title: East Timor

text: The 1991 Dili Massacre was a turning point for the independence cause and brought increased international pressure on Indonesia. Following the resignation of Indonesian President Suharto, the new President BJ Habibie, prompted by a letter from Australian Prime Minister John Howard, decided to hold a referendum on independence. A UN-sponsored agreement between Indonesia and Portugal allowed for a UN-supervised popular referendum in August 1999. A clear vote for independence was met with a punitive campaign of violence by East Timorese pro-integration militias supported by elements of the Indonesian military. In response, the Indonesian government allowed a multinational peacekeeping force, INTERFET, to restore order and aid East Timorese refugees and internally displaced persons. On 25 October 1999, the administration of East Timor was taken over by the UN through the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET). INTERFET deployment ended in February 2000 with the transfer of military command to the UN.


title: East Timor

text: On 30 August 2001, the East Timorese voted in their first election organised by the UN to elect members of the Constituent Assembly. On 22 March 2002, the Constituent Assembly approved the Constitution. By May 2002, more than 205,000 refugees had returned. On 20 May 2002, the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of East Timor came into force and East Timor was recognised as independent by the UN. The Constituent Assembly was renamed the National Parliament, and Xanana Gusmão was elected as the country's first president. On 27 September 2002 the country became a UN member state.


title: East Timor

text: In 2006, a crisis of unrest and factional fighting forced 155,000 people to flee their homes; the United Nations sent in security forces to restore order. The following year, Gusmão declined to run for another term. While there were minor incidents in the build-up to the mid-year presidential elections, the process was peaceful overall and José Ramos-Horta was elected president. In June 2007, Gusmão ran in the parliamentary elections and became prime minister. In February 2008, Ramos-Horta was critically injured in an attempted assassination; Prime Minister Gusmão also faced gunfire separately but escaped unharmed. Australian reinforcements were immediately sent to help keep order. In March 2011, the UN handed over operational control of the police force to the East Timor authorities. The United Nations ended its peacekeeping mission on 31 December 2012.


title: East Timor

text: Francisco Guterres of the centre-left Fretilin party became president in May 2017. The main party of the AMP coalition, the National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction, led by Gusmão, was in power from 2007 to 2017, but the leader of Fretilin, Mari Alkatiri, formed a coalition government after the July 2017 parliamentary election. The new minority government soon fell, leading to a second general election in May 2018. In June 2018, former president and independence fighter, Jose Maria de Vasconcelos, known as Taur Matan Ruak, of the three-party coalition, Alliance of Change for Progress (AMP), became the new prime minister. José Ramos-Horta of the centre-left CNRT has served as the president of East Timor since 20 May 2022 after winning the April 2022 presidential election runoff against the incumbent president, Francisco Guterres.


title: East Timor

text: The political system of East Timor is semi-presidential, based upon the Portuguese system. The constitution establishes both this separation of executive powers between the president and the prime minister; and the separation of powers between the executive, legislature, and judiciary. Individuals are not allowed to participate in both the legislature and the executive branch. While the legislature is intended to provide a check on the executive, in practice the executive has maintained control of the legislature, under all political parties. The executive, through the council of ministers, also holds some formal legislative powers. The judiciary operates independently, although there are instances of executive interference. Geographical access to courts remains a challenge and has prompted the development of mobile courts. Despite political rhetoric, the constitution and democratic institutions are almost universally respected. Elections are run by an independent body, and turnout is high. The political system has wide public acceptance.


title: East Timor

text: Formally, the directly elected president holds relatively limited powers compared to those in similar systems, with no power over the appointment and dismissal of the prime minister and the council of ministers. Being directly elected, however, past presidents have wielded great informal power and influence. The prime minister is chosen by the parliament. If the president vetoes a legislative action, the parliament can overturn the veto with a two-thirds majority.


title: East Timor

text: The head of state of East Timor is the president of the republic, who is elected by popular vote for a five-year term. Although the president's executive powers are somewhat limited, they do have the power to veto government legislation, initiate referendums, and to dissolve parliament in the event that it is unable to form a government or pass a budget. Following elections, the president usually appoints the leader of the majority party or coalition as prime minister of East Timor and the cabinet on the proposal of the latter. As head of government, the prime minister presides over the cabinet. The president is limited to two terms.


title: East Timor

text: Representatives in the unicameral National Parliament are elected by popular vote to a five-year term. The number of seats can vary from a minimum of fifty-two to a maximum of sixty-five. Parties must achieve 3% of the vote to enter parliament, with seats for qualifying parties allocated using the D'Hondt method. Elections occur within the framework of a competitive multi-party system. Upon independence, power was held by the Fretilin political party, which was formed shortly before the Indonesian invasion and led its resistance. Given its history, Fretilin viewed itself as the natural party of government and supported a multi-party system, expecting the development of a dominant-party system. Support from the United Nations and the international community, both before and after independence, allowed the nascent political system to survive shocks such as the 2006 crisis.


title: East Timor

text: Candidates in parliamentary elections run in a single national district in a party-list system. One in three of all candidates presented by political parties must be women. This system promotes a diversity of political parties, but gives voters little influence over the individual candidates selected by each party. Political parties or political coalitions must receive at least 4% of the total votes to enter parliament. Women hold more than a third of parliamentary seats, with parties required by law to run female candidates, but they are less prominent at other levels and within party leadership.


title: East Timor

text: Political divisions exist along class lines and along geographical lines. There is broadly a divide between eastern and western areas of the country, stemming from differences that arose under Indonesian rule. Fretilin in particular is strongly linked to the Eastern areas. Political parties are more closely associated with prominent personalities more than with ideology. The National Congress for Timorese Reconstruction became the main opposition to Fretilin, following its establishment to allow Xanana Gusmão to run for Prime Minister in the 2007 parliamentary elections. While both major parties have been relatively stable, they remain led by an "old guard" of individuals who came to prominence during the resistance against Indonesia.


title: East Timor

text: Politics and administration is centred in the capital Dili, with the national government responsible for most civil services. Oecusse, separated from the rest of the country by Indonesian territory, is a special administrative region with some autonomy. The National Police of East Timor and Timor Leste Defence Force have held a monopoly on violence since 2008 and very few guns are present outside of these organisations. While there are allegations of abuse of power, there is some judicial oversight of police and public trust in the institution has grown. An active civil society functions independently of the government, as do media outlets. Civil society organisations are concentrated in the capital, including student groups. Due to the structure of the economy, there are no powerful trade unions. The Catholic Church has strong influence in the country.


title: East Timor

text: East Timor is divided into fourteen municipalities, which in turn are subdivided into 64 administrative posts, 442 "sucos" (villages), and 2,225 "aldeias" (hamlets). The municipalities are: Aileu, Ainaro, Atauro, Baucau, Bobonaro, Cova Lima, Dili, Ermera, Lautém, Liquiçá, Manatuto, Manufahi, Oecusse, and Viqueque.


title: East Timor

text: The existing system of municipalities and administrative posts was established during Portuguese rule. While decentralisation is mentioned in the constitution, administrative powers generally remain with the national government operating out of Dili. Upon independence there was debate about how to implement decentralisation, with multiple models proposed which would create different levels of administration between the "sucos" and the central government. In most proposals, there were no specific provisions for "suco" level governance, and they were expected to continue to operate as mostly customary units. In the end, the existing districts were kept and renamed municipalities in 2009, and received very few powers. Each municipality is led by a civil servant appointed by the central government, a structure that was only put in place in 2016. The isolated Oecusse municipality, which has a strong identity and is fully surrounded by Indonesian territory, is specified by Articles 5 and 71 of the 2002 constitution to be governed by a special administrative policy and economic regime. Law 3/2014 of 18 June 2014 was created to implement this constitutional provision, which went into effect in January 2015 turning Oecusse into a Special Administrative Region. The region began operating its own civil service in June 2015. In January 2022 the island of Atauro, formerly an Administrative Post of Dili, became its own municipality.


title: East Timor

text: Administration in the lowest levels of the administrative system of East Timor, the "aldeias" and "sucos", generally reflects traditional customs, reflecting community identity and relationships between local households. "Sucos" generally contain 2,000 to 3,000 inhabitants. Their long persistence and links to local governance means the "sucos" are the level of government that is linked to community identities, rather than any high level of administration. Such relationships are associated specifically with the kinship groups within that land however, rather than the land itself. Relationships between "sucos" also reflect customary practices, for example through the reciprocal exchanging of support for local initiatives. Laws passed in 2004 provided for the election of some "suco" officials, but assigned these positions no formal powers. An updated law in 2009 established the expected mandate of these positions, although it continue to leave them outside of the formal state system, reliant on municipal governments to provide formal administration and services. Further clarification was given in 2016, which entrenched the treatment of "sucos" and "aldeias" more as communities than formal levels of administration. Despite this lack of formal association with the state, "suco" leaders hold great influence and are often seen by their community as representatives of the state, and they have responsibilities usually associated with civic administration.


title: East Timor

text: International cooperation has always been important to East Timor, with donor funds making up 80% of the budget before oil revenues began to replace them. International forces also provided security, with five UN missions being sent to the country from 1999. The final one, the United Nations Integrated Mission in East Timor, began after the 2006 East Timorese crisis and concluded in 2012.


title: East Timor

text: East Timor is a long-standing applicant to join ASEAN, having formally applied in 2011, and being granted observer status and accepted "in-principle" in November 2022. Despite a closer cultural affinity to Pacific nations, the country has targeted ASEAN membership since before its independence for both economic and security purposes, something which was seen as mutually exclusive with membership in Pacific bodies. ASEAN membership was sought to improve the relationship with Indonesia, although it has stalled due to a lack of support from some ASEAN states. East Timor is thus an observer to the Pacific Islands Forum and the Melanesian Spearhead Group. More broadly, the country is a leader within the Group of Seven Plus (g7+), an organisation of fragile states. It is also a member of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries.


title: East Timor

text: Continuing bilateral donors include Australia, Portugal, Germany, and Japan, and the country has a reputation for effectively and transparently using donor funds. Good relations with Australia and with Indonesia are a policy goal for the government, despite historical and more recent tensions. These countries are important economic partners, and provide most transport links to the country. China has also increased its presence as a donor, contributing to infrastructure in Dili.


title: East Timor

text: The relationship with Australia was dominated from before independence by disputes over natural resources in the Timor Gap which lies between them, which hampered the establishment of a mutually agreed border. The dominance of Australian hard power led East Timor to utilise public diplomacy and forums for international law to push their case. The dispute was resolved in 2018 following negotiations at the Permanent Court of Arbitration, when a maritime boundary between the two was established along with an agreement on natural resource revenues.


title: East Timor

text: The Timor Leste Defence Force (F-FDTL) was established in 2001, replacing Falintil, and was restructured following the events of 2006. It is responsible not only for safeguarding against external threats, but also for tackling violent crime, a role in which it overlaps with the National Police of East Timor. The size of these forces remains small, with 2,200 soldiers in the regular army and 80 in a naval component. A single aircraft and seven patrol boats are operated, with plans to expand the naval component. There is some military cooperation with Australia, Portugal, and the United States.


title: East Timor

text: Located in between Southeast Asia and the South Pacific, the island of Timor is the largest of the Lesser Sunda Islands, which lie within the Malay archipelago. The island is surrounded by the Ombai and Wetar Straits of the rougher Banda Sea in the north, and the calmer Timor Sea in the south. East Timor shares the island with Indonesia, which separates the main part of the country from the Oecusse exclave. The island of Atauro lies north of the mainland, with the fourth area being the small island of Jaco. The Savu Sea lies north of Oecusse. The country is about long and wide, with a total land area of . This territory is situated between 8′15S – 10′30S latitude and 125′50E – 127′30E longitude. The country's coastline covers around , while the main land border with Indonesia is long, and the Oecusse land border is around long. Maritime borders exist with Australia to the south and Indonesia elsewhere. East Timor has an exclusive economic zone of .


title: East Timor

text: The interior of the country is mountainous, with ridges of inactive volcanic mountains extending along the island. Almost half of the country has a slope of at least 40%. The south is slightly less mountainous, and has some plains near the coastline. The highest point is Tatamailau (also known as Mount Ramelau) at . Most rivers dry up at least partially during the dry season. Outside of some coastal areas and river valleys, the soil is shallow and prone to erosion, and its quality is poor. The capital, largest city, and main port is Dili, and the second-largest city is the eastern town of Baucau.


title: East Timor

text: The climate is tropical with relatively stable temperatures throughout the year. A wet season lasts from December to May throughout the country, and lasts slightly longer in the south and the interior due to the effect of a monsoon from Australia. During this period, rainfall can reach per month. In the dry season, it drops to . The country is vulnerable to flooding and landslides that occur as a result of heavy rain, especially when rainfall levels are increased by the La Niña effect. The mountainous interior is cooler than the coasts. Coastal areas are heavily dependent on groundwater, which faces pressure from mismanagement, deforestation, and climate change. While the temperature is thought to have experienced a small increase due to climate change, there has been little change in rainfall patterns.


title: East Timor

text: Coastal ecosystems around the country are diverse and varied, with vary spatially between the north and south coastlines, as well as between the eastern tip and areas more to the west. These ecosystems include coral reefs, as the country's waters are part of the Coral Triangle biodiversity hotspot. The easternmost area of East Timor consists of the Paitchau Range and the Lake Ira Lalaro area, which contains the country's first conservation area, the Nino Konis Santana National Park. It contains the last remaining tropical dry forested area within the country. It hosts a number of unique plant and animal species and is sparsely populated. The northern coast is characterised by a number of coral reef systems that have been determined to be at risk.


title: East Timor

text: There are around 41,000 terrestrial plant species in the country, with around 35% of the land being forested in the mid 2010s. The forests of the northern coast, central uplands, and southern coast are distinct. East Timor is home to the Timor and Wetar deciduous forests ecoregion. There is some environmental protection in law, but it has not been a government priority. In addition to climate change, local ecosystems are threatened by deforestation, land degradation, overfishing, and pollution.


title: East Timor

text: The economy of East Timor is a market economy, which used to depend upon exports of a few commodities such as coffee, marble, petroleum, and sandalwood. Internally, market operations are limited by widespread poverty. The country uses the United States dollar. The economy is generally open to foreign investment, although a prohibition on foreigners owning land means many require a local partner in the country. Competition is limited by the small size of the economy, rather than any government barriers. There are far more imports than exports, and prices for goods are often higher than in nearby countries. Inflation is strongly affected by government spending. Growth has been slow, averaging just 2.5% per year from 2011 to 2021.


title: East Timor

text: Most of the country is very poor, with just more than 40% living under the national poverty line. This poverty is especially prevalent in rural areas, where many are subsistence farmers or fishermen. Even in urban areas, the majority are poor. Overall, women are poorer than men, often being employed in lower-paying careers. Malnutrition is common, with over half of children showing stunted growth. While 91% of married working age (15-49) men were employed as of 2016, only 43% of married working age women were. There are small disparities in favour of men in terms of home and land ownership and owning a bank account. The eastern three municipalities, which contain around a quarter of the population, has less poverty than the western areas, which contain 50% of the popuation.


title: East Timor

text: 94% of domestic fish catch comes from the ocean, especially coastal fisheries. 66% of families are in part supported by subsistence activities, however the country as a whole does not produce enough food to be self-sustaining, and thus relies on imports. Agricultural work carries the implication of poverty, and the sector receives little investment from the government. Those in the capital of Dili are on average better off, although they remain poor by international standards. The small size of the private sector means the government is often the customer of public businesses. A quarter of the national population works in the informal economy, with the official public and private sectors employing 9% each. Of those of working age, around 23% are in the cash economy, 21% are students, and 27% are subsistence farmers and fishers. The economy is mostly cash-based, with little commercial credit available from banks. Remittances from overseas workers add up to around $100 million annually.


title: East Timor

text: This poverty belies significant wealth in terms of natural resources, which at the time of independence had per capita value equivalent to the wealth of an upper-middle income country. Over half of this was in oil, and over a quarter natural gas. The Timor-Leste Petroleum Fund was established in 2005 to turn these non-renewable resources into a more sustainable form of wealth. From 2005 to 2021, $23 billion earned from oil sales has entered the fund. $8 billion has been generated from investments, while $12 billion has been spent. A decrease in oil and gas reserves led to decreasing HDI beginning in 2010. 80% of government spending comes from this fund, which as of 2021 had $19 billion, 10 times greater than the size of the national budget. As oil income has decreased, the fund is at risk of being exhausted. Withdrawals have exceeded sustainable levels almost every year since 2009. Resources within the Bayu-Undan field are expected to soon run out, while extracting those within the so far undeveloped Greater Sunrise field has proven technically and politically challenging. Remaining potential reserves are also losing value as oil and gas become less favoured sources of energy.


title: East Timor

text: The country's economy is dependent on government spending and, to a lesser extent, assistance from foreign donors. Government spending decreased beginning in 2012, which had knock-on effects in the private sector over the following years. The government and its state-owned oil company often invest in large private projects. Decreasing government spending was matched with a decrease in GDP growth. After the petroleum fund, the second largest source of government income is taxes. Tax revenue is less than 8% of GDP, lower than many other countries in the region and with similarly sized economies. Other government income comes from 23 "autonomous agencies", which include port authorities, infrastructure companies, and the National University of East Timor. Overall, government spending remains among the highest in the world, although investment into education, health, and water infrastructure is negligible.


title: East Timor

text: Private sector development has lagged due to human capital shortages, infrastructure weakness, an incomplete legal system, and an inefficient regulatory environment. Property rights remain ill-defined, with conflicting titles from Portuguese and Indonesian rule, as well as needing to accommodate traditional customary rights. As of 2010, 87.7% of urban (321,043 people) and 18.9% of rural (821,459 people) households have electricity, for an overall average of 38.2%. The private sector shrank between 2014 and 2018, despite a growing working age population. Agriculture and manufacturing are less productive per capita than at independence. Non-oil economic sectors have failed to develop, and growth in construction and administration is dependent on oil revenue. The dependence on oil shows some aspects of a resource curse. Coffee made up 90% of all non-fossil fuel exports from 2013-2019, with all such exports totaling to around US$20 million annually. In 2017, the country was visited by 75,000 tourists.


title: East Timor

text: East Timor recorded a population of 1,183,643 in its 2015 census. The population lives mainly along the coastline, where all urban areas are located. Those in urban areas generally have more formal education, employment prospects, and healthcare. While a strong gender disparity exists throughout the country, it is less severe in the urban capital. The wealthy minority often go abroad for health and education purposes. The population is young, with the median age being under 20. In particular, a large proportion of the population (almost 45% in 2015) are males between the ages of 15 and 24, the third largest male 'youth bulge' in the world.


title: East Timor

text: The CIA's World Factbook lists the English-language demonym for East Timor as Timorese, as does the Government of Timor-Leste's website. Other reference sources list it as East Timorese. The word formerly used by the Portuguese to refer to native East Timorese and often employed as synonymous with the illiterate and uneducated, was adopted by Fretilin as a term of pride.


title: East Timor

text: Healthcare received 6% of the national budget in 2021. From 1990 to 2019 life expectancy rose from 48.5 to 69.5. Expected years of schooling rose from 9.8 to 12.4 between 2000 and 2010, while mean years of schooling rose from 2.8 to 4.4. Progress since 2010 for these has been limited. Gross national income per capita similarly peaked in 2010, and has decreased since. As of 2016, 45.8% of East Timorese were impoverished, 16.3% severely so. The fertility rate, which at the time of independence was the highest in the world at 7.8, dropped to 4.2 by 2016. It is relatively higher in rural areas, and among poorer and less literate households. As of 2016, the average household size was 5.3, with 41% of people aged under 15, and 18% of households headed by women. Infant mortality stood at 30 per 1,000, down from 60 per 1,000 in 2003. 46% of children under 5 showed stunted growth, down from 58% in 2010. Working age adult obesity increased from 5% to 10% during the same time period. As of 2016 40% of children, 23% of women, and 13% of men had anemia.


title: East Timor

text: Ethnic background and linguistic group do not clearly define Timorese communities, with many communities within these broad groupings and many areas with overlaps and hybridisation between ethnic and linguistic groups. Familial relations and descent, which are interlinked with sacred house affiliation, are a more important indicator of identity. Each family group generally identifies with a single language or dialect. With this immense local variation in mind, there is a broad cultural and identity distinction between the east (Bacau, Lautém, and Viqueque Municipalities) and the west of the country, a product of history more than it is of linguistic and ethnic differences, although it is very loosely associated with the two language groups. There is a small mestiço population of mixed Portuguese and local descent. There is a small Chinese minority, most of whom are Hakka. Many Chinese left in the mid-1970s, but a significant number have also returned to East Timor following the end of Indonesian occupation. East Timor has a small community of Timorese Indian, specifically Goan descent, as well as historical immigration from Africa and Yemen.


title: East Timor

text: Likely reflecting the mixed origins of the different ethnolinguistic groups of the island, the indigenous languages fall into two language families: Austronesian and Papuan. Depending on how they are classified, there are up to 19 indigenous languages with up to 30 dialects. Aside from Tetum, Ethnologue lists the following indigenous languages: Adabe, Baikeno, Bunak, Fataluku, Galoli, Habun, Idaté, Kairui-Midiki, Kemak, Lakalei, Makasae, Makuv'a, Mambae, Nauete, Tukudede, and Waima'a. According to the Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger, there are six endangered languages in East Timor: Adabe, Habu, Kairui-Midiki, Maku'a, Naueti, and Waima'a. The largest Malayo-Polynesian group is the Tetum, mostly around Dili or the western border. Other Malayo-Polynesian languages with native speakers of more than 40,000 are Mambai in the central mountains south of Dili, Baikeno in Oecusse, Kemak in the north-west interior, and Tokodede on the northwest coast. The main Papuan languages spoken are Bunak in the centre of Timor, especially within Bobonaro Municipality; Makasae in the eastern Baucau and Viqueque municipalities; and Fataluku in the eastern Lautém Municipality. The 2015 census found that the most commonly spoken mother tongues were Tetum Prasa (mother tongue for 30.6% of the population), Mambai (16.6%), Makasai (10.5%), Tetum Terik (6.05%), Baikenu (5.87%), Kemak (5.85%), Bunak (5.48%), Tokodede (3.97%), and Fataluku (3.52%). Other indigenous languages accounted for 10.47%, while 1.09% of the population spoke foreign languages natively.


title: East Timor

text: East Timor's two official languages are Portuguese and Tetum. In addition, English and Indonesian are designated by the constitution as "working languages". This is within the Final and Transitional Provisions, which do not set a final date. In 2012, 35% could speak, read, and write Portuguese, which is up significantly from less than 5% in the 2006 UN Development Report. Portuguese is recovering as it has now been made the main official language of Timor, and is being taught in most schools. The use of Portuguese for government information and in the court system provides some barriers to access for those who do not speak it. Tetum is also not understood by everyone in the country. According to the Observatory of the Portuguese Language, the East Timorese literacy rate was 77.8% in Tetum, 55.6% in Indonesian, and 39.3% in Portuguese, and that the primary literacy rate increased from 73% in 2009 to 83% in 2012. According to the 2015 census, 50% of the population between the ages of 14 and 24 can speak and understand Portuguese. The 2015 census found around 15% of those over the age of five were literate in English.


title: East Timor

text: East Timor's adult literacy rate in 2010 was 58.3%, up from 37.6% in 2001. At the end of Portuguese rule, literacy was at 5%. By 2021 it was 68% among adults, and 84% among those aged 15–24, being slightly higher among women than men. More girls than boys attend school, although some drop out upon reaching puberty. As of 2016 22% of working age women (15-49) and 19% of working age men had no education, 15% of women and 18% of men had some primary education, 52% of women and 51% of men had some secondary education, and 11% of women and 12% of men had higher education. Overall, 75% of women and 82% of men were literate. Primary schools exist throughout the country, although the quality of materials and teaching is often poor. Secondary schools are generally limited to municipal capitals. Education takes up 10% of the national budget. The country's main university is the National University of East Timor. There are also four colleges.


title: East Timor

text: Since independence, both Indonesian and Tetum have lost ground as media of instruction, while Portuguese has increased: in 2001 only 8.4% of primary school and 6.8% of secondary school students attended a Portuguese-medium school; by 2005 this had increased to 81.6% for primary and 46.3% for secondary schools. Indonesian formerly played a considerable role in education, being used by 73.7% of all secondary school students as a medium of instruction, but by 2005 Portuguese was used by most schools in Baucau, Manatuto, as well as the capital district. Portugal provides support to about 3% of the public schools in East Timor, focused on those in urban areas, further encouraging the use of the Portuguese language.


title: East Timor

text: While the Constitution of East Timor enshrines the principles of freedom of religion and separation of church and state, Section 45 Comma 1 also acknowledges "the participation of the Catholic Church in the process of national liberation" in its preamble. Upon independence, the country joined the Philippines to become the only two predominantly Roman Catholic states in Asia, although nearby parts of eastern Indonesia such as Flores and parts of Western New Guinea also have Roman Catholic majorities.


title: East Timor

text: According to the 2015 census, 97.57% of the population is Catholic; 1.96% Protestant; 0.24% Muslim; 0.08% Traditional; 0.05% Buddhist; 0.02% Hindu, and 0.08% other religions. A 2016 survey conducted by the Demographic and Health Survey programme showed that Catholics made up 98.3% of the population, Protestants 1.2%, and Muslims 0.3%.


title: East Timor

text: The number of churches grew from 100 in 1974 to more than 800 in 1994, with Church membership having grown considerably under Indonesian rule as "Pancasila", Indonesia's state ideology, requires all citizens to believe in one God and does not recognise traditional beliefs. East Timorese animist belief systems did not fit with Indonesia's constitutional monotheism, resulting in mass conversions to Christianity. Portuguese clergy were replaced with Indonesian priests and Latin and Portuguese mass was replaced by Indonesian mass. While just 20% of East Timorese called themselves Catholics at the time of the 1975 invasion, the figure surged to reach 95% by the end of the first decade after the invasion. The Roman Catholic Church divides East Timor into three dioceses: the Archdiocese of Díli, the Diocese of Baucau, and the Diocese of Maliana. In rural areas, Roman Catholicism is syncretised with local animist beliefs. The number of Protestants and Muslims declined significantly after September 1999, as these groups were disproportionately represented among supporters of integration with Indonesia. Fewer than half of previous Protestant congregations existed after September 1999, and many Protestants were among those who remained in West Timor.


title: East Timor

text: The many cultures within East Timor stem from the several waves of Austronesian and Melanesian migration that led to the current population, with unique identities and traditions developing within each petty kingdom. Portuguese authorities built upon traditional structures, blending Portuguese influence into the existing political and social systems. The presence of the Catholic Church created a point of commonality across the various ethnic groups, despite full conversion remaining limited. The Portuguese language also provided common linkages, even if direct Portuguese impact was limited. Under Indonesian rule, resistance strengthened cultural links to Catholicism and Portuguese. At the same time, Indonesian cultural influence was spread through schools and administration.


title: East Timor

text: The preservation of traditional beliefs in the face of Indonesian attempts to suppress them became linked to the creation of the country's national identity. This national identity only began to emerge at the very end of Portuguese rule and during Indonesian rule. A civic identity begun to develop, most clearly expressed through enthusiasm for national-level democracy, and reflected in politics through a shift from resistance narratives to development ones. The capital has developed a more cosmopolitan culture, while rural areas maintain stronger traditional practices. Internal migration into urban areas, especially Dili, creates cultural links between these areas and rural hinterlands. Those in urban areas often continue to identify with a specific rural area, even those with multiple generations born in Dili.


title: East Timor

text: The presence of so many ethnic and linguistic groups means cultural practices vary across the country. These practices reflect historical social structures and practices, where political leaders were regarded as having spiritual powers. Ancestry was an important component of leadership, with ancestors being an important part of cultural practices. Leaders often had influence over land-use, and these leaders continue to play an informal role in land disputes and other aspects of community practice today. An important traditional concept is "lulik", or sacredness. Some "lulik" ceremonies continue to reflect animist beliefs, for example through divination ceremonies which vary throughout the country. Sacred status can also be associated with objects, such as Portuguese flags which have been passed down within families.


title: East Timor

text: Community life is centred around sacred houses ("Uma Lulik"), physical structures which serve as a representative symbol and identifier for each community. The architectural style of these houses varies between different parts of the country, although following widespread destruction by Indonesian forces many were rebuilt with cheap modern materials. The house as a concept extends beyond the physical object to the surrounding community. Kinship systems exist within and between houses. Traditional leaders, who stem from historically important families, retain key roles in administering justice and resolving disputes through methods that vary between communities. Such leaders are often elected to official leadership positions, joining cultural and historical status with modern political status. The concept of being part of a communal house has been extended to the nation, with Parliament serving as the national sacred house.


title: East Timor

text: Art styles vary throughout the various ethnolinguistic groups of the island. Nonetheless, similar artistic motifs are present throughout, such as large animals and particular geometric patterns. Some art is traditionally associated with particular genders. For example, the Tais textiles that play a widespread role in traditional life throughout the island are traditionally handwoven by women. Different tais patterns are associated with different communities and more broadly linguistic groups. Many buildings within central Dili maintain historical Portuguese architecture.


title: East Timor

text: Traditional rituals retain important, often mixed in with more modern aspects. A strong oral history is highlighted in individuals able to recite long stories or poetry. This history, or "Lia nain", passed down traditional knowledge. There remains a strong tradition of poetry. Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão, for example, is a distinguished poet, earning the moniker "poet warrior".


title: Sasha Banks

text: Mercedes Justine Kaestner-Varnado (born January 26, 1992) is an American professional wrestler and actress. She is currently signed to WWE, where she performs on the SmackDown brand under the ring name Sasha Banks.


title: Sasha Banks

text: Banks previously wrestled on the independent circuit, most notably for Chaotic Wrestling, where she won the Chaotic Wrestling Women's Championship. She signed with WWE in 2012 and was assigned to the NXT brand. She was promoted to WWE's main roster in 2015. Her match against Bayley at in October 2015 was the first women's match to ever headline a NXT TakeOver, the first iron woman match in WWE history, and the longest women's match in WWE history at the time with a length of 30 minutes. Their match was voted by "Pro Wrestling Illustrated" ("PWI") as Match of the Year, with Banks also being voted as Woman of the Year.


title: Sasha Banks

text: Banks went on to hold the Raw Women's Championship five times. In 2016, she and Charlotte Flair became the first women to headline a WWE pay-per-view event, the first women to compete in a Hell in a Cell match, and the first women to win the "PWI" award for Feud of the Year. In 2019, she won the inaugural WWE Women's Tag Team Championship with her former tag team partner, Bayley, at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view. In 2020, she won the SmackDown Women's Championship at the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view, thus becoming the third-ever WWE Women's Grand Slam Champion and the fourth WWE Women's Triple Crown Winner. That year, she was named Wrestler of the Year by "Sports Illustrated". At WrestleMania 37, Banks and opponent Bianca Belair became the first black women to jointly headline a WrestleMania. She was the third most tweeted about female athlete in 2021.


title: Sasha Banks

text: Mercedes Justine Kaestner-Varnado was born in Fairfield, California, on January 26, 1992, the daughter of Reo and Judith Varnado. Her mother is of German descent, while her father was African-American. Her family moved to various places, including Minnesota, to find schools and hospitals for her autistic brother Joshua. They settled in Boston, where she began her professional wrestling career. She went to school online and grew up watching All Japan Women's Pro-Wrestling (AJW).


title: Sasha Banks

text: Kaestner-Varnado began training at Chaotic Wrestling (CW), based in Woburn, Massachusetts, in 2008. She made her in-ring debut, under the ring name Mercedes KV, on October 1, 2010, in an intergender tag team match, where she teamed with Nikki Roxx in a losing effort to Alexxis and Danny E. KV and Roxx quickly formed an alliance, teaming together regularly and accompanying each other to ringside. On October 22, KV lost her debut singles match to Danny E, and lost a rematch to him on November 13.


title: Sasha Banks

text: On January 7, 2011, KV earned her first victory when she and Roxx defeated Alexxis and Mistress Belmont in a tag team match. On February 11, KV took part in a five-woman gauntlet match to determine the inaugural Chaotic Wrestling Women's Champion, but was unsuccessful. KV continued competing in singles matches throughout the remainder of 2011 and on December 2 defeated Alexxis in a "I Quit" match to win the Chaotic Wrestling Women's Championship for the first time.


title: Sasha Banks

text: KV made her first successful title defense against Barbie on January 6, 2012. KV faced Luscious Latasha with the championship on the line on January 27, where KV retained the title. KV successfully defended the championship against Alexxis in a rematch. She then successfully defended the championship twice against Nikki Roxx. On June 1, KV defeated Alexxis, Barbie and Mistress Belmont in a fatal four-way match to retain the championship, after which she became the longest reigning Chaotic Wrestling Women's Champion in history by breaking Alexxis's previous record of 182 days. KV went on to defend and successfully retain the championship against Barbie on June 24, against Aida Marie on July 20, and on August 17 against Kasey Ray. KV made her final appearance for Chaotic Wrestling on August 18, where she lost to Ivy Fit in a non-title match. On August 17, the Chaotic Wrestling Women's Championship was declared vacant after Kaestner-Varnado signed a contract with WWE, thus ending her reign at 259 days.


title: Sasha Banks

text: On August 8, 2010, KV made her debut in New England Championship Wrestling (NECW), teaming with Ivy to defeat the team of Ariel and Sammi Lane. She returned to the NECW on September 4, 2011, again teaming with Ivy, defeating Mistress Belmont and Veda Scott. On September 23, KV defeated Mistress Belmont in a singles match. KV once again returned to the promotion on July 14, 2012, at the Red White and Bruised event, where she was defeated by Adrianna by countout.


title: Sasha Banks

text: KV, under the ring name Miss Mercedes, debuted for National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) on November 19, 2010, where she faced Julian Starr in a losing effort. On the following two nights, Mercedes defeated Sheik Ali and Nick Fahrenheit in singles matches. Mercedes began to feud with The Great Cheyenne, losing to her on several occasions. On August 9, 2011, she wrestled her last match for the NWA, defeating Arlene in a singles match.


title: Sasha Banks

text: In June 2012, Kaestner-Varnado participated in a WWE tryout camp and on August 18, it was announced that she had been signed to a contract. She was assigned to NXT, WWE's developmental territory, where she adopted the ring name Sasha Banks, and made her televised debut on "NXT" on December 12, losing to Paige. Banks' first televised win on "NXT" was on the January 23, 2013 episode against Alicia Fox.<ref name="NXT1/23/13"></ref> Banks then entered a storyline where she received letters from a secret admirer, who was eventually revealed to be Audrey Marie, who returned and attacked Banks on the February 20 episode of "NXT", due to Marie's jealousy of Banks' success. Marie went on to defeat Banks in a match later that episode. Banks' feud with Marie came to an end on the April 3 episode of "NXT", when Banks teamed with Paige to defeat Marie and Summer Rae.<ref name="NXT4/4/13"></ref> On the June 19 episode of "NXT", Banks competed in the NXT Women's Championship tournament to determine the inaugural champion, but lost to Rae in the first round.


title: Sasha Banks

text: After weeks of influence by Summer Rae to make herself relevant, Banks was defeated by the NXT Women's Champion Paige on the September 11 episode of "NXT", after which she attacked Paige after the latter attempted to console her, leading to Banks turn into a villainess. Two weeks later on "NXT", Banks defeated Bayley, while accompanied by Rae. After the match, Banks cut a promo with Rae and debuted a new gimmick as "The Boss". Banks and Rae, who dubbed themselves The Beautiful, Fierce Females (BFFs), faced Paige and Emma on the October 16 episode of "NXT", where they emerged victorious. On the November 13 episode of "NXT", the BFFs defeated Bayley and Charlotte in a tag team match, when Charlotte attacked Bayley and aligned herself with Banks and Rae. In mid-January 2014, as Rae moved up to WWE's main roster, Banks and Charlotte began a rivalry with Bayley, who had aligned herself with Natalya, and lost in both singles and tag team matches. On April 6, Banks made an appearance at WrestleMania XXX as a part of Triple H's entrance. In May, Banks entered a tournament for the vacant NXT Women's Championship, defeating Bayley in the first round, but losing to Natalya in the semi-finals. On the July 3 episode of "NXT", Banks and Charlotte defeated Bayley and Becky Lynch, only for Charlotte to leave Banks after the match to get attacked by Bayley, with Banks officially disbanding the BFFs in a backstage segment later that night.


title: Sasha Banks

text: On the August 14 episode of "NXT", Banks lost to Bayley in a match to determine the number one contender to the NXT Women's Championship. At on September 11, Banks attacked Bayley after her title match with Charlotte, before Charlotte stopped her. Becky Lynch turned on Bayley and aligned herself with Banks on the October 23 episode of "NXT" after Banks defeated Bayley in a singles match. Banks promptly began feuding with NXT Women's Champion Charlotte, leading to a match between the two at on December 11 with Charlotte's championship on the line, which Banks lost. Banks received a rematch on the December 25 episode of "NXT", where she was once again unsuccessful.<ref name="NXT 25/12/14"></ref> Banks first appeared on WWE's main roster on the December 30, 2014 episode of "Main Event", where she lost to Charlotte in a non-title match. On January 21, 2015, Banks received another title match against Charlotte, which she lost after Becky Lynch attacked Charlotte, causing a disqualification, which led to dissension between Banks and Lynch.


title: Sasha Banks

text: On February 11 at , Banks won the NXT Women's Championship by pinning Charlotte in a fatal four-way match that also involved Lynch and Bayley.<ref name="NXT 2/11/15"></ref> Banks successfully retained the championship against Charlotte in a rematch on the March 4 episode of "NXT", and against Alexa Bliss on March 25. At on May 20, Banks defended and retained the title against Becky Lynch. On the July 8 episode of "NXT", Banks teamed with Charlotte to defeat Emma and Dana Brooke, after which Charlotte challenged Banks to an NXT Women's Championship match, which Banks accepted. They had their championship match the following week on the July 15 episode of "NXT", in which Banks retained the championship and the two shared a hug, with Charlotte raising Banks's hand as a sign of respect.


title: Sasha Banks

text: At on August 22, Banks dropped the NXT Women's Championship to Bayley, thus ending her reign at 192 days. After the match, Banks celebrated with Bayley and former rivals Becky Lynch and Charlotte. The match was highly praised by critics and won Match of the Year at the NXT Year-End Awards. At on October 7, Banks was defeated by Bayley in the main event in the first women's 30-minute Iron man match in WWE history, losing two falls to three in what would be her last match in NXT.


title: Sasha Banks

text: Banks made her official debut on the July 13, 2015 episode of "Raw" along with Charlotte and Becky Lynch, after Stephanie McMahon called for a "revolution" in the WWE Divas division. While Lynch and Charlotte allied with Paige, who was feuding with Team Bella (Alicia Fox, Brie and Nikki Bella), Banks allied with Naomi and Tamina, who later dubbed themselves as Team B.A.D. (Beautiful and Dangerous), leading to a brawl between the three teams. In her WWE pay-per-view debut on July 19 at Battleground, Banks competed in a triple threat match against Charlotte and Brie Bella, which Charlotte won. Banks went on to defeat Paige twice, first by submission on the July 20 episode of "Raw", in a tag team match where Banks teamed with Naomi for the first time, and again on the July 27 episode of "Raw" in a singles match. After defeating the Divas Champion Nikki Bella by submission in a non-title match on the August 17 episode of "Raw", Banks participated in the first-ever Divas number one contender's Beat the Clock challenge match, in which she fought Paige to a time limit draw and Charlotte was named the number one contender. Following this, Banks rekindled her rivalry with Paige and defeated her twice on the September 7 and 14 episodes of "Raw". Although she lost in a fatal four-way number one contender's match for Charlotte's Divas Championship in November, Banks was not pinned and began a winning streak, defeating the likes of Brie Bella, Alicia Fox, and Becky Lynch on various shows.


title: Sasha Banks

text: After a month off television, Banks returned at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view on January 24, 2016, attacking Charlotte and Becky Lynch after their championship match, showing her intentions to gain the Divas Championship. Prior to a match with Lynch on the February 1 episode of "Raw", Banks claimed that she was "on her own", signaling that she had moved on from Team B.A.D., only to be attacked by Naomi and Tamina during the match, turning Banks into a fan favorite in the process. The feud between Banks and Naomi and Tamina continued throughout February,<ref name="Raw 11/2/16"></ref> and led to a tag team match at Fastlane on February 21, where Banks allied with Lynch to defeat the two. Banks and Lynch went on to compete in two matches to determine the number one contender for Charlotte's Divas Championship at WrestleMania 32, with the first bout ending in a draw after a double pin occurred as both of their shoulders were down for the count, and the second in a no contest after both Banks and Lynch were attacked by Charlotte. As a result, a triple threat match between Banks, Lynch and Charlotte for the Divas Championship was announced for WrestleMania. At the event on April 3, the Divas Championship was retired and replaced with the new WWE Women's Championship, with all three women competing for it in the triple threat match; Banks was unsuccessful in capturing the new title at her WrestleMania in-ring debut.


title: Sasha Banks

text: After a hiatus, Banks returned to WWE television in early June, and later reignited her feud with Charlotte over the WWE Women's Championship after an attack along with Paige on the June 20 episode of "Raw". This led to a tag team match the following week, on the June 27 episode of "Raw", where Banks and Paige scored the victory.<ref name="Raw 27/06/16"></ref> Following multiple attacks and matches between Banks and Dana Brooke, Banks and her mystery partner Bayley defeated Brooke and Charlotte in a tag team match on July 24 at Battleground.


title: Sasha Banks

text: After being drafted to the Raw brand as part of the 2016 WWE draft on July 19, 2016,<ref name="SmackDown 19/07/16"></ref> Banks made her first appearance for the brand on July 25, where she defeated Charlotte to win the WWE Women's Championship for the first time.<ref name="Raw 25/07/16"></ref> On August 21 at SummerSlam, Banks dropped the championship back to Charlotte, ending her reign at 27 days. Around that time the title was renamed the Raw Women's Championship following the creation of the SmackDown Women's Championship. On September 25, Charlotte successfully retained the championship against Banks and Bayley in a triple threat match at Clash of Champions. Banks was granted a one-on-one rematch on the October 3 episode of "Raw", where she defeated Charlotte in the main event to capture her second Raw Women's Championship.<ref name="Raw 3/10/16"></ref> Banks challenged Charlotte to compete for the championship in the first ever women's Hell in a Cell match at the titular Hell in a Cell pay-per-view event on October 30, which was then announced as the main event, making it the first time women had received the last match of a pay-per-view card in WWE. At the event, Charlotte defeated Banks, again ending her reign at 27 days. A few weeks later, on November 20, Banks was part of Raw's women's team for Survivor Series, during which she was eliminated by Natalya, but Team Raw was ultimately victorious. On the November 28 episode of "Raw", after invoking her rematch clause a week prior, Banks defeated Charlotte in a falls count anywhere match to win the Raw Women's Championship for the record-tying third time.<ref name="Raw 28/11/16"></ref> A 30-minute Iron man match between the two took place at on December 18, which resulted in a 2–2 draw, but Banks lost to Flair 3–2 in sudden death overtime. With the loss, the feud between the two was ended, since it was stipulated that Banks could not invoke her rematch clause if she lost.


title: Sasha Banks

text: The next night on "Raw" after Roadblock, Banks called Flair out to congratulate her on her victory, but Nia Jax came out instead and attacked her. This led to a match between the two at the Royal Rumble pre-show on January 29, 2017, where Banks was defeated. On the February 13 episode of "Raw", Banks helped Bayley defeat Charlotte Flair to win the Raw Women's Championship in the main event after she stopped Flair's submission and attacked her with her crutches. Banks gained revenge on Jax as she defeated her at Fastlane on March 5, thus handing Nia her first loss since she joined the main roster. Banks again helped Bayley defeat Flair to retain her championship. The feud between Banks and Jax, and Bayley and Flair led to a fatal four-way elimination match at WrestleMania 33 on April 2, where Bayley retained the Raw Women's Championship.


title: Sasha Banks

text: On the June 26 episode of "Raw", Banks scored a victory over Bayley, Jax, Dana Brooke, Mickie James, and Emma in a gauntlet match to become the number one contender for Alexa Bliss's Raw Women's Championship.<ref name="Raw 26/06/17"></ref> Banks received her title match on July 9 at Great Balls of Fire, where she defeated Bliss via count-out, which allowed Bliss to retain the title. In a rematch between the two on August 20 at SummerSlam, Banks defeated Bliss to become a record-tying four-time Raw Women's Champion. Eight days later, Banks dropped the title back to Bliss on "Raw". At No Mercy on September 24, Banks received her rematch for the title as she took part in a fatal five-way match which was won by Bliss.


title: Sasha Banks

text: At the end of 2017, Banks alongside Bayley and Mickie James started a feud with the debuting faction Absolution (Paige, Mandy Rose, and Sonya Deville) who continuously attacked them on different occasions. That led to various singles and tag team matches, that were mostly won by Absolution. Also in December, Banks competed in the first-ever women's match contested in the Middle East against Alexa Bliss. On January 28, 2018, at the Royal Rumble, Banks was the first entry in the first Women's Royal Rumble match, and she eliminated Vickie Guerrero, Bayley, and Trish Stratus, lasting 54:46, due to being outside the ring for most of that time, before being eliminated by The Bella Twins. A few weeks later, on February 25, Banks took part in the first-ever women's Elimination Chamber match at the namesake pay-per-view, where she helped Alexa Bliss, the eventual winner, eliminate Bayley from the match after she pushed her off the pod when the two were "apparently" working together to eliminate Bliss.


title: Sasha Banks

text: On the March 26 episode of "Raw", after weeks of animosity between the two, including Bayley betraying Banks during their matches, they brawled backstage and had to be separated. Banks and Bayley faced off in mid-April but their match ended in a no-contest after The Riott Squad (Ruby Riott, Sarah Logan, and Liv Morgan) interfered and attacked them both. In the following weeks, Banks competed in different singles and tag team matches in both winning and losing efforts. In June, after she defeated Ruby Riott in the finals of a gauntlet match for the last spot, Banks competed for the first time in her career in a Money in the Bank ladder match, that was ultimately won by Alexa Bliss. Throughout mid-2018, after Banks and Bayley continued to attack each other, they were told to attend counsellor meetings to help maintain their friendship. In July, the two reconciled and created a tag team, known as "The Boss 'n' Hug Connection".


title: Sasha Banks

text: After a short hiatus from the ring due to an undisclosed injury, Banks returned to WWE television in October, and took part in the first-ever all women's pay-per-view Evolution, where she teamed with Bayley and Natalya in a winning effort against The Riott Squad. In November, Banks again competed at Survivor Series as part of Team Raw, where she was the last woman from the team that was eliminated by Asuka after an attack by teammate Nia Jax. On January 27, 2019, at the Royal Rumble, after she defeated Nia Jax to earn herself a title match, Banks unsuccessfully challenged Ronda Rousey for the Raw Women's Championship. During the match with Rousey, Banks suffered a separated shoulder.


title: Sasha Banks

text: On February 17, at the Elimination Chamber, Banks and Bayley won the inaugural WWE Women's Tag Team Championship by lastly eliminating Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville in a six tag team Elimination Chamber match. In their first title defense, Banks and Bayley successfully retained over Nia Jax and Tamina, at Fastlane, on March 10. At WrestleMania 35 on April 7, Banks and Bayley lost the championship to The IIconics (Billie Kay and Peyton Royce) in a fatal four-way tag team match after Kay pinned Bayley, ending their reign at 49 days.


title: Sasha Banks

text: The following day, Banks cancelled an appearance on the morning talk show "Wendy" at the last minute. Throughout the following week, speculation from dirt sheets emerged that she was looking to quit the company due to her longstanding frustrations with WWE. Banks held the impression that she and Bayley were going to have a long title reign to bring credibility to the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship, with the two allegedly not being informed until the last minute that they would be dropping the titles at WrestleMania. Her talk show cancellation was reported to be due to a personal matter. As she'd been dealing with depression, she asked Vince McMahon for her release. While McMahon denied her request, he granted Banks time off to reconsider her career.


title: Sasha Banks

text: After a four-month hiatus, Banks returned on the August 12 episode of "Raw" as a heel. In September, Banks reunited with then SmackDown Women's Champion Bayley, when the latter also turned heel, and the two attacked both Lynch and Charlotte Flair. Upon her return, Banks reignited her feud with Lynch, which led to a match between the two at Clash of Champions for Lynch's Raw Women's Championship on September 15. At the event, Banks took a win via disqualification after Lynch inadvertently attacked the referee with a steel chair, and after the match, the two continued to brawl inside the arena. The feud between the two women eventually led to the second-ever women's Hell in a Cell match, which took place on October 6 at the namesake pay-per-view, in which Banks was unsuccessful in capturing the title.


title: Sasha Banks

text: Banks was drafted to the SmackDown brand as part of the 2019 draft. Banks then went on another brief hiatus from TV due to injuring her tailbone, and was not cleared to compete. Banks did however, come to "SmackDown" on October 18, as Bayley was being interviewed by The Miz. On the November 8 episode of "SmackDown", Banks debuted a new remixed theme featuring her cousin Snoop Dogg. On the same episode, it was announced that Banks would be the captain of the SmackDown women's team, leading into Survivor Series. At the pay-per-view, Banks was the last woman standing for the SmackDown brand in the Women's Survivor Series match, however lost to Rhea Ripley from Team NXT.


title: Sasha Banks

text: Banks was a fan favorite to win the 2020 Women's Royal Rumble match, however was absent from the event and several episodes of "SmackDown" preceding it, which led to speculation that she had sustained an injury. During a backstage segment on the January 17 episode of "SmackDown", the camera panned to Bayley and Lacey Evans in a brawl, during which Banks was on the floor. The latter had been slated to have a match against Evans later on in the night, however was replaced by Bayley during a segment showing a kayfabe injured Banks in the doctor's office. On the February 28 episode of "SmackDown", Banks once again made her return by attacking Naomi, Bayley's opponent. On the March 20 episode of "SmackDown", Banks and Bayley interrupted a segment featuring Paige, who was slated to confront the latter in the week prior, but was absent due to travel issues. During the segment, Paige proceeded to announce a six-way elimination match (later announced to take place as a fatal five-way) at WrestleMania 36 for Bayley's SmackDown Women's Championship, in which Banks was inserted. At the event, Bayley retained the title with assistance from Banks.


title: Sasha Banks

text: After WrestleMania 36, Banks and Bayley would begin teasing a potential feud between the two, with the emphasis being put on the narrative that Banks is the reason for Bayley's success and that Bayley is responsible for most of Banks' losing efforts. Despite their brewing dispute, Banks and Bayley reclaimed the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship on the June 5 episode of "SmackDown" by defeating Alexa Bliss and Nikki Cross. They defended the titles against various teams such as Bliss and Cross, Shotzi Blackheart and Tegan Nox, The IIconics (Billie Kay and Peyton Royce), and The Kabuki Warriors (Asuka and Kairi Sane).


title: Sasha Banks

text: On July 19, at The Horror Show at Extreme Rules, Banks faced Asuka for the Raw Women's Championship in a match that ended in controversy when Asuka inadvertently spat green mist in the referee's face. Bayley then removed the referee's shirt and counted the pin for Banks to unofficially win the title. On the July 27 episode of "Raw", Banks eventually won the title for a record-setting fifth time, after Asuka left the ring to save her tag team partner Kairi Sane, who was attacked backstage by Bayley. With the win, Banks and Bayley became the first female tag team—and the fifth overall—in history to hold singles and tag team titles simultaneously. Throughout August, Asuka and Banks continued their feud, which culminated in a title match at SummerSlam on August 23, where Banks dropped the Raw Women's Championship back to Asuka. On August 30, at the Payback event, Banks and Bayley lost the Women's Tag Team Championship to Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler.


title: Sasha Banks

text: On the September 4 episode of "SmackDown", after losing a rematch to Jax and Baszler, Bayley turned on Banks by brutally attacking her in the ring, thereby turning the latter face in the process and disbanding their team. After attacking and cutting promos on each other, the two faced off in a title match on the October 9 episode of "SmackDown", which Banks won via disqualification after Bayley hit her with a steel chair, resulting in the latter retaining her title. The feud between the two eventually culminated in a Hell in a Cell match at the eponymous pay-per-view, where Banks submitted Bayley to win the SmackDown Women's Championship for the first time in her career. With the win, Banks became the third Women's Grand Slam and fourth Triple Crown Champion. On the November 6 episode of "SmackDown", Banks defeated Bayley in a SmackDown Women's Championship rematch to retain the title, thus ending her drought of unsuccessful defenses with a main roster singles title. After the match, Banks was attacked by Carmella, kicking off a feud between the two in the process. Following weeks of attacks from both the former and the latter, the two would sign a contract for a title match to take place at the pay-per-view on the December 11 episode of "SmackDown". Banks proceeded to challenge Carmella to a title match set to transpire later on in the night, which Carmella accepted. In the culmination of the match, Banks got herself disqualified, consequently retaining her title. At the event on December 20, Banks defeated Carmella by submission to retain the SmackDown Women's Championship. On the January 22, 2021 episode of "SmackDown", Banks defeated former Cirque du Soleil performer Reginald, who served as Carmella's kayfabe sommelier, in the first intergender wrestling match to have aired on WWE television since 2017.


title: Sasha Banks

text: At the Royal Rumble pay-per-view on January 31, Banks defeated Carmella in a rematch from to retain the SmackDown Women's Championship. Later on in the night, Bianca Belair would go on to win the Women's Royal Rumble match, thereby granting her an opportunity to challenge for a women's championship of her choice at WrestleMania 37. In the weeks to follow, Banks and Belair would proceed to build up to the reveal of Belair's opponent of choice on "SmackDown", up until the February 26 episode of the aforementioned show, when Belair officially chose to face Banks for the SmackDown Women's Championship at the event. Over the following month, the two would team up to challenge Nia Jax and Shayna Baszler for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship at the Elimination Chamber and Fastlane pay-per-view events, but were unsuccessful. On April 9, WWE announced that the bout between Banks and Belair would main-event Night 1 of WrestleMania 37, thus marking the first time in the company's history that two African-American women will have faced each other in a marquee match. Furthermore, the two were the first African-American wrestlers in WrestleMania history to have faced each other in the main event of the show. At the event, Banks dropped the SmackDown Women's Championship to Belair after getting hit with the KOD, the latter's finisher, to conclude the match.


title: Sasha Banks

text: On the July 30 episode of "SmackDown", Banks made her return to save Bianca Belair from Carmella and Zelina Vega, ostensibly in a face role. However, after teaming with Belair to defeat the team of Carmella and Vega in the main event of the show, Banks ambushed Belair from behind, thereby turning heel once again in the process. Following a promo by Banks the subsequent week, Belair stated that "if [Banks] wants the title, it’s on", thus formalizing the rematch between the two at SummerSlam. Throughout the week leading up to the event, however, Banks and Belair were pulled from various house shows due to "unforeseen circumstances". Despite conflicting conjectures through the days leading up to SummerSlam asserting that both wrestlers were cleared to compete, Banks was ultimately pulled from the event. She was, in turn, replaced by a returning Becky Lynch, who defeated Belair to win the SmackDown Women's Championship. At the Extreme Rules pay-per-view event the following month, Banks made her secondary return of the year by ambushing Lynch and Belair in the midst of their SummerSlam rematch, thereby prompting a disqualification. A triple threat match between the three women for the SmackDown Women's Championship was then scheduled for the Crown Jewel event in October, where Banks was unsuccessful at regaining the title. She would recrudesce her face role on the October 29 episode of "SmackDown". At Survivor Series in November, Banks was captain of the SmackDown women's team, where she was eliminated via countout following interference from her teammates.


title: Sasha Banks

text: On January 2, 2022, Banks sustained a calcaneus injury during a house show match against Charlotte Flair. She would make her return on the January 28 episode of "SmackDown", where she declared for the Royal Rumble match. At the namesake event, Banks entered first, eliminating Melina and Kelly Kelly before being eliminated by Queen Zelina. On the February 25 episode of "SmackDown", Naomi announced that she and Banks were going to challenge for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship. At WrestleMania 38 Night 2, Banks and Naomi defeated the respective teams of reigning champions Carmella and Queen Zelina, Rhea Ripley and Liv Morgan, and Natalya and Shayna Baszler to become the new WWE Women's Tag Team Champions.


title: Sasha Banks

text: During the May 16 episode of "Raw", Banks and Naomi reportedly walked out on WWE after a meeting with Vince McMahon due to a creative dispute. WWE released an official statement claiming that the two "walked into WWE Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis' office with their suitcases in hand, placed their tag team championship belts on his desk and walked out". The two were originally booked for the show's main event, which had to be reworked. On the following episode of "SmackDown", it was announced that Banks and Naomi had been suspended indefinitely, therefore vacating the titles.


title: Sasha Banks

text: Through her father, Kaestner-Varnado is a first cousin of rapper Snoop Dogg, who helped develop her in-ring persona. She is also a first cousin of music producer Daz Dillinger and singers Brandy Norwood and Ray J. She is a fan of K-pop music and the Japanese anime "Sailor Moon".


title: Sasha Banks

text: Kaestner-Varnado has cited Eddie Guerrero as her favorite wrestler and inspiration. She was in attendance at Guerrero's memorial episode of "Raw" on November 14, 2005, in Minneapolis, and she also revealed that she was unaware that Guerrero had died before she arrived at the arena.


title: Sasha Banks

text: On August 4, 2016, Kaestner-Varnado married retired professional wrestler Sarath Ton. The two met while they were both wrestling on the independent circuit. Ton, who is widely known by his ring name Mikaze, now works as a costume designer for WWE.


title: Edward the Elder

text: Edward the Elder (17 July 924) was King of the Anglo-Saxons from 899 until his death in 924. He was the elder son of Alfred the Great and his wife Ealhswith. When Edward succeeded to the throne, he had to defeat a challenge from his cousin Æthelwold, who had a strong claim to the throne as the son of Alfred's elder brother and predecessor, Æthelred I.


title: Edward the Elder

text: Alfred had succeeded Æthelred as king of Wessex in 871, and almost faced defeat against the Danish Vikings until his decisive victory at the Battle of Edington in 878. After the battle, the Vikings still ruled Northumbria, East Anglia and eastern Mercia, leaving only Wessex and western Mercia under Anglo-Saxon control. In the early 880s Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians, the ruler of western Mercia, accepted Alfred's lordship and married his daughter Æthelflæd, and around 886 Alfred adopted the new title King of the Anglo-Saxons as the ruler of all Anglo-Saxons not subject to Danish rule. Edward inherited the new title when Alfred died in 899.


title: Edward the Elder

text: In 910 a Mercian and West Saxon army inflicted a decisive defeat on an invading Northumbrian army, ending the threat from the northern Vikings. In the decade that followed, Edward conquered Viking-ruled southern England in partnership with his sister Æthelflæd, who had succeeded as Lady of the Mercians following the death of her husband in 911. Historians dispute how far Mercia was dominated by Wessex during this period, and after Æthelflæd's death in June 918, her daughter Ælfwynn briefly became second Lady of the Mercians, but in December Edward took her into Wessex and imposed direct rule on Mercia. By the end of the 910s he ruled Wessex, Mercia and East Anglia, and only Northumbria remained under Viking rule. In 924 he faced a Mercian and Welsh revolt at Chester, and after putting it down he died at Farndon in Cheshire on 17 July 924. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Æthelstan. Edward's two youngest sons later reigned as kings Edmund I and Eadred.


title: Edward the Elder

text: Edward was admired by medieval chroniclers, and in the view of William of Malmesbury, he was "much inferior to his father in the cultivation of letters" but "incomparably more glorious in the power of his rule". He was largely ignored by modern historians until the 1990s, and Nick Higham described him as "perhaps the most neglected of English kings", partly because few primary sources for his reign survive. His reputation rose in the late twentieth century and he is now seen as destroying the power of the Vikings in southern England while laying the foundations for a south-centred united English kingdom.


title: Edward the Elder

text: Mercia was the dominant kingdom in southern England in the eighth century and maintained its position until it suffered a decisive defeat by Wessex at the Battle of Ellandun in 825. Thereafter the two kingdoms became allies, which was to be an important factor in English resistance to the Vikings. In 865 the Danish Viking Great Heathen Army landed in East Anglia and used this as a starting point for an invasion. The East Anglians were forced to pay off the Vikings, who invaded Northumbria the following year. They appointed a puppet king in 867, and then moved on Mercia, where they spent the winter of 867–868. King Burgred of Mercia was joined by King Æthelred of Wessex and his brother, the future King Alfred, for a combined attack on the Vikings, who refused an engagement; in the end the Mercians bought peace with them. The following year, the Danes conquered East Anglia, and in 874 they expelled King Burgred and, with their support, Ceolwulf became the last King of Mercia. In 877 the Vikings partitioned Mercia, taking the eastern regions for themselves and allowing Ceolwulf to keep the western ones. In early 878 they invaded Wessex, and many West Saxons submitted to them. Alfred, who was now king, was reduced to a remote base in the Isle of Athelney in Somerset, but the situation was transformed when he won a decisive victory at the Battle of Edington. He was thus able to prevent the Vikings from taking Wessex and western Mercia, although they still occupied Northumbria, East Anglia and eastern Mercia.


title: Edward the Elder

text: Edward's parents, Alfred and Ealhswith, married in 868. Ealhswith's father was Æthelred Mucel, Ealdorman of the Gaini, and her mother, Eadburh, was a member of the Mercian royal family. Alfred and Ealhswith had five children who survived childhood. The oldest was Æthelflæd, who married Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians, and ruled as Lady of the Mercians after his death. Edward was next, and the second daughter, Æthelgifu, became abbess of Shaftesbury. The third daughter, Ælfthryth, married Baldwin, Count of Flanders, and the younger son, Æthelweard, was given a scholarly education, including learning Latin. This would usually suggest that he was intended for the church, but it is unlikely in Æthelweard's case as he later had sons. There were also an unknown number of children who died young. Neither part of Edward's name, which means "protector of wealth", had been used previously by the West Saxon royal house, and Barbara Yorke suggests that he may have been named after his maternal grandmother Eadburh, reflecting the West Saxon policy of strengthening links with Mercia.


title: Edward the Elder

text: Historians estimate that Edward was probably born in the mid-870s. His eldest sister, Æthelflæd, was probably born about a year after her parents' marriage, and Edward was brought up with his youngest sister, Ælfthryth; Yorke argues that he was therefore probably nearer in age to Ælfthryth than Æthelflæd. Edward led troops in battle in 893, and must have been of marriageable age in that year as his oldest son Æthelstan was born about 894. According to Asser in his "Life of King Alfred", Edward and Ælfthryth were educated at court by male and female tutors, and read ecclesiastical and secular works in English, such as the Psalms and Old English poems. They were taught the courtly qualities of gentleness and humility, and Asser wrote that they were obedient to their father and friendly to visitors. This is the only known case of an Anglo-Saxon prince and princess receiving the same upbringing.


title: Edward the Elder

text: As a son of a king, Edward was an ætheling, a prince of the royal house who was eligible for kingship. Even though he had the advantage of being the eldest son of the reigning king, his accession was not assured as he had cousins who had a strong claim to the throne. Æthelhelm and Æthelwold were sons of Æthelred, Alfred's older brother and predecessor as king, but they had been passed over because they were infants when their father died. Asser gives more information about Edward's childhood and youth than is known about other Anglo-Saxon princes, providing details about the training of a prince in a period of Carolingian influence, and Yorke suggests that we may know so much due to Alfred's efforts to portray his son as the most throneworthy ætheling.


title: Edward the Elder

text: Æthelhelm is recorded only in Alfred's will of the mid-880s, and probably died at some time in the next decade, but Æthelwold is listed above Edward in the only charter where he appears, probably indicating a higher status. Æthelwold may also have had an advantage because his mother Wulfthryth witnessed a charter as queen, whereas Edward's mother Ealhswith never had a higher status than king's wife. However, Alfred was in a position to give his own son considerable advantages. In his will, he left only a handful of estates to his brother's sons, and the bulk of his property to Edward, including all his booklands (land vested in a charter which could be alienated by the holder, as opposed to folkland, which had to pass to heirs of the body) in Kent. Alfred also advanced men who could be depended on to support his plans for his succession, such as his brother-in-law, a Mercian ealdorman called Æthelwulf, and his son-in-law Æthelred. Edward witnessed several of his father's charters, and often accompanied him on royal peregrinations. In a Kentish charter of 898 Edward witnessed as "rex Saxonum", suggesting that Alfred may have followed the strategy adopted by his grandfather Egbert of strengthening his son's claim to succeed to the West Saxon throne by making him sub-king of Kent.


title: Edward the Elder

text: Once Edward grew up, Alfred was able to give him military commands and experience in royal administration. The English defeated renewed Viking attacks in 893 to 896, and in Richard Abels' view, the glory belonged to Æthelred and Edward rather than Alfred himself. In 893 Edward defeated the Vikings in the Battle of Farnham, although he was unable to follow up his victory as his troops' period of service had expired and he had to release them. The situation was saved by the arrival of troops from London led by Æthelred. Yorke argues that although Alfred packed the witan with members whose interests lay in the continuation of Alfred's line, that may not have been sufficient to ensure Edward's accession if he had not displayed his fitness for kingship.


title: Edward the Elder

text: In about 893, Edward probably married Ecgwynn, who bore him two children, the future King Æthelstan and a daughter who married Sitric Cáech, a Viking King of York. The twelfth-century chronicler William of Malmesbury described Ecgwynn as an "illustris femina" (noble lady), and stated that Edward chose Æthelstan as his heir as king. She may have been related to St Dunstan, the aristocratic tenth-century Archbishop of Canterbury. But William of Malmesbury also stated that Æthelstan's accession in 924 was opposed by a nobleman who claimed that his mother was a concubine of low birth. The suggestion that Ecgwynn was Edward's mistress is accepted by some historians such as Simon Keynes and Richard Abels, but Yorke and Æthelstan's biographer, Sarah Foot, disagree, arguing that the allegations should be seen in the context of the disputed succession in 924, and were not an issue in the 890s. Ecgwynn probably died by 899, as around the time of Alfred's death Edward married Ælfflæd, the daughter of Ealdorman Æthelhelm, probably of Wiltshire.


title: Edward the Elder

text: Janet Nelson suggests that there was conflict between Alfred and Edward in the 890s. She points out that the contemporary "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle", produced under court auspices in the 890s, does not mention Edward's military successes. These are known only from the late tenth-century chronicle of Æthelweard, such as his account of the Battle of Farnham, in which in Nelson's view "Edward's military prowess, and popularity with a following of young warriors, are highlighted." Towards the end of his life Alfred invested his young grandson Æthelstan in a ceremony which historians see as designation as eventual successor to the kingship. Nelson argues that while this may have been proposed by Edward to support the accession of his own son, on the other hand it may have been intended by Alfred as part of a scheme to divide the kingdom between his son and grandson. Æthelstan was sent to be brought up in Mercia by Æthelflæd and Æthelred, but it is not known whether this was Alfred's idea or Edward's. Alfred's wife Ealhswith was ignored in the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" in her husband's lifetime, but emerged from obscurity when her son acceded. This may be because she supported her son against her husband.


title: Edward the Elder

text: Alfred died on 26 October 899 and Edward succeeded to the throne, but Æthelwold disputed the succession. He seized the royal estates of Wimborne, symbolically important as the place where his father was buried, and Christchurch, both in Dorset. Edward marched with his army to the nearby Iron Age hillfort at Badbury Rings. Æthelwold declared that he would live or die at Wimborne, but then left in the night and rode to Northumbria, where the Danes accepted him as king. Edward was crowned on 8June 900 at Kingston upon Thames.


title: Edward the Elder

text: In 901, Æthelwold came with a fleet to Essex, and the following year he persuaded the East Anglian Danes to invade English Mercia and northern Wessex, where his army looted and then returned home. Edward retaliated by ravaging East Anglia, but when he retreated the men of Kent disobeyed the order to retire, and were intercepted by the Danish army. The two sides met at the Battle of the Holme (perhaps Holme in Huntingdonshire) on 13 December 902. According to the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle", the Danes "kept the place of slaughter", meaning that they won the battle, but they suffered heavy losses, including Æthelwold and a King Eohric, possibly of the East Anglian Danes. Kentish losses included Sigehelm, ealdorman of Kent and father of Edward's third wife, Eadgifu. Æthelwold's death ended the threat to Edward's throne.


title: Edward the Elder

text: In London in 886 Alfred had received the formal submission of "all the English people that were not under subjection to the Danes", and thereafter he adopted the title "Anglorum Saxonum rex" (King of the Anglo-Saxons), which is used in his later charters and all but two of Edward's. This is seen by Keynes as "the invention of a wholly new and distinctive polity", covering both West Saxons and Mercians, which was inherited by Edward with the support of Mercians at the West Saxon court, of whom the most important was Plegmund, Archbishop of Canterbury. In 903 Edward issued several charters concerning land in Mercia. Three of them are witnessed by the Mercian leaders and their daughter Ælfwynn, and they all contain a statement that Æthelred and Æthelflæd "then held rulership and power over the race of the Mercians, under the aforesaid king". Other charters were issued by the Mercian leaders which did not contain any acknowledgment of Edward's authority, but they did not issue their own coinage. This view of Edward's status is accepted by Martin Ryan, who states that Æthelred and Æthelflæd had "a considerable but ultimately subordinate share of royal authority" in English Mercia.


title: Edward the Elder

text: Other historians disagree. Pauline Stafford describes Æthelflæd as "the last Mercian queen", while in Charles Insley's view Mercia kept its independence until Æthelflæd's death in 918. Michael Davidson contrasts the 903 charters with one of 901 in which the Mercian rulers were "by grace of God, holding, governing and defending the monarchy of the Mercians". Davidson comments that "the evidence for Mercian subordination is decidedly mixed. Ultimately, the ideology of the 'Kingdom of the Anglo-Saxons' may have been less successful in achieving the absorption of Mercia and more something which I would see as a murky political coup." The "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" was compiled at the West Saxon court from the 890s, and the entries for the late ninth and early tenth centuries are seen by historians as reflecting the West Saxon viewpoint; Davidson observes: "Alfred and Edward possessed skilled 'spin doctors'." Some versions of the "Chronicle" incorporate part of a lost "Mercian Register", which gives a Mercian perspective and details of Æthelflæd's campaign against the Vikings.


title: Edward the Elder

text: In the late ninth and early tenth centuries, connection by marriage with the West Saxon royal house was seen as prestigious by continental rulers. In the mid-890s Alfred had married his daughter Ælfthryth to Baldwin II of Flanders, and in 919 Edward married his daughter Eadgifu to Charles the Simple, King of West Francia. In 925, after Edward's death, another daughter Eadgyth married Otto, the future King of Germany and (after Eadgyth's death) Holy Roman Emperor.


title: Edward the Elder

text: No battles are recorded between the Anglo-Saxons and the Danish Vikings for several years after the Battle of the Holme, but in 906 Edward agreed to peace with the East Anglian and Northumbrian Danes, suggesting that there had been conflict. According to one version of the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" he made peace "of necessity", which implies that he was forced to buy them off. He encouraged Englishmen to purchase land in Danish territory, and two charters survive relating to estates in Bedfordshire and Derbyshire. In 909 Edward sent a combined West Saxon and Mercian army which harassed the Northumbrian Danes, and seized the bones of the Northumbrian royal saint Oswald from Bardney Abbey in Lincolnshire. Oswald was translated to a new Mercian minster established by Æthelred and Æthelflæd in Gloucester and the Danes were compelled to accept peace on Edward's terms. In the following year, the Northumbrian Danes retaliated by raiding Mercia, but on their way home they were met by a combined Mercian and West Saxon army at the Battle of Tettenhall, where the Vikings suffered a disastrous defeat. After that, the Northumbrian Danes did not venture south of the River Humber during Edward's reign, and he and his Mercian allies were able to concentrate on conquering the southern Danelaw in East Anglia and the Five Boroughs of Viking east Mercia: Derby, Leicester, Lincoln, Nottingham and Stamford.


title: Edward the Elder

text: In 911 Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians, died, and Edward took control of the Mercian lands around London and Oxford. Æthelred was succeeded as ruler by his widow Æthelflæd (Edward's sister) as Lady of the Mercians, and she had probably been acting as ruler for several years as Æthelred seems to have been incapacitated in later life.


title: Edward the Elder

text: Edward and Æthelflæd then began the construction of fortresses to guard against Viking attacks and protect territory captured from them. In November 911, he constructed a fort on the north bank of the River Lea at Hertford to guard against attack by the Danes of Bedford and Cambridge. In 912, he marched with his army to Maldon in Essex, and ordered the building of a fort at Witham and a second fort at Hertford, which protected London from attack and encouraged many English living under Danish rule in Essex to submit to him. In 913 there was a pause in his activities, although Æthelflæd continued her fortress building in Mercia. In 914 a Viking army sailed from Brittany and ravaged the Severn estuary. It then attacked Ergyng in south-east Wales (now Archenfield in Herefordshire) and captured Bishop Cyfeilliog. Edward ransomed him for the large sum of forty pounds of silver. The Vikings were defeated by the armies of Hereford and Gloucester, and gave hostages and oaths to keep the peace. Edward kept an army on the south side of the estuary in case the Vikings broke their promises, and he twice had to repel attacks. In the autumn the Vikings moved on to Ireland. The episode suggests that south-east Wales fell within the West Saxon sphere of power, unlike Brycheiniog just to the north, where Mercia was dominant. In late 914 Edward built two forts at Buckingham, and Earl Thurketil, the leader of the Danish army at Bedford submitted to him. The following year Edward occupied Bedford, and constructed another fortification on the south bank of the River Great Ouse against a Viking one on the north bank. In 916 he returned to Essex and built a fort at Maldon to bolster the defence of Witham. He also helped Earl Thurketil and his followers to leave England, reducing the number of Viking armies in the Midlands.


title: Edward the Elder

text: The decisive year in the war was 917. In April Edward built a fort at Towcester as a defence against the Danes of Northampton, and another at an unidentified place called Wigingamere. The Danes launched unsuccessful attacks on Towcester, Bedford and Wigingamere, while Æthelflæd captured Derby, showing the value of the English defensive measures, which were aided by disunity and a lack of coordination among the Viking armies. The Danes had built their own fortress at Tempsford in Bedfordshire, but at the end of the summer the English stormed it and killed the last Danish king of East Anglia. The English then took Colchester, although they did not try to hold it. The Danes retaliated by sending a large army to lay siege to Maldon, but the garrison held out until it was relieved and the retreating army was heavily defeated. Edward then returned to Towcester and reinforced its fort with a stone wall, and the Danes of nearby Northampton submitted to him. The armies of Cambridge and East Anglia also submitted, and by the end of the year the only Danish armies still holding out were those of four of the Five Boroughs, Leicester, Stamford, Nottingham, and Lincoln.


title: Edward the Elder

text: In early 918, Æthelflæd secured the submission of Leicester without a fight, and the Danes of Northumbrian York offered her their allegiance, probably for protection against Norse (Norwegian) Vikings who had invaded Northumbria from Ireland, but she died on 12 June before she could take up the proposal. The same offer is not known to have been made to Edward, and the Norse Vikings took York in 919. According to the main West Saxon version of the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle", after Æthelflæd's death the Mercians submitted to Edward, but the Mercian version (the "Mercian Register") states that in December 918 her daughter Ælfwynn "was deprived of all authority in Mercia and taken into Wessex". Mercia may have made a bid for continued semi-independence which was suppressed by Edward, and it then came under his direct rule. Stamford had surrendered to Edward before Æthelflæd's death, and Nottingham did the same shortly afterwards. According to the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle" for 918, "All the people who had settled in Mercia, both Danish and English, submitted to him." This would mean that he ruled all England south of the Humber, but it is not clear whether Lincoln was an exception, as coins of Viking York in the early 920s were probably minted at Lincoln. Some Danish jarls were allowed to keep their estates, although Edward probably also rewarded his supporters with land, and some he kept in his own hands. Coin evidence suggests that his authority was stronger in the East Midlands than in East Anglia. Three Welsh kings, Hywel Dda, Clydog and Idwal Foel, who had previously been subject to Æthelflæd, now gave their allegiance to Edward.


title: Edward the Elder

text: The principal currency in later Anglo-Saxon England was the silver penny, and some coins carried a stylised portrait of the king. Edward's coins had "EADVVEARD REX" on the obverse and the name of the moneyer on the reverse. The places of issue were not shown in his reign, but they were in that of his son Æthelstan, allowing the location of many moneyers of Edward's reign to be established. There were mints in Bath, Canterbury, Chester, Chichester, Derby, Exeter, Hereford, London, Oxford, Shaftesbury, Shrewsbury, Southampton, Stafford, Wallingford, Wareham, Winchester and probably other towns. No coins were struck in the name of Æthelred or Æthelflæd, but from around 910 mints in English Mercia produced coins with an unusual decorative design on the reverse. This ceased before 920, and probably represents Æthelflæd's way of distinguishing her coinage from that of her brother. There was also a minor issue of coins in the name of Plegmund, Archbishop of Canterbury. There was a dramatic increase in the number of moneyers over Edward's reign, fewer than 25 in the south in the first ten years rising to 67 in the last ten years, around five in English Mercia rising to 23, plus 27 in the conquered Danelaw.


title: Edward the Elder

text: In 908, Plegmund conveyed the alms of the English king and people to the Pope, the first visit to Rome by an Archbishop of Canterbury for almost a century, and the journey may have been to seek papal approval for a proposed re-organisation of the West Saxon sees. When Edward came to the throne Wessex had two dioceses, Winchester, held by Denewulf, and Sherborne, held by Asser. In 908 Denewulf died and was replaced the following year by Frithestan; soon afterwards Winchester was divided into two sees, with the creation of the diocese of Ramsbury covering Wiltshire and Berkshire, while Winchester was left with Hampshire and Surrey. Forged charters date the division to 909, but this may not be correct. Asser died in the same year, and at some date between 909 and 918 Sherborne was divided into three sees, Crediton covering Devon and Cornwall, and Wells covering Somerset, leaving Sherborne with Dorset. The effect of the changes was to strengthen the status of Canterbury compared with Winchester and Sherborne, but the division may have been related to a change in the secular functions of West Saxon bishops, to become agents of royal government in shires rather than provinces, assisting in defence and taking part in shire courts.


title: Edward the Elder

text: At the beginning of Edward's reign, his mother Ealhswith founded the abbey of St Mary for nuns, known as the Nunnaminster, in Winchester. Edward's daughter Eadburh became a nun there, and she was venerated as a saint and the subject of a hagiography by Osbert of Clare in the twelfth century. In 901, Edward started building a major religious community for men, possibly in accordance with his father's wishes. The monastery was next to Winchester Cathedral, which became known as the Old Minster while Edward's foundation was called the New Minster. It was much larger than the Old Minster, and was probably intended as a royal mausoleum. It acquired relics of the Breton Saint Judoc, which probably arrived in England from Ponthieu in 901, and the body of one of Alfred's closest advisers, Grimbald, who died in the same year and who was soon venerated as a saint. Edward's mother died in 902, and he buried her and Alfred there, moving his father's body from the Old Minster. Burials in the early 920s included Edward himself, his brother Æthelweard, and his son Ælfweard. On the other hand, when Æthelstan became king in 924, he did not show any favour to his father's foundation, probably because Winchester sided against him when the throne was disputed after Edward's death. The only other king buried at the New Minster was Eadwig, in 959.


title: Edward the Elder

text: Edward's decision not to expand the Old Minster, but rather to overshadow it with a much larger building, suggests animosity towards Bishop Denewulf, and this was compounded by forcing the Old Minster to cede both land for the new site, and an estate of seventy hides at Beddington to provide an income for the New Minster. Edward was remembered by the New Minster as a benefactor, but at the Old Minster as "rex avidus" (greedy king). He may have built the new church because he did not think that the Old Minster was grand enough to be the royal mausoleum for kings of the Anglo-Saxons, not just the West Saxons like their predecessors. Alan Thacker comments:


title: Edward the Elder

text: Patrick Wormald observes: "The thought occurs that neither Alfred nor Edward was greatly beloved at Winchester Cathedral; and one reason for Edward's moving his father's body into the new family shrine next door was that he was surer of sincere prayers there."