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Arts Centre Melbourne

Arts Centre Melbourne, originally known as the Victorian Arts Centre and briefly called the Arts Centre, is a performing arts centre consisting of a complex of theatres and concert halls in the Melbourne Arts Precinct, located in the central Melbourne suburb of Southbank in Victoria, Australia.

It was designed by architect Sir Roy Grounds, the masterplan for the complex (along with the National Gallery of Victoria) was approved in 1960 and construction began in 1973 following some delays. The complex opened in stages, with Hamer Hall opening in 1982 and the Theatres Building opening in 1984.

Arts Centre Melbourne is located by the Yarra River and along St Kilda Road, one of the city's main thoroughfares, and extends into the Melbourne Arts Precinct.

Major companies regularly performing include Opera Australia, The Australian Ballet, the Melbourne Theatre Company, The Production Company, Victorian Opera, Bell Shakespeare, Bangarra Dance Theatre and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Arts Centre Melbourne also hosts many Australian and international performances and production companies.

Arts Centre Melbourne is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register.

Background
Arts Centre Melbourne's site has long been associated with arts and entertainment; in the early 20th century it was occupied variously by a permanent circus venue, an amusement park, a cinema and a dance hall. The area was a popular venue featuring the Olympia Dancing Place, the Glaciarium Ice-Skating Rink, a Japanese tea house, Snowden Gardens, the Trocadero and the Princes Court with a miniature train and water-chute. The Wirth's Circus appeared in 1907 with a 5000-seat auditorium.

In the book A Place Across the River, Vicki Fairfax described the lot as a "oddly shaped piece of land" considered a sacred public spot by the locals.

During World War II there was a push to establish a new home for the National Gallery of Victoria, along with a state theatre, on the site. The construction was difficult due to the triangular parcel of land the construction was planned on. However, by the 1960s, all the entertainment had left and the lot had turned into an improvised parking for city workers.

Plans and construction (1960s–1970s)
After many years of discussion, Roy Grounds was chosen as the architect, and his master plan of a gallery and an adjacent theatre under a tall copper spire was approved in 1960. One of the main challenge of the construction was to dry up and retain the waters out of the base, as the construction went as deep as 7 m below water levels. The original spire envisaged by Grounds was 115 m tall, and because of its complexity was one of the first structures in Australia to rely on computer-aided-design (CAD).

The gallery was completed in 1968, with the theatres to be built in a second stage.

Responsibility for the project lay with the building committee, established in 1956 and chaired by Kenneth Myer from 1965 to 1989. For twenty-five years the committee was a consistent force in the completion of the complex. Actor and film director George Fairfax, having joined the project in 1972, was appointed the first general manager of the building committee and then the trust, a position he held until 1989. As a result, Fairfax played an influential role in administration of Arts Centre Melbourne's development.

In the early 1970s, due to the expansion of the size of both the theatre and the concert hall required, the addition of a smaller second theatre, and to accommodate difficulties associated with the geology of the site, Roy Grounds completely redesigned the project. The concert hall was separated out and placed in the riverbank, and the theatres building expanded above ground, with a latticework spire above.

Work began on the theatre site in 1973, but excavations were not completed until 1978, two years later than expected. Work began on the concert hall site in 1976. During the first phase of the project from 1972 until 1979 responsibility was with Rupert Hamer as Minister for the Arts (and premier) and during the main construction phase from 1979 to 1982 with Norman Lacy as Minister for the Arts (and Minister of Educational Services). After significant public controversy, political inquiry and financial reassessment, the spire was completed by the Minister for the Arts, Norman Lacy, installing the lightning conductor rod at its pinnacle on 20 October 1981.

Once the buildings were nearly complete, and with the death of Grounds in 1981, Academy Award-winning expatriate set designer John Truscott, was employed to decorate the interiors. His work was constrained only by a requirement to leave elements already constructed, such as Ground's faceted cave-like concert hall interior, to which he applied mineral finishes, and his steel mesh draped ceiling in the State Theatre, to which he added perforated brass balls.

During his tenure, Arts Minister Norman Lacy was constantly called on to defend the Victorian Arts Centre Trust and its construction program during some highly charged public debates in the parliament. He had to defend the acoustics, the design of the spire, the rejection of the proposed changes to the Concert Hall interiors, the BASS ticketing system of the project, as well as its delays and cost over runs.

The Victorian Arts Centre's management and administration was set up under the Victorian Arts Centre Act 1979 introduced into the Victorian parliament by Minister for the Arts, Norman Lacy. The trustees were appointed by the Governor in Council, on the recommendation of the minister. The trust were given responsibility for the operation and programming of the publicly owned performing arts spaces that make up the Victorian Arts Centre – the Theatres Building beneath the Spire, Hamer Hall and the Sidney Myer Music Bowl.

Redevelopment (1981)
Soon after the legislation to establish the trust was passed, Norman Lacy and George Fairfax undertook a study trip to North America and Europe to assess administrative arrangements, educational programs and community initiatives at major performing arts centres in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Washington, Toronto, Ottawa, London and Paris. The result was the development of Arts Centre Melbourne's management structure during 1981 and a suite of opening and on-going initiatives.

The Concert Hall opened in November 1982, while substantial work remained to be done on the Theatres site. The rest of Arts Centre Melbourne was opened progressively in 1984, with the Theatres building officially opened in October that year. This signified the completion of one of the largest public works projects in Victorian history, which had been undertaken over a period of almost twenty-five years.

Arts Centre Melbourne is unusual in that its theatres and concert hall are built largely underground. Hamer Hall, situated closest to the river, was initially planned to be almost entirely underground, thus providing a huge open vista between the theatre spire, the river and Flinders Street railway station. However, construction problems with the foundations, including water seepage, meant the structure had to be raised to three storeys above ground.

Similarly, budget constraints meant that Grounds' design for the Theatres Building, which included a copper-clad spire, were shelved, and a shortened un-clad design was substituted. This was eventually replaced with the current "full-height" un-clad spire.

By the mid-1990s, signs of deterioration became apparent on the upper spire structure and Arts Centre Melbourne's Trust decided to replace the spire. The new spire was completed in 1996, and reaches 162 m, though still based on Grounds' original design. The spire is illuminated with some 6,600 m of optic fibre tubing, 150 m of neon tubing on the mast and 14,000 incandescent lamps on the spire's skirt. The metal webbing of the spire was inspired by the billowing of a ballerina's tutu and the Eiffel Tower.

2000s
In early 2008, a wedge-tailed eagle and peregrine falcon were utilised to deter groups of sulphur-crested cockatoos from damaging the spire's electrical fittings and thimble-sized lights.

On 1 January 2012 the spire was accidentally set afire by New Year's Eve fireworks. Two sides of the structure were set ablaze by fireworks that apparently discharged improperly, causing flaming debris to fall to the ground. The fire burned for about forty minutes, causing only cosmetic damage to the tower.

In February 2016, two protesters climbed the spire of the centre to protest Nauru detention centre deportations. They stayed on top of the spire for 11 hours, and disrupted a programmed light show. They unfurled a banner reading #letthemstay. They were not arrested.

there are plans for a major upgrade of the theatre, as part of the $1.7 billion Melbourne Arts Precinct Transformation project.

Building and venues
Arts Centre Melbourne features a large steel spire with a wrap-around base. It is a complex of distinct venues. Hamer Hall is a separate building and the largest of the venues. The other venues (the State Theatre, Playhouse and Fairfax Studio) are housed in the Theatres Building (under the spire).

Hamer Hall Hamer Hall (formerly the Melbourne Concert Hall) is a 2,466-seat concert hall – the largest venue in Arts Centre Melbourne's complex, used for orchestra and contemporary music performances. It was opened in 1982 and was later renamed Hamer Hall in honour of Sir Rupert Hamer (the 39th Premier of Victoria) shortly after his death in 2004.

State Theatre The State Theatre is located in the Theatres Building of Arts Centre Melbourne under the spire, and is a 2,079-seat theatre used for opera, ballet and theatre performances. It was opened in 1984, and has one of the largest stages in the World.

Playhouse The Playhouse is also located in the Theatres Building of Arts Centre Melbourne and is an 884-seat theatre used for plays and dance performances. It was also opened in 1984. The premiere production was the Melbourne Theatre Company's staging of Euripides' Medea, starring Zoe Caldwell and Patricia Kennedy.

Fairfax Studio The Fairfax Studio is also located in the Theatres Building of Arts Centre Melbourne and is a 376-seat theatre. It was also opened in 1984.

Galleries Arts Centre Melbourne also houses dedicated gallery spaces including newly opened Australian Music Vault (formally Gallery 1 and the George Adams Gallery) on Level 6 (Ground level), Gallery 2 on Level 7, the St Kilda Road Foyer Gallery and the Smorgon Family Plaza, whose walls and central areas are used for exhibitions, in the Theatres Building.

The Sidney Myer Music Bowl, situated in nearby Kings Domain, is an outdoor arena also managed by Arts Centre Melbourne. It seats 12,000 on the lawn area and 2,150 in reserved seating, and is used for music concerts.

Australian Performing Arts Collection
The Australian Performing Arts Collection at Arts Centre Melbourne is the foremost and largest specialist performing arts collection in Australia, with over 510,000 items relating to the history of circus, dance, music, opera and theatre in Australia and of Australian performers overseas. Many of Australia's national performing arts companies are represented in the archives.

Kenneth Myer Medallion for the Performing Arts
The Arts Centre presented the Kenneth Myer Medallion for the Performing Arts between 1994 and 2010.

People
In August 2022 Karen Louise Quinlan  was appointed chief executive of Arts Centre Melbourne, with the new role starting on 3 October 2022.

After 18 years of director of Bendigo Art Gallery, Quinlan had headed the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra from December 2018 until September 2022. At the time of her appointment to NPGA, Quinlan was also Professor of Practice at the La Trobe Art Institute at Bendigo. Quinlan was made a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2019 Australia Day Honours list, "For significant service to the visual arts as an administrator and gallery curator, and to higher education".

title: Arts Centre Melbourne


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Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal

Ladysmith is a city in the Uthukela District of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It lies 230 km north-west of Durban and 365 km south-east of Johannesburg. Important industries in the area include food processing, textiles, and tyre production. Ladysmith is the seat for both the Alfred Duma Local Municipality and Uthukela District Municipality.

The town was named after Juana María de los Dolores de León Smith, also known as "Lady Smith," the Spanish wife of Sir Harry Smith, the Governor of the Cape Colony from 1847-1852. It saw numerous actions during the Second Boer War, when after numerous small skirmishes the town was besieged by Boer forces on 2 November 1899. After three British attempts to relieve the defenders and one Boer attempt to take the town all failed, the siege was eventually broken on 28 February 1900. Both Winston Churchill and Mahatma Gandhi were present at the siege, the former as a war correspondent and the latter as a stretcher-bearer.

In 1900, the unincorporated town of Oyster Harbour on the east coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, was renamed Ladysmith by James Dunsmuir in honour of the lifting of the siege of Ladysmith.

In 2023, it was proposed to renamed the city to uMnambithi.

History
In 1847, after buying land from the Zulu king Mpande, a number of Boers settled in the area and called it the Republic of Klip River with Andries Spies as their commandant. The republic was annexed by the British in the same year and on 20 June 1850 was proclaimed a township called Windsor. On 11 October 1850, the name was changed to Ladysmith after Juana María de los Dolores de León Smith, also known as "Lady Smith," the Spanish wife of Sir Harry Smith, the Governor of the Cape Colony and high commissioner in South Africa from 1847 to 1852. A fort was built in 1860 to protect the villagers from the Zulu.

The Second Boer War
During the Second Boer War, British commander Lieutenant General Sir George White made Ladysmith his centre of operations for the protection of Natal against the Boer forces. Starting on 29 October 1899, a number of short-lived battles were fought for control of the town, but after suffering heavy casualties the British forces retreated to Ladysmith and the Boer forces did not make use of the opportunity to follow up the attack and take control of the town. Following the battle, while British forces under White regrouped in the town, Boer forces surrounded Ladysmith. The Siege of Ladysmith lasted 118 days, from 2 November 1899 to 28 February 1900, during the most crucial stage of the war. Approximately 3,000 British soldiers died during the siege.

Three attempts by General Sir Redvers Buller to break the siege resulted in defeat for the British forces at the battles of Colenso, Spion Kop and Vaal Krantz. On 6 January 1900, the Boer forces of Commandant-General Piet Joubert attempted to end the siege by taking the town before the British could launch another attempt to break the siege. This led to the battle of Platrand (or Wagon Hill) south of the town. Buller finally broke the siege on 28 February 1900 after defeating the Boers by using close cooperation between his infantry and artillery. Winston Churchill, then a young war correspondent for The Morning Post of London, was present at the relief of Ladysmith after having been taken prisoner (between Ladysmith and Colenso) and escaping earlier during the war. Mohandas Gandhi, along with the stretcher-bearing corps that he had established earlier during the war, was involved in a number of actions that took place in and around Ladysmith during the relief.

Geography
Ladysmith is located on the banks of the Klip River ("stone river"), with the central business district and a large part of the residential areas located within the flood basin of the river. It is on the foothills of the Drakensberg mountains, about 26 km from the Van Reenen's Pass. The town has a subtropical highland climate (Cwb, according to the Köppen climate classification), with warm summers and cool, dry winters. It borders on a humid subtropical climate (Cwa). The average annual precipitation is 639 mm, with most rainfall occurring during summer.

Since it was established the town has suffered severely from flooding of the Klip River. During the 110 years up to 1997 with the completion of the Qedusizi Dam, 29 serious floods occurred. Minor flooding occurred almost every year. The worst flooding in 30 years occurred in 1996 leading to R500 million in damages and the evacuation of 400 families. Efforts to control the flooding date back to the 1940s. In 1949 the Windsor Dam was completed, but this dam silted up very quickly and was not an effective means of flood control.

Transport
Ladysmith is served by a small airport, is located on the outskirts of town just below Platrand at -28.58°N, 29.75278°W.

The Danskraal Yard is located on the Free State main line and the Glencoe–Vryheid line and acts as a depot for train marshalling and maintenance as well as rail maintenance. The passenger station is located some distance away from Danskraal close to the Central Business District.

The N11 links Ladysmith with Newcastle in the north and with the N3 Freeway in the south-west, while the R103 provides access to Colenso in the south and the N3 Freeway in the west. Traffic traveling between Durban and Johannesburg used to pass through Ladysmith up until the late 1980s, but the completion of the N3 Toll Highway, bypassing Ladysmith 15 km to the west, has caused a dramatic drop in traffic volumes through this town as well as others that are now bypassed. In that regard, the old main road through Ladysmith is now designated as the R103.

Society and culture
The only sold local newspaper in Ladysmith is the Ladysmith Gazette. It is believed to have been established in 1902, and is part of the Caxton Group of newspapers. Two free local newspapers are the Ladysmith Herald and the Times of Ladysmith.. 5 South African Infantry Battalion is based in Ladysmith. A military shooting range is located on the outskirts of the town between the Aerodrome and Platrand.

Other buildings of interest are the Siege Museum, built in 1884 as a marketplace and opened as a museum in 1995. Detailing the battles and history at the time of the Siege, the museum holds around 60,000 documents related to the Siege and the Boer War. The Town Hall was damaged by Boer artillery during the Second Boer War. A large number of the Second Boer War Battlefields around Ladysmith have been preserved as memorial sites. Monuments and memorials to those who died during the battles have been erected at most of them. Two RML 6.3 inch Howitzers used by the British during the Siege stand in front of the Town Hall.

Located just south of the town, the Platrand/Wagon Hill area saw action during the Relief of Ladysmith. The Burgher Memorial on Wagon Hill, a sculpture of six hands pointing upwards and one downwards, was erected in 1979 in honour of 781 Boer forces killed in the battles in Natal during the Second Boer War. A crypt at the center contains the remains of 310 re-interred burghers. On Platrand there are memorials to the Imperial Light Horse, the Devonshire Regiment, the Earl of Ava and a number of others.

Ladysmith is the hometown of Joseph Shabalala, founder of the group Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Thulani "Sugar Boy" Malinga, a champion boxer, was born in Ladysmith. Thamsanqa Gabuza, a soccer player, who plays for Orlando Pirates, was born in Ladysmith.

Christianity has a strong presence in and around Ladysmith. It can be seen through the places of worship built around the time of the Anglo Boer wars. One such structure includes the Anglican All Saints Church, built in 1902 from cut flagstones from a quarry in the area. Islam also has a strong presence in the town, which is well known for the Soofie Mosque on the banks of the Klip River. Built in 1969, it is regarded as one of the finest in the country. The origins of the structure date back to 1895 when Hazrath Soofie Saheb arrived in South Africa. He made it his mission to build as many as 12 mosques along the east coast of Durban. Ladysmith was also the home of a revered saint known as Hazrath Soofie Sayed Mahomed Abed Mia Osmani, who is buried in the Ladysmith Muslim Cemetery.

For Hinduism, Sanathan Dharma Sabha was inaugurated to promote religious, social, cultural and education activities in Ladysmith in 1902. The oldest Hindu temple resulted from the amalgamation of Hindu Thirukootam (1910) with the Shree Ganaser Temple and hall erected in 1916. It was declared a national monument in November 1990. The present site of the SDS temple (Sanathan Dharma Sabha aka Lord Vishnu Temple) also housed Mahatma Gandhi who established a non-White Stretcher-bearer service in the Ambulance Corps in the Ladysmith and Spioenkop during the Anglo-Boer War.

There are also Rastafarian devotees within the areas surrounding Ladysmith, residing in Waters Meet, Peace Town, eZakheni, Steadville, Saint Chads, Acaciaville and Roosbom.

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

title: Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal


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Plestiodon tetragrammus

The four-lined skink (Plestiodon tetragrammus) is a species of lizard, which is endemic to North America. It is a medium-sized member of the Plestiodon skinks.

Taxonomy
At least two subspecies are recognized, including the nominotypical subspecies:
 * Long-lined skink, P. t. tetragrammus Baird, 1859
 * Short-lined skink, P. t. brevilineatus (Cope, 1880)

Some herpetologists also consider the mountain skink (Plestiodon callicephalus) to be a subspecies of Plestiodon tetragrammus under the name P. t. callicephalus. Others, however, prefer to treat the mountain skink as a distinct species because its range is geographically distinct and there are morphological differences.

Description
The two subspecies can be distinguished by their color and their stripes. The long-lined skink is gray to light brown in color and has light stripes from the eyes extending to beyond its forelegs, whereas the short-lined skink is darker in color and has stripes that end before the forelegs.

Juveniles of both subspecies have — like many Plestiodon — a blue tail; this color fades with age.

Adults reach a maximum SVL (Snout-Vent-Length) of some 7.5 cm (about 3 inches), and a TL (total length) of about 18 cm.

Geographic range
Plestiodon tetragrammus occurs in northern Mexico and along the Mexican Gulf coast and in western and central Texas.

Habitat
Both subspecies live in lightly wooded areas, with the short-lined skink having a preference for rocky areas, whereas the long-lined skink is also found in grasslands.

Reproduction
The female lays about 5 to 12 eggs once a year, which she broods. Males develop orange (short-lined skink) to red (long-lined skink) coloration of the head during the breeding season.

title: Plestiodon tetragrammus


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Talk:List of states and union territories of India by population

Population count
The population counts on this page disagree with the population counts on some of the linked state pages. This should be fixed and we should footnote the census year that was chosen. --Meara 11:53, 19 Mar 2004 (UTC)

 * Population stats per State/UT in this table have been normalised & corrected to reflect the published final figures for the 2001 Census of India.--cjllw | TALK  04:11, 26 September 2005 (UTC)

 * I've corrected a couple of misplaced commas (Rural Pop.), several percentages and reranked 22 and 23 so 22 has more people than 23. Glenn L (talk) 21:39, 17 March 2009 (UTC)

 * The Urban and rural population for the state Andhra Pradesh seem to be not right — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ashwin.reddy (talk • contribs) 11:10, 17 January 2017 (UTC)

Union Territories to be split from the states
Pondy et al are UTs and not states and will confuse someone new to Indian geography. I suggest that UTs be given a separate article or a new table atleast to avoid confusion. For eg. in the article Pondicherry, it is listed as the second largest by population, but here it shows the rankings of only the states and the UTs are given a mere "-". Pl look into this someone. --Idleguy 14:20, 30 July 2006 (UTC)

Delhi
Delhi is a state now. — goethean ॐ 01:19, 3 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Negative. Please cite sources that mention India amended the Constitution to include Delhi as a state. =Nichalp   «Talk»=  13:36, 26 October 2008 (UTCbv)

Sex ratio of Uttar Pradesh misprinted
It should be 899:1000 instead 100:1000. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 113.193.159.33 (talk) 04:13, 3 February 2011 (UTC)

Query about Wikipedia policy on adding useful links
We are working towards raising awareness on inequality among Indian states. We feel that this will eventually lead to elections focused on development issues. At present we provide comparison of states on number of topics mainly through map and single point of data. We want to add our page on population of states, http://statemaps.org/india/state_population/ as useful link on article page. Please suggest what is Wikipedia policy regarding this? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Hobbescalvin (talk • contribs) 17:35, 14 September 2017 (UTC)

Punjab - 15th or 16th?
According to p 20 of this census handbook, Punjab was 15th. Our article says 16th. Is this handbook wrong? - Sitush (talk) 03:08, 11 June 2018 (UTC)
 * Neither, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana was split up in this article which pushes all states below 12th down by 1 rank. I don't know how the resulting population was calculated, maybe somebody went to the trouble of finding the district-wise populations and added them up to get Telangana's population. —Gazoth (talk) 13:09, 11 June 2018 (UTC)

Table with percentages is missing proportion for Uttar Pradesh
It seems most peculiar that the percentage of people in the largest state is not indicated in the table. Probably an oversight but the value could even be calculated if it is not in the source data. Idyllic press (talk) 09:31, 16 August 2021 (UTC)


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Prosh (University of Western Australia)

Prosh is a satirical annual newspaper written by students at the University of Western Australia to raise funds for nominated charities.

Annual event
The annual tradition is the collaboration of a team of voluntary students who write, design and edit a spoof newspaper designed to poke fun at current events and political agendas. Content varies, but often contains elements of potty humour, black humour and social and political commentary. Every April the paper is distributed to the public of Perth's metropolitan area by students dressed in costume in exchange for a donation, often a "gold coin" donation. However, most collectors are willing to accept any sort of small change or cash donation. The day is also marked by a procession through the streets of Perth. The event now involves many carefully designed floats, practical jokes and stunts which are played on the public by participating students.

History
In 1931, a small group of students compiled a small, satirical newspaper called the "SRUSS SRUSS Times" as part of graduation celebrations. Later that week, the Perth newspaper The Sunday Times berated the creators of the newspaper, calling it trash and filth, and the creators were subsequently penalised, in the form of a fine payable to a local children's charity.

In the 1950s the newspaper reappeared as Prosh. The name was derived from the inability of inebriated students to pronounce the word “procession” without slurring. Over the decades of the Prosh procession through Perth, various floats and vehicles of dubious form and function passed through the centre of the city.

Currently, Prosh (which is now one of the oldest UWA traditions) is kept alive by volunteers writing, editing and distributing the newspaper annually in April. Each year a new group of charities are chosen as the beneficiaries of all money raised by Prosh, with more than $100,000 raised each year.

Controversy
In 2013, Prosh published a "dreamtime horoscope" that mocked Indigenous Australians with reference to excessive drinking and disproportional financial support from the government. The incident received national media attention and an apology was issued by the UWA Student Guild who committed to changing policies and guidelines for Prosh publications.

title: Prosh (University of Western Australia)


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Hydropneumatic suspension

Hydropneumatic suspension is a type of motor vehicle suspension system, designed by Paul Magès, invented by Citroën, and fitted to Citroën cars, as well as being used under licence by other car manufacturers. Similar systems are also widely used on modern tanks and other large military vehicles. The suspension was referred to as Suspension oléopneumatique in early literature, pointing to oil and air as its main components.

The purpose of this system is to provide a sensitive, dynamic and high-capacity suspension that offers superior ride quality on a variety of surfaces. A hydropneumatic system combines the advantages of hydraulic systems and pneumatic systems so that gas absorbs excessive force and liquid in hydraulics directly transfers force. The suspension system usually features both self-leveling and driver-variable ride height, to provide extra clearance in rough terrain.

This type of suspension for automobiles was inspired by the pneumatic suspension used for aircraft landing gear, which was also partly filled with oil for lubrication and to prevent gas leakage, as patented in 1933 by the same company. The principles illustrated by the successful use of hydropneumatic suspension are now used in a broad range of applications, such as aircraft oleo struts and gas filled automobile shock absorbers.

Description
Hydropneumatic suspension is a type of motor vehicle suspension system, designed by Paul Magès, invented by Citroën, and fitted to Citroën cars. The suspension was referred to as Suspension oléopneumatique in early literature, pointing to oil and air as its main components.

The system was also used under licence by other car manufacturers, notably Rolls-Royce (Silver Shadow), Bmw 5-Series e34 Touring, Maserati (Quattroporte II) and Peugeot. It was also used on Berliet trucks and has been used on Mercedes-Benz cars, where it is known as Active Body Control. The Toyota Soarer UZZ32 "Limited" was fitted with a fully integrated four-wheel steering and a complex, computer-controlled hydraulic Toyota Active Control Suspension in 1991. Similar systems are also widely used on modern tanks and other large military vehicles.

Effects
The purpose of this system is to provide a sensitive, dynamic and high-capacity suspension that offers superior ride quality on a variety of surfaces. The suspension system usually features both self-leveling and driver-variable ride height, to provide extra clearance in rough terrain. Hydropneumatic suspension has a number of natural advantages over steel springs, generally recognized in the auto industry. In a hydropneumatic system, gas absorbs excessive force, whereas liquid in hydraulics directly transfers force, which combines the advantages of two technological principles: Suspension and springing technology is not generally well understood by consumers, leading to a public perception that hydropneumatics are merely "good for comfort". They also have advantages related to handling and control efficiency, solving a number of problems inherent in steel springs that suspension designers have previously struggled to eliminate. Although auto manufacturers understood the inherent advantages over steel springs, there were two problems. First, it was patented by the inventor, and second it had a perceived element of complexity, so automakers like Mercedes-Benz, British Leyland (Hydrolastic, Hydragas), and Lincoln sought to create simpler variants using a compressed air suspension.
 * Hydraulic systems use torque multiplication in an easy way, independent of the distance between the input and output, without the need for mechanical gears or levers.
 * Pneumatic systems are based on the fact that gas is compressible, so equipment is less subject to shock damage.

Citroën's application of the system had the disadvantage that only garages equipped with special tools and knowledge were qualified to work on the cars, making them radically different from ordinary cars with common mechanicals. France was noted for the poor quality of its roads after World War II, but the hydropneumatic suspension as fitted to the Citroën ID/DS and later cars reportedly ensured a smooth and stable ride there.

Hydropneumatic suspension offers no natural roll stiffness. There have been many improvements to the system over the years, including steel anti-roll bars, variable ride firmness (Hydractive), and active control of body roll (Citroën Activa).

Basic mechanical layout
This system uses a belt- or camshaft-driven pump from the engine to pressurise a special hydraulic fluid, which then powers the brakes, suspension and power steering. It can also power any number of features such as the clutch, turning headlamps and even power windows.

Nitrogen is used as the trapped gas to be compressed, since it is unlikely to cause corrosion. The actuation of the nitrogen spring reservoir is performed through an incompressible hydraulic fluid inside a suspension cylinder. By adjusting the filled fluid volume within the cylinder, a leveling functionality is implemented. The nitrogen gas within the suspension sphere is separated from the hydraulic oil by a rubber membrane.

History

Citroën first introduced this system in 1954 on the rear suspension of the Traction Avant. The first four-wheel implementation was in the advanced DS in 1955. This type of suspension for automobiles was inspired by the pneumatic suspension used for aircraft landing gear, which was also partly filled with oil for lubrication and to prevent gas leakage, as patented in 1933 by the same company. Other modifications followed, with design changes such as the 1960 "Double stage oleo-pneumatic shock absorber" patented by Peter Fullam John and Stephan Gyurik.

Major milestones of the hydropneumatics design were:
 * During World War II, Paul Magès, an employee of Citroën, with no formal training in engineering, secretly develops the concept of an oil and air suspension to combine a new level of softness with vehicle control and self-levelling.
 * 1954 Traction Avant 15H: Rear suspension, using LHS hydraulic fluid.
 * 1955 Citroën DS: Suspension, power steering, brakes and gearbox/clutch assembly powered by high pressure hydraulic assistance. A belt driven 7-piston pump, similar in size to a power steering pump, generates this pressure when the engine is running.
 * 1960 The United States Patent and Trademark Office issues for a Double stage oleo-pneumatic shock absorber using concepts very similar to those developed earlier by Paul MagèsPatent forms the basis for aircraft oleo struts and gas-filled shock absorbers
 * 1965 Rolls-Royce licenses Citroën technology for the suspension of the new Silver Shadow
 * 1967 The superior non-hygroscopic LHM mineral fluid is introduced
 * 1969 Citroën M35: The Citroën M35 was a coupé derived from the Ami 8, and equipped with a Wankel engine and a hydropneumatic suspension. The bodies were produced by Heuliez from 1969 to 1971.
 * 1969 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration legalizes LHM mineral fluid in the United States
 * 1970 Citroën GS: Adaptation of the hydropneumatic suspension to a small car
 * 1970 Citroën SM: Variable speed auto-returning power steering, dubbed DIRAVI, and hydraulically actuated directional high beams. The beams of all six headlights are maintained parallel to the road surface by a hydraulic system separate from the directional long range high beams. The headlights' steering and leveling systems are totally separate from the central system that powers the suspension, steering and brakes and use a different fluid, a glycerine type.
 * 1972 BMW E12 5-series released with optional hydropneumatic rear suspension. Coil springs are retained, though softer than conventional coils for the same car. This system was offered in most BMW 5-, 6-, and 7-series models, as well as the E30 Touring (station wagon/estate), into the 1990s when it was replaced with an air suspension. Until late 1987, the hydraulic circuit was separate from the power steering, and the pump electrically powered.
 * 1974 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration bans vehicles with height adjustable suspension, impacting consumers in the United States. Ban repealed 1981.
 * 1974 Citroën CX: The car was one of the most modern of its time, combining Citroën's unique hydro-pneumatic integral self-leveling suspension and speed-adjustable DIRAVI power steering (first introduced on the Citroën SM). The suspension was attached to sub frames that were fitted to the body through flexible mountings, to improve even more the ride quality and to reduce road noise. The British magazine Car described the sensation of driving a CX as hovering over road irregularities, much like a ship traversing above the ocean floor.
 * 1974 Maserati Quattroporte II: was on an extended Citroën SM chassis, available since Citroën had purchased the Italian company and was the only Maserati Quattroporte to feature hydropneumatic suspension and front-wheel drive
 * 1975 The Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9 W116 replaces the air suspension of the 6.3 with hydropneumatic suspension, with the pump driven by the engine's timing chain instead of an external belt. This adaptation was used only for the suspension. Power steering and brakes were conventional hydraulic- and vacuum-powered, respectively.
 * 1980 Mercedes-Benz W126 500SEL used hydropneumatic suspension as optional, later this system was available on 420SEL and 560SEL models.
 * 1983 Citroën BX, built as a 4WD in 1990
 * 1984 Mercedes-Benz W124 selected models of E class had this technology (rear only hydraulic suspension) height adjustable suspension and self-levelling suspension mixed with coil springs.
 * 1987 BMW E30 3-series Touring (station wagon/estate) begins production in July, offering the same self-leveling hydropneumatic rear suspension as previous BMW, with the difference that the pump is a parallel circuit on the belt-driven steering assist pump, and shares its fluid. Starting in September, the E32 7-series (in production since June '86) switches to this pump from the previous electric pump. The BMW E34 5-series begins production in November, also with this new pump.
 * 1989 Citroën XM: Hydractive Suspension, electronic regulation of the hydropneumatic system; sensors measure acceleration and other factors
 * 1990 Peugeot 405 Mi16x4: first Peugeot equipped with rear hydropneumatic suspension
 * 1990 JCB Fastrac high speed agricultural tractor uses this system for its rear suspension.
 * 1991 Toyota Soarer UZZ32 used hydraulic struts controlled by an array of sensors with yaw velocity sensors, vertical G sensors, height sensors, wheel speed sensors, longitudinal and lateral G sensors) that detected cornering, acceleration and braking force.
 * 1993 Citroën Xantia used hydropneumatic, on 1995 Optional Activa (active suspension) system, eliminating body roll by acting on anti-roll bars. A Xantia Activa was able to reach more than 1g lateral acceleration, and still holds the record speed (85 km/h) through the moose test maneuver, due to its active anti-roll bars. This test is conducted by the magazine Teknikens Värld's, as a test of avoiding a moose in the road. The second place car, Porsche 997 GT3 RS was able to manage 82 km/h.
 * 1995 Mercedes-Benz E-Class (W210) on estate (wagon) models on rear suspension used hydraulic suspension with spheres height adjustable suspension and self-levelling suspension mixed with coil springs.
 * 1999 Mercedes-Benz CL-Class (C215) and Mercedes-Benz S-Class (W220) introduce optional Active Body Controlan electronically controlled hydropneumatic system
 * 2001 Citroën C5: Hydractive 3 removes the need for central hydraulic pressure generation; combined pump/sphere unit for the suspension only and with electric height adjustment sensors. Hydractive 3+ was available on some models
 * 2005 Citroën C6: An improved version of the C5 system known as Hydractive 3+ (also fitted to some C5 models), C6 with a V6 engine was fitted with AMVAR version of Hydractive 3+ (sometimes called Hydractive 4)
 * 2007 Citroën C5 II: Hydractive 3+ as optional on Exclusive models. other versions of the car have normal spring suspension.
 * 2008 JCB Fastrac high speed 7000 series agricultural tractors now use this system for front and rear suspension.
 * 2019 Mercedes-Benz 450 GLE introduces eActive Body Control on a Sport utility vehicle, discarding mechanical roll bars, notably enhancing performance.
 * 2023 BYD Auto introduces advanced active hydropneumatic suspension systems on the Yangwang U8 SUV and U9 sportscar. The suspension features the ability to drive with only three wheels fitted, and jump in the air while parked remaining level.

Functioning
At the heart of the system, acting as pressure sink as well as suspension elements, are the so-called spheres, five or six in all; one per wheel and one main accumulator as well as a dedicated brake accumulator on some models. On later cars fitted with Hydractive or Activa suspension, there may be as many as ten spheres. Spheres consist of a hollow metal ball, open to the bottom, with a flexible Desmopan rubber membrane, fixed at the 'equator' inside, separating top and bottom. The top is filled with nitrogen at high pressure, up to 75 bar, the bottom connects to the car's hydraulic fluid circuit. The high pressure pump, powered by the engine, pressurizes the hydraulic fluid (LHM – liquide hydraulique minéral) and an accumulator sphere maintains a reserve of hydraulic power. This part of the circuit is at between 150 and 180 bars. It powers the front brakes first, prioritised via a security valve, and depending on type of vehicle, can power the steering, clutch, gear selector, etc.

Pressure flows from the hydraulic circuit to the suspension cylinders, pressurizing the bottom part of the spheres and suspension cylinders. Suspension works by means of a piston forcing LHM into the sphere, compressing the nitrogen in the upper part of the sphere; damping is provided by a two-way 'leaf valve' in the opening of the sphere. LHM has to squeeze back and forth through this valve which causes resistance and controls the suspension movements. It is the simplest damper and one of the most efficient. Ride height correction (self leveling) is achieved by height corrector valves connected to the anti-roll bar, front and rear. When the car is too low, the height corrector valve opens to allow more fluid into the suspension cylinder (e.g., the car is loaded). When the car is too high (e.g. after unloading) fluid is returned to the system reservoir via low-pressure return lines. Height correctors act with some delay in order not to correct regular suspension movements. The rear brakes are powered from the rear suspension circuit. Because the pressure there is proportional to the load, so is the braking power.

Working fluid
Citroën quickly realized that standard brake fluid was not ideally suited to high pressure hydraulics, and developed a special red-coloured hydraulic fluid named LHS (Liquide Hydraulique Synthétique), which they used from 1954 to 1967. The chief problem with LHS was that it absorbed moisture and dust from the air, which caused corrosion in the system. Most hydraulic brake systems are sealed from the outside air by a rubber diaphragm in the reservoir filler cap, but the Citroën system had to be vented to allow the fluid level in the reservoir to rise and fall, thus it was not hermetically sealed. Consequently, each time the suspension would rise, the fluid level in the reservoir dropped, drawing in fresh moisture-laden air. The large surface of the fluid in the reservoir readily absorbed moisture. Since the system recirculates fluid continually through the reservoir, all the fluid was repeatedly exposed to the air and its moisture content.

To overcome these shortcomings of LHS, Citroën developed a new green fluid, LHM (Liquide Hydraulique Minéral). LHM is a mineral oil, quite close to automatic transmission fluid. Mineral oil is hydrophobic, unlike standard brake fluid; therefore, water-vapour bubbles do not form in the system, as would be the case with standard brake fluid, creating a "spongy" brake feel. Use of mineral oil has thus spread beyond Citroën, Rolls-Royce, Peugeot, and Mercedes-Benz, to include Jaguar, Audi, and BMW.

LHM, being a mineral oil, absorbs only an infinitesimal proportion of moisture, plus it contains corrosion inhibitors. The dust inhalation problem continued, so a filter assembly was fitted into the hydraulic reservoir. Cleaning the filters and changing the fluid at the recommended intervals removes most dust and wear particles from the system, ensuring the longevity of the system. Failure to keep the oil clean is the main cause of problems. It is also imperative to always use the correct fluid for the system; the two types of fluids and their associated system components are not interchangeable. If the wrong type of fluid is used, the system must be drained and rinsed with Hydraflush (Total's Hydraurincage), before draining again and filling with the correct fluid. These procedures are clearly described in DIY manuals obtainable from automotive retailers.

The latest Citroën cars with Hydractive 3 suspension have a new orange coloured LDS hydraulic fluid. This lasts longer and requires less frequent attention. It conforms to DIN 51524-3 for HVLP.

Manufacturing
The whole high pressure part of the system is manufactured from steel tubing of small diameter, connected to valve control units by Lockheed type pipe unions with special seals made from Desmopan, a type of polyurethane thermoplastic compatible with the LHM fluid. The moving parts of the system, e.g., suspension strut or steering ram, are sealed by contact seals between the cylinder and piston for tightness under pressure. The other plastic/rubber parts are return tubes from valves such as the brake control or height corrector valves, also catching seeping fluid around the suspension push-rods. Height corrector, brake master valve and steering valve spools, and hydraulic pump pistons have extremely small clearances (1–3 micrometres) within their cylinders, permitting only a very low leakage rate. The metal and alloy parts of the system rarely fail, even after excessively high mileages, but the elastomer components (especially those exposed to the air) can harden and leak, typical failure points for the system.

Spheres are not subject to mechanical wear, but suffer pressure loss, due to the pressurised nitrogen diffusing through the membrane. They can, however, be recharged, which is cheaper than replacing them. When Citroën designed their Hydractive 3 suspension they redesigned the spheres with new nylon membranes, which greatly slow the rate of deflation. These are recognisable by their grey colouring.

Classic (non-saucer) green- (and grey-) coloured suspension spheres typically last between 60,000 and 100,000 km. Spheres originally had a threaded plug on top for recharging. Newer ('saucer') spheres do not have this plug, but it can be retrofitted, enabling them to be recharged with gas. The sphere membrane has an indefinite life unless run at low pressure, which leads to rupture. Timely recharging, approximately every 3 years, is thus vital. A ruptured membrane means suspension loss at the attached wheel; however, ride height is unaffected. With no springing other than the (slight) flexibility of tyres, hitting a pothole with a flat sphere can bend the suspension parts or dent a wheel rim. In the case of main accumulator sphere failure, the high pressure pump is the only source of braking pressure for the front wheels. Some older cars had a separate front brake accumulator on power steering models.

The old LHS and LHS2 (coloured red) cars used a different elastomer in the diaphragms and seals that is not compatible with green LHM. The orange LDS fluid in Hydractive cars is also incompatible with other fluids.

Legacy
The principles illustrated by the successful use of hydropneumatic suspension are now used in a broad range of applications, such as aircraft oleo struts and gas filled automobile shock absorbers, first patented in the U.S. in 1934 by Cleveland Pneumatic Tool Co. Similar systems are also widely used on modern tanks and other large military vehicles.

Hydractive
Hydractive Suspension is an automotive technology introduced by Citroën in 1990. The prototype debuted in 1988 on the Citroën Activa concept. It describes a development of the 1954 hydropneumatic suspension design using additional electronic sensors and driver control of suspension performance. The driver can make the suspension stiffen (sport mode) or ride in outstanding comfort (soft mode). Sensors in the steering, brakes, suspension, throttle pedal and gearbox feed information on the car's speed, acceleration, and road conditions to an on-board computer, which in turn activates or deactivates an extra pair of suspension spheres on the circuit, to enable either a more smooth supple ride or tighter handling in corners. On the Activa and Activa 2, the car leaned inwards by one degree in turnsCitroën acknowledged that this was somewhat of a marketing gimmick, and that a lean of zero degrees was optimal.

An additional, perhaps unexpected, benefit of active suspension is that fuel consumption and tire wear is lowered overall. The negative camber designed into most suspensions in order to maximize the size of the contact patch when turning leads to tire scrub, which wears out tires and increases fuel consumption.

Hydractive 1 and Hydractive 2
Citroën Hydractive (and later Hydractive 2) suspension was available on several models, including the XM and Xantia, which had a more advanced sub-model known as the Activa. The first Hydractive suspension systems (now known as Hydractive 1) had two user presets, Sport and Auto. In the Sport setting the car's suspension was always kept in its firmest mode. In the Auto setting, the suspension was switched from soft to firm mode temporarily when a speed-dependent threshold in accelerator pedal movement, brake pressure, steering wheel angle, or body movement was detected by one of several sensors.

In Hydractive 2, the preset names were changed to Sport and Normal. In this new version the Sport setting would no longer keep the suspension system in firm mode, but instead lowered the thresholds significantly for any of the sensor readings also used in Normal mode, allowing for a similar level of body firmness during cornering and acceleration, without the sacrifice in ride quality the Sport mode in Hydractive 1 systems had caused.

Whenever the Hydractive 1 or 2 computers received abnormal sensor information, often caused by malfunctioning electrical contacts, the car's suspension system would be forced into its firm setting for the remainder of the ride.

Starting with Xantia model year 1994 and XM model year 1995, all models featured an additional sphere and valve that together functioned as a pressure reservoir for rear brakes because of new hydraulic locks, letting the car retain normal ride height for several weeks without running the engine. Correctly called the SC/MAC sphere, it often became known as the 'anti-sink' sphere, because of its ability to better maintain rear suspension height.

Hydractive 3
The 2001 Citroën C5 has continued development of Hydractive suspension with Hydractive 3. Compared to earlier cars, the C5 stays at normal ride height even when the engine is turned off for an extended period, through the use of electronics. The C5 also uses orange synthetic hydraulic fluid named LDS fluid in place of the green LHM mineral oil used in millions of hydropneumatic vehicles.

A further improved Hydractive 3+ variation was for cars with top engines on the Citroën C5 and in 2005 was standard on the Citroën C6. Hydractive 3+ systems contain additional spheres that can be engaged and disengaged via a Sport button, resulting in a firmer ride.

The Hydractive 3 hydraulic suspension has 2 automatic modes:
 * Motorway position (lowering by 15 mm of the vehicle height above 110 km/h)
 * Poor road surface position (raising by 13 mm of the vehicle height below 70 km/h)

The BHI of the Hydractive 3 suspension calculates the optimum vehicle height, using the following information:
 * Vehicle speed
 * Front and rear vehicle heights

The 3+ Hydractive hydraulic suspension has 3 automatic modes:
 * Motorway position (lowering by 15 mm of the vehicle height above 110 km/h)
 * Poor road surface position (raising by 13 mm of the vehicle height below 70 km/h)
 * Comfort or dynamic suspension (variation of suspension firmness)

The BHI of the 3+ Hydractive suspension calculates the optimum vehicle height, using the following information:
 * Vehicle speed
 * Front and rear vehicle heights
 * Rotation speed of steering wheel
 * Angle of rake of steering wheel
 * Vehicle's longitudinal acceleration
 * Vehicle's lateral acceleration
 * Speed of suspension travel
 * Movement of the accelerator throttle

C5 I (2001–2004)
 * Hydractive hydraulic suspension 3: EW7J4 and DW10TD engines.
 * Hydractive hydraulic suspension 3+: EW10J4, EW10D, ES9J4S and DW12TED4 engines.

C5 II (2004–2007)
 * Hydractive hydraulic suspension 3: EW7J4, EW10A, DV6TED4 and DW10BTED4 engines.
 * Hydractive hydraulic suspension 3+: ES9A and DW12TED4 engines (prior to RPO No 10645).

C6 (2005–2012)
 * Hydractive hydraulic suspension 3+: Standard on all models.

C5 III X7 (2007–2017)
 * Hydractive hydraulic suspension 3+: Depends on country and trim.

title: Hydropneumatic suspension


text:
Talk:Zombie (The Cranberries song)

Protest song
How can I link to the specific subsection ("violence and guns") in "protest songs"? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Mdob (talk • contribs) 12:00, 19 March 2004 (UTC)
 * List_of_protest_songs would make List_of_protest_songs and more descriptive title would make more descriptive title. In this case, protest song is a more appropriate link, it has a description about the term. On the lower left you can find "What links here". If you add Zombie to the list page, it'll automatically appear there. Also see How to edit a page. Oh, and you can sign your input (usually only on talk pages) --~, which is also on a button (skin I use anyway) --Dyss 01:01, 13 Oct 2004 (UTC)

A protest against what? All I heard is a woman shrieking "yehukahuka ZOMBIE ZOMBIE!" over and over again.Pookleblinky 12:37, 30 Nov 2004 (UTC)
 * It is about the conflicts in Northern Ireland known as The Troubles.
 * http://www.lyrics007.com/Cranberries%20Lyrics/Zombie%20Lyrics.html
 * When replying on a talk page, most people use a ":" before the reply so that it looks like this. Not a big problem on a small page like this, but in large pages it can get confusing. --Dyss 00:22, 1 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Erm, a protest against what? Its obvious, just generally against the conflict "its the same old thing, sinse 1916"- There had been no progress towards resoloving the troubles. and how the British media and public portayed the southern irish as supporting the IRA, when they really wanted the conflict resolved. "can't you see it not me, its not my family, in your head they are fighting" this is the "zombie" state of mind she refers to. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 158.125.9.4 (talk) 15:41, 22 November 2006 (UTC)
 * It is about two boys that were killed in an IRA bombing in 1993. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 161.253.47.76 (talk) 05:47, 13 December 2006 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:The Cranberries - Zombie.jpg
Image:The Cranberries - Zombie.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images lacking such an explanation can be deleted one week after being tagged, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot (talk) 06:33, 24 January 2008 (UTC)

✅ Donny (talk) 17:45, 25 January 2008 (UTC)

Video image
I uploaded and linked a screenshot from the music video for this song. I also added fair use on the image page for this use. I feel it better shows how the singer is made-up to look very much like the saint mentioned in the article section. Feel free to shift and/or shrink the image in the article for better flow. I did not include a caption but go ahead if you think it needs one.

Kresock (talk) 18:40, 25 January 2008 (UTC)

Smashing Pumpkins' Disarm
Are there any articles noting the similarity between these songs? The chord progressoin's the same. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.168.244.91 (talk) 19:41, 10 November 2008 (UTC)

Description of music video
I remove the part where it describes the makeup as "Egyptian". Here it is from the article, "She wears an Egyptian headdress as well as Egyptian eye makeup, reminiscent of the Egyptian Goddess Isis. Standing in front of a cross, she's surrounded by golden children with bows and arrows". An encyclopedia should not TELL the reader what it THINKS she is reminiscent of.

A reader can watch the video and come to that conclusion on their own. Its original research; its taking purely from whoever wrote it THOUGHT and got the impression. For me, personally, she looks nothing like Isis. And her headdress is not Egyptian, its "Egyptian-looking". Isis actually doesn't even wear a headdress like that, if you like at ancient illustrations. It is as if someone saw The Mummy and thought, "Wow, she looks like what I saw from the mummy". But that is not a valid source.

What people THINK is Egyptian and what is actually Egyptian are too different things. Someone familiar with Egypt might read this and get the wrong impression. Its original research. Furthermore, to say that she is reminiscent of the goddess Isis is to imply that that is what the artist was going for, which unless cited really doesn't hold water. Again, a viewer can interpret that for themselves. Lol, also, the children were silvery, not golden. Saying she is in gold makeup and is surrounded by silver children in front of a cross is fine. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.76.60.163 (talk) 15:25, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

 * I really like how passionately you feel about this! I agree with you, though I think the word the original poster was looking for was Cleopatra-like. The gold colour was to emulate the impression of King Tut's death mask and the hair was a reference to several made up ideas of what Cleopatra looked like. At the end of the day, yep, "An encyclopedia should not TELL the reader what it THINKS she is reminiscent of". Youtryandyoutry (talk) 23:09, 16 January 2018 (UTC)

Appearances in other media
The part about the Youtuber referencing this song doesn't seem like it should be in here. It seems to be unwarranted promotion. Doesn't seem worthy of inclusion and doesn't have any source. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2601:1C0:5803:3660:71FC:44C3:4DC3:8DC1 (talk) 17:26, 12 February 2016 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified 6 one external links on Zombie (song). Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive http://www.webcitation.org/5hFf8iFDu to http://www.irishcharts.ie/search/placement
 * Added archive http://web.archive.org/web/20150803041226/http://www.aria.com.au:80/pages/aria-charts-end-of-year-charts-top-50-singles-1995.htm to http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-end-of-year-charts-top-50-singles-1995.htm
 * Added archive http://web.archive.org/web/20140330022958/http://www.ultratop.be/nl/annual.asp?year=1995 to http://www.ultratop.be/nl/annual.asp?year=1995
 * Added archive http://web.archive.org/web/20140414112334/http://www.ultratop.be:80/fr/annual.asp?year=1995 to http://www.ultratop.be/fr/annual.asp?year=1995
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/20120307201551/http://www.disqueenfrance.com/fr/monopage.xml?id=259376&year=1995 to http://www.disqueenfrance.com/fr/monopage.xml?id=259376&year=1995
 * Added archive http://web.archive.org/web/20120323145710/http://hitparade.ch/year.asp?key=1995 to http://hitparade.ch/year.asp?key=1995

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Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 23:48, 20 July 2016 (UTC)

Composition
There's a dubious section here called Composition which declares the beats-per-minute of the song at 84 bpm. The album recording (at 82 bpm) is faster than the live performances of the song, which tended to be in th 72-75 bpm range. It's actually the reason the live performances dragged, in my not-asked-for opinion. I'm removing the mention of the bpm altogether because it's not consistent across all performances of the song and it's just a weird statement. That leaves the fact that it's in E minor. Is that relevant? I'm deleting that too cause having a whole section just to tell people it's in E minor is a bad way of presenting this information. Correct me if I'm wrong though. We could just write that in somewhere else in the article. Here. I'll do that now. Cheers Youtryandyoutry (talk) 23:22, 16 January 2018 (UTC)

Time the song released
I think these a mistake and the song released only at 1994, not 1993 Nirvadel (talk) 10:57, 23 March 2018 (UTC)

 * Official release is 1994 everywhere on the web, but first record is 3 may 1993, in France : https://www.radiofrance.fr/franceinter/podcasts/c-est-lenoir/the-cranberries-03-05-1993-6113080
 * May be you can add it to this page. Cochardp (talk) 21:53, 3 June 2024 (UTC)

Colin Parry with the covers?
This section was moved into a new Legacy section which usually appears at the end of the article at Wikipedia. The table of contents for the covers has now been changed to a Renditions section. I think the Legacy section should come after it. The article deserves a Legacy section. ErnestKrause (talk) 18:20, 13 May 2021 (UTC)
 * Hi. Colin Parry is the father of the IRA victim, he is not "a legacy", it's a comment that he made after O'Riordan death. It should stay with the Cranberries, not below the covers; it's embarrassing. Colin Parry with Bad Wolves and Miley Cyrus? The singing voice sub-section is about the yodeling, her technique, and her voice, you can't merge with the critical reception of the whole song. I spent a lot of time on this page. Oroborvs (talk) 18:30, 13 May 2021 (UTC)
 * Your really nice efforts on this page make me think twice about your comment. I think it might make sense to have a short history section at the top of the article, possibly by separating the background from the composition in the top section of the current article. That way the first paragraph currently in background could open the new history section and it could be followed by pulling up the sections for both Censorship and Colin Parry to the top of the article. In theory, at least, that sounds like it might give these 2 aspects of the article more emphasis and provide better context for the article as a whole. What do you think? ErnestKrause (talk) 18:47, 13 May 2021 (UTC)
 * Ok if you think that will improve the quality of the page. Cranberries' specific content logically cannot fit under the covers section, since everything belongs to the historical context of the original song. I would like you not to delete any text unless it is poorly written. The section about her voice is very precise (chest voice, head voice, falsetto) and corresponds to the descriptions found in Yodeling. For the #Legacy section, I don't see what content, and where you would like to place it. Covers should be notable as you know. And the quote box in gray should be moved to #Production and release, I think. Oroborvs (talk) 19:08, 13 May 2021 (UTC)
 * Here is a look at what I had in mind since you mentioned the possibility of something to improve the page. I have made a Separate section of background and composition into 2 sections, and merged legacy, censorship and performances sections to provide new structure for new history section. I think it gives a better table of contents to the article as a whole and you can adapt and adjust things to make any improvements you feel enhance the article ErnestKrause (talk) 20:34, 13 May 2021 (UTC)
 * Users do not own Wikipedia pages, anyone can improve the page as long as we follow Wikipedia's policies. For my part, I have followed a natural chronology to help the reader, and when I worked on the page I based myself on WP:SONGS (Wikipedia:WikiProject Songs) and on the FA-Class song articles which demonstrate that they have a #Live performances section at the end of their page, only reserved for songs played in concerts, such as: Something (Beatles song), City of Blinding Lights, Push the Button (Sugababes song), or 4 Minutes. I appreciate your involvement and the creation of the first three sections (#History and background, #Composition, #Production and release) which is great, but merging the live performances with the IRA bombing as an introduction to the article is non-compliant. Oroborvs (talk) 22:12, 13 May 2021 (UTC)
 * The section put together follows Wikipedia policy for a comprehensive history section to appear at the start of the article, and to be a comprehensive version of the history with its ups and downs. Since this is a protest song, the ups and downs I think are unavoidable. It might be helpful if you could look at the Louder sound interview with The Cranberries dealing fully with this song. I tried to find a link to it though I could not find an active link. Possibly you already know this article in Louder sound. Regarding the status of the article now, it is currently marked as C-class on the talk page and I would be interested to know if you would like to enhance and improve it some more. You have over 1000 edits here and its important for me to know if you would like to move the article forward. ErnestKrause (talk) 22:32, 13 May 2021 (UTC)
 * Hi. I did not see the article in Louder sound, but thank you for the info. I assume your good faith, but now there is a chronological issue in the article. The #History and background section should end under O'Riordan's quote, which contains a summary of the Troubles, the IRA bombing, and her feelings about it. Then the band wrote the song: #Composition → #Production and release → #Reception. Live performances section at the end of the Cranberries' content as it appears on the FA-Class song articles, which makes sense since a band first wrote a song and they perform it afterward. Even though it's a protest song, it's still "just a song" played at concerts, it has no weight compared to a 30 years war and all the deaths; that's why live performances should not be merged with that. Also, the death of an artist and the reactions that follow always appear at the bottom of the body, not at the top. That is why it should return to its original shape with the #Live performances, #Censorship, and #Colin Parry sections at the bottom while keeping what you did: #History and background, #Composition, #Production and release. Although it was marked as C-class, the article was stable for months and already had good article criteria from a clarity point of view. It is a content dispute. I want to suggest interaction with a third opinion → Third opinion (edit: #Active disagreements). Oroborvs (talk) 11:04, 14 May 2021 (UTC)
 * If the purpose here is to improve the article, then much of what you say can still be applied though my own thoughts are along slightly different approaches. My feeling is that the article's table of contents looks better now with less splits for special topics. It seems that the article can be brought up for peer level review comments with about another dozen or two dozen edits. That to me would sound like moving the article forward and then getting the peer review comments which you would like to see. Regarding your comments on the History section chronology, it seems that you are thinking about the separate sections of this article as subsections of the new History section as opposed to their being separate topics for presentation in the article. The Beatles FA for "Something" which you cited above in your comments, for example, did not have a separate Performances section for the group performances. The current History section seems to give a comprehensive overview of the history of the song from its start to contemporary times. Then the other sections go ahead to present discussions of separate aspects of the song's production, composition, etc. My own thoughts are that the article might look better with more details added in the Composition section, and the article as a whole might also look better with a new Lyrics section added which is currently not in the article. If you would like the move the article forward towards a peer review evaluation then that sounds like it would be a good idea. What do you think? ErnestKrause (talk) 15:16, 14 May 2021 (UTC)
 * Why didn't you requested directly a peer review of my work? I expanded and improved the page several months ago, that's what I don't understand since my model was: Déjà Vu (Beyoncé song) which is a FA-Class song article, and you can find the #Music video section with the same subsections titled "Accolades", and "Synopsis". This is the standard, not a personal taste. If you want to add more details in the #Composition section that's because it's weak now since you have split the original section with #Production and release. You analyzed the text to be too long, but there is no maximum length for a text. I hadn't done it for this reason. You add a Lyrics section if you want, I don't mind, but it's not encyclopedic. I am worried that you would delete the quotations in the Quote box, they are relevant. Don't merge the cover with the Cranberries' content, please, covers are always at the bottom. If you want a peer review evaluation there's no problem, but I don't see anything to merge because each song article has its #Music video, #Reception, #Charts, and #Covers sections, that's why I can't see what you're trying to merge with the Composition section. Oroborvs (talk) 19:53, 14 May 2021 (UTC)
 * I've added some of the preliminary material to the composition section so that you can see what I meant. Regarding my own assessment of what you have done for this article, I think you have done a really good job with the collection and formatting of the references which are in very good shape. The FA articles which you are quoting look to me like over-reach at this time, whether its the Beyonce article you like, or the Beatles song you previous mentioned. With about one dozen or two dozen more edits, I think the article can have a stronger table of contents and some stronger expanded sections which would help to promote the article from C-class where it is now. The Beyonce article which you like so much does have a Music and Lyrics section and I think this article would benefit from something like a Lyrics section. Would you be ready to try to do such a section for this article to help expand it and enhance it further? ErnestKrause (talk) 22:28, 14 May 2021 (UTC)
 * The initial version could have been brought to GA, with grammatical, punctuation, and redundancy correction, nothing more. The article was ok, other experienced users have checked the article. Now there's an overuse of quotations WP:QUOTEFARM. "I think you have done a really good job with the collection and formatting of the references which are in very good shape": you forget that the whole text of Cranberries and Bad Wolves was written by me, and the time spent doing research. What is your legitimacy to say that "The FA articles which you are quoting look to me like over-reach at this time"? Also, the first section finishes with "O'Riordan's death", and the second starts with "O'Riordan had a feeling"; what do you think of that? If you merge the covers with the Cranberries' contents, it will be reverted. Oroborvs (talk) 23:34, 14 May 2021 (UTC)

title: Talk:Zombie (The Cranberries song)


text:
Red Pike (cipher)

Red Pike is a classified United Kingdom government encryption algorithm, proposed for use by the National Health Service by GCHQ, but designed for a "broad range of applications in the British government". Little is publicly known about Red Pike, except that it is a block cipher with a 64-bit block size and 64-bit key length. According to the academic study of the cipher cited below and quoted in a paper by Ross Anderson and Markus Kuhn, it "uses the same basic operations as RC5" (add, XOR, and left shift) and "has no look-up tables, virtually no key schedule and requires only five lines of code"; "the influence of each key bit quickly cascades" and "each encryption involves of the order of 100 operations". 64 bits of key entropy are not considered secure anymore.

Red Pike is available to approved British government contractors in software form, for use in confidential (not secret) government communication systems. GCHQ also designed the Rambutan cryptosystem for the same segment.

Given that Red Pike is a British encryption algorithm, its name likely refers to a particular fell in the western English Lake District.

Supposed source code
In February 2014, the supposed source code for Red Pike was posted as follows to the Cypherpunk mailing list.

title: Red Pike (cipher)


text:
Theatre of Tragedy

Theatre of Tragedy was a Norwegian band from Stavanger, active between 1993 and 2010. They are best known for their earlier albums, which influenced the gothic metal genre.

Formation (1993)
Theatre of Tragedy was founded on 2 October 1993 by vocalist Raymond István Rohonyi, guitarists Pål Bjåstad and Tommy Lindal. Drummer Hein Frode Hansen had recently quit his former band Phobia and started looking for a new musical project to play in. A friend of his told Hein that a band called Suffering Grief was looking for a new drummer, and after contacting them, he joined the band. At the time, Suffering Grief was composed of vocalist Raymond István Rohonyi and guitarists Pål Bjåstad and Tommy Lindal. No bassist had joined the band yet, but Eirik T. Saltrø had agreed to play with them in live concerts.

After finding a rehearsal place, the band decided to work upon a couple of piano arrangements composed by Lorentz Aspen. The vocals, at the time, were almost entirely composed of raw death grunts.

After composing their first song, "Lament of the Perishing Roses", the band changed its name to La Reine Noir and then to Theatre of Tragedy. They subsequently invited singer Liv Kristine Espenæs - Rohonyi's then girlfriend - to do female vocals for one song, but quickly invited her to join the band permanently.

First five albums (1994–2002)
In 1994, their first studio demo was recorded, and in 1995, the debut album Theatre of Tragedy was released, followed by Velvet Darkness They Fear in 1996 and the A Rose for the Dead EP in 1997, which contained unreleased material from Velvet Darkness They Fear. Arguably, the band reached the apogee of its career in 1998, with the release of the critically acclaimed album Aégis.

Released in 2000, Musique was a massive departure from the gothic metal sound that Theatre of Tragedy had developed over the previous three albums. The heavy guitars and Early Modern English lyrics were replaced by electropop and industrial-influenced metal. It was met with a very mixed reception, and while some older fans were understandably shocked by the new direction of the band, it did gain them a number of new fans.

With 2002's Assembly, the band continued along the same musical path as on their previous album. It was seen as a more refined and confident electropop record than its predecessor. It was also the first album to feature their long-time session guitarist, Vegard K. Thorsen, as a full member of the band.

Departure of Liv Kristine and Storm (2003–2007)
In August 2003, the band declared in an official statement on their website that Liv Kristine was removed from the band's line-up due to "musical differences which could not be bridged".

Female singer Nell Sigland (from The Crest) joined Theatre of Tragedy on the following year. In winter 2004/2005, the band performed a short concert tour (together with Pain, Sirenia, and Tiamat) with Sigland singing.

The band released their sixth studio album Storm on 24 March 2006, and a European tour followed, with Gothminister as supporting act. The album's title song was released as a single on 24 February 2006. While still keeping on the industrial and electronic roots of the last two albums, the album showed a return to some of the sounds developed in their first albums.

Forever Is the World (2008–2009)
On 2 October 2008, Theatre of Tragedy celebrated their 15th anniversary. In December 2008 the band posted a snippet of new track "Frozen," which was expected to be on the new album, on their MySpace music page:

"Time for some updates. Things are slowly moving forward with the next album. As usual with the Theatre machinery there is many things [sic] to take into consideration when doing stuff and recently we were forced to change collaborators for the production of the album, and postpone the recordings. But fear not the heavy responsibility has been entrusted to Alexander Møklebust (Zeromancer, Seigmen, Gåte, Monomen, Delaware etc) and the ToT crew will enter Room 13 in May and June for recordings and general mayhem! Estimated release from AFM is end of September. Rumor has it that there will be a vinyl version for the diehard fans. We will keep you posted."

In June 2009 saw the band reveal Forever Is the World as the title of the new album. Their 7th album was released in Europe on 21 September 2009, with the band making a step towards their earlier sound of Aégis. A special tour edition of Forever Is the World was issued on 12 March 2010. The tour edition contained a bonus CD known as the Addenda EP, which contains song reworkings and unreleased tracks.

Metal Mind Productions issued a press release in July stating that they were, with the co-operation of the band, re-releasing Musique and Assembly. Both albums have been remastered and will be backed with bonus tracks. New liner notes and artwork are said to be a part of the package. Each album is limited to 2000 numbered copies.

Breakup and aftermath (2010–present)
On 1 March 2010, Theatre of Tragedy issued a statement informing fans of their decision to split on 2 October 2010. The statement cited personal desires to spend more time with family and an inability to juggle their everyday working lives with a "rock and roll" lifestyle. On 12 March, Theatre of Tragedy kicked off their farewell tour, "Forever is the World Tour". The Norwegian symphonic goth metal band Where Angels Fall opened for them on the European part of the tour. In September, fans helped the band to secure funds to finish their first and last DVD by making donations when the label pulled out most of the funding for the production. The result was Last Curtain Call, a concert film from their very last show on 2 October 2010 in their hometown Stavanger.

On 5 July 2013, the band's first three albums were re-released and remastered.

In December 2015, Liv Kristine did a tour across Germany, Belgium, Russia, Poland, Netherlands, and United Kingdom, with her own solo project. She performed songs from her solo project and from Theatre of Tragedy like she usually does in solo concerts. Moreover, Raymond István Rohonyi joined her on this tour. She also played at the Metal Female Voices Fest XIII on 23 October 2016 along with Raymond. They also played a few songs of Theatre of Tragedy like they did in December 2015. The band members have stated, however, that there are no plans for a Theatre of Tragedy reunion, explaining that it is "as likely as a Doors reunion with the original lineup. No one has been approached or not approached."

Musical style
The band made use of contrasting vocals – male bass vocals (making some use of death grunts) and female soprano singing (commonly referred to as "Beauty and the Beast" vocals) – and on their first three albums, presented lyrics written predominantly in Early Modern English. Starting from the album Musique, however, Theatre of Tragedy made drastic changes to its style, which became significantly inspired by the industrial rock genre, abandoning Early Modern English writing and death grunts in the process. On their two last releases, Storm and Forever Is The World, the band returned to a more classic gothic rock/metal sound.

Final lineup

 * Raymond István Rohonyi – male vocals (1993–2010)
 * Hein Frode Hansen – drums (1993–2010)
 * Lorentz Aspen – keyboards, synthesizers (1993–2010)
 * Frank Claussen – guitars (1997–2010)
 * Vegard K. Thorsen – guitars (2000–2010)
 * Nell Sigland – female vocals (2004–2010)
 * Erik Torp – session bass (2010)

Pre-final lineup members

 * Liv Kristine – female vocals (1993–2003)
 * Eirik T. Saltrø – bass (1993–2000)
 * Magnus Westgaard – bass (2006, 2009)
 * Tommy Lindal – guitar (1993–1997)
 * Pål Bjåstad – guitar (1993–1995)
 * Geir Flikkeid – guitar (1995–1997)
 * Mathias Röderer – guitar (1996) – session musician
 * Tommy Olsson – guitar (1997–1999)
 * Bjørnar Landa – guitar (2006) – session musician

title: Theatre of Tragedy


text:
Cheiromeles

Cheiromeles is a genus of bats in the family Molossidae, the free-tailed bats. The genus was erected and described by Thomas Horsfield, who developed the name from the Greek word cheir ("hand"), a reference to the hand-like hindfoot, which has a toe that flexes like an opposable thumb. These bats have mostly hairless bodies and fold their wings into pouches of skin along their bodies when at rest. These are among the largest insectivorous bats, weighing up to 135 grams.

There are two species in this genus:
 * Lesser naked bat Cheiromeles parvidens
 * Hairless bat Cheiromeles torquatus

title: Cheiromeles


text:
Sokoto

Sokoto is a major city located in extreme north-western Nigeria, near the confluence of the Sokoto River and the Rima River. As of 2006, it has a population of over 427,760. Sokoto is the modern-day capital of Sokoto State and was previously the capital of the north-western states. Modern Sokoto is known for trading sheepskins, cattle hides, leather crafts (a significant export), kola nuts and goatskins.

The seat of the former Sokoto Caliphate, the city is predominantly Muslim and an important seat of Islamic learning in Nigeria. The Sultan who heads the caliphate is effectively the spiritual leader of Nigerian Muslims.

Name and etymology
The name Sokoto (which is the modern/anglicised version of the local name, Sakkwato) is of Arabic origin, representing sooq, 'market' in English. It is also known as Sakkwato, Birnin Shaihu da Bello or "Sokoto, Capital of Shaihu and Bello".

Climate
Sokoto has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSh). It is located in the dry Sahel surrounded by sandy savannah and isolated hills.

With an annual average temperature of 28.3 °C, Sokoto is one of the hottest cities in Nigeria, however the maximum daytime temperatures are generally under 40 °C most of the year, and the dryness makes the heat bearable. The warmest months are February to April, where daytime temperatures can exceed 40 °C. The highest recorded temperature is 45 °C. The rainy season is from June to October, during which showers are a daily occurrence. The showers rarely last long and are a far cry from the regular torrential showers known in many tropical regions. From late October to February, during the 'cold season', the climate is dominated by the harmattan wind blowing Sahara dust over the land. The dust dims the sunlight, thereby reducing temperatures significantly.

The region's lifeline for growing crops is the floodplains of the Sokoto-Rima river system, which are covered with rich alluvial soil. For the rest, the crops cultivated in Sokoto includes millet, guinea corn, beans perhaps being the most abundant, followed by maize, rice, sesame, other cereals and vegetables such as: onions, tomatoes, pepper, garden egg, lettuce, and cabbage. Apart from millet, Sokoto is the major onion producer in Nigeria, in terms of vegetation, Sokoto falls within the savannah zone. This is an open tse-tse fly-free grassland suitable for cultivation of grain crops and animal husbandry. Rain starts late and ends early with mean annual rainfall ranging between 500 mm and 1,300 mm. There are two major seasons in Sokoto, namely wet and dry. The dry season starts from October, and lasts up to April in some parts and may extend to May or June in other parts. The wet season on the other hand begins in most parts of the state in May and lasts up to September, or October. The harmattan, a dry, cold and fairly dusty wind is experienced in the state between November and February. Heat is more severe in the state in March and April. But the weather in the state is always cold in the morning and hot in the afternoons, save in peak harmattan period.

The topography of the state is dominated by the Hausa plain of northern Nigeria. The vast irrigable land of the Sokoto-Rima River systems dissects the plain and provides the rich alluvial soil fit for a variety of crop cultivation in the state. There are also isolated hills and mountains scattered all over the state.

Historical development
Sokoto had been used as early as October 1804 by the Shehu Usmanu Dan Fodiyo as the venue for the meeting with Galadima, Yunfa's Vizier. Subsequently, it was used by his son Muhammad Bello as a staging post for an attack on Dufua in the spring of 1806. Bovil suggested that the area/district may have been known as Sokoto as early as the seventeenth century. In historical perspective, Sokoto was founded as a ribat (military camp or frontier) in 1809, when Shehu Usmanu was at Sifawa. It later became the capital of the caliphate after Shehu's death.

In the 1820s, Sokoto was at its peak of prosperity coinciding with the peak of its 'rulers' powers at the center of the caliphate, receiving annual tribute from all the fiefs before a long period of decline. The explorer Hugh Clapperton (1827) was highly impressed by this prosperity and its effects on the city.

Clapperton noted the importance of Sokoto's closely settled surroundings: The rivers, rather than long-distance trade in the city's economy. But trading activities in Sokoto is presently inconsiderable, owing to the disturbed state of the surrounding country.

By the time the explorer Heinrich Barth arrived in 1853, Sokoto was thinly inhabited and greatly dilapidated. Barth in 1857 estimated the population at only 20,000–22,000, but the market was still supplied and attended, and a thriving suburb outside the wall was more animated than Sokoto itself.

Bovil aptly described Sokoto as a strong position, with steep escarpments from the east to the north-west and a small valley on the west and the south west protecting it against surprise cavalry attacks. The town dominates the broad lowland where the two rivers, Rima and Sokoto meet, being the junction of roads from Gobir in the north, Kebbi in the south and Burmi Zamfara in the east.

In the early 19th century, the town (Sokoto) was divided into wards. Such wards include Magajin Gari ward, Waziri ward, Sarkin Musulmi ward, Sarkin Adar ward, Magajin Rafi ward, and Sarkin Zamfara Ward. At this time the wards were small and surrounded with a wall, which included the mosques of Sultan Bello and Shehu, Sultan Palace and other buildings as well as the compound of Shehu.

In 1818, the wall was extended up to the extent that it has gates that come in and out of the Birni wall. Such gates are Kofar-Kade, Kofar-Kware, Kofar-Rini, Kofar-Dundaye, Kofar-Taramniya, Kofar-Aliyu Jedo, and Kofar-Marke. The area of the present Sokoto was the home of many empires and kingdoms of the pre-colonial western Sudan. These include the Gobir and Kebbi kingdoms as well as the world-renowned caliphate whose spiritual and political capital is the headquarters of the state.

Following the conquest of the caliphate by the British in 1903, its various components were made autonomous and joined into the government of Northern Nigeria. The northern region was thus made up of mainly parts of the Sokoto caliphate and Kanem-Bornu Empire. This continued up to January 1967 when states were created to replace regional governments by General Yakubu Gowon. Sokoto became the headquarters of the north-western state created in 1967. In 1976 following the creation of Niger state out of North Western state, Sokoto state emerged with its headquarters. Yet in Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara states were carved out of Sokoto, in 1991 and 1996 respectively.

Sokoto metropolis has thus been the capital of various governments since its establishment by Caliph Muhammad Bello in 1809.

People and culture
Sokoto state has a projected population of 3.7 million people based on a 2006 census made up of two ethnic groups namely, Fulani and Hausa. Sokoto town, the capital of Sokoto state, has a population of approximately 2.5 million. Apart from Fulani and Hausa, there are the Zabarmawa and Tuareg minorities in the local government border areas. All these groups speak Hausa as a common language. Fulfulde is spoken by the Fulani.

Hausa people in the state are made up of Gobirawa, Zamfarawa, Kabawa, Adarawa and Arawa. The Fulani's on the other hand are of two main groups; the town Fulani (Fulanin Gida; Fulɓe Wuro) and the Nomads. The former includes the Torankawa, the clan of Shehu Usmanu Danfodiyo, Sullubawa and Zoramawa. The Torankawa are the aristocratic class since 1804.

Culturally the state is homogeneous. The people of the state are predominantly Muslim. Their mode of dress is also of Islamic origin. Two major festivals namely, Eid-el-Fitri and Eid-el-Kabir are celebrated in the state every year. The former marks the end of the Ramadan fast, while the latter features the slaughtering of rams in commemoration of an act of the Islamic prophet Ibrahim (the Jewish patriarch Abraham).

Traditional wrestling (Kokawa) and boxing (Dambe) are the two sports enjoyed by the Hausa while the Fulani and the Sullubawa entertain themselves with Sharo and Doro respectively. Important visitors to the state are usually treated to the grand or mini durbar, an event involving the parade of heavily decorated horses and camels mounted by men in full traditional military and cultural attire.

Pollution
The public in Sokoto is at serious risk for serious health problems as a result of the airborne dust, which can cause lung conditions and increase mortality rates, particularly from cardiovascular causes.

Economic activities
Over eighty percent (80%) of the inhabitants of Sokoto practice one form of agriculture or another. They produce crops like millet, guinea corn, maize, rice, potatoes, cassava, groundnuts, beans etc.for subsistence and produce wheat, cotton and vegetables for cash. Local crafts such as blacksmithing, weaving, dyeing, carving and leather works also play an important role in the economic life of the people of Sokoto; as a result, different areas like Makera, Marina, Takalmawa and Majema became important. Sokoto is also one of the fish producing areas of the country. Thus a large number of people along the river basin engage in fishing.

Sokoto is equally endowed with natural and mineral resources. Agro allied industries using cotton, groundnut, sorghum, gum, maize, rice, wheat, sugar cane, cassava, gum Arabic and tobacco as raw materials can be established in the area. Large scale farming can also be practice in the state using irrigation water from Goronyo Dam, Lugu, Kalmalo, Wammakko and Kwakwazo lakes among others.

Mineral resources such as kaolin, gypsum, limestone, laterite, red mills, phosphate both yellow and green, shade clay, sand etc., are available in commercial quantities. Mineral based industries using these raw materials could be established in the state.

The absence of the tse-tse fly on the open grassland benefits both wild and domestic animals. Sokoto ranks second in livestock production in the country's animal population of well over eight million.

The availability of these economic potentials provides good investment opportunities, particularly in agro-allied industries such as flour mills, tomatoes processing, sugar refining, textiles, glue, tanning, fish canning, etc.

Transport
Sokoto lacks a public transport system. Transport within the city (when not by foot) is mainly by mopeds which operate as one-person taxis and sometimes tricycles transport persons from one place to the other; this allows for carriage of more than one person at a time (still at a cheap price as mopeds). Buses and taxis are infrequent and are generally used only for transport between cities.

Remarkably for an area where fewer than 2% of girls finish secondary school, an all-female garage has been established in Sokoto city to train young women on vehicle maintenance. Founded by the Nana: Girls and Women Empowerment Initiative, the garage trains 25 female apprentices with the support of the local Islamic leadership.

10 km south of Sokoto there is an international airport with regular connections to Abuja, Kano and Lagos.

Industry
In August 2008, an agreement was signed for the construction of a cement works in Sokoto, and the plant was opened in 2022.

Urbanization
Urbanization has a very long history in Hausaland. The process started when certain strategic areas of Hausaland developed from Kauyuka to Birane. Yet one of the major consequences of the jihadist was the speeding of this phenomenon not only in Hausaland but also in all areas affected by the caliphate administration. New towns sprang up and the older birane entered into a period of unprecedented growth, some as new areas of commercial activities, others as both Emirate capitals and centers of administration and commerce.

One of the aspects of urbanization in the history of the Sokoto caliphate started with the establishment of Sokoto city (the headquarters of the caliphate). In the prejihad period, the area between the Gobir Kingdom and Kebbi was the area commonly referred to as "nomad land". But with the success of the jihad led by the Shehu usmau dan Fodiyo (1804–1808) and subsequent victory of the jihadists over the rulers of Hausaland, Sokoto city (headquarters of the caliphate) was built by Muhammad Bello. Moreover, as observed by Abdul-Razaq Shehu in his book Sakkwato Birnin Shehu), Sokoto city was designed on paper by Muhammad Bello even before it was built. Bello, son of the Sheikh, was among his father's lieutenants and war commanders. He fought the hardest and longest wars and was the architect of the caliphate Sokoto Birnin Shehu.

Sokoto city as designed by the architect Muhammad Bello consisted of all the characteristic features of any modern city including roads, bridges, market, ganuwa (fortification round centers of town) and as well as administrative and commercial centers. Among the administrative centers designed by Muhammad Bello are Kanwuri, Binanchi, Galadanci, Alkalanci, Dogarawa and so on. However, apart from the central market popularly known as Yardole, other commercial areas designed by Muhammad Bello include Makera, Madinka, Marina, Siriddawa, Takalmawa, Runji and Jirgawa. In addition, among other things no town in either pre-jihad or 19th century Hausaland could develop into an urban center without effective fortification (ganuwa). This was built with many strongpoints like Kofar Aliyu Jedo, Kofar Dundaye, Kofar Marke, Kofar Rini, Kofar Kware, and Kofar Taramniya, and this paramount development attracted many people to migrate from their locality into Sokoto city for survival.

From the above observation on how caliph Muhammad Bello designed the city of Sokoto we will see that Sokoto witnessed more immigrants with interest in blacksmithing leather works, pottery etc. For example, some of these people either engage in the business of blacksmithing or in other related business as in Makera Assada. There are people who used to travel to different parts of present Nigeria and even in neighbouring countries to buy damaged iron materials like damaged vehicles, cars, lorries, aircraft etc. iron pipes, and oil tanks in order to break them into pieces and sell them for anybody who wants to put them into use or modify them into another product.

Climate change
Because Sokoto and the urban area around it is already located near a semi-arid zone experiencing desertification, the city already experiences the effects of climate change. A 2018 analysis of the city's potential impacts, predicted decreasedd agricultural output, plants growth and water scarcity in the region around the city, interfering with food security and creating income security challenges.

Notable people

 * Attahiru Bafarawa (Former Governor of Sokoto State)
 * Sir Ahmadu Bello (Sardauna of Sokoto)
 * Mohammed Maigari Dingyadi (Former Minister of Police Affairs Nigeria)
 * Shehu Shagari (Former President of Federal Republic of Nigeria)
 * Aminu Tambuwal (Former Speaker House of Representatives and Former Governor of Sokoto State)
 * Senator Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko (Former Governor of Sokoto State)
 * Ahmad Aliyu, (Governor of Sokoto as of 2023)
 * Sa'adu Abubakar (Sultan of Sokoto)

title: Sokoto