1.
Agra
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Agra is a city on the banks of the river Yamuna in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is 378 kilometres west of the capital, Lucknow,206 kilometres south of the national capital New Delhi and 125 kilometres north of Gwalior. Agra is one of the most populous cities in Uttar Pradesh, Agra is a major tourist destination because of its many splendid Mughal-era buildings, most notably the Tāj Mahal, Agra Fort and Fatehpūr Sikrī, all three of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Agra falls within the Braj cultural region, the city was first mentioned in the epic Mahābhārata, where it was called Agrevaṇa. Legend ascribes the founding of the city to Raja Badal Singh, however, the 11th century Persian poet Masūd Sad Salmān writes of a desperate assault on the fortress of Agra, then held by the Shāhī King Jayapala, by Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni. It was mentioned for the first time in 1080 AD when a Ghaznavide force captured it, Sultan Sikandar Lodī was the first to move his capital from Delhi to Agra in 1506. He governed the country from here and Agra assumed the importance of the second capital. He died in 1517 and his son, Ibrāhīm Lodī, remained in there for nine more years and several palaces, wells. Finally being defeated at the Battle of Panipat in 1526, between 1540 and 1556, Afghans, beginning with Sher Shah Suri ruled the area. It achieved fame as the capital of the Mughal Empire from 1556 to 1658, Agra features a semiarid climate that borders on a humid subtropical climate. The city features mild winters, hot and dry summers and a monsoon season, however the monsoons, though substantial in Agra, are not quite as heavy as the monsoon in other parts of India. This is a factor in Agra featuring a semiarid climate as opposed to a humid subtropical climate. As of 2011 India census, Agra city has a population of 1,585,704, the urban agglomeration of Agra has a population of 1,760,285. Males constitute 53% of the population and females 47%, Agra city has an average literacy rate of 73. 11%, lower than the national average of 74%. Literacy rate of males is considerably higher than that of women, the sex ratio in the city was 875 females per thousand males while child sex ratio stood at 857. Agra district literacy rate is 62. 56%, Agra is dominated by Yadavs and Jats. According to the 2011 census, Agra district has a population of 4,380,793 and this gives it a ranking of 41st in India. The district has a density of 1,084 inhabitants per square kilometre
2.
Akbar
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Abul-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad, popularly known as Akbar I and later Akbar the Great, was a Mughal Emperor from 1556 until his death. He was the ruler of the Mughal Dynasty in India. Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun, under a regent, Bairam Khan, a strong personality and a successful general, Akbar gradually enlarged the Mughal Empire to include nearly all of the Indian Subcontinent north of the Godavari river. His power and influence, however, extended over the country because of Mughal military, political, cultural. To unify the vast Mughal state, Akbar established a system of administration throughout his empire and adopted a policy of conciliating conquered rulers through marriage. To preserve peace and order in a religiously and culturally diverse empire, Mughal India developed a strong and stable economy, leading to commercial expansion and greater patronage of culture. Akbar himself was a patron of art and culture, holy men of many faiths, poets, architects and artisans adorned his court from all over the world for study and discussion. Akbars courts at Delhi, Agra, and Fatehpur Sikri became centres of the arts, letters, perso-Islamic culture began to merge and blend with indigenous Indian elements, and a distinct Indo-Persian culture emerged characterised by Mughal style arts, painting, and architecture. A simple, monotheistic cult, tolerant in outlook, it centred on Akbar as a prophet, for which he drew the ire of the ulema, many of his courtiers followed Din-i-Ilahi as their religion as well, as many believed that Akbar was a prophet. One famous courtier who followed this religion was Birbal. Akbars reign significantly influenced the course of Indian history, during his rule, the Mughal empire tripled in size and wealth. He created a military system and instituted effective political and social reforms. By abolishing the tax on non-Muslims and appointing them to high civil and military posts, he was the first Mughal ruler to win the trust. He had Sanskrit literature translated, participated in festivals, realising that a stable empire depended on the co-operation. Thus, the foundations for an empire under Mughal rule was laid during his reign. Akbar was succeeded as emperor by his son, Jahangir, defeated in battles at Chausa and Kannauj in 1539–40 by the forces of Sher Shah Suri Mughal emperor Humayun fled westward to Sindh. There he met and married the then 14-year-old Hamida Banu Begum, daughter of Shaikh Ali Akbar Jami, a teacher of Humauyuns younger brother Hindal Mirza. Jalal ud-din Muhammad Akbar was born the year on 15 October 1542 at the Rajput Fortress of Umerkot in Sindh
3.
Great Pyramid of Giza
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The Great Pyramid of Giza is the oldest and largest of the three pyramids in the Giza pyramid complex bordering what is now El Giza, Egypt. It is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, initially at 146.5 metres, the Great Pyramid was the tallest man-made structure in the world for more than 3,800 years. Originally, the Great Pyramid was covered by casing stones that formed an outer surface. Some of the stones that once covered the structure can still be seen around the base. There have been varying scientific and alternative theories about the Great Pyramids construction techniques, most accepted construction hypotheses are based on the idea that it was built by moving huge stones from a quarry and dragging and lifting them into place. There are three chambers inside the Great Pyramid. The lowest chamber is cut into the bedrock upon which the pyramid was built and was unfinished, the so-called Queens Chamber and Kings Chamber are higher up within the pyramid structure. It is believed the pyramid was built as a tomb for Fourth Dynasty Egyptian pharaoh Khufu and was constructed over a 20-year period, Khufus vizier, Hemiunu, is believed by some to be the architect of the Great Pyramid. It is thought that, at construction, the Great Pyramid was originally 280 Egyptian cubits tall, each base side was 440 cubits,230.4 metres long. The mass of the pyramid is estimated at 5.9 million tonnes, the volume, including an internal hillock, is roughly 2,500,000 cubic metres. Based on these estimates, building the pyramid in 20 years would involve installing approximately 800 tonnes of stone every day, the first precision measurements of the pyramid were made by Egyptologist Sir Flinders Petrie in 1880–82 and published as The Pyramids and Temples of Gizeh. Almost all reports are based on his measurements, many of the casing stones and inner chamber blocks of the Great Pyramid fit together with extremely high precision. Based on measurements taken on the casing stones, the mean opening of the joints is only 0.5 millimetre wide. The pyramid remained the tallest man-made structure in the world for over 3,800 years, the accuracy of the pyramids workmanship is such that the four sides of the base have an average error of only 58 millimetres in length. The base is horizontal and flat to within ±15 mm, the ratio of the perimeter to height of 1760/280 royal cubits equates to 2π to an accuracy of better than 0. 05%. Some Egyptologists consider this to have been the result of deliberate design proportion, verner wrote, We can conclude that although the ancient Egyptians could not precisely define the value of π, in practice they used it. Petrie, author of Pyramids and Temples of Gizeh concluded, but these relations of areas, others have argued that the Ancient Egyptians had no concept of pi and would not have thought to encode it in their monuments. They believe that the observed pyramid slope may be based on a simple seked slope choice alone, with no regard to the overall size, in 2013 rolls of papyrus were discovered written by some of those who delivered stone and other construction materials to Khufus brother at Giza
4.
Chabad
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Chabad, also known as Lubavitch, Habad and Chabad-Lubavitch, is an Orthodox Jewish, Hasidic movement. Chabad is today one of the worlds best known Hasidic movements and is known for its outreach. It is the largest Hasidic group and Jewish religious organization in the world, the name Lubavitch is the Yiddish name for the originally Belorussian village Lyubavichi, now in Russia, where the movements leaders lived for over 100 years. He established a network of more than 3,600 institutions that provide religious, social and humanitarian needs in over 1,000 cities, spanning more than 80 countries and all 50 American states. Studies conducted between 1993 and 1996 stated the movement is thought to number between 40,000 and 200,000 adherents, in 2005 the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs reported that up to one million Jews attend Chabad services at least once a year. In 2013, Chabad forecast that their Chanukah activities would reach up to 8,000,000 Jews in 80 countries worldwide, the movement was based in Lyubavichi for over a century, then briefly centered in the cities of Rostov-on-Don, Riga, and Warsaw. Since 1940, the center has been in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn. While the movement has spawned a number of groups, the Chabad-Lubavitch branch appears to be the only one still active. Sarna has characterized Chabad as having enjoyed the fastest rate of growth of any Jewish religious movement for the period 1946-2015, in the early 1900s, Chabad-Lubavitch legally incorporated itself under Agudas Chasidei Chabad. The Chabad movement has been led by a succession of Hasidic rebbes, the main line of the movement, Chabad-Lubavitch, has had seven rebbes in total, Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi, founded the Chabad movement in the town of Liozna. He later moved the center to the town of Liadi. Rabbi Shneur Zalman was the youngest disciple of Rabbi Dovber of Mezritch, the Chabad movement began as a separate school of thought within the Hasidic movement, focusing of the spread of Hasidic mystical teachings using logical reasoning. Shneur Zalmans main work is the Tanya, the Tanya is the central book of Chabad thought and is studied daily by followers of the Chabad movement. Shneur Zalmans successors went by last names such as Schneuri and Schneersohn and he is commonly referred to as the Alter Rebbe or Admur Hazoken. Rabbi Dovber Schneuri, son of Rabbi Shneur Zalman, led the Chabad movement in the town of Lyubavichi and his leadership was initially disputed by Rabbi Aaron Halevi of Stroselye, however, Rabbi Dovber was generally recognized as his fathers rightful successor, and the movements leader. Rabbi Dovber published a number of his writings on Hasidic thought and he also published some of his fathers writings. Many of Rabbi Dovbers works have been republished by the Chabad movement. He is commonly referred to as the Mitteler Rebbe, or Admur Haemtzoei, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn, a grandson of Rabbi Shneur Zalman and son-in-law of Rabbi Dovber
5.
Sarcophagus
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A sarcophagus is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word sarcophagus comes from the Greek σάρξ sarx meaning flesh, since lithos is Greek for stone, lithos sarcophagos means, flesh-eating stone. The word also came to refer to a kind of limestone that was thought to decompose the flesh of corpses trapped within it. Sarcophagi were most often designed to remain above ground, in Ancient Egypt, a sarcophagus acted like an outer shell. They are made of clay in shades of brown to pink. Added to the basin-like main sarcophagus is a broad, rectangular frame, often covered with a white slip and then painted. The huge Lycian Tomb of Payava, now in the British Museum, is a tomb monument of about 360 BC designed for an open-air placing. However, there are many important Early Christian sarcophagi from the 3rd to 4th centuries, most Roman examples were designed to be placed against a wall and are decorated on three of the sides only. More plain sarcophagi were placed in crypts, of which the most famous include the Habsburg Imperial Crypt in Vienna. The term tends to be often used to describe Medieval, Renaissance. They continued to be popular into the 1950s, at time the popularity of flat memorials made them obsolete. Nonetheless, a 1952 catalog from the industry still included 8 pages of them, broken down into Georgian and Classical detail, a Gothic and Renaissance adaptation. Shown on the right are sarcophagi from the late 19th century located in Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the one in the back, the Warner Monument created by Alexander Milne Calder, features the spirit or soul of the deceased being released. In Sulawesi, Indonesia, waruga are a form of sarcophagus. Mont Allen, Sarcophagus, in The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome, edited by Michael Gagarin, R. R. R. Smith, Sculptured for Eternity, Treasures of Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine Art from Istanbul Archaeological Museum. Ewald, Living with Myths, The Imagery of Roman Sarcophagi, egyptian sarcophagi sarcaphagi in the Istanbul Archaeological Museum Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Sarcophagus
6.
Hierapolis
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Hierapolis was an ancient city located on hot springs in classical Phrygia in southwestern Anatolia. Its ruins are adjacent to modern Pamukkale in Turkey and currently comprise an archaeological museum designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the hot springs have been used as a spa since the 2nd century BC, with many patrons retiring or dying there. The large necropolis is filled with sarcophagi, most famously that of Marcus Aurelius Ammianos, the great baths were constructed with huge stone blocks without the use of cement and consisted of various closed or open sections linked together. There are deep niches in the section, including the bath, library. Hierapolis is located in the Büyük Menderes valley adjacent to the modern Turkish cities of Pamukkale and it is located in Turkeys inner Aegean region, which has a temperate climate for most of the year. There are only a few facts known about the origin of the city. No traces of the presence of Hittites or Persians have been found, the Phrygians built a temple, probably in the first half of the 3rd century BC. This temple, originally used by the citizens of the town of Laodicea. Hierapolis was founded as a thermal spa early in the 2nd century BC within the sphere of the Seleucid Empire, Antiochus the Great sent 2,000 Jewish families to Lydia and Phrygia from Babylon and Mesopotamia, later joined by more from Judea. The Jewish congregation grew in Hierapolis and has estimated as high as 50,000 in 62 BC. The city was expanded with the booty from the 190 BC Battle of Magnesia where Antiochus the Great was defeated by the Roman ally Eumenes II, following the Treaty of Apamea ending the Syrian War, Eumenes annexed much of Asia Minor, including Hierapolis. Hierapolis became a centre where doctors used the thermal springs as a treatment for their patients. The city began minting coins in the 2nd century BC. These coins give the name Hieropolis and this name eventually changed into Hierapolis, according to the Byzantine geographer Stephanus on account of its large number of temples. In 133 BC, when Attalus III died, he bequeathed his kingdom to Rome, Hierapolis thus became part of the Roman province of Asia. In AD17, during the rule of the emperor Tiberius, through the influence of the Christian apostle Paul, a church was founded here while he was at Ephesus. The Christian apostle Philip spent the last years of his life here, the towns Martyrium was alleged to have been built upon the spot where Philip was crucified in AD80. His daughters were said to have acted as prophetesses in the region
7.
Grave
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A grave is a location where a dead body is buried. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as graveyards or cemeteries. In some religions, it is believed that the body must be burned for the soul to survive, in others, the formal use of a grave involves several steps with associated terminology. Grave cut The excavation that formed the grave, excavations vary from a shallow scraping, to removal of topsoil to a depth of 6 feet, or more where a vault or burial chamber is to be constructed. Excavated soil The material dug up when the grave is excavated and it is often piled up close to the grave for backfilling and then returned to the grave to cover it. As soil decompresses when excavated and space is occupied by the burial not all the volume of soil fits back in the hole, in cemeteries this may end up as a thick layer of soil overlying the original ground surface. Burial or interment The body may be placed in a coffin or other container, in a range of positions, by itself or in a multiple burial. Burial vault A vault is a structure built within the grave to receive the body. It may be used to prevent crushing of the remains, allow for multiple burials such as a vault, retrieval of remains for transfer to an ossuary. Grave backfill The soil returned to the grave cut following burial and this material may contain artifacts derived from the original excavation and prior site use, deliberately placed goods or artifacts or later material. The fill may be level with the ground or mounded. Monument or marker Headstones are best known, but they can be supplemented by decorative edging, foot stones, posts to support items, in Europe this was often accompanied with a depiction of their family coat of arms. Later graveyards have been replaced by cemeteries
8.
Shrine
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A shrine is a holy or sacred place, which is dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon, or similar figure of awe and respect, at which they are venerated or worshipped. Shrines often contain idols, relics, or other objects associated with the figure being venerated. A shrine at which offerings are made is called an altar. Shrines can be found in various settings, such as churches, temples, cemeteries, or in the home, a shrine may become a focus of a cult image. Many shrines are located buildings and in the temples designed specifically for worship, such as a church in Christianity. A shrine here is usually the centre of attention in the building, in such cases, adherents of the faith assemble within the building in order to venerate the deity at the shrine. In classical temple architecture, the shrine may be synonymous with the cella, historically, in Hinduism, Buddhism and Roman Catholicism, and also in modern faiths, such as Neopaganism, a shrine can commonly be found within the home or shop. This shrine is usually a structure or a setup of pictures and figurines dedicated to a deity that is part of the official religion. Small household shrines are common among the Chinese and people from South and Southeast Asia, whether Hindu. Usually a small lamp and small offerings are kept daily by the shrine, Buddhist household shrines must be on a shelf above the head, Chinese shrines must stand directly on the floor. Small outdoor yard shrines are found at the bottom of many gardens, following various religions, including historically. Shrines are found in most, though not all, religions, Shrines therefore attract the practice of pilgrimage. Shrines are found in many, though not all, forms of Christianity, Roman Catholicism, the largest denomination of Christianity, has many shrines, as do Orthodox Christianity and Anglicanism. For a shrine to be described as national, the approval of the Episcopal Conference is necessary, for it to be described as international, the approval of the Holy See is required. Another use of the shrine in colloquial Catholic terminology is a niche or alcove in most – especially larger – churches used by parishioners when praying privately in the church. They were also called Devotional Altars, since they could look like small Side Altars or bye-altars, Shrines were always centered on some image of Christ or a saint – for instance, a statue, painting, mural or mosaic, and may have had a reredos behind them. However, Mass would not be celebrated at them, they were used to aid or give a visual focus for prayers. Side altars, where Mass could actually be celebrated, were used in a way to shrines by parishioners
9.
Christianity
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Christianity is a Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, who serves as the focal point for the religion. It is the worlds largest religion, with over 2.4 billion followers, or 33% of the global population, Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God and the savior of humanity whose coming as the Messiah was prophesied in the Old Testament. Christian theology is summarized in creeds such as the Apostles Creed and his incarnation, earthly ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection are often referred to as the gospel, meaning good news. The term gospel also refers to accounts of Jesuss life and teaching, four of which—Matthew, Mark, Luke. Christianity is an Abrahamic religion that began as a Second Temple Judaic sect in the mid-1st century, following the Age of Discovery, Christianity spread to the Americas, Australasia, sub-Saharan Africa, and the rest of the world through missionary work and colonization. Christianity has played a prominent role in the shaping of Western civilization, throughout its history, Christianity has weathered schisms and theological disputes that have resulted in many distinct churches and denominations. Worldwide, the three largest branches of Christianity are the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the denominations of Protestantism. There are many important differences of interpretation and opinion of the Bible, concise doctrinal statements or confessions of religious beliefs are known as creeds. They began as baptismal formulae and were expanded during the Christological controversies of the 4th and 5th centuries to become statements of faith. Many evangelical Protestants reject creeds as definitive statements of faith, even agreeing with some or all of the substance of the creeds. The Baptists have been non-creedal in that they have not sought to establish binding authoritative confessions of faith on one another. Also rejecting creeds are groups with roots in the Restoration Movement, such as the Christian Church, the Evangelical Christian Church in Canada, the Apostles Creed is the most widely accepted statement of the articles of Christian faith. It is also used by Presbyterians, Methodists, and Congregationalists and this particular creed was developed between the 2nd and 9th centuries. Its central doctrines are those of the Trinity and God the Creator, each of the doctrines found in this creed can be traced to statements current in the apostolic period. The creed was used as a summary of Christian doctrine for baptismal candidates in the churches of Rome. Most Christians accept the use of creeds, and subscribe to at least one of the mentioned above. The central tenet of Christianity is the belief in Jesus as the Son of God, Christians believe that Jesus, as the Messiah, was anointed by God as savior of humanity, and hold that Jesus coming was the fulfillment of messianic prophecies of the Old Testament. The Christian concept of the Messiah differs significantly from the contemporary Jewish concept, Jesus, having become fully human, suffered the pains and temptations of a mortal man, but did not sin
10.
Reliquary
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A reliquary is a container for relics. These may be the purported or actual physical remains of saints, such as bones, pieces of clothing, the authenticity of any given relic is often a matter of debate, for that reason, some churches require documentation of the relics provenance. Relics have long been important to Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, in these cultures, reliquaries are often presented in shrines, churches, or temples to which the faithful make pilgrimages in order to gain blessings. Relics are venerated in the Oriental Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, reliquaries provide a means of protecting and displaying relics. While frequently taking the form of caskets, they range in size from simple pendants or rings to very elaborate ossuaries, ivory was widely used in the Middle Ages for reliquaries, its pure white color an indication of the holy status of its contents. These objects constituted a form of artistic production across Europe. Many were designed with portability in mind, often being exhibited in public or carried in procession on the saints feast day or on holy days. Pilgrimages often centered on the veneration of relics, the faithful often venerate relics by bowing before the reliquary or kissing it. Those churches which observe the veneration of relics make a distinction between the honor given to the saints and the worship that is due to God alone. The feretrum was a form of reliquary or shrine containing the sacred effigies. In the late Middle Ages the craze for relics, many now fraudulent, became extreme, 16th-century reformers such as Martin Luther opposed the use of relics since many had no proof of historic authenticity, and they objected to the cult of saints. Nonetheless, the use and manufacture of reliquaries continues to this day, especially in Roman Catholic, post-Reformation reliquaries have tended to take the form of glass-sided caskets to display relics such as the bodies of saints. The earliest reliquaries were essentially boxes, either simply box-shaped or based on an architectural design and these latter are known by the French term chasse, and typical examples from the 12th to 14th century have wooden frameworks with gilt-copper plaques nailed on, decorated in champlevé enamel. Limoges was the largest centre of production, NB the English usage differs from that of the French châsse, relics of the True Cross became very popular from the 9th century onwards and were housed in magnificent gold and silver cross-shaped reliquaries, decorated with enamels and precious stones. Similarly, the bones of saints were often housed in reliquaries that recalled the shape of the body part. A philatory is a transparent reliquary designed to contain and exhibit the bones and this style of reliquary has a viewing portal by which to view the relic contained inside. During the later Middle Ages, the form, mostly used for consecrated hosts, was sometimes used for reliquaries. These housed the relic in a crystal or glass capsule mounted on a column above a base
