title: Betsy Brandt

text: Betsy Brandt (born March 14, 1973) is an American actress. She portrayed Marie Schrader in "Breaking Bad" (2008–2013) and its spinoff show, "Better Call Saul" (2022) and played Heather Hughes in the CBS sitcom "Life in Pieces" (2015–2019).


title: Betsy Brandt

text: Brandt is a native of Bay City, Michigan. She is of German descent. She graduated from Bay City Western High School in Auburn, Michigan, in 1991. Brandt took an interest in theater from an early age, but unlike many of her peers, she was more interested in directing stage musicals than starring in them. After winning the lead in a high school production of "Exit the Body", she shifted her focus to acting.


title: Betsy Brandt

text: Brandt received her BFA in acting from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in 1996. She studied for her MFA at Harvard University's Institute for Advanced Theater Training and studied abroad at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, Glasgow. After graduation, Brandt moved to Seattle, Washington, where she worked in theater while appearing in several short films, beginning with "Confidence" in 1998. She eventually moved to Los Angeles.


title: Betsy Brandt

text: In theater, Brandt has acted in performances of "Much Ado About Nothing" with the Arizona Theatre Company, with the San Jose Repertory Theatre, Beth Henley's "Ridiculous Fraud", Julia Cho's "The Language Archive" with South Coast Repertory, and "Next Fall" with Geffen Playhouse. She has had guest roles on the television shows "Without a Trace", "Judging Amy", "ER", "Boston Legal", "The Practice", and "NCIS".


title: Betsy Brandt

text: From 2008 to 2013, Brandt portrayed Marie Schrader in the AMC drama series "Breaking Bad". She auditioned for three different roles before being offered the part of Marie. In 2012, she was cast as Sandy in "Parenthood". Brandt was cast as Annie Henry on "The Michael J. Fox Show", which premiered in September 2013. Her performance was met with positive reviews. She reprised her role as Marie Schrader for the "Better Call Saul" series finale.


title: Betsy Brandt

text: In 2014, Brandt was cast as one of the lead characters in the ABC series "Members Only" created by Susannah Grant, but the series did not go forward.


title: Betsy Brandt

text: From 2015 to 2019, she starred as Heather Short Hughes in the CBS comedy series "Life in Pieces". The series was cancelled after four seasons. In 2020, Brandt was announced to be playing the role of Cleo in the pilot episode of the NBC sitcom "Jefferies," which was created by Jim Jefferies and Suzanne Martin. To date, the pilot remains unaired.


title: Betsy Brandt

text: Brandt is married to fellow UIUC graduate Grady Olsen; they have two children. She gave birth to her second child in 2008 while the second season of "Breaking Bad" was in production. Brandt and her family reside in Los Angeles.


title: Betsy Brandt

text: On June 6, 2010, Brandt was honored as the 2010 Distinguished Alumnus at the Bay City Western High School commencement, and was a featured speaker.


title: Muslim world

text: The terms Muslim world and Islamic world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is practiced. In a modern geopolitical sense, these terms refer to countries in which Islam is widespread, although there are no agreed criteria for inclusion. The term Muslim-majority countries is an alternative often used for the latter sense.


title: Muslim world

text: The history of the Muslim world spans about 1,400 years and includes a variety of socio-political developments, as well as advances in the arts, science, medicine, philosophy, law, economics and technology, particularly during the Islamic Golden Age. All Muslims look for guidance to the Quran and believe in the prophetic mission of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, but disagreements on other matters have led to the appearance of different religious schools of thought and sects within Islam. In the modern era, most of the Muslim world came under European colonial domination. The nation states that emerged in the post-colonial era have adopted a variety of political and economic models, and they have been affected by secular and as well as religious trends.


title: Muslim world

text: , the combined GDP (nominal) of 49 Muslim majority countries was US$5.7 trillion. , they contributed 8% of the world's total. In 2020 Economy of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation which consists of 57 member states had combined GDP US$22 trillion or US$ 28 trillion with 5 OIC observer states which is equal about 22% world GDP. As of 2015, 1.8 billion or about 24.1% of the world population are Muslims. By the percentage of the total population in a region considering themselves Muslim, 91% in the Middle East-North Africa (MENA), 89% in Central Asia, 40% in Southeast Asia, 31% in South Asia, 30% in Sub-Saharan Africa, 25% in Asia–Oceania, around 6% in Europe, and 1% in the Americas.


title: Muslim world

text: Most Muslims are of one of two denominations: Sunni Islam (87-90%) and Shia (10-13%). However, other denominations exist in pockets, such as Ibadi (primarily in Oman). About 13% of Muslims live in Indonesia, the largest Muslim-majority country; 100 * 480/1570 round 0% of Muslims live in South Asia, the largest population of Muslims in the world; 100 * 315/1571 round 0% in the Middle East–North Africa, where it is the dominant religion; and 15% in Sub-Saharan Africa and West Africa, incl. Nigeria. Muslims are the overwhelming majority in Central Asia, the majority in the Caucasus, and widespread in Southeast Asia. India has the largest Muslim population outside Muslim-majority countries. Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iran and Egypt are home to second, fourth, sixth and seventh largest Muslim populations. Sizeable Muslim communities are also found in the Americas, Russia, China, and Europe. Islam is the fastest-growing major religion in the world. China has the second largest Muslim population outside Muslim-majority countries while Russia has the third largest Muslim population. Nigeria has the largest Muslim population in Africa while Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in Asia.


title: Muslim world

text: The term has been documented as early as 1912 to encompass the influence of perceived pan-Islamic propaganda. "The Times" described Pan-Islamism as a movement with power, importance, and cohesion born in Paris, where Turks, Arabs and Persians congregated. The correspondent's focus was on India: it would take too long to consider the progress made in various parts of the Muslim world. The article considered the position of the Amir, the effect of the Tripoli Campaign, Anglo-Russian action in Persia, and "Afghan Ambitions".


title: Muslim world

text: In a modern geopolitical sense, the terms 'Muslim world' and 'Islamic world' refer to countries in which Islam is widespread, although there are no agreed criteria for inclusion. Some scholars and commentators have criticised the term 'Muslim/Islamic world' and its derivative terms 'Muslim/Islamic country' as "simplistic" and "binary", since no state has a religiously homogeneous population (e.g. Egypt's citizens are c. 10% Christians), and in absolute numbers, there are sometimes fewer Muslims living in countries in which they make up the majority than in countries in which they form a minority. Hence, the term 'Muslim-majority countries' is often preferred in literature.


title: Muslim world

text: The term "Islamic Golden Age" has been attributed to a period in history during which science, economic development and cultural works in most of the Muslim-dominated world flourished. The age is traditionally understood to have begun during the reign of the Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid (786–809) with the inauguration of the House of Wisdom in Baghdad, where scholars from various parts of the world sought to translate and gather all the known world's knowledge into Arabic, and to have ended with the collapse of the Abbasid caliphate due to Mongol invasions and the Siege of Baghdad in 1258. The Abbasids were influenced by the Quranic injunctions and hadiths, such as "the ink of a scholar is more holy than the blood of a martyr," that stressed the value of knowledge. The major Islamic capital cities of Baghdad, Cairo, and Córdoba became the main intellectual centers for science, philosophy, medicine, and education. During this period, the Muslim world was a collection of cultures; they drew together and advanced the knowledge gained from the ancient Greek, Roman, Persian, Chinese, Indian, Egyptian, and Phoenician civilizations.


title: Muslim world

text: Between the 8th and 18th centuries, the use of ceramic glaze was prevalent in Islamic art, usually assuming the form of elaborate pottery. Tin-opacified glazing was one of the earliest new technologies developed by the Islamic potters. The first Islamic opaque glazes can be found as blue-painted ware in Basra, dating to around the 8th century. Another contribution was the development of fritware, originating from 9th-century Iraq. Other centers for innovative ceramic pottery in the Old world included Fustat (from 975 to 1075), Damascus (from 1100 to around 1600) and Tabriz (from 1470 to 1550).


title: Muslim world

text: The best known work of fiction from the Islamic world is "One Thousand and One Nights" (In Persian: "hezār-o-yek šab" > Arabic: "ʔalf-layl-at-wa-l’-layla"= One thousand Night and (one) Night) or *"Arabian Nights", a name invented by early Western translators, which is a compilation of folk tales from Sanskrit, Persian, and later Arabian fables. The original concept is derived from a pre-Islamic Persian prototype Hezār Afsān (Thousand Fables) that relied on particular Indian elements. It reached its final form by the 14th century; the number and type of tales have varied from one manuscript to another. All Arabian fantasy tales tend to be called "Arabian Nights" stories when translated into English, regardless of whether they appear in "The Book of One Thousand and One Nights" or not. This work has been very influential in the West since it was translated in the 18th century, first by Antoine Galland. Imitations were written, especially in France. Various characters from this epic have themselves become cultural icons in Western culture, such as Aladdin, Sinbad the Sailor and Ali Baba.


title: Muslim world

text: A famous example of Arabic poetry and Persian poetry on romance (love) is "Layla and Majnun", dating back to the Umayyad era in the 7th century. It is a tragic story of undying love. Ferdowsi's "Shahnameh", the national epic of Greater Iran, is a mythical and heroic retelling of Persian history. "Amir Arsalan" was also a popular mythical Persian story, which has influenced some modern works of fantasy fiction, such as "The Heroic Legend of Arslan".


title: Muslim world

text: Ibn Tufail (Abubacer) and Ibn al-Nafis were pioneers of the philosophical novel. Ibn Tufail wrote the first Arabic novel "Hayy ibn Yaqdhan" ("Philosophus Autodidactus") as a response to Al-Ghazali's "The Incoherence of the Philosophers", and then Ibn al-Nafis also wrote a novel "Theologus Autodidactus" as a response to Ibn Tufail's "Philosophus Autodidactus". Both of these narratives had protagonists (Hayy in "Philosophus Autodidactus" and Kamil in "Theologus Autodidactus") who were autodidactic feral children living in seclusion on a desert island, both being the earliest examples of a desert island story. However, while Hayy lives alone with animals on the desert island for the rest of the story in "Philosophus Autodidactus", the story of Kamil extends beyond the desert island setting in "Theologus Autodidactus", developing into the earliest known coming of age plot and eventually becoming the first example of a science fiction novel.


title: Muslim world

text: "Theologus Autodidactus", written by the Arabian polymath Ibn al-Nafis (1213–1288), is the first example of a science fiction novel. It deals with various science fiction elements such as spontaneous generation, futurology, the end of the world and doomsday, resurrection, and the afterlife. Rather than giving supernatural or mythological explanations for these events, Ibn al-Nafis attempted to explain these plot elements using the scientific knowledge of biology, astronomy, cosmology and geology known in his time. Ibn al-Nafis' fiction explained Islamic religious teachings via science and Islamic philosophy.


title: Muslim world

text: A Latin translation of Ibn Tufail's work, "Philosophus Autodidactus", first appeared in 1671, prepared by Edward Pococke the Younger, followed by an English translation by Simon Ockley in 1708, as well as German and Dutch translations. These translations might have later inspired Daniel Defoe to write "Robinson Crusoe", regarded as the first novel in English. "Philosophus Autodidactus", continuing the thoughts of philosophers such as Aristotle from earlier ages, inspired Robert Boyle to write his own philosophical novel set on an island, "The Aspiring Naturalist".


title: Muslim world

text: Dante Alighieri's "Divine Comedy", derived features of and episodes about "Bolgia" from Arabic works on Islamic eschatology: the "Hadith" and the "Kitab al-Miraj" (translated into Latin in 1264 or shortly before as "Liber scalae Machometi") concerning the ascension to Heaven of Muhammad, and the spiritual writings of Ibn Arabi. The Moors also had a noticeable influence on the works of George Peele and William Shakespeare. Some of their works featured Moorish characters, such as Peele's "The Battle of Alcazar" and Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice", "Titus Andronicus" and "Othello", which featured a Moorish Othello as its title character. These works are said to have been inspired by several Moorish delegations from Morocco to Elizabethan England at the beginning of the 17th century.


title: Muslim world

text: One of the common definitions for "Islamic philosophy" is "the style of philosophy produced within the framework of Islamic culture." Islamic philosophy, in this definition is neither necessarily concerned with religious issues, nor is exclusively produced by Muslims. The Persian scholar Ibn Sina (Avicenna) (980–1037) had more than 450 books attributed to him. His writings were concerned with various subjects, most notably philosophy and medicine. His medical textbook "The Canon of Medicine" was used as the standard text in European universities for centuries. He also wrote "The Book of Healing", an influential scientific and philosophical encyclopedia.


title: Muslim world

text: One of the most influential Muslim philosophers in the West was Averroes (Ibn Rushd), founder of the Averroism school of philosophy, whose works and commentaries affected the rise of secular thought in Europe. He also developed the concept of "existence precedes essence".


title: Muslim world

text: Another figure from the Islamic Golden Age, Avicenna, also founded his own Avicennism school of philosophy, which was influential in both Islamic and Christian lands. He was also a critic of Aristotelian logic and founder of Avicennian logic, developed the concepts of empiricism and tabula rasa, and distinguished between essence and existence.


title: Muslim world

text: Yet another influential philosopher who had an influence on modern philosophy was Ibn Tufail. His philosophical novel, "Hayy ibn Yaqdha", translated into Latin as "Philosophus Autodidactus" in 1671, developed the themes of empiricism, tabula rasa, nature versus nurture, condition of possibility, materialism, and Molyneux's problem. European scholars and writers influenced by this novel include John Locke, Gottfried Leibniz, Melchisédech Thévenot, John Wallis, Christiaan Huygens, George Keith, Robert Barclay, the Quakers, and Samuel Hartlib.


title: Muslim world

text: Islamic philosophers continued making advances in philosophy through to the 17th century, when Mulla Sadra founded his school of Transcendent theosophy and developed the concept of existentialism.


title: Muslim world

text: Other influential Muslim philosophers include al-Jahiz, a pioneer in evolutionary thought; Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen), a pioneer of phenomenology and the philosophy of science and a critic of Aristotelian natural philosophy and Aristotle's concept of place (topos); Al-Biruni, a critic of Aristotelian natural philosophy; Ibn Tufail and Ibn al-Nafis, pioneers of the philosophical novel; Shahab al-Din Suhrawardi, founder of Illuminationist philosophy; Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, a critic of Aristotelian logic and a pioneer of inductive logic; and Ibn Khaldun, a pioneer in the philosophy of history.


title: Muslim world

text: Muslim scientists placed far greater emphasis on experiment than the Greeks. This led to an early scientific method being developed in the Muslim world, where progress in methodology was made, beginning with the experiments of Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen) on optics from "circa" 1000, in his "Book of Optics". The most important development of the scientific method was the use of experiments to distinguish between competing scientific theories set within a generally empirical orientation, which began among Muslim scientists. Ibn al-Haytham is also regarded as the father of optics, especially for his empirical proof of the intromission theory of light. Jim Al-Khalili stated in 2009 that Ibn al-Haytham is 'often referred to as the "world's first true scientist".' al-Khwarzimi's invented the log base systems that are being used today, he also contributed theorems in trigonometry as well as limits. Recent studies show that it is very likely that the Medieval Muslim artists were aware of advanced decagonal quasicrystal geometry (discovered half a millennium later in the 1970s and 1980s in the West) and used it in intricate decorative tilework in the architecture.


title: Muslim world

text: Muslim physicians contributed to the field of medicine, including the subjects of anatomy and physiology: such as in the 15th-century Persian work by Mansur ibn Muhammad ibn al-Faqih Ilyas entitled "Tashrih al-badan" ("Anatomy of the body") which contained comprehensive diagrams of the body's structural, nervous and circulatory systems; or in the work of the Egyptian physician Ibn al-Nafis, who proposed the theory of pulmonary circulation. Avicenna's "The Canon of Medicine" remained an authoritative medical textbook in Europe until the 18th century. Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi (also known as "Abulcasis") contributed to the discipline of medical surgery with his "Kitab al-Tasrif" ("Book of Concessions"), a medical encyclopedia which was later translated to Latin and used in European and Muslim medical schools for centuries. Other medical advancements came in the fields of pharmacology and pharmacy.


title: Muslim world

text: In astronomy, Muḥammad ibn Jābir al-Ḥarrānī al-Battānī improved the precision of the measurement of the precession of the Earth's axis. The corrections made to the geocentric model by al-Battani, Averroes, Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, Mu'ayyad al-Din al-'Urdi and Ibn al-Shatir were later incorporated into the Copernican heliocentric model. Heliocentric theories were also discussed by several other Muslim astronomers such as Al-Biruni, Al-Sijzi, Qotb al-Din Shirazi, and Najm al-Dīn al-Qazwīnī al-Kātibī. The astrolabe, though originally developed by the Greeks, was perfected by Islamic astronomers and engineers, and was subsequently brought to Europe.


title: Muslim world

text: Some most famous scientists from the medieval Islamic world include Jābir ibn Hayyān, al-Farabi, Abu al-Qasim al-Zahrawi, Ibn al-Haytham, Al-Biruni, Avicenna, Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, and Ibn Khaldun.


title: Muslim world

text: In technology, the Muslim world adopted papermaking from China. The knowledge of gunpowder was also transmitted from China via predominantly Islamic countries, where formulas for pure potassium nitrate were developed.


title: Muslim world

text: Advances were made in irrigation and farming, using new technology such as the windmill. Crops such as almonds and citrus fruit were brought to Europe through al-Andalus, and sugar cultivation was gradually adopted by the Europeans. Arab merchants dominated trade in the Indian Ocean until the arrival of the Portuguese in the 16th century. Hormuz was an important center for this trade. There was also a dense network of trade routes in the Mediterranean, along which Muslim-majority countries traded with each other and with European powers such as Venice, Genoa and Catalonia. The Silk Road crossing Central Asia passed through Islamic states between China and Europe. The emergence of major economic empires with technological resources after the conquests of Timur (Tamerlane) and the resurgence of the Timurid Renaissance include the Mali Empire and the India's Bengal Sultanate in particular, a major global trading nation in the world, described by the Europeans to be the "richest country to trade with".


title: Muslim world

text: Muslim engineers in the Islamic world made a number of innovative industrial uses of hydropower, and early industrial uses of tidal power and wind power, fossil fuels such as petroleum, and early large factory complexes ("tiraz" in Arabic). The industrial uses of watermills in the Islamic world date back to the 7th century, while horizontal-wheeled and vertical-wheeled water mills were both in widespread use since at least the 9th century. A variety of industrial mills were being employed in the Islamic world, including early fulling mills, gristmills, paper mills, hullers, sawmills, ship mills, stamp mills, steel mills, sugar mills, tide mills and windmills. By the 11th century, every province throughout the Islamic world had these industrial mills in operation, from al-Andalus and North Africa to the Middle East and Central Asia. Muslim engineers also invented crankshafts and water turbines, employed gears in mills and water-raising machines, and pioneered the use of dams as a source of water power, used to provide additional power to watermills and water-raising machines. Such advances made it possible for industrial tasks that were previously driven by manual labour in ancient times to be mechanized and driven by machinery instead in the medieval Islamic world. The transfer of these technologies to medieval Europe had an influence on the Industrial Revolution, particularly from the proto-industrialised Mughal Bengal and Tipu Sultan's Kingdom, through the conquests of the East India Company.


title: Muslim world

text: The history of the Islamic faith as a religion and social institution begins with its inception around 610 CE, when the Islamic prophet Muhammad, a native of Mecca, is believed by Muslims to have received the first revelation of the Quran, and began to preach his message. In 622 CE, facing opposition in Mecca, he and his followers migrated to Yathrib (now Medina), where he was invited to establish a new constitution for the city under his leadership. This migration, called the Hijra, marks the first year of the Islamic calendar. By the time of his death, Muhammad had become the political and spiritual leader of Medina, Mecca, the surrounding region, and numerous other tribes in the Arabian Peninsula.


title: Muslim world

text: After Muhammad died in 632, his successors (the Caliphs) continued to lead the Muslim community based on his teachings and guidelines of the Quran. The majority of Muslims consider the first four successors to be 'rightly guided' or Rashidun. The conquests of the Rashidun Caliphate helped to spread Islam beyond the Arabian Peninsula, stretching from northwest India, across Central Asia, the Near East, North Africa, southern Italy, and the Iberian Peninsula, to the Pyrenees. The Arab Muslims were unable to conquer the entire Christian Byzantine Empire in Asia Minor during the Arab–Byzantine wars, however. The succeeding Umayyad Caliphate attempted two failed sieges of Constantinople in 674–678 and 717–718. Meanwhile, the Muslim community tore itself apart into the rivalling Sunni and Shia sects since the killing of caliph Uthman in 656, resulting in a succession crisis that has never been resolved. The following First, Second and Third Fitnas and finally the Abbasid Revolution (746–750) also definitively destroyed the political unity of the Muslims, who have been inhabiting multiple states ever since. Ghaznavids' rule was succeeded by the Ghurid Empire of Muhammad of Ghor and Ghiyath al-Din Muhammad, whose reigns under the leadership of Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khalji extended until the Bengal, where Indian Islamic missionaries achieved their greatest success in terms of dawah and number of converts to Islam. Qutb-ud-din Aybak conquered Delhi in 1206 and began the reign of the Delhi Sultanate, a successive series of dynasties that synthesized Indian civilization with the wider commercial and cultural networks of Africa and Eurasia, greatly increased demographic and economic growth in India and deterred Mongol incursion into the prosperous Indo-Gangetic Plain and enthroned one of the few female Muslim rulers, Razia Sultana.


title: Muslim world

text: Notable major empires dominated by Muslims, such as those of the Abbasids, Fatimids, Almoravids, Seljukids, Ajuran, Adal and Warsangali in Somalia, Mughals in the Indian subcontinent (India, Bangladesh, Pakistan e.t.c), Safavids in Persia and Ottomans in Anatolia, were among the influential and distinguished powers in the world. 19th-century colonialism and 20th-century decolonisation have resulted in several independent Muslim-majority states around the world, with vastly differing attitudes towards and political influences granted to, or restricted for, Islam from country to country. These have revolved around the question of Islam's compatibility with other ideological concepts such as secularism, nationalism (especially Arab nationalism and Pan-Arabism, as opposed to Pan-Islamism), socialism (see also Arab socialism and socialism in Iran), democracy (see Islamic democracy), republicanism (see also Islamic republic), liberalism and progressivism, feminism, capitalism and more.


title: Muslim world

text: Scholars often use the term Age of the Islamic Gunpowders to describe period the Safavid, Ottoman and Mughal states. Each of these three empires had considerable military exploits using the newly developed firearms, especially cannon and small arms, to create their empires. They existed primarily between the fourteenth and the late seventeenth centuries. During the 17th–18th centuries, when the Indian subcontinent was ruled by Mughal Empire's sixth ruler Muhammad Auranzgeb through sharia and Islamic economics, India became the world's largest economy, valued 25% of world GDP.


title: Muslim world

text: The Great Divergence was the reason why European colonial powers militarily defeated preexisting Oriental powers like the Mughal Empire, starting from the wealthy Bengal Subah, Tipu Sultan's Kingdom of Mysore, the Ottoman Empire and many smaller states in the pre-modern Greater Middle East, and initiated a period known as 'colonialism'.


title: Muslim world

text: Beginning with the 15th century, colonialism by European powers profoundly affected Muslim-majority societies in Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Colonialism was often advanced by conflict with mercantile initiatives by colonial powers and caused tremendous social upheavals in Muslim-dominated societies.


title: Muslim world

text: A number of Muslim-majority societies reacted to Western powers with zealotry and thus initiating the rise of Pan-Islamism; or affirmed more traditionalist and inclusive cultural ideals; and in rare cases adopted modernity that was ushered by the colonial powers.


title: Muslim world

text: The only Muslim-majority regions not to be colonized by the Europeans were Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey, and Afghanistan. Turkey was one of the first colonial powers of the world with the Ottoman empire ruling several states for over 6 centuries.


title: Muslim world

text: In the 20th century, the end of the European colonial domination has led to creation of a number of nation states with significant Muslim populations. These states drew on Islamic traditions to varying degree and in various ways in organizing their legal, educational and economic systems. The Times first documented the term "Muslim world" in 1912 when describing Pan-Islamism as a movement with power importance and cohesion born in Paris where Turks, Arabs and Persians congregated. The article considered The position of the Amir; the effect of the Tripoli Campaign; Anglo-Russian action in Persia; and "Afghan Ambitions".


title: Muslim world

text: A significant change in the Muslim world was the defeat and dissolution of the Ottoman Empire (1908–1922), to which the Ottoman officer and Turkish revolutionary statesman Mustafa Kemal Atatürk had an instrumental role in ending and replacing it with the Republic of Turkey, a modern, secular democracy (see Abolition of the Ottoman sultanate). The secular values of Kemalist Turkey, which separated religion from the state with the abolition of the Caliphate in 1924, have sometimes been seen as the result of Western influence.


title: Muslim world

text: In the 21st century, after the September 11 attacks (2001) coordinated by the Wahhabi Islamist terrorist group Al-Qaeda against the United States, scholars considered the ramifications of seeking to understand Muslim experience through the framework of secular Enlightenment principles. Muhammad Atta, one of the 11 September hijackers, reportedly quoted from the Quran to allay his fears: "Fight them, and God will chastise them at your hands/And degrade them, and He will help you/Against them, and bring healing to the breasts of a people who believe", referring to the "ummah", the community of Muslim believers, and invoking the imagery of the early warriors of Islam who lead the faithful from the darkness of "jahiliyyah".


title: Muslim world

text: By Sayyid Qutb's definition of Islam, the faith is "a complete divorce from jahiliyyah". He complained that American churches served as centers of community social life that were "very hard [to] distinguish from places of fun and amusement". For Qutb, Western society was the modern "jahliliyyah". His understanding of the "Muslim world" and its "social order" was that, presented to the Western world as the result of practicing Islamic teachings, would impress "by the beauty and charm of true Islamic ideology". He argued that the values of the Enlightenment and its related precursor, the Scientific Revolution, "denies or suspends God's sovereignty on earth" and argued that strengthening "Islamic character"


title: Muslim world

text: According to a 2010 study and released January 2011, Islam had 1.5 billion adherents, making up c. 22% of the world population. Because the terms 'Muslim world' and 'Islamic world' are disputed, since no country is homogeneously Muslim, and there is no way to determine at what point a Muslim minority in a country is to be considered 'significant' enough, there is no consensus on how to define the Muslim world geographically. The only rule of thumb for inclusion which has some support, is that countries need to have a Muslim population of more than 50%. According to the Pew Research Center in 2015 there were 50 Muslim-majority countries. Jones (2005) defines a "large minority" as being between 30% and 50%, which described nine countries in 2000, namely Bosnia and Herzegovina, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, North Macedonia, and Tanzania.


title: Muslim world

text: Islam is the second largest religion in numerous other countries, including: Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Georgia, Israel, India, Thailand, Cambodia, the Philippines, Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi, Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Central African Republic, Gabon, Cameroon, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Liberia.


title: Muslim world

text: As the Muslim world came into contact with secular ideals, societies responded in different ways. Some Muslim-majority countries are secular. Azerbaijan became the first secular republic in the Muslim world, between 1918 and 1920, before it was incorporated into the Soviet Union. Turkey has been governed as a secular state since the reforms of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. By contrast, the 1979 Iranian Revolution replaced a monarchial semi-secular regime with an Islamic republic led by the Ayatollah, Ruhollah Khomeini.


title: Muslim world

text: Some countries have declared Islam as the official state religion. In those countries, the legal code is largely secular. Only personal status matters pertaining to inheritance and marriage are governed by Sharia law.


title: Muslim world

text: The following Muslim-majority nation-states have endorsed Islam as their state religion, and though they may guarantee freedom of religion for citizens, do not declare a separation of state and religion:


title: Muslim world

text: Secular states in the Muslim world have declared separation between civil/government affairs and religion.


title: Muslim world

text: In some places, Muslims implement Islamic law, called sharia in Arabic. The Islamic law exists in a number of variations, called schools of jurisprudence. The Amman Message, which was endorsed in 2005 by prominent Islamic scholars around the world, recognized four Sunni schools (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanbali), two Shia schools (Ja'fari, Zaidi), the Ibadi school, and the Zahiri school.


title: Muslim world

text: In a number of Muslim-majority countries, the law requires women to cover either their legs, shoulders and head, or the whole body apart from the face. In strictest forms, the face as well must be covered leaving just a mesh to see through. These hijab rules for dressing cause tensions, concerning particularly Muslims living in Western countries, where restrictions are considered both sexist and oppressive. Some Muslims oppose this charge, and instead declare that the media in these countries presses on women to reveal too much to be deemed attractive, and that this is itself sexist and oppressive.


title: Muslim world

text: During much of the 20th century, the Islamic identity and the dominance of Islam on political issues have arguably increased during the early 21st century. The fast-growing interests of the Western world in Islamic regions, international conflicts and globalization have changed the influence of Islam on the world in contemporary history.


title: Muslim world

text: More than 24.1% of the world's population is Muslim. Current estimates conclude that the number of Muslims in the world is around 1.8 billion. Muslims are the majority in 49 countries, they speak hundreds of languages and come from diverse ethnic backgrounds. The city of Karachi has the largest Muslim population in the world.


title: Muslim world

text: In 2010, 73% of the world's Muslim population lived in countries where Muslims are in the majority, while 27% of the world's Muslim population lived in countries where Muslims are in the minority. India's Muslim population is the world's largest Muslim-minority population in the world (11% of the world's Muslim population).


title: Muslim world

text: The two main denominations of Islam are the Sunni and Shia sects. They differ primarily upon of how the life of the ummah ("faithful") should be governed, and the role of the imam. Sunnis believe that the true political successor of Muhammad according to the Sunnah should be selected based on ٍShura (consultation), as was done at the Saqifah which selected Abu Bakr, Muhammad's father-in-law, to be Muhammad's political but not his religious successor. Shia, on the other hand, believe that Muhammad designated his son-in-law Ali ibn Abi Talib as his true political as well as religious successor.


title: Muslim world

text: Shias and other groups make up the rest, about 10–13% of overall Muslim population. The countries with the highest concentration of Shia populations are: Iran – 89%, Azerbaijan – 65%, Iraq – 60%, Bahrain – 60%, Yemen – 35%, Turkey – 10%, Lebanon – 27%, Syria – 13%, Afghanistan – 10%, Pakistan – 10%, and India – 10%.


title: Muslim world

text: The Kharijite Muslims, who are less known, have their own stronghold in the country of Oman holding about 75% of the population.


title: Muslim world

text: The first centuries of Islam gave rise to three major sects: Sunnis, Shi'as and Kharijites. Each sect developed distinct jurisprudence schools ("madhhab") reflecting different methodologies of jurisprudence ("fiqh").


title: Muslim world

text: The major Shi'a branches are Twelver (Imami), Ismaili (Sevener) and Zaidi (Fiver). Isma'ilism later split into Nizari Ismaili and Musta’li Ismaili, and then Mustaali was divided into Hafizi and Taiyabi Ismailis. It also gave rise to the Qarmatian movement and the Druze faith, although Druzes do not identify as Muslims. Twelver Shiism developed Ja'fari jurisprudence whose branches are Akhbarism and Usulism, and other movements such as Alawites, Shaykism and Alevism.


title: Muslim world

text: Similarly, Kharijites were initially divided into five major branches: Sufris, Azariqa, Najdat, Adjarites and Ibadis.


title: Muslim world

text: Among these numerous branches, only Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i, Hanbali, Imamiyyah-Ja'fari-Usuli, Nizārī Ismā'īlī, Alevi, Zaydi, Ibadi, Zahiri, Alawite, Druze and Taiyabi communities have survived. In addition, new schools of thought and movements like Quranist Muslims and Ahmadi Muslims later emerged independently.


title: Muslim world

text: There are sizeable non-Muslim minorities in many Muslim-majority countries, includes, Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, Bahai's, Druzes, Yazidis, Mandaeans, Yarsanis and Zoroastrians.


title: Muslim world

text: The Muslim world is home to some of the world's most ancient Christian communities, and some of the most important cities of the Christian world—including three of its five great patriarchates (Alexandria, Antioch, and Constantinople). Scholars and intellectuals agree Christians have made significant contributions to Arab and Islamic civilization since the introduction of Islam, and they have had a significant impact contributing the culture of the Middle East and North Africa and other areas. Pew Research Center estimates indicate that in 2010, more than 64 million Christians lived in countries with Muslim majorities (excluding Nigeria). The Pew Forum study finds that Indonesia (21.1 million) has the largest Christian population in the Muslim world, followed by Egypt, Chad and Kazakhstan. While according to Adly A. Youssef and Martyn Thomas, in 2004, there were around 30 million Christians who lived in countries with Muslim majorities, with the largest Christian population number lived in Indonesia, followed by Egypt. Nigeria is divided almost evenly between Muslims and Christians, with more than 80 million Christians and Muslims.


title: Muslim world

text: Jewish communities have existed across the Middle East and North Africa since the rise of Islam. Today, Jews residing in Muslim countries have been reduced to a small fraction of their former sizes, with the largest communities of Jews in Muslim countries exist in the non-Arab countries of Iran and Turkey (30,000); both, however, are much smaller than they historically have been. Among Arab countries, the largest Jewish community now exists in Morocco with about 2,000 Jews and in Tunisia with about 1,000. The number of Druze worldwide is between 800,000 and one million, with the vast majority residing in the Levant (primarily in Syria and Lebanon).


title: Muslim world

text: In 2010, the Pew Forum study finds that Bangladesh (13.5 million), Indonesia (4 million), Pakistan (3.3 million) and Malaysia (1.7 million) has a sizeable Hindu minorities. Malaysia (5 million) has the largest Buddhist population in the Muslim world. Zoroastrians are the oldest remaining religious community in Iran.


title: Muslim world

text: The literacy rate in the Muslim world varies. Azerbaijan is in second place in the Index of Literacy of World Countries. Some members such as Iran, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan have over 97% literacy rates, whereas literacy rates are the lowest in Mali, Afghanistan, Chad and parts of Africa. Several Muslim-majority countries, such as Turkey, Iran and Egypt have a high rate of citable scientific publications.


title: Muslim world

text: In 2015, the International Islamic News Agency reported that nearly 37% of the population of the Muslim world is unable to read or write, basing that figure on reports from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. In Egypt, the largest Muslim-majority Arab country, the youth female literacy rate exceeds that for males. Lower literacy rates are more prevalent in South Asian countries such as in Afghanistan and Pakistan, but are rapidly increasing. In the Eastern Middle East, Iran has a high level of youth literacy at 98%, but Iraq's youth literacy rate has sharply declined from 85% to 57% during the American-led war and subsequent occupation. Indonesia, the largest Muslim-majority country in the world, has a 99% youth literacy rate.


title: Muslim world

text: A 2011 Pew Research Center showed that at the time about 36% of all Muslims had no formal schooling, with only 8% having graduate and post-graduate degrees.


title: Muslim world

text: The highest of years of schooling among Muslim-majority countries found in Uzbekistan (11.5), Kuwait (11.0) and Kazakhstan (10.7). In addition, the average of years of schooling in countries in which Muslims are the majority is 6.0 years of schooling, which lag behind the global average (7.7 years of schooling). In the youngest age (25–34) group surveyed, Young Muslims have the lowest average levels of education of any major religious group, with an average of 6.7 years of schooling, which lag behind the global average (8.6 years of schooling). The study found that Muslims have a significant amount of gender inequality in educational attainment, since Muslim women have an average of 4.9 years of schooling, compared to an average of 6.4 years of schooling among Muslim men.


title: Muslim world

text: Since then Muslim-majority countries have absorbed refugees from recent conflicts, including the uprising in Syria. In July 2013, the UN stated that the number of Syrian refugees had exceeded 1.8 million.


title: Muslim world

text: In Asia, an estimated 625,000 refugees from Rakhine, Myanmar, mostly Muslim, had crossed the border into Bangladesh since August 2017.


title: Muslim world

text: Throughout history, Muslim cultures have been diverse ethnically, linguistically and regionally. According to M. M. Knight, this diversity includes diversity in beliefs, interpretations and practices and communities and interests. Knight says perception of Muslim world among non-Muslims is usually supported through introductory literature about Islam, mostly present a version as per scriptural view which would include some prescriptive literature and abstracts of history as per authors own point of views, to which even many Muslims might agree, but that necessarily would not reflect Islam as lived on the ground, 'in the experience of real human bodies'.


title: Muslim world

text: The term "Islamic art and architecture" denotes the works of art and architecture produced from the 7th century onwards by people who lived within the territory that was inhabited by culturally Islamic populations.


title: Muslim world

text: No Islamic visual images or depictions of God are meant to exist because it is believed that such artistic depictions may lead to idolatry. Muslims describe God by the names and attributes that, according to Islam, he revealed to his creation. All but one sura of the Quran begins with the phrase "In the name of God, the Beneficent, the Merciful". Images of Mohammed are likewise prohibited. Such aniconism and iconoclasm can also be found in Jewish and some Christian theology.


title: Muslim world

text: Islamic art frequently adopts the use of geometrical floral or vegetal designs in a repetition known as arabesque. Such designs are highly nonrepresentational, as Islam forbids representational depictions as found in pre-Islamic pagan religions. Despite this, there is a presence of depictional art in some Muslim societies, notably the miniature style made famous in Persia and under the Ottoman Empire which featured paintings of people and animals, and also depictions of Quranic stories and Islamic traditional narratives. Another reason why Islamic art is usually abstract is to symbolize the transcendence, indivisible and infinite nature of God, an objective achieved by arabesque. Islamic calligraphy is an omnipresent decoration in Islamic art, and is usually expressed in the form of Quranic verses. Two of the main scripts involved are the symbolic "kufic" and "naskh" scripts, which can be found adorning the walls and domes of mosques, the sides of minbars, and so on.


title: Muslim world

text: Distinguishing motifs of Islamic architecture have always been ordered repetition, radiating structures, and rhythmic, metric patterns. In this respect, fractal geometry has been a key utility, especially for mosques and palaces. Other features employed as motifs include columns, piers and arches, organized and interwoven with alternating sequences of niches and colonnettes. The role of domes in Islamic architecture has been considerable. Its usage spans centuries, first appearing in 691 with the construction of the Dome of the Rock mosque, and recurring even up until the 17th century with the Taj Mahal. And as late as the 19th century, Islamic domes had been incorporated into European architecture.


title: Muslim world

text: Two calendars are used all over the Muslim world. One is a lunar calendar that is most widely used among Muslims. The other one is a solar calendar officially used in Iran and Afghanistan.


title: Muslim world

text: According to "Riada Asimovic Akyol" while Muslim women's experiences differs a lot by location and personal situations such as family upbringing, class and education; the difference between culture and religions is often ignored by community and state leaders in many of the Muslim majority countries, the key issue in the Muslim world regarding gender issues is that medieval religious texts constructed in highly patriarchal environments and based on biological essentialism are still valued highly in Islam; hence views emphasizing on men's superiority in unequal gender roles– are widespread among many conservative Muslims (men and women). Orthodox Muslims often believe that rights and responsibilities of women in Islam are different than that of men and sacrosanct since assigned by the God. According to Asma Barlas patriarchal behaviour among Muslims is based in an ideology which jumbles sexual and biological differences with gender dualisms and inequality. Modernist discourse of liberal progressive movements like Islamic feminism have been revisiting hermeneutics of feminism in Islam in terms of respect for Muslim women's lives and rights. "Riada Asimovic Akyol" further says that equality for Muslim women needs to be achieved through self-criticism.


title: Exorcism

text: Exorcism () is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons, jinns, or other malevolent spiritual entities from a person, or an area, that is believed to be possessed. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be done by causing the entity to swear an oath, performing an elaborate ritual, or simply by commanding it to depart in the name of a higher power. The practice is ancient and part of the belief system of many cultures and religions.


title: Exorcism

text: The practice of reciting or listening to the Paritta began very early in the history of Buddhism. It is a Buddhist practice of reciting certain verses and scriptures from Pali Canon in order to ward off misfortune or danger. The belief in the effective spiritual power to heal, or protect, of the "Sacca-kiriyā", or asseveration of something quite true is an aspect of the work ascribed to the "paritta". Several scriptures in the Paritta like Metta Sutta, Dhajagga Sutta, or Ratana Sutta can be recited for exorcism purposes, and Āṭānāṭiya Sutta is regarded as particularly effective.


title: Exorcism

text: The ritual of the Exorcising-Ghost day is part of Tibetan tradition. The Tibetan religious ceremony 'Gutor' ༼དགུ་གཏོར་༽, literally offering of the 29th, is held on the 29th of the 12th Tibetan month, with its focus on driving out all negativity, including evil spirits and misfortunes of the past year, and starting the new year in a peaceful and auspicious way.


title: Exorcism

text: The temples and monasteries throughout Tibet hold grand religious dance ceremonies, with the largest at Potala Palace in Lhasa.


title: Exorcism

text: Families clean their houses on this day, decorate the rooms and eat a special noodle soup called 'Guthuk'. ༼དགུ་ཐུག་༽


title: Exorcism

text: In Christianity, exorcism is the practice of casting out or getting rid of demons. In Christian practice, the person performing the exorcism, known as an exorcist, is often a member of the Christian Church, or an individual thought to be graced with special powers or skills. The exorcist may use prayers and religious material, such as set formulas, gestures, symbols, icons, amulets, etc. The exorcist often invokes God, Jesus or several different angels and archangels to intervene with the exorcism. Protestant Christian exorcists most commonly believe the authority given to them by the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (the Trinity) is the sole source of their ability to cast out demons.


title: Exorcism

text: In general, people considered to be possessed are not regarded as evil in themselves, nor wholly responsible for their actions, because possession is considered to be unwilling manipulation by a demon resulting in harm to self or others. Therefore, practitioners regard exorcism as more of a cure than a punishment. The mainstream rituals usually take this into account, making sure that there is no violence to the possessed, only that they be tied down if there is potential for violence. However, there are Biblical verses, like John 13:27, that implicitly convey that demonic possession can be voluntary, as exemplified in individuals like Judas Iscariot, who willingly submitted to the Devil.


title: Exorcism

text: Requested and performed exorcism began to decline in the United States by the 18th century and occurred rarely until the latter half of the 20th century when the public saw a sharp rise due to the media attention exorcisms were getting. There was "a 50% increase in the number of exorcisms performed between the early 1960s and the mid-1970s".


title: Exorcism

text: In Catholicism, exorcisms are performed in the name of Jesus Christ. A similar practice is deliverance ministry. The distinction between deliverance ministry and exorcism is that exorcism is conducted by priests given special permission from the Catholic church, while deliverance ministry is prayer for people who are distressed and wish to heal emotional wounds, including those purportedly caused by evil spirits.


title: Exorcism

text: The Catholic rite for a formal exorcism, called a "Major Exorcism", is given in Section 11 of the Rituale Romanum. The Ritual lists guidelines for conducting an exorcism, and for determining when a formal exorcism is required. Priests are instructed to carefully determine that the nature of the condition is not actually a psychological or physical illness before proceeding.


title: Exorcism

text: In Catholic practice, the person performing the exorcism, known as an exorcist, is an ordained priest. The exorcist recites prayers according to the rubrics of the rite, and may make use of religious materials such as icons, sacramentals, and relics. The exorcist invokes God—specifically the Name of Jesus Christ—as well as members of the Church Triumphant and the Archangel Michael to intervene with the exorcism. According to Catholic understanding, several weekly exorcisms over many years are sometimes required to expel a deeply entrenched demon.


title: Exorcism

text: Saint Michael's Prayer against Satan and the Rebellious Angels, attributed to Pope Leo XIII, is considered the strongest prayer of the Catholic Church against cases of diabolic possession. The Holy Rosary also has an exorcistic and intercessory power.


title: Exorcism

text: The Eastern Orthodox Church has a rich and complex tradition of exorcism. The practice is traced to biblical accounts of Jesus expelling demons and exhorting his apostles to "cast out devils". The church views demonic possession as the devil's primary means of enslaving humanity and rebelling against God. Orthodox Christians believe objects, as well as individuals, can be possessed.


title: Exorcism

text: As in other Christian churches, Orthodox exorcists expel demons by invoking God through the name of Jesus Christ. Unlike the Roman Catholic Church, which has a specially trained unit of exorcists, all priests of the Orthodox Church are trained and equipped to perform exorcisms, particularly for the sacrament of baptism. Like their Catholic counterparts, Orthodox priests learn to distinguish demonic possession from mental illness, namely by observing whether the subject reacts negatively to holy relics or places. All Orthodox liturgical books include prayers of exorcism, namely by Saint Basil and Saint John Chrysostom.


title: Exorcism

text: Orthodox theology takes a uniquely expansive view of exorcism, believing every Christian undertakes exorcism through their struggle against sin and evil: Additionally, many Orthodox Christians subscribe to the superstition of "Vaskania", or the "evil eye", in which those harboring intense jealousy and envy towards others can bring harm to them (akin to a curse) and are, in effect, demonically possessed by these negative emotions. This belief is most likely rooted in pre-Christian paganism, and although the church rejects the notion that the evil eye can have such power, it does recognize the phenomenon as morally and spiritually undesirable and thus a target for exorcism.


title: Exorcism

text: From the 16th century onward, Lutheran pastoral handbooks describe the primary symptoms of demonic possession to be knowledge of secret things, knowledge of languages one has never learned, and supernatural strength. Before conducting a major exorcism, Lutheran liturgical texts state that a physician be consulted in order to rule out any medical or psychiatric illness. The rite of exorcism centers chiefly around driving out demons "with prayers and contempt" and includes the Apostles' Creed and the Lord's Prayer.


title: Exorcism

text: While a very rare practice in the Church, there are two methods for performing an exorcism. The first is by anointing with consecrated oil and laying on of hands followed by a blessing on a specific person and commanding the spirit to leave. The second and most common method is done by "raising the hand to the square" and then "commanding the spirit away in the name of Jesus Christ and with the power or authority of the Melchizedek priesthood". Exorcisms can only be performed by someone holding the Melchizedek priesthood, the higher of the two priesthoods of the Church, and can be performed by anyone holding that priesthood, however they are generally performed by bishops, missionaries, mission presidents, or stake presidents. Exorcisms are not recorded by the Church and therefore the number of exorcisms performed in the religion are unknown.


title: Exorcism

text: Demonic possession is rarely talked about in the church. Demonic possession has been talked about twice by Joseph Smith, the founder of the faith. The first time refers to his experience during the First Vision and he recorded the following in his "1831 account of the First Vision":


title: Exorcism

text: His second experience comes from a journal entry in which he talks about the time he performed an exorcism on a friend.


title: Exorcism

text: When someone becomes ill, pastors - exorcism practitioners - visit the sick person's home, especially in rural areas and communities. Then, with the help of others who believe in faith healing, strive to heal them without the use of drugs or anything else. Sometimes the exorcist party gets in the way of local authorities or public health officials trying to heal a sick person. Sometimes they don't even ask the sick's consent - a child or a person who can't respond consciously to them - and continue the process. This has not gone well, and critics from scientists, health officials, and the general public have expressed their fears and dislikes for why this should be halted — since the sick individual often dies when he could have been spared if he was put in the common health system.


title: Exorcism

text: In many Hindu traditions, people can be possessed by "bhoots" or "preths," restless and often malignant beings roughly analogous to ghosts, and to a lesser extent, demons.


title: Exorcism

text: Of four "Vedas", or holy books, of Hinduism, the Atharva Veda is most focused on knowledge such as exorcism, magic, and alchemy. The basic means of exorcism are the "mantra" (a sacred utterance of certain phonemes or phrases that is often connected to a particular deity) and the "yajna" (a sacrifice, offering, or ritual done before a sacred fire). These are performed in accordance with Vedic traditions as well as the Tantra, the later esoteric teachings and practices within Hinduism.


title: Exorcism

text: Within the dominant Hindu sect of Vaishnava, which reveres Vishnu as the supreme being, exorcisms are performed by reciting the names of Narasimha, a fierce avatar of Vishnu that seeks to destroy evil and restore Dharma, or by reading the "Bhagavata Purana," a highly revered text that tells the story of good vanquishing evil. Another resource for exorcisms is the Garuda Purana, a vast corpus of literature mostly centered on Vishnu, deals heavily with topics related to death, disease, good versus evil, and spiritual health.


title: Exorcism

text: The devotional hymn known as Hanuman Chalisa advises conducting exorcisms by praying to Lord Hanuman, the most devoted follower of Rama, a major Hindu deity as according to a shloka(couplet) (भूत पिशाच निकट नहिं आवै ।


title: Exorcism

text: महावीर जब नाम सुनावै ॥) of this hymn, merely uttering Hanuman's name terrifies evil spirits into leaving the possessed. Some Hindu temples, most notably the Mehandipur Balaji Temple in Rajasthan, host exorcism rituals that invoke incarnations of Hanuman.


title: Exorcism

text: Terms for exorcism practices include "ṭard" (or "dafʿ") "al-shayṭān/al-jinn" (expulsion of the demon/the spirit), "ʿilāj" (treatment), and "ibrāʾ al-maṣrūʿ" (curing the possessed), but also "ruḳya" (enchantment) is used to exorcise various spirits.


title: Exorcism

text: The Islamic prophet Muhammad taught his followers to read the last three "suras" from the Quran, Surat al-Ikhlas (The Fidelity), Surat al-Falaq (The Dawn) and Surat an-Nas (Mankind). The permissibility of exorcism, as well as models for its practice, can be traced to Hadiths reporting Muhammad and Jesus performing exorcism rites.


title: Exorcism

text: Islamic exorcisms might consist of the treated person lying down, while a sheikh places a hand on a patient's head and recites verses from the Quran, but this is not mandatory. The drinking or sprinkling of holy water (water from the Zamzam Well) may also take place along with applying of clean, non-alcohol-based perfumes, called "ittar". Specific verses from the Quran are recited that glorify God (e.g., The Throne Verse (Arabic: آية الكرسي "Ayatul Kursi")) and invoke God's help. In some cases, the "adhan" (call for daily prayers) is also read, as this has the effect of repelling non-angelic unseen beings or the "jinn".


title: Exorcism

text: Josephus reports exorcisms performed by administering poisonous root extracts and others by making sacrifices.


title: Exorcism

text: In more recent times, Rabbi Yehuda Fetaya (1859–1942) authored the book "Minchat Yahuda", which deals extensively with exorcism, his experience with possessed people, and other subjects of Jewish thought. The book is written in Hebrew and was translated into English.


title: Exorcism

text: The Jewish exorcism ritual is performed by a rabbi who has mastered Kabbalah. Also present is a minyan (a group of ten adult males), who gather in a circle around the possessed person. The group recites Psalm 91 three times, and then the rabbi blows a shofar (a ram's horn).


title: Exorcism

text: The shofar is blown in a certain way, with various notes and tones, in effect to "shatter the body" so that the possessing force will be shaken loose. After it has been shaken loose, the rabbi begins to communicate with it and ask it questions such as why it is possessing the body of the possessed. The minyan may pray for it and perform a ceremony for it in order to enable it to feel safe, and so that it can leave the person's body.


title: Exorcism

text: Sikhs do not have a belief in demonic possession. Therefore exorcism is considered a violation of Sikh Code of Conduct.


title: Exorcism

text: In Taoism, exorcisms are performed when an individual has been possessed by an evil spirit for one of two reasons: The victim has disturbed a ghost, regardless of intent, and the ghost now seeks revenge, or the victim has been targeted by someone using black magic to conjure a ghost to possess them. The Fashi, who are both Chinese ritual specialists and Taoist priests, are able to conduct particular rituals for exorcism. These rituals will vary between the many sects which are further influenced by the geographic region in which the specific Taoist is from. A Zheng Yi sect Taoist in Beijing may conduct a ritual completely different from a Taoist of the same sect in a southern area such as Hong Kong.


title: Exorcism

text: For example, the leaders of these exorcism rituals who are tangki that invited the divine powers from the Deities and conduct a dramatic performance to call out against the demons so the village can once again have peace. The leaders strike themselves with various sharp weapons to show their invincibility to ward off the demons and also to let out their blood. This form of blood is considered to be sacred and powerful, so after the rituals, the blood is blotted with talismans and placed on the door of houses as an act of spiritual protection against evil spirits. Such ritual using blood however is more common among folk sects such as LuShan, and does not take place in more orthodox sects such as QuanZhen or Zheng Yi who are more monastic in nature. However, it is possible that folk Taoists in rural areas descended from orthodox sects may be influenced by local folk religions, so it may be seen.


title: Exorcism

text: Historically, all Taoist exorcisms include usage of Fulu, chanting, physical gesture like mudras, and praying as a way to drive away the spirit is common in all sects.


title: Exorcism

text: Demonic possession is not a psychiatric or medical diagnosis recognized by either the DSM-5 or the ICD-10. Those who profess a belief in demonic possession have sometimes ascribed to possession the symptoms associated with physical or mental illnesses, such as hysteria, mania, psychosis, Tourette's syndrome, epilepsy, schizophrenia or dissociative identity disorder.


title: Exorcism

text: Additionally, there is a form of monomania called demonomania or demonopathy in which the patient believes that they are possessed by one or more demons. The illusion that exorcism works on people experiencing symptoms of possession is attributed by some to placebo effect and the power of suggestion. Some cases suggest that supposedly possessed persons are actually narcissists or have low self-esteem and act demonically possessed in order to gain attention.


title: Exorcism

text: Within the scientific community, the work of psychiatrist M. Scott Peck, a believer in exorcism, generated significant debate and derision. Much was made of his association with (and admiration for) the controversial Malachi Martin, a Roman Catholic priest and a former Jesuit, despite the fact that Peck consistently called Martin a liar and a manipulator. Other criticisms leveled against Peck included claims that he had transgressed the boundaries of professional ethics by attempting to persuade his patients to accept Christianity.


title: Exorcism

text: One scholar has described psychosurgery as "Neurosurgical Exorcisms", with trepanation having been widely used to release demons from the brain. Meanwhile, another scholar has equated psychotherapy with exorcism.


title: Exorcism

text: In the UK, exorcisms are increasing. They happen mainly in charismatic and Pentecostal churches, and also among communities of West African origin. Frequently, the people exorcised are mentally disturbed. Mentally ill people are sometimes told to stop their medication as the church believes prayer or exorcism is enough. If psychiatric patients do not get better after exorcism, they may believe they have failed to overcome the demon and get worse.


title: Britannia

text: Britannia () is the national personification of Britain as a helmeted female warrior holding a trident and shield. An image first used in classical antiquity, the Latin "Britannia" was the name variously applied to the British Isles, Great Britain, and the Roman province of Britain during the Roman Empire. Typically depicted reclining or seated with spear and shield since appearing thus on Roman coins of the 2nd century AD, the classical national allegory was revived in the early modern period. On coins of the pound sterling issued by Charles II of England, Scotland, and Ireland, Britannia appears with her shield bearing the Union Flag. To symbolise the Royal Navy's victories, Britannia's spear became the characteristic trident in 1797, and a helmet was added to the coinage in 1825.


title: Britannia

text: By the 1st century BC, Britannia replaced Albion as the prevalent Latin name for the island of Great Britain. After the Roman conquest in 43 AD, "Britannia" also came to refer to the Roman province that encompassed the southern two-thirds of the island (see Roman Britain). The remaining third of the island, known to the Romans as Caledonia, lay north of the River Forth in modern Scotland. It was intermittently but not permanently occupied by the Roman army. The name is a Latinisation of the native Brittonic word for Great Britain, "Pretanī", which also produced the Greek form "Prettanike" or "Brettaniai".


title: Britannia

text: In the 2nd century, Roman Britannia came to be personified as a goddess, armed with a spear and shield and wearing a Corinthian helmet. When Roman Britain was divided into four provinces in 197 AD, two were called Britannia Superior () in the south and Britannia Inferior () to the north. The name "Britannia" long survived the end of Roman rule in Britain in the 5th century and yielded the name for the island in most European and various other languages, including the English Britain and the modern Welsh "Prydain". In the 9th century the associated terms "Bretwalda" and "Brytenwealda" were applied to some Anglo-Saxon kings to assert a wider hegemony in Britain and hyperbolic inscriptions on coins and titles in charters often included the equivalent title "rex Britanniae". However when England was unified the title used was "rex Angulsaxonum" ('king of the Anglo-Saxons').


title: Britannia

text: After centuries of declining use, the Latin form was revived during the English Renaissance as a rhetorical evocation of a British national identity. Especially following the Acts of Union in 1707, which joined the Kingdoms of England and Scotland, the personification of the martial Britannia was used as an emblem of British maritime power and unity, most notably in the patriotic song "Rule, Britannia!".


title: Britannia

text: A British cultural icon, she was featured on all modern British coinage series until the redesign in 2008, and still appears annually on the gold and silver "Britannia" bullion coin series. In 2015 a new definitive £2 coin was issued, with a new image of Britannia. She is also depicted in the Brit Awards statuette, the British Phonographic Industry's annual music awards.


title: Britannia

text: The first writer to use a form of the name was the Greek explorer and geographer Pytheas in the 4th century BC. Pytheas referred to "Prettanike" or "Brettaniai", a group of islands off the coast of North-Western Europe. In the 1st century BC, Diodorus Siculus referred to "Pretannia", a rendering of the indigenous name for the "Pretani" people whom the Greeks believed to inhabit the British Isles. Following the Greek usage, the Romans referred to the "Insulae Britannicae" in the plural, consisting of "Albion" (Great Britain), "Hibernia" (Ireland), "Thule" (possibly Iceland or Orkney) and many smaller islands. Over time, Albion specifically came to be known as "Britannia", and the name for the group was subsequently dropped.


title: Britannia

text: Although the creation and unification of the province of Britannia is commonly attributed to the emperor Claudius in 43 AD, Julius Caesar had already established Roman authority over the Southern and Eastern Britain dynasties during his two expeditions to the island in 55 and 54 BC. Just as Caesar himself had been an "obside", hostage, in Bithynia as a youth, he also had taken the King's sons back to Rome as "obsides" and to be educated.


title: Britannia

text: The Roman conquest of the island began in AD 43, leading to the establishment of the Roman province known in Latin as "Britannia". The Romans never successfully conquered the whole island, building Hadrian's Wall as a boundary with "Caledonia", which covered roughly the territory of modern Scotland, although the whole of the boundary marked by Hadrian's Wall lies within modern-day Northern England. A southern part of what is now Scotland was occupied by the Romans for about 20 years in the mid-2nd century AD, keeping in place the Picts to the north of the Antonine Wall. People living in the Roman province of Britannia were called "Britanni", or Britons. Ireland, inhabited by the Scoti, was never invaded and was called Hibernia. Thule, an island "six days' sail north of Britain, and [...] near the frozen sea", possibly Iceland, was also never invaded by the Romans.


title: Britannia

text: Claudius paid a visit while Britain was being conquered and was honoured with the agnomen "Britannicus" as if he were the conqueror; a frieze discovered at Aphrodisias in 1980 shows a bare breasted and helmeted female warrior labelled , writhing in agony under the heel of the emperor. She appeared on coins issued under Hadrian, as a more regal-looking female figure. Britannia was soon personified as a goddess, looking fairly similar to the goddess Athena-Minerva - both are seated and replete with helmet, spear (trident) and shield. Early portraits of the goddess depict Britannia as a beautiful young woman, wearing a Corinthian helmet, and wrapped in a white garment with her right breast exposed. She is usually shown seated on a rock, holding a trident, and with a spiked shield propped beside her. Sometimes she holds a standard and leans on the shield. On another range of coinage, she is seated on a globe above waves: Britain at the edge of the (known) world. Similar coin types were also issued under Antoninus Pius.


title: Britannia

text: After the Roman withdrawal, the term "Britannia" remained in use in Britain and abroad. Latin was ubiquitous amongst native Brythonic writers and the term continued in the Welsh tradition that developed from it. Writing with variations on the term "Britannia" (or "Prydein" in the native language) appeared in many Welsh works such as the "Historia Britonum", "Armes Prydein" and the 12th-century "Historia Regum Britanniae", which gained unprecedented popularity throughout western Europe during the High Middle Ages.


title: Britannia

text: Following the migration of Brythonic Celts, the term "Britannia" also came to refer to the Armorican peninsula (at least from the 6th century). The modern English, French, Breton and Gallo names for the area, all derive from a literal use of "Britannia" meaning "land of the Britons". The two "Britannias" gave rise to the term "Grande Bretagne" (Great Britain) to distinguish the island of Britain from the continental peninsula.


title: Britannia

text: Following the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, the term "Briton" only referred to the native British, Celtic-speaking inhabitants of the province; this remained the case until the modern era. The use of the term as an inhabitant of the island of Great Britain or the UK is relatively recent.


title: Britannia

text: It was during the reign of Elizabeth I that "Britannia" again came to be used as a personification of Britain. In his 1576 "General and rare memorials pertayning to the Perfect Arte of Navigation", John Dee used a frontispiece figure of Britannia kneeling by the shore beseeching Elizabeth I, to protect her empire by strengthening her navy.


title: Britannia

text: With the death of Elizabeth in 1603 came the succession of her Scottish cousin, James VI, King of Scots, to the English throne. He became James I of England, and so brought under his personal rule the Kingdoms of England (and the dominion of Wales), Ireland and Scotland. On 20 October 1604, James VI and I proclaimed himself as "King of Great Brittaine, France and Ireland", a title that continued to be used by many of his successors. When James came to the English throne, some elaborate pageants were staged. One pageant performed on the streets of London in 1605 was described in Anthony Munday's "Triumphs of Reunited Britannia":


title: Britannia

text: On a mount triangular, as the island of Britain itself is described to be, we seat in the supreme place, under the shape of a fair and beautiful nymph, Britannia herself...


title: Britannia

text: Britain's first road atlas was updated in a series of editions titled from the early 18th into the early 19th century using the title "Britannia Depicta".


title: Britannia

text: During the reign of Charles II, Britannia made her first appearance on English coins on a farthing of 1672 (see "Depiction on British coinage and postage stamps" below). With the constitutional unification of England with Scotland in 1707 and then with Ireland in 1800, Britannia became an increasingly important symbol and a strong rallying point among Britons.


title: Britannia

text: British power, which depended on a liberal political system and the supremacy of the navy, lent these attributes to the image of Britannia. By the time of Queen Victoria, Britannia had been renewed. Still depicted as a young woman with brown or golden hair, she kept her Corinthian helmet and her white robes, but now she held Neptune's trident and often sat or stood before the ocean and tall-masted ships representing British naval power. She also usually held or stood beside a Greek hoplite shield, which sported the British Union Flag: also at her feet was often the British Lion, an animal found on the arms of England, Scotland and the Prince of Wales.


title: Britannia

text: Neptune is shown symbolically passing his trident to Britannia in the 1847 fresco "Neptune Resigning to Britannia the Empire of the Sea" by William Dyce, a painting Victoria commissioned for her Osborne House on the Isle of Wight.


title: Britannia

text: New Zealanders adopted a similar personification of their country in Zealandia, Britannia's daughter, who appeared on postage stamps at the turn of the 20th century and still features in the New Zealand Coat of Arms.


title: Britannia

text: Perhaps the best analogy is that Britannia is to the United Kingdom and the British Empire what Marianne is to France or perhaps what Columbia is to the United States. Britannia became a very potent and more common figure in times of war, and represented British liberties and democracy.


title: Britannia

text: During the 1990s the term "Cool Britannia" (drawn from a humorous version by the Bonzo Dog Band of the song "Rule Britannia", with words by James Thomson [1700–1748], which is often used as an unofficial national anthem), was used to describe the contemporary United Kingdom. The phrase referred to the fashionable scenes of the era, with a new generation of pop groups and style magazines, successful young fashion designers, and a surge of new restaurants and hotels. Cool Britannia represented late-1990s Britain as a fashionable place to be.


title: Britannia

text: Britannia is sometimes used in political cartoons to symbol the United Kingdom's relationship with other countries.


title: Britannia

text: Although the archetypical image of Britannia seated with a shield first appeared on Roman bronze coins of the 1st century AD struck under Hadrian, Britannia's first appearance on British coinage was on the farthing in 1672, though earlier pattern versions had appeared in 1665, followed by the halfpenny later the same year. The figure of Britannia was said by Samuel Pepys to have been modelled on Frances Teresa Stuart, the future Duchess of Richmond, who was famous at the time for refusing to become the mistress of Charles II, despite the King's strong infatuation with her. Britannia then appeared on the British halfpenny coin throughout the rest of the 17th century and thereafter until 1936. The halfpennies issued during the reign of Queen Anne have Britannia closely resembling the queen herself. When the Bank of England was granted a charter in 1694, the directors decided within days that the device for their official seal should represent 'Brittannia sitting on looking on a Bank of Mony' (sic). Britannia also appeared on the penny coin between 1797 and 1967, occasional issues such as the fourpence under William IV between 1836 and 1837, and on the 50 pence coin between 1969 and 2008. See "External Links" below for examples of all these coins and others.


title: Britannia

text: In the spring of 2008, the Royal Mint unveiled new coin designs "reflecting a more modern twenty-first century Britain" which do not feature the image of Britannia. The government pointed out, however, that earlier-design 50p coins will remain in circulation for the foreseeable future. Also Britannia still appeared on the gold and silver "Britannia" bullion coins issued annually by the Royal Mint.


title: Britannia

text: A new definitive £2 coin was issued in 2015, with a new image of Britannia. In late 2015, a limited edition (100000 run) £50 coin was produced, bearing the image of Britannia on one side and Queen Elizabeth II on the obverse.


title: Britannia

text: In October 2020, The Royal Mint released the 2021 Britannia bullion coin range. The original 1987 coin design by Philip Nathan was enhanced with new security features. The Royal Mint claims this makes the Britannia "the world’s most visually secure bullion coin." The security features include a latent image, micro-text, surface animation and tincture lines.


title: Britannia

text: In 2021, the Royal Mint issued a new range of commemorative coins featuring a redesigned Britannia as a woman of colour.


title: Britannia

text: A figure of Britannia appeared on the "white fiver" (a five pound note printed in black and white) from 1855 for more than a century, until 1957.


title: Britannia

text: From 1928 "Britannia Series A" ten shilling and one pound notes were printed with a seated Britannia bearing both a spear and an olive branch.


title: Britannia

text: The 25 cents fractional paper currency of the Dominion of Canada (1870, 1900 and 1923 respectively) all depict Britannia.


title: Britannia

text: Britannia also featured on the high value Great Britain definitive postage stamps issued during the reign of George V (known as 'seahorses') and is depicted on the £10 stamp first issued in 1993.


title: Britannia

text: The Britannia watermark has been widely used in papermaking, usually showing her seated. An example can be found at papermoulds.typepad.com


title: Britannia

text: Britannia is depicted in the Brit Award statuette, the British Phonographic Industry's annual music awards. The statuette of Britannia is regularly redesigned by some of the best known British designers, stylists and artists, including Dame Vivienne Westwood, Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin, Sir Peter Blake and the late Dame Zaha Hadid.


title: Britannia

text: The name "Britannia", symbolising Britain and British patriotism, has been adopted for a variety of purposes, including:


title: Kurukshetra War

text: The Kurukshetra War ( ), also called the Mahabharata War, is a war described in the "Mahabharata ( )". The conflict arose from a dynastic succession struggle between two groups of cousins, the Kauravas and the Pandavas, for the throne of Hastinapura. The war laid the foundation for the "Bhagavad Gita".


title: Kurukshetra War

text: The historicity of the war remains the subject of scholarly discussion. The Battle of the Ten Kings, mentioned in the "Rigveda", may have formed the core of the Kurukshetra war's story. The war was greatly expanded and modified in the "Mahabharata"'s account, which makes it dubious. Attempts have been made to assign a historical date to the Kurukshetra war, with research suggesting BCE. However, popular tradition claims that the war marks the transition to the "Kali Yuga," dating it to BCE.


title: Kurukshetra War

text: The war took place in Kurukshetra. Despite only spanning eighteen days, the war takes more than a quarter of the "Mahabharata". The narrative describes individual battles, deaths of various heroes on both sides, war diplomacy, meetings and discussions among characters, military formations, and weapons used. The chapters dealing with the war are considered among the oldest in the "Mahabharata".


title: Kurukshetra War

text: The "Mahābhārata" is an account of the life and deeds of several generations of a ruling dynasty called the Kuru clan. Central to the epic is an account of a war that took place between two rival families belonging to this clan. Kurukshetra (literally "field of the Kurus") was the battleground on which the Kurukshetra War was fought. Kurukshetra was also known as Dharmakshetra (the "field of Dharma"), or field of righteousness. The first "Mahābhārata" says that this site was chosen because a sin committed on this land was forgiven on account of the sanctity of the land.


title: Kurukshetra War

text: The historicity of the Kurukshetra War is subject to scholarly discussion and dispute. It is possible that the Battle of the Ten Kings, mentioned in the "Rigveda", may have "formed the 'nucleus' of the story" of the Kurukshetra war, though it was greatly expanded and modified in the "Mahābhārata"'s account making the "Mahābhārata"'s version of very dubious historicity. Although the Kurukshetra War is not mentioned in Vedic literature, its prominence in later literature led British Indologist A. L. Basham to conclude that there was a great battle at Kurukshetra which, "magnified to titanic proportions, formed the basis of the story of the greatest of India's epics, the "Mahābhārata"". Acknowledging that later "generations looked upon it as marking an end of an epoch", he suggested that rather than being a civil war it might have been "a muddled recollection of the conquest of the Kurus by a tribe of Mongol type from the hills". He saw it as useless to the historian and dates the war to the ninth century BCE based on archaeological evidence and "some evidence in the Brahmana literature itself to show that it cannot have been much earlier".


title: Kurukshetra War

text: Puranic literature presents genealogical lists associated with the "Mahābhārata" narrative. There are two pieces of evidence of the Puranas: there is the direct statement that there were 1,015 (or 1,050) years between the birth of Parikshit (Arjun's grandson) and the accession of Mahapadma Nanda, commonly dated to 382 BCE, which would yield an estimate of about 1400 BCE for the Bharata battle, which would imply improbably long reigns on average for the kings listed in the genealogies.


title: Kurukshetra War

text: There are also analyses of parallel genealogies in the Puranas between the times of Adhisimakrishna (Parikshit's great-grandson) and Mahapadma Nanda. Pargiter estimated 26 generations by averaging 10 different dynastic lists and assuming 18 years for the average duration of a reign, arrived at an estimate of 850 BCE for Adhisimakrishna and approximately 950 BCE for the Bharata battle.


title: Kurukshetra War

text: Despite the inconclusiveness of the data, attempts have been made to assign a historical date to the Kurukshetra War. The existing text of the "Mahābhārata" went through many revisions, and mostly belongs to the period between c. 500 BCE and 400 CE. Within the frame story of the "Mahābhārata", the kings Parikshit and Janamejaya are featured significantly as scions of the Kuru clan, and Michael Witzel concludes that the general setting of the epic has a historical precedent in the Vedic period, where the Kuru kingdom was the center of political power during roughly 1200 to 800 BCE. According to Professor Alf Hiltebeitel, the "Mahābhārata" is essentially mythological. Indian historian Upinder Singh wrote:


title: Kurukshetra War

text: According to Finnish Sindhologist Asko Parpola, the war may have taken place during the later phase of the Painted Grey Ware, c/ 750–350 BCE.


title: Kurukshetra War

text: Popular tradition holds that the war marks the transition to "Kali Yuga" and dates it to 3102 BCE. A number of other proposals have been put forward:


title: Kurukshetra War

text: Indian archeologist B. B. Lal used the same approach with a more conservative assumption of the average reign to estimate a date of 836 BCE and correlated it with archaeological evidence from Painted Grey Ware (PGW) sites, the association being strong between PGW artifacts and places mentioned in the epic. John Keay confirmed it and also dated the battle to have taken place in 950 BCE.


title: Kurukshetra War

text: According to Parpola, the war may have taken place during the later phase of the Painted Grey Ware culture, c. 750-350 BCE. He noted that the Pandava heroes are not being mentioned in the Vedic literature from before the Grhyasutras. Parpola suggests that the Pandavas were Iranic migrants, who came to south Asia around 800 BCE.


title: Kurukshetra War

text: Excavations in Sinauli unearthed burials with the remains of carts belonging to the Ochre Coloured Pottery culture (OCP). Several authors proposeed to relate the Rig Vedic culture and the war to the OCP, instead of the PGW. While the carts are dated to 1800–1500 BCE (150), Gupta and Mani state that "in the present state of archaeological evidence OCP seems to be a stronger contender for the "Mahābhārata" association", dating the war to the 4th millennium BCE. Parpola sees the finds as ox-pulled chariots, indicating support for his proposal for a first wave of Indo-Aryan migrations into the Indian subcontinent at the beginning of the 2nd millennium BCE, prior to the migration of the Rig Vedic people.


title: Kurukshetra War

text: In the beginning, Sanjaya gives a description of the various continents of the Earth, the other planets, and focuses on the Indian subcontinent, then gives an elaborate list of kingdoms, tribes, provinces, cities, towns, villages, rivers, mountains, and forests of the ancient Indian subcontinent (Bharata Varsha). He also explains the military formations adopted by each side on each day, the death of each hero and the details of each war-racing.


title: Kurukshetra War

text: As a last attempt at peace is called for in Rajadharma, Krishna travels to the kingdom of Hastinapur to persuade the Kauravas to see reason, avoid bloodshed of their kin, and to embark upon a peaceful path with him as the "divine" ambassador of the Pandavas. Duryodhana is insulted that Krishna turns down his invitation to accommodate himself in the royal palace. Duryodhana plots to arrest Krishna and insult, humiliate, and defame him in front of the entire royal court of Hastinapur as a challenge to the prestige of the Pandavas and declaration of an act of open war.


title: Kurukshetra War

text: At the formal presentation of the peace proposal by Krishna in the Kuru Mahasabha at the court of Hastinapur, Krishna asks Duryodhana to return Indraprastha to the Pandavas and restore the status quo, or at least give five villages, one for each of the Pandavas; Duryodhana refuses. Krishna's peace proposals are ignored and dismissed, and Duryodhana publicly orders his soldiers to arrest Krishna despite warnings from the elders. Krishna laughs and displays his divine form, radiating intense light. He curses Duryodhana that his downfall was certain at the hands of the one who was sworn to tear off his thigh. His peace mission utterly insulted by Duryodhana, Krishna returns to the Pandava camp at Upaplavya to inform the Pandavas that the only course left to uphold the principles of virtue and righteousness is war. During his return, Krishna meets Karna, Kunti's firstborn (before Yudhishthira), and asks him to help his brothers and fight on the side of dharma. However, as he is being helped by Duryodhana, Karna says to Krishna that he would battle against the Pandavas as he had a debt to pay.


title: Kurukshetra War

text: Duryodhana and Arjuna go to Krishna at Dwarka to ask for his and his army's help. Duryodhana arrives first and finds Krishna asleep. Duryodhana chooses a seat at Krishna's head and waits for him to awaken, while Arjuna sits and waits at Krishna's feet. When Krishna woke up, he saw Arjuna first and gave him the first right to make his request. Krishna tells Arjuna and Duryodhana that he would give the Narayani Sena to one side and himself as a non-combatant to the other. Since Arjuna is given the first opportunity to choose, Duryodhana worries that Arjuna would choose the mighty army of Krishna. When given the choice of either Krishna's army or Krishna himself on their side, Arjuna chooses Krishna. Arjuna asks Krishna to be his charioteer, who agrees. Both Duryodhana and Arjuna returned satisfied.


title: Kurukshetra War

text: The Pandavas gather their armies while camping at Upaplavya in Virata's territory. Contingents arrive from across the country.


title: Kurukshetra War

text: Yudhishthira asks his brothers to organize their army. The Pandavas have seven "akshauhinis" with the help of their allies. After consulting his commanders, the Pandavas appoint Dhrishtadyumna as the supreme commander of the Pandava army.


title: Kurukshetra War

text: The Kaurava army is made up of 11 "akshauhinis". Duryodhana asks Bhishma to command the Kaurava army. Bhishma accepts on the condition that, while he would fight the battle sincerely, he would not harm the five Pandava brothers. He also says that Karna would rather not fight under him, but serve as Duryodhana's bodyguard as long as he was in the battlefield. Having little choice, Duryodhana agrees to Bhishma's conditions and makes him the supreme commander of the Kaurava army, while Karna is debarred from fighting. Karna joins the war later when Bhishma is severely wounded by Arjuna.


title: Kurukshetra War

text: The kingdom of Bhojakata, Vidura, and Balarama are the neutral parties in this war. Rukmi, king of Bhojakata, wants to join the war, but Arjuna refuses because he had lost to Krishna during Rukmini's "swayamvara" and he boasted about his war strength and army, and Duryodhana does not want Arjuna's reject. Vidura does not want to see bloodshed and is insulted by Duryodhana.


title: Kurukshetra War

text: The "Mahābhārata" states that in the year in which the war took place, three solar eclipses took place within a thirty-day period; eclipses are considered ill omens in Hindu astrology.


title: Kurukshetra War

text: On the first day of the war, as would be on all the following days, the Kaurava army stood facing west and the Pandava army east. The Pandava army was organised by Yudhishthira and Arjuna in the diamond or Vajra formation.


title: Kurukshetra War

text: Ten "akshauhinis" of the Kaurava army were arranged in a phalanx. The eleventh was put under the immediate command of Bhishma, partly to protect him. The safety of the supreme commander Bhishma was central to Duryodhana's strategy, as he had placed all his hope on the great warrior's abilities.


title: Kurukshetra War

text: When the war is declared and the two armies face each other, Arjuna realises that he would have to kill his dear granduncle Bhishma and his respected teacher Drona. Despondent and confused about what is right and what is wrong, Arjuna turns to Krishna for divine advice and teachings. Krishna, who Arjuna chose as his charioteer, advised him of his duty. Krishna instructs Arjuna not to yield to degrading impotence and to fight his kin. He also reminds him that it is a war between righteousness and unrighteousness (dharma and adharma), and it is Arjuna's duty to slay anyone who supported the cause of unrighteousness, or sin. Krishna reveals his divine form and explains that he is born on earth in each eon when evil raises its head.


title: Kurukshetra War

text: Before the battle begins, Yudhishthira drops his weapons, takes off his armor, and walks towards the Kaurava army with folded hands in prayer. He falls on Bhishma's feet to seek his blessing for success in battle, and he is blessed. Yudhishthira returned to his chariot and the battle was ready to commence.


title: Kurukshetra War

text: The Pandavas suffered heavy losses and are defeated at the end of the first day. Virata's sons, Uttara and Sweta, are slain by Shalya and Bhishma. Krishna consoles Yudhishthira saying that eventually, victory would be his.


title: Kurukshetra War

text: Arjuna, realizing that something needs to be done quickly to reverse the Pandava losses, decides to kill Bhishma. Krishna locates Bhishma's chariot and steers Arjuna toward him. Arjuna tries to engage Bhishma in a duel, but the Kaurava soldiers protect him and attack Arjuna. Arjuna and Bhishma fight a fierce battle over hours. Drona and Dhrishtadyumna similarly engage in a duel, and Drona defeats Dhrishtadyumna, who is saved by Bhima. Duryodhana sends the troops of Kalinga to attack Bhima and most of them, including the king of Kalinga, are killed. Bhishma comes to relieve the battered Kalinga forces. Satyaki, who was assisting Bhima, shoots at Bhishma's charioteer and kills him. Bhishma's horses bolt and carry Bhishma away from the battlefield.


title: Kurukshetra War

text: The Kauravas concentrate their attack on Arjuna, whose chariot becomes covered with arrows and javelins. Arjuna builds a fortification around his chariot with an unending stream of arrows from his bow. Abhimanyu and Satyaki join forces to defeat Shakuni's Gandhara forces. Bhima and Ghatotkacha attack Duryodhana in the rear. Bhima's arrows hit Duryodhana, who collapses in his chariot. His charioteer drives him off the battlefield, and Duryodhana's forces scatter. Bhishma restores order and Duryodhana returns to lead the army. He is angry at Bhishma for what he saw as leniency towards the five Pandava brothers, and spoke harshly of him. Bhishma, stung by this unfair charge, returns to the battlefield.


title: Kurukshetra War

text: Bhishma commands the Kaurava army to move on the offensive. When the Kauravas form a chakravyuha, Abhimanyu enters it but is surrounded and attacked by Kaurava princes. Arjuna joins to help him. Bhima appears and attacks the Kauravas. Duryodhana sends a huge force of elephants at Bhima, who leaves his chariot and attacks them singlehandedly with his iron mace. The elephants scatter and stampede into the Kaurava forces. Duryodhana orders an all-out attack on Bhima, who kills eight of Duryodhana's brothers before being struck by an arrow from Dushasana, the second-eldest Kaurava, in the chest and sat down in his chariot dazed.


title: Kurukshetra War

text: At the end of the fourth day, Duryodhana goes to Bhisma and asks him how could the Pandavas, facing a superior force against them, have the upper hand. Bhishma says that the Pandavas have justice on their side and advises Duryodhana to seek peace.


title: Kurukshetra War

text: The Pandava army suffers from Bhishma's attacks. Satyaki is being beaten by Drona, but Bhima drives by and rescues him. Arjuna kills thousands of soldiers sent by Duryodhana to attack him. Bhima engages Bhishma in a duel with no clear winner. Drupada and his son Shikandi go to help Bhima, but they are stopped by Vikarna, one of Duryodhana's brothers, who attacks and injures them badly.


title: Kurukshetra War

text: Drona kills many Pandava soldiers and both armies' formations are broken. Bhima penetrates the Kaurava formation and attacks Duryodhana, who is defeated but rescued. The Upapandavas (sons of Draupadi) fight against Ashwathama and destroy his chariot.


title: Kurukshetra War

text: Drona kills Shanka, one of Virata's son. Yuyuthsu is injured by Kripacharya in a sword fight. Nakula and Sahadeva fight Duryodhana's brothers but are overwhelmed by the number of them.


title: Kurukshetra War

text: Bhima kills 17 of Dhritarashtra's sons. Iravan, the son of Arjuna, kills five of Shakuni's brothers. Duryodhana deploys the Rakshasa fighter Alamvusha, who kills Iravan.


title: Kurukshetra War

text: Bhishma destroys Pandava armies. Arjuna heads to Bhishma but fights him half-heartedly. Krishna, overwhelmed by anger at the apparent inability of Arjuna to kill Bhishma, rushes towards the Kaurava commander. Ghatotkacha kills the demon Alambusha.


title: Kurukshetra War

text: Realising that the war could not be won as long as Bhishma was standing, Krishna suggests placing a eunuch in the field to face him.


title: Kurukshetra War

text: The Pandavas put Shikhandi, who had been a woman in a prior life, in front of Bhishma, as Bhishma has taken a vow not to attack a woman. Shikhandi's arrows fell on Bhishma without hindrance. Arjuna positions himself behind Shikhandi, protecting himself from Bhishma's attack and aimed his arrows at the weak points in Bhishma's armor and defeats him.


title: Kurukshetra War

text: The Kauravas and Pandavas gathered around Bhishma and at his request, Arjuna places three arrows under Bhishma's head to support it. Bhishma had promised his father, King Shantanu, that he would live until Hastinapur was secured from all directions. To keep this promise, Bhishma used the boon of "Ichcha Mrityu" (self-wished death) given to him by his father. After the war ended, when Hastinapura had become safe from all sides and after giving lessons on politics and Vishnu Sahasranama to the Pandavas, Bhishma dies on the first day of Uttarayana.