1.
Glossary of vexillology
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Flag terminology is the nomenclature, or system of terms, used in vexillology, the study of flags, to describe precisely the parts, patterns, and other attributes of flags and their display. Badge A coat of arms or simple heraldic symbol, canton Any quarter of a flag, but commonly means the upper hoist quarter, such as the field of stars in the flag of the United States or the Union Jack in the Australian Flag. Charge A figure or symbol appearing in the field of a flag, emblem A device often used as a charge on a flag. It may be heraldic in origin or modern, for example the maple leaf on the Canadian Flag, field The background of a flag, the color behind the charges. Fimbriation A narrow edging or border, often in white or gold, for example the white and gold lines of the South African Flag. Fly The half or edge of a flag farthest away from the flagpole and this term also sometimes refers to the horizontal length of a flag. Hoist The half or edge of a flag nearest to the flagpole and this term also sometimes refers to the vertical width of a flag. Length The span of a flag along the side at right angles to the flagpole, width The span of a flag down the side parallel to the flagpole. Flags often inherit traits seen in traditional European heraldry designs and as a result patterns often share names, banderole or bannerol A small flag or streamer carried on the lance of a knight, or a long narrow flag flying from the mast-head of a ship. Banner Generically, a synonym for a flag of any kind, in heraldry, a flag whose design is the same as the shield in a coat of arms, but usually in a square or rectangular shape, also known as a banner of arms. Burgee A distinguishing flag of a recreational boating organisation, Civil ensign, merchant flag or merchant ensign A version of the national flag flown by civil ships to denote nationality. Civil flag A version of the flag flown by civilians on non-government installations or craft. Colour or color The flag of a military unit, courtesy flag or courtesy ensign A flag flown by a visiting ship in foreign waters as a token of respect. Ensign The flag of a ship or military unit, may also be used generically as a synonym for a flag of any kind. Fanion A small flag used by the French military, gonfalon, gonfanon or gonfalone A type of heraldic flag suspended from a crossbar. Guidon A small flag borne by a military unit, in Scots heraldry, a smaller version of the Standard. Pennon or pennant A flag larger at the hoist than at the fly, pipe banner A decorative flag for the Scottish Highland bagpipes. Prayer flag A type of flag found strung along mountain ridges and peaks in the Himalayas, rank flag or distinguishing flag The flag flown by a superior naval officer on his flagship or headquarters
2.
National flag
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A national flag is a flag that symbolizes a country. The flag is flown by the government, but usually can also be flown by citizens of the country, historically, flags originate as military standards, used as field signs. The practice of flying flags indicating the country of origin outside of the context of warfare became common with the flag, introduced during the age of sail. Most countries of Europe adopted a flag in the course of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The specifications of the flag of Denmark were codified in 1748, the flag of Switzerland was introduced in 1889, also based on medieval war flags. The Netherlands introduced two national flags in 1813, the Ottoman flag was adopted in 1844. Other non-European powers followed the trend in the late 19th century, the flag of Japan being introduced in 1870, the Flag of the United States is not defined in the constitution but rather in a separate Flag Resolution passed in 1777. Minor design changes of national flags are passed on a legislative or executive level. A change in national flag is due to a change of regime. In such cases, the origins of the national flag. In such cases national flags acquire the status of a political symbol, the flag of Germany, for instance, was a tricolour of black-white-red under the German Empire, inherited from the North German Confederation. The Weimar Republic that followed adopted a black-red-gold tricolour, nazi Germany went back to black-white-red in 1933, and black-red-gold was reinstituted by the two successor states, West Germany and East Germany following World War II. Similarly the flag of Libya introduced with the creation of the Kingdom of Libya in 1951 was abandoned in 1969 with the coup led by Muammar Gaddafi. It was used again by National Transitional Council and by anti-Gaddafi forces during the Libyan Civil War in 2011 and officially adopted by the Libyan interim Constitutional Declaration. There are three types of national flag for use on land, and three for use at sea, though many countries use identical designs for several of these types of flag. On land, there is a distinction between civil flags, state flags, and war or military flags, state flags are those used officially by government agencies, whereas civil flags may be flown by anyone regardless of whether they are linked to government. War flags are used by organisations such as Armies, Marine Corps. In practice, many countries have identical flags for these three purposes, national flag is used as a vexillological term to refer to such a three-purpose flag
3.
Civil ensign
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Civil ensign is the ensign used by civilian vessels to denote nationality. It can be the same or different from the state ensign and its also known as the merchant ensign or merchant flag. Some countries have civil ensigns for yachts, and even for specific yacht clubs. Most countries have one national flag and ensign for all purposes. In other countries, a distinction is made between the flag and the civil, state and naval ensigns. The civil ensigns that are different from the flag can be grouped into a number of categories. Several countries use red flags with, in most cases, either the national flag or the Union Flag in the canton. British overseas territories fly the plain Red Ensign or a Red Ensign with the colonial arms in the fly. Saudi Arabia puts its national flag in the canton of an otherwise-green flag, Ghana stopped using its Red Ensign in 2003 with the adoption of a new merchant shipping act, which made the Ghanaian flag the proper national colors for Ghana ships. Similarly, Sri Lanka stopped using its Red Ensign in 1969, several countries have civil ensigns that are very different from the national flag, for instance Malta and Luxembourg. Well-known examples are the Italian civil ensign showing the shield with the arms of the sea republics or the Polish civil ensign with the arms of Poland, most of these emblems were added to distinguish the ensign from similar flags of other countries or from other signal flags. In several countries there are two versions of the flag, a simpler one and a more elaborate one with the national arms. The simpler one is used as ensign, whereas the version with the arms is mainly used by the government. In Spain and Argentina the flag without the arms is only a variant for civil use, in El Salvador, the civil ensign also differs from the national flag in the proportions. France is a case, the overall proportion is the same. Civil and merchant ensigns Civil air ensign
4.
Ensign
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Ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern of the ship, the naval ensign, used on warships, may be different from the civil ensign or the yacht ensign. Large versions of naval ensigns called battle ensigns are used when a warship goes into battle, the ensign differs from the jack which is flown from a jackstaff at the bow of a vessel. In its widest sense, an ensign is just a flag or other standard, the European military rank of ensign, once responsible for bearing a units standard derives from it. In contrast, the Arab rank of ensign, liwa, derives from the command of a unit or units with an ensign, not the carrier of such a units ensign, and is a general officer. In Arab armies, ensign is a title equivalent to a Western brigade. In nautical use, the ensign is flown on a ship or boat to indicate its appartenance, while this includes its nationality, it may well indicate more information rather than being the national flag itself. This is particularly common for commonwealth and European countries, ensigns are usually at the stern flagstaff when in port, and may be shifted to a gaff or mast amidships when the ship is under way, becoming known as a steaming ensign. Vexillologists distinguish three varieties of a national flag used as an ensign, A civil ensign is worn by merchant. In some countries the yacht ensign, used on boats or ships instead of merchant vessels. A state ensign or government ensign is worn by government vessels, a naval ensign is used by a countrys navy. Such ensigns are strictly regulated and indicate if the vessel is a warship, a merchant ship, several Commonwealth countries national flags had their origin in the ensigns of their original colonising power, the United Kingdom. Most notable of these flags are those of Australia, New Zealand. It is also likely that the original design from which the flag of the United States developed was strongly influenced by the British Red Ensign or the flag of the East India Company. With the creation of independent air forces and the growth in aviation in the first half of the 20th century. These may be divided into air force ensigns and civil air ensigns, in heraldry, an ensign is the ornament or sign, such as the crown, coronet, or mitre, borne above the charge or arms. Distinguishing mark Maritime flag Znamierowski, Alfred, the world encyclopedia of flags, The definitive guide to international flags, banners, standards and ensigns
5.
Triband (flag)
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The triband is one of the most common designs of flag, and is the design of some 30% of all current national flags. As the name suggests, the feature of the design of a triband is three parallel bands of colour. If the three bands have three different colors, the triband is a tricolour, in its simplest form, the triband consists of three equally sized horizontal or vertical stripes and nothing else. Examples of horizontal tribands include the flags of Austria and Germany. In each of these pairs, the second named flag is also a tricolour, diagonal tribands are less common, and often do not have stripes of equal areas or widths. An example is the flag of the Republic of the Congo, such flags are often not considered tribands by vexillologists, but rather are described as having a single diagonal stripe on a one- or two-coloured background. More complex tribands include flags charged or defaced with an emblem or flags with bands of unequal size, the most famous complex triband is arguably the national flag of Canada, which is charged with a maple leaf and has bands of uneven size. The ratio of the bands on this flag has led to the term Canadian pale to refer to any central vertical band on a triband which is twice the size of the bands on either side. Some tribands, such as the flag of the Gambia, are fimbriated and this means that between the stripes there are narrower stripes. This is sometimes done to increase contrast between multiple stripes or to follow the rule of tincture, though in cases the fimbriation also has specific symbolism. Below is a list of tribands organized by continent, some of them are charged, i. e. they have some additional symbol apart from the three simple coloured fields
6.
Five-pointed star
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A five-pointed star is a common ideogram used throughout the world. If the colinear edges are joined together a pentagram is produced and it has also become a symbol of fame or stardom in Western culture. Five-pointed stars are found on flags, generally in solid form, although some. The pentagram appears on two national flags, those of Ethiopia and Morocco. Five-pointed stars appear on the flag and in the symbolism of the United States. In the U. S. context, the stars allegedly symbolize the heavens, the five-pointed star is known as a symbol of fame or stardom. The Red Star is a star, coloured solidly in red. It is used to symbolize socialism and in particular communism and they live mainly in Syria, Lebanon, and Israel. The five-pointed star is part of the symbol of the Ottoman Empire, in the Baháí Faith a five-pointed star referred to as a haykal represents the Manifestation of God, as described in the Súriy-i-Haykal. Strictly speaking the 5-pointed star is the symbol of our Faith, as used by the Báb, the five pointed star is a Serer religious, and symbolizes the Serer people of West Africa. In the Serer language, it is called Yoonir and it is regarded as symbol of the universe in the Serer creation myth, the Five pointed star has been a Muslim symbol for multiple Muslim works, most notably on flags. This might be a feature as part of the star and crescent to represent the caliphate, Five pointed stars are also used on various elevators to indicate the ground level or lobby of a building. Five pointed stars are used on various police, fire. The five pointed star may also be used to symbolize the human body as well as the five senses of human perception, the symbol of the Italian Marxist-Leninist terrorist group Brigate Rosse is a slightly modified five-pointed star. The Order of the Eastern Star, an organization associated with Freemasonry, employs a downward-pointing star as its symbol, with the five points colored blue, yellow, white, green. This emblem sometimes appears in the form of a pentagram, the Star and Crescent are the official symbols of Kappa Sigma comprising the fraternity badge. A green five-pointed star is a symbol of Esperanto
7.
Omar Faiek Shennib
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Sir Omar Faiek Shennib was Libyan Minister of Defence, Chief of the Royal Diwan, Vice President of the Libyan National Assembly under the reign of King Idris Al Senussi. Omar Faiek Shennib was the patriarch of the House of Shennib, the family has included notable public figures, heads of state, ministers, authors and diplomats. Omar Faiek Shennib Avenue in Derna was named after Shennib posthumously, the design was composed of three colors, red, black and green, with a white Crescent and Star centered in the middle black stripe. Mr. Shennib informed the delegates that this design had met the approval of His Highness Emir of Cyrenaica, the assembly subsequently approved that design. ”. Shennib served as Vice President of the Libyan National Assembly until his death in 1953, and was a signatory to the first Libyan Constitution
8.
Naval ensign
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Naval ensign is the ensign used by Navy vessels to denote nationality. It can be the same or different from the civil ensign and its also known as the war ensign. A large version of the naval ensign which is flown on a warships mast just before going into battle is called a battle ensign, the ensign differs from the jack which is flown from a jackstaff at the bow of a vessel. Most countries have one national flag and ensign for all purposes. In other countries, a distinction is made between the flag and the civil, state and naval ensigns. Some naval ensign differ in shape from the flag, such as the Nordic naval ensigns which have tongues. Naval ensigns that are different from the ensign and the national flag
9.
Kingdom of Libya
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Under the constitution of October 1951, the federal monarchy of Libya was headed by King Idris as chief of state, with succession to his designated heirs. Substantial political power resided with the king, the Senate, or upper house, consisted of eight representatives from each of the three provinces. Half of the senators were nominated by the king, who also had the right to veto legislation, local autonomy in the provinces was exercised through provincial governments and legislatures. Tripoli and Benghazi served alternately as the national capital, several factors, rooted in Libyas history, affected the political development of the newly independent country. They reflected the differing orientations of the provinces and the ambiguities inherent in Libyas monarchy. First, after the first Libyan general election,1952, which were held on 19 February, the National Congress Party, which had campaigned against a federal form of government, was defeated throughout the country. The party was outlawed, and Bashir es Sadawi was deported, second, provincial ties continued to be more important than national ones, and the federal and provincial governments were constantly in dispute over their respective spheres of authority. A third problem derived from the lack of a heir to the throne. To remedy this situation, Idris in 1953 designated his brother to succeed him. When the original heir apparent died, the king appointed his nephew, Prince Hasan ar Rida, in its foreign policy, the Kingdom of Libya was recognized as belonging to the conservative traditionalist bloc in the League of Arab States, of which it became a member in 1953. The government was in alliance with the United States and United Kingdom. The U. S. supported the United Nations resolution providing for Libyan independence in 1951, Libya opened a legation at Washington, D. C. in 1954. Both countries subsequently raised their missions to the level and exchanged ambassadors. In 1953, Libya concluded a treaty of friendship and alliance with the United Kingdom under which the latter received military bases in exchange for financial. The next year, Libya and the United States signed an agreement under which the United States also obtained military base rights, subject to renewal in 1970, in return for economic aid to Libya. The most important of the United States installations in Libya was Wheelus Air Base, near Tripoli, considered a strategically valuable installation in the 1950s, reservations set aside in the desert were used by British and American military aircraft based in Europe as practice firing ranges. Libya forged close ties with France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, and established full diplomatic relations with the Soviet Union in 1955, but declined a Soviet offer of economic aid. As part of a broad assistance package, the UN Technical Assistance Board agreed to sponsor a technical aid program that emphasized the development of agriculture, the University of Libya was founded in 1955 by royal decree in Benghazi
10.
Idris of Libya
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Idris, GBE, was a Libyan political and religious leader who served as the Emir of Cyrenaica and then as the King of Libya from 1951 to 1969. He was the chief of the Senussi Muslim order, Idris was born into the Senussi Order. When his cousin, Ahmed Sharif as-Senussi, abdicated as leader of the Order, Cyrenaica was facing invasion from the Italians. Idris then led his Order in an attempt to conquer the eastern part of the Tripolitanian Republic. Following the Second World War, the United Nations General Assembly called for Libya to be granted independence and it established the United Kingdom of Libya through the unification of Cyrenaica, Tripolitania, and Fazzan, appointing Idris to rule it as king. Wielding significant political influence in the country, he banned political parties. He established links to the Western powers, allowing the United Kingdom, after oil was discovered in Libya in 1959, he oversaw the emergence of a growing oil industry that rapidly aided economic growth. While in Turkey for medical treatment, Idris was deposed in a 1969 coup detat by army officers led by Muammar Gaddafi and he became chief of the Senussi order in 1916 following the abdication of his cousin Sayyid Ahmed Sharif es Senussi. He was recognized by the British under the new emir of the territory of Cyrenaica. He was also installed as Emir of Tripolitania on 28 July 1922, Idris family claimed descent from the Prophet Muhammad through his daughter, Fatimah. The Senusi were a revivalist Sunni Islamic sect who were based largely in Cyrenaica, by the end of the nineteenth century the Senusi Order had established a form of government in Cyrenaica, unifying its tribes, controlling its pilgrimage and trade routes, and collecting taxes. After the Italian army invaded Cyrenaica in 1913 as part of their invasion of Libya. When the Orders leader, Ahmed Sharif as-Senussi, abdicated his position, he was replaced by Idris, pressured to do so by the Ottoman Empire, Admed had pursued armed attacks against British military forces stationed in neighbouring Egypt. On taking power, Idris put a stop to these attacks, instead he established a tacit alliance with the British, which would last for half a century and accord his Order de facto diplomatic status. Using the British as intermediaries, Idris led the Order into negotiations with the Italians in July 1916 and these resulted in two agreements, Al-Zuwaytina in April 1916 and Akrama in April 1917. The latter of these treaties left most of inland Cyrenaica under the control of the Senussi Order, relations between the Senussi Order and the newly established Tripolitanian Republic were acrimonious. The Senusi attempted to extend their power into eastern Tripolitania. At the end of World War I, the Ottoman Empire signed an agreement in which they ceded their claims over Libya to Italy
11.
Cyrenaica
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Cyrenaica is the eastern coastal region of Libya. Also known as Pentapolis in antiquity, it formed part of the Roman province of Crete and Cyrenaica, later divided into Libya Pentapolis, during the Islamic period, the area came to be known as Barqa, after the city of Barca. In a wider sense, still in use, Cyrenaica includes all of the part of Libya. Cyrenaica borders on Tripolitania in the northwest and on Fezzan in the southwest, the region that used to be Cyrenaica officially until 1963 has formed several shabiyat, the administrative divisions of Libya, since 1995. The 2011 Libyan Civil War started in Cyrenaica, which came largely under the control of the National Transitional Council for most of the war. Geologically, Cyrenaica rests on a mass of Miocene limestone that tilts up steeply from the Mediterranean Sea and this mass is divided into two blocks. The Jebel Akhdar extends parallel to the coast from the Gulf of Sidra to the Gulf of Bomba, there is no continuous coastal plain, the longest strip running from the recess of Gulf of Sidra past Benghazi to Tolmeita. Thereafter, except for deltaic patches at Susa and Derna, the shore is all precipitous, a steep escarpment separates the coastal plain from a relatively level plateau, known as the Marj Plain, which lies at about 300 meters elevation. Above the Marj Plain lies a plateau at about 700 meters elevation. The Jebel Akhdar and its adjacent coast are part of the Mediterranean woodlands and forests ecoregion, the plant communities of this portion of Cyrenaica include forest, woodland, maquis, garrigue, steppe, and oak savanna. Small areas of maquis are found on north-facing slopes near the sea, juniperus phoenicea, Pistacia lentiscus, Quercus coccifera and Ceratonia siliqua are common tree and large shrub species in the maquis. Areas of red soil are found on the Marj Plain, which has borne abundant crops of wheat, plenty of springs issue on the highlands. Wild olive trees are abundant, and large areas of oak savanna provide pasture to the flocks, historically large areas of range were covered in forest. The forested area of the Jebel Akhdar has been shrinking in recent decades, a 1996 report to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization estimated that the forested area was reduced to 320,000 hectares from 500,000 hectares, mostly cleared to grow crops. The Green Mountain Conservation and Development Authority estimates that the area decreased from 500,000 hectares in 1976 to 180,000 hectares in 2007. The lower Jebel el-Akabah lies to the south and east of the Jebel Akhdar, the two highlands are separated by a depression. This eastern region, known in ancient times as Marmarica, is drier than the Jebel Akhdar. Historically, salt-collecting and sponge fishing were more important than agriculture, Bomba and Tobruk have good harbors
12.
Fezzan
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Fezzan or Phazania is the southwestern region of modern Libya. It is largely desert, but broken by mountains, uplands, and dry valleys in the north. The term originally applied to the land beyond the strip of Africa proconsularis, including the Nafusa and extending west of modern Libya over Ouargla. As these Berber areas came to be associated with the regions of Tripoli, Cirta or Algiers, in Tamazight, Fezzan means rough rocks. Fezzan could also be a derivation from the regions Latin name Phasania or Phazania, Fezzan is crossed in the north by the ash-Shati Valley and in the west by the Wadi Irawan. The large dune seas known as ergs of the Idehan Ubari, paulinus reached Fezzan and went further south. For two–three centuries after this invasion, Fezzan, as part of the Garamantes State, was a client state of the Roman Empire, with the end of the Roman Empire and the following commercial crisis, Fezzan began to lose importance. The population was reduced due to the desertification process of the Sahara during the early Middle Ages. During the 13th and 14th centuries, portions of Fezzan were part of the Kanem Empire, wars against the Kanem Bornu Empire in the early sixteenth century led to the founding of the Awlad Muhammad dynasty, with Murzuk becoming the capital of Fezzan. Around 1565 it was ruled by Muhammad ibn al-Muntasir, the Ottoman rulers of North Africa asserted their control over the region in the 17th century. In the reign of Abdulhamid II Fizan was used as a place of exile for Young Turks because it was the most remote province from Istanbul. Beginning in 1911, Fezzan was occupied by Italy, however, Italys control of the region was precarious until at least 1923, with the rise of the Italian Fascist regime. The Italians were resisted in their attempts at conquest by tribal Arab adherents to the militant Sanusiya Sufi religious order. The Tuareg clans of the region were only pacified by European expansion shortly before the Second World War, and some of them collaborated with the Italian Army in the North African Campaign. Free French troops occupied Murzuk, a town of Fezzan, on 16 January 1943. French administration was exercised through Fezzan notables of the family of Sayf Al Nasr. Disquieting to the tribes in western Fezzan was the attachment of Ghat. However, when the French military control ceased in 1951, all of Fezzan became part of the Kingdom of Libya, the LF country code was reserved on behalf of Libya Fezzan by the International Organization for Standardization
13.
Tripolitania
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Tripolitania /trᵻpɒlᵻˈteɪniə/ or Tripolitana is a historic region and former province of Libya. Tripolitania was a separate Italian colony from 1927 to 1934, from 1934 to 1963, Tripolitania was one of three administrative divisions within Italian Libya and the Kingdom of Libya, alongside Cyrenaica to the east and Fezzan to the south. Because the city and the shabiyah are nowadays almost coextensive, the term Tripolitania has more historical than contemporary value, the system of administrative divisions that included Tripolitania was abolished in the early 1970s in favor of a system of smaller-size municipalities or baladiyat. The baladiyat system was changed many times and has lately become the Shabiyat system. The region that was Tripolitania is now composed of several smaller baladiyat or shabiyat – see administrative divisions in Libya, the city of Oea, on the site of modern Tripoli, was founded by the Phoenicians in the 7th century BC. It was conquered by the Greek rulers of Cyrenaica, who were in turn displaced by the Carthaginians, the Greek name Τρίπολις three cities referred to Oea, Sabratha and Leptis Magna. The Roman Republic captured Tripolitania in 146 BC, and the area prospered during the Roman Empire period, the Latin name Regio Tripolitania dates to the 3rd century. The Vandals took over in 435, and were in turn supplanted by the offensive of the Eastern Roman Empire in the 530s. In the 7th century, Tripolitania was conquered by the Rashidun Caliphate, and was inherited by its descendants the Umayyads, the Fatimids, established a Caliphate from Tunisia to Syria. In the 1140s, the Normans of Sicily invaded Tripoli, but were ousted by the Almohad Caliphate in 1158, emir Abu Zakariya, an Almohad vassal, established an independent state in Tunisia in 1229 and took control of Tripolitania shortly after. The Hafsids would control the region until the Ottoman conquest of 1553, Ottoman Tripolitania extended beyond the region of Tripolitania proper, also including Cyrenaica. Tripolitania became effectively independent under the rulers of the Karamanli dynasty from 1711 until Ottoman control was re-imposed by Mahmud II in 1835, Ottoman rule persisted until 1911–12, when it was captured by Italy in the Italo-Turkish War. Italy officially granted autonomy after the war, but gradually occupied the region, after World War I, an Arab Republic, Al-Jumhuriya al-Trabulsiya, or Tripolitanian Republic, declared the independence of Tripolitania from Italian Libya. The proclamation of the Tripolitanian Republic in autumn 1918 was followed by a declaration of independence at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference. This was the first formally declared republican form of government in the Arab world, but it gained support from international powers. Italy managed to establish control over Libya by 1930. Originally administered as part of a colony, Italian Tripolitania was a separate colony from 26 June 1927 to 3 December 1934. The Italian fascists constructed the Marble Arch as a form of a triumphal arch at the border between Tripolitani and Cyrenaica near the coast
14.
National Transitional Council
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The formation of the NTC was announced in the city of Benghazi on 27 February 2011 with the purpose to act as the political face of the revolution. On 5 March 2011, the council issued a statement in which it declared itself to be the legitimate body representing the people of Libya. An executive board, chaired by Mahmoud Jibril, was formed by the council on 23 March 2011 after being de facto assembled as a team since 5 March 2011. The NTC issued a Constitutional Declaration in August 2011 in which it set up a road-map for the transition of the country to a democracy with an elected government. The council gained international recognition as the governing authority in Libya. In referring to the Libyan state, the council used simply Libya, the UN formally recognized the country as Libya in September 2011, based on a request from the Permanent Mission of Libya citing the Libyan interim Constitutional Declaration of 3 August 2011. In November 2011, the ISO 3166-1 was altered to reflect the new country name Libya in English, after popular movements overturned the rulers of Tunisia and Egypt, Libyas immediate neighbours to the west and east, Libya experienced a full-scale uprising beginning in February 2011. By 20 February, the unrest had spread to Tripoli, much of Libya had slipped out of Gaddafis control, falling to anti-Gaddafi forces. Eastern Libya, centered around the second largest city and vital port of Benghazi, was firmly under the control of the opposition, the opposition began to organise themselves into a functioning government. Anti-Gaddafi forces marched on Sirte on 28 September 2011, Gaddafi loyalists delayed the attack with the use of their snipers. The fight for Sirte ended on 20 October with the capture of the town, on 24 February 2011, politicians, former military officers, tribal leaders, academics and businessmen held a meeting in the eastern city of Bayda. The meeting was chaired by former justice minister Mustafa Abdul Jalil, the delegates discussed proposals for interim administration with many delegates asking for UN intervention in Libya. The podium at the meeting displayed the pre-Jamahiriya flag, on 25 February, Al Jazeera TV reported that talks were taking place between personalities from eastern and western Libya to form an interim government for the post-Gaddafi era. The following day, former justice minister Mustafa Abdul Jalil was announced to be leading the process of forming an interim body, to be based in Benghazi. Jalil stated that Gaddafi alone bore responsibility for the crimes that have occurred in Libya, he insisted on the unity of Libya. The efforts to form an alternative government have been supported by the Libyan ambassador in the United States, the Libyan deputy ambassador to the United Nations, Ibrahim Omar Al Dabashi, stated that he supported a new alternative government in principle. A National Transitional Council was formed on 27 February to act as the face of the revolution. He later clarified that an airstrike mandated by the United Nations would not be considered a foreign intervention, an Al Jazeera journalist in Benghazi reported that a fully fledged interim government would not be formed until Tripoli was under opposition control
15.
Anti-Gaddafi forces
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The anti-Gaddafi forces were Libyan groups that opposed and militarily defeated the government of Muammar Gaddafi, killing him in the process. The Chairman of the Council is Mustafa Abdul Jalil, Abdul Hafiz Ghoga is the Vice-Chairman, omar El-Hariri was the head of military affairs until May 2011. Then later that month the position was renamed to Minister of Defense, the Commander-in-Chief was General Abdul Fatah Younis until his death in July 2011. Suleiman Mahmoud, Youniss top lieutenant, replaced him as army commander, colonel Khalifa Belqasim Haftar is another top military commander. The army is organized into brigades, with rebel fighters bearing identity cards, the Libyan opposition was mainly using vehicles and weapons captured from government forces or depots. The opposition had only had access to T-55 tanks and a small amount of T-72 tanks captured during the Second Battle of Benghazi. News coverage commonly showed rebels driving ordinary cars and technicals near battle areas, however, two fighter jets defected from Gaddafi and joined the rebels and were used during the Battle of Ajdabiya and damaged an armed oiler tanker and possibly two others. They also gained several helicopters from defected units based in Benghazi, one of these aircraft, a Soviet-made MiG-23BN, was shown having been shot down in a friendly fire incident over Benghazi after it was mistaken for an enemy aircraft. Britain sent 5,000 sets of armor,6,650 uniforms. The government of Chad asked the NATO coalition forces to protect its citizens in areas of Libya. The Chadian government claims that dozens of its citizens have been executed after being accused of being mercenaries for Gaddafi
16.
Libyan interim Constitutional Declaration
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The Constitutional Declaration is the current supreme law of Libya, introduced due to the overthrow of the Gaddafi government in the Libyan Civil War. It was finalised on 3 August 2011 by the National Transitional Council, the document was publicly announced at a press conference of 10 August by Abdul Hafiz Ghoga, Vice President and official spokesman of the NTC. The document consists of 37 articles in five sections, articles 1–6 state general provisions regarding Libya as a state. Articles 7–15 specify civil rights and public freedoms, articles 17–29 specify the operation of the interim government. Articles 30–32 guarantee an independent judiciary, article 4 declares the aim of establishing a democratic State based on a multi-party system. PDF file published by the NTC in the High National Election Commission website Old unofficial English translation Newer version of the English translation
17.
Star and crescent
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The star and crescent develops in the iconography of the Hellenistic period in Pontus, the Bosporan Kingdom, and notably Byzantium by the 2nd century BC. Coins with crescent and star symbols represented separately have a longer history, the star or Sun is often shown within the arc of the crescent, In numismatics in particular, the term crescent and pellet is used in cases where the star is simplified to a single dot. In Byzantium, the symbol became associated its patron goddess Artemis-Hecate, Ancient depictions of the symbol always show the crescent with horns pointing upward, and with the star placed inside the crescent. This arrangement is found on Sassanid coins beginning in the 5th or 6th century. The combination is found rarely in late medieval and early modern heraldry. It rose to prominence with its adoption as the flag and emblem of the Ottoman Empire and of some of its administrative divisions, and later in the 19th-century Westernizing tanzimat. The Ottoman flag of 1844 with a white ay-yıldız on a red background continues to be in use as the flag of the Republic of Turkey with minor modifications, other states formerly part of the Ottoman Empire also used the symbol, including Libya, Tunisia and Algeria. The same symbol was used in national flags introduced during the 20th century, including the flags of Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Malaysia, Singapore. Unicode introduced a star and crescent character in its Miscellaneous Symbols block, in Late Bronze Age Canaan, star and crescent moon motifs are also found on Moabite name seals. The depiction of the crescent-and-star or star inside crescent as it would develop in Bosporan Kingdom is difficult to trace to Mesopotamian art. An example of such an arrangement is found in the reconstruction of a fragmentary stele of Ur-Nammu discovered in the 1920s. Mithradates VI Eupator of Pontus used an eight rayed star with a crescent moon as his emblem, several possible interpretations of the emblem have been proposed. In most of these, the star is taken to represent the Sun, if any goddess had a connection with the walls in Constantinople, it was Hecate. Hecate had a cult in Byzantium from the time of its founding, like Byzas in one legend, she had her origins in Thrace. Hecate was considered the goddess of Byzantium because she was said to have saved the city from an attack by Philip of Macedon in 340 BC by the appearance of a bright light in the sky. To commemorate the event the Byzantines erected a statue of the known as the Lampadephoros. Some Byzantine coins of the 1st century BC and later show the head of Artemis with bow and quiver, the star and crescent symbol appears on some coins of the Parthan vassal kingdom of Elymais in the late 1st century AD. The same symbol is present in coins that are associated with Orodes I of Parthia
18.
Senussi
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The Senussi or Sanussi are a Muslim political-religious tariqa and tribe in Libya and the Sudan region founded in Mecca in 1837 by the Grand Senussi, the Algerian Muhammad ibn Ali as-Senussi. Senussi was concerned with what it saw as both the decline of Islamic thought and spirituality and the weakening of Muslim political integrity, from 1902 to 1913 the Senussi fought French colonial expansion in the Sahara and the Kingdom of Italys colonisation of Libya beginning in 1911. In World War I, they fought the Senussi Campaign against the British in Egypt, during World War II, the Senussi tribe provided vital support to the British Eighth Army in North Africa against Nazi German and Fascist Italian forces. The Grand Senussis grandson became king Idris of Libya in 1951, in 1969, Idris I was overthrown by a military coup led by Muammar Gaddafi. The Senussi order has been closed to Europeans and outsiders, leading reports of their beliefs. Though it is possible to gain insight from the lives of the Senussi sheikhs further details are difficult to obtain. Muhammad ibn Ali as-Senussi, the founder of the order and a proponent of Sufism, was born in Algeria near Mostaganem and was named al-Senussi after a venerated Muslim teacher. He was a member of the Walad Sidi Abdalla tribe, and was a sharif tracing his descent from Fatimah, the pious scholar was forceful in his criticism of the Egyptian ulama for what he perceived as their timid compliance with the Ottoman authorities and their spiritual conservatism. He also argued that learned Muslims should not blindly follow the four classical madhhabs, not surprisingly, he was opposed by the ulama as unorthodox and they issued a fatwa against him. Senussi went to Mecca, where he joined Ahmad ibn Idris al-Fasi, the head of the Khadirites, a religious fraternity of Moroccan origin. On the death of al-Fasi, Senussi became head of one of the two branches into which the Khadirites divided, and in 1835 he founded his first monastery or zawiya, at Abu Qubays near Mecca. Due to Wahhabi pressure Senussi left Mecca and settled in Cyrenaica, Libya in 1843, there he was supported by the local tribes and the Sultan of Wadai and his connections extended across the Maghreb. The Grand Senussi did not tolerate fanaticism and forbade the use of stimulants as well as voluntary poverty, lodge members were to eat and dress within the limits of Islamic law and, instead of depending on charity, were required to earn their living through work. He accepted neither the wholly intuitive ways described by some Sufi mystics nor the rationality of some of the ulama, rather. The Bedouin tribes had no interest in the ecstatic practices of the Sufis that were gaining adherents in the towns. In 1855 Senussi moved farther from direct Ottoman surveillance to Jaghbub and he died in 1860, leaving two sons, Mahommed Sherif and Mohammed al-Mahdi, who succeeded him. Sayyid Muhammad al-Mahdi bin Sayyid Muhammad as-Senussi was fourteen when his father died, the successors to the sultan of the Abu Qubays, Sultan Ali and the Sultan Yusef, continued to support the Senussi. Under al-Mahdi the zawiyas of the order extended to Fez, Damascus, Constantinople, in the Hejaz members of the order were numerous
19.
Hegira
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The Hegira or Hijrah is the migration or journey of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Yathrib, later renamed by him to Medina, in the year 622. In June 622, after being warned of a plot to him, Muhammad secretly left his home in Mecca to emigrate to Yathrib,320 km north of Mecca. Yathrib was soon renamed Madīnat an-Nabī, but an-Nabī was soon dropped, so its name is Medina, the Hijrah is also often identified erroneously with the start of the Islamic calendar, which was set to Julian 16 July 622. Muhammad himself did not join this emigration, in that year, his followers fled Meccas leading tribe, the Quraysh, who sent emissaries to Ethiopia to bring them back to the Arabian Peninsula. However, the Negus refused to send them back, in Mecca, at the pilgrimage season of 620, Muhammad met six men of the Banu Khazraj from Medina, propounded to them the doctrines of Islam, and recited portions of the Quran. Impressed by this, the six embraced Islam, and at the Pilgrimage of 621 and this is known as the First Pledge of al-Aqaba. At their request, Muhammad sent with them Mus‘ab ibn Umair to teach them the instructions of Islam, biographers have recorded the considerable success of Musab ibn Umair in preaching the message of Islam and bringing people under the umbrella of Islam in Medina. They invited him to come to Medina as an arbitrator to reconcile among the hostile tribes and this is known as the second pledge at al-Aqabah, and was a politico-religious success that paved the way for his and his followers immigration to Medina. Following the pledges, Muhammad encouraged his followers to migrate to Medina, during the early seventh century, Medina was inhabited by two types of population, Jewish and pagan Arabs. The Jews there had three principal clans – Banu Qaynuqa, Banu Nadir, and Banu Qurayza, the Arab pagans had two tribes – the Banu Aws and Khazraj. At that time, the Jews there had the hand with their large settlement. Traditional rules for maintaining law and order became dysfunctional, and, without a man with considerable authority over things. As the pagan Arabs of Medina lived in proximity to the Jews, they had gained some knowledge about their scriptures. According to Muslims tradition, after receiving divine direction to depart Mecca, Muhammad began taking preparation, on the night of his departure, Muhammads house was besieged by men of the Quraysh who planned to kill him in the morning. Soon, Muhammad joined Abu Bakr, left the city, next morning, the besiegers were frustrated to find Ali on Muhammads bed. Fooled and thwarted by Muhammads plan, they rummaged the city in search for him, and some of them reached the threshold of the cave. When the Quraysh came to know of Muhammads escape, they announced heavy reward for bringing Muhammad back to them, unable to resist this temptation, pursuers scattered in all directions. After staying for three days, Muhammad and Abu Bakr resumed their journey and were pursued by Suraqa bin Malik, but each time he neared Muhammads party, his horse stumbled and he finally abandoned his desire of capturing Muhammad
20.
Italian Libya
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The Adriatic Seas opposite western Balkans shore, with Dalmatia, Montenegro, and Albania, was planned for Italian expansion as the Third Shore, with Libya on the Mediterranean becoming the fourth. Thus the Fourth Shore was the part of Greater Italy. After the Italian Empire conquest of Ottoman Libya in the 1911–1912 Italo-Turkish War and this group, first under the leadership of Omar Al Mukhtar and centered in the Jebel Akhdar Mountains of Cyrenaica, lead the Libyan resistance movement against Italian settlement in Libya. Resistance leaders were executed or escaped into exile, the forced migration of more than 100,000 Cyrenaican people ended in Italian concentration camps. Afterwards Libya was predominantly Italianized, and many Italian colonists moved there to populate Italian North Africa, the Italians in Libya numbered 108,419 at the time of the 1939 census. They were concentrated on the Mediterranean coast around the city of Tripoli, Libya was made an integral part of Italy in 1939 and the local population were granted a form of Italian citizenship. Tunisia was conquered by Italy in November 1942 and was added to the 4th Shore – Quarta Sponda – because of the community of Tunisian Italians living there. Italian colony During less than thirty years in Libya the Kingdom of Italy developed the cities and they built huge public works, such as new town districts with streets and buildings, modern ports, the Italian Libya Railways, and long highways. The Libyan economy and trade flourished very much, similar to what happened during the ancient Roman empire colony era, Italian farmers cultivated lands that had returned to being native desert for many centuries. Even archeology flourished, with ancient city of Leptis Magna rediscovered and used as a symbol of the Italian right to recolonize the region, Libya was considered the new America for Italian emigrants of the 1930s. Indeed in 1938 the governor, Italo Balbo, brought 20,000 Italian farmers to colonize Italian Libya, the 22,000 Libyan Jews were allowed to integrate without problems in the society of the 4th Shore. However after the summer of 1941, with the arrival of the German Nazi Afrika Korps, all these new villages each had a mosque, a school, a social center with sports facilities and a cinema, and a small hospital. Italian state On January 9,1939, the colony of Italian Libya was incorporated into metropolitan Italy, the French, in 1848, had incorporated French Algeria in this manner. By 1939 the Italians had built 400 kilometres of new railroads and 4,000 kilometres of new roads, the most important and largest highway project was the Via Balbo, an east-west coastal route connecting Tripoli in western Italian Tripolitania to Tobruk in eastern Italian Cyrenaica. Most of these projects and achievements were completed between 1934 and 1940 when Italo Balbo was governor of Italian Libya, as it became the Fourth Shore, fezzan, designated as South Tripolitania, remained a military territory. A governor general, called the first consul after 1937, was in direction of the colony, assisted by the General Consultative Council. Traditional tribal councils, formerly sanctioned by the Italian administration, were abolished, administrative posts at all levels were held by Italians. An accord with Britain and Egypt obtained the transfer of a corner of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, known as the Sarra Triangle, in 1939 Libya was incorporated into metropolitan Italy
21.
Ottoman Empire
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After 1354, the Ottomans crossed into Europe, and with the conquest of the Balkans the Ottoman Beylik was transformed into a transcontinental empire. The Ottomans ended the Byzantine Empire with the 1453 conquest of Constantinople by Mehmed the Conqueror, at the beginning of the 17th century the empire contained 32 provinces and numerous vassal states. Some of these were later absorbed into the Ottoman Empire, while others were granted various types of autonomy during the course of centuries. With Constantinople as its capital and control of lands around the Mediterranean basin, while the empire was once thought to have entered a period of decline following the death of Suleiman the Magnificent, this view is no longer supported by the majority of academic historians. The empire continued to maintain a flexible and strong economy, society, however, during a long period of peace from 1740 to 1768, the Ottoman military system fell behind that of their European rivals, the Habsburg and Russian Empires. While the Empire was able to hold its own during the conflict, it was struggling with internal dissent. Starting before World War I, but growing increasingly common and violent during it, major atrocities were committed by the Ottoman government against the Armenians, Assyrians and Pontic Greeks. The word Ottoman is an anglicisation of the name of Osman I. Osmans name in turn was the Turkish form of the Arabic name ʿUthmān, in Ottoman Turkish, the empire was referred to as Devlet-i ʿAlīye-yi ʿOsmānīye, or alternatively ʿOsmānlı Devleti. In Modern Turkish, it is known as Osmanlı İmparatorluğu or Osmanlı Devleti, the Turkish word for Ottoman originally referred to the tribal followers of Osman in the fourteenth century, and subsequently came to be used to refer to the empires military-administrative elite. In contrast, the term Turk was used to refer to the Anatolian peasant and tribal population, the term Rūmī was also used to refer to Turkish-speakers by the other Muslim peoples of the empire and beyond. In Western Europe, the two names Ottoman Empire and Turkey were often used interchangeably, with Turkey being increasingly favored both in formal and informal situations and this dichotomy was officially ended in 1920–23, when the newly established Ankara-based Turkish government chose Turkey as the sole official name. Most scholarly historians avoid the terms Turkey, Turks, and Turkish when referring to the Ottomans, as the power of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum declined in the 13th century, Anatolia was divided into a patchwork of independent Turkish principalities known as the Anatolian Beyliks. One of these beyliks, in the region of Bithynia on the frontier of the Byzantine Empire, was led by the Turkish tribal leader Osman, osmans early followers consisted both of Turkish tribal groups and Byzantine renegades, many but not all converts to Islam. Osman extended the control of his principality by conquering Byzantine towns along the Sakarya River and it is not well understood how the early Ottomans came to dominate their neighbours, due to the scarcity of the sources which survive from this period. One school of thought which was popular during the twentieth century argued that the Ottomans achieved success by rallying religious warriors to fight for them in the name of Islam, in the century after the death of Osman I, Ottoman rule began to extend over Anatolia and the Balkans. Osmans son, Orhan, captured the northwestern Anatolian city of Bursa in 1326 and this conquest meant the loss of Byzantine control over northwestern Anatolia. The important city of Thessaloniki was captured from the Venetians in 1387, the Ottoman victory at Kosovo in 1389 effectively marked the end of Serbian power in the region, paving the way for Ottoman expansion into Europe
22.
Libyan Civil War (2011)
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The protests escalated into a rebellion that spread across the country, with the forces opposing Gaddafi establishing an interim governing body, the National Transitional Council. In early March, Gaddafis forces rallied, pushed eastwards and re-took several coastal cities before reaching Benghazi, a further UN resolution authorised member states to establish and enforce a no-fly zone over Libya, and to use all necessary measures to prevent attacks on civilians. The Gaddafi government then announced a ceasefire, but fighting continued, throughout the conflict, rebels rejected government offers of a ceasefire and efforts by the African Union to end the fighting because the plans set forth did not include the removal of Gaddafi. On 16 September 2011, the National Transitional Council was recognised by the United Nations as the representative of Libya. Muammar Gaddafi remained at large until 20 October 2011, when he was captured and killed in Sirte, the National Transitional Council declared the liberation of Libya and the official end of the war on 23 October 2011. In the aftermath of the war, a low-level insurgency by former Gaddafi loyalists continued. A much greater issue has been the role of militias which fought in the civil war and these unresolved issues led directly to a second civil war in Libya. Muammar Gaddafi was the head of the Free Officers, a group of Arab nationalists that deposed King Idris I in 1969 in a bloodless coup and he abolished the Libyan Constitution of 1951, considering it a neocolonial document. From 1969 until 1975 standards of living, life expectancy and literacy grew rapidly, in 1975 he published his manifesto The Green Book. He officially stepped down from power in 1977, and subsequently claimed to be merely a figurehead until 2011. Under Gaddafi, Libya was theoretically a decentralized, direct democracy state run according to the philosophy of Gaddafis The Green Book, according to Freedom House, however, these structures were often manipulated to ensure the dominance of Gaddafi, who reportedly continued to dominate all aspects of government. WikiLeaks disclosure of confidential US diplomatic cables revealed US diplomats there speaking of Gaddafis mastery of tactical maneuvering and this extended even to his own sons, as he repeatedly changed affections to avoid the rise of a clear successor and rival. Both Gaddafi and the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, however, officially denied that he held any power, while he was popularly seen as a demagogue in the West, Gaddafi always portrayed himself as a statesman-philosopher. According to several Western media sources, Gaddafi feared a coup against his government. The Libyan Army consisted of about 50,000 personnel and its most powerful units were four crack brigades of highly equipped and trained soldiers, composed of members of Gaddafis tribe or members of other tribes loyal to him. One, the Khamis Brigade, was led by his son Khamis, local militias and Revolutionary Committees across the country were also kept well-armed. By contrast, regular units were poorly armed and trained. By the end of Gaddafis 42 years rule, Libyas population had a per capita income of $14,000, a broadly secular society was imposed
23.
Muammar Gaddafi
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Muammar Mohammed Abu Minyar Gaddafi, commonly known as Colonel Gaddafi, was a Libyan revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He governed Libya as Revolutionary Chairman of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and he was initially ideologically committed to Arab nationalism and Arab socialism, but he came to rule according to his own Third International Theory. Gaddafi was born near Sirte to an impoverished Bedouin family and he became an Arab nationalist while at school in Sabha, later enrolling in the Royal Military Academy, Benghazi. Within the military he founded a cell which, in a 1969 coup. Now in power, Gaddafi converted Libya into a republic governed by his Revolutionary Command Council, an Islamic modernist, he introduced sharia as the basis for the legal system and promoted Islamic socialism. In 1973, he initiated a Popular Revolution with the formation of General Peoples Committees, purported to be a system of direct democracy and he outlined his Third International Theory that year, publishing these ideas in The Green Book. In 1977, Gaddafi transformed Libya into a new socialist state called the Jamahiriya, officially he adopted a symbolic role in governance but remained head of both the military and the Revolutionary Committees responsible for policing and suppressing dissent. A particularly hostile relationship developed with the United States, United Kingdom, from 1999, Gaddafi rejected Arab socialism and encouraged economic privatisation, rapprochement with Western nations, and Pan-Africanism, he was Chairperson of the African Union from 2009–10. Amid the 2011 Arab Spring, protests against widespread corruption and unemployment broke out in eastern Libya, the situation descended into civil war, in which NATO intervened militarily on the side of the anti-Gaddafist National Transitional Council. The government was overthrown and Gaddafi, who had retreated to Sirte, was captured and killed by NTC militants, a highly divisive figure, Gaddafi dominated Libyas politics for four decades and was the subject of a pervasive cult of personality. Muammar Mohammed Abu Minyar Gaddafi was born in a tent near Qasr Abu Hadi and his family came from a small, relatively un-influential tribal group called the Qadhadhfa, who were Arabized Berber in heritage. His mother was named Aisha, and his father, Mohammad Abdul Salam bin Hamed bin Mohammad, was known as Abu Meniar, nomadic Bedouins, they were illiterate and kept no birth records. His parents only surviving son, he had three older sisters, Gaddafis upbringing in Bedouin culture influenced his personal tastes for the rest of his life, he preferred the desert over the city and would retreat there to meditate. According to later claims, Gaddafis paternal grandfather, Abdessalam Bouminyar, was killed by the Italian Army during the Italian invasion of 1911, at World War IIs end in 1945, Libya was occupied by British and French forces. Although Britain and France intended on dividing the nation between their empires, the General Assembly of the United Nations declared that the country be granted political independence. In 1951, the UN created the United Kingdom of Libya, a state under the leadership of a pro-Western monarch, Idris. Gaddafis earliest education was of a nature, imparted by a local Islamic teacher. Subsequently moving to nearby Sirte to attend school, he progressed through six grades in four years
24.
Arab League
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The Arab League, formally the League of Arab States, is a regional organization of Arab countries in and around North Africa, the Horn of Africa and Arabia. It was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945 with six members, Kingdom of Egypt, Kingdom of Iraq, Transjordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Yemen joined as a member on 5 May 1945. Currently, the League has 22 members, but Syrias participation has been suspended since November 2011, the League has served as a platform for the drafting and conclusion of many landmark documents promoting economic integration. One example is the Joint Arab Economic Action Charter, which outlines the principles for economic activities in the region, each member state has one vote in the League Council, and decisions are binding only for those states that have voted for them. Furthermore, the signing of an agreement on Joint Defence and Economic Cooperation on 13 April 1950 committed the signatories to coordination of military defence measures. In March 2015, the Arab League General Secretary announced the establishment of a Joint Arab Force with the aim of counteracting extremism, the decision was reached while Operation Decisive Storm was intensifying in Yemen. Participation in the project is voluntary, and the army intervenes only at the request of one of the member states. The growing militarization of the region and the increase in violent civil wars as well as terrorist movements are the reason behind the creation of the JAF, financed by the rich Gulf countries. In the early 1970s, the Economic Council of the League of Arab States put forward a proposal to create the Joint Arab Chambers of Commerce across the European states and that led, under the decree of the League of Arab States no. Following adoption of the Alexandria Protocol in 1944, the Arab League was founded on 22 March 1945 and it aimed to be a regional organisation of Arab states with a focus to developing the economy, resolving disputes and coordinating political aims. Other countries later joined the league, each country was given one vote in the council. It was followed by the creation of a defence treaty two years later. A common market was established in 1965, the Arab League member states cover over 13,000,000 km2 and straddles two continents, Africa and Asia. The area largely consists of deserts, such as the Sahara. The area comprises deep forests in southern Arabia and parts of the worlds longest river, the Charter of the Arab League, also known as the Pact of the League of Arab States, is the founding treaty of the Arab League. Adopted in 1945, it stipulates that the League of Arab States shall be composed of the, starting with only six members in 1945, the Arab League now occupies an area spanning around 14 million km² and counts 22 members, and 4 observer states. The 22 members today include three of the largest African countries and the largest country in the Middle East, there was a continual increase in membership during the second half of the 20th century, with an additional 15 Arab states being admitted. Syria was suspended following the 2011 uprising, as of 2016, there are a total of 22 member states
25.
Libya Telecom & Technology
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Libya Telecom & Technology was established in 1997 as a private company by Ahmed A. Al-Mosbahi. LTT remains a state owned monopoly which continues to dominate the Libyan ISP sector, LTT is Libyas most-used service provider, and much of the countrys 5. 6% Internet penetration is attributable to its DSL and WiMAX services. Ahmed A. Al-Mosbahi was the Chairman of LTT and all companies in Libya. After the Libyan Civil War and the subsequent collapse of the Gaddafi regime, LTT is trying to revamp its network, however, due to internal conflict and rising strain on services, many popular provisions have been plagued by network congestion and poor reception. In March 2012, Saad Ksheer was appointed CEO of the company, following his previous posts with Microsoft and NCR in the USA, later Saad was sacked and replaced. If a consumer poll were to be released on how well LTT supplies its networking service, as of September 2013, Libya Telecom and Technology has implemented a Filter system designed to omit pornographic media from viewing to the public. The move to omit pornographic material was reportedly started by the Local Islamic Judicial Court of Tripoli archived under article 421 of criminal Penalties and this move comes with the 2013 implementation of Islamic sharia law post 17 February revolution. LTT has recently seemingly implemented forced restriction on YouTube videos, blocking viewers from seeing videos flagged by the community as inappropriate, LTT is also blocking users from accessing any major proxy sites. While under the guise to protect users from inappropriate content, it appears political websites and these blocks are more questionable and controversial than they are useful and protective. Any input into an engine with inappropriate words are instantly flagged by the system. Note, As of 2015 -2016, LTT, still holding a monopoly on internet service provision in Libya, has achieved world status rating of Slowest internet in the world. According to a new report from Akamai, the internet connection speed in Libya is the slowest in the world at 0.5 Mpbs. This puts Libya behind Bangladesh, which has a connection speed of 1.0 Mbit/s, and Bolivia, Cameroon, Botswana
26.
Diplomatic mission
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In practice, a diplomatic mission usually denotes the resident mission, namely the office of a countrys diplomatic representatives in the capital city of another country. As well as being a mission to the country in which it is situated. There are thus resident and non-resident embassies, a permanent diplomatic mission is typically known as an Embassy, and the head of the mission is known as an Ambassador, or High Commissioner. Therefore, the Embassy operates in the Chancery, European Union missions abroad are known as EU delegations. Some countries have more particular naming for their missions and staff, under the rule of Muammar Gaddafi, Libyas missions used the name peoples bureau and the head of the mission was a secretary. Missions between Commonwealth countries are known as commissions and their heads are High Commissioners. This is because Ambassadors are exchanged between foreign countries, but since the beginning of the Commonwealth, member countries have maintained that they are not foreign to one another. An ambassador represents one head of state to another and a letters of credence are addressed by one head of state to another. Until India became a republic on 26 January 1950, all members of the Commonwealth had the head of state. In the past a diplomatic mission headed by an official was known as a legation. Since the ranks of envoy and minister resident are effectively obsolete, a consulate is similar to, but not the same as a diplomatic office, but with focus on dealing with individual persons and businesses, as defined by the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. A consulate or consulate general is generally a representative of the embassy in locales outside of the capital city. For instance, the United Kingdom has its Embassy of the United Kingdom in Washington, D. C. but also maintains seven consulates-general, the person in charge of a consulate or consulate-general is known as a consul or consul-general, respectively. Similar services may also be provided at the embassy in what is called a consular section. In cases of dispute, it is common for a country to recall its head of mission as a sign of its displeasure, a chargé daffaires ad interim also heads the mission during the interim between the end of one chief of missions term and the beginning of another. Contrary to popular belief, most diplomatic missions do not enjoy full extraterritorial status, rather, the premises of diplomatic missions usually remain under the jurisdiction of the host state while being afforded special privileges by the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Diplomats themselves still retain full diplomatic immunity, and the host country may not enter the premises of the mission without permission of the represented country, international rules designate an attack on an embassy as an attack on the country it represents. The term extraterritoriality is often applied to missions, but normally only in this broader sense
27.
Consulates
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A consul is distinguished from an ambassador, the latter being a representative from one head of state to another. In Classical Greece, some of the functions of the modern consul were fulfilled by a proxenos, unlike the modern position, this was a citizen of the host polity. The proxenos was usually a rich merchant who had ties with another city. The position of proxenos was often hereditary in a particular family, modern honorary consuls fulfil a function that is to a degree similar to that of the ancient Greek institution. Consuls were the highest magistrates of the Roman Republic and Roman Empire, the term was revived by the Republic of Genoa, which, unlike Rome, bestowed it on various state officials, not necessarily restricted to the highest. The Consolat de mar was an institution established under the reign of Peter IV of Aragon in the fourteenth century and it was primarily a judicial body, administering maritime and commercial law as Lex Mercatoria. Although the Consolat de mar was established by the Corts General of the Crown of Aragon and this distinction between consular and diplomatic functions remains to this day. Modern consuls retain limited powers to settle disputes on ships from their country. The Consulado de mercaderes was set up in 1543 in Seville as a merchant guild to control trade with Latin America, as such, it had branches in the principal cities of the Spanish colonies. The connection of consul with trade and commercial law is retained in French, in francophone countries, a juge consulaire is a non-professional judge elected by the chamber of commerce to settle commercial disputes in the first instance. Like the term embassy, the consulate may refer not only to the office of consul. The consulate may share premises with the embassy itself, a consul of the highest rank is termed a consul-general, and his or her office a consulate-general. He or she typically has one or several deputy consuls-general, consuls, vice-consuls, consulates-general need not have their offices in the capital city, but rather could have them in the most important/appropriate cities in terms of bilateral relations. In the United States, for example, most countries have a consulate-general in New York City, consuls of various ranks may have specific legal authority for certain activities, such as notarizing documents. As such, diplomatic personnel with other responsibilities may receive consular letters patent, aside from those outlined in the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, there are few formal requirements outlining what a consular official must do. Nonetheless, consulates proper will be headed by consuls of various ranks, and although it is never admitted publicly, consulates, like embassies, may also gather intelligence information from the assigned country. Contrary to popular belief, although many of the staff of consulates may be career diplomats, in practice, the extension and application of consular privileges and immunities can be subject to wide discrepancies from country to country. Consulates are more numerous than diplomatic missions, such as embassies, ambassadors are posted only in a foreign nations capital
28.
Ottoman Tripolitania
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It was also known as the Kingdom of Tripoli, even though it was not technically a kingdom, but an Ottoman province ruled by pashas. The Karamanli dynasty ruled the province as de facto hereditary monarchs from 1711 to 1835, besides the core territory of Tripolitania, Barca was also considered part of the kingdom of Tripoli, because it was de facto ruled by the Pasha of Tripoli, also the nominal Ottoman governor-general. A remnant of the centuries of Turkish rule is the presence of a population of Turkish origin, by the beginning of the 16th century the Libyan coast had minimal central authority and its harbours were havens for unchecked bands of pirates. Spain occupied Tripoli in 1510, but the Spaniards were more concerned with controlling the port than with the inconveniences of administering a colony. In 1530 the city, along with Malta and Gozo, were ceded by Charles I of Spain to the Knights of St John as compensation for their recent expulsion from Rhodes at the hands of the Turks. Christian rule lasted then until 1551, when Tripoli was besieged and conquered by famed Ottoman admirals Sinan Pasha and Turgut Reis. Declared Bey and later Pasha of Tripoli, Turgut Reis submitted the tribes of the interior and several cities like Misrata, Zuwara, Gharyan, and Gafsa in the next decade. These efforts contributed to cement the foundations of a structure in what is today Libya. Under the Ottomans, the Maghreb was divided into three provinces, Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli, after 1565, administrative authority in Tripoli was vested in a pasha directly appointed by the Sultan in Constantinople. The sultan provided the pasha with a corps of janissaries, which was in divided into a number of companies under the command of a junior officer or bey. The janissaries quickly became the dominant force in Ottoman Libya, as a self-governing military guild answerable only to their own laws and protected by a divan, the janissaries soon reduced the pasha to a largely ceremonial role. In 1711, Ahmed Karamanli, an Ottoman cavalry officer and son of a Turkish officer and Libyan woman, seized power and founded the Karamanli dynasty, the 1793–95 Tripolitanian civil war occurred in those years. The demand was refused, an American naval force blockaded Tripoli, the Regency of Tripoli was defeated by the American Navy. In 1835 the government of Sultan Mahmud II took advantage of disturbances to reassert their direct authority. The indigenous Senussi Movement, led by Islamic cleric Sayyid Mohammed Ali as-Senussi, in line with the expressed instruction of the Grand Sanusi, these gains were made largely without any coercion. It was one of the first Ottoman provinces to become a vilayet after a reform in 1865. The highpoint of the Sanusi influence came in the 1880s under the Grand Senussis son, Muhammad al-Mahdi as-Senussi, who was a skilled administrator, with 146 lodges spanning the entire Sahara, he moved the Senussi capital to Kufra. Harsh Ottoman rule only fuelled the appeal of the Senussi Movements call to repel foreign occupation, remarkably, Mohammed al-Mahdi succeeded where so many had failed before him, securing the enduring loyalty of the Amazigh tribes of Cyrenaica
29.
Tripolitanian Republic
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After World War I, an Arab Republic, Al-Jumhuriya al-Trabulsiya الجمهورية الطرابلسية, or Tripolitanian Republic, declared the independence of Tripolitania from Italian Libya. The proclamation of the Tripolitanian Republic in autumn 1918 was followed by a declaration of independence at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference. This was the first formally declared republican form of government in the Arab world, but it gained support from international powers. Italy managed to establish control over Libya by 1930. Originally administered as part of a colony, Italian Tripolitania was a separate colony from 26 June 1927 to 3 December 1934. Lisa Anderson, The Tripoli Republic, in George Joffe and Keith MacLachlan, Social and Economic Development of Libya
30.
Kingdom of Italy
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The state was founded as a result of the unification of Italy under the influence of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which can be considered its legal predecessor state. Italy declared war on Austria in alliance with Prussia in 1866, Italian troops entered Rome in 1870, ending more than one thousand years of Papal temporal power. Italy entered into a Triple Alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary in 1882, victory in the war gave Italy a permanent seat in the Council of the League of Nations. Fascist Italy is the era of National Fascist Party rule from 1922 to 1943 with Benito Mussolini as head of government, according to Payne, Fascist regime passed through several relatively distinct phases. The first phase was nominally a continuation of the parliamentary system, then came the second phase, the construction of the Fascist dictatorship proper from 1925 to 1929. The third phase, with activism, was 1929–34. The war itself was the phase with its disasters and defeats. Italy was allied with Nazi Germany in World War II until 1943 and it switched sides to the Allies after ousting Mussolini and shutting down the Fascist party in areas controlled by the Allied invaders. Shortly after the war, civil discontent led to the referendum of 1946 on whether Italy would remain a monarchy or become a republic. Italians decided to abandon the monarchy and form the Italian Republic, the Kingdom of Italy claimed all of the territory which is modern-day Italy. The development of the Kingdoms territory progressed under Italian re-unification until 1870, the state for a long period of time did not include Trieste or Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, which are in Italy today, and only annexed them in 1919. After the Second World War, the borders of present-day Italy were founded, the Kingdom of Italy was theoretically a constitutional monarchy. Executive power belonged to the monarch, as executed through appointed ministers, two chambers of parliament restricted the monarchs power—an appointive Senate and an elective Chamber of Deputies. The kingdoms constitution was the Statuto Albertino, the governing document of the Kingdom of Sardinia. In theory, ministers were responsible to the king. However, in practice, it was impossible for an Italian government to stay in office without the support of Parliament, members of the Chamber of Deputies were elected by plurality voting system elections in uninominal districts. A candidate needed the support of 50% of those voting, and of 25% of all enrolled voters, if not all seats were filled on the first ballot, a runoff was held shortly afterwards for the remaining vacancies. After a brief multinominal experimentation in 1882, proportional representation into large, regional, Socialists became the major party, but they were unable to form a government in a parliament split into three different factions, with Christian Populists and classical liberals
31.
British Military Administration (Libya)
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The British Military Administration of Libya was the control of the regions of Cyrenaica and Tripolitania of the former Italian Libya by the British from 1942 until the Libyan independence in 1951. It was part of the administration of Libya. In November 1942, the Allied forces retook Cyrenaica, by February 1943, the last German and Italian soldiers were driven from Libya and the allied occupation of Libya began. Tripolitania and Cyrenaica remained under British administration, while the French controlled Fezzan, in 1944, Idris returned from exile in Cairo but declined to resume permanent residence in Cyrenaica until the removal in 1947 of some aspects of foreign control. Under the terms of the 1947 peace treaty with the Allies, Italy, which hoped to maintain the colony of Tripolitania and France, in June 1948, anti-Jewish rioters in Libya killed another 12 Jews and destroyed 280 Jewish homes. The fear and insecurity which arose from these attacks and the founding of the state of Israel led many Jews to flee Libya. From 1948 to 1951,30,972 Libyan Jews moved to Israel, by the 1970s, the rest of Libyan Jews were evacuated to Italy. Disposition of Italian colonial holdings was a question that had to be considered before the peace treaty ending the war with Italy could be completed. The United States suggested a trusteeship for the country under control of the United Nations, whose charter had become effective in October 1945. The Soviet Union proposed separate provincial trusteeships, claiming Tripolitania for itself and assigning Fezzan to France, France, seeing no end to the discussions, advocated the return of the territory to Italy. To break the impasse, Britain finally recommended immediate independence for Libya, in 1949, the Emirate of Cyrenaica was created and only Tripolitania remained under direct British military administration. A year later, in 1950, it was granted instead of military administration. In accordance with the constitution the new country had a government with the three states of Cyrenaica, Tripolitania and Fezzan having autonomy. The kingdom also had three cities, Tripoli, Benghazi and Bayda. Two years after independence, on 28 March 1953, Libya joined the Arab League, when Libya declared its independence it was the first country to achieve independence through the United Nations and one of the first former European possessions in Africa to gain independence. Italian Libya Allied occupation of Libya
32.
Union Jack
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The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the national flag of the United Kingdom. Further, it is used as a flag in some of the smaller British overseas territories. The Union Jack also appears in the canton of the flags of several nations, the claim that the term Union Jack properly refers only to naval usage has been disputed, following historical investigations by the Flag Institute in 2013. The origins of the flag of Great Britain date back to 1606. King James also began to refer to a Kingdom of Great Britaine, the present design of the Union Flag dates from a Royal proclamation following the union of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801. Notably, the country of Wales is not represented separately in the Union Jack, being only indirectly represented through the cross of St George. The terms Union Jack and Union Flag are both historically correct for describing the de facto flag of the United Kingdom. Whether the term Union Jack applies only when used as a flag on a ship is a modern matter of debate. According to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, Until the early 17th century England and Scotland were two independent kingdoms. This changed dramatically in 1603 on the death of Elizabeth I of England, because the Queen died unmarried and childless, the English crown passed to the next available heir, her cousin James VI, King of Scotland. England and Scotland now shared the same monarch under what was known as a union of the crowns, in 1606, James VI gave orders for a British flag to be created which bore the combined crosses of St. George and of St. Andrew. The result was the Union Jack, Jack being a shortening of Jacobus, the institute also notes, it is often stated that the Union Flag should only be described as the Union Jack when flown in the bows of a warship, but this is a relatively recent idea. In 1908, a government minister stated, in response to a parliamentary question, notwithstanding Their Lordships circular of 1902, by 1913 the Admiralty described the Union Flag and added in a foot note that A Jack is a Flag to be flown only on the Jack Staff. However, the authoritative A Complete Guide to Heraldry published in 1909 by Arthur Charles Fox-Davies uses the term Union Jack, the term Union Flag is used in King Charles Is 1634 proclamation. Andrew and St. Patrick Quarterly per Saltire, counterchanged Argent and Gules, when the first flag representing Britain was introduced on the proclamation of King James I in 1606, it became known simply as the British flag or the flag of Britain. The royal proclamation gave no name to the new flag. The word jack was in use before 1600 to describe the maritime bow flag, by 1627 a small Union Jack was commonly flown in this position. Reinforcing the distinction the Kings proclamation of the day concerning the arms
33.
Southern Military Territory
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The Southern Military Territory refers to the jurisdictional territory within the colony of Italian Libya, administered by the Italian military in the Libyan Sahara. This military territory was below Italian Libyas four coastline provinces of Tripoli, Misurata, Benghazi and Derna. Officially it was not part of Italian Libya and was divided in four sections, Homs Murzuch - El Giof Brach Gat The population was mostly Arab, with minorities of Berbers. Italians were concentrated in the administrative capital Hon, but there were a few even in the fortress Gadames, in 1938 the Military Territory had 1,100,000 km² with 50,889 inhabitants. The military territory expanded after concessions from Anglo-Egyptian Sudan and an agreement with Egypt. In 1936 the Aozou Strip was added after being ceded from Chad, in 1931, the towns of El Tag and Al Jawf were taken over by Italy. Egypt had ceded Kufra district to Italian Libya in 1919, during this time, the Italian colonial forces built a World War I–style fort in El Tag in the mid-1930s. During the colonial Italian Libya period, Hun was the capital of the Italian Fezzan region. Hun was the Italian military center of southern Italian Libya, and was not part of the national Fourth Shore territory of the Kingdom of Italy as Italian Tripolitania and Italian Cyrenaica were. A small Libyan Italian community of 1,156 people lived in Hun, in the 1939 census they were 3% of the total population of 35,316 in the city. They disappeared from Homs after Italys loss of Libya in World War II, in the 1930s the Italian government made some important improvements to the small town, including a connection to the coast via the new Fezzan Road. Small Italian communities, mostly related to the servicemen, lived even in Gadames. Someone of them were related to the Auto-Saharan Company, Italian military units specialised in long range patrols of the Sahara Desert, the Military Territory of the South was occupied by allied forces during the Second World War. The French invaded from Chad and occupied Fezzan-Ghadames, the part of the Military Territory of the South. The British occupied the rest of Libya, including the half of the territory which became part of Cyrenaica. According to the 1936 census, which allowed citizens to declare their ethnicity, Italian Libya Aozou Strip Italian North Africa
34.
Fezzan-Ghadames (French Administration)
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The Military Territory of Fezzan-Ghadames was a territory in the southern part of the former Italian colony of Libya controlled by the French from 1943 until Libyan independence in 1951. It was part of the Allied administration of Libya, the administrative personnel remained the former Italian bureaucrats. The British administration began the training of a badly needed Libyan civil service, Italian administrators continued to be employed in Tripoli, however. The Italian legal code remained in effect for the duration of the war, in the lightly populated Fezzan region, a French military administration formed a counterpart to the British operation. With British approval, Free French forces moved north from Chad to take control of the territory in January 1943, French administration was directed by a staff stationed in Sabha, but it was largely exercised through Fezzan notables of the family of Sayf an Nasr. At the lower echelons, French troop commanders acted in military and civil capacities according to customary French practice in the Algerian Sahara. Fezzan joined Tripolitania and Cyrenaica to form the Kingdom of Libya on 24 December 1951 and it was the first country to achieve independence through the United Nations and one of the first former European possessions in Africa to gain independence
35.
Flag of Turkey
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The flag of Turkey is a red flag featuring a white star and crescent. The flag is called al bayrak, and is referred to as al sancak in the Turkish national anthem. The current design of the Turkish flag is derived from the late Ottoman flag. The measures, geometric proportions, and exact tone of red of the flag of Turkey were legally standardized with the Turkish Flag Law on May 29,1936, the star and crescent design appears on Ottoman flags beginning in the late 18th or early 19th century. The introduction of the star and crescent on red as the flag of the Ottoman Empire dates to the Tanzimat reforms of 1844. When full, it descended into his own breast, then from his loins there sprang a tree, which as it grew came to cover the whole world with the shadow of its green and beautiful branches. Beneath it Osman saw the spread out before him, surmounted by the crescent. The real legend, Turks fought a bloody battle. It was so bloody that a lake of blood was formed. Survivors of the saw that moon and stars shined over the blood. Red on the flag is the blood of matryrs, fundamentals of the Turkish flag during the Republic period of Turkey were laid down by Turkish Flag Law No.2994 on May 29,1936. 2/7175 dated July 28,1937, and Supplementary Regulation No, 11604/2 dated July 29,1939, were enacted to describe how the flag law would be implemented. The Turkish Flag Law No.2893 dated September 22,1983, according to Article 9 of Law No. 2893, a statute including the fundamentals of the implementation was also published, in a RGB colour space, the red colour of the Turkish flag is composed of 89% red,3. 9% green, and 9% blue. In a CMYK colour space, it is composed of 0% cyan,95. 6% magenta,89. 9% yellow and it has a hue angle of 356.4 degrees, a saturation of 91. 6%, and a lightness of 46. 5%. The red colour on the Turkish flag is red and this colour can be obtained by blending #FF142E with #C70000. The closest websafe colour is, #d11919.34875 G, thus, a common mistake in rendering the flag is to omit the white hem at the hoist. 2893 dated September 22,1983, establishing the proportions, production, and rules of usage of the flag of Turkey Turkey at Flags of the World
36.
World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
37.
Allied administration of Libya
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The Allied administration of Libya was the control of the ex-Italian colony of Libya by the Allies from 1943 until Libyan independence was granted in 1951. Officially Libya remained Italian Libya until February 1947, when Italy signed the Peace Treaty losing all the colonies, the British administered it as the British Military Administration of Libya. The French forces occupied the area that was the former Italian Territorio Sahara Libico, the administrative personnel remained the former Italian bureaucrats. The British administration began the training of a badly needed Libyan civil service, Italian administrators continued to be employed in Tripoli, however. The Italian legal code remained in effect for the duration of the war, in the lightly populated Fezzan region, a French military administration formed a counterpart to the British operation. With British approval, Free French forces moved north from Chad to take control of the territory in January 1943, French administration was directed by a staff stationed in Sabha, but it was largely exercised through Fezzan notables of the family of Sayf an Nasr. At the lower echelons, French troop commanders acted in military and civil capacities according to customary French practice in the Algerian Sahara. In November 1942, the Allied forces retook Cyrenaica, by February 1943, the last German and Italian soldiers were driven from Libya and the Allied occupation of Libya began. In the early period, Tripolitania and Cyrenaica remained under British administration. In 1944, Idris returned from exile in Cairo but declined to resume permanent residence in Cyrenaica until the removal in 1947 of some aspects of foreign control. Under the terms of the 1947 peace treaty with the Allies, Italy, severe anti-Jewish violence erupted in Libya following the liberation of North Africa by Allied troops. From November 5 to November 7,1945, more than 140 Jews were killed, five synagogues in Tripoli and four in provincial towns were destroyed, and over 1,000 Jewish residences and commercial buildings were plundered in Tripoli alone. In June 1948, anti-Jewish rioters in Libya killed another 12 Jews, the fear and insecurity which arose from these anti-Jewish attacks and the founding of the state of Israel led many Jews to flee Libya. From 1948 to 1951,30,972 Libyan Jews moved to Israel, by the 1970s, the rest of Libyan Jews were evacuated to Italy. Disposition of Italian colonial holdings was a question that had to be considered before the peace treaty ending the war with Italy could be completed. The United States suggested a trusteeship for the country under control of the United Nations, whose charter had become effective in October 1945. The Soviet Union proposed separate provincial trusteeships, claiming Tripolitania for itself and assigning Fezzan to France, France, seeing no end to the discussions, advocated the return of the territory to Italy. To break the impasse, Britain finally recommended immediate independence for Libya, in accordance with the constitution the new country had a federal government with the three states of Cyrenaica, Tripolitania and Fezzan having autonomy
38.
History of Libya under Muammar Gaddafi
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Muammar Gaddafi became the de facto leader of Libya on 1 September 1969 after leading a group of young Libyan military officers against King Idris I in a bloodless coup détat. After coming to power, the RCC government initiated a process of directing funds toward providing education, health care, despite the reforms not being entirely effective, public education in the country became free and primary education compulsory for both sexes. Medical care became available to the public at no cost but providing housing for all was a task the RCC government was not able to complete. Under Gaddafi, per capita income in the rose to more than US $11,000, the fifth highest in Africa. The increase in prosperity was accompanied by a foreign policy. Gaddafis government was known to be or suspected of participating in or aiding terrorist acts by these. Additionally, Gaddafi undertook several invasions of neighboring states in Africa, all of his actions led to a deterioration of Libyas foreign relations with several countries and culminated in the US bombing of Libya in 1986. Gaddafi defended his actions by citing the need to support anti-imperialist and anti-colonial movements around the world, notably, Gaddafi supported anti-Zionist, pan-Africanist, and black civil rights movements. Gaddafis behavior, often erratic, led outsiders to conclude that he was not mentally sound, in early 2011, a civil war broke out in the context of the wider Arab Spring. The anti-Gaddafi forces formed a committee named the National Transitional Council and it was meant to act as an interim authority in the rebel-controlled areas. At the same time, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against Gaddafi, the fall of the last remaining cities under pro-Gaddafi control and Sirtes capture on 20 October 2011, followed by the subsequent killing of Gaddafi, marked the end of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. The name of Libya was changed several times during Gaddafis tenure as the leader, at first, the name was the Libyan Arab Republic. In 1977, the name was changed to Socialist Peoples Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Jamahiriya was a term coined by Gaddafi, usually translated as state of the masses. The country was renamed again in 1986 as the Great Socialist Peoples Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, the discovery of significant oil reserves in 1959 and the subsequent income from petroleum sales enabled the Kingdom of Libya to transition from one of the worlds poorest nations to a wealthy state. Although oil drastically improved the Libyan governments finances, resentment began to build over the concentration of the nations wealth in the hands of King Idris. This discontent mounted with the rise of Nasserism and Arab nationalism/socialism throughout North Africa, the coup was launched at Benghazi, and within two hours the takeover was completed. Army units quickly rallied in support of the coup, and within a few days firmly established control in Tripoli. Popular reception of the coup, especially by people in the urban areas, was enthusiastic
39.
Pan-Arabism
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Pan-Arabism or Arabism is an ideology espousing the unification of the countries of North Africa and West Asia from the Atlantic Ocean to the Arabian Sea, referred to as the Arab world. It is closely connected to Arab nationalism, which asserts that the Arabs constitute a single nation and its popularity was at its height during the 1950s and 1960s. Advocates of pan-Arabism have often espoused socialist principles and strongly opposed Western political involvement in the Arab world and it also sought to empower Arab states from outside forces by forming alliances and – to a lesser extent – economic co-operation. The origins of pan-Arabism are often attributed to Jurji Zaydan and his Nahda movement and he also popularized through his historical novels certain heroes from Arab history. A more formalized pan-Arab ideology than that of Hussein was first espoused in the 1930s, notably by Syrian thinkers such as Constantin Zureiq, Sati al-Husri, Zaki al-Arsuzi and it has been said that Arsuzi was fascinated with the Nazi ideology of racial purity and impacted Aflaq. Abdullah I of Jordan dreamed of uniting Syria, Palestine, and he unsuccessfully proposed a plan to this effect to the United Kingdom, which controlled Palestine at that time. The plan was not popular among the majority of Arabs and fostered distrust among the leaders of the other Middle Eastern countries against Abdallah, the distrust of Abdallahs expansionist aspirations was one of the principal reasons for the founding of the Arab League in 1945. Once Abdallah was assassinated by a Palestinian nationalist in 1951, the vision of Greater Syria was dropped from the Jordanian agenda, the pan-Arabist ideology has been accused of inciting prejudice against or downplaying the role of ethnic minorities such as the Berbers. Although pan-Arabism began at the time of World War I, Egypt was not interested in pan-Arabism prior to the 1950s, thus, in the 1930s and 1940s, Egyptian nationalism – not pan-Arabism – was the dominant mode of expression of Egyptian political activists. James Jankowski wrote about Egypt at the time, What is most significant is the absence of an Arab component in early Egyptian nationalism, the thrust of Egyptian political, economic, and cultural development throughout the nineteenth century worked against, rather than for, an Arab orientation. This situation—that of divergent political trajectories for Egyptians and Arabs—if anything increased after 1900, there have been several attempts to bring about a pan-Arab state by many well-known Arab leaders, all of which ultimately resulted in failure. It lasted until 1961, when Syrian army officers carried out a coup détat, by 1961, Egypt had become the only remaining member but continued to call itself the UAR, but it eventually renamed itself the Arab Republic of Egypt in 1973. Also in 1958, a Hashemite-led rival, the Arab Federation, was founded between Jordan and Iraq, tensions with the UAR and the 14 July Revolution made the Arab Federation collapse after only six months. Another attempt, the United Arab States, existed as a confederation between the United Arab Republic, Arab Federation and the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen, but it dissolved in 1961. Two later attempts represented the enthusiasm of Libyas Muammar Gaddafi, the Federation of Arab Republics, which lasted five years, and the Arab Islamic Republic, which never emerged in practice. The current Syrian government is and the government of Iraq was led by rival factions of the Baath Party. The Arab defeat by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War and the inability of pan-Arabist governments to generate economic growth severely damaged the credibility of pan-Arabism as a relevant ideology, Egyptians attachment to pan-Arabism was particularly questioned after the Six-Day War. Nasser had overplayed his hand in trying to form a pan-Arab hegemony under himself, thousands of Egyptians had lost their lives, and the country became disillusioned with Arab politics
40.
Pan-Arab colors
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The Pan-Arab colours are black, white, green, and red. Individually, each of the four Pan-Arab colours were intended to represent a certain Arab dynasty, or era. The four colours derived their potency from a verse by 14th century Iraqi poet Safi Al-Din Al-Hilli, « White are our acts, black our battles, green our fields, Pan-Arab colours were first combined in 1916 in the flag of the Arab Revolt. It may be noted that while Libya is an Arab country and has a flag with the four colours. From the 1950s onwards, a sub-set of the Pan-Arab colours and these consist of a tricolour of red, white and black bands, with green given less prominence. The Arab Liberation colours were inspired by the use of the Arab Liberation Flag in the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, list of Arab flags Pan-Arabism Tricolour Pan-Slavic colors Pan-African colours Pan-Arab colors Evolution of the Arab Flag, by Dr. Mahdi Abdul-Hadi
41.
Egyptian revolution of 1952
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The Egyptian revolution of 1952, also known as the July 23 revolution, began on July 23,1952, by the Free Officers Movement, a group of army officers led by Muhammad Naguib and Gamal Abdel Nasser. The revolution was aimed at overthrowing King Faruq. The revolutionary government adopted a staunchly nationalist, anti-imperialist agenda, which came to be expressed chiefly through Arab nationalism, the ongoing state of war with Israel also posed a serious challenge, as the Free Officers increased Egypts already strong support of the Palestinians. These two issues conflated four years after the revolution when Egypt was invaded by Britain, France and this strengthened the appeal of the revolution in other Arab and African countries. By the 1960s, Arab socialism had become a dominant theme and these restrictions on political activity would remain in place until the presidency of Anwar Sadat from 1970 onwards, during which many of the policies of the revolution were scaled back or reversed. It also inspired the toppling of existing pro-Western monarchies and governments in the region, the revolution is commemorated each year on July 23. The revolution in 1952 found its genesis within the voice of the people and it was first time for Egyptians to rule since time of Pharaohs. The new regime was common to all Egyptians in terms of religion, culture, the end of monarchy signaled an end for British intervention. A government that is 100 percent consisting of Egyptians was expected to act in favor of society, a mixture of agrarian capitalism and feudalism initiated the anti-feudal coup. The Egyptian economy was capitalist since last quarter of the 19th century, the loss of the 1948 war with Israel led to the Free Officers accusations of corruption towards the King and his court and the promotion of that feeling among the Egyptian people. The Free Officers Movement was formed by a group of reform minded officers which, backed by the Soviet Union and they used an army general, Muhammad Naguib, as its head to show their seriousness and attract more army followers. You manifested this during and after the Palestine War in the corrupt arms scandals and your open interference in the courts to try to falsify the facts of the case, thus shaking faith in justice. The army places upon Your Majesty the burden of everything that may result from failure to abdicate according to the wishes of the people. Causes • The Egyptian monarchy was seen as corrupt and pro-British, with its lavish lifestyle that seemed provocative to the free officers movement who lived in poverty. Its policies completed the image of the Egyptian government being a puppet-figure in the hands of the British government, • Promoting the feeling of corruptness of several Egyptian institutions such as the police, the palace and even the political parties by the free officers. • The loss of 1948 war with Israel led to the free officers blame of the King, as a result, a group of army officers who named themselves the free officers movement was formed by a young officer named Gamal Abdel Nasser. They used a general, Mohamed Naguib, as its head to show seriousness. You manifested this during and after the Palestine War in the corrupt arms scandals and your open interference in the courts to try to falsify the facts of the case, thus shaking faith in justice
42.
Flag of Egypt
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The flag of Egypt is a tricolour consisting of the three equal horizontal red, white, and black bands of the Arab Liberation flag dating back to the Egyptian Revolution of 1952. The flag bears Egypts national emblem, the Eagle of Saladin centered in the white band, the Free Officers who toppled King Farouk in the Revolution of 1952 assigned specific symbolism to each of the three bands of the Arab Liberation flag. The red band symbolizes the period before the Revolution, a characterized by the struggle against the monarchy. The white band symbolizes the nature of the Revolution itself. The black band symbolizes the end of the oppression of the Egyptian people at the hands of the monarchy, Egypts use of the Arab Liberation flag inspired its adoption by a number of other Arab states. The same horizontal tricolour is used by Iraq, Syria, and Yemen, the development of the modern Egyptian flag was determined first by the Muhammad Ali Dynasty, under whom Egypt was united with Sudan, and later by the rise of Arab nationalism. When Muhammad Ali successfully seized power in Egypt, the country was officially an Eyalet of the Ottoman Empire, however, throughout his reign, and that of his sons and grandsons, Egypt enjoyed virtual independence as a Khedivate. The meaning of the three stars and crescents has been suggested that this was to symbolise the victory of his armies in three continents, and his own sovereignty over Egypt, Sudan, and Hejaz. The similarity with the flag of the Ottoman Empire was deliberate, as Muhammad Ali harbored grandiose ambitions of deposing the Ottoman dynasty, Egypt retained this flag even after formal Ottoman sovereignty was terminated in 1914, when Egypt was declared to be a sultanate, and a British protectorate. After the Urabi Revolt in 1882, British forces occupied the country and this reached a peak in the Revolution of 1919, when both the red flag introduced by Muhammad Ali, and a special green banner bearing a crescent and cross were used in protests against the British. In 1922, Britain agreed to formally recognize Egyptian independence, but only on the condition that the Sultan of Egypt, Fuad I, change his title to King. Upon so doing, the now King Fuad issued a Royal Decree formally adopting a new flag of a white crescent with three white stars on a green background in it. It has also suggested that the three stars represented the three religious communities of the country, Muslims, Christians and Jews. This earlier version of the eagle differs somewhat from the one later adopted, in 1958, Egypt and Syria united as the United Arab Republic and adopted a national flag based on the Arab Liberation flag, with two green stars replacing the Eagle of Saladin in the white band. A modified version of the Eagle of Saladin was adopted as the UARs coat of arms. Though Syria withdrew from the U. A. R. in 1961, Egypt continued to use the name of the United Arab Republic until 1971. In 1972, when Egypt formed the Federation of Arab Republics along with Syria, and Libya, the U. A. R. flag was replaced by a common flag for the Federation, once again based on the Arab Liberation flag. The two green stars in the band were replaced by the Hawk of Qureish, which had been the coat of arms of Syria prior to the formation of the U. A. R. in 1958
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Flag of Iraq
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The flag of Iraq includes the three equal horizontal red, white, and black stripes of the Arab Liberation flag. This basic tricolor has been in use since 1963, with changes to the green symbols in the central white stripe. The first flag of modern Iraq was the Kingdom of Iraq and it was a black-white-green horizontal flag, with a red trapezoid extending from the mast side, inspired by the flag of the Arab Revolt. Two seven-point white stars on the triangle denoted the two peoples of the kingdom, the Arabs and the Kurds. The design also reflected the newly installed Hashemite Dynasty in Iraq, as such, it was similar to the flags of Hashemite Jordan, and the short-lived Kingdom of Hejaz. Prior to Iraqi independence in 1932, this flag was used by the British Mandate of Mesopotamia. Today, it is used by pro-Hashemite monarchists in Iraq, in 1958, in response to the merger of Egypt and Syria in the United Arab Republic, the two Hashemite kingdoms of Iraq and Jordan established the Arab Federation, a confederation of the two states. The flag of the union was essentially that of Jordan but without seven pointed star in the red chevron and this flag is identical to the flag of Palestine adopted in 1964, and almost identical to the flag of the Baath Party. The union lasted less than six months, being terminated by the Iraqi Revolution of 1958 in July, the black, white, green, and red are the pan-Arab colours, representing pan-Arabism, while the yellow sun represented the Kurdish minority. In addition, the red star was used to represent Iraqs ancient heritage, after Qassim was overthrown by the Baath Party in 1963, the new Baathist government adopted a modified version of the Arab Liberation flag as the new flag of Iraq on 31 July 1963. This horizontal tricolour of red, white, and black bands formed the basis of the flag of the United Arab Republic, though the UAR broke up in 1961, hopes for Arab unity persisted. Sharing this goal, Syria adopted the new Iraqi flag as its own later that same year and this remained the flag of Syria until 1971, when the green stars were replaced by the Hawk of Qureish. The Iraqi Flag Law No.28 of 1963 was replaced by Flag Law No, on 13 January 1991, the flag was modified by Flag Law No.6 of 1991. At the instigation of Saddam Hussein, the takbīr was added in green between the stars, the form of the takbīr was said to be Saddams own handwriting. As with other flags inscribed with Arabic script, the hoist is to the right of the obverse of the flag. The basic form of the flag was retained, however. The modified flag was unveiled at the marking the technical handover of power from the Coalition Provisional Authority occupation forces to the U. S. -appointed administration on 28 June 2004. On 22 January 2008, a new design for the flag was confirmed by Law 9 of 2008, in this current version, the three stars were removed
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Flag of Syria
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As a result of the ongoing Syrian civil war, there are currently two governments claiming to be the de jure government of Syria, using different flags to represent the state. The current flag was first adopted in 1958 to represent Syria as part of the United Arab Republic, since its first adoption, variations of the red-white-black flag have been used in various Arab Unions of Syria with Egypt, Libya, Sudan, Yemen and Iraq. Although Syria is not part of any Arab state union, the flag of the United Arab Republic was readopted to show Syrias commitment to Arab unity. The usage of the flag has become disputed because it is associated with the Baath Party and has come to represent parties loyal to Assads government in the Syrian civil war. The Syrian flag is described in Article 6 of the Syrian Constitution, the first paragraph of the Article states, The flag of the Syrian Arab Republic consists of three colours, red, white and black, with two green stars, of five angles each. The flag is rectangular, with its width measuring two thirds of its length and it is divided into three rectangles of identical dimensions and have the same length as the flag. The upper one is red, the middle being white and the one is black. The modified independence flag began to be used as a display of the protesting opposition in late 2011. The opposition wanted to distinguish themselves from the current Syrian government, khaled Kamal, an official from the Syrian National Council, now believes this flag to also represent independence and the end of Bashar al-Assads government. Today the flag is used in areas controlled by the Syrian National Coalition. The use of the independence flag is similar to the Libyan rebels use of the pre-Gaddafi Libyan flag from the era of the Kingdom of Libya in opposition to Muammar Gaddafis green flag. The original 1,2 aspect ratio flag has been used by the opposition unofficially on several occasions, the first native Syrian flag was that of the short-lived Kingdom of Syria. The Ottoman flag had been used in Syria until Ottomans left the country on 18 September 1918, in 1918, the official flag of Syria was the Faysal flag, the flag of the Arab revolt between 1916 and 1918. It was officially adopted by the Hashemite family on 30 September 1918, the Faysal flag was then redesigned with the 7-pointed white star and was in use until 24 July 1920. This flag was, however, was adopted by Jordan somewhat later, the kingdom lasted for just over 4 months in 1920 before being occupied by France and formally incorporated into the French colonial empire for some 12 years. The last French troops left Syria in August 1946, the Faysal flag was abandoned with the arrival of French colonials to Syria. The French High Commissioner for Syria, General Henri Gouraud adopted the new flag of the French Mandate of Syria on 24 July 1920, gourauds flag was in use until 1 September 1920, after which Syria was split into separate territories, each eventually given its own flag. The Prime Minister of Syria under French Mandate, Jamil al-Ulshi and this flag was in use until 1930
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