Sea of Marmara
The Sea of Marmara known as the Sea of Marmora or the Marmara Sea, in the context of classical antiquity as the Propontis is the inland sea within the borders of Turkey, that connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea, thus separating Turkey's Asian and European parts. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Dardanelles strait to the Aegean Sea; the former separates Istanbul into its Asian and European sides. The Sea of Marmara is a small sea with an area of 11,350 km2, dimensions 280 km × 80 km, its greatest depth is 1,370 m. The sea takes its name from Marmara Island, rich in sources of marble, from the Greek μάρμαρον, "marble"; the sea's ancient Greek name Propontis derives from pro- and pontos, deriving from the fact that the Greeks sailed through it to reach the Black Sea, Pontos. In Greek mythology, a storm on Propontis brought the Argonauts back to an island they had left, precipitating a battle where either Jason or Heracles killed King Cyzicus, who mistook them for his Pelasgian enemies.
The surface salinity of the sea averages about 22 parts per thousand, greater than that of the Black Sea, but only about two-thirds that of most oceans. The water is much more saline at the sea bottom, averaging salinities of around 38 parts per thousand, similar to that of the Mediterranean Sea; this high-density saline water, like that of the Black Sea, does not migrate to the surface. Water from the Susurluk and Gonen Rivers reduces the salinity of the sea, though with less influence than on the Black Sea. With little land in Thrace draining southward all of these rivers flow from Anatolia; the sea contains the archipelago of the Prince Islands and Marmara Island, Avşa and Paşalimanı. The south coast of the sea is indented, includes the Gulf of İzmit, the Gulf of Gemlik, Gulf of Bandırma and the Gulf of Erdek. During a storm on December 29, 1999, the Russian oil tanker Volgoneft broke in two in the Sea of Marmara, more than 1,500 tonnes of oil were spilled into the water; the North Anatolian Fault, which has triggered many major earthquakes in recent years, such as the August and November 1999 earthquakes in Izmit and Düzce runs under the sea.
The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Sea of Marmara as follows: On the West. The Dardanelles limit of the Aegean Sea. On the Northeast. A line joining Cape Rumili with Cape Anatoli. Towns and cities on the Marmara Sea coast include: 1509 Constantinople earthquake 1999 İzmit earthquake Black Sea deluge hypothesis Kanal İstanbul Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Straits Turkish Straits Media related to Sea of Marmara at Wikimedia Commons Encyclopædia Britannica SCIENCE FOCUS – SeaWiFS, Sea of Marmara: Where Ancient Myth and Modern Science Mix
Treaty of Lausanne
The Treaty of Lausanne was a peace treaty signed in the Palais de Rumine, Switzerland, on 24 July 1923. It settled the conflict that had existed between the Ottoman Empire and the Allied French Republic, British Empire, Kingdom of Italy, Empire of Japan, Kingdom of Greece, the Kingdom of Romania since the onset of World War I; the original text of the treaty is in French. It was the result of a second attempt at peace after the failed Treaty of Sèvres, signed by all previous parties, except the Kingdom of Greece, but rejected by the Turkish national movement who fought against the previous terms and significant loss of territory; the Treaty of Lausanne defined the borders of the modern Turkish Republic. In the treaty, Turkey gave up all claims to the remainder of the Ottoman Empire and in return the Allies recognized Turkish sovereignty within its new borders; the treaty was ratified by Turkey on 23 August 1923, Greece on 25 August 1923, Italy on 12 March 1924, Japan on 15 May 1924, Great Britain on 16 July 1924.
The treaty came into force on 6 August 1924, when the instruments of ratification were deposited in Paris. After the withdrawal of the Greek forces in Asia Minor and the expulsion of the Ottoman sultan by the Turkish army under the command of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the Ankara-based Kemalist government of the Turkish national movement rejected the territorial losses imposed by the 1920 Treaty of Sèvres signed by the Ottoman Empire. Britain had sought to undermine Turkish influence in Mesopotamia and Kirkuk by seeking the division of Kurdish populated regions in Eastern Anatolia, but secular Kemalist rhetoric relieved some of the international concerns about the future of the Armenian community that had survived the 1915 Armenian genocide and support for Kurdish self determination declined. Under the Treaty of Lausanne, signed in 1923, Eastern Anatolia became part of modern day Turkey, in exchange for Turkey's relinquishing Ottoman-era claims to the oil-rich Arab lands. Negotiations were undertaken during the Conference of Lausanne, where İsmet İnönü was the chief negotiator for Turkey.
Lord Curzon, the British Foreign Secretary of that time, was the chief negotiator for the Allies, while Eleftherios Venizelos negotiated on behalf of Greece. The negotiations took many months. On 20 November 1922, the peace conference was opened and after strenuous debate was interrupted by Turkish protest on 4 February 1923. After reopening on 23 April, following more protests by the Turks and tense debates, the treaty was signed on 24 July as a result of eight months of arduous negotiation; the Allied delegation included U. S. Admiral Mark L. Bristol, who served as the United States High Commissioner and championed Turkish efforts; the treaty was composed of 143 articles with major sections including: The treaty provided for the independence of the Republic of Turkey but for the protection of the Greek Orthodox Christian minority in Turkey and the Muslim minority in Greece. However, most of the Christian population of Turkey and the Turkish population of Greece had been deported under the earlier Convention Concerning the Exchange of Greek and Turkish Populations signed by Greece and Turkey.
Only the Greeks of Constantinople and Tenedos were excluded, the Muslim population of Western Thrace Article 14 of the treaty granted the islands of Gökçeada and Bozcaada "special administrative organisation", a right, revoked by the Turkish government on 17 February 1926. Turkey formally accepted the loss of Cyprus as well as Egypt and Anglo-Egyptian Sudan to the British Empire, which had unilaterally annexed them on 5 November 1914; the fate of the province of Mosul was left to be determined through the League of Nations. Turkey explicitly renounced all claims on the Dodecanese Islands, which Italy was obliged to return to Turkey according to Article 2 of the Treaty of Ouchy in 1912 following the Italo-Turkish War; the treaty delimited the boundaries of Greece and Turkey. The territories to the south of Syria and Iraq on the Arabian Peninsula which still remained under Turkish control when the Armistice of Mudros was signed on 30 October 1918 were not explicitly identified in the text of the treaty.
However, the definition of Turkey's southern border in Article 3 meant that Turkey ceded them. These territories included Yemen and parts of Hejaz like the city of Medina, they were held by Turkish forces until 23 January 1919. Turkey ceded Adakale Island in River Danube to Romania with Articles 25 and 26 of the Treaty of Lausanne. Due to a diplomatic irregularity at the 1878 Congress of Berlin, the island had technically remained part of the Ottoman Empire. Turkey renounced its privileges in Libya which were defined by Article 10 of the Treaty of Ouchy in 1912 Among many agreements, there was a separate agreement with the United States: the Chester concession; the United States Senate refused to ratify the treaty, co
Dardanelles
The Dardanelles known from Classical Antiquity as the Hellespont, is a narrow, natural strait and internationally significant waterway in northwestern Turkey that forms part of the continental boundary between Europe and Asia, separates Asian Turkey from European Turkey. One of the world's narrowest straits used for international navigation, the Dardanelles connects the Sea of Marmara with the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas, while allowing passage to the Black Sea by extension via the Bosphorus; the Dardanelles is 61 kilometres long, 1.2 to 6 kilometres wide, averaging 55 metres deep with a maximum depth of 103 metres at its narrowest point abreast the city of Çanakkale. Most of the northern shores of the strait along the Gallipoli Peninsula are sparsely settled, while the southern shores along the Troad Peninsula are inhabited by the city of Çanakkale's urban population of 110,000. Together with the Bosphorus, the Dardanelles forms the Turkish Straits; the contemporary Turkish name Çanakkale Boğazı, meaning "Çanakkale Strait", is derived from the eponymous midsize city that adjoins the strait, itself meaning "Pottery Fort"—from Çanak + Kale —in reference to the area's famous pottery and ceramic wares, the landmark Ottoman fortress of Sultaniye.
The English name Dardanelles is an abbreviation of Strait of the Dardanelles. During Ottoman times there was a castle on each side of the strait; these castles together were called the Dardanelles named after Dardanus, an ancient city on the Asian shore of the strait which in turn was said to take its name from Dardanus, the mythical son of Zeus and Electra. The ancient Greek name Ἑλλήσποντος means "Sea of Helle", was the ancient name of the narrow strait, it was variously named in classical literature Hellespontium Pelagus, Rectum Hellesponticum, Fretum Hellesponticum. It was so called from Helle, the daughter of Athamas, drowned here in the mythology of the Golden Fleece; as a maritime waterway, the Dardanelles connects various seas along the Eastern Mediterranean, the Balkans, the Near East, Western Eurasia, connects the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. The Marmara further connects to the Black Sea via the Bosphorus, while the Aegean further links to the Mediterranean. Thus, the Dardanelles allows maritime connections from the Black Sea all the way to the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean via Gibraltar, the Indian Ocean through the Suez Canal, making it a crucial international waterway, in particular for the passage of goods coming in from Russia.
The strait is located at 40°13′N 26°26′E. The strait is 61 kilometres long, 1.2 to 6 kilometres wide, averaging 55 metres deep with a maximum depth of 103 metres at its narrowest point at Nara Burnu, abreast Çanakkale. There are two major currents through the strait: a surface current flows from the Black Sea towards the Aegean Sea, a more saline undercurrent flows in the opposite direction; the Dardanelles is unique in many respects. The narrow and winding shape of the strait is more akin to that of a river, it is considered one of the most hazardous, crowded and dangerous waterways in the world. The currents produced by the tidal action in the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara are such that ships under sail must await at anchorage for the right conditions before entering the Dardanelles; as part of the only passage between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, the Dardanelles has always been of great importance from a commercial and military point of view, remains strategically important today.
It is a major sea access route including Russia and Ukraine. Control over it has been an objective of a number of hostilities in modern history, notably the attack of the Allied Powers on the Dardanelles during the 1915 Battle of Gallipoli in the course of World War I; the ancient city of Troy was located near the western entrance of the strait, the strait's Asiatic shore was the focus of the Trojan War. Troy was able to control the marine traffic entering this vital waterway; the Persian army of Xerxes I of Persia and the Macedonian army of Alexander the Great crossed the Dardanelles in opposite directions to invade each other's lands, in 480 BC and 334 BC respectively. Herodotus says that, circa 482 BC, Xerxes I had two pontoon bridges built across the width of the Hellespont at Abydos, in order that his huge army could cross from Persia into Greece; this crossing was named by Aeschylus in his tragedy The Persians as the cause of divine intervention against Xerxes. According to Herodotus, both bridges were destroyed by a storm and Xerxes had those responsible for building the bridges beheaded and the strait itself whipped.
The Histories of Herodotus vii.33–37 and vii.54–58 give details of building and crossing of Xerxes' Pontoon Bridges. Xerxes is said to have thrown fetters into the strait, given it three hundred lashes and branded it with red-hot irons as the soldiers shouted at the water. Herodotus commented that this was a "highly presumptuous way to address the Hellespont" but in no way atypical of Xerxes. Harpalus the engineer helped the invading armies to cross by lashing the ships together with their bows facing the current and, so it is said, two additional anchors. From the perspective of ancient Greek mythology, it was said that Helle, the daughter of Athamas, was drowned at the Dardanelles in the legend of the Golden Fleece; the strait was the scene of the legend of Hero and Leande
Gallipoli
The Gallipoli peninsula is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles strait to the east. Gallipoli is the Italian form of the Greek name "Καλλίπολις", meaning "Beautiful City", the original name of the modern town of Gelibolu. In antiquity, the peninsula was known as the Thracian Chersonese; the peninsula runs in a south-westerly direction into the Aegean Sea, between the Dardanelles, the Gulf of Saros. In antiquity, it was protected by the Long Wall, a defensive structure built across the narrowest part of the peninsula near the ancient city of Agora; the isthmus traversed by the wall was only 36 stadia in breadth, but the length of the peninsula from this wall to its southern extremity, Cape Mastusia, was 420 stadia. In ancient times, the Gallipoli Peninsula was known as the Thracian Chersonesus to the Greeks and the Romans, it was the location of several prominent towns, including Cardia, Callipolis, Sestos and Elaeus.
The peninsula was renowned for its wheat. It benefited from its strategic importance on the main route between Europe and Asia, as well as from its control of the shipping route from Crimea; the city of Sestos was the main crossing-point on the Hellespont. According to Herodotus, the Thracian tribe of Dolonci held possession of Chersonesus before the Greek colonization. Settlers from Ancient Greece of Ionian and Aeolian stock, founded about 12 cities on the peninsula in the 7th century BC; the Athenian statesman Miltiades the Elder founded a major Athenian colony there around 560 BC. He took authority over the entire peninsula, building up its defences against incursions from the mainland, it passed to his nephew, the more famous Miltiades the Younger, around 524 BC. The peninsula was abandoned to the Persians in 493 BC after the outbreak of the Greco-Persian Wars; the Persians were expelled, after which the peninsula was for a time ruled over by Athens, which enrolled it into the Delian League in 478 BC.
The Athenians established a number of cleruchies on the Thracian Chersonese and sent an additional 1,000 settlers around 448 BC. Sparta gained control after the decisive battle of Aegospotami in 404 BC, but the peninsula subsequently reverted to the Athenians. In the 4th century BC, the Thracian Chersonese became the focus of a bitter territorial dispute between Athens and Macedon, whose king Philip II sought possession, it was ceded to Philip in 338 BC. After the death of Philip's son Alexander the Great in 323 BC, the Thracian Chersonese became the object of contention among Alexander's successors. Lysimachus established his capital Lysimachia here. In 278 BC, Celtic tribes from Galatia in Asia Minor settled in the area. In 196 BC, the Seleucid king Antiochus III seized the peninsula; this alarmed the Greeks and prompted them to seek the aid of the Romans, who conquered the Thracian Chersonese, which they gave to their ally Eumenes II of Pergamon in 188 BC. At the extinction of the Attalid dynasty in 133 BC it passed again to the Romans, who from 129 BC administered it in the Roman province of Asia.
It was subsequently made a state-owned territory and during the reign of the emperor Augustus it was imperial property. The Thracian Chersonese was part of the Eastern Roman Empire from its foundation in 330 AD. In 443 AD, Attila the Hun invaded the Gallipoli Peninsula during one of the last stages of his grand campaign that year, he captured both Callipolis and Sestus. Aside from a brief period from 1204 to 1235, when it was controlled by the Republic of Venice, the Byzantine Empire ruled the territory until 1356. During the night between 1 and 2 March 1354, a strong earthquake destroyed the city of Gallipoli and its city walls, weakening its defenses. After the devastating 1354 earthquake, the town of Gallipoli was besieged and captured by the Ottomans, making Gallipoli the first Ottoman stronghold in Europe, the staging area for their expansion across the Balkans, it was recaptured for Byzantium by the Savoyard Crusade in 1366, but the beleaguered Byzantines were forced to hand it back in September 1376.
The Greeks living there were allowed to continue their everyday life. In the 19th century, Gallipoli was a district in the Vilayet of Adrianople, with about thirty thousand inhabitants: comprising Greeks, Turks and Jews. Gallipoli became a major encampment for British and French forces in 1854 during the Crimean War, the harbour was a stopping-off point on the way to Istanbul British and French engineers constructed, in March 1854, an 11.5 km line of defence to protect the peninsula from a possible Russian attack and so keep control of the route to the Mediterranean Sea. Gallipoli did not experience any more wars until the First Balkan War, when the 1913 Battle of Bulair and several minor skirmishes took place here. A dispatch on 7 July 1913 reported that Ottoman troops treated Gallipoli's Greeks ‘with marked depravity’ as they ‘destroyed and burned all the Greek villages near Gallipoli’. Many villages were sacked and destroyed and some Greeks killed; the cause of this savagery of the Turks was their fear that if Thrace was declared autonomous the Greek population may be found numerically superior to the Muslims.
The Turkish Government, under p
Southeast Europe
Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe is a geographical region of Europe, consisting of the coterminous Balkan Peninsula. There are overlapping and conflicting definitions as to where Southeastern Europe begins or ends or how it relates to other regions of the continent. Sovereign states that are most included in the region are, in alphabetical order: Albania and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Romania and Slovenia; these boundaries can vary and are disputed, due to political, historical and geographical considerations and point of view of the observer. The first known use of the term "Southeast Europe" was by Austrian researcher Johann Georg von Hahn as a broader term than the traditional "Balkans"; this concept is based on the boundaries of the Balkan peninsula. The countries that have been described as being within the region are: Albania, Kosovo and Herzegovina, Bulgaria and North Macedonia. Countries that are geographically, at least described to be within the region are as follows: The Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe included Albania and Herzegovina, Croatia, Moldova, North Macedonia and Serbia as member partners.
The South-East European Cooperation Process includes Albania and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey as member partners. The Southeast European Cooperative Initiative includes Albania and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey as member partners; the EU-co-funded South East Europe Transnational Cooperation Programme includes the whole territory of Albania, Austria and Herzegovina, Croatia, Hungary, North Macedonia, Moldova, Serbia, Slovakia and parts of Italy and Ukraine as part of the "programme area". Studies of the World Bank treat Albania and Herzegovina, Croatia, North Macedonia and Serbia as the eight South Eastern European countries. A 2006 publication of the World Health Organization and Council of Europe Development Bank listed Albania and Herzegovina, Croatia, North Macedonia, Moldova and Serbia and Montenegro as'south-eastern European countries'; the World Bank does not include the EU countries in its reports, lists only Albania and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia.
CIA's The World Factbook lists Albania and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania and Turkey, but not Greece and Moldova, as geographically part of Southeastern Europe. UNHCR's Regional Office in South Eastern Europe lists Albania and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Montenegro as part of'South Eastern Europe'. Eurovoc Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Percentages agreement Regional Cooperation Council South East Europe Media Organisation Southeast European Times Paul L. Horecky, Southeastern Europe: A guide to basic publications, Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1969. Jelavich, Barbara. History of the Balkans: Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries. 1. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521274586. Jelavich, Barbara. History of the Balkans: Twentieth Century. 2. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521274593. Ekavi Athanassaopolou. Organized Crime in Southeast Europe. Routledge. Pp. 6–. ISBN 978-1-317-99945-4. Media related to Southeastern Europe at Wikimedia Commons
Aeneas
In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas was a Trojan hero, the son of the prince Anchises and the goddess Aphrodite. His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy, making Aeneas a second cousin to Priam's children, he is mentioned in Homer's Iliad. Aeneas receives full treatment in Roman mythology, most extensively in Virgil's Aeneid, where he is cast as an ancestor of Romulus and Remus, he became the first true hero of Rome. Snorri Sturluson identifies him with the Norse Æsir Vidarr. Aeneas is the Latin spelling of Greek Αἰνείας. In the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite, Aeneas is first introduced with Aphrodite naming him Αἰνείας for the αὶνóν ἄχος he caused her, where Aineías derives from the adjective αὶνóν, it is a popular etymology for the name exploited by Homer in the Iliad. In the Medieval period there were writers who held that, because the Aeneid was written by a philosopher it is meant to be read philosophically; as such, in the "natural order", the meaning of Aeneas' name combines Greek ennos and demas, which becomes ennaios, meaning "in-dweller".
However, there is no certainty regarding the origin of his name. In imitation of the Iliad, Virgil borrows epithets of Homer. Though he borrows many, Virgil pius; the epithets applied by Virgil are an example of an attitude different from that of Homer, for whilst Odysseus is poikilios, Aeneas is described as pius, which conveys a strong moral tone. The purpose of these epithets seems to enforce the notion of Aeneas' divine hand as father and founder of the Roman race, their use seem circumstantial: when Aeneas is praying he refers to himself as pius, is referred to as such by the author only when the character is acting on behalf of the gods to fulfill his divine mission. Aeneas is called pater when acting in the interest of his men; the story of the birth of Aeneas is told in one of the major Homeric Hymns. Aphrodite has caused Zeus to fall in love with mortal women. In retaliation, Zeus puts desire in her heart for Anchises, tending his cattle among the hills near Mount Ida; when Aphrodite sees him she is smitten.
She appears before him. He is overcome by her beauty, believing that she is a goddess, but Aphrodite identifies herself as a Phrygian princess. After they make love, Aphrodite reveals her true identity to him and Anchises fears what might happen to him as a result of their liaison. Aphrodite assures him that he will be protected, tells him that she will bear him a son to be called Aeneas. However, she warns him; when Aeneas is born, Aphrodite takes him to the nymphs of Mount Ida. She directs them to raise the child to age five take him to Anchises. According to other sources, Anchises brags about his encounter with Aphrodite, as a result is struck in the foot with a thunderbolt by Zeus. Thereafter he is lame in that foot. Aeneas is a minor character in the Iliad, where he is twice saved from death by the gods as if for an as-yet-unknown destiny, but is an honorable warrior in his own right. Having held back from the fighting, aggrieved with Priam because in spite of his brave deeds he was not given his due share of honour, he leads an attack against Idomeneus to recover the body of his brother-in-law Alcathous at the urging of Deiphobus.
He is the leader of the Trojans' Dardanian allies, as well as a second cousin and principal lieutenant of Hector, son of the Trojan king Priam. Aeneas's mother Aphrodite comes to his aid on the battlefield, he is a favorite of Apollo. Aphrodite and Apollo rescue Aeneas from combat with Diomedes of Argos, who nearly kills him, carry him away to Pergamos for healing. Poseidon, who favors the Greeks, comes to Aeneas's rescue after he falls under the assault of Achilles, noting that Aeneas, though from a junior branch of the royal family, is destined to become king of the Trojan people. Bruce Louden presents Aeneas as a "type" in the tradition of Utnapishtim and Philemon, Lot. Apollodorus explains that "...the Greeks let him alone on account of his piety". The Roman mythographer Gaius Julius Hyginus in his Fabulae credits Aeneas with killing 28 enemies in the Trojan War. Aeneas appears in the Trojan narratives attributed to Dares Phrygius and Dictys of Crete The history of Aeneas was continued by Roman authors.
One influential source was the account of Rome's founding in Cato the Elder's Origines. The Aeneas legend was well known in Virgil's day and appeared in various historical works, including the Roman Antiquities of the Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Ab Urbe Condita by Livy, Gnaeus Pompeius Trogus; the Aeneid explains that Aeneas is one of the few Trojans who were not killed or enslaved when Troy fell. Aeneas, after being commanded by the gods to flee, gathered a group, collectively known as the Aeneads, who traveled to Italy and became progenitors of Romans; the Aeneads included Aeneas's trumpeter Misenus, his father Anchises, his friends Achates and Acmon, the healer Iapyx, the helmsman Pal
High-speed rail
High-speed rail is a type of rail transport that operates faster than traditional rail traffic, using an integrated system of specialized rolling stock and dedicated tracks. While there is no single standard that applies worldwide, new lines in excess of 250 kilometres per hour and existing lines in excess of 200 kilometres per hour are considered to be high-speed, with some extending the definition to include lower speeds in areas for which these speeds still represent significant improvements; the Tōkaidō Shinkansen, the first such system, began operations in Japan in 1964 and was known as the bullet train. High-speed trains operate on standard gauge tracks of continuously welded rail on grade-separated right-of-way that incorporates a large turning radius in its design. Many countries have developed high-speed rail to connect major cities, including Austria, China, France, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Uzbekistan. Only in Europe does HSR cross international borders.
China had 29,000 kilometres of HSR as of December 2018, accounting for two-thirds of the world's total. Multiple definitions for high-speed rail are in use worldwide; the European Union Directive 96/48/EC, Annex 1 defines high-speed rail in terms of: Infrastructure: track built specially for high-speed travel or specially upgraded for high-speed travel. Minimum Speed Limit: Minimum speed of 250 km/h on lines specially built for high speed and of about 200 km/h on existing lines which have been specially upgraded; this must apply to at least one section of the line. Rolling stock must be able to reach a speed of at least 200 km/h to be considered high speed. Operating conditions: Rolling stock must be designed alongside its infrastructure for complete compatibility and quality of service; the International Union of Railways identifies three categories of high-speed rail: Category I – New tracks specially constructed for high speeds, allowing a maximum running speed of at least 250 km/h. Category II – Existing tracks specially upgraded for high speeds, allowing a maximum running speed of at least 200 km/h.
Category III – Existing tracks specially upgraded for high speeds, allowing a maximum running speed of at least 200 km/h, but with some sections having a lower allowable speed. A third definition of high-speed and high-speed rail requires simultaneous fulfilment of the following two conditions: Maximum achievable running speed in excess of 200 km/h, or 250 km/h for high-speed, Average running speed across the corridor in excess of 150 km/h, or 200 km/h for high-speed; the UIC prefers to use "definitions" because they consider that there is no single standard definition of high-speed rail, nor standard usage of the terms. They make use of the European EC Directive 96/48, stating that high speed is a combination of all the elements which constitute the system: infrastructure, rolling stock and operating conditions; the International Union of Railways states that high-speed rail is a set of unique features, not a train travelling above a particular speed. Many conventionally hauled trains are able to reach 200 km/h in commercial service but are not considered to be high-speed trains.
These include the French SNCF Intercités and German DB IC. The criterion of 200 kilometres per hour is selected for several reasons. Standard signaling equipment is limited to speeds below 200 km/h with the traditional limits of 79 mph in the US, 160 km/h in Germany and 125 mph in Britain. Above those speeds positive train control or the European Train Control System becomes necessary or mandatory. National domestic standards may vary from the international ones. Only one HSR line has been permanently closed after being put into commercial service, the KTX Incheon International Airport to Seoul Line, due to a mix of issues, including poor ridership and track sharing. Railways were the first form of rapid land transportation and had an effective monopoly on long distance passenger traffic until the development of the motor car and airliners in the early-mid 20th century. Speed had always been an important factor for railroads and they tried to achieve higher speeds and decrease journey times. Rail transportation in the late 19th Century was not much slower than non-high-speed trains today and many railroads operated fast express trains which averaged speeds of around 100 km/h.
High-speed rail development began in Germany in 1899 when the Prussian state railway joined with ten electrical and engineering firms and electrified 72 km of military owned railway between Marienfelde and Zossen. The line used three-phase current at 45 Hz; the Van der Zypen & Charlier company of Deutz, Cologne built two railcars, one fitted with electrical equipment from Siemens-Halske, the second with equipment from Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft, that were tested on the Marienfelde–Zossen line during 1902 and 1903. On 23 October 1903, the S&H-equipped railcar achieved a speed of 206.7 km/h and on 27 October the AEG-equipped railcar achieved 210.2 km
