title: Hair

text: The flatter the hair shaft becomes, the curlier hair gets, because the shape allows more cysteines to become compacted together resulting in a bent shape that, with every additional disulfide bond, becomes curlier in form. As the hair follicle shape determines curl pattern, the hair follicle size determines thickness. While the circumference of the hair follicle expands, so does the thickness of the hair follicle. An individual's hair volume, as a result, can be thin, normal, or thick. The consistency of hair can almost always be grouped into three categories: fine, medium, and coarse. This trait is determined by the hair follicle volume and the condition of the strand. Fine hair has the smallest circumference, coarse hair has the largest circumference, and medium hair is anywhere between the other two. Coarse hair has a more open cuticle than thin or medium hair causing it to be the most porous.


title: Hair

text: There are various systems that people use to classify their curl patterns. Being knowledgeable of an individual's hair type is a good start to knowing how to take care of one's hair. There is not just one method to discovering one's hair type. Additionally it is possible, and quite normal to have more than one kind of hair type, for instance having a mixture of both type 3a & 3b curls.


title: Hair

text: The Andre Walker Hair Typing System is the most widely used system to classify hair. The system was created by the hairstylist of Oprah Winfrey, Andre Walker. According to this system there are four types of hair: straight, wavy, curly, kinky.


title: Hair

text: This is a method which classifies the hair by curl pattern, hair-strand thickness and overall hair volume.


title: Hair

text: Many mammals have fur and other hairs that serve different functions. Hair provides thermal regulation and camouflage for many animals; for others it provides signals to other animals such as warnings, mating, or other communicative displays; and for some animals hair provides defensive functions and, rarely, even offensive protection. Hair also has a sensory function, extending the sense of touch beyond the surface of the skin. Guard hairs give warnings that may trigger a recoiling reaction.


title: Hair

text: While humans have developed clothing and other means of keeping warm, the hair found on the head serves primarily as a source of heat insulation and cooling (when sweat evaporates from soaked hair) as well as protection from ultra-violet radiation exposure. The function of hair in other locations is debated. Hats and coats are still required while doing outdoor activities in cold weather to prevent frostbite and hypothermia, but the hair on the human body does help to keep the internal temperature regulated. When the body is too cold, the arrector pili muscles found attached to hair follicles stand up, causing the hair in these follicles to do the same. These hairs then form a heat-trapping layer above the epidermis. This process is formally called piloerection, derived from the Latin words 'pilus' ('hair') and 'erectio' ('rising up'), but is more commonly known as 'having goose bumps' in English. This is more effective in other mammals whose fur fluffs up to create air pockets between hairs that insulate the body from the cold. The opposite actions occur when the body is too warm; the arrector muscles make the hair lie flat on the skin which allows heat to leave.


title: Hair

text: In some mammals, such as hedgehogs and porcupines, the hairs have been modified into hard spines or quills. These are covered with thick plates of keratin and serve as protection against predators. Thick hair such as that of the lion's mane and grizzly bear's fur do offer some protection from physical damages such as bites and scratches.


title: Hair

text: Displacement and vibration of hair shafts are detected by hair follicle nerve receptors and nerve receptors within the skin. Hairs can sense movements of air as well as touch by physical objects and they provide sensory awareness of the presence of ectoparasites. Some hairs, such as eyelashes, are especially sensitive to the presence of potentially harmful matter.


title: Hair

text: The eyebrows provide moderate protection to the eyes from dirt, sweat and rain. They also play a key role in non-verbal communication by displaying emotions such as sadness, anger, surprise and excitement. In many other mammals, they contain much longer, whisker-like hairs that act as tactile sensors.


title: Hair

text: The eyelash grows at the edges of the eyelid and protects the eye from dirt. The eyelash is to humans, camels, horses, ostriches etc., what whiskers are to cats; they are used to sense when dirt, dust, or any other potentially harmful object is too close to the eye. The eye reflexively closes as a result of this sensation.


title: Hair

text: Hair has its origins in the common ancestor of mammals, the synapsids, about 300 million years ago. It is currently unknown at what stage the synapsids acquired mammalian characteristics such as body hair and mammary glands, as the fossils only rarely provide direct evidence for soft tissues. Skin impression of the belly and lower tail of a pelycosaur, possibly "Haptodus" shows the basal synapsid stock bore transverse rows of rectangular scutes, similar to those of a modern crocodile, so the age of acquirement of hair logically couldn't have been earlier than ~299 ma, based on the current understanding of the animal's phylogeny. An exceptionally well-preserved skull of "Estemmenosuchus", a therapsid from the Upper Permian, shows smooth, hairless skin with what appears to be glandular depressions, though as a semi-aquatic species it might not have been particularly useful to determine the integument of terrestrial species. The oldest undisputed known fossils showing unambiguous imprints of hair are the Callovian (late middle Jurassic) "Castorocauda" and several contemporary haramiyidans, both near-mammal cynodonts, giving the age as no later than ~220 ma based on the modern phylogenetic understanding of these clades. More recently, studies on terminal Permian Russian coprolites may suggest that non-mammalian synapsids from that era had fur. If this is the case, these are the oldest hair remnants known, showcasing that fur occurred as far back as the latest Paleozoic.


title: Hair

text: Some modern mammals have a special gland in front of each orbit used to preen the fur, called the harderian gland. Imprints of this structure are found in the skull of the small early mammals like "Morganucodon", but not in their cynodont ancestors like "Thrinaxodon".


title: Hair

text: The hairs of the fur in modern animals are all connected to nerves, and so the fur also serves as a transmitter for sensory input. Fur could have evolved from sensory hair (whiskers). The signals from this sensory apparatus is interpreted in the neocortex, a section of the brain that expanded markedly in animals like "Morganucodon" and "Hadrocodium". The more advanced therapsids could have had a combination of naked skin, whiskers, and scutes. A full pelage likely did not evolve until the therapsid-mammal transition. The more advanced, smaller therapsids could have had a combination of hair and scutes, a combination still found in some modern mammals, such as rodents and the opossum.


title: Hair

text: The high interspecific variability of the size, color, and microstructure of hair often enables the identification of species based on single hair filaments.


title: Hair

text: In varying degrees most mammals have some skin areas without natural hair. On the human body, glabrous skin is found on the ventral portion of the fingers, palms, soles of feet and lips, which are all parts of the body most closely associated with interacting with the world around us, as are the labia minora and glans penis. There are four main types of mechanoreceptors in the glabrous skin of humans: Pacinian corpuscles, Meissner's corpuscles, Merkel's discs, and Ruffini corpuscles.


title: Hair

text: The naked mole-rat ("Heterocephalus glaber") has evolved skin lacking in general, pelagic hair covering, yet has retained long, very sparsely scattered tactile hairs over its body. Glabrousness is a trait that may be associated with neoteny.


title: Hair

text: Evolutionary biologists suggest that the genus "Homo" arose in East Africa approximately 2.5 million years ago. They devised new hunting techniques. The higher protein diet led to the evolution of larger body and brain sizes. Jablonski postulates that increasing body size, in conjunction with intensified hunting during the day at the equator, gave rise to a greater need to rapidly expel heat. As a result, humans evolved the ability to sweat: a process which was facilitated by the loss of body hair.


title: Hair

text: Another factor in human evolution that also occurred in the prehistoric past was a preferential selection for neoteny, particularly in females. The idea that adult humans exhibit certain neotenous (juvenile) features, not evinced in the other great apes, is about a century old. Louis Bolk made a long list of such traits, and Stephen Jay Gould published a short list in "Ontogeny and Phylogeny". In addition, paedomorphic characteristics in women are often acknowledged as desirable by men in developed countries. For instance, vellus hair is a juvenile characteristic. However, while men develop longer, coarser, thicker, and darker terminal hair through sexual differentiation, women do not, leaving their vellus hair visible.


title: Hair

text: Jablonski asserts head hair was evolutionarily advantageous for pre-humans to retain because it protected the scalp as they walked upright in the intense African (equatorial) UV light. While some might argue that, by this logic, humans should also express hairy shoulders because these body parts would putatively be exposed to similar conditions, the protection of the head, the seat of the brain that enabled humanity to become one of the most successful species on the planet (and which also is very vulnerable at birth) was arguably a more urgent issue (axillary hair in the underarms and groin were also retained as signs of sexual maturity). Sometime during the gradual process by which "Homo erectus" began a transition from furry skin to the naked skin expressed by "Homo sapiens", hair texture putatively gradually changed from straight hair (the condition of most mammals, including humanity's closest cousins—chimpanzees) to Afro-textured hair or 'kinky' (i.e. tightly coiled). This argument assumes that curly hair better impedes the passage of UV light into the body relative to straight hair (thus curly or coiled hair would be particularly advantageous for light-skinned hominids living at the equator).


title: Hair

text: It is substantiated by Iyengar's findings (1998) that UV light can enter into straight human hair roots (and thus into the body through the skin) via the hair shaft. Specifically, the results of that study suggest that this phenomenon resembles the passage of light through fiber optic tubes (which do not function as effectively when kinked or sharply curved or coiled). In this sense, when hominids (i.e. "Homo erectus") were gradually losing their straight body hair and thereby exposing the initially pale skin underneath their fur to the sun, straight hair would have been an adaptive liability. By inverse logic, later, as humans traveled farther from Africa and/or the equator, straight hair may have (initially) evolved to aid the entry of UV light into the body during the transition from dark, UV-protected skin to paler skin.


title: Hair

text: Jablonski's assertions suggest that the adjective "woolly" in reference to Afro-hair is a misnomer in connoting the high heat insulation derivable from the true wool of sheep. Instead, the relatively sparse density of Afro-hair, combined with its springy coils actually results in an airy, almost sponge-like structure that in turn, Jablonski argues, more likely facilitates an increase in the circulation of cool air onto the scalp. Further, wet Afro-hair does not stick to the neck and scalp unless totally drenched and instead tends to retain its basic springy puffiness because it less easily responds to moisture and sweat than straight hair does. In this sense, the trait may enhance comfort levels in intense equatorial climates more than straight hair (which, on the other hand, tends to naturally fall over the ears and neck to a degree that provides slightly enhanced comfort levels in cold climates relative to tightly coiled hair).


title: Hair

text: Further, it is notable that the most pervasive expression of this hair texture can be found in sub-Saharan Africa; a region of the world that abundant genetic and paleo-anthropological evidence suggests, was the relatively recent (≈200,000-year-old) point of origin for modern humanity. In fact, although genetic findings (Tishkoff, 2009) suggest that sub-Saharan Africans are the most genetically diverse continental group on Earth, Afro-textured hair approaches ubiquity in this region. This points to a strong, long-term selective pressure that, in stark contrast to most other regions of the genomes of sub-Saharan groups, left little room for genetic variation at the determining loci. Such a pattern, again, does not seem to support human sexual aesthetics as being the sole or primary cause of this distribution.


title: Hair

text: A group of studies have recently shown that genetic patterns at the EDAR locus, a region of the modern human genome that contributes to hair texture variation among most individuals of East Asian descent, support the hypothesis that (East Asian) straight hair likely developed in this branch of the modern human lineage subsequent to the original expression of tightly coiled natural afro-hair. Specifically, the relevant findings indicate that the EDAR mutation coding for the predominant East Asian 'coarse' or thick, straight hair texture arose within the past ≈65,000 years, which is a time frame that covers from the earliest of the 'Out of Africa' migrations up to now.


title: Hair

text: Premature greying of hair is another condition that results in greying before the age of 20 years in Whites, before 25 years in Asians, and before 30 years in Africans.


title: Hair

text: Hair care involves the hygiene and cosmetology of hair including hair on the scalp, facial hair (beard and moustache), pubic hair and other body hair. Hair care routines differ according to an individual's culture and the physical characteristics of one's hair. Hair may be colored, trimmed, shaved, plucked, or otherwise removed with treatments such as waxing, sugaring, and threading.


title: Hair

text: Depilation is the removal of hair from the surface of the skin. This can be achieved through methods such as shaving. Epilation is the removal of the entire hair strand, including the part of the hair that has not yet left the follicle. A popular way to epilate hair is through waxing.


title: Hair

text: Shaving is accomplished with bladed instruments, such as razors. The blade is brought close to the skin and stroked over the hair in the desired area to cut the terminal hairs and leave the skin feeling smooth. Depending upon the rate of growth, one can begin to feel the hair growing back within hours of shaving. This is especially evident in men who develop a five o'clock shadow after having shaved their faces. This new growth is called stubble. Stubble typically appears to grow back thicker because the shaved hairs are blunted instead of tapered off at the end, although the hair never actually grows back thicker.


title: Hair

text: Waxing involves using a sticky wax and strip of paper or cloth to pull hair from the root. Waxing is the ideal hair removal technique to keep an area hair-free for long periods of time. It can take three to five weeks for waxed hair to begin to resurface again. Hair in areas that have been waxed consistently is known to grow back finer and thinner, especially compared to hair that has been shaved with a razor.


title: Hair

text: Laser hair removal is a cosmetic method where a small laser beam pulses selective heat on dark target matter in the area that causes hair growth without harming the skin tissue. This process is repeated several times over the course of many months to a couple of years with hair regrowing less frequently until it finally stops; this is used as a more permanent solution to waxing or shaving. Laser removal is practiced in many clinics along with many at-home products.


title: Hair

text: Because the hair on one's head is normally longer than other types of body hair, it is cut with scissors or clippers. People with longer hair will most often use scissors to cut their hair, whereas shorter hair is maintained using a trimmer. Depending on the desired length and overall health of the hair, periods without cutting or trimming the hair can vary.


title: Hair

text: Hair has great social significance for human beings. It can grow on most external areas of the human body, except on the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet (among other areas). Hair is most noticeable on most people in a small number of areas, which are also the ones that are most commonly trimmed, plucked, or shaved. These include the face, ears, head, eyebrows, legs, and armpits, as well as the pubic region. The highly visible differences between male and female body and facial hair are a notable secondary sex characteristic.


title: Hair

text: The world's longest documented hair belongs to Xie Qiuping (in China), at 5.627 m (18 ft 5.54 in) when measured on 8 May 2004. She has been growing her hair since 1973, from the age of 13.


title: Hair

text: Healthy hair indicates health and youth (important in evolutionary biology). Hair color and texture can be a sign of ethnic ancestry. Facial hair is a sign of puberty in men. White or gray hair is a sign of age or genetics, which may be concealed with hair dye (not easily for some), although many prefer to assume it (especially if it is a poliosis characteristic of the person since childhood). Male pattern baldness is a sign of age, which may be concealed with a toupee, hats, or religious and cultural adornments. Although drugs and medical procedures exist for the treatment of baldness, many balding men simply shave their heads. In early modern China, the queue was a male hairstyle worn by the Manchus from central Manchuria and the Han Chinese during the Qing dynasty; hair on the front of the head was shaved off above the temples every ten days, mimicking male-pattern baldness, and the rest of the hair braided into a long pigtail.


title: Hair

text: Hairstyle may be an indicator of group membership. During the English Civil War, the followers of Oliver Cromwell decided to crop their hair close to their head, as an act of defiance to the curls and ringlets of the king's men. This led to the Parliamentary faction being nicknamed Roundheads. Recent isotopic analysis of hair is helping to shed further light on sociocultural interaction, giving information on food procurement and consumption in the 19th century. Having bobbed hair was popular among the flappers in the 1920s as a sign of rebellion against traditional roles for women. Female art students known as the "cropheads" also adopted the style, notably at the Slade School in London, England. Regional variations in hirsutism cause practices regarding hair on the arms and legs to differ. Some religious groups may follow certain rules regarding hair as part of religious observance. The rules often differ for men and women.


title: Hair

text: Many subcultures have hairstyles which may indicate an unofficial membership. Many hippies, metalheads, and Indian sadhus have long hair, as well many older indie kids. Many punks wear a hairstyle known as a mohawk or other spiked and dyed hairstyles; skinheads have short-cropped or completely shaved heads. Long stylized bangs were very common for emos, scene kids and younger indie kids in the 2000s and early 2010s, among people of both genders.


title: Hair

text: Heads were shaved in concentration camps, and head-shaving has been used as punishment, especially for women with long hair. The shaven head is common in military haircuts, while Western monks are known for the tonsure. By contrast, among some Indian holy men, the hair is worn extremely long.


title: Hair

text: In the time of Confucius (5th century BCE), the Chinese grew out their hair and often tied it, as a symbol of filial piety. Regular hairdressing in some cultures is considered a sign of wealth or status. The dreadlocks of the Rastafari movement were despised early in the movement's history. In some cultures, having one's hair cut can symbolize a liberation from one's past, usually after a trying time in one's life. Cutting the hair also may be a sign of mourning.


title: Hair

text: Tightly coiled hair in its natural state may be worn in an Afro. This hairstyle was once worn among African Americans as a symbol of racial pride. Given that the coiled texture is the natural state of some African Americans' hair, or perceived as being more "African", this simple style is now often seen as a sign of self-acceptance and an affirmation that the beauty norms of the (eurocentric) dominant culture are not absolute. It is important to note that African Americans as a whole have a variety of hair textures, as they are not an ethnically homogeneous group, but an ad-hoc of different racial admixtures.


title: Hair

text: The film "Easy Rider" (1969) includes the assumption that the two main characters could have their long hairs forcibly shaved with a rusty razor when jailed, symbolizing the intolerance of some conservative groups toward members of the counterculture. At the conclusion of the Oz obscenity trials in the UK in 1971, the defendants had their heads shaved by the police, causing public outcry. During the appeal trial, they appeared in the dock wearing wigs. A case where a 14-year-old student was expelled from school in Brazil in the mid-2000s, allegedly because of his fauxhawk haircut, sparked national debate and legal action resulting in compensation.


title: Hair

text: Women's hair may be hidden using headscarves, a common part of the "hijab" in Islam and a symbol of modesty required for certain religious rituals in Eastern Orthodoxy. Russian Orthodox Church requires all married women to wear headscarves inside the church; this tradition is often extended to all women, regardless of marital status. Orthodox Judaism also commands the use of scarves and other head coverings for married women for modesty reasons. Certain Hindu sects also wear head scarves for religious reasons. Sikhs have an obligation not to cut hair (a Sikh cutting hair becomes 'apostate' which means fallen from religion) and men keep it tied in a bun on the head, which is then covered appropriately using a turban. Multiple religions, both ancient and contemporary, require or advise one to allow their hair to become dreadlocks, though people also wear them for fashion. For men, Islam, Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Christianity, Roman Catholicism, and other religious groups have at various times recommended or required the covering of the head and sections of the hair of men, and some have dictates relating to the cutting of men's facial and head hair. Some Christian sects throughout history and up to modern times have also religiously proscribed the cutting of women's hair. For some Sunni madhabs, the donning of a kufi or topi is a form of sunnah.


title: Hair

text: Since ancient times, women's long, thick, wavy hair has featured prominently in Arabic poetry. Pre-Islamic poets used only limited imagery to describe women's hair. For example, al-A'sha wrote a verse comparing a lover's hair to "a garden whose grapes dangle down upon me", but Bashar ibn Burd considered this unusual. One comparison used by early poets, such as Imru al-Qays, was to bunches of dates. In Abbasid times, however, the imagery for hair expanded significantly - particularly for the then-fashionable "love-locks" ("sudgh") framing the temples, which came into style at the court of the caliph al-Amin. Hair curls were compared to hooks and chains, letters (such as "fa", "waw", "lam", and "nun"), scorpions, annelids, and polo sticks. An example was the poet Ibn al-Mu'tazz, who compared a lock of hair and a birthmark to a polo stick driving a ball.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: Zhuge Liang ( / 诸葛亮) (181 – September 234), courtesy name Kongming, was a Chinese statesman and military strategist. He was chancellor and later regent of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. He is recognised as the most accomplished strategist of his era, and has been compared to Sun Tzu, the author of "The Art of War". His reputation as an intelligent and learned scholar grew even while he was living in relative seclusion, earning him the nickname "Wolong" or "Fulong", meaning "Crouching Dragon" or "Sleeping Dragon". Zhuge Liang is often depicted wearing a Taoist robe and holding a hand fan made of crane feathers.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: Zhuge Liang was a Confucian-oriented "Legalist". He liked to compare himself to the sage minister Guan Zhong and Yue Yi developing Shu's agriculture and industry to become a regional power, and attached great importance to the works of Shen Buhai and Han Fei, refusing to indulge local elites and adopting strict, but fair and clear laws. In remembrance of his governance, local people maintained shrines to him for ages. His name has become synonymous with wisdom and strategy in Chinese culture. Zhuge Liang is depicted in the "Wu Shuang Pu" (, "Table of Peerless Heroes") by Jin Guliang.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: Zhuge Liang was born in 181 in Yangdu County, Langya Commandery (present-day Yishui, Shandong Province). His family name, Zhuge, is a two-character Chinese compound family name. His father Zhuge Gui died when he was still young, and he was raised by Zhuge Xuan (a cousin of Zhuge Gui) in Yuzhang Commandery. When Zhuge Xuan was driven out of Yuzhang Commandery in 195, Zhuge Liang followed Zhuge Xuan to live with his friend, Liu Biao, the governor of Jing Province.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: Zhuge Liang grew to be a tall man. He enjoyed reciting the "Liangfu Yin" (), a folk song popular in Shandong, his birthplace. He had a habit of comparing himself to the sage minister Guan Zhong and military leader Yue Yi. Although few people took him seriously, Zhuge Liang developed close friendships with influential members of the local literati such as Xu Shu, Cui Zhouping, Meng Jian and Shi Tao. Zhuge Liang also maintained close relations with other well-known intellectuals such as Sima Hui, Pang Degong and Huang Chengyan. Sima Hui once compared Zhuge Liang to a sleeping dragon.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: Huang Chengyan once told Zhuge Liang, "I heard that you're seeking a spouse. I've an ugly daughter with yellow hair and dark complexion, but her talent matches yours." Zhuge Liang agreed and married Huang Chengyan's daughter.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: When Liu Bei was residing at Xinye County and taking shelter under Jing Province's governor, Liu Biao, he visited Sima Hui, who told him, "Confucian academics and common scholars, how much do they know about current affairs? Those who analyse current affairs well are the elites. Crouching Dragon and Young Phoenix are the only ones in this region." Sima Hui was referring to Zhuge Liang, whose nickname was "Crouching Dragon"; and Pang Tong, whose nickname could be translated as "Young Phoenix" or "Fledgling Phoenix" ().


title: Zhuge Liang

text: Xu Shu later recommended Zhuge Liang to Liu Bei again, and Liu wanted to ask Xu to invite Zhuge to meet him. However, Xu Shu replied, "You must visit this man in person. He cannot be invited to meet you." Liu Bei succeeded in recruiting Zhuge Liang in 207 after paying three personal visits. This is contradicted in the later "Annotations" by Pei Songzhi which claim Zhuge Liang visited him first. Nonetheless, ""Three visits to the cottage"" () became a very famous classical reference in China.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: Zhuge Liang presented the Longzhong Plan to Liu Bei and left his residence to follow Liu. Afterwards, Liu Bei became very close to Zhuge Liang and often had discussions with him. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were displeased with their relationship and complained about it. Liu Bei explained, "Now that I have Kongming, I am like a fish that has found water. I hope you'll stop making unpleasant remarks." Guan Yu and Zhang Fei then stopped complaining.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: In 208, Liu Biao died and was succeeded by his younger son, Liu Cong, who surrendered Jing Province to Cao Cao. When Liu Bei heard of Liu Cong's surrender, he led his followers (both troops and civilians) on an exodus southward to Xiakou, and suffered a severe defeat by Cao Cao's forces in a brief skirmish at the Battle of Changban along the way. While in Xiakou, Liu Bei sent Zhuge Liang to follow Lu Su to Jiangdong to discuss the formation of an alliance between him and Sun Quan, and Liang managed to have a meeting with Sun Quan in Chaisang.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: Zhuge Liang, being able to gauge Sun Quan's personality, decided to provoke Sun Quan by telling Sun just to surrender if he could not resist Cao Wei. Liang also explained that although Liu Bei was also weaker than Cao Cao, he would fight to the death instead of surrendering; moreover, Liu Bei and his allies still retained some significant forces despite the defeat at Changban, and Cao Cao's army was not as strong as it appeared to be. Sun Quan was pleased with Zhuge Liang's arguments, and, together with Lu Su's analysis of the political situation and Zhou Yu's analysis of the weaknesses in Cao Cao's army, agreed to ally with Liu Bei in resisting Cao Cao. Zhuge Liang returned to Liu Bei's camp with Sun Quan's envoy, Lu Su, to make preparations for the upcoming war.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: In late 208, the allied armies of Liu Bei and Sun Quan scored a decisive victory over Cao Cao's forces at the Battle of Red Cliffs. Cao Cao retreated to Ye city, while Liu Bei proceeded to conquer territories in Jiangnan, covering most of southern Jing Province. Zhuge Liang was appointed Military Advisor General of the Household (). He was put in charge of governing Lingling (present day Yongzhou, Hunan), Guiyang and Changsha commanderies and collecting taxes to fund the military.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: In 211, Liu Zhang, governor of Yi Province (covering present-day Sichuan and Chongqing), requested aid from Liu Bei in attacking Zhang Lu in Hanzhong Commandery. Liu Bei left Zhuge Liang, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and others in charge of Jing Province while he led an army into Yi Province. Liu Bei promptly agreed to Liu Zhang's proposal, but secretly planned to take over Liu Zhang's land. The following year, Liu Zhang discovered Liu Bei's intention, and the two turned hostile and waged war on each other. Zhuge Liang, Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun led separate forces to reinforce Liu Bei in the attack on Yi Province's capital, Chengdu, while Guan Yu stayed behind to guard Jing Province. In 214, Liu Zhang surrendered and Liu Bei took control of Yi Province.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: Liu Bei appointed Zhuge Liang as Military Advisor General () and let him administer affairs of his personal office (office of the General of the Left ()). Whenever Liu Bei embarked on military campaigns, Zhuge Liang remained to defend Chengdu and ensured a steady flow of supply of troops and provisions. In 221, in response to Cao Pi's usurping of Emperor Xian's throne, Liu Bei's subordinates advised him to declare himself emperor. After initially refusing, Liu Bei was eventually persuaded by Zhuge Liang to do so and became ruler of Shu Han. Liu Bei named Zhuge Liang his chancellor and put him in charge of the imperial agency where Zhuge assumed the functions of the head of the imperial secretariat. Zhuge Liang was appointed Colonel-Director of Retainers () after Zhang Fei's death.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: In the spring of 223, Liu Bei retreated to Yong'an (present-day Fengjie County, Chongqing) after his defeat at the Battle of Xiaoting and became seriously ill. He summoned Zhuge Liang from Chengdu and said to him, "You're ten times more talented than Cao Pi, and capable of both securing the country and accomplishing our great mission. If my son can be assisted, then assist him. If he proves incompetent, then you may take over the throne." Zhuge Liang replied tearfully, "I'll do my utmost and serve with unwavering loyalty until death." Liu Bei then ordered his son, Liu Shan, to administer state affairs together with Zhuge Liang and regard Zhuge as his father.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: There are controversies over the last statement of Liu Bei on Zhuge Liang's "take over the throne" (君可自取). Yi Zhongtian in his "Analysis of the Three Kingdoms" presented several interpretations of Liu Bei's message. Chen Shou commented that Liu Bei wholeheartly trusted Zhuge Liang and permitted Liang to "take over" literally. Some argued that Liu Bei said that only to test Zhuge Liang's loyalty as his brother, Zhuge Jin, was working for Eastern Wu. Other commented that the "take over the throne" part did not mean Zhuge Liang was allowed take the throne for himself, but he was permitted to, when the situation demanded, replace Liu Shan with other of Liu Bei's living sons such as Liu Yong and Liu Li.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: After Liu Bei's death, Liu Shan ascended to the throne of Shu Han. He granted Zhuge Liang the title "Marquis of Wu District" () and created an office for him as a Chancellor. Not long later, Zhuge Liang was appointed Governor of Yi Province – the region which included most of Shu Han's territory.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: Being both the Chancellor (directly managing the bureaucrat officers) and provincial governor (directly managing the common people) meant that both the magistrates and common people, i.e. all of the state affairs, were in the hand of Zhuge Liang. Having an independent Chancellery Office (with attached independent subordinates) meant that Zhuge Liang's authority was relatively independent of the emperor's authority. In other words, just like in Sanguozhi said, all of Shu Han's affairs, trivial or vital, were directly handled by Zhuge Liang, and the emperor Liu Shan was just a nominal leader. Moreover, the emperor himself was strictly educated and supervised by Zhuge Liang. This situation was maintained until Liang's death.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: There are many attempts who tried to explain why Zhuge Liang refused to return the authority to Liu Shan. Yi Zhongtian proposed three reasons:


title: Zhuge Liang

text: Yi Province's wealthy families, uncurbed by the previous governors, freely exploited the common people and had an extravagant life. As a result, poverty was widespread, and economical-political reform was the most important concern for Zhuge Liang. A robust economic foundation was also necessary to enhance the people's loyalty to Shu Han regime and properly support the future's expeditions against Cao Wei. Therefore, Zhuge Liang made it clear that the core value of his policy was to stabilize and improve the life of the people.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: Zhuge Liang's new policies was enacted right from the time of Liu Bei and continued in the time of Liu Shan. He purged the corrupted officials, relieved taxes, and restricted the nobilities's abuse of power against the common people. Forced labours and military mobilization were also reduced and rescheduled to avoid the disruption of agriculture activities, and Cao Cao's tuntian system was implemented extensively to increase food production output. Agriculture dykes were significantly rebuilt and repaired, including the famous Zhuge dyke northern of Chengdu. Thanks to the reform, Shu Han agriculture production grew significantly and was able to sustain her military activities.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: Salt manufacture, silk production, and steelmaking – three notable economic activities of Shu region – also attracted Zhuge Liang's attention. Liu Bei, following the proposal of Zhuge Liang, created specialized bureaus for salt and steelmaking management, first directed by Wang Lian and Zhang Yi, respectively. A specialized silk management bureau was also established, hence Chengdu was named as "the city of Silk". "Sanguozhi" reported that salt production in Shu Han was highly prosperous and generated significant income to the government. Fu Yuan, a well-known local metalsmith, was entrusted by Zhuge Liang in metallurgy research and managed to improve the techniques in crafting steel weapons for Shu Han army. Silk production also had significant growth, at the end of Shu Han regime it managed to accumulated 200,000 pieces of silk in the national treasure. Zhuge Liang's family plantation also had 800 mulberry plants for silkworm feeding.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: Due to political turmoil, monetary systems at the end of the Han dynasty were in severe turbulence. When establishing themselves in the Yi Province, Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang, following the advice of Liu Ba, enacted successful monetary reforms. The new Shu Han currency was not only smoothly circulated within its borders, but also popular in the neighboring Jing province. Meanwhile, similar policies of Cao Cao, Cao Pi, Cao Rui and Sun Quan were marred by difficulties and produced limited results.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: Zhuge Liang strongly supported the rule of law in Shu Han. Yi Zhongtian commented that "Rule of Laws" together with "Nominal rule of the Monarch and direct rule of the Chancellor" are two important legacy of Zhuge Liang which were pitifully forgotten by many people.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: After Liu Bei entered Yi province, Zhuge Liang, together with Fa Zheng, Liu Ba, Li Yan and Yi Ji, wrote the legal codes for Shu Han.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: In order to curb the corruption and associated decadences of the local Yi nobility, Zhuge Liang enacted a Legalist policy with strict but fair and transparent laws, and restricted the power of wealthy families. Zhuge Liang was willing to punish high-ranked magistrates such as Li Yan, Liang's close associates such as Ma Su, and even willing to demote himself to keep the legal orders. However Liang also refrained from abusing punishment and required extreme caution in law enforcement. Xi Zuochi praised Liang's policy of legal rule, that ""since the era of Qin and Han there had been no one as equal."" Even punished magistrates like Li Yan and Liao Li put Zhuge Liang in high regards and strongly believed that Liang would re-employ them after the punishment was enough.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: Zhuge Liang also promoted moral conduct and himself had a strict and stoic life as a model. He did not own excessive assets, refrained from luxurious spending, relied mainly on government salary. Shu Han's magistrates, like Deng Zhi, Fei Yi, Jiang Wei, Zhang Yi also followed suit, strictly abided by the law and the moral codes, enabled the Shu government to maintain a high level of transparency and integrity. Yi Zhongtian praised Shu Han as the best model of "rational rule" amongst the Three Kingdoms, and it is the incorruptibility and transparency of Zhuge Liang and his associates that kept Shu Han from collapsing in disregard of the heavy expenditure burden.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: Not everybody was happy with such Legalist policy. Guo Chong's comment on Liang's policy was that it was "cruel" and "exploitative", that "everybody from the noble to the commoner" was upset. Pei Songzhi disagreed with such comments because Zhuge Liang's law enforcement was appropriate and could never be "exploitative". That also contradicted Chen Shou's comment that ""nobody was upset despite the strict laws"". Yi Zhongtian commented that both contradicted assessments are correct, as Shu people were happy about Liang's fairness and transparency, but some of them were also upset about Liang's overstrictness. Moreover, Zhuge Liang's fairness and legal rule inevitably suppressed the local nobility, prevented them from abusing their power and manipulate politics and public opinion. That is the reason why many of the local Shu intellegistia tacitly endorsed the invasion of Wei against Shu, although they also respected Zhuge Liang. This is supported by contemporary sources, including Zhang Wen and Sun Quan. Yuan Zhun of the Jin dynasty also highly appraised Zhuge Liang's administration skills and popularity, where people would still sing praises to Zhuge Liang decades after his death.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: Zhuge Liang highly appreciated talents, hence he paid strong attention to education in order to cultivate and recruit more talented magistrates for Shu Han government. Liang established a position of Aide of Learning Encouragement (勸斈從事), held by many prominent local intelligentsia such as Qiao Zhou. Qiao Zhou held this post for a very long time and was very influential; one of his students, Chen Shou, was the author of "Sanguozhi". Later Zhuge Liang established a Great Education Residence (太斈府), a training facility using Confucian literature works as textbooks. Liang also created many "reading book residences" both in Chengdu and in the frontline during the northern expeditions; such facilities functioned as places for discussions of various topics, and via such discussions talented people could be discovered and recruited. Yao Tian, Shu Han's governor of Guanghan district, managed to recommend many talents to the government, hence he received lavish praise from Zhuge Liang.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: Zhuge Liang also established "Discussion Bureau" mechanism to gather all the discussions of a certain policy, and encourage the magistrate to accept the criticisms of their subordinates to make a good decisions, and also to utilize all the talents of employees. Zhuge Liang carried out a meritocracy policy, promoted and assessed people based on what they did and could do rather than their fame or background.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: At the same time, the commanderies in Nanzhong rebelled against Shu, but Zhuge Liang did not send troops to suppress the revolt as Liu Bei's death was still recent. Liu Bei had been persuaded after his defeat by Lu Xun that an alliance with Wu was necessary. Zhuge sent Deng Zhi and Chen Zhen to make peace with Eastern Wu and reentered an alliance with Wu. Zhuge Liang would consistently send envoys to Wu to improve diplomatic relations between the two states.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: In 229, Sun Quan proclaimed himself as emperor. This act angered many of the Shu Han court officials who considered the rulers of Shu Han, direct descendants of former Han dynasty, were the only ones could have legitimate claim of the imperial throne. Some of Shu Han's officials even suggested severing the ties between Shu and Wu. However Zhuge Liang commented that Shu-Wu alliance was still necessary, hence Sun Quan's "treachery" could be temporarily left aside. A Shu Han emissary was sent to congratulate Sun Quan and strengthen the relationship between two allies.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: During his reign as regent, Zhuge Liang set Shu's objective as the restoration of the Han dynasty, which, from Shu's point of view, had been usurped by the state of Cao Wei. He felt that in order to attack Wei, a complete unification of Shu was first needed. Zhuge Liang was worried that the local clans would work with the Nanman tribes in Nanzhong to stage a revolt. Fearing the possibility that the peasants might rebel and press into areas surrounding the capital Chengdu while he was attacking Wei in the north, Zhuge Liang decided to pacify the southern tribes first.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: In the spring of 225, regional clans, including Yong, Gao, Zhu and Meng, had taken control of some cities in the south, so Zhuge Liang led an expedition force to Nanzhong. Ma Su proposed that they should attempt to win the hearts of the Nanman and rally their support instead of using military force to subdue them. Zhuge Liang heeded Ma Su's advice and defeated the rebel leader, Meng Huo, on seven occasions, as it was claimed in later histories such as the "Chronicles of Huayang". He released Meng Huo each time in order to achieve Meng's genuine surrender. The story about Meng Huo's seven captures is recently questioned by many modern academics, including historians such as Miao Yue, Tan Liangxiao, and Zhang Hualan.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: Realising he had no chance to win, Meng Huo pledged allegiance to Shu, and was appointed by Zhuge Liang as governor of the region to keep the populace content and secure the southern Shu border. This would ensure that the future Northern Expeditions would proceed without internal disruptions. Rich and abundant resources acquired from Nanzhong were used to fund Shu's military and the state became more prosperous.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: After pacifying the Nanman, Zhuge Liang ordered the Shu military to make preparations for a large scale offensive on Wei. In 227, while in Hanzhong, he wrote a memorial, titled "Chu Shi Biao", to Liu Shan, stating his rationale for the campaign and giving advice to the emperor on good governance. From 228 until his death in September 234, Zhuge Liang launched a total of five Northern Expeditions against Wei, all except one of which failed. During the first Northern Expedition, Zhuge Liang persuaded Jiang Wei, a young Wei military officer, to surrender and defect to his side. Jiang Wei became a prominent general of Shu later and continued Zhuge Liang's legacy of an aggressive foreign policy against Wei. The other permanent gains by Shu were the conquests of the impoverished Wudu and Yinping commanderies, as well as the relocation of Wei citizens to Shu territories on occasion. During the first expedition the veteran commander Wei Yan proposed to lead a detachment of 10,000 troops to launch a surprise attack through Ziwu Valley. Such a plan was highly risky, but in the case of success it could result in a decisive victory. The plan was rejected by an overcautious Zhuge Liang, which upset Wei Yan.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: The first expedition took Cao Wei by surprise and initially proceeded smoothly, however Shu Han troops commanded by Ma Su suffered a strategic defeat at battle of Jieting, resulting in the total failure of the expedition. Zhuge Liang, as a punishment, had Ma Su executed, and had himself demoted by three levels. In second expedition, Shu army launched an unsuccessful attack at the key fortress Chencang and had to withdraw when Wei reinforcements arrived. The pursuing Wei general Wang Shuang was killed by a Shu ambush, though. The third expedition managed to capture Wudu and Yinping, two depopulated commanderies used as military bridgeheads for further attacks. Cao Wei tried a counter-attack in 230, which also ended in failure.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: The fourth expedition (231) marked the first deployment of wooden oxen for supply transportation, and the first time Zhuge Liang met Sima Yi in the battlefield. Zhuge Liang sent the bulk of his army to Mount Qi and lead a detachment to Shanggui for grain harvest. Guo Huai and Fei Yan's attempt of intervention ended in failure and Shu forces managed to harvest most of the wheat. Sima Yi decided to use the Fabian strategy and kept the defensive stance. Zhuge Liang retreated to Lucheng at the eastern side of Mount Qi to lure Sima Yi. The also cautious Sima Yi initially did not take the bait, but relented under the pressure of his subordinates. Cao Wei's attack ended in a disaster, though, hence Sima Yi resumed his defensive stance, this time persistently. Zhuge Liang could not exploit his victory with a major offensive due to a dwindling food supply as adverse weather prevented Shu's logistics from delivering materiel on schedule. Shu troops had no choice but a total retreat, although they managed to kill general Zhang He in another ambush.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: Learning from the experiences, Zhuge Liang spent great efforts in mitigating the logistic problem of the Shu army. He improved the wooden ox into the flowing horse, build an extraordinary huge supply storage facility, and carried out large-scale agriculture production in the northern area. He also successfully asked for a coordinated attack from Eastern Wu. After two years of preparation, in 234 Liang launched his last expedition. The Shu army garrisoned at the Wuzhang Plain and implemented military plantation ("tuntian") here for long-term food supplement. From the Cao Wei side, Sima Yi again persistently adapted the Fabian strategy and managed to quell the protest from his subordinate. Zhuge Liang attempted to make many provocations but all failed. Straining his energy on military matters big and small, Zhuge Liang fell seriously ill and eventually died in camp at the age of 53. Before his death, Zhuge Liang recommended Jiang Wan and Fei Yi to succeed him as regent of Shu.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: Sima Yi, hearing the news of Zhuge Liang's death and Shu army's subsequent withdrawal, quickly launched a pursuit. However the Shu rearguard feigned a counterattack, which fooled the overcautious Sima Yi into believing that Zhuge Liang was still alive and had planned an ambush. The Wei army halted and the Shu army successfully retreated. That incident gave rise to the popular saying ""A dead Zhuge (Liang) scared away a living Zhongda."" When told of the saying, Sima Yi replied: ""I can predict the thoughts of the living but I can't predict those of the dead.""


title: Zhuge Liang

text: Zhuge Liang, according to his dying wish, was buried on Mount Dingjun with a modest funeral and tomb, using no luxurious and expensive material. Liang was posthumously granted the title "Marquis Zhongwu" (忠武侯; literally "loyal and martial marquis") by Liu Shan. Zhuge Liang once wrote to Liu Shan promising that he would have a stoic life with no excessive and no luxurious assets as a model for the country. After Zhuge Liang's death, people had his property checked, which verified his claims.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: The death of Zhuge Liang was widely mourned by the Shu Han people. Initially, the mourning and worship for Zhuge Liang was done arbitrarily by the people since neither official temple nor legal worship protocol for Zhuge Liang had been established yet, which upset the public opinion. Hence in 263, a temple for Zhuge Liang was built in Mianyang, near his tomb.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: Zhuge Liang's ancestor, Zhuge Feng (), served as the Colonel-Director of Retainers during the reign of Emperor Yuan of the Han dynasty. Zhuge Liang's father, Zhuge Gui (), served as an assistant officer in Mount Tai Commandery in the late Han dynasty. Zhuge Liang's cousin-uncle, Zhuge Xuan, who raised Zhuge Liang and Zhuge Jun, served as the Administrator of Yuzhang Commandery before serving under Liu Biao, the Governor of Jing Province.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: Zhuge Liang had an elder brother, a younger brother, and two elder sisters. His elder brother, Zhuge Jin, served under the warlord Sun Quan and later in the state of Eastern Wu. His younger brother, Zhuge Jun (), served in the state of Shu Han. One of Zhuge Liang's sisters married Pang Shanmin, a cousin of Pang Tong, while the other sister married a member of the prominent Kuai family headed by Kuai Liang and Kuai Yue in Xiangyang Commandery.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: Zhuge Liang married the daughter of Huang Chengyan. She was a maternal niece of Liu Biao and Lady Cai because her mother (Huang Chengyan's wife) was Lady Cai's younger sister. Although her name was not recorded in history, she is commonly referred to by the name "Huang Yueying" in popular culture.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: Zhuge Liang had at least two sons. His elder son, Zhuge Zhan, served as a general in Shu and was killed in action during the Conquest of Shu by Wei. His younger son, Zhuge Huai (), lived as a commoner during the Jin dynasty. Zhuge Liang initially had no sons, so he adopted his nephew, Zhuge Qiao (Zhuge Jin's son). Zhuge Qiao served in Shu and died at a relatively young age. According to legend, Zhuge Liang had a daughter, Zhuge Guo (), but her existence is disputed by historians.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: Zhuge Qiao's son, Zhuge Pan (), returned to Eastern Wu after Zhuge Ke's death to continue Zhuge Jin's family line there. Zhuge Zhan had three sons. The eldest, Zhuge Shang, served Shu and was killed in action together with his father. The second, Zhuge Jing (), moved to Hedong Commandery in 264 with Zhuge Pan's son, Zhuge Xian (), and came to serve the Jin dynasty later. The youngest was Zhuge Zhi ().


title: Zhuge Liang

text: Zhuge Dan, one of Zhuge Liang's cousins, served in the state of Cao Wei and masterminded the third of the Three Rebellions in Shouchun. He was killed after his defeat.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: Although the invention of the repeating crossbow has often been attributed to Zhuge Liang, he had nothing to do with it. This misconception is based on a record attributing improvements to the multiple bolt crossbows to him.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: Zhuge Liang is also credited with constructing the Stone Sentinel Maze, an array of stone piles that is said to produce supernatural phenomena, located near Baidicheng.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: An early type of hot air balloon used for military signalling, known as the Kongming lantern, is also named after him. It was said to be invented by Zhuge Liang when he was trapped by Sima Yi in Pingyang. Friendly forces nearby saw the message on the lantern paper covering and came to Zhuge Liang's aid. Another belief is that the lantern resembled Zhuge Liang's headdress, so it was named after him.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: Some books popularly attributed to Zhuge Liang can be found today. For example, the "Thirty-Six Stratagems", and "Mastering the Art of War" (not to be confused with Sun Tzu's "The Art of War") are two commonly available works attributed to Zhuge Liang. Supposedly, his mastery of infantry and cavalry formation tactics, based on the Taoist classic "I Ching", were unrivalled. His memorial, the "Chu Shi Biao", written prior to the Northern Expeditions, provided a salutary reflection of his unwavering loyalty to the state of Shu. The memorial moved some readers to tears. In addition, he wrote "Admonition to His Son" () in which he reflected on his humbleness and frugality in pursuit of a meaningful life.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: Zhuge Liang is also the subject of many Chinese literary works. A poem by Du Fu, a prolific Tang dynasty poet, was written in memory of Zhuge Liang whose legacy of unwavering dedication seems to have been forgotten in Du Fu's generation (judging by the description of Zhuge Liang' unkept temple). Some historians believe that Du Fu had compared himself with Zhuge Liang in the poem. The full text is:


title: Zhuge Liang

text: Du Fu's quatrain "Eightfold Battle Formation" () about Zhuge Liang's Stone Sentinel Maze, is collected in the "Three Hundred Tang Poems".


title: Zhuge Liang

text: The phrase "The Han and the Evil do not stand together" () from the Later "Chu Shi Biao" is often used to draw a line in the sand and declare a situation where one cannot stand with evil. Notably, this phrase was Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek's favorite quote to invoke to justify his anti-communism ideology.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: Another phrase "with deference and prudence, to the state of one's depletion; it's never finished until one's death" () from the Later "Chu Shi Biao" is often used to describe one's commitment and perseverance to strive to the utmost.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: One famous line of poem, "Who is the first, awakened from the Great Dream? As always, I'm the one who knows." (), was also attributed to Zhuge Liang.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: "Without modest simplicity, one cannot brighten volition; Without tranquility and serenity, one cannot reach far" (), a well-known maxim authored by Zhuge Liang, has been popular in educational institutions in China for thousands of years.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: The wisdom of Zhuge Liang was popularised by the historical novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", written by Luo Guanzhong during the Ming dynasty. In it, Zhuge Liang is described to be able to perform fantastical achievements such as summoning advantageous winds and devising magical stone mazes.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: There is great confusion on whether the stories are historical or fictional. At least, the Empty Fort Strategy is based on historical records, albeit not attributed to Zhuge Liang historically. For Chinese people, the question is largely irrelevant, as the Zhuge Liang of lore is regardless seen as a mastermind, whose examples continue to influence many layers of Chinese society. They are also argued, together with Sun Tzu's "The Art of War", to still greatly influence the modern Chinese strategical, military and everyday thinking.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: When Zhuge Liang fell critically ill during the Battle of Wuzhang Plains, he attempted to extend his lifespan by 12 years through a ritual. However, he failed when the ritual was disrupted by Wei Yan, who rushed in to warn him about the enemy's advance. Before his death, Zhuge Liang also passed his "24 Volumes on Military Strategy" () to Jiang Wei, who would continue his legacy and lead another eleven campaigns against the state of Cao Wei ().


title: Zhuge Liang

text: There are many temples and shrines built to commemorate Zhuge Liang. Some of the most famous ones include the Temple of the Marquis of Wu in Chengdu, and the Temple of the Marquis of Wu in Baidicheng.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: In 760, when Emperor Suzong of the Tang dynasty built a temple to honour Jiang Ziya, he had sculptures of Zhuge Liang and another nine famous historical military generals/strategists – Bai Qi, Han Xin, Li Jing, Li Shiji, Zhang Liang, Tian Rangju, Sun Tzu, Wu Qi and Yue Yi – placed in the temple flanking Jiang Ziya's statue.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: Zhuge Liang is also sometimes venerated as a door god at Chinese and Taoist temples, usually in partnership with Sima Yi of Wei.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: Zhuge Liang is the protagonist of the "seinen" anime and manga series, "Ya Boy Kongming!", where he is reborn in modern-day Tokyo shortly after his death.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: Notable actors who have portrayed Zhuge Liang in Movie and television include: Adam Cheng, in "The Legendary Prime Minister – Zhuge Liang" (1985); Li Fazeng, in "Zhuge Liang" (1985); Tang Guoqiang, in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" (1994); Pu Cunxin, in "" (2008); Takeshi Kaneshiro, in "Red Cliff" (2008–09); Lu Yi, in "Three Kingdoms" (2010); Raymond Lam, in "Three Kingdoms RPG" (2012); Wang Luoyong, in The Advisors Alliance (2017).


title: Zhuge Liang

text: Zhuge Liang's reputation for being an unparalleled genius is also emphasised in his portrayal in video games. Reflecting his status as the most highly regarded strategist in "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", games such as "Destiny of an Emperor" and Koei's "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" game series place Zhuge Liang's intelligence statistic as the highest of all characters. He is also a playable character in Koei's "Dynasty Warriors", "Dynasty Tactics" and "Kessen II". He also appears in "Warriors Orochi", a crossover between "Dynasty Warriors" and "Samurai Warriors".


title: Zhuge Liang

text: Zhuge Liang is the protagonist in Koei's tactical role-playing game "Sangokushi Koumeiden", where he can die at the Battle of Wuzhang Plains, as he did historically, or proceed to restore the Han dynasty under Emperor Xian.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: Zhuge Liang appears in the turn-based strategy games "Civilization IV" and "Civilization V" as a great general along with Cao Cao.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: Zhuge Liang appears as a summonable Pseudo-Servant in the mobile game "Fate/Grand Order", with most of his skills portraying him as a skilled tactician.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: Zhuge Liang is featured in the sequel to Level-5's game and anime "", as well as Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. Notably, both adaptations portray Zhuge Liang as a woman.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: Zhuge Liang is a legendary strategist in Creative Assembly's turn-based strategy game "". In another videogame also produced by Creative Assembly, "", a hot-air balloon unit used by Cathay (a faction based on China) was named after his courtesy name.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: Zhuge Liang appears as a playable character in a mobile game "Honkai Impact 3rd" portrayed as a woman and being a powerful support.


title: Zhuge Liang

text: Zhuge Liang is the fable hero of scholar class in the mobile game Royal Chaos, where he deals great amount of Area of Effect (AOE) damage as well as skilled in deployment.


title: Casu martzu

text: ' (; literally 'rotten/putrid cheese'), sometimes spelled ', and also called ', ' and in Sardinian, is a traditional Sardinian sheep milk cheese that contains live insect larvae (maggots).


title: Casu martzu

text: A variation of this cheese exists also in Corsica (France), where it is called , and is especially produced in some Southern Corsican villages like Sartene.


title: Casu martzu

text: Derived from pecorino, casu martzu goes beyond typical fermentation to a stage of decomposition, brought about by the digestive action of the larvae of the cheese fly of the Piophilidae family. These larvae are deliberately introduced to the cheese, promoting an advanced level of fermentation and breaking down of the cheese's fats. The texture of the cheese becomes very soft, with some liquid (called , Sardinian for "teardrop") seeping out. The larvae themselves appear as translucent white worms, roughly long.


title: Casu martzu

text: Casu martzu is created by leaving whole pecorino cheeses outside with part of the rind removed to allow the eggs of the cheese fly "Piophila casei" to be laid in the cheese. A female "P. casei" can lay more than 500 eggs at one time. The eggs hatch and the larvae begin to eat through the cheese. The acid from the maggots' digestive system breaks down the cheese's fats, making the texture of the cheese very soft; by the time it is ready for consumption, a typical casu martzu will contain thousands of these maggots.


title: Casu martzu

text: Casu martzu is considered by Sardinian aficionados to be unsafe to eat when the maggots in the cheese have died. Because of this, only cheese in which the maggots are still alive is usually eaten, although allowances are made for cheese that has been refrigerated, which results in the maggots being killed. When the cheese has fermented enough, it is often cut into thin strips and spread on moistened Sardinian flatbread (pane carasau), to be served with a strong red wine like cannonau. Casu martzu is believed to be an aphrodisiac by Sardinians. Because the larvae in the cheese can launch themselves for distances up to when disturbed, diners hold their hands above the sandwich to prevent the maggots from leaping. Some who eat the cheese prefer not to ingest the maggots. Those who do not wish to eat them place the cheese in a sealed paper bag. The maggots, starved for oxygen, writhe and jump in the bag, creating a "pitter-patter" sound. When the sounds subside, the maggots are dead and the cheese can be eaten.


title: Casu martzu

text: According to some food scientists, it is possible for the larvae to survive the stomach acid and remain in the intestine, leading to a condition called pseudomyiasis. There have been documented cases of pseudomyiasis with "P. casei".


title: Casu martzu

text: Because of European Union food hygiene-health regulations, the cheese has been outlawed, and offenders face heavy fines. However, some Sardinians organized themselves in order to make casu martzu available on the black market, where it may be sold for double the price of an ordinary block of pecorino cheese. As of 2019, the illegal production of this cheese was estimated as per year, worth between €2–3 million.


title: Casu martzu

text: Attempts have been made to circumvent the Italian and EU ban by having casu martzu declared a traditional food (it has been made in the same manner for more than 25 years, and it is therefore exempt from ordinary food hygiene regulations). The traditional way of making the cheese is explained by an official paper of the Sardinian government.


title: Casu martzu

text: A cooperation between sheep farmers and researchers at the University of Sassari developed a hygienic method of production in 2005, aiming to allow the legal selling of the cheese.


title: Casu martzu

text: Because of its fermentation process, the Guinness World Record proclaimed Casu Martzu as the world's most dangerous cheese.


title: Casu martzu

text: In Sardinia, pastoralism has been a key part in crafting the cultural identity that Sardinians embody today. Throughout the years, pastoralism has proven to be a representation of Sardinian culture through the connection of people, land, and food. Due to the landscape of Sardinia, sheep farming became a major enterprise and symbol of Sardinian culture. Many areas within Sardinia still rely on pastoralism as an economic means of living, as well as a traditional concept that has shaped their identity in many ways, such as through food habits. Pasteurization is essential in the making of cheese, which is a desired delicacy in Sardinia. More specifically, Casu Marzu, which is a traditional delicacy that has a local protection, but overall has been banned by the Italian Government due to health concerns. This cheese has been a staple in Sardinian culture as it was made by sheep farmers with their sheeps' milk. Due to the banning of the cheese, the method in which you create Casu Marzu has been forgotten by many, but not all. It is quite hard to find, but not impossible if you know where to look. Sardinia's traditional shepherds and elders keep the taste of Casu Marzu alive in Italy. Though this cheese is hard to find, it is still eaten during special occasions such as weddings and anniversaries of customary Sardinians.


title: Casu martzu

text: Outside of Sardinia, similar milk cheeses are also produced in the French island of Corsica, as a local variation of the Sardinian cheese produced in some Southern villages and known as or , as well as in a number of Italian regions.


title: Casu martzu

text: Several other regional varieties of cheese with fly larvae are produced in the rest of Europe. For example, goat-milk cheese is left to the open air until "P. casei" eggs are naturally laid in the cheese. Then it is aged in white wine, with grapes and honey, preventing the larvae from emerging, giving the cheese a strong flavour. In addition, other regions in Europe have traditional cheeses that rely on live arthropods for ageing and flavouring, such as the German and French , both of which rely on cheese mites.


title: Casu martzu

text: An early printed reference to Stilton cheese points to a similar production technique. Daniel Defoe in his 1724 work "A tour thro' the whole island of Great Britain" notes "We pass'd Stilton, a town famous for cheese, which is call'd our English Parmesan, and is brought to table with the mites or maggots round it, so thick, that they bring a spoon with them for you to eat the mites with, as you do the cheese."


title: Casu martzu

text: According to Rabbi Dr. Chaim Simons of the Orthodox Union, kosher casu martzu can be produced provided that all ingredients are kosher and animal rennet is not used.


title: Kösem Sultan

text: Kösem Sultan (; 1589 – 2 September 1651), also known as Mahpeyker Sultan (; ), was the chief consort and legal wife of the Ottoman Sultan Ahmed I, valide sultan as the mother of sultans Murad IV and Ibrahim, and "büyük" ("elder") valide sultan as the grandmother of Sultan Mehmed IV. She became one of the most powerful and influential women in Ottoman history, as well as a prominent and controversial figure during the period known as the Sultanate of Women.


title: Kösem Sultan

text: Born in Tinos, then part of the Republic of Venice, to a Greek Orthodox priest, she was kidnapped and sold as a slave in Bosnia before being sent to the imperial harem in Constantinople, the Ottoman capital. There she rose to prominence, becoming the favourite of Sultan Ahmed I. Over time her influence over the sultan grew and she became his most trusted advisor. Historians credit her with persuading Ahmed to spare the life of his younger half-brother, Mustafa, thus putting an end to the centuries-old practice of fratricide in the Ottoman Empire. After Ahmed died in 1617, she was instrumental in the enthronement of Mustafa I. Upon Osman II's ascension, she was briefly banished to the Old Palace (Eski Sarayı).


title: Kösem Sultan

text: During the reign of Ahmed I, Mustafa I, Osman II, Murad IV, Ibrahim and Mehmed IV, Kösem gained both notoriety and affection among her subjects, wielding unparalleled political power and influencing the empire's foreign and domestic policy. Her early years as regent were marked by turbulence and instability, which began when the Safavid Empire annexed much of Iraq and captured Baghdad in 1624, dragging the Ottomans into a 16-year conflict with the Safavids that sparked a series of rebellions, incursions, revolts and independence movements across the Ottoman Empire. During escalating tensions between the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Venice in the 1640s, she and her allies were blamed for pressuring Ibrahim to launch a naval assault on the Venetian-controlled island of Crete. She had to contend with a Venetian blockade of the Dardanelles, which culminated in the naval Battle of Focchies in 1649, as well as merchant uprisings sparked by a financial crisis in the years that followed.


title: Kösem Sultan

text: Some historians questioned her intents and motivations for espousing the Janissaries' cause during her 28 years of power, and that she had accumulated a great fortune through illegitimate means. She did, however, put the money she acquired from her lands and income to good use, undertaking charitable works and construction projects as tangible manifestations of the dynasty's concern for its subjects. That is why, in the aftermath of her brutal assassination which provoked rioting and the execution of hundreds of men in Constantinople, she was referred to by the names: "Vālide-i Muazzama" (magnificent mother), "Vālide-i Maḳtūle" (murdered mother), and "Vālide-i Şehīde" (martyred mother).


title: Kösem Sultan

text: Kösem is generally said to be of Greek origin, the daughter of a priest on the island of Tinos whose maiden name was Anastasia.


title: Kösem Sultan

text: In 1604, at the age of 14 or 15, she was kidnapped by Ottoman raiders and bought as a slave in Bosnia by the "beylerbey" (governor-general) of the Bosnia Eyalet. She was tall, slender, and appealing woman due to the whiteness of her complexion and the deep brown of her eyes. Her beauty and intelligence were noticed by the kızlar ağa of Sultan Ahmed I's court, who sent her to Constantinople to join a group of other slave girls marked by their striking appearance or intelligence to be trained in the harem of Sultan Ahmed I as an imperial court lady.


title: Kösem Sultan

text: In the harem, she was taught religion, theology, mathematics, embroidery, singing, music and literature. Ahmed was captivated by her beauty and intelligence, and in 1605, she became his haseki. According to the Italian traveler Pietro Della Valle, upon her conversion to Islam, her name was changed to "Mahpeyker." After her marriage to Ahmed, he renamed her to "Kösem," meaning "leader of the herd,” implying her political intelligence and leadership, but it might also mean "hairless,” in allusion to her smooth and hairless skin.


title: Kösem Sultan

text: Kösem rose to prominence early in Ahmed's reign as part of a series of changes to the hierarchy of the imperial harem. Safiye Sultan, Ahmed's once-powerful grandmother and manager of the harem, was deprived of her power and banished to the Old Palace (Eski Sarayı) in January 1604, and Handan Sultan, Ahmed's mother and valide sultan, died in November of the following year. These two vacancies allowed her to rise to the top of the Imperial Harem hierarchy.


title: Kösem Sultan

text: Ahmed favoured Kösem above all his concubines, lavishing on her the finest jewels and a stipend of 1,000 aspers a day. In the early years of their marriage, she bore Ahmed four daughters: Ayşe Sultan, Fatma Sultan, Hanzade Sultan and Gevherhan Sultan. As the mother of several princesses, she had the right to arrange suitable dynastic marriages for them. Ayşe Sultan was accordingly married to Nasuh Pasha in 1612 at the age of seven, while in the same year, Gevherhan Sultan was married to Öküz Kara Mehmed Pasha at the age of five.


title: Kösem Sultan

text: The Venetian ambassador Simon Contarini, "bailo" between 1609 and 1612, mentions Kösem in his report in 1612 and portrays her as:


title: Kösem Sultan

text: George Sandys, an English traveller who visited Constantinople in the early 1610s, recorded Kösem's name as "Casek Cadoun" (haseki kadın) and believed that she was "a witch beyond beauty." He claimed that the sultan had a "passionate" love for Kösem, emphasizing that this was the result of witchcraft. Sandys went on to characterise her as a woman with "a delicate and at the same time shy nature."


title: Kösem Sultan

text: Contemporary observers noted Kösem's interest in the succession after the arrival of her first-born son Murad in 1612, and it is possible that the modification of the pattern of succession to the throne from a system of primogeniture to one based on agnatic seniority owed something to her efforts. Since fratricide was a common practice, she feared that if the throne went to one of the sultan's sons, it would go to the eldest, Osman, whose mother, Mahfiruz Hatun, may have been regarded by Kösem as a rival intent on lobbying in favor of her own son. She feared that Mahfriuz would compel Osman to execute her sons—Murad, Süleyman, Kasım and Ibrahim—if he succeeded his father, so she made efforts to keep her half-brother-in-law Mustafa safe from execution.


title: Kösem Sultan

text: Simon Contarini reported in the same year that Kösem "lobbied to spare Mustafa the fate of fratricide with the ulterior goal of saving her own son from the same fate." Thus, by letting the brother of the sultan live, the "queen" was trying to make sure that Mustafa, if he happens to become sultan, would spare the life of her sons. Contarini does not mention the name Kösem but talks about a "queen" ("regina"). Moreover, Kösem was able to use her close alliance with Mustafa Agha, the Agha of the Janissaries, and his client Nasuh Pasha (her son-in-law) to wield influence over the sultan.


title: Kösem Sultan

text: Contarini also reported that the sultan ordered a woman to be beaten for having irritated Kösem, which may have been Mahfiruz herself. The latter would later be banished to the Old Palace (Eski Sarayı), probably in the mid-1610s. After that incident, Kösem and her stepson Osman grew fond of each other. She used to let him join her in carriage rides, where he showed himself to the crowd when she made excursions into Constantinople. The reports of the Venetian "bailos" note that on these excursions, Osman enjoyed throwing handful of coins to the passers-by who flocked to see the young prince, while his stepmother Kösem remained concealed behind a curtain. Eventually Ahmed interfered with this close relationship between Osman and Kösem: the Venetian ambassador Bertuccio Valier reported in 1616 that the sultan did not allow the two eldest princes (Osman and Mehmed) to converse with Kösem. His motive perhaps, as Valier speculated, was fear that the princes' security was threatened by Kösem's well-known ambitions for her own sons, and to prevent rumors about a grownup prince's indecency in socializing with a woman who was neither his mother nor his sister.


title: Kösem Sultan

text: The Grand Vizier Nasuh Pasha, Kösem's son-in-law as the spouse of her daughter, Ayşe Sultan, was executed on the orders of Ahmed in 1614, Kösem herself tried to stop her husband from taking such action, but to no avail. Thus, she lost an important ally in the government. From that point on, she probably concentrated her efforts on keeping Mustafa alive.


title: Kösem Sultan

text: Kösem's influence over the sultan increased in the following years, and it is said that she acted as one of his advisers. Reporting from 1616 claims that Kösem was the most valuable ally to be had in Constantinople because of her sway over the sultan, Valier claims that her pro-Venetian policy and contributions to Venice's good standing must be appropriately rewarded. The "bailos" also noted that Ahmed was deeply devoted to Kösem. However, she refrained from involving herself constantly in serious issues as the sultan refused to be overshadowed by his wife. According to Valier in 1616:


title: Kösem Sultan

text: Contarini also noted that Kösem "restrains herself with great wisdom from speaking [to the sultan] too frequently of serious matters and affairs of state." Throughout her career as haseki sultan, she was accused of trying to protect her own position and influence "rather than that of the sultan or of the dynasty".


title: Kösem Sultan

text: Ahmed's reign is noteworthy for marking the first breach in the Ottoman tradition of royal fratricide; henceforth Ottoman sultans would no longer systematically execute their brothers upon accession to the throne.


title: Kösem Sultan

text: On Ahmed's early death from typhus and gastric bleeding on 22 November 1617, Kösem became the head of a faction that successfully supported his half-brother Mustafa's accession to the throne. She probably feared for her sons' life, should their older half-brother, Osman, become sultan. She probably preferred to see Mustafa become sultan as he was less likely to see her sons as a threat.


title: Kösem Sultan

text: As only the second sultan (after Ahmed I) to ascend the throne with no prior experience of government, Mustafa proved feeble and incompetent. He had spent his entire early life in the harem, learning only what the eunuchs and women could teach him, and constantly fearing execution at the hands of the ruling sultans, with several palace officials, particularly the Chief Black Eunuch Mustafa Ağa, nourishing these fears to control him. Eventually, Mustafa Ağa spread stories that he was insane and secured his deposition on 26 February 1618, just 96 days after he ascended the throne. He was replaced by Osman, the eldest son of Ahmed I and his deceased mother Mahfiruz Hatun.


title: Kösem Sultan

text: Osman's first act as sultan was to take power away from Mustafa's supporters, as well as those who had secured his accession and planned to rule over him. As a result, Kösem and her eight children and entourage were banished to the Old Palace (Eski Sarayı). Nevertheless, Kösem was able to maintain her haseki status and daily stipend of 1,000 aspers during her retirement. While at the Old Palace, she had the opportunity to meet Safiye Sultan.


title: Kösem Sultan

text: In 1619, Osman acted against Ottoman convention by paying Kösem a three-day visit at the Old Palace and taking part in her festivities, thus showing his particular affection for her. He also gave Kösem the income from eight villages to the north-west of Athens; she then incorporated them into her "waqf", which provided services to pilgrims traveling from Damascus to Mecca. Kösem may have cultivated this relationship hoping to use her influence over Osman to persuade him to spare her sons. Indeed, when Osman departed on the Polish campaign of 1621, he executed only Mehmed, the eldest of his younger brothers, who was not one of Kösem's sons. His uncle Mustafa was kept alive, as were Osman's younger brothers, protected by Kösem. However, even if their relation continued, it did not yield results for the young sultan, whose greatest weakness was not having a valide sultan to lobby on his behalf. He also felt uneasy about Kösem's involvement in state issues.


title: Kösem Sultan

text: In May 1622, sensing that Osman might still execute Mustafa and his younger brothers, the eunuch corps and the palace soldiery planned a counter-strike, backed by Mustafa's mother, Halime Sultan, and Kösem, who wanted her own children to ascend to the throne. Storming into the harem, they freed Mustafa from confinement in the Kafes. As for Osman, aged only seventeen, he was imprisoned in Yedikule, then strangled by members of the Janissary corps on 20 May 1622, largely through the efforts of Halime.


title: Kösem Sultan

text: In place of Osman, the weak and incompetent Mustafa was restored to the throne with the support of Kösem. While power initially went to Kösem and his mother, the Janissaries and others who had carried out the revolt then reacted violently to the regicide of Osman and killed all those whom they considered responsible while at the same time attempting to protect the remaining sons of Ahmed against the efforts of Halime to eliminate them to protect her son.


title: Kösem Sultan

text: In an effort to build her own position, Kösem secured the appointment as grand vizier of Mere Hüseyin Pasha, an Albanian who presented himself as a reformer, promising to move against the assassins. However, Hüseyin Pasha used the situation to his own advantage, raiding the state treasury for his own benefit under the pretext of punishing those responsible for the regicide of Osman.


title: Kösem Sultan

text: During the closing months of Mustafa's second reign, he ordered the execution of everyone involved in Osman's death, including Kösem's sons. But before his orders could be carried out, both Kösem and the eunuch corps intervened and deposed him again. Kösem eventually reached an agreement with the viziers to install her son Murad as sultan. Mustafa would go on to spend the rest of his life in the Kafes.


title: Kösem Sultan

text: Kösem entered the Topkapı Palace with a great ceremony which included having a thousand dervishes marching with prayers to celebrate her forthcoming. She was once again thrust into the political arena when her son ascended to the throne on 10 September 1623 as Murad IV. Since he was a minor, she was appointed not only as valide sultan but also as official regent ("naib-i-sultanat").


title: Kösem Sultan

text: In 1623, the Ottoman court sent a letter to the Republic of Venice, formally announcing Murad IV's succession to the throne and referring to Kösem as valide sultan: "Her Majesty the Sultana Valide [...] for the late Sultan Ahmed, whom Allah took with him, was a very important person and he loved her so much that he honoured her by marrying her." The letter further indicates that Kösem would rule in her son's name: "We have great hope and faith in the valide sultan, who - among all women enjoying the position - is distinguished by maturity and virtue of character."


title: Kösem Sultan

text: Shortly after Murad's enthronement, a Venetian ambassadorial message remarked on Kösem's political experience:


title: Kösem Sultan

text: A month before the Venetian despatch, the English envoy Thomas Roe predicted that the new sultan would be "gouemed by his mother, who gouemed his father, a man of spirit and witt."


title: Kösem Sultan

text: After Murad's accession, all his brothers were confined in the Kafes, a part of the imperial harem where the palace eunuchs kept possible successors to the throne under a form of house-arrest and constant surveillance.


title: Kösem Sultan

text: As regent, Kösem effectively ran the empire through her son, Murad, attending and arranging "divan" (cabinet) sessions from behind a curtain. She was in charge of appointing political figures and overseeing the state's administration, which allowed her to establish connections with statesmen, judges, and other court figures. She would meet with foreign ambassadors from other countries to discuss international treaties. The leading viziers wrote letters directly to her and, in response, Kösem used her "kira" to compose letters to the viziers.


title: Kösem Sultan

text: Kösem seemed to have distinct expectations about her role when she first became regent. According to the Turkish historian Özlem Kumrular:


title: Kösem Sultan

text: In 1623, Kemankeş Kara Ali Pasha was appointed grand vizier. His worst blunder was permitting the Safavid Shah Abbas to capture Baghdad and Erivan in 1624, and then hiding the news from Kösem and Murad, who was twelve years old at the time. Already displeased, Kösem immediately deposed him and had him strangled with the support of the Chief Black Eunuch Mustafa Ağa. He was replaced as grand vizier by Çerkes Mehmed Pasha.


title: Kösem Sultan

text: Foreign enemies and powerful local notables saw Kösem's rise as an opportunity to undermine the Ottoman state's power and authority. During the early years of Murad's reign, Kösem had to deal with the loss of Baghdad and Erivan during the Ottoman–Safavid War; the rebellion of tribes in Lebanon; the Abaza rebellion in northern Anatolia; the wavering allegiances of governors in Egypt and other provinces; the assertion of independence by the Barbary states; a revolt by the Tatars in Crimea; and raids by marauding Cossacks on the Black Sea coast.


title: Kösem Sultan

text: Cossack incursions into the Ottoman Empire were common throughout the early 17th century, disrupting the security of the Black Sea and forcing the Ottomans to consider reinforcing the Bosphorus, especially after the Cossack incursion of 1624. On behalf of her son, Kösem ordered the construction of two fortresses near the mouth of the Bosphorus, one in Anadolukavağı and the other in Rumelikavağı. The fortresses were erected in a single year.


title: Kösem Sultan

text: During her regency, Kösem ably restored the state's finances after a period of severe inflation. She also helped stabilise the government by melting down much of the palace gold and silver to pay the Janissaries. When the grand vizier, who was campaigning against the Safavids to recapture Baghdad, ran out of food for the army, he turned to Kösem for assistance. In one letter, she responded to his request, writing: "You say that attention must be paid to provisions for the campaign. If it were up to me, it would have been taken care of long ago. There is no shortcoming on either my or my son's part." In another, she sent good news: "You wrote about the provisions. If I were able to, I would procure and dispatch them immediately. I am doing everything I can, my son likewise. God willing, it is intended that this Friday ten million aspers will be forwarded to Üsküdar, if all goes well. The rest of the provisions have been loaded onto ships." Bayram Pasha, the governor of Egypt and Kösem's son-in-law, wrote to the her on a number of issues and she communicated the contents of his letters to the Grand Vizier Ahmed Pasha along with her own thoughts. Among the problems discussed were delays in the provision of gunpowder, the troublesome situation in the Yemen, and shortfalls in the province's revenue (in 1625 Egypt sent only half of its normal revenue because of the ravages of a plague known in Egyptian annals as "the plague of Bayram Pasha"). The extent of the cooperation between Grand Vizier Ahmed Pasha and Kösem is suggested by her frank comment: "You really give me a headache. But I give you an awful headache too. How many times have I asked myself. 'I wonder if he's getting sick of me'? 'But what else can we do?"


title: Kösem Sultan

text: In 1625, Murad, who was already critical of his mother's foreign policy, objected to her proposed truce between the Ottoman Empire and Spain. According to a Venetian dispatch of 1625, "the Imperialists and Spaniards declared that the matter was progressing favourably, being actively assisted by the Sultan's mother." A year later, the Venetian ambassador reported that the sultan, "with a prudence beyond his years", was opposed to the truce, as were most leading statesmen except the admiral Recep Pasha and Bayram Pasha, governor of Egypt. He noted that the Spanish "base their hopes on these two and the Sultan's mother and sister." The ambassador was probably aware of the fact that Recep Pasha was married to Gevherhan Sultan and Bayram Pasha to Hanzade Sultan, both of them Kösem's daughters. Nevertheless, the treaty was recalled on the sultan's orders. In addition to her correspondence with King Philip IV of Spain, Kösem also corresponded directly with Nur Jahan, the chief wife of the Mughal emperor Jahangir.


title: Kösem Sultan

text: Imperial princesses were often involved in serial marriages during the century after Süleyiman the Magnificent, thereby allowing the Imperial family to establish a network of alliances with the most powerful pashas. Kösem, in particular, used her daughters to help keep her in power for nearly half a century. As she wrote to the Grand Vizier Ahmed Pasha in 1626, a few months before he became her daughter Ayşe Sultan's third husband:


title: Kösem Sultan

text: A letter to the Grand Vizier Damad Hilal Pasha, dated 1627, reveals Kösem's concern about two troublesome matters: the security of Yemen, which would break free of Ottoman control in 1636, and the chronic problem of making salary payments, especially to the Janissaries, the frequently unruly Ottoman infantry. The letter also mentions her anxiety about Murad's health and her frustration over her lack of direct control over important decisions:


title: Kösem Sultan

text: Another letter expresses her wish that the young sultan should be advised and chastised by the Grand Vizier Hüsrev Pasha, if not by Kösem herself. It also implies that Kösem was getting information about events outside the palace from Murad rather than directly:


title: Kösem Sultan

text: Enraged by his mother's excessive support for the governor of Egypt, Murad moved to break Kösem's ties with her son-in-law Admiral Hüseyin Pasha, the husband of her daughter Fatima, by forcing the dissolution of the marriage. Hüseyin Pasha had benefited from the protection of both the Chief Black Eunuch Mustafa Ağa and Kösem. Murad's move against him may have stemmed from a wish to break free from the influence of his inner palace advisers and exercise authority over the government's most influential officers. Kösem is said to have tried to satisfy her son with a gift of ornately dressed horses and a banquet of ten thousand aspers but Murad was trying hard to keep his mother away from politics, and his actions suggest that he was disturbed by her great influence.


title: Kösem Sultan

text: In May 1632, during an uprising in Constantinople, the Janissaries stormed the palace and killed the Grand Vizier Ahmed Pasha, among others. Perhaps in response to this, as well as fearing that he would suffer the same fate as his elder half-brother Osman II, Murad decided not to allow anyone else to interfere in his administration of the empire, and ordered his mother to sever her contacts with his statesmen, threatening her with exile from the capital if she did not comply. This brought Kösem's nine-year term of office as regent to an end. Having taken power for himself, he immediately sought to replace the men loyal to his mother. He then tried to put an end to the corruption that had grown during the reigns of previous sultans, and that had gone unchecked while his mother was ruling through proxy.


title: Kösem Sultan

text: Despite being removed from the seat of power, Kösem continued to run some governmental affairs on behalf of the sultan, since he trusted her to look after his interests during his absences from the capital. She also remained in direct correspondence with him and with Grand Vizier Mehmed Pasha. During the Ottoman–Safavid War:


title: Kösem Sultan

text: In 1634, Murad's execution of the kadi (judge) of Iznik for a minor offence sparked outrage amongst Constantinople's religious hierarchy. When Kösem learned that the Şeyhülislam Ahizade Hüseyin Efendi was allegedly plotting to overthrow the sultan, she sent word to Murad to return to the capital immediately. Ahizade Hüseyin Efendi was strangled before proof of his innocence could reach the sultan. It was the first execution of a Şeyhülislam in the history of the Ottoman state.


title: Kösem Sultan

text: By 1635, the Anatolian countryside had been devastated by the Abaza rebellion and state oppression, resulting in a mass influx of refugees to the capital. Murad responded by ordering the refugees to return to their destroyed homes or face execution, but eventually relented at the insistence of his mother.


title: Kösem Sultan

text: In 1637, Angelo Alessandri, secretary to Venetian envoy Pietro Foscarini, characterised her as follows:


title: Kösem Sultan

text: In 1638, following the recapture of Baghdad from the Safavids, Kösem was a key figure in the celebrations surrounding her son Murad's triumphal return to Constantinople. Retracing her path after leaving Constantinople to welcome Murad in İzmit, two days' journey from the city, she rode in a carriage draped with gold fabric, its wheels studded, and its spokes coated in gold, preceded by viziers and high-ranking religious authorities on gorgeously caparisoned horses. Twelve additional carriages followed her own, most likely transporting members of the imperial harem.


title: Kösem Sultan

text: Kösem's principal effort in protecting the dynasty appears to have been dissuading the sultan from executing all his brothers toward the end of his reign. The princes Bayezid (her stepson) and Süleyman (her biological son) were executed during the celebrations over the victory at Erivan (1635) and Kasım, the heir apparent to the throne, was executed during the Baghdad campaign in 1638. One source states that Mustafa was also executed at Murad's command on 20 January 1639.


title: Kösem Sultan

text: Of Kösem's last surviving sons, the mentally unstable Ibrahim, lived in fear of being the next of his brothers to be executed by Murad. On his deathbed in 1640, Murad told his mother of his disdain for his brother Ibrahim, saying that it would be better for the dynasty to end rather than continue with an heir who was insane. Ibrahim's life was only saved by the intercession of his mother Kösem, who argued that he was 'too mad to be a threat". She thereby saved the Ottoman dynasty from probable annihilation.


title: Kösem Sultan

text: Following Murad's death from cirrhosis at the age of 27, Ibrahim was the sole surviving prince of the dynasty. When the Grand Vizier Mustafa Pasha asked him to assume the sultanate, Ibrahim suspected Murad was still alive and plotting to trap him. It took the combined persuasion of Kösem and the grand vizier to make him accept the throne. For instance, Kösem ordered his brother's corpse to be displayed before him and even threatened Ibrahim with 'strangulation, not inauguration' if he refused to be crowned sultan.


title: Kösem Sultan

text: Sent to Constantinople by the Venetian government on the occasion of Ibrahim's accession, Alvise Contarini presented letters of congratulation addressed to Kösem to Mustafa Pasha for delivery. However, the grand vizier, Kösem's rival for control of the weak Ibrahim, did not forward the letters, "as if scorning them", reported Contarini who also wrote that the grand vizier "told me that the queen mothers of the Ottomans are slaves of the Grand Signor like all others, not partners or heads of government, like those in Christian countries."


title: Kösem Sultan

text: With the accession of Ibrahim, Kösem once again became politically active as his principal advisor. However, she enjoyed a less compatible relationship with the Grand Vizier Mustafa Pasha than she had with the grand viziers of Murad's early reign. Now entering her fourth decade of political involvement, Kösem was a shrewd and experienced politician. The competition between them was reported by the Venetian ambassador Alvise Contarini:


title: Kösem Sultan

text: Ibrahim's sexual impotency was assessed psychologically, and his mother summoned a number of "hodjas" to treat him, but all of whom were unsuccessful. In a desperate attempt, Kösem then invited the alleged sorcerer Cinci Hoca (Jinji Hojā) to the palace, after informing her that he had inherited certain 'magic formulas.' After supposedly curing Ibrahim's impotency by offering him a cocktail of aphrodisiacs, pornography and seductive females, the sultan rewarded the "hoca" with a chief justiceship, the second highest "ulama" position, an appointment which was one of numerous examples of the overturning of authority and procedure at court.


title: Kösem Sultan

text: Kösem tried to remedy the situation by encouraging Ibrahim to distract himself with beautiful concubines supplied to her from the slave market by a confidant named "Pezevenk", or the Pimp. This allowed her to gain power and rule in his name as well as to ensure the dynasty's survival. Bobovi, a royal page from Poland who served in the palace from 1638 until 1657, wrote, "It is almost always from among the Sultan Valide's slaves that the sultan chooses his mistresses. For it is only she who has the interest of the loves of her son at her heart. She always searches for beautiful girls to be presented to him."


title: Kösem Sultan

text: The Grand Vizier Mustafa Pasha and Kösem continued to direct the affairs of government throughout the first four years of Ibrahim's reign. The rivalry between them grew stronger as time went on, and early in 1644, Kösem allied herself with Cinci Hoca, and together, they persuaded Ibrahim to have Kara Mustafa Pasha executed. From that point on, she concentrated her efforts on increasing the pay of the Janissaries. However, the treasury had run out of money in 1645 when it came time to pay them. Kösem tried to get financial assistance from Cinci Hoca, the sultan's chief treasurer, but he declined. She later explained this situation to the Janissaries, writing to them: "I want to distribute your service pay but Cinci Hoca does not allow me", causing the Janissaries to consider Cinci Hoca as an enemy, causing the Janissaries to murder him.


title: Kösem Sultan

text: Due to the shortfall in the Imperial funds, Kösem and her allies urged Ibrahim to launch a naval assault on the Venetian-controlled island of Crete, Venice's largest and wealthiest overseas possession. The campaign, however, was largely unsuccessful, and the venture further drained the treasury.