title: Rurik dynasty

text: Vsevolod's son Yaroslav II of Vladimir was the father of Alexander Nevsky, whose son Daniel of Moscow sired the ruling house of Moscow until the end of the 16th century.


title: Rurik dynasty

text: Beginning with the reign of Ivan the Terrible, the Muscovite branch used the title "Tsar of All Russia" and ruled over the Tsardom of Russia. The death in 1598 of Tsar Feodor I ended the rule of the Rurik dynasty. The dynasty was briefly revived in the person of Vasili IV of Russia, a descendant of Shuyskiy line of the Rurik dynasty, but he died without issue. The unstable period known as the Time of Troubles followed Feodor's death and lasted until 1613.


title: Rurik dynasty

text: In that year, Mikhail I ascended the throne, founding the Romanov dynasty that would rule until 1762 and as Holstein-Gottorp-Romanov until the revolutions of 1917. Tsar Mikhail's father Patriarch Filaret of Moscow was descended from the Rurik dynasty through the female line. His mother, Evdokiya Gorbataya-Shuyskaya, was a Rurikid princess from the Shuysky branch, daughter of Alexander Gorbatyi-Shuisky. Tsar Mikhail's first wife Maria Dolgorukova was of Rurikid stock but their marriage produced no children. Emperor Peter III in 1762 brought fresh Rurikid blood to the Romanovs: he and his wife Catherine the Great both descended from the Rurik dynasty. (Catherine the Great descended from a daughter of Yaroslav I (978–1054) through her maternal grandfather, Christian August of Holstein-Gottorp.)


title: Rurik dynasty

text: In the early days of the Rurikid dynasty, the Kievan Rus' mainly traded with other tribes in Eastern Europe and Scandinavia. "There was little need for complex social structures to carry out these exchanges in the forests north of the steppes. So long as the entrepreneurs operated in small numbers and kept to the north, they did not catch the attention of observers or writers." The Rus' also had strong trading ties to Byzantium, particularly in the early 900s, as treaties in 911 and 944 indicate. These treaties deal with the treatment of runaway Byzantine slaves and limitations on the amounts of certain commodities such as silk that could be bought from Byzantium. The Rus' used log rafts floated down the Dnieper River by Slavic tribes for the transport of goods, particularly slaves to Byzantium.


title: Rurik dynasty

text: One of the largest military accomplishments of the Rurikid dynasty was the attack on Byzantium in 960. Pilgrims of the Rus' had been making the journey from Kiev to Constantinople for many years, and Constantine Porphyrogenitus, the Emperor of the Byzantine Empire, believed that this gave them significant information about the arduous parts of the journey and where travelers were most at risk, as would be pertinent for an invasion. This route took travelers through domain of the Pechenegs, journeying mostly by river. In June 941, the Rus' staged a naval ambush on Byzantine forces, making up for their smaller numbers with small, maneuverable boats. These boats were ill-equipped for the transportation of large quantities of treasure, suggesting that looting was not the goal. The raid was led, according to the Primary Chronicle, by a king called Igor. Three years later, the treaty of 944 stated that all ships approaching Byzantium must be preceded by a letter from the Rurikid prince stating the number of ships and assuring their peaceful intent. This not only indicates fear of another surprise attack, but an increased Kievan presence in the Black Sea.


title: Rurik dynasty

text: Russian and Ukrainian historians have debated for many years about the legacy of the Rurikid dynasty. The Russian view sees the Principality of Moscow ruled by the Rurikid dynasty as the sole heir to the Kievan Rus' civilization, this view is "resting largely on religious-ecclesiastical and historical claims" because Russia was ruled by the Rurikid dynasty until 16th century, while Ukraine was not defined as a state until 20th century. This view started in Moscow as ruled by the original Rurikid dynasty between the 1330s and the late 1850s. The Ukrainian view was formulated much later, between the 1840s and the end of the 1930s in Eastern Austria, and views the Ukrainian descendants of the Rurikid dynasty as its only true successors. The Soviet theory was a modified version of the Russian which "allotted equal rights to the Kievan inheritance to the Three Slavic peoples, that is the Russians, the Ukrainians, and the Belorussians", but later elevated the Russian nation as the elder brother to give the others "needed guidance in revolutionary struggles and socialist construction."


title: Rurik dynasty

text: There are currently various extant branches of the Rurikids, for instance: the Houses of Shakhovskoy, Gagarin, and Lobanov-Rostovsky. Whose some of the representatives are: Prince Dmitriy Mikhailovich Shakhovskoy (born 1934), Prince Dmitri Andreevich Gagarin (born 1973) and Prince Nikita Lobanov-Rostovsky (born 1935), a descendant of Prince Konstantin Vasilyevich of Rostov. The three of them are of the Monomakhovichi branch. While the Shakhovskoys claim descent from Mstislav I of Kiev, the Gagarins, and the Lobanov-Rostovskys are descendants of Vsevolod III of Vladimir, which makes the Shakhovskoys the most senior.


title: Rurik dynasty

text: The following shows the descent of the leading (historically most powerful) branch of the Russian Rurikids, being the descendants of Yuri I Dolgorukiy ("Long-Armed"), sixth son of Vladimir II Monomakh:


title: Flatulence

text: Flatulence, in humans, is the expulsion of gas from the intestines via the anus, commonly referred to as farting. "Flatus" is the medical word for gas generated in the stomach or bowels. A proportion of intestinal gas may be swallowed environmental air, and hence flatus is not entirely generated in the stomach or bowels. The scientific study of this area of medicine is termed flatology.


title: Flatulence

text: Flatus is brought to the rectum and pressurized by muscles in the intestines. It is normal to pass flatus ("to fart"), though volume and frequency vary greatly among individuals. It is also normal for intestinal gas to have a feculent or unpleasant odor, which may be intense. The noise commonly associated with flatulence ("blowing a raspberry") is produced by the anus and buttocks, which act together in a manner similar to that of an embouchure. Both the sound and odor are sources of embarrassment, annoyance or amusement (flatulence humor).


title: Flatulence

text: There are several general symptoms related to intestinal gas: pain, bloating and abdominal distension, excessive flatus volume, excessive flatus odor, and gas incontinence. Furthermore, eructation (colloquially known as "burping") is sometimes included under the topic of flatulence. When excessive or malodorous, flatus can be a sign of a health disorder, such as irritable bowel syndrome, celiac disease or lactose intolerance.


title: Flatulence

text: Non-medical definitions of the term include "the uncomfortable condition of having gas in the stomach and bowels", or "a state of excessive gas in the alimentary canal". These definitions highlight that many people consider "bloating", abdominal distension or increased volume of intestinal gas, to be synonymous with the term flatulence (although this is technically inaccurate).


title: Flatulence

text: Colloquially, flatulence may be referred to as "farting", "pumping", "trumping", "blowing off", "pooting", "passing gas", "breaking wind", "backfiring", or simply (in American English) "gas" or (British English) "wind". Derived terms include vaginal flatulence, otherwise known as a "queef".


title: Flatulence

text: Generally speaking, there are four different types of complaints that relate to intestinal gas, which may present individually or in combination.


title: Flatulence

text: Patients may complain of bloating as abdominal distension, discomfort and pain from "trapped wind". In the past, functional bowel disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome that produced symptoms of bloating were attributed to increased production of intestinal gas.


title: Flatulence

text: However, three significant pieces of evidence refute this theory. First, in normal subjects, even very high rates of gas infusion into the small intestine (30mL/min) is tolerated without complaints of pain or bloating and harmlessly passed as flatus per rectum. Secondly, studies aiming to quantify the total volume of gas produced by patients with irritable bowel syndrome (some including gas emitted from the mouth by eructation) have consistently failed to demonstrate increased volumes compared to healthy subjects. The proportion of hydrogen produced may be increased in some patients with irritable bowel syndrome, but this does not affect the total volume. Thirdly, the volume of flatus produced by patients with irritable bowel syndrome who have pain and abdominal distension would be tolerated in normal subjects without any complaints of pain.


title: Flatulence

text: Patients who complain of bloating frequently can be shown to have objective increases in abdominal girth, often increased throughout the day and then resolving during sleep. The increase in girth combined with the fact that the total volume of flatus is not increased led to studies aiming to image the distribution of intestinal gas in patients with bloating. They found that gas was not distributed normally in these patients: there was segmental gas pooling and focal distension. In conclusion, abdominal distension, pain and bloating symptoms are the result of abnormal intestinal gas dynamics rather than increased flatus production.


title: Flatulence

text: The normal range of volumes of flatus in normal individuals varies hugely (476–1,491 mL/24 h). All intestinal gas is either swallowed environmental air, present intrinsically in foods and beverages, or the result of gut fermentation.


title: Flatulence

text: Swallowing small amounts of air occurs while eating and drinking. This is emitted from the mouth by eructation (burping) and is normal. Excessive swallowing of environmental air is called aerophagia, and has been shown in a few case reports to be responsible for increased flatus volume. This is, however, considered a rare cause of increased flatus volume. Gases contained in food and beverages are likewise emitted largely through eructation, e.g., carbonated beverages.


title: Flatulence

text: Endogenously produced intestinal gases make up 74 percent of flatus in normal subjects. The volume of gas produced is partially dependent upon the composition of the intestinal microbiota, which is normally very resistant to change, but is also very different in different individuals. Some patients are predisposed to increased endogenous gas production by virtue of their gut microbiota composition. The greatest concentration of gut bacteria is in the colon, while the small intestine is normally nearly sterile. Fermentation occurs when unabsorbed food residues arrive in the colon.


title: Flatulence

text: Therefore, even more than the composition of the microbiota, diet is the primary factor that dictates the volume of flatus produced. Diets that aim to reduce the amount of undigested fermentable food residues arriving in the colon have been shown to significantly reduce the volume of flatus produced. Again, increased volume of intestinal gas will not cause bloating and pain in normal subjects. Abnormal intestinal gas dynamics will create pain, distension, and bloating, regardless of whether there is high or low total flatus volume.


title: Flatulence

text: Although flatus possesses an odor, this may be abnormally increased in some patients and cause social distress to the patient. Increased odor of flatus presents a distinct clinical issue from other complaints related to intestinal gas. Some patients may exhibit over-sensitivity to bad flatus odor, and in extreme forms, olfactory reference syndrome may be diagnosed. Recent informal research found a correlation between flatus odor and both loudness and humidity content.


title: Flatulence

text: "Gas incontinence" could be defined as loss of voluntary control over the passage of flatus. It is a recognised subtype of faecal incontinence, and is usually related to minor disruptions of the continence mechanisms. Some consider gas incontinence to be the first, sometimes only, symptom of faecal incontinence.


title: Flatulence

text: Intestinal gas is composed of varying quantities of exogenous sources and endogenous sources. The exogenous gases are swallowed (aerophagia) when eating or drinking or increased swallowing during times of excessive salivation (as might occur when nauseated or as the result of gastroesophageal reflux disease). The endogenous gases are produced either as a by-product of digesting certain types of food, or of incomplete digestion, as is the case during steatorrhea. Anything that causes food to be incompletely digested by the stomach or small intestine may cause flatulence when the material arrives in the large intestine, due to fermentation by yeast or prokaryotes normally or abnormally present in the gastrointestinal tract.


title: Flatulence

text: Flatulence-producing foods are typically high in certain polysaccharides, especially oligosaccharides such as inulin. Those foods include beans, lentils, dairy products, onions, garlic, spring onions, leeks, turnips, swedes, radishes, sweet potatoes, potatoes, cashews, Jerusalem artichokes, oats, wheat, and yeast in breads. Cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts and other cruciferous vegetables that belong to the genus "Brassica" are commonly reputed to not only increase flatulence, but to increase the pungency of the flatus.


title: Flatulence

text: In beans, endogenous gases seem to arise from complex oligosaccharides (carbohydrates) that are particularly resistant to digestion by mammals, but are readily digestible by microorganisms (methane-producing archaea; "Methanobrevibacter smithii") that inhabit the digestive tract. These oligosaccharides pass through the small intestine largely unchanged, and when they reach the large intestine, bacteria ferment them, producing copious amounts of flatus.


title: Flatulence

text: When excessive or malodorous, flatus can be a sign of a health disorder, such as irritable bowel syndrome, celiac disease, non-celiac gluten sensitivity or lactose intolerance. It can also be caused by certain medicines, such as ibuprofen, laxatives, antifungal medicines or statins. Some infections, such as giardiasis, are also associated with flatulence.


title: Flatulence

text: Interest in the causes of flatulence was spurred by high-altitude flight and human spaceflight; the low atmospheric pressure, confined conditions, and stresses peculiar to those endeavours were cause for concern. In the field of mountaineering, the phenomenon of high altitude flatus expulsion was first recorded over two hundred years ago.


title: Flatulence

text: Flatus (intestinal gas) is mostly produced as a byproduct of bacterial fermentation in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, especially the colon. There are reports of aerophagia (excessive air swallowing) causing excessive intestinal gas, but this is considered rare.


title: Flatulence

text: Over 99% of the volume of flatus is composed of odorless gases. These include oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, hydrogen and methane. Nitrogen is not produced in the gut, but a component of environmental air. Patients who have excessive intestinal gas that is mostly composed of nitrogen have aerophagia. Hydrogen, carbon dioxide and methane are all produced in the gut and contribute 74% of the volume of flatus in normal subjects. Methane and hydrogen are flammable, and so flatus can be ignited if it contains adequate amounts of these components.


title: Flatulence

text: Not all humans produce flatus that contains methane. For example, in one study of the faeces of nine adults, only five of the samples contained archaea capable of producing methane. The prevalence of methane over hydrogen in human flatus may correlate with obesity, constipation and irritable bowel syndrome, as archaea that oxidise hydrogen into methane promote the metabolism's ability to absorb fatty acids from food.


title: Flatulence

text: The remaining trace (<1% volume) compounds contribute to the odor of flatus. Historically, compounds such as indole, skatole, ammonia and short chain fatty acids were thought to cause the odor of flatus. More recent evidence proves that the major contribution to the odor of flatus comes from a combination of volatile sulfur compounds. Hydrogen sulfide, methyl mercaptan (also known as methanethiol), dimethyl sulfide, dimethyl disulfide and dimethyl trisulfide are present in flatus. The benzopyrrole volatiles indole and skatole have an odor of mothballs, and therefore probably do not contribute greatly to the characteristic odor of flatus.


title: Flatulence

text: In one study, hydrogen sulfide concentration was shown to correlate convincingly with perceived bad odor of flatus, followed by methyl mercaptan and dimethyl sulfide. This is supported by the fact that hydrogen sulfide may be the most abundant volatile sulfur compound present. These results were generated from subjects who were eating a diet high in pinto beans to stimulate flatus production.


title: Flatulence

text: Others report that methyl mercaptan was the greatest contributor to the odor of flatus in patients not under any specific dietary alterations. It has now been demonstrated that methyl mercaptan, dimethyl sulfide, and hydrogen sulfide (described as decomposing vegetables, unpleasantly sweet/wild radish and rotten eggs respectively) are all present in human flatus in concentrations above their smell perception thresholds.


title: Flatulence

text: It is recognized that increased dietary sulfur-containing amino acids significantly increases the odor of flatus. It is therefore likely that the odor of flatus is created by a combination of volatile sulfur compounds, with minimal contribution from non-sulfur volatiles. This odor can also be caused by the presence of large numbers of microflora bacteria or the presence of faeces in the rectum. Diets high in protein, especially sulfur-containing amino acids, have been demonstrated to significantly increase the odor of flatus.


title: Flatulence

text: Normal flatus volume is 476 to 1491 mL per 24 hours. This variability between individuals is greatly dependent upon diet. Similarly, the number of flatus episodes per day is variable; the normal range is given as 8–20 per day. The volume of flatus associated with each flatulence event again varies (5–375 mL). The volume of the first flatulence upon waking in the morning is significantly larger than those during the day. This may be due to buildup of intestinal gas in the colon during sleep, the peak in peristaltic activity in the first few hours after waking or the strong prokinetic effect of rectal distension on the rate of transit of intestinal gas. It is now known that gas is moved along the gut independently of solids and liquids, and this transit is more efficient in the erect position compared to when supine. It is thought that large volumes of intestinal gas present low resistance, and can be propelled by subtle changes in gut tone, capacitance and proximal contraction and distal relaxation. This process is thought not to affect solid and liquid intra-lumenal contents.


title: Flatulence

text: Researchers investigating the role of sensory nerve endings in the anal canal did not find them to be essential for retaining fluids in the anus, and instead speculate that their role may be to distinguish between flatus and faeces, thereby helping detect a need to defecate or to signal the end of defecation.


title: Flatulence

text: The sound varies depending on the tightness of the sphincter muscle and velocity of the gas being propelled, as well as other factors, such as water and body fat. The auditory pitch (sound) of the flatulence outburst can also be affected by the anal embouchure. Among humans, flatulence occasionally happens accidentally, such as incidentally to coughing or sneezing or during orgasm; on other occasions, flatulence can be voluntarily elicited by tensing the rectum or "bearing down" on stomach or bowel muscles and subsequently relaxing the anal sphincter, resulting in the expulsion of flatus.


title: Flatulence

text: Since problems involving intestinal gas present as different (but sometimes combined) complaints, the management is cause-related.


title: Flatulence

text: While not affecting the production of the gases themselves, surfactants (agents that lower surface tension) can reduce the disagreeable sensations associated with flatulence, by aiding the dissolution of the gases into liquid and solid faecal matter. Preparations containing simethicone reportedly operate by promoting the coalescence of smaller bubbles into larger ones more easily passed from the body, either by burping or flatulence. Such preparations do not decrease the total amount of gas generated in or passed from the colon, but make the bubbles larger and thereby allowing them to be passed more easily.


title: Flatulence

text: Other drugs including prokinetics, lubiprostone, antibiotics and probiotics are also used to treat bloating in patients with functional bowel disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome, and there is some evidence that these measures may reduce symptoms.


title: Flatulence

text: A flexible tube, inserted into the rectum, can be used to collect intestinal gas in a flatus bag. This method is occasionally needed in a hospital setting, when the patient is unable to pass gas normally.


title: Flatulence

text: One method of reducing the volume of flatus produced is dietary modification, reducing the amount of fermentable carbohydrates. This is the theory behind diets such as the low-FODMAP diet (a diet low in fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, alcohols, and polyols).


title: Flatulence

text: Most starches, including potatoes, corn, noodles, and wheat, produce gas as they are broken down in the large intestine. Intestinal gas can be reduced by fermenting the beans, and making them less gas-inducing, or by cooking them in the liquor from a previous batch. For example, the fermented bean product miso is less likely to produce as much intestinal gas. Some legumes also stand up to prolonged cooking, which can help break down the oligosaccharides into simple sugars. Fermentative lactic acid bacteria such as "Lactobacillus casei" and "Lactobacillus plantarum" reduce flatulence in the human intestinal tract.


title: Flatulence

text: Probiotics (live yogurt, kefir, etc.) are reputed to reduce flatulence when used to restore balance to the normal intestinal flora. Live (bioactive) yogurt contains, among other lactic bacteria, "Lactobacillus acidophilus", which may be useful in reducing flatulence. "L. acidophilus" may make the intestinal environment more acidic, supporting a natural balance of the fermentative processes. "L. acidophilus" is available in supplements. Prebiotics, which generally are non-digestible oligosaccharides, such as fructooligosaccharide, generally increase flatulence in a similar way as described for lactose intolerance.


title: Flatulence

text: Digestive enzyme supplements may significantly reduce the amount of flatulence caused by some components of foods not being digested by the body and thereby promoting the action of microbes in the small and large intestines. It has been suggested that alpha-galactosidase enzymes, which can digest certain complex sugars, are effective in reducing the volume and frequency of flatus. The enzymes alpha-galactosidase, lactase, amylase, lipase, protease, cellulase, glucoamylase, invertase, malt diastase, pectinase, and bromelain are available, either individually or in combination blends, in commercial products.


title: Flatulence

text: The antibiotic rifaximin, often used to treat diarrhea caused by the microorganism "E. coli", may reduce both the production of intestinal gas and the frequency of flatus events.


title: Flatulence

text: The odor created by flatulence is commonly treated with bismuth subgallate, available over-the-counter in the US as Devrom. Bismuth subgallate is commonly used by individuals who have had ostomy surgery, bariatric surgery, faecal incontinence and irritable bowel syndrome. Bismuth subsalicylate is a compound that binds hydrogen sulfide, and one study reported a dose of 524 mg four times a day for 3–7 days bismuth subsalicylate yielded a >95% reduction in faecal hydrogen sulfide release in both humans and rats.


title: Flatulence

text: Another bismuth compound, bismuth subnitrate was also shown to bind to hydrogen sulfide. Another study showed that bismuth acted synergistically with various antibiotics to inhibit sulfate-reducing gut bacteria and sulfide production. Some authors proposed a theory that hydrogen sulfide was involved in the development of ulcerative colitis and that bismuth might be helpful in the management of this condition. However, bismuth administration in rats did not prevent them from developing ulcerative colitis despite reduced hydrogen sulfide production. Also, evidence suggests that colonic hydrogen sulfide is largely present in bound forms, probably sulfides of iron and other metals. Rarely, serious bismuth toxicity may occur with higher doses.


title: Flatulence

text: Despite being an ancient treatment for various digestive complaints, activated charcoal did not produce reduction in both the total flatus volume nor the release of sulfur-containing gasses, and there was no reduction in abdominal symptoms (after 0.52g activated charcoal four times a day for one week). The authors suggested that saturation of charcoal binding sites during its passage through the gut was the reason for this. A further study concluded that activated charcoal (4g) does not influence gas formation in vitro or in vivo. Other authors reported that activated charcoal was effective. A study in 8 dogs concluded activated charcoal (unknown oral dose) reduced hydrogen sulfide levels by 71%. In combination with yucca schidigera, and zinc acetate, this was increased to an 86% reduction in hydrogen sulfide, although flatus volume and number was unchanged. An early study reported activated charcoal (unknown oral dose) prevented a large increase in the number of flatus events and increased breath hydrogen concentrations that normally occur following a gas-producing meal.


title: Flatulence

text: In 1998, Chester "Buck" Weimer of Pueblo, Colorado, received a patent for the first undergarment that contained a replaceable charcoal filter. The undergarments are air-tight and provide a pocketed escape hole in which a charcoal filter can be inserted. In 2001 Weimer received the Ig Nobel Prize for Biology for his invention.


title: Flatulence

text: A similar product was released in 2002, but rather than an entire undergarment, consumers are able to purchase an insert similar to a pantiliner that contains activated charcoal. The inventors, Myra and Brian Conant of Mililani, Hawaii, still claim on their website to have discovered the undergarment product in 2002 (four years after Chester Weimer filed for a patent for his product), but state that their tests "concluded" that they should release an insert instead.


title: Flatulence

text: Flatus incontinence where there is involuntary passage of gas, is a type of faecal incontinence, and is managed similarly.


title: Flatulence

text: In many cultures, flatulence in public is regarded as embarrassing, but, depending on context, may also be considered humorous. People will often strain to hold in the passing of gas when in polite company, or position themselves to silence or conceal the passing of gas. In other cultures, it may be no more embarrassing than coughing.


title: Flatulence

text: While the act of passing flatus in some cultures is generally considered to be an unfortunate occurrence in public settings, flatulence may, in casual circumstances and especially among children, be used as either a humorous supplement to a joke ("pull my finger"), or as a comic activity in and of itself. The social acceptability of flatulence-based humour in entertainment and the mass media varies over the course of time and between cultures. A sufficient number of entertainers have performed using their flatus to lead to the coining of the term flatulist. The whoopee cushion is a joking device invented in the early 20th century for simulating a fart. In 2008, a farting application for the iPhone earned nearly $10,000 in one day.


title: Flatulence

text: A farting game named "Touch Wood" was documented by John Gregory Bourke in the 1890s. It existed under the name of "Safety" in the 20th century in the U.S., and has been found being played in 2011.


title: Flatulence

text: In January 2011, the Malawi Minister of Justice, George Chaponda, said that Air Fouling Legislation would make public "farting" illegal in his country. When reporting the story, the media satirised Chaponda's statement with punning headlines. Later, the minister withdrew his statement.


title: Flatulence

text: Flatulence is often blamed as a significant source of greenhouse gases, owing to the erroneous belief that the methane released by livestock is in the flatus. While livestock account for around 20% of global methane emissions, 90–95% of that is released by exhaling or burping. In cows, gas and burps are produced by methane-generating microbes called methanogens, that live inside the cow's digestive system. Proposals for reducing methane production in cows include the feeding of supplements such as oregano and seaweed, and the genetic engineering of gut biome microbes to produce less methane.


title: Flatulence

text: Since New Zealand produces large amounts of agricultural products, it is in the unique position of having high methane emissions from livestock compared to other greenhouse gas sources. The New Zealand government is a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol and therefore attempts are being made to reduce greenhouse emissions. To achieve this, an agricultural emissions research levy was proposed, which promptly became known as a "fart tax" or "flatulence tax". It encountered opposition from farmers, farming lobby groups and opposition politicians.


title: Flatulence

text: Historical comment on the ability to fart at will is observed as early as Saint Augustine's "The City of God" (5th century A.D.). Augustine mentions men who "have such command of their bowels, that they can break wind continuously at will, so as to produce the effect of singing". Intentional passing of gas and its use as entertainment for others appear to have been somewhat well known in pre-modern Europe, according to mentions of it in medieval and later literature, including Rabelais.


title: Flatulence

text: Le Pétomane ("the Fartomaniac") was a famous French performer in the 19th century who, as well as many professional farters before him, did flatulence impressions and held shows. The performer Mr. Methane carries on le Pétomane's tradition today. Also, a 2002 fiction film "Thunderpants" revolves around a boy named Patrick Smash who has an ongoing flatulence problem from the time of his birth.


title: Flatulence

text: Since the 1970s, farting has increasingly been featured in film, especially comedies such as "Blazing Saddles" and "Scooby-Doo".


title: Flatulence

text: People find other peoples' flatus unpleasant, but are unfazed by, and may even enjoy, the scent of their own. While there has been little research carried out upon the subject, some speculative guesses have been made as to why this might be so. For example, one explanation for this phenomenon is that people are very familiar with the scent of their own flatus, and that survival in nature may depend on the detection of and reaction to foreign scents.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: The Republic of China Armed Forces (ROC Armed Forces) are the armed forces of the Republic of China (ROC), once based in mainland China and currently in its remaining jurisdictions which include the islands of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu, and other smaller ROC-controlled islands such as Taiping Island in the South China Sea.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: They consist of the Army, Navy (including the Marine Corps), Air Force and Military Police Force. The military is under the civilian control of the Ministry of National Defense, a cabinet-level agency overseen by the Legislative Yuan. It was previously named the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) before being renamed as the Republic of China Armed Forces in 1947 due to the implementation of the newly promulgated Constitution of the Republic of China. It was also historically referred as the Chinese National Armed Forces (CNAF) prior to the establishment of the People's Republic of China on the Chinese mainland and the gradual loss of international recognition in the 1970s by the United Nations and many countries such as the United States.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: Until the 1970s and towards the end of martial law, the military's primary mission was for the ROC to eventually retake mainland China from the communist-controlled People's Republic of China (PRC) through campaigns such as Project National Glory. The military's current foremost mission is the defense of the islands remaining under the control of the ROC, against a possible military invasion by the People's Liberation Army of the PRC, which is seen as the predominant threat to the ROC in the ongoing dispute over the ambiguous political status of Taiwan dating back to the Chinese Civil War and the Surrender of Japan.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: The Republic of China Armed Forces is the national military of the ROC. Commonly referred as the Taiwanese Armed Forces to distinguish from the People's Liberation Army. It is known as "Kuo-Chün" (, literally "National Army").


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: When the ROC was in power in mainland China, its army was the National Revolutionary Army before being renamed as the Republic of China Armed Forces in 1947 due to the implementation of the Constitution of the Republic of China. Other names during the period included the "Chinese Nationalist Army" or the "KMT Army". The nationalization of the armed forces in 1947 detached the Kuomintang's direct control of the armed forces, and it became a national defense force.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: The earliest use of the name "Republic of China Armed Forces (中華民國國軍)" can be found in the first Constitution of the Republic of China in the Nanjing Government in 1947.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: The Republic of China's army was known as the "National Revolutionary Army", which was founded on mainland China in 1925. The National Revolutionary Army was the military arm of Kuomintang (Nationalist Party - KMT) from 1925 until 1947 in the Republic of China. It also become the regular army of the ROC during the KMT's period of party rule beginning in 1928.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: However, with the promulgation of the second Constitution of the Republic of China in 1947 and the formal end of the KMT party-state, the National Revolutionary Army was renamed the Republic of China Armed Forces (中華民國國軍), while the bulk of its forces formed the Republic of China Army. The army was nationalized and thus no longer belonged to the KMT. The ROC Armed Force relocated to the island of Taiwan after the end of the second phase of the Chinese Civil War in 1949.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: The Land force was established in 1924. It can be traced back to the establishment of the Whampoa Military Academy in Canton by 1911 revolutionary leader Sun Yat-sen and built as the National Revolutionary Army, the military arm of KMT. Whampoa Military Academy was relocated to Fengshan District, Kaohsiung City, Taiwan after 1949. It was re-established as the Republic of China Military Academy (中華民國陸軍軍官學校).


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: The Navy of the Qing dynasty was first exposed to Western influence. With the establishment of the Republic of China in 1912, many former Qing-naval officers agreed with the revolutionary ideal of Xinhai and joined the ROC Navy. However, with warlordism continuing to plague the territory of the Republic of China, the development of the Republican navy was somewhat slow. Furthermore, there were internal conflicts during its development. During the 2nd Sino-Japanese war, most of the ROC Navy was destroyed by the Imperial Japanese Navy. In 1946 the Republic of China Naval Academy was established in Shanghai; it was relocated to Taiwan in 1949.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: The ROC Marine Corps was formed from the former Navy Sentry Corps in December 1914, it used to have two divisions, 66th and 99th divisions, in size, when its doctrine focused on retaking mainland China. Since its transition to a defensive posture, the ROCMC has been downsized from about 38,000 active personnel to only 9,000. In 2004, the ROCMC redeployed a brigade near the Taipei area to defend against a possible PLA decapitation strike. The ROC Marine Corps' official motto is "永遠忠誠" (Forever Loyalty), the Chinese translation of ""Semper Fidelis"".


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: In 1920 Sun Yat-sen established the Aviation Ministry in Canton (Guangdong Province). But due to the division of the Southern Warlords, it was later dismantled. In 1929, Chiang Kai-shek established the Aviation Class in the ROC Military Academy. It was relocated to Hangzhou in 1931. Following the outbreak of the 2nd Sino-Japanese War, the ROC Air Force was responsible for shooting down many Japanese Air force fighters. After 1949 the ROC Air Force Academy was relocated to Taiwan island.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: The ROC Military Police was established in 1914 when Sun Yat-sen assumed the provisional presidency. It was established as a police guard and to maintain discipline within the army. In 1932 the nationalist government established the "Command Work of Military Police" (憲兵勤務令) and the Service Procedure for the Military Police (憲兵服務章程), which established the military police system. In 1936, the Military police Academy was founded in Nanjing. The school relocated to Taiwan after 1949.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: In the 21st century as the PRC vastly increased its defense spending, the Republic of China registered the lowest growth in defense spending of the major Asia-Pacific powers. These cutbacks were felt as vital land based systems were cut in order to afford an upgrade of aging fourth generation jet fighters (needed to respond to the PRC's fifth generation fighter programs). And even the jet fighter upgrades were cut back in areas such as high performance jet engines. The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission found that these defense cuts could jeopardize Taiwan's military preparedness.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: Because of the historical legacy having once controlled mainland China, the army has traditionally been the most important of the ROC's military forces, although this declined in the 1990s and early 2000s with the realization that the traditional army's role in defending against a PRC invasion is limited. As a result, recent force modernization programs have resulted in the reorganization of the Army into smaller units as a quick deployment mobile troops. For the same reason, more emphasis is being placed on the development of the Navy and Air Force, in order to fend off attacks in the Taiwan Strait, away from Taiwan proper.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: The ROC Armed Forces' officer corps is generally viewed as being competent, displaying a high degree of professionalism. However, as a whole, the culture in the officer corps tends to be very cautious and conservative. The military also faces difficulties in the recruitment and retention of junior officers and NCOs due to competition with the private sector. There are, however, plans to make it a volunteer armed forces.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: In 2012 ROC Ministry of National Defence announced that the length of service was reduced to 4 months from the original 1 year in December 2011 for those born after 1 January 1994, due to aims to establish an all-volunteer force. As since, all able-bodied men reaching conscription age will undergo 4 month long military training instead of serving for 1 year, as it was done previously. Those born prior to 1 January 1994 and were yet to complete their military service were given an option to serve in a non-combatant role for a duration of one year.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: Since 2021 training for reserve formations has been increased with an emphasis placed on urban and asymmetric warfare. The training period for reservists has been increased to two weeks from 5-7 days. In 2022 reserves numbered 2.31 million. The 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine increased support for and understanding from the public of the effectiveness of well trained and equipped reserves.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: The following service commands are directly subordinate to the General Staff, headed by the Chief of the General Staff, which answers to the civilian command structure under the Minister of Defense and the ROC President:


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: The Coast Guard Administration was created in 2001 from related police and military units and is administered by the Executive Yuan and may be incorporated as a military branch during times of emergency but for the large part remains in civilian control.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: There are also Combined Service Forces within the Republic of China military (army, navy, air force) such as Political Warfare Forces, Signaller, Combat medic, administrative, finance etc. The position of Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Service Forces exists in the Republic of China military. The last known person to hold this position was Muslim Lt. Gen. Ma Ching-chiang.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: Acquisitions over the next several years will emphasize modern C 4 ISR equipment that will vastly improve communications and data-sharing among services. These and other planned acquisitions will gradually shift the island's strategic emphasis to offshore engagement of invading PRC forces. It is hoped that this will serve to reduce civilian casualties and damage to infrastructure in the event of armed conflict.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: The ROC's armed forces are equipped with weapons obtained primarily from the United States, France, United Kingdom and the Netherlands.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: In July 2007 it was reported that the ROC Army would request the purchase of 30 AH-64D II Apache attack helicopters based on the 2008 defense budget. The United Daily News reported that as many as 90 UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters would also be ordered to replace the UH-1Hs then in service.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: During August, the ROC requested 60 AGM-84L Harpoon Block II missiles, 2 Harpoon guidance control units, 30 Harpoon containers, 30 Harpoon extended air-launch lugs, 50 Harpoon upgrade kits from AGM-84G to AGM-84L configuration and other related elements of logistics and program support, to a total value of US$125 million. The United States government indicated its approval of the order with notification to the United States Congress of the potential sale.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: In mid-September 2007, the Pentagon notified the U.S. Congress of P-3C Orion order, which included 12 Orions and three "spare aircraft", along with an order for 144 SM-2 Block IIIA missiles. The total value of the 12 P-3C Orions were estimated at around $1.96 billion and $272 million for the 144 SM-2 missiles. A contract was awarded to Lockheed Martin to refurbish the 12 P-3C Orion aircraft for the ROC on 2009-03-13, with deliveries to start in 2012.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: In mid-November 2007, the Pentagon notified the US Congress about a possible sale to upgrade the ROC's existing 3 Patriot missile batteries to the PAC-3 standard. The total value of the upgrade could be as much as $939 million.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: The US government announced on 3 October that it planned to sell $6.5 billion worth of arms to the ROC ending the freeze of arms sales to the ROC. The plans include $2.5 billion worth of 30 AH-64D Block III Apache Longbow attack helicopters with night-vision sensors, radar, 174 Stinger Block I air-to-air missiles, 1,000 AGM-114L Hellfire missiles, PAC-3 missiles (330), 4 missile battery, radar sets, ground stations and other equipment valued up to $3.1 billion. 4 E-2T aircraft upgrade to E-2C Hawkeye 2000 was also included, worth up to $250 million. $200 million worth of submarine-launched Harpoon Block II missiles (32) would also be available for sale, $334 million worth of various aircraft spare parts and 182 Javelin missiles, with 20 Javelin command launchers.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: However, not included in the arms sale were new F-16 C/D fighters, the feasibility study for diesel-electric submarines or UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters. The White House had declined to sell 66 F-16C/D fighter planes as US Pacific Command has felt no need for advanced arms to be sold to the ROC.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: On 29 January 2010 the US government announced five notifications to US Congress for arms sales to the ROC, two Osprey class mine hunters for $105 million (all figures in US dollars), 25 Link 16 terminals on ships for $340 million, two ship- and two air-launched Harpoon L/II for $37 million, 60 UH-60M and other related items for $3.1 billion and three PAC-3 batteries with 26 launchers and 114 PAC-3 missiles for $2.81 billion, for a total $6.392 billion overall.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: The military's light weapons are generally managed by the Armaments Bureau of the Ministry of National Defense, whose 205th Arsenal (第205廠) is responsible for developing and producing light weapons such as T65 assault rifle, T75 Light machine gun, T86 assault rifle, T91 assault rifle, T75 pistol, various types of bullets etc.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: The military has also stressed military "self-reliance," which has led to the growth of indigenous military production, producing items such as the ROC's Indigenous Defense Fighter, the Thunderbolt 2000 Multiple Launch Rocket System, Clouded Leopard Armoured Vehicle, the Sky Bow II and Sky Bow III SAMs and Hsiung Feng series of anti-ship missiles.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: The modern day ROC military is styled after western military systems, mostly the US military. Internally, it has a political warfare branch/department that tightly controls and monitors each level of the ROC military, and reports directly to the General Headquarters of the ROC military, and if necessary, directly to the President of the ROC. This is a carryover from the pre-1949 era, when KMT and its army were penetrated by Communist agents repeatedly and led to frontline units defecting to Communist China. To strengthen their control over the military and prevent massive defection after retreating to Taiwan in 1949, CKS and CCK employed tight control over the military, by installing political officers and commissioners down to the company level, in order to ensure political correctness in the military and loyalty toward ROC leadership. This gave the political officers/commissars a great deal of power, allowing them to overrule the unit commander and take over the unit. Only in recent years has the political warfare department (due to cutbacks) reduced its power within the ROC military.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: Two defense reform laws implemented in 2002 granted the civilian defense minister control over the entire military, and expanded legislative oversight authority for the first time in history. In the past the ROC military was closely linked with and controlled by the KMT (Nationalist Party). Following the democratization of the 1990s the military moved to a politically neutral position, though the senior officer ranks remained dominated by KMT members in 2001.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: The primary goal of the ROC Armed Forces is to provide a credible deterrent against hostile action by establishing effective counterstrike and defense capabilities. ROC military doctrine in 2004 centered upon the principle of "offshore engagement" where the primary goal of the armed forces in any conflict with the PRC would be to keep as much of the fighting away from Taiwan proper for as long as possible to minimize damage to infrastructure and civilian casualties. As of 2004 the military had also begun to take the threat of a sudden "decapitation attack" by the PRC seriously. Consequently, there was growing emphasis on the role of the Navy and Air Force (where the Army had traditionally dominated); as well as the development of rapid reaction forces and quick mobilization of local reserve forces.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: As of 2021 training for electronic warfare had been emphasized with significant offensive and defensive capabilities having been fielded.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: The Han Kuang Exercise is the annual military exercise of the Republic of China Armed Forces for combat readiness in the event of an attack by the People's Liberation Army.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: China has removed the phrase "peaceful" in official government documents regarding plans to take back Taiwan. Though the Army had previously been the dominant service, the shift to a defensive orientation has shifted importance to the Navy and Air Force to conduct most fighting away from population centers. Given the current budgetary and numerical superiority of the Chinese military, Taiwan has moved towards an asymmetric anti-access/area denial system to imperil China's ability to operate in the Taiwan Strait rather than try to match its strength. The RoCN, which was once the most neglected force, has become the most important to defeat an invasion fleet. Combating the enemy fleet and sinking transport ships would take out large amounts of the ground invasion force and permanently degrade amphibious capabilities. Surface ships primarily consist of guided missile destroyers and frigates, as well as four dozen small, fast missile boats to take out much larger Chinese surface and amphibious ships. The RoCAF is optimized for air superiority and was once the more formidable of the two countries, but current Chinese technology investments have made China much more able to contest airspace. Air bases are likely to come under attack from Chinese conventional ballistic missiles in range of the island. Taiwan has equipment to keep exposed bases operating while under fire with runway repair systems and mobile aircraft arresting systems. There are two underground air bases used by the RoCAF: Chiashan Air Force Base which is in a hollowed-out mountain that can protect 200 fighters and Chihhang Air Base which can protect 80 aircraft. The RoCAF operates a nationwide air defense network to engage targets anywhere over the mainland; some anti-aircraft missile batteries are also located in underground silos. The Army would only fight if Chinese forces manage to land and would engage in asymmetric warfare. In 2014 Taiwan Minister of National Defense Yen Ming believed that the country would be able to hold off a Chinese invasion for at least one month.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: In the late 2010s Taiwan's military adopted a new strategy called the Overall Defense Concept (ODC), according to The Diplomat "In short, the ODC is a holistically integrated strategy for guiding Taiwan's military force development and joint operations, emphasizing Taiwan's existing natural advantages, civilian infrastructure and asymmetrical warfare capabilities. It is designed to deter and, if necessary, defeat an invasion by China's People's Liberation Army (PLA)." In 2021 Defense Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng said that “I always tell my peers to stop asking, ‘how many days we need to hold out?’ The question is, ‘how many days does China want to fight?’ We’ll keep them company for as many days as they want to fight.”


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: Taiwan has engaged in training with foreign forces, primarily American, for a long time but cooperation was stepped up after the passage of the Taiwan Travel Act in 2018. Exchanges between high ranking Taiwanese officers and their NATO counterparts have also been on the rise.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: In the 1970s the Republic of China trained Salvadoran officers involved in human rights violations during the country's civil war.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: In 2011 and 2012 Taiwan worked with the EU's Naval Force in Operation Atalanta to counter piracy off the coast of Somalia. Since then exchanges and information sharing has continued, between 2011 and 2015 EU anti-piracy officials made five visits to Taiwan.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: In 2019 Guatemalan Minister of Defense Major General Luis Miguel Ralda Moreno visited Taiwan and met with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: There is no official cooperation between the ROC military and the Japanese Self Defense Force (JSDF). The JSDF has sent observers to the digital part of the annual Han Kuang Exercise.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: New Japanese military legislation came into effect in 2016, allowing deployment to defend a regional ally under attack. This is thought to be primarily legislation for Japan to deploy to Taiwan in an event of an attack on Taiwan, which in turn threatens Japanese security in its southern islands.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: In 2019 Taiwan donated five refurbished surplus interceptor boats to the Nicaraguan Armed Forces. The transfer ceremony occurred at the naval forces’ 2nd battalion in Puerto Sandino.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: In 2019 Taiwan donated two UH-1H helicopters and 30 Humvees to the Armed Forces of Paraguay. Paraguayan President Mario Abdo Benítez shared pictures of the military aid on the presidential Twitter feed.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: Starting in 1975, Singapore has sent units from its military to train in the Republic of China under the Starlight training program (). Singaporean forces training in Taiwan numbered roughly 3,000 as of 2005. Singapore has also supplied the ROCAF with military equipment.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: In 2007, a F-5F fighter operated by the Republic of China Air Force (ROCAF) crashed into base housing that was occupied by Singaporean personnel, killing the pilots. Two Singaporeans on the ground were also killed, with nine injured. The Starlight program at that time numbered around 7,000 personal.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: In 2019, a Singaporean paratrooper was seriously injured during nighttime parachute training. He underwent intensive surgery and recovery in Taiwan. In 2020 he was flown back to Singapore aboard a Singapore Air Force A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: Collaboration between the ROC and US militaries began during World War II when both nations were members of the Allied forces, and continued through the Chinese Civil War when ROC forces were supplied primarily by the US until the final evacuation of ROC forces to Taiwan in 1949. Initially the U.S. expected the ROC government to fall and withdrew support until the outbreak of the Korean War when the U.S. 7th Fleet was ordered to the Taiwan Straits both to protect Taiwan from a PRC attack, and to stop ROC actions against the PRC. A formal US-ROC security pact was signed in 1954 establishing a formal alliance that lasted until US recognition of the PRC in 1979. During this period US military advisers were deployed to the ROC and joint exercises were common. The United States Taiwan Defense Command was established in the Philippines for reinforcement of Taiwan airspace. The US and ROC also collaborated on human and electronic intelligence operations directed against the PRC.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: ROC units participated in the Korean War and the Vietnam War in non-combat capacities, primarily at the insistence of the United States which was concerned that the high-profile roles for ROC forces in these conflicts would lead to full scale PRC intervention. The United States deployed nuclear weapons on Taiwan as part of the United States Taiwan Defense Command. Nuclear weapons are known to have been stored at Tainan Air Force Base until their withdrawal was ordered by the American President in 1972. High-level cooperation ended with the US recognition of the PRC in 1979, when all remaining US forces in Taiwan were withdrawn. The US continued to supply the ROC with arms sales per the Taiwan Relations Act, albeit in a diminished role.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: When the United States Congress enacted on September 30, 2002, the Foreign Relations Authorization Act for FY 2003, it required that Taiwan be "treated as though it were designated a major non-NATO ally." Despite some initial misgivings about Congress's perceived intrusion into the President's foreign affairs authority, the Bush administration subsequently submitted a letter to Congress on August 29, 2003, designating Taiwan as a major non-NATO ally.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: In recent years, the ROC military has again begun higher level cooperation with the U.S. Military after over two decades of relative isolation. Senior officers from the U.S. Pacific Command observed the annual Han Kuang military exercises in 2005. The US also upgraded its military liaison position in Taipei from a position held by retired officers hired on a contractual basis to one held by an active duty officer the same year. The United States regularly sends personnel to Taiwan for both training and liaison purposes but does so either secretly or in an unofficial capacity. ROC Marines have trained with their American counterparts in Hawaii and US Marines have also deployed to Taiwan.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: In 2015 two United States Marine Corps F/A-18C Hornets made an unscheduled landing at Tainan Air Force Base after one of them developed an engine anomaly in-flight. The aircraft were accommodated in an air force hangar until a C-130 full of American technicians could be flown in to check them out. The United States Air Force supports Taiwan's air force through air-to-air refueling and training.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: Tsai Ing-wen's request of purchasing weaponry from the US was approved by the US State Department in July 2019. The deal includes 108 Abrams tanks, 250 Stinger missiles and related equipment worth $2.2 billion. Tsai said the weaponry would "greatly enhance our land and air capabilities, strengthen military morale and show to the world the US commitment to Taiwan's defense." In May 2020, the U.S. Department of State approved a Foreign Military Sale of 18 MK-48 Mod 6 Advanced Technology Heavy Weight Torpedoes for Taiwan in a deal estimated to cost $180 million.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: Elite units of the ROC and American militaries have trained together for a long time, units often have particular relationships for example the MPSSC trains and engages in exercises with United States Army Special Forces. In June 2020 the United States Army Special Forces published a promotional video which included footage of Green Berets training in Taiwan. The ROC Army Aviation and Special Forces Command and the United States Army Special Forces have an annual training exercise called Balance Tamper. The ROC Marines receive training annually from the US Marine Corps’ Marine Raider Regiment.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: The Republic of China held their first military parade on 10 October 2007 for National Day celebrations since 1991. Previous parades were halted in an effort to ease the tension with the PRC. The parade was aimed at easing worries that the armed forces might be unprepared for a conflict with the PRC. The parade consisted of indigenous missiles, U.S. Patriot II and Avenger anti-missiles systems, U.S.-made F-16s, French-made Mirages and Taiwan-made IDF fighters.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: In 2015, another parade was held to mark the 70th anniversary of the defeat of Japan in 1945 in northern Hsinchu county. The parade was long at two hours and consisted of indigenous missiles, Apache helicopters and awards for World War II veterans.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: The development of nuclear weapons by the ROC has been a contentious issue. The U.S., hoping to avoid escalating tensions in the Taiwan Strait, has continually opposed arming the ROC with nuclear weapons. Accordingly, the ROC, although not a member of the United Nations, adheres to the principles of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and has stated that it does not intend to produce nuclear weapons. Past nuclear research by the ROC makes it a 'threshold' nuclear state.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: In 1967, a nuclear weapons program began under the auspices of the Institute of Nuclear Energy Research (INER) at the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology. The ROC was able to acquire nuclear technology from abroad (including a research reactor from Canada and low-grade plutonium from the United States) allegedly for a civilian energy system, but in actuality to develop fuel for nuclear weapons.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: After the International Atomic Energy Agency found evidence of the ROC's efforts to produce weapons-grade plutonium, Taipei agreed in September 1976 under U.S. pressure to dismantle its nuclear weapons program. The nuclear reactor was soon shut down and the plutonium mostly returned to the U.S.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: Another secret program was revealed after 1987 Lieyu massacre, when Colonel Chang Hsien-yi, deputy director of Nuclear Research at INER who was secretly working for the CIA, defected to the U.S. in December, and produced a cache of incriminating documents. In 1988 upon being questioned by Director of American Institute in Taiwan, David Dean in person with the United States satellite image recording a minimized nuclear test at Jioupeng military base field in Pingtung in 1986, Superior-general Hau Pei-tsun claimed that scientists in Taiwan had already produced the controlled nuclear reaction as the continuous progress in decades after the previous accomplishment equivalent to 1/6 of Hiroshima scale in South Africa in 1980, as per General Hau's Diary and President Nelson Mandela's later findings. Under pressure from the U.S., the program was halted.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: During the 1995–1996 Taiwan Strait crisis, ROC President Lee Teng-hui proposed to reactivate the program, but was forced to back down a few days later after drawing intense criticism from the U.S. government.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: With the unbalanced military equation across the Taiwan Strait, Taipei may choose nuclear weapons as a deterrent against the military encirclement by the People's Republic of China.


title: Republic of China Armed Forces

text: Taiwan's budget figures exclude both the classified budget and special funds allocated by the Executive Yuan. As of 2020 special funds expenditures were almost 2 billion a year. In 2021 the legislature approved a US$9 billion special budget for weapons and systems procurement.


title: Antonio de la Rúa

text: Antonio de la Rúa Pertiné (born 7 March 1974) is an Argentine lawyer, and the son of former president Fernando de la Rúa (who governed Argentina from 1999 to 2001) and Inés Pertiné. He was an advisor to his father during his father's presidency and one of the heads of his father's presidential campaign.


title: Antonio de la Rúa

text: Though de la Rúa held no formal position in his father's government, he was the chief architect of his father's election campaign; his success led his father to continue to turn to him for political advice after his assumption of the presidency. He was pointed to as the leader of the "Sushi set" ("El grupo sushi"), a group of young officials so-called due to their alleged preference for expensive Japanese cuisine; they were sometimes criticised for their influence on politics. After the collapse of the de la Rúa presidency, de la Rúa focused his energies on philanthropy and distanced himself from politics, thus marking the end of the influence of the "Sushi Group".


title: Antonio de la Rúa

text: De la Rúa was a target of paparazzi coverage after his father became president. In 2000, he started dating the Colombian singer Shakira.


title: Antonio de la Rúa

text: On 10 January 2011, Shakira announced on her website that after 11 years together, she and de la Rúa had separated in August 2010 after making "a mutual decision to take time apart from [their] romantic relationship." She wrote that the couple "view this period of separation as temporary and as a time of individual growth as [they] continue to be partners in [their] business and professional lives", with de la Rúa overseeing Shakira's "business and career interests as he has always done." In September 2012, he filed a lawsuit for $250 million against Shakira. His lawsuit was dismissed by a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge in August 2013.


title: Antonio de la Rúa

text: In December 2006 de la Rua together with a group of prominent Latin American businessmen and artists founded ALAS Foundation. Foundation ALAS is a non-profit organization that promotes Early Childhood Development in Hispanic America.


title: Antonio de la Rúa

text: Foundation ALAS had Nobel Prize winner Gabriel García Márquez as its Honorary President. Its founding members include Carlos Slim, Alejandro Santo Domingo, Antonio de la Rua, Alejandro Soberon, Alejandro Bulgheroni among other businessmen, and artists Shakira, Fher Olivera, Alejandro Sanz, Juan Luis Guerra and Diego Torres. On 22 February 2010, Antonio de la Rúa and Shakira were invited to the White House where they discussed with President Barack Obama the importance of investing in Early Childhood Development Policies.


title: Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester

text: Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, (born Lady Alice Christabel Montagu Douglas Scott; 25 December 1901 – 29 October 2004) was the wife of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, the third son of King George V and Queen Mary. She was the mother of Prince William of Gloucester and Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester.


title: Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester

text: The daughter of the 7th Duke of Buccleuch, Scotland's largest landowner, she became by marriage a princess of the United Kingdom, and a sister-in-law to Edward VIII and George VI. She was thus an aunt by marriage to Elizabeth II. Princess Alice was extremely well travelled, both before and after her marriage. At the time of her death at 102, she was the longest-lived member of the British royal family.


title: Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester

text: Alice Christabel was born in Montagu House, Whitehall, London, on Christmas Day 1901 as the third daughter and fifth child of John Montagu Douglas Scott, Earl of Dalkeith (later Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry), and his wife, the former Lady Margaret Alice "Molly" Bridgeman, daughter of the 4th Earl of Bradford. Her brothers Walter and William and her nephew John were all Conservative MPs. Her first cousin, Marian Louisa, Lady Elmhirst, was the paternal grandmother of Sarah, Duchess of York, former wife of Alice's great-nephew, Prince Andrew, Duke of York.


title: Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester

text: She was a descendant, in an unbroken male line, of Charles II through his eldest but illegitimate son, James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, himself a major political figure during the years leading up to the Glorious Revolution. As she was born on Christmas Day, she was given the middle name of Christabel.


title: Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester

text: Alice spent much of her childhood travelling "between splendid houses": Boughton House in Northamptonshire, Drumlanrig Castle in Dumfries and Galloway, and Bowhill in the Scottish Borders. Eildon Hall, in Melrose, Scottish Borders, was more or less home base.


title: Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester

text: An experience of nearly drowning at the age of 14 awoke her to a keen sense of making the most of every day. Caught in a current in the Solway Firth, she was convinced that she was going to die and she prayed to God, begging for a miracle to save her life in exchange for her devoting herself to public service:


title: Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester

text: She attended the independent St James's School for Girls, in West Malvern, Worcestershire, and later travelled to France, Kenya and India. After school in West Malvern, she spent a year in Paris "before returning home to be presented at Court in 1920". Alice enjoyed skiing, horse-riding and hunting and was also an accomplished watercolourist. A painting by her, done near Archers Post in Kenya, is today part of the Royal Collection. In Kenya, where she stayed for over a year, from about 1929–1931, she stayed in the area typical of the so-called Happy Valley set and encountered many of the personalities of said clique, including Evelyn Waugh.


title: Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester

text: In 1935, Alice returned to the United Kingdom when she learned that her father's health had been deteriorating. In August 1935, Lady Alice became engaged to Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester. They were married in a private ceremony, in the Private Chapel, Buckingham Palace, on 6 November of that year. A much more elaborate wedding was originally planned for Westminster Abbey; but after the Duke of Buccleuch died of cancer on 19 October 1935, and in consideration of the King's own failing health, it was decided that the wedding should be scaled down to a more private setting.


title: Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester

text: The Duchess's bridesmaids were her sister, the Lady Angela Montagu-Douglas-Scott; her nieces Clare Phipps, Lady Elizabeth Montagu-Douglas-Scott, and Anne Hawkins; her husband's nieces Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret of York; her cousin Moyra Montagu-Douglas-Scott; and her husband's cousin Lady Mary Cambridge. Alice wore a blush-hued wedding gown, the only British royal bride to do so. Her gown was designed by Norman Hartnell, who later designed the wedding dress of Princess Elizabeth, the future queen. The dress was "of modest simplicity, with long, narrow sleeves and a high neckline draped into a nosegay of artificial orange-blossom". The veil was made from "a drifting cloud of crisp modern tulle".


title: Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester

text: On her way to the private chapel at Buckingham Palace, Alice wore "an ermine blanket stole" due to the cold weather. Although the day was cold and wet, a crowd estimated to be over one million people lined the streets from the Palace to the railway station to see the couple off on their honeymoon. She was often referred to as the "Winter Princess" from then on.


title: Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester

text: Initially the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester lived at the Royal Pavilion in Aldershot, where the Duke was taking the Army staff course. The Duke of Gloucester left the army to take on more public duties following the abdication of Edward VIII in December 1936.


title: Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester

text: The couple received a grace and favour residence at York House, St James's Palace, London, and, in 1938, they purchased Barnwell Manor in Northamptonshire. The Duchess suffered two miscarriages, before giving birth to two sons:


title: Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester

text: The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester travelled extensively, undertaking various engagements. The public appearances of the Duchess included launching on 19 October 1937. During World War II, the Duchess worked with the Red Cross and the Order of St John. She became head of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) in 1939 as Senior Controller, changed to Air Commandant on 12 March 1940, and appointed Air Chief Commandant on 4 March 1943, when she took over as director until August 1944. When the WAAF became the Women's Royal Air Force (WRAF) in 1949, she was appointed an Air Chief Commandant (equivalent to Air vice-marshal) in the new service on 1 February 1949. She was promoted to Air marshal on 1 September 1968, and to air chief marshal in the Royal Air Force on 23 February 1990. She also served as deputy to Queen Elizabeth, the consort of George VI, as Commandant-in-Chief of the Nursing Corps.


title: Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester

text: From 1945 to 1947, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester lived in Canberra, where the Duke was serving as Governor-General of Australia.


title: Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester

text: The Duchess of Gloucester served as Colonel-in-Chief or deputy Colonel-in-Chief of a dozen regiments in the British Army, including the King's Own Scottish Borderers, the Northamptonshire Regiment, the 2nd East Anglian Regiment (Duchess of Gloucester's Own Royal Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire), the Royal Anglian Regiment, the Royal Hussars, and the Royal Irish Rangers (27th Inniskilling); also, the Royal Corps of Transport. She was Patron of the Girls' Day School Trust and Queen Margaret College.


title: Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester

text: In 1965, while returning from Winston Churchill's funeral in their vehicle, the Duke suffered a stroke which resulted in a car crash, with the Duke being thrown out of the car and the Duchess "suffering facial injuries". On the occasion she wrote "I was sitting beside him to grab the wheel or put my foot on the brake if he fell asleep and lost control, but on that occasion I must have dozed off myself. Apparently the Rolls swerved off the road (and) ended upside down in a field of cabbages. Prince Henry had luckily been thrown through the open door...into (stinging) nettles and brambles".


title: Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester

text: In 1972, the Duchess's elder son, Prince William, was killed in a plane crash while participating in an amateur air show race. Her husband was in such poor health at the time of their son's death that the Duchess hesitated whether to tell him, later admitting in her memoirs that she did not but that he may have learned of William's death from television coverage. The Duke of Gloucester died on 10 June 1974 at the age of 74.


title: Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester

text: In 1975, Princess Alice was the first woman to be appointed a Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath. In 1981, she first published her memoirs under the title "The Memoirs of Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester." In 1991, she released a revised edition as "Memories of Ninety Years".


title: Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester

text: In 1994, after the Gloucesters had to give up Barnwell Manor for financial reasons, Alice moved from Barnwell to Kensington Palace, where she lived with the current Duke and Duchess of Gloucester. She officially retired from public duties at the age of 98. In 1999, the Duke issued a press release announcing that due to physical frailty, his mother would no longer carry out public engagements outside the environs of Kensington Palace. In July 2000, the Duke said in another statement that his mother had become "increasingly forgetful."


title: Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester

text: In December 2001, the royal family held a ceremony to acknowledge Princess Alice's 100th birthday. This was Princess Alice's last public appearance (as well as the last public appearance of Princess Margaret, the Queen's younger sister, who died on 9 February 2002). On the death of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother at age 101 in March 2002, Princess Alice became the oldest living member of the British royal family. On 21 August 2003, Princess Alice surpassed the Queen Mother's record as the oldest person in the history of the British royal family by reaching the age of 101 years and 238 days. On 20 September 2003, at the age of 101 years and 269 days, she was certified by Guinness World Records as the world's longest-lived royal of all time, surpassing Leonilla, Princess of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn.


title: Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester

text: Princess Alice died on 29 October 2004 in her sleep at Kensington Palace, at the age of 102 years and 309 days. Following her death, the Union Jack flew at half mast at Buckingham Palace. Her funeral was held on 5 November 2004, at St George's Chapel, Windsor, and she was interred next to her husband, Prince Henry, and her elder son, Prince William, in the Royal Burial Ground at Frogmore. The funeral was attended by Elizabeth II and other members of the British royal family. A memorial service was held at St Clement Danes on 2 February 2005, which was attended by her son and his family and representatives of organisations Princess Alice was involved in; the service was co-ordinated by the Royal Air Force in respect of Princess Alice's role as Commandant-in-Chief WRAF.


title: Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester

text: Hugo Vickers called Princess Alice "a very private person who was not widely known to the general public" despite being the third-highest-ranking lady in the royal family at the time of her marriage.


title: Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester

text: It was well known she disliked large parties. Peter Townsend said of her: "She possessed classic, serene good looks and sincerity shone from her mild face. But she was painfully shy, so that conversation with her was sometimes halting and unrewarding, for you felt that she had so much more to say, but could not bring herself to say it." Alice herself wrote in her autobiography: "I was very shy and rather plump, ... I made a miserable debut at a dance at Windsor for Princess Mary's birthday, uncomfortably squeezed into a white satin frock."


title: Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester

text: Although generally a woman of few and soft-spoken words, Princess Alice was known for her dry humour. Soon after her marriage, when the couple moved to York House, they were warned that the drawing-room floor would not stand the weight of more than twenty people. "So we made a party list", recalled the Duchess many years later, "of the twenty-one people whom we disliked most".


title: Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester

text: The Queen Mother said of Princess Alice after her son's death in an aircrash in 1972: "The tragic accident was a great shock to all the family, but I feel desperately for his dear little mother. She has the courage of a lion, and has suffered so many cruel blows in the past few years...". Alice herself later admitted that following her son's death "I was completely stunned and have never quite been the same since."


title: Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester

text: On 10 June 1974, Prince Henry died, and was succeeded as Duke of Gloucester by their second son, Prince Richard (the couple's elder son, Prince William, had been killed in an aeroplane crash in 1972). As a widow she requested permission from her niece, the Queen, to use the title and style "HRH" Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester instead of adopting "HRH" The Dowager Duchess of Gloucester. This form of title is normally only afforded to a Princess of the Blood. The Queen allowed her aunt to adopt this title, in part to avoid confusion with her daughter-in-law, the new Duchess of Gloucester (formerly Birgitte van Deurs).


title: Palestine (region)

text: Palestine (, ; ; , , , ; , ) is a geographic region in Western Asia. It is usually considered to include Israel and the State of Palestine (i.e. West Bank and Gaza Strip), though some definitions also include part of northwestern Jordan.


title: Palestine (region)

text: The first written records to attest the name of the region were those of the Twentieth dynasty of Egypt, which used the term "Peleset" in reference to the neighboring people or land. In the 8th century, Assyrian inscriptions refer to the region of "Palashtu" or "Pilistu". In the Hellenistic period, these names were carried over into Greek, appearing in the Histories of Herodotus in the more recognizable form of "Palaistine". The Roman Empire initially used other terms for the region, such as Judaea, but renamed the region Syria Palaestina after the Bar Kokhba revolt. During the Byzantine period, the region was split into the provinces of Palaestina Prima, Palaestina Secunda and Palaestina Tertia. Following the Muslim conquest of the Levant, the military district of Jund Filastin was established. Palestine's boundaries have changed throughout history; the politically defined region comprises most of the territory of the biblical Land of Israel (, ), also known as the Promised Land or the Holy Land, and represents the southern portion of wider regional designations such as Canaan, Syria, and the Levant.


title: Palestine (region)

text: As the birthplace of Judaism and Christianity, the region of Palestine has a tumultuous history as a crossroads for religion, culture, commerce, and politics. In the Bronze Age, it was inhabited by the Canaanites; the Iron Age saw the emergence of Israel and Judah, two related kingdoms inhabited by the Israelites. It has since come under the sway of various empires, including the Neo-Assyrian Empire, the Neo-Babylonian Empire, and the Achaemenid Persian Empire. Revolts by the region's Jews against Hellenistic rule brought a brief period of regional independence under the Hasmonean dynasty, which ended with its gradual incorporation into the Roman Empire (later the Byzantine Empire). In the 7th century, Palestine was conquered by the Rashidun Caliphate, ending Byzantine rule in the region; Rashidun rule was succeeded by the Umayyad Caliphate, the Abbasid Caliphate, and the Fatimid Caliphate. Following the collapse of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, which had been established through the Crusades, the population of Palestine became predominantly Muslim. In the 13th century, it became part of the Mamluk Sultanate, and after 1516, part of the Ottoman Empire. During World War I, it was captured by the United Kingdom as part of the Sinai and Palestine campaign. Between 1919 and 1922, the League of Nations created the Mandate for Palestine, which directed the region to be under British administration as Mandatory Palestine. Tensions between Jews and Arabs escalated into the 1947–1949 Palestine war, which ended with the territory of the former British Mandate divided between Israel vis-à-vis Jordan (in the West Bank) and Egypt (in the Gaza Strip); later developments in the Arab–Israeli conflict culminated in Israel's seizure of both territories, which has been among the core issues of the ongoing Israeli–Palestinian conflict.


title: Palestine (region)

text: Modern archaeology has identified 12 ancient inscriptions from Egyptian and Assyrian records recording likely cognates of Hebrew "Pelesheth". The term "Peleset" (transliterated from hieroglyphs as "P-r-s-t") is found in five inscriptions referring to a neighboring people or land starting from c. 1150 BCE during the Twentieth dynasty of Egypt. The first known mention is at the temple at Medinet Habu which refers to the Peleset among those who fought with Egypt in Ramesses III's reign, and the last known is 300 years later on Padiiset's Statue. Seven known Assyrian inscriptions refer to the region of "Palashtu" or "Pilistu", beginning with Adad-nirari III in the Nimrud Slab in c. 800 BCE through to a treaty made by Esarhaddon more than a century later. Neither the Egyptian nor the Assyrian sources provided clear regional boundaries for the term.


title: Palestine (region)

text: The first clear use of the term Palestine to refer to the entire area between Phoenicia and Egypt was in 5th century BCE Ancient Greece, when Herodotus wrote of a "district of Syria, called "Palaistinê"" () in "The Histories", which included the Judean mountains and the Jordan Rift Valley. Approximately a century later, Aristotle used a similar definition for the region in "Meteorology", in which he included the Dead Sea. Later Greek writers such as Polemon and Pausanias also used the term to refer to the same region, which was followed by Roman writers such as Ovid, Tibullus, Pomponius Mela, Pliny the Elder, Dio Chrysostom, Statius, Plutarch as well as Romano-Jewish writers Philo of Alexandria and Josephus. The term was first used to denote an official province in c. 135 CE, when the Roman authorities, following the suppression of the Bar Kokhba Revolt, combined Iudaea Province with Galilee and the Paralia to form "Syria Palaestina". There is circumstantial evidence linking Hadrian with the name change, but the precise date is not certain and the assertion of some scholars that the name change was intended "to complete the dissociation with Judaea" is disputed.


title: Palestine (region)

text: The term is generally accepted to be a cognate of the biblical name "Peleshet" ( "Pəlésheth", usually transliterated as Philistia). The term and its derivates are used more than 250 times in Masoretic-derived versions of the Hebrew Bible, of which 10 uses are in the Torah, with undefined boundaries, and almost 200 of the remaining references are in the Book of Judges and the Books of Samuel. The term is rarely used in the Septuagint, which used a transliteration "Land of Phylistieim" ("Γῆ τῶν Φυλιστιείμ") different from the contemporary Greek place name "Palaistínē" ("Παλαιστίνη").


title: Palestine (region)

text: The Septuagint instead used the term "allophuloi" (άλλόφυλοι, "other nations") throughout the Books of Judges and Samuel, such that the term "Philistines" has been interpreted to mean "non-Israelites of the Promised Land" when used in the context of Samson, Saul and David, and Rabbinic sources explain that these peoples were different from the Philistines of the Book of Genesis.


title: Palestine (region)

text: During the Byzantine period, the region of Palestine within Syria Palaestina was subdivided into Palaestina Prima and Secunda, and an area of land including the Negev and Sinai became Palaestina Salutaris. Following the Muslim conquest, place names that were in use by the Byzantine administration generally continued to be used in Arabic. The use of the name "Palestine" became common in Early Modern English, was used in English and Arabic during the Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem and was revived as an official place name with the British Mandate for Palestine.


title: Palestine (region)

text: Some other terms that have been used to refer to all or part of this land include Canaan, Land of Israel (Eretz Yisrael or Ha'aretz), the Promised Land, Greater Syria, the Holy Land, Iudaea Province, Judea, Coele-Syria, "Israel HaShlema", Kingdom of Israel, Kingdom of Jerusalem, Zion, "Retenu" (Ancient Egyptian), Southern Syria, Southern Levant and Syria Palaestina.


title: Palestine (region)

text: Situated at a strategic location between Egypt, Syria and Arabia, and the birthplace of Judaism and Christianity, the region has a long and tumultuous history as a crossroads for religion, culture, commerce, and politics. The region has been controlled by numerous peoples, including Ancient Egyptians, Canaanites, Israelites, Assyrians, Babylonians, Achaemenids, Ancient Greeks, Romans, Parthians, Sasanians, Byzantines, the Arab Rashidun, Umayyad, Abbasid and Fatimid caliphates, Crusaders, Ayyubids, Mamluks, Mongols, Ottomans, the British, and modern Israelis and Palestinians.


title: Palestine (region)

text: The region was among the earliest in the world to see human habitation, agricultural communities and civilization. During the Bronze Age, independent Canaanite city-states were established, and were influenced by the surrounding civilizations of ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Phoenicia, Minoan Crete, and Syria. Between 1550 and 1400 BCE, the Canaanite cities became vassals to the Egyptian New Kingdom who held power until the 1178 BCE Battle of Djahy (Canaan) during the wider Bronze Age collapse. The Israelites emerged from a dramatic social transformation that took place in the people of the central hill country of Canaan around 1200 BCE, with no signs of violent invasion or even of peaceful infiltration of a clearly defined ethnic group from elsewhere. During the Iron Age, the Israelites established two related kingdoms, Israel and Judah. The Kingdom of Israel emerged as an important local power by the 10th century BCE before falling to the Neo-Assyrian Empire in 722 BCE. Israel's southern neighbor, the Kingdom of Judah, emerged in the 8th or 9th century BCE and later became a client state of first the Neo-Assyrian and then the Neo-Babylonian Empire before a revolt against the latter led to its destruction in 586 BCE. The region became part of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from c. 740 BCE, which was itself replaced by the Neo-Babylonian Empire in c. 627 BCE.


title: Palestine (region)

text: In 587/6 BCE, Jerusalem was besieged and destroyed by the second Babylonian king, Nebuchadnezzar II, who subsequently exiled the Judeans to Babylon. The Kingdom of Judah was then annexed as a Babylonian province. The Philistines were also exiled. The defeat of Judah was recorded by the Babylonians.


title: Palestine (region)

text: In 539 BCE, the Babylonian empire was conquered by the Achaemenid Empire. According to the Hebrew Bible and implications from the Cyrus Cylinder, the exiled Jews were eventually allowed to return to Jerusalem. The returned population in Judah were allowed to self-rule under Persian governance, and some parts of the fallen kingdom became a Persian province known as Yehud. Except Yehud, at least another four Persian provinces existed in the region: Samaria, Gaza, Ashdod, and Ascalon, in addition to the Phoenician city states in the north and the Arabian tribes in the south. During the same period, the Edomites migrated from Transjordan to the southern parts of Judea, which became known as Idumaea. The Qedarites were the dominant Arab tribe; their territory ran from the Hejaz in the south to the Negev in the north through the period of Persian and Hellenistic dominion.


title: Palestine (region)

text: In the 330s BCE, Macedonian ruler Alexander the Great conquered the region, which changed hands several times during the wars of the Diadochi and later Syrian Wars. It ultimately fell to the Seleucid Empire between 219 and 200 BCE. During that period, the region became heavily hellenized, building tensions between Greeks and locals. In 167 BCE, the Maccabean Revolt erupted, leading to the establishment of an independent Hasmonean Kingdom in Judea. From 110 BCE, the Hasmoneans extended their authority over much of Palestine, including Samaria, Galilee, Iturea, Perea, and Idumea. The Jewish control over the wider region resulted in it also becoming known as Judaea, a term that had previously only referred to the smaller region of the Judaean Mountains. During the same period, the Edomites were converted to Judaism.


title: Palestine (region)

text: Between 73 and 63 BCE, the Roman Republic extended its influence into the region in the Third Mithridatic War. Pompey conquered Judea in 63 BCE, splitting the former Hasmonean Kingdom into five districts. In around 40 BCE, the Parthians conquered Palestine, deposed the Roman ally Hyrcanus II, and installed a puppet ruler of the Hasmonean line known as Antigonus II. By 37 BCE, the Parthians withdrew from Palestine.


title: Palestine (region)

text: Palestine is generally considered the "Cradle of Christianity". Christianity, a religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, arose as a messianic sect from within Second Temple Judaism. The three-year Ministry of Jesus, culminating in his crucifixion, is estimated to have occurred from 28 to 30 CE, although the historicity of Jesus is disputed by a minority of scholars.


title: Palestine (region)

text: In the first and second centuries CE, the Province of Judea became the site of two large-scale Jewish revolts against Rome. During the First Jewish-Roman War, which lasted from 66 to 73 CE, the Romans razed Jerusalem and destroyed the Second Temple. In Masada, Jewish zealots preferred to commit suicide than endure Roman captivity. In 132 CE, another Jewish rebellion erupted. The Bar Kokhba revolt took three years to put down, incurred massive costs on both the Romans and the Jews, and desolated much of Judea. The center of Jewish life in Palestine moved to the Galilee. During or after the revolt, Hadrian joined the province of Iudaea with Galilee and the Paralia to form the new province of Syria Palaestina, and Jerusalem was renamed "Aelia Capitolina". Some scholars view these actions as an attempt to disconnect the Jewish people from their homeland, but this theory is debated.


title: Palestine (region)

text: Between 259 and 272, the region fell under the rule of Odaenathus as King of the Palmyrene Empire. Following the victory of Christian emperor Constantine in the Civil wars of the Tetrarchy, the Christianization of the Roman Empire began, and in 326, Constantine's mother Saint Helena visited Jerusalem and began the construction of churches and shrines. Palestine became a center of Christianity, attracting numerous monks and religious scholars. The Samaritan Revolts during this period caused their near extinction. In 614 CE, Palestine was annexed by another Persian dynasty; the Sassanids, until returning to Byzantine control in 628 CE.


title: Palestine (region)

text: Palestine was conquered by the Rashidun Caliphate, beginning in 634 CE. In 636, the Battle of Yarmouk during the Muslim conquest of the Levant marked the start of Muslim hegemony over the region, which became known as the military district of Jund Filastin within the province of Bilâd al-Shâm (Greater Syria). In 661, with the Assassination of Ali, Muawiyah I became the Caliph of the Islamic world after being crowned in Jerusalem. The Dome of the Rock, completed in 691, was the world's first great work of Islamic architecture.


title: Palestine (region)

text: The majority of the population was Christian and was to remain so until the conquest of Saladin in 1187. The Muslim conquest apparently had little impact on social and administrative continuities for several decades. The word 'Arab' at the time referred predominantly to Bedouin nomads, though Arab settlement is attested in the Judean highlands and near Jerusalem by the 5th century, and some tribes had converted to Christianity. The local population engaged in farming, which was considered demeaning, and were called "Nabaț", referring to Aramaic-speaking villagers. A ḥadīth, brought in the name of a Muslim freedman who settled in Palestine, ordered the Muslim Arabs not to settle in the villages, "for he who abides in villages it is as if he abides in graves".


title: Palestine (region)

text: The Umayyads, who had spurred a strong economic resurgence in the area, were replaced by the Abbasids in 750. Ramla became the administrative centre for the following centuries, while Tiberias became a thriving centre of Muslim scholarship. From 878, Palestine was ruled from Egypt by semi-autonomous rulers for almost a century, beginning with the Turkish freeman Ahmad ibn Tulun, for whom both Jews and Christians prayed when he lay dying and ending with the Ikhshidid rulers. Reverence for Jerusalem increased during this period, with many of the Egyptian rulers choosing to be buried there. However, the later period became characterized by persecution of Christians as the threat from Byzantium grew. The Fatimids, with a predominantly Berber army, conquered the region in 970, a date that marks the beginning of a period of unceasing warfare between numerous enemies, which destroyed Palestine, and in particular, devastating its Jewish population. Between 1071 and 1073, Palestine was captured by the Great Seljuq Empire, only to be recaptured by the Fatimids in 1098.


title: Palestine (region)

text: The Fatimids again lost the region to the Crusaders in 1099. The Crusaders set up the Kingdom of Jerusalem (1099–1291). Their control of Jerusalem and most of Palestine lasted almost a century until their defeat by Saladin's forces in 1187, after which most of Palestine was controlled by the Ayyubids, except for the years 1229–1244 when Jerusalem and other areas were retaken by the Second Kingdom of Jerusalem, by then ruled from Acre (1191–1291), but, despite seven further crusades, the Franks were no longer a significant power in the region. The Fourth Crusade, which did not reach Palestine, led directly to the decline of the Byzantine Empire, dramatically reducing Christian influence throughout the region.


title: Palestine (region)

text: The Mamluk Sultanate was created in Egypt as an indirect result of the Seventh Crusade. The Mongol Empire reached Palestine for the first time in 1260, beginning with the Mongol raids into Palestine under Nestorian Christian general Kitbuqa, and reaching an apex at the pivotal Battle of Ain Jalut, where they were pushed back by the Mamluks.


title: Palestine (region)

text: In 1486, hostilities broke out between the Mamluks and the Ottoman Empire in a battle for control over western Asia, and the Ottomans conquered Palestine in 1516. Between the mid-16th and 17th centuries, a close-knit alliance of three local dynasties, the Ridwans of Gaza, the Turabays of al-Lajjun and the Farrukhs of Nablus, governed Palestine on behalf of the Porte (imperial Ottoman government).


title: Palestine (region)

text: In the 18th century, the Zaydani clan under the leadership of Zahir al-Umar ruled large parts of Palestine autonomously until the Ottomans were able to defeat them in their Galilee strongholds in 1775–76. Zahir had turned the port city of Acre into a major regional power, partly fueled by his monopolization of the cotton and olive oil trade from Palestine to Europe. Acre's regional dominance was further elevated under Zahir's successor Ahmad Pasha al-Jazzar at the expense of Damascus.