The Northern Wei or the Northern Wei Empire known as the Tuoba Wei, Later Wei, or Yuan Wei, was a dynasty founded by the Tuoba clan of the Xianbei, which ruled northern China from 386 to 534 AD, during the period of the Southern and Northern Dynasties. Described as "part of an era of political turbulence and intense social and cultural change", the Northern Wei Dynasty is noted for unifying northern China in 439: this was a period of introduced foreign ideas, such as Buddhism, which became established. During the Taihe period of Emperor Xiaowen, court advisers instituted sweeping reforms and introduced changes that led to the dynasty moving its capital from Datong to Luoyang, in 494; the Tuoba renamed themselves the Han people surname Yuan as a part of systematic Sinicization. Towards the end of the dynasty there was significant internal dissension resulting in a split into Eastern Wei and Western Wei. Many antiques and art works, both Taoist art and Buddhist art, from this period have survived.

It was the time of the construction of the Yungang Grottoes near Datong during the mid-to-late 5th century, towards the latter part of the dynasty, the Longmen Caves outside the capital city of Luoyang, in which more than 30,000 Buddhist images from the time of this dynasty have been found. The Jin Dynasty had developed an alliance with the Tuoba against the Xiongnu state Han Zhao. In 315 the Tuoba chief was granted the title of the Prince of Dai. After the death of its founding prince, Tuoba Yilu, the Dai state stagnated and remained a partial ally and a partial tributary state to Later Zhao and Former Yan falling to Former Qin in 376. After Former Qin's emperor Fu Jiān was defeated by Jin forces at the Battle of Fei River in his failed bid to unify China, the Former Qin state began to break apart. By 386, Tuoba Gui, the son of Tuoba Shiyijian, reasserted Tuoba independence as the Prince of Dai, he changed his title to the Prince of Wei, his state was therefore known as Northern Wei. In 391, Tuoba Gui defeated the Rouran tribes and killed their chief, forcing the Rouran to flee west.

Northern Wei was a vassal of Later Yan, but by 395 had rebelled and defeated the Yan at the Battle of Canhebei. By 398 the Wei had conquered most of Later Yan territory north of the Yellow River. In 399, Tuoba Gui declared himself Emperor Daowu, that title was used by Northern Wei's rulers for the rest of the empire's history; that same year he defeated the Tiele tribes near the Gobi desert. In 426, Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei settled on making the Xiongnu-ruled Kingdom of Xia his target, he sent his generals to attack Puban and Shancheng, while himself siege the Xia's fortified capital of Tongwancheng. Tongwancheng fell in 427, he was captured in 428 and his brother, Helian Ding, took over as the emperor of Xia. In fall 430, while Helian Ding was engaging the Western Qin, the Northern Wei made a surprise attack on the new Xia capital Pingliang and conquered the kingdom. In summer 432, Emperor Taiwu, with Xia destroyed, began to attack Northern Yan and its capital Helong under siege, he chose to withdraw at the start of winter and would launch yearly attacks against Northern Yan to weaken it over the next few years.

In 436 the Yan emperor Feng Hong had to evacuate his state and fled to Goguryeo, ending Northern Yan. In 439, the Northern Wei launched a major attack on Northern Liang. By 441, entire Northern Liang territory was under the Wei. Northern China was now united under Emperor Taiwu's reign, ending the Sixteen Kingdoms era and starting the Southern and Northern Dynasties era. War between Northern Wei and Han-ruled Liu Song dynasty broke out while the former had not yet unified northern China. Emperor Wu of Liu Song while still a Jin dynasty general, has conquered both Southern Yan in 410 and Later Qin in 417, pushing Jin frontiers further north into Wei territories, he usurped the Jin throne and created the Song dynasty. After hearing the death of the Song emperor Wu in 422, Wei's emperor Mingyuan broke off relations with Song and sent troops to invade its southern neighbor, his plan is to seize three major cities south of the Yellow River: Luoyang and Huatai. Sizhou and Yanzhou and most cities in Song's Qing Province fell to the Wei army.

The Liu Song general Tan Daoji commanded an army to try to save those cities and were able to hold Dongyang,the capital of Qingzhou province. Northern Wei troops were forced to withdraw after food supplies ran out. Wei forces stalled in their siege of Hulao, defended by the capable Liu Song general Mao Dezu, but were meanwhile able to capture Luoyang and Xuchang in spring 423, cutting off the path of any Liu Song relief force for Hulao. In summer 423, Hulao fell; the campaign ceased, with Northern Wei now in control of much of modern Henan and western Shandong. Emperor Wen of Liu Song continued the northern campaigns of his father. In 430, under the able general Dao Yanzhi, Liu Song recovered the four cities of Luoyang, Hulao and Qiao'ao south of the Yellow River. However, the emperor's unwillingness to advance past this line caused the destruction of the empire's ally, Xia, by the Wei; the emperor was to repeat this mistake as several northern states such as Northern Yan who had offered to ally with Liu Song against Wei were declin

Peter Auriol Murray Hill was an English actor, publisher He was married to the actress Phyllis Calvert from 1941 until his death. Murray-Hill's first prominent acting role was in 1938's Jane Steps Out. In 1938, Murray-Hill was cast in the lead role in Mr. Reeder in Room 13, he was cast in the secondary male lead in The Outsider in 1939, alongside George Sanders and Mary Maguire. His acting career peaked in the late 1930s. By the early 1940s, he returned to playing secondary lead roles in films such as At the Villa Rose and The House of the Arrow. By the mid-1940s, he was cast in supporting roles, his final film was They Were Sisters, released in 1945, which starred his wife, Phyllis Calvert. Murray-Hill specialised in 18th Century books and by the 1950s he had turned to book publishing, he served as the president of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association from 1956 until his death in 1957. Murray-Hill met actress Phyllis Calvert during a West End production of the play Punch Without Judy in 1939.

They were married in 1941. They had two children: Piers. Murray-Hill and Calvert were married for sixteen years, until Murray-Hill's death in 1957. Calvert never remarried. A Yank at Oxford Jane Steps Out Mr. Reeder in Room 13 The Outsider At the Villa Rose The House of the Arrow The Ghost Train Rhythm Serenade Bell-Bottom George Madonna of the Seven Moons They Were Sisters Peter Murray-Hill on IMDb

Ray Barry is a hurling goalkeeper who plays with Passage GAA at club level and with Waterford GAA at inter-county level. Ray is considered as one of Waterford GAA's most skillful and entertaining goalkeeper from 1993 to 1997, he failed to hold place in the team after 1997 after a training ground incident with manager Gerald McCarthy, losing his place in goal to Ray Whity, subsequently substituted in the opening championship fixture with Limerick by Brendan Landers. Ray was in goal for Waterfords All-Ireland Under 21 Hurling Championship winning team in 1992. Ray was invited back onto the Waterford panel in 2002. In a challenge match he did one of his trademark clearances where he cleared a ball after chipping it over the opposing full forwards head. Majestic as this piece of skill looked he suffered the wrath of Justin McCarthy afterwards who claimed that such play could lead to critical errors on the field. Ray never played again for Waterford, citing the fact that he was more of an entertainer than a goalkeeper.

In 2008 Ray Barry took Clongeen of Wexford to a county final. They to contest the Leinster Junior Hurling Final, his team suffering an agonising defeat at the hands of a swarthy Tullagher-Rosbercon of Kilkenny; this team featured the likes of future All Ireland winners Walter Walsh and Paddy Hartley... All-Ireland Under 21 Hurling Championship winner - 1992 Munster Under-21 Hurling Championship winner - 1992 Waterford Intermediate Hurling Championship winner - 2007 Waterford Senior Hurling Championship runner-up - 1993, 1994 and 1997