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The <i>Anwar-i Suhayli</i> or 'The Lights of Canopus', commonly known as the <i>Fables of Bidpai</i> in the West, is a Persian version of the ancient Indian collection of animal fables, the <i>Panchatantra</i>. It tells a tale of a Persian physician, Burzuyah, and his mission to India, where he stumbles upon a book of stories collected from the animals who reside there.<br/><br/> In a similar vein to the <i>Arabian Nights</i>, the fables in the manuscript are inter-woven as the characters of one story recount the next, leading up to three or four degrees of narrative embedding. Many usually have morals or offer philosophical glimpses into human behaviour, emphasising loyalty and teamwork.
The <i>Anwar-i Suhayli</i> or 'The Lights of Canopus', commonly known as the <i>Fables of Bidpai</i> in the West, is a Persian version of the ancient Indian collection of animal fables, the <i>Panchatantra</i>. It tells a tale of a Persian physician, Burzuyah, and his mission to India, where he stumbles upon a book of stories collected from the animals who reside there.<br/><br/> In a similar vein to the <i>Arabian Nights</i>, the fables in the manuscript are inter-woven as the characters of one story recount the next, leading up to three or four degrees of narrative embedding. Many usually have morals or offer philosophical glimpses into human behaviour, emphasising loyalty and teamwork.
Ibaraki-doji was an <i>oni</i> (demon / ogre) in Japanese tales and legends from the Heian Era. The demon was known to go on murderous rampages throughout the countryside and across Kyoto. She would also fool innocent travellers and kill them, wearing various disguises to lure them in.<br/><br/> Once, she tried to kill the legendary samurai Watanabe no Tsuna as he was travelling, appearing as a beautiful maiden who needed help. When Tsuna approached, the girl transformed into an <i>oni</i> and grabbed him by his hair, flying through the air to Mount Atago. Tsuna, not panicking, easily cut off the demon's arm however, causing Ibaraki-doji to flee. Tsuna took the arm back as a trophy to his estate.<br/><br/> Seven days later, Tsuna was visited by his aunt Mashiba, and when he told her of his ordeal with the <i>oni</i>, she asked to see the severed arm. When Tsuna complied and brought it out, Mashiba suddenly transformed into Ibaraki-doji, who grabbed the arm and then flew away. So shocked was Tsuna that he did not try to stop the demon.
An amphora (English plural: amphorae or amphoras) is a type of container of a characteristic shape and size, descending from at least as early as the Neolithic Period. Amphorae were used in vast numbers for the transport and storage of various products, both liquid and dry, but mostly for wine. It is most often ceramic, but examples in metals and other materials have been found.<br/><br/> Stoppers of perishable materials, which have rarely survived, were used to seal the contents. Two principal types of amphorae existed: the neck amphora, in which the neck and body meet at a sharp angle; and the one-piece amphora, in which the neck and body form a continuous curve. Neck amphorae were commonly used in the early history of ancient Greece, but were gradually replaced by the one-piece type from around the 7th century BCE.
World War I (WWI or WW1 or World War One), also known as the First World War or the Great War, was a global war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918. More than 9 million combatants and 7 million civilians died as a result of the war, a casualty rate exacerbated by the belligerents' technological and industrial sophistication, and tactical stalemate. It was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, paving the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved.<br/><br/> The war drew in all the world's economic great powers, which were assembled in two opposing alliances: the Allies (based on the Triple Entente of the United Kingdom, France and the Russian Empire) and the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. Although Italy had also been a member of the Triple Alliance alongside Germany and Austria-Hungary, it did not join the Central Powers, as Austria-Hungary had taken the offensive against the terms of the alliance.<br/><br/> These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war: Italy, Japan and the United States joined the Allies, and the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria the Central Powers. Ultimately, more than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history.
An amphora (English plural: amphorae or amphoras) is a type of container of a characteristic shape and size, descending from at least as early as the Neolithic Period. Amphorae were used in vast numbers for the transport and storage of various products, both liquid and dry, but mostly for wine. It is most often ceramic, but examples in metals and other materials have been found.<br/><br/> Stoppers of perishable materials, which have rarely survived, were used to seal the contents. Two principal types of amphorae existed: the neck amphora, in which the neck and body meet at a sharp angle; and the one-piece amphora, in which the neck and body form a continuous curve. Neck amphorae were commonly used in the early history of ancient Greece, but were gradually replaced by the one-piece type from around the 7th century BCE.
The Battle of Peleliu was fought between the United States and the Empire of Japan in the Pacific Theater of World War II, from September to November 1944 on the island of Peleliu (in present-day Palau). U.S. Marines of the First Marine Division, and later soldiers of the U.S. Army's 81st Infantry Division, fought to capture an airstrip on the small coral island.<br/><br/> This battle was part of a larger offensive campaign known as Operation Forager, which ran from June to November 1944 in the Pacific Theater of Operations.
The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a series of battles fought in the Ryukyu Islands, centered on the island of Okinawa, and included the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War.The 82-day-long battle lasted from 1 April until 22 June 1945.<br/><br/> The Battle of Okinawa was remarkable for the ferocity of the fighting, the intensity of kamikaze attacks from the Japanese defenders, and the great number of Allied ships and armored vehicles that assaulted the island. The battle was one of the bloodiest in the Pacific.
Sir Lancelot du Lac (meaning Lancelot of the Lake, baptised as Galahad) was one of the Knights of the Round Table in the Arthurian legend. He typically features as King Arthur's greatest companion, the lord of Joyous Gard and the greatest swordsman and jouster of the age.<br/><br/> Then his adultery with Queen Guinevere is discovered, causing a civil war exploited by Mordred which brings about the end of Arthur's kingdom.
The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a series of battles fought in the Ryukyu Islands, centered on the island of Okinawa, and included the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War.The 82-day-long battle lasted from 1 April until 22 June 1945.<br/><br/> The Battle of Okinawa was remarkable for the ferocity of the fighting, the intensity of kamikaze attacks from the Japanese defenders, and the great number of Allied ships and armored vehicles that assaulted the island. The battle was one of the bloodiest in the Pacific.
Hereward the Wake (also known as Hereward the Outlaw or Hereward the Exile, c. 1035 – c.1072) was an 11th-century leader of local resistance to the Norman conquest of England.<br/><br/> Hereward's base, when leading the rebellion against the Norman rulers, was in the Isle of Ely, and according to legend he roamed The Fens, covering North Cambridgeshire, Southern Lincolnshire and West Norfolk, leading popular opposition to William the Conqueror.
Utagawa Kuniyoshi (January 1, 1798 - April 14, 1861) was one of the last great masters of the Japanese ukiyo-e style of woodblock prints and painting. He is associated with the Utagawa school.<br/><br/> The range of Kuniyoshi's preferred subjects included many genres: landscapes, beautiful women, Kabuki actors, cats, and mythical animals. He is known for depictions of the battles of samurai and legendary heroes. His artwork was affected by Western influences in landscape painting and caricature.
The Second Sino-Japanese War (July 7, 1937 – September 9, 1945) was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the war merged into the greater conflict of World War II as a major front of what is broadly known as the Pacific War.<br/><br/> Although the two countries had fought intermittently since 1931, total war started in earnest in 1937 and ended only with the surrender of Japan in 1945. The war was the result of a decades-long Japanese imperialist policy aiming to dominate China politically and militarily and to secure its vast raw material reserves and other economic resources, particularly food and labour. Before 1937, China and Japan fought in small, localized engagements.<br/><br/> Yet the two sides, for a variety of reasons, refrained from fighting a total war. In 1931, the Japanese invasion of Manchuria by Japan's Kwantung Army followed the Mukden Incident. The last of these incidents was the Marco Polo Bridge Incident of 1937, marking the beginning of total war between the two countries.
The Second Sino-Japanese War (July 7, 1937 – September 9, 1945) was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the war merged into the greater conflict of World War II as a major front of what is broadly known as the Pacific War.<br/><br/> Although the two countries had fought intermittently since 1931, total war started in earnest in 1937 and ended only with the surrender of Japan in 1945. The war was the result of a decades-long Japanese imperialist policy aiming to dominate China politically and militarily and to secure its vast raw material reserves and other economic resources, particularly food and labour. Before 1937, China and Japan fought in small, localized engagements.<br/><br/> Yet the two sides, for a variety of reasons, refrained from fighting a total war. In 1931, the Japanese invasion of Manchuria by Japan's Kwantung Army followed the Mukden Incident. The last of these incidents was the Marco Polo Bridge Incident of 1937, marking the beginning of total war between the two countries.
Yamamoto Kansuke (山本 勘助, 1501 – October 18, 1561) was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period. He was known as one of the 'Twenty-Four Generals of Takeda Shingen'.<br/><br/> Also known by his formal name, Haruyuki (晴幸), he was a brilliant strategist, and is particularly known for his plan which led to victory in the fourth battle of Kawanakajima (September 10, 1561) against Uesugi Kenshin. However, Kansuke never lived to see his plan succeed; thinking it to have failed, he charged headlong into the enemy ranks, dying in battle.
The Korean War (25 June 1950 - armistice signed 27 July 1953) was a military conflict between the Republic of Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China (PRC), with military material aid from the Soviet Union. The war was a result of the physical division of Korea by an agreement of the victorious Allies at the conclusion of the Pacific War at the end of World War II.<br/><br/>The Korean peninsula was ruled by Japan from 1910 until the end of World War II. Following the surrender of Japan in 1945, American administrators divided the peninsula along the 38th Parallel, with United States troops occupying the southern part and Soviet troops occupying the northern part. The failure to hold free elections throughout the Korean Peninsula in 1948 deepened the division between the two sides, and the North established a Communist government. The situation escalated into open warfare when North Korean forces invaded South Korea on 25 June 1950. It was the first significant armed conflict of the Cold War.<br/><br/>The United Nations, particularly the United States, came to the aid of South Korea in repelling the invasion. A rapid UN counter-offensive drove the North Koreans past the 38th Parallel and almost to the Yalu River, and the People's Republic of China (PRC) entered the war on the side of the North. The Chinese launched a counter-offensive that pushed the United Nations forces back across the 38th Parallel.<br/><br/>The Soviet Union materially aided the North Korean and Chinese armies. In 1953, the war ceased with an armistice that restored the border between the Koreas near the 38th Parallel and created the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), a 2.5-mile (4.0 km) wide buffer zone between the two Koreas. Minor outbreaks of fighting continue to the present day.
The Second Anglo-Afghan War was fought between the United Kingdom and Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the nation was ruled by Sher Ali Khan of the Barakzai dynasty, the son of former Emir Dost Mohammad Khan. This was the second time British India invaded Afghanistan.<br/><br/> The war ended in a manner after attaining all the British geopolitical objectives. Most of the British and Indian soldiers withdrew from Afghanistan. The Afghans were permitted to maintain internal sovereignty but they had to cede control of their nation's foreign relations to the British.
The Bayon was originally the official state temple of the Mahayana Buddhist King Jayavarman VII. The Bayon, at the centre of Angkor Thom (Great City), was established in the 12th century by King Jayavarman VII.<br/><br/> Angkor Thom, meaning ‘The Great City’, is located one mile north of Angkor Wat. It was built in the late 12th century CE by King Jayavarman VII, and covers an area of 9 km², within which are located several monuments from earlier eras as well as those established by Jayavarman and his successors. It is believed to have sustained a population of 80,000-150,000 people.<br/><br/> At the centre of the city is Jayavarman's state temple, the Bayon, with the other major sites clustered around the Victory Square immediately to the north.<br/><br/> Angkor Thom was established as the capital of Jayavarman VII's empire, and was the centre of his massive building programme. One inscription found in the city refers to Jayavarman as the groom and the city as his bride.<br/><br/> Angkor Thom seems not to be the first Khmer capital on the site, however, as Yasodharapura, dating from three centuries earlier, was centred slightly further northwest.<br/><br/> The last temple known to have been constructed in Angkor Thom was Mangalartha, which was dedicated in 1295. In the following centuries Angkor Thom remained the capital of a kingdom in decline until it was abandoned some time prior to 1609.
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.
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.
The Shahnameh or Shah-nama (Persian: شاهنامه Šāhnāmeh, 'The Book of Kings') is a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c.977 and 1010 CE and is the national epic of Iran and related Perso-Iranian cultures. Consisting of some 60,000 verses, the Shahnameh tells the mythical and to some extent the historical past of Greater Iran from the creation of the world until the Islamic conquest of Persia in the 7th century.<br/><br/> The work is of central importance in Persian culture, regarded as a literary masterpiece, and definitive of ethno-national cultural identity of Iran. It is also important to the contemporary adherents of Zoroastrianism, in that it traces the historical links between the beginnings of the religion with the death of the last Zoroastrian ruler of Persia during the Muslim conquest.
The Second Opium War, the Second Anglo-Chinese War, the Second China War, the Arrow War, or the Anglo-French expedition to China, was a war pitting the British Empire and the Second French Empire against the Qing Dynasty of China, lasting from 1856–1860.
Beetle-fighting and betting thereon, is a traditional pastime among the Northern Thai, sections of the Shan in neighbouring Burma, and the Lao Tai of northern Laos. During the rainy season – between approximately July and October – when the rice is maturing in the paddies and farmers have some free time before the cool season harvest begins, the spectacular tua kuang, or rhinoceros beetles of the region begin their mating season in the forests and jungles of the northern borderlands.<br/><br/> There are at least five separate types of kuang living in north Thailand. As a group, they are distinguished by the male of the species, which sports a giant, armoured carapace surmounted by horn-like pincers, giving the creatures their common English name 'rhinoceros beetle'. By contrast, the female beetle seems an ordinary, even plain creature – though evidently, and reasonably enough, not to the male. During the mating season, deep in their natural habitat of bamboo groves or sugar cane clumps, the female emits a scent which stimulates the male and helps him find her.
Beetle-fighting and betting thereon, is a traditional pastime among the Northern Thai, sections of the Shan in neighbouring Burma, and the Lao Tai of northern Laos. During the rainy season – between approximately July and October – when the rice is maturing in the paddies and farmers have some free time before the cool season harvest begins, the spectacular tua kuang, or rhinoceros beetles of the region begin their mating season in the forests and jungles of the northern borderlands.<br/><br/> There are at least five separate types of kuang living in north Thailand. As a group, they are distinguished by the male of the species, which sports a giant, armoured carapace surmounted by horn-like pincers, giving the creatures their common English name 'rhinoceros beetle'. By contrast, the female beetle seems an ordinary, even plain creature – though evidently, and reasonably enough, not to the male. During the mating season, deep in their natural habitat of bamboo groves or sugar cane clumps, the female emits a scent which stimulates the male and helps him find her.
Beetle-fighting and betting thereon, is a traditional pastime among the Northern Thai, sections of the Shan in neighbouring Burma, and the Lao Tai of northern Laos. During the rainy season – between approximately July and October – when the rice is maturing in the paddies and farmers have some free time before the cool season harvest begins, the spectacular tua kuang, or rhinoceros beetles of the region begin their mating season in the forests and jungles of the northern borderlands.<br/><br/> There are at least five separate types of kuang living in north Thailand. As a group, they are distinguished by the male of the species, which sports a giant, armoured carapace surmounted by horn-like pincers, giving the creatures their common English name 'rhinoceros beetle'. By contrast, the female beetle seems an ordinary, even plain creature – though evidently, and reasonably enough, not to the male. During the mating season, deep in their natural habitat of bamboo groves or sugar cane clumps, the female emits a scent which stimulates the male and helps him find her.
Beetle-fighting and betting thereon, is a traditional pastime among the Northern Thai, sections of the Shan in neighbouring Burma, and the Lao Tai of northern Laos. During the rainy season – between approximately July and October – when the rice is maturing in the paddies and farmers have some free time before the cool season harvest begins, the spectacular tua kuang, or rhinoceros beetles of the region begin their mating season in the forests and jungles of the northern borderlands.<br/><br/> There are at least five separate types of kuang living in north Thailand. As a group, they are distinguished by the male of the species, which sports a giant, armoured carapace surmounted by horn-like pincers, giving the creatures their common English name 'rhinoceros beetle'. By contrast, the female beetle seems an ordinary, even plain creature – though evidently, and reasonably enough, not to the male. During the mating season, deep in their natural habitat of bamboo groves or sugar cane clumps, the female emits a scent which stimulates the male and helps him find her.
Beetle-fighting and betting thereon, is a traditional pastime among the Northern Thai, sections of the Shan in neighbouring Burma, and the Lao Tai of northern Laos. During the rainy season – between approximately July and October – when the rice is maturing in the paddies and farmers have some free time before the cool season harvest begins, the spectacular tua kuang, or rhinoceros beetles of the region begin their mating season in the forests and jungles of the northern borderlands.<br/><br/> There are at least five separate types of kuang living in north Thailand. As a group, they are distinguished by the male of the species, which sports a giant, armoured carapace surmounted by horn-like pincers, giving the creatures their common English name 'rhinoceros beetle'. By contrast, the female beetle seems an ordinary, even plain creature – though evidently, and reasonably enough, not to the male. During the mating season, deep in their natural habitat of bamboo groves or sugar cane clumps, the female emits a scent which stimulates the male and helps him find her.
Beetle-fighting and betting thereon, is a traditional pastime among the Northern Thai, sections of the Shan in neighbouring Burma, and the Lao Tai of northern Laos. During the rainy season – between approximately July and October – when the rice is maturing in the paddies and farmers have some free time before the cool season harvest begins, the spectacular tua kuang, or rhinoceros beetles of the region begin their mating season in the forests and jungles of the northern borderlands.<br/><br/> There are at least five separate types of kuang living in north Thailand. As a group, they are distinguished by the male of the species, which sports a giant, armoured carapace surmounted by horn-like pincers, giving the creatures their common English name 'rhinoceros beetle'. By contrast, the female beetle seems an ordinary, even plain creature – though evidently, and reasonably enough, not to the male. During the mating season, deep in their natural habitat of bamboo groves or sugar cane clumps, the female emits a scent which stimulates the male and helps him find her.
Beetle-fighting and betting thereon, is a traditional pastime among the Northern Thai, sections of the Shan in neighbouring Burma, and the Lao Tai of northern Laos. During the rainy season – between approximately July and October – when the rice is maturing in the paddies and farmers have some free time before the cool season harvest begins, the spectacular tua kuang, or rhinoceros beetles of the region begin their mating season in the forests and jungles of the northern borderlands.<br/><br/> There are at least five separate types of kuang living in north Thailand. As a group, they are distinguished by the male of the species, which sports a giant, armoured carapace surmounted by horn-like pincers, giving the creatures their common English name 'rhinoceros beetle'. By contrast, the female beetle seems an ordinary, even plain creature – though evidently, and reasonably enough, not to the male. During the mating season, deep in their natural habitat of bamboo groves or sugar cane clumps, the female emits a scent which stimulates the male and helps him find her.
Beetle-fighting and betting thereon, is a traditional pastime among the Northern Thai, sections of the Shan in neighbouring Burma, and the Lao Tai of northern Laos. During the rainy season – between approximately July and October – when the rice is maturing in the paddies and farmers have some free time before the cool season harvest begins, the spectacular tua kuang, or rhinoceros beetles of the region begin their mating season in the forests and jungles of the northern borderlands.<br/><br/> There are at least five separate types of kuang living in north Thailand. As a group, they are distinguished by the male of the species, which sports a giant, armoured carapace surmounted by horn-like pincers, giving the creatures their common English name 'rhinoceros beetle'. By contrast, the female beetle seems an ordinary, even plain creature – though evidently, and reasonably enough, not to the male. During the mating season, deep in their natural habitat of bamboo groves or sugar cane clumps, the female emits a scent which stimulates the male and helps him find her.
Beetle-fighting and betting thereon, is a traditional pastime among the Northern Thai, sections of the Shan in neighbouring Burma, and the Lao Tai of northern Laos. During the rainy season – between approximately July and October – when the rice is maturing in the paddies and farmers have some free time before the cool season harvest begins, the spectacular tua kuang, or rhinoceros beetles of the region begin their mating season in the forests and jungles of the northern borderlands.<br/><br/> There are at least five separate types of kuang living in north Thailand. As a group, they are distinguished by the male of the species, which sports a giant, armoured carapace surmounted by horn-like pincers, giving the creatures their common English name 'rhinoceros beetle'. By contrast, the female beetle seems an ordinary, even plain creature – though evidently, and reasonably enough, not to the male. During the mating season, deep in their natural habitat of bamboo groves or sugar cane clumps, the female emits a scent which stimulates the male and helps him find her.
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.
The British conquest of Burma began in 1824 in response to a Burmese attempt to invade India. By 1886, and after two further wars, Britain had incorporated the entire country into the British Raj. To stimulate trade and facilitate changes, the British brought in Indians and Chinese, who quickly displaced the Burmese in urban areas. To this day Rangoon and Mandalay have large ethnic Indian populations. Railways and schools were built, as well as a large number of prisons, including the infamous Insein Prison, then as now used for political prisoners.<br/><br/> Burmese resentment was strong and was vented in violent riots that paralysed Rangoon on occasion all the way until the 1930s. Burma was administered as a province of British India until 1937 when it became a separate, self-governing colony. Burma finally gained independence from Britain on January 4, 1948.
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.
The Aceh War, also known as the Dutch War or the Infidel War (1873–1914), was an armed military conflict between the Sultanate of Aceh and the Netherlands which was triggered by discussions between representatives of Aceh and the United Kingdom in Singapore during early 1873.<br/><br/> The war was part of a series of conflicts in the late 19th century that consolidated Dutch rule over modern-day Indonesia.
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 Boxer Rebellion, also known as Boxer Uprising or Yihetuan Movement, was a proto-nationalist movement by the Righteous Harmony Society in China between 1898 and 1901, opposing foreign imperialism and Christianity.<br/><br/> The uprising took place in response to foreign spheres of influence in China, with grievances ranging from opium traders, political invasion, economic manipulation, to missionary evangelism. In China, popular sentiment remained resistant to foreign influences, and anger rose over the 'unequal treaties', which the weak Qing state could not resist.<br/><br/> Concerns grew that missionaries and Chinese Christians could use this decline to their advantage, appropriating lands and property of unwilling Chinese peasants to give to the church. This sentiment resulted in violent revolts against foreign interests.
World War One was to have a devastating impact on Russia. When World War One started in August 1914, Russia responded by patriotically rallying around Nicholas II.<br/><br/> Military disasters at the Masurian Lakes and Tannenburg greatly weakened the Russian Army in the initial phases of the war. The growing influence of Gregory Rasputin over the Romanov’s did a great deal to damage the royal family and by the end of the spring of 1917, the Romanovs, who had ruled Russia for just over 300 years, were no longer in charge of a Russia that had been taken over by Kerensky and the Provisional Government.<br/><br/> By the end of 1917, the Bolsheviks led by Lenin had taken power in the major cities of Russia and introduced communist rule in those areas it controlled. The transition in Russia over the space of four years was remarkable – the fall of an autocracy and the establishment of the world’s first communist government.
The Second Anglo-Afghan War was fought between the United Kingdom and Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the nation was ruled by Sher Ali Khan of the Barakzai dynasty, the son of former Emir Dost Mohammad Khan. This was the second time British India invaded Afghanistan. The war ended in a manner after attaining all the British geopolitical objectives. Most of the British and Indian soldiers withdrew from Afghanistan. The Afghans were permitted to maintain internal sovereignty but they had to cede control of their nation's foreign relations to the British.
Hanoi is the capital and second-largest city in Vietnam. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political center in the country, but was eclipsed by Hue during the Nguyen Dynasty as the capital of Vietnam. Hanoi served as the capital of French Indochina from 1902 to 1954, and from 1954 to 1976, it was the capital of North Vietnam.
Samurai is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. By the end of the 12th century, samurai became almost entirely synonymous with bushi, and the word was closely associated with the middle and upper echelons of the warrior class.<br/><br/> The samurai followed a set of rules that came to be known as Bushidō. While they numbered less than ten percent of Japan's population, samurai teachings can still be found today in both everyday life and in martial arts such as Kendō, meaning the way of the sword.
The Siberian Intervention (シベリア出兵 - Shiberia Shuppei), or the Siberian Expedition of 1918–1922 was the dispatch of troops of the Entente powers to the Russian Maritime Provinces as part of a larger effort by the western powers and Japan to support White Russian forces against the Bolshevik Red Army in the final year of World War I and during the Russian Civil War.<br/><br/> The Imperial Japanese Army continued to occupy Siberia even after other Allied forces had withdrawn in 1920.
The Siberian Intervention (シベリア出兵 - Shiberia Shuppei), or the Siberian Expedition of 1918–1922 was the dispatch of troops of the Entente powers to the Russian Maritime Provinces as part of a larger effort by the western powers and Japan to support White Russian forces against the Bolshevik Red Army in the final year of World War I and during the Russian Civil War.<br/><br/> The Imperial Japanese Army continued to occupy Siberia even after other Allied forces had withdrawn in 1920.
The Sri Lankan Civil War began on July 23, 1983, and quickly developed into an on-and-off insurgency against the Colombo government by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), commonly known as the Tamil Tigers, and other few rebel groups, which were fighting to create an independent Tamil state named Tamil Eelam in the north and the east of the island. After a 26-year military campaign, the Sri Lankan military defeated the Tamil Tigers in May 2009.
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.
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941 (December 8 in Japan).<br/><br/> The attack was intended as a preventive action in order to keep the U.S. Pacific Fleet from interfering with military actions the Empire of Japan was planning in Southeast Asia against overseas territories of the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and the United States.<br/><br/> The attack came as a profound shock to the American people and led directly to the American entry into World War II in both the Pacific and European theaters. The following day (December 8) the United States declared war on Japan. Domestic support for isolationism, which had been strong, disappeared. Clandestine support of Britain (for example the Neutrality Patrol) was replaced by active alliance. Subsequent operations by the U.S. prompted Germany and Italy to declare war on the U.S. on December 11, which was reciprocated by the U.S. the same day.<br/><br/> Despite numerous historical precedents for unannounced military action by Japan, the lack of any formal warning, particularly while negotiations were still apparently ongoing, led President Franklin D. Roosevelt to proclaim December 7, 1941, 'a date which will live in infamy'.
The Siberian Intervention (シベリア出兵 - Shiberia Shuppei), or the Siberian Expedition of 1918–1922 was the dispatch of troops of the Entente powers to the Russian Maritime Provinces as part of a larger effort by the western powers and Japan to support White Russian forces against the Bolshevik Red Army in the final year of World War I and during the Russian Civil War.<br/><br/> The Imperial Japanese Army continued to occupy Siberia even after other Allied forces had withdrawn in 1920.
Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix (26 April 1798 – 13 August 1863) was a French Romantic artist regarded from the outset of his career as the leader of the French Romantic school. Delacroix's use of expressive brushstrokes and his study of the optical effects of colour profoundly shaped the work of the Impressionists, while his passion for the exotic inspired the artists of the Symbolist movement.
The Shahanshahnamah or Changiznamah of Ahmad Tabrizi is a Persian history of the Mongols written for Abu Sa‘id written in 1337-1338. It is a Persianised and partially Islamised version of Mongol history - note that the central banner in the margin is topped with the name of God, 'Allah', in Arabic.
The Boshin War (戊辰戦争 Boshin Sensō) was a civil war in Japan, fought from 1868 to 1869 between forces of the ruling Tokugawa Shogunate and those seeking to return political power to the imperial court.<br/><br/> The war found its origins in dissatisfaction among many nobles and young samurai with the shogunate's handling of foreigners following the opening of Japan during the prior decade. An alliance of western samurai (particularly the domains of Chōshū, Satsuma and Tosa) and court officials secured control of the imperial court and influenced the young Emperor Meiji. Tokugawa Yoshinobu, the sitting shogun, realizing the futility of his situation, abdicated political power to the emperor. Yoshinobu had hoped that by doing this, the Tokugawa house could be preserved and participate in the future government.<br/><br/> However, military movements by imperial forces, partisan violence in Edo, and an imperial decree promoted by Satsuma and Choshu abolishing the house of Tokugawa led Yoshinobu to launch a military campaign to seize the emperor's court at Kyoto. The military tide rapidly turned in favor of the smaller but relatively modernized imperial faction, and after a series of battles culminating in the surrender of Edo, Yoshinobu personally surrendered. Those loyal to the Tokugawa retreated to northern Honshū and later to Hokkaidō, where they founded the Ezo republic. Defeat at the Battle of Hakodate broke this last holdout and left the imperial rule supreme throughout the whole of Japan, completing the military phase of the Meiji Restoration.
The Siberian Intervention (シベリア出兵 - Shiberia Shuppei), or the Siberian Expedition of 1918–1922 was the dispatch of troops of the Entente powers to the Russian Maritime Provinces as part of a larger effort by the western powers and Japan to support White Russian forces against the Bolshevik Red Army in the final year of World War I and during the Russian Civil War.<br/><br/> The Imperial Japanese Army continued to occupy Siberia even after other Allied forces had withdrawn in 1920.
The Second Sino-Japanese War (July 7, 1937 – September 9, 1945) was a military conflict fought primarily between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the war merged into the greater conflict of World War II as a major front of what is broadly known as the Pacific War.<br/><br/> Although the two countries had fought intermittently since 1931, total war started in earnest in 1937 and ended only with the surrender of Japan in 1945. The war was the result of a decades-long Japanese imperialist policy aiming to dominate China politically and militarily and to secure its vast raw material reserves and other economic resources, particularly food and labour. Before 1937, China and Japan fought in small, localized engagements.<br/><br/> Yet the two sides, for a variety of reasons, refrained from fighting a total war. In 1931, the Japanese invasion of Manchuria by Japan's Kwantung Army followed the Mukden Incident. The last of these incidents was the Marco Polo Bridge Incident of 1937, marking the beginning of total war between the two countries.
Zouave was the title given to certain light infantry regiments in the French Army, normally serving in French North Africa between 1831 and 1962. The name was also adopted during the 19th century by units in other armies, especially volunteer regiments raised for service in the American Civil War. The characteristic zouave uniform included short open-fronted jackets, baggy trousers and often sashes and oriental headgear.
Ogawa Kazumasa (September 29, 1860 - September 6, 1929), also known as Ogawa Kazuma or Ogawa Isshin, was a Japanese photographer, chemigrapher, printer and publisher of the Meiji era. He was a pioneer in photomechanical printing and photography, and was born into the Matsudaira samurai clan, where he studied English and photography at the age of 15.
Pierre Sonnerat (1748-1814) was a French naturalist and explorer who made several voyages to southeast Asia between 1769 and 1781. He published this two-volume account of his voyage of 1774-81 in 1782. <br/><br/> Volume 1 deals exclusively with India, whose culture Sonnerat very much admired, and is especially noteworthy for its extended discussion of religion in India, Hinduism in particular. The book is illustrated with engravings based on Sonnerat’s drawings. Among the most interesting illustrations are Sonnerat’s pictures of various Hindu deities.
The Bayon was originally the official state temple of the Mahayana Buddhist King Jayavarman VII. The Bayon, at the centre of Angkor Thom (Great City), was established in the 12th century by King Jayavarman VII.<br/><br/> Angkor Thom, meaning ‘The Great City’, is located one mile north of Angkor Wat. It was built in the late 12th century CE by King Jayavarman VII, and covers an area of 9 km², within which are located several monuments from earlier eras as well as those established by Jayavarman and his successors. It is believed to have sustained a population of 80,000-150,000 people.<br/><br/> At the centre of the city is Jayavarman's state temple, the Bayon, with the other major sites clustered around the Victory Square immediately to the north.<br/><br/> Angkor Thom was established as the capital of Jayavarman VII's empire, and was the centre of his massive building programme. One inscription found in the city refers to Jayavarman as the groom and the city as his bride.<br/><br/> Angkor Thom seems not to be the first Khmer capital on the site, however, as Yasodharapura, dating from three centuries earlier, was centred slightly further northwest.<br/><br/> The last temple known to have been constructed in Angkor Thom was Mangalartha, which was dedicated in 1295. In the following centuries Angkor Thom remained the capital of a kingdom in decline until it was abandoned some time prior to 1609.
Fudo Myoo is a boddhisattva – a popular deity in Japanese Buddhism – who is always represented with a fearsome face appearing in a wreath of flames. This symbolizes the huge effort humans have to make for battling passions and worldly desires. The combination with letters in Indian Sanskrit is most unusual. Print by an unknown artist.
Japan: 'The Monkey King Blows Hair Away', woodblock print by Katsushika Taito II (active 1810-1853), 1836, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. The Monkey King Sun Wukong is a mythological character in Chinese folk religion and literature. An important figure in various legends and stories, he is perhaps bestl known for his starring role in the 16th century classical novel 'Journey to the West'.
This is a typical example of a Nazi German propaganda poster dropped on Indian troops fighting for the Allies in Europe during World War II. In this case the leaflet was dropped on troops of the 8th Indian Infantry Division preparing to force a crossing of the River Po in 1945.
This is a typical example of a Nazi German propaganda poster dropped on Indian troops fighting for the Allies in Europe during World War II. In this case the leaflet was dropped on troops of the 8th Indian Infantry Division preparing to force a crossing of the River Po in 1945.
The Tonkin Campaign (French: Campagne du Tonkin) was an armed conflict fought between June 1883 and April 1886 by the French against, variously, the Vietnamese, Liu Yongfu's Black Flag Army and the Chinese Guangxi and Yunnan armies to occupy Tonkin (northern Vietnam) and entrench a French protectorate there.<br/><br/> The campaign, complicated in August 1884 by the outbreak of the Sino-French War and in July 1885 by the Can Vuong nationalist uprising in Annam, which required the diversion of large numbers of French troops, was conducted by the Tonkin Expeditionary Corps, supported by the gunboats of the Tonkin Flotilla. The campaign officially ended in April 1886, when the expeditionary corps was reduced in size to a division of occupation, but Tonkin was not effectively pacified until 1896.
Samurai is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. By the end of the 12th century, samurai became almost entirely synonymous with bushi, and the word was closely associated with the middle and upper echelons of the warrior class.<br/><br/> The samurai followed a set of rules that came to be known as Bushidō. While they numbered less than ten percent of Japan's population, samurai teachings can still be found today in both everyday life and in martial arts such as Kendō, meaning the way of the sword.
Oda Nobunaga (June 23, 1534 – June 21, 1582) was the initiator of the unification of Japan under the rule of the shogun in the late 16th century, a rule that ended only with the opening of Japan to the Western world in 1868. He was also a major daimyo during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. His work was continued, completed and finalized by his successors Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu.<br/><br/> Oda was the second son of Oda Nobuhide, a deputy shugo (military governor) with land holdings in Owari Province. Nobunaga lived a life of continuous military conquest, eventually conquering a third of Japanese daimyo before his death in 1582. His successor, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a loyal Oda supporter, would eventually become the first man to conquer all of Japan and the first ruler of all Japan since the Ōnin War.