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The Kurds are an ethnic Iranian group in the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a contiguous area spanning adjacent parts of modern-day Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey, a geo-cultural region often referred to as 'Kurdistan'. The Kurds have ethnically diverse origins. They are culturally and linguistically closely related to the Iranian peoples and, as a result, are often themselves classified as an Iranian people. The Kurdish languages form a subgroup of the Northwestern Iranian languages.<br/><br/> The Kurds number about 40 million, the majority living in West Asia, including significant Kurdish diaspora communities in the cities of western Turkey outside of Kurdistan. A recent Kurdish diaspora has developed in Western countries, primarily in Germany. The Kurds are in the majority in the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan and in the autonomous region of Syrian Kurdistan and are a significant minority group in the neighboring countries Turkey and Iran, where Kurdish nationalist movements continue to pursue autonomy.
Herbert Ward (11 January 1863, London – 5 August 1919, Neuilly-sur-Seine) was a British sculptor, illustrator, writer and African explorer. He was a member of Henry Morton Stanley's Emin Pasha Relief Expedition who became a close friend of Roger Casement while they were working in the Congo Free State.<br/><br/> He later became a sculptor and lived in France. He was awarded the Croix de Guerre, was twice mentioned in dispatches in World War I, was an officer of the Légion d'Honneur and a member of the Royal Society of British Sculptors.
Buddhism in the Maldives was the predominant religion at least until the 12th century CE. It is not clear how Buddhism was introduced into the islands although there are a number of competing theories. The predominant view is that it was introduced with the expansion of the Sinhalese people from neighboring Sri Lanka who are primarily Buddhist.<br/><br/> In February 2012, a group of Islamic extremists forced their way into the National Museum in Male and attacked the museum's collection of pre-Islamic sculptures, destroying or severely damaging nearly the entire collection about thirty Hindu and Buddhist sculptures dating from the 6th to 12th centuries.<br/><br/> Museum staff indicated that as the sculptures were made from very brittle coral or limestone it would be impossible to repair most of them, and only two or three pieces were in a repairable condition.
Buddhism in the Maldives was the predominant religion at least until the 12th century CE. It is not clear how Buddhism was introduced into the islands although there are a number of competing theories. The predominant view is that it was introduced with the expansion of the Sinhalese people from neighboring Sri Lanka who are primarily Buddhist.<br/><br/> In February 2012, a group of Islamic extremists forced their way into the National Museum in Male and attacked the museum's collection of pre-Islamic sculptures, destroying or severely damaging nearly the entire collection about thirty Hindu and Buddhist sculptures dating from the 6th to 12th centuries.<br/><br/> Museum staff indicated that as the sculptures were made from very brittle coral or limestone it would be impossible to repair most of them, and only two or three pieces were in a repairable condition.
Buddhism in the Maldives was the predominant religion at least until the 12th century CE. It is not clear how Buddhism was introduced into the islands although there are a number of competing theories. The predominant view is that it was introduced with the expansion of the Sinhalese people from neighboring Sri Lanka who are primarily Buddhist.<br/><br/> In February 2012, a group of Islamic extremists forced their way into the National Museum in Male and attacked the museum's collection of pre-Islamic sculptures, destroying or severely damaging nearly the entire collection about thirty Hindu and Buddhist sculptures dating from the 6th to 12th centuries.<br/><br/> Museum staff indicated that as the sculptures were made from very brittle coral or limestone it would be impossible to repair most of them, and only two or three pieces were in a repairable condition.
Buddhism in the Maldives was the predominant religion at least until the 12th century CE. It is not clear how Buddhism was introduced into the islands although there are a number of competing theories. The predominant view is that it was introduced with the expansion of the Sinhalese people from neighboring Sri Lanka who are primarily Buddhist.<br/><br/> In February 2012, a group of Islamic extremists forced their way into the National Museum in Male and attacked the museum's collection of pre-Islamic sculptures, destroying or severely damaging nearly the entire collection about thirty Hindu and Buddhist sculptures dating from the 6th to 12th centuries.<br/><br/> Museum staff indicated that as the sculptures were made from very brittle coral or limestone it would be impossible to repair most of them, and only two or three pieces were in a repairable condition.
Frederick Townsend Ward was born in Salem, Massachusetts on November 29, 1831. Aside from working as a sailor during the 1850s, Ward found employment, as a 'filibuster'. 'Filibustering' is 'raising private mercenary armies and leading them into other countries to advance either [one's own] schemes or those of wealthy sponsors'.<br/><br/> According to a contemporary account written in early 1862, Ward and his brother arrived in Shanghai, China in 1860 for the purpose of trading, perhaps as an extension of their father's New York office.<br/><br/> Through their contacts with the Western business community, and Ward's own relentless self promotion, in the spring of 1860 Xu and Fang reached out to Ward and became his employers. Ward then began scouring the wharves of Shanghai for every Westerner, sober or otherwise, capable of firing a weapon. With this, the 'Shanghai Foreign Arms Corps' was born, which in defeat, would form the nucleus for the 'Ever Victorious Army'.<br/><br/> By March 1862, Ward's force would be officially named by the Qing government, and to history, as “The Ever Victorious Army', and Ward himself would be made first a 4th-rank, and then a 3rd-rank mandarin, high honors from the Manchu court for a Westerner.<br/><br/> By March 1862, Ward's force would be officially named by the Qing government, and to history, as 'The Ever Victorious Army”, and Ward himself would be made first a 4th-rank, and then a 3rd-rank mandarin, high honors from the Manchu court for a Barbarian.
Kandy is a city in the centre of Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills in the Kandy plateau, which crosses an area of tropical plantations, mainly tea. Kandy is one of the most scenic cities in Sri Lanka; it is both an administrative and religious city. It is the capital of the Central Province (which encompasses the districts of Kandy, Matale and Nuwara Eliya) and also of Kandy District.<br/><br/> Kandy is the home of The Temple of the Tooth Relic (Sri Dalada Maligawa) one of the most venerable places for the Buddhist community of Sri Lanka and all around the world. It was declared a world heritage by the UNESCO in 1988.
Chiang Mai, sometimes written as 'Chiengmai' or 'Chiangmai', is the largest and most culturally significant city in northern Thailand, and is the capital of Chiang Mai Province. It is located 700 km (435 mi) north of Bangkok, among the highest mountains in the country. The city is on the Ping river, a major tributary of the Chao Phraya river.<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. The ruler was known as the Chao. The city was surrounded by a moat and a defensive wall, since nearby Burma was a constant threat.<br/><br/> Chiang Mai formally became part of Siam in 1774 by an agreement with Chao Kavila, after the Thai King Taksin helped drive out the Burmese. Chiang Mai then slowly grew in cultural, trading and economic importance to its current status as the unofficial capital of northern Thailand, second in importance only to Bangkok.