Krum referred to as Krum the Fearsome was the Khan of Bulgaria from sometime between 796 and 803 until his death in 814. During his reign the Bulgarian territory doubled in size, spreading from the middle Danube to the Dnieper and from Odrin to the Tatra Mountains, his able and energetic rule brought law and order to Bulgaria and developed the rudiments of state organization. Krum was a Bulgar chieftain from Pannonia, his background and the surroundings of his accession are unknown. It has been speculated that Krum might have been a descendant of the old Bulgar royal house of Kubrat; the name Krum is of Iranian origin. Around 805, Krum defeated the Avar Khaganate to destroy the remainder of the Avars and to restore Bulgar authority in Ongal again, the traditional Bulgar name for the area north of the Danube across the Carpathians covering Transylvania and along the Danube into eastern Pannonia; this resulted in the establishment of a common border between the Frankish Empire and Bulgaria, which would have important repercussions for the policy of Krum's successors.

Krum engaged in a policy of territorial expansion. In 807 Bulgarian forces defeated the Byzantine army in the Struma valley. In 809 Krum besieged and forced the surrender of Serdica, slaughtering the garrison of 6,000 despite a guarantee of safe conduct; this victory provoked Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros I to settle Anatolian populations along the frontier to protect it and to attempt to retake and refortify Serdica, although this enterprise failed. In early 811, Nikephoros I undertook a massive expedition against Bulgaria. Here Krum attempted to negotiate on July 11, 811, but Nikephoros was determined to continue with his plunder, his army somehow made its way into Moesia. They managed to take over Pliska on July 20, as only a small, hastily assembled army was in their way. Here Nikephoros helped himself to the treasures of the Bulgarians while setting the city afire and turning his army on the population. A new diplomatic initiative from Krum was rebuffed; the chronicle of the 12th-century patriarch of the Syrian Jacobites, Michael the Syrian, describes the brutalities and atrocities of Nikephoros: "Nikephoros, emperor of the Byzantine empire, walked into the Bulgarians' land: he was victorious and killed great number of them.

He seized it and devastated it. His savagery went to the point that he ordered to bring their small children, got them tied down on earth and made thresh grain stones to smash them." While Nikephoros I and his army pillaged and plundered the Bulgarian capital, Krum mobilized as many soldiers as possible, giving weapons to peasants and women. This army was assembled in the mountain passes to intercept the Byzantines as they returned to Constantinople. At dawn on July 26, the Bulgarians managed to trap the retreating Nikephoros in the Vărbica pass; the Byzantine army was wiped out in the ensuing battle and Nikephoros was killed, while his son Staurakios was carried to safety by the imperial bodyguard after receiving a paralyzing wound to the neck. It is said that Krum used it as a drinking cup. Staurakios was forced to abdicate after a brief reign, he was succeeded by his brother-in-law Michael I Rangabe. In 812 Krum invaded Byzantine Thrace, taking Develt and scaring the population of nearby fortresses to flee towards Constantinople.

From this position of strength, Krum offered a return to the peace treaty of 716. Unwilling to compromise from a position of weakness, the new Emperor Michael I refused to accept the proposal, ostensibly opposing the clause for exchange of deserters. To apply more pressure on the Emperor, Krum besieged and captured Mesembria in the autumn of 812. In February 813 the Bulgarians were repelled by the Emperor's forces. Encouraged by this success, Michael I summoned troops from the entire Byzantine Empire and headed north, hoping for a decisive victory. Krum pitched camp near Versinikia. Michael I lined up his army against the Bulgarians, but neither side initiated an attack for two weeks. On June 22, 813, the Byzantines attacked but were turned to flight. With Krum's cavalry in pursuit, the rout of Michael I was complete, Krum advanced on Constantinople, which he besieged by land. Discredited, Michael was forced to abdicate and become a monk — the third Byzantine Emperor forced to give up the throne by Krum in as many years.

The new emperor, Leo V the Armenian, arranged for a meeting with Krum. As Krum arrived, he was wounded as he made his escape. Furious, Krum ravaged the environs of Constantinople and headed home, capturing Adrianople en route, transporting its inhabitants across the Danube. In spite of the approach of winter, Krum took advantage of good weather to send a force of 30,000 into Thrace, capturing Arkadioupolis and carrying off 50,000 captives to the Bulgarian lands across the Danube; the loot from Thrace was used to enrich Krum and his nobility and included architectural elements utilized in the reconstruction of Pliska largely by captured Byzantine artisans. Krum spent the winter preparing for a major attack on Constantinople, where rumor reported the assemblage of an extensive siege park to be transported on 5,000 carts, he died before he set out, however, on April 13, 814, he was succeeded by his son Omurtag. Krum was remembered for instituting the first known written Bulgarian law code, which ensured subsidies to beggars and state prote

Ninkasi is the tutelary goddess of beer in ancient Sumerian religious mythology. Her father was the King of Uruk, her mother was the high priestess of the temple of Inanna, the goddess of procreation, she is one of the eight children created in order to heal one of the eight wounds that Enki receives. Furthermore, she is the goddess of alcohol, she was born of "sparkling fresh water". She is the goddess made to "satisfy the desire" and "sate the heart." She would prepare the beverage daily. The Sumerian written language and the associated clay tablets are among the earliest human writings. Scholarly works from the early 1800s onward have developed some facility translating the various Sumerian documents. Among these is a poem with the English title, A Hymn to Ninkasi.. The poem is a recipe for brewing beer, it can be argued that the art of brewing is broken down and explained in order to be passed down from generation to generation. Furthermore, the Hymn to Ninkasi is the oldest record of a direct correlation between the importance of brewing, the responsibility that women had with regard to supplying both bread and beer to the household.

Ninkasi is female, the fact that a female deity was invoked in prayer with regards to the production of brewed beverages illustrated the relationship between brewing and women as a domestic right and responsibility. The repetitive nature suggests that it was used as a tool in order to pass down information as a way of learning; the poem, from circa 1800 BC, explains that grain was converted into bappir bread before fermentation, grapes as well as honey were added to the mix. The resulting gruel was drunk unfiltered, hence the need for straws. A translation from the University of Oxford describes combining bread, a source for yeast, with malted and soaked grains and keeping the liquid in a fermentation vessel until filtering it into a collecting vessel.. See Ninkasi appears several times in this collection. In the poem Enki and Ninḫursaĝa, Enki states, her fermenting-vat is of green lapis lazuli, her beer cask is of gold. If she stands by the beer, there is joy, if she sits by the beer, there is gladness.

She appears "in her vat" in the fragmentary translation of A lullaby for a son of Šulgi and is referred to in another fragmentary poem, A praise poem of Išme-Dagan, in the context of "delicious beer mixed with aromatic cedar essence" In The debate between Grain and Sheep, Grain says to Sheep: "When the beer dough has been prepared in the oven, the mash tended in the oven, Ninkasi mixes them for me while your big billy-goats and rams are despatched for my banquets."In The debate between Winter and Summer, one of the disputants, states: "I am Ninkasi's help, for her I sweeten the beer, with as much cold water, the tribute of the hills, as you brought."The Drinking song details a ritual: "You have poured a libation over the fated brick, you have laid the foundations in peace and prosperity - now may Ninkasi dwell with you! She should pour beer and wine for you! Let the pouring of the sweet liquor resound pleasantly for you!"Finally, from this collection, a fragment remains in The instructions of Šuruppag: "My little one …….

The beer-drinking mouth ……. Ninkasi" Ninkasi Brewing Company in Eugene, Oregon takes its name from the goddess Ninkasi. Ninkasi Fabrique de Bière in Lyon, France is named for the goddess Ninkasi; the Ninkasi Fan Club is a brewing society in Nelson, British Columbia. Ninkasi Simple Malt is a microbrewery in Canada. Ninkasi Rentals & Finance based in United Kingdom is named after the Ninkasi goddess and specialises in renting Fermenting Vessels/Unitanks. Gambrinus 4947 Ninkasi Ninkasi Award History of beer The Hymn to Ninkasi A Hymn to Ninkasi: Translation - From the Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature

The LSWR 460 class was a class of express passenger 4-4-0 steam locomotives designed for the London and South Western Railway by William Adams. Twenty were constructed by Neilson and Company and Robert Stephenson and Company in 1884, one in 1887. Adams had ordered ten locomotives from each manufacturer in 1884. In 1887 Robert Stephenson and Company built an additional locomotive for display at a Jubilee exhibition in Newcastle upon Tyne, after which, it was sold to the LSWR; the class were numbered 147, 460–478 and 526, were a small-wheeled version of the 445 class. All except 526 were renumbered into the duplicate list as 0147, 0460–0478 between 1908 and 1924. All passed to the Southern Railway at the grouping in 1923. Withdrawals started in the following year, with the last two, 467 and 470 being withdrawn in 1929. All were scrapped

San Leonardo is a Roman Catholic parish church in a rural site in the frazione of Tapigliano, in the town limits of Nebbiuno, province of Novara, Italy. The Church of St. Leonard rises atop a hill between the rivers Valle and Selva Nocca in the Pissaccio valley; the dedication and the layout, with a façade facing east, suggest an early foundation around the 10th century. Documents from the 13th century appear to refer to this church; however it was only in 1819, that Cardinal Giuseppe Morozzo created the parish of Saint Leonard in Tapigliano, separating it from Sant'Eusebio in Pisano. In 1820, the church, bell-tower and baptistery underwent reconstruction

Arthur Dennis Sigalos is an American former professional speedway rider. Born in Garden Grove, Sigalos was a rising star in speedway racing during the late 1970s. Sigalos served notice that he was a coming rider when he finished third in the 1980 American Final held on a makeshift track at the Anaheim Stadium in Los Angeles, only missing a place in the Intercontinental Final when beaten in a runoff for second and third by Scott Autrey. Earlier in 1979 Sigalos had made his debut in the British Leagues after signing with the Hull Vikings, he stayed in Hull for two years before joining the Ipswich Witches from 1981–1983. He signed with the Wolverhampton Wolves for 1984. In 1980, Sigalos rode in the European Under-21 Championship Final at the Rottalstadion in Pocking, West Germany. After being excluded from his first ride, he showed his class by finishing 3rd with 11 points after defeating future triple World Champion Erik Gundersen in a runoff; the European U/21 Championship was renamed the World U/21 Championship in 1988.

Sigalos won the Peter Craven Memorial Trophy at the Hyde Road Speedway in Manchester in 1980. Sigalos' first serious attempt as a challenger for the Speedway World Championship came in 1981, he qualified to ride in the 1981 Intercontinental Final at Vojens in Denmark, but on a difficult night where the notorious Vojens weather struck, Sigalos could only manage 15th place and 1 point from his 5 rides and he failed to qualify for a place in the World Final at the Wembley Stadium. His childhood friend Bruce Penhall signalled his intentions for the World Championship by mastering the conditions with a 15-point maximum before going on to win the first of two consecutive World Championships, his first appearance in a World Final came in 1982 when he finished a strong third at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum behind winner Bruce Penhall and England's Les Collins. He made his second and last World Final in 1983 in West Germany, but struggled on the day and finished in 8th place having scored 8 points.

Sigalos became World Pairs Champion with Bobby Schwartz in November 1982 at the Liverpool City Raceway in Sydney, Australia. The pair could not repeat their 1982 success in the 1983 Final at Ullevi in Göteborg, finishing 4th; the 1982 World Pairs Championship Final in Sydney was Sigalos' crowning achievement in speedway. In a dominant performance he was the only unbeaten rider on the night defeating such riders as Ole Olsen, Hans Nielsen, Peter Collins, Kenny Carter, local favourite Billy Sanders, his partner and team captain "Boogaloo" Bobby Schwartz proved his worth by finishing second to Sigalos in each of their six heats. The US riders won each of their heats with a 5-1 pointscore giving them a perfect 30 points for the night as they defended the title won in 1981 by Schwartz and Bruce Penhall. By finishing the Final undefeated, with the ending of the World Pairs Championship after 1993, Sigalos remains one of only three riders to achieve the feat, the others being Ivan Mauger in 1969 and Ole Olsen who did it in 1973 and 1975.

1982 was the only time that the Pairs Championship was won with a maximum possible score. Both Sigalos and Schwartz attribute their dominance in Australia to the Carlisle tyres they imported for the meeting. Using the tyres, the American pair were never beaten out of the gates and had any serious competition on the night, he was runner up in the AMA National Speedway Championship in 1981 and 1982 and finished second and third for the United States in the 1980 and 1983 World Team Cups. He missed a place on the US Team when they won the 1982 World Team Cup Final at the White City Stadium in London. In 1983, Sigalos became the first American to win the prestigious Golden Helmet of Pardubice in Czechoslovakia; as of 2014 he remains the only American rider to have won the Polish Golden Helmet. After badly breaking his leg in a crash during the 1984 American Final at the Veterans Memorial Stadium in Long Beach, Sigalos retired from speedway riding at the young age of 25, though he continues to be active in speedway in Southern California.

Sigalos had won the 1983 American Final at the same venue with a 15-point maximum. He did make a short lived comeback with his former team Ipswich in 1985, but he retired for good shortly after. 1982 - Los Angeles, Memorial Coliseum – 3rd – 12pts 1983 - Norden, Motodrom Halbemond – 8th – 8pts 1982 - Sydney, Liverpool City Raceway – Winner – 30pts 1983 - Göteborg, Ullevi – 4th – 18pts 1980 - Wrocław, Olympic Stadium – 2nd – 29pts 1983 - Vojens, Speedway Center – 3rd – 27pts 1980 - Pocking, Rottalstadion – 3rd – 11+3pts

The Saga International Balloon Fiesta is held at the beginning of November every year in Saga Prefecture, Japan. In 2014 it took place between October 30 and November 3; the fiesta is held just along the Kase River. It has grown from a gathering of 5 hot air balloons to a competition where over 3500 people volunteer, has gained a reputation as one of the top ballooning competitions in the world, it is a popular time for tourists as the Karatsu Kunchi Festival is held at the same time in Karatsu City. Since 1980 the launch site has been visited by over 10 million spectators. For the duration of the event, a temporary JR station ferries passengers between Saga City and Kubota; the fiesta started in 1978 in Amagi City, Fukuoka Prefecture, as a smaller ballooning event, the Balloon Fiesta in Kyushu. In 1980 the Fiesta was moved to the outskirts of Saga City. In 1984 it was given its present name. Since 1984 there have been 640 balloons from overseas participants. In 1990 the first Pacific Championship was held in Saga.

Between 1990 and 1996 women from around the world gathered to participate in the Ladies World Cup. Saga was the first place to have a competition of this kind. Beginning in 1992 a category for special shaped balloons, called Balloon Fantasia was created. Started at this time was the La Montgolfier Nocturne; this is a highlight of the fiesta. In November 1997 the 13th Hot Air Balloon World Championships were again held in Saga. With numbers seen outside of the United States, this event was attended by over 38 countries and territories. There were 112 balloons present for the World Championship and together with the balloons that were competing in the Honda Grand Prix Final Battle, Balloon Fantasia, official balloons there were 170 balloons flying through the skies of Saga. In 1997, special days during the Fiesta were established for people to experience the balloons; these include Heartful Day, a day geared toward handicapped members of the community. Hot air balloon festivals Official website Official website