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Middle Kingdom of Egypt

The Middle Kingdom of Egypt (also known as The Period of Reunification) is the period in the history of ancient Egypt following a period of political division known as the First Intermediate Period. The Middle Kingdom lasted from approximately 2040 to 1782 BC, stretching from the reunification of Egypt under the reign of Mentuhotep II in the Eleventh Dynasty to the end of the Twelfth Dynasty. The kings of the Eleventh Dynasty ruled from Thebes and the kings of the Twelfth Dynasty ruled from el-Lisht.

The concept of the Middle Kingdom as one of three golden ages was coined in 1845 by German Egyptologist Baron von Bunsen, and its definition evolved significantly throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. Some scholars also include the Thirteenth Dynasty of Egypt wholly into this period, in which case the Middle Kingdom would end around 1650 BC, while others only include it until Merneferre Ay around 1700 BC, last king of this dynasty to be attested in both Upper and Lower Egypt. During the Middle Kingdom period, Osiris became the most important deity in popular religion. The Middle Kingdom was followed by the Second Intermediate Period of Egypt, another period of division that involved foreign rule of Lower Egypt by the Hyksos of West Asia.

Reunification under the Eleventh Dynasty
After the collapse of the Old Kingdom, Egypt entered a period of weak pharaonic power and decentralization called the First Intermediate Period. Towards the end of this period, two rival dynasties, known in Egyptology as the Tenth and Eleventh, fought for control of the entire country. The Theban Eleventh Dynasty only ruled southern Egypt from the First Cataract to the Tenth Nome of Upper Egypt. To the north, Lower Egypt was ruled by the rival Tenth Dynasty from Herakleopolis. The struggle was to be concluded by Mentuhotep II, who ascended the Theban throne in 2055 BC. During Mentuhotep II's fourteenth regnal year, he took advantage of a revolt in the Thinite Nome to launch an attack on Herakleopolis, which met little resistance. After toppling the last rulers of the Tenth Dynasty, Mentuhotep began consolidating his power over all of Egypt, a process that he finished by his 39th regnal year. For this reason, Mentuhotep II is regarded as the founder of the Middle Kingdom.

Mentuhotep II commanded petty campaigns as far south as the Second Cataract in Nubia, which had gained its independence during the First Intermediate Period. He also restored Egyptian hegemony over the Sinai region, which had been lost to Egypt since the end of the Old Kingdom. To consolidate his authority, he restored the cult of the ruler, depicting himself as a god in his own lifetime, wearing the headdresses of Amun and Min. He died after a reign of 51 years and passed the throne to his son, Mentuhotep III.

Mentuhotep III reigned for only twelve years, during which he continued consolidating Theban rule over the whole of Egypt, building a series of forts in the eastern Delta region to secure Egypt against threats from Asia. He also sent the first expedition to Punt during the Middle Kingdom, using ships constructed at the end of Wadi Hammamat, on the Red Sea. Mentuhotep III was succeeded by Mentuhotep IV, whose name, significantly, is omitted from all ancient Egyptian king lists. The Turin King List claims that after Mentuhotep III came "seven kingless years". Despite this absence, his reign is attested from a few inscriptions in Wadi Hammamat that record expeditions to the Red Sea coast and to quarry stone for the royal monuments. The leader of this expedition was his vizier Amenemhat, who is widely assumed to be the future pharaoh Amenemhet I, the first king of the Twelfth Dynasty.

Mentuhotep IV's absence from the king lists has prompted the theory that Amenemhet I usurped his throne. While there are no contemporary accounts of this struggle, certain circumstantial evidence may point to the existence of a civil war at the end of the 11th Dynasty. Inscriptions left by one Nehry, the Haty-a of Hermopolis, suggest that he was attacked at a place called Shedyet-sha by the forces of the reigning king, but his forces prevailed. Khnumhotep I, an official under Amenemhet I, claims to have participated in a flotilla of twenty ships sent to pacify Upper Egypt. Donald Redford has suggested these events should be interpreted as evidence of open war between two dynastic claimants. What is certain is that, however he came to power, Amenemhet I was not of royal birth.

Early Twelfth Dynasty

From the Twelfth Dynasty onwards, pharaohs often kept well-trained standing armies, which included Nubian contingents. These formed the basis of larger forces that were raised for defense against invasion, or expeditions up the Nile or across the Sinai. However, the Middle Kingdom was basically defensive in its military strategy, with fortifications built at the First Cataract of the Nile, in the Delta and across the Sinai Isthmus.

Early in his reign, Amenemhet I was compelled to campaign in the Delta region, which had not received as much attention as Upper Egypt during the 11th Dynasty. Also, he strengthened defenses between Egypt and Asia, building the Walls of the Ruler in the East Delta region. Perhaps in response to this perpetual unrest, Amenemhat I built a new capital for Egypt in the north, known as Amenemhet It Tawy, or Amenemhet, Seizer of the Two Lands. The location of this capital is unknown, but is presumably near the city's necropolis, the present-day el-Lisht. Like Mentuhotep II, Amenemhet bolstered his claim to authority with propaganda. In particular, the Prophecy of Neferty dates to about this time, which purports to be an oracle of an Old Kingdom priest, who predicts a king, Amenemhet I, arising from the far south of Egypt to restore the kingdom after centuries of chaos.

Propaganda notwithstanding, Amenemhet never held the absolute power commanded in theory by the Old Kingdom pharaohs. During the First Intermediate Period, the governors of the nomes of Egypt, nomarchs, gained considerable power. Their posts had become hereditary, and some nomarchs entered into marriage alliances with the nomarchs of neighboring nomes. To strengthen his position, Amenemhet required registration of land, modified nome borders, and appointed nomarchs directly when offices became vacant, but acquiesced to the nomarch system, probably to placate the nomarchs who supported his rule. This gave the Middle Kingdom a more feudal organization than Egypt had before or would have afterward.

In his twentieth regnal year, Amenemhat established his son Senusret I as his coregent, beginning a practice which would be used repeatedly throughout the rest of the Middle Kingdom and again during the New Kingdom. In Amenemhet's thirtieth regnal year, he was presumably murdered in a palace conspiracy. Senusret, campaigning against Libyan invaders, rushed home to Itjtawy to prevent a takeover of the government. During his reign, Senusret continued the practice of directly appointing nomarchs, and undercut the autonomy of local priesthoods by building at cult centers throughout Egypt. Under his rule, Egyptian armies pushed south into Nubia as far as the Second Cataract, building a border fort at Buhen and incorporating all of Lower Nubia as an Egyptian colony. Senusret I also exercised control over the land of Kush, from the Second to the Third Cataract, including the island of Sai. The southernmost inscription containing Sesostris I's name has been found on the island of Argo, north of modern Dongola. To the west, he consolidated his power over the Oases, and extended commercial contacts into Syria-Palestine as far as Ugarit. In his 43rd regnal year, Senusret appointed Amenemhet II as junior coregent, before dying in his 46th.

The reign of Amenemhat II has been often characterized as largely peaceful, but records of his, or daybooks, have cast doubt on that assessment. Among these records, preserved on temple walls at Tod and Memphis, are descriptions of peace treaties with certain Syrio-Palestinian cities, and military conflict with others. To the south, Amenemhet sent a campaign through lower Nubia to inspect Wawat. It does not appear that Amenemhet continued his predecessors' policy of appointing nomarchs, but let it become hereditary again. Another expedition to Punt dates to his reign. In his 33rd regnal year, he appointed his son Senusret II coregent.

Evidence for military activity of any kind during the reign of Senusret II is non-existent. Senusret instead appears to have focused on domestic issues, particularly the irrigation of the Faiyum. This multi-generational project aimed to convert the Faiyum oasis into a productive swath of farmland. Senusret eventually placed his pyramid at the site of el-Lahun, near the junction of the Nile and the Fayuum's major irrigation canal, the Bahr Yussef. He reigned only fifteen years, which explains the incomplete nature of many of his constructions. His son Senusret III succeeded him.

Height of the Middle Kingdom
Senusret III was a warrior-king, often taking to the field himself. In his sixth year, he re-dredged an Old Kingdom canal around the First Cataract to facilitate travel to Upper Nubia. He used this to launch a series of brutal campaigns in Nubia in his sixth, eighth, tenth, and sixteenth years. After his victories, Senusret built a series of massive forts throughout the country to establish the formal boundary between Egyptian conquests and unconquered Nubia at Semna. The personnel of these forts were charged to send frequent reports to the capital on the movements and activities of the local Medjay natives, some of which survive, revealing how tightly the Egyptians intended to control the southern border. Medjay were not allowed north of the border by ship, nor could they enter by land with their flocks, but they were permitted to travel to local forts to trade. After this, Senusret sent one more campaign in his 19th year but turned back due to abnormally low Nile levels, which endangered his ships. To the north, One of Senusret's soldiers records a campaign into Palestine, perhaps against Shechem, the only reference to a military campaign against a certain location in Palestine from Middle Kingdom literature, although there are other references to action against Asiatics. It is not known whether Egypt wished to control Canaan like Northern Nubia, but numerous administrative seals of the period have been found there, as well as other indications of increased activity Northward in this period. As in the old kingdom, the contact was particularly strong with Byblos, known for its valuable wood.

Domestically, Senusret has been given credit for an administrative reform that put more power in the hands of appointees of the central government, instead of regional authorities. Egypt was divided into three water, or administrative divisions: North, South, and Head of the South (perhaps Lower Egypt, most of Upper Egypt, and the nomes of the original Theban kingdom during the war with Herakleopolis, respectively). Each region was administered by a Reporter, Second Reporter, some kind of council (the Djadjat), and staff of minor officials and scribes. The power of the nomarchs seems to drop off permanently during his reign, which has been taken to indicate that the central government had finally suppressed them, though there is no record that Senusret ever took direct action against them.

Senusret III left a lasting legacy as a warrior pharaoh. His name was Hellenized by later Greek historians as Sesostris, a name which was then given to a conflation of Senusret and several New Kingdom warrior pharaohs. In Nubia, Senusret was worshiped as a patron God by Egyptian settlers. The duration of his reign remains something of an open question. His son Amenemhet III began reigning after Senusret's 19th regnal year, which has been widely considered Senusret's highest attested date. However, a reference to a year 39 on a fragment found in the construction debris of Senusret's mortuary temple has suggested the possibility of a long coregency with his son.

The reign of Amenemhat III was the height of the Middle Kingdom's economic prosperity. His reign is remarkable for the degree to which Egypt exploited its resources. Mining camps in the Sinai, which had previously been used only by intermittent expeditions, were operated on a semi-permanent basis, as evidenced by the construction of houses, walls, and even local cemeteries. There are 25 separate references to mining expeditions in the Sinai, and four to expeditions in Wadi Hammamat, one of which had over two thousand workers. Amenemhet reinforced his father's defenses in Nubia and continued the Faiyum land reclamation project. After a reign of 45 years, Amenemhet III was succeeded by Amenemhet IV, whose nine-year reign is poorly attested. Clearly by this time, dynastic power had begun to weaken, for which several explanations have been proposed. Contemporary records of the Nile flood levels indicate that the end of the reign of Amenemhet III was dry, and crop failures may have helped to destabilize the dynasty. Further, Amenemhet III had an inordinately long reign, which tends to create succession problems. The latter argument perhaps explains why Amenemhet IV was succeeded by Sobekneferu, the first historically attested female pharaoh of Egypt. Sobekneferu ruled no more than four years, and as she apparently had no heirs, when she died the Twelfth Dynasty came to a sudden end as did the Golden Age of the Middle Kingdom.

Decline into the Second Intermediate Period
After the death of Sobeknefru, the throne may have passed to Sekhemre Khutawy Sobekhotep, though in older studies Wegaf, who had previously been the Great Overseer of Troops, was thought to have reigned next. Beginning with this reign, Egypt was ruled by a series of ephemeral kings for about ten to fifteen years. Ancient Egyptian sources regard these as the first kings of the Thirteenth Dynasty, though the term dynasty is misleading, as most kings of the Thirteenth Dynasty were not related. The names of these short-lived kings are attested on a few monuments and graffiti, and their succession order is only known from the Turin Canon, although even this is not fully trusted.

After the initial dynastic chaos, a series of longer-reigning, better-attested kings ruled for about fifty to eighty years. The strongest king of this period, Neferhotep I, ruled for eleven years and maintained effective control of Upper Egypt, Nubia, and the Delta, with the possible exceptions of Xois and Avaris. Neferhotep I was even recognized as the suzerain of the ruler of Byblos, indicating that the Thirteenth Dynasty was able to retain much of the power of the Twelfth Dynasty, at least up to his reign. At some point during the 13th Dynasty, Xois, and Avaris began governing themselves, the rulers of Xois being the Fourteenth Dynasty, and the Asiatic rulers of Avaris being the Hyksos of the Fifteenth Dynasty. According to Manetho, this latter revolt occurred during the reign of Neferhotep's successor, Sobekhotep IV, though there is no archaeological evidence. Sobekhotep IV was succeeded by the short reign of Sobekhotep V, who was followed by Wahibre Ibiau, then Merneferre Ai. Wahibre Ibiau ruled ten years, and Merneferre Ai ruled for twenty-three years, the longest of any Thirteenth Dynasty king, but neither of these two kings left as many attestations as either Neferhotep of Sobekhotep IV. Despite this, they both seem to have held at least parts of Lower Egypt. After Merneferre Ai, however, no king left his name on any object found outside the south. This begins the final portion of the Thirteenth Dynasty when southern kings continue to reign over Upper Egypt. But when the unity of Egypt fully disintegrated, the Middle Kingdom gave way to the Second Intermediate Period.

Administration
When the Eleventh Dynasty reunified Egypt it had to create a centralized administration such as had not existed in Egypt since the downfall of the Old Kingdom government. To do this, it appointed people to positions that had fallen out of use in the decentralized First Intermediate Period. The highest among these was the vizier. The vizier was the chief minister for the king, handling all the day-to-day business of government in the king's place. This was a monumental task, therefore it would often be split into two positions, a vizier of the north, and a vizier of the south. It is uncertain how often this occurred during the Middle Kingdom, but Senusret I clearly had two simultaneously functioning viziers. Other positions were inherited from the provincial form of government at Thebes used by the Eleventh Dynasty before the reunification of Egypt. The Overseer of Sealed Goods became the country's treasurer, and the Overseer of the Estate became the King's chief steward. These three positions and the Scribe of the Royal Document, probably the king's personal scribe, appear to be the most important posts of the central government, judging by the monument count of those in these positions.

Besides this, many Old Kingdom posts which had lost their original meaning and become mere honorifics were brought back into the central government. Only high-ranking officials could claim the title Member of the Elite, which had been applied liberally during the First Intermediate Period.

This basic form of administration continued throughout the Middle Kingdom, though there is some evidence of a major reform of the central government under Senusret III. Records from his reign indicate that Upper and Lower Egypt were divided into separate waret and governed by separate administrators. Administrative documents and private stelae indicate a proliferation of new bureaucratic titles around this time, which have been taken as evidence of a larger central government. Governance of the royal residence was moved into a separate division of government. The military was placed under the control of a chief general. However, it is possible that these titles and positions were much older, and simply were not recorded on funerary stelae due to religious conventions.

Provincial government
Decentralization during the First Intermediate Period left the individual Egyptian provinces, or Nomes, under the control of powerful families who held the hereditary title of Great Chief of the Nome, or Nomarch. This position developed during the Fifth and Sixth Dynasties, when the various powers of Old Kingdom provincial officials began to be exercised by a single individual. At roughly this time, the provincial aristocracy began building elaborate tombs for themselves, which have been taken as evidence of the wealth and power that these rulers had acquired as nomarchs. By the end of the First Intermediate Period, some nomarchs ruled their nomes as minor potentates, such as the nomarch Nehry of Hermopolis, who dated inscriptions by his own regnal year.

When the Eleventh Dynasty came to power, it was necessary to subdue the power of the nomarchs if Egypt were to be reunified under a central government. The first major steps towards that end took place under Amenemhet I. Amenemhet made the city, not the nome, the center of administration, and only the haty-a, or mayor, of the larger cities, would be permitted to carry the title of nomarch. The title of nomarch continued to be used until the reign of Senusret III, as did the elaborate tombs indicative of their power, after which they suddenly disappeared. This has been interpreted several ways. Traditionally, it has been believed that Senusret III took some action to suppress the nomarch families during his reign. Recently, other interpretations have been proposed. Detlef Franke has argued that Senusret II adopted a policy of educating the sons of nomarchs in the capital and appointing them to government posts. In this way, many provincial families may have been bled dry of scions. Also, while the title of Great Overlord of the Nome disappeared, other distinctive titles of the nomarchs remained. During the First Intermediate Period, individuals holding the title of Great Overlord also often held the title of Overseer of Priests. In the late Middle Kingdom, there existed families holding the titles of mayor and overseer of priests as hereditary possessions. Therefore, it has been argued that the great nomarch families were never subdued, but were simply absorbed into the pharaonic administration of the country. While it is true that the large tombs indicative of nomarchs disappeared at the end of the Twelfth Dynasty, grand royal tombs also ceased being built soon thereafter due to general instability surrounding the decline of the Middle Kingdom.

Agriculture and climate
Throughout the history of ancient Egypt, the annual inundation of the Nile River was relied upon to fertilize the land surrounding it. This was essential for agriculture and food production. There is evidence that the collapse of the previous Old Kingdom may have been due in part to low flood levels, resulting in famine. This trend appears to have been reversed during the early years of the Middle Kingdom, with relatively high water levels recorded for much of this era, with an average inundation of 19 meters above its non-flood levels. The years of repeated high inundation levels correspond to the most prosperous period of the Middle Kingdom, which occurred during the reign of Amenemhat III. This seems to be confirmed in some of the literature of the period, such as in the Instructions of Amenemhat, where the king tells his son how agriculture prospered under his reign.

Art

After the reunification of Egypt in the Middle Kingdom, the kings of the Eleventh and Twelfth Dynasties were able to turn their focus back to art. In the Eleventh Dynasty, the kings had their monuments made in a style influenced by the Memphite models of the Fifth and early Sixth Dynasties. During this time, the pre-unification Theban relief style all but disappeared. These changes had an ideological purpose, as the Eleventh Dynasty kings were establishing a centralized state after the First Intermediate Period, and returning to the political ideals of the Old Kingdom. In the early Twelfth Dynasty, the artwork had a uniformity of style due to the influence of the royal workshops. It was at this point that the quality of artistic production for the elite members of society reached a high point that was never surpassed, although it was equaled in other periods. Egypt prospered in the late Twelfth Dynasty, and this was reflected in the quality of the materials used for royal and private monuments.

The kings of the Twelfth Dynasty were buried in pyramid complexes based on those of the Fifth and Sixth Dynasties. In the Old Kingdom, these were made of stone bricks, but the Middle Kingdom kings chose to have theirs made of mud bricks and finished with a casing of Tura limestone. Private tombs, such as those found in Thebes, usually consisted of a long passage cut into rock, with a small chamber at the end. These tended to have little or no decoration. Stone box sarcophagi with both flat and vaulted lids were manufactured in the Middle Kingdom, as a continuation of the Old Kingdom tradition. The motifs on these were more varied and of higher artistic quality than that of any sarcophagi produced before and after the Middle Kingdom. Additionally, funerary stelae developed in regard to images and iconography. They continued to show the deceased seated in front of a table of offerings, and began to include the deceased's wife and other family members.

Towards the end of the Middle Kingdom, there was a change to the art pieces placed in non-royal tombs. The amount of wooden tomb models decreased drastically, and they were replaced by small faience models of food. Magic wands and rods, models of protective animals, and fertility figures began to be buried with the dead. Additionally, the number of statues and funerary stelae increased, but their quality decreased. In the late Twelfth Dynasty, coffins with interior decorations became rare, and the decorations on the outside became more elaborate. The rishi-coffin made its first appearance during this time. Made of wood or cartonnage, the coffin was in the shape of a body wrapped in linen, wearing a beaded collar and a funerary mask.

There were also changes to the art form of stelae in the Middle Kingdom. During this time, round-topped stelae developed out of the rectangular form of previous periods. Many examples of both of these types come from this period; excavation at Abydos yielded over 2000 private stelae, ranging from excellent works to crude objects, although very few belonged to the elite. Additionally, classic royal commemorative stelae were first found in this period. These took the form of round-topped stelae, and they were used to mark boundaries. For example, Senusret III used them to mark the boundary between Egypt and Nubia. Because of the prosperity of this period, the lower elite were able to commission statues and stelae for themselves, although these were of poorer artistic quality. Those who commissioned non-royal stelae had the ultimate goal of eternal existence. This goal was communicated with the specific placement of information on the stone slabs similar to royal stelae (the owner's image, offering formula, inscriptions of names, lineage and titles).

Statuary

In the first half of the Twelfth Dynasty, proportions of the human figure returned to the traditional Memphite style of the Fifth and early Sixth Dynasties. Male figures had broad shoulders, a low small of the back, and thick muscular limbs. Females had slender figures, a higher small of the back and no musculature. In this period, sketches for the production of statues and reliefs were laid out on a squared grid, a new guide system. Since this system contained a greater number of lines, it allowed more body parts to be marked. Standing figures were composed of eighteen squares from the feet to the hairline. Seated figures were made of fourteen squares between their feet and hairline, accounting for the horizontal thigh and knee. The black granite seated statue of the king Amenemhat III to the right, above is a perfect example of male proportions and the squared grid system of this period. Most royal statues, such as this one, would serve as representations of the king's power.

The quality of Egyptian statuary reached its peak in the Middle Kingdom. Royal statues combined both elegance and strength in a manner that was seldom seen after this period. A popular form of statuary during this time was that of the sphinx. During this period, sphinxes appeared in pairs, and were recumbent, with human faces, and a lion's mane and ears. An example would be the diorite sphinx of Senusret III.

One of the innovations in sculpture that occurred during the Middle Kingdom was the block statue, which would continue to be popular through to the Ptolemaic Kingdom almost 2,000 years later. Block statues consist of a man squatting with his knees drawn up to his chest and his arms folded on top of his knees. Often, these men are wearing a "wide cloak" that reduces the body of the figure to a simple block-like shape. The surface of the garment or "wide cloak" allowed space for inscriptions. Most of the detail is reserved for the head of the individual being depicted. In some instances, the modeling of the limbs has been retained by the sculptor. There are two basic types of block statues: ones with the feet completely covered by the cloak and ones with the feet uncovered.

This statue to the right represents a woman from the top echelon of society and demonstrates characteristics of Middle Kingdom art. The heavy tripartite wig frames the broad face and passes behind the ears, thus giving the impression of forcing them forward. They are large in keeping with the ancient Egyptian ideal of beauty; the same ideal required small breasts, and also in this respect the sculpture is no exception. Whereas the natural curve of the eyebrows dips towards the root of the nose, the artificial eyebrows in low relief are absolutely straight above the inner corners of the eyes, a feature which places the bust early in the Twelfth Dynasty. Around 1900 BC these artificial eyebrows began to follow the natural curve and dip toward the nose.

In the later Twelfth Dynasty, the proportions of the human figure changed. These changes survived through the Thirteenth to Seventeenth Dynasties. Male figures had smaller heads in proportion to the rest of the body, narrow shoulders and waists, a high small of the back, and no muscled limbs. Female figures had these proportions more to an extreme with narrower shoulders and waists, slender limbs, and a higher small of the back in order to keep a distinction between male and female measurements.

Literature
Richard B. Parkinson and Ludwig D. Morenz write that ancient Egyptian literature—narrowly defined as belles-lettres ("beautiful writing")—were not recorded in written form until the early Twelfth Dynasty. Old Kingdom texts served mainly to maintain the divine cults, preserve souls in the afterlife, and document accounts for practical uses in daily life. It was not until the Middle Kingdom that texts were written for the purpose of entertainment and intellectual curiosity. Parkinson and Morenz also speculate that written works of the Middle Kingdom were transcriptions of the oral literature of the Old Kingdom. It is known that some oral poetry was preserved in later writing; for example, litter-bearers' songs were preserved as written verses in tomb inscriptions of the Old Kingdom.

It is also thought that the growth of the middle class and growth in the number of scribes needed for the expanded bureaucracy under Senusret II helped spur the development of Middle Kingdom literature. Later ancient Egyptians considered the literature from this time as "classic". Stories such as the Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor and the Story of Sinuhe were composed during this period, and were popular enough to be widely copied afterwards. Many philosophical works were also created at this time, including the Dispute between a man and his Ba where an unhappy man converses with his soul, The Satire of the Trades in which the role of the scribe is praised above all other jobs, and the magic tales supposedly told to the Old Kingdom pharaoh Khufu in the Westcar Papyrus.

Pharaohs of the Twelfth through Eighteenth Dynasty are credited with preserving some of the most interesting of Egyptian papyri:

 * 1950 BC: Akhmim Wooden Tablet
 * 1950 BC: Heqanakht papyri
 * 1800 BC: Berlin papyrus 6619
 * 1800 BC: Moscow Mathematical Papyrus
 * 1650 BC: Rhind Mathematical Papyrus
 * 1600 BC: Edwin Smith papyrus
 * 1550 BC: Ebers papyrus

title: Middle Kingdom of Egypt


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Chestnut Hill

Chestnut Hill may refer to:

Buildings

 * Chestnut Hill (Windsor Township, York County, Pennsylvania), a house on the National Register of Historic Places, U.S.
 * Chestnut Hill (Orange, Virginia), a house on the National Register of Historic Places, U.S.
 * The Chestnut Hill, a historic apartment building in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, U.S.

Education

 * Chestnut Hill Academy, a college preparatory school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
 * Chestnut Hill College, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.

United Kingdom

 * Chestnut Hill, Cumbria, a suburb of Keswick

United States

 * Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, a neighborhood
 * Chestnut Hill Cove, Maryland, an unincorporated community in Anne Arundel County
 * Chestnut Hill, North Carolina (disambiguation), multiple locations in North Carolina
 * Chestnut Hill, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, a census-designated place
 * Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a neighborhood in Philadelphia
 * Chestnuthill Township, Monroe County, Pennsylvania, a township in Monroe County
 * Chestnut Hill, Tennessee, a small unincorporated community in Jefferson County
 * Chestnut Hill, Virginia (disambiguation), multiple locations in Virginia
 * Chestnut Hill, West Virginia, an unincorporated community in Hancock County

Railway stations

 * Chestnut Hill Avenue (MBTA station), a stop on the MBTA Green Line B branch, in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
 * Chestnut Hill Branch (disambiguation)
 * Chestnut Hill station (disambiguation)

Other uses

 * Chestnut Hill (Northampton County, Pennsylvania), a low mountain in Forks Township, U.S.
 * Chestnut Hill (novel series), by Lauren Brooke

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

title: Chestnut Hill


text:
Talk:Albert I, Prince of Monaco

picture
This picture: does not belong with this article. This is a Prince Albert of Monaco, but it's not Prince Albert I of Monaco, it's the current (as of yet non-reigning) one. This is clear not only from the fact that it's a color photograph, but that he's speaking at the UN, an organization which post-dates the Albert in question. -- Someone else 16:56, 9 Aug 2003 (UTC)

 * Judging from the page history of Image:Albert of Monaco.jpg, it was the right one originally, but was written over (presumably by somebody unknowingly chosing the same file name). --Camembert

 * Ah, I see! Any way to get the old picture back without deleting the new picture, presumably used by the other page???? -- Someone else 17:06, 9 Aug 2003 (UTC)

 * Not that I know of - just have to save the old pic and re-upload it with a different name, I think (I'm too lazy... I mean busy... to do this myself right now). --Camembert
 * Mission accomplished, I'll delete the old picture from the old page to avoid future mishaps. -_ Someone else 17:17, 9 Aug 2003 (UTC)

Dates
Nunh-huh wishes the article to use U.S. format dates. We have discussed this extensively on his talk page and at Talk:Rainier III, Prince of Monaco. Monaco uses International dating (as does the UK, and indeed, most of the world), and that is a substantial reason to change the article's format to International Dates, rather than American Dates.

With all respect, Nunh-huh does not seem to have access to all the facts. I ask him again to provide details of the "longstanding rule" to which he refers, but the current policy is as per the MoS reference I have already given. Let me quote it:
 * If the topic itself concerns a specific country, editors may choose to use the date format used in that country. This is useful even if the dates are linked, because new users and users without a Wikipedia account do not have any date preferences set, and so they see whatever format was typed. For topics concerning the UK, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, most member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, and most international organizations such as the United Nations, the formatting is usually 17 February 1958 (no comma and no "th"). In the United States and Canada, it is February 17, 1958 . Elsewhere, either format is acceptable. See Manual of Style for more guidance.

Perhaps Nunh-huh is referring to this section on disputes over styles:
 * In June 2005, the Arbitration Committee ruled that, when either of two styles is acceptable, it is inappropriate for a Wikipedia editor to change from one style to another unless there is some substantial reason for the change. For example, with respect to British spelling as opposed to American spelling, it would only be acceptable to change from American spelling to British spelling if the article concerned a British topic. Revert warring over optional styles is unacceptable; if the article uses colour rather than color, it would be wrong to switch simply to change styles, although editors should ensure that articles are internally consistent. If in doubt, defer to the style used by the first major contributor. See Requests for arbitration/Jguk

The substantial reason for the change in date formats in this article is that Monaco uses the "littleendian" date format of Day Month Year, as may be seen in the prince's official site, already linked above. In addition, the date formats were inconsistent and I rationalised them, as per my edit summary. I thank jtdirl for his contribution in this matter. Looking back over his contributions to Wikipedia it is clear that he is an expert in applying consistent and coherent styles as per the MoS, especially when fine interpretations over hotly contested topics are required, and we may all benefit from his advice. --Jumbo 22:15, 31 July 2006 (UTC)
 * I've asked for comments from the rest of the Wikipedia community. - Nunh-huh 23:12, 31 July 2006 (UTC)

Marriage
The article states "Caroline had tried to make a marital match between Albert and Princess Mary Adelaide of Cambridge, the first cousin of Queen Victoria and future mother of Britain’s Queen Mary, but to no avail" - are there any sources for this. The Princess was married in 1866 aged 30 having had problems finding a husband, while Albert at that time was only 18. Even allowing for the dynastic advantages - this does sound a little unlikely. Giano 12:00, 15 February 2007 (UTC)

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RfC of interest
(non-automated message) Greetings! I have opened an RfC on WT:ROYALTY that may be of interest to users following this article talk page! You are encouraged to contribute to this discussion here! Hurricane Andrew (444) 18:59, 24 November 2023 (UTC)

title: Talk:Albert I, Prince of Monaco


text:
Talk:Air conditioner

Auto archival?
Does anyone object to me setting up an archival bot here? There are a lot of old discussion items. Jminthorne (talk) 06:26, 3 September 2009 (UTC)

 * Added. Please message me if it fails horribly. Jminthorne (talk) 06:22, 25 April 2010 (UTC)

Split units
I have three propositions for this.

First, change the name to the more accurate term "ductless split units."

Second, ductless systems do in fact require drainage on the interior unit as condensation occurs when hot humid air is passed over the cooled coils, not when the hot air is exhausted to the outside. Installing the interior unit requires a dedicated drain line.

Third, I feel this should be given its own section, (i.e. Window/through-the-wall; central; ductless; etc.) as ductless units are not generally considered "portable." They require less installation effort than a central air conditioner because of the lack of ducts, however their installation generally requires hiring a licensed electrical and/or plumbing contractor to satisfy local ordinances as well as to keep the warranty of the unit intact. "Portable" implies they may be moved with relative ease into and out of given areas.

Anyone care to weigh in before making these edits?

Gyfted1 (talk) 03:11, 27 July 2010 (UTC)

/* Passive ground source-based cooling */ Added original research flag
I added an original research flag to this section. I have never heard of any kind of passive cooling system like this, and it was written in an unprofessional and somewhat rambling manner reminiscent of someone's unrealized pipe dream instead of a bona fide cooling system. I thought the standard way to provide passive cooling was to build structures with a large thermal mass (as in adobe buildings) as opposed to siphoning off underground water supplies to absorb ambient heat from within a structure. Please add citations indicating that this is a real technology or remove the section if it is unrealized or fraudulent. If the section remains, it should be cited and probably rewritten for tone and clarity. Dawaegel (talk) 16:33, 6 June 2011 (UTC)

From-scratch rewrite needed
Unfortunately this article is a barely-maintained, incoherent mess, littered with prose which was likely lifted wholesale from other websites (the "split units" section, for instance, looks like it came from here). I'm going to work on simply demolishing anything that I can't verify as being original material derived from secondary sources and then to merge that to air conditioning rather than maintaining two articles on the same subject. Chris Cunningham (user:thumperward) (talk) 10:42, 3 August 2012 (UTC)

title: Talk:Air conditioner


text:
Treasure Island (disambiguation)

Treasure Island is an 1883 novel by Robert Louis Stevenson.

Treasure Island may also refer to:

Film and television

 * Treasure Island (1918 film), a film by Chester and Sidney Franklin
 * Treasure Island (1920 film), a film featuring Shirley Mason
 * Treasure Island (1934 film), a film starring Jackie Cooper and Wallace Beery
 * Treasure Island (1938 film), a Soviet film by Vladimir Vaynshtok
 * Treasure Island (1950 film), a Disney film starring Bobby Driscoll and Robert Newton
 * Treasure Island (1966 miniseries), a German miniseries by Wolfgang Liebeneiner
 * Treasure Island (1972 live-action film), a film starring Orson Welles
 * Treasure Island (1973 film), a film released by Filmation
 * Treasure Island (1977 TV series), a British adaptation
 * Treasure Island (1978 TV series), a Japanese anime television series, known as Takarajima in Japanese
 * Treasure Island (1982 film), a Soviet film
 * Treasure Island (1985 film), a Chilean-French film
 * Treasure Island (1988 film), a Soviet animated musical film released by Kievnauchfilm
 * Treasure Island (1990 film), a film starring Christian Bale and Charlton Heston
 * Muppet Treasure Island, a 1996 adaptation featuring the Muppets
 * Treasure Island (TV franchise), a reality television franchise that debuted in New Zealand in 1997 and has Australian and Irish editions
 * Treasure Island (1995 film), a film directed by Ken Russell
 * Treasure Island (1999 film), a film featuring Kevin Zegers and Jack Palance
 * Treasure Island (1999 independent film), a film by Scott King
 * Treasure Island (2012 TV series), a British adaptation broadcast on Sky1
 * "Treasure Island", an episode of Dora the Explorer

United States

 * Treasure Island, San Francisco, California
 * Treasure Island, Florida
 * Treasure Island, Delaware River island and former home of Treasure Island Scout Reservation
 * Treasure Island, part of North Bay Village in Miami, Florida
 * Reach Island, or Treasure Island, an island in Washington

Other places

 * Treasure Island (Ontario), a small island in Lake Mindemoya, Ontario, Canada
 * Zhenbao Island or Treasure Island, China, an island in the Ussuri River on the border with Russia
 * Isla de la Juventud or Treasure Island, Cuba
 * Treasure Island (Fiji), a coral island and resort that is part of the Mamanuca Islands
 * Treasure Island, Singapore, an artificial island in Sentosa Cove

Music

 * Treasure Island (Keith Jarrett album), 1974
 * Treasure Island (Nick Harper album)
 * Treasure Island, an EP by Thomas Zwijsen
 * "Treasure Island", a 1977 instrumental by Bob James from BJ4
 * "Treasure Island", a 1989 song by Steven Curtis Chapman from More to This Life
 * "Treasure Island", a 1992 song by Running Wild from Pile of Skulls
 * "Treasure Island", a 2007 song by Brighten from King vs. Queen
 * "Treasure Island", a 2011 song by Iggy Azalea from Ignorant Art
 * "Treasure Island", a 2011 song by Charlotte OC
 * "Treasure Island", a 2017 song by Alestorm from No Grave But the Sea
 * "Treasure Island", a 2018 song by Azealia Banks

Other uses

 * Treasure Island (store), a former J. C. Penney store
 * Treasure Island (1981 video game), an arcade game
 * Treasure Island (1984 video game), a home computer game
 * Treasure Island (2020 video game), a fangame based on "Five Nights at Freddy's", as well as a part of the Fazbear Fanverse Initiative
 * Treasure Islands: Tax Havens and the Men Who Stole the World, 2011, by Nicholas Shaxson
 * Treasure Island Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada, US
 * Treasure Island Media, gay pornography studio, San Francisco, US
 * Treasure Island Resort & Casino, Red Wing, Minnesota, US
 * Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park or Treasure Island Resort, Wisconsin Dells, US
 * Treasure Island Foods, a chain of grocery stores in the Chicago area, US

title: Treasure Island (disambiguation)


text:
Geneva Airport

Geneva Airport (Aéroport de Genève), formerly and still unofficially known as Cointrin Airport (Aéroport de Cointrin), is an international airport of Geneva, the second most populous city in Switzerland. It is located 4 km northwest of the city centre. It surpassed the 15-million-passengers-a-year mark for the first time in December 2014. The airport serves as a hub for Swiss International Air Lines and easyJet Switzerland. It features a route network of flights mainly to European metropolitan and leisure destinations as well as some long-haul routes to North America, China, Africa, and the Middle East, amongst them Swiss International Air Lines' only long-haul service (to New York–JFK) outside of Zürich.

The airport lies entirely within Swiss territory, however, its northern limit runs along the Swiss–French border and the airport can be accessed from both countries. The freight operations are also accessible from both countries, making Geneva a European Union freight hub although Switzerland is not a member of the EU. The airport is partially in the municipality of Meyrin and partially in the municipality of Le Grand-Saconnex.

Early years
On 11 October 1919, the Grand Council of Geneva approved the establishment of an "airfield" at Meyrin. A simple airfield was established in Cointrin, near the city of Geneva, covering an area of 54 ha. From 1926 to 1931, the airfield's wooden sheds were replaced by three concrete hangars. At the time, there was a small amount of air traffic, with Luft Hansa flying from Berlin to Barcelona via Halle, Leipzig, Geneva and Marseille. Swissair also flew the Geneva–Lyon–Paris route through a codesharing agreement with Air Union. By 1930, there were six airlines that flew to Geneva Airport on seven different routes.

1937 saw construction of the first concrete runway; it measured 405 by. In 1938, eight airlines were flying to Geneva: Swissair, KLM, Deutsche Luft Hansa, Air France, Malert (Hungary), AB Aerotransport (Sweden), Alpar (Switzerland) and Imperial Airways (UK).

During World War II, the Swiss authorities forbade all flights from Switzerland, but expansion of the airport led to increasing its area to 95 ha and extending the main runway first to 1000 by. A further 200 m of runway was added near the end of the war as well as provision for future expansion to a length of 2500 m.

As part of the Federal Government's post-war planning for the nation's airports, Geneva was identified as one of four main urban airports that were to form the first tier of that system. Cointrin was noted as being well suited for extension and did not require a triangular runway arrangement as the prevailing winds are very regularly along a single axis. Authorities agreed to a 2.3M Swiss Francs project to build a first terminal in Geneva and in 1946 the new terminal – which is today used as Terminal 2 – was ready for use, and the runway was enlarged once more to 2000 m. In 1947, the first service to New York started with a Swissair Douglas DC-4. On 17 July 1959, the first jet aircraft landed in Geneva, an SAS Caravelle, and it was followed, 11 years later, by a TWA Boeing 747 which landed in 1970.

Development since the 1960s
To provide for jet traffic, in 1960, the runway was extended to its current length of 3900 m. This is unusually long for an airport of this size, and could only be built after some territory was exchanged between France and Switzerland. The northeastern end of the 1946 runway had also been the frontier between Geneva and the neighbouring French commune of Ferney-Voltaire. The runway extension needed to use land that was then French, and an international agreement was needed whereby the necessary land was transferred from France to Switzerland, and territory of identical size, also adjacent to Ferney-Voltaire, transferred in the opposite direction. In this way, Switzerland remained exactly the same size, and its neutrality remained unsullied. The extension also entailed the construction of the current tunnel leading to Ferney-Voltaire and of the joint border post on its northern side, which is unusual for Switzerland in that it is entirely on French territory. In the process, the old hamlet of La Limite disappeared, although as of April 2013 a building from that era still stands isolated within a motorway junction on the southern side of the runway.

In 1968, the construction of a second runway and a mid-field round terminal were proposed, but ultimately the concept was never realised. On 7 May 1968, Geneva Main Terminal was inaugurated, which was planned to accommodate 7 million passengers a year. This number was reached in 1985.

Despite there never being a regular Concorde service in Switzerland, the supersonic aircraft twice landed in Geneva. On 31 August 1976, more than 5000 people came to see the Concorde land.

In 1987, Geneva airport was linked to the Swiss rail system, with a new station built close to the main terminal. Since then, a number of changes have been made. Two of the three in-field terminals have been upgraded with jet bridges, and a new terminal has been built in front of the main terminal with 12 jet bridges, plus two ground floor gates.

The current number of passengers flying through Cointrin is around 15 million per year, and it's growing rapidly. One proposed solution to support the future 25 million passengers a year in 2030 is to (as in some countries) prevent aircraft carrying less than a hundred passengers, so there would be less traffic but more passengers. This proposal hasn't been approved yet. Officials are still thinking about finding another solution that could easily increase Geneva's Airport traffic. Geneva Cointrin Airport has only one runway, handling one aircraft about every 90 seconds between 6 am and midnight. Changes have already been made in the main terminal with the construction of a new check-in area, new restaurant and duty-free shops, as well as a new security checkpoint.

Terminals
Geneva Airport has two passenger terminals: the newer and larger Terminal 1 (T1), which features the majority of flights, and the smaller and only seasonally used Terminal 2 (T2). It also has a Business Aviation Terminal, also known as Terminal 3 (T3).

Terminal 1
Terminal 1, also known as Main terminal (M) is divided into 5 piers, A, B, C, D and F.

Piers A, B, C and D are located in the Swiss side of Terminal 1. Passengers travelling from these gates (to Swiss or international destinations) check in at the main check-in hall and use the central security check above the check in hall. Pier A is located directly in front of the main shopping area and serves destinations in the Schengen area. Pier B consists of two non-Schengen circular satellite buildings which are reached from the shopping area via an underground walkway, which also houses passport control. Pier C, also non-Schengen, is to the right of Pier A and houses long haul flights using wide body aircraft. Pier D consists of one circular satellite and one bus gate building, which is split between Schengen and non-Schengen passengers on different floors. These are reached via underground walkways from the left end of Pier A.

Before Switzerland's integration into the Schengen Area in 2008, Pier F, also known as the French Sector, was used exclusively for passengers arriving from, or departing to destinations in France. It has two gates with jet bridges and four bus gates. The French Sector exists as a stipulation of an agreement between France and the Canton of Geneva dating from the 1960s, and enables travel between the neighboring French region of Pays de Gex and the airport while avoiding Swiss territory and customs. The French Sector area still exists for passengers arriving from French destinations who wish to exit directly to French territory and avoid Swiss customs controls, although passport control and immigration checks have been dropped as part of the Schengen Treaty. Buses to French ski resorts south of Geneva nowadays use the Swiss sector, since the road distance is much shorter through Geneva, and the passport control is dropped also at the border south of Geneva.

In June 2016, Geneva Airport management announced that they will start upgrading the main check-in hall in terminal 1. This will add one thousand square metres to the actual check-in area and help to cope with the higher passenger volume that the airport faces every year. The renovated check-in hall was fully opened by the end of 2017.

Long-haul pier Aile Est
The airport announced in 2012 a plan to replace the current, outdated long-haul section (Pier C) of the terminal, which originally was intended to be an interim solution back in 1975, with a completely reconstructed facility. Construction originally was delayed by several years by Swissair moving its long haul operation to Zurich in 1996. The September 11, 2001, attacks and the bankruptcy of Swissair in 2001 delayed it further. Lately, a few airlines such as Emirates, Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways, United Airlines, and Swiss International Air Lines have started to use the current facility. The need for this new pier was then urgent. The extension of the airport was opposed by some associations (such as NOÉ21).

In December 2021, construction of the new Aile Est (East Wing) was completed. It is a completely new extension of the terminal replacing the old Pier C in the same location. The new facility is 520 m long and is able to handle six widebody long-haul aircraft at once directly at the building. This building is ecofriendly, electricity produced by 5,000 m2 of solar panels, more than 100 geothermal probes for heat pumps, glazed facades for natural light, additional LED lighting, recovery of rainwater, optimum thermal insulation with triple glazing, eliminates bus rides on the tarmac, and finally power supply and hot / cold direct 3 additional positions instead of an external diesel power.

The new terminal pier has been in operation since 14 December 2021 and is used for all long-haul flights and several non-Schengen destinations.

Terminal 2
Terminal 2 is only used during the winter charter season. This was the original terminal at Geneva Airport. It was built in 1946 and remained in use until the 1960s when the Main Terminal opened. Facilities at Terminal 2 are poor, with only one restaurant and no duty-free shops. Passengers check in and pass through security checks at this terminal, and then take a low floor bus to piers A, B, C and D at T1. Arriving passengers are bussed directly from the aircraft to T2 and then pass through passport control (if needed) and collect their baggage there. Geneva Airport wanted to refurbish T2 as a low-cost terminal. At this time EasyJet was the major low-cost airline in Geneva with up to 80 flights a day during winter. Other major airlines at GVA threatened to leave the airport if EasyJet had its own terminal with lower landing charges. Since then, there has been no information about an upgrade of T2 facilities.

Business Aviation Terminal
The Business Aviation Terminal, or Terminal 3 (T3), is located at the south-west end of the airport, about 2 km from Terminal 1. This terminal is a hub for private charter jet companies (also known as Fixed-Base Operators, or FBOs) that offer facilities including VIP lounges, private immigration, and customs screening. Parking at Terminal 3 is limited.

Runways
The airport has a single concrete runway (04/22), which is the longest in Switzerland with a length of 3900 m and one of the longest in Europe, making it open to use by aircraft of all existing sizes. Adjacent to the commercial runway is a smaller, parallel, grass runway (04L/22R) for light aircraft. Since its opening, the runway had been known as 05/23 until September 13, 2018, when it was changed to 04/22 due to the North Magnetic Pole moving. Usually, runway 22 is used when the wind is calm. If the wind is stronger than 4 knot and in a direction going from 320 to 140 degrees, then runway 04 will be used.

Airlines and destinations
The following airlines offer regular scheduled and charter flights at Geneva Airport:

Other facilities

 * The airline Baboo had its head office on the grounds of the airport and in Grand-Saconnex.
 * Geneva International Airport hosts an office of the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

Train
The airport is 4 km from the Geneva city centre. There is a railway station with trains to Geneva-Cornavin station, and other cities in Switzerland.

Bus
There are local buses that stop at the airport. There are also buses to and from Annecy, France, and also seasonal buses to ski resort Chamonix in France and ski resorts in Switzerland. Many transfer companies operate shared transfers in the winter to many French ski resorts. Winter weekends see dozens of coaches at the nearby Charter terminal (former cargo terminal) meeting charter flights from all over Europe, but primarily the UK. These take holidaymakers to/from ski resorts in France, Switzerland and Italy. The buses in general go from the Swiss sector since this shortens the driving distance to most destinations.

Incidents and accidents

 * In 1950, Air India Flight 245, a Lockheed Constellation, crashed into Mont Blanc while descending toward Geneva.
 * In 1966, a very similar accident occurred when Air India Flight 101, a Boeing 707, crashed into Mont Blanc while descending toward Geneva.
 * On 17 October 1982, an Egypt Air Boeing 707-366C, SU-APE struck the ground short of runway 23, bounced then slid off the left side of the runway, turned 270 degrees and continued sliding backwards. The right wing separated and a fire which broke out was quickly extinguished by the airport emergency services. Although the plane was a complete write off, the 172 passengers and 10 crew all survived.
 * On 23 July 1987, a hijacker was arrested by Swiss authorities on board an Air Afrique DC-10 after the plane had landed at Geneva to refuel. One passenger was shot and killed by the hijacker before he was overpowered by the crew prior to the plane being stormed by the authorities. 1 crew member and 3 other passengers were injured during the incident.
 * On 2 September 1998, Swissair Flight 111 from New York-JFK to Geneva, operated by a McDonnell Douglas MD-11, suffered an inflight fire and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near St. Margarets Bay, Nova Scotia, killing all 229 people on board.
 * On 20 March 1999, an Iberia MD-87, EC-GRL, had to land without its front undercarriage.
 * On 17 February 2014, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 702 on scheduled service departing from Addis Ababa at 00:30 (local time) scheduled to arrive in Rome at 04:40 (local time) was forced to proceed to Geneva airport. The Boeing 767-300 (tail ET-AMF) was flying north over Sudan when it changed radio frequency to squawk 7500—which is used in case of hijacking. Nearing Geneva, the pilots communicated with air traffic control to inquire about possibility of hijackers receiving asylum in Switzerland. The aircraft circled the airport several times, before landing around 6:00 in the morning with one engine and less than 10 minutes of fuel remaining. The airport remained closed as the aircraft stayed on the tarmac. At 7:12 local time, the pilots communicated to ATC that they would be ready to disembark passengers in five minutes. The co-pilot of the plane was found to be the hijacker and was arrested. No passengers were harmed.

Controversies
The airport's contribution to the economy and its nuisance are the subject of political and public debate. Neighbouring inhabitants and communes are opposed to its growth, particularly because of the noise caused by aircraft. The business community, for its part, has set up an association to defend the airport, AERIA+. Its members include the Fédération des Entreprises Romandes Genève, the Centre patronal and the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Geneva and Vaud.

In popular culture

 * The old airport building, located next to the current building, is shown in The Adventures of Tintin story "The Calculus Affair".

title: Geneva Airport


text:
Southern Levant

The Southern Levant is a geographical region encompassing the southern half of the Levant. It corresponds approximately to modern-day Israel, Palestine, and Jordan; some definitions also include southern Lebanon, southern Syria and/or the Sinai Peninsula. As a strictly geographical description, it is sometimes used by archaeologists and historians to avoid the religious and political connotations of other names for the area.

Like much of Southwestern Asia, the Southern Levant is an arid region consisting mostly of desert and dry steppe, with a thin strip of wetter, temperate climate along the Mediterranean coast. Geographically it is dominated by the Jordan Valley, a section of the Great Rift Valley bisecting the region from north to south, and containing the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan River and the Dead Sea – the lowest point on the Earth's land surface.

The Southern Levant has a long history and is one of the areas of the world most intensively investigated by archaeologists. It is considered likely to be the first place that both early hominins and modern humans colonised outside of Africa. Consequently, it has a rich Stone Age archaeology, stretching back as early as 1.5 million years ago. With one of the earliest sites for urban settlements, it also corresponds to the western parts of the Fertile Crescent.

Terminology
The Southern Levant refers to the lower half of the Levant but there is some variance of geographical definition, with the widest definition including Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, southern Syria and the Sinai Desert. In the field of archaeology, the southern Levant is "the region formerly identified as Syria-Palestine and including Canaan."

Many scholars studying the region's archaeology have adopted the term Levant (including northern and southern halves) as the "term of choice" due to it being a "wider, yet relevant, cultural corpus" that does not have the "political overtones" of Syria-Palestine. A survey of North American dissertations shows the "overwhelming emphasis and scope of these works has been the southern Levant, an area formerly identified as Syria-Palestine including Canaan", but with most modern Ph.D. dissertations using the terms 'Israel' and 'Canaan'.

The term "Southern Levant" has also been criticized as imprecise and an awkward name. The term Southern Levant has been described in academic discourse as a "at least a strictly geographical" description of the region, avoiding religious and political connotations of names such as "Canaan", "Holy Land", "Land of Israel", or "Palestine".

Geography

The Southern Levant lies on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, in the world region known variously as the Near East, the Middle East or Western or Southwestern Asia. It is bordered to the east, southeast and southwest by the Syrian, Arabian and Sinai deserts, respectively. Some definitions include parts of these deserts in the region. The Litani River in southern Lebanon is commonly considered the dividing line between the Southern Levant and the Northern Levant (i.e. Syria), or sometimes the Orontes River, also in Lebanon.

For the most part, the climate of the Southern Levant is arid or semi-arid, however a narrow strip along the coast experiences a temperate, Mediterranean climate due to its proximity to the sea. Average annual rainfall decreases sharply away from the coast, from over 1000 mm per year in Galilee, to 200 - 400 mm in the Rift Valley, and less than 50 mm in the eastern deserts and the Negev. Across the region, precipitation is both highly seasonal―most rain falls between October and May, and hardly any in the summer—and subject to large, unpredictable inter-annual variation. Temperature is also highly variable, with cool winters and hot summers.

The Jordan River bisects much of the region into the Cisjordan and Transjordan. The Huleh basin feeds into the upper Jordan, which moves southward through a natural basalt barrier into the Sea of Galilee before dropping several hundred metres as it flows through the Jordan Valley. The Jordan River terminates at the Dead Sea, whose banks, at 400 m below sea level, are the world's lowest point on dry land.

Archaeological findings
The archaeology of the southern Levant is generally conceived as a series of phases or stages in human cultural and evolutionary development based, for the most part, on tool technology for early pre-historic, proto-historic and early historic periods. Later phases are generally associated with historical periods and are named accordingly. While there is no single, accepted sequence that all archaeologists agree upon, the basic conventions indicate a number of Stone Ages, followed by a Copper/Stone Age, in turn followed by a Bronze Age. The names given to them, derived from the Greek, are also used widely for other regions. The different ages in turn are often divided up into sequential or sometimes parallel chrono-cultural facies, sometimes called “cultures” or “periods”. Sometimes their names are derived from European prehistory, at other times from local sites, often where they were first discovered.

Archaeologically, it is among the most extensively excavated regions in the world.

Pre-history and Stone Age
The Southern Levant is amongst the oldest inhabited parts of Eurasia, being on one of three plausible routes by which early hominins could have dispersed out of Africa (along with the Bab al Mandab and the Strait of Gibraltar). Homo erectus left Africa and became the first hominin species to colonise Europe and Asia approximately two million years ago, probably via the Southern Levant. During this phase of the Pleistocene epoch the region was wetter and greener, allowing H. erectus to find places with fresh water as it followed other African animals that were dispersing out of Africa at the same time. One such location was 'Ubeidiya, on the southern shore of the Sea of Galilee, where some of the oldest hominin remains in Eurasia have been discovered, dating to between 1.2 million and 1.5 million years ago.

Several Stone Ages, when stone tools prevailed and make up the bulk of artifacts, are followed by periods when other technologies came into use. They lent their names to the different periods. The basic framework for the southern Levant is, as follows: Paleolithic or Old Stone Age is often divided up into phases called, from early-to-late: Lower Paleolithic, Middle Paleolithic and Upper Paleolithic. An Epipaleolithic (latest Paleolithic) period, also known as Mesolithic (transition to Neolithic) follows and is, in turn succeeded by a Neolithic (New Stone Age).

The following Chalcolithic period includes the first evidence of metallurgy with copper making its appearance. However, as stone technology remains prevalent, the name, Chalcolithic (Copper/Stone) age combines the two.

Bronze Age
Bronze is used for the following periods, but is actually a misnomer for a good part of that time. An Early Bronze Age is divided into three major phases, Early Bronze I, II and III, but copper and not bronze was the most common metal in use, while stone technology continued to contribute the bulk of tools. Early Bronze III is followed by another period, alternately named Early Bronze IV, Middle Bronze I, Intermediate Bronze or Early Bronze-Middle Bronze. In this period the name is apt; true bronze (a tin alloy of copper) makes its appearance in this time span.

The next period is generally known as Middle Bronze II and is generally broken down into two sub-periods, Middle Bronze IIa and Middle Bronze IIb. Some scholars acknowledge a Middle Bronze III. The next period is known as Late Bronze and is often sub-divided into Late Bronze I and II.

Iron Age
The introduction of iron, although relatively rare, especially in the earliest phases, caused the following phase to be named the Iron Age. It is variously sub-divided into Iron I, Iron II and sometimes Iron III, with subdivisions becoming increasingly popular as sequences become better known. Some archaeologists suggest that there in the transition from the Late Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age, the large cultural differences are explained by foreign invasion, that is, the introduction of new ethnicity. More recent evidence indicates that the large culture changes were not the result of a foreign invasion. Rather, the Iron Age people of the southern Levant were related to their Bronze Age predecessors.

Later historical periods
The post-Iron Age is generally thought of as historical and accordingly names of periods reflect this. The very latest Iron Age phase is sometimes called "Assyrian" and the following period is universally known as the Persian period.

The 333 BCE conquest of the region by Alexander the Great is accepted as the beginning of the Hellenistic period. The Deuterocanonical book 2 Maccabees records: "Apollonius the son of Tharseas, who at that time was governor of Celesyria and Phenicia", Celesyria being the transliteration of Coele-Syria. It is followed by the Roman period, with an Early and Late Roman sub-period. The 4th century is recognised as the beginning of the Byzantine period, that lasted until the Arab conquest of the region.

The following period is known as Early Arab and sub-periods by the names of reigning dynasties. The Crusader conquest of the region is known, appropriately as the Crusader period, which in part overlaps with Ayyubid rule, and it is followed by a Mamluk period after the conquering power. In 1516–17 the Ottoman Empire conquered the region and gave its name to the period that lasted until 1917–18, when the British conquered it in World War I.

title: Southern Levant


text:
Steuben

Steuben or Von Steuben most commonly refers to Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben (1730–1794), Prussian-American military officer, or to a number of things named for him in the United States. It may also refer to:

Places

 * Steuben Township, Marshall County, Illinois
 * Steuben County, Indiana
 * Steuben Township, Steuben County, Indiana
 * Steuben Township, Warren County, Indiana
 * Steuben, Maine
 * Steuben, New York
 * Steuben County, New York
 * Steuben Township, Pennsylvania
 * Steuben, Wisconsin

Ships

 * SS General von Steuben, a German auxiliary cruiser sunk in February 1945
 * USS Von Steuben (ID-3017), a U.S. Navy transport in World War I
 * USS Von Steuben (SSBN-632), an American submarine
 * USS Steuben County, a U.S. Navy tank landing ship in the Korean War

Other uses

 * Steuben Glass Works
 * Steuben Monument, a sculpture in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
 * Von Steuben Metropolitan Science Center
 * German-American Steuben Parade

People with the surname

 * Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben (1730–1794), Prussian officer who aided the colonials in the American Revolutionary War
 * Charles de Steuben (1788-1856), a German-born French Romantic painter and lithographer active during the Napoleonic Era.
 * Fritz Steuben (1898–1981), writer
 * Kuno von Steuben (1855-1935), German general in World War I

title: Steuben


text:
Titusville

Titusville is the name of several places:

United States

 * Titusville, Birmingham, Alabama
 * Titusville, Florida
 * Titusville, New Jersey
 * Titusville, a former community in Malone (town), New York
 * Titusville, Pennsylvania

Canada

 * Titusville, New Brunswick

title: Titusville


text:
Air Force of Zimbabwe

The Air Force of Zimbabwe (AFZ) is the air force of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces. It was known as the Rhodesian Air Force until 1980. The Air Force of Zimbabwe saw service in the Mozambican Civil War in 1985 and the Second Congo War of 1998–2001.

Formation and early days
The Rhodesian Air Force (RhAF; previously known as the Royal Rhodesian Air Force), was reconstituted into the Air Force of Zimbabwe in 1980. The RhAF's mixed collection of aircraft were joined by other aircraft from 1981 onwards, supplied by Kenya, Britain, China and elsewhere. Support also came from the Pakistan Air Force who trained most of the Zimbabwean pilots in the initial days, assisted in the re-construction of Thornhill Air Base, and provided Air Marshal Azim Daudpota to Zimbabwe as the Chief of Air Staff (1983–1986).

In 1981, the Air Force of Zimbabwe ordered 8 eight Hawk MK60s, which were delivered in July 1982. On the night of 25 July 1982 a sabotage attack on Thornhill Airbase damaged four Hawks, nine Hunters and a single FTB-337G. One Hawk was written off, another was repaired on site and the other two were returned to BAE for a rebuild. A follow-up order for five additional Hawks was completed in September 1992.

The first supersonic interceptor operated by the air force was the Chinese-built Chengdu J-7/F7 Airguard, 12 of the II and IIN variants were delivered in 1986. Two Eurocopter AS532 Cougar helicopters were reported to be in use for VIP duties in 1997, delivered in April 1995 and September 1996. In April 2021 a newer (refurbished) Eurocopter EC225 Super Puma was added to the fleet.

Second Congo War 1998–2003
The Second Congo War, also known as "Coltan War" and the Great War of Africa, began in August 1998 in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly called Zaire), and officially ended in July 2003 when the Transitional Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo took power; although hostilities are currently ongoing. Zimbabwe's well-trained military entered the war as the best-equipped side. In mid-August 1998, the AFZ deployed five or six F-7s, most of the C.212s, at least four Cessna 337G Lynxs, and a dozen or more helicopters, including Alouettes, Bell 412s and Mi-35s, to Congo. All aircraft were flown by Zimbabwean pilots. After receiving an urgent shipment of spare Hawks, the AFZ apparently deployed some of them as well. At the start of the war, the Hawks had been reported to be in unflyable condition. Due to these circumstances the AFZ contingent in the Congo in August and September 1998 consisted of flights from No.3, No.4, No.5, No.7 and No.8 Squadrons, while a flight from No.2 Squadron was to follow later.

The No.2 AFZ Squadron deployed 12 BAe Hawk T.Mk.60/60As, which were used as strike-fighters and equipped with AIM-9B Sidewinder AAMs, Mk.82-series bombs, and Hunting BL.755 cluster-bomber units (CBUs), as well as launchers for unguided rockets. Only six or seven F-7s From No.5 squadron were fully mission-capable. Prior to the war in Congo, Zimbabwe was in the middle of negotiations with China for 12 additional F-7s.

For transport, the AFZ had the No.3 Squadron, flying 12 CASA C-212 Aviocar and six Britten-Norman BN-2A Islander light transports which had already seen heavy service, and were to see even more of this in Congo. Transport and liaison were also duties of the No.7 Squadron, equipped with Aérospatiale SA 316B Alouette IIIs (including ex-Portuguese Air Force – and Romanian IAR-built examples), as well as of the No.8 Squadron, equipped with Agusta-Bell 412SPs which were later armed with rocket launchers for this war. However, the latter unit would soon play a significant role in the war in DRC, as it was only recently equipped with the newest addition to the AFZ: six Mi-35 helicopters (including two Mi-35Ps). The first AFZ Mi-35-crews were trained at Thornhill AB, in Gweru, by Russian instructors. CO of this unit was Sqn. Ldr. Mukotekwa.

The first noted AFZ operation took place on 26 August 1998, where they destroyed a 5 km armoured column of rebels as they were approaching Kinshasa. After defeating the invaders in Kinshasa, the Zimbabweans, in the belief that Kabila's government was already safe, suggested that there was no need to continue the war, and peace should be negotiated. This resulted in the reinforcement of rebel efforts as well as the Rwandans and Ugandans rushing better-equipped units into the battle. The garrisons in eastern Congo that remained loyal to Kabila fell to rebel attacks. The Ndigili airport, in Kibanseke Province, as well as Kitona, both held by Zimbabwean troops, were attacked simultaneously. In both cases, the AFZ responded with fierce air strikes. Rebels claimed that up to 100 civilians were killed by their bombs.

A series of fierce battles were fought between 4 and 13 September 1998, during which the Angolan mechanised forces were finally able to deploy their full firepower. The Chadian contingent was meanwhile deployed in NE Congo, where it participated in re-capture of Lubutu. The AFZ and FAC were active in this area for several days, flying a number of strikes during which cluster-bomb units (CBUs) were used. According to government reports, 45 rebels were killed and 19 captured in this battle.

On 13 September, when the Angolans attacked towards Kamina, the Zimbabweans found themselves under fierce attacks by thousands of rebels in the Manono area. It was in this area that the AFZ suffered its first documented loss of this war: on 4 September the Aermacchi SF.260 flown by wing commander Sharaunga crashed in bad weather, killing the pilot. Nine days later an Alouette III helicopter carrying several high-ranking officers, including Col. Kufa and Sqn. Ldr. Vundla, was shot down by rebels in eastern central Congo. Kufa and Vundla were killed, while Flt. Sgt. Sande was captured by RCD.

In late October 1998, the Zimbabweans launched an offensive in SE Congo. The offensive was made possible owing to the deployment of additional foreign troops in Congo, including some 2,000 Namibians. This began with a series of air strikes, partially flown by BAe Hawk T.Mk.60s of the No.2 Squadron, newly deployed in Congo, and by F-7s of the No.5 Squadron. These units first targeted airfields in Gbadolite, Dongo and Gmena, and then rebel and Rwandan communications and depots in the Kisangani area, on 21 November. On the following day the No.2 Squadron launched a strike package of six aircraft, armed with Mk.82 bombs and Matra 155 rocket launchers for unguided rockets calibre 68mm, which reached out far over central Congo. They deployed over Lake Tanganyika and attacked ferries used to transport Burundi troops and supplies into the war in Congo. According to Zimbabwean reports their strike came as a complete surprise. With machine-guns and light infantry weapons as the only means of air defense, six ferries were sunk and 600 Burundi and Rwandan troops killed. In a similar attack, on 7 December 1998, Zimbabwean planes or helicopters sank two rebel boats on Lake Tanganyika some 40 km north of Moba.

In November 1998, it was reported that a $54 million shipment of helicopters, fighters and spotter aircraft had arrived in Zimbabwe to assist in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is unclear who received the delivered weapons. There were only very few reports about the fighting in the next few days, probably because the Congolese, Zimbabwean and Angolan governments found themselves under heavy pressure from Western powers because of this offensive. The few reports released from sources close to the rebels indicated Zimbabwean and Congolese attacks on Nuyuzu, Kasinge and towards Manono, supported by T-62 tanks and heavy artillery. According to Zimbabwean reports the Hawks and F-7s continued their operations and made additional attacks against Kalemi on 24 November, and a new round of strikes against different airfields in eastern Congo two days late. After the attacks the pilots of No.5 Squadron claimed destruction of an unidentified An-12 transport on the ground.

When Congolese President Laurent Kabila was assassinated in early 2001, the Zimbabwean Air Force deployed five Chengdu J-7/F7 Airguard to Kinshasa to participate in a fly-past at the state funeral. One of the five fighter planes crashed en route to the event and while four subsequently made the fly-past, two of the remaining aircraft also crashed during the return flight home. The crashes were blamed on low flying hours for pilots in the air force and insufficient training time.

Current organizational structure
The AFZ is subdivided into the Administration Wing, the Engineering Wing, the Flying Wing, and the Regimental Wing. The Administration Wing supports equipment purchasing, recruitment, staff support, food supplies, and related functions. The Engineering Wing maintains and inspects aircraft and related equipment, and covers the School of Technical Training, a tertiary education institution responsible for training aircraft maintenance engineering technicians. The training institute is the only federation aviation school in Africa. The Flying Wing handles aircrew personnel divided into eight squadrons at three primary bases. It also covers the schools for flying and parachute training. The Regimental Wing covers those squadrons specially selected to guard other AFZ assets, such as personnel and installations. and weapon activations.

Directorates found in the airforce of Zimbabwe:
 * Regiment
 * Civil Military Relations
 * Finance
 * Training
 * Health Services
 * Intelligence
 * Administration
 * Engineering

Current inventory
Ascertaining a list of aircraft types operated by the Air force of Zimbabwe is difficult because of secrecy. AFZ has been constantly linked to Mikoyan MiG-29 since 1980 and even sent pilots to the then-USSR for training. In February 2002 the EU enforced an arms embargo on Zimbabwe in reaction to severe violations of human rights in the nation. Unable to buy spare parts for the British designed and manufactured BAE Systems Hawk, in 2006 the air force received the first K-8. The air force also has Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 fighter jets donated by the late Muammar Gaddafi. In the late 1980s an order for MiG-29s placed with Russia, but was cancelled in 1992. Negotiations to buy 14 MiG-29SMTs from Russia were held again in 2004 but an order for JF-17 fighters was apparently placed instead. One BAE Systems Hawk was returned to service in 2019 for the AFZ 40th anniversary mass flypast and was noted in a flypast at the April 2022 Zimbabwe International Trade Fair. Between 2022 and 2023, the AFZ was able to restore more of its BAE Systems Hawks to service; a spokesman for the defense forces declined to comment on the circumstances of their refurbishment.

Retired aircraft
Previous notable aircraft operated by the Air Force consisted of the English Electric Canberra, de Havilland Vampire, C-47 Dakota, Aermacchi AL-60, Reims 337 Lynx

Rank structure
The AFZ's rank structure is similar to the RAF's rank structure from where, via the Rhodesian Air Force, its ranks were derived.

 * Officers/Commissioned Ranks

 * Airmen/Other ranks/Non Commissioned Ranks

Aircraft losses
Exact figures for the Air Force of Zimbabwe's aircraft losses have not been publicly published. It is believed four Hawks were lost, three F7s and several helicopters.

 * Michael Enslin, 21 years of age the time, was shot down in a BAe Hawk at 1000 feet while recovering from a dive. He survived for 5 days in the bush until he was rescued. He was the third pilot to be shot down.
 * SF.260MC flown by Wing Commander. Sharaunga crashed in bad weather, killing the pilot.
 * The Pilot Wing Commander became disorientated at night while on the way to take part in a flypast at Laurent Kabila's funeral, and the pilot ejected. He was found alive in the jungle by Zimbabwean troops five days later.

Incidents and accidents

 * The Air Force suffered a major setback on 25 July 1982 when four of their eight BAE Hawks were damaged in a sabotage attack a few days after their arrival at Thornhill Air Base. Plane 602 was written off, plane 601 was kept in Zimbabwe for repairs, whilst planes 600 and 603 were shipped back to British aerospace for repairs to airworthy status
 * 22 July 1985, a UFO was witnessed by dozens of persons on the ground and in the control tower at Bulawayo Airport now Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport. The air traffic controllers watched it hover and tracked it on radar and two BAE Systems Hawk jets were scrambled to pursue it and the pilots described it as incredibly shiny, reflecting the colours of the sunset they estimated that the UFO was travelling at twice the speed of sound
 * More than 20 airspace intrusions were reported in the first nine days of October 1992. The violations appeared to be in the vicinity of Thornhill Air Base and the violators are believed to be South African transport planes on their way to Angola.
 * February 1995, a Chengdu F-7 crashed near Lalapanzi after encountering some engine problems. Fight Lieutenant Zisengwe died in the plane crash
 * 21/22 January 2001, an unnamed Wing Commander flying a Chengdu F7 became disoriented at night while on the way to take part in a flypast at Laurent Kabila's funeral. He ejected and was found alive in the jungle by Zimbabwean troops five days later.
 * In 2005, a CASA C212-200 Aviocar military transport plane came down during take-off at the Harare International Airport, killing two pilots – Wing Commander Lysias Charuka and Air Lieutenant Aletini Silaigwana
 * 1 April 2005 Aérospatiale Alouette III Crashed soon after take-off in Gokwe, the pilot tried to avoid telephone lines. All four on board survived
 * 5 September 2008, a K-8 Karakoram training jet crashed into Block 1 Married Quarters flats at Thornhill Air Base in the Midlands town of Gweru during a training sortie. The jet skimmed over trees and houses as it headed for a school before turning sharply and smashing into two high-rise residential flats. There were no injuries or deaths other than the two pilots Flight Lieutenant Kudzai Kelvin Majongosi of Chirumanzu and Flight Lieutenant Dumisani Ndlovu of Bulawayo. Both were 28 years old
 * On 22 September 2010, K-8 serial number 2021C piloted by "Venom" practicing for the Africa Aerospace and Defence Expo display burst a tire on landing and rolled to the end of the runway at AFB Ysterplaat, Cape Town. It took some time to get the runway open again and aircraft in the air at the time diverted to Cape Town International Airport
 * On 4 September 2014 a SIAI-Marchetti SF.260 trainer aircraft crashed into a shanty town on the western outskirts of the capital soon after takeoff from the Charles Prince Airport on a routine training mission over the Mount Hampden area when it suddenly nose-dived and crashed. The two pilots, Squadron leader Taurayi Jombo aged 36, and Air Lieutenant Evidence Edzai Begede aged 28 died on the spot. Such was the force of the impact that one of the pilots was decapitated but there were no further casualties only extensive structural damage to buildings nearby
 * On the morning of 23 April 2015 a K-8 crashed in an open field a few kilometers from Thornhill Airbase after catching fire. Both pilots ejected safely
 * An SIAI-Marchetti trainer aircraft SF.260 crashed into a compound in Somabhula, about 24 km south-west of Gweru on 24 November 2020 killing Flight Instructor and Squadron Leader Mkhululi Dube and trainee pilot Silungile Sweswe
 * On 23 April 2021, an Agusta Bell 412 AB-412 helicopter from Number 8 Squadron crashed in Arcturus just 32 km east of Harare. It was on a general handling sortie. Four crew members and one child on the ground died. Among the crew was Annita Mapiye, the country's first female Air Force helicopter pilot. No mayday was transmitted
 * An Mi-35 helicopter gunship made an emergency landing in an open field in Chitungwiza on 8 July 2021 after the pilot, a group captain, tried his luck on an empty tank against the advice of the engineer. On board were two pilots and five aircraft technicians. They all survived without injuries.
 * On 3 February 2023 an SF-260 on a training sortie crashed in the Mlezu college area near Gweru. Both Pilots Group Captain Benson Munyanduki and Wing Commander Daniel Manyenga perished. This was the air force's fourth crash in a little over two years.

title: Air Force of Zimbabwe


text:
AFZ

AFZ may refer to:

 * Air Force of Zimbabwe
 * Ajman Free Zone, United Arab Emirates
 * Aras Free Zone, Iran
 * AFZ (Association Française de Zootechnie)
 * Atacama Fault Zone
 * Obokuitai language
 * Sabzevar Airport, an airport in Sabzevar, Iran
 * Women's Antifascist Front of Yugoslavia and its branches
 * Air Fighter Zone, a zone of the Air Defence of Great Britain
 * SMS language meaning "acronym free zone"
 * AFZ: an EEG electrode site according to the 10-20 system

title: AFZ


text:
Troy (disambiguation)

Troy was a legendary city described in Homer's Iliad.

Troy may also refer to:

Names

 * Troy (given name)
 * Troy (surname)

Media

 * Troy (film), a 2004 film by Wolfgang Petersen
 * Troy (TV series), a British TV series presented by Troy Von Scheibner
 * Troy: Fall of a City, a British miniseries
 * Troy (BBC radio drama), a 1998 series of radio plays by Andrew Rissik
 * Troy, a character in the British web series Corner Shop Show

Literature

 * Troy (novel), a 2000 young adult novel by Adèle Geras
 * Troy (short story collection), by Simon Brown (2006)
 * Troy Series, a 2005–2007 trilogy of books by David Gemmell
 * Troy, a fictional world in which Lanfeust of Troy takes place

Music

 * Troy (opera), a 2018 Turkish opera
 * "Troy" (song), a 1987 song by Sinéad O'Connor from The Lion and the Cobra
 * "They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.)", a 1992 rap song by Pete Rock and CL Smooth from Mecca and the Soul Brother
 * "Troy", a 1990 song by Robin Holcomb from Robin Holcomb
 * "Troy", a 1984 song by The Sugarhill Gang from Livin' in the Fast Lane

Canada

 * Troy, Municipality of the County of Inverness, Nova Scotia

United Kingdom

 * Troy Town or Troy, some turf mazes in England
 * Fowey, Cornwall or Troy Town

United States

 * Troy, Alabama
 * Troy University
 * Troy, Arizona
 * Troy, Idaho
 * Troy, Illinois
 * Troy, Indiana
 * Troy, Iowa
 * Troy Mills, Iowa
 * Troy, Kansas
 * Troy, Jessamine County, Kentucky
 * Troy, Woodford County, Kentucky
 * Troy, Maine
 * Troy (Dorsey, Maryland), a historic house
 * Troy, Michigan
 * Troy, Minnesota
 * Troy, Missouri
 * Troy, Montana
 * Troy, New Hampshire, a New England town
 * Troy (CDP), New Hampshire, the main village in the town
 * Troy, New York
 * Troy, North Carolina
 * Troy, Ohio
 * Troy, Pennsylvania
 * Troy, South Carolina
 * Troy, South Dakota
 * Troy, Tennessee
 * Troy, Texas
 * Troy, Sauk County, Wisconsin, a town
 * Troy, St. Croix County, Wisconsin, a town
 * Troy, Walworth County, Wisconsin, a town
 * Troy (community), Walworth County, Wisconsin, unincorporated community in the town
 * Troy Center, Wisconsin, unincorporated community in the town
 * Troy, Vermont, a New England town
 * Troy (CDP), Vermont, village within the town
 * Troy, Virginia
 * Troy, West Virginia

Vessels

 * Troy (submarine), a small submarine in the shape of a Great White Shark
 * Troy class boats, boats unique to Fowey in Cornwall and raced competitively

Science

 * Troy weight, a system of measurements for weight and mass commonly used in describing the "size" of precious metals and gemstones
 * TNFRSF19 or TROY, a human gene

Other uses

 * Troy (card scheme), domestic payment card scheme of Turkey
 * Troy (chess variant), a chess variant created by the Fanaat games club
 * Troy (horse), a British Thoroughbred racehorse
 * Troy (roller coaster), a wooden roller coaster in the Netherlands
 * Chad Fortune or Troy, American professional wrestler
 * Troy Trojans, the athletic program of Troy University

title: Troy (disambiguation)