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Bullfighting, in some form or another, has been present in Spain since Roman times. Seville has played a key role in the development of the controversial bloodsport over the intervening centuries.
Italy: The 16th century Praetorian Fountain (Fontana Pretoria), Piazza Pretoria, Palermo, Sicily. The Praetorian Fountain is located in the heart of the historic centre of Palermo and represents the most important landmark of Piazza Pretoria. The fountain was originally built by Francesco Camilliani (1530 - 1586), a Tuscan sculptor, in the city of Florence in 1554, but was transferred to Palermo in 1574
Italy: The 16th century Praetorian Fountain (Fontana Pretoria), Piazza Pretoria, Palermo, Sicily. The Praetorian Fountain is located in the heart of the historic centre of Palermo and represents the most important landmark of Piazza Pretoria. The fountain was originally built by Francesco Camilliani (1530 - 1586), a Tuscan sculptor, in the city of Florence in 1554, but was transferred to Palermo in 1574
Italy: The 16th century Praetorian Fountain (Fontana Pretoria), Piazza Pretoria, Palermo, Sicily. The Praetorian Fountain is located in the heart of the historic centre of Palermo and represents the most important landmark of Piazza Pretoria. The fountain was originally built by Francesco Camilliani (1530 - 1586), a Tuscan sculptor, in the city of Florence in 1554, but was transferred to Palermo in 1574
The Entente Cordiale was a series of agreements signed on 8 April 1904 between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the French Third Republic which saw a significant improvement in Anglo-French relations.<br/><br/> Beyond the immediate concerns of colonial expansion addressed by the agreement, the signing of the Entente Cordiale marked the end of almost a hundred years of intermittent conflict between the two states and their predecessors, and replaced the modus vivendi that had existed since the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 with a more formal agreement.
The Rt Hon Sir Austen Henry Layard GCB (5 March 1817 – 5 July 1894) was an English traveller, archaeologist, cuneiformist, art historian, draughtsman, collector, author, politician and diplomat, best known as the excavator of Nimrud and of Niniveh, where he uncovered a large proportion of the Assyrian palace reliefs known, and in 1851 the library of Ashurbanipal.
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa (Asian rice) or Oryza glaberrima (African rice). As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in Asia and the West Indies.<br/><br/> Rice is the most important grain with regard to human nutrition and caloric intake, providing more than one fifth of the calories consumed worldwide by the human species.<br/><br/> There are many varieties of rice and culinary preferences tend to vary regionally. For example in India, there is a saying that 'grains of rice should be like two brothers, close but not stuck together', while in the Far East there is a preference for softer, stickier varieties.<br/><br/> Because of its importance as a staple food, rice has considerable cultural importance. For example, rice is first mentioned in the Yajur Veda and then is frequently referred to in Sanskrit texts. Rice is often directly associated with prosperity and fertility, therefore there is the custom of throwing rice at weddings.
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa (Asian rice) or Oryza glaberrima (African rice). As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in Asia and the West Indies.<br/><br/> Rice is the most important grain with regard to human nutrition and caloric intake, providing more than one fifth of the calories consumed worldwide by the human species.<br/><br/> There are many varieties of rice and culinary preferences tend to vary regionally. For example in India, there is a saying that 'grains of rice should be like two brothers, close but not stuck together', while in the Far East there is a preference for softer, stickier varieties.<br/><br/> Because of its importance as a staple food, rice has considerable cultural importance. For example, rice is first mentioned in the Yajur Veda and then is frequently referred to in Sanskrit texts. Rice is often directly associated with prosperity and fertility, therefore there is the custom of throwing rice at weddings.
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa (Asian rice) or Oryza glaberrima (African rice). As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in Asia and the West Indies.<br/><br/> Rice is the most important grain with regard to human nutrition and caloric intake, providing more than one fifth of the calories consumed worldwide by the human species.<br/><br/> There are many varieties of rice and culinary preferences tend to vary regionally. For example in India, there is a saying that 'grains of rice should be like two brothers, close but not stuck together', while in the Far East there is a preference for softer, stickier varieties.<br/><br/> Because of its importance as a staple food, rice has considerable cultural importance. For example, rice is first mentioned in the Yajur Veda and then is frequently referred to in Sanskrit texts. Rice is often directly associated with prosperity and fertility, therefore there is the custom of throwing rice at weddings.
Nandi or Nandin (Tamil: நந்தி Sanskrit: नंदी) is the name for the bull which serves as the mount (Sanskrit: vāhana) of Shiva and as the gate keeper of Shiva and Parvati in Hindu mythology.<br/><br/> Temples venerating Shiva and Parvati display stone images of a seated Nandi, generally facing the main shrine. There are also a number of temples dedicated solely to Nandi.
The Rt Hon Sir Austen Henry Layard GCB (5 March 1817 – 5 July 1894) was an English traveller, archaeologist, cuneiformist, art historian, draughtsman, collector, author, politician and diplomat, best known as the excavator of Nimrud and of Niniveh, where he uncovered a large proportion of the Assyrian palace reliefs known, and in 1851 the library of Ashurbanipal.
India: 'Shiva Bearing the Descent of the Ganges River'. Watercolour folio from a Hindi manuscript by the saint Narayan, c. 1740. Shiva bearing the descent of the Ganges River as Parvati and Bhagiratha and the bull Nandi look on. Told and retold in the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and several Puranas, the story begins with a sage, Kapila, whose intense meditation has been disturbed by the sixty thousand sons of King Sagara. Livid at being disturbed, Kapila sears them with his angry gaze, reduces them to ashes, and dispatches them to the netherworld.
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), Islamic State (IS), and by its Arabic language acronym Daesh, is a Salafi jihadist militant group that follows a fundamentalist, Wahhabi doctrine of Sunni Islam.<br/><br/> The group has been designated a terrorist organisation by the United Nations and many individual countries. ISIL is widely known for its videos of beheadings of both soldiers and civilians, including journalists and aid workers, and its destruction of cultural heritage sites. The United Nations holds ISIL responsible for human rights abuses and war crimes, and Amnesty International has charged the group with ethnic cleansing on a historic scale in northern Iraq.
After an early and brief film career in Germany, which included a controversial film Ecstasy (1933), Lamarr fled from her husband, a wealthy Austrian ammunition manufacturer and secretly moved to Paris. There, she met MGM head Louis B. Mayer, who offered her a movie contract in Hollywood, where she became a film star from the late 1930s to the 1950s.<br/><br/> Lamarr appeared in numerous popular feature films, including Algiers (1938), I Take This Woman (1940), Comrade X (1940), Come Live With Me (1941), H.M. Pulham, Esq. (1941), and Samson and Delilah (1949).<br/><br/> At the beginning of World War II, Lamarr and composer George Antheil developed a radio guidance system for Allied torpedoes, which used spread spectrum and frequency hopping technology to defeat the threat of jamming by the Axis powers. Though the US Navy did not adopt the technology until the 1960s, the principles of their work are now incorporated into modern Wi-Fi, CDMA, and Bluetooth technology, and this work led to their being inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2014.
The Armenian Genocide refers to the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I. It was implemented through wholesale massacres and deportations, with the deportations consisting of forced marches under conditions designed to lead to the death of the deportees. The total number of resulting Armenian deaths is generally held to have been between one and one and a half million. <br/><br/> Other ethnic groups were similarly attacked by the Ottoman Empire during this period, including Assyrians and Greeks, and some scholars consider those events to be part of the same policy of extermination. <br/><br/> It is widely acknowledged to have been one of the first modern genocides, as scholars point to the systematic, organized manner in which the killings were carried out to eliminate the Armenians, and it is the second most-studied case of genocide after the Holocaust. The word genocide was coined in order to describe these events.
Nandi (Nandin) the Bull was the mythical mount of the god Shiva in Hindu mythology.<br/><br/> The kingdom of Champa (Campadesa or nagara Campa) Chăm Pa in Vietnamese, 占城 Chiêm Thành in Hán Việt and Zhàn chéng in Chinese records) was an Indianized kingdom that controlled much of southern and central Vietnam from approximately the 7th century through to 1832.<br/><br/> Champa reached its apogee in the 9th and 10th centuries. Then began a gradual decline under pressure from Đại Việt, the Vietnamese polity centered in the region of modern Hanoi. In 1471, Viet troops sacked the northern Cham capital of Vijaya, and in 1697 the southern principality of Panduranga became a vassal of the Vietnamese emperor.<br/><br/> In 1832, the Vietnamese emperor Minh Mạng annexed the remaining Cham territories. Mỹ Sơn, a former religious center, and Hội An, one of Champa's main port cities, are now UNESCO World Heritage sites.
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.
Nandi (Nandin) the Bull was the mythical mount of the god Shiva in Hindu mythology.<br/><br/> The Kailasanathar (Lord of the Cosmic Mountain) temple is a Hindu temple in the Dravidian architectural style. It is dedicated to the god Shiva, and was built between 685 and 705 CE by the Pallava Dynasty ruler Rajasimha. Construction was completed by Raajasimha's son, Mahendra Varma.
Pancha Rathas is an example of monolithic Indian rock-cut architecture. Dating from the late 7th century, it is attributed to the reign of King Mahendravarman I and his son Narasimhavarman I (630–680 CE; also called Mamalla, or 'great warrior') of the Pallava Kingdom.<br/><br/> Mahabalipuram, also known as Mamallapuram (Tamil: மாமல்லபுரம்) is an ancient historic town and was a bustling seaport from as early as the 1st century CE.<br/><br/> By the 7th Century it was the main port city of the South Indian Pallava dynasty. The historic monuments seen today were built largely between the 7th and the 9th centuries CE.
Pancha Rathas is an example of monolithic Indian rock-cut architecture. Dating from the late 7th century, it is attributed to the reign of King Mahendravarman I and his son Narasimhavarman I (630–680 CE; also called Mamalla, or 'great warrior') of the Pallava Kingdom.<br/><br/> Mahabalipuram, also known as Mamallapuram (Tamil: மாமல்லபுரம்) is an ancient historic town and was a bustling seaport from as early as the 1st century CE.<br/><br/> By the 7th Century it was the main port city of the South Indian Pallava dynasty. The historic monuments seen today were built largely between the 7th and the 9th centuries CE.
The kingdom of Champa (Campadesa or nagara Campa) Chăm Pa in Vietnamese, 占城 Chiêm Thành in Hán Việt and Zhàn chéng in Chinese records) was an Indianized kingdom that controlled much of southern and central Vietnam from approximately the 7th century through to 1832.<br/><br/> Champa reached its apogee in the 9th and 10th centuries. Then began a gradual decline under pressure from Đại Việt, the Vietnamese polity centered in the region of modern Hanoi. In 1471, Viet troops sacked the northern Cham capital of Vijaya, and in 1697 the southern principality of Panduranga became a vassal of the Vietnamese emperor.<br/><br/> In 1832, the Vietnamese emperor Minh Mạng annexed the remaining Cham territories. Mỹ Sơn, a former religious center, and Hội An, one of Champa's main port cities, are now UNESCO World Heritage sites.
The kingdom of Champa (Campadesa or nagara Campa) Chăm Pa in Vietnamese, 占城 Chiêm Thành in Hán Việt and Zhàn chéng in Chinese records) was an Indianized kingdom that controlled much of southern and central Vietnam from approximately the 7th century through to 1832.<br/><br/> Champa reached its apogee in the 9th and 10th centuries. Then began a gradual decline under pressure from Đại Việt, the Vietnamese polity centered in the region of modern Hanoi. In 1471, Viet troops sacked the northern Cham capital of Vijaya, and in 1697 the southern principality of Panduranga became a vassal of the Vietnamese emperor.<br/><br/> In 1832, the Vietnamese emperor Minh Mạng annexed the remaining Cham territories. Mỹ Sơn, a former religious center, and Hội An, one of Champa's main port cities, are now UNESCO World Heritage sites.
The Dian Kingdom (Chinese: 滇國 or 滇王國) was established by the Dian people, who lived around Lake Dian in northern Yunnan, China from the late Spring and Autumn Period (771 - 476 BCE) until the Eastern Han Dynasty (25 - 220 CE).<br/><br/> The Dian were first mentioned historically in Sima Qian's Shiji and according to Chinese sources, the Chinese Chu general Zhuang Qiao was the founder of the Dian Kingdom. Chinese soldiers who accompanied him married the local people. Zhuang was engaged in a war to conquer the 'barbarian' peoples of the area, but he and his army were prevented from going back to Chu by enemy armies, so he settled down and became King of the new Dian Kingdom.
The Dian Kingdom (Chinese: 滇國 or 滇王國) was established by the Dian people, who lived around Lake Dian in northern Yunnan, China from the late Spring and Autumn Period (771 - 476 BCE) until the Eastern Han Dynasty (25 - 220 CE).<br/><br/> The Dian were first mentioned historically in Sima Qian's Shiji and according to Chinese sources, the Chinese Chu general Zhuang Qiao was the founder of the Dian Kingdom. Chinese soldiers who accompanied him married the local people. Zhuang was engaged in a war to conquer the 'barbarian' peoples of the area, but he and his army were prevented from going back to Chu by enemy armies, so he settled down and became King of the new Dian Kingdom.<br/><br/> The Classical Chinese character for money (貝) originated as a stylized drawing of a cowrie shell. Words and characters concerning money, property or wealth usually have this as a radical.<br/><br/>Đông Sơn was a prehistoric Bronze Age culture in Vietnam centered on the Red River Valley of northern Vietnam. At this time the first Vietnamese kingdoms of Văn Lang and Âu Lạc appeared. Its influence flourished in other neighbouring parts of Southeast Asia from about 500 BCE to 100 CE.
The Dian Kingdom (Chinese: 滇國 or 滇王國) was established by the Dian people, who lived around Lake Dian in northern Yunnan, China from the late Spring and Autumn Period (771 - 476 BCE) until the Eastern Han Dynasty (25 - 220 CE).<br/><br/> The Dian were first mentioned historically in Sima Qian's Shiji and according to Chinese sources, the Chinese Chu general Zhuang Qiao was the founder of the Dian Kingdom. Chinese soldiers who accompanied him married the local people. Zhuang was engaged in a war to conquer the 'barbarian' peoples of the area, but he and his army were prevented from going back to Chu by enemy armies, so he settled down and became King of the new Dian Kingdom.<br/><br/> The Classical Chinese character for money (貝) originated as a stylized drawing of a cowrie shell. Words and characters concerning money, property or wealth usually have this as a radical.
Fleet Admiral William Frederick Halsey, Jr., United States Navy, (October 30, 1882 – August 16, 1959)[1] (commonly referred to as 'Bill' or 'Bull' Halsey), was a U.S. Naval officer. He commanded the South Pacific Area during the early stages of the Pacific War against Japan. Later he was commander of the Third Fleet through the duration of hostilities.
Fleet Admiral William Frederick Halsey, Jr., United States Navy, (October 30, 1882 – August 16, 1959)[1] (commonly referred to as 'Bill' or 'Bull' Halsey), was a U.S. Naval officer. He commanded the South Pacific Area during the early stages of the Pacific War against Japan. Later he was commander of the Third Fleet through the duration of hostilities.
Angra Mainyu is the Avestan-language name of Zoroastrianism's hypostasis of the destructive spirit. The Middle Persian equivalent is Ahriman.
The Roman mythographer Julius Pollux, writing in the 2nd century BCE, asserts (Onomasticon I, 45–49) that Purple Tyrian dye was first discovered by Heracles, or rather, by his dog, whose mouth was stained purple from chewing on snails along the coast of the Levant.
Knossos (alternative spellings Knossus, Cnossus, Greek Κνωσός), also known as Labyrinth, or Knossos Palace, is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and probably the ceremonial and political centre of the Minoan civilization and culture. The palace appears as a maze of workrooms, living spaces, and store rooms close to a central square.<br/><br/> Detailed images of Cretan life in the late Bronze Age are provided by images on the walls of this palace. It is also a tourist destination today, as it is near the main city of Heraklion and has been substantially restored by archaeologist Arthur Evans.<br/><br/> The city of Knossos remained important through the Classical and Roman periods, but its population shifted to the new town of Chandax (modern Heraklion) during the 9th century AD. By the 13th century, it was called Makryteikhos or 'Long Wall'; the bishops of Gortyn continued to call themselves Bishops of Knossos until the 19th century. Today, the name is used only for the archaeological site situated in the suburbs of Heraklion.
China Burma India Theater (CBI) was the name used by the United States Army for its forces operating in conjunction with British and Chinese Allied air and land forces in China, Burma, and India during World War II. Well-known US units in this theater included the Flying Tigers, transport and bomber units flying the Hump, the 1st Air Commando Group, the engineers who built Ledo Road, and the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional), otherwise known as Merrill's Marauders.
China Burma India Theater (CBI) was the name used by the United States Army for its forces operating in conjunction with British and Chinese Allied air and land forces in China, Burma, and India during World War II. Well-known US units in this theater included the Flying Tigers, transport and bomber units flying the Hump, the 1st Air Commando Group, the engineers who built Ledo Road, and the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional), otherwise known as Merrill's Marauders.
China Burma India Theater (CBI) was the name used by the United States Army for its forces operating in conjunction with British and Chinese Allied air and land forces in China, Burma, and India during World War II. Well-known US units in this theater included the Flying Tigers, transport and bomber units flying the Hump, the 1st Air Commando Group, the engineers who built Ledo Road, and the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional), otherwise known as Merrill's Marauders.
The Hunterian Psalter (or York Psalter) is an illuminated manuscript of the 12th century. It was produced in England some time around 1170, and is considered a striking example of Romanesque book art. The work is part of the collection of the Glasgow University Library, which acquired the book in 1807. It derives its colloquial name, the 'Hunterian Psalter', from having been part of the collection of 18th century Scottish anatomist and book collector William Hunter, who willed his collection to the University. It has also at times been known as the 'York Psalter', owing to its supposed northern English origin in the city of York.
Shiva (Sanskrit: शिव Śiva, meaning 'auspicious one') is a major Hindu deity, and is the Destroyer or Transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine.<br/><br/> Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power, he lives a life of a sage at Mount Kailash. In the Shaiva tradition of Hinduism, Shiva is seen as the Supreme God and has five important works: creator, preserver, destroyer, concealer, and revealer (to bless).<br/><br/> Nandi or Nandin ( Sanskrit: नंदी), is the name for the bull which serves as the mount (Sanskrit: Vahana) of the god Shiva and as the gate keeper of Shiva and Parvati, and in Hindu mythology. Temples venerating Shiva display stone images of a seated Nandi, generally facing the main shrine. There are also a number of temples dedicated solely to Nandi.
Nandi (Nandin) the Bull was the mythical mount of the god Shiva in Hindu mythology.<br/><br/> The Virupaksha Temple (also known as the Pampapathi Temple) is Hampi's main centre of pilgrimage. It is fully intact among the surrounding ruins and is still used in worship. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva, known here as Virupaksha, as the consort of the local goddess Pampa who is associated with the Tungabhadra River.<br/><br/> Hampi is a village in northern Karnataka state. It is located within the ruins of Vijayanagara, the former capital of the Vijayanagara Empire. Predating the city of Vijayanagara, it continues to be an important religious centre, housing the Virupaksha Temple, as well as several other monuments belonging to the old city.
Nandi (Nandin) the Bull was the mythical mount of the god Shiva in Hindu mythology.<br/><br/> The Virupaksha Temple (also known as the Pampapathi Temple) is Hampi's main centre of pilgrimage. It is fully intact among the surrounding ruins and is still used in worship. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva, known here as Virupaksha, as the consort of the local goddess Pampa who is associated with the Tungabhadra River.<br/><br/> Hampi is a village in northern Karnataka state. It is located within the ruins of Vijayanagara, the former capital of the Vijayanagara Empire. Predating the city of Vijayanagara, it continues to be an important religious centre, housing the Virupaksha Temple, as well as several other monuments belonging to the old city.
Nandi (Nandin) the Bull was the mythical mount of the god Shiva in Hindu mythology.<br/><br/> The Virupaksha Temple (also known as the Pampapathi Temple) is Hampi's main centre of pilgrimage. It is fully intact among the surrounding ruins and is still used in worship. The temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva, known here as Virupaksha, as the consort of the local goddess Pampa who is associated with the Tungabhadra River.<br/><br/> Hampi is a village in northern Karnataka state. It is located within the ruins of Vijayanagara, the former capital of the Vijayanagara Empire. Predating the city of Vijayanagara, it continues to be an important religious centre, housing the Virupaksha Temple, as well as several other monuments belonging to the old city.
Dandan Oilik is a deserted historical town and desert oasis in the Taklamakan Desert of Xinjiang, China. Dandan Oilik was an important (though small) centre of local Buddhism and trade on the Silk Road. Its name means 'Houses of Ivory' and has been the site of a small number of significant archeological finds.<br/><br/> Having been abandoned hundreds of years ago, the oasis was found and lost to shifting desert sands several times. Most recently, a German expedition led by Christoph Baumer found the city based on the accounts of previous explorers such as Sir Aurel Stein, and uncovered relics dating to the 7th and 8th Century. They also marked its GPS position, and the city is now being studied by Chinese archeologists.
Dr Paul Neis undertook a scientific mission to Cochinchina and Laos on behalf of the French Minister of Public Education. He returned to Bangkok by way of Chiang Mai and north Thailand. His mission lasted for 19 months between 1882 and 1884.
Seoul is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of more than 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the developed world. The Seoul Capital Area, which includes the surrounding Incheon metropolis and Gyeonggi province, is the world's second largest metropolitan area with over 25.6 million people, home to over half of South Koreans along with 632,000 international residents.<br/><br/>During the Korean War, Seoul changed hands between the Chinese-backed North Korean forces and the UN-backed South Korean forces several times, leaving the city heavily damaged after the war. One estimate of the extensive damage states that after the war, at least 191,000 buildings, 55,000 houses, and 1,000 factories lay in ruins. In addition, a flood of refugees had entered Seoul during the war, swelling the population of Seoul and its metropolitan area to an estimated 2.5 million, more than half of them homeless.
Dr Paul Neis undertook a scientific mission to Cochinchina and Laos on behalf of the French Minister of Public Education. He returned to Bangkok by way of Chiang Mai and north Thailand. His mission lasted for 19 months between 1882 and 1884.
Bull Durham Smoking Tobacco, also known as 'Genuine Bull Durham Smoking Tobacco', was a world-famous brand of loose-leaf tobacco manufactured by W.T. Blackwell and Company in Durham, North Carolina. that originated around the 1850s and remained in production until August 15, 1988.
Siyah Kalem or 'Black Pen' is the name given to the 15th century school of painting attributed to Mehmed Siyah Kalem. Nothing is known of his life, but his work indicates that he was of Central Asian Turkic origin, and thoroughly familiar with camp and military life. The paintings appear in the 'Conqueror’s Albums', so named because two portraits of Sultan Mehmed II the Conqueror are present in one of them.<br/><br/> The albums are made up of miniatures taken from manuscripts of the 14th, 15th, and early 16th centuries, and one series of paintings is inscribed 'work of Master Muḥammad Siyah Kalem'. Something of the style and techniques of Chinese paintings is apparent in these, and an acquaintance with Buddhist art, particularly in the depictions of grotesque demonic figures.
Having excavated the ruins of Babylon and Nineveh, and unearthed countless artifacts that had lain undisturbed for some 2,730 years, the British Museum then had to transport the treasures to England. They did this by floating them on wooden rafts, which were supported by inflated sheep- and goatskins, to Basra where the British navy were on hand to load them onto ships. In this watercolour, a raft carrying a statue of an ancient Assyrian winged bull is floated on the Tigris to Baghdad.
Nandi (Nandin) the Bull was the mythical mount of the god Shiva in Hindu mythology. Prasat Hin Phanom Rung (Phanom Rung Stone Castle) is a Khmer temple complex set on the rim of an extinct volcano at 1,320 feet above sea level, in Buriram province in the Isaan region of Thailand. It was built in sandstone and laterite in the 10th to 13th centuries. It was a Hindu shrine dedicated to Shiva, and symbolises Mount Kailash, his heavenly dwelling.
Prasat Hin Wat Sa Kamphaeng Yai is an 11th century Khmer temple built to honour the Hindu god, Shiva. It was converted in the 13th century to a Mahayana Buddhist temple. Nandi is the bull which Shiva rides and the gate keeper of Shiva and Parvati in Hindu mythology.
Prasat Hin Wat Sa Kamphaeng Yai is an 11th century Khmer temple built to honour the Hindu god, Shiva. It was converted in the 13th century to a Mahayana Buddhist temple. Nandi is the bull which Shiva rides and the gate keeper of Shiva and Parvati in Hindu mythology.
Yamantaka or Vajrabhairava is a deity of the Anuttarayoga Tantra class popular within the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. Yamantaka is seen as a wrathful manifestation of Manjusri, the bodhisattva of wisdom, and in other contexts functions as a dharmapala.<br/><br/> Within Buddhism, 'terminating death' is a quality of all buddhas as they have stopped the cycle of rebirth, samsara. Yamantaka represents the goal of the Mahayana journey to enlightenment, or the journey itself.
The Old Summer Palace (Yuan Ming Yuan) was a complex of three large gardens. It was built during the Qing dynasty for Emperor Qianlong (1711 - 1799). The palace and gardens were seriously damaged by Anglo-French troops in 1860 after the Second Opium War, and again during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. Little is left today.
Nineveh (Akkadian: Ninua) is an ancient Mesopotamian city on the eastern bank of the Tigris River, and capital of the Neo-Assyrian Empire.<br/><br/> It was the largest city in the world for some fifty years until, after a bitter period of civil war in Assyria itself, it was sacked by an unusual coalition of former subject peoples, the Babylonians, Medes, Persians, Chaldeans, Scythians and Cimmerians in 612 BCE. Its ruins are across the river from the modern-day major city of Mosul, in the Ninawa Governorate of Iraq.<br/><br/> In early 2015 the jihadist group ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) announced their intention to destroy the walls of Nineveh if the Iraqis try to liberate the city, they also threatened to destroy artifacts. On February 26 they destroyed several items and statues in the Mosul Museum, and are believed to have plundered others to sell overseas. The items were mostly from the Assyrian exhibit, which ISIL declared blasphemous and idolatrous.
Nineveh (Akkadian: Ninua) is an ancient Mesopotamian city on the eastern bank of the Tigris River, and capital of the Neo-Assyrian Empire.<br/><br/> It was the largest city in the world for some fifty years until, after a bitter period of civil war in Assyria itself, it was sacked by an unusual coalition of former subject peoples, the Babylonians, Medes, Persians, Chaldeans, Scythians and Cimmerians in 612 BCE. Its ruins are across the river from the modern-day major city of Mosul, in the Ninawa Governorate of Iraq.<br/><br/> In early 2015 the jihadist group ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) announced their intention to destroy the walls of Nineveh if the Iraqis try to liberate the city, they also threatened to destroy artifacts. On February 26 they destroyed several items and statues in the Mosul Museum, and are believed to have plundered others to sell overseas. The items were mostly from the Assyrian exhibit, which ISIL declared blasphemous and idolatrous.
Angra Mainyu is the Avestan-language name of Zoroastrianism's hypostasis of the destructive spirit. The Middle Persian equivalent is Ahriman.
South Arabia as a general term refers to several regions as currently recognized, in chief the Republic of Yemen; yet it has historically also included Najran, Jizan, and 'Asir which are presently in Saudi Arabia, and Dhofar presently in Oman. The frontiers of South Arabia as linguistically conceived would include the historic peoples speaking the related South Arabian languages as well as neighboring dialects of Arabic, and their descendants. Anciently there was a South Arabian alphabet, which was borrowed by Ethiopia. South Arabia as generally conceived would include the lands inhabited by peoples partaking of its distinctive traditions and culture, which overlap recently demarcated political boundaries.<br/><br/> Yemen or al-yaman means 'the south'. One etymology derives Yemen from yamin the 'right side' as the south is on the right when facing the sunrise; yet this etymology is considered suspect. Another derives Yemen from yumn meaning 'felicity' as the region is fertile; indeed the Romans called it Arabia Felix. In an ancient, traditional Arabian genealogy, the people of the peninsula are divided between north and south, those of the north descending from Ishmael and Adnan (from whom Muhammad descended), and those of South Arabia being the descendants of Qahtan or Joktan (Yoqtan) and Jokshan.<br/><br/> Three thousand years ago several different state entities occupied the region of South Arabia, including M'ain, Qataban, Hadhramaut and Saba.In those ancient times South Arabia claimed several notable features, e.g., the famous dam at Marib, the cosmopolitan incense trade, as well as the legendary Queen of Sheba. Two thousand years ago the Himyarites became the masters of South Arabia, remaining for several centuries until displaced by the armies of Axum which landed from nearby Ethiopia; rule by the Ethiopians was followed by that of Persia under the Sassanids, who also arrived by sea. A half-century later, in the year 638, the region became Muslim.