text:
Chandragupta II

Chandragupta II (r.c. 375-415), also known by his title Vikramaditya, as well as Chandragupta Vikramaditya, was the third ruler of the Gupta Empire in India. Modern scholars generally identify him with King Chandra of the Delhi iron pillar inscription.

Chandragupta II continued the expansionist policy of his father Samudragupta through military conquests and marital alliances. Historical evidence attests to his remarkable victories, which include the defeat of the Sassanids, the conquest of the Western Kshatrapas and the subjugation of the Hunas. Under the reign of Chandragupta II, the Gupta Empire reached its zenith, directly controlling a vast territory which stretched from the Oxus River in the west to the Bengal region in the east, and from the foothills of the Himalayas in the north to the Narmada River in the south. Chandragupta II expanded his influence and indirectly ruled over the Kuntala region of Karnataka through a marriage alliance with Kadambas, and during his daughter Prabhavatigupta’s 20 years long regency, he effectively integrated the Vakataka kingdom into the Gupta Empire.

Chandragupta II was a devout Vaishnav but tolerated other faiths as well. The Chinese pilgrim Faxian, who visited India during his reign, suggests that he ruled over a peaceful and prosperous kingdom. The legendary figure of Vikramaditya is probably based on Chandragupta II (among other kings), and the noted Sanskrit poet Kalidasa may have been his court poet. The cave shrines at Udayagiri were also built during his rule.

Names and titles
Chandragupta II was the second ruler of the dynasty to bear the name "Chandragupta", the first being his grandfather Chandragupta I. He was also simply known as "Chandra", as attested by his coins. The Sanchi inscription of his officer Amrakardava states that he was also known as Deva-raja. The records of his daughter Prabhavatigupta, issued as a Vakataka queen, call him Chandragupta as well as Deva-gupta. Deva-shri (IAST: Devaśri) is another variation of this name. The Delhi iron pillar inscription states that king Chandra was also known as "Dhava": if this king Chandra is identified with Chandragupta (see below), it appears that "Dhava" was another name for the king. Another possibility is that "dhava" is a mistake for a common noun "bhava", although this is unlikely, as the rest of the inscription does not contain any errors.

A passage in the Vishnu Purana suggests that major parts of the eastern coast of India – Kosala, Odra, Tamralipta, and Puri – were ruled by the Devarakshitas around the same time as the Guptas. Since it seems unlikely that an obscure dynasty named Devarakshita was powerful enough to control substantial territory during the Gupta period, some scholars, such as Dasharatha Sharma, theorize that "Deva-rakshita" (IAST: Devarakṣita) was another name for Chandragupta II. Others, such as D. K. Ganguly, oppose this theory, arguing that this identification is quite arbitrary, and cannot be explained satisfactorily.

Chandragupta assumed the titles Bhattaraka and Maharajadhiraja, and bore the epithet Apratiratha ("having no equal or antagonist"). The Supiya stone pillar inscription, issued during the reign of his descendant Skandagupta, also calls him "Vikramaditya".

Early life
Chandragupta was a son of Samudragupta and queen Dattadevi, as attested by his own inscriptions. According to the official Gupta genealogy, Chandragupta succeeded his father on the Gupta throne. The Sanskrit play Devichandraguptam, combined with other evidence suggests that he had an elder brother named Ramagupta, who preceded him on the throne. In the play, Ramagupta decides to surrender his queen Dhruvadevi to a Shaka enemy when besieged, but Chandragupta goes to the enemy camp disguised as the queen and kills the enemy. Sometime later, Chandragupta dethrones Ramagupta, and becomes the new king. The historicity of this narrative is debated among modern historians, with some believing it to be based on true historical events, while others dismissing it as a work of fiction.

Period of reign
The Mathura pillar inscription of Chandragupta II (as well as some other Gupta inscriptions) mention two dates: several historians have assumed that one of these dates denotes the king's regnal year, while the other date denotes the year of the Gupta calendar era. However, Indologist Harry Falk in 2004 has theorised that the date understood to be the regnal year by the earlier scholars is actually a date of the kālānuvarttamāna system. According to Falk, the kālānuvarttamāna system is a continuation of the Kushana calendar era established by emperor Kanishka, whose coronation Falk dates to 127 CE. The Kushana era restarts counting after a hundred years (e.g. the year after 100 is 1, not 101).

The date portion of the Mathura inscription reads (in IAST):

 * candragupta-sya vijarajya-saṃvatsa[re] ... kālānuvarttamāna-saṃvatsare ekaṣaṣṭhe 60 ... [pra]thame śukla-divase paṃcāmyaṃ

The letters before the words kālānuvarttamāna-saṃvatsare are abraded in the inscription, but historian D. R. Bhandarkar (1931–1932) reconstructed them as gupta, and translated the term gupta-kālānuvarttamāna-saṃvatsare as "year following the Gupta era". He translated the entire sentence as:

 * In the ... year of ... Chandragupta, ... on the fifth of the bright half of the first (Ashadha) of the year 61 following the Gupta era.

Historian D. C. Sircar (1942) restored the missing letters as "[paṃ]cāme" ("fifth") and concluded that the inscription was dated to the Chandragupta's fifth regnal year. The missing letters have alternatively been read as "prathame" ("first"). According to these interpretations, the inscription is thus dated in year 61 of the Gupta era, and either the first or the fifth regnal year of Chandragupta. Assuming that the Gupta era starts around 319–320 CE, the beginning of Chandragupta's reign can be dated to either 376–377 CE or 380–381 CE.

Falk agrees that the missing letters denote a numerical year, but dismisses Sircar's reading as "mere imagination", pointing out that the missing letters are "abraded beyond recovery". In support of his Kushana era theory, Falk presents four Gupta inscriptions (in chronological order) that mention the term kālānuvarttamāna-saṃvatsare:

Falk notes that the "dynastic year" in the table above appears to be a year of the Gupta era. The kālānuvarttamāna year cannot be regnal year, because Chandragupta I is not known to have ruled for as long as 61 years. If we assume "61" of the Mathura pillar inscription denotes a year of the Gupta era (as assumed by Bhandarkar, Sircar and other scholars), we must assume that "15" of the Buddhist image pedestal also denotes a year of the Gupta era: this is obviously incorrect, since Kumaragupta I ruled after Chandragupta II. Scholars K.K. Thaplyal and R.C. Sharma, who studied the Buddhist image pedestal inscription, speculated that the scribe had mistakenly interchanged the years 121 and 15, but Falk calls this assumption unnecessary.

According to Falk, the discrepancy can be explained satisfactorily, if we assume that the kālānuvarttamāna era denotes a system that restarts counting after a hundred years. The Yaksha figure inscription is dated to year 112 of the Gupta era (c. 432 CE), which corresponds to the kālānuvarttamāna year 5. Thus, the kālānuvarttamāna era used during Kumaragupta's time must have started in 432–5 = 427 CE. The years mentioned in the Buddhist image pedestal inscription also suggests that the epoch of this era was c. 426–427 CE. Since the kālānuvarttamāna system restarts counting every 100 years, the kālānuvarttamāna era used during the reign of Chandragupta II must have started in 327 CE. Thus, the Mathura inscription can be dated to 327+61 = c. 388 CE. While Falk's theory does not change the Gupta chronology significantly, it implies that the date of the Mathura inscription cannot be used to determine the beginning of Chandragupta's reign.

The Sanchi inscription, dated to 412–413 CE (year 93 of the Gupta era), is the last known dated inscription of Chandragupta. His son Kumaragupta was on the throne by the 415–416 CE (year 96 of the Gupta era), so Chandragupta's reign must have ended sometime during 412–415 CE.

Military career
The Udayagiri inscription of Chandragupta's foreign minister Virasena suggests that the king had a distinguished military career. It states that he "bought the earth", paying for it with his prowess, and reduced the other kings to the status of slaves. His empire seems to have extended from the mouth of the Indus and northern Pakistan in the west to the Bengal region in the east, and from the Himalayan terai region in the north to the Narmada River in the south.

Chandragupta's father Samudragupta and his son Kumaragupta I are known to have performed the Ashvamedha horse sacrifice to proclaim their military prowess. In the 20th century, the discovery of a stone image of a horse found near Varanasi, and the misreading of its inscription as "Chandramgu" (taken to be "Chandragupta"), led to speculation that Chandragupta also performed the Ashvamedha sacrifice. However, there is no actual evidence to support this theory.

Western Kshatrapas
Historical and literary evidence suggests that Chandragupta II achieved military successes against the Western Kshatrapas (also known as Shakas), who ruled in west-central India. The Allahabad Pillar inscription of Chandragupta's father Samudragupta names the "Shaka-Murundas" among the kings who tried to appease him. It may be possible that Samudragupta reduced the Shakas to a state of subordinate alliance, and Chandragupta completely subjugated them.

Virasena's Udayagiri inscription describes him as a resident of Pataliputra, and states that he came to Udayagiri in Central India with the king who sought to "conquer the whole world". This indicates that Chandragupta had reached Udayagiri in central India during a military campaign. The theory that Chandragupta led an army to Central India is also corroborated by the c. 412–413 CE (Gupta year 93) Sanchi inscription of Amrakardava, who is said to have "acquired victory and fame in many battles and whose livelihood was secured by serving Chandragupta." A c. 401–402 CE (Gupta year 82) inscription of Chandragupta's feudatory Maharaja Sanakanika has also been discovered in Central India. The only important power to have ruled in this region during Chandragupta's period were the Western Kshatrapas, whose rule is attested by their distinct coinage. The coins issued by the Western Kshatrapa rulers abruptly come to end in the last decade of the 4th century. The coins of this type reappear in the second decade of the 5th century, and are dated in the Gupta era, which suggests that Chandragupta subjugated the Western Kshatrapas.

The exact date of Chandragupta's victory is not known, but it can be tentatively dated to sometime between 397 and 409. The last of the 4th century Kshatrapa coins – that of Rudrasimha III – can be dated to the Shaka year 310 or 319 (the coin legend is partially lost), that is 388 or 397. Chandragupta's coins, dated to 409, are similar to the Kshtrapa coins, with the Shakas' Buddhist vihara symbol replaced by the Gupta symbol of Garuda.

Literary evidence also corroborates Chandragupta's victory over the Western Kshatrapas. The Sanskrit play Devichandraguptam, whose historicity is disputed, narrates that Chandragupta's elder brother Ramagupta agreed to surrender his queen Dhruvadevi to a Shaka chief when besieged, but Chandragupta went to the enemy camp disguised as the queen, and killed the Shaka chief. Chandragupta bore the title Vikramaditya, and several Indian legends talk of king Vikramaditya who defeated the Shakas. Several modern scholars have theorised that these legends may be based on Chandragupta's victory over the Shakas.

As a result of his victory over the Western Kshatrapas, Chandragupta must have extended his empire up to the Arabian Sea coast in present-day Gujarat.

Other military victories
The iron pillar of Delhi contains an inscription of a king called "Chandra". Modern scholars generally identify this king with Chandragupta II, although this cannot be said with complete certainty.

While alternative identifications have been proposed, there is strong evidence for identifying Chandra of the iron pillar inscription as Chandragupta II:
 * Chandragupta's coins refer to him as "Chandra".
 * According to the iron pillar inscription, Chandra was a devotee of Vishnu. Chandragupta was also a Vaishnavite, and is described as a Bhagvata (devotee of Vishnu) in the Gupta records.
 * The iron pillar is said to have been set up by king Chandra in honour of Vishnu, on a hill named Vishnu-pada, but the king seems to have died shortly before the inscription was engraved, as the inscription states that "the king has quit the earth and gone to the other world". A similar Vishnu-dhvaja (flagpole in honour of Vishnu) was set up the Gupta emperor Skandagupta (a grandson of Chandragupta) after the death of his father Kumaragupta I.
 * According to his Udayagiri inscription, Chandragupta went on a digvijaya ("conquest of all quarters") campaign. He is known to have been a powerful sovereign emperor, and this fits in well with the iron pillar inscription's description of king Chandra as someone who "attained sole supreme sovereignty in the world acquired by his own arm and (enjoyed) for a very long time".
 * The iron pillar inscription states that the southern ocean is "perfumed by the breezes" of Chandra's prowess. This may be a reference to Chandragupta's extension of the Gupta rule to the Arabian Sea after his conquest of the Western Kshatrapa territory. Arabian Sea was located to the south of the Gupta empire, and thus, the term "southern ocean" is applicable to it in this context.
 * The iron pillar inscription states that "his name was Chandra and he was holding the glory of a full moon on his face". This is reminiscent of his descendant Skandagupta's Mandasaur inscription, which describes Chandragupta as "a moon in the galaxy of Gupta kings with the famous name Chandragupta".

The iron pillar inscription credits Chandra with the following victories:
 * Defeated an alliance of enemies in the Vanga country
 * Crossed the "seven faces" of the river Sindhu (Indus) during a war and defeated the Vahlikas.

Punjab region
If Chandra is identified with Chandragupta, it appears that Chandragupta marched through the Punjab region, and advanced up to the country of the Vahlikas, that is, Balkh in present-day Afghanistan. Some short Sanskrit inscriptions at the Sacred Rock of Hunza (in present-day Pakistan), written in Gupta script, mention the name Chandra. A few of these inscriptions also mention the name Harishena, and one particular inscription mentions Chandra with the epithet "Vikramaditya". Based on the identification of "Chandra" with Chandragupta, and Harishena with the Gupta courtier Harishena, these inscriptions can be considered as further evidence of a Gupta military campaign in the area. However, this identification is not certain, and Chandra of the Hunza inscriptions could have well been a local ruler.

According to Sten Konow, the term "seven faces", mentioned in the iron pillar inscription, refers to the seven mouths of Indus. Historians R. C. Majumdar and K. P. Jayaswal, on the other hand, believe that the term refers to the tributaries of Indus: the five rivers of Punjab (Jhelum, Ravi, Sutlej, Beas, and Chenab), plus possibly the Kabul and the Kunar rivers.

It is quite possible that Chandragupta passed through the Punjab region during this campaign: his political influence in this region is attested to by the use of the Gupta era in an inscription found at Shorkot, and by some coins bearing the name "Chandragupta". However, there is no evidence that Chandragupta annexed Punjab to the Gupta Empire, which suggests that Chandragupta's victory in this region was not a decisive one. There is little evidence of Gupta influence in Punjab after his reign: numismatic evidence suggests that Punjab was ruled by petty chieftains after his death. These chieftains bore Indian names, but issued coins that imitate the Kidarite coinage: they may have been Hinduized foreigners or Indians continuing the usage of foreign-style coinage.

Bengal region
The identification of Chandra with Chandragupta II also suggests Chandragupta achieved victories in the Vanga area in the present-day Bengal region. According to the Allahabad Pillar inscription of his father Samudragupta, the Samatata kingdom of the Bengal region was a Gupta tributary. The Guptas are known to have been ruling Bengal in the early 6th century, although there are no surviving records of the Gupta presence in this region for the intervening period.

It is possible that a large part of the Bengal region was annexed to the Gupta empire by Chandragupta, and that this control continued into the 6th century. The Delhi iron pillar inscription suggests that an alliance of semi-independent chiefs of Bengal unsuccessfully resisted Chandragupta's attempts to extend the Gupta influence in this region.

Personal life and matrimonial alliances
Gupta records mention Dhruvadevi as Chandragupta's queen, and the mother of his successor Kumaragupta I. The Basarh clay seal mentions Dhruva-svamini as a queen of Chandragupta, and the mother of Govindagupta. It is unlikely that Chandragupta had two different queens with similar names: it appears that Dhruvasvamini was most probably another name for Dhruvadevi, and that Govindagupta was a real brother of Kumaragupta.

Chandragupta also married Kuvera-naga (alias Kuberanaga), whose name indicates that she was a princess of the Naga dynasty, which held considerable power in central India before Samudragupta subjugated them. This matrimonial alliance may have helped Chandragupta consolidate the Gupta empire, and the Nagas may have helped him in his war against the Western Kshatrapas.

Prabhavati-gupta, the daughter of Chandragupta and Kuvera-naga, married the Vakataka king Rudrasena II, who ruled in the Deccan region to the south of the Gupta empire. After her husband's death in c. 390, Prabhavati-gupta acted as a regent for her minor sons. In the two copper-plate inscriptions issued during her regency, the names of her Gupta ancestors with their imperial titles appear before the name of the Vakataka king with the lesser title Maharaja. This suggests that the Gupta court may have had influence in the Vakataka administration during her regency. Historians Hermann Kulke and Dietmar Rothermund believe that the Vakataka kingdom was "practically a part of the Gupta empire" during her 20-year long regency. The Vakatakas may have supported Chandragupta during his conflict with the Western Kshatrapas.

The Guptas also appear to have entered into a matrimonial alliance with the Kadamba dynasty, the southern neighbours of the Vakatakas. The Talagunda pillar inscription suggests that the daughters of the Kadamba king Kakusthavarman, married into other royal families, including that of the Guptas. While Kakusthavarman was a contemporary of Chandragupta's son Kumaragupta I, it is noteworthy that some medieval chiefs of present-day Karnataka (where the Kadambas ruled) claimed descent from Chandragupta. According to the Vikramaditya legends, emperor Vikramaditya (a character believed to be based on Chandragupta) sent his court poet Kalidasa as an ambassador to the lord of Kuntala. While the Kuntala king referred to in this legend has been identified by some scholars with a Vakataka king, it is more likely that he was a Kadamba king, because the Vakataka king did not rule over Kuntala, and was never called the lord of Kuntala.

Administration
Several feudatories of Chandragupta are known from historical records:
 * Maharaja Sanakanika, a feudatory known from the Udayagiri inscription that records his construction of a Vaishnava temple.
 * Maharaja Trikamala, a feudatory known from a Gaya inscription engraved on a Bodhisattva image
 * Maharaja Shri Vishvamitra Svami, a feudatory known from a seal found at Vidisha
 * Maharaja Svamidasa, the ruler of Valkha, was also probably a Gupta feudatory if we assume that his inscription is dated in the Gupta calendar era; according to another theory, his inscription is dated in the Kalachuri calendar era.

The following ministers and officers of Chandragupta are known from various historical records:
 * Vira-sena, foreign minister, known from the Udayagiri inscription recording his construction of a Shiva temple
 * Amrakardava, a military officer, known from the Sanchi inscription recording his donations to the local Buddhist monastery
 * Shikhara-svami, a minister; according to historian K. P. Jayaswal's theory, he was the author of the political treatise Kamandakiya Niti

Navaratnas
Jyotirvidabharana (22.10), a treatise attributed to Kalidasa, states that nine famous scholars known as the Navaratnas ("nine gems") attended the court of the legendary Vikramaditya. Besides Kalidasa himself, these included Amarasimha, Dhanvantari, Ghatakarapara, Kshapanaka, Shanku, Varahamihira, Vararuchi, and Vetala Bhatta. However, there is no historical evidence to show that these nine scholars were contemporary figures or proteges of the same king. Jyotirvidabharana is considered a literary forgery of a date later than Kalidasa by multiple scholars. There is no mention of such "Navaratnas" in earlier literature, and D. C. Sircar calls this tradition "absolutely worthless for historical purposes".

Nevertheless, multiple scholars believe that one of these Navaratnas – Kalidasa – may have indeed flourished during the reign of Chandragupta II. These scholars include William Jones, A. B. Keith, and Vasudev Vishnu Mirashi among others. It is possible that Kalidasa was a court poet of Chandragupta.

Religion
Many gold and silver coins of Chandragupta, as well the inscriptions issued by him and his successors, describe him as a parama-bhagvata, that is, a devotee of the god Vishnu. One of his gold coins, discovered at Bayana, calls him chakra-vikramah, literally, "[one who is] powerful [due to his possession of the] discus", and shows him receiving a discus from Vishnu.

An Udayagiri inscription records the construction of a Vaishnava cave temple by Chandragupta's feudatory Maharaja Sanakanika, in year 82 of the Gupta era (c. 401–402).

Chandragupta was also tolerant of other faiths. The Udayagiri inscription of Chandragupta's foreign minister Virasena records the construction of a temple dedicated to the god Shambhu (Shiva). An inscription found at Sanchi near Udayagiri records donations to the local Buddhist monastery by his military officer Amrakardava, in year 93 of the Gupta era (c. 412–413).

Faxian's visit
Chinese pilgrim Faxian visited India during the reign of Chandragupta and spent around six years in the Gupta kingdom. He was mostly interested in Buddhist religious affairs and did not bother to record the name of the reigning king. His account presents an idealised picture of the Gupta administration, and not everything he states can be taken at face value. However, his description of the kingdom as a peaceful and prosperous one seems to be generally true, attested by the fact that he did not face any brigandage unlike the later Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang.

Faxian describes Madhya-desha ("Middle Kingdom"), the region to the south-east of Mathura, as a populous region with good climate and happy people. He mentions that the citizens were not required to "register their households or attend to any magistrates and their rules". Faxian mentions that wicked repeated rebels had their right hand cut off by the king's administration, but otherwise, there was no corporal punishment for crimes: the criminals were only fined, lightly or heavily, according to the severity of the crime. According to Faxian, the king's bodyguards and attendants all received salaries.

Faxian mentions that other than the untouchable Chandalas, the people did not consume meat, intoxicating drinks, onions or garlic. The Chandalas lived apart from other people and struck a piece of wood to announce their presence when they entered a city or a marketplace: this would enable other people to avoid contact with them. Only the Chandalas engaged in the fisheries and hunting and sold meat. In the general markets, there were no butchers' shops or alcohol dealers, and the people did not keep pigs or fowl. According to historian R. C. Majumdar, Faxian's observations about the people's food habits seem to have been based on his contact with the Buddhist religious community and may not be applicable to the general public.

Faxian mentions that the people used cowries for buying and selling goods.

Faxian mentions the Pataliputra region as the most prosperous part of the Middle Kingdom, describing its people as benevolent and righteous. He describes an annual Buddhist celebration, which involved a procession of 20 grand carts of Buddhas, the Brahmanas's invitation to the Buddhas to enter the city, and music performances. He mentions that in the cities, the Vaishya chiefs had established centres for dispensing charity and medical help to the destitute. These centres attracted the poor, the orphans, the widowers, the childless, the handicapped, and the sick, who were examined by doctors and given food and medicine until they got better.

Inscriptions

The following inscriptions of Chandragupta have been discovered:
 * Mathura pillar inscription, dated to the year 61 of the Gupta era. The date has been interpreted as c. 380–381 by earlier scholars, but Harry Falk (2004) dates it to 388 (see Period of reign section above).
 * Mathura pillar inscription, undated
 * Udayagiri cave inscription, dated to the year 82 of the Gupta era
 * Udayagiri cave inscription, undated
 * Gadhwa stone inscription, dated to the year 88 of the Gupta era
 * Sanchi stone inscription, dated to the year 93 of the Gupta era
 * Mehrauli iron pillar inscription, undated

Coinage
Chandragupta continued issuing most of the gold coin types introduced by his father Samudragupta, such as the Sceptre type (rare for Chandragupta II), the Archer type, and the Tiger-Slayer type. However, Chandragupta II also introduced several new types, such as the Horseman type and the Lion-slayer type, both of which were used by his son Kumaragupta I.

Chandragupta's various gold coins depict his martial spirit or peacetime pursuits.

 * Lion-slayer type
 * These coins depict Chandragupta slaying a lion and bear the legend simha-vikrama. Similar coins issued by his father Samudragupta depict the king slaying a tiger and bear the legend vyaghra-parakramaha. Historian R. C. Majumdar theorises that Chandragupta's conquest of present-day Gujarat (where the Asiatic lion is found) may have presented him with an opportunity to hunt lions, resulting in the substitution of tiger with lion on the imperial coins.

 * Couch-and-flower type
 * These coins depict Chandragupta seated on a couch and holding a flower in his right hand. The legend "rupa-kriti" occurs below the couch. These coins are similar to Samudragupta's coins which depict the king playing a musical instrument.

 * Rider type
 * These coins depict the king riding a fully-caparisoned horse.

In addition, Chandragupta II was the first Gupta king to issue silver coins. These coins were intended to replace the silver coinage of the Western Kshatrapas after Chandragupta II defeated them and were modelled on the Kshatrapa coinage. The main difference was to replace the dynastic symbol of the Kshatrapas (the three-arched hill) by the dynastic symbol of the Guptas (the mythic eagle Garuda). The obverse of these coins depicts a bust of the king, with corrupted Greek legend "OOIHU". The reverse features the Brahmi script legend "Chandragupta Vikramaditya, King of Kings, and a devotee of Vishnu", around Garuda, the mythic eagle and dynastic symbol of the Guptas.

Personality
The Udayagiri inscription of Virasena describes Chandragupta as a "king of kings" as well as an ascetic rajadhirajarshi, and declares that his activities were "beyond comprehension".

Identification with the legendary Vikramaditya

Vikramaditya is a legendary emperor of ancient India, who is characterised as the ideal king, known for his generosity, courage, and patronage to scholars. A number of historians believe that at least some of the Vikramaditya legends are based on Chandragupta II. These historians include D. R. Bhandarkar, V. V. Mirashi and D. C. Sircar among others.

Based on some coins and the Supia pillar inscription, it is believed that Chandragupta II adopted the title "Vikramaditya". The Cambay and Sangli plates of the Rashtrakuta king Govinda IV use the epithet "Sahasanka" for Chandragupta II. The name "Sahasanka" has also been applied to the legendary Vikramaditya.

The legendary Vikramaditya is said to have defeated the Śaka invaders, and was therefore, known as Śakari ("enemy of the Śakas). Chandragupta II conquered Malwa after defeating the Western Kshatrapas (a branch of Śakas); he also expelled the Kushanas from Mathura. His victory over these foreign tribes was probably transposed on upon a fictional character, resulting in the Vikramaditya legends.

According to most legends, Vikramaditya had his capital at Ujjain, although some legends mention him as the king of Pataliputra. The Guptas had their capital at Pataliputra. According to D. C. Sircar, Chandragupta II may have defeated the Shaka invaders of Ujjain, and placed his son Govindagupta as a viceroy there. As a result, Ujjain might have become a second capital of the Gupta empire, and subsequently, legends about him (as Vikramaditya) might have developed. Guttas of Guttavalal, a minor dynasty based in present-day Karnataka, claimed descent from the imperial Guptas. The Caudadanapura inscription of the Guttas alludes to the legendary Vikramaditya ruling from Ujjayni, and several Gutta royals were named "Vikramaditya". According to Vasundhara Filliozat, their reference to the legendary Vikramaditya is simply because they confused him with Chandragupta II. However, D. C. Sircar sees this as further proof that the legendary Vikramaditya was based on Chandragupta II.

Vikram Samvat
Vikrama Samvat, an Indian calendar era beginning in 57 BCE, is associated with the legendary Vikramaditya. However, this association did not exist before 9th century. The earlier sources call this era by various names, including Kṛṭa, the era of the Malava tribe, or simply, Samvat. Scholars such as D. C. Sircar and D. R. Bhandarkar believe that the name of the era changed to "Vikram Samvat" after the reign of Chandragupta II, who had adopted the title Vikramaditya.

title: Chandragupta II


text:
Killifish

A killifish is any of various oviparous (egg-laying) cyprinodontiform fish, including families Aplocheilidae, Cyprinodontidae, Fundulidae, Nothobranchiidae, Profundulidae, Aphaniidae and Valenciidae. All together, there are 1,270 species of killifish, the biggest family being Rivulidae, containing more than 320 species. As an adaptation to living in ephemeral waters, the eggs of most killifish can survive periods of partial dehydration. Many of the species rely on such a diapause, since the eggs would not survive more than a few weeks if entirely submerged in water. The adults of some species, such as Kryptolebias marmoratus, can additionally survive out of the water for several weeks. Most killies are small fish, from 2.5 to 5 cm, with the largest species growing to just under 15 cm.

The word killifish is of uncertain origin, but is likely to have come from the Dutch kil for a kill (small stream). Although killifish is sometimes used as an English equivalent to the taxonomical term Cyprinodontidae, some species belonging to that family have their own common names, such as the pupfish and the mummichog.

Range and habitat
Killifish are found mainly in fresh or brackish waters in the Americas, as far south as Argentina and as far north as southern Ontario and even Newfoundland and Labrador. There are also species in southern Europe, in much of Africa as far south as KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, in the Middle East and Asia (as far east as Vietnam), and on several Indian Ocean islands.

The majority of killifish are found in permanent streams, rivers, and lakes, and live between two and three years. Such killifish are common in the Americas (Cyprinodon, Fundulus and Rivulus) as well as in Africa and Asia (including Aphyosemion, Aplocheilus, Epiplatys, Fundulopanchax and Lacustricola) and southern Europe (Aphanius). Some of these habitats can be rather extreme; the only natural habitat of the Devils Hole pupfish (Cyprinodon diabolis) is Devils Hole: a cavern at least 91 m deep, branching out from a small opening at the surface, approximately 1.8 m by 5.5 m wide.

Some specialized forms live in temporary ponds and flood plains, and typically have a much shorter lifespan. Such species, known as "annuals", live no longer than nine months, and are used as models for studies on aging. Examples include the African genus Nothobranchius and South American genera ranging from the cold water Austrolebias of Argentina and Uruguay to the more tropical Gnatholebias, Pterolebias, Simpsonichthys and Terranatos.

Territorial behaviour
A small number of species will shoal while most are territorial to varying degrees. Populations can be dense and territories can shift quickly, especially for species of the extreme shallows (a few centimetres of water). Many species exist as passive tribes in small streams where dominant males will defend a territory while allowing females and immature males to pass through the area. In the aquarium, territorial behaviour is different for every grouping, and will even vary by individuals. In a large enough aquarium, most species can live in groups as long as there are more than three males.

Diet
Killifish feed primarily on aquatic arthropods such as insect (mosquito) larvae, aquatic crustaceans and worms. Some species of Orestias from Lake Titicaca are planktonic filter feeders. Others, such as Cynolebias and Megalebias species and Nothobranchius ocellatus are predatory and feed mainly on other fish. The American Flagfish (Jordanella floridae) feeds heavily on algae and other plant matter as well as aquatic invertebrates. Nothobranchius furzeri needs much food because it grows quickly, so when food supplied is inadequate, bigger fish will eat the smaller fish.

In lifespan research

Some strains have a lifespan as short as several months and can thus serve as a model for biogerontological studies. The African turquoise killifish (Nothobranchius furzeri) is the shortest-living vertebrate that can be bred in captivity, having a lifespan of between three and nine months. Sexual maturation occurs within 3–4 weeks, with fecundity peaking in 8–10 weeks.

Nothobranchius furzeri shows no signs of telomere shortening, reduced telomerase activity, or replicative senescence with age, despite its short lifespan. Nonetheless, lipofuscin accumulates in the brain and liver (associated with age-related neurodegeneration), and there is an increased risk of cancer with age. Calorie restriction reduces these age-related disease conditions. Resveratrol has been shown to increase the mean (56%) and maximum life span (59%) of Nothobranchius furzeri, but resveratrol has not been shown to have this effect in mammals.

Transferring the gut microbiota from young killifish into middle-aged killifish significantly extends the lifespans of the middle-aged killifish.

Transgenic strains have been made, and precise genome editing was achieved in Nothobranchius furzeri using a draft genome and the CRISPR/Cas9 system. By targeting multiple genes, including telomerase, the killifish can now be used as an attractive vertebrate model organism for aging and diseases (such as Dyskeratosis congenita). Sequencing the whole killifish genome indicated modification to the IGF-1 receptor gene.

As pets
Many killifish are lavishly coloured and most species are easy to keep and breed in an aquarium. Specimens can be obtained from specialist societies and associations. Striped panchax (also known as the Golden Wonder killifish) are commonly found in pet shops, but caution must be exercised when considering tank mates, since the mouth of the Striped panchax is as wide as the head, and much smaller fish will be eaten. Flagfish, native to south Florida, is another species of killifish commonly found in pet stores. They are useful in aquariums for algae control. The golden topminnow (Fundulus chrysotus) is also native to the United States and often available at auction, but care must be taken with these fish to stop them from jumping out of the tank. A firm cover and a layer of floating plants is best when keeping these fish.

Behaviour-altering infection
Normally, killifish avoid near-surface water to reduce the danger of being eaten by predators. However, when infected with a type of fluke the fish swim near the surface, and sometimes even swim upside down, exposing their camouflaged bellies. The fluke completes its lifecycle in the digestive tract of birds.

Evolved resistance to extreme levels of toxicity
The large populations of killifish and the genetic diversity of the species have enabled it to evolve and survive in areas where other species have died out, including Superfund sites. Over a few dozen generations of killifish in a relatively short period of time (50–60 years), killifish have evolved resistance against levels of dioxins, PCBs, mercury, and other industrial chemicals up to 8,000 times higher than the previously estimated lethal dose. Sequencing the genomes of the adapted individuals showed a common set of mutations among the pollution-tolerant fish, many of which help to deactivate or turn off a molecular pathway responsible for a large part of the cellular damage caused by the chemicals.

Killifish were found to fare relatively well in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

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

title: Killifish


text:
Dollywood

Dollywood is a theme park that is jointly owned by Herschend Family Entertainment and country singer-songwriter Dolly Parton through her entertainment company, Dolly Parton Productions. It is located in the Knoxville metropolitan area in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, near the gateway to The Great Smoky Mountains. Hosting nearly 3 million guests in a typical season from mid-March to the Christmas holidays, Dollywood is the biggest ticketed tourist attraction in Tennessee. It has won many international awards.

In addition to standard amusement park thrill rides, Dollywood features traditional crafts, food, and music of the Smoky Mountain area. The park hosts a number of concerts and musical events each year, including appearances by Dolly Parton and her family as well as other national and local musical acts.

The theme park is the anchor of Parton's 150 acre Dollywood amusement destination, which also includes the 35 acres sister water park Dollywood's Splash Country, the 20 acres Dollywood's DreamMore Resort and Spa, and the 5 acres Dolly Parton's Stampede Dinner Attraction.

Rebel Railroad
The park opened in early 1961 as a small tourist attraction owned by the Robbins brothers from Blowing Rock, North Carolina. Named "Rebel Railroad", it included a steam train, general store, blacksmith shop, and saloon. With a theme inspired by the centennial of the Civil War, the train ride let visitors experience "attacks" by Union soldiers, train robbers, and Native Americans. The train and its riders were protected by Confederates who fought off the attacks. The park was modeled after the Robbins brothers' first successful theme park, Tweetsie Railroad in Blowing Rock.

Goldrush Junction
For the 1964 season, the park was renamed "Goldrush Junction". A special announcement was made in the May 24, 1964, edition of Knoxville News Sentinel. As part of the name change the park switched to a wild west theme similar to its sister park Tweetsie Railroad.

In 1970, Art Modell – who also owned the Cleveland Browns football team – bought Goldrush Junction. The park retained the railroad and added an outdoor theater and the Robert F. Thomas Chapel.

Goldrush
For the 1975 season, the park name was changed to "Goldrush". In April of 1976, Jack and Pete Herschend, owners of Silver Dollar City, bought Goldrush. The park continued to operate as Goldrush for the 1976 season.

Silver Dollar City
In 1977, the Herschends renamed Goldrush to "Silver Dollar City Tennessee," making it a sister park to their original Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri. The Herschends spent about $1 million upgrading the park upon purchase and added other improvements over the years. Also in 1977, the train ride added two new steam locomotives, the #70 and the #71, plus the remains of engine #72 for spare parts, from the White Pass & Yukon Route Railroad.

Dollywood

In 1986, Dolly Parton, who grew up in the area, bought an interest in Silver Dollar City. As part of the deal, the park reopened for the 1986 season as "Dollywood". In 2010, Parton said she became involved with the operation because she "always thought that if I made it big or got successful at what I had started out to do, that I wanted to come back to my part of the country and do something great, something that would bring a lot of jobs into this area."

Dollywood has approximately 4,000 people on its payroll, making it the largest employer in the community. From 1986 to 2010, the park doubled in size to 150 acres. On November 16, 2010, Dollywood earned the industry's most prestigious award, the Liseberg Applause Award, which Dolly Parton accepted during a ceremony at IAAPA Attractions Expo 2010 in Orlando.

1980s developments
On May 3, 1986, Silver Dollar City Tennessee reopened as Dollywood. The new Rivertown Junction area included Smoky Mountain River Rampage, a whitewater rafting ride; Back Porch Theater; Aunt Granny's Dixie Fixins' Restaurant; and Dolly's Tennessee Mountain Home, a replica of the cabin that was Parton's childhood home. Also new was "Rags to Riches: The Dolly Parton Story", a museum displaying articles and mementos from Dolly's life and career. "The Butter Churn" (a Trabant ride) was removed at the end of the season. Park attendance doubled to more than a million guests during the first season as Dollywood.

In 1987, the Daydream Ridge area opened and included the Mountain Slidewinder water toboggan ride, Mountain Dan's Burger House, Sweet Dreams Candy Shop, The Rainbow Factory blown glass shop, and Critter Creek Playground. Engine #70 was restored to operation. In 1988, the 1,739-seat Celebrity Theater, featuring the "Showcase of Stars" celebrity concert series, was constructed adjacent to the entrance of the park. Five new children's rides were added to the Fun Country area, including a Zamperla Balloon Race. The Dollywood Foundation was established to provide books and schools supplies to the children of Sevier County. Thunder Express, a steel mine train coaster, was built adjacent to Blazing Fury in 1989. The ride was relocated to the park from Six Flags Over Mid-America. The 1989 season was the last for the National Mountain Music Festival, which was a carryover from the Silver Dollar City years.

1990s developments
In 1990, a 1924 antique Dentzel Carousel, originally built for Rocky Springs Park in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, was relocated to the park. Situated near the train depot, it took over the space previously occupied by the Silver Dollar Saloon. The 600-seat Gaslight Theater opened near the carousel. The Smoky Mountain Christmas Festival premiered in November, extending the park's operating season into December. Eagle Mountain Sanctuary, an outdoor aviary, was added in 1991 along with the Wings of America Theater, site of the Birds of Prey show, and the 300-seat Valley Theater.

The Showstreet area was added in 1992 and included the Showstreet Palace Theater, The Butterfly Emporium, The Backstage Restaurant, The Spotlight Bakery, Friendship Gardens, and WDLY-FM, a working radio station. To accommodate the expansion, the park's main entrance moved from Rivertown Junction to Showstreet. The Barnwood Theater was converted into Imagination Station, an interactive children's play area. Dollywood's annual attendance topped 2 million for the first time during the 1992 season.

In 1993, the Fun Country area was renovated and became The Country Fair with three new rides: The Wonder Wheel, a 60 ft tall Ferris wheel; Twist and Shout, a scrambler ride; and Tennessee Twister, a tilt-a-whirl. The Balloon Race ride was relocated to the Daydream Ridge area to make room for the new attractions. Also new at the park was "Sunset Musicfest," a summer music festival. A year later, in 1994, the Gaslight Theater became the Heartsong Theater, named for the multi-media musical presentation that told the story of Dolly Parton's life. In 1995, the Jukebox Junction 1950's "Main Street " themed area was added and included Rockin' Roadway miniature car ride, The Pines Theater, Red's Diner, and Cas Walker's Music Store. The Sunset Musicfest did not return for the 1995 season.

The Dollywood Boulevard area was added in 1996 and included Thunder Road, a turbo-simulator ride based on the 1958 movie of the same name. Silver Screen Café, a 1950s cinema-themed restaurant, and Centerstage gift shop were also in the area. In 1997, the "U Pick Nick" children's show focused on themes from the Nickelodeon television network and played in Celebrity Theater. The Flooded Mine dark-ride was closed and demolished in October, and Silver Screen Cafe became DJ Platters in the Dollywood Boulevard area. Daredevil Falls, a new shoot the chutes flume ride, opened in the area formerly occupied by the Flooded Mine a year later in 1997. At the time, it was billed as "The Highest and Fastest Waterfall Ride in America" with its 62 ft drop. Thunder Express was closed in September and sold to Magic Springs Theme Park in Arkansas. The antique carousel was removed at the end of the season and replaced with a new Chance Rides carousel.

In 1999, the Tennessee Tornado, a steel looping coaster, opened in the area formerly occupied by Thunder Express. Also new was the Southern Gospel Museum and Hall of Fame, while the Balloon Race ride was removed.

2000s developments
The Daydream Ridge area was renovated and became Dreamland Forest, a children's mountain-themed interactive play area in 2000. The Festival of Nations international music festival premiered a year later in April 2001. Dolly's Splash Country, a new 25 acre water park opened adjacent to Dollywood's parking lot.

Dollywood Boulevard was renovated and became a new area, Adventures in Imagination, in 2002. Smoky Mountain Wilderness Adventure, a new simulator film, replaced Thunder Road, and a new Dolly museum called Chasing Rainbows opened in the building formerly occupied by DJ Platters. In 2003, summer children's festival KidsFest premiered, and Imagination Station was converted into Celebration Hall, a special events facility. It was also the final season for the "Showcase of Stars" celebrity concert series.

A new area of the park, Thunderhead Gap, opened with the Thunderhead wooden roller coaster in 2004. The construction of the new area opened up a new valley for park expansion. The Country Fair Falls log flume was demolished in November, and most of the other Country Fair rides, including the Swingamajig, Tennessee Twister, The Convoy, and The Barnstormer, were removed at the end of the season to free up space for newer rides that were added for the 2005 season. The new rides included Dizzy Disk, Amazing Flying Elephants, Lemon Twist, Shooting Star, Sky Rider, VeggieTales Sideshow Spin (children's roller coaster), Waltzing Swinger, Piggy Parade, Busy Bees, and Lucky Ducky. The National Southern Gospel & Harvest Celebration was also new in 2005.

In 2006, the Timber Tower ride, along with Lil' Loggers Landing, Beaver Creek, Beaver Creek Boat Float, and Lumberjack Lifts, opened in a new area adjacent to Thunderhead. The Barbeque & Bluegrass festival also premiered. The 2007 season included the addition of Mystery Mine, a Gerstlauer Eurofighter coaster with two vertical lifts hills and dark ride elements. The ride's climax featured fire effects in front of the riders, a 95-degree 85 ft drop, a heartline roll, and a dive loop. The $17 million ($ in dollars) ride used an abandoned mine shaft theme. In 2008, River Battle, an interactive water raft ride, was built in a new section of the park called Wilderness Pass that connected the Timber Canyon and Craftsman's Valley areas. "Thunder Road" returned to the motion theater (Imagination Cinema) and replaced Smoky Mountain Wilderness Adventure. Della's Lye Soap shop moved from Craftsman's Valley to the Wilderness Pass area. A new exhibit housing the Wings of America show birds moved to its former location. The Polar Express 4-D Experience was shown in Imagination Cinema during the park's Smoky Mountain Christmas.

In 2009, Dollywood presented two new shows, "Imaginé" by Le Grand Cirque and "Sha-Kon-O-Hey! Land of Blue Smoke," which featured music written by Dolly Parton and told the story of the last family living in the Smoky Mountains at the time it became a national park. "Imaginé" headlined the park's Festival of Nations. "Thunder Road" was renamed "White Lightning" and then changed to a new attraction, Journey to the Center of the Earth: 4-D Adventure, based on the 2008 film. In 2009, an upcharge zipline attraction called SkyZip (owned by Skyline Eco-Adventures of Maui, Hawaii) opened at Dollywood, becoming the first multi-line zip line tour inside a theme park.

2010s developments
The Adventure Mountain attraction opened at a cost of $5 million in the Wilderness Pass area in 2010. It included three distinct adventure courses, Geyser Gorge, Black Bear Cliff, and Rocky Top, that ranged from easy to expert with 100 different rope features, swinging beams, suspension bridges, flying islands, and floating stairs. Adventure trails ranged from a few inches above the ground to more than 26 ft in the air. The area also included a scaled-down play area called Camp Teachittoomee for younger children. Also for the 2010 season, Dollywood brought back "Sha-Kon-O-Hey! Land of Blue Smoke" and changed its logo for the 25th anniversary.

In 2011, a new area called Owens Farm with a $5.5 million giant swing called Barnstormer replaced Dreamland Forest. The barnyard-themed area included a play area for younger guests. Christmas on Ice, a new ice skating Christmas show, premiered in DP's Celebrity Theater and headlined Smoky Mountain Christmas. Wild Eagle opened March 24, 2012, and was the first Bolliger & Mabillard Wing Coaster in the United States. It was also the biggest investment in Dollywood history. In 2012, the operator of SkyZip sued Dollywood, blaming the park for damaging the zip line network during its construction of Wild Eagle, but Dollywood blamed the damage on storms. Settling out of court, Dollywood took over SkyZip operations from Skyline Eco-Adventures, and closed the attraction in 2019. Timber Tower was dismantled before opening in 2012 due to a lawsuit with the ride manufacturer. Also in 2012, Dollywood dropped the VeggieTales name from Sideshow Spin, removing any mentions of the franchise from the ride altogether. In December of the very same year, the park announced that Adventure Mountain would be closed permanently following the 2012 season.

Dollywood dedicated 2013 to encouraging families to spend time together. New shows for the season included Cirque Shanghai, Mystic India, and One World Party as part of Festival of Nations along with more than 50 new international food items. The park also introduced "Great American Summer," a new summer festival that replaced KidsFest. It included the Great American Country Show, Gazillion Bubbles, The Little Engine Playhouse, and Salute to America. Dollywood extended its hours and added a nightly fireworks show. Smoky Mountain Christmas added a new show that was Dolly Parton's version of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Dollywood's slogan for the year was "Make Time for Happy!" Imagination Cinema became Dreamsong Theater and played Dolly's My People, a show about Dolly's family.

In 2014, FireChaser Express, a dual-launch family coaster, replaced Adventure Mountain in the Wilderness Pass area of the park. Dollywood's slogan was changed to "Love Every Moment," and Smoky Mountain Christmas added a Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer meet-and-greet called Holly Jolly Junction. Dollywood's DreamMore Resort and Spa opened adjacent to Dollywood's Splash Country in 2015. For the 30th anniversary of the park, the park redesigned the entrance for resort guests and added two new shows to Festival of Nations called "Rhythm of the Dance" and "Timber". Cas Walker's was demolished to make room for a new attraction, and six new shows were added to "Great American Summer" along with the revival of the Showcase of Stars concert series. Also new was Rock the Smokies, a Christian music festival, and Rudolph and friends returned to the Smoky Mountain Christmas festival.

In 2010, Parton said that she would like to open more Dollywood parks in the future. "We definitely want to expand with new things every year, eventually with a resort," she said. "We may eventually have Dollywoods in other parts of the country, where we can kind of be true to whatever's going on in that part of the world." On August 21, 2013, Parton announced Dollywood's DreamMore Resort and Spa, which opened on July 27, 2015.

Lightning Rod, a Rocky Mountain Construction wooden coaster, opened on June 13, 2016. It opened as the world's first launched wooden coaster as well as the fastest wooden coaster in the world. A year later, in 2017, a 200 ft freefall ride called Drop Line, which replaced Timber Tower, opened along with a junior roller coaster called Whistle Punk Chaser. Two new seasonal events debuted, and Dollywood's Splash Country added the TailSpin Racer mat racer slide complex. Sideshow Spin and River Battle were removed.

In 2018, the former River Battle site was transformed into the Plaza at Wilderness Pass, a new open space with covered seating for relaxing and enjoying seasonal events. With the debut of the Spring Mix three-week music series, the 2018 "Season of Showstoppers" also marked the park's largest investment in entertainment in Dollywood's history. The 2018 Festival of Nations includes three headliners that are new to Dollywood: Flamenco Kings starring Los Vivancos (Pines Theater), National Dance Company of Siberia (Celebrity Theater), and Ladysmith Black Mambazo (Showstreet Palace Theater). The first Summer Celebration event includes various performances and attractions, including DRUMLine Live! in Celebrity Theater, a show that focuses on the musical styles of marching bands from Historically Black Colleges and Universities. It uses technology, including video screens and special effects, to enhance soul, R&B, country, and other types of music. Renovations included upgrades to Aunt Granny's and re-branding and renaming of two shops.

Work began in October 2017 on "Wildwood Grove", adding eleven new experiences to the park. Attractions include a suspended family coaster (Dragonflier), a restaurant (Till & Harvest), an indoor play area (Hidden Hollow), an outdoor splash pad (Wildwood Creek), a swinging boat ride (The Great Tree Swing), and a 50 ft tall tree with a canopy covered in butterflies (The Wildwood Tree). The $37 million 5-acre development, described as "a land built from Dolly Parton's dreams", opened May 10, 2019. It was part of a $300 million 6-year expansion project.

2020s developments
In October 2019, it was announced that the park would add its first new festival in 14 years. Dollywood's Flower & Food Festival will feature 10 to 15 feet tall topiaries based on Dolly's songs like "Coat of Many Colors", colorful photo opportunities, a rainbow sky over Showstreet, and delicious eats. The festival was to have commemorated the park's 35th season and run from 8 May to 14 June 2020, but was deferred to 7 May to 13 June 2021.

Dollywood filed plans in October 2019 for a new resort adjacent to Splash Country and DreamMore Resort. It is planned to feature a 310-room hotel, a 325-seat restaurant, and a conference space. The plans indicate the resort will create 100 jobs. In June 2021, Dollywood announced plans for a $500 million expansion of the complex, including more details about the planned hotel complex announced in 2019. The new resort, with the name revealed to be the HeartSong Lodge & Resort, will have 302 rooms, five floors of suites, a four-story atrium with a large central fireplace, and multiple shopping and culinary experiences. HeartSong Lodge is scheduled to open in 2023, along with campgrounds, three additional resorts, and a "record-breaking" attraction for the theme park.

During the 2022 offseason, a few changes were made to better the park and provide more space and improve efficiency. The Silver Dollar Mine tunnel, connecting the lower section of Craftsman’s Valley and The Village, was removed. The area now provides a more open space for guests to walk through and also allow a chance to relax and enjoy the views of the passing Dollywood Express. Also, the parking complex was renovated to better utilize the lots at both Dollywood and Dollywood’s Splash Country to provide a more efficient experience for guests as they enter the property. The principal change being the swapping of the guest traffic lanes with the tram lanes, which removes previous points of intersection between the two. The multi-property parking complex now employs a one-way circuit which eliminates the two-way traffic pattern of the old parking lot layout. Also, the addition of two extra parking toll booths (four attendants), as well as more staging lanes for the toll booths, will result in a reduction of time spent waiting to enter the property. Other projects throughout the Dollywood theme park property include the renovation of Iron Horse Pizza (formerly known as Victoria’s Pizza) to include greater production capacity and more seating space for guests. The Emporium also received a complete makeover, providing a modern shopping experience as guests look to find unique Dollywood keepsakes. Also, as guests have continued to ask for more room to provide spacing in the park, two buildings were removed to allow for wider walkways — the former Eagle Shop (part of the second phase of the Craftsman’s Valley widening project) and the former Christmas Cottage in Rivertown Junction.

On August 5, 2022, it was announced that a new rollercoaster named Big Bear Mountain was under construction and opened on May 12, 2023. It is also the longest in the park's history.

Areas
Dollywood is organized into 11 themed areas: Showstreet, Rivertown Junction, Craftsman's Valley, The Village, Country Fair, Timber Canyon, Wilderness Pass, Jukebox Junction, Owens Farm, Adventures in Imagination and Wildwood Grove reflect the historical eras and culture of East Tennessee, while Owens Farm and Adventures in Imagination explore Dolly Parton's life and imagination. Many attractions focus on the history and culture of the Southern Appalachian region.

Showstreet
Attractions include Showstreet Palace Theater and the Celebrity Theater.

Rivertown Junction
Attractions include Dolly's Tennessee Mountain Home, Back Porch Theater, and Smoky Mountain River Rampage whitewater rafting ride.

Craftsman's Valley
Attractions include Dollywood Grist Mill, Valley Theater, Eagle Mountain Sanctuary, Wings of America Theater, Robert F. Thomas Chapel, Calico Falls Schoolhouse, Tennessee Tornado coaster, Blazing Fury coaster, Daredevil Falls flume ride, and craft exhibits.

The Village
Attractions include the narrow gauge Dollywood Express steam train, Heartsong Theater, Village Carousel.

Country Fair
Rides include Dizzy Disk, The Amazing Flying Elephants, Lemon Twist, Shooting Star, Sky Rider, The Waltzing Swinger, Piggy Parade, Busy Bees, Lucky Ducky, Dolly's Demolition Derby, and The Scrambler.

Timber Canyon
Attractions include the Mystery Mine coaster, the Thunderhead coaster, Drop Line, Whistle Punk Chaser, and Lumberjack Lifts.

Jukebox Junction
Attractions include the Rockin' Roadway car ride and Pines Theater. Also featured is Lightning Rod a launched roller coaster.

Owens Farm
Attractions include Barnstormer, a barn and plane styled giant swing attraction. It also includes soft play areas and a splash pad.

Adventures in Imagination
Attractions include Dolly Parton's My People! show at Dreamsong Theater and the Chasing Rainbows Museum.

Wilderness Pass
Attractions include The Plaza at Wilderness Pass, Wild Eagle – America's first winged coaster – and FireChaser Express, a dual-launch coaster that launches forward and backward.

Wildwood Grove
Opened in 2019; attractions include Dragonflier, a suspended family coaster; Big Bear Mountain, a family launched coaster; The Mad Mockingbird, a flying scooter ride; The Wildwood Tree, a 50 ft lighted tree; and Till & Harvest Food Hall, a Smoky Mountains-inspired restaurant. In 2023, Big Bear Mountain (roller coaster), a launching steel family roller coaster, was added.

Festivals and annual events
Dollywood hosts six of the South's largest festivals between the months of March and December:
 * Running normally from mid-March to mid-April, Festival of Nations offers cultural events by performers from around the world.
 * From late April until mid-May the Barbeque & Bluegrass presented by Bush Brothers and Company is a bluegrass music and barbecue festival.
 * Starting in 2021 (originally 2020), and scheduled to run from mid-May and running until early June, is the Flower and Food Festival.
 * Summer Celebration (formerly Great American Summer) includes Night of Many Colors, a nightly fireworks display set to music; 3D Light and Drone Show, Night Experience, night performances and rides in the dark; and new shows, such as DRUMLine Live! and iLuminate.
 * Harvest Festival presented by Humana features Southern Gospel music, professional craftsmen, and Great Pumpkin LumiNights.
 * Smoky Mountain Christmas presented by Humana is a 13 time award winner of Golden Ticket's Best Christmas Event and features seven holiday performances, 5 million Christmas lights, Glacier Ridge (in which part of the park has frozen over), and a nightly parade.

Rankings and awards
In 2017, Dollywood won Golden Ticket awards from Amusement Today for Friendliest Park, Best Christmas Event, Best Food and Best Show.

In 2018, Dollywood received a Golden Ticket award from Amusement Today – a leading trade publication for the amusement park industry – in the Best Food category, marking the park's fourth win in seven years. In addition to three dinner show options, more than 25 vendors serve meals and snacks, ranging from barbecue ribs, pizza, corn dogs, and pork rinds to cinnamon bread, funnel cakes, cotton candy, and banana pudding made using Dolly's recipe. The park also received Golden Tickets for Best Shows, Friendliest Park, and Best Christmas Event and was ranked the third best park in the world.

In the 2018 USA Today 10Best Readers' Choice Awards – awards voted on by the general public – Dollywood was ranked as the sixth Best Amusement Park in the U.S. Additionally, Dollywood's DreamMore Resort and Spa was ranked first in the Best Amusement Park Hotel category, and Aunt Granny's Restaurant was ranked first in the Best Amusement Park Restaurant category. DreamMore focuses on the themes of family and storytelling and has a zero-entry (beach-style) pool, transportation to the park, and a splash pad. Aunt Granny's opened the first year the park operated as Dollywood. It uses an all-you-can-eat buffet format with comfort foods like chicken and dumplings, tacos, and steaks along with a salad bar and health-conscious choices.

Dreamland Drive-In was ranked third in the Best Amusement Park Entertainment category, and Dollywood's Splash Country was ranked sixth in the Best Outdoor Water Park category.

In 2019, Dollywood won Golden Ticket awards for Best Kids' Area, Best Guest Experience, and Best Christmas Event of 2018.

In 2019, Coaster101.com named Lightning Rod "Wooden Roller Coaster of the Decade".

In 2021, Dollywood's Smoky Mountain Christmas won the Golden Ticket Award for Best Christmas Event for the 13th straight year. In June of 2022, Tripadvisor named Dollywood the number one theme park in the U.S.

title: Dollywood


text:
Acrosome

The acrosome is an organelle that develops over the anterior (front) half of the head in the spermatozoa (sperm cells) of humans, and many other animals. It is a cap-like structure derived from the Golgi apparatus. In placental mammals, the acrosome contains degradative enzymes (including hyaluronidase and acrosin). These enzymes break down the outer membrane of the ovum, called the zona pellucida, allowing the haploid nucleus in the sperm cell to join with the haploid nucleus in the ovum. This shedding of the acrosome, or acrosome reaction, can be stimulated in vitro by substances a sperm cell may encounter naturally such as progesterone or follicular fluid, as well as the more commonly used calcium ionophore A23187. This can be done to serve as a positive control when assessing the acrosome reaction of a sperm sample by flow cytometry or fluorescence microscopy. This is usually done after staining with a fluoresceinated lectin such as FITC-PNA, FITC-PSA, FITC-ConA, or fluoresceinated antibody such as FITC-CD46.

In the case of globozoospermia (sperm with round heads), the Golgi apparatus is not transformed into the acrosome, causing male infertility.

title: Acrosome


text:
Camberley

Camberley is a town in northwest Surrey, England, around 29.1 mi south-west of central London. It is in the Borough of Surrey Heath and is close to the county boundaries with Hampshire and Berkshire. Known originally as "Cambridge Town", it was assigned its current name by the General Post Office in 1877.

Until the start of the 19th century, the area was a sparsely populated area of infertile land known as Bagshot or Frimley Heath. Following the construction of the Royal Military College at Sandhurst in 1812, a small settlement grew up to the south and became known as Yorktown (also spelled York Town). A second British Army institute, the Staff College, opened to the east in 1862, and the nucleus of Cambridge Town was laid out at around the same time. The two settlements grew together over the following decades and are now contiguous. Much of the town centre dates from the late 20th and early 21st centuries, including The Atrium, a retail, entertainment and residential complex, opened in 2008.

Transport links through the area began to improve with the opening of the London-Basingstoke turnpike in 1728, now the A30 London Road. The Basingstoke Canal, which runs to the south of Camberley, was completed in 1794 and the wharf at Frimley was used to supply building materials for the Royal Military College. Blackwater station, on the Reading to Guildford line, opened to the west of Yorktown in 1849 and Camberley station, on the Ascot to Aldershot line, followed in 1878. In the second half of the 20th century, improvements to the road network in the area included the construction of the M3 motorway and the Blackwater Valley relief road.

The area has a strong links to the performing arts - Camberley Theatre was opened in 1966 and Elmhurst Ballet School was based in the town until 2004. Among the former residents are the Victorian composer, Arthur Sullivan, who attended Yorktown School as a child, the musician Rick Wakeman, who lived in Camberley during the 1980s, and the actress, Simone Ashley, who was born in the town in 1995. There are several works of public art in Camberley, including The Concrete Elephant, which was installed in 1964 on the London Road, having been commissioned for the Lord Mayor's Show of the previous year. Into Our First World, a sculpture by Ken Ford, is on display outside the borough council offices on Knoll Road.

Toponymy
Camberley was assigned its current name on 15 January 1877 by the General Post Office. Previously, the settlement had been known as "Cambridge Town" and the change was made to prevent letters and parcels being misdirected to Cambridge in the East of England. The new name is a portmanteau of "Cam" (the name of a local stream), "Amber Hill" (an area of high ground identified in a survey of 1607 by the cartographer, John Norden) and "ley" (a suffix found in local toponyms, such as Frimley and Yateley, derived from the Old English lee meaning "shelter" or lea meaning "pasture" or "meadow").

As Cambridge Town, the settlement was originally named for Prince George, Duke of Cambridge, who laid the foundation stone of the Staff College in December 1859. Similarly, Yorktown (sometimes spelled York Town), to the west of Camberley, was named for Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany, who authorised the construction of the Royal Military College in December 1802. The dukes were commanders-in-chief of the British Army at the times when the two colleges were founded. The inns, the Duke of York and The Cambridge Hotel, were among the first buildings to be constructed in Yorktown and Camberley respectively.

Several of the street names in Camberley and Yorktown are named for early local landowners, including Teckels Avenue (after John Teckel, builder of Teckels Castle), Stanhope Road (after the family of Griselda Stanhope, Teckel’s wife) and Sparvell Walk (after David Sparvell, a town alderman). Watchetts Drive takes its name from a former manor field (Watchetts is derived from woad scaet, meaning land where woad grows). Osnaburgh Parade is named after Osnaburgh, an estate in Fife held by Prince Frederick.

Geography
Camberley is in the far west of Surrey, adjacent to the boundaries of Hampshire's Hart district and Berkshire's Bracknell Forest district. It lies directly between the A30 national route and M3 motorway (junction 4 exit). It is at the northern edge of the Blackwater Valley conurbation, 5 mi north of Farnborough, 8 mi south of Bracknell and 17 mi east of Basingstoke.

The town of Blackwater, 3 km to the west is identified by the Government Statistical Service (including its ONS office) as within the Camberley Built-up-Area but is in the Hart District of Hampshire and has its own town council (both take in Hawley).

Camberley primarily lies on the Bagshot Beds, deposited in the Eocene. This sandy layer contains seams of clay and areas of pebble gravel.

History
Before the 19th century, the area now occupied by Camberley was referred to as Bagshot or Frimley Heath. An Iron Age fort, among many examples known as Caesar's Camp, was to the north of this area alongside the Roman road The Devil's Highway. The Intenarium Curiosum, published in 1724, describes a collection of Roman pottery around the area, and a further collection was discovered at Frimley Green in the late 20th century. In the Middle Ages, the area was part of Windsor Forest.

In the 17th century, the area along the turnpike road through Bagshot Heath (now the A30) was known as a haunt of highwaymen, such as William Davies – also known as the Golden Farmer – and Claude Duval. The land remained largely undeveloped and uncultivated due to a sandy topsoil making it unsuitable for farming. In A tour thro' the whole island of Great Britain, written between 1724 and 1726, Daniel Defoe described the area as barren and sterile; "a mark of the just resentment shew'd by Heaven upon the Englishmen's pride… horrid and frightful to look on, not only good for little, but good for nothing". A brick tower was built on top of The Knoll in the 1770s, by John Norris of Blackwater. It may have been used for communications but there is no firm evidence. The remains are now known as The Obelisk.

19th century
The town as it now stands has its roots in the building of The Royal Military College, which later became the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, in 1812. A settlement known as "New Town" grew in the area around the college which in 1831 was renamed Yorktown, after Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany. At this time, the population was 702. In 1848, the first parish church of St. Michael, Yorktown was built by Henry Woodyer, in an area formerly part of Frimley, itself only a chapelry of Ash. Later, the Staff College was established to the east of the academy, and a property speculator built the nearby Cambridge Hotel.

During the 19th century, Camberley grew in size. This was given added impetus with the arrival of the branch-line railway and railway station in 1878 and a reputation for healthy air, due to the vast number of pine trees, which were said to be good for those suffering from pulmonary disorders. By the end of the century the population had reached 8,400. Since then, the town has absorbed the original settlement of Yorktown, which is now regarded as part of Camberley.

20th century
The Southern Scott Scramble, the first known motorcycle scrambling event, took place on Camberley Heath on 29 March 1924. The event, won by A.B. Sparks, attracted a crowd in the thousands and is considered to be the first instance of what later developed in the sport of motocross. During the Second World War, the Old Dean common was used as an instruction camp of the Free French Forces. The Kremer prize was conceived in the Cambridge Hotel in Camberley in 1959 after Henry Kremer toured a Microcell factory.

The defunct Barossa Golf Club, on Barossa Common, was founded in 1893 and continued until the Second World War.

The Old Dean housing estate was built in the 1950s on the "Old Dean Common" for residents of heavily bombed Surrey-area's homeless after the Second World War. Many of the roads on that half of the Old Dean are named after areas of London, with the others named after places on the common.

In 1969 there was an outbreak of rabies when a dog, just released from a six month quarantine after returning from Germany, attacked two people on Camberley Common. The scare resulted in restriction orders for dogs and large-scale shoots to carry out the destruction of foxes and other wildlife.

21st century
After debate and delay (plans having been discussed for over half a decade), in 2006, a 7 acre mixed-use development west of Park Street named The Atrium was built of residential, leisure and retail buildings with wide pedestrianised areas and 683 public parking spaces. Its 217 mid-rise apartments split into courtyards in the Barcelona style. Fourteen new retail units face directly onto Park Street, opposite the Main Square shopping centre. Park Street has been pedestrianised and landscaped as part of the development. Leisure facilities include a nine-screen cinema, a bowling alley, a health and fitness club, cafés and restaurants. Various elements of The Atrium was opened during 2008, with the final elements, the main cinema and bowling alley, opening in October and November 2008, respectively.

In 2009, the town's households were named by Experian as having the highest carbon footprint in the UK, estimated at 28.05 tonnes per household per year (compared to 18.36 tonnes for the lowest, South Shields).

Local and national government
Camberley is in the parliamentary constituency of Surrey Heath and has been represented at Westminster since May 2005 by Conservative Michael Gove.

Surrey County Council, headquartered in Reigate, is elected every four years. Camberley is represented by three councillors - one for each of the "Camberley East", "Camberley West" and "Heatherside and Parkside" divisions.

Elections to Surrey Heath take place every four years. Three councillors represent "Heatherside" ward and two councillors are elected to each of the "Old Dean", "Parkside", "St Michael's", "St Paul's", "Town" and "Watchetts" wards. The Brough of Surrey Heath is twinned with Sucy-en-Brie, France and with Bietigheim-Bissingen, Germany.

Demography and housing
The average level of accommodation in the region composed of detached houses was 28%, the average that was apartments was 22.6%. The remaining households not accounted for above were temporary/caravans and shared households.

The proportion of households in the civil parish who owned their home outright compares to the regional average of 35.1%. The proportion who owned their home with a loan compares to the regional average of 32.5%. The remaining percentage is made up of rented dwellings (plus a negligible percentage of households living rent-free).

Economy
Camberley's town centre is host to The Square shopping centre (previously called The Mall), controversially purchased by Surrey Heath Borough Council for £110 million in 2016. This is a late 1980s development anchored by rent free stores such as Sports Direct subsidiary House of Fraser. The High Street has a number of shops as well as bars and clubs, many of the latter being more recent additions. There are a number of secondary shopping streets including Park Street, Princess Way and parts of London Road, including the "Atrium" development. Camberley's town centre is suffering a decline in footfall and increases in vacancies as shoppers in affluent areas move their spending online and towards leisure and experience activities as opposed to traditional retail.

Major employers include Siemens, which moved its UK headquarters to the area in 2007. Burlington Group who moved into Watchmoor Park in 2009 and Sun Microsystems, until they were taken over by Oracle in 2010, whose UK headquarters was located just across the Hampshire border in Minley next to the M3 motorway at junction 4a. Krispy Kreme UK are based in Albany Park, an industrial estate just outside Camberley in nearby Frimley.

Utilities
The York Town and Blackwater Gas Company was formed in 1859 and opened its gasworks at Yorktown in November 1862. Street lighting in Camberley was initially provided by oil lamps, but gas lamps were installed from 1900. In around 1903, the works began to supply the Royal Military College at Sandhurst. In 1904, a short branch line was laid from the South Eastern Railway south of Blackwater station, enabling the coal required to be supplied by train. The works came under the control of the Southern Gas Board in 1949 and closed in 1969.

The electricity supply to the area was authorised by Act of Parliament in 1909. Unlike most towns in Surrey, Camberley did not have its own power station and instead, electricity was purchased on the wholesale market and was distributed locally. The gas and electricity companies merged in 1927.

The Frimley and Farnborough District Water Company was formed in 1893 and began to supply Camberley four years later. Water was extracted from the chalk aquifer and was piped to a filtration plant at Frimley Green, before being pumped to a service reservoir on Frith Hill. In 1893, the Basingstoke Canal company agreed that the water company could abstract up to 200000 impgal per day from the canal, at a cost of 1 penny per 1000 impgal. In 2023, the drinking water supply for Camberley is provided by South East Water.

Initially, wastewater from Camberley was disposed of in cesspits or discharged to local streams. In the mid-1880s a drainage system was installed, leading to a sewage farm at Yorktown. Following a report in 1902, which condemned the state of the town sewers, new pipework was installed and a new wastewater treatment works opened in Yorktown in 1907. In 2023, Camberley Sewage Treatment Works is operated by Thames Water.

The postal service to Yorktown began in 1844 and the first postmaster was appointed in 1890. The telephone service to Camberley commenced in April 1897.

Emergency services and healthcare
The first police station was opened in 1892 on the corner of Portesbury Road and the High Street. In 1910, the local force had a total of eight officers. In 1971, the station moved to the east, but remained on Portesbury Road. The 1971 station closed in 2011. The building was demolished in 2016 for the construction of new houses and flats. In 2023, the nearest police station to Camberley is at Aldershot, operated by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary. The nearest counter service run by Surrey Police is at the Woking Borough Council offices.

Camberley Fire Brigade was founded in May 1889 and was initially equipped with a hand-operated Merryweather pump. In 1900, the brigade moved to The Avenue and relocated to the current station in London Road in 1967. In 2023, the local fire authority is Surrey County Council and the statutory fire service is Surrey Fire and Rescue Service.

An ambulance service is recorded in Camberley in 1898. Initially it operated with a horse-drawn vehicle, but the service was equipped with a motorised ambulance during the 1920s. Patients were charged a fee for using the service, which was affiliated to the St John Ambulance and the British Red Cross. In 2023, the nearest ambulance station to Camberley is at Farnborough.

In 2023, the nearest hospital is Frimley Park Hospital around 1.4 mi from Camberley. There are three GP surgeries in the town, on Upper Gordon, Park and Frimley Roads.

Transport
Camberley railway station is immediately south of the town centre and is managed by South Western Railway, which operates all services. Trains run to Ascot via Bagshot (extended to and from London Waterloo during peak periods) and to Aldershot via Frimley (a few trains continue to Guildford). A 2017 infrastructure assessment commissioned by the borough council notes that rail journey times to London from Camberley are slow (c. 72 minutes) and that many local residents choose to drive to Brookwood, Farnborough (Main) and Sunningdale for faster, direct services. Blackwater railway station is immediately to the west of Yorktown and is managed by Great Western Railway, which operates all services. Trains run to Reading via Wokingham and to Gatwick Airport via Guildford.

Camberley is linked by bus to local destinations in west Surrey, northeast Hampshire and southeast Berkshire. Companies operating routes through the town include: Thames Valley Buses to Bracknell; Arriva Guildford & West Surrey to Guildford via Woking; Stagecoach South to Aldershot and Farnborough; and White Bus to Ascot and Staines.

The M3 runs to the south of Camberley and is accessed via junction 4 at the southwestern corner of the town. The stretch of the motorway through the Borough of Surrey Heath was upgraded to a smart motorway in 2017. The other major roads in the town are the A30, which runs roughly parallel to the motorway between Hounslow and Basingstoke, and the A331 Blackwater Valley relief road. Yorktown and east Camberley are linked to Frimley by the B3411 and A325 respectively. Old Dean is linked to Deepcut via the B3015.

A £1.2M shared cycle and footpath between Blackwater station and Watchmoor was completed in 2017 and a new bike-parking facility opened in Princess Way in the town centre in 2021. In the same year, Surrey County Council consulted on a scheme to improve local cycling infrastructure, focused on a route between Camberley and Frimley.

Early schools
The first school to open in the Camberley area, a National school, was established in 1818. Originally housed in a cottage close to the Royal Military College, one of its early pupils was the composer, Arthur Sullivan. In 1871, it moved to a site adjacent to the St Michael's Church vicarage. By 1872, there was a second school in Yorktown, which may have been a school for nonconformists, although its origins are uncertain.

The first Cordwalles School was founded in Elliot Place, Greenwich, in 1805 and one of its early pupils was the future prime minister, Benjamin Disraeli. In 1875, it moved to Cordwalls Farm, Maidenhead, from which it acquired its name. The school merged with Kingswood School, Camberley, which had been established on part of the former Collinwood Estate in 1910. In 1939, the school was evacuated to Market Drayton, but did not return to Camberley at the end of the war. The site was used by Ballard School in the 1950s.

Barossa Secondary School began teaching its first pupils in September 1963, although the official opening ceremony did not take place for another two years. The secondary modern school, on the Old Dean estate, was constructed on a site adjacent to the former Ballard School.

Frimley and Camberley Grammar School opened in 1931 on Frimley Road. The school moved to the former Ballard School, adjacent to the then new Barossa Secondary School in 1967. The original site was then used as an annex for France until 1971. The buildings have since been used for Watchetts School, now South Camberley Primary and Nursery School.

Current schools
Kings International College was opened as France Hill Secondary School in 1947. For the first eleven years, it was based at Franz Hill House, which had been built c. 1840. The school moved to its current location on Watchetts Avenue in 1959 and adopted its present name in 2001.

Collingwood College was formed in 1971 from the merger of Camberley Grammar School, Barossa Secondary School and Bagshot Secondary School. It became a self-governing Technology College in September 1994 and gained Foundation status in September 1999.

The current Cordwalles School was founded in 1962 and was officially opened on 5 March 1963. Initially a primary and infants school, it became a middle school in 1971, before reverting to a junior school again in 1994.

Relocated schools
The Royal Albert Orphan Asylum was founded in Camberley in 1864 and the first 100 children were admitted in December of that year. Originally a mixed institution, girls were not admitted after 1903. It was renamed the Royal Albert School in 1942 and its management was merged with that of the Royal Alexandra School in 1948. The following year, an Act of Parliament was passed to formally amalgamate the two institutions, creating The Royal Alexandra and Albert School. Pupils from both schools were transferred in stages from their original sites to new accommodation at Gatton Park between 1848 and 1954. The former school buildings in Camberley were damaged by fire in 1987 and were demolished in 1994. The grounds were split in two by the construction of the M3.

Elmhurst Ballet School was founded as the Mortimer School of Dancing in 1923. It adopted its current name in 1947, taken from Elmhurst House in Camberley, where it was based. During the Second World War, Sadlers Wells and Rambert Schools were evacuated to Elmhurst and the pupils of all three schools performed to entertain soldiers billeted locally and to raise money for the war effort. After the end of the war, pupil numbers began to expand (from 60 in 1933 to 240 in 1947) and a purpose-built theatre was constructed, opening in May 1960. Much of the rest of the school was rebuilt during the 1970s and the new buildings were opened by Princess Margaret in 1979. The school relocated to Birmingham in 2004, with the aim of providing professional dance training outside of the southeast of England. The former school site in Camberley was redeveloped as Elmhurst Court.

Anglican churches
St Michael's Church was designed by the architect, Henry Woodyer, and is constructed in local Frimley stone. The foundation stone was laid in September 1848 and the church was consecrated in May 1851. The church was built as a nave only, but Woodyer's design incorporated masonry arches in the walls, which could be knocked through when the building was expanded. The chancel was added in 1858 by George Gilbert Scott and aisles were built to a design by Charles Buckeridge in 1864-65. The tower, in Bargate stone, was added in 1891, and is topped by a broach spire, which reaches a height of 38 m above ground level.

St Paul's Church was designed by W. D. Caröe in 1902 and elements of the building are influenced by Swedish architectural trends of the period. The chancel is topped by a wood-shingled spire. One of the stained-glass windows is dedicated to Doveton Sturdee, a local resident who died in 1925. St Mary's Church, designed by E. E. Lofting, was consecrated in 1937 and was built as a daughter church to St Paul's. The building has a small tower and is constructed of brick and concrete with a stucco finish.

St Martin's Church, dedicated to Martin of Tours, was consecrated in 1978. The construction was paid for in part with money raised from the sale of the site of the former St George's Church, which had closed in 1966. Proceeds from the sale of copies of the John Betjeman poem, A Subaltern's love song, which mentions Camberley, were also used to fund the building work. The congregation of Heatherside Parish Church began meeting in January 1977. Heatherside became an ecclesiastical parish in September 2000.

Other places of worship
St Tarcisius Church was built in 1923-26 as a memorial to Catholic military officers, who had died in the First World War. It was designed by Frederick Walters and is constructed of Bargate stone with Bath stone dressings. Several of the stained-glass windows were designed by Paul Woodroffe.

High Cross Church opened in Knoll Road in March 1990. It replaced the Congregational Church, which was demolished in 1990 to make way for the College Gardens shopping complex, and the Methodist Church, demolished in October of the same year.

The local Bengali Welfare Association established an Islamic centre in the former St Gregory's Roman Catholic School building in 1996. In 2010, a planning application to demolish the school and replace it with a purpose-built mosque was rejected by the borough council. The plans were rejected again the following year, following a public inquiry.

Culture
Camberley Theatre, in Knoll Road, opened as the Camberley Civic Hall on 1 October 1966. It closed in May 1995 for a £1.3M refurbishment and reopened as Camberley ArtsLink in November of the same year. In December 2001, the venue was again rebranded, adopting its current name. A second refurbishment, involving the rebuilding of the frontage, was completed in December 2021.

There are several works of public art in Camberley. The Concrete Elephant, adjacent to the London Road in Yorktown, was installed at the yard of Trollope & Colls in 1964. It had been commissioned for the Lord Mayor's Show the previous year and the artist, Barbara Jones, designed the sculpture using pipework from the company's product range. The current tenants of the site, HSS Hire, are required to maintain the artwork as part of their lease.

Into Our First World, by Ken Ford, was unveiled outside the borough council offices in March 1993. The sculpture, cast in silicon bronze, depicts a figure reclining beneath a tree. It explores the relationship between humanity and the natural world, and its form echoes the sweet chestnut tree growing behind it. The Right Way, by Rick Kirby was unveiled outside the Atrium in January 2009. It depicts three metal figures pointing in different directions along Park Street and Obelisk Way.

Venues
The London Road Recreation Ground opened in 1898 and was extended in 1931. During the early 19th century, the area had been used as a plant nursery until its purchase by the UDC in the 1890s. Watchetts Recreation Ground was part of the Watchetts House estate until 1927, when it was bought by the UDC. The ground was officially opened on 16 May 1931.

Until the 1990s, Crabtree Park was a rubbish dump. The landfill site was closed, the waste was capped and the area reopened as a recreation ground. The skate park was reopened in 2014, following a £25,000 refurbishment project.

Until the mid-1930s, Camberley residents used the Blackwater River to swim. The first purpose-built pool, the Blue Pool, was built on the London Road by a private company and opened in May 1934. The borough council took over the facility in 1973, but it closed three years later when essential repair works were found to be financially unviable. The Manor House flats were built on the site of the Blue Pool in the early 1980s.

The Arena Leisure Centre was built on the northeastern corner of the London Road Recreation Ground and opened in November 1984. The facility closed in August 2019 and was demolished. The new Arena Leisure Centre, on the same site as the previous centre, opened in July 2021. It has two swimming pools, a gym and three exercise studios. The centre is owned by the borough council and is operated by Places Leisure on a 25-year design, build, operate and maintain contract.

Organisations
Camberley Town Football Club joined the Surrey Football Association in January 1896 and is thought to have been founded the previous year. It began as part of the St Michael’s Club, the social club associated with St Michael’s Church. The team was initially referred to as St Michael’s, Camberley and played its home games on meadow land in King’s Ride. The first recorded match took place in October 1896, against a team from the Royal Military College. By late 1900, the club was under financial pressure and was refounded as Camberley and Yorktown F. C. in January 1897. After two decades of moving between temporary home grounds, the club was established at Krooner Park in 1922.

The first cycling club to be founded in the area is recorded in a local directory of 1889. By 1904, the Camberley Wheelers had been formed and was organising meetings at the London Road Recreation Ground. In 1969, the club merged with Farnborough Cycling Club to form the Farnborough & Camberley Cycling Club.

Camberley Rugby Football Club was founded in 1931 and played its first game at Watchetts Recreation Ground in October of that year. The club affiliated to the Surrey Rugby Football Union in 1933 and, like most other local teams, disbanded in September 1939. During the Second World War, the recreation ground was used to grow potatoes and it was not until the autumn of 1947 that club was able to resume. Initially Camberley R.F.C. had use of the cricket pavilion as tenants of the cricket club, but constructed their own clubhouse in 1970. In March 1973, the first team won the Surrey Cup.

Camberley Heath Golf Club was designed by Harry Colt and was formally opened by Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein on 1 January 1914. A project to regenerate the course, reinstating some of the original bunker designs, was undertaken in the mid-2010s. In 2020, the course was used as a location for third series of the BBC television drama, Killing Eve.

By the mid-1860s, there were two cricket teams in the area, one for Yorktown and one for Cambridge Town, and a match is recorded between the two in June 1865. They had merged by 1882, when the name "Camberley Cricket Club" was adopted. The club shut down at the start of the First World War, but was refounded in 1929 and began playing its home games at the Watchetts Recreation Ground the following year. Local cricket again ceased at the start of the Second World War, but a new club was founded in 1944 and the first match was played the following year. A new ground was leased from the Watchetts estate and the first home games were played there in 1951. The ground was officially opened in 1952 and was bought by the club the following year. Over the next three decades, the club sold off part of the land surrounding the ground to fund improvements to the pitch and pavilion. The first girls' team was launched in 2013.

The first hockey club in Camberley was formed in 1898 and, by 1907, there were two clubs in the town. The present Camberley and Farnborough Hockey Club was founded in the 1950s and plays its home games at Kings International College. There are two tennis clubs in the area: Camberley Lawn Tennis Club is based at Southcote Park, which has five all-weather courts; Frimley Tennis Club is based at Watchetts Recreation Ground and has four outdoor courts.

Notable buildings and landmarks
The Camberley Obelisk is a square brick tower in the grounds of St Tarcissius School. Local legend states that it was built by John Norris c. 1750, although Historic England gives a construction date of c. 1841. Originally the tower is thought to have been 30 m tall, but only the lower third remains standing. It may have been built as a folly or as a signalling tower.

The Staff College, to the north of Camberley town centre, is part of the Joint Services Command and Staff College, which provides training and education for established officers in the British Armed Forces and civil servants in the Ministry of Defence. The institution has its origins in the Royal Military College, High Wycombe, which was founded in 1799. It moved to Farnham in 1813, relocating seven years later to the Royal Military College at Sandhurst. The Staff College building was designed by James Pennethorne and constructed in 1862. It was primarily built using London stock bricks, although the front elevation is partially faced with stone. The uppermost storey was added in 1913.

Camberley War Memorial was erected in 1922 at the southern entrance to the Royal Military Academy. It takes the form of a Latin cross, carved from granite. The names of 233 people who died in the First World War are recorded on two columns at the base of the cross and 140 who died in the Second World War are listed on four piers at the corners of the plinth. A stone, set into the pavement at the foot of the memorial, commemorates Garth Walford, who was born in Yorktown in 1882 and who died at Gallipoli in 1915.

Notable people

 * John Pennycuick (18411911) engineer died in Camberley
 * Arthur Sullivan (18421900) composer lived in Camberley between the ages of three and fifteen, and attended York Town School until the age of eight. He wrote The Golden Legend at Camberley in 1886
 * Hosea Ballou Morse (18551934) historian of China lived in Camberley from 1914 until his death
 * Doveton Sturdee (18591925) lived in Camberley
 * Vaughan Cornish (18621948) geographer lived and died in Camberley
 * Charles Wellington Furse (18681904) artist lived in Camberley from 1900 until his death
 * Frederick Twort (18771950) microbiologist born, lived and died in Camberley
 * Rick Wakeman (b. 1949) musician lived in Camberley in the 1980s and was vice-president of Camberley Town F. C.
 * George Saville (b. 1993) footballer born in Camberley
 * Simone Ashley (b. 1995) actress born in Camberley
 * Camberley Kate (1895 - 1979) dog fancier and eccentric - lived and died in Camberley

title: Camberley