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Upon the unification of the formerly independent national militaries into the new Songun People's Army (SPA) in 2005, a massive modernization and reorganization campaign began. One of the first priorities for SPA's new Central Military Commission was the replacement of hundreds of thousands of Soviet-era logistics and utility vehicles. Although the Chinese and North Korean armed forces were moderately effective in "modernizing" portions of their armored fleets, the armies of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos had little to no practical mechanization. Although the calendar read early 21st century, the operational capabilities of the smaller partners in the USR were more akin to the mid-20th century.
Although it would take almost two decades for even the frontline divisions of the SPA Ground Forces to be equipped with modern vehicles, the Central Military Commission's preference for cheap designs that could be quickly produced in extremely high quantities led to a number of surprising success stories. One of those was ZFB-07, a design privately funded by the Shaanxi Baoji Special Vehicle Factory-- one of the innumerable state-owned arms manufacturers that dotted the Songun countryside. Quickly adopted, the vehicle first rolled off the production lines in early 2007, arriving in the first Red Guard units around Hanoi by the end of the year.
Songun sources refer to the vehicle as an "armored scout car", although it has been observed in the field in utility, reconaissance, and direct combat roles. Initially, Western intelligence agencies believed the vehicle would be employed in the same vein as western MRAPs, but it appears that specialized platforms such as the KDY-72 likely fill this role instead.
Closer inspection of the vehicle at international arms expositions indicates an extremely cramped interior, providing seating for four or five occupants. Curiously, the vehicle's designers neglected to include side doors, forcing the crew to utilize roof hatches or the rear exit ramp to ingress or egress the vehicle. The all-welded steel hull of the ZFB-07 likely provides protection against small arms fire or artillery shrapnel, but it's probably not well suited to intensive combat operations. Colloquially referred to as "the Lunchbox" by Western military sources, the ZFB-07 has been observed in the field armed with both 12.7mm machine guns and the HJ-12 anti-tank guided missile, as seen here.
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Tried to mix the aesthetics of the ZFB-05 , QL550, and Joop's awesome Panther. LDD renders for me until I'm back on the same continent as my bricks.
Joint upload with Erik's SPA Type 42 Armored Personnel Carrier.
Tag der Deutschen Einheit/
German Unification Day
Die Welt ist viel bunter als ein paar Brüllaffen glauben (machen wollen), die ohne die "Unterstützung" mancher Klammeraffen ohnehin in der Bedeutungslosigkeit versinken würden./
The World is much more colorful than some howler monkeys (want to make) believe. But these would disappear into insignificance without the "support" of some spider monkeys anyhow.
Libertär statt identit-arisch/
Libertarian in lieu of identit-arian
(This is what I call inspiration through nuts on a monday ... a panoramic macro "shot" ...)
Anche le "Luci d'Artista" celebrano i 150 anni dell'Unità d'Italia.
Even the "Luci d'Artista" celebrate the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_Victory_Column
The Victory Column (German: About this sound Siegessäule (help·info), from Sieg ‘victory’ + Säule ‘column’) is a monument in Berlin, Germany. Designed by Heinrich Strack, after 1864 to commemorate the Prussian victory in the Danish-Prussian War, by the time it was inaugurated on 2 September 1873, Prussia had also defeated Austria in the Austro-Prussian War (1866) and France in the Franco-Prussian War (1870–71), giving the statue a new purpose. Different from the original plans, these later victories in the so-called unification wars inspired the addition of the bronze sculpture of Victoria, 8.3 metres high and weighing 35 tonnes, designed by Friedrich Drake. Berliners have given the statue the nickname Goldelse, meaning something like "Golden Lizzy".[1]
The Victory Column is a major tourist attraction in the city of Berlin and opens daily: 9:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. (April–October), and 9:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. (November–March).
History, design, and influences
Design and dimensions
Built on a base of polished red granite, the column sits on a hall of pillars with a glass mosaic designed by Anton von Werner.
The column itself, inspired to Heinrich Strack by the "torre faro" of Rodolfo Vantini (which stands in the monumental cemetery of Brescia), consists of four solid blocks of sandstone, three of which are decorated by cannon barrels captured from the enemies of the aforementioned three wars. A fourth ring is decorated with golden garlands and was added in 1938–39 as the whole monument has been relocated. The entire column, including the sculpture, is 67 meters tall.
The relief decoration was removed in 1945. It was restored for the 750th anniversary of Berlin in 1987 by the French president at that time, François Mitterrand.
Designers and architects
The foundation is decorated with four bronze reliefs showing the three wars and the victorious marching of the troops into Berlin. They were created by:
Moritz Schulz (1825–1904)
Karl Keil (1838–89)
Alexander Calandrelli (1834–1903)
and Albert Wolff (1814–92)
Location and relocations
The Victory Column originally stood in Königsplatz (now Platz der Republik), at the end of the Siegesallee (Victory Avenue). As part of the preparation of the monumental plans to redesign Berlin into Welthauptstadt Germania, in 1939, when the Nazis relocated the column to its present site at the Großer Stern (Great Star), a large intersection on the city axis that leads from the former Berliner Stadtschloss (Berlin City Palace) through the Brandenburg Gate to the western parts of the city. At the same time, the column was augmented by another 7.5 metres, giving it its present height of 66.89 metres. The monument survived World War II without much damage. The relocation of the monument probably saved it from destruction, as its old site – in front of the Reichstag, at exactly 1500 metres, (one Roman mile), from the proposed new north-south triumphal way of the Nazis in line with the Imperial Victory Avenue in the Tiergarten – was destroyed by American air raids in 1945.
Surrounded by a street circle, the column is also accessible to pedestrians through four tunnels, built in 1941 to plans by Albert Speer who likewise increased the width of the road between it and the Brandenburg Gate and designed the new Germania which was scheduled for construction after the victory obtained in the war. Via a steep spiral staircase of 285 steps, the physically fit may, for a fee, climb almost to the top of the column, to just under the statue and take in the spectacular views over the Tiergarten including the Soviet War Memorial, 1946, in line with the Nazi proposed north-south triumphal way by Speer and Adolf Hitler.
Cultural references
Due to the statue atop of it the column was known as 'the tall woman' by Soviet troops who captured Berlin in 1945.[2]
Polish Army troops, fighting alongside their Soviet allies, hoisted the Polish flag on the column on May 2, 1945 at the end of the Battle in Berlin. Poland's official Flag Day is held each year on May 2, in commemoration of the event.[3]
The column is featured in Wim Wenders' film Wings of Desire (1987) as being a place where angels congregate.[4]
The Victory Column served as the location for Barack Obama's speech in Berlin as a US presidential candidate during his visit to Germany on July 24, 2008. The choice of site was somewhat controversial as it symbolises German military victories of the past and is still seen by some as a Nazi symbol.[5] In the 1989 film Das Spinnennetz (directed by Bernhard Wicki, based on the fragmentary novel of the same name by Joseph Roth), Ulrich Mühe as protagonist Leutnant Lohse partakes in a 1920s plot to bomb the Victory Column, but being a right-wing spy among the communist plotters, he foils their plans.
The golden statue atop the column, cast in 1873 by the Aktien-Gesellschaft Gladenbeck foundry in Berlin,[6][7] was featured in the music video to U2's 1993 "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)" and inspired Paul van Dyk's 1998 trance music hit, "For an Angel"; the column was also featured in his music video during the Love Parade in 1998. "El Ángel" in Mexico City bears a more than passing resemblance to the Berlin victory column, while both echo the earlier examples of the victory column crowned by an angel, notably the Alexander Column in Saint Petersburg.
In the 18th episode of "Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig", Batou is stationed on the monuments shoulder. It is here that Batou notices a young girl who talks to the statue, addressing it as "Angel." The Victory Column is meant to represents the girl's absent father, the episode's main criminal and multinational terrorist, Angel's Feathers.
Osaka Castle is a Japanese castle in Chūō-ku, Osaka, Japan. The castle is one of Japan's most famous landmarks and it played a major role in the unification of Japan during the sixteenth century of the Azuchi-Momoyama period.
This is a shot of three AH-64 Apache helicopters flying in formation over Corfu, Greece on May 21, 2024. The aircrafts of the 🇬🇷 Hellenic Army celebrated the 160th anniversary of the Unification of the Ionian Islands and Greece (5.21.1864).
© 2024 by Ioannis C. PAPACHRISTOS, MD Photography / All rights reserved
By the year 2063, the Terran Unification War is close to an end, with only a few pockets of resistance in what used to be North America. The Emperor, in His wisdom, has avoided nuclear bombardment of the continent, as He did not wish to add to the suffering of the common folk. He turned to His most trusted military advisor, Lego Admiral, to come up with new weapons and strategy to quickly conclude the War, so that global peace can be achieved.
The Hammerhead Sky Fortress concept was thus conceived. The newly developed lightweight but extremely strong alloy Allenulium, allowed the realization of this project. Heavily armed, the Sky Fortress could rapidly deploy behind enemy lines. Multipurpose “Peacemaker” FF Missiles provided effective offensive and defensive capability. Aft and stern turret mounted Gauss Cannons provided artillery support to ground troops, as well as ship to ship combat. The Sky Fortress also carries two Piranha gunships for aerial support. A full platoon of Terran Marines can deploy from the air using their jet packs.
It is with great hope and anticipation that the Sky Fortress will deliver the Victory we all yearn for…….
For full set of pictures, see here:
www.flickr.com/photos/legoadmiral2012/sets/72157634505675...
Credits:
Concept inspired by the Avengers Helicarrier
As a fan of M.R.Yoder’s spaceships, I’ve been wanting to build something like this for a while - The Lego Military Annual Challenge provided the motivation for me to finally get around to it! The general shape of my Sky Fortress is influenced by M.R. Yoder’s “Spirit of Memphis”, and I have utilized the method Mike kindly shared to make the wedges for the nose and engine exhausts.
During the late 19th century the city became a focal point for Albanian nationalism and saw the creation in 1878 of the League of Prizren, a movement formed to seek the national unification and liberation of Albanians within the Ottoman Empire.
During the First Balkan War the city was seized by the Serbian army and incorporated into the Kingdom of Serbia. Although the troops met little resistance, the takeover was bloody with 400 people dead in the first few days; the local population would call the city 'The Kingdom of Death'. The Daily Chronicle reported on 12 November 1912 that 5,000 Albanians had been 'slaughtered' in Prizren. General Božidar Janković forced the local Albanian leaders to sign a declaration of gratitude to King Peter of Serbia for their 'liberation by the Serbian army.' Following the capture of Prizen, most foreigners were barred from entering the city, for the Montenegrin forces temporarily closed the city before full control was restored. A few visitors did make it through—including Leon Trotsky, then working as a journalist for a Ukrainian newspaper and reports eventually emerged of widespread killings of Albanians. In a 1912 news report on the Serbian Army and the Paramilitary Chetniks in Prizren, Trotsky stated "Among them were intellectuals, men of ideas, nationalist zealots, but these were isolated individuals. The rest were just thugs, robbers who had joined the army for the sake of loot... The Serbs in Old Serbia, in their national endeavour to correct data in the ethnographical statistics that are not quite favourable to them, are engaged quite simply in systematic extermination of the Muslim population". British traveller Edith Durham and a British military attaché were supposed to visit Prizren in October 1912, however the trip was prevented by the authorities. Durham stated " I asked wounded Montengrins why I was not allowed to go and they laughed and said 'We have not left a nose on an Albanian up there!' Not a pretty sight for a British officer." Eventually Durham visited a northern Albanian outpost in Kosovo where she met captured Ottoman soldiers whose upper lips and noses had been cut off.
After the First Balkan War of 1912, the Conference of Ambassadors in London allowed the creation of the state of Albania and handed Kosovo to the Kingdom of Serbia, even though the population of Kosovo remained mostly Albanian.
In 1913, an official Austro-Hungarian report recorded that 30,000 people had fled Prizren for Bosnia. In January 1914 the Austro-Hungarian consul based in Prizren conducted a detailed report on living conditions in the city. The report stated that Kingdom of Serbia didn't keep its promise for equal treatment of Albanians and Muslims. Thirty of the thirty-two Mosques in Prizren had been tuned into hay barns, ammunition stores and military barracks. The people of the city were heavily taxed with Muslims and Catholic Christians having to pay more tax than Orthodox Christians. The local government was predominately made up of former Serb Chetniks and corruption thrived. The report also noted that the Serbs were also dissatisfied with the living conditions in Prizren.
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
© Angela M. Lobefaro
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
2011 Anniversary:
150 Years from the UNIFICATION of ITALY
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_unification
Dedicated to GARIBALDI:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garibaldi
L'Unita' d'Italia del 1861
www.governo.it/150_italia_unita/anniversario/index.html
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................Dear Friends
I am very busy with my being a volunteer
I am organizing a Fund Raising dinner
in Biella
this time for: HAITI
www.cesvi.org/?pagina=pagina_generica.php&id=1886
www.cesvi.org/UserFiles/File/CENA HAITI.pdf
Dear Mrs. Speaker, Mrs. Viktorija, I remember your visit to Kyiv, one of the first since the beginning of this war.
Dear Mr. President, friend Gitanas, you have been to Ukraine many times, you and I have done a lot together. I'm sure we will do even more!
Dear Mrs. Prime Minister, Mrs. Ingrida, I am grateful to you for your visit yesterday...
Dear Lithuanian people!
I am grateful for the opportunity to address you today on behalf of the entire Ukrainian people, who will always remember your sincerity and readiness to support us at the most difficult time for our country.
You were among the first to come to the aid of Ukraine. And you remain among those who care most about peace and security of Europe.
Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine has posed a strategic question to Europe: are the values that underlie the unification of nations on the European continent after World War II still alive?
Or the values have already played their part and can become exhibits in museums for tourists? Just part of Europe's historical heritage somewhere in the halls of ancient palaces, not something that defines real life.
Unfortunately, there is no common answer to this question for all Europeans.
But the future of Europe depends on this - whether there will be a common answer.
In the liberated areas of Ukraine, work continues to record and investigate war crimes committed by the Russian Federation.
Almost every day new mass graves are found. Evidence is being gathered.
Thousands and thousands of victims. Hundreds of cases of brutal torture. Human corpses are still found in manholes and basements. Tied up, mutilated bodies.
There are villages - once quite large, which were left almost without inhabitants.
Hundreds of children are orphans. That is, at least hundreds of children, because we do not know the exact number of victims yet.
Hundreds of cases of rape have been recorded, including underage girls, very young children... And even a baby! It's just scary to talk about it now.
But it's true, it happened.
Even this person, this Russian savage Bychkov from Pskov is identified. The paratrooper or special services officer who sent this video to his comrades. Video of what he does to the baby. How he torments the baby!
This is the Russian military. "Defender" of children. This is a "special operation" planned in Moscow. This is the story of the struggle for the "Russian world". This is what the Russian army and Russian paratroopers will now be associated with. From Pskov.
Rape of a baby…
Russian propagandists have apparently already begun to justify this. They will probably say, as always, that this did not happen, or even if it did happen, it was the protection of "Russian-speakers." And propagandists will also be responsible for this crime, as well as for any such crime. Including those who educate such paratroopers. From Pskov.
And including those in Europe who still do not remove Russian propaganda from television.
And I wonder how do the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation and other authors of this "special operation" evaluate its results now? After such crimes.
After such a "feat" of the Russian soldier Bychkov?
Maybe the Russian Minister of Defense will invite such Pskov paratroopers to his home to protect his children and grandchildren? Or the minister wouldn’t want that?
I'm sure he'll be scared.
Everywhere in Ukraine where the occupiers came, along the roads, in yards, parks, gardens, there is a burial of people whose bodies could not be taken to cemeteries.
And all this is within a period of several weeks of Russian occupation. About a month. In the areas around our capital, in the Chernihiv and Sumy regions, in the north of our state.
The whole world remembered the name of the city of Bucha. But this is just one symbol of the crimes of the Russian military.
You can take any other city from those where they managed to gain a foothold for a while, any village... The occupiers did the same thing there as in Bucha.
And what is in the east of our country, where Russian troops still remain? What is in the south? We cannot even imagine what is in Mariupol and Volnovakha, which were almost destroyed by the Russian army.
Obviously, it's even scarier there.
Russian officials and state propagandists deny crimes committed by their army. They say it's a staging. They lie in response to even the obvious facts that convince everyone in the world.
However, no wonder. They always did it. But they have changed their tactics in areas where the Russian troops still remain.
Corpses are no longer left on the streets there. They are taken out and probably burned.
There are mass deportations of people from the occupied areas. Hundreds of thousands of people have already been deported. They are placed in special filtration camps. Documents are taken away from them. They are interrogated and humiliated. It is unknown how many are killed.
Many deportees are distributed in the regions of Russia and banned from leaving.
Obviously, all this is an attempt to get rid of witnesses to Russian war crimes in Ukraine.
Is it possible that the Russian military has done and is doing so without orders from the high command? Impossible. Is it possible that the Russian political leadership is not aware of the consequences of such orders? Impossible.
But this is happening on our Ukrainian land. Why?
The answer is very cynical. They are confident of impunity. They are sure that they will be able to make the world forget it. They are sure Europe will forget this or Europe's claims can simply be brushed aside.
They have a simple, ordinary logic. Like, everyone needs to trade. Everyone needs oil. Everyone needs gas. Everyone will want to use Russian territory for the transit of their goods. Everyone will want to use the Russian market, the big market. That's what Moscow thinks.
Of course, if everyone in Europe were as principled and respected the values of Europe as you do in Lithuania, and we are proud of you, I am sure that the Russian leadership would not hope that they would go unpunished. Probably, this war would not have begun. They would not have dared to make a decision to start it.
But what do we see?
The European Union is discussing the sixth - I emphasize: the sixth package of sanctions against Russia for the war unprecedented since World War II, and it is still unknown whether oil will be subject to sanctions.
Even after seeing massacres in Bucha and other cities, even knowing about the deportations of people, even watching the deliberate destruction of peaceful cities by Russian missiles and air bombs - some EU countries cannot decide when they will at least significantly limit the purchase of Russian energy.
Hundreds of European companies and banks have not only not yet refused to operate in the Russian market, but are also showing outright contempt in response to demands to stop financing Russia's military machine through their taxes and excise taxes.
And all this is happening right now - when the blood is still fresh. What does this indicate?
If oil is being seriously discussed only for the sixth package of sanctions, then the world does not realize what war Russia was preparing for. If there is still no clear decision on Russian gas, there can be no certainty that Europe has a common will to stop Russian war crimes. To force Russia to seek peace.
If there are large European companies and large European banks, which even in the midst of hostilities in Ukraine do not consider it necessary to withdraw from the Russian market, it means that all other companies will take this as a signal: wait, wait a bit and then you can work as usual, even if nothing changes significantly in Russia's behavior.
Ladies and Gentlemen!
Dear Lithuanian people!
I am grateful to you for the leadership. For being the first to abandon Russian energy now. When it is really necessary.
I am grateful to you, Gitanas, for the important decision. For being the first to give us real help, to give us weapons. Stingers and more.
It was a historic manifestation of leadership. After all, the Lithuanian people, like no other, understand how the occupiers can destroy freedom and at what cost the independence is rebuilt then, which you have done exemplary.
This is exactly the kind of leadership the whole continent needs now to truly save and uphold common values that are undoubtedly important for Europe.
To prove that the common values of freedom, human rights, respect for state borders and prevention of a war of invasion are in fact alive, not something outdated and worthy of a museum only.
When the continent thought primarily of selfish interests, rather than of what should unite everyone, this has always led to terrible times for Europe as a whole. Discord, outbreaks of revanchism, wars - this is definitely not what Europeans need in the 21st century.
But this is what Russia is trying to bring back.
The Russian state must be responsible for this war. Russian officials and military commanders, all those guilty of war crimes, must be held accountable. All organizers and perpetrators of deportation must be held accountable. Russia must be deprived of any opportunity to terrorize its neighbors.
It's not just about us, it's not just about Ukraine! The real Russian plans are obvious to everyone. Ukraine is just the beginning. Next, God forbid, but next is your state, other Baltic states, Moldova, Georgia, Poland, Central Asian states. Threats are already being heard from Moscow against Finland and Sweden.
How will Europe be able to stop Russia's further expansion if it is not yet able to stop even what is happening in Ukraine now?
Although I know that Lithuania is already doing everything one hundred percent to protect Europe's values, freedom and security for Europeans, it is important that the whole of Europe works one hundred percent.
Every effort must be made to ensure that Europe's response to Russian aggression is truly strong and truly consolidated.
We cannot wait for the elaboration of the seventh or eighth or ninth, tenth, twentieth package of sanctions against Russia in order to make really powerful decisions. We must do everything necessary now - in the sixth package of sanctions. The European Union can do that. And it must do that. It must include oil there. It must impose sanctions on Russian banks - on all of them, not part. No demonstrations needed.
Specific deadlines must finally be set for each EU state in order to really abandon or at least significantly limit the consumption of Russian gas, oil, etc.
Only then will the Russian leadership come to the conclusion that real peace must be sought. That war is a catastrophe first of all for them.
We have already achieved a lot at the bilateral level. True understanding. True allied relations based not just on interests, but on values and on our common historical path.
We will only strengthen our cooperation in the original format of the Lublin Triangle. This will definitely be the basis for a new security configuration in the Baltic-Black Sea region.
Ukraine is also grateful to all our friends in the European Union for starting the accelerated procedure for our country to obtain the status of a candidate for EU membership. We are especially grateful to the Republic of Lithuania.
Successfully completing the procedure in the near future is also a must to show Russia that the war will not break either you or the whole of Europe.
And when peace finally comes - and I am sure it will come very soon if everyone in Europe is truly principled - we will be able to quickly and demonstratively rebuild Ukraine after this war.
I invite your society, your companies, your state to join the project of reconstruction of Ukraine. The reconstruction, which will be the most convincing argument for all those who still have doubts about Europe. About its future. About its potential.
Life must win the war. Values must win the war. Europe must win the war. And we will win.
I am grateful to each of you!
I am grateful to the Lithuanian people!
Glory to Ukraine!
Dr Class 132 238-7 pictured at Quedlinburg with a Thale to Berlin service. These Russian built locos nicknamed 'Ludmillas' became Class 232 upon re-unification.
De huisvrouwen in beeld hebben de dagelijkse boodschappen gedaan in het centrum van Strausberg (nabij Berlijn) en vragen zich verwonderd af waarom ze als fotomodellen worden onthaald op 'hun' halte Landhaus. De tramfotografen hadden eigenlijk een moderne lagevloerwagen verwacht, maar waren zeker niet ontevreden dat nog een klassieke tram van het type KT8D5 in dienst was. Motorwagen 21 werd gebouwd door CKD Tatra in 1990 voor Kosice in Tsjechoslowakije en kwam na "die Wende" naar Strausberg ter modernisering van het wagenpark. Bij mijn vorige bezoek zaten de trams hier onder de reclame en was de halte besmeurd met graffiti ... kijk nu eens hoe fris alles er uit ziet. Dank aan de dames op de 'catwalk' voor deze spontane 'fotoshoot' :-)
The housewives have done their daily shopping in the city center of Strausberg (near Berlin) and are wondering why they are treated as photo models at 'their' tramstop Landhaus. We were expecting here a modern low floor tramcar but were also happy with this classic tramcar of type KT8D5 still in service. Tramcar 21 was built in 1990 for Kosice in Czechoslovakia and taken over by Strausberg after the German unification. With kind thanks to the ladies on the catwalk for this spontaneous photo shoot :-)
© Paul van Baarle - no unauthorised use. Press L to view Large.
Please watch 'text-version' of ¦ My Photostream ¦ Set DE-Germany ¦
« Le kendo est la plus ancienne, la plus respectée et la plus populaire des disciplines modernes du Budō » remarque en 1983 Donn F. Draeger, l'un des spécialistes des arts martiaux japonais.
Dans une école d'agriculture au Japon, vers 1920
De nos jours dans un Dojo à Tokyo
Après une longue période de guerres et l'unification du pays par le Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, le Japon entre dans une ère de paix qui durera plus de 260 ans, l'époque d'Edo (1600-1868), au cours de laquelle l'escrime au sabre, le kenjutsu 剣術, qui a perdu sa finalité sur les champs de bataille, continue à être enseignée dans le cadre de la formation de la caste dirigeante, celle des bushi (ou samouraï): le kenjutsu est l'un des dix-huit arts martiaux que doit pratiquer le bushi. De nombreux traités sur le sabre sont publiés à cette époque au Japon tel le Gorin no shō de Miyamoto Musashi ou le Hagakure de Yamamoto Jocho. De « sabre pour tuer » (Setsuninto 殺人刀) le kenjutsu évolue vers « sabre pour vivre » (katsuninken 活人剣) par l'étude duquel le pratiquant forge sa personnalité. Afin de faciliter la pratique jusque là limitée à des kata au sabre de bois (bokken) ou au sabre réel, Naganuma Shiro développe au début du XVIIIe siècle le sabre en bambou (shinai) et différentes protections (bogu) afin d'autoriser des frappes réelles pendant les assauts. Parallèlement à l'amélioration du matériel qui prend la forme définitive que nous lui connaissons aujourd'hui peu avant la fin de l'ère Edo, le kenjutsu évolue vers sa forme moderne, le kendo.
Swordsmen in Japan established schools of kenjutsu (the ancestor of kendo) which continued for centuries and which form the basis of kendo practice today.[2] The formal kendo exercises known as kata were developed several centuries ago as kenjutsu practice for warriors. They are still studied today, in a modified form.[3]
The introduction of bamboo practice swords (shinai) and armour (bōgu) to sword training is attributed to Naganuma Shirōzaemon Kunisato during the Shotoku Era (1711–1715). Naganuma developed the use of bōgu and established a training method using the shinai.[4]
In addition, the inscription on the gravestone of Yamada Heizaemon Mitsunori's (Ippūsai) (山田平左衛門光徳(一風斎)?, 1638–1718) third son Naganuma Shirōzaemon Kunisato (長沼 四郎左衛門 国郷?, 1688–1767), the 8th headmaster of the Kashima Shinden Jikishinkage-ryū Kenjutsu, states that his exploits included improving the bokuto and shinai, and refining the armour by adding a metal grille to the men (head piece) and thick cotton protective coverings to the kote (gauntlets). Kunisato inherited the tradition from his father Heizaemon in 1708, and the two of them worked hard together to improve the bogu until Heizaemon's death.
古武道の剣術のうち江戸時代後期に発達した防具着用の竹刀稽古（撃剣）を直接の起源とする。江戸時代末期（幕末）には流派を超えて広く試合が行われるようになった。明治時代以降、大日本武徳会が試合規則を定め競技として成立した。複数の流派が集まって成立したため、柔道の嘉納治五郎のような特定の創始者は存在しない。太平洋戦争後に大日本武徳会は解散し、その後発足した全日本剣道連盟が事業を継承している。
現代の剣道は事実上スポーツにも分類されるが、全日本剣道連盟は「剣道は剣道具を着用し竹刀を用いて一対一で打突しあう運動競技種目とみられますが、稽古を続けることによって心身を鍛錬し人間形成を目指す「武道」です。」としている source wikipédia
++++ FROM WIKIPEDIA ++++
Myanmar (Burmese pronunciation: [mjəmà]),[nb 1][8] officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and also known as Burma, is a sovereign state in Southeast Asia. Myanmar is bordered by India and Bangladesh to its west, Thailand and Laos to its east and China to its north and northeast. To its south, about one third of Myanmar's total perimeter of 5,876 km (3,651 mi) forms an uninterrupted coastline of 1,930 km (1,200 mi) along the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. The country's 2014 census counted the population to be 51 million people.[9] As of 2017, the population is about 54 million.[10] Myanmar is 676,578 square kilometers (261,228 square miles) in size. Its capital city is Naypyidaw, and its largest city and former capital is Yangon (Rangoon).[1] Myanmar has been a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) since 1997.
Early civilisations in Myanmar included the Tibeto-Burman-speaking Pyu city-states in Upper Burma and the Mon kingdoms in Lower Burma.[11] In the 9th century, the Bamar people entered the upper Irrawaddy valley and, following the establishment of the Pagan Kingdom in the 1050s, the Burmese language, culture and Theravada Buddhism slowly became dominant in the country. The Pagan Kingdom fell due to the Mongol invasions and several warring states emerged. In the 16th century, reunified by the Taungoo Dynasty, the country was for a brief period the largest empire in the history of Mainland Southeast Asia.[12] The early 19th century Konbaung Dynasty ruled over an area that included modern Myanmar and briefly controlled Manipur and Assam as well. The British took over the administration of Myanmar after three Anglo-Burmese Wars in the 19th century and the country became a British colony. Myanmar was granted independence in 1948, as a democratic nation. Following a coup d'état in 1962, it became a military dictatorship.
For most of its independent years, the country has been engrossed in rampant ethnic strife and its myriad ethnic groups have been involved in one of the world's longest-running ongoing civil wars. During this time, the United Nations and several other organisations have reported consistent and systematic human rights violations in the country.[13] In 2011, the military junta was officially dissolved following a 2010 general election, and a nominally civilian government was installed. This, along with the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and political prisoners, has improved the country's human rights record and foreign relations, and has led to the easing of trade and other economic sanctions.[14] There is, however, continuing criticism of the government's treatment of ethnic minorities, its response to the ethnic insurgency, and religious clashes.[15] In the landmark 2015 election, Aung San Suu Kyi's party won a majority in both houses. However, the Burmese military remains a powerful force in politics.
Myanmar is a country rich in jade and gems, oil, natural gas and other mineral resources. In 2013, its GDP (nominal) stood at US$56.7 billion and its GDP (PPP) at US$221.5 billion.[6] The income gap in Myanmar is among the widest in the world, as a large proportion of the economy is controlled by supporters of the former military government.[16] As of 2016, Myanmar ranks 145 out of 188 countries in human development, according to the Human Development Index.[7]
Etymology
Main article: Names of Myanmar
In 1989, the military government officially changed the English translations of many names dating back to Burma's colonial period or earlier, including that of the country itself: "Burma" became "Myanmar". The renaming remains a contested issue.[17] Many political and ethnic opposition groups and countries continue to use "Burma" because they do not recognise the legitimacy of the ruling military government or its authority to rename the country.[18]
In April 2016, soon after taking office, Aung San Suu Kyi clarified that foreigners are free to use either name, "because there is nothing in the constitution of our country that says that you must use any term in particular".[19]
The country's official full name is the "Republic of the Union of Myanmar" (ပြည်ထောင်စုသမ္မတ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော်, Pyidaunzu Thanmăda Myăma Nainngandaw, pronounced [pjìdàʊɴzṵ θàɴməda̰ mjəmà nàɪɴŋàɴdɔ̀]). Countries that do not officially recognise that name use the long form "Union of Burma" instead.[20]
In English, the country is popularly known as either "Burma" or "Myanmar" /ˈmjɑːnˌmɑːr/ (About this sound listen).[8] Both these names are derived from the name of the majority Burmese Bamar ethnic group. Myanmar is considered to be the literary form of the name of the group, while Burma is derived from "Bamar", the colloquial form of the group's name.[17] Depending on the register used, the pronunciation would be Bama (pronounced [bəmà]) or Myamah (pronounced [mjəmà]).[17] The name Burma has been in use in English since the 18th century.
Burma continues to be used in English by the governments of many countries, such as Canada and the United Kingdom.[21][22] Official United States policy retains Burma as the country's name, although the State Department's website lists the country as "Burma (Myanmar)" and Barack Obama has referred to the country by both names.[23] The Czech Republic officially uses Myanmar, although its Ministry of Foreign Affairs mentions both Myanmar and Burma on its website.[24] The United Nations uses Myanmar, as do the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Australia,[25] Russia, Germany,[26] China, India, Bangladesh, Norway,[27] Japan[21] and Switzerland.[28]
Most English-speaking international news media refer to the country by the name Myanmar, including the BBC,[29] CNN,[30] Al Jazeera,[31] Reuters,[32] RT (Russia Today) and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)/Radio Australia.[33]
Myanmar is known with a name deriving from Burma as opposed to Myanmar in Spanish, Italian, Romanian, and Greek – Birmania being the local version of Burma in the Spanish language, for example. Myanmar used to be known as "Birmânia" in Portuguese, and as "Birmanie" in French.[34] As in the past, French-language media today consistently use Birmanie.,[35][36]
History
Main article: History of Myanmar
Prehistory
Main articles: Prehistory of Myanmar and Migration period of ancient Burma
Pyu city-states c. 8th century; Pagan is shown for comparison only and is not contemporary.
Archaeological evidence shows that Homo erectus lived in the region now known as Myanmar as early as 750,000 years ago, with no more erectus finds after 75,000 years ago.[37] The first evidence of Homo sapiens is dated to about 11,000 BC, in a Stone Age culture called the Anyathian with discoveries of stone tools in central Myanmar. Evidence of neolithic age domestication of plants and animals and the use of polished stone tools dating to sometime between 10,000 and 6,000 BC has been discovered in the form of cave paintings in Padah-Lin Caves.[38]
The Bronze Age arrived circa 1500 BC when people in the region were turning copper into bronze, growing rice and domesticating poultry and pigs; they were among the first people in the world to do so.[39] Human remains and artefacts from this era were discovered in Monywa District in the Sagaing Division.[40] The Iron Age began around 500 BC with the emergence of iron-working settlements in an area south of present-day Mandalay.[41] Evidence also shows the presence of rice-growing settlements of large villages and small towns that traded with their surroundings as far as China between 500 BC and 200 AD.[42] Iron Age Burmese cultures also had influences from outside sources such as India and Thailand, as seen in their funerary practices concerning child burials. This indicates some form of communication between groups in Myanmar and other places, possibly through trade.[43]
Early city-states
Main articles: Pyu city-states and Mon kingdoms
Around the second century BC the first-known city-states emerged in central Myanmar. The city-states were founded as part of the southward migration by the Tibeto-Burman-speaking Pyu city-states, the earliest inhabitants of Myanmar of whom records are extant, from present-day Yunnan.[44] The Pyu culture was heavily influenced by trade with India, importing Buddhism as well as other cultural, architectural and political concepts, which would have an enduring influence on later Burmese culture and political organisation.[45]
By the 9th century, several city-states had sprouted across the land: the Pyu in the central dry zone, Mon along the southern coastline and Arakanese along the western littoral. The balance was upset when the Pyu came under repeated attacks from Nanzhao between the 750s and the 830s. In the mid-to-late 9th century the Bamar people founded a small settlement at Bagan. It was one of several competing city-states until the late 10th century when it grew in authority and grandeur.[46]
Imperial Burma
Main articles: Pagan Kingdom, Taungoo Dynasty, and Konbaung Dynasty
See also: Ava Kingdom, Hanthawaddy Kingdom, Kingdom of Mrauk U, and Shan States
Pagodas and kyaungs in present-day Bagan, the capital of the Pagan Kingdom.
Pagan gradually grew to absorb its surrounding states until the 1050s–1060s when Anawrahta founded the Pagan Kingdom, the first ever unification of the Irrawaddy valley and its periphery. In the 12th and 13th centuries, the Pagan Empire and the Khmer Empire were two main powers in mainland Southeast Asia.[47] The Burmese language and culture gradually became dominant in the upper Irrawaddy valley, eclipsing the Pyu, Mon and Pali norms by the late 12th century.[48]
Theravada Buddhism slowly began to spread to the village level, although Tantric, Mahayana, Hinduism, and folk religion remained heavily entrenched. Pagan's rulers and wealthy built over 10,000 Buddhist temples in the Pagan capital zone alone. Repeated Mongol invasions (1277–1301) toppled the four-century-old kingdom in 1287.[48]
Temples at Mrauk U.
Pagan's collapse was followed by 250 years of political fragmentation that lasted well into the 16th century. Like the Burmans four centuries earlier, Shan migrants who arrived with the Mongol invasions stayed behind. Several competing Shan States came to dominate the entire northwestern to eastern arc surrounding the Irrawaddy valley. The valley too was beset with petty states until the late 14th century when two sizeable powers, Ava Kingdom and Hanthawaddy Kingdom, emerged. In the west, a politically fragmented Arakan was under competing influences of its stronger neighbours until the Kingdom of Mrauk U unified the Arakan coastline for the first time in 1437.
Early on, Ava fought wars of unification (1385–1424) but could never quite reassemble the lost empire. Having held off Ava, Hanthawaddy entered its golden age, and Arakan went on to become a power in its own right for the next 350 years. In contrast, constant warfare left Ava greatly weakened, and it slowly disintegrated from 1481 onward. In 1527, the Confederation of Shan States conquered Ava itself, and ruled Upper Myanmar until 1555.
Like the Pagan Empire, Ava, Hanthawaddy and the Shan states were all multi-ethnic polities. Despite the wars, cultural synchronisation continued. This period is considered a golden age for Burmese culture. Burmese literature "grew more confident, popular, and stylistically diverse", and the second generation of Burmese law codes as well as the earliest pan-Burma chronicles emerged.[49] Hanthawaddy monarchs introduced religious reforms that later spread to the rest of the country.[50] Many splendid temples of Mrauk U were built during this period.
Taungoo and colonialism
Bayinnaung's Empire in 1580.
Political unification returned in the mid-16th century, due to the efforts of Taungoo, a former vassal state of Ava. Taungoo's young, ambitious king Tabinshwehti defeated the more powerful Hanthawaddy in the Toungoo–Hanthawaddy War (1534–41). His successor Bayinnaung went on to conquer a vast swath of mainland Southeast Asia including the Shan states, Lan Na, Manipur, Mong Mao, the Ayutthaya Kingdom, Lan Xang and southern Arakan. However, the largest empire in the history of Southeast Asia unravelled soon after Bayinnaung's death in 1581, completely collapsing by 1599. Ayutthaya seized Tenasserim and Lan Na, and Portuguese mercenaries established Portuguese rule at Thanlyin (Syriam).
The dynasty regrouped and defeated the Portuguese in 1613 and Siam in 1614. It restored a smaller, more manageable kingdom, encompassing Lower Myanmar, Upper Myanmar, Shan states, Lan Na and upper Tenasserim. The Restored Toungoo kings created a legal and political framework whose basic features would continue well into the 19th century. The crown completely replaced the hereditary chieftainships with appointed governorships in the entire Irrawaddy valley, and greatly reduced the hereditary rights of Shan chiefs. Its trade and secular administrative reforms built a prosperous economy for more than 80 years. From the 1720s onward, the kingdom was beset with repeated Meithei raids into Upper Myanmar and a nagging rebellion in Lan Na. In 1740, the Mon of Lower Myanmar founded the Restored Hanthawaddy Kingdom. Hanthawaddy forces sacked Ava in 1752, ending the 266-year-old Toungoo Dynasty.
A British 1825 lithograph of Shwedagon Pagoda shows British occupation during the First Anglo-Burmese War.
After the fall of Ava, the Konbaung–Hanthawaddy War involved one resistance group under Alaungpaya defeating the Restored Hanthawaddy, and by 1759, he had reunited all of Myanmar and Manipur, and driven out the French and the British, who had provided arms to Hanthawaddy. By 1770, Alaungpaya's heirs had subdued much of Laos (1765) and fought and won the Burmese–Siamese War (1765–67) against Ayutthaya and the Sino-Burmese War (1765–69) against Qing China (1765–1769).[51]
With Burma preoccupied by the Chinese threat, Ayutthaya recovered its territories by 1770, and went on to capture Lan Na by 1776. Burma and Siam went to war until 1855, but all resulted in a stalemate, exchanging Tenasserim (to Burma) and Lan Na (to Ayutthaya). Faced with a powerful China and a resurgent Ayutthaya in the east, King Bodawpaya turned west, acquiring Arakan (1785), Manipur (1814) and Assam (1817). It was the second-largest empire in Burmese history but also one with a long ill-defined border with British India.[52]
The breadth of this empire was short lived. Burma lost Arakan, Manipur, Assam and Tenasserim to the British in the First Anglo-Burmese War (1824–1826). In 1852, the British easily seized Lower Burma in the Second Anglo-Burmese War. King Mindon Min tried to modernise the kingdom, and in 1875 narrowly avoided annexation by ceding the Karenni States. The British, alarmed by the consolidation of French Indochina, annexed the remainder of the country in the Third Anglo-Burmese War in 1885.
Konbaung kings extended Restored Toungoo's administrative reforms, and achieved unprecedented levels of internal control and external expansion. For the first time in history, the Burmese language and culture came to predominate the entire Irrawaddy valley. The evolution and growth of Burmese literature and theatre continued, aided by an extremely high adult male literacy rate for the era (half of all males and 5% of females).[53] Nonetheless, the extent and pace of reforms were uneven and ultimately proved insufficient to stem the advance of British colonialism.
British Burma (1824–1948)
Main articles: British rule in Burma and Burma Campaign
Burma in British India
The landing of British forces in Mandalay after the last of the Anglo-Burmese Wars, which resulted in the abdication of the last Burmese monarch, King Thibaw Min.
British troops firing a mortar on the Mawchi road, July 1944.
The eighteenth century saw Burmese rulers, whose country had not previously been of particular interest to European traders, seek to maintain their traditional influence in the western areas of Assam, Manipur and Arakan. Pressing them, however, was the British East India Company, which was expanding its interests eastwards over the same territory. Over the next sixty years, diplomacy, raids, treaties and compromises continued until, after three Anglo-Burmese Wars (1824–1885), Britain proclaimed control over most of Burma.[54] British rule brought social, economic, cultural and administrative changes.
With the fall of Mandalay, all of Burma came under British rule, being annexed on 1 January 1886. Throughout the colonial era, many Indians arrived as soldiers, civil servants, construction workers and traders and, along with the Anglo-Burmese community, dominated commercial and civil life in Burma. Rangoon became the capital of British Burma and an important port between Calcutta and Singapore.
Burmese resentment was strong and was vented in violent riots that paralysed Yangon (Rangoon) on occasion all the way until the 1930s.[55] Some of the discontent was caused by a disrespect for Burmese culture and traditions such as the British refusal to remove shoes when they entered pagodas. Buddhist monks became the vanguards of the independence movement. U Wisara, an activist monk, died in prison after a 166-day hunger strike to protest against a rule that forbade him to wear his Buddhist robes while imprisoned.[56]
Separation of British Burma from British India
On 1 April 1937, Burma became a separately administered colony of Great Britain and Ba Maw the first Prime Minister and Premier of Burma. Ba Maw was an outspoken advocate for Burmese self-rule and he opposed the participation of Great Britain, and by extension Burma, in World War II. He resigned from the Legislative Assembly and was arrested for sedition. In 1940, before Japan formally entered the Second World War, Aung San formed the Burma Independence Army in Japan.
A major battleground, Burma was devastated during World War II. By March 1942, within months after they entered the war, Japanese troops had advanced on Rangoon and the British administration had collapsed. A Burmese Executive Administration headed by Ba Maw was established by the Japanese in August 1942. Wingate's British Chindits were formed into long-range penetration groups trained to operate deep behind Japanese lines.[57] A similar American unit, Merrill's Marauders, followed the Chindits into the Burmese jungle in 1943.[58] Beginning in late 1944, allied troops launched a series of offensives that led to the end of Japanese rule in July 1945. The battles were intense with much of Burma laid waste by the fighting. Overall, the Japanese lost some 150,000 men in Burma. Only 1,700 prisoners were taken.[59]
Although many Burmese fought initially for the Japanese as part of the Burma Independence Army, many Burmese, mostly from the ethnic minorities, served in the British Burma Army.[60] The Burma National Army and the Arakan National Army fought with the Japanese from 1942 to 1944 but switched allegiance to the Allied side in 1945. Under Japanese occupation, 170,000 to 250,000 civilians died.[61]
Following World War II, Aung San negotiated the Panglong Agreement with ethnic leaders that guaranteed the independence of Myanmar as a unified state. Aung Zan Wai, Pe Khin, Bo Hmu Aung, Sir Maung Gyi, Dr. Sein Mya Maung, Myoma U Than Kywe were among the negotiators of the historical Panglong Conference negotiated with Bamar leader General Aung San and other ethnic leaders in 1947. In 1947, Aung San became Deputy Chairman of the Executive Council of Myanmar, a transitional government. But in July 1947, political rivals[62] assassinated Aung San and several cabinet members.[63]
Independence (1948–1962)
Main article: Post-independence Burma, 1948–62
British governor Hubert Elvin Rance and Sao Shwe Thaik at the flag raising ceremony on 4 January 1948 (Independence Day of Burma).
On 4 January 1948, the nation became an independent republic, named the Union of Burma, with Sao Shwe Thaik as its first President and U Nu as its first Prime Minister. Unlike most other former British colonies and overseas territories, Burma did not become a member of the Commonwealth. A bicameral parliament was formed, consisting of a Chamber of Deputies and a Chamber of Nationalities,[64] and multi-party elections were held in 1951–1952, 1956 and 1960.
The geographical area Burma encompasses today can be traced to the Panglong Agreement, which combined Burma Proper, which consisted of Lower Burma and Upper Burma, and the Frontier Areas, which had been administered separately by the British.[65]
In 1961, U Thant, then the Union of Burma's Permanent Representative to the United Nations and former Secretary to the Prime Minister, was elected Secretary-General of the United Nations, a position he held for ten years.[66] Among the Burmese to work at the UN when he was Secretary-General was a young Aung San Suu Kyi (daughter of Aung San), who went on to become winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize.
When the non-Burman ethnic groups pushed for autonomy or federalism, alongside having a weak civilian government at the centre, the military leadership staged a coup d’état in 1962. Though incorporated in the 1947 Constitution, successive military governments construed the use of the term ‘federalism’ as being anti-national, anti-unity and pro-disintegration.[67]
Military rule (1962–2011)
On 2 March 1962, the military led by General Ne Win took control of Burma through a coup d'état, and the government has been under direct or indirect control by the military since then. Between 1962 and 1974, Myanmar was ruled by a revolutionary council headed by the general. Almost all aspects of society (business, media, production) were nationalised or brought under government control under the Burmese Way to Socialism,[68] which combined Soviet-style nationalisation and central planning.
A new constitution of the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma was adopted in 1974. Until 1988, the country was ruled as a one-party system, with the General and other military officers resigning and ruling through the Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP).[69] During this period, Myanmar became one of the world's most impoverished countries.[70]
Protesters gathering in central Rangoon, 1988.
There were sporadic protests against military rule during the Ne Win years and these were almost always violently suppressed. On 7 July 1962, the government broke up demonstrations at Rangoon University, killing 15 students.[68] In 1974, the military violently suppressed anti-government protests at the funeral of U Thant. Student protests in 1975, 1976, and 1977 were quickly suppressed by overwhelming force.[69]
In 1988, unrest over economic mismanagement and political oppression by the government led to widespread pro-democracy demonstrations throughout the country known as the 8888 Uprising. Security forces killed thousands of demonstrators, and General Saw Maung staged a coup d'état and formed the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC). In 1989, SLORC declared martial law after widespread protests. The military government finalised plans for People's Assembly elections on 31 May 1989.[71] SLORC changed the country's official English name from the "Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma" to the "Union of Myanmar" in 1989.
In May 1990, the government held free elections for the first time in almost 30 years and the National League for Democracy (NLD), the party of Aung San Suu Kyi, won 392 out of a total 492 seats (i.e., 80% of the seats). However, the military junta refused to cede power[72] and continued to rule the nation as SLORC until 1997, and then as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) until its dissolution in March 2011.
Protesters in Yangon during the 2007 Saffron Revolution with a banner that reads non-violence: national movement in Burmese. In the background is Shwedagon Pagoda.
On 23 June 1997, Myanmar was admitted into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). On 27 March 2006, the military junta, which had moved the national capital from Yangon to a site near Pyinmana in November 2005, officially named the new capital Naypyidaw, meaning "city of the kings".[73]
Cyclone Nargis in southern Myanmar, May 2008.
In August 2007, an increase in the price of diesel and petrol led to the Saffron Revolution led by Buddhist monks that were dealt with harshly by the government.[74] The government cracked down on them on 26 September 2007. The crackdown was harsh, with reports of barricades at the Shwedagon Pagoda and monks killed. There were also rumours of disagreement within the Burmese armed forces, but none was confirmed. The military crackdown against unarmed protesters was widely condemned as part of the international reactions to the Saffron Revolution and led to an increase in economic sanctions against the Burmese Government.
In May 2008, Cyclone Nargis caused extensive damage in the densely populated, rice-farming delta of the Irrawaddy Division.[75] It was the worst natural disaster in Burmese history with reports of an estimated 200,000 people dead or missing, damage totalled to 10 billion US dollars, and as many as 1 million left homeless.[76] In the critical days following this disaster, Myanmar's isolationist government was accused of hindering United Nations recovery efforts.[77] Humanitarian aid was requested but concerns about foreign military or intelligence presence in the country delayed the entry of United States military planes delivering medicine, food, and other supplies.[78]
In early August 2009, a conflict known as the Kokang incident broke out in Shan State in northern Myanmar. For several weeks, junta troops fought against ethnic minorities including the Han Chinese,[79] Wa, and Kachin.[80][81] During 8–12 August, the first days of the conflict, as many as 10,000 Burmese civilians fled to Yunnan province in neighbouring China.[80][81][82]
Civil wars
Main articles: Internal conflict in Myanmar, Kachin Conflict, Karen conflict, and 2015 Kokang offensive
Civil wars have been a constant feature of Myanmar's socio-political landscape since the attainment of independence in 1948. These wars are predominantly struggles for ethnic and sub-national autonomy, with the areas surrounding the ethnically Bamar central districts of the country serving as the primary geographical setting of conflict. Foreign journalists and visitors require a special travel permit to visit the areas in which Myanmar's civil wars continue.[83]
In October 2012, the ongoing conflicts in Myanmar included the Kachin conflict,[84] between the Pro-Christian Kachin Independence Army and the government;[85] a civil war between the Rohingya Muslims, and the government and non-government groups in Rakhine State;[86] and a conflict between the Shan,[87] Lahu, and Karen[88][89] minority groups, and the government in the eastern half of the country. In addition, al-Qaeda signalled an intention to become involved in Myanmar. In a video released on 3 September 2014, mainly addressed to India, the militant group's leader Ayman al-Zawahiri said al-Qaeda had not forgotten the Muslims of Myanmar and that the group was doing "what they can to rescue you".[90] In response, the military raised its level of alertness, while the Burmese Muslim Association issued a statement saying Muslims would not tolerate any threat to their motherland.[91]
Armed conflict between ethnic Chinese rebels and the Myanmar Armed Forces have resulted in the Kokang offensive in February 2015. The conflict had forced 40,000 to 50,000 civilians to flee their homes and seek shelter on the Chinese side of the border.[92] During the incident, the government of China was accused of giving military assistance to the ethnic Chinese rebels. Burmese officials have been historically "manipulated" and pressured by the Chinese government throughout Burmese modern history to create closer and binding ties with China, creating a Chinese satellite state in Southeast Asia.[93] However, uncertainties exist as clashes between Burmese troops and local insurgent groups continue.
Democratic reforms
Main article: 2011–12 Burmese political reforms
The goal of the Burmese constitutional referendum of 2008, held on 10 May 2008, is the creation of a "discipline-flourishing democracy". As part of the referendum process, the name of the country was changed from the "Union of Myanmar" to the "Republic of the Union of Myanmar", and general elections were held under the new constitution in 2010. Observer accounts of the 2010 election describe the event as mostly peaceful; however, allegations of polling station irregularities were raised, and the United Nations (UN) and a number of Western countries condemned the elections as fraudulent.[94]
U.S. President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with Aung San Suu Kyi and her staff at her home in Yangon, 2012
The military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party declared victory in the 2010 elections, stating that it had been favoured by 80 percent of the votes; however, the claim was disputed by numerous pro-democracy opposition groups who asserted that the military regime had engaged in rampant fraud.[95][96] One report documented 77 percent as the official turnout rate of the election.[95] The military junta was dissolved on 30 March 2011.
Opinions differ whether the transition to liberal democracy is underway. According to some reports, the military's presence continues as the label "disciplined democracy" suggests. This label asserts that the Burmese military is allowing certain civil liberties while clandestinely institutionalising itself further into Burmese politics. Such an assertion assumes that reforms only occurred when the military was able to safeguard its own interests through the transition—here, "transition" does not refer to a transition to a liberal democracy, but transition to a quasi-military rule.[97]
Since the 2010 election, the government has embarked on a series of reforms to direct the country towards liberal democracy, a mixed economy, and reconciliation, although doubts persist about the motives that underpin such reforms. The series of reforms includes the release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest, the establishment of the National Human Rights Commission, the granting of general amnesties for more than 200 political prisoners, new labour laws that permit labour unions and strikes, a relaxation of press censorship, and the regulation of currency practices.[98]
The impact of the post-election reforms has been observed in numerous areas, including ASEAN's approval of Myanmar's bid for the position of ASEAN chair in 2014;[99] the visit by United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in December 2011 for the encouragement of further progress, which was the first visit by a Secretary of State in more than fifty years,[100] during which Clinton met with the Burmese president and former military commander Thein Sein, as well as opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi;[101] and the participation of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party in the 2012 by-elections, facilitated by the government's abolition of the laws that previously barred the NLD.[102] As of July 2013, about 100[103][104] political prisoners remain imprisoned, while conflict between the Burmese Army and local insurgent groups continues.
Map of Myanmar and its divisions, including Shan State, Kachin State, Rakhine State and Karen State.
In 1 April 2012 by-elections, the NLD won 43 of the 45 available seats; previously an illegal organisation, the NLD had not won a single seat under new constitution. The 2012 by-elections were also the first time that international representatives were allowed to monitor the voting process in Myanmar.[105]
2015 general elections
Main article: Myanmar general election, 2015
General elections were held on 8 November 2015. These were the first openly contested elections held in Myanmar since 1990. The results gave the National League for Democracy an absolute majority of seats in both chambers of the national parliament, enough to ensure that its candidate would become president, while NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi is constitutionally barred from the presidency.[106]
The new parliament convened on 1 February 2016[107] and, on 15 March 2016, Htin Kyaw was elected as the first non-military president since the military coup of 1962.[108] On 6 April 2016, Aung San Suu Kyi assumed the newly created role of State Counsellor, a role akin to a Prime Minister.
Geography
Main article: Geography of Myanmar
A map of Myanmar
Myanmar map of Köppen climate classification.
Myanmar has a total area of 678,500 square kilometres (262,000 sq mi). It lies between latitudes 9° and 29°N, and longitudes 92° and 102°E. As of February 2011, Myanmar consisted of 14 states and regions, 67 districts, 330 townships, 64 sub-townships, 377 towns, 2,914 Wards, 14,220 village tracts and 68,290 villages.
Myanmar is bordered in the northwest by the Chittagong Division of Bangladesh and the Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh states of India. Its north and northeast border is with the Tibet Autonomous Region and Yunnan province for a Sino-Myanmar border total of 2,185 km (1,358 mi). It is bounded by Laos and Thailand to the southeast. Myanmar has 1,930 km (1,200 mi) of contiguous coastline along the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea to the southwest and the south, which forms one quarter of its total perimeter.[20]
In the north, the Hengduan Mountains form the border with China. Hkakabo Razi, located in Kachin State, at an elevation of 5,881 metres (19,295 ft), is the highest point in Myanmar.[109] Many mountain ranges, such as the Rakhine Yoma, the Bago Yoma, the Shan Hills and the Tenasserim Hills exist within Myanmar, all of which run north-to-south from the Himalayas.[110]
The mountain chains divide Myanmar's three river systems, which are the Irrawaddy, Salween (Thanlwin), and the Sittaung rivers.[111] The Irrawaddy River, Myanmar's longest river, nearly 2,170 kilometres (1,348 mi) long, flows into the Gulf of Martaban. Fertile plains exist in the valleys between the mountain chains.[110] The majority of Myanmar's population lives in the Irrawaddy valley, which is situated between the Rakhine Yoma and the Shan Plateau.
Administrative divisions
Main article: Administrative divisions of Myanmar
A clickable map of Burma/Myanmar exhibiting its first-level administrative divisions.
About this image
Myanmar is divided into seven states (ပြည်နယ်) and seven regions (တိုင်းဒေသကြီး), formerly called divisions.[112] Regions are predominantly Bamar (that is, mainly inhabited by the dominant ethnic group). States, in essence, are regions that are home to particular ethnic minorities. The administrative divisions are further subdivided into districts, which are further subdivided into townships, wards, and villages.
Climate
Main article: Climate of Myanmar
The limestone landscape of Mon State.
Much of the country lies between the Tropic of Cancer and the Equator. It lies in the monsoon region of Asia, with its coastal regions receiving over 5,000 mm (196.9 in) of rain annually. Annual rainfall in the delta region is approximately 2,500 mm (98.4 in), while average annual rainfall in the Dry Zone in central Myanmar is less than 1,000 mm (39.4 in). The Northern regions of Myanmar are the coolest, with average temperatures of 21 °C (70 °F). Coastal and delta regions have an average maximum temperature of 32 °C (89.6 °F).[111]
Environment
Further information: Deforestation in Myanmar
Myanmar continues to perform badly in the global Environmental Performance Index (EPI) with an overall ranking of 153 out of 180 countries in 2016; among the worst in the South Asian region, only ahead of Bangladesh and Afghanistan. The EPI was established in 2001 by the World Economic Forum as a global gauge to measure how well individual countries perform in implementing the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. The environmental areas where Myanmar performs worst (ie. highest ranking) are air quality (174), health impacts of environmental issues (143) and biodiversity and habitat (142). Myanmar performs best (ie. lowest ranking) in environmental impacts of fisheries (21), but with declining fish stocks. Despite several issues, Myanmar also ranks 64 and scores very good (ie. a high percentage of 93.73%) in environmental effects of the agricultural industry because of an excellent management of the nitrogen cycle.[114][115]
Wildlife
Myanmar's slow economic growth has contributed to the preservation of much of its environment and ecosystems. Forests, including dense tropical growth and valuable teak in lower Myanmar, cover over 49% of the country, including areas of acacia, bamboo, ironwood and Magnolia champaca. Coconut and betel palm and rubber have been introduced. In the highlands of the north, oak, pine and various rhododendrons cover much of the land.[116]
Heavy logging since the new 1995 forestry law went into effect has seriously reduced forest acreage and wildlife habitat.[117] The lands along the coast support all varieties of tropical fruits and once had large areas of mangroves although much of the protective mangroves have disappeared. In much of central Myanmar (the Dry Zone), vegetation is sparse and stunted.
Typical jungle animals, particularly tigers, occur sparsely in Myanmar. In upper Myanmar, there are rhinoceros, wild water buffalo, clouded leopard, wild boars, deer, antelope, and elephants, which are also tamed or bred in captivity for use as work animals, particularly in the lumber industry. Smaller mammals are also numerous, ranging from gibbons and monkeys to flying foxes. The abundance of birds is notable with over 800 species, including parrots, myna, peafowl, red junglefowl, weaverbirds, crows, herons, and barn owl. Among reptile species there are crocodiles, geckos, cobras, Burmese pythons, and turtles. Hundreds of species of freshwater fish are wide-ranging, plentiful and are very important food sources.[118] For a list of protected areas, see List of protected areas of Myanmar.
Government and politics
Main article: Politics of Myanmar
Assembly of the Union (Pyidaungsu Hluttaw)
The constitution of Myanmar, its third since independence, was drafted by its military rulers and published in September 2008. The country is governed as a parliamentary system with a bicameral legislature (with an executive President accountable to the legislature), with 25% of the legislators appointed by the military and the rest elected in general elections.
We were so in awe, we visited the site 2x. The museum was incredible as well. Thank you National Park Service!!!.
And in case you wondered, " The presidents were chosen for their significant contribution to the founding, expansion, preservation, and unification of the country."
Originally called Ozakajō, it is one of Japan's most famous castles, and played a major role in the unification of Japan during the sixteenth century of the Azuchi-Momoyama period. Osaka Castle is situated on a plot of land roughly one kilometer square. It is built on two raised platforms of landfill supported by sheer walls of cut rock, using a technique called Burdock piling, each overlooking a moat. The central castle building is five stories on the outside and eight stories on the inside, and built atop a tall stone foundation to protect its occupants from sword-bearing attackers. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osaka_Castle
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The Victory Column (German: Siegessäule, from Sieg ‘victory’ + Säule ‘column’) is a monument in Berlin, Germany. Designed by Heinrich Strack, after 1864 to commemorate the Prussian victory in the Danish-Prussian War, by the time it was inaugurated on 2 September 1873, Prussia had also defeated Austria in the Austro-Prussian War (1866) and France in the Franco-Prussian War (1870–71), giving the statue a new purpose. Different from the original plans, these later victories in the so-called unification wars inspired the addition of the bronze sculpture of Victoria, 8.3 metres high and weighing 35 tonnes, designed by Friedrich Drake. Berliners have given the statue the nickname Goldelse, meaning something like "Golden Lizzy".
The Victory Column is a major tourist attraction in the city of Berlin and opens daily: 9:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. (April – October), and 9:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. (November – March).
Built on a base of polished red granite, the column sits on a hall of pillars with a glass mosaic designed by Anton von Werner.
The column itself, inspired to Heinrich Strack by the "torre faro" of Rodolfo Vantini (which stands in the monumental cemetery of Brescia), consists of four solid blocks of sandstone, three of which are decorated by cannon barrels captured from the enemies of the aforementioned three wars. A fourth ring is decorated with golden garlands and was added in 1938–39 as the whole monument has been relocated. The entire column, including the sculpture, is 67 meters tall.
The relief decoration was removed at the request of the French forces in 1945, probably to prevent the Germans from being reminded of former victories - especially the defeat of the French in 1871. It was restored for the 750th anniversary of Berlin in 1987 by the French president at that time, François Mitterrand. However, several sections remain in France.
The Victory Column originally stood in Königsplatz (now Platz der Republik), at the end of the Siegesallee (Victory Avenue). As part of the preparation of the monumental plans to redesign Berlin into Welthauptstadt Germania, in 1939, when the Nazis relocated the column to its present site at the Großer Stern (Great Star), a large intersection on the city axis that leads from the former Berliner Stadtschloss (Berlin City Palace) through the Brandenburg Gate to the western parts of the city. At the same time, the column was augmented by another 7.5 metres, giving it its present height of 66.89 metres. The monument survived World War II without much damage. The relocation of the monument probably saved it from destruction, as its old site - in front of the Reichstag, at exactly 1500 metres, (one Roman mile), from the proposed new north-south triumphal way of the Nazis in line with the Imperial Victory Avenue in the Tiergarten - was destroyed by American air raids in 1945. Without a British-American veto, the French would have dynamited the monument after the war.
Surrounded by a street circle, the column is also accessible to pedestrians through four tunnels, built in 1941 to plans by Albert Speer who likewise increased the width of the road between it and the Brandenburg Gate and designed the new Germania which was scheduled for construction after the victory obtained in the war. Via a steep spiral staircase of 285 steps, the physically fit may, for a fee, climb almost to the top of the column, to just under the statue and take in the spectacular views over the Tiergarten including the Soviet War Memorial, 1946, in line with the Nazi proposed north-south triumphal way by Speer and Adolf Hitler.
Steam locomotive at Jangdian Station of the Gyeongui Line
( Korean: 경의선 장단역 증기기관차, 京義線 長湍驛 蒸氣機關車 )
There are over 242 nations(international standards of law) in the world and there is only one nation divided as two different countires, Republic of Korea.
I think that we rule once like East Germany course West Germany and we may become like the other one country certainly if try hard!
Albert Einstein said, "Peace can't be kept by the power, it only can be kept my understanding"
Connecting the South and North Korea by train has a significant historical meanings.
Seeing the words "The train want to run(Korean: 철마는 달리고 싶다)" I was thinking about that when the train cross the border.
Below is a video relating to Steam locomotive at Jangdian Station of the Gyeongui Line.
www.woopie.jp/video/watch/b1de9b8b1bbf3462
*Steam locomotive at Jangdian Station of the Gyeongui Line, registered Cultural Heritage No 78, derailed by bombs during the Korean War and left on display in the DMZ Demilitarized Zone, Imjingak, South Korea
Source from
www.visualphotos.com/image/1x9926000/steam_locomotive_at_...
* Our wish is Unification ( The song touched a string in korean heart! )
우리의 소원은 통일
unification is our wish
꿈에도 소원은 통일
unification is our dream
이 정성 다해서 통일
unification with all our efforts
통일을 이루자
let us unite
이 겨레 살리는 통일
unification is to save our people
이 나라 살리는 통일
unification is to save our country
통일이여 어서오라 통일이여 오라
let there be unification, let there be unification
*History
Korea intended to build the Gyeongui Line with its own resources at the end of the 19th century, but the project stalled due to lack of funds. Imperial Japan, which gained to concession to build the Gyeongbu Line from Busan to Seoul, also sought to gain control of the Gyeongui Line project as its continuation further north, recognising the trunk route as a means to keep Korea under its influence. The line was also advanced for military considerations in expectation of a confrontation with Russia, which came in 1904 as the Russo-Japanese War. At the start of the war, Japan ignored Korea's declaration of neutrality and transported troops to Incheon, and forced the Korean government to sign an agreement that gave Japan's military control of railway projects if deemed necessary for military operations. Japan's military began to build the Gyeongui Line, while troop bases were established in connection with the railway, the biggest of them next to the terminus of the line, Yongsan Station in Seoul.
The first section of the Gyeongui Line opened from Yongsan in Seoul to Munsan on April 3, 1906.
*Inter-Korea border
After the division of Korea in 1945, trains stopped operating between the north and south halves of the country, meaning that southern trains probably terminated at Kaesŏng, which is now in North Korea but was at the time part of the US-administered southern zone. Northern trains would have terminated north of Kaesŏng.
Source from
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyeongui_Line
*Imjingak ( Korean: 임진각, 臨津閣 )
Imjingak (임진각, pronounced Ihm-jin-gak), and sometimes in English called the Imjingak "resort", is a park located on the banks of the Imjin River in the city of Paju, South Korea. The park has many statues and monuments regarding the Korean War. There is also a restaurant, an observation deck, a pool in the shape of the Korean peninsula, and even a small amusement park.
Source from
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imjingak
* Korean War (Korean: 한국전쟁, 韓國戰爭)
The Korean War (Korean: 한국전쟁 or 조선전쟁, Hanja: 韓國戰爭 or 朝鮮戰爭; 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was a war between the Republic of Korea (South Korea), supported by the United Nations, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), supported by the People's Republic of China. It was primarily the result of the political division of Korea by an agreement of the victorious Allies at the conclusion of the Pacific War at the end of World War II. The Korean Peninsula was ruled by the Empire of Japan from 1910 until the end of World War II. Following the surrender of the Empire of Japan in September 1945, American administrators divided the peninsula along the 38th parallel, with U.S. military forces occupying the southern half and Soviet military forces occupying the northern half.
Source from
This is a shot of the aircraft ⚡️ “ZEUS” overflying Corfu, Greece on May 21, 2024. The F–16C Block 52+ jet of the 🇬🇷 HAF (Hellenic Air Force) celebrated the 160th anniversary of the Unification of the Ionian Islands and Greece (5.21.1864).
This is a shot of the aircraft ⚡️ ‘ZEUS’ overflying Corfu, Greece on May 21, 2024. The F-16C Block 52+ jet of the 🇬🇷 Hellenic Air Force celebrated the 160th anniversary of the Unification of the Ionian Islands and Greece (5.21.1864).
Here's another take of this monument front the front, taken a little later.
Three enormous bronze swords stand monument to the Battle of Hafrsfjord in the year 872, when Harald Hårfagre (Fairheaded Harald) united Norway into one kingdom. The monument was designed by local artist Fritz Røed and unveiled by Norway's King Olav in 1983.
The swords, which are about 10 meters tall, stand for peace and unification. One sword is larger than the others. This was Fairheded Harald's sword. The crowns on the top of the swords represent the three districts that participated in the battle. The swords are planted in solid rock - representing peace. The monument is called Sverd i Fjell (Swords in Rock).
The nave of the National Cathedral, Washington DC.
PLEASE, NO GRAPHICS, BADGES, OR AWARDS IN COMMENTS. They will be deleted.
Many persons, writers, philosophers, artists all over the world have spoken about this side of life and human being and each one of them following his and her own culture and intellectual and historical background and each of them in his and her own language and it is right to quote them in the original language:
"Nesnesitelná lehkost bytí" is the title of a postmodern novel by Milan Kundera (1984)
"The Lightness of Being: Mass, Ether, and the Unification of Forces" is the title of a book by the American theoretical physicist, mathematician and a Nobel laureate in Physics in 2004 Frank Wilczek
"Questa insostenibile leggerezza dell'essere" is the title of the Italian singer Antonello Venditti (1986)
Rüdesheim am Rhein: Germania auf dem Niederwalddenkmal, Denkmal zur Vereinigung des Deutschen Kaiserreichs 1871- Germania on the Niederwalddenkmal, monument to the unification of the German Empire 1871
The Mole Antonelliana is a major landmark of the Italian city of Turin. It is named for the architect who built it, Alessandro Antonelli. In Italian "Mole" (literally, "size") indicates a building of monumental proportions. Construction began in 1863, soon after Italian unification and was completed 26 years later, after the architect's death. Today it houses the National Museum of Cinema, and it is believed to be the tallest museum in the world.
The building was conceived and constructed as a synagogue. The Jewish community of Turin had enjoyed full civil rights since 1848, and at the time the construction of the synagogue began, Turin was the capital of the new Italian state, a position it held only from 1860 to 1864. The community, with a budget of 250,000 lire and the intention of having a building worthy of a capital city, hired Antonio Antonelli. Antonelli was notable for having recently added an "idiosyncratic" 121 metre-high dome and spire to the seventeenth-century Church of San Gaudenzio at Novara. He promised to build a synagogue for 280,000 lire.The relationship between Antonelli and the Jewish community was not a happy one. He immediately began to propose a series of modifications which raised the final height to 167 meters, over 46 meters higher than the dome in the original design. Such changes, in addition to greater costs and construction time than were originally anticipated, did not please the Jewish community and construction was halted in 1869 with a provisional roof.
With the removal of the Italian capital to Florence in 1864, the community shrank, but costs and Antonelli's ambition continued to rise. In 1876 the Jewish community, which had spent 692,000 lire for a building that was still far from finished, announced that it was withdrawing from the project. The people of Turin, who had watched the synagogue rise skyward, demanded that the city take over the project, which it did. An exchange was arranged between the Jewish community and the city of Turin for a piece of land on which a handsome Moorish Revival synagogue was quickly built.The Mole was dedicated to Victor Emmanuel II. Antonelli again began construction, which took the height to 146, 153, and finally 167 meters (548 feet). From 1908 to 1938, the city used it to house its Museum of the Risorgimento, which was moved to the Palazzo Carignano in 1938.
A 19th-century stereoscopic photograph showing the Mole with a temporary dome.
On 23 May 1953 a violent cloudburst, accompanied by a tornado, destroyed the uppermost 47 metres of the pinnacle, which was rebuilt in 1961 as a metal structure faced with stone.
Since 2000, the building has housed the Museo Nazionale del Cinema (National Museum of Cinema). The Mole appears on the reverse of the two cent Italian euro coins and was the inspiration for the official emblem of the 2006 Winter Olympics, as well as those of the of the 2005 World Bocce Championships and the 2006 World Fencing Championships.
On one side of the four-faced dome, the first Fibonacci numbers are written with red neon lights: they are part of the artistic work Il volo dei Numeri ("Flight of the numbers").
+++++++ FROM WIKIPEDIA +++++++
Nepal (English: /nɪˈpɔːl/;[19] Nepali: नेपाल [nepal]), officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal,[20] is a sovereign country in South Asia. It is mainly in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It is the 49th largest country by population and 93rd largest country by area. It is landlocked and borders Tibet in the north and India in the south, east and west, while Bangladesh is located only 27 km (17 mi) from its southeastern tip and Bhutan is separated from it by the Indian state of Sikkim. Nepal has a diverse geography, including fertile plains, subalpine forested hills, and eight of the world's ten tallest mountains, including Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth. Kathmandu is the capital and the largest city. Nepal is a multiethnic country, with Nepali as the official language.
The name "Nepal" is first recorded in texts from the Vedic period of the Indian subcontinent, the era in ancient Nepal when Hinduism was founded, the predominant religion of the country. In the middle of the first millennium BC, Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, was born in Lumbini in southern Nepal. Parts of northern Nepal were intertwined with the culture of Tibet. The centrally located Kathmandu Valley is intertwined with the culture of Indo-Aryans, and was the seat of the prosperous Newar confederacy known as Nepal Mandala. The Himalayan branch of the ancient Silk Road was dominated by the valley's traders. The cosmopolitan region developed distinct traditional art and architecture.
By the 18th century, the Gorkha Kingdom achieved the unification of Nepal. The Shah dynasty established the Kingdom of Nepal and later formed an alliance with the British Empire, under its Rana dynasty of premiers. The country was never colonized but served as a buffer state between Imperial China and British India. Parliamentary democracy was introduced in 1951 but was twice suspended by Nepalese monarchs, in 1960 and 2005. The Nepalese Civil War in the 1990s and early 2000s resulted in the establishment of a secular republic in 2008, ending the world's last Hindu monarchy.
The Constitution of Nepal, adopted in 2015, affirms Nepal as a secular federal parliamentary republic divided into seven provinces. It remains the only multi-party, fully democratic nation in the world currently ruled by a communist party. Nepal was admitted to the United Nations in 1955, and friendship treaties were signed with India in 1950 and the People's Republic of China in 1960. Nepal hosts the permanent secretariat of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), of which it is a founding member. Nepal is also a member of the Non-Aligned Movement and the Bay of Bengal Initiative. The military of Nepal is the fifth largest in South Asia; it is notable for its Gurkha history, particularly during the world wars, and has been a significant contributor to United Nations peacekeeping operations.
Etymology
Before the unification of Nepal, the Kathmandu Valley was known as Nepal.[a] The precise origin of the term Nepāl is uncertain. Nepal appears in ancient Indian literary texts dated as far back as the fourth century BC. However, an absolute chronology can not be established, as even the oldest texts may contain anonymous contributions dating as late as the early modern period. Academic attempts to provide a plausible theory are hindered by the lack of a complete picture of history and insufficient understanding of linguistics or relevant Indo-European and Tibeto-Burman languages.[22]
According to Hindu mythology, Nepal derives its name from an ancient Hindu sage called Ne, referred to variously as Ne Muni or Nemi. According to Pashupati Purāna, as a place protected by Ne, the country in the heart of the Himalayas came to be known as Nepāl.[b] According to Nepāl Mahātmya,[c] Nemi was charged with protection of the country by Pashupati.[23] According to Buddhist mythology, Manjushri Bodhisattva drained a primordial lake of serpents to create the Nepal valley and proclaimed that Adi-Buddha Ne would take care of the community that would settle it. As the cherished of Ne, the valley would be called Nepāl.[24] According to Gopalarājvamshāvali, the genealogy of ancient Gopala dynasty compiled circa 1380s, Nepal is named after Nepa the cowherd, the founder of the Nepali scion of the Abhiras. In this account, the cow that issued milk to the spot, at which Nepa discovered the Jyotirlinga of Pashupatināth upon investigation, was also named Ne.
Norwegian indologist Christian Lassen had proposed that Nepāla was a compound of Nipa (foot of a mountain) and -ala (short suffix for alaya meaning abode), and so Nepāla meant "abode at the foot of the mountain". He considered Ne Muni to be a fabrication.[25] Indologist Sylvain Levi found Lassen's theory untenable but had no theories of his own, only suggesting that either Newara is a vulgarism of sanskritic Nepala, or Nepala is Sanskritization of the local ethnic;[26] his view has found some support though it does not answer the question of etymology.[27][28][29][22] It has also been proposed that Nepa is a Tibeto-Burman stem consisting of Ne (cattle) and Pa (keeper), reflecting the fact that early inhabitants of the valley were Gopalas (cowherds) and Mahispalas (buffalo-herds).[22] Suniti Kumar Chatterji believed Nepal originated from Tibeto-Burman roots – Ne, of uncertain meaning (as multiple possibilities exist), and pala or bal, whose meaning is lost entirely.
History
Ancient Nepal
The painting depicts Gautam Buddha taking seven steps immediately after birth; seven lotuses mark his steps. His mother, Maya, watches over him while grabbing on a Sal tree branch for support, gods and angels celebrate the occasion by showering flowers and playing music.
By 55,000 years ago, the first modern humans had arrived on the Indian subcontinent from Africa, where they had earlier evolved.[31][32][33] The earliest known modern human remains in South Asia date to about 30,000 years ago.[34] The oldest discovered archaeological evidence of human settlements in Nepal dates to around the same time.
After 6500 BC, evidence for the domestication of food crops and animals, construction of permanent structures, and storage of agricultural surplus appeared in Mehrgarh and other sites in what is now Balochistan.[36] These gradually developed into the Indus Valley Civilization,[37][36] the first urban culture in South Asia.[38] Prehistoric sites of palaeolithic, mesolithic and neolithic origins have been discovered in the Siwalik hills of Dang district.[39] The earliest inhabitants of modern Nepal and adjoining areas are believed to be people from the Indus Valley Civilization. It is possible that the Dravidian people whose history predates the onset of the Bronze Age in the Indian subcontinent (around 6300 BC) inhabited the area before the arrival of other ethnic groups like the Tibeto-Burmans and Indo-Aryans from across the border.[40] By 4000 BC, the Tibeto-Burmese people had reached Nepal either directly across the Himalayas from Tibet or via Myanmar and north-east India or both.[41] Another possibility for the first people to have inhabited Nepal are the Kusunda people. According to Hogdson (1847), the earliest inhabitants of Nepal were perhaps the Kusunda people, probably of proto-Australoid origin.[42] Stella Kramrisch (1964) mentions a substratum of a race of pre-Dravidians and Dravidians, who were in Nepal even before the Newars, who formed the majority of the ancient inhabitants of the valley of Kathmandu.
By the late Vedic period, Nepal was being mentioned in various Hindu texts, such as the late Vedic Atharvaveda Pariśiṣṭa and in the post-Vedic Atharvashirsha Upanishad.[44] The Gopal Bansa was the oldest dynasty to be mentioned in various texts as the earliest rulers of the central Himalayan kingdom known by the name 'Nepal'.[45] The Gopalas were followed by Kiratas who ruled for over 16 centuries by some accounts.[46] According to the Mahabharata, the then Kirata king went to take part in the Battle of Kurukshetra. In the south-eastern region, Janakpurdham was the capital of the prosperous kingdom of Videha or Mithila, that extended down to the Ganges, and home to King Janaka and his daughter, Sita.
Changu Narayan Temple is one of the oldest temples in Nepal. This two-storied pagoda, rebuilt c. 1700 AD, showcases exquisite woodcraft in every piece of its timber, probably the finest in Nepal.
In the premises of the Changu Narayan Temple, is a stone inscription dated 464 AD, the first in Nepal since the Ashoka inscription of Lumbini (c. 250 BC).
Around 600 BC, small kingdoms and confederations of clans arose in the southern regions of Nepal. From one of these, the Shakya polity, arose a prince who later renounced his status to lead an ascetic life, founded Buddhism, and came to be known as Gautama Buddha (traditionally dated 563–483 BC).[47] Nepal came to be established as a land of spirituality and refuge in the intervening centuries, played an important role in transmitting Buddhism to East Asia via Tibet,[48] and helped preserve Hindu and Buddhist manuscripts.
By 250 BC, the southern regions had come under the influence of the Maurya Empire. Emperor Ashoka made a pilgrimage to Lumbini and erected a pillar at Buddha's birthplace, the inscriptions on which mark the starting point for properly recorded history of Nepal.[49] Ashoka also visited the Kathmandu valley and built monuments commemorating Gautam Buddha's visit there. By the 4th century AD, much of Nepal was under the influence of the Gupta Empire.
In the Kathmandu valley, the Kiratas were pushed eastward by the Lichchhavis, and the Lichchhavi dynasty came into power c. 400 AD. The Lichchhavis built monuments and left a series of inscriptions; Nepal's history of the period is pieced together almost entirely from them.
In 641, Songtsen Gampo of the Tibetan Empire sends Narendradeva back to Licchavi with an army and subjugates Nepal. Parts of Nepal and Licchavi was later under the direct influences of the Tibetan empire.
The Licchavi dynasty went into decline in the late 8th century and was followed by a Thakuri rule. Thakuri kings ruled over the country up to the middle of the 11th century AD; not much is known of this period that is often called the dark period.
Geography
Nepal is of roughly trapezoidal shape, about 800 kilometres (500 mi) long and 200 kilometres (120 mi) wide, with an area of 147,516 km2 (56,956 sq mi). It lies between latitudes 26° and 31°N, and longitudes 80° and 89°E. Nepal's defining geological processes began 75 million years ago when the Indian plate, then part of the southern supercontinent Gondwana, began a north-eastward drift caused by seafloor spreading to its south-west, and later, south and south-east.[78] Simultaneously, the vast Tethyn oceanic crust, to its northeast, began to subduct under the Eurasian plate.[78] These dual processes, driven by convection in the Earth's mantle, both created the Indian Ocean and caused the Indian continental crust eventually to under-thrust Eurasia and to uplift the Himalayas.[78] The rising barriers blocked the paths of rivers creating large lakes, which only broke through as late as 100,000 years ago, creating fertile valleys in the middle hills like the Kathmandu Valley. In the western region, rivers which were too strong to be hampered, cut some of the world's deepest gorges.[79] Immediately south of the emerging Himalayas, plate movement created a vast trough that rapidly filled with river-borne sediment[80] and now constitutes the Indo-Gangetic Plain.[81] Nepal lies almost completely within this collision zone, occupying the central sector of the Himalayan arc, nearly one-third of the 2,400 km (1,500 mi)-long Himalayas, with a small strip of southernmost Nepal stretching into the Indo-Gangetic plain and two districts in the northwest stretching up to the Tibetan plateau.
Mount Everest, the highest peak on earth, lies on the Nepal-China border.
Nepal is divided into three principal physiographic belts known as Himal-Pahad-Terai.[e] Himal is the mountain region containing snow and situated in the Great Himalayan Range; it makes up the northern part of Nepal. It contains the highest elevations in the world including 8,848.86 metres (29,032 ft) height Mount Everest (Sagarmāthā in Nepali) on the border with China. Seven other of the world's "eight-thousanders" are in Nepal or on its border with Tibet: Lhotse, Makalu, Cho Oyu, Kangchenjunga, Dhaulagiri, Annapurna and Manaslu. Pahad is the mountain region that does not generally contain snow. The mountains vary from 800 to 4,000 metres (2,600 to 13,100 ft) in altitude, with progression from subtropical climates below 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) to alpine climates above 3,600 metres (11,800 ft). The Lower Himalayan Range, reaching 1,500 to 3,000 metres (4,900 to 9,800 ft), is the southern limit of this region, with subtropical river valleys and "hills" alternating to the north of this range. Population density is high in valleys but notably less above 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) and very low above 2,500 metres (8,200 ft), where snow occasionally falls in winter. The southern lowland plains or Terai bordering India are part of the northern rim of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. Terai is the lowland region containing some hill ranges. The plains were formed and are fed by three major Himalayan rivers: the Koshi, the Narayani, and the Karnali as well as smaller rivers rising below the permanent snowline. This region has a subtropical to tropical climate. The outermost range of the foothills called Sivalik Hills or Churia Range, cresting at 700 to 1,000 metres (2,300 to 3,280 ft), marks the limits of the Gangetic Plain; however broad, low valleys called Inner Terai Valleys (Bhitri Tarai Upatyaka) lie north of these foothills in several places.
Köppen climate classification for Nepal
The Indian plate continues to move north relative to Asia at about 50 mm (2.0 in) per year.[88] This makes Nepal an earthquake prone-zone, and periodic earthquakes that have devastating consequences present a significant hurdle to development. Erosion of the Himalayas is a very important source of sediment, which flows to the Indian Ocean.[89] Saptakoshi, in particular, carries a huge amount of silt out of Nepal but sees extreme drop in Gradient in Bihar, causing severe floods and course changes, and is, therefore, known as the sorrow of Bihar. Severe flooding and landslides cause deaths and disease, destroy farmlands and cripple the transport infrastructure of the country, during the monsoon season each year.
Nepal has five climatic zones, broadly corresponding to the altitudes. The tropical and subtropical zones lie below 1,200 metres (3,900 ft), the temperate zone 1,200 to 2,400 metres (3,900 to 7,900 ft), the cold zone 2,400 to 3,600 metres (7,900 to 11,800 ft), the subarctic zone 3,600 to 4,400 metres (11,800 to 14,400 ft), and the Arctic zone above 4,400 metres (14,400 ft). Nepal experiences five seasons: summer, monsoon, autumn, winter and spring. The Himalayas block cold winds from Central Asia in the winter and form the northern limits of the monsoon wind patterns.
Biodiversity
Nepal contains a disproportionately large diversity of plants and animals, relative to its size.[91][92] Nepal, in its entirety, forms the western portion of the eastern Himalayan biodiversity hotspot, with notable biocultural diversity.[93] The dramatic differences in elevation found in Nepal (60 m from sea level in the Terai plains, to 8,848 m Mount Everest)[94] result in a variety of biomes.[91] The Eastern half of Nepal is richer in biodiversity as it receives more rain, compared to western parts, where arctic desert-type conditions are more common at higher elevations.[92] Nepal is a habitat for 4.0% of all mammal species, 8.9% of bird species, 1.0% of reptile species, 2.5% of amphibian species, 1.9% of fish species, 3.7% of butterfly species, 0.5% of moth species and 0.4% of spider species.[92] In its 35 forest-types and 118 ecosystems,[91][f] Nepal harbours 2% of the flowering plant species, 3% of pteridophytes and 6% of bryophytes.
Nepal's forest cover is 59,624 km2 (23,021 sq mi), 40.36% of the country's total land area, with an additional 4.38% of scrubland, for a total forested area of 44.74%, an increase of 5% since the turn of the millennium.[95] The country had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 7.23/10, ranking it 45th globally out of 172 countries.[96] In the southern plains, Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands ecoregion contains some of the world's tallest grasses as well as Sal forests, tropical evergreen forests and tropical riverine deciduous forests.[97] In the lower hills (700 m – 2,000 m), subtropical and temperate deciduous mixed forests containing mostly Sal (in the lower altitudes), Chilaune and Katus, as well as subtropical pine forest dominated by Chir Pine are common. The middle hills (2,000 m – 3,000 m) are dominated by Oak and Rhododendron. Subalpine coniferous forests cover the 3,000 m to 3,500 m range, dominated by Oak (particularly in the west), Eastern Himalayan fir, Himalayan pine and Himalayan hemlock; Rhododendron is common as well. Above 3,500 m in the west and 4,000 m in the east, coniferous trees give way to Rhododendron-dominated alpine shrubs and meadows.
The greater one-horned rhinoceros roams the sub-tropical grasslands of the Terai plains.
Among the notable trees, are the astringent Azadirachta indica, or neem, which is widely used in traditional herbal medicine,[98] and the luxuriant Ficus religiosa, or peepal,[99] which is displayed on the ancient seals of Mohenjo-daro,[100] and under which Gautam Buddha is recorded in the Pali canon to have sought enlightenment.
Most of the subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest of the lower Himalayan region is descended from the Tethyan Tertiary flora.[102] As the Indian Plate collided with Eurasia forming and raising the Himalayas, the arid and semi-arid Mediterranean flora was pushed up and adapted to the more alpine climate over the next 40–50 million years.[102][103] The Himalayan biodiversity hotspot was the site of mass exchange and intermingling of the Indian and Eurasian species in the neogene.[104] One mammal species (Himalayan field mouse), two each of bird and reptile species, nine amphibia, eight fish and 29 butterfly species are endemic to Nepal.[92][g]
Himalayan monal (Danphe), the national bird of Nepal,[106] nests high in the himalayas.
Nepal contains 107 IUCN-designated threatened species, 88 of them animal species, 18 plant species and one species of "fungi or protist" group.[107] These include the endangered Bengal tiger, the Red panda, the Asiatic elephant, the Himalayan musk deer, the Wild water buffalo and the South Asian river dolphin,[108] as well as the critically endangered Gharial, the Bengal florican,[91][109] and the White-rumped Vulture, which has become nearly extinct by having ingested the carrion of diclofenac-treated cattle.[110] The pervasive and ecologically devastating human encroachment of recent decades has critically endangered Nepali wildlife. In response, the system of national parks and protected areas, first established in 1973 with the enactment of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1973,[111] was substantially expanded. Vulture restaurants[92] coupled with a ban on veterinary usage of diclofenac has seen a rise in the number of white-rumped vultures.[112][110] The community forestry program which has seen a third of the country's population directly participate in managing a quarter of the total forested area has helped the local economies while reducing human-wildlife conflict.[113][114] The breeding programmes[115] coupled with community-assisted military patrols,[116] and a crackdown on poaching and smuggling, has seen poaching of critically endangered tigers and elephants as well as vulnerable rhinos, among others, go down to effectively zero, and their numbers have steadily increased.[117] Nepal has ten national parks, three wildlife reserves, one hunting reserve, three Conservation Areas and eleven buffer zones, covering a total area of 28,959.67 km2 (11,181.39 sq mi), or 19.67% of the total land area,[118] while ten wetlands are registered under the Ramsar Convention.
Politics and government
Politics
Nepal is a parliamentary republic with a multi-party system.[120] It has three political parties recognised in the federal parliament: Nepal Communist Party (NCP), Nepali Congress (NC),[120] and Janata Samajbadi Party, Nepal (JSPN).[120] Of the two major parties both of which officially espouse democratic socialism, NCP is considered leftist while Nepali Congress is considered centrist.[121] During most of the brief periods of democratic exercise in the 1950s and the 1990s, Nepali Congress held majority of seats in parliament; CPN (UML) was its competitor in the 1990s.[122] After the Maoists entered the political process in 2006, they emerged as the third largest party.[123] In the aftermath of the 2017 elections, the first one according to the new constitution, NCP, formed by the merger of CPN (UML) and CPN (Maoist Centre) has become the ruling party at the federal level and in six out of seven provinces.[124] The Madhesi coalition, comprising Samajbadi Party, Nepal and Rastriya Janata Party, Nepal, which later merged to form JSPN, formed the provincial government in Province No. 2, though it has negligible presence in the rest of the country.[125][126][127] Though Nepali Congress has a significantly reduced representation, it is the only major opposition to the ruling communist party in all levels of government.
In the 1930s, a vibrant underground political movement arose in the capital, birthing Nepal Praja Parishad in 1936,[129] which was dissolved seven years later, following the execution of the four great martyrs. Around the same time, Nepalis involved in the Indian independence movement started organizing into political parties, leading to the birth of Nepali Congress and Communist Party of Nepal.[130] As communism was trying to find its footing, Nepali Congress was successful in overthrowing the Rana regime in 1951 and enjoyed the overwhelming support of the electorate.[131] In the partyless Panchayat system initiated in 1962 by King Mahendra, monarchy loyalists took turns leading the government; political leaders remained underground, exiled or in prison.[129] A communist insurgency was crushed in its cradle in the 1970s, which led to the eventual coalescence of hitherto scattered communist factions under the United Left Front.
After the joint civil resistance launched by the United Left Front and Nepali Congress overthrew the Panchayat in 1990,[131][132] the Front became CPN (UML), adopted multi-party democracy, and in the brief period, it was in government, introduced welfare programs that remain popular.[122] After the Maoist Party joined mainstream politics, in the aftermath of the peaceful revolution of 2006, it also adopted multi-party democracy as its official line. The transition period between 2006 and 2015 saw sustained protests from the newly formed ethnocentric nationalist movements, principal among them the Madhes Movement. RJPN and SPN advocating equal rights and self-governance for the Madhesi people became major political parties in the Terai, Province No. 2 in particular.
Here's another one of my figure designs. He's a current era Spetsnaz featuring a Gorka mountain suit and a SPOSN Smersh rig. BrickArms AK variants for added awesome. Two color pad printed front and back. He's been out for awhile, but I wanted to take some better pictures with a Lego background.
This is a shot of an AH-64 Apache helicopter overflying Corfu, Greece on May 21, 2024. The aircraft of the 🇬🇷 Hellenic Army celebrated the 160th anniversary of the Unification of the Ionian Islands and Greece (5.21.1864).
© 2024 by Ioannis C. PAPACHRISTOS, MD Photography / All rights reserved
This is my entry for the "Order 256" warlord challenge for The Survivors RPG. I thought it would be fun to get some conflicting views on Grand Moff Randine's proposed unification of Imperial Remnant forces - especially in light of the fact that the Emperor has been dead for 10 years, and his revealed return won't happen for another 20 years.
Oh, look, my new Galaxy S20 doesn't take any better photos than my old S8. If anybody has LEGO smartphone photography tips, I am an apprentice seeking a master.
/// Log Entry: Commander Akolo Bracken \\\
So...Moff Randine is now Grand Moff Randine, and uniting the Imperial Remnant across the Outer Rim. I played his message a second time, carefully considering his words, then saved it and exited the comms center in search of Warlord Pompeus.
There are three ways to get promoted in the military: hard work, knowing the right people, and being at the right place at the right time. My commander rank is a product of years of dedication and proven results. In contrast, Pompeus had an uncle pull strings to get him a third officer position on an Imperial Star Destroyer, and a catastrophic battle with the Rebellion somehow resulted in Pompeus being the highest ranking survivor in a limping pair of ISDs. That technically should have made him "acting Captain", but he claimed that two ISDs was a "fleet" and promoted himself to "Admiral". When his superiors rejected this claim, he threw a tantrum, tore off his rank insignia (which he has refused to wear ever since), declared himself a "Warlord", and moved to the Outer Rim where he eventually replaced (murdered, I'm pretty sure) my sector's Imperial governor and inherited my forces.
I found the bane of my existence staring out of a small viewport - when the idiot was feeling contemplative, he would avoid the bridge and ignore calls from the comms center, prefering not to be bothered.
"Warlord Pompeus, we just received a priority message, but I was unable to reach you...." I began, politely hinting that he had intentionally disregarded my call. "Grand Moff Randine has announced-"
"-since when has Moff Randine become Grand Moff Randine?" he demanded.
"-has announced a gathering of Imperial Remnant leaders and warlords, where he would like to discuss a unified approach in the Outer Rim. And I believe the new Grand Moff title offers us a hint, doesn't it?"
"Indeed it does, Commander - another power-grabbing self promotion."
"Quite doubtful," I replied. "Moff Randine is a serious and honorable officer who has never abused his rank with self-promotions, and I firmly believe that he would abide by the rule as it always has been: only the Emperor himself could appoint a Grand Moff or a Grand Admiral."
"You can't seriously believe the Emperor has magically returned to life?" he asked, his tone dripping with condescension.
"Of course not, he's been dead for ten years - but that doesn't necessarily mean that they're not his orders. Operation Cinder occurred on the Emperor's orders after his death. It's possible that Randine has received - or uncovered - similar orders, all this time later."
"Preposterous."
"No matter how unlikely," I replied, my patience wearing thinner than usual, "it is possible, and if there is even the slightest chance that Randine has a plan originally conceived by the Emperor, we owe it to the Emperor to hear Randine out."
Pompeus waved his hand dismissively. "Absolutely not. This is nothing but a power grab, and I won't stand for it. The only thing he's right about is that the warlords must be united - which is precisely what I'm going to do." He turned and began striding purposefully toward the bridge, and I followed.
"Excellent, I'll report to Randine that we'll accept his invitation-"
"No, you fool, I'm making myself a Grand Moff and sending my own invitation for the warlords to join ME."
I am a fool, I thought to myself, for not seeing this coming. "That would be a major mistake."
"You're right - I need something more distinctive. Greater Moff, Superior Moff... Moff Supreme... Moff Magnificent!"
"That's absolutely not what I meant, and that's not even a real title!"
"It's as real as Randine's claim to Grand Moff."
"This is foolishness-"
"My mind is made up, Commander. Prepare the troops for an impressive show of force." We reached the bridge, and Pompeus gave the order to prepare a priority communciation to all Remnant ships in the Outer Rim.
"Warlord Pompeus," I announced just loudly enough for the rest of the bridge to hear, "if you oppose Grand Moff Randine, you will regret it."
Pompeus whirled to face me, hissing menacingly. "Is that a threat?"
"It is a prediction," I replied evenly.
"You're dismissed. The discussion is over."
"Then you invite tragedy," I stated quietly, then turned and strode back down the corridor, hearing his loud, obnoxious voice echoing down the hall as he began his transmission.
"My fellow warriors and warlords of the Imperial Remnant - the arrogant, self-styled Grand Moff Randine has initiated an unacceptable power play to rule over us, and we must answer in return. As the new MOFF MAGNIFICENT of the Outer Rim, I invite all of you to join ME in a unified response...."
I turned a corner and was greeted with blissful silence. A magnificent idiot, and nothing more, I thought. Randine will obliterate us all for Pompeus' insolence....
\\\ End Log Entry ///
(Anyone who wants to create a warlord joining Moff Magnificent Pompeus is welcome...but beware the wrath of Grand Moff Randine and DarthBricks!)
View from the Pali lookout, on Oahu island, Hawaii. This was the site of an important battle, part of king Kamehameha's unification campaign of the Hawaiian islands. It would be interesting to know if the inhabitants of the various islands actually saw this as "unification" at the time...
Between Gangneung and Jeongdongjin is Tongil (Unification) Park. On a small spit of beach the former Korean navy destroyer Jeonbuk and a North Korean submarine are on display. I abhor war and the military, but I found these displays to be quite interesting.
Gangneung, Korea
Most secondary routes in the former East Germany were loco hauled at unification in 1990 often with the ubiquitous DR "Coathanger". This nickname adopted by UK based haulage enthusiasts was perpetuated through a haulage fanzine mag produced in the 1980's and 90's called European Report. Like their DB cousins the class 211 & 212's which were DB Coathangers so the DR class 201,202 & 204's became DR Coathangers. The name being derived from the profile shape with the centre steeple cab.
One of the older members of the V100 family no.201 083 is seen approaching Ahrensfelde with the 09.42 from Tiefensee. This line was a through route from Berlin to Wriezen still in 1993 but 50% of the services started half way along it at Tiefensee. These stopping trains tended to terminate at Ahrensfelde where they made an end on connection with the Berlin S-Bahn network. Only the roughly 2 hourly trains from Wriezen carried on through here to terminate at Berlin Lichtenberg. Sadly the Wriezen end of this rural line lost its passenger service on 18/4/1998 making the once through route a branch to Tiefensee. This didn't stop the rot and a further pruning took place on 9/12/2006 when passenger services east of Werneuchen to Tifensee were withdrawn. The line is now a very much truncated branch to Werneuchen from Ahrensfelde and no longer loco worked.
Rom - Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele II
The Victor Emmanuel II National Monument (Italian: Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II) or (Mole del) Vittoriano, called for the synecdoche Altare della Patria (English: Altar of the Fatherland), is a national monument built in honour of Victor Emmanuel II, the first king of a unified Italy, located in Rome, Italy. It occupies a site between the Piazza Venezia and the Capitoline Hill. It is currently managed by the Polo Museale del Lazio and is owned by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities.
From an architectural perspective, it was conceived as a modern forum, an agora on three levels connected by stairways and dominated by a portico characterized by a colonnade. The complex process of national unity and liberation from foreign domination carried out by King Victor Emmanuel II of Savoy, to whom the monument is dedicated, has a great symbolic and representative value, being architecturally and artistically centred on the Italian unification—for this reason the Vittoriano is considered one of the national symbols of Italy.
It also preserves the Altar of the Fatherland (Italian: Altare della Patria), first an altar of the goddess Rome, then also a shrine of the Italian Unknown Soldier, thus adopting the function of a lay temple consecrated to Italy. Because of its great representative value, the entire Vittoriano is often called the Altare della Patria, although the latter constitutes only a part of the monument.
Located in the centre of ancient Rome, and connected to the modern one by the streets that radiate from Piazza Venezia, it has been consecrated to a wide symbolic value representing a lay temple metaphorically dedicated to a free and united Italy—celebrating by virtue the burial of the Unknown Soldier (the sacrifice for the homeland and for the connected ideals).
General description
The Vittoriano is located on the hill of the Capitoline Hill, in the symbolic centre of ancient Rome, and is connected to the modern one thanks to roads that radiate from Piazza Venezia.
Its design is a neoclassical interpretation of the Roman Forum. It features stairways, Corinthian columns, fountains, an equestrian sculpture of Victor Emmanuel II, and two statues of the goddess Victoria riding on quadrigas. On its summit there would have been a majestic portico characterized by a long colonnade and two imposing propylaea, one dedicated to the "unity of the homeland", and the other to the "freedom of the citizens", concepts metaphorically linked to the figure of Victor Emmanuel II.
The base houses the museum of Italian unification, and in 2007 a lift was added to the structure, allowing visitors to access the roof for 360-degree views of Rome. This terrace, which is the highest of the monument, can also be reached via 196 steps that start from the portico.
The structure is 135 m (443 ft) wide, 130 m (427 ft) deep, and 70 m (230 ft) high. If the quadrigae and Winged Victorys are included, the height reaches 81 m (266 ft). It has a total area of 17,550 m2 (188,907 sq ft) and possesses, due to the conspicuous development of the interior spaces, a floor area of 717,000 m2 (7,717,724 sq ft).
One of the architecturally predominant elements of the Vittoriano are the external staircases, which are constituted in the complex by 243 steps, and the portico situated on the top of the monument, which is inserted between two lateral propylaea. The entrance stairway is 41 m (135 ft) wide and 34 m (112 ft) long, the terrace where the Altar of the Fatherland is located is 66 m (217 ft) wide. The maximum depth of the Vittoriano underground reaches 17 m (56 ft) below street level. The colonnade is formed by columns 15 m (49 ft) high and the length of the porch is 72 m (236 ft).
The allegories of the monument mostly represent the virtues and feelings, very often rendered as personifications, also according to the canons of the neoclassical style, which animate the Italians during the Italian unification, or from the revolutions of 1820 to the capture of Rome (1870), through which national unity was achieved. Due to the complex process of unification undertaken by Victor Emmanuel II throughout the second half of the 19th Century, the Italians gave him the epithet of Father of the Fatherland (Italian: Padre della Patria). The only non-allegorical work is the equestrian statue of Victor Emmanuel II, which is the architectural centre of the Vittoriano.
The monument, as a whole, appears as a sort of marble covering on the northern slope of the Capitoline Hill: it was therefore thought of as a place where it is possible to make an uninterrupted patriotic walk (the path does not in fact have an architectural end, given that the entrances to the highest part are two, one for each propylaeus) among the works present, which almost all have allegorical meanings linked to the history of Italy.[8] Different are the vegetal symbols present, among which the palm, which recalls the "victory", the oak (the "strength"), the laurel (the "victorious peace"), the myrtle (the "sacrifice") and the Olive tree (the "concord").
From a stylistic perspective, the architecture and works of art that embellish the Vittoriano have been conceived with the aim of creating a "national style" to be replicated in other areas. It was designed to communicate the imperial splendours of ancient Rome. Above all, for the realization of the Vittoriano, Giuseppe Sacconi took inspiration from the Neoclassical architecture—the reborn heir of the classical Greek and Roman architecture, on which Italic elements were grafted and eclectic influences added.
The Vittoriano is regarded as a national symbol of Italy and every year it hosts important national celebrations. The largest annual celebrations are Liberation Day (25 April), Republic Day (2 June), and Armed Forces Day (4 November). During these celebrations, the President of Italy and the highest government officials pay tribute to the Italian Unknown Soldier and those who died in the line of duty by laying a laurel wreath.
The Altar of the Fatherland
The Altar of the Fatherland is the most famous part of the Vittoriano and is the one with which it is often identified. Located on the top of the entrance stairway, it was designed by the Brescian sculptor Angelo Zanelli, who won a competition specially held in 1906. It is formed from the side of the Tomb of Italian Unknown Soldier that faces the outside of the building (the other side, which faces inside the Vittoriano, is located in a crypt), from the sacellum of the statue of the goddess Rome (which is exactly above the tomb of the Unknown Soldier) and two vertical marble reliefs that descend from the edges of the aedicula containing the statue of the goddess Rome and which run downwards laterally to the tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
The statue of the goddess Roma present at the Vittoriano interrupted a custom in vogue until the 19th century, by which the representation of this subject was with exclusively warlike traits. Angelo Zanelli, in his work, decided to further characterize the statue by also providing the reference to Athena, Greek goddess of wisdom and the arts, as well as of war. The great statue of the deity emerges from a golden background. The presence of the goddess Roma in the Vittoriano underlines the irremissible will of the Unification of Italy patriots to have the Rome as the capital of Italy, an essential concept, according to the common feeling, from the history of the peninsula and the islands of Italian culture.
The general conception of the bas-reliefs located laterally to the statue of the goddess Rome, one to his left and the other to his right, recalls Virgil's Bucolics and Georgics, which complete the triptych of the Altar of the Fatherland with the statue of the Roman divinity.
The allegorical meaning of the bas-reliefs that are inspired by the works of Virgil is linked to the desire to conceptually render the Italian soul. In the Georgics, the reference to the Aeneid is in fact present, and in both the works the industriousness in the work of the Italians is recalled.
The bas-relief on the left of the Altar of the Fatherland represents the Triumph of Labour and the one on the right symbolizes the Triumph of the Patriotic Love where both converge scenically towards the statue of the goddess Rome.
(Wikipedia)
Das Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II (Nationaldenkmal für Viktor Emanuel II.), in der Regel Vittoriano oder Altare della Patria (Altar des Vaterlands) genannt, ist ein 1927 vollendetes Nationaldenkmal in Rom. Es liegt auf dem Kapitolshügel am Südende der Via del Corso zwischen der Piazza Venezia und dem Forum Romanum, neben dem Trajansforum.
Das Monument ist dem ersten König des neugegründeten Königreichs Italien, Viktor Emanuel II. aus dem Haus Savoyen, gewidmet. Es zählt heute zu den Staatssymbolen der Italienischen Republik. In dem Gebäude befindet sich das Museo del Risorgimento, das an die italienische Staatsgründungsbewegung im 19. Jahrhundert erinnert.
Geschichte
Anlässlich des Todes von König Vittorio Emanuele II. im Jahr 1878 wurde die Errichtung des Denkmals beschlossen. Es wurde ab 1885 von Giuseppe Sacconi errichtet. 1911 fand die Einweihung des noch unfertigen Denkmals anlässlich des 50. Jahrestages der Einigung Italiens zeitgleich mit dem 50. Jahrestag der italienischen Einheit statt. Die Fertigstellung erfolgte erst 1927. Das Denkmal spiegelt die neoklassizistische Stimmung dieser Zeit, die sich in den wuchtigen Marmortreppen, einem zwölf Meter hohen bronzenen Reiterstandbild des Königs und einer monumentalen Säulenreihe am oberen Ende manifestiert. Dieser Portikus ist mit einem ornamentalen Fries aus Temperafarben bemalt, was auf der Nachtaufnahme gut erkennbar ist. Das gigantische Bauwerk stellt sich quer vor die mit 80 Metern Länge nicht kleine Basilika Santa Maria in Aracoeli, die dergestalt, der Gründungsabsicht entsprechend, ebenso wie die dahinterliegenden Gebäude sowohl von der Piazza Venezia, als auch von der Piazza della Repubblica aus nicht mehr zu sehen ist. Von den Römern wird es scherzhaft „Macchina da scrivere“ („Schreibmaschine“) genannt.
Am 12. Dezember 1969 wurde um halb sechs Nachmittags mit zwei im Abstand von zehn Minuten gezündeten Bomben ein Anschlag auf das Denkmal verübt. Zeitgleich fand in Mailand der Bombenanschlag auf der Piazza Fontana statt. Durch den Anschlag wurde niemand verletzt, jedoch blieb der Vittoriano danach für die folgenden Jahrzehnte für die Öffentlichkeit geschlossen. Erst am 24. September 2000 wurde aufgrund einer Initiative des damaligen Präsidenten der Republik Italien, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, wieder Publikumsverkehr zugelassen.
Wie bei vielen nationalen Denkmälern üblich, findet sich ein Grabmal des unbekannten Soldaten und der „Altar des Vaterlandes“ (italienisch Altare della Patria) auf dem Vittoriano. Die ewige Flamme wird Tag und Nacht von zwei Soldaten bewacht. Der Blick geht von dort über das Forum Romanum, die Kaiserforen im Südosten und weit über die Stadt Rom.
Architektur
Die Architektur des Vittoriano wird bestimmt von einer monumentalen korinthischen Portikus, die an ihren Seiten mit ebenfalls korinthischen Pronai abgeschlossen wird. Der Rhythmus der Säulen verleiht dem wuchtigen und im Detail sehr komplexen Bauwerk Einfachheit. Im städtebaulichen Kontext entfaltet es aufgrund seiner Größe eine bauliche Dynamik, die sich aus dem Bezug des Bauwerks zu den sich auf der Piazza Venezia kreuzenden Straßenachsen und aus dem Kontrast zur niedrigeren umgebenden Architektur ergibt.
Sacconi bezieht sich mit seiner Architektur auf antike Monumente wie den Pergamonaltar und das Heiligtum der Fortuna Primigenia in Palestrina. Entsprechend ist das Denkmal als ein großes neoklassizistisches Forum angelegt. Seine über mehrere Ebenen verteilten Terrassen und die Präsenz einer an klassischen Versatzstücken reichen Architektur stellen inmitten der Ruinen des antiken Rom einen symbolischen Bezugsrahmen für das noch junge Italien her.
Zum Zeitpunkt seiner Einweihung im Jahre 1911 zeigt es im Gegenlicht zu einigen ausländischen Pavillons der Weltausstellung in Turin, wie etwa dem Josef Hoffmanns für Österreich, wie sehr die Architektur zu diesem Zeitpunkt noch der akademischen Tradition des Historismus und Eklektizismus verbunden ist.
Das Reiterstandbild des Königs ist ein Werk des Bildhauers Enrico Chiaradia. Auf der Spitze des Vittoriano steht eine Quadriga.
Museen
Innerhalb des Gebäudes befindet sich das Museo del Risorgimento, mit dem Eingang in der Via di San Pietro in Carcere, das eine Dauerausstellung zu den Italienischen Unabhängigkeitskriegen beherbergt. Die Truppenfahnen aufgelöster italienischer Militärverbände sowie die Schiffsflaggen außer Dienst gestellter Kriegsschiffe werden hier ausgestellt (Sacrario delle Bandiere). Darüber hinaus ist eine kleine marinehistorische Sammlung zu sehen.
Im September 2009 eröffnete das Nationalmuseum zur italienischen Emigration (Museo Nazionale dell’Emigrazione Italiana). Es zeigt die italienische Emigration vom Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts bis in die Gegenwart.
(Wikipedia)
Goseong Unification Observatory - Confine con Corea del Nord.
Un altra coppia di jangseung o guardiano del villaggio.
Jangseung erano tradizionalmente posti ai margini dei villaggi per segnare i confini e spaventare i demoni.
Il guardiano pubblico è una pietra angolare e un dio della strada per proteggere la sicurezza del cancello, delle caserme, delle strade e dei canali marittimi.
In questo caso credo che sia quello di protettori della Corea del Sud.
Goseong Unification Observatory - Border with North Korea.
Another pair of jangseung or village guardians.
Jangseung were traditionally placed at the edge of villages to mark the boundaries and scare away demons.
The public guardian is a cornerstone and a road god to protect the safety of the gate, barracks, roads and sea channels.
In this case I believe it is that of protectors of South Korea.
IMG20240423122125m
"The regenerated apple"
by
Michelangelo Pistoletto (born 23 June 1933 in Biella)
is an Italian painter, action and object artist, and art theorist. Pistoletto is acknowledged as one of the main representatives of the Italian Arte Povera. His work mainly deals with the subject matter of reflection and the unification of art and everyday life in terms of a Gesamtkunstwerk.
From 1947 until 1958, Pistoletto worked in his father’s restoration workshop in Turin. In the 1950s, he started painting figurative works and self-portraits. In 1959, he participated in the Biennale di San Marino. In the following year, he had his first solo exhibition in the Galleria Galatea in Turin. In the beginning of the 1960s, Pistoletto started painting figurative works and self-portraits which he painted on a monochrome, metallic background. Later on, he combined painting with photography using collage techniques on reflective backgrounds. Eventually, he switched over to printing photorealistic scenes on steel plates polished to a high finish. He did that using the screen-printing method which made the observer almost completely melt in with what was depicted.[1] In the mid-1960s, gallery owner Ileana Sonnabend brought him into contact with an international audience.
In 1965/1966, he produced the series of works Oggetti in meno (Minus Objects), which belongs to Pistoletto’s early sculptural works. In 1966, Pistoletto had his first solo exhibition in the USA, at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. In 1967, his work was awarded first prize in the Biennale de São Paulo. In the same year, Pistoletto started focusing on performance, video art and theatre. He founded an action art group, called "Zoo Group", which gave several performances between 1968 and 1970. These took place in the studio, public buildings or on the streets of Turin or other large cities. As was already the case with Pistoletto’s 2-dimensional and sculptural works, the aim was to display the unity of art and everyday life. Pistoletto is represented by the Simon Lee Gallery in London and the Luhring Augustine Gallery in New York.
"Arte Povera"
Michelangelo Pistoletto began painting on mirrors in 1962, connecting painting with the constantly changing realities in which the work finds itself. In the later sixties he began bringing together rags with casts of omnipresent classical statuary of Italy to break down the hierarchies of "art" and common things. An art of impoverished materials is certainly one aspect of the definition of Arte Povera. In his 1967 Muretto di straci (Rag Wall) Pistoletto makes an exotic and opulent tapestry wrapping common bricks in discarded scraps of fabric. The work received a lot of feedback: Pistoletto, who started under the American influence of "post-pop art" and photorealism, was soon listed by gallery owners and critics in the catalogues as a significant representative of the novel, mostly Italian trend of the Arte Povera. Against the background of the 1968 student riots, Pistoletto withdrew his participation in the Venice Biennale. In the following years, he dealt with conceptual ideas, which he presented in the book L'uomo nero (1970). In 1974, he nearly completely withdrew from the art scene: he took an exam as a skiing instructor and spent most of his time in the mountains of San Sicario. At the end of the 1970s, he produced sculptures, heads, and torsos using polyurethane and marble. In doing so, he was a recipient of antique artifacts and he furthermore pursued other performance and theatre projects–including those in the USA in Athens, Atlanta, and San Francisco. At the beginning of the 1980s, he presented theatre works, such as Anno Uno (March 1981) in the Teatro Quirino in Rome. Since 1990, Pistoletto has been living and working in Turin.
FOR MORE INFORMATIONS:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelangelo_Pistoletto
For the place:
wikimapia.org/#lang=it&lat=45.484893&lon=9.203330...
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Rom - Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele II
The Victor Emmanuel II National Monument (Italian: Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II) or (Mole del) Vittoriano, called for the synecdoche Altare della Patria (English: Altar of the Fatherland), is a national monument built in honour of Victor Emmanuel II, the first king of a unified Italy, located in Rome, Italy. It occupies a site between the Piazza Venezia and the Capitoline Hill. It is currently managed by the Polo Museale del Lazio and is owned by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities.
From an architectural perspective, it was conceived as a modern forum, an agora on three levels connected by stairways and dominated by a portico characterized by a colonnade. The complex process of national unity and liberation from foreign domination carried out by King Victor Emmanuel II of Savoy, to whom the monument is dedicated, has a great symbolic and representative value, being architecturally and artistically centred on the Italian unification—for this reason the Vittoriano is considered one of the national symbols of Italy.
It also preserves the Altar of the Fatherland (Italian: Altare della Patria), first an altar of the goddess Rome, then also a shrine of the Italian Unknown Soldier, thus adopting the function of a lay temple consecrated to Italy. Because of its great representative value, the entire Vittoriano is often called the Altare della Patria, although the latter constitutes only a part of the monument.
Located in the centre of ancient Rome, and connected to the modern one by the streets that radiate from Piazza Venezia, it has been consecrated to a wide symbolic value representing a lay temple metaphorically dedicated to a free and united Italy—celebrating by virtue the burial of the Unknown Soldier (the sacrifice for the homeland and for the connected ideals).
General description
The Vittoriano is located on the hill of the Capitoline Hill, in the symbolic centre of ancient Rome, and is connected to the modern one thanks to roads that radiate from Piazza Venezia.
Its design is a neoclassical interpretation of the Roman Forum. It features stairways, Corinthian columns, fountains, an equestrian sculpture of Victor Emmanuel II, and two statues of the goddess Victoria riding on quadrigas. On its summit there would have been a majestic portico characterized by a long colonnade and two imposing propylaea, one dedicated to the "unity of the homeland", and the other to the "freedom of the citizens", concepts metaphorically linked to the figure of Victor Emmanuel II.
The base houses the museum of Italian unification, and in 2007 a lift was added to the structure, allowing visitors to access the roof for 360-degree views of Rome. This terrace, which is the highest of the monument, can also be reached via 196 steps that start from the portico.
The structure is 135 m (443 ft) wide, 130 m (427 ft) deep, and 70 m (230 ft) high. If the quadrigae and Winged Victorys are included, the height reaches 81 m (266 ft). It has a total area of 17,550 m2 (188,907 sq ft) and possesses, due to the conspicuous development of the interior spaces, a floor area of 717,000 m2 (7,717,724 sq ft).
One of the architecturally predominant elements of the Vittoriano are the external staircases, which are constituted in the complex by 243 steps, and the portico situated on the top of the monument, which is inserted between two lateral propylaea. The entrance stairway is 41 m (135 ft) wide and 34 m (112 ft) long, the terrace where the Altar of the Fatherland is located is 66 m (217 ft) wide. The maximum depth of the Vittoriano underground reaches 17 m (56 ft) below street level. The colonnade is formed by columns 15 m (49 ft) high and the length of the porch is 72 m (236 ft).
The allegories of the monument mostly represent the virtues and feelings, very often rendered as personifications, also according to the canons of the neoclassical style, which animate the Italians during the Italian unification, or from the revolutions of 1820 to the capture of Rome (1870), through which national unity was achieved. Due to the complex process of unification undertaken by Victor Emmanuel II throughout the second half of the 19th Century, the Italians gave him the epithet of Father of the Fatherland (Italian: Padre della Patria). The only non-allegorical work is the equestrian statue of Victor Emmanuel II, which is the architectural centre of the Vittoriano.
The monument, as a whole, appears as a sort of marble covering on the northern slope of the Capitoline Hill: it was therefore thought of as a place where it is possible to make an uninterrupted patriotic walk (the path does not in fact have an architectural end, given that the entrances to the highest part are two, one for each propylaeus) among the works present, which almost all have allegorical meanings linked to the history of Italy.[8] Different are the vegetal symbols present, among which the palm, which recalls the "victory", the oak (the "strength"), the laurel (the "victorious peace"), the myrtle (the "sacrifice") and the Olive tree (the "concord").
From a stylistic perspective, the architecture and works of art that embellish the Vittoriano have been conceived with the aim of creating a "national style" to be replicated in other areas. It was designed to communicate the imperial splendours of ancient Rome. Above all, for the realization of the Vittoriano, Giuseppe Sacconi took inspiration from the Neoclassical architecture—the reborn heir of the classical Greek and Roman architecture, on which Italic elements were grafted and eclectic influences added.
The Vittoriano is regarded as a national symbol of Italy and every year it hosts important national celebrations. The largest annual celebrations are Liberation Day (25 April), Republic Day (2 June), and Armed Forces Day (4 November). During these celebrations, the President of Italy and the highest government officials pay tribute to the Italian Unknown Soldier and those who died in the line of duty by laying a laurel wreath.
The Altar of the Fatherland
The Altar of the Fatherland is the most famous part of the Vittoriano and is the one with which it is often identified. Located on the top of the entrance stairway, it was designed by the Brescian sculptor Angelo Zanelli, who won a competition specially held in 1906. It is formed from the side of the Tomb of Italian Unknown Soldier that faces the outside of the building (the other side, which faces inside the Vittoriano, is located in a crypt), from the sacellum of the statue of the goddess Rome (which is exactly above the tomb of the Unknown Soldier) and two vertical marble reliefs that descend from the edges of the aedicula containing the statue of the goddess Rome and which run downwards laterally to the tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
The statue of the goddess Roma present at the Vittoriano interrupted a custom in vogue until the 19th century, by which the representation of this subject was with exclusively warlike traits. Angelo Zanelli, in his work, decided to further characterize the statue by also providing the reference to Athena, Greek goddess of wisdom and the arts, as well as of war. The great statue of the deity emerges from a golden background. The presence of the goddess Roma in the Vittoriano underlines the irremissible will of the Unification of Italy patriots to have the Rome as the capital of Italy, an essential concept, according to the common feeling, from the history of the peninsula and the islands of Italian culture.
The general conception of the bas-reliefs located laterally to the statue of the goddess Rome, one to his left and the other to his right, recalls Virgil's Bucolics and Georgics, which complete the triptych of the Altar of the Fatherland with the statue of the Roman divinity.
The allegorical meaning of the bas-reliefs that are inspired by the works of Virgil is linked to the desire to conceptually render the Italian soul. In the Georgics, the reference to the Aeneid is in fact present, and in both the works the industriousness in the work of the Italians is recalled.
The bas-relief on the left of the Altar of the Fatherland represents the Triumph of Labour and the one on the right symbolizes the Triumph of the Patriotic Love where both converge scenically towards the statue of the goddess Rome.
(Wikipedia)
Das Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II (Nationaldenkmal für Viktor Emanuel II.), in der Regel Vittoriano oder Altare della Patria (Altar des Vaterlands) genannt, ist ein 1927 vollendetes Nationaldenkmal in Rom. Es liegt auf dem Kapitolshügel am Südende der Via del Corso zwischen der Piazza Venezia und dem Forum Romanum, neben dem Trajansforum.
Das Monument ist dem ersten König des neugegründeten Königreichs Italien, Viktor Emanuel II. aus dem Haus Savoyen, gewidmet. Es zählt heute zu den Staatssymbolen der Italienischen Republik. In dem Gebäude befindet sich das Museo del Risorgimento, das an die italienische Staatsgründungsbewegung im 19. Jahrhundert erinnert.
Geschichte
Anlässlich des Todes von König Vittorio Emanuele II. im Jahr 1878 wurde die Errichtung des Denkmals beschlossen. Es wurde ab 1885 von Giuseppe Sacconi errichtet. 1911 fand die Einweihung des noch unfertigen Denkmals anlässlich des 50. Jahrestages der Einigung Italiens zeitgleich mit dem 50. Jahrestag der italienischen Einheit statt. Die Fertigstellung erfolgte erst 1927. Das Denkmal spiegelt die neoklassizistische Stimmung dieser Zeit, die sich in den wuchtigen Marmortreppen, einem zwölf Meter hohen bronzenen Reiterstandbild des Königs und einer monumentalen Säulenreihe am oberen Ende manifestiert. Dieser Portikus ist mit einem ornamentalen Fries aus Temperafarben bemalt, was auf der Nachtaufnahme gut erkennbar ist. Das gigantische Bauwerk stellt sich quer vor die mit 80 Metern Länge nicht kleine Basilika Santa Maria in Aracoeli, die dergestalt, der Gründungsabsicht entsprechend, ebenso wie die dahinterliegenden Gebäude sowohl von der Piazza Venezia, als auch von der Piazza della Repubblica aus nicht mehr zu sehen ist. Von den Römern wird es scherzhaft „Macchina da scrivere“ („Schreibmaschine“) genannt.
Am 12. Dezember 1969 wurde um halb sechs Nachmittags mit zwei im Abstand von zehn Minuten gezündeten Bomben ein Anschlag auf das Denkmal verübt. Zeitgleich fand in Mailand der Bombenanschlag auf der Piazza Fontana statt. Durch den Anschlag wurde niemand verletzt, jedoch blieb der Vittoriano danach für die folgenden Jahrzehnte für die Öffentlichkeit geschlossen. Erst am 24. September 2000 wurde aufgrund einer Initiative des damaligen Präsidenten der Republik Italien, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, wieder Publikumsverkehr zugelassen.
Wie bei vielen nationalen Denkmälern üblich, findet sich ein Grabmal des unbekannten Soldaten und der „Altar des Vaterlandes“ (italienisch Altare della Patria) auf dem Vittoriano. Die ewige Flamme wird Tag und Nacht von zwei Soldaten bewacht. Der Blick geht von dort über das Forum Romanum, die Kaiserforen im Südosten und weit über die Stadt Rom.
Architektur
Die Architektur des Vittoriano wird bestimmt von einer monumentalen korinthischen Portikus, die an ihren Seiten mit ebenfalls korinthischen Pronai abgeschlossen wird. Der Rhythmus der Säulen verleiht dem wuchtigen und im Detail sehr komplexen Bauwerk Einfachheit. Im städtebaulichen Kontext entfaltet es aufgrund seiner Größe eine bauliche Dynamik, die sich aus dem Bezug des Bauwerks zu den sich auf der Piazza Venezia kreuzenden Straßenachsen und aus dem Kontrast zur niedrigeren umgebenden Architektur ergibt.
Sacconi bezieht sich mit seiner Architektur auf antike Monumente wie den Pergamonaltar und das Heiligtum der Fortuna Primigenia in Palestrina. Entsprechend ist das Denkmal als ein großes neoklassizistisches Forum angelegt. Seine über mehrere Ebenen verteilten Terrassen und die Präsenz einer an klassischen Versatzstücken reichen Architektur stellen inmitten der Ruinen des antiken Rom einen symbolischen Bezugsrahmen für das noch junge Italien her.
Zum Zeitpunkt seiner Einweihung im Jahre 1911 zeigt es im Gegenlicht zu einigen ausländischen Pavillons der Weltausstellung in Turin, wie etwa dem Josef Hoffmanns für Österreich, wie sehr die Architektur zu diesem Zeitpunkt noch der akademischen Tradition des Historismus und Eklektizismus verbunden ist.
Das Reiterstandbild des Königs ist ein Werk des Bildhauers Enrico Chiaradia. Auf der Spitze des Vittoriano steht eine Quadriga.
Museen
Innerhalb des Gebäudes befindet sich das Museo del Risorgimento, mit dem Eingang in der Via di San Pietro in Carcere, das eine Dauerausstellung zu den Italienischen Unabhängigkeitskriegen beherbergt. Die Truppenfahnen aufgelöster italienischer Militärverbände sowie die Schiffsflaggen außer Dienst gestellter Kriegsschiffe werden hier ausgestellt (Sacrario delle Bandiere). Darüber hinaus ist eine kleine marinehistorische Sammlung zu sehen.
Im September 2009 eröffnete das Nationalmuseum zur italienischen Emigration (Museo Nazionale dell’Emigrazione Italiana). Es zeigt die italienische Emigration vom Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts bis in die Gegenwart.
(Wikipedia)