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Hammadid dynasty

The Hammadid dynasty (الحماديون), also known as the Hammadid Emirate or the Kingdom of Bejaia, was a medieval Islamic kingdom  located in the central Maghreb, encompassing present-day Algeria. It was established at the beginning of the 11th century when Hammad ibn Buluggin declared himself emir, thus splitting the Zirid domains into two separate dynasties. Under the reign of Emir Al Nasir, the emirate briefly became the most important state in the Maghreb, and reached its greatest territorial extent, stretching from Tlemcen in the west to Tunis in the east,  and from the Mediterranean Sea in the north to the desert oasis of Ouargla and Oued Righ in the south. While they briefly controlled the principality of Fez in the west and cities like Sfax, Kairouan, Laribus, and Tripoli to the east.

At first, Hammad built a fortified city that would serve as the capital for his newly declared kingdom. Later, upon the arrival of the Arabic Banu Hilal tribes, the capital would be replaced by another newly built city by Emir Al Nasir ibn Alnas called Al-Nāsiriyyah (from الناصرية) and later renamed to Bejaia,  it would serve as the official capital of the Emirate by 1090 during the rule of Al-Mansur. Both cities would grow to become one of the largest and most prosperous centers of the Maghreb, with Bejaia housing more than 100,000 inhabitants. The Hammadids would subsequently clash with the Almoravids in the west and their cousins the Zirids in the east. The latter weakened with the rise of the prominent Normans in Sicily, who also confronted the Hammadids for the domination of Ifriqiya (modern-day Tunisia). However, the Hammadids would face another challenge on their western borders with the growing force of the Almohad Caliphate, and their emirate would finally be annexed by the Almohads in 1152 after a brief clash with them.

Establishment
In 987 and 989, al-Mansur ibn Buluggin, the emir of the Berber Zirid dynasty, appointed his uncle Hammad ibn Buluggin as governor of Ashir and western Zirid lands. Hammad subsequently defended the territory against Zenata incursions and was granted additional lands by al-Mansur's successor Badis ibn Mansur. In 1007 and 1008, forces under Hammad left Ashir and built a new citadel-capital, Qal'at Bani Hammad (also called Al Qal'a of Beni Hammad), in M'Sila Province in the Hodna Mountains; a thriving city sprung up around the fortress.

In 1014, Hammad declared his independence from Zirid suzerainty and switched his spiritual allegiance from the Shi'a Fatimid caliphs to the Sunni Abbasid caliphs of Baghdad. The Zirids failed to quash the rebellion and recognized Hammadid legitimacy in 1017, in a peace with al-Mu'izz that was sealed by Hammad's son and successor, Qaid ibn Hammad ((r. 1028 – 1054)). The peace was further sealed by marriage, with al-Mu'izz's sister marrying one of Hammad's sons. According to historian Hady Roger Idris, it appears that the Hammadids agreed to recognize Fatimid suzerainty again at this time, but at some later point in his reign, perhaps around the same time as the Zirids did in the 1040s, Qa'id ibn Hammad repudiated Fatimid suzerainty again.

In 1039, Qaid ibn Hammad was attacked by Hammama, the ruler of Fes, but Hammama soon returned to Fez, requested peace, and declared his submission to the Hammadids.

Al-Mu'izz subsequently also broke with the Fatimids and changed his allegiance to the Abbasids. The Fatimid caliph, al-Mustansir, sent Bedouin Arab allies, the Banu Hilal and Banu Sulaym, into a mass migration and invasion of the lands in present-day Libya, Tunisia, and Algeria, culminating in al-Mu'izz's defeat in 1053 and the subsequent reduction of the Zirids to a small, insignificant territory based in Mahdia. Amidst the chaos, the Hammadids reverted their allegiance to the Fatimids and managed to negotiate an alliance with the Bedouin tribes.

Although the Hammadids and Zirids entered into an agreement in 1077 in which Zirid ruler Tamim's daughter married into the Hammadids, this did not end the rivalry between the dynasties. A common pattern was for Hammadids and Zirids to support "rival coalitions of Arab tribes to fight their proxy wars." The Hammidid–Zirid rivalry also influenced the choice of which caliph to recognize; historian Amar S. Baadj writes, "It would appear that the principle which the Hammadids followed in the course of their relations with Baghdad and Cairo was that of opposing the Zirids. Whenever the Zirids recognized one of two rival caliphs, the Hammadids would declare their submission to the other."

Apogee
Buluggin ibn Muhammad (r. 1055–1062), a subsequent Hammadid ruler, invaded northern Morocco in 1062 and briefly took Fez for a few months before being assassinated by his paternal cousin, An-Nasir ibn Alnas, who succeeded him as emir. The Hammadid empire peaked during al-Nasir's reign. Under his reign the Hammadids established their control across large parts of the Maghreb. Al-Nasir captured Constantine and Algiers, then established Hammadid influence far to the east in Sfax, where the local ruler acknowledged Hammadid suzerainty, as well as in Susa and Tripoli. At the request of local shaykhs, he was also able to install a loyal governor in Tunis until 1067. Between 1067 and 1072 he built Béjaïa, developing it from a small fishing village into a large, fortified town and port. The Hammadids also expanded south deep into the Sahara, with Ouargla forming the southernmost city of their territory. They briefly extended their authority further to the Oued Mya.

In the 11th century, the Hammadids came under increasing pressure from the Banu Hilal, who had settled in the Plains of Constantine and increasingly threatened Qal'at Bani Hammad. While initially allied to the Bedouins, the Hammadids later became their puppets, allocating half of their harvest yields to them and buying off tribesmen in order to secure the safety of trade routes. Over time, Qal'at Bani Hammad was eventually eclipsed by Béjaïa. In 1090, with the Banu Hilal menace rising, the Hammadids moved their capital to Béjaïa, yielding their southern territories to the Hilalians. The Hammadids maintained control of a small but prosperous coastal territory between Ténès and El Kala. E.J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam (1927) states that the Qal'at Bani Hammad "was not completely abandoned by al-Mansur and he even embellished it with a number of palaces. The Hammadid kingdom had therefore at this point two capitals joined by a royal road." Renamed al-Nasiriya to honor the emir, Béjaïa developed into a sophisticated trading city; under al-Nasir and his son and successor al-Mansur ibn Nasir, large gardens, palaces, a Great Mosque, and other landmarks were constructed in the town.

An-Nasir corresponded with Pope Gregory VII and expanded commercial opportunities for Italian traders in Béjaïa. The city since flourished as a trading port and a prominent intellectual centre where even Abu Madyan and the Andalusian Shaykh Abu Ali Hassan bin Ali Muhammad taught. Leonardo Fibonacci had also studied in Béjaïa, his father was appointed as collector of customs in Béjaïaand he brought Leonardo along with him where he was taught. It was in Béjaïa where Fibonacci was introduced to the Arabic numerical system and computational method, he later introduced this numerical system to Europe. He was also introduced to a book of algebra written by al-Khwarizmi.

Decline
In 1103–1104 the Hammadids defeated the Almoravids and took control of Tlemcen. During the reign of al-Mansur's son Abd al-Aziz ibn Mansur (r. 1105–1121), Béjaïa had about 100,000 people, and the Hammadids consolidated their power in the city. The dynasty suffered a decline after this point; efforts to develop more sea power in the Mediterranean were foiled by the Normans, who by the 12th century had conquered Sicily and had also occupied a number of settlements on the coast of Tunisia and Algeria. However, Abd al-Aziz did expel the Hilalians from Hodna and capture Jerba.

The last dynastic emir was Yahya ibn Abd al-Aziz (r. 1121–1152). Yahya repulsed Bedouin incursions and subdued uprisings by Berber clans, but during his reign the Genoese also raided Béjaïa (1136) and the Kingdom of Sicily occupied the settlement of Djidjelli and destroyed a pleasure palace that had been built there. Tunis, whose Khurasanid rulers had previously vacillated between recognizing Zirid and Hammadid authority, was annexed in 1128 and controlled by Hammadid governors until 1148.

Yahya tried to establish good relations with the Fatimids in the early 1140s, but ultimately he recognized the Abbasids instead and minted coins in al-Muqtafi's name. In 1144 and 1145, he dispatched Hammadid forces to join the Almoravids in fighting the Berber Almohads led by Abd al-Mu'min, though the latter emerged victorious.

In 1145, Abd al-Mu'min conquered Tlemcen and Oran. In 1151, he marched against the Hammadids. The Almohads took Algiers in 1152 and then captured Béjaïa later the same year, crushing Hammadid forces at the gates of the city. This marked a major military triumph for Abd al-Mu'min. Yahya fled to Constantine but surrendered several months later. He died in comfortable exile in Salé, Morocco, in 1163. Abd al-Mu'min enslaved the women and children of Hammadid loyalists who had fought against him, but did not sack Béjaïa because the city had willingly surrendered.

Some 30 years after the collapse of the Hammadids, the dynasty had a brief revival in 1184, when 'Ali ibn Ghaniya—a member of the Banu Ghaniya branch of the Almoravid dynasty, which had established a corsair kingdom in the Balearic Islands—seized control of Béjaïa, recruited a mixed force of "dispossessed Hammadids, Sanhaja Berbers, and Hilalian tribes" opposed to Almohad rule, and quickly captured Algiers, Miliana, Ashir, and al Qal'a, with the goal of establishing a new Almoravid polity in the Maghreb. Less than a year later, the Almohad had recaptured all the towns. The Banu Ghaniya did retain, through the end of the Almohad period, some influence in Tripolitania, southern Tunisia, and the Algerian plains, where Hammadid loyalists numbered among their allies.

Territories
The Hammadid domain stretched across the entirety of the Central Maghreb, comprising the northern expanse of contemporary Algeria. At its establishment during Hammad's reign, a pact was forged with his cousin Badis, stipulating that Hammad would retain authority over a substantial swath of the Central Maghreb (Algeria). This encompassed pivotal cities such as M'sila, Achir, and Tahert, alongside the territories of Tobna and Zab, as well as any lands annexed through his conquests. The kingdom's territories would quickly expand. Following Hammad's death, his son Sultan El Qaid ascended to power, and in 1038, a war erupted against the ruler of Fes. The latter swiftly backtracked and declared submission to the Hammadids. Under the reign of Sultan Buluggin ibn Muhammad, campaigns were conducted in the west to subdue the Zenata tribes. He defeated the Zenata and entered Tlemcen in 1058. At the same time, the governor of Biskra revolted against the Hammadids, but the rebellion was swiftly suppressed, and the governor of Biskra was replaced. In 1062, Bologhine learned that the Almoravids had seized control of the Maghreb Al Aqsa (Morocco) and launched a campaign into Morocco, pushing back the Almoravids into the desert. He was assassinated by his successor on his return journey near Tessala.

It was under the reign of Al Nacer (1062-1089) that the kingdom experienced the peak of its territorial expansion. The influence of the Hammadids extended into Ifriqiya (Tunisia), as the governors of Sfax and Tunis, to whom governance was entrusted to the Banu Khurasan, submitted to Al Nacer. The people of Castilia (Tozeur) were notably brought under Hammadid rule. Shortly after the submission of these cities, Sultan Al Nacer conquered the city of Laribus near Kef in 1066 before entering Qayrawan,  although the latter quickly emancipated itself from Hammadid influence. The cities of Sousse and Tripoli also submitted to Al Nacer. He also conducted a southern expedition, during which he expelled the Ibadi from Sedrata and ended a revolt in Ouargla by replacing its governor. His successor Al Mansur would later combat the Almoravids in the west, who continued to raid Hammadid territories. He gathered over 20,000 fighters and marched on Tlemcen, which, after a victorious battle against the armies of Ibn Tachufin,  resulted in an agreement where the boundary between the two kingdoms was set at Tlemcen. In the eastern part of the kingdom, a rebellion broke out but was swiftly quelled by Al Mansour, who managed to recapture Bone from the rebels. Few territorial changes occurred after the death of Sultan Al Mansour, notable among them being the capture of the island of Djerba by the Hammadid fleet under the reign of Abd Al Aziz,  as well as the reintegration of the Banu Khurasan of Tunis into the Hammadid kingdom. During the rule of the final monarch, Yahya, in the eastern regions, according to the author of Sahib Al Majam (from صاحب المعجم), the lands of the Hammadid Sultan Yahya extended to the plains of Sig near Oran, marking the boundary between the Hammadids and the Almoravids.

Administration
The governmental structure represented an islamic absolute monarchy, where the Head of the State held the title of Emir or Sultan  and the governance of the emirate was exclusively within the Hammadid dynasty, they did recognize the spiritual authority of both the fatimid Caliphate at first until the arrival of the Banu Hilal tribes and then the Abbasid Caliphate in different time period. The Qada (from القضاء) or Jurisdiction was separated from the administration and derived its rulings and legislative texts from the Maliki school of thought, which was prevalent among the people of the Maghreb and Al-Andalus. Arabic was the official language in the Jurisdiction. And each city had a judge appointed by the Hammadid Emirs who was responsible for the affairs of Muslims, including complaints and others.

Initially, the Hammadid emirs personally oversaw the administration of the emirate, later delegating this responsibility to viziers based in the capital. Most of these viziers were not from the Hammadid dynasty. They were given various tasks that included suppressing rebellions such as the Biskra rebellion during Bouloughin's reign and handling diplomatic correspondence with other kingdoms, particularly during Emir El Nacer's time. They were also tasked with managing both internal and external affairs. The Banu Hamdoune (from بنو حمدون) family wielded significant influence in the kingdom since Emir Badis' reign. Among them, Mimoun ibn Hamdoune served as vizier during the tenure of the last Hammadid Emir Yahya, whose authority grew as the Emir focused on hunting and entertainment. The Hammadid central administration included the Diwan al-Insha (from ديوان الإنشاء), headed by a secretary, whose importance lies in drafting treaties and agreements. Next to the Diwan al-Insha, the Hammadids had the Diwan al-Bareed (from ديوان البريد), as the emir needed to correspond with other sultans, kings, and caliphs. The communication system was advanced during the era of the emirate, and mountain fire signals became built in a wise manner, as reflective mirrors were installed in lighthouses to reflect lights and throw them far away. Thus, the nearby centers received their signals, and all centers transmitted them accordingly. They could have also used carrier pigeons like the Zirids.

Regarding the administration of the kingdom's territories, most Umal (from عمال Umal) (governors) were from the royal family, with their number fluctuating depending on the Sultan. Each city had its governor appointed by the Hammadid Sultan. Cities like Algiers, Bône, Constantine, Hamza, Achir, and Jijel each had an assigned governor. At its peak under the reign of Al Nacer, the Sultan appointed his brother Kbab to govern the western territories, who was installed in Miliana. He also tasked the Banu Wemanou, a Zenata tribe located near Relizane, with overseeing the western territories of the kingdom. His second brother Ruman was assigned the governorship of Hamza (Bouira). The city of Constantine was given to his third brother Balbar, and N'Gaous to his fourth brother Khazar. He also entrusted his son Ibn el Alaa with the governance of Algiers and Mers el Dejaj while his other son Yusuf with that of Achir. Alongside these provinces, there were regions within the kingdom whose governance was assigned to other emirs, such as the region of Tozeur, which was given by Al Nacer to Yusuf ibn Makhluf. During this period, Tunis was under the governance of the Banu Khurasan, and Biskra under the Banu Ruman and later the Banu Sindi, both subject to Sultan Al Nacer. The city of Sfax was assigned to Hammu Ibn Malil. Al Nacer also had a governor in Ouargla whose name is not known.

Architecture

Qal'at Beni Hammad, the dynasty's capital, was described by Al-Bakri in the 11th century as a large and powerful military stronghold and a centre of commerce that attracted caravans from all over the Maghreb, Iraq, Syria, Egypt and the Hejaz. 14th-century Arab historian and philosopher Ibn Khaldun noted that the abundance of travellers was due to the wealth of resources offered to those interested in sciences, commerce and arts. The Qal'at attracted poets, sages and theologians. It was filled with various richly decorated palaces, caravanserai, gardens and what was to be the largest mosque built in North Africa prior to the twentieth century. The art and architecture of the Hammadids influenced that of the Arabs, Almohads, Almoravids and Normans.

Hammadid emirs constructed five palaces, most of which are now destroyed. The keep of the Palace of the Fanal (Qasr al-Manar), however, survives to this day. A minaret, 82 ft in height, is the only remaining part of the ruined Great Mosque; the structure bears some resemblance to Seville's Giralda. The Hammadid mosque is said to have been the largest mosque constructed in North Africa prior to the twentieth century and it features the typical Maghreb style square minaret. Architecture in Qal'at Bani Hammad featured adornments of "porcelain mosaics of many-colored faience, sculpted panels and plaster, enameled terra-cotta stalactites; building and pottery ornamentation consisted of geometric designs and stylized floral motifs."

Ibn Hamdis wrote two different poems describing one of the Hammadid palaces which he described having interior courts of marble that looked as if they had been carpeted with crystal and he observed that the grounds looked as if they were strewn with fine pearls. His description mentions that the palace had a pool that was bordered by marble lions with water streaming from their mouths, these lions were likely similar to that of the Alhambra.

In the Qal'at Beni Hammad fragments of stucco were discovered from the Qasr al-Salam and the Qasr al-Manar which may be the oldest fragments of muqarnas in the Western Islamic world, dating back to the 11th or 12th century. According to Lucien Golvin the fragments of the muqarnas semi-dome at the Qasr al-Salam are the oldest documented remains of a true muqarnas vault in the Islamic world. However, other scholars of Islamic architecture have questioned or rejected the dating of these fragments or their identification as true muqarnas.

Furthermore, the Qal'at buildings are considered to be documented antecedents and precursors to certain developments in Western Islamic art in the 12th century. Plaster capitals that were found at the Qal'at were composed of smooth leaves recurved in their upper part are considered to be an antecedent to the common Almoravid and Almohad forms which are seen in the Great Mosque of Tlemcen or in Tinmel. The framework of a marble basin and a grey marble fragment document the use of multifoil arches with spiral-form impost decoration. The use of this motif at the Qal'at subsequently spread during the times of the Almoravids and became universal in Almohad buildings. The square rooms surrounded by rampant barrel vaults in the Qasr al-Manar have been compared to the Almohad minarets and the Torre Pisana in Palermo which it predates. The Hammadid palaces are also noted to contain the first or one of the first documented use of shadirwan.

Art
The excavations in the Qal'at Beni Hammad also discovered the first reference corpus of Islamic ceramics. The production of ceramics in Al-Andalus during the taifa and Almoravid periods reflect a strong and direct Hammadid influence. The technique of luster-painting on pottery was passed from al Qal-at to Béjaïa to Malaga and black painted and incised earthenware objects as well as bronze sculptures from the Zirids most likely influenced similar objects in Andalusia. Ceramic architectural decorations had never played such a large role in the Islamic world up until the Hammadids and from there it subsequently spread to Al-Andalus and Morocco where it became a hallmark for the architecture of these countries and it also spread throughout Europe.

Luster-painted and glazed ceramic decoration in a wide variety of shapes and forms were a feature in the Islamic architecture of Hammadid-era Béjaïa. Al-Nasir reputedly negotiated with Pope Gregory VII for the services of Italian masons and other skilled craftsmen for the construction of Béjaïa. Although Béjaïa is mostly in ruins, a large sea gate reportedly survives. The Bab al-Bahr (gate of the sea) was built during an-Nasirs reign along with five other gates with the purpose of protecting the town. It is now a ruin consisted of a pointed arch constructed with solid bricks. The Bab al-Bunud was also built in Béjaïa during an-Nasirs reign with hexagonal towers and its two ogival-arch gates.

In Béjaïa drawings of a facade of two palaces with ground plans by one of the Hammadids have been preserved and provide an insight into palatial architecture of the time period of the Hammadids. The first palace consisted of a huge domed hall flanked by smaller domed towers and chambers while the second palace called al-Kukab which was said to have been located where the present day Bordj Moussa is currently situated. al-Kukab consisted of a large centred hall with a gabled roof flanked by side aisles and two small towers.

The Great Mosque of Constantine was originally constructed by the Hammadids in the 12th century and was built on the ruins of a Roman temple.

List of rulers
The following is a list of Hammadid rulers, starting at Hammadid independence from the Zirids in 1015 and ending with the Almohad conquest in 1152:

title: Hammadid dynasty


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Republics of Russia

The republics  are one type of federal subject of the Russian Federation. 21 republics are internationally recognized as part of Russia; another is under its de facto control. The original republics were created as nation states for ethnic minorities. The indigenous ethnicity that gives its name to the republic is called the titular nationality. However, due to centuries of Russian migration, a titular nationality may not be a majority of its republic's population. By 2017, the autonomous status of all republics was formally abolished, making the republics politically equivalent to the other federal subjects of Russia.

Formed in the early 20th century by Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks after the collapse of the Russian Empire in 1917, republics were intended to be nominally independent regions of Soviet Russia with the right to self-determination. Lenin's conciliatory stance towards Russia's minorities made them allies in the Russian Civil War and with the creation of the Soviet Union in 1922 the regions became autonomous republics, albeit subordinate to a union republic. While officially autonomous, the autonomies of these administrative units varied throughout the history of the Soviet Union but largely remained under the control of the central government. The 1980s saw an increase in the demand of autonomy as the Soviet Union began large scale reforms of its centralized system. In 1990, most of the autonomous republics declared their sovereignty. The Soviet Union collapsed in 1991 and Russia became independent. The current republics were established with the signing of the Federation Treaty in 1992, which gave them substantial rights and autonomy.

Russia is an asymmetrical federation in that republics have their own constitutions, official languages, and national anthems, but other subjects do not. The republics also originally had more powers devolved to them, though actual power varied between republics, depending largely upon their economic importance. Through the signing of bilateral treaties with the federal government, republics gained extensive authority over their economies, internal policies, and even foreign relations in the 1990s. However, after the turn of the century, Vladimir Putin's centralization reforms steadily eradicated the autonomy of the republics with the exception of Chechnya. The bilateral agreements were abolished and in practice all power now rests with the federal government. Since the termination of the final bilateral treaty in 2017, some commentators consider Russia to no longer be a federation.

In 2014, Russia invaded and annexed Crimea from Ukraine, incorporating the territory as the Republic of Crimea. However, it remains internationally recognized as part of Ukraine. During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia declared the annexation of four partially-occupied Ukrainian provinces (oblasts), including the territory that had been under the control of the break-away Donetsk and Luhansk republics since 2014, and claimed the entirety of Donetsk and Luhansk provinces as Russian republics. These also remain internationally recognized as part of Ukraine.

History
The republics were established in early Soviet Russia after the collapse of the Russian Empire. On 15 November 1917, Vladimir Lenin issued the Declaration of the Rights of the Peoples of Russia, giving Russia's minorities the right to self-determination. This declaration, however, was never truly meant to grant minorities the right to independence and was only used to garner support among minority groups for the fledgling Soviet state in the ensuing Russian Civil War. Attempts to create independent states using Lenin's declaration were suppressed throughout the civil war by the Bolsheviks. When the Soviet Union was formally created on 30 December 1922, the minorities of the country were relegated to Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republics (ASSR), which had less power than the union republics and were subordinate to them. In the aftermath of the civil war the Bolsheviks began a process of delimitation in order to draw the borders of the country. Through Joseph Stalin's theory on nationality, borders were drawn to create national homelands for various recognized ethnic groups. Early republics like the Kazakh ASSR and the Turkestan ASSR in Central Asia were dissolved and split up to create new union republics. With delimitation came the policy of indigenization which encouraged the de-Russification of the country and promotion of minority languages and culture. This policy also affected ethnic Russians and was particularly enforced in ASSRs where indigenous people were already a minority in their own homeland, like the Buryat ASSR. Language and culture flourished and ultimately institutionalized ethnicity in the state apparatus of the country. Despite this, the Bolsheviks worked to isolate the country's new republics by surrounding them within Russian territory for fear of them seeking independence. In 1925 the Bashkir ASSR lost its border with the future Kazakh SSR with the creation of the so-called "Orenburg corridor", thereby enclaving the entire Volga region. The Komi-Zyryan Autonomous Oblast lost access to the Barents Sea and became an enclave on 15 July 1929 prior to being upgraded to the Komi ASSR in 1936.

By the 1930s, the mood shifted as the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin stopped enforcing indigenization and began purging non-Russians from government and intelligentsia. Thus, a period of Russification set in. Russian became mandatory in all areas of non-Russian ethnicity and the Cyrillic script became compulsory for all languages of the Soviet Union. The constitution stated that the ASSRs had power to enforce their own policies within their territory, but in practice the ASSRs and their titular nationalities were some of the most affected by Stalin's purges and were strictly controlled by Moscow. From 1937, the "bourgeois nationalists" became the "enemy of the Russian people" and indigenization was abolished. On 22 June 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union, forcing it in to the Second World War, and advanced deep in to Russian territory. In response, Stalin abolished the Volga German ASSR on 7 September 1941 and exiled the Volga Germans to Central Asia and Siberia. When the Soviets gained the upper hand and began recapturing territory in 1943, many minorities of the country began to be seen as German collaborators by Stalin and were accused of treason, particularly in southern Russia. Between 1943 and 1945, ethnic Balkars, Chechens, Crimean Tatars, Ingush, and Kalmyks were deported en masse from the region to remote parts of the country. Immediately after the deportations the Soviet government passed decrees that liquidated the Kalmyk ASSR on 27 December 1943, the Crimean ASSR on 23 February 1944, the Checheno-Ingush ASSR on 7 March 1944, and renamed the Kabardino-Balkar ASSR the Kabardian ASSR on 8 April 1944. After Stalin's death on 5 March 1953, the new government of Nikita Khrushchev sought to undo his controversial legacy. During his Secret speech on 25 February 1956 Khrushchev rehabilitated Russia's minorities. The Kabardino-Balkar ASSR and the Checheno-Ingush ASSR were restored on 9 January 1957 while the Kalmyk ASSR was restored on 29 July 1958. The government, however, refused to restore the Volga German ASSR and the Crimean ASSR, the latter of which was transferred to the Ukrainian SSR on 19 February 1954. The autonomies of the ASSRs varied greatly throughout the history of the Soviet Union but Russification would nevertheless continue unabated and internal Russian migration to the ASSRs would result in various indigenous people becoming minorities in their own republics. At the same time, the number of ASSRs grew; the Karelian ASSR was formed on 6 July 1956 after being a union republic from 1940 while the partially recognized state of Tuva was annexed by the Soviets on 11 October 1944 and became the Tuvan ASSR on 10 October 1961. By the 1980s General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev's introduction of glasnost began a period of revitalization of minority culture in the ASSRs. From 1989, Gorbachev's Soviet Union and the Russian SFSR, led by Boris Yeltsin, were locked in a power struggle. Yeltsin sought support from the ASSRs by promising more devolved powers and to build a federation "from the ground up". On 12 June 1990, the Russian SFSR issued a Declaration of State Sovereignty, proclaiming Russia a sovereign state whose laws take priority over Soviet ones. The following month Yeltsin told the ASSRs to "take as much sovereignty as you can swallow" during a speech in Kazan, Tatar ASSR. These events prompted the ASSRs to assert themselves against a now weakened Soviet Union. Throughout 1990 and 1991, most of the ASSRs followed Russia's lead and issued "declarations of sovereignty", elevating their statuses to that of union republics within a federal Russia. The Dagestan ASSR and Mordovian ASSR were the only republics that did not proclaim sovereignty.

In the final year of the Soviet Union, negotiations were underway for a new treaty to restructure the country in to a loose confederation. Gorbachev invited the ASSRs to be participants in the drafting of the treaty, thereby recognizing them as equal to the union republics. However, a coup attempt in August 1991 derailed the negotiations and the union republics began to declare their independence throughout the year. The Soviet Union collapsed on 26 December 1991 and the position of the ASSRs became uncertain. By law, the ASSRs did not have the right to secede from the Soviet Union like the union republics did but the question of independence from Russia nevertheless became a topic of discussion in some of the ASSRs. The declarations of sovereignty adopted by the ASSRs were divided on the topic of secession. Some advocated the integrity of the Russian Federation, others were muted on the subject, while others like the Komi ASSR, Mari ASSR, and Tuvan ASSR reserved the right to self-determination. Yeltsin was an avid supporter of national sovereignty and recognized the independence of the union republics in what was called a "parade of sovereignties". In regards to the ASSRs, however, Yeltsin did not support secession and tried to prevent them from declaring independence. The Checheno-Ingush ASSR, led by Dzhokhar Dudayev, unilaterally declared independence on 1 November 1991 and Yeltsin would attempt to retake it on 11 December 1994, beginning the First Chechen War. When the Tatar ASSR held a referendum on whether to declare independence on 21 March 1992, he had the ballot declared illegal by the Constitutional Court.

On 31 March 1992, every subject of Russia except the Tatar ASSR and the de facto state of Chechnya signed the Treaty of Federation with the government of Russia, solidifying its federal structure and Boris Yeltsin became the country's first president. The ASSRs were dissolved and became the modern day republics. The number of republics increased dramatically as the autonomous oblasts of Adygea, Gorno-Altai, Khakassia, and Karachay-Cherkessia were elevated to full republics, while the Ingush portion of the Checheno-Ingush ASSR refused to be part of the breakaway state and rejoined Russia as the Republic of Ingushetia on 4 June 1992. The Republic of Tatarstan demanded its own agreement to preserve its autonomy within the Russian Federation and on 15 February 1994, Moscow and Kazan signed a power-sharing deal, in which the latter was granted a high degree of autonomy. 45 other regions, including the other republics, would go on to sign autonomy agreements with the federal center. By the mid 1990s, the overly complex structure of the various bilateral agreements between regional governments and Moscow sparked a call for reform. The constitution of Russia was the supreme law of the country, but in practice, the power-sharing agreements superseded it while the poor oversight of regional affairs left the republics to be governed by authoritarian leaders who ruled for personal benefit. Meanwhile, the war in Chechnya entered a stalemate as Russian forces were unable to wrest control of the republic despite capturing the capital Grozny on 8 February 1995 and killing Dudayev months later in an airstrike. Faced with a demoralized army and universal public opposition to the war, Yeltsin was forced to sign the Khasavyurt Accord with Chechnya on 30 August 1996 and eventually withdrew troops. A year later Chechnya and Russia signed the Moscow Peace Treaty, ending Russia's attempts to retake the republic. As the decade drew to a close, the fallout from the failed Chechen war and the subsequent financial crisis in 1998 resulted in Yeltsin resigning on 31 December 1999. Yeltsin declared Vladimir Putin as interim president and his successor. Despite preserving the republic's de facto independence following the war, Chechnya's new president Aslan Maskhadov proved incapable of fixing the republic's devastated economy and maintaining order as the territory became increasingly lawless and a breeding ground for Islamic fundamentalism. Using this lawlessness extremists invaded neighboring Dagestan and bombed various apartment blocks in Russia, resulted in Putin sending troops into Chechnya again on 1 October 1999. Chechen resistance quickly fell apart in the face of a federal blitzkrieg and indiscriminate bombing campaign as troops captured Grozny on 6 February 2000 and pushed rebels in to the mountains. Moscow imposed direct rule on Chechnya on 9 June 2000 and the territory was officially reintegrated in to the Russian Federation as the Chechen Republic on 24 March 2003.

Putin would participate in the 26 March 2000 election on the promise of completely restructuring the federal system and restoring the authority of the central government. The power-sharing agreements began to gradually expire or be terminated and after 2003 only Tatarstan and Bashkortostan continued to negotiate on their treaties' extensions. Bashkortostan's power-sharing treaty expired on 7 July 2005, leaving Tatarstan as the sole republic to maintain its autonomy, which was renewed on 11 July 2007. After an attack by Chechen separatists at a school in Beslan, North Ossetia, Putin abolished direct elections for governors and assumed the power to personally appoint and dismiss them. Throughout the decade, influential regional leaders like Mintimer Shaimiev of Tatarstan and Murtaza Rakhimov of Bashkortostan, who were adamant on extending their bilateral agreements with Moscow, were dismissed, removing the last vestiges of regional autonomy from the 1990s. On 24 July 2017, Tatarstan's power-sharing agreement with Moscow expired, making it the last republic to lose its special status. After the agreement's termination, some commentators expressed the view that Russia ceased to be a federation. In 2022, Russia's ethnic republics suffered heavy losses in the war in Ukraine.

Constitutional status
Republics differ from other federal subjects in that they have the right to establish their own official language, have their own constitution, and have a national anthem. Other federal subjects, such as krais and oblasts, are not explicitly given this right. During Boris Yeltsin's presidency, the republics were the first subjects to be granted extensive power from the federal government, and were often given preferential treatment over other subjects, which has led to Russia being characterized as an "asymmetrical federation". The Treaty of Federation signed on 31 March 1992 stipulated that the republics were "sovereign states" that had expanded rights over natural resources, external trade, and internal budgets. The signing of bilateral treaties with the republics would grant them additional powers, however, the amount of autonomy given differed by republic and was mainly based on their economic wealth rather than ethnic composition. Sakha, for example, was granted more control over its resources, being able to keep most of its revenue and sell and receive its profits independently due to its vast diamond deposits. North Ossetia on the other hand, a poorer republic, was mainly granted more control over defense and internal security due to its location in the restive North Caucasus. Tatarstan and Bashkortostan had the authority to establish their own foreign relations and conduct agreements with foreign governments. This has led to criticism from oblasts and krais. After the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis, the current constitution was adopted but the republics were no longer classified as "sovereign states" and all subjects of the federation were declared equal, though maintaining the validity of the bilateral agreements.

In theory, the constitution of Russia was the ultimate authority over the republics, but the power-sharing treaties held greater weight in practice. Republics often created their own laws which contradicted the constitution. Yeltsin, however, made little effort to rein in renegade laws, preferring to turn a blind eye to violations in exchange for political loyalty. Vladimir Putin's election on 26 March 2000 began a period of extensive reforms to centralize authority with the federal government and bring all laws in line with the constitution. His first act as president was the creation of federal districts on 18 May 2000, which were tasked with exerting federal control over the country's subjects. Putin later established the so-called "Kozak Commission" in June 2001 to examine the division of powers between the government and regions. The Commission's recommendations focused mainly on minimizing the basis of regional autonomy and transferring lucrative powers meant for the republics to the federal government. Centralization of power would continue as the republics gradually lost more and more autonomy to the federal government, leading the European Parliament to conclude that Russia functions as a unitary state despite officially being a federation. On 29 December 2010, President Dmitry Medvedev signed a law banning the leaders of the republics from holding the title of 'president'. Tatarstan, however, resisted attempts to abolish its presidential post and remained the only republic to maintain the title. Putin subsequently signed a law forcing Tatarstan to abolish its title by June 2022. On 19 June 2018, a bill was passed that elevated the status of the Russian language at the expense of other official languages in the republics. The bill authorized the abolition of mandatory minority language classes in schools and for voluntary teaching to be reduced to two hours a week.

Chechnya is the sole exception to Putin's centralization efforts. With the republic's reentry into Russia after the Second Chechen War, Chechnya was given broad autonomy in exchange for remaining within the country. At the end of the war, Putin bought the loyalty of local elites and granted Chechnya the right to manage its own affairs in dealing with separatists and governing itself outside of Russian control in a process called "Chechenization". With the appointment of Ramzan Kadyrov by Putin to lead the republic in 2007, the independence of Chechnya has grown significantly. The Russian government gives Chechnya generous subsidies in exchange for loyalty and maintaining security in the region. Observers have noted Putin's reluctance or inability to exert control over Kadyrov's rule for fear it could trigger another conflict. Chechnya under Kadyrov operates outside of Russian law, has its own independent security force, and conducts its own de facto foreign policy. This has led to Chechnya being characterized as a "state within a state".

There are secessionist movements in most republics, but these are generally not very strong. The constitution makes no mention on whether a republic can legally secede from the Russian Federation. However, the Constitutional Court of Russia ruled after the unilateral secession of Chechnya in 1991 that the republics do not have the right to secede and are inalienable parts of the country. Despite this, some republican constitutions in the 1990s had articles giving them the right to become independent. This included Tuva, whose constitution had an article explicitly giving it the right to secede. However, following Putin's centralization reforms in the early 2000s, these articles were subsequently dropped. The Kabardino-Balkar Republic, for example, adopted a new constitution in 2001 which prevents the republic from existing independently of the Russian Federation. After Russia's annexation of Crimea, the State Duma adopted a law making it illegal to advocate for the secession of any region on 5 July 2014.

Status of southeast Ukraine
On 18 March 2014, Russia annexed the Autonomous Republic of Crimea of Ukraine after a referendum. The peninsula subsequently became the Republic of Crimea, the 22nd republic of Russia. However, Ukraine and most of the international community do not recognize Crimea's annexation and the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 68/262 declared the referendum to be invalid.

On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine and conquered large swaths of southern and eastern Ukraine. As early as March leaders in both the Luhansk People's Republic and Donetsk People's Republic expressed their wish to join Russia, originally once Russia captured all their claimed territory. However, after sudden Ukrainian gains in the east in September 2022, the republics organised a series of referendums on joining Russia, in which an overwhelming majority reportedly supported annexation. On 30 September 2022, Putin formally announced the annexation of the two republics and also of two Ukrainian oblasts of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. The referendums were condemned internationally – the European Union and G7 rejected them as illegal while the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the annexations as a violation of the UN Charter.

Republics

 * For the individual flags of the republics, see Flags of the federal subjects of Russia.

Entities in Russia
In response to the apparent federal inequality, in which the republics were given special privileges during the early years of Yeltsin's tenure at the expense of other subjects, Eduard Rossel, then governor of Sverdlovsk Oblast and advocate of equal rights for all subjects, attempted to transform his oblast into the Ural Republic on 1 July 1993 in order to receive the same benefits. Initially supportive, Yeltsin later dissolved the republic and fired Rossel on 9 November 1993. The only other attempt to formally create a republic occurred in Vologda Oblast when authorities declared their wish to create a "Vologda Republic" on 14 May 1993. This declaration, however, was ignored by Moscow and eventually faded from public consciousness. Other attempts to unilaterally create a republic never materialized. These included a "Pomor Republic" in Arkhangelsk Oblast, a "Southern Urals Republic" in Chelyabinsk Oblast, a "Chukotka Republic" in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, a "Yenisei Republic" in Irkutsk Oblast, a "Leningrad Republic" in Leningrad Oblast, a "Nenets Republic" in the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, a "Siberian Republic" in Novosibirsk Oblast, a "Primorsky Republic" in Primorsky Krai, a "Neva Republic" in the city of Saint Petersburg, and a republic consisting of eleven regions in western Russia centered around Oryol Oblast.

Other attempts to create republics came in the form of splitting up already existing territories. After the Soviet Union's collapse, a proposal was put forth to split the Karachay-Cherkess Republic into multiple smaller republics. The idea was rejected by referendum on 28 March 1992. A similar proposal occurred in the Republic of Mordovia to divide it to separate Erzyan and Mokshan homelands. The proposal was rejected in 1995.

Abkhazia
After the brief 2008 Russo-Georgian War, Russia secured the de facto independence of Abkhazia from Georgia and promptly recognized it. Georgian officials have expressed worry that Russia will seek to absorb the region. On 25 November 2014, Abkhazia signed a treaty integrating its economy and military with Russia, which Georgia described as a step to "toward de facto annexation". However, the proposal to join Russia has little to no support among Abkhazia's political elite or the general public, with many of the former expressing their view that Abkhazia is different situationally from nearby South Ossetia. Despite this, Abkhazia relies entirely on Russia for financial support and much of its state structure is highly integrated with Russia; it uses the Russian ruble, its foreign policy is coordinated with Russia, and a majority of its citizens have Russian passports. On 12 November 2020, Abkhazia and Russia signed a new integration agreement expanding on their previous one from 2014, which Georgia condemned as another step toward annexation. The new agreement envisioned further harmonization of Abkhazia with Russian law and was criticized within the region for risking the loss of Abkhazia's sovereignty, which the government denied.

South Ossetia
After the Soviet Union's collapse South Ossetia sought to break away from Georgia and become independent. On 19 January 1992 a referendum was held. Ostensibly, 99.9% of voters approved independence, but the results were not recognized internationally. A second question asking for unification with Russia also ostensibly passed at about 99.9%. Similar to Abkhazia, South Ossetia had its independence secured and recognized by Russia in 2008. However, unlike Abkhazia, officials in both Russia and South Ossetia have repeatedly expressed their wish to see South Ossetia join Russia. An opinion poll conducted in 2010 showed that over 80% of people supported integration with Russia. On 18 March 2015 South Ossetia signed a treaty integrating the region's economy and military with Russia, identical to the one signed by Abkhazia. The treaty was condemned by Georgia as an "actual annexation" of the region. Later that year South Ossetian president Leonid Tibilov said he was preparing a referendum to join Russia. However, such a referendum never took place due to Russia's refusal to endorse the proposal. Instead a referendum was held on 9 April 2017 to change South Ossetia's official name to "Republic of South Ossetia–The State of Alania" to mirror its northern counterpart North Ossetia, officially the "Republic of North Ossetia–Alania", implying future unification.

On 30 March 2022 the government of South Ossetia announced it would revive attempts to hold a referendum on joining Russia. Officials expressed hope of finishing the legal process to hold the referendum by April 10, however, it is unknown whether Russia will again reject the proposal or not. On 13 May 2022 outgoing president Anatoly Bibilov signed a decree authorizing a referendum on annexation by July 17. However, Alan Gagloyev, who defeated Bibilov in an election, expressed skepticism, saying that while he does not oppose the referendum, he believes there should first be a "signal" from Russia. Gagloyev promptly scrapped the referendum pending talks with Russia on integration.

Transnistria

Transnistria, a breakaway region of Moldova, had long sought to rejoin Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union. After proclaiming independence and fighting a war against Moldova with the help of Russia in 1992, the region has remained under Russian occupation. Transnistria made multiple appeals to integrate with Russia, which the latter has consistently ignored. In a 2006 referendum an overwhelming majority of people voted in favor of its accession to Russia, though these results could not be independently confirmed. After Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014, Transnistria appealed to Russia to join it. There is still some hope inside Transnistria for Russia to annex the region. Despite ignoring Transnistria's appeals for accession, the region enjoys Russian support and is highly dependent on it. Over 200,000 Transnistrian citizens own a Russian passport and many prefer to leave the region and work in Russia. Russia provides gas at bargain prices, pays the pensions of its residents, and allocates funds to build infrastructure. A Russian military garrison operates in Transnistria ostensibly as a peacekeeping force. Moldova for its part rejects any attempt by Transnistria to secede and join Russia and insists on the withdrawal of all Russian troops from the region. With Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 a Russian general said they planned to create a land bridge connecting to Transnistria. The region has also suffered significant trade losses due to the invasion of Ukraine and has become more reliant on trade with the European Union.

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

title: Republics of Russia


text:
Wikipedia:WikiProject Equine/Horse breeds

The Horse breeds task force of WikiProject Equine encompasses the various breeds of horses.

Scope
This task force aims primarily to provide a full description of the various horse breeds. The project provides guidelines for a consistent outline format, elements to include, and tasks needed to be completed.

For the purposes of this task force and categorization, some horses that could be classified as a landrace breed, a feral breed or a type group (stock horse, gaited horse, etc.) are also treated as "breeds" for the purpose of category placement, as many readers, particularly young readers, are not necessarily cognizant of the nuances between a breed, a landrace or a breed type. Thus all articles related to horse breeds need to be added to Category:Horse breeds, which is a non-diffusing category. If a horse group is also appropriate for additional categories (such as the warmblood group of breeds, horses by country categories, etc.), it can be added to those categories as well. A closely related Wikipedia page is list of horse breeds, which is maintained to contain all horse and pony breeds as well as the "types" of horses that are not breeds.

Structure of Articles
The article List of horse breeds is a list of all various breeds and types of horses that currently are known to have Wikipedia articles written for them. Articles that need to be created are listed on the main project page in the "to-do" list and a hidden text is inserted into the list article. After the article is created, the placeholder can be made visible by removing the hidden text formatting.

Be sure to also do a search on the new article name and its common variations to be sure that it hasn't been created under a slightly different name. (For example, the project once had to merge three different articles on the Pottok, due in part to spelling variations)

Please Cite Your Sources! Many breed articles are currently tagged as unreferenced. Avoid copyright violations and peacock terms. Do not copy articles verbatim from another source. Remember to wikify article.

Basic outline
Ideally, each article on each breed needs include the following information, not necessarily in this order (depends on the article) and those articles which are stubs should have these sections added:

 * Title: Title the article for each breed based on the most common official breed name from the major registries in English-speaking nations. If no registry or names are equally split, use the most commonly used name in English language sources.  If breed has the same name as a geographic region, add the suffix "horse" or "pony" (when appropriate) after the name. Examples:  Arabian horse, Barb horse, Exmoor pony.
 * Important note on naming: Wikiproject Equine has a guideline that breed articles use natural disambiguation, i.e. if the word "horse" has to be added to the title, that it be used without parentheses (as in Andalusian horse).  WikiProject Equine usually uses parenthetical disambiguation, i.e. (horse) for articles about individually named horses that need disambiguation (i.e. Secretariat (horse)), the coat color articles (Bay (horse)), and other articles that need disambiguation but are not about horse breeds (bit (horse), driving (horse).  In particular, this avoids confusion between breed names and individual horse names. Additionally, many horse breed registries include the word "horse" or "pony" in their name.  Where "Horse" is an integral part of the breed name, such as American Quarter Horse (as no one calls the breed an "American Quarter"), the word should be capitalized.  Where it it not, as in Arabian horse (where people often call the breed simply an "Arabian"), the word "horse" may be lower case.
 * Introduction: general information about the breed, brief history, description. Follow MOS:LEAD for introductions.
 * Infobox: For project uniformity, infoboxes are added to all breed articles. Use Template:Infobox horse breed, gives basic information on other names, country of origin, etc. Please use only what's relevant and format it properly. For individual horses, Template:Infobox named horse is generally used instead. The infobox allows for listing several breed standards. The URLs should be for actual standards, not top-level domain names of breed associations (which should go in the External links section). List the standard from the breed's country of origin first.
 * Photograph: a good-quality photo (best) or drawing (not ideal, but better than nothing if no good photos) of the breed, if possible. For extinct breeds, a painting or drawing will work. An ideal photo is a full body shot of a good-quality animal, a perfect photo is a color photo of a beautifully-conformed horse of correct breed type, facing to the left.
 * Characteristics section is an overview of what makes the breed recognizable, and should include:
 * Unique conformation characteristics i.e. how to recognize a horse of this breed. Please avoid peacock terms and excessively promotional tone, this is an encyclopedia. Avoid stating "characteristics" common to all breeds: for example, all well–bred, well–fed horses have correct legs, ears that rotate 360 degrees, manageable temperaments, friendly eyes, a soft coat, and most can grow a long silky mane and a pretty tail.  Spare us this nonsense.  However, things like feathering is a trait of only some breeds, such as the Clydesdale, so it's okay to note things like that.
 * Sub-categories of the breed or major bloodline groups, when and if relevant. (example: Welsh pony, sections A, B, C, D, see the four types of Finnhorse)  Need not necessarily be separate sections, depends on breed.
 * Height should be displayed with a conversion formula. Depending on the country of origin for the breed, you should display height in hands or centimeters first. Usually breeds originating in US, UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, should display hands first, and the rest of the world usually displays by centimeters first. (See for country list.) For using in an infobox, which is narrow, use this format:14.2 - 15 hand will display as 14.2 - 15 hand148 - 152 cm will display as 148 - 152 cmIn the body of an article, you can use a longer conversion formula such as Hands. Since horses have very little variation between males and females, use just one average height range for a breed.
 * Coat colors of the breed, if limited or relevant and please wikilink to the color articles. See articles in category:horse coat colors or article equine coat color for correct terminology and other information.  If a breed uses unusual coat color names, explain these terms and how these terms differ from the mainstream so as to educate the reader. (In Fjord horse for an example; what most call a grullo, they call a "gray." Had a hot discussion over that one.) Please don't create new color articles just for an unusual name; better to expand a existing color article based on the known or probable genetics.  In particular, review dominant white, pinto horse and dilution gene to see an overview of what's already been done with the more unusual colors.
 * Please do NOT refer to gray horses as "white." If a breed has white, not gray, members, then you can link to the white coat color articles. We have two articles about white horses, unless you know the breed has dominant white members, usually use the general-purpose white (horse).
 * Please link "Brown" with a piped link, to either Bay (horse) or to Seal brown (horse) because genetically, Seal Brown IS (based on current research) a genetically special subset of Bay, and non-seal brown dark bays are also bay horses influenced by other genetic factors (such as the sooty (gene)).
 * Medical Issues: known unique medical or genetic problems that the breed can face. (Example, dwarfism in miniature horses) Be sure to source this material particularly well, as it is apt to be controversial and challenged. No need to mention laminitis or other conditions common in many other breeds, though some genetic diseases, such as HYPP or Wobbler's syndrome often are relevant in more than one breed articles as they may be found in multiple breeds who share common ancestors.
 * Breed history: explanation of the history of the specific breed. The older the breed, the longer this section is going to be.  If the "breed" was created by a single or small group of breeders within the last 20 years, consider if you have a breed or just a designer crossbred.  It may not be appropriate for a breed article, and may be a personal project that falls under WP:NOADS.
 * Uses: most common uses or specialties to which the breed is put or best known. Avoid laundry lists, and avoid obscure uses that only a few individuals might be used for.  (Yes, you CAN jump a Tennessee Walker or barrel race a Percheron, sort of, but really, it's not what they really are known for and it's best to just not go there.)
 * Controversies: if relevant. (For example, see material on soring in Tennessee Walker article.)  Sometimes controversies don't need to be separate sections, just worked into sections on breed traits or medical issues.  Please source carefully and remember WP:NPOV, these are usually sections that will be challenged.
 * Other: Some breeds have unique information that does not fit into any of the above sections and may need additional sections added. For example, breeds with a studbook selection process may need space to discuss how the approval process works. A good example is Finnhorse.
 * References: At a minimum for a start-class article, cite your sources at the end of the article under the heading "References". Ideally, footnote your sources as you go, and if possible, use citation templates or refill to make future formatting easier.
 * External links: Websites of breed associations go here.
 * Templates: Add the template  to the BOTTOM of each article for improved navigability (If it's officially a subspecies, such as an extinct fossilized ancestor, use  instead.)
 * Categories: Remember to always add to all breed articles and update the List of horse breeds.
 * Talk page: Especially, remember to add the template to the Talk Page of each article (not the main article page).  Usually you can assess it yourself as class=stub or start (maybe C if you have a lot of footnotes already) and importance=low (ask WikiProject Equine if you think it has a good reason to be higher). The template looks like this:

What to avoid

 * 1) Please do not create a copyright violation by verbatim copy and paste from a different source. This has been the number one reason that new horse breed articles get deleted by Wikipedia administrators.  Write the article in your own words and use footnotes.  See WP:CITE for help.
 * 2) Avoid sounding like promotional ad copy. Watch peacock words and flowery adjectives. If problem #1 above is avoided, this probably will be as well.
 * 3) Conversely, do not inadvertently "knock" the breed or implicitly "knock" another breed in comparison. Try to take a viewpoint that all breeds are valuable, each in their own special way.  Some source material contains very biased viewpoints and one pillar of Wikipedia is a neutral point of view.  Again, if verbatim copying is avoided, this problem will probably be avoided as well.  For example, even if a source claims a breed has, for example, weak loins and crooked hind legs, be aware that such negative statements could reflect bias and should not be listed as a breed characteristic (no breed wants animals with such traits).  However, if there is a controversy over a weakness in the breed (such as dwarfism in the miniature horse or the assorted genetic diseases that plague many different breeds), it would be acceptable to discuss that matter in a separate section.
 * 4) Do not create Galleries, except under extremely unique circumstances. (The galleries in horse markings are used to show a wide range of head or leg markings and is one of the few places where a gallery makes sense) Definitely do not create groups of random photos, as Wikipedia guidelines explicitly discourage "scrapbooks."  Create photo galleries and gallery pages at Wikimedia commons.
 * 5) Don't get off topic. If an article starts to have significant content about a breed association, equestrian discipline, breed registry, or stud farm, consider removing it and creating a separate article about the organization.  For example, see AQHA, Jockey Club or Claiborne Farm.
 * 6) Finally, please do not create a "Famous members of the breed" section. There are several reasons for this, the most notable being the Wikipedia guideline at WP:WWIN that discourages lists and collections of trivia or random facts. Some of the breed articles have suffered from long "Laundry lists" of "famous" individuals, some of which lack WP:NOTABILITY. (See WP:TRIVIA)  Also, because Wikipedia bans advertising, listing the names of living horses can often smack of commercialism, at least unless the animal also has had its own Wikipedia article created and thus passes the WP:NOTABILITY criteria.  Sometimes, naming living horses can also start edit wars over which horses deserve to be called "notable" and which do not.  Overall, it is better not to name very many famous horses of a breed within the breed article.  The exception is in a discussion of foundation bloodstock, when appropriate (and if equal time is given to at least the major factions, see WP:NPOV); or mention of significant accomplishments of a few individuals of a given breed that go beyond simply being this year's champion within their own breed.  For examples of use of named horses in a discussion of foundation bloodlines, see American Quarter Horse or Morgan horse.  For examples of famous horses who did something outside their own breed's competition, see Arabian_horse.

 * Instead of listing horses within a breed article, creating a category for "Famous" members of a given breed or for related articles (such as articles about breeders, etc.) is often appropriate (for example, Category:Racehorses has hundereds of entries). Other examples are Category:Individual warmbloods or Category:Morgan horses.  However, do not overdo category creation, as too many sub-categories often result in too few entries to be of much use for those seeking additional information.  Creating a category does require locating any existing wikipedia articles about famous individual horses of a given breed and then adding the category at the bottom of each article.

To-Do

 * Clean up tagged articles
 * Remove peacock words
 * Wikify and source articles
 * Add infoboxes to articles that do not have them
 * Locate and add appropriate photographs or other images to articles that need them
 * Add templates if not there already

Participants

 * Elf | Talk 21:21, 15 July 2005 (UTC)
 * Jpbrenna
 * Montanabw 06:51, 1 November 2006 (UTC)
 * Ealdgyth | Talk 21:34, 10 January 2008 (UTC)
 * Pitke (talk) 14:31, 19 January 2010 (UTC) (the sitting Finn, working on the Finnhorse and might be able to help with Swedish breeds with my basic Swedish ability too)
 * SMcCandlish ☺ ☏ ¢ ≽ʌⱷ҅ᴥⱷʌ≼  – landraces & formal breeds; coloration genetics; breeder/fancier organizations and their breed standards; and system-wide cleanup/consistency.
 * Grorp (with a focus on breeds related to driving/draft/carriage/harness) 23:12, 27 February 2024 (UTC)

Inactive

 * Bensaccount 16:56, 5 May 2004 (UTC)
 * Cgoodwin Cgoodwin (talk) 05:37, 29 November 2009 (UTC)
 * Jóna Þórunn 17:05, 6 August 2006 (UTC)
 * Cwd575 02:25, 17 September 2006 (UTC)
 * Swannie 20:20, 11 February 2007 (UTC)
 * Horsecanter 14:10, 28 April 2007 (UTC)
 * Dana boomer 16 December 2007
 * Countercanter 29 December 2007
 * Majestysquest (talk) 00:48, 22 May 2009 (UTC)
 * Hopeful Farm --Mhera (talk) 00:28, 4 September 2009 (UTC)
 * Wi2g (talk) 00:03, 7 February 2011 (UTC)
 * ThatPeskyCommoner (talk) 06:03, 5 March 2011 (UTC) (best on UK breeds)
 * AniusDaughter
 * White Arabian Filly (Neigh) 20:43, 18 September 2015 (UTC)
 * Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason 18:50, 2004 May 13 (UTC)
 * Eventer 7/06
 * Doug.(talk • contribs) 22:27, 11 October 2007 (UTC) (farrier, among other things, and one of the organizers of WP:WikiProject Agriculture, particularly interested in rare draft breeds)
 * Bogbumper (talk) 20:29, 9 July 2008 (UTC)

Similar WikiProjects

 * Dog breeds
 * Cat breeds

Infobox horse breeds template
For template text, see Template:Infobox horse breed

For an example: Morgan horse

it:Progetto:Forme di vita/Cavallo sv:Wikipedia:Projekt hästraser


text:
Talk:List of horse breeds

Capitalisation
On what basis do we have, for example, Banker H orse, but Blazer h orse. Is this a matter of whim, inconsistency of sourcing, or is there an established principle underlying the distinction? Kevin McE (talk) 12:29, 22 January 2011 (UTC)

 * Wikipedia capitalization conventions for second words usually colliding with title case, most of the time. Most breeds are known just as their breed name (Morgan, Arabian, Thoroughbred, etc.) and if the word "horse" must be added to avoid disambiguation issues on wiki, then the gang at WPEQ decided proper form generally should be "Xyz horse"  However, there are a few exceptions, and those are when the word "horse" is in the official breed name, most notably American Quarter Horse. (i.e.  Most people call an Arabian horse an "Arabian" but no one calls a Quarter horse a "quarter"! )  We're fixing these, slowly.   (Here, Banker Horse might need to be Banker horse, but I'd have to review that particular article to be sure)  The pony articles are a particular nightmare in this regard, as many have the word "pony" in their official name, but yet the other problem is if we capitalize all of them, then we have to create a bunch of redirects because wiki thinks a capitalized word is a whole different word...sigh.  Also, wiki capitalization folks often plow through a whole bunch of articles and remove the second word capitals whether they needed to or not, and half the time it's just not worth fighting about it, we only have something like 350 breed articles.  Big pain in the butt, all around.   Montanabw (talk) 06:07, 23 January 2011 (UTC)

 * Montanabw, can you point me to that discussion? What was the reasoning for avoiding the usual WP convention of "Xyz (horse)" for disambiguation?  (Most people call it an Arabian?  Everyone I know calls it an Arab...)  Richard New Forest (talk) 10:04, 23 January 2011 (UTC)

 * LOL! Just the Brits, me boy (and some other UK English speakers, some of them) Let's start with the ArabIAN Horse Association (USA), the Canadian ArabIAN Horse association, and the World ArabIAN Horse Association (WAHO) and many of its worldwide associated groups.  Only the UK and a few other groups say "Arab."  Montanabw (talk) 02:45, 24 January 2011 (UTC)

 * But as for the (horse) thing, the problem is that there was (and still is) a mix. I think the discussion occurred over at the WPEQ talk page a while back (it's probably archived somewhere).  The thinking was that there is a place to ignore the wiki MOS rules a little bit, and this was one of them. We appeared to agree that for topics like bit (horse) or black (horse) or other such concepts, parenthetical article names work OK (even if it's not yet consistent), but it does NOT work very well for the breed names.  The reasoning was that there is such variety  in naming -- some breed names commonly include the word "horse" in them (and especially the word "pony"), some even make the word part of the official breed name (Quarter Horse, Paint Horse, Banker Horse, Tennessee Walking Horse, Finnhorse, Shetland Pony, Welsh Pony, Connemara Pony, etc.), and so the remaining breeds (Arabian, Morgan, Andalusian, Hanoverian, etc...) may be just simpler to title with "horse" lower case without the parentheses when there is a need to disambiguate. It also avoids the problem of having to have a non-parenthetical redirect to every article for searching purposes and linking -- If even the people on the WPEQ breeds task force can't keep straight when one breed has "horse" in its official name and when one doesn't, how will anyone else?  Just for one example, Exmoor (pony) looks a bit ridiculous when everyone calls it an Exmoor Pony, yes?  Not that the job is finished-- there are still a number of breed articles with the parenthetical naming, but they are a minority.  It's also a total mishmash of when we have "horse" or "pony" in upper case versus lower case (especially with wiki MOS cops doing random drive-bys of 10 or 12 articles at a pop, but never all of them).  So the notion was that killing the parentheses would simplify matters and avoid the appearance of two different formats to naming the breeds-- particularly avoiding fights like whether it is a Shetland (pony) or a Shetland pony (or if it's a Shetland Pony, for that matter).   Does that make things any clearer?   Montanabw (talk) 02:45, 24 January 2011 (UTC)

 * No... Richard New Forest (talk) 09:57, 24 January 2011 (UTC)

 * Oh well. If you have a better idea for a standard that avoids a wiki-do-gooder driving by and creating American Quarter (horse), let me know!   Montanabw (talk) 23:50, 24 January 2011 (UTC)

RCMP
Royal Canadian Mounted Police horses - is it a horse breed? Kind regrads Minoo —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.1.2.226 (talk) 06:39, 13 March 2011 (UTC)
 * No, it's not a breed. They ride horses of whatever breed suits the position. Dana boomer (talk) 14:52, 13 March 2011 (UTC)

Sport horses, warmbloods, and new breeds with open stud books

 * Question 1: What do we do with sport horses, warmbloods, and newer 'breeds' with open stud books? Paragraph 2 of the lead, and sentence 4 under "Types of horse" seems to point to putting them under "Types".

 * My opinion is that if it has an open stud book (usually with a small number of horses registered), and allows multiple outcrossed breeds, it should be placed under "types" because it can't "breed true".

 * Some of the wikilinked standalone articles aren't clear on whether a breed is a new one, breeds true, has open stud book, etc., but a little digging in the registry (usually included as an external link) will clear that up. There may, however, be a few of these crossbreed registries that are older and might warrant going under "Horses" not "Types", but I would hinge my decision based on whether it is still operating with an open stud book that allows more than one breed for outcrosses.

 * Question 2: Sport horse has no citations since 2009; is this the new term for "warmblood"? Or is perhaps warmblood now a subset of sport horse? If either are true, then maybe we make a section under "Type" to split out the sport horses, warmbloods and new-breed-crosses-trying-to-be-breeds, to split them out from "General types" which would include the more generic terms such as cob, pony, feral, grade, hack, hunter, polo pony, stock horse, etc. The warmblood or sporthorse section could include those such as Arabo-friesian, Friesian cross, German Warmblood, Part-Arabian, and some others.
 * ”Sport horse”, like stock horse is a catchall term for horses of multiple breeds used in a specific discipline (in the case of sport horses, the FEI jumping/dressage disciplines, basically).

▶ I am Grorp ◀ 02:24, 26 October 2023 (UTC)
 * The answer to Q1 is easy: if it has a stud-book it isn't a type. A type is something like a hunter, a cart-horse, a hack, a police horse and so on. The first article listed as a type here, the Autre que Pur-sang, is not a type but a breed – it has a stud-book. Justlettersandnumbers (talk) 09:26, 28 October 2023 (UTC)
 * AQPS has been under the section "Types" since it was added in 2007. And the descriptive information at the start of that section, matched with the description in the wiki article, indicates it should be there. About half the articles I just googled said it was "technically not a breed", so that's a weird item to pick to make your argument. Registries and studbooks are usually the same thing, so I hope that's not the point you're trying to make. Maybe we need some more input here from other editors. are you up to joining this discussion?    ▶ I am Grorp ◀  10:36, 28 October 2023 (UTC)
 * I’m late to this discussion, but some of the prior distinction came from assorted huge debates years back over whether an open stud book was a real “breed” or not. We had similar dramas over whether landrace and feral “breeds” without studbooks were “real” breeds.  Add to that the question of designer crossbreds, which is a huge issue in the USA, and you can see the need for some discretion. Consensus can change, and basically, my take is that this article is a list of “breed” and “breed-related articles” on Wikipedia—and not a collection of redlinks.  So if the internal classification moves around, like for the AQPS, that’s not a big deal, so long as they are in there someplace. I do think though, that piped links need to be avoided except where a breed doesn’t have its own article…or maybe where there’s a kerfuffle over whether its a breed or a strain.   Montanabw (talk) 15:10, 5 January 2024 (UTC)

Crossbreds and types
One way to resolve the “breed or type” debate is to throw all the groups that have recording registries but might not really be “breeds” into their own category. So I created the heading “crossbred registration” and threw a bunch of the articles that were listed as “types” into that category. That way we acknowledge that some people are trying to organize these animals into a breed, as distinguished from “types” that will never be breeds, like hunters, stock, horses, gaited, horses, etc. maybe that will minimize some drama. Montanabw (talk) 15:56, 5 January 2024 (UTC)
 * On first glance, I like the new separation/distinction.   ▶ I am Grorp ◀  17:45, 5 January 2024 (UTC)

Types or 'lines' of Arabian horses - Egyptian Arabian
What I see is that the article starts out "The Egyptian Arabian is a line of the Arabian horse", therefore not a breed.

in your recent edit where you re-include the removed Egyptian Arabian (horse), you write except that, according to the article, it is ...

Now I wouldn't wholly rely on a translated-from-French article by a non-native English speaker who got paid to translate this article from French wiki and left it needing some serious cleanup, then they added their new article to this List of horse breeds in opposition to the notation telling users it is not a breed and to not add it.

But I'm willing to hear you out. Write here why you think Egyptian Arabian (horse) is a breed and warrants being here in the list. ▶ I am Grorp ◀ 00:17, 12 July 2024 (UTC)
 * , see the sections on selection and genetics. The article needs some serious work, or perhaps to be merged to a List of Arab horse breeds, but it asserts and supports its status as a breed. Justlettersandnumbers (talk) 08:09, 12 July 2024 (UTC)
 * JLAN, neither Egyptian nor Polish “Arabians” are separate breeds. (I redirected both) They are bloodline groups, and in the modern world, there has been so much intermixing  of lines (the Russians and Poles have imported from Egypt, the Egyptians revitalized their lines with Crabbet horses from England, etc) the distinctions are mostly a marketing ploy these days. The registries often have articles on their websites discussing these different groups, but they don’t maintain separate areas for recording them, nor does WAHO.  The one unique breed derived from Arabs with special status is the Shagya Arabian (long story, see the article), all the rest just have fan clubs.  Montanabw (talk) 15:04, 12 July 2024 (UTC)

I just boldly blanked and redirected that completely useless content fork. Egyptian bloodlines are not a separate breed or even a type, they are a bloodline group. To the extent they need any coverage, it’s already in Arabian horse, a Ga-class article and I have maintained for years… and to which I redirected. That user who created it is, I think, a paid editor who is translating every article in French wiki that doesn’t have a corresponding article in en.wiki. She has no idea what she’s talking about and her work is loaded with these mistranslations pf horse terms.. I have previously had to deal with multiple other of her articles on assorted horse topics. Fr wiki has a different consensus about having separate articles for every nuance. That’s their consensus, not ours. Thanks for alerting me to that junk. I think I also had to blank and redirect other articles on other Arabian bloodlines. Ping me at my talkpage if you find more, if there’s content worth salvaging prior to a redirect, I’ll find it. Montanabw (talk) 14:36, 12 July 2024 (UTC)
 * Wow. Good to know (about the Arabians).   ▶ I am Grorp ◀  17:40, 12 July 2024 (UTC)
 * Yes, that editor is in a group of paid editors, WP:WikiProject Intertranswiki/OKA. From what I've read, OKA is all about getting a fast translation done, bypassing AfC process by creating articles directly, and then leaving it for others to clean up the resulting articles... er... messes. I am thoroughly frustrated with the poor quality of their work, unwillingness (or inability) to improve the quality of their work over time, or to go back and correct their recent work when shortcomings are pointed out on talk pages with links to applicable Wikipedia guideline pages. In other words, informal mentoring hasn't seemed to make any progress. If they were made to send all these new translations through AfC (despite their whining about how long that takes) it would result in a better quality of article and I'm sure they would learn to clean up their act. Is there any way we can force them to run their newly-translated horse articles through AfC?   ▶ I am Grorp ◀  17:40, 12 July 2024 (UTC)

title: Talk:List of horse breeds


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User:Sheilnaikdotcom

I'm a newcomer to Wikipedia. After seeing the vast amount of information here, I was excited to help out with this project. I currently just browse around and add information or images where I can. I also browse the stubs and try to add images or information if possible.

Visit my website at sheilnaik.com to find more about me.

title: User:Sheilnaikdotcom


text:
Xu Xiake

Xu Xiake (, January 5, 1587 – March 8, 1641), born Xu Hongzu (徐弘祖), courtesy name Zhenzhi (振之), was a Chinese explorer, geographer, and travel writer of the Ming dynasty, known best for his famous geographical treatise, and noted for his bravery and humility. He traveled throughout China for more than 30 years, documenting his travels extensively. The records of his travels were compiled posthumously in The Travel Diaries of Xu Xiake, and his work translated by Ding Wenjiang. Xu's writing falls under the old Chinese literary category of 'travel record literature' ('youji wenxue'“遊記文學”), which used narrative and prose styles of writing to portray one's travel experiences.

The People's Liberation Army Navy barracks ship Xu Xiake was named after him.

Life
With ancestors from Jiangxi province, Xu Xiake was born in what is today Jiangyin (in Jiangsu province) as Xu Hongzu (宏祖), as the second son of Xu Yu'an (徐豫庵, 1545–1594) and Wang Ruren (王孺人, 1545–1625). It was often said his mother encouraged him to travel and this shaped Xu's predilections. His sobriquet is Zhenzhi (振之). Xiake was an alternate sobriquet (別號) given to him by his friend Chen Jiru (陳繼儒, 1558–1639) and it means "one who is in the sunset clouds". His other friend, Huang Daozhou (黃道周, 1585–1646), also gave Xu an alternate sobriquet: Xiayi (霞逸), meaning "untrammelled in the sunset clouds."

On his journeys throughout China he travelled with a servant called Gu Xing (顧行). He faced many hardships along the way, as he was often dependent on the patronage of local scholars who would help him after he had been robbed of all his belongings. Local Buddhist abbots of the various places he visited often would pay him money as well, for the small service of recording the history of their local monastery. From the snowy passes of Sichuan, to the subtropical jungles of Guangxi and Yunnan, to the mountains of Tibet, Xu Xiake wrote of all his experiences and provided enormous amounts of written detail from his observations.

Travel records

The written work of Xu Xiake's travel records and diaries contained some 404,000 Chinese characters, an enormous work for a single author of his time. Xu traveled throughout the provinces of China, often on foot, to write his enormous geographical and topographical treatise, documenting various details of his travels, such as the locations of small gorges, or mineral beds such as mica schists. Xu's work was quite systematic, providing accurate details of measurement, and his work, later translated into modern Chinese by Ding Wenjiang, reads more like the accounts of a 20th-century field surveyor than an early 17th-century scholar. In Guizhou, he made the discovery of the true source of the West River. He also discovered the Mekong and Salween rivers were, in fact, separate drainages with completely separate watersheds. Xu made the important realization that the Jinsha river network – and not the Min or Yalong – formed the true headwaters of the Yangtze River, correcting a mistake in Chinese geography as old as the "Tribute of Yu" compiled by Confucius in the Classic of History.

title: Xu Xiake


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Living creatures (Bible)

The living creatures, living beings, or hayyot (Hebrew חַיּוֹת ḥayyōṯ) are a class of heavenly beings in Jewish mythology. They are described in the prophet Ezekiel's vision of the heavenly chariot in the first and tenth chapters of the Book of Ezekiel. References to the sacred creatures recur in texts of Second Temple Judaism, in rabbinical merkabah ("chariot") literature, in the Book of Revelation in the Christian New Testament, and in the Zohar.

According to Jewish and Christian traditions, there are four living creatures, although their description varies by source. The symbolic depiction of the four living creatures in religious art, especially Christian art, is called a tetramorph.

Ezekiel's four living creatures
Ezekiel's vision of the four living creatures in Ezekiel 1 are identified as cherubim in Ezekiel 10, who are God's throne bearers. Cherubim as minor guardian deities of temple or palace thresholds are known throughout the Ancient East. Each of Ezekiel's cherubim have four faces, that of a man, a lion, an ox, and an eagle. However, the fact that they manifest in human form sets them apart from the griffin-like cherubs and lamassu of Babylonia and Assyria. Concerning their ability to move, Ezekiel's cherubim do not need to turn, since they face all compass points simultaneously. This description of movement differs from that of the seraphim in Isaiah's vision who have an extra set of wings, giving them the ability to fly.

Revelation's four living beings
In the New Testament book of, four living beings (Greek: ζῷον, zōion) are seen in John's vision. These appear as a lion, an ox, a man, and an eagle, much as in Ezekiel but in a different order. They have six wings, whereas Ezekiel's four living creatures are described as having four. In verse 6, they are said to have "eyes all over, front and back", suggesting that they are alert and knowledgeable, that nothing escapes their notice. The description parallels the wheels that are beside the living creatures in Ezekiel 1:18; 10:12, which are said to be "full of eyes all around". The Hebrew word for "wheel" (ôpannîm) was also used in later Jewish literature to indicate a member of the angelic orders (1 Enoch 71:7; 3 Enoch 1:8; 7:1; 25:5–6, etc.). In this passage in Revelation, the four beasts surround "the one" on the red throne (which is of ruby and sardius), which is contrasted with the white throne in and.

Comparing the living creatures in Ezekiel with Revelation's is a prominent apocalyptic study in Western Christianity. An example is the 18th century works of Jonathan Edwards' recorded interpretation of 1722/23. The four living creatures that John of Patmos sees in the Book of Revelation, is the author's reworking of the living creatures in the visions of Ezekiel and Isaiah.

William D. Mounce noted a belief that the living creatures may have been associated with the four principal (or fixed) signs of the zodiac (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, and Aquarius), but other scholars have doubted this interpretation.

In a critical analysis of John's vision, April De Conick's 2006 essay outlines that the hayyot in Ezekiel are perhaps not original with the author of Revelation. De Conick suggests that John may have drawn from other merkabah-related texts and by subtly working with images already known to his audience, he reshaped them for his own purposes. With John blending and transforming the images of his sources, it has given way to different interpretations.

Religious views

In Judaism, the living beings are considered angels of fire, who hold up the throne of God. According to the Zohar, they hold up the firmament itself. They are ranked first in Maimonides' Jewish angelic hierarchy. They have also been correlated with four archangels: "Michael is the 'lion-headed', Raphael the "human-headed", Uriel the "bull-headed", and Gabriel the "eagle-headed".

In Christianity, the four living creatures are Cherubim. A prominent early interpretation, variously modified by different interpreters, has been to equate the four creatures with the Four Evangelists. Throughout church history, the most common interpretation (first laid out by Victorinus), but not the original or the only, is that the lion represents Mark, the calf Luke, the man Matthew, and the eagle John. Irenaeus was the first to make the association with the evangelists, but the interpretation laid out by Victorinus and adopted by Jerome, Gregory the Great, and the Book of Kells became dominant. Its influence has been on art and sculpture and is still prevalent in Catholicism and Anglicanism. A view held by many modern commentators is that the four living creatures of Revelation are agents of God and heavenly representatives of the created order, who call every living thing to worship the Creator.

A traditional view is that the four faces (Revelation 4:6-8) refer to the many aspects (or attributes) of Jesus Christ as depicted in the four Gospels.

The Man

The man represents Jesus as the Son of Man, symbolizing His humanity, vulnerability, and compassion. This face is often associated with Jesus’ role as the Son of Man, who came to seek and save the lost. The man is also a symbol of wisdom, understanding, and empathy.

The Ox

The ox represents Jesus as the Obedient Servant, symbolizing His humility, submission, and willingness to serve. This face is often associated with Jesus’ role as the Servant of the Lord, who came to serve and give His life as a ransom for many. The ox is also a symbol of strength, endurance, and sacrifice.

The Lion

The lion represents Jesus as the Lion of Judah, symbolizing His power, strength, and royalty. This face is often associated with Jesus’ role as the Messiah, the King of Kings, and the one who will judge the world. The lion is also a symbol of courage, bravery, and protection.

The Eagle

The eagle represents Jesus as the Son of God, symbolizing His divinity, majesty, and power. This face is often associated with Jesus’ role as the Son of God, who came to reveal the Father’s love and glory. The eagle is also a symbol of freedom, strength, and vision.

These four faces of Jesus are not mutually exclusive, but rather complementary, reflecting the multifaceted nature of Jesus’ character and ministry. Each face represents a different aspect of His personality, role, and mission, and together they form a complete picture of who Jesus is and what He has done for us.

title: Living creatures (Bible)


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Tarragonès

Tarragonès is a comarca (county) in Camp de Tarragona, Catalonia (Spain). It lies on the Mediterranean coast, between the comarques of Baix Penedès to the northeast and Baix Camp to the south. Over 60% of the population live in the capital, Tarragona.

Transport
An excellent road network connects the comarca's towns. The AP-7/E-15 motorway cuts across the region, following the coastline. The port of Tarragona is an important Mediterranean transit point. There are yacht marinas in Tarragona and Torredembarra, with a smaller one at Salou. There is a rail connection with the cities of Barcelona and Valencia.

title: Tarragonès