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Sigismund (1368-1437), also known as Sigismund of Luxembourg, was the son of Emperor Charles IV and younger brother of King Wenceslaus. Sigismund was betrothed to Princess Mary, eldest daughter of King Louis the Great of Hungary and Poland, marrying her in 1385 and becoming King of Hungary and Croatia in 1387.<br/><br/> Sigismund led the last West European Crusade, the Crusade of Nicopolis, in 1396, leading a combined Christian army against the Turks. The Crusade was a disaster and ended in defeat, Sigismund being imprisoned and deposed in 1401 upon his return to Hungary, though he would later regain the throne. He imprisoned his own brother, King Wenceslaus, in 1403, taking over rule of Bohemia. He was elected as King of Germany in 1411 after the death of King Rupert. He also became King of Bohemia in 1419 and managed to be crowned King of Italy in 1431.<br/><br/> Sigismund marched into Rome and was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 1433. He led multiple campaigns against the Turkish Ottoman Empire, all with little success, and founded the Order of the Dragon in 1408 with the sole goal of fighting the Turks. He also waged the Hussite Wars from 1419 to 1430. Sigismund died in 1437, the last of the Luxembourg dynasty.
Albert I (1255-1308), also known as Albert of Habsburg, was the eldest son of King Rudolf I, and was made landgrave of Swabia in 1273, looking over his father's possessions in Alsace. He was then made Duke of Austria and Styria in 1283, alongside his younger brother Rudolf II. When his father died without managing to secure Albert's election as successor, he was forced to recognise the sovereignty of the elected King Adolf of Nassau.<br/><br/> Albert did not abandon his hopes for the German crown however, biding his time and working with Adolf's enemies and former allies to eventually have him deposed in 1298, with Albert elected as king in his place. He fought and slew Adolf at the Battle of Gollheim when he refused to give up power.
Rudolf I (1218-1291), also known as Rudolf of Habsburg, was the son of Count Albert IV of Habsburg, and became count after his father's death in 1239. His godfather was Emperor Frederick II, to whom he paid frequent court visits. Rudolf ended the Great Interregnum that had engulfed the Holy Roman Empire after the death of Frederick when he was elected as King of Germany in 1273.<br/><br/> Rudolf secured the recognition of the Pope by promising to launch a new crusade and renouncing all imperial rights to Rome, the papal territories and Sicily. His main opponent was King Ottokar II of Bohemia, who had refused to acknowledge Rudolf as King of Germany. War was declared against Ottokar in 1276, and he was defeated and killed in 1278 during the Battle on the Marchfeld.<br/><br/> Rudolf was ultimately not entirely successful in restoring internal peace throughout the Holy Roman Empire, lacking the power, resources and determination to truly enforce his established land peaces, with the princes largely left to their own devices. He died in 1291, establishing the powerful Habsburg dynasty but unable to ensure the succession of his son Albert as German king.
Otto IV (1175-1218) was the third son of the rebellious Duke Henry the Lion, as well as being the nephew and foster son of King Richard Lionheart of England. He was born and raised in England by Richard, and therefore many consider him the first foreign king of Germany. When Emperor Henry VI died in 1197, some of the princes opposed to the Staufen dynasty elected Otto as anti-king in 1198.<br/><br/> Pope Innocent III (1160 or 1161 – 16 July 1216), born Lotario dei Conti di Segni (anglicized as Lothar of Segni) reigned from 8 January 1198 to his death in 1216. He was one of the most powerful and influential of the medieval popes. He exerted a wide influence over the Christian states of Europe, claiming supremacy over all of Europe's kings.
Jean Discart was born in the Italian city of Modena in 1856 and enrolled in a history of painting course at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts at the age of seventeen.<br/><br/> Discart first exhibited in the Paris Salon in 1884 and painted Orientalist subjects through to the 1920s, rendering work exquisite in their detail, richness and understanding of light and texture. Discart's compositions incorporated the heavy use of artifacts such as metal ware, pottery, textiles and instruments, set against elaborate backdrops of sculpted stone, painted tiles or carved woodwork.
Luca Signorelli (c. 1445 – 16 October 1523) was an Italian Renaissance painter who was noted in particular for his ability as a draughtsman and his use of foreshortening.<br/><br/> His massive frescoes of the Last Judgment (1499–1503) in Orvieto Cathedral are considered his masterpiece.
Ragmala or Ragamala is the title of a composition of twelve verses, running into sixty lines that names various ragas which appears in most copies of the Guru Granth Sahib after the compositions of Guru Arjun Dev entitled 'Mundaavani' (The Royal Seal).<br/><br/> The title literally means a 'garland of Ragas, or musical melodies'. 'Mala' means 'garland', while 'Raga' is a 'musical composition or mode', which has also given rise to the series of Ragamala paintings. This list differs according to the author and the music school it is based upon. Thus there exists a number of such lists in the music text books of India.<br/><br/> The 'Laud Ragamala' was compiled in India during the first half of the 17th century, owned by Archbishop Laud, and presented to the Bodleian Library in 1639 or 1640.
The small Uighur-dominated oasis of Yengisar (Yingjisha) is known throughout the western Chinese province of Xinjiang for its production of handmade knives. The Small Knife Factory (Pichak Chilik Karakhana / Xiadaochang) employs skilled local craftsmen producing fine knives with inlaid handles. Just about every Uighur man carries a knife, both as a sign of manhood and for the more utilitarian purpose of cutting up melons, and the most valued (and expensive) come from Yengisar.
Isabella of Portugal (21 February 1397 – 17 December 1471) was Duchess of Burgundy as the third wife of Duke Philip the Good. Born a Portuguese infanta of the House of Aviz, Isabella was the only surviving daughter of King John I of Portugal and his wife Philippa of Lancaster.<br/><br/> Her son by Philip was Charles the Bold, the last Valois Duke of Burgundy. Isabella was the regent of the Burgundian Low Countries during the absence of her spouse in 1432 and in 1441–1443. She served as her husband's representative in negotiations with England regarding trade relations in 1439 and those with the rebellious cities of Holland in 1444.
Maximilian I (22 March 1459 – 12 January 1519), the son of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor, and Eleanor of Portugal, was King of the Romans (also known as King of the Germans) from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 until his death, though he was never in fact crowned by the Pope, the journey to Rome always being too risky.<br/><br/> He had ruled jointly with his father for the last ten years of his father's reign, from c. 1483. He expanded the influence of the House of Habsburg through war and his marriage in 1477 to Mary of Burgundy, the heiress to the Duchy of Burgundy, but he also lost the Austrian territories in today's Switzerland to the Swiss Confederacy.
Maximilian I (22 March 1459 – 12 January 1519), the son of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor, and Eleanor of Portugal, was King of the Romans (also known as King of the Germans) from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 until his death, though he was never in fact crowned by the Pope, the journey to Rome always being too risky.<br/><br/> He had ruled jointly with his father for the last ten years of his father's reign, from c. 1483. He expanded the influence of the House of Habsburg through war and his marriage in 1477 to Mary of Burgundy, the heiress to the Duchy of Burgundy, but he also lost the Austrian territories in today's Switzerland to the Swiss Confederacy.
During the first half of the 1st century CE, silk worm technology is thought to have reached the Han-Chinese dominated oasis of Khotan in the Tarim Basin – an oasis that is still a centre of silk production today. A Chinese princess given in marriage to a Khotan prince is said to have carried the eggs of silkworms to her new husband concealed in her hair.<br/><br/>It is thought that silkworms and knowledge of sericulture travelled from Khotan south to India and west to Sassanid Persia during the 4th century, while records also recount a Japanese expedition to China in the same century carrying four silk-weaving girls, together with silkworm eggs, back to Japan.<br/><br/>Khotan traces its history back at least as far as the 3rd century BCE, when the eldest son of the Indian emperor Asoka is said to have settled here. It was of great importance on the Silk Road, and is claimed to have been the first place outside China to have cultivated silk.<br/><br/>It sits astride the Karakash or ‘Black Jade’ and Yurungkash or ‘White Jade’ Rivers, which here conjoin to form the Khotan Darya, and has been famous for its jade for well over two millennia.<br/><br/>In times past trade routes crossed the desert to the north all the way to Kuqa, and as recently as 2007 this link has been re-established for the first time in centuries with the opening of a second Desert Highway leading to Aksu, distant some 424km to the north.<br/><br/>In 1006 Khotan was conquered by Uighur Muslims from Kashgar, and since that time the city remains a very Uighur place.
During the first half of the 1st century CE, silk worm technology is thought to have reached the Han-Chinese dominated oasis of Khotan in the Tarim Basin – an oasis that is still a centre of silk production today. A Chinese princess given in marriage to a Khotan prince is said to have carried the eggs of silkworms to her new husband concealed in her hair.<br/><br/>It is thought that silkworms and knowledge of sericulture travelled from Khotan south to India and west to Sassanid Persia during the 4th century, while records also recount a Japanese expedition to China in the same century carrying four silk-weaving girls, together with silkworm eggs, back to Japan.<br/><br/>Khotan traces its history back at least as far as the 3rd century BCE, when the eldest son of the Indian emperor Asoka is said to have settled here. It was of great importance on the Silk Road, and is claimed to have been the first place outside China to have cultivated silk.<br/><br/>It sits astride the Karakash or ‘Black Jade’ and Yurungkash or ‘White Jade’ Rivers, which here conjoin to form the Khotan Darya, and has been famous for its jade for well over two millennia.<br/><br/>In times past trade routes crossed the desert to the north all the way to Kuqa, and as recently as 2007 this link has been re-established for the first time in centuries with the opening of a second Desert Highway leading to Aksu, distant some 424km to the north.<br/><br/>In 1006 Khotan was conquered by Uighur Muslims from Kashgar, and since that time the city remains a very Uighur place.
During the first half of the 1st century CE, silk worm technology is thought to have reached the Han-Chinese dominated oasis of Khotan in the Tarim Basin – an oasis that is still a centre of silk production today. A Chinese princess given in marriage to a Khotan prince is said to have carried the eggs of silkworms to her new husband concealed in her hair.<br/><br/>It is thought that silkworms and knowledge of sericulture travelled from Khotan south to India and west to Sassanid Persia during the 4th century, while records also recount a Japanese expedition to China in the same century carrying four silk-weaving girls, together with silkworm eggs, back to Japan.<br/><br/>Khotan traces its history back at least as far as the 3rd century BCE, when the eldest son of the Indian emperor Asoka is said to have settled here. It was of great importance on the Silk Road, and is claimed to have been the first place outside China to have cultivated silk.<br/><br/>It sits astride the Karakash or ‘Black Jade’ and Yurungkash or ‘White Jade’ Rivers, which here conjoin to form the Khotan Darya, and has been famous for its jade for well over two millennia.<br/><br/>In times past trade routes crossed the desert to the north all the way to Kuqa, and as recently as 2007 this link has been re-established for the first time in centuries with the opening of a second Desert Highway leading to Aksu, distant some 424km to the north.<br/><br/>In 1006 Khotan was conquered by Uighur Muslims from Kashgar, and since that time the city remains a very Uighur place.
During the first half of the 1st century CE, silk worm technology is thought to have reached the Han-Chinese dominated oasis of Khotan in the Tarim Basin – an oasis that is still a centre of silk production today. A Chinese princess given in marriage to a Khotan prince is said to have carried the eggs of silkworms to her new husband concealed in her hair.<br/><br/>It is thought that silkworms and knowledge of sericulture travelled from Khotan south to India and west to Sassanid Persia during the 4th century, while records also recount a Japanese expedition to China in the same century carrying four silk-weaving girls, together with silkworm eggs, back to Japan.<br/><br/>Khotan traces its history back at least as far as the 3rd century BCE, when the eldest son of the Indian emperor Asoka is said to have settled here. It was of great importance on the Silk Road, and is claimed to have been the first place outside China to have cultivated silk.<br/><br/>It sits astride the Karakash or ‘Black Jade’ and Yurungkash or ‘White Jade’ Rivers, which here conjoin to form the Khotan Darya, and has been famous for its jade for well over two millennia.<br/><br/>In times past trade routes crossed the desert to the north all the way to Kuqa, and as recently as 2007 this link has been re-established for the first time in centuries with the opening of a second Desert Highway leading to Aksu, distant some 424km to the north.<br/><br/>In 1006 Khotan was conquered by Uighur Muslims from Kashgar, and since that time the city remains a very Uighur place.
During the first half of the 1st century CE, silk worm technology is thought to have reached the Han-Chinese dominated oasis of Khotan in the Tarim Basin – an oasis that is still a centre of silk production today. A Chinese princess given in marriage to a Khotan prince is said to have carried the eggs of silkworms to her new husband concealed in her hair.<br/><br/>It is thought that silkworms and knowledge of sericulture travelled from Khotan south to India and west to Sassanid Persia during the 4th century, while records also recount a Japanese expedition to China in the same century carrying four silk-weaving girls, together with silkworm eggs, back to Japan.<br/><br/>Khotan traces its history back at least as far as the 3rd century BCE, when the eldest son of the Indian emperor Asoka is said to have settled here. It was of great importance on the Silk Road, and is claimed to have been the first place outside China to have cultivated silk.<br/><br/>It sits astride the Karakash or ‘Black Jade’ and Yurungkash or ‘White Jade’ Rivers, which here conjoin to form the Khotan Darya, and has been famous for its jade for well over two millennia.<br/><br/>In times past trade routes crossed the desert to the north all the way to Kuqa, and as recently as 2007 this link has been re-established for the first time in centuries with the opening of a second Desert Highway leading to Aksu, distant some 424km to the north.<br/><br/>In 1006 Khotan was conquered by Uighur Muslims from Kashgar, and since that time the city remains a very Uighur place.
During the first half of the 1st century CE, silk worm technology is thought to have reached the Han-Chinese dominated oasis of Khotan in the Tarim Basin – an oasis that is still a centre of silk production today. A Chinese princess given in marriage to a Khotan prince is said to have carried the eggs of silkworms to her new husband concealed in her hair.<br/><br/>It is thought that silkworms and knowledge of sericulture travelled from Khotan south to India and west to Sassanid Persia during the 4th century, while records also recount a Japanese expedition to China in the same century carrying four silk-weaving girls, together with silkworm eggs, back to Japan.<br/><br/>Khotan traces its history back at least as far as the 3rd century BCE, when the eldest son of the Indian emperor Asoka is said to have settled here. It was of great importance on the Silk Road, and is claimed to have been the first place outside China to have cultivated silk.<br/><br/>It sits astride the Karakash or ‘Black Jade’ and Yurungkash or ‘White Jade’ Rivers, which here conjoin to form the Khotan Darya, and has been famous for its jade for well over two millennia.<br/><br/>In times past trade routes crossed the desert to the north all the way to Kuqa, and as recently as 2007 this link has been re-established for the first time in centuries with the opening of a second Desert Highway leading to Aksu, distant some 424km to the north.<br/><br/>In 1006 Khotan was conquered by Uighur Muslims from Kashgar, and since that time the city remains a very Uighur place.
During the first half of the 1st century CE, silk worm technology is thought to have reached the Han-Chinese dominated oasis of Khotan in the Tarim Basin – an oasis that is still a centre of silk production today. A Chinese princess given in marriage to a Khotan prince is said to have carried the eggs of silkworms to her new husband concealed in her hair.<br/><br/>It is thought that silkworms and knowledge of sericulture travelled from Khotan south to India and west to Sassanid Persia during the 4th century, while records also recount a Japanese expedition to China in the same century carrying four silk-weaving girls, together with silkworm eggs, back to Japan.<br/><br/>Khotan traces its history back at least as far as the 3rd century BCE, when the eldest son of the Indian emperor Asoka is said to have settled here. It was of great importance on the Silk Road, and is claimed to have been the first place outside China to have cultivated silk.<br/><br/>It sits astride the Karakash or ‘Black Jade’ and Yurungkash or ‘White Jade’ Rivers, which here conjoin to form the Khotan Darya, and has been famous for its jade for well over two millennia.<br/><br/>In times past trade routes crossed the desert to the north all the way to Kuqa, and as recently as 2007 this link has been re-established for the first time in centuries with the opening of a second Desert Highway leading to Aksu, distant some 424km to the north.<br/><br/>In 1006 Khotan was conquered by Uighur Muslims from Kashgar, and since that time the city remains a very Uighur place.
During the first half of the 1st century CE, silk worm technology is thought to have reached the Han-Chinese dominated oasis of Khotan in the Tarim Basin – an oasis that is still a centre of silk production today. A Chinese princess given in marriage to a Khotan prince is said to have carried the eggs of silkworms to her new husband concealed in her hair.<br/><br/>It is thought that silkworms and knowledge of sericulture travelled from Khotan south to India and west to Sassanid Persia during the 4th century, while records also recount a Japanese expedition to China in the same century carrying four silk-weaving girls, together with silkworm eggs, back to Japan.<br/><br/>Khotan traces its history back at least as far as the 3rd century BCE, when the eldest son of the Indian emperor Asoka is said to have settled here. It was of great importance on the Silk Road, and is claimed to have been the first place outside China to have cultivated silk.<br/><br/>It sits astride the Karakash or ‘Black Jade’ and Yurungkash or ‘White Jade’ Rivers, which here conjoin to form the Khotan Darya, and has been famous for its jade for well over two millennia.<br/><br/>In times past trade routes crossed the desert to the north all the way to Kuqa, and as recently as 2007 this link has been re-established for the first time in centuries with the opening of a second Desert Highway leading to Aksu, distant some 424km to the north.<br/><br/>In 1006 Khotan was conquered by Uighur Muslims from Kashgar, and since that time the city remains a very Uighur place.
During the first half of the 1st century CE, silk worm technology is thought to have reached the Han-Chinese dominated oasis of Khotan in the Tarim Basin – an oasis that is still a centre of silk production today. A Chinese princess given in marriage to a Khotan prince is said to have carried the eggs of silkworms to her new husband concealed in her hair.<br/><br/>It is thought that silkworms and knowledge of sericulture travelled from Khotan south to India and west to Sassanid Persia during the 4th century, while records also recount a Japanese expedition to China in the same century carrying four silk-weaving girls, together with silkworm eggs, back to Japan.<br/><br/>Khotan traces its history back at least as far as the 3rd century BCE, when the eldest son of the Indian emperor Asoka is said to have settled here. It was of great importance on the Silk Road, and is claimed to have been the first place outside China to have cultivated silk.<br/><br/>It sits astride the Karakash or ‘Black Jade’ and Yurungkash or ‘White Jade’ Rivers, which here conjoin to form the Khotan Darya, and has been famous for its jade for well over two millennia.<br/><br/>In times past trade routes crossed the desert to the north all the way to Kuqa, and as recently as 2007 this link has been re-established for the first time in centuries with the opening of a second Desert Highway leading to Aksu, distant some 424km to the north.<br/><br/>In 1006 Khotan was conquered by Uighur Muslims from Kashgar, and since that time the city remains a very Uighur place.
During the first half of the 1st century CE, silk worm technology is thought to have reached the Han-Chinese dominated oasis of Khotan in the Tarim Basin – an oasis that is still a centre of silk production today. A Chinese princess given in marriage to a Khotan prince is said to have carried the eggs of silkworms to her new husband concealed in her hair.<br/><br/>It is thought that silkworms and knowledge of sericulture travelled from Khotan south to India and west to Sassanid Persia during the 4th century, while records also recount a Japanese expedition to China in the same century carrying four silk-weaving girls, together with silkworm eggs, back to Japan.<br/><br/>Khotan traces its history back at least as far as the 3rd century BCE, when the eldest son of the Indian emperor Asoka is said to have settled here. It was of great importance on the Silk Road, and is claimed to have been the first place outside China to have cultivated silk.<br/><br/>It sits astride the Karakash or ‘Black Jade’ and Yurungkash or ‘White Jade’ Rivers, which here conjoin to form the Khotan Darya, and has been famous for its jade for well over two millennia.<br/><br/>In times past trade routes crossed the desert to the north all the way to Kuqa, and as recently as 2007 this link has been re-established for the first time in centuries with the opening of a second Desert Highway leading to Aksu, distant some 424km to the north.<br/><br/>In 1006 Khotan was conquered by Uighur Muslims from Kashgar, and since that time the city remains a very Uighur place.
During the first half of the 1st century CE, silk worm technology is thought to have reached the Han-Chinese dominated oasis of Khotan in the Tarim Basin – an oasis that is still a centre of silk production today. A Chinese princess given in marriage to a Khotan prince is said to have carried the eggs of silkworms to her new husband concealed in her hair.<br/><br/>It is thought that silkworms and knowledge of sericulture travelled from Khotan south to India and west to Sassanid Persia during the 4th century, while records also recount a Japanese expedition to China in the same century carrying four silk-weaving girls, together with silkworm eggs, back to Japan.<br/><br/>Khotan traces its history back at least as far as the 3rd century BCE, when the eldest son of the Indian emperor Asoka is said to have settled here. It was of great importance on the Silk Road, and is claimed to have been the first place outside China to have cultivated silk.<br/><br/>It sits astride the Karakash or ‘Black Jade’ and Yurungkash or ‘White Jade’ Rivers, which here conjoin to form the Khotan Darya, and has been famous for its jade for well over two millennia.<br/><br/>In times past trade routes crossed the desert to the north all the way to Kuqa, and as recently as 2007 this link has been re-established for the first time in centuries with the opening of a second Desert Highway leading to Aksu, distant some 424km to the north.<br/><br/>In 1006 Khotan was conquered by Uighur Muslims from Kashgar, and since that time the city remains a very Uighur place.
During the first half of the 1st century CE, silk worm technology is thought to have reached the Han-Chinese dominated oasis of Khotan in the Tarim Basin – an oasis that is still a centre of silk production today. A Chinese princess given in marriage to a Khotan prince is said to have carried the eggs of silkworms to her new husband concealed in her hair.<br/><br/>It is thought that silkworms and knowledge of sericulture travelled from Khotan south to India and west to Sassanid Persia during the 4th century, while records also recount a Japanese expedition to China in the same century carrying four silk-weaving girls, together with silkworm eggs, back to Japan.<br/><br/>Khotan traces its history back at least as far as the 3rd century BCE, when the eldest son of the Indian emperor Asoka is said to have settled here. It was of great importance on the Silk Road, and is claimed to have been the first place outside China to have cultivated silk.<br/><br/>It sits astride the Karakash or ‘Black Jade’ and Yurungkash or ‘White Jade’ Rivers, which here conjoin to form the Khotan Darya, and has been famous for its jade for well over two millennia.<br/><br/>In times past trade routes crossed the desert to the north all the way to Kuqa, and as recently as 2007 this link has been re-established for the first time in centuries with the opening of a second Desert Highway leading to Aksu, distant some 424km to the north.<br/><br/>In 1006 Khotan was conquered by Uighur Muslims from Kashgar, and since that time the city remains a very Uighur place.
During the first half of the 1st century CE, silk worm technology is thought to have reached the Han-Chinese dominated oasis of Khotan in the Tarim Basin – an oasis that is still a centre of silk production today. A Chinese princess given in marriage to a Khotan prince is said to have carried the eggs of silkworms to her new husband concealed in her hair.<br/><br/>It is thought that silkworms and knowledge of sericulture travelled from Khotan south to India and west to Sassanid Persia during the 4th century, while records also recount a Japanese expedition to China in the same century carrying four silk-weaving girls, together with silkworm eggs, back to Japan.<br/><br/>Khotan traces its history back at least as far as the 3rd century BCE, when the eldest son of the Indian emperor Asoka is said to have settled here. It was of great importance on the Silk Road, and is claimed to have been the first place outside China to have cultivated silk.<br/><br/>It sits astride the Karakash or ‘Black Jade’ and Yurungkash or ‘White Jade’ Rivers, which here conjoin to form the Khotan Darya, and has been famous for its jade for well over two millennia.<br/><br/>In times past trade routes crossed the desert to the north all the way to Kuqa, and as recently as 2007 this link has been re-established for the first time in centuries with the opening of a second Desert Highway leading to Aksu, distant some 424km to the north.<br/><br/>In 1006 Khotan was conquered by Uighur Muslims from Kashgar, and since that time the city remains a very Uighur place.
The small Uighur-dominated oasis of Yengisar (Yingjisha) is known throughout the western Chinese province of Xinjiang for its production of handmade knives. The Small Knife Factory (Pichak Chilik Karakhana / Xiadaochang) employs skilled local craftsmen producing fine knives with inlaid handles. Just about every Uighur man carries a knife, both as a sign of manhood and for the more utilitarian purpose of cutting up melons, and the most valued (and expensive) come from Yengisar.
The small Uighur-dominated oasis of Yengisar (Yingjisha) is known throughout the western Chinese province of Xinjiang for its production of handmade knives. The Small Knife Factory (Pichak Chilik Karakhana / Xiadaochang) employs skilled local craftsmen producing fine knives with inlaid handles. Just about every Uighur man carries a knife, both as a sign of manhood and for the more utilitarian purpose of cutting up melons, and the most valued (and expensive) come from Yengisar.
The small Uighur-dominated oasis of Yengisar (Yingjisha) is known throughout the western Chinese province of Xinjiang for its production of handmade knives. The Small Knife Factory (Pichak Chilik Karakhana / Xiadaochang) employs skilled local craftsmen producing fine knives with inlaid handles. Just about every Uighur man carries a knife, both as a sign of manhood and for the more utilitarian purpose of cutting up melons, and the most valued (and expensive) come from Yengisar.
The small Uighur-dominated oasis of Yengisar (Yingjisha) is known throughout the western Chinese province of Xinjiang for its production of handmade knives. The Small Knife Factory (Pichak Chilik Karakhana / Xiadaochang) employs skilled local craftsmen producing fine knives with inlaid handles. Just about every Uighur man carries a knife, both as a sign of manhood and for the more utilitarian purpose of cutting up melons, and the most valued (and expensive) come from Yengisar.
The small Uighur-dominated oasis of Yengisar (Yingjisha) is known throughout the western Chinese province of Xinjiang for its production of handmade knives. The Small Knife Factory (Pichak Chilik Karakhana / Xiadaochang) employs skilled local craftsmen producing fine knives with inlaid handles. Just about every Uighur man carries a knife, both as a sign of manhood and for the more utilitarian purpose of cutting up melons, and the most valued (and expensive) come from Yengisar.
The small Uighur-dominated oasis of Yengisar (Yingjisha) is known throughout the western Chinese province of Xinjiang for its production of handmade knives. The Small Knife Factory (Pichak Chilik Karakhana / Xiadaochang) employs skilled local craftsmen producing fine knives with inlaid handles. Just about every Uighur man carries a knife, both as a sign of manhood and for the more utilitarian purpose of cutting up melons, and the most valued (and expensive) come from Yengisar.
The small Uighur-dominated oasis of Yengisar (Yingjisha) is known throughout the western Chinese province of Xinjiang for its production of handmade knives. The Small Knife Factory (Pichak Chilik Karakhana / Xiadaochang) employs skilled local craftsmen producing fine knives with inlaid handles. Just about every Uighur man carries a knife, both as a sign of manhood and for the more utilitarian purpose of cutting up melons, and the most valued (and expensive) come from Yengisar.
The small Uighur-dominated oasis of Yengisar (Yingjisha) is known throughout the western Chinese province of Xinjiang for its production of handmade knives. The Small Knife Factory (Pichak Chilik Karakhana / Xiadaochang) employs skilled local craftsmen producing fine knives with inlaid handles. Just about every Uighur man carries a knife, both as a sign of manhood and for the more utilitarian purpose of cutting up melons, and the most valued (and expensive) come from Yengisar.
The small Uighur-dominated oasis of Yengisar (Yingjisha) is known throughout the western Chinese province of Xinjiang for its production of handmade knives. The Small Knife Factory (Pichak Chilik Karakhana / Xiadaochang) employs skilled local craftsmen producing fine knives with inlaid handles. Just about every Uighur man carries a knife, both as a sign of manhood and for the more utilitarian purpose of cutting up melons, and the most valued (and expensive) come from Yengisar.
The small Uighur-dominated oasis of Yengisar (Yingjisha) is known throughout the western Chinese province of Xinjiang for its production of handmade knives. The Small Knife Factory (Pichak Chilik Karakhana / Xiadaochang) employs skilled local craftsmen producing fine knives with inlaid handles. Just about every Uighur man carries a knife, both as a sign of manhood and for the more utilitarian purpose of cutting up melons, and the most valued (and expensive) come from Yengisar.
The small Uighur-dominated oasis of Yengisar (Yingjisha) is known throughout the western Chinese province of Xinjiang for its production of handmade knives. The Small Knife Factory (Pichak Chilik Karakhana / Xiadaochang) employs skilled local craftsmen producing fine knives with inlaid handles. Just about every Uighur man carries a knife, both as a sign of manhood and for the more utilitarian purpose of cutting up melons, and the most valued (and expensive) come from Yengisar.
The small Uighur-dominated oasis of Yengisar (Yingjisha) is known throughout the western Chinese province of Xinjiang for its production of handmade knives. The Small Knife Factory (Pichak Chilik Karakhana / Xiadaochang) employs skilled local craftsmen producing fine knives with inlaid handles. Just about every Uighur man carries a knife, both as a sign of manhood and for the more utilitarian purpose of cutting up melons, and the most valued (and expensive) come from Yengisar.
The small Uighur-dominated oasis of Yengisar (Yingjisha) is known throughout the western Chinese province of Xinjiang for its production of handmade knives. The Small Knife Factory (Pichak Chilik Karakhana / Xiadaochang) employs skilled local craftsmen producing fine knives with inlaid handles. Just about every Uighur man carries a knife, both as a sign of manhood and for the more utilitarian purpose of cutting up melons, and the most valued (and expensive) come from Yengisar.
The small Uighur-dominated oasis of Yengisar (Yingjisha) is known throughout the western Chinese province of Xinjiang for its production of handmade knives. The Small Knife Factory (Pichak Chilik Karakhana / Xiadaochang) employs skilled local craftsmen producing fine knives with inlaid handles. Just about every Uighur man carries a knife, both as a sign of manhood and for the more utilitarian purpose of cutting up melons, and the most valued (and expensive) come from Yengisar.
The important oasis of Yarkand (Shache) was once the seat of an ancient Buddhist Kingdom and an important caravanserai on the Southern Silk Road. Today it is a predominantly Uighur city with a population of 375,000 producing cotton, wheat, corn and fruit (notably pomegranates, pears and grapes) as well as oil and natural gas.<br/><br/>In times past Yarkand was of particular importance as the northern terminus for the strategically significant trade route to Leh, capital of Ladakh in Indian-administered Kashmir, across the Karakoram Pass (5,575m., 18,286 ft).
The important oasis of Yarkand (Shache) was once the seat of an ancient Buddhist Kingdom and an important caravanserai on the Southern Silk Road. Today it is a predominantly Uighur city with a population of 375,000 producing cotton, wheat, corn and fruit (notably pomegranates, pears and grapes) as well as oil and natural gas.<br/><br/>In times past Yarkand was of particular importance as the northern terminus for the strategically significant trade route to Leh, capital of Ladakh in Indian-administered Kashmir, across the Karakoram Pass (5,575m., 18,286 ft).
T. Enami (Enami Nobukuni, 1859 – 1929) was the trade name of a celebrated Meiji period photographer. The T. of his trade name is thought to have stood for Toshi, though he never spelled it out on any personal or business document.<br/><br/> Born in Edo (now Tokyo) during the Bakumatsu era, Enami was first a student of, and then an assistant to the well known photographer and collotypist, Ogawa Kazumasa. Enami relocated to Yokohama, and opened a studio on Benten-dōri (Benten Street) in 1892. Just a few doors away from him was the studio of the already well known Tamamura Kozaburō. He and Enami would work together on at least three related projects over the years.<br/><br/> Enami became quietly unique as the only photographer of that period known to work in all popular formats, including the production of large-format photographs compiled into what are commonly called "Yokohama Albums". Enami went on to become Japan's most prolific photographer of small-format images such as the stereoview and glass lantern-slides. The best of these were delicately hand-tinted.
Located in the northeast of the country, Shan State covers one-quarter of Burma’s land mass. It was traditionally separated into principalities and is mostly comprised of ethnic Shan, Burman Pa-O, Intha, Taungyo, Danu, Palaung and Kachin peoples.<br/><br/> The ethnic Tai-Shan people are believed to have migrated from Yunnan in China. The Shan are descendants of the oldest branch of the Tai-Shan, known as ‘Tai Long’ (Great Tai) or ‘Thai Yai’ (Big Thai). The Tai-Shan who migrated to the south and now inhabit modern-day Laos and Thailand are known as ‘Tai Noi’ (Little Tai) or ‘Tai Nyai’.<br/><br/> The Shan have inhabited the Shan Plateau and other parts of modern-day Myanmar as far back as the 10th century CE. The Shan kingdom of Mong Mao (Muang Mao) existed as early as the 10th century CE, but became a Burmese vassal state during the reign of King Anawrahta of Pagan (1044-1077).
During the first half of the 1st century CE, silk worm technology is thought to have reached the Han-Chinese dominated oasis of Khotan in the Tarim Basin – an oasis that is still a centre of silk production today. A Chinese princess given in marriage to a Khotan prince is said to have carried the eggs of silkworms to her new husband concealed in her hair.<br/><br/>It is thought that silkworms and knowledge of sericulture travelled from Khotan south to India and west to Sassanid Persia during the 4th century, while records also recount a Japanese expedition to China in the same century carrying four silk-weaving girls, together with silkworm eggs, back to Japan.<br/><br/>Khotan traces its history back at least as far as the 3rd century BCE, when the eldest son of the Indian emperor Asoka is said to have settled here. It was of great importance on the Silk Road, and is claimed to have been the first place outside China to have cultivated silk.<br/><br/>It sits astride the Karakash or ‘Black Jade’ and Yurungkash or ‘White Jade’ Rivers, which here conjoin to form the Khotan Darya, and has been famous for its jade for well over two millennia.<br/><br/>In times past trade routes crossed the desert to the north all the way to Kuqa, and as recently as 2007 this link has been re-established for the first time in centuries with the opening of a second Desert Highway leading to Aksu, distant some 424km to the north.<br/><br/>In 1006 Khotan was conquered by Uighur Muslims from Kashgar, and since that time the city remains a very Uighur place.
During the first half of the 1st century CE, silk worm technology is thought to have reached the Han-Chinese dominated oasis of Khotan in the Tarim Basin – an oasis that is still a centre of silk production today. A Chinese princess given in marriage to a Khotan prince is said to have carried the eggs of silkworms to her new husband concealed in her hair.<br/><br/>It is thought that silkworms and knowledge of sericulture travelled from Khotan south to India and west to Sassanid Persia during the 4th century, while records also recount a Japanese expedition to China in the same century carrying four silk-weaving girls, together with silkworm eggs, back to Japan.<br/><br/>Khotan traces its history back at least as far as the 3rd century BCE, when the eldest son of the Indian emperor Asoka is said to have settled here. It was of great importance on the Silk Road, and is claimed to have been the first place outside China to have cultivated silk.<br/><br/>It sits astride the Karakash or ‘Black Jade’ and Yurungkash or ‘White Jade’ Rivers, which here conjoin to form the Khotan Darya, and has been famous for its jade for well over two millennia.<br/><br/>In times past trade routes crossed the desert to the north all the way to Kuqa, and as recently as 2007 this link has been re-established for the first time in centuries with the opening of a second Desert Highway leading to Aksu, distant some 424km to the north.<br/><br/>In 1006 Khotan was conquered by Uighur Muslims from Kashgar, and since that time the city remains a very Uighur place.
Frederik Hendrik / Frederick Henry (1584-1647) was the ruling Prince of Orange and stadtholder of Holland, Guelders, Overijssel, Utrecht and Zeeland. The youngest son of the famed William the Silent, he was the half-brother of the previous Prince of Orange and his predecessor, Maurice, who passed away in 1625. Frederik was born six months before his father's assassination in 1584, and was trained in arms and educated by Maurice.<br/><br/> Frederik proved to be almost as fine a general as his half-brother, as well as a more capable politician and statesman, ruling over the Dutch United Provinces for twenty-two years and waging a successful war against the Spanish Empire. The power of the stadtholderate reached its highest point under him, with the 'Period of Frederik Hendrik' being styled by Dutch writers as a golden age for the young republic.<br/><br/> Frederik managed to secure a concluding peace that legitimised the United Provinces before his death in 1647, finally realising what the Dutch had been seeking for eighty years with the Treaty of Munster, which was formally ratified and signed a year after his death.