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Turkey: Turkish (Osmanli) script. Tughra of Suleiman the Magnificent (r.1520-66). A tughra (Ottoman Turkish: طغراء; Ṭuğrā) is a calligraphic monogram, seal or signature of an Ottoman sultan that was affixed to all official documents and correspondence. It was also carved on his seal and stamped on the coins minted during his reign.
A seal, in an East and Southeast Asian context is a general name for printing stamps and impressions thereof which are used in lieu of signatures in personal documents, office paperwork, contracts, art, or any item requiring acknowledgement or authorship. The process started in China and soon spread across East Asia.<br/><br/> Chinese seals are typically made of stone, sometimes of metals, wood, bamboo, plastic, or ivory, and are typically used with red ink or cinnabar paste.<br/><br/> Liulichang is a district in Beijing known for a series of traditional Chinese stone houses selling various crafts, arts and antiques. It is one of Beijing's traditional old quarters.
A seal, in an East and Southeast Asian context is a general name for printing stamps and impressions thereof which are used in lieu of signatures in personal documents, office paperwork, contracts, art, or any item requiring acknowledgement or authorship. The process started in China and soon spread across East Asia.<br/><br/> Chinese seals are typically made of stone, sometimes of metals, wood, bamboo, plastic, or ivory, and are typically used with red ink or cinnabar paste.<br/><br/> Liulichang is a district in Beijing known for a series of traditional Chinese stone houses selling various crafts, arts and antiques. It is one of Beijing's traditional old quarters.
A seal, in an East and Southeast Asian context is a general name for printing stamps and impressions thereof which are used in lieu of signatures in personal documents, office paperwork, contracts, art, or any item requiring acknowledgement or authorship. The process started in China and soon spread across East Asia.<br/><br/> Chinese seals are typically made of stone, sometimes of metals, wood, bamboo, plastic, or ivory, and are typically used with red ink or cinnabar paste.<br/><br/> Liulichang is a district in Beijing known for a series of traditional Chinese stone houses selling various crafts, arts and antiques. It is one of Beijing's traditional old quarters.
A seal, in an East and Southeast Asian context is a general name for printing stamps and impressions thereof which are used in lieu of signatures in personal documents, office paperwork, contracts, art, or any item requiring acknowledgement or authorship. The process started in China and soon spread across East Asia.<br/><br/> Chinese seals are typically made of stone, sometimes of metals, wood, bamboo, plastic, or ivory, and are typically used with red ink or cinnabar paste.<br/><br/> Liulichang is a district in Beijing known for a series of traditional Chinese stone houses selling various crafts, arts and antiques. It is one of Beijing's traditional old quarters.
This picture scroll is a copy of selected sections of the <i>Ezo Shima Kikan</i> (Unusual Views of the Island of Ezo [Hokkaido]) by Hata Awagimaro, completed in Kansei 11 (1799) and considered the most notable work depicting the contemporaneous lives of the Ainu.<br/><br/> The Ainu or in historical Japanese texts Ezo, are an indigenous people of Japan (Hokkaido, and formerly northeastern Honshu) and Russia (Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands).
This picture scroll is a copy of selected sections of the <i>Ezo Shima Kikan</i> (Unusual Views of the Island of Ezo [Hokkaido]) by Hata Awagimaro, completed in Kansei 11 (1799) and considered the most notable work depicting the contemporaneous lives of the Ainu.<br/><br/> The Ainu or in historical Japanese texts Ezo, are an indigenous people of Japan (Hokkaido, and formerly northeastern Honshu) and Russia (Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands).
The Ryukyu Kingdom (historical English name: Lewchew, Luchu, or Loochoo) was an independent kingdom that ruled most of the Ryukyu Islands from the 15th to the 19th century. The kings of Ryukyu unified Okinawa Island and extended the kingdom to the Amami Islands in modern-day Kagoshima Prefecture, and the Sakishima Islands near Taiwan.<br/><br/> Despite its small size, the kingdom played a central role in the maritime trade networks of medieval East and Southeast Asia.
Adolf of Germany (1255 - 1298), also known as Adolf of Nassau, was the son of Walram II, Count of Nassau, and succeeded his father in 1276. When King Rudolf I died in 1291 without managing to secure the election of his eldest son Albert, Adolf was chosen by the Elector College of imperial princes and bishops, thinking him easy to control and manipulate. He was elected as King of Germany in 1292.<br/><br/> Adolf immediately had to pay and make significant concessions to the electors and archbishops who had given him the crown. Adolf had negligible power and influence within his own empire, but he soon tried to break away from the yoke of the electors and bishops who had elected him, concluding pacts with their opponents and breaking promises made but making sure not to be accused of breaching any contracts signed.<br/><br/> The electors grew increasingly wary of Adolf's policies and moves, which were often not in line with their own interests. They eventually banded together and deposed Adolf, charging him with various crimes and of breaking promises made. Albert I, son of the late King Rudolf I, was elected as the new king in 1298, and killed Adolf in battle when the former king refused to give up his power. Adolf became the first physically and mentally healthy ruler of the Holy Roman Empire to be deposed without a papal excommunication first.
The Republic of Formosa (literally Democratic State of Taiwan, also known informally in English as the Republic of Taiwan) was a short-lived republic that existed on the island of Taiwan in 1895 between the formal cession of Taiwan by the Qing Dynasty of China to the Empire of Japan by the Treaty of Shimonoseki and its invasion and occupation by Japanese troops.<br/><br/> The Republic was proclaimed on 23 May 1895 and extinguished on 21 October, when the Republican capital Tainan was occupied by the Japanese. Though sometimes claimed as the first Asian republic to have been proclaimed, it was predated by the Lanfang Republic, established in 1777, as well as by the Republic of Ezo established in 1869.
Shamash (Akkadian: Samas, 'Sun') was a native Mesopotamian deity and the Sun god in the Akkadian, Assyrian, Babylonian, and Hebrew pantheons. <br/><br/> Shamash was the god of justice in Babylonia and Assyria, corresponding to Sumerian Utu. Akkadian <i>samas</i> is cognate to Syriac <i>semsa</i>, Hebrew <i>semes</i> and Arabic <i>sams</i>, 'sun'.
The Ryukyu Kingdom (historical English name: Lewchew, Luchu, or Loochoo) was an independent kingdom that ruled most of the Ryukyu Islands from the 15th to the 19th century. The kings of Ryukyu unified Okinawa Island and extended the kingdom to the Amami Islands in modern-day Kagoshima Prefecture, and the Sakishima Islands near Taiwan.<br/><br/> Despite its small size, the kingdom played a central role in the maritime trade networks of medieval East and Southeast Asia.
Probably born in Venice around 1254 CE, Marco Polo was raised by his aunt and uncle after his mother died. His father, Niccolo, was a Venetian merchant who left before Marco was born to trade in the Middle East. Niccolo and his brother Maffeo passed through much of Asia and met with Mongol emperor Kublai Khan who reportedly invited them to be ambassadors. In 1269, Niccolo and Maffeo returned to Venice, meeting Marco for the first time.<br/><br/> In 1271, Marco Polo, aged 17, with his father and his uncle, set off for Asia, travelling through Constantinople, Baghdad, Persia, Kashgar, China and Burma. They returned to Venice 24 years and 15,000 miles later with many riches. Upon their return, Venice was at war with Genoa, and Marco Polo was imprisoned. He spent the few months of his imprisonment dictating his adventures to a fellow inmate, Rustichello da Pisa, who incorporated the tales into a book he called 'The Travels of Marco Polo'. The book documented the use of paper money and the burning of coal, and opened European eyes to the wonders of the East.
Abdulhamid II (Ottoman Turkish: عبد الحميد ثانی `Abdü’l-Ḥamīd-i sânî, Turkish: İkinci Abdülhamit) (22 September 1842 – 10 February 1918) was the 99th caliph of Islam and the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire. He was the last Sultan to exert effective control over the Ottoman Empire. He oversaw a period of decline in the power and extent of the Empire, ruling from 31 August 1876 until he was deposed on 27 April 1909. He was succeeded by Mehmed V. His deposition following the Young Turk Revolution was hailed by most Ottoman citizens, who welcomed the return to constitutional rule.<br/><br/>During his tenure, he was responsible for the modernization of the Ottoman Empire, and exerted maximum control over its affairs. Changes included: rationalization of the bureaucracy; the ambitious Hijaz Railway project; the creation of a modern system of personnel records (1896); establishment of an elaborate system for population registration and control over the press; systematization of officials salaries (1880); and the first modern law school (1898). Between the period 1871-1908, the Sublime Porte (Istanbul) thus reached a new degree of organizational elaboration and articulation.
The Escorial Beatus is a 10th century illuminated manuscript of the Commentary on the Apocalypse by Beatus of Liébana. The manuscript was probably created at the monastery at San Millán de la Cogolla. There are 151 extant folios; the manuscript is illustrated with 52 surviving miniatures. The Apocalypse of John is the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament.
The Ottheinrich Bible was commissioned in c.1425 by the Royal Court of Bavaria. The unusually large manuscript was not completed until the following century when the German painter and engraver, Matthias Gerung, was offered 60 Rhenish guilders and winter clothes to illustrate the text.<br/><br/> The Bible carries the name of the benefactor who supported its completion. Ottheinrich (1502-1559) was the Prince of Neuburg, Elector Palatine, soldier, pilgrim, reformer and art patron.
The Beatus of San Miguel de Escalada contains 89 miniatures by the painter Magius and is held in the Pierpont Morgan Library, New York. The Apocalypse of John is the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament.
The Taiping Rebellion was a widespread civil war in southern China from 1850 to 1864, led by heterodox Christian convert Hong Xiuquan, who, having received visions, maintained that he was the younger brother of Jesus Christ, against the ruling Manchu-led Qing Dynasty. About 20 million people died, mainly civilians, in one of the deadliest military conflicts in history.<br/><br/> Hong established the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom with its capital at Nanjing. The Kingdom's army controlled large parts of southern China, at its height containing about 30 million people. The rebels attempted social reforms believing in shared 'property in common' and the replacement of Confucianism, Buddhism and Chinese folk religion with a form of Christianity.<br/><br/> The Taiping troops were nicknamed 'Longhairs' (simplified Chinese: 长毛; traditional Chinese: 長毛; pinyin: Chángmáo) by the Qing government. The Taiping areas were besieged by Qing forces throughout most of the rebellion. The Qing government crushed the rebellion with the eventual aid of French and British forces.<br/><br/> In the 20th century, Sun Yat-sen, founder of the Chinese Nationalist Party, looked on the rebellion as an inspiration, and Chinese paramount leader Mao Zedong glorified the Taiping rebels as early heroic revolutionaries against a corrupt feudal system.
Dilmun (sometimes transliterated Telmun) is a land mentioned by Mesopotamian civilizations as a trade partner, a source of the metal copper, and an entrepôt of the Mesopotamia-to-Indus Valley Civilization trade route.<br/><br/> Although the exact location of Dilmun is unclear, it might be associated with the islands of Bahrain, the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and the nearby Iranian coast of the Arab or Persian Gulf.
The Bassac River (commonly called Tonle Bassac) is a distributary of the Tonle Sap and Mekong River. The river starts from Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and flows south out to the Vietnamese border near Châu Đốc.<br/><br/> In Vietnam, it is known as the Hậu River (Sông Hậu or Hậu Giang in Vietnamese). The Bassac River is a popular entry and exit route for the locals between Cambodia and Vietnam and is used for transporting goods between the two countries.
A painting of a trade ship heading from Nagasaki to Vietnam, from the Gaiban Shokan. This book was prepared as a reference work for 'Gaiban Tsusho', the compilation of diplomatic documents of the Tokugawa shogunate, prepared by Kondo Seisai (1771 - 1829), who served as the magistrate of Nagasaki and the magistrate of books and records. It contains copies of diplomatic papers, including 33 certificates impressed with the shogun's vermillion seal for officially authorized trips to Annam (Vietnam), the Netherlands, and Luzon (in the Philippines). It was completed in the first year of Bunsei (1818), and the two sets of two-volumes were presented to the Tokugawa Shogunate in 1819.<br/><br/> Shuinsen, or 'Red Seal ships', were Japanese armed merchant sailing ships bound for Southeast Asian ports with a red-sealed patent issued by the early Tokugawa shogunate in the first half of the 17th century. Between 1600 and 1635, more than 350 Japanese ships went overseas under this permit system. Japanese merchants mainly exported silver, diamonds, copper, swords and other artifacts, and imported Chinese silk as well as some Southeast Asian products (like sugar and deer skins). Pepper and spices were rarely imported into Japan, where people did not eat a great deal of meat due to the local preponderance of adherents to the Buddhist belief system.<br/><br/> Southeast Asian ports provided meeting places for Japanese and Chinese ships. In 1635, the Tokugawa shogunate, fearful of Christian influence, prohibited Japanese nationals from overseas travel, thus ending the period of red-seal trade. This measure was tacitly approved of by Europeans, especially the Dutch East India Company, who saw their competition reduced.
Empress Xiao Hui Zhang was of the Mongol Borjigit clan. When in 1653 Shunzhi's first Empress was demoted she was promoted to Consort. One year later she became officially Shunzhi's second Empress. When the Kangxi Emperor ascended the throne, Hui Zhang was made Dowager Empress, although she was not the biological mother of the new emperor. Empress Hui Zhang died in 1717 in the Imperial Palace, aged 76.
The Second Indochina War, known in America as the Vietnam War, was a Cold War era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of South Vietnam, supported by the U.S. and other anti-communist nations. The U.S. government viewed involvement in the war as a way to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam and part of their wider strategy of containment.<br/><br/> The North Vietnamese government viewed the war as a colonial war, fought initially against France, backed by the U.S., and later against South Vietnam, which it regarded as a U.S. puppet state. U.S. military advisors arrived beginning in 1950. U.S. involvement escalated in the early 1960s, with U.S. troop levels tripling in 1961 and tripling again in 1962. U.S. combat units were deployed beginning in 1965. Operations spanned borders, with Laos and Cambodia heavily bombed. Involvement peaked in 1968 at the time of the Tet Offensive.<br/><br/> U.S. military involvement ended on 15 August 1973. The capture of Saigon by the North Vietnamese army in April 1975 marked the end of the US-Vietnam War.
Abdulhamid II (Ottoman Turkish: عبد الحميد ثانی `Abdü’l-Ḥamīd-i sânî, Turkish: İkinci Abdülhamit) (22 September 1842 – 10 February 1918) was the 99th caliph of Islam and the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire. He was the last Sultan to exert effective control over the Ottoman Empire. He oversaw a period of decline in the power and extent of the Empire, ruling from 31 August 1876 until he was deposed on 27 April 1909. He was succeeded by Mehmed V. His deposition following the Young Turk Revolution was hailed by most Ottoman citizens, who welcomed the return to constitutional rule.<br/><br/>During his tenure, he was responsible for the modernization of the Ottoman Empire, and exerted maximum control over its affairs. Changes included: rationalization of the bureaucracy; the ambitious Hijaz Railway project; the creation of a modern system of personnel records (1896); establishment of an elaborate system for population registration and control over the press; systematization of officials salaries (1880); and the first modern law school (1898). Between the period 1871-1908, the Sublime Porte (Istanbul) thus reached a new degree of organizational elaboration and articulation.
The Mongolian language is the official language of Mongolia and the best-known member of the Mongolic language family. The number of speakers across all its dialects may be 5.2 million, including the vast majority of the residents of Mongolia and many of the Mongolian residents of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region of China.<br/><br/> In Mongolia, the Khalkha dialect, written in Cyrillic (and at times in Latin for social networking), is predominant, while in Inner Mongolia, the language is dialectally more diverse and is written in the traditional Mongolian script.
A tughra has a characteristic form, two loops on the left side, three vertical lines in the middle, stacked writing on the bottom and two extensions to the right. Each of these elements has a specific meaning, and together they make up the form that is easily recognizable as a tughra.
Utagawa Kunisada (1786 – January 12, 1865), also known as Utagawa Toyokuni III) was the most popular, prolific and financially successful designer of ukiyo-e woodblock prints in 19th-century Japan. In his own time, his reputation far exceeded that of his contemporaries, Hokusai, Hiroshige and Kuniyoshi.
Deng Shirú (Teng Shih-ju, traditional: 鄧石如, simplified: 邓石如); ca. 1739/1743-1805 was a Chinese calligrapher during the Qing Dynasty (1644–1912).<br/><br/> Deng was born in Huaining in the Anhui province. His style name was 'Wanbo' and his sobriquets were 'Wanbai shanren, Wan bai, Guhuan, Gu wanzi, Youji daoren, Fenshui yuzhang, and Longshan qiaozhang'. Deng studied at the Shen Chun Academy. He later learned the art of Seal cutting.
Phra Bat Somdet Phra Poramintharamaha Chulalongkorn Phra Chunla Chom Klao Chao Yu Hua, or Rama V (20 September 1853 – 23 October 1910) was the fifth monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri. He is considered one of the greatest kings of Siam. His reign was characterized by the modernization of Siam, immense government and social reforms, and territorial cessions to the British Empire and French Indochina.<br/><br/> As Siam was threatened by Western expansionism, Chulalongkorn, through his policies and acts, managed to save Siam from being colonized. All his reforms were dedicated to Siam’s insurance of survival in the midst of Western colonialism, so that Chulalongkorn earned the epithet Phra Piya Maharat - The Great Beloved King.<br/><br/> Ko Phangan is 15 km (9.5 miles) north of Ko Samui, and, at 168 sq km (65 sq miles) about two-thirds of its size. The island has the same tropical combination of white, sandy beaches, accessible coral reefs and rugged, jungled interior.
The Ottoman imperial decree – firman – consists of the decree itself, frequently written in the chancellery script, Divani, with the signatures of the officials below and the signature of the ruling sultan in the form of an intricate tughra above.
The pass states: Dutch ships are allowed to travel to Japan, and they can disembark on any coast, without any reserve. From now on this regulation must be observed, and the Dutch left free to sail where they want throughout Japan. No offenses to them will be allowed, such as on previous occasions. Sealed and dated August 24, 1609. This is an official document bearing the shogun's scarlet seal.<br/><br/> Ieyasu, acting as the retired shogun (ōgosho), remained the effective ruler of Japan until his death. Ogosho Ieyasu also supervised diplomatic affairs with the Netherlands and Spain. He chose to distance Japan from the Europeans starting in 1609, although the bakufu did give the Dutch exclusive trading rights and permitted them to maintain a factory for trading purposes. From 1605 until his death, Ieyasu consulted with an English Protestant pilot in Dutch employ, William Adams.
Mahmud Ghazan (1271–1304) was the seventh ruler of the Mongol Empire's Ilkhanate division in modern-day Iran from 1295 to 1304. He was the son of Arghun and Quthluq Khatun, continuing a line of rulers who were direct descendants of Genghis Khan. Considered the most prominent of the Ilkhans, he is best known for making a political conversion to Islam in 1295 when he took the throne, marking a turning point for the dominant religion of Mongols in Central Asia. His principal wife was Kokechin, a Mongol princess sent by Kublai Khan, and escorted from the Mongol capital to the Ilkhanate by Marco Polo.
Shuinsen, or 'Red Seal ships', were Japanese armed merchant sailing ships bound for Southeast Asian ports with a red-sealed patent issued by the early Tokugawa shogunate in the first half of the 17th century. Between 1600 and 1635, more than 350 Japanese ships went overseas under this permit system.<br/><br/> Japanese merchants mainly exported silver, diamonds, copper, swords and other artifacts, and imported Chinese silk as well as some Southeast Asian products (like sugar and deer skins). Pepper and spices were rarely imported into Japan, where people did not eat a great deal of meat due to the local preponderance of adherents to the Buddhist belief system. Southeast Asian ports provided meeting places for Japanese and Chinese ships.<br/><br/> In 1635, the Tokugawa shogunate, fearful of Christian influence, prohibited Japanese nationals from overseas travel, thus ending the period of red-seal trade. This measure was tacitly approved of by Europeans, especially the Dutch East India Company, who saw their competition reduced.
Shuinsen, or 'Red Seal ships', were Japanese armed merchant sailing ships bound for Southeast Asian ports with a red-sealed patent issued by the early Tokugawa shogunate in the first half of the 17th century. Between 1600 and 1635, more than 350 Japanese ships went overseas under this permit system.<br/><br/> Japanese merchants mainly exported silver, diamonds, copper, swords and other artifacts, and imported Chinese silk as well as some Southeast Asian products (like sugar and deer skins). Pepper and spices were rarely imported into Japan, where people did not eat a great deal of meat due to the local preponderance of adherents to the Buddhist belief system. Southeast Asian ports provided meeting places for Japanese and Chinese ships.<br/><br/> In 1635, the Tokugawa shogunate, fearful of Christian influence, prohibited Japanese nationals from overseas travel, thus ending the period of red-seal trade. This measure was tacitly approved of by Europeans, especially the Dutch East India Company, who saw their competition reduced.