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
Glossary of vexillology
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Contents
2.
Civil flag
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A civil flag is a version of the national flag that is flown by civilians on nongovernmental installations or craft. The use of flags was more common in the past to denote buildings or ships not manned by the military. In some countries, the flag is the same as the war flag or state flag but without the coat of arms, such as in the case of Spain. In others, it is an alteration of the war flag, in Scandinavia, state and war flags can be double and triple-tailed variants of the Nordic Cross flag. Many countries, particularly those with a British heritage, still have distinctive civil flags for use at sea, many based on the Red Ensign
Civil flag
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Argentina
3.
State flag
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There are two separate meanings for the term of state flag in vexillology, the flag of the government of a sovereign state and the flag of an individual subnational state. A state flag is a variant of a national flag specifically designated and restricted by law or custom to use by a government or its agencies. For this reason they are referred to as government flags. Scandinavian countries also use swallowtailed state flags, to differentiate them from civil flags. In addition, some countries have state ensigns, separate flags for use by government ships such as guard vessels. For example, government ships in the United Kingdom fly the blue ensign, state flags should not be confused with the national flag as used by military organisations, these are referred to as war flags and naval ensigns. To avoid confusion with the first meaning of the term, however, such a flag would be more referred to as the flag of the state of X. For this usage, see also, Flags of the Australian states and territories Flags of Brazilian states Flags of the U. S. states Flags of German states Znamierowski, the world encyclopedia of flags, The definitive guide to international flags, banners, standards and ensigns
State flag
–
The
Flag of Massachusetts on display in the
Financial District of
Boston.
4.
Blue
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Blue is the colour between violet and green on the optical spectrum of visible light. Human eyes perceive blue when observing light with a wavelength between 450 and 495 nanometres, which is between 4500 and 4950 ångströms. Blues with a frequency and thus a shorter wavelength gradually look more violet, while those with a lower frequency. Pure blue, in the middle, has a wavelength of 470 nanometers, in painting and traditional colour theory, blue is one of the three primary colours of pigments, along with red and yellow, which can be mixed to form a wide gamut of colours. Red and blue mixed together form violet, blue and yellow together form green, Blue is also a primary colour in the RGB colour model, used to create all the colours on the screen of a television or computer monitor. The clear sky and the sea appear blue because of an optical effect known as Rayleigh scattering. When sunlight passes through the atmosphere, the wavelengths are scattered more widely by the oxygen and nitrogen molecules. An optical effect called Tyndall scattering, similar to Rayleigh scattering, explains blue eyes, distant objects appear more blue because of another optical effect called atmospheric perspective. Blue has been used for art and decoration since ancient times and it is the most important color in Judaism. In the Middle Ages, cobalt blue was used to colour the stained glass windows of cathedrals, beginning in the 9th century, Chinese artists used cobalt to make fine blue and white porcelain. Blue dyes for clothing were made from woad in Europe and indigo in Asia, in 1828 a synthetic ultramarine pigment was developed, and synthetic blue dyes and pigments gradually replaced mineral pigments and vegetable dyes. Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Vincent van Gogh and other late 19th century painters used ultramarine and cobalt blue not just to depict nature, in the late 18th century and 19th century, blue became a popular colour for military uniforms and police uniforms. In the 20th century, because blue was associated with harmony, it was chosen as the colour of the flags of the United Nations. Surveys in the US and Europe show that blue is the colour most commonly associated with harmony, faithfulness, confidence, distance, infinity, the imagination, cold, and sometimes with sadness. In US and European public opinion polls it is the most popular colour, Blue is the colour of light between violet and green on the visible spectrum. Blues also vary in shade or tint, darker shades of blue contain black or grey, darker shades of blue include ultramarine, cobalt blue, navy blue, and Prussian blue, while lighter tints include sky blue, azure, and Egyptian blue. Today most blue pigments and dyes are made by a chemical process, the modern English word blue comes from Middle English bleu or blewe, from the Old French bleu, a word of Germanic origin, related to the Old High German word blao. In heraldry, the azure is used for blue
Blue
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Sky blue or pale
azure, mid-way on the RBG colour wheel between blue and cyan.
Blue
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Blue
Blue
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Extract of natural
indigo, the most popular blue dye before the invention of synthetic dyes. It was the colour of the first
blue jeans.
Blue
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A block of
lapis lazuli, originally used to make ultramarine.
5.
Red
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Red is the color at the longer-wavelengths end of the spectrum of visible light next to orange, at the opposite end from violet. Red color has a predominant light wavelength of roughly 620–740 nanometers, light with a longer wavelength than red but shorter than terahertz radiation and microwave is called infrared. Red is one of the secondary colors, resulting from the combination of yellow. Traditionally, it was viewed as a primary colour, along with yellow and blue, in the RYB color space and traditional color wheel formerly used by painters. Reds can vary in shade from light pink to very dark maroon or burgundy. Red is the color of cyan. In nature, the red color of blood comes from hemoglobin, the red color of the Grand Canyon and other geological features is caused by hematite or red ochre, both forms of iron oxide. It also causes the red color of the planet Mars, the color of autumn leaves is caused by pigments called anthocyanins, which are produced towards the end of summer, when the green chlorophyll is no longer produced. One to two percent of the population has red hair, the color is produced by high levels of the reddish pigment pheomelanin. Since red is the color of blood, it has historically been associated with sacrifice, danger, modern surveys in the United States and Europe show red is also the color most commonly associated with heat, activity, passion, sexuality, anger, love and joy. In China, India and many other Asian countries it is the color of symbolizing happiness, since the 19th century, red has also been associated with socialism and communism. The word red is derived from the Old English rēad, the word can be further traced to the Proto-Germanic rauthaz and the Proto-Indo European root rewdʰ-. In Sanskrit, the word means red or blood. In the Akkadian language of Ancient Mesopotamia and in the modern Inuit language of Inuit, the words for colored in Latin and Spanish both also mean red. In Portuguese the word for red is vermelho, which comes from Latin vermiculus, in the Russian language, the word for red, Кра́сный, comes from the same old Slavic root as the words for beautiful—красивый and excellent—прекрасный. Thus Red Square in Moscow, named long before the Russian Revolution, in heraldry, the word gules is used for red. Red can vary in hue from orange-red to violet-red, and for each hue there is a variety of shades and tints. Red hematite powder was found scattered around the remains at a grave site in a Zhoukoudian cave complex near Beijing
Red
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Pure, or solid red, the color of most ripe
strawberries.
Red
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Red
Red
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Scarlet is one quarter of the way between the colors red and orange. It is the color worn by a
cardinal of the
Roman Catholic Church..
Red
–
The
cardinal takes its name from the color worn by Roman Catholic
cardinals.
6.
Charge (heraldry)
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In heraldry, a charge is any emblem or device occupying the field of an escutcheon. This may be a design or a symbolic representation of a person, animal, plant. In French blazon, the ordinaries are called pièces while other charges are called meubles, while thousands of objects found in nature, mythology or technology have appeared in armory, there are several charges which have contributed to the distinctive flavour of heraldic design. Only these and a few other notable charges are discussed in this article, some heraldic writers distinguish, albeit arbitrarily, between honourable ordinaries and sub-ordinaries. While some authors hold that only nine charges are honourable ordinaries, the remainder are often termed sub-ordinaries, and narrower or smaller versions of the ordinaries are called diminutives. Apparently ceding the point for the moment, Fox-Davies lists the generally agreed-upon honourable ordinaries as the bend, fess, pale, pile, chevron, cross, saltire and chief. Boutell lists the chief, pale, bend, bend sinister, fess, bar, cross, saltire and cheveron as the honourable ordinaries. Thus, the chief, bend, pale, fess, chevron, cross and saltire appear to be the undisputed ordinaries, while authors disagree over the status of the pile, bar, inescutcheon, bordure and others. Several different figures are recognised as honourable ordinaries, each normally occupying about one-fifth to one-third of the field, the chief is the upper portion of the field. The bend runs from the left to the lower right, as \. The bend sinister runs from the right to the lower left. The pale, a stripe in the centre of the field. The fess is a horizontal stripe across the centre of the field. The chevron is a construction shaped like an inverted letter V, the cross is a geometric construction of two perpendicular lines or bands. It has hundreds of variants, most of which are common charges rather than ordinaries, the saltire is a diagonal cross, often called Saint Andrews cross. Most of the ordinaries have corresponding diminutives, narrower versions, most often mentioned when two or more appear in parallel, bendlets, pallets, bars, chevronels, in addition to those mentioned in the above section, other ordinaries exist. Some of these are variously called honourable ordinaries by different authors, the pall or pairle is shaped like the letter Y. The pile is a wedge issuing from the top of the field and its length and width vary widely
Charge (heraldry)
7.
Crown (headgear)
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In art, the crown may be shown being offered to those on Earth by angels. In religious art, a crown of stars is used similarly to a halo, crowns worn by rulers often contain jewels. A crown is often an emblem of the monarchy, a monarchs government, the word itself is used, particularly in Commonwealth countries, as an abstract name for the monarchy itself, as distinct from the individual who inhabits it. A specific type of crown is employed in heraldry under strict rules, costume headgear imitating a monarchs crown is also called a crown. Such costume crowns may be worn by actors portraying a monarch, people at parties, or ritual monarchs such as the king of a Carnival krewe. The nuptial crown, sometimes called a coronal, worn by a bride, in the present day, it is most common in Eastern Orthodox cultures. The Eastern Orthodox marriage service has a section called the crowning, wherein the bride and groom are crowned as king, in Greek weddings, the crowns are diadems usually made of white flowers, synthetic or real, often adorned with silver or mother of pearl. They are placed on the heads of the newlyweds and are held together by a ribbon of white silk and they are then kept by the couple as a reminder of their special day. In Slavic weddings, the crowns are made of ornate metal, designed to resemble an imperial crown. A parish usually owns one set to use for all the couples that are married there since these are more expensive than Greek-style crowns. This was common in Catholic countries in the past, a Crown of thorns according to the Bible, was placed on the head of Jesus before his crucifixion and has become a common symbol of martyrdom. According to Roman Catholic tradition, the Blessed Virgin Mary was crowned as Queen of Heaven after her assumption into heaven and she is often depicted wearing a crown, and statues of her in churches and shrines are ceremonially crowned during May. The Crown of Immortality is also common in historical symbolism, dancers of certain traditional Thai dances often wear crowns on their head. These are inspired in the worn by deities and by kings. Three distinct categories of crowns exist in those monarchies that use crowns or state regalia, coronation, worn by monarchs when being crowned. State, worn by monarchs on other state occasions, consort crowns, worn by queens consort, signifying rank granted as a constitutional courtesy protocol. In Classical antiquity, the crown that was awarded to people other than rulers, such as triumphal military generals or athletes, was actually a wreath or chaplet. Numerous crowns of various forms were used in antiquity, such as the Hedjet, Deshret, the Pschent double crown and it was referred to as the chaplet studded with sunbeams” by Lucian, about 180 AD
Crown (headgear)
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The
Imperial State Crown of Great Britain, Tower of London. It incorporates the "Black Prince's Ruby", a 140 ct. Badakhshan spinel. This image of the crown was taken prior to the 1953 coronation, when the crown was modified for Queen Elizabeth II
Crown (headgear)
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Crown of Bolesław I the Brave from
Poland. Replica made between 2001 and 2003 after the original 1000-year-old crown was destroyed in the late 18th century.
Crown (headgear)
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The
Iron Crown of Lombardy, probably the most ancient royal insignia of Europe, used by the
Holy Roman Empire and the
Kingdom of Italy, kept in the Cathedral of
Monza.
Crown (headgear)
–
Crown of King
George XII of Georgia made of gold and decorated with 145 diamonds, 58 rubies, 24 emeralds and 16 amethysts. It took the form of a circlet surmounted by ornaments and eight arches. A globe surmounted by a cross rested on the top of the crown.
8.
Canton (heraldry)
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Canton is a square charge placed in the upper dexter corner. It is classed by some writers as one of the honorable ordinaries. However, in the roll of Henry III the quarter appears in several coats which in later rolls are blazoned as cantons, the canton, like the quarter, appears in early armory, and is always shown with straight lines. A canton sinister is a canton placed on the side of the shield. The chequer, a pane of the field of chequy, can be considered a diminutive of the canton, an enlarged sinister canton appears in the arms of William Wilde Lotter. A plain, uncharged canton can be used as a mark of distinction, that is, not a mark of peculiar honour, but a mark denoting that the bearer is a stranger in blood
Canton (heraldry)
–
"Argent a canton gules"
9.
Liechtenstein
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Liechtenstein, officially the Principality of Liechtenstein, is a doubly landlocked German-speaking microstate in Central Europe. It is a monarchy with the rank of principality, headed by the Prince of Liechtenstein. Liechtenstein is bordered by Switzerland to the west and south and Austria to the east and it has an area of just over 160 square kilometres and an estimated population of 37,000. Divided into 11 municipalities, its capital is Vaduz and its largest municipality is Schaan, the unemployment rate is one of the lowest in the world at 1. 5%. Liechtenstein has been known in the past as a tax haven, however. An alpine country, Liechtenstein is mainly mountainous, making it a winter sport destination, many cultivated fields and small farms are found both in the south and north. The country has a financial sector centered in Vaduz. Liechtenstein is a member of the European Free Trade Association, and while not being a member of the European Union and it also has a customs union and a monetary union with Switzerland. The oldest traces of human existence in Liechtenstein date back to the Middle Paleolithic era, neolithic farming settlements were founded in the valleys around 5300 BC. Hallstatt and La Tène cultures flourished during the late Iron Age from around 450 BC possibly under influence from the Greek. One of the most important tribal groups in the Alpine region were the Helvetii, in 58 BC, at the Battle of Bibracte, Julius Caesar defeated the Alpine tribes, bringing the region under closer control of the Roman Empire. By 15 BC, Tiberius, who was destined to be the second Roman emperor, Liechtenstein was integrated into the Roman province of Raetia. The area was maintained by the Roman military, which maintained a large legionary camp called Brigantium near Lake Constance, a Roman road ran through the territory. In 259/60 Brigantium was destroyed by the Alemanni, a Germanic people who settled in the area in around 450. In the Early Middle Ages, the Alemanni had settled the eastern Swiss plateau by the 5th century, Liechtenstein was at the eastern edge of Alemannia. In the 6th century, the region became part of the Frankish Empire following Clovis Is victory over the Alemanni at Tolbiac in 504. The area that later became Liechtenstein remained under Frankish hegemony until the empire was divided by the Treaty of Verdun in 843 AD following the death of Charlemagne. The territory of present-day Liechtenstein belonged to East Francia until it was reunified with Middle Francia under the Holy Roman Empire around 1000 AD
Liechtenstein
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Gutenberg Castle, Balzers, Liechtenstein.
Liechtenstein
–
Flag
Liechtenstein
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Vaduz Castle, overlooking the capital, is home to the
Prince of Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein
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Johann I Joseph, Prince of Liechtenstein from 1805 to 1806 and 1814 to 1836.
10.
German language
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German is a West Germanic language that is mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, South Tyrol, the German-speaking Community of Belgium and it is also one of the three official languages of Luxembourg. Major languages which are most similar to German include other members of the West Germanic language branch, such as Afrikaans, Dutch, English, Luxembourgish and it is the second most widely spoken Germanic language, after English. One of the languages of the world, German is the first language of about 95 million people worldwide. The German speaking countries are ranked fifth in terms of publication of new books. German derives most of its vocabulary from the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family, a portion of German words are derived from Latin and Greek, and fewer are borrowed from French and English. With slightly different standardized variants, German is a pluricentric language, like English, German is also notable for its broad spectrum of dialects, with many unique varieties existing in Europe and also other parts of the world. The history of the German language begins with the High German consonant shift during the migration period, when Martin Luther translated the Bible, he based his translation primarily on the standard bureaucratic language used in Saxony, also known as Meißner Deutsch. Copies of Luthers Bible featured a long list of glosses for each region that translated words which were unknown in the region into the regional dialect. Roman Catholics initially rejected Luthers translation, and tried to create their own Catholic standard of the German language – the difference in relation to Protestant German was minimal. It was not until the middle of the 18th century that a widely accepted standard was created, until about 1800, standard German was mainly a written language, in urban northern Germany, the local Low German dialects were spoken. Standard German, which was different, was often learned as a foreign language with uncertain pronunciation. Northern German pronunciation was considered the standard in prescriptive pronunciation guides though, however, German was the language of commerce and government in the Habsburg Empire, which encompassed a large area of Central and Eastern Europe. Until the mid-19th century, it was essentially the language of townspeople throughout most of the Empire and its use indicated that the speaker was a merchant or someone from an urban area, regardless of nationality. Some cities, such as Prague and Budapest, were gradually Germanized in the years after their incorporation into the Habsburg domain, others, such as Pozsony, were originally settled during the Habsburg period, and were primarily German at that time. Prague, Budapest and Bratislava as well as cities like Zagreb, the most comprehensive guide to the vocabulary of the German language is found within the Deutsches Wörterbuch. This dictionary was created by the Brothers Grimm and is composed of 16 parts which were issued between 1852 and 1860, in 1872, grammatical and orthographic rules first appeared in the Duden Handbook. In 1901, the 2nd Orthographical Conference ended with a standardization of the German language in its written form
German language
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Old Frisian (Alt-Friesisch)
German language
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The widespread popularity of the
Bible translated into German by
Martin Luther helped establish modern German
German language
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Examples of German language in
Namibian everyday life
German language
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German-language newspapers in the U.S. in 1922
11.
Constitution of Liechtenstein
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The Constitution of Liechtenstein was promulgated on 5 October 1921, replacing the 1862 constitution. It also abolished the three seats in the Landtag appointed by the Prince and lowered the age from 24 to 21. The constitution has twelve chapters, Chapter I, responsibilities of the State Chapter IV. General Rights and Obligations of Liechtenstein Citizens Chapter V, administrative Bodies and Civil Servants Chapter X. Constitutional Amendments and Interpretation Chapter XII,1972, Article 16, paragraphs 6 and 7 annulled. 1973, Article 46, paragraph 3 inserted setting the threshold at 8%. 1982, Article 61 amended 1984, Article 48 paragraphs 2 and 3,1988, Article 46, paragraph 1 amended to increase number of Landtag members from 15 to 25. 1989, Article 52, paragraph 2 annulled,1992, Article 31, paragraph 2 and 3 amended. 1994, Article 46, paragraph 2 amended and corrected,1997, Article 46, paragraph 4 amended, paragraph 5 inserted, article 47 paragraph 2 annulled. 2000, Article 29, paragraph 2 on citizenship amended,2003, Articles 1,3,4,7,10,11,13, 13bis, 13ter,51, 62f, 62g,63 all amended
Constitution of Liechtenstein
–
Principality of Liechtenstein
12.
1936 Summer Olympics
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The 1936 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event that was held in 1936 in Berlin, Germany. Berlin won the bid to host the Games over Barcelona, Spain, on 26 April 1931 and it marked the second and final time the International Olympic Committee gathered to vote in a city that was bidding to host those Games. To outdo the Los Angeles games of 1932, Adolf Hitler had built a new 100, 000-seat track and field stadium, six gymnasiums, the games were the first to be televised, and radio broadcasts reached 41 countries. Filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl was commissioned by the German Olympic Committee to film the Games for $7 million and her film, titled Olympia, pioneered many of the techniques now common in the filming of sports. When threatened with a boycott of the Games by other nations, total ticket revenues were 7.5 million Reichsmark, generating a profit of over one million marks. The official budget did not include outlays by the city of Berlin or outlays of the German national government and these were the final Olympics under the presidency of Henri de Baillet-Latour and the final Olympic Games for 12 years because of World War II. The next Olympic Games would be held in 1948, the bidding for these Olympic Games was the first to be contested by IOC members casting votes for their own favorite host cities. The vote occurred in 1931, during the Weimar Republic, before Adolf Hitler, many other cities around the world also wanted to host the Summer Olympics for that year, but except for Barcelona they did not receive any IOC votes. The other cities competing to hold the games were Alexandria, Buenos Aires, Cologne, Dublin, Frankfurt, Helsinki, Lausanne, Nuremberg, Rio de Janeiro, Budapest, and Rome. The selection procedure marked the second and final time that the International Olympic Committee would gather to vote in a city which was bidding to host those Games, the only other time this occurred was at the inaugural IOC Session in Paris, France, on 24 April 1894. Then, Athens and Paris were chosen to host the 1896 and 1900 Games, after the Nazis took control and began instituting anti-Semitic policies, the IOC held private discussions among its delegates about changing the decision to hold the Games in Berlin. However, Hitlers regime gave assurances that Jewish athletes would be allowed to compete on a German Olympic team, in September 1934, the US Olympic committee publicly accepted the invitation to go to the Berlin games, halting any further IOC attempts to quietly revise the decision. The next scheduled games in 1940 were awarded to Tokyo, the Japanese military even demanded that venues should be built from wood because metal was needed for its wars in Manchuria. The Olympic torch relay – itself pioneered as part of the 1936 Summer Games – was to fly the Olympic flame from Olympia to Tokyo in a specially-designed long-range aircraft. In 1938 the Japanese rejected hosting the games because they saw the Olympics and he promoted the idea that the use of sports would harden the German spirit and instill unity among German youth. At the same time he believed that sports was a way to weed out the weak, Jewish. Among Diems ideas for the Berlin Games was the introduction of the Olympic torch relay between Greece and the host nation, the 1936 Summer Olympics torch relay was the first of its kind, following on from the reintroduction of the Olympic Flame at the 1928 Games. It pioneered the modern convention of moving the flame via a system from Greece to the Olympic venue
1936 Summer Olympics
–
Games of the XI Olympiad
1936 Summer Olympics
–
The
Olympic Flag flying over the Olympic Stadium, Berlin 1936
1936 Summer Olympics
–
Runners carrying the Olympic Flame.
1936 Summer Olympics
–
TV camera from Telefunken.
13.
Flag of Haiti
–
The national flag of Haiti is a bicolour flag featuring two horizontal bands coloured blue and red, defaced by a white panel bearing the coat of arms. The coat of arms depicts a trophy of weapons atop a hill, ready to defend freedom. The palm is topped by the Cap of Liberty, the motto LUnion Fait La Force appears on a white ribbon below the arrangement. The present design was first used by the Republic of Haiti under President Alexandre Pétion in 1806 and it was readopted by Article 3 of the current Constitution of Haiti on February 25,2012, and made square as part of its readoption. In its semi-official English translation, Article 3 reads, The emblem of the Haitian Nation shall be a flag with the following description, two equal sized horizontal bands, a blue one on top and a red one underneath, b. The coat of arms of the Republic are, a Palmette surmounted by the liberty cap, the first purely Haitian flag was adopted on May 18,1803, on the last day of the Congress of Arcahaie, about 80 kilometres north of Port-au-Prince. Haitian lore holds that the newly appointed revolutionary leader Jean-Jacques Dessalines created the flag by taking a French tricolor and ripping out the white center and he then asked Catherine Flon, his god-daughter, to sew the remaining bands together. The white pale removed, the blue was taken to represent Haitis black citizens, the story is widely known in Haiti, the anniversary of the date is celebrated as the Haitian Flag Day and images of Catherine Flon have appeared on Haitian currency and stamps. Following his proclamation as Emperor Jacques I, Dessalines promulgated a new constitution on May 20,1805, in it, the colors of the flag were altered to black and red. During the period of the Haitian Empire of Faustin I, his coat of arms was used on the flag and for official functions, between 1964 and 1986, the family dictatorships of François Papa Doc and Jean-Claude Baby Doc Duvalier returned to Dessalines black and red design. They included the coat of arms, but altered the flags in its trophy to black as well. This led to the addition of a crown to the design of the flag of Liechtenstein, list of Haitian flags Flag of France Flag of Liechtenstein Fombrun, Odette Roy, ed. History of The Haitian Flag of Independence, the Flag Heritage Foundation Monograph And Translation Series Publication No.3. Worldsstatesmen. de Vries, Hubert, ed. Haiti - LUnion Fait La Force, the Armorial of Haiti, Symbols of Nobility in the Reign of Henry Christophe République dHaïti
Flag of Haiti
–
See also:
List of Haitian flags
Flag of Haiti
–
Haiti
Flag of Haiti
–
Flag of the
Kingdom of Haiti (1811–1820)
14.
Principality
–
Most of these states have historically been a polity, but in some occasions were rather territories in respect of which a princely title is held. The princes estate and wealth may be located mainly or wholly outside the confines of the principality. Generally recognised surviving sovereign principalities are Liechtenstein, Monaco, and the co-principality of Andorra, extant royal primogenitures styled as principalities include Asturias, and Wales. The term principality is often used informally to describe Wales as it currently exists, since that time, the title Prince of Wales has traditionally been granted to the heir to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom, but it confers no responsibilities for government in Wales. It has country status and is one of four countries in the United Kingdom, principality of Asturias is the official name of autonomous community of Asturias. No sovereign duchy currently exists, but Luxembourg is an example of a sovereign grand duchy. Historically there have been sovereign principalities with many styles of ruler, such as Countships, Margraviates and even Lordships, feudalism increased the power of local princes within a kings lands. As princes continued to more power over time, the authority of the king was diminished in many places. This led to political fragmentation as the lands were broken into mini-states ruled by princes and dukes who wielded absolute power over their small territories. This was especially prevalent in Europe, and particularly with the Princes of the Holy Roman Empire, during the Late Middle Ages from 1200 to 1500, principalities were often at war with each other as royal houses asserted sovereignty over smaller principalities. These wars caused a deal of instability and economies were destroyed. Episodes of bubonic plague reduced the power of principalities to survive independently. Eventually, agricultural progress and development of new goods and services boosted commerce between principalities. Many of these states became wealthy, expanded their territories and improved the services provided to their citizens, Princes and dukes developed their lands, established new ports and chartered large thriving cities. Some used their wealth to build palaces and other institutions now associated with sovereign states. While some principalities prospered in their independence, less successful states were swallowed by stronger royal houses, Europe saw consolidation of small principalities into larger kingdoms and empires. This had already happened in England in the first millennium, and this subsequently led to the creation of such states as France, Portugal. Another form of consolidation was orchestrated in Italy during the Renaissance by the Medici family, a banking family from Florence, the Medici took control of governments in various Italian regions and even assumed the papacy
Principality
–
Prince
Johann I Josef, last prince of
Liechtenstein prior to the end of the
Holy Roman Empire
15.
Holy Roman Empire
–
The Holy Roman Empire was a multi-ethnic complex of territories in central Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806. On 25 December 800, Pope Leo III crowned the Frankish king Charlemagne as Emperor, reviving the title in Western Europe, more than three centuries after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The title was revived in 962 when Otto I was crowned emperor, fashioning himself as the successor of Charlemagne, some historians refer to the coronation of Charlemagne as the origin of the empire, while others prefer the coronation of Otto I as its beginning. Scholars generally concur, however, in relating an evolution of the institutions and principles constituting the empire, the office of Holy Roman Emperor was traditionally elective, although frequently controlled by dynasties. Emperor Francis II dissolved the empire on 6 August 1806, after the creation of the Confederation of the Rhine by Napoleon, before 1157, the realm was merely referred to as the Roman Empire. In a decree following the 1512 Diet of Cologne, the name was changed to Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, by the end of the 18th century, the term Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation had fallen out of official use. As Roman power in Gaul declined during the 5th century, local Germanic tribes assumed control, by the middle of the 8th century, however, the Merovingians had been reduced to figureheads, and the Carolingians, led by Charles Martel, had become the de facto rulers. In 751, Martel’s son Pepin became King of the Franks, the Carolingians would maintain a close alliance with the Papacy. In 768 Pepin’s son Charlemagne became King of the Franks and began an expansion of the realm. He eventually incorporated the territories of present-day France, Germany, northern Italy, on Christmas Day of 800, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne emperor, restoring the title in the west for the first time in over three centuries. After the death of Charles the Fat in 888, however, the Carolingian Empire broke apart, according to Regino of Prüm, the parts of the realm spewed forth kinglets, and each part elected a kinglet from its own bowels. After the death of Charles the Fat, those crowned emperor by the pope controlled only territories in Italy, the last such emperor was Berengar I of Italy, who died in 924. Around 900, autonomous stem duchies reemerged in East Francia, on his deathbed, Conrad yielded the crown to his main rival, Henry the Fowler of Saxony, who was elected king at the Diet of Fritzlar in 919. Henry reached a truce with the raiding Magyars, and in 933 he won a first victory against them in the Battle of Riade, Henry died in 936, but his descendants, the Liudolfing dynasty, would continue to rule the Eastern kingdom for roughly a century. Upon Henry the Fowlers death, Otto, his son and designated successor, was elected King in Aachen in 936 and he overcame a series of revolts from an elder brother and from several dukes. After that, the managed to control the appointment of dukes. In 951, Otto came to the aid of Adelaide, the queen of Italy, defeating her enemies, marrying her. In 955, Otto won a victory over the Magyars in the Battle of Lechfeld
Holy Roman Empire
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The Holy Roman Empire at its maximal extent, in the 13th century
Holy Roman Empire
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Imperial Banner
Holy Roman Empire
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An illustration from
Schedelsche Weltchronik depicting the structure of the Reich: The Holy Roman Emperor is sitting; on his left are three ecclesiastics; on his right are four secular electors.
Holy Roman Empire
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Double-headed eagle with coats of arms of individual states, symbol of the Holy Roman Empire (painting from 1510)
16.
Coat of arms of Liechtenstein
–
The Arms of Liechtenstein are the armorial bearings of the Prince of Liechtenstein, currently Hans-Adam II. As the sovereign emblem of the Prince, its use is restricted to the Prince and members of his House, the arms are a history of the House, and show the many different regions and families with which Liechtenstein has been involved, either by conquest or by marriage. The first quarter shows the arms of Silesia, the second the arms of the Kuenring family, the third the arms of the Duchy of Troppau, and the fourth the arms of the County of Rietberg. The base is occupied by the arms of the Duchy of Jägerndorf, the whole shield is surrounded by a purple or red mantle with ermine lining and fringes and tassels of gold. At the top is placed the Princely hat, the arms of the Princely House are sometimes used alone, and thus form the Lesser Arms of Liechtenstein. When shown alone, the arms are usually ensigned by the Princely hat, flag of Liechtenstein Original Law text
Coat of arms of Liechtenstein
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Coat of arms of the Prince of Liechtenstein
17.
Joseph Wenzel I, Prince of Liechtenstein
–
Joseph Wenzel I was the Prince of Liechtenstein between 1712 and 1718,1732 and 1745, and 1748 and 1772. Born at Prague, Joseph Wenzel was the eldest son of Prince Philip Erasmus of Liechtenstein and he was a nephew of Anton Florian. Joseph was primarily a general and was a successful campaigner. In 1745, he was made Generalissimo in Italy and was victorious the following year at the Battle of Piacenza, in 1753 he was made General Chief Commander in Hungary. In one of the greatest achievements of his career, he reorganised the Habsburg artillery, from 1735 to 1736, he was Imperial Envoy to Berlin and he was Ambassador to Paris between 1738 and 1741. In 1760, he escorted the bride of Josef II to Vienna. Joseph managed to rule Liechtenstein three times, firstly, in his own right, from 1712–1718. The second time, he ruled as the guardian of Josef Johann Adam between 1732–1745 and the time as representative of the House of Liechtenstein from 1748–1772. He was the 698th Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece in Austria, when he died in 1772 in Vienna, without surviving issue, Liechtenstein went to his nephew Franz Joseph I, Prince of Liechtenstein. On 19 April 1718 Joseph Wenzel married his cousin, Princess Anna Maria Antonie of Liechtenstein, daughter of Anton Florian and they had five children, all of whom died in early childhood, Prince Philipp Anton
Joseph Wenzel I, Prince of Liechtenstein
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Portrait of Prince Joseph Wenzel I von Liechtenstein, by the French portraitist
Hyacinthe Rigaud
18.
Sky
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The sky is everything that lies above the surface of the Earth, including the atmosphere and outer space. In the field of astronomy, the sky is called the celestial sphere. This is viewed from Earths surface as a dome where the Sun, stars, planets. The celestial sphere is divided into regions called constellations. Usually, the sky is used informally as the point of view from the Earths surface, however. In some cases, such as in discussing the weather, the sky refers to only the lower, during daylight, the sky appears to be blue because air scatters blue sunlight more than it scatters red. At night, the sky appears to be a dark surface or region scattered with stars. During the day, the Sun can be seen in the sky obscured by clouds. In the night sky the Moon, planets and stars are visible in the sky, some of the natural phenomena seen in the sky are clouds, rainbows, and aurorae. Lightning and precipitation can also be seen in the sky during storms, birds, insects, aircraft, and kites are often considered to fly in the sky. Due to human activities, smog during the day and light pollution during the night are often seen above large cities. Except for light that directly from the sun, most of the light in the day sky is caused by scattering. The scattering due to molecule sized particles is greater in the forward and backward directions than it is in the lateral direction. Scattering is significant for light at all visible wavelengths but is stronger at the end of the visible spectrum, meaning that the scattered light is bluer than its source. The remaining sunlight, having lost some of its wavelength components. Scattering also occurs more strongly in clouds. Individual water droplets exposed to light will create a set of colored rings. If a cloud is thick enough, scattering from water droplets will wash out the set of colored rings
Sky
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Crepuscular rays of light shining through clouds in the sky
Sky
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The Crescent Moon remains visible just moments before Sunrise
Sky
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Aurora borealis over Bear Lake, Alaska
Sky
–
The
Milky Way can be seen as a large band across the night sky, and is distorted into an arch in this 360° panorama.
19.
Monarchy of Liechtenstein
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The Sovereign Prince of Liechtenstein is the monarch and head of state of Liechtenstein. It is the only remaining European monarchy that practises strict agnatic primogeniture, without any territory held immediately from the Imperial crown, the Liechtenstein family, although noble, did not qualify for a seat in the Diet of the Holy Roman Empire. The Prince of Liechtenstein has broad powers, which include the appointment of judges, the dismissal of ministers or government, veto power, the right of the parishes that make up the principality to secede was simultaneously recognised. Prince Hans-Adam had warned that he and his family would remove to Austria if the referendum were rejected, despite opposition from Mario Frick, a former Liechtenstein prime minister, the Princes referendum was approved by the electorate in 2003. Opponents accused Hans-Adam of engaging in emotional blackmail to achieve his goal and constitutional experts from the Council of Europe branded the event as a retrograde move, a proposal to revoke the Princes new veto powers was rejected by 76% of voters in a 2012 referendum. On 15 August 2004 Prince Hans-Adam II formally delegated most of his authority to his son and heir. Formally, Hans-Adam remains head of state, according to their house law, the monarch bears the titles, Reigning Prince of Liechtenstein, Duke of Troppau and Jägerndorf, Count of Rietberg, Sovereign of the House of Liechtenstein. List of monarchs of Liechtenstein The Princely House of Liechtenstein
Monarchy of Liechtenstein
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Sovereign Prince of Liechtenstein
Monarchy of Liechtenstein
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Arms of His Highness the Sovereign Prince of Liechtenstein
20.
The World Factbook
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The World Factbook is a reference resource produced by the Central Intelligence Agency with almanac-style information about the countries of the world. The official print version is available from the National Technical Information Service, Other companies—such as Skyhorse Publishing—also print a paper edition. The Factbook is available in the form of a website that is updated every week. It is also available for download for use off-line, the World Factbook is prepared by the CIA for the use of U. S. Government officials, and its style, format, coverage, and content are primarily designed to meet their requirements. However, it is used as a resource for academic research papers. As a work of the U. S. Government, it is in the domain in the United States. In researching the Factbook, the CIA uses the sources listed below, Other public and private sources are also consulted. However, the CIA requests that it be cited when the Factbook is used, copying the official seal of the CIA without permission is prohibited by U. S. federal law—specifically, the Central Intelligence Agency Act of 1949. Before November 2001 The World Factbook website was updated yearly, from 2004 to 2010 it was updated every two weeks, since 2010 it has been updated weekly, generally, information currently available as of January 1 of the current year is used in preparing the Factbook. The first, classified, edition of Factbook was published in August 1962, the World Factbook was first available to the public in print in 1975. In 2008 the CIA discontinued printing the Factbook themselves, instead turning printing responsibilities over to the Government Printing Office and this happened due to a CIA decision to focus Factbook resources on the online edition. The Factbook has been on the World Wide Web since October 1994, the web version gets an average of 6 million visits per month, it can also be downloaded. The official printed version is sold by the Government Printing Office, in past years, the Factbook was available on CD-ROM, microfiche, magnetic tape, and floppy disk. Many Internet sites use information and images from the CIA World Factbook, several publishers, including Grand River Books, Potomac Books, and Skyhorse Publishing have re-published the Factbook in recent years. As of July 2011, The World Factbook consists of 267 entities and these entities can be divided into categories. They are, Independent countries This category has independent countries, which the CIA defines as people politically organized into a state with a definite territory. In this category, there are 195 entities, others The Other category is a list of other places set apart from the list of independent countries. Currently there are two, Taiwan and the European Union, dependencies and Areas of Special Sovereignty This category is a list of places affiliated with another country
The World Factbook
–
Cover of the latest government print edition of The World Factbook (2013–14 edition)
The World Factbook
–
A map of
Serbia and Montenegro from the 2000 edition of The World Factbook. Notice how the disclaimer is printed in the upper right hand corner. One can see how the capital cities of both republics are individually labeled on the map.
21.
Reuters
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Reuters /ˈrɔɪtərz/ is an international news agency headquartered in London, England. It is a division of Thomson Reuters, until 2008, the Reuters news agency formed part of an independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data. Since the acquisition of Reuters Group by the Thomson Corporation in 2008, Reuters transmits news in English, French, Arabic, Spanish, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, Korean, Urdu, and Chinese. The Reuter agency was established in 1851 by Paul Julius Reuter in Britain at the London Royal Exchange, Paul Reuter worked at a book-publishing firm in Berlin and was involved in distributing radical pamphlets at the beginning of the Revolutions in 1848. Upon moving to England, he founded Reuters Telegram Company in 1851, headquartered in London, the company initially covered commercial news, serving banks, brokerage houses, and business firms. The first newspaper client to subscribe was the London Morning Advertiser in 1858, Reuters agency built a reputation in Europe and the rest of the world as the first to report news scoops from abroad. Reuters was the first to report Abraham Lincolns assassination in Europe, for instance, in 1872, Reuters expanded into the far east, followed by South America in 1874. Both expansions were made possible by advances in overland telegraphs and undersea cables, in 1883, Reuters began transmitting messages electrically to London newspapers. In 1923, Reuters began using radio to transmit news internationally, in 1925, The Press Association of Great Britain acquired a majority interest in Reuters, and full owners some years later. During the world wars, The Guardian reported that Reuters came under pressure from the British government to national interests. In 1941 Reuters deflected the pressure by restructuring itself as a private company, the new owners formed the Reuters Trust. In 1941, the PA sold half of Reuters to the Newspaper Proprieters Association, the Reuters Trust Principles were put in place to maintain the companys independence. At that point, Reuters had become one of the major news agencies. In 1961, Reuters scooped news of the erection of the Berlin Wall, in 1981, Reuters began making electronic transactions on its computer network, and afterwards developed a number of electronic brokerage and trading services. Reuters was floated as a company in 1984, when Reuters Trust was listed on the stock exchanges such as the London Stock Exchange. Reuters published the first story of the Berlin Wall being breached in 1989, share price grew during the dotcom boom, then fell after the banking troubles in 2001. In 2002, Brittanica wrote that most news throughout the world came from three major agencies, the Associated Press, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse, Reuters merged with Thomson Corporation in Canada in 2008, forming Thomson Reuters. In 2009, Thomson Reuters withdrew from the LSE and the NASDAQ, instead listing its shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange, the last surviving member of the Reuters family founders, Marguerite, Baroness de Reuter, died at age 96 on 25 January 2009
Reuters
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Reuters Building, Canary Wharf, London
Reuters
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Reuters building entrance in
New York City
22.
Whitney Smith
–
Whitney Smith Jr. was a professional vexillologist and scholar of flags. He originated the term vexillology, which refers to the analysis of all aspects of flags. He was a founder of several vexillology organizations, Smith was a Laureate and a Fellow of the International Federation of Vexillological Associations. In 1961, Smith and colleague Gerhard Grahl cofounded The Flag Bulletin, the following year, Smith established The Flag Research Center and was its director. Smith worked with Klaes Sierksma to organize the First International Congress of Vexillology in 1965 and they joined Louis Mühlemann in founding the International League of Vexillologists and were members of its Governing Board on September 5,1965, and operated until September 3,1967. The league was replaced by the International Federation of Vexillological Associations with Smith as vice-president of the Provisional Council as of September 3,1967, in 1969, Smith moved from being FIAV Provisional Council vice-president to being the first Secretary-General of FIAV. Smith was also responsible for founding the North American Vexillological Association, on August 28,1981, he was elected the second Secretary-General for Congresses, ending his multiple terms as FIAV Secretary-General. Smith served in office until he returned to the FIAV Secretary-General position on September 29,1983. On July 5,1991, Smith was named by the FIAV a Laureate of the Federation and he was give the honor of Fellow of the Federation on July 27,2001. In 2013 he transferred The Flag Research Centers library and archives to The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, on November 17,2016, Smith died from complications of Alzheimers disease at the age of 76. Smith wrote 27 books on the subject of flags, notably Flags Through the Ages and Across the World, The Flag Book of the United States, Smith was the designer of the national flag of Guyana and served as a vexillographer to a number of governments and organizations. In 1981, Smith was part of a committee that developed the flag of Bonaire, Smith also wrote over 250 articles for the Encyclopædia Britannica. Flags, Through The Ages And Around The World
Whitney Smith
–
Smith in 2007
23.
Dassault Falcon 50
–
The Dassault Falcon 50 is a French-built super mid-sized, long-range corporate jet, featuring a three jet engine layout with an S-duct central engine. It has the same fuselage cross-section and similar capacity as the earlier Falcon 20 twinjet but is a new design that is area ruled. The first prototype flew on 7 November 1976, with French airworthiness certification on 27 February 1979, the Falcon 50EX features improved engines and other enhancements to give further range improvements to an already long-legged jet. It remains a popular corporate jet for its long-range, luxury. The Falcon 50EX designation applies to serial numbers 251, and 253–352, the last Falcon 50EX was built in late 2007 and delivered in early 2008. Successors to the Falcon 50 are the Falcon 7X and the Falcon 900 featuring a larger fuselage, Dassault announced in January 2008 what is essentially a replacement aircraft for the Falcon 50, codenamed the SMS. The basic design process, including engine selection was supposed to be completed by early 2009, however, in a June 2009 press conference, CEO Charles Edelstenne said that all design choices had been reopened and the goal was extended to the end of the year. Dassault and Aviation Partners Inc. have announced that High Mach blended winglets were being developed for the Falcon 50 as a retrofit kit. Iraqi Intelligence Service operated a Falcon 50 in VIP configuration and offered to install cameras in it. It would appear to be one of the many airliners flying along local commercial corridors, heading to Mumbai airport in India, the aircraft passed about 30 kilometers west of Sirri island. This was close enough for the crew to take using a handheld camera with a powerful optical zoom. They repeated the procedure on the way back to Jordan the next day. The photographs facilitated an attack on the oil terminal on Sirri island with Mirage aircraft. The Iraqi Air Forces Mirage F1EQ-5 was equipped with Exocet missiles, an aircraft that could carry two Exocet missiles and that would not draw attention to itself was desired, the Falcon 50 being considered suitable. The Thales Group was asked to modify the aircraft with the radar and weapons system as the Mirage F1EQ-5. Early on 17 May 1987 a pilot from No.81 Squadron took off on the first attack mission from Wahda Air Base,45 km south-west of Basra, at the edge of the Iraqi-declared exclusion zone north of Bahrain a medium-sized naval vessel was identified. The pilot determined that it was about to enter the exclusion zone, the Iraqi government apologized and claimed that “The pilot mistook Stark for an Iranian tanker”. The American government accepted the apology and assigned blame to Iran instead, American intelligence was convinced it was a Mirage F1 that had attacked
Dassault Falcon 50
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Falcon 50
Dassault Falcon 50
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Falcon 50 of the Armee de l'Air
Dassault Falcon 50
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Iran's government Falcon 50 landing on Tehran -
Mehrabad Airport
Dassault Falcon 50
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Yugoslav Falcon 50 in 1984, later used by Serbian Government.
24.
Saddam Hussein
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Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. In the early 1970s, Saddam nationalized oil and other industries, the state-owned banks were put under his control, leaving the system eventually insolvent mostly due to the Iran–Iraq War, the Gulf War, and UN sanctions. Through the 1970s, Saddam cemented his authority over the apparatuses of government as oil money helped Iraqs economy to grow at a rapid pace, positions of power in the country were mostly filled with Sunni Arabs, a minority that made up only a fifth of the population. Saddam formally rose to power in 1979, although he had been the de facto head of Iraq for several years prior. He suppressed several movements, particularly Shia and Kurdish movements, seeking to overthrow the government or gain independence, and maintained power during the Iran–Iraq War and the Gulf War. Whereas some in the Arab world lauded Saddam for his opposition to the United States, the total number of Iraqis killed by the security services of Saddams government in various purges and genocides is unknown, but the lowest estimate is 250,000. Saddams Baath party was disbanded and elections were held, following his capture on 13 December 2003, the trial of Saddam took place under the Iraqi Interim Government. On 5 November 2006, Saddam was convicted of charges of crimes against humanity related to the 1982 killing of 148 Iraqi Shiites and his execution was carried out on 30 December 2006. His mother, Subha Tulfah al-Mussallat, named her newborn son Saddam and he is always referred to by this personal name, which may be followed by the patronymic and other elements. He never knew his father, Hussein Abd al-Majid, who disappeared six months before Saddam was born, shortly afterward, Saddams 13-year-old brother died of cancer. The infant Saddam was sent to the family of his maternal uncle Khairallah Talfah until he was three and his mother remarried, and Saddam gained three half-brothers through this marriage. His stepfather, Ibrahim al-Hassan, treated Saddam harshly after his return, at about age 10, Saddam fled the family and returned to live in Baghdad with his uncle Kharaillah Talfah. Later in his relatives from his native Tikrit became some of his closest advisors and supporters. Under the guidance of his uncle he attended a high school in Baghdad. After secondary school Saddam studied at an Iraqi law school for three years, dropping out in 1957 at the age of 20 to join the revolutionary pan-Arab Baath Party, during this time, Saddam apparently supported himself as a secondary school teacher. Revolutionary sentiment was characteristic of the era in Iraq and throughout the Middle East, in Iraq progressives and socialists assailed traditional political elites. Moreover, the nationalism of Gamal Abdel Nasser in Egypt profoundly influenced young Baathists like Saddam. The rise of Nasser foreshadowed a wave of revolutions throughout the Middle East in the 1950s and 1960s, with the collapse of the monarchies of Iraq, Egypt, and Libya
Saddam Hussein
–
Saddam Hussein in 1979.
Saddam Hussein
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Saddam Hussein and the
Ba'ath Party student cell,
Cairo, in the period 1959–1963
Saddam Hussein
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Promoting women's literacy and education in the 1970s
Saddam Hussein
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Saddam seen talking to
Michel Aflaq, the founder of
ba'athist thought, in 1988.
25.
Amman
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Amman is the capital and most populous city of Jordan, and the countrys economic, political and cultural centre. Situated in north-central Jordan, Amman is the centre of the Amman Governorate. The city has a population of 4,007,526, today, Amman is considered to be among the most liberal and westernized Arab cities. It is a major tourist destination in the region, particularly among Arab, the earliest evidence of settlement in the area is a Neolithic site known as Ain Ghazal. Its successor was known as Rabbath Ammon, which was the capital of the Ammonites, then as Philadelphia and it was initially built on seven hills but now spans over 19 hills combining 27 districts, which are administered by the Greater Amman Municipality headed by its mayor Aqel Biltaji. Areas of Amman have either gained their names from the hills or valleys they lie on, such as Jabal Lweibdeh, East Amman is predominantly filled with historic sites that frequently host cultural activities, while West Amman is more modern and serves as the economic center of the city. Approximately 2 million visitors arrived in Amman in 2014, which ranked it as the 93rd most visited city in the world, Amman has a relatively fast growing economy, and it is ranked Beta− on the global city index. Moreover, it was named one of the Middle East and North Africas best cities according to economic, labor, environmental, the city is among the most popular locations in the Arab world for multinational corporations to set up their regional offices, alongside Doha and only behind Dubai. It is expected that in the next 10 years these three cities will capture the largest share of multinational corporation activity in the region. Amman derives its name from the 13th century BC when the Ammonites named it Rabbath Ammon, over time, the term Rabbath was no longer used and the city became known as Ammon. The influence of new civilizations that conquered the city changed its name to Amman. In the Hebrew Bible, it is referred to as Rabbat ʿAmmon, however, Ptolemy II Philadelphus, the Macedonian ruler of the Ptolemaic Kingdom who reigned from 283 to 246 BC, renamed the city to Philadelphia after occupying it. The name was given as an adulation to his own nickname, in the outskirts of Amman, one of the largest known ancient settlements in the Near East was discovered. The site, known as Ain Ghazal which is situated on a valley-side, dates back to 7250 BC and it was a typical average sized aceramic Neolithic village that accommodated around 3,000 inhabitants. Its houses were rectangular mud-bricked buildings that included a main square living room, the site was discovered in 1974 as construction workers were working on a road crossing the area. By 1982 when the excavations started, around 600 meters of road ran through the site, despite the damage brought by urban expansion, the remains of Ain Ghazal provided a wealth of information. These statues are human figures made with white plaster, the figures have painted clothes, hair, and in some cases ornamental tattoos. Thirty-two figures were found in two caches, fifteen of them full figures, fifteen busts, and two fragmentary heads, three of the busts were two-headed, the significance of which is not clear
Amman
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Amman city landmarks, from right to left and above to below: the
Abdali Project dominating Amman's skyline as seen from Sport city,
Temple of Hercules at
Amman Citadel,
King Abdullah I Mosque and
Raghadan Flagpole,
Abdoun Bridge,
Umayyad Palace, Ottoman
Hejaz Railway station and
Roman theater.
Amman
–
Rujm Al-Malfouf Ammonite watch tower
Amman
–
View of
Qasr Al-Abd
Amman
–
Hand of Hercules at the temple of Hercules in
Amman Citadel.
26.
Switzerland
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Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a federal republic in Europe. It consists of 26 cantons, and the city of Bern is the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in western-Central Europe, and is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland is a country geographically divided between the Alps, the Swiss Plateau and the Jura, spanning an area of 41,285 km2. The establishment of the Old Swiss Confederacy dates to the medieval period, resulting from a series of military successes against Austria. Swiss independence from the Holy Roman Empire was formally recognized in the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. The country has a history of armed neutrality going back to the Reformation, it has not been in a state of war internationally since 1815, nevertheless, it pursues an active foreign policy and is frequently involved in peace-building processes around the world. In addition to being the birthplace of the Red Cross, Switzerland is home to international organisations. On the European level, it is a member of the European Free Trade Association. However, it participates in the Schengen Area and the European Single Market through bilateral treaties, spanning the intersection of Germanic and Romance Europe, Switzerland comprises four main linguistic and cultural regions, German, French, Italian and Romansh. Due to its diversity, Switzerland is known by a variety of native names, Schweiz, Suisse, Svizzera. On coins and stamps, Latin is used instead of the four living languages, Switzerland is one of the most developed countries in the world, with the highest nominal wealth per adult and the eighth-highest per capita gross domestic product according to the IMF. Zürich and Geneva have each been ranked among the top cities in the world in terms of quality of life, with the former ranked second globally, according to Mercer. The English name Switzerland is a compound containing Switzer, a term for the Swiss. The English adjective Swiss is a loan from French Suisse, also in use since the 16th century. The name Switzer is from the Alemannic Schwiizer, in origin an inhabitant of Schwyz and its associated territory, the Swiss began to adopt the name for themselves after the Swabian War of 1499, used alongside the term for Confederates, Eidgenossen, used since the 14th century. The data code for Switzerland, CH, is derived from Latin Confoederatio Helvetica. The toponym Schwyz itself was first attested in 972, as Old High German Suittes, ultimately related to swedan ‘to burn’
Switzerland
–
Founded in 44 BC by
Lucius Munatius Plancus,
Augusta Raurica was the first Roman settlement on the Rhine and is now among the most important archaeological sites in Switzerland.
Switzerland
–
Flag
Switzerland
–
The 1291 Bundesbrief (Federal charter)
Switzerland
–
The Old Swiss Confederacy from 1291 (dark green) to the sixteenth century (light green) and its associates (blue). In the other colors are shown the subject territories.
27.
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1483
–
The resolution was drafted by the United States and co-sponsored by Spain and the United Kingdom, it was approved by 14 of 15 Security Council members as Syria did not participate in the voting. It encouraged efforts to form a government to afford equal rights and justice to all Iraqi citizens. Furthermore, the Council determined that the United Nations should play a role in humanitarian relief and reconstruction efforts. It welcomed the resumption of humanitarian efforts and the appointment of a Special Adviser by the Secretary-General Kofi Annan, meanwhile, the preamble of the resolution affirmed the need for accountability for the crimes committed by the previous Iraqi regime under Saddam Hussein and respect for Iraqi heritage. Additionally, it terminated the Oil-for-Food Programme and it also created an international body to monitor the Coalitions expenditures from Iraqs oil revenue, the International Advisory and Monitoring Board. The Coalitions authority to expend Iraqs oil revenue was conditional, the Coalition was only authorized to expend those funds for the benefit of the Iraqi people. Those expenditures were only authorized if they were made in an open, the Coalition was widely criticized for failing to implement adequate financial controls, with failing to make expenditures from the Development Fund for Iraq in an open and transparent manner. org
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1483
–
Iraq
28.
Basel
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Basel is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine. Basel is Switzerlands third-most-populous city with about 175,000 inhabitants, located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany. In 2014, the Basel agglomeration was the third largest in Switzerland with a population of 537,100 in 74 municipalities in Switzerland, the official language of Basel is German, but the main spoken language is the local variant of the Alemannic Swiss German dialect. Basel has been the seat of a Prince-Bishopric since the 11th century, the city has been a commercial hub and important cultural centre since the Renaissance, and has emerged as a centre for the chemical and pharmaceutical industry in the 20th century. It hosts the oldest university of the Swiss Confederation, There are settlement traces on the Rhine knee from the early La Tène period. The unfortified settlement was abandoned in the 1st century BC in favour of an Oppidum on the site of Basel Minster, probably in reaction to the Roman invasion of Gaul. In Roman Gaul, Augusta Raurica was established some 20 km from Basel as the administrative centre. The city of Basel eventually grew around the castle, the name of Basel is derived from the Roman-era toponym Basilia, first recorded in the 3rd century. It is presumably derived from the personal name Basilius, the Old French form Basle was adopted into English, and developed into the modern French Bâle. The Icelandic name Buslaraborg goes back to the 12th century Leiðarvísir og borgarskipan, Basel was incorporated into Germania Superior in AD83. Roman control over the area deteriorated in 3rd century, and Basel became an outpost of the Provincia Maxima Sequanorum formed by Diocletian, the Alamanni attempted to cross the Rhine several times in the 4th century, but were repelled. In a great invasion of AD406, the Alemanni appear to have crossed the Rhine river a final time, conquering and then settling what is today Alsace, from this time, Basel has been an Alemannic settlement. The Duchy of Alemannia fell under Frankish rule in the 6th century, and by the 7th century, based on the evidence of a third solidus with the inscription Basilia fit, Basel seems to have minted its own coins in the 7th century. Under bishop Haito, the first cathedral was built on the site of the Roman castle, at the partition of the Carolingian Empire, Basel was first given to West Francia, but passed to East Francia with the treaty of Meerssen of 870. The city was plundered and destroyed by a Magyar invasion of 917, the rebuilt city became part of Upper Burgundy, and as such was incorporated into the Holy Roman Empire in 1032. Since the donation by Rudolph III of Burgundy of the Moutier-Grandval Abbey and all its possessions to Bishop Adalbero II in 999 till the Reformation, in 1019, the construction of the cathedral of Basel began under German Emperor Heinrich II. In 1225–1226, the Bridge over the Rhine was constructed by Bishop Heinrich von Thun, the bridge was largely funded by Basels Jewish community which had settled there a century earlier. For many centuries to come Basel possessed the only permanent bridge over the river between Lake Constance and the sea, the Bishop also allowed the furriers to found a guild in 1226
Basel
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Basel, as seen from the
Elisabethenkirche
Basel
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Map of Basel in 1642, engraved by
Matthäus Merian, oriented with SW at the top and NE at the bottom.
Basel
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A panoramic view of Basel, looking North from the Münster tower over Kleinbasel (Small Basel). The blue tower in the centre, the
Messeturm, was Switzerland's tallest building 2003-10; the bridge on the extreme right is the Wettsteinbrücke, Basel's second oldest bridge, but recently replaced by a new structure. The first bridge on the left is the Mittlere Brücke (Middle or Central Bridge), the oldest bridge in Basel.
Basel
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The
synagogue of Basel
29.
Federal government of Iraq
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The federal government of Iraq is defined under the current Constitution, approved in 2005, as an Islamic, democratic, federal parliamentary republic. The federal government is composed of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, article 114 of the Constitution of Iraq provided that no new region may be created before the Iraqi National Assembly has passed a law which provides the procedures for forming the region. A law was passed in October 2006 after an agreement was reached with the Iraqi Accord Front to form the constitutional review committee, legislators from the Iraqi Accord Front, Sadrist Movement and Islamic Virtue Party all opposed the bill. Under the Federalism Law a region can be created out of one or more existing governorates or two or more existing regions, a governorate can also join an existing region to create a new region. There is no limit to the number of governorates that can form a region, a new region can be proposed by one third or more of the council members in each affected governorate plus 500 voters or by one tenth or more voters in each affected governorate. A referendum must then be held three months, which requires a simple majority in favour to pass. In the event of competing proposals, the proposals are put to a ballot. The President, Prime Minister and Ministers of the region are elected by simple majority, the executive branch is composed of the President and the Council of Ministers. The President is elected by the Council of Representatives by a two-thirds majority, there was also a Vice President which assumed the office of the President in case of his absence or removal. The Council of Ministers is composed of the Prime Minister as head of government, the President of Iraq names the nominee of the Council of Representatives bloc with the largest number to form the Cabinet. As of August 2012, the Federation Council had not yet come into existence, the Council of Representatives is the main elected body of Iraq. The Constitution defines the number of members at a ratio of one representative per 100,000 Iraqi persons representing the entire Iraqi people, the members are elected for terms of 4 years. The Federation Council will be composed of representatives from the regions, the council is to be regulated by law by the Council of Representatives. As of August 2012, the Federation Council had not yet come into existence, one such court is the Central Criminal Court. The Higher Judicial Council manages and supervises the affairs of the federal judiciary, the Supreme Court is an independent judicial body that interprets the constitution and determines the constitutionality of laws and regulations. It also ratifies the final results of the elections for the Council of Representatives. The Central Criminal Court of Iraq is the criminal court of Iraq. The CCCI is based on a system and consists of two chambers, an investigative court, and a criminal court
Federal government of Iraq
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Composition of the Iraqi Government as of September 2009
30.
Prince of Liechtenstein
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The Sovereign Prince of Liechtenstein is the monarch and head of state of Liechtenstein. It is the only remaining European monarchy that practises strict agnatic primogeniture, without any territory held immediately from the Imperial crown, the Liechtenstein family, although noble, did not qualify for a seat in the Diet of the Holy Roman Empire. The Prince of Liechtenstein has broad powers, which include the appointment of judges, the dismissal of ministers or government, veto power, the right of the parishes that make up the principality to secede was simultaneously recognised. Prince Hans-Adam had warned that he and his family would remove to Austria if the referendum were rejected, despite opposition from Mario Frick, a former Liechtenstein prime minister, the Princes referendum was approved by the electorate in 2003. Opponents accused Hans-Adam of engaging in emotional blackmail to achieve his goal and constitutional experts from the Council of Europe branded the event as a retrograde move, a proposal to revoke the Princes new veto powers was rejected by 76% of voters in a 2012 referendum. On 15 August 2004 Prince Hans-Adam II formally delegated most of his authority to his son and heir. Formally, Hans-Adam remains head of state, according to their house law, the monarch bears the titles, Reigning Prince of Liechtenstein, Duke of Troppau and Jägerndorf, Count of Rietberg, Sovereign of the House of Liechtenstein. List of monarchs of Liechtenstein The Princely House of Liechtenstein
Prince of Liechtenstein
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Sovereign Prince of Liechtenstein
Prince of Liechtenstein
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Arms of His Highness the Sovereign Prince of Liechtenstein
31.
Princely Family of Liechtenstein
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The Liechtenstein dynasty, from which the principality takes its name, is the family which reigns by constitutional, hereditary right over the nation of Liechtenstein. The family comes from Castle Liechtenstein in Lower Austria, which the family possessed from at least 1140 to the 13th century, and from 1807 onwards. Thus, and without any territory held directly under the Imperial throne, the head of the family was able to arrange the purchase from the Hohenems family of the minuscule Lordship of Schellenberg in 1699, and the County of Vaduz in 1712. Schellenberg and Vaduz indeed had no feudal lord other than their comital sovereign, on this date Liechtenstein became a member state of the Holy Roman Empire. The Princes of Liechtenstein did not set foot in their new principality for several decades, the numbers represent the positions in the line of succession
Princely Family of Liechtenstein
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Hans-Adam I, Prince of Liechtenstein (1662 - 1712), acquired the territory of the
Principality
Princely Family of Liechtenstein
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House of Liechtenstein
Princely Family of Liechtenstein
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Johann I Joseph, Prince of Liechtenstein (1760 - 1836), the last prince to rule under the
Holy Roman Empire and the first ruler of a sovereign state from 1806
Princely Family of Liechtenstein
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Johann II, Prince of Liechtenstein (1840 - 1929), allied the principality with Switzerland after the downfall of the
Habsburg Monarchy in 1918
32.
Municipalities of Liechtenstein
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The principality of Liechtenstein is divided into eleven municipalities, most consisting of only a single town. Five of the Gemeinden fall within the district of Unterland. The municipalities of Liechtenstein, the Gemeinden, exhibit complex shapes, in FIPS 10-4, the codes of the municipalities started with LS-, followed by the same two digits as the ISO codes. As a member of the EFTA, Liechtenstein is included in the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics, the three NUTS levels all correspond to the country itself. Below the NUTS levels, there are two LAU levels
Municipalities of Liechtenstein
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Municipalities of Liectenstein Die Gemeinden von Liechtenstein (
German)
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