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Eurocopter EC120 Colibri

The Eurocopter (now Airbus Helicopters) EC120 Colibri ("hummingbird") is a five-seat, single-engine, light utility helicopter. Jointly designed and developed by Eurocopter, China National Aero-Technology Import & Export Corporation (CATIC), Harbin Aviation Industries (Group) Ltd (HAIG) and Singapore Technologies Aerospace Ltd (STAero) at Eurocopter France's Marignane facility, the EC120B was assembled by Eurocopter in France and Australia.

In China, the aircraft is produced by Harbin Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation (HAMC) as the HC120. In 2004, HAMC began local manufacturing of the HC120 at their assembly line in Harbin, in northern China. In the Chinese market, both the People's Liberation Army and multiple local police forces have purchased HC120 helicopters.

Development
The EC120 Colibri has its origins in the P120, a proposal by French helicopter manufacturer Aérospatiale that was intended to replace both their Aérospatiale Gazelle and Aérospatiale SA 315B Lama single engine helicopters. During the 1980s, Aérospatiale sought international partners with which to co-produce the P120, these included aerospace companies in China, Singapore, and Australia. In the aftermath of the Chinese Government's crackdown on the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, the exclusion of Chinese involvement in the project was speculated.

On 20 October 1992, a contract for the joint development contract of the new helicopter was signed by the three principle partners of the project, the newly formed Eurocopter, China National Aero-Technology Import & Export Corporation (CATIC) and Singapore Aerospace Ltd (STAero). Under the joint development agreement, Eurocopter received a 61% controlling interest and technical leader in the programme, CATIC received a 24% work share and STAero received a 15% work share; CATIC designed and produced the cabin structure and fuel system, STAero produced the tail boom, access doors, and composite materials, while Eurocopter produced the dynamic assemblies, installed the avionics, electrical and hydraulic systems, and conducted the final assembly activity. Development of the rotorcraft allowed Eurocopter to extend its range to include 1.5 t rotorcraft.

On 9 June 1995, the first prototype EC120 Colibri conducted its maiden flight. By February 1996, the prototype had accumulated 60 flight hours, a second prototype joined the test program later that year. In February 1997, the EC120 Colibri was formally launched at the Helicopter Association International (HAI) show in Anaheim, California; by June 1997, more than 50 orders had been received for the type. By October 1998, more than 100 orders had been received for the type, leading Eurocopter to increase the production rate from four helicopters per month to six. In 2002, Eurocopter was in the process of establishing a second assembly line for the EC120 at Australian Aerospace's facility in Brisbane, Australia.

In September 2003, Eurocopter and China Aviation Industry Corporation II (AVIC II) expanded their partnership agreement to include a co-production arrangement with AVIC II-subsidiary Harbin Aircraft Industry Group (HAIG). On 11 June 2004, a final production agreement was signed; under the agreement, CATIA and HAIG received exclusive market rights in China, and Eurocopter agreed to stop selling French-built EC120s in mainland China. In June 2014, the People's Liberation Army of China became the launch customer for the Harbin-produced HC120, reportedly placing an order for eight of the type with options for fifty more.

On 30 November 2017 Airbus Helicopters formally announced the end of the H120 program citing low delivery numbers. Only five H120s were delivered in 2016 compared to 63 Robinson R-66s. Airbus stated they are moving away from the lower end of the market spectrum and those helicopters are not as sophisticated as their traditional product line.

Diesel demonstrator

Within the Green Rotorcraft European Clean Sky Joint Technology Initiative environmental research program started in 2011, a H120 Technology demonstrator equipped with a HIPE AE440 high-compression aircraft diesel engine, running on jet fuel, first flew on 6 November 2015. It aimed to reduce pollutant emissions and increase fuel efficiency, nearly double the range and enhance operations in hot and high conditions.

The powerplant trialed was a liquid-cooled, dry sump lubricated 4.6-liter 90° V8 engine with an 1800 bar common rail direct injection, fully machined aluminum blocks, titanium connecting rods, steel pistons and liners, one turbocharger per cylinder bank. With an air-to-air intercooler, it weighed 197 kg without gearbox and the 330 kW installed powerpack weighs 249 kg. The rotors were driven via the existing transmission, the faster-turning Turbomeca Arrius turboshaft was replaced with a multiplier gearbox.

The brake specific fuel consumption was 200 g/kW⋅h. Torque oscillations were reduced through a light torsional shaft and vibrations are damped by Silent blocs. It was manufactured by Teos Powertrain Engineering—a joint venture between Mecachrome and D2T (IFPEN group)—for the mechanical design, engine main parts manufacturing, assembly and testing and Austro Engine for the dual-channel FADEC and harness, fuel system, airworthiness. Power was maintained at 2,500 m and ISA+20° and it achieved 42% a fuel consumption reduction, reducing the direct operating costs by 30% along with simpler maintenance.

Design
The EC120B Colibri is a single-engine multimission helicopter, designed for safe, simple, and cost-effective operations. It incorporates several of Eurocopter's trademarked technologies, those of prominence are the three-bladed Speriflex main rotor head and the eight-bladed fenestron anti-torque tail rotor; these have been partially credited with contributing to the rotorcraft's noise signature, which is 6.7 decibels below International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) limits.

Airbus Helicopters has claimed that the EC120 B possesses the lowest operating cost in its class. As of 2014, the EC120 has the distinction of being the only single-engine rotorcraft to be certified to JAR/FAR 27 standards; measures incorporated to meet these standards include an energy-attenuating main structure, energy-absorbent seats for all on board, and a crash-resistant fuel system.

The aircraft features a wide, ergonomic cabin with high levels of external visibility, which can accommodate a single pilot along with four passengers in typical passenger configuration. The design of the cabin is suitable for a wide variety of civilian and parapublic missions, such as utility transport, offshore transport, training, law enforcement, casualty evacuation and corporate transport. In the casualty evacuation role, the rotorcraft can carry one pilot and one stretcher patient as well as one or two medical attendants.

In a cargo-carrying capacity, the EC120 can carry one pilot plus 2.94 m3 of total useful load volume spread between the cabin and the 0.8 m3 hold, which is externally accessible from the right-hand side and to the rear, as well as from the cabin in some configurations. To ease cargo operations, the cabin floor is flat and unobstructed; alternatively, a cargo sling can be installed to carry cargo of up to 700 kg.

According to Airbus Helicopters, the EC120B integrates a high level of advanced technology to make the rotorcraft easier and safer to fly, as well as to reduce costs. A particular emphasis was placed on allowing end-customers to perform as much of the maintenance tasks themselves. The primary instrument panel is the twin-screen vehicle and engine multifunction display (VEMD) which provides control and monitoring of various aspects of the rotorcraft, such as the fenestron tail rotor and key engine parameters; the VEMD decreases overall pilot workload for greater safety. In a baseline configuration, flight controls are installed only on the right-hand side, dual controls or left-hand only flight controls can be optionally installed. Third parties have offered their own avionics suites for the EC120, adding functionality such as an autopilot.

In addition to various civil roles, the EC120 has also been used by several military operators to conduct training, observation and light utility missions. Airbus Helicopter has promoted the type in a training capacity due to features such as positive control response, performance computation systems, modern instrumentation for ease of use, overall compact size, and a high level of cabin visibility.

A wide range of optional equipment can be installed upon the EC120 B, this includes a wire strike protection system, air conditioning, sand filter, skis, windshield wipers, electrical external mirrors, a cargo sling, emergency flotation gear, forward looking infrared (FLIR) cameras, and external spotlights. For corporate customers, the EC120 can be equipped with a Stylence interior, offering a luxurious interior with leather upholstery, in-flight office and telecommunications facilities, along with reduced noise and vibration levels via additional insulation.

Operational history
The first EC120B was delivered in 1998. By 2008, Eurocopter had already delivered more than 550 Colibris to various customers.

In 2004, the United States Department of Homeland Security U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) selected the EC120B to meet its Light Sign Cutter requirement, a program potentially involving 55 aircraft with a total value of US$75 million in then-year dollars. In 2006, the CBP ordered 15 EC120B helicopters, with a further five aircraft since ordered.

The Spanish Air and Space Force (SASF) has procured a number of EC120s, which are used as rotary-wing trainers at the Armilla AFB. In 2003, the SPAF formed an aerobatic display team, the Patrulla ASPA, which use the type; a typical display involves five EC120s performing complex manoeuvers in addition to formation flight.

In January 2008, the French Defense Ministry selected the EC120 as the French Army's new lead-in rotary-wing trainer to replace the Aérospatiale Gazelle. 36 EC120 Bs equipped with Sagem avionics shall be operated through a 22-year public-private partnership (PPP) with operator Hélidax. On 12 October 2010, the final EC120 was delivered to Hélidax.

Since 2011, a number of EC120s have been operated by the traffic police of Kurdistan, Iraq. As of 2014, the crews are trained to undertake surveillance and rescue missions.

Variants
P120L prototype before type redesignation to EC120 Colibri.

 * : Standard designation.
 * HC120: Chinese-built variant of the EC120.

Civil operators

The EC120 is used by both private individuals and companies, helicopter charter and training organisations as well as law enforcement and government use.

 * 🇦🇺 Australia
 * Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter Service
 * Federal Highway Police
 * 🇨🇦 Canada
 * Calgary Police Service
 * Royal Canadian Mounted Police
 * Edmonton Police Service
 * York Regional Police 2002-2023
 * Winnipeg Police Service
 * Bundespolizei
 * State Border Guard
 * Bundespolizei
 * State Border Guard
 * State Border Guard
 * Spanish National Police
 * San Jose Police Department
 * Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office
 * Baltimore Police Department
 * Austin Police Department
 * Albuquerque Police Department
 * Sacramento County Sheriff's Department
 * Albuquerque Police Department
 * Sacramento County Sheriff's Department

• Kurdistan traffic police; also used for rescue and reconnaissance

Military operators

 * Chinese Army Ground Force
 * Hélidax (Army Aviation Training)
 * Indonesian Army
 * Indonesian Navy
 * Indonesian Air Force
 * Indonesian Army
 * Indonesian Navy
 * Indonesian Air Force
 * Royal Malaysian Air Force
 * Myanmar Air Force
 * Republic of Singapore Air Force
 * Spanish Air and Space Force
 * Republic of Singapore Air Force
 * Spanish Air and Space Force
 * Spanish Air and Space Force
 * Spanish Air and Space Force

title: Eurocopter EC120 Colibri


text:
St. Pauli

St. Pauli (Sankt Pauli; ) is a quarter of the city of Hamburg belonging to the centrally located Hamburg-Mitte borough. Situated on the right bank of the Elbe river, the nearby Landungsbrücken is a northern part of the port of Hamburg. St. Pauli contains a world-famous red-light district around the iconic Reeperbahn area. As of 2020 the area had 21,902 residents.

History
At the beginning of the 17th century it developed as a suburb called 'Hamburger Berg' (Hamburg mountain) outside the gates of the nearby city of Hamburg and close to the city of Altona. The name comes from a hill in that area that was planned by Hamburg in 1620 for defense reasons (free field of fire for the artillery). Therefore, settlement was initially allowed there, but soon businesses, which were desired inside neither Hamburg nor Altona, e.g., for their smell or noise, were relegated to 'Hamburger Berg'. Furthermore, the rope makers (or 'Reeper' in Low German) were placed here because in the city it was hard to find enough space for their work.

The name of St. Pauli's most famous street Reeperbahn, or "Rope Walk," harkens back to its rope-making past. When people were officially allowed to live in St. Pauli at the end of the 17th century the city government moved workhouses and (pestilence) hospitals out of the city to 'Hamburger Berg,' which later was named after its still existing church, 'St. Pauli' (Saint Paul). St. Pauli was mainly used by sailors for entertainment during their stay in Hamburg and Altona. To this day it is known as the "sinful mile," combining the upper and lower standards of entertainment, from musicals, theaters, to bars and clubs, as well as the most known red light district.

There have been various social issues and conflicts during the last decades, including the Hafenstraße, Rote Flora and Bambule.

Chinatown
Hamburg, as a major port city, has very close ties to China and Asia in general. Since around 1890, it was home to the Chinesenviertel Chinatown area within its St. Pauli district (around Schmuckstrasse), which was shut down by the Nazis in the 1930s. The St. Pauli Chinatown has been reestablishing itself since the 2010s. The city of Hamburg also hosts the biennial high-level conference Hamburg Summit: China meets Europe, has a major Chinese consulate at Elbchaussee 268 in Othmarschen since 1921, and has Shanghai as a sister city. A large contingent of Chinese and other Asian immigrants continue to live in the St. Pauli and Altona districts, while new arrivals also gravitate to this part of the city.

Politics
These are the results of St. Pauli in the Hamburg state election:

Geography
It is situated directly on the north bank of the Elbe river close to the port of Hamburg. It is located south of Eimsbüttel, west of Hamburg-Neustadt and east of Altona. According to the statistical office of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein, the quarter has a total area of 2.6 km2.

Demographics
St. Pauli has 27,612 inhabitants in more than 17,000 households. Immigrants were 27.9% of the population. There were 11.9% with children under the age of 18 and 9.3% of the inhabitants were 65 years of age or older. 63.4% of all households were made up of individuals.

Education
The Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine (BNI) is located in the Bernhard Nocht Straße 7. It is a research center for tropical and infectious diseases and provides an information center about health risks, vaccinations and medical data about other countries for tourism and travel advice. The research facility formerly located in the Bernhard Nocht Straße hospital is now in the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), Martinistraße 52. BNI website

In 2006 there were two elementary schools and a secondary school in St. Pauli.

Culture, sports and recreation
A prominent symbol is its football club, FC St. Pauli and the Millerntor-Stadion. The club played host to the inaugural FIFI Wild Cup in May–June 2006. In 2010, FC St. Pauli celebrated its centenary. For the jubilee the fan club 18auf12 recorded a song: One Hundred Beers (Words and music by Henning Knorr & Christoph Brüx).

St. Pauli has a long tradition as a recreation and amusement center. The big port of Hamburg led many sailors to Hamburg who preferred to spend their spare time (while their ships were unloaded and loaded again) in this area. Since then there has been prostitution in St. Pauli, and it is still best known as Hamburg's red-light district. The red-light district is an area of a few streets around the Reeperbahn, often referred to as the Kiez.

Bars and music clubs have a tradition in the Kiez St. Pauli. The Beatles lived in St. Pauli and played at the Star-Club before becoming famous. They were honored with the naming of Beatles-Platz square. Actor/singer Hans Albers is strongly associated with St. Pauli, providing the neighborhood's unofficial anthem, with "Auf der Reeperbahn Nachts um Halb Eins" (On the Reeperbahn at Half Past Midnight) from the movie Große Freiheit Nr. 7. The square of Hans-Albers-Platz near Reeperbahn was named after him.

The district is referenced in the song "St Pauli" by Art Brut, which also contains the lyrics "Punk rock ist nicht tot" ("punk rock is not dead").

The Swedish post-industrial rock band Sällskapet's song Nordlicht talks about a pub in the area. The song contains detailed instructions supposedly leading to the location of the pub.

The Guardian in 2012 counted St. Pauli as one of the five best places to live in the world.

Voluntary associations
Important voluntary/cultural organizations in St. Pauli are:
 * Parkhaus e.V. (an integrative living project)
 * Kunst- und Kulturverein (culture association) LINDA e.V.
 * Buddhistisches Zentrum Hamburg e.V.
 * IG St. Pauli und Hafenmeile e.V.
 * FC St. Pauli von 1910 e.V.
 * CAFE mit Herz e.V.
 * Lions-Club Hamburg-St. Pauli
 * JUGEND UND SPORT e.V. (Youth and Sport) (social pedagogy projects)
 * Viva con Agua de St. Pauli e.V.., a charity-based organization located in St. Pauli/Hamburg campaigning for clean drinking water worldwide

Infrastructure
The Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency Bundesamt für Seeschiffahrt und Hydrographie (BSH) is located in Bernhard Nocht Str. 78. The BSH is a federal authority coming under the jurisdiction of the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs. Among other things, it provides information of all matters of maritime shipping, to special funding programs, law for flag, certification of mariners and information of the coasts and coastal waters of Germany. Official website BSH

The head office of Federal Bureau for Maritime Casualty Investigation is in the BSH facility.

The central court buildings of Hamburg, among others of the Hanseatic Higher Regional Court, are located in the quarter at Sievekingplatz square.

Transportation
The Hamburg rapid transit system serves St. Pauli with the Hamburg S-Bahn commuter train stations Landungsbrücken and Reeperbahn and the Hamburg U-Bahn underground stations Landungsbrücken, St. Pauli, and Feldstraße. Public transport is also provided by busses and by ferries along and to the other bank of the Elbe river.

As of 2006, according to the Department of Motor Vehicles (Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt), 5487 private cars were registered in St. Pauli.

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

title: St. Pauli


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User talk:207.166.7.208

September 2021
Please refrain from making unconstructive edits to Wikipedia, as you did at Abuse of power. Your edits appear to constitute vandalism and have been reverted. If you would like to experiment, please use the sandbox. Repeated vandalism may result in the loss of editing privileges. Thank you. Krillzyx (talk) 16:24, 16 September 2021 (UTC)

Please stop your disruptive editing. If you continue to vandalize Wikipedia, as you did at Abuse of power, you may be blocked from editing. Uranium Site (talk) 18:12, 17 September 2021 (UTC)

You may be blocked from editing without further warning the next time you attempt to make unconstructive edits to Wikipedia, as you did at Abuse of power. Uranium Site (talk) 18:12, 17 September 2021 (UTC)

 You have been blocked from editing for a period of 3 years for abuse of editing privileges. Once the block has expired, you are welcome to make useful contributions. If you think there are good reasons for being unblocked, please read the guide to appealing blocks, then add the following text below the block notice on your talk page:. PhilKnight (talk) 19:51, 17 September 2021 (UTC)

title: User talk:207.166.7.208


text:
User talk:48

Can you please point out to me what I have vandalised? Thanks. -- Graham :) | Talk 22:18, 18 Mar 2004 (UTC)

 * That's not vandalism. That is me trusting the edit history of three sysops who have been involved in an edit war on an article over information that they believe should not be included, rather than two users that believe it should who are unknown to me.  I won't revert the page again though I suspect someone else will before long. -- Graham  :) | Talk 22:22, 18 Mar 2004 (UTC)

 * Please forgive me, I don't have access to mailing lists. -- Graham :) | Talk 22:25, 18 Mar 2004 (UTC)

title: User talk:48


text:
European Champion Clubs' Cup

The European Champion Clubs' Cup, also known as Coupe des Clubs Champions Européens, or simply the European Cup, is a trophy awarded annually by UEFA to the football club that wins the UEFA Champions League. The competition in its older format shared its name with the trophy, being also known as the European Cup, before being renamed for the 1992–93 season onwards.

There have been several official incarnations of this trophy, as a club was entitled to keep the cup after five wins or three consecutive wins, with a new cup having to be forged for the following season. During the first years of the competition, up until 1966–67 season, the trophy had a distinctively different design.

The trophy
The original European Cup trophy was donated by L'Équipe, a French sports newspaper. This trophy was awarded permanently to Real Madrid in March 1967. At the time, they were the reigning champions, and had won six titles altogether, including the first five competitions from 1956 to 1960. Celtic therefore became the first club to win the cup in its current design in 1967.

The replacement trophy, with a somewhat different design from the original, was commissioned by UEFA from Jörg Stadelmann, a jeweller from Bern, Switzerland. At a cost of 10,000 Swiss francs, it was silver, 74 cm high, weighing 11 kg. Subsequent replacement trophies have replicated this design. The shape of the handles have earned it the nickname of "big ears" in multiple languages, including French ("la Coupe aux grandes oreilles"), Italian ("La Coppa dalle grandi orecchie"), Spanish ("La Orejona"), Russian ("Ушастый, Ushastiy"), Vietnamese ("Cúp tai voi"), Chinese ("大耳朵杯") and Arabic ("كأس ذات الأذنين"). Between 1967 and 1994, the trophy bears the title "Coupe des Clubs Champions Européens" in sentence case; AC Milan were the last team to win this type of trophy. Since then, the trophy bears the title fully in capital letters, although the size is increased in the subsequent and current trophy.

The trophy that currently is awarded is the sixth and has been in use since 2006, after Liverpool won their fifth European Cup in 2005. Since 2009, Champions League winners have not kept the real trophy, which remains in UEFA's custody at all times. A full-size replica trophy, the Champions League winners trophy, is awarded to the winning club with their name engraved on it. Winning clubs are permitted to make replicas of their own. They must be clearly marked as such and can be a maximum of eighty percent the size of the actual trophy.

Clubs awarded the trophy permanently

A rule introduced before the 1968–69 season allowed a club to keep the original trophy after five wins or three consecutive wins. At that point, Real Madrid was the only club meeting either qualification, and indeed met both. Once a club had been awarded the trophy, their count would be reset to zero.

Five clubs have been permanently awarded the real trophy under the old rules, from the 1968–69 to 2008–09 seasons:
 * Real Madrid, after their sixth title in 1966.
 * Ajax, after their third consecutive title in 1973.
 * Bayern Munich, after their third consecutive title in 1976.
 * Milan, after their fifth title in 1994.
 * Liverpool, after their fifth title in 2005.

Prior to 2008-09, a club whose Champions League title was not a fifth overall or third consecutive win kept the real trophy for ten months after their victory and received a scaled-down replica to keep permanently.

Multiple-winner badge
The "multiple-winner badge", sometimes called "badge of honour", was introduced for the start of the 2000–01 competition for clubs that kept the trophy permanently. The badge is worn on the left sleeve of the team's shirt during Champions League matches. The original badge was a blue oval on which was an outline of the current trophy in white, overlaid with part of the Champions League starball logo. Above the trophy was the number of titles won by the club. At the start of 2012–13 competition, the badge became grey with a new design, which was used until the end of the 2020–21 season.

Starting with 2021–22, UEFA abolished the badge's use on the left sleeve, allowing for sleeve sponsors, and incorporated the badge into the regular "Starball Badge", with the number of victories placed on top of the middle star. Other teams wear the same badge but without any numbers. Additionally, title holders with three consecutive or five overall wins have their number of victories etched onto the title-holder logo, with the starball scrapped, while holders that do not have a right to wear the multiple-winner badge sport an empty blue title holder logo.

Although the trophy is no longer given to a team that wins a fifth overall or third consecutive title, the multiple-winner badge is still awarded to such clubs.

Six teams have won five overall or three consecutive titles, and thus can wear the multiple-winner badge:

 * Real Madrid (5, 3 consecutive, 15 overall)
 * Milan (7 overall)
 * Bayern Munich (3 consecutive, 6 overall)
 * Liverpool (6 overall)
 * Barcelona (5 overall)
 * Ajax (3 consecutive, 4 overall)

Title-holder logo
A separate "title-holder logo" is worn by the reigning Champions League champions in the following season's competition in place of the regular patch worn by the other competing teams. The logo is predominantly dark blue and was introduced in 2004–05, with Porto as the defending champions. From 2006–07 to 2010–11, the title holders also played with the match ball used in their winning final in their home matches, but from 2011–12, the title holders use the same match ball as the 31 other teams.

The original design for the title-holder badge featured two of the interconnecting stars of the competition's star ball logo at the top, with the caption "champions" and the season of triumph in the centre of the badge. It was slightly modified in 2008–09 to feature the entirety of the star ball logo, with the other stars faded out, and it was drastically changed for the 2009–10 competition. Without the star ball background, it instead featured a design of the trophy which was used for the branding of the previous season's final.

It was revamped again in 2010–11 to feature part of the star ball on show below the "champions" caption and the year of triumph. A replaced design was first worn by Chelsea in 2012–13; it featured an outline design of the trophy along with the year, the same design was kept from 2015–16 for the logo, but the material used on the logo was changed. Starting with the 2021–22 competition, reigning champions wear a new logo, which still keeps the same design, but is grey and no longer keeps the championship year in it. In case the title holder also wears a multiple-winner badge, the number of victories is incorporated in the logo which is used in place of the starball.

Original trophy

 * Real Madrid (6) – 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1966
 * Benfica (2) – 1961, 1962
 * Inter Milan (2) – 1964, 1965
 * Milan (1) – 1963

Redesigned trophy

 * Real Madrid (9) – 1998, 2000, 2002, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2022, 2024
 * Milan (6) – 1969, 1989, 1990, 1994, 2003, 2007
 * Bayern Munich (6) – 1974, 1975, 1976, 2001, 2013, 2020
 * Liverpool (6) – 1977, 1978, 1981, 1984, 2005, 2019
 * Barcelona (5) – 1992, 2006, 2009, 2011, 2015
 * Ajax (4) – 1971, 1972, 1973, 1995
 * Manchester United (3) – 1968, 1999, 2008
 * Nottingham Forest (2) – 1979, 1980
 * Juventus (2) – 1985, 1996
 * Porto (2) – 1987, 2004
 * Chelsea (2) – 2012, 2021
 * Celtic (1) – 1967
 * Feyenoord (1) – 1970
 * Aston Villa (1) – 1982
 * Hamburger SV (1) – 1983
 * Steaua București (1) – 1986
 * PSV Eindhoven (1) – 1988
 * Red Star Belgrade (1) – 1991
 * Marseille (1) – 1993
 * Borussia Dortmund (1) – 1997
 * Inter Milan (1) – 2010
 * Manchester City (1) – 2023

title: European Champion Clubs' Cup


text:
Mowag Piranha

The Mowag Piranha is a family of armoured fighting vehicles designed by the Swiss company Mowag (since 2010 General Dynamics European Land Systems – Mowag GmbH).

Five generations of vehicles have been produced, manufactured by Mowag or under licence by other companies such as the LAV, and variants are in service with military forces throughout the world.

Variants
Piranhas are available in 4×4, 6×6, 8×8, and 10×10 wheel versions. There are several variants within these versions, giving different degrees of armour protection and several kinds of turret, for use in a variety of roles. Piranha derivatives have been assigned roles as troop transports, command vehicles, fire support vehicles, tank trainers, and police vehicles.

Piranhas are used by the Swiss Army. Swiss-built Piranha derivatives have been exported to Ireland, Romania, Spain, and Belgium. The Romanian and Belgian armies have selected the Piranha IIIC 8×8. Belgium converted to an all-wheeled force, and replaced all their M113 armoured personnel carriers, AIFVs and Leopard 1 tanks with 268 Piranha IIIC in 7 variants.

Piranha derivatives have been manufactured under license by General Dynamics (Canada), BAE Systems Land Systems (UK), Cardoen and FAMAE (Chile), and in the USA.

A new Piranha V version, weighing in between 25 and 30 tons, was announced as the provisional winner of the British Army's Future Rapid Effect System (FRES) program in May 2008, but this selection was reversed seven months later and bidding started again.

General Dynamics European Land Systems launched their new Piranha Class 5 at Eurosatory 2010 on 15 June and it was reported that the British MoD were showing renewed interest, but struggling with budget constraints.

Piranha 4×4 IB
The MOWAG Piranha 4×4 IB was an armored personnel carrier.

To complete the Piranha I Family of 1974, the Piranha 4×4 IB was designed as a light rapid reconnaissance and attack vehicle. It could take part in amphibious operations thanks to twin propellers and could operate in NBC-contaminated areas. The Piranha 4×4 was also designed to meet police needs. The MOWAG Grenadier and Mowag Spy sub-versions were also developed. The prototype of the Piranha 4×4 IB went through numerous tests and received different equipment and different engines. Due to rapid technological development and adjustments to requirements for military vehicles, no Piranha with gasoline engine was sold. The prototype is now in the Schweizerisches Militärmuseum Full.

Piranha IB 6×6
The first Piranha prototype ever built was the 6×6 IB in 1972. It can be seen as a milestone for the Piranha series due to various technical innovation like (at the time) modern designed drive with independent suspension, compact power unit in the right front and (as an amphibian drive) being powered by two propellers. This prototype was demonstrated with different engines and features for potential customers such as the Canadian Army who locally produced them as the AVGP. Switzerland sold a license to manufacture this machine to Chile in 1983. In the Swiss Army, the Piranha 6×6 is used as an ambulance, C3 command vehicle and, together with the BGM-71 TOW anti-tank missile, as a "tank destroyer". The prototype is along with an ambulance Piranha 6×6 on display in the Schweizerisches Militärmuseum Full.

MOWAG Piranha IIIC 10×10
With the continuous evolution of the Piranha family due to increasing demands, and the projected development of the Mowag Shark as a heavy weapons carrier, the Piranha design reached the limit of its payload capacity. The Piranha 10×10 (built in 1994), was an attempt to expand the payload, using a 5th axle of the same type as used in the smaller Piranha models. The Piranha 10×10 was designed as a heavy weapons carrier, but only a small number were built for Sweden as the LIRKA command tank and Kapris radar carrier. The Piranha IIIC 10×10 marked an important development from the Piranha IIIC 8×8. The Piranha IIIC 10×10 prototype was used in various tests, including in Sweden, and now stands in the Schweizerisches Militärmuseum Full.

Family tree

 * Piranha I
 * AVGP
 * Piranha II
 * LAV II
 * LAV-25
 * Bison and Coyote
 * ASLAV
 * Desert Piranha
 * Piranha III
 * Piranha IIIH
 * LAV III
 * Stryker
 * NZLAV
 * LAV 6
 * LAV-700
 * Piranha IIIC
 * Piranha IV
 * Piranha V
 * Dragón

Piranha I
🇨🇱 Chilean army – 225 Piraña I 6×6 and 30 Piraña I 8×8 🇬🇭 Ghana Army – 10 Piranha I 4x4, 44 Piranha I 6×6 and 3 Piranha I 8×8
 * including 50 120 mm mortar carriers
 * 20 FSV 90 mm version

🇳🇬 Nigerian Army – 110 delivered in the 1980s

Boko Haram - at least two, captured from the Nigerian army

🇨🇭 Swiss Army – 314 Piranha II 6x6
 * 4 driving school "Pzj TOW Fahrschule"
 * 310 tank hunter "Pzj TOW", fitted with NM142 turret and a Detroit Diesel 6V-53T (265-300 hp) diesel engine.
 * 40 were transformed into ambulance (Armament Program 2005, delivered in 2006–2007), "San Fz"
 * 160 converted in command vehicle "Kdo Pz" with M153 Protector (Armament Program 2006, delivered in 2008–2010)
 * 110 remained as a tank hunter TOW variant

Piranha II
🇴🇲 Royal Army of Oman – 174 Piranha II in seven versions.

🇶🇦 Qatar Armed Forces – 40 Piranha II 8×8 built under licence by former British firm Alvis PLC. (36 CCTS-90 tank hunter with a Belgian Cockerill 90 mm gun and 4 ARVs-recovery). Used during the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen.

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabian National Guard – 1,117 LAV/Piranha II in 10 versions; another 132 ordered. 🇸🇪 Swedish Army – 54 Piranha II 🇨🇭 Swiss Army – 528 Piranha IIC (APC93 8×8): 🇨🇭 Geneva Cantonal police – 1 Piranha IIC used by the tactical unit, BI (Brigade d'Intervention)
 * 120 Piranha II
 * 27 10x10 Armoured Sensor Vehicle (protection against 14.5mm)
 * 17 10x10 Armoured Command Vehicle (protection against 7.62mm)
 * 10 8×8 Armoured Escort Vehicle ordered in 1997
 * 8 military police "Spz Pz 93 Militärpolizei"
 * 5 driving school "Spz 93 Fahrschule"
 * 515 "Char de grenadiers à roues 93" equipped with turrets KUKA Wehrtechnik Type 606 A1 (which became Rheinmetall), made of the subvariants:
 * 282 Infantry APC variant "Spz 93"
 * tranche 1, 117 ordered in 1993
 * tranche 2, 117 ordered in 1996
 * tranche 3, 48 ordered in 1999
 * 92 command variant "Kdo Pz 93"
 * tranche 1, 28 ordered in 1993
 * tranche 2, 29 ordered in 1996
 * tranche 3, 35 ordered in 1999
 * 141 anti-tank variant "PAL Pz 93", (2 crew + 8 passengers, 8 Dragon anti-tank missiles embarked)
 * tranche 1, 60 ordered in 1993
 * tranche 2, 59 ordered in 1996
 * tranche 3, 22 ordered in 1999

Piranha III
🇧🇪 Belgian Army – 242 Piranha IIIC 8×8, selected in 2006, ordered in 2 batches, delivery 2008 - 2015. Variants purchased: 🇧🇼 Botswana Defence Force – 90 Piranha III 🇧🇷 Brazilian Marine Corps – 30 Piranha IIIC 🇩🇰 Danish Army – 113 Piranha III 🇲🇩 Moldovan Ground Forces – 19 Piranha IIIH, supplied by Germany (Due to Swiss veto Danish request to re-export Piranha 3 armoured vehicles to Ukraine) as overhauled former Danish Army vehicles, first 3 vehicles delivered on 11.01.2023
 * 99 FUSELIER (APC)
 * 32 DF30 (30mm Elbit turret)
 * 18 DF90
 * 24 command vehicle
 * 12 Ambulance
 * 17 ARV
 * 18 Engineering
 * 45 Piranha IIIC ordered in 2002, delivered from 2003 to 2004 (APC variant).
 * 45 Piranha ordered in 2016, delivered from 2019 to 2022 (IFV variant, equipped with HITFIST turret).
 * 25 APC
 * 2 ARV
 * 2 command post
 * 1 ambulance
 * 22 Piranha IIIH (MTU 6V183TE22 (400 hp) diesel engine) (delivery 1999-2000, $30million )
 * 18 APC
 * 2 ARV
 * 2 command post
 * 91 Piranha IIIC
 * 60 command post, reconnaissance + APC
 * C2 Command and Control variant
 * Tactical Air Control Party TACP
 * Danish Communications and Informations Systems (CIS) Piranha
 * 11 Ambulance

🇮🇪 Irish Army – 80 Piranha IIIH (40 ordered in 1999, 25 in 2003, 15 ordered in 2005) (in 2019-2020, 62 Protector RWS turret were ordered for all the vehicles not initially equipped with it) 🇷🇴 Romanian Land Forces – 43 Piranha IIIC (amphibious). 🇪🇸 Spanish Navy Marines – 39 Piranha IIIC (18 ordered in 2001, 21 ordered in 2008) 🇸🇪 Swedish Amphibious Corps –13 Piranha IIIC 🇨🇭 Swiss Army – 88 Piranha IIIC
 * 45 APC
 * 18 Cavalry Reconnaissance Vehicle equipped with Protector RWS (12.7 mm or 40 mm grenade launcher)
 * 8 command post
 * 6 Medium Reconnaissance Vehicle equipped with HITFIST 30 turrets
 * 2 ambulance
 * 1 ARV
 * 31 APC (12.7mm RWS turret Elbit) ordered in 2006 (€37 million)
 * 12 ordered in 2017 ($45 million), specialised variants (command post, ambulance, NBC reconnaissance, ARV, mortar carrier)
 * 26 Armoured fighting vehicles (12.7 mm KMW RWS or 40 mm grenade launcher with AN/TVS-5 night vision)
 * 4 IFV / Reconnaissance vehicles (Lance turret with 30mm Mauser canon)
 * 4 sapper / engineering vehicles
 * 2 command post
 * 1 electronic warfare
 * 1 ambulance
 * 1 ARV
 * 7 "LIRKA" Armoured Command Vehicle (ACV) 10x10
 * 6 "KAPRIS" coastal artillery Armoured Sensor Vehicle (ASV) 10x10 with Giraffe radar
 * 1 8x8 AEV prototype (armoured escort vehicle) supplied in 2002, 18 were initially planned, later cancelled.
 * 1 piranha III 8x8 Armoured Sensor Vehicle swedish navy (artillery fire sensor)
 * 36 Piranha IIIC "Radio Access Point Pz", ordered in 2002, in service since 2005 (12.7mm M2 Browning)
 * 6 Piranha IIIC command vehicle "FHR Pz FIS/HE INTAFF", ordered in 2007, in service since 2011 (M2 Browning)
 * 6 Piranha IIIC command vehicles "FHR Pz", ordered in 2002, in service since 2005 (12.7mm M2 Browning)
 * 8 Piranha IIIC "Mzs Pz SE-630" (IFASS multi-use emitter), ordered in 2007, in service since 2012 (M2 Browning)
 * 12 Piranha IIIC electronic warfare "KOMPAK Pz", ordered in 2007, in service since 2014
 * 8 Piranha IIIC "KOMM Pz" command vehicles,, ordered in 2007, in service since 2010 (M2 Browning)
 * 12 Piranha IIIC CBRN "ABC Aufkl FZ" exploration in service since 2015 (Kongsberg Protector with M2 Browning)

Piranha IV
🇨🇭 Swiss Army – 132 Piranha IV on order
 * 84 engineering / sapper vehicles (PI PZ 21 - "Pionier Panzerfahrzeug 21"), to be delivered from 2025
 * 48 mortar carriers ("12 cm Mörser 16"), 32 to be delivered between 2024 and 2025, 16 after 2026

Piranha V
🇩🇰 Danish Army – 309 Piranha V The first were produced in Switzerland and delivered in May 2017, and all were delivered by end 2023 🇲🇨 Monégasque Carabiniers – 2 Piranha V 🇷🇴 Romanian Land Forces – 227 Piranha V in production.
 * APC
 * Command
 * Ambulance
 * Engineer
 * Mortar Carriers
 * Repair
 * Additional order possible for a SHORAD system with the Skyranger 30
 * 2 Security vehicles

The first batch of 36 vehicles produced in Switzerland, arrived in October 2020. Another 58 vehicles assembled in Romania were received by the end of 2022. All other units will be produced in Romania, at the Bucharest Mechanical Factory. A further 150 Piranhas are to be acquired.

 * IFV
 * Command
 * Ambulance
 * CBRN
 * Mortar
 * Recovery

🇪🇸 Spanish Army – 348 ordered, total expected 998

 * Phase 1, 348, delivery 2023-2027
 * 219 VCR (an IFV variant)
 * 58 VEC (reconnaissance)
 * 14 VCR-PC (company command post)
 * 8 VCOAV" (artillery advanced observant)
 * 39 "VCR-ZAP" (sapper / engineering, delivery started in 2022)
 * Phase 2, 365 (2027-2030)
 * Phase 3, 285 (2031-2035)
 * 348 units on order, to be delivered by 2027. Five units were delivered in 2018 as prototypes for the VBMR program. Another seven vehicles were received in 2022. The Spanish variant is called the Dragón, and is produced by TESS Defence, an association between Santa Bárbara Sistemas, and three other companies.

Former operators of the Piranha family
🇱🇷 Armed Forces of Liberia – 10 Piranha I 4×4. Saw service during the Second Liberian Civil War.

🇸🇱 Sierra Leone Army – about 10 Piranha I 6×6 (Non operational)

ASLAV (Australian Light Armoured Vehicle)
🇦🇺 Australian Army

The ASLAV is an eight-wheeled amphibious armoured reconnaissance vehicle of the LAV II family used by the Australian Army, built by GDLS Canada and GDLS Australia. Land 112 Phase 1, 15 LAV-25 leased from the USMC; Land 112 Phase 2, 113 ASLAV ordered, delivery from 1995 to 1997; Land 112 Phase 3, 144 ASLAV ordered, all delivered by 2004.

 * ASLAV – 257
 * ASLAV Type I, derivative of the USMC LAV-25
 * ASLAV-25
 * ASLAV Type II, derivative of the Canadian Army Bison
 * ASLAV-PC (APC)
 * ASLAV-C (Command Post)
 * ASLAV-S (Surveillance)
 * ASLAV-A (Ambulance)
 * ASLAV Type III
 * 11 ASLAV-F (Fitter, a maintenance support vehice)
 * 11 ASLAV-R (Recovery, an ARV)

LAV (Light Armoured Vehicles, made in Canada)
🇨🇦 Canadian Army 🇨🇱 Chilean Navy
 * LAV III, derived from Piranha III – 651
 * 494 Infantry Fighting Vehicle - Standard model with turret and 25 mm gun
 * 71 TOW Under Armour - Anti-tank variant equipped with two TOW missile launchers on a specialized turret
 * 39 armoured engineering vehicles
 * 47 artillery fire control
 * Modernisation of 616 LAV III to standard LAV 6.0
 * 278 ISC (Infantry Section Carrier)
 * 181 CPV (Command Post)
 * 47 OPV (Observation Post Vehicle for artillery)
 * 44 ELAV (Engineer)
 * 66 RECCE (long range reconnaissance)
 * NEW LAV 6.0 ACSV, derived from Piranha V – 360
 * Type 2 variants (high roof)
 * 41 Troop/Cargo Vehicle (TCV)
 * 49 Ambulance
 * 97 Command Post
 * 18 Electronic Warfare
 * 18 Engineer
 * Type 3 (low roof)
 * 13 Fitter / Cargo Vehicle (FCV)
 * 54 Maintenance and Recovery
 * 70 Mobile Repair Team
 * (note, among the 360, 39 were donated to Ukraine, and compensated by a complementary order)

Purchased second hand from New Zealand

 * LAV III, known as the NZLAV – 22
 * 22 IMV (Infantry Mobility Vehicles)

🇨🇴 Colombian Army

 * LAV III – 87
 * 24 APC ordered in 2012
 * 8 APC ordered in 2014
 * 55 IFV ordered in 2023 (Samson Dual RWS with a 30mm Orbital ATK Stretch)

New Zealand Army

105 LAV III purchased, with 73 remaining in service. Among the 32 not in service, 22 were sold to the Chilean Navy, 1 lost after damage in Afghanistan, 1 used in Canada as test vehicle, and 8 available for sale.

 * LAV III, known as the NZLAV – 105
 * 95 IMV (Infantry Mobility Vehicles)
 * 7 LOB (standard IMV with Light Obstacle Blade)
 * 3 LAV-R (Recovery)

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabian Army

 * LAV 700 – 742
 * 385 LAV -700 (APC)
 * 119 LAV-700 AT (Anti Tank Missiles)
 * 119 LAV-700 FSV (Fire Support Vehicle), Cockerill-3105 105mm
 * 119 LAV-700 IFV (Infantry Fighting Vehicles), Cockerill Medium Caliber Turret (CMCT

🇺🇦 Ukrainian Ground Forces

🇺🇾 Uruguayan Army
 * LAV 6.0 – 39
 * 39 ACSV donated by the Canadian Army
 * 50 ACSV ordered by Canada, to be delivered to Ukraine, the first batch of 10 to be delivered in summer 2024, after training in Germany.

 * LAV I, also known as Armoured Vehicle General Purpose, derived from Piranha I, purchased second hand – 147
 * 44 Cougar, reconnaissance and fire support vehicle
 * 98 Grizzly, an APC
 * 5 Husky, an ARV

Retired derivatives of the Piranha family
🇨🇦 Canadian Army
 * LAV I, known as the AVGP, derived from Piranha I – 344 retired of 492 acquired, 147 transferred to Uruguay.
 * 221 Cougar retired of 265 acquired, (reconnaissance and fire support role)
 * 97 Grizzly retired of 195 acquired (APC role)
 * 26 Husky retired of 31 acquired, an ARV
 * 44 Cougar, 98 Grizzly, 5 Husky given to Uruguayan Army
 * LAV II, derived from Piranha II – 402 retired / soon to be retired (2023)
 * 199 Bison (or MILAV) (18 command posts, 16 mortar carriers, 16 ARV, the rest APC)
 * 203 Coyote reconnaissance vehicles

Comparable vehicles

 * LAV III/LAV AFV/LAV-25/
 * LAV III/LAV AFV/LAV-25/

title: Mowag Piranha


text:
Spiritual evolution

Spiritual evolution, also called higher evolution, is the idea that the mind or spirit, in analogy to biological evolution, collectively evolves from a simple form dominated by nature, to a higher form dominated by the spiritual or divine. It is differentiated from the "lower" or biological evolution.

Definition
An alternate term is "Higher Evolution." According to Piyasīlo, ""

The concept of spiritual evolution is teleological, in contrast to biological evolution.

Western esotericism
Theories of spiritual evolution are important in many Occult and Esoteric teachings, which emphasise the progression and development of the individual either after death (spiritualism) or through successive reincarnations (Theosophy, Hermeticism).

The great chain of being
The concept of the Great Chain of Being was developed by Plato and Aristotle whose ideas were taken up and synthesised by Plotinus. Plotinus in turn heavily influenced Augustine's theology, and from there Aquinas and the Scholastics. The Great Chain of Being was an important theme in Renaissance and Elizabethan thought, had an under-acknowledged influence on the shaping of the ideas of the Age of Enlightenment and played a large part in the worldview of 18th century Europe. And while essentially a static worldview, by the 18th and early 19th century it had been "temporalized" by the concept of the soul ascending or progressing spiritually through the successive rungs or stages, and thus growing or evolving closer to God. It also had at this time an impact on theories of biological evolution.

E. F. Schumacher, author of Small is Beautiful, has recently proposed a sort of simplified Great Chain of Being, based on the idea of four "kingdoms" (mineral, vegetable, animal, human). Schumacher rejects modernist and scientific themes, his approach recalling the universalist orientation of writers like Huston Smith, and likely contributing to Ken Wilber's "holonomic" hierarchy or "Great Nest of Being".

Spiritualism
Spiritualists reacted with uncertainty to the theories of evolution in the late 19th and early 20th century. Broadly speaking, the concept of evolution fit the spiritualist thought of the progressive development of humanity. At the same time, however, a belief in the animal origins of man threatened the foundation of the immortality of the spirit, for if man had not been created, it was scarcely plausible that he would be specially endowed with a spirit. This led to spiritualists embracing spiritual evolution.

In the 19th century, Anglo-American Spiritualist ideas emphasized the progression of the soul after death to higher states of existence, in contrast to Spiritism which admits to reincarnation.

Spiritualism taught that after death, spirits progressed to new spheres of existence. According to this idea, evolution occurred in the spirit world “at a rate more rapid and under conditions more favorable to growth” than encountered on earth.

The biologist and spiritualist Alfred Russel Wallace (1823–1913) believed that qualitative novelties could arise through the process of spiritual evolution, in particular, the phenomena of life and mind. Wallace attributed these novelties to a supernatural agency. Later in his life, Wallace was an advocate of spiritualism and believed in an immaterial origin for the higher mental faculties of humans. He believed that evolution suggested the universe had a purpose, and that certain aspects of living organisms are not explainable in terms of purely materialistic processes. In a 1909 magazine article entitled The World of Life, which he later expanded into a book of the same name Wallace argued in his 1911 book World of life for a spiritual approach to evolution and described evolution as “creative power, directive mind and ultimate purpose”. Wallace believed natural selection could not explain intelligence or morality in the human being so suggested that non-material spiritual forces accounted for these. Wallace believed the spiritual nature of man could not have come about by natural selection alone, the origins of the spiritual nature must originate “in the unseen universe of spirit”.

Robert Broom in his book The Coming of Man: Was it Accident or Design? (1933) claimed that "spiritual agencies" had guided evolution as animals and plants were too complex to have arisen by chance. According to Broom there were at least two different kinds of spiritual forces, and psychics are capable of seeing them. Broom claimed there was a plan and purpose in evolution and that the origin of Homo sapiens is the ultimate purpose behind evolution. According to Broom "Much of evolution looks as if it had been planned to result in man, and in other animals and plants to make the world a suitable place for him to dwell in.

The Anglo-American position recalls (and is presumably inspired by) 18th century concepts regarding the temporalization of The Great Chain of Being. Spiritual evolution, rather than being a physical (or physico-spiritual) process is based on the idea of realms or stages through which the soul or spirit passes in a non-temporal, qualitative way. This is still an important part of some spiritualist ideas today, and is similar to some mainline (as opposed to fundamentalist) Protestant Christian beliefs, according to which after death the person goes to "summerland" (see Spirit world)

Theosophical conceptions
Theosophy presents a more sophisticated and complex cosmology than Spiritualism, although coming out of the same general milieu. H. P. Blavatsky developed a highly original cosmology, according to which the human race (both collectively and through the succession of individual reincarnation and spiritual evolution) passes through a number of Root Races, beginning with the huge ethereal and mindless Polarian or First Root Race, through the Lemurian (3rd), Atlantean (4th) and our present "Aryan" 5th Race. This will give rise to a future, Post-Aryan 6th Root Race of highly spiritual and enlightened beings that will arise in Baja California in the 28th century, and an even more sublime 7th Root Race, before ascending to totally superhuman and cosmic states of existence.

Blavatsky's ideas were further developed by her successors, such as C.W. Leadbeater, Rudolf Steiner, Alice Bailey, Benjamin Creme, and Victor Skumin each of whom went into huge detail in constructing baroque cycles of rounds, races, and sub-races. Skumin elaborated on the theosophical conceptions of spiritual evolution and proposed (1990) a classification of Homo spiritalis (Latin: spiritual man), the sixth root race, consisting of eight subraces: HS0 Anabiosis spiritalis, HS1 Scientella spiritalis, HS2 Aurora spiritalis, HS3 Ascensus spiritalis, HS4 Vocatus spiritalis, HS5 Illuminatio spiritalis, НS6 Creatio spiritalis, and HS7 Servitus spiritalis. According to Skumin:
 * Anabiosis spiritalis is spirituality in the potential of unmanifest accumulations of personality, the charge of the fires of spiritual creation;
 * Scientella spiritalis is the cordial presentiment of the presence and demands of the spirit, spiritualization of the fire of centers, glimpses of self-consciousness of a spiritual person;
 * Aurora spiritalis is the imperative of the spirit, the action of the spiritual fire of the centers in the heart, the kindling of the fire of the spirit, the formation of the orientation of the personality to the spiritual improvement of life;
 * Ascensus spiritalis is the dawn of spiritual aspirations, the action of the fire of the spirit in the heart, searching spiritual work, aspiration of self-consciousness to merge with the One Spirit;
 * Vocatus spiritalis is the maturation of spiritual accumulations, the purposeful spiritual creation, self-awareness and realization of a person as a warrior of the spirit;
 * IIluminatio spiritalis is the beginning of the fiery transmutation, the lighting of the achievement fire; revealing the identity of man - the earthly carrier of the Thoughts of the One Spirit;
 * Creatio Spiritalis is the beginning of fiery creation, the action of the fire of achievement in the heart, the revealing self-consciousness of man as the earthly carrier of the Light of the One Spirit;
 * Servitus Spiritalis is the carrying a consciously accepted duty-commission, the synthesis of spirituality in the clarity of knowledge of a fiery man.

Although including elements of the science of her day as well as both eastern and western esoteric thought, Blavatsky rejected the Darwinian idea that man evolved from apes, and most subsequent esotericists followed this lead. Darwinism, with its explanation of evolution through material factors like natural selection and random mutation, does not sit well with many spiritual evolutionists, for whom evolution is initiated or guided by metaphysical principles or is tending towards a final spiritual or divine state. It is believed by Theosophists that humans are evolving spiritually through a series of esoteric initiations and in the future humans will become esoteric masters themselves as their souls gradually rise upward through the spiritual hierarchy over the course of eons as they reincarnate.

Despite this, recent Theosophists and Anthroposophists have tried to incorporate the facts of geology and paleontology into their cosmology and spiritual evolution (in Anthroposophy Hermann Poppelbaum is a particularly creative thinker in this regard). Some have attempted to equate Lemuria with Gondwanaland, for example. Today all these ideas have little influence outside their specialised followings, but for a time Theosophical concepts were immensely influential. Theosophy-like teachings also continue today in a group of religions based on Theosophy called the Ascended Master Teachings.

Rosicrucians
Rosicrucians view the world as a training school, which posits that while mistakes are made in life, humans often learn more from mistakes than successes. Suffering is considered as merely the result of error, and the impact of suffering on the consciousness causes humans to be active along other lines which are found to be good, in harmony with nature. Humans are seen as spirits attending the school of life for the purpose of unfolding latent spiritual power, developing themselves from impotence to omnipotence (related also to development from innocence into virtue), reaching the stage of creative gods at the end of mankind's present evolution: Great Day of Manifestation.

In esoteric spirituality epigenesis it is the idea that since the mind was given to the human being, it is the original creative impulse which has been the cause of all of mankind's development. According to this approach, humans build upon that which has already been created, but add new elements because of the activity of the spirit. Humans have the capacity, therefore, to become creative intelligences—creators. For a human to fulfill this promise, his training should allow for the exercise of originality, which distinguishes creation from imitation. When epigenesis becomes inactive, in the individual or even in a race, evolution ceases and degeneration commences.

Neo-Vedanta
According to Gosling, Swami Vivekananda based most of his cosmological and biological ideas on Samkhya. Influenced by western thought and esotericism, Vivekananda and Sri Aurobindo developed a view on reincarnation in which an involution of the Divine into matter takes place, and the person has to evolve over multiple lives until the Divine gains recognition of its true nature and liberation is attained.

Samkhya is one of the six systems of Hindu philosophy; proto-Samkhya ideas can be found in the Upanishads, Jainism, and Buddhism. Samkhya posits two ontological entities, Purusha (witness-consciousness) and prakriti ('nature'), which includes mind, congnition, and the perceived objects). According to Samkhya, when purusha comes into proximity with prakriti it disturbs the equilibrium of prakriti. As a result, a number of successive essences called tattvas evolve from prakriti. The most subtle tattwas emerge first, then progressively grosser ones, each in a particular order, and finally the elements and the organs of sense. Adherents of samkhya-Yoga adhere to the release of purusha from prakriti, and the return of prakriti to the unmanifest condition.

Sri Aurobindo and Pierre Teilhard de Chardin both describe a progression from inanimate matter to a future state of Divine consciousness. Teilhard de Chardin refers to this as the Omega Point, and Sri Aurobindo as the Supermind.

Teilhard, who was a Jesuit Paleontologist who played an important role in the discovery of Peking Man, presented a teleological view of planetary and cosmic evolution, according to which the formation of atoms, molecules and inanimate matter is followed by the development of the biosphere and organic evolution, then the appearance of man and the noosphere as the total envelope of human thought. According to Teilhard evolution does not cease here but continues on to its culmination and unification in the Omega Point, which he identifies with Christ.

New Age
New Age thought is strongly syncretic. A common theme is the evolution or the transcendence of the human or collective planetary consciousness in a higher state or higher "vibratory" (a metaphor taken from G. I. Gurdjieff) level.

David Spangler's communications speak of a "New Heaven and a new Earth", while Christopher Hills refers (perhaps influenced by Sri Aurobindo) to the divinization of man.

Jonathan Livingston Seagull narrated the idea of evolution in a fascinating fashion. James Redfield in his novel The Celestine Prophecy suggested that through experiencing a series of personal spiritual insights, humanity is becoming aware of the connection between our evolution and the Divine. More recently in his book God and the Evolving Universe: The Next Step in Personal Evolution (2002) co-written with Michael Murphy, he claims that humanity is on the verge of undergoing a change in consciousness.

It is also known as the path of Ascension.

Stage theory
The idea of a spiritual evolution finds contemporary expression in a number of stage theories, inspired by Sri Aurobindo, Jean Gebser, and Piaget, among others. In these models, human development, both individual and collectively, is conceptualized as going through a number of structural stages, from the primitive psychophysical genesis to the full-grown rational, cognitive and moral abilities, and beyond to transpersonal stages in which unconscious drives are fully recognized and integrated, and the sense of a separate identity is loosened or abandoned.

Spiral dynamics
An interpretation of social and psychological development that could also be considered a theory of spiritual evolution is spiral dynamics, based on the work of Clare W. Graves. Spiral Dynamics posits a series of stages through which human's cultural development progresses – from a survival-based hunter-gatherer stage to a magical-tribal-agrarian stage to a city-building-invading stage to a mythic-religious-empire stage to a rational-scientific-capitalist stage to a green-holistic-inclusive stage and then ascending to a second tier where all the previous stages are contemplated and integrated and a third transpersonal tier where a spiritual unity or Omega point is eventually reached, which all the other stages are struggling to embody. He feels that individuals in each of the meme-plexes/stages can ascend to the peak of consciousness – these being the prophets, visionaries and leaders of any region/age.

Ken Wilber
More recently the concept of spiritual evolution has been given a sort of respectability it has not had since the early 19th century through the work of the integral theorist Ken Wilber, in whose writings both the cosmological and the personal dimensions are described. In this integral philosophy (inspired in part by the works of Plotinus, Hegel, Sri Aurobindo, Eric Jantsch, and many others) reality is said to consist of several realms or stages, including more than one of the following: the physical, the vital, the psychic, (after the Greek psyche, "soul"), the causal (referring to "that which causes, or gives rise to, the manifest world"), and the ultimate (or non-dual), through which the individual progressively evolves. Although this schema is derived in large part from Tibetan Buddhism, Wilber argues (and uses many tables of diagrams to show) that these same levels of being are common to all wisdom teachings. Described simplistically, Wilber sees humans developing through several stages, including magic, mythic, pluralistic, and holistic mentalities. But he also sees cultures as developing through these stages. And, much like Hegel, he sees this development of individuals and cultures as the evolution of existence itself. Wilber has also teamed up with Don Beck to integrate Spiral Dynamics into his own Integral philosophy, and vice versa.

title: Spiritual evolution


text:
Fort Leavenworth

Fort Leavenworth is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., and the oldest permanent settlement in Kansas. Fort Leavenworth has been historically known as the "Intellectual Center of the Army."

During the country's westward expansion, Fort Leavenworth was a forward destination for thousands of soldiers, surveyors, immigrants, American Indians, preachers and settlers who passed through.

Today, the garrison supports the US Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) by managing and maintaining the home of the US Army Combined Arms Center (CAC). CAC's mission involves leader development, collective training, and Army doctrine and battle command (current and future).

Fort Leavenworth is also home to the Military Corrections Complex, consisting of the United States Disciplinary Barracks – the Department of Defense's only maximum security prison –  and the Midwest Joint Regional Correctional Facility. In addition, the Fort Leavenworth Garrison supports numerous tenant organizations that directly and indirectly relate to the functions of the CAC, including the United States Army Command and General Staff College and the Foreign Military Studies Office.

The fort occupies 5,600 acres and has 7,000,000 sqft of floor area in 1,000 buildings and 1,500 quarters. It is located on the Frontier Military Scenic Byway (U.S. Route 69 and K-7 corridor), which was originally a military road connecting to Fort Scott and Fort Gibson.

Fort Leavenworth was also the base of African-American soldiers of the U.S. 10th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army, formed on 21 September 1866 at Fort Leavenworth. They became known as Buffalo Soldiers, nicknamed by the Native American tribes whom they fought. The term eventually was applied to all of the African-American regiments formed in 1866.

Tenants and organization
The garrison commander is a colonel reporting via IMCOM West to the Installation Management Command. The fort is nicknamed the "intellectual center" of the Army because much of its mission involves training.

Major tenants include:
 * United States Army Combined Arms Center (CAC) which, among its various responsibilities, is the United States Army Command and General Staff College, which includes a degrees granting graduate school for U.S. and allied soldiers and officers. The school trains almost all of the army's majors. All modern five-star army generals have passed through the college including George Marshall, Douglas MacArthur, Dwight Eisenhower, Henry "Hap" Arnold, and Omar Bradley. Since 1978 it has been commanded by a lieutenant general (3 stars). In 2007, its commander was David Petraeus. It reports to the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC).
 * United States Disciplinary Barracks, which is the only maximum security prison for military personnel of all branches. Since a 2007 reorganization, its commander is a colonel who reports to the United States Army Corrections Command.
 * Midwest Joint Regional Correctional Facility, a low security prison. reports to the United States Army Corrections Command.
 * Foreign Military Studies Office (which reports to TRADOC)
 * Munson Army Health Center (Post hospital)
 * University of Foreign Military and Cultural Studies (which includes teaching Red Teams among its courses)
 * Sherman Army Airfield—the Post airport (which reports to the garrison)
 * Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery
 * TRADOC Analysis Center (which reports to TRADOC)
 * Headquarters of the National Guard's 35th Infantry Division (Mechanized)
 * Mission Command Training Program is the focal point for National Guard of the United States division and brigade staff training and development.
 * Army/ACE Registry Transcript Systems (handles transcripts for all its training)

Schools
Fort Leavenworth School District operates schools for grades PreK-8. High school students go to Leavenworth High School of Leavenworth USD 453.

Media
The Fort Leavenworth Lamp newspaper served the military community living on post from 1971 to 2023.

18th century
The fort is 10 miles south of the 18th century French Fort de Cavagnal, which was the farthest west fort in Louisiana (New France). Its commandant was François Coulon de Villiers, a brother to Louis Coulon de Villiers, who was the only military commander to force George Washington to surrender (after avenging the murder of his half brother Joseph Coulon de Jumonville while in Washington's custody, which was the incident that set off the French and Indian War).

The French abandoned the fort after ceding its territory to Louisiana (New Spain) at the conclusion of the French and Indian War.

Early American explorers on the Missouri River to visit the area of Fort de Cavagnal include Lewis and Clark on 26–29 June 1804 and Stephen Harriman Long in 1819.

The fort location had been chosen then because of its proximity to a large Kansa tribe village.

19th century
Colonel Henry Leavenworth, with the officers and men of the 3rd Infantry Regiment from Jefferson Barracks at St. Louis, Missouri, established Fort Leavenworth in 1827 to be a forward base protecting the Santa Fe Trail.

Leavenworth's instructions had been the following:

"Colonel Leavenworth of the 3d Infantry, with four companies of his regiment will ascend the Missouri and when he reaches a point on its left band near the mouth of Little Platte River and within a range of twenty miles above or below its confluence, he will select such position as in his judgment is best calculated for the site of a permanent cantonment. The spot being chosen, he will then construct with the troops of his command comfortable, though temporary quarters sufficient for the accommodation of four companies. This movement will be made as early as the convenience of the service will permit."

Leavenworth was to report that spot around the confluence on the east side of the Missouri River (near present-day Farley, Missouri) would be prone to flooding and on 8 May 1827 recommended the location 20 mi upstream on the west bank in the bluffs above the river.

The first army installation in Cantonment Leavenworth (its original name) was located on Scott Avenue, south of the Post Chapel with initial strength of 14 officers and 174 enlisted men.

The Cantonment almost immediately increased in importance as it became the eastern terminus for the Santa Fe Trail and Oregon Trail. After Indian Removal Act of 1830 attempted to remove all Indians west of the Missouri–Kansas border, the fort which is west of the border assumed even more importance. In 1832, it was renamed "Fort Leavenworth".

Between 1832 and 1834, the Rookery was built as bachelor officer quarters. The Rookery is the oldest building in Kansas and would be the office of the first territorial governor and thus the first capitol in Kansas from 1854 to 1855 when the capitol was moved to Pawnee, Kansas.

In 1836, William Clark at the fort presided over the transfer of Indian land directly across the Missouri River from the fort to the U.S. government in the Platte Purchase which involved the entire northwest corner of Missouri.

In 1839, Col. Stephen W. Kearny marched against the Cherokees with 20 companies of dragoons, the largest U.S. mounted force ever assembled. Throughout the Mexican–American War, Fort Leavenworth was the outfitting post for the Army of the West.

In 1854, Kansas Territory Governor Andrew Reeder set up executive offices on post and lived for a short time in the quarters now known as the Rookery.

During the 1850s, troops from Ft. Leavenworth were mobilized to control the "Mormon Problem" in what became known as the Utah War.

From 1858 to 1874 Fort Leavenworth was also home to the Fort Leavenworth Arsenal (originally called the Leavenworth Ordnance Depot) which supplied ordnance to the army in the western United States which was located at what today is the Combined Arms Center headquarters complex on what is called Arsenal Hill which was reached by Arsenal Avenue (which today is called Scott Avenue). The arsenal moved in 1874 to the Rock Island Arsenal in Illinois. Two surviving buildings from the arsenal are Sherman Hall and Sheridan Hall which are now in the same complex as Grant Hall and are among the most iconic buildings of the fort.

Civil War
At the outbreak of the Civil War, Camp Lincoln was established on post as a reception and training station for Kansas volunteers. In 1864, news of the approach of Confederate General Sterling Price prompted construction of Fort Sully, a series of earthworks for artillery emplacements on Hancock Hill, overlooking what is now the Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery. (See Fort Sully (Fort Leavenworth)). However, Price's forces never reached Fort Leavenworth, having met defeat at Westport, which is now part of Kansas City. During its long history, the post was never subject to enemy attack.

For three decades following the war, the Army's chief mission was control of the American Indian tribes on the Western plains. Between 1865 and 1891, the Army had more than 1,000 combat engagements with Apache, Modoc, Cheyenne, Ute, Nez Perce, Comanche, Kiowa, Kickapoo and other tribes.

The Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery is one of the national cemeteries established by Abraham Lincoln on 17 July 1862. Veterans since the War of 1812 have been laid to rest in the cemetery. One veteran of the War of 1812 is the cemetery's most famous occupant, Brigadier General Henry Leavenworth, who gave his name to the fort, the cemetery, and the town and county they are located in. Others buried in the cemetery include 10 Medal of Honor recipients, seven Confederate prisoners of war as well as soldiers killed in Operation Desert Storm, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Although there is no longer space for new burial sites, burials frequently take place for those who already have family members interred in the cemetery.

Reconstruction and Indian wars
In 1866, the U.S. Congress authorized the formation of four black regiments, which were the 24th and 25th Infantry Regiments and the 9th and 10th Cavalry Regiments. The 10th Cavalry Regiment was formed at Fort Leavenworth under the command of Col. Benjamin Grierson. Today, a statue of a cavalry rider stands at Fort Leavenworth in tribute to the "Buffalo Soldier" of the 9th and 10th Cavalry Regiments. Just off Fort Leavenworth in the City of Leavenworth, The Richard Allen Cultural Center, housed in a former home of a Buffalo Soldier, also highlights the history of the Buffalo Soldiers and African-Americans serving in the U.S. Army.

The United States Disciplinary Barracks, now a maximum-security military prison, was established in 1875 under the command of Lt. Col. Edmund Rice.

In 1877 some 400 Nez Perce were shipped to Fort Leavenworth after being pursued and captured in the Nez Perce War. In 1889 they were sent to Tonkawa, Oklahoma.

The fort's first Catholic church was built in 1871 and was later replaced by St. Ignatius Chapel in 1889. St. Ignatius Chapel was destroyed by fire in December 2001. The first Protestant chapel, Memorial Chapel, was built by prison labor in 1878 of stone quarried on post. The round window behind the chapel's front altar was intentionally installed slightly askew by an inmate who was angry at his work boss. This chapel has brass cannon embedded in the walls at the sides of the church, and photos of many of the officers involved in the early history of the fort, including some of the Custer family.

In 1881, Gen. William T. Sherman established the School of Application for Cavalry and Infantry. That school evolved into the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College.

The Western Branch National Military Home ("old soldiers' home"), now called the Veterans Medical Center, or Dwight D. Eisenhower Medical Center Historic District was established in 1885 as part of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers system. The soldier home is closely associated with the nearby cemetery that became the Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery in 1973.

20th century
World War I was the first opportunity to evaluate the impact of Sherman's school. Graduates excelled in planning complex American Expeditionary Forces operations. By the end of the war, they dominated staffs throughout the AEF.

In the years between the world wars, graduates included such officers as Dwight D. Eisenhower, Omar Bradley and George S. Patton. During World War II, some 19,000 officers completed various courses at Fort Leavenworth. By the end of 1943, commanders and staffs of 26 infantry, airborne and cavalry divisions had trained as teams at the school.

General Michael Joe Costello of the army of the newly formed Irish Free State attended Fort Leavenworth from 1926 to 1927, passing with such distinction that he was recommended for the United States Army War College.

In 1946, the school was given its current name. In 1959, the college moved to the newly built J. Franklin Bell Hall on Arsenal Hill. In 1985, the Harold Keith Johnson wing was added to house the Combined Arms and Services Staff School (CAS3). Classes for the School of Advanced Military Studies and the School for Command Preparation, as well as the Combined Arms Research Library, are located in Eisenhower Hall which was dedicated in 1994.

It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1960.

Until the early 1970s, a battery of four Nike-Hercules Missiles were deployed at Bell Point on a hill on the west side of the fort.

The base is served by the Sherman Army Airfield which has a 5905 ft runway and operates under a joint agreement with the city of Leavenworth, Kansas that permits civilian aircraft to use it all hours. The airfield was inundated by the Missouri River in levee breaches during the Great Flood of 1951, the Great Flood of 1993, and the Great Flood of 2011.

Freedom's Frontier Heritage Area
Fort Leavenworth is considered one of the most significant historic military installations in the Department of the Army, as well as to the nation. The fort's 5,634 ac (2,279 ha) contain a 213 ac (86.1 ha) National Historic Landmark District (NHLD), which was established in 1974.

A number of historic preservation investigations have been conducted over the past few decades at Fort Leavenworth. In 1970, for example, two historic sites were listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP): the Main Parade Ground and the Santa Fe Trail Ruts.

During 2006, this historic military site became part of a new Freedom's Frontier National Heritage Area.

title: Fort Leavenworth


text:
Paeonia (kingdom)

In antiquity, Paeonia or Paionia (Παιονία) was the land and kingdom of the Paeonians or Paionians (Παίονες).

The exact original boundaries of Paeonia, like the early history of its inhabitants, are obscure, but it is known that it roughly corresponds to most of present-day North Macedonia and north-central parts of Greek Macedonia (i.e. probably the Greek municipalities of Paionia (excluding the village of Evropos ), Almopia, Sintiki, Irakleia, and Serres), and a small part of south-western Bulgaria. Ancient authors placed it south of Dardania (an area corresponding to modern-day Kosovo and northern North Macedonia), west of the Thracian mountains, and east of the southernmost Illyrians. It was separated from Dardania by the mountains through which the Vardar river passes from the field of Scupi (modern Skopje) to the valley of Bylazora (near modern Sveti Nikole).

In the Iliad, the Paeonians are portrayed as allies of the Trojans. During the Persian invasion of Greece, the conquered Paeonians from as far as the Lake Prasias, including the Paeoplae and Siropaiones, were deported from Paeonia to Asia.

In 355–354 BC, Philip II of Macedon took advantage of the death of King Agis of Paeonia and campaigned against its northern neighbor in order to conquer it. Subsequently, the southern part of ancient Paeonia was annexed by the ancient kingdom of Macedon and was named "Macedonian Paeonia"; this province included the cities Astraion (modern Strumica), Stenae (near modern Demir Kapija), Antigoneia (near modern Negotino), etc.

Tribes
The Paeonian tribes were:
 * Agrianes (also, Agriani and Agrii), it is also claimed that the tribe was Thracian.
 * Almopians (also Almopioi)
 * Laeaeans (also Laeaei and Laiai)
 * Derrones (also Derroni), it is also claimed that the tribe was Thracian.
 * Odomantes (also Odomanti), it is also claimed that the tribe was Thracian.
 * Paeoplae
 * Doberes
 * Siropaiones

Origin
There is relatively little mention of the Paeonians in the works of the ancient Greeks. Some modern scholars consider the Paeonians to have been of either Illyrian, Phrygian, Thracian, or of mixed origins. Some Paeonian toponyms and personal names of individual Paeonians are, however, definitely Hellenic (Lycceius, Ariston, Audoleon). Some scholars have proposed a Greek origin. According to Radoslav Katičić, the possibility that the Paeonians took part in the "great Greek migration" and remained behind on the route cannot be ruled out. Linguistically, the very small number of surviving words in the Paeonian language have been variously connected to its neighboring languages – Illyrian and Thracian (and every possible Thraco-Illyrian mix in between), as well as to Greek but with a great deal of Illyrian and Thracian influence as a result of their proximity. Several eastern Paeonian tribes, including the Agrianes, clearly fell within the Thracian sphere of influence. Yet, according to the national legend, they were Teucrian colonists from Troy. Homer speaks of Paeonians from the Axios fighting on the side of the Trojans, but the Iliad does not mention whether the Paeonians were kin to the Trojans, and instead connects them to the Phrygians. Herodotus and Thucydides distinguish the Pannonians from the Thracians. Appian wrote of a genealogy in which Paion, the eponym of the Paeonians, is the son of Autarieus, the eponym of the Autariatae, and father of Skordiskos and Triballos, the eponyms of two central Balkanic tribes, one Celtic and the other Thracian. This might connect the Paeonians with the Illyrian complex, although as Katičić suggests, Appian might not refer to the Paeonians but might refer instead to the Pannonians, since Appian uses the Paeonian name to denote that ethnic group as well. Pausanias tells us of another genealogy, which connects the Paeonians with the Peloponnesian Epeians; Paion is said to be the son of Endymion and brother of Epeius and Aitolus. This version, indeed, establishes a Greek affiliation for the Paeonians. Homer calls the Paeonian leader Pyraechmes (parentage unknown); later on in the Iliad (Book 21), Homer mentions a second leader, Asteropaeus, son of Pelagon.

Before the reign of Darius Hystaspes, they had made their way as far east as Perinthus in Thrace on the Propontis. At one time all Mygdonia, together with Crestonia, was subject to them. When Xerxes crossed Chalcidice on his way to Therma (later renamed Thessalonica), he is said to have marched through Paeonian territory. They occupied the entire valley of the Axios (Vardar) as far inland as Stobi, the valleys to the east of it as far as the Strymon and the country round Astibus and the river of the same name, with the water of which they anointed their kings. Emathia, roughly the district between the Haliacmon and Axios, was once called Paeonia; and Pieria and Pelagonia were inhabited by Paeonians. As a consequence of the growth of Macedonian power, and under pressure from their Thracian neighbors, their territory was considerably diminished, and in historical times was limited to the north of Macedonia from Illyria to the Strymon.

Mythology
In Greek mythology, the Paeonians were said to have derived their name from Paeon the son of Endymion. Endymion of Elis, the lover of the goddess of the Moon (Selene), had three sons, Paeon, Epeios and Aetolus. Endymion, in order to give his kingdom to one of them, made them run a race in Olympia, where Epeios won and took the kingdom. Paeon left in disappointment to settle in the Upper Valley of Axios which was since called Paeonia.

In the Trojan War, the Paeonians "with ankylosed bows" (Iliad, II 848-850) "wearing helmets with horsetails" were allies of the Trojans, appearing to fight on their side, under King Pyraichmes and Asteropaeus.

Paeonian Kingdom
In early times, the chief town and seat of the Paeonian kings was Bylazora (now Veles in North Macedonia) on the Vardar; later, the seat of the kings was moved to Stobi (near modern Gradsko).

Subjugation of the Paeonians happened as a part of Persian military operations initiated by Darius the Great (521–486) in 513 – after immense preparations – a huge Achaemenid army invaded the Balkans and tried to defeat the European Scythians roaming to the north of the Danube river. Darius' army subjugated several Thracian peoples, and virtually all other regions that touch the European part of the Black Sea, such as parts of nowadays Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, and Russia, before it returned to Asia Minor. Darius left in Europe one of his commanders named Megabazus whose task was to accomplish conquests in the Balkans. The Persian troops subjugated gold-rich Thrace, the coastal Greek cities, as well as defeating and conquering the powerful Paeonians.

At some point after the Greco-Persian Wars, the Paeonian princedoms coalesced into a kingdom centred in the central and upper reaches of the Axios and Strymon rivers, corresponding with today's northern part of North Macedonia and western Bulgaria. They joined with the Illyrians to attack the northern areas of the kingdom of Macedonia. The Illyrians, who had a culture of piracy, would have been cut off from some trade routes if movement through this land had been blocked. They unsuccessfully attacked the northern defences of Macedonian territory in an attempt to occupy the region. In 360–359 BC, southern Paeonian tribes were launching raids into Macedon, (Diodorus XVI. 2.5) in support of an Illyrian invasion.

The Macedonian Royal House was thrown into a state of uncertainty by the death of Perdiccas III, but his brother Philip II assumed the throne, reformed the army (providing phalanxes), and proceeded to stop both the Illyrian invasion and the Paeonian raids through the boundary of the "Macedonian Frontier", which was the northern perimeter which he intended to defend as an area of his domain. He followed Perdiccas's success in 358 BC with a campaign deep into the north, into Paeonia itself. This reduced the Paeonian kingdom (then ruled by Agis) to a semi-autonomous, subordinate status, which led to a process of gradual and formal Hellenization of the Paeonians, who, during the reign of Philip II, began to issue coins with Greek legends like the Macedonian ones. A Paeonian contingent, led by Ariston, was attached to Alexander the Great's army.

At the time of the Persian invasion, the Paeonians on the lower Strymon had lost, while those in the north maintained, their territorial integrity. The daughter of Audoleon, a king of Paeonia, was the wife of Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, and Alexander the Great wished to bestow the hand of his sister Cynane upon Langarus, king of the Agrianians, who had shown himself loyal to Philip II.

Kings

 * Agis (died 358 BC)
 * Lycceius (356–340 BC)
 * Patraus (340–315 BC)
 * Audoleon (315–285 BC), son of Patraus
 * Ariston (286–285 BC), son of Audoleon
 * Leon (278–250 BC)
 * Dropion (250–230 BC), son of Leon
 * Bastareus (?–? BC)

 * Main line
 * Agis: founded the Paeonian kingdom; pretender to the Macedonian throne in a time of instability.
 * Lycceius: joined anti-Macedonian coalition with Grabos II and Thrace in 356 BC.
 * Patraus
 * Audoleon: reduced to great straits by the Autariatae, but was succoured by Cassander.
 * Ariston
 * Leon of Paeonia: consolidated and restored lost lands after the Gallic Invasions in 280/279 BC.
 * Dropion: last known Paeonian king in 230 BC, of a dwindling kingdom.

 * Others
 * Pigres: one of the two tyrant brothers which in 511 BC persuaded Darius I to deport the coastal Paeonians to Asia.
 * Mantyes: one of the two tyrant brothers which in 511 BC persuaded Darius I to deport the coastal Paeonians to Asia.
 * Dokidan: of the Derrones; reigned during the 6th century BC.
 * Dokim: of the Derrones; reigned during the 6th century BC.
 * Euergetes: of the Derrones; reigned c. 480–465 BC, known only from his coinage.
 * Teutaos: reigned from c. 450–435 BC; known only from his coinage.
 * Bastareus: reigned from c. 400–380/78 BC, known only from his coinage.
 * Teutamado: reigned from 378 to 359 BC, known only from his coinage.
 * Symnon: great ally of Phillip II from 348 to 336 BC.
 * Nicharchos: reigned from 335 to 323 BC; son of Symon.
 * Langarus: of the Agrianes; invaded the territory of the Autariatae in 335 BC in coalition with Alexander the Great.
 * Dyplaios: of the Agrianes; reigned around 330 BC.
 * Didas: allied Philip V of Macedon with 4,000 warriors from 215 to 197 BC.

Foreign rulers

 * Persian
 * Darius I: subjugated Paeonia in 511/2 BC.
 * Xerxes: included Paeonians in vast Persian army of 481 BC, for the Invasion of Greece.

 * Thracian
 * Sitalces: included Agrianes and Laeaeans in his Macedonian campaign in 429 BC.

Culture
The Paeonians included several independent tribes, all later united under the rule of a single king. Little is known of their manners and customs. They adopted the cult of Dionysus, known amongst them as Dyalus or Dryalus, and Herodotus mentions that the Thracian and Paeonian women offered sacrifice to Queen Artemis (probably Bendis). They worshipped the sun in the form of a small round disk fixed on the top of a pole. A passage in Athenaeus seems to indicate the affinity of their language with Mysian. They drank barley beer and various decoctions made from plants and herbs. The country was rich in gold and a bituminous kind of wood (or stone, which burst into a blaze when in contact with water) called tanrivoc (or tsarivos).

The scanty remains of the Paeonian language do not allow a firm judgement to be made. On one side are Wilhelm Tomaschek and Paul Kretschmer, who claim it belonged to the Illyrian family, and on the other side is Dimitar Dečev, who claims affinities with Thracian. On the other hand, the Paeonian kings issued coins from the time of Philip II of Macedon onwards, bearing their names written in straightforward Greek. All the names of the Paeonian Kings that have come down to us are, in fact, explainable with and clearly related to Greek (Agis, Ariston, Audoleon, Lycceius, etc.), a fact that, according to Irwin L. Merker, puts into question the theories of Illyrian and Thracian connections.

The women were famous for their industry. In this connection Herodotus tells the story that Darius, having seen at Sardis a beautiful Paeonian woman carrying a pitcher on her head, leading a horse to drink, and spinning flax, all at the same time, inquired who she was. Having been informed that she was a Paeonian, he sent instructions to Megabazus, commander in Thrace, to deport two tribes of the nation without delay to Asia. An inscription, discovered in 1877 at Olympia on the base of a statue, states that it was set up by the community of the Paeonians in honor of their king and founder Dropion. Another king, whose name appears as Lyppeius on a fragment of an inscription found at Athens relating to a treaty of alliance, is no doubt identical with the Lycceius or Lycpeius of Paeonian coins.

Decline
In 280 BC, the Gallic invaders under Brennus ravaged the land of the Paeonians, who, being further hard pressed by the Dardani, had no alternative but to join the Macedonians. Despite their combined efforts, however, the Paeonians and Macedonians were defeated. After the Celtic invasion of the Balkans weakened the state of the Macedonians and Paeonians, the political and military role of the Dardanians began to grow in the region. They expanded their state to the area of Paeonia which definitively disappeared from history. In 230 the Dardani under Longarus captured Bylazora from the Paeonians. Paeonia consolidated again but, in 217 BC, the Macedonian king Philip V of Macedon (220–179 BC), the son of Demetrius II, succeeded in uniting and incorporating into his empire the separate regions of Dassaretia and Paeonia. A mere 70 years later (in 168 BC), Roman legions conquered Macedon in turn, and a new and much larger Roman province bearing this name was formed. Paeonia around the Axios formed the second and third districts respectively of the newly constituted Roman province of Macedonia. Centuries later under Diocletian, Paeonia and Pelagonia formed a province called Macedonia Secunda or Macedonia Salutaris, belonging to the Praetorian prefecture of Illyricum.

title: Paeonia (kingdom)


text:
User talk:Morosoph

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Again, welcome! Chris Roy 22:29, 18 Mar 2004 (UTC)

title: User talk:Morosoph


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User:Peter654305

Hi I am Peter Williams and you can view my home page here http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/williamsfamily/index.html

title: User:Peter654305