Sargonid dynasty

The Sargonid dynasty was the final ruling dynasty of Assyria, ruling as kings of Assyria during the Neo-Assyrian Empire for just over a century from the ascent of Sargon II in 722 BC to the fall of Assyria in 609 BC. Although Assyria would ultimately fall during their rule, the Sargonid dynasty ruled the country during the apex of its power and Sargon II's three immediate successors Sennacherib (705–681 BC), Esarhaddon (681–669 BC) and Ashurbanipal (669–631 BC) are generally regarded as three of the greatest Assyrian monarchs. Though the dynasty encompasses seven Assyrian kings, two vassal kings in Babylonia and numerous princes and princesses, the term "Sargonids" is sometimes used solely for Sennacherib, Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal.
Though the Sargonid dynasty only encompasses the reigns of a few kings, their rule saw the borders of the empire grow to encompass the entire Ancient Near East, the East Mediterranean, Asia Minor, the Caucasus and parts of the Arabian peninsula and North Africa, and they witnessed the subjugation of rivals such as Babylonia, Elam, Persia, Urartu, Lydia, the Medes, Phrygians, Cimmerians, Israel, Judah, Phoenicia, Chaldea, Canaan, the Kushite Empire, the Arabs, and Egypt, as Assyria's rivals were either completely conquered or made vassals.
Following Sargon II's reconquest of Babylon in 710 BC, the Sargonids also periodically ruled as kings of Babylon, though they sometimes preferred to assign vassal kings. Babylon proved to be notoriously difficult to control, with the city and the surrounding lands in southern Mesopotamia repeatedly rebelling against the Sargonid kings despite various different methods being attempted to appease the Babylonians. The final such revolt, by Nabopolassar in 626 BC, succeeded in establishing a new independent kingdom, the Neo-Babylonian Empire, which would less than two decades later destroy the Neo-Assyrian Empire and end the rule of the Sargonid dynasty. The Babylonians allied with the Medes, also rivals of the Assyrians, and though the Medo-Babylonian war against the Assyrian Empire was indecisive at first, the Fall of Nineveh and the death of King Sinsharishkun in 612 BC was a death blow to the Assyrian Empire. Sinsharishkun's successor Ashur-uballit II rallied what remained of the Assyrian army at the city of Harran but lost the city to his enemies in 610–609 BC and was defeated attempting to retake it in 609 BC, ending the rule of the Sargonid dynasty and Assyria's nearly two-millennia long history as an independent political entity.
Background.
The Sargonid dynasty's century in power was immediately preceded by the reigns of the two kings Tiglath-Pileser III (745–727 BC) and Shalmaneser V (727–722 BC). The nature of Tiglath-Pileser's rise to the throne of Assyria in 745 BC is unclear and disputed. Several pieces of evidence, including that there was a revolt in Nimrud, the capital of the Assyrian Empire, in 746/745 BC, that ancient Assyrian sources give conflicting information in regards to Tiglath-Pileser's lineage, and that Tiglath-Pileser in his inscriptions attributes his rise to the throne solely to divine selection rather than both divine selection and his royal ancestry (typically done by Assyrian kings), have been interpreted as indicating that he was a usurper. Though some have gone as far as suggesting that Tiglath-Pileser was not part of the previous royal dynasty, the long-lasting Adaside dynasty, at all, his claims of royal descent were probably true, meaning that regardless of whether he usurped the throne or not, he was a legitimate contender for it.
Though it was chiefly during the Sargonid dynasty that Assyria was transformed from a kingdom primarily based in the Mesopotamian heartland to a truly multinational and multi-ethnic empire, the foundations which allowed this development were laid during Tiglath-Pileser's reign through extensive civil and military reforms. Furthermore, Tiglath-Pileser began a successful series of conquests, subjugating the kingdoms of Babylon and Urartu and conquering the Mediterranean coastline. His successful military innovations, including replacing conscription with levies being supplied from each province, made the Assyrian army one of the most effective armies assembled up until that point.
Tiglath-Pileser's son and successor Shalmaneser V proved to be unpopular due to his poor military and administrative skills and he also seemingly overtaxed the peoples throughout his large empire. After a reign of only five years, Shalmaneser was replaced as king, probably being deposed and assassinated in a palace coup, by the founder of the Sargonid dynasty, Sargon II.' Though Sargon II would be connected to previous kings in king lists through a claim that he was the son of Tiglath-Pileser III, this claim is not presented in most of his own inscriptions, where he is also described as being called upon and personally appointed as king by Ashur.' Many historians accept Sargon's claim to have been a son of Tiglath-Pileser, but do not believe him to have been the legitimate heir to the throne as the next-in-line after the end of Shalmaneser's reign. Even then, his claim to have been Tiglath-Pileser's son is generally treated with more caution than Tiglath-Pileser's own claims of royal ancestry. Some Assyriologists, such as J. A. Brinkman, believe that Sargon, at the very least, did not belong to the direct dynastic lineage.
Sargon II's rise to the throne saw many rebellions and he might have taken the regnal name Sargon ("Šarru-kin" in Akkadian, one possible interpretation being "legitimate king") in an effort to portray himself as legitimate. References as late as the 670s BC, during the reign of Sargon II's grandson Esarhaddon, to the possibility that "descendants of former royalty" might try to seize the throne suggests that the Sargonid dynasty was not necessarily well connected to previous Assyrian monarchs. Babylonian king lists dynastically separate Sargon and his descendants from Tiglath-Pileser and Shalmaneser V: Tiglath-Pileser and Shalmaneser are recorded as of the "dynasty of Baltil" (Baltil possibly being the oldest portion of the ancient Assyrian capital of Assur), whereas the Sargonids are recorded as of the "dynasty of Ḫanigalbat", possibly connecting them to an ancient Middle Assyrian junior branch of the Assyrian royal family who governed as viceroys in the western parts of the Assyrian Empire with the title "king of Hanigalbat".
Rulers of the Sargonid dynasty.
Sargon II (722–705 BC).
In the aftermath of Sargon II's assumption of the kingship, the political situation throughout the Neo-Assyrian Empire was unstable and volatile. The new king was faced with numerous revolts against his rule and he also had to finish the unfinished final military campaigns of his predecessor Shalmaneser V. Sargon II's quick resolution of Shalmaneser's three-year long siege of Samaria, the capital of the Kingdom of Israel, resulted in the kingdom's fall and the famous loss of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel as nearly 30,000 Israelites were deported and spread out throughout the empire. Though there were uprisings in the Assyrian heartland (as verified by references to "guilty Assyrians" in Sargon II's inscriptions), greater rebellions directed at Sargon II sprung up along the periphery of the empire. A revolt by several of the previously independent kingdoms in the Levant, such as Damascus, Hamath and Arpad, was crushed in 720 BC but an uprising in Babylonia in the south, led by newly proclaimed Babylonian king Marduk-apla-iddina II, successfully defeated Sargon II's attempt at suppressing it, re-establishing Babylonia as an independent kingdom.
With the most directly threatening revolts dealt with and his position consolidated, Sargon II embarked on several campaigns aimed at expanding the borders of the Assyrian Empire. Emulating himself after his ancient namesake, Sargon of Akkad (whom Sargon II probably took his throne name from), Sargon II dreamt of conquering the entire world. In 717 BC, Sargon II conquered the militarily weak but economically strong Kingdom of Carchemish in modern-day Syria, recognized as the successor of the ancient Hittite Empire by its contemporaries, and significantly bolstered the Assyrian treasury. In 714 BC, Sargon II campaigned against Assyria's northern neighbor, Urartu. In order to avoid a series of fortifications alongside Urartu's southern border, Sargon II marched his army around them, through the mountains in modern-day Kermanshah, Iran. Though his troops were exhausted once the Assyrians arrived in Urartian territory, a near-suicidal attack led by just Sargon II and his personal guard against the entire Urartian army rallied his army and Urartu was defeated. Though Sargon II chose not to conquer the entire kingdom due to the exhaustion of his army, he successfully seized and plundered Urartu's holiest city, Musasir.
From 713 BC to the end of his reign, Sargon II constructed a new city, Dur-Sharrukin (meaning "Sargon's fortress"), which he intended to serve as the new Assyrian capital, though the city was never completely finished, Sargon II moved into the city's palace in 706 BC. In 710 BC, Sargon II and his army marched to reconquer Babylonia. Instead of attacking the south from the north, as he had in his failed attempt a decade earlier, Sargon II marched his army down alongside the eastern bank of the river Tigris and then attacked Babylon from the southeast. Marduk-apla-iddina fled rather than face Sargon II, was later defeated and Sargon II was formally inaugurated as King of Babylon. Sargon II's final campaign was against the Kingdom of Tabal in Anatolia, which had thrown off Assyrian control a few years earlier. As in his other campaigns, Sargon II personally led his troops and he died in battle, his body being lost to the enemy.
Sennacherib (705–681 BC).
Sennacherib ascended to the throne following his father's death in battle, and like most Assyrian kings spent his reign engaging in a series of campaigns and building projects. Sennacherib is most notably remembered for his campaigns against Babylonia and Judah. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, may have been in Nineveh as part of Sennacherib's magnification works on the city as the new royal capital. Sennacherib moved the capital to Nineveh, abandoning Dur-Sharrukin, due to the death of Sargon II in battle being perceived as an ill omen.
Sennacherib's military campaigning began in 703 BC with the king campaigning against Marduk-apla-iddina II of Babylon, Sargon II's old rival, successfully defeating him. Marduk-apla-iddina fled, Babylon was taken once more and the Babylonian palace was plundered, though the citizens were not harmed. A puppet king named Bel-ibni was placed on the throne and for the next two years Babylon was left in peace. In 701 BC, Sennacherib turned from Babylonia to the western part of the empire, where King Hezekiah of Judah had renounced Assyrian allegiance through incitement by Egypt and Marduk-apla-iddina. Various small states in the area which had participated in the rebellion, Sidon and Ashkelon, were taken by force and a string of other cities and states, including Byblos, Ashdod, Ammon, Moab and Edom then paid tribute without resistance. Ekron called on Egypt for help but the Egyptians were defeated. Sennacherib then besieged Hezekiah's capital, Jerusalem, and gave its surrounding towns to Assyrian vassal rulers in Ekron, Gaza and Ashdod. There is no description of how the siege ended, but the annals record a submission by Hezekiah and a list of booty sent from Jerusalem to Nineveh. Hezekiah remained on his throne as a vassal ruler.Sennacherib placed his eldest son and crown prince Ashur-nadin-shumi on the throne of Babylon in 699 BC. Marduk-apla-iddina continued his rebellion with the help of Elam, and in 694 BC Sennacherib took a fleet of Phoenician ships down the Tigris river to destroy the Elamite base on the shore of the Persian Gulf, but while he was doing this the Elamites captured Ashur-nadin-shumi and put Nergal-ushezib, the son of Marduk-apla-iddina, on the throne of Babylon. Nergal-ushezib was captured in 693 BC and taken to Nineveh, and Sennacherib attacked Elam again. The Elamite king fled to the mountains and Sennacherib plundered his kingdom, but when he withdrew the Elamites returned to Babylon and put another rebel leader, Mushezib-Marduk, on the Babylonian throne. Babylon eventually fell to the Assyrians in 689 BC after a lengthy siege, and Sennacherib dealt with the "Babylonian problem" by utterly destroying the city and even the mound on which it stood by diverting the water of the surrounding canals over the site.
With Ashur-nadin-shumi presumed dead following his abduction by the Elamites, Sennacherib eventually chose to proclaim a younger son, Esarhaddon, as the crown prince rather than Arda-Mulissu who was the next oldest son and had been crown prince for several years following Ashur-nadin-shumi's disappearance. Arda-Mulissu remained a popular and became an increasingly powerful figure in the royal court, attracting support from the aristocrats and scribes. Troubled by this, Sennacherib sent crown prince Esarhaddon to the safety of the western provinces. Arda-Mulissu, feeling that a decisive act would grant him the kingship, made "a treaty of rebellion" with co-conspirators, including another son of Sennacherib, Nabu-shar-usur, and moved to kill his father. Sennacherib was then murdered, either stabbed directly by his son or killed while he was praying by being crushed underneath a statue of a winged bull colossus that guarded the temple, although the former is more likely than the latter.' Arda-Mulissu used Sennacherib's destruction of the ancient city of Babylon as a justification for murdering his father.'
Esarhaddon (681–669 BC).
After Sennacherib's murder, Esarhaddon first had to defeat his brothers Arda-Mulissu and Nabu-shar-usur in six weeks of civil war. Their betrayal deeply affected Esarhaddon, who would remain paranoid and distrustful, particularly of his male relatives, for the rest of his reign.' Though the brothers who had betrayed him managed to escape, their families, associates and supporters were captured and executed, as was the security staff in the royal palace.' To not allow the same justification being used to supplant him as ruler, Esarhaddon quickly moved to rebuild Babylon and issued an official proclamation which made clear that it had been the will of the gods that Babylon be destroyed because the city had lost its respect for the divine. The proclamation makes no mention of Esarhaddon's father but clearly states that Esarhaddon was to be a divinely chosen restorer of the city.' Esarhaddon successfully rebuilt the city gates, battlements, drains, courtyards, shrines and various other buildings and structures. Great care was taken during rebuilding of the Esagila (Babylon's great temple), depositing precious stones, scented oils and perfumes into its foundations. Precious metals were chosen to cover the doors of the temple and the pedestal that was to house the Statue of Marduk (the main cult image of Babylon's god, Marduk) was manufactured in gold.'
It was due to Esarhaddon's military campaigns that the Neo-Assyrian Empire reached its largest ever extent. He established borders stretching from Nubia in the south-west to the Zagros Mountains in the north-east, including regions such as the Levant, south-eastern Anatolia and all of Mesopotamia. The combination of attentive administration of the government and the successful military campaigns ensured that the empire would remain stable throughout his reign as king and allowed for advancces within art, astronomy, architecture, math, medicine and literature.' Perhaps his greatest conquest was Egypt, which dramatically increased the size of his empire. After having been defeated in a first failed attempt to conquer the country in 673 BC, Esarhaddon's armies successfully defeated Pharaoh Taharqa in 671 BC after which he captured the Pharaoh's family, including his son and wife, and most of the royal court, which were sent back to Assyria as hostages. Governors loyal to the Assyrian king were then placed in charge of the conquered territories along the Nile.'
Not wishing to repeat the bloody transition of power that had begun his own reign, Esarhaddon took steps to ensure that the succession following his own death would be a peaceful one.' He designated his eldest living son, Shamash-shum-ukin, as his heir in Babylon and his favored, but younger, son Ashurbanipal as the heir to the Assyrian throne. Although the reasoning behind this is unknown, it is possible that Shamash-shum-ukin's mother was a Babylonian woman, which would have made his eligibility to the Assyrian throne questionable. Esarhaddon's mother Naqi'a issued a treaty commanding the royal court and the various provinces of the empire to accept Esarhaddon's son, Ashurbanipal, as king, and Esarhaddon himself entered into treaties with rival powers, such as the Medians and the Persians, which saw them submit as vassals to Ashurbanipal in advance.' After Esarhaddon's death in late 669 BC, Ashurbanipal and Shamash-shum-ukin ascended to their thrones peacefully, proving his succession plans a success.
Ashurbanipal (669–631 BC).
After ascending the Assyrian throne and attending the inauguration of his brother Shamash-shum-ukin as the King of Babylon, Ashurbanipal had to immediately deal with Egypt, which had rebelled against Assyrian rule shortly before Esarhaddon's death. The rebellion, led by the same Pharaoh Taharqa that Esarhaddon had defeated in 671 BC was only stopped after Ashurbanipal invaded Egypt 667 BC, marching his army as far south as Thebes, sacking several cities in his path and eventually defeating the revolt and appointing Necho I, the former king of Sais, as Egyptian vassal ruler. An 665 BC, Ashurbanipal was forced to war in Egypt again, this time as the country was invaded by Taharqa's designated successor, Tantamani. Although Egypt would be aligned with Assyria for the rest of Assyria's existence, direct control slowly slipped away over the course of Ashurbanipal's reign and by the time of his death, Egypt would be a fully independent kingdom once more, without the need for another revolt.
During the years that followed his Egyptian campaign, Ashurbanipal was kept busy elsewhere. Perhaps the most famous of his many military campaigns were his two wars against Elam, which had long been a thorn in Assyria's side. Though he had successfully defeated Elam in his first campaign in 653 BC, the Elamites rose against Assyria again in 647 BC. Elam's second attack was punished severely by Ashurbanipal, who invaded the country in 647–646 BC, a campaign which saw the brutal plunder and razing of numerous Elamite cities, including the capital Susa. The campaign was thorough; statues of Elamite gods were destroyed, royal tombs were desecrated and the ground was sowed with salt. Ashurbanipal's inscriptions suggest that he had intended to wipe out the Elamites as a distinct cultural group.
Hostility had been building up between Ashurbanipal and his brother Shamash-shum-ukin throughout their reigns, probably mainly because Ashurbanipal exercised significant control over Shamash-shum-ukin's actions, despite Esarhaddon possibly having intended the two to be equals. When Shamash-shum-ukin openly declared war on his brother in 652 BC, much of southern Mesopotamia followed him in his rebellion. Although Shamash-shum-ukin seemed to initially have the upper hand, successfully securing many allies, his imminent defeat was apparent by 650 BC, when Babylon and many other prominent southern cities were besieged by Ashurbanipal. When Babylon fell to Ashurbanipal's troops in 648 BC, Shamash-shum-ukin is traditionally believed to have committed suicide by setting himself on fire in the palace, but contemporary texts only say that he "met a cruel death" and that the gods "consigned him to a fire and destroyed his life". In addition to suicide though self-immolation or other means, it is possible that he was executed, died accidentally or was killed in some other way.
The end of Ashurbanipal's reign and the beginning of the reign of his son and successor, Ashur-etil-ilani, is shrouded in mystery because of a lack of available sources, but it appears that Ashurbanipal died a natural death in 631 BC.' Although his military activities were impressive, Ashurbanipal is today chiefly remembered because of the Library of Ashurbanipal, the first systematically organized library in the world.' The library, composed of more than 30,000 clay tablets containing stories, poems, scientific texts and other writings, was considered by Ashurbanipal himself as his greatest accomplishment.' When Assyria fell two decades after Ashurbanipal's death, the library was buried beneath the ruins of Nineveh where many tablets survived undamaged, this being the main reason why many ancient Mesopotamian texts survive to this day.
Final kings of Assyria (631–609 BC).
Ashur-etil-ilani's brief reign (631–627 BC) was initially met with opposition, as with most successions in Assyria.' Although the capital experienced a brief period of unrest and violence, those who conspired against Ashur-etil-ilani were quickly defeated by his "rab ša rēši" (great/chief eunuch), Sin-shumu-lishir.' Though few sources remain from Ashur-etil-ilani's reign, Kandalanu continued to serve as vassal king in Babylonia and it appears that Ashur-etil-ilani exercised the same amount of control as his father had.' It is possible that he was perceived as a weak ruler; the palaces he constructed were unusually small by Assyrian standards and he is not recorded to have ever gone on a military campaign or a hunting trip, activities who were otherwise common for the Assyrian kings and cemented their position as warrior-kings.'
Ashur-etil-ilani's brother Sinsharishkun became king in 627 BC. Although the common idea has been that Sinsharishkun had struggled with his brother and eventually deposed him, there is no evidence to suggest that the succession was violent or that Ashur-etil-ilani's death was unnatural." The rise of a new king might have endangered the general Sin-shumu-lishir's position at the court and Ashur-etil-ilani's old general rebelled, seizing control of northern Babylonia for three months before being defeated. The instability caused by this brief civil war might have been what allowed another general or official, Nabopolassar to revolt in 626 BC.
Sinsharishkun failed to efficiently deal with Nabopolassar's revolt, which led to the foundation of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. This new empire allied with the Median Empire to the east and the following Medo-Babylonian war against the Assyrian Empire would have catastrophic effects for Assyria." In 614 BC, the Medes sacked and razed the city of Assur, one of Assyria's previous capitals and still its religious heart and from June to August in 612 BC, the Medes and Babylonians besieged Nineveh. The walls were breached in August, leading to a lengthy and brutal sack, during which Sinsharishkun is assumed to have been killed.' Sinsharishkun's successor (possibly his son) Ashur-uballit II, rallied what remained of the Assyrian army at the city Harran, where he would be defeated by the Medes and Babylonians in 609 BC, ending the ancient Assyrian monarchy. Ashur-uballit probably died at some point during the following years, 608–606 BC.'
Although Assyria fell during the rule of the Sargonid dynasty, the Sargonid kings also ruled the country during the apex of its power. Sargon II's three immediate successors; Sennacherib, Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal, are generally regarded as three of the greatest Assyrian kings.' The term "Sargonids" is sometimes used solely for these three monarchs.'
Politics.
Royal iconography.
Royal iconography, symbols associated with the Assyrian monarchy, in the Sargonid period mostly followed on from trends established during the preceding nearly two millennia of Assyrian monarchy. In the many reliefs by Ashurbanipal, a recurring symbol depicted as embellished on his clothes is a stylized tree (often called a "tree of life" or a "sacred tree") beneath a sun-disc and flanked by a royal figure. Though the exact meaning of the tree isn't known it likely relates to the divine and had been a symbol associated with the monarchy since the time of Ashurnasirpal II two centuries prior, when it was incorporated into the decorations of the royal palace in Nimrud. Its presence on the clothes of Ashurbanipal suggests that the gods were directly connected to the king, who thus represented the center of the Assyrian realm.
The Sargonid period saw the creation of a definite Assyrian royal emblem, depicted in monumental form on the outside palace walls of the throne rooms of the first three Sargonid kings. This emblem consisted of a hero grasphing a lion, flanked on both sides by lamassu (winged human-headed bulls) with their heads turned to the front. Though the emblem is not attested in Ashurbanipal's works, its iconography still appears in some form with frequent depictions of lamassu and lions together with the Assyrian king (a "hero").
A new design element in Ashurbanipal's reliefs was a new open design for the Assyrian royal crown. Though Ashurbanipal is often depicted with the traditional tall and vaguely bucket-shaped crown, especially while depicted in chariots, the new design appears in depictions of informal events, such as lion hunts or scenes of relaxation. The design, depicted as a wide band with a long cloth end hanging pendant at the back, may have served as a more practical alternative during such informal occasions.
Royal women.
The term used for the queen in the Neo-Assyrian Empire was "issi ekalli" (or in its abbreviated form, "sēgallu"), literally meaning "woman of the palace". The feminine form of the title of king ("šar" or "šarru") was "šarratu", but this wasn't used for the consort of the king and was only applied to goddesses and to queens who held sole power in foreign countries. As such, this does not indicate that the Assyrian queen would have held a lesser position relative to queens who were consorts to foreign kings. Although Assyrian kings are known to have had multiple wives, surviving inscriptions suggest that there was only one woman with the title of queen at any one given point in time since contemporary documents use the term without further specification.
The kings often showed great and public appreciation for their queens. As an example, Sennacherib discusses his construction of a suite for his wife and queen Tashmetu-sharrat in his new palace at Nineveh in his inscriptions:
Sennacherib's second wife Naqi'a, the mother of Esarhaddon, retained a prominent position under Esarhaddon and even under Ashurbanipal, her grandson. She is attested in Ashurbanipal's reign in 663 BC with the title "mother of the king" despite no longer being the mother of the reigning king. Naqi'a is likely to have had residencies in most of the major Assyrian cities and was in her role as queen mother probably extremely wealthy, possibly wealthier than the actual queens of Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal. Her influence was increased after Esarhaddon's coronation and she is recorded to have built a palace for him in Nineveh.
The queen was not necessarily the mother of the succeeding king. The queen of Sargon II, Ataliya, was not the mother of his successor Sennacherib and Sennacherib's first wife (it is uncertain of Naqi'a held the title of queen) Tashmetu-sharrat was not the mother of his successor Esarhaddon. Although all female members of the royal family ultimately derived their power from the king (as did all male members of the family), they were not pawns without political power. They had a say in their own financial affairs and had many duties, often in very high levels of the government, in addition to producing an heir. The reign of Esarhaddon has in particular been seen as a time in which the royal women were allowed to exercise great political power, possibly on account of Esarhaddon's mistrust of his male relatives after his brothers had murdered his father and waged civil war in an attempt to usurp the throne from him.
The Babylonian problem.
By the time of the Sargonid kings, Babylonia, the southern part of their empire, had only been incorporated into the Assyrian empire relatively recently. Though an Assyrian vassal for short periods over the course of a few centuries, the kingdom had been ruled by native Babylonian kings until its conquest and annexation by Tiglath-Pileser III less than a century prior. The annexation of Babylonia resulted in what has been termed by historians as the "Babylonian problem", Babylonia's frequent revolts aimed at throwing off Assyria's yoke and re-establashing their independence. Nabopolassar's successful 626 BC revolt, which eventually doomed Assyria, was simply the last in a long line of such Babylonian uprisings.""
The Sargonid kings tried many different solutions for the Babylonian problem. Sennacherib, frustrated by Babylon's repeated aspirations of independence, destroyed the city in 689 BC and carried the religiously important Statue of Marduk off into Assyria. The city was then rebuilt by Esarhaddon in the 670s BC, probably in a move that the king hoped would show the benefits of continued Assyrian rule over the region and that he was to rule Babylon with the same care and generosity as a native Babylonian king.
Family tree of the Sargonid dynasty.
Follows Radner (2013) unless otherwise indicated. Kings indicated with bold text, women indicated with italics.


Kupa

The Kupa ( ) or Kolpa ( ; from in Roman times) river, a right tributary of the Sava, forms a natural border between north-west Croatia and southeast Slovenia. It is long, with its border part having a length of and the rest located in Croatia.
Name.
The name "Colapis", recorded in the antiquity, is supposed to come from Proto-Indo-European roots "*quel-" ("turn", "meander") and "*ap-" ("water"), meaning "meandering water". An alternative interpretation is "*(s)kel-"/"*skul-" ("shiny", "bright"), meaning "clear river".
Course.
The Kupa originates in Croatia in the mountainous region of Gorski Kotar, northeast of Rijeka, in the area of Risnjak National Park. It flows a few kilometers eastwards, receives the small Čabranka River from the left, before reaching the Slovenian border.
It then continues eastwards between the White Carniola region in the north and Central Croatia in the south. The Kupa receives influx from the river Lahinja from the left in Primostek, passes Vrbovsko, and eventually detaches from the Slovenian border having passed Metlika.
It then reaches the city of Karlovac, where it receives influx from two other rivers from the right, Dobra and Korana (which in turn is joined by Mrežnica). The Kupa continues flowing to the east, where it merges with Glina from the right, it then passes through two small towns called Šišinec and Brkiševina, and then proceeds to the town of Sisak where it merges with Odra from the left and, after passing through Sisak town centre, flows into the Sava River.
Pollution.
Fairly unpolluted downstream to Karlovac, the upper Kupa is a popular place for bathing in summer. The section from Stari Trg down to Fučkovci since 2006 is part of the Slovenian Krajinski park Kolpa nature reserve.
The hydrological parameters of the Kupa are regularly monitored at Radenci, Kamanje, Karlovac, Jamnička Kiselica and Farkašić.


Surmo

Surmo Valley (Urdu) is a valley in Ghangche District, in Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan. Etymologically, the name is derived from "sermo" : "ser" meaning gold and "mo" is a suffix used to feminise the word.
Location.
Surmo is located approximately from the district administrative capital of Khaplu. Its neighborhoods are Choghogrong, Tarkari, Khar, Gond, Langkhung, Tishari and Ghazi-Thang, containing 800 houses and approximately 10,000 people. Cultural symbols include Rgyalmo Khar, Shagharun khar and Minduq Sar (flower garden).
History.
Surmo is one of the oldest valleys of Baltistan. It contains 150-year-old walnut trees. In 1996, stupas were found here. Local people called this place "Rgyalmo Khar" (a queen's palace).
Geography.
Surmo is important with respect to military and transportation networks in the mountainous region. Its biggest bridge, Surmo Bridge, links Siachen region with the district capital of Khaplu, as well as Chorbat Valley, making this valley strategically important.
Surmo was formerly a fertile and prosperous area. A well-known local expression was "Surmo ma drang na gar ma drang" ("if your stomach is not full or stuffed in Surmo, there is no other place it would be"). The shifts in flow of the glacier-sourced Shyok river (literally "the river of death") have caused considerable damage, the slow and steady kind of devastation that resulted in landslides. Many fields were lost in this way over the past century, leaving only 20% of the fields on the riverside which are not cut-off due to flooding. Measures have been taken to save the land erosion by building defensive walls of stone. However that seems inadequate before the large river. In 2010, the river threat reached an alarming situation when many houses including a mosque had to be demolished in Tarkari area provided the fact that the river approached too near.
"Surmo Broq", a site of terraced fields hundreds of feet above the valley, is one of the beautiful "Broqs" in Baltistan. Dakholi Lake is located there at a distance of few kilometers above the "broq". Ringbothang, a newly cultivated land near the bridge, is another source of earning and farming. Another enormous uncultivated land of Surmo is called "Tunga".
Surmo has several beautiful meadows and lakes where local people take their livestock during the summer season, they spend the whole season there till winter, two famous meadows are Zingkhashing and "Surat".
Welfare Organizations.
The people of Surmo are considered as one of the well-organized and educated people in Baltistan. Aga Khan Development Network and Anjumane Falah o Behbood Surmo are among the oldest welfare organizations of Baltistan working in the region for the welfare and development of the locals for many decades.
The young generation of Surmo is struggling in education, and dreams of Surmo as a well-developed village in future. Youth organization "Skarchan" is playing vital role in various fields of life like health care and education as well as for better environment of the area. Skarchen was formed in 2000 and has since helped build Madrsa Shah Hamdan and Faizbukhsh Public School. Skarchen is a youth organization and includes many of youth in Surmo. Askari Tanzeem is an organization which includes the retired army personnel. The main achievement of the organization is the construction of Jamia Masjid Surmo.


Sangasar

Sangasar is a small market town in Iraqi Kurdistan, around 110 km East of Erbil and 120 km North of Sulaymaniyah.
in the late 1980s, Saddam Hussein forcibly displaced the inhabitants of the town as part of a plan to evict Kurdish people from the Eastern border with Iran.
In 2007, 1,800 people were internally displaced from Sangasar and from Doli Shahidan in Erbil Governorate due to Turkish shelling. According to ReliefWeb, "One woman was reported killed and several people injured. Over 200 head of livestock have also been killed. One mukhtar - head of a local village - told us six bridges which connect several villages had been destroyed, as well as a local school."
In 2017 a small earthquake took place in the Sangasar area of Iraqi Kurdistan, resulting in no casualties.
In 2019, the area has been repeatedly targeted by Turkish bombing, resulting in numerous civilian casualties. Nahro Abdullah, the Mayor of Sangasar, reportedly told Kurdistan 24 that Turkish bombing in their area has increased in 2019 in comparison with previous years. Rudaw also reported that Turkish warplanes bombed Sarginel village, which is about 15 km north of Sangasar, in November 2019. Mayor Nahro Abdullah told Rudaw that "The Turkish warplanes bombed Sarginel village six times". Turkey has claimed that it is targeting PKK militants in the area. However, local villagers have told Kurdish news agencies that there are no PKK bases in the area.
Kurdish singer and TV presenter Daniel Madland was born in Sangasar.


Superior Council of the French Language

Superior Council of the French Language or Conseil supérieur de la langue française may refer to:


Christian Appy

Christian Gerard Appy (born April 5, 1955) is a professor of history at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He is widely known as a leading expert on the Vietnam War experience. The most recent of his three books on the subject is "American Reckoning: The Vietnam War and Our National Identity". It explores the war's impact on American politics, culture, and foreign policy from the 1950s to the Obama presidency.
Biography.
Appy was born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1955. In 1964, his family moved to Westport, Connecticut, where he attended public school and graduated from Staples High School in 1973. At Amherst College, class of 1977, he majored in American Studies and wrote a prize-winning honors thesis on Appalachian coal miners. He received his Ph.D in the History of American Civilization at Harvard University in 1987. His dissertation received the Ralph Henry Gabriel dissertation prize from the American Studies Association. It went on to become his first book, "Working Class War: American Combat Soldiers and Vietnam". Appy taught at Harvard and MIT before accepting a position in the history department at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2004. His book "Patriots: The Vietnam War Remembered from All Sides" is widely assigned to college students studying the Vietnam War, due to its unique and nearly comprehensive view of those involved in the war. The book includes 135 oral histories drawn from 350 interviews conducted by Appy over the course of researching the book. "Patriots" won the 2004 Massachusetts Book Award for nonfiction.
At the University of Massachusetts, Appy has received the Distinguished Teaching Award, the Distinguished Graduate Mentor Award, and the Chancellor's Medal. Professor Appy is married to Katherine Appy, and has two children and three stepchildren. He and his family live in Amherst, Massachusetts.


Aglar Zainapora

Aglar is a notified area and a town in Zainapora Sub District of Kashmir. It is situated on the left bank of Rambi Ara which demarcates between Pulwama district with Shopian district. Aglar is located towards east from Pulwama, from Zainapora and towards west from Anantnag.
Aglar is 4th most populous town, located in Zainapora sub district of the state Jammu & Kashmir in India and 3rd biggest town by area in the sub district. The Pin code of Aglar is 192305.
By population, Aglar is one of largest town located in Zainapora Sub District of Shopian district, Jammu and Kashmir with total 522 families residing. The Aglar town has population of 2,864 and the population density of the village is 752 persons per km2 as per 2011 population census. As per constitution of India and Panchyati Raaj Act, Aglar is administrated by Sarpanch who is an elected representative of village.
Well qualified, decent, kind and honest people (mostly youth) are very forward not only in education field but in sports activities as well. In volleyball, football and cricket many people hailing from Aglar represent district and state in different parts of Jammu and Kashmir and outside as well locality.
The district magistrate of Shopian district has approved the construction of public park, which will be constructed at an estimated cost of 2.5 lakh in Darpeth area of Aglar. The park will be thrown open for public in year 2021.
Transport.
Aglar is having well traffic connectivity with Pulwama, Anantnag, Shopian and other towns of South Kashmir. Aglar is having its own sumo stand called Badshah sumo stand aglar, which connects aglar to almost every district and town of South kashmir. The nearest railway stations to Aglar are Bijbehara railway station from Aglar and Panzgam railway station . Nearest airport to Aglar is Sheikh ul-Alam International Airport which is located at a distance of from Aglar.
Healthcare.
There is a Sub health centre functioning in the area provides basic health care facilities to the people. Other nearest hospitals to Aglar are:


Samoan Islands

The Samoan Islands are an archipelago covering in the central South Pacific, forming part of Polynesia and of the wider region of Oceania. Administratively, the archipelago comprises all of the Independent State of Samoa and most of American Samoa (apart from Swains Island, which is geographically part of the Tokelau Islands). The land masses of the two Samoan jurisdictions are separated by of ocean at their closest points.
The population of the Samoan Islands is approximately 250,000. The inhabitants have in common the Samoan language, a culture known as "fa'a Samoa," and an indigenous form of governance called "fa'amatai". Samoans are one of the largest Polynesian populations in the world, and most are of exclusively Samoan ancestry.
The oldest known evidence of human activity in the Samoan Islands dates to around 1050 BCE. It comes from a Lapita site at Mulifanua wharf on Upolu island. In 1768, the eastern islands were visited by the French explorer Bougainville, who named them the "Navigator Islands". That name was used by missionaries until about 1845, and in official European dispatches until about 1870.
Samoa and American Samoa.
Politically, the Samoa Islands are divided into two jurisdictions:
Political partition.
In the late 1800s, competition for political control of the islands between the United States, Germany, and the United Kingdom resulted in the Tripartite Convention (1899), which formally partitioned the Samoan archipelago into a German colony (German Samoa) in the western half and a United States territory (American Samoa) in the eastern half. Forerunners to that convention were the Washington Conference of 1887, the Treaty of Berlin of 1889, and the Anglo-German Agreement on Samoa of 1899. New Zealand began occupying the western islands while they were still a German colony and continued as an occupying force until 1920. Then, from 1920 until Samoa's independence in 1962, New Zealand governed the islands in that group — under a League of Nations Class C Mandate from 1920 to 1946, and as a United Nations Trust Territory from 1946 to 1962. The force that eventually led to the political independence of the western islands in 1962 was the pro-independence Mau movement, which gained popularity across the area. The eastern islands remain a political territory of the United States.
Islands.
Samoa.
The islands of Manono, Apolima and Nuulopa lie in the Apolima Strait between Upolu and Savaii. The four small, uninhabited islands - Nuutele, Nuulua, Namua and Fanuatapu - are situated off the east coast of Upolu and comprise the Aleipata Islands.
Location.
The islands are approximately from Fiji, from Tonga, from New Zealand, and from Hawaii, U.S.A.
The islands lie between 13° and 14° south latitude and 169° and 173° west longitude, and span an area of about from west to east.
The larger islands are volcanic in origin, mountainous, and covered in tropical moist forest. Some of the smaller islands are coral atolls with black sand beaches.
Highest points.
The highest point in Samoa is Mt. Silisili, on the island of Savai'i. At , it is also one of the highest peaks in Polynesia. The highest peak in American Samoa is on Ta’u, Lata Mountain, at .
Landmass.
Upolu and Savai'i in Samoa are among the largest of the Polynesian islands, at and , respectively, Their size is exceeded only by the two main islands of Fiji and the Hawaiian islands of Hawaiʻi and Maui. The island of Upolu has more inhabitants than the island of Savai'i does.
The next largest island is Tutuila, where the city and harbor of Pago Pago (with a population of 3,519 in 1990) is located. Tutuila is much smaller than Upolu and Savai‘i, at in area, but it is the largest island in American Samoa. The highest point on Tutuila is Matafao Peak.
Smaller islands in the archipelago include the three islets (Manono Island, Apolima and Nu'ulopa) located in the Apolima Strait between Savai'i and Upolu; the four Aleipata Islands off the eastern end of Upolu (Nu'utele, Nu'ulua, Namua, and Fanuatapu); and Nu‘usafe‘e. Aunu'u is a small island off the eastern end of Tutuila. To the east of Tutuila, the Manu'a group comprises Ofu, Olosega, and Ta’u. An uninhabited coral atoll, Rose Atoll, is the southernmost point in the territory of the United States. Another coral atoll, Swains Island, is within the territory of American Samoa but is geographically distant from the Samoan archipelago.
Geology.
The volcanic Samoa island chain may have been formed by the activity of the Samoa hotspot at the eastern end of the Samoa Islands. In theory, that hotspot was created by the movement of the Pacific tectonic plate over a 'fixed' deep and narrow mantle plume spewing up through the Earth's crust. One piece of evidence that this activity may have created the islands is that they generally lie in a straight east-to-west line, and the plate is moving from east to west. However, some characteristics of the Samoa islands are inconsistent with this theory. The classic hotspot model (based mostly on studies of the Hawaii hotspot) predicts that, if plate movement over a hotspot is what created a volcanic island chain, then the farther away from the hotspot the islands and seamounts in the chain are, the older they will prove to be. Some of the evidence is inconsistent with this explanation for the creation of the Samoa island chain, creating an enigma for scientists. For one thing, Savai'i, the most western of the Samoa island chain, and Ta'u Island, the most eastern, both erupted in the last century. For another thing, the subaerial rock samples initially collected from Savai'i, the westernmost of the islands, are too young by several million years to fit the classic hotspot model of age progression in an island chain. These facts led some scientists to suggest that the Samoa islands were not formed by the hotspot plume. One possible explanation for the inconsistency of the data with the hotspot formation theory is the fact that the island chain lies just north of the Tonga Trench. An alternative theory is that the islands were formed by magma seeping through cracks in stressed fracture zones. However, in 2005, an international team found new evidence that supports the hotspot model. They gathered additional samples from Savai'i — submarine samples from the deep flanks and rifts of the island. Tests found that these samples are much older than the previously collected samples: They are about five million years old, an age that fits the hotspot model.
2009 Samoa earthquake and tsunami.
The 2009 Samoa earthquake and tsunami killed more than 170 people in the Samoa Islands and Tonga. The M8.1 submarine earthquake took place in the region at 06:48:11 local time on September 29, 2009 (17:48:11 UTC, September 29), followed by smaller aftershocks. It was the largest earthquake of 2009. The quake occurred on the outer rise of the Kermadec-Tonga Subduction Zone. This is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, where tectonic plates in the Earth's lithosphere meet and earthquakes and volcanic activity are common.
Vailulu'u Seamount.
The Vailulu'u Seamount, an active submerged volcano, lies east of Ta'u in
American Samoa. It was discovered in 1975 and has since been studied by an international team of scientists, contributing towards understanding of the Earth's fundamental processes. Growing inside the summit crater of Va'ilulu'u is an active underwater volcanic cone, named after Samoa's goddess of war, Nafanua.
Climate.
The Samoan climate is tropical, with a rainy season from November to April. The island group is frequently hit by tropical cyclones between December and March, due to its position in the South Pacific Ocean.


Siksa, Chorbat

Siksa is a village in the Chorbat Valley, Ghanche District of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan, lying east of Skardu, near the border of Pakistan and India at an elevation of .
In historical travel writings Siksa is referred to as the "Chorbat village". It is also described as the principal village of the Chorbat "ilaqa", where the officials of Chorbat lived. Siksa is at the end of the Chorbat Lungpa valley, which leads to the Chorbat La pass, the historical route between Baltistan and Ladakh.
The language spoken is Balti. The entire population is Muslim of the Sofia Noorbakhshia sect.
Etymology.
The name "Siksa" is believed to be derived from the Balti word meaning "a land with shortage of water". For hundred of years this village has struggled for access of water for agriculture. The shortage of water was use to be fulfilled by initiating different community projects. One of the major projects was initiated in early 19th century to construct a channel from its eastern border which resulted in the fulfillment of agricultural water.
Geography.
Sika has an average elevation of about , and is situated along the banks of the Shyok River, a tributary of the Indus. Villages near Siksa includes Kalan, Sogmos, Chuar and Siari.
Resources.
The natural resources of the village include agriculture, horticultural resources, the Shyok River, mountains and peaks.
The agriculture in the village is only summer based due to extreme cold in the winter where temperature goes to -10 C. The crops include some beans, maize, potatoes, and other food crops however communities have experimented less with the agriculture due to the natural limiting factors i.e. extreme cold.
Transport.
Siksa is accessible only by the road, The normal route to Siksa is via Shyok Valley Road, that connect it to the District Headquarters Khaplu and to Skardu. The climate can have adverse effects on transport in and out of the Siksa, as the roads in and out of can be blocked for weeks.


Chornivka

Chornivka (, , ) is a village in Chernivtsi Raion, Chernivtsi Oblast (province) of western Ukraine. It belongs to Chernivtsi urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. It is located in the historic region of Bukovina (), approximately 22 km from the oblast capital, Chernivtsi.
The current estimated population is 2,340 (as of 2005).
As of 2005, the mayor was Gheorghe Bota.
History.
Chornivka is home to the ancestral estate of the Hurmuzachi brothers, a well-known family of Romanian aristocrats, lawyers and historians from the 19th century. The mansion was transformed into a museum in October 1999.
In the 17th century, the estate had been in the possession of the family of Ion Neculce, a Moldavian chronicler. It had come into the family's possession by marriage, as a wedding gift to Neculce's mother. It was then passed on to one of Neculce's sisters.
The oldest church, built by the Hurmuzachi family, dates back to 1852.
Until 18 July 2020, Chornivka belonged to Novoselytsia Raion. The raion was abolished in July 2020 as part of the administrative reform of Ukraine, which reduced the number of raions of Chernivtsi Oblast to three. The area of Novoselytsia Raion was split between Chernivtsi and Dnistrovskyi Raions, with Chornivka being transferred to Chernivtsi Raion.


Sopore

Sopore, known as Suyyapur in antiquity, is a town in the Baramulla district of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is north-west of Srinagar, and north-east from the city of Baramulla.
Sopore Town has Asia's second largest fruit mandi (wholesale market). It is also known as the "Apple Town of Kashmir". Apart from fruit mandi, Sopore is near to one of Asia's largest freshwater lakes, Wular Lake.
History.
Sopore was founded by Utpala engineer and irrigation minister Suyya during the reign of king Avantivarman in 880 CE. As such the name of the city is Suyya-pur, which has been shortened to Sopore. When the engineer Suyya was working in Sopore no people were coming forth to plunge themselves in gushing water. The king, Avantiverman, thereupon ordered that a part of treasury may be thrown into the water; consequently, a large number of people plunged into the river to get as many coins as they could. It was engineer Suyya's idea to throw coins into flooded land not the king.
Pashtun tribesmen such as Mehsud and Afridi from mountainous region of North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) of the newly formed state of Pakistan invaded Sopore on 22 October 1947. In 1989, Sopore became a focus of the separatist activities and violence with frequent protests and strikes.
Demographics.
 India census, Sopore urban area had a population of 71,292 and an area of . The urban area consisted of the city which has a municipal committee and some outgrowths. In the 2011 census, the city had a population of 61,098 and an area of . In the urban area there were 37,570 males (53%) and 33,722 females (47%). Of the population, 9,329 (13.1%) were age 0-6: 5,042 males (54%) and 4,287 females (46%). The literacy rate for the people over six was 70.8% (males 78.6%, females 62.3%).
Administration.
Sopore is one of the largest subdivisions of the state with 7 tehsils. And it is also the oldest existing subdivision of the state. Bashir Ahmad Bhat (KAS) who is an administrator, has served the sub-division between August 2015 to April 2017 as the Sub-Divisional Magistrate.
Education.
The main public educational institutions in Sopore are Government Boys Higher Secondary School Sopore, Government Girls Higher Secondary School Sopore, Shah Rasool Memorial Welkin Higher Secondary School, Muslim Education Trust, Government Degree College Sopore, Model Public School Sopore Government Degree College for Women Sopore, Sopore Law College, Industrial Training Institute Jalalabad and Prime Public School Zaingeer. The Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology is located in Wadoora, Sopore.


Partium

Partium (from Latin "partium", the genitive of "pars" "part, portion") or "Részek" (in Hungarian) was a historical and geographical region in the Kingdom of Hungary during the early modern and modern periods. It consisted of the eastern and northern parts of Hungary proper. At times, it included Miskolc, and Kassa (today Košice, Slovakia) (see map).
History.
In 1526, after the Battle of Mohács, the Kingdom of Hungary was overrun by the Ottomans, but effectively split into 3 parts in 1541 when the Ottomans captured Buda. The Habsburgs got a foothold in the north and west (Royal Hungary), with the new capital Pressburg (Pozsony, today's Bratislava). King John I of Hungary from the Zápolya house, the former voivode of Transylvania and the wealthiest and the most powerful landlord after Mohács, secured the eastern part of the Kingdom (referred as "Eastern Hungarian Kingdom" by Hungarian scholars) with the help of the Ottomans. On 29 February 1528, the sultan assented to an alliance with Zápolya and gave written assurance of his support.
From 1541 or 1542, the house of Zápolya also controlled the region that after 1571 became known as Partium.
In 1570, John II Sigismund Zápolya, son of John I Zápolya renounced his claim as King of Hungary (1540-1570) in favour of Maximilian II of Habsburg, who also claimed the title since 1563. Instead John II Sigismund Zápolya remained Prince of Transylvania between 1570 and 1571.
In 1570, by the Treaty of Speyer (Spires), John II Sigismund, John I's son, abdicated as king of Hungary, and a new dukedom was invented for him: "Joannes, serenissimi olim Joannis regis Hungariae, Dalmatiae, Croatiae etc. filius, Dei gratia princeps Transsylvaniae ac partium regni Hungariae" (John, son of the late most serene king John of Hungary, Dalmatia, Croatia, etc., by the grace of God prince of Transylvania and parts of the Kingdom of Hungary), from which derives the name Partium.
This treaty, like the earlier Nagyvárad accord, endorsed the principle of a united Hungary. Partium and Transylvania were entrusted to John II Sigismund, but under the title of "imperial prince". As mentioned above, the Zápolya held Partium before, but the treaty allowed them to do this without fear that the Habsburgs would contest the house of Zápolya's lordship. In a sense, Zápolya traded title for territory.
The "Eastern Hungarian Kingdom" ceased to exist, and became simply the Principality of Transylvania. All rulings after 1570 as King of Hungary refer to the territory known as "Royal Hungary", and as Prince refer to the Principality of Transylvania which included Partium.
For some decades during the 17th century Partium was part of the Principality of Transylvania, and consequently a part of the Ottoman Empire. On 5 September 1619, the prince of Transylvania, Gabriel Bethlen captured Kassa (now Košice) in Partium Abaúj County with the assistance of the future George I Rákóczi in another anti-Habsburg insurrection. By the Peace of Nikolsburg in 1621, the Habsburgs restored the religious toleration agreement of 1606 and recognized Transylvanian rule over seven stated Partium counties: Ugocsa, Bereg, Zemplén, Borsod, Szabolcs, Szatmár and Abaúj.
These were returned to Habsburg Royal Hungary at Bethlen's death in 1629, but were once again seized by Transylvanian prince George I Rákóczi in 1644 and formally ceded by Habsburg Royal Hungary to Transylvania at the Treaty of Linz (1645).
Geographic extent.
Initially, Partium consisted of the counties of Máramaros, Közép-Szolnok, Kraszna, and Bihar, as well as the Kővárvidék. The Banate of Severin and eastern Zaránd, that was already part of John II Sigismund’s realm, were also included in what was named Partium. These territories were ruled by Transylvania, but were not formally part of the Principality (later Grand Principality) of Transylvania, and so the name Partium was coined.
All of Transylvania was at the time under permanent threat of being overrun by both Habsburgs and Ottomans. Partium was taken by the Ottoman troops in 1660, but was back in Transylvanian possession by the end of the century, when the latter was absorbed in the Habsburgs' domain in 1687 (de facto) / 1699 (by treaty with the Ottomans).
In the 18th century, the name was used to describe a smaller area, consisting of Közép-Szolnok, Kraszna, the Kővárvidék, and a rump Zaránd, but was not itself an official subdivision.
In 1867, at the Ausgleich, the Partium territories were incorporated into the Transleithanian part of Austria-Hungary. ("See comitatus system.")
Present-day location.
With the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the end of World War I, Partium was split, under to the terms of the 1920 Treaty of Trianon, among the successor states of the former Kingdom of Hungary: about 60% became part of Romania, about 20% went to Hungary, and another 20% to Czechoslovakia. The latter part, known as Carpathian Ruthenia, was ceded to Soviet Union after World War II and since 1991 belongs to Ukraine.
The Romanian part roughly corresponds to the Crişana and partly Banat regions of Romania. The Hungarian part corresponds to the Hajdú-Bihar county, and small parts of the Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg and Békés counties of Hungary. The Ukrainian part corresponds to the Northern Maramuresh (geographic region)
of the Zakarpattia Oblast, Ukraine.
In present-day Hungarian usage, Partium chiefly refers to the part of the region that lies in Romania.
Autonomy initiatives.
With the support of Hungarian People's Party of Transylvania, which advocates territorial autonomy for Partium, the "Council for Autonomy in Partium" was created in 2013.
The Council approved a new flag for Partium in 2015 composed of a Patriarchal cross and Árpád stripes, both traditional symbols of the Hungarian nation featured on the coat of arms of Hungary.


Ichamati River

Ichamati River () (also spelt Ichhamati), is a trans-boundary river which flows through India and Bangladesh and also forms the boundary between the two countries. The river is facing the problem of siltation leading to thin flow of water in the dry season and floods in the rainy season. Experts are handling the situation and remedial matters are being discussed between the governments of India and Bangladesh.
Ichamati flow.
Ichamati River is now in three parts: (1) The longer part flows from the Mathabhanga River, a distributary of the Padma, and after flowing for joins the Kalindi River near Hasnabad in North 24 Parganas and Debhata in Satkhira District. (2) Once the main river west of Dhaka and (3) Ichamati of Dinajpur. of 1764–66, shows the last two rivers as one. According to a number of hydrologists, the three Ichamati rivers, in the past, were a single channel.
The second river marked above originates south of Jafarganj opposite to the mouth of the Hoorsagar near Nathpur factory and runs towards Joginighat in Munshiganj. Joginighat is situated at the confluence of the Jamuna and the Ichamati. There are five pilgrimage ghats along the river locally known as Panchatirtha ghats—Tirthaghat, Agla, Solepur, Barunighat and Joginighat.
Lower Ichamati.
The Mathabhanga River originates from the right bank of the Padma, at Munshiganj in Kushtia District in Bangladesh. It bifurcates near Majidia in Nadia District in India, creating two rivers, Ichamati and Churni. After traversing a length of in India, the Ichamati enters Bangladesh near Mubarakpur. It flows for in Bangladesh and again enters India at Habaspur Village near Duttaphulia in Nadia district. It forms the international border between India and Bangladesh for from Angrail to Kalanchi, and again from Goalpara to the Kalindi-Raimangal outfall into the Bay of Bengal.
The Bhairab once flowed from the Ganges, across the present beds of the Jalangi, and further eastwards towards Faridpur. The Bhairab is no more a very active river. The Mathabhanga is a younger stream than Jalangi and it was not till very recently that the river completed its junction with the Hooghly by adopting the River Churni (now its lower reaches) for its main course. Earlier most of the water of the Mathabhanga ran off to the east down the Kumara, Chitra, Coboduk (Bhairab), and Ichamati, but all these escape routes have been shut off, except a small amount for the Ichamati. The point to note is that while earlier the rivers in the region flowed in a south-easterly direction, but later some force pulled the Jalangi and the Mathabhanga in a south-westerly direction. The inference is that it occurred because of a local subsidence, which was active for some period prior to 1750 and which has since become inactive.
River bed raised.
While the bed of the Ichamati river is higher than that of the Mathabhanga, that of the Churni is lower than Mathabhanga by . During the lean period the level of water in the Mathabhanga is higher than that of the Padma. As a result, no water enters the Ichamati during the dry season. One of the causes of silting of the river was construction of guard wall for railway over bridge. The river beds in the area need to be excavated in order that there is flow of water during the lean season. Since this is required to be done both in India and Bangladesh, there is need for accord on this point. The matter has been discussed at the ministerial level, the area surveyed to have better idea of the problems of the people in the affected area, and decisive action is expected in the near future.
The river zone also faces the problem of industrial pollution and forcible occupation of land by people. Arresting environmental hazards resulting from lack of sanitation facilities, encroachment, groundwater contamination like arsenic pollution, destruction of aquatic flora, fauna are some of the burning problem of the areas that needs to be tackled through participatory mechanism.
Ichhamati river and its branches form a large oxbow lake complex near Bangaon in North 24-Paraganas district. Besides agricultural and anthropogenic stresses, weed infestation particularly with water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) is a major concern because it is covering the surface of lake waters.
Immersion of Durga images.
At the end of Durga Puja the immersion ceremony in the Ichamati offers a unique spectacle along the India-Bangladesh river border. The Ichhamati river, which acts as a natural border between the two countries, becomes the scene of tremendous revelry on this day, when boats crammed with people from both countries converge here to immerse their respective idols. Boats of all shapes and sizes can be seen on the river, as far as the eye can see — each one flying the flag of its respective country. It is the only day during the year when border patrolling is relaxed and people can cross over to the other side of the river. While earlier, after immersing their idols, people could even disembark from their boats on the other side, restrictions imposed by border officials in the last few years has put an end to this practice.


Sayh Mudayrah

Sayh Mudayrah, pronounced locally "Sayḥ Muzayraʿ" (), is a township in Masfout, an exclave of the Emirate of Ajman, the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It is located on the Madam/Hatta Highway (E44) near the Oman–United Arab Emirates border.
Description.
A large village which has developed parallel to the E44, Sayh Mudayrah gives its name to a geological fault line linked to the Hatta fault zone. The village, located on an alluvial fan, is rich in soil, mineral and water resources and its fertile land has long encouraged settlement. It sits on a watershed between the east and west coasts of the UAE, which gives rise to the unusual wadi formation at Sinadil, which sees water flowing from the same spot both West towards the Persian Gulf and East towards the Indian Ocean.


Administrative divisions of Taiwan

Taiwan, officially known as the Republic of China (ROC), is divided into multi-layered statutory subdivisions. Due to the complex political status of Taiwan, there is a significant difference in the "de jure" system set out in the original constitution and the "de facto" system in use today.
Constitutionally, the ROC is divided into and special municipalities, with each province subdivided into cities and counties. The provinces have been "streamlined" and are no longer functional.
With provinces non-functional in practice, Taiwan is divided into 22 subnational divisions each with a local government led by an elected head and a local council. Matters for which local governments are responsible or partially responsible include social services, education, urban planning, public construction, water management, environmental protection, transport and public safety. There are three types of subnational divisions: special municipalities, cities and counties. Special municipalities and cities are further divided into districts for local administration. Counties are further divided into townships and county-administered cities. These divisions have a degree of autonomy. They have government offices with elected leaders and local councils, which share responsibilities with the county.
When the ROC retreated to Taiwan in 1949, its claimed territory consisted of 35 provinces, 12 special municipalities, 1 special administrative region and 2 autonomous regions. However, since its retreat, the ROC has controlled only Taiwan Province and some islands of Fujian Province. The ROC also controls Pratas Island and Taiping Island in the Spratly Islands, which are part of the disputed South China Sea Islands. They were placed under Kaohsiung administration after the retreat to Taiwan.
Since 1949, the government has made some changes in the area under its control. Taipei became a special municipality in 1967 and Kaohsiung in 1979. The two provincial governments were "streamlined", with their functions transferred to the central government (Fujian in 1956 and Taiwan in 1998). In 2010, New Taipei, Taichung and Tainan were upgraded to special municipalities. And in 2014, Taoyuan County was also upgraded to Taoyuan special municipality. This brought the top-level divisions to their current state:
According to Article 4 of the Local Government Act, laws pertaining to special municipalities also apply to counties with a population exceeding 2 million. This provision does not currently apply to any county, although it previously applied to Taipei County (now New Taipei City) and Taoyuan County (now Taoyuan City).
History.
Territory.
In 1945, after World War II, the Republic of China acquired Taiwan (Formosa) and Penghu (the Pescadores) from the Empire of Japan. In 1949 and 1950, the government of the Republic of China led by the Kuomintang lost the Chinese Civil War and retreated to Taipei, Taiwan. The government lost almost all its jurisdiction over mainland China, with only some offshore islands remaining. This history gives two different sources of the current Taiwanese administrative divisions on the Free area of the Republic of China or Taiwan Area.
Changes to divisions.
Since 1949, the government has made some changes in the area under its control. The two provincial governments were downscaled and much of their functions transferred to the central or county governments. Six special municipalities have been created.
Since 1949, the most controversial part of the political division system has been the existence of Taiwan Province, as its existence was part of a larger controversy over the political status of Taiwan. Since 1998, most of the duties and powers of Taiwan Provincial Government have been transferred to the central government, through amendments to the constitution. The much smaller Fukien province, Fujian Provincial Government has been downsized since 1956.
There has been some criticism of the current administrative scheme as being inefficient and not conducive to regional planning. In particular, most of the administrative cities are much smaller than the actual metropolitan areas, and there are no formal means for coordinating policy between an administrative city and its surrounding areas.
Before 2008, the likelihood of consolidation was low. Many of the cities had political demographics which were very different from their surrounding counties, making the prospect of consolidation highly politically charged. For example, while the Kuomintang argued that combining Taipei City, Taipei County, and Keelung City into a metropolitan Taipei region would allow for better regional planning, the Democratic Progressive Party argued that this was merely an excuse to eliminate the government of Taipei County, which it had at times controlled, by swamping it with votes from Taipei City and Keelung City, which tended to vote Kuomintang.
On 1 October 2007, Taipei County was upgraded to a quasi-municipality () on the same level as Kaohsiung City and Taipei City. This allowed the county to have the organizational and budgetary framework of a "de jure" municipality, but it was still formally styled as a county. Taichung County and Tainan City lobbied the central government for similar status. Taoyuan County was also upgraded to a quasi-municipality on 1 January 2011, as its population was above 2 million on the date of elevation.
Under President Ma Ying-jeou's administration, the central government has reorganized more counties and cities. Four mergers and promotions were approved in 2009 and became effective on 25 December 2010 and one more became effective on 25 December 2014.
The summary of changes on administrative divisions are shown below.
This brought the top-level divisions of Taiwan (ROC) to its current state: 2 nominal provinces without administrative function and 6 special municipalities; and under the provinces, 13 counties and three cities.
Current system.
Special municipalities, counties, and cities.
Currently there are three types and in total 22 administrative divisions are directly governed by the central government (Executive Yuan). According to the "Local Government Act" of Taiwan, a place with population more than 1.25 million may become a special municipality, a place with population between 0.5 and 1.25 million may become a city. Counties with population more than 2 million may grant some extra privileges in local autonomy that was designed for special municipalities.
These 22 divisions are also regulated by the "Local Government Act" as local self-governance bodies. Each division has its own executive called "city/county government" and own legislature called "city/county council". The city mayors, county magistrates and all legislators are elected by the people under its jurisdiction every four years. Geographically,
Townships, county-administered cities and districts.
The 22 main divisions in the country are further divided into 368 subdivisions. These 368 divisions can be categorized as the following.
According to the "Local Government Act", a county is divided into townships and county-administered cities. The county seat or place with population between 100,000 and 500,000 may become a county-administered city. A special municipality or a city is divided into districts.
The townships, county-administered cities in counties, and mountain indigenous district in special municipalities are also local self-governance bodies. Each division has its own executive called "township/city/district office" and own legislature called "township/city/district council". The city mayors, township/district chiefs and all legislators are elected by the people under its jurisdiction every four years. The normal districts in special municipalities and cities are governed as branches of the municipality/city government and do not hold any local self-governance power.
The mountain indigenous township and districts are created for its significant population of Taiwanese aborigines, in these divisions, only Taiwanese aborigines may be elected to be the township/district chiefs.
Lower-level administrative divisions.
The 368 divisions are further divided into villages and to neighborhoods.
The village chiefs are elected by the people under its jurisdiction every four years. The neighborhood chiefs are appointed by the village chief.
Other issues.
Joint Service Centers of Executive Yuan.
The central government operates five regional Joint Service Centers (JSC, ) outside Taipei as outposts of the government ministries in the Executive Yuan, similar to the cross-departmental mode of working in the former Government Offices in England. These regions, laid out the Comprehensive National Spatial Development Plan for Taiwan (), can be considered a de facto level of government, perhaps equivalent to the English regions or the federal districts of Russia.
The divisions of northern Taiwan are not covered by any JSC, including Hsinchu (city and county), Keelung, New Taipei, Taipei, Taoyuan and Yilan. They are served directly by the headquarter of Executive Yuan in Taipei.
Romanization.
The romanization used for Taiwanese placenames above the county level is a modified form of Wade–Giles, ignoring the apostrophes and hyphens of the original, thus yielding "Taipei" instead of "T'ai-pei" and "Yilan" instead of "I-lan", for example. Some postal romanizations also exist, like "Keelung" and "Kinmen".
In 2002, the ROC adopted Tongyong Pinyin as its national standard for romanization. Most townships and county-administered cities changed their romanization to Tongyong Pinyin at that time. However, some local administrations, like Taipei and Taichung, decided to use Hanyu Pinyin. In 2009, Tongyong Pinyin was replaced by Hanyu Pinyin as the ROC government standard. Currently, most of the divisions are romanized by Hanyu Pinyin system, but some local governments still use Tongyong Pinyin, like Kaohsiung. In 2011, the ROC Ministry of the Interior restored historical romanizations for two towns, Lukang and Tamsui.


Hellenic Duty Free Shops

Hellenic Duty Free Shops SA, founded in 1979, is a company in the travel retail industry that sells taxed and duty-free goods from brand name products to travellers passing through Greece’s exit points. The company holds the exclusive right to the retail sale of duty-free goods in Greece.
It has a network in Greece, composed of 97 shops at 45 points (22 airports, 11 border checkpoints, 12 ports).
History.
1900s.
The company was founded in 1979, to provide duty-free goods to travellers leaving through Greek border checkpoints. Two shops were launched, one at the Eastern, and one at the Western Airport in Athens, Greece.
In 1998 "Hellenic Duty Free Shops" was listed on the Athens Stock Exchange.
The abolition of the sale of duty-free goods to passengers travelling within Europe in 1999 was a crucial point for the future of duty-free shopping. By adopting single discount prices (travel value policy) in all product categories (with the exception of tobacco and alcohol), the company maintained its special prices by absorbing, along with its suppliers, taxes, and duties.
In 2000 the first stage of privatization was completed with the transfer of a 79% stake to the Agricultural Bank of Greece (ATE).
2000s.
In 2000 the new Athens Airport was opened in the area of Spata Attica. The commercial area in the new airport was designed on the basis of the specifications for modern shopping centres, creating new growth prospects. The company launched four shops there. Today, at Athens International Airport, 31 shops are in operation (12 in intra-Schengen Departures, 12 on the extra-Schengen Departures level, four in the free zone and three in the Arrivals hall, in the baggage claim area).
In 2006 privatisation of the company was completed. "Links London Ltd" and "Elmec Sports SA" were acquired in 2006 and 2007, respectively. The subsidiary «Hellenic Distributions SΑ» was founded in 2001.
Awards and distinctions.
Hellenic Duty Free Shops is ranked in 7th place among "The World's Top 50 Giant Operators, 2010", based on Generation Research. In 2008 it was presented with the «Export Activity 2007» award by the Athens Chamber of Commerce & Industry. It has also received the distinction as the Best New Beauty Store for its perfumes and cosmetics shop in the Intra Schengen area at Athens International Airport by the Duty Free News International Product Award in 2010.
Development strategy.
The company has 97 shops at 45 points in airports, ports and border checkpoints. All the shops are located after passport control.
During the period 2009–2011, €31,200,000.00 were invested. Shops at the international airport have been refurbished to meet the purchasing needs of today’s travellers, e.g. perfumes, cosmetics and Folli Follie, Hellenic Gourmet, Cava και Luxury .
 The border shop at Kipi, including restaurants and car parks was remodelled, while renovation took place at discount stores with brand name clothing and shoes operating at Kipi, Evzones, Niki and Promachonas.
Commercial activity.
Hellenic Duty Free Shops offers brand name perfumes, cosmetics, alcoholic drinks, tobacco products, chocolates, Greek foods, clothing, accessories, glasses, travel goods, souvenirs, games, electronic items, etc. at travel value prices.
The company has established the institution of «Supplier of the Year», rewarding international and Greek suppliers-associates who are singled out for their commercial creativity and innovation along with their high performance each year.
The company takes part in the Athens International Airport Programme "Best Price Guarantee". If a traveller finds the product he bought at the shops in the International Airport at a cheaper price somewhere else, then the difference is returned to him twice over.
It participates in airline loyalty programmes (Miles & More from Lufthansa).
Re-branding.
The need for renewing the company’s image led the management to create a new logo in 2009. It combines the company’s commercial activity, retaining elements of the old logo, such as the word "Hellenic" and the blue colour. The key feature of the new logo is the orange handle. Apart from referring to a commercial transaction as it symbolizes a shopping bag, the mark also portrays a smile. It is accompanied by the motto «The pleasure of travel».
Corporate social responsibility.
Hellenic Duty Free Shops has policies on social and environmental responsibility aimed at the sustainable development of the company as well as of the local communities in which it is active. It donated €335,000 toward the support of local communities in the regions of Kastanies, Feres, Anixi, Promachonas, the islands of Karpathos and Symi, as well as the fire-stricken area of Ileia.
It makes donations to the ‘Mitera’ Foundation for Infants, to the Centre for Mental Health and other public welfare institutions. It also sponsors events taking place in local communities where the company has shops.
The company has formed a football team for employees, while each year it rewards distinguished pupils and students, employees’ children, with cash gifts. The group participates in programmes for recycling corporate resources, thus conserving resources.
FF Group – merger.
The FF Group was formed in 2010, following the merger of the three companies Folli Follie, Hellenic Duty Free Shops and Elmec Sport, into Hellenic Duty Free Shops. The merger was finalized on 31 December 2010.
The group has 700 sales outlets and 5,900 personnel. In particular, following its alliance with Fosun International, it is expected to strengthen its presence in Asia to an even greater extent.
The FF Group controls the subsidiary Links London, which was bought out in July 2006. It is an English brand of jewellery, watches and luxury items. Its network numbers 44 shops and 22 sales outlets in commercial centres worldwide. It has been awarded «Jewellery Brand of the Υear» at UK jewellery awards, and was the creator of the official jewellery collection for the 2012 Olympic Games.
Elmec Sport S.A. was acquired in October 2007. It has 120 shops in Greece, Cyprus, Rumania and Bulgaria, while it manages «Attica The Department Store", "Golden Attica", the "Factory Outlet" and the "Factory Outlet Airport". It has a network of shops selling Nike products in Greece, and the right to the wholesale distribution of Converse products.
In 2013, Dufry AG acquired 100% of Hellenic Duty Free Shops.
Subsidiary company.
Hellenic Distributions.
Hellenic Duty Free Shops owns the subsidiary Hellenic Distributions, which was formed in September 2000. The company was created to cover the legal gap left by the establishment of the parent company Hellenic Duty Free ShopsS Α.Ε. The parent company was unable, according to its statutes, to establish shops for personnel, shops in arrivals halls at airports, in common access areas, at points in other words, which do not serve the travelling public. It was also unable to become involved in the wholesale and ship supply sectors.
The company, Hellenic Distributions, today has a network of shops at airports and ports throughout the country, including a personnel store, shops located in common access areas in airports, e.g. Triton, in the free zone at Athens International Airport, the shop at Anchialos airport, etc.
Since 2005, it has been active in the ship supply sector and is the exclusive distributor in Greece of products from the companies Philip Morris, Papastratos, Pernod Ricard, Hershey's, World Brands Duty Free, William Grants, Ian Macleod, Quality Spirits International, Monus Doo, Nemiroff, Efe Alkollu, Imperial Tobacco and Phoenicia Fereos.


Subdivisions of Angola

Angola is divided into eighteen provinces ("províncias") and 163 municipalities.
There are a total of 618 communes of Angola.


Pampore railway station

Pampore railway station is the railway station on the Jammu–Baramulla line in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is one of the four stations in Pulwama district, the others being Awantipora railway station, Kakapora railway station and Panchgam railway station respectively.
Location.
The station is situated in notified area of Pampore, Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir. It belongs to North Central Railway Zone of Indian Railways.
History.
The station has been built as part of the Jammu–Baramulla line megaproject, intending to link the Kashmir Valley with Jammu Tawi and the rest of the Indian railway network.
Design.
The station features Kashmiri wood architecture, with an intended ambience of a royal court which is designed to complement the local surroundings to the station. Station signage is predominantly in Urdu, English and Hindi.
Reduced level.
The R.L. of the station is 1592 m above mean sea level.


Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands


Karaikal

Karaikal (, French: "Karikal" ) is a town of the Indian Union Territory of Puducherry. Karaikal became a French Colony in 1674 and held control, with occasional interruption from the British and Dutch, until 1954 (de jure in 1956), when it was incorporated into the Republic of India, along with Chandernagore, Mahé, Yanaon, and Pondichéry.
Etymology.
The origin of the word Karaikal is uncertain. The Imperial Gazetteer of British India gives its meaning as 'fish pass'. Both the words ‘Karai and 'Kal' have several meanings, of which the more acceptable ones are 'lime mix' and 'canal' respectively. Hence it has been suggested that the name may mean a canal built of lime mix, however, no trace of such a canal is evident.
History.
Kingdom of Tanjore.
Before 1739, Karaikal was under the regime and control of Raja Pratap Singh of Tanjore. In 1738, Pierre Benoît Dumas was anxious to extend the French territory in India by smooth means and negotiated with Sahuji of Thanjavur for possession of Karaikal, the fortress of Karakalcheri and five village for 40,000 chakras. On 14 February 1739 the French took possession of Karaikal town, the fort of Karakalcheri and eight dependent villages. At this point, the King of Thanjavur raised the price for the town of Karaikal and the fort of Karakalcheri to 50,000 chakras. He also demanded a loan of 150,000 chakras without interest repayable in three years against the hypothecation of Mayavaram lands, and an annual rent of 4,000 pagodas for five villages. The French agreed to all the terms except for the payment of 150,000 chakras, which was then reduced to 10,000 chakras, while the annual rental was reduced to two or three thousand chakras. The villages received were Kilaiyur, Melaiyur, Puduthurai, Kovilpathu and Tirumalairayanpattinam. Subsequently, two villages were ceded to the French. Pratap Singh, who succeeded the throne, renewed the demand for a loan of 100,000 chakras, and on receipt of the first instalment of 4,000 chakras he assigned eight more villages to the French viz., Codague (Kondagai), Vanjiyur, Arimullimangalam, Niravi, Dharmapuram, Uzhiapathu, Mattakudi (probably Mathalangudi) and Polagam. On 12 February 1740, he sold these villages for 60,000 chakras, which he had assigned only the previous year for 40,000 chakras.
French colony.
The same year, Dumas pledged Thirunallar Mahanam for 55,350 chakras and also pledged 33 villages for 60,000 chakras. By a treaty signed on 12 January 1750 Pratap Singh ceded to the French 81 villages around Karaikal and cancelled the annual rent of 2,000 pagodas payable for the villages. This was all the territory the French possessed around Thanjavur when they surrendered to the British in 1761. The territory then passed twice to British control before it was finally handed over to the French in 1816/1817 under the Treaty of Paris, 1814.
Independence struggle.
The formation of the Karaikal National Congress on 13 June 1947 and the Karaikal Students' Congress on 31 January 1947 symbolised the first concrete expression of popular desire in Karaikal for independence from French India. The French ruled this district until 31 October 1954, on which date the French flag flying atop the government house at Karaikal was lowered with due military honors before a large gathering of officials and non-officials. Thus the de facto transfer of power took place on 1 November 1954 followed by de jure transfer on 16 August 1962.
Part of India.
Even though the territory was handed over to the Republic of India on 1 November 1954, Karaikal's municipal administration was continued pursuant to the Arrêté dated 8 March 1880. This was replaced by the promulgation of the Pondicherry Municipality Act, 1973, with effect from 26 January 1974. Mr. Gaudart was the first Mayor of Karaikal in 1884.
Geography.
Karaikal is a small coastal enclave which was formerly part of French India. Together with the other former French territories of Pondicherry, Yanam, and Mahé, it forms the Union Territory of Puducherry. Karaikal is bounded on the North and South by Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu state, on the west by Tiruvarur district (also belonging to Tamil Nadu), and on the East by the Bay of Bengal. The enclave is located south of the city of Pondicherry, east of Trichy and is known for its rich cultural heritage. Karaikal town, about north of Nagappattinam and south of Tarangambadi, is the regional headquarters.
The main branches of Kaveri below Grand Anicut are the Kodamurutti, Arasalar, Virasolanar and the Vikramanar. Although Arasalar and its branches spread through Karaikal, the waters of Kodamurutti and Virasolanar also meet the irrigation needs of the region.
Forming a part of the fertile Cauvery delta, the region is completely covered by the distributaries of Cauveri. Covered completely by a thick mantle of alluvium of variable thickness, the lie of the region is flat having a gentle slope towards the Bay of Bengal in the east. It is limited on the north by the Nandalar and on the south-east by the Vettar. The group of rocks known as Cuddalore formations is met with in the area contiguous to Karaikal region in Nagappattinam District.
Climate.
Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as tropical wet and dry ("As").
Governance.
The District Collector is the official representative to the Lieutenant Governor and Chief Co-ordinator and Liaison Officer to all Government departments of Karaikal district. District Collectorate, Karaikal is the functional headquarters of Karaikal District.
Karaikal region is made up of Karaikal municipality and the Communes of
Culture.
Located south of the city of Pondicherry, south of Chennai and east of Thiruchi, Karaikal is known for its rich religious heritage, and is a destination for those seeking leisure and serenity.
The town is made up of Hindus, Muslims, Christians and people of other religious persuasions. The French flavor still persists in the peaceful land of Karaikal, sometimes called "Fremil" (a combination of French culture and Tamil culture).
Tamil is the predominant native language of the people. As the area was formerly a French possession, the French language is also found, especially among the elder generation.
Karaikal is known for the only temple devoted to the Lord Saneeswara at Thirunallar.
Our Lady of Angels Church is the most prominent church in the town.
In Tirumalairayanpattinam, there is a famous temple called Ayirankaliamman temple, ayiram means 1000. We can see this god once in 5 years, because whatever offerings are given to this god, it should be 1008. So they will open for 3 days once in 5 years, and many devotees from all over Tamil Nadu and Puducherry will come and worship.
Karaikal is the Gateway to various places of worship in the eastern coast of Tamil Nadu. Two famous shrines, Velankanni for Christians and Nagore for Muslims are nearby Karaikal.
Karaikal Ammaiyar.
Karaikal Ammaiyar is one of the 63 nayanmar that lived in Karaikal. She is one of the renowned saints, who devoted their life for lord shiva. She was called "ammaiye" means mother by lord shiva. She married Paramathathan, a rich merchant of Nagapattinam in 6th century. Paramathathan sent 2 mangoes to his house for eating in lunch time. A Shaiva devotee came there.Ammaiyaar gave the devotee, curd rice and one of the two mangoes which her husband gave earlier. Later, when Ammaiyar's husband came home, Ammaiyar served him the other mango. The mango was very delicious, and her husband requested that the other mango be served. Ammaiyaar went inside kitchen, and Ammaiyar didn't know what to do since the Mango is already served to the adiyaar[siva's devotee]. With Lord Siva's grace a Divine Mango appeared in her palm. Ammaiyaar was very happy and Ammaiyar served the Mango to her husband.As this fruit was divinely sweet and was infinitely delicious compared to the previous one, her husband inquired as to how Ammaiyar obtained this mango. Since her husband was not a proper devotee, Ammaiyaar was afraid of revealing the God's grace. The rule is that God's grace should not be revealed to non-devotees. But there is one more rule that when a husband is asking something, the wife has to truthfully answer his questions. Subsequently, Ammaiyar worshiped Lord's feet and revealed the truth to her husband. Her husband didn't believe it. He asked her to produce another mango with divine help. Ammaiyar prayed to Lord Shiva for another mango and said to her Lord that if He didn't give her another Mango, his name will get affected. Immediately Lord gave her a similar mango, which she gave it to her husband. The mango then disappeared, and Paramathathan realised the divine nature of his wife. Paramathathan understood that Ammaiyar was worthy of worship and Ammaiyar cannot be treated as his wife. He then deserted Ammaiyar, becoming a trader and married the daughter of a merchant who then gave birth to their child. After knowing this she went to kailash mountain by her head, since she don't want her feet to touch the sacred mountain and by getting a ghost body as a boon from shiva.
Economy.
Most of the people in town are office goers and industrial workers. There are a number of iron and steel rolling mills, spinning mills, tiles, polythene, rubber and chemical industries in Karaikal. Other common sources of the people's income come from business. The prominent source of income of this district is agriculture and fishing. Karaikal is a coastal town with a total coastline of . There are 12 big fishing hamlets and around more than 25000 fishermen (6000 families) are living in these coastal villages. Their main employment is fishing, exporting and fishing related activities. The other main source is the liquor business, the tax being less and the cost almost half when compared to the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu. Karaikal is one of the towns in South India with high cost of living due to French NRI's presence. Thousands of families of origin of Karaikal live in France. The ONGC's office Kaveri rig is at Karaikal.
Transport.
Airways.
Karaikal Airport is being constructed as a greenfield project. It is the first airport in the country built entirely with private capital. The project received in-principle clearance from the Ministry of Civil Aviation in February 2011. Karaikal Airport's Air Traffic Control, however, will be operated by the Airports Authority of India (AAI). The Airport, spread across , is being developed by Karaikal Airport Private Limited, a subsidiary of Super Airport Private Limited. The first phase of construction includes construction of a 1200-metre runway and a terminal building capable of handling 120 passengers during peak hours. The airport is expected to handle regional turboprop airliners like the ATR-42. The company plans to expand the airport after five years, extending the runway to and increasing terminal building capacity to 500 passengers per hour. A further expansion is planned ten years down the line with a 3500-metre runway and a passenger capacity of 1,000 per hour.
Seaways.
Karaikal port is a new deep sea water port being constructed in Karaikal. More than of land was leased out to MARG corporation in year 2005 for 30 years and can be renewed for every 10 years thereafter. The port will have a total of nine berths and is constructed for primary transport of coal, textile and cement. The Karaikal port is intended to primarily handle cement and coal to serve the hinterland in Ariyalur, Perambalur and Tiruchi districts. The port is also expected to provide an alternative to the Chennai and Tuticorin ports, which are the major ports in the coastline but are separated by long distance. Further, Karaikal is in the middle of the Tamil Nadu coast, midway between the two deepwater ports of Chennai and Tuticorin.
Roadways.
The National Highway NH 32 connects Chennai and Thoothukudi, passes through Karaikal. It is located at the distance from Chennai, from Puducherry, from Tiruchirapalli, from Kumbakonam and from Nagapattinam. Karaikal is connected with both National Highways and State Highways. Both Govt. and Private buses available from Karaikal to Bangalore, Chennai, Coimbatore, Tiruchirapalli, Kumbakonam, Mayiladuthurai, Puducherry, Chidambaram.
Railways.
Karaikal having rail line connected from Tiruchirapalli via Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, and Nagore. Presently Rails are available from Karaikal to Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai, Ernakulam, Tiruchirapalli, Tanjore, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Nagore, Velanganni and currently Karaikal to Peralam Railway line work is under progress
Education.
According to the 2001 Census, Karaikal has literacy rate of 83%. There is a wide network of Educational Institutions right from the Elementary level to Collegiate level in Karaikal region.
Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER) was established in Karaikal in 2016 with an initial intake of 50 students. The students are selected through entrance exams conducted nationwide.
National Institute of Technology Puducherry was established in Karaikal in 2010. The students are admitted based on Joint Entrance Examination – Main entrance exam score.


Hispanic culture


Sarvan, Tajikistan

Sarvan (or Sarvak, Sarvaksoi and Sarvaki-bolo) is a Tajik enclave of the Sughd Region surrounded by Uzbekistan. It is located in the Fergana region where Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan meet. Sarvan is located 1.4 km from the Tajik-Uzbek border. Sarvan covers a valley with an area of about 8 km² and has a population of around 150 people. The principal economic activity is agriculture.
History and territorial conflicts.
Due to inherent territorial restrictions, violent conflicts over land ownership, access to pasture, and shared water resources have become more common, as logistical complications within this densely populated and impoverished region have also given rise to economic concern.
The Uzbek-Tajik border near Sarvan was closed in 2004 following terrorist attacks in Tashkent.