Talysh language

The Talysh language, also referred to as Talyshi (), is a Northwestern Iranian language spoken in the northern regions of the Iranian provinces of Gilan and Ardabil and the southern regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan by around 200,000 people. Talysh language is closely related to the Tati language. It includes many dialects usually divided into three main clusters: Northern (in Azerbaijan and Iran), Central (Iran) and Southern (Iran). Talysh is partially, but not fully, intelligible with Persian. Talysh is classified as "vulnerable" by UNESCO's Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger.
History.
The origin of the name Talysh is not clear but is likely to be quite old. The name of the people appears in early Arabic sources as Al-Taylasân and in Persian as Tâlišân and Tavâliš, which are plural forms of Tâliš. Northern Talysh (in the Republic of Azerbaijan) was historically known as Tâlish-i Guštâsbi. Talysh has always been mentioned with Gilan or Muqan. Writing in the 1330s AP, Hamdallah Mostowfi calls the language of Gushtaspi (covering the Caspian border region between Gilan to Shirvan) a Pahlavi language connected to the language of Gilan. Although there are no confirmed records, the language called in Iranian linguistics as Azari can be the antecedent of both Talysh and Tati. Miller’s (1953) hypothesis that the Âzari of Ardabil, as appears in the quatrains of Shaikh Safi, was a form of Talysh was confirmed by Henning (1954). In western literature the people and the language are sometimes referred to as Talishi, Taleshi or Tolashi. Generally speaking, written documents about Taleshi are rare.
Geography.
In the north of Iran, there are six cities where Talysh is spoken: Masal, Rezvanshar, Talesh, Fuman, Shaft, and Masuleh (in these cities some people speak Gilaki and Turkish as well). The only towns where Talysh is spoken exclusively are the townships of Masal and Masuleh. In other cities, in addition to Talysh, people speak Gilaki and Azerbaijani. In Azerbaijan there are eight cities were Talysh is spoken: Astara (98%), Lerik (90%), Lenkoran (90%), Masalli (36%).
Talysh has been under the influence of Gilaki, Azeri Turkic, and Persian. In the south (Taleshdula, Masal, Shanderman, and Fumanat) the Talysh and Gilaks live side by side; however, there are less evidence that a Talysh family replaces Gilaki with its own language. In this region the relation is more of a contribution to each other's language. In the north of Gilan, on the other hand, Azeri Turkic has replaced Talysh in cities like Astara after the migration of Turkic speakers to the region decades ago. However, the people around Lavandvil and its mountainous regions has retained Talysh. Behzad Behzadi, the author of "Azerbaijani Persian Dictionary" remarks that: "The inhabitants of Astara are Talyshis and in fifty years ago (about 1953) that I remember the elders of our family spoke in that language and the great majority of dwellers also conversed in Talyshi. In the surrounding villages, a few were familiar with Turkic". From around Lisar up to Hashtpar, Azeri and Talysh live side by side, with the latter mostly spoken in small villages. To the south of Asalem, the influence of Azeri is negligible and the tendency is towards Persian along with Talysh in cities. In the Azerbaijan republic, Talysh is less under the influence of Azeri and Russian than Talysh in Iran is affected by Persian. Central Talysh has been considered the purest of all Talysh dialects.
Classification and related languages.
Talysh belongs to the Northwestern Iranian branch of Indo-European languages. The living language most closely related to Talysh is Tati. The Tati group of dialects is spoken across the Talysh range in the southwest (Kajal and Shahrud) and south (Tarom). This Tatic family should not be confused with another Tat family which is more related to Persian. Talysh also shares many features and structures with Zazaki, now spoken in Turkey, and the Caspian languages and Semnani of Iran.
Dialects.
The division of Talysh into three clusters is based on lexical, phonological and grammatical factors. Northern Talysh distinguishes itself from Central and Southern Talysh not only geographically but culturally and linguistically as well. Speakers of Northern Talysh are found almost exclusively in the Republic of Azerbaijan but can also be found in the neighboring regions of Iran, in the Province of Gilan. The varieties of Talysh spoken in the Republic of Azerbaijan are best described as speech varieties rather than dialects. Four speech varieties are generally identified on the basis of phonetic and lexical differences. These are labeled according to the four major political districts in the Talysh region: Astara, Lankaran, Lerik, and Masalli. The differences between the varieties are minimal at the phonetic and lexical level. Mamedov (1971) suggests a more useful dialectal distinction is one between the varieties spoken in the mountains and those spoken in the plains. The morphosyntax of Northern Talysh is characterized by a complicated split system which is based on the Northwest Iranian type of accusativity/ergativity dichotomy: it shows accusative features with present-stem-based transitive constructions, whereas past-stem-based constructions tend towards an ergative behavior. In distant regions like Lavandevil and Masuleh, the dialects differ to such a degree that conversations begin to be difficult. In Iran, the northern dialect is in danger of extinction.
Some Northern dialects' differences.
The northern dialect has some salient differences from the central and southern dialects, e.g.:
Alignment variation
The durative marker "ba" in Taleshdulaei changes to "da" in Lankarani and shifts in between the stem and person suffixes:

ba-žē-mun → žē-da-mun
Such a diversification exists in each dialect too, as in the case of Masali
Phonology.
The following is the Northern Talysh dialect:
Scripts.
The vowel system in Talysh is more extended than in standard Persian. The prominent differences are the front vowel ü in central and northern dialects and the central vowel ə. In 1929, a Latin-based alphabet was created for Talysh in the Soviet Union. However, in 1938 it was changed to Cyrillic-based, but it did not gain extensive usage for a variety of reasons, including political Stalinist consolidation of socialist nations. An orthography based on Azeri Latin is used in Azerbaijan, and also in Iranian sources, for example on the IRIB's ParsToday website. The Perso-Arabic script is also used in Iran, although publications in the language are rare and are mostly volumes of poetry. The following tables contain the vowels and consonants used in Talysh. The sounds of the letters on every row, pronounced in each language, may not correspond fully.
Differences from Persian.
The general phonological differences of some Talysh dialects with respect to standard Persian are as follows:
Grammar.
Talysh has a subject–object–verb word order. In some situations the case marker, 'i' or 'e' attaches to the accusative noun phrase. There is no definite article, and the indefinite one is "i". The plural is marked by the suffixes "un", "ēn" and also "yēn" for nouns ending with vowels. In contrast to Persian, modifiers are preceded by nouns, for example: "maryami kitav" (Mary's book) and "kava daryâ" (livid sea). Like the most other Iranian dialects there are two categories of inflection, subject and object cases. The "present stem" is used for the imperfect and the "past stem" for the present in the verbal system. That differentiates Talysh from most other Western Iranian dialects. In the present tense, verbal affixes cause a rearranging of the elements of conjugation in some dialects like Tâlešdulâbi, e.g. for expressing the negation of b-a-dašt-im (I sew), "ni" is used in the following form: ni-m-a-dašt (I don't sew)."m" is first person singular marker, "a" denotes duration and "dašt" is the past stem.
Pronouns.
Talysh is a null-subject language, so nominal pronouns (e.g. I, he, she) are optional. For first person singular, both "az" and "men" are used. Person suffixes are not added to stems for "men". Examples:
There are three prefixes in Talysh and Tati added to normal forms making possessive pronouns. They are: "če / ča" and "eš / še".
Verbs.
The following Person Suffixes are used in different dialetcs and for different verbs.
Conjugations.
The past stem is inflected by removing the infinitive marker (ē), however the present stem and jussive mood are not so simple in many cases and are irregular. For some verbs, present and past stems are identical. The "be" imperative marker is not added situationally. The following tables show the conjugations for first-person singular of "sew" in some dialects of the three dialectical categories:
Nouns and adpositions.
There are four "cases" in Talysh, the nominative (unmarked), the genitive, the (definite) accusative and ergative.
The nominative case (characterized by null morpheme on nouns) encodes the subject; the predicate; the indefinite direct object in a nominative clause; definite direct object in an ergative clause; the vowel-final main noun in a noun phrase with another noun modifying it; and, finally, the nominal element in an adpositional phrases with certain adpositions. The examples below are from Pirejko 1976

REFL:reflexive pronoun
PRST:present stem
LOC:locative
BEN:benefactive

The ergative case, on the other hand, has the following functions: indicating the subject of an ergative phrase; definite direct object (in this function, ergative case takes the form of -ni after vowel-final stems); nominal modifier in a noun phrase; the nominal element in an adpositional phrases with most adpositions.
The accusative form is often used to express the simple indirect object in addition to the direct object. These "cases" are in origin actually just particles, similar to Persian prepositions like "râ".


Subdivisions of Austria

Subdivisions of Austria:


Administrative divisions of Tonga

The island country of Tonga has five levels of administrative divisions. Each of these is further divided into a total of 23 districts. Below are several lists of the divisions, according to different sorting schemes.
By Districts.
Notes.
Minerva Reefs is generally considered to be a part of Tonga. It never formed part of any administrative subdivision or district of Tonga.
Area stats.
The districts of Tonga have the following statistical info:
the average size of a district is 31.7 km2, while the median area is 0.0 km2. the size of these districts is predominantly dependent on the land area of the islands they occupy.
Population stats.
The districts of Tonga have the following statistical info:
The average district population is 4,500, while the median is 0.
According to official data from the 2011 Tonga we had over 20 cities with a population in excess of 200 inhabitants. The country's capital Nuku'alofa is the only city had a population of over 20000 residents; 2 city with a population of 1 ÷ 5 thousand. and the rest of the cities of less than 1000. residents.
Sources :


Demarcation line

A political demarcation line is a geopolitical border, often agreed upon as part of an armistice or ceasefire.


Atacama border dispute

The Atacama border dispute is a dispute between Chile and Bolivia that stems from the transfer of the Bolivian Coast and the southern tip of Peru to Chile in the 19th century through the Treaty of Ancón with Peru and the Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1904 between Chile and Bolivia after the War of the Pacific (1879–1883). The dispute is considered to be ongoing because Bolivia still claims a sovereign access to the Pacific Ocean. The conflict takes its name from the Atacama Desert on which lies the disputed territory. Due to a transfer of land to both Argentina and Chile during the Chilean annexation of the Bolivian coast in 1879, the Puna de Atacama dispute—this spin-off dispute was settled in 1899.
Origins.
The origins of the dispute came from the borders established in the Spanish empire that just defined the Atacama desert as the northern border of the General Captaincy of Chile. Bolivian and Chilean historians disagree on whether the territory of Charcas, originally part of the Viceroyalty of Peru, later of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata and ultimately of Bolivia, included access to the sea. Supporting their claims with different documents, Bolivians claim that it did while Chileans disagree. When Simón Bolívar established Bolivia as a nation in 1825, he claimed access to the sea, disregarding overlapping claims by Chile, which had gained independence 7 years before.
The border dispute between Bolivia and Chile grew slowly during most of the 19th century over the Atacama corridor, a part of the Atacama Desert which now forms northern Chile. The Atacama Desert is bordered by the Coast Range on the west and the Andes on the east. The geography of the area was a very large factor in determining how the border dispute began. Because of the mountains, the area has rains only 2 to 4 times a century, making it one of the driest places on Earth.
After the independence of Chile (1818) and Bolivia (1825) none of the following governments of both countries cared about defining its borders.
National boundaries in the Atacama region had still not been definitely determined when nitrate, silver and copper deposits were discovered in the area. Both Bolivia and Chile established competing claims for the territory. Other countries' interest was drawn due to the importance of nitrates in the production of fertilizer and high explosives; Britain, Spain and the United States had a strategic and economic stake in controlling the resource granting their support to the different parties. Chile's influence grew in the disputed zone as miners, some of them backed by Chilean and foreign companies, started to advance northwards establishing mines and port facilities. Most economic exploitation of the coastal region was being conducted by Chilean companies and British interests, under the aegis of Chile's more robust economy and more stable institutions.
Boundary Treaty of 1866.
National borders in the region had not been clearly agreed until 1866; the two countries had negotiated a treaty that established the 24th parallel south as their boundary, and entitled Bolivia and Chile to share in tax revenue on mineral exports out of the territory between the 23rd and 25th parallels. A second treaty in 1874 superseded this, entitling Bolivia to collect full tax revenue between the 23rd and 24th parallels, but fixed tax rates on Chilean companies for 25 years.
The War of the Pacific.
On 27 November 1873 the "Antofagasta Nitrate & Railway Company" signed a contract with the Bolivian government in which it would have authorized to extract saltpeter duty-free for 25 years. In February 1878, The Bolivian Congress and a National Constituent Assembly found the contract incomplete because it had not been ratified by congress as required by the Bolivian Constitution of 1871. Subsequently, the congress would approve the contract only if the company would pay a 10 cents tax per quintal of mineral extracted.
Chile claimed that the border treaty of 1874 did not allow for such a tax hike. The company complained the increased payments were illegal. The company mounted significant pressure and demanded that the Chilean government intervene.
When the Antofagasta Nitrate & Railway Company refused to pay, the Bolivian government under President Hilarión Daza threatened to confiscate its property. Chile responded by sending a warship to the area in December 1878. Bolivia announced the seizure and auction of the company on 14 February 1879. Chile, in turn, threatened that such action would render the border treaty null and void. In 1873 Peru and Bolivia had signed a secret Treaty of Mutual Defense.
Shortly after becoming aware of the alliance treaty between Peru and Bolivia, Chile declared war on both countries in April 1879. Within four years Chile defeated the joint war efforts of Bolivia and Peru. It ultimately led to the Chilean annexation of the Peruvian Tarapacá department and Arica province, as well as the Bolivian department of Litoral, leaving Bolivia as a landlocked country.
In 1884, Bolivia signed a truce that gave control to Chile of the entire Bolivian coast, the province of Antofagasta, and its valuable nitrate, copper and other mineral deposits. The two countries signed the Treaty of Peace and Friendship in 1904, which made this arrangement permanent. Chile built a railroad connecting the Bolivian capital of La Paz with the port of Arica and guaranteed freedom of transit for Bolivian commerce through Chilean ports and territory.
Chilean proposal of 1975.
In 1975, the Chilean government of Augusto Pinochet made a proposal to Bolivia consisting in a swap of a narrow continuous corridor of Chilean land from the sea to the border between Chile and Bolivia, running parallel to the border between Chile and Peru, making the Lluta River Chile's northern border, in exchange for the same amount of Bolivian territory.
The proposal involved former Peruvian land and according to the treaty of Ancón, Chile could not give former Peruvian territories to other nations without Peru's agreement. The dictator of Peru Francisco Morales-Bermúdez was opposed to these changes but proposed to make Arica a territory governed by the three states. Chile responded that it could not accept this complicated shared sovereignty.
Recent history.
Bolivia still wishes for an Atacama corridor, which Chile rejects. In spite of this conflict, Chile grants unrestricted access to all kinds of Bolivian merchandise through the Atacama. The territories ceded by Bolivia and Peru contain some of world's largest copper deposits. These are mined by Codelco - a state owned mining company which contributes a significant part of the Chilean state's income.
During the Bolivian Gas War the dispute rose again as most Bolivians, including Evo Morales (who would go on to become president), opposed the future export of Bolivian gas through Chilean territory, which the government and foreign companies wanted. In 2004, the anniversary of the 1904 treaty, Bolivian claims were reignited, and the words gas-for-sea became the slogan of those who opposed exportation. The dispute became evident when the Bolivian president Carlos Mesa engaged in a public spat with the Chilean president Ricardo Lagos in the Organization of American States. Mesa, who was under pressure to speak out on Bolivia's aspirations, put the topic in front of all the presidents of the Americas. The Chilean president reacted by mentioning Bolivia's refusal to have diplomatic relations with Chile, and with this on mind he offered diplomatic relationships between the two countries "here and now". The offer was hastily declined by Mesa who was not actually seeking an offer but intended to attract international interest to the situation.
Bolivian president Evo Morales decided to break off all dialogue with Chile on the maritime issue, opting instead to pursue the issue in litigation in international courts. He thus broke an OAS resolution in 2012 wherein the majority of member states encouraged Bolivia to pursue the issue via bilateral dialogue with Chile. Chilean president Sebastian Piñera pleaded with Evo Morales to continue with the dialogue but to no avail. The Bolivian government followed through with its determination to file a case with the International Court of Justice on 24 April 2013. Surprisingly, the case did not challenge the border treaties signed by both countries which Evo Morales has always been against. The basis of the case stemmed from two bilateral negotiations in the 1970s and 1950s where a sovereign route to the Pacific was allegedly promised by Chile but never eventuated. Bolivia argues "the rights of expectations" for their case which is a commercial law term that had never been used in the ICJ. The memorials process ended in early 2015. In October 2018, the International Court of Justice issued a final and binding decision that Chile was not obliged to negotiate granting Bolivia sea access.
In March 2021, Bolivian president Luis Arce, on occasion of Día del Mar, said that the dispute is "open and pending" issue between the two countries and offered a nine-point plant to establish diplomatic negotiations with Chile to solve the dispute. The Chilean government responded that it was willing to establish dialogue but that the issue had already been settled by the International Court of Justice.


Bilje, Croatia

Bilje () is a municipality in the Baranja region of Osijek-Baranja County, in north-eastern Croatia. It is 5 km northeast of Osijek, on the edge of the Kopački Rit nature park.
Name.
Its name derived from the Slavic word "bilje" ("herb" in English). In German the village is known as "Belje", in Hungarian as "Bellye", and in Serbian Cyrillic as Биље.
Geography.
The municipality of Bilje include following settlements and population (2011 census):
Demographics.
There are 5,642 inhabitants in the municipality (2011 census), including:
History.
In the late 19th and early 20th century, Bilje was part of the Baranya County of the Kingdom of Hungary.


Partitions of the Duchy of Pomerania

The Duchy of Pomerania was partitioned several times to satisfy the claims of the male members of the ruling House of Pomerania dynasty. The partitions were named after the ducal residences: Pomerania-Barth, -Demmin, -Rügenwalde, -Stettin, -Stolp, and -Wolgast. None of the partitions had a hereditary character, the members of the House of Pomerania inherited the duchy in common. The duchy thus continued to exist as a whole despite its division. The only exception was made during a war with the Margraviate of Brandenburg, when in 1338 Barnim III of Pomerania-Stettin was granted his partition as a fief directly from the Holy Roman Emperor, while Pomerania-Wolgast remained under formal Brandenburgian overlordship. However, already in 1348, German king and later emperor Charles IV again granted the Duchy of Pomerania as a whole and the Principality of Rügen as a fief to the dukes of both Pomerania-Stettin and Pomerania-Wolgast, nullifying Brandenburg's claims by granting Imperial immediacy.
Partitions.
In 1155, the duchy was partitioned in Pomerania-Demmin and Pomerania-Stettin. With short interruptions, this division lasted until 1264.
In 1295, the duchy was partitioned in Pomerania-Wolgast and Pomerania-Stettin. In 1368/72, Pomerania-Stolp was split from Pomerania-Wolgast. In 1376, Pomerania-Barth was split from truncated Pomerania-Wolgast. In 1402, Pomerania-Rügenwalde was briefly split from Pomerania-Stolp for three years. In 1451, Pomerania-Barth was for six years merged back into Pomerania-Wolgast. In 1459, Pomerania-Stolp was merged back into Pomerania-Wolgast. In 1464, Pomerania-Stettin was claimed by both Pomerania-Wolgast and Brandenburg, and merged with Pomerania-Wolgast following the Peace of Prenzlau (1472/79). In 1478, Pomerania-Barth was merged back in, temporarily ending the internal division.
In 1532, the duchy was partitioned in a Pomerania-Stettin and a Pomerania-Wolgast of significantly different shape as the earlier divisions of the same names. In 1569, Pomerania-Barth was split from Pomerania-Wolgast and Pomerania-Rügenwalde was split from Pomerania-Stettin, these partitions also differed in shape from earlier partitions with the same name. In 1625, the duchy came under the sole rule of the last duke of the Griffin dynasty, who died during the Thirty Years' War in 1637, when the duchy was under Swedish occupation.
After the war, the Swedish Empire and Brandenburg-Prussia succeeded the Griffin dukes in the Peace of Westphalia (1648) and divided it in the Treaty of Stettin (1653) into a Swedish Pomerania and a Brandenburg-Prussian Pomerania. Both the Swedish and Brandenburgian rulers, in contrast to the Griffin dukes, became hereditary dukes in their respective share. In 1679 and 1720, the Brandenburg-Prussian part was enlarged at the expense of the Swedish share. In 1815, all the former duchy was reorganized in the Prussian province of Pomerania.


Margaret Jacobs (artist)

Margaret E. Jacobs is a Native American artist and member of the Akwesasne Mohawk tribe, known for her sculptures, jewelry, and sketching. She draws inspiration from her culture and upbringing. She values natural and synthetic objects and is inspired by buildings in the United States; they are a reminder of Mohawk ironworkers who left their tribes and communities to help build structures. Most of Jacobs' work has been based on the history of the Mohawks, her cultural heritage, and stories.
Early life and education.
Margaret E. Jacobs was born into the Akwesasne Mohawk tribe on September 10, 1986 in Ogdensburg, New York. Her family was "hands on" and she began to make things at an early age. She attended the Ogdensburg Free Academy, from which she graduated in 2004. She then attended Dartmouth College, where she received her Bachelors in Visual Arts and received the school's Perspectives design award. Jacobs is inspired by the artist Sandy Skoglund.
Artworks.
"Steel Medicine".
"Steel Medicine" was an exhibition of steel sculptures on display from June 8, 2019 to April 26, 2020 in the Boise Art Museum, in Boise Idaho. Jacobs mentions it speaks on adaptation and cultural identity.
"Old Growth Series 2019".
In 2019 Jacobs had designed the "Old Growth series." It references medicinal plants and Mohawk tools. These sculptures contain elements from traditional Mohawk stories.
"Shedding Armor".
A steel sculpture resembling a turtle shell. Jacobs' use of base metals to prevent chips and scratches and the use of powder coating to provide raw natural colors to the shell.
Publications.
Jacobs' artwork is included in multiple outlets including Society of North American Goldsmiths's Jewelry and Metals Survey and "Rare Luxury Living".


Subdivisions of Egypt

Egypt is divided, for the purpose of public administration, according to a three-layer hierarchy and some districts are further subdivided, creating an occasional fourth layer.
The top-level of the hierarchy are 27 governorates (singular: ', plural: '). The second-level, beneath and within governorates, are marakiz (singular: ', plural: ') or aqsam (singular: "qism", plural: ")". The third-level is composed of districts (singular: ', plural: ) and villages (singular: ', plural: ""). There is a governing structure at each of these levels. Districts may be further divided into sub-districts as a fourth level.
There are also seven economic regions used for planning purposes, defined by the General Organization for Physical Planning (GOPP).
Provincial divisions.
Egypt is divided into 27 governorates (muhāfazāt) and each has a capital and at least one city. Each governorate is administered by a governor, who is appointed by the President of Egypt and serves at the president's discretion. Most governorates have a population density of more than one thousand per km2, while the three largest have a population density of less than two per km2. The governorates of Egypt are:
Municipal divisions.
At the municipal-level are markaz, kism, police-administered areas, and new cities. Generally, rural areas are divided into markaz whereas urban areas are divided into kism. As of 2013, there were 351 subdivisions, of which 177 were kism, 162 markaz, 9 new cities, and 3 police-administered areas. There are also unorganized areas in Alexandria, Aswan, Asyut, Beheira, Beni Suef, Cairo, Dakahlia, Damietta, Faiyum, Giza, Ismailia, Kafr El Sheikh, Luxor, Minya, Port Said, Qalyubia, Qena, Sharqia, Sohag, Suez governorates.
k - kism
m - markaz
n - new city
p - police-administered
Submunicipal divisions.
The village is the smallest local unit in rural communities, and is the equivalent of a district in urban areas. However, villages differ from each other in terms of legal status. The heads of villages or districts are appointed by the respective governors. In addition to this, districts are occasionally further divided into sub-district neighborhoods called "sheyakha" in rural areas, or "residential districts" (singular: ', plural: ') in urban areas.


Abagaitu Islet

Abagaitu Islet (; , Bolshoy Ostrov) is an islet in the Argun River (Asia) divided between the People's Republic of China (Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region) and Russia (Chita Oblast). Its area is .
The island was occupied by the Soviet Union in 1929, a move not accepted by China, resulting in a border dispute that lasted more than seventy years.
On October 14, 2004, the Complementary Agreement between the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation on the Eastern Section of the China–Russia Boundary was signed, in which Russia agreed to relinquish control over a part of Abagaitu Islet. In 2005, the Russian Duma and the Chinese National People's Congress approved the agreement.


List of administrative divisions by country

The table below indicates the types and, where known, numbers of administrative divisions used by countries and their major dependent territories. It is ordered alphabetically by country name in English.
Notes.
Administrative divisions with ISO 3166-1.
Administrative divisions with ISO 3166-1 are cited for statistics matters even when they do not have a special status (for example, the overseas regions of France).
Antarctic claims.
Administrative divisions that are entirely Antarctic claims suspended under the Antarctic Treaty are not listed.
Autonomous areas.
Not all the autonomous areas are part of the formal hierarchy of the administrative division system of a country (for example, the autonomous region of Zanzibar comprises 5 regions of Tanzania, the first tier on administrative divisions on that country). For more details, see List of autonomous areas by country.


Villages of Brunei

A village (, sometimes spelt as ) is the third and lowest administrative division of Brunei. It is headed by a village head (, also ). Villages are subdivisions of the subdistricts () of Brunei. A village may have a population ranging from a few hundreds to less than ten thousand people.
Belait District.
Seria Mukim.
In the Badas area:
Administration.
Village subdivisions are the third-level administrative divisions of Brunei, thus they are immediately below the subdistricts (). Both villages and subdistricts are part of the Government of Brunei, and they are administered as part of the Subdistricts and Villages Institution under the District Offices of the respective districts that they belong.
A village is headed by a village head ("", also ), who may be appointed by the government or elected by the village population. Always a male, he shall then be in office for up to ten years.
A village may also have a Village Consultative Council (), the local equivalent of community association. A key outcome of the council is One Village One Product (, abbreviated as "), which promotes local goods produced in the village.
Characteristics.
A typical Bruneian village may have basic socio-economic infrastructures which are similar to other villages elsewhere but may also be unique to Brunei or countries which have predominantly Islamic Malay culture. For communal purposes, there may be a or , the local equivalent of a community centre. A Bruneian village typically has a primary school. Because the majority of Brunei's population is Muslims, many villages have mosques, particularly serving the need of Jumu'ah or congregational Friday prayers, as well as a religious primary school for its resident Muslim pupils. There are also at least a grocery store present in many villages, as well as a few other miscellaneous shops such as eateries, tailors, and barbers or salons.
Variation.
A village may have population ranging from hundreds to less than ten thousand people. Also, not all of the socio-economic amenities are present in every village. Some villages do not have primary and/or religious primary school – prospective resident pupils go to the schools in nearby villages. Some village subdivisions are simply designated public housing areas but having the population size comparable to a village. Other villages, especially in the more urban areas, may be large enough to function socio-economically as towns but without any municipal body. Several villages may also be part of municipal areas of Bandar Seri Begawan and other district towns, thus the populaces may also be subjected under the jurisdiction of respective municipal departments.
Kampong Ayer.
Even though Kampong Ayer has the term "'' in its name, it is not officially a village subdivision. In fact, Kampong Ayer is made up of several villages constituting a few subdistricts.


Ecolo

Ecolo, officially Écologistes Confédérés pour l'organisation de luttes originales"," is a French-speaking political party in Belgium based on green politics. The party is active in Wallonia, the Brussels-Capital Region, and the German-speaking Community of Belgium.
Ecolo's Flemish equivalent is Groen; the two parties maintain close relations with each other.
Name.
Ecolo is officially a backronym for "Écologistes Confédérés pour l'organisation de luttes originales" "Confederated Ecologists for the Organisation of Original Struggles", but is really just short for "écologistes", French for environmentalists.
History.
Ecolo was part of the 1999 Verhofstadt I Government, but withdrew from the coalition before the 2003 general election, which saw it lose nearly two thirds of its 14 federal parliamentary seats in the face of a resurgent Socialist Party. The party made quite a comeback, however, in the 2007 general election, though failing to match the peak popularity it had enjoyed in 1999. In the general election of 10 June 2007, the party won eight out of 150 seats in the Chamber of Representatives and two out of the 40 directly elected seats in the Senate.
In the 2010 elections the party again won eight seats in the Chamber of Representatives and two in the Senate.
Elected politicians.
Current.
European Parliament
Chamber of Representatives
Brussels-Capital Region Parlement
Past.
Chamber of Representatives
Brussels-Capital Region Parlement


Subdivisions of Madagascar

Regions.
Madagascar is divided into 22 regions:
Districts.
The 22 regions are further divided into the 114 districts.
History.
The constitution of 1992 ruled that the country should be organized in decentralized territorial entities. The name, number, and limits of territorial entities should be determined by law. In the law passed by the national assembly in 1994, three such entity levels were defined: region (faritra), department (departemanta) and commune (kaominina). The communes were created in 1996.
With Didier Ratsiraka back in power, the constitution was changed in 1998, to include and specifically mention six autonomous provinces, divided into undefined regions and communes. The autonomous provinces, having the same names and territories as the already existing provinces, were created in 2000.
During the power struggle after the presidential elections in 2001, five of those provinces, whose governors supported Ratsiraka, declared themselves independent from the republic. The new president, Ravalomanana, replaced the provincial governments by special delegations, appointed by the president. This effectively means that the autonomous provinces have ceased to exist as such, although it remains unclear whether they will remain in place.
In 2004, the regions were created by the national assembly in law no. 2004-001. The 28 regions originally proposed had become 22. Although they are subdivisions of the provinces, they are representatives (and representing the people) of the republic, not the province. The regions will also take over the assets of the "ex-Fivondronampokontany". It is also mentioned that the communes are the only entities that are operational, and there will be an unspecified period of transition to the new system. The departments are not mentioned in the law, instead the designation "components" of the regions is used. It appears that the departments will be based on the "Fivondronampokontany", although it is unclear whether they are already in place and what it means that the assets will be taken over by the regions.


Sistan and Baluchestan Province

Sistan and Baluchestan Province (; ) is the second largest province of the 31 provinces of Iran, after Kerman Province. It is in the southeast of the country, bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan and its capital is Zahedan. The province is the second largest province in Iran with an area of 180,726  km2 and a population of 2.5 million. The counties of the province are Chabahar County, Qasr-e Qand County, Dalgan County, Golshan County, Hirmand County, Iranshahr County, Khash County, Konarak County, Nik Shahr County, Saravan County, Sarbaz County, Sib and Suran County, Taftan County, Zabol County, Mehrestan County, Zahedan County, Zehak County, Hamun County, Nimruz County, Bampur County, Mirjaveh County and Fanuj County.
The population comprises the Baloch who form a majority in the province, with Persian sistani minority. Smaller communities of Kurds (in the eastern highlands and near Iranshahr), the expatriate Baluch (on the borders between Iran and Pakistan), and other resident and itinerant ethnic groups such as the Romani are also found in the province.
Geography and culture.
Previously whole of this state was called Baluchestan , but Iran symbolically added Sistan to the end of Baluchestan and then after the 1979's revolution in Iran , the name of province was changed to Sistan & Baluchestan without any excuse. Today, Sistan refers to the narrow strip of the northern margin of the province and Baluchestan involves whole Zahedan to Chabahar. Combined Sistan and Baluchestan province today accounts for one of the driest regions of Iran with a slight increase in rainfall from east to west, and an obvious rise in humidity in the coastal regions. The province is subject to seasonal winds from different directions, the most important of which are the 120-day wind of Sistan known as baluchi word "Levar", the seventh ("Gav-kosh") wind, the "Nambi" or south wind, the "Hooshak" wind, the humid and seasonal winds of the Indian Ocean, the North or ("Gurich") wind and the western ("Gard") wind. The province borders South Khorasan Province in the north, Kerman Province and Hormozgan Province in the west, the Gulf of Oman in the south, and Afghanistan and Pakistan in east.
Almost in whole of Sistān and Balūchestān, the people are mostly Balōch and speak the Baluchi language, although there also exists among them a small community of speakers of the Indo-Aryan language Jadgali. The name "Balūchestān" means "Land of the Balōch" and is used to represent the majority Baloch peoples inhabiting the province, Sistan was added to the name to represent the minority Persian peoples who speak the Sistani dialect of Persian.
Many scholars, orators, and literary personalities have sprung up from this part of Iran, amongst which are Farrukhi Sistani, Ya'qub bin Laith as-Saffar and Rostam. Ayatollah Sistani is also from Sistān; though he currently resides in Najaf, Iraq .
Religion.
The Sistani people of "Sistan and Baluchestan province" are Shia Muslims, and the people of Baluchestan area are Sunni Muslims.
History.
In the epigraphs of Bistoon and Persepolis, Sistan is mentioned as one of the eastern territories of Darius the Great. The name Sistan, as mentioned above, is derived from Saka (also sometimes "Saga", or "Sagastan"), a Central Asian tribe that had taken control over this area in the year 128 BC. During the Arsacid Dynasty (248 BC to 224 AD), the province became the seat of Suren-Pahlav Clan. From the Sassanid period till the early Islamic period, Sistan flourished considerably.
During the reign of Ardashir I of Persia, Sistan came under the jurisdiction of the Sassanids, and in 644 AD, the Arab Muslims gained control as the Persian empire was in its final moments of collapsing.
During the reign of the second Sunni caliph, Omar ibn Al-Khattab, this territory was conquered by the Arabs and an Arab commander was assigned as governor. The famous Persian ruler Ya'qub-i Laith Saffari, whose descendants dominated this area for many centuries, later became governor of this province. In 916 AD, Baluchestan was ruled by the Daylamids and thereafter the Seljuqids, when it became a part of Kerman. Dynasties such as the Saffarids, Samanids, Qaznavids, and Seljuqids, also ruled over this territory.
In 1508 AD, Shah Ismail I of the Safavid dynasty conquered Sistan, and during the reign of Nader Shah, there was further turmoil.
Sistan and Baluchestan today.
Sistan and Baluchestan is the poorest of Iran's 31 provinces, with a HDI score of 0.688.
The government of Iran has been implementing new plans such as creating the Chabahar Free Trade-Industrial Zone.
Transportation.
National rail network.
The city of Zahedan has been connected to Quetta in Pakistan for a century with a broad gauge railway. It has weekly trains for Kovaitah. Recently a railway from Bam, Iran to Zahedan has been inaugurated. There may be plans to build railway lines from Zahedan to Chabahar.
Airports.
Sistan va Baluchistan Province has two main passenger airports:
Ports.
Port of Chabahar in south of province is the main port to be connected by a new railway to Zahedan in future. India is investing on this port. The port stands on Coast of Makran and is 70 km in west of Gwadar, Pakistan.
Industry and mining.
Industry is new to the province. Efforts have been done and tax, customs and financial motivations have caused more industrial investment, new projects, new producing jobs and improvement of industry.
The most important factories are:
– Khash cement factory with production of 2600 tons cement daily and three other cement.
Factories under construction:
– Cotton cloth and fishing net weaving factories and the brick factory can be named as well.
The province has important geological and metal mineral potentials such as chrome, copper, granite, antimony, talc, manganese, iron, lead, zinc, tin, nickel, platinum, gold and silver.
One of the main mines in this province is Chel Kooreh copper mine in 120 km north of Zahedan.


Wasla Bangial

Wasla Bangial is a village in Union council Kuri Dolal near Mandrah in Gujar Khan, Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan.
Locality.
Wasla Bangial is located 12 km eastern side of historic Grand Trank Road crossing center of Mandrah town and located on Kalar Syedan Gujar Khan Road passing through Union council Darkali Mehmoori and village Daryal.
Sub localities.
Two sub localities of the village Wasla Bangial are:
Tribes.
Two major tribes in Village Wasla Bangial,
References.
Bangial


Finnish irredentism


Suza, Osijek-Baranja County

Suza (; ) is a settlement in the region of Baranja, Croatia. Administratively, it is located in the Kneževi Vinogradi municipality within the Osijek-Baranja County. Population is 636 people.


Kozjak, Bilje

Kozjak () is a settlement in the region of Baranja, Croatia. Administratively, it is located in the Bilje municipality within the Osijek-Baranja County. Population is 60 people.


Pamir River

The Pamir is a river in Tajikistan and Afghanistan. It is a tributary of the Panj River, and forms the northern boundary of Wakhan.
The river has its sources in the Pamir Mountains in Gorno-Badakhshan province in the far eastern part of Tajikistan. It flows between the Wakhan Range (south) and the Southern Alichur Range(north). It starts from the Lake Zorkul, at a height of 4130 meters, and then flows towards the west, and later southwest. Near the town of Langar, at 2799 m, it joins the Wakhan River and forms the Panj River. The Pamir forms the boundary between Tajikistan and Afghanistan along its entire length. Northwest of Langar is the high Karl Marx Peak and Friedrich Engels Peak (). A road runs along the river on the Tajik side to Khargush where it turns north to join the Pamir Highway. A road of lower quality continues east past Zorkul, almost to the Chinese border.
John Wood was the first known European to try to find the source of the Oxus, or Pamir River. He made a pioneering journey in 1839 and reached Lake Zorkul.


Gaels

The Gaels (; ; ; ) are an ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man in northwestern Europe. They are associated with the Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic languages comprising Irish, Manx and Scottish Gaelic. Originally, the Gaels were called "Irish" and "Scots" interchangeably, but those names now refer to separate nationalities.
Gaelic language and culture originated in Ireland, extending to Dál Riata in western Scotland. In antiquity the Gaels traded with the Roman Empire and also raided Roman Britain. In the Middle Ages, Gaelic culture became dominant throughout the rest of Scotland and the Isle of Man. There was also some Gaelic settlement in Wales, as well as cultural influence through Celtic Christianity. In the Viking Age, small numbers of Vikings raided and settled in Gaelic lands, becoming the Norse-Gaels. In the 9th century, Dál Riata and Pictland merged to form the Gaelic Kingdom of Alba. Meanwhile, Gaelic Ireland was made up of several kingdoms, with a High King often claiming lordship over them.
In the 12th century, Anglo-Normans conquered parts of Ireland (leading to centuries of conflict), while parts of Scotland became Normanized. However, Gaelic culture remained strong throughout Ireland, the Scottish Highlands and Galloway. In the early 17th century, the last Gaelic kingdoms in Ireland fell under English control. James VI and I sought to subdue the Gaels and wipe out their culture; first in the Scottish Highlands via repressive laws such as the Statutes of Iona, and then in Ireland by colonizing Gaelic land with English-speaking Protestant settlers. In the following centuries Gaelic language was suppressed and mostly supplanted by English. However, it continues to be the main language in Ireland's "Gaeltacht" and Scotland's Outer Hebrides. The modern descendants of the Gaels have spread throughout the rest of the British Isles, the Americas and Australasia.
Traditional Gaelic society is organised into clans, each with its own territory and king (or chief), elected through tanistry. The Irish were previously pagans who worshipped the Tuatha Dé Danann, venerated the ancestors and believed in an Otherworld. Their four yearly festivals – Samhain, Imbolc, Beltane and Lughnasa – continued to be celebrated into modern times. The Gaels have a strong oral tradition, traditionally maintained by shanachies. Inscription in the ogham alphabet began in the 4th century. Their conversion to Christianity accompanied the introduction of writing in the Roman alphabet, and Irish Gaelic has the oldest vernacular literature in western Europe. Irish mythology and Brehon law were preserved, albeit Christianised. Gaelic monasteries were renowned centres of learning and played a key role in developing Insular art, while Gaelic missionaries and scholars were highly influential in western Europe. In the Middle Ages, most Gaels lived in roundhouses and ringforts. The Gaels had their own style of dress, which (in Scotland) became the belted plaid and kilt. They also have distinctive music, dance, festivals, and sports. Gaelic culture continues to be a major component of Irish, Scottish and Manx culture.
Ethnonyms.
Throughout the centuries, Gaels and Gaelic-speakers have been known by a number of names. The most consistent of these have been "Gael", "Irish" and "Scots". The latter two have developed more ambiguous meanings, due to the early modern concept of the nation state, which encompasses non-Gaels. Other terms, such as "Milesian", are not as often used. An Old Norse name for the Gaels was "Vestmenn" (meaning "Westmen", due to inhabiting the Western fringes of Europe). Informally, archetypal forenames such as "Tadhg" or "Dòmhnall" are sometimes used for Gaels.
The word "Gaelic" is first recorded in print in the English language in the 1770s, replacing the earlier word "Gathelik" which is attested as far back as 1596. "Gael", defined as a "member of the Gaelic race", is first attested in print in 1810. The name ultimately derives from the Old Irish word "Goídel/Gaídel", commonly spelled "Gaoidheal" in pre-spelling reform Modern Irish, but today officially spelled "Gaeil" (plural) or "Gael" (singular; the word is spelled "Gael" in Manx and "Gàidheal" (singular) and "Gàidheil" (plural) in Scottish Gaelic). In early modern Irish, the words "Gaelic" and "Gael" were spelled respectively "Gaoidhealg" ("Goídelc" in Old Irish) and "Gaoidheal" (singular), "Gaoidheil/Gaoidhil" (plural). When Gaelic power was the hegemonic force in Ireland during the medieval period, the bardic poets who acted as the cultural intelligentsia of the nation, limited the use of "Gaoidheal" specifically to those who claimed genealogical descent in the paternal line from Goídel Glas. Even the Gaelicised Normans who were born in Ireland, spoke the Irish language and sponsored Gaelic Irish bardic poetry, such as Gearóid Iarla, were ultimately referred to as "Gall" (ie - "foreigner") instead by Gofraidh Fionn Ó Dálaigh, the Chief Ollam of Ireland of the day. In English literature, the more antiquarian term "Goidels" came to be used by some due to Edward Lhuyd's work on the relationship between Celtic languages. This term was further popularised in academia by John Rhys; the first Professor of Celtic at Oxford University; due to his work "Celtic Britain" (1882).
According to the scholar John T. Koch, the Old Irish form of the name, "Goídel" (also spelled "Gaídel"), was borrowed from a Primitive Welsh form "Guoidel" roughly meaning "forest people", "wild men" or, later, "warriors." Old Welsh "Guoidel" is recorded as a personal name in the Book of Llandaff. The root of the name is cognate at the Proto-Celtic level Old Irish "fíad" 'wild', and "Féni", derived ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European *"weidh-n-jo-". This latter word is the origin of Fianna and Fenian. A number of modern pejoratives are used by Anglicised urban populations to describe common rural people in the West of Ireland and the Scottish Highlands and have a significant Gaelic ethnic connotation; the terms "culchie" and "teuchter".
"Irish".
A common name, passed down to the modern day, is Irish; this existed in the English language during the 11th century in the form of "Irisce", which derived from the stem of Old English "Iras" "inhabitant of Ireland", from Old Norse "irar". The ultimate origin of this word is thought to be from the Old Irish Ériu, which is from Old Celtic "*Iveriu", likely associated with the Proto-Indo-European term "*pi-wer-" meaning "fertile". Ériu is mentioned as a goddess in the "Lebor Gabála Érenn" as a daughter of Ernmas of the "Tuatha Dé Danann". Along with her sisters Banba and Fódla, she is said to have made a deal with the Milesians to name the island after her.
The ancient Greeks; in particular Ptolemy in his 2nd century "Geographia", possibly based on earlier sources; located a group known as the Iverni () in the south-west of Ireland. This group has been associated with the Érainn of Irish tradition by T. F. O'Rahilly and others. The Érainn; claiming descent from a Milesian eponymous ancestor named Ailill Érann; were the hegemonic power in Ireland prior to the rise of the descendants of Conn of the Hundred Battles and Mug Nuadat. The Érainn included peoples such as the Corcu Loígde and Dál Riata. Ancient Roman writers, such as Caesar, Pliny and Tacitus, derived from "Ivernia" the name "Hibernia". Thus the name "Hibernian" also comes from this root (although the Romans tended to call the isle Scotia, and the Gaels "Scoti"). Within Ireland itself, the term "Éireannach" (Irish), only gained its modern political signifiance as a primary denominator from the 17th century onwards, as in the works of Geoffrey Keating, where a Catholic alliance between the native "Gaoidheal" and "Seanghaill" ("old foreigners", of Norman descent) was proposed against the pressures of the "Nuaghail" or "Sacsanach" (ie - the ascendant Protestant New English settlers).
"Scots".
The Scots Gaels derive from the kingdom of Dál Riata, which included parts of western Scotland and northern Ireland. It has various explanations of its origins, including a foundation myth of an invasion from Ireland and a more recent archaeological and linguistic analysis that points to a pre-existing maritime province united by the sea and isolated from the rest of Scotland by the mountainous ridge called the "Druim Alban". The archaeological evidence relates to Ireland while the linguistic evidence relates to Scotland, absent any evidence of conflict either in that exchange or in the erasing of pre-existing culture within that exchange. The cultural exchange includes passage of the M222 genotype within Scotland.
From the 5th to 10th centuries, early Scotland was home not only to the Gaels of Dál Riata but also the Picts, the Britons, Angles and lastly the Vikings. The Romans began to use the term "Scoti" to describe the Gaels in Latin from the 4th century onward. At the time, the Gaels were raiding the west coast of Britain for hostages, and they took part in the Great Conspiracy; it is thus conjectured that the term means "raider, pirate". Although the Dál Riata settled in Argyll in the 6th century, the term "Scots" did not just apply to them, but to Gaels in general. Examples can be taken from Johannes Scotus Eriugena and other figures from Hiberno-Latin culture and the "Schottenkloster" founded by Irish Gaels in Germanic lands.
The Gaels of northern Britain referred to themselves as "Albannaich" in their own tongue and their realm as the Kingdom of Alba (founded as a successor kingdom to Dál Riata and Pictland). Germanic groups tended to refer to the Gaels as "Scottas" and so when Anglo-Saxon influence grew at court with Duncan II, the Latin "Rex Scottorum" began to be used and the realm was known as Scotland; this process and cultural shift was put into full effect under David I, who let the Normans come to power and furthered the Lowland-Highland divide. Germanic-speakers in Scotland spoke a language called "Inglis", which they started to call "Scottis" (Scots) in the 16th century, while they in turn began to refer to Scottish Gaelic as "Erse" (meaning "Irish").
Population.
Kinship groups.
In traditional Gaelic society, a patrilineal kinship group is referred to as a "clann" or, in Ireland, a "fine." Both in technical use signify a dynastic grouping descended from a common ancestor, much larger than a personal family, which may also consist of various kindreds and septs. ("Fine" is not to be confused with the term "fian", a 'band of roving men whose principal occupations were hunting and war, also a troop of professional fighting-men under a leader; in wider sense a company, number of persons; a warrior (late and rare)').
Using the Munster-based Eóganachta as an example, members of this "clann" claim patrilineal descent from Éogan Mór. It is further divided into major kindreds, such as the Eóganacht Chaisil, Glendamnach, Áine, Locha Léin and Raithlind. These kindreds themselves contain septs that have passed down as Irish Gaelic surnames, for example the Eóganacht Chaisil includes O'Callaghan, MacCarthy, O'Sullivan and others.
The Irish Gaels can be grouped into the following major historical groups; Connachta (including Uí Néill, Clan Colla, Uí Maine, etc.), Dál gCais, Eóganachta, Érainn (including Dál Riata, Dál Fiatach, etc.), Laigin and Ulaid (including Dál nAraidi). In the Highlands, the various Gaelic-originated clans tended to claim descent from one of the Irish groups, particularly those from Ulster. The Dál Riata (i.e. – MacGregor, MacDuff, MacLaren, etc.) claimed descent from Síl Conairi, for instance. Some arrivals in the High Middle Ages (i.e. – MacNeill, Buchanan, Munro, etc.) claimed to be of the Uí Néill. As part of their self-justification; taking over power from the Norse-Gael MacLeod in the Hebrides; the MacDonalds claimed to be from Clan Colla.
For the Irish Gaels, their culture did not survive the conquests and colonisations by the English between 1534 and 1692 (see History of Ireland (1536–1691), Tudor conquest of Ireland, Plantations of Ireland, Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, Williamite War in Ireland. As a result of the Gaelic revival, there has been renewed interest in Irish genealogy; the Irish Government recognised Gaelic Chiefs of the Name since the 1940s. The "Finte na hÉireann" (Clans of Ireland) was founded in 1989 to gather together clan associations; individual clan associations operate throughout the world and produce journals for their septs. The Highland clans held out until the 18th century Jacobite risings. During the Victorian-era, symbolic tartans, crests and badges were retroactively applied to clans. Clan associations built up over time and "Na Fineachan Gàidhealach" (The Highland Clans) was founded in 2013.
Human genetics.
At the turn of the 21st century, the principles of human genetics and genetic genealogy were applied to the study of populations of Irish origin. It was found that the overwhelming majority belonged to haplogroup R1b in their Y-chromosome DNA (as with much of Western Europe). The two other peoples who recorded higher than 85% for R1b in a 2009 study published in the scientific journal, PLOS Biology, were the Welsh and the Basques.
The development of in-depth studies of DNA sequences known as STRs and SNPs have allowed geneticists to associate subclades with specific Gaelic kindred groupings (and their surnames), vindicating significant elements of Gaelic genealogy, as found in works such as the "Leabhar na nGenealach". Examples can be taken from the Uí Néill (i.e. – O'Neill, O'Donnell, Gallagher, etc.), who are associated with R-M222 and the Dál gCais (i.e. – O'Brien, McMahon, Kennedy, etc.) who are associated with R-L226. With regard to Gaelic genetic genealogy studies, these developments in subclades have aided people in finding their original clan group in the case of a non-paternity event, with Family Tree DNA having the largest such database at present.
In 2016, a study analyzing ancient DNA found Bronze Age remains from Rathlin Island in Ireland to be most genetically similar to the modern indigenous populations of Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The majority of the genomes of the insular Celts would therefore have emerged by 4,000 years ago. It was also suggested that the arrival of proto-Celtic language, possibly ancestral to Gaelic languages, may have occurred around this time. Several genetic traits found at maximum or very high frequencies in the modern populations of Gaelic ancestry were also observed in the Bronze Age period. These traits include a hereditary disease known as HFE hereditary haemochromatosis, Y-DNA Haplogroup R-M269, lactase persistence and blue eyes. Another trait very common in Gaelic populations is red hair, with 10% of Irish and at least 13% of Scots having red hair, much larger numbers being carriers of variants of the MC1R gene, and which is possibly related to an adaptation to the cloudy conditions of the regional climate.
Demographics.
In countries where Gaels live, census records documenting population statistics exist. The following chart shows the number of speakers of a Gaelic language (either "Gaeilge," also known as Irish, "Gàidhlig," known as Scottish Gaelic, or "Gaelg," known as Manx). The question of ethnic identity is slightly more complex, but included below are those who identify as ethnic Irish or Scottish. It should be taken into account that not all are of Gaelic descent, especially in the case of Scotland, due to the nature of the Lowlands. It also depends on the self-reported response of the individual and so is a rough guide rather than an exact science.
The two comparatively "major" Gaelic nations in the modern era are Ireland (which in the 2002 census had 185,838 people who spoke Irish "daily" and 1,570,894 who were "able" to speak it) and Scotland (58,552 fluent "Gaelic speakers" and 92,400 with "some Gaelic language ability" in the 2001 census). Communities where the languages still are spoken natively are restricted largely to the west coast of each country and especially the Hebrides islands in Scotland. However, a large proportion of the Gaelic-speaking population now lives in the cities of Glasgow and Edinburgh in Scotland, and Donegal, Galway, Cork and Dublin in Ireland. There are about 2,000 Scottish Gaelic speakers in Canada (Canadian Gaelic dialect), although many are elderly and concentrated in Nova Scotia and more specifically Cape Breton Island. According to the U.S. Census in 2000, there are more than 25,000 Irish-speakers in the United States, with the majority found in urban areas with large Irish-American communities such as Boston, New York City and Chicago.
Diaspora.
As the Western Roman Empire began to collapse, the Irish (along with the Anglo-Saxons) were one of the peoples able to take advantage in Great Britain from the 4th century onwards. The proto-Eóganachta Uí Liatháin and the Déisi Muman of Dyfed both established colonies in today's Wales. Further to the north, the Érainn's Dál Riata colonised Argyll (eventually founding Alba) and there was a significant Gaelic influence in Northumbria and the MacAngus clan arose to the Pictish kingship by the 8th century. Gaelic Christian missionaries were also active across the Frankish Empire. With the coming of the Viking Age and their slave markets, Irish were also dispersed in this way across the realms under Viking control; as a legacy, in genetic studies, Icelanders exhibit high levels of Gaelic-derived mDNA.
Since the fall of Gaelic polities, the Gaels have made their way across parts of the world, successively under the auspices of the Spanish Empire, French Empire, and the British Empire. Their main destinations were Iberia, France, the West Indies, North America (what is today the United States and Canada) and Oceania (Australia and New Zealand). There has also been a mass "internal migration" within Ireland and Britain from the 19th century, with Irish and Scots migrating to the English-speaking industrial cities of London, Dublin, Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, Cardiff, Leeds, Edinburgh and others. Many underwent a linguistic "Anglicisation" and eventually merged with Anglo populations.
In a more narrow interpretation of the term "Gaelic diaspora", it could be interpreted as referring to the Gaelic-speaking minority among the Irish, Scottish, and Manx diaspora. However, the use of the term "diaspora" in relation to the Gaelic languages (i.e., in a narrowly linguistic rather than a more broadly cultural context) is arguably not appropriate, as it may suggest that Gaelic speakers and people interested in Gaelic necessarily have Gaelic ancestry, or that people with such ancestry naturally have an interest or fluency in their ancestral language. Research shows that this assumption is inaccurate.
History.
Origins.
In their own national epic contained within medieval works such as the "Lebor Gabála Érenn", the Gaels trace the origin of their people to an eponymous ancestor named Goídel Glas. He is described as a Scythian prince (the grandson of Fénius Farsaid), who is credited with creating the Gaelic languages. Goídel's mother is called Scota, described as an Egyptian princess. The Gaels are depicted as wandering from place to place for hundreds of years; they spend time in Egypt, Crete, Scythia, the Caspian Sea and Getulia, before arriving in Iberia, where their king, Breogán, is said to have founded Galicia.
The Gaels are then said to have sailed to Ireland via Galicia in the form of the Milesians, sons of Míl Espáine. The Gaels fight a battle of sorcery with the Tuatha Dé Danann, the gods, who inhabited Ireland at the time. Ériu, a goddess of the land, promises the Gaels that Ireland shall be theirs so long as they pay tribute to her. They agree, and their bard Amergin recites an incantation known as the "Song of Amergin". The two groups agree to divide Ireland between them: the Gaels take the world above, while the Tuath Dé take the world below (i.e. the Otherworld).
Ancient.
According to the "Annals of the Four Masters", the early branches of the Milesian Gaels were the Heremonians, the Heberians and the Irians, descended from the three brothers Érimón, Éber Finn and Ír respectively. Another group were the Ithians, descended from Íth (an uncle of Milesius) who were located in South Leinster (associated with the Brigantes) but they later became extinct. The Four Masters date the start of Milesian rule from 1700 BCE. Initially, the Heremonians dominated the High Kingship of Ireland from their stronghold of Mide, the Heberians were given Munster and the Irians were given Ulster. At this early point of the Milesian-era, the non-Gaelic Fir Domnann held Leinster and the Fir Ol nEchmacht held what was later known as Connacht (possibly remnants of the Fir Bolg).
During the Iron Age there was heightened activity at a number of important royal ceremonial sites, including Tara, Dún Ailinne, Rathcroghan and Emain Macha. Each was associated with a Gaelic tribe. The most important was Tara, where the High King (also known as the King of Tara) was inaugurated on the "Lia Fáil" (Stone of Destiny), which stands to this day. According to the Annals, this era also saw, during the 7th century BCE, a branch of the Heremonians known as the Laigin, descending from Úgaine Mór's son Lóegaire Lorc, displacing the Fir Bolg remnants in Leinster. This was also a critical period for the Ulaid (earlier known as the Irians) as their kinsman Rudraige Mór took over the High Kingship in the 3rd century BCE; his offspring would be the subject of the Ulster Cycle of heroic tradition, including the epic "Táin Bó Cúailnge". This includes the struggle between Conchobar mac Nessa and Fergus mac Róich.
After regaining power, the Heremonians, in the form of Fíachu Finnolach were overthrown in a 1st-century AD provincial coup. His son, Túathal Techtmar was exiled to Roman Britain before returning to claim Tara. Based on the accounts of Tacitus, some modern historians associate him with an "Irish prince" said to have been entertained by Agricola, Governor of Britain and speculate at Roman sponsorship. His grandson, Conn Cétchathach, is the ancestor of the Connachta who would dominate the Irish Middle Ages. They gained control of what would now be named Connacht. Their close relatives the Érainn (both groups descend from Óengus Tuirmech Temrach) and the Ulaid would later lose out to them in Ulster, as the descendants of the Three Collas in Airgíalla and Niall Noígíallach in Ailech extended their hegemony.
The Gaels emerged into the clear historical record during the classical era, with ogham inscriptions and quite detailed references in Greco-Roman ethnography (most notably by Ptolemy). The Roman Empire conquered most of Britain in the 1st century, but did not conquer Ireland or the far north of Britain. The Gaels had relations with the Roman world, mostly through trade. Roman jewelry and coins have been found at several Irish royal sites, for example. Gaels, known to the Romans as "Scoti", also carried out raids on Roman Britain, together with the Picts. These raids increased in the 4th century, as Roman rule in Britain began to collapse. This era was also marked by a Gaelic presence in Britain; in what is today Wales, the Déisi founded the Kingdom of Dyfed and the Uí Liatháin founded Brycheiniog. There was also some Irish settlement in Cornwall. To the north, the Dál Riata are held to have established a territory in Argyll and the Hebrides.
Medieval.
Christianity reached Ireland during the 5th century, most famously through a Romano-British slave Patrick, but also through Gaels such as Declán, Finnian and the Twelve Apostles of Ireland. The abbot and the monk eventually took over certain cultural roles of the "aos dána" (not least the roles of "druí" and "seanchaí") as the oral culture of the Gaels was transmitted to script by the arrival of literacy. Thus Christianity in Ireland during this early time retained elements of Gaelic culture.
In the Middle Ages, Gaelic Ireland was divided into a hierarchy of territories ruled by a hierarchy of kings or chiefs. The smallest territory was the "túath" (plural: "túatha"), which was typically the territory of a single kin-group. Several "túatha" formed a "mór túath" (overkingdom), which was ruled by an overking. Several overkingdoms formed a "cóiced" (province), which was ruled by a provincial king. In the early Middle Ages the "túath" was the main political unit, but during the following centuries the overkings and provincial kings became ever more powerful. By the 6th century, the division of Ireland into two spheres of influence (Leath Cuinn and Leath Moga) was largely a reality. In the south, the influence of the Eóganachta based at Cashel grew further, to the detriment of Érainn clans such as the Corcu Loígde and Clann Conla. Through their vassals the Déisi (descended from Fiacha Suidhe and later known as the Dál gCais), Munster was extended north of the River Shannon, laying the foundations for Thomond. Aside from their gains in Ulster (excluding the Érainn's Ulaid), the Uí Néill's southern branch had also pushed down into Mide and Brega. By the 9th century, some of the most powerful kings were being acknowledged as High King of Ireland.
Some, particularly champions of Christianity, hold the 6th to 9th centuries to be a Golden Age for the Gaels. This is due to the influence which the Gaels had across Western Europe as part of their Christian missionary activities. Similar to the Desert Fathers, Gaelic monastics were known for their asceticism. Some of the most celebrated figures of this time were Columba, Aidan, Columbanus and others. Learned in Greek and Latin during an age of cultural collapse, the Gaelic scholars were able to gain a presence at the court of the Carolingian Frankish Empire; perhaps the best known example is Johannes Scotus Eriugena. Aside from their activities abroad, insular art flourished domestically, with artifacts such as the Book of Kells and Tara Brooch surviving. Clonmacnoise, Glendalough, Clonard, Durrow and Inis Cathaigh are some of the more prominent Ireland-based monasteries founded during this time.
There is some evidence in early Icelandic sagas such as the "Íslendingabók" that the Gaels may have visited the Faroe Islands and Iceland before the Norse, and that Gaelic monks known as "papar" (meaning father) lived there before being driven out by the incoming Norsemen.
The late 8th century heralded outside involvement in Gaelic affairs, as Norsemen from Scandinavia, known as the Vikings, began to raid and pillage settlements. The earliest recorded raids were on Rathlin and Iona in 795; these hit and run attacks continued for some time until the Norsemen began to settle in the 840s at Dublin (setting up a large slave market), Limerick, Waterford and elsewhere. The Norsemen also took most of the Hebrides and the Isle of Man from the Dál Riata clans and established the Kingdom of the Isles.
The monarchy of Pictland had kings of Gaelic origin, since the 7th century with Bruide mac Der-Ilei, around the times of the "Cáin Adomnáin". However, Pictland remained a separate realm from Dál Riata, until the latter gained full hegemony during the reign of Kenneth MacAlpin from the House of Alpin, whereby Dál Riata and Pictland were merged to form the Kingdom of Alba. This meant an acceleration of Gaelicisation in the northern part of Great Britain. The Battle of Brunanburh in 937 defined the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of England as the hegemonic force in Great Britain, over a Gaelic-Viking alliance.
After a spell when the Norsemen were driven from Dublin by Leinsterman Cerball mac Muirecáin, they returned in the reign of Niall Glúndub, heralding a second Viking period. The Dublin Norse—some of them, such as Uí Ímair king Ragnall ua Ímair now partly Gaelicised as the Norse-Gaels—were a serious regional power, with territories across Northumbria and York. At the same time, the Uí Néill branches were involved in an internal power struggle for hegemony between the northern or southern branches. Donnchad Donn raided Munster and took Cellachán Caisil of the Eóganachta hostage. The destabilisation led to the rise of the Dál gCais and Brian Bóruma. Through military might, Brian went about building a Gaelic Imperium under his High Kingship, even gaining the submission of Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill. They were involved in a series of battles against the Vikings: Tara, Glenmama and Clontarf. The last of these saw Brian's death in 1014. Brian's campaign is glorified in the "Cogad Gáedel re Gallaib" ("The War of the Gaels with the Foreigners").
The Irish Church became closer to Continental models with the Synod of Ráth Breasail and the arrival of the Cistercians. There was also more trade and communication with Normanised Britain and France. Between themselves, the Ó Briain and the Ó Conchobhair attempted to build a national monarchy.
The remainder of the Middle Ages was marked by conflict between Gaels and Anglo-Normans. The Norman invasion of Ireland took place in stages during the late 12th century. Norman mercenaries landed in Leinster in 1169 at the request of Diarmait Mac Murchada, who sought their help in regaining his throne. By 1171 the Normans had gained control of Leinster, and King Henry II of England, with the backing of the Papacy, established the Lordship of Ireland. The Norman kings of England claimed sovereignty over this territory, leading to centuries of conflict between the Normans and the native Irish. At this time, a literary anti-Gaelic sentiment was born and developed by the likes of Gerald of Wales as part of a propaganda campaign (with a Gregorian "reform" gloss) to justify taking Gaelic lands. Scotland also came under Anglo-Norman influence in the 12th century. The Davidian Revolution saw the Normanisation of Scotland's monarchy, government and church; the founding of burghs, which became mainly English-speaking; and the royally-sponsored immigration of Norman aristocrats. This Normanisation was mainly limited to the Scottish Lowlands. In Ireland, the Normans carved out their own semi-independent lordships, but many Gaelic Irish kingdoms remained outside Norman control and gallowglass warriors were brought in from the Highlands to fight for various Irish kings.
In 1315, a Scottish army landed in Ireland as part of Scotland's war against England. It was led by Edward Bruce, brother of Scottish king Robert the Bruce. Despite his own Norman ancestry, Edward urged the Irish to ally with the Scots by invoking a shared Gaelic ancestry and culture, and most of the northern kings acknowledged him as High King of Ireland. However, the campaign ended three years later with Edward's defeat and death in the Battle of Faughart.
A Gaelic Irish resurgence began in the mid-14th century: English royal control shrank to an area known as the Pale and, outside this, many Norman lords adopted Gaelic culture, becoming culturally Gaelicised. The English government tried to prevent this through the Statutes of Kilkenny (1366), which forbade English settlers from adopting Gaelic culture, but the results were mixed and particularly in the West, some Normans became Gaelicised.
Imperial.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Gaels were affected by the policies of the Tudors and the Stewarts who sought to anglicise the population and bring both Ireland and the Highlands under stronger centralised control, as part of what would become the British Empire. In 1542, Henry VIII of England declared the Lordship of Ireland a Kingdom and himself King of Ireland. The new English, whose power lay in the Pale of Dublin, then began to conquer the island. Gaelic kings were encouraged to apply for a surrender and regrant: to surrender their lands to the king, and then have them regranted as freeholds. Those who surrendered were also expected to follow English law and customs, speak English, and convert to the Protestant Anglican Church. Decades of conflict followed in the reign of Elizabeth I, culminating in the Nine Years' War (1594–1603). The war ended in defeat for the Irish Gaelic alliance, and brought an end to the independence of the last Irish Gaelic kingdoms.
In 1603, with the Union of the Crowns, King James of Scotland also became king of England and Ireland. James saw the Gaels as a barbarous and rebellious people in need of civilising, and believed that Gaelic culture should be wiped out. Also, while most of Britain had converted to Protestantism, most Gaels had held on to Catholicism. When the leaders of the Irish Gaelic alliance fled Ireland in 1607, their lands were confiscated. James set about colonising this land with English-speaking Protestant settlers from Britain, in what became known as the Plantation of Ulster. It was meant to establish a loyal British Protestant colony in Ireland's most rebellious region and to sever Gaelic Ulster's links with Gaelic Scotland. In Scotland, James attempted to subdue the Gaelic clans and suppress their culture through laws such as the Statutes of Iona. He also attempted to colonise the Isle of Lewis with settlers from the Lowlands.
Since then, the Gaelic language has gradually diminished in most of Ireland and Scotland. The 19th century was the turning point as The Great Hunger in Ireland, and across the Irish Sea the Highland Clearances, caused mass emigration (leading to Anglicisation, but also a large diaspora). The language was rolled back to the Gaelic strongholds of the north west of Scotland, the west of Ireland and Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia.
Modern.
The Gaelic revival also occurred in the 19th century, with organisations such as "Conradh na Gaeilge" and "An Comunn Gàidhealach" attempting to restore the prestige of Gaelic culture and the socio-communal hegemony of the Gaelic languages. Many of the participants in the Irish Revolution of 1912–1923 were inspired by these ideals and so when a sovereign state was formed (the Irish Free State), post-colonial enthusiasm for the re-Gaelicisation of Ireland was high and promoted through public education. Results were very mixed however and the "Gaeltacht" where native speakers lived continued to retract. In the 1960s and 70s, pressure from groups such as "Misneach" (supported by Máirtín Ó Cadhain), the "Gluaiseacht Chearta Siabhialta na Gaeltachta" and others; particularly in Connemara; paved the way for the creation of development agencies such as "Údarás na Gaeltachta" and state media (television and radio) in Irish.
The last native speaker of Manx died in the 1970s, though use of the Manx language never fully ceased. There is now a resurgent language movement and Manx is once again taught in all schools as a second language and in some as a first language.
Culture.
Gaelic society was traditionally made up of kin groups known as clans, each with its own territory and headed by a male chieftain. Succession to the chieftainship or kingship was through tanistry. When a man became chieftain or king, a relative was elected to be his deputy or 'tanist' ("tánaiste"). When the chieftain or king died, his tanist would automatically succeed him. The tanist had to share the same great-grandfather as his predecessor (i.e. was of the same "derbfhine") and he was elected by freemen who also shared the same great-grandfather. Gaelic law is known as the "Fénechas" or Brehon law. The Gaels have always had a strong oral tradition, maintained by shanachies. In the ancient and medieval era, most Gaels lived in roundhouses and ringforts. The Gaels had their own style of dress, which became the modern belted plaid and kilt in Scotland. They also have their own extensive Gaelic literature, style of music and dances (Irish dancing and Highland dancing), social gatherings (Feis and Ceilidh), and their own sports (Gaelic games and Highland games).
Language.
Emergence.
The Gaelic languages are part of the Celtic languages and fall under the wider Indo-European language family. There are two main historical theories concerning the origin and development of the Gaelic languages from a Proto-Celtic root: the North Atlantic-based Insular Celtic hypothesis posits that Goidelic and Brythonic languages have a more recent common ancestor than Continental Celtic languages, while the Q-Celtic and P-Celtic hypothesis posits that Goidelic is more closely related to the Celtiberian language, while Brythonic is closer to the Gaulish language.
Estimates of the emergence of proto-Gaelic in Ireland vary widely from the introduction of agriculture 7000–6000 BC to around the first few centuries BC. Little can be said with certainty, as the language now known as Old Irish—ancestral to modern Irish, Scots Gaelic and Manx—only began to be properly recorded with the Christianisation of Ireland in the 4th century, after the introduction of the Roman script. Primitive Irish does appear in a specialised written form, using a unique script known as Ogham. The oldest examples of Ogham have survived in the form of memorial inscriptions or short epitaphs on pillar-like stone monuments (see Mac Cairthinn mac Coelboth). Ogham stones are found throughout Ireland and neighbouring parts of Britain. This form of written Primitive Irish is thought to have been in use as early as 1000 BC. The script frequently encodes a name or description of the owner and surrounding region, and it is possible that the inscribed stones may have represented territorial claims.
Contemporary.
The Gaelic languages have been in steep decline since the beginning of the 19th century, when they were majority languages of Ireland and the Scottish Highlands; today they are endangered languages. The spread of the English language has resulted in a vast majority of people of Gaelic ancestry being unable to speak a Goidelic language. As far back as the Statutes of Kilkenny in 1366, the English government had dissuaded use of Gaelic for political reasons. The Statutes of Iona in 1609 and the SSPCK in the Highlands (for most of its history) are also notable examples. As the old Gaelic aristocracy were displaced or assimilated, the language lost its prestige and became primarily a peasant language, rather than one of education and government.
During the 19th century, a number of "Gaeilgeoir" organisations were founded to promote a broad cultural and linguistic revival. "Conradh na Gaeilge" () was set up in 1893 and had its origins in Charles Owen O'Conor's Gaelic Union, itself a derivative of the Society for the Preservation of the Irish Language. Similar Highland Gaelic groups existed, such as "An Comunn Gàidhealach". At this time, Irish Gaelic was widely spoken along the Western seaboard (and a few other enclaves) and the Gaelic League began defining it as the "Gaeltacht", idealised as the core of true Irish-Ireland, rather than the Anglo-dominated Dublin. Although the Gaelic League itself aimed to be apolitical, this ideal was attractive to militant republicans such as the Irish Republican Brotherhood, who formulated and led the Irish Revolution at the turn of the 20th century; a key leader, Pádraig Pearse, imagined an Ireland "Not merely Free but Gaelic as well – Not merely Gaelic but Free as well." Scottish Gaelic did not undergo as extensive of a politicalisation at this juncture, as nationalists there tended to focus on the Lowland mythos of William Wallace rather than the "Gàidhealtachd".
During the 1950s, the independent Irish state developed "An Caighdeán Oifigiúil" as a national standard for the Irish language (using elements from local dialects but leaning towards Connacht Irish), with a simplified spelling. Until 1973, school children had to pass Modern Irish to achieve a Leaving Cert and studying the subject remains obligatory. There are also where children are taught exclusively through the medium of Irish. In the "Gaeltacht" itself, the language has continued to be in crisis under the pressure of globalism, but there are institutions such as "Údarás na Gaeltachta" and a Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, as well as media outlets such as "TG4" and "RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta" to support it. The last native Manx Gaelic speaker died in 1974, although there are ongoing attempts at revival. While the "Gàidhealtachd" has retracted in the Highlands, Scottish Gaelic has enjoyed renewed support with the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005, establishing the "Bòrd na Gàidhlig" under the devolved Scottish Government. This has seen the growth of Gaelic medium education. There are also media outlets such as "BBC Alba" and "BBC Radio nan Gàidheal", although these have been criticized for excessive use of English and pandering to an English-speaking audience.
Religion.
Pre-Christian.
The traditional, or "pagan", worldview of the pre-Christian Gaels of Ireland is typically described as animistic, polytheistic, ancestor venerating and focused on the hero cult of archetypal Gaelic warriors such as Cú Chulainn and Fionn mac Cumhaill. The four seasonal festivals celebrated in the Gaelic calendar, still observed to this day, are Imbolc, Beltane, Lughnasadh and Samhain. While the general worldview of the Gaelic tradition has been recovered, a major issue for academic scholars is that Gaelic culture was oral prior to the coming of Christianity and monks were the first to record the beliefs of this rival worldview as a "mythology". Unlike other religions, there is no overall "holy book" systematically setting out exact rules to follow, but various works, such as the "Lebor Gabála Érenn", "Dindsenchas", "Táin Bó Cúailnge" and "Acallam na Senórach", represent the metaphysical orientation of "Gaelachas".
The main gods held in high regard were the Tuatha Dé Danann, the superhuman beings said to have ruled Ireland before the coming of the Milesians, known in later times as the "aes sídhe". Among the gods were male and female deities such as The Dagda, Lugh, Nuada, The Morrígan, Aengus, Brigid and Áine, as well as many others. Some of them were associated with specific social functions, seasonal events and personal archetypal qualities. Some physical locations of importance in Ireland related to these stories include the Brú na Bóinne, Hill of Tara and Hill of Uisneach. Although the "sídhe" were held to intervene in worldly affairs sometimes, particularly battles and issues of sovereignty, the gods were held to reside in the Otherworld, also known as "Mag Mell" (Plain of Joy) or "Tír na nÓg" (Land of the Young). This realm was variously held to be located on a set of islands or underground. The Gaels believed that certain heroic persons could gain access to this spiritual realm, as recounted in the various "echtra" (adventure) and "immram" (voyage) tales.
Christianity.
The Gaels underwent Christianisation during the 5th century and that religion, "de facto", remains the predominant one to this day, although irreligion is fast rising. At first the Christian Church had difficulty infiltrating Gaelic life: Ireland had never been part of the Roman Empire and was a decentralised tribal society, making patron-based mass conversion problematic. It gradually penetrated through the remnants of Roman Britain and is especially associated with the activities of Patrick, a Briton who had been a slave in Ireland. He tried to explain its doctrines by using elements of native folk tradition, so Gaelic culture itself was not completely cast aside and to some extent local Christianity was Gaelicised. The last High King inaugurated in the pagan style was Diarmait mac Cerbaill. The 6th–9th centuries are generally held to be the height of Gaelic Christianity, with numerous saints, scholars and works of devotional art.
This balance began to unravel during the 12th century with the polemics of Bernard of Clairvaux, who attacked various Gaelic customs (including polygamy and hereditary clergy) as "pagan". The Catholic Church of the time, fresh from its split with the Orthodox Church, was becoming more centralised and uniform throughout Europe with the Gregorian Reform and military reliance on Germanic peoples at the fringes of Latin Christendom, particularly the warlike Normans. As part of this, the Catholic Church actively participated in the Norman conquest of Gaelic Ireland, with the issuing of "Laudabiliter" (claiming to gift the King of England the title "Lord of Ireland") and in Scotland strongly encouraged king David who Normanised that country. Even within orders such as the Franciscans, ethnic tensions between Norman and Gael continued throughout the later Middle Ages, as well as competition for ecclesiastic posts.
During the 16th century, with the emergence of Protestantism and Tridentine Catholicism, a distinct Christian sectarianism made its way into Gaelic life, with societal effects carrying on down to this day. The Tudor state used the Anglican Church to bolster their power and enticed native elites into the project, without making much initial effort to convert the Irish Gaelic masses; meanwhile, the mass of Gaeldom (as well as the "Old English") became staunchly Catholic. Due to the geopolitical rivalry between Protestant Britain and Catholic France and Spain, the Catholic religion and its mostly Gaelic followers in Ireland were persecuted for a long time. In the Scottish Highlands too, the Gaels were generally slow to accept the Scottish Reformation. Efforts at persuading Highlanders in general of the value of this primarily Lowland movement were hampered by the complicated politics of the Highlands, with religious rivalries and clan antagonism becoming entwined (a prominent example was the intense rivalry, even hatred, between the generally Presbyterian Campbells and the generally Catholic MacDonalds), but most Highlanders later converted to Presbyterianism in the 19th century during the breakdown of the clan system. In a few remote areas, however, Catholicism was kept alive and even rejuvenated to some extent by Irish Franciscan missionaries, but in most of the Highlands it was replaced by Presbyterianism.
The adoption of the Free Church of Scotland (1843–1900) in the Highlands following the Disruption of 1843 was a reassertion of Gaelic identity in opposition to forces of improvement and clearance.


List of places in County Tyrone

This is a list of cities, towns, villages and hamlets in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. See the list of places in Northern Ireland for places in other counties.
Towns are listed in bold.


Three Shire Stones (Bath and North East Somerset)