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Siege of Baghdad

The siege of Baghdad took place in early 1258 at Baghdad, the historic capital of the Abbasid Caliphate. After a series of provocations from the city's ruler, Caliph al-Musta'sim, a large army under the Mongol prince Hulegu attacked the city. Within a few weeks, the city fell and was sacked by the Mongol army—al-Musta'sim was killed alongside hundreds of thousands of his subjects. The city's fall has traditionally been seen as marking the end of the Islamic Golden Age; in reality, its repercussions are uncertain.

After the accession of his brother Möngke Khan to the Mongol throne in 1251, Hulegu, a grandson of Genghis Khan, was dispatched westwards to Persia to secure the region. His massive army of over 138,000 men took years to reach the region but then quickly attacked and overpowered the Nizari Ismaili Assassins in 1256. The Mongols had expected al-Musta'sim to provide reinforcements for their army—the caliph's failure to do so, combined with his arrogance in negotiations, convinced Hulegu to overthrow him in late 1257. Invading Mesopotamia from all sides, the Mongol army soon approached Baghdad, routing a sortie on 17 January 1258 by flooding their camp. They then invested Baghdad, which was left with around 30,000 troops.

The assault began at the end of January. Mongol siege engines breached Baghdad's fortifications within a couple of days, and Hulegu's highly-trained troops controlled the eastern wall by 4 February. The increasingly desperate al-Musta'sim frantically tried to negotiate, but Hulegu was intent on total victory, even killing soldiers who attempted to surrender. The caliph eventually surrendered the city on 10 February, and the Mongols began looting three days later. The number of people who died is unknown, as the number was likely increased by subsequent epidemics; Hulegu later estimated the total at around 200,000. After calling an amnesty for the pillaging on 20 February, Hulegu executed the caliph. In contrast to the exaggerations of later Muslim historians, Baghdad prospered under Hulegu's Ilkhanate, although it did decline in comparison to the new capital, Tabriz.

Background
Baghdad was founded in 762 AD by al-Mansur, the second caliph of the Abbasid dynasty, which had recently overthrown the empire of the Umayyads. Al-Mansur believed that the new Abbasid Caliphate needed a new capital city, located away from potential threats and near to the dynasty's power base in Persia. Incredibly wealthy due to the trade routes and taxes it controlled, Baghdad quickly became a world city and the epicenter of the Islamic Golden Age: poets, writers, scientists, philosophers, musicians, and scholars of every type thrived in the city. Containing centers of learning like the House of Wisdom and astronomical observatories, which utilised the newly-arrived technology of paper and the gathering of the teachings of antiquity from all Eurasia, Baghdad was "the intellectual capital of the planet," in the words of Justin Marozzi.

During the tenth century, the Abbasids gradually decreased in power. This culminated in Baghdad being occupied, first by the Buyids in 945 and then the Seljuks in 1055, by which time the caliphs had only local authority. They focused their attentions on Baghdad itself, which retained its position as one of the preeminent cities of the world—it was joined only by Kaifeng and Hangzhou in having over a million inhabitants between 1000 and 1200. The caliphate reemerged as a significant power under al-Nasir ((r. 1180 – 1225)), who saw off threats from the last Seljuk rulers and their successors, the Khwarazmians. Muhammad II of Khwarazm's 1217 invasion of the Abbasids failed, and his realm was soon invaded by the armies of Genghis Khan, first ruler of the Mongol Empire.

After the Mongol invasion of the Khwarazmian Empire ended in late 1221, they did not return to the region until 1230. In that year Chormaqan, a leading general under Genghis' successor Ögedei Khan, arrived in Azerbaijan to eliminate the Khwarazmian prince Jalal al-Din, who was killed the following year. Thereafter, Chormaqan began to establish Mongol hegemony in northwestern Iran and the Transcaucasus. After they captured Isfahan in 1236, the Mongols began to test caliphal authority in Mesopotamia, besieging Irbil in 1237 and raiding up to the walls of Baghdad itself the following year. Chormaqan and his 1241 replacement Baiju thereafter raided the region nearly every year. Although Mongol rule was secured elsewhere in the Near East—their victory at the 1243 Battle of Köse Dağ reduced the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum to a client state—Baghdad remained unconquered, and even defeated a Mongol force in 1245. Another problematic state was the Order of Assassins in the Elburz Mountains. This secretive Nizari Ismaili state had killed Mongol commanders during the 1240s and had allegedly dispatched 400 Assassins to the Mongol capital Karakorum to kill the khan himself.

Campaign against the Assassins
Möngke Khan was proclaimed khan in 1251 as part of the Toluid Revolution, which established the family of Genghis' youngest son Tolui as the most powerful figures in the Mongol Empire. Möngke resolved to send his younger brothers Kublai and Hulegu on massive military expeditions to subdue rebellious vassals and problematic enemies. While Kublai was sent to vassalize the Dali Kingdom and resume the war against the Southern Song, Hulegu was dispatched westwards to destroy the Ismaili Assassins and to ensure the submission of the Abbasid caliphs. For this task, he was assigned one-fifth of the empire's manpower, a figure which has been variously calculated by modern scholars as between 138,000, nearly 200,000, or 300,000. The force contained troops from vassalized Armenia, including its king Hetoum I, a thousand-strong corps of military engineers led by Guo Kan, auxiliaries from all over the empire, and generals from all the branches of the Mongol imperial family, including three princes from the Golden Horde, the Chagatayid prince Teguder, and possibly one of Genghis Khan's grandsons through his daughter Checheikhen.

Because of the size of his force, Hulegu's progress from Karakorum was extremely leisurely by Mongol standards. Setting out in October 1253, he spent the next years passing through Transoxiana and received homage from local rulers including Arghun Aqa at Kish in November 1255; early the following year, he entered the Assassins heartland of Kohistan. An advanced vanguard under the general Kitbuqa had taken numerous Ismaili fortresses, unsuccessfully besieged the stronghold at Gerdkuh, and sacked the city of Tun between 1253 and 1256. The Grand Master of the Assassins, Ala'ad-Din Muhammad, had died in December 1255, and Hulegu sent ambassadors to his young successor Rukn al-Din Khurshah. The new Grand Master attempted to stall for time, but his fortresses steadily fell to the Mongols and he surrendered from Maymun-Diz on 19 November. Rukn al-Din persuaded the stronghold of Alamut to surrender on 15 December, but some other fortresses refused; Lambasar fell in late 1257, while Gerdkuh held out for fifteen years, only falling in 1271.

Abbasid campaign
Hulegu had expected the Abbasid caliph al-Musta'sim to provide troops for the campaign against the Assassins; the caliph had initially assented, but his ministers argued that the real purpose of the request was to empty Baghdad of potential defenders, and so he refused. Later Sunni writers accused Baghdad's vizier, a Shi'ite named Muhammad ibn al-Alqami, of having betrayed the caliph by opening secret negotiations with Hulegu. In 1256, sectarian violence between Sunnis and Shi'a had broken out after a devastating flood, meaning Baghdad was in a difficult position; however, al-Musta‘sim and his ministers were still quite delusional concerning their chances of success.

Hulegu spent the summer of 1257 on or near the Hamadan plain, where he was rejoined by Baiju, who had been occupied with troubles to the northwest, and who brought Georgian, Armenian, and Seljuk vassals to join the Mongol army. In September, he began a correspondence with al-Musta'sim, described by the historian René Grousset as "one of the most magnificent dialogues in history". His first message demanded that the caliph dismantle Baghdad's defences and send his three principal ministers—the vizier, the commander of the soldiers, and the dawatdar (keeper of the inkpot)—to the Mongols; all three likely refused, and three less important officials were sent instead.

Al-Musta'sim's reply to Hulegu's letter called the Mongol leader young and ignorant, and presented himself as able to summon armies from all of Islam. Accompanied by disrespectful behaviour towards Hulegu's envoys, this was just "provocative bluster": the Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt was hostile towards the caliph, while the Ayyubids in Syria were focusing on their own survival. A further exchange of letters brought no progress save the caliph's concession of a small amount of tribute—al-Alqami had argued for sending large amounts, but the dawatdar argued that al-Alqami was trying to empty the treasury and win Hulegu's favour.

Losing patience, Hulegu consulted his advisors on the practicalities of attacking Baghdad. The astronomer Husam al-Din prophecised doom, stating that all rulers who had attacked Baghdad had afterwards lost their kingdom. Hulegu then turned to the polymath Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, who simply replied that none of these disasters would happen, and that Hulegu would rule in place of the caliph.

Advance and siege
Flanked on the right wing by the Golden Horde princes, who approached via the Shahrizor plain, and on the left by Kitbuqa in Khuzistan, Hulegu commanded the main Mongol force and sacked Kermanshah on 6 December. After a council of war in mid-December, his commanders dispersed to carry out different tasks. Baiju returned to the vanguard at Irbil, and crossing the Tigris at Mosul with the help of its emir Badr al-Din Lu'lu', who also provided supplies, headed southwards towards Baghdad. Baiju reached the Nahr Isa canal in mid-January 1258, whereupon his deputy Sughunchaq pushed the advance party to around 25 mi from the city. On 16 January, Sughunchaq was confronted by the dawatdar with 20,000 infantry and forced to retreat; the caliphal army pursued, but that night Baiju's forces broke the dykes of the Dujayl Canal and flooded the camp of the celebrating Abbasid army. Many drowned, and the remainder were engaged by Baiju's army the following morning—they were routed and only a few, including the dawatdar, made it back to Baghdad.

Meanwhile, Kitbuqa had crossed the Tigris to the south and was approaching the Karkh suburbs, while Hulegu himself reached the eastern suburbs on 22 January, where he was welcomed by the local Shi'ites. The Mongols then closely invested Baghdad by erecting a palisade around the whole city and digging a moat inside this circumvallation; these fortifications were completed within a day. They constructed mounds out of bricks for their mangonels and ballistae and prepared their ammunition—the Mongols used palm trees and stones previously used in building the suburbs until they found suitable rocks in the Jebel Hamrin mountains, three days transport away. They also used pyrotechnics such as burning naphtha. To prevent anyone from using the Tigris to escape, Hulegu ordered the construction of pontoon bridges across the river on both sides of the city. Despite Baghdad's frailty—the walls were in disrepair and the garrison, at most 50,000 strong before the dawatdar sortie, was untrained and largely incapable—Hulegu meticulously planned his operations to cover all eventualities.

The assault on Baghdad's flood-weakened walls began on either 29 or 30 January. The Mongol forces arrowed messages containing guarantees of safety into the city—those covered by the guarantees included Christians, certain Muslim figures, and those who had not fought the Mongols or who had surrendered. The first breach was made in the southeast Ajami tower, near to Hulegu's camp, on 1 February, but the Mongols were driven back; further breaches over the next two days enabled them to access and seize control of the east battlements by 4 February. Sensing defeat, the dawatdar attempted to escape by sailing down the Tigris, but Hulegu's preparations held and forced him back into the city with a loss of three ships.

Caliph al-Musta'sim sent out numerous envoys, including al-Alqami and Makkikha II, Patriarch of the Church of the East, during the next week, but Hulegu was determined on nothing less than unconditional surrender, especially after one of his commanders was wounded by an arrow during a parley. Both the dawatdar and the commander of Baghdad's garrison were surrendered to the Mongols during the negotiations, and were now put to death. On 7 February, a large number of unarmed soldiers and inhabitants emerged from the city, in the apparent hope that they would be spared and allowed to settle in Syria; instead, they were divided into groups and executed.

With limited options, al-Musta'sim prepared to surrender. After sending out an embassy led by his son and heir Ahmed, who secured guarantees of safety for his family, the caliph surrendered on 10 February, bringing his family and 3,000 dignitaries. Hulegu asked al-Musta'sim to order the population of the city to leave the city after laying their weapons down; those who obeyed were slaughtered. The caliph and his family were housed near Kitbuqa's forces near the southern gate.

Sack and aftermath
On 13 February, the sack of Baghdad began. This was not an act of wanton destruction, as it has commonly been presented, but rather a calculated decision to show the consequences of defying the Mongol Empire. Sayyids, scholars, merchants who traded with the Mongols, and the Christians in the city on whose behalf Hulegu's wife Doquz Khatun, herself a Christian, had interceded, were deemed worthy and were instructed to mark their doors so their houses would be spared. The rest of the city was subject to pillaging and killing for a full week. According to Kirakos Gandzaketsi, an Armenian historian, the Christians in Hulegu's army took special pleasure in Baghdad's sack. It is unknown how many inhabitants were killed: later Muslim writers estimated between 800,000 and two million deaths, while Hulegu himself, in a letter to Louis IX of France, noted that his army had killed 200,000. Figures may have been inflated by a subsequent epidemic amongst the survivors.

Two days into the looting, on 15 February, Hulegu visited the caliphal palace and forced al-Musta'sim to reveal his treasures; some was distributed among commanders such as Guo Kan, but most loaded onto wagons and transported either to Mongke in Karakorum or to Shahi Island in Azerbaijan, where Hulegu would be buried. Having granted the palace to Makkikha to be the Christians' church, Hulegu then held a celebratory banquet in which he mockingly played host to the caliph. Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, who was likely present, recorded the following dialogue:

"[Hulegu] set a golden tray before the Caliph and said: 'Eat!' 'It is not edible,' said the Caliph.

'Then why did you keep it,' asked the khan, 'and not give it to your soldiers? And why did you not make these iron doors into arrow-heads and come to the bank of the river so that I might not have been able to cross it?'

'Such', replied the Caliph, 'was God's will.' 'What will befall you,' said the khan, 'is also God's will.'"

This incident is likely the source of a folktale, reproduced in the writings of Christian writers such as Marco Polo, in which Hulegu subsequently locked al-Musta'sim in a cell surrounded by his treasures, whereupon he starved to death in four days. In reality, on 20 February, after Hulegu had halted the plundering and killing and moved his camp away from the city to escape the increasingly putrid air, al-Musta'sim was executed alongside his whole family and court. To avoid spilling a royal's blood, a great taboo for the Mongols, the caliph was wrapped in a rolled-up carpet and trampled to death by horses. Hulegu had debated whether to put al-Musta'sim to death at all, but eventually decided on doing so to break the myth of the caliphate being an all-powerful, invulnerable, and inviolate entity.

If, as later writers allege, al-Alqami had betrayed Baghdad to the Mongols, Hulegu would have had him executed—such was the Mongol policy regarding all traitors. Instead, because of his efforts to dissuade the caliph from a foolish path, he was reappointed to the vizierate, although he died less than three months later. Having also appointed a Khwarazmian daruyachi named Ali Ba'atar for the region and stationed 3,000 soldiers in the city, Hulegu gave instructions to rebuild Baghdad and to open its bazaars. On 8 March, he left the area, travelling northwards to Hamadan and then Azerbaijan, where he remained for a year.

Legacy
The fall of Baghdad marked the end of the five hundred-year-old Abbasid Caliphate—although a member of the dynasty eventually made it to Cairo, where the Mamluk Sultanate installed him as Al-Mustansir II, he and his descendants were puppets of the Mamluk state and never gained much recognition in the wider Muslim world; they would later be usurped by the Ottomans, who maintained the title of caliph up to the 20th century. It also marked a shift of power away from Baghdad and towards cities like Tabriz, the capital of the Ilkhanate, the khanate later founded by Hulegu.

Baghdad's fall was not as era-defining as has been suggested, although it was a momentous occasion for the Islamic world. Muslim writers have traditionally ascribed the decline of the Islamic Golden Age, and consequently the subsequent rise of the Western world, to this one event; however, such an argument has been criticised as simplistic and lazy. Whereas an oft-quoted description from a 16th-century historian details that so many books from Baghdad's libraries were thrown into the Tigris that "the colour of the river changed into black from their multitude," the historian Michal Biran has shown that large libraries reopened for learning and teaching within two years of the siege. Hulegu and his successors as rulers of the Ilkhanate actively patronised and encouraged musical and literary traditions; it was subsequent sieges like those conducted by Timur in 1393 and 1401 and by the Ottomans in 1534, that ensured the city's long-term marginalisation.

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title: Siege of Baghdad


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The End of the World (1916 film)

The End of the World (Verdens Undergang) is a 1916 Danish science fiction drama film directed by August Blom and written by Otto Rung, starring Olaf Fønss and Ebba Thomsen. The film depicts a worldwide catastrophe when an errant comet passes by Earth and causes natural disasters and social unrest. Blom and his crew created special effects for the comet disaster using showers of fiery sparks and shrouds of smoke. The film attracted a huge audience because of fears generated during the passing of Halley's comet six years earlier, as well as the ongoing turbulence and unrest of World War I. The film is also known as The Flaming Sword. It was restored by the Danish Film Institute and released on DVD in 2006.

Cast

 * Olaf Fønss as Frank Stoll - Mine Owner
 * Carl Lauritzen as Mineformand / Mine Forman West
 * Ebba Thomsen as Dina West
 * Johanne Fritz-Petersen as Edith West
 * Thorleif Lund as Minearbejder / Worker Flint
 * Alf Blütecher as Styrmand / Ship's Mate Reymers
 * Frederik Jacobsen as Den vandrende Prædikant / The Wandering Preacher
 * K. Zimmerman as Professor Wissmann
 * Moritz Beilawski
 * Erik Holberg

Critical Reception
Moving Picture World reported the following in their review following the U.S. release: "As a spectacle this production scores emphatically, and the impression left by the overwhelming calamity depicted in reels five and six is made stronger by reason of the preparation in earlier scenes... Although the spectacular scenes are of paramount importance in this picture, it should not be supposed that the production lacks other attractive qualities, in the charm of Norwegian settings and the interest aroused by a very passable story, ably acted, especially by Emma Thomsen [sic] and Olaf Fonss in the leading roles."

title: The End of the World (1916 film)


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Dilawar (torture victim)

Dilawar (born c. 1979 – December 10, 2002), also known as Dilawar of Yakubi, was an Afghan farmer and taxi driver who was tortured to death by US Army soldiers at the Bagram Collection Point, a US military detention center in Afghanistan.

He arrived at the prison on December 5, 2002, and was declared dead 5 days later. His death was declared a homicide and was the subject of a major investigation by the US Army of abuses at the prison. It was prosecuted in the Bagram torture and prisoner abuse trials. US award-winning documentary Taxi to the Dark Side (2007) focuses on the murder of Dilawar.

Dilawar
Dilawar was a 22-year-old Pashtun taxi driver and farmer from the small village of Yakubi in the Khost Province of Afghanistan. He was 5 ft tall and weighed 122 lb. Dilawar was transporting three passengers in his taxi when he was stopped at a checkpoint by Afghan militia and arrested along with his passengers. The four men were detained and turned over to American soldiers, who transferred them to the Bagram Theater Internment Facility. Two of his passengers, Abdul Rahim and Zakim Shah, were reported to have suffered treatment similar to that of Dilawar. They survived Bagram and were later flown to the Guantanamo Bay detention camps at the US base in Cuba. At Bagram, Dilawar was chained to the ceiling of his cell, and suspended by his wrists for four days. His arms became dislocated from their sockets, and flapped around limply whenever guards collected him for interrogation. During his detention, Dilawar's legs were beaten to a pulp. They would have had to have been amputated because damage was so severe. He died on December 10, 2002. He is survived by his wife and their daughter, Bibi Rashida.

Arrest
The New York Times reported on May 20, 2005 that:

"Four days before, on the eve of the Muslim holiday of Id al-Fitr, Mr. Dilawar set out from his tiny village of Yakubi in a prized new possession, a used Toyota sedan that his family bought for him a few weeks earlier to drive as a taxi.

On the day that he disappeared, Mr. Dilawar's mother had asked him to gather his three sisters from their nearby villages and bring them home for the holiday. However, he needed gas money and decided instead to drive to the provincial capital, Khost, about 45 minutes away, to look for fares.

At a taxi stand there, he found three men headed back toward Yakubi. On the way, they passed a base used by American troops, Camp Salerno, which had been the target of a rocket attack that morning.

Militiamen loyal to the guerrilla commander guarding the base, Jan Baz Khan, stopped the Toyota at a checkpoint. They confiscated a broken walkie-talkie from one of Mr. Dilawar's passengers. In the trunk, they found an electric stabilizer used to regulate current from a generator. (Mr. Dilawar's family said the stabilizer was not theirs; at the time, they said, they had no electricity at all.)

The four men were detained and turned over to American soldiers at the base as suspects in the attack. Mr. Dilawar and his passengers spent their first night there handcuffed to a fence, so they would be unable to sleep. When a doctor examined them the next morning, he said later, he found Mr. Dilawar tired and suffering from headaches but otherwise fine.

In February, an American military official disclosed that the Afghan guerrilla commander whose men had arrested Mr. Dilawar and his passengers had himself been detained. The commander, Jan Baz Khan, was suspected of attacking Camp Salerno himself and then turning over innocent "suspects" to the Americans in a ploy to win their trust, the military official said.

The three passengers in Mr. Dilawar's taxi were sent home from Guantánamo in March 2004, 15 months after their capture, with letters saying they posed "no threat" to American forces."

Torture
The various accounts of torture Dilawar suffered have been detailed as follows:

 * A black hood pulled over his head limiting his ability to breathe
 * Knee strikes to the abdomen
 * Over 100 peroneal strikes (a nerve behind the kneecap)
 * Shoved against a wall
 * Pulled by his beard
 * His bare feet stepped on
 * Kicks to the groin
 * Chained to the ceiling for extended hours, depriving him of sleep
 * Slammed his chest into a table front

The New York Times reported that:

"On the day of his death, Dilawar had been chained by the wrists to the top of his cell for much of the previous four days. A guard tried to force the young man to his knees. But his legs, which had been pummeled by guards for several days, could no longer bend. An interrogator told Mr. Dilawar that he could see a doctor after they finished with him. When he was finally sent back to his cell, though, the guards were instructed only to chain the prisoner back to the ceiling. 'Leave him up,' one of the guards quoted Specialist Claus as saying. Several hours passed before an emergency room doctor finally saw Mr. Dilawar. By then he was dead, his body beginning to stiffen. It would be many months before Army investigators learned that most of the interrogators had in fact believed Mr. Dilawar to be an innocent man who simply drove his taxi past the American base at the wrong time."

Moazzam Begg claimed that while detained in the Bagram Theater Internment Facility, he was partial witness to the torture inflicted upon Dilawar.

Death
The findings of Mr. Dilawar's autopsy were succinct.

Leaked internal United States Army documentation in the form of a death certificate dated 12 December 2002, ruled that his death was due to a direct result of assaults and attacks he sustained at the hands of interrogators of the 519th Military Intelligence Battalion during his stay at Bagram. The document was signed by Lt. Col. Elizabeth A. Rouse of the U.S. Air Force, a pathologist with the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Washington DC, and listed as its finding that the "mode of death" was "homicide," and not "natural," "accident" or "suicide" and that the cause of death was "blunt-force injuries to lower extremities complicating coronary artery disease".

A subsequent autopsy revealed that his legs had been "pulpified," and that even if Dilawar had survived, it would have been necessary to amputate his legs.

According to the death certificate shown in the documentary Taxi to the Dark Side, the box marked Homicide had been checked as the ultimate cause of death. However, the military had so far publicly claimed that Dilawar had died from natural causes. It was only by accident that the death certificate was leaked when New York Times reporter Carlotta Gall managed to track down Dilawar's family in Yakubi where Dilawar's brother, Shahpoor, showed her a folded paper he had received with Dilawar's body which he could not read because it was in English; it was the death certificate.

Culpability
In August 2005, lead interrogator Specialist Glendale C. Walls of the U.S. Army pleaded guilty at a military court to pushing Dilawar against a wall and doing nothing to prevent other soldiers from abusing him. Walls was subsequently sentenced to two months in a military prison. Two other soldiers convicted in connection with the case escaped custodial sentences. The sentences were criticized by Human Rights Watch. In March 2006, the CBS News program, "60 Minutes" investigated the deaths of two Afghan prisoners, including Dilawar, revealing that authorization for the abuse came from the "very top of the United States government". 60 Minutes correspondent Scott Pelley interviewed retired Army Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, who was appointed chief of staff by Secretary of State Colin Powell in 2002, during George W. Bush's first administration. Willie V. Brand, one of the soldiers convicted of assault and maiming in the deaths of the two prisoners, and Brand's commanding officer, Capt. Christopher Beiring, were also featured in the program. Wilkerson told "60 Minutes" that he could "smell" a cover-up and was asked by Powell to investigate how American soldiers had come to use torture and stated; "I was developing the picture as to how this all got started in the first place, and that alarmed me as much as the abuse itself because it looked like authorization for the abuse went to the very top of the United States government". Brand and Beiring confirmed that several of their leaders had witnessed and knew about the abuse and torture of the prisoners.

Beiring and Brand showed no remorse when recounting the torture. Beiring was charged with dereliction of duty, a charge that was later dropped. Brand was convicted at his court martial, but rather than the 16 years in prison he was facing from the charges brought against him, he was given a reduction in rank.

In August 2005, Sgt. Selena M. Salcedo, an interrogator with the 519th Military Intelligence Battalion, admitted to mistreating Dilawar. In a military court Salcedo pleaded guilty to dereliction of duty and assault, admitting she kicked the prisoner, grabbed his head and forced him against a wall several times. Two related charges were dropped and she was reduced in rank to corporal or specialist, given a letter of reprimand and docked $250 a month in pay for four months. She could have received a year in prison, loss of a year's pay, reduction in rank to private, and a bad-conduct discharge.

2007 inquiry in civil court
In July 2007, a federal grand jury opened a civil inquiry into the Bagram abuse. Alicia A. Caldwell, writing in the Huffington Post, quoted a former military defense lawyer, named Michael Waddington, who said:

Duane M. Grubb, Darin Broady, Christopher Greatorex and Christopher Beiring, four of the soldiers who served at the center at the time of the deaths, acknowledge that they had been called before the grand jury. They were reported to have waived immunity.

title: Dilawar (torture victim)


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Sultanate of Ifat

The Sultanate of Ifat, known as Wafāt or Awfāt in Arabic texts, or the Kingdom of Zeila was a medieval Sunni Muslim state in the eastern regions of the Horn of Africa between the late 13th century and early 15th century. It was formed in present-day Ethiopia around eastern Shewa in Ifat. Led by the Walashma dynasty, the polity stretched from Zequalla to the port city of Zeila. The kingdom ruled over parts of what are now Ethiopia, Ogaden, Djibouti, Somaliland or Somalia.

Location
The earliest account of Ifat Sultanate comes from Ibn Sa'id al-Maghribi. He says that the region is called Jabarta and its capital is called Wafāt. Its population, who are Muslim, are ethnically mixed. The city sat upon an elevated place in a valley next to a river. He calculates the astronomical position of the city being 8 latitude and 57 longitude according to Arab computation, which is located on the eastern edge of Shewa. Ifat Sultanate was also alternatively known as the state of Zeila.

According to Ibn Fadlallah al-Umari, Ifat was a state close to the Red Sea coast, 15 days by 20 days "normal traveling time". The state had a river (Awash River), was well peopled and had an army of 20,000 soldiers and 15,000 horsemen. Al Umari mentioned seven cities in Ifat: Biqulzar, Kwelgora, Shimi, Shewa, Adal, Jamme and Laboo. While reporting that its center was "a place called Walalah, probably the modern Wäläle south of Šäno in the Ěnkwoy valley, about 50 miles ENE of Addis Ababa", G.W.B. Huntingford "provisionally" estimated its southern and eastern boundaries were along the Awash River, the western frontier a line drawn between Medra Kabd towards the Jamma river east of Debre Libanos (which it shared with Damot), and the northern boundary along the Adabay and Mofar rivers. The al-Umari territorial account of Ifat Sultanate implies a size of 300 kilometers by 400 kilometers, which may be an exaggeration, according to Richard Pankhurst.

According to Taddesse Tamrat, Ifat's borders included Fatagar, Dawaro and Bale. The port of Zeila provided an entry point for trade and served as the most important entry point for Islam into Ethiopian lands. Ifat rulers controlled Zeila, and it was an important commercial and religious base for them.

It was the northernmost of several Muslim states in the Horn of Africa, acting as a buffer between Christian kingdom and the Muslim states along the coastal regions. Five Ifat cities in eastern Shewa; Asbäri, Nora, Mäsal, Rassa Guba, and Beri-Ifat now mostly in ruins dating back to the fourteenth century have been located. The local Argobba people credited Arabs for building these towns.

Founding of Ifat
Islam was introduced to the Horn region early on from the Arabian peninsula, shortly after the hijra. Zeila's two-mihrab Masjid al-Qiblatayn dates to about the 7th century, and is one of the oldest mosques in Africa. In the late 9th century, Al-Yaqubi wrote that Muslims were living along the northern Somali seaboard. This claim, however, has been called suprious and more complicated by contemporary Somali historians, who claim Muslim emmigration to Zeila unlikely, as Dr. Baadiyow reminds us that “Zayla, the center of the closest Somali urban territory [to  Axum ], is estimated to be more than 1000 km by land and even further by sea.”

The Walashma dynasty are regarded by scholars as the founders of the Ifat Sultanate. According to the Egyptian historian Al-Maqrizi, the ruling class of the Ifat Sultanate were Darod from the Aden, while the population mostly consisted of Muslims.

Ifat first emerged when Umar ibn Dunya-huz, later to be known as Sultan Umar Walasma, carved out his own kingdom and conquered the Sultanate of Shewa located in northern Hararghe. In 1288 Sultan Wali Asma successfully imposed his rule on Hubat, Zeila and other Muslim states in the region. Taddesse Tamrat explains Sultan Walashma's military acts as an effort to consolidate the Muslim territories in the Horn of Africa in much the same way as Emperor Yekuno Amlak was attempting to consolidate the Christian territories in the highlands during the same period.

History
According to the Arab historian Maqrizi, known for his pro-Islamic version of history written around 1435 that Sultan Umar Walasma was the first ruler of Ifat. Umar died around 1275, stated Maqrizi, and was succeeded by "four or five sons" with each ruling a short period. Finally, Sabr ad-Din I came to power and he ruled Ifat till the turn of the century. He was succeeded by Sultan Ali, according to Maqrizi, who was the first ruler to engage with a warfare against the Abyssinia. Sultan Ali, however soon submitted back to Ethiopian rule, because according to Maqrizi he lacked popular support. This allowed Emperor Yagbe'u Seyon to mount a campaign further west along the coast, near the vicinity of Zeila.

Before the establishment of Ifat eastern Ethiopia was ruled by the Gidaya, Dawaro, Sawans, Bali, and Fatagar. These states were incorporated into the Ifat Sultanate however they managed to maintain a source of independence after Ifat collapsed. When Ifat was abolished by the Ethiopian Empire these states were also invaded, however Fatagar still managed to stay under the control of Ifat.

Conflict with Abyssinia
In 1320 a conflict between the Christian monarch and Muslim Ifat leaders began. The conflict was precipitated by Al-Nasir Muhammad of Egypt. The Mamluk ruler Al-Nasir Muhammad was persecuting Christian Copts and destroying Coptic churches. The Ethiopian Emperor Amda Seyon I sent an envoy with a warning to the Mamluk ruler that if he did not stop the persecution of Christians in Egypt, he would retaliate against Muslims under his rule and would starve the peoples of Egypt by diverting the course of the Nile. According to Pankhurst, of the two threats, the diversion of Nile was an idle threat and the Egyptian sultan dismissed it because he likely realized this to be so. The fear that the Ethiopians might tamper with the Nile, states Pankhurst, was nevertheless to remain with Egyptians for many centuries.

As a result of the threats and the dispute between Amda Seyon and Al Nasr, the Sultan of Ifat, Haqq ad-Din I responded, initiating a definite war of aggression. He invaded the Christian Abyssinian territory in the Amhara kingdom, burnt churches and forced apostasy among Christians. He also seized and imprisoned the envoy sent by the Emperor on his way back from Cairo. Haqq ad-Din tried to convert the envoy, killing him when this failed. In response, the irate Emperor raided the inhabitants of all the land of Shewa, much of it inhabited by Muslims at that time, and other districts of Ifat Sultanate. The historical records of that time, depending on which side wrote the history, indicate a series of defeat, destruction and burning of towns of the opposite side.

According to the Christian chronicles, the son of the Sultan Haqq ad-Din Dadader Haqq ad-Din who was the leader of the Midra Zega and Menz people who were then Muslims, fought the emperor in the battle of Marra Biete in an area somewhere south of Marra Biete in modern North Shewa. Dadader forces were able to surround the emperor Amda Seyon I, who nevertheless succeeded in defeating them and killed the commander Dadader in the battle.

Ifat rebellion
Sabr ad-Din's rebellion was not an attempt to achieve independence, but to become emperor of a Muslim Ethiopia. Amda Seyon's royal chronicle states that Sabr ad-Din proclaimed:

 * "I wish to be King of all Ethiopia; I will rule the Christians according to their law and I will destroy their churches...I will nominate governors in all the provinces of Ethiopia, as does the King of Zion(Ethiopia)...I will transform the churches into mosques. I will subjugate and convert the King of the Christians to my religion, I will make him a provincial governor, and if he refuses to be converted I will hand him over to one of the shepherds, called Warjeke [i.e. Warjih], that he may be made a keeper of camels. As for the Queen Jan Mangesha, his wife, I will employ her to grind corn. I will make my residence at Marade [i.e. Tegulet], the capital of his kingdom.

In fact, after his first incursion, Sabr ad-Din appointed governors for nearby and neighboring provinces such as Fatagar and Alamalé, as well as far-off provinces in the north like Damot, Amhara, Angot, Inderta, Begemder, and Gojjam. He also threatened to plant khat at the capital, a stimulant used by Muslims but forbidden to Ethiopian Orthodox Christians.

Sabr ad-Din's rebellion in early 1332, with its religious support and ambitious goals, was therefore seen as a jihad rather than an attempt at independence, and it was consequently immediately joined by the nearby Muslim province of Dewaro (the first known mention of the province), under the governor Haydera, and the western province of Hadiya under the vassal local ruler Ameno. Sabr ad-Din divided his troops into three parts, sending a division north-westwards to attack Amhara, one northwards to attack Angot, and another, under his personal command, westward to take Shewa.

Amda Seyon subsequently mobilized his soldiers to meet the threat, endowing them with gifts of gold, silver, and lavish clothing – so much so that the chronicler explains that "in his reign gold and silver abounded like stones and fine clothes were as common as the leaves of the trees or the grass in the fields." Despite the extravagance he bestowed on his men, many chose not to fight due to Ifat's inhospitable mountainous and arid terrain and the complete absence of roads. Nevertheless, they advanced on 24 Yakatit, and an attachment was able to find the rebellious governor and put him to flight. Once the remainder of Amda Seyon's army arrived, they destroyed the capital of Ifat and killed many soldiers. But Sabr ad-Din once again escaped. The Ethiopian forces then grouped together for a final attack, destroying one of his camps, killing many and taking the rest as slaves as well as looting it of its gold, silver, and its "fine clothes and jewels without number."

Sabr ad-Din subsequently sued for peace, appealing to Queen Jan Mengesha, who refused his peace offer and expressed Amda Seyon's determination not to return to his capital until he had searched Sabr ad-Din out. Upon hearing this, Sabr ad-Din realized that his rebellion futile and surrendered himself to Amda Seyon's camp. Amda Seyon's courtiers demanded that Sabr ad-Din be executed, but he instead granted him relative clemency and had the rebellious governor imprisoned. Amda Seyon then appointed the governor's brother, Jamal ad-Din I, as his successor in Ifat. Just as the Ifat rebellion had been quelled, however, the neighboring states of Adal and Mora, just north of Ifat rose against the Emperor. Amda Seyon soon also put down this rebellion.

After the era of Amda Seyon I
The Muslim rulers of Ifat continued their campaign against the Christian Emperor. His son, Emperor Sayfa Arad appointed Ahmad, also known as Harb Arad ibn Ali as the sultan of Ifat, and put Ali's father and relatives in prison. Sayfa Arad was close to Ahmad and supported his rule, however, Ahmad was killed in an Ifat uprising. Ahmad's son Haqq ad-Din II then came to power in Ifat. Internal ruling family struggle in Ifat expelled grandfather Ali's son named Mola Asfah who gathered forces and attacked Ahmad's son. A series of battles affirmed Sultan Haqq ad-Din II position of power. In the fourteenth century Haqq ad-Din II transferred Ifat's capital to the Harar plateau thus he is regarded by some to be the true founder of the Adal Sultanate. The new Sultan moved away from previous capital of Ifat, to the city of Zeila. From there, he ceaselessly fought with the Emperor, in over twenty battles through 1370, according to Maqrizi's chronicle written in 1435. The Ifat Sultan Haqq ad-Din II died in a battle in 1376.

According to historian Mordechai Abir, the continued warfare between Ifat Sultanate and the Ethiopian Emperor was a part of the larger geopolitical conflict, where Egypt had arrested Coptic Church's Patriarch Marcos in 1352. This arrest led to retaliatory arrest and imprisonment of all Egyptian merchants in Ethiopia. In 1361, the Egyptian Sultan al-Malik al-Salih released the Patriarch and then sought amicable relations with Ethiopian Emperor. The actions of the Ifat Sultanate and Muslim kingdoms in the Horn of Africa, states Abir, were linked to the Muslim-Christian conflicts between Egypt and Ethiopia.

The end of Ifat Sultanate
In 1376, Sultan Sa'ad ad-Din Abdul Muhammad, also called Sa'ad ad-Din II, succeeded his brother and came to power, who continued to attack the Abyssinian Christian army. He attacked regional chiefs such as at Zalan and Hadeya, who supported the Emperor. According to Mordechai Abir, Sa'ad ad-Din II raids against the Ethiopian empire were largely hit-and-run type, which hardened the resolve of the Christian ruler to end the Muslim rule in their east. In the early 15th century, the Ethiopian Emperor who was likely Dawit I collected a large army to respond. He branded the Muslims of the surrounding area "enemies of the Lord", and invaded Ifat. After much war, Ifat's troops were defeated in 1403 on the Harar plateau, Sultan Sa'ad ad-Din subsequently fled to Zelia where Ethiopian soldiers pursued him. Al-Maqrizi narrates: "the Amhara pursued Sa'd al-Din as far as the peninsula of Zeila, in the ocean, where he took refuge. The Amhara besieged him there, and deprived him of water; at last one of the impious showed them a way by which they could reach him. When they came upon him a battle ensued; and after three days the water failed. Sa'd al Din was wounded in the forehead and fell to the ground, whereupon they pierced him with their swords. But he died happily, falling in God's cause." After Sa'ad ad-Din's death “the strength of the Muslims was abated”, as Marqrizi states, and then the Amhara settled in the country “and from the ravaged mosques and they made churches”. The followers of Islam were said to have been harassed for over twenty years.

The sources disagree on which Ethiopian Emperor conducted this campaign. According to the medieval historian al-Makrizi, Emperor Dawit I in 1403 pursued the Sultan of Adal, Sa'ad ad-Din II, to Zeila, where he killed the Sultan and sacked the city of Zeila. However, another contemporary source dates the death of Sa'ad ad-Din II to 1410, and credits Emperor Yeshaq with the slaying.

According to Harari tradition the Argobba fled Ifat and settled around Harar in the Aw Abdal lowlands during their conflict with Abyssinia in the fifteenth century, a gate was thus named after them called the gate of Argobba. Adal Sultanate with its capital of Harar emerged in the southeastern areas as the leading Muslim principality in latter part of the 15th century. Several small territories continued to be ruled by different Walasma groups up to the eighteenth century. By eighteenth century several Christian dynasties named Yifat and Menz, which were the province names of Ifat sultanate, were established. Presently, its name is preserved in the Ethiopian district of Yifat, situated in North Shewa of the Amhara region.

Sultans of Ifat
According to fourteenth century historian Al Umari, the ruler of Ifat donned headbands made of silk.

Military
According to Mohammed Hassen Ifat's infantry consisted of the Argobba people.

People
Ifat's inhabitants, according to Nehemia Levtzion Randall Pouwels, and Ulrich Brakumper include nomadic groups such as Somalis, Afars and Warjih people whom were already Muslims by the thirteenth century, the Hararis, Argobbas, the extinct Doba and Harla. Arabic was Lingua franca but the inhabitants of Ifat spoke Cushitic and Ethio-Semitic languages.

Ifat or Yifat, once the easternmost district of Shewa Sultanate, is located in a strategic position between the central highlands and the sea, and includes diverse population. Its predecessor state Shewa Sultanate is believed to be the first inland Muslim state and by the time it was incorporated into Ifat much of the inhabitants of Shewa land were Muslims. According to the chronicle of Shewa Sultanate converting the inhabitants in the area begun in 1108, and the first to convert were the Gbbah people whom Trimingham suggested them being the ancestors of Argobbas. A few years later after the conversion of the Gbbah people, the chronicle of Shewa sultanate mentions that in 1128 the Amhara fled from the land of Werjih. The Werjih were a pastoral people, and in the fourteenth century they occupied the Awash Valley east of Shewan Plateau.

By the mid-fourteenth century, Islam expanded in the region and the inhabitants north of Awash river were the Muslim people of Zaber and Midra Zega (located south of modern Merhabete); the Gabal (or Warjeh people today called Tigri Worji); and much of the inhabitants of Ankober, were under the Sultanate of Ifat. Tegulat, previously the capital of Shewa Sultanate, is situated on a mountain 24 km north of Debre Berhan and was known by Muslims as Mar'ade. The chronicle of Amda Tsion even mentions Khat being widely consumed by Muslims in the city of Marade. Tegulat, later became the seat of Emperor Amde Tsion, thereby, making it the capital of the empire. The emperor then appointed the descendants of Walasmas as the king of all the Muslim lands.

Ifat or Yifat, once the easternmost district of Shewa Sultanate, is located in a strategic position between the central highlands and the sea, and includes diverse population. Its predecessor state Shewa Sultanate is believed to be the first inland Muslim state and by the time it was incorporated into Ifat much of the inhabitants of Shewa land were Muslims. According to the chronicle of Shewa Sultanate converting the inhabitants in the area begun in 1108, and the first to convert were the Gbbah people whom Trimingham suggested them being the ancestors of Argobbas. A few years later after the conversion of the Gbbah people, the chronicle of Shewa sultanate mentions that in 1128 the Amhara fled from the land of Werjih. The Werjih were a pastoral people, and in the fourteenth century they occupied the Awash Valley east of Shewan Plateau.

By the mid-fourteenth century, Islam expanded in the region and the inhabitants north of Awash river were the Muslim people of Zaber and Midra Zega (located south of modern Merhabete); the Gabal (or Warjeh people today called Tigri Worji); and much of the inhabitants of Ankober, were under the Sultanate of Ifat. Tegulat, previously the capital of Shewa Sultanate, is situated on a mountain 24 km north of Debre Berhan and was known by Muslims as Mar'ade. The chronicle of Amda Tsion even mentions Khat being widely consumed by Muslims in the city of Marade. Tegulat, later became the seat of Emperor Amde Tsion, thereby, making it the capital of the empire. The emperor then appointed the descendants of Walasmas as the king of all the Muslim lands.

Language
The 19th-century Ethiopian historian Asma Giyorgis suggests that the Walashma themselves spoke Arabic.

title: Sultanate of Ifat


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Samuel Phillips (journalist)

Samuel Phillips (28 December 1814 – 14 October 1854) was an English journalist.

Life
Phillips was born in London, the son of a Jewish tradesman. He was educated at University College London, and then at Göttingen. Having renounced the Jewish faith, he returned to England and entered Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge University, with the design of taking orders. His father's death, however, meant that he could not afford to stay at Cambridge longer than a term, and in 1841 he took to literary work. He wrote a novel, Caleb Stukely (1854), and other tales, and about 1845 began a connection with The Times as literary critic. In the following year he purchased the John Bull newspaper, and edited it for a year. Two volumes of his essays from The Times appeared in 1852 and 1854. Phillips took an active part in the formation of the Crystal Palace Company, and wrote their descriptive guides. In 1852 the University of Göttingen conferred upon him the honorary degree of LL.D. He died in Brighton.

title: Samuel Phillips (journalist)


text:
Talk:ACPI (disambiguation)

Untitled
Shouldn't this redirect (or at the very least link) to Advanced_Configuration_and_Power_Interface [anonymous comment by user at IP 82.56.177.4 on Aug 24, 2005]
 * Yes. Discuss at that talk page. - dcljr (talk) 01:22, 26 September 2005 (UTC)

Move discussion in progress
There is a move discussion in progress on Talk:Advanced Configuration and Power Interface which affects this page. Please participate on that page and not in this talk page section. Thank you. —RMCD bot 15:15, 3 November 2022 (UTC)

title: Talk:ACPI (disambiguation)


text:
Polish–Lithuanian–Muscovite Commonwealth

The Polish–Lithuanian–Muscovite Commonwealth was a proposed state that would have been based on a personal union between the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Tsardom of Russia. A number of serious attempts by various means to create such a union took place between 1574 and 1658 and in the late 18th century, but it never materialized because of the incompatible demands from both sides.

The proposed union is known in Polish as the Triple Union (unia troista) and has also been called the Polish–Russian Union (unia polsko-rosyjska) or the Polish–Muscovite Union (unia polsko-moskiewska).

Rationale
Proponents of such a union among the Polish nobility, including the influential secular thinkers Jan Zamoyski and Lew Sapieha, had listed several arguments in its favour: peace on the turbulent eastern border, a powerful military ally and relatively sparsely-populated territories (compared to the Polish Crown) for colonisation and serfdom. The idea was also supported by the Jesuits and other papal emissaries, who never ceased to entertain the idea of bringing Eastern Orthodox Russia into the Catholic fold. Some of the Russian Boyars found the proposal attractive (like Boris Godunov, a supporter of Czar Feodor I's candidacy) for various reasons, such as the fact that the Golden Freedoms of the Commonwealth, if applied in Russia, would weaken Czar's power and thus grant them a much higher status than enjoyed previously.

The proposals then revolved around introducing a personal union between the Commonwealth and Russia and various economic and political agreements (elimination of trade barriers, free movement of people etc.) up to the creation of one country by using the framework of that led to the creation of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the first place (Union of Lublin of 1569). However, all proposals presented by the Polish side were rejected by the Russian Czar. The most promising negotiations took place during 1600, when a Polish diplomatic mission, led by Lew Sapieha, arrived in Moscow. Sapieha presented to Boris Godunov an elaborated idea of a union between Poland–Lithuania and Russia. The subjects of both rulers were to be free to serve the other ruler, travel to the other country, contract marriages with the other ruler's subjects, own land and go study in the other country.

Although Moscow was willing to agree to some parts of the proposed treaties (like extradition of crime suspects), it strictly opposed points on religious tolerance (non-Orthodox religions, especially Catholicism, were persecuted in Russia, unlike in Commonwealth, which allowed all faiths to be preached) and free movement of people (according to Polish scholars). To transform the Russian Czardom into a republic modelled on the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth would have proven to be a too ambitious project. Many Russians were afraid of Polonization, which was already occurring with the Lithuanian and the Ruthenian nobility, and a growing danger stemming from the increasing number of peasant and even noble refugees escaping the Russian Empire, to which Russian Czar Ivan responded with the policy of violent repressions, the so-called oprichnina. The Union of Brest of 1596 was a further argument for the Orthodox opponents of the closer ties between Russia and the Commonwealth, who argued that it was the prelude to the Catholicisation of Russia.

Polish succession
The idea was first broached in the 16th century, after the death of the last Polish king of the Jagiellon dynasty, Sigismund II Augustus. Czar Ivan IV of Russia ("the Terrible") became a popular candidate among the Polish nobility. He had substantial support in Poland, especially among the lesser and the middle nobility, which saw in him an opportunity to limit the growing power of the Polish-Lithuanian magnates. During the interregnum, two diplomatic missions (led by Michał Harraburda, pisarz litewski and Jędrzej Taranowski) were sent from Poland to Moscow to hold discussions. The negotiations failed because of hostilities resulting from the Livonian War, territorial demands by Ivan (who wanted former territories of Kievan Rus', which was under control of Lithuania) and the decision by Ivan that the Russian side would not "lower itself to the level of other European monarchies and send a diplomatic mission to Poland begging for him to become a king". During the second interregnum, in 1574, the candidature of Ivan IV was even highly regarded in Poland, but the Moscow diplomatic mission that arrived in Poland had no orders or prerogatives to negotiate that matter. Eventually, the disappointed pro-Ivan faction, represented by Jan Sierakowski, issued a statement in the Sejm: "The Great Prince of Muscovy would be the best choice for king, but because of his silence we are forced to forget him and should not mention him again".

Russian succession
The mixed circle of the proponents of the idea saw an opportunity in Russia after the death of Ivan the Terrible, the last Russian ruler of the time whose legitimacy was never questioned. The proposal was revived soon after Ivan's death through the reigns of Stefan Batory in Poland and Feodor I in Russia. After Batory's death in 1587, Feodor I became quite interested in acquiring the Polish throne and sent a diplomatic mission to Poland. His support among the Lithuanians was high, but Poles issued several demands, such as requiring Fedors's conversion to Catholicism, an absolutely unthinkable event. Eventually, Sigismund III Vasa was elected the king of Poland. The death of Feodor prompted Sigismund to propose his candidacy for the Moscow throne, but by the time Polish diplomatic mission arrived in Moscow, Boris Godunov had been elected as the new Czar.

With the legitimacy issues clouding the entire period of the rule of Boris Godunov, Russia submerged into even greater chaos upon his death, the Russian Time of Troubles, which was accompanied by a decisive Polish armed intervention, the Polish–Muscovite War (1605–1618), commonly referred to in Russia as the Polish intervention in the end-17th century. In the course of the Polish–Muscovite War, the Polish prince (later king), Władysław IV Vasa, was briefly elected a Russian Czar among other such strange developments like the enthronement and the brief reign of False Dmitriy I, an impostor of Czar Ivan's son. However, Wladyslaw was never officially enthroned, and his quick election remained in history as one of the fluke events of the Time of Troubles.

The idea was again proposed in 1656 to 1658, when Moscow suggested that one of the points of negotiations would be the election of the Russian Czar for the Polish throne. This time, it was the Polish side that presented demands (conversion to Catholicism and territorial changes) that eventually discouraged Russians from pursuing the project. In 1658, the Sejm elected Tsar Alexis I as King, but the decision was annulled by the protest of the Catholic church.

Proposal of the last Polish king
Finally, the idea returned in the 18th century, when the last Polish king, Stanisław August Poniatowski, attempted to save the Polish state by proposing a marriage between himself and Russian Empress Catherine the Great.

The very possibility that such an idea could have been seriously considered by the Polish side early on was likely based on the spirit of the 1573 Warsaw Confederation (Warsaw Compact), which guaranteed, at least formally, an equality for non-Catholic nobles in the Commonwealth. However, the adopted convention was an unprecedentedly-liberal act for its time, such a full equality was never achieved in reality even within the Commonwealth itself. Taking into account that the most divisions of the time, if not dynastic ones, were religious and the relationship between the Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox branches of Christianities were strained at best, it remains surprising that such an idea was seriously considered at all. It remains equally unlikely that such an idea could have been accepted by the Russian side because the view towards Catholicism in the Russian Empire was highly negative.

Thus, while the idea of a Polish–Lithuanian–Muscovite Commonwealth was supported early on by some progressive and secular Polish diplomats, the efforts of the few could not in the end overcome Russian opposition to Catholicism and the fear that such a union would spell Catholic domination over Orthodoxy.


text: User talk:216.58.12.102

title: User talk:216.58.12.102


text: User talk:80.41.99.136

title: User talk:80.41.99.136


text:
Rokot

Rokot (Рокот meaning Rumble or Boom), also transliterated Rockot, was a Soviet Union (later Russian) space launch vehicle that was capable of launching a payload of 1,950 kg into a 200 km Earth orbit with 63° inclination. It was based on the UR-100N (SS-19 Stiletto) intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), supplied and operated by Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center. The first launches started in the 1990s from Baikonur Cosmodrome out of a silo. Later commercial launches commenced from Plesetsk Cosmodrome using a launch ramp specially rebuilt from one for the Kosmos-3M launch vehicle. The cost of the launcher itself was about US$15 million in 1999; The contract with European Space Agency (ESA) for launching Swarm in September 2013 was worth €27.1 million (US$36 million).

Specifications
Rokot's total mass was 107 tonnes, its length 29 metres and its maximum diameter 2.5 metres. The liquid-fueled launch vehicle comprised three stages. The lower two were based on the Soviet UR-100N ICBM; the first stage used an RD-0233 / RD-0234 engine complex, while the second stage used an RD-0235. The third stage was a Briz-KM (Бриз-КМ meaning Breeze-KM), which has a mass of about 6 tonnes when fuelled, and is capable of flying for 7 hours and reigniting its engine six times during flight, allowing different satellites to be placed into different orbits. All stages used Unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH) (unsymmetrical Dimethylhydrazine) as fuel and dinitrogen tetroxide (N2O4) as oxidiser. The Strela is a similar rocket, also based on the SS-19.

History

The first suborbital test launch succeeded on 20 November 1990 from Baikonur Cosmodrome. On 26 December 1994, Rokot brought its first satellite into Earth orbit. In 1995, Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center formed a company with German DaimlerBenz Aerospace to market Rokot launches for commercial use. Later, the company was renamed to Eurockot Launch Services. Eurockot bought 45 Rokots from the Russian strategic missile forces to build its inventory. In 2000, Eurokot was partly bought by the German company Astrium GmbH, a shareholder of Arianespace. Astrium then held 51% of Eurockot's shares, while Khrunichev held 49%.

Although there are several silos in Baikonur capable of launching Rokots, it was decided to build an open, non-siloed launch pad at Plesetsk Cosmodrome instead. This is because of concerns that the amount of noise generated during a silo-based launch would damage satellites. In the new pad, Rokot was wheeled up to the structure in a vertical position, and then embraced by its launch tower. The payload was lifted by a crane and placed on top of the bottom two stages. The procedure was in contrast to other Russian launchers, which had traditionally been assembled horizontally and then transferred to the launch site via railways. The first launch from Plesetsk took place on 16 May 2000.

After six entirely successful launches, a launch failure occurred on 8 October 2005, leading to the loss of the European Space Agency's CryoSat spacecraft. The launch vehicle's second stage main engine did not shut down properly, leading to a catastrophic failure and the automatic termination of the launch mission by the onboard computer. As a result, the payload was lost. Following the failed CryoSat launch, all Rokot launches were suspended until the cause of the failure was identified. The root cause was unambiguously identified; it was a failure in programming of the Briz-KM (which was contracted to the company JSC "Khartron"). The failure of this high-profile mission led to major reforms in Khrunichev: the director of the company Alexander Medvedev was dismissed, new launch procedures were introduced, the lines of management were straightened out to catch errors and the new Khrunichev chief, Viktor Nesterov, was required to report directly to the head of the Russian Space Agency, Anatoli Perminov. Corrective measures for Rokot's return-to-flight were implemented for the South Korean KOMPSAT-2 Earth observation satellite launch which took place successfully on 28 July 2006. The Korean side reportedly praised the level of service they received, encouraging the Rokot team to rebuild its order book.

Another launch failure occurred in February 2011, when a Briz-KM malfunction resulted in the Geo-IK-2 No.11 (Kosmos-2470) satellite being placed into a lower orbit than planned.

The Rokot version with a Ukrainian control system stopped flying after 2019, due to Ukraine's ban on technology exports to Russia. Rokot had its final flight on 26 December 2019. A fully Russian-made Rokot light carrier rocket, named Rokot-M, may begin operations as soon as 2024. The Rokot-M launch vehicle is intended for the Russian defense department.

title: Rokot


text:
Società Filarmonica Maria Mater Gratiæ

The Società Filarmonica Maria Mater Gratiæ is a band club in Żabbar, Malta.

Founded in 1883 by Francesco Saverio Briffa, the organization was initially known as "Societa del Żabbar" or "the village band". The club's main aim is cultivating a love of music. Throughout the years, the club has organized numerous music concerts held by the band itself. One of the club's main activities is the participation in its patron's feast, that of Our Lady Of Graces. The club's premises has always been in Sanctuary street, a stone's throw away from the parish church dedicated to the same patron. The club also has a certain nickname which identify it across the Maltese Islands, "Tal-Baqra". The nickname "Tal-Baqra" was originally formed after the first bandmaster of the club, who was known as "Il-Baqrambur". The nickname was formed to identify the club from the two local clubs that honor Żabbar. The other nickname, "Tal-Grazzja" was formed for their loved patron, Our Lady of Graces. Bandclubs in Malta usually compare themselves to a certain animal as their mascot. In this case, this society compares itself to the lion, as a king, showing strength and pride. The club's colour is blue, usually blended with white or yellow.

How It Started
This was the first band in Żabbar formed by Francesco Saverio Briffa together with the band's first conductor, Maestro Giuseppe Micallef, also known as "Il-Baqrambun". Maestro Giuseppe Micallef had huge talent in this category, boasting his experience with the Royal Malta Fencible Artillery and as conductor on a number of HMS Ships. One of his earliest known works in relation with Żabbar and its Patron Saint is a hymn for Our Lady of Graces, finished in 1879.

On 26 May 1887 a concert was organized by this first Żabbar band under the name of Banda Santa Maria for the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the coronation of Queen Victoria. This is the first documented appearance of any Żabbar band and shows the beginning of the musical history of this village. Soon after this mentioned concert a disagreement between the members resulted in another new band club. The reason for this disagreement was that some members wanted Mro. Carmelo Abela Scolaro to be their bandmaster, while others still wanted Maestro Giuseppe Micallef. The founder, Francesco Saverio Briffa together with Mro. Micallef kept with the original band club, while Societa' Filarmoniva San Michele was then founded as an offspring. Following this dispute and split the original band is then found to be named Societa' Filarmonica Maria delle Grazie or Società Filarmonica Maria Mater Gratiæ, a name which connects this band club exclusively with Żabbar's own Patron Saint. The club was also nicknamed "Tal-Baqra" derived from the club's bandmaster nickname - Il-Baqrambun.

Early Stages
In 1898, the club's president was changed to Mr. Giuseppe Pace Spadaro, whilst in 1903, Maestro Pacifico Scicluna was established as the new bandmaster, after the band had been conducted for several years by the founding bandmaster Mro. Gius. Micallef, by Mro Carmelo Abela Scolaro, Mro. Bernardo Costa and Spiridione Zammit. The new bandmaster Scicluna earned a huge reputation with the club's members, and his name was well kept and adored, as he managed to work with the club for twenty nine years, yet not consecutive.

In 1908, Maestro Lorenzo Gonzi had the honor to be the club's bandmaster. In that same year, he composed a hymn for Our Lady of Graces, which was accompanied by a choir of children.

In 1916, Mr. Giuseppe Calleja was elected as president of the club. During this time (between 1912 and 1917), Żabbar was once again with one band club as financial troubles crippled the St. Michael's Band Club forcing it to close its door for over 5 years. During this period several objects belonging to St. Michael's club were kept safely at the Maria Mater Gratiae band club so that they will not be lost or sold. President Giuseppe Calleja kept the same role throughout the turbulent years of the First World War and even through the early 1920s, then followed by President Giovanni Corrado and Prof. Giuseppe Ellul. It was in that period of time, when the band invested in a new official uniform after the uniform used since 1904 had to be changed.

In 1924, a statue dedicated to a representation of the Island of Malta, was sculpted by Guzeppi Caruana. In the annual feast of 1927, the statue was processionally carried through the streets of Żabbar during the Friday March celebration. This statue was placed on a column which was erected in the square of Sanctuary Street. In that same year, Maestro Lorenzo Gonzi composed another hymn, this time dedicated to the new statue. The hymn was named "Malta u Wliedha" (Malta and its sons). This tradition is still celebrated today.

In 1927, the club moved under the Presidency of Dr. Giuseppe Agius Muscat. His name became pretty popular with the locals as he was a man which guided the club through the Second World War, and also helped to reduce disagreements between the two clubs due to rivalry.

The 1930s served as a very important decade to the society's history. On 4 February 1934, the Archbishop Dom Mauro Caruana, consecrated the Holy Heart of Jesus to the Society. For this occasion, a memorable feast took place.

In 1935, the society invested in a new instrument set from Boosey and Hawkes. This was blessed by Cardinal Enrico Lepicier who was visiting Malta for the Regional Council.

In this period of time, the club became popular for its theatrical activities, held at the club's premises itself. The club even had its own theatrical company. The dedication for theatrical work was so passionate that at a stage in the late 1930s, the club considered investing in a new theater inside the club. Yet, this idea was put off as war was nearby. In fact, when the Second World War broke out, virtually all band activities were reduced or stopped altogether throughout Malta. During this period the club's premises was converted into an ARP center while the club members still met at No.85 Sanctuary Street Żabbar. Once Malta went on the offensive and the war situation improved greatly in 1943, the Maria Mater Gratiae restarted immediately with its regular band activities, during this year taking part in all activities organised for the titular feast of Żabbar (including also the traditional morning march, which was organised by this band on feast day, rather on the eve of the feast, as had been done before), the secondary feast of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and other religious feasts.

After WWII
After World War II, the pharmacist Sir Arturo Felice was elected as the club's president. The Society immediately embarked on the building of its own outdoor theater in the club's garden. It was most ambitious project of the club to date, yet many club members helped financially and with voluntary work with great enthusiasm. The project lasted three years and was given the name of "Blue Arena Theatre". The theater's capacity was of 450 seated spectators, and its name became known around the island for its frequent theatrical works.

In March 1943, Mons. Ġużeppi Zarb was given the role of Parish Priest and he immediately started working hard to achieve one of the most devotional wishes by the Żabbar people - the coronation of the titular painting of Our Lady of Graces, a work of art by Alessio Erardi, finished in 1715. The dream of every Żabbar parishioner became reality when Archbishop Gonzi crowned and blessed the painting on the church's parvis in front of the largest crowd ever seen in Żabbar. In this year big feasts were celebrated especially by the Maria Mater Gratiae band club. The club commissioned a special hymn for this occasion. Maestro Joseph Abela Scolaro was in charge of the music, whilst the monk Mattew Sultana, wrote the lyrics. The hymn was first played publicly on 26 August 1951, in Sanctuary Street's square.

In 1983 the club celebrated its 100th year. A program of activities was planned. It was in this period of time, where youth participation increased. The youth inclusion resulted in a boost in decorations for the feast, and other occasions, like Christmas. In fact, for three consecutive years, the club won the national competition for the best decorated street for Christmas, and also the national competition for best decorated facade for Christmas.

The club's society continued to strengthen as Ing. Vincent Magri was elected president in 1988. Three subcommittees were formed, the "Fergħa Nisa", the "Kummissjoni Żgħażagħ tal-Grazzja" and the "Kummissjoni Nar u Armar".

In 1992, the two band clubs signed an agreement to respect a set of regulations so that the feast could be celebrated with more collaboration and respect between Żabbar's two band clubs' supporters. The club also bought a new hall, known as "Maria Mater Gratiae Hall" which is used as a commercial premises for parties and reception rentals. In addition, a store was also bought so that youths can work on any projects there, whilst also serving as a store for any decorations used.

On 8 August 2003, the band club undertook a promise to buy the building numbered 56 and 58 in Sanctuary street. The building is also known as "l-Għassa l-Antika". The club successfully purchased the building on 9 January 2004.

In the musical area, the club made important reforms for music learning. These reforms were introduced by the current bandmaster, Maestro Ray Sciberras FLCM. The capabilities of the bandmaster and his musicians, however, reached their peak in 2001, when the society held a special and memorable feast on the occasion of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the crowning of Our Lady of Graces' painting.

For this occasion, Maestro Sciberras wrote a new hymn named "Cantata Maria Mater Gratiæ" on verses of George Peresso and was played for the first time by the band on Sunday 19 August 2001 in the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Graces, accompanied by the choir, two sopranos, an "għannej", a narrator and a tenor. The great applause and the spontaneous standing ovation the band earned when finishing the hymn, are still pictured clearly in every person's mind that was present that day.

For this feast, the Kummissjoni Żgħażagħ also worked to make new decorations. One of the main attractions for 2001's feast was the manufacture of the big umbrella, which probably is the biggest umbrella in the Europe. The umbrella is painted to show motifs associated with Żabbar's and the Society's history.

Presidents
Presidents - Società Filarmonica Maria Mater Gratiæ.

Band Masters
Bandmasters - Società Filarmonica Maria Mater Gratiæ.

title: Società Filarmonica Maria Mater Gratiæ


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