1.
Senate of Poland
–
The Senate is the upper house of the Polish parliament, the lower house being the Sejm. The history of the Polish Senate is rich in tradition and stretches back over 500 years and it was one of the first constituent bodies of a bicameral parliament in Europe and existed without hiatus until the dismemberment of the Polish state in 1795. After a brief period of existence in the period the Senate was again abolished by the authorities of the Peoples Republic of Poland. It was not re-established until the collapse of communism and rebirth of democracy in Poland in 1989, the Senate is based in Warsaw and is located in a building which forms part of the Sejm Complex on Ul. Wiejska, close to Three Crosses Square and Ujazdow Castle and it consists of 100 senators elected by universal ballot and is headed by the Marshal of the Senate. The incumbent Marshal of the Senate is Senior Marshal Stanisław Karczewski, in line with Article 10, Paragraph 2, and Article 95 of the Polish Constitution of April 2,1997, the Senate and the Sejm exercises legislative power. The Senate is composed of 100 senators who are elected for a term of four years in general election in a vote by secret ballot. Alongside the Sejm, the President of the Polish Republic, the Council of Ministers and all citizens of Poland, the Senate is allowed 30 days to examine any piece of draft legislation passed by the Sejm,14 days if a bill is considered to be urgent. Any bill submitted by the Sejm to the Senate may be adopted by the latter without any amendments or amended or rejected. Any resolution of the Senate, as a result of which a bill is repealed or amended, is considered to be passed provided it has not been rejected by the Sejm, however, for the state budget, the Senate has 20 days to examine it. For amending the constitution, the Senate has 60 days for analysis, if the constitution is amended, identical wording of the amendment must be approved by both the Sejm and the Senate. The president cannot decide to stage a nationwide referendum on matters of importance unless he or she has been given explicit permission to do so by the Senate. The Senate is also empowered to examine any reports submitted by the Commissioner for the Protection of Citizens Rights, however, unlike the Sejm, the Senate has no role in providing for oversight of the executive. The Senate can be traced back approximately five hundred years to a council of royal advisors, in 1501 at Mielnik, senators attempted to force the soon to be crowned king Alexander I Jagiellon to devolve all royal powers relating to the governing of the state to them. However, whilst Alexander first agreed, after his coronation he refused to affirm this privilege, later the Nihil Novi act of 1505 affirmed the right of both the Chamber of Envoys and Senate to propagate common law for the kingdom. At this time the competences of the Senate were also laid down as pertaining to participation in legislation, foreign policy, in 1537 the Senate followed a course of action which would have seen it become the most important institution in protecting landowners’ rights and freedoms. However, this view was at odds with those of Sigismund I the Old who believed that the Senate was becoming far too powerful. Resultantly, over the period of 1562–69, the Senate lost many of its powers and influence, eventually becoming subordinate to its formerly-equal companion body, the Chamber of Envoys
Senate of Poland
–
Senate of the Republic of Poland Senat Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej
Senate of Poland
Senate of Poland
–
A leaf from the Łaski Statute depicting the Polish Senate in 1503
Senate of Poland
–
Unrealised (1765) plans for a new senate chamber at the Royal Castle in Warsaw
2.
Board game
–
A board game is a tabletop game that involves counters or pieces moved or placed on a pre-marked surface or board, according to a set of rules. Some games are based on strategy, but many contain an element of chance. Games usually have a goal that a player aims to achieve, early board games represented a battle between two armies, and most modern board games are still based on defeating opposing players in terms of counters, winning position, or accrual of points. There are many varieties of board games and their representation of real-life situations can range from having no inherent theme, like checkers, to having a specific theme and narrative, like Cluedo. Board games have been played in most cultures and societies throughout history, the Pilgrims and Puritans of New England frowned on game playing and viewed dice as instruments of the devil. In Thoughts on Lotteries Thomas Jefferson wrote, Almost all these pursuits of chance produce something useful to society, but there are some which produce nothing, and endanger the well-being of the individuals engaged in them or of others depending on them. Such are games with cards, dice, billiards, etc. and suppress the pursuit altogether, there are some other games of chance, useful on certain occasions, and injurious only when carried beyond their useful bounds. Such are insurances, lotteries, raffles, etc and these they do not suppress, but take their regulation under their own discretion. As the US shifted from agrarian to urban living in the century, greater leisure time. The American home, once the center of production, became the locus of entertainment, enlightenment. Children were encouraged to board games that developed literacy skills. The earliest board games published in the United States were based upon Christian morality, the Mansion of Happiness, for example, sent players along a path of virtues and vices that led to the Mansion of Happiness. The missionaries are cast in white as the symbol of innocence, temperance, and hope while the pope and pagan are cast in black, the color of gloom of error, and. grief at the daily loss of empire. Commercially produced board games in the century were monochrome prints laboriously hand-colored by teams of low-paid young factory women. Advances in paper making and printmaking during the period enabled the production of relatively inexpensive board games. The most significant advance was the development of chromolithography, an achievement that made bold. Games cost as little as US$.25 for a small boxed card game to $3.00 for more elaborate games, American Protestants believed a virtuous life led to success, but the belief was challenged mid-century when Americans embraced materialism and capitalism. The accumulation of material goods was viewed as a divine blessing, in 1860, The Checkered Game of Life rewarded players for mundane activities such as attending college, marrying, and getting rich
Board game
–
The modern American board game
Monopoly is licensed in 103 countries and printed in 37 languages.
Board game
–
Men Playing Board Games, from The Sougandhika Parinaya Manuscript (1821)
Board game
–
Woman Playing Go,
Astana Cemetery,
Turpan (c. 744)
Board game
–
Senet is among the oldest known board games.
3.
Ancient Egypt
–
Ancient Egypt was a civilization of ancient Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. It is one of six civilizations to arise independently, Egyptian civilization followed prehistoric Egypt and coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh Narmer. In the aftermath of Alexander the Greats death, one of his generals, Ptolemy Soter and this Greek Ptolemaic Kingdom ruled Egypt until 30 BC, when, under Cleopatra, it fell to the Roman Empire and became a Roman province. The success of ancient Egyptian civilization came partly from its ability to adapt to the conditions of the Nile River valley for agriculture, the predictable flooding and controlled irrigation of the fertile valley produced surplus crops, which supported a more dense population, and social development and culture. Its art and architecture were widely copied, and its antiquities carried off to far corners of the world and its monumental ruins have inspired the imaginations of travelers and writers for centuries. The Nile has been the lifeline of its region for much of human history, nomadic modern human hunter-gatherers began living in the Nile valley through the end of the Middle Pleistocene some 120,000 years ago. By the late Paleolithic period, the climate of Northern Africa became increasingly hot and dry. In Predynastic and Early Dynastic times, the Egyptian climate was less arid than it is today. Large regions of Egypt were covered in treed savanna and traversed by herds of grazing ungulates, foliage and fauna were far more prolific in all environs and the Nile region supported large populations of waterfowl. Hunting would have been common for Egyptians, and this is also the period when many animals were first domesticated. The largest of these cultures in upper Egypt was the Badari, which probably originated in the Western Desert, it was known for its high quality ceramics, stone tools. The Badari was followed by the Amratian and Gerzeh cultures, which brought a number of technological improvements, as early as the Naqada I Period, predynastic Egyptians imported obsidian from Ethiopia, used to shape blades and other objects from flakes. In Naqada II times, early evidence exists of contact with the Near East, particularly Canaan, establishing a power center at Hierakonpolis, and later at Abydos, Naqada III leaders expanded their control of Egypt northwards along the Nile. They also traded with Nubia to the south, the oases of the desert to the west. Royal Nubian burials at Qustul produced artifacts bearing the oldest-known examples of Egyptian dynastic symbols, such as the crown of Egypt. They also developed a ceramic glaze known as faience, which was used well into the Roman Period to decorate cups, amulets, and figurines. During the last predynastic phase, the Naqada culture began using written symbols that eventually were developed into a system of hieroglyphs for writing the ancient Egyptian language. The Early Dynastic Period was approximately contemporary to the early Sumerian-Akkadian civilisation of Mesopotamia, the third-century BC Egyptian priest Manetho grouped the long line of pharaohs from Menes to his own time into 30 dynasties, a system still used today
Ancient Egypt
–
The
Great Sphinx and the
pyramids of Giza are among the most recognizable symbols of the civilization of ancient Egypt.
Ancient Egypt
–
A typical Naqada II jar decorated with gazelles. (Predynastic Period)
Ancient Egypt
–
The
Narmer Palette depicts the unification of the Two Lands.
4.
Hieroglyph
–
A hieroglyph is a character of the ancient Egyptian writing system. Logographic scripts that are pictographic in form in a way reminiscent of ancient Egyptian are also sometimes called hieroglyphs, in Neoplatonism, especially during the Renaissance, a hieroglyph was an artistic representation of an esoteric idea, which Neoplatonists believed actual Egyptian hieroglyphs to be. The word hieroglyphics refer to a hieroglyphic script, middle Egyptian, An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs. Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs, A Practical Guide, the Story of Writing, Alphabets, Hieroglyphs & Pictograms
Hieroglyph
–
Egyptian hieroglyphs typical of the Graeco-Roman period, sculpted in
Relief. Glyphs:
viper,
owl,
'bread bun',
folded cloth
5.
3100 BC
–
The 31st century BC is a century which lasted from the year 3100 BC to 3001 BC. c.3100 BC, Narmer unifies Upper and Lower Egypt into one country, he rules this new country from Memphis. C.3100 BC, Predynastic period ends in Ancient Egypt, C.3100 BC, Early Dynastic period starts in Ancient Egypt. C.3100 BC, The first temple of Tarxien is in use by the Neolithic inhabitants of Malta, C.3100 BC, First stage in the construction of Stonehenge. C.3100 BC –2600 BC, Skara Brae, Orkney Islands, C.3100 BC, Humans develop their first writing system, cuneiform script. C.3051 BC, The oldest currently living organism, a Pinus longaeva and it is still present to this day. C.3100 BC – Invention of writing in Mesopotamia and Egypt
3100 BC
–
Spiral design altar block from the
Tarxien Temples of
Malta, uncovered by
Sir Themistocles Zammit
3100 BC
–
Front and Back Sides of
Narmer Palette, this facsimile on display at the
Royal Ontario Museum, in
Toronto,
Canada. The Palette depicts Narmer unifying
Upper Egypt and
Lower Egypt
6.
Egyptian language
–
The language spoken in ancient Egypt was a branch of the Afroasiatic language family. The earliest known complete sentence in the Egyptian language has been dated to about 2690 BCE, making it one of the oldest recorded languages known. Egyptian was spoken until the seventeenth century in the form of Coptic. The national language of modern Egypt is Egyptian Arabic, which gradually replaced Coptic as the language of life in the centuries after the Muslim conquest of Egypt. Coptic is still used as the language of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. It has several hundred fluent speakers today, the Egyptian language belongs to the Afroasiatic language family. Of the other Afroasiatic branches, Egyptian shows its greatest affinities with Semitic, in Egyptian, the Proto-Afroasiatic voiced consonants */d z ð/ developed into pharyngeal ⟨ꜥ⟩ /ʕ/, e. g. Eg. Afroasiatic */l/ merged with Egyptian ⟨n⟩, ⟨r⟩, ⟨ꜣ⟩, and ⟨j⟩ in the dialect on which the language was based. Original */k g ḳ/ palatalize to ⟨ṯ j ḏ⟩ in some environments and are preserved as ⟨k g q⟩ in others, Egyptian has many biradical and perhaps monoradical roots, in contrast to the Semitic preference for triradical roots. Egyptian probably is more archaic in this regard, whereas Semitic likely underwent later regularizations converting roots into the triradical pattern, scholars group the Egyptian language into six major chronological divisions, Archaic Egyptian language Old Egyptian language Middle Egyptian language, characterizing Middle Kingdom. Demotic Coptic The earliest Egyptian glyphs date back to around 3300 BC and these early texts are generally lumped together under the general term Archaic Egyptian. They record names, titles and labels, but a few of them show morphological and syntactic features familiar from later, more complete, Old Egyptian is dated from the oldest known complete sentence, found in the tomb of Seth-Peribsen and dated to around 2690 BCE. It reads, dmḏ. n. f t3wj n z3. f nswt-bjt pr-jb. snj He has united the Two Lands for his son, extensive texts appear from about 2600 BCE. Demotic first appears about 650 BCE and survived as a written language until the fifth century CE and it probably survived in the Egyptian countryside as a spoken language for several centuries after that. Bohairic Coptic is still used by the Coptic Churches, Old, Middle, and Late Egyptian were all written using hieroglyphs and hieratic. Demotic was written using a script derived from hieratic, its appearance is similar to modern Arabic script and is also written from right to left. Coptic is written using the Coptic alphabet, a form of the Greek alphabet with a number of symbols borrowed from Demotic for sounds that did not occur in ancient Greek. Arabic became the language of Egypts political administration soon after the early Muslim conquests in the seventh century, today, Coptic survives as the sacred language of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria and the Coptic Catholic Church
Egyptian language
–
Seal impression from the tomb of
Seth-Peribsen, containing the oldest known complete sentence in Egyptian
Egyptian language
–
Ebers Papyrus detailing treatment of
asthma
Egyptian language
–
3rd-century Coptic inscription
7.
33rd century BC
–
The 33rd century BC is a century which lasted from the year 3300 BC to 3201 BC. Major climate shift possibly due to shift in solar activity,3300 BC, Harappan script is discovered in Indus Valley c.3300 BC—Pictographs in Uruk 3300 BC to 3000 BC, Face of a woman, from Uruk is made. It is now in the Iraq Museum, Baghdad, C.3300 BC The Red Temple, the first phase of the Monte dAccoddi sanctuary in Northwest Sardinia, is built. 3300-3000 BC Evidence of proto-Thracians or proto-Dacians in the prehistoric period,3250 BC – Potters wheel in use in Ancient Near East Ötzi the Iceman, a mummy discovered in the Austrian/Italian Alps in 1991
33rd century BC
–
The sun shines over Saharan dunes
33rd century BC
–
Ötzi the Iceman memorial
8.
27th century BC
–
The 27th century BC was a century which lasted from the year 2700 BC to 2601 BC.2700 BC-2660 BC, Early Dynastic period ended in Ancient Egypt. This period includes 1st and 2nd Dynasties, C.2700 BC, Merit-Ptah is worlds first female physician mentioned by name. C.2700 BC, Old Kingdom started in Ancient Egypt,2686 BC, Egypt, End of Second Dynasty, start of Third Dynasty. C.2685 BC, Bull lyre, from the tomb of Queen Puabi and it is now in University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. C.2681 BC – c.2662 BC, Reign of Djoser, Pharaoh of Egypt, C.2667 BC, Pharaoh Djoser starts to rule. C.2648 BC, Pharaoh Djoser dies,2630 BC –2611 BC, Imhotep, Vizier of Egypt, constructs the Pyramid of Djoser 2613 BC, Egypt—End of Third Dynasty, start of Fourth Dynasty. C.2613 BC –2494 BC, The Great Sphinx at Giza is built, C.2601 BC – c.2515 BC, Great Pyramids at Giza are built for Menkaure, Khafre and Khufu. C.2697 BC, The Yellow Emperor starts to reign in China, C.2640 BC, The cultivation and weaving of silk starts to be a closely guarded secret in China. C.2685 BC, Bull lyre, from the tomb of Queen Puabi and it is now in University Museum, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. 2627 BC –2000 BC, Construction of the Caral metropolis in Peru 2600 BC, the civilization began using the mature Indus script for its writing system. 2600 BC, End of the Early Dynastic II Period and the beginning of the Early Dynastic IIIa Period in Mesopotamia,2700 BC, Mesoamericans begin to plant and domesticate corn. 2900 BC –2334 BC, Mesopotamian wars of the Early Dynastic period, Djoser, first Pharaoh of the Third dynasty of Egypt Imhotep, Vizier of Egypt and architect Merit Ptah, chief physician in Egypt
27th century BC
–
Statuette of
Imhotep in the
Louvre. He is the first architect and physician whose name was recorded and has survived to modern times.
9.
Third Dynasty
–
For the Sumerian Renaissance, see Third Dynasty of Ur The Third Dynasty of ancient Egypt is the first dynasty of the Old Kingdom. Other dynasties of the Old Kingdom include the Fourth, Fifth and Sixth, the capital during the period of the Old Kingdom was at Memphis. After the turbulent last years of the Second Dynasty which might have included civil war, Egypt came under the rule of Djoser, both the Turin King List and the Abydos King List record five kings, while the Saqqara Tablet only records four. Djoser’s successor was Sekhemkhet who had the nebty name Djeserty, the last king of the dynasty is Huni. There are three remaining Horus names of known 3rd dynasty kings, Sanakht, Khaba and perhaps Qahedjet, one of these three went by the nebty name Nebka. Dating the Third Dynasty is similarly challenging, shaw gives the dates as being approximately from 2686 to 2613 BC. The Turin King List suggests a total of 75 years for the third dynasty, baines and Malek have placed the third dynasty as spanning the years 2650 –2575 BC, while Dodson and Hilton date the dynasty to 2584 –2520 BC. It is not uncommon for these estimates to differ by more than a century, a radiocarbon study done of the period in 2010 gives a reign for Djoser between roughly 2691 to 2625 BC. The pharaohs of the Third Dynasty ruled for approximately seventy-five years, the order of the kings is based on Wilkinson. The number of years as king, the years, is based on Dodson and Hilton. They have the dynasty lasting only 64 years, more importantly, seals naming Djoser were found at the entrance to Khasekhemwys tomb at Abydos, which demonstrates that it was Djoser, rather than Sanakht, who buried and succeeded this king. The Turin King List scribe wrote Djosers name in red ink, in any case, Djoser is the best known king of this dynasty, for commissioning his vizier Imhotep to build the earliest surviving pyramids, the Step Pyramid. Some authorities believe that Imhotep lived into the reign of the Pharaoh Huni, little is known for certain of Sekhemkhet. However, it is believed that Khaba possibly built the Layer Pyramid at Zawyet elAryan
Third Dynasty
–
Funerary temple of
Djoser at
Saqqara
10.
Hesy-Ra
–
Hesy-Ra was an Ancient Egyptian high official during the early 3rd dynasty. He is famous for his paintings and his cedar wood panels. Thanks to several clay seal found in Hesy-Ras tomb, it is today known that this high official lived and worked during the reign of king Djoser. Hesy-Ras name is of some interest to Egyptologists and Historians alike, Hesy-Ra, alongside a few high officials at this time, belongs to the first high officials that were allowed to link their names to Re. However, they were not allowed to use the sun disk hieroglyph to write Res name and this was permitted to the king only. As a high-ranking official and priest, Hesy-Ra bore several elite and pious titularies, Great one of the ten of Upper Egypt. Hesy-Ra is well known for certain, unique titles, the most discussed title is Wer-ibeh-senjw, which can be translated in many ways. Ibeh can be translated as dentition and/or ivory as well, senjw is a plural for arrows, cutters and/or physicians alike. Thus, the full title Wer-ibeh-senjw can either be translated as Great one of the ivory cutters or as Great one of the dentists. If the former translation was correct, Hesy-Ra was a professional ivory-cutter and artist - a profession that was fairly common, if the latter translation was correct, Hesy-Ra would be the very first person in Egyptian history to be officially entitled as an occupational dentist. Hesy-Ra is also known for his richly decorated cedar wood panels found in his tomb. On these panels, Hesy-Ra is depicted in several stages of age, indeed, the panels close to the entrance show Hesy-Ra as a pretty young man at the start of his career. Closer to the chapel, Hesy-Ra is depicted as a mid-age man at the hayday of his career. Finally, in the chapel, he is depicted as an old man, sitting on an offering table. The artist of the panels even accentuated facial mannerisms of age, Hesy-Ras face change from pretty smooth to wrinkled and saggy, furthermore, Hesy-Ra is known for the colorful wall paintings discovered inside and outside his tomb. Colors such as black, white, yellow, green and red were used, the ornaments include rhomboids, stripes and a green-yellowish reed mat imitation. The paintings were in good state when found, that the excavators decided to fill the painted corridors with high quality rubble in attempt to preserve the colors. Close-by reliefs depict daily life goods and even game accessories, such as Mehen game boards, possible contemporary office partners included Netjeraperef, Akhetaa, Khabawsokar, Pehernefer and Metjen, who were also holding office under Huni and Sneferu
Hesy-Ra
–
Archaeological excavation at the Mastaba of Hesy-Ra in November 2010
Hesy-Ra
–
Middle panel, with 4—columns. (translated above)
11.
2500 BC
–
The 25th century BC was a century which lasted from the year 2500 BC to 2401 BC. c.2900 BC –2334 BC, Mesopotamian wars of the Early Dynastic period. C.2500 BC, Rice was first introduced to Malaysia c.2500 BC, C.2500 BC, Assyria is established. C.2500 BC, Cylinder seal from Sumer and its impression are made and it is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. C.2500 BC, Excavation and development of the Hypogeum of Ħal-Saflieni at Paola, Malta, C.2500 BC, Valley Temple of Khafra, Giza, is built. C.2500 BC, Khafra from Giza Valley, Temple of Khafra is made and it is now kept in Egyptian Museum, Cairo. C.2500 BC, People in Peru rely on fish, C.2500 BC, Skara Brae is abandoned after approximately 600 years of occupation. C.2500 BC –2000 BC, Mohenjo-daro is about 7 square miles in size and has a population of c.20,000 to 50,000, C.2494 BC, End of Fourth Dynasty, start of Fifth Dynasty in Egypt. C.2494 BC –2345 BC, Sculptors at work, relief from Saqqara and it is now at Egyptian Museum, Cairo, Egypt. C.2494 BC –2345 BC, The Seated Scribe and it is now in Musée du Louvre, Paris. 2492 BC, Traditional date for the foundation of Armenia by Hayk. c.2450 BC, End of the Early Dynastic IIIa Period. C.2450 BC, Kish is lost to Hamazi tribesmen of the Kurdistan mountains, C.2410 BC, By this time, kings in Sumer have ceased to be automatically high priests of the city deity. Infiltration and conquest of Mesopotamia by ancient Semitic-speaking peoples begins, C.2400 BC–2200 BC, Construction of Stonehenge Megalithic culture begins to spread through Europe and the western Mediterranean. Earliest signs of Corded Ware culture from the Caucasus, southeastern Spain is settled from the Mediterranean, by people using Prehistoric Egyptian-style pottery. Amorites and Canaanites occupy Syria and Lebanon,2492 BC—Hayk founds Armenia 2491 BC—Mythical Chinese Emperor Zhuanxu 2490 BC—Menkaure is Pharaoh. 2465 BC—Fifth Dynasty of Egypt, Userkaf is Pharaoh 2458 BC—Sahure is Pharaoh 2446 BC—Neferirkare Kakai is Pharaoh 2426 BC—Shepseskare is Pharaoh c. Its heartland lay in the Indus River in Pakistan, but settlements spread as far as the Makran coast, Balochistan, Afghanistan, eastern Punjab, Kutch and Saurashtra. They included cities like Harappa, Mohenjo-daro, Kalibangan, Dholavira, ports like Lothal, Sutkagen-dor and Sokhta Koh and they used irrigation to farm and constructed cities. The two main cities had sewage systems, bronze, trade tokens, and hieroglyphs, there were even baths at one of the villages, besides the great baths of brick in each city
2500 BC
–
The ruined pyramid of
Userkaf at
Saqqara. He was the founder of the Fifth Dynasty of Egypt
12.
Middle Kingdom of Egypt
–
Some scholars also include the Thirteenth Dynasty of Egypt wholly into this period as well, in which case the Middle Kingdom would finish c. 1650, while others only include it until Merneferre Ay c.1700 BC, during the Middle Kingdom period, Osiris became the most important deity in popular religion. The period comprises two phases, the 11th Dynasty, which ruled from Thebes and the 12th Dynasty onwards which was centered on el-Lisht, after the collapse of the Old Kingdom, Egypt entered a period of weak Pharaonic power and decentralization called the First Intermediate Period. Towards the end of period, two rival dynasties, known in Egyptology as the Tenth and Eleventh, fought for power over the entire country. The Theban 11th Dynasty only ruled southern Egypt from the first cataract to the Tenth Nome of Upper Egypt, to the north, Lower Egypt was ruled by the rival 10th Dynasty from Herakleopolis. The struggle was to be concluded by Mentuhotep II, who ascended the Theban throne in 2055 B. C, during Mentuhotep IIs fourteenth regnal year, he took advantage of a revolt in the Thinite Nome to launch an attack on Herakleopolis, which met little resistance. After toppling the last rulers of the 10th Dynasty, Mentuhotep began consolidating his power over all Egypt, for this reason, Mentuhotep II is regarded as the founder of the Middle Kingdom. Mentuhotep II commanded military campaigns south as far as the Second Cataract in Nubia and he also restored Egyptian hegemony over the Sinai region, which had been lost to Egypt since the end of the Old Kingdom. He also sent the first expedition to Punt during the Middle Kingdom, by means of ships constructed at the end of Wadi Hammamat, Mentuhotep III was succeeded by Mentuhotep IV, whose name significantly is omitted from all ancient Egyptian king lists. The Turin Papyrus claims that after Mentuhotep III came seven kingless years, despite this absence, his reign is attested from a few inscriptions in Wadi Hammamat that record expeditions to the Red Sea coast and to quarry stone for the royal monuments. The leader of expedition was his vizier Amenemhat, who is widely assumed to be the future pharaoh Amenemhet I. Mentuhotep IVs absence from the king lists has prompted the theory that Amenemhet I usurped his throne, while there are no contemporary accounts of this struggle, certain circumstantial evidence may point to the existence of a civil war at the end of the 11th dynasty. Inscriptions left by one Nehry, the Haty-a of Hermopolis, suggest that he was attacked at a place called Shedyet-sha by the forces of the reigning king, but his forces prevailed. Khnumhotep I, an official under Amenemhet I, claims to have participated in a flotilla of 20 ships to pacify Upper Egypt, donald Redford has suggested these events should be interpreted as evidence of open war between two dynastic claimants. What is certain is that, however he came to power, from the 12th dynasty onwards, pharaohs often kept well-trained standing armies, which included Nubian contingents. These formed the basis of larger forces which were raised for defence against invasion, however, the Middle Kingdom was basically defensive in its military strategy, with fortifications built at the First Cataract of the Nile, in the Delta and across the Sinai Isthmus. Early in his reign, Amenemhet I was compelled to campaign in the Delta region, in addition, he strengthened defenses between Egypt and Asia, building the Walls of the Ruler in the East Delta region. Perhaps in response to this perpetual unrest, Amenemhat I built a new capital for Egypt in the north, known as Amenemhet Itj Tawy, or Amenemhet, the location of this capital is unknown, but is presumably near the citys necropolis, the present-day el-Lisht
Middle Kingdom of Egypt
–
An
Osiride statue of the first pharaoh of the Middle Kingdom, Mentuhotep II
Middle Kingdom of Egypt
–
The head of a statue of Senusret I.
Middle Kingdom of Egypt
–
Statue head of Senusret III
13.
Sixth Dynasty of Egypt
–
The Sixth Dynasty of ancient Egypt along with Dynasties III, IV and V constitute the Old Kingdom of Dynastic Egypt. Known pharaohs of the Sixth Dynasty are as follows The pharaohs of this dynasty ruled for approximately 164 years, the Horus names and names of the Queens are taken from Dodson and Hilton. Dynasty VI is considered by authorities as the last dynasty of the Old Kingdom. Manetho writes that these kings ruled from Memphis, since their pyramids were built at Saqqara, Dynasty VI was founded by Teti, who had married Iput, commonly believed to be the daughter of the Dynasty V pharaoh Unas. Manetho claimed that Teti was eventually murdered by his own bodyguard, during this dynasty, expeditions were sent to Wadi Maghara in the Sinai Peninsula to mine for turquoise and copper, as well as to the mines at Hatnub and Wadi Hammamat. The pharaoh Djedkara sent trade expeditions south to Punt and north to Byblos, and Pepi I sent expeditions not only to these locations, but also as far as Ebla in modern-day Syria. The most notable member of dynasty was Pepi II, who is credited with a reign of 94 years. With the growing number of inscriptions in non-royal tombs, our knowledge of the contemporary history broadens. For example, we hear of a plot against Pepi I. We also read a written by the young king Pepi II, excited that one of his expeditions will return with a dancing pygmy from the land of Yam. These non-royal tomb inscriptions are but one example of the power of the nobility
Sixth Dynasty of Egypt
–
Tomb Relief of Iny
14.
Old Kingdom of Egypt
–
The term itself was coined by eighteenth-century historians and the distinction between the Old Kingdom and the Early Dynastic Period is not one which would have been recognized by Ancient Egyptians. The Old Kingdom is most commonly regarded as the period from the Third Dynasty through to the Sixth Dynasty, many Egyptologists also include the Memphite Seventh and Eighth Dynasties in the Old Kingdom as a continuation of the administration centralized at Memphis. During the Old Kingdom, the king of Egypt became a god who ruled absolutely and could demand the services. Under King Djoser, the first king of the Third Dynasty of the Old Kingdom, the capital of Egypt was moved to Memphis. A new era of building was initiated at Saqqara under his reign, King Djosers architect, Imhotep is credited with the development of building with stone and with the conception of the new architectural form—the Step Pyramid. Indeed, the Old Kingdom is perhaps best known for the number of pyramids constructed at this time as burial places for Egypts kings. For this reason, the Old Kingdom is frequently referred to as the Age of the Pyramids, the first king of the Old Kingdom was Djoser of the third dynasty, who ordered the construction of a pyramid in Memphis necropolis, Saqqara. An important person during the reign of Djoser was his vizier and it was in this era that formerly independent ancient Egyptian states became known as nomes, under the rule of the king. The former rulers were forced to assume the role of governors or otherwise work in tax collection, Egyptians in this era worshipped their king as a god, believing that he ensured the annual flooding of the Nile that was necessary for their crops. Egyptian views on the nature of time during this period held that the worked in cycles. They also perceived themselves as a specially selected people, the Old Kingdom and its royal power reached a zenith under the Fourth Dynasty, which began with Sneferu. Using more stones than any king, he built three pyramids, a now collapsed pyramid in Meidum, the Bent Pyramid at Dahshur. However, the development of the pyramid style of building was reached not at Saqqara. Sneferu was succeeded by his son, Khufu who built the Great Pyramid of Giza, after Khufus death, his sons Djedefra and Khafra may have quarrelled. The latter built the pyramid and the Sphinx in Giza. Recent reexamination of evidence has led Egyptologist Vassil Dobrev to propose that the Sphinx had been built by Djedefra as a monument to his father Khufu, alternatively, the Sphinx has been proposed to be the work of Khafra and Khufu himself. There were military expeditions into Canaan and Nubia, with Egyptian influence reaching up the Nile into what is today the Sudan, the later kings of the Fourth Dynasty were king Menkaure, who built the smallest pyramid in Giza, Shepseskaf and, perhaps, Djedefptah. The Fifth Dynasty began with Userkaf and was marked by the importance of the cult of sun god Ra
Old Kingdom of Egypt
–
The
Pyramid of Djoser at
Saqqara.
Old Kingdom of Egypt
–
Temple of Djoser at
Saqqara
Old Kingdom of Egypt
–
Head of a King, ca. 2650-2600 B.C.E,
Brooklyn Museum; The earliest representations of Egyptian Kings are on a small scale. Not until Dynasty III were statues made which show the ruler life-size; this forceful head wearing the tall crown of Upper Egypt even surpasses human scale, both in measurements and in its aim to depict the godlike power and strength of the Pharaoh.
15.
Egyptian hieroglyphs
–
Egyptian hieroglyphs were the formal writing system used in Ancient Egypt. It combined logographic, syllabic and alphabetic elements, with a total of some 1,000 distinct characters, cursive hieroglyphs were used for religious literature on papyrus and wood. The later hieratic and demotic Egyptian scripts are derived from hieroglyphic writing, the writing system continued to be used throughout the Late Period, as well as the Persian and Ptolemaic periods. Late survivals of hieroglyphic use are found well into the Roman period, with the closing of pagan temples in the 5th century, knowledge of hieroglyphic writing was lost, and the script remained undeciphered throughout the medieval and early modern period. The decipherment of hieroglyphs would only be solved in the 1820s by Jean-François Champollion, the word hieroglyph comes from the Greek adjective ἱερογλυφικός, a compound of ἱερός and γλύφω, supposedly a calque of an Egyptian phrase mdw·w-nṯr gods words. The glyphs themselves were called τὰ ἱερογλυφικὰ γράμματα the sacred engraved letters, the word hieroglyph has become a noun in English, standing for an individual hieroglyphic character. As used in the sentence, the word hieroglyphic is an adjective. Hieroglyphs emerged from the artistic traditions of Egypt. For example, symbols on Gerzean pottery from c.4000 BC have been argued to resemble hieroglyphic writing, proto-hieroglyphic symbol systems develop in the second half of the 4th millennium BC, such as the clay labels of a Predynastic ruler called Scorpion I recovered at Abydos in 1998. The first full sentence written in hieroglyphs so far discovered was found on a seal found in the tomb of Seth-Peribsen at Umm el-Qaab. There are around 800 hieroglyphs dating back to the Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom, by the Greco-Roman period, there are more than 5,000. However, given the lack of evidence, no definitive determination has been made as to the origin of hieroglyphics in ancient Egypt. Since the 1990s, and discoveries such as the Abydos glyphs, as writing developed and became more widespread among the Egyptian people, simplified glyph forms developed, resulting in the hieratic and demotic scripts. These variants were more suited than hieroglyphs for use on papyrus. Hieroglyphic writing was not, however, eclipsed, but existed alongside the other forms, especially in monumental, the Rosetta Stone contains three parallel scripts – hieroglyphic, demotic, and Greek. Hieroglyphs continued to be used under Persian rule, and after Alexander the Greats conquest of Egypt, during the ensuing Ptolemaic and Roman periods. It appears that the quality of comments from Greek and Roman writers about hieroglyphs came about, at least in part. Some believed that hieroglyphs may have functioned as a way to distinguish true Egyptians from some of the foreign conquerors, another reason may be the refusal to tackle a foreign culture on its own terms, which characterized Greco-Roman approaches to Egyptian culture generally
Egyptian hieroglyphs
–
A section of the
Papyrus of Ani showing cursive hieroglyphs.
Egyptian hieroglyphs
–
Hieroglyphs on a funerary stela in
Manchester Museum
Egyptian hieroglyphs
–
The
Rosetta Stone in the
British Museum
Egyptian hieroglyphs
–
Hieroglyphs typical of the Graeco-Roman period
16.
Nefertari
–
Nefertari, also known as Nefertari Meritmut, was an Egyptian queen and the first of the Great Royal Wives of Ramesses the Great. Nefertari means beautiful companion and Meritmut means Beloved of Mut and she is one of the best known Egyptian queens, next to Cleopatra, Nefertiti and Hatshepsut. She was highly educated and able to read and write hieroglyphs, a very rare skill at the time. She used these skills in her work, corresponding with other prominent royalties of the time. Her lavishly decorated tomb, QV66, is one of the largest and most spectacular in the Valley of the Queens, Ramesses also constructed a temple for her at Abu Simbel next to his colossal monument there. Ramesses II also named her The one for whom the sun shines, although Nefertaris family background is unknown, the discovery in her tomb of a knob inscribed with the cartouche of Pharaoh Ay has led people to speculate she was related to him. The time between the reign of Ay and Ramesses II means that Nefertari could not be a daughter of Ay and if any exists at all. There is no evidence linking Nefertari to the royal family of the 18th dynasty however. Nefertari married Ramesses II before he ascended the throne, Nefertari had at least four sons and two daughters. Amun-her-khepeshef, the eldest was Crown Prince and Commander of the Troops, Prince Meryatum was elevated to the position of High Priest of Re in Heliopolis. Inscriptions mention he was a son of Nefertari, Prince Meryre is a fourth son mentioned on the façade of the small temple at Abu Simbel and is thought to be another son of Nefertari. Meritamen and Henuttawy are two royal daughters depicted on the façade of the temple at Abu Simbel and are thought to be daughters of Nefertari. Nefertari first appears as the wife of Ramesses II in official scenes during the first year of Ramesses II, in the tomb of Nebwenenef, Nefertari is depicted behind her husband as he elevates Nebwenenef to the position of High Priests of Amun during a visit to Abydos. Nefertari also appears in a next to a year 1 stela. She is depicted shaking two sistra before Taweret, Thoth and Nut, Nefertari is an important presence in the scenes from Luxor and Karnak. In a scene from Luxor, Nefertari appears leading the royal children, another scene shows Nefertari at the Festival of the Mast of Amun-Min-Kamephis. The king and the queen are said to worship in the new temple and are shown overseeing the Erection of the Mast before Amen-Re attended by standard bearers. Nefertari’s speech during this ceremony is recorded, Your beloved son and he has erected for you the mast of the -framework
Nefertari
–
Tomb wall depicting Queen Nefertari, the great royal wife of Pharaoh
Rameses II
Nefertari
–
Nefertari depicted offering sistrums to Hathor in her smaller temple of
Abu Simbel
Nefertari
–
Nefertari beside a colossus of
Ramesses II
Nefertari
–
Temple of Nefertari at Abu Simbel
17.
New Kingdom
–
Radiocarbon dating places the exact beginning of the New Kingdom between 1570–1544 BC. The New Kingdom followed the Second Intermediate Period and was succeeded by the Third Intermediate Period and it was Egypt’s most prosperous time and marked the peak of its power. The later part of period, under the Nineteenth and Twentieth Dynasties is also known as the Ramesside period. It is named after the pharaohs that took the name of Ramesses I. Egyptian armies fought Hittite armies for control of modern-day Syria, the Eighteenth Dynasty contained some of Egypts most famous Pharaohs, including Ahmose I, Hatshepsut, Thutmose III, Amenhotep III, Akhenaten and Tutankhamun. Queen Hatshepsut concentrated on expanding Egypts external trade by sending an expedition to the land of Punt. Thutmose III expanded Egypts army and wielded it with success to consolidate the empire created by his predecessors. This resulted in a peak in Egypts power and wealth during the reign of Amenhotep III, during the reign of Thutmose III, Pharaoh, originally referring to the kings palace, became a form of address for the person who was king. Akhenatens religious fervor is cited as the reason why he was written out of Egyptian history. Under his reign, in the 14th century BC, Egyptian art flourished and attained a level of realism. Towards the end of the 18th Dynasty, the situation had changed radically, Ramesses II sought to recover territories in the Levant that had been held by the 18th Dynasty. His campaigns of reconquest culminated in the Battle of Kadesh, where he led Egyptian armies against those of the Hittite king Muwatalli II. Ramesses was caught in historys first recorded military ambush, although he was able to rally his troops, the outcome of the battle was undecided with both sides claiming victory at their home front, ultimately resulting in a peace treaty between the two nations. The last great pharaoh from the New Kingdom is widely considered to be Ramesses III, in the eighth year of his reign the Sea Peoples invaded Egypt by land and sea. Ramesses III defeated them in two great land and sea battles and he incorporated them as subject peoples and settled them in Southern Canaan although there is evidence that they forced their way into Canaan. Their presence in Canaan may have contributed to the formation of new states, such as Philistia and he was also compelled to fight invading Libyan tribesmen in two major campaigns in Egypts Western Delta in his sixth year and eleventh year respectively. The heavy cost of this warfare slowly drained Egypts treasury and contributed to the decline of the Egyptian Empire in Asia. Something in the air prevented much sunlight from reaching the ground, one proposed cause is the Hekla 3 eruption of the Hekla volcano in Iceland but the dating of this remains disputed
New Kingdom
–
New Kingdom at its maximum territorial extent in the 15th century BC.
New Kingdom
–
Relief of a Nobleman, ca. 1295-1070 B.C.E.
Brooklyn Museum
New Kingdom
–
Queen Ahmose-Nefertari
18.
Book of the Dead
–
The Book of the Dead is an ancient Egyptian funerary text, used from the beginning of the New Kingdom to around 50 BCE. The original Egyptian name for the text, transliterated rw nw prt m hrw is translated as Book of Coming Forth by Day, another translation would be Book of Emerging Forth into the Light. The Book of the Dead was part of a tradition of texts which includes the earlier Pyramid Texts and Coffin Texts. Some of the spells included were drawn from older works. Other spells were composed later in Egyptian history, dating to the Third Intermediate Period, a number of the spells which made up the Book continued to be inscribed on tomb walls and sarcophagi, as had always been the spells from which they originated. The Book of the Dead was placed in the coffin or burial chamber of the deceased, there was no single or canonical Book of the Dead. The surviving papyri contain a selection of religious and magical texts. Some people seem to have commissioned their own copies of the Book of the Dead, the Book of the Dead developed from a tradition of funerary manuscripts dating back to the Egyptian Old Kingdom. The first funerary texts were the Pyramid Texts, first used in the Pyramid of King Unas of the 5th dynasty and these texts were written on the walls of the burial chambers within pyramids, and were exclusively for the use of the Pharaoh. Towards the end of the Old Kingdom, the Pyramid Texts ceased to be a royal privilege. In the Middle Kingdom, a new funerary text emerged, the Coffin Texts, the Coffin Texts used a newer version of the language, new spells, and included illustrations for the first time. The Coffin Texts were most commonly written on the surfaces of coffins. The Book of the Dead first developed in Thebes towards the beginning of the Second Intermediate Period, by the 17th dynasty, the Book of the Dead had become widespread not only for members of the royal family, but courtiers and other officials as well. At this stage, the spells were typically inscribed on linen shrouds wrapped around the dead, the New Kingdom saw the Book of the Dead develop and spread further. The famous Spell 125, the Weighing of the Heart, is first known from the reign of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III, from this period onward the Book of the Dead was typically written on a papyrus scroll, and the text illustrated with vignettes. During the 19th dynasty in particular, the vignettes tended to be lavish, in the Third Intermediate Period, the Book of the Dead started to appear in hieratic script, as well as in the traditional hieroglyphics. The hieratic scrolls were a version, lacking illustration apart from a single vignette at the beginning. At the same time, many burials used additional funerary texts, during the 25th and 26th dynasties, the Book of the Dead was updated, revised and standardised
Book of the Dead
Book of the Dead
–
Part of the
Pyramid Texts, a precursor of the Book of the Dead, inscribed on the tomb of
Teti
Book of the Dead
–
The mystical Spell 17, from the
Papyrus of Ani. The vignette at the top illustrates, from left to right, the god
Heh as a representation of the Sea; a gateway to the realm of Osiris; the
Eye of Horus; the celestial cow
Mehet-Weret; and a human head rising from a coffin, guarded by the four Sons of Horus.
Book of the Dead
–
Two 'gate spells'. On the top register, Ani and his wife face the 'seven gates of the House of Osiris'. Below, they encounter ten of the 21 'mysterious portals of the House of Osiris in the Field of Reeds'. All are guarded by unpleasant protectors.
19.
Levant
–
The Levant is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean. The term Levant entered English in the late 15th century from French and it derives from the Italian Levante, meaning rising, implying the rising of the sun in the east. As such, it is equivalent to the Arabic term Mashriq. Eventually the term was restricted to the Muslim countries of Syria-Palestine, in 1581, England set up the Levant Company to monopolize commerce with the Ottoman Empire. The name Levant States was used to refer to the French mandate over Syria and this is probably the reason why the term Levant has come to be used synonymously with Syria-Palestine. Some scholars misunderstood the term thinking that it derives from the name of Lebanon, today the term is typically used in conjunction with prehistoric or ancient historical references. It does not include Anatolia, the Caucasus Mountains, or any part of the Arabian Peninsula proper, the Sinai Peninsula is sometimes included. The Levant has been described as the crossroads of western Asia, the eastern Mediterranean, and northeast Africa, the populations of the Levant share not only the geographic position, but cuisine, some customs, and a very long history. They are often referred to as Levantines, the term Levant, which appeared in English in 1497, originally meant the East in general or Mediterranean lands east of Italy. It is borrowed from the French levant rising, referring to the rising of the sun in the east, the phrase is ultimately from the Latin word levare, meaning lift, raise. Similar etymologies are found in Greek Ἀνατολή, in Germanic Morgenland, in Italian, in Hungarian Kelet, in Spanish and Catalan Levante and Llevant, most notably, Orient and its Latin source oriens meaning east, is literally rising, deriving from Latin orior rise. The notion of the Levant has undergone a process of historical evolution in usage, meaning. While the term Levantine originally referred to the European residents of the eastern Mediterranean region, it came to refer to regional native. The English Levant Company was founded in 1581 to trade with the Ottoman Empire, at this time, the Far East was known as the Upper Levant. In early 19th-century travel writing, the term sometimes incorporated certain Mediterranean provinces of the Ottoman empire, in 19th-century archaeology, it referred to overlapping cultures in this region during and after prehistoric times, intending to reference the place instead of any one culture. The French mandate of Syria and Lebanon was called the Levant states, today, Levant is the term typically used by archaeologists and historians with reference to the history of the region. Scholars have adopted the term Levant to identify the region due to it being a wider, yet relevant, archaeologists seeking a neutral orientation that is neither biblical nor national have used terms such as Levantine archaeology and archaeology of the Southern Levant. Two academic journals were launched, Journal of Levantine Studies, published by the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute and The Levantine Review
Levant
–
The
Levantine Sea, the eastern portion of the
Mediterranean.
Levant
–
Countries of the Levant in the broad, historic meaning (equivalent to the
eastern Mediterranean)
Levant
–
French medal commemorating the
war in
Cilicia, which was initially part of the
French mandate.
Levant
–
Satellite view of part of the Levant including
Cyprus,
Israel,
Jordan,
Lebanon,
Palestine, and southern
Syria.
20.
Tel Arad
–
Tel Arad or old Arad is located west of the Dead Sea, about 10 kilometres west of modern Arad in an area surrounded by mountain ridges which is known as the Arad Plain. The site is divided into a city and an upper hill which holds the only ever discovered House of Yahweh in the land of Israel. Tel Arad was excavated during 18 seasons by Ruth Amiran and Yohanan Aharoni, the lower area was first settled during the Chalcolithic period, around 4000 BCE. Excavations at the site have unearthed an extensive Bronze Age Canaanite settlement which was in place until approximately 2650 BCE, the citadel and sanctuary were constructed at the time of King David and Solomon. However, during the Persian, Maccabean, Roman, and early Muslim eras, markers of these ancient Israelite rituals remain to this day, with broken pottery littering the entire site. Among the most significant artifacts unearthed from this time are ostraca dating from the mid-7th century BCE, habitation of Tel Arad and the upper citadel did not end with the Babylonian siege. During the Persian period almost a hundred ostracon and pottery were written in Aramaic, mostly accounts of locals who brought oil, wine, wheat, thus, several citadels were built one upon the other and existed in the Hellenistic and Roman periods. Herod even reconstructed the city for the purpose of making bread. The site lasted until the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and completely expelled the circumcised in 135 AD, the citadel was destroyed and no more structures were built on the site. The temple at Arad was uncovered by archaeologist Yohanan Aharoni in 1962 who spent the rest of his life considering its mysteries, the incense altars and two standing stones may have been dedicated to Yahweh and Asherah. An inscription was found on the site by Aharoni mentioning a House of Yahweh, the lower settlement and the upper Israelite citadel are now part of the Tel Arad National Park which have begun projects to restore the walls of the upper and lower sites. Archaeology of Israel Yatir Winery Tel Arad National Park Pictures of Tel arad
Tel Arad
–
Aerial photograph of the city and the fortress
Tel Arad
–
Excavations at Tel Arad
Tel Arad
–
For the modern city, see
Arad, Israel. For the modern village, see
Tel Arad, Israel.
Tel Arad
21.
Byblos
–
Byblos, in Arabic Jubayl, is a Mediterranean city in the Mount Lebanon Governorate, Lebanon. It is one of the cities suggested as the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world and it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Gubal was a Canaanite city during the Bronze Age, at time it also appears as Gubla in the Amarna letters. During the Iron Age the city is called Gebal in Phoenician and it was much later referred to as Gibelet, during the Crusades. The citys Canaanite/Phoenician name can be derived from gb, meaning well or origin, and El, the present-day city is known by the Arabic name Jubayl or Jbeil, a direct descendant of the Canaanite name. However, the Arabic name is most likely derived from the Phoenician word GBL meaning boundary, district or mountain peak, in the Ugaritic GBL can mean mountain, the Greek Βύβλος, whence we get our Byblos, was the interpretation of Phoenician
Byblos
–
Byblos Port
Byblos
–
The old souk in Byblos,
Lebanon
Byblos
–
Old City of Byblos
Byblos
22.
Cyprus
–
Cyprus, officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the Eastern Mediterranean and the third largest and third most populous island in the Mediterranean. It is located south of Turkey, west of Syria and Lebanon, northwest of Israel and Palestine, north of Egypt, the earliest known human activity on the island dates to around the 10th millennium BC. Archaeological remains from this include the well-preserved Neolithic village of Khirokitia. Cyprus was settled by Mycenaean Greeks in two waves in the 2nd millennium BC, Cyprus was placed under British administration based on Cyprus Convention in 1878 and formally annexed by Britain in 1914. While Turkish Cypriots made up 18% of the population, the partition of Cyprus and creation of a Turkish state in the north became a policy of Turkish Cypriot leaders, following nationalist violence in the 1950s, Cyprus was granted independence in 1960. On 15 July 1974, a coup détat was staged by Greek Cypriot nationalists and elements of the Greek military junta in an attempt at enosis and these events and the resulting political situation are matters of a continuing dispute. The Cyprus Republic has de jure sovereignty over the island of Cyprus, as well as its territorial sea and exclusive economic area, another nearly 4% of the islands area is covered by the UN buffer zone. The international community considers the part of the island as territory of the Republic of Cyprus occupied by Turkish forces. The occupation is viewed as illegal under law, amounting to illegal occupation of EU territory since Cyprus became a member of the European Union. Cyprus is a major tourist destination in the Mediterranean, on 1 January 2008, the Republic of Cyprus joined the eurozone. The earliest attested reference to Cyprus is the 15th century BC Mycenaean Greek
Cyprus
–
A copper mine on Cyprus. In antiquity, Cyprus was a major source of copper.
Cyprus
–
Flag
Cyprus
–
Archeologic site of Choirokoitia with early remains of human habitation during Aceramic Neolithic period (reconstruction)
Cyprus
–
Sanctuary of Apollo Hylates,
Kourion
23.
Egypt
–
Egypt, officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia by a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. Egypt is a Mediterranean country bordered by the Gaza Strip and Israel to the northeast, the Gulf of Aqaba to the east, the Red Sea to the east and south, Sudan to the south, and Libya to the west. Across the Gulf of Aqaba lies Jordan, and across from the Sinai Peninsula lies Saudi Arabia, although Jordan and it is the worlds only contiguous Afrasian nation. Egypt has among the longest histories of any country, emerging as one of the worlds first nation states in the tenth millennium BC. Considered a cradle of civilisation, Ancient Egypt experienced some of the earliest developments of writing, agriculture, urbanisation, organised religion and central government. One of the earliest centres of Christianity, Egypt was Islamised in the century and remains a predominantly Muslim country. With over 92 million inhabitants, Egypt is the most populous country in North Africa and the Arab world, the third-most populous in Africa, and the fifteenth-most populous in the world. The great majority of its people live near the banks of the Nile River, an area of about 40,000 square kilometres, the large regions of the Sahara desert, which constitute most of Egypts territory, are sparsely inhabited. About half of Egypts residents live in areas, with most spread across the densely populated centres of greater Cairo, Alexandria. Modern Egypt is considered to be a regional and middle power, with significant cultural, political, and military influence in North Africa, the Middle East and the Muslim world. Egypts economy is one of the largest and most diversified in the Middle East, Egypt is a member of the United Nations, Non-Aligned Movement, Arab League, African Union, and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. Miṣr is the Classical Quranic Arabic and modern name of Egypt. The name is of Semitic origin, directly cognate with other Semitic words for Egypt such as the Hebrew מִצְרַיִם, the oldest attestation of this name for Egypt is the Akkadian
Egypt
–
The
Giza Necropolis is the oldest of the
ancient Wonders and the only one still in existence.
Egypt
–
Flag
Egypt
–
The Greek Ptolemaic queen
Cleopatra VII and her son by Julius Caesar,
Caesarion at the
Temple of Dendera.
Egypt
–
The 1803
Cedid Atlas, showing
Ottoman Egypt.
24.
University of Copenhagen
–
The University of Copenhagen is the oldest university and research institution in Denmark. Founded in 1479 as a studium generale, it is the second oldest institution for education in Scandinavia after Uppsala University. The university has 23,473 undergraduate students,17,398 postgraduate students,2,968 doctoral students, the university has four campuses located in and around Copenhagen, with the headquarters located in central Copenhagen. Most courses are taught in Danish, however, many courses are offered in English. The university has several thousands of students, about half of whom come from Nordic countries. The university has had 8 alumni become Nobel laureates and has produced one Turing Award recipient, the rector, the prorector and the director of the university is appointed by the university board. The rector in turn appoints directors of the different parts of the central administration, the deans appoint heads of 50 departments. There is no faculty senate and faculty is not involved in the appointment of rector, deans, hence the university has no faculty governance, although there are elected Academic Boards at faculty level who advise the deans. The governing body manages a budget of about BDKK8.3. The University is organized into six faculties and about 100 departments, the University employs about 5,600 academic staff and 4,400 technical and administrative staff. The total number of enrolled students is about 40,000 annually, UCPH has established an international graduate talent program which provides grants for international Ph. D, students and a tenure track carrier system. UCPH operates about fifty master’s programmes taught in English, and has arranged about 150 exchange agreements with institutions and 800 Erasmus agreements. Each year there are about 1,700 incoming exchange students,2,000 outbound exchange students and 4,000 international degree-seeking students, about 3,000 Ph. D. students study there each year. South Campus – houses the Faculty of Humanities and a proportion of the Faculty of Science. In the winter of 2016–2017, the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Theology will also move to South Campus, frederiksberg Campus – home to sections of the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences. The Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences and the Faculty of Science also use the Taastrup Campus, the Faculty of Science also has facilities in Helsingør, Hørsholm and Nødebo. The University of Copenhagen was founded in 1479 and is the oldest university in Denmark, between the closing of the Studium Generale in Lund in 1536 and the establishment of the University of Aarhus in the late 1920s, it was the only university in Denmark. The university became a centre of Roman Catholic theological learning, but also had faculties for the study of law, medicine, between 1675 and 1788, the university introduced the concept of degree examinations
University of Copenhagen
–
University Main Building, Frue Plads. (Distorted 180° panorama).
University of Copenhagen
–
University of Copenhagen
University of Copenhagen
–
Annex in Fiolstræde.
University of Copenhagen
–
The
Rundetårn (round tower) was used in the 17th century as an observatory by
Ole Rømer.
25.
American Museum of Natural History
–
The American Museum of Natural History, located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, New York City, is one of the largest museums in the world. The museum has a scientific staff of 225, sponsors over 120 special field expeditions each year. Before construction of the present complex, the museum was housed in the Arsenal building in Central Park. Sherman, A. G. Phelps Dodge, William A. Haines, Charles A. Dana, Joseph H. Choate, Henry G. Stebbins, Henry Parish, the founding of the museum realized the dream of naturalist Dr. Albert S. Bickmore. Bickmore, a student of Harvard zoologist Louis Agassiz, lobbied tirelessly for years for the establishment of a natural history museum in New York. In 1874, the cornerstone was laid for the museums first building, the original Victorian Gothic building, which was opened in 1877, was designed by J. Wrey Mould, both already closely identified with the architecture of Central Park. The original building was eclipsed by the south range of the museum, designed by J. Cleaveland Cady. It extends 700 feet along West 77th Street, with corner towers 150 feet tall and its pink brownstone and granite, similar to that found at Grindstone Island in the St. Lawrence River, came from quarries at Picton Island, New York. The entrance on Central Park West, the New York State Memorial to Theodore Roosevelt and it leads to a vast Roman basilica, where visitors are greeted with a cast of a skeleton of a rearing Barosaurus defending her young from an Allosaurus. The museum is accessible through its 77th street foyer, renamed the Grand Gallery. The hall leads into the oldest extant exhibit in the museum, since 1930, little has been added to the exterior of the original building. The architect Kevin Roche and his firm Roche-Dinkeloo have been responsible for the planning of the museum since the 1990s. Various renovations both interior and exterior have been carried out including improvements to Dinosaur Hall and mural restoration in Roosevelt Memorial Hall, in 1992 the firm designed the new eight story AMNH Library. The museums south façade, spanning 77th Street from Central Park West to Columbus Avenue was cleaned, repaired and re-emerged in 2009, steven Reichl, a spokesman for the museum, said that work would include restoring 650 black-cherry window frames and stone repairs. The museums consultant on the latest renovation is Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc. an architectural and engineering firm with headquarters in Northbrook, the museums first two presidents were John David Wolfe and Robert L. Stuart, both among the museums founders. The museum was not put on a sound footing until the appointment of the president, Morris K. Jesup. Jesup was president for over 25 years, overseeing its expansion, the fourth president, Henry Fairfield Osborn, was appointed in 1906 on the death of Jesup. Osborn consolidated the museums expansion, developing it into one of the worlds foremost natural history museums, F. Trubee Davison was president from 1933 to 1951, with A. Perry Osborn as Acting President from 1941 to 1946
American Museum of Natural History
–
Looking at the east entrance from
Central Park West
American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History
–
Locations of exploring and field parties in 1913, American Museum of Natural History map
American Museum of Natural History
–
The old 77th street "
castle " entrance of the museum
26.
Royal Game of Ur
–
The Royal Game of Ur, also known as the Game of Twenty Squares, refers to an ancient game represented by two gameboards found in the Royal Tombs of Ur in Iraq by Sir Leonard Woolley in the 1920s. The Ur-style Twenty Squares gameboard was also known in Egypt as Asseb, discovery of a tablet partially describing the gameplay has allowed the game to be played again after over 2000 years, although reconstructions of the detailed rules have differed widely. One of the two boards from Ur is exhibited in the collections of the British Museum in London, the Royal Game of Ur was played with two sets, one black and one white, of seven markers and three tetrahedral dice. After around 1000 BC, the layout of the twenty squares was altered to make the end course for the markers a straight line and it is universally agreed that the Royal Game of Ur, like Senet, is a race game. Both games may be predecessors to the present-day backgammon, a graffito version of the game was discovered on one of the human-headed winged bull gate sentinels from the palace of Sargon II in the city of Khorsabad, now in the British Museum in London. Similar games have since been discovered on other sculptures in other museums, modern game companies have sold game sets featuring reproductions of the original game board, along with rules derived from the tablet. Among them are Ur, Royal Game of Sumer, from Selchow & Righter in association with the British Museum, the television series Lost references the discovery of the game when John Locke explains the origins of backgammon to Walt in the episode Pilot, Part 2. In the film Screamers some of the play the game for cigarettes. In the Queen Esther & Purim episode of The Naked Archaeologist, in the MMORPG Achaea, Dreams of Divine Lands, Ur is played by the inhabitants of Istarion, under the name Nai-antzai-anhar. In the action-adventure game Uncharted 3, Drakes Deception, one of the hidden treasures is the board game and this article is about an item held in the British Museum. The object reference is ME120834, the Royal Game of Ur including history and suggested gameplay Royal Game of Ur pages rules history and links Times article on the game Android implementation
Royal Game of Ur
–
Royal Game of Ur
Royal Game of Ur
–
Rules tablet dated 177 BC (British Museum ref: 33333,b)
Royal Game of Ur
–
A
graffito version of the game from the palace of
Sargon II. (Now in the British Museum in London)
Royal Game of Ur
–
Historic
27.
Mehen (game)
–
Mehen is a board game which was played in ancient Egypt. The game was named in reference to Mehen, a mythological snake-god, evidence of the game of Mehen is found from the Predynastic period dating from approximately 3000 BCE and continues until the end of the Old Kingdom, around 2300 BCE. Other scenes dating to the Fifth and Sixth Dynasties show people playing the game, no scenes or boards date to the Middle or New Kingdoms, and so it appears that the game was no longer played in Egypt after the Old Kingdom. It is, however, depicted in tombs of about 700 BC, Mehen also appears to have been played outside of Egypt. It appears alongside other boards displaying the game of senet at Bab edu Dhra, Mehen survived in Cyprus longer than in Egypt, showing that the game was indigenized upon its adoption into the islands culture. The rules and gameplay of Mehen are entirely unknown, in Egypt, the gameboard depicts a coiled snake whose body is divided into rectangular spaces. Several boards have been found with different numbers of segments, without distinguishing marks or ornamentation, in Cyprus and the Levant, the games take the form of a spiral of depressions, sometimes with the central or outer depressions differentiated by their larger size. These also display a number of depressions. The variability suggests that the number of segments was of importance to the game. Objects associated with the board may or may not be playing pieces, from archaeological evidence, the game seemed to have been played with lion- or lioness-shaped pieces, in sets of three or as many as six, and a few small spheres. Senet Hyena chase, North African race game using near identical equipment Piccione, Peter A. Mehen, Mysteries, Ägyptische Brettspiele außer Senet, unveröffentlichte MA-Thesis. Philosophische Fakultät I der Bayerischen Julius-Maximilians-Universität, Würzburg, pdf file Tyldesley, Joyce A. Egyptian Games and Sports. The Penguin Book of Myths and Legends of Ancient Egypt
Mehen (game)
–
One example of Mehen.
Mehen (game)
–
Historic
28.
Patolli
–
Patolli or patole is one of the oldest known games in America. It was a game of strategy and luck, and very much a game of commoners and it was reported by the conquistadors that Montezuma often enjoyed watching his nobles play the game at court. The ancient Mayans also played a version of patolli, anthropologist E. Adamson Hoebel says the Aztec patolli derives from the East Indian game of pachisi, but R. B. Patolli is a race/war game with a heavy focus on gambling. Players would meet and inspect the items each other had available to gamble and they bet blankets, maguey plants, precious stones, gold adornments, food or just about anything. In extreme cases, they would bet their homes and sometimes their family, agreeing to play against someone was not done casually as the winner of the game would ultimately win all of the opponents store of offerings. Each player must have the number of items to bet at the beginning of the game. The ideal number of items to bet is six, although any number would be acceptable as long as each player agreed, the reason for having at least six bits of treasure is that each player has six markers that will traverse the game board. As each marker successfully completes the circuit around the board, the opponent is required to hand over ownership of an item from his or her treasure, once an agreement is made to play, the players prepare themselves by invoking the god of games, Macuilxochitl. The goal of patolli was to move six game pieces through the specified squares, the object of the game is for a player to win all of the opponents treasure. To do this, the players may need to more than one round of the game. In order to complete a round, a player needs to get all of the six game markers from the starting position to the ending square position on the game board before the other player. Five or six black beans were used as dice, if a toss results in all the beans standing on their sides, then the tosser wins all the goods bet by both parties. The game pieces were six red and six blue pebbles, each player controlled one color, beans, kernels of maize, or even pieces of jade could also be used instead of pebbles. In order to get one of the markers on the board. Each black bean has one marked with a hole. Thus tossing the black beans would result in several black beans showing this white mark, in order to get on the game board, one black bean would have to land with the hole face up and all the others face down. Once a player is able to get on the board, the game begins, the game mat had 52 squares arranged in an X shape, painted on it with liquid rubber. The game board could be drawn on a bit of leather or on a mat and decorated with colored dye
Patolli
–
Patolli as depicted in
Bernardino de Sahagún 's
General History of the Things of New Spain. Skilled players had their own game mats and their own playing pieces that they brought in tied cloth bundles.
Patolli
–
Patolli Board
29.
International Standard Book Number
–
The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
International Standard Book Number
–
A 13-digit ISBN, 978-3-16-148410-0, as represented by an
EAN-13 bar code
30.
Oxford University Press
–
Oxford University Press is the largest university press in the world, and the second oldest after Cambridge University Press. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the known as the delegates of the press. They are headed by the secretary to the delegates, who serves as OUPs chief executive, Oxford University has used a similar system to oversee OUP since the 17th century. The university became involved in the print trade around 1480, and grew into a printer of Bibles, prayer books. OUP took on the project became the Oxford English Dictionary in the late 19th century. Moves into international markets led to OUP opening its own offices outside the United Kingdom, by contracting out its printing and binding operations, the modern OUP publishes some 6,000 new titles around the world each year. OUP was first exempted from United States corporation tax in 1972, as a department of a charity, OUP is exempt from income tax and corporate tax in most countries, but may pay sales and other commercial taxes on its products. The OUP today transfers 30% of its surplus to the rest of the university. OUP is the largest university press in the world by the number of publications, publishing more than 6,000 new books every year, the Oxford University Press Museum is located on Great Clarendon Street, Oxford. Visits must be booked in advance and are led by a member of the archive staff, displays include a 19th-century printing press, the OUP buildings, and the printing and history of the Oxford Almanack, Alice in Wonderland and the Oxford English Dictionary. The first printer associated with Oxford University was Theoderic Rood, the first book printed in Oxford, in 1478, an edition of Rufinuss Expositio in symbolum apostolorum, was printed by another, anonymous, printer. Famously, this was mis-dated in Roman numerals as 1468, thus apparently pre-dating Caxton, roods printing included John Ankywylls Compendium totius grammaticae, which set new standards for teaching of Latin grammar. After Rood, printing connected with the university remained sporadic for over half a century, the chancellor, Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, pleaded Oxfords case. Some royal assent was obtained, since the printer Joseph Barnes began work, Oxfords chancellor, Archbishop William Laud, consolidated the legal status of the universitys printing in the 1630s. Laud envisaged a unified press of world repute, Oxford would establish it on university property, govern its operations, employ its staff, determine its printed work, and benefit from its proceeds. To that end, he petitioned Charles I for rights that would enable Oxford to compete with the Stationers Company and the Kings Printer and these were brought together in Oxfords Great Charter in 1636, which gave the university the right to print all manner of books. Laud also obtained the privilege from the Crown of printing the King James or Authorized Version of Scripture at Oxford and this privilege created substantial returns in the next 250 years, although initially it was held in abeyance. The Stationers Company was deeply alarmed by the threat to its trade, under this, the Stationers paid an annual rent for the university not to exercise its full printing rights – money Oxford used to purchase new printing equipment for smaller purposes
Oxford University Press
–
Oxford University Press on
Walton Street.
Oxford University Press
–
2008 conference booth
31.
Edward Falkener
–
Edward Falkener was an English architect and author. Born in London on 28 February 1814, he was the son of Lyon Falkener and he became a student of the Royal Academy in 1836, and in 1839 gained its gold medal for a design for a cathedral church. In 1842 Falkener started on a tour of most of the countries of Europe, on through Asia Minor, Syria, Palestine, and Egypt and he made studies of the architectural remains in the various places he visited. In 1847, while he was at Pompeii, he was allowed to excavate, at his own expense, the House of Marcus Lucretius, the Greek inscriptions he collected during his travels were edited in 1852 by Wilhelm Henzen. From 1851 to 1855 he edited the Museum of Classical Antiquities, in 1866 Falkener married, gave up private practice, and retired to Wales, but he continued studies and restorations to the time of his death, at Glanymor on 17 December 1896. He was a member of the Academy of Bologna, of the Architectural Institutes of Berlin and Rome, in 1839 Falkener published Was the Ceiling of the Parthenon flat or curved. He wrote on lighting for museums of sculpture, and the illumination of churches and mosques. He was a supporter of the lighting of Greek temples by the hypæthron, in opposition to the views of James Fergusson and Wilhelm Dörpfeld, and published On the Hypæthron of Greek Temples. Some of the illustrations in Fergussons History of Architecture were by him, Falkener published also, Dædalus, or, the Causes and Principles of the Excellence of Greek Sculpture, London,1860. Ephesus and the Temple of Diana,1862, as E. F. O. Thurcastle Does the Revised Version affect the Doctrine of the New Testament. He frequently contributed to the Proceedings of the Royal Institute of British Architects, in 1866 Falkener married Blanche Golding Victoria, daughter of Benjamin Golding, who, with a son and three daughters, survived him. Bibliography Attribution This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Sidney Lee, ed. Falkener. Dictionary of National Biography,1901 supplement
Edward Falkener
–
Floor plan of the Artemision of Ephesus, from Edward Falkener, Ephesus, and the Temple of Diana (1862)
32.
Holt McDougal
–
Holt McDougal is an American publishing company, a division of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, that specializes in textbooks for use in secondary schools. The Holt name is derived from that of U. S. publisher Henry Holt but Holt McDougal is distinct from Henry Holt and Company. Holt, Rinehart and Winston was created in March 1960 by the merger of Henry Holt and Company of New York City, Rinehart & Company of New York, descendant of Farrar & Rinehart, and the John C. The Wall Street Journal reported on March 1 that Holt stockholders had approved the merger, Henry Holt is the surviving concern, but will be known as Holt, Rinehart, Winston, Inc. From 1967 HRW was owned by CBS, in 1985 the retail publishing arm along with the Henry Holt name was acquired by the Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group based in Stuttgart, Germany. Holtzbrinck acquired the Macmillan name in 2001 and Henry Holt is now an imprint of Macmillan US, also in 1985 the educational publishing arm along with the Holt, Rinehart and Winston name was acquired by Harcourt. HRW was combined with McDougal Littell to form Holt McDougal, Holt McDougal publishes textbooks on mathematics, language arts, social studies, science, health, and world language. It has published books for the Weekly Reader Book Club including Sweet Pickles, Fraggle Rock. This American publishing company is based out of Dumfries, NC. Henry Holt and Company Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, classroom
Holt McDougal
–
Holt McDougal
33.
BoardGameGeek
–
In addition to the game database, the site allows users to rate games on a 1–10 scale and publishes a ranked list of board games. BoardGameGeek was founded in January 2000 by Scott Alden and Derk Solko, since 2006, the site annually awards the best new board games of the year with the Golden Geek Award. Winners are selected based on a vote by registered users, since 2005, BoardGameGeek hosts an annual board game convention, BGG. CON, that has a focus on playing games. New games are showcased and convention staff is provided to teach rules, in 2010, BoardGameGeek received the Diana Jones Award, which recognized it as a resource without peer for board and card gamers, the recognized authority of this online community. In the same year, it received the Inno-Spatz Award from the German city of Göttingen for outstanding achievements in the world of games
BoardGameGeek
–
BoardGameGeek logo
34.
Eurogamer
–
Eurogamer is a website and YouTube channel focused on video game news, reviews and other features. It is operated by Gamer Network Ltd. with headquarters in Brighton, East Sussex, the site primarily caters to a UK/Ireland audience, Gamer Network operates other sites using the Eurogamer brand that caters to other European countries. Most of its reviews are of European or PAL releases of the games, eurogamers current editor is Oli Welsh, who took over the role from Tom Bramwell in September 2014. The editor prior to Bramwell was Kristan Reed. biz editor Rob Fahey, Eurogamer founder Rupert Loman was interviewed in February 2007 by MCV magazine. He was also featured in the Sunday Telegraph on 19 August 2007, at the Games Media Awards, Eurogamer won the categories of Best Games Website – News, and Best Games Website – Reviews & Features in 2007. Deputy Editor Tom Bramwell won Best Writer in Specialist Digital Media, News editor Wesley Yin-Poole won Best News Writer in 2014. Rupert Loman was winner of Entrepreneur of the Year 2003 at the Sussex Business Awards and he was also selected as one of 30 Young Guns by Growing Business magazine in October 2008. At the Leipzig Games Convention in August 2006, Eurogamer launched their first non-English language site of the franchise, in April 2011, Eurogamer Netherlands and Eurogamer Belgium merged to form Eurogamer Benelux. Eurogamer Romania closed down in 2011, in November 2012, Eurogamer launched their first non-European site, Brasilgamer, and 2012–2013 also saw the launch of USgamer, Gamer Networks US flagship multi-format games website. Eurogamer has a site, GamesIndustry. biz, which reports on the global video games industry. In May 2008 the site launched the GamesIndustry. biz Network for industry professionals, Eurogamer has hosted the Digital Foundry channel since 2007. Digital Foundry evaluates video game hardware and software from a technical level, often comparing performances of the same game across different platforms
Eurogamer
–
Kristan Reed served as Eurogamer's editor from 2002 to 2008.
Eurogamer
–
Tom Bramwell edited Eurogamer since the beginning of 2008 and worked on the site since 2000, leaving in 2014 to try a new career.
35.
SourceForge
–
SourceForge is a Web-based service that offers software developers a centralized online location to control and manage free and open-source software projects. SourceForge was one of the first to offer this service free of charge to open source projects, since 2012 the website runs on Apache Allura software. As of March 2014, the SourceForge repository claimed to host more than 430,000 projects and had more than 3.7 million registered users, the domain sourceforge. net attracted at least 33 million visitors by August 2009 according to a Compete. com survey. Negative community reactions to the program led to review of the program, nonetheless. The program was cancelled by new owners BizX on February 9,2016, on May 17,2016 they announced that it would scan all projects for malware, SourceForge is a web-based source code repository. It acts as a location for free and open-source software projects. It was the first to offer service for free to open-source projects. Project developers have access to centralized storage and tools for managing projects, though it is best known for providing revision control systems such as CVS, SVN, Bazaar, Git and Mercurial. Major features include project wikis, metrics and analysis, access to a MySQL database, the vast number of users at SourceForge. net exposes prominent projects to a variety of developers and can create a positive feedback loop. As a projects activity rises, SourceForge. nets internal ranking system makes it visible to other developers through SourceForge directory. Given that many projects fail due to lack of developer support. SourceForges traditional revenue model is through advertising sales on their site. In 2006 SourceForge Inc. reported quarterly takings of US$6.5 million, in 2009 SourceForge reported a gross quarterly income of US$23 million through media and e-commerce streams. In 2011 a revenue of 20 million USD was reported for the value of the SourceForge, slashdot and freecode holdings. Since 2013 additional revenue generation schemes, such as models, were trialled. The result has in some cases been the appearance of malware bundled with SourceForge downloads, on February 9,2016, SourceForge announced they had eliminated their DevShare program practice of bundling installers with project downloads. The software running the SourceForge site was released as software in January 2000 and was later named SourceForge Alexandria. In September 2002 SourceForge was temporarily banned in China, the site was banned again in China, for about a month, in July 2008
SourceForge
–
Screenshot of SourceForge main page in 2014
36.
Tables (board game)
–
Tables is a general name given to a class of board games similar to backgammon, played on a board with two rows of 12 vertical markings called points. Players roll dice to determine the movement of pieces, tables games are among the oldest known board games, and many variants are played throughout the world. The ancient Egyptians played a game called Senet, which belonged to the family of race games as modern tables games. The Royal Game of Ur, played in ancient Mesopotamia, is member of the family. Recent excavations at the Burnt City in Iran showed that a similar game existed there around 3000 BC, the artifacts include two dice and 60 pieces. The set is believed to be 100 to 200 years older than the found in Ur. Though they are all race games they cannot be direct ancestors of backgammon, Roman Tabula was nearly identical to modern backgammon, it was described in an epigram of the Byzantine Emperor Zeno. The board was the same with 24 points,12 on each side, players moved their pieces in opposite directions, and the dice were cubes as today. As in backgammon the object of the game was to be the first to bear off all of ones checkers, of which there were, as in backgammon, fifteen per player. Hitting a blot, reentering a piece from the bar, and bearing off, the chief differences with modern backgammon were the use of three rather than two dice, the starting of all pieces off the board, and naturally no doubling cube. The same word is used to refer to backgammon in Greece today. Ludus duodecim scriptorum used a board with three rows of 12 points each, and the pieces were moved across all three rows according to the roll of three dice, the earliest known mention of the game is in Ovids Ars Amatoria. In the 11th century Shahnameh, the Persian poet Ferdowsi credits Burzoe with the invention of nard in the 6th century and he describes an encounter between Burzoe and a Raja visiting from India. The Raja introduces the game of chess, and Burzoe demonstrates nard, played with dice made from ivory, in 1254, Louis IX issued a decree prohibiting his court officials and subjects from playing dice games. While it is known for its extensive discussion of chess. In English, the tables is derived from Latin tabula. Its first use referring to board games documented by the Oxford English Dictionary was circa AD700, tables should not be confused with Tafl, an unrelated class of board games played in medieval Scandinavia. Tâb and tablan may, on the hand, be descendants of tabula
Tables (board game)
–
A backgammon board from Lebanon
Tables (board game)
–
Burzoe demonstrates the game of
nard to the Indian
Rajas
Tables (board game)
–
Brädspel ("board game") game recovered from the Swedish 17th century warship
Vasa.
Tables (board game)
–
Women playing
tavla in
Turkey.
37.
Ludus duodecim scriptorum
–
Ludus duodecim scriptorum, or XII scripta, was a board game popular during the time of the Roman Empire. The name translates as game of twelve markings, probably referring to the three rows of 12 markings each found on most surviving boards, the game tabula is thought to be a descendant of this game, and both are similar to modern backgammon. Another factor casting doubt on this link is that the latest known classical senet board is over half of an older than the earliest known XII scripta board. Very little information about specific gameplay has survived, the game was played using three cubic dice, and each player had 15 pieces. A possible beginners board, having spaces marked with letters, has suggested a possible path for the movement of pieces, the earliest known mention of the game is in Ovids Ars Amatoria. — The Lines of the Twelve Philosophers, which may be related to XII scripta
Ludus duodecim scriptorum
–
XII scripta board in the museum at
Ephesus
Ludus duodecim scriptorum
–
Roman board from the 2nd century, Aphrodisias
Ludus duodecim scriptorum
–
Historic
38.
Tabula (game)
–
Tabula, meaning a plank or board, was a Greco-Roman board game, and is generally thought to be the direct ancestor of modern backgammon. According to the Etymologiae by Isidore of Seville, tabula was first invented by a Greek soldier of the Trojan War named Alea, the rules of Tabula were reconstructed in the 19th century by Becq de Fouquières based upon this epigram. The game was played on a nearly identical to a modern backgammon board with 24 points,12 on each side. Two players had 15 pieces each, and moved them in opposing directions around the board, a piece resting alone in a space on the board was vulnerable to being hit. Hitting a blot, reentering a piece from the bar, and bearing off, the only differences with modern backgammon were the use of an extra die and the starting of all pieces off the board. Zeno threw the three dice with which the game was played and obtained 2,5 and 6, as in backgammon, Zeno could not move to a space occupied by two opponent pieces. Tabula was most likely a later refinement of ludus duodecim scriptorum, with the middle row of points removed. Today, the word τάβλη is still used to refer to backgammon in Greece, as well as in Turkey and in Romania, in countries, backgammon remains a popular game played in town squares. How to Play Tabula History and Rules of Tabula
Tabula (game)
–
Medieval illustration of tabula players from the 13th century
Carmina Burana.
Tabula (game)
–
Historic
39.
Liubo
–
Liubo is an ancient Chinese board game played by two players. For the rules, it is believed that each player had six pieces that were moved around the points of a square game board that had a distinctive. Moves were determined by the throw of six sticks, which performed the function as dice in other race games. The game was invented no later than the middle of the 1st millennium BCE, however, after the Han Dynasty it rapidly declined in popularity, possibly due to the rise in popularity of the game of Go, and it eventually became almost totally forgotten. Pieces are kinged and the scoring doubled, the earliest Liubo boards to have been discovered are a pair of ornately decorated stone boards from a 4th-century BCE tomb in the royal tomb complex of the State of Zhongshan at Pingshan in Hebei. Pottery or wooden figurines of players with model Liubo boards have also discovered in some Han tombs. After the end of the Han Dynasty the game seems to have lost its popularity, although the game is still occasionally referred to in some historical sources and in poetry as late as the Tang Dynasty, it seems that Liubo had been largely displaced by the game of Go. By the time of the Yuan Dynasty all knowledge of the game of Liubo had been lost, there is some evidence that the game of Liubo spread to beyond the confines of China. The Old Book of Tang mentions that Tibetans enjoyed playing both the game of Go and Liubo, but although ancient Tibetan Go boards have been discovered, no examples of Tibetan Liubo boards are known. The Chinese version of the Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra also mentions the playing of games, including Liubo. However, to date no examples of Liubo boards have been found outside of China, Liubo boards and game equipment are often found as grave goods in tombs from the Han Dynasty. Various types and sizes of Liubo board have been unearthed, made from a variety of materials, including wood, lacquered wood, pottery, stone and bronze. Some of the boards are simple square slabs of stone or wood, but others are supported by knobs at the four corners, however, in 1973 a unique, complete set of Liubo equipment in a lacquer box was discovered in a 2nd-century BCE tomb at Mawangdui. In at least one case the game pieces are not distinguished by colour, but by having an engraving of a tiger on the pieces of one set and an engraving of a dragon on the pieces of the other set. The twelve long rods are two sets of the six throwing sticks that the use to determine their moves. Sets of thirty rod-shaped counting chips have also found in association with Liubo sets from other tombs. A similar eighteen-sided die with numbers 1 through 16, win, twelve game pieces are used, which according to the ancient rules are six white and six black. There are also two pieces, which are placed in the water
Liubo
–
A pair of
Eastern Han Dynasty (25–220 CE) ceramic tomb figurines of two gentlemen playing liubo
Liubo
–
Mural from an Easter Han Dynasty tomb at
Luoyang,
Henan showing a pair of Liubo players in the foreground, the player on the right with his right hand raised up as if about to throw down the six throwing sticks
Liubo
–
Eastern Han glazed pottery tomb figurines playing Liubo, with six sticks laid out to the side of the game board
Liubo
–
A
lacquered Chinese liubo board game set excavated from Tomb No. 3 of
Mawangdui,
Changsha, Hunan province, China, dated to the 2nd century BCE during the
Western Han Dynasty
40.
Acey-deucey
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Acey-deucey is a variant of backgammon. Since World War I, it has been a game of the United States Navy, Marine Corps. Some evidence shows that it was played in the early 1900s aboard U. S. Navy ships, the game is believed to be rooted in the Middle East, Greece, or Turkey, where there were variants in which the game started with pieces off the board. Compared to standard backgammon, acey-deucey is more like a race than a strategy game and it features a differing starting position, opening play, and rules for the endgame. Because pieces may be retained in ones opponents home board, the game offers substantial opportunities for backgame play, the components of acey-deucey match those of backgammon, including identical boards, number of pieces, and dice. Unlike standard backgammon, all of both pieces are off the board when the game begins. Acey-deucey does not use the doubling cube, the initial play is markedly different from that of standard backgammon. Pieces are entered onto the opponents inner board as if they were on the bar, once a piece has been entered, it can be moved even though other pieces havent been entered. One strategy in the game is to one man, called an Oscar. Play passes back and forth, with each player rolling both dice, a player who rolls doubles may move a total of four times, each move traversing as many spaces as the rolled amount. After rolling these doubles, the player another turn. If a player rolls an acey-deucey, he plays the 1-and-2, then choose any number from 1 to 6 and act as if they had just thrown a double of it. After the opening, gameplay is identical to that of backgammon, with some notable differences, After rolling and playing doubles or acey-deucey. A roll of acey-deucey counts as a 1-2, and as doubles of the players choice, upon reaching ones own home board, a piece may not be moved again until all others have arrived. An exact roll is required to bear off, a player can move pieces even if he has pieces on the bar. The terminology of acey-deucey is somewhat different from that of backgammon, the initial rolling of one die is called the peewee or piddle. The bar is the fence, and a man is kicked rather than hit. The opponents inner table is called the table or starting quarter
Acey-deucey
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Historic
Acey-deucey
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The opening position in acey-deucey is with no pieces on the board.
41.
Gul bara
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Gul bara is a backgammon variant. It is also called as ‘Rosespring Backgammon’ or ‘Crazy Narde’, the motive of the game is to move all of ones checkers around the board and bear them off. The first player who bears off all his/her checkers wins the game, the game is popular in Bulgaria, Azerbaijan, Greece, Turkey and the Republic of Macedonia. Both players roll one die and the number goes first. That player rolls the dice again to begin his/her turn, every player starts with fifteen checkers on the rightmost point of the far side of the board, at diagonally opposite corners from each other. They both move in the direction, counterclockwise, around the board. The roll of the dice indicates how many points, or pips, the following rules apply, A checker can only move to an open point, which is not occupied by the opponents checker. The numbers on the two dice can be used by the player for either separate moves or he/she can add them together, a major difference between Gul bara and other forms of backgammon is that there is no hitting in Gul bara. One checker placed at a point controls it, and a checker from the opponent cannot be placed at particular point. An exceptional feature of Gul bara is that doubles are very powerful, in Gul bara when one rolls the doubles, the roll is played in the normal way and then every succeeding doubles is rolled up to and includes 6-6. During the first three rolls of the game, doubles are played as in backgammon, each number is played twice, for example, a roll of 3-3 means one have four threes to use. The difference comes to the forefront when a player rolls doubles after the first three rolls, in this case the player not only plays the number he/she rolled four times, but he/she also plays each successive number four times. For example, if a player rolls 2-2, he/she can play four 2s, and then four 3s, and then four 4s, if at any point the player is unable to play all four numbers, he/she loses the remainder of his/her turn. And his/her opponent plays the remainder before his/her turn and it is not difficult to play consecutive doubles when the game is still in its early stages. But according to Gul bara rules it only takes one checker to block a point, so players block more points, bearing off can start once a player has moved all of his/her fifteen checkers into their home board. A player can bear off a checker by rolling a number that corresponds to the point on which it resides, if no checker is present on the point indicated by the roll, the player must make a legal move using a checker positioned on a higher-numbered point. If no checkers are present higher-numbered points, the player must remove a checker from the highest point that has a checker, the first player who bears off all his/her checkers gets one point and is declared the winner. The player who wins two points if he/she bears off all their checkers before the loser has borne off any
Gul bara
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Gul bara starting layout
Gul bara
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Historic
42.
Plakoto
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Plakoto is a tables game popular in Greece. The object of Plakoto is for the player to bring all their checkers around to their own home board, the player who bears off all of his checkers first wins the game. This game is played along with two other variants, Fevga and Portes. Together these three games are called Tavli, and are played in usually one after the other. They have matches of three, five or seven points, a Bulgarian version of Plakoto is known as Tapa. And also as Tsilido, in Cyprus. Every player has fifteen checkers to start with, one players checkers are placed on his one-point. The other players checkers are placed on his 24 point, the players have to move their checkers in different direction on the Plakoto board. At the start of the each player rolls one die. Unlike backgammon the player has to roll the die to begin his first turn. A player who has won a game starts the next game, the number of points, or pips, or the places a player can move his checkers is decided by the roll of the die. In the game of Plakoto a checker can be positioned only on an open point, an open point is the one that is not occupied by two or more checkers of the opponent. The numbers that appear after rolling the two dice make separate moves, for example, if a player rolls 4 and 2, he may move a checker four spaces to an open point and one more checker two spaces to an open point. A player also has an option to move a single checker to a total of six spaces to an open point — the precondition for this move is that the intermediate points must also be open. The doubles in Plakoto are played twice, for example, a roll of 3-3 means that the player can use the three’s four times. If it’s possible the player must use both the numbers of a roll and all four numbers in the case he draws a double in the roll of dice, hitting is not allowed in the game of Plakoto. In its place, if a player lands on a point occupied by a single checker. In other words, the checker is Pinned. A block is created by two checkers of a player lying on a point or one of his checkers pinning the opponent’s checker, the mother checker is the last checker on a player’s starting point
Plakoto
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Historic
Plakoto
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Plakoto starting layout
43.
Sugoroku
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Sugoroku refers to two different forms of a Japanese board game, one similar to western backgammon, called ban-sugoroku, and the other similar to western Snakes and Ladders, called e-sugoroku. Ban-sugoroku plays identically to backgammon, except for the differences, Doubles are not special. If a player rolls doubles, each die still counts only once, the goal is to move all of ones men to within the last six spaces of the board. Closing out, that is forming a prime of six points with one or more of opponents men on the bar, is an automatic win. The game is thought to have been introduced from China into Japan in the sixth century and it is known that in the centuries following the games introduction into Japan it was made illegal several times, most prominently in 689 and 754. This is because the simple and luck-based nature of sugoroku made it a gambling game. This version of sugoroku and records of playing for gambling continuously appeared until early Edo era, in early Edo-era, a new and quick gambling game called Chō-han appeared and using sugoroku for gambling quickly dwindled. This variant of the family has died out in Japan and most other countries. Thousands of variations of boards were made with pictures and themes from religion, political, actors, in the Meiji and later periods, this variation of the game remained popular and was often included in child-oriented magazines. With ban-sugoroku being obsolete, today the word sugoroku almost always means e-sugoroku, Hello Kitty, Minna de Sugoroku, Gotouchi Hello Kitty Sugoroku Monogatari, Yu-Gi-Oh. Sugorokus Board Game, Okiraku Sugoroku Wii, Hidamari Sketch, Doko Demo Sugoroku x 365, the video game Samurai Warriors 2 features a mini-game named Sugoroku, but it bears very little resemblance to the above described games. By landing on a space, the player is able to buy that space for a set amount of money. If one player lands on a space purchased by another, they must pay a fee to that player, also present on the board are Shrine spaces, which are roughly analogious to Monopolys Chance and Community Chest spaces. Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, Vol.1, No, monumenta Nipponica, Vol.43, No.4
Sugoroku
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Man and woman playing ban-sugoroku (from Hikone Screen)
Sugoroku
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Simpler Sugoroku (1925)
Sugoroku
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Historic
44.
Tapa (game)
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Tapa is a version of Backgammon played in Bulgaria and Macedonia. It is also played in Greece, where it is known as Plakoto, the word tapa means bottle cap. Tapa is usually played as the game in a Tabla match. These 3 games are played consecutively in a match of 5, all 3 games are played on a standard Backgammon board. Tapa is also played in Syria where its known as Mahbousseh, each player starts with all fifteen checkers on the 24-point. It is usual, but not necessary, to place only 2 checkers at the start, since Tapa is not played as a single game, the user that won the previous game in the match has the first turn. The checkers move around in opposite directions, the goal is to bring all checkers to your home board and then bear them off. The one who bears off all checkers first, wins the game, after rolling the dice a player must, if possible, move checkers the number of points showing on each die. The number on each die constitutes a separate move, for example, if you roll 5 and 6, you can move one checker 5 points and another 6 points. But you can move a single checker 11 points, given that you have a free point to land on in between, after moving the checker for 5 or 6 points. If a player rolls two of the number he must play each die twice. For example, upon rolling a 5 and a 5, he must play four checkers forward five spaces each, as before, a checker may be moved multiple times as long as the moves are distinct. Unlike Backgammon, there is no hitting in Tapa, instead, if a player lands on a point occupied by a single opponents checker, he places the checker on top of the opponents checker and traps it. A trapped checker cant be moved, pinning a checker already used for pinning is not allowed. Two of your checkers on a point, or one of your checkers used for pinning an opponents checker, create an anchor, pinning an opponents checker in your home board gives you a great advantage. Most likely you wont have to release it until you begin bearing off, the smaller the point where you pinned the opponents checker is, the higher your advantage. If you pin an opponents checker on the 1-point and dont have any of your checkers on the 24-point, you win the game. After moving all of your 15 checkers to your home board and you can bear off checkers from points that correspond to the numbers on the rolled dice
Tapa (game)
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Historic
Tapa (game)
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Starting position
45.
Backgammon
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Backgammon is one of the oldest board games known. It is a two player game where playing pieces are moved according to the roll of dice, and a player wins by removing all of their pieces from the board before their opponent. Backgammon is a member of the family, one of the oldest classes of board games in the world. Backgammon involves a combination of strategy and luck, while the dice may determine the outcome of a single game, the better player will accumulate the better record over series of many games, somewhat like poker. With each roll of the dice, players must choose from options for moving their checkers. The optional use of a doubling cube allows players to raise the stakes during the game, like chess, backgammon has been studied with great interest by computer scientists. Owing to this research, backgammon software has been developed that is capable of beating world-class human players, Backgammon playing pieces are known variously as checkers, draughts, stones, men, counters, pawns, discs, pips, chips, or nips. The objective is to all of ones own checkers from the board before ones opponent can do the same. In the most often-played variants the checkers are scattered at first, as the playing time for each individual game is short, it is often played in matches where victory is awarded to the first player to reach a certain number of points. Each side of the board has a track of 12 long triangles, the points form a continuous track in the shape of a horseshoe, and are numbered from 1 to 24. In the most commonly used setup, each begins with fifteen checkers. The two players move their checkers in opposing directions, from the 24-point towards the 1-point, points 1 through 6 are called the home board or inner board, and points 7 through 12 are called the outer board. The 7-point is referred to as the bar point, and the 13-point as the midpoint, to start the game, each player rolls one die, and the player with the higher number moves first using the numbers shown on both dice. If the players roll the number, they must roll again. Both dice must land completely flat on the side of the gameboard. The players then alternate turns, rolling two dice at the beginning of each turn, after rolling the dice, players must, if possible, move their checkers according to the number shown on each die. For example, if the player rolls a 6 and a 3, the player must move one checker six points forward, and another or the same checker three points forward. The same checker may be moved twice, as long as the two moves can be separately and legally, six and then three, or three and then six
Backgammon
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Doubling cube
Backgammon
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A backgammon set, consisting of a board, two sets of 15 checkers, two pairs of dice, a doubling cube, and dice cups
Backgammon
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Todas tablas from the
Libro de los juegos
Backgammon
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Backgammon set, 19th century
46.
Backgammon notation
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Backgammon notation is a means for recording backgammon games, developed by Paul Magriel in the 1970s. The common way of describing the movement of checkers involves numbering the points around the board from 24 to 1 as depicted in Figure 1. The image shows the board from blacks perspective, with the numbers diminishing as her checkers move counterclockwise toward her own home board at the bottom right-hand side. The reverse numbering of the points applies when white is on roll, with the 24-point referred to as the 1-point, dice rolls are shown either as 4-2 or 42, denoting a roll of four on one die and two on the other. Moves are recorded using the notation, 4-2, 8/4 6/4 This denotes a roll of 4-2, after this move, the board will appear as shown in Figure 2. If a move results in a checker being hit, this is indicated by adding an asterisk to the number denoting the point at which the checker was hit, for example, 13/7* denotes a checker moving from the 13-point and hitting an opposing checker at the 7-point. Similarly, 13/7*/5 denotes a move corresponding to a roll 6-2, moves resulting from double rolls are often indicated by placing the number of checkers moved in parentheses after the move. For example, the effect of a roll 2-2, could be, finally, it is common to use the words bar and off to describe moves where checkers are entered from the bar or taken off during bear off. For instance bar/22 17/9, and 5/off 2/off
Backgammon notation
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Historic
Backgammon notation
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Figure 1: checkers in starting position
47.
Backgammon opening theory
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The first moves of a backgammon game are the opening moves, collectively referred to as the opening, and studied in the backgammon opening theory. Backgammon opening theory is not developed in as much detail as opening theory in chess, following the emergence of self-trained backgammon-playing neural networks, the insights on what are the best opening moves have changed in some unexpected ways. The table below summarizes the most commonly preferred moves, for each of the 15 possible opening rolls, as selected by detailed computer simulations, there are no opening moves consisting of doubles, because at the start of the game, each player rolls one die. Whoever rolls higher moves first, using the numbers on the already-rolled dice, in the case of a tie, the players roll again. The moves are captured in standard backgammon notation, for instance, 8/5 denotes the move of a piece from the 8-point to the 5-point. The latter move should be as small as possible, unless the stack at the 8-point can be reached, however, there are plenty of exceptions to this rule, for example, a 4-3 or 3-2 is often best played by moving two checkers from the 13 point. The above opening moves which emerged from computer analysis demonstrate that a number of opening moves that were unquestioned for decades are now considered suboptimal. One example is the move 13/11-13/8 on the roll 5-2, although not a bad move, the alternative choice preferred by the analyses, 24/22-13/8, is now generally agreed upon to be optimal. In other cases, computer analysis has resulted in alternative strategies that were not seriously considered in the past. For instance, the opening move 8/2-6/2 for a roll of 6-4 was in the past greeted with disdain from experts, the opening moves above apply to money play, meaning that these plays optimise the expected payout with gammons counting double, etc. In match play the match score affects the play and one of the alternative plays may come out on top in computer simulations depending on the score. In a Gammon-go situation the player not care about whether they lose a single game or a gammon. The opposite may be true in gammon-save situations, where the player has little to lose from losing a single game, at double-match-point where the score is tied with each player needing one point to win, gammons do not matter for either player. In practice, a more important influencing factor is the preferred style of the player. A player might have a preference for one out of a number of alternative opening plays that are on average as effective
Backgammon opening theory
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Historic
Backgammon opening theory
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Backgammon opening position, board points numbered to register the movements of the black checkers
48.
Backgammon chouette
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The backgammon chouette is a variant of backgammon for three or more players. Traditionally played in person, today, the internet allows this form of backgammon to be played across different countries, the chouette is a fast-paced game, featuring frequent use of the doubling cube, discussion and dispute of possible moves, and shifting rivalries among players. One player—the box—plays against a team consisting of all other participants, one member of the team is designated as the captain. The box and the order are generally determined by the roll of dice. The game is played on a backgammon board according to standard rules. The captain makes the decision on all checker plays for the team. The result is that, although they are using a single backgammon set, a chouette is generally played in the same way as backgammon money play. There is no score, one game is played, scores are tabulated. The positions of the players are rotated after each game, in general, if the box wins, this player remains the box. If the captain wins, the captain becomes the box for the next round, the loser goes to the bottom of the order and all other players move up one spot. In one variation, team members who successfully accepted or declined a double progress ahead of those who made the wrong decision. Each player maintains a score, corresponding to the number of points won or lost in each game, adjusted for gammons, backgammons
Backgammon chouette
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Historic
49.
First Internet Backgammon Server
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The First Internet Backgammon Server began operating in July 19,1992, allowing users to play backgammon in real-time against other people. It was hosted on the Internet, and could track player performance using a version of the Elo rating system. It was created by Andreas Marvin Schneider It has been maintained since 1996 by Patti Beadles, anyone with access to the Internet can create a username and play for free. FIBS caters to an international community of backgammon players. It was an success, and no other backgammon server came online until 1997. Early users connected to FIBS via a command line interface through TELNET similar to a MUD, dice rolls are represented numerically and moves are performed by entering starting and ending point numbers, similar to standard backgammon notation. Other game related commands are available by typing the appropriate command, the first graphical user interfaces for FIBS were developed in 1994, FIBS/W for Windows and MacFIBS for the classic Mac OS. Graphical interfaces continue to be developed for most major computing platforms, including phones and tablets. This allows anyone with access to the Internet to log in to FIBS regardless of platform and this is one way FIBS has served as an experimental platform for the advancement of computer science and continues to do so. The server provided the first opportunity for players to be rated on the Elo rating system first devised for chess. The server has been used for testing artificial intelligence using the backgammon bot LGammon, written by Mark Land of the University of California. The shout command was implemented as a way for a player to find an opponent but has developed into a method of communicating with the general FIBS population. Users have a range of options to filter the amount of text messaging they receive, FIBS has a thriving program of tournaments and leagues, run by Tourneybot, which is supplied and maintained by Tom Moulton. The Official FIBS home page The Fibs portal page and forum
First Internet Backgammon Server
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Historic
