1.
Malay language
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Malay is a major language of the Austronesian family. It has a status in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia. As the Bahasa Kebangsaan or Bahasa Nasional of several states, Standard Malay has various official names, in Singapore and Brunei it is called Bahasa Melayu, in Malaysia, Bahasa Malaysia, and in Indonesia, Bahasa Indonesia and is designated the Bahasa Persatuan/Pemersatu. However, in areas of central to southern Sumatra where the language is indigenous, Indonesians refer to it as Bahasa Melayu and consider it one of their regional languages. There are also several Malay trade and creole languages which are based on a lingua franca derived from Classical Malay, as well as Macassar Malay, Malay historical linguists agree on the likelihood of the Malay homeland being in western Borneo stretching to the Bruneian coast. A form known as Proto-Malay language was spoken in Borneo at least by 1000 BCE and was, it has been argued, the ancestral language of all subsequent Malayan languages. The history of the Malay language can be divided into five periods, Old Malay, the Transitional Period, the Malacca Period, Late Modern Malay and it is not clear that Old Malay was actually the ancestor of Classical Malay, but this is thought to be quite possible. Old Malay was influenced by Sanskrit literary language of Classical India, Sanskrit loanwords can be found in Old Malay vocabulary. Batenburg on November 29,1920 at Kedukan Bukit, South Sumatra, on the banks of the Tatang and it is a small stone of 45 by 80 centimetres. The earliest surviving manuscript in Malay is the Tanjong Tanah Law in post-Pallava letters and this 14th-century pre-Islamic legal text produced in the Adityawarman era of Dharmasraya, a Hindu-Buddhist kingdom that arose after the end of Srivijayan rule in Sumatra. The laws were for the Minangkabau people, who still live in the highlands of Sumatra. The Malay language came into use as the lingua franca of the Malacca Sultanate. During this period, the Malay language developed rapidly under the influence of Islamic literature, the development changed the nature of the language with massive infusion of Arabic, Malayalam and Sanskrit vocabularies, called Classical Malay. Under the Sultanate of Malacca the language evolved into a form recognisable to speakers of modern Malay, however, there is no connection between Malaccan Malay as used on Riau and the Riau vernacular. One of the oldest surviving letters written in Malay is a letter from Sultan Abu Hayat of Ternate, Maluku Islands in present-day Indonesia, the letter is addressed to the king of Portugal, following contact with Portuguese explorer Francisco Serrão. The letters show sign of non-native usage, the Ternateans used the unrelated Ternate language, Malay was used solely as a lingua franca for inter-ethnic communications. Malay is a member of the Austronesian family of languages, which includes languages from Southeast Asia, malagasy, a geographic outlier spoken in Madagascar in the Indian Ocean, is also a member of this language family. Although each language of the family is mutually unintelligible, their similarities are rather striking, many roots have come virtually unchanged from their common ancestor, Proto-Austronesian language
2.
Thai language
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Thai, also known as Siamese or Central Thai, is the national and official language of Thailand and the native language of the Thai people and the vast majority of Thai Chinese. Thai is a member of the Tai group of the Tai–Kadai language family, over half of the words in Thai are borrowed from Pali, Sanskrit and Old Khmer. It is a tonal and analytic language, Thai also has a complex orthography and relational markers. Spoken Thai is mutually intelligible with Laotian, Thai is the official language of Thailand, natively spoken by over 20 million people. Standard Thai is based on the register of the classes of Bangkok. In addition to Central Thai, Thailand is home to other related Tai languages, Isan, the language of the Isan region of Thailand, a collective term for the various Lao dialects spoken in Thailand that show some Siamese Thai influences, which is written with the Thai script. It is spoken by about 20 million people, Thais from both inside and outside the Isan region often simply call this variant Lao when speaking informally. Northern Thai, spoken by about 6 million in the independent kingdom of Lanna. Shares strong similarities with Lao to the point that in the past the Siamese Thais referred to it as Lao. Southern Thai, spoken by about 4.5 million Phu Thai, spoken by half a million around Nakhon Phanom Province. Phuan, spoken by 200,000 in central Thailand and Isan, Shan, spoken by about 100,000 in north-west Thailand along the border with the Shan States of Burma, and by 3.2 million in Burma. Lü, spoken by about 1,000,000 in northern Thailand, and 600,000 more in Sipsong Panna, Burma, nyaw language, spoken by 50,000 in Nakhon Phanom Province, Sakhon Nakhon Province, Udon Thani Province of Northeast Thailand. Song, spoken by about 30,000 in central and northern Thailand, Elegant or Formal Thai, official and written version, includes respectful terms of address, used in simplified form in newspapers. Rhetorical Thai, used for public speaking, religious Thai, used when discussing Buddhism or addressing monks. Royal Thai, influenced by Khmer, this is used when addressing members of the family or describing their activities. Most Thais can speak and understand all of these contexts, street and Elegant Thai are the basis of all conversations. Rhetorical, religious, and royal Thai are taught in schools as the national curriculum, many scholars believe that the Thai script is derived from the Khmer script, which is modeled after the Brahmic script from the Indic family. However, in appearance, Thai is closer to Thai Dam script, the language and its script are closely related to the Lao language and script
3.
Burmese language
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The Burmese language is the official language of Myanmar. Although the Constitution of Myanmar officially recognizes the English name of the language as the Myanmar language, Burmese is a tonal, pitch-register, and syllable-timed language, largely monosyllabic and analytic, with a subject–object–verb word order. It is a member of the Lolo-Burmese grouping of the Sino-Tibetan language family, the Burmese alphabet is ultimately descended from a Brahmic script, either Kadamba or Pallava. Burmese belongs to the Southern Burmish branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages, Burmese is the most widely spoken of the non-Sinitic Sino-Tibetan languages. Burmese was the fifth of the Sino-Tibetan languages to develop a system, after Chinese characters, the Pyu script, the Tibetan alphabet. However, several dialects substantially differ in Burmese with respect to vocabulary, lexical particles, the standard dialect of Burmese comes from the Irrawaddy River valley. Regional differences between speakers from Upper Burma, called anya tha အညာသား, and speakers from Lower Burma, called auk tha အောက်သား, occur in vocabulary choice, minor pronunciation differences do exist within the Irrawaddy River valley. For instance, for the term ဆွမ်း food offering, Lower Burmese speakers use instead of, the standard dialect is represented by the Yangon dialect because of the modern citys media influence and economic clout. In the past, the Mandalay dialect represented standard Burmese, moreover, with regard to kinship terminology, Upper Burmese speakers differentiate the maternal and paternal sides of a family whereas Lower Burmese speakers do not. Spoken Burmese is remarkably uniform among Burmese speakers, particularly living in the Irrawaddy valley. The figure would have much higher if non-Bamars were excluded. For the whole country, the rate was 49% for men and 5. 5% for women. The migration of Burmese speakers of Bamar descent to Lower Burma is relatively recent, as late as the mid-1700s, the Austroasiatic language Mon was the principal language of Lower Burma and the Mon people who inhabited it. After the Burmese-speaking Konbaung Dynastys victory over the Mon-speaking Restored Hanthawaddy Kingdom in 1757, by 1830, an estimated 90% of the population in the region identified themselves as Bamar due the influx from Upper Burma, assimilation, and intermarriage. In the British colonial era, British incentives, particularly geared toward rice production, as well as political instability in Upper Burma, more distinctive non-standard varieties emerge as one moves farther away from the Irrawaddy River valley toward peripheral areas of the country. These varieties include the Yaw, Palaw, Myeik, Tavoyan, despite substantial vocabulary and pronunciation differences, there is mutual intelligibility among most Burmese dialects. Dialects in Tanintharyi Region, including Palaw, Merguese and Tavoyan, are conservative in comparison to Standard Burmese. The Tavoyan and Intha dialects have preserved the /l/ medial, which is only found in Old Burmese inscriptions
4.
Chinese language
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Chinese is a group of related, but in many cases mutually unintelligible, language varieties, forming a branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family. Chinese is spoken by the Han majority and many ethnic groups in China. Nearly 1.2 billion people speak some form of Chinese as their first language, the varieties of Chinese are usually described by native speakers as dialects of a single Chinese language, but linguists note that they are as diverse as a language family. The internal diversity of Chinese has been likened to that of the Romance languages, There are between 7 and 13 main regional groups of Chinese, of which the most spoken by far is Mandarin, followed by Wu, Min, and Yue. Most of these groups are mutually unintelligible, although some, like Xiang and certain Southwest Mandarin dialects, may share common terms, all varieties of Chinese are tonal and analytic. Standard Chinese is a form of spoken Chinese based on the Beijing dialect of Mandarin. It is the language of China and Taiwan, as well as one of four official languages of Singapore. It is one of the six languages of the United Nations. The written form of the language, based on the logograms known as Chinese characters, is shared by literate speakers of otherwise unintelligible dialects. Of the other varieties of Chinese, Cantonese is the spoken language and official in Hong Kong and Macau. It is also influential in Guangdong province and much of Guangxi, dialects of Southern Min, part of the Min group, are widely spoken in southern Fujian, with notable variants also spoken in neighboring Taiwan and in Southeast Asia. Hakka also has a diaspora in Taiwan and southeast Asia. Shanghainese and other Wu varieties are prominent in the lower Yangtze region of eastern China, Chinese can be traced back to a hypothetical Sino-Tibetan proto-language. The first written records appeared over 3,000 years ago during the Shang dynasty, as the language evolved over this period, the various local varieties became mutually unintelligible. In reaction, central governments have sought to promulgate a unified standard. Difficulties have included the great diversity of the languages, the lack of inflection in many of them, in addition, many of the smaller languages are spoken in mountainous areas that are difficult to reach, and are often also sensitive border zones. Without a secure reconstruction of proto-Sino-Tibetan, the structure of the family remains unclear. A top-level branching into Chinese and Tibeto-Burman languages is often assumed, the earliest examples of Chinese are divinatory inscriptions on oracle bones from around 1250 BCE in the late Shang dynasty
5.
Tamil language
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Tamil is a Dravidian language predominantly spoken by the Tamil people of India and Sri Lanka, and also by the Tamil diaspora, Sri Lankan Moors, Burghers, Douglas, and Chindians. Tamil is a language of two countries, Singapore and Sri Lanka. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and it is also used as one of the languages of education in Malaysia, along with English, Malay and Mandarin. Tamil is also spoken by significant minorities in the four other South Indian states of Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and it is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India. Tamil is one of the classical languages in the world. Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions from 500 BC have been found on Adichanallur and 2 and it has been described as the only language of contemporary India which is recognizably continuous with a classical past. The variety and quality of classical Tamil literature has led to it being described as one of the classical traditions. A recorded Tamil literature has been documented for over 2000 years, the earliest period of Tamil literature, Sangam literature, is dated from ca.300 BC – AD300. It has the oldest extant literature among other Dravidian languages, the earliest epigraphic records found on rock edicts and hero stones date from around the 3rd century BC. More than 55% of the inscriptions found by the Archaeological Survey of India are in the Tamil language. Tamil language inscriptions written in Brahmi script have been discovered in Sri Lanka, the two earliest manuscripts from India, acknowledged and registered by the UNESCO Memory of the World register in 1997 and 2005, were written in Tamil. In 1578, Portuguese Christian missionaries published a Tamil prayer book in old Tamil script named Thambiraan Vanakkam, the Tamil Lexicon, published by the University of Madras, was one of the earliest dictionaries published in the Indian languages. According to a 2001 survey, there were 1,863 newspapers published in Tamil, Tamil belongs to the southern branch of the Dravidian languages, a family of around 26 languages native to the Indian subcontinent. It is also classified as being part of a Tamil language family, the closest major relative of Tamil is Malayalam, the two began diverging around the 9th century CE. According to linguists like Bhadriraju Krishnamurti, Tamil, as a Dravidian language, descends from Proto-Dravidian, linguistic reconstruction suggests that Proto-Dravidian was spoken around the third millennium BC, possibly in the region around the lower Godavari river basin in peninsular India. The material evidence suggests that the speakers of Proto-Dravidian were of the associated with the Neolithic complexes of South India. The next phase in the reconstructed proto-history of Tamil is Proto-South Dravidian, the linguistic evidence suggests that Proto-South Dravidian was spoken around the middle of the second millennium BC, and that proto-Tamil emerged around the 3rd century BC. The earliest epigraphic attestations of Tamil are generally taken to have been shortly thereafter
6.
International Space Station
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The International Space Station is a space station, or a habitable artificial satellite, in low Earth orbit. Its first component launched into orbit in 1998, and the ISS is now the largest man-made body in space, the ISS consists of pressurised modules, external trusses, solar arrays, and other components. ISS components have been launched by Russian Proton and Soyuz rockets, the ISS serves as a microgravity and space environment research laboratory in which crew members conduct experiments in biology, human biology, physics, astronomy, meteorology, and other fields. The station is suited for the testing of systems and equipment required for missions to the Moon. The ISS maintains an orbit with an altitude of between 330 and 435 km by means of reboost manoeuvres using the engines of the Zvezda module or visiting spacecraft and it completes 15.54 orbits per day. The ISS is the space station to be inhabited by crews, following the Soviet and later Russian Salyut, Almaz. The station has continuously occupied for 16 years and 156 days since the arrival of Expedition 1 on 2 November 2000. This is the longest continuous presence in low Earth orbit. It has been visited by astronauts, cosmonauts and space tourists from 17 different nations, Soyuz has very limited downmass capability. The ISS programme is a joint project among five participating space agencies, NASA, Roscosmos, JAXA, ESA, the ownership and use of the space station is established by intergovernmental treaties and agreements. The station is divided two sections, the Russian Orbital Segment and the United States Orbital Segment, which is shared by many nations. As of January 2014, the American portion of ISS is being funded until 2024, Roscosmos has endorsed the continued operation of ISS through 2024 but has proposed using elements of the Russian Orbital Segment to construct a new Russian space station called OPSEK. On 28 March 2015, Russian sources announced that Roscosmos and NASA had agreed to collaborate on the development of a replacement for the current ISS. NASA later issued a statement expressing thanks for Russias interest in future co-operation in space exploration. According to the original Memorandum of Understanding between NASA and Rosaviakosmos, the International Space Station was intended to be a laboratory, observatory and factory in low Earth orbit. It was also planned to provide transportation, maintenance, and act as a base for possible future missions to the Moon, Mars. In the 2010 United States National Space Policy, the ISS was given roles of serving commercial, diplomatic. The ISS provides a platform to conduct scientific research, the ISS simplifies individual experiments by eliminating the need for separate rocket launches and research staff
7.
Southeast Asia
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Southeast Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies near the intersection of geological plates, with seismic and volcanic activity. Southeast Asia consists of two regions, Mainland Southeast Asia, also known historically as Indochina, comprising Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar. Maritime Southeast Asia, comprising Indonesia, East Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, East Timor, Brunei, Cocos Islands, definitions of Southeast Asia vary, but most definitions include the area represented by the countries listed below. All of the states are members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the area, together with part of South Asia, was widely known as the East Indies or simply the Indies until the 20th century. Sovereignty issues exist over some territories in the South China Sea, Papua New Guinea has stated that it might join ASEAN, and is currently an observer. Southeast Asia is geographically divided into two subregions, namely Mainland Southeast Asia and Maritime Southeast Asia, Mainland Southeast Asia includes, Maritime Southeast Asia includes, The Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India are geographically considered part of Southeast Asia. Eastern Bangladesh and the Seven Sister States of India are culturally part of Southeast Asia, the eastern half of Indonesia and East Timor are considered to be biogeographically part of Oceania. Homo sapiens reached the region by around 45,000 years ago, homo floresiensis also lived in the area up until 12,000 years ago, when they became extinct. Austronesian people, who form the majority of the population in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, East Timor. Solheim and others have shown evidence for a Nusantao maritime trading network ranging from Vietnam to the rest of the archipelago as early as 5000 BC to 1 AD. The peoples of Southeast Asia, especially those of Austronesian descent, have been seafarers for thousands of years and their vessels, such as the vinta, were ocean-worthy. Magellans voyage records how much more manoeuvrable their vessels were, as compared to the European ships, Passage through the Indian Ocean aided the colonisation of Madagascar by the Austronesian people, as well as commerce between West Asia and Southeast Asia. Gold from Sumatra is thought to have reached as far west as Rome and this was later replaced by Hinduism. Theravada Buddhism soon followed in 525, in the 15th century, Islamic influences began to enter. This forced the last Hindu court in Indonesia to retreat to Bali, in Mainland Southeast Asia, Burma, Cambodia and Thailand retained the Theravada form of Buddhism, brought to them from Sri Lanka. This type of Buddhism was fused with the Hindu-influenced Khmer culture, very little is known about Southeast Asian religious beliefs and practices before the advent of Indian merchants and religious influences from the 2nd century BCE onwards. Prior to the 13th century CE, Hinduism and Buddhism were the religions in Southeast Asia
8.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
9.
Malaysia
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Malaysia is a federal constitutional monarchy located in Southeast Asia. Peninsular Malaysia shares a land and maritime border with Thailand and maritime borders with Singapore, Vietnam, East Malaysia shares land and maritime borders with Brunei and Indonesia and a maritime border with the Philippines and Vietnam. The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government, with a population of over 30 million, Malaysia is the 44th most populous country. The southernmost point of continental Eurasia, Tanjung Piai, is in Malaysia, located in the tropics, Malaysia is one of 17 megadiverse countries on earth, with large numbers of endemic species. Malaysia has its origins in the Malay kingdoms present in the area which, from the 18th century, the first British territories were known as the Straits Settlements, whose establishment was followed by the Malay kingdoms becoming British protectorates. The territories on Peninsular Malaysia were first unified as the Malayan Union in 1946, Malaya was restructured as the Federation of Malaya in 1948, and achieved independence on 31 August 1957. Malaya united with North Borneo, Sarawak, and Singapore on 16 September 1963 to become Malaysia, less than two years later in 1965, Singapore was expelled from the federation. The country is multi-ethnic and multi-cultural, which plays a role in politics. About half the population is ethnically Malay, with minorities of Malaysian Chinese, Malaysian Indians. The constitution declares Islam the state religion while allowing freedom of religion for non-Muslims, the government system is closely modelled on the Westminster parliamentary system and the legal system is based on common law. The head of state is the king, known as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and he is an elected monarch chosen from the hereditary rulers of the nine Malay states every five years. The head of government is the prime minister, since its independence, Malaysia has had one of the best economic records in Asia, with its GDP growing at an average of 6. 5% per annum for almost 50 years. The economy has traditionally been fuelled by its resources, but is expanding in the sectors of science, tourism, commerce. Today, Malaysia has a newly industrialised market economy, ranked third largest in Southeast Asia, the name Malaysia is a combination of the word Malay and the Latin-Greek suffix -sia/-σία. The word melayu in Malay may derive from the Tamil words malai and ur meaning mountain and city, land, malayadvipa was the word used by ancient Indian traders when referring to the Malay Peninsula. Whether or not it originated from these roots, the word melayu or mlayu may have used in early Malay/Javanese to mean to steadily accelerate or run. This term was applied to describe the current of the river Melayu in Sumatra. The name was adopted by the Melayu Kingdom that existed in the seventh century on Sumatra
10.
Thailand
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Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand, formerly known as Siam, is a country at the centre of the Indochinese peninsula in Southeast Asia. With a total area of approximately 513,000 km2, Thailand is the worlds 51st-largest country and it is the 20th-most-populous country in the world, with around 66 million people. The capital and largest city is Bangkok, Thailand is a constitutional monarchy and has switched between parliamentary democracy and military junta for decades, the latest coup being in May 2014 by the National Council for Peace and Order. Its capital and most populous city is Bangkok and its maritime boundaries include Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand to the southeast, and Indonesia and India on the Andaman Sea to the southwest. The Thai economy is the worlds 20th largest by GDP at PPP and it became a newly industrialised country and a major exporter in the 1990s. Manufacturing, agriculture, and tourism are leading sectors of the economy and it is considered a middle power in the region and around the world. The country has always been called Mueang Thai by its citizens, by outsiders prior to 1949, it was usually known by the exonym Siam. The word Siam has been identified with the Sanskrit Śyāma, the names Shan and A-hom seem to be variants of the same word. The word Śyâma is possibly not its origin, but a learned, another theory is the name derives from Chinese, Ayutthaya emerged as a dominant centre in the late fourteenth century. The Chinese called this region Xian, which the Portuguese converted into Siam, the signature of King Mongkut reads SPPM Mongkut King of the Siamese, giving the name Siam official status until 24 June 1939 when it was changed to Thailand. Thailand was renamed Siam from 1945 to 11 May 1949, after which it reverted to Thailand. According to George Cœdès, the word Thai means free man in the Thai language, ratcha Anachak Thai means kingdom of Thailand or kingdom of Thai. Etymologically, its components are, ratcha, -ana- -chak, the Thai National Anthem, written by Luang Saranupraphan during the extremely patriotic 1930s, refers to the Thai nation as, prathet Thai. The first line of the anthem is, prathet thai ruam lueat nuea chat chuea thai, Thailand is the unity of Thai flesh. There is evidence of habitation in Thailand that has been dated at 40,000 years before the present. Similar to other regions in Southeast Asia, Thailand was heavily influenced by the culture and religions of India, Thailand in its earliest days was under the rule of the Khmer Empire, which had strong Hindu roots, and the influence among Thais remains even today. Voretzsch believes that Buddhism must have been flowing into Siam from India in the time of the Indian Emperor Ashoka of the Maurya Empire, later Thailand was influenced by the south Indian Pallava dynasty and north Indian Gupta Empire. The Menam Basin was originally populated by the Mons, and the location of Dvaravati in the 7th century, the History of the Yuan mentions an embassy from the kingdom of Sukhothai in 1282
11.
Myanmar
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Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and also known as Burma, is a sovereign state in South East Asia bordered by Bangladesh, India, China, Laos and Thailand. About one third of Myanmars total perimeter of 5,876 km, forms an uninterrupted coastline of 1,930 km along the Bay of Bengal, the countrys 2014 census revealed a much lower population than expected, with 51 million people recorded. Myanmar is 676,578 square kilometres in size and its capital city is Naypyidaw and its largest city and former capital city is Yangon. Early civilizations in Myanmar included the Tibeto-Burman-speaking Pyu city-states in Upper Burma, the Pagan Kingdom fell due to the Mongol invasions and several warring states emerged. In the 16th century, reunified by the Taungoo Dynasty, the country was for a period the largest empire in the history of Mainland Southeast Asia. The early 19th century Konbaung Dynasty ruled over an area included modern Myanmar and briefly controlled Manipur. The British invaded Myanmar after three Anglo-Burmese Wars in the 19th century and the became a British colony. Myanmar became an independent nation in 1948, initially as a nation and then, following a coup détat in 1962. For most of its independent years, the country has been engrossed in rampant ethnic strife, during this time, the United Nations and several other organisations have reported consistent and systematic human rights violations in the country. In 2011, the junta was officially dissolved following a 2010 general election. While former military leaders still wield enormous power in the country, there is, however, continuing criticism of the governments treatment of the Muslim Rohingya minority and its poor response to the religious clashes. In the landmark 2015 election, Aung San Suu Kyis party won a majority in both houses, Myanmar is a country rich in jade and gems, oil, natural gas and other mineral resources. In 2013, its GDP stood at US$56.7 billion, the income gap in Myanmar is among the widest in the world, as a large proportion of the economy is controlled by supporters of the former military government. As of 2016, according to the Human Development Index, Myanmar had a level of human development. The renaming remains a contested issue, many political and ethnic opposition groups and countries continue to use Burma because they do not recognise the legitimacy of the ruling military government or its authority to rename the country. The countrys official name is the Republic of the Union of Myanmar. Countries that do not officially recognise that name use the long form Union of Burma instead, in English, the country is popularly known as either Burma or Myanmar /ˈmjɑːnˌmɑːr/. Both these names are derived from the name of the majority Burmese Bamar ethnic group, Myanmar is considered to be the literary form of the name of the group, while Burma is derived from Bamar, the colloquial form of the groups name
12.
Peninsula
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A peninsula is a piece of land surrounded by water on the majority of its border, while being connected to a mainland from which it extends out. Examples include the upper and lower peninsulas of the state of Michigan, the surrounding water is usually understood to be continuous, though not necessarily named as a single body of water. Peninsulas are not always named as such, one can also be a headland, cape, island promontory, bill, point, a point is generally considered a tapering piece of land projecting into a body of water that is less prominent than a cape. A river which courses through a very tight meander is also said to form a peninsula within the loop of water. In English, the plural of peninsula is peninsulas or, less commonly, peninsulas can be found on coastlines and in smaller bodies of water throughout the world, ranging in scale from square meters to millions of square kilometers. Theres the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe, and in Southern Europe theres the Iberian Peninsula, the Italian Peninsula, south America has the Brunswick Peninsula, and Antarctica has the Antarctic Peninsula. In Africa, theres the Horn of Africa, and in Australia, asia has the 3 largest peninsulas in the world, the Arabian Peninsula, the Indian Peninsula, and the Indochinese Peninsula
13.
Peninsular Malaysia
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Peninsular Malaysia, also known as West Malaysia, is the part of Malaysia which lies on the Malay Peninsula and surrounding islands. Its area is 130,598 square kilometres and it shares a land border with Thailand in the north. To the south is the island of Singapore, across the Strait of Malacca to the west lies the island of Sumatra. East Malaysia is to the east across the South China Sea, Peninsular Malaysia accounts for the majority of Malaysias population and economy, as of 2015 its population is roughly 25 million. In 1963, the name Malaysia was adopted by the new federation uniting the Federation of Malaya, North Borneo, Sarawak, at the time, the Philippines had also contemplated adopting the name. Peninsular Malaysia is also known as West Malaysia or Malaya, in current everyday usage the word Malaya is almost always used jocularly, e. g. Gempar satu Malaya. Which roughly means shakes the whole of Malaya, the term Malaya generally included Singapore until 1946, when Singapore was excluded from the formation of Malayan Union. In Singapore law, Malaya includes Singapore, whereas the term States of Malaya does not, the majority of people on Peninsular Malaysia are ethnic Malays, predominantly Muslim. Large Chinese and Indian populations exist, the Orang Asli are the indigenous people of Peninsular Malaysia, they numbered around 140,000 and mostly lived in inland parts of the region. Unlike the East Coast, the West Coast is partitioned further into three regions, including, The Northern Region, Perlis, Kedah, Penang and Perak, the Central Region, Selangor and the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya. The Southern Region, Negeri Sembilan, Malacca and Johor Even though Johor has a coastline facing the South China Sea and these rights were granted as part of Sarawaks 18-point agreement and Sabahs 20-point agreement with Federation of Malaya in forming the Federation of Malaysia. Malaya Malayan dollar Peninsular Malaysia travel guide from Wikivoyage
14.
Southern Thailand
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Southern Thailand is a distinct region of Thailand, connected with the central region by the narrow Kra Isthmus. Southern Thailand is on the Malay Peninsula, with an area of around 70,713 km2, bounded to the north by Kra Isthmus, the western part has steeper coasts, while on the east side river plains dominate. The largest river of the south is the Tapi in Surat Thani, smaller rivers include the Pattani, Saiburi, Krabi, and the Trang. The biggest lake of the south is Songkhla Lake, the largest artificial lake is the Chiao Lan, occupying 165 km2 of Khao Sok National Park in Surat Thani. Running through the middle of the peninsula are several chains, with the highest elevation at Khao Luang,1,835 m. Ranging from the Kra Isthmus to Phuket island is the Phuket chain, the border with Malaysia is formed by the Sankalakhiri range, sometimes subdivided into the Pattani, Taluban, and Songkhla chain. At the Malaysian border the Titiwangsa chain rises up, the limestone of the west coast has been eroded into many steep singular hills. Those parts submerged by the sea after the last ice age now form many islands. Also quite famous is the so-called James Bond Island in Phang Nga Bay, there are still a huge number of migrant or informal workers, temporary workers, and even stateless people, and a large contingent expatriate population which is not included. The Malay peninsula has been settled since prehistoric times, archeological remains were found in several caves, some used for dwellings, others as burial sites. The oldest remains were found in Lang Rongrien Cave, dating 38,000 to 27,000 years before present, in the first millennium Chinese chronicles mention several coastal cities or city-states. No exact geographical locations were recorded, so the identification of these cities with later settlements is difficult, the cities were highly influenced by Indian culture, and have adopted Brahman or Buddhist religion. When Srivijaya in Chaiya extended its sphere of influence, those cities became tributary states of Srivijaya, the city Chaiya in Surat Thani Province contains several ruins from Srivijaya times, and was probably a regional capital of the kingdom. Some Thai historians even claim that it was the capital of the kingdom itself for some time, after Srivijaya lost its influence, Nakhon Si Thammarat became the dominant kingdom of the area. During the rule of King Ramkhamhaeng the Great of Sukhothai, Thai influence first reached Nakhon Si Thammarat, according to the Ramkhamhaeng inscription, Nakhon Si THammarat was a tributary state of Sukhothai. During most of later periods, Nakhon became a tributary of Ayutthaya, the deep south belonged to the Malay sultanates of Pattani and Kedah, while the northernmost part of the peninsula was under the control of Bangkok. During the thesaphiban reforms at the end of the 19th century, the area was subdivided into 5 monthon, which were installed to control the city states. Minor mueang were merged into larger ones, thus forming the present 14 provinces, with the Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909 the boundary to Malaysia was fixed
15.
Titiwangsa Mountains
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The Titiwangsa Mountains, also known as Banjaran Besar by locals, are the mountain range that forms the backbone of the Malay peninsula. The northern section of the range is in southern Thailand, where it is known as Sankalakhiri Range, the range acts as a natural divider, dividing peninsular Malaysia, as well as southernmost Thailand, into east and west coast regions. The length of mountain range is about 480 km from north to south, the Titiwangsa Mountains are part of a suture zone that runs north-south, starting in Thailand and extending south towards peninsular Malaysia. These two halves of terranes were separated by the Paleo-Tethys Ocean, the Cimmeria was separated from Gondwana around 400 mya during Devonian and rifted towards Laurasia, the northeastern arm of Pangea. The collision of Sibumasu terranes and Indochina terranes during 200mya Late Triassic resulted in the closure of the Paleo-Tethys Ocean and this mountain range is a part of the wider Tenasserim Hills system. It forms the southernmost section of the Indo-Malayan cordillera which runs from Tibet through the Kra Isthmus into the Malay peninsula. The Titiwangsa mountain range begins in the north as the Sankalakhiri Range, a prolongation of the Nakhon Si Thammarat Range which includes the smaller Pattani, Taluban, and Songkhla sub-ranges. The main range runs approximately from northwest to southeast across the border into Malaysia and ends in the south near Jelebu, Negeri Sembilan, foothills extend further southeastwards into Johor. The highest elevation is 2,183 m Gunung Korbu, on the Thai side the highest point is 1,533 m Ulu Titi Basah, at the Thai/Malaysian border between Yala Province and Perak. In the southern foothills, the highest is 1,276 m Mount Ophir, several popular tourist destinations such as Royal Belum, Cameron Highlands, Genting Highlands and Frasers Hill are located on the range. A number of roads cut through the Titiwangsa Forest Complex
16.
Tenasserim Hills
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Tenasserim Hills or Tenasserim Range is the geographical name of a roughly 1,700 km long mountain chain, part of the Indo-Malayan mountain system in Southeast Asia. Despite their relatively scant altitude these mountains form a barrier between Thailand and Burma in their northern and central region. There are only two main roads and cross-border points between Chumphon and Tak, at the Three Pagodas Pass and at Mae Sot. The latter is located beyond the end of the range. Minor cross-border points are Sing Khon, near Prachuap Khiri Khan, as well as Bong Ti, the latter is expected to gain in importance if the planned Dawei deepwater port project goes ahead, along with a highway and a railway line between Bangkok and that harbor. The southern section of this chain of mountains runs along the Kra Isthmus into the Malay peninsula almost reaching Singapore. Many rivers have their source in these mountains, but none of them are very long. This mountain chain is named after the Tenasserim Region in Burma and its name in Thai is Thio Khao Tanaosi, also spelt as Tanawsri, Tanao Sri, the Tenasserim Hills are part of a long granite mountain ridge that is older than the Himalayas. Eastwards, in Kanchanaburi Province on the Thai side, the range is crossed by the Khwae Yai River. In this area small hill ridges alternate with narrow valleys that are only about 2 km wide and further east there are only isolated hills. Further south the Phachi, the Pranburi and the Phetchaburi River flow eastwards from the range towards the Gulf of Siam, the westernmost range is separated from the Tenasserim coast by the Three Pagodas Fault. West of it lie the Dawna Range, the Karen Hills and the valleys of the Salween, southwards on the western side, the Ye, Heinze, Dawei, Great Tenasserim and the Lenya rivers are relatively short and flow into the Andaman Sea. Further south the Kraburi River forms the border between Thailand and Burma. Northern, The northern end of the overlaps with the Dawna Range and is not clearly defined. Some geographic works set the Three Pagodas Pass as the northern limit, the Tenghyo Range is a small northern prolongation following the Andaman Sea coast. Other noteworthy peaks are Ngayannik Yuak Taung 1,531 m, Central, The southernmost extension of the Bilauktaung reaches the northern end of the Kra Isthmus. Further south the 1,835 m high Khao Luang, located in Nakhon Si Thammarat Province, is the tallest mountain in Southern Thailand, in this area the wider range is divided into separate ridges with gaps between them. Some recent geographical works refer to the sections of the Tenasserim Hills in the isthmus as the Phuket Range and these names are not found, however, in classical geographic sources
17.
Tibet
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Tibet is a region on the Tibetan Plateau in Asia, spanning about 2.4 million km2 and nearly a quarter of Chinas territory. Tibet is the highest region on Earth, with an elevation of 4,900 metres. The highest elevation in Tibet is Mount Everest, Earths highest mountain, the Tibetan Empire emerged in the 7th century, but with the fall of the empire the region soon divided into a variety of territories. The current borders of Tibet were generally established in the 18th century, following the Xinhai Revolution against the Qing dynasty in 1912, Qing soldiers were disarmed and escorted out of Tibet Area. The region subsequently declared its independence in 1913 without recognition by the subsequent Chinese Republican government, later, Lhasa took control of the western part of Xikang, China. There are tensions regarding Tibets political status and dissident groups that are active in exile and it is also said that Tibetan activists in Tibet have been arrested or tortured. The economy of Tibet is dominated by agriculture, though tourism has become a growing industry in recent decades. The dominant religion in Tibet is Tibetan Buddhism, in there is Bön, which is similar to Tibetan Buddhism. Tibetan Buddhism is an influence on the art, music. Tibetan architecture reflects Chinese and Indian influences, staple foods in Tibet are roasted barley, yak meat, and butter tea. The Tibetan name for their land, Bod བོད་, means Tibet or Tibetan Plateau, although it meant the central region around Lhasa. The Standard Tibetan pronunciation of Bod, is transcribed Bhö in Tournadre Phonetic Transcription, Bö in the THL Simplified Phonetic Transcription and Poi in Tibetan pinyin. Tibetan people, language, and culture, regardless of where they are from, are referred to as Zang although the geographical term Xīzàng is often limited to the Tibet Autonomous Region. The term Xīzàng was coined during the Qing dynasty in the reign of the Jiaqing Emperor through the addition of a prefix meaning west to Zang, the best-known medieval Chinese name for Tibet is Tubo. This name first appears in Chinese characters as 土番 in the 7th century, in the Middle Chinese spoken during that period, as reconstructed by William H. Baxter, 土番 was pronounced thux-phjon and 吐蕃 was pronounced thux-pjon. Other pre-modern Chinese names for Tibet include Wusiguo, Wusizang, Tubote, the English word Tibet or Thibet dates back to the 18th century. Historical linguists generally agree that Tibet names in European languages are loanwords from Semitic Ṭībat orTūbātt, itself deriving from Turkic Töbäd, literally, according to Matthew Kapstein, From the perspective of historical linguistics, Tibetan most closely resembles Burmese among the major languages of Asia. More controversial is the theory that the Tibeto-Burman family is part of a larger language family, called Sino-Tibetan
18.
Kra Isthmus
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The Kra Isthmus is the narrowest part of the Malay Peninsula, in southern Thailand and Myanmar. The east part of the landbridge belongs to Thailand, while the west part belongs to the Tanintharyi division of Myanmar, to the west of the isthmus is the Andaman Sea, and to the east is the Gulf of Thailand. The narrowest part, between the estuary of the Kra River and the Bay of Sawi near the city Chumphon has a width of 44 km, and has a maximum elevation of 75 m above sea level. The Kra Isthmus marks the boundary between two sections of the cordillera, the mountain chain which runs from Tibet through the Malay peninsula. The southern part is called the Phuket chain, which is a continuation of the greater Tenasserim range, the Titiwangsa Mountains are to the south,45 km from Songkhla. The Thai canal is a proposal to join the Gulf of Thailand with the Andaman Sea and it was originally envisioned as crossing the isthmus. Today other locations to the south are being considered
19.
Strait of Malacca
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The Strait of Malacca or Straits of Malacca is a narrow,550 mi stretch of water between the Malay Peninsula and the Indonesian island of Sumatra. It is named after the Malacca sultanate that ruled over the archipelago between 1400 and 1511, the International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Strait of Malacca as follows, On the West. A line joining Pedropunt, the Northernmost point of Sumatra and Lem Voalan the Southern extremity of Goh Puket in Siam, a line joining Tanjong Piai, the Southern extremity of the Malay Peninsula and The Brothers and thence to Klein Karimoen. The Southwestern coast of the Malay Peninsula, the Northeastern coast of Sumatra as far to the eastward as Tanjong Kedabu thence to Klein Karimoen. From an economic and strategic perspective, the Strait of Malacca is one of the most important shipping lanes in the world. The strait is the shipping channel between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, linking major Asian economies such as India, China, Japan, Taiwan. Over 94,000 vessels pass through the strait each year, carrying about one-fourth of the traded goods, including oil, Chinese manufactured products. About a quarter of all oil carried by sea passes through the Strait, in 2007, an estimated 13.7 million barrels per day were transported through the strait, increasing to an estimated 15.2 million barrels per day in 2011. In addition, it is one of the worlds most congested shipping choke points because it narrows to only 2.8 km wide at the Phillips Channel. The maximum size of a vessel that can pass through the Strait is referred to as Malaccamax, for some of the worlds largest ships, the Straits minimum depth isnt deep enough. In addition, the next closest passageway is even more shallow and narrow than Malacca, therefore, these large ships must detour several thousand miles/kilometers and use the Lombok Strait, Makassar Strait, Sibutu Passage, or Mindoro Strait instead. Piracy has been a problem in the strait, piracy had been high in the 2000s, with additional increase after the events of September 11,2001. After attacks rose again in the first half of 2004, regional navies stepped up their patrols of the area in July 2004, subsequently, attacks on ships in the Strait of Malacca dropped, to 79 in 2005 and 50 in 2006. Recent reports indicate that attacks have dropped to levels in recent years. There are 34 shipwrecks, some dating to the 1880s, in the Traffic Separation Scheme and these pose a collision hazard in the narrow and shallow strait. Another risk is the annual haze due to raging bush fires in Sumatra and it may reduce visibility to 200 metres, forcing ships to slow down in the busy strait. The strait is used by Ships longer than 350 metres. Thailand has developed plans to diminish the economic significance of the strait
20.
Sumatra
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Sumatra is a large island in western Indonesia that is part of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island that is entirely in Indonesia and the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2, Sumatra is an elongated landmass spanning a diagonal northwest-southeast axis. The Indian Ocean borders the west, northwest, and southwest sides of Sumatra with the chain of Simeulue, Nias. On the northeast side the narrow Strait of Malacca separates the island from the Malay Peninsula, on the southeast the narrow Sunda Strait separates Sumatra from Java. The northern tip of Sumatra borders the Andaman Islands, while on the eastern side are the islands of Bangka and Belitung, Karimata Strait. The Bukit Barisan mountains, which several active volcanoes, form the backbone of the island, while the northeast sides are outlying lowlands with swamps, mangrove. The equator crosses the island at its center on West Sumatra, the climate of the island is tropical, hot and humid with lush tropical rain forest once dominating the landscape. Sumatra was known in ancient times by the Sanskrit names of Swarnadwīpa and Swarnabhūmi, the first word mentioning the name of Sumatra was the name of Srivijayan Haji Sumatrabhumi, who sent an envoy to China in 1017. Arab geographers referred to the island as Lamri in the tenth through thirteenth centuries, late in the 14th century the name Sumatra became popular in reference to the kingdom of Samudra Pasai, which was a rising power until it was replaced by Sultanate of Aceh. Sultan Alauddin Shah of Aceh, on letters written in 1602 addressed to Queen Elizabeth I of England, referred to himself as king of Aceh, the word itself is from Sanskrit Samudra, meaning gathering together of waters, sea or ocean. European writers in the 19th century found that the inhabitants did not have a name for the island. The Melayu Kingdom was absorbed by Srivijaya, Srivijaya was a Buddhist monarchy centred in what is now Palembang. Dominating the region trade and conquest throughout the 7th to 9th centuries. The empire was a thalassocracy or maritime power that extended its influence from island to island, Palembang was a center for scholarly learning, and it was there the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim I Ching studied Sanskrit in 671 CE before departing for India. On his journey to China, he spent four years in Palembang translating Buddhist texts, Srivijayan influence waned in the 11th century after it was defeated by the Chola Empire of southern India. At the same time, Islam made its way to Sumatra through Arabs, by the late 13th century, the monarch of the Samudra kingdom had converted to Islam. Marco Polo visited the island in 1292, and Ibn Battuta visited twice during 1345–1346, Samudra was succeeded by the powerful Aceh Sultanate, which survived to the 20th century. With the coming of the Dutch, the many Sumatran princely states fell under their control
21.
Singapore
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Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, sometimes referred to as the Lion City or the Little Red Dot, is a sovereign city-state in Southeast Asia. It lies one degree north of the equator, at the tip of peninsular Malaysia. Singapores territory consists of one island along with 62 other islets. Since independence, extensive land reclamation has increased its size by 23%. During the Second World War, Singapore was occupied by Japan, after early years of turbulence, and despite lacking natural resources and a hinterland, the nation developed rapidly as an Asian Tiger economy, based on external trade and its workforce. Singapore is a global commerce, finance and transport hub, the country has also been identified as a tax haven. Singapore ranks 5th internationally and first in Asia on the UN Human Development Index and it is ranked highly in education, healthcare, life expectancy, quality of life, personal safety, and housing, but does not fare well on the Democracy index. Although income inequality is high, 90% of homes are owner-occupied, 38% of Singapores 5.6 million residents are permanent residents and other foreign nationals. There are four languages on the island, Malay, Mandarin, Tamil. English is its language, most Singaporeans are bilingual. Singapore is a multiparty parliamentary republic, with a Westminster system of unicameral parliamentary government. The Peoples Action Party has won every election since self-government in 1959, however, it is unlikely that lions ever lived on the island, Sang Nila Utama, the Srivijayan prince said to have founded and named the island Singapura, perhaps saw a Malayan tiger. There are however other suggestions for the origin of the name, the central island has also been called Pulau Ujong as far back as the third century CE, literally island at the end in Malay. In 1299, according to the Malay Annals, the Kingdom of Singapura was founded on the island by Sang Nila Utama and these Indianized Kingdoms, a term coined by George Cœdès were characterized by surprising resilience, political integrity and administrative stability. In 1613, Portuguese raiders burned down the settlement, which by then was part of the Johor Sultanate. The wider maritime region and much trade was under Dutch control for the following period, in 1824 the entire island, as well as the Temenggong, became a British possession after a further treaty with the Sultan. In 1826, Singapore became part of the Straits Settlements, under the jurisdiction of British India, prior to Raffles arrival, there were only about a thousand people living on the island, mostly indigenous Malays along with a handful of Chinese. By 1860 the population had swelled to over 80,000, many of these early immigrants came to work on the pepper and gambier plantations
22.
Straits of Johor
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The Johore Strait, is an international strait in Southeast Asia, between Singapore and mainland Malaysia. The strait separates the Malaysian state of Johor on the mainland Malay Peninsula to the north, from Singapore and it connects to the Strait of Malacca on the west, and the Singapore Strait on the southeast. The mouth and delta of the Johur River is on its northeast side in Malaysia, there are currently two bridges crossing the strait. The Johor-Singapore Causeway, known simply as The Causeway, links Johor Bahru, the Malaysia-Singapore Second Link bridge is further west over the strait, links Gelang Patah in Malaysia and Tuas in Singapore. In 2003, Malaysia wanted to build a bridge across the strait to replace the existing causeway, but negotiations with Singapore were not successful. The main reasons cited for the change were, a bridge would allow flow of water across both sides of the strait which were artificially cut in two with the building of the causeway before. A bridge would help ease congestion in Johor Bahru, in August 2003, Malaysia announced that it was going ahead with a plan to build a gently sloping, curved bridge that would join up with Singapores half of the existing causeway. The plans included a bridge for the railway line. However, plans to build the bridge have been called off as of 2006, major tributaries which empty into the Strait of Johore include, In the Malay language, Sungai is the word for river. Pollution along the Johore Strait is notable, the area is also a source of environmental contention between Malaysia and Singapore, due to land reclamation projects on both sides of the Causeway. There have been suggestions that the land reclamation projects may impact the maritime boundary, shipping lanes. Environmental Impact Assessments are requested before any reclamation is carried out such as the Forest City project, reclamation projects may also endanger the habitat and food source of dugongs, which are native to the strait. The Johore Strait is the location of two Victoria Cross deeds, the award was for Lieutenant Ian Edward Fraser and Acting Leading Seaman James Joseph Magennis for the sinking of the 9, 850-tonne Japanese cruiser Takao on 31 July 1945. Former Wakefield professional heavyweight boxer Paul Sykes claims to be the person to have swum across the straits to avoid arrest. A well known tourist attraction of the Strait of Johores is Lido Beach, here, visitors can walk or cycle along the 2 km stretch of the beach. There are numerous restaurants and food stalls
23.
Malays (ethnic group)
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These locations today are part of the modern nations of Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, and southern Thailand. In literature, architecture, culinary traditions, traditional dress, performing arts, martial arts, throughout their history, the Malays have been known as a coastal-trading community with fluid cultural characteristics. The epic literature, the Malay Annals, associates the etymological origin of Melayu to Sungai Melayu in Sumatra, the English term Malay was adopted via the Dutch word Malayo, itself derived from Portuguese, Malaio, which originates from the original Malay word, Melayu. Prior to the 15th century, the term Melayu and its variants appear to apply as an old toponym to the Strait of Malacca region in general. Malaya Dwipa, Malaya Dvipa, is described in chapter 48, Vayu Purana as one of the provinces in the sea that was full of gold. Some scholars equate the term with Sumatra, but several Indian scholars believe the term should refer to the mountainous Malay peninsula, maleu-kolon - appeared in Ptolemys work, Geographia. Mo-lo-yu - mentioned by Yijing, a Tang dynasty Chinese Buddhist monk who visited the Southeast Asia in 688–695, according to Yijing, the Mo-Lo-Yu kingdom was located in a distance of 15 day sail from Bogha, the capital of Sribhoga. It took a 15-day sail as well to reach Ka-Cha from Mo-lo-yu, therefore, a popular theory relates Mo-Lo-Yu with the Jambi in Sumatra, however the geographical location of Jambi contradicts with Yi Jings description of a half way sail between Ka-Cha and Bogha. Among the terms used was Bok-la-yu, Mok-la-yu, Ma-li-yu-er, Oo-lai-yu - traced from the source of monk Xuanzang). Malayur - inscribed on the wall of the Brihadeeswarar Temple in Tamil Nadu. It was described as a kingdom that had a mountain for its rampart in Malay peninsula. Bhūmi Mālayu -, a transcription from Padang Roco Inscription dated 1286 CE by Slamet Muljana, the term is associated with Dharmasraya kingdom. Ma-li-yu-er - mentioned in the chronicle of Yuan Dynasty, referring to a nation of Malay peninsula that faced the southward expansion of Sukhothai Kingdom, the chronicle stated. Animosity occurred between Siam and Ma-li-yu-er with both killing each other. In response to the Sukhothais action, a Chinese envoy went to the Ram Khamhaengs court in 1295 bearing an imperial decree, Keep your promise and do no evil to Ma-li-yu-er. Malauir - mentioned in Marco Polos account as a kingdom located in the Malay peninsula, malayapura -, inscribed on the Amoghapasa inscription dated 1347 CE. The term was used by Adityawarman to refer to Dharmasraya. The word Malay refer to Mountain, other evidence that supports this theory include, stone tools found in the Malay Archipelago are analogous to Central Asian tools, the similarity of Malay customs and Assam customs. The New Guinea theory - The proto-Malays are believed to be knowledgeable in oceanography. Over the years they settled at places and adopted various cultures
24.
Hikayat Hang Tuah
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The most memorable chapter in the work concerns a duel between Hang Tuah and his closest friend, Hang Jebat. Hang Tuah was falsely accused of adultery with one of his kings maids by his jealous rivals, upon hearing the accusation, the king ordered Hang Tuah killed, without a further investigation of his alleged offense. Hang Tuah was secretly saved, however, by his executioner, Hang Jebat was aware that Hang Tuah was being unjustly punished and in a show of support and deep loyalty for his friend, revolted against the sultan. The sultans forces were unable to suppress Hang Jebat, the sultan later came to realize that Hang Tuah was innocent, and immediately regretted sentencing Hang Tuah to death. The Bendahara then told the sultan that Hang Tuah was still alive, Hang Tuah was immediately recalled and given amnesty. After seven days of fighting, Hang Tuah managed to kill Hang Jebat, however, according to the Malay Annals, it was Hang Kasturi that fought with Hang Tuah instead of Hang Jebat. Malay culture holds the Hang Tuah legends in extremely high regard, in fact, one of the hottest debates in Malay literature centers on the duel between Hang Tuah and Hang Jebat. Hang Tuah is a symbol of loyalty to a ruler while Hang Jebat symbolizes freedom. Hence, there is the question of who is right, though it is generally perceived that there were five friends, there is doubt that Hang Lekir and Hang Lekiu are indeed two different persons. In the Jawi script, the letter ﺭ and the letter ﻭ look similar, due to the similarity, the differentiation of Lekir and Lekiu might be due to mistranslation. Many historians and literature experts disagree however, and point out that the five friends are a Malay version of the five warriors of Lord Krishna from the Mahabharata. Apart from that, Hikayat Hang Tuah is highly critical of the Javanese, in the literary work, many of the crooks and the villains were from Majapahit or Java. The king of Majapahit is depicted as a person and Majapahits grand vizier, Gajah Mada, as sly, cunning. The text is believed dated since 1700, the manuscript was dated in 1849, the Hikayat Hang Tuah was first published in 1908, edited by Sulaiman bin Muhammed Nur and William Shellabear. Hikayat Hang Tuah was listed in UNESCOs Memory of the World Programme International Register in 2001
25.
Malacca Sultanate
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The Malacca Sultanate was a Malay sultanate centred in the modern-day state of Malacca, Malaysia. Conventional historical thesis marks c.1400 as the year of the sultanate by a renegade Malay Raja of Singapura, Parameswara who was also known as Iskandar Shah. As a bustling trading port, Malacca emerged as a centre for Islamic learning and dissemination. The legacy of the political and cultural legacy remains to this day. For centuries, Malacca has been held up as an exemplar of Malay-Muslim civilisation, the series of raids launched by the Chola Empire in the 11th century had weakened the once glorious empire of Srivijaya. By the end of the 13th century, the already fragmented Srivijaya caught the attention of the expansionist Javanese King, in 1275, he decreed the Pamalayu expedition to overrun Sumatra. By 1288, Singhasari naval expeditionary forces successfully sacked Jambi and Palembang, the complete destruction of Srivijaya caused the diaspora of the Srivijayan princes and nobles. Rebellions against the Javanese rule ensued and attempts were made by the fleeing Malay princes to revive the empire, the Orang Laut, famous for their loyal services to Srivijaya, eventually made him king of a new kingdom called Singapura. In the 14th century, Singapura developed concurrently with the Pax Mongolica era and its wealth and success however, alarmed two regional powers at that time, Ayuthaya from the north and Majapahit from the south. As a result, the fortified capital was attacked by at least two major foreign invasions before it was finally sacked by Majapahit in 1398. The fifth and last king, Parameswara fled to the west coast of the Malay Peninsula, Parameswara fled north to Muar, Ujong Tanah and Biawak Busuk before reaching a fishing village at the mouth of Bertam river. Legend has it that the king saw a mouse deer outwit his hunting dog into the water when he was resting under the Malacca tree. He thought this boded well, remarking, this place is excellent, even the mouse deer is formidable, tradition holds that he named the settlement after the tree he was leaning against while witnessing the portentous event. Today, the deer is part of modern Malaccas coat of arms. The name Malacca itself was derived from the fruit-bearing Melaka tree scientifically termed as Phyllanthus emblica, following establishment of his new city in Malacca, Parameswara initiated the development of the place and laid the foundation of a trade port. The indigenous inhabitants of the straits, the Orang Laut, were employed to patrol the adjacent sea areas, to repel other petty pirates, within years, news about Malacca becoming a centre of trade and commerce began to spread all over the eastern part of the world. In 1405, Yongle Emperor of Ming Dynasty sent his envoy headed by Yin Qing to Malacca in 1403, Yin Qings visit opened the way for the establishment of friendly relations between Malacca and China. Two years later, the legendary Admiral Zheng He made his first of six visits to Malacca, Chinese merchants began calling at the port and pioneering foreign trading bases in Malacca
26.
Apothecary
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Apothecary /əˈpɒθᵻkəri/ is one term for a medical professional who formulates and dispenses materia medica to physicians, surgeons and patients. The modern pharmacist has taken over this role and in some languages, the apothecaries investigation of herbal and chemical ingredients was a precursor to the modern sciences of chemistry and pharmacology. Apothecary shops sold ingredients and the medicines they prepared wholesale to other medical practitioners, in 1600s England, they also controlled the trade of tobacco which was imported as a medicine. Apothecary derives from the Ancient Greek word ἀποθήκη via Latin apotheca, Medieval Latin apothecarius, in some languages the word apothecary is still used for designating a pharmacist/chemist, such as German and Dutch and Luxembourgish. Likewise, pharmacy translates as apotek in the Scandinavian and some Slavic languages such as Bosnian apoteka, Serbian апотека, use of the term apothecary in the names of businesses varies with time and location. Apothecary, as a profession, could date back to 2600 BC to ancient Babylon, clay tablets were found with medical texts recording symptoms, the prescriptions, and the directions for compounding it. The Papyrus Ebers from ancient Egypt, written around 1500 B. C. contain a collection of more than 800 prescriptions and it mentions over 700 different drugs. According to Sharif Kaf al-Ghazal, and S. Hadzovic, apothecary shops existed during the Middle Ages in Baghdad by Islamic pharmacists in 754 during the Abbasid Caliphate, Apothecaries were also active in Islamic Spain by the 11th century. In modern English, this can be transliterated as, and you should not linger, Though in this town there is no apothecary, I shall teach you about herbs myself, That will be for your health and for your pride. In Renaissance Italy, Italian Nuns became a prominent source for medicinal needs, at first they used their knowledge in non-curative uses in the convents to solidify the sanctity of religion among their sisters. As they progressed in skill they started to expand their field to create profit and this profit they used towards their charitable goals. Because of their spread to urban society, these religious women gained roles of public significance beyond the spiritual realm. Later apothecaries led by nuns were spread across the Italian peninsula, from the 15th century to the 16th century, the apothecary gained the status of a skilled practitioner. In England, the apothecaries merited their own company, the Worshipful Society of Apothecaries. Its roots, however, go back much earlier to the Guild of Pepperers formed in London in 1180, however, there were ongoing tensions between apothecaries and other medical professions, as is illustrated by the experiences of Susan Reeve Lyon and other women apothecaries in 17th century London. In 1865 Elizabeth Garrett Anderson became the first woman to be licensed to practise medicine in Britain by passing the examination of the Society of Apothecaries. In German speaking countries, such as Germany, Austria and Switzerland, thus a Pharmazeut is not always an Apotheker. Apothecaries used their own measurement system, the system, to provide precise weighing of small quantities
27.
Portuguese Malacca
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Portuguese Malacca was the territory of Malacca that, for 130 years, was a Portuguese colony. The Airlele river was said to originate from Buquet China, eredia cited that the city was founded by Permicuri the first King of Malacca in 1411. The first European to reach Malacca and Southeast Asia, Sequeira arrived in Malacca in 1509, although he was initially well received by Sultan Mahmud Shah, trouble however quickly ensued. The general feeling of rivalry between Islam and Christianity was invoked by a group of Goa Muslims in the court after the Portuguese had captured Goa. The international Muslim trading community convinced Mahmud that the Portuguese were a grave threat, Mahmud subsequently captured several of his men, killed others and attempted to attack the four Portuguese ships, although they escaped. As the Portuguese had found in India, conquest would be the way they could establish themselves in Malacca. In April 1511, Afonso de Albuquerque set sail from Goa to Malacca with a force of some 1200 men and seventeen or eighteen ships, the Viceroy made a number of demands—one of which was for permission to build a fortress as a Portuguese trading post near the city. The Sultan refused all the demands, conflict was unavoidable, and after 40 days of fighting, Malacca fell to the Portuguese on 24 August. A bitter dispute between Sultan Mahmud and his son Sultan Ahmad also weighed down the Malaccan side. A fortress was designed and constructed encompassing a hill, lining the edge of the sea shore, on the south east of the river mouth, Albuquerque remained in Malacca until November 1511 preparing its defences against any Malay counterattack. Sultan Mahmud Shah was forced to flee Malacca, as the first base of European Christian trading kingdom in Southeast Asia, it was surrounded by numerous emerging native Muslim states. Also, with hostile initial contact with the local Malay policy and they endured years of battles started by Malay sultans who wanted to get rid of the Portuguese and reclaim their land. The Sultan made several attempts to retake the capital and he rallied the support from his ally the Sultanate of Demak in Java who, in 1511, agreed to send naval forces to assist. Led by Pati Unus, the Sultan of Demak, the combined Malay–Java efforts failed and were fruitless, the Portuguese retaliated and forced the sultan to flee to Pahang. Later, the sailed to Bintan Island and established a new capital there. With a base established, the sultan rallied the disarrayed Malay forces and organized several attacks, frequent raids on Malacca caused the Portuguese severe hardship. In 1521 the second Demak campaign to assist the Malay Sultan to retake Malacca was launched and he was later remembered as Pangeran Sabrang Lor or the Prince who crossed to North. The raids helped convince the Portuguese that the sultans forces must be silenced
28.
Andaman Sea
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The sea has been traditionally used for fishery and transportation of goods between the coastal countries and its coral reefs and islands are popular tourist destinations. The fishery and tourist infrastructure was damaged by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. At its southeastern reaches, the Andaman Sea narrows to form the Straits of Malacca, the International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Andaman or Burma Sea as follows, On the Southwest. The Eastern limit of the Bay of Bengal, a line joining Lem Voalan in Siam, and Pedropunt in Sumatra. The average depth of the sea is about 1,000 meters, the northern and eastern parts are shallower than 180 meters due to the silt deposited by the Irrawaddy River. This major river flows into the sea from the north through Myanmar, the western and central areas are 900–3,000 meters deep. Less than 5% of the sea is deeper than 3,000 meters, and in a system of submarine valleys east of the Andaman-Nicobar Ridge, the sea floor is covered with pebbles, gravel and sand. Running in a rough north–south line on the seabed of the Andaman Sea is the boundary between two plates, the Burma Plate and the Sunda Plate. As a result, a basin center was created, which began to form the marginal basin which would become the Andaman Sea. The boundary between two tectonic plates results in high seismic activity in the region. Numerous earthquakes have been recorded, and at least six, in 1797,1833,1861,2004,2005 and 2007, had the magnitude of 8.4 or higher. On December 26,2004, a portion of the boundary between the Burma Plate and the Indo-Australian Plate slipped, causing the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. This megathrust earthquake had a magnitude of 9.3, between 1300 and 1600 kilometers of the boundary underwent thrust faulting and shifted by about 20 meters, with the sea floor being uplifted several meters. This rise in the sea floor generated a tsunami with an estimated height of 28 meters that killed approximately 280,000 people along the coast of the Indian Ocean. The initial quake was followed by a series of aftershocks along the arc of the Andaman, the entire event severely damaged the fishing infrastructure. Within the sea, to the east of the main Great Andaman island group, lies Barren Island and this island-volcano is 3 km in diameter and rises 354 meters above the sea level. Its recent activity resumed in 1991 after a period of almost 200 years. It is caused by the subduction of the India Plate beneath the Andaman island arc
29.
Sunda Strait
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The Sunda Strait is the strait between the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra. It connects the Java Sea to the Indian Ocean, the name comes from the Indonesian term Pasundan, meaning West Java. It also comes from the name of the Sundanese people, the people of West Java, with the Javanese people being found mostly in Central. The strait stretches in a roughly north-east/south-west orientation, with a width of 24 km at its north-eastern end between Cape Tua on Sumatra and Cape Pujat on Java. It is very deep at its end but as it narrows to the east it becomes much shallower. This makes it difficult to navigate, with sandbanks, very strong tidal flows. It had been an important shipping route for centuries, especially during the period when the Dutch East India Company used it as the gateway to the Spice Islands of Indonesia. However, the narrowness, shallowness, and lack of accurate charting makes it unsuitable for many modern large ships. The strait is dotted by a number of islands, including Sangiang, Sebesi, Sebuku, Panaitan and most notably, the Krakatau Islands, Lang, Verlaten, Krakatau. Many of these are volcanic in origin, but the best known volcano is Krakatau, the eruption drastically altered the topography of the strait, with as much as 18–21 km³ of ignimbrite being deposited over an area of 1.1 million km² around the volcano. Some areas have never been resettled, but much of the coastline is now densely populated. The two Allied cruisers were sunk, while a Japanese minesweeper and a vessel were sunk by friendly fire. In the 1960s proposals were made for a bridge across the Sunda Strait, Construction was projected beginning in 2014 if funding, estimated to be at least US$10 billion, could be secured. An accord was signed in April 2012 with China Railway Construction Corporation for a $11bn road, however, in November 2014, the incoming Joko Widodo government announced that plans to build the bridge would be shelved. Lampung Bay, Sumatra Semangka Bay, Sumatra Welcome Bay, Java Java Head Kra Canal Lombok Strait Makassar Strait Malaccamax List of road-rail bridges
30.
South China Sea
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The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Karimata and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around 3,500,000 square kilometres. The areas importance largely results from one-third of the worlds shipping sailing through its waters, the sea and its mostly uninhabited islands are subject to competing claims of sovereignty by several countries. These claims are reflected in the variety of names used for the islands. South China Sea is the dominant term used in English for the sea, and this name is a result of early European interest in the sea as a route from Europe and South Asia to the trading opportunities of China. In the sixteenth century Portuguese sailors called it the China Sea, the International Hydrographic Organization refers to the sea as South China Sea. The Classic of Poetry, Zuo Zhuan, and Guoyu classics of the Spring and Autumn period also referred to the sea, Nan Hai, the South Sea, was one of the Four Seas of Chinese literature. There are three other seas, one for each of the four cardinal directions, during the Eastern Han dynasty, Chinas rulers called the Sea Zhang Hai. Fei Hai became popular during the Southern and Northern Dynasties period, usage of the current Chinese name, Nan Hai, became gradually widespread during the Qing Dynasty. In Southeast Asia it was called the Champa Sea or Sea of Cham. The majority of the sea came under Japanese naval control during World War II following the acquisition of many surrounding South East Asian territories in 1941. Japan calls the sea Minami Shina Kai South China Sea and this was written 南支那海 until 2004, when the Japanese Foreign Ministry and other departments switched the spelling 南シナ海, which has become the standard usage in Japan. In China, it is called the South Sea, 南海 Nánhǎi, in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, it was long called the South China Sea, with the part within Philippine territorial waters often called the Luzon Sea, Dagat Luzon, by the Philippines. However, following an escalation of the Spratly Islands dispute in 2011, a PAGASA spokesperson said that the sea to the east of the Philippines will continue to be called the Philippine Sea. In September 2012, Philippine President Benigno Aquino III signed Administrative Order No, states and territories with borders on the sea include, the Peoples Republic of China, the Republic of China, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, Singapore, and Vietnam. Major rivers that flow into the South China Sea include the Pearl, Min, Jiulong, Red, Mekong, Rajang, Pahang, Pampanga, the International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the South China Sea as follows, On the South. From Fuki Kaku the North point of Formosa to Kiushan Tao on to the South point of Haitan Tao, the Mainland, the Southern limit of the Gulf of Thailand and the East coast of the Malay Peninsula. The sea lies above a drowned continental shelf, during recent ice ages global sea level was hundreds of metres lower, the South China Sea opened around 45 million years ago when the Dangerous Ground rifted away from southern China. Extension culminated in seafloor spreading around 30 million years ago, a process that propagated to the SW resulting in the V-shaped basin we see today, extension ceased around 17 million years ago
31.
Melayu Kingdom
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The Melayu Kingdom was a classical Southeast Asian kingdom. The exact location of the kingdom is the subject of studies among historians, one theory is that the kingdom was established around present-day Jambi on Sumatra, Indonesia, approximately 300 km north of Palembang. According to this theory, it was founded by groups in the Batanghari river area. The theory is disputed as the location of Jambi contradicts the descriptions by Yijing. The origins of the word Melayu are disputed, one theory suggests that it is derived from the Javanese terms melayu or mlayu, to describe the strong current of a river in Sumatra that today bore the name Sungai Melayu. The name was possibly adopted by the Melayu Kingdom, as it is common for people in the region to be known by the name of the river on which they settled. Another theory hold that it originates from the Tamil words Malai and ur meaning mountain and city, land, an early literary appearance was in Vayu Purana where the word Malaya Dvipa was mentioned, referring to the mountainous terrain of Malay Peninsula. In 7th century, the first use of the term for a nation or a kingdom was recorded by Yijing, among the terms used was Bok-la-yu, Mok-la-yu, Ma-li-yu-er, Oo-lai-yu - traced from the written source of monk Xuanzang), and Wu-lai-yu. In response to the Sukhothais move, a Chinese envoy arrived at the Ram Khamhaengs court in 1295 bearing an imperial order, Keep your promise and do no evil to Ma-li-yu-er. This nation of Ma-li-yu-er that appeared in the Chinese record possibly a similar nation that was mentioned by the famous Venetian traveller Marco Polo who lived during the same period, in Travels of Marco Polo, he made a reference to a kingdom named Malauir in the Malay peninsula. The Khmer recorded the nation of Melayu, however, its progeny Srivijaya, was also called Melayu, on the Amoghapasa inscription, dated 1347 CE, the word Malayapura was proclaimed by Adityawarman, again referring to Dharmasraya. The word Melayu is also mentioned in the Malay annals referring to a river in Sumatra. Here now is the story of a city called Palembang in the land of Andelas. It was ruled by Demang Lebar Daun, a descendant of Raja Shulan, in the upper reaches of the Muara Tatang was a river called Melayu, and on that river was a hill called Si-Guntang Mahameru. On his route via Maritime Southeast Asia, Yijing visited Srivijaya twice where he stayed from 688 to 695, Srivijaya appears to have been flourishing around the time of Yijings visit, which he initially called Bogha during his first visit. At its greatest extent, the kingdom extended to Malayu, which seems to have been annexed or to have come spontaneously under the realm of Bogha prince, the whole country as well as the capital received the name Sribogha or Srivijaya. The following extract from Yijings work, A Record of Buddhist Practices Sent Home from the Southern Sea, further describes his route via Bogha and Malayu, Wu Hing came to Bogha after a months sail. The king received him very favourably and respected him as a guest from the land of the son of heaven of the Great Tang and he went on board the kings ship to the country of Malayu and arrived there after fifteen days sail. Thence he went to Ka Cha, again after fifteen days, at the end of winter he changed ship and sailed to the west
32.
Brihadisvara Temple, Thanjavur
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Brihadeeswarar Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Shiva located in Thanjavur in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is also known as RajaRajeswara Temple Rajarajeswaram and Peruvudayar Temple and it is one of the largest temples in India and is an example of Dravidian architecture during the Chola period. Built by Raja Raja Chola I and completed in 1010 CE, the temple is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site known as the Great Living Chola Temples, with the other two being the Brihadeeswarar Temple, Gangaikonda Cholapuram and Airavatesvara temple. The temple stands amidst fortified walls that were added in the 16th century. The vimanam is 198 ft high and is one of the tallest in the world, the Kumbam weighs around 80 tons. There is a big statue of Nandi, carved out of a single rock measuring about 16 ft long and 13 ft high at the entrance, the entire temple structure is made out of granite, the nearest sources of which are about 60 km to the west of temple. The temple is one of the most visited tourist attractions in Tamil Nadu, the temple was built to grace the throne of the Chola empire by the Tamil emperor Arulmozhivarman, popularly called Rajaraja Chola I, in compliance to a command given to him in a dream. One of the first great Tamil Chola building projects, the foundations were laid out in 1002 CE. An axial and symmetrical geometry rules the temple layout, Temples from this period and the following two centuries are an expression of the Tamilars wealth, power and artistic expertise. The emergence of such features as the columns with projecting square capitals signal the arrival of the new Chola style. It is an architectural example showcasing the pure form of the Dravida type of architecture and representative of the Chola Empire ideology. The temple testifies the brilliant achievements of the Chola in architecture, sculpture, painting, the architect and engineer of the temple was Raja Raja Rama as stated in inscriptions found at the temple. The solid base of the temple raises about 5 metres, above which stone deities and representatives of Shiva dance. The big Nandi, weighing about 20 tonnes is made of a stone and is about 2 m in height,6 m in length and 2.5 m in width. The image of Nandi is a one and is the second largest in the country next only to the one at Lepakshi temple. The presiding deity of lingam is 3. 7m tall, the prakaram measures 240m by 125m. The outer wall of the upper storey is carved with 108 dance karanas – postures of Bharathanatyam, the shrine of Goddess was added by Pandyas during the 13th century, Subramanya Shrine by Vijayanagara rulers and the Vinayaka shrine was renovated by Maratha rulers. There were significant additions from the Thanjavur Nayaks, the temple complex sits on the banks of a river that was channelled to make a moat around the complexs outer walls, the walls being built like a fortress
33.
Geography (Ptolemy)
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Its translation into Arabic in the 9th century and Latin in 1406 was highly influential on the geographical knowledge and cartographic traditions of the medieval Caliphate and Renaissance Europe. Versions of Ptolemys work in antiquity were probably proper atlases with attached maps, no Greek manuscript of the Geography survives from earlier than the 13th century. In Europe, maps were sometimes made using the coordinates provided by the text. Later scribes and publishers could then copy these new maps, as Athanasius did for the emperor Andronicus II Palaeologus, the three earliest surviving texts with maps are those from Constantinople based on Planudess work. The first Latin translation of texts was made in 1406 or 1407 by Jacobus Angelus in Florence, Italy. It is not thought that his edition had maps, although Manuel Chrysoloras had given Palla Strozzi a Greek copy of Planudess maps in Florence in 1397, the Geography consists of three sections, divided among 8 books. Book I is a treatise on cartography, describing the methods used to assemble, from Book II through the beginning of Book VII, a gazetteer provides longitude and latitude values for the world known to the ancient Romans. The rest of Book VII provides details on three projections to be used for the construction of a map of the world, varying in complexity and fidelity, Book VIII constitutes an atlas of regional maps. The maps include a recapitulation of some of the values given earlier in the work, Maps based on scientific principles had been made in Europe since the time of Eratosthenes in the 3rd century BC. Ptolemy improved the treatment of map projections and he provided instructions on how to create his maps in the first section of the work. The gazetteer section of Ptolemys work provided latitude and longitude coördinates for all the places and his Prime Meridian ran through the Fortunate Isles, the westernmost land recorded, at around the position of El Hierro in the Canary Islands. The maps spanned 180 degrees of longitude from the Fortunate Isles in the Atlantic to China, Ptolemy was aware that Europe knew only about a quarter of the globe. Ptolemys work included a large and less detailed world map and then separate. As early as the 1420s, these maps were complemented by extra-Ptolemaic regional maps depicting. The original treatise by Marinus of Tyre that formed the basis of Ptolemys Geography has been completely lost, a world map based on Ptolemy was displayed in Augustodunum in late Roman times. Pappus, writing at Alexandria in the 4th century, produced a commentary on Ptolemys Geography, for instance, Grant Parker argues that it would be highly implausible for them to have constructed the Bay of Bengal as precisely as they did without the accounts of sailors. Muslim cartographers were using copies of Ptolemys Almagest and Geography by the 9th century, a 1037 copy of these are the earliest extant maps from Islamic lands. Nallino suggests that the work was not based on Ptolemy but on a world map
34.
Ptolemy
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Claudius Ptolemy was a Greek writer, known as a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in the city of Alexandria in the Roman province of Egypt, wrote in Koine Greek, beyond that, few reliable details of his life are known. His birthplace has been given as Ptolemais Hermiou in the Thebaid in a statement by the 14th-century astronomer Theodore Meliteniotes. This is a very late attestation, however, and there is no reason to suppose that he ever lived elsewhere than Alexandria. Ptolemy wrote several treatises, three of which were of importance to later Byzantine, Islamic and European science. The first is the astronomical treatise now known as the Almagest, although it was entitled the Mathematical Treatise. The second is the Geography, which is a discussion of the geographic knowledge of the Greco-Roman world. The third is the treatise in which he attempted to adapt horoscopic astrology to the Aristotelian natural philosophy of his day. This is sometimes known as the Apotelesmatika but more known as the Tetrabiblos from the Greek meaning Four Books or by the Latin Quadripartitum. The name Claudius is a Roman nomen, the fact that Ptolemy bore it indicates he lived under the Roman rule of Egypt with the privileges and political rights of Roman citizenship. It would have suited custom if the first of Ptolemys family to become a citizen took the nomen from a Roman called Claudius who was responsible for granting citizenship, if, as was common, this was the emperor, citizenship would have been granted between AD41 and 68. The astronomer would also have had a praenomen, which remains unknown and it occurs once in Greek mythology, and is of Homeric form. All the kings after him, until Egypt became a Roman province in 30 BC, were also Ptolemies, abu Mashar recorded a belief that a different member of this royal line composed the book on astrology and attributed it to Ptolemy. The correct answer is not known”, Ptolemy wrote in Greek and can be shown to have utilized Babylonian astronomical data. He was a Roman citizen, but most scholars conclude that Ptolemy was ethnically Greek and he was often known in later Arabic sources as the Upper Egyptian, suggesting he may have had origins in southern Egypt. Later Arabic astronomers, geographers and physicists referred to him by his name in Arabic, Ptolemys Almagest is the only surviving comprehensive ancient treatise on astronomy. Ptolemy presented his models in convenient tables, which could be used to compute the future or past position of the planets. The Almagest also contains a catalogue, which is a version of a catalogue created by Hipparchus
35.
Golden Chersonese
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The Malay Peninsula is a peninsula in Southeast Asia. The land mass runs approximately north-south and, at its terminus, is the southernmost point of the Asian mainland, the area contains the southernmost tip of Myanmar, Peninsular Malaysia, and Southern Thailand. The Titiwangsa Mountains are part of the Tenasserim Hills system, and they form the southernmost section of the central cordillera which runs from Tibet through the Kra Isthmus into the Malay Peninsula. The Strait of Malacca separates the Malay Peninsula from the Indonesian island of Sumatra while the south coast is separated from the island of Singapore by the Straits of Johor, the Malay term Tanah Melayu is derived from the word Tanah and Melayu, thus it means the Malay land. The term can be found in various pre-modern Malay texts, of which the oldest dating back to the early 17th century and it is frequently mentioned in the Hikayat Hang Tuah, a well known classical work that began as oral tales associated with the legendary heroes of Malacca Sultanate. Tanah Melayu in the text is consistently employed to refer to the area under Melakan dominance, prior to the foundation of Melaka, reference to Malay peninsula was made in different terms from various foreign sources. According to several Indian scholars, the word Malayadvipa, mentioned in the ancient Indian text, Vayu Purana, may possibly refer to the Malay peninsula. Another Indian source, an inscription on the wall of the Brihadeeswarar Temple, recorded the word Malaiur. The Greek source, Geographia, written by Ptolemy, labelled a geographical part of Golden Chersonese as Maleu-kolon, a term thought to derive from Sanskrit malayakolam or malaikurram. During the same era, Marco Polo made a reference to Malauir in his travelogue, as a kingdom located in the Malay peninsula, possibly similar to the one mentioned in Yuan chronicle
36.
Yuan dynasty
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The Yuan dynasty, officially the Great Yuan, was the empire or ruling dynasty of China established by Kublai Khan, leader of the Mongolian Borjigin clan. His realm was, by point, isolated from the other khanates and controlled most of present-day China and its surrounding areas. Some of the Mongolian Emperors of the Yuan mastered the Chinese language, while others used their native language. The Yuan dynasty is considered both a successor to the Mongol Empire and an imperial Chinese dynasty and it was the khanate ruled by the successors of Möngke Khan after the division of the Mongol Empire. In official Chinese histories, the Yuan dynasty bore the Mandate of Heaven, following the Song dynasty, the dynasty was established by Kublai Khan, yet he placed his grandfather Genghis Khan on the imperial records as the official founder of the dynasty as Taizu. In addition to Emperor of China, Kublai Khan also claimed the title of Great Khan, supreme over the other khanates, the Chagatai, the Golden Horde. As such, the Yuan was also referred to as the Empire of the Great Khan. However, while the claim of supremacy by the Yuan emperors was at times recognized by the khans, their subservience was nominal. In 1271, Kublai Khan imposed the name Great Yuan, establishing the Yuan dynasty, dà Yuán is from the clause 大哉乾元 in the Commentaries on the Classic of Changes section regarding Qián. The counterpart in Mongolian language was Dai Ön Ulus, also rendered as Ikh Yuan Üls or Yekhe Yuan Ulus, in Mongolian, Dai Ön is often used in conjunction with the Yeke Mongghul Ulus, resulting in Dai Ön Yeke Mongghul Ulus, meaning Great Mongol State. Nevertheless, both terms can refer to the khanate within the Mongol Empire directly ruled by Great Khans before the actual establishment of the Yuan dynasty by Kublai Khan in 1271. Genghis Khan united the Mongol and Turkic tribes of the steppes and he and his successors expanded the Mongol empire across Asia. Under the reign of Genghis third son, Ögedei Khan, the Mongols destroyed the weakened Jin dynasty in 1234, Ögedei offered his nephew Kublai a position in Xingzhou, Hebei. Kublai was unable to read Chinese but had several Han Chinese teachers attached to him since his early years by his mother Sorghaghtani and he sought the counsel of Chinese Buddhist and Confucian advisers. Möngke Khan succeeded Ögedeis son, Güyük, as Great Khan in 1251 and he granted his brother Kublai control over Mongol held territories in China. Kublai built schools for Confucian scholars, issued paper money, revived Chinese rituals and he adopted as his capital city Kaiping in Inner Mongolia, later renamed Shangdu. Many Han Chinese and Khitan defected to the Mongols to fight against the Jin, two Han Chinese leaders, Shi Tianze, Liu Heima, and the Khitan Xiao Zhala defected and commanded the 3 Tumens in the Mongol army. Liu Heima and Shi Tianze served Ogödei Khan, Liu Heima and Shi Tianxiang led armies against Western Xia for the Mongols
37.
Sukhothai Kingdom
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The Kingdom of Sukhothai was an early kingdom in the area around the city Sukhothai, in north central Thailand. The Kingdom existed from 1238 until 1438, the old capital, now 12 km outside of New Sukhothai in Tambon Mueang Kao, is in ruins and has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage historical park. Sukhothai is from Sanskrit sukha + udaya, meaning dawn of happiness, prior to the 13th century, Tai kingdoms had existed in the northern highlands including the Ngoenyang Kingdom of the Tai Yuan people, and the Heokam Kingdom of the Tai Lue people. Sukhothai had been a centre and part of Lavo, which was under the domination of the Khmer Empire. The migration of Tai people into the upper Chao Phraya valley was somewhat gradual, Sukhothai had enjoyed a substantial autonomy until it was reconquered around 1180 by the Mon people of Lavo under Khomsabad Khlonlampong. Two friends, Pho Khun Bangklanghao and Pho Khun Pha Mueang revolted against the Khmer Empire governor of Sukhothai. Khun, before becoming a Thai feudal title, was a Tai title for a ruler of a town and its surrounding villages, together called a mueang. Bangklanghao ruled Sukhothai as Sri Indraditya – and began the Phra Ruang Dynasty - he expanded his kingdom to the bordering cities. Modern historical studies demonstrate that Thai history began before Sukhothai, yet the foundation of Sukhothai is still a celebrated event. Pho Khun Ban Muang and his brother Ram Khamhaeng expanded the Sukhothai kingdom, to the south, Ramkamhaeng subjugated the kingdom of Supannabhum and Sri Thamnakorn and, through Tambralinga, adopted Theravada as state religion. Traditional history described the extension of Sukhothai in a great fashion, to the north, Ramkamhaeng put Phrae and Muang Sua under tribute. To the west, Ramkhamhaeng helped the Mons under Wareru to free themselves from Pagan control, so, Thai historians considered the Kingdom of Martaban a Sukhothai tributary. However, in practice, such Sukhothai domination may not have extended that far, with regard to culture, Ramkhamhaeng requested the monks from Sri Thamnakorn to propagate the Theravada religion in Sukhothai. In 1283, the Thai script was invented by Ramkamhaeng, formulating into the controversial Ramkamhaeng Stele discovered by Mongkut 600 years later and it was also this time that the first relation with Yuan dynasty was formulated and Sukhothai began sending trade missions to China. The well-known exported good of Sukhothai was the Sangkalok – the only period that Siam produced Chinese-styled ceramics, by the beginning of the fourteenth century, the Thai of Sukhothai controlled most of present-day Thailand. Only the eastern provinces remained under Khmer control, after the death of Ramkhamhaeng, the Sukhothai tributaries broke away. Ramkhamhaeng was succeeded by his son Loethai, the vassal kingdoms, first Uttaradit in the north, then soon after the Laotian kingdoms of Luang Prabang and Vientiane, liberated themselves from their overlord. In 1319 the Mon state to the west broke away, and in 1321 Lanna placed Tak, one of the oldest towns under the control of Sukhothai, to the south the powerful city of Suphanburi also broke free early in the reign of Loethai
38.
Ram Khamhaeng
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King Ram Khamhaeng was the third king of the Phra Ruang dynasty, ruling the Sukhothai Kingdom from 1279–1298, during its most prosperous era. He is credited with the creation of the Thai alphabet and the establishment of Theravada Buddhism as the state religion of the kingdom. Ram Khamhaeng was a son of Prince Bang Klang Hao, who ruled as King Sri Indraditya, and his Queen, Sueang, though folk legend claims his parents were an ogress named Kangli. He had two brothers and two sisters, the eldest brother died while very young. The second, Ban Mueang, became king following their fathers death, at age 19, Prince Ram Khamhaeng participated in his fathers successful invasion of the city of Sukhothai, formerly a vassal of the Khmer, establishing the independent Sukhothai Kingdom. Due to his courage in the war, he allegedly was given the title Phra Rama Khamhaeng, after his fathers death, his brother Ban Muang ruled the kingdom, assigning Prince Ram Khamhaeng control of the city of Si Sat Chanalai. The Royal Institute of Thailand speculates that Prince Ram Khamhaengs birth name was Ram, historian Tri Amattayakun suggests that Ram Khamhaeng should have acceded to the throne in 1279, the year he planted a sugar palm tree in Sukhothai City. Ram Khamhaeng sent embassies to the Yuan China from 1282 to 1323 and he had close relationships with the rulers of nearby city-states, especially Ngam Muang, the ruler of neighboring Phayao, and King Mangrai of Chiang Mai. However, in the political model, as historian Thongchai Winichakul notes, kingdoms such as Sukhothai lacked distinct borders. Claims of Ram Khamhaengs large kingdom were, according to Thongchai and his campaign against Cambodia left the Khmer country utterly devastated. According to conventional Thai history, Ram Khamhaeng developed the Thai alphabet from Sanskrit, Pali, and his rule is often cited by supporters of the Thai monarchy as evidence of a benevolent monarchy that exists even today. According to the Chinese History of Yuan, King Ram Khamhaeng died by 1299 and was succeeded by his son, Loe Thai, legend states he disappeared in the rapids of the rivers of Sawankhalok. Ramkhamhaeng University, the first open university in Thailand with campuses throughout the country, was named after King Ram Khamhaeng the Great, much of the traditional biographical information comes from the inscription on the Ram Khamhaeng stele, composed in 1292, and now in the Bangkok National Museum. The formal name of the stele is the King Ram Khamhaeng Inscription and it was added to the Memory of the World Register in 2003 by UNESCO. The stone allegedly was discovered in 1833 by Mongkut, at the time a bhikkhu, in Wat Mahathat, the authenticity of the stone – or at least portions of it – has been called into question. Piriya Krairiksh, an academic at the Thai Khadi Research Institute and he concluded that the stele was fabricated by someone during the reign of King Mongkut or shortly before. The subject is controversial, since if the stone is a fake, scholars are sharply divided on the steles authenticity. It remains an anomaly amongst contemporary writings, and no other source refers to King Ram Khamhaeng by name
39.
Marco Polo
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He learned the mercantile trade from his father and uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo, who travelled through Asia and met Kublai Khan. In 1269, they returned to Venice to meet Marco for the first time, the three of them embarked on an epic journey to Asia, returning after 24 years to find Venice at war with Genoa, Marco was imprisoned and dictated his stories to a cellmate. He was released in 1299, became a merchant, married. He died in 1324 and was buried in the church of San Lorenzo in Venice, Marco Polo was not the first European to reach China, but he was the first to leave a detailed chronicle of his experience. This book inspired Christopher Columbus and many other travellers, there is a substantial literature based on Polos writings, he also influenced European cartography, leading to the introduction of the Fra Mauro map. Marco Polo was born in 1254 in Venice Republic and his exact date and place of birth are archivally unknown. Some historians mentioned that he was born on September 15 but that date is not endorsed by mainstream scholarship, Marco Polos birthplace is generally considered Venice, but also varies between Constantinople, and the island of Korčula. There is dispute as to whether the Polo family is of Venetian origin, the first recorded Polo is Venetian Domenico Polo who was mentioned in 971 regarding the prohibition of trade with the Arabs. Later other Polos were also mentioned in the service of the realm, whether they were related with the family of Marco Polo is uncertain, but this could indicate that his ancestors travelled between Venice and Dalmatia. Some of the first indications of where his family originated and were resident come from Venetian documents and manuscripts. Some scholars argued that this account could go along with the note from Il Milione that his father and uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo Polo, the non-Venetian i. e. Sanuto also mentioned a captain from Korčula, Antonio di Polo. Moule cited two early 17th century Venetian manuscripts questi ueneno de dalmatia, Polo questi uene de Dalmatia, scholars etymologically argued that his family name derives from Latin Paulus, the name of a certain bird species, or like Albert tSerstevens considered - from Eastern origin. However, the habitat of the shorebird is non-existent on Korčula, the surname Polo seems related with other widespread Dalmatian surnames. The lack of evidence makes the Korčula theory as a specific birthplace strongly disputed, in 1168, his great-uncle, Marco Polo, borrowed money and commanded a ship in Constantinople. His grandfather, Andrea Polo of the parish of San Felice, had three sons, Maffeo, yet another Marco, and the travellers father Niccolò and this genealogy, described by Ramusio, is not universally accepted as there is no additional evidence to support it. His father, Niccolò Polo, a merchant, traded with the Near East, becoming wealthy, Niccolò and his brother Maffeo set off on a trading voyage before Marcos birth. In 1260, Niccolò and Maffeo, while residing in Constantinople, then the capital of the Latin Empire, foresaw a political change, they liquidated their assets into jewels and moved away. According to The Travels of Marco Polo, they passed through much of Asia, and met with Kublai Khan and their decision to leave Constantinople proved timely
40.
The Travels of Marco Polo
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The book was written in Old French by romance writer Rustichello da Pisa, who worked from accounts which he had heard from Marco Polo when they were imprisoned together in Genoa. From the beginning, there has been incredulity over Polos sometimes fabulous stories, some have questioned whether Marco had actually travelled to China or was just repeating stories that he had heard from other travellers. The source of the title Il Milione is debated, One view is it comes from the Polo familys use of the name Emilione to distinguish themselves from the numerous other Venetian families bearing the name Polo. A more common view is that the name refers to medieval reception of the travelog, modern assessments of the text usually consider it to be the record of an observant rather than imaginative or analytical traveller. Marco Polo emerges as being curious and tolerant, and devoted to Kublai Khan, the book is Polos account of his travels to China, which he calls Cathay and Manji. The Polo party left Venice in 1271, the journey took 3 years after which they arrived in Cathay as it was then called and met the Grandson of Genghis Khan, Kublai Khan. They left China in late 1290 or early 1291 and were back in Venice in 1295, the tradition is that Polo dictated the book to a romance writer, Rustichello da Pisa, while in prison in Genoa between 1298–1299. Rustichello may have worked up his first Franco-Italian version from Marcos notes, the book was then named Devisement du Monde and Livres des Merveilles du Monde in French, and De Mirabilibus Mundi in Latin. The Travels is divided into four books, Book One describes the lands of the Middle East and Central Asia that Marco encountered on his way to China. Book Two describes China and the court of Kublai Khan, Book Three describes some of the coastal regions of the East, Japan, India, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia, and the east coast of Africa. Book Four describes some of the then-recent wars among the Mongols and some of the regions of the far north, Polos writings included descriptions of cannibals and spice growers. The Travels was a popular success in an era before printing. In the mid-fifteenth century the cartographer of Murano, Fra Mauro, Marco Polos description of the Far East and its riches inspired Christopher Columbuss decision to try to reach Asia by sea, in a westward route. A heavily annotated copy of Polos book was among the belongings of Columbus, Marco Polo was accompanied on his trips by his father and uncle, though neither of them published any known works about their journeys. The book was translated into many European languages in Marco Polos own lifetime, other early important sources are R, and Z. Another Old French Polo manuscript, dating to around 1350, is held by the National Library of Sweden, a total of about 150 copies in various languages are known to exist. During copying and translating many errors were made, so there are differences between the various copies. The first English translation is the Elizabethan version by John Frampton, The most noble and famous travels of Marco Polo, the first attempt to collate manuscripts and provide a critical edition was in a volume of collected travel narratives printed at Venice in 1559
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Early Malay nationalism
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Such pre-occupation is a direct response to the European colonial presence and the influx of foreign migrant population in Malaya since the mid-nineteenth century. Malay nationalism has its roots in the end of the 19th century, the concept of ketuanan Melayu was largely irrelevant at the time, as the Chinese and Indians, who formed almost half of the population, did not see themselves as citizens of Malaya. The Malay leftists were represented by Kesatuan Melayu Muda, formed in 1938 by a group of Malay intelligentsia primarily educated in Sultan Idris Training College, in 1945, they reorganised themselves into a political party known as Partai Kebangsaan Melayu Malaya. The Islamists were originally represented by Kaum Muda consisted of Middle east –educated scholars with Pan-Islamic sentiment, the first Islamic political party was Partai Orang Muslimin Malaya formed in March 1948, later succeeded by Pan-Malayan Islamic Party in 1951. In March 1946,41 of these Malay associations formed United Malays National Organisation, the first major show of force by Malay nationalism came in 1946 when British proposed a Malayan Union that would greatly reduce the powers of Malay rulers and give citizenship to foreign immigrants. Under intense pressure from the United Malays National Organisation, the British withdrew the proposal, although Malaya was effectively governed by the British, de jure the Malays were sovereign over Malaya. The local-born non-Malay communities soon began agitating against the governments policies, in 1936, the Malayan-born Indian community asked the British High Commissioner, Sir Shenton Thomas, to grant them a share of administrative appointments. Thomas rejected the request, stating. I do not know of any country in which what I might call a foreigner, has ever been appointed to an administrative post. Later, some attributed this to ignorance on the British part of the increasing size of local-born non-Malays. In the 1920s, the local-born Chinese community began pushing for a role in Malayan government. However, they remained in the minority, with much of the Chinese community – which by now made up 39% of the Malayan population – still comprising transient labourers. Nevertheless, the dialect speaking Chinese – which comprised the bulk of local-born Chinese – wanted to be given government positions, one Straits Chinese leader asked, Who said this is a Malay country. When Captain Light arrived, did he find Malays, or Malay villages and our forefathers came here and worked hard as coolies – werent ashamed to become coolies – and they didnt send their money back to China. They married and spent their money here, and in this way the Government was able to open up the country from jungle to civilisation, weve become inseparable from this country. Irked Malay intellectuals objected to this reasoning, and proposed an analogy with the Chinese as masons, a paid mason, they argued, was not entitled to a share in the ownership rights to a home he built. As such, they opposed any attempt to grant the Chinese citizenship or other political rights, however, not all Malays were natives of Malaya. A number of distinct ethnic groups related to the Malays, such as the Javanese and Bugis. Most of them were assimilated into the Malay cultural identity
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Federation of Malaya
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The Federation of Malaya was a federation of 11 states that existed from 1 February 1948 until 16 September 1963. The Federation became independent on 31 August 1957, and in 1963 Malaysia was formed with the Singapore, North Borneo, the combination of states that formerly made up the Federation of Malaya is currently known as Peninsular Malaysia. From 1946 to 1948, the 11 states formed a single British crown colony known as the Malayan Union, due to opposition from Malay nationalists, the Union was disbanded and replaced by the Federation of Malaya, which restored the symbolic positions of the rulers of the Malay states. Within the Federation, while the Malay states were protectorates of the United Kingdom, Penang, like the Malayan Union before it, the Federation did not include Singapore, despite its traditional connections with Malaya. The Federation achieved independence within the Commonwealth of Nations on 31 August 1957, Singapore separated from Malaysia to become an independent republic on 9 August 1965. The Federation of Malaya Agreement was formulated by the British–Malay Pleno Conference between June and December 1946, at the end of the meeting, the Pleno Conference produced a 100-page Blue Book. The Federation of Malaya Agreement was signed on 1 April 1946 at King House by the Malay rulers, the Agreement superseded the Agreement creating the Malayan Union, and prepared for the establishment of the Federation of Malaya on 1 February 1948. The position of the Malay rulers was also restored, as with the Malayan Union, the Federation excluded Singapore, despite its traditional links to Malaya. The Federation of Malaya Executive Council comprised 7 official and 7 unofficial members, additionally,9 State Council Yang Di Pertua, Chief Ministers and 2 representatives from the Straits Settlements became unofficial members. The Malay Conference of Rulers would advise the High Commissioner on immigration issues, the British Resident was replaced with a Chief Minister in each state of the federation. The conditions of citizenship of the Federation of Malaya were further tightened using law enforcement, the federation agreement set the powers of the federal and state governments. Financial matters must be handled by the respective states, the Sultan was given full power on religious issues and Malay customs. Foreign policy and defence continued to be administered by the British government, the federation agreement was made the Constitution of the Federation of Malaya and officially declared on 1 February 1948. The Federation of Malaya Legislative Council held its first meeting in the Tuanku Abdul Rahman Hall and it was opened by the British High Commissioner Sir Edward Gent. Attendees included the British Minister of State for Colonial Affairs, Lord Listowel, the membership of the Council was structured to include, the British High Commissioner,3 ex officio members,11 State and Settlement Members 11 official members, and 34 appointed unofficial members. The unofficial members were required to be either Federation citizens or British subjects, at this first Council meeting, several minor committees were formed, the Standing Committee on Finance, the Election Committee, and the Committee of Privileges. The first session passed the Kuala Lumpur City Bill, the Transfer of Power Bill, in 1950, the Federation of Malaya Government rejected the registration of the Malay Nationalist Party of Malaya as a legitimate political party. PKMM had two wings, namely Angkatan Pemuda Insaf and Angkatan Wanita Sedar, initially, PKMM did not have communist leanings
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Malay Archipelago
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The Malay Archipelago is the archipelago between mainland Indochina and Australia. It has also called the Malay World, Indo-Australian Archipelago, East Indies, Nusantara, Spices Archipelago. The name was taken from the 19th-century European concept of a Malay race, situated between the Indian and Pacific Oceans, the group of over 25,000 islands is the largest archipelago by area, and fourth by number of islands in the world. It includes Brunei, Singapore, East Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, the island of New Guinea is usually excluded from definitions of the Malay Archipelago, although the Indonesian western portion of the island may be included. The term is synonymous with maritime Southeast Asia. The term was derived from the European concept of a Malay race, which referred to the people who inhabited what is now Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and East Timor. The racial concept was proposed by European explorers based on their observations of the influence of the ethnic Malay empire, Srivijaya, the 19th-century naturalist Alfred Wallace used the term Malay Archipelago as the title of his influential book documenting his studies in the region. Wallace also referred to the area as the Indian Archipelago and the Indo-Australian Archipelago and he included within the region the Solomon Islands and the Malay Peninsula due to physiographic similarities. The archipelago was called the East Indies from the late 16th century and it is still sometimes referred to as such, but broader usages of the East Indies term had included Indochina and the Indian subcontinent. The area is called Nusantara in the Indonesian and Malaysian languages, the area is also referred to as the Indonesian archipelago. The term maritime Southeast Asia is largely synonymous, covering both the islands in Southeast Asia and nearby communities, such as those found on the Malay Peninsula. The land and sea area of the archipelago exceeds 2 million km2, the more than 25,000 islands of the archipelago comprise many smaller archipelagoes. Geologically the archipelago is one of the most active regions in the world. Tectonic uplifts have produced large mountains, including the highest in Mount Kinabalu in Sabah, Malaysia, with a height of 4,095.2 m and Puncak Jaya on Papua, Indonesia at 4,884 m. Other high mountains in the archipelago include Puncak Mandala, Indonesia at 4,760 m and Puncak Trikora, Indonesia, the climate throughout the archipelago is tropical, owing to its position on the equator. Wallace used the term Malay Archipelago as the title of his influential book documenting his studies in the region and he proposed what would come to be known as the Wallace Line, a boundary that separated the flora and fauna of Asia and Australia. The ice age boundary was formed by the deep water straits between Borneo and Sulawesi, and through the Lombok Strait between Bali and Lombok and this is now considered the western border of the Wallacea transition zone between the zoogeographical regions of Asia and Australia. The zone has a mixture of species of Asian and Australian origin, over 380 million people live in the region, with the most populated islands being Java, Luzon, Sumatra, Taiwan, Mindanao and Sri Lanka
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International Standard Serial Number
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An International Standard Serial Number is an eight-digit serial number used to uniquely identify a serial publication. The ISSN is especially helpful in distinguishing between serials with the same title, ISSN are used in ordering, cataloging, interlibrary loans, and other practices in connection with serial literature. The ISSN system was first drafted as an International Organization for Standardization international standard in 1971, ISO subcommittee TC 46/SC9 is responsible for maintaining the standard. When a serial with the content is published in more than one media type. For example, many serials are published both in print and electronic media, the ISSN system refers to these types as print ISSN and electronic ISSN, respectively. The format of the ISSN is an eight digit code, divided by a hyphen into two four-digit numbers, as an integer number, it can be represented by the first seven digits. The last code digit, which may be 0-9 or an X, is a check digit. Formally, the form of the ISSN code can be expressed as follows, NNNN-NNNC where N is in the set, a digit character. The ISSN of the journal Hearing Research, for example, is 0378-5955, where the final 5 is the check digit, for calculations, an upper case X in the check digit position indicates a check digit of 10. To confirm the check digit, calculate the sum of all eight digits of the ISSN multiplied by its position in the number, the modulus 11 of the sum must be 0. There is an online ISSN checker that can validate an ISSN, ISSN codes are assigned by a network of ISSN National Centres, usually located at national libraries and coordinated by the ISSN International Centre based in Paris. The International Centre is an organization created in 1974 through an agreement between UNESCO and the French government. The International Centre maintains a database of all ISSNs assigned worldwide, at the end of 2016, the ISSN Register contained records for 1,943,572 items. ISSN and ISBN codes are similar in concept, where ISBNs are assigned to individual books, an ISBN might be assigned for particular issues of a serial, in addition to the ISSN code for the serial as a whole. An ISSN, unlike the ISBN code, is an identifier associated with a serial title. For this reason a new ISSN is assigned to a serial each time it undergoes a major title change, separate ISSNs are needed for serials in different media. Thus, the print and electronic versions of a serial need separate ISSNs. Also, a CD-ROM version and a web version of a serial require different ISSNs since two different media are involved, however, the same ISSN can be used for different file formats of the same online serial
Media related to Malay Peninsula at Wikimedia Commons
"Malakka". The New Student's Reference Work. 1914.
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