1.
Italian Somaliland
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Italian Somaliland, also known as Italian Somalia, was a colony of the Kingdom of Italy in present-day northeastern, central and southern Somalia. Ruled in the 19th century by the Somali Majeerteen Sultanate and the Sultanate of Hobyo, in 1936, the region was integrated into Italian East Africa as part of the Italian Empire. This would last until 1941, during World War II, Italian Somaliland then came under British military administration until 1949, when it became a United Nations trusteeship, the Trust Territory of Somaliland under Italian administration. On July 1,1960, the Trust Territory of Somaliland united as scheduled with the former British Somaliland protectorate to form the Somali Republic, the late 19th century had a huge impact on developments occurring in the Horn of Africa. Italy also had a shortage of capital and other serious economic problems. Cesare Correnti organized an expedition under the Società Geografica Italiana in 1876, the next year, the travel journal L’Esploratore was established by Manfredo Camperio. The Società di Esplorazioni Commerciali in Africa was created in 1879, the Club Africano, which three years later became the Società Africana D’Italia, was also established in Somalia in 1880. In late 1888, Sultan Yusuf Ali Kenadid entered into a treaty with the Italians and his rival Boqor Osman Mahamuud was to sign a similar agreement vis-a-vis his own Majeerteen Sultanate the following year. In signing the agreements, the rulers also hoped to exploit the rival objectives of the European imperial powers so as to more effectively assure the independence of their territories. The terms of each treaty specified that Italy was to clear of any interference in the Sultanates respective administrations. In return for Italian arms and a subsidy, the Sultans conceded to a minimum of oversight. The Italians also agreed to dispatch a few ambassadors to both the Sultanates and their own interests. The new protectorates were thereafter managed by Vincenzo Filonardi through a chartered company, the last piece of land acquired by Italy in Somalia in order to form Italian Somaliland was the Jubaland region. Britain ceded the territory in 1925 as a reward for the Italians having joined the Allies in World War I, the British retained control of the southern half of the partitioned Jubaland territory, which was later called the Northern Frontier District. In January 1887 Italian troops from Somalia fought a battle against Ras Alula Engida’s militia in Dogali, Eritrea, the Prime Minister, Agostino Depretis, resigned because of this defeat in July 1887. Francesco Crispi replaced him as Prime Minister, on May 2,1889, the Ethiopian Emperor Menelik II and Italy signed a peace treaty. The administrative regulator was Governor Mercantelli, with the six subdivisions of Brava, Merca, Lugh, Itala, Bardera, on April 5,1908 the Italian Parliament enacted a basic law to unite all of the parts of southern Somalia into an area called Somalia Italiana. The colonial power was divided between the Parliament, the metropolitan government, and the colonial government
2.
Gendarmerie
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A gendarmerie or gendarmery is a military component with jurisdiction in civil law enforcement. The term gendarmerie is derived from the medieval French expression gens darmes, in France and most Francophone nations, the gendarmerie is the branch of the armed forces responsible for internal security during wartime. This concept was introduced to several other Western European countries during the Napoleonic conquests, in the mid twentieth century, a number of former French mandates or colonial possessions such as Syria and the Republic of the Congo adopted a gendarmerie after independence. A somewhat related phenomenon has been the formation of units which fall under the authority of civilian police agencies. Since these are not strictly military forces, however, they are not considered gendarmerie, some of the more prominent modern gendarmerie organizations include the French National Gendarmerie, Italian Carabinieri, and Spanish Civil Guard. The word gendarme comes from the Old French gens darmes, meaning men-at-arms, during the Late Medieval to the Early Modern period, the term referred to a heavily armoured cavalryman of noble birth, primarily serving in the French army. The word gained policing connotations only after the French Revolution when the Maréchaussée of the Ancien Régime was renamed the Gendarmerie, historically, the spelling in English was gendarmery, but now the French spelling gendarmerie is more common. The Oxford English Dictionary uses gendarmery as the spelling, Merriam-Webster uses gendarmerie as the principal spelling. Gendarmes are often deployed in situations, sometimes in their own country. A gendarmerie may come under the authority of a ministry of defence, generally there is some coordination between a ministry of defence and a ministry of the interior over the use of gendarmes. A few forces which are no longer considered military retain the title gendarmerie for reasons of tradition, since different countries may make different use of institutional terms such as gendarmerie, there are cases in which the term may become confusing. For instance, in the French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland the gendarmeries are the civil police. In Chile, the word gendarmerie refers for historic reasons to the prison service, in some cases, a police services military links are ambiguous and it can be unclear whether a force should be defined as a gendarmerie. Some historical military units, such as South-West Africas Koevoet, were defined as police for political reasons. In 2014 the Mexican Federal Police, an armed force which has many attributes of a gendarmerie. The new force would initially number 5,000 personnel and was created with the assistance of the French gendarmerie, in countries where the gendarmerie and civilian police co-exist there may be rivalries and tensions between the forces. This was one of the reasons cited for the decision to disband the Belgian Gendarmerie, since the year 2000 four European countries—Belgium, Luxembourg, Greece and Austria—have replaced long-established gendarmeries with civilian police forces having no military links or functions. The GNA often take part in UN peace keeping missions, the use of military organisations to police civilian populations is common to many time periods and cultures
3.
Tripolitania
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Tripolitania /trᵻpɒlᵻˈteɪniə/ or Tripolitana is a historic region and former province of Libya. Tripolitania was a separate Italian colony from 1927 to 1934, from 1934 to 1963, Tripolitania was one of three administrative divisions within Italian Libya and the Kingdom of Libya, alongside Cyrenaica to the east and Fezzan to the south. Because the city and the shabiyah are nowadays almost coextensive, the term Tripolitania has more historical than contemporary value, the system of administrative divisions that included Tripolitania was abolished in the early 1970s in favor of a system of smaller-size municipalities or baladiyat. The baladiyat system was changed many times and has lately become the Shabiyat system. The region that was Tripolitania is now composed of several smaller baladiyat or shabiyat – see administrative divisions in Libya, the city of Oea, on the site of modern Tripoli, was founded by the Phoenicians in the 7th century BC. It was conquered by the Greek rulers of Cyrenaica, who were in turn displaced by the Carthaginians, the Greek name Τρίπολις three cities referred to Oea, Sabratha and Leptis Magna. The Roman Republic captured Tripolitania in 146 BC, and the area prospered during the Roman Empire period, the Latin name Regio Tripolitania dates to the 3rd century. The Vandals took over in 435, and were in turn supplanted by the offensive of the Eastern Roman Empire in the 530s. In the 7th century, Tripolitania was conquered by the Rashidun Caliphate, and was inherited by its descendants the Umayyads, the Fatimids, established a Caliphate from Tunisia to Syria. In the 1140s, the Normans of Sicily invaded Tripoli, but were ousted by the Almohad Caliphate in 1158, emir Abu Zakariya, an Almohad vassal, established an independent state in Tunisia in 1229 and took control of Tripolitania shortly after. The Hafsids would control the region until the Ottoman conquest of 1553, Ottoman Tripolitania extended beyond the region of Tripolitania proper, also including Cyrenaica. Tripolitania became effectively independent under the rulers of the Karamanli dynasty from 1711 until Ottoman control was re-imposed by Mahmud II in 1835, Ottoman rule persisted until 1911–12, when it was captured by Italy in the Italo-Turkish War. Italy officially granted autonomy after the war, but gradually occupied the region, after World War I, an Arab Republic, Al-Jumhuriya al-Trabulsiya, or Tripolitanian Republic, declared the independence of Tripolitania from Italian Libya. The proclamation of the Tripolitanian Republic in autumn 1918 was followed by a declaration of independence at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference. This was the first formally declared republican form of government in the Arab world, but it gained support from international powers. Italy managed to establish control over Libya by 1930. Originally administered as part of a colony, Italian Tripolitania was a separate colony from 26 June 1927 to 3 December 1934. The Italian fascists constructed the Marble Arch as a form of a triumphal arch at the border between Tripolitani and Cyrenaica near the coast
4.
Cyrenaica
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Cyrenaica is the eastern coastal region of Libya. Also known as Pentapolis in antiquity, it formed part of the Roman province of Crete and Cyrenaica, later divided into Libya Pentapolis, during the Islamic period, the area came to be known as Barqa, after the city of Barca. In a wider sense, still in use, Cyrenaica includes all of the part of Libya. Cyrenaica borders on Tripolitania in the northwest and on Fezzan in the southwest, the region that used to be Cyrenaica officially until 1963 has formed several shabiyat, the administrative divisions of Libya, since 1995. The 2011 Libyan Civil War started in Cyrenaica, which came largely under the control of the National Transitional Council for most of the war. Geologically, Cyrenaica rests on a mass of Miocene limestone that tilts up steeply from the Mediterranean Sea and this mass is divided into two blocks. The Jebel Akhdar extends parallel to the coast from the Gulf of Sidra to the Gulf of Bomba, there is no continuous coastal plain, the longest strip running from the recess of Gulf of Sidra past Benghazi to Tolmeita. Thereafter, except for deltaic patches at Susa and Derna, the shore is all precipitous, a steep escarpment separates the coastal plain from a relatively level plateau, known as the Marj Plain, which lies at about 300 meters elevation. Above the Marj Plain lies a plateau at about 700 meters elevation. The Jebel Akhdar and its adjacent coast are part of the Mediterranean woodlands and forests ecoregion, the plant communities of this portion of Cyrenaica include forest, woodland, maquis, garrigue, steppe, and oak savanna. Small areas of maquis are found on north-facing slopes near the sea, juniperus phoenicea, Pistacia lentiscus, Quercus coccifera and Ceratonia siliqua are common tree and large shrub species in the maquis. Areas of red soil are found on the Marj Plain, which has borne abundant crops of wheat, plenty of springs issue on the highlands. Wild olive trees are abundant, and large areas of oak savanna provide pasture to the flocks, historically large areas of range were covered in forest. The forested area of the Jebel Akhdar has been shrinking in recent decades, a 1996 report to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization estimated that the forested area was reduced to 320,000 hectares from 500,000 hectares, mostly cleared to grow crops. The Green Mountain Conservation and Development Authority estimates that the area decreased from 500,000 hectares in 1976 to 180,000 hectares in 2007. The lower Jebel el-Akabah lies to the south and east of the Jebel Akhdar, the two highlands are separated by a depression. This eastern region, known in ancient times as Marmarica, is drier than the Jebel Akhdar. Historically, salt-collecting and sponge fishing were more important than agriculture, Bomba and Tobruk have good harbors
5.
Eritrea
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Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. With its capital at Asmara, it is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, the northeastern and eastern parts of Eritrea have an extensive coastline along the Red Sea. The nation has an area of approximately 117,600 km2. Its toponym Eritrea is based on the Greek name for the Red Sea, Eritrea is a multi-ethnic country, with nine recognized ethnic groups in its population of around six million. Most residents speak languages from the Afroasiatic family, either of the Ethiopian Semitic languages or Cushitic branches, among these communities, the Tigrinya make up about 55% of the population, with the Tigre people constituting around 30% of inhabitants. In addition, there are a number of Nilo-Saharan-speaking Nilotic ethnic minorities, most people in the territory adhere to Christianity or Islam. In medieval times much of Eritrea fell under the Medri Bahri kingdom, the creation of modern-day Eritrea is a result of the incorporation of independent, distinct kingdoms and sultanates eventually resulting in the formation of Italian Eritrea. In 1947 Eritrea became part of a federation with Ethiopia, the Federation of Ethiopia, subsequent annexation into Ethiopia led to the Eritrean War of Independence, ending with Eritrean independence following a referendum in April 1993. Hostilities between Eritrea and Ethiopia persisted, leading to the Eritrean–Ethiopian War of 1998–2000 and further skirmishes with both Djibouti and Ethiopia, Eritrea is a one-party state in which national legislative elections have been repeatedly postponed. According to Human Rights Watch, the Eritrean governments human rights record is considered among the worst in the world, the Eritrean government has dismissed these allegations as politically motivated. The compulsory military service requires lengthy, indefinite conscription periods, which some Eritreans leave the country in order to avoid, since all local media is state-owned, Eritrea was also ranked as having the least press freedom in the global Press Freedom Index. Eritrea is a member of the African Union, the United Nations, and IGAD, during the Middle Ages, the Eritrea region was known as Medri Bahri. The name Eritrea is derived from the ancient Greek name for the Red Sea and it was first formally adopted in 1890, with the formation of Italian Eritrea. The territory became the Eritrea Governorate within Italian East Africa in 1936, Eritrea was annexed by Ethiopia in 1953 and an Eritrean Liberation Front formed in 1960. Eritrea gained independence following the 1993 referendum, and the name of the new state was defined as State of Eritrea in the 1997 constitution. At Buya in Eritrea, one of the oldest hominids representing a link between Homo erectus and an archaic Homo sapiens was found by Italian scientists. Dated to over 1 million years old, it is the oldest skeletal find of its kind, during the last interglacial period, the Red Sea coast of Eritrea was occupied by early anatomically modern humans. It is believed that the area was on the out of Africa that some scholars suggest was used by early humans to colonize the rest of the Old World
6.
Turkish language
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Outside of Turkey, significant smaller groups of speakers exist in Germany, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Northern Cyprus, Greece, the Caucasus, and other parts of Europe and Central Asia. Cyprus has requested that the European Union add Turkish as an official EU language, in 1928, as one of Atatürks Reforms in the early years of the Republic of Turkey, the Ottoman Turkish alphabet was replaced with a Latin alphabet. The distinctive characteristics of Turkish are vowel harmony and extensive agglutination, the basic word order of Turkish is subject–object–verb. Turkish has no classes or grammatical gender. Turkish has a strong T–V distinction and usage of honorifics, Turkish uses second-person pronouns that distinguish varying levels of politeness, social distance, age, courtesy or familiarity toward the addressee. The plural second-person pronoun and verb forms are used referring to a person out of respect. Turkic languages belong to the Altaic language group, the Turkic family comprises some 30 living languages spoken across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and Siberia. Turkish is a member of the Oghuz group of languages, a subgroup of the Turkic language family, there is a high degree of mutual intelligibility between Turkish and the other Oghuz Turkic languages, including Azerbaijani, Turkmen, Qashqai, Gagauz, and Balkan Gagauz Turkish. The earliest known Old Turkic inscriptions are the three monumental Orkhon inscriptions found in modern Mongolia, erected in honour of the prince Kul Tigin and his brother Emperor Bilge Khagan, these date back to the second Turk Kaghanate. The Seljuqs of the Oghuz Turks, in particular, brought their language, following the adoption of Islam c. Turkish literature during the Ottoman period, particularly Divan poetry, was influenced by Persian, including the adoption of poetic meters. One of the tasks of the newly established association was to initiate a reform to replace loanwords of Arabic. By banning the usage of imported words in the press, the association succeeded in removing several hundred words from the language. While most of the words introduced to the language by the TDK were newly derived from Turkic roots, owing to this sudden change in the language, older and younger people in Turkey started to differ in their vocabularies. While the generations born before the 1940s tend to use the terms of Arabic or Persian origin. The past few decades have seen the work of the TDK to coin new Turkish words to express new concepts and technologies as they enter the language. Many of these new words, particularly information technology terms, have received widespread acceptance, however, the TDK is occasionally criticized for coining words which sound contrived and artificial. Some earlier changes—such as bölem to replace fırka, political party—also failed to meet with popular approval, some words restored from Old Turkic have taken on specialized meanings, for example betik is now used to mean script in computer science
7.
Ottoman Empire
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After 1354, the Ottomans crossed into Europe, and with the conquest of the Balkans the Ottoman Beylik was transformed into a transcontinental empire. The Ottomans ended the Byzantine Empire with the 1453 conquest of Constantinople by Mehmed the Conqueror, at the beginning of the 17th century the empire contained 32 provinces and numerous vassal states. Some of these were later absorbed into the Ottoman Empire, while others were granted various types of autonomy during the course of centuries. With Constantinople as its capital and control of lands around the Mediterranean basin, while the empire was once thought to have entered a period of decline following the death of Suleiman the Magnificent, this view is no longer supported by the majority of academic historians. The empire continued to maintain a flexible and strong economy, society, however, during a long period of peace from 1740 to 1768, the Ottoman military system fell behind that of their European rivals, the Habsburg and Russian Empires. While the Empire was able to hold its own during the conflict, it was struggling with internal dissent. Starting before World War I, but growing increasingly common and violent during it, major atrocities were committed by the Ottoman government against the Armenians, Assyrians and Pontic Greeks. The word Ottoman is an anglicisation of the name of Osman I. Osmans name in turn was the Turkish form of the Arabic name ʿUthmān, in Ottoman Turkish, the empire was referred to as Devlet-i ʿAlīye-yi ʿOsmānīye, or alternatively ʿOsmānlı Devleti. In Modern Turkish, it is known as Osmanlı İmparatorluğu or Osmanlı Devleti, the Turkish word for Ottoman originally referred to the tribal followers of Osman in the fourteenth century, and subsequently came to be used to refer to the empires military-administrative elite. In contrast, the term Turk was used to refer to the Anatolian peasant and tribal population, the term Rūmī was also used to refer to Turkish-speakers by the other Muslim peoples of the empire and beyond. In Western Europe, the two names Ottoman Empire and Turkey were often used interchangeably, with Turkey being increasingly favored both in formal and informal situations and this dichotomy was officially ended in 1920–23, when the newly established Ankara-based Turkish government chose Turkey as the sole official name. Most scholarly historians avoid the terms Turkey, Turks, and Turkish when referring to the Ottomans, as the power of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum declined in the 13th century, Anatolia was divided into a patchwork of independent Turkish principalities known as the Anatolian Beyliks. One of these beyliks, in the region of Bithynia on the frontier of the Byzantine Empire, was led by the Turkish tribal leader Osman, osmans early followers consisted both of Turkish tribal groups and Byzantine renegades, many but not all converts to Islam. Osman extended the control of his principality by conquering Byzantine towns along the Sakarya River and it is not well understood how the early Ottomans came to dominate their neighbours, due to the scarcity of the sources which survive from this period. One school of thought which was popular during the twentieth century argued that the Ottomans achieved success by rallying religious warriors to fight for them in the name of Islam, in the century after the death of Osman I, Ottoman rule began to extend over Anatolia and the Balkans. Osmans son, Orhan, captured the northwestern Anatolian city of Bursa in 1326 and this conquest meant the loss of Byzantine control over northwestern Anatolia. The important city of Thessaloniki was captured from the Venetians in 1387, the Ottoman victory at Kosovo in 1389 effectively marked the end of Serbian power in the region, paving the way for Ottoman expansion into Europe
8.
Cyprus Military Police
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In 1880, the British colonial administration of Cyprus created a Gendarmerie force, the Cyprus Military Police. Popularly known as zaptiehs, this body numbered about 700 men, the forces personnel were predominantly drawn from the minority Turkish Cypriot population, although prior to 1914 about a third were Greek Cypriots. The eight most senior positions were normally filled by secondment from the British Army. While trained to some police duties, the force had an essentially military character. Mounted zaptiehs, armed with carbines and sabres, were portrayed in contemporary illustrations patrolling rural roads in twos, a detachment of mounted zaptiehs participated in Queen Victorias Jubilee celebrations of 1897, where their fezes and blue and scarlet zouave-style jackets attracted much attention. Seconded Army officers were replaced by inspectors and commissioners appointed from British. Cretan Gendarmerie Cypriot National Guard Cyprus Police Hellenic Gendarmerie Zaptié
9.
Italy
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Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world
10.
Carabinieri
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The Carabinieri is the national gendarmerie of Italy, policing both military and civilian populations. It originally was founded as the force of the Kingdom of Sardinia. During the process of Italian unification, it was appointed the First Force of the new military organization. Since 2001, it has one of the four Italian Armed Forces. Inspired by the French Gendarmerie, the corps was created by King Victor Emmanuel I of Savoy with the aim of providing the Kingdom of Sardinia with a police corps, previously, police duties were managed by the Dragoni di Sardegna corps, created in 1726 and composed of volunteers. The new force was divided into divisions on the scale of one division for each province, in 1868, the Corazzieri mounted division was formed – initially as an escort of honour for the sovereign, and since 1946 for the President of the Republic. The Italian unification saw the number of divisions increased, and on 24 January 1861 the Carabinieri were appointed the First Force of the new military organization. In May 1915 Italian troops marched to encompass South Tyrol, territory of their allies the Austro-Hungarian empire. The role of the Carabinieri was to act as barrier troops, setting up machine gun posts to control the rear of the attacking regiments, during the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini, the Carabinieri were one of the police forces entrusted with suppressing opposition in Italy. During the same period, while part of the Italian Africa Police, during World War II they fought in their function as military police against the Allied forces, and against Yugoslav partisans as part of the Italian occupation force in Yugoslavia. After Mussolinis fall on 25 July 1943, he was arrested by the Carabinieri as he left the private residence in Rome. In southern Italy the Carabinieri Command for Liberated Italy was founded in Bari and these units were attached to the Italian Liberation Corps and the six Italian Combat Groups of the Italian Co-Belligerent Army, fighting with the Allied forces. In northern Italy the fascist regime organized the Guardia Nazionale Repubblicana, to employ it as a military police, GNR was later joined by the Black Brigades which should have represented a new militant incarnation of the Fascist party. As German forces subsequently began to arrest and deport members of the Carabinieri to Germany for forced labour, large numbers of Carabinieri joined the Italian resistance movement. After the war the Carabinieri counted at least 2,735 fallen and 6,500 wounded, out of approximately 14,000 who had joined the Resistance in northern and central Italy. In Yugoslavia the Carabinieri formed a battalion of the Italian partisan Garibaldi Division, the battalion lost over 80% of its members in combat and was awarded the Silver Medal of Military Valor to commemorate the fallen. The Carabinieri increased in status and joined the Armed Forces on 31 March 2000, dAcquisto exchanged his life for the lives of citizens due to be executed in retaliation for the killing of a German soldier, instead, he claimed responsibility and was executed for the offence. In recent years Carabinieri units have been dispatched on peacekeeping missions, including Kosovo, Afghanistan, the State Forestry Corps was dissolved on 31 December 2016 and all personnel were militarized and absorbed by the Carabinieri
11.
Bashi-bazouk
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A bashi-bazouk or bashibazouk was an irregular soldier of the Ottoman army. A Bashi-Bazouk may be Turk but also Circassian, Arab, Albanian and they were particularly noted for their lack of discipline. They were armed and maintained by the government, but did not receive pay and they were motivated to fight mostly by expectations of plunder. Though the majority of troops fought on foot, some troops rode on horseback, because of their lack of discipline, they were incapable of undertaking major military operations, but were useful for other tasks such as reconnaissance and outpost duty. However, their uncertain temper occasionally made it necessary for the Turkish regular troops to them by force. The Ottoman army consisted of the following, The Sultans household troops, called Kapıkulu, provincial soldiers, which were fiefed, the most important being Timarli Sipahi and their retainers, but other kinds were also present. Soldiers of subject, protectorate, or allied states Bashi-bazouk usually did not receive regular salaries, an attempt by Husrev Pasha to disband his Albanian bashi-bazouks in favor of his regular forces began the rioting which led to the establishment of Muhammad Alis Khedivate of Egypt. The bashi-bazouk were notorious for being brutal and undisciplined, thus giving the term its second, a notable example of this use is in the comic series The Adventures of Tintin, where the word is often used as an expletive by Captain Haddock. Their use was abandoned by the end of the 19th century, however, self-organized bashi-bazouk troops still appeared later. The term bashibozouk has also used for a mounted force, existing in peacetime in various provinces of the Ottoman Empire. Mercenary Pindari Ottoman warfare, 1500–1700 by Rhoads Murphey, a History of Warfare, The World Publishing Company
12.
Irregular military
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Irregular military is any non-standard military, that is, distinct from that of the regular army. Being defined by exclusion, there is significant variance in what comes under the term and it can refer to the type of military organization, or to the type of tactics used. An irregular military organization is one which is not part of the army organization. Without standard military unit organization, various more general names are used, such organizations may be called a troop, group, unit, column, band. Irregulars are soldiers or warriors that are members of these organizations and this also applies to irregular troops, irregular infantry and irregular cavalry. Irregular warfare is warfare employing the tactics used by irregular military organizations. This involves avoiding large-scale combat, and focusing on small, stealthy, hit, the words regular and irregular have been used to describe combat forces for hundreds of years, usually with little ambiguity. Due to a chain of command requirements, the regular army is very well defined. In cases where the legitimacy of the army or its opponents is questioned, the Third Geneva Convention of 1949, uses regular armed forces as a critical distinction. The ICRC provided commentary saying that armed forces satisfy four Hague Conventions conditions. The term irregular military describes the how and what, but it is common to focus on the why. Bypassing the legitimate military and taking up arms is an extreme measure, the motivation for doing so is often used as the basis of the primary label for any irregular military. Different terms come in and out of fashion, based on political and emotional associations that develop, here is a list of such terms, organized more or less from oldest to latest. Auxiliaries - foreign or allied troops supplementing the regular army, organized from provincial or tribal regions, in the Imperial Roman army it became common to maintain a number of auxiliaries about equal to the legionaries. Levies - feudal peasants and freemen liable to be called up for military duty. Revolutionary — someone part of a revolution, whether military or not, Guerrilla — someone who uses unconventional military tactics, tends to refer to groups engaged in open conflict rather than underground resistance. Term coined during the Peninsula War in Spain against France, franc-tireur — French irregular forces during the Franco-Prussian War. But is also used in legal cases as a synonym for unprivileged combatant
13.
Spahis
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Spahis were light cavalry regiments of the French army recruited primarily from the indigenous populations of Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco. The modern French Army retains one regiment of Spahis as an armoured unit, Senegal also maintains a mounted unit with spahi origins as a presidential escort, the Red Guard. The name is the French form of the Ottoman Turkish word sipahi, following the French occupation of Algiers in 1830, detachments of locally recruited irregular horsemen were attached to the regiments of light cavalry assigned to North African service. These auxiliaries were designated as chasseurs spahis, in 1834 they were organised into four squadrons of regular spahis. In 1841 the 14 squadrons by then in existence were brought together in a corps of spahis. Finally, in 1845 three separate Spahi regiments were created, the 1st of Algiers, the 2nd of Oran, a detachment of Spahis served as the personal escort of Marshal Jacques Leroy de Saint Arnaud in the Crimean War and were photographed there by Roger Fenton. A contingent of Spahis also participated in the North China campaign of 1860, a serious rising against French rule in Algeria during 1871–72 was sparked off by the mutiny of a squadron of Spahis who had been ordered to France to reinforce those units already there. Prior to 1914 there were four regiments of Spahis in the French Army, during their period as mounted cavalry the Spahis comprised for the most part Arab and Berber troopers commanded by French officers. This division was not absolute however and there were always a number of French volunteers in the ranks. About 20% of the rank and file were French and the remainder Arab or Berber, in addition, a fixed number of commissioned positions up to the level of captain were reserved for Muslim officers. NCOs were both French and Muslim, in contrast to the North African tirailleur units the mounted spahis were drawn from the big tents, i. e. the higher social classes of the Arab and Berber communities. This dated back to the establishment of the corps when Colonel Marey-Monge required that each recruit provide his own horse, as Spahi units were mechanized during World War II, the proportion of Frenchmen in the ranks increased. Spahis were sent to France at the outbreak of war in August 1914 and they saw service during the opening period of mobile warfare but inevitably their role diminished with the advent of trench warfare. During World War I the number of units increased with the creation of Moroccan Spahi regiments, by 1918 there were seven Spahi regiments then in existence, all having seen service on the Western Front, in addition a detached squadron had served in Palestine against the Ottoman Empire. By 1921 the Spahi regiments had been increased to twelve and this became the permanent establishment, during the 1920s mounted Spahi regiments saw extensive active service in the French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon, as well as in Morocco. They continued to perform policing and garrison duties in Algeria and Tunisia, although mechanisation began in the 1930s of the Chasseurs dAfrique and Foreign Legion cavalry, the Spahis remained an entirely mounted force until after 1942. In 1939 the Spahis comprised three independent brigades, each of two regiments and still horse mounted, each regiment was made up of four sabre squadrons with five officers and 172 troopers in each. Three regiments saw service in France in 1940
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Meharist
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Méhariste is a French word that roughly translates to camel cavalry. The word is most commonly used as a designation of military units, france created a méhariste camel corps as part of the Armée dAfrique in the Sahara in 1902, replacing regular units of Algerian spahis and tirailleurs earlier used to patrol the desert boundaries. The newly raised Compagnies Méharistes were originally recruited mainly from the Chaamba nomadic tribe, each company of Méharistes comprised six officers,36 French non-commissioned officers and troopers, and 300 Chaamba troopers. Their bases were at Tabelbala, Adrar, Ouargla, Fort Polignac, with their local tribal links plus mobility and flexible tactics, the Compagnies Méharistes provided an effective means of policing the desert. A similar camel corps was raised to cover the southern Sahara, operating from French West Africa. From the 1930s onwards the Méharistes formed part of the Compagnies Sahariennes which also included motorised French, following the establishment of a French Mandate over Syria in 1920, three méhariste companies were organised in that country as part of the French Army of the Levant. During World War II méhariste companies organised as nomad groups saw service against Axis forces in the Fezzan, at the end of the war the Compagnies Sahariennes resumed their role as desert police. C. O. s. According to differing reports the mutineers either were able to join the rebel ALN or were caught in the desert by French fighter aircraft. During the later stages of the Algerian War Méhariste detachments did patrol the southern ends of the fortified Morice Line along the Tunisian border, on several occasions the ALN attempted to outflank the Line by disguising commando units as Méharistes. The camel-mounted units were retained in service until the end of French rule in 1962, the locally recruited méharistes were then disbanded while French personnel were transferred to other units. Locally recruited camel corps were also maintained by the Spanish and Italian armies in their respective North African territories during the colonial period, both the Spanish Tropas Nomadas and the Italian Zaptie Meharista served primarily as desert gendarmerie. Like their French counterparts they were recruited from the desert tribes. The modern Algerian army maintains up to twelve companies of troops in the Sahara. In 1996 the government of Mali reestablished a camel corps of six companies for patrol, however the Tuareg rising of 2012 and subsequent disturbances led to widespread losses and desertions amongst the méharistes. As of 2013 only 368 méharistes remained in service and the future of the corps was in doubt, mauritania retains a méhariste unit for at least ceremonial purposes. The Compagnies Méharistes wore flowing coats of white for Arab or blue for Tuareg troopers, with turbans, veils. Two red sashes were worn – one wound around the waist, a khaki field dress of similar cut was also worn. French personnel wore light blue kepis, all ranks were normally bare-footed when in the saddle, in order not to harm the sensitive upper body of their camels
15.
Viceroy
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A viceroy /ˈvaɪs. rɔɪ/ is a regal official who runs a country, colony, city, province, or sub-national state, in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning in the place of, a viceroys territory may be called a viceroyalty, though this term is not always applied. The adjectival form is viceregal, less often viceroyal, the term vicereine is sometimes used to indicate a female viceroy suo jure, although viceroy can serve as a gender-neutral term. Vicereine is more used to indicate a viceroys wife. The title was used by the Crown of Aragon, where beginning in the 14th century, it referred to the Spanish governors of Sardinia. In Europe, until the 18th century, the Habsburg crown appointed viceroys of Aragon, Valencia, Catalonia, Navarre, Portugal, Sardinia, Sicily, with the ascension of the House of Bourbon to the Spanish throne, the historic Aragonese viceroyalties were replaced by new captaincies general. At the end of War of the Spanish Succession, the Spanish monarchy was shorn of its Italian possessions and these Italian territories, however, continued to have viceroys under their new rulers for some time, Sardinia would have a viceroy until 1848. These large administrative territories became known as Viceroyalties, New viceroyalties were created for New Granada in 1717 and the Río de la Plata in 1776. These units gathered the local provinces which could be governed by either a crown official, audiencias primarily functioned as superior judicial tribunals, but unlike their European counterparts, the New World audiencias were granted by law both administrative and legislative powers. The Bourbon Reforms introduced the new office of the intendant, which was appointed directly by the crown and had broad fiscal and administrative powers in political and military issues. The government started six years after the discovery of sea route to India by Vasco da Gama, in 1505, however the post was centered by governor Afonso de Albuquerque, who became plenipotentiary, and remained so. The duration in office was three years, possibly longer, given the power represented, of the thirty-four governors of India in the 16th century. After the end of the Iberian Union in 1640, the governors of Brazil that were members of the Portuguese high nobility started to use the title of Viceroy. Brazil became a permanent Viceroyalty in 1763, when the capital of the State of Brazil was transferred from Salvador to Rio de Janeiro, the designation Viceroy, although it was most frequently used in ordinary parlance, had no statutory authority, and was never employed by Parliament. The Governor-General continued to be the representative of the Crown. The viceroys reported directly to the Secretary of State for India in London and were advised by the Council of India, alongside the Commander-in-Chief, India, the viceroy was the public face of the British presence in India, attending to many ceremonial functions as well as political affairs. During the offices history, the Governors-General of India were based in two cities, Calcutta during the 19th century and New Delhi during the 20th century, additionally, whilst Calcutta was the capital of British India, the viceroys spent the summer months at Simla. The two historic residences of the viceroys still stand, the Viceroys House in New Delhi and Government House in Calcutta and they are used today as the official residences of the President of India and the Governor of West Bengal, respectively
16.
Benito Mussolini
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Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician, journalist, and leader of the National Fascist Party, ruling the country as Prime Minister from 1922 to 1943. He ruled constitutionally until 1925, when he dropped all pretense of democracy, known as Il Duce, Mussolini was the founder of Italian Fascism. In 1912 Mussolini was the member of the National Directorate of the Italian Socialist Party. Mussolini was expelled from the PSI for withdrawing his support for the stance on neutrality in World War I. He served in the Royal Italian Army during the war until he was wounded and discharged in 1917, Mussolini denounced the PSI, his views now centering on nationalism instead of socialism, and later founded the fascist movement. Following the March on Rome in October 1922 he became the youngest Prime Minister in Italian history until the appointment of Matteo Renzi in February 2014, within five years he had established dictatorial authority by both legal and extraordinary means, aspiring to create a totalitarian state. Mussolini remained in power until he was deposed by King Victor Emmanuel III in 1943, a few months later, he became the leader of the Italian Social Republic, a German client regime in northern Italy, he held this post until his death in 1945. Mussolini had sought to delay a major war in Europe until at least 1942, however, Germany invaded Poland on 1 September 1939, resulting in declarations of war by France and the United Kingdom and starting World War II. In the summer of 1941 Mussolini sent Italian forces to participate in the invasion of the Soviet Union, and war with the United States followed in December. On 24 July 1943, soon after the start of the Allied invasion of Italy, the Grand Council of Fascism voted against him, on 12 September 1943, Mussolini was rescued from prison in the Gran Sasso raid by German special forces. In late April 1945, with total defeat looming, Mussolini attempted to escape north and his body was then taken to Milan, where it was hung upside down at a service station for public viewing and to provide confirmation of his demise. Mussolini was born in Dovia di Predappio, a town in the province of Forlì in Romagna on 29 July 1883. During the Fascist era, Predappio was dubbed Duces town, pilgrims went to Predappio and Forlì, to see the birthplace of Mussolini. His father, Alessandro Mussolini, was a blacksmith and a Socialist, while his mother, Benito was the eldest of his parents three children. His siblings Arnaldo and Edvige followed, as a young boy, Mussolini would spend some time helping his father in his smithy. His fathers political outlook combined views of anarchist figures like Carlo Cafiero and Mikhail Bakunin, the military authoritarianism of Garibaldi, in 1902, at the anniversary of Garibaldis death, Benito Mussolini made a public speech in praise of the republican nationalist. The conflict between his parents about religion meant that, unlike most Italians, Mussolini was not baptized at birth, as a compromise with his mother, Mussolini was sent to a boarding school run by Salesian monks. After joining a new school, Mussolini achieved good grades, in 1902, Mussolini emigrated to Switzerland, partly to avoid military service
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Revolver
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A revolver is a repeating handgun that has a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers and at least one barrel for firing. Revolvers might be regarded as a subset of pistols, or as a subset of handguns. Though the term revolver usually only refers to handguns, other firearms may also have a revolving chamber and these include some models of grenade launchers, shotguns, and rifles. Most revolvers contain five or six rounds in the cylinder, though the original name was revolving gun, the short-hand revolver is universally used. The revolver allows the user to fire multiple rounds without reloading, each time the user cocks the hammer, the cylinder revolves to align the next chamber and round with the hammer and barrel, which gives this type of firearm its name. In a single-action revolver, the user pulls the back with his free hand or thumb. In a double-action revolver, pulling the trigger moves the back, then releases it. Loading and unloading a double-action revolver requires the operator to swing out the cylinder and insert the proper ammunition, the first guns with multichambered cylinders that revolved to feed one barrel were made in the late 16th century in Europe. They were expensive and rare curiosities, not until the 19th century would revolvers become common weapons of industrial production. One of the first was a flintlock revolver patented by Elisha Collier in 1814, the first percussion revolver was made by Lenormand of Paris in 1820 and the first percussion cap revolver was invented by the Italian Francesco Antonio Broccu in 1833. He received a prize of 300 francs for his invention, although he did not patent it, however, in 1835 a similar handgun was patented by Samuel Colt, who would go on to make the first mass-produced revolver. The first cartridge revolvers were produced around 1854 by Eugene Lefaucheux, revolvers soon became standard for nearly all uses. In the early 20th century, semi-automatic pistols were developed, which can hold more rounds, Automatic pistols also have a flat profile, more suitable for concealed carry. Automatic pistols have almost completely replaced revolvers in military and law enforcement use, revolvers still remain popular as back-up and off-duty handguns among American law enforcement officers and security guards. Also, revolvers are still common in the American private sector as defensive, in the development of firearms, an important limiting factor was the time it took to reload the weapon after it was fired. While the user was reloading, the weapon was useless, several approaches to the problem of increasing the rate of fire were developed, the earliest being multi-barrelled weapons which allowed two or more shots without reloading. Later weapons featured multiple barrels revolving along a single axis, the earliest examples of what today is called a revolver were made in Germany in the late 16th century. These weapons featured a barrel with a revolving cylinder holding the powder
18.
Cavalry
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Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the most mobile of the combat arms, an individual soldier in the cavalry is known by a number of designations such as cavalryman, horseman, dragoon or trooper. The designation of cavalry was not usually given to any military forces that used animals, such as camels. Cavalry had the advantage of improved mobility, and a man fighting from horseback also had the advantages of greater height, speed, another element of horse mounted warfare is the psychological impact a mounted soldier can inflict on an opponent. In Europe cavalry became increasingly armoured, and eventually became known for the mounted knights, in the period between the World Wars, many cavalry units were converted into motorized infantry and mechanized infantry units, or reformed as tank troops. Most cavalry units that are horse-mounted in modern armies serve in purely ceremonial roles, modern usage of the term generally refers to specialist units equipped with tanks or aircraft. The shock role, traditionally filled by heavy cavalry, is filled by units with the armored designation. Before the Iron Age, the role of cavalry on the battlefield was largely performed by light chariots, the chariot originated with the Sintashta-Petrovka culture in Central Asia and spread by nomadic or semi-nomadic Indo-Iranians. The power of mobility given by mounted units was recognized early on, Cavalry techniques were an innovation of equestrian nomads of the Central Asian and Iranian steppe and pastoralist tribes such as the Persian Parthians and Sarmatians. The photograph above left shows Assyrian cavalry from reliefs of 865–860 BC, at this time, the men had no spurs, saddles, saddle cloths, or stirrups. Fighting from the back of a horse was more difficult than mere riding. The cavalry acted in pairs, the reins of the archer were controlled by his neighbours hand. Even at this time, cavalry used swords, shields. The sculpture implies two types of cavalry, but this might be a simplification by the artist, Later images of Assyrian cavalry show saddle cloths as primitive saddles, allowing each archer to control his own horse. As early as 490 BC a breed of horses was bred in the Nisaean plain in Media to carry men with increasing amounts of armour. However, chariots remained in use for purposes such as carrying the victorious general in a Roman triumph. The southern Britons met Julius Caesar with chariots in 55 and 54 BC, the last mention of chariot use in battle was by the Caledonians at the Mons Graupius, in 84 AD. During the classical Greek period cavalry were usually limited to citizens who could afford expensive war-horses
19.
Carbine
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A carbine, from French carabine, is a long arm firearm but with a shorter barrel than a rifle or musket. Many carbines are shortened versions of full-length rifles, shooting the same ammunition, while others fire lower-powered ammunition, the smaller size and lighter weight of carbines make them easier to handle. An example of this is the US Armys M4 carbine, which is standard-issue, the carbine was originally a lighter, shortened weapon developed for the cavalry. After the Napoleonic Wars, cavalry began fighting dismounted, using the only for greater mobility. By the American Civil War, dismounted cavalry were mostly the rule, the principal advantage of the carbine was that its length made it very portable. A carbine was typically no longer than a sheathed sabre, and like a sabre was carried arranged to hang clear of the riders elbows. Carbines were usually less accurate and less powerful than the muskets of the infantry, due to a shorter sight plane. With the advent of fast-burning smokeless powder, the velocity disadvantages of a shorter barrel became less of an issue, eventually, the use of horse-mounted cavalry would decline. During the early 19th century, carbines were often developed separately from the rifles and, in many cases, did not even use the same ammunition. A notable weapon developed towards the end of the American Civil War by the Union was the Spencer carbine, one of the very first breechloading, repeating weapons. It had a spring-powered, removable tube magazine in the buttstock which held seven rounds and it was intended to give the cavalry a replacement weapon which could be fired from horseback without the need for awkward reloading after each shot. In the late 19th century, it common for a number of nations to make bolt-action rifles in both full-length and carbine versions. One of the most popular and recognizable carbines were the lever-action Winchester carbines and this made it an ideal choice for cowboys and explorers, as well as other inhabitants of the American West, who could carry a revolver and a carbine, both using the same ammunition. Other nations followed suit after World War I, when they learned that their traditional long-barreled rifles provided little benefit in the trenches, the US M1 carbine was more of a traditional carbine in that it was significantly shorter and lighter, with a 457. A shorter weapon was more convenient when riding in a truck, armored personnel carrier, helicopter, or aircraft, based on the combat experience of World War II, the criteria used for selecting infantry weapons began to change. In addition, improvements in artillery made moving infantry in areas even less practical than it had been. The majority of enemy contacts were at ranges of less than 300 metres, most rounds fired were not aimed at an enemy combatant, but instead fired in the enemys direction to keep them from moving and firing back. These situations did not require a heavy rifle, firing full-power rifle bullets with long-range accuracy, the lower-powered round would also weigh less, allowing a soldier to carry more ammunition
20.
Sabre
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The sabre is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the Early Modern and Napoleonic periods. Originally associated Central-Eastern European cavalry such as the Hussars, the sabre became widespread in Western Europe in the Thirty Years War, lighter sabres also became popular with infantry of the late 17th century. In the 19th century, models with less curving blades became common and were used by heavy cavalry. The last sabre issued to US cavalry was the Patton saber of 1913, Szabla wz.34 was the last sabre issued to the Polish cavalry, in 1934. English sabre is recorded from the 1670s, as a loan from French, where the sabre is an alteration of sable. The German word is on record from the 15th century, loaned from Polish szabla, the spread of the Hungarian word to neighboring European languages took place in the context of the Ottoman wars in Europe of the 15th to 17th centuries. The spelling saber becomes common in American English in the half of the 19th century. The origin of the Hungarian word is unclear and it may itself be a loan from South Slavic, from a Common Slavic *sablja, which would ultimately derives from a Turkic source. These oldest sabres had a curve, short, down-turned quillons, the grip facing the opposite direction to the blade. The adoption of the term is connected to the employment of Hungarian Hussar cavalry by Western armies at the time, Hungarian hussars were employed as light cavalry, with the role of harassing enemy skirmishers, overrunning artillery positions, and pursuing fleeing troops. In the late 17th and 18th centuries, many Hungarian hussars fled to other Central and Western European countries, the Hungarian term szablya is ultimately traced to the Northwestern Turkic selebe, with contamination from the Hungarian verb szab to cut. The original type of sabre, or Polish szabla, was used as a cavalry weapon, the Karabela was a type of szabla popular in the late 17th century, worn by the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth nobility class, the Szlachta. While designed as a weapon, it also came to replace various types of straight-bladed swords used by infantry. The Swiss sabre originates as a sword with a single-edged blade in the early 16th century. In the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth a specific type of melee weapon. Richly decorated sabres were popular among the Polish nobility, who considered it to be one of the most important pieces of traditional attire. With time, the design of the sabre greatly evolved in the Commonwealth and gave birth to a variety of sabre-like weapons, intended for many tasks. The sabre saw extensive use in the early 19th century, particularly in the Napoleonic Wars
21.
Somalis
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Somalis are an ethnic group inhabiting the Horn of Africa. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic family, ethnic Somalis number around 16-20 million and are principally concentrated in Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Djibouti. Expatriate Somalis are also found in parts of the Middle East, North America, Oceania, Samaale, the oldest common ancestor of several Somali clans, is generally regarded as the source of the ethnonym Somali. The name Somali is, in turn, held to be derived from the words soo and maal, another plausible etymology proposes that the term Somali is derived from the Arabic for wealthy, again referring to Somali riches in livestock. The first clear reference of the sobriquet Somali, however. Simur was also an ancient Harari alias for the Somali people, Ancient rock paintings, which date back 5000 years, have been found in the northern part of Somalia, these depict early life in the territory. In other places, such as the northern Dhambalin region, a depiction of a man on a horse is postulated as being one of the earliest known examples of a mounted huntsman. Inscriptions have been found many of the rock paintings. During the Stone age, the Doian and Hargeisan cultures flourished here with their industries and factories. The oldest evidence of burial customs in the Horn of Africa comes from cemeteries in Somalia dating back to 4th millennium BC. The stone implements from the Jalelo site in northern Somalia are said to be the most important link in evidence of the universality in palaeolithic times between the East and the West. In antiquity, the ancestors of the Somali people were an important link in the Horn of Africa connecting the regions commerce with the rest of the ancient world. According to most scholars, the ancient Land of Punt and its inhabitants formed part of the ethnogenesis of the Somali people, the ancient Puntites were a nation of people that had close relations with Pharaonic Egypt during the times of Pharaoh Sahure and Queen Hatshepsut. The pyramidal structures, temples and ancient houses of dressed stone littered around Somalia are said to date from this period, the city of Mogadishu came to be known as the City of Islam, and controlled the East African gold trade for several centuries. The Sultanate of Ifat, led by the Walashma dynasty with its capital at Zeila, ruled parts of what is now eastern Ethiopia, Djibouti. The historian al-Umari records that Ifat was situated near the Red Sea coast and its army numbered 15,000 horsemen and 20,000 foot soldiers. Al-Umari also credits Ifat with seven cities, Belqulzar, Kuljura, Shimi, Shewa, Adal, Jamme. The Harla, an early Hamitic group of tall stature who inhabited parts of Somalia, Tchertcher and other areas in the Horn and these masons are believed to have been ancestral to the Somalis
22.
Italians
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Italians are a nation and ethnic group native to Italy who share a common culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a native tongue. The majority of Italian nationals are speakers of Standard Italian. Italians have greatly influenced and contributed to the arts and music, science, technology, cuisine, sports, fashion, jurisprudence, banking, Italian people are generally known for their localism and their attention to clothing and family values. The term Italian is at least 3,000 years old and has a history that goes back to pre-Roman Italy. According to one of the common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The Etruscan civilization reached its peak about the 7th century BC, but by 509 BC, when the Romans overthrew their Etruscan monarchs, its control in Italy was on the wane. By 350 BC, after a series of wars between Greeks and Etruscans, the Latins, with Rome as their capital, gained the ascendancy by 272 BC, and they managed to unite the entire Italian peninsula. This period of unification was followed by one of conquest in the Mediterranean, in the course of the century-long struggle against Carthage, the Romans conquered Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica. Finally, in 146 BC, at the conclusion of the Third Punic War, with Carthage completely destroyed and its inhabitants enslaved, octavian, the final victor, was accorded the title of Augustus by the Senate and thereby became the first Roman emperor. After two centuries of rule, in the 3rd century AD, Rome was threatened by internal discord and menaced by Germanic and Asian invaders. Emperor Diocletians administrative division of the empire into two parts in 285 provided only temporary relief, it became permanent in 395, in 313, Emperor Constantine accepted Christianity, and churches thereafter rose throughout the empire. However, he moved his capital from Rome to Constantinople. The last Western emperor, Romulus Augustulus, was deposed in 476 by a Germanic foederati general in Italy and his defeat marked the end of the western part of the Roman Empire. During most of the period from the fall of Rome until the Kingdom of Italy was established in 1861, Odoacer ruled well for 13 years after gaining control of Italy in 476. Then he was attacked and defeated by Theodoric, the king of another Germanic tribe, Theodoric and Odoacer ruled jointly until 493, when Theodoric murdered Odoacer. Theodoric continued to rule Italy with an army of Ostrogoths and a government that was mostly Italian, after the death of Theodoric in 526, the kingdom began to grow weak
23.
Fez
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The tarboosh and the modern fez, which is similar, owe much of their development and popularity to the Ottoman era. Geography affects culture and Fez is situated in the Berber lands between the Atlas mountains and the Western Sahara desert which experiences both high wind, and strong sunlight, the traditional local headgear is a light turban that can be pulled over the neck and face to protect the skin. Because the area is defensible it has occupied since Roman times. The fez is a part of the clothing of Cyprus. Traditionally, women wore a red fez over their heads, instead of a headscarf, the fez was sometimes worn by men with material around the base. In his 1811 journey to Cyprus, John Pinkerton describes the fez, in the Karpass Peninsula, white caps are worn, a style considered to be based on ancient Cypriot Hellenic-Phoenician attire, thus preserving mens head-wear from 2,700 years earlier. In 1826 Sultan Mahmud II of the Ottoman Empire suppressed the Janissaries and his modernized military adopted Western style uniforms and, as headdresses, the fez with a cloth wrapped around it. In 1829 the Sultan ordered his officials to wear the plain fez. The intention was to coerce the populace at large to update to the fez, although tradesmen and artisans generally rejected the fez, it became a symbol of modernity throughout the Near East, inspiring similar decrees in other nations. To meet escalating demand, skilled fez makers were induced to immigrate from North Africa to Constantinople, styles soon multiplied, with nuances of shape, height, material, and hue competing in the market. The striking scarlet and merlot colors of the fez were initially achieved through an extract of cornel, however, the invention of low-cost synthetic dyes soon shifted production of the hat to the factories of Strakonice, Czech Republic. Although the headdress survived, the year-long boycott brought the end of its universality in the Ottoman Empire as other styles became socially acceptable, the fez was initially a brimless bonnet of red, white, or black with a turban woven around. Later the turban was eliminated, the shortened, and the color fixed to red. Praying while wearing a fez—instead of a headdress with brim—was easier because Muslims put their foreheads on the many times during the prayer sessions. Initially a symbol of Ottoman modernity, the fez over time came to be seen as part of an Oriental cultural identity. Seen as exotic and romantic in the west, it enjoyed a vogue as part of mens luxury smoking outfit in the United States, the fez had become traditional to the point that Mustafa Kemal Atatürk banned it in Turkey in 1925 as part of his modernizing reforms. A version of the fez was used as a cap for the 1400–1700s version of the mail armour head protector. The red fez with blue tassel was the headdress of the Turkish Army from the 1840s until the introduction of a khaki service dress and peakless sun helmet in 1910
24.
Sash
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A sash is a large and usually colorful ribbon or band of material worn around the body, draping from one shoulder to the opposing hip, or else running around the waist. The sash around the waist may be worn in daily attire, ceremonial sashes are also found in a V-shaped format, draping from both shoulders to the stomach like a large necklace. In Latin America and some countries of Africa, a presidential sash indicates a presidents authority. Sashes traditionally form part of military attire. Most of the European Royal families wear sashes as a part of their royal regalia, some orders such as the Légion dhonneur include sashes as part of the seniormost grades insignia. Likewise Italian military officers wear light blue sashes over the shoulder on ceremonial occasions. Sashes are a feature of some regiments of the modern French Army for parade dress. In its traditional Franco-Algerian or zouave form the sash was four metres in length, in the historic French Army of Africa, sashes were worn around the waist in either blue for European or red for indigenous troops. At the time of the American Civil War silk sashes in crimson were authorized for officers, generals continued to wear buff silk sashes in full dress until 1917. In the Confederate Army of the Civil War period sash colour indicated the corps or status of the wearer. For example, gold for cavalry, burgundy for infantry, black for chaplains, red for sergeants, green or blue for medics, and grey or cream for general officers. With the exception of the West Point Band Drum Major, today the West Point cadet officer is the person in the US Army who wears a sword and sash. The modern British Army retains a scarlet sash for wear in certain orders of dress by sergeants and above serving in infantry regiments, over the right shoulder to the left hip. A similar crimson silk net sash is worn around the waist by officers of the Foot Guards in scarlet full dress, the same practice is followed in some Commonwealth armies. The present day armies of India and Pakistan both make use of waist-sashes for ceremonial wear. The colours vary according to regiment or branch and match those of the turbans where worn. Typically two or more colours are incorporated in the sash, in vertical stripes, one end hangs loose at the side and may have an ornamental fringe. The practice of wearing distinctive regimental sashes or cummerbunds goes back to the nineteenth century
