title: Formula One engines

text: In 2017, the FIA began negotiations with existing constructors and potential new manufacturers over the next generation of engines with a projected introduction date of but delayed to due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The initial proposal was designed to simplify engine designs, cut costs, promote new entries and address criticisms directed at the 2014 generation of engines. It called for the 1.6 L V6 configuration to be retained, but abandoned the complex Motor Generator Unit–Heat () system. The Motor Generator Unit–Kinetic () would be more powerful, with a greater emphasis on driver deployment and a more flexible introduction to allow for tactical use. The proposal also called for the introduction of standardised components and design parameters to make components produced by all manufacturers compatible with one another in a system dubbed "plug in and play". A further proposal to allow four-wheel drive cars was also made, with the front axle driven by an unit—as opposed to the traditional driveshaft—that functioned independently of the providing power to the rear axle, mirroring the system developed by Porsche for the 919 Hybrid race car.


title: Formula One engines

text: However, mostly due to no engine supplier applying for F1 entry in 2021 and 2022, abolishment of the MGU-H, a more powerful MGU-K and a four-wheel drive system were all shelved with the possibility of their re-introduction for 2026. Instead, the teams and FIA agreed to a radical change in body/chassis aerodynamics to promote more battles on the course at closer distances to each other. They further agreed to an increase in alcohol content from 5.75% to 10% of fuel, and to implement a freeze on power unit design for 2022-2025, with the ICE, turbocharger and MGU-H being frozen on March 1st and the energy store, MGU-K and control electronics being frozen on September 1st during the 2022 season. Honda, the outgoing engine supplier in 2021, was keen to keep the MGU-H, and Red Bull, who took over the engine production project, backed that opinion. The 4WD system was planned to be based on Porsche 919 Hybrid system, but Porsche ended up not becoming an F1 engine supplier for 2021-2022.


title: Formula One engines

text: On 16 August 2022 it was announced that new engine regulations had been agreed for 2026 and beyond. These engine regulations will see the turbocharged 1.6 V6 internal combustion engine configuration used since 2014 retained albeit with ICE power output reduced to around 400kw (approximately 570 bhp) down from 750bhp + whilst the MGU-K's electrical energy capacity will be increased to 350kw (460 bhp) and the MGU-H removed. In addition, fuel flow rates will be measured and limited based on energy, rather than mass or volume of the fuel itself. There is also intended to be further restrictions on components such as MGU-Ks and exhausts imposed from 2027.


title: Formula One engines

text: <nowiki>*</nowiki> Only Alberto Ascari raced in the 1952 Indianapolis 500 with Ferrari.<nowiki>**</nowiki> Alfa Romeo did not race in the 1950 Indianapolis 500.


title: Formula One engines

text: In December 2021, Audi has written to the outgoing president of the FIA, Jean Todt, advising him of their intention to enter Formula One from 2026. This is when new engine regulations take effect to introduce more environmentally-friendly powertrains. The Volkswagen Group is evaluating entries from Audi and Porsche and is "close to the finishing line" in terms of its entry into F1.


title: Gigantopithecus

text: Gigantopithecus ( ; ) is an extinct genus of ape from roughly 2 million to 350,000 years ago during the Early to Middle Pleistocene of southern China, represented by one species, Gigantopithecus blacki. Potential identifications have also been made in Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia. The first remains of "Gigantopithecus", two third molar teeth, were identified in a drugstore by anthropologist Ralph von Koenigswald in 1935, who subsequently described the ape. In 1956, the first mandible and more than 1,000 teeth were found in Liucheng, and numerous more remains have since been found in at least 16 sites. Only teeth and four mandibles are known currently, and other skeletal elements were likely consumed by porcupines before they could fossilise. "Gigantopithecus" was once argued to be a hominin, a member of the human line, but it is now thought to be closely allied with orangutans, classified in the subfamily Ponginae.


title: Gigantopithecus

text: "Gigantopithecus" has traditionally been restored as a massive, gorilla-like ape, potentially when alive, but the paucity of remains make total size estimates highly speculative. The species may have been sexually dimorphic, with males much bigger than females. The incisors are reduced and the canines appear to have functioned like cheek teeth (premolars and molars). The premolars are high-crowned, and the fourth premolar is very molar-like. The molars are the largest of any known ape, and have a relatively flat surface. "Gigantopithecus" had the thickest enamel by absolute measure of any ape, up to 6 mm (a quarter of an inch) in some areas, though this is only fairly thick when tooth size is taken into account.


title: Gigantopithecus

text: "Gigantopithecus" appears to have been a generalist herbivore of C forest plants, with the jaw adapted to grinding, crushing, and cutting through tough, fibrous plants, and the thick enamel functioning to resist foods with abrasive particles such as stems, roots, and tubers with dirt. Some teeth bear traces of fig family fruits, which may have been important dietary components. It primarily lived in subtropical to tropical forest, and went extinct about 300,000 years ago likely because of the retreat of preferred habitat due to climate change, and potentially archaic human activity. "Gigantopithecus" has become popular in cryptozoology circles as the identity of the Tibetan yeti or the American bigfoot, humanlike creatures in local folklore.


title: Gigantopithecus

text: "Gigantopithecus blacki" was named by anthropologist Ralph von Koenigswald in 1935 based on two third lower molar teeth, which, he noted, were of enormous size (the first was ""Ein gewaltig grosser (...) Molar"", the second was described as ""der enorme Grösse besitzt""), measuring . The specific name "blacki" is in honour of Canadian palaeoanthropologist Davidson Black, who had studied human evolution in China and had died the previous year. Von Koenigswald, working for the Dutch East Indies Mineralogical Survey on Java, had found the teeth in a drugstore in Hong Kong where they were being sold as "dragon bones" to be used in traditional Chinese medicine. By 1939, after purchasing more teeth, he determined they had originated somewhere in Guangdong or Guangxi. He could not formally describe the type specimen until 1952 due to his internment by Japanese forces during World War II. The originally discovered teeth are part of the collection of the University of Utrecht.


title: Gigantopithecus

text: In 1955, a survey team that was led by Chinese palaeontologist Pei Wenzhong was tasked by the Chinese Institute of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Palaeoanthropology (IVPP) with finding the original "Gigantopithecus" locality. They collected 47 teeth among shipments of "dragon bones" in Guangdong and Guangxi. In 1956, the team discovered the first "in situ" remains, a third molar and premolar, in a cave (subsequently named ""Gigantopithecus" Cave") in Niusui Mountain, Guangxi. Also in 1956, Liucheng farmer Xiuhuai Qin discovered more teeth and the first mandible on his field. From 1957 to 1963, the IVPP survey team carried out excavations in this area and recovered two more mandibles and more than 1,000 teeth.


title: Gigantopithecus

text: Confirmed "Gigantopithecus" remains have since been found in 16 different sites across southern China. The northernmost sites are Longgupo and Longgudong, just south of the Yangtze River, and southernmost on Hainan Island in the South China Sea. An isolated canine from Thẩm Khuyên Cave, Vietnam, and a fourth premolar from Pha Bong, Thailand, could possibly be assigned to "Gigantopithecus", though these could also represent the extinct orangutan "Pongo weidenreichi". Two mandibular fragments each preserving the last two molars from Semono in Central Java, Indonesia, described in 2016 could represent "Gigantopithecus". The oldest remains date to 2 million years ago from Baikong Cave, and the youngest 380,000–310,000 years ago from Hei Cave. In 2014, a fourth confirmed mandible was discovered in Yanliang, Central China. Indicated by extensive rodent gnawing marks, teeth primarily accumulated in caves likely due to porcupine activity. Porcupines gnaw on bones to obtain nutrients necessary for quill growth, and can haul large bones into their underground dens and consume them entirely, except the hard, enamel-capped crowns of teeth. This may explain why teeth are typically found in great quantity, and why remains other than teeth are so rare.


title: Gigantopithecus

text: In 1935, von Koenigswald considered "Gigantopithecus" to be closely allied with the Late Miocene "Sivapithecus" from India. In 1939, South African palaeontologist Robert Broom hypothesised that it was closely allied with "Australopithecus" and the last common ancestor of humans and other apes. In 1946, Jewish German anthropologist Franz Weidenreich described "Gigantopithecus" as a human ancestor as ""Gigantanthropus"", believing that the human lineage went through a gigantic phase. He stated that the teeth are more similar to those of modern humans and "Homo erectus" (at the time ""Pithecanthropus"" for early Javan specimens), and envisioned a lineage from "Gigantopithecus", to the Javan ape "Meganthropus" (then considered a human ancestor), to ""Pithecanthropus"", to ""Javanthropus"", and finally Aboriginal Australians. This was part of his multiregional hypothesis, that all modern races and ethnicities evolved independently from a local archaic human species, rather than sharing a more recent and fully modern common ancestor. In 1952, von Koenigswald agreed that "Gigantopithecus" was a hominin, but believed it was an offshoot rather than a human ancestor. Much debate followed whether "Gigantopithecus" was a hominin or not for the next three decades until the Out of Africa hypothesis overturned the Out of Asia and multiregional hypotheses, firmly placing humanity's origins in Africa.


title: Gigantopithecus

text: "Gigantopithecus" is now classified in the subfamily Ponginae, closely allied with "Sivapithecus" and "Indopithecus". This would make its closest living relatives the orangutans. However, there are few similar traits (synapomorphies) linking "Gigantopithecus" and orangutans due to fragmentary remains, with the main morphological argument being its close affinities to "Sivapithecus", which is better established as a pongine based on skull features. In 2017, Chinese palaeoanthropologist Yingqi Zhang and American anthropologist Terry Harrison suggested that "Gigantopithecus" is most closely allied to the Chinese "Lufengpithecus", which went extinct 4 million years prior to "Gigantopithecus".


title: Gigantopithecus

text: In 2019, peptide sequencing of dentine and enamel proteins of a "Gigantopithecus" molar from Chuifeng Cave indicates that "Gigantopithecus" was indeed closely allied with orangutans, and, assuming the current mutation rate in orangutans has remained constant, shared a common ancestor about 12–10 million years ago in the Middle to Late Miocene. Their last common ancestor would have been a part of the Miocene radiation of apes. The same study calculated a divergence time between the Ponginae and African great apes about 26–17.7 million years ago.


title: Gigantopithecus

text: In 1969, an 8.6 million year old mandible from the Sivalik Hills in northern India was classified as ""G. bilaspurensis"" by palaeontologists Elwyn L. Simons and , who believed it was an the ancestor of "G. blacki". This bore resemblance to a molar discovered in 1915 in the Pakistani Pothohar Plateau then classified as ""Dryopithecus giganteus"". Von Koenigswald reclassified ""D. giganteus"" in 1950 into its own genus, "Indopithecus", but this was changed again in 1979 to ""G. giganteus"" by American anthropologists Frederick Szalay and Eric Delson until "Indopithecus" was resurrected in 2003 by Australian anthropologist David W. Cameron. ""G. bilaspurensis"" is now considered a synonym of "Indopithecus giganteus", leaving "Gigantopithecus" monotypic (with only one species), "G. blacki".


title: Gigantopithecus

text: Total size estimates are highly speculative because only tooth and jaw elements are known, and molar size and total body weight do not always correlate, such as in the case of post-canine megadontia hominins (small-bodied primate exhibiting massive molars and thick enamel). In 1946, Weidenreich hypothesised that "Gigantopithecus" was twice the size of male gorillas. In 1957, Pei estimated a total height of about . In 1970, Simons and American palaeontologist Peter Ettel approximated a height of almost and a weight of up to , which is about 40% heavier than the average male gorilla. In 1979, American anthropologist Alfred E. Johnson Jr. used the dimensions of gorillas to estimate a femur length of and humerus length of for "Gigantopithecus", about 20–25% longer than those of gorillas. In 2017, Chinese palaeoanthropologist Yingqi Zhang and American anthropologist Terry Harrison suggested a body mass of , though conceded this was likely an overestimate and it is impossible to obtain a reliable body mass estimate without more complete remains.


title: Gigantopithecus

text: The average maximum length of the upper canines for presumed males and females are and , respectively, and Mandible III (presumed male) is 40% larger than Mandible I (presumed female). These imply sexual dimorphism, with males being larger than females. Such a high degree of dimorphism is only surpassed by gorillas among modern apes in canine size, and is surpassed by none for mandibular disparity.


title: Gigantopithecus

text: Like other apes, "Gigantopithecus" had a dental formula of , with two incisors, one canine, two premolars, and three molars in each half of the jaw for both jaws. The canines, due to a lack of honing facets (which keep them sharp) and their overall stoutness, have been suggested to have functioned like premolars and molars (cheek teeth). Like other apes with enlarged molars, the incisors of "Gigantopithecus" are reduced. Wearing on the tongue-side of the incisors (the lingual face), which can extend as far down as the tooth root, suggests an underbite. Overall mandibular anatomy and tooth wearing suggests a side-to-side movement of the jaw while chewing (lateral excursion). The incisors and canines have extremely long tooth roots, at least double the length of the tooth crown (the visible part of the tooth). These teeth were closely packed together.


title: Gigantopithecus

text: In the upper jaw, the first premolar (P) averages in surface area, the second premolar (P) , the first and/or second molars (M, which are difficult to distinguish) , and the third molar (M) . In the lower jaw, P averages , P , M , and M . The molars are the biggest of any known ape. Teeth continually evolved to become larger and larger. The premolars are high-crowned, and the lower have two tooth roots, whereas the upper have three. The lower molars are low-crowned, long and narrow, and waist at the midline—which is more pronounced in the lower molars—with low-lying and bulbous cusps and rounded-off crests.


title: Gigantopithecus

text: The tooth enamel on the molars is in absolute measure the thickest of any known ape, averaging in three different molars, and over on the tongue-side (lingual) cusps of an upper molar. This has attracted comparisons with the extinct "Paranthropus" hominins, which had extremely large molars and thick enamel for their size. However, in relation to the tooth's size, enamel thickness for "Gigantopithecus" overlaps with that of several other living and extinct apes. Like orangutans and potentially all pongines (though unlike African apes) the "Gigantopithecus" molar had a large and flat (tabular) grinding surface, with an even enamel coating, and short dentine horns (the areas of the dentine layer which project upwards into the top enamel layer). The molars are the most hypsodont (where the enamel extends beyond the gums) of any ape.


title: Gigantopithecus

text: "Gigantopithecus" is considered to have been a herbivore. Carbon-13 isotope analysis suggests consumption of C plants, such as fruits, leaves, and other forest plants. The robust mandible of "Gigantopithecus" indicates it was capable of resisting high strains while chewing through tough or hard foods. However, the same mandibular anatomy is typically seen in modern apes which primarily eat soft leaves (folivores) or seeds (granivores). "Gigantopithecus" teeth have a markedly lower rate of pitting (caused by eating small, hard objects) than orangutans, more similar to the rate seen in chimpanzees, which could indicate a similarly generalist diet.


title: Gigantopithecus

text: The molar-like premolars, large molars, and long rooted cheeked teeth could point to chewing, crushing, and grinding of bulky and fibrous materials. Thick enamel would suggest a diet of abrasive items, such as dirt particles on food gathered near or on the ground (like bamboo shoots). Similarly, oxygen isotope analysis suggests "Gigantopithecus" consumed more low-lying plants such as stems, roots, and grasses than orangutans. Dental calculus indicates the consumption of tubers. "Gigantopithecus" does not appear to have consumed the commonplace savanna grasses (C4 plants). Nonetheless, in 1990, a few opal phytoliths adhering to four teeth from "Gigantopithecus" Cave were identified to have originated from grasses; though, the majority of phytoliths resemble the hairs of fig family fruits, which include figs, mulberry, breadfruit and banyan. This suggests that fruit was a significant dietary component for at least this population of "Gigantopithecus".


title: Gigantopithecus

text: The 400,000–320,000 year old Middle Pleistocene teeth from Hejiang Cave in southeastern China (near the time of extinction) show some differences from Early Pleistocene material from other sites, which could potentially indicate that the Hejiang "Gigantopithecus" were a specialised form adapting to a changing environment with different food resources. The Hejiang teeth display a less level (more crenulated) outer enamel surface due to the presence of secondary crests emanating from the paracone and protocone on the side of the molar closer to the midline (medially), as well as sharper major crests. That is, the teeth are not as flat.


title: Gigantopithecus

text: In 1957, based on hoofed animal remains in a cave located in a seemingly inaccessible mountain, Pei had believed that "Gigantopithecus" was a cave-dwelling predator and carried these animals in. This hypothesis is no longer considered viable because its dental anatomy is consistent with herbivory. In 1975, American palaeoanthropologist Tim D. White drew similarities between the jaws and dentition of "Gigantopithecus" and those of the giant panda, and suggested they both occupied the same niche as bamboo specialists. This garnered support from some subsequent researchers, but thicker enamel and hypsodonty in "Gigantopithecus" could suggest different functionality for these teeth.


title: Gigantopithecus

text: A "Gigantopithecus" permanent third molar, based on an approximate 600–800 days required for the enamel on the cusps to form (which is quite long), was estimated to have taken four years to form, which is within the range (albeit, far upper range) of what is exhibited in humans and chimpanzees. Like many other fossil apes, the rate of enamel formation near the enamel-dentine junction (dentine is the nerve-filled layer beneath the enamel) was estimated to begin at about four μm per day; this is seen in only baby teeth for modern apes.


title: Gigantopithecus

text: Protein sequencing of "Gigantopithecus" enamel identified alpha-2-HS-glycoprotein (AHSG), which, in modern apes, is important in bone and dentine mineralisation. Because it was found in enamel, and not dentine, AHSG may have been an additional component in "Gigantopithecus" which facilitated biomineralisation of enamel during prolonged amelogenesis (enamel growth).


title: Gigantopithecus

text: "Gigantopithecus" molars have a high cavity rate of 11%, which could mean fruit was commonly included in its diet. The molars from "Gigantopithecus" Cave frequently exhibit pitting enamel hypoplasia, where the enamel improperly forms with pits and grooves. This can be caused by malnutrition during growth years, which could point to periodic food shortages, though it can also be induced by other factors. Specimen PA1601-1 from Yanliang Cave shows evidence of tooth loss of the right second molar before the eruption of the neighboring third molar (which grew slantedly), which suggests this individual was able to survive for a long time despite impaired chewing abilities.


title: Gigantopithecus

text: The high levels of sexual dimorphism could indicate relatively intense male–male competition, though considering the upper canines only projected slightly farther than the cheek teeth, canine display was probably not very important in agonistic behaviour, unlike modern non-human apes.


title: Gigantopithecus

text: "Gigantopithecus" remains are generally found in what were subtropical evergreen broadleaf forest in South China, except in Hainan which featured a tropical rainforest. Carbon and oxygen isotope analysis of Early Pleistocene enamel suggests "Gigantopithecus" inhabited dense, humid, closed-canopy forest. Queque Cave featured a mixed deciduous and evergreen forest dominated by birch, oak, and chinkapin, as well as several low-lying herbs and ferns.


title: Gigantopithecus

text: The ""Gigantopithecus" fauna", one of the most important mammalian faunal groups of the Early Pleistocene of southern China, includes tropical or subtropical forest species. This group has been subdivided into three stages spanning 2.6–1.8 million years ago, 1.8–1.2 million years ago, and 1.2–0.8 million years ago. The early stage is characterised by more ancient Neogene animals such as the gomphotheriid proboscidean (relative of elephants) "Sinomastodon", the chalicothere "Hesperotherium", the pig "Hippopotamodon", the mouse-deer "Dorcabune", and the deer "Cervavitus". The middle stage is indicated by the appearance of the panda "Ailuropoda wulingshanensis", the dhole "Cuon antiquus", and the tapir "Tapirus sinensis". The late stage features more typical Middle Pleistocene animals such as the panda "Ailuropoda baconi" and the stegodontid proboscidean "Stegodon". Other classic animals typically include orangutans, macaques, rhinos, the extinct pigs "Sus xiaozhu" and "S. peii", muntjac, "Cervus" (a deer), gaur (a cow), the goat-antelope "Megalovis", and more rarely the large saber-toothed cat "Megantereon". In 2009, American palaeoanthropologist Russel Ciochon hypothesised an undescribed, chimp-sized ape he identified from a few teeth coexisted with "Gigantopithecus", which in 2019 was identified as the closely related "Meganthropus". Longgudong Cave may have represented a transitional zone between the Palaearctic and Oriental realms, featuring, alongside the typical "Gigantopithecus" fauna, more boreal animals such as hedgehogs, hyenas, horses, the cow "Leptobos", and pikas.


title: Gigantopithecus

text: "Gigantopithecus" appears to have gone extinct about 300,000 years ago, possibly due to the southward retreat of forest and prime habitat throughout the Middle Pleistocene caused by increasing seasonality, intensifying winter and summer monsoon strength, and regional climatic cooling and/or wettening. Savanna would remain the dominant habitat of Southeast Asia until the Late Pleistocene. It has been speculated that immigrating "H. erectus" also contributed to its extinction. Human activity in southern China is known as early as 800,000 years ago, but does not become prevalent until after the extinction of "Gigantopithecus", so it is unclear if pressures such as competition over resources or overhunting were factors. In 2009, Ciochon suggested "Gigantopithecus" was the dominant primate inhabiting the tropical forests south of the Qinling Mountains, whereas "H. erectus" remained in the savannas straddling it.


title: Gigantopithecus

text: "Gigantopithecus" has been used in cryptozoology circles as the identity of the Tibetan yeti or American bigfoot, humanlike monsters in local folklore. This began in 1960 with zoologist Wladimir Tschernezky, briefly describing in the journal "Nature" a 1951 photograph of alleged yeti tracks taken by Himalayan mountaineers Michael Ward and Eric Shipton. Tschernezky concluded that the yeti walked like a human and was similar to "Gigantopithecus". Subsequently, the yeti attracted short-lived scientific attention, with several more authors publishing in "Nature" and "Science", but this also incited a popular monster hunting following for both the yeti and the similar American bigfoot which has persisted into the present day. The only scientist who continued trying to prove such monsters exist was anthropologist Grover Krantz, who continued pushing for a connection between "Gigantopithecus" and bigfoot from 1970 to his death in 2002. Among the binomial names he came up with for bigfoot included "Gigantopithecus canadensis". Krantz did not meet support from either mainstream science or amateurs who said he readily accepted clearly false evidence.


title: Bashkortostan

text: The Republic of Bashkortostan or Bashkortostan (; ), also unofficially called Bashkiria (, tr. Bashkiriya), is a republic of Russia located between the Volga and the Ural Mountains in Eastern Europe. It covers and has a population of 4 million. It is Russia's 7th most populous federal subject and most populous republic. Its capital and largest city is Ufa.


title: Bashkortostan

text: Bashkortostan was established on . On 20 March 1919 it was transformed into the Bashkir ASSR, the first Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in the RSFSR.


title: Bashkortostan

text: In accordance with the Constitution of Bashkortostan and Russian Federation Constitution, Bashkortostan is a state but has no sovereignty. On 11 October 1990 it adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty. The state celebrates 11 October as its Republic Day.


title: Bashkortostan

text: The name "Bashkortostan" derives from the name of the Bashkir ethnic group. While the root of the name is Turkic (being a combination of ", which in Turkish can mean "head", "chief", "main", "principal" and "qort" meaning "wolf", one of the animals regarded as sacred to Turkic peoples); the suffix -stan is Persian, common to many Eurasian territorial names. The Bashkirs speak the Bashkir language, which belongs to the Kipchak branch of the Turkic language group.


title: Bashkortostan

text: The first settlements in the territory of modern Bashkortostan date from the early Paleolithic period, but the Bronze Age spurred an upsurge in the population of this territory. When people of the Abashevo culture started settling here, they possessed high skills in manufacturing bronze tools, weapons and decorations. They were the first to establish permanent settlements in the Southern Urals.


title: Bashkortostan

text: Bashkortostan takes its name from its native people, the Bashkirs. The Slavonic name of the country, Bashkiriya, formed at the end of the 16th century. Originally it appeared in the forms "Bashkir land", "Bashkir", "Bashkirda" and "Bashkir horde". The ethnonym "Bashkirs" first became known in the 7th century. In the 10th century, Al-Balkhi wrote about Bashkirs as a people, divided into two groups, one of which inhabited the Southern Urals, while the other lived near the Danube River, close to the boundaries of Byzantium. His contemporary Ibn-Ruste described the Bashkirs as "an independent people, occupying territories on both sides of the Ural mountain ridge between Volga, Kama, Tobol and upstream of Yaik River".


title: Bashkortostan

text: After the early-feudal Mongolian state had broken down in the 14th century, the territory of modern Bashkortostan became divided between the Kazan and Siberia Khanates and the Nogai Horde. The tribes that lived there were headed by "bi" (tribal heads). After Kazan fell to Ivan the Terrible in 1554–1555, representatives of western and northwestern Bashkir tribes approached the Tsar with a request to voluntarily join Muscovy.


title: Bashkortostan

text: Starting from the second half of the 16th century, Bashkiria's territory began taking shape as a part of the Russian state. In 1798 the Spiritual Assembly of Russian Muslims was established, an indication that the tsarist government recognized the rights of Bashkirs, Tatars, and other Muslim nations to profess Islam and perform religious rituals. Ufa Governorate (), with a center in Ufa, was formed in 1865—another step towards territorial identification.


title: Bashkortostan

text: After the Russian Revolution of 1917 were All-Bashkir Qoroltays (conventions) on which a decision on the need to create a national federal republic within Russia. As a result, on 28 November 1917, the Bashkir Regional (Central) Shuro (Council) proclaimed the establishment of territorial and national autonomy in areas of Orenburg, Perm, Samara, and Ufa provinces with a predominantly Bashkir population.


title: Bashkortostan

text: In December 1917, delegates to the All-Bashkir (constituent) Congress, representing the interests of the population edge of all nationalities, voted unanimously for the resolution (Farman #2) of the Bashkir regional Shuro for the proclamation of national-territorial autonomy (of the Republic) Bashkurdistan. The congress formed the government of Bashkurdistan, the Pre-parliament—Kese-Qoroltay and other bodies of power and administration, and decisions were made on how to proceed.


title: Bashkortostan

text: In March 1919, based on the agreements of the Russian Government with the Bashkir Government was formed Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. During the Soviet period, Bashkiria was granted broad autonomous rights—the first among other Russian regions. The administrative structure of the Bashkir ASSR was based on principles similar to those of other autonomous republics of Russia.


title: Bashkortostan

text: On 11 October 1990, the Supreme Soviet of the Republic adopted the declaration on state sovereignty of the Bashkir ASSR. On 25 February 1992, the Bashkir ASSR was renamed the Republic of Bashkortostan.


title: Bashkortostan

text: On 31 March 1992, a Federative Compact "On separation of authorities and powers among federal organs of power of the Russian Federation and the organs of power of the Republic of Bashkortostan" was signed. On 3 August 1994, a Compact "On separation of authorities and mutual delegating of powers among the organs of power of the Russian Federation and the organs of power of the Republic of Bashkortostan" was signed, granting the republic autonomy. This agreement was abolished on 7 July 2005.


title: Bashkortostan

text: There are over 13,000 rivers in the republic. Many rivers are part of the deepwater transportation system of European Russia; they provide access to ports of the Baltic and Black seas.


title: Bashkortostan

text: The Republic contains part of the southern Urals, which stretch from the northern to the southern border. The highest mountains include:


title: Bashkortostan

text: The Republic of Bashkortostan is one of the richest territories of Russia in mineral resources with deposits of some 3,000 mineral resources. Bashkortostan is rich in crude oil reserves, and is one of the principal centers of oil extraction in the Russian Federation. Other major resources are natural gas, coal, ferrous metal ores, manganese, chromite, iron ores, non-ferrous metals ores (lead, tungsten), non-metallic ores (rock crystal, fluorite, Iceland spar, sulfide pyrites, barite, silicates, silica, asbestos, talcum), deposits of precious and semi-precious stones and natural stones (malachite, jade, granite).


title: Bashkortostan

text: The republic has enough mineral resources to provide its power and fuel complex as well as petrochemical, chemical, agro-industrial complex, ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, glass-making and ceramic branches with raw materials.


title: Bashkortostan

text: Bashkortostan is one of the major raw materials bases for Russia non-ferrous metallurgy. The republic has good deposits of lignite with a high degree of bitumen. This lignite can be used for obtaining a variety of different chemical products like resins, surface-active substances, gummy fertilizers, and other stimulants for plant growth. Mining-chemical raw materials (rock salt, lime, phosphorites, barytes, etc.) are quite substantial, and are utilized in the republic economy.


title: Bashkortostan

text: Bashkortostan is also rich in woods. The total territory covered with forests is about . More than one third of the republic territory is covered with woods. The following types of trees dominate: birch tree, conifers, lime, oak, and maple. The general stock of timber according to some evaluation is 717.9 million m. Bashkortostan forests have special sanctuaries and national parks. They cover more than .


title: Bashkortostan

text: The Asselian Age at the start of the Permian Period of geological time is named after the Assel River in Bashkortostan.


title: Bashkortostan

text: The head of the government of the Republic of Bashkortostan is the Head (before 1 January 2015 the title was called "President"). According to the Constitution, the Head of the Republic of Bashkortostan guarantees rights and liberties of the country's people and citizens, protects economic and political interests of the Republic of Bashkortostan, and secures legitimacy, law, and order within its territory.


title: Bashkortostan

text: Since 11 October 2018, the head of the Head of the Republic of Bashkortostan has been Radiy Khabirov. He was first appointed as acting head by the Russian President Vladimir Putin. In 2019 he was officially elected after winning 82% of the vote in the 2019 Bashkir head election. The next election will be in 2024. Before his current role, Radiy Khabirov was the Head of Krasnogorsk, Moscow Oblast. His predecessor was Rustem Khamitov who was the leader since 19 July 2010. He resigned on 11 October 2018 ahead of the election because he personally decided to not run for re-election.


title: Bashkortostan

text: The Republic's parliament is the State Assembly—Kurultai, popularly elected every five years. The one-chamber State Assembly has 110 deputies.


title: Bashkortostan

text: The Republic's Constitution was adopted on 24 December 1993. Article 1 of the Constitution stipulates that Bashkortostan is a sovereign state within Russia, it has state power beyond the limits of authority of the Russian Federation and the powers of the Russian Federation concerning the aspect of the joint authority of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Bashkortostan. The Republic of Bashkortostan is a full-fledged subject of the Russian Federation on equal and agreed bases.


title: Bashkortostan

text: The relations of the Republic of Bashkortostan and the Russian Federation are at present based on the articles of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the Constitution of the Republic of Bashkortostan, the Federative Treaty (with amendments) and the Agreement on Separation of authorities and powers and mutual delegating of powers among the organs of state power of the Republic of Bashkortostan.


title: Bashkortostan

text: The judicial power of the republic is in the hands of the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, District Courts, and justices of the peace.


title: Bashkortostan

text: In full accord with universally recognized principles of international law, articles of the European Charter of Local Self-Government and the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the Republic of Bashkortostan ensures in its Constitution that local self-government is recognized and guaranteed within the republic's territory.


title: Bashkortostan

text: The Republic of Bashkortostan resolves all issues of administrative-territorial structure on its own. The list of districts and towns, municipalities, as well as the order of establishing, amending and changing borders of municipalities and their names, are stipulated by the Republic of Bashkortostan law "On administrative-territorial structure of the Republic of Bashkortostan and territory of municipalities".


title: Bashkortostan

text: The state has strong economic and cultural ties with its western neighbour, the Republic of Tatarstan.


title: Bashkortostan

text: Bashkortostan is one of the most developed regions of the Russian Federation in terms of its cross regional output, the volume of industrial production, agricultural production, and investment in fixed assets.


title: Bashkortostan

text: The largest companies in the region include Bashneft (revenues of $ billion in 2017), Ufa Engine Industrial Association (part of United Engine Corporation; $ billion), Peton Holding ($ billion), Bashkhim ($ million), Ufaorgsintez ($ million), Beloretsk Iron and Steel Works ($ million).


title: Bashkortostan

text: The extraction of crude oil in Bashkiria began in 1932. At the end of 1943 large crude oil deposits were discovered. During the Great Patriotic War of 1941 to 1945, Bashkiria became one of the major regions of the Soviet Union to accommodate plants and factories evacuated from Western Russia, as well as great masses of people, while also providing the country with weaponry, fuel, and foodstuffs. After the war, a number of industries developed further in Bashkiria, such as mining, machine-building and (especially) oil-refining. Bashkiria's industry became a solid base for the further economic growth of all European outlying territories of Russia.


title: Bashkortostan

text: The economy of Bashkortostan, being one of the largest industrial centers of Russia, is very diverse. Bashkortostan has a large agricultural sector. But the republic's most important industry is chemical processing; Bashkortostan produces more oil than any other region of Russia, about 26 million tons annually, and provides 17% of the country's gasoline and 15% of its diesel fuel. Other important products manufactured in Bashkortostan include alcohols, pesticides, and plastics.


title: Bashkortostan

text: Bashkortostan's gross regional product (GRP) in 2016 was 1.34 trillion rubles, making the republic the subject with the ninth-highest GRP in Russia. The state had a positive trade balance, with $13.7 billion exported and $1.2 billion imported in 2013. 82.9% of enterprises in Bashkortostan are profitable, higher than the nationwide average of 68.42%. Bashkortostan has been recognized as the subject with the lowest economic risk.


title: Bashkortostan

text: Bashkortostan is among the leaders in real estate development, developed electric power industry and tourism.


title: Bashkortostan

text: According to "Forbes", Ufa is the best city in Russia for business among cities with a population of over one million (2013).


title: Bashkortostan

text: Bashkirs as the indigenous (autochthonal) peoples of Bashkortostan have the sole rights to self-determination. According to the 2010 Census, the ethnic composition was:


title: Bashkortostan

text: Islam is adhered to by a majority of the nation's population of Bashkir and Tatar descent. The Muslims of Bashkortostan follow the Sunni Hanafi school of Islamic law.


title: Bashkortostan

text: Most ethnic Russians, Chuvash, and Ukrainians are Orthodox Christians. Most Mari are Pagan. Non-religious people form a substantial part of any ethnic group in Bashkortostan. There are 13,000 Jews in the republic, with a historic synagogue in Ufa, and a new Jewish Community Center built in 2008.


title: Bashkortostan

text: According to the 2012 Sreda survey which interviewed 56,900 people, 58% of the population of Bashkortostan are Muslim, 17% adhere to the Russian Orthodox Church, 3% are unaffiliated generic Christians, 1% are Orthodox Christian believers without belonging to any church or members of other Orthodox churches, and 2% are adherents of the Slavic native faith (Rodnovery), the Mari native religion, Chuvash Vattisen Yaly or Tengrism. In addition, 4% of the population declare to be "spiritual but not religious", 5% are atheist, and 7% follow other religions or did not give an answer to the question. Note, however, that this survey has been criticized as biased. It was conducted by the service "Sreda", which has ties to the Christian organizations.


title: Bashkortostan

text: In 2010, there were over 1,000 mosques in Bashkortostan, 200 Orthodox churches and 60 religious buildings of other confessions.


title: Bashkortostan

text: About sixty scientific organizations are active in the republic. Fundamental and applied scientific research is underway at twelve institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences, twenty-nine institutes of different branches of industry, as well as numerous design bureaus and organizations, universities, and colleges.


title: Bashkortostan

text: The country's system of popular education took shape over many centuries and reflects the Bashkir people's folklore, national customs, and traditions. When Islam spread in Bashkiria in the 10th century, an educational system began to emerge gradually— primarily religious schools operated under the supervision of mosques ( and madrasah).


title: Bashkortostan

text: In addition, many institutions of higher education operate in the republic, including branches of 16 leading Russian universities and colleges. Specialists graduate with degrees in about 200 trades and professions.


title: Bashkortostan

text: Russian Premier League football club FC Ufa is from Ufa. KHL team Salavat Yulaev Ufa plays in the city, as does Supreme Hockey League teams Toros Neftekamsk and HC Gornyak Uchaly, Minor Hockey League team Tolpar Ufa and Russian Women's Hockey League team Agidel. Russian Volleyball Super League team Ural and volleyball team Samrau-UGNTU are from Ufa. Russian Handball Super League team Ugntu-VNZM and Russian Women's Handball Super League team Ufa-Alisa are from Ufa. Formula One driver Daniil Kvyat hails from Ufa. It was decided in 2018 to revive bandy. There are even preliminary plans for building an indoor arena.


title: Bashkortostan

text: Bashkortostan is home to song and dance companies, a network of national theaters, museums, and libraries, and a number of annual folk festivals. The republic has seven Bashkir, four Russian, and two Tatar State Drama Theaters, a State Opera and Ballet Theater, a National Symphony Orchestra, "Bashkortostan" film studio, thirty philharmonic collectives, and the Bashkir State Folk Dance Ensemble.


title: Bashkortostan

text: The Bashkir School of Dance is well respected, with many students receiving international awards at competitions in Russia and other countries. World-renowned ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev, as a child, was encouraged to dance in Bashkir folk performances, and began his dancing career in Ufa.


title: Bashkortostan

text: There are many museums in the Republic where you can get acquainted with the history of the region. The National Museum of the Republic of Bashkortostan, the Bashkir Nesterov Art Museum, the Museum of Archeology and Ethnography are the largest of them.


title: Super Mario 64

text: Director Shigeru Miyamoto conceived a 3D "Super Mario" game during the production of "Star Fox" (1993). Development lasted nearly three years: about one year on design and twenty months on production, starting with designing the virtual camera system. The team continued with illustrating the 3D character models—at the time a relatively unattempted task—and refining sprite movements. The sound effects were recorded by Yoji Inagaki and the score was composed by Koji Kondo.


title: Super Mario 64

text: "Super Mario 64" was highly anticipated by video game journalists and audiences, boosted by advertising campaigns and showings at the 1996E3 trade show. It received critical acclaim, with reviewers praising its ambition, visuals, and gameplay, though some criticized its virtual camera system. It is the best-selling Nintendo 64 game, with nearly twelvemillion copies sold by 2015.


title: Super Mario 64

text: Retrospectively, "Super Mario 64" has been considered one of the greatest video games of all time. Numerous developers have cited it as an influence on 3D platform games, with its dynamic camera system and 360-degree analog control establishing a new archetype for the genre, much as "Super Mario Bros." did for side-scrolling platform games. It was remade as "Super Mario 64 DS" for the Nintendo DS in 2004, and has been ported to other Nintendo consoles since. The game has attracted a cult following, spawning many fangames, a large speedrunning presence, and enduring rumors surrounding game features.


title: Super Mario 64

text: "Super Mario 64" is a 3D platformer in which the player controls Mario through various courses. Mario's abilities are far more diverse than in previous games. He can walk, run, jump, crouch, crawl, climb, swim, kick, grab objects, and punch using the game controller's analog stick and buttons. He can execute special jumps by combining a regular jump with other actions, including the double and triple jumps, long jump, backflip, and wall jump. The player can adjust the camera—operated by a Lakitu broadcasting Mario—and toggle between first-person and third-person view.


title: Super Mario 64

text: Unlike many of its predecessors, "Super Mario 64" uses a health point system, represented by a pie shape consisting of eight segments. If Mario has taken damage, he can replenish his health either by collecting three types of coins—yellow, which replenishes one segment; red, equal to two yellow coins; and blue, equal to five yellow coins—or by walking through a spinning heart. Underwater, Mario's health instead represents how long he can hold his breath, slowly diminishing while underwater and replenishing when he surfaces. As in previous "Super Mario" games, he starts with a number of extra lives, lost when his health is depleted or he falls into a bottomless pit. The game ends if Mario loses all his lives. When Mario finishes a course, he gains a life for every fifty yellow coins the player collected, and extra life mushrooms are hidden in various places such as trees and may chase Mario through the air or fall to the ground and disappear shortly if not collected.


title: Super Mario 64

text: In absence of the power-ups normally found in previous games, such as the Super Mushroom and Fire Flower, three colors of translucent blocks—red, green, and blue—appear throughout many stages. Three switches of the same colors can be found in secret areas that turn their corresponding blocks solid and allow Mario to obtain three types of special cap power-ups. The Wing Cap allows Mario to fly after doing a triple jump or being shot from a cannon; the Metal Cap makes him immune to enemies, fire, noxious gases, allows him to withstand wind and water currents, perform on-land moves underwater, and have unlimited air capacity underwater; and the Vanish Cap renders him partially immaterial and invulnerable, and allows him to walk through some obstacles. A shell remains after stomping a Koopa Troopa, which Mario can use to surf on water, lava, and quicksand.


title: Super Mario 64

text: The hub world takes place in Princess Peach's Castle, which consists of three floors, a tower, and a basement, plus a moat and a courtyard outside the castle. The player's main objective is to look for paintings that bring them to courses containing Power Stars, which upon their collection unlock more of the castle hub world. Each of the fifteen courses has seven Power Stars, and an additional fifteen are hidden as secrets and as bonuses, for a total of 120 Power Stars in the game.


title: Super Mario 64

text: The courses are filled with enemies as well as friendly creatures that provide assistance or ask favors, such as Bob-omb Buddies, who will allow Mario to access cannons on request. Some Power Stars only appear after completing certain tasks, often hinted at by the name of the course. These challenges include collecting one hundred yellow coins or eight red coins on a stage, defeating a boss, racing an opponent, and solving puzzles. The final level of the game is blocked by "endless stairs", but Mario can bypass them by collecting seventy Power Stars. There are many hidden mini-courses and other secrets within the castle, which may contain extra Power Stars required for the full completion of the game. If the player returns to the game after collecting all 120 Power Stars, Yoshi can be found on the roof of Princess Peach's Castle, who will give the player a message from the developers, accompanied by one hundred extra lives and an improved triple jump.


title: Super Mario 64

text: The game begins with a letter from Princess Peach inviting Mario to come to her castle for a cake she has baked for him. When he arrives, Mario discovers that Bowser has invaded the castle and imprisoned the princess and her servants within it using the power of the castle's 120 Power Stars. The Power Stars are hidden in the castle's paintings, which serve as portals to other worlds where Bowser's minions keep watch over the Stars. Mario explores the castle and enters these worlds, gaining access to more rooms as he recovers more Stars. Mario unlocks two doors to different floors of the castle with keys obtained by defeating Bowser in hidden worlds. He gets at least 70 of the 120 Stars, breaking the curse of the endless stairs that block the entrance to Bowser's final hiding place. After Mario defeats Bowser in the final battle, he obtains a special Power Star which gives him the Wing Cap, and he flies back to the castle. Peach is released from the stained-glass window above the castle's entrance, and she rewards Mario by kissing him on the nose and baking the cake that she had promised him.


title: Super Mario 64

text: In the early 1990s, "Super Mario" creator Shigeru Miyamoto conceived a 3D "Mario" design while developing the game "Star Fox" (1993) for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. "Star Fox" used the Super FX graphics chip, which added more processing power; Miyamoto considered using the chip to develop a Super NES game, "Super Mario FX", with gameplay based on "an entire world in miniature, like miniature trains". According to engineer Dylan Cuthbert, who worked on "Star Fox", "Super Mario FX" was never the title of a game but the codename of the Super FX chip. Miyamoto reformulated the idea for the Nintendo 64, not for its greater power, but because its controller has more buttons for gameplay. At the January1993 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), where "Star Fox" made its debut, Nintendo's booth demonstrated a talking 3D polygon animation of Mario's head; it returned in the start screen, programmed by Giles Goddard.


title: Super Mario 64

text: Production of "Super Mario 64" began on September 7, 1994 at Nintendo’s Entertainment Analysis and Development division, and concluded on May 20, 1996. According to Miyamoto, most of the time fifteen to twenty people worked on the game. Development began with the characters and camera system; months were spent selecting a view and layout. The original concept involved the fixed path of an isometric game such as "Super Mario RPG", which moved to a free-roaming 3D design, with some linear paths, particularly to coerce the player into Bowser's lair, according to Giles Goddard.


title: Super Mario 64

text: "Super Mario 64" is one of the first games for which Nintendo produced its illustrations internally instead of by outsourcing. The graphics were made using N-World, a Silicon Graphics (SGI)-based toolkit. The development team prioritized Mario's movement and, before levels were created, tested and refined Mario's animations on a simple grid. The 3D illustrations were created by Shigefumi Hino, Hisashi Nogami, Hideki Fujii, Tomoaki Kuroume, and Yusuke Nakano, and the game was animated by co-director Yoshiaki Koizumi and Satoru Takiwaza. Yōichi Kotabe, illustrator and character designer for the "Mario" series, made a 3D drawing of Mario from various angles and directed the creation of the character models. In an interview with "The Washington Post", Yoshiaki Koizumi recalled that his challenge was animating the 3D models without any precedents. To assist players with depth perception, the team positioned a faux shadow directly beneath each object regardless of the area's lighting. Yoshiaki Koizumi described the feature as an "iron-clad necessity" which "might not be realistic, but it's much easier to play".


title: Super Mario 64

text: Miyamoto's guiding design philosophy was to include more details than earlier games by using the Nintendo 64's power to feature "all the emotions of the characters". He likened the game's style to a 3D interactive cartoon. Some details were inspired by the developers' personal lives; for example, the Boos are based on assistant director Takashi Tezuka's wife, who, as Miyamoto explained, "is very quiet normally, but one day she exploded, maddened by all the time Tezuka spent at work".


title: Super Mario 64

text: "Super Mario 64" was first run on an SGI Onyx emulator, which only emulated the console's application programming interface and not its hardware. The first test scenario for controls and physics involved Mario interacting with a golden rabbit, named "MIPS" after the Nintendo 64's MIPS architecture processors; the rabbit was included in the final game as a Power Star holder. "Super Mario 64" features more puzzles than earlier "Mario" games. It was developed simultaneously with "" but, as "Ocarina of Time" was released more than two years later, some puzzles were taken for "Super Mario 64". The developers tried to include a multiplayer cooperative mode, whereby players would control Mario and his brother Luigi in split-screen, but could not make it work satisfactorily.


title: Super Mario 64

text: The music was composed by veteran composer Koji Kondo, who created new interpretations of the familiar melodies from earlier media as well as new material. Yoji Inagaki was responsible for the sound design, tasked with producing hundreds of sound effects. He and Kondo felt that music and sound effects were equally important. According to Inagaki, the average Nintendo 64 game had about 500 sound effects, and made comparisons to "Ocarina of Time", with 1,200, and "", with 2,000.


title: Super Mario 64

text: "Super Mario 64" is one of the first games to feature Charles Martinet as the voice of Mario, and Leslie Swan—then senior editor of "Nintendo Power" and English localizer for "Super Mario 64"—as the voice of Princess Peach.


title: Super Mario 64

text: "Super Mario 64" was first shown as a playable prototype in November1995 at Nintendo Space World. This version was only fifty percent complete, and only about two percent of texture mapping was finished. It featured thirty-two courses. Miyamoto had hoped to create more, possibly up to forty, but was ultimately reduced to fifteen. According to Nintendo of America chairman Howard Lincoln, Miyamoto's desire to add more was a major factor in the decision to delay the Nintendo 64 release from Christmas1995 to April1996. Nintendo president Hiroshi Yamauchi later said: "Game creators can finish games quickly if they compromise. But users have sharp eyes. They soon know if the games are compromised. [Miyamoto] asked for two more months and I gave them to him unconditionally". The game was later shown at E31996 with multiple Nintendo 64s set up for people to play. According to Giles Goddard, the stress of the project caused some programmers to quit or move to different departments.


title: Super Mario 64

text: Peter Main, Nintendo's vice president of marketing at the time, stated "Super Mario 64" was meant as the killer app for the Nintendo 64. The million marketing campaign included videotapes sent to more than five hundred thousand "Nintendo Power" subscribers and advertisements shown on MTV, Fox, and Nickelodeon.


title: Super Mario 64

text: "Super Mario 64" was released in Japan in June1996, North America in September, and in Europe and Australia in March1997. During its first three months of sale in North America, it sold more than twomillion copies and grossed $140million in the United States, becoming its best-selling video game of 1996. It was also its best-selling game from 1995 to 2002. During the first three months of 1997, it was the second-best-selling console game at 523,000 units. By early 2001, it had sold 5.5million units, and 5.9million by September2002.


title: Super Mario 64

text: At the 1999 Milia festival in Cannes, "Super Mario 64" won a Gold ECCSELL prize for earning revenues above million in the European Union in 1998. It had become the second most popular game on Wii's Virtual Console by June2007, behind "Super Mario Bros." By March2008, "Super Mario 64" sold 11.8million copies worldwide, being the bestselling Nintendo 64 game. By 2015, "Super Mario 64" was the 12th most sold "Mario" game, with 11.91million copies sold.


title: Super Mario 64

text: An enhanced remake, "Super Mario 64 DS", was released for the Nintendo DS in 2004. As with the original, the plot centers on collecting Power Stars and rescuing Princess Peach from Bowser. In contrast with the original, Yoshi is the starting character, with Mario, Luigi, and Wario as unlockable characters. It features improved graphics, slightly altered courses, new areas, powerups, and enemies, more Power Stars to collect, touchscreen mini-games, and a multiplayer mode. Reviews were mostly positive, with critics praising the graphics and add-ons to the original game but criticizing the controls and multiplayer mode. By September2021, 11.06million copies had been sold worldwide.


title: Super Mario 64

text: A version of "Super Mario 64" was used as a tech demo for the 64DD floppy drive at the 1996 Nintendo Space World trade show. Like "Wave Race 64", "Super Mario 64" was re-released in Japan on as which fixed various bugs, added support for the Rumble Pak peripheral, included the voice acting from the English version, among other changes.


title: Super Mario 64

text: In November2003, it was ported to China's iQue Player as a limited-release demo. In late 2006, it was released on the Wii Virtual Console service which added enhanced resolution and compatibility with the GameCube and Super Famicom Classic controllers. In September2020, "Super Mario 64" was one of the three "Super Mario" games to be included in the "Super Mario 3D All-Stars" collection on Nintendo Switch. It made another Nintendo Switch appearance in October2021 as part of the Nintendo 64 lineup for the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack.


title: Super Mario 64

text: "Super Mario 64" received enthusiastic pre-release reception. "GamePro" commented on the 1995 prototype's smoothness, and how the action "was a blast", despite the game being only fifty percent complete at the time. Ed Semrad of "Electronic Gaming Monthly" agreed, praising the new 3D animation of "Mario" characters shown in only 2D before. Larry Marcus, a source analyst for Alex. Brown & Sons, recalls "Super Mario 64" being the most anticipated game of E31996, remembering a field of teenagers "jostling for a test run".


title: Super Mario 64

text: "Super Mario 64" received critical acclaim, with a score of 94 out of 100 from review aggregator Metacritic based on thirteen reviews, and a score of 96% from review aggregator GameRankings based on twenty-two reviews.


title: Super Mario 64

text: The design, variety of controls and use of 3D gameplay received praise from video game publications. "Maximum" found its strongest points were the sense of freedom and its replayability, comparing it to "Super Mario World" and citing its similar gimmick of allowing access to new areas upon finding switches. One of "GameFan" four reviewers, E. Storm, cited the water levels as "overjoy[ing]" and showed how "Super Mario 64" delved into an "entirely new realm of gaming". "Official Nintendo Magazine" called it "beautiful in both looks and design". Doug Perry of "IGN" agreed that it transitioned the series to 3D perfectly. "Electronic Gaming Monthly" discussed the levels in their initial review, praising them for their size and challenge, and later ranked it the fourth best console game of all time, arguing that it had breached the entire genre of 3D gaming while working virtually flawlessly.


title: Super Mario 64

text: "Computer and Video Games" editor Paul Davies praised the 3D environment, and said that it enhanced the interaction, and described the control scheme as intuitive and versatile. "Total!" hailed the gameplay as being so imaginative and having such variety that their reviewers were still "hooked" after one month. Writing for "AllGame", Jonti Davies commented on the diversity of the gameplay and the abundance of activities found in each course. "Nintendo Life" Corbie Dillard agreed, calling the variety the game's "greatest genius". Writing for "GameRevolution", Nebojsa Radakovic described "Super Mario 64" as one of the few "true" 3D platform games. "N64 Magazine" likened it to an enormous playground which was a pleasure to experiment in, but opined that the exploration element was slightly brought down by how many hints and tips there were. Victor Lucas of "EP Daily" agreed, praising the freedom, but suggesting players "skip all the sign posts".


title: Super Mario 64

text: "Super Mario 64" also received praise for its graphics. "GameSpot" praised the graphics for being "clean yet simple" and not detracting from the details of the game world. "GamePro" particularly praised the combination of unprecedented technical performance and art design, calling it "the most visually impressive game of all time". Paul Davies described the graphics as "so amazing to see, you find yourself stopping to admire [them]". Jonti Davies called the visuals phenomenal, and the frame rate respectable."" Doug Perry found the graphics simple but magnificent, a sentiment shared by "Next Generation". "Hyper" reviewer Nino Alegeropoulos called it the best-looking console game to date and opined that its high resolution and frame rate for the time made it look "infinitely better than a cartoon". "Total!" said that the graphics' lack of pixellation and jagged edges made it look like they were from a "top of the range graphics workstation".


title: Super Mario 64

text: The camera system received mixed reviews. "Next Generation" found that "Super Mario 64" was less accessible than previous "Mario" games, frustrated by the camera's occasional erratic movements and lack of optimal angle. Nebojsa Radakovic and Doug Perry added that the camera was sometimes blocked by or went through objects. "Electronic Gaming Monthly" Dan Hsu, Shawn Smith, and Crispin Boyer all removed half a point from their scores, claiming that the camera sometimes could not move to a wanted angle or rapidly shifted in an undesirable manner, a criticism that returned in "Electronic Gaming Monthly" "100 Best Games of All Time" list. "Game Informer" stated in their 2007 re-review by present-day standards the camera "would almost be considered broken". "Nintendo Power" also noted the learning curve of the shifting camera. In contrast, Corbie Dillard claimed that the camera did not have any problems, and that it succeeded at helping the player traverse complex environments. This sentiment was shared by "Total!", claiming that there were very few occasions where the camera was at a suboptimal angle. Paul Davies acknowledged that he was critical of the camera, saying that in some occasions it was difficult to position ideally, but ultimately dismissed it as "one hiccup" of a "revolutionary" game.


title: Super Mario 64

text: "Super Mario 64" won numerous awards, including various "Game of the Year" honors by members of the gaming media, and in Nintendo's own bestselling Player's Choice selection. It has been placed high on "the greatest games of all time" lists by many reviewers, including "IGN", "Game Informer", "Edge", "Official Nintendo Magazine," "Electronic Gaming Monthly", and "Nintendo Power". "Electronic Gaming Monthly" awarded it a Gold award in its initial review, and it won "Electronic Gaming Monthly" Game of the Year for both editors' pick and readers' pick, and Nintendo 64 Game of the Year, Adventure Game of the Year, and Best Graphics. At the 1997 Computer Game Developers Conference, it was given Spotlight Awards for Best Use of Innovative Technology, Best Console Game, and Best Game of 1996. "Maximum" gave it a "Maximum Game of the Month Award" before its international release, ranking it the greatest game the magazine had ever reviewed. "Digitiser" ranked it the best game of 1997, above "Final Fantasy VII" as runner-up.


title: Super Mario 64

text: "Super Mario 64" was key to the early success of and anticipation for the Nintendo 64. Lee Hutchinson, a former Babbage's employee, notes how the game was spurred by a feverish video game press, and how the success of the game defied the rule that a wide variety of launch games was necessary for broad appeal. Eventually, the Nintendo 64 lost much of its market share to Sony's PlayStation, partly due to its cartridge and controller design decisions, which were reportedly implemented by Miyamoto for "Super Mario 64".


title: Super Mario 64

text: In 2012, "Super Mario 64" was among the 80 entries in the Smithsonian American Art Museum's The Art of Video Games exhibit.


title: Super Mario 64

text: "Super Mario 64" set many precedents for 3D platformers as one of the most influential video games. The game is known for its nonlinear, open freedom, which has been acclaimed by video game developers and journalists. "1Up.com" wrote about its central hub world, which provides a safe tutorial and a level selector, and is now a staple of the 3D platformer genre. As the genre evolved, many of the series's conventions were rethought drastically, placing emphasis on exploration over traditional platform jumping, or "hop and bop" action. Though some disputed its quality, others argued that it established an entirely new genre for the series. Its mission-based level design inspired game designers such as "GoldenEye 007" (1997) producer and director Martin Hollis and the development team of "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater". Dan Houser, a prominent figure in the development of the "Grand Theft Auto" series, stated, "Anyone who makes 3D games who says they've not borrowed something from "Mario" or "Zelda" [of the Nintendo 64] is lying". Square Enix has stated that a coincidental meeting with Disney employees resulted in the creation of the "Kingdom Hearts" series, inspired by "Super Mario 64" use of 3D environments and exploration. Chris Sutherland, who served as the lead designer for "Banjo-Kazooie", agreed that "Super Mario 64" set the benchmark for 3D platformers and claimed that any other game in the genre on the Nintendo 64 would inevitably be compared with "Super Mario 64".


title: Super Mario 64

text: "Super Mario 64" introduced a free-floating camera that can be controlled independently of the character. To increase freedom of exploration and fluid control in a 3D world, "Super Mario 64" designers created a dynamic virtual video camera that turns and accelerates according to the character's actions. This camera system became the standard for 3D platformers. "Nintendo Power" praised the game's camera movements along with "The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time" addition of the lock-on camera and concluded that the two games were trailblazers for the 3D era. "PC Magazine" K. Thor Jensen considers "Super Mario 64" to be the first truly realized 3D platformer with the integration of camera control into its core gameplay, which he called the medium's true evolutionary leap.


title: Super Mario 64

text: "Super Mario 64" use of the analog stick was novel, offering more precise and wide-ranging character movements than the digital D-pads of other consoles. At the time, 3D games generally only allowed the player to either control the character in relation to a fixed camera angle or in relation to the character's perspective. "Super Mario 64" controls, in contrast, are fully analog and interpret a 360-degree range of motion into navigation through a 3D space relative to the camera. The analog stick allows for precise control over subtleties such as running speed. In 2005, "Electronic Gaming Monthly" ranked "Super Mario 64" the most important game since they began publication in 1989, stating that, while there were 3D games before it, "Nintendo's was the first to get the control scheme right".


title: Super Mario 64

text: In July2021, a pristine, sealed copy of "Super Mario 64" was auctioned for , the largest amount ever paid for a video game. Heritage Auctions's video games specialist said, "It seems impossible to overstate the importance of this title, not only to the history of Mario and Nintendo but to video games as a whole".


title: Super Mario 64

text: A sequel was planned for the 64DD add-on, under the codename "Super Mario 128". In July1996, Nintendo insiders stated that Miyamoto was assembling a team consisting mostly of developers who had worked on "Super Mario 64". Miyamoto affirmed that work on the sequel had only commenced at the time of the E31997 convention. The project was canceled due to its lack of progress and the commercial failure of the 64DD.


title: Super Mario 64

text: "Super Mario 64" successors include "Super Mario Sunshine" for the GameCube and "Super Mario Galaxy" for the Wii, building on its core design of power-ups and its 3D, open-ended gameplay. "Super Mario Galaxy 2" includes a remake of "Super Mario 64" Whomp's Fortress level called Throwback Galaxy. "Super Mario 3D Land" and "Super Mario 3D World" are departures from the open-ended design, instead focused on platforming reminiscent of 2D games.


title: Super Mario 64

text: The Nintendo Switch game "Super Mario Odyssey" returns to "Super Mario 64" open design; it includes numerous references to the latter. The "Mario 64" Suit' and "'Mario 64" Cap', which change Mario's appearance to his in "Super Mario 64", can be purchased after completing the main storyline. Additionally, Mario can travel to the Mushroom Kingdom, which includes Princess Peach's Castle and its courtyard. The Kingdom's Power Moons resemble "Super Mario 64" Power Stars.


title: Super Mario 64

text: Rumors spread rapidly after the game's release. The most popular was a pervasive rumor that Luigi existed as an unlockable character. In 1996, "IGN" offered a prize of $100 if a player could find Luigi, to no avail. Fueling the rumor was a very blurry message on a statue in the courtyard of Princess Peach's Castle, thought to say "L is real 2401". This was disproved in 1998, when a fan received a letter from Nintendo that the programmers included the text as a joke and it was not supposed to say anything. In July2020, 24 years and 1 month after the initial release of "Super Mario 64", unused assets for Luigi from the scrapped multiplayer mode were discovered in the game's development files, in an event known as the Nintendo Gigaleak.


title: Super Mario 64

text: Satirical conspiracy theories about the game became popular in 2020, and were grouped into the ""Super Mario 64" iceberg", an Internet meme of an iceberg, with the less likely theories representing places closer to the bottom of the "ocean". One popular rumor involves a "Wario Apparition", based on an E31996 presentation with Charles Martinet voicing a disembodied Wario head. Some fans believed that the Wario head remained in some copies of the game. Conspiracy theorists also spread the rumor that "every copy of "Super Mario 64" is personalized", claiming that certain bizarre phenomena existed in only certain copies of the game.


title: Super Mario 64

text: In the years since the game's release, players have used glitches to reach previously unreachable parts of the game, including, in 2014, a coin not meant to be collected. Speedrun techniques include the Lakitu skip, a glitch that disables the long dialogue by Lakitu about camera tutorials; the Bob-omb clip, performed by Mario strategically picking up a Bob-omb to clip through walls; and the backwards long jump glitch, which involves the player performing a repetitive move, the "backwards long jump", for Mario to ascend the endless stairs to the final level ahead of schedule; the latter was patched in the 1997 "Shindō" re-release. The "Super Mario 3D All-Stars" re-release also patched this as it was based off of the "Shindō" version. In 2013, YouTuber Vinesauce posted a compilation of various corruptions of the game, replicated with a program named "naughty". Another YouTuber, Pannenkoek2012, creates highly technical and analytical videos of "Super Mario 64" glitches and mechanics, which have been covered many times by the video game press.


title: Super Mario 64

text: In 2013, a study was conducted to see the plasticity effects on the human brain after playing "Super Mario 64"—chosen for its navigation element and the ability to play in a three-dimensional environment—for at least thirty minutes every day for two months. The study concluded that doing the previously mentioned activity caused the gray matter (a major part of the central nervous system) to increase in the right hippocampal formation and the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex—brain areas thought to contribute to spatial navigation, working memory, and motor planning.


title: Abraham in Islam

text: According to the Islamic faith, Abraham (, ) was a prophet and messenger of God, and an ancestor to the Ishmaelite Arabs and Israelites. Abraham plays a prominent role as an example of faith in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Muslim belief, Abraham fulfilled all the commandments and trials wherein God nurtured him throughout his lifetime. As a result of his unwavering faith in God, Abraham was promised by God to be a leader to all the nations of the world. The Quran extols Abraham as a model, an exemplar, obedient and not an idolater. In this sense, Abraham has been described as representing "primordial man in universal surrender to the Divine Reality before its fragmentation into religions separated from each other by differences in form". Muslims believe that the Kaaba in Mecca was built by Abraham and his son Ishmael as the first house of worship on earth. The Islamic holy day 'Eid ul-Adha is celebrated in commemoration of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son on God's command, as well as the end of the Hajj pilgrimage to the Kaaba.


title: Abraham in Islam

text: Muslims believe that Abraham, also known as "Khalilullah" (Arabic: خليل الله Trans: friend of God ), became the leader of the righteous in his time and that it was through him that Adnanite-Arabs and Israelites came. Abraham, in the belief of Islam, was instrumental in cleansing the world of idolatry at the time. Paganism was cleared out by Abraham in both the Arabian peninsula and Canaan. He spiritually purified both places as well as physically sanctifying the houses of worship. Abraham and Isma'il (Ishmael) further established the rites of pilgrimage, or "Ḥajj" ('Pilgrimage'), which are still followed by Muslims today. Muslims maintain that Abraham further asked God to bless both the lines of his progeny, of Isma'il and Isḥaq (Isaac), and to keep all of his descendants in the protection of God.


title: Abraham in Islam

text: Muslims maintain that Abraham's father was Aazar (), which could be derived from the Syriac "Athar", who is known in the Hebrew Bible as Terah. Abraham had two children, Ishmael and Isaac, who both later became prophets. Abraham's nephew is said to have been the messenger Lut (Lot), who was one of the other people who migrated with Abraham out of their community. Abraham himself is said to have been a descendant of Nuh through his son Shem.


title: Abraham in Islam

text: Abraham's personality and character are one of the most in-depth in the whole Quran, and Abraham is specifically mentioned as being a kind and compassionate man. Abraham's father is understood by Muslims to have been a wicked, ignorant and idolatrous man who ignored all of his son's advice. The relationship between Abraham and his father, who in the Quran is named Azar, is central to Abraham's story as Muslims understand it to establish a large part of Abraham's personality. The Quran mentions that Abraham's father threatened to stone his son to death if he did not cease preaching to the people. Despite this, the Qur'an states that Abraham in his later years prayed to God to forgive the sins of all his descendants and his parents. Muslims have frequently cited Abraham's character as an example of how kind one must be towards people, especially one's own parents. A similar example of Abraham's compassionate nature is demonstrated when Abraham began to pray for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah after hearing of God's plan through the angel Gabriel for them. Although the angel Gabriel told Abraham that God's plan was the final word, and therefore Abraham's prayers would be of no effect, the Quran nonetheless reinforces Abraham's kind nature through this particular event.


title: Abraham in Islam

text: Ibrahim was born in a house of idolaters in the ancient city of Ur of the Chaldees, likely the place called 'Ur' in present-day Iraq, in which case, the idolaters would have been practitioners of the hypothesized Ancient Mesopotamian religion. His father Azar was a well-known idol-sculptor that his people worshiped. As a young child, Ibrahim used to watch his father sculpting these idols from stones or wood. When his father was finished with them, Ibrahim would ask his father why they could not move or respond to any request and then would mock them; therefore, his father would always scold him for not following his ancestors' rituals and mocking their idols.


title: Abraham in Islam

text: Despite his opposition to idolatry, his father Azar would still send Ibrahim to sell his idols in the marketplace. Once there, Ibrahim would call out to passersby, "Who will buy my idols? They will not help you and they cannot hurt you! Who will buy my idols?" Then Ibrahim would mock the idols. He would take them to the river, push their faces into the water and command them, "Drink! Drink!" Once again, Ibrahim asked his father, "How can you worship what does not see or hear or do you any good?" Azar replied, "Dare you deny the gods of our people? Get out of my sight!" Ibrahim replied, "May God forgive you. No more will I live with you and your idols." After this, Ibrahim left his father's home for good. During one of the many festivals that would take place in the city, the people would gather in their temple and place offerings of food before their idols. Ur's most prominent temple is the Great Ziggurat, which can be seen today. Ibrahim would ask them, "What are you worshiping? Do these idols hear when you call them? Can they help you or hurt you?" The people would reply, "It is the way of our forefathers." Ibrahim declared "I am sick of your gods! Truly I am their enemy." After several years, Ibrahim became a young man. He still could not believe that his people were worshipping the statues. He laughed whenever he saw them entering the temple, lowering their heads, silently offering the statues the best of their food, crying and asking forgiveness from them. He started feeling angry towards his people, who could not realize that these are only stones that could neither benefit nor harm them.


title: Abraham in Islam

text: One night, Abraham went up to the mountain, leaned against a rock, and looked up to the sky. He saw a shining star and said to himself, "Could this be my Lord?" But when it set he said: "I don't like those that set." The star had disappeared so it could not be God. God is always present. Then he saw the moon rising in splendor and said, "Could this be my Lord?" but the moon also set. At daybreak, he saw the sun rising and said, "Could this be my Lord? This is the biggest and brightest!" But when the sun also set he said, "O my people! I am free from all that you join as partners with God! I have turned my face towards God who created the heavens and the earth and never shall I associate partners with God. Our Lord is the creator of the heavens and the earth and everything in between. He has the power to make the stars rise and set." After this declaration, Abraham then heard God calling him, "O Abraham " Abraham trembled and said, "Here I am O my Lord!" God replied, "Submit to Me! Be a Muslim!"Abraham fell to the ground, crying. He said: "I submit to the Lord of the universe!" Abraham kept prostrating himself until nightfall. He then got up and went back to his home, in peace and full of conviction that God has guided him to the truth.


title: Abraham in Islam

text: The decision to have Abraham burned at the stake was affirmed by the temple priests and the king of Babylon, Nimrod. The news spread like fire in the kingdom and people were coming from all places to watch the execution. A huge pit was dug up and a large quantity of wood was piled up. Then the biggest fire people ever witnessed was lit. The flames were so high up in the sky that even the birds could not fly over it for fear of being burnt themselves. Ibrahim's hands and feet were chained, and he was put in a catapult, ready to be thrown in. During this time, Angel Jibril came to him and said: "O Ibrahim! Is there anything you wish for?" Ibrahim could have asked to be saved from the fire or to be taken away, but Ibrahim replied, "God is sufficient for me, He is the best disposer of my affairs." The catapult was released and Ibrahim was thrown into the fire. God then gave an order to the fire, "O fire! Be coolness and safety for Ibrahim." A miracle occurred, the fire obeyed and burned only his chains. Abraham came out from it as if he was coming out from a garden, peaceful, his face illuminated, and not a trace of smoke on his clothes. People watched in shock and exclaimed: "Amazing! Abraham's God has saved him from the fire!"


title: Abraham in Islam

text: The Quran discusses a very short conversation between an unrighteous ruler and Abraham. Although the king in the Quran is unnamed, and this fact has been recognized as being least important in the narrative, outside of the Quran, namely in some of the "tafasir", this king has been suggested to be Nimrod. This Tafsir by Ibn Kathir, a 14th-century scholar, has many embellishments in the narrative like Nimrod claiming divinity for himself. The Tafsir describes Nimrod's quarrel with Ibrahim, how he (Nimrod) became extremely angry and in his 'utter disbelief and arrant rebellion' became a tyrant.


title: Abraham in Islam

text: According to Romano-Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, Nimrod was a man who set his will against that of God. Nimrod proclaimed himself as a living god and was worshipped as such by his subjects. Nimrod's consort Semiramis was also worshipped as a goddess at his side. (See also Ninus.) Before Abraham was born, a portent in the stars tells Nimrod and his astrologers of the impending birth of Abraham, who would put an end to idolatry. Nimrod therefore orders the killing of all newborn babies. However, Abraham's mother escapes into the fields and gives birth secretly. Flavius Josephus mentions that Abraham confronts Nimrod and tells him face-to-face to cease his idolatry, whereupon Nimrod orders him burned at the stake. Nimrod has his subjects gather enough wood so as to burn Abraham in the biggest fire the world had ever seen. Yet when the fire is lit and Abraham is thrown into it, Abraham walks out unscathed. In Islam, it is debated whether the decision to have Ibrahim burned at the stake came from Nimrod and the temple priests or whether the people themselves became vigilantes and hatched the plan to have him burned at the stake. According to Muslim commentators, after Abraham survived the great fire, notoriety in society grew bigger after this event. Nimrod, who was the King of Babylon felt that his throne was in danger, and that he was losing power because upon witnessing Ibrahim coming out of the fire unharmed, a large part of society started believing in God and Abraham being a prophet of God. Up until this point, Nimrod was pretending that he himself was a god. Nimrod wanted to debate with him and show his people that he, the king is indeed the god and that Ibrahim was a liar. Nimrod asked Ibrahim, "What can your God do that I cannot?" Ibrahim replied, "My Lord is He who gives life and death." Nimrod then shouted, "I give life and death! I can bring a person from the street and have him executed, and I can grant my pardon to a person who was sentenced to death and save his life." Abraham replied, "Well, my lord God makes the sun rise from the East. Can you make it rise from the West?" Nimrod was confounded. He was beaten at his own game, on his own territory and in front of his own people. Abraham left him there speechless and went back to his mission of calling people to worship God.


title: Abraham in Islam

text: This event has been noted as particularly important because, in the Muslim perspective, it almost foreshadowed the prophetic careers of future prophets, most significantly the career of Moses. Abraham's quarrel with the king has been interpreted by some to be a precursor to Moses's preaching to Pharaoh. Just as the ruler who argued against Abraham claimed divinity for himself, so did the Pharaoh of the Exodus, who refused to hear the call of Moses and perished in the Red Sea. In this particular incident, scholars have further commented on Abraham's wisdom in employing "rational, wise and target-oriented" speech, as opposed to pointless arguments.


title: Abraham in Islam

text: Abraham, in the eyes of many Muslims, also symbolized the highest moral values essential to any person. The Qur'an details the account of the angels coming to Abraham to tell him of the birth of Ismael. It says that, as soon as Abraham saw the messengers, he "hastened to entertain them with a roasted calf." This action has been interpreted by all the scholars as exemplary; many scholars have commentated upon this one action, saying that it symbolizes Abraham's exceedingly high moral level and thus is a model for how men should act in a similar situation. This incident has only further heightened the "compassionate" character of Abraham in Muslim theology.


title: Abraham in Islam

text: In the mainstream narrative, it is assumed that Abraham's dream of sacrificing his son was a command by God. The verse in reference (i.e. ) is in Surah As-Saffat and the interpretation of the meaning in English is "We called out to him: O' Ibraheem you have indeed fulfilled the vision. Thus do we award the good doers." It is assumed that Abraham dreamt that God ordered him to sacrifice his son, he agreed to follow God's command and perform the sacrifice; however, God intervened and informed him that his sacrifice had been accepted. While there is no direct mention in the Qur'an of an animal (ram) replacing the boy, it says that he is replaced with a 'great sacrifice' ("Zibhin azeem"). This great sacrifice denotes the importance of the ram that replaced Ibraheem's son. Tafsir ibn Kathir records Ibn Abbas' explanation of the verse, according to Muhammad's teachings. The explanation is as follows:


title: Abraham in Islam

text: From that day onwards, every Eid al-Adha once a year Muslims around the world slaughter an animal to commemorate Abraham's sacrifice and to remind themselves of self-abnegation in the way of God, and they would share the meat among friends, family, the poor and the needy. This is called Qurbani ("sacrifice").


title: Abraham in Islam

text: The classical Quranic exegete and historian Tabari offered two versions, whom Abraham was ordered to sacrifice. According to the first strand, Abraham wished for a righteous son, whereupon an angel appeared to him informing him, that he will get a righteous son, but when he was born and reached puberty, he must be sacrificed for God. Later, the angel appeared to Hagar to inform her about the upcoming child. When Ishmael was grown, someone appeared to Abraham, invites him to keep his vow.


title: Abraham in Islam

text: The second strand, provided by Tabari, states that Abraham was about to sacrifice his son Ishmael, and Iblis appeared in form of a man to prevent the sacrifice.


title: Abraham in Islam

text: Abraham encountered several miracles of God during his lifetime. The Quran records a few main miracles, although different interpretations have been attributed to the passages. Some of the miracles recorded in the Quran are:


title: Abraham in Islam

text: The first passage has been interpreted both literally, allegorically, and otherwise. Although some commentators feel that this passage referred to a physical miracle, where Abraham was physically shown the entire kingdom of Heaven (Jannah), others have felt that it refers to the spiritual understanding of Abraham; these latter scholars maintain that the Chaldeans were skilled in the observance of the stars, but Abraham, who lived amongst them, saw beyond the physical world and into a higher spiritual realm. The second passage has one mainstream interpretation amongst the Quranic commentators, that Abraham took four birds and cut them up, placing pieces of each on nearby hills; when he called out to them, each piece joined and four birds flew back to Abraham. This miracle, as told by the Quranic passage, was a demonstration by God to show Abraham how God gave life to the dead. As the physical cutting of the birds is not implied in the passage, some commentators have offered alternative interpretations, but all maintain that the miracle was for the same demonstrative purpose to show Abraham the power God has to raise the dead to life. The third passage has also been interpreted both literally and metaphorically, or in some cases both. Commentators state that the 'fire' refers to the main aspects. They maintained that, firstly, the fire referred to the physical flame, from which Abraham was saved unharmed. The commentators further stated that, secondly, the fire referred to the 'fire of persecution', from which Abraham was saved, as he left his people after this with his wife Sarah and his nephew Lot.


title: Abraham in Islam

text: This particular title of Abraham is so famous in Muslim culture and tradition that, in the areas in and around Mecca, Abraham is often referred to solely as "The Friend". This title of "Friend of God" is not exclusive to Islamic theology. Although the other religious traditions do not stress upon it, Abraham is called a "Friend of God" in the second Book of Chronicles and the Book of Isaiah in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) as well as in the New Testament.


title: Abraham in Islam

text: One of Abraham's most important features in Islamic theology is his role as the constructor of the Kaaba. Although tradition recounts that Adam constructed the original Kaaba, which was demolished by the Great Flood at the time of Noah, Abraham is believed to have rebuilt it in its original form. The Quran, in the Muslim perspective, merely confirms or reinforces the laws of pilgrimage. The rites were instituted by Abraham and for all Muslims, as they perform the pilgrimage, the event is a way to return to the perfection of Abraham's faith. Just as Medina is referred to as the "City of the Prophet [Muhammad]" or simply the "City of Muhammad", Mecca is frequently cited as the "City of Abraham", because Abraham's reformation of the monotheistic faith is believed to have taken place in Mecca. Likewise, Islamic belief links the original sanctuary of Al-Aqsa in the Old City of Jerusalem to Abraham.


title: Abraham in Islam

text: The Quran refers to certain Scrolls of Abraham. All Muslim scholars have generally agreed that no scrolls of Abraham survive, and therefore this is a reference to a lost body of scripture. The Scrolls of Abraham are understood by Muslims to refer to certain revelations Abraham received, which he would have then transmitted to writing. The exact contents of the revelation are not described in the Qur'an.


title: Abraham in Islam

text: The 87th chapter of the Quran, Surat al-Ala, concludes by saying the subject matter of the sura has been in the earlier scriptures of Abraham and Moses. It is slightly indicative of what were in the previous scriptures, according to Islam:


title: Abraham in Islam

text: "Surat an-Najm" mentions some more subject matters of the earlier scriptures of Abraham and Musa (Moses):


title: Abraham in Islam

text: Yet some scholars suggested it to be a reference to the "Sefer Yetzirah", as Jewish tradition generally ascribed its authorship to Abraham. Other scholars, however, wrote of a certain "Testament of Abraham", which they explained was available at the time of Muhammad.


title: Abraham in Islam

text: The Quran contains numerous references to Abraham, his life, prayers, and traditions and has a dedicated chapter named Ibrahim. On a relevant note, sura al-Kahf was revealed as an answer from God to the Jews who inquired of Muhammad about past events. Here God directly instructed Muhammad in sura Al-Kahf, not to consult the Jews for verifying the three stories about which they inquired.


title: Abraham in Islam

text: The reason being God declaring He Himself is relating what needs to be verified in another verse of al-Kahf:


title: Abraham in Islam

text: Therefore, relating to any ascription of the Scrolls of Abraham by the people of the book is not required.


title: Abraham in Islam

text: Abraham is also extremely important as a leader of Islam and as a patriarch of the Islamic faith. Muslims recognize Abraham as the ancestor through whom many other prophets and saints ("Wali") came, including Moses, Jesus (Isa) and Muhammad. The Quran lists, in the sixth chapter, some of the greatest figures to have through Abraham's progeny:


title: Abraham in Islam

text: Abraham's narrative in the Quran indirectly refers to his role as one of the great patriarchs. The Quran says that God made Abraham "an Imam to the Nations" and father to Muslims, and his narrative records him praying for his offspring. The Quran further states that Abraham's descendants were given "the Book and Wisdom", and this fact is reinforced in a verse which states that Abraham's family was one of those in which the gift of prophecy was established as a generic trait. The Quran emphasizes upon Abraham's significance as it states that Abraham's family, Noah, Adam and the family of Amram were the four selected by God above all the worlds. As a result of his significance as a patriarch, Abraham is sometimes given the title "Father of the Prophets." Of Abraham's immediate sons, the Quran repeatedly establishes the gifts God bestowed upon them. Ishmael, along with Elisha and Dhul-Kifl (possibly Ezekiel), is regarded as being "of the Company of the Good." and one of the men who was given "favour above the nations." In addition, Ishmael is described as being "true to what he promised, and he was a messenger (and) a prophet." Likewise, the Quran says of Isaac that he was "of the company of the Elect and the Good." and was "a prophet,- one of the Righteous." and further describes him as "of Power and Vision." Abraham is commemorated by all Muslims. As is the case with every prophet and apostle, it is Islamic custom to say "Peace be upon him" after saying Abraham's name. Abraham's unique position as the constructor of the Ka‘bah, as well as the establisher of the pilgrimage rites, is indirectly commemorated when Muslims perform the pilgrimage, or Hajj, in Mecca. Muslims sacrifice (Qurban) a domestic animal on Eid al-Adha, which is done in part to remember Abraham's bravery during his trial of the near-sacrifice of his son. Muslims further mention Abraham in their canonical prayer every day, in which they ask God to bless Muhammad's family as He blessed Abraham's family.


title: Abraham in Islam

text: Muslims believe that Abraham was buried, along with his wife Sarah, at the Cave of the Patriarchs in the Old City of Hebron, the West Bank. Known to Muslims as the "Sanctuary of Abraham" it is also thought to be the burial site of his son Isaac, his wife Rebecca, their son Jacob, and his wife Leah.


title: Abraham in Islam

text: There are numerous references to Abraham in the Quran, including, twice, to the Scrolls of Abraham; in the latter passage, it is mentioned that Abraham "fulfilled his engagements?-", a reference to all the trials that Abraham had succeeded in. In a whole series of chapters, the Qur'an relates how Abraham preached to his community as a youth and how he specifically told his father, named Azar, to leave idol-worship and come to the worship of God. Some passages of the Quran, meanwhile, deal with the story of how God sent angels to Abraham with the announcement of the punishment to be imposed upon Lot's people in Sodom and Gomorrah. Other verses mention the near-sacrifice of Abraham's son, whose name is not given but is presumed to be Ishmael as the following verses mention the birth of Isaac. The Quran also repeatedly establishes Abraham's role as patriarch and mentions numerous important descendants who came through his lineage, including Isaac, Jacob and Ishmael. In the later chapters of the Quran, Abraham's role becomes yet more prominent. The Quran mentions that Abraham and Ishmael were the reformers who set up the Ka‘bah in Mecca as a center of pilgrimage for monotheism The Quran consistently refers to Islam as "the Religion of Abraham" ("millat Ibrahim") and Abraham is given a title as "Hanif" ("The Pure", "true in Faith" or "upright man"). The Quran also mentions Abraham as one whom God took as a friend ("Khalil"), hence Abraham's title in Islam, "Khalil-Allah" ("Friend of God"). The term is considered by some to be a derivation of the patriarch's title, "Qal El" (, "Voice of God"). Other instances in the Quran which are described in a concise manner are the rescue of Abraham from the fire into which he was thrown by his people'; his pleading for his father; his quarrel with an unrighteous and powerful king and the miracle of the dead birds.