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The French naturalist and physician Pierre Belon (1517-1565) was born in Soultière and is best known for his texts, works of a self-taught naturalist, than for his services as secret agent to cardinals du Bellay and of Tournon. He worked first as an apothecary and later as an agronomist. He studied Medicine in Wittenberg with Valerius Cordus in 1540-1541 and in Italy in 1551. At that time, helped by the political situation, he completed his studies in physic at the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des Prés, from where he graduated "cum laude" in 1560, although he was never awarded the title of doctor.

 

Belon owed his career mainly to his political patrons. From 1542 onwards he was in the service of the Cardinal of Tournon and took part in various diplomatic legations. Entrusted with missions to the court of Charles V and to Germany, he later followed his teacher Valerius Cordus to Rome, collecting flora also from the gardens of Venice, Padua, Milan and the lakes of Northern Italy.

 

Again in the service of the Cardinal de Tournon, now minister to the king, Belon frequented the court and the palace of Saint Germain en Laye, admiring the monarch’s collection, which included curious specimens from all over the then known world, such as lions, panthers, ostriches, timber from Brazil and rare plants. It was then that Belon decided to translate Dioscurides and Theophrastus, collating ancient and modern plant names in his work. In 1546, at the age of just thirty, he joined Ambassador d’Aramon’s diplomatic mission to the East, a move that was to determine the rest of his life and work.

 

D’Aramon left Paris secretly in December 1546, with a numerous embassy, including for the first time a team of scientists. After crossing France and Switzerland, they arrived in Venice, from where they sailed away in three galleys, in February 1547. Coasting the Adriatic, the party arrived in Ragusa, from where the ambassador took the land route to Constantinople, via the southern Balkan Peninsula. Belon and Bénigne de Villers, an apothecary from Dijon, chose the maritime route through the Ionian Sea.

 

At Paxi, while Belon was collecting flora, his companion was kidnapped by pirates. In the spring of 1547, Belon arrived on Crete. He stayed in the house of Callergis, who provided him with guides to Mount Ida, Rethymnon and the mountains of Sphacia. The French naturalist observed the flora and fauna of the island, was tricked by the false labyrinth, watched how labdanum was collected, wandered about, collected and tried specimens, and asked questions on everything he was looking for or came upon.

 

Belon left Crete for Constantinople on a Venetian felucca. While sailing by Cea, the ship was attacked by pirates, but finally, by way of southern Euboea, it reached the Bosporus coast, probably in late spring. Together with Pierre Gilles, also attaché to the French embassy, Belon explored the maze of bazaars and alleys of the Ottoman capital. He became friends with a wise Turk who knew Arabic, with the help of whom and of the Avicenna Canon, which gave the names of the medicinal flora, he compiled a glossary of plants in Turkish. With this in hand, Belon explored the bazaars, in order to get to know all the edible and medicinal plants bought and sold in Turkey.

Such products were among the most important imports in the trade with the East, which was till in the hands of Venetian middlemen. Thus, Belon’s researches were to be of great help to France, mercantile rival of Venice.

 

Famous among the curative products of the time was “Lemnian earth” ("terra lemnia" or terra "sigillata"), the medicinal clay of Lemnos, which all European ambassadors sought to bring to their masters as a precious gift. Belon decided to visit the place of extraction of this mineral. Carrying his letters of recommendation, he embarked on a brigantine and sailed to Lemnos. Due to windless weather, the ship was again in peril from pirates and sought refuge in a harbour of Imbros, where it stayed for two days. Finally, the party reached Lemnos by rowing. In spite of Belon’s fervent wish to see the extraction of "terra lemnia", this was not possible as is it takes place only once a year, on 6 August, the feast of the Transfiguration of the Saviour. Nonetheless, Belon explored Lemnos in depth and studied its flora and fauna. He offered medical services to local patients, was housed by the island’s authorities, and finally managed to arrive in the area of the "terra lemnia" deposits, escorted by a janissary. From Lemnos, Belon reached Thasos, in the company of two monks, after a storm blew them off course near Skyros. Finally, he managed to sail by boat in four hours from Thasos to the coast of Mount Athos. He collected plants, fished, chased insects and birds and was only disappointed when he was unable to locate traces of Xerxes’ canal.

 

Within two days, Belon arrived in Thessaloniki. He was the first to visit and describe the metal mines of Siderocausia in the Chalcidice. He then took the route to the Strymon river, visited Serres and Drama, and toured the ruins of Philippi. He stayed in the "imaret" in Cavala and wrote on hospitality provided in similar "vakuf" ("waqf" – religious endowment) hostelries. He also passed through the lagoon of Porto Lagos, the city of Comotini, the alum mines at Sapes, and from Heraclea, Rhaidestos (Tekirdag) and Silivri in Eastern Thrace. There, he came across four thousand Ottoman troops bound for Persia, camped next to a caravanserai and moving about in exemplary discipline and quiet.

 

At the beginning of August 1547, Belon returned to Constantinople. In the company of Mr de Fumel and many other French noblemen, escorted by janissaries, subalterns ("çavuş") and dragomans (interpreters), they departed on the voyage to the East, starting from Egypt. Exiting the Dardanelles, Belon becomes the first European traveller to locate the ruins of Troy. He wrote on the edible plants of Lesbos, the mastic and the kindly women of Chios. Sailing by Samos, he speaks of the Greek sailor travelling with them, who was a native of that island. On visiting Patmos, he also mentions Saint John and the "Apocalypse", as well as the islands of Leros and Pserimos, Kos and Hippocrates. The ship finally dropped anchor in Rhodes. The city of the Knights, its market and port, local products and inhabitants unfold in Belon’s notes.

 

The company arrived in Alexandria at the end of August. They visited Cairo, Memphis, the Giza pyramids and reached the monastery of Saint Catherine on Mount Sinai. The Egyptian part of Belon’s journey is one of the first and most insightful approaches made by a European traveller to the exotic Arab Muslim world of the East. The Nile and its canals, the markets and the fauna of Africa, the womenfolk, curiosities of dress, mummies, the pyramids, the oases and the desert of Arabia, boats on the Red Sea, minerals and wild animals find their place for the first time in a dense text with unique style.

 

From Egypt, the company proceeded to Palestine, where they arrived ten days later, and the Holy Land becomes Belon’s new field of research. He lists rare animals, semiprecious stones, fish, birds, the uses of water, wells, and identifies trees, shrubs and native flora. He does this according to his favourite model, that is, the contrasting of modern information with ancient testimonies, without failing to record the uses and the varieties of each species. Thus, he made the pilgrimage to the Holy Land in his own way and was moved to tears in such hallowed places as Jerusalem, Galilee, Nazareth, Bethlehem and Jericho.

 

After touring Palestine, the travellers headed northwards. Walking across fields of sesame and cotton, they reached Damascus within five days. Belon makes a systematic classification of every remarkable thing he sees: the walls of Damascus, Syrian medicine and justice, caravanserais and pilgrims to Mecca, rare flora of the land, cedars, local methods of cultivation, the ruins of Baalbek, Aleppo (ancient Beroea), alleyways and coins, Antioch and the remains of early Christianity, Adana and the fields where Alexander the Great fought his battles, and every curiosity he came upon in the Middle East.

 

In central Asia Minor, Belon makes observations on the local dietary habits, especially of the Turks, and on the textiles, without neglecting plants, therapeutic springs, horses and a local species of goat. By way of Iconium (Konya) and Aksehir (he makes mention of Ankara), Belon reached Afyonkarahisar, where he stayed the rest of the winter of 1547 and until early spring of 1548. In that city he was able to write the third part of his chronicle, which speaks of the origin of the Turks, their public and private life, the institutions and administration of the Ottoman Empire, as well as the customs and religious beliefs of the Muslims.

 

Belon then visited to Kütahya, and toured Bursa. When he finally arrived in Constantinople, the French ambassador d’Aramon was preparing to follow Suleiman the Magnificent on his campaign against Persia. The military expedition left Ottoman capital in May 1548. The indefatigable Belon, together with Gilles and Thevet, came along as well, but this time the French naturalist only made it to Nicomedia. He returned to Constantinople and sailed to Venice at the beginning of 1549. In 1550 he left France again on a new diplomatic mission to England.

Belon became a protegé of the Montmorency family. He divided his time between botanical explorations in the provinces of France and Italy (from where he brought cypresses, plane trees and rhododendrons to his country), and his clerical duties, becoming more and more fervently opposed to the Reformation. In the last years of his life he became embroiled in the religious wars as a fanatic supporter of the Catholics. He was murdered mysteriously in the Bois de Boulogne of Paris, on an April night of 1565, while on his way to the Château de Madrid, where he had been offered a place to stay. The perpetrator was probably a fanatical Huguenot. Belon was just 48 years old.

From 1551, Belon had dedicated himself to writing and publishing his works, starting with his essay entitled "Histoire naturelle des étranges poissons marins", with his own illustrations. In 1553, he published another work on fish, "De aquatilibus", which was followed two years later by its French version, "De la nature & diversité des poissons". Again in 1553, the chronicle of his voyage circulated, which was republished in 1554 and in a revised and expanded version in 1555, together with "Histoire de la nature des oiseaux". In that same year, Belon published two studies on two different subjects, "De arboribus coniferis" and "De admirabile operum antiquorum".

 

Belon’s travel chronicle was reprinted in 1558, 1585, and 1588. The last edition was enriched with two engravings absent from the previous editions (Mount Sinai and Lemnos-Mount Athos). It was translated into Latin, English and German during the eighteenth century, and into Bulgarian in 1953. Extracts from this work (on Lemnos and Mount Athos) have on occasion been translated into Greek, and a publication of the chapters on Crete is currently in preparation.

 

Belon was a man of the sixteenth century, a pragmatist, barely sensitive to the enchantments of nature. He is a fine example of a humanist traveller-researcher, devoted as he is to the quest for truth, in his case almost exclusively in relation to matters of botany or zoology. He is the first model of a truly reliable informant, and his work was the basic manual for all travellers until Joseph Pitton de Tournefort, who visited the Aegean archipelago and the East in 1700-1702, and whose work, published in 1717, became the model for the description of the Greek islands.

 

Belon travelled in foreign lands with the passion of the humanist naturalist. He abandoned his books in order to don the habit of the wandering researcher, with a zeal for life and scientific knowledge

 

Written by Ioli Vingopoulou

  

Fransız asıllı doğa bilimci ve doktor Pierre Belon (1517-1565) Soultière'de doğar. Adı, Du Bellay ve Tournon Kardinalleri hesabına gizli ajan olarak verdiği hizmetlerden çok kendi kendini eğitmiş bir doğa bilimci olarak kaleme aldığı kitaplar sayesinde tarihte kalır. İlk başta eczacı daha sonra ise ziraatçı olan Belon, 1540-41 yıllarında Witteberg'de Valerius Cordus yanında ve daha sonra İtalya'da (1551) tıp öğrenimi görür. Dönemin siyasal durumundan yararlanarak Abbaye de Saint-Germain-des-Près manastırında tıp öğrenimini tamamlayıp 1560 yılında üstün başarıyla mezun olur, ancak profesör doktor ünvanını hiçbir zaman elde etmez.

 

Kariyerini özellikle siyasi destekleyicilerine borçlu olan Belon, 1542 yılından sonra Tournon Kardinali hizmetine atanıp birçok diplomatik sefere katılır. Başta Şarlken (V. Karl) sarayı olmak üzere Almanya'da çeşitli görevlerde bulunur. Hocası Valerius Cordus'u Roma seyahatinde izler ve Venedik bahçelerinde, Padova, Milano ve kuzey İtalya göllerinde bitki incelemeleri yapar. Dönüşünde yeniden, artık kraliyet bakanı olan Kardinal de Tournon'un hizmetine girer; bu görevdeyken sık sık kral sarayı ve Saint Germain en Laye sarayında bulunup hükümdarın o devrin bilinen dünyasından derlemiş olduğu görülmeğe değer (aslanlar, panterler, zürafa kuşları, Brezilya odunu, nadir bitkiler) koleksiyonlarını hayranlıkla seyreder. İşte tam bu sırada Belon Anavarzalı Dioskorides ve Teofrastos'un eserlerini çevirerek bu metinlere bitkilerin eski ve yeni adlarını içeren bir listeyi eklemeyi kafasına koyar. Henüz 30 yaşındayken, 1546 yılında, elçi D’Aramon'un Doğu'ya yaptığı diplomatik sefere katılır; bu yolculuk tüm yaşamını ve yazarlık uğraşını belirleyecektir.

 

Elçi D' Aramon 1546 yılının Aralık ayında yanına güçlü bir maiyet alarak gizli bir diplomatik sefere çıkar. Bu sefere ilk kez bilimadamlarından oluşan bir ekip de katılır. Fransa ve İsviçre'yi geçip Venedik'e varırlar, buradan üç kadırgayla 1547'nin Şubat ayında denize açılırlar. Ekip, Adriyatik kıyılarını geçerek Ragusa'ya gelir; buradan elçi D' Aramon güney Balkanlar kara yoluyla İstanbul'a doğru yol alırken Belon da Dijon'lu eczacı Bénigne de Villers ile birlikte deniz yolunu seçip İyon denizini geçer ve İstanbul'a doğru yönelir. Paksos adalarında bitki araştırması yaptığı sırada oraya gelen korsanlar yol arkadaşını kaçırırlar. 1547 yılının baharında Girit'e gelir ve Kallergis tarafından misafir edilir. Kallergis ona İda dağında, Rethimno (Resmo) ve Sfakia (İsfakiye) dağlarında gezebilmesi için rehberler sağlar. Fransız doğabilimci adanın flora ve faunasını gözlemler, sözde labirentle yanılgıya düşer, laden (labdanum) toplamasını izler, gezinir, toplar, dener, aradığı her eski şey rasladığı her yeni şey hakkında sorular sorar. Belon, Girit'ten bir Venedik filikasına binip İstanbul'a doğru yol alır, gemi Kea adasından geçerken korsanlarla bir maceraları olur, nihayet güney Evia'dan (Eğriboz) geçerek İstanbul Boğazı kıyılarına gelirler, zaman tahminen bahar sonudur. İstanbul'da Belon kendisi gibi Fransa elçiliğinde ataşe olan P. Gilles ile birlikte şehrin dolambaçlı çarşı ve sokaklarını keşfe çıkar. Arapça bilen bir Türk bilge ile arkadaşlık kurup onun yardımıyla, İbn-i Sina'nın şifa bitkilerinin adlarını belirten Tıp Kanunu'ndan yararlanarak, türkçe bir dizin hazırlar ve bununla pazar yerlerini gezip Türkiye'de satılıp alınan gıda ve şifa bitkilerini öğrenmeye çalışır. Bu tür ürünlerin ithalâtı o devirde Doğu ile ticaretin en önemli öğelerinden birini oluşturmaktaydı. Ne var ki şifa otu ticaretini hâlâ Venedikli aracılar halletmekteydi. Bu yüzden Belon'un araştırmaları Venedik'in rakibi Fransa için büyük önem taşımaktaydı.

 

Şifalı türler arasında tüm Avrupalı elçilerin hükümdarlarına değerli bir hediye olarak sunmak istedikleri ve bu nedenle daima önemle aradıkları bir tür de "tıyn-ı mahtûm" (Limni toprağı) ürünüydü. Belon bu toprak türünün çıkarılma eyleminde şahsen bulunmayı aklına koyar. Birkaç referans mektubu sağlayarak bir perkendeye biner ve Limnos'a (Limni) doğru yol alır. Denizin sakin oluşu yolcuları korsan saldırısına uğrama riskine sokar, bu yüzden Gökçeada'nın (İmroz) bir limanına çekilirler, orada iki gün bekledikten sonra kürek gücüyle Limnos'a varırlar. Belon'un büyük arzusuna karşın "tıyn-ı mahtûm"un çıkarılma eylemi Limnos'ta yılda sadece bir kez, 6 Ağustos Tecelli bayramında (İsa'nın metamorfozu) yapılmaktadır. Belon adada uzun uzun gezip flora ve faunayı inceler, yerli hastalara tıbbî hizmetlerde bulunur, yerel yöneticiler tarafından misafir edilir ve, nihayet, bir yeniçeri refakatinde "tıyn-ı mahtûm"un çıkarıldığı bölgeye gelmeyi başarır. Belon Limnos'tan ayrıldıktan sonra fırtınalar gemisini Skiros'a sürükler ancak daha sonra iki rahiple birlikte Thasos (Taşoz) adasına gelir. Oradan bir sandalla dört saat içinde Ayion Oros (Aynaroz) kıyılarına yanaşır. Burada bitki toplar, balık, böcek ve kuş avlar, Aynaroz dağı tepesinden Ege denizine bakar, mamafih Kserkses'ten iz bulamayınca düş kırıklığına uğrar. Buradan ayrıldıktan sonra iki gün içinde Selânik'e varır. Halkidiki'nin Siderokapsa (Seder Kapı) maden ocaklarını ziyaret edip betimleyen ilk kişidir. Daha sonra Struma nehrine doğru yönelir, Seres (Serez) ve Drama'dan geçer, antik kent Filippi'nin harabelerini gezer, Kavala'da İmarette kalıp bunun gibi vakıf misafirhanelerinin misafirperverliği hakkında yazar. Belon daha sonra Porto Lagos iç denizinden, Komotini'den (Gümülcine), Sapes'deki (Şapçı) şap madeni ocaklarından, Tekirdağ, Marmara Ereğlisi, Silivri'den geçip bunlardan seyahatnamesinde sözeder. Bu sırada İran seferine çıkan, örnek olabilecek bir düzen ve sessizlik içinde hareket eden ve bir kervansaray yakınlarında karargâh kurmuş olan 4.000 kişilik Osmanlı ordusu ile karşılaşır.

 

1547'nin Ağustos ayında, Belon, İstanbul'a döner ve bay De Fumel'den başka birçok Fransız soylu, yeniçeri, çavuş ve tercümandan meydana gelen kalabalık bir maiyetle Doğu gezisine çıkar. Amaçları ilk olarak Mısır'ı ziyaret etmektir. Belon Çanakkale Boğazı çıkışında Truva harabelerinin yerini tespit eden ilk Avrupalı gezgin olur. Midilli'den geçerken adanın yetiştirdiği ürünler, Sakız'dan geçerken adanın sakızı ve sevecen kadınları, Samos'ta yanlarına aldıkları adanın yerlisi yunanlı denizci, Patmos'da Yuhanna'nın Vahiy kitabı, Leros ve Pserimos adaları, Kos'ta (İstanköy) Hipokrat hakkında yazar; en sonunda Rodos'a demir atarlar. Belon'un seyahat notlarında buradaki şövalye kenti, çarşı ve liman, yerli ürünler ve adanın sakinlerinden sözedilir. Gezginler Ağustos sonunda İskenderiye'ye varırlar. Kahire ile Memfis'i ve Giza piramitlerini ziyaret edip Sina dağındaki Azize Katerina manastırına kadar gelirler. Belon'un seyahatnamesinin Mısır'la ilgili bölümünde bir Avrupalı gezgin tarafından Doğu'nun arap müslüman egzotik dünyasına karşı yöneltilen ilk ve en keskin bakışlardan birini bulmaktayız. Nil nehri ve kanallar, çarşılar, Afrika faunası, kadınlar ve kıyafet gariplikleri, mumyalar, piramitler, Arabistan çölü ve vahalar, Kızıldenizdeki kayıklar, mineraller ve vahşi hayvanlar; bunların tümü ilk kez olarak bir kitap içinde yoğun ve özel bir tarzda konum almaktadır.

 

Gezginler Mısır'dan Filistin'e doğru yayan olarak yola çıkarlar, on gün sonra oraya varırlar. Kutsallaşmış Yerler Belon için yeni bir araştırma alanı olur. Metninde nadir hayvan, yarı değerli taş, balık, kuş adları sayar, suyun kullanımları ve kuyular hakkında yazar, ağaçlar, fundalar ve yerel bitkilerin adlarını özdeşleştirir. Daima yaptığı gibi çağdaş bilgileri eski metinlerdeki verilerle kıyaslayıp her türün çeşitlerini ve kullanım biçimlerini de kaydeder. Belon Kutsal Yerlere kendi bildiği gibi ibadet eder; ancak tabii ki huşu içinde olan Kudüs, Celile, Nasıra, Beytüllahim ve Eriha gibi mekânlar onu heyecanlandırır.

 

Kutsal Yerlerde gezilerini tamamladıktan sonra kuzeye doğru yürürler. Susam ve pamuk tarlaları arasından geçip beş gün içinde Şam'a varırlar. Yazar burada da aynı düzenli biçimde Şam şehrinin surları, Suriye'de tıp, hukuk ve kervansaraylar, Mekke'ye giden hacılar, bölgenin nadir faunası, sedir ağaçları, tarım biçimleri, Baalbek harabeleri, Halep sokakları ve eski sikkeler, Antakya ve erken hristiyanlığın kalıntıları, Adana ve Büyük İskender'in muharebe yaptığı ovalar ve Orta Doğu'da görülmeğe değer tüm garip şeyleri sırayla kaydeder.

 

Orta Anadolu'ya vardıklarında özellikle Türklerin beslenme alışkanlıkları ve dokumacılıkları hakkında gözlemler yapar, ancak bitki araştırmasından bir an bile vazgeçmez, ayrıca kaplıcalar, atlar ve bölgedeki özel koyun cinsini (tiftik) kaydeder. Gezginler Konya ve Akşehir'den geçerek Ankara'ya oradan da Afyon Karahisar'a gelirler ve 1547 yılı kışının geri kalan kısmını 1548'in baharına dek burada geçirirler. Belon bu arada seyahatnamesinin üçüncü bölümünü yazma fırsatını bulur. Bu bölümde Türklerin kökenleri, özel ve kamu hayatları, Osmanlı İmparatorluğunun toplumsal kurumları ve yönetimi, müslümanların adetleri ve dinî inançları hakkında yazar. Yolu Kütahya'ya doğru devam eder ve Bursa'yı ziyaret eder; nihayet İstanbul'a vardığında Fransa elçisi D' Aramon'u Kanuni Sultan Süleyman'ın İran'a karşı yapacağı seferde izlemeye hazır bulur. Seferberlik 1548'in Mayıs ayında gerçekleşir ve yorulmak bilmeyen Belon yanında Gilles ve Thevet ile beraber seferberliğe katılır. Ancak bu kez Fransız doğabilimci sadece İzmit'e kadar ulaşabilir. Buradan İstanbul'a dönüp bir gemiye biner ve 1549 yılı başlarında nihayet Venedik'e ulaşır. 1550'de ise yeni bir diplomatik görevle İngiltere'ye doğru yola çıkar.

 

Daha sonra Montmorency'lerin himayesine girip bundan sonraki zamanını Fransa taşrasından İtalya'ya kadar uzanan bir alanda bitki araştırmalarına ayırır - nitekim İtalya'dan ülkesine selvi, çınar ve zakkum çeşitleri götürür. Öte yandan gittikçe Reform rejimine karşı tavır alan kilisedeki görevini de sürdürür. Ömrünün son yıllarında, süregitmekte olan dinî çarpışmalarda kendisi de fanatik bir katolik taraftarı olarak faal rol alır. Nihayet 1565 yılının Nisan ayında bir akşam Paris'te esrarengiz bir biçimde öldürülür. Boulogne ormanında bulunan Madrid sarayında kendisine sağlanan misafirhaneye giderken fanatik bir Hugueno tarafından vurulduğu sanılıyor. Henüz 48 yaşındaydı.

 

Belon 1551 yılından itibaren kitaplarını yazmaya ve yayınlamaya başlar. İlk başta gelen Histoire naturelles des étranges poissons marins adlı yapıtı kendi desenleriyle tamamlanmış bir çalışmadır. 1553 yılında, balıklar hakkında latincede yazılmış De aquqtilibus kitabını yayınlar. Aynı kitap iki yıl sonra De la nature & diversité des poissons başlığıyla fransızca olarak basılır. Gine 1553'te seyahatnamesini de yayınlar. Bu yapıt 1554'te ikinci baskı yapar, 1555'te ise Histoire de la nature des oiseaux çalışması ile birlikte düzeltmeler ve eklemeler yapıldıktan sonra üçüncü kez yayınlanır. Bunlardan başka 1553'de De arboribus coniferis ve De admirabile operum antiquorum başlıklı değişik konulu iki çalışmasını da yayınlar.

 

Seyahatnamesi 1558, 1585, 1588 yıllarında tekrar basılır, son baskı ise daha öncekilerde bulunmayan iki gravürle zenginleştirilir. Bu gravürler Sina dağı ve Limnos ile Aynaroz dağını görüntülemektedir. Eser 18. yüzyıl içinde latince, ingilizce ve almancaya, 1953'te bulgarcaya çevrilir. Limnos ve Aynaroz ile ilgili bölümler yunancada bulunmakta, ayrıca Girit ile ilgili bölümlerin yunanca olarak yayınlanması da öngörülmektedir.

 

Belon bir 16. yüzyıl insanı olarak doğanın cazibesine karşı hemen hemen hiç duyarlı olmayan bir pragmatisttir. Kendini tamamen gerçeğin arayışına vermiş bir hümanist gezgin-kâşif in mükemmel örneğini oluşturmaktadır. Belon için gerçek tamamen bitki ve hayvan bilimi konularıyla ilintili olup biriktirdiği özgün bilgiler ilerideki gezginler için (Joseph Pitton de Tournefort'un eseri yayınlanana dek) temel bir el kitabı oluşturur. Belon'dan sonra Joseph Pitton de Tournefort 1700-1702'de Ege adaları ve Anadolu'da seyahat etmiş ve 1717'de yayınlanan seyahatnamesi özellikle yunan adaları betimlemesinde örnek bir eser olmuştu.

 

Belon hümanist bir doğabilimci coşkusuyla bilginin kuramsal çerçevesini terkedip doğa yürüyüşlerini yaparken gezici bir araştırmacı kılığına bürünür ve sabit fikir derecesinde olan bilimsel düşünüş ve yaşama tarzını fanatik bir biçimde gezindirir .

  

Yazan: İoli Vingopoulou

   

DKV - where we held the seminar.

The Dhammakaya is the body of enlightenment of the Lord Buddha and “vijja” is the true knowledge; together, “vijja Dhammakaya” means the true and supreme knowledge illuminated by the Dhammakaya vision. This knowledge is the core principle of Buddhism that will lead to extinguishing of suffering and attainment of the state of supreme bliss known is Nibbana. for Ceremony, at Wat Phra Dhammakaya, Pathum Thani, read more at www.dhammakaya.net/blog/2013/09/18/96-Years-of-Dhammakaya...

A mini poster stressing the importance of personal connections with regard to teaching.

Arbeia was a large Roman fort in South Shields, Tyne & Wear, England, now ruined, and which has been partially reconstructed. It was first excavated in the 1870s. All modern buildings on the site were cleared in the 1970s. It is managed by Tyne and Wear Museums as Arbeia Roman Fort and Museum.

 

Name

"Arbeia" may mean the "fort of the Arab troops" referring to the fact that part of its garrison at one time was a squadron of Mesopotamian boatmen from the Tigris, following Emperor Septimius Severus securing the city of Singara in 197.

 

Otherwise it could mean "(fort by a) stream noted for wild turnips".

 

History

The fort was built in 129 AD as a small cohort fort, a few years later than most of the Hadrian's Wall forts, on the Lawe Top overlooking the mouth of the River Tyne and four miles beyond the eastern end of Hadrian’s wall, from where it guarded the flank and main sea supply route to the Wall and the small port on the south of the Tyne.

 

Its garrison was reduced during the occupation of Scotland in the reign of Antoninus Pius. Early in Marcus Aurelius's reign (161 to 180) it was reoccupied and from 198 it was considerably altered in plan and usage. A dividing wall between the northern and southern halves of the fort allowed the north part to store supplies from sea-going ships, while the southern part remained a garrison. The modifications are associated with Septimius Severus' Roman invasion of Caledonia (208–211), a series of campaigns against the troublesome Caledonian tribes, in which the fort may have served as his headquarters.

 

From 220-235 a new principia (headquarters) with new barracks were built in the southern part of the fort, probably to house the new garrison of Cohors V Gallorum of double size (nominally 1000 men) while the original principia were converted to a granary and 9 more granaries were built in the southern part of the fort, bringing the total to 24. It contains the only permanent stone-built granaries yet found in Britain.[10] It shows that Arbeia became the main supply base for the whole of Hadrian’s Wall rather than obtaining its supplies from the local region by purchase, taxation or requisition which was the usual assumption.

 

In later 3rd century occupants of the vicus appear to have moved into the empty fort.

 

After a fire in about 300, 8 of the granaries were converted to barracks, the principia were enlarged and a new large praetorium (commanding officer’s house) built. The fort was finally abandoned around 400.

 

It is said to be the birthplace of the Northumbrian King Oswin.

 

When the fort was unexpectedly discovered in 1875 by an unknown amateur it made national news as the numerous finds near the centre of a Northern industrial town were of a quality that shocked archaeologists who found it hard to believe such a site could yield these treasures. The Roman remains attracted crowds that flocked to the town and despite some believing that they were forgeries, further excavations proved that it was a sensational archaeological discovery.

 

Garrison

The Ala Primae Pannoniorum Sabiniana was the first garrison, a nominally 500-strong cavalry regiment from the Pannonian tribes of modern Hungary. When they were transferred to Onnum later in the 2nd century, another cavalry regiment replaced them, the Ala I Hispanorum Asturum from the Astures tribe of north-western Spain. After it moved to Benwell, they were replaced before 222 by the Cohors V Gallorum, a nominally one-thousand strong infantry regiment possibly from Fort Cramond on the Forth.

 

The final garrison was the Numerus Barcariorum Tigrisiensium who were transferred from Lancaster Roman Fort and originally barge-men from the River Tigris in the Middle-East recorded in the Notitia Dignitatum.

 

Praetorium

The later commanding officer’s house built after 300 resembled elegant 3rd and 4th century houses from the Mediterranean area and included an atrium at the entrance leading to a colonnaded courtyard with fountain around which most of the rooms were organised. Many of the rooms were decorated with frescoes. A private thermal baths suite included hypocausts for the heated rooms.

 

Museum

Two monuments in the museum at Arbeia testify to the cosmopolitan nature of its shifting population. One commemorate Regina, a British woman of the Catuvellauni tribe (approximately modern Hertfordshire). She was first the slave, then the freedwoman and wife of Barates, an Arab merchant from Palmyra (now part of Syria) who, evidently missing her greatly, set up a gravestone after she died at the age of 30 in the second half of the second century. (Barates himself is buried at the nearby fort at Corbridge in Northumberland.) The second commemorates Victor, another former slave, freed by Numerianus of the Ala I Asturum, who also arranged his funeral ("piantissime": with all devotion) when Victor died at the age of 20. The stone records that Victor was "of the Moorish nation".

 

The museum also holds an altarpiece to a previously unknown god and a tablet with the name of the Emperor Severus Alexander (died 235) chiselled off, an example of damnatio memoriae.

 

Reconstruction

The West Gate of the fort was reconstructed in 1986 to give an impression of the place. The Reconstruction of the fort has been accomplished using research which was undertaken following excavations, standing where it had originally existed during the Roman occupation of Britain.

 

A Roman gatehouse, barracks and Commanding Officer's house have been reconstructed on their original foundations. The gatehouse holds many displays related to the history of the fort, and its upper levels provide an overview of the archaeological site.

 

Roman Britain was the territory that became the Roman province of Britannia after the Roman conquest of Britain, consisting of a large part of the island of Great Britain. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410.

 

Julius Caesar invaded Britain in 55 and 54 BC as part of his Gallic Wars. According to Caesar, the Britons had been overrun or culturally assimilated by the Belgae during the British Iron Age and had been aiding Caesar's enemies. The Belgae were the only Celtic tribe to cross the sea into Britain, for to all other Celtic tribes this land was unknown. He received tribute, installed the friendly king Mandubracius over the Trinovantes, and returned to Gaul. Planned invasions under Augustus were called off in 34, 27, and 25 BC. In 40 AD, Caligula assembled 200,000 men at the Channel on the continent, only to have them gather seashells (musculi) according to Suetonius, perhaps as a symbolic gesture to proclaim Caligula's victory over the sea. Three years later, Claudius directed four legions to invade Britain and restore the exiled king Verica over the Atrebates. The Romans defeated the Catuvellauni, and then organized their conquests as the province of Britain. By 47 AD, the Romans held the lands southeast of the Fosse Way. Control over Wales was delayed by reverses and the effects of Boudica's uprising, but the Romans expanded steadily northward.

 

The conquest of Britain continued under command of Gnaeus Julius Agricola (77–84), who expanded the Roman Empire as far as Caledonia. In mid-84 AD, Agricola faced the armies of the Caledonians, led by Calgacus, at the Battle of Mons Graupius. Battle casualties were estimated by Tacitus to be upwards of 10,000 on the Caledonian side and about 360 on the Roman side. The bloodbath at Mons Graupius concluded the forty-year conquest of Britain, a period that possibly saw between 100,000 and 250,000 Britons killed. In the context of pre-industrial warfare and of a total population of Britain of c. 2 million, these are very high figures.

 

Under the 2nd-century emperors Hadrian and Antoninus Pius, two walls were built to defend the Roman province from the Caledonians, whose realms in the Scottish Highlands were never controlled. Around 197 AD, the Severan Reforms divided Britain into two provinces: Britannia Superior and Britannia Inferior. During the Diocletian Reforms, at the end of the 3rd century, Britannia was divided into four provinces under the direction of a vicarius, who administered the Diocese of the Britains. A fifth province, Valentia, is attested in the later 4th century. For much of the later period of the Roman occupation, Britannia was subject to barbarian invasions and often came under the control of imperial usurpers and imperial pretenders. The final Roman withdrawal from Britain occurred around 410; the native kingdoms are considered to have formed Sub-Roman Britain after that.

 

Following the conquest of the Britons, a distinctive Romano-British culture emerged as the Romans introduced improved agriculture, urban planning, industrial production, and architecture. The Roman goddess Britannia became the female personification of Britain. After the initial invasions, Roman historians generally only mention Britain in passing. Thus, most present knowledge derives from archaeological investigations and occasional epigraphic evidence lauding the Britannic achievements of an emperor. Roman citizens settled in Britain from many parts of the Empire.

 

History

Britain was known to the Classical world. The Greeks, the Phoenicians and the Carthaginians traded for Cornish tin in the 4th century BC. The Greeks referred to the Cassiterides, or "tin islands", and placed them near the west coast of Europe. The Carthaginian sailor Himilco is said to have visited the island in the 6th or 5th century BC and the Greek explorer Pytheas in the 4th. It was regarded as a place of mystery, with some writers refusing to believe it existed.

 

The first direct Roman contact was when Julius Caesar undertook two expeditions in 55 and 54 BC, as part of his conquest of Gaul, believing the Britons were helping the Gallic resistance. The first expedition was more a reconnaissance than a full invasion and gained a foothold on the coast of Kent but was unable to advance further because of storm damage to the ships and a lack of cavalry. Despite the military failure, it was a political success, with the Roman Senate declaring a 20-day public holiday in Rome to honour the unprecedented achievement of obtaining hostages from Britain and defeating Belgic tribes on returning to the continent.

 

The second invasion involved a substantially larger force and Caesar coerced or invited many of the native Celtic tribes to pay tribute and give hostages in return for peace. A friendly local king, Mandubracius, was installed, and his rival, Cassivellaunus, was brought to terms. Hostages were taken, but historians disagree over whether any tribute was paid after Caesar returned to Gaul.

 

Caesar conquered no territory and left no troops behind, but he established clients and brought Britain into Rome's sphere of influence. Augustus planned invasions in 34, 27 and 25 BC, but circumstances were never favourable, and the relationship between Britain and Rome settled into one of diplomacy and trade. Strabo, writing late in Augustus's reign, claimed that taxes on trade brought in more annual revenue than any conquest could. Archaeology shows that there was an increase in imported luxury goods in southeastern Britain. Strabo also mentions British kings who sent embassies to Augustus, and Augustus's own Res Gestae refers to two British kings he received as refugees. When some of Tiberius's ships were carried to Britain in a storm during his campaigns in Germany in 16 AD, they came back with tales of monsters.

 

Rome appears to have encouraged a balance of power in southern Britain, supporting two powerful kingdoms: the Catuvellauni, ruled by the descendants of Tasciovanus, and the Atrebates, ruled by the descendants of Commius. This policy was followed until 39 or 40 AD, when Caligula received an exiled member of the Catuvellaunian dynasty and planned an invasion of Britain that collapsed in farcical circumstances before it left Gaul. When Claudius successfully invaded in 43 AD, it was in aid of another fugitive British ruler, Verica of the Atrebates.

 

Roman invasion

The invasion force in 43 AD was led by Aulus Plautius,[26] but it is unclear how many legions were sent. The Legio II Augusta, commanded by future emperor Vespasian, was the only one directly attested to have taken part. The Legio IX Hispana, the XIV Gemina (later styled Martia Victrix) and the XX (later styled Valeria Victrix) are known to have served during the Boudican Revolt of 60/61, and were probably there since the initial invasion. This is not certain because the Roman army was flexible, with units being moved around whenever necessary. The IX Hispana may have been permanently stationed, with records showing it at Eboracum (York) in 71 and on a building inscription there dated 108, before being destroyed in the east of the Empire, possibly during the Bar Kokhba revolt.

 

The invasion was delayed by a troop mutiny until an imperial freedman persuaded them to overcome their fear of crossing the Ocean and campaigning beyond the limits of the known world. They sailed in three divisions, and probably landed at Richborough in Kent; at least part of the force may have landed near Fishbourne, West Sussex.

 

The Catuvellauni and their allies were defeated in two battles: the first, assuming a Richborough landing, on the river Medway, the second on the river Thames. One of their leaders, Togodumnus, was killed, but his brother Caratacus survived to continue resistance elsewhere. Plautius halted at the Thames and sent for Claudius, who arrived with reinforcements, including artillery and elephants, for the final march to the Catuvellaunian capital, Camulodunum (Colchester). Vespasian subdued the southwest, Cogidubnus was set up as a friendly king of several territories, and treaties were made with tribes outside direct Roman control.

 

Establishment of Roman rule

After capturing the south of the island, the Romans turned their attention to what is now Wales. The Silures, Ordovices and Deceangli remained implacably opposed to the invaders and for the first few decades were the focus of Roman military attention, despite occasional minor revolts among Roman allies like the Brigantes and the Iceni. The Silures were led by Caratacus, and he carried out an effective guerrilla campaign against Governor Publius Ostorius Scapula. Finally, in 51, Ostorius lured Caratacus into a set-piece battle and defeated him. The British leader sought refuge among the Brigantes, but their queen, Cartimandua, proved her loyalty by surrendering him to the Romans. He was brought as a captive to Rome, where a dignified speech he made during Claudius's triumph persuaded the emperor to spare his life. The Silures were still not pacified, and Cartimandua's ex-husband Venutius replaced Caratacus as the most prominent leader of British resistance.

 

On Nero's accession, Roman Britain extended as far north as Lindum. Gaius Suetonius Paulinus, the conqueror of Mauretania (modern day Algeria and Morocco), then became governor of Britain, and in 60 and 61 he moved against Mona (Anglesey) to settle accounts with Druidism once and for all. Paulinus led his army across the Menai Strait and massacred the Druids and burnt their sacred groves.

 

While Paulinus was campaigning in Mona, the southeast of Britain rose in revolt under the leadership of Boudica. She was the widow of the recently deceased king of the Iceni, Prasutagus. The Roman historian Tacitus reports that Prasutagus had left a will leaving half his kingdom to Nero in the hope that the remainder would be left untouched. He was wrong. When his will was enforced, Rome[clarification needed] responded by violently seizing the tribe's lands in full. Boudica protested. In consequence, Rome[clarification needed] punished her and her daughters by flogging and rape. In response, the Iceni, joined by the Trinovantes, destroyed the Roman colony at Camulodunum (Colchester) and routed the part of the IXth Legion that was sent to relieve it. Paulinus rode to London (then called Londinium), the rebels' next target, but concluded it could not be defended. Abandoned, it was destroyed, as was Verulamium (St. Albans). Between seventy and eighty thousand people are said to have been killed in the three cities. But Paulinus regrouped with two of the three legions still available to him, chose a battlefield, and, despite being outnumbered by more than twenty to one, defeated the rebels in the Battle of Watling Street. Boudica died not long afterwards, by self-administered poison or by illness. During this time, the Emperor Nero considered withdrawing Roman forces from Britain altogether.

 

There was further turmoil in 69, the "Year of the Four Emperors". As civil war raged in Rome, weak governors were unable to control the legions in Britain, and Venutius of the Brigantes seized his chance. The Romans had previously defended Cartimandua against him, but this time were unable to do so. Cartimandua was evacuated, and Venutius was left in control of the north of the country. After Vespasian secured the empire, his first two appointments as governor, Quintus Petillius Cerialis and Sextus Julius Frontinus, took on the task of subduing the Brigantes and Silures respectively.[38] Frontinus extended Roman rule to all of South Wales, and initiated exploitation of the mineral resources, such as the gold mines at Dolaucothi.

 

In the following years, the Romans conquered more of the island, increasing the size of Roman Britain. Governor Gnaeus Julius Agricola, father-in-law to the historian Tacitus, conquered the Ordovices in 78. With the XX Valeria Victrix legion, Agricola defeated the Caledonians in 84 at the Battle of Mons Graupius, in north-east Scotland. This was the high-water mark of Roman territory in Britain: shortly after his victory, Agricola was recalled from Britain back to Rome, and the Romans initially retired to a more defensible line along the Forth–Clyde isthmus, freeing soldiers badly needed along other frontiers.

 

For much of the history of Roman Britain, a large number of soldiers were garrisoned on the island. This required that the emperor station a trusted senior man as governor of the province. As a result, many future emperors served as governors or legates in this province, including Vespasian, Pertinax, and Gordian I.

 

Roman military organisation in the north

In 84 AD

In 84 AD

 

In 155 AD

In 155 AD

 

Hadrian's Wall, and Antonine Wall

There is no historical source describing the decades that followed Agricola's recall. Even the name of his replacement is unknown. Archaeology has shown that some Roman forts south of the Forth–Clyde isthmus were rebuilt and enlarged; others appear to have been abandoned. By 87 the frontier had been consolidated on the Stanegate. Roman coins and pottery have been found circulating at native settlement sites in the Scottish Lowlands in the years before 100, indicating growing Romanisation. Some of the most important sources for this era are the writing tablets from the fort at Vindolanda in Northumberland, mostly dating to 90–110. These tablets provide evidence for the operation of a Roman fort at the edge of the Roman Empire, where officers' wives maintained polite society while merchants, hauliers and military personnel kept the fort operational and supplied.

 

Around 105 there appears to have been a serious setback at the hands of the tribes of the Picts: several Roman forts were destroyed by fire, with human remains and damaged armour at Trimontium (at modern Newstead, in SE Scotland) indicating hostilities at least at that site.[citation needed] There is also circumstantial evidence that auxiliary reinforcements were sent from Germany, and an unnamed British war of the period is mentioned on the gravestone of a tribune of Cyrene. Trajan's Dacian Wars may have led to troop reductions in the area or even total withdrawal followed by slighting of the forts by the Picts rather than an unrecorded military defeat. The Romans were also in the habit of destroying their own forts during an orderly withdrawal, in order to deny resources to an enemy. In either case, the frontier probably moved south to the line of the Stanegate at the Solway–Tyne isthmus around this time.

 

A new crisis occurred at the beginning of Hadrian's reign): a rising in the north which was suppressed by Quintus Pompeius Falco. When Hadrian reached Britannia on his famous tour of the Roman provinces around 120, he directed an extensive defensive wall, known to posterity as Hadrian's Wall, to be built close to the line of the Stanegate frontier. Hadrian appointed Aulus Platorius Nepos as governor to undertake this work who brought the Legio VI Victrix legion with him from Germania Inferior. This replaced the famous Legio IX Hispana, whose disappearance has been much discussed. Archaeology indicates considerable political instability in Scotland during the first half of the 2nd century, and the shifting frontier at this time should be seen in this context.

 

In the reign of Antoninus Pius (138–161) the Hadrianic border was briefly extended north to the Forth–Clyde isthmus, where the Antonine Wall was built around 142 following the military reoccupation of the Scottish lowlands by a new governor, Quintus Lollius Urbicus.

 

The first Antonine occupation of Scotland ended as a result of a further crisis in 155–157, when the Brigantes revolted. With limited options to despatch reinforcements, the Romans moved their troops south, and this rising was suppressed by Governor Gnaeus Julius Verus. Within a year the Antonine Wall was recaptured, but by 163 or 164 it was abandoned. The second occupation was probably connected with Antoninus's undertakings to protect the Votadini or his pride in enlarging the empire, since the retreat to the Hadrianic frontier occurred not long after his death when a more objective strategic assessment of the benefits of the Antonine Wall could be made. The Romans did not entirely withdraw from Scotland at this time: the large fort at Newstead was maintained along with seven smaller outposts until at least 180.

 

During the twenty-year period following the reversion of the frontier to Hadrian's Wall in 163/4, Rome was concerned with continental issues, primarily problems in the Danubian provinces. Increasing numbers of hoards of buried coins in Britain at this time indicate that peace was not entirely achieved. Sufficient Roman silver has been found in Scotland to suggest more than ordinary trade, and it is likely that the Romans were reinforcing treaty agreements by paying tribute to their implacable enemies, the Picts.

 

In 175, a large force of Sarmatian cavalry, consisting of 5,500 men, arrived in Britannia, probably to reinforce troops fighting unrecorded uprisings. In 180, Hadrian's Wall was breached by the Picts and the commanding officer or governor was killed there in what Cassius Dio described as the most serious war of the reign of Commodus. Ulpius Marcellus was sent as replacement governor and by 184 he had won a new peace, only to be faced with a mutiny from his own troops. Unhappy with Marcellus's strictness, they tried to elect a legate named Priscus as usurper governor; he refused, but Marcellus was lucky to leave the province alive. The Roman army in Britannia continued its insubordination: they sent a delegation of 1,500 to Rome to demand the execution of Tigidius Perennis, a Praetorian prefect who they felt had earlier wronged them by posting lowly equites to legate ranks in Britannia. Commodus met the party outside Rome and agreed to have Perennis killed, but this only made them feel more secure in their mutiny.

 

The future emperor Pertinax (lived 126–193) was sent to Britannia to quell the mutiny and was initially successful in regaining control, but a riot broke out among the troops. Pertinax was attacked and left for dead, and asked to be recalled to Rome, where he briefly succeeded Commodus as emperor in 192.

 

3rd century

The death of Commodus put into motion a series of events which eventually led to civil war. Following the short reign of Pertinax, several rivals for the emperorship emerged, including Septimius Severus and Clodius Albinus. The latter was the new governor of Britannia, and had seemingly won the natives over after their earlier rebellions; he also controlled three legions, making him a potentially significant claimant. His sometime rival Severus promised him the title of Caesar in return for Albinus's support against Pescennius Niger in the east. Once Niger was neutralised, Severus turned on his ally in Britannia; it is likely that Albinus saw he would be the next target and was already preparing for war.

 

Albinus crossed to Gaul in 195, where the provinces were also sympathetic to him, and set up at Lugdunum. Severus arrived in February 196, and the ensuing battle was decisive. Albinus came close to victory, but Severus's reinforcements won the day, and the British governor committed suicide. Severus soon purged Albinus's sympathisers and perhaps confiscated large tracts of land in Britain as punishment. Albinus had demonstrated the major problem posed by Roman Britain. In order to maintain security, the province required the presence of three legions, but command of these forces provided an ideal power base for ambitious rivals. Deploying those legions elsewhere would strip the island of its garrison, leaving the province defenceless against uprisings by the native Celtic tribes and against invasion by the Picts and Scots.

 

The traditional view is that northern Britain descended into anarchy during Albinus's absence. Cassius Dio records that the new Governor, Virius Lupus, was obliged to buy peace from a fractious northern tribe known as the Maeatae. The succession of militarily distinguished governors who were subsequently appointed suggests that enemies of Rome were posing a difficult challenge, and Lucius Alfenus Senecio's report to Rome in 207 describes barbarians "rebelling, over-running the land, taking loot and creating destruction". In order to rebel, of course, one must be a subject – the Maeatae clearly did not consider themselves such. Senecio requested either reinforcements or an Imperial expedition, and Severus chose the latter, despite being 62 years old. Archaeological evidence shows that Senecio had been rebuilding the defences of Hadrian's Wall and the forts beyond it, and Severus's arrival in Britain prompted the enemy tribes to sue for peace immediately. The emperor had not come all that way to leave without a victory, and it is likely that he wished to provide his teenage sons Caracalla and Geta with first-hand experience of controlling a hostile barbarian land.

 

Northern campaigns, 208–211

An invasion of Caledonia led by Severus and probably numbering around 20,000 troops moved north in 208 or 209, crossing the Wall and passing through eastern Scotland on a route similar to that used by Agricola. Harried by punishing guerrilla raids by the northern tribes and slowed by an unforgiving terrain, Severus was unable to meet the Caledonians on a battlefield. The emperor's forces pushed north as far as the River Tay, but little appears to have been achieved by the invasion, as peace treaties were signed with the Caledonians. By 210 Severus had returned to York, and the frontier had once again become Hadrian's Wall. He assumed the title Britannicus but the title meant little with regard to the unconquered north, which clearly remained outside the authority of the Empire. Almost immediately, another northern tribe, the Maeatae, went to war. Caracalla left with a punitive expedition, but by the following year his ailing father had died and he and his brother left the province to press their claim to the throne.

 

As one of his last acts, Severus tried to solve the problem of powerful and rebellious governors in Britain by dividing the province into Britannia Superior and Britannia Inferior. This kept the potential for rebellion in check for almost a century. Historical sources provide little information on the following decades, a period known as the Long Peace. Even so, the number of buried hoards found from this period rises, suggesting continuing unrest. A string of forts were built along the coast of southern Britain to control piracy; and over the following hundred years they increased in number, becoming the Saxon Shore Forts.

 

During the middle of the 3rd century, the Roman Empire was convulsed by barbarian invasions, rebellions and new imperial pretenders. Britannia apparently avoided these troubles, but increasing inflation had its economic effect. In 259 a so-called Gallic Empire was established when Postumus rebelled against Gallienus. Britannia was part of this until 274 when Aurelian reunited the empire.

 

Around the year 280, a half-British officer named Bonosus was in command of the Roman's Rhenish fleet when the Germans managed to burn it at anchor. To avoid punishment, he proclaimed himself emperor at Colonia Agrippina (Cologne) but was crushed by Marcus Aurelius Probus. Soon afterwards, an unnamed governor of one of the British provinces also attempted an uprising. Probus put it down by sending irregular troops of Vandals and Burgundians across the Channel.

 

The Carausian Revolt led to a short-lived Britannic Empire from 286 to 296. Carausius was a Menapian naval commander of the Britannic fleet; he revolted upon learning of a death sentence ordered by the emperor Maximian on charges of having abetted Frankish and Saxon pirates and having embezzled recovered treasure. He consolidated control over all the provinces of Britain and some of northern Gaul while Maximian dealt with other uprisings. An invasion in 288 failed to unseat him and an uneasy peace ensued, with Carausius issuing coins and inviting official recognition. In 293, the junior emperor Constantius Chlorus launched a second offensive, besieging the rebel port of Gesoriacum (Boulogne-sur-Mer) by land and sea. After it fell, Constantius attacked Carausius's other Gallic holdings and Frankish allies and Carausius was usurped by his treasurer, Allectus. Julius Asclepiodotus landed an invasion fleet near Southampton and defeated Allectus in a land battle.

 

Diocletian's reforms

As part of Diocletian's reforms, the provinces of Roman Britain were organized as a diocese governed by a vicarius under a praetorian prefect who, from 318 to 331, was Junius Bassus who was based at Augusta Treverorum (Trier).

 

The vicarius was based at Londinium as the principal city of the diocese. Londinium and Eboracum continued as provincial capitals and the territory was divided up into smaller provinces for administrative efficiency.

 

Civilian and military authority of a province was no longer exercised by one official and the governor was stripped of military command which was handed over to the Dux Britanniarum by 314. The governor of a province assumed more financial duties (the procurators of the Treasury ministry were slowly phased out in the first three decades of the 4th century). The Dux was commander of the troops of the Northern Region, primarily along Hadrian's Wall and his responsibilities included protection of the frontier. He had significant autonomy due in part to the distance from his superiors.

 

The tasks of the vicarius were to control and coordinate the activities of governors; monitor but not interfere with the daily functioning of the Treasury and Crown Estates, which had their own administrative infrastructure; and act as the regional quartermaster-general of the armed forces. In short, as the sole civilian official with superior authority, he had general oversight of the administration, as well as direct control, while not absolute, over governors who were part of the prefecture; the other two fiscal departments were not.

 

The early-4th-century Verona List, the late-4th-century work of Sextus Rufus, and the early-5th-century List of Offices and work of Polemius Silvius all list four provinces by some variation of the names Britannia I, Britannia II, Maxima Caesariensis, and Flavia Caesariensis; all of these seem to have initially been directed by a governor (praeses) of equestrian rank. The 5th-century sources list a fifth province named Valentia and give its governor and Maxima's a consular rank. Ammianus mentions Valentia as well, describing its creation by Count Theodosius in 369 after the quelling of the Great Conspiracy. Ammianus considered it a re-creation of a formerly lost province, leading some to think there had been an earlier fifth province under another name (may be the enigmatic "Vespasiana"), and leading others to place Valentia beyond Hadrian's Wall, in the territory abandoned south of the Antonine Wall.

 

Reconstructions of the provinces and provincial capitals during this period partially rely on ecclesiastical records. On the assumption that the early bishoprics mimicked the imperial hierarchy, scholars use the list of bishops for the 314 Council of Arles. The list is patently corrupt: the British delegation is given as including a Bishop "Eborius" of Eboracum and two bishops "from Londinium" (one de civitate Londinensi and the other de civitate colonia Londinensium). The error is variously emended: Bishop Ussher proposed Colonia, Selden Col. or Colon. Camalodun., and Spelman Colonia Cameloduni (all various names of Colchester); Gale and Bingham offered colonia Lindi and Henry Colonia Lindum (both Lincoln); and Bishop Stillingfleet and Francis Thackeray read it as a scribal error of Civ. Col. Londin. for an original Civ. Col. Leg. II (Caerleon). On the basis of the Verona List, the priest and deacon who accompanied the bishops in some manuscripts are ascribed to the fourth province.

 

In the 12th century, Gerald of Wales described the supposedly metropolitan sees of the early British church established by the legendary SS Fagan and "Duvian". He placed Britannia Prima in Wales and western England with its capital at "Urbs Legionum" (Caerleon); Britannia Secunda in Kent and southern England with its capital at "Dorobernia" (Canterbury); Flavia in Mercia and central England with its capital at "Lundonia" (London); "Maximia" in northern England with its capital at Eboracum (York); and Valentia in "Albania which is now Scotland" with its capital at St Andrews. Modern scholars generally dispute the last: some place Valentia at or beyond Hadrian's Wall but St Andrews is beyond even the Antonine Wall and Gerald seems to have simply been supporting the antiquity of its church for political reasons.

 

A common modern reconstruction places the consular province of Maxima at Londinium, on the basis of its status as the seat of the diocesan vicarius; places Prima in the west according to Gerald's traditional account but moves its capital to Corinium of the Dobunni (Cirencester) on the basis of an artifact recovered there referring to Lucius Septimius, a provincial rector; places Flavia north of Maxima, with its capital placed at Lindum Colonia (Lincoln) to match one emendation of the bishops list from Arles;[d] and places Secunda in the north with its capital at Eboracum (York). Valentia is placed variously in northern Wales around Deva (Chester); beside Hadrian's Wall around Luguvalium (Carlisle); and between the walls along Dere Street.

 

4th century

Emperor Constantius returned to Britain in 306, despite his poor health, with an army aiming to invade northern Britain, the provincial defences having been rebuilt in the preceding years. Little is known of his campaigns with scant archaeological evidence, but fragmentary historical sources suggest he reached the far north of Britain and won a major battle in early summer before returning south. His son Constantine (later Constantine the Great) spent a year in northern Britain at his father's side, campaigning against the Picts beyond Hadrian's Wall in the summer and autumn. Constantius died in York in July 306 with his son at his side. Constantine then successfully used Britain as the starting point of his march to the imperial throne, unlike the earlier usurper, Albinus.

 

In the middle of the century, the province was loyal for a few years to the usurper Magnentius, who succeeded Constans following the latter's death. After the defeat and death of Magnentius in the Battle of Mons Seleucus in 353, Constantius II dispatched his chief imperial notary Paulus Catena to Britain to hunt down Magnentius's supporters. The investigation deteriorated into a witch-hunt, which forced the vicarius Flavius Martinus to intervene. When Paulus retaliated by accusing Martinus of treason, the vicarius attacked Paulus with a sword, with the aim of assassinating him, but in the end he committed suicide.

 

As the 4th century progressed, there were increasing attacks from the Saxons in the east and the Scoti (Irish) in the west. A series of forts had been built, starting around 280, to defend the coasts, but these preparations were not enough when, in 367, a general assault of Saxons, Picts, Scoti and Attacotti, combined with apparent dissension in the garrison on Hadrian's Wall, left Roman Britain prostrate. The invaders overwhelmed the entire western and northern regions of Britannia and the cities were sacked. This crisis, sometimes called the Barbarian Conspiracy or the Great Conspiracy, was settled by Count Theodosius from 368 with a string of military and civil reforms. Theodosius crossed from Bononia (Boulogne-sur-Mer) and marched on Londinium where he began to deal with the invaders and made his base.[ An amnesty was promised to deserters which enabled Theodosius to regarrison abandoned forts. By the end of the year Hadrian's Wall was retaken and order returned. Considerable reorganization was undertaken in Britain, including the creation of a new province named Valentia, probably to better address the state of the far north. A new Dux Britanniarum was appointed, Dulcitius, with Civilis to head a new civilian administration.

 

Another imperial usurper, Magnus Maximus, raised the standard of revolt at Segontium (Caernarfon) in north Wales in 383, and crossed the English Channel. Maximus held much of the western empire, and fought a successful campaign against the Picts and Scots around 384. His continental exploits required troops from Britain, and it appears that forts at Chester and elsewhere were abandoned in this period, triggering raids and settlement in north Wales by the Irish. His rule was ended in 388, but not all the British troops may have returned: the Empire's military resources were stretched to the limit along the Rhine and Danube. Around 396 there were more barbarian incursions into Britain. Stilicho led a punitive expedition. It seems peace was restored by 399, and it is likely that no further garrisoning was ordered; by 401 more troops were withdrawn, to assist in the war against Alaric I.

 

End of Roman rule

The traditional view of historians, informed by the work of Michael Rostovtzeff, was of a widespread economic decline at the beginning of the 5th century. Consistent archaeological evidence has told another story, and the accepted view is undergoing re-evaluation. Some features are agreed: more opulent but fewer urban houses, an end to new public building and some abandonment of existing ones, with the exception of defensive structures, and the widespread formation of "dark earth" deposits indicating increased horticulture within urban precincts. Turning over the basilica at Silchester to industrial uses in the late 3rd century, doubtless officially condoned, marks an early stage in the de-urbanisation of Roman Britain.

 

The abandonment of some sites is now believed to be later than had been thought. Many buildings changed use but were not destroyed. There was a growing number of barbarian attacks, but these targeted vulnerable rural settlements rather than towns. Some villas such as Chedworth, Great Casterton in Rutland and Hucclecote in Gloucestershire had new mosaic floors laid around this time, suggesting that economic problems may have been limited and patchy. Many suffered some decay before being abandoned in the 5th century; the story of Saint Patrick indicates that villas were still occupied until at least 430. Exceptionally, new buildings were still going up in this period in Verulamium and Cirencester. Some urban centres, for example Canterbury, Cirencester, Wroxeter, Winchester and Gloucester, remained active during the 5th and 6th centuries, surrounded by large farming estates.

 

Urban life had generally grown less intense by the fourth quarter of the 4th century, and coins minted between 378 and 388 are very rare, indicating a likely combination of economic decline, diminishing numbers of troops, problems with the payment of soldiers and officials or with unstable conditions during the usurpation of Magnus Maximus 383–87. Coinage circulation increased during the 390s, but never attained the levels of earlier decades. Copper coins are very rare after 402, though minted silver and gold coins from hoards indicate they were still present in the province even if they were not being spent. By 407 there were very few new Roman coins going into circulation, and by 430 it is likely that coinage as a medium of exchange had been abandoned. Mass-produced wheel thrown pottery ended at approximately the same time; the rich continued to use metal and glass vessels, while the poor made do with humble "grey ware" or resorted to leather or wooden containers.

 

Sub-Roman Britain

Towards the end of the 4th century Roman rule in Britain came under increasing pressure from barbarian attacks. Apparently, there were not enough troops to mount an effective defence. After elevating two disappointing usurpers, the army chose a soldier, Constantine III, to become emperor in 407. He crossed to Gaul but was defeated by Honorius; it is unclear how many troops remained or ever returned, or whether a commander-in-chief in Britain was ever reappointed. A Saxon incursion in 408 was apparently repelled by the Britons, and in 409 Zosimus records that the natives expelled the Roman civilian administration. Zosimus may be referring to the Bacaudic rebellion of the Breton inhabitants of Armorica since he describes how, in the aftermath of the revolt, all of Armorica and the rest of Gaul followed the example of the Brettaniai. A letter from Emperor Honorius in 410 has traditionally been seen as rejecting a British appeal for help, but it may have been addressed to Bruttium or Bologna. With the imperial layers of the military and civil government gone, administration and justice fell to municipal authorities, and local warlords gradually emerged all over Britain, still utilizing Romano-British ideals and conventions. Historian Stuart Laycock has investigated this process and emphasised elements of continuity from the British tribes in the pre-Roman and Roman periods, through to the native post-Roman kingdoms.

 

In British tradition, pagan Saxons were invited by Vortigern to assist in fighting the Picts, Scoti, and Déisi. (Germanic migration into Roman Britannia may have begun much earlier. There is recorded evidence, for example, of Germanic auxiliaries supporting the legions in Britain in the 1st and 2nd centuries.) The new arrivals rebelled, plunging the country into a series of wars that eventually led to the Saxon occupation of Lowland Britain by 600. Around this time, many Britons fled to Brittany (hence its name), Galicia and probably Ireland. A significant date in sub-Roman Britain is the Groans of the Britons, an unanswered appeal to Aetius, leading general of the western Empire, for assistance against Saxon invasion in 446. Another is the Battle of Deorham in 577, after which the significant cities of Bath, Cirencester and Gloucester fell and the Saxons reached the western sea.

 

Historians generally reject the historicity of King Arthur, who is supposed to have resisted the Anglo-Saxon conquest according to later medieval legends.

 

Trade

During the Roman period Britain's continental trade was principally directed across the Southern North Sea and Eastern Channel, focusing on the narrow Strait of Dover, with more limited links via the Atlantic seaways. The most important British ports were London and Richborough, whilst the continental ports most heavily engaged in trade with Britain were Boulogne and the sites of Domburg and Colijnsplaat at the mouth of the river Scheldt. During the Late Roman period it is likely that the shore forts played some role in continental trade alongside their defensive functions.

 

Exports to Britain included: coin; pottery, particularly red-gloss terra sigillata (samian ware) from southern, central and eastern Gaul, as well as various other wares from Gaul and the Rhine provinces; olive oil from southern Spain in amphorae; wine from Gaul in amphorae and barrels; salted fish products from the western Mediterranean and Brittany in barrels and amphorae; preserved olives from southern Spain in amphorae; lava quern-stones from Mayen on the middle Rhine; glass; and some agricultural products. Britain's exports are harder to detect archaeologically, but will have included metals, such as silver and gold and some lead, iron and copper. Other exports probably included agricultural products, oysters and salt, whilst large quantities of coin would have been re-exported back to the continent as well.

 

These products moved as a result of private trade and also through payments and contracts established by the Roman state to support its military forces and officials on the island, as well as through state taxation and extraction of resources. Up until the mid-3rd century, the Roman state's payments appear to have been unbalanced, with far more products sent to Britain, to support its large military force (which had reached c. 53,000 by the mid-2nd century), than were extracted from the island.

 

It has been argued that Roman Britain's continental trade peaked in the late 1st century AD and thereafter declined as a result of an increasing reliance on local products by the population of Britain, caused by economic development on the island and by the Roman state's desire to save money by shifting away from expensive long-distance imports. Evidence has been outlined that suggests that the principal decline in Roman Britain's continental trade may have occurred in the late 2nd century AD, from c. 165 AD onwards. This has been linked to the economic impact of contemporary Empire-wide crises: the Antonine Plague and the Marcomannic Wars.

 

From the mid-3rd century onwards, Britain no longer received such a wide range and extensive quantity of foreign imports as it did during the earlier part of the Roman period; vast quantities of coin from continental mints reached the island, whilst there is historical evidence for the export of large amounts of British grain to the continent during the mid-4th century. During the latter part of the Roman period British agricultural products, paid for by both the Roman state and by private consumers, clearly played an important role in supporting the military garrisons and urban centres of the northwestern continental Empire. This came about as a result of the rapid decline in the size of the British garrison from the mid-3rd century onwards (thus freeing up more goods for export), and because of 'Germanic' incursions across the Rhine, which appear to have reduced rural settlement and agricultural output in northern Gaul.

 

Economy

Mineral extraction sites such as the Dolaucothi gold mine were probably first worked by the Roman army from c. 75, and at some later stage passed to civilian operators. The mine developed as a series of opencast workings, mainly by the use of hydraulic mining methods. They are described by Pliny the Elder in his Natural History in great detail. Essentially, water supplied by aqueducts was used to prospect for ore veins by stripping away soil to reveal the bedrock. If veins were present, they were attacked using fire-setting and the ore removed for comminution. The dust was washed in a small stream of water and the heavy gold dust and gold nuggets collected in riffles. The diagram at right shows how Dolaucothi developed from c. 75 through to the 1st century. When opencast work was no longer feasible, tunnels were driven to follow the veins. The evidence from the site shows advanced technology probably under the control of army engineers.

 

The Wealden ironworking zone, the lead and silver mines of the Mendip Hills and the tin mines of Cornwall seem to have been private enterprises leased from the government for a fee. Mining had long been practised in Britain (see Grimes Graves), but the Romans introduced new technical knowledge and large-scale industrial production to revolutionise the industry. It included hydraulic mining to prospect for ore by removing overburden as well as work alluvial deposits. The water needed for such large-scale operations was supplied by one or more aqueducts, those surviving at Dolaucothi being especially impressive. Many prospecting areas were in dangerous, upland country, and, although mineral exploitation was presumably one of the main reasons for the Roman invasion, it had to wait until these areas were subdued.

 

By the 3rd and 4th centuries, small towns could often be found near villas. In these towns, villa owners and small-scale farmers could obtain specialist tools. Lowland Britain in the 4th century was agriculturally prosperous enough to export grain to the continent. This prosperity lay behind the blossoming of villa building and decoration that occurred between AD 300 and 350.

 

Britain's cities also consumed Roman-style pottery and other goods, and were centres through which goods could be distributed elsewhere. At Wroxeter in Shropshire, stock smashed into a gutter during a 2nd-century fire reveals that Gaulish samian ware was being sold alongside mixing bowls from the Mancetter-Hartshill industry of the West Midlands. Roman designs were most popular, but rural craftsmen still produced items derived from the Iron Age La Tène artistic traditions. Britain was home to much gold, which attracted Roman invaders. By the 3rd century, Britain's economy was diverse and well established, with commerce extending into the non-Romanised north.

 

Government

Further information: Governors of Roman Britain, Roman client kingdoms in Britain, and Roman auxiliaries in Britain

Under the Roman Empire, administration of peaceful provinces was ultimately the remit of the Senate, but those, like Britain, that required permanent garrisons, were placed under the Emperor's control. In practice imperial provinces were run by resident governors who were members of the Senate and had held the consulship. These men were carefully selected, often having strong records of military success and administrative ability. In Britain, a governor's role was primarily military, but numerous other tasks were also his responsibility, such as maintaining diplomatic relations with local client kings, building roads, ensuring the public courier system functioned, supervising the civitates and acting as a judge in important legal cases. When not campaigning, he would travel the province hearing complaints and recruiting new troops.

 

To assist him in legal matters he had an adviser, the legatus juridicus, and those in Britain appear to have been distinguished lawyers perhaps because of the challenge of incorporating tribes into the imperial system and devising a workable method of taxing them. Financial administration was dealt with by a procurator with junior posts for each tax-raising power. Each legion in Britain had a commander who answered to the governor and, in time of war, probably directly ruled troublesome districts. Each of these commands carried a tour of duty of two to three years in different provinces. Below these posts was a network of administrative managers covering intelligence gathering, sending reports to Rome, organising military supplies and dealing with prisoners. A staff of seconded soldiers provided clerical services.

 

Colchester was probably the earliest capital of Roman Britain, but it was soon eclipsed by London with its strong mercantile connections. The different forms of municipal organisation in Britannia were known as civitas (which were subdivided, amongst other forms, into colonies such as York, Colchester, Gloucester and Lincoln and municipalities such as Verulamium), and were each governed by a senate of local landowners, whether Brythonic or Roman, who elected magistrates concerning judicial and civic affairs. The various civitates sent representatives to a yearly provincial council in order to profess loyalty to the Roman state, to send direct petitions to the Emperor in times of extraordinary need, and to worship the imperial cult.

 

Demographics

Roman Britain had an estimated population between 2.8 million and 3 million people at the end of the second century. At the end of the fourth century, it had an estimated population of 3.6 million people, of whom 125,000 consisted of the Roman army and their families and dependents.[80] The urban population of Roman Britain was about 240,000 people at the end of the fourth century. The capital city of Londinium is estimated to have had a population of about 60,000 people. Londinium was an ethnically diverse city with inhabitants from the Roman Empire, including natives of Britannia, continental Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. There was also cultural diversity in other Roman-British towns, which were sustained by considerable migration, from Britannia and other Roman territories, including continental Europe, Roman Syria, the Eastern Mediterranean and North Africa. In a study conducted in 2012, around 45 percent of sites investigated dating from the Roman period had at least one individual of North African origin.

 

Town and country

During their occupation of Britain the Romans founded a number of important settlements, many of which survive. The towns suffered attrition in the later 4th century, when public building ceased and some were abandoned to private uses. Place names survived the deurbanised Sub-Roman and early Anglo-Saxon periods, and historiography has been at pains to signal the expected survivals, but archaeology shows that a bare handful of Roman towns were continuously occupied. According to S.T. Loseby, the very idea of a town as a centre of power and administration was reintroduced to England by the Roman Christianising mission to Canterbury, and its urban revival was delayed to the 10th century.

 

Roman towns can be broadly grouped in two categories. Civitates, "public towns" were formally laid out on a grid plan, and their role in imperial administration occasioned the construction of public buildings. The much more numerous category of vici, "small towns" grew on informal plans, often round a camp or at a ford or crossroads; some were not small, others were scarcely urban, some not even defended by a wall, the characteristic feature of a place of any importance.

 

Cities and towns which have Roman origins, or were extensively developed by them are listed with their Latin names in brackets; civitates are marked C

 

Alcester (Alauna)

Alchester

Aldborough, North Yorkshire (Isurium Brigantum) C

Bath (Aquae Sulis) C

Brough (Petuaria) C

Buxton (Aquae Arnemetiae)

Caerleon (Isca Augusta) C

Caernarfon (Segontium) C

Caerwent (Venta Silurum) C

Caister-on-Sea C

Canterbury (Durovernum Cantiacorum) C

Carlisle (Luguvalium) C

Carmarthen (Moridunum) C

Chelmsford (Caesaromagus)

Chester (Deva Victrix) C

Chester-le-Street (Concangis)

Chichester (Noviomagus Reginorum) C

Cirencester (Corinium) C

Colchester (Camulodunum) C

Corbridge (Coria) C

Dorchester (Durnovaria) C

Dover (Portus Dubris)

Exeter (Isca Dumnoniorum) C

Gloucester (Glevum) C

Great Chesterford (the name of this vicus is unknown)

Ilchester (Lindinis) C

Leicester (Ratae Corieltauvorum) C

Lincoln (Lindum Colonia) C

London (Londinium) C

Manchester (Mamucium) C

Newcastle upon Tyne (Pons Aelius)

Northwich (Condate)

St Albans (Verulamium) C

Silchester (Calleva Atrebatum) C

Towcester (Lactodurum)

Whitchurch (Mediolanum) C

Winchester (Venta Belgarum) C

Wroxeter (Viroconium Cornoviorum) C

York (Eboracum) C

 

Religion

The druids, the Celtic priestly caste who were believed to originate in Britain, were outlawed by Claudius, and in 61 they vainly defended their sacred groves from destruction by the Romans on the island of Mona (Anglesey). Under Roman rule the Britons continued to worship native Celtic deities, such as Ancasta, but often conflated with their Roman equivalents, like Mars Rigonemetos at Nettleham.

 

The degree to which earlier native beliefs survived is difficult to gauge precisely. Certain European ritual traits such as the significance of the number 3, the importance of the head and of water sources such as springs remain in the archaeological record, but the differences in the votive offerings made at the baths at Bath, Somerset, before and after the Roman conquest suggest that continuity was only partial. Worship of the Roman emperor is widely recorded, especially at military sites. The founding of a Roman temple to Claudius at Camulodunum was one of the impositions that led to the revolt of Boudica. By the 3rd century, Pagans Hill Roman Temple in Somerset was able to exist peaceably and it did so into the 5th century.

 

Pagan religious practices were supported by priests, represented in Britain by votive deposits of priestly regalia such as chain crowns from West Stow and Willingham Fen.

 

Eastern cults such as Mithraism also grew in popularity towards the end of the occupation. The London Mithraeum is one example of the popularity of mystery religions among the soldiery. Temples to Mithras also exist in military contexts at Vindobala on Hadrian's Wall (the Rudchester Mithraeum) and at Segontium in Roman Wales (the Caernarfon Mithraeum).

 

Christianity

It is not clear when or how Christianity came to Britain. A 2nd-century "word square" has been discovered in Mamucium, the Roman settlement of Manchester. It consists of an anagram of PATER NOSTER carved on a piece of amphora. There has been discussion by academics whether the "word square" is a Christian artefact, but if it is, it is one of the earliest examples of early Christianity in Britain. The earliest confirmed written evidence for Christianity in Britain is a statement by Tertullian, c. 200 AD, in which he described "all the limits of the Spains, and the diverse nations of the Gauls, and the haunts of the Britons, inaccessible to the Romans, but subjugated to Christ". Archaeological evidence for Christian communities begins to appear in the 3rd and 4th centuries. Small timber churches are suggested at Lincoln and Silchester and baptismal fonts have been found at Icklingham and the Saxon Shore Fort at Richborough. The Icklingham font is made of lead, and visible in the British Museum. A Roman Christian graveyard exists at the same site in Icklingham. A possible Roman 4th-century church and associated burial ground was also discovered at Butt Road on the south-west outskirts of Colchester during the construction of the new police station there, overlying an earlier pagan cemetery. The Water Newton Treasure is a hoard of Christian silver church plate from the early 4th century and the Roman villas at Lullingstone and Hinton St Mary contained Christian wall paintings and mosaics respectively. A large 4th-century cemetery at Poundbury with its east–west oriented burials and lack of grave goods has been interpreted as an early Christian burial ground, although such burial rites were also becoming increasingly common in pagan contexts during the period.

 

The Church in Britain seems to have developed the customary diocesan system, as evidenced from the records of the Council of Arles in Gaul in 314: represented at the council were bishops from thirty-five sees from Europe and North Africa, including three bishops from Britain, Eborius of York, Restitutus of London, and Adelphius, possibly a bishop of Lincoln. No other early sees are documented, and the material remains of early church structures are far to seek. The existence of a church in the forum courtyard of Lincoln and the martyrium of Saint Alban on the outskirts of Roman Verulamium are exceptional. Alban, the first British Christian martyr and by far the most prominent, is believed to have died in the early 4th century (some date him in the middle 3rd century), followed by Saints Julius and Aaron of Isca Augusta. Christianity was legalised in the Roman Empire by Constantine I in 313. Theodosius I made Christianity the state religion of the empire in 391, and by the 5th century it was well established. One belief labelled a heresy by the church authorities — Pelagianism — was originated by a British monk teaching in Rome: Pelagius lived c. 354 to c. 420/440.

 

A letter found on a lead tablet in Bath, Somerset, datable to c. 363, had been widely publicised as documentary evidence regarding the state of Christianity in Britain during Roman times. According to its first translator, it was written in Wroxeter by a Christian man called Vinisius to a Christian woman called Nigra, and was claimed as the first epigraphic record of Christianity in Britain. This translation of the letter was apparently based on grave paleographical errors, and the text has nothing to do with Christianity, and in fact relates to pagan rituals.

 

Environmental changes

The Romans introduced a number of species to Britain, including possibly the now-rare Roman nettle (Urtica pilulifera), said to have been used by soldiers to warm their arms and legs, and the edible snail Helix pomatia. There is also some evidence they may have introduced rabbits, but of the smaller southern mediterranean type. The European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) prevalent in modern Britain is assumed to have been introduced from the continent after the Norman invasion of 1066. Box (Buxus sempervirens) is rarely recorded before the Roman period, but becomes a common find in towns and villas

 

Legacy

During their occupation of Britain the Romans built an extensive network of roads which continued to be used in later centuries and many are still followed today. The Romans also built water supply, sanitation and wastewater systems. Many of Britain's major cities, such as London (Londinium), Manchester (Mamucium) and York (Eboracum), were founded by the Romans, but the original Roman settlements were abandoned not long after the Romans left.

 

Unlike many other areas of the Western Roman Empire, the current majority language is not a Romance language, or a language descended from the pre-Roman inhabitants. The British language at the time of the invasion was Common Brittonic, and remained so after the Romans withdrew. It later split into regional languages, notably Cumbric, Cornish, Breton and Welsh. Examination of these languages suggests some 800 Latin words were incorporated into Common Brittonic (see Brittonic languages). The current majority language, English, is based on the languages of the Germanic tribes who migrated to the island from continental Europe

The Dhammakaya is the body of enlightenment of the Lord Buddha and “vijja” is the true knowledge; together, “vijja Dhammakaya” means the true and supreme knowledge illuminated by the Dhammakaya vision. This knowledge is the core principle of Buddhism that will lead to extinguishing of suffering and attainment of the state of supreme bliss known is Nibbana. for Ceremony, at Wat Phra Dhammakaya, Pathum Thani, read more at www.dhammakaya.net/blog/2013/09/18/96-Years-of-Dhammakaya...

The Garuda is a large bird-like creature, or humanoid bird that appears in both Hinduism and Buddhism. Garuda is the mount (vahana) of the Lord Vishnu. Garuda is the Hindu name for the constellation Aquila. The brahminy kite and phoenix are considered to be the contemporary representations of Garuda. Indonesia adopts a more stylistic approach to the Garuda's depiction as its national symbol, where it depicts a Javanese eagle (being much larger than a kite).

 

ABOUT GARUDA

In Hinduism, Garuda is a Hindu divinity, usually the mount (vahana) of the Lord Vishnu. Garuda is depicted as having the golden body of a strong man with a white face, red wings, and an eagle's beak and with a crown on his head. This ancient deity was said to be massive, large enough to block out the sun.

 

Garuda is known as the eternal sworn enemy of the Nāga serpent race and known for feeding exclusively on snakes, such behavior may have referred to the actual short-toed eagle of India. The image of Garuda is often used as the charm or amulet to protect the bearer from snake attack and its poison, since the king of birds is an implacable enemy and "devourer of serpent". Garudi Vidya is the mantra against snake poison to remove all kinds of evil.

 

His stature in Hindu religion can be gauged by the fact that a dependent Upanishad, the Garudopanishad, and a Purana, the Garuda Purana, is devoted to him. Various names have been attributed to Garuda - Chirada, Gaganeshvara, Kamayusha, Kashyapi, Khageshvara, Nagantaka, Sitanana, Sudhahara, Suparna, Tarkshya, Vainateya, Vishnuratha and others. The Vedas provide the earliest reference of Garuda, though by the name of Śyena, where this mighty bird is said to have brought nectar to earth from heaven. The Puranas, which came into existence much later, mention Garuda as doing the same thing, which indicates that Śyena (Sanskrit for eagle) and Garuda are the same. One of the faces of Śrī Pañcamukha Hanuman is Mahavira Garuda. This face points towards the west. Worship of Garuda is believed to remove the effects of poisons from one's body. In Tamil Vaishnavism Garuda and Hanuman are known as "Periya Thiruvadi" and "Siriya Thiruvadi" respectively.

 

In the Bhagavad-Gita (Ch.10, Verse 30), in the middle of the battlefield "Kurukshetra", Krishna explaining his omnipresence, says - " as son of Vinata, I am in the form of Garuda, the king of the bird community (Garuda)" indicating the importance of Garuda.

 

Garuda wears the serpent Adisesha on his left small toenail and the serpent Gulika on his right cerebral cortex. The serpent Vasuki forms his sacred thread. The cobra Takshaka forms his belt on his hip. The snake Karkotaka is worn as his necklace. The snakes Padma and Mahapadma are his ear rings. The snake Shankachuda adorns his divine hair. He is flanked by his two wives ‘Rudra’ and ‘Sukeerthi’ or (Sukirthi). These are all invoked in Vedanta Desika's Garuda Panchashath and Garuda Dandaka compositions. Garuda flanked with his consorts 'Rudra' and 'Sukirthi' can be seen worshipped in an ancient Soumya Keshava temple in Bindiganavile (or Mayura puri in Sanskrit ) in Karnataka state of India.

 

Garuda Vyuha is worshiped in Tantra for Abhichara and to protect against Abhichara. However, the interesting thing is that Garuda is the Sankarshna form of the lord who during creation primarily possesses the knowledge aspect of the lord (among Vasudeva, Sankarshana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha forms). The important point is that Garuda represents the five vayus within us : prana, apana, vyana, udana, samana through his five forms Satya, Suparna, Garuda, Tarkshya, Vihageshwara. These five vayus through yoga can be controlled through Pranayama which can lead to Kundalini awakening leading to higher levels of consciousness.

 

Garuda plays an important role in Krishna Avatar in which Krishna and Satyabhama ride on Garuda to kill Narakasura. On another occasion, Lord Hari rides on Garuda to save the devotee elephant Gajendra. It is also said that Garuda's wings when flying will chant the Vedas.

 

With the position of Garuda's hands and palms, he is also called 'Kai Yendhi Perumal', in Tamil.

 

IN THE MAHABHARATA

BIRTH AND DEEDS

The story of Garuda's birth and deeds is told in the first book of the great epic Mahabharata.[4] According to the epic, when Garuda first burst forth from his egg, he appeared as a raging inferno equal to the cosmic conflagration that consumes the world at the end of every age. Frightened, the gods begged him for mercy. Garuda, hearing their plea, reduced himself in size and energy.

 

Garuda's father was the creator-rishi Kasyapa. He had two wives, Vinata and Kadru, who were daughters of Prajapathi Daksha. Kasyapa, on the pleadings of his wives, granted them their wishes; Vinata wished for two sons and Kadru wished for thousand snakes as her sons. Both laid eggs, while the thousand eggs of Kadru hatched early (after steaming the eggs to hatch) into snakes, the hatching of two eggs of Vinata did not take place for a long time. Impatient, Vinata broke open one egg, which was half formed with the upper half only as a human and was thus deformed. Her half formed son cursed her that she would be slave for her sister (she was her rival) for a long time by which time her second son would be born who would save her from his curse; her first son who flew away and came to prominence as Aruna, the red spectacle seen as the Sun rises in the morning, and as also charioteer of the Sun. The second egg hatched after a long time during which period Vinata was the servant of her sister as she had lost a bet with her. When the second egg hatched, a fully grown, shining and of mighty sized bird form emerged as Garuda, the king of birds. Garuda was thus born.

 

One day, Vinata entered into and lost a foolish bet, as a result of which she became enslaved to her sister. Resolving to release his mother from this state of bondage, Garuda approached the serpents and asked them what it would take to purchase her freedom. Their reply was that Garuda would have to bring them the elixir of immortality, also called amrita. It was a tall order. The amrita at that time found itself in the possession of the gods, who guarded it zealously, since it was the source of their immortality. They had ringed the elixir with a massive fire that covered the sky. They had blocked the way to the elixir with a fierce mechanical contraption of sharp rotating blades. And finally, they had stationed two gigantic poisonous snakes next to the elixir as deadly guardians.

 

Undaunted, Garuda hastened toward the abode of the gods intent on robbing them of their treasure. Knowing of his design, the gods met him in full battle-array. Garuda, however, defeated the entire host and scattered them in all directions. Taking the water of many rivers into his mouth, he extinguished the protective fire the gods had thrown up. Reducing his size, he crept past the rotating blades of their murderous machine. And finally, he mangled the two gigantic serpents they had posted as guards. Taking the elixir into his mouth without swallowing it, he launched again into the air and headed toward the eagerly waiting serpents. En route, he encountered Vishnu. Rather than fight, the two exchanged promises. Vishnu promised Garuda the gift of immortality even without drinking from the elixir, and Garuda promised to become Vishnu's mount. Flying onward, he met Indra the god of the sky. Another exchange of promises occurred. Garuda promised that once he had delivered the elixir, thus fulfilling the request of the serpents, he would make it possible for Indra to regain possession of the elixir and to take it back to the gods. Indra in turn promised Garuda the serpents as food.At long last, Garuda alighted in front of the waiting serpents. Placing the elixir on the grass, and thereby liberating his mother Vinata from her servitude, he urged the serpents to perform their religious ablutions before consuming it. As they hurried off to do so, Indra swooped in to make off with the elixir. The serpents came back from their ablutions and saw the elixir gone but with small droplets of it on the grass. They tried to lick the droplets and thereby split their tongues in two. From then onwards, serpents have split tongues and shed their skin as a kind of immortality. From that day onward, Garuda was the ally of the gods and the trusty mount of Vishnu, as well as the implacable enemy of snakes, upon whom he preyed at every opportunity.

 

DESCENDANTS

According to the Mahabharata, Garuda had six sons (Sumukha, Suvarna, Subala, Sunaama, Sunethra and Suvarchas) from whom were descended the race of birds. The members of this race were of great might and without compassion, subsisting as they did on their relatives the snakes. Vishnu was their protector.

 

AS A SYMBOL

Throughout the Mahabharata, Garuda is invoked as a symbol of impetuous violent force, of speed, and of martial prowess. Powerful warriors advancing rapidly on doomed foes are likened to Garuda swooping down on a serpent. Defeated warriors are like snakes beaten down by Garuda. The field marshal Drona uses a military formation named after Garuda. Krishna even carries the image of Garuda on his banner.

 

IN BUDDHISM

In Buddhist mythology, the Garuda (Pāli: garuḷā) are enormous predatory birds with intelligence and social organization. Another name for the Garuda is suparṇa (Pāli: supaṇṇa), meaning "well-winged, having good wings". Like the Naga, they combine the characteristics of animals and divine beings, and may be considered to be among the lowest devas.

 

The exact size of the Garuda is uncertain, but its wings are said to have a span of many miles. This may be a poetic exaggeration, but it is also said that when a Garuda's wings flap, they create hurricane-like winds that darken the sky and blow down houses. A human being is so small compared to a Garuda that a man can hide in the plumage of one without being noticed (Kākātī Jātaka, J.327). They are also capable of tearing up entire banyan trees from their roots and carrying them off.

 

Garudas are the great golden-winged Peng birds. They also have the ability to grow large or small, and to appear and disappear at will. Their wingspan is 330 yojanas (one yojana being 8 miles long). With one flap of its wings, a Peng bird dries up the waters of the sea so that it can gobble up all the exposed dragons. With another flap of its wings, it can level the mountains by moving them into the ocean.

 

There were also the four garuda-kings: Great-Power-Virtue Garuda-King, Great-Body Garuda-King, Great-Fulfillment Garuda-King, and Free-At-Will Garuda-King, each accompanied by hundreds of thousands of attendants.

 

The Garudas have kings and cities, and at least some of them have the magical power of changing into human form when they wish to have dealings with people. On some occasions Garuda kings have had romances with human women in this form. Their dwellings are in groves of the simbalī, or silk-cotton tree.

 

The Garuda are enemies to the nāga, a race of intelligent serpent- or dragon-like beings, whom they hunt. The Garudas at one time caught the nāgas by seizing them by their heads; but the nāgas learned that by swallowing large stones, they could make themselves too heavy to be carried by the Garudas, wearing them out and killing them from exhaustion. This secret was divulged to one of the Garudas by the ascetic Karambiya, who taught him how to seize a nāga by the tail and force him to vomit up his stone (Pandara Jātaka, J.518).

 

The Garudas were among the beings appointed by Śakra to guard Mount Sumeru and the Trāyastriṃśa heaven from the attacks of the asuras.

 

In the Maha-samaya Sutta (Digha Nikaya 20), the Buddha is shown making temporary peace between the Nagas and the Garudas.

 

The Thai rendering of Garuda (ครุฑ Krut) as Vishnu vehicle and Garuda's quest for elixir was based on Indian legend of Garuda. It was told that Garuda overcame many heavenly beings in order to gain the ambrosia (amrita) elixir. No one was able to get the better of him, not even Narai (Vishnu). At last, a truce was called and an agreement was made to settle the rancor and smooth all the ruffled feathers. It was agreed that when Narai is in his heavenly palace, Garuda will be positioned in a superior status, atop the pillar above Narai's residence. However, whenever Narai wants to travel anywhere, Garuda must serve as his transport.

 

The Sanskrit word Garuda has been borrowed and modified in the languages of several countries. In Burmese, Garudas are called galone (ဂဠုန်). In Burmese astrology, the vehicle of the Sunday planet is the galone. In the Kapampangan language of the Philippines, the native word for eagle is galura. In Japanese a Garuda is called karura (however, the form Garuda ガルーダ is used in recent Japanese fiction - see below).

 

For the Mongols, the Garuda is called Khan Garuda or Khangarid (Mongolian: Хангарьд). Before and after each round of Mongolian wrestling, wrestlers perform the Garuda ritual, a stylised imitation of the Khangarid and a hawk.

 

In the Qing Dynasty fiction The Story of Yue Fei (1684), Garuda sits at the head of the Buddha's throne. But when a celestial bat (an embodiment of the Aquarius constellation) flatulates during the Buddha’s expounding of the Lotus Sutra, Garuda kills her and is exiled from paradise. He is later reborn as Song Dynasty General Yue Fei. The bat is reborn as Lady Wang, wife of the traitor Prime Minister Qin Hui, and is instrumental in formulating the "Eastern Window" plot that leads to Yue's eventual political execution. It is interesting to note The Story of Yue Fei plays on the legendary animosity between Garuda and the Nagas when the celestial bird-born Yue Fei defeats a magic serpent who transforms into the unearthly spear he uses throughout his military career. Literary critic C. T. Hsia explains the reason why Qian Cai, the book's author, linked Yue with Garuda is because of the homology in their Chinese names. Yue Fei's courtesy name is Pengju (鵬舉). A Peng (鵬) is a giant mythological bird likened to the Middle Eastern Roc. Garuda's Chinese name is Great Peng, the Golden-Winged Illumination King (大鵬金翅明王).

 

As a cultural and national symbol

In India, Indonesia and the rest of Southeast Asia the eagle symbolism is represented by Garuda, a large mythical bird with eagle-like features that appears in both Hindu and Buddhist mythology as the vahana (vehicle) of the god Vishnu. Garuda became the national emblem of Thailand and Indonesia; Thailand's Garuda is rendered in a more traditional anthropomorphic mythical style, while that of Indonesia is rendered in heraldic style with traits similar to the real Javan hawk-eagle.

 

INDIA

India primarily uses Garuda as a martial motif:

 

Garud Commando Force is a Special Forces unit of the Indian Air Force, specializing in operations deep behind enemy lines

Brigade of the Guards of the Indian Army uses Garuda as their symbol

Elite bodyguards of the medieval Hoysala kings were called Garudas

Kerala and Andhra pradesh state road transport corporations use Garuda as the name for a/c moffusil buses

Garuda rock, a rocky cliff in Tirumala in Andhra pradesh

13th century Aragalur chief, Magadesan's, insignia was Rishabha the sacred bull and the Garuda

 

INDONESIA

Indonesia uses the Garuda, called the Garuda Pancasila, as its national symbol, it is somewhat intertwined with the concept of the phoenix.

 

Garuda Pancasila is coloured or gilt gold, symbolizes the greatness of the nation and is a representation of the elang Jawa or Javan hawk-eagle Nisaetus bartelsi. The black color represents nature. There are 17 feathers on each wing, 8 on the lower tail, 19 on the upper tail and 45 on the neck, which represent the date Indonesia proclaimed its independence: 17 August 1945. The shield it carries with the Indonesian Panca Sila heraldry symbolizes self-defense and protection in struggle.

 

Indonesian national airline is Garuda Indonesia.

Indonesian Armed Forces United Nations peacekeeping missions is known as Pasukan Garuda or Garuda Contingent

Airlangga University, one of the oldest and leading university in Indonesia uses Garuda on its emblem. The emblem, containing a Garuda in a blue and yellow circle, is called "Garudamukha", and depicts Garuda as the bearer of knowledge, carrying a jug of Amrita, the water of eternity, symbolizing eternal knowledge.

 

In Bali and Java Garuda has become a cultural symbol, the wooden statue and mask of Garuda is a popular artworks and souvenirs.

In Bali, we can find the tallest Garuda statue of 18 metres tall made from tons of copper and brass. The statue is located in Garuda Wisnu Kencana complex.

Garuda has identified as Indonesian national football team in international games, namely "The Garuda Team".

The stylized brush stroke that resemble Garuda is appear in the logo of 2011 Southeast Asian Games, held in Palembang and Jakarta, Indonesia.

The stylized curves that took form of Garuda Pancasila is appear in the logo of Wonderful Indonesia tourism campaign.

 

THAILAND

Thailand uses the Garuda (Thai: ครุฑ, khrut) as its national symbol.

 

One form of the Garuda used in Thailand as a sign of the royal family is called Khrut Pha, meaning "Garuda, the vehicle (of Vishnu)."

The statue and images of Garuda adorned many Buddhist temples in Thailand, it also has become the cultural symbol of Thailand.

 

MONGOLIA

The Garuda, known as Khangarid, is the symbol of the capital city of Mongolia, Ulan Bator. According to popular Mongolian belief, Khangarid is the mountain spirit of the Bogd Khan Uul range who became a follower of Buddhist faith. Today he is considered the guardian of that mountain range and a symbol of courage and honesty.

The bird also gives its name to Hangard Aviation

Khangarid (Хангарьд), a football (soccer) team in the Mongolia Premier League also named after Garuda.

Garuda Ord (Гаруда Орд), a private construction and trading company based in Ulaanbaatar, also named after Garuda.

State Garuda (Улсын Гарьд) is a title given to the debut runner up in wrestling tournament during Mongolian National Festival Naadam.

 

SURINAME

In Suriname, there is a TV channel called Garuda. Suriname has a lot of people from Indonesia and Java, as it is a multicultural country.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Doors Open Toronto is an annual event where buildings are open to the public to explore and enjoy. I believe the concept started in Europe. This was the 15th year for Toronto.

 

The Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute is a research building affiliated with St. Michael's Hospital. It was designed by Jack Diamond and has some amazing spaces. The “wishbone stairs” are one of these spaces that I particularly like. This shot is looking up the stairs.

 

Things have be very busy the last several weeks. I still have a few more Doors Open shots to post and then I’ll get back to my 52 project.

“Arvind anna! Arvind anna!”

 

On a January morning in the outskirts of Bangalore, I saw a bunch of 12th standard students run out of their classroom and towards my friend. We were at a school for underprivileged children where Arvind had been a Maths teacher. He had left the school almost two years earlier, but from the cheerful shouts of his students, it was clear that they hadn’t forgotten him.

 

---

 

Arvind and I first met as freshmen at the University of Texas at Austin in 2006. It was immediately evident that he was seriously smart. One would say annoyingly smart too if only he wasn’t so generous in sharing his intelligence and time.

 

When I flunked my first Physics exam in college, I reached out to him, shocked and confused. Just months earlier I had scored well in the same subject in the Tamil Nadu State Board exams. Arvind ignored my grumbling and taught me, through examples, the underlying concepts of the theories and formulae I had memorised. He would help several fellow students this way.

 

What is the point of your bookish knowledge, he would ask, if you don’t know when and how to apply it?

 

---

 

“Hi anna, how are you?” asked Arvind’s former students as they surrounded him on the school playground. “How long are you here for?”

 

“Just for a day. I wanted to see you all,” Arvind replied with a hint of a smile.

 

A few minutes earlier, we had been joking around but now that he was in front of his students he had his strict teacher-face on. The kids wanted to give him a big hug, but he went around formally shaking each one’s hand and commenting on how much they had, or hadn’t, grown. The students were so giddy with excitement that he had to threaten to leave campus for them to go back to their classroom.

 

“They’re so happy to see you man,” I told him.

 

“Nah, they just want to skip school,” he replied.

 

---

 

Our time in Austin was a time of idealism. Music by AR Rahman would play in the background as Arvind and I sat with open textbooks on our laps discussing the world’s problems and how we would one day make a difference. In the protective bubble of college, anything seemed possible. While every good movie I saw changed my views on what I wanted to do, Arvind was unusually clear about his calling.

 

When we graduated from college, many of us who studied Engineering or Computer Science went straight into corporate jobs. Arvind, who graduated with a perfect 4.0 GPA in Electrical Engineering and Economics, took a job as a teacher in Houston. It was a choice that felt strange to many around him. But how can you expect to change a system if you don’t fully understand it?

 

---

 

“A great person once said that preparation in the last minute leads to the best results,” said a student standing in front of us, hands in pockets. His measured and confident manner suggested a promising future in theater. Or politics. He was the leader of a group that refused to leave Arvind’s side despite his pleas that they go study for their upcoming exams.

 

“Who said that?” Arvind challenged the rebel.

 

“We only remember the quotes,” he replied coolly. “Not the people who said them.” Sensing Arvind’s mounting frustration, he added, “How can we study now? If you’re at home and your favourite TV show is on, will you be able to study? You are like our favourite TV show.”

 

I changed the topic. “What do you want to do after you finish school?”

 

“I want to do business,” he said. He didn’t elaborate on what kind of business – in my experience, very few people did. It was a way of telling us that he wanted to be his own boss. It was also a way of telling Arvind that he didn’t want to go to college.

 

“What do you hope for kids like him?” I asked Arvind later.

 

“I want them to do what they love,” he said. But he was worried that the education they received hadn’t adequately prepared them for that. “There’s very little focus on practical skills in mainstream education. If he wants a micro-loan to start a business, he doesn’t know the first thing about it. He’s learnt all these obscure concepts in Maths, but doesn’t know anything about bookkeeping.”

 

In Arvind’ time at the school, he had seen the benefits of teaching students practical skills.

 

“There was this one boy in my class who would only whisper. He didn’t have the confidence to talk,” Arvind said. “He was a special-needs child, and his parents would keep comparing him to his younger brother and shun him. He had no friends either. One day, I found out that he loved gardening and that he helped his grandfather out with it.”

 

When Arvind introduced an after-school extra-curricular program, he made sure that there was a gardening club.

 

“I put him in charge of it. He knew much more about gardening than anyone else and he became an authority figure. Soon, it improved his confidence. He started participating in class. I began to hear his voice.”

 

---

 

In Houston, Arvind was a first-time teacher in a school system he had not studied in – he did his schooling in Chennai and Singapore – and he was shocked by many students’ lack of respect for him. Some walked out of his class, others openly cussed at him. He didn’t know how to get them to care about fractions or algebra when they were distracted, even overwhelmed by issues at home. The pointless meetings he had to attend with supervisors also frustrated him, and he struggled to escape the inner politicking. All he wanted to do was teach, not spend more than half his time on paperwork and handling his superiors.

 

The experience threatened to break him. He needed a change of scene. So, he quit his job in Houston and moved to a school in Bangalore to teach Maths. By the end of his first year there, he had risen to Academic Administrator, second in rank only to the Principal. He wasn’t sure if his success had something to do with being part of a school culture he knew well, but his students were finally receptive to him. The best way to get them to care, he figured, was to convince them that he genuinely cared.

 

Two years in, he had to make an important decision: continue to teach, or take up an offer of admission from the Harvard Business School that he had already deferred once. He didn’t know if Harvard would better equip him to achieve his goals in education. On the other hand, his relative low teacher’s salary weighed on him. In the end, he decided that before he could commit fully to chasing his dream, he needed to secure his finances. A Harvard MBA would help with that.

 

“There are teachers who are earning Rs. 6000 per month (~$100). Who will come to teach? This has to change. There needs to be a lot more respect for the role a teacher plays,” Arvind told me. “There also needs to be a shift in what the curriculum focuses on. There needs to be more focus on character skills and entrepreneurial skills. The education system prepares students for nothing.”

 

“Do you think you can bring about these changes?”

 

“With anything in education, change is very, very, very long-term. My goal is not to bring about that change. It won’t be possible in my lifetime, but I hope to sow the seeds for change to happen.”

 

---

 

Months after our trip to Bangalore I asked Arvind, who was back in Boston finishing up grad school and working on an education start-up, what his teaching experience had meant to him.

 

“Working as a teacher really changed my perspective,” he said. “I earned a lot in terms of personal growth, and I started to feel comfortable in my own skin. We sometimes measure a job by the money we make. You can’t measure this by money. I can’t put a financial value on how good I felt with the impact I was able to make.”

 

That day in Bangalore, Arvind didn’t leave the campus till his former students did. Even if he wanted to, they wouldn’t have let him. Right after the final bell rang, they invited him to their classroom where they threw him a surprise party. He had been straight faced all day but even he had to admit that the experience made him emotional.

 

“I wish I could continue to guide these kids until they are more settled in life,” he said. “I still feel like they are my kids. I do wish I could continue, but that’s life. For now, I hope that I did enough in those two years to help them make the right choices.”

 

---

 

People in Karnataka (Part 1 of 16)

of materials science. wish the CLS didn't throw so much light at close ranges... wanted the book cover to be blacked out.

 

(14/366) January 8th, 2008

It feel good just to take a picture. I haven't in so long thats why i am making it a goal to at least take my camera around more places. I miss taking photos.

 

update: It's great being back in school and Nassau Community College really is not bad at all. I manage to always find really close parking spots. At least i'm not in buffalo anymore. My life is pretty consistent I study a lot & hang out with my boyfriend. In school I am taking 17 credits and my biology class is basically two classes because my lab and lecture are both different teachers. :[ On the bright side I love gaining knowledge and studying is okay with me as long as I'm slightly interested in it. I really just love biology.<3

 

comments are welcomed. critiques/suggestions are even better :]

The Dhammakaya is the body of enlightenment of the Lord Buddha and “vijja” is the true knowledge; together, “vijja Dhammakaya” means the true and supreme knowledge illuminated by the Dhammakaya vision. This knowledge is the core principle of Buddhism that will lead to extinguishing of suffering and attainment of the state of supreme bliss known is Nibbana. for Ceremony, at Wat Phra Dhammakaya, Pathum Thani, read more at www.dhammakaya.net/blog/2013/09/18/96-Years-of-Dhammakaya...

Professor Tanya Monro, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research and Innovation, University of South Australia, with her rock star poster © Knowledge Society 2015. Photograph by Rick Stevens

 

The Knowledge Nation 100 luncheon – on 10 December at Doltone House in Sydney – celebrated the Knowledge Nation 100. The Knowledge Nation 100 are the rock stars of Australia’s new economy – the visionaries, intellects, founders and game changers building the industries and institutions that will underwrite the nation’s future prosperity.

 

The luncheon was addressed by the Prime Minister of Australia, the Hon Malcolm Turnbull MP.

The Dhammakaya is the body of enlightenment of the Lord Buddha and “vijja” is the true knowledge; together, “vijja Dhammakaya” means the true and supreme knowledge illuminated by the Dhammakaya vision. This knowledge is the core principle of Buddhism that will lead to extinguishing of suffering and attainment of the state of supreme bliss known is Nibbana. for Ceremony, at Wat Phra Dhammakaya, Pathum Thani, read more at www.dhammakaya.net/blog/2013/09/18/96-Years-of-Dhammakaya...

Andrew Rizzi 38/52

 

Meet The Person:

 

Andrew Rizzi. Sales Representative & Central US Field Triner

  

Andrew enjoys being a respected consultant and advocate for his customers. My greatest thrill is the knowledge that he sells and provides for medical products and devices to hospitals to help them provide care for patients in critical need. He enjoys the challenge and competition and the hard work to prove that the company, products and services best represent the customers’ needs. He also enjoys helping and motivating his colleagues to drive sales and provide the best service possible. Andrew has now been with Baxter Healthcare for seven years, with a sales territory in central and southwest Ohio. He has been a five-time consecutive Sales Award Winner, and the inaugural Division Sales Representative of the Year, 2011.

  

Outside of work, Andrew enjoys spending time with his loving wife, Julie, and of course, their three Chihuahuas - Mia, Kingston & Gizmo. They also enjoy stand-up comedians and city festivals. Whenever they are fortunate enough to have the opportunity, they enjoy traveling and experiencing new places, both domestically and abroad. Andrew also savors the opportunities that they have to visit with their friends and families back in PA/NY. Although his competition days are over, he still enjoys maintaining a high level of physical fitness and anything active.

 

Andrew earned his B.S. in Marketing from Lehigh University in 2005 and his M.B.A with a Finance Concentration from the University of Cincinnati in 2013.

 

As a wrestler, Andrew started wrestling as a freshman in high school with a record of 2-14. He ended his career with a winning record. At Lehigh, he was a varsity starter for the the 2nd ranked NCAA Division I Lehigh University Wrestling Team. He finished 6th individually at the E.I.W.A Conference Championships (top 5 places qualified for NCAA’s.) To Andrew, it was an incredible privilege to compete at that high of an athletic level and contribute to a prestigious program.

 

Andrew is grateful for and to his Mom, “Mom Riz.”

  

Influence:

Rizzi. Rizz dog. The Rizza.

 

Rizzi was a good friend and teammate in high school. We wrestled together at Pennridge and enjoyed some fun times outside of the room as well. Andrew was one of the hardest working kids I had ever met. Everything he did was 110% and he never held back.

 

Rizzi started wrestling very late, as a 9th grader (atypical for most good wrestlers these days) and didn’t have a lot of experience. But he had a ton of drive and determination. He wasn’t the best wrestler by any means, but he was the hardest worker. His work ethic was by far the best in our wrestling room. And that work ethic helped him become very successful not only on the mat but outside as well. Rizzi went on to Lehigh University and also made the wrestling team. And if you know anything about the wrestling program at Lehigh you know it’s a top 20 team perennially. So cracking that lineup is an amazing accomplishment. So not only do you need to juggle an ivy league education but you also have to juggle weight loss and a grueling schedule to boot. Nobody could handle that better than he could!

I always looked up to Rizzi. I was a year under him in school so he was that older kid who you wanted to model your work ethic after. He had a motor that just wouldn’t stop. It would actually be annoying sometimes because he would always make you look bad! When you were tired and had nothing left in the tank, he was the one going harder and faster. We would lift and workout together which obviously helped as well because, again, he would try and lift more than you every time! He was also a fantastic student in school. His mom was an English teacher at Pennridge as well. And, coincidentally, I had her as my English teacher (god bless her! haha)

 

Andrew’s mom was basically our team mom. We would go and spend a ‘study hall’ with her after school for 30 minutes or so before practice got started. So we would spend time in her room just hanging out, getting work done and relaxing. She would bring in snacks and granola bars and stuff for us to eat. She was our wrestling mom and we loved her. But very sadly during my senior year, Mrs. Rizzi passed away unexpectedly from a blood clot. It was devastating. I still remember where I was when I got the phone call and heard the news. It was one of the closest people I had in my life at the time that died. And it was not fun. I felt so bad for Andrew, his mom was such a big influence in his life. It was also a huge blow for our entire wrestling team. She was such an incredible lady and meant a great deal to everyone on that team. Her viewing was so emotional. Like I said, she was one of the closest people I had in my life to pass away. Add to that how incredibly sad I felt for Andrew and that just made it miserable. But as with anything in life, you have to pick yourself back up and move forward. It came at a tough time with Andrew going off to college as well. So he struggled for a while. But as he had throughout his entire life, he worked hard and he came away with some great things. Like wrestling D1 for Lehigh, getting his degree, landing a great job he enjoys and just this past weekend, marrying his fiancee that he met at Lehigh.

 

Rizzi and I had some good times in high school, hanging out, wrestling and lifting. But one thing I will never forget was when he was up at Lehigh and invited me to hang out. It was my first year at Bucks County Community College and I was living at home and working construction with my dad. He was up at college, living in a wrestling house and having a good time. It was not long before this that my sister got diagnosed with a brain tumor. Times were extremely rough for me then. My grandfather was diagnosed with Pancreatic cancer and died within three months. At the same time we found out about my sister. So when he asked me to come up and hang out with him and some teammates, I was really excited. I would go up on Tuesday nights during the week to go bowling with them. It was something like $1 games and $1 beers so naturally, we took advantage! I went up a handful of times and really enjoyed hanging out with him and the wrestlers. I really felt like I was part of their group and they were a bunch of nice guys. It was something that I really needed and was a great release for me. I know the type of guy Rizzi is and I know he wanted to help me out. And I just want him to know how much that meant to me during that time. I am sure the experience of losing his mom helped him in his understanding of what I was going through. And to be able to learn from a tragic experience of losing your mother to helping out a friend who was worried about losing his sister is pretty incredible. And I can’t thank him enough for that.

 

Thanks Rizz for always being the gold standard of the student athlete, for having a work ethic that would make even the hardest workers jealous and for being a great friend.

 

Participant (don't know his name right now) speaking into camera.

The Forty-Second Session of WIPO's Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC) took place in Geneva, Switzerland from February 28 to March 4, 2022 in hybrid form – with delegates and observers attending physically in Geneva, Switzerland, and via remote participation from around the world.

 

Copyright: WIPO. Photo: Emmanuel Berrod. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 IGO License.

Public Domain

國立台灣文學館 - 流轉書頁生典律 / 書可以傳播思想和知識 - 關在櫥櫃中一點用處都沒有

National Museum of Taiwanese Literature - Turning pages of the melodies of books / The books can be the dissemination of ideas and knowledge - Off in the cupboard that are not useful

Museo Nacional de la literatura taiwanesa - Pasar páginas de las melodías de libros / Los libros pueden ser la difusión de ideas y conocimientos - Off en el armario que no son útiles

国立の台湾の文学館 - 転々とする書物のページの生典と規則 / 本は思想と知識を広めることができます - 関は食器棚の中で用途はすべてありません

Nationalmuseum der taiwanesischen Literatur - Umblättern der Melodien der Bücher / Die Bücher können die Verbreitung von Ideen und Wissen sein - Off im Schrank, die nicht nützlich

Musée national de la littérature taiwanaise - Tourner les pages des mélodies de livres / Les livres peuvent être la diffusion des idées et des connaissances - Arrêt dans le placard qui ne sont pas utiles

 

Tainan Taiwan / Tainan Taiwán / 台灣台南

 

管樂小集 2012/09/22 台南孔廟演出剪輯

{ Tainan Confucius Temple performances clip / 台南孔子廟の公演クリップ }

 

{View large size on fluidr / 觀看大圖}

 

{My Blog / 管樂小集精彩演出-觸動你的心}

{My Blog / Great Music The splendid performance touches your heart}

{My Blog / 管楽小集すばらしい公演-はあなたの心を心を打ちます}

{Mi blog / La gran música el funcionamiento espléndido toca su corazón}

{Mein Blog / Große Musik die herrliche Leistung berührt Ihr Herz}

{Mon blog / La grande musique l'exécution splendide touche votre coeur}

 

家住安南鹽溪邊

The family lives in nearby the Annan salt river

 

隔壁就是聽雨軒

The next door listens to the rain porch

 

一旦落日照大員

The sunset Shineing to the Taiwan at once

 

左岸青龍飛九天

The left bank white dragon flying in the sky

© Bram Reinders

 

www.bramreinders.nl

 

Dr Rufus Pollock, founder of the Open Knowledge Foundation

Pic by Neil Palmer (CIAT). Knowledge Fair at CIAT's heaquarters in Colombia.

Smithsonian contributions to knowledge

Washington :Smithsonian Institution,1848-1916.

biodiversitylibrary.org/page/9050002

...of AUTO on my D50, not understanding what the mystical word aperture meant. Bokeh? Never heard of such a thing...

Today I scrolled through some of my 'old' stuff, or let's say stuff from my former self, from the days I hardly knew anything about photographing. There were some keapers, and I even had bokeh in many of them, how peculiar. I learned to look for bokeh in September this year... Quite the newbie here, oh yeah.

This summery one is taken in the last days of May this year. I remember that day, it was my first visit to our summer house for this year. And that is always special.

 

It is so much fun to go through older photos, done with the knowledge you then had. Before this autumn, the only thing I was aware of was angles and composition, those I knew how to do, those were the things I went for. Everything else was a big question mark.

 

So why this rendevouz today, why now? Because I'm supposed to be cleaning my appartment, getting all the christmas stuff on their places. I really don't wan't to do that right now, so I just sit here, surfing the net and postponing the hidious thing called cleaning up.

Excellent choice Hannah.

 

(Edit: whazup with my spelling today.... here becomes hear and knew becomes new... oh dear, someone get me a new brain for today....)

A new, artificial intelligence-guided point-of-care ultrasound imaging platform is under development at the University of British Columbia (UBC) as one of 18 new research projects funded by the B.C. Knowledge Development Fund (BCKDF) to improve the lives of British Columbians.

 

Learn more:

news.gov.bc.ca/27994

 

China and India

  

Website:

www.museudooriente.pt/

www.museudooriente.pt/?lang=en

 

english

 

“On the gods, I can affirm neither that they do exist nor that they do not exist: much prevents the acquisition of such knowledge beginning with the obscurity addressed by the question and followed by the brevity of human life.”

Protagoras (5th century BC)

 

“Gods of Asia” (in contrast to “The Gods of Asia” that would be of ridiculously pretentious scope) is a title that runs of risk of getting mired in equivocation. We are victims of the inappropriateness of a word’s meaning in one language when applied to another and particularly when dealing with the word god. The terms monotheist and polytheist are Western notions that prove rather lacking when considering Hinduism or Taoism. The first Western missionaries reaching Asia referred constantly to idolatry whenever encountering statues in places of worship that seemed strange to them. However, having hardly begun explaining the great Asian religions, we are immediately struck by the sheer similarities that they share with the great Western religions that shock anybody attempting to move on from the prevailing prejudices. The idea of a single God, considered by some to be the great Judaic religious contribution, was already in practice in Asia. The Brahman in Hinduism, the Tao of the Chinese are single, the origin of everything and everything exists in them. It would bizarre for the Hindus and Taoists to depict the almighty as a grizzled old man with a white beard not so much due to the fact that this would be sacrilege, as Islamic believers would hold, but rather because both fall outside the scope of any human understanding and are beyond any means of representation. The concept that “God made man in His image” swiftly becomes “man made God in his image”.

Furthermore, when dealing with Asian religions, there are references to gods when other terms would be used by Western religions. The Hindu gods are, in fact, the diverse manifestations of Brahman acting in the world and only as such susceptible to depiction. The Chinese gods bear a closer relationship with the saints of Christianity. Each serves its own particular function, such as Eloy as patron saint of goldsmiths or Saint Genevieve as the patron saint of Paris, which in the latter case would be known as the goddess of the Parisian earth within a Chinese pantheon.

Some of the similarities existing among all the religions are indeed surprising. The idea of the trinity is central to Hinduism. Given that everything born has to one day die, Brahman becomes creator, conservator and destroyer as reflected in the three manifestations: Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Vishnu is incarnate as God was incarnated in Jesus Christ. The Chinese are somewhat more abstract in this area given that their belief system holds that from the Three are born all beings.

Each founder of a religion is inseparable from the surrounding environment in which emerging. Just as the New Testament is not understandable unless its message is situated within the context of the Old Testament, the message of Buddha Shakyamuni was announced within a Hindu society and does not call into question beliefs such as reincarnation or karma. The Taoist religion becomes incomprehensible if stripped of either the Taoist philosophy that preceded it or the beliefs of ancient China.

Another common point is that the original message has been subject to whatever first the disciples or later the faithful decided to do with it given that the founders never actually set it down in writing. Neither Jesus Christ nor Shakyamuni not to mention Zhang Daoling left any written legacy. It was only through witnesses that we gain our awareness of their thinkings and teachings: rather disturbing when considering the general accuracy of such accounts. Just as Jesus Christ would not agree with what Churches have done with his message and in his name down through the centuries, Shakyamuni would not recognise his own thinking in the elaborations of those wishing to spread his message. Many founders of religions sought only to provide an answer to a precise question. Just as Jesus Christ wanted to introduce charity, Shakyamuni wanted to find a means to escape the suffering of existence. Just as Jesus Christ did not call into question the God of the Bible, Shakyamuni made no pronouncement on either Brahman or nirvana to such an extent of stating that Buddhism was a religion without a god.

Despite all that has been written, Judaism, Christianity and Islam are not the only book based religions. Buddhism, Jainism and Taoism are based on texts even if quite different to the Bible or the Koran. As regards the mirabilia spreading all the beliefs on either side of the Urals, it should be remembered that Asian thinkers knew how to distinguish between directly reading texts in order to gain the admiration of crowds and their interpretation at the philosophical or theological level and demonstrating a thorough understanding in the meantime.

We may inquire as to the origins of all these similarities between the world’s great religions. Are they due to the very nature of the human spirit? From a shared human story dating back to the beginnings of history? Factual influences for this, however, appear to be extremely limited even if we may recall that the halos of Western saints derive from the aura of light that is depicted around Buddhas in Asia and the concept of Hell complete with boiling cauldrons and devouring fires also originates in the East (with the difference that in the Orient, Hell is not eternal).

May it be said, as an Indian thinker once wrote, that all men worship the same god under different names? No. While the concept of a single god exists in the Asian religions and accepting that all world religions have undergone sometimes less than inspired revisions running counter to their original content, and that there are particularities common to all, it would certainly be fallacious not to see the differences inherent to each. Taoism provides an explanation of the world but each is free to accept it or otherwise and engages in no form of proselytism. Buddhism seeks to end with suffering in the hope that all men may benefit from its message but without ever becoming an imposition and sought to be tolerant regarding long existing local beliefs given its acceptance that spirits exist within living beings. As regards theological differences, these are only too susceptible to generating interminable debates.

However, this is not the intention of this exhibition nor does it involve presenting the gods of India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Thailand, China, Vietnam, Korea and Japan with a concern to somehow encapsulate the beliefs of others into the content of picturesque or striking images. It is rather more about setting out why they are worthy of the same respect that we provide our own religions.

The exhibition thus seeks to raise awareness about certain aspects of the religious art of Asia, particularly at the popular level, and introduce the still living mythology underlying the objects on display. Hence, all the great religions of the continent are included: Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism and Shinto. While the Western word “god”, corresponds closest to abstract

Asian concepts such as Brahman in India or Tao in China, the supernatural beings represented here are far more manifestations of the divine in the human world.

 

português

 

“Sobre os deuses, nada posso afirmar, nem que existem nem que não existem: muitas coisas o impedem de saber, a começar pelo lado obscuro que envolve a pergunta, e a seguir pela brevidade da vida humana”

Protágoras (século V a.C.)

 

“Deuses da Ásia” (e não “Os deuses da Ásia”, o que seria uma pretensão ridícula) é um título que corre o risco de gerar grandes equívocos. Somos vítimas da inadequação das palavras de uma língua para a outra, e mais particularmente quando se trata da palavra deus. Os termos monoteísta e politeísta são noções ocidentais muito mal adaptadas quando se trata do hinduísmo ou do taoísmo. Os primeiros missionários ocidentais que chegaram à Ásia falavam dos idólatras sempre que viam em templos estas estátuas que lhes pareciam estranhas. No entanto, mal começamos a informar sobre as grandes religiões asiáticas, são, antes de tudo, as semelhanças com as grandes religiões ocidentais que espantam quem tente abstrair-se dos preconceitos correntes. A ideia do Deus único, que alguns consideram ser a grande contribuição da religião judaica, já vigorava na Ásia. O Brahman do hinduísmo, o Tao dos chineses são o Único, a Origem de tudo, e tudo neles existe. Seria ridículo para os hindus e taoistas verem representados o Brahman ou o Tao sob os traços de um ancião de barba branca, não tanto pelo facto que isto possa ser um sacrilégio, como o pensam os islamitas, mas porque tanto um como o outro escapam ao entendimento humano e situam-se para além de qualquer forma. A ideia de que “Deus fez o homem à sua imagem” transforma-se rapidamente em “o homem fez Deus à sua imagem”. Mas quando se trata de religiões asiáticas, fala-se de deuses quando no Ocidente utilizar-se-ia um outro termo. Os deuses hinduístas são, de facto, manifestações diversas do Brahman actuando no mundo e como tais podem ser representados. Os deuses chineses são mais aparentados aos santos do cristianismo. Cada um deles tem uma função, como Santo Elói é o patrono dos ourives ou Santa Genoveva é a padroeira de Paris, que neste caso, para os chineses, seria conhecida como deusa do Solo de Paris.

Algumas das semelhanças que existem entre todas as religiões são surpreendentes. A ideia da trindade é central no hinduísmo. Visto que tudo o que nasce tem que morrer, o Brahman manifesta-se enquanto criador, conservador e destruidor, o que se traduz pelas suas três manifestações, Brahma, Vishnu e Shiva. Vishnu incarna-se como Deus se incarnou em Jesus Cristo. Os chineses são mais abstractos nesta matéria, já que para eles é do Três que nascem todos os seres.

Cada fundador de religião é inseparável do meio em que apareceu. Tal como o Novo Testamento não é compreensível se a sua mensagem não for situada no contexto do Antigo Testamento, a mensagem do Buda Shakyamuni foi anunciada numa sociedade hinduísta e não põe em causa a crença nas reincarnações e no karma. A religião taoista torna-se incompreensível se for omitida a filosofia taoista que a precedeu e as crenças da antiguidade chinesa.

Um outro ponto comum é que a mensagem original é vítima do que fizeram dela os discípulos ou sobretudo depois, os fiéis, já que os fundadores nunca escreveram uma linha. Nem Jesus Cristo, nem Shakyamuni, nem Zhang Daoling deixaram algum escrito. Foi somente por testemunhos que se pôde conhecer o seu pensamento, o que não deixa de ser assustador quando nos lembramos do que estes valem. Tal como Jesus Cristo não concordaria com o que as Igrejas, ao longo dos séculos, fizeram com a sua mensagem, Shakyamuni não reconheceria o seu pensamento nas elaborações dos que quiseram divulgar o seu contributo. Muitos fundadores de religiões quiseram fornecer apenas uma resposta a uma pergunta precisa. Tal como Jesus Cristo quis introduzir a misericórdia. Shakyamuni quis encontrar uma via para escapar aos sofrimentos da existência. Tal como Jesus Cristo não pôs em causa o Deus da Bíblia, Shakyamuni não se pronunciou sobre o Brahman ou o nirvana, de tal maneira que chegou a dizer-se que o budismo era uma religião sem deus.

Apesar do que se escreveu, o judaísmo, o cristianismo e o Islão não são as únicas religiões do livro. O budismo, o jainismo e o taoísmo têm como base textos que nada devem aos da Bíblia ou do Corão. Quanto às mirabilia que espalham todas as crenças de cada lado dos Urais, é preciso reconhecer que os pensadores asiáticos souberam distinguir entre uma leitura dos textos ao primeiro grau, que suscita a admiração das multidões, e a sua interpretação a um nível filosófico ou teológico, para que seja entendido o sentido profundo.

Donde vêm as semelhanças entre todas as grandes religiões? Da natureza própria do espírito humano? De uma história comum da humanidade que remonta à origem dos tempos? As influências factuais parecem ser, no entanto, limitadas, mesmo que se lembre que a auréola dos nossos santos provém da aura de luz que se põe à volta dos Budas na Ásia e que a ideia do Inferno, com os seus caldeirões fumegantes e os seus fogos devoradores são originários também do Oriente (com a diferença que no Oriente o Inferno não é eterno).

Pode-se dizer, como o escreveu um pensador indiano, que todos os homens veneram o mesmo deus sob nomes diferentes? Não. Se o conceito de um deus único existe nas religiões asiáticas e já que todas as religiões do mundo conheceram reveses por vezes pouco brilhantes e contrárias ao seu pensamento original, e que algumas particularidades se encontram em todas, seria falacioso não ver as diferenças próprias de cada uma. O taoísmo fornece uma explicação do mundo, mas cada um é livre de poder aceitá-la ou não e não desenvolve nenhum tipo de proselitismo. O budismo procura apagar o sofrimento, esperando que todos os homens possam usufruir da sua mensagem, mas sem a impor, e quis-se tolerante no que toca às crenças locais antigas, visto que admite a existência de espíritos no meio dos seres. No que toca às diferenças teológicas, estas poderiam dar lugar a debates intermináveis.

Mas não é esta a intenção da exposição. Nem tão pouco apresentar deuses da Índia, da Indonésia, de Mianmar, da Tailândia, da China, do Vietname, da Coreia e do Japão com a preocupação de limitar as crenças dos outros ao conteúdo de imagens pitorescas ou belas, mas sim de mostrar que elas merecem o mesmo respeito que nós prestamos às nossas.

A exposição procura, isso sim, tornar conhecidos certos aspectos da arte religiosa na Ásia, sobretudo ao nível popular, e introduzir a mitologia ainda viva que está subjacente aos objectos apresentados. Daí estarem representadas as grandes religiões do continente, o hinduísmo, o budismo, o taoísmo, o shintô. Uma vez que a palavra ocidental “deus”, corresponde mais a conceitos asiáticos abstractos como Brama, na Índia, e Tao, na China, os seres sobrenaturais representados são muito mais manifestações do divino no mundo humano.

  

_______________________________________________________-

english

The Museum of the Orient (Portuguese: Museu do Oriente) in Lisbon, Portugal celebrates the history of Portuguese exploration with a collection of Asian artifacts. The museum opened in May, 2008, and is located in a refurbished industrial building on the Alcântara waterfront. The collection includes Indonesian textiles, Japanese screens, antique snuff bottles, crucifixes made in Asia for Western export, and the Kwok On Collection of masks, costumes, and accessories.

português

O Museu do Oriente está instalado no edifício Pedro Álvares Cabral, antigos armazéns da Comissão Reguladora do Comércio do Bacalhau em Alcântara, Lisboa.

O museu reúne colecções que têm o Oriente como temática principal, nas vertentes histórica, religiosa, antropológica e artística.

A exposição permanente engloba 1400 peças alusivas à presença portuguesa na Ásia e 650 peças pertencentes à colecção Kwok On.

O museu é da responsabilidade da Fundação Oriente e foi inaugurado no dia 8 de Maio de 2008.

A actual directora é Maria Manuela d'Oliveira Martins.

Foi classificado como Monumento de interesse público (MIP) pelo IGESPAR em 15 de junho de 2010.

 

“People who design products are experts cursed by their knowledge, and they can’t imagine what it’s like to be as ignorant as the rest of us”

 

Chip Heath, co-author Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die | NYT

 

www.nytimes.com/2007/12/30/business/30know.html

 

Background image courtesy of davemorris: flickr.com/photos/davemorris/94957224. This citation appears in the top right of the image.

big tree in the middle of the courtyard of an older school in the LA area

"And above every possessor of knowledge, There is one more learned"

 

(Qur’an Yusuf – Joseph 12:76).

vigyanprasar.gov.in/isw/Dr-harsh-vardhan-dedicates-two-ne...

Union Minister for Science and Technology, Earth Sciences and Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, today dedicated to the nation two databases brought out by the Department of Science and Technology on `S&T Awards in India’ and `Indian origin academicians and scholars abroad’.

 

The database on `S&T Awards in India’ is an attempt to build and manage the information about science and technology awards that have been instituted since 1928 in India. It provides data on various aspects such as discipline, periodicity, categories, awards level, chronology and state wise distribution of awards and their sponsors. It will be useful for planners, policy makers, funding agencies and other stakeholders to chalk out their programmes as per the priorities of R&D activities.

 

The database on `Indian Origin Academicians’, in turn, has information on 23,472 Indian academicians and research scholars working in various countries. It is of immense relevance/importance in the present-day scenario where international collaborations with knowledge experts are the key factor for S&T led growth and competitiveness. The project team explored around 2,700 academic university websites to gather this information from selected countries (US, UK, Australia and Canada).

 

The Minister released the databases at a function to mark the National Science Day, which is celebrated every year since 1987 in remembrance of Nobel Laureate Sir C.V.Raman’s path breaking discovery of Raman Effect in 1930.

 

He also presented the National S&T Communication Awards, AWSAR (Augmenting Writing Skills for Articulating Research) Awards, and SERB (Science and Engineering Research Board)’s Women Excellence Awards on the occasion.

 

Under the National S&T Communication Awards, Dr. S. Anil Kumar (Anilkumar Vadavathoor), a well known popular science writer in Malayalam has won the Award for Outstanding Efforts in Science & Technology Communication through Print Media including Books and Magazines; Indian Resource and Development Association and Mr. Mihir Kumar Panda the Award for Outstanding Efforts in Science & Technology Popularization among Children; Dr Sheffali Gulati, Delhi and Mr.Rakesh Khatri the Award for Outstanding Efforts in Science & Technology Communication through Innovative and Traditional Methods; and Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa the Award for Outstanding Efforts in Science & Technology Communication in Electronic Media.

  

National Science Communication Award Winner - Dr. S. Anil Kumar, Mihir Kumar Panda, Dr. Sheffali Gulati, Rakesh Khatri, Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa (top to bottom)

 

Union Minister for Science and Technology, Earth Sciences and Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, today dedicated to the nation two databases brought out by the Department of Science and Technology on `S&T Awards in India’ and `Indian origin academicians and scholars abroad’.

 

In the case of AWSAR awards, Dr. Sangeeta Dutta of Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) has won the AWSAR Award for Outstanding Story under the Post-doctoral fellow category; Ms. Pooja Maurya of CSIR- Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, the AWSAR Award: First Prize (PhD category); Ms. Indu Joshi of Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, the AWSAR Award: Second prize (PhD category); and Ms. Shruti Soni of Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore the AWSAR Award: Third prize (PhD category).

  

Photo-1: Winners of 'AWSAR' contest- Dr. Sangeeta Dutta (top left), Pooja Maurya (top right), Indu Joshi (bottom left), Shruti Soni (bottom right)

 

The winners of SERB Women Excellence Award are Dr. Shobhna Kapoor of Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Dr. Antara Banerjee of National Institute for Research In Reproductive Health, Dr. Sonu Gandhi of National Institute of Animal Biotechnology, and Dr. Ritu Gupta, Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur, Rajasthan

  

SERB Women-Excellence Award Winners- Dr. Shobhna Kapoor (top left), Antara Banerjee (top right), Dr. Ritu Gupta (bottom left), Dr. Sonu Gandhi (bottom right)

 

Speaking on the occasion, the Minister noted that India's global position both in innovations and scientific publications has seen a rising trend over the last six years, with its Global Innovation Index (GII) ranking improving rapidly to 48 (2020) from 81 (2015) and Scientific Publication ranking to 3rd position (2018) from 6th (2014)

 

Further, he pointed out that India ranked 8th in patents filed by resident scientists/innovators from respective countries as per WIPO Statistics and ranked 3rd in number of PhD degrees awarded (24,474) in Science and Engineering. Besides, women’s participation in R&D has increased to 16.6% (2018) from 13.9% (2016). India has reached 3rd position in the world in terms of number of startups.

 

He pointed out that compared to last year there has been a 30 per cent increase in the budget of the Ministry of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences put together for the year 2021-22 and said that the Country’s upcoming Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) Policy aspired to position India much higher among globally competitive and innovative economies and the coming policy on Scientific Social Responsibility will seek to provide a big impetus to create the mindset and value systems to recognize, respect, and reward performances which create wealth from S&T derived knowledge.

affairscloud.com/national-science-day-2021.../

pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetailm.aspx?PRID=1701553&fbcli...

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Ministry of Science & Technology

Dr Harsh Vardhan gives away awards to science communicators and women scientists on National Science Day

 

The 30 percent increase in the budget of Ministry of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences put together for the year 2021-22 would provide stimulus to S&T infrastructure resources in the country: Dr Harsh Vardhan

 

“Fundamental and Translational Research have to be people centric. So on this National Science Day, let each scientist dream of something new to make perceptible difference to the life of people in India”: Dr Harsh Vardhan

 

Dr. Harsh Vardhan also releases the first-ever National S&T Databases on S&T Awards in India and Indian origin Academicians abroad

 

Also confers an appreciation shield to National S&T database developers

Posted On: 28 FEB 2021 7:10PM by PIB Delhi

Union Minister for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences and Health & Family Welfare, Dr. Harsh Vardhan today highlighted how science technology and innovation (STI) would impact our future in education, skills and functioning in the post-pandemic world. He was addressing the National Science Day (NSD) funFction through video-conferencing from Imphal, Manipur. Awards to science communicators and women scientists were also conferred by the Science & Technology Minister on the occasion of National Science Day which is celebrated to commemorate the discovery of Raman Effect on this day every year. The NSD celebrations were organized by the National Council for Science Technology Communication (NCSTC), Department of Science &

   

Dr. Harsh Vardhan said, “The 30 percent increase in the budget of Ministry of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences put together for the year 2021-22 would provide stimulus to S&T infrastructure resources in the country”. The Union Minister said that in view of last year's challenges thrown by the COVID-19 pandemic, the theme of the National Science Day 2021, ‘Future of STI: Impacts on Education, Skills, and Work,’ becomes all the more important.

 

“World has witnessed how Indian S&T systems rose to this recent unprecedented crisis caused by the pandemic. Scientific awareness and health preparedness shall become even more important in post-COVID 19 times. A comprehensive National programme has already been launched on health and risk communication with a focus on COVID-19, namely, Year of Awareness on Science & Health (YASH). We have brought out an online interactive multimedia bilingual resource for mass awareness on COVID- 19, COVID Katha,” Dr. Harsh Vardhan disclosed.

 

“The data portals launched today will be game changers. We feel that scientists with legacy from India should be on one platform and contribute to India’s growth story”, the Minister explained. He further said that the Prime Minister has been talking about Scientific Social Responsibility for which the Fundamental and Translational Research have to be people centric. “So on this National Science Day, let each scientist dream of something new to make perceptible difference to the life of people in India”, Dr Harsh Vardhan urged.

 

He also underlined the importance of sustained efforts of inculcating, nurturing, and unleashing the scientific temper and innovative mindset of projected population of 1.5 billion (+) people in 2050 for sustainable and inclusive growth.

 

Dr. Harsh Vardhan presented the National S&T Communication Awards, Augmenting Writing Skills for Articulating Research (AWSAR) awards, and SERB Women Excellence Awards and conferred Rajendra Prabhu Memorial Appreciation Shield for outstanding work in science media and journalism.

   

The Minister also released the first-ever National S&T Databases on S&T Awards in India and Indian origin Academicians abroad. The database on S&T Awards in India is an excellent source of information about S&T awards presented to R&D professionals in India. The database of Indian Origin Academicians is a unique database developed in the country and has a huge information base of about 23,472 Indian academicians and research scholars working in various countries. Dr. Harsh Vardhan also conferred an appreciation shield to National S&T database developers.

 

Speaking on the efforts of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) in driving STI as a tool for the growth and development of the country, Secretary DST Prof. Ashutosh Sharma said that science and technology has a critical role in creating ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, which is ready for the future. “Future of STI is going to impact us in every aspect of life. Recalling our glorious past will show us the light to take us to future. There are huge challenges, like sustainable development, climate change, clean energy, rise of intelligent machines, and so on. The future is multi-disciplinary, and in order to solve problems, one has to approach them in an interdisciplinary manner. The job of scientists is to help reach science to every corner of the country”, he pointed out.

 

Dr Shekhar C Mande, Secretary, DSIR and DG, CSIR, highlighted the contributions of the Indian scientific community during COVID-19 pandemic. “The pandemic has shown that the Indian S&T community is ready for facing all the challenges like the recent pandemic and those that may come in the future,” he said.

 

Dr. Gargi B Dasgupta, Director, IBM Research India, and CTO, IBM India and South Asia, Bangalore, India, delivered the special lecture on the theme and said that fourth industrial revolution is creating demand for new skill sets displacing existing jobs as well as giving rise to new ones. She spoke about the future of jobs and the urgency of science, highlighting the recent study by World Economic Forum (WEF) on the new emerging job clusters and the skills required for the economy of tomorrow.

 

Secretary, SERB Prof Sandeep Verma and Head, NCSTC Dr. Praveen Arora were also present on occasion.

 

National Science Day is celebrated every year on 28th February to commemorate the announcement of the discovery of the ‘Raman Effect’ by Sir C.V. Raman, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1930. The government of India designated 28 February as National Science Day (NSD) in 1986. Since then, theme-based science communication activities are carried out all over the country on this occasion.

 

National Council for Science & Technology Communication (NCSTC), DST acts as a nodal agency to support, catalyze and coordinate the celebration of the National Science Day throughout the country in scientific institutions, research laboratories, and autonomous scientific institutions associated with the Ministry of Science and Technology. NCSTC has supported various programmes countrywide through State S&T Councils & Departments for organization of a range of activities, such as lectures, quizzes, open houses, etc. DST also instituted National Awards for Science Popularization in 1987 to stimulate, encourage and recognize outstanding efforts in the area of science and technology communication and popularization as well as inculcating scientific temper among masses. These awards are presented every year on National Science Day. The awards consist of a memento, citation, and award money.

   

List of Awardees:

   

Science and Technology Communication Awardees

 

National Award for Outstanding Efforts in Science & Technology Communication through Print Media including Books and Magazines. : Dr. S. Anil Kumar, Kerala

 

National Award for Outstanding Efforts in Science & Technology Popularization among Children: (1) Indian Resource and Development Association, Haryana (2) Dr. Mihir Kumar Panda, Odisha

 

National Award for Outstanding Efforts in Science & Technology Communication through Innovative and Traditional Methods: (1) Dr. Sheffali Gulati, Delhi (2) Shri Rakesh Khatri, Delhi

 

National Award for Outstanding Efforts in Science & Technology Communication in the Electronic Medium: Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa, Telangana

 

Rajendra Prabhu Memorial Appreciation Shield for Outstanding Work in Science Media and Journalism: Dr. S. Anil Kumar, Kerala

 

Appreciation Shield for National S&T Databases

 

S&T Awards in India: Dr Lalit Mohan, Society for Environment & Development (SED), Delhi

 

Indian origin Academicians Abroad: Dr. Rajesh Bhatia & Team, Punjab Engineering College (PEC), Chandigarh

   

AWSAR Awardees

 

Outstanding Story (PDF category)

Dr. Sangeeta Dutta, Bengaluru, Karnataka

 

AWSAR Award: First Prize (Ph.D. category)

Ms. Pooja Maurya, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh

 

AWSAR Award: Second prize (Ph.D. category)

Ms. Indu Joshi, New Delhi, Delhi

 

AWSAR Award: Third prize (Ph.D. category)

Ms. Shruti Soni, Bangalore, Karnataka

   

SERB Women Excellence Awardees

 

Dr. Shobhna Kapoor

 

Assistant Professor

 

Indian Institute of Technology Bombay

 

Mumbai, Maharashtra

   

Dr. Antara Banerjee

 

Scientist B

 

National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health

 

Mumbai, Maharashtra

   

Dr. Sonu Gandhi

 

Scientist D

 

National Institute of Animal Biotechnology

 

Hyderabad, Telangana

   

Dr. Ritu Gupta

 

Assistant Professor

 

Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur

 

Jodhpur, Rajasthan

   

(PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS OF AWARDEES):

 

1… AWASAR

 

2….NCSTC

 

Click here to see Brochure NSD

 

indiaeducationdiary.in/dr-harsh-vardhan-gives-away-awards...

  

Dr Harsh Vardhan Gives Away Awards To Science Communicators And Women Scientists On National Science Day

By India Education Diary Bureau Admin On Feb 28, 2021

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New Delhi: Union Minister for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences and Health & Family Welfare, Dr. Harsh Vardhan today highlighted how science technology and innovation (STI) would impact our future in education, skills and functioning in the post-pandemic world. He was addressing the National Science Day (NSD) funFction through video-conferencing from Imphal, Manipur. Awards to science communicators and women scientists were also conferred by the Science & Technology Minister on the occasion of National Science Day which is celebrated to commemorate the discovery of Raman Effect on this day every year. The NSD celebrations were organized by the National Council for Science Technology Communication (NCSTC), Department of Science &

   

Dr. Harsh Vardhan said, “The 30 percent increase in the budget of Ministry of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences put together for the year 2021-22 would provide stimulus to S&T infrastructure resources in the country”. The Union Minister said that in view of last year’s challenges thrown by the COVID-19 pandemic, the theme of the National Science Day 2021, ‘Future of STI: Impacts on Education, Skills, and Work,’ becomes all the more important.

 

“World has witnessed how Indian S&T systems rose to this recent unprecedented crisis caused by the pandemic. Scientific awareness and health preparedness shall become even more important in post-COVID 19 times. A comprehensive National programme has already been launched on health and risk communication with a focus on COVID-19, namely, Year of Awareness on Science & Health (YASH). We have brought out an online interactive multimedia bilingual resource for mass awareness on COVID- 19, COVID Katha,” Dr. Harsh Vardhan disclosed.

 

“The data portals launched today will be game changers. We feel that scientists with legacy from India should be on one platform and contribute to India’s growth story”, the Minister explained. He further said that the Prime Minister has been talking about Scientific Social Responsibility for which the Fundamental and Translational Research have to be people centric. “So on this National Science Day, let each scientist dream of something new to make perceptible difference to the life of people in India”, Dr Harsh Vardhan urged.

 

He also underlined the importance of sustained efforts of inculcating, nurturing, and unleashing the scientific temper and innovative mindset of projected population of 1.5 billion (+) people in 2050 for sustainable and inclusive growth.

 

Dr. Harsh Vardhan presented the National S&T Communication Awards, Augmenting Writing Skills for Articulating Research (AWSAR) awards, and SERB Women Excellence Awards and conferred Rajendra Prabhu Memorial Appreciation Shield for outstanding work in science media and journalism.

   

The Minister also released the first-ever National S&T Databases on S&T Awards in India and Indian origin Academicians abroad. The database on S&T Awards in India is an excellent source of information about S&T awards presented to R&D professionals in India. The database of Indian Origin Academicians is a unique database developed in the country and has a huge information base of about 23,472 Indian academicians and research scholars working in various countries. Dr. Harsh Vardhan also conferred an appreciation shield to National S&T database developers.

 

Speaking on the efforts of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) in driving STI as a tool for the growth and development of the country, Secretary DST Prof. Ashutosh Sharma said that science and technology has a critical role in creating ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, which is ready for the future. “Future of STI is going to impact us in every aspect of life. Recalling our glorious past will show us the light to take us to future. There are huge challenges, like sustainable development, climate change, clean energy, rise of intelligent machines, and so on. The future is multi-disciplinary, and in order to solve problems, one has to approach them in an interdisciplinary manner. The job of scientists is to help reach science to every corner of the country”, he pointed out.

 

Dr Shekhar C Mande, Secretary, DSIR and DG, CSIR, highlighted the contributions of the Indian scientific community during COVID-19 pandemic. “The pandemic has shown that the Indian S&T community is ready for facing all the challenges like the recent pandemic and those that may come in the future,” he said.

 

Dr. Gargi B Dasgupta, Director, IBM Research India, and CTO, IBM India and South Asia, Bangalore, India, delivered the special lecture on the theme and said that fourth industrial revolution is creating demand for new skill sets displacing existing jobs as well as giving rise to new ones. She spoke about the future of jobs and the urgency of science, highlighting the recent study by World Economic Forum (WEF) on the new emerging job clusters and the skills required for the economy of tomorrow.

 

Secretary, SERB Prof Sandeep Verma and Head, NCSTC Dr. Praveen Arora were also present on occasion.

 

National Science Day is celebrated every year on 28th February to commemorate the announcement of the discovery of the ‘Raman Effect’ by Sir C.V. Raman, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1930. The government of India designated 28 February as National Science Day (NSD) in 1986. Since then, theme-based science communication activities are carried out all over the country on this occasion.

 

National Council for Science & Technology Communication (NCSTC), DST acts as a nodal agency to support, catalyze and coordinate the celebration of the National Science Day throughout the country in scientific institutions, research laboratories, and autonomous scientific institutions associated with the Ministry of Science and Technology. NCSTC has supported various programmes countrywide through State S&T Councils & Departments for organization of a range of activities, such as lectures, quizzes, open houses, etc. DST also instituted National Awards for Science Popularization in 1987 to stimulate, encourage and recognize outstanding efforts in the area of science and technology communication and popularization as well as inculcating scientific temper among masses. These awards are presented every year on National Science Day. The awards consist of a memento, citation, and award money.

   

List of Awardees:

   

Science and Technology Communication Awardees

 

National Award for Outstanding Efforts in Science & Technology Communication through Print Media including Books and Magazines. : Dr. S. Anil Kumar, Kerala

 

National Award for Outstanding Efforts in Science & Technology Popularization among Children: (1) Indian Resource and Development Association, Haryana (2) Dr. Mihir Kumar Panda, Odisha

 

National Award for Outstanding Efforts in Science & Technology Communication through Innovative and Traditional Methods: (1) Dr. Sheffali Gulati, Delhi (2) Shri Rakesh Khatri, Delhi

 

National Award for Outstanding Efforts in Science & Technology Communication in the Electronic Medium: Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa, Telangana

 

Rajendra Prabhu Memorial Appreciation Shield for Outstanding Work in Science Media and Journalism: Dr. S. Anil Kumar, Kerala

 

Appreciation Shield for National S&T Databases

 

S&T Awards in India: Dr Lalit Mohan, Society for Environment & Development (SED), Delhi

 

Indian origin Academicians Abroad: Dr. Rajesh Bhatia & Team, Punjab Engineering College (PEC), Chandigarh

  

hindi.webdunia.com/national-hindi-news/raman-effect-awsar...

 

राष्ट्रीय विज्ञान दिवस पर पुरस्कृत किए गए विज्ञान संचारक

National Science Day

 

Last Updated: सोमवार, 1 मार्च 2021 (12:07 IST)नई दिल्ली, समाज में वैज्ञानिक चेतना के प्रचार-प्रसार में जुटे विज्ञान संचारकों को राष्ट्रीय विज्ञान दिवस (28 फरवरी) के अवसर पर राष्ट्रीय पुरस्कार प्रदान किए गए हैं।

 

राष्ट्रीय विज्ञान एवं प्रौद्योगिकी संचार परिषद (एनसीएसटीसी) की ओर से हर वर्ष विज्ञान एवं प्रौद्योगिकी संचार में उल्लेखनीय योगदान देने वाले संचारकों को ये पुरस्कार प्रदान किए जाते हैं। विज्ञान एवं प्रौद्योगिकी राष्ट्रीय संचार पुरस्कार के साथ-साथ इस मौके पर साइंस ऐंड इंजीनियरिंग रिसर्च बोर्ड (एसईआरबी) वुमन-एक्सिलेंस अवार्ड, और ‘अवसर’ (ऑग्मेंटिंग राइटिंग स्किल्स फॉर आर्टिकुलेटिंग रिसर्च) प्रतियोगिता के विजेताओं को भी पुरस्कृत किया गया है।

 

विज्ञान एवं प्रौद्योगिकी संचार परिषद (एनसीएसटीसी) द्वारा विज्ञान को लोकप्रिय बनाने और संचार के क्षेत्र में उत्कृष्ट प्रयासों के प्रोत्साहन और वैज्ञानिक अभिरुचि बढ़ाने में योगदान देने वाले लोगों एवं संस्थाओं को छह श्रेणियों में विज्ञान एवं प्रौद्योगिकी राष्ट्रीय संचार पुरस्कार दिया जाता है। वहीं, ‘अवसर’ एक अखिल भारतीय प्रतियोगिता है, जिसमें विज्ञान एवं प्रौद्योगिकी से जुड़े विभिन्न विषयों में डॉक्टोरल या पोस्ट डॉक्टोरल शोधार्थियों से उनके शोध विषय पर आधारित सरल भाषा में आलेख आमंत्रित किए जाते हैं, और चयनित सर्वश्रेष्ठ आलेखों को पुरस्कृत किया जाता है। इसी तरह, विज्ञान एवं इंजीनियरिंग में उत्कृष्ट शोध को प्रोत्साहित करने के लिए युवा महिला वैज्ञानिकों (40 वर्ष से कम आयु) को एसईआरबी वुमन-एक्सिलेंस अवार्ड प्रदान किया जाता है।

 

केंद्रीय विज्ञान एवं प्रौद्योगिकी, पृथ्वी विज्ञान, स्वास्थ्य तथा परिवार कल्याण मंत्री डॉ हर्षवर्धन ने पुरस्कृत लोगों को बधाई देते हुए कहा है कि “वर्ष 2021 के राष्ट्रीय विज्ञान दिवस की विषयवस्तु “विज्ञान, प्रौद्योगिकी एवं नवाचार का भविष्यः शिक्षा, कौशल एवं कार्य पर प्रभाव” है, जो वर्तमान परिदृश्य के अनुकूल है।

National Science Day

पिछले एक साल में, कोविड-19 की चुनौतियों के बावजूद विज्ञान से संबंधित मंत्रालयों के लिए वर्ष 2021 उपलब्धि भरा रहा है। दुनिया ने देखा कि महामारी से उपजे अप्रत्याशित संकट से उबरने में भारतीय विज्ञान एवं प्रौद्योगिकी तंत्र ने कैसे भूमिका निभायी है।” उन्होंने कहा कि हम तब तक एक स्थायी और समावेशी विकास का सपना नहीं देख सकते, जब तक कि वर्ष 2050 तक 150 करोड़ से अधिक लोगों की अनुमानित आबादी में वैज्ञानिक दृष्टिकोण और नवोन्मेषी मानसिकता के विकास के लिए निरंतर प्रयास न करें।”

 

इस मौके पर मौजूद विज्ञान एवं प्रौद्योगिकी विभाग के सचिव प्रोफेसर आशुतोष शर्मा ने कहा कि “राष्ट्रीय विज्ञान दिवस एक ऐसा दिन है, जब हम न केवल ‘रामन प्रभाव’ को याद करते हैं, और इसका उत्सव मनाते हैं, बल्कि यह एक ऐसा अवसर है, जब हम आचार्य रामन के वैज्ञानिक कार्यों में निहित दृष्टिकोण से नये सबक भी सीख सकते हैं। उनको आचार्य कहना अधिक उपयुक्त है, क्योंकि इस शब्द का संबंध एक गौरवशाली परंपरा से है। आचार्य का अर्थ, ‘सर’ से बिल्कुल अलग है। ‘सर’ एक टाइटल है, जबकि आचार्य का अर्थ मूल रूप से स्कॉलर से जोड़कर देखा जाता है।”

National Science Day

नयी विज्ञान, प्रौद्योगिकी एवं नवाचार नीति का जिक्र करते हुए प्रोफेसर आशुतोष शर्मा ने कहा कि “इस नीति में कई ऐसे अध्याय शामिल हैं, जो भविष्य की जरूरतों पर आधारित हैं, और विज्ञान को समाज से जोड़ने पर ध्यान केंद्रित करते हैं। भविष्य में हमें दो महत्वपूर्ण तथ्यों पर ध्यान केंद्रित करने की जरूरत होगी। सबसे पहले तो शोध कार्यों की प्रासंगिकता एवं उनकी सही दिशा का निर्धारण जरूरी है। वहीं, दूसरा आयाम शोध कार्यों की गुणवत्ता और गंभीरता से संबंधित है। दूसरों की नकल करके शोध विषयों का चयन करने का औचित्य नहीं है। हमें अपने आइडिया के आधार पर कार्य करना होगा, जो विज्ञान के क्षेत्र में भारत को लीडर के रूप में उभरने में मदद कर सकते हैं। इस तरह हम आचार्य रामन को याद कर सकते हैं।”

 

इस अवसर पर वैज्ञानिक तथा औद्योगिक अनुसंधान परिषद के महानिदेशक डॉ शेखर सी. मांडे ने ‘रामन प्रभाव’ की खोज से जुड़े महत्वपूर्ण पड़ावों और इससे संबंधित शोध कार्य में एक अन्य प्रमुख वैज्ञानिक के.एस. कृष्णन की भूमिका के बारे में जिक्र किया।

 

उन्होंने कहा कि “हम भले ही कोविड-19 महामारी से मजबूती से लड़ने में सफल हुए हैं, लेकिन आगे भी इस तरह की चुनौतियां बनी रहेंगी। महामारियों के अलावा, जलवायु परिवर्तन एक अन्य प्रमुख चुनौती है, जिससे निपटने के लिए प्रभावी वैज्ञानिक समाधान खोजने होंगे।”

 

पुस्तकों एवं पत्रिकाओं सहित प्रिंट मीडिया के माध्यम से विज्ञान एवं प्रौद्योगिकी संचार में योगदान के लिए इस बार कोट्टायम, केरल के डॉ अनिल कुमार को राष्ट्रीय पुरस्कार से सम्मानित किया गया है। इस पुरस्कार के तहत दो लाख रुपये की नकद राशि, स्मृति चिह्न और प्रशस्ति पत्र प्रदान किया गया है। विज्ञान एवं प्रौद्योगिकी संचार में उत्कृष्ट प्रयास के लिए पांच लाख रुपये का राष्ट्रीय पुरस्कार हरियाणा की संस्था इंडियन रिसोर्स ऐंड डेवलपमेंट एसोसिएशन और बालासोर, ओडिशा के वैज्ञानिक एवं नवप्रवर्तनकर्ता मिहिर कुमार पांडा को प्रदान किया गया है।

नवप्रवर्तक एवं पारंपरिक प्रणालियों के माध्यम से विज्ञान एवं प्रौद्योगिकी संचार के लिए दो लाख रुपये का राष्ट्रीय पुरस्कार दिल्ली की डॉ शेफाली गुलाटी और राकेश खत्री को प्रदान किया गया है। इलेक्ट्रॉनिक माध्यम में दो लाख रुपये का विज्ञान एवं प्रौद्योगिकी राष्ट्रीय संचार पुरस्कार तेलंगाना की डॉ कृष्ण कुमारी चल्ला को दिया गया है।

 

डॉ एस. अनिल कुमार मलयालम के एक प्रसिद्ध लेखक हैं। उन्होंने करीब 1500 नवोदित पत्रकारों को प्रशिक्षण प्रदान किया, कार्यशालाएं आयोजित कीं, और विज्ञान संचार के क्षेत्र में संचारकों के लिए आधा दर्जन पाठ्यपुस्तकें लिखी हैं। डॉ अनिल कुमार के 1500 से अधिक लेख/फीचर प्रकाशित हुए हैं एवं पॉपुलर साइंस पर आधारित 40 पुस्तकें भी उन्होंने लिखी हैं।

 

इंडियन रिसोर्स ऐंड डेवलपमेंट एसोसिएशन एवं मिहिर कुमार पांडा को अनूठे तरीकों से विज्ञान एवं प्रौद्योगिकी के प्रचार-प्रसार के लिए पुरस्कृत किया गया है। इन तरीकों में कठपुतली शो, फिल्म एवं स्लाइड शो, विज्ञान मेलों का आयोजन, प्रदर्शनी एवं वैज्ञानिक प्रयोगों पर आधारित कार्यशालाएं शामिल हैं। डॉ शेफाली गुलाटी ने व्याख्यान एवं प्रिंट तथा ऑडियो-विजुअल मीडिया द्वारा विज्ञान को लोकप्रिय बनाने में योगदान दिया है। वहीं, डॉ राकेश खत्री करीब तीन दशक से रंगमंच, कार्यशालाओं, मॉडल्स, नेचर टूर जैसे प्रयासों के माध्यम से विज्ञान के प्रति आकर्षण पैदा करने का कार्य करने में जुटे रहे हैं।

 

डॉ कृष्णा कुमारी चल्ला भी करीब डेढ़ दशक से दृश्य कला, साहित्य, वीडयो, टीवी और इंटरनेट के उपयोग से आम लोगों के लिए विज्ञान संचार कर रही हैं।

 

एसईआरबी वुमन-एक्सिलेंस अवार्ड इस बार चार महिला वैज्ञानिकों को प्रदान किया गया है। इनमें आईआईटी, बॉम्बे में असिस्टेंट प्रोफेसर शोभना कपूर, मुंबई स्थित नेशनल इंस्टीट्यूट फॉर रिसर्च इन रिप्रोडक्टिव हेल्थ की वैज्ञानिक डॉ अंतरा बैनर्जी, हैदराबाद स्थित नेशनल इंस्टीट्यूट ऑफ बायोटेक्नोलॉजी की वैज्ञानिक डॉ सोनू गांधी, और आईआईटी, जोधपुर में असिस्टेंट प्रोफेसर डॉ रितु गुप्ता शामिल हैं।

 

‘अवसर’ प्रतियोगिता के अंतर्गत पोस्ट डॉक्टोरल श्रेणी में उत्कृष्ट आलेख के लिए बेंगलुरु स्थित जवाहरलाल नेहरु सेंटर फॉर एडवांस्ड साइंटिफिक रिसर्च की शोधार्थी डॉ संगीता दत्ता को पुरस्कृत किया गया है। इन्मास, डीआरडीओ से पीएचडी डिग्री प्राप्त डॉ संगीता जैव प्रौद्योगिकी विभाग में अपने पोस्ट डॉक्टोरल प्रोजेक्ट के लिए रिसर्च एसोसिएट के तौर पर कार्य कर चुकी हैं। उनके पांच शोध पत्र प्रकाशित हुए हैं, और एक पेटेंट भी उनके नाम दर्ज है। ‘अवसर’ प्रतियोगिता की पीएचडी श्रेणी में प्रथम पुरस्कार सीएसआईआर-सीडीआरआई, लखनऊ की शोधार्थी पूजा मौर्या को मिला है। द्वितीय पुरस्कार आईआईटी, दिल्ली में कंप्यूटर साइंस की शोधार्थी इंदु जोशी, और तृतीय पुरस्कार भारतीय विज्ञान संस्थान, बेंगलुरु की शोधार्थी श्रुति सोनी को दिया गया है।

 

सभी पुरस्कार विजेताओं को बधाई देते हुए डॉ हर्ष वर्धन ने कहा है कि "विज्ञान संचार एवं लोकप्रियकरण से जुड़े उत्कृष्ट प्रयास, वैज्ञानिक शोध में युवा महिलाओं का योगदान और विज्ञान संचार में अभिनव प्रयोग सराहनीय हैं।"

 

डॉ हर्ष वर्धन ने इस मौके पर वर्चुअल रूप से विज्ञान एवं प्रौद्योगिकी पुरस्कारों पर आधारित सूचनाओं से लैस एक ऑनलाइन डेटाबेस लॉन्च किया है। साइंस ऐंड टेक्नोलॉजी अवार्ड इन्फॉर्मेशन रिट्रीवल सिस्टम (STAIRS) नामक यह डेटाबेस स्वतंत्रा से पहले से लेकर अब तक विज्ञान एवं प्रौद्योगिकी के क्षेत्र में पुरस्कृत भारतीय पेशेवरों के बारे में जानकारी उपलब्ध कराएगा।

 

इसी के साथ, विदेशों में कार्यरत भारतीय मूल के शिक्षाविदों एवं शोधकर्ताओं से संबंधित एक अन्य डेटाबेस भी लॉन्च किया गया है। यह डेटाबेस मौजूदा दौर में बढ़ते अंतरराष्ट्रीय सहयोग के संदर्भ में महत्वपूर्ण माना जा रहा है। इस डेटाबेस में, भारतीय मूल के 23,472 शिक्षाविद एवं शोधकर्ता शामिल किए गए हैं। अमेरिका, कनाडा, ब्रिटेन और ऑस्ट्रेलिया जैसे देशों के 2700 से अधिक विश्वविद्यालयों एवंअन्य शैक्षणिक संस्थानों की वेबसाइट्स को खंगालने के बाद यह डेटाबेस तैयार किया गया है।

 

आईबीएम रिसर्च इंडिया की निदेशक डॉ गार्गी बी. दासगुप्ता का विशेष व्याख्यान इस बार राष्ट्रीय विज्ञान दिवस पर एक अन्य प्रमुख आकर्षण रहा। डॉ गार्गी बी. दासगुप्ता ने “विज्ञान, प्रौद्योगिकी, नवाचार का भविष्यः शिक्षा, कौशल एवं कार्य पर प्रभाव” विषय को केंद्र में रखते हुए अपना व्याख्यान दिया। उन्होंने अपने व्याख्यान में, मुख्य रूप से इस बात को रेखांकित किया कि चौथी औद्योगिक क्रांति किस तरह नये कौशल की माँग करती है। उल्लेखनीय है कि साइबर भौतिक प्रणाली, आर्टिफशियल इंटेलिजेंस, इंटरनेट ऑफ थिंग्स तथा इंटरनेट ऑफ सर्विसेज इत्यादि चौथी औद्योगिक क्रांति के प्रमुख उपकरण बनकर उभरे हैं।

 

सर सी.वी. रामन को याद करते हुए हर वर्ष 28 फरवरी को राष्ट्रीय विज्ञान दिवस मनाया जाता है। विज्ञान में नोबेल पुरस्कार प्राप्त करने वाले सी.वी. रामन पहले एशियाई थे। उन्हें यह पुरस्कार, वर्ष 1930 में की गई उनकी खोज ‘रामन प्रभाव’ के लिए मिला था।

On of the roads to knowledge is the one that links my Kindle and my computer. Kindle are really awesome ereaders.

 

For the dailyshoot nº663.

 

Subject:

Make a photograph of a path, road, or trail that leads the viewer's eye through the frame.

Pic by Neil Palmer (CIAT). Knowledge Fair at CIAT's heaquarters in Colombia.

"In the grand tradition of generals and surrealists, we have been playing games. People learn things better through the open-ended, empathetic participation in knowledge-making that games allow. Just dispensing information to people-- though at times enlightening-- can also encourage apathy or forgetfulness. Lately, we have been using games to critically examine the dynamics and assumptions of larger social givens.Our new game SET was inspired by toy collectors, tourists, and museum curators. Throughout the game, players "play" by intervening and reorganizing existing groups of objects, thus questioning categories by constructing and redrawing them. In foregrounding the player's relation to the categories, SET explores the value of one's authorship in the production of knowledge. While games often risk normalizing power relationships by setting social roles and rules in stone, we have tried here to do just the opposite."

 

People learn things better through the open-ended, empathetic participation in knowledge-making that games allow. Just dispensing information to people-- though at times enlightening-- can also encourage apathy or forgetfulness. A project developed by Erik Carver and Marisa Jahn, SET is a game that critically examines the dynamics and assumptions of larger social givens. It's a game inspired by toy collectors, tourists, and museum curators. Throughout the game, players "play" by intervening and reorganizing existing groups of objects, thus questioning categories by constructing and redrawing them. In foregrounding the player's relation to the categories, SET explores the value of one's authorship in the production of knowledge. While games often risk normalizing power relationships by setting social roles and rules in stone, SET tries to do just the opposite.

 

--

 

Erik Carver

 

Erik Carver is an architect and artist. He is a founder of the Institute for Advanced Architecture (advancedarchitecture.org)-- an organization dedicated to advancing architecture through research, exchange, and exhibition-- as well as the Common Room exhibition space (common-room.net) and the interdisciplinary art group Seru. He lives in Brooklyn and teaches architecture at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

 

Erik has worked for the firms of Diller+Scofidio, Laura Kurgan, and Lyn Rice before starting his own practice. These designs have included a student center renovation, an art museum, apartment renovations, a vacation home, exhibitions, a performance space/bar, an expo pavilion, schools, offices and an interpretation center.

 

His work has appeared in Volume magazine, Art in America, and Nature, and he has shown work and lectured at venues including Exit Art, the Ise Foundation, and Columbia's Neiman Gallery, and the Storefront for Art and Architecture (NYC), The Institute of Contemporary Art (Philadelphia), CAVS (MIT), Basekamp (Philadelphia), the Contemporary Art Center (North Adams, MA), and Pond (San Francisco).

  

Marisa Jahn

 

Of Ecuadorian and Chinese descent, Marisa Jahn is an artist whose work explores, constructs, and intervenes natural and social systems. In 2000, Jahn has co-founded Pond: art, activism, and ideas (www.mucketymuck.org), a non-profit organization dedicated to showcasing experimental art. Jahn has presented and exhibited work in museums, galleries, and spaces at venues such as The Institute of Contemporary Art (Philadelphia), the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (San Francisco), ISEA/Zero One 06/08 (San Jose, CA), MoKS (Estonia), the Moore Space (Miami), the Museum of Contemporary Art (North Miami), in galleries and public places in Tokyo, Honduras, Estonia, Turkey, North America, and Taiwan. Jahn's work has been reviewed in Art in America, Frieze, Punk Planet, Clamor, San Francisco Chronicle, the Fader, Artweek, Metropolis, the Discovery Channel, and Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). She has received awards and grants such as the Robert & Colleen Haas Scholarship, MIT Department of Architecture Fellowship (2005-8), CEC Artslink, and is an artist in residence at the MIT Media Lab (2007-9) and at the Headlands Center for the Arts (2008). She received her BA from UC Berkeley and an MS from MIT's Visual Arts Program. She lives between Boston and New York, where she functions as the Immediator of art-activist campaigns for The Church of Stop Shopping/Reverend Billy. www.marisajahn.com, www.mucketymuck.org

The first-ever ICC Knowledge Assembly took place in Paris on 27 May 2019.

Polaroid Styles

Mystery, intelligence, wisdom and knowledge.