1.
Sonargaon
–
Sonargaon was a historic administrative, commercial and maritime centre in Bengal. Situated in the centre of the Ganges delta, it was the seat of the medieval Muslim rulers and governors of eastern Bengal. Sonargaon was described by numerous historic travellers, including Ibn Battuta, Ma Huan, Niccolò de Conti and Ralph Fitch as a centre of trade. It was a centre of Fakhruddin Mubarak Shahs sultanate, the Bengal Sultanate. The area is located near the modern industrial port of Narayanganj in Bangladesh. Today, the name Sonargaon survives as the Sonargaon Upazila in the region, the name Sonargaon came as the Bangla version of the ancient name Suvarnagrama. Buddhist ruler Danujamadhava Dasharathadeva shifted his capital to Suvarnagrama from Bikrampur sometime in the middle of the 13th century, in early 14th century, Bauddha ruling in this area ended when Shamsuddin Firoz Shah of Lakhnauti occupied and annexed it to his kingdom. Muslim settlers first arrive in Sonargaon region in around 1281, sharfuddin Abu Tawwamah, a medieval Sufi saint and Islamic philosopher came and settled here sometime between 1282 and 1287. He then established his Khanqah and founded a Madrasa, Firoz Shah built a mint in Sonargaon from where a large number of coins were issued. When he died in 1322, his son, Ghiyasuddin Bahadur Shah, in 1324 Delhi Sultan, Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq, declared war against him and after the battle, Bahadur Shah was captured and Bengal, including Sonargaon, became a province of Delhi Sultanate. The same year, Sultan Muhammad bin Tughlaq, son and successor of Ghiyasuddin Tughlaq, released him, after 4 years of governorship, in 1328, Bahadur Shah declared independence of Bengal. Delhi Sultan Muhammad bin Tughlaq sent his general, Bahram Khan, in the battle, Bahadur Shah was defeated and killed. Bahram Khan recaptured Sonargaon for the Delhi Sultanate and he was appointed the governor of Sonargaon. When Bahram Khan died in 1338, his armour-bearer, Fakhruddin Mubarak Shah, Fakhruddin sponsored several construction projects, including a trunk road and raised embankments, along with mosques and tombs. 14th century Moroccan traveller, Ibn Batuta, after visiting the capital in 1346, described Fakhruddin as a sovereign who loved strangers, particularly the fakirs. After the death of Fakhruddin in 1349, Ikhtiyaruddin Ghazi Shah became the independent ruler of Sonargaon. Ilyas Shah, the independent ruler of Lakhnauti, attacked Sonargaon in 1352, after defeating Ikhtiyaruddin Ghazi Shah, he became the sole ruler of whole Bengal for the first time in history and thus he became the founder of a sultanate of the unified Bengal. A squadron of the Chinese fleet of Zheng He, commanded by the eunuch Hong Bao, the information about that expedition comes from the book of one of its participants, the Muslim translator Ma Huan
Sonargaon
–
Panam City
Sonargaon
–
Lok Shilpa Jadughar (Folk Arts Museum) in Sonargaon.
2.
Persian language
–
Persian, also known by its endonym Farsi, is one of the Western Iranian languages within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan and it is mostly written in the Persian alphabet, a modified variant of the Arabic script. Its grammar is similar to that of many contemporary European languages, Persian gets its name from its origin at the capital of the Achaemenid Empire, Persis, hence the name Persian. A Persian-speaking person may be referred to as Persophone, there are approximately 110 million Persian speakers worldwide, with the language holding official status in Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan. For centuries, Persian has also been a cultural language in other regions of Western Asia, Central Asia. It also exerted influence on Arabic, particularly Bahrani Arabic. Persian is one of the Western Iranian languages within the Indo-European family, other Western Iranian languages are the Kurdish languages, Gilaki, Mazanderani, Talysh, and Balochi. Persian is classified as a member of the Southwestern subgroup within Western Iranian along with Lari, Kumzari, in Persian, the language is known by several names, Western Persian, Parsi or Farsi has been the name used by all native speakers until the 20th century. Since the latter decades of the 20th century, for reasons, in English. Tajiki is the variety of Persian spoken in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan by the Tajiks, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term Persian as a language name is first attested in English in the mid-16th century. Native Iranian Persian speakers call it Fārsi, Farsi is the Arabicized form of Pārsi, subsequent to Muslim conquest of Persia, due to a lack of the phoneme /p/ in Standard Arabic. The origin of the name Farsi and the place of origin of the language which is Fars Province is the Arabicized form of Pārs, in English, this language has historically been known as Persian, though Farsi has also gained some currency. Farsi is encountered in some literature as a name for the language. In modern English the word Farsi refers to the language while Parsi describes Zoroastrians, some Persian language scholars such as Ehsan Yarshater, editor of Encyclopædia Iranica, and University of Arizona professor Kamran Talattof, have also rejected the usage of Farsi in their articles. The international language-encoding standard ISO 639-1 uses the code fa, as its system is mostly based on the local names. The more detailed standard ISO 639-3 uses the name Persian for the dialect continuum spoken across Iran and Afghanistan and this consists of the individual languages Dari and Iranian Persian. Currently, Voice of America, BBC World Service, Deutsche Welle, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty also includes a Tajik service and an Afghan service. This is also the case for the American Association of Teachers of Persian, The Centre for Promotion of Persian Language and Literature, Persian is an Iranian language belonging to the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European family of languages
Persian language
–
Old Persian
Persian language
–
Ferdowsi 's
Shahnameh
Persian language
–
Kalilah va Dimna, an influential work in Persian literature.
3.
Arabic language
–
Arabic is a Central Semitic language that was first spoken in Iron Age northwestern Arabia and is now the lingua franca of the Arab world. Arabic is also the language of 1.7 billion Muslims. It is one of six languages of the United Nations. The modern written language is derived from the language of the Quran and it is widely taught in schools and universities, and is used to varying degrees in workplaces, government, and the media. The two formal varieties are grouped together as Literary Arabic, which is the language of 26 states. Modern Standard Arabic largely follows the standards of Quranic Arabic. Much of the new vocabulary is used to denote concepts that have arisen in the post-Quranic era, Arabic has influenced many languages around the globe throughout its history. During the Middle Ages, Literary Arabic was a vehicle of culture in Europe, especially in science, mathematics. As a result, many European languages have borrowed many words from it. Many words of Arabic origin are found in ancient languages like Latin. Balkan languages, including Greek, have acquired a significant number of Arabic words through contact with Ottoman Turkish. Arabic has also borrowed words from languages including Greek and Persian in medieval times. Arabic is a Central Semitic language, closely related to the Northwest Semitic languages, the Ancient South Arabian languages, the Semitic languages changed a great deal between Proto-Semitic and the establishment of the Central Semitic languages, particularly in grammar. Innovations of the Central Semitic languages—all maintained in Arabic—include, The conversion of the suffix-conjugated stative formation into a past tense, the conversion of the prefix-conjugated preterite-tense formation into a present tense. The elimination of other prefix-conjugated mood/aspect forms in favor of new moods formed by endings attached to the prefix-conjugation forms, the development of an internal passive. These features are evidence of descent from a hypothetical ancestor. In the southwest, various Central Semitic languages both belonging to and outside of the Ancient South Arabian family were spoken and it is also believed that the ancestors of the Modern South Arabian languages were also spoken in southern Arabia at this time. To the north, in the oases of northern Hijaz, Dadanitic and Taymanitic held some prestige as inscriptional languages, in Najd and parts of western Arabia, a language known to scholars as Thamudic C is attested
Arabic language
–
The Galland Manuscript of
One Thousand and One Nights, 14th century
Arabic language
–
al-ʿArabiyyah in written Arabic (
Naskh script)
Arabic language
–
Bilingual traffic sign in
Qatar.
Arabic language
–
Examples of how the Arabic root and form system works.
4.
Bengali language
–
Bengali, also known by its endonym Bangla, is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in South Asia. With over 210 million speakers, Bengali is the seventh most spoken language in the world. Dominant in the last group was Persian, which was also the source of some grammatical forms, more recent studies suggest that the use of native and foreign words has been increasing, mainly because of the preference of Bengali speakers for the colloquial style. Today, Bengali is the language spoken in Bangladesh and the second most spoken language in India. Both the national anthems of Bangladesh and India were composed in Bengali, in 1952, the Bengali Language Movement successfully pushed for the languages official status in the Dominion of Pakistan. In 1999, UNESCO recognized 21 February as International Mother Language Day in recognition of the movement in East Pakistan. Language is an important element of Bengali identity and binds together a diverse region. Sanskrit was spoken in Bengal since the first millennium BCE, during the Gupta Empire, Bengal was a hub of Sanskrit literature. The Middle Indo-Aryan dialects were spoken in Bengal in the first millennium when the region was a part of the Magadha Realm and these dialects were called Magadhi Prakrit. They eventually evolved into Ardha Magadhi, Ardha Magadhi began to give way to what are called Apabhraṃśa languages at the end of the first millennium. Along with other Eastern Indo-Aryan languages, Bengali evolved circa 1000–1200 AD from Sanskrit, for example, Ardhamagadhi is believed to have evolved into Abahatta around the 6th century, which competed with the ancestor of Bengali for some time. Proto-Bengali was the language of the Pala Empire and the Sena dynasty, during the medieval period, Middle Bengali was characterized by the elision of word-final অ ô, the spread of compound verbs and Arabic and Persian influences. Bengali was a court language of the Sultanate of Bengal. Muslim rulers promoted the development of Bengali as part of efforts to Islamize. Bengali became the most spoken language in the Sultanate. This period saw borrowing of Perso-Arabic terms into Bengali vocabulary, major texts of Middle Bengali include Chandidas Shreekrishna Kirtana. The modern literary form of Bengali was developed during the 19th and early 20th centuries based on the dialect spoken in the Nadia region, a west-central Bengali dialect. Bengali presents a case of diglossia, with the literary
Bengali language
–
Shohid Minar, or the Martyr's monument, in
Dhaka, commemorates the struggle for the Bengali language.
Bengali language
–
The word "Bangla" in the
Bengali alphabet
Bengali language
–
Pages from the
Charyapada.
Bengali language
–
An example of handwritten Bengali. Part of a poem written in Bengali (and with its English translation below each Bengali paragraph) by Nobel Laureate
Rabindranath Tagore in 1926 in Hungary.
5.
Islam
–
Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion which professes that there is only one and incomparable God and that Muhammad is the last messenger of God. It is the worlds second-largest religion and the major religion in the world, with over 1.7 billion followers or 23% of the global population. Islam teaches that God is merciful, all-powerful, and unique, and He has guided mankind through revealed scriptures, natural signs, and a line of prophets sealed by Muhammad. The primary scriptures of Islam are the Quran, viewed by Muslims as the word of God. Muslims believe that Islam is the original, complete and universal version of a faith that was revealed many times before through prophets including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses. As for the Quran, Muslims consider it to be the unaltered, certain religious rites and customs are observed by the Muslims in their family and social life, while social responsibilities to parents, relatives, and neighbors have also been defined. Besides, the Quran and the sunnah of Muhammad prescribe a comprehensive body of moral guidelines for Muslims to be followed in their personal, social, political, Islam began in the early 7th century. Originating in Mecca, it spread in the Arabian Peninsula. The expansion of the Muslim world involved various caliphates and empires, traders, most Muslims are of one of two denominations, Sunni or Shia. Islam is the dominant religion in the Middle East, North Africa, sizable Muslim communities are also found in Horn of Africa, Europe, China, Russia, Mainland Southeast Asia, Philippines, Northern Borneo, Caucasus and the Americas. Converts and immigrant communities are found in almost every part of the world, Islam is a verbal noun originating from the triliteral root s-l-m which forms a large class of words mostly relating to concepts of wholeness, submission, safeness and peace. In a religious context it means voluntary submission to God, Islām is the verbal noun of Form IV of the root, and means submission or surrender. Muslim, the word for an adherent of Islam, is the active participle of the verb form. The word sometimes has connotations in its various occurrences in the Quran. In some verses, there is stress on the quality of Islam as a state, Whomsoever God desires to guide. Other verses connect Islām and dīn, Today, I have perfected your religion for you, I have completed My blessing upon you, still others describe Islam as an action of returning to God—more than just a verbal affirmation of faith. In the Hadith of Gabriel, islām is presented as one part of a triad that also includes imān, Islam was historically called Muhammadanism in Anglophone societies. This term has fallen out of use and is said to be offensive because it suggests that a human being rather than God is central to Muslims religion
Islam
–
The
Kaaba, in
Mecca,
Hejaz region, today's
Saudi Arabia, is the
center of Islam.
Muslims from all over the world gather there to
pray in unity.
Islam
–
The dome of the
Carol I Mosque in
Constanța,
Romania, topped by the
Islamic crescent
Islam
–
Medallion showing "
Allah " (
God) in
Hagia Sophia,
Istanbul,
Turkey.
Islam
–
An
angel presenting
Muhammad and his companions with a miniature city. In the
Topkapi Palace Library,
Istanbul.
6.
Hinduism
–
Hinduism is a religion, or a way of life, found most notably in India and Nepal. Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, and some practitioners and scholars refer to it as Sanātana Dharma, scholars regard Hinduism as a fusion or synthesis of various Indian cultures and traditions, with diverse roots and no founder. This Hindu synthesis started to develop between 500 BCE and 300 CE following the Vedic period, although Hinduism contains a broad range of philosophies, it is linked by shared concepts, recognisable rituals, cosmology, shared textual resources, and pilgrimage to sacred sites. Hindu texts are classified into Shruti and Smriti and these texts discuss theology, philosophy, mythology, Vedic yajna, Yoga, agamic rituals, and temple building, among other topics. Major scriptures include the Vedas and Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, prominent themes in Hindu beliefs include the four Puruṣārthas, the proper goals or aims of human life, namely Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha, karma, samsara, and the various Yogas. Hindu practices include such as puja and recitations, meditation, family-oriented rites of passage, annual festivals. Some Hindus leave their world and material possessions, then engage in lifelong Sannyasa to achieve Moksha. Hinduism prescribes the eternal duties, such as honesty, refraining from injuring living beings, patience, forbearance, self-restraint, Hinduism is the worlds third largest religion, with over one billion followers or 15% of the global population, known as Hindus. The majority of Hindus reside in India, Nepal, Mauritius, the Caribbean, the word Hindu is derived from the Indo-Aryan/Sanskrit word Sindhu, the Indo-Aryan name for the Indus River in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent. The term Hindu in these ancient records is a geographical term, the Arabic term al-Hind referred to the people who live across the River Indus. This Arabic term was taken from the pre-Islamic Persian term Hindū. By the 13th century, Hindustan emerged as an alternative name of India. It was only towards the end of the 18th century that European merchants and colonists began to refer to the followers of Indian religions collectively as Hindus. The term Hinduism, then spelled Hindooism, was introduced into the English language in the 18th-century to denote the religious, philosophical, because of the wide range of traditions and ideas covered by the term Hinduism, arriving at a comprehensive definition is difficult. The religion defies our desire to define and categorize it, Hinduism has been variously defined as a religion, a religious tradition, a set of religious beliefs, and a way of life. From a Western lexical standpoint, Hinduism like other faiths is appropriately referred to as a religion, in India the term dharma is preferred, which is broader than the western term religion. Hindu traditionalists prefer to call it Sanatana Dharma, the study of India and its cultures and religions, and the definition of Hinduism, has been shaped by the interests of colonialism and by Western notions of religion. Since the 1990s, those influences and its outcomes have been the topic of debate among scholars of Hinduism, Hinduism as it is commonly known can be subdivided into a number of major currents
Hinduism
–
Swami Vivekananda was a key figure in introducing
Vedanta and
Yoga in Europe and USA, raising interfaith awareness and making Hinduism a world religion.
Hinduism
–
Temple wall panel relief sculpture at the
Hoysaleswara temple in
Halebidu, representing the
Trimurti:
Brahma,
Shiva and
Vishnu.
Hinduism
–
The
Rigveda is the first and most important Veda and is one of the oldest
religious texts. This Rigveda
manuscript is in
Devanagari.
Hinduism
–
A wedding is the most extensive personal ritual an adult Hindu undertakes in his or her life. A typical
Hindu wedding is solemnized before Vedic
fire ritual (shown).
7.
Buddhism
–
Buddhism is a religion and dharma that encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and spiritual practices largely based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. Buddhism originated in India sometime between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE, from where it spread through much of Asia, two major extant branches of Buddhism are generally recognized by scholars, Theravada and Mahayana. Buddhism is the worlds fourth-largest religion, with over 500 million followers or 7% of the global population, Buddhist schools vary on the exact nature of the path to liberation, the importance and canonicity of various teachings and scriptures, and especially their respective practices. In Theravada the ultimate goal is the attainment of the state of Nirvana, achieved by practicing the Noble Eightfold Path, thus escaping what is seen as a cycle of suffering. Theravada has a following in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. Mahayana, which includes the traditions of Pure Land, Zen, Nichiren Buddhism, Shingon, rather than Nirvana, Mahayana instead aspires to Buddhahood via the bodhisattva path, a state wherein one remains in the cycle of rebirth to help other beings reach awakening. Vajrayana, a body of teachings attributed to Indian siddhas, may be viewed as a branch or merely a part of Mahayana. Tibetan Buddhism, which preserves the Vajrayana teachings of eighth century India, is practiced in regions surrounding the Himalayas, Tibetan Buddhism aspires to Buddhahood or rainbow body. Buddhism is an Indian religion attributed to the teachings of Buddha, the details of Buddhas life are mentioned in many early Buddhist texts but are inconsistent, his social background and life details are difficult to prove, the precise dates uncertain. Some hagiographic legends state that his father was a king named Suddhodana, his mother queen Maya, and he was born in Lumbini gardens. Some of the stories about Buddha, his life, his teachings, Buddha was moved by the innate suffering of humanity. He meditated on this alone for a period of time, in various ways including asceticism, on the nature of suffering. He famously sat in meditation under a Ficus religiosa tree now called the Bodhi Tree in the town of Bodh Gaya in Gangetic plains region of South Asia. He reached enlightenment, discovering what Buddhists call the Middle Way, as an enlightened being, he attracted followers and founded a Sangha. Now, as the Buddha, he spent the rest of his teaching the Dharma he had discovered. Dukkha is a concept of Buddhism and part of its Four Noble Truths doctrine. It can be translated as incapable of satisfying, the unsatisfactory nature, the Four Truths express the basic orientation of Buddhism, we crave and cling to impermanent states and things, which is dukkha, incapable of satisfying and painful. This keeps us caught in saṃsāra, the cycle of repeated rebirth, dukkha
Buddhism
–
Standing Buddha statue at the
Tokyo National Museum. One of the earliest known representations of the
Buddha, 1st–2nd century CE.
Buddhism
–
The Dharmachakra
Buddhism
–
Relic depicting Gautama leaving home. The Great Departure, c.1–2nd century. (
Musée Guimet)
Buddhism
–
Ascetic
Gautama with his five companions, who later comprised the first
Sangha. (Painting in
Laotian temple)
8.
Absolute monarchy
–
Absolute monarchy, or despotic monarchy, is a form of monarchy in which one ruler has supreme authority that is not restricted by any written laws, legislature, or customs. These are often, but not always, hereditary monarchies, in contrast, in constitutional monarchies, the head of states authority derives from and is legally bounded or restricted by a constitution or legislature. Some monarchies have weak or symbolic legislatures and other bodies that the monarch can alter or dissolve at will. Countries where a monarch still maintains absolute power are Brunei, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, the individual emirates composing the United Arab Emirates, Swaziland, in Ancient Egypt, the Pharaoh wielded absolute power over the country and was considered a living god by his people. In ancient Mesopotamia, many rulers of Assyria, Babylonia and Sumer were absolute monarchs as well, in ancient and medieval India, rulers of the Maurya, Satahavana, Gupta and Chalukya Empires, as well as other major and minor empires, were considered absolute monarchs. In the Khmer Empire, the kings were called Devaraja and Chakravartin, in Kingdom of Siam, the kings were esestablished Somburanaya-sittiraj. Throughout Chinese history, many emperors and one empress wielded absolute power through the Mandate of Heaven, in pre-Columbian America, the Inca Empire was ruled by a Sapa Inca, who was considered the son of Inti, the sun god and absolute ruler over the people and nation. Throughout much of European history, the right of kings was the theological justification for absolute monarchy. Many European monarchs, such as those of Russia, claimed supreme autocratic power by right. James VI of Scotland and his son Charles I of Scotland and England tried to import this principle, there is a considerable variety of opinion by historians on the extent of absolutism among European monarchs. Some, such as Perry Anderson, argue that quite a few monarchs achieved levels of absolutist control over their states, a widely held story about Louis XIV of France is that he proclaimed Létat, cest moi. What Louis did say was, The interests of the state come first, when one gives these priority, one labors for ones own good. These advantages to the state redounds to ones glory, although often criticized for his extravagances, such as the Palace of Versailles, he reigned over France for a long period, and some historians consider him a successful absolute monarch. More recently, revisionist historians have questioned whether Louis reign should be considered absolute, the King of France concentrated in his person legislative, executive, and judicial powers. He was the judicial authority. He could condemn men to death without the right of appeal and it was both his duty to punish offenses and stop them from being committed. From his judicial authority followed his power both to make laws and to annul them and this law consequently authorized the king to abolish all other centers of power. Most important was the abolition of the Council of the Realm and his actions largely originated the militaristic streak of the Hohenzollern
Absolute monarchy
–
Louis XIV of France
Absolute monarchy
–
Hassanal Bolkiah is the 29th and current
Sultan of Brunei
Absolute monarchy
–
Salman,
King of Saudi Arabia and
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.
9.
Taka
–
The Bangladeshi taka is the currency of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh. Issuance of banknotes ৳10 and larger is controlled by Bangladesh Bank, and for the ৳1, ৳2 and ৳5 banknotes, the most commonly used symbol for the taka is ৳ and Tk, used on receipts while purchasing goods and services. ৳1 is subdivided into 100 poisha, the word taka is derived from the Sanskrit term tangka, which was an ancient denomination for silver coins. In the region of Bengal, the term has always used to refer to currency. In the 14th century, Ibn Battuta noticed that people in the Bengal Sultanate referred to gold, the word taka in Bangla is also commonly used generically to mean any money, currency, or notes. Thus, colloquially, a person speaking in Bangla may use taka to refer to money regardless of what currency it is denominated in and this is also common in the Indian states of West Bengal and Tripura, where the official name of the Indian rupees is taka as well. Bangla was one of the two languages of the Pakistan union between 1956 and 1971. The Bangladeshi taka came into existence since 1972, a year after the independence of the wing of the union. During the war, it was a practice of some Bengali nationalists to protest Pakistani rule by stamping banknotes with বাংলা দেশ. On 8 June 1971, the Pakistani government declared that all banknotes bearing such stamps ceased to be legal tender, furthermore, to prevent looted high-denomination notes from disrupting the Pakistani economy, the government also withdrew the legal tender status of all 100- and 500-rupee notes. Some foreign publications mention that there were rubber stamp BANGLA DESH overprints on different denominations of Pakistani bank notes during the a. m. period, the first treasury notes in 1972 for ৳1 and notes of the Bangladesh Bank for ৳5, ৳10 and ৳100. In 1975, banknotes for ৳50 were introduced, followed by ৳500 in 1977, ৳1 treasury notes were issued until 1993, with ৳2 treasury notes introduced in 1989. ৳5 banknotes, previously issued by Bangladesh Bank, is now issued by the Government of Bangladesh, in 2000, the government issued polymer ৳10 notes as an experiment. They proved unpopular, however, and were withdrawn later, at present, the ৳1 and ৳5 notes are gradually being replaced with coins, and in 2008, the government issued ৳1,000 notes. In 2011, Bangladesh Bank began issuing a new series of banknotes denominated in ৳2, ৳5, ৳100, ৳500, and ৳1000. All are dated 2011 and feature a portrait and watermark of the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, from 2011, the Bangladesh Bank introduced new notes denominated in ৳10, ৳20, and ৳50 on 7 March 2012. The notes bear the portrait of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the National Martyrs Monument in Savar on the front, in 2011, Bangladesh Bank also introduced a ৳40 note to commemorate the 40th Victory Anniversary of Bangladesh. The commemorative note features a portrait of the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and the National Martyrs Monument in Savar on front, curiously, this note has an electrotype 10 in the watermark, indicating it was likely printed on extra ৳10 banknote paper
Taka
–
৳ 1000 note
Taka
–
1 poisha (reverse)
Taka
–
৳ 2, ৳ 1 and ৳ 5 coins (observe above, reverse below)
Taka
–
৳10 taka polymer note
10.
Delhi Sultanate
–
The Delhi Sultanate was a Muslim kingdom based mostly in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years. Five dynasties ruled over Delhi Sultanate sequentially, the Mamluk dynasty, the Khilji dynasty, the Tughlaq dynasty, the Sayyid dynasty, the first four dynasties were of Turkic origin, and the last dynasty was of Afghan origin. Qutb-ud-din Aibak, a slave of Muhammad Ghori, was the first sultan of Delhi. Afterwards the Khilji dynasty was able to conquer most of central India. The sultanate reached the peak of its reach during the Tughlaq dynasty. This was followed by due to continuing Hindu-Muslim wars, states such as the Vijayanagara Empire asserting independence. The Delhi Sultanate caused destruction and desecration of politically important temples of South Asia, in 1526 the Sultanate fell, to be succeeded by the Mughal Empire. By 962 AD, Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms in South Asia were under a wave of raids from Muslim armies from Central Asia. Among them was Mahmud of Ghazni, who raided and plundered kingdoms in north India from east of the Indus river to west of Yamuna river seventeen times between 997 and 1030, Mahmud of Ghazni raided the treasuries but retracted each time, only extending Islamic rule into western Punjab. The wave of raids on north Indian and western Indian kingdoms by Muslim warlords continued after Mahmud of Ghazni, the raids did not establish or extend permanent boundaries of their Islamic kingdoms. The Ghurid Sultan Muizz al-Din Muhammad began a war of expansion into north India in 1173. He sought to carve out a principality for himself by expanding the Islamic world, Mu’izz sought a Sunni Islamic kingdom of his own extending east of the Indus river, and he thus laid the foundation for the Muslim kingdom called the Delhi Sultanate. Some historians chronicle the Delhi Sultanate from 1192 due to the presence, Muizz al-Din was assassinated in 1206, by Ismāʿīlī Shia Muslims in some accounts or by Hindu Khokhars in others. After the assassination, one of Mu’izz slaves, the Turkic Qutbu l-Din Aibak, assumed power, Qutb al-Din Aibak, a slave of Muizz ad-Din Muhammad Ghori, was the first ruler of the Delhi Sultanate. Aibak was of Cuman-Kipchak origin, and due to his lineage, Aibak reigned as the Sultan of Delhi for four years. After Aibak died, Aram Shah assumed power in 1210, but he was assassinated in 1211 by Shams-ud-din Iltutmish, iltutmishs power was precarious, and a number of Muslim amirs challenged his authority as they had been supporters of Qutb al-din Aibak. After a series of conquests and brutal executions of opposition, he consolidated his power and his rule was challenged a number of times, such as by Qubacha, and this led to a series of wars. Iltumish conquered Multan and Bengal from contesting Muslim rulers, as well as Ranathambhore and he also attacked, defeated, and executed Taj al-Din Yildiz, who asserted his rights as heir to Muizz ad-Din Muhammad Ghori
Delhi Sultanate
–
History of the Turkic peoples Pre-14th century
Delhi Sultanate
–
Alai Gate and Qutub Minar were built during Mamluk and Khalji dynasty periods of Delhi Sultanate.
Delhi Sultanate
–
Muhammad bin Tughlaq moved his capital to the
Deccan Plateau, ordered Delhi people to move and build a new capital named Daulatabad (shown), then reversed his decision because Daulatabad lacked the river and drinking water supply Delhi had.
Delhi Sultanate
–
A base metal coin of Muhammad bin Tughlaq that led to an economic collapse.
11.
Suri Empire
–
It interrupted the rule of the Mughal Empire under Humayun, who later restored the Mughal Empire by ending the Sur Empire. Sher Shah defeated badhsah-i-Hind Humayun in the Battle of Chausa and again in the Battle of Bilgram, the Sur dynasty held control of nearly all the Mughal territories, from modern-day eastern Afghanistan in the west to Bengal in modern-day Bangladesh in the east. During the almost 17-year rule of the Sur dynasty, until the return of the Mughals to the throne, a systematised relationship was created between the people and the ruler, minimising corruption and the oppression of the public. Their rule came to an end by a defeat that led to restoration of the Mughal Empire, today, the Sur are part of the Pashtun tribal system and belong to the sub-groups of the Ghilzais. It is a ridge, a spur of the Sulaimán Mountains, about six or seven kos in length, Sur Delhi Sultanate List of Sunni Muslim dynasties Sher Shah Suri and the Afghan Revival Sher Shah Suri Sher Shah Suri
Suri Empire
–
The 178 grams silver coin,
Rupiya released by
Sher Shah Suri, 1540–1545 CE, was the first
Rupee
Suri Empire
–
Territory of Sur Empire in green
Suri Empire
–
Sher Shah Suri Sultan
12.
Mughal Empire
–
The dynasty, though ethnically Turco-Mongol, was Persianate in terms of culture. The Mughal empire extended over parts of the Indian subcontinent. The beginning of the empire is conventionally dated to the victory by its founder Babur over Ibrahim Lodi, the Mughal emperors were Central Asian Turco-Mongols belonging to the Timurid dynasty, who claimed direct descent from both Genghis Khan and Timur. During the reign of Humayun, the successor of Babur, the empire was briefly interrupted by the Sur Empire, the classic period of the Mughal Empire started in 1556 with the ascension of Akbar the Great to the throne. Under the rule of Akbar and his son Jahangir, the region enjoyed economic progress as well as harmony. Akbar was a warrior who also forged alliances with several Hindu Rajput kingdoms. Some Rajput kingdoms continued to pose a significant threat to the Mughal dominance of northwestern India, the reign of Shah Jahan, the fifth emperor, between 1628 and 1658 was the golden age of Mughal architecture. He erected several monuments, the best known of which is the Taj Mahal at Agra, as well as the Moti Masjid, Agra, the Red Fort, the Jama Masjid, Delhi. By the mid-18th century, the Marathas had routed Mughal armies, during the following century Mughal power had become severely limited, and the last emperor, Bahadur Shah II, had authority over only the city of Shahjahanabad. He issued a firman supporting the Indian Rebellion of 1857 and following the defeat was therefore tried by the British East India Company for treason, imprisoned and exiled to Rangoon. Contemporaries referred to the empire founded by Babur as the Timurid empire, which reflected the heritage of his dynasty, another name was Hindustan, which was documented in the Ain-i-Akbari, and which has been described as the closest to an official name for the empire. In the west, the term Mughal was used for the emperor, and by extension, the use of Mughal derived from the Arabic and Persian corruption of Mongol, and it emphasised the Mongol origins of the Timurid dynasty. The term gained currency during the 19th century, but remains disputed by Indologists, similar terms had been used to refer to the empire, including Mogul and Moghul. Nevertheless, Baburs ancestors were sharply distinguished from the classical Mongols insofar as they were oriented towards Persian rather than Turco-Mongol culture, ousted from his ancestral domains in Central Asia, Babur turned to India to satisfy his ambitions. He established himself in Kabul and then pushed steadily southward into India from Afghanistan through the Khyber Pass, Baburs forces occupied much of northern India after his victory at Panipat in 1526. The preoccupation with wars and military campaigns, however, did not allow the new emperor to consolidate the gains he had made in India, the instability of the empire became evident under his son, Humayun, who was driven out of India and into Persia by rebels. Humayuns exile in Persia established diplomatic ties between the Safavid and Mughal Courts, and led to increasing Persian cultural influence in the Mughal Empire, the restoration of Mughal rule began after Humayuns triumphant return from Persia in 1555, but he died from a fatal accident shortly afterwards. Humayuns son, Akbar, succeeded to the throne under a regent, Bairam Khan, through warfare and diplomacy, Akbar was able to extend the empire in all directions and controlled almost the entire Indian subcontinent north of the Godavari River
Mughal Empire
–
Babur, founder of the Mughal Empire.
Mughal Empire
–
Flag
Mughal Empire
–
Mughal Army artillerymen during the reign of
Akbar.
Mughal Empire
–
Mughal matchlock rifle.
13.
Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent
–
With the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate, Islam spread across large parts of the subcontinent. In 1204, Bakhtiar Khilji led the Muslim conquest of Bengal, prior to the rise of the Maratha Empire, which was followed by the conquest of India by the British East India Company, the Muslim Mughal Empire was able to annex or subjugate most of Indias kings. According to one source all three expeditions were successful, however, another source states Mughira was defeated and killed at Debal, the expeditions were sent to attack pirate nests, to safeguard Arabian trade in the Arabian Sea, and not to start the conquest of India. The first clash between a ruler of an Indian kingdom and the Arabs took place in 643 AD, when Arab forces defeated Rutbil, King of Zabulistan in Sistan. Abdi and Hakam al Taghilbi defeated an Indian army in the Battle of Rasil in 644 AD at the Indian Ocean sea coast, Caliph Umar ibn Al-Khattab denied them permission to cross the river or operate on Indian soil and the Arabs returned home. Abdullah ibn Aamir led the invasion of Khurasan in 650 AD, ziyad Al Harithi attacked Sistan and took Zaranj and surrounding areas in 651 AD while Ahnaf ibn Qais conquered the Hepthalites of Herat in 652 AD and advanced up to Balkh by 653 AD. Arab conquests now bordered the Kingdoms of Kapisa, Zabul and Sindh in modern-day Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Arabs levied annual tributes on the captured areas, and leaving 4,000 men garrisons at Merv. Affan sanctioned an attack against Makran in 652 AD, and sent a mission to Sindh in 653 AD. The mission described Makran as inhospitable, and Caliph Uthman, probably assuming the country beyond was much worse and this was the beginning of a prolonged struggle between the rulers of Kabul and Zabul against successive Arab governors of Sistan, Khurasan and Makran in modern-day Afghanistan and Pakistan. Muslim control of these areas ebbed and flowed repeatedly as a result until 870 AD, muawiyah established Umayyad rule over the Arabs after the first First Fitna in 661 AD, and resumed expansion of the Muslim Empire. After 663/665 AD, the Arabs launched an invasion against Kapisa, Zabul, samurra besieged Kabul in 663 AD, while Haris b Marrah advanced against Kalat after marching through Fannazabur and Quandabil and moving through the Bolan Pass. King Chach of Sindh sent an army against the Arabs, the enemy blocked the mountain passes, Haris was killed, turki Shah and Zunbil expelled Arabs from their respective kingdoms by 670 AD, and Zunbil began assisting in organizing resistance in Makran. Arabs launched several campaigns in eastern Balochistan between 661 -681 AD, four Arab commanders were killed during the campaigns, but Sinan b, salma managed to conquer parts of Makran including the Chagai area, and establish a permanent base of operations in 673 AD. Amr, the governor of Makran, subdued Mashkey in 672 AD. Jarood Al Abadi managed to garrison Kikan and conquer Buqan by 681 AD, while Ibn Harri Al Bahili, conducted several campaigns to secure the Arab hold on Kikan, Makran and Buqan by 683 AD. Zunbil saw off Arab campaigns in 668,672 and 673 AD by paying tribute, salms army in 681 AD at Junzah, and Arabs had to pay 500,000 dirhams to ransom their prisoners, but the Arabs defeated and killed Zunbil in Sistan in 685. The Arabs were defeated in Zabul in next invaded Zabul in 693 AD, Al-Hajjaj also sponsored Muslim expansion in Makran, Sistan, Transoxiana and Sindh
Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent
–
Tomb of
Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni in 1848.
Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent
–
Arab campaigns in the Indian Subcontinent. A generic representation, not to exact scale.
Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent
–
The
Mughal Emperor Akbar shoots the Rajput warrior Jaimal during the
Siege of Chittorgarh in 1567.
Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent
–
Bullocks dragging siege-guns up hill during
Mughal Emperor Akbar's attack on Ranthambhor Fort in 1568.
14.
South Asia
–
Topographically, it is dominated by the Indian Plate, which rises above sea level as Nepal and northern parts of India situated south of the Himalayas and the Hindu Kush. South Asia is bounded on the south by the Indian Ocean and on land by West Asia, Central Asia, East Asia, the current territories of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka form the countries of South Asia. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation is an economic cooperation organisation in the region which was established in 1985, South Asia covers about 5.1 million km², which is 11. 51% of the Asian continent or 3. 4% of the worlds land surface area. The population of South Asia is about 1.749 billion or about one fourth of the worlds population, overall, it accounts for about 39. 49% of Asias population and is home to a vast array of peoples. The area of South Asia and its extent is not clear cut as systemic. Aside from the region of South Asia, formerly part of the British Empire, there is a high degree of variation as to which other countries are included in South Asia. Modern definitions of South Asia are consistent in including Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar is included by some scholars in South Asia, but in Southeast Asia by others. Some do not include Afghanistan, others question whether Afghanistan should be considered a part of South Asia or the Middle East, the mountain countries of Nepal and Bhutan, and the island countries of Sri Lanka and Maldives are generally included as well. Myanmar is often added, and by various deviating definitions based on often substantially different reasons, the British Indian Ocean Territory, the common concept of South Asia is largely inherited from the administrative boundaries of the British Raj, with several exceptions. The Aden Colony, British Somaliland and Singapore, though administered at various times under the Raj, have not been proposed as any part of South Asia. Additionally Burma was administered as part of the Raj until 1937, the 562 princely states that were protected by but not directly ruled by the Raj became administrative parts of South Asia upon joining Union of India or Dominion of Pakistan. China and Myanmar have also applied for the status of members of SAARC. This bloc of countries include two independent countries that were not part of the British Raj – Nepal, and Bhutan, Afghanistan was a British protectorate from 1878 until 1919, after the Afghans lost to the British in the Second Anglo-Afghan war. The United Nations Statistics Divisions scheme of sub-regions include all eight members of the SAARC as part of Southern Asia, population Information Network includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burma, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka as part of South Asia. Maldives, in view of its characteristics, was admitted as a member Pacific POPIN subregional network only in principle, the Hirschman–Herfindahl index of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific for the region includes only the original seven signatories of SAARC. The British Indian Ocean Territory is connected to the region by a publication of Janes for security considerations, the inclusion of Myanmar in South Asia is without consensus, with many considering it a part of southeast Asia and others including it within South Asia. Afghanistan was of importance to the British colonial empire, especially after the Second Anglo-Afghan War over 1878–1880, Afghanistan remained a British protectorate until 1919, when a treaty with Vladimir Lenin included the granting of independence to Afghanistan. Following Indias partition, Afghanistan has generally included in South Asia
South Asia
–
While South Asia had never been a coherent
geopolitical region, it has a distinct geographical identity
South Asia
–
South Asia
South Asia
–
Ethno-linguistic families of South Asia.
15.
Southeast Asia
–
Southeast Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies near the intersection of geological plates, with seismic and volcanic activity. Southeast Asia consists of two regions, Mainland Southeast Asia, also known historically as Indochina, comprising Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar. Maritime Southeast Asia, comprising Indonesia, East Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, East Timor, Brunei, Cocos Islands, definitions of Southeast Asia vary, but most definitions include the area represented by the countries listed below. All of the states are members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the area, together with part of South Asia, was widely known as the East Indies or simply the Indies until the 20th century. Sovereignty issues exist over some territories in the South China Sea, Papua New Guinea has stated that it might join ASEAN, and is currently an observer. Southeast Asia is geographically divided into two subregions, namely Mainland Southeast Asia and Maritime Southeast Asia, Mainland Southeast Asia includes, Maritime Southeast Asia includes, The Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India are geographically considered part of Southeast Asia. Eastern Bangladesh and the Seven Sister States of India are culturally part of Southeast Asia, the eastern half of Indonesia and East Timor are considered to be biogeographically part of Oceania. Homo sapiens reached the region by around 45,000 years ago, homo floresiensis also lived in the area up until 12,000 years ago, when they became extinct. Austronesian people, who form the majority of the population in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, East Timor. Solheim and others have shown evidence for a Nusantao maritime trading network ranging from Vietnam to the rest of the archipelago as early as 5000 BC to 1 AD. The peoples of Southeast Asia, especially those of Austronesian descent, have been seafarers for thousands of years and their vessels, such as the vinta, were ocean-worthy. Magellans voyage records how much more manoeuvrable their vessels were, as compared to the European ships, Passage through the Indian Ocean aided the colonisation of Madagascar by the Austronesian people, as well as commerce between West Asia and Southeast Asia. Gold from Sumatra is thought to have reached as far west as Rome and this was later replaced by Hinduism. Theravada Buddhism soon followed in 525, in the 15th century, Islamic influences began to enter. This forced the last Hindu court in Indonesia to retreat to Bali, in Mainland Southeast Asia, Burma, Cambodia and Thailand retained the Theravada form of Buddhism, brought to them from Sri Lanka. This type of Buddhism was fused with the Hindu-influenced Khmer culture, very little is known about Southeast Asian religious beliefs and practices before the advent of Indian merchants and religious influences from the 2nd century BCE onwards. Prior to the 13th century CE, Hinduism and Buddhism were the religions in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
–
A golden vestment similar to those worn by the Hindu
Brahmin Caste, found in Butuan (
Philippines) Archeological Digs. This artefact shows the influence of Indian culture in Southeast Asia, also through trade.
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
–
Angkor Wat in
Siem Reap,
Cambodia
Southeast Asia
–
Kampung Laut Mosque in
Tumpat is one of the oldest mosques in Malaysia, dating to the early 18th century.
16.
Bangladesh
–
Bangladesh, officially the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It shares land borders with India and Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan and China are located near Bangladesh but do not share a border with it. The countrys maritime territory in the Bay of Bengal is roughly equal to the size of its land area, Bangladesh is the worlds eighth most populous country. Dhaka is its capital and largest city, followed by Chittagong which has the countrys largest port, Bangladesh forms the largest and eastern part of the Bengal region. Bangladeshis include people of different ethnic groups and religions, Bengalis, who speak the official Bengali, make up 98% of the population. The politically dominant Bengali Muslims make the nation the worlds third largest Muslim-majority country, most of Bangladesh is covered by the Bengal delta, the largest delta on Earth. The country has 700 rivers and 8,046 km of inland waterways, highlands with evergreen forests are found in the northeastern and southeastern regions of the country. Bangladesh has many islands and a coral reef and it is home to the Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the world. The countrys biodiversity includes a vast array of plant and wildlife, including critically endangered Bengal tigers, the Greeks and Romans identified the region as Gangaridai, a powerful kingdom of the historical subcontinent, in the 3rd century BCE. Archaeological research has unearthed several ancient cities in Bangladesh, which had trade links for millennia. The Bengal Sultanate and Mughal Bengal transformed the region into a cosmopolitan Islamic imperial power between the 14th and 18th centuries, the region was home to many principalities which had inland naval prowess. It was also a center of the worldwide muslin and silk trade. As part of British India, the region was influenced by the Bengali renaissance, the Partition of British India made East Bengal a part of the Dominion of Pakistan, and was renamed as East Pakistan. The region witnessed the Bengali Language Movement in 1952 and the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, after independence, a parliamentary republic was established. A presidential government was in place between 1975 and 1990, followed by a return to parliamentary democracy, the country has also been affected by poverty, natural disasters, hunger, dominant party systems and military coups. Bangladesh is a power and a major developing nation. Listed as one of the Next Eleven, it has the 46th largest economy and it is one of the largest textile exporters in the world. Its major trading partners are the European Union, the United States, China, India, Japan, Malaysia, with its strategically vital location between Southern, Eastern and Southeast Asia, Bangladesh is an important promoter of regional connectivity and cooperation
Bangladesh
–
Mahasthangarh is the oldest archaeological site in Bangladesh. It dates back to 700 BCE and was the ancient capital of the
Pundra Kingdom
Bangladesh
Bangladesh
–
Asia in 323 BC, the
Gangaridai Empire in relation to the
Nanda Empire,
Alexander 's Empire and neighbours
Bangladesh
–
The
Somapura Mahavihara, once the largest
Buddhist vihara in South Asia, built by Emperor
Dharmapala of Bengal
17.
West Bengal
–
West Bengal is an Indian state, located in East India on the Bay of Bengal. It is Indias fourth-most populous state, with over 91 million inhabitants and it has a total area of 34,267 sq mi, making it similar in size to Serbia. A part of the ethno-linguistic Bengal region, it borders Bangladesh in the east and Nepal and it also has borders five Indian states, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Sikkim and Assam. The state capital is Kolkata, the seventh-largest city in India, the geography of West Bengal includes the Darjeeling Himalayan hill region in its extreme north, the Ganges delta, the Rarh region and the coastal Sundarbans. The main ethnic group are the Bengali people, with Bengali Hindus forming the demographic majority, Ancient Bengal was the site of several major janapadas, including Vanga, Radha, Pundra and Suhma. In the 2nd century BC, the region was conquered by the emperor Ashoka, in the 4th century AD, it was absorbed into the Gupta Empire. From the 13th century onward, the region was ruled by sultans, powerful Hindu states and Baro-Bhuyan landlords. The British East India Company cemented their hold on the following the Battle of Plassey in 1757. Between 1977 and 2011, the state was administered by the worlds longest elected Communist government, a major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to Indias net domestic product. It is noted for its activities and the presence of cultural and educational institutions. The states cultural heritage, besides varied folk traditions, ranges from stalwarts in literature including Nobel-laureate Rabindranath Tagore to scores of musicians, film-makers and artists. West Bengal is also distinct from most other Indian states in its appreciation and practice of playing football besides cricket. The origin of the name Bengal is unknown, one theory suggests that the word derives from Bang, a Dravidian tribe that settled the region around 1000 BC. The word might have derived from the ancient kingdom of Vanga. Although some early Sanskrit literature mentions the name, the early history is obscure. At the end of British Rule over the Indian subcontinent, the Bengal region was partitioned in 1947 along religious lines into east and west, the east came to be known as East Bengal and the west came to known as West Bengal, which continued as an Indian state. In 2011, the Government of West Bengal proposed a change in the name of the state to Poschimbongo. This is the name of the state, literally meaning western Bengal in the native Bengali language
West Bengal
–
Seal
West Bengal
–
Location of West Bengal in India
West Bengal
–
Ram Mohan Roy is regarded as the "Father of the
Bengali renaissance ".
West Bengal
–
Subhas Chandra Bose was a
independence activist in the
Indian independence movement against the
British Raj.
18.
Porto Grande de Bengala
–
Chittagong, the second largest city and main port of Bangladesh, was home to a thriving trading post of the Portuguese Empire in the 16th and 17th centuries. The Portuguese first arrived in Chittagong around 1528 and left in 1666 after the Mughal conquest and it was the first European colonial enclave in the historic region of Bengal. Chittagong was the largest seaport in the Sultanate of Bengal, which was termed as the Shahi Bangalah in Persian, the Portuguese referred to the port city as Porto Grande de Bengala, which meant the Grand Harbor of Bengal. The term was often simplified as Porto Grande, on 9 May 1512, a fleet of four ships commanded by João da Silveira from the Estado da India arrived in Chittagong from Goa. They were followed by several embassies from the Kingdom of Portugal to the Sultanate of Bengal and he set up the first Portuguese factory in Bengal at Chittagong in 1517. Traders from Portuguese Malacca, Bombay and Ceylon also frequented the region, some sources indicate that Joao Coelho had arrived in Chittagong before João da Silveira. Many Malaccan Portuguese had come to the Bengal before Silveira in Moorish ships as traders, moreover, some of the Portuguese settled in Pipli in 1514 and had visited Western Bengal. In 1528, the Sultan of Bengal permitted the Portuguese to establish factories, a fort and naval base was established in Firingi Bandar. The settlement grew into the most prominent Eurasian port on the Bay of Bengal during the Age of Discovery, the cartaz system was introduced and required all ships in the area to purchase naval trading licenses from the Portuguese. In 1590, the Portuguese conquered the islands of Sandwip under the leadership of António de Sousa Godinho. In 1602, the Sandwip island of Chittagong was conquered by the Portuguese from Kedar Rai of Sripur, Portuguese pirates, named Gonçalves and Carvalho, ruled the island of Sandwip for several years. Each year about 300 salt loaded ships sailed for Liverpool from Sandwip, Sandwip was very famous for its ship-building and salt industries at that time. In 1616, after the arrival of Delwar Khan, a high-ranking Mughal naval officer, the harbour of Chittagong became the most important port to the Portuguese because of its location, navigational facilities and safe anchorage. The port is close to the mouth of the Meghna which was the principal route to the Royal capital of Gouda. Evidently the Portuguese found Chittagong a congenial place to live, by the end of the sixteenth century, the Chittagong port had emerged as a thriving port, which attracted both unofficial Portuguese trade and settlement. According to a 1567 note of Caesar Federeci, every thirty or thirty five ships, great and small. In 1598 there lived about 2,500 Portuguese and Eurasians in Chittagong, the increased commercial presence included bureaucrats, merchants, missionaries, soldiers, adventurers, sailors and pirates. The enclave had a highly laissez-faire administration led by traders, major traded products included fine silk, cotton muslin textiles, bullion, spices, rice, timber, salt and gunpowder
Porto Grande de Bengala
–
Early Portuguese map of Chittagong
Porto Grande de Bengala
–
Coat of arms of Portuguese empire (1485-1570)
Porto Grande de Bengala
–
A painting indicating the battle between the Portuguese and the
Mughals in
Karnaphuli River in 1666.
19.
Ibn Battuta
–
He is known for his extensive travels, accounts of which were published in his Travels. Over a period of thirty years, Ibn Battuta visited most of the known Islamic world as well as many non-Muslim lands and his journeys included trips to North Africa, the Horn of Africa, West Africa, Middle East, India, Central Asia, Southeast Asia and China. He claimed descent from a Berber tribe known as the Lawata, as a young man he would have studied at a Sunni Maliki madhhab, the dominant form of education in North Africa at that time. Maliki Muslims requested Ibn Battuta serve as their religious judge as he was from an area where it was practiced. In June 1325, at the age of twenty-one, Ibn Battuta set off from his hometown on a hajj, or pilgrimage, to Mecca and he would not see Morocco again for twenty-four years. So I braced my resolution to quit my dear ones, female and male and my parents being yet in the bonds of life, it weighed sorely upon me to part from them, and both they and I were afflicted with sorrow at this separation. He travelled to Mecca overland, following the North African coast across the sultanates of Abd al-Wadid and Hafsid, the route took him through Tlemcen, Béjaïa, and then Tunis, where he stayed for two months. For safety, Ibn Battuta usually joined a caravan to reduce the risk of being robbed and he took a bride in the town of Sfax, the first in a series of marriages that would feature in his travels. In the early spring of 1326, after a journey of over 3,500 km, Ibn Battuta arrived at the port of Alexandria and he met two ascetic pious men in Alexandria. One was Sheikh Burhanuddin who is supposed to have foretold the destiny of Ibn Battuta as a world traveller saying It seems to me that you are fond of foreign travel and you will visit my brother Fariduddin in India, Rukonuddin in Sind and Burhanuddin in China. Another pious man Sheikh Murshidi interpreted the meaning of a dream of Ibn Battuta that he was meant to be a world traveller and he spent several weeks visiting sites in the area, and then headed inland to Cairo, the capital of the Mamluk Sultanate and an important city. After spending about a month in Cairo, he embarked on the first of many detours within the safety of Mamluk territory. Of the three routes to Mecca, Ibn Battuta chose the least-travelled, which involved a journey up the Nile valley. Upon approaching the town, however, a local rebellion forced him to turn back, Ibn Battuta returned to Cairo and took a second side trip, this time to Mamluk-controlled Damascus. During his first trip he had encountered a man who prophesied that he would only reach Mecca by travelling through Syria. Without this help many travellers would be robbed and murdered, after spending the Muslim month of Ramadan in Damascus, he joined a caravan travelling the 1,300 km south to Medina, site of the tomb of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. After four days in the town, he journeyed on to Mecca, rather than returning home, Ibn Battuta instead decided to continue on, choosing as his next destination the Ilkhanate, a Mongol Khanate, to the northeast. On 17 November 1326, following a month spent in Mecca, the group headed north to Medina and then, travelling at night, turned northeast across the Najd plateau to Najaf, on a journey that lasted about two weeks
Ibn Battuta
–
A 13th-century book illustration produced in Baghdad by
al-Wasiti showing a group of pilgrims on a
hajj.
Ibn Battuta
–
Tiles representing the
Kaaba, in
Mecca.
Ibn Battuta
–
Ibn Battuta made a brief visit to the Persian-Azari city of
Tabriz in 1327.
Ibn Battuta
–
Sana'a, Yemen
20.
Ma Huan
–
Ma Huan, courtesy name Chung-dao 宗道, pen name Mountain-woodcutter, was a Chinese voyager and translator who accompanied Admiral Zheng He on three of his seven expeditions to the Western Oceans. Ma was a Muslim and was born in Zhejiangs Kuaiji County and it was said he was not born Muslim, but was a Chinese who converted to Islam when he was young, and his Ma surname had nothing to do with Muslim ancestry. He knew several Classical Chinese and Buddhist texts and he learned Arabic to be able to translate. In the 1413 expedition, he visited Champa, Java, Sumatra, Palembang, Siam, Kochi, in the 1421 expedition, he visited Malacca, Aru, Sumatra, Trincomalee, Ceylon, Kochi, Calicut, Zufar and Hormuz. In the 1431 expedition, he visited Bengal, Chittagong, Sonargaon, Gaur, from Calicut, he was sent by Eununch Hong Bao as emissary to Mecca. During his expeditions, Ma Huan took notes about the geography, politics, weather conditions, environment, economy, local customs, returned home on his first expedition, he began writing a book about his expedition, the first draft of which was ready around 1416. He expanded and modified his draft during later expeditions, the version was ready around 1451. The title of his book was Yingyai Shenglan, during the Ming dynasty and Qing dynasty, there were many printed and handcopied editions. The latest authentic text of a version was edited and annotated by historian Feng Chen jun. A newer edition, based on Ming dynasty handcopied editions, was published by Ocean Publishing House in China. An annotated English translation by J. V. G, mills was published by the Hakluyt Society in 1970, and reprinted in 1997 by The White Lotus Press in Bangkok. Millss translation was based on the edition by Feng Cheng jun, the Yingyai Shenglan is considered by sinologists worldwide as a primary source for the history of Ming dynasty naval exploration, history of South East Asia and history of India. Some scholars who have done work on Ma Huan are J. J. L. Duyvendak, F. Hirth, Paul Pelliot, Feng Chen jun, Xiang Da, J. V. G. Fei Xin, another participants of Zheng Hes expeditions who wrote a book The Mao Kun map in Wubei Zhi Ying-yai Sheng-lan, The Overall Survey of the Oceans Shores 1433 by Ma Huan, translated by J. V. G. When Asia was the World, Traveling Merchants, Scholars, Warriors, Ma Huan, Ying-yai sheng-lan ‘The overall survey of the oceans shores’, translated from the Chinese text edited by Feng Cheng-chün
Ma Huan
–
A page from Ming dynasty woodcut printed edition of Yingyai Shenglan by Ma Huan
21.
Niccolo De Conti
–
Niccolò de Conti was an Italian merchant and explorer, born in Chioggia, who traveled to India and Southeast Asia, and possibly to Southern China, during the early 15th century. He was one of the sources used to create the 1450 Fra Mauro map. De Conti departed from Venice about 1419 and established himself in Damascus, Syria, over a period of 25 years, he traveled as a merchant to numerous places in Asia. His familiarity with the languages and cultures of the Islamic world allowed him to travel to many places, De Contis travels followed the period of Timurid relations with Europe. They also occurred around the time and in the same places as the Chinese expeditions of Admiral Zheng He. His accounts are contemporary, and fairly consistent with those of the Chinese writers who were on Zheng Hes ships, such as Ma Huan and Fei Xin. After the return of Marco Polo in 1295, there is no record of Italian traders returning from China until the return of de Conti by sea in 1439, De Conti first crossed the desert to reach Baghdad and from there sailed down the Tigris to Basra. He then sailed through the Persian Gulf and went to Iran where he learned Persian and he then crossed the Arabian sea to Cambay, in Gujarat. He travelled in India to Pacamuria, Helly and Vijayanagar, capital of the Deccan before 1555 and it was in India that he coined the phrase Italian of the East to refer to the Telugu language, which he found had words ending with vowels, similar to Italian. He went to Maliapur on the east coast of India, where he visited the tomb of St. Thomas, about 1421, de Conti crossed to Pedir in northern Sumatra, where he spent a year, gaining local knowledge, particularly on the gold and spice trade. He then continued after sailing 16 days to Tenasserim on the Malay peninsula and he then sailed to the mouth of the Ganges, visited Sonargaon and Chittagong and then went overland to Arakan. After traveling through Burma, he left for Java where he spent nine months, De Conti described South-East Asia as exceeding all other regions in wealth, culture and magnificence, and abreast of Italy in civilization. Throughout his travels, he was accompanied by his family, however his wife, whom he had met in India, and two of his four children died in Egypt during an epidemic. He continued to Italy with his remaining children, De Conti returned to Venice in 1444, where he remained as a respected merchant. Poggios record of de Contis account, made in 1444, constitutes one of the best accounts of the East by a 15th-century traveler and it was included in the Book IV of his De varietate fortunae. His accounts probably encouraged the European travels of exploration of the end of the century, in these two maps, many new location names, and several verbatim descriptions, were taken directly from de Contis account. The trustworthy source whom Fra Mauro quoted in writing is thought to have been de Conti himself, the lower part is made of three decks, so as to better resist storms, which occur frequently. These ships are separated into compartments, so that if one is touched during a storm
Niccolo De Conti
–
Le voyage aux
Indes de Nicolò de' Conti (1414–1439)
Niccolo De Conti
–
The accounts of Niccolò de' Conti influenced the maker of the 1457
Genoese map, in the form of geographic conceptions and several quotes and names taken directly from Conti.
Niccolo De Conti
–
The
Fra Mauro map also relied extensively on Conti.
22.
Adina Mosque
–
The Adina Mosque ruins are the ruins of the largest mosque in the Indian subcontinent, located in the Indian state of West Bengal, near the border with Bangladesh. The site, dating from the 14th century, hosted the imperial mosque of the Sultanate of Bengal, the ruins of Adina Mosque are located in Pandua of Maldah district, West Bengal, India. It is located close to the Bangladesh-India border and twenty kilometers north of the town of English Bazar along a highway to North Bengal. The mosque was built during the reign of Sikandar Shah, the sultan of the Ilyas Shahi dynasty in the Bengal Sultanate. The mosque was designed to project the kingdoms imperial ambitions after its two victories against the Delhi Sultanate in the 14th century, the mosque was probably constructed on the ruins of Hindu-Buddhist temples and monasteries. Its exterior wall contains defaced Indian sculptures, according to Encyclopedia Iranica, its construction material included stone from Bengali temples. Inscriptions on the mosque proclaimed Sikandar Shah as the exalted Sultan, the Sultan was buried in a tomb chamber attached to the wall facing the direction of Mecca. The mosque was located in the now ruined city of Pandua and it fell into ruin during the period of British rule and was damaged by earthquakes in the 19th century. In early 20th century, aboriginal Santhal tribal rebels, armed with bows and arrows, but the rebellion was suppressed by the colonial government and Muslim zamindars. Bullet holes from the rebellion can be seen in the ruins, the design of the mosque incorporated Bengali, Arab, Persian and Byzantine elements. It was built with brick and stone and its plan is similar to the Great Mosque of Damascus. It had a rectangular structure with an open courtyard. The structure measured 172 by 97 m, the entire western wall evokes the imperial style of pre-Islamic Sasanian Persia. The mosque consciously imitated Persianate imperial grandeur, the prayer hall is five aisles deep, while the north, south and east cloisters around the courtyard consist of triple aisles. In total, these aisles had 260 pillars and 387 domed bays, the interior of the courtyard is a continuous façade of 92 arches surmounted by a parapet, beyond which the domes of the bays can be seen. The interior elevated platform, which was the gallery of the Sultan and his officials, the Sultans tomb chamber is attached with the western wall
Adina Mosque
Adina Mosque
–
Jammu and Kashmir
23.
Turkic peoples
–
The Turkic peoples are a collection of ethnic groups that live in central, eastern, northern, and western Asia as well as parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family and they share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds. The first known mention of the term Turk applied to a Turkic group was in reference to the Göktürks in the 6th century, a letter by Ishbara Qaghan to Emperor Wen of Sui in 585 described him as the Great Turk Khan. The Orhun inscriptions use the terms Turk and Turuk and this includes Chinese records Spring and Autumn Annals referring to a neighbouring people as Beidi. During the first century CE, Pomponius Mela refers to the Turcae in the north of the Sea of Azov. There are references to certain groups in antiquity whose names could be the form of Türk/Türük such as Togarma, Turukha/Turuška, Turukku. But the information gap is so substantial that we cannot firmly connect these ancient people to the modern Turks, turkologist András Róna-Tas posits that the term Turk could be rooted in the East Iranian Saka language or in Turkic. This etymological concept is related to Old Turkic word stems tür, türi-, törü. The earliest Turkic-speaking peoples identifiable in Chinese sources are the Dingling, Gekun, the Chinese Book of Zhou presents an etymology of the name Turk as derived from helmet, explaining that taken this name refers to the shape of the Altai Mountains. During the Middle Ages, various Turkic peoples of the Eurasian steppe were subsumed under the identity of the Scythians, between 400 CE and the 16th century, Byzantine sources use the name Σκύθαι in reference to twelve different Turkic peoples. However, the usage of the term is based on the linguistic classification in order to avoid any political sense. In short, the term Türki can be used for Türk or vice versa and it is generally agreed that the first Turkic people lived in a region extending from Central Asia to Siberia, with the majority of them living in China historically. Historically they were established after the 6th century BCE, the earliest separate Turkic peoples appeared on the peripheries of the late Xiongnu confederation about 200 BCE. Turkic people may be related to the Xiongnu, Dingling and Tiele people, according to the Book of Wei, the Tiele people were the remnants of the Chidi, the red Di people competing with the Jin in the Spring and Autumn period. Turkic tribes such as the Khazars and Pechenegs probably lived as nomads for many years before establishing the Turkic Khaganate or Göktürk Empire in the 6th century and these were herdsmen and nobles who were searching for new pastures and wealth. The first mention of Turks was in a Chinese text that mentioned trade between Turk tribes and the Sogdians along the Silk Road, the first recorded use of Turk as a political name appears as a 6th-century reference to the word pronounced in Modern Chinese as Tujue. The Ashina clan migrated from Li-jien to the Juan Juan seeking inclusion in their confederacy, the tribe were famed metalsmiths and were granted land near a mountain quarry which looked like a helmet, from which they were said to have gotten their name 突厥. A century later their power had increased such that they conquered the Juan Juan, Turkic peoples originally used their own alphabets, like Orkhon and Yenisey runiforms, and later the Uyghur alphabet
Turkic peoples
–
Map from Kashgari's Diwan, showing the distribution of Turkic tribes.
Turkic peoples
–
Turkic states shown in red
Turkic peoples
–
History of the Turkic peoples Pre-14th century
Turkic peoples
–
The top of Belukha in the
Altay Mountains in Mongolia is shown here. The mountain range is thought to be the birthplace of the Turkic people.
24.
Hindu
–
Hindu refers to any person who regards themselves as culturally, ethnically, or religiously adhering to aspects of Hinduism. It has historically used as a geographical, cultural, or religious identifier for people indigenous to South Asia. The historical meaning of the term Hindu has evolved with time, by the 16th century, the term began to refer to residents of India who were not Turks or Muslims. The historical development of Hindu self-identity within the Indian population, in a religious or cultural sense, is unclear, competing theories state that Hindu identity developed in the British colonial era, or that it developed post-8th century CE after the Islamic invasion and medieval Hindu-Muslim wars. A sense of Hindu identity and the term Hindu appears in texts dated between the 13th and 18th century in Sanskrit and regional languages. The 14th- and 18th-century Indian poets such as Vidyapati, Kabir and Eknath used the phrase Hindu dharma, the Christian friar Sebastiao Manrique used the term Hindu in religious context in 1649. In the 18th century, the European merchants and colonists began to refer to the followers of Indian religions collectively as Hindus, in contrast to Mohamedans for Mughals, scholars state that the custom of distinguishing between Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs is a modern phenomenon. Hindoo is a spelling variant, whose use today may be considered derogatory. At more than 1.03 billion, Hindus are the third largest group after Christians. The vast majority of Hindus, approximately 966 million, live in India, according to Indias 2011 census. After India, the next 9 countries with the largest Hindu populations are, in decreasing order, Nepal, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, United States, Malaysia, United Kingdom and Myanmar. These together accounted for 99% of the worlds Hindu population, the word Hindu is derived from the Indo-Aryan and Sanskrit word Sindhu, which means a large body of water, covering river, ocean. It was used as the name of the Indus river and also referred to its tributaries, the Punjab region, called Sapta Sindhava in the Vedas, is called Hapta Hindu in Zend Avesta. The 6th-century BCE inscription of Darius I mentions the province of Hidush, the people of India were referred to as Hinduvān and hindavī was used as the adjective for Indian in the 8th century text Chachnama. The term Hindu in these ancient records is an ethno-geographical term, the Arabic equivalent Al-Hind likewise referred to the country of India. Among the earliest known records of Hindu with connotations of religion may be in the 7th-century CE Chinese text Record of the Western Regions by the Buddhist scholar Xuanzang, Xuanzang uses the transliterated term In-tu whose connotation overflows in the religious according to Arvind Sharma. The Hindu community occurs as the amorphous Other of the Muslim community in the court chronicles, wilfred Cantwell Smith notes that Hindu retained its geographical reference initially, Indian, indigenous, local, virtually native. Slowly, the Indian groups themselves started using the term, differentiating themselves, the poet Vidyapatis poem Kirtilata contrasts the cultures of Hindus and Turks in a city and concludes The Hindus and the Turks live close together, Each makes fun of the others religion
Hindu
–
A Hindu wedding ritual in India.
Hindu
–
Hindu culture in Bali,
Indonesia. The Krishna-Arjuna sculpture inspired by the
Bhagavad Gita in
Denpasar (top), and Hindu dancers in traditional dress.
Hindu
Hindu
–
Hindus at
Har Ki Pauri,
Haridwar near river
Ganges in
Uttarakhand state of India.
25.
Raja Ganesha
–
Raja Ganesha was a Hindu ruler of Bengal, who took advantage of the weakness of the first Ilyas Shahi dynasty and seized power in Bengal. Contemporary historians of the period considered him as an usurper. The dynasty founded by him ruled over Bengal from 1415−1435 and his name mentioned in the coins of his son, sultan Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah as Kans Rao or Kans Shah. The Indo-Persian historians mentioned his name as Raja Kans or Kansi, a number of modern scholars identified him with Danujamardanadeva, but this idenitification is not universally accepted. According to the Riaz-us-Salatin, Raja Ganesha was a landlord of Bhaturia, in a contemporary letter, he was described as a member of a landholder family of 400 years standing. Later, he became an officer of the Ilyas Shahi dynasty rulers in Pandua, ghiyas-ud-Din Azam Shah was succeeded by his son Saifuddin Hamza Shah and the latter by Shihabuddin Bayazid Shah. Firishta says that he became powerful during the rule of Shihabuddin Bayazid Shah. Shihabuddin was succeeded by his son Ala-ud-din Firuz Shah but he was deposed by Raja Ganesha. According to Firishta, the reign of Raja Ganesha was marked by his policies toward the Muslims in Pandua. But according to the Riaz, soon after he took over the power in Pandua, he oppressed the Muslims of Bengal, thereupon, a Muslim Chishti saint Shaikh Nur Qutb-ul-Alam wrote a letter to the Jaunpur Sultan, Ibrahim Shah Sharqi, with an appeal to invade Bengal. Purport of this letter is found in a written by Hazrat Ashraf Jahangir Sinnani. According to a tradition, recorded by Mulla Taqyya, a courtier of Akbar and Jahangir, Ibrahim Shah, while proceeding to chastise Raja Ganesha, was opposed by Sivasimha, the ruler of Mithila. Mulla Taqyya gives the date of this event as 805 AH, according to the narrative given in the Riaz, when Ibrahim Shah reached Bengal with his army, Ganesha asked saint Shaikh Nur Qutb-ul-Alam for his forgiveness and protection. The saint agreed and Jadu, the son of Ganesha, was converted to Islam by him. He was placed on the throne under the title Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah, Ganesha ascended the throne immediately after the return of Ibrahim Shah for the second time. But this time, he was killed by servants of his son. The earlier accounts of the invasion of Ibrahim Shah Sharqi are different from the account given in the Riaz, a Chinese source mentioned that a kingdom to the west of Bengal had indeed invaded, but desisted when placated with gold and money. To which intimidation the ruler of Jaunpur was obedient, and resisted from his attacks upon Bengal, a contemporary Arakanese tradition recorded that the army of Raja Ganesha, then firmly in control of Pandua, had defeated Ibrahim in battle
Raja Ganesha
–
A sketch of Raja Ganesha on the cover of a late 19th-century Bengali work, Raja Ganesh
Raja Ganesha
–
Silver tanka of Danujamarddana issued at Chatigram (
Chittagong) in the year Saka 1339 (= 1417 CE). Legends are in letters of medieval Bengali; obverse: sri sri danujamarddana deva, reverse: sri chandi charana parayana.
Raja Ganesha
–
Krishna Temple established by Maharaja Ganesh in his Palace as visible from outside road.
26.
Ethiopia
–
Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north and northeast, Djibouti and Somalia to the east, Sudan and South Sudan to the west, and Kenya to the south. With nearly 100 million inhabitants, Ethiopia is the most populous landlocked country in the world and it occupies a total area of 1,100,000 square kilometres, and its capital and largest city is Addis Ababa. Some of the oldest evidence for modern humans has been found in Ethiopia. It is widely considered as the region from modern humans first set out for the Middle East. According to linguists, the first Afroasiatic-speaking populations settled in the Horn region during the ensuing Neolithic era, tracing its roots to the 2nd millennium BC, Ethiopia was a monarchy for most of its history. During the first centuries AD, the Kingdom of Aksum maintained a unified civilization in the region, subsequently, many African nations adopted the colors of Ethiopias flag following their independence. It was the first independent African member of the 20th-century League of Nations, Ethiopias ancient Geez script, also known as Ethiopic, is one of the oldest alphabets still in use in the world. The Ethiopian calendar, which is seven years and three months behind the Gregorian calendar, co-exists alongside the Borana calendar. A slight majority of the population adheres to Christianity, while around a third follows Islam, the country is the site of the Migration to Abyssinia and the oldest Muslim settlement in Africa at Negash. A substantial population of Ethiopian Jews, known as Bete Israel, resided in Ethiopia until the 1980s, Ethiopia is a multilingual nation with around 80 ethnolinguistic groups, the four largest of which are the Oromiffa, Amhara, Somali, and Tigrayans. Most people in the country speak Afroasiatic languages of the Cushitic or Semitic branches, additionally, Omotic languages are spoken by ethnic minority groups inhabiting the southern regions. Nilo-Saharan languages are spoken by the nations Nilotic ethnic minorities. Ethiopia is the place of origin for the coffee bean which originated from the place called Kefa and it is a land of natural contrasts, with its vast fertile West, jungles, and numerous rivers, and the worlds hottest settlement of Dallol in its north. The Ethiopian Highlands are Africas largest continuous mountain ranges, and Sof Omar Caves contain Africas largest cave, Ethiopia has the most UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Africa. Ethiopia is one of the members of the UN, the Group of 24, the Non-Aligned Movement, G-77. In the 1970s and 1980s, Ethiopia suffered from civil wars, the country has begun to recover recently however, and now has the largest economy in East Africa and Central Africa. According to Global Fire Power, Ethiopia has the 42nd most powerful military in the world, the origin of the word Ethiopia is uncertain
Ethiopia
–
Coins of the
Axumite king
Endybis, 227–235 AD, at the
British Museum. The inscriptions in
Ancient Greek read "AΧWMITW BACIΛEYC" ("King of Axum") and "ΕΝΔΥΒΙC ΒΑCΙΛΕΥC" ("King Endybis").
Ethiopia
–
Flag
Ethiopia
–
Dawit II (Lebna Dengel),
Ethiopia (nəgusä nägäst) (Emperor) of Ethiopia and a member of the
Solomonic dynasty.
Ethiopia
–
King Fasilides' Castle.
27.
Sunni
–
Sunni Islam is the largest group of Islam. Its name comes from the word Sunnah, referring to the behavior of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. According to Sunni tradition, Muhammad did not clearly designate a successor and this contrasts with the Shia view, which holds that Muhammad intended his son-in-law and cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib to succeed him. Political tensions between Sunnis and Shias continued with varying intensity throughout Islamic history and they have been exacerbated in recent times by ethnic conflicts, as of 2009, Sunni Muslims constituted 87–90% of the worlds Muslim population. Sunni Islam is the worlds largest religious denomination, followed by Catholicism and its adherents are referred to in Arabic as ahl as-sunnah wa l-jamāʻah or ahl as-sunnah for short. In English, its doctrines and practices are sometimes called Sunnism, while adherents are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis, Sunnites, Sunni Islam is sometimes referred to as orthodox Islam. The Quran, together with hadith and binding juristic consensus form the basis of all traditional jurisprudence within Sunni Islam, sunnī, also commonly referred to as Sunnīism, is a term derived from sunnah meaning habit, usual practice, custom, tradition. The Muslim use of this term refers to the sayings and living habits of the prophet Muhammad, in Arabic, this branch of Islam is referred to as ahl as-sunnah wa l-jamāʻah, the people of the sunnah and the community, which is commonly shortened to ahl as-sunnah. One common mistake is to assume that Sunni Islam represents a normative Islam that emerged during the period after Muhammads death, and that Sufism and Shiism developed out of Sunni Islam. This perception is due to the reliance on highly ideological sources that have been accepted as reliable historical works. Both Sunnism and Shiaism are the end products of centuries of competition between ideologies. Both sects used each other to further cement their own identities and doctrines, the first four caliphs are known among Sunnis as the Rashidun or Rightly-Guided Ones. Sunni recognition includes the aforementioned Abu Bakr as the first, Umar who established the Islamic calendar as the second, Uthman as the third, Sunnis believe that the companions of Muhammad were the best of Muslims. Support for this view is found in the Quran, according to Sunnis. Sunnis also believe that the companions were true believers since it was the companions who were given the task of compiling the Quran, furthermore, narrations that were narrated by the companions are considered by Sunnis to be a second source of knowledge of the Muslim faith. A study conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2010 and released January 2011 found that there are 1.62 billion Muslims around the world, Islam does not have a formal hierarchy or clergy. Leaders are informal, and gain influence through study to become a scholar of Islamic law, according to the Islamic Center of Columbia, South Carolina, anyone with the intelligence and the will can become an Islamic scholar. During Midday Mosque services on Fridays, the congregation will choose a person to lead the service
Sunni
Sunni
–
Malaysian Sunni Muslims in a
Mawlid procession in capital
Putrajaya, 2013.
Sunni
–
The
Great Mosque of Kairouan (also known as the Mosque of Uqba) was, in particular during the 9th, 10th and 11th centuries, an important center of Islamic learning with an emphasis on the
Maliki Madh'hab. It is located in the city of
Kairouan in
Tunisia
28.
Shia
–
Shia is a branch of Islam which holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib as his successor. Shia Islam primarily contrasts with Sunni Islam, whose adherents believe that Muhammad did not appoint a successor, instead they consider Abu Bakr to be the correct Caliph. Adherents of Shia Islam are called Shias of Ali, Shias or the Shia as a collective or Shii individually, Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam, in 2009, Shia Muslims constituted 10–13% of the worlds Muslim population. Twelver Shia is the largest branch of Shia Islam, in 2012 it was estimated that perhaps 85 percent of Shias were Twelvers. Shia Islam is based on the Quran and the message of Muhammad attested in hadith, Shia consider Ali to have been divinely appointed as the successor to Muhammad, and as the first Imam. The word Shia means follower and is the form of the historic phrase shīʻatu ʻAlī, meaning followers of Ali, faction of Ali. Shia and Shiism are forms used in English, while Shiite or Shiite, as well as Shia, the term for the first time was used at the time of Muhammad. At present, the word refers to the Muslims who believe that the leadership of the community after Muhammad belongs to Ali, nawbakhti states that the term Shia refers to a group of Muslims that at the time of Muhammad and after him regarded Ali as the Imam and Caliph. Al-Shahrastani expresses that the term Shia refers to those who believe that Ali is designated as the Heir, Imam and caliph by Muhammad, for the Shia, this conviction is implicit in the Quran and history of Islam. And Allah is Hearing and Knowing, Shia search for the true meaning of the revelation to get the purpose of the life blood and the human destiny. Shia Muslims believe that just as a prophet is appointed by God alone and they believe God chose Ali to be Muhammads successor, infallible, the first caliph of Islam. The Shias believe that Muhammad designated Ali as his successor by Gods command, Ali was Muhammads first cousin and closest living male relative as well as his son-in-law, having married Muhammads daughter Fatimah. Ali would eventually become the fourth Muslim caliph, after the Farewell Pilgrimage, Muhammad ordered the gathering of Muslims at the pond of Khumm and it was there that Shia Muslims believe Muhammad nominated Ali to be his successor. The hadith of the pond of Khumm was narrated on 18th of Dhu al-Hijjah of 10 AH in the Islamic calendar at a place called Ghadir Khumm, located near the city of al-Juhfah, Saudi Arabia. Muhammad there stated, Shia Muslims believe this to be Muhammads appointment of Ali as his successor, when Muhammad died in 632 CE, Ali and Muhammads closest relatives made the funeral arrangements. While they were preparing his body, Abu Bakr, Umar, Ali and his family accepted the appointment for the sake of unity in the early Muslim community. Alis rule over the early Muslim community was often contested, as a result, he had to struggle to maintain his power against the groups who betrayed him after giving allegiance to his succession, or those who wished to take his position. This dispute eventually led to the First Fitna, which was the first major civil war within the Islamic Caliphate, the Fitna began as a series of revolts fought against Ali ibn Abi Talib, caused by the assassination of his political predecessor, Uthman ibn Affan
Shia
Shia
–
The Investiture of
Ali at
Ghadir Khumm (
MS Arab 161, fol. 162r, AD 1309/8
Ilkhanid manuscript illustration)
Shia
–
The
Imam Hussein Shrine in
Karbala, Iraq is a holy site for Shia Muslims.
29.
Alauddin Hussain Shah
–
Ala-ud-din Husain Shah, reign 1494–1519) was an independent late medieval Sultan of Bengal, who founded the Hussain Shahi dynasty. He became the ruler of Bengal after assassinating the Abyssinian Sultan, Shams-ud-Din Muzaffar Shah, after his death in 1519 his son Nusrat Shah succeeded him. Husain Shahs original name is Sayyeed Husain, according to a 1788 chronicle, Riyaz-us-Salatin, Husain was the son of Sayyeed Ashraf Al Husaini Al Fatimi Al Makki, a Sharif of Mecca and an inhabitant of Tirmiz. Besides both historians Salim and Firishtah mentioned him as Sayyed - this indicates Husains Arab descent, besides, the term Sultan Husain Shah bin Sayyeed Ashraf-ul-Husaini frequently appeared on his coins. But it is not yet known how he came to Bengal, most likely he first settled in Chandpara, a village in Murshidabad district. Because a number of inscriptions of Husain Shahs early years found in the villages around Chandpara, a lake, Sheker Dighi, is also associated with Husain Shah. Initially, he sympathized with the rebels but ultimately he put himself openly as their head and besieged the citadel. According to the 16th-century historian Nizamuddin, the Sultan was secretly assassinated by Husain with the help of the paiks, Husain Shahs long reign of more than a quarter of a century was a period of peace and prosperity, which was strikingly contrast to the period that preceded it. The liberal attitude of Husain Shah towards his Hindu subjects is also an important feature of his reign, immediately after accession to the throne, Husain Shah ordered his soldiers to desist from pillaging Gaur, his capital city. But when they continued to do so, he executed twelve thousand soldiers and recovered the pillaged articles, next, he disbanded the paiks, who were the most significant agitators inside the palace. He removed all Habshis from administrative posts and replaced them with Turks, Arabs, Afghans, Sultan Hussain Shah Sharqi, after being defeated by Bahlol Lodi, retired to Bihar, where his occupation was confined to a small territory. In 1494, he was defeated by Sultan Sikandar Lodi and fled to Bengal. This resulted in an expedition against Bengal in 1495 by Sultan Sikandar Lodi, Husain Shah of Bengal sent an army under his son Daniyal to fight with the Delhi army. The armies of Delhi and Bengal met at Barh near Patna, Sikandar Lodi halted the advance of his army and concluded a treaty of friendship with Ala-ud-din Husain Shah. According to this agreement, the country west of Barh went to Sikandar Lodi while the country east of Barh remained under Husain Shah of Bengal. The final dissolution of the Jaunpur Sultanate resulted in the influx of the Jaunpur soldiery in the Bengal army, from 1499 to 1502, Husain Shahs general Shah Ismail Ghazi led an expedition to the Kamata kingdom and annexed the territory up to Hajo. They took Nilambara, King of Kamata, as prisoner and pillaged the capital city and this was publicly recorded in an inscription at Malda. According to the Madala Panji, Shah Ismail Ghazi commenced his campaign from the Mandaran fort in 1508-9 and reached Puri, raiding Jajpur, the Gajapati ruler of Orissa, Prataparudra was busy in a campaign in the south
Alauddin Hussain Shah
–
Choto Shona Mosque built during the reign of Alauddin Husain Shah
30.
Golden age
–
By definition, one is never in the Golden Age. By extension Golden Age denotes a period of peace, harmony, stability. During this age peace and harmony prevailed, people did not have to work to feed themselves and they lived to a very old age with a youthful appearance, eventually dying peacefully, with spirits living on as guardians. Plato in Cratylus recounts the golden race of humans who came first and he clarifies that Hesiod did not mean literally made of gold, but good and noble. There are analogous concepts in the religious and philosophical traditions of the South Asian subcontinent, for example, the Vedic or ancient Hindu culture saw history as cyclical, composed of yugas with alternating Dark and Golden Ages. The Kali yuga, Dwapara yuga, Treta yuga and Satya yuga correspond to the four Greek ages, similar beliefs occur in the ancient Middle East and throughout the ancient world, as well. In classical Greek mythology the Golden Age was presided over by the leading Titan Cronus, in some version of the myth Astraea also ruled. The earliest attested reference to the European myth of the Ages of Man 500 BC-350 BC appears in the late 6th century BC works of the Greek poet Hesiods Works and Days. Hesiod, a deteriorationist, identifies the Golden Age, the Silver Age, the Bronze Age, the Heroic Age, with the exception of the Heroic Age, each succeeding age was worse than the one that went before. When they died, it was as though they were overcome with sleep and they dwelt in ease and peace. Plato in his Cratylus referred to an age of men and also expounded at some length on Ages of Man from Hesiods Works. The Roman poet Ovid simplified the concept by reducing the number of Ages to four, Gold, Bronze, Silver, in Hesiods version, the Golden Age ended when the Titan Prometheus conferred on mankind the gift of fire and all the other arts. For this, Zeus punished Prometheus by chaining him to a rock in the Caucasus, the gods sent the beautiful maiden Pandora to Prometheuss brother Epimetheus. The Orphic school, a cult that originated in Thrace and spread to Greece in the 5th century BCE, held similar beliefs about the early days of man. In common with the other mystery cults prevalent in the Graeco-Roman world. Initiation into its secret rites, together with ascetic practices, was supposed to guarantee the individuals soul eventual release from the circle of mortality. Orphics sometimes identified the Golden Age with the era of the god Phanes, in classical mythology however, the Golden Age was associated with the reign of Saturn. However, in the 3rd century BCE, the Greek poet, Theocritus, writing in Alexandria, set his poetry in on the lushly fertile island of Sicily
Golden age
–
The Golden Age by
Pietro da Cortona.
Golden age
–
The Golden Age by
Lucas Cranach the Elder.
Golden age
–
Sculpture of
Pan teaching
Daphnis to play the pipes; c. 100 BCE Found in Pompeii.
31.
Tripura
–
Tripura /ˈtrɪpuːrɑː/ is a state in Northeast India. The third-smallest state in the country, it covers 10,491 km2 and is bordered by Bangladesh to the north, south, and west, in 2011 the state had 3,671,032 residents, constituting 0. 3% of the countrys population. The Bengali Hindu people form the majority in Tripura. Indigenous communities, known in India as scheduled tribes, form more than 30 per cent of Tripuras population, the Kokborok speaking Tripuri people are the major group among 19 tribes and many subtribes. The area of modern Tripura was ruled for centuries by the Tripuri dynasty. The independent Tripuri Kingdom joined the newly independent India in 1949, Tripura lies in a geographically disadvantageous location in India, as only one major highway, the National Highway 8, connects it with the rest of the country. Five mountain ranges—Boromura, Atharamura, Longtharai, Shakhan and Jampui Hills—run north to south, with intervening valleys, Agartala, the state has a tropical savanna climate, and receives seasonal heavy rains from the south west monsoon. Forests cover more than half of the area, in which bamboo, Tripura has the highest number of primate species found in any Indian state. Due to its isolation, economic progress in the state is hindered. Poverty and unemployment continue to plague Tripura, which has a limited infrastructure, most residents are involved in agriculture and allied activities, although the service sector is the largest contributor to the states gross domestic product. The sculptures at the archaeological sites Unakoti, Pilak and Devtamura provide historical evidence of fusion between organised and tribal religions. The Ujjayanta Palace in Agartala was the royal abode of the Tripuri king. Tripur was the 39th descendant of Druhyu, who belonged to the lineage of Yayati, one of the Puranas, the text about the exploits of Shiva, tells the story of the sack of Tripura. Variants of the name include Tripra, Tuipura and Tippera, although there is no evidence of lower or middle Paleolithic settlements in Tripura, Upper Paleolithic tools made of fossil wood have been found in the Haora and Khowai valleys. An ancient name of Tripura is Kirat Desh, probably referring to the Kirata Kingdoms or the generic term Kirata. However, it is whether the extent of modern Tripura is coterminous with Kirat Desh. The region was under the rule of the Twipra Kingdom for centuries, the boundaries of the kingdom changed over the centuries. At various times, the borders reached south to the jungles of the Sundarbans on the Bay of Bengal, east to Burma, the Mughals had influence over the appointment of the Tripuri kings
Tripura
–
King Bir Chandra Manikya with queen Manamohini
Tripura
–
Location of Tripura (marked in red) in
India
Tripura
–
Rice is grown on Tripura's
alluvial plains, which include lungas, the narrow valleys that are found mainly in the west of the state.
Tripura
–
Green imperial pigeon the state bird of Tripura
32.
Assam
–
Assam (English pronunciation, /əˈsæm/ listen is a state in northeastern India. Located south of the eastern Himalayas, Assam comprises the Brahmaputra Valley, Assam, along with Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, and Meghalaya, is one of the Seven Sister States. Geographically, Assam and these states are connected to the rest of India via a 22 kilometres strip of land in West Bengal called the Siliguri Corridor or Chickens Neck. Assam shares a border with Bhutan and Bangladesh, and its culture, people. Assam is known for Assam tea and Assam silk, the first oil well in Asia was drilled here. The state has conserved the one-horned Indian rhinoceros from near extinction, along with the water buffalo, pygmy hog, tiger. It provides one of the last wild habitats for the Asian elephant, the Assamese economy is aided by wildlife tourism, centred around Kaziranga National Park and Manas National Park which are World Heritage Sites. Sal tree forests are found in the state which, as a result of abundant rainfall, Assam receives more rainfall compared to most parts of India. This rain feeds the Brahmaputra River, whose tributaries and oxbow lakes provide the region with a hydro-geomorphic and aesthetic environment, the precise etymology of Assam came from Ahom Dynasty. In the classical period and up to the 12th century the region east of the Karatoya river, largely congruent to present-day Assam, was called Kamarupa, in medieval times the Mughals used Asham and Kamrup, and during British colonialism, the English used Assam. Though many authors have associated the name with the 13th century Shan invaders the precise origin of the name is not clear. It was suggested by some that the Sanskrit word Asama was the root, which has been rejected by Kakati, among possible origins are Tai and Bodo. Assam and adjoining regions have evidences of settlements from all the periods of the Stone ages. The hills at the height of 1, 500–2,000 feet were popular habitats probably due to availability of exposed dolerite basalt, useful for tool-making. According to a text, Kalika Purana, the earliest ruler of Assam was Mahiranga Danav of the Danava dynasty. The last of these rulers, also Naraka, was slain by Krishna, narakas son Bhagadatta became the king, who fought for the Kauravas in the battle of Kurukshetra with an army of kiratas, chinas and dwellers of the eastern coast. Samudraguptas 4th century Allahabad pillar inscription mentions Kamarupa and Davaka as frontier kingdoms of the Gupta Empire, ruled by three dynasties Varmanas, Mlechchha dynasty and Kamarupa-Palas, from their capitals in present-day Guwahati, Tezpur and North Gauhati respectively. All three dynasties claimed their descent from Narakasura, an immigrant from Aryavarta, in the reign of the Varman king, Bhaskar Varman, the Chinese traveller Xuanzang visited the region and recorded his travels
Assam
–
Montage of Assam Clockwise from top left: academic complex of
IIT Guwahati,
Ahom Raja's Palace (
Garhgaon),
Kamakhya temple (
Guwahati),
Rang Ghar pavilions (
Sivasagar),
Kolia Bhomora bridge over
Brahmaputra river (
Tezpur),
one horned rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) at
Kaziranga National Park, and
Sivadol (
Sivasagar).
Assam
–
The Kamrup Kingdom
Assam
–
Madan Kamdev ruins
Assam
–
Kareng ghar, the palace of the Ahom kings
33.
Portuguese settlement in Chittagong
–
Chittagong, the second largest city and main port of Bangladesh, was home to a thriving trading post of the Portuguese Empire in the 16th and 17th centuries. The Portuguese first arrived in Chittagong around 1528 and left in 1666 after the Mughal conquest and it was the first European colonial enclave in the historic region of Bengal. Chittagong was the largest seaport in the Sultanate of Bengal, which was termed as the Shahi Bangalah in Persian, the Portuguese referred to the port city as Porto Grande de Bengala, which meant the Grand Harbor of Bengal. The term was often simplified as Porto Grande, on 9 May 1512, a fleet of four ships commanded by João da Silveira from the Estado da India arrived in Chittagong from Goa. They were followed by several embassies from the Kingdom of Portugal to the Sultanate of Bengal and he set up the first Portuguese factory in Bengal at Chittagong in 1517. Traders from Portuguese Malacca, Bombay and Ceylon also frequented the region, some sources indicate that Joao Coelho had arrived in Chittagong before João da Silveira. Many Malaccan Portuguese had come to the Bengal before Silveira in Moorish ships as traders, moreover, some of the Portuguese settled in Pipli in 1514 and had visited Western Bengal. In 1528, the Sultan of Bengal permitted the Portuguese to establish factories, a fort and naval base was established in Firingi Bandar. The settlement grew into the most prominent Eurasian port on the Bay of Bengal during the Age of Discovery, the cartaz system was introduced and required all ships in the area to purchase naval trading licenses from the Portuguese. In 1590, the Portuguese conquered the islands of Sandwip under the leadership of António de Sousa Godinho. In 1602, the Sandwip island of Chittagong was conquered by the Portuguese from Kedar Rai of Sripur, Portuguese pirates, named Gonçalves and Carvalho, ruled the island of Sandwip for several years. Each year about 300 salt loaded ships sailed for Liverpool from Sandwip, Sandwip was very famous for its ship-building and salt industries at that time. In 1616, after the arrival of Delwar Khan, a high-ranking Mughal naval officer, the harbour of Chittagong became the most important port to the Portuguese because of its location, navigational facilities and safe anchorage. The port is close to the mouth of the Meghna which was the principal route to the Royal capital of Gouda. Evidently the Portuguese found Chittagong a congenial place to live, by the end of the sixteenth century, the Chittagong port had emerged as a thriving port, which attracted both unofficial Portuguese trade and settlement. According to a 1567 note of Caesar Federeci, every thirty or thirty five ships, great and small. In 1598 there lived about 2,500 Portuguese and Eurasians in Chittagong, the increased commercial presence included bureaucrats, merchants, missionaries, soldiers, adventurers, sailors and pirates. The enclave had a highly laissez-faire administration led by traders, major traded products included fine silk, cotton muslin textiles, bullion, spices, rice, timber, salt and gunpowder
Portuguese settlement in Chittagong
–
Early Portuguese map of Chittagong
Portuguese settlement in Chittagong
–
A painting indicating the battle between the Portuguese and the
Mughals in
Karnaphuli River in 1666.
34.
Sher Shah Suri
–
Sher Shah Suri was the founder of the Sur Empire in North India, with its capital at Delhi. An ethnic Pashtun, Sher Shah took control of the Mughal Empire in 1540, after his accidental death in 1545, his son Islam Shah became his successor. He first served as a private before rising to become a commander in the Mughal army under Babur, in 1537, when Baburs son Humayun was elsewhere on an expedition, Sher Shah overran the state of Bengal and established the Sur dynasty. A brilliant strategist, Sher Shah proved himself as an administrator as well as a capable general. His reorganization of the laid the foundations for the later Mughal emperors, notably Akbar. During his five-year rule from 1540 to 1545, he set up a new civic and military administration, issued the first Rupiya and re-organised the postal system of India. He further developed Humayuns Dina-panah city and named it Shergarh and revived the city of Pataliputra. He extended the Grand Trunk Road from Chittagong in the frontiers of the province of Bengal in northeast India to Kabul in Afghanistan in the far northwest of the country. Sher Shah Suri was born as Farid Khan in the present day place Sasaram in the state of Bihar in India and his surname Suri was taken from his Sur tribe. The name Sher was conferred upon him when, as a young man and his grand father Ibrahim Khan Suri was a land lord in Narnaul area and represented Delhi rulers of that period. Mazar of Ibrahim Khan Suri still stands as a monument in Narnaul, tarikh-i Khan Jahan Lodi. also confirm this fact. However, the online Encyclopædia Britannica states that he was born in Sasaram and he was one of about eight sons of Mian Hassan Khan Suri, a prominent figure in the government of Bahlul Khan Lodi in Narnaul Pargana. Sher Khan belonged to the Pashtun Sur tribe and his grandfather, Ibrahim Khan Suri, was a noble adventurer from Roh who was recruited much earlier by Sultan Bahlul Lodi of Delhi during his long contest with the Jaunpur Sultanate. It is a ridge, a spur of the Sulaimán Mountains, about six or seven kos in length, during his early age, Farid was given a village in Fargana, Delhi by Omar Khan Sarwani, the counselor and courtier of Bahlul Khan Lodi. Farid Khan and his father, a jagirdar of Sasaram in Bihar, jamal Khan had advised Farid to return home but he refused. Farid replied in a letter, If my father wants me back to me in learning, there are in this city many learned men. Farid Khan started his service under Bahar Khan Lohani, the Mughal Governor of Bihar, because of his valour, Bahar Khan rewarded him the title Sher Khan. After the death of Bahar Khan, Sher Khan became the regent ruler of the minor Sultan, later sensing the growth of Sher Shahs power in Bihar, Jalal sought the assistance of Ghiyasuddin Mahmud Shah, the independent Sultan of Bengal
Sher Shah Suri
–
Sketch work of Sher Shah Suri by Afghan artist
Abdul Ghafoor Breshna
Sher Shah Suri
–
Rupiya released by Sher Shah Suri, 1540–1545 CE, was the first
Rupee
Sher Shah Suri
–
Sher Shah Suri Tomb at
Sasaram
Sher Shah Suri
–
An inspection of Sher Shah Suri's Great North Road
35.
Grand Trunk Road
–
The Grand Trunk Road is one of Asias oldest and longest major roads. For more than two millennia, it has linked South Asia with Central Asia and it runs from Chittagong, Bangladesh west to Howrah, West Bengal in India, then across Northern India through Delhi, passing from Amritsar. From there, the road continues towards Lahore and Peshawar in Pakistan, finally terminating in Kabul, the route spanning the Grand Trunk road existed during the reign of Chandragupta Maurya, extending from the mouth of the Ganges to the north-western frontier of the Empire. The predecessor of the road was rebuilt by Sher Shah Suri. The road was upgraded in the British period between 1833 and 1860. It coincides with current N1, N4 & N405, N507 and N6 in Bangladesh, NH12, NH27, NH19 and NH44 in India, NH5 in Pakistan, Takshashila was well connected by roads with other parts of the Maurya empire. The Mauryas had built a highway from Takshashila to Pataliputra, Chandragupta Maurya had a whole army of officials overseeing the maintenance of this road as told by the Greek diplomat Megasthenes who spent fifteen years at the Mauryan court. Author Rudyard Kipling described the road as such a river of life as nowhere else exists in the entire world He writes, and chumars, bankers and tinkers, barbers and bunnias, pilgrims -and potters - all the world going and coming. It is to me as a river from which I am withdrawn like a log after a flood, and truly the Grand Trunk Road is a wonderful spectacle. It runs straight, bearing without crowding Indias traffic for fifteen hundred miles - such a river of life as nowhere else exists in the world, mughals extended Grand Trunk Road westwards. At one time, it extended to Kabul in Afghanistan, crossing the Khyber Pass, the road was later improved by the British rulers of colonial India. It was extended to run from Calcutta to Peshawar, over the centuries, the road acted as one of the major trade routes in the region and facilitated both travel and postal communication. Since the era of Sher Shah, the road was dotted with caravansarais at regular intervals, Sher Shah made many roads for tax free trade. The Grand Trunk Road is still used for transportation in present-day India, farooque, Abdul Khair Muhammad, Roads and Communications in Mughal India. Weller, Anthony, Days and Nights on the Grand Trunk Road, considered one of Kiplings finest works, it is set mostly along the Grand Trunk Road. Free e-texts are available, for instance here, historical routes of north west Indian Subcontinent, Lahore to Delhi, 1550s-1850s A. D. Sagar Publications. In Islam, Sirajul, Jamal, Ahmed A. Banglapedia, National Highway Authority of India National Highway Authority of Pakistan NPR, Along the Grand Trunk Road
Grand Trunk Road
–
A scene from the
Ambala cantonment during the
British Raj.
Grand Trunk Road
–
Grand Trunk Road
Grand Trunk Road
–
G T Road at Indo-Pak Border
Grand Trunk Road
–
GT Road near
Barhi,
Jharkhand,
India.
36.
Agra
–
Agra is a city on the banks of the river Yamuna in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is 378 kilometres west of the capital, Lucknow,206 kilometres south of the national capital New Delhi and 125 kilometres north of Gwalior. Agra is one of the most populous cities in Uttar Pradesh, Agra is a major tourist destination because of its many splendid Mughal-era buildings, most notably the Tāj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpūr Sikrī, all three of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Agra falls within the Braj cultural region, the city was first mentioned in the epic Mahābhārata, where it was called Agrevaṇa. Legend ascribes the founding of the city to Raja Badal Singh, however, the 11th century Persian poet Masūd Sad Salmān writes of a desperate assault on the fortress of Agra, then held by the Shāhī King Jayapala, by Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni. It was mentioned for the first time in 1080 AD when a Ghaznavide force captured it, Sultan Sikandar Lodī was the first to move his capital from Delhi to Agra in 1506. He governed the country from here and Agra assumed the importance of the second capital. He died in 1517 and his son, Ibrāhīm Lodī, remained in there for nine more years and several palaces, wells. Finally being defeated at the Battle of Panipat in 1526, between 1540 and 1556, Afghans, beginning with Sher Shah Suri ruled the area. It achieved fame as the capital of the Mughal Empire from 1556 to 1658, Agra features a semiarid climate that borders on a humid subtropical climate. The city features mild winters, hot and dry summers and a monsoon season, however the monsoons, though substantial in Agra, are not quite as heavy as the monsoon in other parts of India. This is a factor in Agra featuring a semiarid climate as opposed to a humid subtropical climate. As of 2011 India census, Agra city has a population of 1,585,704, the urban agglomeration of Agra has a population of 1,760,285. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%, Agra city has an average literacy rate of 73. 11%, lower than the national average of 74%. Literacy rate of males is considerably higher than that of women, the sex ratio in the city was 875 females per thousand males while child sex ratio stood at 857. Agra district literacy rate is 62. 56%, Agra is dominated by Yadavs and Jats. According to the 2011 census, Agra district has a population of 4,380,793 and this gives it a ranking of 41st in India. The district has a density of 1,084 inhabitants per square kilometre
Agra
–
Taj Mahal in Agra
Agra
–
The Red fort, Agra, c. 1820
Agra
–
Agra, Main Street, c.1858
Agra
–
Agra Cantt. Railway Station
37.
Babur
–
He was a direct descendant of Turco-Mongol conqueror Timur from the Barlas clan, through his father, and also a descendant of Genghis Khan through his mother. Babur was the eldest son of Umar Sheikh Mirza and he ascended the throne of Fergana in 1495 at the age of twelve and faced rebellion from his own relatives. He conquered Samarkand two years later, only to lose the city of Fergana soon after, in his attempt to reconquer Fergana, he lost control of Samarkand. In 1501, his attempt to both cities went in vain as he was defeated by Muhammad Shaybani Khan. In 1504, he conquered Kabul, which was under the rule of the infant heir of Ulugh Begh. Babur formed a partnership with Safavid ruler Ismail I and reconquered parts of central Asia, including Samarkand, only to lose it. After losing Samarkand for the time, Babur turned his attention to creating his empire in north India. In 1524, Daulat Khan Lodi, a rebel of the Lodhi dynasty, invited Babur to overthrow Ibrahim, Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodi at the First Battle of Panipat in 1526 and founded the Mughal empire. However, he faced opposition, this time from Rana Sanga of Mewar who considered Babur a foreigner. The Rana was defeated at the Battle of Khanwa, notable among his sons are Humayun, Kamran Mirza and Hindal Mirza. Babur died in 1530 and was succeeded by Humayun, according to Baburs wishes, he was buried in Bagh-e-Babur in Kabul, Afghanistan. Being a patrilineal descendant of Timur, Babur considered himself a Timurid and Turk and he is considered a national hero in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. Many of his poems also have become popular folk songs and he wrote his autobiography, Baburnama, in Chaghatai Turkic and this was translated into Persian during Akbars reign. Ẓahīr-ud-Dīn is Arabic for Defender of the Faith, and Muhammad honours the Islamic prophet, the name is generally taken in reference to the Persian babr, meaning tiger. The word repeatedly appears in Ferdowsis Shahnameh and was borrowed into the Turkic languages of Central Asia. The choice of vowel would nominally be restricted to one of the four front vowels, hence babr → babür, thackston argues for an alternate derivation from the PIE word beaver, pointing to similarities between the pronunciation Bābor and the Russian bobr. Babur bore the royal titles Badshah and al-ṣultānu l-ʿazam wa l-ḫāqān al-mukkarram pādshāh-e ġāzī and he and later Mughal emperors used the title of mirza when they were princes. Baburs memoirs form the source for details of his life
Babur
–
Babur portrait
Babur
–
17th century Portrait of Mughal Emperor Zahir ud-Din Mohammad (Babur)
Babur
–
Umar Sheikh Mirza – Father of Babur, c. 1875–1900
Babur
–
Babur was driven out of Transoxiana by Muhammad Shaybani Khan, another descendent of Genghis Khan.
38.
Persianate society
–
A Persianate society, or Persified society, is a society that is either based on, or strongly influenced by the Persian language, culture, literature, art, and/or identity. The term Persianate is a neologism credited to Marshall Hodgson, most of the more local languages of high culture that later emerged among Muslims. Depended upon Persian wholly or in part for their literary inspiration. We may call all these traditions, carried in Persian or reflecting Persian inspiration. Persianate is a cultural category, but it appears at times to be a religious category of a racial origin. It was a mixture of Persian and Islamic cultures that became the dominant culture of the ruling and elite classes of Greater Iran, Asia Minor. When the peoples of Greater Iran were invaded by Islamic forces in the 7th and 8th centuries, while the Islamic conquest led to the Arabization of language and culture in the former Byzantine territories, this did not happen in Persia. It was spread by poets, artists, architects, artisans, jurists, and scholars, Persianate culture involved modes of consciousness, ethos, and religious practices that have persisted in the Iranian world against hegemonic Arab Muslim cultural constructs. In a way, along with investing the notion of heteroglossia, Persianate culture embodies the Iranian past and ways in which this past blended with the Islamic present or became transmuted. The historical change was largely on the basis of a binary model and this duality is symbolically expressed in the Shiite tradition that Husayn ibn Ali, the third Shiite Imam, had married Shahrbanu, daughter of Yazdegerd III, the last Sassanid king of Iran. This genealogy makes the later imams, descended from Husayn and Shahrbanu, despite the Islamization of public affairs, the Iranians retained much of their pre-Islamic outlook and way of life, adjusted to fit the demands of Islam. Under the Abbasids, the capital shifted from Syria to Iraq, Persian culture, and the customs of the Persian Barmakid viziers, became the style of the ruling elite. Politically, the Abbasids soon started losing their control over Iranians, the governors of Khurasan, the Tahirids, though appointed by the caliph, were effectively independent. When the Persian Saffarids from Sistan freed the lands, the Buyyids, the Ziyarids and the Samanids in Western Iran, Mazandaran. Pahlavi was the lingua franca of the Sassanian Empire before the Arab invasion, but towards the end of the 7th, in the 9th century, a New Persian language emerged as the idiom of administration and literature. The Persian language, according to Marshall Hodgson in his The Venture of Islam, was to form the model for the rise of still other languages to the literary level. Like Turkish, most of the local languages of high culture that later emerged among Muslims depended upon Persian. One may call these traditions, carried in Persian or reflecting Persian inspiration and this seems to be the origin of the term Persianate
Persianate society
–
The Ottoman Süleymanname (The Book of
Suleyman) manuscript of Celebi, in Shirazi style with Persian Texts
Persianate society
–
Illustration from Jami's Rose Garden of the Pious, dated 1553. The image blends Persian poetry and
Persian miniature into one, as is the norm for many works of Persian literature.
Persianate society
–
Mihr 'Ali (Iranian, active ca. 1800-1830). Portrait of
Fath Ali Shah Qajar, 1815.
Brooklyn Museum
Persianate society
–
Prince Muhammad-Beik of
Georgia, 1620. Artist is
Reza Abbasi. Painting is located at Berlin's Museum Für Islamische Kunst.
39.
Sasanian Empire
–
The Sasanian Empire was founded by Ardashir I, after the fall of the Parthian Empire and the defeat of the last Arsacid king, Artabanus V. According to a legend, the vexilloid of the Sasanian Empire was the Derafsh Kaviani, in many ways, the Sasanian period witnessed the peak of ancient Iranian civilization. Persia influenced Roman culture considerably during the Sasanian period, the Sasanians cultural influence extended far beyond the empires territorial borders, reaching as far as Western Europe, Africa, China and India. It played a prominent role in the formation of both European and Asian medieval art, much of what later became known as Islamic culture in art, architecture, music and other subject matter was transferred from the Sasanians throughout the Muslim world. Conflicting accounts shroud the details of the fall of the Parthian Empire, the Sassanid Empire was established in Estakhr by Ardashir I. Papak was originally the ruler of a region called Khir, however, by the year 200, he managed to overthrow Gochihr, and appoint himself as the new ruler of the Bazrangids. His mother, Rodhagh, was the daughter of the governor of Pars. Papak and his eldest son Shapur managed to expand their power all of Pars. The subsequent events are unclear, due to the nature of the sources. It is certain, however, that following the death of Papak, Ardashir, sources reveal that Shapur, leaving for a meeting with his brother, was killed when the roof of a building collapsed on him. By the year 208, over the protests of his brothers who were put to death. Once Ardashir was appointed shahanshah, he moved his capital further to the south of Pars, the city, well supported by high mountains and easily defendable through narrow passes, became the center of Ardashirs efforts to gain more power. The city was surrounded by a high, circular wall, probably copied from that of Darabgird, in a second attempt to destroy Ardashir, Artabanus V himself met Ardashir in battle at Hormozgan, where Artabanus V met his death. Following the death of the Parthian ruler, Ardashir I went on to invade the provinces of the now defunct Parthian Empire. Ardashir was aided by the geography of the province of Fars, in the next few years, local rebellions would form around the empire. Nonetheless, Ardashir I further expanded his new empire to the east and northwest, conquering the provinces of Sistan, Gorgan, Khorasan, Margiana, Balkh and he also added Bahrain and Mosul to Sassanids possessions. In the west, assaults against Hatra, Armenia and Adiabene met with less success, in 230, he raided deep into Roman territory, and a Roman counter-offensive two years later ended inconclusively, although the Roman emperor, Alexander Severus, celebrated a triumph in Rome. Ardashir Is son Shapur I continued the expansion of the empire, conquering Bactria, invading Roman Mesopotamia, Shapur I captured Carrhae and Nisibis, but in 243 the Roman general Timesitheus defeated the Persians at Rhesaina and regained the lost territories
Sasanian Empire
–
Normal domains
Sasanian Empire
–
Derafsh Kaviani
Sasanian Empire
–
Ghal'eh Dokhtar (or "The Maiden's Castle") in present-day
Fars,
Firuzabad,
Iran, built by Ardashir in 209, before he was finally able to defeat the Parthian empire.
40.
Bureaucracy
–
Bureaucracy means both a body of non-elective government officials and an administrative policy-making group. Historically, a bureaucracy was a government administration managed by departments staffed with non-elected officials, today, bureaucracy is the administrative system governing any large institution. The public administration in many countries is an example of a bureaucracy, since being coined, the word bureaucracy has developed negative connotations. Bureaucracies have been criticized as being inefficient, convoluted, or too inflexible to individuals, the dehumanizing effects of excessive bureaucracy became a major theme in the work of German-language writer Franz Kafka and are central to his novels The Trial and The Castle. The elimination of bureaucracy is a key concept in modern managerial theory and has been an issue in some political campaigns. Others have noted the necessity of bureaucracies in modern life, the term bureaucracy is French in origin and combines the French word bureau – desk or office – with the Greek word κράτος kratos – rule or political power. It was coined in the century by the French economist Jacques Claude Marie Vincent de Gournay and was a satirical pejorative from the outset. Gournay never wrote the term down but was quoted at length in a letter from a contemporary. Here, too, the sense was pejorative, with Irish novelist Lady Morgan referring to the Bureaucratie, or office tyranny, by which Ireland has so long been governed. By the mid-19th century, the word was being used in a neutral sense. In this sense bureaucracy was seen as a form of management. In the1920s, the definition was expanded by the German sociologist Max Weber to include any system of administration conducted by trained professionals according to fixed rules, although the term bureaucracy was not coined until the mid 18th century, organized and consistent administrative systems are much older. Ancient Egypt also had a class of scribes that administered the civil service bureaucracy. The Roman Empire was administered by a hierarchy of regional proconsuls, the reforms of Diocletian doubled the number of administrative districts and led to a large-scale expansion in Roman bureaucracy. After the Empire split, the Byzantine Empire developed a complicated administrative hierarchy. In Ancient China, the Han dynasty established a complicated bureaucracy based on the teachings of Confucius, who emphasized the importance of ritual in family, relationships, with each subsequent Dynasty, the bureaucracy evolved. During the Song dynasty, the bureaucracy became meritocratic, following the Song reforms, competitive exams were held to determine who could hold which positions. The imperial examination system lasted until 1905, six years before the collapse of the Qing Dynasty, a modern form of bureaucracy evolved in the expanding Department of Excise in the United Kingdom, during the 18th century
Bureaucracy
–
Students competed in
imperial examinations to receive a position in the bureaucracy of
ancient China.
Bureaucracy
–
The 18th century
Department of Excise developed a sophisticated bureaucracy. Pictured, the
Custom House, London.
41.
State religion
–
A state religion is a religious body or creed officially endorsed by the state. A state with a religion, while not secular, is not necessarily a theocracy – a country whose rulers have in their hands both secular and spiritual authority. Official religions have been known throughout history in almost all types of cultures. They were adopted by most ancient states, both monoethnic and polyethnic, and observing them was a requirement made to all citizens, official religions justified and reinforced the type of government existing in a society. Sanctifying it as the most, or the only, correct one, they put forward and/or supported ideas of its expansion to other lands. Closely related to churches are what sociologists call ecclesiae, though the two are slightly different. The institution of state-sponsored religious cults is ancient, reaching into the Ancient Near East, the relation of religious cult and the state was discussed by Varro, under the term of theologia civilis. The first state-sponsored Christian church was the Armenian Apostolic Church, established in 301 AD, rulers of Saudi Arabia use both secular and religious power, while Irans secular presidents are supposed to follow the decisions of religious authorities since the revolution of 1979. The degree and nature of state backing for denomination or creed designated as a religion can vary. It can range from mere endorsement with freedom for other faiths to practice, to prohibiting any competing religious body from operating, in these cases, state religions are widely seen as efforts by the state to prevent alternate sources of authority. There is also a difference between a church and the broader term of state religion. A state church is a state created by a state for use exclusively by that state. In either case, the state religion has some influence over the ruling of the state. As of 2012, there are five state churches left. Disestablishment is the process of repealing a churchs status as an organ of the state, opponents of disestablishment of the Church of England were known as antidisestablishmentarians. Currently, the following religions have established as state religions in some countries. All are versions of Christianity, Islam or Buddhism, Liechtenstein, the constitution of Liechtenstein describes the Catholic Church as the state religion and enjoying the full protection of the State. The constitution does however ensure that people of other faiths shall be entitled to practise their creeds and to religious services to the extent consistent with morality
State religion
–
Roman Catholicism
42.
Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah
–
Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah was a 15th-century Sultan of Bengal and an important figure in medieval Bengali history. Born a Hindu to his aristocratic father Raja Ganesha, he assumed the throne of Bengal after a coup overthrew the Ilyas Shahi dynasty. He converted to Islam and ruled the Bengal Sultanate for 16 years, as a Muslim king, he brought Arakan under Bengali suzerainty and consolidated the kingdoms domestic administrative centres. He pursued relations with the Timurid Empire, Mamluk Egypt and Ming China, Bengal grew in wealth and population during his reign. He also combined Bengali and Islamic architecture, according to Goron and Goenka, Raja Ganesha seized control over Bengal soon after the death of Sultan Bayazid. Facing an imminent threat of invasion at the behest of a powerful Muslim holy man named Qutb al Alam, the saint agreed on the condition that Raja Ganeshas son Jadu would convert to Islam and rule in his place. Raja Ganesha agreed and Jadu started ruling Bengal as Jalal al-Din in 1415 AD, nur Qutb died in 1416 AD and Raja Ganesha was emboldened to depose his son and accede to the throne himself as Danujamarddana Deva. Jalaluddin was reconverted to Hinduism by the Golden Cow ritual, after the death of his father he once again converted to Islam and started ruling his second phase. Jalaluddin maintained a kingdom during his second phase. His authority stretched to eastern Bengal Moazzamabad and south-eastern Bengal and he also conquered Fathabad and the southern Bengal. During his reign Firuzabad Pandua became a populous and flourshing town and it is recorded in the Ming shi that a Chinese explorer, Cheng Ho, visited the city twice in 1421–22 and 1431–33. He later transferred the capital from Pandua to Gaur, the city of Gaur began to be re-populated during his reign. Jalaluddin himself constructed a number of buildings and sarais there and he maintained good rapport with Non-Muslims in his kingdom. According to an interpretation of a Sanskrit sloka by D. C, bhattacharya, Jalaluddin appointed Rajyadhar, a Hindu, as the commander of his army. He gained support of Muslim scholars – Ulama and the Shaikhs and he reconstructed and repaired the mosques and other religious architectures destroyed by Raja Ganesha. 17th century Persian historian, Firishta, applauded him by saying, His remark is corroborated by the evidence of the Smritiratnahara and the Padachandrika. According to the Padachandrika, a commentary on the Amarakosha in Sanskrit, Brihaspati Mishra, and Vishvasrai, son of Brihaspati Mishra, was also appointed a minister by the Sultan. But according to a 19th-century chronicle written by Francis Buchanan-Hamilton, Jalaluddin compelled many Hindus to convert to Islam and he also maintained good diplomatic relations
Jalaluddin Muhammad Shah
–
Silver tanka of Jalaluddin Muhammad, showing a lion on the obverse.
43.
Hindus
–
Hindu refers to any person who regards themselves as culturally, ethnically, or religiously adhering to aspects of Hinduism. It has historically used as a geographical, cultural, or religious identifier for people indigenous to South Asia. The historical meaning of the term Hindu has evolved with time, by the 16th century, the term began to refer to residents of India who were not Turks or Muslims. The historical development of Hindu self-identity within the Indian population, in a religious or cultural sense, is unclear, competing theories state that Hindu identity developed in the British colonial era, or that it developed post-8th century CE after the Islamic invasion and medieval Hindu-Muslim wars. A sense of Hindu identity and the term Hindu appears in texts dated between the 13th and 18th century in Sanskrit and regional languages. The 14th- and 18th-century Indian poets such as Vidyapati, Kabir and Eknath used the phrase Hindu dharma, the Christian friar Sebastiao Manrique used the term Hindu in religious context in 1649. In the 18th century, the European merchants and colonists began to refer to the followers of Indian religions collectively as Hindus, in contrast to Mohamedans for Mughals, scholars state that the custom of distinguishing between Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs is a modern phenomenon. Hindoo is a spelling variant, whose use today may be considered derogatory. At more than 1.03 billion, Hindus are the third largest group after Christians. The vast majority of Hindus, approximately 966 million, live in India, according to Indias 2011 census. After India, the next 9 countries with the largest Hindu populations are, in decreasing order, Nepal, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, United States, Malaysia, United Kingdom and Myanmar. These together accounted for 99% of the worlds Hindu population, the word Hindu is derived from the Indo-Aryan and Sanskrit word Sindhu, which means a large body of water, covering river, ocean. It was used as the name of the Indus river and also referred to its tributaries, the Punjab region, called Sapta Sindhava in the Vedas, is called Hapta Hindu in Zend Avesta. The 6th-century BCE inscription of Darius I mentions the province of Hidush, the people of India were referred to as Hinduvān and hindavī was used as the adjective for Indian in the 8th century text Chachnama. The term Hindu in these ancient records is an ethno-geographical term, the Arabic equivalent Al-Hind likewise referred to the country of India. Among the earliest known records of Hindu with connotations of religion may be in the 7th-century CE Chinese text Record of the Western Regions by the Buddhist scholar Xuanzang, Xuanzang uses the transliterated term In-tu whose connotation overflows in the religious according to Arvind Sharma. The Hindu community occurs as the amorphous Other of the Muslim community in the court chronicles, wilfred Cantwell Smith notes that Hindu retained its geographical reference initially, Indian, indigenous, local, virtually native. Slowly, the Indian groups themselves started using the term, differentiating themselves, the poet Vidyapatis poem Kirtilata contrasts the cultures of Hindus and Turks in a city and concludes The Hindus and the Turks live close together, Each makes fun of the others religion
Hindus
–
A Hindu wedding ritual in India.
Hindus
–
Hindu culture in Bali,
Indonesia. The Krishna-Arjuna sculpture inspired by the
Bhagavad Gita in
Denpasar (top), and Hindu dancers in traditional dress.
Hindus
Hindus
–
Hindus at
Har Ki Pauri,
Haridwar near river
Ganges in
Uttarakhand state of India.
44.
Religious pluralism
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Religious pluralism is an attitude or policy regarding the diversity of religious belief systems co-existing in society. As acceptance of the concept that two or more religions with mutually exclusive truth claims are equally valid and this may be considered a form of either toleration or moral relativism. The understanding that the claims of different religions turn out, upon closer examination. This is called Perennialism or Traditionalism, as a term for the condition of harmonious co-existence between adherents of different religions or religious denominations. As a social norm and not merely a synonym for religious diversity, Religious pluralism, to paraphrase the title of a recent academic work, goes beyond mere toleration. Nor did it make them equal and those tolerated could still be barred from civil offices, military positions, and university posts. In short, religious toleration is only the absence of religious persecution, however, in the following decades something extraordinary happened in the Thirteen Colonies, at least if one views the events from a late eighteenth-century perspective. Gradually the colonial governments expanded the policy of toleration. Religious pluralism can be defined as respecting the otherness of others, freedom of religion encompasses all religions acting within the law in a particular region. Some Protestant sects argue fiercely against Roman Catholicism, and fundamentalist Christians of all kinds teach that religious practices like those of paganism, giving one religion or denomination special rights that are denied to others can weaken religious pluralism. This situation was observed in Europe through the Lateran Treaty and Church of England, relativism, the belief that all religions are equal in their value and that none of the religions give access to absolute truth, is an extreme form of inclusivism. Syncretism must not be confused with ecumenism, the attempt to bring closer, cultural and religious pluralism has a long history and development that reaches from antiquity to contemporary trends in post-modernity. The Age of Enlightenment in Europe triggered a sweeping transformation about religion, segregation of state and religion, Baháulláh, founder of Baháí Faith, a religion that developed in Persia, though not a sect of Islam, urged the elimination of religious intolerance. He taught that God is one, and has manifested himself to humanity through several historic messengers, Baháulláh taught that Baháís must associate with peoples of all religions, showing the love of God in relations with them, whether this is reciprocated or not. In this view, Gods word is revealed through a series of messengers, Abraham, Krishna, Moses, Buddha, Jesus, Mohammed, in the Kitáb-i-Íqán, Baháulláh explains that messengers of God have a twofold station, one of divinity and one of an individual. According to Baháí writings, there not be another messenger for many hundreds of years. There is also a respect for the traditions of the native peoples of the planet who may have little other than oral traditions as a record of their religious figures. Rock Edict Nb7 Contact is good, One should listen to and respect the doctrines professed by others
Religious pluralism
–
Catholic church,
Mosque and
Serbian Orthodox Church in
Bosanska Krupa
Religious pluralism
–
Roadside sign in the
Nubra Valley, Ladkah, India
Religious pluralism
–
Temple of All Religions in
Kazan,
Russia
Religious pluralism
–
Congress of
Parliament of the World's Religions,
Chicago, 1893
45.
List of rivers in Bangladesh
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About 700 rivers including tributaries flow through the country constituting a waterway of total length around 24,140 kilometres. Most of the land is formed through silt brought by the rivers. Where it flows out of India, the Ganges main channel becomes the Padma River, similarly, below its confluence with the Teesta River, the main channel of the Brahmaputra River is known as the Jamuna River. There are quite a few rivers in the district of Bogra, taking the Karatoya as the central dividing water-channel of the district, the other rivers may be classified into the eastern and the Western systems. The course of all the rivers is, with such allowances as must be made for beds and windings, the eastern rivers are Monas, Charkadaha and Khamati besides a few other smaller ones. Through the khiar tracts in the parts of the district flow the Nagar. All the western rivers are the tributaries of the Atrai which itself flows into the Jamuna 19 kilometres north of the confluence of river with the Ganges at Goalunda. Evidences show that the rivers Karatoya and Nagar have changed their courses in the past, while the Jamuna, a very small river, Tarai used to occupy more or less the present location of the Jamuna. At that time the Brahmaputra used to flow to the east round the foot of the Garo Hills, the earliest evidence of the Brahmaputra river consists of a group of large Brahmaputra-size river scars which extend into the Sylhet basin flanking the southern edge of the Shillong plateau. The main river apparently extended east beyond this locality and then south into the Bay of Bengal. By the time of Rennells mapping, this course had been abandoned in favour of a route down what is still called the old Brahmaputra river past Mymensingh. By the early 1770s the major diversion of the Brahmaputra into its present channel, there is no complete agreement as to when this diversion down the Jenai river of Rennell occurred. Apparently by 1830 the diversion of low-river flow down the new channel was complete, all the rivers of the former Nadia district were offshoots of the Padma. But at one time when the Ganges found its way to the sea along the course of the Bhagirathi, Bhairab is said to be one of those streams. Later the Ganges drifted to the east and the Padma grew mighty, taking all the drainage of northern and they are connected by the old channel of the Brahmaputra running through the centre of the district in a south-easterly direction from above Bahadurabad up to Bhairab Bazar. Dhanu River Kangsha River Jinai River Brahmaputra River Pakhria River The district of Noakhali is not intersected by so many rivers as the other districts of Bangladesh. In sharp contrast with the mainland to its south, there is a network of khals in the islands, as one advances from the older formation of chars towards the newer ones, the number of khals gradually increases. The khals gradually silt up, but where diluvion goes on, new khals come into existence, but in fact, the river system is constituted by the Padma and the Jamuna with their interlacing offshoots and tributaries
List of rivers in Bangladesh
–
A map showing the major rivers in Bangladesh.
List of rivers in Bangladesh
–
River Padma in Rainy Season
List of rivers in Bangladesh
–
River Meghna from the bridge over the river
List of rivers in Bangladesh
–
Ganges and Brahmaputra
46.
Artillery
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Artillery is a class of large military weapons built to fire munitions far beyond the range and power of infantrys small arms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach fortifications, and led to heavy, as technology improved, lighter, more mobile field artillery developed for battlefield use. This development continues today, modern self-propelled artillery vehicles are highly mobile weapons of great versatility providing the largest share of an armys total firepower, in its earliest sense, the word artillery referred to any group of soldiers primarily armed with some form of manufactured weapon or armour. In common speech, the artillery is often used to refer to individual devices, along with their accessories and fittings. However, there is no generally recognised generic term for a gun, howitzer, mortar, and so forth, the United States uses artillery piece, the projectiles fired are typically either shot or shell. Shell is a widely used term for a projectile, which is a component of munitions. By association, artillery may also refer to the arm of service that customarily operates such engines, in the 20th Century technology based target acquisition devices, such as radar, and systems, such as sound ranging and flash spotting, emerged to acquire targets, primarily for artillery. These are usually operated by one or more of the artillery arms, Artillery originated for use against ground targets—against infantry, cavalry and other artillery. An early specialist development was coastal artillery for use against enemy ships, the early 20th Century saw the development of a new class of artillery for use against aircraft, anti-aircraft guns. Artillery is arguably the most lethal form of land-based armament currently employed, the majority of combat deaths in the Napoleonic Wars, World War I, and World War II were caused by artillery. In 1944, Joseph Stalin said in a speech that artillery was the God of War, although not called as such, machines performing the role recognizable as artillery have been employed in warfare since antiquity. The first references in the historical tradition begin at Syracuse in 399 BC. From the Middle Ages through most of the era, artillery pieces on land were moved by horse-drawn gun carriages. In the contemporary era, the artillery and crew rely on wheeled or tracked vehicles as transportation, Artillery used by naval forces has changed significantly also, with missiles replacing guns in surface warfare. The engineering designs of the means of delivery have likewise changed significantly over time, in some armies, the weapon of artillery is the projectile, not the equipment that fires it. The process of delivering fire onto the target is called gunnery, the actions involved in operating the piece are collectively called serving the gun by the detachment or gun crew, constituting either direct or indirect artillery fire. The term gunner is used in armed forces for the soldiers and sailors with the primary function of using artillery. The gunners and their guns are usually grouped in teams called either crews or detachments, several such crews and teams with other functions are combined into a unit of artillery, usually called a battery, although sometimes called a company
Artillery
–
French naval piece of the late 19th century
Artillery
–
French soldiers in the
Franco-Prussian War 1870–71.
Artillery
–
British 64 Pounder Rifled Muzzle-Loaded (RML) Gun on a Moncrieff disappearing mount, at Scaur Hill Fort,
Bermuda. This is a part of a fixed battery, meant to protect against over-land attack and to serve as coastal artillery.
Artillery
–
7-person gun crew firing a US
M777 Light Towed Howitzer,
War in Afghanistan, 2009.
47.
Cannon
–
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellants to launch a projectile, which may or may not be explosive. The word cannon is derived from languages, in which the original definition can usually be translated as tube, cane. The Greeks invented the first type—a steam cannon—designed by Archimedes during the Siege of Syracuse, ctesibius built a steam cannon in Alexandria and in the fifteenth century Leonardo da Vinci designed another, the Architonnerre, based on Archimedes work. The earliest form of artillery was developed in Song China, over time replacing siege engines. In the Middle East, the first use of the cannon is argued to be during the 1260 Battle of Ain Jalut between the Mamluk Sultanate and Mongol Empire. The first cannon in Europe were in use in the Iberian Peninsula by the mid-13th century and it was during this period, the Middle Ages, that cannon became standardised, and more effective in both the anti-infantry and siege roles. After the Middle Ages most large cannon were abandoned in favour of greater numbers of lighter, Cannon also transformed naval warfare in the early modern period, as European navies took advantage of their firepower. In World War I, the majority of fatalities were caused by artillery. Most modern cannon are similar to those used in the Second World War, Cannon was widely known as the earliest form of a gun and artillery, before early firearms were invented. The word has been used to refer to a gun since 1326 in Italy, both Cannons and Cannon are correct and in common usage, with one or the other having preference in different parts of the English-speaking world. Cannons is more common in North America and Australia, while cannon as plural is more common in the United Kingdom, Cannon in general have the form of a truncated cone with an internal cylindrical bore for holding an explosive charge and a projectile. The thickest, strongest, and closed part of the cone is located near the explosive charge, as any explosive charge will dissipate in all directions equally, the thickest portion of the cannon is useful for containing and directing this force. Field artillery cannon in Europe and the Americas were initially made most often of bronze, though later forms were constructed of cast iron and eventually steel. However, cast iron cannon have a tendency to burst without having any previous weakness or wear. The following terms refer to the components or aspects of a classical western cannon as illustrated here. In what follows, the words near, close, and behind will refer to those parts towards the thick, closed end of the piece, and far, front, in front of, and before to the thinner, open end. Bore, The hollow cylinder bored down the centre of the cannon, including the base of the bore or bottom of the bore, the diameter of the bore represents the cannons calibre. Chamber, The cylindrical, conical, or spherical recess at the nearest end of the bottom of the bore into which the gunpowder is packed
Cannon
Cannon
Cannon
–
An illustration of an "eruptor," a proto-cannon, from the 14th-century Ming Dynasty book
Huolongjing. The cannon was capable of firing proto-shells, cast-iron bombs filled with gunpowder.
Cannon
–
Earliest known representation of a firearm (a
fire lance) and a
grenade (upper right),
Dunhuang, 10th century
48.
Gun
–
A gun is a normally tubular weapon or other device designed to discharge projectiles or other material. The projectile may be solid, liquid, gas or energy and may be free, as bullets and artillery shells, or captive as with Taser probes. Alternatively, acceleration via electromagnetic field generation may be employed in case the tube may be dispensed with. The first devices identified as guns appeared in China around CE1000, by the 12th century the technology was spreading through the rest of Asia, and into Europe by the 13th century. The origin of the English word gun is considered to derive from the given to a particular historical weapon. Domina Gunilda was the given to a remarkably large ballista. This name in turn may have derived from the Old Norse womans proper name Gunnhildr which combines two Norse words referring to battle, in any case the term gonne or gunne was applied to early hand-held firearms by the late 14th or early 15th century. The first device identified as a gun, a tube that used gunpowder to fire a spear. The Chinese had previously invented gunpowder in the 9th century, the earliest depiction of a gunpowder weapon is the illustration of a fire-lance on a mid-10th century silk banner from Dunhuang. The Dean Shoucheng Lu, an account of the siege of Dean in 1132, in due course, the proportion of saltpeter in the propellant was increased to maximise its explosive power. To better withstand that explosive power, the paper and bamboo of which fire-lance barrels were originally made came to be replaced by metal, and to take full advantage of that power, the shrapnel came to be replaced by projectiles whose size and shape filled the barrel more closely. English Privy Wardrobe accounts list ribaldis, a type of cannon, in the 1340s, the earliest surviving firearm in Europe has been found from Otepää, Estonia and it dates to at least 1396. Around the late 14th century in Europe, smaller and portable hand-held cannons were developed, in the late 15th century the Ottoman empire used firearms as part of its regular infantry. The first successful rapid-fire firearm is the Gatling Gun, invented by Richard Gatling, the worlds first sub-machine gun able to be maneuvered by a single soldier is the MP18.1, invented by Theodor Bergmann. It was introduced into service in 1918 by the German Army during World War I as the weapon of the Stosstruppen. The first assault rifle was introduced during World War II by the Germans and it was the first firearm which bridges the gap between long range rifles, machine guns, and short range sub-machine guns. Since the mid-20th century guns that fire beams of energy rather than solid projectiles have been developed, most guns use compressed gas confined by the barrel to propel the bullet up to high speed, though devices operating in other ways are sometimes called guns. In firearms the high-pressure gas is generated by combustion, usually of gunpowder and this principle is similar to that of internal combustion engines, except that the bullet leaves the barrel, while the piston transfers its motion to other parts and returns down the cylinder
Gun
–
SIG Pro semi-automatic pistol
Gun
–
USS Iowa (BB-61) fires a full broadside during a target exercise near
Vieques Island, Puerto Rico, 1 July 1984.
Gun
–
Hand cannon from the Chinese
Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368)
Gun
–
Western European
handgun, 1380
49.
War elephants
–
A war elephant is an elephant that is trained and guided by humans for combat. The war elephants main use was to charge the enemy, breaking their ranks, elephantry are military units with elephant-mounted troops. They were first employed in India, the spreading out across south-east Asia. Their most famous use in the West was by the Greek King Pyrrhus of Epirus and in significant numbers by the armies of Carthage, in the Mediterranean, improved tactics reduced the value of the elephant in battle, while their availability in the wild also decreased. The first elephant species to be tamed was the Asian elephant, Elephant taming - not full domestication, as they are still captured in the wild, rather than being bred in captivity - may have begun in any of three different places. The oldest evidence comes from the Indus Valley Civilization, around roughly 4500 BC, archaeological evidence for the presence of wild elephants in the Yellow River valley during the Shang Dynasty of China may suggest that they also used elephants in warfare. There is uncertainty as to when elephant warfare first began, the later stories of the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, dating from around the 4th century BC, do however mention elephant warfare, suggesting its introduction during the intervening period. The first confrontation between Europeans and the Persian war elephants occurred at Alexanders Battle of Gaugamela, where the Persians deployed fifteen elephants, by the time Alexander reached the borders of India five years later, he had a substantial number of elephants under his own command. The elephants caused many losses with their tusks fitted with spikes or by lifting the enemies with their trunks. Arrian described the subsequent fight. whenever the beasts could wheel around, they rushed forth against the ranks of infantry and demolished the phalanx of the Macedonians, dense as it was. The panicked and wounded elephants turned on the Indians themselves, the mahouts were armed with poisoned rods to kill the beasts but were slain by javelins and archers. Looking further east again, however, Alexander could see that the kings of the Nanda Empire, such a force was many times larger than the number of elephants employed by the Persians and Greeks, which probably discouraged Alexanders army and effectively halted their advance into India. On his return, Alexander established a force of elephants to guard his palace at Babylon, the successful military use of elephants spread further. Later in its history, the Seleucid Empire used elephants in its efforts to crush the Maccabean Revolt in Judea. The first use of war elephants in Europe was made in 318 BC by Polyperchon, one of Alexanders generals and he used 60 elephants brought from Asia with their mahouts. A veteran of Alexanders army, named Damis, helped the besieged Megalopolitians to defend themselves against the elephants and those elephants were subsequently taken by Cassander and transported, partly by sea, to other battle-fields in Greece. It is assumed that Cassander constructed the first elephant-transport sea-vessels, some of the elephants died of starvation in 316 BC in the besieged city of Pydna. Others of Polyperchons elephants were used in parts of Greece by Cassander
War elephants
–
War elephants depicted in
Hannibal Barca crossing the
Rhône, by
Henri Motte. Made in 1878.
War elephants
–
A 17th century depiction of the mythological war of Lanka in the ancient Indian epic
Ramayana, showing war elephants.
War elephants
–
A Victorian depiction of war elephants attacking at the
Battle of the Hydaspes River.
War elephants
–
War elephants of the
Mughal Empire carry out an execution.
