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Tawhid

Tawhid is the concept of monotheism in Islam. Tawhid is the religion's central and single most important concept, upon which a Muslim's entire religious adherence rests. It unequivocally holds that God is indivisibly one (ahad) and single (wahid).

Tawhid constitutes the foremost article of the Muslim profession of submission. The first part of the Islamic declaration of faith (shahada) is the declaration of belief in the oneness of God. To attribute divinity to anything or anyone else, is considered shirk—an unpardonable sin according to the Quran, unless repented afterwards. Muslims believe that the entirety of the Islamic teaching rests on the principle of tawhid.

From an Islamic standpoint, there is an uncompromising nondualism at the heart of the Islamic beliefs (aqida) which is seen as distinguishing Islam from other major religions. Moreover, tawhid requires Muslims not only to avoid worshiping multiple gods, but also to relinquish striving for money, social status or egoism, as well as attributing all success and worth to other than God, as this is seen as making an idol of the self.

The Quran teaches the existence of a single and absolute truth that transcends the world—a unique, independent and indivisible being who is independent of the entire creation. God, according to Islam, is a universal God, rather than a local, tribal, or parochial one, and is an absolute who integrates all affirmative values.

Islamic intellectual history can be understood as a gradual unfolding of the manner in which successive generations of believers have understood the meaning and implications of professing tawhid. Islamic scholars have different approaches toward understanding it. Islamic scholastic theology, jurisprudence, philosophy, Sufism, and even the Islamic understanding of natural sciences to some degree, all seek to explain at some level the principle of tawhid.

The classical definition of tawhid was limited to declaring or preferring belief in one God and the unity of God. Although the monotheistic definition has persisted into modern Arabic, it is now more generally used to connote "unification, union, combination, fusion; standardization, regularization; consolidation, amalgamation, merger".

Chapter 112 of the Quran, titled al-Ikhlas, reads: "Say, 'He is Allah—One; Allah—the Sustainer. He has never had offspring, nor was He born. And there is none comparable to Him.'"

Etymology
The word  'tawhid'  (توحيد) which means, "He asserted, or declared, God to be one", is derived from the Arabic root 'wahhada ' (واحدة) which means 'to unite' or 'to make one'. This term signifies the belief in absolute oneness and uniqueness of God. This reflects the struggle of monotheism against polytheism.

Name of God in Islam
In order to explain the complexity of the unity of God and of the divine nature, the Qur'an uses 99 terms referred to as "Excellent Names of God". The divine names project divine attributes, which, in turn, project all the levels of the creation down to the physical plane. Aside from the supreme name "Allah" and the neologism ar-Rahman (referring to the divine beneficence that creates and maintains the universe) and a few other specific names like al-Malik al-Muluk ("King of Kings") in an authentic narration of Muhammad, other names may be shared by both God and human beings. According to the Islamic teachings, the latter is meant to serve as a reminder of God's immanence rather than being a sign of one's divinity or alternatively imposing a limitation on God's transcendent nature. Attribution of divinity to a created entity, shirk, is considered a denial of the truth of God and thus a major sin.

Shirk
Associating partners in divinity of God is known as shirk and is the antithesis of Tawhid. Although the term is usually translated as "polytheism" into English, the sin is thought to be more complex. Alternatively, the translation 'associating [with God]' has been suggested. The term includes denial of attributing any form of divinity to any other thing but God. This includes the self by elevating oneself above others and associating attributes of God with a created being. Because of that, Sunni scholars have accused Salafis and Wahhabis of depicting God as a created object ruling from the sky.

Shirk is classified into two categories:
 * al-Shirk al-akbar (شِرْك ٱلْأَكْبَر; lit. 'greater shirk'): open and apparent
 * al-shirk al-khafi; lit. 'hidden shirk'): concealed or hidden. It is when people perform the necessary rituals but not for God but for the sake of others, including social recognition. Hidden shirk might be unwitting, yet punishable, although to a lesser extent than greater forms of shirk.

Chapter 4, verse 48 of the Qur'an reads: "Indeed, Allah does not forgive associating others with Him ˹in worship˺, but forgives anything else of whoever He wills. And whoever associates others with Allah has indeed committed a grave sin."

Chapter 4, verse 116 of the Qur'an reads:

"Surely Allah does not forgive associating ˹others˺ with Him ˹in worship˺, but forgives anything else of whoever He wills. Indeed, whoever associates ˹others˺ with Allah has clearly gone far astray."

Discerning the unity of God
According to Hossein Nasr, Ali, the first imam (Shia view) and fourth Rashid Caliph (Sunni view), is credited with having established Islamic theology. His quotations contain the first rational proofs among Muslims of the Unity of God.

Ali states that "God is One" means that God is away from likeness and numeration and he is not divisible even in imagination. "The first step of religion is to accept, understand and realize him as the Lord... The correct form of belief in his unity is to realize that he is so absolutely pure and above nature that nothing can be added to or subtracted from his being. That is, one should realize that there is no difference between his person and his attributes, and his attributes should not be differentiated or distinguished from his person."

Vincent J. Cornell, a scholar of Islamic studies quotes the following statement from Ali:

"To know God is to know his unification. To say that God is one has four meanings: two of them are false and two are correct. As for the two meanings that are false, one is that a person should say 'God is one' and be thinking of a number and counting. This is false because that which has no second cannot enter into the category of number. Do you not see that those who say that God is a third of a trinity fall into this infidelity? Another meaning is to say, 'So-and-So is one of his people', namely, a species of this genus or a member of this species. This meaning is also false when applied to God, because it implies likening something to God, whereas God is above all likeness. As to the two meanings that are correct when applied to God, one is that it should be said that 'God is one' in the sense that there is no likeness to him among things. Another is to say that 'God is one' in the sense that there is no multiplicity or division conceivable in Him, neither outwardly, nor in the mind, nor in the imagination. God alone possesses such a unity."

The perception of tawhid laid the foundation of Muslim ethics. According to Islam, the world is sustained by God as the ultimate reality, unique in his attributes, distinct from everything else. Tawhid denies any affinity between the creator and its creation. This includes that invisible entities (jinn) do not partake in creation but are created; rejection of an avatar or offspring of God; or a partner in creation in form of a sibling or wife. The uniqueness of the creator is expressed in the Daily Prayer's (ṣalāh) phrase Allāhu ʾakbar (Takbīr).

Theological
Theologians usually use reason and deduction to prove the existence, unity and oneness of God. They use a teleological argument for the existence of God as a creator based on perceived evidence of order, purpose, design, or direction—or some combination of these—in nature. Teleology is the supposition that there is a purpose or directive principle in the works and processes of nature.

Another argument which is used frequently by theologians is Reductio ad absurdum. They use it instead of positive arguments as a more efficient way to reject the ideas of opponents.

God as the cause of causes
Against the polytheism of pre-Islamic Arabia, the Qur'an argues that the knowledge of God as the creator of everything rules out the possibility of lesser gods since these beings must be themselves created. For the Qur'an, God is an immanent and transcendent deity who actively creates, maintains and destroys the universe. The reality of God as the ultimate cause of things is the belief that God is veiled from human understanding because of the secondary causes and contingent realities of things in the world. Thus the belief in the oneness of God is equated in the Qur'an with the "belief in the unseen". The Qur'an summarizes its task in making this "unseen", to a greater or lesser degree "seen" so that belief in the existence of God becomes a Master-Truth rather than an unreasonable belief. The Qur'an states that God's signals are so near and yet so far, demanding that its students listen to what it has to say with humility. The Qur'an draws attention to certain observable facts, to present them as "reminders" of God instead of providing lengthy "theological" proofs for the existence and unity of God.

Ash'ari theologians rejected cause and effect in essence, but accepted it as something that facilitates humankind's investigation and comprehension of natural processes. These medieval scholars argued that nature was composed of uniform atoms that were "re-created" at every instant by God. The laws of nature were only the customary sequence of apparent causes (customs of God), the ultimate cause of each accident being God himself. Other forms of the argument also appear in Avicenna's other works, and this argument became known as the Proof of the Truthful.

Avicenna initiated a full-fledged inquiry into the question of being, in which he distinguished between essence (Mahiat) and existence (Wujud). He argued that the fact of existence can not be inferred from or accounted for by the essence of existing things and that form and matter by themselves cannot interact and originate the movement of the universe or the progressive actualization of existing things. Existence must, therefore, be due to an agent-cause that necessitates, imparts, gives, or adds existence to an essence.

God as the necessary existent
An ontological argument for the existence of God was first proposed by Avicenna (965-1037) in the Metaphysics section of The Book of Healing Other forms of the argument also appear in Avicenna's other works, and this argument became known as the Proof of the Truthful. Avicenna initiated a full-fledged inquiry into the question of being, in which he distinguished between essence (Mahiat) and existence (Wujud). He argued that the fact of existence can not be inferred from or accounted for by the essence of existing things and that form and matter by themselves cannot interact and originate the movement of the universe or the progressive actualization of existing things. Existence must, therefore, be due to an agent-cause that necessitates, imparts, gives, or adds existence to an essence. To do so, the cause must be an existing thing and coexist with its effect.

This was the first attempt at using the method of a priori proof, which utilizes intuition and reason alone. Avicenna's proof of God's existence is unique in that it can be classified as both a cosmological argument and an ontological argument. "It is ontological insofar as 'necessary existence' in intellect is the first basis for arguing for a Necessary Existent". The proof is also "cosmological insofar as most of it is taken up with arguing that contingent existence cannot stand alone and must end up in a Necessary Existent". Another argument Avicenna presented for God's existence was the problem of the mind-body dichotomy.

According to Avicenna, the universe consists of a chain of actual beings, each giving existence to the one below it and responsible for the existence of the rest of the chain below. Because an actual infinite is deemed impossible by Avicenna, this chain as a whole must terminate in a being that is wholly simple and one, whose essence is its very existence, and therefore is self-sufficient and not in need of something else to give it existence. Because its existence is not contingent on or necessitated by something else but is necessary and eternal in itself, it satisfies the condition of being the necessitating cause of the entire chain that constitutes the eternal world of contingent existing things. Thus his ontological system rests on the conception of God as the Wajib al-Wujud (necessary existent). There is a gradual multiplication of beings through a timeless emanation from God as a result of his self-knowledge.

Indivisibility of God's sovereignty
The Qur'an argues that there can be no multiple sources of divine sovereignty since "behold, each god would have taken away what [each] had created, And some would have Lorded it over others!" The Qur'an argues that the stability and order prevailing throughout the universe shows that it was created and is being administered by only one God.

The Qur'an in verse 21:22 states: "Had there been within them [i.e., the heavens and earth] gods besides Allāh, they both would have been ruined". Later Muslim theologians elaborated on this verse saying that the existence of at least two gods would inevitably arise between them, at one time or another, a conflict of wills. Since two contrary wills could not possibly be realized at the same time, one of them must admit himself powerless in that particular instance. On the other hand, a powerless being can not by definition be a god. Therefore, the possibility of having more than one god is ruled out. For if a God is powerful above another, then this asserts a difference in the particular attributes that are confined to the essence of Godhood, which implies the lesser God must lack in certain necessary attributes deeming this deity as anthropomorphic and snatching away the title of a god from such entity.

Other arguments
The Qur'an argues that human beings have an instinctive distaste for polytheism: At times of crisis, for example, even the idolaters forget the false deities and call upon the one true God for help. As soon as they are relieved from the danger, they however start associating other beings with God. "If they happen to be aboard a ship ˹caught in a storm˺, they cry out to Allah ˹alone˺ in sincere devotion. But as soon as He delivers them ˹safely˺ to shore, they associate ˹others with Him once again˺." .

Next, the Qur'an argues that polytheism takes away from human dignity: God has honored human beings and given them charge of the physical world, and yet they disgrace their position in the world by worshipping what they carve out with their own hands.

Lastly, the Qur'an argues that monotheism is not a later discovery made by the human race, but rather there is the combined evidence of the prophetic call for monotheism throughout human history starting from Adam. The Qur'an suggests several causes for deviation from monotheism to polytheism: Great temporal power, regarded by the holder and his subjects as 'absolute' — may lead the holder to think that he is God-like; such claims were commonly forced upon, and accepted by, those who were subject to the ruler. Also, certain natural phenomena (such as the sun, the moon and the stars) inspire feelings of awe, wonder or admiration that could lead some to regard these celestial bodies as deities. Another reason for deviation from monotheism is when one becomes a slave to his or her base desires and passions. In seeking to always satisfy the desires, he or she may commit a kind of polytheism.

Interpretations
Understanding of the meaning of Tawhid is one of the most controversial issues among Muslims. Islamic scholars have different approaches toward understanding it, comprising textualistic approach, theological approach, philosophical approach and Sufism and Irfani approach. These different approaches lead to different and in some cases opposite understanding of the issue.

Theological viewpoints
Certain theologians use the term Tawhid in a much broader meaning to denote the totality of discussion of God, his existence and his various attributes. Others go yet further and use the term to ultimately represent the totality of the "principles of religion". In its current usage, the expressions "Tawhid" or "knowledge of Tawhid" are sometimes used as an equivalent for the whole Kalam, the Islamic theology.

According to Sunni Islam, the orthodox understanding of theology is taken directly from the teachings of Muhammad with the understanding and methodology of his companions, sourced directly from the revealed scripture the Qur'an; being the main information source for understanding the unification of God in Islam. All Muslim authorities maintain that a true understanding of God is impossible unless He introduces Himself due to the fact that God is beyond the range of human vision and senses. Therefore, God tells people who He is by speaking through the prophets. According to this view, the fundamental message of all of the prophets is: "There is no god worthy of worship except Allah (avoiding the false gods as stated in Surah hud)."

Athari/Salafi approach
The approach of textual interpretation in Islam is to avoid delving into theological speculation and did not employ the use of kalam.

Additional to the first meaning of tawhid (Rubūbīyah (Lordship)) all Sunnis agree upon, Salafism holds two additional meanings: Al-Asma wa's-Sifat (names and attributes) and Al-'Ibadah (worship). Al-Asma wa's-Sifat includes lordship in the form of a legislator. By this, Salafis consider a legislation not based on (its own) interpretation of sharia to be a form of polytheism. Al-'Ibadah is furthermore understood to mean that everyday acts must be in accordance with sharia. Doing something else would imply accepting another authority or object of desire besides God.

The Salafi specific features of tawhid tend to elide the sovereignty and uniqueness of God. For this reason, other Sunnis disagree with these two features, as they regard it as comparing God to a created object ascribed some power to.

Mu'tazili school
The Mu'tazilis liked to call themselves the people of the tawhid (ahl al-tawhid). In Maqalat al-Islamiyin, Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari describes the Mu'tazilite conception of the tawhid as follows: "God is unique, nothing is like him; he is neither body, nor individual, nor substance, nor accident. He is beyond time. He cannot dwell in a place or within a being; he is not the object of any creatural attribute or qualification. He is neither conditioned nor determined, neither engendered nor engendering. He is beyond the perception of the senses. The eyes cannot see him, observation cannot attain him, the imagination cannot comprehend him. He is a thing, but he is not like other things; he is omniscient, all-powerful, but his omniscience and his all-mightiness cannot be compared to anything created. He created the world without any pre-established archetype and without an auxiliary." According to Henry Corbin, the result of this interpretation is the negation of the divine attributes, the affirmation of the created Quran, and the denial of all possibility of the vision of God in the world beyond. Mu'tazilis believed that God is deprived of all positive attributes, in the sense that all divine qualifications must be understood as being the essence itself, and declaring that God is existing ubiquitously and in everything. They resorted to metaphorical interpretations of Qur'anic verses or Prophetic reports with seemingly anthropomorphic content, e.g., the hand is the metaphorical designation of power; the face signifies the essence; the fact that God is seated on the Throne is a metaphorical image of the divine reign, and so on.

Ash'ari school
The solution proposed by Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari to solve the problems of tashbih and ta'til concedes that the divine Being possesses in a real sense the Attributes and Names mentioned in the Qur'an. Insofar as these Names and Attributes have a positive reality, they are distinct from the essence, but nevertheless they do not have either existence or reality apart from it. The inspiration of al-Ash'ari in this matter was on the one hand to distinguish essence and attribute as concepts, and on the other hand to see that the duality between essence and attribute should be situated not on the quantitative but on the qualitative level—something which Mu'tazilis thinking had failed to grasp.

Ash'ari theology, which dominated Sunni Islam from the tenth to the nineteenth century, insists on ultimate divine transcendence and holds that divine unity is not accessible to human reason. Ash'arism teaches that human knowledge regarding it is limited to what has been revealed through the prophets, and on such questions as God's creation of evil and the apparent anthropomorphism of God's attributes, revelation has to accepted bila kayfa (without [asking] how).

Twelvers theology
Twelvers theology is based on the Hadith which have been narrated from the Islamic prophet Muhammad, the first, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth Imams and compiled by Shia scholars such as Al-Shaykh al-Saduq in al-Tawhid. According to Shia theologians, the attributes and names of God have no independent and hypostatic existence apart from the being and essence of God. Any suggestion of these attributes and names being conceived of as separate is thought to entail polytheism. It would be even incorrect to say God knows by his knowledge which is in his essence but God knows by his knowledge which is his essence. Also, God has no physical form, and he is imperceptible.

Twelvers believe God is alone in being, along with his names, his attributes, his actions, his theophanies. The totality of being therefore is he, through him, comes from him, and returns to him. God is not a being next to or above other beings, his creatures; he is being, the absolute act of being (wujud mutlaq). For, if there were being other than he (i.e., creatural being), God would no longer be the Unique, i.e., the only one to be. As this Divine Essence is infinite, his qualities are the same as his essence, Essentially there is one Reality which is one and indivisible. The border between theoretical Tawhid and Shirk is to know that every reality and being in its essence, attributes and action are from him (from Him-ness), it is Tawhid. Every supernatural action of the prophets is by God's permission as Quran points to it. The border between the Tawhid and Shirk in practice is to assume something as an end in itself, independent from God, not as a road to God (to Him-ness).

Philosophical viewpoints
Al-Farabi, Al-Razi and especially Avicenna put forward an interpretation of Tawhid in light of reason, with the Qur'an and Hadith serving as a basis. Before Avicenna the discussions among Muslim philosophers were about the unity of God as divine creator and his relationship with the world as creation. The earlier philosophers were profoundly affected by the emphasis of Plotinus on Divine simplicity.

Sufi and Irfani viewpoint
In Islamic mysticism (Sufism and Irfan), Tawhid is not only the affirmation in speech of God's unity, but also as importantly a practical and existential realization of that unity. This is done by rejecting the concepts tied to the world of multiplicity, to isolate the eternal from the temporal in a practical way. The ideal is a radical purification from all worldliness. According to Vincent J. Cornall, it is possible to draw up a monist image of God (see Sufi metaphysics) by describing the reality as a unified whole, with God being a single concept that would describe or ascribe all existing things: "He is the First and the Last, the Evident and the Immanent: and He has full knowledge of all things."" However many Muslims criticize monism for it blurs the distinction between the creator and the creature, something incompatible with the genuine and absolute monotheism of Islam.

For Muslim mystics (sufis), the affirmation in speech of God's unity is only the first step of Tawhid. Further steps involve a spiritual experience for the existential realization of that unity. Categorizations of different steps of Tawhid could be found in the works of Muslims Sufis like Junayd Baghdadi and al-Ghazali. It involves a practical rejection of the concepts tied to the world of multiplicity. Al-Junayd for example "distinguishes four steps, starting from the simple attestation of unicity which is sufficient for ordinary believers, and culminating in the highest rank reserved for the elite, when the creature totally ceases to exist before his Lord, thus achieving al-fanā fi al-tawhīd [annihilation in unity]".

Annihilation and subsistence
According to the concept of Fana, Annihilation and Subsistence, "Man's existence, or ego, or self-hood ... must be annihilated so that he can attain to his true self which is his existence and "subsistence" with God. All of man's character traits and habits, everything that pertains to his individual existence must become completely naughted and "obliterated" (mahw). Then God will give back to him his character traits and everything positive he ever possessed. But at this stage, he will know consciously and actually - not just theoretically - and with a through spiritual realization, that everything he is derives absolutely from God. He is nothing but a ray of God's Attributes manifesting the Hidden Treasure."

Unity of existence
The first detailed formulation of "Unity of Existence" (wahdat al-wujud) is closely associated to Ibn Arabi. Widely different interpretations of the meaning of the "Unity of Existence" have been proposed throughout the centuries by critics, defenders, and Western scholars. Ibn Arabi himself did not use the term "Unity of Existence" and similar statements had been made by those before him. For example, according to al-Ghazali "There is nothing in wujud [existence] except God...Wujud [Existence] only belongs to the Real One". Ghazali explains that the fruit of spiritual ascent of the Sufi is to "witness that there is no existence in the world save God and that 'All things are perishing except his face' (Qur'an 28:88)"

Many authors consider being or existence to be the proper designation for the reality of God. While all Muslims believe the reality of God to be one, critics hold that the term "existence" (wujud) is also used for the existence of things in this world and that the doctrine blurs the distinction between the existence of the creator and that of the creation. Defenders argued that Ibn Arabi and his followers are offering a "subtle metaphysics following the line of the Asharite formula: "The attributes are neither God nor other than God." God's "signs" (ayat) and "traces" (athar)—the creatures—are neither the same as God nor different from him, because God must be understood as both absent and present, both transcendent and immanent. Understood correctly, wahdat al-wujud elucidates the delicate balance that needs to be maintained between these two perspectives." Shah Wali Allah of Delhi argued that the Ibn Arabi's "unity of being" was experiential and based on a subjective experience of illumination or ecstasy, rather than an ontological reality.

Utterance of I or considering oneself as in power separate from God, is a form of idolatry for many Sufis. In the metaphysical cosmology of Sufism, God's sovereignty is a necessity instead of an accident. Therefore, it is impossible to worship something else but God. By venerating the self, one worships God in the name of Jalal (majesty). This name is supposed to be worshipped and then transmitted by Iblis (Satan). Since it is impossible for two majesties to coexist, one cannot participate in divine intimacy or mercy and will also be subject to God's wrath.

Influences on the Muslim culture
The Islamic doctrine of Tawhid puts forth a God whose rule, will or law are comprehensive and extend to all creatures and to all aspects of the human life. Early Muslims understood religion to thus cover the domains of state, law and society. It is believed that the entirety of the Islamic teaching rests on the principle of Tawhid. In the following, we provide a few examples of the influences of Tawhid on the Muslim culture:

Interpersonal relationship
According to the Qur'an, one consequence of properly conceived relationship between God and man as the served and servant, is the proper relationship among humans. In order to achieve the former, the Qur'an consistently "reminds" men of two points: 1. That God is one; everything except God (including the entirety of nature) is contingent upon God. 2. With all His might and glory, God is essentially the all-merciful God.

Good and evil
According to the Qur'an, God is the progenitor of all things, both good and evil. As is written in the Qur'an, all of humanity is created at the will of Allah, both the good and the evil; and that their natures have been predisposed as such since the beginning of creation.

According to the Qur'an, Satan deviated from the unification of God in the story of creation of man by permitting his own hierarchical value system to supersede God's will: God asked the angels to bow to Adam, who he had created from clay. Satan refused, saying that "I am better than him; you created me from fire and created him from clay". The Medieval Muslim scholar, Al-Ghazali pointing out that the only legitimate "preference principle" in the sight of God is piety, writes: "Every time a rich man believes that he is better than a poor one, or a white man believes that he is better than a black one, then he is being arrogant. He is adopting the same hierarchical principles adopted by Iblis [Satan] in his jahl [ignorance], and thus falling into shirk [opposite of Tawhid]."

Secularism
In many jurisdictions of the world, the laws and the general attitude of the population hold that the sphere of public life should be secular, and that belief in and practice of religion should remain in the sphere of private life. One motive for adopting this stance has been to reduce the effects of conflict between followers of different religions or between adherents of secularism and those of a religion. In public life, this view insists that the authority of the state prevails over any religious authorities.

For some Islamic thinkers, these propositions infringe the doctrine of Tawhid, and are therefore anathema. If the cosmos is a unified and harmonious whole, centered around the omnipotent and omnipresent God, they hold that recognising any other authority as superior is wrong. According to one writer: "Traditionally, a Muslim is not a nationalist, or citizen of a nation-state; he has no political identity, only a religious membership in the Umma. For a traditional Muslim, Islam is the sole and sufficient identification tag and nationalism and nation-states are obstacles". Hence the idea of creating a wholly Islamic state, or a revived caliphate.

In practice, nearly all Muslims live their daily lives under some national jurisdiction and accept at least part of the constraints this involves.

Islamic art
The desire to preserve the unity and transcendence of God led to the prohibition of Muslims from creating representation or visual depictions of God, or of any Prophet including Muhammad. Representations in art of the human form are a disputed matter in fiqh. The key concern is that the use of statues or images may lead to idolatry. The dominant forms of expression in the Islamic art, thus, became calligraphy and arabesque.

title: Tawhid


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Talk:Constellation

Patterns in constellations
Constellations are recognized not only by their patterns, but also by the bright stars in them. Is there any page that lists both the constellations and their prominent stars (or vice versa). I found individual stars and constellations lists, but not a page that has got both lists, maybe as a table. Jay 20:53, Sep 17, 2003 (UTC)

Miscellaneous early comments
(moved from article):
 * A WikiProject aiming to provide a standardized template to all the articles of the constellations is being developed. Please visit WikiProject Constellations for more details.

Any idea what User:210.72.12.71 is doing with his warnfiles and why is User:Jiang reverting him. Jay 07:50, 7 Jan 2004 (UTC)

If somebody is interested, a great bunch of constellations mythological drawing are available within the GPL program stellarium. Also shots can be obtained using stellarium to provide nice visuals.

Constellations Grouped by Equatorial Quadrants
[moved here from Equatorial Coordinate System, not really sure what to do with it]

 * {| class="wikitable"

!Quad !Constellations (Zodiacal constellations in bold)
 * NEQ1
 * 08 (Pisces, Andromeda, Cassiopeia, Triangulum, Aries, Perseus, Taurus, Orion)
 * NEQ2
 * 10 (Auriga, Monoceros, Gemini, Canis Minor, Lynx, Cancer, Camelopardalis, Leo Minor, Leo, Ursa Major)
 * NEQ3
 * 08 (Coma Berenices, Canes Venatici, Boötes, Ursa Minor, Draco, Corona Borealis, Serpens, Hercules)
 * NEQ4
 * 10 (Lyra, Sagitta, Aquila, Vulpecula, Cygnus, Delphinus, Equuleus, Cepheus, Lacerta, Pegasus)
 * SEQ1
 * 14 (Sculptor, Phoenix, Cetus, Hydrus, Fornax, Horologium, Eridanus, Reticulum, Caelum, Dorado, Mensa, Lepus, Pictor, Columba)
 * SEQ2
 * 11 (Canis Major, Puppis, Volans, Carina, Pyxis, Vela, Sextans, Antlia, Chamaeleon, Crater, Hydra)
 * SEQ3
 * 14 (Corvus, Crux, Musca, Centaurus, Virgo, Circinus, Libra, Lupus, Norma, Triangulum Australe, Apus, Scorpius, Ara, Ophiuchus)
 * SEQ4
 * 13 (Corona Australis, Scutum, Sagittarius, Telescopium, Pavo, Microscopium, Capricornus, Indus, Piscis Austrinus, Aquarius, Grus, Octans, Tucana)
 * }
 * 11 (Canis Major, Puppis, Volans, Carina, Pyxis, Vela, Sextans, Antlia, Chamaeleon, Crater, Hydra)
 * SEQ3
 * 14 (Corvus, Crux, Musca, Centaurus, Virgo, Circinus, Libra, Lupus, Norma, Triangulum Australe, Apus, Scorpius, Ara, Ophiuchus)
 * SEQ4
 * 13 (Corona Australis, Scutum, Sagittarius, Telescopium, Pavo, Microscopium, Capricornus, Indus, Piscis Austrinus, Aquarius, Grus, Octans, Tucana)
 * }
 * 13 (Corona Australis, Scutum, Sagittarius, Telescopium, Pavo, Microscopium, Capricornus, Indus, Piscis Austrinus, Aquarius, Grus, Octans, Tucana)
 * }

Classical antiquity
Confused stuff in section Classical antiquity:
 * There is only limited information on ancient Greek constellations[citation needed], with some fragmentary evidence being found in the Works and Days of the Greek poet Hesiod, who mentioned the "heavenly bodies".[29] Greek astronomy essentially adopted the older Babylonian system in the Hellenistic era[citation needed], first introduced to Greece by Eudoxus of Cnidus in the 4th century BC.

That's not how I read the sources. Especially Rogers, J. H (1998), cited elsewhere claim that the Greek adopted the zodiak plus Aquila, plus (Hydra+Corvus+Crater) from the Babylonians. They also imported astrology. As for the other constellations, we ... don't exactly know, Rogers don't say, instead claiming something that the Greeks added them - I suspect the Greeks collected them from various sources. Rursus dixit. ( m bork3 !) 15:44, 15 April 2020 (UTC)

Symbols
So somebody invents symbols for the constellations. They are completely ad hoc, and have no currency. Why on earth should we list them here?? -- Elphion (talk) 07:22, 4 October 2021 (UTC)

 * We shouldn't - nobody uses them, only those of the 12 zodiacal constellations. AstroLynx (talk) 07:53, 4 October 2021 (UTC)

 * Agreed. I have deleted them. I also deleted them yesterday from the page on IAU designated constellations. Skeptic2 (talk) 08:21, 4 October 2021 (UTC)
 * I originally restored and moved them to Astronomical symbol on the grounds of the citations, but it seems from the Google search results that the first source is actually self-published and one of its co-authors is actually the creator of the symbols. So not exactly an independent RS, and so I deleted them again. Double sharp (talk) 15:42, 4 October 2021 (UTC)
 * Point about not having them at the IAU constellation article, since they're not IAU. (But then half the abbreviations in that article aren't IAU either.) The one source may be self-published (I deleted it), but the other isn't: they were the publishers of Sky & Telescope magazine, and their book division's been bought out by Penguin Random House. — kwami (talk) 20:56, 4 October 2021 (UTC)

 * Wow. Reminds me of H. A. Rey's alternative constellation drawings that get inserted from time to time....Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 20:54, 4 October 2021 (UTC)
 * Neither the abbreviations at IAU designated constellations nor H. A. Rey's diagrams are apposite here. The 4-letter abbreviations were in fact adopted by the IAU as an alternative to the 3-letter versions, since many astronomers wanted more memorable abbreviations, and they were picked up by NASA before IAU decided to abandon them.  So there are good historical reasons to include them.  Likewise, Rey's figures have been widely adopted by amateurs, and even influenced several of the charts currently published by IAU (though I am not aware that the constellation outlines in the IAU charts are official in any sense).  These constellation symbols, on the other hand, are quite different.  Nobody uses them.  They were self-published.  Sky picked them up once but they landed like lead balloons. There's no point in covering them. -- Elphion (talk) 22:11, 4 October 2021 (UTC)
 * I seem to recall a discussion about Rey's drawings being non-notable before. Evidence they are more widely adopted is intriguing but I guess we digress.....Cas Liber (talk · contribs) 22:24, 4 October 2021 (UTC)
 * Well, since there is an independent source, if these constellation symbols belong anywhere on WP I would suggest astronomical symbol. That list already includes asteroid symbols that no one other than the original discoverers ever used (e.g. 29 Amphitrite, albeit published in an actual journal then), so they would seem to meet the cut-off there. Double sharp (talk) 09:17, 5 October 2021 (UTC)
 * Asteroid symbols might have gained some currency before they were given up, but constellation symbols never have, apart from the signs of the zodiac (which are not strictly the same thing anyway). If you could find a Unicode font with them in then perhaps I would reconsider.Skeptic2 (talk) 12:22, 5 October 2021 (UTC)

 * By "Unicode font", do you mean "Unicode"? — kwami (talk) 01:19, 6 October 2021 (UTC)

 * I would expect at minimum a formal proposal to add the symbols as Unicode code points (like the Tengwar proposal). Alternatively perhaps a generally available assignment (with some evidence that people use it) of the symbols to the Private Use Area. Without something like that, the symbols really aren't usable for information interchange. -- Elphion (talk) 21:35, 6 October 2021 (UTC)
 * And I doubt something like that would go very far anyway. Unlike the asteroid symbols (which could conceivably save a fair amount of writing for someone actually working on one of them), the constellation symbols save writing only the 3-letter abbreviations, which are far more memorable anyway. There's just no need for the symbols, and they would never catch on. -- Elphion (talk) 21:40, 6 October 2021 (UTC)

Ancient India
Indian astronomy and easily sourced/researched Indian astronomers' contributions over many centuries are too many to have been entirely omitted in this WIKIPEDIA article about the subject. [Comment by, 17:26, 25 November 2023, originally on article page, moved here for reference.] -- Elphion (talk) 14:11, 26 November 2023 (UTC)

 * You could add such material, backed by references to Reliable Sources. At minimum, if you want this to go anywhere, you could suggest accessible sources for other editors to look at for material to add.  Information does not get added by magic, it requires effort. -- Elphion (talk) 14:28, 26 November 2023 (UTC)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Talk:Constellation


text:
Talk:June 14

Lionel Messi
Rather sure he was born on 14th June. Can someone verify and, then, add this? ASAP, obv. o/ —Preceding unsigned comment added by 169.229.54.72 (talk) 07:47, 17 April 2010 (UTC)

Hawaii
According to the articles Hawaii and Republic of Hawaii, the Republic lasted only until 1898.

According to the article Hawaii, the islands officially became part of the US on Feb 22 in 1900.

If no one objects, I will delete the entry in the June 14 article, as it seems to be wrong. --zeno 15:42 Mar 6, 2003 (UTC)

Moved/removed
Removed:
 * 1834 - Isaac Fischer, Jr. patents sandpaper
 * 1841 - The first Parliament of Canada meets, in Kingston, Ontario.
 * 1881 - John McTammany, Jr. patents the player piano.
 * 1923 - Warren G. Harding becomes the first President of the United States to use the radio.
 * 1938 - Dorothy Lathrop wins the first Caldecott Medal
 * 1949 - The state of Vietnam is formed
 * 1954 - The first nationwide civil defense drill is held in the United States.
 * 1966 - The Vatican announces abolishment of the Index of Prohibited Books.

Could not be confirmed at this date outside of 'this day in history'-type websites and Wikipedia mirrors. --mav 02:18, 14 Jun 2004 (UTC)
 * The "Index of Prohibited Books" abolishment looks real, confirms year and  gives date of "Notificazione riguardante l’abolizione dell’Indice dei libri (Notificatio de Indicis librorum prohibitorum conditione), June 14, 1966" -- Mikko Paananen 07:19, 15 Jun 2004 (UTC)

 * 1986 - Dillon Isaac Rodriguez, American (b. 1918) [Death]
 * No wiki article on him, Google search turned up nothing, only described as "American" --Patik 17:09, September 3, 2005 (UTC)

Moved:
 * 1947 - Barry Melton, guitarist (Country Joe and the Fish) moved from Deaths to Births

Fictional Reference:
 * 2008 - In Heroes, New York City undergoes a mandatory evacuation. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.88.109.183 (talk) 15:43, 4 November 2007 (UTC)

New York Rangers
The end of the New York Rangers 54 year drought in 1994 is not a globally notable event. It is sports trivia. -- Mufka (u) (t) (c) 17:50, 17 January 2008 (UTC)
 * Additionally, the Stanley Cup is won every year, so is the Super Bowl and the MLB championship. None of these events are globally notable because they are predictable and happen every year.  This particular entry is only notable for Rangers fans.  The Red Sox 86 year drought is not notable either.  -- Mufka (u) (t) (c) 02:40, 23 January 2008 (UTC)
 * The reason this is notable is because it ended a 54 year drought. That doesn't happen every year.  Sure the trophy is handed out every year, but the team that wins it isn't always ending such a long drought.  It was the longest one at the time.  Also, is there some sort of rule against posting sports events?  Just because you don't think it's necessary doesn't mean it isn't.  Wikipedia is an encyclopedia.  Why shouldn't there be as much information as possible in it?--Nyr3188(u) (t) (c)|undefined 03:04, 23 January 2008 (UTC)
 * These date articles will tend to lose their value as useful sources of truly globally notable events if every pseudo notable event is added. Your statement that Just because you don't think it's necessary doesn't mean it isn't is entirely correct.  It doesn't matter what I think.  It matters what everyone agrees to.  The spirit of the Wikicalendar articles is to make note of extraordinarily notable human events.  Yes, there is a lot of junk in the articles, but there is only so much time in the day.  The fact that the New York Rangers won a Stanley Cup after 54 years does not affect the price of tea in China.  It is not a major human accomplishment or groundbreaking discovery that changed lives.  It did not break a major record or set a social precedent.  It didn't affect the world economy or even change the sport of hockey forever.  I assume that you are a New York Rangers fan (judging by your name) so you might be a little biased as to the importance of the event.  I try to look at these things objectively and I use established precedent to make the determination of notability.  Have a look at this for what is the working guideline for notability for Wikicalendar articles.  -- Mufka (u) (t) (c) 03:20, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

Peter Gilliver
The link http://www.yatedo.com/p/Peter+Gilliver/famous/3e2a3456889083daba3ba78285425a09 gives Peter Gilliver's nationality as British. I have amended the list. Robata (talk) 20:58, 13 June 2013 (UTC)

External links modified (January 2018)
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified one external link on June 14. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://archive.is/20121211034724/http://www1.sympatico.ca/cgi-bin/on_this_day?mth=Jun&day=14 to http://www1.sympatico.ca/cgi-bin/on_this_day?mth=Jun&day=14

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Semi-protected edit request on 14 June 2019
Under Events, the sentences "Badi VII, king of Sennar, surrenders his throne and realm to Ismail Pasha, general of the Ottoman Empire, bringing the 300 year old Sudanese kingdom to an end" and "Brazil leaves the League of Nations" are both missing a period at the end. 98.210.124.96 (talk) 21:17, 14 June 2019 (UTC)
 * Yes check.svg Done NiciVampireHeart 12:35, 16 June 2019 (UTC)

Fred Baur
On Baur's page, his birth date is listed as being July 14th, not June 14th, however he appears in this list. If there are no objections, I should like to move this to the appropriate date. Jammingtonbear (talk) 09:13, 7 August 2022 (UTC)
 * Yes, and please include the reference from the Cincinnati Enquirer with the new entry. Deb (talk) 09:31, 7 August 2022 (UTC)

title: Talk:June 14


text:
Colchicum

Colchicum ( or  ) is a genus of perennial flowering plants containing around 160 species which grow from bulb-like corms. It is a member of the botanical family Colchicaceae, and is native to West Asia, Europe, parts of the Mediterranean coast, down the East African coast to South Africa and the Western Cape. In this genus, the ovary of the flower is underground. As a consequence, the styles are extremely long in proportion, often more than 10 cm. All species in the genus are toxic.

Common names
The common names autumn crocus, meadow saffron and naked lady may be applied to the whole genus or to many of its species; they refer to the "naked" crocus-like flowers that appear in late summer or autumn, long before the strap-like foliage which appears in spring.

Colchicum and Crocus look alike and can be confused by the casual observer. To add to the confusion, there are autumn-flowering species of crocus. However, colchicums have 3 styles and 6 stamens, while crocuses have 1 style supporting 3 long stigmas and 3 stamens. In addition, the corm structures are quite different—in Colchicum, the corm is irregular, while in crocuses, the corm is like a flattened ball. Crocus is in the iris family, Iridaceae.

Etymology
The name of the genus derives from Κολχίς (Colchis), the Ancient Greek name for the region of კოლხეთი (Kolkhida) in modern Georgia (Caucasus). Colchis features in Greek mythology as the land to which the Argonauts journeyed in quest of the golden fleece and where Jason encountered Medea. The Greek toponym Colchis is thought by scholars to derive from the Urartian Qulḫa, pronounced "Kolcha" (guttural "ch" - as in Scots loch).

Relationships
Colchicum melanthioides, also known as Androcymbium melanthioides, is probably the best known species from the tropical regions. In contrast to most temperate colchicums, the flower and leaves are produced at the same time, the white flowers usually in a small corymb that is enclosed by white bracts. Close relatives such as Colchicum scabromarginatum (Androcymbium scabromarginatum) and Colchicum coloratum (Androcymbium burchellii) have flowers with very short stalks and may be pollinated by rodents.

Cultivation
Temperate colchicums are commonly grown in gardens as ornamental flowers. Species found in cultivation include:
 * C. × agrippinum
 * C. autumnale
 * C. × byzantinum
 * C. cilicicum
 * C. lusitanum
 * C. speciosum
 * C. tenorei

There are also cultivars and hybrids such as:-
 * C. 'Dick Trotter' (violet with white centre)
 * C. 'Disraeli' (purple white),
 * C. 'Giant' (red with white centre)
 * C. 'Harlekijn' (white with purple band)
 * C. 'Lilac Wonder' (lilac)
 * C. 'Pink Goblet' (violet-purple)
 * C. 'Poseidon' (purple)
 * C. 'Rosy Dawn' (rose pink)
 * C. 'Violet Queen' (purple)
 * C. 'Waterlily' (double, lilac-pink)

Those marked have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit (confirmed 2017).

In the United Kingdom, the National Collection of colchicums is maintained at Felbrigg Hall, Norfolk.

Medicinal uses and poisonous properties
Plants in this genus contain toxic amounts of the alkaloid colchicine which is used pharmaceutically to treat gout and Familial Mediterranean fever. The use of the roots and seeds in traditional medicine is thought to have arisen due to the presence of this drug.

Its leaves, corm and seeds are poisonous. Murderer Catherine Wilson is thought to have used it to poison a number of victims in the 19th century. The species known to contain the most lethal amount of colchicine is C. autumnale.

Species
The following are the species included in the genus Colchicum. Many species previously classified in Androcymbium, Bulbocodium and Merendera were moved to Colchicum based on molecular genetic evidence. Androcymbium is currently considered a separate genus by some.

 * Colchicum × agrippinum (probably a hybrid of garden origin)
 * Colchicum alpinum DC. in J.B.A.M.de Lamarck & A.P.de Candolle
 * Colchicum androcymbioides (Valdés) K.Perss.
 * Colchicum antepense K.Perss.
 * Colchicum antilibanoticum Gomb.
 * Colchicum arenarium Waldst. & Kit.
 * Colchicum arenasii Fridl.
 * Colchicum asteranthum Vassiliades & K.M.Perss.
 * Colchicum atropurpureum Stapf ex Stearn (unresolved name)
 * Colchicum atticum Spruner ex Tommas.
 * Colchicum autumnale L.
 * Colchicum balansae Planch.
 * Colchicum baytopiorum C.D.Brickell
 * Colchicum bivonae Guss.
 * Colchicum boissieri Orph.
 * Colchicum bulbocodium Ker Gawl.
 * Colchicum burttii Meikle
 * Colchicum × byzantinum Ker Gawl.
 * Colchicum chalcedonicum Azn.
 * Colchicum chimonanthum K.Perss.
 * Colchicum chlorobasis K.Perss.
 * Colchicum cilicicum (Boiss.) Dammer
 * Colchicum confusum K.Perss.
 * Colchicum corsicum Baker
 * Colchicum cretense Greuter
 * Colchicum crocifolium Boiss.
 * Colchicum cupanii Guss.
 * Colchicum davisii C.D.Brickell
 * Colchicum decaisnei Boiss.
 * Colchicum doerfleri Halácsy
 * Colchicum dolichantherum K.Perss.
 * Colchicum eichleri (Regel) K.Perss.
 * Colchicum euboeum (Boiss.) K.Perss.
 * Colchicum fasciculare (L.) R.Br.
 * Colchicum feinbruniae K.Perss.
 * Colchicum figlalii (Varol) Parolly & Eren
 * Colchicum filifolium (Cambess.) Stef.
 * Colchicum freynii Bornm.
 * Colchicum gonarei Camarda
 * Colchicum graecum K.Perss.
 * Colchicum greuteri (Gabrieljan) K.Perss.
 * Colchicum haynaldii Heuff.
 * Colchicum heldreichii K.Perss.
 * Colchicum hierosolymitanum Feinbrun
 * Colchicum hirsutum Stef.
 * Colchicum hungaricum Janka
 * Colchicum ignescens K.Perss.
 * Colchicum imperatoris-friderici Siehe ex K.Perss.
 * Colchicum inundatum K.Perss.
 * Colchicum kesselringii Regel
 * Colchicum kotschyi Boiss.
 * Colchicum kurdicum (Bornm.) Stef.
 * Colchicum laetum Steven
 * Colchicum lagotum K.Perss.
 * Colchicum leptanthum K.Perss.
 * Colchicum lingulatum Boiss. & Spruner in P.E.Boissier
 * Colchicum longifolium Castagne
 * Colchicum lusitanum Brot.
 * Colchicum luteum Baker
 * Colchicum macedonicum Kosanin
 * Colchicum macrophyllum B.L.Burtt
 * Colchicum manissadjianii (Azn.) K.Perss.
 * Colchicum micaceum K.Perss.
 * Colchicum micranthum Boiss.
 * Colchicum minutum K.Perss.
 * Colchicum mirzoevae (Gabrieljan) K.Perss.
 * Colchicum montanum L.
 * Colchicum multiflorum Brot.
 * Colchicum munzurense K.Perss.
 * Colchicum nanum K.Perss.
 * Colchicum neapolitanum (Ten.) Ten.
 * Colchicum parlatoris Orph.
 * Colchicum parnassicum Sart., Orph. & Heldr. in P.E.Boissier
 * Colchicum paschei K.Perss.
 * Colchicum peloponnesiacum Rech.f. & P.H.Davis
 * Colchicum persicum Baker
 * Colchicum polyphyllum Boiss. & Heldr. in P.E.Boissier
 * Colchicum pulchellum K.Perss.
 * Colchicum pusillum Sieber
 * Colchicum raddeanum (Regel) K.Perss.
 * Colchicum rausii K.Perss.
 * Colchicum ritchii R.Br.
 * Colchicum robustum (Bunge) Stef.
 * Colchicum sanguicolle K.Perss.
 * Colchicum schimperi Janka ex Stef.
 * Colchicum serpentinum Woronow ex Miscz.
 * Colchicum sfikasianum Kit Tan & Iatroú
 * Colchicum sieheanum Hausskn. ex Stef.
 * Colchicum soboliferum (C.A.Mey.) Stef.
 * Colchicum speciosum Steven
 * Colchicum stevenii Kunth
 * Colchicum szovitsii Fisch. & C.A.Mey.
 * Colchicum trigynum (Steven ex Adam) Stearn
 * Colchicum triphyllum Kunze
 * Colchicum troodi Kotschy in F.Unger & C.G.T.Kotschy
 * Colchicum tunicatum Feinbrun
 * Colchicum turcicum Janka
 * Colchicum tuviae Feinbrun
 * Colchicum umbrosum Steven
 * Colchicum varians (Freyn & Bornm.) Dyer in B.D.Jackson
 * Colchicum variegatum L.
 * Colchicum wendelboi K.Perss.
 * Colchicum woronowii Bokeriya
 * Colchicum zahnii Heldr.

title: Colchicum


text:
DHT

DHT may refer to:

Science and technology

 * Discrete Hartley transform, in mathematics
 * Distributed hash table, lookup service in computing

Chemistry

 * Dihydrotestosterone, hormone derived from testosterone
 * Dihydrotachysterol, synthetic vitamin D analog

Other

 * DHT (band), Belgian dance duo
 * Dr Hadwen Trust, UK charity promoting animal experiments alternatives
 * Dalhart Municipal Airport, (IATA code), an airport near Dalhart, Texas
 * Grande Prairie Daily Herald-Tribune, a newspaper in Canada
 * David Hume Tower, the former name of 40 George Square, a University of Edinburgh building

title: DHT


text:
Chief of the Name

The Chief of the Name, or in older English usage Captain of his Nation, is the recognised head of a family or clan (Irish and Scottish Gaelic: fine). The term has sometimes been used as a title in Ireland and Scotland.

In Ireland
In Elizabethan times, the position of Chief of the Name was more important to some Irish leaders than English titles. There are instances where Norman lords of the time like FitzGerald took to using the Gaelic style of "The" or "Mór" (great) to indicate that the individual was the primary person of his family in Ireland. Chiefs were elected from their clan's "Derbfine", a group of cousins who were all at least the great-grandsons of former chiefs.

In the Tudor period the Kingdom of Ireland was established in 1542, and many of the former autonomous clan chiefs were assimilated under the English legal system via the policy of surrender and regrant. At the same time mentions were made in official records of locally-powerful landlords described as "chief of his nation", i.e. head of a family, whether assimilated or not. Attempts were made by the English to make each "chief" responsible for the good behaviour of the rest of his family and followers. The Gaelic practice was for such a man to sign himself by the family surname only. A new practice arose where the English version of the surname was in many instances prefixed by "The", and so for example the head of the Mac Aonghusa clan in County Down would sign as "Mac Aonghusa" in Irish, and as "The Magennis" in English.

The downfall of the Gaelic order in the early 17th century led to a decline of the power of the chiefs. Plantation efforts, the wars of Cromwell and King James, meant that by the end of the 17th century, many of the Chiefships of the Name were living outside Ireland, reduced to poverty, or lost forever.

Thereafter, those former kings or chiefs who had been assimilated under the English legal system passed their titles down by primogeniture, whereas the usual Irish practice in the Middle Ages was to elect a chief from a group of close cousins known as a derbfine. Some chiefs did not assimilate under the English legal system, but relied on the system of succession provided for under Irish Brehon Law. The lineages of assimilated chiefs were usually recorded by the Herald's Office in Dublin Castle, set up in 1552, not least because many clans in the 16th and 17th centuries had been persuaded to enter the English-law system under the policy of surrender and regrant. Other manuscript genealogies were preserved and published in the 18th century by Charles O'Conor and Sylvester O'Halloran. The Irish nationalist and republican movements that developed after 1850 often harked back emotively to the former chiefs' losses.

1922–2003
The Irish Free State, founded in 1922, gave no special recognition to the concept, but in 1938, the then Taoiseach, Éamon de Valera, at the inauguration of Dr. Douglas Hyde as the first President of Ireland, welcomed the incoming President with these words: "In you we greet the successor of our rightful princes and in your accession to office we hail the closing of the breach that has existed since the undoing of our nation at Kinsale". In 1948 the government suggested that there should be a "Council" of chiefs, accredited by the Herald, for emotive reasons. In Irish and English law a title is a possession, classed as an "incorporeal hereditament", but the 1937 Irish Constitution forbids the conferring of titles of nobility by the state, as well as the acceptance of titles of nobility or honour without the prior permission of the government. Therefore, the Council was also a means of allowing them to use their titles, but only as honorifics and without any political function. In 1943 the Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) agreed with Edward McLysaght, then Chief Herald of Ireland, that the titles would be known as "designations" made by the Herald's Office to avoid the constitutional ban. McLysaght deplored that anyone could perfectly legally describe themselves as "chief of the name" (such as The O'Rahilly) without having any written proof of descent, if nobody else claimed the very same title.

Effectively a dual system ran from 1948 to 2003, where the government recognised the chiefs as such, but not their other titles. In such a case, for example, The McDermot, Prince of Coolavin would only be known as "The McDermot" to the Chief Herald, but would be addressed also as "Prince of Coolavin" by his fellow chiefs.

Until 2003, an Irish "Chief of the Name" was a person recognised by the Chief Herald of Ireland as the most senior known male descendant of the last inaugurated or de facto chief of that name in power in Gaelic Ireland at or before the end of the 16th century. The practice was discontinued in 2003 owing to the "MacCarthy Mór" fraud (below).

Abandonment: the MacCarthy Mór scandal
After genealogical errors in the 1990s saw Terence Francis MacCarthy and other impostors receive recognition, the Irish government decided in July 2003 to abandon this practice. This was partly because of concern that there was no proper legal basis for it. As this concern was backed by an opinion of the Attorney General, in 2003 the Genealogical Office discontinued the practice of recognising Chiefs. This decision was a cause for concern among the recognised chiefs.

Some modern Irish clan organisations have elected honorary chieftains, where no Chief of the Name is known or yet to be proven. There have been some articles advocating the adoption of a modification of the Scottish 'Ad Hoc Derbhfine' approach to the election of new chiefs where the descents from the last chief have been lost to history or not verifiable. Some re-formed Irish clans are affiliated with the Finte na hÉireann or Clans of Ireland, an organisation established in 1989 to maintain a register of affiliated Irish clans.

Present Irish law
As the law has reverted to the pre-1943 situation, anyone can call himself a Chief of the Name without any historical basis for such a claim.

Gaelic Irish titles
In 1896, Jorge O'Neill of Portugal submitted his genealogy to the Somerset Herald in London. Five years later, Sir Henry Farnham Burke, KCVO, CB, FSA, Somerset Herald stated in 1900 that "the only Pedigree at present on record in either of the Offices of Arms showing a lineal male descent from the House of O'Neill, Monarchs of Ireland, Kings of Ulster, and Princes of Tyrone and Claneboy, is the one registered in the fifty-ninth year of the Reign of Our Sovereign Lady Victoria, in favor of His Excellency Jorge O'Neill of Lisbon". He then recognised him as the Representative of the House of O'Neill and as the Representative of the Earldom created in 1542 for his kinsman Conn Baccagh O'Neill. All of this was granted under Letters Patent issued by the English College of Heralds. Later, the Ulster and Norroy King of Arms granted him the undifferenced arms as the head of the House of O'Neill. Upon that Letters Patent, Pope Leo XIII, the King of Spain, and the King of Portugal recognised Jorge O'Neill as the Prince of Clanaboy, Tyrone, Ulster, as the Count of Tyrone, and the Head of the Royal House of O'Neill and all of its septs. The grandson of Jorge and present Prince of Clanaboy, Hugo, has not pressed his senior claim to the entire House of O'Neill out of respect for his O'Neill chief cousins and their own histories.

In Scotland
In general, the same pattern holds true of the clan chiefs in Scotland as for chiefs in Ireland. Titles may vary, but a chief of a clan is still the recognised leader within a Scottish clan. A difference is that in Scotland clan chiefs can be either male or female whereas in Ireland the clan chiefs are invariably male. In Scotland it is the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs; in Ireland it is the Standing Council of Irish Chiefs and Chieftains (Buanchomhairle Thaoisigh Éireann). In Scotland there exists an 'Ad Hoc Derbhfine' approach to the selection of a new chiefly family when it has been determined that no verifiable descent from a former chief exists. Some have advocated that a similar approach be used in Ireland where chiefships have been lost to history.

title: Chief of the Name


text:
Talk:Blackmore's Night

Comment by Hugeknotty
does somebody knows bands how have same style like blackmore's night?? perhaps you can write them down here??? Bands with a similar style to Blackmore's Night include Loreena McKennitt, Die Geyers (formally Das Geyers Schwarzer Haufen), La Zag, Mediaeval Baebes (as written below), Owain Phyfe and the New World Renaissance Band, Lise Winne and The Spirites Consort, Lise Olden and Louisa John Krol. Hugeknotty 02:38, 6 November 2007 (UTC)Hugeknotty

I Does anyone know where I can find out more about any of the other band members? Lizzy 16:21, 29 January 2006 (UTC)

I am working on small profiles of the other band members but will check they arn't listed elsewhere as they are all muscians in their own rights outside Blackmores Night. --Paulw99 21:05, 7 April 2006 (UTC)

I am currently working on a page about Tudor Rose (real name Tina Chancey) for incusion into Wikipedia and will link it here as soon as its complete. She is a well known musician in her own right as a founding member and Co-director of Hesperus (there is a page about Hesperus else where on Wikipedia), is also a former member of the Folger Consort, the Ensemble for Early Music and the New York Renaissance Band. --Paulw99 10:58, 8 April 2006 (UTC)

Isn't Night the wife of Blackmore? Should that be mentioned here? Parasyte941 17:57, 20 March 2006 (UTC)
 * On her webpage, Candice Night says, "We are not married even though we are together." So, as of December 2004 at least, no. Shadowoftime 00:19, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

I think one of their songs was the basis of the JibJab webcartoon "Its Time for some Campaignin'".Green Herring (talk) 20:31, 6 December 2008 (UTC)

JibJab's 'It's Time for Some Campaigning' is based off the song 'The Times they are A-Changing' which was originally by Bob Dylan; though Blackmore's Night also did a cover of this song.Wocrepus (talk) 19:00, 5 February 2010 (UTC)

American?
I noticed Blackmore's Night is categorized by Wikipedia as an "American Musical Group." But are they really American? I know deep purple is considered a British band and Blackmore's Night CDs always come out in Europe before they come out in America. Shadowoftime 18:51, 17 March 2006 (UTC)

I have asked the management this question and as Ritchie Blackmore is now resident In Long Island, NY the band is considered as being American. --Paulw99 21:10, 7 April 2006 (UTC)

The articel says "They have also performed the music for Magi Quest, a live simulation game located along the east coast. Their manager, Carole Stevens is Candice Night's mother.[1]". To which east coast is this referring, UK, US, France, Spain, Italy?--ManInStone 09:55, 16 August 2007 (UTC)

France doesn't have an east coast. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.242.112.229 (talk) 17:03, 29 September 2007 (UTC)

Review
Somebody replaced the article with a bunch of text which, though well written, was more fit for a review than an encyclopedia and VERY POV (not to mention unwikified and hard to read). I reverted it but the text should still be in the edit history if somebody thinks they can salvage something. Shadowoftime 20:52, 13 April 2006 (UTC)

Updated band members
I have updated the band members to what they are as of today. Paulw99 19:46, 15 November 2006 (UTC)

There are some mistakes in this article, plus it doesn't really say anything about Candice herself, but about the band she's in. Candice Isralow was born May 8 1971 and met Ritchie Blackmore in 1989 when she was 18, and they were friends before becoming romantically involved a few years later. They didn't share an interest in the Renaissance, that was Ritchie's interest, but she embraced it. They actually shared an interest in the paranormal and spirituality. She doesn't play the "horn", but various chanters, plus pennywhistle and tambourine. "Night" is her stage name and I think, as she's a Stevie Nicks fan, they used Blackmore's Night as Nicks used "Buckingham Nicks" (with Lindsay Buckingham). Bands with a similar style to BN include Loreena McKennitt, Die Geyers (formally Das Geyers Schwarzer Haufen), La Zag, Mediaeval Baebes. The band IS Anglo-American (Ritchie being English, Candice being American, and the rest of the band being made up of members from each country, with former member Mick Cervino being from Argentina). Caeril

blurb
"Someone should learn to read. Ritchie got into Renaissance music in 1972; Candice was born in 1971. She had never heard Renaissance music until she met him. See for example interview by Frank Mackay with the two - "Turning Point" - on Youtube."

Removed from front page..... Alt lys er svunnet hen (talk) 00:56, 21 April 2015 (UTC)

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"Celtic"
There's an annoying misconception that all neo-medieval folk music is somehow "celtic", and Blackmore's Night was erroneously labelled with this. In reality, they barely performed a couple of celtic-based songs. Most of their music is based on Saxon, Germanic and French medieval folk, from Tielman Susato (Dutch), Pierre Attaingnant (French), King Henry VIII (English), Michael Praetorius (German), Jeremiah Clarke (English), and even Alfonso X of Castile (Spanish). They perform songs like Greensleeves, Pastime with Good Company (English). They even name their instrumentals in German! They're basically "West European in general, predominantly Anglo-Germanic, folk". Beaumain (talk) 09:20, 7 December 2022 (UTC)

title: Talk:Blackmore's Night


text:
Ōkubo Toshimichi

Ōkubo Toshimichi (大久保 利通) (26 September 1830 – 14 May 1878) was a Japanese statesman and one of the Three Great Nobles regarded as the main founders of modern Japan.

Ōkubo was a samurai of the Satsuma Domain and joined the movement to overthrow the ruling Tokugawa Shogunate during the Bakumatsu period. Upon the founding of the new Empire of Japan, Ōkubo became a leading member of the Meiji Restoration and a prominent member of the Meiji oligarchy. Following his return from the Iwakura Mission in 1873, he became Lord of Home Affairs and used his office's authority to rapidly expand his influence within the Restoration government. Shortly thereafter, he had firmly established himself as the country's de facto dictator. In this capacity, he enacted numerous structural reforms, pacified disputes within the Meiji regime at the Osaka Conference of 1875, and suppressed several rebellions threatening the survival of the empire. As a result of his autocratic style of government, Ōkubo became the focus of deep animosity within Japan and was ultimately assassinated in 1878 by a former member of Saigo Takamori's rebel army.

Early life
Ōkubo was born on 26 September 1830 in Kagoshima, Satsuma Province (present-day Kagoshima Prefecture) to Ōkubo Juemon (1794–1863; also known as Toshio and Shirō), a low-ranking retainer of Shimazu Nariakira, the daimyō of the Satsuma Domain, later given a minor official position, and his wife Minayoshi Fuku (1803–1864), daughter of a physician. Although the Ōkubo family were not of high status, they were of distinguished origin, thought to descend from the noble Fujiwara clan. The eldest of five children, Ōkubo studied at the same local school as Saigō Takamori, who was three years older. In 1846, Ōkubo was given the position of aide to the Satsuma Domain's archivist.

Satsuma samurai
Shimazu Nariakira recognized Ōkubo's talents and appointed him to the position of tax administrator in 1858. When Nariakira died that year, Ōkubo joined the plot to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate, the de facto military dictatorship that had ruled Japan as a feudal state since 1600. Unlike most Satsuma leaders, Ōkubo favored the position of tōbaku (倒幕, overthrowing the shogunate), as opposed to kōbu gattai (公武合体, unity of the Imperial court and the Shogunate) and hanbaku (opposition to the shogunate) over the Sonnō jōi movement.

The outcome of the Anglo-Satsuma War of 1863, along with the Namamugi Incident and the September 1863 coup d'état in Kyoto, convinced Ōkubo that the tōbaku movement was doomed. In 1866, Ōkubo met with Saigō Takamori and Chōshū Domain's Kido Junichirō to form the secret Satchō Alliance to overthrow the Tokugawa through the mediation of Sakamoto Ryōma of Tosa Domain.

Meiji restoration
On January 3, 1868, forces from Satsuma and Chōshū seized the Kyoto Imperial Palace and proclaimed the Meiji Restoration. Thereafter, with the help of the influential courtier, Iwakura Tomomi, the "Three Great Nobles of the Restoration" (Ōkubo, Saigō and Kido) formed a provisional government. At its inception, the Meiji regime had to rely on funds from the Tokugawa lands (which were seized in toto).

As head of the department of internal affairs, Ōkubo had a huge amount of power through his control of all local government appointments and the police force. In this capacity, he was able to appoint all new leaders within the state bureaucracy. Most of the people he appointed as governors were young men; some included friends such as Matsukata Masayoshi while others were rare Japanese who had gained some education in Europe or the United States.

As Finance Minister in 1871, Ōkubo enacted a Land Tax Reform, the Haitōrei Edict, which prohibited samurai from wearing swords in public, and ended official discrimination against the outcasts. In foreign relations, he worked to secure revision of the unequal treaties and joined the Iwakura Mission on its round-the-world trip of 1871 to 1873. Realizing that Japan was not in any position to challenge the Western powers in its new present state, Ōkubo returned to Japan on September 13, 1873, just in time to take a strong stand against Saigō's proposed invasion of Korea (Seikanron).

Upon assuming the new position of Lord of Home Affairs in November 1873, Okubo consolidated power to become the dominant voice within the Restoration regime. As Home Lord (内務卿), Ōkubo promoted industrial development building roads, bridges, and ports—all things that the Tokugawa shogunate had refused to do. In response to calls for a representative assembly, he presided over the Osaka Conference of 1875 to reconcile opposing views on the subject within the Meiji oligarchy. While the conference resulted in the creation of an Assembly of prefectural governors and a senate-like body called the Genro-in, the positions to such bodies were appointive rather than elective and the authority to sanction laws was denied to the latter. In 1877, Okubo was faced with the prospect of open rebellion when forces in Satsuma under the command of his old friend, Saigo Takamori, took up arms against the Meiji regime to end its nationwide campaign of enforced modernization. Ōkubo took personal command of the government army and crushed the rebellion, thereby resulting in Saigo's death.

After suppressing a rebellion originating in his own province, many Satsuma samurai considered Ōkubo a traitor. On May 14, 1878, Ōkubo was assassinated by Shimada Ichirō and six other Kaga Domain samurai on his way to the imperial palace, only a few minutes' walk from the Sakurada gate where Ii Naosuke had been assassinated 18 years earlier.

Legacy
Ōkubo was one of the most influential leaders of the Meiji Restoration and the establishment of modern governmental structures. From November 1873, when he was made Home Affairs Minister also known as the Lords of Home Affairs (a newly created post), until his death in 1878, he was the most powerful man in Japan. A devout loyalist and nationalist, he enjoyed the respect of his colleagues and enemies alike.

Personal life
Ōkubo married Hayasaki Masako (d. 1879), with whom he had four sons and a daughter. His children from this marriage were Toshikazu, the 1st Marquess Ōkubo (1859–1945), Makino Nobuaki (1861–1949), Toshitake, later the 2nd Marquess (1867–1943), Ishihara Takeguma (1869–1943), who was adopted by his wife Yaeko's family, and Yoshiko, who married Ijuin Hikokichi.

Ōkubo's second son, Makino Nobuaki, and his son-in-law Ijuin Hikokichi served as Foreign Minister. Future Prime Minister of Japan Tarō Asō and Princess Tomohito of Mikasa are great-great-grandchildren of Ōkubo Toshimichi.

In 1884, Toshikazu was ennobled as a marquess in the new peerage in honour of his father's achievements. He married Shigeno Naoko (1875–1918), but had no children and relinquished the title in 1928 in favour of his younger brother Toshitake (1865–1943). A graduate of Yale and Heidelberg universities, Toshitake successively served as governor of Tottori (1900), Ōita (1901–1905), Saitama (1905–1907) and Osaka (1912–1917) prefectures. He married Kondō Sakae (1879–1956) and had three children, Toshiaki (1900–1995), Toshimasa (1902–1945) and Michitada (1907–????). Toshiaki became a prominent professor of Japanese history and succeeded as the 3rd Marquess in 1943, holding the title until the peerage was abolished in 1947. He subsequently became the librarian of the National Diet Library from 1951 to 1953 and then taught as a lecturer and professor of history at Nagoya University (1953–1959) and at Rikkyū University (1959–1965). He was awarded the Asahi Prize in 1993, two years before his death. He married Yoneda Yaeko (1910–????) and had two children, Yasushi (b. 1934) and Shigeko (b. 1936). Yasushi married Matsudaira Naoko (b. 1940) and had a daughter, Akiko (b. 1965).

Ōkubo also had four illegitimate children by a mistress.

In fiction
In the manga/anime series Rurouni Kenshin, Ōkubo Toshimichi appears to seek Himura Kenshin's assistance in destroying the threat posed by the revolt of Shishio Makoto. Kenshin is uncertain, and Ōkubo gives him a May 14 deadline to make his decision. On his way to seek Kenshin's answer on that day, he is supposedly assassinated by Seta Sōjirō, Shishio's right-hand man, and the Ichirō clan desecrates his corpse and claim they killed him. (Watsuki makes a comparison to President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, with Ōkubo in his notes).

In Boris Akunin's novel The Diamond Chariot, Erast Fandorin investigates the plot to assassinate Ōkubo but fails to prevent the assassination.

Honours

 * Junior First Rank (May 22, 1901; posthumous)

title: Ōkubo Toshimichi


text:
User talk:Qfwfq

Hi there. Welcome to wikipedia! :-) If you have any questions, stop by the Village Pump. There's also a FAQ somewhere... but you seem to be settling in nicely; good job on the King's College London. (though it doesn't represent the POV of UCL alumni: we nicked their lion etc etc ;-) -- Tarquin 17:21 Mar 6, 2003 (UTC)

 * I'm waiting to get a picture of the lion so as to properly cover this important subject. Lion is not actually much in evidence around KCL these days, but maybe the students see more of it. Qfwfq 23:28 Mar 8, 2003 (UTC)

Hi. Yes I know Basil Hume's title. My page froze during the editing of Opus Dei and when I went back I inadvertly left out his full title.

 * Ah good-- not an attempt to advertise a new sect or something like that, then. Qfwfq 23:28 Mar 8, 2003 (UTC)

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