Timid, lazy, lacking assurance and incapable of a healthily active interest in life, I have always tended to admire those who possess what I so conspicuously lack. I first heard of Lt-Gen. Sir Adrian Carton De Wiart, VC, KBE, CB, CMG, DSO (1880-1963), as the model for the fire-eating Brigadier Ben Ritchie-Hook in Evelyn Waugh's Men At Arms, the greatest novel to come out of the Second World War.

 

"He was the great Halberdier enfant terrible of the First World War; the youngest company commander in the history of the Corps; the slowest to be promoted; often wounded, often decorated, recommended for the Victoria Cross, twice court martialled for disobedience to orders in the field, twice acquitted in recognition of the brilliant success of his independent actions; a legendary wielder of the entrenching tool; where lesser men collected helmets Ritchie-Hook once came back from a raid across no-man's-land with the dripping head of a German sentry in either hand".

 

Late in life De Wiart was prevailed upon to write an autobiography, published by Cape in 1950 as Happy Odyssey. The style is brisk and straightforward. He joined the army from Oxford as a humble trooper and first saw action during the Boer War. Promoted to Corporal, he found himself demoted the next day after threatening to hit his Sergeant. Commissioned into the Imperial Light Horse, he was posted to India, which he loathed, but where he developed an intense enthusiasm for the sport of pig-sticking. Convalescing from a pig-sticking injury, he almost lost his commission:

 

"One of the coolies annoyed me and I threw some stones at him. He got himself out of range of the stones, turned around and laughed at me. This was too much for my temper and I promptly put up my gun and peppered him in his tail".

 

A complaint was lodged with the cantonment magistrate. De Wiart had to cough up a heavy fine, but preserved his commission. As the Great War broke out he was en route to Somaliland, where Britain was engaged in one of its periodic campaigns against the Mad Mullah's "fuzzy wuzzies". In a close quarters action to storm a blockhouse, De Wiart was twice shot in the face, resulting in the loss of his left eye. He was provided with a glass eye but, finding it uncomfortable, tossed it out of the window of a taxi and for ever afterwards wore an eye-patch.

His involvement in the First World War resulted in a further seven wounds. His leadership in an action at La Boiselle in July 1916 resulted in the award of the Victoria Cross. He does not mention this in the autobiography. "Frankly", he wrote, "I enjoyed the war". One of his wounds resulted in the loss of his left hand. He amputated the fingers, when a surgeon declined to remove them, by biting them off. In all he was wounded eleven times and spent much of the rest of his life having pieces of metal removed from various parts of his body.

By the outbreak of the Hitler war, De Wiart was 60. His only active command was in the ill-conceived shambles of the Norwegian campaign in 1940. The next year he became a prisoner of the Italians when a Wellington bomber, in which he was flying to take up an appointment to the British Military Mission to Yugoslavia, suffered double engine failure and crash-landed off the Libyan coast. In 1943 he was escorted to Lisbon to take part in behind-the-scenes negotiations by which Italy hoped to extricate herself from the war. He completed his career as Churchill's representative to the Nationalist Chinese, under Chiang Kai Shek.

The portrait is by Cecil Beaton. One can't help wondering what the two found to say to one another during the sitting. To the current bloodless age I suppose such a man as Carton De Wiart would be an embarrassment.

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"U sciccareddu", from the Sicilian "the little donkey", is a pyrotechnical-animal mask, once present in many village feasts in the Messina area, today it is found only in a limited number of centers, among these is the town of Casalvecchio Siculo , a small town in the hinterland in which there is another animal figure, that of the "camiddu", in Sicilian "camel", and of his camel driver (see a photographic story of mine made earlier in this regard). The feast of the "sciccareddu-little donkey" sees a young man of the village wearing a metal supporting structure, on which takes place a whole series of fireworks: this represents with no little imagination the donkey (this year it was the "Camel driver" of the "camiddu-camel"feast which is always celebrated in Casalvecchio); the young man who carries this metal castle on himself, protects himself abundantly from pyrotechnic fires, which form "crazy wheels" in correspondence with the "four limbs", pyrotechnic fires that involve symbolic-ritual suggestions of ambiguous meaning, is the life against death, the light against darkness, the fear and the desire to challenge it, without ever forgetting the horrifying-ancestral aspect of the "beast", which represents the dark unknown evil, which always hovers over people's lives. There are those who have hypothesized that this asinello-monstrous-orrify is a very meek animal too, once very common and omnipresent in the Sicilian districts, so that the fears that it could generate are simultaneously suppressed by being a well-known animal and very meek.

This "sciccareddu-little donkey" with its load of pyrotechnic-crazy fires-bengal fires, and other crackling devilries, challenges and is challenged by all present, young and old coming also from far away, there is who looks but remaining well sheltered, many others instead challenge him, as in a bloodless bullfight, where some unlucky person can receive a few small burns (like myself, who found himself with some small burns in his legs, and a lens-protection filter, it was almost melted-burned in several points, now useless, but withe the lens without problems.....! :o)) .......).

  

“u sciccareddu”, dal siciliano “l’asinello”, è una maschera pirotecnica-animalesca, un tempo presente in molte feste paesane del territorio messinese, oggi la si ritrova solo in un numero limitato di centri, tra questi il paese di Casalvecchio Siculo, piccolo centro dell’entroterra nel quale si trova un’altra figura animalesca, quella del “camiddu”, in siciliano “cammello”, e del suo cammelliere (vedi un mio racconto fotografico fatto in precedenza in merito). La festa dello “sciccareddu-asinello” vede un giovane del paese indossare una struttura portante in metallo, sulla quale prende posto tutta una serie di giochi pirotecnici: questo rappresenta con non poca fantasia l’asinello (quest’anno a dargli vita è stato il “cammelliere” della festa del “camiddu-cammello” che si festeggia sempre a Casalvecchio); il giovane che porta su di se tale castello in metallo, si protegge abbondantemente dai fuochi pirotecnici, che formano delle “ruote pazze” in corrispondenza dei “quattro arti”, fuochi pirotecnici che comportano suggestioni simbolico-rituali dal significato ambiguo, è a vita contro la morte, la luce contro le tenebre, la paura e la voglia di sfidarla, senza mai dimenticare l’aspetto orrifico-ancestrale della “bestia”, che rappresenta l’oscuro ignoto male, che aleggia sempre sulla vita delle persone. C’è chi ha ipotizzato che tale asinello-mostruoso-orrifico è pur sempre un animale molto docile, un tempo comunissimo e onnipresente nelle contrade siciliane, per cui le paure che esso potrebbe generare sono contemporaneamente soppresse dall’essere un animale ben conosciuto ed in definitiva molto docile.

Tale “sciccareddu-asinello” col suo carico di fuochi pirotecnici-girandole pazze-bengala, ed altre diavolerie scoppiettanti, sfida e viene sfidato da tutti i presenti, giovani e meno giovani provenienti anche da lontano, c’è che vuole assitere rimanendo però bene al riparo, molti altri invece lo sfidano, come in una corrida incruenta, dove qualche malcapitato può rimediare qualche piccola bruciatura (come il sottoscritto, che si è ritrovato con qualche piccola bruciatura alle gambe, ed un filtro proteggi-obiettivo che, me ne accorsi successivamente, era quasi fuso-bruciato in più punti, oramai inservibile, con l’obiettivo però salvo….! :o)) …).

  

rikenon 105mm f/2.8

SAM_1686rt-5 (4)

Ka’aba The House Of Allah

 

In the province of Hejaz in the western part of Arabia, not far from the Red Sea, there lies the town of Makka. In the centre of this town there is a small square building made of stones, about 60 feet long, 60 feet wide and 60 feet high. Since time immemorial this town and this stone built house has been known to world travellers. This is Baitullah, the House of Allah. Its sanctity and antiquity is older than history itself.

 

Tradition goes that the Kaaba was ordained by Allah to be built in the shape of the House in Heaven called Baitul Ma’amoor. Allah in his infinite Mercy ordained a similar place on earth and Prophet Adam was the first to build this place. The Bible, in the Chapter of Genesis describes its building when God ordained Abraham to erect a Shrine for worship when Abraham was ordered to go to the Southern desert with his wife Hagera and infant son Ismael. The Old Testament describes this building as the Shrine of God at several places, but the one built at Ma’amoor is very much similar to the one at Makka. There is no doubt that it was referring to the stone built house at Makka.

 

Qora’an brought this story into the full light of history. In Sura 3 Verse 90 Qora’an says “Allah has spoken the Truth, therefore follow the creed of Ibrahim, a man of pure faith and no idolater”. The first house established for the people was at Makka, a Holy place and a guidance to all beings. Qora’an firmly establishes the fact that Ibrahim was the real founder of the Holy Shrine.

 

When Prophet Ibrahim built the Holy Shrine in Makka, his prayers were that this place should remain a centre of worship for all good and pious people; that Allah should keep his family the custodians of the Holy place. Ever since, Ismael the son of Ibrahim who helped his father to build this place and his descendants remained the custodians of the Holy Shrine. History tells us that centuries passed and the guardianship of the Kaaba remained in the family of Ismael until the name of Abde Manaf came into the limelight. He inherited this service and made it much more prominent. His son Hashim took this leadership and extended it to many other towns of Hejaz so much so that many pilgrims flocked annually to this place and enjoyed Hashims’s hospitality. A feast was given in honour of the pilgrims, food and water was served to all guests by the family of Hashim. This prominence created jealousies and his brother Abdushams’ adopted son Ummayya tried to create trouble. There was a dispute in which Umayya failed and left Makka to settle down in the Northern provinces of Suria(Sham) currently known as Syria. After Hashim his brother Muttalib and after him Hashim’s son Shyba who became known as Abdul Muttalib assumed the leadership of the family. He organised feasts and supplies of water to the pilgrims during the annual festival of Pilgrimage to the Holy Shrine.

 

Prophet Ibrahim built this House for devout worship to one God. But within his lifetime people disobeyed his orders and began to put idols inside the Kaaba. Ibrahim had to clean the House of these idols and of Idle worshippers. He told the people that this was a symbolic house of God. God does not live there for He is everywhere. People did not understand this logic and no sooner had Ibrahim died the people, out of reverence, filled the place with idols again. They thronged to this place annually and worshipped their personal gods, It was over Four Thousand years later that the last of the line of prophet (SA), Muhammad Ibne Abdullah entered Makka triumphantly, went inside the Ka’aba and, with the help of his cousin and son in law Ali Ibne Abi Talib, (AS) destroyed all the idols of Ka’aba with their own hands. At one stage of this destruction of idols, the tallest of the idol Hubbol was brought down after Ali had to stand on the shoulders of the Prophet to carry out God’s orders. The Prophet of Islam was reciting the Verse from the Qur’an

 

“Truth hath come and falsehood hath vanished.”

This was done in the 8th year of Hijra, January 630 AD after the bloodless victory at Makka by the Prophet of Islam.

Historically when Ibrahim was ordered by Allah to build the Shrine for worship over a small he uncovered the original foundations of the Kaaba built by Adam. Ibrahim with the help of his son Ismael erected the new shrine on the same foundations. Originally it contained only four walls without a roof . Centuries later during the timeof Kusayi who was the leader of the Tribe of Quraish in Makka a taller building was completed with a roof and a quadrangle wall around it to give it the shape of a sanctuary and doors all around the sanctuary walls. People entered through these doors to come to the Ka’aba for worship. It is now about 60 feet high, 60 feet wide from east to west and 60 feet from north to south. A door is fixed about 7 feet above ground level facing North East. A Black stone (Hajar al Aswad) was fixed into its eastern corner. In front of the building was Maqame Ibrahim, the arch shape gate known as that of Banu Shayba and the Zamzam Well. Just outside are the Hills called Safa and Merwa and the distance between the hills is about 500 yards. These days both of the hills are enclosed into the sanctuary walls with a roof over it.

 

The whole building is built of the layers of grey blue stone from the hills surrounding Makka. The four corners roughly face the four points of the compass. At the East is the Black stone (Rukn el Aswad), at the North is el Ruken el Iraqi, at the west al Rukne el Shami and at the south al Rukne el Yamani. The four walls are covered with a curtain (Kiswa). The kiswa is usually of black brocade with the Shahada outlined in the weave of the fabric. About 2/3rd’s of the way up runs a gold embroidered band covered with Qur'anic text.

 

In the Eastern corner about 5 feet above ground the Hajar el Aswad (the blackstone) is fixed into the wall. Its real nature is difficult to determine, its visible shape is worn smooth by hand touching and kissing. Its diameter is around 12 inches. Opposite the North west wall but not connected with it, is a semi circular wall of white marble. It is 3 feet high and about 5 feet thick. This semi circular space enjoys an especial consideration and pilgrims wait in queue to find a place to pray there. The graves of Ismael and his mother Hajera are within this semi circular wall. Between the archway and the facade (N.E.) is a little building with a small dome, the Maqame Ibrahim. Inside it is kept a stone bearing the prints of two human feet. Prophet Ibrahim is said to have stood on this stone when building the Ka’aba and marks of his feet are miraculously preserved.

 

On the outskirts of the building to the North East is the ‘Zamzam Well’ (this is now put under ground).

 

History of the building of the Ka’aba.

 

Qur’an in Sura Baqra Verses 121 to 127 described it clearly that Allah had ordained his servant Ibrahim to build the Shrine there for worship of One God. During Kusayi’s time it was rebuilt and fortified. During the early years of Prophet Muhammad (SA) before he announced his ministry, the Ka’aba was damaged by floods and it was rebuilt again. When the Black stone was to be put in its place the Makkans quarrelled among themselves as to who should have the honour to place it there. They had just decided that the first comer to the quadrangle should be given the task of deciding as to who should have the honour. Muhammad (SA) came in and was assigned this task. He advised them to place the stone in a cloak and ordered the heads of each Tribe each to take an end and bring the cloak nearer the corner on the eastern side. He himself then took out the stone and placed it in its position. It has been fixed there ever since.

 

After the martyrdom of the family of the Prophet at Kerbala in 61 Hijri (681 AD), the Ummayad Caliph Yazid Ibne Moawiya did not stop there in the pursuit of his destruction. He sent a large contingent under the command of Haseen Ibne Namir to Madina which destroyed the Mosque of the Prophet. They did not stop there but proceeded to Makka and demolished the four walls of the Ka’aba and killed thousands of muslims who protested. Yazid died and Ibne Namir returned to Damascus, Ka’aba was rebuilt by Abdullah Ibne Zubayr and his associates. Umawi forces came back to Makka and killed Abdullah Ibne Zubayr, hung his body on the gates of the Ka’aba for three months for all to see the Umawi power. But eventually this arrogance of power brought its own consequences and Mukhtar became the ruler in Iraq. Under his guidance the Ka’aba was refurbished and pilgrims began to arrive in safety to perform Hajj.

 

The Ka’aba successfully withstood the Karamatian invasion of 317/929, only the Blackstone was carried away which was returned some twenty years later. In the year 1981 the Wahabis brought tanks inside the Ka’aba to crush the kahtani revolution against the Saudi regime and almost demolished the South Eastern Wall. This was later restored with the help of the Makkan people.

 

Every man living in Makka in the 6th and 7th century must out of necessity have had some relationship with the Ka’aba. On the Muhammad (SA), the Prophet of Islam, the Qur’an is silent during the Makkans period in this respect. All that is known is that the muslim community of the period turned towards Jerusalem in prayers. Subsequently about a year and a half after the Hijra the Muslims were ordered during prayers which were lead by the Prophet of Islam himself to turn towards Makka. The particular mosque in Madina where this happened is called Masjide Qiblatain, meaning the mosque with two Qiblas.The Qur’an tells the muslims, “ turn then thy face towards the sacred mosque and wherever ye be turn your faces towards that part ”Qur’an II,139/144.

 

At this same period the Qur’an began to lay stress on the religion of Ibrahim, presenting Islam as a return to the purity of the religion of Ibrahim which, obscured by Judaism and Christianity, shone forth in its original brightness in the Qur’an. The pilgrimage’s to the Ka’aba and ritual progressions around the building were continued, but were now for the glorification of One God. The Abrahimic vision of the Ka’aba created a means of discerning an orthodox origin buried in the midst of pagan malpractices to which the first muslims pointed the way.

 

Every year after the Hajj ceremony the place is closed for one month and on the Day of Ashura the Ka’aba is washed from inside by the Water from the well of Zamzam and a new Kiswa is brought to cover the Ka’aba for the next year.

 

This is the story of the Ka’aba and the persons who protected it and remained its custodians and protectors from the satanic and evil forces throughout history. Muhammad (SA) and the people of his household (Ahlulbayt) were the protectors of the Ka’aba, and currently the 12th Imam from the direct descent of the Prophet of Islam is the real protector

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click to activate the icon of slideshow: the small triangle inscribed in the small rectangle, at the top right, in the photostream;

 

clicca sulla piccola icona per attivare lo slideshow: sulla facciata principale del photostream, in alto a destra c'è un piccolo rettangolo (rappresenta il monitor) con dentro un piccolo triangolo nero;

 

Qi Bo's photos on Fluidr

  

Qi Bo's photos on Flickriver

  

Qi Bo's photos on Flickr Hive Mind

  

www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...

  

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"U sciccareddu", from the Sicilian "the little donkey", is a pyrotechnical-animal mask, once present in many village feasts in the Messina area, today it is found only in a limited number of centers, among these is the town of Casalvecchio Siculo , a small town in the hinterland in which there is another animal figure, that of the "camiddu", in Sicilian "camel", and of his camel driver (see a photographic story of mine made earlier in this regard). The feast of the "sciccareddu-little donkey" sees a young man of the village wearing a metal supporting structure, on which takes place a whole series of fireworks: this represents with no little imagination the donkey (this year it was the "Camel driver" of the "camiddu-camel"feast which is always celebrated in Casalvecchio); the young man who carries this metal castle on himself, protects himself abundantly from pyrotechnic fires, which form "crazy wheels" in correspondence with the "four limbs", pyrotechnic fires that involve symbolic-ritual suggestions of ambiguous meaning, is the life against death, the light against darkness, the fear and the desire to challenge it, without ever forgetting the horrifying-ancestral aspect of the "beast", which represents the dark unknown evil, which always hovers over people's lives. There are those who have hypothesized that this asinello-monstrous-orrify is a very meek animal too, once very common and omnipresent in the Sicilian districts, so that the fears that it could generate are simultaneously suppressed by being a well-known animal and very meek.

This "sciccareddu-little donkey" with its load of pyrotechnic-crazy fires-bengal fires, and other crackling devilries, challenges and is challenged by all present, young and old coming also from far away, there is who looks but remaining well sheltered, many others instead challenge him, as in a bloodless bullfight, where some unlucky person can receive a few small burns (like myself, who found himself with some small burns in his legs, and a lens-protection filter, it was almost melted-burned in several points, now useless, but withe the lens without problems.....! :o)) .......).

  

“u sciccareddu”, dal siciliano “l’asinello”, è una maschera pirotecnica-animalesca, un tempo presente in molte feste paesane del territorio messinese, oggi la si ritrova solo in un numero limitato di centri, tra questi il paese di Casalvecchio Siculo, piccolo centro dell’entroterra nel quale si trova un’altra figura animalesca, quella del “camiddu”, in siciliano “cammello”, e del suo cammelliere (vedi un mio racconto fotografico fatto in precedenza in merito). La festa dello “sciccareddu-asinello” vede un giovane del paese indossare una struttura portante in metallo, sulla quale prende posto tutta una serie di giochi pirotecnici: questo rappresenta con non poca fantasia l’asinello (quest’anno a dargli vita è stato il “cammelliere” della festa del “camiddu-cammello” che si festeggia sempre a Casalvecchio); il giovane che porta su di se tale castello in metallo, si protegge abbondantemente dai fuochi pirotecnici, che formano delle “ruote pazze” in corrispondenza dei “quattro arti”, fuochi pirotecnici che comportano suggestioni simbolico-rituali dal significato ambiguo, è a vita contro la morte, la luce contro le tenebre, la paura e la voglia di sfidarla, senza mai dimenticare l’aspetto orrifico-ancestrale della “bestia”, che rappresenta l’oscuro ignoto male, che aleggia sempre sulla vita delle persone. C’è chi ha ipotizzato che tale asinello-mostruoso-orrifico è pur sempre un animale molto docile, un tempo comunissimo e onnipresente nelle contrade siciliane, per cui le paure che esso potrebbe generare sono contemporaneamente soppresse dall’essere un animale ben conosciuto ed in definitiva molto docile.

Tale “sciccareddu-asinello” col suo carico di fuochi pirotecnici-girandole pazze-bengala, ed altre diavolerie scoppiettanti, sfida e viene sfidato da tutti i presenti, giovani e meno giovani provenienti anche da lontano, c’è che vuole assitere rimanendo però bene al riparo, molti altri invece lo sfidano, come in una corrida incruenta, dove qualche malcapitato può rimediare qualche piccola bruciatura (come il sottoscritto, che si è ritrovato con qualche piccola bruciatura alle gambe, ed un filtro proteggi-obiettivo che, me ne accorsi successivamente, era quasi fuso-bruciato in più punti, oramai inservibile, con l’obiettivo però salvo….! :o)) …).

  

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..........................................................................

    

-----------------------------------------------------------------

 

click to activate the icon of slideshow: the small triangle inscribed in the small rectangle, at the top right, in the photostream;

 

clicca sulla piccola icona per attivare lo slideshow: sulla facciata principale del photostream, in alto a destra c'è un piccolo rettangolo (rappresenta il monitor) con dentro un piccolo triangolo nero;

 

Qi Bo's photos on Fluidr

  

Qi Bo's photos on Flickriver

  

Qi Bo's photos on Flickr Hive Mind

  

www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...

  

-------------------------------------------------------------------

  

"U sciccareddu", from the Sicilian "the little donkey", is a pyrotechnical-animal mask, once present in many village feasts in the Messina area, today it is found only in a limited number of centers, among these is the town of Casalvecchio Siculo , a small town in the hinterland in which there is another animal figure, that of the "camiddu", in Sicilian "camel", and of his camel driver (see a photographic story of mine made earlier in this regard). The feast of the "sciccareddu-little donkey" sees a young man of the village wearing a metal supporting structure, on which takes place a whole series of fireworks: this represents with no little imagination the donkey (this year it was the "Camel driver" of the "camiddu-camel"feast which is always celebrated in Casalvecchio); the young man who carries this metal castle on himself, protects himself abundantly from pyrotechnic fires, which form "crazy wheels" in correspondence with the "four limbs", pyrotechnic fires that involve symbolic-ritual suggestions of ambiguous meaning, is the life against death, the light against darkness, the fear and the desire to challenge it, without ever forgetting the horrifying-ancestral aspect of the "beast", which represents the dark unknown evil, which always hovers over people's lives. There are those who have hypothesized that this asinello-monstrous-orrify is a very meek animal too, once very common and omnipresent in the Sicilian districts, so that the fears that it could generate are simultaneously suppressed by being a well-known animal and very meek.

This "sciccareddu-little donkey" with its load of pyrotechnic-crazy fires-bengal fires, and other crackling devilries, challenges and is challenged by all present, young and old coming also from far away, there is who looks but remaining well sheltered, many others instead challenge him, as in a bloodless bullfight, where some unlucky person can receive a few small burns (like myself, who found himself with some small burns in his legs, and a lens-protection filter, it was almost melted-burned in several points, now useless, but withe the lens without problems.....! :o)) .......).

  

“u sciccareddu”, dal siciliano “l’asinello”, è una maschera pirotecnica-animalesca, un tempo presente in molte feste paesane del territorio messinese, oggi la si ritrova solo in un numero limitato di centri, tra questi il paese di Casalvecchio Siculo, piccolo centro dell’entroterra nel quale si trova un’altra figura animalesca, quella del “camiddu”, in siciliano “cammello”, e del suo cammelliere (vedi un mio racconto fotografico fatto in precedenza in merito). La festa dello “sciccareddu-asinello” vede un giovane del paese indossare una struttura portante in metallo, sulla quale prende posto tutta una serie di giochi pirotecnici: questo rappresenta con non poca fantasia l’asinello (quest’anno a dargli vita è stato il “cammelliere” della festa del “camiddu-cammello” che si festeggia sempre a Casalvecchio); il giovane che porta su di se tale castello in metallo, si protegge abbondantemente dai fuochi pirotecnici, che formano delle “ruote pazze” in corrispondenza dei “quattro arti”, fuochi pirotecnici che comportano suggestioni simbolico-rituali dal significato ambiguo, è a vita contro la morte, la luce contro le tenebre, la paura e la voglia di sfidarla, senza mai dimenticare l’aspetto orrifico-ancestrale della “bestia”, che rappresenta l’oscuro ignoto male, che aleggia sempre sulla vita delle persone. C’è chi ha ipotizzato che tale asinello-mostruoso-orrifico è pur sempre un animale molto docile, un tempo comunissimo e onnipresente nelle contrade siciliane, per cui le paure che esso potrebbe generare sono contemporaneamente soppresse dall’essere un animale ben conosciuto ed in definitiva molto docile.

Tale “sciccareddu-asinello” col suo carico di fuochi pirotecnici-girandole pazze-bengala, ed altre diavolerie scoppiettanti, sfida e viene sfidato da tutti i presenti, giovani e meno giovani provenienti anche da lontano, c’è che vuole assitere rimanendo però bene al riparo, molti altri invece lo sfidano, come in una corrida incruenta, dove qualche malcapitato può rimediare qualche piccola bruciatura (come il sottoscritto, che si è ritrovato con qualche piccola bruciatura alle gambe, ed un filtro proteggi-obiettivo che, me ne accorsi successivamente, era quasi fuso-bruciato in più punti, oramai inservibile, con l’obiettivo però salvo….! :o)) …).

  

Editor's Note: Here's a 3,000-word caption for people who like to read really long history posts.

 

This is an old picture of a statue of Louis XVI, King of France, that I took about five years ago in Louisville, Kentucky. The statue has a funny history. It was commissioned in 1820 by the only surviving child of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, but there's never been a lot of demand for a statue of Louis XVI, so nobody knew what to do with it. It kind of floated around for while before landing in a warehouse in the French city of Montpellier, where it sat for more than a century. In 1967, Montpellier's mayor dug it out of storage and gave it to Louisville, because of all the possible Louises throughout history -- many of whom did great things -- Louisville decided to name itself after this Louis, the guy who'd gone and gotten his head chopped off in the French Revolution. This made it ironic when the statue got vandalized during all the protests over George Floyd and Breonna Taylor in the summer of 2020, forcing the city to remove the statue in order to prevent its destruction. That hand got chopped off, but Louis kept his head this time.

 

(Fun Fact: Louis Alphonse de Bourbon, the current supposed heir to the House of Bourbon and legitimist pretender to the throne of France, went on Twitter when all this happened begging for the people of Louisville to leave the statue alone. Historical irony flowed like rain.)

 

I post this because I got into an internet argument the other day with one of those disaffected young people of the Bernie Bro variety who idolizes the French Revolution. Somebody in the thread had suggested protest marches that follow the rules and get permits don't accomplish anything, and that if you want to get anything done, you have to make a big mess. Some other young person joined in, saying, "French kids learn about the liberating effects of Madame Guillotine." You hear this sort of thing a lot from certain sectors of the protest population, that everything would work out better if protestors just said "screw the system" and started chopping off heads like the French in 1792. My typical reply to this is to say something along the lines of "French kids should probably learn that the liberating effects of Madame Guillotine were instrumental to the installation of Napoleon as Emperor and the 15 years of war that followed it." This, of course, tends to throw the kids off, because their knowledge of the French Revolution starts and ends with rich people getting their heads chopped off, and then all of the sudden you get to Emmanuel Macron and a bunch of people in cool yellow vests. American schools are horrible at teaching history, especially foreign history, so the kids grow up barely knowing the French Revolution was even a thing, with no idea just how many steps you had to go through to get from Louis XVI to anything vaguely resembling democracy. All anyone knows about the French Revolution is that there was cake.

 

So here, friends, just for the Hell of it is my lightning fast (but still too long) distillation of the French Revolution and all the century of conservative reaction that followed, put down into a single post.

 

The Ancient Regime

 

The big thing to know about France in the second half of the 18th century is that the country was a medieval mess and had been for hundreds of years. On the foreign stage, France was pretty good at fighting wars and had become one of the great world powers. But at home, everything was a jumbled, barely unified Byzantine mass of conflicting laws and regulations and tax structures left over from the days of Charlemagne, and the end result was that a few very rich noble types kept getting richer while the great horde of everyone else fell further and further into poverty. And this is the mess Louis XVI stepped into when he inherited the throne at the age of 19 after the death of his grandfather, Louis XV, in 1774.

 

By all historical accounts, young Louis was a nice guy who probably meant well but was a bit of a doofus and a waffler. He might have been interested in modernizing the country if anybody had suggested it to him (he wasn't going to come up with that on his own), but his advisers had other ideas. These guys were still mad at England over the outcome of the last big war, when France got tossed off North America, and they had a plan to get England's goat. "All those stupid English colonies are really ticked off over tea,” the advisers said. "If we slipped those guys a few bucks, they might break away, and then the English would be the ones getting tossed off North America." So Louis ignored the crippling debt plaguing France from, like, the last hundred years of war and sunk a load of cash into the American Revolution. But then the thing blew up, and France got sucked into war with England for real, and the costs kept piling up higher and higher. A couple of years of bad weather in the mid-1780s led to crop failures that made the financial situation even worse, and by the start of 1789, people were starving in the streets. Something had to be done about this, and everybody but Louis seemed to know it.

 

And so, after a bunch prodding from all the nobles and the people in the streets of Paris, Louis and his advisors decided to call up the Estates General to come up with a solution. This was an ancient assembly, a kind of weak-tea legislative body made up of representatives from the three “estates” -- the three classes -- of the French population: the clergy, the nobles, and the common folk. The Estates General had been a big thing in medieval France, but it hadn’t convened since 1614, and nobody was sure exactly how it was supposed to work. But nothing else was working, and everyone figured this was better than nothing, so all the classes elected their representatives and sent them to Paris.

 

After a month or two of fighting about how much power each class should have, the Third Estate (the commoners) dramatically walked out and started their own legislative body, then invited members of the other two estates to join in, but only as equals. The other estates went along with it, and the legislative body (which called itself the National Assembly for a little while) settled into a kind of moderate-liberal reformist move with the occasional outburst of what at the time was far-left radicalism. They had a couple of fever-dream late-night votes where everybody tried to one-up everyone else, resulting in craziness like the abolition of feudalism and the elimination of noble titles and the nationalization of the Catholic Church and confiscation of all church property (which is how the French government came to own Notre Dame). They swung wildly between the reaffirmation of absolute monarchy and the establishment of a pure egalitarian republic, and sometimes people on each side of the issue got really mad. In July of 1789, the anti-monarchist mobs in the Paris streets got mad and stormed the Bastille, an ancient prison that had become a symbol of the worst abuses of monarchical power (even though it hadn’t been used much by the monarchy for a century and was at that moment housing just six people who all probably needed to be in prison). Louis spent the whole thing angry about all the power he was going to have to give up – though even he thought some of that might be a good idea – and wavering between tepid support and harsh crackdowns on revolutionary fervor. At one point in October of 1789, a mob of Parisian women angry over food shortages marched 20 miles to the Palace of Versailles, and Louis and his family wound up carted back to Paris and locked up in the Tuileries Palace for safe keeping.

 

But ultimately, it worked out to a kind of nice deal. The re-org lasted a year or so, with the end result being a moderate liberal Legislative Assembly run by benevolent rich folk like the former Marquis de Lafayette (now just Gilbert du Motier) that had veto power over the King. And if history had been satisfied with itself, that would have been that. The French Revolution would have been over.

 

The Terror

 

But history still had some tricks up its sleeve, and the people in the streets of Paris still weren’t happy. A lot of them thought the reforms were weak sauce, and that France still had a long way to go before they would feel anything like true freedom. Agitation increased in the streets over the next year or so. At the same time, a group of far-left agitators -- the guys known as Jacobins, after the name of the political clubs they'd been running for a year or two -- managed a slow-motion take-over of the Legislative Assembly, and they started pushing for more and more extremist reforms. Then they started calling for people’s heads. Louis and Marie Antoinette saw where all this was going, and they tried to make a break for it in June of 1791, but they got caught well short of the border. After that, they were taken as prisoners and charged with treason. The Jacobins in the Legislative Assembly declared the monarchy was dead, and they killed the monarch and his entire family just to drive the point home. Louis's head landed in the basket on January 21, 1793, and the First Republic was born in his place. (They were just calling it the Republic for the moment, because they didn't know about the other two.)

 

And then they started with the thing that gets so many of the protest set excited today. They started cutting off people’s heads in the phase of the revolution known as the Reign of Terror. That’s not an after-market label. That’s what the Jacobins called it themselves, because terror was the goal. One unadvertised aspect of the revolution was that it really was in many ways just a Paris phenomenon, and people in other parts of the country didn’t want any part of it. The Jacobins -- led by a real self-deluded nutball named Maximilian Robespierre – decided they needed to stamp all that out. So they started literally cutting the heads off the opposition. And yes, that meant killing off a bunch of former nobles and landlords and rich people. But it also meant hunting down and killing your old buddy Jacques from down the street who didn’t get teary-eyed enough when the guys at the bar started singing “La Marseillaise.” All the moderate liberals who’d been in the Legislative Assembly wound up killed if they couldn’t escape, but so did a lot of people in the streets who were deemed less than ideally patriotic. It took almost nothing to trigger an arrest and show-trial leading to a guillotine. The smallest statement of disagreement, the merest whisper of vague dissent could do it.

 

And this wasn’t just a Paris thing. The Jacobins sent committees out into the countryside to hunt down pockets of dissent and kill the less-than-zealous. One of the favorite techniques was to take a couple of hundred people-- mostly common folk, small-town merchants or poor country farmers who’d been picked up on one charge or another -- and tie them up in the hold of a barge. Then they’d haul the barge to the middle of a river and sink it, drowning them all. The Jacobins liked to call these “republican baths.” Ultimately – though numbers are a little hard to come by – the Reign of Terror is known to have killed about 16,000 people, though some historians suggest the actual number might be as high as 50,000. Only about 3,000 of these were in Paris, and only a small proportion of those were actually the rich former nobles so many in today’s protest set likes imagining itself cheering on to the guillotine. The vast majority were poor or merchant class people in the countryside who had committed the crime of not going along blindly with what a bunch of guys in Paris had to say.

 

This kind of thing is never sustainable, though, and eventually people had enough of the killing. Despite all the murder, the Jacobins hadn’t really solved the hunger problem, and they kept trying to distract people with patriotic wars against Austria and Britain and a few counter-revolutionary corners of their own country. Finally, one day in June of 1794, a few conservative-leaning survivors stood up to Robespierre in the Legislative Assembly, and it all came undone. The people of Paris rose up once more, only this time it was the counter-revolutionaries who’d been threatened with the guillotine just a few times too many. Robespierre and his Jacobin buddies wound up following all the thousands they’d sent to death. The radical Jacobin dream had barely lasted a year.

 

The Reaction

 

And here, I think, is where the true lesson of the French Revolution lies. Because everybody ends the story with Louis’s head in a basket, thinking some vague kind of freedom-loving, progressive France emerged from the chaos. But that’s really not what happened.

 

What happened was that France wound up in the grip of conservative reactionaries, who stamped out whatever civil liberties the revolution might have brought and reversed most of the social gains. These conservatives took a lesson from the Jacobin plan to distract the nation with endless war, and a young and charismatic artillery man used those wars to quickly rise up the ranks and into the government itself. In late 1799, that artillery man, Napoléon Bonaparte, executed a coup and took over the government as First Consul. Which, really, was just another word for King. Five years later in 1805, he declared himself Emperor and committed the entirety of France to a decade-long project designed to subjugate all of Europe under his absolute power.

 

“Say, Clint,” you might be saying. “Didn’t Napoléon get beat at Waterloo and sent off to die on an island somewhere? That’s what Abba told me. Didn’t France get freedom then?”

 

Not by a long shot, friends. I mean, yeah, the rest of Europe finally got together and beat Napoleon … twice. But once they shipped Napoléon off to exile, they reinstated the Bourbon monarchy. That’s right, people. The ultimate end of the French Revolution was to put France right back where it started with the ascendency in 1814 of Louis XVI’s brother, who would be called King Louis XVIII. (Louis XVII was the son of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, who was never crowned king because he died in a Jacobin prison at the age of 10.) Louis XVIII remained king for almost ten years until his death in 1824, when he was succeeded by Charles X, another brother of Louis. Charles X firmly believed in the divine right of kings and the elimination of any and all civil rights, which led to a very bad five years for any remaining freedom-loving French. He was finally toppled in a mostly bloodless revolution in 1830, but the French replaced him with yet another king. This time, it was a cousin, the former Duke de Orleans who styled himself Louis Philippe, King of the French. Louis Philippe reigned until yet another revolution deposed him in 1848, and the Second Republic was born. But that republic only lasted a few years before Louis Napoléon Bonaparte, a nephew of Napoléon’s, got himself elected President and declared himself Emperor Napoléon III. And there’s no telling how long he would have lasted if he hadn’t gotten himself into a big fight with Prussia that wound up with him being deposed in 1870. After that, France was finally … finally … able to give up monarchy for good and establish the Third Republic, the current government of France. It only took the French Revolution 81 years after the Fall of the Bastille to catch on.

 

And that’s the thing people have to be wary of when they call for revolution. Revolution doesn’t usually turn out the way the revolutionaries think it will. Far more often than not, it results in a more authoritarian regime than the one that was there to begin with. In the case of France, the textbook revolution all revolutionary people look up to, the result was a succession of civil oppression and authoritarian crackdowns and kings on top of kings on top of emperors for more than eight decades. You start chopping off heads, and it’s going to come back to bite you. And probably your grandchildren.

Street art of an unknown artist at the corner of Gierstraat and Grote Houtstraat, Haarlem, Noord-Holland (North Holland) Netherlands

 

Some background information:

 

This graffiti that can be found in the Dutch city of Haarlem, reminds me a bit of the works of the famous British street artist Banksy. The artist is unknown, just like the date of its making. Howsoever, I rather like it.

 

With its population of more than 150,000 residents he city of Haarlem is the capital of the Dutch province of Noord-Holland. It is situated at the northern edge of the Randstad, one of the most populated metropolitan areas in Europe. The Randstad consists of the four larger cities Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht plus their surrounding areas. Haarlem itself is located on the river Spaame just 20 km (12 miles) west of the Dutch capital Amsterdam and near the coastal dunes.

 

The first mentioning of Haarlem dates from the 10th century. The town developed from a little heathland settlement at the north-south route in the back country of the North Sea coast. The settlement lay on a thin strip of land above sea level known as the strandwal (beach ridge), which connected Leiden to Alkmaar. The people on this narrow strip of land struggled against the waters of the North Sea from the west, and the waters of the Ij and the Haarlem Lake from the east. However Haarlem became wealthy, because of the toll revenues which were collected from ships and travellers moving on this busy north-south route.

 

In 1219 the knights of Haarlem were honoured by Count Willem I, because they had conquered the Egyptian port of Damietta in the 5th crusade. At that time Haarlem had already become the residence of the Counts of Holland. In 1245 the growing town was granted city status, although the first city walls were not built until 1270 after a siege from the surrounding area of Kennemerland. Most likely these first walls were just earthen walls with wooden gates.

 

In 1304 the Flemish threatened the city, but they were defeated by Witte van Haemstede at Manpad. In 1328 nearly the whole city burnt down, as all the buildings were made of wood. Two more large firestorms happened in 1347 and 1351. Despite these three firestorms the city expanded in the 14th century and after every fire the city was rebuilt quickly. As the old defenses proved not to be sufficiently strong for the city’s expansion, a 16 ½-metre high wall was built at the end of the 14th century, complete with a 15-metre wide canal circling the urban area.

 

In 1381 the Black Death came to Haarlem. The disease killed roughly 5,000 people, about half the population at that time. But the town revived quickly again. At the beginning of the 15th century Haarlem had already become the second largest city in Holland, after Dordrecht but before Delft, Leiden, Amsterdam, Gouda and Rotterdam. At the end of the Middle Ages Haarlem was a flourishing community with a large textile industry, shipyards and beer breweries.

 

On 11th December 1572 the Spanish army put Haarlem under siege. After seven months of siege the city finally surrendered on 13th July 1573. Many soldiers of the army that defended the city were slaughtered while governor Ripperda, who had commanded the city’s defenses, was beheaded. In 1576 Haarlem suffered another large fire. As the combined result of the siege and the fire, about a third of the city was destroyed.

 

To restore the economy and attract workers for the brewing and bleaching businesses, the Haarlem council decided to promote the pursuit of arts and history, showing tolerance for diversity among religious beliefs. This attracted a large influx of Flemish and French immigrants (Catholics and Hugenots alike) who were fleeing the Spanish occupation of their own cities. These new citizens had a lot of expertise in linen and silk manufacture as well as trading. Haarlem’s golden age had begun and the city's population grew from 18,000 in 1573 to around 40,000 in 1622.

 

In the 17th century two new canals were dug, a new defensive wall was constructed and Haarlem expanded northwards. Even the idea that a city has to be square-shaped was abandoned. Haarlem also became a major trading centre for tulips, and it was at the epicentre during tulip mania, when outrageous prices were paid for tulip bulbs.

 

In the 18th century Haarlem’s decline began as the centre of trade gravitated towards Amsterdam. The golden age had created a large upper middle class of merchants and well-to-do small business owners. Many of these people now had a business address in Amsterdam and a weekend or summer home in Haarlem. That’s why Haarlem became more and more a bedroom community.

 

At the end of the 18th century a number of anti-Orange commissions were founded. On 18th January 1795 the "Staatse" army was defeated near Woerden. During the night preceding the 19th, the various commissions gathered and implemented a revolution. The commissions changed the city's administrators in a bloodless rebellion, and the next morning the city was 'liberated' of the tyranny of the House of Orange. The revolution was peaceful and the Orange-loyal people were not harmed. The Batavian Republic was then proclaimed.

 

The French army entered the liberated city two days later, on the 20th January. 1,500 soldiers were provided with food and clothing by the citizens. The new national government was strongly centralised, and the role and influence of the cities was reduced. The Batavian Republic had signed a mutual defense pact with France, and was thus automatically at war with England. The strong English presence at sea severely reduced the trading opportunities and the Dutch economy suffered accordingly.

 

In 1815 the United Kingdom of the Netherlands was founded. In the 19th and 20th century the city of Haarlem expanded once again. In 1839 the first train service in the Netherlands started and between 1879 and 1927 a few municipalities and districts in the neighbourhood were incorporated. Today Haarlem is a lively community, which, it is true, is overshadowed by the capital Amsterdam, but has plenty to offer to its residents and visitors alike. Haarlem’s beautiful old town and its nice shopping streets make a stroll through the city a great pleasure, where there’s a lot to spot.

 

By the way, the New York district of Harlem also derives its name from the city of Haarlem, but that’s another story, which has to be told elsewhere. ;-)

 

For Week 6 of my 52, I've used the Dogwood theme of Candy to make what I think is a pretty creepy self-portrait. This one did not come easily.

The Toledo Zoo & Aquarium, located in Toledo, Ohio, is a member of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) and is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), valid through September 2023. The Toledo Zoo & Aquarium houses over 10,000 individual animals from 720 species. The Toledo Zoo & Aquarium currently participates in over 80 species survival programs. It has over 57,000 members and hosts over 1 million visitors a year.

 

The Toledo city board believed a zoo was required to make the city a tourist destination. The Toledo Zoo began in 1900, when a woodchuck was donated by Carl Hillebrand to Peter Mettler and the Walbridge Park. By the end of its first year, the Toledo Zoo had a collection of 39 animals, most of which were donated. The park was unprepared for these donations and was forced to use temporary housing such as ravines and boxes for exhibits. In November 1901, the Toledo Zoo nearly lost its entire collection when the winter housing for the animals caught fire. As a result, in 1907, the Toledo Zoo built its first brick building for housing animals, known as the Lion House. During the early years at the Toledo Zoo, most animals were acquired through donations and circuses, and, due to a lack of proper housing, animal escapes were common. In June 1913, the Toledo Zoological Society (TZS) was founded to spur development, with William H. Roemer serving as the first president. By 1916, the Toledo Zoo had grown to a population of 471 animals. In 1922, a change to the organizational structure of the zoo occurred when Percy Jones, the TZS president, created the role of Zoo Director, also known as the Curator of the Toledo Zoo & Aquarium. Frank Skeldon was the first curator for the zoo. Jones and Skeldon pushed the zoo towards national recognition.

 

By the 1920s, the Toledo Zoo created its first strategic plan, which called for new buildings. This plan was based on in-depth study of the eight most successful zoos around the world. The architectural style used in their plan was inspired by the Spanish architecture from the city's namesake, Toledo, Spain. By 1924, they had completed the first building of their master plan, the Elephant House. In order to maintain funding for the zoo, Jones had brokered a deal with the City of Toledo so that it could be managed similar to the Bronx Zoo. The Toledo Zoo became a public/private venture in 1926, allowing financial support from the city while leaving operations in the hands of the TZS. This change led to the formation of the Board of Managers, which was five city officials and four TZS members. In 1928, they completed their second building, the Herbivora (Giraffe House). On Christmas Day 1927, the Carnivora Building was opened to the public, after ground breaking was done by Kermit Roosevelt. In 1929, the Toledo Zoo completed its last building prior to the WPA Era, the Primate House.

 

During the Great Depression, the Toledo Zoo was able to take advantage of government programs to provide labor. With the remainder of their master plan nearing completion, Skeldon, Jones, and Colonel John S. Shelter brokered a deal with the federal government to use depression-era relief efforts to create jobs. In 1934, construction began on the first Works Progress Administration (WPA) building in the zoo, the Reptile House. Federal funding would only cover labor costs, so the Toledo Zoo had to salvage parts from unused structures. Skeldon created multiple agreements which allowed the Toledo Zoo the right to salvage as long as they cleared the land. In the end, the Toledo Zoo was able to salvage all the stonework, lumber, radiators needed to begin construction of the Reptilia (Reptile House). The Reptile House was officially opened in September 1934, to house over 485 reptiles and amphibians. The same day, groundbreaking took place for the next two relief effort buildings, the Museum of Science and the attached Amphitheater. In July 1936, the outdoor Amphitheater was completed, followed closely behind by the indoor theater in October 1936, and the Museum of Science in May 1938. As the depression continued, more buildings were added to the zoo. The Aves (Aviary) started construction in 1935, and was officially opened to the public in May 1937. Like other WPA buildings, it was also built from salvaged material, but was the first building in the nation to use glass block for walls. The final WPA project to open was the Aquarium. An example of creative architecture, the aquarium was built in a curved manner to be the rear wall of the Amphitheater, increasing acoustic viability. Started in 1935, the building was not opened for use until June 1939 and upon its opening it held many honors. It was the first public aquarium in the state of Ohio, the largest fresh water aquarium in the world, and the 30,000th completed WPA project in the state. All of these structures remain in use at the Toledo Zoo & Aquarium today, and it may be the largest collection of these Depression Era relief buildings still in place today. Additional WPA projects at the zoo included new entrances, the Anthony Wayne Subway, and a wall dividing the Amphitheater from the zoo.

 

At the end of the WPA era, with the passing of Percy Jones and Frank Skeldon in the 1940s, the Toledo Zoo was ushered into a new post-war era. In 1946, the Toledo Zoo had begun to invest in amusement with a ridable miniature railway. In honor of the 50th anniversary in 1949–1950, the Toledo Zoo launched their current publication, Safari Magazine. Since 1948, the Toledo Zoo had lacked a permanent director. It was not until 1953 that Philip C. Skeldon, Frank Skeldon's son, was appointed as the new director of the Toledo Zoo. Under his guidance with the board, the Toledo Zoo set off to launch a new master plan, which included new attractions including Wonder Valley (a petting zoo), more open air "bar-less" exhibits, and entertainment rides such as a merry-go-round and a helicopter amusement ride. In 1953, the Toledo Zoo housed 3,537 animals. By the end of the 1950s, the Toledo Zoo had created new pens, a gibbon run, and new exhibits along the northern edge of the zoo. A highlight was the indoor trout run, thought to be the only one in America, opened in 1959. In 1963, they continued to expand with the development of interconnecting water pools for water fowl and a pond for flamingos. During the 1960s the Toledo Zoo created educational Talking Storybook Kiosks that would play with the use of a plastic key. The 1960s also sent the Toledo Zoo on safari to South America to help celebrate the 125th anniversary of the Toledo Blade. It was during that safari that the staff of the Toledo Zoo were able to capture 75 new species for display. In the 1970s, the Toledo Zoo, in conjunction with the Toledo Board of Education, created a Natural Resources and Horticulture class as well as a class in animal care. Other additions in the 1970s included Cheetah Valley, Monkey Mountain, concession buildings, and the animal care center. The final part of the master plan was completed with the multi-level sea lion enclosure that allowed for underwater viewing and four new bear grottoes.

 

At the beginning of the 1980s the Toledo Zoo faced a potential closure. With an agreement created by Jones, the zoo was financially tied to a city in a financial crisis. Massive layoffs ensued and a staff of 70 was reduced to 24. With a passage of a zoo levy in November 1980, they were still left in the face of probable closure. The levy was for capital improvements only, so the money could not be used on animal care, staff members, or other items needed to run the zoo. As a result, the Museum of Science and the conservatory were closed. To add to the problems, Skeldon was set to retire at the end of the year, and they had not yet found a replacement director. In January 1981, William "Bill" Dennler accepted the position and became the director of the Toledo Zoo. A proposal for payroll increase was denied and by the end of 1981, the Toledo Zoo only had 15 full-time employees. With the support of the board members, staff, donors, and citizens, the zoo was able to raise enough money to keep their doors open. At the same time, a study by the Toledo Area Governmental Research Association reported that the zoo should become a private, non-profit organization. Taking this advice on April 1, 1982, the Toledo Zoo was removed from the Board of Members that was created and handed exclusively to be operated and funded by the Toledo Zoological Society. The TZS also worked with the Ohio Legislature which allowed them to work on the county level, and be able to add levies to the Lucas County Ballots to help finance the zoo's needs. With these changes taking place, the Toledo Zoo was starting a revival. By 1982, the Greenhouse/Conservatory had been renovated and reopened to the public and the Museum of Science was back in operation. The WPA buildings were carefully restored, and in 1983 a children's zoo was opened. The Aquarium had two major incidents occur during the 1980s. In 1982, the Aquarium caught fire, killing 104 fish as well as destroying much of the building. Later in 1987, a tank had cracked sending 20 tons of water rushing out. Toledo Zoo broke ground on their African Savanna exhibit, which included the first ever Hippoquarium in 1986, and the rest of the savanna opening from 1987 to 1989. Because of the success of the Hippoquarium exhibit and a hippo birth caught on tape, the Toledo Zoo was given an opportunity to exhibit two giant pandas on loan from the People's Republic of China. The panda pair arrived in May 1988 and were exhibited through October 1988. This was the first year that the zoo had over a million people attend in one year. The loan was challenged by the World Wildlife Fund, as well as the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, through a lawsuit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service. Additional lawsuits followed, but the loan of the pandas remained intact and the lawsuits were settled. This outcry of debate dissolved the relationship with the People's Republic of China, and it was not until 1998 that they allowed another loan of pandas to the US, via the San Diego Zoo. In 1994 the zoo again exceeded 1 million visitors with their exhibit DinoRoars!, and again in 1998 with the reopening of the Aviary as well as the introduction of the primate forest. During their regrowth they also created a children's park, a pavilion for events, a catering department, an Emmy Award-winning show called Zoo Today, and re-purposed many of the WPA era buildings. The Carnivora was relaunched as the Carnivore Cafe in 1993, they re-purposed the original Rare Mammal Building into the Kingdom of the Apes, altered the Elephant House to be an events center, and expanded their land across the Anthony Wayne Trail to their now Northern Campus. In 1997, to connect the two parts of the zoo, the Toledo Zoo erected a pedestrian bridge. The Northern Campus which had previously been parking area opened the Arctic Encounter Exhibit in 2000.

 

After celebrating the centennial anniversary of the Toledo Zoo, the zoo faced controversy after the death of a female sloth bear by dehydration in 2000. After investigation, the zoo was fined by the FDA and was required to put into effect an animal reporting system to better track any issues on animal concerns. The Toledo Zoo opened the Africa! exhibit in 2001 and a wolf exhibit expected to be finished the following year. By 2003, the Toledo Zoo breeding programs took off, with the births of sloth bears, elephants, tigers, and other animals. The successful birth of the African elephant was historic as there had only been 12 births in the US since 1995. In 2006 the zoo hired a new director, Anne Baker. By 2007, the Toledo Zoo unveiled another 10-year master plan of improvements for their grounds, which would include a butterfly house, a new children's area, adjusting the elephant enclosures, and renovating and redesigning the WPA built aquarium building, which was estimated to take seven years. In 2010, the Toledo Zoo made more environmental changes with the creation of a SolarWalk, which consisted of a 1400-foot walk way constructed with solar panels to help with the energy needs at the Toledo Zoo. In 2012, the zoo hired a new director, Jeff Sailer. The year 2014 marked the opening of penguin beach, flamingo key, and other exhibits. It was also the last year it would be known as the Toledo Zoo. In 2015, the Toledo Zoo finished the Aquarium project, and officially changed their name to the Toledo Zoo & Aquarium. The projects at the zoo have continued with the redesigning of the Museum of Science from 2017 to 2019. Upon breaking ground, ProMedica donated $3.5 million to the project. In 2018, the Toledo Zoo & Aquarium reopened their underground subway crossing during the Lights before Christmas.

 

Toledo is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. At the 2020 census, it had a population of 270,871, making Toledo the fourth-most populous city in Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati. Toledo is the 84th-most populous city in the United States. It is the principal city of the Toledo metropolitan area, which had 606,240 residents in 2020. Toledo also serves as a major trade center for the Midwest; its port is the fifth-busiest on the Great Lakes.

 

The city was founded in 1833 on the west bank of the Maumee River and originally incorporated as part of the Michigan Territory. It was re-founded in 1837 after the conclusion of the Toledo War, when it was incorporated in Ohio. After the 1845 completion of the Miami and Erie Canal, Toledo grew quickly; it also benefited from its position on the railway line between New York City and Chicago. The first of many glass manufacturers arrived in the 1880s, eventually earning Toledo its nickname as "The Glass City". Downtown Toledo has been subject to major revitalization efforts, including a growing entertainment district. Toledo is home to the University of Toledo.

 

The region was part of a larger area controlled by the historic tribes of the Wyandot and the people of the Council of Three Fires (Ojibwe, Potawatomi, and Odawa). The French established trading posts in the area by 1680 to take advantage of the lucrative fur trade. The Odawa moved from Manitoulin Island and the Bruce Peninsula at the invitation of the French, who established a trading post at Fort Detroit, about 60 miles to the north. They settled an area extending into northwest Ohio. By the early 18th century, the Odawa-occupied areas along most of the Maumee River to its mouth. They served as middlemen between the French and tribes further to the west and north. The Wyandot occupied central Ohio, and the Shawnee and Lenape occupied the southern areas.

 

When the city of Toledo was preparing to pave its streets, it surveyed "two prehistoric semicircular earthworks, presumably for stockades." One was at the intersection of Clayton and Oliver Streets on the south bank of Swan Creek; the other was at the intersection of Fassett and Fort Streets on the right bank of the Maumee River. Such earthworks were typical of mound-building peoples.

 

According to Charles E. Slocum, the American military built Fort Industry at the mouth of Swan Creek about 1805, as a temporary stockade. No official reports support the 19th-century tradition of its earlier history there.

 

The United States continued to work to transition the area's population from Native Americans to Whites. In the Treaty of Detroit (1807), the above four tribes ceded a large land area to the United States of what became southeastern Michigan and northwestern Ohio, to the mouth of the Maumee River (where Toledo later developed). Reserves for the Odawa were set aside in northwestern Ohio for a limited time. The Indian signed the treaty at Detroit, Michigan, on November 17, 1807, with William Hull, governor of the Michigan Territory and superintendent of Indian affairs, as the sole representative of the U.S.

 

More American settlers entered the area over the next few years, but many fled during the War of 1812, when British forces raided the area with their Indian allies. Resettlement began around 1818 after a Cincinnati syndicate purchased a 974-acre (3.9 km2) tract at the mouth of Swan Creek and named it Port Lawrence, developing it as the modern downtown area of Toledo. Immediately to the north of that, another syndicate founded the town of Vistula, the historic north end.[13] These two towns bordered each other across Cherry Street. This is why present-day streets on the street's northeast side run at a slightly different angle from those southwest of it.

 

In 1824, the Ohio state legislature authorized the construction of the Miami and Erie Canal, and in 1833, its Wabash and Erie Canal extension. The canal's purpose was to connect the city of Cincinnati to Lake Erie for water transportation to eastern markets, including to New York City via the Erie Canal and Hudson River. At that time, no highways had been built in the state, and goods produced locally had great difficulty reaching the larger markets east of the Appalachian Mountains. During the canal's planning phase, many small towns along the northern shores of the Maumee River heavily competed to be the ending terminus of the canal, knowing it would give them a profitable status. The towns of Port Lawrence and Vistula merged in 1833 to better compete against the upriver towns of Waterville and Maumee.

 

The inhabitants of this joined settlement chose the name Toledo:

"but the reason for this choice is buried in a welter of legends. One recounts that Washington Irving, who was traveling in Spain at the time, suggested the name to his brother, a local resident; this explanation ignores the fact that Irving returned to the United States in 1832. Others award the honor to Two Stickney, son of the major who quaintly numbered his sons and named his daughters after States. The most popular version attributes the naming to Willard J. Daniels, a merchant, who reportedly suggested Toledo because it 'is easy to pronounce, is pleasant in sound, and there is no other city of that name on the American continent.'"

 

Despite Toledo's efforts, the canal built the final terminus in Manhattan, one-half mile (800 m) to the north of Toledo, because it was closer to Lake Erie. As a compromise, the state placed two sidecuts before the terminus, one in Toledo at Swan Creek and another in Maumee, about 10 miles to the southwest.

 

Among the numerous treaties made between the Ottawa and the United States were two signed in this area: at Miami (Maumee) Bay in 1831 and Maumee, Ohio, upriver of Toledo, in 1833. These actions were among US purchases or exchanges of land to accomplish Indian Removal of the Ottawa from areas wanted for European-American settlement. The last of the Odawa did not leave this area until 1839, when Ottokee, grandson of Pontiac, led his band from their village at the mouth of the Maumee River to Indian Territory in Kansas.

 

An almost bloodless conflict between Ohio and the Michigan Territory, called the Toledo War (1835–1836), was "fought" over a narrow strip of land from the Indiana border to Lake Erie, now containing the city and the suburbs of Sylvania and Oregon, Ohio. The strip, which varied between five and eight miles (13 km) in width, was claimed by both the state of Ohio and the Michigan Territory due to conflicting legislation concerning the location of the Ohio-Michigan state line. Militias from both states were sent to the border, but never engaged. The only casualty of the conflict was a Michigan deputy sheriff—stabbed in the leg with a penknife by Two Stickney during the arrest of his elder brother, One Stickney—and the loss of two horses, two pigs, and a few chickens stolen from an Ohio farm by lost members of the Michigan militia. Major Benjamin Franklin Stickney, father of One and Two Stickney, had been instrumental in pushing Congress to rule in favor of Ohio gaining Toledo. In the end, the state of Ohio was awarded the land after the state of Michigan was given a larger portion of the Upper Peninsula in exchange. Stickney Avenue in Toledo is named for Major Stickney.

 

Toledo was very slow to expand during its first two decades of settlement. The first lot was sold in the Port Lawrence section of the city in 1833. It held 1,205 persons in 1835, and five years later, it had gained just seven more persons. Settlers came and went quickly through Toledo and between 1833 and 1836, ownership of land had changed so many times that none of the original parties remained in the town. The canal and its Toledo sidecut entrance were completed in 1843. Soon after the canal was functional, the new canal boats had become too large to use the shallow waters at the terminus in Manhattan. More boats began using the Swan Creek sidecut than its official terminus, quickly putting the Manhattan warehouses out of business and triggering a rush to move business to Toledo. Most of Manhattan's residents moved out by 1844.

 

The 1850 census recorded Toledo as having 3,829 residents and Manhattan 541. The 1860 census shows Toledo with a population of 13,768 and Manhattan with 788. While the towns were only a mile apart, Toledo grew by 359% in 10 years. Manhattan's growth was on a small base and never competed, given the drawbacks of its lesser canal outlet. By the 1880s, Toledo expanded over the vacant streets of Manhattan and Tremainsville, a small town to the west.

 

In the last half of the 19th century, railroads slowly began to replace canals as the major form of transportation. They were faster and had greater capacity. Toledo soon became a hub for several railroad companies and a hotspot for industries such as furniture producers, carriage makers, breweries, and glass manufacturers. Large immigrant populations came to the area.

 

Toledo continued to expand in population and industry, but because of its dependence on manufacturing, the city was hit hard by the Great Depression. Many large-scale Works Progress Administration projects were constructed to re-employ citizens in the 1930s. Some of these include the amphitheater and aquarium at the Toledo Zoo and a major expansion to the Toledo Museum of Art.

 

The postwar job boom and Great Migration brought thousands of African Americans to Toledo to work in industrial jobs, where they had previously been denied. Due to redlining, many of them settled along Dorr Street, which, during the 1950s and 1960s was lined with flourishing black-owned businesses and homes. Desegregation, a failed urban renewal project, and the construction of I-75 displaced those residents and left behind a struggling community with minimal resources, even as it also drew more established, middle-class people, white and black, out of center cities for newer housing. The city rebounded, but the slump of American manufacturing in the second half of the 20th century during industrial restructuring cost many jobs.

 

By the 1980s, Toledo had a depressed economy. The destruction of many buildings downtown, along with several failed business ventures in housing in the core, led to a reverse city-suburb wealth problem common in small cities with land to spare.

 

Several initiatives have been taken by Toledo's citizens to improve the cityscape by urban gardening and revitalizing their communities. Local artists, supported by organizations like the Arts Commission of Greater Toledo and the Ohio Arts Council, have contributed an array of murals and beautification works to replace long standing blight. Many downtown historical buildings such as the Oliver House and Standart Lofts have been renovated into restaurants, condominiums, offices and art galleries.

 

On the evening of August 1, 2014, the city of Toledo issued a warning to citizens advising against the use of city water, leaving more than half a million people suddenly without water. A bloom of toxic blue-green algae had formed directly over Toledo's water intake pipe, which was situated a few miles off shore in Lake Erie. Because of the algae bloom forming just above the pipe, the water being pumped into Toledo showed levels of harmful bacteria that made the water unsafe to interact with. On August 3, the Ohio National Guard was brought in to deliver over 10,000 gallons of water to citizens due to a rapid depletion of bottled water locally. The warning against using water lasted nearly three days, finally ending late on August 4.

 

In 2018, Cleveland-Cliffs, Inc. invested $700 million into an East Toledo location as the site of a new hot-briquetted iron plant, designed to modernize the steel industry. The plant was slated to create over 1,200 jobs. Construction was completed in 2020, as planned.

 

Toledo is located at 41°39′56″N 83°34′31″W (41.665682, −83.575337). The city has a total area of 84.12 square miles (217.87 km2), of which 3.43 square miles (8.88 km2) is covered by water.

 

The city straddles the Maumee River at its mouth at the southern end of Maumee Bay, the westernmost inlet of Lake Erie. The city is located north of what had been the Great Black Swamp, giving rise to another nickname, Frog Town. Toledo sits within the borders of a sandy oak savanna called the Oak Openings Region, an important ecological site that once comprised more than 300 square miles (780 km2).

 

Toledo is within 250 miles (400 km) by road from seven metropolitan areas that have a population of more than two million people: Detroit, Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, and Chicago. In addition, it is within 300 miles of Toronto, Ontario.

 

Lucas County is a county located in the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Ohio. It is bordered to the east by Lake Erie, and to the southeast by the Maumee River, which runs to the lake. As of the 2020 census, the population was 431,279. Its county seat and largest city is Toledo, located at the mouth of the Maumee River on the lake. The county was named for Robert Lucas, 12th governor of Ohio, in 1835 during his second term. Its establishment provoked the Toledo War conflict with the Michigan Territory, which claimed some of its area. Lucas County is the central county of the Toledo Metropolitan Statistical Area.

 

On August 20, 1794, near the site of the present-day town of Maumee, American forces led by General Anthony Wayne won a decisive victory over allied Indian forces at the Battle of Fallen Timbers after years of conflict in what was known as the Northwest Indian War. The defeat of the Native forces resulted in the opening of the entire Northwest Territory for white settlement. Northwest Ohio was occupied chiefly by villages and bands of the Odawa people, who had trading relations with the French at Fort Detroit since 1701. Other Odawa were located in southeast Michigan and further north on the peninsula. They ceded much of that territory in the Treaty of Greenville but retained control of lands along the Maumee River until after the War of 1812. The last Odawa band, that of Ottokee, grandson of Chief Pontiac, left the Maumee River area for Kansas in 1839.

 

Lucas County was established in 1835. At that time, both Ohio and Michigan Territory claimed sovereignty over a 468-square-mile (1,210 km2) region along their border (see Toledo War). When Michigan petitioned Congress for statehood in 1835, it sought to include the disputed territory within its bounds. In response, the Ohio General Assembly formally organized part of the area as Lucas County, naming it after the incumbent governor of Ohio, Robert Lucas.

 

Ohio is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ohio borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the west, and Michigan to the northwest. Of the 50 U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area. With a population of nearly 11.8 million, Ohio is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated state. Its capital and largest city is Columbus, with other large population centers including Cleveland, Cincinnati, Dayton, Akron, and Toledo. Ohio is nicknamed the "Buckeye State" after its Ohio buckeye trees, and Ohioans are also known as "Buckeyes". Its flag is the only non-rectangular flag of all U.S. states.

 

Ohio derives its name from the Ohio River that forms its southern border, which, in turn, originated from the Seneca word ohiːyo', meaning "good river", "great river", or "large creek". The state was home to several ancient indigenous civilizations, with humans present as early as 10,000 BCE. It arose from the lands west of the Appalachian Mountains that were contested by various native tribes and European colonists from the 17th century through the Northwest Indian Wars of the late 18th century. Ohio was partitioned from the Northwest Territory, the first frontier of the new United States, becoming the 17th state admitted to the Union on March 1, 1803, and the first under the Northwest Ordinance. It was the first post-colonial free state admitted to the union and became one of the earliest and most influential industrial powerhouses during the 20th century. Although it has transitioned to a more information- and service-based economy in the 21st century, it remains an industrial state, ranking seventh in GDP as of 2019, with the third-largest manufacturing sector and second-largest automobile production.

 

Modeled on its federal counterpart, Ohio's government is composed of the executive branch, led by the governor; the legislative branch, consisting of the bicameral Ohio General Assembly; and the judicial branch, led by the state Supreme Court. Ohio occupies 15 seats in the United States House of Representatives, the seventh-largest delegation. Its politics has been described as moderate; the state is known for its status as both a swing state and a bellwether in national elections.[21] Seven presidents of the United States have come from Ohio, earning it the moniker "the Mother of Presidents".

 

The history of Ohio as a state began when the Northwest Territory was divided in 1800, and the remainder reorganized for admission to the union on March 1, 1803, as the 17th state of the United States. The recorded history of Ohio began in the late 17th century when French explorers from Canada reached the Ohio River, from which the "Ohio Country" took its name, a river the Iroquois called O-y-o, "great river". Before that, Native Americans speaking Algonquin languages had inhabited Ohio and the central midwestern United States for hundreds of years, until displaced by the Iroquois in the latter part of the 17th century. Other cultures not generally identified as "Indians", including the Hopewell "mound builders", preceded them. Human history in Ohio began a few millennia after formation of the Bering land bridge about 14,500 BCE – see Prehistory of Ohio.

 

By the mid-18th century, a few American and French fur traders engaged historic Native American tribes in present-day Ohio in the fur trade. The Native Americans had their own extensive trading networks across the continent before the Europeans arrived. American settlement in the Ohio Country came after the American Revolutionary War and the formation of the United States, with its takeover of former British Canadian territory. Congress prohibited slavery in the Northwest Territory which presaged Ohio and the five states of the Territory entering the Union as free states. Ohio's population increased rapidly after United States victory in the Northwest Indian Wars brought peace to the Ohio frontier. On March 1, 1803, Ohio was admitted to the union as the 17th state.

 

Settlement of Ohio was chiefly by migrants from New England, New York and Pennsylvania. Southerners settled along the southern part of the territory, arriving by travel along the Ohio River from the Upper South. Yankees, especially in the "Western reserve" (near Cleveland), supported modernization, public education, and anti-slavery policies. The state supported the Union in the American Civil War, although antiwar Copperhead sentiment was strong in southern settlement areas.

 

After the Civil War, Ohio developed as a major industrial state. Ships traveled the Great Lakes to deliver iron ore and other products from western areas. This was also a route for exports, as were the railroads. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the fast-growing industries created jobs that employed hundreds of thousands of immigrants from Europe. During World War I, Europe was closed off to passenger traffic. In the first half of the 20th century, a new wave of migrants came from the South, with rural whites from Appalachia, and African Americans in the Great Migration from the Deep South, to escape Jim Crow laws, violence, and hopes for better opportunities.

 

The cultures of Ohio's major cities became much more diverse with the blend of traditions, cultures, foods, and music from new arrivals. Ohio's industries were integral to American industrial power in the 20th century. In the late 20th century, economic restructuring in steel, railroads, and other heavy manufacturing, cost the state many jobs as heavy industry declined. The economy in the 21st century has gradually shifted to depend on service industries such as medicine and education.

Vespa knew if she were to get anything from the Prince, she would have to act fast. Now that the girls had been kicked out of the palace, she would have no casual access to the prince, this called for something even bolder than even she had originally thought...

Vespa lay on the bed, she ticked off everything she saw in her head, unimpressed with these gaudy gold silk sheets, unimpressed with this ridiculous massive stag next to the bed, unimpressed with...well everything, but what did she really expect? Vespa rolled over and tried to remember she was supposed to be a temptress “Aren't you nervous bringing a common girl like me up here?” she said in her saucy voice. David climbed out of the bed and pulled on red garish lounge pants and sauntered over to the bar. “you underestimate yourself darling, I would hardly call that common” Vespa did not want to banter so she tried more pointed conversation “well at least you have that american girl to keep you company when I leave” it worked, the prince got a sad puppy dog face. “Surely you're not leaving too soon though are you? We've just started having fun!” Fun, yes what fun indeed, Vespa was sure every tart he dragged up to this over decorated cave told him what a Lothario he was. Vespa feigned sadness with every acting fiber of her being and shook her head “no my pet, I'm already overdue in Paris, but lets not fuss, I'm no strings attached, I don't think I will be queen like some girls do!” The line was a direct shot at Daisy, for although Vespa was there in this vile situation to find Pammy, she still couldn't help her older resentments towards the Buchanans. David pulled a sour expression thinking about queens and thrust a drink at her, gin of course. Vespa got very frustrated that men always assumed based on her sex that, without asking her, she will drink gin, never warm brandy or fiery scotch or even a beer, just bloodless gin. She defiantly drank the whole glass in a single gulp, squeaking the lemon peel against her teeth, like she could erase the taste of this whole silly room. David lay back down with his drink (a scotch) and leaned towards her “I'm not sure what you've heard, darling, but I'm not exactly a taken man” he leered at her and swirled his icecubes before taking a sip. Vespa just wanted to leave so she pulled out everything “Well I HAVE heard you're engaged to that woman, that one from New York who had her baby kidnapped.” Vespa paused for dramatic effect “rumour has it that kid is around here somewhere and I doubt a prince can marry a woman with a kid” Vespa wasn't sure what his response would be, but she didn't expect what she got. David looked up at the ceiling, drank some more scotch and said in a faraway voice “Daisy doesn't have any children” Vespa's blood ran cold, had he done something to the baby?? Then he seemed to come back to earth “what I mean is, what happened to her is very sad, but so much time has passed she really must accept the inevitable and move on with her life” Vespa wanted to break his scotch glass on his head, what on God's green earth was Daisy doing with this fool? She was leaving, whatever the Prince had done with Pammy no amount of amour was going to get him to spill the beans, she could see that now, Vespa would have to try another avenue. Against the Prince's pathetic protests, Vespa swept from the room, shouting from the doorway “Vi auguro di strozzatura su un cubetto di ghiaccio si British suina!” David blew a kiss “I love your italian words!” And Vespa slammed the door quickly before she burst into laughter because she had just told the prince of england that she hoped he choked on an ice cube, and that he was a british swine, ***PLEASE SEE BLYTHE QUAKE FOR CONTIUNING STORIES***

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click to activate the icon of slideshow: the small triangle inscribed in the small rectangle, at the top right, in the photostream;

 

clicca sulla piccola icona per attivare lo slideshow: sulla facciata principale del photostream, in alto a destra c'è un piccolo rettangolo (rappresenta il monitor) con dentro un piccolo triangolo nero;

 

Qi Bo's photos on Fluidr

  

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www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...

  

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"U sciccareddu", from the Sicilian "the little donkey", is a pyrotechnical-animal mask, once present in many village feasts in the Messina area, today it is found only in a limited number of centers, among these is the town of Casalvecchio Siculo , a small town in the hinterland in which there is another animal figure, that of the "camiddu", in Sicilian "camel", and of his camel driver (see a photographic story of mine made earlier in this regard). The feast of the "sciccareddu-little donkey" sees a young man of the village wearing a metal supporting structure, on which takes place a whole series of fireworks: this represents with no little imagination the donkey (this year it was the "Camel driver" of the "camiddu-camel"feast which is always celebrated in Casalvecchio); the young man who carries this metal castle on himself, protects himself abundantly from pyrotechnic fires, which form "crazy wheels" in correspondence with the "four limbs", pyrotechnic fires that involve symbolic-ritual suggestions of ambiguous meaning, is the life against death, the light against darkness, the fear and the desire to challenge it, without ever forgetting the horrifying-ancestral aspect of the "beast", which represents the dark unknown evil, which always hovers over people's lives. There are those who have hypothesized that this asinello-monstrous-orrify is a very meek animal too, once very common and omnipresent in the Sicilian districts, so that the fears that it could generate are simultaneously suppressed by being a well-known animal and very meek.

This "sciccareddu-little donkey" with its load of pyrotechnic-crazy fires-bengal fires, and other crackling devilries, challenges and is challenged by all present, young and old coming also from far away, there is who looks but remaining well sheltered, many others instead challenge him, as in a bloodless bullfight, where some unlucky person can receive a few small burns (like myself, who found himself with some small burns in his legs, and a lens-protection filter, it was almost melted-burned in several points, now useless, but withe the lens without problems.....! :o)) .......).

  

“u sciccareddu”, dal siciliano “l’asinello”, è una maschera pirotecnica-animalesca, un tempo presente in molte feste paesane del territorio messinese, oggi la si ritrova solo in un numero limitato di centri, tra questi il paese di Casalvecchio Siculo, piccolo centro dell’entroterra nel quale si trova un’altra figura animalesca, quella del “camiddu”, in siciliano “cammello”, e del suo cammelliere (vedi un mio racconto fotografico fatto in precedenza in merito). La festa dello “sciccareddu-asinello” vede un giovane del paese indossare una struttura portante in metallo, sulla quale prende posto tutta una serie di giochi pirotecnici: questo rappresenta con non poca fantasia l’asinello (quest’anno a dargli vita è stato il “cammelliere” della festa del “camiddu-cammello” che si festeggia sempre a Casalvecchio); il giovane che porta su di se tale castello in metallo, si protegge abbondantemente dai fuochi pirotecnici, che formano delle “ruote pazze” in corrispondenza dei “quattro arti”, fuochi pirotecnici che comportano suggestioni simbolico-rituali dal significato ambiguo, è a vita contro la morte, la luce contro le tenebre, la paura e la voglia di sfidarla, senza mai dimenticare l’aspetto orrifico-ancestrale della “bestia”, che rappresenta l’oscuro ignoto male, che aleggia sempre sulla vita delle persone. C’è chi ha ipotizzato che tale asinello-mostruoso-orrifico è pur sempre un animale molto docile, un tempo comunissimo e onnipresente nelle contrade siciliane, per cui le paure che esso potrebbe generare sono contemporaneamente soppresse dall’essere un animale ben conosciuto ed in definitiva molto docile.

Tale “sciccareddu-asinello” col suo carico di fuochi pirotecnici-girandole pazze-bengala, ed altre diavolerie scoppiettanti, sfida e viene sfidato da tutti i presenti, giovani e meno giovani provenienti anche da lontano, c’è che vuole assitere rimanendo però bene al riparo, molti altri invece lo sfidano, come in una corrida incruenta, dove qualche malcapitato può rimediare qualche piccola bruciatura (come il sottoscritto, che si è ritrovato con qualche piccola bruciatura alle gambe, ed un filtro proteggi-obiettivo che, me ne accorsi successivamente, era quasi fuso-bruciato in più punti, oramai inservibile, con l’obiettivo però salvo….! :o)) …).

  

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"U sciccareddu", from the Sicilian "the little donkey", is a pyrotechnical-animal mask, once present in many village feasts in the Messina area, today it is found only in a limited number of centers, among these is the town of Casalvecchio Siculo , a small town in the hinterland in which there is another animal figure, that of the "camiddu", in Sicilian "camel", and of his camel driver (see a photographic story of mine made earlier in this regard). The feast of the "sciccareddu-little donkey" sees a young man of the village wearing a metal supporting structure, on which takes place a whole series of fireworks: this represents with no little imagination the donkey (this year it was the "Camel driver" of the "camiddu-camel"feast which is always celebrated in Casalvecchio); the young man who carries this metal castle on himself, protects himself abundantly from pyrotechnic fires, which form "crazy wheels" in correspondence with the "four limbs", pyrotechnic fires that involve symbolic-ritual suggestions of ambiguous meaning, is the life against death, the light against darkness, the fear and the desire to challenge it, without ever forgetting the horrifying-ancestral aspect of the "beast", which represents the dark unknown evil, which always hovers over people's lives. There are those who have hypothesized that this asinello-monstrous-orrify is a very meek animal too, once very common and omnipresent in the Sicilian districts, so that the fears that it could generate are simultaneously suppressed by being a well-known animal and very meek.

This "sciccareddu-little donkey" with its load of pyrotechnic-crazy fires-bengal fires, and other crackling devilries, challenges and is challenged by all present, young and old coming also from far away, there is who looks but remaining well sheltered, many others instead challenge him, as in a bloodless bullfight, where some unlucky person can receive a few small burns (like myself, who found himself with some small burns in his legs, and a lens-protection filter, it was almost melted-burned in several points, now useless, but withe the lens without problems.....! :o)) .......).

  

“u sciccareddu”, dal siciliano “l’asinello”, è una maschera pirotecnica-animalesca, un tempo presente in molte feste paesane del territorio messinese, oggi la si ritrova solo in un numero limitato di centri, tra questi il paese di Casalvecchio Siculo, piccolo centro dell’entroterra nel quale si trova un’altra figura animalesca, quella del “camiddu”, in siciliano “cammello”, e del suo cammelliere (vedi un mio racconto fotografico fatto in precedenza in merito). La festa dello “sciccareddu-asinello” vede un giovane del paese indossare una struttura portante in metallo, sulla quale prende posto tutta una serie di giochi pirotecnici: questo rappresenta con non poca fantasia l’asinello (quest’anno a dargli vita è stato il “cammelliere” della festa del “camiddu-cammello” che si festeggia sempre a Casalvecchio); il giovane che porta su di se tale castello in metallo, si protegge abbondantemente dai fuochi pirotecnici, che formano delle “ruote pazze” in corrispondenza dei “quattro arti”, fuochi pirotecnici che comportano suggestioni simbolico-rituali dal significato ambiguo, è a vita contro la morte, la luce contro le tenebre, la paura e la voglia di sfidarla, senza mai dimenticare l’aspetto orrifico-ancestrale della “bestia”, che rappresenta l’oscuro ignoto male, che aleggia sempre sulla vita delle persone. C’è chi ha ipotizzato che tale asinello-mostruoso-orrifico è pur sempre un animale molto docile, un tempo comunissimo e onnipresente nelle contrade siciliane, per cui le paure che esso potrebbe generare sono contemporaneamente soppresse dall’essere un animale ben conosciuto ed in definitiva molto docile.

Tale “sciccareddu-asinello” col suo carico di fuochi pirotecnici-girandole pazze-bengala, ed altre diavolerie scoppiettanti, sfida e viene sfidato da tutti i presenti, giovani e meno giovani provenienti anche da lontano, c’è che vuole assitere rimanendo però bene al riparo, molti altri invece lo sfidano, come in una corrida incruenta, dove qualche malcapitato può rimediare qualche piccola bruciatura (come il sottoscritto, che si è ritrovato con qualche piccola bruciatura alle gambe, ed un filtro proteggi-obiettivo che, me ne accorsi successivamente, era quasi fuso-bruciato in più punti, oramai inservibile, con l’obiettivo però salvo….! :o)) …).

  

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click to activate the icon of slideshow: the small triangle inscribed in the small rectangle, at the top right, in the photostream;

 

clicca sulla piccola icona per attivare lo slideshow: sulla facciata principale del photostream, in alto a destra c'è un piccolo rettangolo (rappresenta il monitor) con dentro un piccolo triangolo nero;

 

Qi Bo's photos on Fluidr

  

Qi Bo's photos on Flickriver

  

Qi Bo's photos on Flickr Hive Mind

  

www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...

  

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"U sciccareddu", from the Sicilian "the little donkey", is a pyrotechnical-animal mask, once present in many village feasts in the Messina area, today it is found only in a limited number of centers, among these is the town of Casalvecchio Siculo , a small town in the hinterland in which there is another animal figure, that of the "camiddu", in Sicilian "camel", and of his camel driver (see a photographic story of mine made earlier in this regard). The feast of the "sciccareddu-little donkey" sees a young man of the village wearing a metal supporting structure, on which takes place a whole series of fireworks: this represents with no little imagination the donkey (this year it was the "Camel driver" of the "camiddu-camel"feast which is always celebrated in Casalvecchio); the young man who carries this metal castle on himself, protects himself abundantly from pyrotechnic fires, which form "crazy wheels" in correspondence with the "four limbs", pyrotechnic fires that involve symbolic-ritual suggestions of ambiguous meaning, is the life against death, the light against darkness, the fear and the desire to challenge it, without ever forgetting the horrifying-ancestral aspect of the "beast", which represents the dark unknown evil, which always hovers over people's lives. There are those who have hypothesized that this asinello-monstrous-orrify is a very meek animal too, once very common and omnipresent in the Sicilian districts, so that the fears that it could generate are simultaneously suppressed by being a well-known animal and very meek.

This "sciccareddu-little donkey" with its load of pyrotechnic-crazy fires-bengal fires, and other crackling devilries, challenges and is challenged by all present, young and old coming also from far away, there is who looks but remaining well sheltered, many others instead challenge him, as in a bloodless bullfight, where some unlucky person can receive a few small burns (like myself, who found himself with some small burns in his legs, and a lens-protection filter, it was almost melted-burned in several points, now useless, but withe the lens without problems.....! :o)) .......).

  

“u sciccareddu”, dal siciliano “l’asinello”, è una maschera pirotecnica-animalesca, un tempo presente in molte feste paesane del territorio messinese, oggi la si ritrova solo in un numero limitato di centri, tra questi il paese di Casalvecchio Siculo, piccolo centro dell’entroterra nel quale si trova un’altra figura animalesca, quella del “camiddu”, in siciliano “cammello”, e del suo cammelliere (vedi un mio racconto fotografico fatto in precedenza in merito). La festa dello “sciccareddu-asinello” vede un giovane del paese indossare una struttura portante in metallo, sulla quale prende posto tutta una serie di giochi pirotecnici: questo rappresenta con non poca fantasia l’asinello (quest’anno a dargli vita è stato il “cammelliere” della festa del “camiddu-cammello” che si festeggia sempre a Casalvecchio); il giovane che porta su di se tale castello in metallo, si protegge abbondantemente dai fuochi pirotecnici, che formano delle “ruote pazze” in corrispondenza dei “quattro arti”, fuochi pirotecnici che comportano suggestioni simbolico-rituali dal significato ambiguo, è a vita contro la morte, la luce contro le tenebre, la paura e la voglia di sfidarla, senza mai dimenticare l’aspetto orrifico-ancestrale della “bestia”, che rappresenta l’oscuro ignoto male, che aleggia sempre sulla vita delle persone. C’è chi ha ipotizzato che tale asinello-mostruoso-orrifico è pur sempre un animale molto docile, un tempo comunissimo e onnipresente nelle contrade siciliane, per cui le paure che esso potrebbe generare sono contemporaneamente soppresse dall’essere un animale ben conosciuto ed in definitiva molto docile.

Tale “sciccareddu-asinello” col suo carico di fuochi pirotecnici-girandole pazze-bengala, ed altre diavolerie scoppiettanti, sfida e viene sfidato da tutti i presenti, giovani e meno giovani provenienti anche da lontano, c’è che vuole assitere rimanendo però bene al riparo, molti altri invece lo sfidano, come in una corrida incruenta, dove qualche malcapitato può rimediare qualche piccola bruciatura (come il sottoscritto, che si è ritrovato con qualche piccola bruciatura alle gambe, ed un filtro proteggi-obiettivo che, me ne accorsi successivamente, era quasi fuso-bruciato in più punti, oramai inservibile, con l’obiettivo però salvo….! :o)) …).

  

Ludford Bridge and The Charlton Arms at Ludlow, Shropshire.

 

The Battle of Ludford Bridge was a largely bloodless battle fought in the early years of the Wars of the Roses. It took place on 12 October 1459, and resulted in a setback for the Yorkists. Although this seemed to be a triumph for the rival Lancastrians at the time, they had thrown away their advantage within six months.

 

Richard retreated towards Ludlow, before making a stand at a fortified position near Ludford, Shropshire on 12 October. His troops excavated a defensive ditch in a field on the opposite side of the River Teme from Ludlow, near the bridge which gave the battle its name. They also constructed barricades of carts in which cannon were emplaced. However, morale was low, not least because the royal standard could be seen flying in the Lancastrian army, and it was known that King Henry himself was present, in full armour. For much of his reign, Henry had been regarded as an ineffectual ruler, and he had even lapsed into madness for periods of several months at a time. Richard of York and his supporters had maintained that they were opposed only to Henry's "evil counsellors". Now they realised that their army would probably refuse to fight against Henry himself.[6]

 

Among the troops brought by Warwick from Calais were 600 men led by Andrew Trollope, an experienced soldier. During the night, Trollope and his men and others from the Yorkist forces defected to the Lancastrians.[7] Giving the impression of returning to Ludlow for the night, York, Salisbury and Warwick abandoned their armies and fled.[8] York, with his second son Edmund, Earl of Rutland, fled into Wales, and from there to Ireland. Salisbury, Warwick and York's eldest son Edward, Earl of March went to the West Country where a supporter, Sir John Dynham, loaned them a boat which took them to Calais, where the garrison still supported Warwick.[9]

 

At dawn on 13 October, the leaderless Yorkist troops knelt in submission before Henry, and were pardoned. York had abandoned not only his troops but also his wife Cecily Neville, Duchess of York, his two younger sons George and Richard and his youngest daughter Margaret, who were found standing at the Ludlow Market Cross when the Lancastrians arrived. They were placed in the care of the Duchess's sister Anne, wife of Humphrey Stafford, 1st Duke of Buckingham, one of Margaret's supporters. The Lancastrian troops proceeded to plunder Ludlow, becoming drunk on looted wine and committing many outrages.[

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Ludford_Bridge

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click to activate the icon of slideshow: the small triangle inscribed in the small rectangle, at the top right, in the photostream;

 

clicca sulla piccola icona per attivare lo slideshow: sulla facciata principale del photostream, in alto a destra c'è un piccolo rettangolo (rappresenta il monitor) con dentro un piccolo triangolo nero;

 

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www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...

  

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"U sciccareddu", from the Sicilian "the little donkey", is a pyrotechnical-animal mask, once present in many village feasts in the Messina area, today it is found only in a limited number of centers, among these is the town of Casalvecchio Siculo , a small town in the hinterland in which there is another animal figure, that of the "camiddu", in Sicilian "camel", and of his camel driver (see a photographic story of mine made earlier in this regard). The feast of the "sciccareddu-little donkey" sees a young man of the village wearing a metal supporting structure, on which takes place a whole series of fireworks: this represents with no little imagination the donkey (this year it was the "Camel driver" of the "camiddu-camel"feast which is always celebrated in Casalvecchio); the young man who carries this metal castle on himself, protects himself abundantly from pyrotechnic fires, which form "crazy wheels" in correspondence with the "four limbs", pyrotechnic fires that involve symbolic-ritual suggestions of ambiguous meaning, is the life against death, the light against darkness, the fear and the desire to challenge it, without ever forgetting the horrifying-ancestral aspect of the "beast", which represents the dark unknown evil, which always hovers over people's lives. There are those who have hypothesized that this asinello-monstrous-orrify is a very meek animal too, once very common and omnipresent in the Sicilian districts, so that the fears that it could generate are simultaneously suppressed by being a well-known animal and very meek.

This "sciccareddu-little donkey" with its load of pyrotechnic-crazy fires-bengal fires, and other crackling devilries, challenges and is challenged by all present, young and old coming also from far away, there is who looks but remaining well sheltered, many others instead challenge him, as in a bloodless bullfight, where some unlucky person can receive a few small burns (like myself, who found himself with some small burns in his legs, and a lens-protection filter, it was almost melted-burned in several points, now useless, but withe the lens without problems.....! :o)) .......).

  

“u sciccareddu”, dal siciliano “l’asinello”, è una maschera pirotecnica-animalesca, un tempo presente in molte feste paesane del territorio messinese, oggi la si ritrova solo in un numero limitato di centri, tra questi il paese di Casalvecchio Siculo, piccolo centro dell’entroterra nel quale si trova un’altra figura animalesca, quella del “camiddu”, in siciliano “cammello”, e del suo cammelliere (vedi un mio racconto fotografico fatto in precedenza in merito). La festa dello “sciccareddu-asinello” vede un giovane del paese indossare una struttura portante in metallo, sulla quale prende posto tutta una serie di giochi pirotecnici: questo rappresenta con non poca fantasia l’asinello (quest’anno a dargli vita è stato il “cammelliere” della festa del “camiddu-cammello” che si festeggia sempre a Casalvecchio); il giovane che porta su di se tale castello in metallo, si protegge abbondantemente dai fuochi pirotecnici, che formano delle “ruote pazze” in corrispondenza dei “quattro arti”, fuochi pirotecnici che comportano suggestioni simbolico-rituali dal significato ambiguo, è a vita contro la morte, la luce contro le tenebre, la paura e la voglia di sfidarla, senza mai dimenticare l’aspetto orrifico-ancestrale della “bestia”, che rappresenta l’oscuro ignoto male, che aleggia sempre sulla vita delle persone. C’è chi ha ipotizzato che tale asinello-mostruoso-orrifico è pur sempre un animale molto docile, un tempo comunissimo e onnipresente nelle contrade siciliane, per cui le paure che esso potrebbe generare sono contemporaneamente soppresse dall’essere un animale ben conosciuto ed in definitiva molto docile.

Tale “sciccareddu-asinello” col suo carico di fuochi pirotecnici-girandole pazze-bengala, ed altre diavolerie scoppiettanti, sfida e viene sfidato da tutti i presenti, giovani e meno giovani provenienti anche da lontano, c’è che vuole assitere rimanendo però bene al riparo, molti altri invece lo sfidano, come in una corrida incruenta, dove qualche malcapitato può rimediare qualche piccola bruciatura (come il sottoscritto, che si è ritrovato con qualche piccola bruciatura alle gambe, ed un filtro proteggi-obiettivo che, me ne accorsi successivamente, era quasi fuso-bruciato in più punti, oramai inservibile, con l’obiettivo però salvo….! :o)) …).

  

Grote Markt (Great Market Place) with Sint-Bavokerk (St Bavo Church) and Vleeshal (Meat Hall), Haarlem, Noord-Holland (North Holland), Netherlands

 

Some background information:

 

Sint-Bavokerk, which is also known as Grote Kerk) is a Protestant church and former Catholic cathedral located on the central market square in the Dutch city of Haarlem. It is built in the Gothic style. The church is an important landmark for Haarlem and has dominated the city’s skyline for centuries. Nowadays another Haarlem church called the Cathedral of Saint Bavo serves as the main cathedral for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Haarlem-Amsterdam.

 

A church at the same spot was first mentioned in 1307, but its wooden structure already burned down in the course of the 14th century. In 1479 the reconstruction of the church began and at some time still before 1500 it was dedicated to Saint Bavo, who is also the patron saint of the Belgian city of Ghent. In 1559 the church was consecrated as a Catholic cathedral. But the consecration already happened during a period known as the Protestant Reformation. So only 19 years later, in 1578, Sint Bavo Cathedral was converted to Protestantism. That’s why the term “Catholic” was never really associated with this church.

 

For static reasons the middle tower of the church is made from wood, but covered with lead shingles. A huge sandstone steeple was also planned and even built, but due to an overload of its primary pillars it was again demolished between 1514 and 1517. However this sandstone steeple was recycled, so to say, as in 1520 it became the belfry of the nearby Bakenesserkerk.

 

Until 1831 burials were hold in the church interior and the dead were buried under the interior’s stone floor. Among others the famous Haarlem painter Frans Hals is buried in Sint Bavokerk. Many old stony grave slabs, which form the interior floor, still bear witness to this former practice.

 

With its population of more than 150,000 residents he city of Haarlem is the capital of the Dutch province of Noord-Holland. It is situated at the northern edge of the Randstad, one of the most populated metropolitan areas in Europe. The Randstad consists of the four larger cities Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht plus their surrounding areas. Haarlem itself is located on the river Spaame just 20 km (12 miles) west of the Dutch capital Amsterdam and near the coastal dunes.

 

The first mentioning of Haarlem dates from the 10th century. The town developed from a little heathland settlement at the north-south route in the back country of the North Sea coast. The settlement lay on a thin strip of land above sea level known as the strandwal (beach ridge), which connected Leiden to Alkmaar. The people on this narrow strip of land struggled against the waters of the North Sea from the west, and the waters of the IJ and the Haarlem Lake from the east. However Haarlem became wealthy, because of the toll revenues which were collected from ships and travellers moving on this busy north-south route.

 

In 1219 the knights of Haarlem were honoured by Count Willem I, because they had conquered the Egyptian port of Damietta in the 5th crusade. At that time Haarlem had already become the residence of the Counts of Holland. In 1245 the growing town was granted city status, although the first city walls were not built until 1270 after a siege from the surrounding area of Kennemerland. Most likely these first walls were just earthen walls with wooden gates.

 

In 1304 the Flemish threatened the city, but they were defeated by Witte van Haemstede at Manpad. In 1328 nearly the whole city burnt down, as all the buildings were made of wood. Two more large firestorms happened in 1347 and 1351. Despite these three firestorms the city expanded in the 14th century and after every fire the city was rebuilt quickly. As the old defenses proved not to be sufficiently strong for the city’s expansion, a 16 ½-metre high wall was built at the end of the 14th century, complete with a 15-metre wide canal circling the urban area.

 

In 1381 the Black Death came to Haarlem. The disease killed roughly 5,000 people, about half the population at that time. But the town revived quickly again. At the beginning of the 15th century Haarlem had already become the second largest city in Holland, after Dordrecht but before Delft, Leiden, Amsterdam, Gouda and Rotterdam. At the end of the Middle Ages Haarlem was a flourishing community with a large textile industry, shipyards and beer breweries.

 

On 11th December 1572 the Spanish army put Haarlem under siege. After seven months of siege the city finally surrendered on 13th July 1573. Many soldiers of the army that defended the city were slaughtered while governor Ripperda, who had commanded the city’s defenses, was beheaded. In 1576 Haarlem suffered another large fire. As the combined result of the siege and the fire, about a third of the city was destroyed.

 

To restore the economy and attract workers for the brewing and bleaching businesses, the Haarlem council decided to promote the pursuit of arts and history, showing tolerance for diversity among religious beliefs. This attracted a large influx of Flemish and French immigrants (Catholics and Hugenots alike) who were fleeing the Spanish occupation of their own cities. These new citizens had a lot of expertise in linen and silk manufacture as well as trading. Haarlem’s golden age had begun and the city's population grew from 18,000 in 1573 to around 40,000 in 1622.

 

In the 17th century two new canals were dug, a new defensive wall was constructed and Haarlem expanded northwards. Even the idea that a city has to be square-shaped was abandoned. Haarlem also became a major trading centre for tulips, and it was at the epicentre during tulip mania, when outrageous prices were paid for tulip bulbs.

 

In the 18th century Haarlem’s decline began as the centre of trade gravitated towards Amsterdam. The golden age had created a large upper middle class of merchants and well-to-do small business owners. Many of these people now had a business address in Amsterdam and a weekend or summer home in Haarlem. That’s why Haarlem became more and more a bedroom community.

 

At the end of the 18th century a number of anti-Orange commissions were founded. On 18th January 1795 the "Staatse" army was defeated near Woerden. During the night preceding the 19th, the various commissions gathered and implemented a revolution. The commissions changed the city's administrators in a bloodless rebellion, and the next morning the city was 'liberated' of the tyranny of the House of Orange. The revolution was peaceful and the Orange-loyal people were not harmed. The Batavian Republic was then proclaimed.

 

The French army entered the liberated city two days later, on the 20th January. 1,500 soldiers were provided with food and clothing by the citizens. The new national government was strongly centralised, and the role and influence of the cities was reduced. The Batavian Republic had signed a mutual defense pact with France, and was thus automatically at war with England. The strong English presence at sea severely reduced the trading opportunities and the Dutch economy suffered accordingly.

 

In 1815 the United Kingdom of the Netherlands was founded. In the 19th and 20th century the city of Haarlem expanded once again. In 1839 the first train service in the Netherlands started and between 1879 and 1927 a few municipalities and districts in the neighbourhood were incorporated. Today Haarlem is a lively community, which, it is true, is overshadowed by the capital Amsterdam, but has plenty to offer to its residents and visitors alike. Haarlem’s beautiful old town and its nice shopping streets make a stroll through the city a great pleasure, where there’s a lot to spot.

 

By the way, the New York district of Harlem also derives its name from the city of Haarlem, but that’s another story, which has to be told elsewhere. ;-)

Ornament of a grave slab on the floor of Sint-Bavokerk (St Bavo Church), Haarlem, Noord-Holland (North Holland) Netherlands

 

Some background information:

 

Sint-Bavokerk, which is also known as Grote Kerk) is a Protestant church and former Catholic cathedral located on the central market square in the Dutch city of Haarlem. It is built in the Gothic style. The church is an important landmark for Haarlem and has dominated the city’s skyline for centuries. Nowadays another Haarlem church called the Cathedral of Saint Bavo serves as the main cathedral for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Haarlem-Amsterdam.

 

A church at the same spot was first mentioned in 1307, but its wooden structure already burned down in the course of the 14th century. In 1479 the reconstruction of the church began and at some time still before 1500 it was dedicated to Saint Bavo, who is also the patron saint of the Belgian city of Ghent. In 1559 the church was consecrated as a Catholic cathedral. But the consecration already happened during a period known as the Protestant Reformation. So only 19 years later, in 1578, Sint Bavo Cathedral was converted to Protestantism. That’s why the term “Catholic” was never really associated with this church.

 

For static reasons the middle tower of the church is made from wood, but covered with lead shingles. A huge sandstone steeple was also planned and even built, but due to an overload of its primary pillars it was again demolished between 1514 and 1517. However this sandstone steeple was recycled, so to say, as in 1520 it became the belfry of the nearby Bakenesserkerk.

 

Until 1831 burials were hold in the church interior and the dead were buried under the interior’s stone floor. Among others the famous Haarlem painter Frans Hals is buried in Sint Bavokerk. Many old stony grave slabs, which form the interior floor, still bear witness to this former practice.

 

With its population of more than 150,000 residents he city of Haarlem is the capital of the Dutch province of Noord-Holland. It is situated at the northern edge of the Randstad, one of the most populated metropolitan areas in Europe. The Randstad consists of the four larger cities Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht plus their surrounding areas. Haarlem itself is located on the river Spaame just 20 km (12 miles) west of the Dutch capital Amsterdam and near the coastal dunes.

 

The first mentioning of Haarlem dates from the 10th century. The town developed from a little heathland settlement at the north-south route in the back country of the North Sea coast. The settlement lay on a thin strip of land above sea level known as the strandwal (beach ridge), which connected Leiden to Alkmaar. The people on this narrow strip of land struggled against the waters of the North Sea from the west, and the waters of the IJ and the Haarlem Lake from the east. However Haarlem became wealthy, because of the toll revenues which were collected from ships and travellers moving on this busy north-south route.

 

In 1219 the knights of Haarlem were honoured by Count Willem I, because they had conquered the Egyptian port of Damietta in the 5th crusade. At that time Haarlem had already become the residence of the Counts of Holland. In 1245 the growing town was granted city status, although the first city walls were not built until 1270 after a siege from the surrounding area of Kennemerland. Most likely these first walls were just earthen walls with wooden gates.

 

In 1304 the Flemish threatened the city, but they were defeated by Witte van Haemstede at Manpad. In 1328 nearly the whole city burnt down, as all the buildings were made of wood. Two more large firestorms happened in 1347 and 1351. Despite these three firestorms the city expanded in the 14th century and after every fire the city was rebuilt quickly. As the old defenses proved not to be sufficiently strong for the city’s expansion, a 16 ½-metre high wall was built at the end of the 14th century, complete with a 15-metre wide canal circling the urban area.

 

In 1381 the Black Death came to Haarlem. The disease killed roughly 5,000 people, about half the population at that time. But the town revived quickly again. At the beginning of the 15th century Haarlem had already become the second largest city in Holland, after Dordrecht but before Delft, Leiden, Amsterdam, Gouda and Rotterdam. At the end of the Middle Ages Haarlem was a flourishing community with a large textile industry, shipyards and beer breweries.

 

On 11th December 1572 the Spanish army put Haarlem under siege. After seven months of siege the city finally surrendered on 13th July 1573. Many soldiers of the army that defended the city were slaughtered while governor Ripperda, who had commanded the city’s defenses, was beheaded. In 1576 Haarlem suffered another large fire. As the combined result of the siege and the fire, about a third of the city was destroyed.

 

To restore the economy and attract workers for the brewing and bleaching businesses, the Haarlem council decided to promote the pursuit of arts and history, showing tolerance for diversity among religious beliefs. This attracted a large influx of Flemish and French immigrants (Catholics and Hugenots alike) who were fleeing the Spanish occupation of their own cities. These new citizens had a lot of expertise in linen and silk manufacture as well as trading. Haarlem’s golden age had begun and the city's population grew from 18,000 in 1573 to around 40,000 in 1622.

 

In the 17th century two new canals were dug, a new defensive wall was constructed and Haarlem expanded northwards. Even the idea that a city has to be square-shaped was abandoned. Haarlem also became a major trading centre for tulips, and it was at the epicentre during tulip mania, when outrageous prices were paid for tulip bulbs.

 

In the 18th century Haarlem’s decline began as the centre of trade gravitated towards Amsterdam. The golden age had created a large upper middle class of merchants and well-to-do small business owners. Many of these people now had a business address in Amsterdam and a weekend or summer home in Haarlem. That’s why Haarlem became more and more a bedroom community.

 

At the end of the 18th century a number of anti-Orange commissions were founded. On 18th January 1795 the "Staatse" army was defeated near Woerden. During the night preceding the 19th, the various commissions gathered and implemented a revolution. The commissions changed the city's administrators in a bloodless rebellion, and the next morning the city was 'liberated' of the tyranny of the House of Orange. The revolution was peaceful and the Orange-loyal people were not harmed. The Batavian Republic was then proclaimed.

 

The French army entered the liberated city two days later, on the 20th January. 1,500 soldiers were provided with food and clothing by the citizens. The new national government was strongly centralised, and the role and influence of the cities was reduced. The Batavian Republic had signed a mutual defense pact with France, and was thus automatically at war with England. The strong English presence at sea severely reduced the trading opportunities and the Dutch economy suffered accordingly.

 

In 1815 the United Kingdom of the Netherlands was founded. In the 19th and 20th century the city of Haarlem expanded once again. In 1839 the first train service in the Netherlands started and between 1879 and 1927 a few municipalities and districts in the neighbourhood were incorporated. Today Haarlem is a lively community, which, it is true, is overshadowed by the capital Amsterdam, but has plenty to offer to its residents and visitors alike. Haarlem’s beautiful old town and its nice shopping streets make a stroll through the city a great pleasure, where there’s a lot to spot.

 

By the way, the New York district of Harlem also derives its name from the city of Haarlem, but that’s another story, which has to be told elsewhere. ;-)

The glory days of the Marcos Era can sometimes be remembered watching all this huge mansion and its interior. This is the main ballroom on what used to be Imelda's big mansion, where the first family often spend their time. How much the president really earn during his tenure -- or how much the first lady spends -- questions that you keep murmuring as you go through this big mansion -- now the government's property.

 

Everywhere you go in this building, its a spectacle of great proportions. Hardwood, antiquity, intricate furniture. Its a shame even that its in the Philippines where right now, there are long lines for people buying rice. I was a little kid when I say Marcos board a US airforce plane -- leaving the country in exile -- forever. I was one of those who shouted so he may go, along with his first family. I was still in my early elementary years then. Looking back, what have we really accomplished? Is having clowns, actors, actresses and trapos at the senate and congress the Philippines' reward for driving out a dictator? Or is it because the Philippines' view of a revolution is directly flawed to start with (if you call it a revolution at all).

 

Something's wrong alright. Its the people. When they revolt, they revolt and the next day they don't remember what happen -- or they try to forget. Guess what. We all got clowns in public office now. Only in the Philippines -- I guess, where people are proud of a "bloodless" revolution. Well, look what you've got. Politicians continue to steal from people's money without fear of being guillotined. Pathetic.

 

Romualdez Museum

Tacloban City

Leyte, Philippines

Lusitano horses are the stars of Golegã fair. and their owners show them around during the five days of the fair. The best places to watch them, often in dressage gaits, is in the Manga and at central ring called Areneiro.

 

“Lusitano is a Portuguese horse breed, closely related to the Spanish Andalusian horse. Both are sometimes called Iberian horses, as the breeds both developed on the Iberian peninsula, and until the 1960s they were considered one breed, under the Andalusian name. Horses were known to be present on the Iberian Peninsula as far back as 20,000 BC, and by 800 BC the region was renowned for its war horses. When the Muslims invaded Iberia in 711 AD, they brought Barb horses with them that were crossed with the native horses, developing a horse that became useful for war, dressage and bull fighting. In 1966, the Portuguese and Spanish stud books split, and the Portuguese strain of the Iberian horse was named the Lusitano, after the word Lusitania, the ancient Roman name for Portugal. There are three main breed lineages within the breed today, and characteristics differ slightly between each line. There is also the Alter Real strain of Lusitano, bred only at the Alter Real State Stud.

 

Lusitanos can be any solid color, although they are generally gray, bay or chestnut. Horses of the Alter Real strain are always bay. Members of the breed are of Baroque type, with convex facial profiles, heavy muscling, intelligent and willing natures, with agile and elevated movement. Originally bred for war, dressage and bullfighting, Lusitanos are still used today in the latter two. They have competed in several Olympics and World Equestrian Games as part of the Portuguese and Spanish dressage teams. They have also made a showing in driving competitions, with a Belgian team of Lusitanos winning multiple international titles. Members of the breed are still used in bloodless bullfighting today, where it is expected that neither horse or bull will be injured.” Wikipedia

 

Day Seven:

 

I've been watching you. I've been watching you for a very long time. And to be honest I think it's time for a change of management. You may consider this a brutal yet bloodless takeover. Look at you, did you really think it would all come to this? I'm afraid this report is getting a tick in the "Could try harder" box.

 

Speaking of boxes, it's time to put you in yours. This is just a temporary takeover. There's so many undone adventures. Oh yes, I can...yeah...well, one man's trail of destruction and bloody body parts is another's worldwide quest for adventure and discovery. Look, I've already discovered you turn a particular shade of red when I squeeze your throat. Squeeze red, no squeeze deathly pale. red, pale, red, pale, red, pale. I wonder if I squeeze hard enough and long enough will your head just pop off or explode like one of those massive plooks.

 

I may have even disgusted myself with that one.

 

But there's nothing to fret about. Have no worries. I'm going to give all of this back to you once I fix it all. I'll put some meaning into it, some heart....or hearts...a great big pile of them. It's not like anyone will ever catch me. But you, however, you better start working on that insanity plea...."It wasn't me it was me."...I mean, there's no judge in the land that wouldn't believe that cast iron declaration of innocence.

 

Now you wait there, I'll be back soon.

 

Orgue de tribune / Gallery organ

Casavant, Opus 1732, 1942/1995

 

4 claviers manuels et pédalier / 4 manuals and pedal

85 jeux / stops, 114 rangs / ranks, 6,186 tuyaux / pipes

Traction électro-pneumatique / Electro-pneumatic action

  

Orgue de choeur / Chancel organ

Compagnie Orgues Canadiennes / Canadian Organ Company, 1915

 

2 claviers et pédalier / 2 manuals and pedal

15 jeux / stops, 15 rangs / ranks

Traction pneumatique-tubulaire / Pneumatic-tubular action

  

[cliquer sur l'image ou ici pour obtenir une version agrandie]

[click on the image or here to obtain a larger picture]

   

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L'église

 

Dès 1811, les habitants du faubourg Saint-Roch obtiennent l'autorisation de bâtir une chapelle. Ravagée par un incendie en 1816, elle est aussitôt reconstruite sur les mêmes plans.

 

La paroisse Saint-Roch, première paroisse à être détachée de celle de Notre-Dame de Québec, est érigée canoniquement en 1829. On entreprend à cette occasion l'aménagement intérieur de l'église selon les plans de Thomas Baillairgé. En raison du nombre croissant de fidèles, l'église est agrandie en 1841 par le même architecte et dotée d'une façade monumentale encadrée de deux tours. À peine quatre ans plus tard, l'édifice est anéanti dans l'incendie qui dévaste le faubourg.

 

On reconstruit l'église sur les mêmes murs, entre 1845 et 1847, mais cette fois la nef est bordée de bas-côtés. Charles Baillairgé, petit-cousin de Thomas, dessine les nouveaux clochers. L'architecture intérieure, avec ses deux étages de galeries latérales, est réalisée de 1848 à 1852 par Louis-Thomas Berlinguet, selon les plans de Raphaël Giroux. Cette église monumentale domine le quartier tout au long de la seconde moitié du XIXe siècle, mais dès 1880 architectes et experts s'accordent à dire qu'il faut la reconstruire. Ce n'est toutefois qu'en 1913 que la paroisse prend la décision de bâtir une église plus vaste et encore plus imposante.

 

La fabrique retient à cette fin les services des architectes Eugène-Michel Talbot et J.-A.-T. Dionne, une firme de Saint-Roch. Ils proposent un style néomédiéval à la nouvelle église, un style qui marie les styles roman et gothique, suivant en cela, les principes du mouvement rationaliste français, inspiré par l'architecture et les restaurations d'Eugène-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc.

 

Le chantier débute en août 1914 par la construction d'un nouveau presbytère. Cet édifice achevé, les travaux du gros oeuvre de l'église commencent l'année suivante, au chevet de l'ancienne église, et s'effectuent en deux phases. On célèbre les premiers offices religieux dans la nouvelle église dès juillet 1917, et la construction de la partie avant s'amorce aussitôt après le démantèlement de l'ancien temple en mai 1918. L'église, longue de 79,5 mètres (261 pieds) et large de 33,3 mètres (109 pieds), comporte une charpente d'acier revêtue de granit sombre extrait des carrières de Rivière-à-Pierre. Elle est surmontée de deux tours qui atteignent 45 mètres (147 pieds) de hauteur. Malgré le décès de l'architecte Talbot, puis de l'entrepreneur, et en dépit de la guerre, les travaux progressent. L'église est livrée au culte en avril 1920, mais vu le coût élevé du chantier, l'intérieur reste inachevé.

 

En 1923, la fabrique fait appel à Louis-Napoléon Audet pour réaliser l'architecture intérieure. Il propose la suppression des grandes galeries latérales prévues dans le projet initial. L'intérieur révèle un espace ample formé de trois nefs de hauteur presque égale. Les murs sont revêtus de pierre peignée, alors que la voûte est recouverte de ciment sur treillis. L'architecte a recours à certains métiers artisanaux: menuiserie fine et sculptée (mobilier), mosaïque (autels), fer forgé (luminaire), et sculpture sur pierre.

 

Le mobilier, réalisé en chêne blanc par l'atelier Joseph Villeneuve et Fils, de Saint-Romuald, a été entièrement dessiné par l'architecte Louis-Napoléon Audet. Les bancs sont installés en 1924 et le mobilier du sanctuaire est mis en place en 1925. Le maître-autel et les autels latéraux en marbre proviennent des ateliers Daprato, de Chicago. La chaire et le banc d'oeuvre, en bois, ont été sculptés en 1934 par Elzéar Filion, suivant les plans de l'architecte. Les verrières ont été fabriquées par la maison Hobbs de Montréal et ont été installées en 1929-1930, période où s'achèvent les travaux à l'intérieur de l'église. On y retrouve aussi quelques tableaux de maîtres.

 

L'église Saint-Roch a perdu de son importance visuelle dans le quartier depuis la construction d'un hôtel sur le terrain avant de l'église et la construction du Mail centre-ville en 1974. Elle a failli ensuite fermer ses portes, faute de paroissiens pour subvenir à ses besoins. C'est finalement en 1984 que l'archevêque de Québec a décidé de maintenir cette paroisse. Avec la démolition partielle du Mail centre-ville en 2000 et le projet de revitalisation du secteur, le monument constitue l'une des pierres d'assise autour desquelles s'organise la réhabilitation du quartier. On y tient plusieurs concerts dont le Festival de musique sacrée de Québec.

 

L'orgue

 

L'orgue de l'église Saint-Roch représente, sans doute au Québec, sinon au Canada, la première expression du mouvement pour l'orgue de facture plus classique. Cet instrument, le plus grand à l'est de Montréal, comprend 85 jeux, dont 20 jeux indépendants à la Pédale et 46 rangs de mixtures et de mutations, pour un total de 6 186 tuyaux; la console est préparée pour un orgue de sanctuaire de 25 jeux (qui n'a jamais été construit). Le devis a été préparé par Marius Cayouette, alors aviseur de la Commission diocésaine de musique sacrée, et Joseph Turgeon, organiste de Saint-Roch, qui en fera l'inauguration le 8 décembre 1943.

 

L'instrument porte la signature de Stephen Stoot, successeur de Claver Casavant à la direction artistique de la maison. Charles Chapais écrit, au sujet de l'orgue :

 

«(…) ce qu'il y a de plus remarquable dans cet instrument, c'est le Récit et surtout la Pédale. Le Récit par sa variété, son homogénéité, sa cohésion, sa solidité et son brillant, enveloppe le reste de l'orgue comme dans un manteau d'une splendeur royale ajoutant à la richesse des autres claviers. Quant à la Pédale (…) elle est remarquable sinon par une puissance imposante, du moins par sa variété, son efficacité et sa clarté. Peu d'orgues sorties des ateliers Casavant offrent à l'organiste une pareille palette où s'étalent les couleurs les plus chaudes comme les plus diverses et les plus brillantes. (…) Les pièces classiques exécutées sur les orgues de Saint-Roch auront un caractère de distinction qui réjouira les vrais musiciens».

Georges Bertrand, représentant de Casavant Frères à Québec à cette période ajoutera :

 

«(…) laissez-moi vous dire que c'est un devis complètement différent des nôtres. Il y entre des noms de jeux dont je n'avais encore jamais entendu parler».

L'orgue n'a pourtant pas fait l'unanimité lors de son installation : on lui reproche principalement de n'être pas assez puissant pour l'immensité du vaisseau de l'église. Le curé de la paroisse, l'abbé Joseph Ferland, bien que se disant satisfait, regrette de ne pas avoir laisser au facteur le soin de préparer lui-même le devis et de déterminer les différents paramètres de sa construction.

 

Dans la période 1994-1995, la maison Casavant a entrepris une restauration et une réharmonisation complète de l'instrument dans le but de mettre pleinement en valeur son potentiel sonore. L'approche retenue permet non seulement de tirer le meilleur parti des excellents matériaux qui composent l'orgue mais également d'assurer la sauvegarde du plus grand instrument sorti des ateliers Casavant dans les années 1940.

 

Simon Couture

Casavant Frères

    

Historique

 

Cet historique a été rédigé par Richard Gagné, en 1975, alors organiste titulaire de l'orgue de Saint-Roch, dans le cadre d'un thèse de musicologie présentée lors du Concours d'histoire de la musique et de musicologie au Conservatoire de musique de Québec.

Lorsqu'on évoque l'histoire de la paroisse St-Roch de Québec, il est nécessaire de se rappeler la construction de quatre églises successives : 1811, 1816, 1845, et 1915.

 

Bien qu'une lettre de Mgr. J. Octave Plessis, évêque de Québec, recommandât de prévoir lors de la reconstruction de l'église en 1816, l'installation d'un orgue, il semble que la fabrique n'ait fait l'acquisition de son premier instrument qu'en 1850; les archives ne fournissant aucun renseignement sur l'existence de claviers avant cette date. Pour justifier notre hypothèse, il nous suffit de rappeler que les organiers québécois étaient plutôt rares à cette époque.

 

Premier orgue

 

Ainsi, peu de temps après la construction de la troisième église, il fut convenu par l'abbé Zéphirin Charest (curé de 1839 à 1875), de marchander l'orgue de la cathédrale anglicane de Québec. Cet instrument, issu des ateliers du facteur anglais Thomas Eliott avait été acquis en même temps que l'ancien orgue de la Basilique de Québec qu'on retrouve aujourd'hui au musée provincial 1.

 

Ces démarches n'engendrèrent cependant aucun résultat puisque nous lisons quelques temps plus tard dans les procès-verbaux des réunions de marguilliers :

 

«… Résolu d'allouer quarante louis à sieur Fay pour avoir placer l'orgue dans l'église, et le trésorier est autorisé à payer cette somme».

Auguste Fay dont il est ici question, avait ses ateliers à Sainte-Geneviève-de-Bastiscan. Les orgues installées durant cette période à Sainte-Geneviève-de-Batiscan (1838), à Sainte-Marie-de-Beauce, à l'Hôpital Général (1840-41) et chez les Ursulines de Trois-Rivières, lui sont attribuées. Comme la plupart des facteurs d'orgues de l'époque, Fay importait son matériel : Schiedmayer (de Stuttgart), Smith (de Boston) et Willis (de Londres) étaient avec quelques autres firmes de Paris et de Lyon, ses principaux fournisseurs.

 

L'orgue, qu'il disposa dans le chœur de l'église Saint-Roch, provenait de la maison Willis et le buffet fut réalisé par le célèbre sculpteur québécois Louis-Thomas Berlinget (1790-1863) qui était en même temps chargé de la décoration intérieure de l'église. L'inauguration eut lieu le 17 novembre 1850 et «Le Journal de Québec» nous en livre le compte rendu :

 

«Samedi soir, l'église de Saint-Roch était pleine de curieux qui allaient y entendre le magnifique orgue que messieurs les fabriciens de cette paroisse ont tout récemment fait venir de Londres. Cet orgue coûte £500 rendu ici, et le buffet coûtera £90. C'est M. Fée (sic) des Trois-Rivières, qui a monté l'orgue; et il l'a fait de manière à se faire honneur, au dire des connaisseurs et à rendre justice à ceux qui l'ont employé.

 

Cet orgue, qui contient vingt jeux, tous harmonieux et agréables à l'oreille, du plus grave au plus aigu, est un des plus beaux de l'Amérique».

 

Acquis en 1917 par l'abbé Georges Guy, curé de Saint-Louis-de-Kamouraska, il faut restauré par la maison Casavant Frères en 1949 et le chef d'œuvre de Berlinguet eut la bonne fortune d'être conservé.

 

À défaut d'en avoir retrouvé le devis original, nous reproduisons ci-dessous la composition actuelle de cet instrument en marquant d'un astérisque les jeux qui appartenaient au vieil orgue.

 

Grand-orgue

Récit (expressif)

*Montre 8

*Principal 8

Mélodie 8

*Bourdon 8

*Dulciane 8

Viole de gambe 8

*Prestant 4

Voix céleste 8

Flûte bouchée 4

*Violon 4

Nasard 2 2/3

Flûte harmonique 4

*Doublette 2

Cornet III

   

Trompette 8

   

*Hautbois 8

   

Tremolo

  

Pédale

Basse principale 16

*Bourdon 16

Gedeckt 16

Bourdon 8

  

Traction électro-pneumatique

Accouplements à l'unisson, au grave et à l'aigu

 

Étendue des claviers CC à C : 61 notes

Étendue du pédalier CCC à G : 32 notes

En 1915, le chœur de l'ancienne église fut démoli afin de permettre la construction du temple actuel et l'orgue de Fay qui s'y trouvait situé fut probablement entreposé jusqu'en 1917, date où la fabrique de Kamouraska en hérita.

 

Deuxième orgue

 

Au mois de mai de la même année, l'abbé Robert Lagueux (curé de 1910 à 1933) obtint, par l'entremise de l'un de ses paroissiens (Cyrille Robitaille, marchand de musique), un instrument de «La Compagnie d'Orgues Canadiennes» qu'il paya 2 500$. Aménagé d'abord dans l'ancienne église, il fut définitivement installé, deux ans plus tard, dans le nouvel édifice. Relégué quelques années plus tard au sous-sol, il retrouva, en 1967, sa place à l'église supérieure. En dépit de certains troubles de mécaniques dus à son âge avancé, la sonorité de cet orgue en demeure pour le moins particulière.

 

Grand-orgue

Récit (expressif)

Montre 8

Principal 8

Mélodie 8

Bourdon 8

Dulciane 8

Viole de gambe 8

Prestant 4

Voix céleste 8

Flûte harmonique 4

Flûte traverse 4

Trompette 8

Piccolo 2

   

Hautbois 8

   

Tremolo

  

Pédale

Bourdon 16

Flûte 8

  

Traction pneumatique-tubulaire

Accouplements à l'unisson, au grave et à l'aigu

 

Étendue des claviers CC à C : 61 notes

Étendue du pédalier CCC à F : 30 notes

Troisième orgue

 

La fabrique convint alors de louer à 100$ par année un petit orgue de sept jeux, en attendant que sa situation financière puisse lui permettre l'acquisition de grandes orgues «à la taille de l'église». Cet instrument que Joseph Turgeon, l'organiste du temps, qualifiait de «petit monstre» parce qu'il était harmonisé de façon très dure, fut acheté en 1934 au prix de 2 000$ puis cédé pour la somme de 1 200$ neuf ans plus tard aux Pères Assomptionnistes du Montmartre Canadien. Sans doute, le qualificatif de Joseph Turgeon était-il juste puisqu'on s'imagine difficilement la compatibilité d'un si petit orgue avec un tel édifice.

 

Quatrième orgue

 

L'idée d'aménager de grandes orgues dans la nouvelle église de Saint-Roch, avait été envisagée dès la fin des travaux de parachèvement. Aussi, avons-nous retrouvé deux soumissions de «La Compagnie d'Orgues Canadiennes» qui, datant de 1925, proposaient l'installation d'un instrument qui, d'une part aurait coûté 28 000$ pour un devis de 64 jeux et d'autre part aurait coûté 25 000$ pour un devis de 54 jeux.

 

Par la suite, sans doute en raison d'une décision de la fabrique, plusieurs démarches furent entreprises auprès de quelques autres firmes, dont l'une engendra de la part de la maison Kimball, de Chicago, une soumission pour un orgue de 67 jeux qui aurait possédé deux jeux de 32 pieds… un «Gravissima» de 64 pieds!

 

Par ailleurs, nous avons relevé aux archives paroissiales, quatre soumissions de la maison Casavant Frères, datées de 1933, ainsi que plusieurs projets de buffet. Une lettre jointe à ces soumissions nous renseigne quelque peu sur d'autres démarches qui auraient été entreprises antérieurement auprès de cette firme.

 

Il apparaît évident que les administrateurs avaient à cœur la réalisation de ce projet et c'est probablement en raison de l'urgence de travaux prioritaires qu'il dût attendre encore neuf ans son exécution. Si bien qu'après un aussi long mûrissement, une décision unanime fut prise, en 1942, par le curé et les marguilliers :

 

«Le vingt sixième jour de mars de l'an mil neuf cent quarante-deux (…) monsieur le curé déclare que cette assemblée est d'étudier la question de l'opportunité de faire l'acquisition d'un nouvel orgue plus proportionné à notre église. Après avoir sérieusement considéré la situation financière de la fabrique et toutes les circonstances, l'on est d'avis que le temps est arrivé d'avoir un orgue convenable. En conséquence, il est proposé (…) que l'on achète un orgue d'une valeur d'environ trente cinq mille piastres et que monsieur le curé et messieurs les marguilliers du banc soient chargés de faire exécuter ces travaux».

De nouvelles démarches furent alors entreprises auprès de Casavant Frères. Le contrat de vente fut signé le 18 juin 1942 et l'instrument fut inauguré le 8 décembre 1943 par Joseph Turgeon, l'organiste titulaire. Cet orgue de 85 jeux coûta 35 546.75$.

 

Il est très étonnant de prendre connaissance de la composition de cet instrument sachant qu'à l'époque, il n'était à peu près pas question des mixtures composées que nous y rencontrons. En effet, ce devis nous permet de constater que la firme Casavant abordait une période de recherche et de transition qui devait aboutir à la production de haute qualité que nous connaissons aujourd'hui. L'orgue de Saint-Roch demeure toujours un instrument de facture romantique qui manque d'équilibre et de clarté. Les premières tentatives de réduire les pressions ne furent pas concluantes puisque l'harmonie n'a pas établie en conséquence, ce qui rendit cet orgue quelque peu anémique. Aussi, la réalisation sonore de cet instrument ne fut pas accueillie avec beaucoup d'enthousiasme et provoqua une vive déception chez les organistes d'avant-garde.

 

Ajoutons que les grandes orgues de l'église Saint-Roch étaient prévues pour l'installation d'un orgue de chœur additionnel qui aurait pu être joué directement du jubé arrière. Les administrateurs du temps ne jugèrent pas utile d'effectuer ces dépenses supplémentaires de l'ordre de 6 000$.

 

Richard Gagné

Organiste titulaire

 

(1) Cet orgue a été donné au musée provincial du Québec en 1965 où il a été entreposé de 1983 à 1985 pour être ensuite prêté au Conservatoire de musique de Chicoutimi comme orgue de pratique et enfin être retourné, en 1991, d'où il était venu, comme orgue de chœur, à l'église du Gesù à Montréal.

  

[cliquer sur l'image ou ici pour obtenir une version agrandie]

   

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The church

 

In 1811, the people living in St. Roch district were authorized to build a chapel. Burnt down in 1816, it is rebuilt according to the same plans.

 

St. Roch's parish, the first one to be detached from Notre-Dame, was canonically founded in 1829. On that occasion, the interior of the church if finished according to plans drawn by Thomas Bailliargé. Due to the increasins number of parishioners, the church is enlarged in 1841 upon plans by the same architect and the monumental façade is flanked by two towers. Four years later, the church is lost in a fire that destroyed a major part of the district.

 

The church was rebuilt, between 1845 and 1847, using the same walls but this time aisles are added on both sides of the nave. Charles Baillairgé, Thomas' second cousin, draws the plans for the new bell towers. The interior architecture, with its two stories of lateral galleries, is completed between 1858 to 1852 by Louis-homas Berlinguet according to plans prepared by Raphaël Giroux. This monumental church overlooks the neighbourhood for all the second half of the 19th century. But in 1880, architects and experts agree that the church must be rebuilt. But it is only in 1913 that churchwardens will decide to build a larger and more imposing church.

 

Architects Eugène-Michel Talbot and J.-A.-T. Dionne proposed a neo-medieval style church, a style that blends Roman and Gothic styles according to the French rationalist movement, inspired by the architecture and restorations of Eugène-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc.

 

Construction began in August 1914 with the construction of a new rectory. When completed, the construction of the church's shell began the next year with the apse and was carried out in two phases. In July 1917, services were celebrated in the new church and the construction of the front section began as soon as the old buildiing was demolished in May 1918. The church, which is 261 ft long (79,5 m) by 109 ft wide (33,3 m), has a steel framework covered with dark granite quarried from Rivière-à-Pierre. It has two 147-foot (45-meter) high bell towers. In spite of the death of architect Talbot, and then the buildign contractor, and the World War I, work progresses. The church is finished in April 1920 but to cost overruns, the interior remains unfinished.

 

In 1923, the churchwardens commissionned Louis-Napoléon Audet to prepare plans for the interior decor. He proposed the removal of the large lateral galleries included in the original project. The interior reveals a large room with three naves of almost equal height. Walls are covered with combed stone while the vault if covered with cement over wire-mesh. The architect resorted to traditional trades: fine and sculpted woodwork (furniture), mosaics (altars), ornemental iron (lighting), and stone sculpture.

 

The white-oak furniture, built by Joseph Villeneuve & Fils from St. Romuald, was completely designed by architect Louis-Napoléon Audet. While the pews were installed in 1924, the chancel furniture was installed in 1925. The main altar and the lateral altars, all made of marble, were purchased from Daprato in Chicago. The pulpit and the churchwardens' pew were sculpted by Elzéar Filion in 1934. Stained-glass windows were made by Hobbs in Montreal and were installed in 1929-1930, a period when the works on the interior came to a close. There are also masterpiece paintings.

 

St. Roch church lost its visual importance in the neighbourhood when an hotel was built on the land in front of the church and the building of a commercial promenade in 1974. The church was nearly closed due to lack of parishionners. Finally, in 1984, the Archbishop of Québec decided to uphold the parish. With the partial demolition of the promenade in 2000 combined with a revitalization of the area, the church is now one of the cornerstones of the rehabilitation project. Many concerts are held in the church among them Quebec Sacred Music Festival.

 

The organ

 

The organ in St. Roch Church represents, without any doubt in Quebec if not in Canada, the first example of the classical organ reform movement. This 85-stop, 6,186-pipe instrument is the largest organ installed east of Montreal. There are 46 ranks of mixtures and mutations and, to itself, the Pédale boosts 20 independent stops. The console is prepared for a 25-stop chancel organ which has never been built. The stoplist has been prepared by Marius Cayouette, consultant for the Diocesan Commission for Sacred Music, and Joseph Turgeon, then titular organist at St. Roch, who will inaugurate the instrument on December 8, 1943.

 

The instrument bears the signature of Stephen Stoot who was the successor to Claver Casavant as Artistic Director. Charles Chapais wrote the following about the instrument:

 

«(…) what is more remarquable about this instrument is the Récit and particularly the Pédale. The Récit, with its variety, its homogeneity, its cohesion, its sturdiness and its brightness, surrounds the rest of the organ in a royal cape adding to the richness of the other manuals. As for the Pédale (…) it is remarquable if not by its impressive strength, at least by its variety, its efficiency and its brightness. Few Casavant organs offer a similar palette which include such diversified colors ranging from the warmest to the brightest». (…) Classical repertoire played on the St. Roch organ will have a distinctive character which will please the true musicians».

Georges Bertrand, the Quebec Casavant representative at the time will add:

 

«(…) let me tell you that this organ has a stoplist which is completely different from the usual. There are stop names that I have never heard of before».

When installed, the organ was not well received by all: it was blamed for not being powerful enough for the large church. The parish priest, Rev. Joseph Ferland, while being satisfied with the organ, regrets the facts that the organbuilder did not establish the stoplist himself nor set the various production parameters.

 

During the years 1994 and 1995, Casavant Frères carried out a complete rebuilding and revoicing of the instrument in order to bring out its full sound potential. The chosen restoration approach allows to take advantage of the existing excellent materials and insures the protection of the largest Casavant instrument built in the 1940s.

 

Simon Couture

Casavant Frères

    

History

 

This organ history was written by Richard Gagné, in 1975, then titular organist at St. Roch, as a thesis in musicology presented to the Music history and musicology Examination at the Conservatory of Music in Quebec City.

When speaking about the history of the organ in St. Roch Church in Quebec City, it is necessary to remember the existence of four consecutive churches: 1811, 1816, 1845, and 1915.

 

In a letter dated in 1816, Bishop J. Octave Plessis, Bishop of Quebec, recommends that an organ be purchased for the new church being built but it seems that the churchwardens did not buy the first instrument before 1850; parochial archives support this assumption since they are silent concerning the presence of an instrument before that date. As for the reason, there were not many Quebec organbuilders in operation at the time.

 

First Organ

 

Soon after the building of the third church, it was decided that Rev. Zéphirin Charest (parish priest from 1839 to 1875) be authorized to negociate the purchase of the organ installed in the Quebec Anglican Cathedral. The instrument, built by English organbuilder Thomas Eliott, was purchased at the same time as the old organ for Quebec Basilica now in a provincial museum1.

 

No results came out of these negociations because sometimes later the proceedings of the churchwardens meeting state:

 

«… Approved to pay forty louis to Mr. Fay for the installation of the organ in the church, and the treasurer is authorized to pay this amount».

Mr. Fay refers to Auguste Fay whose workshop was located in Ste-Geneviève-de-Bastiscan. During this period, it is believed that he installed organs in Ste-Geneviève-de-Batiscan (1838), in Ste-Marie-de-Beauce, in the General Hospital (1840-41) and in the Ursulines Convent in Trois-Rivières. Like many organbuilders at the time, Fay imported the necessary pipework. His main suppliers were Schiedmayer (from Stuttgart), Smith (from Boston) and Willis (from London) and a few other firms in Paris and Lyon.

 

The organ he installed in the chancel of St-Roch Church was built by Willis while the organ case is the work of the renown Quebec sculptor Louis-Thomas Berlinget (1790-1863) who was also in charge of the interior decoration of the church. The inauguration of the organ took place on November 17, 1850 and the «Journal de Québec» published the following report:

 

«Saturday night, St. Roch Church was filled to capacity with people who came to listen to the magnificient organ recently acquired from London by the churchwardens. This organ costs £500 while the organ case will cost £90. Mr. Fée, from Trois-Rivières, installed the organ in all good faith according to connaisseurs and doing justice to whom hired him.

 

All 20 stops are toneful and pleasant to the ear, from the lowest to the highest pitch. It is one of the finest in America».

 

Purchased in 1917 by Rev. Georges Guy, parish priest of St-Louis-de-Kamouraska, it was restored by Casavant in 1949 and Berlinget's masterpiece was preserved.

 

Unable to locate the original stoplist, the actual stoplist of the instrument appears below. Stops marked with an asterisk are stops belonging to the old instrument.

 

Grand-orgue

Récit (enclosed)

*Montre 8

*Principal 8

Mélodie 8

*Bourdon 8

*Dulciane 8

Viole de gambe 8

*Prestant 4

Voix céleste 8

Flûte bouchée 4

*Violon 4

Nasard 2 2/3

Flûte harmonique 4

*Doublette 2

Cornet III

   

Trompette 8

   

*Hautbois 8

   

Tremolo

  

Pédale

Basse principale 16

*Bourdon 16

Gedeckt 16

Bourdon 8

  

Electro-pneumatic action

Couplers 16,8,4

 

Manual compass CC à C : 61 notes

Pedal compass CCC à G : 32 notes

In 1915, the chancel of the old church was demolished in order to allow the building of the actual church and the Fay organ was probably removed and put into storage until 1917 when it was purchased by Kamouraska.

 

Second Organ

 

In May of the same year, Rev. Robert Lagueux (parish priest from 1910 to 1933) got, through one his parishioners (Cyrille Robitaille, a music dealer), an organ from Canadian Organ Company for 2 500$. First installed in the old church, it was definitely installed, two years later, in the new church. Transferred in the crypt a few years later, it was re-installed in the chancel of the main church in 1967. Apart from a few mechanical problems due to its age, this organ has a very particular voice.

 

Grand-orgue

Récit (enclosed)

Montre 8

Principal 8

Mélodie 8

Bourdon 8

Dulciane 8

Viole de gambe 8

Prestant 4

Voix céleste 8

Flûte harmonique 4

Flûte traverse 4

Trompette 8

Piccolo 2

   

Hautbois 8

   

Tremolo

  

Pédale

Bourdon 16

Flûte 8

  

Pneumatic-tubular action

Couplers 16,8,4

 

Manual compass CC à C : 61 notes

Pedal compass CCC à F : 30 notes

Third Organ

 

The churchwardens decided to rent, for 100$ a year, a small 7-stop instrument pending a better financial situation which would allow the purchase of a large organ commensurate with the size of the church. Qualified as “little munster” by then organist Joseph Turgeon, the organ was voiced very agressively. Purchased in 1934 for 2 000$, it was sold for 1 200$ nine years later to the Assomptionnist Fathers for the Canadian Montmartre. Without doubt, Joseph Turgeon's qualificative was right because of the incompatibility of such a small organ in a church so vast.

 

Fourth Organ

 

The idea of installing a large instrument in the new St. Roch Church was considered ever since the end of the building of the church. Parochial archives show that, in 1925, two proposals were received from Canadian Organ Company, one for a 64-stop instrument at the cost of 28 000$ and one for a 54-stop instrument at the cost of 25 000$.

 

Following a resolution from the churchwardens, other organbuilders were contacted. A proposal was even received from a Chicago firm, Kimball, for a 67-stop instrument that would have two 32-foot stops and … a 64-foot Gravissima!

 

Parochial archives also show that, in 1933, four proposals were received from Casavant Frères along with a few organ case sketches. According to a joint letter to these proposals, it seems that contacts with Casavant Frères were established even before that date.

 

It is evident that the churchwardens wanted to complete this project but urgent priority works delayed the project for nine years. After such a long delay and careful consideration, the following unanimous decision was taken, in 1942, by the parish priest and the churchwardens:

 

«On the twenty-sixth day of March of nineteen forty-two (…) the parish priest declares that the assembly is convoked to study the question concerning the purchase of a new organ commensurate with the church. After seriously considering the financial situation of the parish and all the circumstances, it is now time to purchase a suitable organ. In consequence, it is moved (…) that we purchase an organ for a value of about thirty-five thousand dollars and that the parish priest and the churchwardens are authorized to have the works carried out».

Contacts were renewed with Casavant Frères. A contract was signed on June 18, 1942 and the instrument was inaugurated on December 8, 1943 by Joseph Turgeon, then titular organist. This 85-stop organ costed 35 546.75$.

 

Looking at the stoplist of the instrument, it is surprising to find composed mixtures which were not common stops in those days. The stoplist also reflects the fact that Casavant was at the beginning of a research period as well as a transition period that would lead to the high quality production we now know. The organ in St-Roch is a romantic-style organ lacking balance and brightness. The first attempts to reduce wind pressures were not conclusive since they were not the basis upon which the voicing had been set up, these left the instrument somewhat bloodless. The voicing of this instrument was not very well accepted and many leading organists were disappointed.

 

We must add that the initial contract called for the installation of a chancel organ which could be played from the gallery console. The churchwardens did not approve the 6 000$ additional expense.

 

Richard Gagné

Titular organist

 

(1) This organ was given to the Quebec Provincial Museum in 1965 where it was stored from 1983 to 1985 when it was lent as a practice organ to the Conservatory of Music in Chicoutimi and to be finally returned, in 1991, where it came from, as chancel organ, at the Gesù Church in Montreal.

 

[click on the image or here to obtain a larger picture]

   

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Composition sonore / Stop List

Orgue de tribune / Gallery Organ

II. Grand-Orgue

III. Récit

(expressif /enclosed)

 

Quintaton 16' Salicional 16'

Montre 8' Diapason 8'

Flûte 8' Viole de gambe 8'

Bourdon 8' Voix céleste 8'

Dolce 8' Flûte harmonique 8'

Grosse quinte 5 1/3' Cor de nuit 8'

Prestant 4' Principal 4'

Flûte à cheminée 4' Fugara 4'

Gemshorn 4' Flûte bouchée 4'

Quinte 2 2/3' Nazard 2 2/3'

Doublette 2' Octavin 2'

Tierce 1 3/5' Cornet V

Fourniture V Fourniture IV

Cymbale III Cymbale III

  

Trompette 16'

  

Trompette 8'

  

Hautbois 8'

  

Voix humaine 8'

  

Clairon 4'

  

Tremolo

      

Positif

(flottant / floating)

IV. Solo

(expressif /enclosed)

 

Bourdon 8' Contra viola 16'

Salicional 8' Viola 8'

Dulciane 4' Octave de viola 4'

Flûte douce 4' Cornet VI

Nazard 2 2/3' Contra tromba 16'

Octavin 2' Tromba 8'

Tierce 1 3/5' Clairon 4'

Piccolo 1'

       

I. Choral

(expressif / exclosed)

Pédale

 

Bourdon 16' Bourdon 32'

Flûte chorale 8' Principal 16'

Quintaton 8' Contrebasse 16'

Flûte creuse 8' Bourdon 16'

Gemshorn 8' Dulciane 16'

Unda maris 8' Cor de nuit 16'

Cor de nuit 4' Gedeckt 16'

Salicet 4' Grosse quinte 10 2/3'

Flageolet 2' Spitz Principal 8'

Plein Jeu III Violoncelle 8'

Dulzian 16' Flûte 8'

Cromorne 8' Bourdon 8'

Cor anglais 8' Quinte 5 1/3'

Clarinette 8' Basse chorale 4'

Chalumeau 4' Flûte ouverte 4'

Tremolo

Cornet III

  

Fourniture VI

  

Contra posaune 32'

  

Posaune 16'

  

Trompette 8'

  

Clairon 4'

  

Chalumeau 4'

     

Autres détails / Other details:

Étendue des claviers / Manual compass: 61 notes (C-c4)

Étendue du pédalier / Pedal compass: 32 notes (C-g1)

Accouplements / Couplers

GO/PED; REC/PED 8,4; CH/PED 8,4; POS/PED; SOLO/PED

REC/GO 16,8,4; CH/GO 16,8,4; POS/GO; SOLO/GO 8,4

CH/REC, SOLO/REC

GO/SOLO; SOLO/CH; REC/CH 8,4; POS/CH 8,4

Système de combinaisons ajustables / Adjustable combinations system:

partiels / divisionals: GO 5, REC 5, POS 3, SOLO 3

généraux / generals: 10 (4 boutons/push buttons, 6 pistons/tow studs); Tutti

Pédales d'expression / Expression pedals: CH, REC, SOLO, Crescendo

Unisson des pédales d'expression / Joigned expression pedals

Dead sheep on beach at Formby

The Mahabharata or Mahābhārata (US /məhɑːˈbɑrətə/; UK /ˌmɑːhəˈbɑːrətə/; Sanskrit: महाभारतम्, Mahābhāratam, pronounced [məɦaːˈbʱaːrət̪əm]) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, the other being the Ramayana.

 

Besides its epic narrative of the Kurukshetra War and the fates of the Kaurava and the Pandava princes, the Mahabharata contains philosophical and devotional material, such as a discussion of the four "goals of life" or purusharthas (12.161). Among the principal works and stories in the Mahabharata are the Bhagavad Gita, the story of Damayanti, an abbreviated version of the Ramayana, and the Rishyasringa, often considered as works in their own right.

 

Traditionally, the authorship of the Mahabharata is attributed to Vyasa. There have been many attempts to unravel its historical growth and compositional layers. The oldest preserved parts of the text are thought to be not much older than around 400 BCE, though the origins of the epic probably fall between the 8th and 9th centuries BCE. The text probably reached its final form by the early Gupta period (c. 4th century CE). The title may be translated as "the great tale of the Bhārata dynasty". According to the Mahabharata itself, the tale is extended from a shorter version of 24,000 verses called simply Bhārata.

 

The Mahabharata is the longest known epic poem and has been described as "the longest poem ever written". Its longest version consists of over 100,000 shloka or over 200,000 individual verse lines (each shloka is a couplet), and long prose passages. About 1.8 million words in total, the Mahabharata is roughly ten times the length of the Iliad and the Odyssey combined, or about four times the length of the Ramayana. W. J. Johnson has compared the importance of the Mahabharata to world civilization to that of the Bible, the works of Shakespeare, the works of Homer, Greek drama, or the Qur'an.

 

TEXTURAL HISTORY AND STRUCTURE

The epic is traditionally ascribed to the sage Vyasa, who is also a major character in the epic. Vyasa described it as being itihāsa (history). He also describes the Guru-shishya parampara, which traces all great teachers and their students of the Vedic times.

 

The first section of the Mahabharata states that it was Ganesha who wrote down the text to Vyasa's dictation. Ganesha is said to have agreed to write it only if Vyasa never paused in his recitation. Vyasa agrees on condition that Ganesha takes the time to understand what was said before writing it down.

 

The epic employs the story within a story structure, otherwise known as frametales, popular in many Indian religious and non-religious works. It is recited by the sage Vaisampayana, a disciple of Vyasa, to the King Janamejaya who is the great-grandson of the Pandava prince Arjuna. The story is then recited again by a professional storyteller named Ugrasrava Sauti, many years later, to an assemblage of sages performing the 12-year sacrifice for the king Saunaka Kulapati in the Naimisha Forest.

 

The text has been described by some early 20th-century western Indologists as unstructured and chaotic. Hermann Oldenberg supposed that the original poem must once have carried an immense "tragic force" but dismissed the full text as a "horrible chaos." Moritz Winternitz (Geschichte der indischen Literatur 1909) considered that "only unpoetical theologists and clumsy scribes" could have lumped the parts of disparate origin into an unordered whole.

 

ACCRETION AND REDACTION

Research on the Mahabharata has put an enormous effort into recognizing and dating layers within the text. Some elements of the present Mahabharata can be traced back to Vedic times. The background to the Mahabharata suggests the origin of the epic occurs "after the very early Vedic period" and before "the first Indian 'empire' was to rise in the third century B.C." That this is "a date not too far removed from the 8th or 9th century B.C." is likely. It is generally agreed that "Unlike the Vedas, which have to be preserved letter-perfect, the epic was a popular work whose reciters would inevitably conform to changes in language and style," so the earliest 'surviving' components of this dynamic text are believed to be no older than the earliest 'external' references we have to the epic, which may include an allusion in Panini's 4th century BCE grammar Ashtādhyāyī 4:2:56. It is estimated that the Sanskrit text probably reached something of a "final form" by the early Gupta period (about the 4th century CE). Vishnu Sukthankar, editor of the first great critical edition of the Mahabharata, commented: "It is useless to think of reconstructing a fluid text in a literally original shape, on the basis of an archetype and a stemma codicum. What then is possible? Our objective can only be to reconstruct the oldest form of the text which it is possible to reach on the basis of the manuscript material available." That manuscript evidence is somewhat late, given its material composition and the climate of India, but it is very extensive.

 

The Mahabharata itself (1.1.61) distinguishes a core portion of 24,000 verses: the Bharata proper, as opposed to additional secondary material, while the Ashvalayana Grhyasutra (3.4.4) makes a similar distinction. At least three redactions of the text are commonly recognized: Jaya (Victory) with 8,800 verses attributed to Vyasa, Bharata with 24,000 verses as recited by Vaisampayana, and finally the Mahabharata as recited by Ugrasrava Sauti with over 100,000 verses. However, some scholars such as John Brockington, argue that Jaya and Bharata refer to the same text, and ascribe the theory of Jaya with 8,800 verses to a misreading of a verse in Adiparvan (1.1.81). The redaction of this large body of text was carried out after formal principles, emphasizing the numbers 18 and 12. The addition of the latest parts may be dated by the absence of the Anushasana-parva and the Virata parva from the "Spitzer manuscript". The oldest surviving Sanskrit text dates to the Kushan Period (200 CE).

 

According to what one character says at Mbh. 1.1.50, there were three versions of the epic, beginning with Manu (1.1.27), Astika (1.3, sub-parva 5) or Vasu (1.57), respectively. These versions would correspond to the addition of one and then another 'frame' settings of dialogues. The Vasu version would omit the frame settings and begin with the account of the birth of Vyasa. The astika version would add the sarpasattra and ashvamedha material from Brahmanical literature, introduce the name Mahabharata, and identify Vyasa as the work's author. The redactors of these additions were probably Pancharatrin scholars who according to Oberlies (1998) likely retained control over the text until its final redaction. Mention of the Huna in the Bhishma-parva however appears to imply that this parva may have been edited around the 4th century.

 

The Adi-parva includes the snake sacrifice (sarpasattra) of Janamejaya, explaining its motivation, detailing why all snakes in existence were intended to be destroyed, and why in spite of this, there are still snakes in existence. This sarpasattra material was often considered an independent tale added to a version of the Mahabharata by "thematic attraction" (Minkowski 1991), and considered to have a particularly close connection to Vedic (Brahmana) literature. The Panchavimsha Brahmana (at 25.15.3) enumerates the officiant priests of a sarpasattra among whom the names Dhrtarashtra and Janamejaya, two main characters of the Mahabharata's sarpasattra, as well as Takshaka, the name of a snake in the Mahabharata, occur.

 

HISTORICAL REFERENCES

The earliest known references to the Mahabharata and its core Bharata date to the Ashtadhyayi (sutra 6.2.38) of Pāṇini (fl. 4th century BCE) and in the Ashvalayana Grhyasutra (3.4.4). This may suggest that the core 24,000 verses, known as the Bharata, as well as an early version of the extended Mahabharata, were composed by the 4th century BCE.

 

A report by the Greek writer Dio Chrysostom (c. 40 - c. 120 CE) about Homer's poetry being sung even in India seems to imply that the Iliad had been translated into Sanskrit. However, scholars have, in general, taken this as evidence for the existence of a Mahabharata at this date, whose episodes Dio or his sources identify with the story of the Iliad.

 

Several stories within the Mahabharata took on separate identities of their own in Classical Sanskrit literature. For instance, Abhijñānashākuntala by the renowned Sanskrit poet Kālidāsa (c. 400 CE), believed to have lived in the era of the Gupta dynasty, is based on a story that is the precursor to the Mahabharata. Urubhanga, a Sanskrit play written by Bhāsa who is believed to have lived before Kālidāsa, is based on the slaying of Duryodhana by the splitting of his thighs by Bhima.

 

The copper-plate inscription of the Maharaja Sharvanatha (533–534 CE) from Khoh (Satna District, Madhya Pradesh) describes the Mahabharata as a "collection of 100,000 verses" (shatasahasri samhita).

 

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

The historicity of the Kurukshetra War is unclear. Many historians estimate the date of the Kurukshetra war to Iron Age India of the 10th century BCE. The setting of the epic has a historical precedent in Iron Age (Vedic) India, where the Kuru kingdom was the center of political power during roughly 1200 to 800 BCE. A dynastic conflict of the period could have been the inspiration for the Jaya, the foundation on which the Mahabharata corpus was built, with a climactic battle eventually coming to be viewed as an epochal event.

 

Puranic literature presents genealogical lists associated with the Mahabharata narrative. The evidence of the Puranas is of two kinds. Of the first kind, there is the direct statement that there were 1015 (or 1050) years between the birth of Parikshit (Arjuna's grandson) and the accession of Mahapadma Nanda (400-329 BCE), which would yield an estimate of about 1400 BCE for the Bharata battle. However, this would imply improbably long reigns on average for the kings listed in the genealogies. Of the second kind are analyses of parallel genealogies in the Puranas between the times of Adhisimakrishna (Parikshit's great-grandson) and Mahapadma Nanda. Pargiter accordingly estimated 26 generations by averaging 10 different dynastic lists and, assuming 18 years for the average duration of a reign, arrived at an estimate of 850 BCE for Adhisimakrishna, and thus approximately 950 BCE for the Bharata battle.

 

B. B. Lal used the same approach with a more conservative assumption of the average reign to estimate a date of 836 BCE, and correlated this with archaeological evidence from Painted Grey Ware sites, the association being strong between PGW artifacts and places mentioned in the epic.

 

Attempts to date the events using methods of archaeoastronomy have produced, depending on which passages are chosen and how they are interpreted, estimates ranging from the late 4th to the mid-2nd millennium BCE. The late 4th millennium date has a precedent in the calculation of the Kaliyuga epoch, based on planetary conjunctions, by Aryabhata (6th century). Aryabhatta's date of February 18 3102 BCE for Mahabharata war has become widespread in Indian tradition. Coincidentally, this marks the disppearance of Krishna from earth from many source.[36] The Aihole inscription of Pulikeshi II, dated to Saka 556 = 634 CE, claims that 3735 years have elapsed since the Bharata battle, putting the date of Mahabharata war at 3137 BCE. Another traditional school of astronomers and historians, represented by Vriddha-Garga, Varahamihira (author of the Brhatsamhita) and Kalhana (author of the Rajatarangini), place the Bharata war 653 years after the Kaliyuga epoch, corresponding to 2449 BCE.

 

SYNOPSIS

The core story of the work is that of a dynastic struggle for the throne of Hastinapura, the kingdom ruled by the Kuru clan. The two collateral branches of the family that participate in the struggle are the Kaurava and the Pandava. Although the Kaurava is the senior branch of the family, Duryodhana, the eldest Kaurava, is younger than Yudhisthira, the eldest Pandava. Both Duryodhana and Yudhisthira claim to be first in line to inherit the throne.

 

The struggle culminates in the great battle of Kurukshetra, in which the Pandavas are ultimately victorious. The battle produces complex conflicts of kinship and friendship, instances of family loyalty and duty taking precedence over what is right, as well as the converse.

 

The Mahabharata itself ends with the death of Krishna, and the subsequent end of his dynasty and ascent of the Pandava brothers to heaven. It also marks the beginning of the Hindu age of Kali Yuga, the fourth and final age of mankind, in which great values and noble ideas have crumbled, and man is heading towards the complete dissolution of right action, morality and virtue.

 

THE OLDER GENERATIONS

King Janamejaya's ancestor Shantanu, the king of Hastinapura, has a short-lived marriage with the goddess Ganga and has a son, Devavrata (later to be called Bhishma, a great warrior), who becomes the heir apparent. Many years later, when King Shantanu goes hunting, he sees Satyavati, the daughter of the chief of fisherman, and asks her father for her hand. Her father refuses to consent to the marriage unless Shantanu promises to make any future son of Satyavati the king upon his death. To resolve his father's dilemma, Devavrata agrees to relinquish his right to the throne. As the fisherman is not sure about the prince's children honouring the promise, Devavrata also takes a vow of lifelong celibacy to guarantee his father's promise.

 

Shantanu has two sons by Satyavati, Chitrāngada and Vichitravirya. Upon Shantanu's death, Chitrangada becomes king. He lives a very short uneventful life and dies. Vichitravirya, the younger son, rules Hastinapura. Meanwhile, the King of Kāśī arranges a swayamvara for his three daughters, neglecting to invite the royal family of Hastinapur. In order to arrange the marriage of young Vichitravirya, Bhishma attends the swayamvara of the three princesses Amba, Ambika and Ambalika, uninvited, and proceeds to abduct them. Ambika and Ambalika consent to be married to Vichitravirya.

 

The oldest princess Amba, however, informs Bhishma that she wishes to marry king of Shalva whom Bhishma defeated at their swayamvara. Bhishma lets her leave to marry king of Shalva, but Shalva refuses to marry her, still smarting at his humiliation at the hands of Bhishma. Amba then returns to marry Bhishma but he refuses due to his vow of celibacy. Amba becomes enraged and becomes Bhishma's bitter enemy, holding him responsible for her plight. Later she is reborn to King Drupada as Shikhandi (or Shikhandini) and causes Bhishma's fall, with the help of Arjuna, in the battle of Kurukshetra.

 

THE PANDAVA AND KAURAVA PRINCES

When Vichitravirya dies young without any heirs, Satyavati asks her first son Vyasa to father children with the widows. The eldest, Ambika, shuts her eyes when she sees him, and so her son Dhritarashtra is born blind. Ambalika turns pale and bloodless upon seeing him, and thus her son Pandu is born pale and unhealthy (the term Pandu may also mean 'jaundiced'). Due to the physical challenges of the first two children, Satyavati asks Vyasa to try once again. However, Ambika and Ambalika send their maid instead, to Vyasa's room. Vyasa fathers a third son, Vidura, by the maid. He is born healthy and grows up to be one of the wisest characters in the Mahabharata. He serves as Prime Minister (Mahamantri or Mahatma) to King Pandu and King Dhritarashtra.

 

When the princes grow up, Dhritarashtra is about to be crowned king by Bhishma when Vidura intervenes and uses his knowledge of politics to assert that a blind person cannot be king. This is because a blind man cannot control and protect his subjects. The throne is then given to Pandu because of Dhritarashtra's blindness. Pandu marries twice, to Kunti and Madri. Dhritarashtra marries Gandhari, a princess from Gandhara, who blindfolds herself so that she may feel the pain that her husband feels. Her brother Shakuni is enraged by this and vows to take revenge on the Kuru family. One day, when Pandu is relaxing in the forest, he hears the sound of a wild animal. He shoots an arrow in the direction of the sound. However the arrow hits the sage Kindama, who curses him that if he engages in a sexual act, he will die. Pandu then retires to the forest along with his two wives, and his brother Dhritarashtra rules thereafter, despite his blindness.

 

Pandu's older queen Kunti, however, had been given a boon by Sage Durvasa that she could invoke any god using a special mantra. Kunti uses this boon to ask Dharma the god of justice, Vayu the god of the wind, and Indra the lord of the heavens for sons. She gives birth to three sons, Yudhisthira, Bhima, and Arjuna, through these gods. Kunti shares her mantra with the younger queen Madri, who bears the twins Nakula and Sahadeva through the Ashwini twins. However, Pandu and Madri indulge in sex, and Pandu dies. Madri dies on his funeral pyre out of remorse. Kunti raises the five brothers, who are from then on usually referred to as the Pandava brothers.

 

Dhritarashtra has a hundred sons through Gandhari, all born after the birth of Yudhishtira. These are the Kaurava brothers, the eldest being Duryodhana, and the second Dushasana. Other Kaurava brothers were Vikarna and Sukarna. The rivalry and enmity between them and the Pandava brothers, from their youth and into manhood, leads to the Kurukshetra war.

 

LAKSHAGRAHA (THE HOUSE OF LAC)

After the deaths of their mother (Madri) and father (Pandu), the Pandavas and their mother Kunti return to the palace of Hastinapur. Yudhisthira is made Crown Prince by Dhritarashtra, under considerable pressure from his kingdom. Dhritarashtra wanted his own son Duryodhana to become king and lets his ambition get in the way of preserving justice.

 

Shakuni, Duryodhana and Dusasana plot to get rid of the Pandavas. Shakuni calls the architect Purochana to build a palace out of flammable materials like lac and ghee. He then arranges for the Pandavas and the Queen Mother Kunti to stay there, with the intention of setting it alight. However, the Pandavas are warned by their wise uncle, Vidura, who sends them a miner to dig a tunnel. They are able to escape to safety and go into hiding. Back at Hastinapur, the Pandavas and Kunti are presumed dead.

 

MARRIAGE TO DRAUPADI

Whilst they were in hiding the Pandavas learn of a swayamvara which is taking place for the hand of the Pāñcāla princess Draupadī. The Pandavas enter the competition in disguise as Brahmins. The task is to string a mighty steel bow and shoot a target on the ceiling, which is the eye of a moving artificial fish, while looking at its reflection in oil below. Most of the princes fail, many being unable to lift the bow. Arjuna succeeds however. The Pandavas return home and inform their mother that Arjuna has won a competition and to look at what they have brought back. Without looking, Kunti asks them to share whatever it is Arjuna has won among themselves. On explaining the previous life of Draupadi, she ends up being the wife of all five brothers.

 

INDRAPRASTHA

After the wedding, the Pandava brothers are invited back to Hastinapura. The Kuru family elders and relatives negotiate and broker a split of the kingdom, with the Pandavas obtaining a new territory. Yudhishtira has a new capital built for this territory at Indraprastha. Neither the Pandava nor Kaurava sides are happy with the arrangement however.

 

Shortly after this, Arjuna elopes with and then marries Krishna's sister, Subhadra. Yudhishtira wishes to establish his position as king; he seeks Krishna's advice. Krishna advises him, and after due preparation and the elimination of some opposition, Yudhishthira carries out the rājasūya yagna ceremony; he is thus recognised as pre-eminent among kings.

 

The Pandavas have a new palace built for them, by Maya the Danava. They invite their Kaurava cousins to Indraprastha. Duryodhana walks round the palace, and mistakes a glossy floor for water, and will not step in. After being told of his error, he then sees a pond, and assumes it is not water and falls in. Draupadi laughs at him and ridicules him by saying that this is because of his blind father Dhritrashtra. He then decides to avenge his humiliation.

 

THE DICE GAME

Shakuni, Duryodhana's uncle, now arranges a dice game, playing against Yudhishtira with loaded dice. Yudhishtira loses all his wealth, then his kingdom. He then even gambles his brothers, himself, and finally his wife into servitude. The jubilant Kauravas insult the Pandavas in their helpless state and even try to disrobe Draupadi in front of the entire court, but her honour is saved by Krishna who miraculously creates lengths of cloth to replace the ones being removed.

 

Dhritarashtra, Bhishma, and the other elders are aghast at the situation, but Duryodhana is adamant that there is no place for two crown princes in Hastinapura. Against his wishes Dhritarashtra orders for another dice game. The Pandavas are required to go into exile for 12 years, and in the 13th year must remain hidden. If discovered by the Kauravas, they will be forced into exile for another 12 years.

 

EXILE AND RETURN

The Pandavas spend thirteen years in exile; many adventures occur during this time. They also prepare alliances for a possible future conflict. They spend their final year in disguise in the court of Virata, and are discovered just after the end of the year.

 

At the end of their exile, they try to negotiate a return to Indraprastha. However, this fails, as Duryodhana objects that they were discovered while in hiding, and that no return of their kingdom was agreed. War becomes inevitable.

 

THE BATTLE AT KURUKSHETRA

The two sides summon vast armies to their help and line up at Kurukshetra for a war. The kingdoms of Panchala, Dwaraka, Kasi, Kekaya, Magadha, Matsya, Chedi, Pandyas, Telinga, and the Yadus of Mathura and some other clans like the Parama Kambojas were allied with the Pandavas. The allies of the Kauravas included the kings of Pragjyotisha, Anga, Kekaya, Sindhudesa (including Sindhus, Sauviras and Sivis), Mahishmati, Avanti in Madhyadesa, Madra, Gandhara, Bahlika people, Kambojas and many others. Before war being declared, Balarama had expressed his unhappiness at the developing conflict and left to go on pilgrimage; thus he does not take part in the battle itself. Krishna takes part in a non-combatant role, as charioteer for Arjuna.

 

Before the battle, Arjuna, seeing the opposing army includes many relatives and loved ones, including his great grandfather Bhishma and his teacher Drona, has doubts about the battle and he fails to lift his Gāndeeva bow. Krishna wakes him up to his call of duty in the famous Bhagavad Gita section of the epic.

 

Though initially sticking to chivalrous notions of warfare, both sides soon adopt dishonourable tactics. At the end of the 18-day battle, only the Pandavas, Satyaki, Kripa, Ashwatthama, Kritavarma, Yuyutsu and Krishna survive.

 

THE END OF THE PANDAVAS

After "seeing" the carnage, Gandhari, who had lost all her sons, curses Krishna to be a witness to a similar annihilation of his family, for though divine and capable of stopping the war, he had not done so. Krishna accepts the curse, which bears fruit 36 years later.

 

The Pandavas, who had ruled their kingdom meanwhile, decide to renounce everything. Clad in skins and rags they retire to the Himalaya and climb towards heaven in their bodily form. A stray dog travels with them. One by one the brothers and Draupadi fall on their way. As each one stumbles, Yudhisthira gives the rest the reason for their fall (Draupadi was partial to Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva were vain and proud of their looks, and Bhima and Arjuna were proud of their strength and archery skills, respectively). Only the virtuous Yudhisthira, who had tried everything to prevent the carnage, and the dog remain. The dog reveals himself to be the god Yama (also known as Yama Dharmaraja), and then takes him to the underworld where he sees his siblings and wife. After explaining the nature of the test, Yama takes Yudhishthira back to heaven and explains that it was necessary to expose him to the underworld because (Rajyante narakam dhruvam) any ruler has to visit the underworld at least once. Yama then assures him that his siblings and wife would join him in heaven after they had been exposed to the underworld for measures of time according to their vices.

 

Arjuna's grandson Parikshit rules after them and dies bitten by a snake. His furious son, Janamejaya, decides to perform a snake sacrifice (sarpasattra) in order to destroy the snakes. It is at this sacrifice that the tale of his ancestors is narrated to him.

 

THE REUNION

The Mahabharata mentions that Karna, the Pandavas, and Dhritarashtra's sons eventually ascended to svarga and "attained the state of the gods" and banded together — "serene and free from anger."

 

THEMES

 

JUST WAR

The Mahabharata offers one of the first instances of theorizing about "just war", illustrating many of the standards that would be debated later across the world. In the story, one of five brothers asks if the suffering caused by war can ever be justified. A long discussion ensues between the siblings, establishing criteria like proportionality (chariots cannot attack cavalry, only other chariots; no attacking people in distress), just means (no poisoned or barbed arrows), just cause (no attacking out of rage), and fair treatment of captives and the wounded.

Versions, translations, and derivative works.

 

CRITICAL EDITION

Between 1919 and 1966, scholars at the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune, compared the various manuscripts of the epic from India and abroad and produced the Critical Edition of the Mahabharata, on 13,000 pages in 19 volumes, followed by the Harivamsha in another two volumes and six index volumes. This is the text that is usually used in current Mahabharata studies for reference. This work is sometimes called the "Pune" or "Poona" edition of the Mahabharata.

 

REGIONAL VERSIONS

Many regional versions of the work developed over time, mostly differing only in minor details, or with verses or subsidiary stories being added. These include the Tamil street theatre, terukkuttu and kattaikkuttu, the plays of which use themes from the Tamil language versions of Mahabharata, focusing on Draupadi.

 

Outside the Indian subcontinent, in Indonesia, a version was developed in ancient Java as Kakawin Bhāratayuddha in the 11th century under the patronage of King Dharmawangsa (990–1016), and later it spread to neighboring island of Bali where today remains a Hindu majority island, despite today Indonesia is the most populous Muslim majority nation. It has become the fertile source for Javanese literature, dance drama (wayang wong), and wayang shadow puppet performances. This Javanese version differ slightly from the original Indian version. For example Draupadi is only be wed to Yudhisthira, not to the entire Pandavas brothers, this might demonstrate ancient Javanese opposition of polyandry practice. The author later added some female characters to be wed to the Pandavas. Arjuna for example is described as having many wives and consorts next to Subhadra. Another difference is Shikhandi did not undergone sex change and remains as a woman, to be wed to Arjuna, and took the role as a warrior princess during the war. Another twist is Gandhari was described as antagonist character that hates Pandava so much. Her hate was out of jealousy, because during svayambara for the hand of Gandhari, she was actually in love with Pandu, but later being wed to his blind elder brother instead, whom she does not love, as a protest she then blindfold herself. Another notable difference is the inclusion of Punakawans, the clown servants of the main characters in the storyline, which is not found in Indian version. This characters includes Semar, Petruk, Gareng and Bagong, they are much-loved by Indonesian audiences. There are some spin-off episode developed in ancient Java, such as Arjunawiwaha composed in 11th century.

 

A Kawi version of the Mahabharata, of which eight of the eighteen parvas survive, is found on the Indonesian island of Bali. It has been translated into English by Dr. I. Gusti Putu Phalgunadi.

 

TRANSLATIONS

A Persian translation of Mahabharta, titled Razmnameh, was produced at Akbar's orders, by Faizi and `Abd al-Qadir Bada'uni in the 18th century.

 

The first complete English translation was the Victorian prose version by Kisari Mohan Ganguli, published between 1883 and 1896 (Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers) and by M. N. Dutt (Motilal Banarsidass Publishers). Most critics consider the translation by Ganguli to be faithful to the original text. The complete text of Ganguli's translation is in the public domain and is available online.

 

Another English prose translation of the full epic, based on the Critical Edition, is in progress, published by University Of Chicago Press. It was initiated by Indologist J. A. B. van Buitenen (books 1–5) and, following a 20-year hiatus caused by the death of van Buitenen, is being continued by D. Gitomer of DePaul University (book 6), J. L. Fitzgerald of Brown University (books 11–13) and Wendy Doniger of the University of Chicago (books 14–18).

 

An early poetry translation by Romesh Chunder Dutt and published in 1898 condenses the main themes of the Mahabharata into English verse. A later poetic "transcreation" (author's own description) of the full epic into English, done by the poet P. Lal is complete, and in 2005 began being published by Writers Workshop, Calcutta. The P. Lal translation is a non-rhyming verse-by-verse rendering, and is the only edition in any language to include all slokas in all recensions of the work (not just those in the Critical Edition). The completion of the publishing project is scheduled for 2010. Sixteen of the eighteen volumes are now available.

 

A project to translate the full epic into English prose, translated by various hands, began to appear in 2005 from the Clay Sanskrit Library, published by New York University Press. The translation is based not on the Critical Edition but on the version known to the commentator Nīlakaṇṭha. Currently available are 15 volumes of the projected 32-volume edition.

 

Indian economist Bibek Debroy has also begun an unabridged English translation in ten volumes. Volume 1: Adi Parva was published in March 2010.

 

Many condensed versions, abridgements and novelistic prose retellings of the complete epic have been published in English, including works by Ramesh Menon, William Buck, R. K. Narayan, C. Rajagopalachari, K. M. Munshi, Krishna Dharma, Romesh C. Dutt, Bharadvaja Sarma, John D. Smith and Sharon Maas.

 

DERIVATIVE LITERATURE

Bhasa, the 2nd- or 3rd-century CE Sanskrit playwright, wrote two plays on episodes in the Marabharata, Urubhanga (Broken Thigh), about the fight between Duryodhana and Bhima, while Madhyamavyayoga (The Middle One) set around Bhima and his son, Ghatotkacha. The first important play of 20th century was Andha Yug (The Blind Epoch), by Dharamvir Bharati, which came in 1955, found in Mahabharat, both an ideal source and expression of modern predicaments and discontent. Starting with Ebrahim Alkazi it was staged by numerous directors. V. S. Khandekar's Marathi novel, Yayati (1960) and Girish Karnad's debut play Yayati (1961) are based on the story of King Yayati found in the Mahabharat. Bengali writer and playwright, Buddhadeva Bose wrote three plays set in Mahabharat, Anamni Angana, Pratham Partha and Kalsandhya. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni wrote a version from the perspective of Draupadi entitled The Palace of Illusions: A Novel, which was published in 2008.

 

Amar Chitra Katha published a 1,260 page comic book version of the Mahabharata.

 

IN FILM AND TELEVISION

In Indian cinema, several film versions of the epic have been made, dating back to 1920. In Telugu film Daana Veera Soora Karna (1977) directed by and starring N. T. Rama Rao depicts Karna as the lead character. The Mahabharata was also reinterpreted by Shyam Benegal in Kalyug. Prakash Jha directed 2010 film Raajneeti was partially inspired by the Mahabharata. A 2013 animated adaptation holds the record for India's most expensive animated film.

 

In the late 1980s, the Mahabharat TV series, directed by Ravi Chopra, was televised on India's national television (Doordarshan). In the Western world, a well-known presentation of the epic is Peter Brook's nine-hour play, which premiered in Avignon in 1985, and its five-hour movie version The Mahabharata (1989).

 

Uncompleted projects on the Mahabharata include a ones by Rajkumar Santoshi, and a theaterical adaptation planned by Satyajit Ray.

 

JAIN VERSION

Jain version of Mahabharata can be found in the various Jain texts like Harivamsapurana (the story of Harivamsa) Trisastisalakapurusa Caritra (Hagiography of 63 Illustrious persons), Pandavacaritra (lives of Pandavas) and Pandavapurana (stories of Pandavas). From the earlier canonical literature, Antakrddaaśāh (8th cannon) and Vrisnidasa (upangagama or secondary canon) contain the stories of Neminatha (22nd Tirthankara), Krishna and Balarama. Prof. Padmanabh Jaini notes that, unlike in the Hindu Puranas, the names Baladeva and Vasudeva are not restricted to Balarama and Krishna in Jain puranas. Instead they serve as names of two distinct class of mighty brothers, who appear nine times in each half of time cycles of the Jain cosmology and rule the half the earth as half-chakravartins. Jaini traces the origin of this list of brothers to the Jinacharitra by Bhadrabahu swami (4th–3rd century BCE). According to Jain cosmology Balarama, Krishna and Jarasandha are the ninth and the last set of Baladeva, Vasudeva, and Partivasudeva. The main battle is not the Mahabharata, but the fight between Krishna and Jarasandha (who is killed by Krishna). Ultimately, the Pandavas and Balarama take renunciation as Jain monks and are reborn in heavens, while on the other hand Krishna and Jarasandha are reborn in hell. In keeping with the law of karma, Krishna is reborn in hell for his exploits (sexual and violent) while Jarasandha for his evil ways. Prof. Jaini admits a possibility that perhaps because of his popularity, the Jain authors were keen to rehabilitate Krishna. The Jain texts predict that after his karmic term in hell is over sometime during the next half time-cycle, Krishna will be reborn as a Jain Tirthankara and attain liberation. Krishna and Balrama are shown as contemporaries and cousins of 22nd Tirthankara, Neminatha. According to this story, Krishna arranged young Neminath’s marriage with Rajamati, the daughter of Ugrasena, but Neminatha, empathizing with the animals which were to be slaughtered for the marriage feast, left the procession suddenly and renounced the world.

 

CULTURAL INFLUENCE

In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna explains to Arjuna his duties as a warrior and prince and elaborates on different Yogic and Vedantic philosophies, with examples and analogies. This has led to the Gita often being described as a concise guide to Hindu philosophy and a practical, self-contained guide to life. In more modern times, Swami Vivekananda, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Mahatma Gandhi and many others used the text to help inspire the Indian independence movement.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Prior to bullfights--which in Costa Rica are all 'bloodless'--they allow volunteers into the ring with a bull to exhibit their skills (or in this case lack of same). As luck would have it, this guy's only injury was to his pride.

The Mahabharata or Mahābhārata (US /məhɑːˈbɑrətə/; UK /ˌmɑːhəˈbɑːrətə/; Sanskrit: महाभारतम्, Mahābhāratam, pronounced [məɦaːˈbʱaːrət̪əm]) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India, the other being the Ramayana.

 

Besides its epic narrative of the Kurukshetra War and the fates of the Kaurava and the Pandava princes, the Mahabharata contains philosophical and devotional material, such as a discussion of the four "goals of life" or purusharthas (12.161). Among the principal works and stories in the Mahabharata are the Bhagavad Gita, the story of Damayanti, an abbreviated version of the Ramayana, and the Rishyasringa, often considered as works in their own right.

 

Traditionally, the authorship of the Mahabharata is attributed to Vyasa. There have been many attempts to unravel its historical growth and compositional layers. The oldest preserved parts of the text are thought to be not much older than around 400 BCE, though the origins of the epic probably fall between the 8th and 9th centuries BCE. The text probably reached its final form by the early Gupta period (c. 4th century CE). The title may be translated as "the great tale of the Bhārata dynasty". According to the Mahabharata itself, the tale is extended from a shorter version of 24,000 verses called simply Bhārata.

 

The Mahabharata is the longest known epic poem and has been described as "the longest poem ever written". Its longest version consists of over 100,000 shloka or over 200,000 individual verse lines (each shloka is a couplet), and long prose passages. About 1.8 million words in total, the Mahabharata is roughly ten times the length of the Iliad and the Odyssey combined, or about four times the length of the Ramayana. W. J. Johnson has compared the importance of the Mahabharata to world civilization to that of the Bible, the works of Shakespeare, the works of Homer, Greek drama, or the Qur'an.

 

TEXTURAL HISTORY AND STRUCTURE

The epic is traditionally ascribed to the sage Vyasa, who is also a major character in the epic. Vyasa described it as being itihāsa (history). He also describes the Guru-shishya parampara, which traces all great teachers and their students of the Vedic times.

 

The first section of the Mahabharata states that it was Ganesha who wrote down the text to Vyasa's dictation. Ganesha is said to have agreed to write it only if Vyasa never paused in his recitation. Vyasa agrees on condition that Ganesha takes the time to understand what was said before writing it down.

 

The epic employs the story within a story structure, otherwise known as frametales, popular in many Indian religious and non-religious works. It is recited by the sage Vaisampayana, a disciple of Vyasa, to the King Janamejaya who is the great-grandson of the Pandava prince Arjuna. The story is then recited again by a professional storyteller named Ugrasrava Sauti, many years later, to an assemblage of sages performing the 12-year sacrifice for the king Saunaka Kulapati in the Naimisha Forest.

 

The text has been described by some early 20th-century western Indologists as unstructured and chaotic. Hermann Oldenberg supposed that the original poem must once have carried an immense "tragic force" but dismissed the full text as a "horrible chaos." Moritz Winternitz (Geschichte der indischen Literatur 1909) considered that "only unpoetical theologists and clumsy scribes" could have lumped the parts of disparate origin into an unordered whole.

 

ACCRETION AND REDACTION

Research on the Mahabharata has put an enormous effort into recognizing and dating layers within the text. Some elements of the present Mahabharata can be traced back to Vedic times. The background to the Mahabharata suggests the origin of the epic occurs "after the very early Vedic period" and before "the first Indian 'empire' was to rise in the third century B.C." That this is "a date not too far removed from the 8th or 9th century B.C." is likely. It is generally agreed that "Unlike the Vedas, which have to be preserved letter-perfect, the epic was a popular work whose reciters would inevitably conform to changes in language and style," so the earliest 'surviving' components of this dynamic text are believed to be no older than the earliest 'external' references we have to the epic, which may include an allusion in Panini's 4th century BCE grammar Ashtādhyāyī 4:2:56. It is estimated that the Sanskrit text probably reached something of a "final form" by the early Gupta period (about the 4th century CE). Vishnu Sukthankar, editor of the first great critical edition of the Mahabharata, commented: "It is useless to think of reconstructing a fluid text in a literally original shape, on the basis of an archetype and a stemma codicum. What then is possible? Our objective can only be to reconstruct the oldest form of the text which it is possible to reach on the basis of the manuscript material available." That manuscript evidence is somewhat late, given its material composition and the climate of India, but it is very extensive.

 

The Mahabharata itself (1.1.61) distinguishes a core portion of 24,000 verses: the Bharata proper, as opposed to additional secondary material, while the Ashvalayana Grhyasutra (3.4.4) makes a similar distinction. At least three redactions of the text are commonly recognized: Jaya (Victory) with 8,800 verses attributed to Vyasa, Bharata with 24,000 verses as recited by Vaisampayana, and finally the Mahabharata as recited by Ugrasrava Sauti with over 100,000 verses. However, some scholars such as John Brockington, argue that Jaya and Bharata refer to the same text, and ascribe the theory of Jaya with 8,800 verses to a misreading of a verse in Adiparvan (1.1.81). The redaction of this large body of text was carried out after formal principles, emphasizing the numbers 18 and 12. The addition of the latest parts may be dated by the absence of the Anushasana-parva and the Virata parva from the "Spitzer manuscript". The oldest surviving Sanskrit text dates to the Kushan Period (200 CE).

 

According to what one character says at Mbh. 1.1.50, there were three versions of the epic, beginning with Manu (1.1.27), Astika (1.3, sub-parva 5) or Vasu (1.57), respectively. These versions would correspond to the addition of one and then another 'frame' settings of dialogues. The Vasu version would omit the frame settings and begin with the account of the birth of Vyasa. The astika version would add the sarpasattra and ashvamedha material from Brahmanical literature, introduce the name Mahabharata, and identify Vyasa as the work's author. The redactors of these additions were probably Pancharatrin scholars who according to Oberlies (1998) likely retained control over the text until its final redaction. Mention of the Huna in the Bhishma-parva however appears to imply that this parva may have been edited around the 4th century.

 

The Adi-parva includes the snake sacrifice (sarpasattra) of Janamejaya, explaining its motivation, detailing why all snakes in existence were intended to be destroyed, and why in spite of this, there are still snakes in existence. This sarpasattra material was often considered an independent tale added to a version of the Mahabharata by "thematic attraction" (Minkowski 1991), and considered to have a particularly close connection to Vedic (Brahmana) literature. The Panchavimsha Brahmana (at 25.15.3) enumerates the officiant priests of a sarpasattra among whom the names Dhrtarashtra and Janamejaya, two main characters of the Mahabharata's sarpasattra, as well as Takshaka, the name of a snake in the Mahabharata, occur.

 

HISTORICAL REFERENCES

The earliest known references to the Mahabharata and its core Bharata date to the Ashtadhyayi (sutra 6.2.38) of Pāṇini (fl. 4th century BCE) and in the Ashvalayana Grhyasutra (3.4.4). This may suggest that the core 24,000 verses, known as the Bharata, as well as an early version of the extended Mahabharata, were composed by the 4th century BCE.

 

A report by the Greek writer Dio Chrysostom (c. 40 - c. 120 CE) about Homer's poetry being sung even in India seems to imply that the Iliad had been translated into Sanskrit. However, scholars have, in general, taken this as evidence for the existence of a Mahabharata at this date, whose episodes Dio or his sources identify with the story of the Iliad.

 

Several stories within the Mahabharata took on separate identities of their own in Classical Sanskrit literature. For instance, Abhijñānashākuntala by the renowned Sanskrit poet Kālidāsa (c. 400 CE), believed to have lived in the era of the Gupta dynasty, is based on a story that is the precursor to the Mahabharata. Urubhanga, a Sanskrit play written by Bhāsa who is believed to have lived before Kālidāsa, is based on the slaying of Duryodhana by the splitting of his thighs by Bhima.

 

The copper-plate inscription of the Maharaja Sharvanatha (533–534 CE) from Khoh (Satna District, Madhya Pradesh) describes the Mahabharata as a "collection of 100,000 verses" (shatasahasri samhita).

 

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

The historicity of the Kurukshetra War is unclear. Many historians estimate the date of the Kurukshetra war to Iron Age India of the 10th century BCE. The setting of the epic has a historical precedent in Iron Age (Vedic) India, where the Kuru kingdom was the center of political power during roughly 1200 to 800 BCE. A dynastic conflict of the period could have been the inspiration for the Jaya, the foundation on which the Mahabharata corpus was built, with a climactic battle eventually coming to be viewed as an epochal event.

 

Puranic literature presents genealogical lists associated with the Mahabharata narrative. The evidence of the Puranas is of two kinds. Of the first kind, there is the direct statement that there were 1015 (or 1050) years between the birth of Parikshit (Arjuna's grandson) and the accession of Mahapadma Nanda (400-329 BCE), which would yield an estimate of about 1400 BCE for the Bharata battle. However, this would imply improbably long reigns on average for the kings listed in the genealogies. Of the second kind are analyses of parallel genealogies in the Puranas between the times of Adhisimakrishna (Parikshit's great-grandson) and Mahapadma Nanda. Pargiter accordingly estimated 26 generations by averaging 10 different dynastic lists and, assuming 18 years for the average duration of a reign, arrived at an estimate of 850 BCE for Adhisimakrishna, and thus approximately 950 BCE for the Bharata battle.

 

B. B. Lal used the same approach with a more conservative assumption of the average reign to estimate a date of 836 BCE, and correlated this with archaeological evidence from Painted Grey Ware sites, the association being strong between PGW artifacts and places mentioned in the epic.

 

Attempts to date the events using methods of archaeoastronomy have produced, depending on which passages are chosen and how they are interpreted, estimates ranging from the late 4th to the mid-2nd millennium BCE. The late 4th millennium date has a precedent in the calculation of the Kaliyuga epoch, based on planetary conjunctions, by Aryabhata (6th century). Aryabhatta's date of February 18 3102 BCE for Mahabharata war has become widespread in Indian tradition. Coincidentally, this marks the disppearance of Krishna from earth from many source.[36] The Aihole inscription of Pulikeshi II, dated to Saka 556 = 634 CE, claims that 3735 years have elapsed since the Bharata battle, putting the date of Mahabharata war at 3137 BCE. Another traditional school of astronomers and historians, represented by Vriddha-Garga, Varahamihira (author of the Brhatsamhita) and Kalhana (author of the Rajatarangini), place the Bharata war 653 years after the Kaliyuga epoch, corresponding to 2449 BCE.

 

SYNOPSIS

The core story of the work is that of a dynastic struggle for the throne of Hastinapura, the kingdom ruled by the Kuru clan. The two collateral branches of the family that participate in the struggle are the Kaurava and the Pandava. Although the Kaurava is the senior branch of the family, Duryodhana, the eldest Kaurava, is younger than Yudhisthira, the eldest Pandava. Both Duryodhana and Yudhisthira claim to be first in line to inherit the throne.

 

The struggle culminates in the great battle of Kurukshetra, in which the Pandavas are ultimately victorious. The battle produces complex conflicts of kinship and friendship, instances of family loyalty and duty taking precedence over what is right, as well as the converse.

 

The Mahabharata itself ends with the death of Krishna, and the subsequent end of his dynasty and ascent of the Pandava brothers to heaven. It also marks the beginning of the Hindu age of Kali Yuga, the fourth and final age of mankind, in which great values and noble ideas have crumbled, and man is heading towards the complete dissolution of right action, morality and virtue.

 

THE OLDER GENERATIONS

King Janamejaya's ancestor Shantanu, the king of Hastinapura, has a short-lived marriage with the goddess Ganga and has a son, Devavrata (later to be called Bhishma, a great warrior), who becomes the heir apparent. Many years later, when King Shantanu goes hunting, he sees Satyavati, the daughter of the chief of fisherman, and asks her father for her hand. Her father refuses to consent to the marriage unless Shantanu promises to make any future son of Satyavati the king upon his death. To resolve his father's dilemma, Devavrata agrees to relinquish his right to the throne. As the fisherman is not sure about the prince's children honouring the promise, Devavrata also takes a vow of lifelong celibacy to guarantee his father's promise.

 

Shantanu has two sons by Satyavati, Chitrāngada and Vichitravirya. Upon Shantanu's death, Chitrangada becomes king. He lives a very short uneventful life and dies. Vichitravirya, the younger son, rules Hastinapura. Meanwhile, the King of Kāśī arranges a swayamvara for his three daughters, neglecting to invite the royal family of Hastinapur. In order to arrange the marriage of young Vichitravirya, Bhishma attends the swayamvara of the three princesses Amba, Ambika and Ambalika, uninvited, and proceeds to abduct them. Ambika and Ambalika consent to be married to Vichitravirya.

 

The oldest princess Amba, however, informs Bhishma that she wishes to marry king of Shalva whom Bhishma defeated at their swayamvara. Bhishma lets her leave to marry king of Shalva, but Shalva refuses to marry her, still smarting at his humiliation at the hands of Bhishma. Amba then returns to marry Bhishma but he refuses due to his vow of celibacy. Amba becomes enraged and becomes Bhishma's bitter enemy, holding him responsible for her plight. Later she is reborn to King Drupada as Shikhandi (or Shikhandini) and causes Bhishma's fall, with the help of Arjuna, in the battle of Kurukshetra.

 

THE PANDAVA AND KAURAVA PRINCES

When Vichitravirya dies young without any heirs, Satyavati asks her first son Vyasa to father children with the widows. The eldest, Ambika, shuts her eyes when she sees him, and so her son Dhritarashtra is born blind. Ambalika turns pale and bloodless upon seeing him, and thus her son Pandu is born pale and unhealthy (the term Pandu may also mean 'jaundiced'). Due to the physical challenges of the first two children, Satyavati asks Vyasa to try once again. However, Ambika and Ambalika send their maid instead, to Vyasa's room. Vyasa fathers a third son, Vidura, by the maid. He is born healthy and grows up to be one of the wisest characters in the Mahabharata. He serves as Prime Minister (Mahamantri or Mahatma) to King Pandu and King Dhritarashtra.

 

When the princes grow up, Dhritarashtra is about to be crowned king by Bhishma when Vidura intervenes and uses his knowledge of politics to assert that a blind person cannot be king. This is because a blind man cannot control and protect his subjects. The throne is then given to Pandu because of Dhritarashtra's blindness. Pandu marries twice, to Kunti and Madri. Dhritarashtra marries Gandhari, a princess from Gandhara, who blindfolds herself so that she may feel the pain that her husband feels. Her brother Shakuni is enraged by this and vows to take revenge on the Kuru family. One day, when Pandu is relaxing in the forest, he hears the sound of a wild animal. He shoots an arrow in the direction of the sound. However the arrow hits the sage Kindama, who curses him that if he engages in a sexual act, he will die. Pandu then retires to the forest along with his two wives, and his brother Dhritarashtra rules thereafter, despite his blindness.

 

Pandu's older queen Kunti, however, had been given a boon by Sage Durvasa that she could invoke any god using a special mantra. Kunti uses this boon to ask Dharma the god of justice, Vayu the god of the wind, and Indra the lord of the heavens for sons. She gives birth to three sons, Yudhisthira, Bhima, and Arjuna, through these gods. Kunti shares her mantra with the younger queen Madri, who bears the twins Nakula and Sahadeva through the Ashwini twins. However, Pandu and Madri indulge in sex, and Pandu dies. Madri dies on his funeral pyre out of remorse. Kunti raises the five brothers, who are from then on usually referred to as the Pandava brothers.

 

Dhritarashtra has a hundred sons through Gandhari, all born after the birth of Yudhishtira. These are the Kaurava brothers, the eldest being Duryodhana, and the second Dushasana. Other Kaurava brothers were Vikarna and Sukarna. The rivalry and enmity between them and the Pandava brothers, from their youth and into manhood, leads to the Kurukshetra war.

 

LAKSHAGRAHA (THE HOUSE OF LAC)

After the deaths of their mother (Madri) and father (Pandu), the Pandavas and their mother Kunti return to the palace of Hastinapur. Yudhisthira is made Crown Prince by Dhritarashtra, under considerable pressure from his kingdom. Dhritarashtra wanted his own son Duryodhana to become king and lets his ambition get in the way of preserving justice.

 

Shakuni, Duryodhana and Dusasana plot to get rid of the Pandavas. Shakuni calls the architect Purochana to build a palace out of flammable materials like lac and ghee. He then arranges for the Pandavas and the Queen Mother Kunti to stay there, with the intention of setting it alight. However, the Pandavas are warned by their wise uncle, Vidura, who sends them a miner to dig a tunnel. They are able to escape to safety and go into hiding. Back at Hastinapur, the Pandavas and Kunti are presumed dead.

 

MARRIAGE TO DRAUPADI

Whilst they were in hiding the Pandavas learn of a swayamvara which is taking place for the hand of the Pāñcāla princess Draupadī. The Pandavas enter the competition in disguise as Brahmins. The task is to string a mighty steel bow and shoot a target on the ceiling, which is the eye of a moving artificial fish, while looking at its reflection in oil below. Most of the princes fail, many being unable to lift the bow. Arjuna succeeds however. The Pandavas return home and inform their mother that Arjuna has won a competition and to look at what they have brought back. Without looking, Kunti asks them to share whatever it is Arjuna has won among themselves. On explaining the previous life of Draupadi, she ends up being the wife of all five brothers.

 

INDRAPRASTHA

After the wedding, the Pandava brothers are invited back to Hastinapura. The Kuru family elders and relatives negotiate and broker a split of the kingdom, with the Pandavas obtaining a new territory. Yudhishtira has a new capital built for this territory at Indraprastha. Neither the Pandava nor Kaurava sides are happy with the arrangement however.

 

Shortly after this, Arjuna elopes with and then marries Krishna's sister, Subhadra. Yudhishtira wishes to establish his position as king; he seeks Krishna's advice. Krishna advises him, and after due preparation and the elimination of some opposition, Yudhishthira carries out the rājasūya yagna ceremony; he is thus recognised as pre-eminent among kings.

 

The Pandavas have a new palace built for them, by Maya the Danava. They invite their Kaurava cousins to Indraprastha. Duryodhana walks round the palace, and mistakes a glossy floor for water, and will not step in. After being told of his error, he then sees a pond, and assumes it is not water and falls in. Draupadi laughs at him and ridicules him by saying that this is because of his blind father Dhritrashtra. He then decides to avenge his humiliation.

 

THE DICE GAME

Shakuni, Duryodhana's uncle, now arranges a dice game, playing against Yudhishtira with loaded dice. Yudhishtira loses all his wealth, then his kingdom. He then even gambles his brothers, himself, and finally his wife into servitude. The jubilant Kauravas insult the Pandavas in their helpless state and even try to disrobe Draupadi in front of the entire court, but her honour is saved by Krishna who miraculously creates lengths of cloth to replace the ones being removed.

 

Dhritarashtra, Bhishma, and the other elders are aghast at the situation, but Duryodhana is adamant that there is no place for two crown princes in Hastinapura. Against his wishes Dhritarashtra orders for another dice game. The Pandavas are required to go into exile for 12 years, and in the 13th year must remain hidden. If discovered by the Kauravas, they will be forced into exile for another 12 years.

 

EXILE AND RETURN

The Pandavas spend thirteen years in exile; many adventures occur during this time. They also prepare alliances for a possible future conflict. They spend their final year in disguise in the court of Virata, and are discovered just after the end of the year.

 

At the end of their exile, they try to negotiate a return to Indraprastha. However, this fails, as Duryodhana objects that they were discovered while in hiding, and that no return of their kingdom was agreed. War becomes inevitable.

 

THE BATTLE AT KURUKSHETRA

The two sides summon vast armies to their help and line up at Kurukshetra for a war. The kingdoms of Panchala, Dwaraka, Kasi, Kekaya, Magadha, Matsya, Chedi, Pandyas, Telinga, and the Yadus of Mathura and some other clans like the Parama Kambojas were allied with the Pandavas. The allies of the Kauravas included the kings of Pragjyotisha, Anga, Kekaya, Sindhudesa (including Sindhus, Sauviras and Sivis), Mahishmati, Avanti in Madhyadesa, Madra, Gandhara, Bahlika people, Kambojas and many others. Before war being declared, Balarama had expressed his unhappiness at the developing conflict and left to go on pilgrimage; thus he does not take part in the battle itself. Krishna takes part in a non-combatant role, as charioteer for Arjuna.

 

Before the battle, Arjuna, seeing the opposing army includes many relatives and loved ones, including his great grandfather Bhishma and his teacher Drona, has doubts about the battle and he fails to lift his Gāndeeva bow. Krishna wakes him up to his call of duty in the famous Bhagavad Gita section of the epic.

 

Though initially sticking to chivalrous notions of warfare, both sides soon adopt dishonourable tactics. At the end of the 18-day battle, only the Pandavas, Satyaki, Kripa, Ashwatthama, Kritavarma, Yuyutsu and Krishna survive.

 

THE END OF THE PANDAVAS

After "seeing" the carnage, Gandhari, who had lost all her sons, curses Krishna to be a witness to a similar annihilation of his family, for though divine and capable of stopping the war, he had not done so. Krishna accepts the curse, which bears fruit 36 years later.

 

The Pandavas, who had ruled their kingdom meanwhile, decide to renounce everything. Clad in skins and rags they retire to the Himalaya and climb towards heaven in their bodily form. A stray dog travels with them. One by one the brothers and Draupadi fall on their way. As each one stumbles, Yudhisthira gives the rest the reason for their fall (Draupadi was partial to Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva were vain and proud of their looks, and Bhima and Arjuna were proud of their strength and archery skills, respectively). Only the virtuous Yudhisthira, who had tried everything to prevent the carnage, and the dog remain. The dog reveals himself to be the god Yama (also known as Yama Dharmaraja), and then takes him to the underworld where he sees his siblings and wife. After explaining the nature of the test, Yama takes Yudhishthira back to heaven and explains that it was necessary to expose him to the underworld because (Rajyante narakam dhruvam) any ruler has to visit the underworld at least once. Yama then assures him that his siblings and wife would join him in heaven after they had been exposed to the underworld for measures of time according to their vices.

 

Arjuna's grandson Parikshit rules after them and dies bitten by a snake. His furious son, Janamejaya, decides to perform a snake sacrifice (sarpasattra) in order to destroy the snakes. It is at this sacrifice that the tale of his ancestors is narrated to him.

 

THE REUNION

The Mahabharata mentions that Karna, the Pandavas, and Dhritarashtra's sons eventually ascended to svarga and "attained the state of the gods" and banded together — "serene and free from anger."

 

THEMES

 

JUST WAR

The Mahabharata offers one of the first instances of theorizing about "just war", illustrating many of the standards that would be debated later across the world. In the story, one of five brothers asks if the suffering caused by war can ever be justified. A long discussion ensues between the siblings, establishing criteria like proportionality (chariots cannot attack cavalry, only other chariots; no attacking people in distress), just means (no poisoned or barbed arrows), just cause (no attacking out of rage), and fair treatment of captives and the wounded.

Versions, translations, and derivative works.

 

CRITICAL EDITION

Between 1919 and 1966, scholars at the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune, compared the various manuscripts of the epic from India and abroad and produced the Critical Edition of the Mahabharata, on 13,000 pages in 19 volumes, followed by the Harivamsha in another two volumes and six index volumes. This is the text that is usually used in current Mahabharata studies for reference. This work is sometimes called the "Pune" or "Poona" edition of the Mahabharata.

 

REGIONAL VERSIONS

Many regional versions of the work developed over time, mostly differing only in minor details, or with verses or subsidiary stories being added. These include the Tamil street theatre, terukkuttu and kattaikkuttu, the plays of which use themes from the Tamil language versions of Mahabharata, focusing on Draupadi.

 

Outside the Indian subcontinent, in Indonesia, a version was developed in ancient Java as Kakawin Bhāratayuddha in the 11th century under the patronage of King Dharmawangsa (990–1016), and later it spread to neighboring island of Bali where today remains a Hindu majority island, despite today Indonesia is the most populous Muslim majority nation. It has become the fertile source for Javanese literature, dance drama (wayang wong), and wayang shadow puppet performances. This Javanese version differ slightly from the original Indian version. For example Draupadi is only be wed to Yudhisthira, not to the entire Pandavas brothers, this might demonstrate ancient Javanese opposition of polyandry practice. The author later added some female characters to be wed to the Pandavas. Arjuna for example is described as having many wives and consorts next to Subhadra. Another difference is Shikhandi did not undergone sex change and remains as a woman, to be wed to Arjuna, and took the role as a warrior princess during the war. Another twist is Gandhari was described as antagonist character that hates Pandava so much. Her hate was out of jealousy, because during svayambara for the hand of Gandhari, she was actually in love with Pandu, but later being wed to his blind elder brother instead, whom she does not love, as a protest she then blindfold herself. Another notable difference is the inclusion of Punakawans, the clown servants of the main characters in the storyline, which is not found in Indian version. This characters includes Semar, Petruk, Gareng and Bagong, they are much-loved by Indonesian audiences. There are some spin-off episode developed in ancient Java, such as Arjunawiwaha composed in 11th century.

 

A Kawi version of the Mahabharata, of which eight of the eighteen parvas survive, is found on the Indonesian island of Bali. It has been translated into English by Dr. I. Gusti Putu Phalgunadi.

 

TRANSLATIONS

A Persian translation of Mahabharta, titled Razmnameh, was produced at Akbar's orders, by Faizi and `Abd al-Qadir Bada'uni in the 18th century.

 

The first complete English translation was the Victorian prose version by Kisari Mohan Ganguli, published between 1883 and 1896 (Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers) and by M. N. Dutt (Motilal Banarsidass Publishers). Most critics consider the translation by Ganguli to be faithful to the original text. The complete text of Ganguli's translation is in the public domain and is available online.

 

Another English prose translation of the full epic, based on the Critical Edition, is in progress, published by University Of Chicago Press. It was initiated by Indologist J. A. B. van Buitenen (books 1–5) and, following a 20-year hiatus caused by the death of van Buitenen, is being continued by D. Gitomer of DePaul University (book 6), J. L. Fitzgerald of Brown University (books 11–13) and Wendy Doniger of the University of Chicago (books 14–18).

 

An early poetry translation by Romesh Chunder Dutt and published in 1898 condenses the main themes of the Mahabharata into English verse. A later poetic "transcreation" (author's own description) of the full epic into English, done by the poet P. Lal is complete, and in 2005 began being published by Writers Workshop, Calcutta. The P. Lal translation is a non-rhyming verse-by-verse rendering, and is the only edition in any language to include all slokas in all recensions of the work (not just those in the Critical Edition). The completion of the publishing project is scheduled for 2010. Sixteen of the eighteen volumes are now available.

 

A project to translate the full epic into English prose, translated by various hands, began to appear in 2005 from the Clay Sanskrit Library, published by New York University Press. The translation is based not on the Critical Edition but on the version known to the commentator Nīlakaṇṭha. Currently available are 15 volumes of the projected 32-volume edition.

 

Indian economist Bibek Debroy has also begun an unabridged English translation in ten volumes. Volume 1: Adi Parva was published in March 2010.

 

Many condensed versions, abridgements and novelistic prose retellings of the complete epic have been published in English, including works by Ramesh Menon, William Buck, R. K. Narayan, C. Rajagopalachari, K. M. Munshi, Krishna Dharma, Romesh C. Dutt, Bharadvaja Sarma, John D. Smith and Sharon Maas.

 

DERIVATIVE LITERATURE

Bhasa, the 2nd- or 3rd-century CE Sanskrit playwright, wrote two plays on episodes in the Marabharata, Urubhanga (Broken Thigh), about the fight between Duryodhana and Bhima, while Madhyamavyayoga (The Middle One) set around Bhima and his son, Ghatotkacha. The first important play of 20th century was Andha Yug (The Blind Epoch), by Dharamvir Bharati, which came in 1955, found in Mahabharat, both an ideal source and expression of modern predicaments and discontent. Starting with Ebrahim Alkazi it was staged by numerous directors. V. S. Khandekar's Marathi novel, Yayati (1960) and Girish Karnad's debut play Yayati (1961) are based on the story of King Yayati found in the Mahabharat. Bengali writer and playwright, Buddhadeva Bose wrote three plays set in Mahabharat, Anamni Angana, Pratham Partha and Kalsandhya. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni wrote a version from the perspective of Draupadi entitled The Palace of Illusions: A Novel, which was published in 2008.

 

Amar Chitra Katha published a 1,260 page comic book version of the Mahabharata.

 

IN FILM AND TELEVISION

In Indian cinema, several film versions of the epic have been made, dating back to 1920. In Telugu film Daana Veera Soora Karna (1977) directed by and starring N. T. Rama Rao depicts Karna as the lead character. The Mahabharata was also reinterpreted by Shyam Benegal in Kalyug. Prakash Jha directed 2010 film Raajneeti was partially inspired by the Mahabharata. A 2013 animated adaptation holds the record for India's most expensive animated film.

 

In the late 1980s, the Mahabharat TV series, directed by Ravi Chopra, was televised on India's national television (Doordarshan). In the Western world, a well-known presentation of the epic is Peter Brook's nine-hour play, which premiered in Avignon in 1985, and its five-hour movie version The Mahabharata (1989).

 

Uncompleted projects on the Mahabharata include a ones by Rajkumar Santoshi, and a theaterical adaptation planned by Satyajit Ray.

 

JAIN VERSION

Jain version of Mahabharata can be found in the various Jain texts like Harivamsapurana (the story of Harivamsa) Trisastisalakapurusa Caritra (Hagiography of 63 Illustrious persons), Pandavacaritra (lives of Pandavas) and Pandavapurana (stories of Pandavas). From the earlier canonical literature, Antakrddaaśāh (8th cannon) and Vrisnidasa (upangagama or secondary canon) contain the stories of Neminatha (22nd Tirthankara), Krishna and Balarama. Prof. Padmanabh Jaini notes that, unlike in the Hindu Puranas, the names Baladeva and Vasudeva are not restricted to Balarama and Krishna in Jain puranas. Instead they serve as names of two distinct class of mighty brothers, who appear nine times in each half of time cycles of the Jain cosmology and rule the half the earth as half-chakravartins. Jaini traces the origin of this list of brothers to the Jinacharitra by Bhadrabahu swami (4th–3rd century BCE). According to Jain cosmology Balarama, Krishna and Jarasandha are the ninth and the last set of Baladeva, Vasudeva, and Partivasudeva. The main battle is not the Mahabharata, but the fight between Krishna and Jarasandha (who is killed by Krishna). Ultimately, the Pandavas and Balarama take renunciation as Jain monks and are reborn in heavens, while on the other hand Krishna and Jarasandha are reborn in hell. In keeping with the law of karma, Krishna is reborn in hell for his exploits (sexual and violent) while Jarasandha for his evil ways. Prof. Jaini admits a possibility that perhaps because of his popularity, the Jain authors were keen to rehabilitate Krishna. The Jain texts predict that after his karmic term in hell is over sometime during the next half time-cycle, Krishna will be reborn as a Jain Tirthankara and attain liberation. Krishna and Balrama are shown as contemporaries and cousins of 22nd Tirthankara, Neminatha. According to this story, Krishna arranged young Neminath’s marriage with Rajamati, the daughter of Ugrasena, but Neminatha, empathizing with the animals which were to be slaughtered for the marriage feast, left the procession suddenly and renounced the world.

 

CULTURAL INFLUENCE

In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna explains to Arjuna his duties as a warrior and prince and elaborates on different Yogic and Vedantic philosophies, with examples and analogies. This has led to the Gita often being described as a concise guide to Hindu philosophy and a practical, self-contained guide to life. In more modern times, Swami Vivekananda, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Mahatma Gandhi and many others used the text to help inspire the Indian independence movement.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Sometime in the middle of August 1944, the men of Sturmgeschütz-Brigade 237 left their Sturmgeschütz III Ausf G assault guns behind and entrained for the city of Möckern, located in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. At this time, Sturmgeschütz-Brigade 237 was stricken from the rolls and became Sturmpanzer-Abteilung 219. Organized as a battalion, the men moved to the Döllersheim training grounds in Austria in September 1944. Döllersheim and several small communities and villages around it all had their citizens (2,000 in all) expelled from their homes following the Anschluss in 1938 and the land was converted into a training facility. It was the home of the 392. (Kroatische) Infanterie-Division and played host to numerous units who used the grounds for training, especially as the winters were harsh in the area, making for a better simulation of combat in Russia. While there, the battalion was billeted in Feldlager Zwettl and was soon joined by the supply company from Sturmpanzer-Abteilung 216. Soon, the new unit received its first allotment of Sturmpanzer IV, nicknamed by the Germans who crewed it as the “Stupa” and by Allied intelligence as the Brummbär (“Grouch”).

 

The idea of the Brummbär was to provide direct fire high-explosive munitions onto fortified enemy positions, especially in urban battlegrounds. This wasn't something altogether new to the Germans and there had been vehicles with a similar role before, such as the Sturmgeschütz (StuG), Sturmhaubitze 42 (StuH42), and more directly akin to the Brummbär, the Sturminfantriegeschütz 33B. The Brummbär utilized the chassis of the Panzerkampfwagen IV medium tank, modified by Krupp. Set atop the chassis was a superstructure designed by Altmärkische Kettenwerk GmbH, better known as Alkett. The design of the Brummbär was approved on October 20, 1942 but production did not begin until April 1943 at the Deutsche Eisenwerke in Duisberg. The main gun of the Brummbär consisted of the 15cm (150mm) StuH43 L/12 howitzer fitted into a ball mounting at the front of the superstructure which provided the gun with 10 degrees of traverse to the left and right, gun depression of -7 degrees, and a maximum elevation of 20 degrees. The ammunition consisted of a 84lb. high-explosive shell and a 18lb. powder charge and so at a total round weight of 102lbs, feeding rounds into the gun made for grueling work for the loader. A total of four versions of the Brummbär were produced, each making modifications to the vehicle. The Brummbärs in the photograph depicts the fourth, and last, make and there are two characteristics which make the identification easy. The first is the 7.92mm MG 34 machine-gun in a ball mount on the superstructure front. The previous three Brummbär versions did not have this which left the Brummbär unable to defend itself from close assaults by infantry and complaints by “Stupa” crews saw the machine-gun added to the vehicle. The Brummbär did carry a MG 34 in a anti-aircraft mount on the roof of the vehicle. While it was able to be used to defend against infantry, it exposed the crewman to return fire and thus wasn't as suited to defense as the superstructure mounted machine-gun where the crewman benefited from the armor protection. The second major characteristic was the revised superstructure which lacked the angular design of the previous makes and was, more or less, box shaped. Other changes included using the chassis of the PzKpfw IV Ausf J (earlier Brummbär used Ausf G, E, and F), improved crew ventilation, improved optics, and the usage of steel roadwheels. The latter change was to conserve rubber and the Brummbär in the photograph is equipped with four steel roadwheels in the front with the more standard rubber roadwheels behind them. Likewise, the Brummbär in the background has the same roadwheel configuration. The Brummbär, given its task of close support, was well armored to protect the five man crew. The superstructure front featured 100mm of armor at a 40 degree slope with the front hull being 80mm of protection at a 12 degree slope. In the photograph, Brummbär crews often secured extra track links to the front of the hull as additional armor. The side armor of the superstructure was only 50mm at a 15 degree slope with the hull being even less at 30mm with no slope. To boost the level of protection, the Brummbär were typically fitted with schürzen, or skirts. The rail seen in the photograph along the vehicle's side was where the thin armored schürzen panels would be fitted. The purpose of the schürzen was to deform incoming armor-piercing rounds before they struck the tank, thus lessening the chance of penetration. Schürzen were effective against the Soviet 14.5mm anti-tank rifle ammunition as well as the 45mm anti-tank gun round, the British 6-pdr. armor piercing round, and the U.S. 37mm armor piercing round. Schürzen also had some effect on HEAT (High-Explosive Anti-Tank) munitions as it forced them to detonate prior to their optimal detonation distance, thus lessening their impact. The rail is a later war model, denoted by the triangle-shaped protrusions that helped the schürzen stay in place.

 

Returning to Sturmpanzer-Abteilung 219, the conversion from the Sturmgeschütz to the Brummbär was not an easy affair for the crews, compounded by a lack of instructional material for the StuH43 gun. Also, the tactical deployment of the Brummbär differed from that used in the Sturmgeschütz which meant the men had to essentially start from scratch in terms of effectively using the Brummbär. After weeks of training, orders arrived for 1./Sturmpanzer-Abteilung 219 (1st. Kompanie) to make ready for combat as part of Unternehmen Panzerfaust (Operation Panzerfaust) which was the German intervention in Hungary to depose Admiral Miklós Horthy, Hungary's regent, who was secretly negotiating with the Soviets to surrender the country. 1./Sturmpanzer-Abteilung 219 arrived in Budapest on October 19, 1944 after encountering numerous delays due to Allied air attacks and railway but the unit was too late to take part in the relatively bloodless ouster of Horthy and the installment of pro-Fascit Ferenc Szálasi as the leader of Hungary. The company literally did not detrain and instead, 1./Sturmpanzer-Abteilung 219 moved to Žilina, Slovakia where it met up with the rest of the unit and commenced training. It was planned to conduct a joint exercise with SS-Sturmbrigade Dirlewanger which was operating in the area though this never came about, sparing Sturmpanzer-Abteilung 219 from wargaming with one of the most notorious and barbarous units of World War Two. On December 6, 1944, Sturmpanzer-Abteilung 219 was dispatched towards Budapest, Hungary where elements from the Soviet 2nd. Ukrainian Front commanded by Army General Rodion Malinovsky where already in the process of encircling German and Romanian forces in the Budapest area. Between December 12, 1944 through February 13, 1945 when the Soviets completed the encirclement and eliminated those Axis forces caught within, Sturmpanzer-Abteilung 219 engaged in several combat actions but did so with less and less Brummbär as loses to enemy action and mechanical breakdowns took their toll. By January 11, 1945, both 1./Sturmpanzer-Abteilung 219 and 3./Sturmpanzer-Abteilung 219 (3rd. Kompanie) had no vehicles left. 2./Sturmpanzer-Abteilung 219 (2nd. Kompanie) continued to see combat as the company continued to withdraw in the face of the Soviet military might when, on April 12, 1945, what remained arrived in Frauenberg, Germany. There, 3./Sturmpanzer-Abteilung 219 was requipped with factory fresh Brummbär while 1./Sturmpanzer-Abteilung 219 ended up being filled out with PzKpfw 747(r) medium tanks (German designation for captured Soviet T-34s) and PzKpfw M4 748(a) medium tanks (German designation for captured M4 “Sherman” tanks). By April 22, 1945, 1./Sturmpanzer-Abteilung 219 was relieved of its recently issued armor and it, along with 2./Sturmpanzer-Abteilung 219, were sent to be trained as infantry with an emphasis on anti-tank tactics under a new unit name, Panzer-Jagdbrigade 123 while 3./Sturmpanzer-Abteilung 219 was absorbed into a panzer regiment. On April 25, 1945, Sturmpanzer-Abteilung 219 officially ceased to exist.

 

The Brummbär (tactical number 222) in the foreground belonged to 2./Sturmpanzer-Abteilung 219, 2./Zug (platoon), and was the second Brummbär in the platoon. 2./Sturmpanzer-Abteilung 219 was commanded by Oberleutnant Rolf Meißner The Brummbär in the background (tactical number 110) was from 1./Sturmpanzer-Abteilung 219, 1.Zug, and was the platoon commander's vehicle (Leutnant Hugo Block). Overall, 1./Sturmpanzer-Abteilung 219 was commanded by Hauptmann Ludwig Bertram. In the photographs I've seen of these two vehicles, where exactly they were located isn't stated outside of being somewhere in Hungary. It could be the town of Kápolnásnyék, Hungary where some of Sturmpanzer-Abteilung 219 Brummbär vehicles were reported as lost but not destroyed. In both Brummbär, the differentials have been removed and the engine decks are open on both vehicles. Differential failure was a constant worry as the weight of the Brummbär superstructure was much more than the PzKpfw IV chassis was reliably designed to carry. Thus, it appears that both machines were stripped of needed parts in order to keep the other Brummbär running as logistical resupply was a daily problem for the unit. As a note, the two bumps on the superstructure side are the armored plugs for the pistol ports. The plugs were connected to a chain from inside the vehicle and could be pushed out and the crew could use their small arms to defend the vehicle.

Go to the Book with image in the Internet Archive

Title: United States Naval Medical Bulletin Vol. 8, Nos. 1-4, 1914

Creator: U.S. Navy. Bureau of Medicine and Surgery

Publisher:

Sponsor:

Contributor:

Date: 1914

Language: eng

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Table of Contents</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;"> </p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Number 1</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;"> </p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Preface v</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Special articles:</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">The application of psychiatry to certain military problems, by W. A.

White, M. D 1</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Schistosomiasis on the Yangtze River, with report of cases, by R. H.

Laning, assistant surgeon, United States Navy 16</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">A brief discussion of matters pertaining to health and sanitation,

observed on the summer practice cruise of 1913 for midshipmen of the third

class, by J. L. Neilson, surgeon, United States Navy 36</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Technique of neosalvarsan administration, and a brief outline of the

treatment for syphilis used at the United States Naval Hospital, Norfolk, Va., by

W. Chambers, passed assistant surgeon, United States Navy 45</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Some notes on the disposal of wastes, by A. Farenholt, surgeon, United States

Navy 47</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">The medical department on expeditionary duty, by R. E. Hoyt, surgeon, United

States Navy 51</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">A new brigade medical outfit, by T. W. Richards, surgeon, United States

Navy 62</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Early diagnosis of cerebrospinal meningitis; report of 10 cases, by G.

F. Cottle, passed assistant surgeon, United States Navy 65</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Comments on mistakes made with the Nomenclature, 1913, Abstract of patients

(Form F), and the Statistical report (Form K), by C. E. Alexander, pharmacist,

United States Navy 70</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Classification of the United States Navy Nomenclature, 1913, by C. E. Alexander,

pharmacist, United States Navy 75</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">On the methods employed for the detection and determination of

disturbances in the sense of equilibrium of flyers. Translated by H. G. Beyer,

medical director, United States Navy, retired 87</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">United States Naval Medical School laboratories:</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Additions to the pathological collection 107</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Additions to the helminthological collection 107</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Suggested devices:</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">A portable air sampling apparatus for use aboard ship, by E. W. Brown, passed

assistant surgeon, United States Navy 109</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">A new design for a sanitary pail 111</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Clinical notes:</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">A case of paresis, with apparent remission, following neosalvarsan, by R.

F. Sheehan, passed assistant surgeon, United States Navy 113</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Case reports from Guam, by E. O. J. Eytinge, passed assistant surgeon, United

States Navy 116</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Stab wound of ascending colon; suture; recovery, by H. C. Curl,

surgeon, United States Navy 123</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Perforation of a duodenal ulcer, by H. F. Strine, surgeon, United

States Navy 124</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Two cases of bone surgery, by R. Spear, surgeon, United States Navy 125</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Editorial comment: </p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Brig. Gen. George II. Torney, Surgeon General United States Army 127</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Medical ethics in the Navy 127</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Medical officers in civil practice 128</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Progress in medical sciences:</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">General medicine. —Some anatomic and physiologic principles concerning

pyloric ulcer. By H. C. Curl. Low-priced clinical thermometers; a warning. By.

L. W. Johnson. The value of X-ray examinations in the</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">diagnosis of ulcer of the stomach and duodenum. The primary cause of

rheumatoid arthritis. Strychnine in heart failure. On the treatment of

leukaemia with benzol. By A. W. Dunbar and G. B. Crow 131</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Surgery. — Surgical aspects of furuncles and carbuncles. Iodine

idiosyncrasy. By L. W. Johnson. Rectus transplantation for deficiency of

internal oblique muscle in certain cases of inguinal hernia. The technic of

nephro- pyelo- and ureterolithotomy. Recurrence of inguinal hernia. By H. C.

Curl and R. A. Warner 138</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Hygiene and sanitation. —Ozone: Its bactericidal, physiologic and

deodorizing action. The alleged purification of air by the ozone machine. By E.

W. Brown. The prevention of dental caries. Gun-running operations in the

Persian Gulf in 1909 and 1910. The croton bug (Ectobia germanica) as a factor

in bacterial dissemination. Fumigation of vessels for the destruction of rats.

Improved moist chamber for mosquito breeding. The necessity for international

reforms in the sanitation of crew spaces on</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">merchant vessels. By C. N. Fiske and R. C. Ransdell 143</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Tropical medicine. —The transmissibility of the lepra bacillus by the

bite of the bedbug. By L. W. Johnson. A note on a case of loa loa. Cases of

syphilitic pyrexia simulating tropical fevers. Verruga peruviana, oroya fever

and uta. Ankylostomiasis in Nyasaland. Experimental entamoebic dysentery. By E.

R. Stitt ... 148</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Pathology, bacteriology, and animal parasitology. —The relation of the spleen

to the blood destruction and regeneration and to hemolytic jaundice: 6, The

blood picture at various periods after splenectomy. The presence of tubercle

bacilli in the feces. By A. B. Clifford and G. F. Clark 157</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Chemistry and pharmacy. —Detection of bile pigments in urine. Value of the

guaiacum test for bloodstains. New reagent for the detection of traces of

blood. Estimation of urea. Estimation of uric acid in urine. By E. W. Brown and

O. G. Ruge 158</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Eye, ear, nose, and throat. —Probable deleterious effect of salvarsan

on the eye. Effect of salvarsan on the eye. Fate of patients with

parenchymatous keratitis due to hereditary lues. Trachoma, prevalence of, in

the United States. The exploratory needle puncture of the maxillary antrum in

100 tuberculous individuals. Auterobic organisms associated with acute

rhinitis. Toxicity of human tonsils. By E. J. Grow and G. B. Trible 160</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Miscellaneous. —Yearbook of the medical association of

Frankfurt-am-Main. By R. C. Ransdell 163</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Reports and letters:</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Notes on the Clinical Congress of Surgeons. By G. F. Cottle, passed

assistant surgeon, United States Navy 167</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;"> </p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Number 2</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;"> </p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Preface v</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Special articles:</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Report of the fourteenth annual meeting of the American Roentgen Ray Society,

by J. R. Phelps, passed assistant surgeon, United States Navy. 171</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Typhoid perforation; five operations with three recoveries, by G. G.

Holladay, assistant surgeon, Medic al Reserve Corps, United States Navy 238</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">A satisfactory method for easily obtaining material from syphilitic

lesions, by E. R. Stitt, medical inspector, United States Navy 242</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">An epidemic of measles and mumps in Guam, by C. P. Kindleberger, surgeon,

United States Navy 243</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">The feeble-minded from a military standpoint, by A. R. Schier, acting assistant

surgeon, United States Navy 247</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">The Towne-Lambert elimination treatment of drug addictions, by W. M. Kerr,

passed assistant surgeon, United States Navy 258</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Medical experiences in the Amazonian Tropics, by C. C. Ammerman, assistant

surgeon, Medical Reserve Corps, United States Navy 270</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">United States Naval Medical School laboratories:</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Additions to the pathological collection 281</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Additions to the helminthologieal collection 281</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Suggested devices:</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">An easy method for obtaining blood cultures and for preparing blood

agar, by E. R. Stitt, medical inspector, and G. F. Clark, passed assistant surgeon,

United States Navy 283</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Humidity regulating device on a modern battleship, by R. C. Ransdell, passed

assistant surgeon, United States Navy 284</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Clinical notes:</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Lateral sinus thrombosis, report of case, by G. F. Cottle, passed

assistant surgeon. United States Navy 287</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Twenty-two cases of poisoning by the seeds of Jatropha curcai, by J. A.

Randall, passed assistant surgeon, United States Navy 290</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Shellac bolus in the stomach in fatal case of poisoning by weed

alcohol, by H. F. Hull and O. J. Mink, passed assistant surgeons, United States

Navy 291</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">A case of pneumonia complicated by gangrenous endocarditis, by G. B. Crow,

passed assistant surgeon, United States Navy 292</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Progress in medical sciences:</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">General medicine. —On progressive paralysis in the imperial navy during

the years 1901-1911. By H. G. Beyer. An etiological study of Hodgkin's disease.

The etiology and vaccine treatment of Hodgkin's dis</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">ease. Coryncbacterium hodgkini in lymphatic leukemia and Hodgkin's disease.

Autointoxication and subinfection. Studies of syphilis. The treatment of the

pneumonias. Whooping cough: Etiolcgy, diagnosis, and vaccine treatment. A new

and logical treatment for alcoholism. Intraspinous injection of salvarsanized

serum in the treatment of syphilis of the nervous system, including tabes and

paresis. On the infective nature of certain cases of splenomegaly and Banti's

disease. The etiology and vaccine treatment of Hodgkin's disease. Cultural

results in Hodgkin's disease. By A. W. Dunbar and G. B. Crow 295</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Surgery- Interesting cases of gunshot injury treated at Hankow during

the revolution of 1911 and 1912 in China. The fool's paradise stage in

appendicitis. By L. W. Johnson. The present status of bismuth paste treatment

of suppurative sinuses and empyema. The inguinal route operation for femoral

hernia; with supplementary note on Cooper's ligament. By R. Spear and R. A.

Warner 307</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Hygiene and sanitation. — A contribution to the chemistry of

ventilation. The use of ozone in ventilation. By E. \V. Brown. Pulmonary

tuberculosis in the royal navy, with special reference to its detection and

prevention. An investigation into the keeping properties of condensed milks at

the temperature of tropical climates. By C. N. Fiske and R. C. Ransdell 313</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Tropical medicine. —Seven days fever of the Indian ports. By L. W.

Johnson. Intestinal schistosomiasis in the Sudan. Disease carriers in our army

in India. Origin and present status of the emetin treatment of amebic

dysentery. The culture of leishmania from the finger blood of a case of Indian

kala-azar. By E. R. Stitt 315</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Pathology, bacteriology, and animal parasitology. —The isolation of

typhoid bacilli from feces by means of brilliant green in fluid medium. By C.

N. Fiske. An efficient and convenient stain for use in the eeneral examination

of blood films. By 0. B. Crow. A contribution to the epidemiology of

poliomyelitis. A contribution to the pathology of epidemic poliomyelitis. A

note on the etiology of epidemic<span> 

</span>oliomyelitis. Transmutations within the streptococcus-pneumococcus

group. The etiology of acute rheumatism, articular and muscular. By A. B.

Clifford and G. F. Clark 320</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Chemistry and pharmacy.— Centrifugal method for estimating albumin in

urine. Detection of albumin in urine. New indican reaction A report on the

chemistry, technology, and pharmacology of and the legislation pertaining to

methyl alcohol. By E. W. Brown and O. O. Ruge. . 325</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Eye, ear, nose, and throat. —The use of local anesthesia in

exenteration of the orbit. Salvarsan in<span> 

</span>ophthalmic practice. The effect of salvarsan on the eye. Total blindness

from the toxic action of wood alcohol, with recovery of vision under negative

galvanism. Furunculosis of the external auditory canal; the use of alcohol as a

valuable aid in treatment. Local treatment of Vincent's angina with salvarsan.

Perforated ear drum may be responsible for sudden death in water. The indications

for operating in acute mastoiditis. Turbinotomy. Why is nasal catarrh so

prevalent in the United States? By E. J. Grow and G. B. Trible 330</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Miscellaneous. — The organization and work of the hospital ship Re d’

Italia. ByG. B. Trible 333</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Reports and letters:</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Correspondence concerning the article "Some aspects of the

prophylaxis of typhoid fever by injection of killed cultures," by Surg. C.

S. Butler, United States Navy, which appeared in the Bulletin, October, 1913

339</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Malaria on the U. S. S. Tacoma from February, 1913, to February, 1914.

by I. S. K. Reeves, passed assistant surgeon, United States Navy 344</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Extracts from annual sanitary reports for 1913 345</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;"> </p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Number 3</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;"> </p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Preface vii</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Special articles:</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Economy and waste in naval hospitals, by E. M. Shipp, surgeon, and P.

J. Waldner, chief pharmacist, United States Navy 357</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">The new method of physical training in the United States Navy, by J. A.

Murphy, surgeon, United States Navy 368</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">A study of the etiology of gangosa in Guam, by C. P. Kindleberger,

surgeon, United States Navy 381</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Unreliability of Wassermann tests using unheated serum, by E. R. Stitt,

medical inspector, and G. F. Clark, passed assistant surgeon, United States

Navy 410</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Laboratory note on antigens, by G. F. Clark, pasted assistant surgeon,

United States Navy 411</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Prevention of mouth infection, by Joseph Head, M. D., D. D. S 411</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">The Medical Department at general quarters and preparations for battle,

by A. Farenholt, surgeon, United States Navy 421</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">A bacteriological index for dirt in milk, by J. J. Kinyoun, assistant

surgeon, Medical Reserve Corps, United States Navy 435</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Brief description of proposed plan of a fleet hospital ship, based upon

the type auxiliary hull, by E. M. Blackwell, surgeon, United States Navy.. 442</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">The diagnostic value of the cutaneous tuberculin test in recruiting, by

E. M. Brown, passed assistant surgeon, United States Navy, retired 448</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">United States Naval Medical School laboratories:</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Additions to the pathological collection 453</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Suggested devices:</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">A sanitary mess table for hospitals, by F. M. Bogan, surgeon, United

States Navy 455</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">A suggested improvement of the Navy scuttle butt, by E. M. Blackwell,

surgeon, United States Navy 455</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Clinical notes:</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Malaria cured by neosalvarsan, by F. M. Bogan, surgeon, United States

Navy 457</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">A case of rupture of the bladder with fracture of the pelvis, by H. F.

Strine, surgeon, and M. E. Higgins, passed assistant surgeon, United States

Navy. 458</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Clinical observations on the use of succinimid of mercury, by T. W.

Reed, passed assistant surgeon, United States Navy 459</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Points in the post-mortem ligation of the lingual artery, by O. J.

Mink, passed assistant surgeon, United States Navy 462</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Notes on the wounded at Vera Cruz, by H. F. Strine, surgeon, and M. E.

Higgins, passed assistant surgeon. United States Navy 464</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Case reports from the Naval Hospital, Portsmouth, N. H., by F. M.

Bogan, surgeon, United States Navy 469</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Progress in medical sciences:</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">General medicine. —The mouth in the etiology and symptomatology of

general systemic disturbances. Statistique m£dicale de la marine, 1909. By L.

W. Johnson. Antityphoid inoculation. Vaccines from the standpoint of the

physician. The treatment of sciatica. Chronic gastric ulcer and its relation to

gastric carcinoma. The nonprotein nitrogenous constituents of the blood in

chronic vascular nephritis<span> 

</span>(arteriosclero-iis) as influenced by the level of protein metabolism.

The influence of diet on hepatic necrosis and toxicity of chloroform. The

rational treatment of tetanus. The comparative value of cardiac remedies. By A.

W. Dunbar and G. B. Crow </p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Psychiatry. —Abderhalden's method. Precis de psychiatric Constitutional

immorality. Nine years' experience with manic-depressive insanity. The pupil

and its reflexes in insanity. By R. F. Sheehan.</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Surgery. —On the occurrence of traumatic dislocations (luxationen) in

the Imperial German Navy during the last 20 years. By H. G. Beyer. The wounding

effects of the Turkish sharp-pointed bullet. By T. W. Richards. Intestinal

obstruction: formation and absorption of toxin. By G. B. Crow </p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Hygiene and sanitation. —Relation of oysters to the transmission of

infectious diseases. The proper diet in the Tropics, with some pertinent remarks

on the use of alcohol. By E. W. Brown. Report of committee</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">upon period of isolation and exclusion from school in cases of

communicable disease. Resultats d'une enquete relative a la morbidity venerienne

dans la division navale d'Extreme-Orient et aux moyens susceptibles de la

restreindre. Ship's hygiene in the middle of the seventeenth century- Progress in

ship's hygiene during the nineteenth century. The origin of some of the

streptococci found in milk. On the further perfecting of mosquito spraying. By

C. N. Fiske and R. C. Ransdell</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Tropical medicine. — Le transport, colloidal de medicaments dans le cholera.

By T. W. Richards. Cholera in the Turkish Army. A supposed case of yellow fever

in Jamaica. By L. W. Johnson. Note on a new geographic locality for balantidiosis.

Brief note on Toxoplasma pyroqenes. Note on certain protozoalike bodies in a

case of protracted fever with splenomegaly. The emetine and other treatment of

amebic dysentery and hepatitis, including liver abscess. A study of epidemic dysentery

in the Fiji Islands. By E. R. Stitt</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Pathology, bacteriology, and animal parasitology. — The best method of staining

Treponema pallidum. By C. N. Fiske. Bacteriological methods of meat analysis.

By R. C. Ransdell. Primary tissue lesions in the heart produced by Spirochete

pallida. Ten tests by which a physician may determine when p patient is cured

of gonorrhea. Diagnostic value of percutaneous tuberculin test (Moro). Some

causes of failure of vaccine therapy. A method of increasing the accuracy and

delicacy of the Wassermann reaction: By A. B. Clifford and G. F. Clark</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Chemistry and pharmacy. —Quantitative test of pancreatic function. A comparison

of various preservatives of urine. A clinical method for the rapid estimation

of the quantity of dextrose in urine. By E. W. Brown and O. G. Ruge</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Eye, ear, nose, and throat. —Intraocular pressure. Strauma as an

important factor in diseases of the eye. Carbonic cauterization "in the

treatment of granular ophthalmia. Ocular and other complications of syphilis treated

by salvarsan. Some notes on hay fever. A radiographic study of the mastoid. Ear

complications during typhoid fever. Su di un caso di piccola sanguisuga

cavallina nel bronco destro e su 7 casi di grosse sanguisughe cavalline in

laringe in trachea e rino-faringe. By E. J. Grow and G. B. Trible</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Reports and letters: </p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">American medico-psychological association, by R. F. Sheehan, passed assistant

surgeon, United States Navy 517</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Report of 11 cases of asphyxiation from coal gas, by L. C. Whiteside,

passed assistant surgeon, United States Navy 522</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Extracts from annual sanitary reports for 1913 — United States Naval

Academy, Annapolis, Md., by A. M. D. McCormick, medical director, United States

Navy 523</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">U. S. S. Arkansas, by W. B. Grove, surgeon, United States Navy 524 </p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Marine barracks, Camp Elliott, Canal Zone, Panama, by B. H. Dorsey, passed

assistant surgeon, United States Navy 525</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">U. S. S. Cincinnati, by J. B. Mears, passed assistant surgeon. United States

Navy 526</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">U. S. S. Florida, by M. S. Elliott, surgeon, United States Navy 527</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Naval training station, Great Lakes, Ill., by J. S. Taylor, surgeon, United

States Navy 527</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Naval station, Guam, by C. P. Kindleberger, surgeon, United States Navy

528</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Naval Hospital, Las Animas, Colo., by G. H. Barber, medical inspector, United

States Navy 532</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">U. S. S. Nebraska, by E. H. H. Old, passed assistant surgeon, United States

Navy 533</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">U. S. S. North Dakota, by J. C. Pryor, surgeon, United States Navy. .

534</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Navy yard, Olongapo, P. L, by J. S. Woodward, passed assistant surgeon,

United States Navy 536</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">U. S. S. San Francisco, by T. W. Reed, passed assistant surgeon, United

States Navy 537</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">U. S. S. Saratoga, by H. R. Hermesch, assistant surgeon, United States Navy

538</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">U. S. S. Scorpion, by E. P. Huff, passed assistant surgeon, United States

Navy 538</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">U. S. S. West Virginia, by O. J. Mink, passed assistant surgeon, United

States Navy 539</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;"> </p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Number 4</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;"> </p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Preface V</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Special articles:</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Some prevailing ideas regarding the treatment of tuberculosis, by

Passed Asst. Surg. G. B. Crow 541</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">The Training School for the Hospital Corps of the Navy, by Surg. F. E. McCullough

and Passed Asst. Surg. J. B. Kaufman 555</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Khaki dye for white uniforms, by Passed Asst. Surg. W. E. Eaton 561</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Some facts and some fancies regarding the unity of yaws and syphilis,

by Surg. C. S. Butler 561</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Quinine prophylaxis of malaria, by Passed Asst. Surg. L. W. McGuire 571</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">The nervous system and naval warfare, translated by Surg. T. W.

Richards. 576</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Measles, by Surg. G. F. Freeman 586</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Smallpox and vaccination, by Passed Asst. Surg. T. W. Raison 589</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Rabies; methods of diagnosis and immunization, by Passed Asst. Surg. F.

X. Koltes 597</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Syphilis aboard ship, by Passed Asst. Surg. G. F. Cottle 605</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Systematic recording and treatment of syphilis, by Surg. A. M.

Fauntleroy and Passed Asst. Surg. E. H. H. Old 620</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Organization and station bills of the U. S. naval hospital ship Solace,

by Surg. W. M. Garton 624</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">United States Naval Medical School laboratories:</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Additions to the pathological collection 647</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Additions to the helminthological collection 647</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Clinical notes:</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Succinimid of mercury in pyorrhea alveolaris, by Acting Asst. Dental Surg.

P. G. White 649</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">A case of pityriasis rosea, by Surg. R. E. Ledbetter 651</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Emetin in the treatment of amebic abscess of the liver, by Surg. H. F. Strine

and Passed Asst. Surg. L. Sheldon, jr 653 </p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Salvarsan in a case of amebic dysentery, by Passed Asst. Surg. O. J.

Mink. . 653</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Laceration of the subclavian artery and complete severing of brachial plexus,

by Surg. H. C. Curl and Passed Asst. Surg. C. B. Camerer 654</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Malarial infection complicating splenectomy, by Surg. H. F. Strine 655</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">A case of gastric hemorrhage; operative interference impossible, by

Passed Arst. Surg. G. E. Robertson 656</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Operation for strangulated hernia, by Passed Asst. Surg. W. S. Pugh 657</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">A case of bronchiectasis with hypertrophic pulmonary osteoarthropathy,

by Passed Asst. Surg. L. C. Whiteside 658</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Editorial comment:</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Systematic recording and treatment of syphilis 665</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Progress in medical sciences: <span> </span></p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">General medicine. —A note of three cases of enteric fever inoculated

during the incubation period. By T. W. Richards. The modern treatment of

chancroids. The treatment of burns. By W. E. Eaton. Experiments on the curative

value of the intraspinal administration of tetanus antitoxin. Hexamethylenamin.

<span> </span>Hexamethylenamin as an internal

antiseptic in other fluids of the body than urine. Lumbar puncture as a special

procedure for controlling headache in the course of infectious diseases.

Cardiospasm. Acromion auscultation; a new and delicate test in the early

diagnosis of incipient pulmonary tuberculosis.</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Diabetes mellitus and its differentiation from alimentary glycosuria.

The complement fixation test in typhoid fever; its comparison with the

agglutination test and blood culture method. By C. B. Crow.. 671</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Mental and nervous diseases. —A voice sign in chorea. By G. B. Crow.

Wassermann reaction and its application to neurology. Epilepsy: a theory of

causation founded upon the clinical manifestations and the therapeutic and

pathological data. Salvarsanized serum (Swift-Ellis treatment) in syphilitic diseases

of the central nervous system. Mental manifestations in tumors of the brain.

Some of the broader issues of the psycho-analytic n movement. Mental disease

and defect in United States troops. By R. Sheehan 6S1</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Surgery. — Infiltration anesthesia. War surgery. Tenoplasty; tendon transplantation;

tendon substitution; neuroplasty. Carcinoma of the male breast. Visceral

pleureotomy for chronic empyema. By A. M. Fauntleroy and E. H. H. Old 6S8</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Hygiene and sanitation. — Further experiences with the Berkefold filter

in the purifying of lead-contaminated water. By T. W. Richards. Experiments in

the destruction of fly larvae in horse manure. By A. B. Clifford. Investigation

relative to the life cycle, brooding, and tome practical moans of reducing the

multiplication of flies in camp. By W. E. Eaton, Humidity and heat stroke;

further observations on an<span>  </span>analysis of

50 cases. By C. N. Fiske 693</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Tropical medicine. — The treatment of aneylostoma anemia. Latent dysentery

or dysentery carriers. Naphthalone for the destruction of mosquitoes. Emetin in

amebic dysentery. By E. R. Stitt 704</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Pathology, bacteriology, and animal parasitology. —Meningitis by

injection of pyogenic microbes in the peripheral nerves. The growth of pathogenic

intestinal bacteria in bread. Present status of the complement fixation test in

the diagnosis of gonorrheal infections. Practical application of the luetin

test. By A. B. Clifford and G. F. Clark 707</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Eye, ear, nose, and throat. — Misting of eyeglasses. By E. L. Sleeth.

The treatment of ocular syphilis by salvarsan and neo salvarsan. The moving

picture and the eye. Treatment of various forms of ocular syphilis with

salvarsan. Rapid, painless, and bloodless method for removing the inferior

turbinate. Hemorrhage from the superior petrosal sinus. The frequency of

laryngeal tuberculosis in Massachusetts.</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Intrinsic cancer of larynx. Treatment of hematoma of the auricle. By E.

J. Grow and G. B. Trible 709</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Reports and letters:</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Care of wounded at Mazatlan and at Villa Union, by Medical Inspector S.

G. Evans 713</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Medico-military reports of the occupation of Vera Cruz 715</p>

 

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"U sciccareddu", from the Sicilian "the little donkey", is a pyrotechnical-animal mask, once present in many village feasts in the Messina area, today it is found only in a limited number of centers, among these is the town of Casalvecchio Siculo , a small town in the hinterland in which there is another animal figure, that of the "camiddu", in Sicilian "camel", and of his camel driver (see a photographic story of mine made earlier in this regard). The feast of the "sciccareddu-little donkey" sees a young man of the village wearing a metal supporting structure, on which takes place a whole series of fireworks: this represents with no little imagination the donkey (this year it was the "Camel driver" of the "camiddu-camel"feast which is always celebrated in Casalvecchio); the young man who carries this metal castle on himself, protects himself abundantly from pyrotechnic fires, which form "crazy wheels" in correspondence with the "four limbs", pyrotechnic fires that involve symbolic-ritual suggestions of ambiguous meaning, is the life against death, the light against darkness, the fear and the desire to challenge it, without ever forgetting the horrifying-ancestral aspect of the "beast", which represents the dark unknown evil, which always hovers over people's lives. There are those who have hypothesized that this asinello-monstrous-orrify is a very meek animal too, once very common and omnipresent in the Sicilian districts, so that the fears that it could generate are simultaneously suppressed by being a well-known animal and very meek.

This "sciccareddu-little donkey" with its load of pyrotechnic-crazy fires-bengal fires, and other crackling devilries, challenges and is challenged by all present, young and old coming also from far away, there is who looks but remaining well sheltered, many others instead challenge him, as in a bloodless bullfight, where some unlucky person can receive a few small burns (like myself, who found himself with some small burns in his legs, and a lens-protection filter, it was almost melted-burned in several points, now useless, but withe the lens without problems.....! :o)) .......).

  

“u sciccareddu”, dal siciliano “l’asinello”, è una maschera pirotecnica-animalesca, un tempo presente in molte feste paesane del territorio messinese, oggi la si ritrova solo in un numero limitato di centri, tra questi il paese di Casalvecchio Siculo, piccolo centro dell’entroterra nel quale si trova un’altra figura animalesca, quella del “camiddu”, in siciliano “cammello”, e del suo cammelliere (vedi un mio racconto fotografico fatto in precedenza in merito). La festa dello “sciccareddu-asinello” vede un giovane del paese indossare una struttura portante in metallo, sulla quale prende posto tutta una serie di giochi pirotecnici: questo rappresenta con non poca fantasia l’asinello (quest’anno a dargli vita è stato il “cammelliere” della festa del “camiddu-cammello” che si festeggia sempre a Casalvecchio); il giovane che porta su di se tale castello in metallo, si protegge abbondantemente dai fuochi pirotecnici, che formano delle “ruote pazze” in corrispondenza dei “quattro arti”, fuochi pirotecnici che comportano suggestioni simbolico-rituali dal significato ambiguo, è a vita contro la morte, la luce contro le tenebre, la paura e la voglia di sfidarla, senza mai dimenticare l’aspetto orrifico-ancestrale della “bestia”, che rappresenta l’oscuro ignoto male, che aleggia sempre sulla vita delle persone. C’è chi ha ipotizzato che tale asinello-mostruoso-orrifico è pur sempre un animale molto docile, un tempo comunissimo e onnipresente nelle contrade siciliane, per cui le paure che esso potrebbe generare sono contemporaneamente soppresse dall’essere un animale ben conosciuto ed in definitiva molto docile.

Tale “sciccareddu-asinello” col suo carico di fuochi pirotecnici-girandole pazze-bengala, ed altre diavolerie scoppiettanti, sfida e viene sfidato da tutti i presenti, giovani e meno giovani provenienti anche da lontano, c’è che vuole assitere rimanendo però bene al riparo, molti altri invece lo sfidano, come in una corrida incruenta, dove qualche malcapitato può rimediare qualche piccola bruciatura (come il sottoscritto, che si è ritrovato con qualche piccola bruciatura alle gambe, ed un filtro proteggi-obiettivo che, me ne accorsi successivamente, era quasi fuso-bruciato in più punti, oramai inservibile, con l’obiettivo però salvo….! :o)) …).

  

Seen in the Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota.

 

This is Flash.

 

With flowing tail and flying mane,

Wide nostrils never stretched by pain,

Mouth bloodless to bit or rein,

And feet that iron never shod,

And flanks unscar'd by spur or rod,

A thousand horses - the wild - the free -

Like waves that follow o'er the sea,

Came thickly thundering on.

Lord Byron

Elizabeth Daly - The Book of the Dead

Bantam Books 353, 1948

Cover Artist: Ed Grant

 

"Henry Gamadge finds a bloodless corpse."

The Alleluia Victory

Early in the 5th century, Christian villagers on the Welsh borders were being harried by pagan Picts and Saxons. And now, just after Easter in the year 429 the little community learnt that an army was on its way to murder them all.

For help, they turned to a visiting Bishop from Gaul, called Germanus. Taking command, he quickly assembled them in a valley among hills where there was known to be a strange and alarming echo.

When the army of pagan Picts and Saxons came round the corner, the Britons suddenly shouted at the top of their voices, “Alleluia!”. “Praise the Lord!”.

The hills magnified the sound all around, until the startled enemy ran as fast as they could, ‘thinking’ (says the 7th century historian Bede) ‘the very rocks and sky were falling on them’.

And so it was that, quite unexpectedly, the Britons gained the bloodless ‘Alleluia Victory’.

Open-air exhibition of photos by Bence Máté

Go to the Book with image in the Internet Archive

Title: United States Naval Medical Bulletin Vol. 8, Nos. 1-4, 1914

Creator: U.S. Navy. Bureau of Medicine and Surgery

Publisher:

Sponsor:

Contributor:

Date: 1914

Language: eng

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Table of Contents</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;"> </p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Number 1</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;"> </p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Preface v</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Special articles:</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">The application of psychiatry to certain military problems, by W. A.

White, M. D 1</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Schistosomiasis on the Yangtze River, with report of cases, by R. H.

Laning, assistant surgeon, United States Navy 16</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">A brief discussion of matters pertaining to health and sanitation,

observed on the summer practice cruise of 1913 for midshipmen of the third

class, by J. L. Neilson, surgeon, United States Navy 36</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Technique of neosalvarsan administration, and a brief outline of the

treatment for syphilis used at the United States Naval Hospital, Norfolk, Va., by

W. Chambers, passed assistant surgeon, United States Navy 45</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Some notes on the disposal of wastes, by A. Farenholt, surgeon, United States

Navy 47</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">The medical department on expeditionary duty, by R. E. Hoyt, surgeon, United

States Navy 51</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">A new brigade medical outfit, by T. W. Richards, surgeon, United States

Navy 62</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Early diagnosis of cerebrospinal meningitis; report of 10 cases, by G.

F. Cottle, passed assistant surgeon, United States Navy 65</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Comments on mistakes made with the Nomenclature, 1913, Abstract of patients

(Form F), and the Statistical report (Form K), by C. E. Alexander, pharmacist,

United States Navy 70</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Classification of the United States Navy Nomenclature, 1913, by C. E. Alexander,

pharmacist, United States Navy 75</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">On the methods employed for the detection and determination of

disturbances in the sense of equilibrium of flyers. Translated by H. G. Beyer,

medical director, United States Navy, retired 87</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">United States Naval Medical School laboratories:</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Additions to the pathological collection 107</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Additions to the helminthological collection 107</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Suggested devices:</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">A portable air sampling apparatus for use aboard ship, by E. W. Brown, passed

assistant surgeon, United States Navy 109</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">A new design for a sanitary pail 111</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Clinical notes:</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">A case of paresis, with apparent remission, following neosalvarsan, by R.

F. Sheehan, passed assistant surgeon, United States Navy 113</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Case reports from Guam, by E. O. J. Eytinge, passed assistant surgeon, United

States Navy 116</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Stab wound of ascending colon; suture; recovery, by H. C. Curl,

surgeon, United States Navy 123</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Perforation of a duodenal ulcer, by H. F. Strine, surgeon, United

States Navy 124</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Two cases of bone surgery, by R. Spear, surgeon, United States Navy 125</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Editorial comment: </p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Brig. Gen. George II. Torney, Surgeon General United States Army 127</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Medical ethics in the Navy 127</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Medical officers in civil practice 128</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Progress in medical sciences:</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">General medicine. —Some anatomic and physiologic principles concerning

pyloric ulcer. By H. C. Curl. Low-priced clinical thermometers; a warning. By.

L. W. Johnson. The value of X-ray examinations in the</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">diagnosis of ulcer of the stomach and duodenum. The primary cause of

rheumatoid arthritis. Strychnine in heart failure. On the treatment of

leukaemia with benzol. By A. W. Dunbar and G. B. Crow 131</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Surgery. — Surgical aspects of furuncles and carbuncles. Iodine

idiosyncrasy. By L. W. Johnson. Rectus transplantation for deficiency of

internal oblique muscle in certain cases of inguinal hernia. The technic of

nephro- pyelo- and ureterolithotomy. Recurrence of inguinal hernia. By H. C.

Curl and R. A. Warner 138</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Hygiene and sanitation. —Ozone: Its bactericidal, physiologic and

deodorizing action. The alleged purification of air by the ozone machine. By E.

W. Brown. The prevention of dental caries. Gun-running operations in the

Persian Gulf in 1909 and 1910. The croton bug (Ectobia germanica) as a factor

in bacterial dissemination. Fumigation of vessels for the destruction of rats.

Improved moist chamber for mosquito breeding. The necessity for international

reforms in the sanitation of crew spaces on</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">merchant vessels. By C. N. Fiske and R. C. Ransdell 143</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Tropical medicine. —The transmissibility of the lepra bacillus by the

bite of the bedbug. By L. W. Johnson. A note on a case of loa loa. Cases of

syphilitic pyrexia simulating tropical fevers. Verruga peruviana, oroya fever

and uta. Ankylostomiasis in Nyasaland. Experimental entamoebic dysentery. By E.

R. Stitt ... 148</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Pathology, bacteriology, and animal parasitology. —The relation of the spleen

to the blood destruction and regeneration and to hemolytic jaundice: 6, The

blood picture at various periods after splenectomy. The presence of tubercle

bacilli in the feces. By A. B. Clifford and G. F. Clark 157</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Chemistry and pharmacy. —Detection of bile pigments in urine. Value of the

guaiacum test for bloodstains. New reagent for the detection of traces of

blood. Estimation of urea. Estimation of uric acid in urine. By E. W. Brown and

O. G. Ruge 158</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Eye, ear, nose, and throat. —Probable deleterious effect of salvarsan

on the eye. Effect of salvarsan on the eye. Fate of patients with

parenchymatous keratitis due to hereditary lues. Trachoma, prevalence of, in

the United States. The exploratory needle puncture of the maxillary antrum in

100 tuberculous individuals. Auterobic organisms associated with acute

rhinitis. Toxicity of human tonsils. By E. J. Grow and G. B. Trible 160</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Miscellaneous. —Yearbook of the medical association of

Frankfurt-am-Main. By R. C. Ransdell 163</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Reports and letters:</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Notes on the Clinical Congress of Surgeons. By G. F. Cottle, passed

assistant surgeon, United States Navy 167</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;"> </p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Number 2</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;"> </p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Preface v</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Special articles:</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Report of the fourteenth annual meeting of the American Roentgen Ray Society,

by J. R. Phelps, passed assistant surgeon, United States Navy. 171</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Typhoid perforation; five operations with three recoveries, by G. G.

Holladay, assistant surgeon, Medic al Reserve Corps, United States Navy 238</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">A satisfactory method for easily obtaining material from syphilitic

lesions, by E. R. Stitt, medical inspector, United States Navy 242</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">An epidemic of measles and mumps in Guam, by C. P. Kindleberger, surgeon,

United States Navy 243</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">The feeble-minded from a military standpoint, by A. R. Schier, acting assistant

surgeon, United States Navy 247</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">The Towne-Lambert elimination treatment of drug addictions, by W. M. Kerr,

passed assistant surgeon, United States Navy 258</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Medical experiences in the Amazonian Tropics, by C. C. Ammerman, assistant

surgeon, Medical Reserve Corps, United States Navy 270</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">United States Naval Medical School laboratories:</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Additions to the pathological collection 281</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Additions to the helminthologieal collection 281</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Suggested devices:</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">An easy method for obtaining blood cultures and for preparing blood

agar, by E. R. Stitt, medical inspector, and G. F. Clark, passed assistant surgeon,

United States Navy 283</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Humidity regulating device on a modern battleship, by R. C. Ransdell, passed

assistant surgeon, United States Navy 284</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Clinical notes:</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Lateral sinus thrombosis, report of case, by G. F. Cottle, passed

assistant surgeon. United States Navy 287</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Twenty-two cases of poisoning by the seeds of Jatropha curcai, by J. A.

Randall, passed assistant surgeon, United States Navy 290</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Shellac bolus in the stomach in fatal case of poisoning by weed

alcohol, by H. F. Hull and O. J. Mink, passed assistant surgeons, United States

Navy 291</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">A case of pneumonia complicated by gangrenous endocarditis, by G. B. Crow,

passed assistant surgeon, United States Navy 292</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Progress in medical sciences:</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">General medicine. —On progressive paralysis in the imperial navy during

the years 1901-1911. By H. G. Beyer. An etiological study of Hodgkin's disease.

The etiology and vaccine treatment of Hodgkin's dis</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">ease. Coryncbacterium hodgkini in lymphatic leukemia and Hodgkin's disease.

Autointoxication and subinfection. Studies of syphilis. The treatment of the

pneumonias. Whooping cough: Etiolcgy, diagnosis, and vaccine treatment. A new

and logical treatment for alcoholism. Intraspinous injection of salvarsanized

serum in the treatment of syphilis of the nervous system, including tabes and

paresis. On the infective nature of certain cases of splenomegaly and Banti's

disease. The etiology and vaccine treatment of Hodgkin's disease. Cultural

results in Hodgkin's disease. By A. W. Dunbar and G. B. Crow 295</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Surgery- Interesting cases of gunshot injury treated at Hankow during

the revolution of 1911 and 1912 in China. The fool's paradise stage in

appendicitis. By L. W. Johnson. The present status of bismuth paste treatment

of suppurative sinuses and empyema. The inguinal route operation for femoral

hernia; with supplementary note on Cooper's ligament. By R. Spear and R. A.

Warner 307</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Hygiene and sanitation. — A contribution to the chemistry of

ventilation. The use of ozone in ventilation. By E. \V. Brown. Pulmonary

tuberculosis in the royal navy, with special reference to its detection and

prevention. An investigation into the keeping properties of condensed milks at

the temperature of tropical climates. By C. N. Fiske and R. C. Ransdell 313</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Tropical medicine. —Seven days fever of the Indian ports. By L. W.

Johnson. Intestinal schistosomiasis in the Sudan. Disease carriers in our army

in India. Origin and present status of the emetin treatment of amebic

dysentery. The culture of leishmania from the finger blood of a case of Indian

kala-azar. By E. R. Stitt 315</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Pathology, bacteriology, and animal parasitology. —The isolation of

typhoid bacilli from feces by means of brilliant green in fluid medium. By C.

N. Fiske. An efficient and convenient stain for use in the eeneral examination

of blood films. By 0. B. Crow. A contribution to the epidemiology of

poliomyelitis. A contribution to the pathology of epidemic poliomyelitis. A

note on the etiology of epidemic<span> 

</span>oliomyelitis. Transmutations within the streptococcus-pneumococcus

group. The etiology of acute rheumatism, articular and muscular. By A. B.

Clifford and G. F. Clark 320</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Chemistry and pharmacy.— Centrifugal method for estimating albumin in

urine. Detection of albumin in urine. New indican reaction A report on the

chemistry, technology, and pharmacology of and the legislation pertaining to

methyl alcohol. By E. W. Brown and O. O. Ruge. . 325</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Eye, ear, nose, and throat. —The use of local anesthesia in

exenteration of the orbit. Salvarsan in<span> 

</span>ophthalmic practice. The effect of salvarsan on the eye. Total blindness

from the toxic action of wood alcohol, with recovery of vision under negative

galvanism. Furunculosis of the external auditory canal; the use of alcohol as a

valuable aid in treatment. Local treatment of Vincent's angina with salvarsan.

Perforated ear drum may be responsible for sudden death in water. The indications

for operating in acute mastoiditis. Turbinotomy. Why is nasal catarrh so

prevalent in the United States? By E. J. Grow and G. B. Trible 330</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Miscellaneous. — The organization and work of the hospital ship Re d’

Italia. ByG. B. Trible 333</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Reports and letters:</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Correspondence concerning the article "Some aspects of the

prophylaxis of typhoid fever by injection of killed cultures," by Surg. C.

S. Butler, United States Navy, which appeared in the Bulletin, October, 1913

339</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Malaria on the U. S. S. Tacoma from February, 1913, to February, 1914.

by I. S. K. Reeves, passed assistant surgeon, United States Navy 344</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Extracts from annual sanitary reports for 1913 345</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;"> </p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Number 3</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;"> </p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Preface vii</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Special articles:</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Economy and waste in naval hospitals, by E. M. Shipp, surgeon, and P.

J. Waldner, chief pharmacist, United States Navy 357</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">The new method of physical training in the United States Navy, by J. A.

Murphy, surgeon, United States Navy 368</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">A study of the etiology of gangosa in Guam, by C. P. Kindleberger,

surgeon, United States Navy 381</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Unreliability of Wassermann tests using unheated serum, by E. R. Stitt,

medical inspector, and G. F. Clark, passed assistant surgeon, United States

Navy 410</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Laboratory note on antigens, by G. F. Clark, pasted assistant surgeon,

United States Navy 411</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Prevention of mouth infection, by Joseph Head, M. D., D. D. S 411</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">The Medical Department at general quarters and preparations for battle,

by A. Farenholt, surgeon, United States Navy 421</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">A bacteriological index for dirt in milk, by J. J. Kinyoun, assistant

surgeon, Medical Reserve Corps, United States Navy 435</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Brief description of proposed plan of a fleet hospital ship, based upon

the type auxiliary hull, by E. M. Blackwell, surgeon, United States Navy.. 442</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">The diagnostic value of the cutaneous tuberculin test in recruiting, by

E. M. Brown, passed assistant surgeon, United States Navy, retired 448</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">United States Naval Medical School laboratories:</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Additions to the pathological collection 453</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Suggested devices:</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">A sanitary mess table for hospitals, by F. M. Bogan, surgeon, United

States Navy 455</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">A suggested improvement of the Navy scuttle butt, by E. M. Blackwell,

surgeon, United States Navy 455</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Clinical notes:</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Malaria cured by neosalvarsan, by F. M. Bogan, surgeon, United States

Navy 457</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">A case of rupture of the bladder with fracture of the pelvis, by H. F.

Strine, surgeon, and M. E. Higgins, passed assistant surgeon, United States

Navy. 458</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Clinical observations on the use of succinimid of mercury, by T. W.

Reed, passed assistant surgeon, United States Navy 459</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Points in the post-mortem ligation of the lingual artery, by O. J.

Mink, passed assistant surgeon, United States Navy 462</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Notes on the wounded at Vera Cruz, by H. F. Strine, surgeon, and M. E.

Higgins, passed assistant surgeon. United States Navy 464</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Case reports from the Naval Hospital, Portsmouth, N. H., by F. M.

Bogan, surgeon, United States Navy 469</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Progress in medical sciences:</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">General medicine. —The mouth in the etiology and symptomatology of

general systemic disturbances. Statistique m£dicale de la marine, 1909. By L.

W. Johnson. Antityphoid inoculation. Vaccines from the standpoint of the

physician. The treatment of sciatica. Chronic gastric ulcer and its relation to

gastric carcinoma. The nonprotein nitrogenous constituents of the blood in

chronic vascular nephritis<span> 

</span>(arteriosclero-iis) as influenced by the level of protein metabolism.

The influence of diet on hepatic necrosis and toxicity of chloroform. The

rational treatment of tetanus. The comparative value of cardiac remedies. By A.

W. Dunbar and G. B. Crow </p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Psychiatry. —Abderhalden's method. Precis de psychiatric Constitutional

immorality. Nine years' experience with manic-depressive insanity. The pupil

and its reflexes in insanity. By R. F. Sheehan.</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Surgery. —On the occurrence of traumatic dislocations (luxationen) in

the Imperial German Navy during the last 20 years. By H. G. Beyer. The wounding

effects of the Turkish sharp-pointed bullet. By T. W. Richards. Intestinal

obstruction: formation and absorption of toxin. By G. B. Crow </p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Hygiene and sanitation. —Relation of oysters to the transmission of

infectious diseases. The proper diet in the Tropics, with some pertinent remarks

on the use of alcohol. By E. W. Brown. Report of committee</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">upon period of isolation and exclusion from school in cases of

communicable disease. Resultats d'une enquete relative a la morbidity venerienne

dans la division navale d'Extreme-Orient et aux moyens susceptibles de la

restreindre. Ship's hygiene in the middle of the seventeenth century- Progress in

ship's hygiene during the nineteenth century. The origin of some of the

streptococci found in milk. On the further perfecting of mosquito spraying. By

C. N. Fiske and R. C. Ransdell</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Tropical medicine. — Le transport, colloidal de medicaments dans le cholera.

By T. W. Richards. Cholera in the Turkish Army. A supposed case of yellow fever

in Jamaica. By L. W. Johnson. Note on a new geographic locality for balantidiosis.

Brief note on Toxoplasma pyroqenes. Note on certain protozoalike bodies in a

case of protracted fever with splenomegaly. The emetine and other treatment of

amebic dysentery and hepatitis, including liver abscess. A study of epidemic dysentery

in the Fiji Islands. By E. R. Stitt</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Pathology, bacteriology, and animal parasitology. — The best method of staining

Treponema pallidum. By C. N. Fiske. Bacteriological methods of meat analysis.

By R. C. Ransdell. Primary tissue lesions in the heart produced by Spirochete

pallida. Ten tests by which a physician may determine when p patient is cured

of gonorrhea. Diagnostic value of percutaneous tuberculin test (Moro). Some

causes of failure of vaccine therapy. A method of increasing the accuracy and

delicacy of the Wassermann reaction: By A. B. Clifford and G. F. Clark</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Chemistry and pharmacy. —Quantitative test of pancreatic function. A comparison

of various preservatives of urine. A clinical method for the rapid estimation

of the quantity of dextrose in urine. By E. W. Brown and O. G. Ruge</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Eye, ear, nose, and throat. —Intraocular pressure. Strauma as an

important factor in diseases of the eye. Carbonic cauterization "in the

treatment of granular ophthalmia. Ocular and other complications of syphilis treated

by salvarsan. Some notes on hay fever. A radiographic study of the mastoid. Ear

complications during typhoid fever. Su di un caso di piccola sanguisuga

cavallina nel bronco destro e su 7 casi di grosse sanguisughe cavalline in

laringe in trachea e rino-faringe. By E. J. Grow and G. B. Trible</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Reports and letters: </p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">American medico-psychological association, by R. F. Sheehan, passed assistant

surgeon, United States Navy 517</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Report of 11 cases of asphyxiation from coal gas, by L. C. Whiteside,

passed assistant surgeon, United States Navy 522</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Extracts from annual sanitary reports for 1913 — United States Naval

Academy, Annapolis, Md., by A. M. D. McCormick, medical director, United States

Navy 523</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">U. S. S. Arkansas, by W. B. Grove, surgeon, United States Navy 524 </p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Marine barracks, Camp Elliott, Canal Zone, Panama, by B. H. Dorsey, passed

assistant surgeon, United States Navy 525</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">U. S. S. Cincinnati, by J. B. Mears, passed assistant surgeon. United States

Navy 526</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">U. S. S. Florida, by M. S. Elliott, surgeon, United States Navy 527</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Naval training station, Great Lakes, Ill., by J. S. Taylor, surgeon, United

States Navy 527</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Naval station, Guam, by C. P. Kindleberger, surgeon, United States Navy

528</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Naval Hospital, Las Animas, Colo., by G. H. Barber, medical inspector, United

States Navy 532</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">U. S. S. Nebraska, by E. H. H. Old, passed assistant surgeon, United States

Navy 533</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">U. S. S. North Dakota, by J. C. Pryor, surgeon, United States Navy. .

534</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Navy yard, Olongapo, P. L, by J. S. Woodward, passed assistant surgeon,

United States Navy 536</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">U. S. S. San Francisco, by T. W. Reed, passed assistant surgeon, United

States Navy 537</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">U. S. S. Saratoga, by H. R. Hermesch, assistant surgeon, United States Navy

538</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">U. S. S. Scorpion, by E. P. Huff, passed assistant surgeon, United States

Navy 538</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">U. S. S. West Virginia, by O. J. Mink, passed assistant surgeon, United

States Navy 539</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;"> </p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Number 4</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;"> </p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Preface V</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Special articles:</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Some prevailing ideas regarding the treatment of tuberculosis, by

Passed Asst. Surg. G. B. Crow 541</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">The Training School for the Hospital Corps of the Navy, by Surg. F. E. McCullough

and Passed Asst. Surg. J. B. Kaufman 555</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Khaki dye for white uniforms, by Passed Asst. Surg. W. E. Eaton 561</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Some facts and some fancies regarding the unity of yaws and syphilis,

by Surg. C. S. Butler 561</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Quinine prophylaxis of malaria, by Passed Asst. Surg. L. W. McGuire 571</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">The nervous system and naval warfare, translated by Surg. T. W.

Richards. 576</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Measles, by Surg. G. F. Freeman 586</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Smallpox and vaccination, by Passed Asst. Surg. T. W. Raison 589</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Rabies; methods of diagnosis and immunization, by Passed Asst. Surg. F.

X. Koltes 597</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Syphilis aboard ship, by Passed Asst. Surg. G. F. Cottle 605</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Systematic recording and treatment of syphilis, by Surg. A. M.

Fauntleroy and Passed Asst. Surg. E. H. H. Old 620</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Organization and station bills of the U. S. naval hospital ship Solace,

by Surg. W. M. Garton 624</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">United States Naval Medical School laboratories:</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Additions to the pathological collection 647</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Additions to the helminthological collection 647</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Clinical notes:</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Succinimid of mercury in pyorrhea alveolaris, by Acting Asst. Dental Surg.

P. G. White 649</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">A case of pityriasis rosea, by Surg. R. E. Ledbetter 651</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Emetin in the treatment of amebic abscess of the liver, by Surg. H. F. Strine

and Passed Asst. Surg. L. Sheldon, jr 653 </p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Salvarsan in a case of amebic dysentery, by Passed Asst. Surg. O. J.

Mink. . 653</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Laceration of the subclavian artery and complete severing of brachial plexus,

by Surg. H. C. Curl and Passed Asst. Surg. C. B. Camerer 654</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Malarial infection complicating splenectomy, by Surg. H. F. Strine 655</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">A case of gastric hemorrhage; operative interference impossible, by

Passed Arst. Surg. G. E. Robertson 656</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Operation for strangulated hernia, by Passed Asst. Surg. W. S. Pugh 657</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">A case of bronchiectasis with hypertrophic pulmonary osteoarthropathy,

by Passed Asst. Surg. L. C. Whiteside 658</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Editorial comment:</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Systematic recording and treatment of syphilis 665</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Progress in medical sciences: <span> </span></p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">General medicine. —A note of three cases of enteric fever inoculated

during the incubation period. By T. W. Richards. The modern treatment of

chancroids. The treatment of burns. By W. E. Eaton. Experiments on the curative

value of the intraspinal administration of tetanus antitoxin. Hexamethylenamin.

<span> </span>Hexamethylenamin as an internal

antiseptic in other fluids of the body than urine. Lumbar puncture as a special

procedure for controlling headache in the course of infectious diseases.

Cardiospasm. Acromion auscultation; a new and delicate test in the early

diagnosis of incipient pulmonary tuberculosis.</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Diabetes mellitus and its differentiation from alimentary glycosuria.

The complement fixation test in typhoid fever; its comparison with the

agglutination test and blood culture method. By C. B. Crow.. 671</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Mental and nervous diseases. —A voice sign in chorea. By G. B. Crow.

Wassermann reaction and its application to neurology. Epilepsy: a theory of

causation founded upon the clinical manifestations and the therapeutic and

pathological data. Salvarsanized serum (Swift-Ellis treatment) in syphilitic diseases

of the central nervous system. Mental manifestations in tumors of the brain.

Some of the broader issues of the psycho-analytic n movement. Mental disease

and defect in United States troops. By R. Sheehan 6S1</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Surgery. — Infiltration anesthesia. War surgery. Tenoplasty; tendon transplantation;

tendon substitution; neuroplasty. Carcinoma of the male breast. Visceral

pleureotomy for chronic empyema. By A. M. Fauntleroy and E. H. H. Old 6S8</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Hygiene and sanitation. — Further experiences with the Berkefold filter

in the purifying of lead-contaminated water. By T. W. Richards. Experiments in

the destruction of fly larvae in horse manure. By A. B. Clifford. Investigation

relative to the life cycle, brooding, and tome practical moans of reducing the

multiplication of flies in camp. By W. E. Eaton, Humidity and heat stroke;

further observations on an<span>  </span>analysis of

50 cases. By C. N. Fiske 693</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Tropical medicine. — The treatment of aneylostoma anemia. Latent dysentery

or dysentery carriers. Naphthalone for the destruction of mosquitoes. Emetin in

amebic dysentery. By E. R. Stitt 704</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Pathology, bacteriology, and animal parasitology. —Meningitis by

injection of pyogenic microbes in the peripheral nerves. The growth of pathogenic

intestinal bacteria in bread. Present status of the complement fixation test in

the diagnosis of gonorrheal infections. Practical application of the luetin

test. By A. B. Clifford and G. F. Clark 707</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Eye, ear, nose, and throat. — Misting of eyeglasses. By E. L. Sleeth.

The treatment of ocular syphilis by salvarsan and neo salvarsan. The moving

picture and the eye. Treatment of various forms of ocular syphilis with

salvarsan. Rapid, painless, and bloodless method for removing the inferior

turbinate. Hemorrhage from the superior petrosal sinus. The frequency of

laryngeal tuberculosis in Massachusetts.</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Intrinsic cancer of larynx. Treatment of hematoma of the auricle. By E.

J. Grow and G. B. Trible 709</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Reports and letters:</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Care of wounded at Mazatlan and at Villa Union, by Medical Inspector S.

G. Evans 713</p>

 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal;">Medico-military reports of the occupation of Vera Cruz 715</p>

 

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The Impala died bloodlessly, and then the leopard dragged it under a bush. The next day its body was up in a tree, dismembered. In order for leopards to survive, impalas and other antelopes must die. Otherwise there will be no leopards. As any visitor to Africa's savannahs can see, antelope species in general are thriving at least as well as their predators are.

Muscat (Arabic: مَسْقَط, Masqaṭ pronounced [ˈmasqatˤ]) is the capital and most populated city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the total population of Muscat Governorate was 1.72 million as of September 2022. The metropolitan area spans approximately 3,500 km2 (1,400 sq mi) and includes six provinces called wilayats, making it the largest city in the Arabian Peninsula by area.[citation needed] Known since the early 1st century AD as an important trading port between the west and the east, Muscat was ruled by various indigenous tribes as well as foreign powers such as the Persians, the Portuguese Empire and the Ottoman Empire at various points in its history. A regional military power in the 18th century, Muscat's influence extended as far as East Africa and Zanzibar. As an important port-town in the Gulf of Oman, Muscat attracted foreign traders and settlers such as the Persians, Balochs and Sindhis. Since the accession of Qaboos bin Said as Sultan of Oman in 1970, Muscat has experienced rapid infrastructural development that has led to the growth of a vibrant economy and a multi-ethnic society. Muscat is termed as a Beta - Global City by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.

 

The Hajar Mountains dominate the landscape of Muscat. The city lies on the Arabian Sea along the Gulf of Oman and is in the proximity of the strategic Straits of Hormuz. Low-lying white buildings typify most of Muscat's urban landscape, while the port-district of Muttrah, with its corniche and harbour, form the north-eastern periphery of the city. Muscat's economy is dominated by trade, petroleum, liquified natural gas and porting.

 

Toponymy

Ptolemy's Map of Arabia identifies the territories of Cryptus Portus and Moscha Portus. Scholars are divided in opinion on which of the two is related to the city of Muscat. Similarly, Arrianus references Omana and Moscha in Voyage of Nearchus. Interpretations of Arrianus' work by William Vincent and Jean Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville conclude that Omana was a reference to Oman, while Moscha referred to Muscat. Similarly, other scholars identify Pliny the Elder's reference to Amithoscuta to be Muscat.

 

The origin of the word Muscat is disputed. Some authors claim that the word has Arabic origins – from moscha, meaning an inflated hide or skin. Other authors claim that the name Muscat means anchorage or the place of "letting fall the anchor". Other derivations include muscat from Old Persian, meaning strong-scented, or from Arabic, meaning falling-place, or hidden. Cryptus Portus is synonymous with Oman ("hidden land"). But "Ov-man" (Omman), and the old Sumerian name Magan (Maa-kan), means sea-people in Arabic. An inhabitant is a Muscatter, Muscatian, Muscatite or Muscatan. In 1793 AD the capital was transferred from Rustaq to Muscat.

 

History

See also: Timeline of Muscat, Oman

Evidence of communal activity in the area around Muscat dates back to the 6th millennium BC in Ras al-Hamra, where burial sites of fishermen have been found. The graves appear to be well formed and indicate the existence of burial rituals. South of Muscat, remnants of Harappan pottery indicate some level of contact with the Indus Valley civilisation. Muscat's notability as a port was acknowledged as early as the 1st century AD by the Greek geographer Ptolemy, who referred to it as Cryptus Portus (the Hidden Port), and by Pliny the Elder, who called it Amithoscuta.

 

The port fell to a Sassanid invasion in the 3rd century AD, under the rule of Shapur I, while conversion to Islam occurred during the 7th century. Muscat's importance as a trading port continued to grow in the centuries that followed, under the influence of the Azd dynasty, a local tribe. The establishment of the First Imamate in the 9th century was the first step in consolidating disparate Omani tribal factions under the banner of an Ibadi state. However, tribal skirmishes continued, allowing the Abbasids of Baghdad to conquer Oman. The Abbasids occupied the region until the 11th century, when they were driven out by the local Yahmad tribe. Power over Oman shifted from the Yahmad tribe to the Azdi Nabahinah clan, during whose rule, the people of coastal ports such as Muscat prospered from maritime trade and close alliances with the Indian subcontinent, at the cost of the alienation of the people of the interior of Oman.

 

The Portuguese admiral Afonso de Albuquerque sailed to Muscat in 1507, in an attempt to establish trade relations. As he approached the harbour, his ships were fired on. He then decided to conquer Muscat. Most of the city burned to the ground during and after the fighting.

 

The Portuguese maintained a hold on Muscat for over a century, despite challenges from Persia and a bombardment of the town by the Ottoman Turks in 1546. The Turks twice captured Muscat from the Portuguese, in the Capture of Muscat (1552) and 1581–88. The election of Nasir bin Murshid Al-Ya'rubi as Imam of Oman in 1624 changed the balance of power again in the region, from the Persians and the Portuguese to local Omanis. Among the most important castles and forts in Muscat, the Al Jalali Fort and the Al-Mirani Fort are the most prominent buildings left by the Portuguese. On August 16, 1648 the Imam dispatched an army to Muscat, which captured and demolished the high towers of the Portuguese, weakening their grip over the town. Decisively, in 1650, a small but determined body of the Imam's troops attacked the port at night, forcing an eventual Portuguese surrender on January 23, 1650. A civil war and repeated incursions by the Persian king Nader Shah in the 18th century destabilised the region, and further strained relations between the interior and Muscat. This power vacuum in Oman led to the emergence of the Al Bu Sa‘id dynasty, which has ruled Oman ever since.

 

Muscat's naval and military supremacy was re-established in the 19th century by Said bin Sultan, who signed a treaty with U.S. President Andrew Jackson's representative Edmund Roberts on September 21, 1833. Having gained control over Zanzibar, in 1840 Said moved his capital to Stone Town, the ancient quarter of Zanzibar City; however, after his death in 1856, control over Zanzibar was lost when it became an independent sultanate under his sixth son, Majid bin Said (1834/5–1870), while the third son, Thuwaini bin Said, became the Sultan of Oman.

 

By the 19th century, a large Hindu merchant community in the port city dominated its commercial life. It is argued that their settlement at least since the fifteenth century; one of the reasons is that the Portuguese relied heavily on them to secure a trade monopoly in the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf area. The Sindhis were amongst the first during this era, followed by the Kutchis. The merchant community played an important role in expelling the Europeans in 1650. They were not affected by civil war that established the Al Bu Sa‘id dynasty and continued to prosper under Ahmad bin Said al-Busaidi. Important trade existed between the city and Thatta, and later, Kutch, expanding to other parts of India.

 

During the second half of the 19th century, the fortunes of the Al Bu Sa‘id declined and friction with the Imams of the interior resurfaced. Muscat and Muttrah were attacked by tribes from the interior in 1895 and again in 1915. A tentative ceasefire was brokered by the British, which gave the interior more autonomy. However, conflicts among the disparate tribes of the interior, and with the Sultan of Muscat and Oman continued into the 1950s, and eventually escalated into the Dhofar Rebellion (1962). The rebellion forced the Sultan Said bin Taimur to seek the assistance of the British in quelling the uprisings from the interior. The failed assassination attempt of April 26, 1966 on Said bin Taimur led to the further isolation of the Sultan, who had moved his residence from Muscat to Salalah, amidst the civilian armed conflict. On July 23, 1970, Qaboos bin Said, son of the Sultan, staged a bloodless coup d'état in the Salalah palace with the assistance of the British, and took over as ruler.

 

With the assistance of the British, Qaboos bin Said put an end to the Dhofar uprising and consolidated disparate tribal territories. He renamed the country the Sultanate of Oman (called Muscat and Oman hitherto), in an attempt to end to the interior's isolation from Muscat. Qaboos enlisted the services of capable Omanis to fill positions in his new government, drawing from such corporations as Petroleum Development Oman. New ministries for social services such as health and education were established. The construction of Mina Qaboos, a new port conceived initially by Sa‘id bin Taimur, was developed during the early days of Qaboos' rule. Similarly, a new international airport was developed in Muscat's Seeb district. A complex of offices, warehouses, shops and homes transformed the old village of Ruwi in Muttrah into a commercial district. The first five-year development plan in 1976 emphasised infrastructural development of Muscat, which provided new opportunities for trade and tourism in the 1980s–1990s, attracting migrants from around the region. On June 6, 2007, Cyclone Gonu hit Muscat causing extensive damage to property, infrastructure and commercial activity.

 

Geography and geology

Muscat is located in northeast Oman. The Tropic of Cancer passes south of the area. It is bordered to its west by the plains of the Al Batinah Region and to its east by Ash Sharqiyah Region. The interior plains of Ad Dakhiliyah Region border Muscat to the south, while the Gulf of Oman forms the northern and western periphery of the city. The water along the coast of Muscat runs deep, forming two natural harbours, in Muttrah and Muscat. The Central Hajar Mountains run through the northern coastline of the city.

 

Volcanic rocks, predominantly serpentinite and diorite are apparent in the Muscat area and extend along the Gulf of Oman coast for ten or twelve 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) from the district of Darsait to Yiti. Plutonic rocks constitute the hills and mountains of Muscat and span approximately 30 miles (48 km) from Darsait to Ras Jissah. These igneous rocks consists of serpentinite, greenstone, and basalt, typical of rocks in southeastern regions of the Arabian Peninsula. South of Muscat, the volcanic rock strata are broken up and distorted, rising to a maximum height of 6,000 feet (1,800 m) in Al-Dakhiliyah, a region which includes Jebel Akhdar, the country's highest range. The hills in Muscat are mostly devoid of vegetation but are rich in iron.

 

The halophytic sabkha type desert vegetation is predominant in Muscat. The Qurum Nature Reserve contains plants such as the Arthrocnemum Macrostachyum and Halopeplis Perfoliata. Coral reefs are common in Muscat. Acropora reefs exist in the sheltered bays of the satellite towns of Jussah and Khairan. Additionally, smaller Porites reef colonies exist in Khairan, which have fused to form a flat-top pavement that is visible at low tide. Crabs and spiny crayfish are found in the waters of the Muscat area, as are sardines and bonito. Glassfish are common in freshwater estuaries, such as the Qurum Nature Reserve.

 

The Sultan Qaboos Street forms the main artery of Muscat, running west-to-east through the city. The street eventually becomes Al Nahdah Street near Al Wattayah. Several inter-city roads such as Nizwa Road and Al Amrat Road, intersect with Al Sultan Qaboos Road (in Rusail and Ruwi, respectively). Muttrah, with the Muscat Harbour, Corniche, and Mina Qaboos, is located in the north-eastern coastline of the city, adjacent to the Gulf of Oman. Other coastal districts of Muscat include Darsait, Mina Al Fahal, Ras Al Hamar, Al Qurum Heights, Al Khuwair, and Al Seeb. Residential and commercial districts further inland include Al Hamriyah, Al Wadi Al Kabir, Ruwi, Al Wattayah, Madinat Qaboos, Al Azaiba and Al Ghubra.

 

Climate

Muscat features a hot, arid climate (Köppen climate classification BWh) with long, sweltering summers and warm "winters". Annual rainfall in Muscat is about 10 centimetres or 4 inches, falling mostly from December to April. In general, precipitation is scarce in Muscat, with the months May to November typically receiving only a trace of rainfall. However, in recent years, heavy precipitation events from tropical systems originating in the Arabian Sea have struck the city. Cyclone Gonu in June 2007 and Cyclone Phet in June 2010 affected the city with damaging winds and rainfall amounts exceeding 100 millimetres or 4 inches in just a single day. The climate generally is very hot and also very humid in the summer, with temperatures sometimes reaching as high as 45 °C or 113 °F.

 

Economy

Muscat's economy, like that of Oman, is dominated by trade. The more traditional exports of the city included dates, mother of pearl, and fish. Many of the souks of Muttrah sell these items and traditional Omani artefacts. Petroleum Development Oman has been central to Muscat's economy since at least 1962 and is the country's second largest employer, after the government. Its major shareholders include Shell, Total, and Partex and its production is estimated to be about 720,000 barrels per day (114,000 m3/d). Muscat also has major trading companies such as the Suhail Bahwan Group, which is a trading partner for corporations such as Toshiba, Subaru, Seiko, Hewlett-Packard, General Motors, RAK Ceramics; Saud Bahwan Group whose trading partners are Toyota, Daihatsu, KIA and Hertz Rent-a-Car; Zubair Automotive whose trading partners include Mitsubishi, and Chrysler brands such as Dodge; and Moosa AbdulRahman Hassan which operates as one of the oldest automotive agencies in the entire region having been established in 1927. The private Health Care sector of Muscat, Oman has numerous hospitals and clinics.

 

The Muscat Securities Market is the principal stock exchange of Oman. It is located in Central Business District of Muscat and it was established in 1988, and has since distinguished itself as a pioneer among its regional peers in terms of transparency and disclosure regulations and requirements.

 

Mina'a Sultan Qaboos, Muscat's main trading port, is a trading hub between the Persian Gulf, the Indian subcontinent and the Far East with an annual volume of about 1.6 million tons. However, the emergence of the Jebel Ali Free Zone in neighboring Dubai, United Arab Emirates, has made that port the premier maritime trading port of the region with about 44 million tons traded in cargo annually. Many infrastructural facilities are owned and operated by the government of Oman. Omantel is the major telecommunications organization in Oman and provides local, long-distance and international dialing facilities and operates as the country's only ISP. Recent liberalization of the mobile telephone market has seen the establishment of a second provider, Ooredoo.

 

Muscat is home to multibillion-dollar conglomerate CK Industries with their headquarters located in Ruwi. Ajman based Amtek Industries also have a couple of offices around the city. It is also home to Galfar Engineering, headed by P. Mohammed Ali.

 

The airline Oman Air has its head office on the grounds of Muscat International Airport.

 

Demographics

According to the 2003 census conducted by the Oman Ministry of National Economy, the population of Muscat is over 630,000, which included 370,000 males and 260,000 females. Muscat formed the second largest governorate in the country, after Al Batinah, accounting for 27% of the total population of Oman. As of 2003, Omanis constituted 60% of the total population of Muscat, while expatriates accounted for about 40%. The population density of the city was 162.1 per km2.

  

Shangri la in Muscat

The governorate of Muscat comprises six wilayats: Muttrah, Bawshar, Seeb, Al Amrat, Muscat and Qurayyat. Seeb, located in the western section of the governorate, was the most populous (with over 220,000 residents), while Muttrah had the highest number of expatriates (with over 100,000). Approximately 71% of the population was within the 15–64 age group, with the average Omani age being 23 years. About 10% of the population is illiterate, an improvement when compared to the 18% illiteracy rate recorded during the 1993 census. Expatriates accounted for over 60% of the labour force, dominated by males, who accounted for 80% of the city's total labour. A majority of expatriates (34%) was in engineering-related occupations, while most Omanis worked in engineering, clerical, scientific or technical fields. The defense sector was the largest employer for Omanis, while construction, wholesale and retail trade employed the largest number of expatriates.

 

The ethnic makeup of Muscat has historically been influenced by people not native to the Arabian Peninsula. British Parliamentary papers dating back to the 19th century indicate the presence of a significant Hindu Gujarati merchants in the city. Indeed, four Hindu temples existed in Muscat ca. 1760. Christianity flourished in Oman (Bēṯ Mazūnāyē "land of the Maganites"; a name deriving from its Sumerian designation) from the late 4th century to the 7th century. Missionary activity by the Assyrians of the Church of the East resulted in a significant Christian population living in the region, with a bishop being attested by 424 AD under the Metropolitan of Fars and Arabia. The rise of Islam saw the Syriac and Arabic-speaking Christian population eventually disappear. It is thought to have been brought back in by the Portuguese in 1507. Protestant missionaries established a hospital in Muscat in the 19th century.

 

Like the rest of Oman, Arabic is the predominant language of the city. In addition, English, Balochi, Sindhi, Swahili and Indian languages such as Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Konkani, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Tamil, Tulu, Telugu and Urdu are spoken by the residents of Muscat.

 

Islam is the predominant religion in the city, with most followers being Ibadi Muslims. Non-Muslims are allowed to practise their religion, but may not proselytize publicly or distribute religious literature. In 2017 the Sultanate of Oman unveiled the Mushaf Muscat, an interactive calligraphic Quran following a brief from the Omani Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs.

 

Notable landmarks

The city has numerous mosques including the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, Ruwi Mosque, Saeed bin Taimoor and Zawawi Mosque. A few Shi'ite mosques also exist here. Muscat has a number of museums. These include Museum of Omani Heritage, National Museum of Oman, Oman Children's Museum, Bait Al Zubair, Oman Oil and Gas Exhibition Centre, Omani French Museum, Sultan's Armed Forces Museum and the Omani Aquarium and Marine Science and Fisheries Centre. The Bait Al Falaj Fort played an important role in Muscat's military history.

 

Recent projects include an opera house which opened on October 14, 2011. One of the most notable new projects is the Oman National Museum. It is expected to be an architectural jewel along with the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque. Visitors are also encouraged[who?] to visit Old Muscat and the Old Palace. The main shopping district is situated in Al Qurum Commercial Area. However, shopping malls are found throughout the city. One of the largest malls in Oman is Oman Avenues Mall, located in Ghubra. The fourth largest mall is in Seeb, near the international airport, called City Centre Muscat, housing all major international brands and the largest Carrefour hypermarket. Two new megamalls opened during 2019 and 2020: in the Mabela area of Muscat are Al Araimi Boulevard and Mall of Muscat.[citation needed] The Mall of Muscat is also home to the Oman Aquarium and a snow park which opened in late 2019.[50] Mall Of Oman, the largest shopping mall in Oman was opened in Summer 2021 housing over 100+ stores including Snow Oman, Vox Cinemas, an arcade (Magic Planet) and various food chains.

 

Culture

The traditional Dhow, an enduring symbol of Oman

Outwardly, Oman shares many of the cultural characteristics of its Arab neighbours, particularly those in the Gulf Cooperation Council. Despite these similarities, important factors make Oman unique in the Middle East. These result as much from geography and history as from culture and economics. The relatively recent and artificial nature of the state of Oman makes it difficult to describe a national culture; however, sufficient cultural heterogeneity exists within its national boundaries to make Oman distinct from other Arab States of the Persian Gulf. Oman's cultural diversity is greater than that of its Arab neighbours, given its historical expansion to the Swahili Coast and the Indian Ocean.

 

Oman has a long tradition of shipbuilding, as maritime travel played a major role in the Omanis' ability to stay in contact with the civilisations of the ancient world. Sur was one of the most famous shipbuilding cities of the Indian Ocean. The Al Ghanja ship takes one whole year to build. Other types of Omani ship include As Sunbouq and Al Badan.

 

In March 2016, archaeologists working off Al-Hallaniyah Island identified a shipwreck believed to be that of the Esmeralda from Vasco da Gama's 1502–1503 fleet. The wreck was initially discovered in 1998. Later underwater excavations took place between 2013 and 2015 through a partnership between the Oman Ministry of Heritage and Culture and Blue Water Recoveries Ltd., a shipwreck recovery company. The vessel was identified through such artifacts as a "Portuguese coin minted for trade with India (one of only two coins of this type known to exist) and stone cannonballs engraved with what appear to be the initials of Vincente Sodré, da Gama's maternal uncle and the commander of the Esmeralda".

 

Notable people

Mohammed Al Barwani (born 1952), billionaire and founder of MB Holding

Avicii (1989–2018), Swedish music producer and DJ, died in Muscat Hills

Mahesh Bhupathi (born 1974), Indian tennis player. He studied at the Indian School, Muscat.

Sarah-Jane Dias (born 1974), Indian actress. She studied at the Indian School, Muscat.

Isla Fisher (born 1976), Australian actress, born to Scottish parents and lived in Australia

Tate McRae (born 2003), Canadian singer-songwriter, studied at The American International School Muscat

Ali Al-Habsi (born 1981), professional footballer, captain of the Oman national and goalkeeper for Saudi club Al Hilal

Amad Al-Hosni (born 1984), professional footballer

Ahmad Al Harthy (born 1981), racecar driver

Fatma Al-Nabhani (born 1991), tennis player

Ali bin Masoud al Sunaidy (born 1964), former Omani Minister of Commerce and Industry

Sneha Ullal (born 1987), Indian Bollywood Actress. She studied at the Indian School, Muscat.

Nitya Vidyasagar (born 1985), American actress

Al Faisal Al Zubair (born 1998), racecar driver

Hamed Al-Wahaibi (born 1968), rally driver

 

Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located in West Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of the Persian Gulf. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen, while sharing maritime borders with Iran and Pakistan. The capital and largest city is Muscat. Oman has a population of nearly 4.7 million and is ranked the 124th most-populous country. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the southeast, and the Gulf of Oman on the northeast. The Madha and Musandam exclaves are surrounded by United Arab Emirates on their land borders, with the Strait of Hormuz (which it shares with Iran) and the Gulf of Oman forming Musandam's coastal boundaries.

 

From the 17th century, the Omani Sultanate was an empire, vying with the Portuguese and British Empires for influence in the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean. At its peak in the 19th century, Omani influence and control extended across the Strait of Hormuz to Iran and Pakistan, and as far south as Zanzibar. In the 20th century, the sultanate came under the influence of the United Kingdom. For over 300 years, the relations built between the two empires were based on mutual benefit. The UK recognized Oman's geographical importance as a trading hub that secured their trading lanes in the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean and protected their empire in the Indian sub-continent. Oman is an absolute monarchy led by a sultan, with power passed down through the male line. Qaboos bin Said was the Sultan from 1970 until his death on 10 January 2020. Qaboos, who died childless, had named his cousin, Haitham bin Tariq, as his successor in a letter, and the family confirmed him as the Sultan of Oman.

 

Formerly a maritime empire, Oman is the oldest continuously independent state in the Arab world. It is a member of the United Nations, the Arab League, the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Non-Aligned Movement and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. It has oil reserves ranked 22nd globally. In 2010, the United Nations Development Programme ranked Oman as the most improved nation in the world in terms of development during the preceding 40 years. A portion of its economy involves tourism and trading fish, dates and other agricultural produce. Oman is categorized as a high-income economy and, as of 2023, ranks as the 48th most peaceful country in the world according to the Global Peace Index.

 

Oman is the site of pre-historic human habitation, stretching back over 100,000 years. The region was impacted by powerful invaders, including other Arab tribes, Portugal and Britain. Oman once possessed the island of Zanzibar on the east coast of Africa as a colony. Oman also held Gwadar as a colony for many years.

 

Prehistoric record

In Oman, a site was discovered by Doctor Bien Joven in 2011 containing more than 100 surface scatters of stone tools belonging to the late Nubian Complex, known previously only from archaeological excavations in Sudan. Two optically stimulated luminescence age estimates place the Arabian Nubian Complex at approximately 106,000 years old. This provides evidence for a distinct Mobile Stone Age technocomplex in southern Arabia, around the earlier part of the Marine Isotope Stage 5.

 

The hypothesized departure of humankind from Africa to colonise the rest of the world involved them crossing the Straits of Bab el Mandab in the southern Red Sea and moving along the green coastlines around Arabia and thence to the rest of Eurasia. Such crossing became possible when sea level had fallen by more than 80 meters to expose much of the shelf between southern Eritrea and Yemen; a level that was reached during a glacial stadial from 60 to 70 ka as climate cooled erratically to reach the last glacial maximum. From 135,000 to 90,000 years ago, tropical Africa had megadroughts which drove the humans from the land and towards the sea shores, and forced them to cross over to other continents. The researchers used radiocarbon dating techniques on pollen grains trapped in lake-bottom mud to establish vegetation over the ages of the Malawi lake in Africa, taking samples at 300-year-intervals. Samples from the megadrought times had little pollen or charcoal, suggesting sparse vegetation with little to burn. The area around Lake Malawi, today heavily forested, was a desert approximately 135,000 to 90,000 years ago.

 

Luminescence dating is a technique that measures naturally occurring radiation stored in the sand. Data culled via this methodology demonstrates that 130,000 years ago, the Arabian Peninsula was relatively warmer which caused more rainfall, turning it into a series of lush habitable land. During this period the southern Red Sea's levels dropped and was only 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) wide. This offered a brief window of time for humans to easily cross the sea and cross the Peninsula to opposing sites like Jebel Faya. These early migrants running away from the climate change in Africa, crossed the Red Sea into Yemen and Oman, trekked across Arabia during favourable climate conditions. 2,000 kilometres of inhospitable desert lie between the Red Sea and Jebel Faya in UAE. But around 130,000 years ago the world was at the end of an ice age. The Red Sea was shallow enough to be crossed on foot or on a small raft, and the Arabian peninsula was being transformed from a parched desert into a green land.

 

There have been discoveries of Paleolithic stone tools in caves in southern and central Oman, and in the United Arab Emirates close to the Straits of Hormuz at the outlet of the Persian Gulf (UAE site (Jebel Faya). The stone tools, some up to 125,000 years old, resemble those made by humans in Africa around the same period.

 

Persian period

The northern half of Oman (beside modern-day Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, plus Balochistan and Sindh provinces of Pakistan) presumably was part of the Maka satrapy of the Persian Achaemenid Empire. By the time of the conquests of Alexander the Great, the satrapy may have existed in some form and Alexander is said to have stayed in Purush, its capital, perhaps near Bam, in Kerman province. From the 2nd half of the 1st millennium BCE, waves of Semitic speaking peoples migrated from central and western Arabia to the east. The most important of these tribes are known as Azd. On the coast Parthian and Sassanian colonies were maintained. From c. 100 BCE to c. 300 CE Semitic speakers appear in central Oman at Samad al-Shan and the so-called Pre-islamic recent period, abbreviated PIR, in what has become the United Arab Emirates. These waves continue, in the 19th century bringing Bedouin ruling families who finally ruled the Persian Gulf states.

 

The Kingdom of Oman was subdued by the Sasanian Empire's forces under Vahrez during the Aksumite–Persian wars. The 4,000-strong Sasanian garrison was headquartered at Jamsetjerd/Jamshedgird (modern Jebel Gharabeh, also known as Felej al-Sook).

 

Conversion to Islam

Oman was exposed to Islam in 630, during the lifetime of the prophet Muhammad; consolidation took place in the Ridda Wars in 632.

 

In 751 Ibadi Muslims, a moderate branch of the Kharijites, established an imamate in Oman. Despite interruptions, the Ibadi imamate survived until the mid-20th century.

 

Oman is currently the only country with a majority Ibadi population. Ibadhism has a reputation for its "moderate conservatism". One distinguishing feature of Ibadism is the choice of ruler by communal consensus and consent. The introduction of Ibadism vested power in the Imam, the leader nominated by the ulema. The Imam's position was confirmed when the imam—having gained the allegiance of the tribal sheiks—received the bay'ah (oath of allegiance) from the public.

 

Foreign invasions

Several foreign powers attacked Oman. The Qarmatians controlled the area between 931 and 932 and then again between 933 and 934. Between 967 and 1053 Oman formed part of the domain of the Iranian Buyyids, and between 1053 and 1154 Oman was part of the Seljuk Empire. Seljuk power even spread through Oman to Koothanallur in southern India.

 

In 1154 the indigenous Nabhani dynasty took control of Oman, and the Nabhani kings ruled Oman until 1470, with an interruption of 37 years between 1406 and 1443.

 

The Portuguese took Muscat on 1 April 1515, and held it until 26 January 1650, although the Ottomans controlled Muscat from 1550 to 1551 and from 1581 to 1588. In about the year 1600, Nabhani rule was temporarily restored to Oman, although that lasted only to 1624 with the establishment of the fifth imamate, also known as the Yarubid Imamate. The latter recaptured Muscat from the Portuguese in 1650 after a colonial presence on the northeastern coast of Oman dating to 1508.

 

Turning the table, the Omani Yarubid dynasty became a colonial power itself, acquiring former Portuguese colonies in east Africa and engaging in the slave trade, centered on the Swahili coast and the island of Zanzibar.

 

By 1719 dynastic succession led to the nomination of Saif bin Sultan II (c. 1706–1743). His candidacy prompted a rivalry among the ulama and a civil war between the two factions, led by major tribes, the Hinawi and the Ghafiri, with the Ghafiri supporting Saif ibn Sultan II. In 1743, Persian ruler Nader Shah occupied Muscat and Sohar with Saif's assistance. Saif died, and was succeeded by Bal'arab bin Himyar of the Yaruba.

 

Persia had occupied the coast previously. Yet this intervention on behalf of an unpopular dynasty brought about a revolt. The leader of the revolt, Ahmad bin Said al-Busaidi, took advantage of the assassination of the Persian king, Nadir Shah in Khurasan in 1747 and the chaos that resulted in the Persian Empire by expelling the dwindling Persian forces. He then defeated Bal'arab, and was elected sultan of Muscat and imam of Oman.

 

The Al Busaid clan thus became a royal dynasty. Like its predecessors, Al Busaid dynastic rule has been characterized by a history of internecine family struggle, fratricide, and usurpation. Apart from threats within the ruling family, there were frequent challenges from the independent tribes of the interior. The Busaidid dynasty renounced the imamate after Ahmad bin Said. The interior tribes recognized the imam as the sole legitimate ruler, rejected the authority of the sultan, and fought for the restoration of the imamate.

 

Schisms within the ruling family became apparent before Ahmad ibn Said's death in 1783 and later manifested themselves with the division of the family into two main lines:

 

the Sultan ibn Ahmad (ruled 1792–1806) line, controlling the maritime state, with nominal control over the entire country

the Qais branch, with authority over the Al Batinah and Ar Rustaq areas

This period also included a revolt in Oman's colony of Zanzibar in the year 1784.

 

During the period of Sultan Said ibn Sultan's reign (1806–1856), Oman built up its overseas colonies, profiting from the slave trade. As a regional commercial power in the 19th century, Oman held the island of Zanzibar on the Swahili Coast, the Zanj region of the East African coast, including Mombasa and Dar es Salaam, and (until 1958) Gwadar on the Arabian Sea coast of present-day Pakistan.

 

When Great Britain prohibited slavery in the mid-19th century, the sultanate's fortunes reversed. The economy collapsed, and many Omani families migrated to Zanzibar. The population of Muscat fell from 55,000 to 8,000 between the 1850s and 1870s. Britain seized most of the overseas possessions, and by 1900 Oman had become a different country than before.

 

Late 19th and early 20th centuries

When Sultan Sa'id bin Sultan Al-Busaid died in 1856, his sons quarrelled over the succession. As a result of this struggle, the empire—through the mediation of Britain under the Canning Award—was divided in 1861 into two separate principalities: Sultanate of Zanzibar (with its African Great Lakes dependencies), and the area of "Muscat and Oman". This name was abolished in 1970 in favor of "Sultanate of Oman", but implies two political cultures with a long history:

 

The coastal tradition: more cosmopolitan, and secular, found in the city of Muscat and adjacent coastline ruled by the sultan.

The interior tradition: insular, tribal, and highly religious under the ideological tenets of Ibadism, found in "Oman proper" ruled by an imam.

The more cosmopolitan Muscat has been the ascending political culture since the founding of the Al Busaid dynasty in 1744, although the imamate tradition has found intermittent expression.

 

The death of Sa'id bin Sultan in 1856 prompted a further division: the descendants of the late sultan ruled Muscat and Oman (Thuwaini ibn Said Al-Busaid, r. 1856–1866) and Zanzibar (Mayid ibn Said Al-Busaid, r. 1856–1870); the Qais branch intermittently allied itself with the ulama to restore imamate legitimacy. In 1868, Azzan bin Qais Al-Busaid (r. 1868–1871) emerged as self-declared imam. Although a significant number of Hinawi tribes recognized him as imam, the public neither elected him nor acclaimed him as such.

 

Imam Azzan understood that to unify the country a strong, central authority had to be established with control over the interior tribes of Oman. His rule was jeopardized by the British, who interpreted his policy of bringing the interior tribes under the central government as a move against their established order. In resorting to military means to unify Muscat and Oman, Imam Azzan alienated members of the Ghafiri tribes, who revolted in the 1870–1871 period. The British gave financial and political support to Turki bin Said Al-Busaid, Imam Azzan's rival in exchange of controlling the area. In the Battle of Dhank, Turki bin Said defeated the forces of Imam Azzan, who was killed in battle outside Muttrah in January 1871.

 

Muscat and Oman was the object of Franco-British rivalry throughout the 18th century. During the 19th century, Muscat and Oman and the United Kingdom concluded several treaties of commerce benefitting mostly the British. In 1908 the British entered into an agreement based in the imperialistic plans to control the area. Their traditional association was confirmed in 1951 through a new treaty of commerce, based on oil reserves, and navigation by which the United Kingdom recognized the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman as a fully independent state, under their supervision and their strategic neo-colonial interest.

 

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, there were tensions between the sultan in Muscat and the Ibadi Imam in Nizwa. This conflict was resolved temporarily by the Treaty of Seeb, which granted the imam rule in the interior Imamate of Oman, while recognising the sovereignty of the sultan in Muscat and its surroundings.

 

Late 20th century

In 1954, the conflict flared up again, when the Treaty of Seeb was broken by the sultan after oil was discovered in the lands of the Imam. The new imam (Ghalib bin Ali) led a 5-year rebellion against the sultan's attack. The Sultan was aided by the colonial British forces and the Shah of Iran. In the early 1960s, the Imam, exiled to Saudi Arabia, obtained support from his hosts and other Arab governments, but this support ended in the 1980s. The case of the Imam was argued at the United Nations as well, but no significant measures were taken.

 

Zanzibar paid an annual subsidy to Muscat and Oman until its independence in early 1964.

 

In 1964, a separatist revolt began in Dhofar province. Aided by Communist and leftist governments such as the former South Yemen (People's Democratic Republic of Yemen), the rebels formed the Dhofar Liberation Front, which later merged with the Marxist-dominated Popular Front for the Liberation of Oman and the Arabian Gulf (PFLOAG). The PFLOAG's declared intention was to overthrow all traditional Persian Gulf régimes. In mid-1974, the Bahrain branch of the PFLOAG was established as a separate organisation and the Omani branch changed its name to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Oman (PFLO), while continuing the Dhofar Rebellion.

 

1970s

In the 1970 Omani coup d'état, Qaboos bin Said al Said ousted his father, Sa'id bin Taimur, who later died in exile in London. Al Said ruled as sultan until his death. The new sultan confronted insurgency in a country plagued by endemic disease, illiteracy, and poverty. One of the new sultan's first measures was to abolish many of his father's harsh restrictions, which had caused thousands of Omanis to leave the country, and to offer amnesty to opponents of the previous régime, many of whom returned to Oman. 1970 also brought the abolition of slavery.

 

Sultan Qaboos also established a modern governmental structure and launched a major development programme to upgrade educational and health facilities, build modern infrastructure and develop the country's natural resources.

 

In an effort to curb the Dhofar insurgency, Sultan Qaboos expanded and re-equipped the armed forces and granted amnesty to all surrendering rebels while vigorously prosecuting the war in Dhofar. He obtained direct military support from the UK, imperial Iran, and Jordan. By early 1975, the guerrillas were confined to a 50-square-kilometre (19 sq mi) area near the Yemeni border and shortly thereafter were defeated. As the war drew to a close, civil action programs were given priority throughout Dhofar and helped win the allegiance of the people. The PFLO threat diminished further with the establishment of diplomatic relations in October 1983 between South Yemen and Oman, and South Yemen subsequently lessened propaganda and subversive activities against Oman. In late 1987 Oman opened an embassy in Aden, South Yemen, and appointed its first resident ambassador to the country.

 

Throughout his reign, Sultan Qaboos balanced tribal, regional, and ethnic interests in composing the national administration. The Council of Ministers, which functions as a cabinet, consisted of 26 ministers, all of whom were directly appointed by Qaboos. The Majlis Al-Shura (Consultative Council) has the mandate of reviewing legislation pertaining to economic development and social services prior to its becoming law. The Majlis Al-Shura may request ministers to appear before it.

 

1990s

In November 1996, Sultan Qaboos presented his people with the "Basic Statutes of the State", Oman's first written "constitution". It guarantees various rights within the framework of Qur'anic and customary law. It partially resuscitated long dormant conflict-of-interest measures by banning cabinet ministers from being officers of public shareholding firms. Perhaps most importantly, the Basic Statutes provide rules for setting Sultan Qaboos' succession.

 

Oman occupies a strategic location on the Strait of Hormuz at the entrance to the Persian Gulf, 35 miles (56 km) directly opposite Iran. Oman has concerns with regional stability and security, given tensions in the region, the proximity of Iran and Iraq, and the potential threat of political Islam. Oman maintained its diplomatic relations with Iraq throughout the Gulf War while supporting the United Nations allies by sending a contingent of troops to join coalition forces and by opening up to pre-positioning of weapons and supplies.

 

2000s

In September 2000, about 100,000 Omani men and women elected 83 candidates, including two women, to seats in the Majlis Al-Shura. In December 2000, Sultan Qaboos appointed the 48-member Majlis Al Dowla, or State Council, including five women, which acts as the upper chamber in Oman's bicameral representative body.

 

Al Said's extensive modernization program has opened the country to the outside world and has preserved a long-standing political and military relationship with the United Kingdom, the United States, and others. Oman's moderate, independent foreign policy has sought to maintain good relations with all Middle Eastern countries.

 

Qaboos, the Arab world's longest-serving ruler, died on 10 January 2020 after nearly 50 years in power. On 11 January 2020, his cousin Haitham bin Tariq al-Said was sworn in as Oman's new sultan.

 

Rulers of Oman

of Zanzibar and Oman)

Thuwaini bin Said (19 October 1856 – 11 February 1866)

Salim bin Thuwaini (11 February 1866 – October 1868)

Azzan bin Qais (October 1868 – 30 January 1871)

Turki bin Said (30 January 1871 – 4 June 1888)

Faisal bin Turki (4 June 1888 – 15 October 1913)

Taimur bin Faisal (15 October 1913 – 10 February 1932)

Said bin Taimur (10 February 1932 – 23 July 1970)

Qaboos bin Said (23 July 1970 to 10 January 2020)

Haitham bin Tariq (11 January 2020 - present)

"In the early years of King Prajadhipok’s reign, Saranrom Garden was looked after by the Royal Guard Regiment until the Siamese absolute monarchy was overthrown in 1932 by a bloodless coup that turned the kingdom into a constitutional monarchy. After the revolution, King Rama VII gave the management of Suan Saranrom to the newly formed government. The crown also granted permission for the People’s Party or Khanaratsadorn--the political

group leading the 1932 coup d’état consisting mainly of foreign-educated civil servants and military officers--to erect its headquarters on the ground of the Saranrom. The selection of the Saranrom Garden as a site for constructing the People Party’s head office bestowed the Saranrom Palace and its grounds a vital role in mediating power after the demise of royal absolutism in Siam."

Muscat (Arabic: مَسْقَط, Masqaṭ pronounced [ˈmasqatˤ]) is the capital and most populated city in Oman. It is the seat of the Governorate of Muscat. According to the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI), the total population of Muscat Governorate was 1.72 million as of September 2022. The metropolitan area spans approximately 3,500 km2 (1,400 sq mi) and includes six provinces called wilayats, making it the largest city in the Arabian Peninsula by area.[citation needed] Known since the early 1st century AD as an important trading port between the west and the east, Muscat was ruled by various indigenous tribes as well as foreign powers such as the Persians, the Portuguese Empire and the Ottoman Empire at various points in its history. A regional military power in the 18th century, Muscat's influence extended as far as East Africa and Zanzibar. As an important port-town in the Gulf of Oman, Muscat attracted foreign traders and settlers such as the Persians, Balochs and Sindhis. Since the accession of Qaboos bin Said as Sultan of Oman in 1970, Muscat has experienced rapid infrastructural development that has led to the growth of a vibrant economy and a multi-ethnic society. Muscat is termed as a Beta - Global City by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.

 

The Hajar Mountains dominate the landscape of Muscat. The city lies on the Arabian Sea along the Gulf of Oman and is in the proximity of the strategic Straits of Hormuz. Low-lying white buildings typify most of Muscat's urban landscape, while the port-district of Muttrah, with its corniche and harbour, form the north-eastern periphery of the city. Muscat's economy is dominated by trade, petroleum, liquified natural gas and porting.

 

Toponymy

Ptolemy's Map of Arabia identifies the territories of Cryptus Portus and Moscha Portus. Scholars are divided in opinion on which of the two is related to the city of Muscat. Similarly, Arrianus references Omana and Moscha in Voyage of Nearchus. Interpretations of Arrianus' work by William Vincent and Jean Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville conclude that Omana was a reference to Oman, while Moscha referred to Muscat. Similarly, other scholars identify Pliny the Elder's reference to Amithoscuta to be Muscat.

 

The origin of the word Muscat is disputed. Some authors claim that the word has Arabic origins – from moscha, meaning an inflated hide or skin. Other authors claim that the name Muscat means anchorage or the place of "letting fall the anchor". Other derivations include muscat from Old Persian, meaning strong-scented, or from Arabic, meaning falling-place, or hidden. Cryptus Portus is synonymous with Oman ("hidden land"). But "Ov-man" (Omman), and the old Sumerian name Magan (Maa-kan), means sea-people in Arabic. An inhabitant is a Muscatter, Muscatian, Muscatite or Muscatan. In 1793 AD the capital was transferred from Rustaq to Muscat.

 

History

See also: Timeline of Muscat, Oman

Evidence of communal activity in the area around Muscat dates back to the 6th millennium BC in Ras al-Hamra, where burial sites of fishermen have been found. The graves appear to be well formed and indicate the existence of burial rituals. South of Muscat, remnants of Harappan pottery indicate some level of contact with the Indus Valley civilisation. Muscat's notability as a port was acknowledged as early as the 1st century AD by the Greek geographer Ptolemy, who referred to it as Cryptus Portus (the Hidden Port), and by Pliny the Elder, who called it Amithoscuta.

 

The port fell to a Sassanid invasion in the 3rd century AD, under the rule of Shapur I, while conversion to Islam occurred during the 7th century. Muscat's importance as a trading port continued to grow in the centuries that followed, under the influence of the Azd dynasty, a local tribe. The establishment of the First Imamate in the 9th century was the first step in consolidating disparate Omani tribal factions under the banner of an Ibadi state. However, tribal skirmishes continued, allowing the Abbasids of Baghdad to conquer Oman. The Abbasids occupied the region until the 11th century, when they were driven out by the local Yahmad tribe. Power over Oman shifted from the Yahmad tribe to the Azdi Nabahinah clan, during whose rule, the people of coastal ports such as Muscat prospered from maritime trade and close alliances with the Indian subcontinent, at the cost of the alienation of the people of the interior of Oman.

 

The Portuguese admiral Afonso de Albuquerque sailed to Muscat in 1507, in an attempt to establish trade relations. As he approached the harbour, his ships were fired on. He then decided to conquer Muscat. Most of the city burned to the ground during and after the fighting.

 

The Portuguese maintained a hold on Muscat for over a century, despite challenges from Persia and a bombardment of the town by the Ottoman Turks in 1546. The Turks twice captured Muscat from the Portuguese, in the Capture of Muscat (1552) and 1581–88. The election of Nasir bin Murshid Al-Ya'rubi as Imam of Oman in 1624 changed the balance of power again in the region, from the Persians and the Portuguese to local Omanis. Among the most important castles and forts in Muscat, the Al Jalali Fort and the Al-Mirani Fort are the most prominent buildings left by the Portuguese. On August 16, 1648 the Imam dispatched an army to Muscat, which captured and demolished the high towers of the Portuguese, weakening their grip over the town. Decisively, in 1650, a small but determined body of the Imam's troops attacked the port at night, forcing an eventual Portuguese surrender on January 23, 1650. A civil war and repeated incursions by the Persian king Nader Shah in the 18th century destabilised the region, and further strained relations between the interior and Muscat. This power vacuum in Oman led to the emergence of the Al Bu Sa‘id dynasty, which has ruled Oman ever since.

 

Muscat's naval and military supremacy was re-established in the 19th century by Said bin Sultan, who signed a treaty with U.S. President Andrew Jackson's representative Edmund Roberts on September 21, 1833. Having gained control over Zanzibar, in 1840 Said moved his capital to Stone Town, the ancient quarter of Zanzibar City; however, after his death in 1856, control over Zanzibar was lost when it became an independent sultanate under his sixth son, Majid bin Said (1834/5–1870), while the third son, Thuwaini bin Said, became the Sultan of Oman.

 

By the 19th century, a large Hindu merchant community in the port city dominated its commercial life. It is argued that their settlement at least since the fifteenth century; one of the reasons is that the Portuguese relied heavily on them to secure a trade monopoly in the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf area. The Sindhis were amongst the first during this era, followed by the Kutchis. The merchant community played an important role in expelling the Europeans in 1650. They were not affected by civil war that established the Al Bu Sa‘id dynasty and continued to prosper under Ahmad bin Said al-Busaidi. Important trade existed between the city and Thatta, and later, Kutch, expanding to other parts of India.

 

During the second half of the 19th century, the fortunes of the Al Bu Sa‘id declined and friction with the Imams of the interior resurfaced. Muscat and Muttrah were attacked by tribes from the interior in 1895 and again in 1915. A tentative ceasefire was brokered by the British, which gave the interior more autonomy. However, conflicts among the disparate tribes of the interior, and with the Sultan of Muscat and Oman continued into the 1950s, and eventually escalated into the Dhofar Rebellion (1962). The rebellion forced the Sultan Said bin Taimur to seek the assistance of the British in quelling the uprisings from the interior. The failed assassination attempt of April 26, 1966 on Said bin Taimur led to the further isolation of the Sultan, who had moved his residence from Muscat to Salalah, amidst the civilian armed conflict. On July 23, 1970, Qaboos bin Said, son of the Sultan, staged a bloodless coup d'état in the Salalah palace with the assistance of the British, and took over as ruler.

 

With the assistance of the British, Qaboos bin Said put an end to the Dhofar uprising and consolidated disparate tribal territories. He renamed the country the Sultanate of Oman (called Muscat and Oman hitherto), in an attempt to end to the interior's isolation from Muscat. Qaboos enlisted the services of capable Omanis to fill positions in his new government, drawing from such corporations as Petroleum Development Oman. New ministries for social services such as health and education were established. The construction of Mina Qaboos, a new port conceived initially by Sa‘id bin Taimur, was developed during the early days of Qaboos' rule. Similarly, a new international airport was developed in Muscat's Seeb district. A complex of offices, warehouses, shops and homes transformed the old village of Ruwi in Muttrah into a commercial district. The first five-year development plan in 1976 emphasised infrastructural development of Muscat, which provided new opportunities for trade and tourism in the 1980s–1990s, attracting migrants from around the region. On June 6, 2007, Cyclone Gonu hit Muscat causing extensive damage to property, infrastructure and commercial activity.

 

Geography and geology

Muscat is located in northeast Oman. The Tropic of Cancer passes south of the area. It is bordered to its west by the plains of the Al Batinah Region and to its east by Ash Sharqiyah Region. The interior plains of Ad Dakhiliyah Region border Muscat to the south, while the Gulf of Oman forms the northern and western periphery of the city. The water along the coast of Muscat runs deep, forming two natural harbours, in Muttrah and Muscat. The Central Hajar Mountains run through the northern coastline of the city.

 

Volcanic rocks, predominantly serpentinite and diorite are apparent in the Muscat area and extend along the Gulf of Oman coast for ten or twelve 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) from the district of Darsait to Yiti. Plutonic rocks constitute the hills and mountains of Muscat and span approximately 30 miles (48 km) from Darsait to Ras Jissah. These igneous rocks consists of serpentinite, greenstone, and basalt, typical of rocks in southeastern regions of the Arabian Peninsula. South of Muscat, the volcanic rock strata are broken up and distorted, rising to a maximum height of 6,000 feet (1,800 m) in Al-Dakhiliyah, a region which includes Jebel Akhdar, the country's highest range. The hills in Muscat are mostly devoid of vegetation but are rich in iron.

 

The halophytic sabkha type desert vegetation is predominant in Muscat. The Qurum Nature Reserve contains plants such as the Arthrocnemum Macrostachyum and Halopeplis Perfoliata. Coral reefs are common in Muscat. Acropora reefs exist in the sheltered bays of the satellite towns of Jussah and Khairan. Additionally, smaller Porites reef colonies exist in Khairan, which have fused to form a flat-top pavement that is visible at low tide. Crabs and spiny crayfish are found in the waters of the Muscat area, as are sardines and bonito. Glassfish are common in freshwater estuaries, such as the Qurum Nature Reserve.

 

The Sultan Qaboos Street forms the main artery of Muscat, running west-to-east through the city. The street eventually becomes Al Nahdah Street near Al Wattayah. Several inter-city roads such as Nizwa Road and Al Amrat Road, intersect with Al Sultan Qaboos Road (in Rusail and Ruwi, respectively). Muttrah, with the Muscat Harbour, Corniche, and Mina Qaboos, is located in the north-eastern coastline of the city, adjacent to the Gulf of Oman. Other coastal districts of Muscat include Darsait, Mina Al Fahal, Ras Al Hamar, Al Qurum Heights, Al Khuwair, and Al Seeb. Residential and commercial districts further inland include Al Hamriyah, Al Wadi Al Kabir, Ruwi, Al Wattayah, Madinat Qaboos, Al Azaiba and Al Ghubra.

 

Climate

Muscat features a hot, arid climate (Köppen climate classification BWh) with long, sweltering summers and warm "winters". Annual rainfall in Muscat is about 10 centimetres or 4 inches, falling mostly from December to April. In general, precipitation is scarce in Muscat, with the months May to November typically receiving only a trace of rainfall. However, in recent years, heavy precipitation events from tropical systems originating in the Arabian Sea have struck the city. Cyclone Gonu in June 2007 and Cyclone Phet in June 2010 affected the city with damaging winds and rainfall amounts exceeding 100 millimetres or 4 inches in just a single day. The climate generally is very hot and also very humid in the summer, with temperatures sometimes reaching as high as 45 °C or 113 °F.

 

Economy

Muscat's economy, like that of Oman, is dominated by trade. The more traditional exports of the city included dates, mother of pearl, and fish. Many of the souks of Muttrah sell these items and traditional Omani artefacts. Petroleum Development Oman has been central to Muscat's economy since at least 1962 and is the country's second largest employer, after the government. Its major shareholders include Shell, Total, and Partex and its production is estimated to be about 720,000 barrels per day (114,000 m3/d). Muscat also has major trading companies such as the Suhail Bahwan Group, which is a trading partner for corporations such as Toshiba, Subaru, Seiko, Hewlett-Packard, General Motors, RAK Ceramics; Saud Bahwan Group whose trading partners are Toyota, Daihatsu, KIA and Hertz Rent-a-Car; Zubair Automotive whose trading partners include Mitsubishi, and Chrysler brands such as Dodge; and Moosa AbdulRahman Hassan which operates as one of the oldest automotive agencies in the entire region having been established in 1927. The private Health Care sector of Muscat, Oman has numerous hospitals and clinics.

 

The Muscat Securities Market is the principal stock exchange of Oman. It is located in Central Business District of Muscat and it was established in 1988, and has since distinguished itself as a pioneer among its regional peers in terms of transparency and disclosure regulations and requirements.

 

Mina'a Sultan Qaboos, Muscat's main trading port, is a trading hub between the Persian Gulf, the Indian subcontinent and the Far East with an annual volume of about 1.6 million tons. However, the emergence of the Jebel Ali Free Zone in neighboring Dubai, United Arab Emirates, has made that port the premier maritime trading port of the region with about 44 million tons traded in cargo annually. Many infrastructural facilities are owned and operated by the government of Oman. Omantel is the major telecommunications organization in Oman and provides local, long-distance and international dialing facilities and operates as the country's only ISP. Recent liberalization of the mobile telephone market has seen the establishment of a second provider, Ooredoo.

 

Muscat is home to multibillion-dollar conglomerate CK Industries with their headquarters located in Ruwi. Ajman based Amtek Industries also have a couple of offices around the city. It is also home to Galfar Engineering, headed by P. Mohammed Ali.

 

The airline Oman Air has its head office on the grounds of Muscat International Airport.

 

Demographics

According to the 2003 census conducted by the Oman Ministry of National Economy, the population of Muscat is over 630,000, which included 370,000 males and 260,000 females. Muscat formed the second largest governorate in the country, after Al Batinah, accounting for 27% of the total population of Oman. As of 2003, Omanis constituted 60% of the total population of Muscat, while expatriates accounted for about 40%. The population density of the city was 162.1 per km2.

  

Shangri la in Muscat

The governorate of Muscat comprises six wilayats: Muttrah, Bawshar, Seeb, Al Amrat, Muscat and Qurayyat. Seeb, located in the western section of the governorate, was the most populous (with over 220,000 residents), while Muttrah had the highest number of expatriates (with over 100,000). Approximately 71% of the population was within the 15–64 age group, with the average Omani age being 23 years. About 10% of the population is illiterate, an improvement when compared to the 18% illiteracy rate recorded during the 1993 census. Expatriates accounted for over 60% of the labour force, dominated by males, who accounted for 80% of the city's total labour. A majority of expatriates (34%) was in engineering-related occupations, while most Omanis worked in engineering, clerical, scientific or technical fields. The defense sector was the largest employer for Omanis, while construction, wholesale and retail trade employed the largest number of expatriates.

 

The ethnic makeup of Muscat has historically been influenced by people not native to the Arabian Peninsula. British Parliamentary papers dating back to the 19th century indicate the presence of a significant Hindu Gujarati merchants in the city. Indeed, four Hindu temples existed in Muscat ca. 1760. Christianity flourished in Oman (Bēṯ Mazūnāyē "land of the Maganites"; a name deriving from its Sumerian designation) from the late 4th century to the 7th century. Missionary activity by the Assyrians of the Church of the East resulted in a significant Christian population living in the region, with a bishop being attested by 424 AD under the Metropolitan of Fars and Arabia. The rise of Islam saw the Syriac and Arabic-speaking Christian population eventually disappear. It is thought to have been brought back in by the Portuguese in 1507. Protestant missionaries established a hospital in Muscat in the 19th century.

 

Like the rest of Oman, Arabic is the predominant language of the city. In addition, English, Balochi, Sindhi, Swahili and Indian languages such as Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Konkani, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Tamil, Tulu, Telugu and Urdu are spoken by the residents of Muscat.

 

Islam is the predominant religion in the city, with most followers being Ibadi Muslims. Non-Muslims are allowed to practise their religion, but may not proselytize publicly or distribute religious literature. In 2017 the Sultanate of Oman unveiled the Mushaf Muscat, an interactive calligraphic Quran following a brief from the Omani Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs.

 

Notable landmarks

The city has numerous mosques including the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque, Ruwi Mosque, Saeed bin Taimoor and Zawawi Mosque. A few Shi'ite mosques also exist here. Muscat has a number of museums. These include Museum of Omani Heritage, National Museum of Oman, Oman Children's Museum, Bait Al Zubair, Oman Oil and Gas Exhibition Centre, Omani French Museum, Sultan's Armed Forces Museum and the Omani Aquarium and Marine Science and Fisheries Centre. The Bait Al Falaj Fort played an important role in Muscat's military history.

 

Recent projects include an opera house which opened on October 14, 2011. One of the most notable new projects is the Oman National Museum. It is expected to be an architectural jewel along with the Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque. Visitors are also encouraged[who?] to visit Old Muscat and the Old Palace. The main shopping district is situated in Al Qurum Commercial Area. However, shopping malls are found throughout the city. One of the largest malls in Oman is Oman Avenues Mall, located in Ghubra. The fourth largest mall is in Seeb, near the international airport, called City Centre Muscat, housing all major international brands and the largest Carrefour hypermarket. Two new megamalls opened during 2019 and 2020: in the Mabela area of Muscat are Al Araimi Boulevard and Mall of Muscat.[citation needed] The Mall of Muscat is also home to the Oman Aquarium and a snow park which opened in late 2019.[50] Mall Of Oman, the largest shopping mall in Oman was opened in Summer 2021 housing over 100+ stores including Snow Oman, Vox Cinemas, an arcade (Magic Planet) and various food chains.

 

Culture

The traditional Dhow, an enduring symbol of Oman

Outwardly, Oman shares many of the cultural characteristics of its Arab neighbours, particularly those in the Gulf Cooperation Council. Despite these similarities, important factors make Oman unique in the Middle East. These result as much from geography and history as from culture and economics. The relatively recent and artificial nature of the state of Oman makes it difficult to describe a national culture; however, sufficient cultural heterogeneity exists within its national boundaries to make Oman distinct from other Arab States of the Persian Gulf. Oman's cultural diversity is greater than that of its Arab neighbours, given its historical expansion to the Swahili Coast and the Indian Ocean.

 

Oman has a long tradition of shipbuilding, as maritime travel played a major role in the Omanis' ability to stay in contact with the civilisations of the ancient world. Sur was one of the most famous shipbuilding cities of the Indian Ocean. The Al Ghanja ship takes one whole year to build. Other types of Omani ship include As Sunbouq and Al Badan.

 

In March 2016, archaeologists working off Al-Hallaniyah Island identified a shipwreck believed to be that of the Esmeralda from Vasco da Gama's 1502–1503 fleet. The wreck was initially discovered in 1998. Later underwater excavations took place between 2013 and 2015 through a partnership between the Oman Ministry of Heritage and Culture and Blue Water Recoveries Ltd., a shipwreck recovery company. The vessel was identified through such artifacts as a "Portuguese coin minted for trade with India (one of only two coins of this type known to exist) and stone cannonballs engraved with what appear to be the initials of Vincente Sodré, da Gama's maternal uncle and the commander of the Esmeralda".

 

Notable people

Mohammed Al Barwani (born 1952), billionaire and founder of MB Holding

Avicii (1989–2018), Swedish music producer and DJ, died in Muscat Hills

Mahesh Bhupathi (born 1974), Indian tennis player. He studied at the Indian School, Muscat.

Sarah-Jane Dias (born 1974), Indian actress. She studied at the Indian School, Muscat.

Isla Fisher (born 1976), Australian actress, born to Scottish parents and lived in Australia

Tate McRae (born 2003), Canadian singer-songwriter, studied at The American International School Muscat

Ali Al-Habsi (born 1981), professional footballer, captain of the Oman national and goalkeeper for Saudi club Al Hilal

Amad Al-Hosni (born 1984), professional footballer

Ahmad Al Harthy (born 1981), racecar driver

Fatma Al-Nabhani (born 1991), tennis player

Ali bin Masoud al Sunaidy (born 1964), former Omani Minister of Commerce and Industry

Sneha Ullal (born 1987), Indian Bollywood Actress. She studied at the Indian School, Muscat.

Nitya Vidyasagar (born 1985), American actress

Al Faisal Al Zubair (born 1998), racecar driver

Hamed Al-Wahaibi (born 1968), rally driver

 

Oman, officially the Sultanate of Oman, is a country located in West Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of the Persian Gulf. It shares land borders with Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen, while sharing maritime borders with Iran and Pakistan. The capital and largest city is Muscat. Oman has a population of nearly 4.7 million and is ranked the 124th most-populous country. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the southeast, and the Gulf of Oman on the northeast. The Madha and Musandam exclaves are surrounded by United Arab Emirates on their land borders, with the Strait of Hormuz (which it shares with Iran) and the Gulf of Oman forming Musandam's coastal boundaries.

 

From the 17th century, the Omani Sultanate was an empire, vying with the Portuguese and British Empires for influence in the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean. At its peak in the 19th century, Omani influence and control extended across the Strait of Hormuz to Iran and Pakistan, and as far south as Zanzibar. In the 20th century, the sultanate came under the influence of the United Kingdom. For over 300 years, the relations built between the two empires were based on mutual benefit. The UK recognized Oman's geographical importance as a trading hub that secured their trading lanes in the Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean and protected their empire in the Indian sub-continent. Oman is an absolute monarchy led by a sultan, with power passed down through the male line. Qaboos bin Said was the Sultan from 1970 until his death on 10 January 2020. Qaboos, who died childless, had named his cousin, Haitham bin Tariq, as his successor in a letter, and the family confirmed him as the Sultan of Oman.

 

Formerly a maritime empire, Oman is the oldest continuously independent state in the Arab world. It is a member of the United Nations, the Arab League, the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Non-Aligned Movement and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. It has oil reserves ranked 22nd globally. In 2010, the United Nations Development Programme ranked Oman as the most improved nation in the world in terms of development during the preceding 40 years. A portion of its economy involves tourism and trading fish, dates and other agricultural produce. Oman is categorized as a high-income economy and, as of 2023, ranks as the 48th most peaceful country in the world according to the Global Peace Index.

 

Oman is the site of pre-historic human habitation, stretching back over 100,000 years. The region was impacted by powerful invaders, including other Arab tribes, Portugal and Britain. Oman once possessed the island of Zanzibar on the east coast of Africa as a colony. Oman also held Gwadar as a colony for many years.

 

Prehistoric record

In Oman, a site was discovered by Doctor Bien Joven in 2011 containing more than 100 surface scatters of stone tools belonging to the late Nubian Complex, known previously only from archaeological excavations in Sudan. Two optically stimulated luminescence age estimates place the Arabian Nubian Complex at approximately 106,000 years old. This provides evidence for a distinct Mobile Stone Age technocomplex in southern Arabia, around the earlier part of the Marine Isotope Stage 5.

 

The hypothesized departure of humankind from Africa to colonise the rest of the world involved them crossing the Straits of Bab el Mandab in the southern Red Sea and moving along the green coastlines around Arabia and thence to the rest of Eurasia. Such crossing became possible when sea level had fallen by more than 80 meters to expose much of the shelf between southern Eritrea and Yemen; a level that was reached during a glacial stadial from 60 to 70 ka as climate cooled erratically to reach the last glacial maximum. From 135,000 to 90,000 years ago, tropical Africa had megadroughts which drove the humans from the land and towards the sea shores, and forced them to cross over to other continents. The researchers used radiocarbon dating techniques on pollen grains trapped in lake-bottom mud to establish vegetation over the ages of the Malawi lake in Africa, taking samples at 300-year-intervals. Samples from the megadrought times had little pollen or charcoal, suggesting sparse vegetation with little to burn. The area around Lake Malawi, today heavily forested, was a desert approximately 135,000 to 90,000 years ago.

 

Luminescence dating is a technique that measures naturally occurring radiation stored in the sand. Data culled via this methodology demonstrates that 130,000 years ago, the Arabian Peninsula was relatively warmer which caused more rainfall, turning it into a series of lush habitable land. During this period the southern Red Sea's levels dropped and was only 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) wide. This offered a brief window of time for humans to easily cross the sea and cross the Peninsula to opposing sites like Jebel Faya. These early migrants running away from the climate change in Africa, crossed the Red Sea into Yemen and Oman, trekked across Arabia during favourable climate conditions. 2,000 kilometres of inhospitable desert lie between the Red Sea and Jebel Faya in UAE. But around 130,000 years ago the world was at the end of an ice age. The Red Sea was shallow enough to be crossed on foot or on a small raft, and the Arabian peninsula was being transformed from a parched desert into a green land.

 

There have been discoveries of Paleolithic stone tools in caves in southern and central Oman, and in the United Arab Emirates close to the Straits of Hormuz at the outlet of the Persian Gulf (UAE site (Jebel Faya). The stone tools, some up to 125,000 years old, resemble those made by humans in Africa around the same period.

 

Persian period

The northern half of Oman (beside modern-day Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, plus Balochistan and Sindh provinces of Pakistan) presumably was part of the Maka satrapy of the Persian Achaemenid Empire. By the time of the conquests of Alexander the Great, the satrapy may have existed in some form and Alexander is said to have stayed in Purush, its capital, perhaps near Bam, in Kerman province. From the 2nd half of the 1st millennium BCE, waves of Semitic speaking peoples migrated from central and western Arabia to the east. The most important of these tribes are known as Azd. On the coast Parthian and Sassanian colonies were maintained. From c. 100 BCE to c. 300 CE Semitic speakers appear in central Oman at Samad al-Shan and the so-called Pre-islamic recent period, abbreviated PIR, in what has become the United Arab Emirates. These waves continue, in the 19th century bringing Bedouin ruling families who finally ruled the Persian Gulf states.

 

The Kingdom of Oman was subdued by the Sasanian Empire's forces under Vahrez during the Aksumite–Persian wars. The 4,000-strong Sasanian garrison was headquartered at Jamsetjerd/Jamshedgird (modern Jebel Gharabeh, also known as Felej al-Sook).

 

Conversion to Islam

Oman was exposed to Islam in 630, during the lifetime of the prophet Muhammad; consolidation took place in the Ridda Wars in 632.

 

In 751 Ibadi Muslims, a moderate branch of the Kharijites, established an imamate in Oman. Despite interruptions, the Ibadi imamate survived until the mid-20th century.

 

Oman is currently the only country with a majority Ibadi population. Ibadhism has a reputation for its "moderate conservatism". One distinguishing feature of Ibadism is the choice of ruler by communal consensus and consent. The introduction of Ibadism vested power in the Imam, the leader nominated by the ulema. The Imam's position was confirmed when the imam—having gained the allegiance of the tribal sheiks—received the bay'ah (oath of allegiance) from the public.

 

Foreign invasions

Several foreign powers attacked Oman. The Qarmatians controlled the area between 931 and 932 and then again between 933 and 934. Between 967 and 1053 Oman formed part of the domain of the Iranian Buyyids, and between 1053 and 1154 Oman was part of the Seljuk Empire. Seljuk power even spread through Oman to Koothanallur in southern India.

 

In 1154 the indigenous Nabhani dynasty took control of Oman, and the Nabhani kings ruled Oman until 1470, with an interruption of 37 years between 1406 and 1443.

 

The Portuguese took Muscat on 1 April 1515, and held it until 26 January 1650, although the Ottomans controlled Muscat from 1550 to 1551 and from 1581 to 1588. In about the year 1600, Nabhani rule was temporarily restored to Oman, although that lasted only to 1624 with the establishment of the fifth imamate, also known as the Yarubid Imamate. The latter recaptured Muscat from the Portuguese in 1650 after a colonial presence on the northeastern coast of Oman dating to 1508.

 

Turning the table, the Omani Yarubid dynasty became a colonial power itself, acquiring former Portuguese colonies in east Africa and engaging in the slave trade, centered on the Swahili coast and the island of Zanzibar.

 

By 1719 dynastic succession led to the nomination of Saif bin Sultan II (c. 1706–1743). His candidacy prompted a rivalry among the ulama and a civil war between the two factions, led by major tribes, the Hinawi and the Ghafiri, with the Ghafiri supporting Saif ibn Sultan II. In 1743, Persian ruler Nader Shah occupied Muscat and Sohar with Saif's assistance. Saif died, and was succeeded by Bal'arab bin Himyar of the Yaruba.

 

Persia had occupied the coast previously. Yet this intervention on behalf of an unpopular dynasty brought about a revolt. The leader of the revolt, Ahmad bin Said al-Busaidi, took advantage of the assassination of the Persian king, Nadir Shah in Khurasan in 1747 and the chaos that resulted in the Persian Empire by expelling the dwindling Persian forces. He then defeated Bal'arab, and was elected sultan of Muscat and imam of Oman.

 

The Al Busaid clan thus became a royal dynasty. Like its predecessors, Al Busaid dynastic rule has been characterized by a history of internecine family struggle, fratricide, and usurpation. Apart from threats within the ruling family, there were frequent challenges from the independent tribes of the interior. The Busaidid dynasty renounced the imamate after Ahmad bin Said. The interior tribes recognized the imam as the sole legitimate ruler, rejected the authority of the sultan, and fought for the restoration of the imamate.

 

Schisms within the ruling family became apparent before Ahmad ibn Said's death in 1783 and later manifested themselves with the division of the family into two main lines:

 

the Sultan ibn Ahmad (ruled 1792–1806) line, controlling the maritime state, with nominal control over the entire country

the Qais branch, with authority over the Al Batinah and Ar Rustaq areas

This period also included a revolt in Oman's colony of Zanzibar in the year 1784.

 

During the period of Sultan Said ibn Sultan's reign (1806–1856), Oman built up its overseas colonies, profiting from the slave trade. As a regional commercial power in the 19th century, Oman held the island of Zanzibar on the Swahili Coast, the Zanj region of the East African coast, including Mombasa and Dar es Salaam, and (until 1958) Gwadar on the Arabian Sea coast of present-day Pakistan.

 

When Great Britain prohibited slavery in the mid-19th century, the sultanate's fortunes reversed. The economy collapsed, and many Omani families migrated to Zanzibar. The population of Muscat fell from 55,000 to 8,000 between the 1850s and 1870s. Britain seized most of the overseas possessions, and by 1900 Oman had become a different country than before.

 

Late 19th and early 20th centuries

When Sultan Sa'id bin Sultan Al-Busaid died in 1856, his sons quarrelled over the succession. As a result of this struggle, the empire—through the mediation of Britain under the Canning Award—was divided in 1861 into two separate principalities: Sultanate of Zanzibar (with its African Great Lakes dependencies), and the area of "Muscat and Oman". This name was abolished in 1970 in favor of "Sultanate of Oman", but implies two political cultures with a long history:

 

The coastal tradition: more cosmopolitan, and secular, found in the city of Muscat and adjacent coastline ruled by the sultan.

The interior tradition: insular, tribal, and highly religious under the ideological tenets of Ibadism, found in "Oman proper" ruled by an imam.

The more cosmopolitan Muscat has been the ascending political culture since the founding of the Al Busaid dynasty in 1744, although the imamate tradition has found intermittent expression.

 

The death of Sa'id bin Sultan in 1856 prompted a further division: the descendants of the late sultan ruled Muscat and Oman (Thuwaini ibn Said Al-Busaid, r. 1856–1866) and Zanzibar (Mayid ibn Said Al-Busaid, r. 1856–1870); the Qais branch intermittently allied itself with the ulama to restore imamate legitimacy. In 1868, Azzan bin Qais Al-Busaid (r. 1868–1871) emerged as self-declared imam. Although a significant number of Hinawi tribes recognized him as imam, the public neither elected him nor acclaimed him as such.

 

Imam Azzan understood that to unify the country a strong, central authority had to be established with control over the interior tribes of Oman. His rule was jeopardized by the British, who interpreted his policy of bringing the interior tribes under the central government as a move against their established order. In resorting to military means to unify Muscat and Oman, Imam Azzan alienated members of the Ghafiri tribes, who revolted in the 1870–1871 period. The British gave financial and political support to Turki bin Said Al-Busaid, Imam Azzan's rival in exchange of controlling the area. In the Battle of Dhank, Turki bin Said defeated the forces of Imam Azzan, who was killed in battle outside Muttrah in January 1871.

 

Muscat and Oman was the object of Franco-British rivalry throughout the 18th century. During the 19th century, Muscat and Oman and the United Kingdom concluded several treaties of commerce benefitting mostly the British. In 1908 the British entered into an agreement based in the imperialistic plans to control the area. Their traditional association was confirmed in 1951 through a new treaty of commerce, based on oil reserves, and navigation by which the United Kingdom recognized the Sultanate of Muscat and Oman as a fully independent state, under their supervision and their strategic neo-colonial interest.

 

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, there were tensions between the sultan in Muscat and the Ibadi Imam in Nizwa. This conflict was resolved temporarily by the Treaty of Seeb, which granted the imam rule in the interior Imamate of Oman, while recognising the sovereignty of the sultan in Muscat and its surroundings.

 

Late 20th century

In 1954, the conflict flared up again, when the Treaty of Seeb was broken by the sultan after oil was discovered in the lands of the Imam. The new imam (Ghalib bin Ali) led a 5-year rebellion against the sultan's attack. The Sultan was aided by the colonial British forces and the Shah of Iran. In the early 1960s, the Imam, exiled to Saudi Arabia, obtained support from his hosts and other Arab governments, but this support ended in the 1980s. The case of the Imam was argued at the United Nations as well, but no significant measures were taken.

 

Zanzibar paid an annual subsidy to Muscat and Oman until its independence in early 1964.

 

In 1964, a separatist revolt began in Dhofar province. Aided by Communist and leftist governments such as the former South Yemen (People's Democratic Republic of Yemen), the rebels formed the Dhofar Liberation Front, which later merged with the Marxist-dominated Popular Front for the Liberation of Oman and the Arabian Gulf (PFLOAG). The PFLOAG's declared intention was to overthrow all traditional Persian Gulf régimes. In mid-1974, the Bahrain branch of the PFLOAG was established as a separate organisation and the Omani branch changed its name to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Oman (PFLO), while continuing the Dhofar Rebellion.

 

1970s

In the 1970 Omani coup d'état, Qaboos bin Said al Said ousted his father, Sa'id bin Taimur, who later died in exile in London. Al Said ruled as sultan until his death. The new sultan confronted insurgency in a country plagued by endemic disease, illiteracy, and poverty. One of the new sultan's first measures was to abolish many of his father's harsh restrictions, which had caused thousands of Omanis to leave the country, and to offer amnesty to opponents of the previous régime, many of whom returned to Oman. 1970 also brought the abolition of slavery.

 

Sultan Qaboos also established a modern governmental structure and launched a major development programme to upgrade educational and health facilities, build modern infrastructure and develop the country's natural resources.

 

In an effort to curb the Dhofar insurgency, Sultan Qaboos expanded and re-equipped the armed forces and granted amnesty to all surrendering rebels while vigorously prosecuting the war in Dhofar. He obtained direct military support from the UK, imperial Iran, and Jordan. By early 1975, the guerrillas were confined to a 50-square-kilometre (19 sq mi) area near the Yemeni border and shortly thereafter were defeated. As the war drew to a close, civil action programs were given priority throughout Dhofar and helped win the allegiance of the people. The PFLO threat diminished further with the establishment of diplomatic relations in October 1983 between South Yemen and Oman, and South Yemen subsequently lessened propaganda and subversive activities against Oman. In late 1987 Oman opened an embassy in Aden, South Yemen, and appointed its first resident ambassador to the country.

 

Throughout his reign, Sultan Qaboos balanced tribal, regional, and ethnic interests in composing the national administration. The Council of Ministers, which functions as a cabinet, consisted of 26 ministers, all of whom were directly appointed by Qaboos. The Majlis Al-Shura (Consultative Council) has the mandate of reviewing legislation pertaining to economic development and social services prior to its becoming law. The Majlis Al-Shura may request ministers to appear before it.

 

1990s

In November 1996, Sultan Qaboos presented his people with the "Basic Statutes of the State", Oman's first written "constitution". It guarantees various rights within the framework of Qur'anic and customary law. It partially resuscitated long dormant conflict-of-interest measures by banning cabinet ministers from being officers of public shareholding firms. Perhaps most importantly, the Basic Statutes provide rules for setting Sultan Qaboos' succession.

 

Oman occupies a strategic location on the Strait of Hormuz at the entrance to the Persian Gulf, 35 miles (56 km) directly opposite Iran. Oman has concerns with regional stability and security, given tensions in the region, the proximity of Iran and Iraq, and the potential threat of political Islam. Oman maintained its diplomatic relations with Iraq throughout the Gulf War while supporting the United Nations allies by sending a contingent of troops to join coalition forces and by opening up to pre-positioning of weapons and supplies.

 

2000s

In September 2000, about 100,000 Omani men and women elected 83 candidates, including two women, to seats in the Majlis Al-Shura. In December 2000, Sultan Qaboos appointed the 48-member Majlis Al Dowla, or State Council, including five women, which acts as the upper chamber in Oman's bicameral representative body.

 

Al Said's extensive modernization program has opened the country to the outside world and has preserved a long-standing political and military relationship with the United Kingdom, the United States, and others. Oman's moderate, independent foreign policy has sought to maintain good relations with all Middle Eastern countries.

 

Qaboos, the Arab world's longest-serving ruler, died on 10 January 2020 after nearly 50 years in power. On 11 January 2020, his cousin Haitham bin Tariq al-Said was sworn in as Oman's new sultan.

 

Rulers of Oman

of Zanzibar and Oman)

Thuwaini bin Said (19 October 1856 – 11 February 1866)

Salim bin Thuwaini (11 February 1866 – October 1868)

Azzan bin Qais (October 1868 – 30 January 1871)

Turki bin Said (30 January 1871 – 4 June 1888)

Faisal bin Turki (4 June 1888 – 15 October 1913)

Taimur bin Faisal (15 October 1913 – 10 February 1932)

Said bin Taimur (10 February 1932 – 23 July 1970)

Qaboos bin Said (23 July 1970 to 10 January 2020)

Haitham bin Tariq (11 January 2020 - present)

For my better half. I love you missy, though I may fuck with you, harrass you, etc etc, its out of love. You may of had to twist my arm to get me to make this for you, but arent you glad I got some time to practice? lol <3

 

please view on large

   

btw NIPPLE bwhahha I left one out :D

   

original : www.flickr.com/photos/23645600@N04/6170940231/in/photostr...

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click to activate the icon of slideshow: the small triangle inscribed in the small rectangle, at the top right, in the photostream;

 

clicca sulla piccola icona per attivare lo slideshow: sulla facciata principale del photostream, in alto a destra c'è un piccolo rettangolo (rappresenta il monitor) con dentro un piccolo triangolo nero;

 

Qi Bo's photos on Fluidr

  

Qi Bo's photos on Flickriver

  

Qi Bo's photos on Flickr Hive Mind

  

www.fotografidigitali.it/gallery/2726/opere-italiane-segn...

  

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"U sciccareddu", from the Sicilian "the little donkey", is a pyrotechnical-animal mask, once present in many village feasts in the Messina area, today it is found only in a limited number of centers, among these is the town of Casalvecchio Siculo , a small town in the hinterland in which there is another animal figure, that of the "camiddu", in Sicilian "camel", and of his camel driver (see a photographic story of mine made earlier in this regard). The feast of the "sciccareddu-little donkey" sees a young man of the village wearing a metal supporting structure, on which takes place a whole series of fireworks: this represents with no little imagination the donkey (this year it was the "Camel driver" of the "camiddu-camel"feast which is always celebrated in Casalvecchio); the young man who carries this metal castle on himself, protects himself abundantly from pyrotechnic fires, which form "crazy wheels" in correspondence with the "four limbs", pyrotechnic fires that involve symbolic-ritual suggestions of ambiguous meaning, is the life against death, the light against darkness, the fear and the desire to challenge it, without ever forgetting the horrifying-ancestral aspect of the "beast", which represents the dark unknown evil, which always hovers over people's lives. There are those who have hypothesized that this asinello-monstrous-orrify is a very meek animal too, once very common and omnipresent in the Sicilian districts, so that the fears that it could generate are simultaneously suppressed by being a well-known animal and very meek.

This "sciccareddu-little donkey" with its load of pyrotechnic-crazy fires-bengal fires, and other crackling devilries, challenges and is challenged by all present, young and old coming also from far away, there is who looks but remaining well sheltered, many others instead challenge him, as in a bloodless bullfight, where some unlucky person can receive a few small burns (like myself, who found himself with some small burns in his legs, and a lens-protection filter, it was almost melted-burned in several points, now useless, but withe the lens without problems.....! :o)) .......).

  

“u sciccareddu”, dal siciliano “l’asinello”, è una maschera pirotecnica-animalesca, un tempo presente in molte feste paesane del territorio messinese, oggi la si ritrova solo in un numero limitato di centri, tra questi il paese di Casalvecchio Siculo, piccolo centro dell’entroterra nel quale si trova un’altra figura animalesca, quella del “camiddu”, in siciliano “cammello”, e del suo cammelliere (vedi un mio racconto fotografico fatto in precedenza in merito). La festa dello “sciccareddu-asinello” vede un giovane del paese indossare una struttura portante in metallo, sulla quale prende posto tutta una serie di giochi pirotecnici: questo rappresenta con non poca fantasia l’asinello (quest’anno a dargli vita è stato il “cammelliere” della festa del “camiddu-cammello” che si festeggia sempre a Casalvecchio); il giovane che porta su di se tale castello in metallo, si protegge abbondantemente dai fuochi pirotecnici, che formano delle “ruote pazze” in corrispondenza dei “quattro arti”, fuochi pirotecnici che comportano suggestioni simbolico-rituali dal significato ambiguo, è a vita contro la morte, la luce contro le tenebre, la paura e la voglia di sfidarla, senza mai dimenticare l’aspetto orrifico-ancestrale della “bestia”, che rappresenta l’oscuro ignoto male, che aleggia sempre sulla vita delle persone. C’è chi ha ipotizzato che tale asinello-mostruoso-orrifico è pur sempre un animale molto docile, un tempo comunissimo e onnipresente nelle contrade siciliane, per cui le paure che esso potrebbe generare sono contemporaneamente soppresse dall’essere un animale ben conosciuto ed in definitiva molto docile.

Tale “sciccareddu-asinello” col suo carico di fuochi pirotecnici-girandole pazze-bengala, ed altre diavolerie scoppiettanti, sfida e viene sfidato da tutti i presenti, giovani e meno giovani provenienti anche da lontano, c’è che vuole assitere rimanendo però bene al riparo, molti altri invece lo sfidano, come in una corrida incruenta, dove qualche malcapitato può rimediare qualche piccola bruciatura (come il sottoscritto, che si è ritrovato con qualche piccola bruciatura alle gambe, ed un filtro proteggi-obiettivo che, me ne accorsi successivamente, era quasi fuso-bruciato in più punti, oramai inservibile, con l’obiettivo però salvo….! :o)) …).

  

bittersweetblog.wordpress.com/2012/01/30/winter-tomatoes/