of Buddhism.<br/><br/> All Forest Monks will observe at least one of the dhutanga austerities. The dhutanga austerities are meant to deepen the practice of meditation and assist in living the Holy Life. Their aim is to help the practitioner to develop detachment with material things including the body.<br/><br/> King Mengrai founded the city of Chiang Mai (meaning 'new city') in 1296, and it succeeded Chiang Rai as capital of the Lanna kingdom. Chiang Mai sometimes written as 'Chiengmai' or 'Chiangmai', is the largest and most culturally significant city in northern Thailand.
Dhutanga (Known in Thai as 'Thudong') is a group of thirteen austerities, or ascetic practices, most commonly observed by Forest Monastics of the Theravada Tradition of Buddhism.<br/><br/> All Forest Monks will observe at least one of the dhutanga austerities. The dhutanga austerities are meant to deepen the practice of meditation and assist in living the Holy Life. Their aim is to help the practitioner to develop detachment with material things including the body.<br/><br/> King Mengrai founded the city of Chiang Mai (meaning 'new city') in 1296, and it succeeded Chiang Rai as capital of the Lanna kingdom. Chiang Mai sometimes written as 'Chiengmai' or 'Chiangmai', is the largest and most culturally significant city in northern Thailand.
Dhutanga (Known in Thai as 'Thudong') is a group of thirteen austerities, or ascetic practices, most commonly observed by Forest Monastics of the Theravada Tradition of Buddhism.<br/><br/> All Forest Monks will observe at least one of the dhutanga austerities. The dhutanga austerities are meant to deepen the practice of meditation and assist in living the Holy Life. Their aim is to help the practitioner to develop detachment with material things including the body.<br/><br/> King Mengrai founded the city of Chiang Mai (meaning 'new city') in 1296, and it succeeded Chiang Rai as capital of the Lanna kingdom. Chiang Mai sometimes written as 'Chiengmai' or 'Chiangmai', is the largest and most culturally significant city in northern Thailand.
Dhutanga (Known in Thai as 'Thudong') is a group of thirteen austerities, or ascetic practices, most commonly observed by Forest Monastics of the Theravada Tradition of Buddhism.<br/><br/> All Forest Monks will observe at least one of the dhutanga austerities. The dhutanga austerities are meant to deepen the practice of meditation and assist in living the Holy Life. Their aim is to help the practitioner to develop detachment with material things including the body.<br/><br/> King Mengrai founded the city of Chiang Mai (meaning 'new city') in 1296, and it succeeded Chiang Rai as capital of the Lanna kingdom. Chiang Mai sometimes written as 'Chiengmai' or 'Chiangmai', is the largest and most culturally significant city in northern Thailand.
Mughal painting is a particular style of Indian painting, generally confined to illustrations on the book and done in miniatures, which emerged, developed and took shape during the period of the Mughal Empire (16th-9th centuries).<br/><br/> Mughal paintings were a unique blend of Indian, Persian and Islamic styles. Because the Mughal kings wanted visual records of their deeds as hunters and conquerors, their artists accompanied them on military expeditions or missions of state, or recorded their prowess as animal slayers, or depicted them in the great dynastic ceremonies of marriages.<br/><br/> Akbar's reign (1556–1605) ushered a new era in Indian miniature painting. After he had consolidated his political power, he built a new capital at Fatehpur Sikri where he collected artists from India and Persia. He was the first morarch who established in India an atelier under the supervision of two Persian master artists, Mir Sayyed Ali and Abdus Samad. Earlier, both of them had served under the patronage of Humayun in Kabul and accompanied him to India when he regained his throne in 1555. More than a hundred painters were employed, most of whom were Hindus from Gujarat, Gwalior and Kashmir, who gave a birth to a new school of painting, popularly known as the Mughal School of miniature Paintings.
Bashohli (Basoli) is a town in the Kathua district of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is situated on the right bank of the Ravi River at an altitude of 1876 ft. and was founded by Raja Bhupat Pal in 1635.<br/><br/> The town is famous for its paintings called Basohli Paintings. They are considered the first school of Pahari paintings, which by the mid-eighteenth century had evolved into the prolific Kangra school of painting.
Indian painting has a very long tradition and history in Indian art. The earliest Indian paintings were the rock paintings of pre-historic times, the petroglyphs as found in places like Bhimbetka, some of them from before 5500 BC. India's Buddhist literature is replete with examples of texts which describe palaces of kings and the aristocratic class embellished with paintings, but the paintings of the Ajanta Caves are the most significant of the few survivals.<br/><br/> Smaller scale painting in manuscripts was probably also practised in this period, though the earliest survivals are from the medieval period. Mughal painting represented a fusion of the Persian miniature with older Indian traditions, and from the 17th century its style was diffused across Indian princely courts of all religions, each developing a local style. Company paintings were made for British clients under the British raj, which from the 19th century also introduced art schools along Western lines, leading to modern Indian painting, which is increasingly returning to its Indian routes.<br/><br/> Indian paintings provide an aesthetic continuum that extends from the early civilization to the present day. From being essentially religious in purpose in the beginning, Indian painting has evolved over the years to become a fusion of various cultures and traditions.
The revenge of the Forty-seven Ronin (四十七士 Shi-jū-shichi-shi), also known as the Forty-seven Samurai, the Akō vendetta, or the Genroku Akō incident (元禄赤穂事件 Genroku akō jiken) took place in Japan at the start of the 18th century. One noted Japanese scholar described the tale as the country's 'national legend'. It recounts the most famous case involving the samurai code of honor, bushidō.<br/><br/> The story tells of a group of samurai who were left leaderless (becoming ronin) after their daimyo (feudal lord) Asano Naganori was forced to commit seppuku (ritual suicide) for assaulting a court official named Kira Yoshinaka, whose title was Kōzuke no suke. The ronin avenged their master's honor after patiently waiting and planning for two years to kill Kira.<br/><br/> In turn, the ronin were themselves ordered to commit seppuku for committing the crime of murder. With much embellishment, this true story was popularized in Japanese culture as emblematic of the loyalty, sacrifice, persistence, and honor that all good people should preserve in their daily lives. The popularity of the almost mythical tale was only enhanced by rapid modernization during the Meiji era of Japanese history, when it is suggested many people in Japan longed for a return to their cultural roots.<br/><br/> Fictionalized accounts of these events are known as Chūshingura. The story was popularized in numerous plays including bunraku and kabuki. Because of the censorship laws of the shogunate in the Genroku era, which forbade portrayal of current events, the names of the ronin were changed.
The Tacuinum (sometimes Taccuinum) Sanitatis is a medieval handbook on health and wellbeing, based on the Taqwim al‑sihha تقويم الصحة ('Maintenance of Health'), an eleventh-century Arab medical treatise by Ibn Butlan of Baghdad.<br/><br/> Ibn Butlân was a Christian physician born in Baghdad and who died in 1068. He sets forth the six elements necessary to maintain daily health: food and drink, air and the environment, activity and rest, sleep and wakefulness, secretions and excretions of humours, changes or states of mind (happiness, anger, shame, etc). According to Ibn Butlân, illnesses are the result of changes in the balance of some of these elements, therefore he recommended a life in harmony with nature in order to maintain or recover one’s health.<br/><br/> Ibn Butlân also teaches us to enjoy each season of the year, the consequences of each type of climate, wind and snow. He points out the importance of spiritual wellbeing and mentions, for example, the benefits of listening to music, dancing or having a pleasant conversation.<br/><br/> Aimed at a cultured lay audience, the text exists in several variant Latin versions, the manuscripts of which are characteristically profusely illustrated. The short paragraphs of the treatise were freely translated into Latin in mid-thirteenth-century Palermo or Naples, continuing an Italo-Norman tradition as one of the prime sites for peaceable inter-cultural contact between the Islamic and European worlds.<br/><br/> Four handsomely illustrated complete late fourteenth-century manuscripts of the Taccuinum, all produced in Lombardy, survive, in Vienna, Paris, Liège and Rome, as well as scattered illustrations from others, as well as fifteenth-century codices.
The ancient oasis town of Kuqa (Kuche), though now overshadowed by Korla to the east and Aksu to the west, was once a key stop on the Northern Silk Road. It first came under Han Chinese control when it was conquered, in 91AD, by the indomitable General Ban Chao.<br/><br/> By the 4th century it had emerged as an important centre of Tocharian civilisation sitting astride not just the Northern Silk Road, but also lesser routes to Dzungaria in the north and Khotan in the south. The celebrated Buddhist monk Kumarajiva was born here, and travelled west on the Silk Road to study in Kashmir before returning east, to Wuwei, where he taught and translated Buddhist texts for 17 years.
Herbert Ponting's 1907 photograph is captioned 'a fakir in Benares' (Varanasi), India. However, it is far more likely this depicts a Hindu sannyasin since Varanasi is the holiest city in Hinduism where large numbers of ascetics gather.
Ragamala Paintings are a series of illustrative paintings from medieval India based on Ragamala or the 'Garland of Ragas', depicting various Indian musical nodes, Ragas. They stand as a classical example of the amalgamation of art, poetry and classical music in medieval India. Ragamala paintings were created in most schools of Indian painting, starting in the 16th and 17th centuries and are today named accordingly, as Pahari Ragamala, Rajasthan or Rajput Ragamala, Deccan Ragamala, and Mughal Ragamala.
The Kingdom of Champasak (1713-1946) was a kingdom in southern Laos that broke away from the Lan Xang kingdom in 1713. The Kingdom of Champasak prospered at the beginning the 18th century, but it was reduced to a vassal state of Siam before the century had passed. Under French rule the kingdom became an administrative block with its royalty stripped of many of its privileges. The Kingdom of Champasak was abolished in 1946 when the Kingdom of Laos was formed.
Peranakan Chinese and Baba-Nyonya are terms used for the descendants of late 15th and 16th-century Chinese immigrants to the Malay-Indonesian archipelago of Nusantara during the Colonial era.<br/><br/> Members of this community in Malaysia identify themselves as 'Nyonya-Baba' or 'Baba-Nyonya'. Nyonya is the term for the females and Baba for males. It applies especially to the ethnic Chinese populations of the British Straits Settlements of Malaya and the Dutch-controlled island of Java and other locations, who adopted partially or in full Malay-Indonesian customs to become partially assimilated into the local communities.<br/><br/> While the term Peranakan is most commonly used among the ethnic Chinese for those of Chinese descent also known as Straits Chinese (土生華人; named after the Straits Settlements), it may also be applied to the Baba-Yaya community in Phuket and other provinces of southern Thailand.
Peranakan Chinese and Baba-Nyonya are terms used for the descendants of late 15th and 16th-century Chinese immigrants to the Malay-Indonesian archipelago of Nusantara during the Colonial era.<br/><br/> Members of this community in Malaysia identify themselves as 'Nyonya-Baba' or 'Baba-Nyonya'. Nyonya is the term for the females and Baba for males. It applies especially to the ethnic Chinese populations of the British Straits Settlements of Malaya and the Dutch-controlled island of Java and other locations, who adopted partially or in full Malay-Indonesian customs to become partially assimilated into the local communities.<br/><br/> While the term Peranakan is most commonly used among the ethnic Chinese for those of Chinese descent also known as Straits Chinese (土生華人; named after the Straits Settlements), it may also be applied to the Baba-Yaya community in Phuket and other provinces of southern Thailand.
The Ashta-Nayika is a collective name for eight types of nayikas or heroines as classified by Bharata in his Sanskrit treatise on performing arts, the Natya Shastra. The eight nayikas represent eight different states (avastha) in relationship to her hero or nayaka. As archetypal states of the romantic heroine, it has long been used as theme in Indian painting, literature, sculpture as well as Indian classical dance.
Philip Adolphe Klier was a German photographer best known for his photographs of colonial Burma / Myanmar. By 1871 he was a professional photographer in Moulmein, Burma. His business included work as an optician, watchmaker, and jeweller as well running the firm known as Murken & Klier.<br/><br/> Around 1880 Klier moved to Rangoon, Burma‘s largest city. In the wake of the conquest of the Irrawaddy Delta by the British in 1852, Rangoon had become the center of Indo-British power. Klier worked independently until 1885 when he went into partnership with J. Jackson. By 1890 the partnership was dissolved and Klier became an independent again.
The Ashta-Nayika is a collective name for eight types of nayikas or heroines as classified by Bharata in his Sanskrit treatise on performing arts, the Natya Shastra. The eight nayikas represent eight different states (avastha) in relationship to her hero or nayaka. As archetypal states of the romantic heroine, it has long been used as theme in Indian painting, literature, sculpture as well as Indian classical dance.
Pierre Sonnerat (1748-1814) was a French naturalist and explorer who made several voyages to southeast Asia between 1769 and 1781. He published this two-volume account of his voyage of 1774-81 in 1782. <br/><br/> Volume 1 deals exclusively with India, whose culture Sonnerat very much admired, and is especially noteworthy for its extended discussion of religion in India, Hinduism in particular. The book is illustrated with engravings based on Sonnerat’s drawings. Among the most interesting illustrations are Sonnerat’s pictures of various Hindu deities.
Peranakan Chinese and Baba-Nyonya are terms used for the descendants of late 15th and 16th-century Chinese immigrants to the Malay-Indonesian archipelago of Nusantara during the Colonial era.<br/><br/> Members of this community in Malaysia identify themselves as 'Nyonya-Baba' or 'Baba-Nyonya'. Nyonya is the term for the females and Baba for males. It applies especially to the ethnic Chinese populations of the British Straits Settlements of Malaya and the Dutch-controlled island of Java and other locations, who adopted partially or in full Malay-Indonesian customs to become partially assimilated into the local communities.<br/><br/> While the term Peranakan is most commonly used among the ethnic Chinese for those of Chinese descent also known as Straits Chinese (土生華人; named after the Straits Settlements), it may also be applied to the Baba-Yaya community in Phuket and other provinces of southern Thailand.
Gold Scythian bed hangings, 4th century BCE. Museum of Historical Treasures of Ukraine, Kiev. Image released to the press in 2009.<br/><br/> The Scythians were an ancient Iranian people of horse-riding nomadic pastoralists who throughout Classical Antiquity dominated the Pontic-Caspian steppe, known at the time as Scythia. By Late Antiquity the closely-related Sarmatians came to dominate the Scythians in the west.