The labarum was a vexillum that displayed the "Chi-Rho" symbol ☧, a christogram formed from the first two Greek letters of the word "Christ" — Chi and Rho. It was first used by the Roman emperor Constantine the Great. Since the vexillum consisted of a flag suspended from the crossbar of a cross, it was ideally suited to symbolize the crucifixion of Christ. Ancient sources draw an unambiguous distinction between the two terms "labarum" and "Chi-Rho" though usage sometimes regards the two as synonyms; the name labarum was applied both to the original standard used by Constantine the Great and to the many standards produced in imitation of it in the Late Antique world, subsequently. Beyond its derivation from Latin labarum, the etymology of the word is unclear; the Oxford English Dictionary offers no further derivation from within Latin. Some derive it from Latin / labāre / ` to totter, to laureum. An origin as a loan into Latin from a Celtic language or Basque has been postulated. There is a traditional Basque symbol called the lauburu.

On the evening of October 27, 312 AD, with his army preparing for the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, the emperor Constantine I claimed to have had a vision which led him to believe he was fighting under the protection of the Christian God. Lactantius states that, in the night before the battle, Constantine was commanded in a dream to "delineate the heavenly sign on the shields of his soldiers". Obeying this command, "he marked on their shields the letter X, with a perpendicular line drawn through it and turned round thus at the top, being the cipher of Christ". Having had their shields marked in this fashion, Constantine's troops readied themselves for battle. From Eusebius, two accounts of a battle survive; the first, shorter one in the Ecclesiastical History leaves no doubt that God helped Constantine but does not mention any vision. In his Life of Constantine, Eusebius gives a detailed account of a vision and stresses that he had heard the story from the emperor himself. According to this version, Constantine with his army was marching somewhere when he looked up to the sun and saw a cross of light above it, with it the Greek words Ἐν Τούτῳ Νίκα.

The traditionally employed Latin translation of the Greek is in hoc signo vinces— "In this sign, you will conquer." However, a direct translation from the original Greek text of Eusebius into English gives the phrase "By this, conquer!"At first he was unsure of the meaning of the apparition, but the following night he had a dream in which Christ explained to him that he should use the sign against his enemies. Eusebius continues to describe the labarum, the military standard used by Constantine in his wars against Licinius, showing the Chi-Rho sign; those two accounts have been merged in popular notion into Constantine seeing the Chi-Rho sign on the evening before the battle. Both authors agree that the sign was not understandable as denoting Christ, which corresponds with the fact that there is no certain evidence of the use of the letters chi and rho as a Christian sign before Constantine, its first appearance is on a Constantinian silver coin from c. 317, which proves that Constantine did use the sign at that time.

He made extensive use of the Chi-Rho and the labarum in the conflict with Licinius. The vision has been interpreted in a solar context, which would have been reshaped to fit with the Christian beliefs of the Constantine. An alternate explanation of the intersecting celestial symbol has been advanced by George Latura, which claims that Plato's visible god in Timaeus is in fact the intersection of the Milky Way and the Zodiacal Light, a rare apparition important to pagan beliefs that Christian bishops reinvented as a Christian symbol. "A Description of the Standard of the Cross, which the Romans now call the Labarum." "Now it was made in the following manner. A long spear, overlaid with gold, formed the figure of the cross by means of a transverse bar laid over it. On the top of the whole was fixed a wreath of gold and precious stones. From the cross-bar of the spear was suspended a cloth, a royal piece, covered with a profuse embroidery of most brilliant precious stones; this banner was of a square form, the upright staff, whose lower section was of great length, of the pious emperor and his children on its upper part, beneath the trophy of the cross, above the embroidered banner."

"The emperor made use of this sign of salvation as a safeguard against every adverse and hostile power, commanded that others similar to it should be carried at the head of all his armies." The labarum does not appear on any of several standards depicted on the Arch of Constantine, erected just three years after the battle. If Eusebius' oath-confirmed account of Constantine's vision and the role it played in his victory and conversion can be trusted a grand opportunity for the kind of political propaganda that the Arch was built to present was missed. Many historians have argued that in the early y

Saryu Rai is an Indian Ex-BJP leader in Bihar and Jharkhand. He left BJP before 2019 assembly elections in Jharkhand, won as an independent from Jamshedpur East, defeating the incumbent Chief Minister Raghubar Das. Sarju Rai was born on 16 July 1951 in a middle class farmer family in a small village named ‘Khanita’ in Itahi Block of erstwhile Shahabad district in Bihar, his father Late Keshaw Prasad Rai did not have formal education and mother Late Sukhwasi Devi was a housewife, not literate at all. He has five sisters all except one are elder to him, besides a younger brother, Yamuna Rai who looks after ancestral farming in the village, he completed his high school education up to class XI at Block Headquarter Itarhi and was awarded National Merit Scholarship after passing matriculation exam conducted by Bihar School Examination Board in 1966. He is a graduate in Physics from Patna, he holds a master's degree in the same subject with Spectroscopy as special paper from Patna University in 1970-72 batch.

He served as a Minister of Food and Supply Department in the BJP led government in the state of Jharkhand. He is elected to Jharkhand assembly in December 2014 from Jamshedpur-West constituency for the second time after defeating his nearest rival Banna Gupta by a margin of over 10,000 votes, he was first elected as an MLA from Jamshedpur-West constituency in 2005. He lost the 2009 assembly seat by a narrow margin of around 3000 votes to the INC candidate Banna Gupta. Prior to this, in the undivided Bihar he served as an MLC for a six-year term from 1998 to 2004. Rai is known for his crusade against corruption, he exposed the Fodder Scam in Bihar which led to jail sentences for many senior politicians, including the Chief Minister of Bihar Lalu Yadav. He exposed the corruption of over Rs. 8000 crores in the Iron Ore Mines allotment scam under the Chief Minister of Jharkhand Madhu Koda. Saryuroy.in Prabhatkhabar.com Ibnlive.com

Thomas Lyttelton, 6th Baronet, 2nd Baron Lyttelton was an English MP and profligate from the Lyttelton family. Sometimes dubbed "the wicked Lord Lyttelton" and "bad Lord Lyttelton" to discredit his independence from the political parties and religious dogmas of his era, he was the son of George Lyttelton, 1st Baron Lyttelton and 5th Baronet, his wife Lucy Fortescue, his mother died. He was talented in his early years in drawing. Educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford where he matriculated in 1761, he was a reader of poetry, his favourite poet being John Milton, his father, the 1st Lord Lyttelton, held political posts including Privy Councillor, a Lord of the Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer. He himself was a good friend of the Prince of Wales, who became King George III. Lyttelton received his pension through his estranged father, because of his parentage and ability he had a career in public life, he was a Whig MP for Bewdley from 1768 to 1769 and the Chief Justice of the Eyre in 1775, became a Privy Councillor the same year.

His death was reported to have been foreseen by himself three days beforehand. Lyttelton married Aphia Witts, it was recreated in 1794, for his successor in the baronetcy, his father's brother Sir William Lyttelton, 7th Baronet. Burke's s.v Cobham, Viscount Gerrard, Christine. "Lyttelton, first Baron Lyttelton". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press. Doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/17306. Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs Works by Thomas Lyttelton, 2nd Baron Lyttelton at LibriVox

Daugavpils Fortress known as Dinaburg Fortress, is an early 19th century fortress in Daugavpils, Latvia. It is the only early 19th century military fortification of its kind in Northern Europe, preserved without significant alterations; the construction of the fortress began in 1810 by decree of Tsar Alexander I of Russia, in the atmosphere of increased tension before Napoleon's invasion of the Russian Empire in 1812. Construction of the fortress, due to Napoleon's invasion, lengthy delays, serious floodings and slow construction work, was completed only in 1878; the Mark Rothko Art centre is located in the former Artillery arsenal. About 10,000 workers built the fortress in two shifts. In 1812, the fortress was attacked by a detachment of the French Army of 24,000 men; the fortress was defended by 3300 men with 200 cannons. The fortress was a significant modern military centre of the Russian Empire, for a long time being a defense base of the western frontier of the Russian Empire; the direct route taken by Russian nobles and Royalty from St. Petersburg to Europe led right through the city of Daugavpils, Daugavpils Fortress was the place of rest for many nobles including tsars Alexander I, Nicolas I, Alexander II, Alexander III and Russia's last tsar Nicolas II.

Latvian independence was recognised by Soviet Russia in 1920, between 1920 and 1940 the fortress became home of the Latvian army. During World War II, the camp for Soviet prisoners of war Stalag 340 was set up by German army in the fortress; the fortress' Baroque Jesuit church constructed from 1737-1746 was destroyed during the War. In 1948–1993, the fortress was home to the Daugavpils Higher School of Military Aircraft Engineering. In 1998 the fortress came under the authority of the State Real Estate Agency of Latvia. In 2004 the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Latvia decided to sell the fortress either in parts or as one whole; the fortress's future remains uncertain. Urban-travel.org @ The Dinaburg Fortress

"Ask the Lonely" is a soul/pop ballad recorded by Motown singing group the Four Tops. Released as the group's third single, the single became the group's second successful single since signing to Motown in 1963. Released in 1965, the song rose to number 24 pop and number 9 R&B. It's notable for it being co-written by longtime Motown staffer Mickey Stevenson as most of the group's hits on Motown were written and produced by Holland-Dozier-Holland. It's notable for lead singer Levi Stubbs' emotional lead and The Andantes helping the other Tops in the background. Lead vocal by Levi Stubbs Background vocals by the Renaldo "Obie" Benson, Lawrence Payton, Abdul "Duke" Fakir, The Andantes: Jackie Hicks, Marlene Barrow, Louvain Demps Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra

The Records were an English power pop band formed in 1978. They are best remembered for the hit single and cult favourite "Starry Eyes"; the Records formed out of the ashes of the Kursaal Flyers, a pub rock group featuring drummer Will Birch. In 1977, John Wicks joined the band as a rhythm guitarist, he and Birch started writing songs together, Wicks as composer, Birch as lyricist; the Kursaal Flyers dissolved three months after Wicks joined, but he and Birch continued to write songs together with the hopes of starting a new four-piece group with Birch on drums and Wicks on lead vocals and rhythm guitar. Birch soon came up with a name for the formative band: The Records; the group's line-up included bassist Phil Brown and lead guitarist Brian Alterman, whose guitar riffs have been compared to that of the Byrds. Alterman played on two early demos that were included on the album Paying for the Summer of Love, before joining another band. Alterman was replaced by Huw Gower in 1978. Like Birch and Wicks and Brown were music veterans: Gower had played with a band called the Ratbites from Hell and Brown had been the bass player for the Janets.

The new group was influenced both by British Invasion bands like The Beatles and The Kinks and early power pop groups such as Badfinger, Big Star, Raspberries. Power pop was experiencing a renaissance on both sides of the Atlantic, thanks in large part to the burgeoning punk/new wave movement, they were hired to back Stiff Records singer Rachel Sweet on the "Be Stiff Tour'78". The Records opened the shows with a set of their own. Birch and Wicks wrote a song for Sweet's debut album entitled "Pin a Medal on Mary"; the songwriting duo penned "Hearts in Her Eyes" for the Searchers, who made an unexpected comeback with their power pop oriented album The Searchers in 1979. Based on their demos, the band was signed to Virgin Records in 1978, their debut single, "Starry Eyes", was released in the UK that December and has since become their best-known song and an oft-covered power pop standard. Allmusic called it "a near-perfect song that defined British power pop in the'70s". Due in part to its clear influence by American power pop, the song was a bigger hit in the US than in the UK.

The group prepared their debut album with Tim Friese-Greene. Huw Gower produced "The Phone", added to the album in preference to one of Lange's efforts, a cover of Tim Moore's "Rock'n' Roll Love Letter"; the debut LP Shades in Bed yielded another single, "Teenarama", their second-best known song. The album was released in the US in July 1979 as The Records with different song sequencing and with the original single version of "Starry Eyes" replacing Lange's re-recording that appeared on the UK edition; the album was sufficiently well received to peak on the Billboard chart at No. 41. Gower produced the bonus four track disc of cover tunes included in the album release, which received FM airplay, notably the version of Spirit's "1984", strong enough to become short-listed by Virgin as the second single off the album; that was the pinnacle of their success. Returning to the UK, Will Birch engaged the services of producer Craig Leon to record two new songs and to remix two tracks from Shades in Bed for a possible single release.

Huw Gower acted as co-producer. After an aborted German tour with Robert Palmer, Gower left the band and relocated to New York, where he joined forces with New York Dolls lead singer David Johansen, their collaboration led to the successful album Live It Up. Jude Cole, a 19-year-old American, in Moon Martin's backing group The Ravens, joined for the album Crashes; the album was not a hit, did not yield any successful singles, record company support for the band dried up during the Crashes tour. Cole stayed in the US, while the core of Birch and Brown returned home to England; the trio expanded into a quintet with guitarist Dave Whelan and lead singer Chris Gent. Most of the songs had been sung by Wicks, but with other members taking lead vocals for individual songs. Birch has since declared that the decision to recruit a lead singer was made "perhaps unwisely"; this line-up recorded a third album for 1982's Music on Both Sides. Like its predecessor, the album was not a hit. After this, the band broke up.

Birch turned to tour managing, running'Rock Tours', a sightseeing London Bus venture and writing. In 1990 the original band reformed to contribute a track for the 1991 Brian Wilson tribute album, Vibes & Harmony. Birch and Wicks cut the basic track for "Darlin'" in London; the same year saw the US release of Paying for the Summer of Love. Both recordings received great press, but were not enough to outweigh unresolved past issues within the core membership, which killed any possibility of restarting the group. Wicks relocated to the US in 1994 and was writing and performing both solo and with a new incarnation of the band up until 2018. Brown succumbed to an undisclosed degenerative illness on February 2, 2012. Wicks died following a year-long struggle with cancer on October 2018 in Burbank, California. Beginning with their debut album – Shades in Bed, retitled in the US as The Records – releases by The Records have been issued in a variety of editions: 1979: Shades in Bed 1980: Crashes 1982: Music on Both Sides 1988: Smashes and Near Misses 1989: A Sunny Afternoon in Waterloo 1998: Rock'Ola 2001: Paying for the Summer of Love 2009: Play Live: The Records Live in Concert 197